Review: "Charlie’s Angels" Pure Pop Pleasure

TRASH IN MY EYE No. 99 (of 2003) by Leroy Douresseaux


Charlie’s Angels (2000)
Running time: 98 minutes (1 hour, 38 minutes)
MPAA – PG-13 for action violence, innuendo and some sensuality/nudity
DIRECTOR: McG
WRITERS: Ryan Rowe, Ed Solomon, and John August (from the television series by Ivan Goff and Ben Roberts)
PRODUCERS: Drew Barrymore, Leonard Goldberg, and Nancy Juvonen
CINEMATOGRAPHER: Russell Carpenter (D.o.P.)
EDITORS: Peter Teschner and Wayne Wahrman
COMPOSER: Edward Shearmur

ACTION/COMEDY

Starring: Cameron Diaz, Drew Barrymore, Lucy Liu, Bill Murray, Sam Rockwell, Kelly Lynch, Tim Curry, Crispin Glover, Luke Wilson, Matt LeBlanc, Tom Green, LL Cool J, and John Forsythe (voice)

The subject of this movie review is Charlie’s Angels, a 2000 action comedy from director McG (the stage name of Joseph McGinty Nichol). The film is an adaptation of the television series, “Charlie’s Angels,” which was originally broadcast on ABC from 1976 to 1981. The film stars Cameron Diaz, Drew Barrymore, and Lucy Liu as three women employed by a private investigation agency and working for the voice known as “Charlie.”

When I first saw Charlie’s Angels, the big-screen adaptation of the late 70’s television series of the same name, I was sure that it was the best action/comedy that I’d seen in years, if ever. Having seen it again in anticipation of the 2003 sequel, I’m sure that it is one of the best action movies I’ve ever seen and one of the best action/comedies ever made. Although the film’s tongue is firmly planted in the Angel’s cheeks and the film is geared towards men, it’s so very entertaining that everyone should get the joke.

The mysterious Charles “Charlie” Townsend (voice of John Forsythe) has three very special little ladies in his employ: Natalie Cook (Cameron Diaz), Dylan Sanders (Drew Barrymore), and Alex Munday (Lucy Liu). Under the supervision of John Bosley (Bill Murray), Charlie’s Angels use martial arts, high tech skills, and sex appeal in their investigation work for clients who can afford Charlie’s agency. This time the client is kidnap victim Eric Knox (Sam Rockwell) who runs a giant software company. The girls not only have to rescue him, but also have to retrieve Knox’s revolutionary voice-ID software. However, the girls run into more than they were told to expect, including a sleazy billionaire (Tim Curry) and his mysterious, tall, thin, ass-kickin’ bodyguard (Crispin Glover).

Directed by music video maestro McG (videos for Korn and Sugar Ray, among others), Charlie's Angels is a high-octane, comic book-styled, action movie parody and farce. None of it should be taken seriously, least of all its conspiracy-within-a-conspiracy script. This is played for fun, recalling the best action movie scenes and clichés: car chases, exploding buildings, pumping soundtrack, quick-cut editing, and Matrix-style “wire-fu” martial arts. Maybe the funniest thing about this film is that this time women do the butt stomping. Usually in action movies, the girls are just the hang-ons of the male stars, following them around and screaming at the appropriate moments during gun fights, fist fights, car chases, aircraft falling out the sky, explosions, etc. This time the girls are in control. This time their sex appeal rules the story instead of just being sex used to decorate the violence. The ladies kick the butts and leave the men panting.

It’s all done so stylishly, and it’s all good and so cool. The vapid material gets inspired performances from the cast, but the actors really make this fun to watch. Bill Murray is tired though. His Bosley is just him doing his shtick, but it is so uninspired that he should have been embarrassed to see himself in the finished product. He was wrong, wrong, wrong, wrong, and wrong again.

But don’t let that keep you from watching this funny, exciting, and very wild action cartoon. Come on. Pull the stick out. Sit back and be entertained by this delicious serving of popcorn movie.

7 or 10
B+

NOTES:
2001 Black Reel Awards: 1 nomination: “Best Song” (Jean Claude Olivier-Writer, Samuel Barnes-Writer, Cory Rooney-Writer, Beyoncé Knowles-Writer, and Destiny’s Child-Performers for the song “Independent Women Part 1”)

Updated: Thursday, June 27, 2013

Review: "Before Sunrise" a True Romance

TRASH IN MY EYE No. 233 (of 2004) by Leroy Douresseaux

Before Sunrise (1995)
Running time: 105 min (1 hour, 45 minutes)
MPAA – R for some strong language
DIRECTOR: Richard Linklater
WRITERS: Kim Krizan and Richard Linklater
PRODUCER: Anne Walker-McBay
CINEMATOGRAPHER: Lee Daniel
EDITORS: Sandra Adair and Sheri Galloway
COMPOSER: Fred Frith

ROMANCE

Starring: Ethan Hawke and Julie Delpy

The subject of this movie review is Before Sunrise, a 1995 romantic drama film from director Richard Linklater. The film follows a young American man and a young French woman who meet on a train and spend one night in the city of Vienna, walking, talking, and getting to know each other.

After he breaks up with his girlfriend in Spain, American Jesse (Ethan Hawke) takes a train tour of Europe. On the Budapest-Vienna train, he meets Celine (Julie Delpy), a French grad student. They strike up a conversation, and Jesse convinces her to skip her stop and get off the train with him in Vienna where he’s scheduled to take a flight back to American the following morning. They walk and talk and fall in love before Jesse leaves at sunrise, but will they ever meet again?

Before Sunrise is a true romantic film. It’s about two people falling in love, but director Richard Linklater’s film is such an unusual romance because he doesn’t sell the romance between Jesse and Celine using swelling orchestral music or beautiful cinematography of lush sunsets and sunrises. Instead, he forces the audience to accept or reject the believability of the couple’s growing friendship, fascination with each other, and eventual falling in love based upon how they talk to each other. And boy, do they talk. They talk about love, life, relationships, gender, men & women, politics, history, and they sometimes even make small talk.

Before Sunrise is an acquired taste, but if you can accept how unnaturally natural Ethan Hawke and Julie Delpy are in their performances, how they really seem to be getting to know each other (both as actors and characters), for real, then you’ll like this movie. This is one of those times when a film that is literally filled end to end with thick dialogue is actually as riveting as an action thriller. The ending seems a little too stretched out, but Before Sunrise is an exceptional and unique motion picture.

8 of 10
A

Review: "13 Going on 30" is a Pleasant Star Vehicle (Happy B'day, Jennifer Garner)

TRASH IN MY EYE No. 189 (of 2004) by Leroy Douresseaux

13 Going on 30 (2004)
Running time: 98 minutes (1 hour, 38 minutes)
MPAA – PG-13 for some sexual content and brief drug references
DIRECTOR: Gary Winick
WRITERS: Josh Goldsmith and Cathy Yuspa
PRODUCERS: Susan Arnold, Gina Matthews, and Donna Arkoff Roth
CINEMATOGRAPHER: Don Burgess (D.o.P.)
EDITOR: Susan Littenberg
COMPOSER: Theodore Shapiro

FANTASY/COMEDY/DRAMA/ROMANCE

Starring: Jennifer Garner, Mark Ruffalo, Judy Greer, Andy Serkis, Kathy Baker, Phil Reeves, Samuel Ball, Marcia DeBonis, Christa B. Allen, Sean Marquette, Jim Gaffigan, and Swoop Whitebear

The subject of this movie review is 13 Going on 30, a 2004 romantic comedy and fantasy film from director Gary Winick (Letters to Juliet). The film stars Jennifer Garner as a 13-year-old girl who wakes up as a 30-year-old woman.

Thirteen-year old Jenna Rink (Christa B. Allen) hates her life and hates everybody, so on her 13th birthday, she makes a wish that she was grown up. After playing a game in her closet that came to an unhappy conclusion, she falls asleep as magic dust falls on her head, and later awakens to find that she is a 30-year old, hotshot magazine editor. However, there is a lot about her life that the 30-year old Jenna (Jennifer Garner) doesn’t like. She ignores her parents, steals other people’s magazine ideas, and in one tragic instance with a co-worker’s spouse, she is “the other woman.”

Having a hard time, catching onto her adult life, she turns to the one friend she remembers, Matt Flamhaff (Mark Ruffalo), but in the 17 years since her magical 13th birthday party, she’s ignored Matt. Jenna is as cool and as popular as she wanted to be when she was a kid, and she has lots of expensive clothes and a swanky NYC Fifth Avenue apartment. She is, however, forced to realize that she’s been living the high life of which she has no idea and can’t remember, and that her and Matt went their separate ways long ago. Now, she needs him and wants to be the girl she was when 13-year old Matt (Sean Marquette) was her best friend, but can she rebuild that close relationship in the fortnight before Matt’s impending marriage?

