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Reviews
Lackawanna Blues (2005)
S. Epatha Merkerson Shines
S. Epatha Merkerson shines as Nanny in this touching and vibrant look at the life of Ruben Santiago, Jr. (Marcus Franklin) while growing up under the guardianship of Nanny. The film gives a good character study of both Nanny and Ruben and manages to capture life's ups and downs in a realistic fashion unlike so many memoirs that are made into film. The supporting cast adds much spark and many recognizable faces appear in smaller roles including Mos Def, Macy Gray, Terrence Dashon Howard, Rosie Perez, Louis Gossett, Jr., Liev Schreiber, Jimmy Smits, Ernie Hudson, Delroy Lindo, and Patricia Wettig. Loses some steam and vibrancy towards the end, and the ending sequence leaves a bittersweet feeling. But, overall a great film with a truly outstanding performance by Merkerson.
Wonderland (2003)
No one seems to be able to breathe any life into this biopic.
Even with a cast that boasts such generally reliable names as Val Kilmer and Lisa Kudrow, Wonderland fails to yield any sense of depth to this film. It barely brushes the surface of the incidents that happened on that July night in 1981. Kilmer just goes through the motions as John Holmes and Kudrow and Kate Bosworth are both hopefully miscast in the other two lead roles; as Holmes's wife and underage girlfriend, respectively. The rest of the cast has such small roles that it's impossible to get any dimensions from them. The film also stars Carrie Fisher, Ted Levine, Franky G, MC Gainey, Dylan McDermott and a cameo from Paris Hilton.
The Dark Angel (1935)
Effective World War I -Era Soaper
This was the film that helped boost Merle Oberon's career to new heights. She received her only Oscar nod for portraying Kitty Vane, the childhood sweetheart of Allen (Fredric March). The two plan to be married before the onset of WWI but are unable to because Allen is redeployed. So, as fate has it tragedy ensues and she ends up marrying Allen's brother George (Herbert Marshall). I'm not giving away the rest of the film. Great film score by Albert Neumann and a wonderful production from Samuel Goldwyn compliment the three leads. The film was reportedly a major success in 1935. For those interested it was previously filmed in 1925 with Ronald Colman and Vilma Banky in the March and Oberon roles, respectively. The film also stars Frieda Inescort.