vasssos

23 May 2012

What a great film

I've just watched this film in Wolverhamptn, UK and I found itabsolutely amazing. It's a slow paced, character driven film withexcellent performances from all cast. Cinematography and music are sowell-put into the film that makes you want more even tho it's about 2hours long. The writers put a lot of effort into their characters soyou feel for each one of them. There's some romance in there and a fewjokes that made me smile a few times but the thing that made it for mewas the tension I felt through out the film and the personal struggleof each character. The only thing i didn't like was the heavy accentfrom some characters that made the dialogues hard to follow but I guessthats because English isn't my native language.. 8/10

Mark Specht

22 May 2012

The worst, most boring, poorly made professional film I have ever seen.

This film is painfully slow and uninteresting. The dialog is brutal.The characters uninteresting. I have seen thousands of films, and thishorrendous product should have ended the career of John Sayles. Sayles'Eight Men Out is among the most boring modern baseball films, butHoneydripper is at the very bottom of its genre.... and of all filmmaking. There are countless good films about race relations in thesouthern United States, and this is not among them. Young directors andwriters should watch this as how *not* to make a film. Danny Glover,Charles Dutton, Lisa Gay Hamilton, Stacey Keach, Sean Patrick Thomas,what *were* you thinking? There are always other movies to see insteadof this one. See them all, then hesitate before renting Honeydripper.

20 May 2012

Not to be missed film

Just loved this film, although the story was pretty predictable, the music was outstanding. The cinematography was compelling and filled with great actors. Everyone left the theater with a smile on their face and their toes tapping. Try not to miss this one!

lastliberal

20 May 2012

Singing is one thing, Slick. Whether people want to look at you while youre doing it is another.

Good movie to watch on the anniversary of our involvement in Korea, anda new base opens down the road to prepare troops to be sent to the warthat will apparently never end. But, this movie is worth watching forthe music alone. If you like blues and early rock and roll, this is thefilm for you.But, it isn't just about music. It is also about relations betweenBlack and White in the 1950s South. There are some powerfulperformances by some powerful actors like Danny Glover, Charles S.Dutton, and Stacy Keach; and interesting new faces like Yaya DaCosta(Take the Lead).A good story with an great backdrop. Maybe just a little long.

18 May 2012

I really REALLY tried to like it.

I'm a big fan of the blues and thought, "Hey maybe we've got another great blues film here"Maybe with a full story and full characters and lots of great music eh?I mean, there are some big names in there so it's gotta be good right?Wrong. The story is transparent, the characters are fairly empty, the whole thing just dragged on and on...the music was good though.Do yourself a favor and just go watch "Crossroads" again, so much better.Glover, I want my [...] bucks back... and 1.5 hours of you staring at paint dry...just so we're even.

Nat Williams

18 May 2012

Vaguely interesting, but plodding and too long

I got "Honeydripper" based on the sleeve information, which made itseem like it might be interesting in the same way that the excellentSamuel L. Jackson vehicle "Black Snake Moan" was. The movie did keep myattention somewhat, but I was disappointed with its slow pace andmeandering nature. Plus, the director could have done a better job ofdepicting basic elements of the plot. For instance, on the "big night"that is supposed to be making money for the club, there appears to beabout 12 to 15 people in the nightclub. I don't think he could havemade enough money to pay expenses on that. Anyway, I guessdisappointment is my basic reaction. If you're interested in blues inthe integrated Deep South, check out the aforementioned "Black SnakeMoan." It is a superior movie.

17 May 2012

A great movie

This review is from: Honeydripper (DVD) This is indeed a great movie by director John Sayles, that sometimes reminds of "Hallelujah" with its almost all-black cast and the central place it gives to music. But the atmosphere and point are completely different and unique, meandering through comedy, suspense and romance. Most enjoyable!

Terry Emerson

16 May 2012

Oh dear more self indulgent rubbish !