I have not been a fan of Jennifer Garner’s work, neither her body of small film roles nor of the popular TV series, “Alias,” in which she has starred since 2001. That was until I saw 13 Going on 30. The film is a puff piece, a re-imagining of the Tom Hanks favorite, Big (1988), in which Hanks plays a boy who gets his wish (sort of) and his body is transformed to adulthood while his personality and mind remain that of a boy. Plot and concept holes fill 13 Going on 30, such as Jenna forgetting the last 17 years of her life, but pretty much remembering how to edit a magazine. Still, it’s Ms. Garner’s charm and her ability to both summon the personality of a child and to expertly portray the child dealing with adult interpersonal relationships: professional, personal, and intimate. 13 Going on 30 may be a flimsy star vehicle (the kind of soft films in which a studio places a rising star in hopes of raising his star power or testing his star potential), but it’s Jennifer Garner who makes this clunky bucket an attractive program model.

7 of 10
B+

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Review: In "Darkness Falls" Scary Rises

TRASH IN MY EYE No. 159 (of 2003) by Leroy Douresseaux


Darkness Falls (2003)
Running time: 86 minutes (1 hour, 26 minutes)
MPAA – PG-13 for terror and horror images, and brief language
DIRECTOR: Jonathan Liebesman
WRITERS: John Fasano, James Vanderbilt, and Joe Harris; from a story by Joe Harris
PRODUCERS: John Fasano, John Hegeman, William Sherak, and Jason Shuman
CINEMATOGRAPHER: Dan Laustsen (D.o.P.)
EDITORS: Tim Alverson and Steve Mirkovich
COMPOSER: Brian Tyler

HORROR/THRILLER

Starring: Chaney Kley, Emma Caulfield, Lee Cormie, Grant Piro, Sullivan Stapleton, Steve Mouzakis, Peter Curtin, Kestie Morassi, Jenny Lovell, John Stanton, Joshua Anderson, and Emily Browning

The subject of this review is Darkness Falls, a 2003 horror film produced by Revolution Studios and distributed by Columbia Pictures. Directed by Jonathan Liebesman, the film was co-written by Joe Harris, a comic book writer who has written X-Men and Spider-Man comics for Marvel Comics and Batman comics for DC Comics. Darkness Falls focuses on spirit exacting revenge on the town for a 150-year-old lynching and a young man called to help stop the spirit’s rampage.

Darkness Falls is a creepy, atmospheric little thriller with all the requisite bumps in the night, and a boogeyman (woman) who hits her mark every time she rockets out of the dark to deliver hot death. She’s a fearsome old thing, even in her worse moments.

In this horror tale, a vengeful spirit has taken the form of the Tooth Fairy and has been exacting revenge on Darkness Falls, the town that killed her, for the 150 years since her unjust execution. The Tooth Fairy visits a child on the night he loses his last tooth. If anyone looks at her during one of her visits, she whacks him. As the story begins, she has her sights on Michael Greene (Lee Cormie) who did see her. Desperate to save her little brother, Caitlin Greene (Emma Caulfield) calls on Kyle Walsh (Chaney Kley), a childhood friend who survived one of the Tooth Fairy’s attacks and who is the sole opposition to the murderous supernatural creature.

Darkness Falls isn’t great, and the script is light on character development even though it has many good characters and backstory that easily connects the characters to one another. The credit goes to director Jonathan Liebesman (a South African who won some notable awards for his short film Genesis and Catastrophe) who deserves all the credit for making Darkness Falls creepy and fun. It’s an effective suspense thriller directed with a veteran’s flair, and those who are not burnt out and made cynical by overdone heavily laden special effects horror films should enjoy this.

6 of 10
B

Restored "Lawrence of Arabia" Returns to Cinemark Theatres

Academy Award Winning ‘LAWRENCE OF ARABIA’ Returns to Screens for Cinemark’s Classic Films Series

Fully Restored, Hollywood Classic to Play at Select Cinemark XD Auditoriums and Other Locations on Wednesday, March 20th

PLANO, Texas--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Cinemark Holdings, Inc. (NYSE: CNK), one of the world’s largest motion picture exhibitors, is pleased to announce that the 1962 Academy Award Winner for Best Motion Picture, LAWRENCE OF ARABIA, will play at Cinemark’s Classics Series in over 120 Cinemark theatres across the country. Ranked # 7 on the 2007 American Film Institute’s 100 Greatest Movies of All Time, the film is scheduled to play on Wednesday, March 20, 2013, with two separate show times, 2pm and 7pm.

“Lawrence of Arabia is the quintessential big screen epic,” states James Meredith, Head of Marketing & Communications for Cinemark. “It’s adventurous, award-winning, and features memorable directing and acting performances. It will look spectacular in our Cinemark XD auditoriums at participating locations!”

Consistently rated as one of the finest films from director David Lean, this classic featured an indelible performance from Peter O’Toole as the lead character, T. E. Lawrence, as well as those from Sir Alec Guinness, Omar Sharif, and Anthony Quinn. In addition to winning the Best Picture Oscar, LAWRENCE OF ARABIA was also awarded Best Director honors for Lean, Best Original Score for Maurice Jarre, Best Cinematography, Best Editing, Best Sound and Best Art and Set Decoration. It was nominated in three other categories including Best Actor for O’Toole and Best Supporting Actor for Sharif.

Cinemark takes pride in creating the best entertainment experience in the industry. In order to make movie-going as easy and enjoyable as possible, Cinemark focuses on offering more choices to their customers. For example, “Print at Home” ticketing available at www.cinemark.com makes it easy for patrons to purchase tickets in advance from the comfort of their home or office. Customers can bypass lines at the box office and go directly to a kiosk in the theatre lobby. Also, guests can download and purchase tickets through Cinemark’s mobile applications that are available for iPhone and Android phones. Finally, to stay connected, customers can sign up online to receive free, weekly showtime e-mailers that contain online coupons for discounts at the concession stand and other weekly special offers.

A full list of participating Cinemark Classic Series locations, advance ticket purchases and show time information can be found at www.cinemark.com.


About Cinemark Holdings, Inc.
Cinemark is a leading domestic and international motion picture exhibitor, operating 465 theatres with 5,240 screens in 39 U.S. states, Brazil, Mexico, Argentina and 10 other Latin American countries as of December 31, 2012. For more information go to www.cinemark.com.

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

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


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

DRAMA/MYSTERY/THRILLER

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

1 of 10
D-

Friday, August 24, 2007

"Argo," "Zero Dark Thirty" Top 2013 Writers Guild Awards

by Leroy Douresseaux

Zero Dark Thirty, Argo, and Searching for Suger Man won the Writers Guild Awards in their respective screenplay categories last night.  In the cae of Zero Dark Thirty and Argo, I think they are at least the top two favorites in their corresponding categories at the Academy Awards.  Zero Dark Thirty has to deal with the spectre of Django Unchained, which did not receive a WGA nomination.  Argo has to deal with the screenplay for Silver Linings Playbook, which did receive a WGA nomination.

The Writers Guild of America, West (WGAW) and the Writers Guild of America, East (WGAE) announced the winners of the 2013 Writers Guild Awards last night, Sunday, February 17, 2013. The awards were given for outstanding achievement in writing for screen, television, radio, news, promotional, videogame, and new media writing. The 2013 Writers Guild Awards held simultaneous ceremonies at the JW Marriott L.A. LIVE in Los Angeles and the B.B. King Blues Club in New York City.

The Writers Guild Awards are given in numerous categories, but I tend to focus on the film categories and only a few of the television categories. A complete list of winners can be found here: http://www.wga.org/content/default.aspx?id=5184.

