Review: "PAUL MOONEY: Know Your History - Jesus is Black and So is Cleopatra"

TRASH IN MY EYE No. 59 (of 2007) by Leroy Douresseaux

Paul Mooney: Know Your History – Jesus is Black and so is Cleopatra (2007) – video
Running time:  83 minutes (1 hour, 23 minutes)
DIRECTOR:  Bart Phillips
WRITER:  Paul Mooney
PRODUCERS:  Shane Mooney and Malik Levy, Adrian Z. Sosebee, and Shawn Ullman
EDITOR:  Donnie Leapheart

CONCERT - Comedy

Starring:  Paul Mooney

Paul Mooney (August 4, 1941 – May 19, 2021) was an African-American comedian, writer, social critic, and actor.  Mooney was best known for his association with legendary comedian Richard Pryor, writing for and with Pryor.  Later, Mooney gained fame for his appearances on comedian Dave Chappelle's television sketch comedy series, “Chappelle's Show.”

Mooney was a comedian who seemingly loved controversy.  After all, he was also the creator of the character, “Homey the Clown,” for the early 1990’s TV sketch comedy series, “In Living Color.”  Mooney returned to the small screen with the DVD release of his stand-up comedy film, Paul Mooney: Know Your History – Jesus is Black and So is Cleopatra.  Mooney took center stage at Hollywood’s Laugh Factory for a stand-up comedy performance, which was recorded and became this film.

In Paul Mooney: Know Your History – Jesus is Black and So is Cleopatra, Mooney delivered his incendiary brand of comedy.  From the opening moments, he charged into his fiery subjects, which usually included racism, white people, racial tension, and, in this performance, the finer points of Black History.  He talked about divas, living in White America, President George W. Bush, Scientology, and various social and political topics.

Know Your History is edgier, darker, and perhaps a bit more mean-spirited than a previous Mooney DVD release, Paul Mooney: Analyzing White America (2004).  I am sure Analyzing White America was once known as Paul Mooney Live, and it was much funnier than Know Your History...  Still, in this second film, Mooney discussed racism and racial issues in America like no one else, and did so with the passion and honesty that most mainstream American political and social commentators could never match.  For all his bluntness, Know Your History... still had me doubled over with laughter.  Know Your History... is funny, but white people, the politically correct, and the sensitive are warned.  Professor Mooney’s history lesson might burn your mind to a crisp.

The stand-up is interspersed with some documentary footage and also testimonials from a number of celebrities including David Alan Grier, Lori Petty, and Sandra Bernhard, whom Mooney once mentored.  In light of his recent passing (as of this writing), I recommend that you seek out Paul Mooney: Know Your History – Jesus is Black and So is Cleopatra, dear readers.  If you don't know him, Mooney, as sharp social critic, is worth discovering, and if you only know his TV work, here a chance to discover Mooney at his best.

7 of 10
A-

Saturday, March 31, 2007 / Revised Wednesday, May 19, 2021


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Review: "Murder Party" is a Halloween Party

TRASH IN MY EYE No. 18 (of 2020) by Leroy Douresseaux

[This review was originally posted on Patreon.]

Murder Party (2007)

Running time: 120 minutes (2 hours)

Not rated

WRITER/DIRECTOR: Jeremy Saulnier

PRODUCER:  Skei Saulnier and Chris Sharp

CINEMATOGRAPHER:  Jeremy Saulnier (D.o.P.)

EDITOR:  Marc Beroza

COMPOSERS:  Brooke Blair and Will Blair

COMEDY/HORROR

Starring:  Chris Sharp, Macon Blair, Stacey Rock, Skei Saulnier, Paul Goldblatt, William Lacey, Alex Barnett, and Bill Tangradi

Murder Party is a 2007 American independent, comic-horror film from writer-director Jeremy Saulnier.  The film follows a man who follows the instructions on a random invitation to a gathering where the celebration is murder for the sake of art.

Christopher S. Hawley (Chris Sharp) is a lonely and plain New York City public employee.  On Halloween, he finds an odd-looking piece of paper being blown down the sidewalk by gusts of wind.  He opens it and sees that this is an invite to a “Murder Party,” which Christopher believes is a Halloween party.  He constructs a knight's costume out of cardboard and makes his way to a gritty part of Brooklyn where the “Murder Party” is being held.

What Chris discovers instead of a Halloween party is a trap set by a deranged and pretentious art collective, the members of which are dressed in Halloween costumes.  They intend to kill Christopher to impress a wealthy and sinister patron of the arts.  However, the members of this group are beset by petty feuds, rivalries, envy, incompetence, and lying, which makes them just as likely to murder each other as they are to hurt their captive/subject, Christopher.

Murder Party's production was apparently hamstrung by budget constraints, yet director Jeremy Saulnier produced a horror-comedy film that is more interesting than many of the horror or comedy films produced by major and mid-major Hollywood studios and production companies.  I have to admit that I only sought out this film after reading about Saulnier's most recent film (as of this writing), Green Room, which featured a much talked about performance by Patrick Stewart (of “Star Trek: The Next Generation” fame).  I consider finding an article about Green Room a stroke of luck, because it led me to this wonderful little film which is big in entertaining.

At times, I found myself mesmerized by Murder Party.  It is droll and witty, even when it is a bit heavy-handed in bashing artsy types.  I did not enjoy the last act as much as I enjoyed the rest of the film.  Murder Party is like the television series, “Big Brother” to me.  I like “Big Brother” when the cast remains large; as the cast shrinks, so does my interest in a particular season.  The characters in Murder Party are intriguing, although they largely remain unknown, and I started to miss them as they... went away.  Still, the last fight is a delightful bloodbath.

I heartily recommend Murder Party, and I look forward to more of Jeremy Saulnier's films.  Obviously, filmmakers need adequate budgets, but the imaginative and inventive directors find a way to shock, delight, and blow our minds even with a pitiful budget.

7 of 10
B+

Tuesday, September 6, 2016


The text is copyright © 2016 Leroy Douresseaux. All Rights Reserved. Contact this site for reprint and syndication rights and fees.

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Review: "Balls of Fury" is Funnier Than it Looks (Happy B'day, Maggie Q)

TRASH IN MY EYE No. 1 (of 2008) by Leroy Douresseaux

Balls of Fury (2007)
Running time: 90 minutes (1 hour, 30 minutes)
MPAA – PG-13 for crude and sex-related humor, and for language
DIRECTOR:  Robert Ben Garant
WRITERS:  Thomas Lennon and Robert Ben Garant
PRODUCERS:  Gary Barber, Roger Birnbaum, Jonathan Glickman, and Thomas Lennon
CINEMATOGRAPHER:  Thomas E. Ackerman (D.o.P.)
EDITOR:  John Refoua
COMPOSER:  Randy Edelman

COMEDY/SPORT

Starring:  Dan Folger, Christopher Walken, George Lopez, James Hong, Maggie Q, Thomas Lennon, Aisha Tyler, Jason Scott Lee, Diedrich Bader, Terry Crews, Patton Oswalt, David Koechner, and Robert Patrick

The subject of this movie review is Balls of Fury, a 2007 sports comedy film from the team of co-writer/director Robert Ben Garant and co-writer Thomas Lennon.  The film follows a down-and-out former professional ping-pong phenom recruited by an FBI agent for a secret mission that may also lead the former child star to his father’s killer.

Balls of Fury takes place in the unsanctioned, underground, and unhinged world of extreme ping pong where the competition is brutal and the stakes are deadly – sort of like the way Dodgeball portrayed the mean world of professional dodge ball.  But we get the joke!

A ping pong professional as a child, Randy Daytona (Dan Fogler), spiraled downwards after an embarrassing loss at the 1988 Seoul Olympics.  Cut to the present.  Randy is down on his luck and on his game, and he’s performing at a nightclub when FBI Agent Ernie Rodriguez (George Lopez) recruits him for a mission to spy on one of the FBI’s most wanted men, the faux-Asian crime lord Feng (Christopher Walken).  Randy has some incentive to do take the assignment because Feng was responsible for the death of Randy’s father.

“Operation Ping Pong” requires Randy to get an invite to Feng’s underground ping pong championship tournament.  To do that, Randy will have to get his game back into shape.  With the help of a blind ping pong sage, Master Wong (James Hong), and his niece, Maggie Wong (Maggie Q), an expert ping pong trainer, Randy gets in winning form and gets an invite to Feng’s jungle compound where the tournament is being held.  Now, Randy will have to face a raft of formidable players en route to the prize, including his arch-nemesis, German Olympic ping pong god, Karl Wolfschtagg (Thomas Lennon), and still take down Feng.

Balls of Fury is a parody/remake of the 1973 Bruce Lee film, Enter the Dragon, by way of Dodgeball and Comedy Central’s television series, “Reno 911.”  In fact, Balls of Fury co-writer/director Robert Ben Garant and co-writer/actor Thomas Lennon are part of the brain trust behind “Reno 911,” and the kind of sheer absurdity that marks that hit comedy series is much in evidence in Balls of Fury.

