Marvel’s IRON MAN 3 to Be Co-Produced in China
The Walt Disney Company China, Marvel Studios and DMG Entertainment to Bring Super Hero to China
SHANGHAI & BEIJING & LOS ANGELES--(BUSINESS WIRE)--The Walt Disney Company China, Marvel Studios and DMG Entertainment today announced the intention to co-produce IRON MAN 3 in China. Under the arrangement, DMG Entertainment will make an investment in the production of IRON MAN 3, manage the Chinese co-production process, and jointly produce the film in China. The Chinese portion of IRON MAN 3’s production will run through DMG Entertainment in coordination with Marvel Studios’ production and creative teams. DMG will also distribute IRON MAN 3 in China in collaboration with The Walt Disney Company China.
IRON MAN 3 will be the third movie in the billion-dollar plus franchise from Marvel and stars a returning cast including Robert Downey Jr. (as billionaire inventor Tony Stark) Gwyneth Paltrow (as Pepper Potts) and Don Cheadle (as James “Rhodey” Rhodes). IRON MAN 3 is produced by Kevin Feige and executive produced by Alan Fine, Stan Lee, Louis D'Esposito, Charles Newirth, Victoria Alonso, Stephen Broussard and Dan Mintz. The film is being directed by Shane Black who is working on the script with Drew Pearce. The film releases in the United States on May 3, 2013, and is being distributed by Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures in all territories worldwide other than in China (which is being distributed by DMG Entertainment) and Germany/Austria (which is being distributed by the Tele München Group).
“The popularity of the Marvel franchise globally creates a huge opportunity to deliver fans yet another action packed film,” said Stanley Cheung, Managing Director, The Walt Disney Company, Greater China. “The co-production of IRON MAN 3 in China is testimony to the importance of this audience to Disney and the local industry capability to deliver a blockbuster title,” he added.
“We look forward to working alongside DMG to bring IRON MAN to the Chinese marketplace in a significant way. We are confident that Marvel’s stories will continue to be enjoyed by Chinese audiences, and adding a local flavor, and working with our new local partner, will enhance the appeal and relevance of our characters in China’s fast-growing film marketplace,” said Rob Steffens, General Manager of Operations and Finance for Marvel Studios.
“Our collaboration with Disney and Marvel marks a milestone in the global entertainment landscape, as this signifies the first multi-billion dollar franchise to be produced between Hollywood and China,” said Dan Mintz, CEO of DMG Entertainment. “The IRON MAN franchise has been a major success worldwide, and we look forward to pushing the series to new heights with IRON MAN 3. The movie will further build upon its compelling storyline, and feature the hottest A-list stars, and spectacular action, which will resonate well both globally and in China, the second largest box office market in the world.”
The first installment of IRON MAN lifted off with high-speed, high-flying action when jet-setting industrialist Tony Stark survives an unexpected attack and escapes by building a high-tech robotic suit of armor. When he uncovers a nefarious plot with global implications, he dons his powerful armor and vows to protect the world as Iron Man. Straight from the pages of the legendary comic book, Iron Man is a hero who is built—not born—to be unlike any other and made US$581 million at the global box office when released in 2008. Based on Marvel's iconic Super Hero, IRON MAN 2 continued the story of the 2008 summer box office blockbuster IRON MAN, and made US$624 million at the global box office when released in 2010. Now, IRON MAN 3 continues the story with a new chapter that will deliver more heart-pounding action than ever before. Marvel Studios’ IRON MAN 3 will find Tony Stark with his back against the wall, facing his most fearsome foes yet.
Shooting is expected to commence in May in the United States and begin location filming in China in late summer 2012.
About The Walt Disney Company in China
The Walt Disney Company (NYSE:DIS), together with its subsidiaries and affiliates, is a diversified international family entertainment enterprise with five business segments and is a Dow 30 company with revenues of $41 billion in its most recently reported fiscal year. Disney's first animation screened in China in the 1930s and today our long association continues with offices in Beijing, Shanghai and Guangzhou with over 1000 employees. The Company has a broad range of businesses including publishing, broadcast, mobile, web, retail and its English language program, Disney English, which launched in 2008. Nearly 24 hours of Disney television programming is now available in China every week, reaching 300-360 million people each month. In September 2005, Disney opened its doors to its first theme park in China, Hong Kong Disneyland and in 2011 announced ground breaking for the Shanghai Disneyland Resort, a joint venture with Shanghai Shendi Group.
About Marvel Entertainment
Marvel Entertainment, LLC, a wholly-owned subsidiary of The Walt Disney Company, is one of the world's most prominent character-based entertainment companies, built on a proven library of over 8,000 characters featured in a variety of media over seventy years. Marvel utilizes its character franchises in entertainment, licensing and publishing. For more information visit www.marvel.com. Super Hero(es) is a co-owned registered trademark.
About DMG Entertainment
Founded in China in 1993, DMG owns and operates a premier entertainment company (DMG Entertainment), and an award-winning communications agency (DMG Media), possessing nearly 20 years of experience. DMG Entertainment is a leader in China’s film market through the production of a diverse portfolio of commercially driven films, including 2009’s The Founding of a Republic, 2010’s Go Lala Go!, and 2011’s Beginning of the Great Revival, as well as through the distribution of Hollywood titles such as Twilight, Knowing, Killers, Resident Evil: Afterlife, RED, The Eagle, and Priest. DMG Entertainment has also produced Hollywood/China films including Looper set for release in 2012. DMG Media has provided strategic and creative campaigns for international brands looking to connect with Chinese consumers through DMG’s all-encompassing platform.
Showing posts with label Don Cheadle. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Don Cheadle. Show all posts
Monday, April 16, 2012
Sunday, March 11, 2012
Brendan Gleeson Shines in "The Guard"
The Guard (2011)
COUNTRY OF ORIGIN: Ireland
Running time: 96 minutes (1 hour, 36 minutes)
MPAA – R for pervasive language, some violence, drug material and sexual content
WRITER/DIRECTOR: John Michael McDonagh
PRODUCERS: Chris Clark, Flora Fernandez-Marengo, Ed Guiney, and Andrew Lowe
CINEMATOGRAPHER: Larry Smith
EDITOR: Chris Gill
COMPOSER: Calexico
BAFTA nominee
CRIME/COMEDY
Starring: Brendan Gleeson, Don Cheadle, Liam Cunningham, David Wilmot, Rory Keenan, Mark Strong, Fionnula Flanagan, Katarina Cas, Laurence Kinlan, Pat Shortt, Darren Healy, Gary Lydon, Wale Ojo, and Michael Og Lane
The Guard is a 2011 Irish crime comedy starring Brendan Gleeson and Don Cheadle (who is also one of the film’s executive producers). Written and directed by John Michael McDonagh (Ned Kelly), the film focuses on an unorthodox Garda (Irish policeman) and a tightly wound FBI agent in pursuit of international drug dealers.
Straight-laced FBI Special Agent Wendell Everett (Don Cheadle) arrives in Ireland on the trail of international drug dealers, specifically four suspects. Everett meets Sergeant Gerry Boyle (Brendan Gleeson), a wisecracking and confrontational local Garda from the village of Galway. Boyle may already have a lead on the drug smugglers, but he chooses to annoy the American instead of helping him. When the drug-related violence and murder get close to him, however, Boyle suddenly finds himself doing police work way beyond anything he has ever done before.
