Reviews, Reports + Comments

Sunday, November 27, 2011

Review of film: “THE DESCENDANTS” + INFO on what put the “5-0” in HAWAII...




2011, 11-16;  completed 11-27:


Review of film:  THE DESCENDANTS+ INFO on what put the “5-0 in HAWAII...


INFO on what put the “5-0 in HAWAII...


Have you ever wondered what put the “5-0 in HAWAII?...

...  Sometime in the unrecorded past, POLYNESIANS (probably from the islands of Marquesas & Tahiti) came to the Hawaiian islands in canoes & formed settlements...

...  Based on some signed maps, it’s postulated by some that SPANISH explorers came to the islands between 1551 & 1555 (but they made no settlements)...

...  While seeking the Northwest Passage between the Pacific & Atlantic Oceans, English captain JAMES COOK visited the area by “accident” on January 18, 1778, & named the place the SANDWICH Islands (after the Earl of Sandwich)...

...  Various other Europeans & Americans visited the area after that...

...  In 1810, the various islands were UNITED under one ruler for the first time by King Kamehameha...

...  There was a financial dispute on the island of KAUAI in 1815, & that disagreement resulted in that island becoming a temporary protectorate of RUSSIA (until around 1853)...

...  The FRENCH (who controlled the Tahitian islands) complained to the Hawaiian King about the treatment of CATHOLICS in Hawaii in 1839, & forced the King to issue a decree of TOLERANCE concerning them... 

...  In 1843, a BRITISH Lord named Paulet tried to take over the islands by forcing the King to abdicate; but, around 5 months later, Paulet’s commanding officer REPUDIATED his actions, & the King was restored to power on July 31st of that year...

...  Further disputes arose between the FRENCH & the Hawaiian King in 1849, but they left after an invasion that lasted around one month...

...  After King Kamehameha V died in 1872, Princess KA’IULANI (of the House of Kalakaua] ascended to the throne, & worked hard to try to keep the country from being taken over by AMERICA...

...  In 1875, Hawaii was in-effect forced to conclude the “RECIPROCITY Treaty”, wherein the U.S. allowed sugar to be imported duty-free from Hawaii--  but demanded that America be granted control of Oahu island’s PEARL HARBOR and Ford Island + shore lands there..

...  The U.S. declared Hawaii to be a “SOVEREIGN nation” in that Treaty... 

...  But, -- typical of its treaties with indigenous people like the Native American Indians --, it soon IGNORED the agreement, &, after local “Rebellions” in 1887 & 1893, a U.S. government minister declared an “imminent threat to American lives and property", called in U.S. TROOPS, & forced then-Queen Lili’uokalani to ABDICATE...

...  After disagreements between various U.S. government people (--  sound FAMILIAR?!--), on July 4, 1894, there was a declaration of a “REPUBLIC of Hawaii”...

...  Still more “disagreements” arose, &, on July 7, 1898, U.S. President McKinley ILLEGALLY ANNEXED the islands & declared Hawaii to be a TERRITORY of the United States (an act some have called the 1st major incident of American IMPERIALISM)...

...  On August 21, 1959, Hawaii was officially admitted as the 50th STATE in the United States-- which is where the “5-0 comes from...

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Review of film:  THE DESCENDANTS


Now that you have the “background”, that brings us to the new MOVIE:

...  This 115-minute R-rated (mainly due to language) dramedy was directed & co-written by ALEXANDER PAYNE (who directed “ELECTION” in 1999, “ABOUT SCHMIDT” in 2002, & “SIDEWAYS” in 2004)...

... Matt King (GEORGE CLOONEY) is a DESCENDANT of a member of the onetime-ROYAL family in Hawaii...  He deals in REAL ESTATE, & that’s kept him extremely busy thru the years...


...  He’s been particularly active lately, because he’d been chosen by his family as the one to make a major determination about a huge chunk of their beachfront PROPERTY in Kauai that had been passed down from an old Royal ownership...