This film is sometimes shamefully in poor taste, and its lack of political correctness often borders on bad taste.  Still, it’s fun; Balls of Fury takes a look at sports and competition and pokes numerous holes in the gas bags that are elite athletes, secretive trainers, and arcane rules.  Then, the movie skewers so many sports movie stereotypes, from the sage-philosopher mentors to the sad sack underdogs.  Balls of Fury may look like a bad movie (and sometimes it truly is), but it is a comedy that delivers laughter.

5 of 10
B-

Thursday, January 03, 2008

Updated:  Thursday, May 22, 2014


The text is copyright © 2014 Leroy Douresseaux. All Rights Reserved. Contact this site for syndication rights and fees.

Review: "Delta Farce" Tries (Happy B'day, Danny Trejo)

TRASH IN MY EYE No. 134 (of 2007) by Leroy Douresseaux

Delta Farce (2007)
Running time:  89 minutes (1 hour, 29 minutes)
MPAA – PG-13 for crude and sexual humor
DIRECTOR:  CB Harding
WRITERS:  Bear Aderhold and Thomas F.X. Sullivan
PRODUCERS:  Alan Blomquist and J.P. Williams
CINEMATOGRAPHER:  Tom Priestley, Jr.
EDITOR:  Mark Conte
COMPOSER:  James S. Levin

COMEDY/ACTION

Starring:  Larry the Cable Guy, Bill Engvall, DJ Qualls, Keith David, Marisol Nichols, Glenn Morshower, Michael Papajohn, and Danny Trejo

The subject of this movie review is Delta Farce, a 2007 action-comedy starring comedians, Larry the Cable Guy and Bill Engvall.  The film follows three bumbling Army reservists who are bound for Iraq, but instead are accidentally dropped near a Mexican village besieged by bandits.

After being mistaken for Army reserve troops, Larry (Larry the Cable Guy), Bill (Bill Engvall), and Everett (DJ Qualls), three small-town losers who are also National Guardsmen, find themselves introduced to angry Sgt. Kilgore (Keith David).  After berating them for their slovenliness, Kilgore eventually hustles the trio onto a transport plane bound for Iraq.

During the flight, the pilots unwittingly drop Larry, Bill, Everett, and Kilgore in Mexico.  After burying Kilgore whom they believe was killed by the drop, Larry, Bill, and Everett begin liberating what they think are Iraqi civilians.  When they discover that they are in Mexico, the trio finds itself saving the small Mexican village of La Miranda from a gang of bandits led by the man who calls himself the “real Carlos Santana” (Danny Trejo).

How do you take two funny comedians and turn them into listless joke machines delivering dry one-liners?  You try to make them actors, which is what the film Delta Farce does.  Larry the Cable Guy and Bill Engvall are best known as part of the Blue Collar Comedy Tour, although Larry the Cable Guy, as a solo act, is currently the most successful touring comedian in terms of tickets sold.  They’re funny guys, and Larry is especially talented.  But turn them into actors, and their comedy becomes strained.

The film Larry the Cable Guy: Health Inspector played to Larry’s strengths by fashioning a flimsy movie scenario and basically letting him perform his stage act with the rest of the movie’s cast playing off him.  His voiceover performance in Disney/Pixar’s Cars was basically Larry being Larry.

In Delta Farce, Larry and Bill not only have to play characters; they also have to move the narrative.  That requires a performer to do more acting than just pretending.  It’s more than telling jokes, performing skits and routines, and saying silly things.  Larry and Engvall are good at delivering one-liners and saying a few funny things, but this comic duo often seems out of place in the context of film narrative.  Ultimately, they’re not bad, and what they do in Delta Farce should appease their fan base.

On the other hand, DJ Qualls, a pretty good comic actor, and Keith David, a fine and under-utilized character actor, fit comfortably.  Qualls and David actually play comic characters and when they perform, it’s like acting and not a stand-up comedy routine.

Delta Farce is harmless and is for the most part funny.  It actually could have been much better, but the directing by C.B. Harding, who helmed Blue Collar Comedy Tour: The Movie and the TV follow ups, is abysmal.  The film is largely apolitical, though odd “support the troops” comments pop up here and there.  As is, Delta Farce is decent entertainment for fans of the various cast members, especially Larry the Cable Guy and Bill Engvall.

4 of 10
C

Updated: Friday, May 16, 2014


The text is copyright © 2014 Leroy Douresseaux. All Rights Reserved. Contact this site for syndication rights and fees.

Review: "The Kingdom" is a Thrill Ride (Happy B'day, Richard Jenkins)

TRASH IN MY EYE No. 4 (of 2008) by Leroy Douresseaux

The Kingdom (2007)
Running time:  110 minutes (1 hour, 50 minutes)
MPAA – R for intense sequences of graphic brutal violence and for language
DIRECTOR:  Peter Berg
WRITER:  Matthew Michael Carnahan
PRODUCERS:  Peter Berg, Michael Mann, and Scott Stuber
CINEMATOGRAPHER:  Mauro Fiore (D.o.P.)
EDITORS:  Colby Parker, Jr. and Kevin Stitt
COMPOSER:  Danny Elfman

ACTION/THRILLER/CRIME/DRAMA

Starring:  Jamie Foxx, Chris Cooper, Jennifer Garner, Jason Bateman, Ashraf Barhom, Ali Suliman, Jeremy Piven, Richard Jenkins, Kyle Chandler, Frances Fisher, Danny Huston, Kelly AuCoin, Anna Deavere Smith, and Minka Kelly

The subject of this movie review is The Kingdom, a 2007 action thriller and crime drama directed by Peter Berg.  The film follows a team of agents from the United States, investigating the bombing of an American facility in the Middle East.

When terrorists attack and kill over 100 people at the Al Rahmah Western Housing Compound in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, FBI Agent Ronald Fleury (Jamie Foxx) leads a small squad to investigate the bombing and find the culprits.  Once Fleury and the other U.S. agents – Grant Sykes (Chris Cooper), Janet Mayes (Jennifer Garner), and Adam Leavitt (Jason Bateman) – arrive, they learn that in Saudi Arabia, many consider them the true enemy.

Culture and the local bureaucracy hamper their investigation, but a local policeman, Col. Faris Al Ghazi (Ashraf Barhom), becomes sympathetic to Fleury’s predicament.  Soon, Fleury realizes that he and his team are the targets of the mysterious terrorist leader, Abu Hamza, but neither the threat of death or disgrace back home will stop Fleury’s mission.

With The Kingdom, director Peter Berg (The Rundown, Friday Night Lights) and writer Matthew Michael Carnahan (Lions for Lambs) dive headlong into the snake pit that movies about the “war on terrorism” and set in Middle East can be.  What Berg and Carnahan come up with is an imperfect, but entertaining and engaging action flick that doesn’t shy away from the fact that there are few if any easy answers when fighting the murderous criminals who are terrorists.

Berg doesn’t shy away from making a hardcore action movie.  There are intense car chases, with the requisite automobile flips and explosions, and there are sequences of manic gun battles that arrive in the kind of big slabs that keep an action movie junkie euphoric.  The screenplay even insists on being a police procedural, making The Kingdom something like Black Hawk Down meets Michael Mann’s Heat (Mann also co-produced The Kingdom), and TV’s “CSI: Crime Scene Investigation.”

Honestly, the movie drags when it focuses on the investigation, detective work, and forensics.  On the other hand, The Kingdom soars when it lays on the gun battles and car violence.  When the movie tries to be an FBI investigation flick, the narrative and indeed the performances get bogged down in detective work and the complications that can arise when different cultures meet.  The film does raise several issues – asking questions that complicate what many only want to see as black and white.  Are the FBI agents seeking justice or are they out for revenge?  Does the subsequent violence only make matters worse?  Does anyone gain anything or does everyone lose?  These are the kind of questions that get a movie like this in trouble in the current political/social climate.  An action movie requires that everything be in black and white, but the film’s setting and the issues it tackles just won’t be divided in two like that.

Ultimately, The Kingdom is a riveting action thriller that delivers.  It affirms that Jamie Foxx can carry an action flick (but is there room for more than one or two action “stars of color?”), that Jason Bateman is funny, and that Jeremy Piven is a great character actor.  However, the audience might have to take on some sticky issues to enjoy the thrill ride that is The Kingdom.

7 of 10
B+

Friday, January 18, 2008

Updated:  Sunday, May 04, 2014

The text is copyright © 2014 Leroy Douresseaux. All Rights Reserved. Contact this site for syndication rights and fees.

