Movie Review Fifty Shades Freed

Fifty Shades Freed (2018)

Directed by James Foley

Written by Niall Leonard 

Starring Dakota Johnson, Jamie Dornan, Rita Ora, Luke Grimes, Victor Rasuk, Jennifer Ehle, Marcia Gay Harden

Release Date February 9th, 2018 

Female sexuality remains a barrier for many men. Think about it, we still have laws in many places in this country that REQUIRES half the population to wear a shirt when they go outside, because apparently boobs have some mysterious and dangerous power to them. This is reflected in modern movie culture which, despite having gone through periods marked by movies like Last Tango in Paris and 9 and ½ Weeks, has somehow become more uptight.

This, I believe, explains part of the fascination and cultish devotion surrounding E.L James’ 'Fifty Shades' franchise. Despite what are some obvious flaws in the storytelling, the freedom of Anastasia Grey’s sexuality, in the movies at least, if not the books which I have refused to read, marks a departure from most of modern popular culture. Dakota Johnson’s assured and enjoyed nudity may happen in the form of an insipid pop melodrama but taken on its own context, it’s among the most mature displays of sexuality in modern popular culture.

This brings us to the latest film in the 'Fifty Shades' franchise, Fifty Shades Freed. I will not argue that Fifty Shades Freed is a good movie; it’s most certainly not, from the perspective of just being a movie. However, as a ripe and rare display of female sexuality, again, apart from the book which I have heard is less kind to the Anastasia character than the movies, all credit to Dakota Johnson.

Fifty Shades Freed picks up the story of Anastasia Steele and Christian Grey (Jamie Dornan) at their wedding, a surprisingly austere affair. We are thrust immediately into the nuptials which aren’t nearly as lavish as you’d imagine; especially when compared to the rest of the movie which is little more than architecture porn. Ana and Christian seem to have reached a place of mutuality though his jealousy is easily peaked, as when Ana decides to go topless in San Tropez.

Find my full length review in the Geeks Community on VocalFind my full length review in the Geeks Community on Vocal

Movie Review: Feel the Noise

Feel the Noise (2007)

Directed by Alejandro Chomski 

Written by Albert Leon 

Starring Omarion, Malik Yoba, Victor Rasuk, Jennifer Lopez, Zulay Henao 

Release Date October 5th, 2007

Published October 5th 2007 

There is a reason some films aren't screened for critics and the most prominent reason is, the filmmakers know the film stinks. That must have been the case for the new rap drama Feel The Noise which was held from critics despite the quality assuring imprimatur of producer Jennifer Lopez. The career freefall of the once hot Ms. Lopez already consumed the Hector Lavoe biography El Cantante earlier this year.

Now Lopez throws some cold water on the burgeoning career of rapper/dancer Omarion. Casting the You Got Served star as an aspiring Puerto Rican hip hop star, Omarion is just one of the many failures of the terrifically awful Feel The Noise.

Rob (Omarion) can't stay out of trouble. When he tries to steal the hubcaps of a well known gang member, his mother sends him to Puerto Rico to live with his estranged father (Giancarlo Esposito). Grumpy about having to leave the bright lights of New York City, Rob makes things miserable in Puerto Rico until he meets his half brother Javi (Victor Rasuk) who introduces him to Puerto Rico's version of hip hop called Raggaeton.

Soon Rob and Javi are recording their own Puerto Rican hip hop tracks and are getting discovered by a shady New York producer who likes their music but really has his eyes on Rob's new girlfriend C.C (Zulay Henao). The producer takes all three back to New York where stardom awaits. Or not, who knows.

The title Feel The Noise has absolutely nothing to do with the story being told in Feel The Noise. There is a night club in Puerto Rico called The Noise, but other than that, I can't figure where this title came from. If only this nonsense title were this films biggest problem. Unfortunately, Feel The Noise features supremely dull characters, cinematography that looks as if it were captured on a cellphone and one of the worst scripts this side of Mariah Carey's Glitter.

I mention Glitter because Feel The Noise mimics that films rags to riches in the music biz story but without the so bad it's kind of entertaining vibe. Feel The Noise is just bad, bad, bad.

The script for Feel The Noise, written by Albert Leon, is singularly brutal. How's this for a rousing, compelling exhange:

C.C: Come have a cigarette with me

Rob: OK

CC: I don't actually smoke

Rob: Me neither

Woody Allen eat your heart out. With ear popping dialogue like that it's no wonder Feel The Noise is so darn compelling. The dialogue is aided by a performance by Omarion that could not be more bored distracted. Though he wasn't half bad in the dance drama You Got Served, Omarion is not much of an actor. Saddled with a script as god awful as Feel The Noise, Omarion's many faults are highlighted and exposed.  