...  It seems that continuing new laws in Hawaii had made things so that the family must in some way DISPOSE of the highly-valuable undeveloped property within the next 7 years, or else they’d owe huge TAXES on it and / or would be forced to relinquish the property (possibly to the State)...

...  As George comments at one point, most people seem to think of Hawaiians as living in one big “PARADISE”--  but he feels that’s NOT ACCURATE:

...  Yes, there are some very NICE areas to be found in the 8 main islands...


...  But, some places --  like Honolulu --  are overly CROWDED, hectic & UNPLEASANT to deal with on a daily basis...


...  Furthermore, he’s upset that people seem to think that everything is “PERFECT” in Hawaii--  but he feels (& says), their families are “just as SCREWED-UPas in OTHER places...


...  There’s a number of reasons he feels the way he does:

...  He’d been happily married for like 17 years, & he & his wife Elizabeth (PATRICIA HASTIE) had had two daughters...

...  But, Patricia had gone off to go water-skiing recently.  She was supposed to just drive the boat rather than ski herself--  but some family friend had in-effect allowed her to SKI, & she’d fallen in the water & severely INJURED herself & was in the HOSPITAL...


...  George had mainly left the raising of his kids to Patricia...  As he says, he has always been “the ‘BACKUP’ parent”...


...  George at times wants to take his youngest (9-ish) daughter, Scotti (AMARA MILLER) to see comatose Patricia...  But, Amara is very DIFFICULT to deal with, doing things like angrily throwing a chair in the family POOL & the like...


...  As maddening as Scotti is, the 16-ish older daughter, Alexandra (SHAILENE WOODLEY) is even MORE troublesome to deal with: 

...  For some unknown reason, she’d grown extremely antagonistic towards Patricia, to the point that she’d been sent away to a sort of BOARDING school on another island...  But, she’d gotten involved in DRUGS & drinking, & had become increasingly INCORRIGIBLE there...       

...  His “outer” family members (who owned a “share” of the Kauai property) were “pushing” George to SELL the property, so they would have something to “show” for all the years the family had held onto it...

...  George had been considering the bids of two groups, both of whom wanted to DEVELOP the “untouched” property, to add more “value” to it... 

...  But, there were a lot of things George was trying to “mull over” before coming to a soon-to-be-made decision on the planned disposition of the land...

...  At one point, Patricia’s doctor Johnston (MILT KOGAN) has a very serious discussion with George at the hospital. It seemed that she, before her accident, had signed a document that, if she was terminally ill, NO “special” efforts were to be made to keep her ALIVE... 
  
...  The doctors had determined that there was no way Patricia would be likely to RECOVER from her injury, & thus --  per her prior decision --,  they soon would be turning-off the LIFE SUPPORT she was on, meaning, she’d likely die within around a WEEK...

...  George, naturally, feels at a “LOSS” of just what to “do” next...  Trying to be thoughtful to all concerned, he wanted to give Patricia’s FRIENDS a chance to come & say their “GOODBYES” to her...

...  But, before he did that, he wanted to tell his KIDS what was going on...  He thus goes to another island to retrieve Shailene...  Typically, she’d run away from the school & was on a “BENDER” with another girl at the time he’d arrived...

...  George eventually tells her she needs to come HOME because of the condition of her mom Patricia--  but, she said she wouldn’t be there unless she’s able to bring along a guy friend named Sid (NICK KRAUSE)...     
 
...  Reluctantly, George agrees to have Nick WITH Shailene, & they return to Oahu...


...  He tries talking seriously to Shailene about AMARA, saying, “Help me with her. I don't know what to DO with her...”


... At one point, he TELLS Shailene about Patricia’s hopeless condition, & wonders just WHY she’d acted so ANGRY towards her mom recently... 

