Cindy Prascik's Review of Da 5 Bloods

My dears, the bad news this week is my cinema has reopened...with a full slate of movies I've already seen, and nothing I'd risk a deadly disease to see again. (*cough* Rocketman *cough*)

The good news is Netflix is premiering a buzzy, brand-new release from revered director Spike Lee, Da 5 Bloods.

Spoiler level here will be mild, nothing you wouldn't know from the trailers.

A group of veterans returns to Vietnam to repatriate a fallen colleague...and reclaim a hidden treasure.
The good news is Da 5 Bloods is a pretty engaging picture that doesn't feel long despite its boated runtime. It's painfully relevant, hammering home some difficult truths about the many sides to any story, the ambiguousness of "good guys" and "bad guys," and the ugliness of prejudice, even among those who are, themselves, victims of it. It boasts some nice performances (what a delight to see Norm Lewis!), and — between the festering wound that the Vietnam war remains in this country, and the historical footage and photos it uses to underline its own story — the film packs quite an emotional wallop.

The bad news is Da 5 Bloods is more predictable than the worst broadcast network police procedural. The aforementioned nice performances are countered by some legitimately terrible acting. The film's gruesome violence is so over the top as to be almost comical at times, and its melodramatic score is equally ridiculous. Finally Da 5 Bloods suffers a severe shortage of Chadwick Boseman. If you are watching this movie to see Chadwick Boseman, watch 21 Bridges instead. It's a better movie, and you'll get a lot more Chadwick for your buck.

Da 5 Bloods clocks in at 154 minutes and is rated R for, "strong violence, grisly images, and pervasive language."

I'd be hard-pressed to call Da 5 Bloods a good movie, but it's certainly an important one that's worth your time. Of a possible nine Weasleys, Da 5 Bloods gets five.

Until next time, dear reader(s), take care and stay well, and I'll hope to see you at the cinema soon!

MOVIE REVIEW: DA 5 BLOODS

Four African American vets battle the forces of man and nature when they return to Vietnam seeking the remains of their fallen squad leader and the gold fortune he helped them hide.

Director: Spike Lee

Cast: Delroy Lindo, Jonathan Majors, Clarke Peters, Norm Lewis, Isiah Whitlock Jr., Mélanie Thierry, Paul Walter Hauser, Jasper Pääkkönen, Jean Reno

Release Date: June 12, 2020

Genres: Drama, War

Rated R for strong violence, grisly images and pervasive language

Runtime: 2h 35min

Review:

Da 5 Bloods is a film that has a lot on its mind.  Spike Lee foregoes subtly and delivers a timely but decidedly didactic treaty on race which feels incredibly timely given the current state of the world.   Lee’s visuals here are impressively aggressive throughout with aspect ratios changing based on time periods and news reel footage interspaced to highlight film some of his points.  The story itself feels like a something for the late 70s or 80s Vietnam films which is clearly intentional.  The cast is stellar across the board with Delroy Lindo delivering some of his best work in his storied career.  It’s always great to see The Wire alums get a spotlight and both Clarke Peter and Isiah Whitlock Jr. both deliver excellent work here.  Those expecting Chadwick Boseman to be a major part of the film will likely walk away disappointed since his character gets limited screen time even though he’s one of the driving forces in the story.  While the basic plot is fairly basic, Lee uses multiple techniques to keep the story engaging but its hard not to notice that there could have been some cuts here or there to make the film tighter.  As is, the film moves at a snail’s pace working better as a series of character studies and history lesson. 

B-

Movie Reviews: UP

Saturday, May 30, 2009
Movie Reviews: UP
IN THEATERS

UP

Carl Fredricksen, a 78-year-old balloon salesman, finally fulfills his lifelong dream of a great adventure when he ties thousands of balloons to his house and flies away to the wilds of South America. But he discovers all too late that his biggest nightmare has stowed away on the trip: an overly optimistic 8-year-old Wilderness Explorer named Russell. From the Academy Award®-nominated director Pete Docter (Monsters, Inc.), Disney•Pixar’s “Up” invites you on a hilarious journey into a lost world, with the least likely duo on Earth. “Up” will be presented in Disney Digital 3-D in select theaters.

Cast: Ed Asner, Christopher Plummer, John Ratzenberger, Bob Peterson, Jordan Nagai, Delroy Lindo

Director: Pete Docter

Opened May 29, 2009

Runtime: 1 hr. 36 min.

Rated PG for some peril and action

Genres: Family-Oriented Adventure, Children's/Family

Review:

I can’t think of a studio that has a better and more impressive track record than the creative dynamo that is Pixar. Ourside of Cars, their weakest entry, each of their films have been excellent or just plain spectacular. Last year’s Wall-E was a marvel and an accomplishment that would make pretty much anything any thing else look very ordinary, even from Pixar. Up more than maintains those high standards and it also shows Pixar’s continued ability to tell incredibly heartfelt and emotional stories in an animated setting. With the opening of the film director Pete Docter takes us delicately through the main character’s life long love story and that handles weighty issues such as the couple’s inability to have children to the wife’s eventual death. The montage is told only with images and music but it’s done with such style and effectiveness that it’ll probably be the images you remember much later down the road. Once we are introduced to Carl Fredricksen, voiced excellently by Ed Asner, we feel the character’s loss and his loneliness. Asner does a wonderful job of conveying sincerity in his words in a way that it’s nearly impossible to not connect with Carl. Newcomer Jordan Nagai voices Carl’s stowaway 8-year-old Wilderness Explorer named Russell and does a wonderful job giving his bulbous shaped character an excellent sense of childlike innocence and naivety. Anser and Nagai work well off each other and their characters are perfect foils for each other; Russell is dealing with a similar sense of loss. Christopher Plummer rounds out the voice cast as the great South American explorer and adventurer Charles F. Muntz who inspired Carl and his wife Ellie as children. Muntz’s character is limited to the third more action oriented act but Plummer does a wonder job of giving Muntz a crazy Ahab sensibility. Pete Docter’s direction is well handled and the movie flows lyrically from scene to scene. The visuals are beautifully realized and are a real treat for the eyes especially if you see this in 3-D. The character design is sufficiently distinctive but you can’t help but feel like they borrowed some ideas from The Incredibles. Scripting is solid and the jokes and slapstick are fun if at times a tad predicable. Up really is another step forward for Pixar and their ability to tell a well grounded emotional story in fanciful setting in an enjoyable manner is simply unmatched.

A