Positive Energy at the Oscars

by Brett Parker

I’m not one of those film critics who likes to analyze an Oscars telecast. No offense to anyone that does, but I really don’t see the point. I don’t feel a grand cinematic statement can come of it. No matter what transpires during an awards telecast, it can’t change a single frame of any of the movies nominated (Saving Private Ryan admirers are all too aware of this).

To give a close analysis of the telecast feels too much like stating-the-obvious. Sure, I could write about how tear-jerking it was to see Heath Ledger’s family accept his Oscar, or how I think Mickey Rourke should’ve won the Best Actor Oscar, or what a wonderful host Hugh Jackman turned out to be, or how hilarious Ben Stiller’s Joaquin Phoenix impression was, or how amazing Amanda Seyfried looked during the big musical number, but I’m quite sure you were already aware of all this.

I’ve decided, however, to focus on a portion of the show that deeply affected me in a much unexpected way. I’m talking about the presentation of the acting awards. This year it broke away from the traditional mold and tried something that was truly touching and uplifting. I never thought a segment of an awards show could evoke such strong feelings, but such was the effect of this dramatic touch. I’m sure many haters will be knocking this approach in the week to come, so I’ve decided to show my utmost respect to this admirable new approach.

When an acting award is presented, we all know the drill. A past recipient walks onto the stage and announces the nominees while clips of their work are shown. The envelope is opened, the winner is announced, and we take in the acceptance speech. Probably takes two minutes to pull off, bing-bang-boom. Yet this year, the formality was shaken up. Instead of just one past recipient brought to read the nominees, five were brought out, each from various eras of film. These talents ranged from Angelica Huston to Adrian Brody. Instead of simply reading the nominees, each presenter focused on a specific nominee and showered them with individual praise, highlighting what made their performances so special and why we cherish them as actors. Each nominee looked genuinely touched as they each received mini-monologues of kindness in their honor. Even though only one of them could bring home the trophy, each one was made to feel equally special and important.

What an admirable thing this was. The media tries to paint the Oscar races as a cutthroat competition. This shake-up of presentation helped to deflate a sense of competition and create a wonderful feeling of accomplishment. We basically watched as legendary performers took time out to highlight positive things about the nominees and show them how appreciated they are. You can’t help but be touched by that. We always hear about the idea that just to be nominated is an honor, but for the first time, I truly feel what that means.

Now I’m sure there are grouches and cynics out there who are ready to tear this approach apart in an attempt to prevent it from happening ever again. One could argue that this presentation was too long, a bit contrived, and overflowing with ass-kissing. Perhaps that’s true. Anthony Hopkins and Cuba Gooding, JR certainly strengthened those arguments. You can either look at the glass half-full or half-empty. In my eyes, I think it’s really cool to see actors of different generations spreading positive energy to each other. Too many times in this industry, and in this world, we are so quick to criticize and tear people down. It’s the easiest thing in the world to create anguish and a frown. How much more rewarding it is to spread joy, encouragement, and make people smile. We need more of this nowadays, more than ever.

As I sit at my computer this early morning, I feel a bit like Jerry Maguire for being enormously compelled to write something that’s perhaps overly touchy-feely. But like Mr. Maguire, I don’t care. My old college acting teacher used to lead this exercise in which the actors would sit in a circle and we’re required to pay a positive compliment to each and every one of their peers. This exercise was greatly rewarding and made me realize we need to pump more positivity into the hearts of those around us everyday. I was reminded of this revelation watching these Oscar presentations. If you still don’t understand where I’m coming from, go out and pay a generous compliment to at least five people in your life and see how you feel afterwards.

Liam Neeson Has Kicked Ass and 'Taken' Names

by Brett Parker

Liam Neeson is a distinguished actor of considerable masculine presence and invaluable intelligence. While he has dabbed in Hollywood pop from time to time, his forte is found in prestigious dramas that demand sophisticated and seasoned actors. It’s surprising, then, to see him as the hero in Taken, an action thrill ride that places him in the role of a gun-toting, bone-breaking, tech-savvy, car-crashing ex-CIA operative out to wreak havoc on his daughter’s kidnappers. This is a role we’d expect from an action figure like Jason Statham and not necessarily Neeson, which helps make the performance all the more thrilling. Neeson is so good, in fact, that we’re willing to overlook the fact that the film uses a grand social tragedy as a clothesline for a standard action plot.