The Guard is a weird film. Perhaps, I did not expect an Irish film to be so quirky as to seem like a movie from Wes Anderson (Rushmore, The Royal Tennenbaums). This film is both a crime comedy and a black comedy, so it is violent and twisted. Also, every moment in the film that attempts to be poignant are sabotaged by the profane and scabrous.
Writer/director John Michael McDonagh gives the film satirical flourishes by poking fun at the Irish city of Dublin and also at the miscues of the highest law enforcement agencies in both the U.S. and the U.K. He defiantly fills his film with so many odd characters, like Eugene Moloney (Michael Og Lane), the weird kid obsessed with the Irish Republican Army (IRA), and a young odd duck who photographs crime scenes in loving, gruesome detail. That many eccentrics could ruin a movie, but McDonagh deftly keeps these characters and their strangeness in check.
He has to keep these characters under control so that they don’t stand in the way of Brendan Gleeson’s fragrantly pungent turn as Gerry Boyle. The verbally adroit Gleeson spits out the dialogue McDonagh wrote for him as if he were battling Eminem. It is a showy performance on the part of Gleeson, but he does it with such veteran ease that his seems natural. Boyle may be a loser living a crude life of lust and drink, but he isn’t doing it half-assed.
What keeps the film from being great is that it does not give us what its premise promises – a warped version of the buddy-cop movie. Gleeson and Don Cheadle are not together enough – for me, at least. When Cheadle’s Wendell Everett is with Gleeson’s Boyle, they seem perfectly matched for some mismatched comedy duo gold. The Guard only gives us Boyle/Everett in chopped up bits that never last that long, until the last act, which is a shame.
I must also note that I wish Mark Strong, Liam Cunningham, and David Wilmot’s villainous characters were more developed, as they could be the stars of their own movie. There is nothing wrong with The Guard focusing on Gleeson’s Boyle, but as the film’s final moments focus on Cheadle’s Everett, it becomes obvious that The Guard misses out on being a buddy-cop classic.
7 of 10
A-
NOTES:
2012 BAFTA Awards: 1 nomination: “Best Original Screenplay” (John Michael McDonagh)
2012 Golden Globes: 1 nomination: “Best Performance by an Actor in a Motion Picture - Comedy or Musical” (Brendan Gleeson)
2012 Black Reel Awards: 1 win: “Outstanding Supporting Actor” (Don Cheadle)
2012 Image Awards: 1 nomination: “Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Motion Picture” (Don Cheadle)
Don Cheadle Turns "Traitor" into a Hot Thriller
Traitor (2008)
Running time: 114 minutes (1 hour, 54 minutes)
MPAA – PG-13 for intense violent sequences, thematic material and brief language
DIRECTOR: Jeffrey Nachmanoff
WRITERS: Jeffrey Nachmanoff; from a story by Steve Martin and Jeffrey Nachmanoff
PRODUCERS: Don Cheadle, David Hoberman, Todd Lieberman, and Jeffrey Silver
CINEMATOGRAPHER: J. Michael Muro (D.o.P.)
EDITOR: Billy Fox
COMPOSER: Mark Kilian
DRAMA/THRILLER
Starring: Don Cheadle, Guy Pearce, Saïd Taghmaoui, Neal McDonough, Alvy Khan, Archie Panjabi, Raad Rawi, Lorena Gale, and Jeff Daniels
Traitor is a 2008 drama and thriller starring Don Cheadle. Based on an idea by Steve Martin (yes, that Steve Martin), who is also an executive producer on this film, Traitor focuses on a U.S. citizen turned terrorist and the FBI agent who is tracking him.
Born in Sudan and a naturalized Arabic-speaking, U.S. citizen, Samir Horn (Don Cheadle) is working as an arms dealer when he is arrested in Yemen and thrown in a Yemeni prison. There, he meets Omar (Saïd Taghmaoui), who is part of the Al-Nathir terrorist network. Omar befriends Samir, and after they escape from prison, Omar gets Samir to join the Islamic Brotherhood.
Meanwhile, FBI Special Agent Roy Clayton (Guy Pearce) has been hunting Samir, who is also former U.S. Special Operations Forces, through numerous countries. After he learns that Samir has returned to America, Clayton must discover the secrets behind this complicated man before the mysterious Risala Shukra Al-hiba event begins. Samir is a traitor, but exactly who or what is he betraying.
While it examines the beliefs and motivations behind terrorism, Traitor operates like a spy thriller similar to the 2010 Angelina Jolie film, Salt. Traitor is also a kind of dual procedural thriller, as it depicts how an FBI international terrorism investigation works and how terrorists plan (recruiting, financing, infiltrating, etc.). This is a film that seems to really know its subject matter. Of course, this is a bare-bones version of the inner workings of a terrorist organization, but the audience will get the idea that this movie isn’t something thrown together like an exploitation film.
Traitor has lots of twists and turns, and not only does it have one major reveal, but it also has a few big ones in the last half-hour, alone. Don Cheadle, who gives another high-quality performance, holds the story together, so this fast-moving narrative has dramatic heft. Sometimes, Traitor made me feel uncomfortable because it seems so plausible, and credit that to Cheadle’s performance. Traitor is his movie, and he makes it a good one. It also doesn’t hurt that the radiant Archie Panjabi appears in this film in a nice supporting role.
7 of 10
A-
NOTES:
2009 Black Reel Awards: 3 nominations: “Best Actor” (Don Cheadle), “Best Breakthrough Performance” (Saïd Taghmaoui), and “Best Film” (Jeffrey Silver, Kay Liberman, Steve Martin, Todd Lieberman, David Hoberman, Ashok Amritraj, Steve Gaub, Don Cheadle, and Arlene Gibbs)
2009 Image Awards: 1 nomination: “Outstanding Actor in a Motion Picture” (Don Cheadle)
Sunday, March 11, 2012
Wednesday, February 15, 2012
"The Help" Sweeps Up at the 2012 Black Reel Awards
My favorite Negro-American film awards organization (and my favorite film critics awards, for that matter) is The Black Reel Awards. The Black Reel Awards annually honors African-Americans in feature, independent and television film. The awards were launched in 2000, and this is the 12th year the awards will be handed out. The Black Reel Awards are now given out by the Foundation for the Advancement of African-Americans in Film (FAAAF).
More 50 film critics from television, radio, print and the Internet comprise the voting members of the Black Reel Awards. Winners were announced on Friday, February 10, 2012 in ceremony held in Washington D.C. The Help dominated this year's awards winning six, including "Best Film."
