New "Mission: Impossible - Fallout" Teaser Poster - Feb. 2nd, 2018

Mission: Impossible - Fallout
In Theatres: July 27, 2018

Synopsis: The best intentions often come back to haunt you.  MISSION: IMPOSSIBLE - FALLOUT finds Ethan Hunt (Tom Cruise) and his IMF team (Alec Baldwin, Simon Pegg, Ving Rhames) along with some familiar allies (Rebecca Ferguson, Michelle Monaghan) in a race against time after a mission gone wrong.  Henry Cavill, Angela Bassett, and Vanessa Kirby also join the dynamic cast with filmmaker Christopher McQuarrie returning to the helm.

Director: Christopher McQuarrie

Cast: Tom Cruise, Henry Cavill, Simon Pegg, Rebecca Ferguson, Ving Rhames, Sean Harris, Angela Bassett, Vanessa Kirby, Michelle Monaghan, Alec Baldwin, Wes Bentley, Frederick Schmidt.

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Negromancer News Bits and Bites from August 6th to 12th, 2017 - Update #36

Support Leroy on Patreon.

CULTURE - From TheDailyBeast:  James Alex Fields Jr. identified as the driver who barreled his car into a crowd during protests at Charlottesville, Virginia.

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COMICS-FILM - From TheWrap:  "Silver and Black," the Spider-Man universe film from Sony is due Feb. 8, 2019.  The film will feature Spider-Man characters, Black Cat and Silver Sable.  Gina Prince-Bythewood is directing.

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CULTURE - From GuardianUK:  On Friday night (8/11th), White Nationalists and white racist begin siege of Charlottesville, Virginia.

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COMICS-FILM - From Newsarama:  "Hellboy" creator Mike Mignola says film reboot (which is no longer being called "Hellboy: Rise of the Blood Queen") is closer to his personal vision for the character.

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COMICS-FILM - From WeGotThisCovered:  Substantial changes will be made to "Justice League," as an early cut of the film is reportedly "unwatchable."  The film is due for release November 17th, 2017.

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MOVIES - From YahooMovies:  The real-life "Annabelle" doll is a simple Raggedy Ann doll.

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TELEVISION - From TheWrap:  NBC is trying to reboot classic TV sitcom, "The Munsters," again.  Remember "Mockingbird Lane?"

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BLM - From RSN:  Spike Lee says he fully supports beleaguered NFL quarterback Colin Kaepernick.

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ANIMATION - From YahooNews:  The "Deadpool" animated television series being developed by Donald Glover and his brother Stephen will have a tone different from the live-action film series starring Ryan Reynolds.

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SPORTS - From YahooSports:  The NBA has announced its five Christmas Day 2017 games, including a rematch of this year's championship series between the Cleveland Cavaliers and the world champions Golden State Warriors.

COMICS-FILM - From THR:  Ryan Reynolds shares a first look at Josh Brolin as "Cable" in "Deadpool 2."

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MOVIES - From THR:  Author William Gibson's seminal cyberpunk novel, Neuromancer (1984) may finally be making it to the big screen through "Deadpool" director, Tim Miller.

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DISNEY - From CBR:  Disney has announced that it is starting its own streaming service in 2019.  Thus, it will be pulling its films and television series from Netflix.  Marvel Studios original series (such as "Daredevil" and "Luke Cage") will remain with Netflix.

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COMIC-FILM - From TheWrap:  Riz Ahmed of "Rogue One" in early talks to join Tom Hardy in Sony's "Venom."

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TELEVISION - From Variety:  Louis C.K. says that he may not do another season of his Emmy-winning FX series, "Louie."

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COMICS-BOOKS - From EW:  Seven things you need to know about African-American/Latino Spider-Man, Miles Morales, according to Jason Reynolds, the author of the YA novel, "Miles Morales: Spider-Man.

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STAR WARS - From YahooMovies:  Set photos from "The Last Jedi" offer fresh clues.

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COMICS-FILM - From YahooMovies:  Kate Beckinsale explains why she once said "No" to a Wonder Woman film.

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TELEVISION - From THR:  Maya Rudolph is going to star in Fox's live musical version of "A Christmas Story."

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MOVIES - From THR:  Selena Gomez joins Elle Fanning in Woody Allen's next film.

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TELEVISION - From BleedingCool:  In the new FOX/Marvel X-Men, TV series, "The Gifted," the X-Men are apparently"no more."

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MOVIES - From BleedingCool:  Milla Jovovich may the the "Blood Queen" in "Hellboy: Rise of the Blood Queen."

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TELEVISION - From TVLine:  Peter Krause is joining Angela Bassett in the 9-1-1 drama for FOX produced by Ryan Murphy ("Glee," "American Horror Story").

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TELEVISION - From TheWrap:  David Letterman will have a short run talk show (of sorts) on Netflix.

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MOVIES - From Variety:  Milo Gibson, son of Mel Gibson, will appear in the WWII drama, "Hurricane."  Milo made his feature film debut in his father's hit 2016 WWII film, "Hacksaw Ridge."

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DISNEY - From THR:  Alfre Woodard has joined Disney's live-action remake of "The Lion King," which is being directed by Jon Favreau.

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TELEVISION - From ShadowandAct:  Filiming begins on Mario Van Peebles' supernatural drama for Syfy, "Superstition."

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TELEVISION - CinemaBlend:  Karl Urban in talks to take the lead in a "Judge Dredd" TV series.  Urban starred in the 2012 film, "Dredd," which disappointed at the box office, but later became a home video and cult hit.

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TELEVISION - From TVovermind:  X-Files Season 11 begins production.

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CELEBRITY- From THR:  Chris Pratt ("Guardians of the Galaxy") and Anna Faris ("Scary Movie," "Mom") have announced that they are separating after eight years of marriage.

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BOX OFFICE - From BoxOfficeMojo:  The winner of the 8/4 to 8/6/2017 weekend box office is "The Dark Tower" with an estimated take of $19.5 million.

From Deadline:  China leads international box office.

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COMICS-FILM - From THR:  James Gunn is writing "Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3" and helping Marvel Studios honcho Kevin Feige make plans for Marvel's cosmic properties.

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POLITICS - From Truthout:  Will Altering the 13th Amendment Bring Liberation to the Incarcerated 2.3 Million?

OBIT:

From People:  Country music legend, singer, songwriter, musician, and Grammy-winning recording artist, Glen Campbell has died at the age of 81, Tuesday, August 8, 2017.  Before he solo career blew up in the mid to late 1960s, Campbell was a much in-demand session musician who played on the recordings of legends like Nat King Cole, Frank Sinatra, and Elvis Presley, to name a few.

From Variety:  The man in the monster suit, Haruo Nakajima, has died at the age of 88.  He wore the Godzilla suit in every "Godzilla" film from the original film to "Godzilla vs. Gigan" (1972).

From SportsIllustrated:  Former Major League Baseball manager and player, Don Baylor, has died at the age of 68, Monday, August 7, 2017.  He was the 1979 American League MVP, and he won a World Series title with the 1987 Minnesota Twins.  He was also the first manager of the Colorado Rockies.

From SportsIllustrated:  Former Major League Baseball player Darren Daulton died at the age of 55, Sunday, August 6, 2017.  He has been fighting brain cancer for 4 years.  He was best known as a catcher for the Philadelphia Phillies.  He was on the 1993 National League pennant winning Phillies that lost the 1993 World Series to the Toronto Blue Jays.  In his final year of his career, Daulton was on the 1997 Florida Marlins that won the World Series.

Negromancer News Bits and Bites from November 20th to 30th, 2016 - Update #28

Support Leroy on Patreon.

ECO - From RSN:  Neil Young calls on President Obama to end violence against protestors at Standing Rock #NoDAPL.

From Inquisitr:  From Standing Rock, actress Shailene Woodley declaries that Thanksgiving was founded on a massacre.

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STAR TREK - From DeadlineTV:  Doug Jones and Anthony Rapp added to cast of "Star Trek: Discovery."

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ECO - From YouTube:  Mark Ruffalo tweets about this video press conference on those responsible for violence at #NoDAPL protests.

ECO - From TheIntercept:  I know that this story is not as important as "Rogue One" or the college football "playoff," journalists are being arrested at #NoDAPL protests, which is testing First Amendment boundaries.

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TELEVISION - From Indiewire:  Anne Rice is planning a "Game of Thrones"-style television based on her "The Vampire Chronicles," which began with the novel, "Interview with a Vampire."

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CELEBRITY:  From YahooCelebrity:  "Westworld" actress Evan Rachel Wood reveals that she was raped.

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OBIT - From Deadline:  The actor Fritz Weaver has died at the age of 90, Saturday, November 26, 2016.  He could be described "patrician."

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MOVIES - From THR:  There is a lawsuit concerning the ownership of the characters and concepts associated with the film, "The Adventures of Buckaroo Banzai Across the 8th Dimension."  At stake is the creation of a new TV series that involves Kevin Smith and Amazon Studios.

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BOX OFFICE - From BoxOfficeMojo:  Disney's "Moana" won the 11/25 to 11/27/2016 weekend box office with an estimated take of $55.5 million and the 2016 5-day Thanksgiving weekend box office with an estimated take of $81.1 million.

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OBIT - From Variety:  The actor, Ron Glass, has died at the age of 71, Friday, November 25, 2016. He was best known in the roles of "Ron Harris" ("Barney Miller") and "Shepherd Derrial Book" ("Firefly")

From Variety:  Ron Glass' colleagues from the short-lived (but fantastic) TV series, "Firefly," remember him.

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WALT DISNEY - From Indiewire:  Angela Lansbury starred as Mrs. Potts in the original "Beauty and the Beast."  Now, she is confused as to why Disney is remaking it as a live-action film.  Money, of course.

