Support Leroy on Patreon.
COMICS - From CinemaBlend: Mark Ruffalo on the changing dynamic between Hulk and Bruce Banner in "Thor: Ragnarok" (Thor 3).
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COMICS - From JustJared: Set photos from "Wolverine" with bearded Hugh Jackman.
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OBIT/MUSIC - From YahooMusic: 22-year-old Christina Grimmie, who finished third on NBC's singing competition, "The Voice" (in 2014), was shot and killed at a concert venue in Orlando, Florida, Friday, June 10, 2016.
From YahooNews: Christina Grimmie's killer has been identified.
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MOVIES - From THR: Mel Gibson and writer Randall Wallace are working on a sequel to "The Passion of the Christ."
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SPORTS/CRIME - From YahooNews: Stanford rapist, Brock Turner, banned for life by USA Swimming. A competitive swimmer for Stanford, Turner had apparently planned on competing for a spot on the U.S. Olympic swimming team.
From YahooNews: Rape friendly judge, Aaron Persky, also was a student-athlete at Stanford - just like Brock Turner to whom Persky gave a slap-on-the-pinky sentence for sexual assault.
From YahooNews: Some jurors have refused to serve Judge Aaron Persky.
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SPORTS - From YahooSports: Trying to be one of the guys, Tampa Bay Rays and Orlando Magic sideline reporter, Emily Austen, dropped some racist comments. It cost her her job.
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MOVIES - From Variety: Angelina Jolie interested in "Murder on the Orient Express" remake.
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COMICS - From CinemaBlend: Sharon Stone drops more clues about her upcoming role in a Marvel movie.
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JAMES BOND - From Forbes: Will Warner Bros. end up as the new distributor of James Bond films, with Christopher Nolan directing at least one Bond feature?
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OBITS - From YahooSports: Legendary professional hockey player, Gordie Howe, "Mr. Hockey," has died at the age of 88, Friday, June 10, 2016. Howe played 26 years in the NHL and six in the WHL. He won four Stanley Cups with the Detroit Red Wings.
From YahooSports: World reacts to the death of Gordie Howe.
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HARRY POTTER - From Deadline: Here is a review of the first preview performance of "Harry Potter and the Cursed Child."
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MOVIES - From Deadline: Universal is making a film adaptation of "Battlestar Galactica," apparently the original 1978 version (and not the 2003-reboot). Director Francis Lawrence is reportedly interested in helming the film.
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MOVIES - From Variety: Jennifer Lawrence joins director Adam McKay (The Big Short) for a drama.
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CRIME - From BuzzFeed: The Stanford rape victim's releases her "Victim Impact Statement."
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BLACK LIVES MATTER - From RSN: Black Lives Matter activist, Jazmine Richards, jailed.
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POLITICS - From YahooNews: Barack Obama endorses Hillary Clinton.
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COMICS - From THR: Michael B. Jordan seems to confirm that he will be in Marvel's "Black Panther."
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MOVIES - From ScreenRant: Word on the cinematic streets is that Chris Nolan will crash a vintage WWII plane during the filming of "Dunkirk."
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MOVIES - From Deadline: Ron Howard and Brian Grazer are working on an adaptation of the science fiction novel, "Seveneves," for Skydance.
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PIXAR - From YahooMovies: More new clips from "Finding Dory."
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COMICS - From YahooMovies: Oscar-winner actor, J.K. Simmons (Whiplash) has gotten buffed and shredded for his role in the "Justice League" movie.
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COMICS - From TheWrap: Warner Bros.' "Suicide Squad" movie earns a rating of PG-13.
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BOX OFFICE - From FlickeringMyth: "Warcraft" opens huge in China, and passes $100 million worldwide.
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COMICS - From Deadline: Sacha Baron Cohen is apparently interested in playing the lead role in a film adaptation of the newspaper comic strip, "Mandrake the Magician."
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ECO - From Truthout: Two actors associated with the "Star Trek," James Cromwell and John "J.G." Hertzler, are arrested for an anti-fossil fuel protest.
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COMICS - From YahooFinance: Are high-value comic books a better investment than the stock market?
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MOVIES - From TheGuardian: Tom Hiddleston said he doubts that he will succeed Daniel Craig as James Bond.
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MOVIES - From CinemaBlend: Eddie Murphy and Brett Ratner teaming up for Netflix mockumentary.
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COMICS - From CinemaBlend: The title of the third Wolverine movie, which is supposed to be the last time Hugh Jacksman plays the characters, is rumored to be titled "Weapon X."
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MOVIES - From YahooCelebrity: Meryl Streep lathers her face in orange, wears a fat suit with a ridiculously long tie and lampoon Donald Trump.
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SPORTS/OBITS: - From ESPN: MMA (mixed martial arts) sensation and legend, Kimbo Slice, has died at the age of 42, Monday, June 6, 2016.
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MOVIES - From Deadline: John Boyega is the lead in the "Pacific Rim" sequel.
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COMICS - From Deadline: The fall-scheduled "Reborn" comic book might be the next hot Hollywood property from comic book writer, Mark Millar.
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MOVIES - From YahooTech: Vin Diesel shows off cast photo from "Fast 8."
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CRIME - From YahooStyle: Stanford rapist, Brock Turner, is at the head of a truly awful case. He gets off with a slap on the pinky.
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MUSIC - From YahooMusic: ABBA performs together on stage for the first time in 30 years.
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TELEVISION - From YahooFinance: John Oliver, host of "Last Week Tonight," buys about $15 million dollars of medical debt from besieged people.
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AWARDS - From YahooMovies: At the 10th Spike TV Guy's Choice Awards, Matt Damon and Ben Affleck tease their bromance.
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BOX OFFICE - BoxOfficedMojo: The winner at the 6/3 to 6/5/2016 weekend box office is "Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Out of the Shadows" with an estimated take of $35.25 million.
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BOOKS - From Truthout: The beloved lesbian vampire returns in a new printing of "The Gilda Stories.
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STAR TREK - From ScreenRant: The CBS "Star Trek" revival adds familiar Trek scribes to its writing staff.
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HARRY POTTER: From People: J.K. Rowling does not care what the racists thinks. She gives her blessing to actress Noma Dumezweni, who is black, playing a grown up Hermoine Granger in the play, "Harry Potter and the Cursed Child."
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Muhammad Ali:
From Wikipedia: Muhammad Ali's page.
From RSN: Thousands mourn Ali.
From YahooSports: Live streaming and memorable moments from Muhammad Ali's funeral.
From YahooSports: Louisville mourns its native son, Muhammad Ali.
From YahooSports: Ali to be honored at a public funeral on Friday, June 10, 2016.
From TheNewYorker: David Remnick on the outsized life of Ali.
From YahooSports: The "Ali Summit" (in which Ali announced that he would not serve in the Vietnam War) was a transformational moment in U.S. history.
From Variety: Celebrities and athletes pay tribe to Ali.
From CBB: Johnny Bullet webcomic offers an extra episode honoring Muhammad Ali.
From RollingStone: The legacy of Muhammad Ali and his enemies.
From LATimes: There will never be another Muhammad Ali.
From RSN: Ali's biggest win - in the Supreme Court.
Showing posts with label Eddie Murphy. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Eddie Murphy. Show all posts
Saturday, June 11, 2016
Saturday, March 14, 2015
Negromancer News Bits and Bites for the Week of March 8th to 14th, 2015 - Update #10
NEWS:
From YahooMovies: Alex Gibney talks about his Steve Jobs doc.
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From TheWrap: Eddie Murphy may appear in Lee Daniel's Richard Pryor biopic as Richard's father.
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From ShadowandAct: What to expect from "Empire" Season 2.
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From ShadowandAct: A list of 73 pilots for the 2015-16 TV season that feature African-American leads or supporting characters.
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From SlashFilm: Sony Pictures announced an all-male "Ghostbusters" movie to go along with it all-female "Ghostbusters" movie. Or maybe it's a shared universe and a team-up.
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From TheWrap: A guilty plea in the "Midnight Rider" trial.
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From TheWrap: The winner at the March 6th to 8th, 2015 box office is Chappie with an estimated haul of $13.3 million.
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From YahooMovies: China lifts the box office of box office flop, Jupiter Ascending.
COMIC BOOKS:
From Comicvine: Superman's new look - coming in June. It's ridiculous.
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From SlashFilm: Chris Pine rumored for Green Lantern.
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From YahooTV: Another look at Supergirl's costume for the upcoming "Supergirl" TV show.
STAR WARS:
From EntertainmentWeekly: A history of "Rogue Squadron," which may explain the 2016 Star Wars spin-off film, "Rogue One."
Wednesday, February 18, 2015
Chiwetel Ejiofor, Eddie Murphy Among Presents at 87th Oscars
Chiwetel Ejiofor, Chris Evans, Dakota Johnson, Jennifer Lopez, Chloë Grace Moretz, Eddie Murphy and Margot Robbie to Present At 87th Oscars®
Chiwetel Ejiofor, Chris Evans, Dakota Johnson, Jennifer Lopez, Chloë Grace Moretz, Eddie Murphy and Margot Robbie will be presenters at this year’s Oscars, show producers Craig Zadan and Neil Meron announced today. The Oscars, hosted by Neil Patrick Harris, will air on Sunday, February 22, 2015 live on ABC.