2013 Writers Guild Awards Winners (in select categories):

SCREEN WINNERS

ORIGINAL SCREENPLAY
Zero Dark Thirty, Written by Mark Boal; Columbia Pictures

ADAPTED SCREENPLAY
Argo, Screenplay by Chris Terrio; Based on a selection from The Master of Disguise by Antonio J. Mendez and the Wired Magazine article “The Great Escape” by Joshuah Bearman; Warner Bros. Pictures

DOCUMENTARY SCREENPLAY
Searching for Sugar Man, Written by Malik Bendjelloul; Sony Pictures Classics

TELEVISION WINNERS

DRAMA SERIES
Breaking Bad, Written by Sam Catlin, Vince Gilligan, Peter Gould, Gennifer Hutchison, George Mastras, Thomas Schnauz, Moira Walley-Beckett; AMC

COMEDY SERIES
Louie, Written by Pamela Adlon, Vernon Chatman, Louis C.K.; FX

NEW SERIES
Girls, Written by Judd Apatow, Lesley Arfin, Lena Dunham, Sarah Heyward, Bruce Eric Kaplan, Jenni Konner, Deborah Schoeneman, Dan Sterling; HBO

EPISODIC DRAMA
“The Other Woman” (Mad Men), Written by Semi Chellas and Matthew Weiner; AMC

EPISODIC COMEDY
“Virgin Territory” (Modern Family), Written by Elaine Ko; ABC

LONG FORM – ORIGINAL
Hatfields & McCoys, Nights Two and Three, Teleplay by Ted Mann and Ronald Parker, Story by Bill Kerby and Ted Mann; History Channel

LONG FORM – ADAPTED
Game Change, Written by Danny Strong, Based on the book by Mark Halperin and John Heilemann; HBO

ANIMATION
“Ned ’N’ Edna’s Blend Agenda” (The Simpsons), Written by Jeff Westbrook; Fox

Review: "Django Unchained" is Off the Hook

TRASH IN MY EYE No. 1 (of 2013) by Leroy Douresseaux

Django Unchained (2012)
Running time: 165 minutes (2 hours, 45 minutes)
MPAA – R for strong graphic violence throughout, a vicious fight, language and some nudity
WRITER/DIRECTOR: Quentin Tarantino
PRODUCERS: Stacey Sher, Reginald Hudlin and Pilar Savone
CINEMATOGRAPHER: Robert Richardson
EDITOR: Fred Raskin

WESTERN/DRAMA/ACTION

Starring: Jamie Foxx, Christoph Waltz, Leonardo DiCaprio, Kerry Washington, James Remar, Walton Goggins, Laura Cayouette, and Samuel L. Jackson

Django Unchained is a 2012 American Western film and revenge movie from Oscar-winning screenwriter and director Quentin Tarantino (Pulp Fiction). Like his previous film, Inglourious Basterds, Django Unchained is an alternate-history movie.

Django Unchained focuses on a slave-turned-bounty hunter who, with the help of his mentor, sets out to rescue his wife from a brutal Mississippi plantation owner. The name “Django” comes from the 1966 Italian “Spaghetti Western,” Django, which inspired Tarantino’s film. Franco Nero, the actor who portrayed Django in the 1966 movie, also has a cameo in Django Unchained.

The film opens in 1858. Dr. King Schultz (Christoph Waltz), a German dentist turned bounty hunter, buys a slave, Django (Jamie Foxx). Shultz wants Django because the slave can identify the Brittle Brothers, a gang of ruthless killers. Recognizing that the slave’s talents that could make him a good bounty hunter, Schultz offers Django two things: (1) he will free Django and (2) he will help Django find his wife, Broomhilda Von Shaft (Kerry Washington), who is still a slave. In return, Shultz wants Django’s help collecting bounties.

However, Broomhilda is now owned by a charming but brutal slave owner named Calvin J. Candie (Leonardo DiCaprio). Candie owns the plantation, Candyland, in Greenville, Mississippi. There, male slaves are trained to fight for sport (“Mandingo fighting”) and female slaves are sold into prostitution. Infiltrating Candyland and collecting Broomhilda will be Django and Shultz’s most difficult bounty.

Now that I look back on Inglourious Basterds, I like it now more than I did when I first saw it back in 2009. I gave it a grade of “B” (6 of 10). Tarantino’s screwball take on World War II history in that movie prepared me for the freedom with history that Tarantino takes with Django Unchained. Of the movies released in 2012, Django Unchained is the best one I’ve seen so far.

As in all his works, Tarantino’s imagination, inventiveness, and, of course, his encyclopedic knowledge of films results in a screenplay full of outrageous notions, scandalous scenarios, shocking sequences, and mind-blowing scenes. So we get great cinema. Tarantino makes spellbinding films filled with hypnotic characters, plots twists, and settings. And Django Unchained is no exception; it is simply great

Django Unchained is essentially three movies: a quasi-slave narrative, a gun-slinging Western, and a revenge movie that come together as a Spaghetti Western, more so than as an American Western film, especially the ones made before the 1960s. This film looks and acts like a Western, only, the cowboy hero is a slave-turned-bounty hunter and the Old West town in need of taming is a Mississippi plantation.

The result of Tarantino’s genius screenwriting is that the actors cast in his films have the material to fashion great characters, regardless of the individual actor’s level of talent. When the talent is Jamie Foxx, Christoph Waltz, Leonardo DiCaprio, and Samuel L. Jackson, magic happens. Foxx reveals the evolution of Django from slave to free man in a way that allows the viewer to share the change; Foxx makes Django passionate, vulnerable, and a true cowboy movie hero.

I initially was not crazy about Christoph Waltz as the Nazi colonel and “Jew hunter,” Hans Landa, in Inglourious Basterds, but I’ve grown to love that performance. Landa was not a fluke; here, Waltz fashions a man of many of colors in Dr. King Shultz, a performance which deserves at least an Oscar nomination. Leonardo DiCaprio is a blazing star as Calvin J. Candie, simply because DiCaprio creates a monster in Candie by not being what people probably expect – over the top and inflammatory. There is some subtlety, grace, and depth in DiCaprio’s performance here.

Sam Jackson won’t get the Oscar he deserves for creating Stephen, the ultimate / major domo “house nigger” and Candie’s right-hand man. As great as Foxx, Waltz, and DiCaprio are, Jackson creates a supporting character that is as good as the best in American cinematic history. Stephen is so reprehensible and is odious to the point of being intolerable, and the character is embarrassingly real in the context of the history of American slavery. Jackson will likely be left out because the Academy that hands out Oscar nominations will likely pay more attention to Waltz and perhaps, DiCaprio than Jackson. Besides, Stephen may be a bit too much for conservative Oscar voters to take.

But that is the magic of what Quentin Tarantino can create. He is the best director of his generation – better than the likes of such stalwarts as Chris Nolan and David Fincher. Django Unchained proves it.

10 of 10

Saturday, December 29, 2012

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Review: Streep, Jones Give "Hope Springs" Some Bounce

TRASH IN MY EYE No. 99 (of 2012) by Leroy Douresseaux


Hopes Springs (2012)
Running time: 100 minutes (1 hour, 40 minutes)
MPAA – PG-13 for mature thematic content involving sexuality
DIRECTOR: David Frankel
WRITER: Vanessa Taylor
PRODUCERS: Todd Black and Guymon Casady
CINEMATOGRAPHER: Florian Ballhaus
EDITORS: Matt Maddox and Steven Weisberg
COMPOSER: Theodore Shapiro
Golden Globe nominee

COMEDY

Starring: Meryl Streep, Tommy Lee Jones, Steve Carell, Jean Smart, Ben Rappaport, Marin Ireland, Patch Darragh, Brett Rice, Elisabeth Shue, and Mimi Rogers

Hope Springs is a 2012 romantic comedy-drama from director David Frankel. The film focuses on a married couple in therapy.

Kay (Meryl Streep) and Arnold Soames (Tommy Lee Jones) have been married for thirty-one years. Kay believes that they are in need of help to put the spark back in their marriage. She enrolls them in an intense, week-long counseling session with Dr. Bernard Feld (Steve Carell). The couple travels to a coastal resort town in Maine where Feld’s Center for Intensive Couples Counseling is located. But Arnold isn’t cooperative, and Kay learns that the couple’s problems aren’t necessarily one-sided.

Hope Springs is interesting simply because it is a romance about old people will to talk about their lusts and sexual fantasies, or at least struggle with the implications of denying them. Heck, any movie in which Tommy Lee Jones plays a character who admits how much he wants oral sex from his wife is worth watching. Seriously, folks: there is some fine acting here. Streep and Jones create a couple in a deep rut so convincingly that I found myself feeling really sorry for them. Without being explicit, both actors construct sex scenes that are as raw and intimate as they are clumsy and forlorn. Yeah, I was invested in the Soames’ working out their marital issues.

Unfortunately, Steve Carell is reduced to being basically a talking head, although I strangely found him believable as a marriage counselor or therapist. His character always felt restrained, as if Carell was fighting to break free of some invisible bonds forced on him by the narrative. For what little he does, any good actor without Carell’s fame could have delivered the same performance Carell does.

Also, this film has a terrible soundtrack; it almost ruins the movie.

Still, I recommend this film to fans of Streep and Jones. Honestly, you won’t find acting this good, in which both characters have this level of depth, in many romance films. Hope springs that there are more movies like Hope Springs... but with a better soundtrack.

