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Archives for February 2013

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Happy Birthday (Times Two)!

Just wanted to dedicate a little space to extend birthday felicitations to two leading ladies of the silver screen, who ironically enough, shared the screen in the classic films, Father of the Bride and Father’s Little Dividend.

 

First, there was …

The Mother of the Bride (Joan Bennett)

Joan-Bennett

Ms. Bennett is unfortunately not well renowned for her work nowadays by large swaths of movie lovers, but in her time she sure did leave a mark – for my money at least – in some great classic film noirs. One that I particular liked was Woman in the Window, having previously written about the film on my blog.

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… and there is the Bride herself (Dame Elizabeth Taylor), who I have also covered on this site on the sad occasion of her passing a couple of years ago. She is also personal favorite of my Mom, who singled out her performance in Cat on a Hot Tin Roof as one of her all-time favorites (Mom has taste).

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What are some of your favorite films featuring one (or both) of these actresses?  Share your picks below

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Tuesday’s Overlooked Film: Rosewood (1997), directed by John Singleton

For many John Singleton broke new ground with his debut feature Boys N the Hood. While I admit I was quite taken with the film upon its release, it personally has not aged very well for me. The film has a luster to it (a la an afterschool special) that my advanced years would not expect with such a downtrodden subject matter.

However, with the release of 1997’s Rosewood, I think that Singleton has produced his best work to date.

SYNOPSIS

Rosewood is the true story of an almost unknown incident in a small Florida town, ‘Rosewood’ (town’s name was fictionalized for purposes of the film) – the town was inhabited almost entirely by law-abiding African- Americans, most of whom were prosperous, middle-class property landowners. On January 1, 1923, following the false testimony of a white woman against a black man, the town was obliterated by mobs of angry white residents from a neighboring community, who were seeking revenge.

The graphic details of how the inhabitants of Rosewood are on full display for the viewer in this film.

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Although in a supporting role, the shining gem of Rosewood is Mr. Don Cheadle as the resilient Sylvester. On the opposite end of the spectrum, I was not overly convinced by the performance of Ving Rhames as Mann. I think a main reason for this is he is clearly one of the characters who is clearly an invention of the filmmakers – his ‘larger than life” presence in the film at times felt like it took me out of the drama and action that was otherwise rooted in a reality.

The film also stars Jon Voight and Esther Rolle.

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Please make sure to check out other “overlooked” titles by visiting Todd Mason’s Sweet Freedom blog.

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