Review: "Rush Hour 3" Serves the Franchise Well

TRASH IN MY EYE, No. 3 (of 2008) by Leroy Douresseaux

Rush Hour 3 (2007)
Running time:  91 minutes (1 hour, 31 minutes)
MPAA – PG-13 for sequences of action violence, sexual content, nudity, and language
DIRECTOR:  Brett Ratner
WRITER:  Jeff Nathanson (based on the characters created by Ross LaManna)
PRODUCERS:  Roger Birnbaum, Andrew Z. Davis, Jonathan Glickman, Arthur M. Sarkissian, and Jay Stern
CINEMATOGRAPHER:  J. Michael Muro
EDITORS:  Mark Helfrich, Billy Weber, and Don Zimmerman
COMPOSER:  Lalo Schifrin

ACTION/COMEDY/CRIME

Starring:  Jackie Chan, Chris Tucker, Hiroyuki Sanada, Youki Kudoh, Max von Sydow, Yvan Attal, Noémie Lenoir, Jingchu Zhang, Tzi Ma, and Roman Polanski

The subject of this movie review is Rush Hour 3, a 2007 action movie and crime comedy from director Brett Ratner.  It is the third film in the Rush Hour movie franchise.  In Rush Hour 3, Lee and Carter head to Paris, after an attempted assassination on an ambassador, to protect a French woman with knowledge about the Triads’ secret leaders.

Jackie Chan and Chris Tucker return for the long-awaited third installment of their wildly popular comic action film franchise, Rush Hour.  While Rush Hour 3 is funny and action-packed, the stars and director seem to be trying too hard.

After his dear friend, Ambassador Han (Tzi Ma), is shot, Hong Kong Police Chief Inspector Lee (Jackie Chan) finds himself guarding Han’s daughter, Soo Yung (Jingchu Zhang), from the Triads who want Han and the information he has on them destroyed.  There is, however, another complication when Lee discovers that Kenji (Hiroyuki Sanada), someone from his past who is greatly important to him, suddenly appears and is associated with the Triads.

LAPD Detective James Carter (Chris Tucker) leaves the doghouse of traffic detail to help his old friend, Lee.  Soon, the duo is in Paris looking for two elusive women, the sexy Geneviéve (Noémie Lenoir) and the mysterious “Shy Shen,” who may hold the secrets that the Triads guard so jealously.  But in Paris, Lee and Carter are out of their element and always in trouble and/or danger.

Rush Hour 3 has its moments – in fact, plenty of them, but there seem to be an equal number of times in which the pratfalls, explosions, gunfire, banter, sex, etc. seem forced.  The sad thing is that neither director Brett Ratner nor his two stars need to be so over the top.  With two strong comic actors – Lee being the great physical comedian and Tucker personifying the fast-talking streetwise comic – the Rush Hour franchise has the perfect opposites-attract pair.  It’s not that hard to build an action comedy around them with only the thinnest scenario.

Instead, Chris Tucker’s witty banter often turns to babbling, and Jackie Chan’s fighting and gymnastic scenes usually make him look like a tired windup toy or a beat-up action figure caught in a wind tunnel.  It is okay to refry the same old shtick; Ratner and writer Jeff Nathanson just overcooked it and let some of the fun get scorched.  Still, seeing Chan and Tucker back together is good, and the movie is not exactly bad.  In fact, Rush Hour 3 is good enough to make a fourth film worth the wait.

5 of 10
B-

Sunday, January 13, 2008

Updated:  Friday, March 28, 2014

The text is copyright © 2014 Leroy Douresseaux. All Rights Reserved. Contact this site for syndication rights and fees.

Review: "Smokin' Aces" is Not Quite Smokin' (Happy B;day, Ray Liotta)

TRASH IN MY EYE No. 117 (of 2007) by Leroy Douresseaux

Smokin’ Aces (2006)
Running time:  109 minutes (1 hour, 49 minutes)
MPAA – R for strong bloody violence, pervasive language, some nudity, and drug use
WRITER/DIRECTOR:  Joe Carnahan
PRODUCERS:  Tim Bevan, Eric Fellner, Joe Carnahan, and Liza Chasin
CINEMATOGRAPHER:  Mauro Fiore (D.o.P.)
EDITOR:  Robert Frazen
COMPOSER:  Clint Mansell

CRIME/ACTION with elements of comedy and drama

Starring:  Ryan Reynolds, Jeremy Piven, Ray Liotta, Ben Affleck, Andy Garcia, Alicia Keys, Common, Taraji Henson, Martin Henderson, Peter Berg, Christopher Michael Holley, Nestor Carbonell, Chris Pine, Kevin Durand, Maury Sterling, Tommy Flanagan, Curtis Armstrong, Jason Batman, Mike Falkow Joseph Ruskin, Alex Rocco, Joel Edgerton, and Matthew Fox

The subject of this movie review is Smokin’ Aces, a 2007 crime and action film from director Joe Carnahan.  The movie focuses on a Las Vegas performer-turned-snitch and the large number of people trying to kill him.  The film was released theatrically in January 2007.

Smokin’ Aces is the first film from writer/director Joe Carnahan since his gritty crime flick, Narc, which premiered at the 2002 Sundance Film Festival and went onto receive rave reviews (including praise from Harrison Ford).  The attention even earned him a deal to direct Mission: Impossible 3 before Carnahan departed the project over creative differences with Tom Cruise.

Buddy “Aces” Israel (Jeremy Piven) grew up amongst card sharks, gamblers, killers, and thugs.  By the time he was 21, Buddy was a wildly popular magician in Las Vegas, a celebrity who also got to hang out with the most dangerous criminals.  But Buddy wanted more.  He wanted to be gangster and became one before the law caught up with him.  After the sleazy Las Vegas illusionist agrees to testify against his former mob partners, he embarks on one last hurrah in Lake Tahoe before entering witness protective custody.

His one-time benefactor, Primo Sparazza (Joseph Ruskin), a mob power broker, isn’t about to let that happen.  Rumors are that Sparazza is willing to pay up to $1,000,000 for Buddy dead and his heart delivered back to Sparazza.  When word hits the street, a rogues gallery of degenerate assassins, killers, and psychopaths head for Lake Tahoe and the Nomad Casino where Buddy is hiding to claim the prize.  FBI Deputy Director Stanley Locke (Andy Garcia) sends his top agent, Richard Messner (Ryan Reynolds) and Messner’s veteran partner, Donald Carruthers (Ray Liotta), to keep Buddy safe, but can a few agents protect the seedy magician from a slew of would-be assassins?

Although the film has a delightful and wildly diverse cast, Smokin’ Aces is mostly a Pulp Fiction clone except that it has an even weirder cast of characters.  Defined by action movie frivolity, Smokin’ Aces attempts to make slime look glamorous.  Carnahan raises the crass display of bloodletting to new faux art heights.  The film has its moments, and its violence is as much cartoonish as it is nightmarish.  In a sense, it’s like some crazy, hyperactive crime comic book.  The film’s narrative is itself a card trick – an illusion in which the viewer keeps seeing what he expects to see and misses the obvious.  So the ending may come as a shock because it is something of a commentary on the dishonest and sometimes illegal means by which law enforcement goes after a large quarry.

Before that ending, there are some exceptional characters brought to life by actors giving rich performances.  Ryan Reynolds is the best of the lot, but Common as Sir Ivy and Alicia Keys and Taraji Henson as the badass assassin duo, Georgia Sykes and Sharice Watters, are fun to watch.

5 of 10
B-

Saturday, August 18, 2007

Updated:  Wednesday, December 18, 2013

The text is copyright © 2013 Leroy Douresseaux. All Rights Reserved. Contact this site for syndication rights and fees.

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Review: "3:10 to Yuma" Remake a Superb Modern Western

TRASH IN MY EYE No. 13 (of 2008) by Leroy Douresseaux

3:10 to Yuma (2007)
Running time:  122 minutes (2 hours, 2 minutes)
MPAA – R for violence and some language
DIRECTOR:  James Mangold
WRITERS:  Halsted Welles and Michael Brandt & Derek Haas (based on the short story by Elmore Leonard)
PRODUCERS:  Cathy Konrad
CINEMATOGRAPHER:  Phedon Papamichael (D.o.P.)
EDITOR:  Michael McCusker
COMPOSER:  Marco Beltrami
Academy Award nominee

WESTERN/ACTION/THRILLER

Starring:  Russell Crowe, Christian Bale, Logan Lerman, Dallas Roberts, Ben Foster, Peter Fonda, Vinessa Shaw, Alan Tudyk, Luce Rains, Gretchen Mol, and Ben Petry

Director James Mangold’s rousing, edgy Western, 3:10 to Yuma, is a remake of a 1957 film of the same name that starred Glenn Ford and Van Heflin.  Mangold (Walk the Line) isn’t robbing the grave of Hollywood classics; instead, he has fashioned the Western as a modern, suspense-thriller that is as close to an old-fashioned horse opera as a modern film can be.  Both the first film and Mangold’s remake are based on the short story, “Three-Ten to Yuma,” written by Elmore Leonard and first published in the March 1953 issue of Dime Western Magazine.

