Review of "A Mighty Heart"

Other Reviews:
"Karma Cafe"(movie)
"Talk to Me" (movie)
"Eavesdropper" (play)
Alexandros Kapelis (piano recital)





The true story of Mariane Pearl, wife of the Wall Street Journal reporter Daniel Pearl beheaded by the Taliban on video for all to see, is a film I wanted to appreciate if not like if only to honor their lives. Sad to say, although this film is a dignified tribute to Daniel Pearl and the courage and equanimity of his wife, it was tiresome, confusing and surprisingly lacking in emotional impact. Perhaps it's existence is justified, as it is said at the closing, so that their son will know who his father was, and how his mother dealt with it.

When telling a story of which the outcome is already known, we need to learn something about the characters we didn't know and we need to be shown the dynamics that set up the conflict and the outcome. Might Heart does some of this but the fractured structure of flashbacks and parallel actions do not illuminate any of this. Daniel's disappearance should have been a descent into the mouth of evil, but there was barely a hint of danger. The filmmakers rightfully spared us the horror of Daniel's murder, but we saw nothing of his capture or captivity, nor anyone talking about it, to awaken our sympathy for him. I kept feeling like I should be feeling the pain of this woman, and I am one who does react emotionally to movies a lot. There's an ongoing business with the chart created by Mariane and updated throught the picture in trying to track down the kidnappers, but the filmmakers never give us an exposition of what it means, and how the pieces are fitting together that allows the Pakistani police to find their suspects and raid their homes.

Angelina Jolie performed Mariane's character with sensitivity and authenticity. Dan Futterman and the rest of the cast were up to their roles, so any disappointment with this film was not the fault of the actors. The Pakistani captain played by Irrfan Khan was especially good.


The one real sour note I felt was the implication that torture was a justifiable tool in the hands of the "good guys". I am disgusted beyond measure that this country has abandoned its moral high ground, and now we debate how much torture we can allow so that we do not fall below the morality of our worst enemies. This is no surprise when we consider how much we have turned away from American bravery and honor, and forgotten that warning by Ben Franklin. "Those who would give up essential liberty to purchase a little temporary safety, deserve neither liberty nor safety."

I imagine the idea was to show the chaos of the Pakistani city of Kerachi, but the editing and narrative was worse than chaotic. The digital video imagery was so poor I got exhausted looking at it. In fact, the CNN news footage was cleaner looking than the stuff shot to tell the story. This should have been shot on film, at least Super 16mm so the imagery could have expression and feeling. Message to filmmakers, from studio to student, "Show me you respect me enough as your audience, to create your works on film. Show me you respect your work as a filmmaker enough to create your works on film. Otherwise, you get no respect from me, and you'll lose me from your audience!"

Other Reviews:
"Talk to Me" (movie)
"Eavesdropper" (play)
Alexandros Kapelis (piano recital)
"Karma Cafe"(movie)

Review of "Karma Cafe"

Other Reviews:
"Talk to Me" (movie)
"Eavesdropper" (play)
Alexandros Kapelis (piano recital)
"A Mighty Heart" (movie)




The first movies were all short films, and although the feature film has become the mainstay of the theater, shorts have never lost their appeal. Recent proliferation of film classes and access to equipment has produced an overwhelming flood of short films. Of the thousands I have seen, only a few have stuck with me beyond the Warner cartoons of my childhood. "The Secret Cinema" by James Bartel in 1968, the 1932 Oscar winning "The Music Box" by Laurel and Hardy, the George Lucas USC student film, "THX 1138" or "A Sense of History" by James Broadbent in 1992 are a few that always come to mind. Now I happily add "Karma Cafe" by Eben Kostbar to the list. In spite of the tens of thousands of entries to film festivals, Eben's movie has been lighting a lot of film festival screens and garnering well deserved awards.

At the “Karma Café,” every cup tells a story.