OBIT - From YahooNews:   Fidel Castro, former leader of Cuba, has died at the age of 90, Friday, November 25, 2016.  Some know him as a dictator; others know him as the man who drove the gangsters and racists out of Cuba.

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OBIT - From YahooTV:  The actress, Florence Henderson, has died at the age of 82, Thursday, November 24, 2016.  Henderson was most famous for playing Carol Brady, the mother of a six-children brood on the the classic television series, "The Brady Bunch" (1969 t0 1974).

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COMICS-FILM - Variety:  Variety talks to Marvel's Kevin Feige.

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COMICS-FILM - From ScreenRant:  An animatic video for the in-development "New Mutants" film suggests it could go the direction of being a horror film.

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MOVIES  - From YahooNews:  "Alien: Covenant" unleashes freaky poster.

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COMICS-FILM - From ScreenRant:  Fox has announced some release dates, some cryptic.

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STAR TREK - From Mashable:   Michelle Yeoh is apparently a cast member in the upcoming CBS series, "Star Trek: Discovery."

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OBIT -  From USAToday: Beloved Brooklyn Dodgers pitcher, Ralph Branca, has died at the age of 90, Wednesday, November 23, 2016.  His most famous moment is when he gave up "The Shot Heard 'Round the World," a three-run home run to Bobby Thompson of the New York Giants, giving the Giants the 1951 National League pennant.

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MOVIES - From Gamespot:  New images from "Pacific Rim 2" feature John Boyega in action.

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COMICS - From Vulture:  From Grant Morrison - "The Savage Sword of Jesus Christ."

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POLITICS - From Deadspin:  Could CNN be in for some payback from President-elect Trump.

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CULTURE - From NBC:  President Barack Obama honors 21 persons (19 of them living) with the Medal of Freedom, includes Robert Redford, Tom Hanks, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, Michael Jordan, Cicely Tyson, among others.

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MUSIC - From ABC:  A unreleased song by Prince, "Moonbeam Level" gets a listening party.

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MOVIES - From Deadline:  Marvel has announced that Oscar and Emmy-nominated actress, Angela Bassett has joined the cast of its "Black Panther" movie.  She will play Black Panther's mother.

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TELEVISION - From TVSeriesFinale:   There could be a "Game of Thrones" prequel series.

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BOX OFFICE - BoxOfficeMojo:  The winner of the 11/18 to 11/20/2016 weekend box office is "Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them" (which is set in the world of Harry Potter) with an estimated take of $75 million.

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MUSIC - From YahooMusic:  Adam Yauch Park is named for the Beastie Boy who died 4 year ago (already?!).  A playground at the park was defaced with pro-Donald Trump graffiti and two swastikas.  Sunday morning, fellow Beastie Boy, Ad-Rock, led an anti-hate rally.

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CELEBRITY - From NYPost:  President-elect Donald Trump's wife, Melania, and their son, Barron, are reportedly not moving to the White House after the inauguration.

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MOVIES - From IndieWire:  Matthew McConaughey to star in the film, "White Boy Rick," based on the true story of Richard Wershe, Jr. and his father.

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POLITICS - From GuardianUK:  Rudy Giuliani - from leading race riots to a Presidential cabinet position.

Amazon Announces Three Kids Holiday Specials for November 25th

Amazon Studios Launches Original Kids Holiday Specials on November 25, 2016 on Prime Video in the US and UK

Brand-new specials include If You Give a Mouse a Christmas Cookie, The Snowy Day, and An American Girl Story—Maryellen 1955: Extraordinary Christmas and feature notable talent, including Laurence Fishburne, Regina King, Jamie-Lynn Sigler, Angela Bassett, Boyz II Men, Lisa Loeb, and Bethany Cosentino

SEATTLE--(BUSINESS WIRE)--(NASDAQ: AMZN)—Amazon Studios today announced its original kids holiday programming is scheduled to premiere on Friday, November 25, 2016 on Prime Video in the US and UK. Brand-new Amazon Original Specials include If You Give a Mouse a Christmas Cookie, Ezra Jack Keats’ The Snowy Day, and An American Girl Story—Maryellen 1955: Extraordinary Christmas as well as existing holiday episodes from Creative Galaxy and Tumble Leaf.

    “We are so excited to bring our customers our first-ever holiday line-up of specials this season, with If You Give a Mouse a Christmas Cookie and The Snowy Day based on beloved children’s books that highlight strong bonds between friends and families. It’s what the holidays are all about”

“We are so excited to bring our customers our first-ever holiday line-up of specials this season, with If You Give a Mouse a Christmas Cookie and The Snowy Day based on beloved children’s books that highlight strong bonds between friends and families. It’s what the holidays are all about,” said Tara Sorensen, Head of Kids Programming at Amazon Studios. “The American Girl Maryellen special is an inspiring feel-good story that will surely become a holiday family favorite for our customers.”

If You Give a Mouse a Christmas Cookie

If You Give a Mouse a Christmas Cookie is an animated holiday special based on the classic If You Give a Mouse a Cookie book series written by Laura Numeroff and illustrated by Felicia Bond. In this special, it’s holiday time and in Mouse’s house that means Christmas cookies (including a special one for Santa, of course), caroling with friends…and one nearly-destroyed holiday pageant. Can Mouse and his animal friends save the show, without getting utterly distracted along the way? It’s a wild ride as Mouse and his friends work together to solve a problem in a fun and creative way. The special is written and produced by Ken Scarborough (Doug, Curious George, Martha Speaks, Arthur, and Saturday Night Live); stars Mason Mahay (voice of Oliver), Roger Craig Smith (Avengers Assemble and Wreck-It Ralph), Jessica DiCiccio (Over the Hedge), Jeff Bennett (Futurama), and Lara Jill Miller (The Loud House, Henry Hugglemonster, and Doc McStuffins). The special also features an original song “Christmas Cookie Song” by Lisa Loeb, available exclusively on Amazon Music to download and stream November 25. If You Give a Mouse a Cookie was part of Amazon’s 2015 fall pilot season rated 4.7 stars by customers with 82% 5-star reviews; season one will premiere on Amazon Prime Video next year.

Ezra Jack Keats’ The Snowy Day

The Snowy Day is an animated holiday special based on the award-winning book by Ezra Jack Keats. The book is well-known as one of the first picture books to feature an African-American protagonist, has won many awards, including the Caldecott medal—one of the highest honors in children’s literature, and was included in the Library of Congress’ list of “Books that Shaped America.” The special follows Peter, a young boy in a red snowsuit, as his mother sends him on an adventure to Nana’s house to retrieve their traditional Christmas mac and cheese dinner. Enjoying the snowy day along the way, Peter encounters friends from the neighborhood, including storekeepers and bakers to the older boys he admires—and a group of a capella singers voiced by Boyz II Men. After arriving at Nana’s and retrieving the mac and cheese—and his most coveted gift, a brand-new red sled—Nana helps Peter team up with the older boys for an epic snowball fight, resulting in the destruction of the special holiday dinner and his sled. When the neighborhood comes together to celebrate new traditions with Peter and his family, Peter realizes that the true meaning of the holiday is who you spend it with. Narrated by Laurence Fishburne (Black-ish, Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice, and The Matrix) and featuring voice talent by Regina King (American Crime and The Leftovers), Jamie-Lynn Sigler (The Sopranos), and Angela Bassett (American Horror Story and BoJack Horseman), The Snowy Day features an original song “Snowy Day” by Boyz II Men, available exclusively on Amazon Music to download and stream November 25. Executive produced by Laurence Fishburne and Helen Sugland (Akeelah and the Bee) as well as Ann Austen, Irene Sherman, and Deborah Pope (Ezra Jack Keats Foundation).

An American Girl Story—Maryellen 1955: Extraordinary Christmas

An American Girl Story—Maryellen 1955: Extraordinary Christmas is the second collaboration between American Girl and Amazon and is based on American Girl’s previously launched BeForever character Maryellen Larkin. The special is set during Christmas in 1955 in Daytona Beach, Florida, where middle child Maryellen (Alyvia Alyn Lind) longs to stand out amidst the hustle and bustle of her big, busy family. A boisterous and artistic girl, Maryellen’s adventurous spirit is sometimes at odds with the era she’s living in: when conformity was valued above individuality. When Benji (Samuel Faraci), a family friend afflicted with polio comes to stay with them and visit Daytona Beach’s hospital for care, Maryellen is inspired to help the polio patients have the best Christmas ever. But her first attempts fall flat, followed by a fight with her best friend Davy (Maxwell Acee Donovan). With guidance and advice from Maryellen’s wise and sympathetic mother (Mary McCormack), Maryellen learns the key to helping others is through listening. Through her gift of drawing, Maryellen helps give the children an extraordinary Christmas they’ll never forget. Executive produced by Jane Startz (Ella Enchanted). An American Girl Story—Maryellen 1955: Extraordinary Christmas features an original song “Christmas and Everyday” by Best Coast, available exclusively on Amazon Music to download and stream November 25.

These specials are part of Prime Video’s growing line-up of award-winning and critically acclaimed Originals for kids and families—to see more originals available exclusively for Prime members visit www.amazon.com/originals.


