tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2925606367227514818.post5452822865929377724..comments2024-03-27T15:36:10.416-07:00Comments on Film Reviews from Two Guys in the Dark: Selma, Human Capital, and PredestinationKen Burke; Pat Craighttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18358623927080966157noreply@blogger.comBlogger3125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2925606367227514818.post-70093702523418463182015-01-28T15:02:15.530-08:002015-01-28T15:02:15.530-08:00To rj and everyone else, Both in the original revi...To rj and everyone else, Both in the original review above and in this reply to rj's comments I made reference to director DuVernay as being British. I don't know where I got that idea (maybe because she cast so many Brits in major roles), but she's American through and through. This will serve as my correction for the comment above, but I'll go back into the review and remove that inaccuracy there.<br /><br />Anyone can make a mistake at any time, but this one is so completely ungrounded that I'll just have to wonder how it ever entered my consciousness nor why I was so sure of it that I didn't verify it the way I do every other damn remark I make in these reviews. Sorry for any confusion this may have caused. KenKen Burke; Pat Craighttps://www.blogger.com/profile/18358623927080966157noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2925606367227514818.post-85938834181367017942015-01-25T22:33:07.947-08:002015-01-25T22:33:07.947-08:00Hi rj, Thanks for keeping me honest here. While I...Hi rj, Thanks for keeping me honest here. While I did very much respect and enjoy <i>Selma</i>, possibly because it seemed time for <i>someone</i> to attempt a proper biography of at least part of MLK's life, you're right that director DuVernay's made a noble attempt here (as was done earlier—and ultimately more successfully—in <i>12 Years a Slave</i> by another British director, Steve McQueen) to speak to a critical period of American history but the tone and the British actors just aren't quite as on the mark as they could be. Like you, I hope that Spielberg (or even Spike Lee, if he can bring himself to it) can someday do a more complete, compelling take on MLK and the larger, current context he speaks to that truly shows us the grittiness of the South that we know all too well. KenKen Burke; Pat Craighttps://www.blogger.com/profile/18358623927080966157noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2925606367227514818.post-72271587791694327102015-01-22T04:35:32.067-08:002015-01-22T04:35:32.067-08:00I found Selma to be excellent in the introductory ...I found <i>Selma</i> to be excellent in the introductory and ending scenes but only average over the rest of the film. While the acting and dialog were good, the screenwriting could have been crisper and the lack of big name American stars probably reduced the mainstream audience. The film really drags on much of the time; possibly a reason the director received no nominations. Many of the night scenes looked like they were shot on an iphone, really poor photography. It's time for a <i>Schindler's List</i> masterpiece focused on America's prejudices.<br /><br />I found the depictions of the south in the sixties to have significantly missed the mark; not in the look but in the feel. The audience is not transported into the time or the story. The subtleties of language and the real hatred of much of the white southern working class was missed. Give me Norman Jewison's 1967 <i>In the Heat of the Night</i> any day for the gritty,. sweaty, true to life vile that the south exhibited in those days. The depiction of George Wallace totally missed the mark (perhaps a dramatic portrayal by Ricky Gervais would have pulled it off). Why can't we see controversial modern day issues presented by Hollywood instead of something I have seen on PBS too many times already? I would hope Speilberg's future work becomes the definitive effort; perhaps incorporating the MLK story as one chapter of the bigger issue; the racial divide that still exists in America today. rjhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13025728540081089210noreply@blogger.com