rodgailes

the late 50's was a weird yet interesting time for the musical film genre. after 25 years musicals hadn't really advanced very much. and this is apparent in damn yankees. there are some excellent fosse dance numbers, and gwen verdon is great, and the guy who plays the devil (cant remember his name) is great too. Jean stapleton (edith in "all in the family") is awesome. Its just the jokes are too far and few between and i sometimes get the feeling that the main actors would rather be elsewhere and are in their own different movie. There aren't enough show stopper dance numbers and the ones they have are just half way there..'whatever lola wants number' just doesn't do it all the way but the drunken club number at the end is pretty cool in a tongue and cheek sorta way. But the best number by far is Gwen Verdon and Fosse doing the mambo number. That is HOT!! But on the whole, the film just feels like it's over itself..been there done that..and if you're a purveyor of musicals, you'll have the same feeling as well.

five deep breaths makes several comments/questions..one being..what is manhood..black or otherwise..the other is how far does one go to prove that they have it. a pretty decent question for the post john wayne yet still john waynesque hip-hop generation. I believe this short film shows much promise. Seith man has such control over the pacing and performance he's reminiscent of an antoine Fuque more than a Spike lee, you can feel the sense of action that would burst from the screen if he had a studio budget. nonetheless he effectively builds suspense and the lead actor, jamie hector, gives a performance that today's audiences as well as audiences from the silent film era, it's all about the eyes.