In Defense Of Cuba Gooding....

Yep, you read it right. I will be the first one to lay into Cuba when he's cooning it up with drivel such as Snow Dogs, Boat Trip, and Daddy Day Camp. Horrible! But when he's doing drama? Not so much.

I started this blog because of the film "Shadowboxer" (I reviewed it HERE-my very first post, and with zero comments!), and despite what most folks say, I saw what he was trying to do in it. His performance was understated, thought provoking, and powerful--which is extremely hard to do when you barely say 2 words for most of the movie. We all know he was great in Boyz N' The Hood, a dramatic role that was his break-out.

Now I came upon a film called "Linewatch", which I posted about a year ago, and thought would be a feature film, but seems to have ended up in the DVD bin. It co-stars Sharon Leal and Evan "La Michael" Ross. It is about a border patrolman (Gooding), who leads a quiet, non-consequential existence in a non-descript small bordertown. His life is turned upside down when his former shady "associates" show up to ask for a favor.

To say more than that would reveal spoilers, and I want you guys to rent it. It may start off a bit slow for some, but it gets progressively better as the movie goes on and more is revealed. Cuba doesn't say much in this film either, but all of his emotions--anger, pain, frustration, compassion, all show on his face plainly, and in a way most actors would be lucky to do. It is hard to imagine him after viewing this in his cooning roles, just as it's hard to imagine him in a film like "Linewatch" when he's cooning. How does he do that? Hopefully I wasn't just sucked in, cause my favorite genre is action/suspense thrillers, and it really was a Saturday afternoon movie, which is when I watched it. I say rent it, and watch it on a lazy Saturday or Sunday afternoon.

Which brings me to my next point; do some movies seem better when we watch them at home?

I am not a big fan of going to the theater. At all. Unless it is for a film festival or an advanced movie preview, as the audiences there are pretty intent on being there just to watch and be quiet, and are pretty well behaved. At a general theater however, there are folks talking over the movie (sometimes yelling), kicking the back of your chair, showing up all kinds of late and blocking the screen, and sometimes sounding like a small zoo with all of the crunching, slurping, and everything else that goes along with eating a bunch of overpriced garbage from the snack bar. It is also sometimes as cold a a frozen tundra, with the AC on full blast--not to mention spending $10 for a matinee, and $13/14 dollars for a night show (at least in my neck of the woods--no dollar theaters here!)

At home you can fully focus on the movie, and depending on who you like to spend your time with, will probably have none of the distractions of the theater going experience. Does that absence of annoyance and grouchiness make us more generous to the film we are watching?

Case in point Linewatch, and two other non-Black films I saw over the past few days; "Burn After Reading" and "Ghost Rider" (yeah I know I'm late). Despite what the critics say (I am barely listening to them at all anymore) I thoroughly enjoyed all of them, and recommend that you see them too, if you haven't already. Burn After Reading is a study that so-called "smart" people can be just as dumb as "dumb" people, and that most folks are living their lives purely based on how the world affects them, and only them. It also shows that a little paranoia can go a looooong way (is that a Cohen Brothers political analogy?). Ghost Rider was just pure dumb, exhilarating comic book fun, if you are willing to leave all of your expectations at the door. And I have always loved Nicholas Cage.

Would I feel the same way if I saw any of these movies at the theater? When I think about it, to be honest, probably not--but see them anyway!