Ejiofor received his first Oscar® nomination last year for his lead performance in “12 Years a Slave.” He previously appeared in such features as “Salt” (2010), “American Gangster” (2007), “Children of Men” (2006) and “Dirty Pretty Things” (2003). His upcoming films include “Z for Zachariah” and “Triple Nine.”
Evans made his directorial debut in Toronto this year with “Before We Go.” He starred in 2014’s “Captain America: The Winter Soldier,” reprising the role of the patriotic superhero he played in “Captain America: The First Avenger” (2011) and “Marvel’s The Avengers” (2012). His other film credits include “Snowpiercer” (2014), “Puncture” (2011), “Sunshine” (2007) and “Fantastic Four” (2005). He will appear next in “Avengers: Age of Ultron.”
Johnson will star in “Fifty Shades of Grey,” which opens this month. She’s appeared in such hits as “The Five-Year Engagement,” “21 Jump Street” and “The Social Network.” Johnson will next be seen in the upcoming films “A Bigger Splash” and “Black Mass.”
Lopez can currently be seen in the thriller “The Boy Next Door.” Her other feature credits include “An Unfinished Life” (2005), “Monster in Law” (2005), “The Wedding Planner” (2001) and “Out of Sight” (1998). She stars opposite Viola Davis in “Lila & Eve,” which premiered last month at the Sundance Film Festival and she will voice ‘Lucy’ in the upcoming animated film “Home.”
Moretz most recently starred in “Dark Shadows” (2012), “The Equalizer” (2014) and “If I Stay” (2014). She previously appeared in such features as “Carrie” (2013), “Hugo” (2011), “Kick-Ass” (2010) and “Let Me In” (2010). She will next appear in “The Fifth Wave.”
Murphy received an Oscar nomination for his supporting role in the 2006 film “Dreamgirls.” He has starred in such features as “Bowfinger” (1999), “The Nutty Professor” (1996), “Coming to America” (1988), “Beverly Hills Cop” (1984) and “48 Hrs.” (1982), and has lent his voice talents to all four of the “Shrek” animated features to date. He will next be seen in the independent drama “Cook.”
Robbie is best known for her breakout role in “The Wolf of Wall Street” (2013) and can next be seen starring in Warner Bros' “Focus.” She is currently in production on Paramount's “Untitled Tina Fey Project." Her upcoming films include “Z for Zachariah,” “Tarzan" and “Suicide Squad."
The 87th Oscars will be held on Sunday, February 22, 2015, at the Dolby Theatre® at Hollywood & Highland Center® in Hollywood, and will be televised live on the ABC Television Network at 7 p.m. ET/4 p.m. PT. The Oscars, produced by Zadan and Meron, also will be televised live in more than 225 countries and territories worldwide.
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Chiwetel Ejiofor, Chris Evans, Dakota Johnson, Jennifer Lopez, Chloë Grace Moretz, Eddie Murphy and Margot Robbie will be presenters at this year’s Oscars, show producers Craig Zadan and Neil Meron announced today. The Oscars, hosted by Neil Patrick Harris, will air on Sunday, February 22, 2015 live on ABC.
Ejiofor received his first Oscar® nomination last year for his lead performance in “12 Years a Slave.” He previously appeared in such features as “Salt” (2010), “American Gangster” (2007), “Children of Men” (2006) and “Dirty Pretty Things” (2003). His upcoming films include “Z for Zachariah” and “Triple Nine.”
Evans made his directorial debut in Toronto this year with “Before We Go.” He starred in 2014’s “Captain America: The Winter Soldier,” reprising the role of the patriotic superhero he played in “Captain America: The First Avenger” (2011) and “Marvel’s The Avengers” (2012). His other film credits include “Snowpiercer” (2014), “Puncture” (2011), “Sunshine” (2007) and “Fantastic Four” (2005). He will appear next in “Avengers: Age of Ultron.”
Johnson will star in “Fifty Shades of Grey,” which opens this month. She’s appeared in such hits as “The Five-Year Engagement,” “21 Jump Street” and “The Social Network.” Johnson will next be seen in the upcoming films “A Bigger Splash” and “Black Mass.”
Lopez can currently be seen in the thriller “The Boy Next Door.” Her other feature credits include “An Unfinished Life” (2005), “Monster in Law” (2005), “The Wedding Planner” (2001) and “Out of Sight” (1998). She stars opposite Viola Davis in “Lila & Eve,” which premiered last month at the Sundance Film Festival and she will voice ‘Lucy’ in the upcoming animated film “Home.”
Moretz most recently starred in “Dark Shadows” (2012), “The Equalizer” (2014) and “If I Stay” (2014). She previously appeared in such features as “Carrie” (2013), “Hugo” (2011), “Kick-Ass” (2010) and “Let Me In” (2010). She will next appear in “The Fifth Wave.”
Murphy received an Oscar nomination for his supporting role in the 2006 film “Dreamgirls.” He has starred in such features as “Bowfinger” (1999), “The Nutty Professor” (1996), “Coming to America” (1988), “Beverly Hills Cop” (1984) and “48 Hrs.” (1982), and has lent his voice talents to all four of the “Shrek” animated features to date. He will next be seen in the independent drama “Cook.”
Robbie is best known for her breakout role in “The Wolf of Wall Street” (2013) and can next be seen starring in Warner Bros' “Focus.” She is currently in production on Paramount's “Untitled Tina Fey Project." Her upcoming films include “Z for Zachariah,” “Tarzan" and “Suicide Squad."
The 87th Oscars will be held on Sunday, February 22, 2015, at the Dolby Theatre® at Hollywood & Highland Center® in Hollywood, and will be televised live on the ABC Television Network at 7 p.m. ET/4 p.m. PT. The Oscars, produced by Zadan and Meron, also will be televised live in more than 225 countries and territories worldwide.
--------------------
Saturday, October 6, 2012
Review: "Trading Places" is Timeless (Remembering Denholm Elliot)
Trading Places (1983)
Running time: 116 minutes (1 hour, 56 minutes)
MPAA – R
DIRECTOR: John Landis
WRITERS: Timothy Harris and Herschel Weingrod
PRODUCER: Aaron Russo
CINEMATOGRAPHER: Robert Paynter (D.o.P.)
EDITOR: Malcolm Campbell
COMPOSER: Elmer Bernstein
Academy Award nominee
COMEDY
Starring: Dan Aykroyd, Eddie Murphy, Ralph Bellamy, Don Ameche, Denholm Elliot, Jamie Lee Curtis, Kristin Holby, and Paul Gleason
The subject of this movie review is Trading Places, a 1983 comedy film and satire from director John Landis. The film stars Dan Aykroyd and Eddie Murphy as a snobbish commodities trader and a streetwise con artist, respectively, who plot revenge against two conniving millionaires who cruelly use them in a personal wager.
Rare is the comedy film that enjoys success across a broad spectrum of viewer types and still remain popular even two decades after its initial release. That is exactly the case with director John Landis’s buddy, comic caper Trading Places.
Mortimer (Don Ameche) and Randolph Duke (Ralph Bellamy), millionaire commodity brokers, have made a bet. Randolph believes that he can take a common criminal off the streets, Billy Ray Valentine (Eddie Murphy), and make him into a successful businessman, the old nature vs. environment/nurture. Mortimer disagrees, siding with nature, and the brothers bet one dollar to whoever wins. To learn if even a man who has been brought up in the right environment and has gotten everything he wants can go bad, they pick their hand-chosen successor at Duke and Duke, the snobbish Louis Winthorp III (Dan Aykroyd), and frame him for a few crimes. He loses his job and winds up in jail. The Dukes give Billy Ray Louis’s home and job at Duke and Duke. When Billy Ray accidentally discovers the wager, the wily young con artist joins Louis, Ophelia (Jamie Lee Curtis) a hooker with a heart of gold who has befriended Louis, and Louis’s butler Coleman (Denholm Elliot) to turn the tables on the two callous Duke Brothers.
One of the things that makes this film so much fun is that it plays upon broad socio-economic stereotypes that are very familiar to audiences. What makes these almost stock characters work so well is a combination of excellent comic actors and a good comedic script. Dan Akyroyd is a very good actor, but he is mostly known as a comedian; combine good acting with a great sense of comic timing, and you have a great performance.
Eddie Murphy’s star as a movie actor was rapidly rising at this point in his career, but he was already a quite accomplished player in the cast of “Saturday Night Live.” The Murphy here is still the brash, streetwise, fast talker bursting with the kinda of “black comedy” that both black and white audiences love – you know, the sassy and mouthy Negro who always has a come back or something smart-alecky to say. That Murphy is mostly gone and rarely makes a film appearance now almost 20 years into Murphy’s film career, but looking back, one can see that he makes Billy Ray Valentine both hilarious and loveable – the guy you can root for and with whom you can almost identify.
