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No Post y'all

Oops.

Sorry, y'all; no post this week.

But next week we will continue dissecting Halle.

Next week... Monster's Ball.

Have a fab weekend, guys.

Me

Dissecting Halle - Things We Lost in The Fire

I liked Halle Berry in the movie, Things We Lost in The Fire, which was released, less than a year ago, in 2007.

Widowed mother of two Audrey Burke (Halle Berry) was distraught and grief-stricken throughout most of the film, since her husband, Brian Burke (David Duchovny), was killed in a senseless murder.

Berry was definitely believable as a bereaved widow.  I thought she played needy, emotionally lost, deeply saddened, acting out… all very well.

I thought Berry’s portrayal was very natural.

I think even her most staunch critics have to concede that Berry played the role convincingly, giving us a true to life, consistent performance.

This is work she can truly be proud of.

Dissecting Halle - Gothika

Gothika was released in 2003.  Halle Berry, who played brilliant criminal psychologist Dr. Miranda Grey, was well-prepared for the role and I found her to be believable and realistic throughout the film.

Halle Berry was convincing in this starring role; which did allow her some range.  Some.  I am glad she accepted the role because I think it was a departure and the role really did enable her to showcase her talent.  This performance in this genre allowed Berry to demonstrate that she can act and can be effective.

Berry’s never-ending screaming in the pic was a little much.  While this wasn’t the greatest role or performance, I thought Halle Berry was pretty good in the film.  I also saw it as an opportunity for her to expand her acting range; which, if it were already more expansive, would have led to a more enthralling performance in this movie.

There is, however, unequivocal proof that Halle Berry is an actress… or at least, a professional.

That kiss.  LOL.

Now, that’s an actress – remaining professional and composed even as Charles Dutton (who played Berry’s husband, Dr. Douglas Grey) swallowed her face during their open-mouth kiss.  (Yucky).  Though Dutton attempted to devour her face, Berry emerged from the kiss poised and cool, if not horrified. 

The chunked out and much older Dutton and Berry made for… an odd -- and unbelievable -- pairing.

I liked Gothika.  And I liked Halle Berry in this pic. 

They insist on undressing Halle Berry.  Berry did appear nude.  But she was not filmed in a sexually suggestive manner.  There was a prison shower scene – and at the end of it Berry is laying wounded on the floor; naked, in a fetal position.  None of her goods were visible.  "They” just insist on having Berry provocatively shot.  And finally, this film represents another instance in which a white male is attracted to Halle Berry's character. 

Hollywood.  Very interesting; the business, the industry… the power.

The Readers Spoke - Dissecting Halle

Okay, y'all.  I get it.  Looking at the comment threads from this series -- we have highlighted four films thus far -- I'm thinking folkses want me to talk about some of Halle Berry's more outstanding and credible work.

I had intended to do this, but I've been selecting films in no particular order.  Sooooooooooo...

Ima look at the pics in the pipeline and for the next few pics for the Dissecting Halle series, I will select pics which highlight some of Halle Berry's better work.

Now, I already have GOTHIKA in the pipeline for the next post, y'all.

But after that article, we'll talk about Things We Lost in the Fire.  And after that, I promise we'll talk about, say two more of her other critically-aclaimed pics, and then we'll go back to random selections.

A one-sided series (though this was not my intent) would get boring quickly (if it hasn't already), so we will mix it up a bit.

The HalleWOOD Award - Executive Decision

Ladies and Gentlemen:  I’d like to introduce….   

Ms. Halle Berry… the latest winner of that award of dubious distinction… the WOOD AWARD for that certain scene… that certain overreaching, wooden scene.

The award is presented to Ms. Berry in large part, due to the failure to optimally and properly use her voice.  This was due to lack of skill and/or lack of commitment to character. 

It was at the end (Chapter 34), when novice pilot Dr. Grant (Kurt Russell) was taking over flying the plane.  He seeks assistance from our feisty flight attendant, Jean.  Dr. Grant instructs Jean to locate the flight manual.

It is an emotional and riveting scene, since the plane is on the verge of crashing and Dr. Grant is desperately trying to gain control of the out-of-control aircraft.  He is terrified.  She is terrified.

So, she locates the book and she finds the pages he asks her to find and she reads the flight instructions to him.