Rancher Dan Evans (Christian Bale) struggles to support his ranch and family during a long drought.  Desperate for money, Evans agrees to transport the captured outlaw, Ben Wade (Russell Crowe), from nearby Bisbee to Contention, the closest town with a rail station.  There, they’ll wait for the 3:10 train to Yuma, where Wade will be imprisoned while awaiting trial for his numerous crimes, mostly murder and robbery.  Holed up in a Contention hotel, Wade attempts psychological havoc on Evans, offering Evans much more money in exchange for his freedom than he would get for holding Wade captive.  Meanwhile, Wade’s henchmen, led by the vicious Charlie Prince (Ben Foster), storm into town offering money to any man who will shoot Wade’s captors.  Complicating matters, Dan’s son, William (Logan Lerman), has stubbornly joined his father on this deadly mission.

Mangold’s sturdy remake isn’t an exercise in pointless violence, although the film is indeed violent, and while it is more graphically violent than Westerns from the 30’s to the 60’s, this modern version of 3:10 to Yuma heals the wounded heart of the Western genre which has, with a few exceptions, been in steep decline on the big screen.  This is a grand character study, and acting its chief strength, relying on the considerable talents of Russell Crowe and Christian Bale.

The good guy/bad guy relationship between Crowe’s Ben Wade and Bale’s Dan Evans has to be played just right in order to work, or the relationship will seem like a tired old storytelling cliché.  The characters that Bale usually play seem like the everyman as quiet man.  Evans isn’t a hero or even a brave man, as we usually think of bravery, and his son William reminds him every chance he gets, by words, with a stare, or in his sullen expression.  Evans, however, is determined this one time – in dealing with Ben Wade – to be heroic.

On the other hand, Russell Crowe’s Ben Wade is the devil – pure and simple.  Supernaturally wily, he seems faster, stronger, smarter, and more vicious than any other human he encounters.  He has given in to his pure instincts and wants – like an animal, but much more dangerous because he is ultimately a human without the checks and balances of ethics and morals.

The viewer wouldn’t be overdoing it by seeing Evans as the Christ-like sacrifice and Wade his devilish tempter.  The good/bad dynamic, however, is a staple of the Western, and 3:10 to Yuma is rife with the genre standards.  That is how this extremely well-acted and superbly-directed film honors the American Western, and 3:10 to Yuma honors this venerable genre with gusto.

8 of 10
A

NOTES:
2008 Academy Awards:  2 nominations:  “Best Achievement in Music Written for Motion Pictures, Original Score (Marco Beltrami) and “Best Achievement in Sound” (Paul Massey, David Gaimmarco, and Jim Stuebe)

Sunday, March 09, 2008

Review: Halle Berry Needs the Call in "Perfect Stranger"

TRASH IN MY EYE No. 120 (of 2007) by Leroy Douresseaux


Perfect Stranger (2007)
Running time: 109 minutes (1 hour, 49 minutes)
MPAA – R for sexual content, nudity, some disturbing violent images and language
DIRECTOR: James Foley
WRITERS: Todd Komarnicki; from a story by Jon Bokenkamp
PRODUCER: Elaine Goldsmith-Thomas
CINEMATROGRAPHER: Anastas N. Michos (D.o.P.)
EDITOR: Christopher Tellefsen
COMPOSER: Antonio Pinto

DRAMA/MYSTERY/THRILLER

Starring: Halle Berry, Bruce Willis, Giovanni Ribisi, Richard Portnow, Gary Dourdan, Florencia Lozano, Daniella Van Graas, and Nicki Aycox

The subject of this movie review is Perfect Stranger, a 2007 psychological thriller from director James Foley. The film star Halle Berry and Bruce Willis, respectively, as an undercover journalist and a shady businessman in a cat-and-mouse game.

Playing the role of the abused woman of African-American descent has served Halle Berry quite well. In 2002, Berry won an Oscar for playing just such a character in the film, Monster’s Ball. She portrays another put upon woman or sufferin’ sistah type in the film, Perfect Stranger, with Bruce Willis playing the apparent central bully. But this time, Berry’s loyal audience is the victim of a truly bad movie.

After her friend, Grace Clayton (Nicki Aycox) is found murdered, investigative reporter Rowena “Ro” Price (Halle Berry) is determined to find the murderer. She believes that Grace’s death is connected to a powerful advertising executive, Harrison Hill (Bruce Willis), who seduces women in the online dating world of chat rooms, although he is married. Rowena infiltrates Hill’s advertising agency, H2A, as a temp worker named Katherine Pogue, and she also secretly teases him online under the moniker, Veronica. With the help of newspaper colleague and friend, Miles Haley (Giovanni Ribisi), Rowena pries into all facets of Hill’s life. The closer she gets to the truth, the more Ro learns how far people will go to protect it, and she finds herself struggling to protect her own secrets.

Perfect Stranger is vile, vulgar, cheap, and tawdry in the way the director and writers portray sexual relationships and in the coarse manner in which characters speak to each other. What makes this film really bad, however, isn’t the sex, nudity, crude language, explicit violence or even the woefully bad acting. It’s that Perfect Stranger is a poorly conceived mystery thriller. Perhaps, the writers knew how the story would end, and they were clear about who the victims would be and when they would be victimized. Beyond that, this narrative is full of holes.

Even viewers who normally find both obvious and none-too-subtle clues flying over their heads (that includes me), will find themselves scratching their heads at how easily and early this story disintegrates. The central murder doesn’t make sense when one considers that the killer is supposed to be so clever. The subsequent police investigation would certainly break up this film’s story within the first half hour. Sure, we’re supposed to suspend disbelief in the movie theatre, but what about verisimilitude? Since Perfect Stranger is set in a world like ours, it should also work logically in the real world.

Without Halle Berry and Bruce Willis, who both gave poor, poor performances, Perfect Strangers would have been a direct-to-DVD film… that not many people would rent. Only my love for Berry prohibits me from giving this an “F.”

1 of 10
D-

Friday, August 24, 2007

Review: "Live Free or Die Hard" - I Really Liked It, Didn't I?

TRASH IN MY EYE No. 102 (of 2007) by Leroy Douresseaux


Live Free or Die Hard (2007)
Running time: 130 minutes (2 hours, 10 minutes)
MPAA – PG-13 for intense sequences of violence and action, language, and a brief sexual situation
DIRECTOR: Len Wiseman
WRITERS: Mark Bomback; from a story by Bomback and David Marconi (based upon the article “A Farewell to Arms” by John Carlin and certain original characters by Roderick Thorp)
PRODUCERS: Michael Fottrell, John McTiernan, Arnold Rifkin, and Bruce Willis
CINEMATOGRAPHER: Simon Duggan (D.o.P.)
EDITOR: Nicolas de Toth
COMPOSER: Marco Beltrami

ACTION/THRILLER/SCI-FI

Starring: Bruce Willis, Timothy Olyphant, Justin Long, Mary Elizabeth Winstead, Maggie Q, Cliff Curtis, Jonathan Sadowski, Andrew Friedman, Tim Russ, and Kevin Smith

The subject of this movie review is Live Free or Die Hard, the fourth film in the Die Hard movie franchise. Bruce Willis returns as John McClane, a character created by the late novelist, Roderick Thorp, for his 1979 novel, Nothing Lasts Forever.

According to pop culture magazine Entertainment Weekly, after watching Underworld: Evolution with his daughters, Bruce Willis knew that’d he found in Underworld franchise director, Len Wiseman, the man to helm the long in gestation fourth Die Hard film. Willis’ Die Hard character John McClane is perhaps the actor’s signature role, and in the new film, Live Free or Die Hard, Willis proves that he and McClane are great in these movies. Meanwhile, Wiseman doesn’t just make a good movie. He makes damn great movie.

On the July 4th holiday, a mysterious figure attacks the United States digital infrastructure, and he’s figured out every angle, except old school, tough guy cop, John McClane (Bruce Willis). When’s he’s asked to escort Matt Farrell (Justin Long), a talented young hacker, into FBI custody, New York Police Detective McClane thinks of it as just another pain-in-the-butt favor keeping him enjoying his time off. When heavily armed and highly-trained killers come gunning for Matt and literally obliterate the young man’s apartment with gunfire, McClane knows Matt is part of something really big. Soon, McClane is dragging Matt across Washington DC, simultaneously trying to save his life and hunt down the cyber-terrorist who has brought America to a standstill.

Live Free or Die Hard practically hits the ground running, giving the viewer very little time to take a deep breath before diving into this smorgasbord of chase scenes, gun fights, and hand-to-hand combat that is a buffet of international fighting techniques. Of course, this is pretty much the way Underworld: Evolution opened – throw gasoline on the fire and then, throw that in the viewer’s face. Wiseman, however, does stay true to Die Hard’s roots. This is the kind of macho, big budget, special effects laden action filmmaking that thrived from the late 1980’s and into the 90’s. The 1988 Die Hard helped to give birth not only to sequels but to films that relied on gargantuan sound and complicated stunts like Bad Boys, Con Air, Face/Off, The Long Kiss Goodnight, and The Rock among others.

