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Da 5 Bloods (2020)
Another Spike Lee comedy...or...
Having spent a significant part of my life living in Vietnam, I've taken something of an interest in its history and the war's effect on both its people & the combatants who came here from the US. Indeed, this period has also produced some of the most fascinating yet harrowing cinematography to be placed on celluloid (In the Year of the Pig from 1968 being one such example). So, with the prospect of four black former (albeit fictitious) G.I.s returning to find their fallen comrade and the usually controversial yet consistently good Spike Lee behind the camera, I was expecting more of his silver screen magic.
Sadly thought, what could have been a great story quickly descends into what I can only really call a farcical, agitprop strewn propaganda piece that seeks to use the main story as a sideshow for promoting the modern day vices of wallowing in self-pity, self-imposed 'victimhood' & resentment coupled with bouts of TDS & the inevitable nod to BLM. Even the archetypally contrite, guilt-ridden white girl is there too just to top it all off. Finally, many of the Vietnamese individuals who appear in the film are also portrayed as still being irate & bitter over the war when in fact, nothing could be further from the truth. The Vietnamese are some of the most magnanimous people in existence and with the exception of a few amongst their oldest generation, everybody else has moved on; something that a certain cabal of 'activists' in the West could do well to learn from and emulate.
It goes without saying that by the middle of the film my wife (who is Vietnamese) was regularly descending into uncontrollable fits of laughter over the absurdity of much of it and I would have to confess that I found a good deal of it excessively ludicrous too. Ultimately, this film is littered with multiple continuity, factual and plot errors propped up by numerous ideologically derived clichés which all serve to reduce this offering to little more than a chaotic, Kafkaesque mess. So, if you're looking for a good Spike Lee film to while away a couple of hours, then this definitely isn't the one for you...
The Interview (2014)
An Hour and a Half of Complete Tedium......
I was ultimately expecting great things from this film considering the hype that has surrounded it over the past few weeks.
Sadly, it fails to deliver on almost every level. Being littered with an overwhelming glut of predictable fart, puke and erection jokes that would no doubt invoke a hearty chortle from your average, pubescent teenager (no doubt this film's target audience?)it offers nothing of value to the discerning movie goer and if you are expecting to be entertained then look elsewhere.
In fact, this film could have been brilliant if a little more thought and effort had been put into its script. Certain scenes were crying out for a joke and yet nothing was forthcoming which further added to the tedium. Indeed, about the only redeeming feature of this poor offering was the lovely Diana Bang....