Review: "Scary Movie 4" Just as Bad, but Less Funny

TRASH IN MY EYE No. 72 (of 2006) by Leroy Douresseaux


Scary Movie 4 (2006)
Running time: 83 minutes (1 hour, 23 minutes)
MPAA – PG-13 for crude and sexual humor throughout, some comic violence and language
DIRECTOR: David Zucker
WRITERS: Craig Mazin, Pat Proft, and Jim Abrams; from a story by Craig Mazin
PRODUCERS: Craig Mazin and Robert K. Weiss
CINEMATOGRAPHER: Thomas E. Ackerman
EDITORS: Craig Herring and Tom Lewis
COMPOSER: James L. Venable
Razzie Award winner

COMEDY/HORROR

Starring: Anna Faris, Regina Hall, Craig Bierko, Anthony Anderson, Kevin Hart, Leslie Nielsen, DeRay Davis, Charlie Sheen, Chris Elliot, Molly Shannon, Michael Madsen, Carmen Electra, Dr. Phil McGraw, and Shaquille O’Neal

The subject of this movie review is Scary Movie 4, a 2006 comedy and parody film of science fiction and horror films. It is the fourth film in the Scary Movie franchise and a direct sequel to Scary Movie 3. Scary Movie 4 also ends the story arc that began in the original film, Scary Movie.

Cindy Campbell (Anna Faris), Brenda Meeks (Regina Hall), and the rest of the Scary Movie gang are back. Using a parody of the Steven Spielberg/Tom Cruise version of War of the Worlds (2005) as a framework, the gang sends-up movies like The Grudge (2004), Brokeback Mountain, The Village (2004), Saw and Saw II, and Million Dollar Baby along with other films, music and current events. Cindy has to solve the mystery of a little boy’s murder if she is going to stop the alien invasion and reclaim the new love of her life, Tom Ryan (Craig Bierko, spoofing Cruise in War of the Worlds).

Scary Movie 4 isn’t as funny as Scary Movie 3, not having nearly the same number of belly laughs 3 had. Director David Zucker, known for his work on such lampoon movies as Airplane! and the Naked Gun franchise, gives Scary Movie 4 a more coherent narrative than he gave the third film. This one actually has a story that attempts to make sense while at the same time satirizing of so many other films and pop culture. However, the determination to “make sense” tames any of the jokes that have potential for being really raucous humor.

The audience with which I saw this film was obviously uncomfortable with or not familiar with Brokeback Mountain, so the gay love jokes fell flat. However, the scenes satirizing The Grudge succeed because they capture that film’s scary weirdness. Still, I’ll never understand why the Wayans Brothers were summarily dismissed from the franchise, because Zucker’s films (3 and 4) are not nearly as good or as funny as Scary Movie and Scary Movie 2. Ultimately, Scary Movie 4 is a lame film that is nothing more than a cheesy video rental.

3 of 10
C-

Saturday, April 15, 2006

NOTES:
2007 Razzie Awards: 1 win: “Worst Supporting Actress” (Carmen Electra, also for Date Movie-2006)

Review: "Scary Movie 3" Quite Bad, but Funny

TRASH IN MY EYE No. 158 (of 2003)


Scary Movie 3 (2003)
Running time: 84 minutes (1 hour, 24 minutes)
MPAA – PG-13 for pervasive crude and sexual humor, language, comic violence and drug references
DIRECTOR: David Zucker
WRITERS: Craig Mazin and Pat Proft (based upon characters created by Shawn Wayans, Marlon Wayans, Buddy Johnson, Phil Beauman, Jason Friedberg, and Aaron Seltzer)
PRODUCER: Robert K. Weiss
CINEMATOGRAPHER: Mark Irwin (D.o.P.)
EDITOR: Malcolm Campbell and Jon Poll
COMPOSER: James L. Venable

COMEDY with elements of fantasy, horror, and sci-fi

Starring: Anna Faris, Simon Rex, Regina Hall, Anthony Anderson, Pamela Anderson, Jenny McCarthy, Marny Eng, Charlie Sheen, Jeremy Piven, Camryn Manheim, Queen Latifah, Eddie Griffin, Leslie Nielsen, D.L. Hughley, Ja Rule, George Carlin, Master P, Macy Gray, Redman, Method Man, Raekwon, RZA, Fat Joe, and Simon Cowell

The subject of this movie review is Scary Movie 3, a 2003 comedy film and parody of science fiction and horror films. It is the first film in the Scary Movie franchise not to feature members of the Wayans family.

Scary Movie 3 has loads and loads of belly laughs, but it is shockingly lame, dull, and an all out boring film, which gets worse as its nearly incomprehensible story lethargically crawls to the end. This installment of the franchise mainly targets The Ring and Signs for a good skewering or is that screwing? The Matrix and 8 Mile also fall in for a manhandling; the former parody is mildly funny while the latter is surprisingly sprightly and hilarious. The film, however, is one long gag reel superimposed over a deplorably bad movie.