6 of 10
B

NOTES:
2013 Golden Globes, USA: 1 nomination: “Best Performance by an Actress in a Motion Picture - Musical or Comedy” (Meryl Streep)

Review: "Skyfall" is Among the Best Daniel Craig James Bond Films... so far

TRASH IN MY EYE No. 84 (of 2012) by Leroy Douresseaux

Skyfall (2012)
Running time: 143 minutes (2 hours, 23 minutes)
MPAA – PG-13 for intense violent sequences throughout, some sexuality, language and smoking
DIRECTOR: Sam Mendes
WRITERS: Neal Purvis, Robert Wade, and John Logan
PRODUCERS: Barbara Broccoli and Michael G. Wilson
CINEMATOGRAPHER: Roger Deakins
EDITORS: Stuart Baird with Kate Baird
COMPOSER: Thomas Newman
MAIN THEME: “Skyfall” performed by Adele and composed by Adele and Paul Epworth

ACTION/DRAMA/THRILLER

Starring: Daniel Craig, Judi Dench, Javier Bardem, Ralph Fiennes, Naomie Harris, Berenice Marlohe, Albert Finney, Ben Wishaw, Rory Kinnear, and Ola Rapace

Skyfall is a 2012 action movie and spy thriller. Directed by Sam Mendes (American Beauty), Skyfall is the 23rd film in the James Bond series. Actor Daniel Craig returns for his third outing as James Bond, agent 007. Skyfall finds Bond’s loyalty tested as the British Secret Intelligence Service comes under attack.

As the film opens, MI6 agents James Bond (Daniel Craig) and Eve Moneypenny (Naomie Harris) are in Turkey where they are tracking a killer named Patrice (Ola Rapace). This mercenary has in his possession a computer hard drive containing highly-sensitive information that belongs to the British, but the mission goes badly.

Later, Bond’s superior, M (Judi Dench), comes under political pressure to retire, even as MI6 comes under attack. With his credibility and ability to perform under question, Bond sets out to discover the identity of the attacker. What he finds is that M’s past has come back to haunt her in the form of a mysterious figure known as Raoul Silva (Javier Bardem). As 007 tracks down the threat, he finds himself facing his own past, but he must destroy that threat no matter how personal the cost.

I don’t think that there is much to say. Skyfall is good, and it is the best James Bond movie in recent memory, and certainly one of the best Bond films ever. It is well-directed with bracing action set pieces and thrilling scenes that, quite frankly, enthralled me. The performances are good, especially Javier Bardem as Raoul Silva; surely, he should at least be considered for an Oscar nomination.

The film is well-written, but I wouldn’t say that it is much better written than any of the other Daniel Craig Bond films. Most of the first hour of Skyfall is testament to brilliant spy thriller screenwriting. Once the film moves to London (because the story is resolved in Great Britain), it loses some of its mojo. It is not that Skyfall turns bad. It simply slows from a genius pop confection and transitions into a highly-skillful, espionage, shoot-‘em-up, action flick.

That’s not much of a fall, but it is still a step down from the near-perfection that opened Skyfall. Anyway, no one who has every enjoyed a James Bond film should miss this. Plus, I saw Skyfall in digital, and the picture sure was pretty.

8 of 10
A

Sunday, November 11, 2012

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Review: "Ghostbusters" Still in High Spirits

TRASH IN MY EYE No. 160 (of 2004) by Leroy Douresseaux

Ghost Busters (1984)
Running time: 117 minutes (1 hour, 57 minutes)
MPAA – PG
PRODUCER/DIRECTOR: Ivan Reitman
WRITERS: Dan Aykroyd and Harold Ramis
CINEMATOGRAPHER: Laszlo Kovacs (D.o.P.)
EDITOR: David Blewitt and Sheldon Kahn
COMPOSER: Elmer Bernstein
Academy Award nominee

COMEDY/SCI-FI/FANTASY/HORROR

Starring: Bill Murray, Dan Aykroyd, Sigourney Weaver, Harold Ramis, Rick Moranis, Annie Potts, William Atherton, Ernie Hudson, Reggie Vel Johnson and Frances E. Nealy with (cameos) Larry King, Joe Franklin, Casey Kasem

The subject of this review is Ghostbusters (originally titles Ghost Busters), 1984 supernatural comedy film produced and directed by Ivan Reitman. The film starred Bill Murray, Dan Aykroyd, Sigourney Weaver, and Harold Ramis and was written by Aykroyd and Ramis, apparently with some contributions from costar, Rick Moranis.

Doctors Peter Venkman (Bill Murray), Raymond Stantz (Dan Aykroyd), and Egon Spengler (Harold Ramis) are three unemployed parapsychology professors who set up a ghost, spirit, and spectre removal service called Ghost Busters. They successfully chase haunts and poltergeists, and they eventually earn so much cash and business that they have to hire a man off the street, Winston Zeddemore (Ernie Hudson), to become the fourth Ghost Buster agent. Things are going well, until Venkman has his eye on Dana Barrett (Sigourney Weaver), a musician who comes to the Ghost Busters with a problem. Her refrigerator has a demon in it, and that’s the first sign of the apocalyptic arrival of a Sumerian god bent on destroying the world.

Months after it was released in 1984, Ghost Busters became the highest-grossing comedy film ever made. It was and is a well written comedy with well-developed elements of fantasy, but most of all the fine cast of comic actors served Ghost Busters quite well. The best of the lot is Bill Murray, whose dry wit and sarcasm, as well as his deadpan delivery, made audiences willing to suspend their disbelief for this film. Somehow, Ghost Busters comic tone blended very well with the film’s low rent sci-fi and horror elements. The comedy worked, and the ghosts were so light and airy that it was hard to take them seriously, but at the same time not quite possible to dismiss them.

Actually, all the filmmakers were pretty sharp in their efforts. Ghost Busters was merely another example of director Ivan Reitman’s deft touch as a director of comic films, and the film’s writers, Ramis, Aykroyd, and Moranis (not given screen credit) are all funny guys who came up with a novel story. Together their film has stood the test of time, and there’s very little to criticize about it, though the film is a tad bit long and the final showdown is kind of loopy. This is a great screen comedy that I’d heartily recommend.

8 of 10
A

NOTES:
1985 Academy Awards: 2 nominations: “Best Effects, Visual Effects” (Richard Edlund, John Bruno, Mark Vargo, and Chuck Gaspar) and “Best Music, Original Song” (Ray Parker Jr. for the song "Ghostbusters")

1985 BAFTA Awards: 1 win: “Best Original Song” (Ray Parker Jr. for the song "Ghostbusters"); 1 nomination: “Best Special Visual Effects” (Richard Edlund)

1985 Golden Globes, USA: 3 nominations: “Best Motion Picture - Comedy/Musical,” “Best Original Song - Motion Picture” (Ray Parker Jr. for the song "Ghostbusters"), and “Best Performance by an Actor in a Motion Picture - Comedy/Musical” (Bill Murray)

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"Ghostbusters II" Shows Less Spirit Than Original

TRASH IN MY EYE No. 161 of (2004) by Leroy Douresseaux


Ghostbusters II (1989)
Running time: 108 minutes (1 hour, 48 minutes)
MPAA – PG
PRODUCER/DIRECTOR: Ivan Reitman
WRITERS: Harold Ramis and Dan Aykroyd
CINEMATOGRAPHER: Michael Chapman
EDITORS: Donn Cambern and Sheldon Kahn
COMPOSER: Randy Edelman

COMEDY with elements of sci-fi and horror

Starring: Bill Murray, Dan Aykroyd, Sigourney Weaver, Harold Ramis, Rick Moranis, Ernie Hudson, Annie Potts, Peter MacNicol, David Margulies, Kurt Fuller, Wilhelm von Homburg, and Will Deutschendorf & Hank Deutschendorf

The subject of this movie review is Ghostbusters II, a 1989 supernatural comedy film produced and directed by Ivan Reitman. It is a squeal to the 1984 film, Ghostbusters.

Five years after the events of the original film, Ghostbusters II finds the Ghostbusters out of business and reviled by the New York City municipal government even after the Busters saved the city from Sumerian Armageddon in the first film. However, a resurgence in spectral (ghostly) activity allows the four Ghostbusters: Dr. Peter Vinkman (Bill Murray), Dr. Raymond Stantz (Dan Aykroyd), Dr. Egon Spengler (Harold Ramis), and Winston Zeddemore (Ernie Hudson) to revive the business.

Vinkman also attempts to rekindle his romance with Dana Barrett (Sigourney Weaver), which fizzled between films. Barrett has a son, Oscar (infant twins Will & Hank Deutschendorf), and though she’s wary of Vinkman’s peculiar ways, she comes to rely on him when evil spirits start trying to abduct Oscar. When the team discovers a massive river of ectoplasm beneath NYC, they know something big and evil is on the way.

Ghostbusters II is really a domestic comedy about reuniting with old friends and strengthen bonds, whereas the first film was a big, funny summer genre picture. Ghost Busters featured well-known and popular comedic actors and what was at the time spectacular special effects; the talent and an off-kilter sci-fi/comedy/horror-lite tale mixed into a popular family friendly comedy with mass appeal.