...  Somewhat amazed at his words & lack of understanding, Shailene replies, didn’t he know that Patricia had been having an AFFAIR with some guy for quite some time (& THAT’S what she was angry about)?!...

...  George is stunned at the news, & quickly runs to talk to some nearby family FRIENDS, Mark Mitchell (ROB HUEBEL) & his wife Kai (MARY BIRDSONG)...


...  Grudgingly, they admit that Shailene’s words were TRUE, & they didn’t feel right bringing the situation “UP to him...  

...  George becomes obsessed with trying to FIND the guy Patricia had the affair with...  Shailene makes clear, she feels such a thing would be a WASTE of time at this stage...


...  With all the things going on, George feels obligated to inform Patricia’s immediate FAMILY about her hopeless condition...  Her brother, Barry (SCOTT MICHAEL MORGAN), appreciates the gesture...

...  But George finds it very difficult to deal with her mother, Alice “Tutu” (BARBARA L. SOUTHERN), who has a medical condition that makes it hard for her to “UNDERSTAND” the situation with Patricia...

...  And, it’s extremely hard for George to put up with her hostile father, Scott (ROBERT FORSTER), who clearly didn’t know of her affair & keeps berating HIM for how he’d TREATED her in life...

...  George eventually learns WHO the guy is who Patricia had been having the affair with— Brian Speer (MATTHEW LILLARD)...


...  George keeps “obsessing” about Matthew, & wants to try to find him on the island of KAUAI where he’s learned Matt is vacationing...
 
...  Since that island is where the family’s main PROPERTY is, he takes the KIDS along WITH him to go there, in part to “clue-them-in” a bit more about their HERITAGE...


...  Shailene & Amara (& Nick) are amazed at how BEAUTIFUL & untouched the beachfront property is...

...  On the island, he meets a number of his RELATIVES, including his cousin Hugh (BEAU BRIDGES), who --  not yet understanding the “depth” of Patricia’s health condition – comments to George on how HARD it must be for him to deal with the property situation at the same time as he’s dealing with PATRICIA’S problems...


...  Beau talks to George about how he’s sure George will make the “right” decision as to what to do with the family’s remaining PROPERTY on the island, namely, choosing the BEST OFFER from those who want to buy & develop it...

...  How will George deal with the idea of “TRACKING DOWN” MATTHEW, & what will “COME of that search?...


...  What unexpected TWIST” will arise in the midst of George’s trying to decide what to do regarding the undeveloped PROPERTY?...

...  How will the “cousins” group -- including Ralph (MATT CORBOY), Dave (TOM McTIGUE), Milo (MICHAEL ONTKEAN) & others – “RESPOND” to George’s decision?...


...  How will Shailene & Amara ultimately “DEAL” with what’s happening to their mom PATRICIA?...


...  What will George end up “DOING with his life?...


...  This is an unusually EXCEPTIONAL piece of film-making...  The STORY has loads of “heart”, alternating between humorous & sad & touching... 

...  It’s a finely-written piece, dealing with a bunch of “TRUTHS” people need to handle in life--  the “expected” & the “UNexpected”...

...  The acting is EXCELLENT overall, led by GEORGE’S highly-nuanced & sensitive work...  I think his characterization --  & the movie ITSELF --  will likely be considered for OSCAR nominations...

...  Thus, all things considered, I’m rating this at 9.00 out of 10 stars...


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Saturday, November 19, 2011

Review of film: “J. EDGAR” = about the longtime director of the FBI


2011, 11-15;  writeup completed 11-19: 

Review of film:  J. EDGAR


This 137-minute R-rated film was directed by CLINT EASTWOOD, based on TRUE events in the life of an important American historical figure in the 20th Century... 

...  It was written by Dustin Lance Black, who won a screenwriting OSCAR for the 2008 film “MILK”...

...  As the movie starts, we are introduced to a young man named J. Edgar Hoover (LEONARDO DI CAPRIO), who’s an employee in the U.S. Justice Department office in Washington, D.C....

