donjmiller

Or perhaps an English language tele-novella, since much of the dialogue seems like Google translations of decades-old TV. I tried, I wanted to like it, but (in spite of it being written and directed by its lead actor) I found myself unable to guess what the motivation was to make this amalgam of abduction tropes and cliches. Maybe someone saw the success of the X-Files, and thought they could hit the same mark without cast chemistry, wit, or convincing dialogue and plot. Some in the cast, perhaps most, could act if given proper material, but this production consistently asks for "bricks without straw," which few can get past. Unlike other turkeys (Theodore Rex, anyone?), it isn't even accidentally funny.

I know this came out for Black History month in the U.S., and it's right on target: illuminate a pivotal figure from our national past who was an African American. Show both the obstacles overcome and the world-changing effect achieved. That's a fine formula, and it works.

But George Stevens has gone beyond the formula, and this monologue, by the amazing Laurence Fishburne as Thurgood Marshall, with slide-show and lighting effects, is surprisingly powerful. They shine their light into some of America's darkest places, yet retain humor and hope. Fishburne uses all his registers, and is a delight to watch, as he persuades you that you are in the presence of the man who, with his argument in Brown v. Board of Education, triggered the end of legal segregation in the U.S, who became the Supreme Court's first African-American member. And who gives you all the context of that life.

If you let yourself, through a spell woven by the spoken word and evocative images on the wall behind the sparsely furnished set, you'll be transported into the life and world of Thurgood Marshall. It's entertaining, enlightening and ... over too soon.

Clearly a message piece, in the vein of the After-School Specials, this is still worth a watch.

A very good line-up of voice talents, some excellent stop-motion animation, effective music and some over-the-top melodrama liven up the production and make it entertaining for the full half hour.

Interviews with actual teen smokers and a mouth-cancer survivor humanize the statistics, which are clearly presented and scattered throughout the film, some presented in a game show format. I'd say the folks who made this had as a goal making it unlikely that anyone watching would tune out. The variety is impressive and mostly fun, in spite of the subject.

As an example of their attention to every detail, I noticed, in the newsstand sequence near the end, the issue of Cigar Aficionado with Arnold Schwarzenegger on the cover passes by .