Friday, December 08, 2023
The Ballad of Gregorio Cortez
- Commentary: Under construction.
As you'll notice in the table below, this cast is loaded with well-known character actors playing small but important parts. Despite this, and a 100% approval rating on Rotten Tomatoes, a few people found fault with this film. To quote Janet Maslin of The New York Times: "[The film] tells what sounds like a stirring story, and its plainness would seem to be an asset. But something more was needed here, if not in the way of fireworks then maybe just in verisimilitude. The events may be real, and even the settings are authentic; the courthouse in which Mr. Young filmed the trial scene is the one in which Mr. Cortez's trial actually took place. That's not the sort of authenticity that the film lacks. What it's missing is the spark, surprise and immediacy that might have made its principals feel like people, rather than key figures in a well-meaning historical pageant." A little bit out of left field, I'd say, which makes me anticipate watching this movie even more than before reading that quote.
As always, more later.
Actor Role Actor Role Actor Role Actor Role Edward James Olmos Gregorio Cortez Victoria Plata Carmen Cortez James Gammon Frank Fly Tom Bower Boone Choate Bruce McGill Reporter Blakely Brion James Captain Rogers Alan Vint Mike Trimmell Timothy Scott Sheriff Morris Pepe Serna Romaldo Cortez Michael McGuire Sheriff Glover Barry Corbin B.R. Abernathy Ned Beatty Lynch Mob Leader William Sanderson Cowboy Jack Kehoe Prosecutor Pierson Rosanna DeSoto Carlota Muñoz Lili Young Mrs. Glover
Here's a link to the Wikipedia write-up of the film.
Release Date: 1982
Directed by Robert M. Young.
Labels: Criterion7, edward-james-olmos, legal, western
Tuesday, May 24, 2022
Touched by an Angel, Seasons 1 - 9
- Who's watched: M & G, ad infinitum
- Mentions: *1* *2* *3* *4* *5* *6* *7*
- Commentary: For the most complete coverage of this series in our lives, best for you to click into the first Mention, above. Otherwise, suffice it to say that, as of this date, I still haven't been able to watch any of the episodes of this series (as I haven't since my mother's death), but refuse to pass these DVDs on to someone else.
* As usual, while there are many directors throughout the seasons, female directors are merely scattered throughout. In fact, the first season had no female directors. I guess that figures, since it's a series underhandedly about the Abrahamic God.
P. S.: I recall that there are at at least a couple of Christmas stories in this set ... I just don't know which episodes they are.
Update 2/10/18: True, not your classic super-hero series but, don't you agree, the angels act miraculously and certainly have what humans would consider super-powers. And, they help people and, in a few episodes, do battle with Satan, their nemesis. What could be more super-heroic than that?!?
Update 5/24/22: Yet another post published on 4/09/09 that "disappeared" and I had to recapture.
Update 11/24/22: In case you're curious, the Touched by an Angel episode in which Kirk Douglas acted was season 6-episode 18, "Bar Mitzvah".
Actor Role Actor Role Actor Role Actor Role Roma Downey Monica Della Reese Tess John Dye Andrew Valerie Bertinelli Gloria Alexis Cruz Rafael Charles Rocket Adam Paul Winfield Sam Cloris Leachman Ruth
Ossie Davis appeared as Erasmus Jones in "Touched by an Angel" Season 3/Episodes 11 "Promised Land" & 12 "The Homecoming"; "Touched by an Angel" Season 4 Episode 1 "The Road Home Part 1"; Season 5 Episode 2 "Saving Grace Part 1"
Ossie Davis appeared as Gabe in "Touched by an Angel" Season 6 Episode 10 "The Christmas Gift"
Ossie Davis appeared as Gabriel in "Touched by an Angel" Season 9 Episode 9 "Remembering Me Part 2"
Piper Laurie appeared in Touched by an Angel, Season 4/Episode 12, "Venice"
John de Lancie appeared in Touched by an Angel, Season 4/Episode 5, "Jones vs. God"
Nancy Allen appeared in Touched by an Angel, Season 1/Episode 7, "An Unexpected Snow"
Here's a link to the Wikipedia write-up of the film.
Release Date: 1994-2003
Directed by: See * note above.