The sequel is funny, but it appeared five years after the first film, and it seemed, at the time, as if the film’s window of opportunity had closed long before it was released. Years later, it still seems like something tacked on to the original film. Still, there is something appealing about it; maybe it is the sense of camaraderie and easy humor. It’s like a Ghost Busters for old people – a funny, light-hearted film that lacks the zing of high octane SFX films aimed at the young ‘uns. Besides, Bill Murray, who seems to be phoning it in, is still as sharp as ever. It’s amazing that he can be so laid back, so cool, so disinterested and make his sardonic and sarcastic humor twice as sharp as someone else trying three times as hard.

6 of 10
B

"21 Jump Street" Good from Jump Street

TRASH IN MY EYE No. 77 (of 2012) by Leroy Douresseaux


21 Jump Street (2012)
Running time: 109 minutes (1 hour, 49 minutes)
MPAA – R for crude and sexual content, pervasive language, drug material, teen drinking and some violence
DIRECTORS: Phil Lord and Christopher Miller
WRITERS: Michael Bacall; from a story by Michael Bacall and Jonah Hill (based on the television series created by Patrick Hasburgh and Stephen J. Cannell)
PRODUCER: Neal H. Moritz
CINEMATOGRAPHER: Barry Peterson (D.o.P.)
EDITOR: Joel Negron
COMPOSER: Mark Mothersbaugh

COMEDY/CRIME

Starring: Jonah Hill, Channing Tatum, Ice Cube, Brie Larson, Dave Franco, Rob Riggle, DeRay Davis, Dax Flame, Ellie Kemper, Chris Parnell, Holly Robinson Peete, Caroline Aaron, and Joe Chrest with Peter DeLuise and Johnny Depp

Right up front, I must say that I like Jonah Hill and Channing Tatum. I haven’t seen all the movies in which each actor has appeared, but I try to see as many as I can. I don’t plan on watching two of Tatum’s biggest hits, Dear John or The Vow, unless someone pays me. No one is going to pay me to see either movie.

21 Jump Street is a crime comedy starring Jonah Hill and Channing Tatum. The film is based on 21 Jump Street, the television series created by Patrick Hasburgh and Stephen J. Cannell and which aired from 1987 to 1991 on FOX and in first-run syndication (in the series’ final season). The movie follows two underachieving cops who go undercover at a high school in order to break up a drug ring.

Morton Schmidt (Jonah Hill) and Greg Jenko (Channing Tatum) were high school classmates, but Morton the geek and Greg the cool kid weren’t friends. They became friends after they entered the police academy, where they made up for each other’s weaknesses. After graduating from the academy, they are assigned to park patrol, where they screw up so badly, they’re almost kicked off the police force.

Their last chance is a recently revived police department specialty division, 21 Jump Street, which uses youthful looking police officers to infiltrate high schools. The division head, the profanity-spewing Captain Dickson (Ice Cube), sends Morton and Greg to Sagan High. There, they must find the dealers of a new synthetic drug, H.F.S., but their ultimate goal is to find out the identity of the suppliers behind the dealers. While trying to fit in and not look like narcs, Morton and Greg learn that much has changed since their own high school days a decade ago.

21 Jump Street turned out to be much funnier than I thought it would be, and I thought that it might be a guilty pleasure or, at least, mildly amusing. There is nothing guilty about this pleasure. First, I think that it is a sarcastic send up of action comedies, especially of the buddy-cop variety, and it’s quite good at that. It is smart and dead-on about generational shifts in culture, especially concerning attitudes on identity, sexuality, and technology. Mostly, the movie seems to be about friendships: how they develop, what keeps people together, what can cause strife, etc. The dynamic of friendship between two young men, one that seems to have the potential to last a long time, plays out between the film’s jokes about demanding bosses, eccentric teachers, socially-conscious students, and a group of geeks who really want the new guy to like them.

I think 21 Jump Street works so well as a cop comedy because the relationship between Morton and Greg, with all its odds and ends, seems genuine in the context of a fictional union created for a movie. This movie is worth watching because of Morton and Greg and the way that Hill and Tatum, respectively, portray them. I liked the two enough to be very happy when I learned that a sequel to this movie is in the works.

I don’t want to make 21 Jump Street sound like a “bromance.” There is some ridiculous and crazy shit that happens in this movie, and almost all of it is very funny. It’s never over the top, even in the way Rob Riggle’s character, Mr. Walters, tries to save a special body part near the end of the film.

7 of 10
A-

Tuesday, October 09, 2012

Review: "Bram Stoker’s Dracula" Still a Stand-Out Dracula Movie

TRASH IN MY EYE No. 16 (of 2005) by Leroy Douresseaux

Bram Stoker’s Dracula (1992)
Running time: 128 minutes (2 hours, 8 minutes)
MPAA – R for sexuality and horror violence
DIRECTOR: Francis Ford Coppola
WRITER: James V. Hart (based upon the novel by Bram Stoker)
PRODUCERS: Fred Fuchs, Charles Mulvehill, and Francis Ford Coppola
CINEMATOGRAPHER: Michael Ballhaus
EDITORS: Anne Goursaud, Glen Scantlebury, and Nicholas C. Smith
COMPOSER: Wojciech Kilar
Academy Award winner

HORROR/FANTASY/ROMANCE with elements of drama

Starring: Gary Oldman, Winona Ryder, Anthony Hopkins, Keanu Reeves, Richard E. Grant, Cary Elwes, Bill Campbell, Sadie Frost, Tom Waits, and Monica Bellucci

The subject of this movie review is Bram Stoker’s Dracula, a 1992 vampire movie and Gothic horror film from director Francis Ford Coppola. The film’s screenplay essentially takes the familiar Dracula story and emphasizes romantic and sensual elements. The film’s lavish production values helped it earn many honors, box office success, and some favorable attention from film critics.

Francis Ford Coppola’s lavish and colorful gothic extravaganza, Bram Stoker’s Dracula, is a three-time Academy Award winner. Dazzling, lush, and sensuous, the film affirms Coppola’s place as imaginative and brilliant filmmaker. The film also testifies to the talents of all the cohorts. Eschewing the (then) burgeoning use of computers to add special effects to films, the SFX, cinematographer, makeup, sets artists, and designers used old-fashioned craftsmanship and artistry to create an amazing movie that harks to the past while looking out of this world impossible.

The film’s story is similar to previous adaptations of Bram Stoker’s novel (although most films are actually based on an early 20th century stage version of Stoker’s novel than the novel itself), but the attraction here is the visual interpretation. Jonathan Harker (Keanu Reeves), a young lawyer, travels to into the gloomy misty land of Eastern Europe, Transylvania, to meet a mysterious client, Count Dracula (Gary Oldman), who is buying several tracts of property in London. Dracula, a vampire, later imprisons Harker when he discovers that Mina Murray (Winona Ryder), Harker’s fiancée, exactly resembles is late human wife, Elisabeta (Ms. Ryder), who killed herself centuries ago. Dracula travels in secret to London where he seduces and drains the life out of Mina’s friend, Lucy Westenra (Sadie Frost). However, the cautious Dr. Jack Seward (Richard E. Grant) summons his old mentor, Professor Abraham Van Helsing (Anthony Hopkins) who immediately recognizes Lucy’s ailment and subsequent death as the work of a vampire. Van Helsing gathers Lucy’s friends to destroy Dracula, but the undead count has in eyes on Mina, and she, surprisingly, as her eyes on him.

The film is very entertaining, a stunning visual treat, and a unique horror film that hypnotizes you into watching it over and over again. Gary Oldman is one of the best screen Dracula’s ever; he is magnificent and alluring, but also fearsome and awe-inspiring. Winona Ryder is simultaneously demure and spirited as the brave Mina who is also secretly a naughty girl. The rest of the cast is mostly hit or miss. Anthony Hopkins gives a mostly annoying performance as Van Helsing, in which he only occasionally makes the character the brave and resolute leader he was in the original novel. Keanu Reeves is wooden, stiff, and nearly undead himself as Jonathan Harker. How could Mina not choose an undead monster with romantic inclinations over a pebble like Reeves’ Harker. The rest of the cast is functional and has its moments. The attraction here is the amazing work of Coppola and his filmmaking crew, as well as the screen duo of Oldman and Ms. Ryder; they’re the reasons you see this film.

7 of 10
A-

NOTES:
1993 Academy Awards: 3 wins: “Best Costume Design” (Eiko Ishioka), “Best Effects, Sound Effects Editing” (Tom C. McCarthy and David E. Stone), and “Best Makeup” (Greg Cannom, Michèle Burke, and Matthew W. Mungle); 1 nomination: “Best Art Direction-Set Decoration” (Thomas E. Sanders and Garrett Lewis)

1994 BAFTA Awards: 4 nominations: “Best Costume Design” (Eiko Ishioka), “Best Make Up Artist” (Greg Cannom, Michèle Burke, and Matthew W. Mungle), “Best Production Design” (Thomas E. Sanders), and “Best Special Effects” (Roman Coppola, Gary Gutierrez, Michael Lantieri, and Gene Warren Jr.)

