Review: "THE ROCKY HORROR PICTURE SHOW" is Always Waiting For Us

TRASH IN MY EYE No. 25 of 2023 (No. 1914) by Leroy Douresseaux

The Rocky Horror Picture Show (1975)

Running time:  100 minutes (1 hour, 40 minutes)

MPAA – R

DIRECTOR:  Jim Sharman

WRITERS:  Jim Sharman and Richard O'Brien (based on the original musical play by Richard O'Brien)

PRODUCER:  Michael White

CINEMATOGRAPHER:  Peter Suschitsky (D.o.P.)

EDITORS:  Graeme Clifford

COMPOSER:  Richard Hartley

SONGS: Richard O'Brien

MUSICAL/COMEDY/SCI-FI and FANTASY/HORROR

Starring:  Tim Curry, Susan Sarandon, Barry Bostwick, Richard O'Brien, Patricia Quinn, Nell Campbell, Peter Hinwood, Jonathan Adams, Meat Load, and Charles Gray

The Rocky Horror Picture Show is a 1975 comedy-horror and musical fantasy film directed by Jim Sharman.  The film is written by Sharman and Richard O'Brien and is based based on the 1973 musical stage production, The Rocky Horror Show, for which O'Brien wrote the music, lyrics, and book.  Both the film and stage musical pay tribute to the science fiction and B-movie horror films that appeared in theaters from the 1930s to the 1960s.  The Rocky Horror Picture Show follows a newly-engaged couple who, because of car trouble, seeks shelter at a castle-like country home that is populated by bizarre guests and an even more bizarre host.

The Rocky Horror Picture Show introduces a naive young couple, Brad Majors (Barry Bostwick) and Janet Weiss (Susan Sarandon).  It is late November, and the couple are attending the wedding of their friends, Ralph Haphschatt (Jeremy Newson) and Betty Monroe (Hilary Labow), at Denton Episcopalian Church.  Brad and Janet get engaged after the wedding and decide to celebrate with their high school science teacher, Dr. Everett Scott (Jonathan Adams).

In Brad's car, the duo are en route to Scott's house on a dark and rainy night when they get lost and then get a flat tire.  Needing a telephone to call for help, the couple walk to a nearby castle.  There, they find the place in the throes of a rowdy party.  The guests are both flamboyantly dressed and bizarre.  What is even more bizarre however, is the host, the transvestite scientist, Dr. Frank-N-Furter (Tim Curry), who is about to unveil his latest creation.  There are two things of which Brad and Janet are unaware.  The first is Frank-N-Furter is from the planet “Transsexual,” located in the galaxy “Transylvania.”  The second is that at some point in the future, their story will be narrated by a noted criminologist (Charles Gray).

When The Rocky Horror Picture Show was initially released in the United States in the early fall of 1975, it was not well-received by either critics or audiences.  However, by the spring of 1976, the film's infamous cult following began, thanks to midnight showings, first in and around New York City, and then, spreading throughout the U.S.  Soon, fans in costume were performing alongside the film.

Dear readers, I must admit that I have never seen The Rocky Horror Picture Show in a theater.  I first saw it in the late 1980s via a Japanese import or bootleg copy at the science fiction, fantasy, and gaming convention, CoastCon (I believe), in Biloxi, Mississippi.  It was a wild screening, and I freaked out when audience members jumped out of their seats and started performing bits from the film.

As some of you may know, Netflix is shutting down its DVD-by-mail service – currently known as DVDNetflix or DVD.com.  I decided to spend some of these final months on this beloved service re-watching favorite films and well as trying some older films that I have never seen.  Watching The Rocky Horror Picture Show seemed like the right thing to do as a sendoff to the service that I used to build my movie review blog, Negromancer.

The Rocky Horror Picture Show is indeed a tribute to science fiction, B-movie, and monster films.  There are references to such films as Universal Pictures' Frankenstein (1931) and Bride of Frankenstein (1935), RKO's King Kong (1933), Hammer Films' The Revenge of Frankenstein (1958), Fox's The Day the Earth Stood Still (1951), and MGM's Forbidden Planet (1956), to name a few.

However, Rocky Horror's punk rock fashions, colorfully dyed hair, corsets, torn fishnet stockings, glitter, androgyny, and sex and violence are more important than its haunted mansion, secret labs, rival scientists, and sci-fi angles.  For me, this film is about having a good time and being liberated.  Sometimes, the film may seem like it is being outrageous for the sake of being outrageous, but one of its final songs personifies the film for me, “Fanfare/Don't Dream It, Be It.”  It's okay to look like you want to and to be what you want to.  And yes, it's okay to be turned on by both Susan Sarandon in her unmentionables and Barry Bostwick in his Jockey classic Y-front briefs.

I can certainly point to Tim Curry's legendary performance as Dr. Frank-N-Furter, but everyone, from the filmmakers, cast, and crew to the artisans, craftsman, and technicians that brought the sets and costumes to life, made The Rocky Horror Picture Show memorable and, for many, unforgettable.  I can't forget the songs, so I need a soundtrack album.  Meat Loaf makes the most of his short time on screen.  The narrator turns out to be hoot.  Even the passing of DVDNetflix won't stop me from seeing this show again.  The music, the songs, the cast, and the setting seem as if they will never let me forget that part of me belongs, at least for a little while, at The Rocky Horror Picture Show.

8 of 10

A

★★★★ out of 4 stars

Thursday, June 15, 2023

NOTES:

2005 National Film Preservation Board, USA:  National Film Registry

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Review: "AMSTERDAM" is a Movie That Follows the Right God Home

TRASH IN MY EYE No. 4 of 2023 (No. 1893) by Leroy Douresseaux

Amsterdam (2022)

Running time:  134 minutes (2 hours, 14 minutes)

MPA – R for brief violence and bloody images

WRITER/DIRECTOR:  David O. Russell

PRODUCERS:  David O. Russell, Christian Bale, Matthew Budman, Anthony Katagas, and Arnon Milchan

CINEMATOGRAPHER:  Emmanuel Lubezki (D.o.P.)

EDITOR:  Jay Cassidy

COMPOSER:  Daniel Pemberton

DRAMA/COMEDY/HISTORICAL

Starring:  Christian Bale, Margot Robbie, John David Washington, Alessandro Nivola, Andrea Riseborough, Anya Taylor-Joy, Chris Rock, Matthias Schoenaerts, Michael Shannon, Mike Myers, Taylor Swift, Timothy Olyphant, Zoe Saldana, Rami Malek, Ed Begley, Jr., Beth Grant, and Robert De Niro

Amsterdam is a 2022 comedy, period drama, and historical film from writer-director David O. Russell.  The film is based on the 1933 United States political conspiracy “the Business Plot,” which involved a secret plan to overthrow the government of President Franklin D. Roosevelt and to install a dictator in its place.  Amsterdam follows three friends who seek to uncover the truth behind the mysterious death and apparent murder of a retired U.S. general.

Amsterdam introduces Burt Berendsen M.D. (Christian Bale), a physician and surgeon.  In 1918, his estranged wife, Beatrice Vandenheuvel (Andrea Riseborough) and her parents, who don't really care for Burt because he is “half-Jew,” bully him into enlisting to fight in World War I.  While stationed in France, Burt befriends an African-American soldier, Harold Woodman (John David Washington).

Later, after being severely injured in battle, Burt and Harold are nursed back to health by Valerie Bandenberg (Margot Robbie), an eccentric American nurse and artist who makes art out of shrapnel removed from the soldiers.  Burt and Harold befriend Valerie and follow her to Amsterdam, the capitol of the Netherlands.  There, they live together and Harold and Valerie engage in a budding romance.  First, Burt returns to New York City to be with his wife, and then, Harold returns to begin his career as an attorney.

In 1933, Burt owns his own medical practice that caters to veterans of WWI, and he still remains friends with Harold.  Things begin to change for them when they discover that General Bill Meekins (Ed Begley, Jr.), who was important to Burt and Harold during the war, has died.  His daughter, Elizabeth Meekins (Taylor Swift), believes that her father was murdered.  Soon, Elizabeth herself is murdered, and Burt and Harold are blamed.  Seeking to clear themselves, they begin to investigate the mystery surrounding General Meekins before his death, which leads to their reunion with Valerie.  She had also returned to America and is living in seclusion with her wealthy brother, Tom Voze (Rami Malek) and his wife, Libby (Anya Taylor-Joy).

The three friends find themselves in a conspiracy involving another retired military officer, Marine Corps General Gil Dillenbeck (Robert De Niro).  And everything is heading for a showdown at an event that is very important to Burt, the 14th Annual New York Veterans Reunion Gala.

Yeah, dear readers, the synopsis of the film's plot is a bit longer than I would like it to be.  Although Amsterdam's narrative only runs a little under two hours and ten minutes, the film has enough subplots, characters, and settings to fill a television miniseries.  Actually, a miniseries version of Amsterdam with the same cast would be orgasmic – well, at least for me it would.