About Amazon Video
Amazon Video is a premium on-demand entertainment service that offers customers the greatest choice in what to watch, and how to watch it. Amazon Video is the only service that provides all of the following:

•     Prime Video: Thousands of movies and TV shows, including popular licensed content plus critically acclaimed and award-winning Amazon Original Series and Movies from Amazon Studios like Transparent, The Man in the High Castle, Love & Friendship and kids series Tumble Leaf, available for unlimited streaming as part of an Amazon Prime membership
•     Add-on Subscriptions: Dozens of subscriptions to networks like SHOWTIME, STARZ and more, available to Amazon Prime members as add-ons to their membership
•     Rent or Own: Hundreds of thousands of titles, including new-release movies and current TV shows available for on-demand rental or purchase for all Amazon customers
•     Instant Access: Instantly watch anytime, anywhere through the Amazon Video app on TVs, mobile devices, Amazon Fire TV, Fire TV Stick, and Fire tablets, or online. For a list of all compatible devices visit www.amazon.com/howtostream
•     Premium Features: Top features like 4K Ultra HD, High Dynamic Range (HDR) and mobile downloads for offline viewing of select content

In addition to Prime Video, the Prime membership includes unlimited Free Two-Day Shipping on millions of items across all categories, more than one million songs and thousands of playlists and stations with Prime Music, early access to select Lightning Deals all year long, free secure, unlimited photo storage in Amazon Cloud Drive with Prime Photos, access to borrow books with the Kindle Owners’ Lending Library, and more. To sign-up for Prime or to find out more visit: www.amazon.com/prime.

About Amazon
Amazon is guided by four principles: customer obsession rather than competitor focus, passion for invention, commitment to operational excellence, and long-term thinking. Customer reviews, 1-Click shopping, personalized recommendations, Prime, Fulfillment by Amazon, AWS, Kindle Direct Publishing, Kindle, Fire tablets, Fire TV, Amazon Echo, and Alexa are some of the products and services pioneered by Amazon. For more information, visit www.amazon.com/about.

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Starz Gains U.S. Rights to WWII-Era Drama, "Close to the Enemy"

Starz to Co-Produce Writer/Director Stephen Poliakoff’s “Close to the Enemy” Original Miniseries

BEVERLY HILLS, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Starz today announced it has secured, via a deal with international distributor all3media International, the exclusive U.S. premium rights to, and will co-produce the six-episode original miniseries “Close to the Enemy,” written and directed by the multi-award winning Stephen Poliakoff (STARZ Original miniseries, "Dancing on the Edge," Glorious 39, The Lost Prince) with Helen Flint (Longford, The Take, Galavant), Hilary Bevan Jones (Roald Dahl's Esio Trot, The Escape Artist) and Colin Callender (Wolf Hall) serving as Executive Producers. “Close To the Enemy” is a Little Island production produced in association with Endor Productions and Playground Entertainment and distributed by all3media International. “Close to the Enemy” is expected to premiere on BBC Two in the UK and STARZ in the U.S. in 2016.

    “We are excited to team up with Little Island, Endor Productions, Playground Entertainment, all3media International and Stephen Poliakoff again as he brings this post-World War II thriller to life in a way our viewers will find extremely compelling”

“We are excited to team up with Little Island, Endor Productions, Playground Entertainment, all3media International and Stephen Poliakoff again as he brings this post-World War II thriller to life in a way our viewers will find extremely compelling,” said Carmi Zlotnik, Managing Director of Starz.

Stephen Driscoll, SVP Sales, all3media International commented, “We are delighted to announce another significant collaboration with Starz who will release ‘Close to the Enemy’ to their U.S. subscribers in 2016. Stephen Poliakoff and this wonderful cast of actors are creating a thrilling mini-series that will enthrall audiences on both sides of the Atlantic. We look forward to announcing further international deals in the very near future.”

Polly Hill, Controller BBC Drama Commissioning, also added, “It is wonderful to welcome Starz and Playground on board. The combination of such talented producers with first-rate track records will ensure audiences from around the globe can enjoy Poliakoff's truly original and compelling new drama series.”

Jim Sturgess (One Day) heads an all-star cast including Freddie Highmore (Bates Motel), Charlotte Riley (Peaky Blinders), Phoebe Fox (Woman in Black 2), August Diehl (Inglourious Basterds), Robert Glenister (Hustle), Alfie Allen (Game of Thrones), Charity Wakefield (Wolf Hall), with Lindsay Duncan (Birdman), Angela Bassett (American Horror Story), and Alfred Molina (Love is Strange).

Set in a bomb-damaged London hotel during the aftermath of World War II, “Close to the Enemy” is a thriller that follows British intelligence officer Captain Callum Ferguson (Sturgess), whose last task for the Army is to ensure that a captured German scientist, Dieter (Diehl), hands over secret cutting-edge military technology crucial to national security. Callum employs unorthodox methods in his attempt to convince Dieter to work for the British, developing a friendship with him, which is soon threatened as the German’s involvement in the Nazi war machine may be more than it initially seems.

In the tradition of Stephen Poliakoff’s other work, Callum encounters a number of other characters whose stories all intertwine. These characters include Victor (Highmore), Callum’s younger brother, struggling to deal with psychological trauma caused by his experiences on the frontlines; Harold (Molina), a Foreign Office official who reveals some startling truths about the outbreak of the war; Rachel (Riley), an enchanting Anglophile American engaged to his best friend; Eva (Bassett), a confident American jazz singer who breathes life into the old hotel with her music; and Kathy (Fox), a tough, young woman working for the War Crimes Unit, fighting to bring war criminals who escaped prosecution to justice. All of these characters are trying to rebuild and move forward with their lives in the aftermath of a war that scarred them all so deeply.

Starz acquired U.S. network pay TV and SVOD rights from all3media international who will distribute the series worldwide.


About Starz
Starz (NASDAQ: STRZA, STRZB) is a leading integrated global media and entertainment company with operating units that provide premium subscription video programming on domestic U.S. pay television channels (Starz Networks), global content distribution (Starz Distribution) and animated television and movie production (Starz Animation), www.starz.com.

Starz Networks is a leading provider of premium subscription video programming through the flagship STARZ® and ENCORE® pay TV networks which showcase premium original programming and movies to U.S. multichannel video distributors, including cable operators, satellite television providers, and telecommunications companies. As of June 30, 2015, STARZ and ENCORE serve a combined 56.8 million subscribers, including 23.5 million at STARZ, and 33.3 million at ENCORE, making them the largest pair of premium flagship channels in the U.S. STARZ® and ENCORE®, along with Starz Networks’ third network MOVIEPLEX®, air more than 1,000 movies monthly across 17 linear networks, complemented by On Demand and authenticated online offerings through STARZ PLAY, ENCORE PLAY, and MOVIEPLEX PLAY. Starz Distribution develops, produces and acquires entertainment content, distributing it to consumers globally on DVD, digital formats and traditional television. Starz Distribution’s home video, digital media and worldwide distribution business units distribute original programming content produced by Starz, as well as entertainment content for itself and third parties. Starz Animation produces animated TV and movie content for studios, networks, distributors and audiences worldwide.

About Playground
Playground was founded in 2012 by Callender, and is committed to producing high quality drama for the screen and the stage bringing together the finest US and UK talent from the worlds of theatre, film, and television. Callender won his first Emmy for the television adaptation of the RSC’s The Life and Adventures of Nicholas Nickleby and, as president of HBO Films, was responsible for an unprecedented award-winning slate of movies and mini-series. Playground recently received 8 Emmy nominations for its coproduction with Company Pictures, the six-part miniseries adaptation of Hilary Mantel’s Wolf Hall starring Mark Rylance, Damian Lewis, Claire Foy and Jonathan Pryce for BBC and Masterpiece. It also partnered with Charlie Pattinson’s New Pictures on The Missing the eight part thriller for the BBC and Starz. Playground recently wrapped production on the television adaptation of Ronald Harwood’s The Dresser starring Anthony Hopkins and Ian McKellen and directed by Richard Eyre for the BBC and Starz.

About all3media International
all3media International distributes popular, award-winning TV programmes to over 1,000 broadcasters and media platforms around the world.

The company has been celebrated for producing, marketing and distributing quality, ground-breaking and pioneering shows to global audiences – consistently topping the Broadcast and Televisual annual Indies Surveys and we have been awarded the Queen’s Award for Enterprise in recognition of our growth – twice.

Our catalogue contains over 7,000 hours of content across all genres, with a focus on drama, comedy, factual, entertainment and formats. As well as Britain’s top-selling series Midsomer Murders, our lead dramas include The Missing, Indian Summers, Foyle’s War, Skins, Miss Fisher’s Murder Mysteries and Hinterland. Factual, entertainment and format bestsellers include Gogglebox, Undercover Boss, The Gadget Show, The Cube, The Only Way is Essex and The Million Second Quiz.

As part of the UK’s leading multi-label studio we partner with UK and international producers – including our own studios – in developing, financing and delivering content and formats.

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Amazon Studios Acquires Spike Lee's New Film, "Chi-Raq"

Amazon Studios Announces Spike Lee’s Chi-Raq as First-Ever Amazon Original Movie

Film features Nick Cannon, Wesley Snipes, Jennifer Hudson, Teyonah Parris, D.B. Sweeney, Harry Lennix, Steve Harris, Angela Bassett with John Cusack and Samuel L. Jackson

SEATTLE--(BUSINESS WIRE)--(NASDAQ:AMZN)–Amazon Studios today announced that Spike Lee’s next major film (working title, Chi-Raq) is the first-ever Amazon Original Movie produced. Chi-Raq will feature Nick Cannon, Wesley Snipes, Jennifer Hudson, Teyonah Parris, D.B. Sweeney, Harry Lennix, Steve Harris, Angela Bassett with John Cusack and Samuel L. Jackson. In what will be her breakout-starring role, Teyonah Parris will play the central lead character. Chi-Raq was shot entirely in Chicago and wrapped last week.

    “I’m honored to be part of the film that will launch Amazon Studios and to tell a story that is so important. Please don’t be fooled by the title of Chi-Raq, this new Spike Lee joint will be something very special. We have assembled a stellar cast”

Written by both the critically acclaimed filmmaker Spike Lee (Do The Right Thing), and writer/director Kevin Willmott (C.S.A.: Confederate States Of America), and directed by Lee, Chi-Raq will shed light on the serious, but often overlooked issue of violence in inner city Chicago.