So this self indulgent film about absolutely nothing of any import hasjust wasted two hours of my life ! Set in the deep south of 1950'sAmerica the plot is as transparent as it always is in a film werenothing is always about to happen. The plot is actually so thin youwill have guessed the ending & how we arrive there quickly. In my casein around 90 seconds of the opening titles. Guess what - A middle agedblack club owner, with relationship crisis & broke, has to keep his'wooden shack' / club open. Oh the unbearable excitement of wonderingwhether he will succeed or not! Along the way we are treated to anarray of cardboard cutout characters that include the local racist,white sheriff, [ so original ] the habitual enigmatic - oh no could itbe a ghost to be laid character, who in this case is a sort of blindAlan A Dale & a young itinerant, rock n' roll, electric guitar playingmusician who blows into town.It gets worse! The dialog is at best a series of cheap, stilteddiatribes fed through the mouths of comic book, deep south, 1950'sblack / white stereotypes. I must presume the script was written by anintellectual midget with a range of English & clichés rarely seenoutside of Batman comics.Then we have the music. A poorly performed mishmash of blues going'into rock n' roll, a genre not even favoured in its own time. Long deadit should have been left that way & certainly not resurrected withstiff, stilted, zombie like musical performances.Lastly we have the director, one John Sayles famed for being involvedwith such mega blockbusters as Bruce Springstein - The Complete VideoAnthology & that other great masterpiece, Passion Fish. That says itall really Lets be honest - if you have 3 brain cells or more, haveenough understanding of English to know that batman should actually betwo words not one, have an intellect equal to or better than anematodes, and a musical taste beyond thinking my My Ding A Ling was agood rock song, well then you'd have a more stimulating experiencewatching Thomas The Tank Engine!

hcoursen

15 May 2012

wonderful film

I tuned into this one while trolling for a film and became immediatelyabsorbed. The film interlocks several plots, as 'The Waltons' used todo -- the problem of keeping the night spot out of the hands of thecriminal creditors, the issue of the unfulfilled wife (nicely mirroredby the alcoholic white woman for whom she is a servant), young lovedeveloping between the guitar player and lovely China Doll, a disputebetween two cotton pickers (one a city slicker, the other a local fieldhand), the sheriff who, of course, is a racist but who loves un-spicedfried chicken, the inevitable tug of fundamentalist religion on theunderclass of a rural town, and two waifs who end the film with a mimeof the musicians they hope to be. I confess that I was stationed insouthern Georgia a little after the time of this film and found my ownexperiences coming back vividly. It is a warm film, drawing on anominous set of possibilities lurking behind the action, and it doesn'tcheat with its interlocking happy endings. What a surprise!

14 May 2012

good but not great

This review is from: Honeydripper : Widescreen Edition (DVD) Nice movie, R rated title, but not so much. sometimes slow but acting is superb!

13 May 2012

Cliches and bad historical fiction - blues fans dont bother

I was looking very forward to this movie, the cover made me think it would be about a guy playing cigar box guitar, but no, its some sort of modern looking pseudo-hobbled-together guitar. It uses modern cigar box pickups with an Epiphone or Gibson neck. Check out wikipedia to get an idea of what was happening in guitars in 30's to 50's.Aside from that, the first half hour is full of cliches - did the writer actually do any research on Alabama in the 1950's? Not even a trace of accent, a mixture of 30's and 70's clothing, the actors use phrasings which are contemporary. I laughed for the first 45 mins or so. The whole thing rolls out like a 50's version of "Booty Time", except Booty time was a lot funnier. Should I say, somebody's fantasy of the 50's?The entire plot "situation" is painfully foreshadowed, we know from the first 15 minutes how this is going to end.The whitey sheriff who likes Glover's wife's cooking (apparently she invents KFC), reminds you of "Smokey and The Bandit", which may have served as research material.What movie about blacks would be complete without a rich white women donating an un-useable dress to her maid: I was surprised it wasn't torn, but it was too small...There were a few genuine moments, but this movie is a bit too Disney - a fantasy world somebody cooked up. Some of the scenes have a surreal look and the featuring of a few big name performers was nice.