2012 Black Reel Award Winners:
Theatrical
Outstanding Film – The Help
Outstanding Director – Steve McQueen / Shame
Outstanding Actor – John Boyega / Attack the Block
Outstanding Actress – Viola Davis / The Help
Outstanding Supporting Actor - Don Cheadle / The Guard
Outstanding Supporting Actress – Octavia Spencer / The Help
Outstanding Screenplay, Original or Adapted – Steve McQueen / Shame
Outstanding Breakthrough Performance – Adepero Oduye / Pariah
Outstanding Ensemble – The Help
Outstanding Original Song – “The Living Proof” / Mary J. Blige (The Help)
Outstanding Score – Thomas Newman / The Help
Outstanding Foreign Film – Attack the Block
Outstanding Feature Documentary – Beats, Rhymes & Life: The Travels of a Tribe Called Quest / Michael Rapaport
Independent
Outstanding Independent Feature Film – My Last Day Without You / Stefan C. Schaefer
Outstanding Independent Short Film – Wake / Bree Newsome
Outstanding Independent Documentary – Infiltrating Hollywood: The Rise and Fall of the Spook Who Sat By the Door / Christine Acham and Clifford Ward
Television
Outstanding Television or Mini-Series Performance, Male – Idris Elba / Luther
Outstanding Television or Mini-Series Performance, Female – Taraji P. Henson / Taken From Me: The Tiffany Rubin Story
Outstanding Television Documentary – Planet Rock: The Story of Hip Hop and the Crack Generation / VH1 (Richard Low and Martin Torgoff)
Outstanding Television or Mini-Series Film – Thurgood / HBO (Michael Stevens)
http://blackreelawards.wordpress.com/
More 50 film critics from television, radio, print and the Internet comprise the voting members of the Black Reel Awards. Winners were announced on Friday, February 10, 2012 in ceremony held in Washington D.C. The Help dominated this year's awards winning six, including "Best Film."
2012 Black Reel Award Winners:
Theatrical
Outstanding Film – The Help
Outstanding Director – Steve McQueen / Shame
Outstanding Actor – John Boyega / Attack the Block
Outstanding Actress – Viola Davis / The Help
Outstanding Supporting Actor - Don Cheadle / The Guard
Outstanding Supporting Actress – Octavia Spencer / The Help
Outstanding Screenplay, Original or Adapted – Steve McQueen / Shame
Outstanding Breakthrough Performance – Adepero Oduye / Pariah
Outstanding Ensemble – The Help
Outstanding Original Song – “The Living Proof” / Mary J. Blige (The Help)
Outstanding Score – Thomas Newman / The Help
Outstanding Foreign Film – Attack the Block
Outstanding Feature Documentary – Beats, Rhymes & Life: The Travels of a Tribe Called Quest / Michael Rapaport
Independent
Outstanding Independent Feature Film – My Last Day Without You / Stefan C. Schaefer
Outstanding Independent Short Film – Wake / Bree Newsome
Outstanding Independent Documentary – Infiltrating Hollywood: The Rise and Fall of the Spook Who Sat By the Door / Christine Acham and Clifford Ward
Television
Outstanding Television or Mini-Series Performance, Male – Idris Elba / Luther
Outstanding Television or Mini-Series Performance, Female – Taraji P. Henson / Taken From Me: The Tiffany Rubin Story
Outstanding Television Documentary – Planet Rock: The Story of Hip Hop and the Crack Generation / VH1 (Richard Low and Martin Torgoff)
Outstanding Television or Mini-Series Film – Thurgood / HBO (Michael Stevens)
http://blackreelawards.wordpress.com/
Sunday, October 9, 2011
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/.
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/.
Tuesday, February 15, 2011
Review: 2006 Oscar-Winning Best Picture "Crash" Still Powerful
TRASH IN MY EYE No. 2 (of 2006) by Leroy Douresseaux
Crash (2004/2005)
Running time: 122 minutes (2 hours, 2 minutes)
MPAA – R for language, sexual content, and some violence
DIRECTOR: Paul Haggis
WRITERS: Bobby Moresco and Paul Haggis; from a story by Paul Haggis
PRODUCERS: Cathy Schulman, Don Cheadle, Bob Yari, Mark R. Harris, Robert Moresco, and Paul Haggis
CINEMATOGRAPHER: J. Michael Muro
EDITOR: Hughes Winborne
Academy Award winner
DRAMA
Starring: Sandra Bullock, Don Cheadle, Matt Dillon, Jennifer Esposito, William Fichtner, Brendan Fraser, Terrence Howard, Chris “Ludacris” Bridges, Thandie Newton, Ryan Philippe, Larenz Tate, Michael Peña, Keith David, Loretta Divine, Tony Danza, Nona Gaye, Yomi Perry, Daniel Dae Kim, Bruce Kirby, and Bahar Soomekh
The lives of a diverse cast of characters from various ethnic backgrounds, of different skin colors (also known as “different races”), and including immigrants: a Brentwood housewife (Sandra Bullock) and her District Attorney husband (Brendan Fraser); two police detectives who are also lovers (Don Cheadle and Jennifer Esposito); an African-American television director and his wife (Terrence Howard and Thandie Newton); a Mexican locksmith (Michael Peña); two carjackers (Chris “Ludacris” Bridges and Larenz Tate); a rookie cop and his bigoted partner (Ryan Philippe and Matt Dillon) collide over a period of 36 hours.
Crash is one of the very best films of 2005 and one of the best films about America in ages not just because co-writer/co-producer/director Paul Haggis (he wrote the screenplay for Million Dollar Baby) deftly connects so many Los Angeles-based characters of different “racial” or ethnic backgrounds to a single event with such glowing intensity. It is also great because the film shows the acute problem this country has with such diversity. American’s have created so many stereotypes that they have attached as belonging to particular ethnic, religious, “racial,” and even professional groups. Those stereotypes, in turn, affect how we judge people in those groups, how we interact with others, and what we believe about others. In the end, all that pre-judging and predestination causes us nothing but trouble.
Haggis and his co-writer, Bobby Moresco, give us so many examples of the problems these characters make for themselves because of prejudice and because they make assumptions about people that are often wrong (and sometimes even dangerous), and Haggis and Moresco still manage to make a solid, engaging, and enthralling beginning to end linear (for the most part) narrative. They’ve created so many scenarios, characters, events, actions, and attitudes with which we will personally connect because every American can lay claim to bigotry and prejudice. Crash is as if Haggis and Moresco have turned the American film into a mirror and pointed it at us.
Of the many great scenes, one in particular defines why Crash is such a great American film. A Persian storeowner who is obviously an immigrant goes to a gun store with his daughter to purchase a gun that he really believes he needs to protect himself, his family, and, in particular, his business. The gun storeowner is not patient with a Persian who doesn’t speak English well, and though his daughter tries in vain to mediate the transaction, it goes badly between Persian and the “native” American storeowner – a white guy. The storeowner calls the Persian an Arab (all people from the Middle East are not Arabs), and makes the most ugly, most bigoted remarks about 9/11 connecting all Middle Easterners and/or Arab-types to the terrorist act that I’ve ever heard.
Watch that scene alone, and you’ll understand the power Crash holds in its bosom. If the film has a message, it is that sometimes we should stop and think. Despite differences in what we believe, in skin color, or in customs, we are more alike than we’d like to believe. The static of difference between us can be the thing that stops us from helping or understanding. Allowing the static to remain can lead to tragedy when we crash into each other.
That a message film can come with such powerful ideas and not be preachy, but be such a fine and intensely engaging film is what makes Crash a great one. Add a large cast that gives such potent performances (especially Matt Dillon, who redefines his career with his role as a conflicted, bigoted patrolmen, and Terrence Howard, who adds to his 2005 coming out party with this) and Crash is a must-see movie.
