Alternate Takes 05.10.08: REDBELT
Posted by Shawn S. Lealos on 05.10.2008
It's not your daddy's MMA movie, so what can you expect when you go see Redbelt this weekend?
Welcome to Week 03 of Alternate Takes. My name is Shawn Lealos and every week I will be your guide as we take a look at new films hitting your local multiplex and let you know what you should expect to see. I watched Iron Man last weekend, and despite my fears that it would not meet my expectations, I was not disappointed. Read my review HERE and understand it is not hyperbole when I say it might end up being the best movie this summer. I don't hold the same expectations for this weekend's big release, Speed Racer, so in this edition of Alternate Takes I will instead pay heed to a movie I have been looking forward to since I first heard it was being made …
Redbelt
Directed by David Mamet Cast: Chiwetel Ejiofor, Tim Allen, Alice Braga, Randy Couture, Ricky Jay, Joe Mantegna, Emily Mortimer, David Paymer, Rebecca Pidgeon, Rodrigo Santoro
People who look at Redbelt and just see another MMA movie probably didn't notice that David Mamet was credited as the writer and director. Some of them might not even know who David Mamet is and that is something I hope to rectify with this column. If you have never seen a David Mamet film, you are missing out on one of the greatest writers working today. Whether as a screenwriter (The Untouchables, Ronin), a playwright (American Buffalo, Glengarry Glen Ross), a novelist (Bambi vs. Godzilla, Writing in Restaurants), or a film director (House of Games, State and Main), Mamet remains a writer you need to keep your eye out for. He is a national treasure among Hollywood hacks. While I understand fans of MMA should be excited about the release of a movie showcasing their sport, fans of film in general should be excited about a new David Mamet project. The same will hold true for professional wrestling fans in 2009, when Darren Aronofsky releases The Wrestler.
What did we do to deserve these two great filmmakers paying homage to our beloved sports?
At its core, Redbelt is an underdog story. Chiwetel Ejiofor portrays Mike Terry, a Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu practitioner who teaches self-defense. His method is teaching students how to survive on the streets, while refusing to teach them how to fight for sport. Due to a complicated series of events, he meets a movie star named Chet Frank (Tim Allen) and finds himself the victim of a con, sending him into a financial downward spiral. He must enter a paid fight to both pay off his debts and save his honor. The film is full of Mamet regulars (Ricky Jay, Joe Mantegna, Rebecca Pidgeon) as well as MMA stars such as Randy Couture and Frank Trigg. Mamet said he strived to develop the film along the same lines Akira Kurosawa did, going as far as installing the samurai code into Mike Terry's discipline. I have taken different aspects of the new David Mamet film and found a few more takes that might help you decide if this new MMA film is for you.
Five Alternate Takes
5. DODGEBALL (2004)
I know it sounds strange, but every time I read the synopsis for this film I had memories of another movie. I couldn't put my finger on it until finally I made the connection to this Vince Vaughn comedy about a gym owner who was forced to enter a dodge ball tournament in Vegas to save his gym. Ben Stiller turns in a fantastic performance as White Goodman, the owner of the over-the-top Globo-gym that purchased the contract to Vaughn's gym. With great supporting roles by Justin Long (Idiocracy), Alan Tudyk (Serenity), Stephen Root (Office Space) and Rip Torn (Men in Black), Dodge Ball tags itself as a "True Underdog Story" and follows in the same line of inspired comedies as Old School and Anchorman: The Legend of Ron Burgundy. With great sight gags and a very funny script, it is quite possibly the funniest Vince Vaughn movie since Swingers and the best thing Ben Stiller has done in years.
"Ladies and gentlemen, I have been to the Great Wall of China, I have seen the Pyramids of Egypt, I've even witnessed a grown man satisfy a camel. But never in all my years as a sportscaster have I witnessed something as improbable, as impossible, as what we've witnessed here today!"
4. BLOODSPORT (1988)
This is the film that gave the world the gift of The Muscles from Brussels. Jean Claude Van Damme left Bloodsport as a bonafide superstar in the 80s world of action heroes. The first thing you should know about the film is the acting is atrocious. Of course, with Van Damme that is to be expected. However, when the best actor in the movie is Ogre from Revenge of the Nerds, you should know what you are getting yourself into. Forest Whitaker is decent in his role but makes me wonder if he has grown as an actor at all over the last twenty years. He is basically the same actor I watched in Street Kings last month. On the whole, the acting was really, really bad. But, what makes this movie great are the fights. Van Damme was young and very fresh faced at the time and it was easy to see why he would get huge so fast. He was able to appear to be the ultimate underdog in a world of vicious fighters and made you believe he could fail. This movie is like Karate Kid jacked up to the next level and it is the wonderfully choreographed fight scenes that make work so well. Forget the trash films Van Damme inflicted on us over the last twenty years and watch the one that made him a star. It is Van Damme's first role that would ultimately be his greatest.
