Five-O Shore Road Goes Pink For The Day

By Larry Favinger

Staff Columnist

OGUNQUIT—

This Sunday, January 29, brunch-goers have an opportunity to aid breast cancer research while enjoying their meal at a local restaurant.

For the third straight year, Five-O Shore Road, in conjunction with the Doneto Tramuto Foundation, will benefit the Susan G. Komen For The Cure Foundation for breast cancer.

Jeff Porter, who has owned Five-O with his partner, Tramuto, since 2004, said for each meal served between 10a.m. and 2p.m. on Sunday, the foundation will donate $10 to the Susan G. Komen organization. The benefit has raised just under $2,000 each year since its inception.

In addition, Porter said, 100 percent of the cost of each Bloody Mary served will be given to the Komen group.

Komen’s sister, thereby launching a global breast cancer movement, formed Susan G. Komen for the Cure Foundation in 1982.

According to the group’s web site “Susan G. Komen for the Cure is the world’s largest grassroots network of breast cancer survivors and activists fighting to save lives, empower people, ensure quality care for all and energize science to find the cures.”

Three years ago, Porter said, the management team was looking for “things to do for the community in the off season.” There are people in the community “who would like to get out and do something for the community”. So the decision was made to do the annual benefit.

The funds raised by the benefit will go to the local chapter of the Susan G. Komen foundation, Porter said.

“We do a lot of things for the community,” Porter said. “We try to do something to give back to the community.”

The regular brunch menu is available and is listed on the restaurant’s web site, five-oshoreroad.com. There you’ll find brunch favorites—everything from classic Eggs Benedict to Buttermilk Pancakes—as well as Five-O specialties, such as a Veggie Pesto Benedict and Strawberry Crunch pancakes.

Since it’s formation in 1982, Susan G. Komen foundation has been able to raise and invest more than $1.9 billion—through the support and fundraisers throughout the nation—toward fulfilling their promise, becoming the largest source of nonprofit funds dedicated to the fight against breast cancer in the world.

Since 2001, the Tramuto Foundation has helped many organizations and many people through direct mentoring, scholarships and grants. Join them Sunday, as the Tramuto Foundation and Five-O work to help to make more of a difference in Komen’s search for “the Cure.”

14th Annual “Cheers From The Heart”

WELLS—

In 1999, the Wells High School Cheerleaders established “Cheers From The Heart,” a charity benefit cheerleading competition. Since 1999, “Cheers From The Heart” has donated over $112,000 to local charities and children in need. Charities include: Seeds of Peace, Camp Sunshine, March of Dimes, Camp Meridian, Maine Children’s Cancer Program and Kids Free to Grow. This year, competitions will be held at three locations: Marshwood High School, Oxford Hills High School and Lawrence High School. These events will take place on Saturday, February 4, at 11am.

Admission is $5 per adult and $3 per student/child. New to this year’s event is a reduced admission fee (by $1) with the donation of a non-perishable food item—teams who bring 10 non-perishable food items will receive $10 off their registration fee. All food collected will be donated to local food pantries. All locations will also accept pet food donations for the local humane society. Save a dollar and help keep food on the table for others in the community, as well as their pets.

For more information contact Jack Molloy, Wells High School Director of Student Activities at 207-646-7011, or Sybil Coombs at 207-604-2907.

“Red Tails” Heavy on Action, Heart

By Chip Schrader

Staff Columnist, Movie Reviewer

“Red Tails” opens with a quote from the United States Army, stating intellectual inferiority and lack of courage as their reason for not employing African Americans for officer assignments.

Following this quote is the first real shot of the film. The camera follows a fleet of German and American bombers flying over Europe. The fighter planes, piloted by Caucasian men, are attempting to protect bombers but quickly abandon them to chase after the glory of shooting down a Nazi plane. In the aftermath of their desertion, the film witnesses the cockpits and cargo areas of the bombers being shot up. Men fall, bleeding, and bombers plummet in pieces, unable to finish their mission.

Following this scene is a rather dull mission, carried out by the African American Airmen of World War II—now known as the Tuskegee Airmen. One of the aforementioned pilots even explains, “They say war is hell, I’d say this is boring as hell.” Shortly into running a routine fly though, they encounter a Nazi with full infantry—this proves an introduction for the audience to the unused talent of the Tuskegee Airmen of WWII.

The cast of the film includes a Terence Howard-portrayed Colonel. Beneath his pipe smoking Colonel, are WWII airmen “Easy,” “Winky,” “Junior,” “Neon” and “Joker.” As the first part of the film focuses primarily upon dogfights and air-to-ground combat, it takes a decent portion of the film to understand which character is which. Understandably, though, the cinematic depiction of an entire military division, as well as a story of several different heroes is a tall order in which to fully develop both characters and plot.

Beyond the difficulties of cramming so much into one film—an effort that even it’s direct—a somewhat well-known man named George Lucas—the film showcases action sequences that are at the cutting edge of action cinematography. Films like “Top Gun” and “Iron Eagle” have successfully conveyed the pulse-pounding suspense and speed of a full on midair dogfight, but “Red Tails,” with the help of digital technology, shows the great depths of fighting in midair—weaving between dozens of various competing bombers. When a plane loses altitude, you can see it from angles never before captured onscreen.

The acting is solidly done for the part. However, the passion Terence Howard needs to convey to his officers doesn’t quite ring true. He isn’t quite as believable a Colonel as he should be. For that matter, many of the commanding officers seem to be softer spoken rather than driven, and elements such as the captain’s drinking problem aren’t as well developed as they should have been. He is just seen with liquor in just one or two scenes, but the film is almost devoid of any real conflict regarding his alcoholism. Which further helps to propagate the question of whether or not Lucas spent more time on visuals than on plot-content.

All criticism aside, though, these characters remain with you long after the film ends. The story is a terrific history lesson of what our nation has overcome when it comes to racial barriers. It does a lot to highlight the bravery and prejudice that highlighted the work of these men during World War II.

Bottom line: “Red Tails” is a solid movie and, save for a little language, it is a rare opportunity for a father and son movie outing. The acting is a bit soft in spots but the imagery is breathtaking. The characters are people that the audience will care and root for, even though it takes over half of the movie to get to know them. There are no real standout performances, but there are many quotable lines throughout the film. Most importantly, each character gets a scene or two to make his definitive mark.

In the end, viewers will walk away wanting at least another half an hour with such a quietly charismatic cast. 3 out of 5 stars.