13 May 2012

Dissapointed

This is the first film I've seen by John Sayles, whom I've heard good things about over the years. Unfortunately it will be my last. Other reviewers refer to this film as "leisurly paced" and "takes time with character development." The scenes ARE played far too slow, the actors need to pick up the pace, the edits need to move faster. I gave it a chance, I sat through the entire thing, but not only was it boring, it was predictable. I was drawn to this movie due to the subject matter, but it was highly unrealistic. Despite its PG13 rating this IS a family picture, pure "fabricated history" ala Walt Disney television movies from the early 60s. This is a good movie for families with young children who wish to create revisionist history for their kids to protect them from the harsh realities of the Black experience in the American Rural South of the early 1950s. Overall the acting is good, the characters are well cast, but it's obvious they were encouraged with their slow delivery of lines to the point where it almost seems Gary Clark Jr. is actually trying to remember his next line. During the opening credits it says written, directed and edited by John Sayles...it would have been better if someone else had edited the film and would have been better still if someone else had directed it.

Redcitykev

13 May 2012

A marvellous evocation of the early just before Rock met Roll!

In one review I wrote recently I said that some films come along with abig reputation that leave you feeling "yeh, so what". On the flip-sideof that coin there are other films which very nearly slipped under thedistribution network, little gems that you almost missed, but were sopleased that you didn't. Honeydripper is one such film. Released in theUK a few months back it has hardly been seen outside of London - I cannot recall it even having been screen anywhere in my nearest big city,Bristol, yet, with luck and great foresight, the film club in my ownlittle town of Clevedon decided to screen the film as the climax to the'07/'08 season. Was I pleased that we decided to show this little gemof movie! The actual screening attracted people not only from Clevedonitself but from all round the district, and even as far as Birmingham -about 150 miles away! On to the film itself. It is a simple story, somemay even say clichéd to a fault, about a little lounge bar that is onthe verge of going under if it can not raise $200 by Monday, leavingthe owners with a big problem. This problem they hope to solve byhaving a well known radio star - Guitar Sam - play and pack the houseout, but, naturally, things do not go quite as planned until a youngguitar picker by the name of Sonny rolls into town and... Plus there isthe figure of a blind bluesman acting like a Greek Chorus, andconscience of Pinetop.That is basically it, add in the cotton field, the near-by militarycamp,a real sod of a sheriff and some pretty women, plus some of thebest blues and early R&B that you can wish to hear and there is yourfilm. So what sets this film above many others released this year.Well, the settings feel authentic, you can feel the heat in the cottonfields, you can smell the damp in the lounge and you can see the lookof desperation in the eyes of some, hope in others, as the storyprogresses. The acting is, as one would expect from such a cast, quitewonderful. Danny Glover is outstanding as Pinetop Purvis, withexcellent back up by Lisa Gay Hamilton as his wife and, all cutenessand hope for the future, Yaya DaCosta as China Doll. Then there is GaryClark Jr as Sonny, confident, proud and, oh boy, he can play! Anotheroutstanding performance comes from Stacey Keach as the sheriff, asnasty as Southern sheriffs come.Director John Sayles has fashioned a film in which the simple nature ofthe story allows for many issues to be tackled in a way which isenlighten but never preachy. The casual racism of the day, the role ofwomen, the way religion is interwoven into everyday life, and thepassing of one generation to the next are all dealt with here. This isbest seen by the passing of Bertha May, superbly played with suchdignity by Dr Mable John, an old blues singer who in seen in theopening scenes of the film playing to bar empty apart from a couple ofwinos and Pinetop and his family. Later, when Sonny lets rip, we seethe place jumping, and the new generation, the generation that wouldgive us Bo Diddly, Little Richard, Fats Domino etc and give the worldRock 'n' Roll - with a little help from a few white fellas! Is it anycoincidence that the guitar that Sonny plays is very similar to thehome made guitars that were the trademark of Bo Diddly - I think not,nor is the fact that his sound is not dissimilar to that of LouisJordan - another great that played the type of R'n'B that we hear here.I feel that the film can easily be read as a homage to these, and allthose that strove to move the music forward and spread it out of thecotton fields and small lounge bars onto the radio, the jukeboxes and,eventually across the globe.Finally a brief word on the music itself. This has to be the mostauthentic sounding music of this era that I can ever recall hearing ina film. Some of it is real, but the rest has been recorded for thefilm, and I would bet that only an expert could tell the difference! Itis not only the Blues and the R'n'B music, but also the Black Gospelwhich is very moving and powerful. This is one soundtrack that I willbe adding for sure to my collection! John Sayles has made a film ofreal beauty here, one which needs and deserves a wider distributionwithin in this country. If you have not yet seen it then look out forthe rare screenings of it - it needs the big screen with a good soundsystem to really get the full benefit of this little gem!

