by Robin E. Simmons
BLACKFISH
This scathing, searing, aggressive, impassioned and necessary documentary about the exploitation and abuse of highly intelligent creatures for profit will forever change the way you look at performance killer whales. It’s a psychological thriller that packs an emotional wallop as well as a ferocious moral manifesto.
Many of us have know the excitement and awe of watching 8,000-pound orcas, or “killer whales,” soar out of the water and fly through the air at sea parks, in what seems like perfect harmony with their trainers. This well-crafted documentary unravels the complex life-story of Tilikum, the notorious performing whale who — unlike any orca in the wild — has taken the lives of several people while in captivity. So what’s gone wrong? Shocking, never-before-seen footage and riveting interviews with trainers and experts reveal the orca’s extraordinary intelligence and emotional nature as well as the species’ exceedingly cruel treatment while in captivity over the last four decades. The deception of park managers and owners toward guests and trainers is appalling. And the growing disillusionment, and finally outrage of sea park employees who were – and continue to be — misled and endangered by the highly profitable sea-park industry is finally documented. This gut-wrenching story challenges us to consider our relationship to nature and shows how little we have learned from our fellow, intelligent and enormously sentient cousins in the sea. This extraordinary film is fueled by a righteous moral rage that might actually make a difference in the real world. Let’s hope it does. Meet filmmaker Gabriela Cowperthwaite for a lively Q&A after the August 30, 6:30 showing at Cinemas Palme d’Or. Now playing. Highly recommended.
New for the home theater:
THE GREAT GATSBY
Baz Luhrman’s visualization of Gatsby’s doomed obsession is at least the third cinematic iteration of Fitzgerald’s iconic novel. After multiple viewings, my affection for this film has grown. Even in 3D, which I usually hate, the glitter and frantic energy of the jazz age seductively engaging. On a hi-def home screen, it’s my impression the images, including 3D, are even sharper than they were on the theater screen and the sound (in whatever mode is available to you) is rich and crisp. DiCaprio is a perfect Gatsby. Brit actor Carey Mulligan is fine as Gatsby’s long love obsession Daisy Buchannan. We see and feel in her face what Gatsby saw — and sees. And Tobey MacGuire is Nick Carraway, the cool, would-be writer from the Midwest who comes to New York City in the spring of 1922 and tells us the big tragedy that matches the explosive era of loose morals, hot jazz and bootleg barons. Generous extras include “The Greatness of Gatsby,” Fitzgerald’s Visual Poetry, deleted scenes, features on the music and fashions of the era and more. Warner Bros. Blu-ray. Recommended.
BETTY BOOP: Volume 1
Max and Dave Fleischer’s naughty, sassy, saucy, feisty adult cartoon girl has been remastered in 4K and the toons look amazing in their clean retro brilliance. For many animation fans, this is THE release of the year for home video. The twelve titles on this disc-to-own are: “CHESS NUTS” (1932), “BETTY BOOP, M.D.” (1932), “BETTY BOOP’S BAMBOO ISLE” (1932), “BETTY BOOP FOR PRESIDENT” (1932)
“BETTY BOOP’S PENTHOUSE” (1933), “BETTY BOOP’S BIRTHDAY PARTY” (1933), “BETTY BOOP’S MAY PARTY” (1933), “BETTY BOOP’S HALLOWE’EN PARTY” (1933), BETTY BOOP’S RISE TO FAME” (1934), “BETTY BOOP’S TRIAL” (1934), “BETTY BOOP’S LIFE GUARD” (1934), “THE FOXY HUNTER” (1937). Ms Boop starred in over 100 titles and Mae Questal did the inimitable voice of Betty in the majority of the films. (You may remember her as Aunt Bethany in CHRISTMAS VACATION.) As exquisite as this collection is, I am surprised there are so few titles (only 80 minutes total), no commentaries (Jerry Beck, where are you?) and no additional material of any kind. My favorite “Boop” is “I’LL BE GLAD WHEN YOU’RE DEAD, YOU RASCAL YOU” (1932). It features Koko the Clown, Bimbo and special guest Louis Armstrong and his orchestra playing “You Rascal You” written by Sam Theard in 1931. I hope it’s included in a future volume. Olive Films. Blu-ray. Recommended.
SHADOW DANCER
Collette McVeigh (Andrea Riseborough) is a single mom and Republican living in Belfast with her mother and hardcore IRA brothers. She is arrested for “participating” in a failed IRA bomb plot in London. An MI5 officer gives her an impossible choice: go to prison for 25 years or return to Belfast and spy on her family. Collette trusts the MI5 officer to protect her and her son and returns home to Belfast, but when her brothers are ambushed, suspicions of an informant change everything for Collette as she, her son and family are suddenly put in great danger. James Marsh’s British thriller is a potent, absorbing and intelligent study of family ties. Magnolia. Blu-ray.
Also available:
THE WALKING DEAD: The Complete Third Season
Starz/Anchor Bay Blu-ray.
ECLIPSE SERIES 39: Early Fassbinder includes the politically charged films Rainer Werner Fassbinder, the enfant terrible of New German Cinema, made during his first three years as a filmmaker (”Love is Colder than Death,” “Katzelmacher,” “Gods of the Plague,” “The American Soldier” and “Beware of a Holy Whore”). Criterion.
And finally…
If you were as dazzled by the incredible visual world of ELYSIUM as I was, you will enjoy this terrific collection of images and revealing comments about the creative process of designing the two 2154 future worlds of the movie.
Check out “ELYSIUM: The Art of the Film” by Mark Salisbury with a forward by writer director Neill Blomkamp (Titan Books $39.95).
Join the conversation. RobinESimmons@aol.com