Kudos also go to longtime screen veterans Bellamy, Ameche, and Elliot for bravura performances that take stock characters and give them flavor and delightful personalities. We also get the added gem of seeing Ms. Curtis in a role that didn’t require her to run from a knife-wielding murder. Up to this point in her career, Ms. Curtis had become the new "Scream Queen" of horror films.
If you haven’t seen this film, you don’t know what you’re missing. If you’ve seen it once before, you should be at least on your tenth viewing.
8 of 10
A
NOTES:
1984 Academy Awards: 1 nomination: “Best Music, Original Song Score and Its Adaptation or Best Adaptation Score” (Elmer Bernstein)
1984 BAFTA Awards: 2 wins: “Best Supporting Actor” (Denholm Elliott) and “Best Supporting Actress” (Jamie Lee Curtis); 1 nomination: “Best Screenplay – Original” (Timothy Harris and Herschel Weingrod)
1984 Golden Globes, USA: 2 nominations: “Best Motion Picture - Comedy/Musical” and “Best Performance by an Actor in a Motion Picture - Comedy/Musical” (Eddie Murphy)
Saturday, March 31, 2012
Adam Sandler Dominates 2012 Razzie Award Nominations
The Golden Raspberry Award or, as it is best known, the Razzie Award, is basically the opposite of the Academy Awards (the Oscars). This award honors the worst achievements in film in a calendar year, as determined by the paid membership of the Golden Raspberry Award Foundation.
The 32nd Annual Razzie Awards will be announced Sunday, April 1, 2012, which is, of course, April Fools’ Day. The big news is that Adam Sandler has more than doubled Eddie Murphy's old record of most nominations accrued by an individual in a single year. As an actor, a writer, and/or a producer on three films released in 2011 (Jack and Jill, Bucky Larson: Born to Be a Star, and Just Go with It), Sandler earned 11 nominations.
The 32nd Annual Razzie Awards nominations (for 2011):
WORST PICTURE
Bucky Larson: Born to Be a Star (Columbia Pictures / Happy Madison Productions)
Jack & Jill (Columbia Pictures / Happy Madison Productions)
New Year's Eve (Warner Bros. / New Line Cinema)
Transformers: Dark of the Moon (Paramount Pictures / Hasbro)
The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn Part 1 (Summit Entertainment)
WORST ACTOR
Russell Brand, Arthur
Nicolas Cage, Drive Angry 3-D, Season of the Witch and Trespass
Taylor Lautner, Abduction and The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn Part 1
Adam Sandler, Jack & Jill and Just Go With It
Nick Swardson, Bucky Larson: Born to Be a Star
WORST ACTRESS
Martin Lawrence, Big Mommas: Like Father, Like Son
Sarah Palin, Sarah Palin: The Undefeated
Sarah Jessica Parker, I Don't Know How She Does It and New Year's Eve
Adam Sandler, Jack & Jill
Kristen Stewart, The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn Part 1
WORST SUPPORTING ACTOR
Patrick Dempsey, Transformers: Dark of the Moon
James Franco, Your Highness
Ken Jeong, Big Mommas: Like Father, Like Son, The Hangover Part 2, Transformers: Dark of the Moon and Zookeeper
Al Pacino, Jack & Jill
Nick Swardson, Jack & Jill and Just Go With It
WORST SUPPORTING ACTRESS
Katie Holmes, Jack & Jill
Brandon T. Jackson, Big Mommas: Like Father, Like Son
Nicole Kidman, Just Go With It
David Spade, Jack & Jill
Rosie Huntington-Whiteley, Transformers: Dark of the Moon
WORST SCREEN ENSEMBLE
Cast of Bucky Larson: Born to Be a Star
Cast of Jack & Jill
Cast of New Year's Eve
Cast of Transformers: Dark of the Moon
Cast of The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn Part 1
WORST DIRECTOR
Michael Bay, Transformers: Dark of the Moon
Tom Brady, Bucky Larson: Born to Be a Star
Bill Condon, The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn Part 1
Dennis Dugan, Jack & Jill and Just Go With It
Garry Marshall, New Year's Eve
WORST PREQUEL, REMAKE, RIP-OFF OR SEQUEL
Arthur
Bucky Larson: Born to Be a Star (ripoff of Boogie Nights and A Star Is Born)
The Hangover Part 2 (both a sequel and a remake)
Jack & Jill (remake/ripoff of Ed Woods' Glen or Glenda)
The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn Part 1
WORST SCREEN COUPLE
Nicolas Cage and Anyone Sharing the Screen With Him in any of his three 2011 movies
Shia LeBeouf and Rosie Huntington-Whiteley, Transformers: Dark of the Moon
Adam Sandler and either Jennifer Aniston or Brooklyn Decker, Just Go With It
Adam Sandler and either Katie Holmes, Al Pacino or Adam Sandler, Jack & Jill
Kristen Stewart and either Taylor Lautner or Robert Pattinson, The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn Part 1
WORST SCREENPLAY
Bucky Larson: Born to Be a Star (written by Adam Sandler, Allen Covert and Nick Swardson)
Jack & Jill (screenplay by Steve Koren & Adam Sandler, story by Ben Zook)
New Year's Eve (written by Katherine Fugate)
Transformers: Dark of the Moon (written by Ehren Kruger)
The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn Part 1 (screenplay by Melissa Rosenberg)
The 32nd Annual Razzie Awards will be announced Sunday, April 1, 2012, which is, of course, April Fools’ Day. The big news is that Adam Sandler has more than doubled Eddie Murphy's old record of most nominations accrued by an individual in a single year. As an actor, a writer, and/or a producer on three films released in 2011 (Jack and Jill, Bucky Larson: Born to Be a Star, and Just Go with It), Sandler earned 11 nominations.
The 32nd Annual Razzie Awards nominations (for 2011):
WORST PICTURE
Bucky Larson: Born to Be a Star (Columbia Pictures / Happy Madison Productions)
Jack & Jill (Columbia Pictures / Happy Madison Productions)
New Year's Eve (Warner Bros. / New Line Cinema)
Transformers: Dark of the Moon (Paramount Pictures / Hasbro)
The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn Part 1 (Summit Entertainment)
WORST ACTOR
Russell Brand, Arthur
Nicolas Cage, Drive Angry 3-D, Season of the Witch and Trespass
Taylor Lautner, Abduction and The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn Part 1
Adam Sandler, Jack & Jill and Just Go With It
Nick Swardson, Bucky Larson: Born to Be a Star
WORST ACTRESS
Martin Lawrence, Big Mommas: Like Father, Like Son
Sarah Palin, Sarah Palin: The Undefeated
Sarah Jessica Parker, I Don't Know How She Does It and New Year's Eve
Adam Sandler, Jack & Jill
Kristen Stewart, The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn Part 1
WORST SUPPORTING ACTOR
Patrick Dempsey, Transformers: Dark of the Moon
James Franco, Your Highness
Ken Jeong, Big Mommas: Like Father, Like Son, The Hangover Part 2, Transformers: Dark of the Moon and Zookeeper
Al Pacino, Jack & Jill
Nick Swardson, Jack & Jill and Just Go With It
WORST SUPPORTING ACTRESS
Katie Holmes, Jack & Jill
Brandon T. Jackson, Big Mommas: Like Father, Like Son
Nicole Kidman, Just Go With It
David Spade, Jack & Jill
Rosie Huntington-Whiteley, Transformers: Dark of the Moon
WORST SCREEN ENSEMBLE
Cast of Bucky Larson: Born to Be a Star
Cast of Jack & Jill
Cast of New Year's Eve
Cast of Transformers: Dark of the Moon
Cast of The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn Part 1
WORST DIRECTOR
Michael Bay, Transformers: Dark of the Moon
Tom Brady, Bucky Larson: Born to Be a Star
Bill Condon, The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn Part 1
Dennis Dugan, Jack & Jill and Just Go With It
Garry Marshall, New Year's Eve
WORST PREQUEL, REMAKE, RIP-OFF OR SEQUEL
Arthur
Bucky Larson: Born to Be a Star (ripoff of Boogie Nights and A Star Is Born)
The Hangover Part 2 (both a sequel and a remake)
Jack & Jill (remake/ripoff of Ed Woods' Glen or Glenda)
The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn Part 1
WORST SCREEN COUPLE
Nicolas Cage and Anyone Sharing the Screen With Him in any of his three 2011 movies
Shia LeBeouf and Rosie Huntington-Whiteley, Transformers: Dark of the Moon
Adam Sandler and either Jennifer Aniston or Brooklyn Decker, Just Go With It
Adam Sandler and either Katie Holmes, Al Pacino or Adam Sandler, Jack & Jill
Kristen Stewart and either Taylor Lautner or Robert Pattinson, The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn Part 1
WORST SCREENPLAY
Bucky Larson: Born to Be a Star (written by Adam Sandler, Allen Covert and Nick Swardson)
Jack & Jill (screenplay by Steve Koren & Adam Sandler, story by Ben Zook)
New Year's Eve (written by Katherine Fugate)
Transformers: Dark of the Moon (written by Ehren Kruger)
The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn Part 1 (screenplay by Melissa Rosenberg)
Saturday, March 10, 2012
Review: "Daddy Day Care" is Eddie Murphy Empty Calories
Daddy Day Care (2003)
Running time: 92 minutes (1 hour, 32 minutes)
MPAA – PG for language
DIRECTOR: Steve Carr
WRITER: Geoff Rodkey
PRODUCERS: Matt Berenson, John Davis, and Wyck Godfrey
CINEMATOGRAPHER: Steven Poster
EDITOR: Christopher Greenbury
COMPOSER: David Newman
COMEDY/FAMILY with elements of fantasy
Starring: Eddie Murphy, Jeff Garlin, Steve Zahn, Regina King, Kevin Nealon, Anjelica Huston, Jonathan Katz, Leila Arcieri, Khamani Griffin, and Max Burkholder
Once upon a time Eddie Murphy starred in movies people couldn’t get enough of like Trading Places and Beverly Hills Cop. Then, according to bigoted critics, Murphy turned his back on his “white audience” with films like Harlem Nights and Boomerang, which were not blockbusters but were nevertheless both excellent films featuring mostly African-American casts. Since the mid-90’s Murphy has starred in a number of “family-oriented” films that have been huge hits: The Nutty Professor, Mulan, Dr. Doolittle, and Shrek, etc. Frankly, I wouldn’t mind a combination of the star that appeared in Trading Places and Boomerang, but I can deal with the family friendly fare like Murphy’s recent hit, Daddy Day Care.