The story this time, as it may be, has Cindy (Anna Faris) and her lame heartthrob George (Simon Rex) investigating crop circles and a killer ghost from a haunted videocassette. Somehow, it’s all tied together, and Cindy also has to help President Harris (Leslie Nielsen) stop an alien invasion.

If this doesn’t sound like much, it’s because Scary Movie 3 isn’t very much. The presence of so many stars in small roles and cameos is very nice, and some, like Anthony Anderson, Pamela Anderson, and Jenny McCarthy, actually make the film worth seeing. The cast, like the raunchy humor and endless sight gags, don’t exactly save the movie, but they can make you laugh, and in the end, those laughs might be the only reason to justify seeing this lame duck. David Zucker, part of the team responsible for Airplane and Naked Gun, lavishes Scary Movie 3 with his trademark gag-a-minute style, and it works to an extent.

I must really emphasize that this film can cause some hard and deep laughing, but I was also very shocked at how often tasteless and tactless the film was. Jokes that involve violating a corpse at a wake and pedophilia on the part of Catholic priest cross the line. It’s not so much that this kind of humor seems desperate; it’s that the filmmakers seem so willfully shameless and tasteless. Some things are not funny. They are sacred or taboo for reasons that are important to a society. It’s not that such things cannot be discussed; it’s how they are discussed. To use them as jokes is the sign of a weak, unimaginative mind – a selfish and immature person determined and desperate to get what he wants at any cost.

That said – I laughed a lot, and I cringed behind my arms almost as much. Scary Movie 3 won’t ever be listed among the great comedies. At best, it’s a temporary and exasperating thrill that is forgotten as soon as the film fades to black.

3 of 10
C-

Review: "Kangaroo Jack" Jacked-Up, but Fun

TRASH IN MY EYE No. 133 (of 2003) by Leroy Douresseaux


Kangaroo Jack (2003)
Running time: 89 minutes (1 hour, 29 minutes)
MPAA – PG for language, crude humor, sensuality and violence
DIRECTOR: David McNally
WRITERS: Steve Bing and Scott Rosenberg, from a story by Barry O’Brien and Steve Bing
PRODUCER: Jerry Bruckheimer
CINEMATOGRAPHER: Peter Menzies Jr. (D.o.P.)
EDITORS: William Goldenberg, Jim May, and John Murray
COMPOSER: Trevor Rabin
Razzie Awards nominee

COMEDY with elements of Action/Adventure/Crime

Starring: Jerry O’Connell, Anthony Anderson, Estella Warren, Christopher Walken, Marton Csokas, Dyan Cannon, Michael Shannon, Bill Hunter, and David Ngoombujarra

The subject of this movie review is Kangaroo Jack, a 2003 comedy starring Jerry O’Connell and Anthony Anderson. The film follows two childhood friends, who are forced by the mob to deliver $50,000 to Australia and then, forced to chase a wild kangaroo that ends up with that money.

Hollywood mega-movie producer Jerry Bruckheimer isn’t strictly a producer of gargantuan action flicks that “blow us away” during the summer and holiday seasons. Although known for films like Top Gun and Armageddon, he’s also produced films like Flashdance and Remember the Titans, as well as television programs like “C.S.I.: Crime Scene Investigation” and “Amazing Race.” The latest bit of diversity in his oeuvre is the comedy Kangaroo Jack.

This movie is a tale of two hapless schmoes, Charlie Carbone (Jerry O’Connell) and Louis Booker (Anthony Anderson) chasing a kangaroo in the Australian outback because the marsupial has “stolen” 50 thousand dollars from them. It’s a funny, but mostly lame, film with some very good moments. There’s a sexy girl, and we get a few shots of her nipples, particularly in a wet t-shirt moment. The film winds down with a really convincing and heartfelt moment of two guys, one black and one white, pledging their undying friendship for each other.

I want to be cynical about the whole relationship, but it’s good to see that a white man and black man can really be best buds, even if it’s just in a movie. Don’t expect anything great because Kangaroo Jack is pure tripe straight from the film factory and made by some of Tinseltown’s brightest filmmaking hacks. It’s acceptable and likeable low quality funny, much in the way you might accept off-brand crystallized ice cream in a moment of desperation.