Labels: Christmas, edward-james-olmos, enrique-castillo, fantasy2, female-director3, jesse-borrego, john-de-lancie, kirk-douglas, mom-favorite1, nancy-allen, ossie-davis, piper-laurie, spiritual1, william-devane
Tuesday, March 22, 2022
Selena
- Commentary: This movie is a not-quite-so-guilty pleasure for me. I have usually been able to find it playing on a streaming service without commercials once a year or so, but, I have access to only two streaming services (that's all I need, actually, considering that, despite my huge number of owned movies, I don't watch movies or programs a lot). Lately, I've been experiencing my hunger, again, for this movie, and was left with no outlets through which to assuage it, which has never before happened. Just out of curiosity I thought, you know, I wonder how much it would cost if I just owned this movie. I found an astonishingly cheap price for a new press in widescreen with subtitles and, knowing that I will watch this movie again and again, grabbed it. It just arrived. I'll be luxuriating in it shortly.
Lots of film critics lauded this movie, including Jennifer Lopez' performance in it. That's what accounts for the "not-quite-so-guilty" part of my pleasure in this movie. The part of my pleasure about which I feel guilty is that it depends upon Selena's tragic end. Without the short and shocking trajectory of her life she likely would have continued to be a huge, cross-sectional star, but I doubt there'd be a movie about her. She may have become an acting, as well as a singing, star, in her own right, and, likely, either way, her existence doing what she did so well would have produced at least as much wealth for her family as her tragedy probably has, but, well, to be blunt, untimely tragedy tends to generate at least as much attention, if not more, as success. Sad truth.
Much worthy attention was paid to the making of this movie. All the choices made, the actors, the carving of the story for maximum effect, the production, the presentation, are top notch. It is unfortunate that all this excellence had to be lavished on presenting a tragedy, rather than a long-lived phenomenon.
Update 3/23/2022: Yes, yes, yes, I spent most of yesterday afternoon and evening watching my copy of this movie. May I say, it is the premier popcorn-and-soda movie of my collection. Although just a few minutes over two hours, I rewound and rewatched so many sections of it that I spent at least four hours luxuriating in it.
I plan to watch Netflix's version, Selena: The Series, for comparison. It received low to middling reviews from professional critics (with the exception of the immediately previous review, which has an interesting perspective, from Roger Ebert dot com) and was rebuked even more for "occasionally [struggling] to tell its subject's story with depth or perspective" (a quote from the Wikipedia article about the film) than the film. IMDb users, however, [(1997 movie), (2020-21 series)] ranked the two practically the same: above middling. The consensus seems to be that while professional critics are looking for something with more depth (which I'm not sure is possible without a thorough companion story about Yolanda Saldívar, Selena's side-business manager and murderer), off-the street (so to speak) critiques from watcher-plebes are, largely, satisfied and disappointed with both depictions in equal measure and for the same reasons, giving the series a slight, and, I think, insignificant, edge.
Once I finish viewing the series, if I think I have anything cogent to add, I will, but, if not, well, what you read above is what you get.
Actor Role Actor Role Actor Role Actor Role Jennifer Lopez Adult Selena Edward James Olmos Abraham Quintanilla, Jr Constance Marie Marcela Quintanilla Lupe Ontiveros Yolanda Saldívar
Here's a link to the Wikipedia write-up of the film.
Release Date: 1997
Directed by Gregory Nava.
Labels: biography3, coming-of-age2, dramaE, edward-james-olmos, jennifer-lopez, musical2, popcorn-and-soda7, tragedy2
Friday, September 13, 2019
American Me
- Commentary: This movie (as is the next, above), is a necessary addition to my DVD library. I have a "thing" for gang-movies and if I don't own them, I check them out of my library system on a regular basis. It's grittier than Blood In Blood Out, not nearly as colorful and produced with much less hubris than the former. In addition, the fellow who plays the older "J.D." in this movie (William Forsythe) plays "Cockeye" in one of my other favorite gang-movies, Once Upon a Time in America.
Considering how many times I've seen this movie, I was surprised when, upon first receiving it, I watched the movie so intently, rewinding moments and scenes, stopping the film to investigate something on the internet that I noticed in the movie ... seeing as how it's not unusual for me to do this, I'm surprised I'd not previously done it with this movie.