Charlie Hinton (Eddie Murphy) and Phil (Jeff Garlin) are laid off (fired) from their well paying jobs. As the weeks of being unemployed blow by they are spending more time with their sons, not that that’s a bad thing; they’re just not used to being employed. Like a light bulb exploding in his head, Charlie gets the idea of opening a daycare center, partly because he can no longer afford the posh Chapman Academy his son was attending when he was working. After initial skepticism, a growing number of mothers begin to rely on the affordable care that Charlie and Phil provide. However, the Chapman dowager, Mrs. Haridan (Anjelica Huston), doesn’t like the competition and schemes to have Charlie and Phil’s increasingly popular Daddy Day Care closed.
There’s no point in beating around the bush. Daddy Day Care is an entertainment delivery vehicle meant to give the “family audience” a few chuckles while affirming the bushy middle-class, suburban lifestyle. If that’s sounds like a criticism, it isn’t, not quiet. It’s simply that this film doesn’t have to be so vapid. Even the menace of Mrs. Haridan’s attempt to close the school is at best a lukewarm threat. If not for Ms. Huston’s ability to chew into even the most cardboard cutout characters, there would have been no dramatic tension in this film. The two male leads have lost their well-paying jobs, for chrissakes. That resonates with much of the audience in these shaky-as-ever economic times. Hell yeah, there are lots of laughs; I certainly found many, but this film could have been about something – about two dads struggling with new roles, roles men are not used to playing.
Oh well, I don’t regret seeing Daddy Day Care, and there are lots of warm and fuzzy feelings. It’s a safe trip to the movies for the entire family. Steve Zahn as Marvin, Daddy Day Care’s first new employee is an absolute show stealing delight. Impossible as it might seem, I like him more each time I see him in a movie. His inspired performance and off-kilter character were more than worth my time.
P.S. Two characters speak Klingon (a language from the Star Trek television and film franchise, for those who don’t know) in this movie; that alone is worth $1 of your admission price.
6 of 10
B
Sunday, November 6, 2011
Review: "Tower Heist" Captures Classic Eddie Murphy
Tower Heist (2011)
Running time: 104 minutes (1 hour, 44 minutes)
MPAA – PG-13 for language and sexual content
DIRECTOR: Brett Ratner
WRITERS: Ted Griffin and Jeff Nathanson; from a story by Adam Cooper, Bill Collage, and Ted Griffin
PRODUCERS: Brian Grazer, Eddie Murphy, and Kim Roth
CINEMATOGRAPHER: Dante Spinotti
EDITOR: Mark Helfrich
COMPOSER: Christophe Beck
COMEDY/CRIME with elements of a thriller
Starring: Ben Stiller, Eddie Murphy, Casey Affleck, Alan Alda, Matthew Broderick, Stephen Henderson, Judd Hirsch, Téa Leoni, Michael Peña, Gabourey Sidibe, Nina Arianda, Marcia Jean Kurtz, and Juan Carlos Hernandez
Tower Heist is a 2011 crime comedy from director Brett Ratner (the Rush Hour franchise). The film follows the misadventures of a gang of working stiffs who plot to rob a Wall Street tycoon who stole their pensions. Tower Heist is a comic caper that lives up to the comedy part, and the film’s actors deliver on their characters, especially Eddie Murphy who returns to the kind of character that made him popular in the 1980s.
Tower Heist focuses on Josh Kovacs (Ben Stiller), the building manager of The Tower, a high-rise luxury apartment complex in New York City’s Columbus Circle (Manhattan). The residents are wealthy and are used to being catered to, and the building’s security is no joke. Still, Josh has everything under control until the Tower’s most noteworthy tenant, wealthy businessman, Arthur Shaw (Alan Alda), is arrested by the FBI for running a Ponzi scheme. It was Kovacs who suggested that Shaw invest the Tower employees’ pension fund, and now that money is also apparently gone.
When FBI agent Claire Denham (Téa Leoni) tells him that Shaw may get away with his crimes, Josh decides to get revenge on Shaw by breaking into his apartment to steal from him. He gathers fellow coworkers: his brother-in-law, Charlie Gibbs (Casey Affleck); a bankrupt Wall Street investor, Mr. Fitzhugh (Matthew Broderick); bellhop Enrique Dev’reaux (Michael Peña), and Jamaican-born maid, Odessa Montero (Gabourey Sidibe) as his crew. Josh knows, however, that his crew needs a real criminal, so he recruits his neighbor, a petty crook named Slide (Eddie Murphy), to assist them in the robbery. But as determined as they are, things keep getting in their way.
Tower Heist is not really a heist film like the edgier The Italian Job (either version) or the cool and clever Ocean’s Eleven (2001) and its sequels. Tower Heist is comic fluff – successful comic fluff, but still fluff, and its concepts, ideas, and set pieces are utter fantasy. Things happen in this movie that are so unbelievable that they are often funny; it’s ridiculous stuff, but quite amusing.
The real treasures in Tower Heist are the actors and their characters. The story that is Tower Heist is Josh Kovacs’ story, and Ben Stiller, who has been a successful leading man in big screen comedies for well over a decade, is funny. However, Stiller gives the film a surprising dramatic heft by giving Kovacs a dark and melancholy side that simmers right alongside this movie’s humor – even if many viewers may not see it.
Eddie Murphy, in his role as Slide, has done what many critics (and some fans) have been demanding for over two decades – return to playing the wiseass who makes being rude, confrontational, and streetwise a gold standard. This kind of character, in one form or another, appeared in early Murphy films like 48 Hrs., Trading Places, and Beverly Hills Cop and at various time during Murphy’s tenure on “Saturday Night Live” (1980-84), yet in this film, that kind of character still seems fresh. The reason for this may be that Murphy plays Slide as a genuine criminal, a confrontational person who may appear comical, but who is actually an opportunistic career criminal and felon that is dangerous and untrustworthy. Slide is a real hood rat and is good for the film’s conflict and tension. He makes you believe that this heist has a better than 50% chance of going really bad.
There are other good supporting performances: Téa Leoni (who should have had a larger role), Matthew Broderick, and Alan Alda (who makes Arthur Shaw seem like a really nasty piece of work). I’ll also give credit for Tower Heist’s success as a comedy to both director Brett Ratner and editor Mark Helfrich. Ratner allows the actors room to play their characters for strong (if not maximum) effect. Helfrich composes a film that makes sure the comic moments are really funny and turns the heist sequence into a surprising thriller. I’d like to be a snob about this sometimes shallow and fluffy movie, but I really enjoyed Tower Heist. So why front?
7 of 10
A-
Sunday, November 06, 2011
Friday, August 19, 2011
Negromancer New Bits and Bites for August 19 2011
Stuff I found interesting:
Deadline has the details on anti-Muslin toad, Congressman Peter King's plan to launch an investigation into Kathryn Bigelow's Bin Laden Film.
_________________
Remember Hong Kong Phooey, the 1970s Hanna-Barbera animated series about a mild-mannered janitor-dog who is really masked crime fighter, Hong Kong Phooey? There has been talk about a movie version going back to the early 1990s (that I remember). I think the success of The Smurfs film means we'll be seeing more live-action/animation films made of old Saturdamy morning series.
Well, Eddie Murphy will be the voice of Penry the mild-mannered dog in Alcon Entertainment's live-action/animated Hong Kong Phooey. For those who don't know, the late great Scatman Crothers was the voice of Penry. Entertainment Weekly has some details.