10 of 10
NOTES:
2006 Academy Awards: 3 wins: “Best Motion Picture of the Year” (Paul Haggis and Cathy Schulman), “Best Achievement in Editing” (Hughes Winborne), and “Best Writing, Original Screenplay” (Paul Haggis-screenplay/story and Robert Moresco-screenplay); 3 nominations: “Best Achievement in Directing” (Paul Haggis), and “Best Achievement in Music Written for Motion Pictures, Original Song” (Kathleen York-music/lyrics and Michael Becker-music for the song "In the Deep"), and “Best Performance by an Actor in a Supporting Role” (Matt Dillon)
2006 BAFTA Awards: 2 wins: “Best Performance by an Actress in a Supporting Role” (Thandie Newton) and “Best Screenplay – Original” (Paul Haggis and Robert Moresco); 7 nominations: “Best Cinematography” (J. Michael Muro), “Best Editing” (Hughes Winborne), “Best Film” (Cathy Schulman, Don Cheadle, and Bob Yari), “Best Performance by an Actor in a Supporting Role” (Don Cheadle), “Best Performance by an Actor in a Supporting Role” (Matt Dillon), “Best Sound” (Richard Van Dyke, Sandy Gendler, Adam Jenkins, and Marc Fishman) and “David Lean Award for Direction”( Paul Haggis)
2006 Golden Globes: 2 nominations: “Best Performance by an Actor in a Supporting Role in a Motion Picture” (Matt Dillon) and “Best Screenplay - Motion Picture” (Paul Haggis and Robert Moresco)
Wednesday, January 4, 2006
Crash (2004/2005)
Running time: 122 minutes (2 hours, 2 minutes)
MPAA – R for language, sexual content, and some violence
DIRECTOR: Paul Haggis
WRITERS: Bobby Moresco and Paul Haggis; from a story by Paul Haggis
PRODUCERS: Cathy Schulman, Don Cheadle, Bob Yari, Mark R. Harris, Robert Moresco, and Paul Haggis
CINEMATOGRAPHER: J. Michael Muro
EDITOR: Hughes Winborne
Academy Award winner
DRAMA
Starring: Sandra Bullock, Don Cheadle, Matt Dillon, Jennifer Esposito, William Fichtner, Brendan Fraser, Terrence Howard, Chris “Ludacris” Bridges, Thandie Newton, Ryan Philippe, Larenz Tate, Michael Peña, Keith David, Loretta Divine, Tony Danza, Nona Gaye, Yomi Perry, Daniel Dae Kim, Bruce Kirby, and Bahar Soomekh
The lives of a diverse cast of characters from various ethnic backgrounds, of different skin colors (also known as “different races”), and including immigrants: a Brentwood housewife (Sandra Bullock) and her District Attorney husband (Brendan Fraser); two police detectives who are also lovers (Don Cheadle and Jennifer Esposito); an African-American television director and his wife (Terrence Howard and Thandie Newton); a Mexican locksmith (Michael Peña); two carjackers (Chris “Ludacris” Bridges and Larenz Tate); a rookie cop and his bigoted partner (Ryan Philippe and Matt Dillon) collide over a period of 36 hours.
Crash is one of the very best films of 2005 and one of the best films about America in ages not just because co-writer/co-producer/director Paul Haggis (he wrote the screenplay for Million Dollar Baby) deftly connects so many Los Angeles-based characters of different “racial” or ethnic backgrounds to a single event with such glowing intensity. It is also great because the film shows the acute problem this country has with such diversity. American’s have created so many stereotypes that they have attached as belonging to particular ethnic, religious, “racial,” and even professional groups. Those stereotypes, in turn, affect how we judge people in those groups, how we interact with others, and what we believe about others. In the end, all that pre-judging and predestination causes us nothing but trouble.
Haggis and his co-writer, Bobby Moresco, give us so many examples of the problems these characters make for themselves because of prejudice and because they make assumptions about people that are often wrong (and sometimes even dangerous), and Haggis and Moresco still manage to make a solid, engaging, and enthralling beginning to end linear (for the most part) narrative. They’ve created so many scenarios, characters, events, actions, and attitudes with which we will personally connect because every American can lay claim to bigotry and prejudice. Crash is as if Haggis and Moresco have turned the American film into a mirror and pointed it at us.
Of the many great scenes, one in particular defines why Crash is such a great American film. A Persian storeowner who is obviously an immigrant goes to a gun store with his daughter to purchase a gun that he really believes he needs to protect himself, his family, and, in particular, his business. The gun storeowner is not patient with a Persian who doesn’t speak English well, and though his daughter tries in vain to mediate the transaction, it goes badly between Persian and the “native” American storeowner – a white guy. The storeowner calls the Persian an Arab (all people from the Middle East are not Arabs), and makes the most ugly, most bigoted remarks about 9/11 connecting all Middle Easterners and/or Arab-types to the terrorist act that I’ve ever heard.
Watch that scene alone, and you’ll understand the power Crash holds in its bosom. If the film has a message, it is that sometimes we should stop and think. Despite differences in what we believe, in skin color, or in customs, we are more alike than we’d like to believe. The static of difference between us can be the thing that stops us from helping or understanding. Allowing the static to remain can lead to tragedy when we crash into each other.
That a message film can come with such powerful ideas and not be preachy, but be such a fine and intensely engaging film is what makes Crash a great one. Add a large cast that gives such potent performances (especially Matt Dillon, who redefines his career with his role as a conflicted, bigoted patrolmen, and Terrence Howard, who adds to his 2005 coming out party with this) and Crash is a must-see movie.
10 of 10
NOTES:
2006 Academy Awards: 3 wins: “Best Motion Picture of the Year” (Paul Haggis and Cathy Schulman), “Best Achievement in Editing” (Hughes Winborne), and “Best Writing, Original Screenplay” (Paul Haggis-screenplay/story and Robert Moresco-screenplay); 3 nominations: “Best Achievement in Directing” (Paul Haggis), and “Best Achievement in Music Written for Motion Pictures, Original Song” (Kathleen York-music/lyrics and Michael Becker-music for the song "In the Deep"), and “Best Performance by an Actor in a Supporting Role” (Matt Dillon)
2006 BAFTA Awards: 2 wins: “Best Performance by an Actress in a Supporting Role” (Thandie Newton) and “Best Screenplay – Original” (Paul Haggis and Robert Moresco); 7 nominations: “Best Cinematography” (J. Michael Muro), “Best Editing” (Hughes Winborne), “Best Film” (Cathy Schulman, Don Cheadle, and Bob Yari), “Best Performance by an Actor in a Supporting Role” (Don Cheadle), “Best Performance by an Actor in a Supporting Role” (Matt Dillon), “Best Sound” (Richard Van Dyke, Sandy Gendler, Adam Jenkins, and Marc Fishman) and “David Lean Award for Direction”( Paul Haggis)
2006 Golden Globes: 2 nominations: “Best Performance by an Actor in a Supporting Role in a Motion Picture” (Matt Dillon) and “Best Screenplay - Motion Picture” (Paul Haggis and Robert Moresco)
Wednesday, January 4, 2006
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Monday, November 29, 2010
Review: "Hotel Rwanda" Won't Let You Feign Ignorance Any Longer (Happy B'day, Don Cheadle)
TRASH IN MY EYE No. 76 (of 2005) by Leroy Douresseaux
Hotel Rwanda (2004)
Running time: 121 minutes (2 hours, 1 minute)
MPAA – PG-13 on appeal for violence, disturbing images, and brief strong language
DIRECTOR: Terry George
WRITER: Keir Person and Terry George
PRODUCER: A. Kitman Ho and Terry George
CINEMATOGRAPHER: Robert Fraisse
EDITOR: Naomi Geraghty
Academy Award nominee
DRAMA/WAR
Starring: Don Cheadle, Sophie Okonedo, Nick Nolte, Desmond Dube, Joaquin Phoenix, Fena Mokoena, Cara Seymour, and Tony Kgoroge with Jean Reno (no screen credit)
Hotel Rwanda is kind of an African version of Schindler’s List. Some background – in 1994, the African nation of Rwanda, a former Belgian colony, was in a state of civil war with internecine tribal fighting between the majority Hutu and minority Tutsi. When Belgium ruled the colony, they used the supposedly lighter-skinned Tutsi to rule the land, but when the Belgians exited the country, the left it to the Hutu. The allegedly dark-skinned Hutu were incredibly embittered of their treatment by the Tutsi during colonial rule, so when Tutsi rebels began fighting the Hutu government, Hutu hatred of the Tutsi grew exponentially. Members of an ethnic Hutu militia called the Interhamwe armed themselves with machetes and attacked Tutsis and Hutus sympathetic with them.