4 of 10
C

NOTES:
2001 Razzie Awards: 2 nominations: “Worst Supporting Actor” (Christopher Walken-also for Gigli-2003) and “Worst Supporting Actor” (Anthony Anderson)

Review: "Cradle 2 the Grave" Not Completely Lifeless

TRASH IN MY EYE No. 28 (of 2003) by Leroy Douresseaux

Cradle 2 the Grave (2003)
Running time: 101 minutes (1 hour, 41 minutes)
MPAA – R for violence, language and some sexual content
DIRECTOR: Andrzej Bartkowiak
WRITERS: John O’Brien and Channing Gibson; from a story by John O’Brien
PRODUCER: Joel Silver
CINEMATOGRAPHER: Daryn Okada
EDITOR: Derek G. Brechin
COMPOSERS: Damon “Grease” Blackman and John Frizzell

ACTION/CRIME/DRAMA

Starring: Jet Li, DMX, Anthony Anderson, Kelly Hu, Tom Arnold, Mark Dacascos, Gabrielle Union, Daniel Dae Kim, and Chi McBride (uncredited)

The subject of this movie review is Cradle 2 the Grave, a 2003 action film. Directed by Andrzej Bartkowiak, the film stars legendary action star, Jet Li, and rapper DMX.

Producer Joel Silver brings us another martial artist/rap star “buddy” movie in the tradition of his hit, Exit Wounds. This time Exit Wounds star DMX joins legendary Far East action star Jet Li in Cradle to the Grave. After I watching this movie, I couldn’t figure out the reason for the title, but the name sounds rough and tough, just what you want in your “chop socky-hip hop” movie. No doubt that this is trash, but fun trash, especially if you’re feeling really tolerant; not as good as Exit Wounds, but almost worth the price of admission if you like Li and/or DMX. And I had been waiting for this for a long time.

Fait (DMX) leads a crew of high-tech urban thieves who stumble onto a bag of mysterious black jewels during their heist of a diamond exchange. The diamonds’ owner, the vicious and murderous Ling (Mark Decascos), kidnaps Fait’s daughter and holds her as ransom for the jewels’ return. Fait gets a monkey wrench in his works when another crew steals the diamonds from one of Fait’s bumbling associates (Tom Arnold). Fait and his crew forge an alliance with a Taiwanese intelligence officer, Su (Jet Li), to rescue his child and retrieve the precious black diamonds, which hold a deadly and powerful secret.

Director Andrzej Bartkowiak’s film is clunky and disjointed, but Bartkowiak (who has directed three of Li’s American films) knows that he only has to string together a few “character moments” between scenes with the only important elements of the film: DMX’s grimace and Li’s extended martial arts free-for-alls. Li actually has an extended battle at an underground fight arena that at times defies the imagination and at other times is so wacky that it earns a load of belly laughs. Because the writers gave DMX’s character a child, we actually get a few smiles from the normally scowling star during precious scenes of him “parenting.”

The supporting cast mostly serves as relief from the grim story. Most of the time, Cradle 2 the Grave is a pretty raw cartoon, and it plays rough with its characters. However, Tom Arnold and Anthony Anderson, co-stars in Exit Wounds, return to add much needed comic relief. In fact, Arnold never seems so comfortable in a film role as he does when he’s rollin’ with the homeys. I think he’s added life to his career legs the way John Lithgow did in the early 1990’s by taking a few villainous roles.

I won’t lie to you. This isn’t a good movie, but it can be very entertaining most of the time. You just have to outlast some “dramatic” moments to get to the action, suspense, and thrills. Sometimes, I became very impatient waiting out a few dull minutes just to get to the bloodshed; honestly, there’s no other reason to see this junk other than for the junk: car chases, titillation, shootouts, corrupt cops, thugs, explosions, and Jet Li’s electric hands and feet.

So when’s the next Silver Pictures’ rap-fu joint coming out? DMX and Jackie Chan, perhaps?

4 of 10
C

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Review: Characters Save Creaky "Barbershop"

TRASH IN MY EYE No. 14 (of 2004) by Leroy Douresseaux

Barbershop (2002)
Running time: 102 minutes (1 hour, 42 minutes)
MPAA – PG-13 for language, sexual content and brief drug references
DIRECTOR: Tim Story
WRITERS: Mark Brown, Don D. Scott, and Marshall Todd, from a story by Mark Brown
PRODUCERS: Mark Brown, Robert Teitel, and George Tillman Jr.
CINEMATOGRAPHER: Tom Priestley (D.o.P.)
EDITOR: John Carter
COMPOSER: Terence Blanchard

COMEDY/DRAMA

Starring: Ice Cube, Anthony Anderson, Cedric the Entertainer, Sean Patrick Thomas, Eve, Troy Garity, Michael Ealy, Leonard Earl Howze, Lahmard Tate, Jazsmin Lewis, Tom Wright, Jason Winston, DeRay Davis, and Keith David

Barbershop, a recent co-production by Ice Cube’s film production company Cube Vision and State Street Pictures, is another in a recent spurt of so-called urban audience movies, i.e. movies for black people. However, the light-on-plot film was a huge hit that drew in a broad cross section of viewers, so even white folks can be entertained by film’s with little or no story as long as the characters are funny and engaging, as they definitely are in Barbershop.