___________________
Variety reports that Disney is filling out its Summer 2014 schedule with three pictures: There will be a Marvel Studios movie May 16. Two weeks later, a Pixar film arrives on May 30. The second Marvel picture arrives on June 27. The films are unnamed, but Variety reports that Marvel has a number of projects in development, including a Captain America sequel and an Avengers spinoff.
___________________
Deadline has an exclusive: After finishing Prometheus, a kind of prequel to his 1979 classic, Alien, director Ridley Scott will return to another of his sci-fi classics. Deadline is reporting that Scott has signed on to direct and produce a new installment of Blade Runner, with Alcon Entertainment, producing with Alcon partners Broderick Johnson and Andrew Kosove. Alcon apparently gained control of the Blade Runner franchise earlier this year. There are conflicting reports about whether Harrison Ford, the star of the original Blade Runner will return, with some stating that he won't.
____________________
Huffington Post reports that Will Smith is working on a double comeback. I don't think Smith needs to come back from anything, but let's humor them for the sake of this story. Smith is working on his first album since 2005. He hasn't been in a film since 2008's Seven Pounds, but he is working on "Men in Black 3." Also, Shawn Levy is trying to get Smith for a remake of the 1966 science fiction film, Fantastic Voyage.
Deadline has the details on anti-Muslin toad, Congressman Peter King's plan to launch an investigation into Kathryn Bigelow's Bin Laden Film.
_________________
Remember Hong Kong Phooey, the 1970s Hanna-Barbera animated series about a mild-mannered janitor-dog who is really masked crime fighter, Hong Kong Phooey? There has been talk about a movie version going back to the early 1990s (that I remember). I think the success of The Smurfs film means we'll be seeing more live-action/animation films made of old Saturdamy morning series.
Well, Eddie Murphy will be the voice of Penry the mild-mannered dog in Alcon Entertainment's live-action/animated Hong Kong Phooey. For those who don't know, the late great Scatman Crothers was the voice of Penry. Entertainment Weekly has some details.
___________________
Variety reports that Disney is filling out its Summer 2014 schedule with three pictures: There will be a Marvel Studios movie May 16. Two weeks later, a Pixar film arrives on May 30. The second Marvel picture arrives on June 27. The films are unnamed, but Variety reports that Marvel has a number of projects in development, including a Captain America sequel and an Avengers spinoff.
___________________
Deadline has an exclusive: After finishing Prometheus, a kind of prequel to his 1979 classic, Alien, director Ridley Scott will return to another of his sci-fi classics. Deadline is reporting that Scott has signed on to direct and produce a new installment of Blade Runner, with Alcon Entertainment, producing with Alcon partners Broderick Johnson and Andrew Kosove. Alcon apparently gained control of the Blade Runner franchise earlier this year. There are conflicting reports about whether Harrison Ford, the star of the original Blade Runner will return, with some stating that he won't.
____________________
Huffington Post reports that Will Smith is working on a double comeback. I don't think Smith needs to come back from anything, but let's humor them for the sake of this story. Smith is working on his first album since 2005. He hasn't been in a film since 2008's Seven Pounds, but he is working on "Men in Black 3." Also, Shawn Levy is trying to get Smith for a remake of the 1966 science fiction film, Fantastic Voyage.
Monday, January 17, 2011
Review: "Coming to America" is Still a Classic (Happy B'day, James Earl Jones)
TRASH IN MY EYE No. 34 (of 2006) by Leroy Douresseaux
Coming to America (1988)
Running time: 116 minutes (1 hour, 56 minutes)
MPAA – R
DIRECTOR: John Landis
WRITERS: David Sheffield and Barry W. Blaustein; from a story by Eddie Murphy
PRODUCERS: George Folsey, Jr. and Robert D. Wachs
CINEMATOGRAPHER: Woody Omens with Sol Negrin
EDITOR: George Folsey, Jr. and Malcolm Campbell
Academy Award nominee
COMEDY/ROMANCE
Starring: Eddie Murphy, Arsenio Hall, James Earl Jones, John Amos, Madge Sinclair, Shari Headley, Paul Bates, Eriq La Salle, Frankie Faison, Vanessa Bell , Louie Anderson, Allison Dean, Calvin Lockhart, Clint Smith, Don Ameche, Ralph Bellamy, and Samuel L. Jackson
A pampered heir to an African throne, Prince Akeem (Eddie Murphy), wants more out of life, and he wants a woman with her own mind, someone other than the beautiful woman to whom he’s engaged, Imani Izzi (Vanessa Bell). His father, King Jaffe Joffer (James Earl Jones), the ruler of Zamunda, encourages Akeem to go to America and sow his royal oats. However, Akeem heads to New York City, specifically Queens, to find a mate who will fall in love with him for who he is not what he is. Accompanied by his trusty sidekick, Semmi (Arsenio Hall), Akeem takes a low-paying job at a McDonald’s-like fast food restaurant, McDowell’s. He keeps his true identity secret and eventually begins a romance with Lisa McDowell (Shari Headley), the daughter of the boss, Cleo McDowell (John Amos). But will his royal lineage ruin Akeem’s chances with Lisa?
Coming to America remains one of my favorite Eddie Murphy films. It’s both funny, and the film also reveals the romantic side of Eddie Murphy’s talents as an actor – something we’d see more of in later films. The script by David Sheffield and Barry W. Blaustein, two writers who wrote many of Murphy’s sketches while he was a cast member of “Saturday Night Live” in the mid-80’s, crafted a light-hearted, but engaging romantic comedy, and sprinkle it with numerous comic sketches and scenes. The writers provide comic gems not only for Murphy and Arsenio Hall, but also for the rest of the cast, which gives even actors with the smallest parts something into which they can sink their teeth. James Earl Jones, John Amos, and Madge Sinclair as Queen Aoleon shine in supporting roles.
Many people remember the film for the fact that Murphy and Hall played more than one role, thanks in large part to the amazing makeup by Oscar-winning makeup effects whiz, Rick Baker (who earned an Oscar nomination for this film, but lost that year to the makeup team on Beetlejuice). Hall plays three characters in addition to Semmi, including one female character. Murphy plays three characters in addition to Prince Akeem, including a Caucasian male. The makeup and their performances were so convincing that some of the audience didn’t realize that Murphy and Hall were playing multiple parts, in particularly Murphy as the old white man, Saul.
Coming to America also had good production values, including an amazing array of colorful (though sometimes outlandish costumes) costumes and a multiplicity of sets reflecting everything from regal splendor to lower class squalor. Probably the best thing that the set decorator and art director did was create an African kingdom that reflects African-American fantasy and myth-making about African monarchies, but something with the whimsy of, say, the Emerald City in The Wizard of Oz. If that weren’t enough, the cast features many very talented black actors who rarely get work simple because they’re black, but this film gives us a chance to see these talented performers. That’s why Coming to America remains one of the great African-American romantic comedies, and it is also one of the first times in film that we see Eddie Murphy show the scope of his ability to play a variety of characters.
8 of 10
A
NOTES:
1989 Academy Awards: 2 nominations: “Best Costume Design” (Deborah Nadoolman) and “Best Makeup” (Rick Baker)
1990 Image Awards: 2 wins: “Outstanding Motion Picture” and “Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Motion Picture” (Arsenio Hall)
Monday, February 13, 2006
Coming to America (1988)
Running time: 116 minutes (1 hour, 56 minutes)
MPAA – R
DIRECTOR: John Landis
WRITERS: David Sheffield and Barry W. Blaustein; from a story by Eddie Murphy
PRODUCERS: George Folsey, Jr. and Robert D. Wachs
CINEMATOGRAPHER: Woody Omens with Sol Negrin
EDITOR: George Folsey, Jr. and Malcolm Campbell
Academy Award nominee
COMEDY/ROMANCE
Starring: Eddie Murphy, Arsenio Hall, James Earl Jones, John Amos, Madge Sinclair, Shari Headley, Paul Bates, Eriq La Salle, Frankie Faison, Vanessa Bell , Louie Anderson, Allison Dean, Calvin Lockhart, Clint Smith, Don Ameche, Ralph Bellamy, and Samuel L. Jackson
A pampered heir to an African throne, Prince Akeem (Eddie Murphy), wants more out of life, and he wants a woman with her own mind, someone other than the beautiful woman to whom he’s engaged, Imani Izzi (Vanessa Bell). His father, King Jaffe Joffer (James Earl Jones), the ruler of Zamunda, encourages Akeem to go to America and sow his royal oats. However, Akeem heads to New York City, specifically Queens, to find a mate who will fall in love with him for who he is not what he is. Accompanied by his trusty sidekick, Semmi (Arsenio Hall), Akeem takes a low-paying job at a McDonald’s-like fast food restaurant, McDowell’s. He keeps his true identity secret and eventually begins a romance with Lisa McDowell (Shari Headley), the daughter of the boss, Cleo McDowell (John Amos). But will his royal lineage ruin Akeem’s chances with Lisa?