( ...  He’d worked there since 1917, when he joined seemingly to help bring in money for his FAMILY:  that was done ostensibly because his 61-year-old father was forced to leave his government clerk job (with NO PENSION) because of having a mental illness...

...  The time (as the film begins) is 1919World War I had recently ended in Europe, & Communists had risen to control the government in RUSSIA.  Communists had also tried to gain political power in other countries, such as the U.S....

...  According to a “voice-over” by Leonardo, suspected anarchist communists have tried using BOMBS to attack various locations in the U.S., including at the home of the man he WORKS for at the Justice Department...


...  Feeling that the nation was in imminent danger from such people, we see Leonardo work tirelessly to try to root-out & ATTACK various supposed Communists & “hangers-on” around the country... 

...  Leo lives with his MOTHER, Anna Marie (JUDI DENCH).  She’s a kind of “Victorian Age” woman, wanting to keep up a sort of “high society” air about her & the “position” of her family, especially regarding her son (Leo) who she thinks is destined for “greatness”...


...  She at times demonstrates strong condescensions in certain of her attitudes, & Leo is consistently very subservient & deferential to her wishes...

...  At work, usually un-social Leo decides to ask out a sort of secretary named Helen Gandy (NAOMI WATTS)...

...  He takes her to (I think it was) the Library of Congress, & shows how HE personally devised a system of CARDS clearly showing precisely WHERE specific documents can be found (which could not be easily done previously)...


...  PROUD of what he’d accomplished, Leo further demonstrates how he wants the law enforcement agencies around the country to get FINGERPRINTS from people charged with crimes, & use that as a comparatively fast & convenient way to “TRACK DOWN” & prosecute those who’ve really perpetrated misdeeds...


...  Not having an idea of “proper” ways to act socially, on just their 3rd quasi-“date”, Leo suddenly asks Naomi to MARRY him!  She’s very taken aback, & says, while she appreciated his gesture, she simply was NOT “interested” in him that way...

...  But, tho Leo is crestfallen from Naomi’s response, he realizes he can TRUST her as a person, & keeps her as his personal secretary all THRU his career after he (in 1921) moved from being the Assistant to being the DIRECTOR of what was called the FBI (Federal Bureau of Investigation) department...

...  We see Leo has become nearly “PARANOID” in seeking-out “Communists” or other people he felt were involved in the the 1919 ATTACKS on government people around the country...

...  As Director, he was extremely “fussy” about what men were “GOOD” enough to be FBI agents, insisting (as shown in lectures to recruits) that they needed to dress “properly” (namely, very conservatively) & have no facial hair, how they were required to “CONDUCT” themselves, etc....


...  At one point, Leo is at a bar & introduced by some associates to a handsome young lawyer named Clyde Tolson (ARMIE HAMMER)... 


...  He quickly takes a “LIKING” to well-dressed & amiable Armie, & speedily promotes him to be his # 2 man” (Associate Director) in the FBI [nominally in charge of personnel and discipline]...


...  Armie is thrilled with the appointment (and we see he retained that position as long as Leo was around)...

...  In time, Armie clearly becomes very emotionallyATTACHED” to Leo & vice versa, as shown by Leo cautiously holding HANDS with him in the back seat of a car...


...  But, Leo normally acts especially “circumspect” when around Armie in “public” areas--  partly because any “overt” actions on his part would’ve met with huge “DISAPPROVAL” during such a time period...

...  And, he especially acts that way because of how his beloved mother JUDI (who he lived with into his 40’s) had made a special point to state to him that, she’d prefer that any son of hers be “DEADrather than be a “DAFFODIL” (which was her term for gay)...      

( ...  Later in the film, we see Leo & Armie argue & FIGHT about the “situation” of their relationship... 
      