Calvin Palmer (Ice Cube) is a barber like his father and grandfather before him, but Calvin has bigger dreams. He inherited his late father’s shop, but Calvin has also saddled himself with debt from a number of failed business ventures. Looking for cash to help him with his latest start up, he sells his barbershop to a loan shark, Lester Wallace (the wonderful, but seldom seen Keith David). After he takes that big step, he comes to regret his decision when he realizes that Wallace is going to turn the shop into a ho house. That really hurts because his father’s business always meant a lot to the local community.

I can forgive the weakness of the film’s plots (and subplots) because it is rich in funny and endearing characters. To be of quality, a film doesn’t have to have great characters, a great setting, and a great story; the finest and most artful films do. A good film can be strong and entertaining with just one of those elements. Barbershop holds our attention because the characters are so damned funny. The acting isn’t always tight, but the cast really gets into their characters and give a good show. In an odd way you can forgive Barbershop a lot of faults because you know that you’re always going to get another hilarious scene with these great characters.

Out of all the actors, Anthony Anderson captured my attention just as he has in Romeo Must Die, Big Momma’s House, and Life among others. He’s funny, hilarious in fact, in the tradition of portly funny men. Ice Cube is nowhere near being a good actor, but he has an excellent sense in choosing film projects that will appeal to a broad audience, whether it’s popular trash like Anaconda, a sleeper hit like Friday, or a daring filmmaking choice like Three Kings. He’s a movie star.

Barbershop is a good comedy with many funny characters. It’s warm and homespun like Soul Food, with a good down home message about family and having sense of community, at its heart. Besides who could miss a film when Cedric the Entertainer is really on his game as a funny man and an actor, especially since you get to hear him say “F*ck Jesse Jackson.”

5 of 10
B-

NOTES:
2003 Black Reel Awards: 6 nominations: “Best Film” (Robert Teitel, George Tillman Jr.), “Best Film Soundtrack, “Theatrical - Best Actor” (Ice Cube), “Theatrical - Best Director” (Tim Story), “Theatrical - Best Screenplay-Original or Adapted” (Mark Brown and Don D. Scott), “Theatrical - Best Supporting Actor” (Cedric the Entertainer)

2003 Image Awards: 5 nominations: “Outstanding Actor in a Motion Picture” (Ice Cube), “Outstanding Motion Picture,” “Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Motion Picture” (Anthony Anderson), “Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Motion Picture” (Cedric the Entertainer), and “Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Motion Picture” (Eve)

"Hustle & Flow" Finds a Real Groove

TRASH IN MY EYE No. 122 (of 2005) by Leroy Douresseaux


Hustle & Flow (2005)
Running time: 116 minutes (1 hour, 56 minutes)
MPAA – R for sex and drug content, pervasive language, and some violence
WRITER/DIRECTOR: Craig Brewer
PRODUCERS: Stephanie Allain and John Singleton
CINEMATOGRAPHER: Amy Vincent
EDITOR: Billy Fox
Academy Award winner

DRAMA/MUSIC

Starring: Terrence Dashon Howard, Anthony Anderson, Taryn Manning, Taraji P. Henson, Paula Jai Parker, Elise Neal, DJ Qualls, Ludacris, and Isaac Hayes

DJay (Terrence Dashon Howard) seems like the typical philosopher-hustler – misusing his gift for words as a streetwise pimp living a dead end life on the fringes of Memphis society. Hearing that a former Memphis deejay named Skinny Black (Ludacris) has an album that went platinum makes DJay wonder what happened to all the big dreams he had for his life.

DJay has a chance encounter with Key (Anthony Anderson), an old friend who is a sound engineer. Key also has dreams of being in the music business, and that spurs DJay, who realizes that if he’s going to make his mark, this might be his last chance. He begins writing freestyle raps, and Shelby (DJ Qualls), a church musician with a beat machine, joins DJay and Key to lay down some bass crunching tracks. His housemates, Shug (Taraji P. Henson), an expectant mother, and Nola (Taryn Manning), a young woman DJay pimps out of his car to johns, join him in the creative process as DJay works this new hustle to create the flow that will take him to a better life.

Craig Brewer’s Hustle & Flow feels so real that the Memphis heat radiates off the screen and made me feel uncomfortable. Simply put, Hustle & Flow is a gritty and grimy drama that captures the desperate essence of hustlers, would-be artists, and struggling artists. Brewer who won the Sundance Film Festival Award in the category “Dramatic” for this film that recreates the real world of low level street pimps and drug dealers; this isn’t the prettified, “super fly,” rap version of pimping and dealing. Brewer’s film is so authentic that it, at times, seems like a documentary that has overdone keeping things real. Still, Brewer uses the first scene in which DJay, Key, and Shelby create a musical track to shock the film into a vibrant life that forces us to focus on this creative trio.

Terence Dashon Howard is a star on the rise, and this performance affirms that. His DJay is an earthy guy who is so common that he barely registers to anyone outside the few women in his life. Howard creates a character that is desperate and hungry, but even more resigned to a life that will soon finish him. Watch Howard bring him to new life as DJay realizes he has a goal; Howard modulates the performance so that neither DJay nor the story every come across as inauthentic to the audience.

