REVIEW: "A Star Is Born" Sings Phenomenally, But Is Nevertheless a Tragedy

A few years ago, I was browsing through a DVD bin at Wal-Mart and came across a concert DVD of Lady Gaga. It had pictures of some of her in some of the wild and weird wardrobes she's become synonymous with in her music career. But the one photo that caught my attention was a previous headshot of her without all that. No makeup. No costumes. Just her.

I spent some time listening to snippets of some of her hit songs before attending a screening of A Star Is Born, the latest remake of the 1937 film with Janet Gaynor. (This story of a tragic romance had been made two other times before--in 1954 with Judy Garland, and in 1976 with Barbara Streisand.) It's amazing that after a decade in the music industry with hits like "Poker Face," "Bad Romance," "Born This Way," and "Give Me a Million Reasons" (arguably her best song to date) and starting an acting career with "American Horror Story" and two films directed by Robert Rodriguez, Gaga (born Stefani Germanotta) breaks out on screen with a truly vulnerable and genuine performance opposite Cooper (who makes an impressive directorial debut as well). Gaga even shows echoes of Garland in her performance.

This story of a new talent that rises while another falls is nothing new to the film industry, as already noted. What Cooper and Gaga do with the material (along with co-screenwriters Eric Roth and Will Fetters) is fresh, raw, and phenomenal. Cooper is dynamic and emotionally complex from his opening ballad as country-rock musician Jackson Maine, an alcoholic with progressive hearing loss. But when he inadvertently walks into a drag bar late at night and discovers struggling artist Ally (performing a rendition of Edith Piaf's "La Vie en Rose" in its native French), he's amazed. Almost immediately, when they hang out for the first time, and he hears her write and sing an original song for the first time, it's like magic.

It's perhaps a gross understatement that Gaga's performance fits into the list of other successful leaps that female artists have made in becoming actresses, from Cher to Madonna to Bette Midler and, of course certainly, Streisand. The well-deserved acclaim her performance, in particular, has been getting is overhyped, maybe, but it's no question that when Ally sings, you can almost hear a pin drop (listen to the beautiful "Always Remember Us This Way" and the bittersweet ballad "I'll Never Love Again" and watch her body language). And when she and Cooper sing the now-signature "Shallow" for the first time on stage together (and the music in this film was all reportedly done live, for the record), it's like witnessing a classic movie moment in the making. These are some of the best original songs I've heard in a film since The Greatest Showman last year.

Bradley Cooper and Lady Gaga knock it out of the park

As the title of this review indicates, however, this is also a tragic and heartbreaking story. For one thing, it, unfortunately, walks through paths of brief sex scenes, pervasive strong language, and drug and alcohol content to tell its story. It may be about pursuing dreams, as well as understanding (and illustrating) the difference between mere talent and how you use it. When Ally sees a billboard of herself during her growing and promising career, there's a sense that she's forgetting who she is. As Jackson tells her candidly, "If you don't dig deep in your . . . soul, you won't have legs," as if he's trying to warn her. "You just tell them what you want to say [no matter what]," he adds. (She had asked him earlier how he constantly deals with people who talk to him like he's not a real person.)

But A Star Is Born also presents the dark side of fame and a harsh side of reality, in terms of what the industry can do to people (both professionally and emotionally), not to mention romance and the possibility of (figuratively) fading away from the spotlight. Nowhere is this, perhaps, best expressed than in Jackson's guitar ballad, "Maybe It's Time." "You're not going to get back what you lost," argues Jackson's older brother Bobby, regarding Jackson's hearing aids and progressive loss, "It's the only way to help what you still have."

For Jackson and Ally, there seems to be a sense of things happening so fast for them, as musicians and as people. Jackson's "star" predictably falls. Still, we worry hard for him, as Ally unconditionally does; what he's contemplating, and if he's going to fall off the deep end. A Star Is Born also seems to carry the notion of not really knowing people in the spotlight, despite what their music and performances express, if only for a few moments.

REVIEW: "Halloween" or, A Forty-Year Slate That's As Eerie and Disturbing As Ever

I spent eight years trying to reach him, and another seven trying to keep him locked away, because I knew that behind that boy's eyes was purely and simply evil.