C

12 May 2012

Delightful movie

It is one of those movies, where the word predictable will be a common part of many reviews, but at the same time the movie was quite delightful. It was reminiscent of a nice fiction book, with some real themes in it. Danny Glover was great, and the young guitar player was fabulous. I enjoyed the film.

11 May 2012

A Juke Joint Saga

In the recent past in this space I have gone on and on about the old country blues performed after a hard, hard week's work on a Saturday in the local `juke joints' down in the southern United States in places like rural Mississippi and Alabama before World War II. Of course, then the music took the road north, especially after the war and got electrified to fit the needs of the new black migration that was heading up river to find work (and get the hell away from Jim Crow) in the newly unionized (in most cases) industrial plants. But what about those left behind, or those who did not or could not go north? Or just wanted to, or had to, keep away from the cities with their treacherous ways? Answering those questions, in a nutshell, forms the plotline to this entertaining little saga about the trials and tribulations of modernization, blues version.Okay, here is the plot line. A struggling juke joint owner, Pine Top Purvis (also the house piano player), played by star Danny Glover, is financially in deep trouble and needs a quick fix to keep the wolves from the door. Nothing seems to be working for the man, especially when a regionally well-known early R&B hot shot who is suppose to resolve all Danny's financial problems is a no show. Not to worry, an itinerant R&B wannabe just happens to ride the blinds into town, gets himself into trouble (mainly for being black while seeking a work-some things never change), and in the end is Danny's salvation by performing a successful Saturday gig and saving the day.Along the way we also get small glimpse of black rural life including, naturally, the ardors of plantation life, -that means cotton picking, the tough times of small time musical talents, the role of the religious tent revival in rural life and needless to say, the confinements, large and small, of Jim Crow, physically, mentally and spiritually. I have reviewed plenty of film documentaries in this space that touch on the blues and the social milieu that it derived from. While those vehicles still give a historically more accurate account of what went into create that special blues idiom just before it got electrified this film is not a bad take on what that was all about- a little prettified up to be sure.

colinbarnard-1

10 May 2012

A Welome Return by Americas Great Independent Working Class Film Maker

This is not a great movie by any stretch, but it is a very GOOD one. Myrating should be 7.8. IMDb, invest in some higher technology! JohnSayles proves yet again what can be done when there is unity of visionon a film, and when everyone involved passionately believes in whatthey are doing. Any limitations this film has must surely be due to thebudget (was there one?) rather than any creative lapses on Sayles'part.In fact, the only problems I have with "Honeydripper" are technical:some of the shots are out of focus, some of the scenes drag, and thereis not a lot of dramatic tension to carry the piece along. It isenough, though, for those of us who can handle something more relaxedthan the kinetics of Michael Bey or Steven ("I'll do anything for anOscar!") Spielberg."Honeydripper" is really a small character study of a working classman, surrounded by good people, who is trying do do right by them andhimself. It is a romance for the nostalgia of the Deep South in 1950, aperiod where Jim Crow was on the cusp of yielding to John Kennedy.It is also a romance for music, where Gospel and Blues was about tofuse and metamorphise into Rock 'n Roll. Sayles loves everything he isdoing; you can feel the writer/director's respect and integrity throughthe camera and the screen.Unusual for a Sayles film, Danny Glover anchors the piece as itscentral character, the axis upon which the story and all the charactersrevolve. All the characters are complete human beings, with only a fewdrawn as caricatures. I don't mind.This would be a good film to show as a double bill with "The GreatDebators". Several themes overlap, but "Honeydrippers" is the moremature film. Here, a man's biggest grievance is not being able to livein dignity as a man who pays his way. Sayles' characteristic characterarcs provide us with many dignified men and women who achieve thatdignity by finding ways to honestly pay their way. They do it with joy,love and creativity.Another fine Working Class film from Cinema's Working Class Hero.

Michael O'Keefe

06 May 2012

Blues at harvest time.