Howard and Brewer aren’t alone in their efforts at make this a winning film. Taraji P. Henson’s Shug is so genuinely needy, and as Nola, Taryn Manning molds her performance to give it a contour that perfectly fits the ebbs and flows of Howard’s DJay. Anthony Anderson gives a quiet, but surprisingly nimble dramatic turn that tells us that Hollywood has barely tapped his talents. DJ Qualls also adds a small, but different flavor as the beat maker who is uncannily in sync with everyone else.

Hustle & Flow is not only one of the best dramas set amongst the black folks who live in squalor and deep poverty in a long time, but it rings with truth as few urban dramas have since Boyz N’ the Hood, the directorial debut of John Singleton, who is this film’s co-producer and the man who self-financed the film. I can only hope that Craig Brewer keeps bringing us back to this kind of real thing.

8 of 10
A

NOTES:
2006 Academy Awards: 1 win: “Best Achievement in Music Written for Motion Pictures, Original Song” (Jordan Houston, Cedric Coleman, and Paul Beauregard for the song "It's Hard Out Here for a Pimp"); 1 nomination: “Best Performance by an Actor in a Leading Role” (Terrence Howard)

2006 Black Reel Awards: 3 wins: “Best Actor” (Terrence Howard), “Best Original Soundtrack,” and “Best Supporting Actress” (Taraji P. Henson); 3 nominations: “Best Ensemble” (Ludacris, Terrence Howard, DJ Qualls, Taraji P. Henson, Anthony Anderson, Paula Jai Parker, Taryn Manning, and Elise Neal), “Best Film,” and “Best Supporting Actor” (Anthony Anderson)

2006 Golden Globes: 1 nomination: “Best Performance by an Actor in a Motion Picture – Drama” (Terrence Howard)

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: First "Transformers" Movie is Good ... Then Goes Bad

TRASH IN MY EYE No. 105 (of 2007) by Leroy Douresseaux

Transformers (2007)
Running time: 140 minutes (2 hours, 20 minutes)
MPAA – PG-13 for intense sequences of sci-fi action violence, brief sexual humor, and language
DIRECTOR: Michael Bay
WRITERS: Roberto Orci & Alex Kurtzman; from a story by John Rogers and Roberto Orci & Alex Kurtzman (based on Hasbro’s Transformers Action Figures)
PRODUCERS: Don Murphy, Tom DeSanto, Lorenzo di Bonaventura, and Ian Bryce
CINEMATOGRAPHER: Mitchell Amundsen (D.o.P.)
EDITOR: Paul Rubell, A.C.E. and Glen Scantlebury
Academy Award nominee

SCI-FI/ACTION with elements of drama, thriller, and war

Starring: Shia LaBeouf, Tyrese Gibson, Josh Duhamel, Anthony Anderson, Megan Fox, Rachael Taylor, Bernie Mac, with John Turturro and Jon Voight, Kevin Dunn, Michael O’Neill, Julie White, and Amaury Nolasco

Director Michael Bay (Armageddon) unleashes Transformers, the long-awaited live-action, feature film starring the ever-popular toys, Hasbro’s the Transformers.

Sam Witwicky (Shia LaBeouf) is the clever, jokester trying to navigate his way through the pitfalls of high school and the teenage years. As something of a smart mouth, he may think he’s special, but he doesn’t know the half of it.

For centuries two races of robotic aliens – the Autobots and the Decepticons – have waged a war to find the location of the lost Allspark, the energy that both powers them and creates more of their kind. Now, they’ve come to Earth, and the planet may be their final battleground. U.S. Air Force Technical Sergeant Epps (Tyrese Gibson) and U.S. Army Captain Lennox (Josh Duhamel) lead the military charge against the Decepticons. Meanwhile, Sam and his girlfriend Mikaela Banes (Megan Fox) are caught in a tug of war between the human-friendly Autobots and murderous Decepticons, and the clue to the whereabouts of Allspark is in Sam’s unsuspecting hands.

The first 100 minutes of Transformers is a great sci-fi war movie that is as gripping and as fun as Independence Day, which is a testament to Michael Bay’s skill as a director of awe-inspiring visuals. The last 40 minutes is mostly inane, with every few moments of action being a cinematic seizure crammed next to another spasm of CGI pomposity. In fact, in Transformers’ last act, even the supernaturally endearing Shia LaBeouf, who lights up both movies and TV with his half-shy, half smarter-than-you-are screen persona, is utterly lost.

The first half of the film is about the heroes versus impossibly advanced alien invaders, but the good guys won’t give up. After that, the Autobots and Decepticons take over, and the movie turns preposterous. CGI makes the robots and Michael Bay loves CGI, special effects, and all the technical processes of making a movie more than he loves actors and story. Actors and story thrive in the beginning, but computers and technicians take over by the end. I enjoyed the human story – man with his back against the wall against a mysterious invader, and I liked it enough to overlook the special effects ejaculation that is the final third of Transformers.