Coming to America remains one of my favorite Eddie Murphy films. It’s both funny, and the film also reveals the romantic side of Eddie Murphy’s talents as an actor – something we’d see more of in later films. The script by David Sheffield and Barry W. Blaustein, two writers who wrote many of Murphy’s sketches while he was a cast member of “Saturday Night Live” in the mid-80’s, crafted a light-hearted, but engaging romantic comedy, and sprinkle it with numerous comic sketches and scenes. The writers provide comic gems not only for Murphy and Arsenio Hall, but also for the rest of the cast, which gives even actors with the smallest parts something into which they can sink their teeth. James Earl Jones, John Amos, and Madge Sinclair as Queen Aoleon shine in supporting roles.
Many people remember the film for the fact that Murphy and Hall played more than one role, thanks in large part to the amazing makeup by Oscar-winning makeup effects whiz, Rick Baker (who earned an Oscar nomination for this film, but lost that year to the makeup team on Beetlejuice). Hall plays three characters in addition to Semmi, including one female character. Murphy plays three characters in addition to Prince Akeem, including a Caucasian male. The makeup and their performances were so convincing that some of the audience didn’t realize that Murphy and Hall were playing multiple parts, in particularly Murphy as the old white man, Saul.
Coming to America also had good production values, including an amazing array of colorful (though sometimes outlandish costumes) costumes and a multiplicity of sets reflecting everything from regal splendor to lower class squalor. Probably the best thing that the set decorator and art director did was create an African kingdom that reflects African-American fantasy and myth-making about African monarchies, but something with the whimsy of, say, the Emerald City in The Wizard of Oz. If that weren’t enough, the cast features many very talented black actors who rarely get work simple because they’re black, but this film gives us a chance to see these talented performers. That’s why Coming to America remains one of the great African-American romantic comedies, and it is also one of the first times in film that we see Eddie Murphy show the scope of his ability to play a variety of characters.
8 of 10
A
NOTES:
1989 Academy Awards: 2 nominations: “Best Costume Design” (Deborah Nadoolman) and “Best Makeup” (Rick Baker)
1990 Image Awards: 2 wins: “Outstanding Motion Picture” and “Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Motion Picture” (Arsenio Hall)
Monday, February 13, 2006
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Saturday, September 4, 2010
Review: "Dreamgirls" a Delightful Spin on Music History (Happy B'day, Beyonce)
Dreamgirls (2006)
Running time: 131 minutes (2 hours, 11 minutes)
MPAA – PG-13 for language, some sexuality, and drug content
DIRECTOR: Bill Condon
WRITER: Bill Condon (based upon the original Broadway Production Book and Lyrics by Tom Eyen)
PRODUCER: Laurence Mark
CINEMATOGRAPHER: Tobias Schliessler
EDITOR: Virginia Katz, A.C.E.
Academy Award winner
MUSICAL/DRAMA
Starring: Jamie Foxx, Beyoncé Knowles, Eddie Murphy, Danny Glover, Anika Noni Rose, Keith Robinson, Jennifer Hudson, Sharon Leal, and Hinton Battle
Writer/director Bill Condon wrote the screenplay that brought the famous musical Chicago to the screen in 2002, and the film went onto to win six Academy Awards including "Best Picture" in 2003. Condon, who won an Oscar for writing his 1998 film Gods and Monsters, takes on the movie musical again with Dreamgirls, a film adaptation of the beloved 1981 Tony Award-winning musical of the same name. Condon uses music (featuring the score of Henry Krieger, who also scored the original musical) and song to drive this film into a memorable musical experience that recreates a particular period in American music.
In 1960's Detroit, an African-American singing trio, the Dreamettes - Deena Jones (Beyoncé Knowles), Lorrell Robinson (Anika Noni Rose), and lead singer Effie White (Jennifer Hudson), are trying to make it to the big time. They arrive at a big talent show in their cheap wigs and homemade dresses. The Dreamettes perform songs written by Effie's brother, C.C. (Keith Robinson), who also choreographs their dancing.
They get their big break when they meet Curtis Taylor, Jr. (Jaime Foxx), an ambitious car salesman determined to make his mark on the music industry. He wants to form his own record label and get its music heard on mainstream radio stations - meaning white-owned - in a time when the Civil Rights movement is still struggling to get a foothold and when black recording artists are mostly marginalized. He sees the Dreamettes as the right angle to make that move to the mainstream. They've got the right talent and could be the right product to sell - if Curtis can shape it all the way he sees fit.
Curtis talks the girls into allowing him to become their manager, and he gets them a gig singing backup for James "Thunder" Early (Eddie Murphy), a pioneer of the new Detroit sound that blends soul music and rock 'n' roll. Early, however, is stuck singing on the "Chitlin' Circuit," which, at the time, meant mostly black-owned clubs. Curtis promises Early to move him into the mainstream, replacing Early's original manager, Marty Madison (Danny Glover), but that's not the only changes Curtis plans on making. He changes the Dreamettes name to the Dreams, and moves to replace Effie as the lead singer. As a new musical age dawns and Curtis' new sound takes hold, some people are fading away and others are finding that their dreams have come true, but at a high price.
Dreamgirls is indeed a movie musical, pretty much in the fine tradition of Hollywood musicals, except that its major characters are all black. It's an absolutely lovely film. In terms of the film's creative staff (art direction, costumes, cinematography, etc.), Dreamgirls is as good as any in recent memories, and the Dreams' costumes seem right out of a musical dream. Tobias Schliessler's cinematography creates a crystal clear heavenly aura of color that mixes the hyper-reality of the music world with the harsh reality of failure and betrayal.
The acting is quite good, but the singing is what makes these performances so memorable. As an actress, Jennifer Hudson isn't yet as skilled as some she beat out for the Oscar she earned for this film, but film performances aren't always built just on dialogue and physical movement. What put her over the top were those extraordinary pipes. Watching this film, it's easy to see why she amazed people with both her powerful, booming voice and her ability to interpret songs. Coming from a novice actress, she impressed enough awards voters to win all the big prizes.
In fact, so much of this movie's narrative and characterization is done through song. Jaime Foxx and Beyoncé Knowles who are professional singers sound better than they ever have. Eddie Murphy who has recorded albums using a voice that imitated other singers, but was on its own not distinctive, sounds better than I thought it was possible. Anika Noni Rose, as Lorrell, is a classically trained actress, Broadway veteran, and Tony Award winner, and she sounds great in a part that puts her character in the shadow of Knowles and Hudson's.
Condon deserves so much of the credit for bringing actors singing and singers acting together to create an ensemble cast that brings this colorful fantasy to life. Dreamgirls is a musical, but it is also a musical revue and music-filled overview of a time when African-American music was trying to break into the mainstream. In that, Dreamgirls is an intimate look at the lives of black artists, entertainers, musicians, singers, composers, and businessmen. The songs may unite the audience, but the experience of the African-American struggle to be accepted in the wider society and culture may seem foreign to so many. Still, Condon's colorful song-filled, dreamy myth making of real musical history will delight many for a long time to come.
10 of10
NOTES:
2007 Academy Awards: 2 wins: "Best performance by an actress in a supporting role" (Jennifer Hudson) and "Best achievement in sound mixing" (Michael Minkler, Bob Beemer, and Willie D. Burton); 6 nominations: "Best performance by an actor in a supporting role" (Eddie Murphy), "Best achievement in art direction" (John Myhre-art direction and Nancy Haigh-set decorator), "Best achievement in costume design" (Sharen Davis), and 3 nominations for "Best achievement in music written for motion pictures, original song" ("Listen" Henry Krieger and Scott Cutler-music and Anne Preven-lyrics; "Love You I Do" Henry Krieger-music and Siedah Garrett-lyrics; and "Patience" Henry Krieger-music and Willie Reale-lyrics)
2007 BAFTA Awards: 1 win: “Best Actress in a Supporting Role” (Jennifer Hudson); 1 nomination: “Anthony Asquith Award for Film Music” (Henry Krieger)
2007 Golden Globes: 3 wins: “Best Motion Picture - Musical or Comedy, “Best Performance by an Actor in a Supporting Role in a Motion Picture” (Eddie Murphy), and “Best Performance by an Actress in a Supporting Role in a Motion Picture” (Jennifer Hudson); 2 nominations: “Best Original Song - Motion Picture” (Beyoncé Knowles, Henry Krieger, Anne Preven, and Scott Cutler for the song "Listen"), and “Best Performance by an Actress in a Motion Picture - Musical or Comedy” (Beyoncé Knowles)
Sunday, May 23, 2010
Review: "Shrek Forever After" is an Upgrade from Third Film
Shrek Forever After (2010)
Running time: 93 minutes (1 hour, 33 minutes)
MPAA – PG for mild action, some rude humor and brief language
DIRECTOR: Mike Mitchell
WRITER: Josh Klausner and Darren Lemke
PRODUCERS: Teresa Cheng and Gina Shay
CINEMATOGRAPHER: Yong Duk Jhun
ANIMATION/FANTASY/ACTION/ADVENTURE and COMEDY/FAMILY
Starring: (voices) Mike Myers, Eddie Murphy, Cameron Diaz, Antonio Banderas, Julie Andrews, Jon Hamm, John Cleese, Craig Robinson, Jane Lynch, and Walt Dohrn
The magic is not gone! Shrek Forever After arrives in theatres and reminds us that the disappointing Shrek the Third was a fluke in the Shrek franchise. When Shrek debuted in 2001, it was certainly different from the typical animated film. Instead of being an update of some fairy tale meant to appease children, Shrek turned the fairy tale on its ear, spoofed pop culture, and introduced odd ball characters that were so endearing a few of them gradually became pop culture stars. The 2004 sequel, Shrek 2, was as good as the first film, but not as fresh and original. Shrek the Third was a misfire. While it may not be an original, Shrek Forever After returns to what the first two films did well.