( ...  During that fight, Armie frustratedly says, “You're a scared, HEARTLESS, HORRIBLE little man!"... )   

  
...  Leo keeps “pushing” Congress to keep giving his FBI more & more POWER & MONEY to operate, & is “rankled” when he’s asked to give good reasons & “JUSTIFYhis requests...


...  In 1927, Charles Lindbergh became one of the country’s biggest CELEBRITIES when he became the first person to fly solo across the ATLANTIC...  On March 1, 1932, someone KIDNAPPED Lindbergh’s 20-month old son from his home in New Jersey...

...  As shown in this movie, Leo tries to get the FBI involved in FINDING the baby & kidnapper--  but keeps being thwarted by the “LOCAL” police authorities, & by Lindbergh himself (JOSH LUCAS) who keeps trusting people Leo feels may be “involved” in the crime...

...  Leo gets extremely FRUSTRATED by his lack of “control” in the matter, & keeps trying to get more powers to handle things as HE wants...


...  To increase his own publicity, Leo works to “push” the prosecution of a certain German-born man named Bruno Hauptmann (DAMON HERRIMAN) for the Lindbergh kidnapping & the murder of his son, even tho direct “evidence” seemed to be highly SPECULATIVE or downright lacking...

...  Leo is INFURIATED by the way a Senator McKellar (MICHAEL O’NEILL) keeps QUESTIONING him in a committee hearing, such as his saying, “What exactly are your QUALIFICATIONS for the office you hold?!”...


...  Disliking how it’s pointed out that he himself had never personally been directly involved in the CAPTURE of any criminals, Leo starts to engage in what we today would call a “MEDIA campaign”, trying to put HIMSELF in the “FOREFRONT of actions against offenders (like apprehending them in person)...


...  In 1933, Franklin Roosevelt was expected to be involved in a PRESIDENTIAL race.  Wanting to increase his own “power” all the more, Leo engages in a bunch of “QUESTIONABLE” activities to try to get “dirt” on Franklin’s wife ELEANOR...

...  To keep “CONTROL” of the dubious things he does, Leo creates “CONFIDENTIAL” files (such as on Eleanor)...


...  And, he makes sure he instructs Naomi to keep a “second” set of such files for his “PERSONAL” archives (in case there’s something he needs to use to “PROTECT” himself or the like)...

...  As Leo later says in “JUSTIFYING” his actions like that, “Sometimes you need to BEND the rules, to keep your country SAFE...”  (Such a convenient “BUSH-ite” type position!...)


...  In 1934, the FBI – after a long CHASE --  was finally able to capture well-known criminal John Dillinger in Chicago [as seen in the movie “PUBLIC ENEMIES”]...


...  You might think that Leo would be pleased at all the positive PUBLICITY that event generated for the FBI... 

...  But, instead, he was incensed, because the main media hype gave the credit for Dillinger’s capture & killing to an FBI agent named Alvin KARPIS (played by MANU INTIRAYMI --  who was teenager Icheb in “STAR TREK: VOYAGER”)!... 


...  Leo kept demanding that Karpis be DEMOTED for in-effect “upstaging” him (tho that was never Karpis’ “intent” in any way)...  Here we again see another deep “defect” in the personality of Leo’s character...

...  Leo kept working to make the “G-Man” (representing “his” FBI) a highly respected & “TALKED”-about figure...
  

...  When his mother Judi DIED [in 1938], we see Leo is DEVASTATED by the event (as observed in a scene that may strike certain people as being overwrought or “overdone”)...


...  Thru the nearly 50 years he was in power under numerous Presidents, Leo’s character works to keep gathering loads of “CONFIDENTIALprivate information about anyone HE decided was “untrustworthy”...

...  That meant he secretly gathered info -- & at times mere unsubstantiated GOSSIP (including about SEX lives of people) – concerning such people as Supreme Court justices, SENATORS, political organizers, movie stars, etc...