EPIX Announces New James Bond Documentary, "Everything or Nothing"

September 05, 2012 10:13 AM Eastern Daylight Time EPIX Celebrates 50th Anniversary of James Bond with New Doc and 24 / 007 Marathon

Everything or Nothing: The Untold Story of 007 Premieres on ‘Global James Bond Day’, October 5, as part of an EPIX Free Preview Weekend

NEW YORK--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Shaken, not stirred, and kicking off a free preview weekend, EPIX celebrates 50 years of James Bond, just in time for the highly anticipated new Bond film, Skyfall, premiering theatrically November 9. Celebrating 50 years of James Bond on October 5, declared Global James Bond Day, An EPIX exclusive documentary Everything or Nothing: The Untold Story of 007, produced by Metro Goldwyn Mayer Pictures, Columbia Pictures, Passion Pictures and Red Box Films, will premiere on the EPIX network, on EpixHD.com and on EPIX apps on hundreds of devices. The tribute continues with commercial-free airings of classic Bond films Diamonds are Forever, From Russia with Love, On Her Majesty’s Secret Service, The Man with the Golden Gun, Moonraker, The Living Daylights and Never Say Never Again all as part of a free preview weekend for all subscribers of EPIX distribution partners.

An EPIX exclusive documentary Everything or Nothing: The Untold Story of 007 is directed by Stevan Riley (Fire in Babylon) and produced by John Battsek (One Day In September, The Tillman Story) and Simon Chinn (Man on Wire). EVERYTHING OR NOTHING focuses on three men with a shared dream – Bond producer Albert R. Broccoli, Harry Saltzman, and author Ian Fleming. It’s the thrilling and inspiring narrative behind the durability, popularity and survival of the longest running film franchise in cinema history since Mr. Bond hit the big screen in 1962.

“From Sean Connery and Roger Moore, to Pierce Brosnan and Daniel Craig - the integrity of Bond has never changed and has never been more entertaining. Our documentary and movie marathon is a great way for us to reach our viewers and we’re pleased to partner with all our distribution partners to bring the background of this iconic spy to all their subscribers just in time for his latest adventure, Skyfall,” said Mark Greenberg, EPIX President and CEO.


About EPIX
EPIX is the newest premium entertainment network delivering the latest movie releases, classic library titles, plus original films, comedy, music and sports events on TV, on demand, online and on devices. Launched October 2009 as the first multiplatform premium network with online accessibility for subscribers through EpixHD.com, EPIX pioneered the development and proliferation of TV Everywhere for American consumers. EPIX was the first premium network to launch on Xbox consoles, first on Android tablets and phones, first on Roku® players and is available to authenticated subscribers on hundreds of devices including Apple® iPads®, iPhones®, Samsung® Smart TVs and Blu-ray™ players and more. Today EPIX remains the only premium service providing its entire monthly line-up from new Hollywood hits to original programs on all platforms and provides more movies than any other premium network.

EPIX is a joint venture between Viacom Inc. (NASDAQ: VIA and VIA.B), its Paramount Pictures unit, Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Studios Inc. (MGM) and Lionsgate (NYSE: LGF), available to over 30 million homes nationwide through distribution partners including Charter Communications, Cox Communications, DISH Network, Mediacom Communications, NCTC, Suddenlink Communications and Verizon FiOS.

For more information about EPIX, go to www.EpixHD.com. Follow EPIX on Twitter @EpixHD and on Facebook http://www.facebook.com/EpixHD.

About Passion Pictures
Passion Pictures - headed by John Battsek - is one of the most prolific independent production companies in the UK and has secured a reputation for working with a line-up of international talent in the feature documentary arena. Starting with Oscar®-winning ONE DAY IN SEPTEMBER in 1999, Passion Pictures has since been responsible for over twenty documentary films, many of which have achieved international theatrical distribution. These include IN THE SHADOW OF THE MOON (Audience Award Winner, 2007 Sundance Film Festival World Documentary Competition); SERGIO (Based on the book by Pulitzer Prize winning author Samantha Power, Academy Award® shortlisted 2010); Tim Hetherington & Sebastian Junger's Oscar® nominated RESTREPO; FIRE IN BABYLON (Grierson Trust Winner, Best Historical Documentary); THE TILLMAN STORY (Academy Award® Shortlisted, 2011); BETTER THIS WORLD (Triple Emmy nominated 2012).

James Marsh's PROJECT NIM (Academy Award® Shortlisted, 2012) was the first project produced under Passion's strategic alliance with Simon Chinn's Red Box Films, and the companies launched two new films together at Sundance Film Festival 2012: THE IMPOSTER, Bart Layton’s first feature documentary based on the extraordinary story of serial imposter Frederic Bourdin, and Malik Bendjelloul’s directorial debut SEARCHING FOR SUGAR MAN which opened Sundance Film Festival 2012 and went on to win the Special Jury Award and the Audience Award. Both films were released in US and UK cinemas this summer.

Passion Pictures is currently working on several new feature film projects, including two new films with Greg Barker; Nadav Schirman’s THE GREEN PRINCE based on the NY Times Bestselling memoir THE SON OF HAMAS; and A narrative feature adaptation of Meg Rosoff’s award-winning dystopian novel HOW I LIVE NOW is currently in post production, with Kevin MacDonald directing for FilmFour.

About Red Box Films
Red Box Films was founded in 2005 by Simon Chinn to produce MAN ON WIRE, which won over 30 international awards including an Academy Award®, a BAFTA and the Sundance Grand Jury Prize and became one of the highest grossing theatrical documentaries of recent years. Red Box has gone on to become one the world's most successful independent producers of theatrical feature documentaries, winning numerous awards and securing worldwide distribution for its subsequent films, which include PROJECT NIM, SEARCHING FOR SUGAR MAN and THE IMPOSTER. In 2008 Red Box Films formed a strategic alliance with Passion Pictures to co-produce feature documentaries. Forthcoming productions include THE GREEN PRINCE, based on Mosab Hassan Yousef’s New York Times bestseller 'Son of Hamas' and EVERYTHING OR NOTHING, the definitive inside story of the James Bond film franchise for MGM. For more information, visit: http://redboxfilms.co.uk.

About Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Studios Inc.
Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Studios Inc. (“MGM”) is a leading entertainment company focused on the production and distribution of films and television content globally. The company owns one of the world’s deepest libraries of premium film and television programming. In addition, MGM has ownership interests in domestic and international television channels, including MGM-branded channels in the United States, Canada, United Kingdom and Germany. For more information, visit www.mgm.com.

About Albert R. Broccoli’s Eon Productions
EON Productions Limited and Danjaq LLC are wholly owned and controlled by the Broccoli/Wilson family. Danjaq is the US based company that co-owns, with MGM, the copyright in the existing James Bond films and controls the right to produce future James Bond films as well as all worldwide merchandising. EON Productions, an affiliate of Danjaq, is the UK based production company which makes the James Bond films. The 007 franchise is the longest running in film history with twenty-two films produced since 1962. Michael G Wilson and Barbara Broccoli succeeded Albert R ‘Cubby’ Broccoli and have produced some of the most successful Bond films ever including CASINO ROYALE and QUANTUM OF SOLACE. They are currently producing the 23rd film, SKYFALL.

"Ghost Rider: Spirit of Vengeance" Raises a Little Hell

TRASH IN MY EYE No. 69 (of 2012) by Leroy Douresseaux


Ghost Rider: Spirit of Vengeance (2012)
Running time: 95 minutes (1 hour, 35 minutes)
MPAA – PG-13 for intense sequences of action and violence, some disturbing images, and language
DIRECTOR: Neveldine/Taylor
WRITERS: Scott M. Gimple & Seth Hoffman and David S. Goyer; from a story by David S. Goyer (based upon the Marvel Comics character)
PRODUCERS: Ashok Amritraj, Ari Arad, Avi Arad, Michael De Luca, and Steven Paul
CINEMATOGRAPHER: Brandon Trost
EDITOR: Brian Berdan
COMPOSER: David Sardy

SUPERHERO/ACTION/HORROR

Starring: Nicolas Cage, Violante Placido, Ciaran Hinds, Idris Elba, Johnny Whitmorth, Fergus Riordan, Anthony Head, and Christopher Lambert

The subject of this movie review is Ghost Rider: Spirit of Vengeance, a 2012 superhero, action, and horror movie from directors Mark Neveldine and Brian Taylor, who jointly work under the moniker, Neveldine/Taylor. Ghost Rider is a Marvel Comics character that was created by writers Roy Thomas and Mark Friedrich and artist Mike Ploog and that first appeared in the comics magazine, Marvel Spotlight #5 (1972).