I was just laughing.  The problem with the scene was that I was acutely aware of the fact that Halle Berry was an actor playing a role; pretending to be a terrified flight attendant.  Kurt Russell, on the other hand – his performance was seamless since, for those moments, I really thought he was an airline pilot under duress, struggling to land a plane.

Berry’s voice and tone was without realism.  The portrayal was not credible.  Some of her lines and her facial expressions and physical movements -- these reactions were forced.  They were fake.

How should she have done the scene?  HelifIknow.  She should have done it in a manner whereby anyone watching her could feel and believe that Jean was experiencing the fact that death or serious injury was looming before her.

At the end of the day, I think it had to do with trust; I think Berry didn’t trust her character to experience this; and she didn’t allow Jean to experience this.  Instead she herself, decided how an audience expects to see fear.  And she played the scene accordingly.

Congratulations, Hally Berry!

Dissecting Halle - Executive Decision

Executive Decision – released in 1996.  In it, we see Halle Berry playing Jean, a flight attendant on a hijacked airliner.  She surreptitiously assists American agents onboard the aircraft in their quest to overtake the middle eastern terrorists.

The role – and it was a small role – called for little more than two emotional responses from Berry.  Be terrified.  Be courageous.

And she did this.

Throw in a moment of grief; oh, and another beat down; but I’ll get to that.

I preferred Berry as defiant.  The terrified thing didn’t work for me.

I got to wondering and it occurred to me that it must be really difficult to pretend to be terrified.  Lots of actors do it but to do it successfully must require a certain level of skill; else you come out looking like an emotionally distorted caricature.  It is easy to exaggerate terror or underplay it, I think.

I figure, as the moviegoer, I am to feel terrified right along with the actor – if the actor does his job. 

In this film, I was highly aware of Berry’s characterization.  It just didn’t work for me.  One may argue that the scenes were short and quick and she didn’t have the time or momentum to execute terror.

Maybe.  I’m not an actor, so I know little of these things.

Or maybe a skilled actor can give us terror when the script or director says, “Give me terror.”

Berry and the beat down.  In Swordfish, Stan (Hugh Jackman) pushed her out of his trailer and she hit the ground like a ragdoll.  In Executive Decision, Nagi (David Suchet) knocked the hell out of her.  He hit Jean so hard, he totally knocked her block off. 

Poor Halle.  Now, I can’t wait to see her kick some azz.  Does she do that in the X-Men series?  I’ve not seen it.  Ain’t that superheros and stuff?  Since superheros kick azz, I expect she will.  I saw Catwoman but barely remember it.  I know she kicks some azz in that – doesn’t she?  Anyhoo, I’m rambling…

Finally, because of one particular scene in this film, Berry is the recipient… ta dum… of a WOOD AWARD!  Halle Berry joins Beyonce as the second recipient of this not-so-prestigious award presented by THE BLACKACTOR.COM.  See next post.

Dissecting Halle - Swordfish

Swordfish, released in 2001, is the third installment in the Dissecting Halle series.  Halle Berry is the same as she was in the previous two films highlighted for this series, Die Another Day and Perfect Stranger.  The films selected for the Halle Berry highlight have been selected completely at random.  Turns out, the first three are the same pic, featuring Halle Berry in the same role.  LOL.  I previously viewed Die Another Day before I began this series, but I had not seen Perfect Stranger or Swordfish.  So, this is all unraveling for me for the first time.  Damn, I picked prolly three of her worst – one after the next.  I know y’all done wit me.  LOL.

The good news?

We know Halle Berry is better than what we’ve seen so far.  This means, the better stuff is yet to come.  That’s good.  Thank God; cuz I’m bout done with this bi---.  Oops.  Halle, I didn’t mean it.  I didn’t.

Commonalities of the first three pics

In all three pics, we have:

     Halle – the sex kitten – focus on her as sexual, hotness
     Halle – sex or other physical intimacy with white men – three pics – four men
           Pierce Brosnan, Bruce Willis, John Travolta, Hugh Jackman
     Halle – hot dresses, often red, always fitting

In two of the pics, we have:

     Halle – driving a red (or variation of red) sexy, shiny, perfect car
     Halle – mouth open, so she can be sexaaaaaaaaaay for us (tee hee hee)
     Halle – unmistakable camera focus on her azz
     Halle – black lingerie – black thongs, black panty/black bra

{sigh}

Anyhoo, lemme get this out of the way before I go any further…

Halle Berry’s performance…  Halle Berry didn’t have a whole lot of screen time.  Nevertheless, I thought she was just fine in the pic.