6 of 10
B

Saturday, July 14, 2007

NOTES:
2008 Academy Awards: 3 nominations: “Best Achievement in Sound” (Kevin O'Connell, Greg P. Russell, and Peter J. Devlin), “Best Achievement in Sound Editing” (Ethan Van der Ryn and Mike Hopkins), and “Best Achievement in Visual Effects” (Scott Farrar, Scott Benza, Russell Earl, and John Frazier)

2008 Razzie Awards: 1 nomination: “Worst Supporting Actor” (Jon Voight)

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Review: Entertaining "Scream 4" Treads Familiar Territory

TRASH IN MY EYE No. 32 (of 2011) by Leroy Douresseaux

Scream 4 (2011)
Running time: 111 minutes (1 hour, 51 minutes)
MPAA – R for strong bloody violence, language and some teen drinking
DIRECTOR: Wes Craven
WRITER: Kevin Williamson (based on characters created by Kevin Williamson)
PRODUCERS: Wes Craven, Iya Labunka, and Kevin Williamson
CINEMATOGRAPHER: Peter Deming (D.o.P.)
EDITOR: Peter McNulty
COMPOSER: Marco Beltrami

HORROR/MYSTERY/THRILLER

Starring: Neve Campbell, Courteney Cox, David Arquette, Emma Roberts, Hayden Panettiere, Rory Culkin, Marley Shelton, Anthony Anderson, Adam Brody, Nico Tortorella, Marielle Jaffe, Alison Brie, Erik Knudsen, Mary McDonnell, Anna Paquin, Kristen Bell, Heather Graham, and Roger Jackson (voice)

A little over 11 years after Scream 3, Scream 4 hits movie theatre screens in an explosion of blood and guts. However, Scream 4 is not just a sequel. It is also something of a remake of and homage to the original 1996 movie, Scream.

On the 15th anniversary of the Woodsboro massacre (as seen in the original movie), Sidney Prescott (Neve Campbell) returns to Woodsboro, the final stop on the tour to promote her book, Out of Darkness. Sidney discovers that she cannot escape the horrors of her past, because two high school students have just been murdered by the new Ghostface. Sidney also finds herself thrust back into the lives of the only other two people to survive the various Ghostface killers, Sheriff Dwight “Dewey” Riley (David Arquette) and his wife, journalist-turned-novelist, Gail Weathers Riley (Courteney Cox).

Now, Sidney’s young cousin, Jill Roberts (Emma Roberts), and her high school classmates are the targets of the new Ghostface. This new generation of potential victims, however, seems to relish the murderous attention of the infamous killer and hope this latest Ghostface rampage will help bring them fame in the age of social networking. Will they still be excited when they learn that the new murder spree is not like a sequel, but is instead like a reboot? Do they know that Ghostface is playing by new rules? Anyone can die anytime.

As a slasher film, Scream 4 is entertaining. Ghostface remains a terrific horror movie villain, slaughtering his victims to the point that they seem like butchered meat and offal. Neve Campbell, Courteney Cox, and David Arquette are reliable, if not a little a hoary. The new cast is, for the most part, pretty good, but Hayden Panettiere’s saucy Kirby Reed is the only standout. Overall, when Scream 4 plays it straight, it is a better-than-average horror movie.

Director Wes Craven and screenwriter Kevin Williamson continue their efforts to make the Scream franchise self-referential and each installment a horror movie about horror movies. This is where Scream 4, as well as the other sequels, flounders. The original film, for all its hip attitude and pop culture references, was a traditional horror movie, only slicker and with a better script and filmmaking. The original’s charming small town setting was perfect for a horror movie, and the youthful cast was vibrant and cool. The villains behind the Ghostface killer had believable (though crazy) motivation for their murder spree. Scream was a genuine horror flick.

Scream 4 wants to be more than something from the horror movie slasher subgenre. The script makes Scream 4 essentially a remake inside a sequel, and some of the film seems like a middle-aged guy’s rant against Internet celebrity and social media culture. That’s just filler material. It’s time for some fresh faces and ideas. Scream 4 is at its best when it focuses on what it already has that every successful horror franchise needs – a great villain. So if there is a fifth film, hopefully it will feel more like a fresh reboot instead of a tired sequel. Still, Scream 4 offers some bloody good fun.

