Gender. Only 30.2% of the 30,835 speaking characters evaluated were female across the 700 top‐grossing films
from 2007 to 2014. This calculates to a gender ratio of 2.3 to 1. Only 11% of 700 films had gender‐balanced casts
or featured girls/women in roughly half (45‐54.9%) of the speaking roles.
Race/Ethnicity. Of those characters coded for race/ethnicity across 100 top films of 2014, 73.1% were White, 4.9% were Hispanic/Latino, 12.5% were Black, 5.3% were Asian, 2.9% were Middle Eastern, <1% were American Indian/Alaskan Native or Native Hawaiian/Pacific Islander, and 1.2% were from “other” racial and/or ethnic groupings. This represents no change in the portrayal of apparent race/ethnicity from 2007‐2014.
LGBT. Across 4,610 speaking characters in the 100 top films of 2014, only 19 were Lesbian, Gay or Bisexual. Not one Transgender character was portrayed. Ten characters were coded as Gay, 4 were Lesbian, and 5 were Bisexual. Only 14 movies sample wide featured an LGB depiction and none of those films were animated. Of the LGB characters coded, nearly two‐thirds were male (63.2%) and only 36.8% were female. LGB characters were also predominantly White (84.2%). Only 15.8% were from underrepresented racial/ethnic backgrounds.
Behind the scenes is even worse.
The landscape of popular cinema in 2014 remains skewed and stereotypical. Across 700 films and over 30,000 speaking characters from 2007 to present, movies continue to distort the demographic reality of their audience. Film characters are overwhelmingly White and male, despite both population statistics and viewing patterns.
Employment trends behind the camera evidence a similar dearth of diversity. Only five Black directors helmed top movies in 2014, and women were underrepresented by a factor of 5.3 to 1 as directors, writers, and producers in 2014. Further, the 100 top films of 2014 featured no Asian directors. Despite activism, attention, and statements about addressing the issue, Hollywood’s default setting for characters and content creators remains fixed on “status quo.”
Rated R for language throughout, strong sexuality/nudity, violence, and drug use
Profanity:
Constant very strong and crude language, racist and homophobic terms
Alcohol/ Drugs:
Drinking, drugs, drug dealing
Violence/ Scariness:
Violence including guns, fights, riots, sad deaths
Diversity Issues:
A theme of the movie
Date Released to Theaters:
August 14, 2015
Date Released to DVD:
January 18, 2016
Amazon.com ASIN:
B013P0X16Q
Copyright 2015 Universal“What does NWA stand for?” asks Jerry Heller (Paul Giamatti), who is offering to become the manager of a new rap group from the Compton area of Los Angeles. “No Whites Allowed?”
“No,” Eric “Eazy-E” Wright answers: “N**** Wit Attitude.”
NWA liked to think of itself as speaking truth to power, a CNN of oppressed minorities. When the Detroit police force told them that they would be arrested for obscenity and inciting violence if they performed their notorious “F*** the Police” in concert, they performed it. And they were arrested. When they were accused of glamorizing drugs and violence, they said they were journalists, reporting what they saw. They had a lot of attitude, a lot of anger, and a lot of ambition. They were savvy about what we might call branding. When their song “F*** the Police” got them a warning letter from the FBI, Eazy understood that it was the best possible publicity to present them as rebels being attacked by the Man, marketing money could not buy.
Much of the story is familiar from every other musical biopic you’ve ever seen plus every single episode of “VH1: Behind the Music.” 1. Talented young people from a marginalized community are told that their music is neither good nor commercial. “If you find the next Bon Jovi, call me,” says one label executive as he walks out of their performance. 2. And then they find their audience. They become successful beyond their wildest dreams. 3. And then they discover that fame and money present their own challenges, including fights over money and the direction of the business. But this biopic, produced by the original members of NWA is unexpectedly sweet, even tender, presented with affection and perspective. (Perhaps this is the reason the film omits the genre’s most frequent cliche, the scenes of family members complaining that the musical superstars are not spending enough time at home.)
The script is sharp, often funny, and compelling. When a kid on a school bus taunts a thug in a nearby car, the thug boards the bus at gunpoint to tell the kids to treat him with respect — and stay in school. “We just got a motivational speech from an OG ,” says O’Shea Jackson, soon to be Ice Cube.