“Spike Lee is one of the most distinct and visionary filmmakers of our time,” said Ted Hope, Head of Motion Picture Production at Amazon Studios. “It would be impossible to find a better filmmaker with whom to launch our studio. He has a unique voice, a distinct eye, and he tackles important subjects with humor and heart, pointing to solutions and not exploiting the problems. Chi-Raq may be his greatest, and definitely his boldest film yet—everything about it is distinctive.”

“I’m honored to be part of the film that will launch Amazon Studios and to tell a story that is so important. Please don’t be fooled by the title of Chi-Raq, this new Spike Lee joint will be something very special. We have assembled a stellar cast,” said Spike Lee.

Bob Berney, Head of Marketing and Distribution at Amazon Studios, explained, “For Chi-Raq, and for future projects, we will collaborate with a top-tier theatrical distributor who shares our vision and passion. We will work together to craft bold and distinctive marketing and distribution approaches for all our films.”

First announced in January, Amazon Original Movies is an initiative by Amazon to produce and acquire original movies for theatrical release and early window distribution exclusively for Prime members. With creative development and production headed up by independent film visionary Ted Hope, Amazon Original Movies focuses on unique stories, voices, and characters from top and up-and-coming creators. Bob Berney recently joined the Amazon Original Movies team to lead theatrical distribution and marketing efforts and will be managing third-party distributors.

Amazon Original Movies will join Amazon Original Series such as Catastrophe, Bosch, Mozart in the Jungle, Alpha House and multi-Golden Globe winner Transparent, all available exclusively on Amazon for Prime members. Also premiering this fall are new Amazon Original series Hand of God, Red Oaks, and The Man in the High Castle.


About Amazon Instant Video
Amazon Instant Video offers Amazon Prime members instant access to stream tens of thousands of movies and TV episodes, including award-winning Amazon Original Series, available at no additional cost. New release movies and current TV shows are available for rent or purchase.

Prime members can enjoy binge-worthy TV shows including Amazon Original Series airing now such as the multi-Golden Globe-winning series Transparent, the hour-long drama Bosch, based on Michael Connelly’s best-selling books, the Roman Coppola and Jason Schwartzman comedy, Mozart in the Jungle, and the comedy created by and starring Rob Delaney and Sharon Horgan, Catastrophe, in addition to HBO favorites like The Sopranos, True Blood and Girls, and popular primetime series including 24, Downton Abbey, Extant, Falling Skies, Grimm, Hannibal, Justified, Orphan Black, Teen Wolf, The Americans, and Under the Dome. Prime members also have access to a collection of kids shows now airing including Amazon Original Series Annedroids, Gortimer Gibbon’s Life on Normal Street and the Annecy, Annie and multi-Emmy Award-winning Tumble Leaf, as well as popular shows from Nickelodeon and Nick Jr. including SpongeBob SquarePants, Dora the Explorer, Team Umizoomi, and Blue’s Clues. In addition to tens of thousands of titles to instantly stream, the Amazon Prime membership (www.amazon.com/prime) includes more than one million songs, more than a thousand playlists and hundreds of stations through Prime Music, unlimited Free Two-Day Shipping on millions of items, early access to select Lightning Deals, unlimited photo storage with Amazon Photos, and access to borrow from more than 800,000 books for Kindle owners–all for $99 a year.

Customers can watch movies and TV shows with the Amazon Video app. The Amazon Video app is available on hundreds of devices including Amazon Fire TV, Fire TV Stick, Roku, smart TVs and Blu-ray players from Samsung, Sony, LG, and Panasonic, the Xbox, PlayStation, and Wii game consoles, as well as on mobile devices like Fire tablets, Fire phone, iPhone, iPad, and Android tablets and phones. Customers can also watch online at Amazon.com/AIV.

Comprehensive cast and crew information, including bios and filmographies, is available on Amazon’s IMDb (www.imdb.com), the world’s most popular and authoritative source for movie, TV and celebrity content.

About Amazon
Amazon.com opened on the World Wide Web in July 1995. The company is guided by four principles: customer obsession rather than competitor focus, passion for invention, commitment to operational excellence, and long-term thinking. Customer reviews, 1-Click shopping, personalized recommendations, Prime, Fulfillment by Amazon, AWS, Kindle Direct Publishing, Kindle, Fire phone, Fire tablets, Fire TV, and Amazon Echo are some of the products and services pioneered by Amazon.

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2014 Screen Actors Guild Awards Nominations - TV Categories List

by Amos Semien

The Screen Actors Guild (SAG) is an American labor union that represents film and television performers worldwide.  Most people probably know SAG for the various actors’ strikes or for the Screen Actors Guild Award, which SAG uses to honor outstanding performances by its members.  The first SAG Awards ceremony was held in February 1995 (for films released in 1994).

The 20th Annual Screen Actors Guild Awards nominations were announced on Wednesday, December 11, 2013.  In the television categories, Breaking Bad led with 4 nominations.  “The Big Bang Theory,” “Modern Family,” and “30 Rock” each had three nominations.

Winners will be announced at the 20th Annual Screen Actors Guild Awards® ceremony.  The ceremony will be simulcast live nationally on TNT and TBS on Saturday, Jan. 18, 2014 at 8 p.m. (ET)/5 p.m. (PT) from the Los Angeles Shrine Exposition Center.

An encore presentation will air immediately following live telecast on TNT only at 10 p.m. (ET)/7 p.m. (PT).  A live stream of the SAG Awards can also be viewed online through the TBS and TNT websites, as well as through the “Watch TBS” and “Watch TNT” apps for iOS or Android.  Apparently, viewers who want to use these apps must sign in using their TV provider user name and password in order to view the live stream.

20th ANNUAL SCREEN ACTORS GUILD AWARDS NOMINATIONS - TELEVISION PROGRAMS

Outstanding Performance by a Male Actor in a Television Movie or Miniseries:
MATT DAMON / Scott Thorson – “BEHIND THE CANDELABRA” (HBO)

MICHAEL DOUGLAS / Liberace – “BEHIND THE CANDELABRA” (HBO)

JEREMY IRONS / King Henry IV – “THE HOLLOW CROWN” (WNET/Thirteen)

ROB LOWE / John F. Kennedy – “KILLING KENNEDY” (National Geographic Channel)

AL PACINO / Phil Spector – “PHIL SPECTOR” (HBO)

Outstanding Performance by a Female Actor in a Television Movie or Miniseries:
ANGELA BASSETT / Coretta Scott King – “BETTY & CORETTA” (Lifetime)

HELENA BONHAM CARTER / Elizabeth Taylor – “BURTON AND TAYLOR” (BBC America)

HOLLY HUNTER / G.J. – “TOP OF THE LAKE” (Sundance Channel)

HELEN MIRREN / Linda Kenney Baden – “PHIL SPECTOR” (HBO)

ELISABETH MOSS / Robin Griffin – “TOP OF THE LAKE” (Sundance Channel)

Outstanding Performance by a Male Actor in a Drama Series:
STEVE BUSCEMI / Enoch “Nucky” Thompson – “BOARDWALK EMPIRE” (HBO)

BRYAN CRANSTON / Walter White – “BREAKING BAD” (AMC)

JEFF DANIELS / Will McAvoy – “THE NEWSROOM” (HBO)

PETER DINKLAGE / Tyrion Lannister – “GAME OF THRONES” (HBO)

KEVIN SPACEY / Francis Underwood – “HOUSE OF CARDS” (Netflix)

Outstanding Performance by a Female Actor in a Drama Series:
CLAIRE DANES / Carrie Mathison – “HOMELAND” (Showtime)

ANNA GUNN / Skyler White – “BREAKING BAD” (AMC)

JESSICA LANGE / Fiona Goode – “AMERICAN HORROR STORY: COVEN” (FX)

MAGGIE SMITH / Violet, Dowager Countess of Grantham – “DOWNTON ABBEY” (PBS)

KERRY WASHINGTON / Olivia Pope – “SCANDAL” (ABC)

Outstanding Performance by a Male Actor in a Comedy Series:
ALEC BALDWIN / Jack Donaghy – “30 ROCK” (NBC)

JASON BATEMAN / Michael Bluth – “ARRESTED DEVELOPMENT” (Netflix)

TY BURRELL / Phil Dunphy – “MODERN FAMILY” (ABC)

DON CHEADLE / Martin “Marty” Kaan – “HOUSE OF LIES” (Showtime)

JIM PARSONS / Sheldon Cooper – “THE BIG BANG THEORY” (CBS)

Outstanding Performance by a Female Actor in a Comedy Series:
MAYIM BIALIK / Amy Farrah Fowler – “THE BIG BANG THEORY” (CBS)

JULIE BOWEN / Claire Dunphy – “MODERN FAMILY” (ABC)

EDIE FALCO / Jackie Peyton – “NURSE JACKIE” (Showtime)

TINA FEY / Liz Lemon – “30 ROCK” (NBC)

JULIA LOUIS-DREYFUS / Vice President Selina Meyer – “VEEP” (HBO)

Outstanding Performance by an Ensemble in a Drama Series:

BOARDWALK EMPIRE (HBO)
PATRICIA ARQUETTE / Sally Wheet
MARGOT BINGHAM / Daughter Maitland
STEVE BUSCEMI / Enoch “Nucky” Thompson
BRIAN GERAGHTY / Agent Warren Knox
STEPHEN GRAHAM / Al Capone
ERIK LA RAY HARVEY / Dunn Purnsley
JACK HUSTON / Richard Harrow
RON LIVINGSTON / Roy Phillips
DOMENICK LOMBARDOZZI / Ralph Capone
GRETCHEN MOL / Gillian Darmody
BEN ROSENFIELD / Willie Thompson
PAUL SPARKS / Mickey Doyle
MICHAEL STUHLBARG / Arnold Rothstein
NISI STURGIS / June Thompson
JACOB WARE / Agent Selby
SHEA WHIGHAM / Elias “Eli” Thompson
MICHAEL KENNETH WILLIAMS / “Chalky” White
JEFFREY WRIGHT / Valentin Narcisse