6 of 10
B

Sunday, April 17, 2011

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Original "Big Momma's House" is a Fun House

TRASH IN MY EYE No. 35 (of 2006) by Leroy Douresseaux

Big Momma’s House (2000)
Running time: 98 minutes (1 hour, 38 minutes)
MPAA – PG-13 for crude humor including sexual innuendo, and for language and some violence
DIRECTOR: Raja Gosnell
WRITERS: Darryl Quarles and Don Rhymer; from a story by Darryl Quarles
PRODUCERS: David T. Friendly and Michael Green
CINEMATOGRAPHER: Michael D. O’Shea
EDITORS: Kent Beyda and Bruce Green
Image Awards nominee

COMEDY

Starring: Martin Lawrence, Nia Long, Paul Giamatti, Jascha Washington, Terrence Howard, Anthony Anderson, Ella Mitchell, Cedric the Entertainer, and Tichina Arnold

FBI Agent Malcolm Turner (Martin Lawrence) is a master of disguise, but to catch an escaped convict, he’ll have to pull off his greatest masquerade. Murderer and bank robber Lester Vesco (Terrence Dashon Howard) has escaped from prison. Vesco is looking for his old girlfriend, Sherry Pierce (Nia Long), long suspected by the police to be Vesco’s accomplice because she worked at the bank he robbed, and also suspected of knowing where the money from the robbery, which was never recovered, is. Panicked by news of Lester’s escape, Sherry takes her young son, Trent Pierce (Jascha Washington), and heads to the home of Big Momma, Sherry’s massively fat grandmother, Hattie Mae Pierce (Ella Mitchell), in Cartersville, Georgia.

Malcolm and his partner, John (Paul Giamatti), also head to Georgia and put Big Momma’s house under surveillance in hopes of discovering whereabouts of both Lester Vesco and the Sherry is allegedly hiding the money. When an emergency suddenly calls Big Momma away from her house for a week or so, Malcolm and John are afraid that Sherry will change her plans to stay at Big Momma’s house. Malcolm, using his and John’s fantastic abilities at creating prosthetics and masks, disguises himself as Big Momma. He, however, doesn’t count on falling in love with Sherry while pretending to me Big Momma. Will the romance and the effort it takes to maintain the disguise cause Malcolm to miss the arrival of Vesco and the return of the real Big Momma.

There’s something appealing about a man playing a woman. It’s especially interesting if the man is playing a woman for comedy, but there is something really attention-grabbing when a black man plays a fat black woman, which is what actor/comedian Martin Lawrence does in Big Momma’s House. Just seeing Martin in that get-up as a morbidly obese, black Southern matron elicits raucous laughter, so one sees Big Momma’s House strictly for the comedy. Martin is damn funny in drag, although he can disguise himself quite well to play a variety of comical male roles, as he does here, early in the film playing an older Asian hood.

Big Momma’s House if filled with sidesplitting comedy and a generous helping of belly laughs. The film falls apart when it tries the romantic comedy angle between Malcolm Turner (without his Big Momma getup) and Sherry Pierce; it’s dry and rings hollow. The actual police procedural (or what tries to be) doesn’t amount to much, so Paul Giamatti’s John is wasted. It’s hard to tell if Lawrence and Giamatti have any real screen chemistry, but something’s definitely there when they’re on screen together.

With its generous helping of laugh-out-loud comedy and a generous side of flatulence and juvenile humor for the kids, Big Momma’s House is simply a comedy that works. Add Martin Lawrence’s Big Momma to the list of great comic performances by actors in drag.

6 of 10
B

NOTES:
2001 Image Awards: 1 nomination: “Outstand Actress in a Motion Picture (Nia Long)

Wednesday, February 15, 2006

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"The Back-up Plan" Needed Better Planning

TRASH IN MY EYE No. 72 (of 2010) by Leroy Douresseaux


The Back-up Plan (2010)
Running time: 106 minutes (1 hour, 46 minutes)
MPAA – PG-13 for sexual content including references, some crude material and language
DIRECTOR: Alan Poul
WRITER: Kate Angelo
PRODUCERS: Todd Black, Jason Blumenthal, and Steve Tisch
CINEMATOGRAPHER: Xavier Pérez Grobet
EDITOR: Priscilla Nedd-Friendly

COMEDY/DRAMA/ROMANCE

Starring: Jennifer Lopez, Alex O’Loughlin, Michaela Watkins, Eric Christian Olsen, Anthony Anderson, Linda Lavin, Tom Bosley, and Robert Klein

When the Jennifer Lopez romantic comedy, The Back-up Plan, opened in theatres back in April, I remember a few critics and commentators expressing the opinion that Lopez was too old to star in a romantic comedy. Of course, that is ridiculous… kind of. At 41-years-old (as of this writing), Lopez shouldn’t be playing ditzy 20-somethings who just can’t find Mr. Right.

The Back-up Plan, however, isn’t She’s All That or The Prince and Me, films in which the actresses playing the love interests were in their early 20s. Age of the actress shouldn’t be the issue. The issue should be the quality of the film, which is where The Back-up Plan has problems.