Willis is so good here that I hope he not only gives us more Die Hard flicks, but I also hope that he makes more action films just like this. Here, he certainly satisfied even the die-hardest Die Hard fan, but he does this with a good supporting cast. Justin Long is the perfect tag-along as Matt Farrell, who is basically a hand-held device – giving macho, blue collar McClane the lay of the geek-techie land, and Long seems perfectly happy to play that part. Timothy Olyphant’s brilliant smart bad guy, Thomas Gabriel, is the perfect foil for Willis’ comin’-to-kick-your-ass hero. Mary Elizabeth Winstead hits the right note as Lucy McClane, the fruit of John McClane’s loins.

Live Free or Die Hard may not seem like a great work of film art, but when McClane uses a car to “kill” a helicopter, you know that this is more than just another action movie. When a fighter jet takes on an 18-wheeler with McClane behind the wheel, you know Live Free or Die Hard is extra-special, and that’s not even the climax.

9 of 10
A+

Sunday, July 08, 2007

Review: "28 Weeks Later" Surpasses First Film

TRASH IN MY EYE No. 81 (of 2012) by Leroy Douresseaux

28 Weeks Later (2007)
COUNTRY OF ORIGIN: UK/Spain
Running time: 100 minutes (1 hour, 40 minutes)
MPAA – R for strong violence and gore, language, and some sexuality/nudity
DIRECTOR: Juan Carlos Fresnadillo
WRITERS: Enrique López Lavigne, Rowan Joffe, and Juan Carlos Fresnadillo & Jesús Olmo
PRODUCERS: Andrew Macdonald, Allon Reich, and Enrique López-Lavigne
CINEMATOGRAPHER: Enrique Chediak (D.o.P.)
EDITOR: Chris Gill
COMPOSER: John Murphy

HORROR/SCI-FI/ACTION/THRILLER

Starring: Catherine McCormack, Robert Carlyle, Jeremy Renner, Harold Perrineau, Imogen Poots, Mackintosh Muggleton, Rose Byrne, and Idris Elba

28 Weeks Later is a 2007 British horror film and sequel to the 2002 film, 28 Days Later… (released in the U.S. in 2003). Danny Boyle and Alex Garland, the director and writer of the original film, respectively, are this movie’s two executive producers.

While watching the British post-apocalyptic horror flick, 28 Weeks Later, one can’t help but understand that this brilliantly imagined film is speaking directly to its audience, here and now. The messages are writ large across the screen – everything from the foolishness of military occupations as a stopgap against the inevitable to the horrors that the careless manipulation of the environment can bring. It’s as if director Juan Carlos Fresnadillo and his screenwriters made a gumbo out of the mental horrors of Edgar Allen Poe, George Romero, and George W. Bush.

28 Weeks Later opens six months after the events depicted in the first movie. American military forces have secured District One, an isolated section of London, where the survivors of the rage virus outbreak can repopulate and start again. Not everything goes as planned. The rage virus continues to live and is waiting to be spread again and finds its carrier in an English nuclear family.

What I like about 28 Weeks Later is that Juan Carlos Fresnadillo is unapologetic in composing a brutally gory horror flick. 28 Days Later… started off as a right vicious cheesy horror flick; then, it bogged own in a morality play/test of wills between a mad military type and desperate peaceniks. Both sides were wrong, and their little message theatre cooled off the infection-fed fever that was 28 Days Later… the first half. 28 Days Later… might make you think the horror genre and message movie couldn’t really go together.

Silly rabbit, great horror speaks to our deepest fears and anxieties – past, present, and future. Like George Romero, whose Night of the Living Dead and The Crazies influenced 28 Days Later…, Fresnadillo understands that a horror movie can essentially be a message movie without every trying to be obviously socio-political. The filmmakers can do this by creating scenes in which characters argue and debate their circumstances both in an intimate and in a larger context).

28 Weeks Later is swift, vicious, and smart. The script is grimly imaginative in creating deadly peril for its cast, and never letting the audience off the hook. Both biting and timely, the film says that the “rage” infection ain’t going away (which means a seemingly endless supply of infected/zombies) because the very structure of our society – a collective that can be both parasitic and symbiotic – is the perfect moist nesting ground for the disease.

Six months after the rage virus annihilated the British Isles, the U.S. Army declares that they have won and that rebuilding can begin. The blindness of the American forces to the reality of their environment mirrors current realities. Maybe, some of these fictional military types believe that being part of a hyper-power: with all its fire power, know-how, and cutting-edge technology, means that they can shape reality, but death on two, swift, rage-infected legs says otherwise.

8 of 10
A

Saturday, October 13, 2012

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Even Stripped, "Skinwalkers" a Good Werewolf Flick

TRASH IN MY EYE No. 2 (of 2008) by Leroy Douresseaux


Skinwalkers (2006)
Running time: 91 minutes (1 hour 31 minutes)
MPAA – PG-13 for intense sequences of violence and action, some sexual material and language
DIRECTOR: James Isaac
WRITERS: James DeMonaco, Todd Harthan, and James Roday
PRODUCER: Dennis Berardi and Don Carmody
CINEMATOGRAPHERS: David A. Armstrong and Adam Kane
EDITOR: Allan Lee

FANTASY/THRILLER with elements of horror

Starring: Matthew Knight, Jason Behr, Elias Koteas, Rhona Mitra, Natassia Malthe, Kim Coates, Sarah Carter, Tom Jackson, Rogue Johnston, Barbara Gordon, Shawn Roberts, and Lyric Bent

The subject of this movie review is Skinwalkers, a 2006 werewolf movie and horror-action film directed by James Isaac (Jason X). It was released to theatres in the United States in 2007.

In Skinwalkers, a pre-teen boy learns that he is the balance of power and object of desire in an old war between two factions of werewolves.

As he prepares to turn 13, 12-year-old Timothy (Matthew Knight) finds his health crashing around him, as he’s beset by asthma attacks and fainting spells. Timothy is also blissfully unaware that he is the tipping point in a long war between two groups of werewolves, which are also known as skinwalkers. One faction wants to be free of the curse of the werewolf; the other side joyously feeds on human flesh and thirsts for human blood. Timothy doesn’t know that he is a half-breed; his mother, Rachel (Rhona Mitra), is human and his deceased father is a werewolf. Timothy doesn’t even know that the extended family with which he grew up, including his Uncle Jonas (Elias Koteas), is a band of good-hearted werewolves that has been protecting him since the day he was born.

Timothy is the child foretold by an Indian prophesy. The arrival of Timothy’s 13th birthday during the last night of the “blood red moon,” will somehow forever end the curse of the werewolves. Skinwalkers will become wholly human. However, the werewolves who don’t see their condition as a curse and embrace the bloodlust have been lurking in the shadows. Led by Varek (Jason Behr), an evil pack of werewolves has been waiting for more than a decade to kill Timothy before he turns 13, and now they’re making their move. Jonas, Rachel, and a select group of fellow believers go on the run hoping to keep Tim just out of reach of the other werewolves until his birthday, but the relentless Varek practically has Timothy his bloody grasp.

What was supposed to be a 1 hour and 50 minute, R-rated movie was cut down to a 91 minute, PG-13 rated movie (although this movie still has enough blood, gore, violence, and simulated sex to have maintained it’s R-rating). Still, even with the obvious holes in the plot and story that come from removing 19 minutes of narrative, Skinwalkers is a very entertaining monster flick. It’s more fantasy and suspense thriller than horror, and though it doesn’t have the bite of such werewolf flicks as An American Werewolf in London or The Howling, Skinwalkers often packs a wallop. Its intricate back story and open-ended final scene leave room for sequels, but what it offers now is entertaining enough to make one pine for an “extended edition” DVD.

6 of 10
B

Saturday, January 05, 2008

Review: "Surf's Up" Has Impressive Animation

TRASH IN MY EYE No. 136 (of 2007) by Leroy Douresseaux

Surf’s Up (2007) – computer animation
Running time: 85 minutes (1 hour, 25 minutes)
MPAA – PG for mild language and some rude humor
DIRECTORS: Ash Brannon and Chris Buck
WRITERS: Don Rhymer and Ash Brannon and Chris Buck and Christopher Jenkins; from a story by Christopher Jenkins and Christian Darren with Lisa Addario and Joe Syracuse
PRODUCER: Christopher Jenkins
EDITORS: Ivan Bilancio and Nancy Frazen
Academy Award nominee

ANIMATION/COMEDY/SPORTS with elements of drama

Starring: (voices) Shia LaBeouf, Jeff Bridges, Zooey Deschanel, Jon Heder, James Woods, Diedrich Bader, Mario Cantone, Brian Posehn, and Dana Belben

The subject of this movie review is Surf’s Up, a 2007 computer-animated film directed by Ash Brannon and Chris Buck. The film is a mock documentary or “mockumentary” (with This is Spinal Tap being the most famous example). It was one of three 2007 films to receive best animated feature Oscar nominations (a category Ratatouille won).