Anyway, most of you, dear readers, are familiar (to one extent or another) with the event known as the “January 6 United States Capitol attack.”  On Wednesday, January 6, 2021, a (mostly) white mob attacked the United States Capitol Building in Washington, D.C. The members of mob were comprised of supporters of then-President Donald Trump, and they were seeking to keep Trump in power by preventing a joint session of the U.S. Congress from counting the electoral college votes to formalize the victory of President-elect Joe Biden.

That event led journalists, historians, and writers to recall other insurrections and attempts to overthrow a democratically elected U.S. government.  The Business Plot is one of them.  It has also been referred to as “the Wall Street Putsch” because the people behind it were allegedly wealthy American businessmen.  They hoped to overthrow the government of President Franklin D. Roosevelt by creating a fascist organization comprised of World War I veterans that would be led by Marine Corp General Smedley Butler, a hero of WWI and a veteran of several military conflicts.  After this military led coup and overthrow of the government, the plotters would install Butler as a dictator.

Butler, upon whom Amsterdam's Gen. Dillenbeck is based, himself is the one who revealed the Business Plot.  At the time, some of the press considered the Business Plot to be hoax, although a congressional committee investigating the plot believed that it was discussed and at least partially planned.

Amsterdam is a film that is kind of like a fairy tale version the Business Plot with Burt (ostensibly the story's lead character), Harold, and Valerie as the gallant trio fighting the mysterious bad guys.  In this manner, the film is filled with conniving wizards (rich businessmen), evil knights (the killers of Gen. Meekins), and menagerie of oddball characters and creature-types, which is a good way to describe even Amsterdam's heroic trio.  As I said earlier, I think that the manner in which writer-director David O. Russell tells this story, it needs to be done in a longer form.

Still, one thing at which Russell really excels is in creating ensemble films featuring a cast that delivers stellar performances which in turn creates the most interesting cinematic characters.  He has done that with a large ensemble, as in the case of his highly-acclaimed 2013 film, American Hustle, and with an intimate small ensemble, such as in his Oscar-winning 2012 film, Silver Linings Playbook.

Christian Bale delivers another amazing performance as Burt Berendsen.  Margot Robbie is eccentric and delightful as Valerie, and John David Washington is dashing, bold, and stalwart as Harold.  Robbie and Washington have excellent chemistry and thus, are convincing as a couple.  Anya Taylor-Joy, beautiful and radiant as always, effortlessly slays in her turn as the vain and insecure attention-seeker, Libby Voze.  Of course, Robert De Niro, as Gen. Dillenbeck, turns up the heat in the film's most pivotal moments.

Rami Malek, Chris Rock, and Zoe Saldana also shine in key supporting roles, and Taylor Swift's quick spin as Bill Meekins' daughter, Elizabeth, gives the film an early jolt.  So the smaller roles help to make Amsterdam that much better as a top notch ensemble film.

In the film, the city of Amsterdam seems to represent a place where people can be their authentic selves while accepting that others must also be allowed to be their authentic selves, even if that might lead to clashes of personality and belief.  Amsterdam is not perfect, but it is lovable because of its idiosyncratic way, and that makes me look forward to the next large ensemble film from the inimitable David O. Russell.

8 of 10

A

★★★★ out of 4 stars

Saturday, January 21, 2023

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Review: "AVATAR: The Way of Water" is Indeed Too Long, But it is Never Boring

TRASH IN MY EYE No. 1 of 2023 (No. 1890) by Leroy Douresseaux

Avatar: The Way of Water (2022)

Running time:  192 minutes (3 hours, 12 minutes)

MPAA – PG-13 for sequences of strong violence and intense action, partial nudity and some strong language

DIRECTOR:  James Cameron

WRITERS:  James Cameron and Rick Jaffa & Amanda Silver; from a story by James Cameron, Rick Jaffa & Amanda Silver, and Josh Friedman and Shane Salerno

PRODUCERS:  James Cameron and Jon Landau 

CINEMATOGRAPHER:  Russell Carpenter (D.o.P.)

EDITORS:  James Cameron, John Refoua, Stephen Rivkin, and David Brenner

COMPOSER:  Simon Franglen

SCI-FI/FANTASY, ADVENTURE, DRAMA/WAR

Starring:  Sam Worthington, Zoe Saldana, Sigourney Weaver, Stephen Lang, Kate Winslet, Cliff Curtis, Joel David Moore, CCH Pounder, Edie Falco, Brendan Cowell, Jemaine Clement, Jamie Flatters, Britain Dalton, Trinity Jo-Li Bliss, Jack Champion, Bailey Bass, Filip Geljo, Duane Evans Jr., Dileep Rao, and Matt Gerald

Avatar: The Way of Water is a 2022 science fiction-fantasy, action-adventure, drama and war film from director James Cameron.  It is a direct sequel to the 2009 film, Avatar.  In The Way of Water, the world of Pandora is under renewed threat from human invaders, forcing Na'vi Jake Sully to seek refuge for his family with a new tribe.

Avatar: The Way of Water opens on the habitable moon, Pandora (one of several moons orbiting a gas giant planet), a decade after the events of the original film.  The former human who led the Na'vi fight that expelled the humans, Na'vi Jake Sulley (Sam Worthington), is now chief of the Na'vi “Omaticaya” clan.  He raises a family with his mate, Neytiri (Zoe Saldana), that includes sons, Neteyam (Jamie Flatters) and Lo'ak (Britain Dalton); daughter, Tuk (Trinity Jo-Li Bliss); and two adopted children.  They are a human boy named “Spider” (Jack Champion) and Kiri (Sigourney Weaver), a girl who was born from the inert avatar of Grace Augustine (Sigourney Weaver), the late scientist who sided with Jake Sulley in his first battle with the humans.

However, to the dismay of the Na'vi, the human corporation, Resources Development Administration (RDA), has returned to Pandora.  This time, RDA wants to prepare Pandora as a new home for humanity because the Earth is dying.  RDA has even created new combatants, called “recombinants,” which are Na'vi avatars implanted with the minds and memories of human soldiers killed in the first conflict with the Na'vi.  One of them is Colonel Miles Quaritch (Stephen Lang), Jake and Neytiri's greatest human enemy and now leaders of the recombinants.

A year after the return, there is a confrontation between Jake's forces and Quaritch's forces.  Jake realizes that the RDA has made him, as a former human soldier and traitor, the focus of their mission.  To protect the Omaticaya clan, Jake and his family go into exile and retreat to the sea islands in hope of finding refuge with the “Metkayina” reef people.  The family struggles to adjust to the new home, especially the children who are coming of age.  And recombinant Quaritch and his squad are still hunting Jake, and they are willing to do anything to capture him.

When I reviewed the first Avatar film, I wrote that “Avatar is everything good that you have heard about it and more.”  I can say the same for Avatar: The Way of Water, although I will not say it with the same intensity as other film critics and film reviewers.  Some people seem to enter a kind of state of ecstasy when they talk about The Way of Water.  I am not that crazy about it.  Let us see how simply I can explain this.

When I first saw the original Avatar in theaters, I was blown away.  It was like nothing that I'd ever seen before then.  It was an epic science fiction film set on a strange new world, full of incredible creatures and environments.  Plus, Avatar has a great group of villains in the form of the invading humans.  However, as crazy as I was about it then, I have never watched the film in its entirety since.  I can't make myself interested in even watching sections of the film.

Avatar: The Way of Water is full of wonderful new characters, new environments, and a strange new tribe, living in a water world of amazing creatures.  I am impressed by how many intriguing new characters James Cameron and his co-writers have created for this film.  But, as good as the film is, I am not “blown away” by it.  I don't find it remotely as interesting as I found the first Avatar.  However, like the first film, James Cameron does quite a bit of skewering of colonialism and militarism and of toxic wealth and capitalism.

Avatar: The Way of Water is a great, big science fiction epic full of fantastic visual special effects and CGI (computer-generated images).  The motion-capture CGI that creates the Na'vi still makes the characters look and move awkwardly in some instances, but that does not ruin the characters.  Also, despite what some are saying, I did not find the first two hours of this three-hour plus film boring.  Yes, the last third of this movie is at least an hour of great, great action, but the first two hours also offer some thrilling and riveting action, engaging character drama, and eye-popping exploration of the reef world of the Metkayina.

Still, for me, the Avatar thrill left a long time ago, and Avatar: The Way of Water does not make it return.  I think it is a really good film, but not a great film.  But, hey, it might “blow you away,” dear readers.

7 of 10

B+

★★★½ out of 4 stars

Sunday, January 1, 2023

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Review: 2022 Version of "DEATH ON THE NILE" Is Dark and Edgy on the Nile

TRASH IN MY EYE No. 31 of 2022 (No. 1843) by Leroy Douresseaux

Death on the Nile (2022)
Running time:  127 minutes (2 hours, 7 minutes)
MPA – PG-13 for violence, some bloody images, and sexual material
DIRECTOR: Kenneth Branagh
WRITER: Michael Green (based on the novel by Agathie Christie)
PRODUCERS:  Kenneth Branagh, Mark Gordon, Judy Hofflund, Simon Kinberg, Kevin J. Walsh, and Ridley Scott
CINEMATOGRAPHER:  Haris Zambarloukos (D.o.P.)
EDITOR:  Una Ni Dhonghaile
COMPOSER:  Patrick Doyle

MYSTERY

Starring:  Kenneth Branagh, Gal Gadot, Armie Hammer, Tom Bateman, Annette Bening, Russell Brand, Letitia Wright, Sophie Okonedo, Emma Mackey, Rose Leslie, Ali Fazal, Rose Leslie, Jennifer Saunders, Dawn French, and Naveed Kahn

Death on the Nile is a 2022 mystery film directed by Kenneth Branagh.  It is based on the 1937 novel, Death on the Nile, written by Agatha Christie (1890-1976).  In Death on the Nile the movie, Hercule Poirot investigates the murder of a young heiress that occurs on a ship sailing the Nile

Death on the Nile finds famous detective, Hercule Poirot (Kenneth Branagh), embarking on a luxurious cruise on the Nile River in Egypt.  Poirot is delighted to discover that his friend, Bouc (Tom Bateman), will also be aboard the ship named the “Karnak.”