The movie is about Zoe (Jennifer Lopez), who after years of fruitless dating, has decided waiting for the right man is taking too long. Determined to become a mother, Zoe commits to a plan: to conceive a child through artificial insemination and goes through with it. That same day, Zoe meets Stan (Alex O’Loughlin), and though he annoys her at first, Stan starts to seem like a man with real possibilities. Zoe hopes that she does not become pregnant by the anonymous donor’s sperm just when she is finally meeting a guy with promise. However, when she learns that she is pregnant, Zoe has to come up with a back-up plan and hope Stan sticks around.

Part of The Back-up Plan is actually quite edgy. The script is pretty blunt about the dating game, pregnancy, and how having children can change a person’s life in ways that are beautiful and in ways that just drive a person freaking nuts. This movie is also frank about the not-so-pretty, bodily fluids part of conceiving, carrying, and birthing children. There is a birth scene in the second act that is gross and outrageous enough to be mesmerizing; it is a scene as good as anything in the Wedding Crashers and The Hangover.

Unfortunately, much of the movie, including the first hour, tries mightily to be a standard romance comedy and mostly falters or outright fails. It is as if everyone involved never realized that the edgy, gross stuff is what really resonates in this unconventional tale about two people whose relationships with the opposite sex are greatly affected by past traumas.

There is no point in talking about the acting, which is fairly good, because that is not what is frustrating about The Back-up Plan. The better part of this movie is that it is different, but the worse part is that it tries to be something it is not – a fluffy, childish romantic comedy full of giggles and silliness. The good stuff is worth seeing, and some viewers may even enjoy seeing potential keep shooting itself in the foot.

5 of 10
C+

Tuesday, August 31, 2010

"Kingdom Come" is Tyler Perry-Like

TRASH IN MY EYE No. 14 (of 2001) by Leroy Douresseaux


Kingdom Come (2001)
Running time: 91 minutes (1 hour, 31 minutes)
MPAA – PG for thematic elements, language and sensuality
DIRECTOR: Doug McHenry
WRITERS: David Dean Bottrell and Jessie Jones (based upon their play Dearly Departed)
PRODUCERS: Edward Bates and John Morrissey
CINEMATOGRAPHER: Francis Kenny
EDITOR: Richard Halsey
(NAACP) Image Awards nominee

COMEDY/DRAMA

Starring: LL Cool J, Jada Pinkett Smith, Vivica A. Fox, Loretta Devine, Anthony Anderson, Toni Braxton, Cedric the Entertainer, Darius McCrary, and Whoopi Goldberg

When the despicable head of a black family dies, family and close friends band together for a few tumultuous days to bury the old turd.

His long-suffering wife, Raynelle Slocum (Whoppi Goldberg), must bear the presence of her fractious clan. Her oldest and most reliable son, Ray Bud (LL Cool J) deals with burying a father he wasn’t particularly fond of, while he and his wife Lucille (Vivica A. Fox) struggle over their difficulty to conceive a child. Ray Bud’s brother Junior (Anthony Anderson) arrives broke and unemployed with his shrewish wife Charisse (Jada Pinkett Smith) and their brood of noisy boys. And there are many more mini-dramas in this huge cast of characters.

Kingdom Come is wholly and unabashedly a black movie. The cast is all black, and the writers created a cast of characters who are black rural and black Southern archetypes and stereotypes. If movies can revolve around story, setting, and/or characters, this one complete hangs upon its large cast. The plot is sparse: bury the old bastard as fast as we can so we don’t have to stay around each other too long.

Based upon a stage play, the movie, adapted by the playwrights, is very talky. Many of the actors spend much of their screen time screaming at their screen partners or just plain talking and explaining. The movie obviously has a message about families sticking together that it repeatedly pounds into our heads. Like many stage plays aimed at African-Americans, this one aims to both entertain and to teach. Its message is both obvious and familiar and geared towards black folks. African-Americans can nod their heads in agreement at the play’s message and vicariously gobble down huge servings of soul food with the cast.

Director Doug McHenry, a prolific producer and director (House Party 2 and Jason’s Lyric) chooses bluntness over subtlety, but he wisely follows each cast member’s every move, as this film could not hang upon its story. To understand Kingdom Come, one must come to understand the characters’ motivations. The film is average goods that does have some very funny and touching moments.

Kingdom Come’s importance is that it exists at all, and it is much needed in a Hollywood landscape that mostly ignores the audience that wants films like Kingdom Come. The cast also includes R&B vocalist Toni Braxton, Loretta Devine (Waiting to Exhale and What Women Want), and Cedric the Entertainer. The quality of the acting ranges from surprising to really good, and the actors overcome the average script and directing in making their characters fun to watch.

In the end, anyone with an extended family, regardless of ethnic background, will recognize the family template upon which this family is based. It’s a universal story with universal themes set in one particular group. Its family dynamics are as similar as “Everybody Loves Raymond,” or Parenthood. While it is not great, or even very good, for that matter, it is a good choice on home video and for family viewing.

5 of 10
B-