A documentary film crew follows a young penguin who loves to surf in Surf’s Up, the computer-animated film from Sony Pictures Animation (Open Season) which takes the notion that penguins invented surfing.

Cody Maverick (Shia LaBeouf) is not like the other penguins in Shiverpool, Antarctica. He’d rather surf than process fish all day. Opportunity arrives when he talks his way into the Big Z Memorial Surf-Off, an international surf tournament named in memory of Cody’s idol, the legendary surfing penguin, Zeke “Big Z” Topanga.

When Cody arrives on Pen Gu Island, he realizes that he doesn’t really fit in very well because he is a small wave surfer in a big wave event. He quickly earns the ire of a mouthy surfing promoter, a hedgehog named Reggie Belafonte (James Woods), and the 9-time reigning champion, the utterly arrogant penguin Tank “The Shredder” Evans (Diedrich Bader). Cody does manage to make a fast friend in Chicken Joe (Jon Heder), a surfing rooster from Michigan, and also attract the attention of sexy lifeguard, Lani Aliikai (Zooey Deschanel). However, it’s when he meets the mysterious Geek (Jeff Bridges), a reclusive penguin who lives on the other side of the island that Cody learns there is more to discover in surfing than just how to win a tournament.

Although on the surface it resembles leftovers from the Oscar-winning computer-animated hit, Happy Feet (2006), Surf’s Up is actually a good film on its own. It is an entertaining comedy that not only has some really cool surfing scenes, but also has a nice message about friendship. Shia LaBeouf and Jeff Bridges have excellent chemistry, which may be due to the fact that the voice actors recorded their dialogue together in one room – a rarity in feature film animation. As the burnt-out, but wise teacher, Geek, and his stubborn pupil, Cody, Bridges and LaBeouf respectively add solid dramatic weight and traction to the characters’ relationship with their voice performances. Each actor brings both gentle sarcasm and humor to their roles, but they both know when to add a somber touch when the story calls for it.

As for the rest of the cast: Jon Heder manages to seem fresh, although even here he is pretty much playing the same kind of goofy dude part he’s been repeatedly playing for the last three years. Zooey Deschanel is always a nice presence – somehow managing to add a touch of sweetness to any film in which she appears. James Woods is shrill and his character, Reggie Belafonte, is way more annoying than he needs to be.

The aforementioned surfing scenes are surprisingly good – a testament to how supernaturally skilled these programmers, software guys, and animators who make computer-animated films are. That they make the surfing look so good with penguins on the surf boards adds to the amazement.

6 of 10
B

Saturday, November 10, 2007

NOTES:
2008 Academy Awards: 1nomination: “Best Animated Feature Film of the Year” (Ash Brannon and Chris Buck)

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Review: "Fantastic Four: Rise of the Silver Surfer" Does Not Rise Much

TRASH IN MY EYES No. 97 (of 2007) by Leroy Douresseaux

Fantastic Four: Rise of the Silver Surfer (2007)
Running time: 92 minutes (1 hour, 32 minutes)
MPAA – PG for sequences of action violence, some mild language, and innuendo
DIRECTOR: Tim Story
WRITERS: Don Payne and Mark Frost; from a story John Turman and Mark Frost (based upon the characters created by Stan Lee and Jack Kirby)
PRODUCERS: Avi Arad, Bernd Eichinger, and Ralph Winter
CINEMATOGRAPHER: Larry Blanford (D.o.P.)
EDITORS: Peter S. Elliot, William Hoy, and Michael McCusker
COMPOSER: John Ottman

SCI-FI/SUPERHERO/ACTION/ADVENTURE/FAMILY

Starring: Ioan Gruffudd, Jessica Alba, Chris Evans, Michael Chiklis, Julian McMahon, Kerry Washington, Andre Braugher, Laurence Fishburne (voice), Beau Garrett, and Doug Jones

Fantastic Four: Rise of the Silver Surfer, like it predecessor, the 2005 surprise hit, Fantastic Four, is a superhero blockbuster aimed squarely at younger children. That sets this franchise apart from most superhero films, which while ostensibly family films, tend to skew older with darker stories.

As the film begins, the members of the dysfunctional family known as the Fantastic Four have their hands full. Reed Richards/Mr. Fantastic (Ioan Gruffudd) and Susan Storm/Invisible Woman (Jessica Alba) are getting married, but Sue can’t keep Reed’s mind off his work and on wedding planning. Meanwhile, Ben Grimm/The Thing (Michael Chiklis) has found peace and love in his relationship with the blind artist, Alicia Masters (Kerry Washington). And Johnny Storm/The Human Torch (Chris Evans)? Well, Johnny just wants to market the FF as a brand that attracts sponsors, advertisers, and media willing to pay for exclusive access to the team.

The nuptials are interrupted by the arrival on Earth of an enigmatic being that Reed dubs The Silver Surfer. The Surfer is actually an intergalactic herald for a planet devouring being called Galactus. As the Surfer races on his board around the world wreaking havoc, the Fantastic Four must unravel the mystery of the Surfer and confront their mortal enemy Victor Von Doom a.k.a. Dr. Doom (Julian McMahon, who is terrible in this role), as he returns claiming to want to help defeat the Surfer. All of this puts stress on the delicate bonds of this fragile family called the Fantastic Four.

Director Tim Story’s second film attempt at the Fantastic Four is harmless fun, but it’s also vapid. It’s entertaining, but mostly empty. Lacking a good script (although the main plot is fun), Fantastic Four: Rise of the Silver Surfer is the kind of dumb, silly, and simple-minded entertainment that many people think of when they do think of comics. This isn’t bad, but FF: TROTSS just lacks the kind of epic scope and widescreen sensibilities that the original comics by Stan Lee and Jack Kirby had.

There are few good thinks about this film. Chris Evans plays Johnny Storm as a skirt-chasing, smart ass, and his presence just makes the Fantastic Four films better. To create the Silver Surfer, Doug Jones provides the physical acting, and Laurence Fishburne gives voice to the Silver Surfer. CGI finishes the work, and we have a cool looking, scene-stealing character. Every moment the Surfer is on screen the movie suddenly doesn’t seem like a slightly awkward, self-consciously clumsy kids’ flick. So adults beware; this is a mild amusement, but it’s even better for the young viewers.

5 of 10
B-

Thursday, June 21, 2007

Review: "Lions for Lambs" is a Political Film That Roars (Happy 50th B'day, Tom Cruise)

TRASH IN MY EYE No. 20 (of 2008) by Leroy Douresseaux

Lions for Lambs (2007)
Running time: 91 minutes (1 hour, 31 minutes)
MPAA – R for some war violence and language
DIRECTOR: Robert Redford
WRITER: Matthew Michael Carnahan
PRODUCERS: Matthew Michael Carnahan, Tracy Falco, Andrew Hauptman, and Robert Redford
CINEMATOGRAPHER: Philippe Rousselot (D.o.P.)
EDITOR: Joe Hutshing

DRAMA/WAR

Starring: Robert Redford, Meryl Streep, Tom Cruise, Michael Peña, Andrew Garfield, Peter Berg, Kevin Dunn, and Derek Luke

Lions for Lambs is a 2007 drama from director Robert Redford. The film stars Redford, Meryl Streep, and Tom Cruise in a story that connects the actions of a veteran television reporter, a powerful U.S. Republican senator, a college professor, and a stranded platoon of soldiers trapped in Afghanistan.

Tom Cruise re-launched United Artists as viable movie studio with Lions for Lambs, the Robert Redford-helmed look at America's “War on Terror.” Using a complex three-pronged narrative, Redford (who also stars in this film) connects the lives of the movie’s characters by politics and bloodshed. While a young, but powerful Washington senator goes toe to toe with a reporter, who on the down side of her career, on the issue of U.S. troops in Afghanistan and Iraq, an idealistic professor and Vietnam veteran tries to keep a promising student engaged, while two of his former pupils struggle to survive behind enemy lines in Afghanistan.

At an unnamed California university, the anguished Professor Stephen Malley (Robert Redford) calls Todd (Andrew Garfield), a talented, but aimless student who usually misses class into his office for a heart to heart conversation. Malley is trying to reach this privileged, but disaffected student to hopefully encourage him to do something to make change rather than just be cynical about the current state of affairs. Two of Prof. Malley’s students volunteered to join the U.S. military and now serve with Special Forces in the “War on Terror.” This bold decision by Arian Finch (Derek Luke) and Ernest Rodriguez (Michael Peña) has left Malley both moved and distraught, but he wants to share their determination to make a difference with Todd.

Unbeknownst to Malley, Arian and Ernest are stranded on a snowy mountainside in Badakhshan, Afghanistan as Taliban fighters move in and their commanders struggle to get them out.