When we first meet Bryan Mills (Liam Neeson), he appears to be your average private citizen. He is a clean-cut man who lives by himself and shows warmth and kindness to the people around him. He attends the birthday party of his daughter, Kim (Maggie Grace), who is thrilled to see him, although his ex-wife (Famke Janssen) isn’t as welcoming. After the party, he throws a barbeque for buddies in his backyard. His close friend Sam (Leland Orser) offers him a job on a security team for a pop star performing in concert. “It’ll be like the old days,” Sam boasts. “Only no one gets killed!” Bryan adds.

It is revealed that Bryan is an ex-CIA agent retired from the field. His experiences have made him a walking warrior of skill and awareness, one that has alienated his ex-wife but tries to keep a strong relationship with his daughter. Bryan wants nothing more than an average life, but the government beast from within is awakened the fateful day when Kim is kidnapped in Paris. Kim and her cousin Amanda (Katie Cassidy) have traveled to Paris to follow a rock band across Europe, yet they are violently abducted from their hotel room the very afternoon they arrive off the plane. Bryan is able to hear the kidnapping during a phone call on Kim’s cell phone. He records the call with some of his old career gadgets and even speaks directly to Kim’s abductors (“I will look for you…I will find you…I will kill you!”)

After analyzing clues from the cell phone recording, with assistance from some old CIA contacts, Bryan discovers that Kim was kidnapped by Romanian gangsters who kidnap female tourists, drug them, and force them into prostitution. Bryan gathers his gear and is off to Paris to search for Kim, relying on his brilliant investigative skills and merciless combat training. It’s when Bryan infiltrates the seedy gangster world of human trafficking in which we realize just how deadly an agent he really is. Bryan shows no mercy towards his enemies, piling up dead bodies and wrecking buildings in hot pursuit of Kim’s abductors. This destructive behavior draws the attention of the French police, especially Bryan’s old associate, Jean Claude (Olivier Rabourdin). Can Bryan find Kim before the French authorities put a stop to his violent search?

Taken is an uneasy bonding between the tragedy of human trafficking and the exhilaration of a skilled action flick. On the one hand, the film is a vivid and sad look at the mechanisms of trafficking that has become an increasing issue in European countries. As Bryan penetrates further and further into his search for Kim, the camera also begins to peak into the dark depths of a perverse and unbearable world of corruption. Bryan witnesses drugged-up prostitutes too stoned to realize they are being pimped out in shabby brothels, virgins being auctioned off to rich business men in the basement of a ballroom party, and the startling ways criminals prey on these unfortunate tourists.

We can picture a grim and unflinching drama emerging from this subject matter, but Taken curiously seems more concerned with being an efficient slam-bang action ride. The action scenes are certainly top-notch, with plenty of car chases and fight scenes that will surely satisfy the Jason Bourne crowd. My heart began to sink, however, when I realized that the film is more nurturing towards its action plot then to the tragic developments of the trafficking plot. This is especially felt in the film’s final act, which goes into auto pilot and dissolves into a familiar stand-off between Bryan and the criminals guarding Kim, all with the usual stunts, brawls, and shoot-outs. There’s a certain cheapness in the film’s final scene, which is way to happy and upbeat considering all that’s gone before.

Still, it’s Liam Neeson’s performance that redeems the entertainment value of this film. Truth be told, I paid ten dollars to see Neeson smack around bad guys and I completely got my money’s worth. An aging veteran like Neeson is usually foreign to action roles like these; appearing on Broadway in The Crucible makes more sense. Yet his everyman frame brings a compelling conviction to the fight scenes. I was in absolute awe of Neeson as he twisted the bad guys into pretzels and dished out kung-fu punishments that make Jason Bourne look like a frat boy. I reveled in the moment where Bryan tells a key character, “I told you I’d find you.”

Neeson helps elevate the role and distracts us from just how implausible Bryan’s actions really are. As Bryan ends up in hostile and life-threatening situations, he escapes from them with a combination of superhuman skill and ridiculous luck. He appears to have that James Bond immunity towards death and entrapment. By film’s end, all he has to show for his ultraviolent journey is a scratch and a limp. Neeson brings great conviction to unconvincing situations.

So with this film, what have we learned? That there is yet to be a mainstream Hollywood film that deals head-on with the horrifying layers of human trafficking, no excuses. That Liam Neeson holds more testosterone than most action stars of today. That the Bourne series is the most influential action film of recent times. I wonder if action films will ever stray away from that herky-jerky grittiness so copied nowadays. I was reading an interview with director Stephen Sommers the other day. He promised that his upcoming G.I. Joe will be reminiscent of the James Bond escapist action circa Thunderball. I can’t wait.