Also aboard are the newlyweds:  wealthy heiress, Linnet Ridgeway (Gal Gadot), and her husband, Simon Doyle (Armie Hammer).  While in Egypt on their honeymoon, they are being stalked and hounded by Simon's former fiancé, Jacqueline “Jackie” de Bellefort (Emma Mackey), who was also Linnet's close friend.

When Linnet is found shot to death aboard the Karnak, Jackie is the most obvious culprit, but there are others on board who have reason to want Linnet dead.  There is Linnet's maid, Louise Bourget (Rose Leslie), who was bitter because her mistress sabotaged her engagement.  Linnet's attorney and estate trustee, Andrew Katchadourian (Ali Fazal), was stealing from her, although they were cousins.  Linnet's godmother, Maria van Schuyler (Jennifer Saunders), is a socialist who gave away her wealth, but stands to inherit some of Linnet's estate.  Bowers (Dawn French), van Schuyler's nurse, blamed Linnet's father for financially ruining her family.

Salome Otterbourne (Sophie Okonedo), a brassy blues and jazz singer and guitarist, and Rosalie (Letitia Wright), her niece and manager, were once the target of a racist complaint by Linnet.  However, Rosalie became Linnet's friend in boarding school and admits that there are reasons to both hate and love Linnet.  Dr. Windlesham (Russell Brand) was once engaged to Linnet, but she left him for Simon.  Bouc's mother, Euphemia (Annette Bening), resented Linnet for introducing Bouc to Rosalie.

Poirot must uncover the identity of the killer.  He better hurry because the bodies are starting to pile up.

In this new version of Death on the Nile, there is an attention to detail.  The audience can see it in the lighting, the hair and make-up, the costumes, the art direction, the editing, and the score.  This is also to create Hercule Poirot's world of light and much darkness and shadows.  Early in the film, writer Michael Green and director Kenneth Branagh take us to the World War I life of Poirot, tragedy on the battlefield and off sets the stage for what would become the future great detective's world.  Shadowy nightclubs filled with earthy blues and showy jazz music; sumptuous desserts; lavishly appointed night people; sunny paradises; and exotic locales – everything has a dark side.  It does not matter how golden hued anything is; there is darkness.  Even the dark side has a darker side.

All the performances are topnotch; Branagh even gets a showy transformation from comedian Russell Brand, here, being his best PBS Masterpiece self.  Good acting sells Death on the Nile's central theme that envy, greed, lust, and pride will destroy friends and lovers.  They will even lead to murder most foul, of course.

Branagh takes the cynicism of post-war American Film-Noir and pours it all over Dame Agatha Christie's storytelling.  Rarely has such cinematic beauty dressed so much evil and darkness.  The lovely meets the lethal.

Death on the Nile 2022 starts slow and drags for some time.  For a time, it takes Sophie Okonedo lip-syncing Sister Rosetta Tharpe to give the film early heat.  Linnet Ridgeway's murder, however, lights a fire under Death on the Nile as it moves to its ending of triumphant tragedy.  There is no victory in the resolution of this case – only hurt and grief.  Maybe, hurt and grief are the victors.  The viewers are also victors, as Branagh orchestrates another unique and winning take on the cozy, old mysteries of Agatha Christie.

8 out of 10
A
★★★★ out of 4 stars

Saturday, May 14, 2022


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Review: "THE KING'S MAN" is the Best "Kingsman" Yet

TRASH IN MY EYE No. 23 of 2022 (No. 1835) by Leroy Douresseaux

The King's Man (2021)
Running time: 131 minutes (2 hours, 11 minutes)
MPA – R for sequences of strong/bloody violence, language, and some sexual material
DIRECTOR:  Matthew Vaughn
WRITERS:  Matthew Vaughn and Karl Gajdusek; from a story by Matthew Vaughn (based on on the comic book, The Secret Service, by Mark Millar and Dave Gibbons)
PRODUCERS:  Adam Bohling, David Reid, and Matthew Vaughn
CINEMATOGRAPHER:  Ben Davis (D.o.P.)
EDITOR:  Jason Ballantine and Rob Hall
COMPOSERS:  Dominic Lewis and Matthew Margeson

FANTASY/ACTION/SPY/WAR with some elements of comedy

Starring:  Ralph Fiennes, Gemma Arterton, Djimon Hounsou, Rhys Ifans, Harris Dickinson, Matthew Goode, Tom Hollander, Daniel Brühl, Charles Dance, Aaron Taylor-Johnson, and Stanley Tucci

The King's Man is a 2021 spy and action movie and war drama from director Matthew Vaughn.  It is the third film in the Kingsman film series, and it is a “prequel” to the previous two films, Kingsman: The Secret Service (2015) and Kingsman: The Golden Circle (2017).  All three films are based on characters and elements from the 2012 comic book miniseries, The Secret Service, by Mark Millar and Dave Gibbons.  The King's Man focuses on an aristocrat and his spy network as they try to stop a plot to pit the British, German, and Russian empires against each other in a war that will wipe out millions of lives.

The King's Man introduces British aristocrat Orlando, Duke of Oxford (Ralph Fiennes).  In 1914, Orlando has formed a private spy network consisting of domestic servants employed by the world's most powerful dignitaries.  His own servants, his butler, Shola (Djimon Hounsou), and his maid/nanny, Polly Watkins (Gemma Arterton), are his closest aides and confidants.  The primary objective of Orlando's network is to protect the United Kingdom and the British Empire from the conflagration of the approaching “Great War.”

Orlando's only son, Conrad (Harris Dickinson), is eager to fight, but Orlando forbids him from joining the British Army and uses his connections to keep him from entering service.  Besides, there are other things to keep father, son, and the spy network busy.  Orlando's friend, the Archduke Franz Ferdinand (Ron Cook), and his wife are assassinated.  Orlando learns that the assassin is part of “The Flock,” a group plotting to pit the German, Russian, and British empires against each other in the Great War.

Orlando and his network then engage in a series of adventures to foil the Flock's plans, that includes killing Grigori Rasputin (Rhys Ifans), the priest and mystic who serves the Flock's mysterious leader, “The Shepherd.”  As his personal physician, Rasputin practically controls Tsar Nicholas (Tom Hollander) of Russia.  And if Nicholas does as Rasputin wants, Great Britain may be doomed.  Can Orlando and his network stop The Shepherd and save the British Empire?  And will Conrad remain with his father's network or will he force his way into military service in a war in which young men like him are dying by the thousands?

The King's Man is easily the best of the Kingsman series, thus far.  The villain, “The Shepherd,” is ridiculous, but his motivations will make more sense and is more likely to appeal to British audiences.  For me, The Shepherd is what keeps The King's Man from being a truly great film.

The film's remix of the history of the “Great War” (World War I) seems inappropriate, but the film's inclusion of WWI is what makes it stand out from other films based on comic books.  In fact, The King's Man is grounded in a darker take on that war than another comic book movie, Wonder Woman (2017), which is also largely set during the first World War.  In a way, The King's Man seems like a salute to the men who served and the ones who died in the muck and mud of Europe during “the war to end all wars.”

Ralph Fiennes brings a touch of class and some serious dramatic chops to this film.  It seems as if director Matthew Vaughn and his co-writer, Karl Gajdusek, take this film more seriously than Vaughn did with the previous two films, which were action-spy movies with a strong comic overtone.  The King's Man is a war drama, spy serial, and action-thriller, and Fiennes, as Orlando, the Duke of Oxford, sells this film's seriousness.

Gemma Arterton and Djimon Hounsou are also quite good as Orlando's top lieutenants, Polly and Shola, respectively.  As Rasputin, Rhys Ifans offers a performance that is off-beat, over-the-top, and colorful.  Tom Hollander, with the help of the make-up and hairstyling crew of The King's Man, is credible in three roles, but makes his most potent turn as Britain's King George.  Harris Dickinson as Orlando's son, Conrad, gives the film's most hot-blooded and nuanced performance.

The best way I can describe The King's Man is as being like a serial adventure.  The film's plot is comprised of multiple missions and subplots, which keeps the film's narrative hopping.  The film moves fast, fast enough to keep audiences from focusing on the film's inconsistencies and flaws in logic, but also fast enough to make the story seem like a non-stop, breathtaking adventure.  Like Matthew Vaughn himself, I want to see a fourth film in the series, one that focuses on the characters that make it to the end of this film and on their first decade as the “Kingsman.”  I highly recommend The King's Man to audiences that have watched either of the first two films or both.  They were really a build up to the best of their lot, The King's Man.