Meanwhile, charismatic Presidential hopeful, Senator Jasper Irving (Tom Cruise) is giving probing TV journalist Janine Roth (Meryl Streep) a bombshell of a story, as the two go toe to toe over the “War on Terror.” Sen. Irving has used his influence to launch a new phase in the war in Afghanistan – one that will affect the fates of Arian and Ernest, as arguments, memories, and battle weave these three stories ever more tightly together.

Much has been made of the lack of success at the box office of films dealing with Iraq (Rendition, In the Valley of Elah), which is really no surprise considering how disconnected so many Americans are from the “Global War on Terror,” not to mention how unpopular the Iraq War is among Americans and in other nations. This unpopularity and lack of connectivity is precisely why a film like Lions for Lambs is so important. Lions for Lambs is so indicative of our current state of affairs as Americans as to be painful. No wonder the film received mostly middling to negative reviews and was a dud at the box office. Like Spike Lee’s scandalous 1987 film, School Days, Redford’s film insists on throwing the painful but necessary truth in our faces, and so many Americans would rather be chasing the latest consumer toys or obsessing over meaningless pop culture tittle-tattle. It has been said that Lions for Lambs is too “talky,” supposedly a handicap for a film.

Lions for Lambs does talk a lot, but it has something to say and we should be listening.

Still, Cruise (who gives the film’s best and sharpest performance, by far) and Streep arguing history, politics, and war as a ruthlessly ambitious politician and a jaded reporter, while American servicemen die is a sign of the times. Watching Redford’s old school activist professor trying to get Garfield’s cynical and spoiled rich boy get engaged in change while the student’s classmates shed blood for him is deeply saddening. While Peña’s Ernest and Derek’s Arian are lions in this supposed war for our civilization, the lambs are back home holding the keys to the lions’ fates.

Redford’s film clearly asks that a country embrace a more selfless agenda and do some serious soul searching, instead of acting and lying in our own self-interests. It’s good when a Hollywood movie tackles the national mood and asks tough questions. It means that American cinema still matters beyond being mere corporate product.

8 of 10
A

Wednesday, April 16, 2008

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Review: The Rock Tries Hard in "The Game Plan" (Happy B'day, Dwayne Johnson)

TRASH IN MY EYE No. 19 (of 2008) by Leroy Douresseaux

The Game Plan (2007)
Running time: 110 minutes (1 hour, 50 minutes)
MPAA – PG for some mild thematic elements
DIRECTOR: Andy Fickman
WRITERS: Nichole Millard and Kathryn Price; from a story by Nichole Millard and Kathryn Price and Audrey Well
PRODUCERS: Mark Ciardi and Gordon Gray
CINEMATOGRAPHER: Greg Gardiner (D.o.P.)
EDITOR: Michael Jablow

COMEDY/SPORTS/FAMILY

Starring: Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson, Madison Pettis, Kyra Sedgwick, Roselyn Sanchez, Morris Chestnut, Hayes MacArthur, Brian J. White, Jamal Duff, Kate Nauta, Jackie Flynn, and Paige Turco

Dwayne Johnson’s movie career began with a small role in 2001 in The Mummy Returns, but before that he was a wildly popular professional wrestler known as “The Rock,” a name that has stuck with him throughout the first seven years of his movie career. Johnson claims that his Fall 2007 film, The Game Plan, is the last time he’ll be credited in a film as “Dwayne ‘The Rock’ Johnson.” Good for him because this tolerable kids movie turns out to be the perfect time to jettison his WWF moniker.

Boston Rebels quarterback Joe Kingman (Dwayne Johnson) is the toast of Boston, and boy, does he know it. Self-centered and egotistical, Joe has the respect of teammates, but he doesn’t really trust them. When the game is on the line, Joe calls his own number to make the big plays, but after nearly a decade, this superb physical specimen and all-around great player doesn’t have a professional football championship.

A confirmed bachelor, Joe lives in a lavish bachelor pad decorated with the latest personal electronic gadgets and numerous trophies for his personal (not team) achievements. Then, one day an 8-year-old girl named Peyton Kelly (Madison Pettis) shows up at Joe’s door claiming to be his daughter from a short-lived marriage. She expects to stay with him while her mother is out of the country, Peyton says. This isn’t what Joe needs just as he’s making what may look like his last best chance to win a professional football championship. Still, while Joe warms to Peyton, his ruthless, high-powered agent, Stella Peck (Kyra Sedgwick) doesn’t. And Peyton hasn’t been entirely truthful…

The Game Plan is an innocuous family film that will appeal to children who are too young to have seen this formula story countless times as many adult viewers have. Still, there is some appeal to these stories of wayward men who struggle with, then gallantly grasp the reigns of fatherhood. The truth is that the first hour and twenty minutes of The Game Plan is lousy. It isn’t until the last half hour that The Game Plan picks up real dramatic weight and suddenly the transformation of Joe Kingman from overgrown man-child to responsible dad becomes a stirring, gripping story.

As for the acting, everyone is bad, especially Madison Pettis as Peyton and Kyra Sedgwick as the meanie agent. Johnson, however, works at this movie with such gusto; he almost fools you into believing that this could be an Oscar-worthy flick. The Game Plan is strictly for diehards fans of “The Rock” (me – at least as an actor) and children.

5 of 10
C+

Monday, April 07, 2008

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"The Invincible Iron Man" Kind of Clunky

TRASH IN MY EYE No. 41 (of 2007) by Leroy Douresseaux


The Invincible Iron Man (2007) – DVD
Running time: 83 minutes (1 hour, 23 minutes)
MPAA – PG-13 for action violence and some sensuality
DIRECTORS: Patrick Archibald and Jay Oliva with Frank D. Paur (supervising director)
WRITER: Greg Johnson; from a screen story by Avi Arad, Craig Kyle, and Greg Johnson
PRODUCER: Frank D. Paur
EDITOR: George Rizkallah

ANIMATION/SUPERHERO/ACTION/FANTASY

Starring: (voices) Marc Worden, Gwendoline Yeo, Rodney Saulsberry, Elisa Gabrielli, John McCook, James Sie, and Fred Tatasciore

The Invincible Iron Man is a 2007 straight-to-DVD animated film starring Marvel Comics’ superhero, Iron Man. It is the third movie in the Marvel Animated Features line. This was a series of eight animated feature films produced by MLG Productions, a joint venture between Marvel Entertainment and Lionsgate. The Invincible Iron Man is a retelling of Iron Man’s origin story.

Billionaire industrialist, inventor, and playboy Tony Stark (Marc Worden) unearths an ancient Chinese ruin and digs up more than he bargained for when he awakens the Mandarin (Fred Tatasciore), an evil entity buried for centuries in the ruined palace. The Chinese government also blames Stark for providing weapons to the Jade Dragons, a terrorist group bent on keeping the ruins beneath the earth and the Mandarin from rising again. A Jade Dragon, Li Mei (Gwendoline Yeo), is sympathetic towards Tony.

Meanwhile, Tony’s father, Howard Stark (John McCook), has taken steps to remove his son from the family business. Finding himself buried in trouble, Stark turns to his employees and friends, Rhodey (Rodney Saulsberry) and Pepper Potts (Elisa Gabrielli). However, it is his high-tech suit of armor that gives Stark the power to fight the Mandarin’s minions, the monstrous Elementals. With that suit, Iron Man is born.

The Invincible Iron Man is the third direct-to-DVD film from Marvel Entertainment and film company Lionsgate featuring characters from Marvel’s extensive library of comic book characters. Iron Man isn’t as good as the two earlier Ultimate Avengers films, which featured Iron Man as an Avenger. The animation in Iron Man is average at best, although the background art is quite beautiful. The animators used computer rendering to create the three suits of armor Iron Man actually wears in the film, and also to create the Elementals that IM battles and several moving vehicles.

The acting is so-so, with only Gwendoline Yeo as Li Mei distinguishing herself. The writing is pretty bad. In fact, there are several lapses in logic that exist merely to justify or to create certain conflicts. What saves this movie is its action-packed second half, which is one long run of fight scenes that prove that animation is the best medium for adapting comic books to motion pictures.

5 of 10
B-

Saturday, February 24, 2007

"Pride" is Also About Determination

TRASH IN MY EYE No. 115 (of 2007) by Leroy Douresseaux


Pride (2007)
Running time: 109 minutes (1 hour, 49 minutes)
MPAA – PG-13 for thematic material, language including some racial epithets, and violence
DIRECTOR: Sunu Gonera
WRITERS: Kevin Michael Smith & Michael Gozzard, J. Mills Goodloe, and Norman Vance, Jr.
PRODUCERS: Brett Forbes, Patrick Rizzotti, Michael Ohoven, Adam Rosenfelt, and Paul Hall
CINEMATOGRAPHER: Matthew F. Leonetti
EDITOR: Billy Fox, A.C.E.

DRAMA/HISTORICAL

Starring: Terrence Howard, Bernie Mac, Kimberly Elise, Tom Arnold, Brandon Fobbs, Alphonso McAuley, Regine Nehy, Nate Parker, Kevin Phillips, Scott Reeves, Evan Ross, and Gary Sturgis

Pride is a 2007 biopic and drama starring Terrence Howard and Bernie Mac. The film is loosely based upon the true story of Philadelphia swim coach, James “Jim” Ellis, who, in 1971, formed the first swim team made of African-American swimmers.