Worse yet is the music of Omarion in Feel The Noise. His attempts at typical hip hop in the first act and Raggaeton in the second and third act are all just awful. The star of the movie is shown up badly by Raggaeton pro's like Julio Voltio Ramos who captures what I'm sure everyone involved with Feel The Noise wanted to capture with Omarion's character, the rich, vibrant, hip shaking sound of Raggaeton which matches the lyricism and  flow of hip hop with the rhythm and speed of latin music.

It's likely that for the money it took to make Feel The Noise there could have been a documentary on Voltio Ramos. His Raggaeton raps are, all too briefly, the only entertaining moments in the otherwise drab and dull melodramatic morass that is Feel The Noise.

Movie Review Lords of Dogtown

Lords of Dogtown (2005) 

Directed by Catherine Hardwicke

Written by Stacy Peralta 

Starring Emile Hirsch, Victor Rasuk, John Robinson, Heath Ledger, Michael Angarano 

Release Date June 3rd, 2005 

Published June 2nd, 2005 

If there is one character trait that defines the southern California surf kids turned skateboard legends profiled so memorably in the documentary Dogtown and Z Boys and now in the film Lords of Dogtown it is an uncompromising will to do whatever they want. However, compromise is exactly what Lords of Dogtown is. Compromised to achieve maximum mainstream appeal at the expense of the colorful characters that so obviously populate its cast.

Lords of Dogtown is the autobiographical account of the rise of skateboard culture in Southern California in the 1970s and the leaders of this new sport's aesthetic. Written by Z-Boy Stacey Perralta we know the story is authentic but it's also obviously compromised for mainstream appeal by director Catherine Hardwicke and a glut of suits from Columbia Pictures eager to tap the rebellious cool of skateboard culture for a quick buck.

John Robinson, so memorable in Gus Van Sant's indie flick Elephant, plays Peralta as a straight arrow kid whose only personality seems to come from his skateboarding. With his friends Jay Adams (Emile Hirsch; Secret Lives Of Altar Boys) and Tony Alva (Victor Rasuk; Raising Victor Vargas), Perralta grabbed his skateboard just to have a good time after school and ended up finding a calling that would last the rest of his life.

It is the life arcs of these three characters that are the thrust of the drama of Lords Of Dogtown, unfortunately scenes that might expand and deepen those arcs are left on the cutting room floor seemingly to give the film a more marketable run time of just under two hours and to make room for more skating scenes, also a nod to the marketing department.

It's a shame because anyone who saw the documentary Dogtown and Z Boys Directed by Mr. Perralta knows that these kids' lives were just as fascinating as their athleticism. In Lords Of Dogtown there are a number of nods in the direction of these characters and the moments that would change and define their lives but they too often get cut short.

I do not blame director Catherine Hardwicke entirely for the compromised nature of Lords of Dogtown. It seems all throughout the film that she is trying to dig deeper but is constantly being undermined by the studio and its final say in the film's cut.

Everything from the look of the film-- this gorgeous amber hue that captures the heat of the streets of Santa Monica-- to the casting of hot young indie talents like Hirsch and Rasuk to even the hiring of Ms. Hardwicke has the feel of indie barbarians crashing the gates of corporate Hollywood. Sadly you can't fight city hall and you damn sure can't fight the marketing department of a major corporate studio.

Jay Adams' story is the kind of tragedy that great drama is made of. While Stacey Perralta and Tony Alva traveled the world on their skateboards, Adams stayed behind in Dogtown, the nickname for the shoreside ghetto of Santa Monica California, and fell into all of the typical traps: gangs, drugs and violence. Watching the impetuous and impish Adams in the person of the terrific Emile Hirsch go from beach blonde skateboarder to bald headed tattooed gangster and eventually on to prison is a very dramatic arc that gets merely glossed over in the film so that we can get to see more skateboarding.

Perralta and Alva get equally glossed over treatments. The only impression the film leaves of Stacey Perralta is that of a straight arrow, almost nerdy child saint who is about as rebellious as a Hanson concert. As for Alva, his legendary ego is well played by Victor Rasuk but that seems to be his only character trait aside from his astonishing skills on a skateboard.

Skateboarders and fans of the sport will find a lot to love about Lords of Dogtown. The skateboarding is pretty spectacular and terrifically filmed. Though it's not nearly as breathtaking as it is in the documentary footage in Dogtown and Z Boys, it's still quite good and will appeal to fans of the sport.

The film also features a very entertaining performance by Heath Ledger as the skate shop owner and Z-Boys guru Skip Engblom. Ledger does not nearly get the screen time he needs to fully flesh out this character but fans of the actor may find this to be some of his best work.

Lords of Dogtown is a disappointment for fans of the documentary Dogtown and Z-Boys who realized while watching the doc what an extraordinary story could be told about these characters. It would have to have been a sprawling three hour multi-character piece in the Paul Thomas Anderson spirit to work, but it definitely could have worked. Instead, Lords Of Dogtown is yet another compromised product of the Hollywood corporate mindset. Well acted and professionally directed but nearly as shallow as the swimming pools where the Z-Boys polished their aesthetic.