Ghost Rider: Spirit of Vengeance is a sequel to the 2007 film, Ghost Rider, and, as in the first film, Oscar-winning actor, Nicolas Cage, plays the title roll. Spirit of Vengeance, which finds Ghost Rider trying to protect a child from the devil, is much better than the first film, although it is by no means great.

Ghost Rider: Spirit of Vengeance opens in a monastery in Eastern Europe. There, the monk, Benedict (Anthony Head), and his brothers are hiding a mother, Nadya (Violante Placido), and her son, Danny (Fergus Riordan). Apparently, the Devil Mephisto wants Danny in order to complete some kind of ritual.

A French priest named Moreau (Idris Elba) decides to take matters into his own hands after Mephisto’s forces attack the monastery. Moreau seeks out Johnny Blaze (Nicolas Cage), who is also the Ghost Rider, the fiery spirit of vengeance whose head is a flaming skull. Blaze sold his soul to Mephisto, who is currently going by the name, Roarke (Ciaran Hinds), which is why the Ghost Rider is inside him. After Ghost Rider proves to be too much of problem for him, Roarke turns one of his stooges into Blackout (Johnny Whitmorth), a supernatural creature that can take on the Rider.

One thing I can say about the directing team, Neveldine/Taylor, is that the duo has style, and Ghost Rider: Spirit of Vengeance has got style. The film is visually snazzy, spunky, and even cool. The action scenes are quite good, and the computer effects (CGI) don’t look phony and are an improvement over the CGI in the first film.

The story is different, seeming unique although it mines familiar territory – the hero trying to save a vulnerable woman or child from being possessed by the Devil. That’s probably because Spirit of Vengeance is not like other movies based on comic book superheroes, and of course, Ghost Rider isn’t like other superheroes. The script has some good ideas, which is not surprising considering that one of Spirit of Vengeance’s screenwriters is David S. Goyer, who has written horror movies and movies based on comic books, including the Blade franchise, which combines both.

The problems with Spirit of Vengeance are the characters and the acting. There is no character development, nor are the characters really interesting. There are some novel and interesting things about them, but that does not translate into wholly interesting characters. The acting is bad. Sometimes, I cannot tell if Nicolas Cage is hamming for the cameras or is simply phoning in a performance. Idris Elba tries, but even his honest effort cannot save Moreau from seeming unintentionally comical or not funny when the character is supposed to be comical.

Still, I find Ghost Rider: Spirit of Vengeance to be much better than the first film. The action and the visual effects pop enough to make me actually want more of this.

6 of 10
B

Tuesday, August 21, 2012

"The Amazing Spider-Man" is Amazingly Human

TRASH IN MY EYE No. 54 (of 2012) by Leroy Douresseaux


The Amazing Spider-Man (2012)
Running time: 136 minutes (2 hours, 16 minutes)
MPAA – PG-13 for sequences of action and violence
DIRECTOR: Marc Webb
WRITERS: James Vanderbilt, Steve Kloves, and Alvin Sargent; from a story by James Vanderbilt (based upon the Marvel Comic Book by Stan Lee and Steve Ditko)
PRODUCERS: Laura Ziskin, Avi Arad, and Matthew Tolmach
CINEMATOGRAPHER: John Schwartzman
EDITORS: Alan Edward Bell, Michael McCusker, and Pietro Scalia
COMPOSER: James Horner

SUPERHERO/DRAMA/SCI-FI/ACTION/ROMANCE

Starring: Andrew Garfield, Emma Stone, Rhys Ifans, Denis Leary, Martin Sheen, Sally Field, Irrfan Khan, Campbell Scott, Embeth Davidtz, Chris Zylka, Max Charles, C. Thomas Howell, Kari Coleman, Barbara Eve Harris, and Stan Lee

The Amazing Spider-Man is a 2012 superhero film and drama from director Marc Webb and starring Andrew Garfield in the title role. This new movie is a reboot of the Spider-Man film franchise, but it is also the fourth Spider-Man film in a decade. And The Amazing Spider-Man is the best Spider-Man movie, yet.

Teenager Peter Parker (Andrew Garfield) lives with his Aunt May (Sally Field) and Uncle Ben (Martin Sheen) and has since his parents, Richard (Campbell Scott) and Mary Parker (Embeth Davidtz) disappeared. Peter is an adolescent loner trying to find his place in life, and he has found a place in high school as the target of jock/bully, Flash Thompson (Chris Zylka). Peter does catch the attention of fellow student, Gwen Stacy (Emma Stone), a smart and rebellious girl.

Digging through his father’s papers, Peter learns the identity of one of Richard Parker’s old colleagues, fellow scientist Dr. Curt Connors (Rhys Ifans), who works at OsCorp (apparently a giant biotech firm). It is at OsCorp where Peter is bitten by a strange spider. The bite gives him strange powers and abilities similar to that of a spider, such as the ability to adhere to surfaces and to climb walls. After tragedy strikes, Peter decides to use his powers to fight criminals and help people, so he creates a mask and suit and names himself, “Spider-Man.” New York City does indeed need him, as there is a half-man/half-lizard monster known as “The Lizard” tearing the city apart.

When I heard that Columbia Pictures had hired Marc Webb to direct the Spider-Man movie reboot, I knew that by choosing the director of (500) Days of Summer the studio was going for something different from Sam Raimi’s three Spider-Man films. Webb certainly delivers something shockingly different. The Amazing Spider-Man clearly revisits plotlines from the first film, Spider-Man (2002), but everything about this new movie is from a different perspective.

The Amazing Spider-Man brings Peter Parker’s life into sharper focus. The screenplay, which is credited to James Vanderbilt, Steve Kloves, and Alvin Sargent (although I’m guessing that the majority of what is on screen is the work of Sargent and Kloves), emphasizes a character arc that follows Peter Parker’s journey to find himself. Peter searches for himself by trying to learn about his father. Actually, many of the film’s major characters are either trying to find themselves or find something that is missing in their lives.

All this searching makes The Amazing Spider-Man equally a character drama and a superhero movie – if not more the former than the latter. Make no mistake: there is plenty of superhero fantasy and action in this new movie, but it has such humanity because the story goes after the characters’ souls. The story is always digging at the characters, trying to get inside and discover what makes them tick. What do they want? What are they willing to do to get it? What are they afraid of? Webb gets to the heart of the character drama to the point that character is every bit as engaging, enthralling, and exciting as when Parker puts on the suit and swings over New York City or has a throw-down fight with The Lizard.

There are a number of good performances in The Amazing Spider-Man, but Andrew Garfield stands out, of course. He is magnificent as Peter Parker/Spider-Man. Unlike Tobey Maguire’s lovable, sad sack, and put-upon Peter Parker, Garfield’s Parker is a man of masks. He plays the sullen geek while in school, but at home and at work, he has a witty personality. He is also stubborn and strong-willed. Garfield makes it all believable, and he has fashioned his own Peter Parker, independent of Maguire’s Parker, which is also a fine version of Parker/Spider-Man.

As you can tell, the practically life-long Spider-Man fan in me loves The Amazing Spider-Man. Everyone involved took something familiar and created a film that seems like a revelation.

9 of 10
A+

Thursday, July 05, 2012

IMAX 3D Theatres Have "The Amazing Spider-Man"

Columbia Pictures' The Amazing Spider-Man(TM) Swings Into IMAX® 3D Theatres On July 3

Climax Features Expanded Aspect Ratio Designed to Maximize the IMAX Canvas

IMAX Exclusive Early Release in Russia

LOS ANGELES, July 2, 2012 /PRNewswire/ -- IMAX Corporation (NYSE: IMAX; TSX: IMX) and Columbia Pictures today announced that the highly anticipated 3D action-adventure, The Amazing Spider-Man, will be released in the immersive IMAX® 3D format in 447 IMAX® theatres worldwide. Domestically, the film will launch in IMAX on Tuesday, July 3 - simultaneous with the film's North American wide release - in 307 theatres. The film began its rollout to a total of 140 IMAX theatres internationally on June 27. Additional playdates will be added as pending bookings are confirmed. To date, the Spider-Man motion pictures have generated more than $2.5 billion in worldwide box office receipts. Spider-Man 2 and Spider-Man 3 were also released in IMAX.

The film will benefit from an IMAX exclusive one week early release in the 20 IMAX theatres currently open in Russia beginning Friday, June 29.

Director Marc Webb and the filmmakers have crafted the climactic finale of The Amazing Spider-Man to feature a larger aspect ratio of 1.9:1 versus the traditional 2.39:1 ratio in order to take full advantage of the IMAX canvas and overall experience. This aspect ratio, which is optimized to take advantage of the IMAX screen, will allow audiences to see more of the image and result in a full panorama of the action - allowing audiences to feel as if they were swinging alongside Spider-Man.