A Coffee Shop cashier instills confidence in a lonely, young man seeking love. Are they the words of “The Wise” or simply acts of coincidence? Welcome to the “Karma Café!”AWARDS
Audience Choice – DC Shorts FF
Honorable Mention – Beverly Hills HD FF
Best Short – Flickering Image FF
Honorable Mention – Smogdance FF
Audience Choice – East Lansing Children’s FF
Audience Choice & Best Entertainment Value – Pumelo Independent FF (India)

FESTIVALS (partial list)
Newport Beach FF
Rhode Island Int FF
Indianapolis Int FF
Cleveland Int FF
Memphis Int FF
Bahamas Int FF



Eben Kostbar plays Dustin, a lonely young man
Craig James Pietrowiak plays another lonely young man
Paige Jarvie plays Amber plays an attractive young woman seemingly out of his reach
Shawn Patrick O'Donnell plays the coffee counter clerk


Eben describes himself this way, "I am an actor and recently also a filmmaker, living in Hollywood. I grew up in Maryland, love football especially the redskins and for college, USC Tojans and the Maryland Terps. I enjoy movies of all kinds and good times w/ friends."

A reading of Eben's film and tv credits reveals a talent searching for his most fulfilling means of expression, first as an actor then as writer, director, editor and producer. In making "Karma Cafe", he succeeded in bringing quality to all the elements of good cinematic story telling, when measured by traditional standards, but added his own light touch to make it all fresh again.

The story is well structured, the humor well developed, the heart feelings genuine, the film craft clean and crisp. Some well meaning reviewers have called it charming or inspirational. Sorry, I didn't find the film charming or inspirational, anymore than I found it sentimental and maudling, no, to call it charming or inspirational is to miss the mark on the good natured sincerity of this work. Even the word "sincere" can be misread sometimes as an earnest failure, but I mean it in the beautiful sense of its origin in Roman law that only a perfect, unblemished work of a silversmith could be inscribed "Sincerus" (meaning unwaxed from sine meaning without and cera meaning wax). "Karma Cafe" is entitled to be enscribed "Sincerus".

Eben has recently partnered with another talented actor Joseph McKelheer to form Quality Time Productions. They not only produce their own works, but can provide production services as well, check it out.

Unless you're lucky enough to see it at a film festival, "Karma Cafe" can be purchased ($14.99) through paypal now on the website http://www.karmacafethemovie.com (dvd includes special features: commentary and movie slideshow). You can also see a web movie version of it, but it's best when you can see full resolution and surrounded by other people. One way or the other, this one you must see!

Other Reviews:
"Talk to Me" (movie)
"Eavesdropper" (play)
Alexandros Kapelis (piano recital)
"A Mighty Heart" (movie)

Review of "Talk to Me"

Other Reviews:
"Karma Cafe" (movie)
"A Mighty Heart" (movie)
"Eavesdropper" (play)
Alexandros Kapelis (piano recital)




Actress turned director Kasi Lemmons has blossomed into a fine filmmaker with her creation of the new Don Cheadle movie "Talk to Me" based on the true story of Petey Greene, a black ex-con turned Washington D.C. radio personality during the 1960's, a period of turmoil over the Viet Nam war and the civil rights movement. Greene's "tell it like it is" style woke a sleepy R&B radio station into a major voice for the disenfranchised black majority living in our nation's capital at a time when it seemed the country was falling apart.

Kasi has turned Michael Genet and Rick Famuyiwa's excellent screenplay into a well crafted film, proving once again that new directors and new writers are a fountainhead of creativity that breath fresh air into our favorite form of art and entertainment. There is a good balance between character exposition, historical setting, and plot structure. The film does not pander to black or white stereotypes. If you're looking for a militant's view of history, it's not there, nor should it be, it's about a man and his friendship with another, manager Dewey Hughes, and how that friendship empowered them both. Unlike other recent films of this genre, the whites are also just people struggling with the issue of racism, many of whom were also devastated by Martin Luther King's murder.