7 of 10
A-

Thursday, April 14, 2022


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Review: "KINGSMAN: The Golden Circle" Improves on the First Film

TRASH IN MY EYE No. 22 of 2022 (No. 1834) by Leroy Douresseaux

Kingsman: The Golden Circle (2017)
Running time: 141 minutes (2 hours, 21 minutes)
MPAA – R for sequences of strong violence, drug content, language throughout and some sexual content
DIRECTOR:  Matthew Vaughn
WRITERS:  Jane Goldman and Matthew Vaughn (based on on the comic book, The Secret Service, by Mark Millar and Dave Gibbons)
PRODUCERS:  Adam Bohling, David Reid, and Matthew Vaughn
CINEMATOGRAPHER:  George Richmond (D.o.P.)
EDITOR:  Eddie Hamilton
COMPOSERS:  Henry Jackman and Matthew Margeson

COMEDY/ACTION/SPY/SCI-FI

Starring:  Taron Egerton, Colin Firth, Julianne Moore, Mark Strong, Halle Berry, Pedro Pascal, Channing Tatum, Jeff Bridges, Edward Holcroft, Hanna Alström, Calvin Demba, Thomas Turgoose, Tobi Bakare, Bruce Greenwood, Emily Watson, Elton John, Sophie Cookson, and Michael Gambon

Kingsman: The Golden Circle is a 2017 spy movie and action-comedy from director Matthew Vaughn.  It is a direct sequel to the 2015 film, Kingsman: The Secret Service.  Both films are based on characters and elements from the 2012 comic book, The Secret Service, by Mark Millar and Dave Gibbons.  The Golden Circle focuses on two elite secret organizations that must band together to defeat a common enemy that is holding the world hostage.

Kingsman: The Golden Circle opens a year after Gary “Eggsy” Unwin (Taron Egerton) defeated and killed the diabolical Internet billionaire, Richmond Valentine.  Eggsy has officially joined the independent intelligence agency, Kingsman, and has taken his late mentor. Harry Hart's (Colin Firth) position as agent “Galahad.”  Eggsy is also dating Tilde (Hanna Alström), Crown Princess of Sweden, whom he saved from Valentine.

One night in London, Eggsy is ambushed by Charlie Hesketh (Edward Holcroft), a rejected Kingsman applicant.  Eggsy defeats Charlie, who escapes.  However, Charlie has a new employer, a mysterious organization known as “The Golden Circle.”  Its leader, Poppy Adams (Julianne Moore), the world's largest manufacturer and distributor of illegal drugs and narcotics, launches an attack against the Kingsman that leaves the agency devastated.  The survivors, Eggsy and Merlin (Mark Strong), make contact with “Statesman,” the American counterpart of Kingsman, which uses a Kentucky-based bourbon whiskey business as a front.  [The Kingsman's front is as a Savile Row tailor.]

With the help of the Statesman, Agent Whiskey (Pedro Pascal) and Ginger Ale (Halle Berry), Eggsy tries to stop Poppy Adams' plot to use a toxin in the drugs and narcotics she sells to hold the world for ransom.  She wants her demands met or she will withhold an antidote to the toxin, which means hundreds of millions of people will die.  In order to stop her, Eggsy will have to face many challenges … and a number of surprising reveals.

I enjoyed Kingsman: The Secret Service quite a bit, but it was mostly a substance-free past-time.  As much as I enjoyed the film, I had mostly forgotten about it a few hours after seeing it.  Kingsman: The Golden Circle isn't quite as substance-free as its predecessor.  The bonds and obligations of friendship and love weigh on the characters, especially Eggsy.  He can no longer just live for the job, not when there is a serious relationship commitment in front of him.

I found some of the Statesman characters to be either superfluous or simply boring, with the exception of Halle Berry's Ginger Ale.  I am a longtime fan of Berry's, and she makes the casually smart and calm Ginger an endearing character.  Elton John also makes a surprising and shocking turn as something of a fun and offbeat action hero.

The film also has a wacky-ass and fun soundtrack.  It uses John Denver's 1971 hit, “Take Me Home, Country Roads,” including a poignant version sung by Mark Strong's Merlin.  There are a few Elton John hits, of course, some performed in the film by Elton.  The best song on the soundtrack may be a funky, country rock version of Cameo's “Word Up” by the German musical act “The BossHoss.”

Taron Egerton as Eggsy has star appeal and leading man quality, which is a surprise to me.  I wish the film had given some of the narrative time devoted to the Statesman characters back to Eggsy.  Egerton takes the Kingsman film franchise to the next level.  Kingsman: The Golden Circle is an improvement over the original film, enough of an improvement that I hope to see another sequel.

7 of 10
B+

Wednesday, February 16, 2022


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Review: "MAKING LOVE" Can Still Knock Boots

TRASH IN MY EYE No. 11 of 2022 (No. 1823) by Leroy Douresseaux

Making Love (1982)
Running time:  113 minutes (1 hour, 53 minutes)
MPAA – R
DIRECTOR:  Arthur Hiller
WRITERS:  Barry Sandler; from a story by A. Scott Berg
PRODUCERS:  Alan J. Adler and Daniel Melnick
CINEMATOGRAPHER:  David M. Walsh
EDITOR:  William Reynolds
COMPOSER: Leonard Rosenman

LGBTQ/DRAMA/ROMANCE

Starring:  Michael Ontkean, Kate Jackson, Harry Hamlin, Wendy Hiller, and Gary Swanson

Making Love is a 1982 romantic drama and LGBTQ film from director Arthur Hiller.  Making Love focuses on a successful Los Angeles couple making big plans for their future when the husband finds himself unable to keep repressing his attraction for other men.

Making Love is set in the early 1980s and introduces three 30-something characters.  The first is Dr. Zack Elliot (Michael Ontkean), a successful, Los Angeles-based oncologist.  He is married to Claire Elliot (Kate Jackson), an equally successful television network executive.  Claire and Zack have been married for eight years and are generally happy.  They are talking about having a baby, so they buy a bigger house.

Unknown to Claire, however, Zack has been struggling with feelings of attraction for other men.  He begins loosening these long-repressed feelings by cruising places where gay men congregate to pick up other men for sex.  Enter the film's third main character, Bart McGuire (Harry Hamlin), a successful novelist and gay man.  Bart goes in for a medical check-up, and Zack is temporarily seeing the patients of Bart's regular doctor.

Bart frequents gay bars and clubs and has multiple sexual partners, preferring one night stands to committed relationships.  Zack and Bart are mutually attracted to each other, but there are complications.  As gay men, each wants something different in intimate relationships.  Meanwhile, Claire is having professional struggles, and she starts to suspect that Zack is cheating on her.  However, she would never suspect that he is cheating on her with another man.

This is the fortieth anniversary of the theatrical release of the landmark gay film drama, Making Love, specifically February 12, 1982.  While Making Love was not the first gay-themed film released by a major Hollywood studio, it was the first mainstream Hollywood film drama to address particular subjects related to homosexuality, such as the effect of a spouse coming out while being in a heterosexual marriage and also the toll of being closeted on a gay man.

Making Love is not a great film; at best, it is average or maybe a little above average.  Apparently, it has been accused of dodging its core subject, which is that of a gay man not only coming out while being married to a woman, but also engaging in an affair with another man.  Making Love does not actually duck or dodge any sensitive homosexual issues.

The problem is that the film addresses too many issues.  Zack Elliot is having a midlife crisis.  Repressed, Zack is horny and cruises for gay sex, but usually backs out before the sex can begin.  Claire is having a career crisis.  She wants her television executive bosses to utilize the talents for which she was hired, but they ignore her thoughtful programming pitches.  She wants to take a year off so that she can have a baby.  Her desire to have a better relationship with her estranged father also crops up.  Bart treats each man that he wants to screw like he is the perfect guy for him.  Yet as soon as the sex is over, Bart hops out of bed and heads home.  He is always on the prowl, but seems to yearn for a little more.

This are enough subplots and melodramatic twists for a television series, but it is a bit much for a film.  What also hampers the film is that with so much to talk about, a lot of the dialogue is stiff and sounds contrived when the actors speak it.  The performances are well meaning, but the screenplay for Making Love does address what is at the heart of this film.

Making Love may be a gay drama, but the way I see it, the story is really about the dysfunction in Zack and Claire's relationship and in Zack and Bart's relationship.  Making Love is really not about “making love,” but about people being honest about what they want from a partner and what they really want for themselves.  Making Love only deals with that in a shallow way, but I do give the film, the filmmakers, and the cast the credit for making this kind of film.  Making Love depicts homosexuality and being a man who wants to have sex with lots of other men seem like perfectly normal aspects of modern American life.