...  Under the direction of Leo’s character, we now know “his” people regularly engaged in illegal WIRETAPS, burglaries, planting evidence & spreading FALSE rumors, & possibly the murders of certain people considered “undesirables”...

...  In the 1950’s, we see Leo continuing his ANTI-COMMUNIST activities...  He wanted the power to DEPORT people who didn’t have what he considered to be “properPOLITICAL opinions...

[ ...  Hoover in 1956 created a COINTELPRO”, standing for Counter Intelligence Program.  It used often-illegal methods to discredit and preferably get RID of any political organizations he considered to be “RADICAL”, including efforts against certain CIVIL RIGHTS leaders and groups... ]   

[ ...  It’s been reported that, by 1960, as part of Hoover’s pursuit of anyone he considered to be a “subversive”, his people had accumulated private files on more than 430,000 Americans... ]
 
...  After John F. Kennedy was elected President in 1960, he appointed his brother Robert (Bobby) as Secretary of the JUSTICE department (under which Hoover’s FBI operated)...

...  At one point, we see Leo talking to Bobby (played by JEFFREY DONOVAN) in Bobby’s office, & making clear to him that he had “transcripts” representing a confidential file on the subject of John’s AFFAIR with some woman [other than his wife Jackie]... 


...  In other words, he kept-up what could be called his “BULLYING tactics to try to get things the way he WANTED from others in power...


...  At one point after learning of the 1963 assassination of President Kennedy, Leo can be heard to comment ironically that, “POWER can CORRUPT...”


...  Leo’s character didn’t like the CIVIL RIGHTS movement (having a number of RACIST tendencies)...

...  He even went so far as to in-effect IGNORE Supreme Court rulings by REFUSING to have his FBI investigate RIOTS against black people or to protect blacks trying to PROMOTE CIVIL RIGHTS in the South...


...  We see a scene in the movie where, with NO warrant, he has his people work to gather supposedly incriminating evidence on the SEX life of Dr. MARTIN LUTHER KING, & then try to use it to force King to decline to accept the NOBEL PEACE PRIZE... 

[ ...  It’s been reported that Hoover’s actual intent from the attempted extortion was far more “deadly” in nature than that... ]


...  As the movie goes on, we see a now-OLD Leo continuing his efforts to try to control things the way HE wanted, no matter who was at the head of the government...  

...  Certain Presidents wanted to get RID of Hoover--  but were afraid to fire him, for fear of what “sensitive” PRIVATE information he might have & reveal “about” them...

...  Who --  or what -- eventually STOPPED Hoover from being in “control”?...

...  What “roles” did the characters of ARMIE & NAOMI “play” in the final story?...

...  What is the “LEGACY” of the Hoover years?...

...  All in all, I found this to be an EXCELLENT piece of work, finely capturing a long “era” in American history...

...  You have Hoover’s helpful work of MODERNIZING efforts to detect & find illegal activities, weighed “against” the EXCESSES of his methods...

...  I’ve heard some complaints about the makeup used in the film.  While Armie looked a bit “Zombie-ish” towards the end, I’m not sure of his character’s actual physical health at that time (& thus his looks may be “accurate” for his “condition”)... 

...  And, I thought Leo’s “aged” makeup (which I’ve heard took took 4-7 hours to apply) was excellent, having him truly LOOK like the old J. Edgar...

...  I found the acting in the film to be OUTSTANDING overall, & feel Leo will quite probably garner an OSCAR nomination for his work (what with the emotional ranges he strives to express over a nearly 50-year interval)...

...  Some of the “pacing” in the film is a trifle “slow” or “incomplete” at times, but I attribute that in part to the way the film chose to cover a wide PERIOD of time in a single “commercial-length” movie...

...  The scope of the fascinating movie is somewhat amazing in what’s achieved:  it’s “THOUGHT-provoking” (especially about the governmental EXCESSES & lack of proper personal accountability we need to be on GUARD against in this day & age), & I’m rating the film at 8.50 out of 10 stars...   


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