"Will you stop worrying, Frankie? I've got it under control. You sound like my mother. Man alive."
3. CHILDREN OF MEN (2007)
Chiwetel Ejiofor is one of the top young actors working today. He has shined with spectacular turns in films such as Dirty Pretty Things, Talk to Me, American Gangster and Inside Man. However, he also starred in one of the best films of this decade. The film that was wrongly ignored in the 2007 Oscar awards season was Children of Men, a dark, brooding film taking place in a dystopian future. Clive Owen stars as a man who is asked to help transport the only pregnant woman in the world to a safe haven where she can have the baby in peace, without fear of losing it to the government. This was the first pregnant woman in over eighteen years and a number of different forces want the baby. One of these forces is led by Ejiofor and, although in a relatively minor role, once again raises every scene he is in to a new level. It was a tough year for Children of Men, as it lost the very deserving cinematography award to the equally great Pan's Labyrinth, but one only need watch the epic car chase scene to see true expertise in camera work. It deserved a nomination for best picture over every movie nominated that year, even eventual winner The Departed. This is, in my opinion, the best movie of 2007 and deserves to be recognized as such.
"The world was stunned today by the death of Diego Ricardo, the youngest person on the planet. The youngest person on earth was 18 years, 4 months, 20 days, 16 hours, and 8 minutes old."
2. GLENGARRY GLEN ROSS (1992)
Here is the top reason you should understand that Redbelt will not be your typical MMA fight movie. David Mamet is one of the premiere writers to ever put pen to paper. You have seen his great writing in films such as The Verdict, The Untouchables, Hoffa, State and Main and The Heist. I now present you with his masterpiece. Mamet could not have asked for better actors to read his prose than the men director James Foley rounded up, including Al Pacino, Ed Harris, Alan Arkin, Kevin Spacey, the legendary Jack Lemmon and Alec Baldwin in his best screen role to date. Watching Baldwin dress down some of the greatest actors of anyone's generation is a mighty sight to behold. Jack Lemmon's acting, while being dressed down, is further proof he is one of the greatest actor's of his era. Some people don't care for the movie because it is a bunch of guys sitting around talking. Those people don't know a great thing when they see it and should just settle down to watch the next McG movie instead. Glengarry Glen Ross is a masterpiece of cinema for people who love good acting and spectacular writing. It is a master class of prose.
"We're adding a little something to this month's sales contest. As you all know, first prize is a Cadillac Eldorado. Anybody want to see second prize? Second prize is a set of steak knives. Third prize is you're fired."
1. THE SEVEN SAMURAI (1954)
When David Mamet spoke of his influences for Redbelt, he mentioned Akira Kurosawa and spoke of instilling his main character with a sense of samurai honor. He spoke of a scene from The Seven Samurai that helped him discover the character traits of the hero in Redbelt. In the second fight scene in this classic film, Shimada has set out to recruit samurai to help him fight for the cause of the peasants. An amateur fighter is stick fighting with a skilled Ronin warrior. The amateur claims victory, saying if they fought with real swords, he would have killed his opponent. Shimada disagrees causing the two to pull their swords for a duel as Shimada watches on, a look of sad realization, knowing how this battle will end. Mamet speaks of the sadness in the face of all fighters and he instilled that sadness into his warriors in Redbelt. When looking for the best possible Kurosawa film, one need look no further than this masterpiece. It is a little long at over three and a half hours, but the story of a group of warriors fighting for the common good, despite knowing they will eventually be deemed unnecessary once the fight has concluded, resonates as strong today as when it was released over fifty years ago. It is The Seven Samurai that arguably began the genre of the samurai film and, if given the proper level of attention, pays off as one of the best stories detailing what the samurai code truly meant. If you enjoy watching samurai films, take the time to watch the film where it all began. You won't regret it.
"You're overestimating me. Listen, I'm not a man with any special skill, but I've had plenty of experience in battles; losing battles, all of them. In short, that's all I am."
There are so many films to get you excited about this movie. You can watch more samurai films by Kurosawa such as the wonderful Yojimbo and its sequel Sanjuro. Mamet also professed great admiration for film noir classics that he borrowed heavily from while preparing this film. A great sample is Night and the City (1950), a film about wrestling and starring Stanislaus Zbyszko. If that name sounds familiar to professional wrestling fans, former AWA World Champion Larry Zbyszko chose his name as a tribute to the legendary Polish wrestler. There are many classic underdog stories, and one need only look at Rocky Balboa as a recent example of someone being lured into a contest for honor and respect. Finally, in addition to all the David Mamet movies listed above, you can also add Spartan and Wag the Dog to the list of must-see films by the writer.
"The bond is broken. Spin the Wheel, Raggedy Man!"
That's it for this week's Alternate Takes. Next week will be a slow one for new releases and the only big release is one I am not that interested in seeing at this time. Leaving you this week, I leave you with these words of wisdom: "There is no theory of evolution. Just a list of creatures Chuck Norris has allowed to live."