6 of 10
B

Friday, March 4, 2022


NOTES:
1983 Golden Globes, USA:  1 nomination: Best Original Song - Motion Picture (Burt Bacharach-music, Bruce Roberts-music/lyrics, and Carole Bayer Sager-lyrics for the song, “Making Love”)


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Review: "Murder on the Orient Express" 2017 is More Dark Than Cozy

TRASH IN MY EYE No. 6 of 2022 (No. 1818) by Leroy Douresseaux

Murder on the Orient Express (2017)
Running time:  114 minutes (1 hour, 54 minutes)
MPAA – PG-13 for violence and thematic elements
DIRECTOR: Kenneth Branagh
WRITER: Michael Green (based on the novel by Agathie Christie)
PRODUCERS:  Kenneth Branagh, Mark Gordon, Judy Hofflund, Simon Kinberg, Michael Schaefer, and Ridley Scott
CINEMATOGRAPHER:  Haris Zambarloukos
EDITOR:  Mick Audsley
COMPOSER:  Patrick Doyle

MYSTERY

Starring:  Kenneth Branagh, Penelope Cruz, Willem Dafoe, Judi Dench, Olivia Colman, Daisy Ridley, Leslie Odom, Jr., Tom Bateman, Manuel Garcia-Rulfo, Josh Gad, Derek Jacobi, Sergei Polunin, Lucy Boynton, Marwan Kenzari, and Johnny Depp

Murder on the Orient Express is a 2017 mystery film directed by Kenneth Branagh.  It is based on the 1934 novel, Murder on the Orient Express, written by Agatha Christie (1890-1976).  Murder on the Orient Express the movie focuses on a celebrated detective who is recruited to solve a murder that occurs on a train in which he is traveling.

Murder on the Orient Express opens in 1934 and finds renowned Belgian detective, Hercule Poirot (Kenneth Branagh), in the midst of solving a case in Jerusalem.  When Poirot is ready to return to London, his friend, Bouc (Tom Bateman), the nephew of the director of the luxury Orient Express train service, arranges a berth for him aboard the train.

Poirot boards the train with Bouc and thirteen other passengers.  There is the talkative American widow, Caroline Hubbard (Lauren Bacall).  The English governess, Mary Debenham (Daisy Ridley), and physician, Dr. John Arbuthnot (Leslie Odom, Jr.), seem to be previously acquainted.  Spanish missionary, Pilar Estravado (Penelope Cruz), is prayerful.  American businessman, Edward Ratchett (Johnny Depp), is on a business trip with with his secretary/translator, Hector McQueen (Josh Gad), and his English manservant, Edward Masterman (Derek Jacobi).

There is a Cuban-American car salesman, Biniamino Marquez (Manuel Garcia-Rulfo).  Elderly Russian Princess Natalia Dragomiroff (Judi Dench) travels with her maid, Hildegarde Schmidt (Olivia Colman).  Hungarian Count Rudolf Andrenyi (Sergei Polunin) and his wife, Elena (Lucy Boynton), are always together.  Austrian university professor, Gerhard Hardman (Willem Dafoe), has theories about different “races” and nationalities.  The train's French conductor, Pierre Michel (Marwan Kenzari), attends to the passengers' numerous needs.

That first night, an avalanche derails the train.  The next morning, Poirot discovers that Edward Ratchett has been murdered and stabbed 12 times.  Poirot and Bouc begin investigating the passengers in order to discover Ratchett's killer, but this case will be quite trying for the esteemed Monsieur Poirot.  He does not lie, and this case may force him to do just that.

The first film adaptation of Agatha Christie's novel, Murder on the Orient Express (1974), was one of only two films adapted from her work that she liked.  [The other was the 1957 film, Witness for the Prosecution, which was based on Christie's 1953 play, The Witness for the Prosecution.]  In the first film, the late actor Albert Finney gives a tremendous performance as Hercule Poirot, one that earned him an Oscar nomination.  The 1974 film is a classic murder mystery film made classier and more artful by its stellar cast of stars from Hollywood films and international cinema.

Murder on the Orient Express 2017 is stylish and modern with plenty of production values created by computers.  Its cast is a mix of established stars, Oscar-winning actors, and up-and-coming talent.  The 2017 film is so stylish that it often comes across as too cold and too determined to be an Oscar-worthy period piece and costume drama.  Kenneth Branagh, as the film's director and as its leading star (playing Hercule Poirot), sometimes seems lost in the technical details of directing his showy, award-winning cast and in creating an eccentric, OCD, smarter-than-everyone-else detective.

However, Murder on the Orient Express 2017 really shows its power in the last thirty minutes of the film.  The 1974 film offered a tidy happy ending.  The 2017 offers a thoroughly messy happy ending that is more befitting of these troubled, modern times.  Branagh and writer Michael Green turn the last act's revelation of whodunit into an edgy, dark exercise.  Truth be told, dammit!  But it will be done so with all the rawness of grief and the bitterness and hatred of revenge.  No one gets out of this resolution unscathed, and the healing will likely leave painful scabs.

I like Murder on the Orient Express 2017.  I like that the ethnicity and national origins of the cast are more diverse than what is in the 1974 film and in the original novel.  I like that it plainly leaves us with the message that murder is murder – no matter how good the intentions are – and that pain will temporarily make killers of those who are not really killers at heart.  I wonder what Agathie Christie would think of this take on Murder on the Orient Express.

I like Murder on the Orient Express 2017 mainly because it decides not to be cozy about the murder mystery.  I hope the follow up to this film, the just released Death on the Nile, is also this aggressive.

7 out of 10
A-

Thursday, February 10, 2022


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Review: Tyrone Power Struts Through Original "NIGHTMARE ALLEY"

TRASH IN MY EYE No. 71 of 2021 (No. 1809) by Leroy Douresseaux

Nightmare Alley (1947)
Running time:  111 minutes (1 hour, 51 minutes)
DIRECTOR:  Edmund Goulding
WRITER:  Jules Furthman (based on the novel by William Lindsay Gresham)
PRODUCER:  George Jessel
CINEMATOGRAPHER:  Lee Garmes (D.o.P.)
EDITOR:  Barbara McLean
COMPOSER:  Cyril Mockridge

DRAMA/FILM-NOIR

Starring:  Tyrone Power, Joan Blondell, Coleen Gray, Helen Walker, Taylor Holmes, Mike Mazurki, and Ian Keith

Nightmare Alley is a 1947 American film noir drama directed by Edmund Goulding and starring Tyrone Power.  The film is an adaptation of the 1946 novel, Nightmare Alley, which was written by William Lindsay Gresham.  Nightmare Alley the film focuses on the rise and fall of a con man.

Nightmare Alley opens at a seedy traveling carnival and introduces the carnival's barker, Stanton “Stan” Carlisle (Tyrone Power), who is fascinated by everything at this place where he works.  Stan works with Zeena Krumbein (Joan Blondell), who performs as the mentalist, “Mademoiselle Zeena,” with her alcoholic husband, Peter “Pete” Krumbein (Ian Keith).  At one time, Zeena and Pete were a top-billed vaudeville act, and the two of them used an ingenious code to make it appear that she had extraordinary mental powers.  However, the duo has been reduced to working in carnivals, and Pete is a severe alcoholic.

When Stan learns that many people want to buy the code that Zeena and Pete once used, he wants it, too.  Zeena rebuffs Stan's attempts to get the code, but one night, while the carnival is in Burly, Texas, a terrible accident provides Stan with the opportunity to get the code.  With Molly (Collen Gray), a young carnival worker by his side, Stan becomes “The Great Stanton” the acclaimed mentalist.  But can this “uncommonly shrewd young trickster” (as one character refers to him) escape his troubled past, his guilt, and his fate?

I became interested in Nightmare Alley when I heard that Oscar-winning director Guillermo del Toro was going to remake it.  Actually, del Toro's film is less a remake and more a new adaptation of William Lindsay Gresham's novel.

Regarding the 1947 film:  apparently, Tyrone Power (1914-1958) wanted to play the role of Stanton Carlisle in order to expand his career beyond playing romantic leads and swashbucklers.  These were the roles that made him a matinee idol in Hollywood in the mid-1930s and early 1940s, his star being born with 1936's Lloyd's of London.  Stan is a good character to play.  He is complicated and complex because he is not one thing.  Stan can be ruthless and cruel and kind and considerate from one moment to another.  He is highly skilled at the things in which he endeavors, but his greatest skill is his ability to con even the most skeptical people.

Stan is the kind of character who is perfect for a story of the “rise and fall” of an ambitious person, and this film is about the rise and fall of Stanton Carlisle, except that isn't a plot.  The film follows Stan around, but the movie does not have a hook that really captures the audience's interest.  It is not until an hour into the film when the narrative finally engages a conflict, which involves a psychiatrist, Lilith Ritter (Helen Walker), who is also Nightmare Alley's “femme fatale.”  That's when we get the hook in the form of con job that is brilliant if it is successful and disastrous if even one thing goes wrong.

Upon its initial release, Nightmare Alley proved to be scandalous, in part because of the way religion plays a part in Stan's cons, and it was not a box office success.  Over time, the film has apparently gained a following and is considered a classic of the film noir genre.  Whether or not it is classic film noir is up to the viewer, although I don't consider it a classic.  Nightmare Alley is not a great film, but there are times when it is really good.