Don Cheadle as Petey is first rate, something we've come to expect since "Hotel Rawanda" and "Crash".




Chiwetel Ejiofor as Dewey turns in his best yet in a decade of good performances.


Martin Sheene as the radio station owner shines in a supporting role with complexity and depth combining the establishment, compassion and progressiveness.


Tarajii P. Henson as Greene's love-of-his-life performs a consistently entertaining vision of the woman who stood by him and fought for him throughout his journey from his prison life to his finding his ultimate freedom. This is one character who was a little short changed in depth by the writer and director. The impersonations of Johnny Carson and James Brown are clever and believable.

The cinematography by Stephane Fontaine and editing by Terilyn Shropshire are first rate. The period music is appropriate and when used as commentary is not over done. All in all the movie was a well spent evening and I'd recommend it to anyone not offended by strong language. The only weakness I felt in the film was, as so often true in recent times, was the climax and ending failed to move emotionally or offer a turn that leaves one thinking about it. Other than that, I say, "See it for sure."

Other Reviews:
"Karma Cafe" (movie)
"Eavesdropper" (play)
"A Mighty Heart" (movie)
Alexandros Kapelis (piano recital)

The Passion of the Creator

The drive to create is the primary function of a healthy ego. I'm not referring to the pathological ego that distorts personalities, but the creative force that is so important that it is the name given to the god of the Judeo-Christian-Muslim beliefs as the creator of all existence. Our personal egos can drive us to write, paint, sculpt, build houses, form organizations, run for office, seek job promotion, build a family, invent, and above all make movies. This creative drive we call passion.

Investors, rightly so, want to know that the film makers are passionate about the project, that they are competent to make it, and have a clear plan of returning a profit to the investors. Again and again we hear homage paid to the role of passion as the primary and essential ingredient in an indie film project to get it noticed, funded and produced. Then a very odd thing happens when the discussion turns to what the investors are looking for before they fund a project. That discussion inevitably turns to handing the job of director to someone other than the film's creator.

Here's the problem. Far more often than not, indie's are the brain child of writer/directors, the film makers who only write their screenplays as the first step in making their film. There is no one in the entire world more passionate about getting the movie made, made well, and successful than the writer/director, indeed, it it is the creation and drive of that person who has gotten every one interested in the first place. Can it make common sense to tout the absolute importance of passion but then pluck out the one person who's passion is the primal cause? Let's rip the heart out of the project and see if we can make a film with what's left. No wonder the sad state of indie film making!

An example of ripping the heart out of a production: I used to love to read Marvel Comics series "Dr. Strange" , and was thrilled that it was going to be turned into a TV movie. I could not have been more disappointed. By chance, I met one of the artists who contributed to those comic books, and he described his role as "consultant" to the film project. One by one, every feature of Dr. Strange that made him interesting was taken out by the director Philip DeGuere who had been assigned to the production by Universal and CBS. The result was disastrous to say the least.

Of course competency is vital. But, the competency of the director should not be tied to a string a mediocre movies of moderate success. The writer/director has already proven creative competency or the producers wouldn't be interested in making the movie in the first place. No director performs in isolation. Regardless of experience, any director needs to be surrounded by producers, production personnel, cast and crew who each bring their talent and experience to the project, and see to it that the director's vision, as first committed to paper, gets realized to its best.

Historically, the "first time director" who actually got a film out there in the theaters has nearly always turned a profit on it, especially the writer/director, which is something you can prove to yourself with a little investigation on line withIMDB or Boxoffice Mojo. I spoke once with Danny Boyle, the director of "28 Days Later", "Trainspotting" and so on, and he contended that a director's first film is often his best and it goes down hill from there.

Maybe the quality and commercial success of indie films would explode, if we started recognizing that a film project brought into being by the passion of a writer/director should be made ONLY by the its creator with all the support necessary for that creator to succeed. Put your money with the fountain head from whom the passion springs.