I can't really say which of my gang-movies is my favorite. All of them are intense in a way that I favor and, to me, so different. Now that my collection of gang-movies is expanding, though, I think it might be time to add this as a category to my labels. I'll start with this movie.
By the way, Roger Ebert was so impressed with this movie, even though he gave it 3 1/2 stars, rather than four, that he interviewed Mr. Olmos about the movie. It's an interesting interview. In case you are further interested in Mr. Olmos' accomplishments, his Wikipedia write-up is here.
Actor Role Actor Role Actor Role Actor Role Edward James Olmos Montoya Santana William Forsythe J. D. Pepe Serna Mundo Daniel A. Haro Huero Sal Lopez Pedro Santana Vira Montez Esperanza Santana Danny De La Paz Puppet Daniel Villarreal Little Puppet Evelina Fernández Julie Roberto Martín Márquez Acha Dyana Ortelli Yolanda Jacob Vargas Paulito Santana
The Wikipedia write-up for this movie is here.
Release Date: 1992
Directed by Edward James Olmos.
Labels: drama3, edward-james-olmos, gang-movie, historical1, political1, violence1, war1
Monday, November 14, 2005
The West Wing: The Entire Series
- Who's watched: M & G
- Mentions: *1* *2*
- Commentary: It took me a long time to decide to buy this series. When we watched it first run on TV I was never sure that Mom liked it. Finally, when the price dropped drastically and even more so at Costco, I picked up these seasons. To my surprise Mom was as fascinated with it in arrears as I am. We will probably and eventually purchase all the seasons, even the much maligned fifth and certainly the last season. Mom especially enjoys watching the episodes with the good subtitles and has mentioned that she "understands it a lot better" now that we can "rewind" when she doesn't catch something. When we watch this I am reminded how Mom still enjoys following politics even though she can't remember who the current president is and doesn't anymore care who it is.
I asked her, after we watched the first season on DVD, why she liked the show.
"It's like bartering in shops in Mexico," she said.
12/24/06 Update: You'll notice the designation has changed to "The Entire Series", rather than just seasons 1 & 2. I received the series this year as a surprise gift from a long time friend. It was an extreme surprise because he and I have never been known to exchange gifts, we rarely see each other, we don't email each other, we talk on the phone infrequently, and yet we remain bonded. He is one of the few people I know who is aware of my ambivalent interest in politics and my "secret" desire to become President of the United States. Truth is, I only vaguely remember talking to him about the series once, soon after it started, when Mom and I still lived part of the year in Mesa and, him living in Scottsdale, we spoke more frequently and occasionally visited one another. I do remember I was pretty excited about it, at the time we talked about it. So was he. He was recording the episodes. I wasn't, though. Funny thing, when I noticed that the entire series was available of a piece, I thought about buying it but since I already had the first two seasons and Mom and I hadn't watched it in awhile, I figured, well, maybe I should try it out on her again and see if I should collect the other seasons separately. I couldn't see spending the amount of money involved in purchasing the entire series when it would be cheaper for me to fill in the seasons. So, this was like one of those magical gift moments that blew me away!
Needless to say, I'll be turning the first two seasons in for credit at my usual search-for-bargains video store.
Actor Role Actor Role Actor Role Actor Role Martin Sheen Josiah Bartlet John Spencer Leo McGarry Bradley Whitford Josh Lyman Richard Schiff Toby Ziegler Allison Janney C.J. Cregg Janel Moloney Donna Moss Stockard Channing Abbey Bartlet Moira Kelly Mandy Hampton Joshua Malina Will Bailey Mary McCormack Kate Harper Alan Alda Arnold Vinick Jimmy Smits Matt Santos Rob Lowe Sam Seaborn Dulé Hill Charlie Young Kristin Chenoweth Annabeth Schott Lily Tomlin Deborah Fiderer
Here's a link to the Wikipedia write-up of the series.
Release Date: 1999-2006
Directed by, as usual, very few women, scattered throughout all seasons, mostly men.
Labels: aaron-sorkin, dramaA, dylan-baker, edward-james-olmos, female-director2, political4, presidential, TV2, william-devane, željko-ivanek