There are two things I want to point out in the pic.

The Azz… again

The first time we meet our sexiness, we hear vrrrrrrrroooooooom, as she is driving that fast, red convertible leaving a trail of dust behind her.  Ginger (Halle Berry) exits the car -– wearing a salacious, fitting, red mini-dress (and high heels) and approaches a ratty old trailer occupied by Stan (Hugh Jackman).  Our goddess gives us beautifully sculpted, shapely, bronze legs and a perfectly made up face, the open mouth and the perfect hair.

I liked her hair in this pic.  I really, really liked her hair in this pic.  I prefer her with short hair.  I – oops.  I digress.

Moments later, our flirty sex kitten proves to us that she can swing a golf club.  So she sets the golf ball onto the tee –- of course she had to bend over to do this and it was at that moment -- though we couldn’t see her azz -- we could imagine its presence, since the dress was a mini-dress and when she bent over we were only an inch or two away from what was under the dress.  And so she steps up to the tee; assumes her golfer’s stance; shakes and wiggles her azz for us as she gets into position and prepares to make the shot.  Then she swings the golf club and hits the ball… um, somewhere far.  This shot, served no cinematic purpose whatsoever and does nothing to move the story forward.

The purpose of the scene – for us to want look at her azz.

{yawn; tired; tired of seeing this}

There was something noteworthy, however, about Swordfish.  Y’all know what it was.

I suppose the industry decided Halle Berry wasn’t quite legit -- since she hadn’t yet shown tit.  So, in order to be initiated into the A-list club, she needed to show us her ta tas.  I figure white men wanted to see them and the industry, one way or another, demanded this of her.  I figure she went along with it to secure her place as an A-lister.  She definitely ain’t the only one.  Many top actresses expose their breasts.  Hell, they all do.  It’s hardly a big deal anymore.

I remember when the film was released.  I didn’t really know what it was about or even who was in it.  All I remember was the yapping and buzz about the film -– that it would feature Halle Berry baring her breasts.

And so she did.  And it was really kind of interesting, the way it happened and all.  I just had to chuckle.  I found the scene pretty comical, because, all of a sudden -– there they were -– out of nowhere.  BOOBS!!!  Poof!  BOOBS!!  ROTFLMAO.

Her boobies were shown to us for no other reason than for us to gaze upon them.  There was absolutely no cinematic reason for us seeing them.  The scene was so bogus.  It was crystal clear that the shot was contrived -– and completely disconnected from the story’s needs or dictates.  And so it is interesting to note that when Halle Berry ultimately decided to give the world tit, the scene –- its very existence driven by shock value –- was cheapened.  If she were going to expose her breasts, it would have been nice if it had happened some other way.  Oh well.

The scene opened with Stan (Hugh Jackman) walking up to Ginger, who was sunning.  He approaches her as she is reclining in a beach chair, clad in bikini bottoms, reading a book –- which is up against her chest.  Stan calls her name, she lowers the book, and BAM!  There they were.  LOL.  I was like, “Oh.”  I  mean, they totally came out of nowhere.  LOL.  The previous scene ended.  And then this, the boob scene -- which lasted less than one minute -- it was so… so… sudden.  Boom.  Breasteses.  LMAO. 

And I watched the scene; absurd as it was.  I watched her say her lines.  I watched him say his lines.  It was idiotic and juvenile; he -- like a boy gazing upon his first boobies.  And she, unsuccessfully going against the grain, coy and nonchalant, masquerading as if she were not topless, and speaking to a man who was startled to see her bare breasts before him.  In the end, though, she grinned -– as if triumphant -– as if pleased, pleased that she moved him (caused him to bump into a chair, like a boy might) by showing him some tit.