In 1973, Jim Ellis (Terrence Howard), a college educated African-American, arrives in Philadelphia looking for work. He lands a job with the Philadelphia Department of Recreation to begin closing the Marcus Foster Recreational Center. Instead, he refurbishes the rundown center’s abandoned swimming pool, and then, shocks this local inner city community by forming a swim team. With the help of the center’s janitor, Elston (Bernie Mac), Ellis forms Philadelphia’s first black swim team. He recruits from a group of young men who hang around the center, and eventually adds one female swimmer.

They struggle to be a winning swim team, but soon, Team PDR (Philadelphia Department of Recreation) is earning respect and also the ire of an all-white team, the Barracudas, the swim team of the affluent Main Line Academy. Team PDR heads for their biggest competitive test at the Eastern Regional Swimming Final, but a dark incident from Coach Ellis’ past might sink their dreams.

Pride might come across as an amalgamation of many different Hollywood sports movies, especially those based on true stories or real life events. Out of its clichés, however, comes a truly inspirational film that is both an uplifting and moving story about a teacher who encourages his pupils to be not just proud, but also determined and resolute in pursuing their goals.

The film isn’t marked by any great performances, but both Terrence Howard and Bernie Mac give high-quality turns as the fatherly and stern, but loving African-American role models. Howard as Ellis seems strangely serene, but he cleverly hides Ellis’ passion and firebrand spirit until the moments that it is most needed. Mac’s performance exposes Elston as a terse, but gentlemanly father figure who simply wants more for the young people of his community. In a time when so many are cynical without really knowing why they should be, a film like Pride will seem like a stereotype. Taken in context, however, Pride is a winning film about a man who taught marginalized children to be proud.

7 of 10
B+

Wednesday, August 15, 2007

NOTES:
2008 Image Awards: 2 nominations: “Outstanding Actor in a Motion Picture” (Terrence Howard) and “Outstanding Directing in a Motion Picture (Theatrical or Television)” (Sunu Gonera)

Review: Mark Wahlberg Has Magnum Force in "Shooter"

TRASH IN MY EYE No. 124 (of 2007) by Leroy Douresseaux

Shooter (2007)
Running time: 126 minutes (2 hours, six minutes)
MPAA – R for strong graphic violence and some language
DIRECTOR: Antoine Fuqua
WRITER: Jonathan Lemkin (based upon the novel Point of Impact by Stephen Hunter)
PRODUCERS: Lorenzo di Bonaventura and Ric Kidney
CINEMATOGRAPHER: Peter Menzies, Jr. ASC
EDITOR: Eric Sears, A.C.E.

ACTION/DRAMA/THRILLER

Starring: Mark Wahlberg, Michael Peña, Danny Glover, Kate Maria, Elias Koteas, Rhona Mitra, Rade Sherbedgia, Lane Garrison, and Ned Beatty

Academy Award-nominated actor Mark Wahlberg (The Departed) joins Antoine Fuqua, the director of Training Day and Tears of the Sun, for the film, Shooter, a razor sharp action/thriller about an honorable man framed as an assassin.

After a mission in Ethiopia goes badly, Marine Corps scout sniper, Bob Lee Swagger (Mark Wahlberg), walks away from the Corps for what he sees as a devastating betrayal. He moves to a remote mountain cabin and leaves the world behind, except for his loyal dog. One day, Colonel Isaac Johnson (Danny Glover) comes calling and tells Swagger that his country desperately needs him to help Col. Johnson foil an assassination attempt on the President of the United States. Johnson tries to convince Swagger that only his lethal skills and expertise in long-range ballistics can help stop the assassin.

Johnson appeals to Swagger’s sense of patriotism, and he decides to do this "one last time" thing. After this new mission goes badly and the mystery assassin gets off a shot, Swagger becomes a hunted man, and he has to uncover a dark conspiracy in the heart of the American government in order to clear his name. Swagger will have to discover who the real hit men are, but he’ll have to hit them before they hit him.

A mixture of the Matt Damon “Jason Bourne” films (The Bourne Identity) and the Harrison Ford-led “Jack Ryan” films, in particularly, Clear and Present Danger, Shooter is a slick, fast-paced film that draws the viewer in at the very beginning and holds him or her in a vice like grip until the picture fades to black. Shooter isn’t as smart as the recent The Bourne Ultimatum, nor is it really an insider/conspiracy movie like Clear and Present Danger. Shooter is the good old boy, ass-kickin’ version of those films – smart, tough, but most of all street savvy.

The performances are good, and Wahlberg, a former Top 40 rapper and pretty boy underwear model, has turned out to be a strong actor who is authentic in very masculine roles. In other words, he’s plays the don’t-mess-with-him badass very well. Some of the credit for Shooter’s success must also go to Antoine Fuqua. He does movies featuring men with guns and films featuring combat and the military very well. One can say he’s almost an artist with these types of movies, and Shooter is his most polished effort yet, and a damn enjoyable movie about men who are super good at shooting super guns.

8 of 10
A

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Review: "Bridge to Terabithia" is Beautiful and Heartbreaking (Happy B'day, AnnaSophia Robb)

TRASH IN MY EYE No. 103 (of 2007) by Leroy Douresseaux

Bridge to Terabithia (2007)
Running time: 96 minutes (1 hour, 36 minutes)
MPAA – PG for thematic material including bullying, some peril, and mild language
DIRECTOR: Gabor Csupo
WRITERS: Jeff Stockwell and David Paterson (based upon the book by Katherine Paterson)
PRODUCERS: Lauren Levine, Hal Lieberman, and David Paterson
CINEMATOGRAPHER: Michael Chapman
EDITOR: John Gilbert

DRAMA/FANTASY

Starring: Josh Hutcherson, AnnaSophia Robb, Zooey Deschanel, Robert Patrick, Bailee Madison, Kate Butler, Devon Wood, Emma Fenton, Grace Brannigan, Latham Gaines, Judy McIntosh, Lauren Clinton, Cameron Wakefield, and Elliot Lawless

Bridge to Terabithia, the beloved Newberry Medal-winning book by Katherine Paterson, finally makes it to the big screen in a film produced by Walden Media. The film is co-written and co-produced by Katherine’s son, David Paterson, for whom she wrote the book a little over three decades ago. (There was a 1983 TV version produced by WonderWorks and broadcast on PBS.)

Jesse Aaron (Josh Hutcherson) is an outcast at home and at school. His parents seem to focus all their attention on his two older and two young sisters and have little time for their only son, the middle child. At school, he is a loner and his interest in drawing only makes his isolation worse. In this situation arrives a new classmate, Leslie Burke (AnnaSophia Robb), the only daughter of well-to-do writers. Her free-spirited ways and mall punk fashion sense also don’t fit in well with her new rural home.

Although Jesse at first resists, he eventually accepts Leslie’s overtures of friendship. She takes him deep into the local woods, and together, with Leslie’s imagination as the catalyst, the duo creates the make-believe kingdom of Terabithia, a magical land of giants, trolls, and assorted fantastical monsters and creatures where they’re free to be themselves. In Terabithia, the outcast duo reigns supreme and plot revenge against their fellow schoolmates who bully them, but tragedy will test the fate of their creation.

Although I haven’t read the book as of writing this, I have to wonder that Bridge to Terabithia the book must be wonderful source material. Walt Disney’s advertising campaign for the film’s theatrical release is deceptive. Bridge to Terabithia is not a fantasy like The Chronicles of Narnia and Harry Potter. It’s a heartfelt drama about childhood friendships and the trials and adversities of pre-teen life, and the real lives of Jesse and Leslie, not Terabithia, is where the story and its themes largely exist. The make-believe world of Terabithia represents a place of total freedom, where the two heroes can be who they want to be free of the judgments and criticisms of the real world.

Taking its cue from Katherine Paterson’s book, the film focuses on the complexities of making friendships and of family dynamics. Friendships can be formed between people who are not at all alike, whether the differences are because of personality or socio-economic status, the film says. The story also emphasizes that families are not perfect, nor are the relationships within families perfect, as parents may show more favor or attention to some children than others.

Director Gabor Csupo (of Klasky-Csupo, the creators of “Rugrats” and “The Wild Thornberrys,” among others) shows great restrain in focusing the film on the relationship dynamics, and makes the film an engaging drama and universal story. The film does have moments of magic and fantasy when CGI brings the creatures of Terabithia to life. However, Bridge to Terabithia uses the magic of imagination and make-believe to enhance real life. Terabithia is a source of strength and unquestioning love that carries over into the real world to help our two heroes survive the pratfalls and obstacles of childhood. That is why this film sticks with me and makes me wish “if only we all had a Terabithia.”

8 of 10
A

Wednesday, July 11, 2007