It has one of the best ensemble casts of the year and all of the performances are superb. But a considerable percentage of the movie’s power comes from its timing. While the events it depicts occurred three decades ago, it could easily be referring to the current headlines about police abuse and the virulent persistence of racism throughout American society. The footage of Rodney King being brutally attacked is chilling because it shows us where NWA’s anger came from and reminds us of how little progress we have made. More chilling than the attitude from NWA is the way that the constant trauma from the community and the society around it have created a particular kind of ambition. This first generation born after the heyday of the Civil Rights movement does not want promises or the traditional idea of progress. They are not about passive resistance and sit-ins. They are not looking for a seat at a segregated lunch counter. They want to tell their stories. And their contempt for the system is so deep that they show no interest in activism or putting their money back into the community.
Jason Mitchell gives a star-making performance as Eazy-E, the fearless and canny co-founder of NWA who started Ruthless Records with money he made dealing drugs. O’Shea Jackson, Jr. plays his real-life father, better known as Ice Cube, who created the lyrics for many of the group’s biggest and most influential pieces. And Corey Hawkins is Dr. Dre, master of the turntable. The movie is well over two hours and never seems long, but with that running time there should have been space for more about the creative drive. We see the guys writing in notebooks and there is a funny scene with Eazy as a last-minute substitute Dre has to show how to get on beat for their first recording. But we never get a sense of what it feels like to create these songs or to perform them before thousands of fans or how they felt about the complaints that their lyrics were misogynistic. Later we glimpse Ice Cube working on the screenplay for “Friday,” the first film from this movie’s director, F. Gary Gray. But we do not learn that it would be even more influential in Hollywood than NWA was in music. Instead, we get an admittedly very funny call-out to that film (“Bye, Felicia“). And we get fan service scenes re-creating Eazy’s pool parties and spouse service scenes like Cube meeting Nicole. There are two other members of the group we learn very little about.
There is still room for a more objective NWA story as cultural and political history. At middle age, Dr. Dre, Ice Cube, and Eazy’s widow are not as clear-eyed about their own history as NWA was in calling themselves citizen journalists, matching the harshness and brutality around them with the force of their rap. But this is a compelling story with a message as vitally important now as it was during NWA’s brief recording career, with plenty of attitude and then some.
Parents should know that the film includes very strong and crude language, drug dealing, smoking, drinking, wild parties, nudity, sexual references and situations, sad deaths, peril and violence, and archival footage of police brutality and riots.
Family discussion: Was NWA right to perform their song in Detroit? Do you agree that they are journalists? Should there be limits on song lyrics that are profane or bigoted?
If you like this, try: the documentaries about A Tribe Called Quest and Tupac Shakur and the music of NWA
Copyright 2015 Warner Bros. Pictures
Guy Ritchie’s update of the 1960’s television spy series is sleek, sophisticated, and sexy, with lively banter, high style, and oodles of roguish retro charm.
Henry Cavill (“Superman,” “The Tudors”) takes the Robert Vaughn role of Napoleon Solo, an army vet turned cool, elegant high-end thief turned reluctant spy in a plea deal to avoid a jail sentence. We meet him as he is arranging an extraction from the divided city of Berlin. An auto mechanic named Gaby (Alicia Vikander of “Ex Machina”) is the daughter of “Hitler’s favorite rocket scientist,” a man who came to work for the United States after WWII but has now disappeared and is thought to be working for some very dangerous people who are interested in his invention, basically a quicker, smaller, atomic bomb. The CIA is not the only group to figure out that Gaby might be the way to find her father. A very tall, very determined Soviet agent named Ilya Kuryakin (Armie Hammer of “The Social Network”) is after her, too. After a thrilling chase, Napoleon delivers Gaby to the CIA only to find out that he has been assigned to work with both Gaby and Ilya to find her father and make sure that the bomb does not fall into the wrong hands.
As with his “Sherlock Holmes” films, Ritchie has a lot of fun with the chemistry between his actors. There’s a fire and ice vibe; Napoleon’s understated confidence and unflappable charm plays off well against Ilya’s smoulder and barely-controlled rage. They call each other “Cowboy” and “Peril” (as in “Red Peril”) and one-up each other with gadgets that are endearingly analog. What they refer to as a “computer disk” looks like a scotch tape dispenser made out of Fiestaware. Vikander continues her unstoppable trajectory into superstardom with another impeccable performance. And then there are the bad guys. Elizabeth Debicki (“The Great Gatsby”) plays Victoria Vinciguerra, “a lethal combination of beauty, brains, and ambition.” She is a 1960’s high fashion vision, part Catherine Deneuve, part Jean Shrimpton, part Penelope Tree, and a femme fatale in the most literal and lethal sense. They should give Joanna Johnston the costume design Oscar right now, and maybe the Nobel, too for her take on 60’s couture, from Courreges to Mary Quant.