The new film finds the title character, that lovable ogre, Shrek (Mike Myers), not loving being a lovable ogre. He fought an evil dragon to rescue Prince Fiona (Cameron Diaz), married her, and saved his in-laws’ kingdom, Far Far Away. Before that, however, Shrek was ogre who scared villagers and took mud baths. Now, he is a domesticated family man, changing diapers, and autographing pitchforks for admiring villagers, and his once-fearsome ogre’s roar has become a children’s favorite. Shrek longs for the days when he was “real ogre,” but there is someone with the magic to help him be bad again.
A smooth-talking dealmaker named Rumpelstiltskin (Walt Dohrn) meets Shrek and offers him a magical contract. Shrek can get a day to feel like a real ogre again, in exchange for ANY day from Shrek’s past. Shrek signs the contract, but the deal creates a twisted, alternate version of Far Far Away. This is a world in which he and Princess Fiona never met, and his friends, even Donkey (Eddie Murphy), don’t know him. He has 24 hours to restore his world or disappear forever.
Shrek Forever After is essentially a spin on director Frank Capra’s It’s a Wonderful Life, in which a man on the verge of suicide gets to see how unfortunate life would be for his family, friends, and community without him. Because it uses themes similar to the Capra film, this fourth Shrek movie is probably the most heartfelt and sentimental about the importance of close relationships. The narrative is insistent that each individual character is essential to the well-being and happiness of his or her fellow characters. [That said, Puss in Boots (Antonio Banderas) is getting a spin-off film.]
The entire story plays off the idea that the audience, by now, is familiar with these characters, knows their personalities, and has expectations about how the characters will entertain them. And Shrek Forever After delivers. All the voice performances are good, and, unlike in Shrek the Third, Eddie Murphy and Donkey have lots of screen time, which they use to spectacular results. This film also introduces another good Shrek villain, the winning Rumpelstiltskin, superbly performed by animator and voice actor, Walt Dohrn.
Shrek Forever After like the original is big and jolly. Cleverly chosen songs still populate the soundtrack and set the tone for key scenes in the story. Pop culture is slyly referenced and spoofed (like the funny break dancing witches routine), and the main characters still have some of the best jokes and one-liners the audience will hear during the summer movie season. But Shrek Forever After has heart. If this is indeed the last Shrek film (at least for awhile), we are left with a movie that reminds us how much fun Shrek and company are and how much we really like them or even love them.
8 of 10
A
Sunday, May 23, 2010
Thursday, May 20, 2010
Review: "Shrek the Third" is Disappointing
Shrek the Third (2007)
Running time: 93 minutes (1 hour, 33 minutes)
MPAA – PG for some crude humor, suggestive content, and swashbuckling action
DIRECTOR: Chris Miller with Raman Hui
WRITERS: Jeffrey Price & Peter S. Seaman and Chris Miller & Aron Warner
PRODUCER: Aron Warner
EDITOR: Michael Andrews
ANIMATION/COMEDY/FANTASY/ACTION/FAMILY
Starring: (voices) Mike Myers, Eddie Murphy, Cameron Diaz, Antonio Banderas, Ruper Everett, Justin Timberlake, Julie Andrews, John Cleese, Eric Idle, Cheri Oteri, Amy Poehler, Maya Rudolph, Amy Sedaris, John Krasinski, Larry King, Susanne Blakeslee, and Ian McShane
Smelly ogre Shrek (Mike Myers) returns in Shrek the Third, and finds himself in a bit of a fix. When he married Princess Fiona (Cameron Diaz), he never realized that the union would put him in line to become the next King of Far, Far Away, so when his father-in-law, King Harold (John Cleese), dies, Shrek and Fiona are facing the very real possibility of being the new King and Queen.
Determined to remain an ordinary ogre and return to his peaceful life in the swamp, Shrek sets off with reliable pals Donkey (Eddie Murphy) and Puss in Boots (Antonio Banderas) on a long journey to find Fiona’s long lost cousin, Artie (Justin Timberlake), an underachieving high school slacker. Making the rebellious Artie accept the throne proves to be a bigger challenge than Shrek suspected.
Meanwhile, Shrek’s old nemesis, Prince Charming (Rupert Everett), has returned to Far, Far Away with an army composed of some of classic fairytales most infamous villains, including Captain Hook (Ian McShane) and his crew and the Evil Queen (Susanne Blakeslee) from “Snow White.” It’s up to Fiona and her band of princesses: Cinderella (Amy Sedaris), Rapunzel (Maya Rudolph), Sleeping Beauty (Cheri Oteri), Snow White (Amy Poehler) and, of course, Doris (Larry King), to fight until Shrek and crew return to the country for the final battle with Charming.
Considering the box office success of Shrek and Shrek 2 and the fact that they were actually very good films, Shrek the Third’s mediocrity is shocking. It’s only mildly amusing, and there’s nothing distinguishing about the animation, which actually looks really bad (in terms of character movement and design) in several places. There are too many characters, and not enough of Eddie Murphy’s Donkey who is every bit the star of this franchise that Mike Myers’ Shrek is. Any future installments need a significant overhaul because Shrek the Third looks like the franchise is showing tired, old legs.
5 of 10
C+
Saturday, June 09, 2007
NOTES:
2008 BAFTA Awards: 1 nomination: “Best Animated Film” (Chris Miller)
Wednesday, May 19, 2010
Review: "Shrek 2" Aimed More at Adults than Children
Shrek 2 (2004)
Running time: 93 minutes (1 hour, 33 minutes)
MPAA – PG for some crude humor, a brief substance reference and some suggestive content
DIRECTORS: Andrew Adamson, Kelly Asbury, and Conrad Vernon
WRITERS: Andrew Adamson, J. David Stem, Joe Stillman, and David N. Weiss with Chris Miller; from a story by Andrew Adamson (based upon characters created by William Steig)
PRODUCERS: David Lipman, Aron Warner, and John H. Williams
EDITORS: Michael Andrews and Sim Evan-Jones
Academy Award nominee
ANIMATED/COMEDY/FAMILY/FANTASY/ADVENTURE
Starring: (voices) Mike Meyers, Eddie Murphy, Cameron Diaz, Antonio Banderas, John Cleese, Julie Andrews, Rupert Everett, and Jennifer Saunders
I found Shrek 2 to be every bit as funny as the original, but I don’t think it’s quite as surprising or better than the smash hit and Academy Award-winning Shrek. The first film was sweet and sentimental, and despite it’s clunky and peculiar computer-generated animation, it was fresh and different. Shrek 2 is every bit the expensive and glossy sequel, and is mostly disposable entertainment. In fact, the filmmakers have managed to make a movie so entertaining that it’s disposable entertainment as art. I laughed a lot and had a damn good time, but as I do with many big summer films, I’d mostly forgotten it not long after I’d left the theatre. There’s nothing wrong with that, but Shrek 2 is like a cheap candy bar, sweet but not necessary. You can wait for home video.
In Shrek 2, the titular Shrek (Michael Myers) and his wife Princes Fiona (Cameron Diaz) with Shrek’s homeboy Donkey (Eddie Murphy) travel to Far, Far Away, Fiona’s home to meet her parents the King (John Cleese) and Queen (Julie Andrews). The royal parents, however, are not happy to see Fiona married to an ogre, which is what Shrek is, and they’d hoped she’d married Prince Charming (Rupert Everett).
It was Charming who was supposed to rescue Fiona in the first film (and not Shrek as it happened) and break the spell that caused Fiona herself to become an ogre at night. Now, that Fiona has married Shrek, she’s a full time ogre. Charming’s mother, the Fairy Godmother (Jennifer Saunders) demands that the King get rid of Shrek, so he hires a suave assassin, Puss In Boots (Antonio Banderas), to dispatch Shrek. But when Puss becomes Shrek’s friend, Fairy Godmother throws all her magic behind a diabolical plan to trick Fiona away from Shrek and into the arms of her son.
I found Shrek 2’s humor mainly directed at adults, although children can certainly enjoy it. Much of the comedy is built around sight gags, but there are numerous sly cultural references (visual and spoken), witty asides, puns, etc. that will go right over the heads of the kids and many 20-somethings. There is also a surprising amount of sexual innuendo and crude humor. Once again, I think this film is aimed more at adults than children, much like the old Warner Bros. cartoons from the 1930’s and 40’s. They were originally made as theatrical shorts to be shown before films and weren’t specifically aimed at children just because the shorts were cartoons.
