Carolyn Hastings

The Passion of The Christ

March 4, 2010 by Carolyn Hastings

Every year most Americans find themselves celebrating Easter. Whether you are a casual member of the Easter Lily and Poinsettia crowd, participate in another faith or a follower of Christ you know when spring comes, Easter can’t be far behind. Some of you may even remember actually getting new Easter clothes every year so you could look your very best at church with your family on Easter Sunday. While many of the “Easter” named events have been traded in for the likes of Spring Break, community Egg Hunts and just plain Brunch, the event that spurred the Holiday is still embedded in most of us.

My movie pick is The Passion of the Christ. This movie was released on Ash Wednesday 2004 among huge hubbub. Mel Gibson created an impassioned (pardon the pun) view of the last twelve hours of the life of Jesus of Nazareth. In my estimation, Gibson created a masterpiece. The Passion is a composite account assembled from the four Biblical Gospels of the final hours of the life of Christ.

Filmed entirely in Italy, the outdoor scenes were shot in Matera. The rest was filmed at Cinecitta Studios outside of Rome. Forty percent of it was shot at night or indoors under wraps in order to get an effect of light fighting its way out of darkness, according to Gibson.

The costumes were meticulously researched and hand-crafted by award-winning designer Maurizio Millenotti. All of the characters in the film are heard speaking the languages they would actually have spoken at the time. This means Aramaic for the Jewish characters including Christ and His disciples, and “street Latin” for the Romans. Greek, which was commonly spoken among the intellectuals of the period, was not quite as relevant to the story.

Most of the cast were hired locally except Washington born, James Caviezel, who was cast as Jesus. Chosen for the role because he was willing to commit to this unique project wholeheartedly, the talented Caviezel spent several months preparing himself physically, spiritually and emotionally for the most demanding role of his career. It was a daily struggle learning Aramaic and during production he endured full-body make-up sessions that sometimes dragged on for 10 hours. He spent entire shooting days exposed on the cross in freezing temperatures and during the grueling scourging scene one of his shoulders was dislocated. He was even struck by lightening while hanging on the cross and walked away unharmed. Maia Morgenstern, cast as Mary is a famous Romanian theater actress.

I want to invite you to experience this amazing film. Its breathtaking images, incredible acting and truly inspired directing makes it a top pick of mine. So, whatever your religious views happen to be, this slice of history is definitely worth viewing. Caution: rated R and not suitable for younger viewers. My reviews are archived on my website at www.CarolynHastings.com. I welcome your comments at chastings@rockcliff.com.

No Reservations

February 1, 2010 by Carolyn Hastings

It’s that time of year fellas. You get Christmas, then New Years, then the big one—Valentine’s Day. So it’s time to suck it up and slip the Chick Flick in the DVD player.

One of my more recent favorites is No Reservations. Now, I’ll tell you right now, there were no Oscars; not even a nomination. We’re dealing with lowered expectations. If you go into this with that in mind, I think you will be pleasantly surprised. I guarantee your girly-girl will love ya for it. She just might cuddle up on the sofa with you while you’re watching.

The second best pay-off of the evening will be that you get to watch Catherine Zeta-Jones. Now how painful can that be? Catherine plays Kate, a control-freak chef so tightly wound it’s a wonder she doesn’t pop in the steam of her own kitchen. Despite her position as reigning queen of the Manhattan foodie set, Kate has no joy; she does not really exist outside of her job and her employer-ordered therapy. She throws temper tantrums when anyone, customers included, questions the perfection of her meal creations.

There’s a big turnaround for Kate, however, when her sister dies suddenly, leaving Kate to care for her wide-eyed, mini-bohemian 10 year old niece, Zoe (Abigail Breslin) at the same time that a larger-than-life sous chef, who impossibly seems to be able to cook well, endear the staff and customers and enjoy life, gets a job in Kate’s kitchen. Nick (Aaron Eckhart) pushes all of Kate’s buttons and instantly hits it off with Zoe, and thus begins Kate’s transition from uptight head case to romantic comedy lead. Making room for Zoe and just maybe Nick in her self-focused life creates an incredible challenge.