However, I cannot help but find myself impressed by Tyrone Power's layered performance.  Power really does make Stanton Carlisle feel like a genuine person, and he conveys Stan's dark side in a way that makes me pity him rather than dislike him.  I am certain that over the years, other viewers felt the same way.  I think that film noir fans will want to see this, and if there are any Tyrone Power fans still out there, they will want to see Nightmare Alley.

7 of 10
B+

Monday, December 13, 2021


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Review: "THE CANNONBALL RUN" Can Still Run

TRASH IN MY EYE No. 70 of 2021 (No. 1808) by Leroy Douresseaux

The Cannonball Run (1981)
Running time:  95 minutes (1 hour, 35 minutes)
MPAA – PG
DIRECTOR:  Hal Needham
WRITER:  Brock Yates
PRODUCER:  Albert S. Ruddy
CINEMATOGRAPHER:  Michael Butler (D.o.P.)
EDITORS:  Donn Cambern and William D. Gordean

COMEDY/ACTION/SPORTS

Starring:  Burt Reynolds, Roger Moore, Farrah Fawcett, Dom DeLuise, Dean Martin, Sammy Davis, Jr., Jack Elam, Adrienne Barbeau, Tara Buckman, Terry Bradshaw, Jackie Chan, Bert Convy, Jamie Farr, Peter Fonda, George Furth, and Michael Hui

[I am working my way through the films that I first saw in a movie theater for which I have not previously written a movie review.  The first time I saw a movie in an in-door theater (as opposed to a drive-in cinema) was in 1980 – likely The Empire Strikes Back.  However, I am starting this process in the year 1981, and it turns out that there are only two movies left from that year that I saw in a theater for I which I have never written a formal review.  The Cannonball Run is one of them.]

The Cannonball Run is a 1981 action-comedy and car-racing film from director Hal Needham.  The film was produced by the Hong Kong film company, Golden Harvest, and distributed by 20th Century Fox.  The movie's plot was based on the 1979 running of an actual cross-country, outlaw road race, the “Cannonball Baker Sea-to-Shining Sea Memorial Trophy Dash,” which was also known as the “Cannonball Run.”

The film features an all-star ensemble cast, led by Burt Reynolds and featuring Dom DeLuise, Roger Moore, Farrah Fawcett, Dean Martin, and Sammy Davis, Jr., to name a few.  It was also the second Hollywood film appearance for Hong Kong martial arts legend and international movie star, Jackie Chan.  The Cannonball Run movie focuses on an illegal cross-country race and its oddball contenders who will use every dirty-trick-in-the-book to evade the law and to screw over their opponents.

The Cannonball Run opens in Connecticut were several teams of racers have gathered for the latest running of the illegal, cross-country road race, the “Cannonball Run.”  The goal of the racers, who are called “Cannonballers,” is to reach Portofino Inn in Redondo Beach, California.  Some of them hope to break the Cannonball's speed race record of 32 hours and 51 minutes.

The race teams that have gathered in Connecticut are an odd lot.  The most eccentric is the team of JJ McClure (Burt Reynolds), a famous racing driver and team owner, and Victor Prinzi (Dom DeLuise), his chief mechanic and co-driver.  There racing vehicle is a “Transcon Medi-Vac” ambulance outfitted with a NASCAR engine.  In order to convince any law enforcement officers that might stop them that they are a real ambulance and medical team, McClure and Prinzi draft a wacky physician, Doctor Nikolas Van Helsing (Jack Elam), into their plans.  For a patient, they kidnap a beautiful young woman, a tree-loving photographer named Pamela Glover (Farrah Fawcett).

Their competitors are right behind them and are almost as weird.  Scotch-swilling Jamie Blake (Dean Martin), an F1 racing icon, and his gambling-obsessed teammate, Morris Fenderbaum (Sammy Davis Jr.), dress as Catholic priests, and drive a red Ferrari.  Jill (Tara Buckman) and Marcie (Adrienne Barbeau) are two attractive women who use their good looks and impressive cleavage against traffic officers while driving a black Lamborghini.  Two Asian racers (Jackie Chan and Michael Hui) race in a high-tech, computer-laden Subaru hatchback.  Seymour Goldfarb, Jr. (Roger Moore), the heir to the “Goldfarb Girdles fortune,” identifies himself as the actor Roger Moore, and he even drives a silver Aston Martin DB5.

Chasing after these teams and determined to stop the race because of its effects on the environment is Mr. Arthur J. Foyt (George Furth), an agent of the federal government's “Safety Enforcement Unit.”  But can Mr. Foyt really stop all the racers, or will their dirty tricks stop each other?

I know why 15-year-old Leroy loved The Cannonball Run when he saw it in a theater in 1981 (the Vista Village Twin Cinema).  He liked the fast cars, the cool-looking cars, the pretty White women with big boobs, and he was a fan of the actors and celebrities who appeared in the film, such as Burt Reynolds, Dom DeLuise, Farrah Fawcett, Mel Tillis, and Terry Bradshaw, to name a few.  I was and still am a huge fan of the NFL team, the Pittsburgh Steelers, and legendary Steelers quarterback, Terry Bradshaw, was and still is my favorite NFL player, even though he is now a fat, old White man who supports Donald Trump.

But why did AARP Leroy, who recently watched The Cannonball Run again for the first time in 40 years (via Netflix's DVD.com), still find himself loving the movie?  Maybe, it is because I like speedy, high-end, foreign sports cars.  Maybe, it's because I still like amble breasts on White women.  Maybe, it is because I still like many members of the film's cast, and I certainly appreciate Adrienne Barbeau, Sammy Davis, Jr., and Dean Martin more than I did back then.  And maybe, it is because now I appreciate the way actor Alfie Wise and former NFL defensive lineman, Joe Klecko, who both appeared in The Cannonball Run, once looked in tight jeans.

I also noticed that some of the larger profile stars in this film are best known for what they did in the 1970s.  Some continued to be star actors into the 1980s and beyond, such as Burt Reynolds.  Others, like Terry Bradshaw, found new careers.  Bradshaw has acted and appeared in numerous films and television shows, and he has had a four-decade career in sports broadcast that has earned him three Sports Emmy Awards, and he is still do that as of this writing.

Maybe, part of my enjoyment of this film is nostalgia.  I am a fan of at least ten performers who appeared in The Cannonball Run and who are now deceased, including Burt Reynolds and Dom DeLuise.

That aside, the film is genuinely funny, at least I think so.  It has a simple plot – win the race, trick the police, and lie-cheat-steal your opponents.  The setting is also simple, the highway and byways of the United States.  Sadly, because the film has a short-running time, it can only provide a cursory glance at the many unique places across the USA through which the Cannonballers have to travel.  Honestly, I think this concept would make for a good television series, at least a miniseries.

The characters are actually interesting.  Most of the actors are playing themselves or are playing character types, like Jack Elam's goony Dr. Van Helsing.  I'm pretty sure that Dean Martin and Sammy Davis, Jr. were each playing a character they played many times before this film, both on television and in film.  Farrah Fawcett's whispery-voiced Pamela Glover is a mostly pointless character, but Adrienne Barbeau and Tara Buckman make better use of their “sex appeal.”

In the case of Burt Reynolds and Dom DeLuise, their playing to type was and still is fine with me.  Reynolds smile and his wit shine through in The Cannonball Run, which is by no means one of his better performances.  Reynolds popularity lasted so long because he was a true movie star.  As for DeLuise, if you liked what he usually did, well, he gave all of himself here.  I have always found him likable, even when the material was not top notch, which it is not here.

I think what really sold The Cannonball Run, both to teenage me and to old me, is that everyone in this movie seems to be genuinely having fun.  Back in 1981, those good feelings crossed over to the audience; The Cannonball Run was one of the year's biggest box office hits.  In a way, those good feelings have crossed over through time to me, and I found myself really enjoying this movie all over again.

7 of 10
B+

Saturday, December 11, 2021


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NatGeo Sets "The Hot Zone: Anthrax" Nov. 28th

National Geographic Announces Premiere Date For THE HOT ZONE: ANTHRAX and Reveals First Look

Three-Night Television Event, THE HOT ZONE: ANTHRAX, Starring Daniel Dae Kim and Tony Goldwyn, to Premiere Thanksgiving Weekend 

First-Look Teaser.

WASHINGTON & NEW YORK--(BUSINESS WIRE)--National Geographic sets Thanksgiving weekend as the airdate for its limited series, THE HOT ZONE: ANTHRAX, starring Daniel Dae Kim and Tony Goldwyn. The three-night event will premiere Sunday, November 28, 2021. The first season of "The Hot Zone" focused on the Ebola outbreak and became the network’s most-watched scripted series ever.

With the world still reeling after the attacks on 9/11, America faces a second wave—the anthrax letters. Targeting journalists and politicians, mail with anthrax powder kills five people and causes panic across the United States. Limited series THE HOT ZONE: ANTHRAX follows FBI Special Agent Matthew Ryker (Kim) as he tracks down the killer, finding himself ensnared in an unstable web of psychological warfare. Bruce Ivins (Goldwyn) is the brilliant microbiologist who becomes embroiled in the hunt. The six-hour scientific thriller follows last year’s THE HOT ZONE, which was National Geographic’s most-watched scripted series of all time.