When the President of Rwanda’s (a Hutu) plane was shot down by Tutsi rebels after he signed a peace accord with them, the country fell into utter chaos, and the Interhamwe went on a Tutsi-killing spree that left almost a million people dead when the slaughter ended in July 1994. In an era of round-the-clock news and burgeoning high-speed communication, the genocide went almost unnoticed. Western Europe and the United States did not want to intercede in the conflict between the Hutu government and Tutsi rebels even to stop the ethnic cleansing of Tutsi’s by the Interhamwe (how much control the Hutu government and military had over the Interhamwe is open to debate).
Then-U.S. President Bill Clinton was reluctant to lend any kind of military assistance. Before President Clinton entered office in 1992, the previous presidential administration of George H. Bush had sent Marines into Somalia. After President Clinton surprisingly beat Bush, President Clinton was left holding the bag in Somalia. That turned into a disaster – see Black Hawk Down, for a fictional account of that embarrassment for the President. So President Clinton knew the American public and the increasingly hostile Republicans in Congress would not want more young American soldiers dying to save black Africans. The Clinton administration was even reluctant to call the killing of Tutsi’s genocide.
Hotel Rwanda is based upon the true story of Paul Rusesabagina (Don Cheadle in an Oscar-nominated performance), who was the manager of a Belgian-owned hotel called the Milles Collines in Kigali, Rwanda. Inspired the love of his family and the encouragement of his wife Tatiana (Sophie Okonedo in an Oscar-nominated supporting role), Paul uses the Milles Collines to shelter Tutsis and Hutus who are sympathetic to them. After the massacre of Tutsi begins, the French and Belgian armed forces eventually arrive to safely transport whites from the hotel, but they refuse to assist the Rwandans. Feeling betrayed by the whites for whom he worked so hard, Paul uses all his smarts and wiles to keep the Interhamwe and Rwanda military from taking his remaining hotel “guests” (Tutsi and Hutu) and killing them all. By the time all is said and done, Paul saves 1268 people. Hotel Rwanda is his story of survival and how he helped others survive at the cost of his and his family’s lives.
Directed by Terry George, Hotel Rwanda is simply a powerful film. As a drama, it is also a powerful film thriller, as riveting as any scary movie or special effects laden action flick. George and actor Don Cheadle never let the audience forget that there isn’t a minute that goes by when the occupants of the Milles Collines are not in danger. The script, co-written by George, is good, but George’s direction and the rhythm he uses to create a seamless advance of the narrative carry with it the film’s dominant theme – Paul Rusesabagina’s determination to save lives because he believes people should not merely be murdered by the whim of ignorant bigots, no matter how big a majority the bigots may have. With quiet grit and determination, Cheadle reveals the tale of strength in his face and in his entire body. He doesn’t look like he’s acting; he looks like a man on a holy mission. Sophie Okonedo as Tatiana gives a good performance (which occasionally seems a tad too thick), and Nick Nolte’s performance isn’t great, but whenever his Colonel Oliver is onscreen, the character fits and his presence is really needed – both in the fiction and in the filmmaking.
Hotel Rwanda, however, does play with a double-edged sword. It’s hard to believe that anyone could make a PG-13 movie about genocide, but George does. With that rating, he makes the film accessible to the young people who should see this, but might not be able to view R rated films. However, the genocide in Rwanda 1994 needed the kind of visual brutality that Steven Spielberg used so well in Schindler’s List. George compensates by making Hotel Rwanda as much about Rusesabagina’s story as it is about the genocide, which keeps the drama from being a documentary. Still, anyone who likes powerful, superbly made dramas that also portray acts in human history that must be recorded in fact and told as art and fiction, movies like Schindler’s List and The Killing Fields, will not only enjoy Hotel Rwanda, but must also see it.
9 of 10
A+
NOTES:
2005 Academy Awards: 3 nominations: “Best Performance by an Actor in a Leading Role” (Don Cheadle), “Best Performance by an Actress in a Supporting Role” (Sophie Okonedo) and “Best Writing, Original Screenplay” (Keir Pearson and Terry George)
2006 BAFTA Awards: 1 nomination: “Best Screenplay – Original” (Keir Pearson and Terry George)
2005 Black Reel Awards: 1 win: “Best Actress, Drama” (Sophie Okonedo); 1 nomination: “Best Actor, Drama” (Don Cheadle)
2005 Golden Globes: 3 nominations: “Best Motion Picture – Drama,” “Best Original Song - Motion Picture” (Wyclef Jean-music/lyrics, Jerry 'Wonder' Duplessis-music, and Andrea Guerra-music for the song "Million Voices"), and Best Performance by an Actor in a Motion Picture – Drama” (Don Cheadle)
2005 Image Awards: 3 nomination: “Outstanding Actor in a Motion Picture” (Don Cheadle), “Outstanding Motion Picture,” and “Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Motion Picture” (Sophie Okonedo)
April 29, 2005
Hotel Rwanda (2004)
Running time: 121 minutes (2 hours, 1 minute)
MPAA – PG-13 on appeal for violence, disturbing images, and brief strong language
DIRECTOR: Terry George
WRITER: Keir Person and Terry George
PRODUCER: A. Kitman Ho and Terry George
CINEMATOGRAPHER: Robert Fraisse
EDITOR: Naomi Geraghty
Academy Award nominee
DRAMA/WAR
Starring: Don Cheadle, Sophie Okonedo, Nick Nolte, Desmond Dube, Joaquin Phoenix, Fena Mokoena, Cara Seymour, and Tony Kgoroge with Jean Reno (no screen credit)
Hotel Rwanda is kind of an African version of Schindler’s List. Some background – in 1994, the African nation of Rwanda, a former Belgian colony, was in a state of civil war with internecine tribal fighting between the majority Hutu and minority Tutsi. When Belgium ruled the colony, they used the supposedly lighter-skinned Tutsi to rule the land, but when the Belgians exited the country, the left it to the Hutu. The allegedly dark-skinned Hutu were incredibly embittered of their treatment by the Tutsi during colonial rule, so when Tutsi rebels began fighting the Hutu government, Hutu hatred of the Tutsi grew exponentially. Members of an ethnic Hutu militia called the Interhamwe armed themselves with machetes and attacked Tutsis and Hutus sympathetic with them.
When the President of Rwanda’s (a Hutu) plane was shot down by Tutsi rebels after he signed a peace accord with them, the country fell into utter chaos, and the Interhamwe went on a Tutsi-killing spree that left almost a million people dead when the slaughter ended in July 1994. In an era of round-the-clock news and burgeoning high-speed communication, the genocide went almost unnoticed. Western Europe and the United States did not want to intercede in the conflict between the Hutu government and Tutsi rebels even to stop the ethnic cleansing of Tutsi’s by the Interhamwe (how much control the Hutu government and military had over the Interhamwe is open to debate).