These words (at least in horror cinema) were unforgettably and chillingly spoken by Dr. Sam Loomis (the late Donald Pleasance), describing the character of Michael Myers, an mysterious and disturbed killer who, as a six-year-old child, murdered his sister and became institutionalized, only to escape fifteen years later and bring his reign of terror on the small town of Haddonfield, Illinois, on October 31, 1978, in John Carpenter's iconic and terrifying horror classic Halloween.

When creating the script and characters, Carpenter and co-writer/co-producer Debra Hill not only incorporated some common fears associated with horror and suspense a la Alfred Hitchcock, but also a villain that had a complete lack of sympathy and relatable qualities. In two words, Michael Myers would represent "Evil Incarnate," not to mention a modern day "boogeyman."

Made on a low budget, the film nevertheless took full advantage of its technical aspects, including several tracking shots from Michael's perspective (remember that nerve-racking opening), shots of him standing and staring blankly in the dark (his infamous William Shatner-esque mask and large kitchen knife in tact), and topped with Carpenter's appropriately-placed (and eerie) score. And, as another Hitchcock homage, Carpenter cast a then-unknown Jamie Lee Curtis (daughter of Psycho actress Janet Leigh and actor Tony Curtis), who went on to claim the title of "Scream Queen" from the late 70s to the early 80s (her other credits at the time would include Halloween II, Prom Night, and The Fog) as Laurie Strode, who stood out as the smartest of a group of high school babysitters stalked by Michael on Halloween night, and became the final survivor of the night.

This latter notion (when one considers the other young characters' sexual objectives, not to mention what happens to Michael's sister in the film's opening scene) may have reportedly created the misconception or myth that only virgins survive scary movies, and that sex equals death. (At least, that's what the 1996 film Scream claims.) Nevertheless, this traumatic experience takes a toll on Laurie, as well as the fact that Michael Myers apparently can't be killed. Is he human? Is he supernatural? Is he something else? "You can't kill the boogeyman," says Tommy, the little boy Laurie babysits and tries to protect.

These mysteries and mythologies about Michael would carry into several sequels, beginning with the 1981 movie, which finds Michael stalking Laurie in a hospital further into the same night as the first film, followed by the anthology (and Michael Myers-less) piece Season of the Witch (1982). Curtis returned for the 20th anniversary sequel Halloween: H20 (1998), and made a brief cameo in the poorly-received and disappointing Halloween: Resurrection (2002), before musician Rob Zombie put his own twisted and violent spin on the franchise with two films (from 2007 and 2009, respectfully).

Since the 1978 original, Carpenter went on to helm other classic horror features like 1980's The Fog and 1983's adaptation of Stephen King's Christine. He also worked on several films with actor Kurt Russell (including Escape From New York, The Thing, and Big Trouble in Little China), and even helped actor Jeff Bridges nab a Best Actor Oscar nomination for 1984's Starman. But he hadn't directed a feature film since 2010's little-seen The Ward with Amber Heard.

John Carpenter and Jamie Lee Curtis behind the scenes of 2018's Halloween

So when director David Gordon Green (whose resume includes various genres of film) and co-writer Danny McBride (a comic actor whom Green directed in films like Pineapple Express) approached Carpenter with their vision for a new Halloween, he gave his approval, for one, due to the new story's homage to the original film while standing on its own, and written as if the sequels made since 1978 had never happened. Curtis (who shares a co-producing credit with Carpenter and Get Out producer Jason Blum) was reportedly just as floored, and was excited about how Laurie Strode was written: as an older woman, struggling with PTSD, and who has been preparing for Michael Myers' return.

Death has come to your little town, Sheriff. You can either ignore it or you can help me stop it.
~Sam Loomis, Halloween (1978)

Many critics and viewers (including Carpenter and Curtis) have been calling the latest film the best since the original. And it is, agreeably, effective and electrifying, with dashes of genuine and unexpected humor thrown in. There are even many clever homages to the original film, but with a twist. (One such scene had the audience at the screening I attended clapping and cheering.) Despite some stereotypical horror conventions thrown in, many have considered this a strong film in the current #MeToo movement, what with Strode's character arc, as well as that of her daughter Karen (Judy Greer), who believes she's lost her childhood because Laurie has tried to prepare her to face evil in the world, and granddaughter Allyson (a breakout Andi Matichak), who grows concerned and possibly sympathetic of her grandmother. And the story effectively handles trauma and tragedy and how these three generations of family have been affected by it and handle it, even as two investigative journalists (and a questionable psychiatrist) try to understand Laurie's connection to Myers, and particularly Michael's motivations and emotions (if any). "There's nothing to learn," claims Laurie at one point, implying that nothing can be gained from "evil Incarnate".