Picture 1950's Alabama at harvest time. Tyrone Purvis'(DannyGlover)former swinging little juke joint, The Honeydripper lounge,whistles a lonesome long-gone blues. Business is no business and he maybe forced to shut 'er down. But wait, he may be able to save theHoneydripper with just one big ass rockin' Saturday night. He will hirethe legendary Guitar Sam to be his champion. But any news is just morebad news...Guitar Sam can't make the gig for being in the hospital. Sothe story goes, Tyrone must quickly find another guitar-slinger to saveface and his Honeydripper. A versatile cast featuring: Lisa GayHamilton, Charles S. Dutton, Vondie Curtis-Hall, Mable John, Gary ClarkJr., Keb' Mo' and Stacy Keach. Volatile soundtrack featuringelectrifying rockin' blues from the likes of: The Aces of Spades, GaryClark Jr., Mable John, Keb' Mo', and even Hank Williams.

les6969

05 May 2012

Good but not Great

This film has it's moments and there is a lot going on. It is an inciteinto early Rock and Roll and the fact that it was black singers andmusicians and not Elvis who started it all off. It shows the racism andcorrupt attitudes of the deep south and there is a little loveinterest. Danny Glover is outstanding as is Stacey Keech but all thesupport roles are also really well done. My only criticism about thisfilm is that it doesn't really go anywhere. At the end I was left withan empty feeling with so many unanswered questions. What happened tothe young guitar/singer after that weekend? Who was that blind manexactly? ( if he was blind, he gave the Danny Glover character aknowing nod at the gig ) Whay didn't the Stacey Keech character exposethe boy as not Guitar Sam? ( Money I am guessing? ) I think this was agood film and it kept my attention but it could have been grittier anda better ending.

04 May 2012

John Sayles Does It Again

John Sayles, perhaps more than any other American filmmaker, has his finger on the pulse of what make this country special. A gifted storyteller, not one of his films is alike, but hes's at his best when he takes a small moment in time and uses it to explore a major change. EIGHT MEN OUT uses the Black Sox scandal to reflect the loss of innocence of our nation. LONE STAR uses a murder mystery to unearth skeletons long hidden, etc. With HONEYDRIPPER, Sayles latest, he explores the moment Blues Became Electric, opening the door for Rock & Roll, the dominant music of the last half of the 20th Century. He does so in the style of the late August Wilson, using quiet rhythms and essentially one locale to tell the story. In the process, he gets allows his stellar cast to deliver some great performances, including Danny Glover, Charles S. Dutton, Keb Mo, Vondie Curtis-Hall and newcomer YaYa Dacosta, as China Doll. Gary Clark, Jr. is a little stiff in his acting debut, but once he picks up the guitar, he puts a smile on your face. Parts of the story may move a little slow, but Honeydripper's built for comfort, not for speed. Once you know the plot, you'll begin to pick out minor details in the fabric of the film that absolutely glow. Mind you, this is a film that could never be made within the Hollywood studio system, so if you're looking for Rush Hour 3, then move along. But if you like a good story told well or just love the Blues, Honeydripper deserves a spot on your personal video shelf.

rlange-3

03 May 2012

10 for the music 5 for the rest

The songs are to die for, and really make this a great movie to see.It's a peek into the cultural heritage of the blues and gospel inAmerica, and the deep roots of rock and roll emerging from a segregatedSouth. It's a bit stereotyped racially. The whites are all one dimensional,unsympathetic crooks and bigoted bastards except for one cloyinglycondescending alcoholic woman. The black characters offer a morerealistic and well acted mix and are multidimensional and intriguing.Glover is excellent, and you are really pulling for him by the end ofthe movie, along with his wife who stands by his side under tremendousstress. There is a real emphasis on the positive side of a familyliving out tough times which makes the story compelling. Theinteraction between Maceo and darn near everyone else, especially thesewing woman, was hilarious and entertaining.On the downside, it was very slow to develop. The pace during the first2/3 of the movie was downright glacial. Some of the scenes could havebeen cut and a few more songs thrown in instead. It was a bit hard tobelieve that the guitarist at the end didn't check his amp before sucha critical performance. Still, these are minor points that did littleto detract from an overall good movie. Anyone with an interest in music and its roots should see this movieand will enjoy it thoroughly.