Then-U.S. President Bill Clinton was reluctant to lend any kind of military assistance. Before President Clinton entered office in 1992, the previous presidential administration of George H. Bush had sent Marines into Somalia. After President Clinton surprisingly beat Bush, President Clinton was left holding the bag in Somalia. That turned into a disaster – see Black Hawk Down, for a fictional account of that embarrassment for the President. So President Clinton knew the American public and the increasingly hostile Republicans in Congress would not want more young American soldiers dying to save black Africans. The Clinton administration was even reluctant to call the killing of Tutsi’s genocide.
Hotel Rwanda is based upon the true story of Paul Rusesabagina (Don Cheadle in an Oscar-nominated performance), who was the manager of a Belgian-owned hotel called the Milles Collines in Kigali, Rwanda. Inspired the love of his family and the encouragement of his wife Tatiana (Sophie Okonedo in an Oscar-nominated supporting role), Paul uses the Milles Collines to shelter Tutsis and Hutus who are sympathetic to them. After the massacre of Tutsi begins, the French and Belgian armed forces eventually arrive to safely transport whites from the hotel, but they refuse to assist the Rwandans. Feeling betrayed by the whites for whom he worked so hard, Paul uses all his smarts and wiles to keep the Interhamwe and Rwanda military from taking his remaining hotel “guests” (Tutsi and Hutu) and killing them all. By the time all is said and done, Paul saves 1268 people. Hotel Rwanda is his story of survival and how he helped others survive at the cost of his and his family’s lives.
Directed by Terry George, Hotel Rwanda is simply a powerful film. As a drama, it is also a powerful film thriller, as riveting as any scary movie or special effects laden action flick. George and actor Don Cheadle never let the audience forget that there isn’t a minute that goes by when the occupants of the Milles Collines are not in danger. The script, co-written by George, is good, but George’s direction and the rhythm he uses to create a seamless advance of the narrative carry with it the film’s dominant theme – Paul Rusesabagina’s determination to save lives because he believes people should not merely be murdered by the whim of ignorant bigots, no matter how big a majority the bigots may have. With quiet grit and determination, Cheadle reveals the tale of strength in his face and in his entire body. He doesn’t look like he’s acting; he looks like a man on a holy mission. Sophie Okonedo as Tatiana gives a good performance (which occasionally seems a tad too thick), and Nick Nolte’s performance isn’t great, but whenever his Colonel Oliver is onscreen, the character fits and his presence is really needed – both in the fiction and in the filmmaking.
Hotel Rwanda, however, does play with a double-edged sword. It’s hard to believe that anyone could make a PG-13 movie about genocide, but George does. With that rating, he makes the film accessible to the young people who should see this, but might not be able to view R rated films. However, the genocide in Rwanda 1994 needed the kind of visual brutality that Steven Spielberg used so well in Schindler’s List. George compensates by making Hotel Rwanda as much about Rusesabagina’s story as it is about the genocide, which keeps the drama from being a documentary. Still, anyone who likes powerful, superbly made dramas that also portray acts in human history that must be recorded in fact and told as art and fiction, movies like Schindler’s List and The Killing Fields, will not only enjoy Hotel Rwanda, but must also see it.
9 of 10
A+
NOTES:
2005 Academy Awards: 3 nominations: “Best Performance by an Actor in a Leading Role” (Don Cheadle), “Best Performance by an Actress in a Supporting Role” (Sophie Okonedo) and “Best Writing, Original Screenplay” (Keir Pearson and Terry George)
2006 BAFTA Awards: 1 nomination: “Best Screenplay – Original” (Keir Pearson and Terry George)
2005 Black Reel Awards: 1 win: “Best Actress, Drama” (Sophie Okonedo); 1 nomination: “Best Actor, Drama” (Don Cheadle)
2005 Golden Globes: 3 nominations: “Best Motion Picture – Drama,” “Best Original Song - Motion Picture” (Wyclef Jean-music/lyrics, Jerry 'Wonder' Duplessis-music, and Andrea Guerra-music for the song "Million Voices"), and Best Performance by an Actor in a Motion Picture – Drama” (Don Cheadle)
2005 Image Awards: 3 nomination: “Outstanding Actor in a Motion Picture” (Don Cheadle), “Outstanding Motion Picture,” and “Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Motion Picture” (Sophie Okonedo)
April 29, 2005
-----------------------
Review: "Devil in a Blue Dress" (Happy B'Day, Don Cheadle)
TRASH IN MY EYE No. 80 (of 2006) by Leroy Douresseaux
Devil in a Blue Dress (1995)
Running time: 102 minutes (1 hour, 42 minutes)
MPAA – R for violence, sexuality, and language
DIRECTOR: Carl Franklin
WRITER: Carl Franklin (based upon the book by Walter Mosley)
PRODUCERS: Jesse Beaton and Gary Goetzman
CINEMATOGRAPHER: Tak Fujimoto
EDITOR: Carole Kravetz
Image Award nominee
MYSTERY/DRAMA
Starring: Denzel Washington, Tom Sizemore, Jennifer Beals, Don Cheadle, Maury Chaykin, Terry Kinney, Mel Winkler, Albert Hall, Lisa Nicole Carson, Jenard Burks, John Roselius, Beau Starr, and Joseph Latimore
It’s Los Angeles, 1948. World War II vet Ezekiel “Easy” Rawlins (Denzel Washington) is out of work and needing money because he owns his home (one of the few black men to do so in the post WW II black neighborhoods of L.A.), and the mortgage is due… now. Through a friend, he connects with a shady white man named DeWitt Albright (Tom Sizemore), who pays Easy 100 dollars to find a missing white woman named Daphne Monet (Jennifer Beals). It seems like an easy way to make quick cash, but Easy gets more than he bargained for when people connected to Daphne start turning up dead. With the cops breathing down his neck, Easy turns to his old Houston, Texas running mate Raymond Alexander aka “Mouse” (Don Cheadle), a trigger happy hood who will definitely have Easy’s back. However, Mouse is sometimes as hazardous to Easy as the Daphne and the men looking for her are always dangerous to him.
When Devil in a Blue Dress debuted in 1995, the film seemed like a sure thing, both at the box office and with critics. Writer/director Carl Franklin had earned attention with his brutal and gritty neo-noir crime thriller, One False Move (1992). The film was based upon Walter Mosley’s “Easy” Rawlins detective novel series that was getting a lot of notice because its lead was African-American, a rarity in detective fiction. The series was also growing in popularity and book sales, especially with the release of a fourth book in the series in late 1994. Playing Easy was Denzel Washington, an actor hitting a career stride with three Oscar nominations (and one win) and box office success. Although the film met with many good reviews, Devil in a Blue Dress never quite caught on, and today is overshadowed, as far as modern Film-Noir-like movies go, by L.A. Confidential, which showed up two years later after the release of Devin in a Blue Dress.