There is nothing here to strain your brain and the cast could do a wonderful job with this one in their sleep. Zeta-Jones goes from cranky to cuddly right before our eyes. Eckhart plays the sweetly endearing Mr. Perfect with visible ease and Abigail Breslin is a mini-master of the silver screen and she just keeps getting better and better. The talents of this cast are pretty much unnecessary but they make this funny movie incredibly easy to watch.

For all the times that No Reservations is utterly conventional and predictable, it is kind enough to sidestep the contrived complications that often litter the genre—Zoe is a little girl in mourning, but she isn’t acting like a devil child out to destroy Aunt Kate. The family plight is not a downer to this movie that it could be, and even the cookie cutter romance isn’t plagued by wacky, trite misunderstandings to veer it off course.

It’s not sappy, the acting is tight and the story line…well, at least it has a story line, so pick No Reservations up, order some Chinese take-out with a single set of chopsticks and enjoy. Once again, I welcome your comments at chastings@rockcliff.com and don’t forget to go to my website for my archived movie reviews.

Tea with Mussolini

January 8, 2010 by Carolyn Hastings

A decade ago, Roberto Benigni was the talk of Hollywood and the world with his award winning Italian film Life is Beautiful. Tea with Mussolini (1999) is also a quasi-autobiography written and directed by Franco Zeffirelli. Both films set in the same time and place, about the same subject: the growing Fascist movement in Italy in the 1930’s, which eventually led to that nation’s alliance with Hitler’s Germany. Tea with Mussolini is a beautiful film with an incredible cast that gives sublime performances. It is tinged with humor even though it covers a dark and tragic subject. This film follows several plot lines all woven together.

The first story is about a boy named Luca (played first by Charlie Lucas), who is orphaned after the death of his mother and the abandonment and marriage of his social climbing father. Luca is taken in by his father’s secretary, a British woman named Mary (Joan Plowright). As the tension grows between Italy and the Allies, Luca’s father decides the English way is not for him. He sends Luca off to Austria to be introduced to the Fascist ideology. However, when Luca returns, he has not lost his love for Mary, and he shows this despite the fact that she has become his country’s enemy.

The second story is about the ladies of the British consulate, who are respected members of the community until Italy declares war on England. Suddenly these proper ladies (of which Mary is one) are considered enemy aliens and imprisoned by the government. A dowdy member of the group is Hester (Maggie Smith), the widow of Mussolini’s former ambassador to England. She is Il Duce’s biggest fan, and even meets with him where they have tea and he assures her that no harm will come to her or her friends. Though Hester’s faith in the dictator survives far beyond everyone else’s, she eventually comes to realize her tea with him was nothing but a placation.

Then there is the story of a wealthy American woman named Elsa (Cher), a perfect example of “nouveau riche,” who is despised by Hester and many of the other proper British ladies. Elsa is flamboyant, loud, and garish, all of which spells vulgarity to Hester. But she is also good-natured and full of spirit, and she dearly loves Luca, since his deceased mother was her best friend. Like Hester, she soon finds herself the enemy, and is undone by an Italian man in whom she placed her trust. Also present is Lily Tomlin as Elsa’s sister Georgie, a brash lesbian grudgingly tolerated among the stuffy British women, and Judi Dench as Hester’s eccentric friend Arabella.

But the real star, art, is the never far below the visual bounty or plot’s direction. The architecture of Florence and San Gimignano are the story’s stunning backdrops. The real story here is how easily our world can change if we don’t stay informed about what is happening! This is a luscious story set in an amazingly beautiful country. I look forward to your comments. chastings@rockcliff.com

It’s A Wonderful Life

December 10, 2009 by Carolyn Hastings

This month I’m reviewing my brother-in-law, Frank’s favorite movie, It’s a Wonderful Life. Knowing this about Frank has made me appreciate him all the more.

George Bailey, played superbly by James Stewart, is a noble man who oozes small town forthrightness. An adventurer at heart, wishing to trek to all parts of the world, he becomes a slave to sacrifice to the family’s business, the Bailey Building and Loan. When he was a young boy, George lost his hearing in one ear after saving his younger brother Harry from frigid ice water. Then, just as he was about to leave Bedford Falls, his father is stricken with a stroke and George is left to tend the piddling family business. Again and again George’s plans and dreams of leaving are thwarted with circumstance after circumstance. Finally, married with four children and no exit ticket in sight, George gives up. He hits bottom after a sudden loss of funds threatens to torpedo the business and send George to jail. Broke and disgraced, in a Christmas Eve outburst where all seems hopeless, he sets out to kill himself by jumping off a bridge. Before George can jump, he sees someone in the water so he does what George always does-he jumps in to save them. An angel sans wings named Clarence (Henry Travers) has been sent down to help George see that he is invaluable to Bedford Falls and George pulls him out of the river. Clarence is there to earn his wings so he transports George back in time for a glimpse of what his community would be if he had not been there to help them.