The IMAX release of The Amazing Spider-Man has been digitally re-mastered into the image and sound quality of An IMAX 3D Experience® with proprietary IMAX DMR® (Digital Re-mastering) technology. The crystal-clear images coupled with IMAX's customized theatre geometry and powerful digital audio create a unique environment that will make audiences feel as if they are in the movie. The film will also be released in 2D and other 3D formats.

About The Amazing Spider-Man:
One of the world's most popular characters is back on the big screen as a new chapter in the Spider-Man legacy is revealed in The Amazing Spider-Man(TM). Focusing on an untold story that tells a different side of the Peter Parker story, the new film stars Andrew Garfield, Emma Stone, Rhys Ifans, Denis Leary, Campbell Scott, Irrfan Khan, with Martin Sheen and Sally Field. The film is directed by Marc Webb from a screenplay written by James Vanderbilt and Alvin Sargent and Steve Kloves from a story by James Vanderbilt, based on the Marvel Comic Book by Stan Lee and Steve Ditko. Laura Ziskin, Avi Arad, and Matt Tolmach are producing the film in association with Marvel Entertainment for Columbia Pictures, which will open in theaters everywhere in 3D on July 3, 2012.

The Amazing Spider-Man is the story of Peter Parker (Garfield), an outcast high schooler who was abandoned by his parents as a boy, leaving him to be raised by his Uncle Ben (Sheen) and Aunt May (Field). Like most teenagers, Peter is trying to figure out who he is and how he got to be the person he is today. Peter is also finding his way with his first high school crush, Gwen Stacy (Stone), and together, they struggle with love, commitment, and secrets. As Peter discovers a mysterious briefcase that belonged to his father, he begins a quest to understand his parents' disappearance - leading him directly to Oscorp and the lab of Dr. Curt Connors (Ifans), his father's former partner. As Spider-Man is set on a collision course with Connors' alter-ego, The Lizard, Peter will make life-altering choices to use his powers and shape his destiny to become a hero.

http://www.theamazingspiderman.com/

The Amazing Spider-Man has been rated PG-13 for sequences of action and violence.

"Men in Black 3" Arrives in Theatres and IMAX May 25th

Columbia Pictures' Men In Black 3 Blasts Into IMAX® Theatres Friday

LOS ANGELES, May 22, 2012 /PRNewswire/ -- IMAX Corporation (NYSE: IMAX; TSX: IMX), and Columbia Pictures today announced that the action comedy Men in Black 3 will be released in the immersive IMAX® format in 474 theatres worldwide beginning Friday, May 25, simultaneous with the film's North American wide release. Domestically, the film will be released in 278 theatres and in 196 theatres internationally. Additional playdates will be added as pending bookings are confirmed. Men in Black 3 is the first in the franchise to be released in IMAX.

The IMAX release of Men in Black 3 will be digitally re-mastered into the image and sound quality of An IMAX 3D Experience® with proprietary IMAX DMR® (Digital Re-mastering) technology. The crystal-clear images coupled with IMAX's customized theatre geometry and powerful digital audio create a unique environment that will make audiences feel as if they are in the movie.

About Men in Black 3
In Men in Black 3, Agents J (Will Smith) and K (Tommy Lee Jones) are back... in time. J has seen some inexplicable things in his 15 years with the Men in Black, but nothing, not even aliens, perplexes him as much as his wry, reticent partner. But when K's life and the fate of the planet are put at stake, Agent J will have to travel back in time to put things right. J discovers that there are secrets to the universe that K never told him - secrets that will reveal themselves as he teams up with the young Agent K (Josh Brolin) to save his partner, the agency and the future of humankind. Barry Sonnenfeld directs the film. The film's screenplay is written by Etan Cohen, based on the Malibu Comic by Lowell Cunningham. Walter F. Parkes and Laurie MacDonald produce, and Steven Spielberg and G. Mac Brown are the executive producers.

http://www.meninblack.com/

Men in Black 3 has been rated PG-13 by the MPAA for sci-fi action violence, and brief suggestive content.

First "Men in Black" Still Fresh and Original

TRASH IN MY EYE No. 19 (of 2003) by Leroy Douresseaux


Men in Black (1997)
Running time: 98 minutes (1 hour, 38 minutes)
MPAA – PG-13 for language and sci-fi violence
DIRECTOR: Barry Sonnenfeld
WRITER: Ed Solomon, from a screenstory by Ed Solomon (based upon a comic book by Lowell Cunningham)
PRODUCERS: Laurie MacDonald and Walter F. Parkes
CINEMATOGRAPHER: Don Peterman (D.o.P.)
EDITOR: Jim Miller
COMPOSER: Danny Elfman
Academy Award winner

SCI-FI/FANTASY/COMEDY/ACTION

Starring: Tommy Lee Jones, Will Smith, Linda Fiorentino, Vincent D’Onofrio, Rip Torn, and Tony Shalhoub

The subject of this movie review is Men in Black, the 1997 science fiction comedy film directed by Barry Sonnenfeld. Starring Will Smith and Tommy Lee Jones, it focuses on a secret organization that monitors and polices the alien population that secretly lives on Earth. Steven Spielberg is the executive producer of Men in Black, which is based on the comic book created by Lowell Cunningham) as his production company, Amblin Entertainment, is one of the studios that produced the film.

I don’t watch many movies twice; I watch even fewer thrice. Movies that earn multiple viewings really have to entertain me, and much to my surprise, Men in Black is one of those movies. It is certainly one of the few examples of science fiction and comedy blended to make a great film. From the opening strains of Danny Elfman’s score over the credits, I realized that I was in for something special, something that combined some of my favorite forms of entertainment: B movies, EC Comics, weird and pseudo science fiction, alien conspiracies, monsters, wry comedy and black humor.

In the world of this movie, a secret organization, the Men in Black (who identify themselves to civilians as INS agents) monitor and regulate the presence of alien visitors and other world immigrants on earth. When his partner “retires,” Agent K (Tommy Lee Jones) recruits a new partner, James Edwards (Will Smith), a brash young cop who showed excellent skill and much courage in the pursuit of an alien. After Edwards agrees to join, he must give up his identity; MiB literally erases everything that proved Edwards existed, and Edwards becomes Agent J.

Their first mission together is to find a dangerous alien “bug,” Edgar (Vincent D’ Onofrio) who seeks to possess a mysterious universe that is hidden somewhere in Manhattan, and, to keep him from getting it, a powerful race of aliens is ready to destroy the earth.

Director Barry Sonnenfeld was the perfect, though not the first, choice for this film. A former cinematographer (Raising Arizona, Misery), Sonnenfeld’s films always look gorgeous, and here he is abetted by MiB’s director of photography Don Peterman, who worked with Sonnenfeld on Addams Family Values and Get Shorty. Peterman captures the look and feel of low budget sci-fi film from the 1940’s and 50’s and the sparse look of such cult classics and The Brother from Another Planet and Buckaroo Banzai, while giving film a glossy, pretty look. Between director and photographer, they manage to make the film look like it belongs in the genres to which it aspires; this makes for a convincing and atmospheric film that feels right. At times, it is a sci-fi adventure, a detective story, a monster movie, and a horror film, but it never looks like an expensive, over produced Hollywood film, which it is.

The performances are excellent. Jones as Agent K is the consummate old veteran, and Linda Fiorentino as the morgue minder Dr. Laurel Weaver brings a wry and cynical sense of humor to the film. However, the actor who carries this film and sells it both as a wacky sci-fi film and as a funny movie is Will Smith.

Prejudiced science fiction and comic book fans often given short shrift to African American actors in genre films. The adventurous pasts and mysterious futures of sci-fi are often bereft of people of color, especially people of brown and darker hues. For years, racist fans blamed Richard Pryor for the poor quality of Superman III, when he was actually the film’s saving grace. In fact, when rumors placed Eddie Murphy in Star Trek IV, fans went into paroxysms of fear because black comedians can only ruin sci-fi films. “Look at Pryor in Superman III,” they cried through their white hoods. Of course, Star Trek films managed to suck eggs all on their own without a Negro jokester in sight.

Smith makes Men in Black. He’s our point of view. His reactions to his strange new environment sell the fantastical aspects of MiB as being actually both fantastic and weird. He’s the every man, albeit sexier and more personable than most, through which we follow the story. Despite the position of the actors’ names on the marquee, he’s the star and the lead. If you haven’t seen this wonderful and funny film, do so immediately.

8 of 10
A

NOTES:
1998 Academy Awards: 1 win: “Best Makeup” (Rick Baker and David LeRoy Anderson); 2 nominations: “Best Art Direction-Set Decoration” (Bo Welch-art director and Cheryl Carasik-set decorator), and “Best Music, Original Musical or Comedy Score” (Danny Elfman)

1998 BAFTA Awards: 1 nomination: “Best Special Effects” (Eric Brevig, Rick Baker, Rob Coleman, and Peter Chesney)

1998 Golden Globes, USA: 1 nomination: “Best Motion Picture - Comedy/Musical”