Franklin’s adaptation of the novel by Walter Mosley fails to capture the ambiance and impressions of post-war L.A. – certainly not the way Mosley succeeds in creating this wonderful gumbo of Black folks and Black subcultures. Franklin and the production staff do a fine job recreating the L.A. of that time period, but it sometimes feels empty and flat – like a set for a stage drama. Franklin transforms the novel’s plot into something resembling Chinatown or Out of the Past. It doesn’t take a genius movie fan to figure out that Daphne Monet knows something that can hurt a rich and powerful person. And that person wants her found before his enemies get a hold of her and the dangerous info she possesses. Because of such a familiar plot, Devil in a Blue Dress the movie must rely on its characters and the actors playing them to be a compelling film.
The film is nearly a half hour into the narrative when the performances and the characters begin to thaw. Denzel really starts to fit comfortably in Easy’s skin, and Tom Sizemore sinks deep in DeWitt Albright’s wickedness. The movie really blossoms when Don Cheadle steps in as Easy’s old homeboy, Mouse. In the books, Mouse is a cold-blooded killer who will murder a man for a minor insult as easily as he’d murder a man for trying to kill him. Even Mouse’s playfulness only makes him come across as a mild-tempered rattlesnake, and Cheadle superbly captures that essence of the character and puts it on the screen. This brilliant and captivating small supporting role caught many by surprise, but Oscars ignored it. Jennifer Beals takes almost the entirety of the film before her character comes alive. Ms. Beals’ best scenes are the ones in which Daphne deals with her true identity – familiar territory for Ms. Beals perhaps?
While by no means a great film, Devil in a Blue Dress sometimes seems like a prestige TV film. Still, because of what its characters are and because of its setting, Devil in a Blue Dress remains a memorable late, late 20th century noir film.
7 of 10
B+
NOTES:
1996 NAACP Image Awards: 4 nominations: “Lead Actress in a Motion Picture” (Jennifer Beals), “Outstanding Motion Picture,”” Outstanding Soundtrack Album” (Columbia), and “Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Motion Picture” (Don Cheadle)
Monday, April 17, 2006
Devil in a Blue Dress (1995)
Running time: 102 minutes (1 hour, 42 minutes)
MPAA – R for violence, sexuality, and language
DIRECTOR: Carl Franklin
WRITER: Carl Franklin (based upon the book by Walter Mosley)
PRODUCERS: Jesse Beaton and Gary Goetzman
CINEMATOGRAPHER: Tak Fujimoto
EDITOR: Carole Kravetz
Image Award nominee
MYSTERY/DRAMA
Starring: Denzel Washington, Tom Sizemore, Jennifer Beals, Don Cheadle, Maury Chaykin, Terry Kinney, Mel Winkler, Albert Hall, Lisa Nicole Carson, Jenard Burks, John Roselius, Beau Starr, and Joseph Latimore
It’s Los Angeles, 1948. World War II vet Ezekiel “Easy” Rawlins (Denzel Washington) is out of work and needing money because he owns his home (one of the few black men to do so in the post WW II black neighborhoods of L.A.), and the mortgage is due… now. Through a friend, he connects with a shady white man named DeWitt Albright (Tom Sizemore), who pays Easy 100 dollars to find a missing white woman named Daphne Monet (Jennifer Beals). It seems like an easy way to make quick cash, but Easy gets more than he bargained for when people connected to Daphne start turning up dead. With the cops breathing down his neck, Easy turns to his old Houston, Texas running mate Raymond Alexander aka “Mouse” (Don Cheadle), a trigger happy hood who will definitely have Easy’s back. However, Mouse is sometimes as hazardous to Easy as the Daphne and the men looking for her are always dangerous to him.
When Devil in a Blue Dress debuted in 1995, the film seemed like a sure thing, both at the box office and with critics. Writer/director Carl Franklin had earned attention with his brutal and gritty neo-noir crime thriller, One False Move (1992). The film was based upon Walter Mosley’s “Easy” Rawlins detective novel series that was getting a lot of notice because its lead was African-American, a rarity in detective fiction. The series was also growing in popularity and book sales, especially with the release of a fourth book in the series in late 1994. Playing Easy was Denzel Washington, an actor hitting a career stride with three Oscar nominations (and one win) and box office success. Although the film met with many good reviews, Devil in a Blue Dress never quite caught on, and today is overshadowed, as far as modern Film-Noir-like movies go, by L.A. Confidential, which showed up two years later after the release of Devin in a Blue Dress.
Franklin’s adaptation of the novel by Walter Mosley fails to capture the ambiance and impressions of post-war L.A. – certainly not the way Mosley succeeds in creating this wonderful gumbo of Black folks and Black subcultures. Franklin and the production staff do a fine job recreating the L.A. of that time period, but it sometimes feels empty and flat – like a set for a stage drama. Franklin transforms the novel’s plot into something resembling Chinatown or Out of the Past. It doesn’t take a genius movie fan to figure out that Daphne Monet knows something that can hurt a rich and powerful person. And that person wants her found before his enemies get a hold of her and the dangerous info she possesses. Because of such a familiar plot, Devil in a Blue Dress the movie must rely on its characters and the actors playing them to be a compelling film.
The film is nearly a half hour into the narrative when the performances and the characters begin to thaw. Denzel really starts to fit comfortably in Easy’s skin, and Tom Sizemore sinks deep in DeWitt Albright’s wickedness. The movie really blossoms when Don Cheadle steps in as Easy’s old homeboy, Mouse. In the books, Mouse is a cold-blooded killer who will murder a man for a minor insult as easily as he’d murder a man for trying to kill him. Even Mouse’s playfulness only makes him come across as a mild-tempered rattlesnake, and Cheadle superbly captures that essence of the character and puts it on the screen. This brilliant and captivating small supporting role caught many by surprise, but Oscars ignored it. Jennifer Beals takes almost the entirety of the film before her character comes alive. Ms. Beals’ best scenes are the ones in which Daphne deals with her true identity – familiar territory for Ms. Beals perhaps?
While by no means a great film, Devil in a Blue Dress sometimes seems like a prestige TV film. Still, because of what its characters are and because of its setting, Devil in a Blue Dress remains a memorable late, late 20th century noir film.
7 of 10
B+
NOTES:
1996 NAACP Image Awards: 4 nominations: “Lead Actress in a Motion Picture” (Jennifer Beals), “Outstanding Motion Picture,”” Outstanding Soundtrack Album” (Columbia), and “Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Motion Picture” (Don Cheadle)
Monday, April 17, 2006
Wednesday, July 14, 2010
Review: "Brooklyn's Finest" is Actually Not The Finest
Brooklyn’s Finest (2009)
Wide U.S. release: March 5, 2010
Running time: 132 minutes (2 hours, 12 minutes)
MPAA – R for bloody violence throughout, strong sexuality, nudity, drug content and pervasive language
DIRECTOR: Antoine Fuqua
WRITER: Michael C. Martin
PRODUCERS: Elie Cohn, Basil Iwanyk, John Langley, and John Thompson
CINEMATOGRAPHER: Patrick Murguia
EDITOR: Barbara Tulliver
CRIME/DRAMA
Starring: Richard Gere, Don Cheadle, Ethan Hawke, Wesley Snipes, Brian O’Byrne, Will Patton, Lili Taylor, Ellen Barkin, Jesse Williams, Shannon Kane, Lela Rochon, Ed Moran, Isiah Whitlock, Michael Kenneth Williams, Hassan Iniko Johnson, Jas Anderson and Vincent D’Onofrio
Ever watch a movie that just frustrates you because you want it to be better than it is because it should be better than it is? That’s Brooklyn’s Finest, a crime film from director Antoine Fuqua, an accomplished director of violent action films like Training Day and Tears of the Sun, which are aimed at guys who love violent action.