Ritchie’s kinetic camerawork, spiced up with some split screen work is accompanied by Daniel Pemberton‘s swanky cocktail-stirrer of a score. With Hugh Grant’s unmatchable dry wit as a spy honcho and charm to spare from the leads, it’s enormously entertaining — with a welcome hint at the end that a sequel is in the works.
Parents should know that this film includes extended action-style violence, chases, explosions, shoot-outs, bombs, torture, some disturbing images including archival wartime footage, sexual references and situations and brief nudity, drinking, and smoking.
Family discussion: How do Napoleon’s and Ilya’s backgrounds affect the way they approach their jobs? Do you agree with their decision about the computer disk? What has changed the most since the Cold War era shown in the film?
If you like this, try: “Mission Impossible: Rogue Nation,” “Torn Curtain,” and the old “Man from UNCLE” television series
Peril, issues of parental death and abandonment, mean adults
Diversity Issues:
None
Date Released to Theaters:
August 14, 2015
Copyright ARC Entertainment 2015“Molly Moon and the Incredible Book of Hypnotism” is a cute family fantasy, based on the series of books about a spunky orphan by Georgia Byng. Raffey Cassidy, the enchanting young star who was the highlight of “Tomorrowland,” is perfectly cast as the determined Molly Moon, who learns from an old book how to use hypnotism to get people to do what she wants. Cassidy’s clear blue eyes are so mesmerizing that it is easy to believe they can bewitch anyone.
Molly lives in a Little Orphan Annie/Oliver Twist-style terrible orphanage, presided over by mean Mrs. Adderstone (Lesley Manville), with the disgusting food prepared by a cook named Edna (Celia Imrie). In this brutal environment, Molly’s only friend is Rocky (Jadon Carnelly Morris), a gifted singer. Molly promises to be there for his performance but lets him down twice because she is so captivated by an old book about hypnotism she found in the library. She tries out what she learned first on Mrs. Adderstone’s fierce dog Petula, who becomes friendly and devoted. And then she goes to work on Edna, who suddenly starts preparing delicious, wholesome meals for the children. She tries to work out some adoptions that would keep her with Rocky, but, angry and hurt because she broke her promise, he goes off with the wealthy Mr. and Mrs. Alabaster. Molly decides that what she needs is stardom. If she is rich and famous like pop star Davina (Tallulah Evans), she thinks she will be happy. She cannot sing or dance, but she does have the crucial skill — her ability to hypnotize extends not only to a television producer and a talk show host, but by the clever use of magnification, to almost everyone in the audience, not just in the theater where she is performing but those watching on television as well.
Meanwhile, someone else is trying to get the hypnotism book: a crook named Nockman (“Lord of the Rings'” Dominic Monaghan), spurred on by his crime queenpin mother (Joan Collins, as always, at her best playing bad). They want to use hypnotism for a big robbery. And if they can’t get there before a rival gang, maybe they can let them do the robbery and then rob them.
All of the performers, young and grown-up, are clearly enjoying themselves. Cassidy is one of the most appealing young actors in film, Emily Watson is very touching in a brief role as a sympathetic adult supervising the orphans, and Evans is excellent as a pint-sized diva. Director Christopher N. Rowley and director of photography Remi Adefarasin (“Match Point,” “Elizabeth”) keep the tone light and playful, enjoying the heightened fantasy elements of the story. It comes across like a fairy tale, with transformations and enchantments. And it is exceptionally understanding of the story’s villains. In order to hypnotize someone, Molly has to understand something about them. Even pretending to listen to them teaches her something about why acts that are inconsiderate or selfish are often based in hurt and fear. Molly herself is thoughtless and unfair at times. Like Spider-Man she has to learn that with great power comes great responsibility, and like Dorothy, she learns that there’s no place like home.
Parents should know that the film deals with parental loss and abandonment and with adults being cruel to children. They should also know that the film perpetuates inaccurate stereotypes of adoption, including the idea that prospective parents go to orphanages to pick out children as though they are buying groceries. There is some mild peril and brief language and crude humor.
Family discussion: Who would you like to hypnotize? Why didn’t Molly like being a pop star?
. Raffey Cassidy, the enchanting young star who was the highlight of “Tomorrowland,” is perfectly cast as the determined Molly Moon, who learns from an old book how to use hypnotism to get people to do what she wants. Cassidy’s clear blue eyes are so mesmerizing that it is easy to believe they can bewitch anyone.