Disc Reviews

Inside Amy Schumer is satire. The definition of satire is the use of irony, humor, exaggeration, or ridicule to expose and criticize people’s stupidity or vices, particularly in the context of contemporary politics and other topical issues. Satire, frankly, is not always very funny. I don’t find Schumer terribly funny, but she can be at times. I do think she is spearheading discussions of numerous issues. So how you judge Schumer can depend on what you think is important. It can also depend on where you stand on the issues she brings attention to, or whether you might even be a target of her satire.

This is the third season that I’m reviewing that has gotten some of the highest praise from critics. When they do that, they should at least acknowledge some of the juvenile thrusts of the material. I have no problem with sophomoric and juvenile humor, but the subversive undercurrent is far from clear sometimes. One of the most mentioned skits is the “Twelve Angry Men” skit. It is a clear homage to the Henry Fonda movie, but rewritten to decide the fate of Amy Schumer. Is she hot enough for TV, basic cable, or whatever? It suggests she might be put to death for her transgression of non-hotness. They have no problem pushing the limits of absurdity or the limits of basic cable.

A bit animated in certain areas, but all in all a pretty good martial arts experience in my opinion. The Guardsman tells the story of a man charged with the safe keeping of the emperor of China, a job that entails a great many challenges even from those he considers family. When word is received that a group of Japanese pirates will make an attempt on the life of the emperor and a group of countrymen are complicit in the plot, our hero is unsure where to turn and who he can trust. Fair warning, in true fashion of martial arts films, it is English subtitles, so if you do not enjoy getting your dose of literature, this may not be the film for you. Admittedly, it can be a bit distracting attempting to read the dialog as well as follow the action on screen. Despite that, those willing to undertake the task may come to enjoy what the story has to offer. I had trouble following the plot at times (and no, it wasn’t because of the subtitles) due to the shifting perspectives. The film is told from the point of view of several different characters. True, the Guardsman is the focal point, but there remain at least three separate subplots in regard to the assassination plot on the emperor. This at times makes it difficult to keep track of the story. One or two subplots is OK, actually two should be the maximum in my opinion simply to prevent overcrowding. I estimate around three to four subplots that intertwine with the main plot. Far too many, as at this point I found myself unable to keep track of everything that was happening. My opinion, the only perspectives that mattered were the assassination plot, the countrymen complicity, and maybe the perspective of the Japanese pirates as they made their advance; that way you had the antagonist angle covered. Other than that, all other perspectives could have been disregarded and achieved the same goal.

Now to the part that truly makes a martial arts movie: the fighting. Here is where I was most impressed. The fight scenes were some of the best choreographed battles I’ve seen in a while. As I mentioned before, they were a bit animated in some area specifically in regards to blood spatter and sound effects. Disregarding that, the fights were realistic even when it was one man versus ten. The way the battle unfolded with attacks and counterattacks was completely believable. Wire work was utilized at times but nothing over the top such as soaring forty to fifty feet off the ground in order to land on rooftop. I have no complaints when it comes to the fighting; it was the most enjoyable portion of the experience.

This may well be the first film that I’ve seen where the police were actively aiding someone seeking revenge for the death of a loved one. Don’t get me wrong, it is not a foreign concept; however, in my experience police participation is usually comes about towards the conclusion of the story. In the case of Zero Tolerance, an officer signs on to help from the very beginning knowing full well how things are going to end. The fresh perspective on the situation was enjoyable; however, it did not fully compensate for how the story unraveled. Peter, a twenty-year veteran police officer is called to the scene of a homicide, a woman found naked and bound in a body of water.  A sex crimes detective, Peter is hardened against such crimes; such is a prerequisite to survive. His exterior is cracked when he recognizes the victim as the daughter of an old friend.  Knowing the repercussions of what is likely to happen when the father finds out, Peter seeks out Johnny to deliver the news personally.