For THE HOT ZONE: ANTHRAX, Kelly Souders and Brian Peterson serve as executive producers and showrunners. Scott Free Production’s Ridley Scott and David W. Zucker are executive producers, with Jordan Sheehan also serving as executive producer. Lynda Obst is an executive producer. Richard Preston is a co-executive producer on the series. The series is produced by 20th Television and Scott Free Productions.

For more information, visit our press room at www.natgeotvpressroom.com and follow @NatGeoPR on Twitter.


About National Geographic Partners:
National Geographic Partners LLC (NGP), a joint venture between The Walt Disney Company and the National Geographic Society, is committed to bringing the world premium science, adventure and exploration content across an unrivaled portfolio of media assets. NGP combines the global National Geographic television channels (National Geographic Channel, Nat Geo WILD, Nat Geo MUNDO, Nat Geo PEOPLE) with National Geographic’s media and consumer-oriented assets, including National Geographic magazines; National Geographic studios; related digital and social media platforms; books; maps; children’s media; and ancillary activities that include travel, global experiences and events, archival sales, licensing and e-commerce businesses. Furthering knowledge and understanding of our world has been the core purpose of National Geographic for 133 years, and now we are committed to going deeper, pushing boundaries, going further for our consumers … and reaching millions of people around the world in 172 countries and 43 languages every month as we do it. NGP returns 27 percent of our proceeds to the nonprofit National Geographic Society to fund work in the areas of science, exploration, conservation and education. For more information visit natgeotv.com or nationalgeographic.com, or find us on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, YouTube, LinkedIn and Pinterest.

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The Walt Disney Company Celebrates 166 Nominations for the 2021 Primetime Emmys

Congratulations to The Walt Disney Company’s 2021 Emmy Award Nominees

The Walt Disney Company proudly announces an impressive 166 nominations across 85 categories and 38 titles for the 73rd Primetime Emmy® Awards. While the Television Academy announced the attributed total number as 146, the Company additionally recognizes all the programming produced for third party platforms and by all its production and studio entities.

For the second year in a row, Disney+ leads the way with Lucasfilm Ltd‘s The Mandalorian garnering 24 nominations including Outstanding Dramas Series. Additionally, Disney+’s limited Marvel Studios’ series WandaVision received 23 honors including a nomination for Outstanding Limited or Anthology Series, and nominations for Outstanding Lead Actress (Elizabeth Olsen) and Outstanding Lead Actor (Paul Bettany) in a Limited or Anthology Series or Movie. Similarly, Disney+’s Hamilton became a fan-favorite this year with 12 total nominations including two nods for Outstanding Lead Actor—Lin-Manuel Miranda and Leslie Odom Jr.—as well as a nomination for Outstanding Variety Special (Pre-Recorded); and Marvel Studios/Disney+’s The Falcon and The Winter Soldier scored five including Don Cheadle’s nod for Outstanding Guest Actor In A Drama Series.

Hulu Original The Handmaid’s Tale netted a series-best 21 nominations including Outstanding Drama Series and a Lead Actress nod for Elisabeth Moss, making season four the most nominated season to date. Additionally, Pen15 earned the platform its first Outstanding Comedy Series nomination, and Aidy Bryant earned her first lead actress nomination for Shrill.  Nat Geo scored 13 total nods including Cynthia Erivo’s critically acclaimed performance in Genius: Aretha as well as reality and documentary programming City So Real and Secrets Of The Whales. Whereas FX’s Pose earned 10, including Outstanding Drama Series as well as Outstanding Lead Actor for Billy Porter and a historic first-ever nomination for a transgender nominee for Mj Rodriguez as Outstanding Lead Actress; and much-talked-about The New York Times Presents: Framing Britney Spears scored two nominations including Outstanding Documentary or Nonfiction Special.

ABC’s black-ish earned a show-best of six nominations, including Outstanding Comedy Series and nods for Lead Actor (Anthony Anderson) and Lead Actress (Tracee Ellis Ross). This is Anthony Anderson’s seventh nomination, making him the most nominated Black actor in Emmy history in the Lead Actor in a Comedy Series category. Additional series with multiple nods include 20th Television-produced This Is Us and ABC’s Dancing with the Stars.

A complete list of all The Walt Disney Company nominations follows below. (As some of the nominations overlap, these are grand totals for each entity.)

The Mandalorian (Disney +/Lucasfilm Ltd.)

24 Nominations:
    Outstanding Drama Series
    Outstanding Supporting Actor In A Drama Series—Giancarlo Esposito
    Outstanding Guest Actor In A Drama Series—Carl Weathers
    Outstanding Guest Actor In A Drama Series—Timothy Olyphant
    Outstanding Directing For A Drama Series—Jon Favreau
    Outstanding Writing For A Drama Series—“Chapter 13: The Jedi”
    Outstanding Writing For A Drama Series—“Chapter 16: The Rescue”
    Outstanding Production Design For A Narrative Period Or Fantasy Program (One Hour Or More)—“Chapter 13: The Jedi”
    Outstanding Casting For A Drama Series
    Outstanding Cinematography For A Single-Camera Series (Half-Hour)—“Chapter 15: The Believer”
    Outstanding Cinematography For A Single-Camera Series (One Hour)—“Chapter 13: The Jedi”
    Outstanding Fantasy/Sci-Fi Costumes—“Chapter 13: The Jedi”
    Outstanding Single-Camera Picture Editing For A Drama Series—“Chapter 11: The Heiress”
    Outstanding Single-Camera Picture Editing For A Drama Series—“Chapter 13: The Jedi”
    Outstanding Single-Camera Picture Editing For A Drama Series—“Chapter 15: The Believer”
    Outstanding Single-Camera Picture Editing For A Drama Series—“Chapter 16: The Rescue”
    Outstanding Period And/Or Character Hairstyling—“Chapter 16: The Rescue”
    Outstanding Prosthetic Makeup—“Chapter 13: The Jedi”
    Outstanding Music Composition For A Series (Original Dramatic Score)—“Chapter 16: The Rescue”
    Outstanding Sound Editing For A Comedy Or Drama Series (One Hour)—“Chapter 13: The Jedi”
    Outstanding Special Visual Effects In A Season Or A Movie
    Outstanding Stunt Coordination
    Outstanding Stunt Performance—“Chapter 16: The Rescue”
    Outstanding Production Design For A Narrative Period Or Fantasy Program (One Hour Or More)—“Chapter 13: The Jedi”

WandaVision (Disney+/Marvel Studios)

23 Nominations
    Outstanding Limited Or Anthology Series
    Outstanding Lead Actor In A Limited Or Anthology Series Or Movie—Paul Bettany
    Outstanding Lead Actress In A Limited Or Anthology Series Or Movie—Elizabeth Olsen
    Outstanding Supporting Actress In A Limited Or Anthology Series Or Movie—Kathryn Hahn
    Outstanding Writing For A Limited Or Anthology Series Or Movie—“Filmed Before A Live Studio Audience”
    Outstanding Writing For A Limited Or Anthology Series Or Movie—“Previously On”
    Outstanding Production Design For A Narrative Program (Half-Hour)
    Outstanding Casting For A Limited Or Anthology Series Or Movie
    Outstanding Fantasy/Sci-Fi Costumes—“Filmed Before A Live Studio Audience”
    Outstanding Directing For A Limited Or Anthology Series Or Movie
    Outstanding Single-Camera Picture Editing For A Limited Or Anthology Series Or Movie—“On A Very Special Episode…”
    Outstanding Single-Camera Picture Editing For A Limited Or Anthology Series Or Movie—“The Series Finale”
    Outstanding Period And/Or Character Hairstyling
    Outstanding Main Title Design
    Outstanding Period And/Or Character Makeup (Non-Prosthetic)—“Filmed Before A Live Studio Audience”
    Outstanding Music Composition For A Limited Or Anthology Series, Movie Or Special (Original Dramatic Score)—“Previously On”
    Outstanding Original Music And Lyrics—“Agatha All Along”
    Outstanding Original Main Title Theme Music
    Outstanding Music Supervision
    Outstanding Sound Editing For A Limited Or Anthology Series, Movie Or Special—“The Series Finale”
    Outstanding Sound Mixing For A Limited Or Anthology Series Or Movie—“The Series Finale”
    Outstanding Special Visual Effects In A Season Or A Movie
    Outstanding Writing For A Limited Or Anthology Series Or Movie—“All-New Halloween Spooktacular!”