BREAKING BAD (AMC)
MICHAEL BOWEN / Uncle Jack
BETSY BRANDT / Marie Schrader
BRYAN CRANSTON / Walter White
LAVELL CRAWFORD / Huell
TAIT FLETCHER / Lester
LAURA FRASER / Lydia Rodarte-Quale
ANNA GUNN / Skyler White
MATTHEW T. METZLER / Matt
RJ MITTE / Walter White Jr.
DEAN NORRIS / Hank Schrader
BOB ODENKIRK / Saul Goodman
AARON PAUL / Jesse Pinkman
JESSE PLEMONS / Todd
STEVEN MICHAEL QUEZADA / Gomez
KEVIN RANKIN / Kenny
PATRICK SANE / Frankie

DOWNTON ABBEY (PBS)
HUGH BONNEVILLE / Robert, Earl of Grantham
LAURA CARMICHAEL / Lady Edith Crawley
JIM CARTER / Mr. Carson
BRENDAN COYLE / John Bates
MICHELLE DOCKERY / Lady Mary Crawley
KEVIN DOYLE / Molesley
JESSICA BROWN FINDLAY / Lady Sybil Crawley
SIOBHAN FINNERAN / Sarah O’Brien
JOANNE FROGGATT / Anna Bates
ROB JAMES-COLLIER / Thomas Barrow
ALLEN LEECH / Tom Branson
PHYLLIS LOGAN / Mrs. Hughes
ELIZABETH McGOVERN / Cora, Countess of Grantham
SOPHIE McSHERA / Daisy
MATT MILNE / Alfred
LESLEY NICOL / Mrs. Patmore
AMY NUTTALL / Ethel
DAVID ROBB / Dr. Clarkson
MAGGIE SMITH / Violet, Dowager Countess of Grantham
ED SPELEERS / Jimmy
DAN STEVENS / Matthew Crawley
CARA THEOBOLD / Ivy
PENELOPE WILTON / Isobel Crawley

GAME OF THRONES (HBO)
ALFIE ALLEN / Theon Greyjoy
JOHN BRADLEY / Samwell Tarly
OONA CHAPLIN / Talisa Maegyr
GWENDOLINE CHRISTIE / Brienne of Tarth
EMILIA CLARKE / Daenerys Targaryen
NIKOLAJ COSTER-WALDAU / Jaime Lannister
MACKENZIE CROOK / Orell
CHARLES DANCE / Tywin Lannister
JOE DEMPSIE / Gendry
PETER DINKLAGE / Tyrion Lannister
NATALIE DORMER / Margaery Tyrell
NATHALIE EMMANUEL / Missandei
MICHELLE FAIRLEY / Lady Catelyn Stark
JACK GLEESON / Joffrey Baratheon
IAIN GLEN / Ser Jorah Mormont
KIT HARINGTON / Jon Snow
LENA HEADEY /Cersei Lannister
ISAAC HEMPSTEAD WRIGHT / Brandon “Bran” Stark
KRISTOFER HIVJU / Tormund Giantsbane
PAUL KAYE / Thoros of Myr
SIBEL KEKILLI / Shae
ROSE LESLIE / Ygritte
RICHARD MADDEN / Robb Stark
RORY McCANN / Sandor “The Hound” Clegane
MICHAEL McELHATTON / Roose Bolton
IAN McELHINNEY / Barristan Selmy
PHILIP McGINLEY / Anguy
HANNAH MURRAY / Gilly
IWAN RHEON / Ramsay Snow
SOPHIE TURNER / Sansa Stark
CARICE VAN HOUTEN / Melisandre
MAISIE WILLIAMS / Arya Stark

HOMELAND (Showtime)
F. MURRAY ABRAHAM / Dar Adal
SARITA CHOUDHURY / Mira Berenson
CLAIRE DANES / Carrie Mathison
RUPERT FRIEND / Peter Quinn
TRACY LETTS / Sen. Andrew Lockhart
DAMIAN LEWIS / Nicholas Brody
MANDY PATINKIN / Saul Berenson
MORGAN SAYLOR / Dana Brody

Outstanding Performance by an Ensemble in a Comedy Series:

30 ROCK (NBC)
SCOTT ADSIT / Pete Hornberger
ALEC BALDWIN / Jack Donaghy
KATRINA BOWDEN / Cerie
KEVIN BROWN / Dot Com
GRIZZ CHAPMAN / Grizz
TINA FEY / Liz Lemon
JUDAH FRIEDLANDER / Frank Rossitano
JANE KRAKOWSKI / Jenna Maroney
JOHN LUTZ / Lutz
JAMES MARSDEN / Criss
JACK McBRAYER / Kenneth Parcell
TRACY MORGAN / Tracy Jordan
KEITH POWELL / Toofer

ARRESTED DEVELOPMENT (Netflix)
WILL ARNETT / George Oscar “G.O.B.” Bluth II
JASON BATEMAN / Michael Bluth
JOHN BEARD / Himself
MICHAEL CERA / George-Michael Bluth
DAVID CROSS / Tobias Fünke
PORTIA DE ROSSI / Lindsay Bluth Fünke
ISLA FISHER / Rebel Alley
TONY HALE / Buster Bluth
RON HOWARD / Narrator/Himself
LIZA MINNELLI / Lucille Austero
ALIA SHAWKAT / Maeby Fünke
JEFFREY TAMBOR / George Bluth, Sr./Oscar Bluth
JESSICA WALTER / Lucille Bluth
HENRY WINKLER / Barry Zuckerkorn

THE BIG BANG THEORY (CBS)
MAYIM BIALIK / Amy Farrah Fowler
KALEY CUOCO / Penny
JOHNNY GALECKI / Leonard Hofstadter
SIMON HELBERG / Howard Wolowitz
KUNAL NAYYAR / Rajesh Koothrappali
JIM PARSONS / Sheldon Cooper
MELISSA RAUCH / Bernadette Rostenkowski

MODERN FAMILY (ABC)
JULIE BOWEN / Claire Dunphy
TY BURRELL / Phil Dunphy
AUBREY ANDERSON EMMONS / Lily Tucker-Pritchett
JESSE TYLER FERGUSON / Mitchell Pritchett
NOLAN GOULD / Luke Dunphy
SARAH HYLAND / Haley Dunphy
ED O’NEILL / Jay Pritchett
RICO RODRIGUEZ / Manny Delgado
ERIC STONESTREET / Cameron Tucker
SOFIA VERGARA / Gloria Delgado-Pritchett
ARIEL WINTER / Alex Dunphy

VEEP (HBO)
SUFE BRADSHAW / Sue Wilson
ANNA CHLUMSKY / Amy Brookheimer
GARY COLE / Kent Davidson
KEVIN DUNN / Ben Cafferty
TONY HALE / Gary Walsh
JULIA LOUIS-DREYFUS / Vice President Selina Meyer
REID SCOTT / Dan Egan
TIMOTHY SIMONS / Jonah Ryan
MATT WALSH / Mike McLintock

Outstanding Action Performance by a Stunt Ensemble in a Comedy or Drama Series:
BOARDWALK EMPIRE (HBO)
BREAKING BAD (AMC)
GAME OF THRONES (HBO)
HOMELAND (Showtime)
THE WALKING DEAD (AMC)

END

Review: "Olympus Has Fallen" is an Entertaining, Cheesy Action Movie

TRASH IN MY EYE No. 57 (of 2013) by Leroy Douresseaux

Olympus Has Fallen (2013)
Running time:  120 minutes (2 hours)
MPAA – R for strong violence and language throughout
DIRECTOR:  Antoine Fuqua
WRITERS:  Creighton Rothenberger and Katrin Benedikt
PRODUCERS:  Gerard Butler, Ed Cathell III, Antoine Fuqua, Mark Gill, Danny Lerner, and Alan Siegel
CINEMATOGRAPHER:  Conrad W. Hall
EDITOR:  John Refoua
COMPOSER:  Trevor Morris

ACTION/THRILLER

Starring:  Gerard Butler, Aaron Eckhart, Morgan Freeman, Finley Jacobsen, Dylan McDermott, Rick Yune, Angela Bassett, Melissa Leo, Radha Mitchell, Cole Hauser, Phil Austin, Sean O’Bryan, Robert Forster, Lawrence O’Donnell, and Ashley Judd

While watching Morgan Freeman play an “Acting President of the United States” in Olympus Has Fallen, I remembered that he played the President during a disastrous time in another movie, Deep Impact, one of my very favorite films of all-time.  Olympus Has Fallen will not hold a place in my heart like Deep Impact, but it is, if nothing else, an entertaining and effective action movie.  Like me, you may very well feel the need to kick some enemy of the United States ass while watching it.

Olympus Has Fallen is a 2013 action thriller and semi-disaster movie from director Antoine Fuqua (Training Day, Tears of the Sun).  The film follows a disgraced, former Secret Service agent who finds himself trying to rescue the President after terrorists attack the White House.

Olympus Has Fallen opens on a snowy Christmas evening, when tragedy strikes.  Eighteen months later, Mike Banning (Gerard Butler) is a disgraced Secret Service agent working at the U.S. Treasury Department.  While pondering the state of his life, Banning witnesses a full-on invasion of the White House.  Now, Kang Yeonsak (Rick Yune), a terrorist mastermind, is holding President Benjamin Asher (Aaron Eckhart) hostage, and Kang’s demands, if met, will change the United States and the world forever.  Fate has given Banning a chance at redemption, but he may not have enough time to save the President or the world.