In an effort to get ahead of the situation, Peter offers to allow Johnny to be a part of the investigation in hopes of preventing unnecessary bloodshed. With the understanding that Johnny will exact revenge on those responsible for his daughter’s death, Johnny agrees to the terms. However, the situation quickly spirals out of Peter’s control as Johnny is not a restrained in delivering justice as Peter had hoped.

I’ve reviewed Amy Schumer before she become a mini-phenomenon. She seemed a little desperate and cheesy, but now she is worshipped for being the cutting edge of comedy. I think the cutting edge of comedy is a little cheesy and desperate in general. I remember the first time I saw Amy was on the tail end of a Comedy Central roast of Charlie Sheen, and she was a self-described nobody at the time.  Not long after, Comedy Central decided to make her a somebody. Her show, Inside Amy Schumer, had many flashes of brilliance that were embedded in gross-out humor full of sex and gender issues. That is the heart of what makes Amy Schumer special. She is willing to explore somewhat suppressed areas of gender politics in a subversive manner. She comes off as something of an idiot, but that is the state of sex relations in this day and age. Her humor is overt and tries to claim equal ground with men. Men are generally considered to be chauvinist and complete idiots, so to claim equal ground, you would have to be an idiot as well. Her humor is playful and good-natured but with some hidden sharp edges.

Amy’s ascendency has been cemented recently when Judd Apatow added her to his roster of protégés as the producer and director of Trainwreck, written by and starring Schumer. Apatow has a string of hit comedies but is also the producer of the HBO show Girls, which promotes another young female role model, Lena Dunham. Both Dunham and Schumer share the same attitude of postmodern frankness.  While we are trying to catch up on all things Schumer, I should also mention that she is a niece once removed of the powerful and long-standing US Senator from New York. The two Schumers have done joint press conferences on gun control after 12 people were shot and killed at a Trainwreck screening.

History is important, but there is a lot of it to keep track of. History, by its nature, is about things that are preserved and archived so they won’t be forgotten. In this case, we are looking at a little slice of the history of rock and roll. Is the history of rock and roll something that is important? I would argue that everything about the past is important. Not everyone cares, but some people care passionately about forgotten gems from the past. Everybody cares about something, and some people care about everything, but the further back in the past something goes, the more likely people won’t care at all.

The 1955 Rock ‘N Roll Revue and Rhythm and Blues Revue with Rock, Rock, Rock! Is a 228 minute/2-DVD set, and that title is sure a mouthful. It is like a time capsule from those good old days before music videos, because everything on it looks ancient and outdated by modern standards, but to those who remember those times, it is a wonderful blast from the past. Some of the big-name musical performers on the collection include Nat king Cole, Duke Ellington, Big Joe Turner, Ruth Brown, Martha Davis, Cab Calloway, Lionel Hampton, Chuck Berry, The Flamingos, Lavern Baker, Frankie Lymon and the Teenagers, Count Basie, Sarah Vaughn, Dinah Washington, The Moonglows, Herb Jeffries, Johnny Burnett Trio, and Connie Francis. It also includes a very young Nipsey Russell. The first disc is a combo of two entertainment movies that played in theaters at the time that were put together in a Harlem variety revue. Don’t forget that back in those days television was still a new thing, and there was no internet or home video or cable. Entertainment was something you had to go out and find. It is hard to imagine today how different things were back then. The emcee was named Willie Bryant, and he and director/performer Leonard Reed rolled out a roster of talent to appeal to a special race market. Back then black acts weren’t accepted everywhere, and lots of rock and roll material was converted later for white audiences. Those were the bad old days. That’s why material like this is valuable, because it shows important pieces of the puzzle of our checkered past. But despite oppression, there was a vibrant marketplace and a hungry audience for this music that was the cutting edge of the time. Jazz had flourished for decades, and now we can watch the early growth of the new mediums of rock and roll and rhythm and blues. At this stage, it is just beginning to evolve at this time. I’m not going to go in depth, but this collection is a valuable artifact if you want to see the birth of a movement.