I guess there’s a third thing I wanted to mention.  There was the scene where we see her disrobing down to matching black panties and bra.  (See photo on post).  This scene was cinematically relevant.  But still.  Nevertheless, it is a scene showing Halle Berry stripping taking off her clothes.  The viewer could have gotten the relevant information out of the scene in any number of ways.  But... oh well.  I’m just sayin’.

And yes, one other thing about the boobies.  It is interesting to note that the first time she showed us boob, the person who was "treated" to the boobs was a white man; not a black man.  I’m just sayin’.

Q:  For Goddsakes, theblackactor.com, WHAT IS THE NEXT HALLE BERRY film you will be highlighting?

A:  theblackactor.com:  HelifIknow; whatever is next in the Netflix queue, I suppose.  I’m not sure yet.  I haven’t looked.  I hope it’s one of those that show her as a woman –- and not as a gotdam slab of sex.

Geez!

Well, with the first three pics highlighted, I’m sounding like a broken record broken record broken record broken record; I mean, skipped CD skipped CD skipped CD skipped CD skipped CD skipped CD skipped CD skipped CD skipped CD skipped CD skipped CD skipped CD skipped

It’s not my fault.  It’s Halle Berry’s!

And my last two cents...

Yes; I get the notion, if you got it, flaunt it.  I also understand that Halle Berry is beautiful and sexy and all those things and why not get paid for it.  Okay.  I suppose my personal viewpoint is that a woman's sex appeal is often -- if not always -- limited when it is obviously contrived.  It's not really sexy; but instead, clown-like.  I do believe, the most compelling manifestation of a woman’s sexual persona calls for some modesty.  After all... it’s far more sexier; is it not?  I think so.  And I’m not talking about prudes, or women walking around looking matronly -– cuz that ain’t cute.  I… Anyhoo, I'll refrain from burdening readers with my personal musings about things not related to the blog.  LOL.

Dissecting Halle - Perfect Stranger

Overall, I thought Halle Berry was pretty good in Perfect Stranger, which was released last year, in 2007.

In contrast to Die Another Day, I suppose Halle Berry was a little older and a little wiser for this role.  She was much, much better in this pic.  I thought Berry gave a smarter, more reliable performance.

I thought her portrayal of journalist Rowena Price was credible.  Oh, I can’t really think of any glaring missteps.  I could nitpick about wooden moments.  Why nitpick into nonsense, or split hairs unnecessarily?  I liked her enough in the pic.

Sometimes a performance is poor.  Sometimes it is adequate.  Sometimes it is good.  Sometimes it is great.  Sometimes it is beyond great.

I just wanna ask one question…

Did the following serve any cinematic purpose whatsoever?  Did the scene move the story forward in any meaningful way?  In the scene, the following happens:

The camera shows us Rowena’s naked back.  She’s rifling through a “lingerie drawer” filled with panties and bras.

Okay.

Tonight’s selection?  The obligatory black thong.  And so we watch as the thong rises up above her legs on their way to their final destination; her lady spot.

Immediately, the camera pans to her azz.  She’s dressed now; bending down; reaching for her shoes.  So we see her azz – which is prominent in the frame – poking through that snugly, fitted, pretty red dress.

Oooooooooh.  Sexay.

The scene ends with Rowena spraying perfume on her inner thighs; left thigh; right thigh.

End of scene.

Then there’s the next scene –- when, now all dolled up, she enters a room wearing the pretty red dress, on her way out for her date with Cameron (Gary Dourdan).  We see Rowena talking with Miles (Giovoanni Ribisi) and the camera pans to her azz not one time, but two times while she is talking to him.

Okay; so, we know she has a fit figure; a panty drawer; we know she wears thongs; has a shapely azz; and sprays perfume onto her inner thighs in preparation for a date (or an up-against-the-wall, sexual liaison; but whatever).

And…

Had we not known these things could we still have understood her character and her character’s place and motivation in the story?

I’m just askin’.

The year? -- 2007
Oscar winner
Golden Globe winner
Emmy Award winner
SAG Award winner (two times, at that)
Large body of work
Net worth in the tens of millions of dollars (isn’t it?)
Over 40

… and she stiiiiiiiiilllll poking her azz out?

Still?  Now?

Some may cry for her, saying this is what Hollywood is giving her.  Not me.  Not at all.  Not Halle Berry.  Not now.  Sorry.

SMH.