That being said, the film does walk quite a dreaded balance between humanity and violence. And Michael's killing spree in this story is as violent and gruesome as it's, perhaps, ever been. While the original film relied more on psychological terror and screams, the new installment is bloody and graphic with various types of stabbings, head smashes, and butchery. We mustn't forget this is, first and foremost, a slasher film.

"There's a reason we're supposed to be afraid of this thing," says local sheriff Frank Hawkins (Will Patton). Afraid, yes. But, like Laurie Strode (who's certainly come a long way here), we can be prepared to face it and fight it. But that is far from a recommendation for viewing this film.

REVIEW: "Ghostbusters" or, THE Classic Scary Comedy

There's no denying that Ghostbusters (the 1984 original film, directed by Ivan Reitman and written by two of the film's stars, Dan Ackroyd and Harold Ramis) is a classic comedy. Even more, it's an unprecedented culmination of comedy, improvisation, horror, science-fiction, and special-effects. After all, Reitman, Ackroyd, and Ramis, along with Bill Murray and Rick Moranis, have been involved with some of the most acclaimed comedy films and T.V. shows of the era, including "Saturday Night Live" (1975-present), "SCTV" (1976-1981), Animal House (1978), The Blues Brothers (1980), Caddyshack (1980), National Lampoon's Vacation (1983), Stripes (1981), and Trading Places (1983). This marked the first time they've all worked together on the same project.

In essence, Ghostbusters is unquestionably the quintessential film to effectively balance improv comedy and special effects, further paving the way for future films like Men In Black (1997) and most of the films in the Marvel Universe. It's quirky characters remain iconic, from the carefree Peter Venkman (the always-ingenious Murray) to fascination-fanatic Ray Stantz (the always-intellectual Ackroyd); the Twinkie-loving, plays-it-straight Egon Spengler (the professor-like Ramis); new-recruit Winston (Ernie Hudson); motormouth Lewis Tully (80s/90s dad Moranis); the beautiful Dana Berret (Ellen Ripley herself, Sigourney Weaver); and deadpan receptionist Janine (Annie Potts). And who could forget those Ghostbuster jumpsuits, complete with the now-famous ghost logo and proton packs? Not to mention the various iconic lines and moments, many of which were reportedly ad-libbed by Murray.

The screenplay went through several drafts before arriving to the finished film that fans and critics know today. (This video brilliantly examines the initial script to the finished product, including the film's premise and designing principle, which could have gone several creative and bizarre ways.) But the concept remained the same throughout: four men as parapsychologists hunt ghosts in New York City. In the end, it became a "going-into-business" story that Reitman stated should be grounded in a familiar reality. The script even uses real-world newspapers and real-life figures to make the story more relatable. Yes, it's set in the 1980s with T.V. tubes and all. But it still holds up.

"Why worry? Each of us is wearing an unlicensed nuclear accelerator on his back."

Said characters (minus Winston, who would join later) start out as university parapsychologists who are soon fired for being, of all things, unprofessional, and decide to set up their unique business: catching and entrapping the paranormal and all things that go bump-in-the-night. And their timing couldn't be more impeccable, as their business oddly begins to boom, and as EPA reps get angrily concerned and residents begin to get possessed by dark forces, including evil minions who are awaiting the coming of a destructive force, which eventually takes the Godzilla-like form of a corporate mascot. "Well, there's something you don't see every day," says Venkman, during the climactic showdown.

Yes, this film is a comedy. It's as scary as it is funny, and not meant to be taken seriously. And yes, it's a movie. But even so. When writing these film reviews, I always try to keep a discerning perspective in tact (as my mission statement for this blog will tell you). And that's certainly no different in the case of comedy, as it is for horror or any other genre, as well as when it comes to movies for families and/or children. Especially when you really consider this film's handling of spirituality and other related references, which seem to focus more on Old Testament-type destruction and "Sumerian, not Babylonian" havoc, including the fact that many of these characters are occasionally clueless when it comes to dealing with the supernatural. As PluggedIn writer Paul Asey concluded in his retrospective review of the film, "I'm just saying we should all think through what we're watching, no matter how goofy."