The Handmaid’s Tale (Hulu Original)

21 Nominations

    Outstanding Drama Series
    Outstanding Lead Actress In A Drama Series—Elisabeth Moss
    Outstanding Supporting Actor In A Drama Series—O-T Fagbenle
    Outstanding Supporting Actor In A Drama Series—Max Minghella
    Outstanding Supporting Actor In A Drama Series—Bradley Whitford
    Outstanding Supporting Actress In A Drama Series—Madeline Brewer
    Outstanding Supporting Actress In A Drama Series—Ann Dowd
    Outstanding Supporting Actress In A Drama Series—Yvonne Strahovski
    Outstanding Supporting Actress In A Drama Series—Samira Wiley
    Outstanding Guest Actress In A Drama Series—Alexis Bledel
    Outstanding Guest Actress In A Drama Series—Mckenna Grace
    Outstanding Directing For A Drama Series
    Outstanding Writing For A Drama Series—“Home”
    Outstanding Production Design For A Narrative Contemporary Program (One Hour or More)
    Outstanding Casting For A Drama Series
    Outstanding Single-Camera Picture Editing For A Drama Series
    Outstanding Contemporary Hairstyling—“Vows”
    Outstanding Contemporary Makeup (Non-Prosthetic)—“Pigs”
    Outstanding Music Composition For A Series (Original Dramatic Score)—“The Crossing”
    Outstanding Sound Mixing For A Comedy Or Drama Series (One Hour)
    Outstanding Fantasy/Sci-Fi Costumes

Hamilton (Disney+)

12 Nominations
    Outstanding Variety Special (Pre-Recorded)
    Outstanding Lead Actor In A Limited Or Anthology Series Or Movie—Lin-Manuel Miranda
    Outstanding Lead Actor In A Limited Or Anthology Series Or Movie—Leslie Odom Jr.
    Outstanding Supporting Actor In A Limited Or Anthology Series Or Movie—Daveed Diggs
    Outstanding Supporting Actor In A Limited Or Anthology Series Or Movie—Anthony Ramos
    Outstanding Supporting Actor In A Limited Or Anthology Series Or Movie—Jonathan Groff
    Outstanding Supporting Actress In A Limited Or Anthology Series Or Movie—Phillipa Soo
    Outstanding Supporting Actress In A Limited Or Anthology Series Or Movie—Renee Elise Goldsberry
    Outstanding Directing For A Limited Or Anthology Series Or Movie
    Outstanding Picture Editing For Variety Programming
    Outstanding Sound Mixing For A Variety Series Or Special
    Outstanding Technical Direction, Camerawork, Video Control For A Special

Pose (FX /  20th Television / FX Productions)

10 Nominations
    Outstanding Drama Series
    Outstanding Lead Actor In A Drama Series—Billy Porter
    Outstanding Lead Actress In A Drama Series—Mj Rodriguez
    Outstanding Directing For A Drama Series—“Series Finale”
    Outstanding Writing For A Drama Series—“Series Finale”
    Outstanding Contemporary Costumes
    Outstanding Contemporary Hairstyling
    Outstanding Contemporary Makeup (Non-Prosthetic)
    Outstanding Prosthetic Makeup
    Outstanding Short Form Nonfiction or Reality Series—Pose: Identity, Family, Community

black-ish (ABC / ABC Signature)

6 Nominations
    Outstanding Comedy Series
    Outstanding Lead Actor In A Comedy Series—Anthony Anderson
    Outstanding Lead Actress In A Comedy Series—Tracee Ellis Ross
    Outstanding Contemporary Costumes
    Outstanding Contemporary Hairstyling
    Outstanding Character Voice-Over Performance—Stacey Abrams

This Is Us (20th Television)

6 Nominations
    Outstanding Drama Series
    Outstanding Lead Actor In A Drama Series—Sterling K. Brown
    Outstanding Supporting Actor In A Drama Series—Chris Sullivan
    Outstanding Guest Actress In A Drama Series—Phylicia Rashad
    Outstanding Prosthetic Makeup
    Outstanding Music Composition For A Series (Original Dramatic Score)

Dancing with the Stars (ABC)

5 Nominations
    Outstanding Choreography For Variety Or Reality Programming—Artem Chigvintsev, Choreographer
    Outstanding Choreography For Variety Or Reality Programming—Derek Hough, Choreographer
    Outstanding Contemporary Hairstyling for a Variety, Nonfiction or Reality Program
    Outstanding Lighting Design/Lighting Direction for a Variety Series
    Outstanding Contemporary Makeup for a Variety, Nonfiction or Reality Program (Non-Prosthetic)

The Falcon and The Winter Soldier (Disney+/Marvel Studios)

5 Nominations
    Outstanding Guest Actor In A Drama Series—Don Cheadle
    Outstanding Sound Editing For A Comedy Or Drama Series (One Hour)—“One World, One People”
    Outstanding Special Visual Effects In A Season Or A Movie
    Outstanding Stunt Coordination
    Outstanding Stunt Performance—“Truth”

The Oscars (ABC)

4 Nominations
    Outstanding Variety Special (Live)
    Outstanding Production Design for a Variety Special
    Outstanding Lighting Design/Lighting Direction for a Variety Special
    Outstanding Technical Direction, Camerawork, Video Control for a Special

Ratched (20th Television)

4 Nominations
    Outstanding Guest Actress In A Drama Series—Sophie Okonedo
    Outstanding Period Costumes
    Outstanding Period and/or Character Hairstyling
    Outstanding Period and/or Character Makeup (Non-Prosthetic)

Fargo (FX/FX Productions)

3 Nominations
    Outstanding Cinematography For A Limited Series Or Anthology Series or Movie
    Outstanding Music Composition For A Limited Or Anthology Series, Movie Or Special (Original Dramatic Score)
    Outstanding Sound Editing For A Limited Or Anthology Series, Movie Or Special

Genius: Aretha (National Geographic / 20th Television )

3 Nominations
    Outstanding Lead Actress In A Limited or Anthology Series or Movie—Cynthia Erivo
    Outstanding Choreography For Scripted Programming
    Outstanding Sound Mixing For A Limited or Anthology Series or Movie

Life Below Zero (National Geographic)

3 Nominations
    Outstanding Sound Mixing For A Nonfiction Or Reality Program (Single or Multi-Camera)
    Outstanding Cinematography For A Reality Program
    Outstanding Picture Editing For An Unstructured Reality Program

Pen15 (Hulu Original)

3 Nominations
    Outstanding Comedy Series
    Outstanding Casting For A Comedy Series
    Outstanding Writing For A Comedy Series

The Politician (20th Television)

3 Nominations
    Outstanding Contemporary Costumes
    Outstanding Contemporary Hairstyling
    Outstanding Contemporary Makeup (Non-Prosthetic)

Secrets of the Whales (Disney+ / National Geographic)

3 Nominations
    Outstanding Documentary Or Nonfiction Series
    Outstanding Cinematography For A Nonfiction Program
    Outstanding Narrator—Sigourney Weaver

Shark Tank (ABC)

3 Nominations
    Outstanding Structured Reality Program
    Outstanding Host for a Reality or Competition Program—Mark Cuban, Barbara Corcoran, Lori Greiner, Robert Herjavec, Daymond John, Kevin O’Leary
    Outstanding Casting for a Reality Program

Framing Britney Spears (The New York Times Presents) (FX)

2 Nominations
    Outstanding Documentary Or Nonfiction Special
    Outstanding Picture Editing For A Nonfiction Program

Central Park (20th Television Animation)

2 Nominations
    Outstanding Character Voice-Over Performance—Tituss Burgess
    Outstanding Character Voice-Over Performance—Stanley Tucci

City So Real (National Geographic)

2 Nominations
    Outstanding Documentary Or Nonfiction Series
    Outstanding Cinematography For A Nonfiction Program

The Conners (ABC)

2 Nominations
    Outstanding Cinematography for a Multi-Camera Series
    Outstanding Multi-Camera Picture Editing for a Comedy Series

Jimmy Kimmel Live! (ABC / ABC Signature)

2 Nominations

    Outstanding Variety Talk Series
    Outstanding Technical Direction, Camerawork, Video Control For A Series

Archer (FX/FX Productions)

1 Nomination
    Outstanding Character Voice-Over Performance—Jessica Walter

Becoming (Disney+)

1 Nomination
    Outstanding Unstructured Reality Program

Bob’s Burgers (20th Television Animation)

1 Nomination
    Outstanding Animated Program

The Disney Holiday Singalong (ABC)

1 Nomination
    Outstanding Choreography for Variety or Reality Programming—Derek Hough, Choreographer

Family Guy (20th Television Animation)

1 Nomination
    Outstanding Character Voice-Over Performance—Seth MacFarlane

grown-ish (Freeform/ ABC Signature)

1 Nomination
    Outstanding Cinematography For A Single-Camera Series (Half-Hour)

Inside Pixar (Disney+/Pixar Animation Studios)

1 Nomination
    Outstanding Short Form Nonfiction Or Reality Series

Last Man Standing (20th Television)

1 Nomination
    Outstanding Cinematography For A Multi-Camera Series

Maggie Simpson in: The Force Awakens From Its Nap (Disney+ / 20th Television Animation)

1 Nomination
    Outstanding Short Form Animated Program

Once Upon A Snowman (Disney+/Walt Disney Animation Studios)

1 Nomination
    Outstanding Short Form Animated Program

Rebuilding Paradise (National Geographic)

1 Nomination
    Outstanding Cinematography For A Nonfiction Program

Robin Roberts Presents: Mahalia (Lincoln Square Productions)

1 Nomination
    Outstanding Television Movie

Running Wild With Bear Grylls (National Geographic)

1 Nomination
    Outstanding Structured Reality Program

Shrill (Hulu Original)

1 Nomination
    Outstanding Actress in a Comedy Series—Aidy Bryant

The Simpsons (20th Television Animation)

1 Nomination
    Outstanding Animated Program

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