Brooklyn’s Finest follows three veteran New York cops struggling with right and wrong. Cynical, washed-up Edward “Eddie” Dugan (Richard Gere) stopped caring about the job or the rules years ago. Days from retirement, he finds himself overseeing rookies who will be assigned to tough neighborhoods. Detective Salvatore “Sal” Procida (Ethan Hawke) is desperate for money to support his growing family, so he starts taking money he finds during drug busts. Deeply religious, he struggles to reconcile his criminal deeds with his family’s needs, but with a down payment on a bigger house due, he plots his most dangerous cash-grab yet.
Clarence “Tango” Butler (Don Cheadle) is an undercover narcotics officer who hopes his latest assignment will earn him a promotion to detective and a desk job. However, he must betray Casanova “Caz” Phillips (Wesley Snipes), a prison buddy just released from prison on appeal of his conviction. A vulgar federal agent demands that Tango set up a drug deal that will assure Caz’s return to prison, but that causes Tango to be torn between his conflicting loyalties – the job and his friend. Eddie, Sal, and Tango converge on the Van Dyke housing projects of Brooklyn’s notorious Brownsville section where their lives will change forever.
Brooklyn’s Finest is a sprawling crime drama that offers good characters and a good setup, but it never really develops. The characters are the kind of stock players found in movies dealing with the New York City Police Department and Big Apple crime: cynical cops, dirty cops, vulgar cops, asshole cops, compromised cops, bureaucratic cops, arrogant federal agents, prostitutes, wannabe gangsters, and drug dealers. Plus, there are shootings – lots and lots of shootings. Although Brooklyn’s Finest is his first screenplay, writer Michael C. Martin actually seems as if he is going to do something grand, if not different, with this story and these characters. However, he eventually writes himself into a corner, where violent death is the only resolution, so the movie ends up seeming so predictable. Martin develops everything slowly, as if this were a pilot for a television series, when it really is a movie screenplay. Martin just builds and builds, and before the plot can thicken, it’s time for the story to end. And the only way left to end this is by using good old mister shoot ‘em up.
The performances by the three leads are good, if not great. Richard Gere is so real as the cynical, burned-out Eddie that the character seems weird and out of place. The best acting comes from the supporting players. Wesley Snipes is pitch perfect as the old dog gangsta; Snipes shows it in his face that Caz is tired and out of place among the younger, harder, and more brutal drug dealers. The talented Brian O’Byrne is excellent as the way too underutilized character, Officer Ronny Rosario. Ellen Barkin reminds us how good she is as the ball-busting Federal Agent Smith, a part Barkin plays as if she has a chip on shoulder and dynamite up her ass. Someone should give Smith her own movie because the disappointing Brooklyn’s Finest is not worthy of the character.
4 of 10
C
Tuesday, July 13, 2010
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Monday, May 10, 2010
Review: "Iron Man 2" Doesn't Disappoint
Iron Man 2 (2010)
Running time: 124 minutes (2 hours, 4 minutes)
MPAA – PG-13 for sequences of intense sci-fi action and violence, and some language
DIRECTOR: Jon Favreau
WRITER: Justin Theroux (based on the characters and stories created by Stan Lee, Don Heck, Larry Lieber, and Jack Kirby)
PRODUCER: Kevin Feige
CINEMATOGRAPHER: Matthew Libatique (director of photography)
EDITORS: Dan Lebental and Richard Pearson
SUPERHERO/SCI-FI/ACTION
Starring: Robert Downey, Jr., Don Cheadle, Gwyneth Paltrow, Scarlett Johansson, Sam Rockwell, Mickey Rourke, Samuel L. Jackson, Clark Gregg, John Slatterly, Jon Favreau, Garry Shandling, and Paul Bettany (voice)
Back in 2008, the most anticipated superhero event movie was Christopher Nolan’s The Dark Knight, which certainly delivered on its promise and more. Many people were looking past the early May release of Iron Man; some had even been laughing at this film, which starred a superhero character that was probably C-list (at best) in the minds of the general movie-going audience. Iron Man was a surprise smash, grossing over 300 million dollars domestically. Now, the sequel, Iron Man 2, arrives with a bigger bang, and actually improves on the original – giving us more Iron Man-in-action.
As the new film opens, billionaire inventor Tony Stark (Robert Downey, Jr.) reveals to the world that he is the armored superhero, Iron Man, whom people previously believed was Stark’s bodyguard. However, that only puts Stark under more pressure from the federal government, especially the grandstanding Senator Stern (Garry Shandling), to share his technology with the military. Stark is unwilling to divulge the secrets behind the Iron Man armor because he fears the technology will slip into the wrong hands.
When an unexpected adversary attacks Tony Stark using technology similar to the Iron Man armor, the public, the press, and Senator Stern are no longer willing to take no for an answer. In fact, this new villain, a Russian named Ivan Vanko (Mickey Rourke), has a connection to Tony’s late father, Howard Stark (John Slatterly), and Vanko even joins forces with Stark’s industrial rival, Justin Hammer (Sam Rockwell). With his secretary Pepper Potts (Gwyneth Paltrow) and his friend James “Rhodey” Rhodes (Don Cheadle) by his side, Tony forges new alliances – the mysterious Nick Fury (Samuel L. Jackson) and a shadowy new assistant, Natalie Rushman (Scarlett Johansson) – and confronts the two men determined to destroy him.
Watching Iron Man 2, one gets the feeling that the cast is having a good time, especially Robert Downey, Jr. as Tony Stark/Iron Man. Downey spent a decade sabotaging his career via drug addiction, which was sad, but made even worse by the fact that Downey was such a damn fine actor. Surviving the scourge of Lady Cocaine, Downey has resurrected his career, in large part by revealing his deft skills as a comic actor who can throw down droll wit and sledgehammer snark with equal power. Iron Man 2 simply reminds me that I could watch Downey all day as Iron Man or Tony Stark
Gwyneth Paltrow is equally good as Pepper Potts, but her good work only serves as a reminder that this is a sadly underutilized character. Don Cheadle is a better Rhodey than Terrence Howard. Cheadle is so serious and strong in his performance that he makes it believable that Rhodey is one of the few people Downey Jr.’s Tony Stark respects, takes seriously, and genuinely likes. I was also quite surprised at how good Mickey Rourke is as Ivan Vanko; in fact, Rourke’s Vanko is good enough to become Stark’s signature film rival.
Sam Rockwell is not good as Justin Hammer, an annoying character that seems out of place here and is actually a detriment to the film. Scarlett Johansson is actually good in this film, but her character, though fun, is a little extraneous. Pepper Potts could have done much of what Natalie Rushman did in the story. That said I wouldn’t mind seeing the Natalie Rushman in her own movie.
Iron Man 2, however, is so highly-polished and entertaining that I’m inclined to ignore the faults: the occasionally clunky pacing, too many superfluous or unconnected characters, and that isolated awkward Nick Fury/Shield sub-plot. The superhero fight and action scenes make Iron Man 2 seem like a superhero comic book come to life as a high-octane thrill ride. Robots, Iron Man armor, battle suits, rockets, and assorted big guns pound away at the senses. The big (and extended) final battle between Iron Man and Ivan Vanko is dazzling. Though not perfect, moments like that made me wish Iron Man 2 wouldn’t end.
7 of 10
B+
Monday, May 10, 2010
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