In some ways, Olympus Has Fallen is a throwback movie.  I can see Arnold Schwarzenegger, Sylvester Stallone, or Bruce Willis playing the lead in a movie just like Olympus Has Fallen from the mid-1980s to the early 1990s.  Lower the budget of such a movie, and your lead becomes Dolph Lundgren or Steven Seagal.  I can even imagine the voice over for an “old school” version of Olympus Has Fallen:

A pan-Asian devil has taken the White House,
The President – held hostage; the world in danger,
Now, only one man – one Caucasian man – can save the world
Bruce Willis-Stallone-Schwarzenegger, etc is Mike Banning in
OLYMPUS HAS FALLEN

Seriously, this is a slightly above-average, American-macho-done-up action movie.  Director Antoine Fuqua does his best low-rent Michael Bay.  Fuqua seems to borrow the loudest and most obnoxious stylistic elements of Bay’s The Rock and Armageddon to make Olympus Has Fallen.

Here, Gerard Butler is either being a really bad actor – a 21st century Dolph Lundgren – or he’s being tongue-in-cheek.  Even MAD Magazine couldn’t mock the action hero in a way that would surpass Butler’s caricature known as Mike Banning.  As a villain, Rick Yune is Butler’s over-the-top mirror image.  Yune’s Kang belongs in a Jean-Claude Van Damme straight-to-DVD movie, not in a big-budget feature.

The opposite of Butler and Yune is Morgan Freeman who plays Speaker of the House Allan Trumbull as extra-deadly serious.  Angela Bassett, as Lynne Jacobs, Director of the Secret Service, is sometimes over-the-top hysterical and frantic; it made me wonder if Bassett had forgotten that she was in an action movie and not a soap opera.

Still, Olympus Has Fallen is fun to watch, because it is as much a disaster movie as it is a shoot ‘em up about a lone wolf-type.  And the disaster part of it really appealed to me.

5 of 10
C+

Monday, August 19, 2013

Review: McDonnell, Woodard Shine in "Passion Fish" (Happy B'day, Mary McDonnell)

TRASH IN MY EYE No. 11 (of 2003) by Leroy Douresseaux

Passion Fish (1992)
Running time: 135 minutes (2 hours, 15 minutes)
MPAA – R
EDITOR/WRITER/DIRECTOR: John Sayles
PRODUCERS: Sarah Green and Maggie Renzi
CINEMATOGRAPHER: Roger Deakins
COMPOSER: Mason Daring
Academy Award nominee

DRAMA

Starring: Mary McDonnell, Alfre Woodard, David Strathairn, Lenore Banks, Vondie Curtis-Hall, Nora Dunn, Angela Bassett, Mary Portser, and Will Mahoney

The subject of this movie review is Passion Fish, a 1992 drama from writer-director John Sayles. The film tells the story of a paralyzed soap opera actress and the bond she forms with one of her nurses.

Some would decry that Passion Fish, like most John Sayles films (Matewan, Eight Men Out), lacks precisely that: passion. The truth is that John Sayles films eschew the emotional histrionics that so many filmmakers mistake for emotional honesty. Plus, many directors (American directors are afflicted with this curse) probably think that you have to turn of the intensity to capture the attentions of a jaded audience. Besides, the word “passion” is not a lone adjective in the title, but half of a whole that describes the film’s central theme.

Mary-Alice Culhane (Mary McDonnell, Dances with Wolves), a popular soap opera actress, is left paralyzed and wheel chair bound after a car accident. She returns to her Louisiana childhood home where she runs through a succession of nurses until she meets the fiery Chantelle (Alfre Woodard, Grand Canyon), who is running from her own debilitating sickness. Together, they traverse the narrow road and rough terrain of healing, because, in the end, they are alike and really need each other. In the meantime, they also both find new male friends and companions. Mary attaches to an old-fashioned Cajun (Sayles veteran David Strathairn, City of Hope) and Chantelle to a black Cowboy (Vondie Curtin-Hall, Die Hard 2).

Sayles directs this film with deliberate slowness, a languid pace that mirrors Passion Fish’s sultry and humid setting. He gives his cast a chance to slip into the skins of their roles, and there is a pay off – believable performances and characters that feel right in their environments. His script is full of his sharp wit and his lush and rich dialogue, for which he has deft ear.

The performances are excellent. Although Ms. McDonnell alone earned an Academy Award nomination for performance, Ms. Woodard turns in an exemplary performance as Chantelle, desperately fighting her addiction and desperate to reclaim her child. As a duo, they subtly draw us into their lives, and we can’t help but leave a part of ourselves with them as they chose to remain together – forever or for as long as it takes them to heal.

I can’t stress enough how Sayles builds this movie on good acting and a strong story. For those who like strong characters with which one can identify, this movie has them. Passion Fish is truly a fine film for audiences looking for mature subject matter, and is another delight in the beautiful filmography of a great American independent filmmaker, John Sayles.

8 of 10
A

NOTES:
1993 Academy Awards: 2 nominations: “Best Actress in a Leading Role” (Mary McDonnell) and “Best Writing, Screenplay Written Directly for the Screen” (John Sayles)

1993 Golden Globes, USA: 2 nominations: “Best Performance by an Actress in a Motion Picture – Drama” (Mary McDonnell) and “Best Performance by an Actress in a Supporting Role in a Motion Picture” (Alfre Woodard)

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Review: "Sunshine State" is Another Great John Sayles Ensemble Drama (Happy B'day, Edie Falco)

TRASH IN MY EYE No. 53 (of 2003) by Leroy Douresseaux

Sunshine State (2002)
Running time: 141 minutes (2 hours, 21 minutes)
MPAA – PG-13 for brief strong language, a sexual reference, and thematic elements
EDITOR/WRITER/DIRECTOR: John Sayles
PRODUCER: Maggie Renzi
CINEMATOGRAPHER: Patrick Cady

DRAMA

Starring: Angela Bassett, Edie Falco, James McDaniel, Timothy Hutton, Bill Cobbs, Miguel Ferrer, Ralph Waite, Jane Alexander, Mary Alice, Gordon Clapp, Mary Steenburgen, Alex Lewis, and Tom Wright

The subject of this movie review is Sunshine State, a 2002 drama (with humorous undertones) from director John Sayles. An ensemble character drama, the film has subplots about family secrets, race relations, romance, and commercial property development.

Watching a John Sayles movie is to observe the work of a genius. Of course the word is often misused and overused, but not in John’s case. He is a genius film director. Very few directors could write the kind of dense character pieces that he does with so many players and still make the resulting film visually absorbing. That is what the master does yet again in his 2002 film, Sunshine State.

As usual, when a Sayles film begins, there is already a lot of backstory. The characters have highly involved lives before we fade in to the first scene, so we essentially come into a story that’s already begun. In a northern Florida coastal town, encroaching land developers force the separate lives of the town’s residents to intersect as the developers make a hard sell, by hook or by crook, the buy the land which they intend to transform into a swanky residential and resort area.

Old family business also rears its head for the two female leads. Desiree Perry (Angela Bassett) returns to visit her mother, Eunice Stokes (Mary Alice). Desiree left decades earlier because of an unwanted pregnancy and because she had a hard time living up to the public legacy of her father. She returns with her husband, Reggie, to find her mother now responsible for a troubled young relative (Alex Lewis) and seemingly nursing a grudge against her daughter.

Meanwhile, Marly Temple (Edie Falco) manages her father Furman’s (Ralph Waite) restaurant and hotel, but she’s ready to give it up. She listens to the slick and deceptive deals of the land developers and falls for one of their employees, a wandering landscape architect (Timothy Hutton).

Sayles’s film is a complex, but yet straightforward story, that details the complicated issues of business and of family business. You almost need a scorecard to keep up with all the characters, but Sayles creates a rhythm with his plot and story that a patient and savvy viewer will eventually catch. Visually, it’s like a shell game, but once you catch onto who is who, who is connected to whom, who wants what, you get a grasp on the film. After a while, you even have a good idea of the motivation of even the bit players. Sayles’s films are verbose, but not like those pretentious uppity foreign films, especially those high-falutin’ British period pieces. The spoken accentuates the visual. The better you understand the dialogue and that it’s communicating the story to you, the easier it is to watch the movie.

The acting is quite good all around. Many viewers are already aware of Angela Bassett’s dramatic prowess, but Ms. Falco, mainly known for “The Sopranos” is a revelation here. Her Marly Temple is one of the best performances by an actress, lead or supporting, in 2002, and one of the best in last few years. Like many of those earlier excellent performances, Oscar passed Ms. Falco by even for a nomination.

For many complex business and socio-political reasons, not excluding his talent, Sayles continues to create some of the best ethnic characters currently seen in popular cinema, especially African-Americans. Many black directors and writers show less affinity than Sayles in creating complex, three-dimensional black characters. Many black filmmakers are content to churn out the same drivel as the rest of the film industry except they populate their movies with cardboard, stereotypical Negroes.

As usual, a Sayles film ends before the story is “over.” He’s given us a small slice in the long rich lives of his characters who are so seemingly alive that they might just live on past the end credits. Sunshine State is John Sayles best film since Lone Star, in which he also takes the same lovingly novelistic approach to the story. It’s a career highlight from the oldest and the strongest maverick filmmaker in America. He’s the last great independent spirit, and by remaining so, every few years, he gives us a work of simple brilliance.

