Moving past the 3 beer buzz / it's all
down hill from here so hold tight & I'll get to the 2nd
half of this week's golden amber for color coded cinema. Before
serving up the next one here's the next nomination for the Blue
Ribbon for Best Picture of the Week.
From 1978 Paul Schrader's Blue Collar
Auto workers Zeke, Jerry Smokey tired
of the injustice of being working men & never getting ahead
decide to break into the union's safe. The financial haul turns out
to be a bust but inside are ledgers keeping records of the unions
illegal high interest loans. The three of them decide to blackmail
their union but don't realize the power they are up against as it
could cost them their lives.
Cracking into 4th golden
amber. The first one might be the most refreshing but by the time you
hit #4 they start going down like God's natural spring water. Time
for the Best Male Performance of the Week – The Bud
The nominees are..
Michael Rooker as Fritz Brown in
Brown's Requiem
Brown's Requiem turned out to be quite
the little find & mostly for Michael Rooker. Sure it has that
old gumshoe noir narrative but there is progression to his character
& performance. As his investigation continues he's deeper &
deeper committed to it. He constantly tells himself he should walk
away but his demons won't let him. His pride, his want for revenge &
his alcoholism consumes him. Even in the end when he is able to have
restitution he still lost because he was beat by his demons.
Prince as The Kid in Purple Rain
I debated having Prince hit this list
because it's not like he has a pure acting performance here (I
especially hold that opinion after watching Paul Simon's One Trick
Pony last week which is sorta like this film but of a different
color) but you can't deny his actual charisma & magnitude of a
stage presence. He & his music drive this movie. Drive it like
a mother-fucker. It's actually magic in a bottle that's only
achieved once. Doubt me? Watch Under the Cherry Moon & Graffiti
Bridge.
Dennis Hopper as Lyle in Red Rock West
When Dennis Hopper shows up in Red Rock
West it go from being a good movie to something special. He's a
fucking legend. When isn't he ever good in something? Ive never
seen Super Mario Bros but I bet he's even brilliant as King Koopa.
Here he has me grinning from ear to ear & almost caused me to
spit take my beer from laughing when ever he was swigging from a
bottle of bourbon. Nobody works a bottle of booze like Hopper.
Fred Williamson as Tommy Gibbs in Black
Caesar
Black Caesar may be Fred Williamson's
finest moment. I love the Hammer just on badass charisma alone.
Williamson sorta made a career w/ the same strong persona black hero
over & over again through his career but here he blurs that line.
He's not a African American role model because he is still a hustler
& a gangster but he does give that target audience something to
cheer. I would almost say he's a tragic character if he had actually
died @ the end of this like it was intended & there was no Hell
Up in Harlem. It probably would have had more power but as
Williamson stated in American Grindhouse 'The Hammer never dies'.
Richard Pryor as Zeke in Blue Collar
Pryor is able to do many things in Blue
Collar that eludes so many comedian in heavier films. He is able to
mix his comic talents w/ serious subject matter & neither one is
compromised. He's naturally funny & it fits w/out once feeling
forced & in the same motion it can be real as hell. Never once
do you think that he's changing persona. It's all one character. I
can't name one comedian that can do this even though they've tried.
Not Robin Williams. Not Jim Carrey. Not Eddie Murphy. You can't
convince me otherwise..Pryor is the king.
Lieh Lo as Priest White Lotus in Fist
of the White Lotus
Although no one actually gives actors
much credit for their actual performance in martial arts movies I do
based on kung fu skill alone. That's what makes me different then
Leonard Maltin (other then he can buy me 1000 times over but I can
drink him under the table..& Im sure I've had more pussy). He
holds no respect for the multitude of kung fu movies & won't even
waste his time watching them where I actually think there's an art &
rhythm to them & will watch them..well maybe about 97% of them.
Someone from this movie had to hit this list for the mad skillz on
display here & if you actually want it to base it on skill it
should have been Chia Hui Liu (or Gordon Liu that most know him as)
but Lieh Lo brings much to the legendary White Lotus character. From
the expressions, to the beard strokes, to the laugh, to the mad
skillz Lieh Lo has it down pat.
And the winner is..
Richard Pryor in Blue Collar
Blue Collar is Pryor's best film &
his best performance. My drama teacher once told me (& she had
little respect for actors saying the were a dime for 2 dozen) that
comedy is easy but drama is the true challenge. If you can have them
laughing one moment & crying the next that's true talent. Now
Pryor doesn't have me crying in Blue Collar but I do often feel his
rage & desperation shift very quickly after I am laughing. He
can flip it like someone turning on a light switch.
The man can almost get me from tears of
laughter to tears of sadness though. All I have to do is watch Here
& Now...goddamn I miss him.
More rounds still to come but I think Im
going to throw a Norman Bates style toasted cheese sandwich on this
booze.
Be back after this..
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