Without George, Bedford Falls had long since been taken over by the rich and miserly Mr. Potter (Lionel Barrymore). Through all of his sacrifices, George helped many people over the years and through the domino effect had helped even more. Bedford Falls would have been a very different place without George Bailey. In unskilled hands, this moral fable might have been dully preachy. Director Frank Capra’s inventiveness, humor and affection for human beings keep it glowing with life and excitement. Stewart’s warm-hearted playing of what might have been a goody-goody role is a constant delight. Donna Reed as Bailey’s wife Mary is incredible.

In 1946, when It’s a Wonderful Life was released, both Capra and Stewart were home from the war. Capra , an ex-Signal Corps colonel who bossed the making of wartime documentaries was one of Hollywood’s most talented moviemakers. Stewart, who worked his way up without a lot of fanfare from buck private to Air Force colonel (and bomber-wing commander) was home to return to his acting career.

Clarence is George’s guide on a journey that makes you realize how every life has great influence on all it touches. From George and Mary’s breathless first kiss to finding out that bank statements never can tell us how truly rich we are, you will love every minute of It’s a Wonderful Life.

As always, I invite your comments at chastings@rockcliff.com or go to my archives at www.CarolynHastings.com.

Planes, Trains and Automobiles

November 7, 2009 by Carolyn Hastings

Sometimes silly is just what you need. With the busy holidays coming up you might want to try a little stupid…just for fun!

Planes, Trains and Automobiles stars Steve Martin as Neal Page, an uppity marketing executive who, on a flight home at Thanksgiving, finds himself bumped from first class and forced to sit in the tourist section next to a boorish and emotionally needy Del Griffith, a shower curtain salesman played by none other than John Candy. Del dresses funny, is too eager to be helpful, and has abominable snacking habits. Most reprehensible, he stole a cab from Neal when both were fighting their way to the airport. When a snow storm in Chicago closes the airport, the plane is routed to Wichita. These two ill-matched travelers find themselves stuck together for a series of misadventures on the road.

You sense immediately that circumstances are going to make Neal and Del strange bedfellows in motel hell. You know too, that much worse will follow as this misalliance uses all the modes of transportation specified in the title (plus such unnamed delights as a farm truck, a refrigerator truck and a bus that grinds to an unpleasant halt) in the desperate effort to get home.

It is, of course, always a pleasure to watch Martin’s steam-gauge face register his rising internal pressures and to witness his exquisitely expressed blow-offs. But Candy offers even more insinuating delights. Covering lonely need with empty gab, insecurity with a not entirely trustworthy savvy, he is the most dangerous kind of pest, the type who worms rather than blusters his way into your life. The movie works the same way. For all its broadly farcical air, Planes, Trains and Automobiles finally seals its bond with the audience the same way.

Writer, director, producer John Hughes drew out superb performances by both leads. Man versus technology has been one of the staples of screen comedy since the earliest silent days, and Hughes makes the most of the format here packing as many of the frustrations of modern life as he can into this calamitous travelogue of roadside America.

Now a word about Canadian Actor John Candy. John Franklin Candy (yes, that was his real name) died of a heart attack at the age of 43 while filming Wagons East in Durango, Mexico. Primarily a character actor, John was in so many riotous comedies there are too many to list here. He left two children, one long term marriage and was memorialized on one Canadian stamp. He left a legacy of laughter.

While Planes, Trains and Automobiles has an R rating (Martin drops the F-word about 20 times in a single scene) it is still being quoted by a whole generation. So, either watch it after the young ones are abed or do some real explaining before it starts, but find the time during this season to cuddle up on the couch and laugh till your sides hurt. Once again, I invite your comments at chastings@rockcliff.com or view my archived movie reviews at www.CarolynHastings.com.

ALIVE AT THE MOVIES
CAROLYN HASTINGS