9 of 10
A+

NOTES:
2003 Black Reel Awards: 1 win: “Theatrical - Best Actress” (Angela Bassett)

2003 Image Awards: 1 win: “Outstanding Actress in a Motion Picture” (Angela Bassett)

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Review: Mario Van Peeples' "Panther" Burns Hot (Happy B'day, Mario Van Peeples)

TRASH IN MY EYE No. 116 (of 2004) by Leroy Douresseaux

Panther (1995)
Running time: 123 minutes (2 hours, 3 minutes)
MPAA – R for strong violence and language
DIRECTOR: Mario Van Peebles
WRITER: Melvin Van Peebles (based upon his novel)
PRODUCERS: Preston L. Holmes, Mario Van Peebles, and Melvin Van Peebles
CINEMATOGRAPHER: Edward J. Pei
EDITORS: Kevin Lindstrom and Earl Watson
COMPOSER: Stanley Clarke

DRAMA/WESTERN

Starring: Kadeem Harrdison, Bokeem Woodbine, Joe Don Baker, Courtney B. Vance, Tyrin Turner, Marcus Chong, Anthony Griffith, Bobby Brown, Angela Bassett, Nefertiti, James Russo, Jenifer Lewis, Richard A. Dysart, M. Emmet Walsh, Anthony Johnson, Wesley Jonathan, and Chris Rock

Panther, the film project of father/son filmmakers Melvin (dad) and Mario (son) Van Peebles, is not biopic about the Black Panthers (or The Black Panthers for Self Defense), so much as it, like Oliver Stone’s JFK, myth making, and myths are often based upon real people and actual events. As a side note, Robert De Niro is one of this film’s producers, but he did not receive screen credit.

The Van Peebles tell the story from the point of view of a fictional character named Judge (Kadeem Harrdison). A Vietnam vet attending college in Oakland in 1967, he catches the attention of a slowly growing organization of black men in his neighborhood, The Black Panthers for Self-Defense, who are tired of marching and praying to get the white power structure’s attention to the needs of the black community. They want action, and they want guns to defend themselves. With coaxing from Panther co-leader, Huey Newton (Marcus Chong), Judge joins the group in time to watch it rise and earn the ire of the police and the FBI and fall as cheap drugs pour into Judge’s neighborhood.

Panther is a hodge-podge epic that is part historical drama, part propaganda, part myth, and a little bit documentary. At the time of the film’s release, a lot of critics and “people who were there” were critical of the film’s inaccuracies. But Panther isn’t history so much as it really is myth making. It’s all a matter of perspective, and the filmmakers take a time and a group of people whom they admire and making a rousing historical mini-epic out of that. It’s almost like a comic book in which the Panthers are super heroes fighting super evil cops and corrupt government officials, all of whom are manipulated by malevolent, shadowy figures in Washington D.C.

Many of the filmmaking aspects of the film are quite good or at least respectable, but none of that matters. The enjoyment of Panther comes from the total package, and how you feel about it. The Panthers were and are so controversial; how you feel about them and how you feel about their portrayal in the film will decide how you feel about and what you think of the film. I like it. I like the action movie/comic book heroes aspect of the film. It’s great to watch young black men fight the deliciously evil pigs of this film.

7 of 10
A-

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Review: "Meet the Robinsons" is a Heartfelt Gem

TRASH IN MY EYE No. 140 (of 2007) by Leroy Douresseaux

Meet the Robinsons (2007) – computer animated
Running time: 95 minutes (1 hour, 35 minutes)
MPAA – G
DIRECTOR: Stephen J. Anderson
WRITERS: Stephen J. Anderson, Michelle Bochner, Jon Bernstein, Nathan Greno, Don Hall, Joe Mateo, and Aurian Redson; with story material from Robert L. Baird, Daniel Gerson, and Shirley Pierce; (based on A Day with Wilbur Robinson by William Joyce)
PRODUCER: Dorothy McKim

ANIMATION/SCI-FI/COMEDY/ACTION/FAMILY

Starring: (voices) Daniel Hansen, Angela Bassett, Jordan Fry, Tom Selleck, Harland Williams, Laurie Metcalf, Adam West, Ethan Sandler, Tom Kenney, and Matthew Josten

Meet the Robinsons, a Walt Disney Feature Animation digital 3-D animation film, focuses on a boy genius named Lewis. His love of gadgets and gizmos takes him on a trip to the future and reveals to him great secrets about his past and about his own limitless potential.

Lewis (Daniel Hansen and Jordan Fry) is a brilliant preteen inventor, but he’s also an orphan. He’s been living at the 6th Street Orphanage under the guardianship of its sweet and patient caretaker, Mildred (Angela Bassett), ever since she found him on her doorstep as an infant. Rejected by most prospective adoptive parents, Lewis decides to invent the “memory scanner” to retrieve his earliest recollections and hopefully see his birth mother. Lewis presents his invention as his school’s science fair where it is a disaster – mostly because of sabotage on the part of the villainous Bowler Hat Guy (Ethan Sandler), who steals the machine.

Lewis is ready to give up on the quest for his birth mother when he meets a mysterious teenager, Wilbur Robinson (Wesley Singerman), who like the Bowler Hat Guy, is from the future. Wilbur whisks Lewis to the future in his father’s time machine/jet car. Wilbur is desperate to get Lewis to help him retrieve his father’s second time machine, which was stolen by the Bowler Hat Guy. However, when Lewis meets the Robinsons, Wilbur’s large and extended eccentric family, he discovers that, much to his delight, they are ready to adopt him. But if Lewis doesn’t stop Bowler Hat Guy, everyone’s future may turn out to be very dark indeed.

Meet the Robinson’s theme is “keep moving forward,” which is taken from a quote by the late Walt Disney himself, and the filmmakers stay true to “keep moving forward” in terms of the characters. Don’t let the past drag you down, and don’t be bitter about failure because failure is a better teacher than success, the film practically yells out. The writers deal with some pretty serious subject matter in terms of what it means to be a family and also what it means to accept personal blame for failure rather than blaming someone else.

In terms of the film’s visuals and production design, Meet the Robinsons looks way back into the past for inspiration. The futurism of the industrial design movement of the 1930’s and 40’s is present, as well as art deco (which was inspired by futurism). “Streamline Moderne, which was a 1930’s architectural style and Walt Disney’s “Tomorrowland,” join to create a heady, invigorating mix of the retro sci-fi cool and cartoon futuristic. This goes well with what Lewis uses to create his inventions: scrap, spare parts, household items, and odds-and-ends. Think “The Jetsons” meets “Jimmy Neutron, Boy Genius.”

The computer (or 3D) animation, however, is highly suspect. There are times when some of it seems to disappear in a glare of white light, or the camera shifts and the entire 3D environment becomes two-dimensional. It’s simply bad lighting and poor environmental building (perhaps because of software and/or hardware issues). It is sometimes embarrassingly shoddy animation work from Disney, a company that has a legacy of delivering exceptional animation, even when the story is mediocre.

However, the truth is that while viewers may come to the film looking for 3D animation, they’ll end up staying for the story. Luckily, Meet the Robinson’s messages of family bonds and of never letting failure be a crippling setback make this visually imaginative film a poignant gem that might bring at least one tear to your eye.

7 of 10
B+

Saturday, December 08, 2007

Image Entertainment Acquires Bernie Mac Documentary

Image Entertainment Acquires I AIN’T SCARED OF YOU: A TRIBUTE TO BERNIE MAC

A Full Galaxy of Stars Share Thoughts on the Beloved Comic

CHATSWORTH, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Image Entertainment, Inc. (OTCQB: DISK) has acquired the North American home entertainment and digital rights to I AIN’T SCARED OF YOU: A TRIBUTE TO BERNIE MAC. The film, set to be released on Image’s One Village label, chronicles the life and career of a true “king of comedy” and includes exclusive footage of early, never-before-seen performances. The announcement was made by Image Entertainment’s Chief Acquisition Officer, Bill Bromiley.

“Bernie Mac was taken from us much too soon,” said Bromiley. “This film reminds us of his comic brilliance and viewers will be able to share in the enormous affection his friends, family and coworkers have for him by way of their candid, intimate interviews.”

I AIN'T SCARED OF YOU: A TRIBUTE TO BERNIE MAC traces Bernie Mac’s unique performance style and tireless pursuit of comedy that broke through racial and class barriers, enabling his ascension to club, television and film stardom. The film’s title comes from Mac’s first appearance on Def Comedy Jam where he took the mic and immediately exclaimed to the audience 'I Ain't Scared of You!' turning their boos into cheers. Instantly, this sharp-tongued Chicago native with a heart of gold won over millions of fans.

Directed by Robert Small and executive produced by Small and Rhonda McCullough, I AIN'T SCARED OF YOU features exclusive footage of early, never-before-seen performances, courtesy of Mac's friends and family. Additional footage includes his better-known work, such as the Kings of Comedy Tour, “The Bernie Mac Show” and several of his feature films.

Bernie’s daughter conducted many of the revealing interviews with his co-stars, colleagues and friends including Anthony Anderson, Tom Arnold, Angela Bassett, Bill Bellamy, Cedric the Entertainer, Don Cheadle, Cameron Diaz, Mike Epps, Andy Garcia, D.L. Hughley, Warren Hutcherson, Samuel L. Jackson, Ali LeRoi, Je’niece McCullough, Rhonda McCullough, Carl Reiner, Chris Rock, Zoe Saldana, Kellita Smith, Steven Soderbergh, Joe Torry and Camille Winbush. All filmed after his untimely passing, the interviews have a distinctively retrospective point-of-view and paint a vivid picture of who Bernie Mac was as an actor, comedian, husband, father and friend.


ABOUT ONE VILLAGE ENTERTAINMENT
Launched in 2007, One Village Entertainment, a division of Image Entertainment, is devoted to the development, production and acquisition of feature films, comedy specials, stage plays, documentaries and music content targeting the African-American consumer and urban market. The programming is distributed across multiple platforms including theatrical, broadcast, Blu-ray™/DVD and digital streaming and downloading. Among the more than 50 titles that carry the One Village imprimatur are live stand-up performances featuring Kevin Hart and Charlie Murphy, documentaries 2 Turntables and a Microphone: The Life and Death of Jam Master Jay and Soulmate, and the feature films American Violet starring Oscar-nominee Alfre Woodard and the acclaimed theatrical romantic comedy Russ Parr’s 35 & Ticking. Bestsellers in the One Village line also include the stage play productions What My Husband Doesn’t Know and Love in the Nick of Tyme by David E. Talbert, who is described by Variety as "the acknowledged kingpin of urban musicals."

ABOUT IMAGE ENTERTAINMENT
Image Entertainment, Inc. is a leading independent licensee and distributor of entertainment programming in North America, with approximately 3,200 exclusive DVD titles and approximately 340 exclusive CD titles in domestic release and more than 450 programs internationally via sublicense agreements. For many of its titles, the Company has exclusive audio and broadcast rights, as well as digital download rights to over 2,100 video programs and approximately 400 audio titles containing more than 6,000 individual tracks. The Company is headquartered in Chatsworth, California. For more information about Image Entertainment, Inc., please go to http://www.image-entertainment.com/.

Review: "Jumping the Broom" Hops with Family Melodrama

TRASH IN MY EYE No. 71 (of 2011) by Leroy Douresseaux

Jumping the Broom (2011)
Running time: 112 minutes (1 hour, 52 minutes)
MPAA – PG-13 for some sexual content
DIRECTOR: Salim Akil
WRITERS: Elizabeth Hunter and Arlene Gibbs; from a story by Elizabeth Hunter
PRODUCERS: Tracey E. Edmonds, Elizabeth Hunter, T.D. Jakes, Michael Mahoney, Glendon Palmer, and Curtis Wallace
CINEMATOGRAPHER: Anastas N. Michos
EDITOR: Terilyn A. Shropshire

COMEDY/DRAMA/ROMANCE

Starring: Angela Bassett, Paula Patton, Laz Alonso, Loretta Devine, Meagan Good, Tasha Smith, Julie Bowen, DeRay Davis, Valarie Pettiford, Mike Epps, Pooch Hall, Romeo Miller, Brian Stokes Mitchell, Gary Dourdan, T.D. Jakes, El DeBarge, Tenika Davis, and Vera Cudjoe

Jumping the Broom is a 2011 comedy and drama film that focuses on an African-American wedding. In fact, the film’s title is taken from an African-American tradition in which the bride and groom jump over a broom after being married. In the movie, two very different families meet and clash on Martha’s Vineyard in the days leading to the sudden wedding of a young couple.

Jumping the Broom focuses on Sabrina Watson (Paula Patton) and Jason Taylor (Laz Alonso), who are engaged to get married after knowing each other for only half a year. Jason’s family, the Taylors, is a downtown working class family from Brooklyn. Sabrina’s family, the Watsons, is an uptown group, and her parents have an estate in Chilmark on the island of Martha’s Vineyard.

Jason’s mother, Pam Taylor (Loretta Devine), is very upset that Jason is getting married to Sabrina at the last minute. Sabrina’s mother, Claudine Watson (Angela Bassett), is just as upset as Pam about this quickie marriage. What most upsets both mothers, however, is that they barely know each other’s family. As the two families come together at the Watson’s estate for the two-and-a-half day wedding event, everyone knows that class warfare is about to ensue. But no one suspects that some ugly family secrets are about to spill out into the open.

Obviously, Jumping the Broom is a hyper-idealized version of what happens when families get together for a big, busy, complex, and problematic event like a wedding (or a funeral). The things that this movie gets right are the petty feuds, unresolved disputes, simmering grievances, clashes of culture and class, the egos, the jealousies, the cheating, the selfishness, the marital discord, the second thoughts, etc. I could go on, but if you have a large enough family and have been to a big family get together, you know the pain and this movie will be painfully familiar. Jumping the Broom is good because it takes the pain and ugliness and shows us the good side of two families coming together for the first time, while spinning some remarkably sharp comic insights.

The film has some problems. Some of the dialogue is stiff, or is that just some bad acting? Also, there are way too many characters. DeRay Davis’ Malcolm has potential, but is extraneous here, as he pretty much serves the same purpose as Mike Epps’ Willie Earl Taylor, but less effectively. On the other hand, there is absolutely not enough of Vera Cudjoe’s Mabel.

Still, Jumping the Broom is kind of like an African-American version of My Big Fat Greek Wedding, and non-African-Americans can enjoy Jumping the Broom the same way non-Greek Americans really dug My Big Fat Greek Wedding. Jumping the Broom is a universal tale of two families joining to celebrate two people bringing both clans together.

6 of 10
B

Wednesday, August 17, 2011

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Review: Colorful "Green Lantern" Film is Also a Bit Dim

TRASH IN MY EYE No. 50 (of 2011) by Leroy Douresseaux


Green Lantern (2011)
Running time: 105 minutes (1 hour, 45 minutes)
MPAA – PG-13 for intense sequences of sci-fi violence and action
DIRECTOR: Martin Campbell
WRITERS: Greg Berlanti, Michael Green, Marc Guggenheim, and Michael Goldenberg; from a screen story by Greg Berlanti, Michael Green, and Marc Guggenheim (based upon the characters appearing in comic books published by DC Comics)
PRODUCERS: Greg Berlanti and Donald De Line
CINEMATOGRAPHER: Dion Beebe
EDITOR: Stuart Baird
COMPOSER: James Newton Howard

SUPERHERO/SCI-FI/ACTION with elements of drama

Starring: Ryan Reynolds, Blake Lively, Peter Sarsgaard, Mark Strong, Taika Waititi, Temuera Morrison, Angela Bassett, Tim Robbins, Jay O. Sanders, and (voices) Clancy Brown, Michael Clarke Duncan, and Geoffrey Rush

Green Lantern is a 2011 superhero movie, and it is the fourth movie this year featuring a character that originated or made extensive appearances in comic books. Green Lantern has enough entertaining science fiction action and superhero theatrics, but not enough to hide the fact that the characters are either lame and onscreen too much or cool and onscreen too little.

First, some history: Green Lantern is a comic book superhero that first appeared in All-American Comics #16 (cover dated July 1940). The original version of Green Lantern was created by Bill Finger, the writer who essentially co-created Batman (but who doesn’t get official credit for that) and artist Martin Nodell. The original or “Golden Age” version of Green Lantern stopped appearing in comics by 1951.

In 1959, the modern version of Green Lantern, a space age and science fantasy revamp of the character, first appeared in the comic book, Showcase #22 (cover dated September-October 1959), in a story from writer John Broome and artist Gil Kane. This modern or “Silver Age” version of character is the one that stars in the new film, Green Lantern.

Green Lantern the movie focuses on brash test pilot, Hal Jordan (Ryan Reynolds). Jordan’s bravado and recklessness has gotten him into trouble with his employer, Ferris Aircraft, and the company’s Vice-President, Carol Ferris (Blake Lively), who is also Hal’s girlfriend. However, his strong-willed nature brings him to the attention of the alien, Abin Sur (Temuera Morrison), who is a Green Lantern. The Green Lantern Corps is an intergalactic police force that uses the “green essence of willpower” to keep peace. Their power is focused through a green power ring.

Sur is mortally wounded in a battle with Parallax (Clancy Brown), the ultimate being of fear, whom Sur defeated and imprisoned long ago. Sur’s ring chooses Jordan as a worthy successor, but Sur’s fellow Green Lanterns do not find Jordan worthy. Jordan is the first human to become a Green Lantern, and Thaal Sinestro (Mark Strong), something of a leader among the Corps, quickly and brutally tests Jordan, leading the new Lantern to also doubt why the ring chose him. He will, however, have no choice but to be a Green Lantern. Parallax is coming to Earth to take revenge against Hal Jordan because he is Abin Sur’s successor and to destroy Earth because it is Jordan’s home.

Early in Green Lantern, the movie’s soundtrack (music and sound) is so loud that it is hard to understand what the characters are saying. At times, this movie is merely a sound and light show that occasionally dazzles, while generally assaulting your hearing. But I suspect this sort of thing will appeal to children, especially boys, who will like the noise and the special effects, which range from striking to embarrassingly second-rate.

Young viewers are the ones unlikely to notice the thinly written drama and how good actors play laughable, pathetic characters. Here, are some examples: Peter Sarsgaard as the comical bad guy Hector Hammond; Tim Robbins as Robert Hammond, an empty suit politician and Hector’s awful father; Blake Lively as Carol Ferris, who is the standard action movie hero arm-candy/cheerleader [Belief in yourself! Sniff Sniff. You can do it, my brave hero man]; and poor, always under-utilized Angela Bassett as the generic government flunky, Dr. Amanda Waller. Then, there is Mark Strong, who builds Sinestro into an intriguing character and worthy rival of Jordan’s Green Lantern, only to see the character reduced to speechmaking.

I like Ryan Reynolds, with his physique that looks like it was molded to be an action figure, but I don’t buy him as a test pilot or superhero. With his big teeth, seemingly sculpted by a dentist who really wanted to be an artist, Reynolds looks like he should be a junior executive in some corporate sales division.

With so much going against it, Green Lantern actually entertains with its big superhero set pieces and action sequences. On the other hand, the movie grinds to a halt whenever the actors pretend to be people instead of superheroes and strange beings. It’s this mixture of fun, goofy superhero action and tedious character drama that makes Green Lantern average at best. This movie needs to be a lavish sci-fi adventure (the goofy), but it doesn’t need the derivative character motivation and conflict [Daddy was mean to me! I can’t conquer my self-doubt and fear]. Green Lantern works in fits and starts. Sometimes, it impresses; sometimes, it is clunky and ineffective.

5 of 10
C+

Saturday, June 18, 2011