Technically, Shrek 2’s animation is much improved over the first film, but PDI, the company that animated both Shrek films has nothing on Pixar, the studio behind Toy Story
and Finding Nemo
. There is a crucial difference between Pixar and PDI. Pixar does computer animation in the tradition of Disney animated classics: animated films that are fairy tales aimed at children, but also appeal to adults who are “young at heart.” PDI creates broad PG-rated films that attract kids simply because they are animated but are also written to attract adults with rough humor and sarcasm.The standout voice talents in the film are Eddie Murphy, John Cleese, and Jennifer Saunders. Their performances are what we would expect of actors that are both fine comedians and comic actors, and they are really good at adapting their particular talents for virtually any kind of comedy.
8 of 10
A
NOTES:
2005 Academy Awards: 2 nominations: “Original Song” (Adam Duritz-composer/lyricist, Charles Gillingham-composer, Jim Bogios-composer, David Immerglück-composer, Matthew Malley-composer, David Bryson-composer, Dan Vickrey-lyricist for the song "Accidentally In Love")and “Best Animated Feature Film of the Year” (Andrew Adamson)
2004 BAFTA: 1 win “Kids’ Vote”
2005 Golden Globes: 1 nomination: “Best Original Song - Motion Picture” (Adam Duritz, Dan Vickrey, David Immerglück, Matthew Malley, David Bryson for the song "Accidentally In Love")
Tuesday, May 18, 2010
Review: Eddie Murphy Made the Excellent "Shrek" Even Better
Shrek (2001) – computer animated
Running time: 90 minutes (1 hour, 30 minutes)
MPAA – PG for mild language and some crude humor
DIRECTOR: Andrew Adamson and Vicky Jenson
WRITERS: Ted Elliot, Terry Rossio, Joe Stillman, and Roger S. H. Schulman with additional dialogue by Cody Cameron, Chris Miller, and Conrad Vernon (based upon the book by Shrek! William Steig)
PRODUCERS: Jeffrey Katzenberg, Aron Warner, and John H. Williams
EDITOR: Sim Evan-Jones
Academy Award winner
ANIMATION/COMEDY/FANTASY and ADVENTURE/ROMANCE/FAMILY
Starring: (voices) Michael Myers, Eddie Murphy, Cameron Diaz, John Lithgow, Vincent Cassel, and Jim Cummings
Shrek (Michael Myers), a reclusive ogre, suddenly finds his home in the swamp beset by the denizens of hundreds of fairy tales. They are refugees of a hate campaign by a little despot named Lord Farquaad of Duloc (John Lithgow). Farquaad promises to remove the fairy tale beings from his home if Shrek rescues Princess Fiona (Cameron Diaz) from a fearful fire-breathing dragon. By marrying a princess, Farquaad would become a king. The talkative Donkey (Eddie Murphy) joins Shrek as his faithful steed on the quest to rescue the princess for Farquaad, but love has other plans.
From Pacific Data Images (PDI) and DreamWorks, respectively the computer animation studio and movie studio behind Antz
, Shrek is a lively and funny cartoon that kids can watch but that is really aimed at adult viewers. With the requisite toys and novelties, the film is sure to attract children, and the film contains enough gross and childish humor to keep their attentions. Shrek’s success, however, is in its ability to tap into grown-up sensibilities. Literally having a pack of writers working on the script gives Shrek’s story multiple layers. The movie is filled with pop culture references, film references, bawdy humor, sight gags, and sly asides, and the romantic and sentimental aspects of the film are quite convincing.The voice actors really carry the movie. Myers is, as always, able to create several character voices, and he creates two others in this film besides Shrek: the Narrator and one of the Three Blind Mice. Ms. Diaz has a nice performance as the princess, but she saves her best work for the film’s last quarter. John Lithgow, an accomplished actor who has played a few wacky villains in the last decade, revealed his comic chops in the television series “Third Rock from the Sun.” He doesn’t fail to please here; his Farquaad is nasty, petty, deceitful, and quite vindictive – a potent little menace who really deserves his comeuppance.
The star of the show, however, is Eddie Murphy as Donkey. We’ve come to take Murphy for granted. He hasn’t taken on oh-so-serious roles like other comedians, so many critics and moviegoers don’t think of him as a good actor. His Donkey is a jiving talking huckster, at one moment cowardly, brash the next, and a mentor when he has to be. The role fits Murphy like an old glove, but he makes Donkey so vital, so fresh, so funny. Like one of Robin Williams’s caricatures, Murphy is a chatterbox, but he doesn’t wear thin; even his mumblings are funny. His verbosity never annoys, and Donkey is the axis upon which this story turns. Lose him and you have a passable, middling movie.
Shrek is a surprise, and it went on to win the first Oscar® for Best Animated Feature. It is truly for all ages. Funny and touching, it is Hollywood product that is near perfect entertainment – well put together by its cast and creators.
8 of 10
A
NOTES:
2002 Academy Awards: 1 win: “Best Animated Feature” (Aron Warner); 1 nomination: “Best Writing, Screenplay Based on Material Previously Produced or Published” (Ted Elliott, Terry Rossio, Joe Stillman, and Roger S.H. Schulman)
2002 BAFTA Awards: 1 win: “Best Screenplay – Adapted” (Ted Elliott, Terry Rossio, Joe Stillman, and Roger S.H. Schulman); 5 nominations: “Anthony Asquith Award for Film Music” (Harry Gregson-Williams and John Powell). “Best Achievement in Special Visual Effects” (Ken Bielenberg), “Best Film” (Aron Warner, John H. Williams, and Jeffrey Katzenberg), “Best Performance by an Actor in a Supporting Role” (Eddie Murphy), and “Best Sound” (Andy Nelson, Anna Behlmer, Wylie Stateman, and Lon Bender
2001 Won BAFTA Children's Award Best Feature Film (Andrew Adamson, Vicky Jenson, Aron Warner, and Jeffrey Katzenberg)
2002 Golden Globes: 1 nomination: “Best Motion Picture - Musical or Comedy”
Saturday, February 27, 2010
Review: "Pluto Nash" Harmless and Funny Box Office Disaster
TRASH IN MY EYE No. 200 (of 2004) of Leroy Douresseaux
The Adventures of Pluto Nash (2002)
Running time: 95 minutes (1 hour 35 minutes)
MPAA – PG-13 for violence, sexual humor, and language
DIRECTOR: Ron Underwood
WRITER: Neil Cuthbert
PRODUCERS: Martin Bregman, Michael Scott Bregman, and Louis A. Stroller
CINEMATOGRAPHER: Oliver Wood
EDITORS: Alan Heim and Paul Hirsch
COMEDY/ACTION/CRIME/SCI-FI
Starring: Eddie Murphy, Randy Quaid, Rosario Dawson, Joe Pantoliano, Jay Mohr, Luis Guzmán, James Rebhorn, Peter Boyle, Burt Young, Miguel A. Núñex, Jr., Pam Grier, John Cleese, Victor Varnado, and Illeana Douglas with Alec Baldwin
In the future, an ex-con named Pluto Nash (Eddie Murphy) takes a dive and turns it into the hottest bar on the moon, Club Pluto. However, when he resists the local mafia’s demands to buy him out, they blow up Club Pluto and put out a far-reaching contract on his life. Now, to save his business and his life, Nash, a beautiful young employee named Dina Lake (Rosario Dawson), and Nash’s loyal robot bodyguard, Bruno (Randy Quaid), rush to discover the who, what, and where on the mafia boss with the initials MZM, before the hit men kill them.
Although released in the late summer of 2002, The Adventures of Pluto Nash was finished in 2000. When the film was finally released, it earned just under $4.5 million on its $100 million budget, the biggest budget to gross loss to date. Still, I have a feeling that Warner Bros. Pictures bailed on the film. It’s not as bad the box office failure indicates, not even close. In terms of Pluto Nash’s concept and production values, it is retro, archaic even. The last time a big studio movie looked like The Adventures of Pluto Nash
As it is, Pluto Nash is a funny, goofy comedy. It’s not a very good Eddie Murphy movie; in fact, the film isn’t specifically an Eddie Murphy film because the script isn’t really geared towards his film personality. However, Murphy is funny and loose in this low rent crime comedy. It’s a slapstick and chase comedy, and, as an actor, he does more than just go through the motions.
There is, however, something awkward and mishandled about this film, and it’s hard for me to place my finger on it. The problems start from the conception all the way through the final execution and completion of the project. Still, I enjoyed it for Murphy, some cute moments, and a nice supporting cast that include a small appearance by Pam Grier (sorely underutilized here) and a cameo by Alec Baldwin, who would have made this movie had his part been enlarged. But besides Murphy, I love this most of all because of Rosario Dawson; beautiful, sexy, and possessing a bright screen personality that lights up any scene in which she appears, I’d see a The Adventures of Pluto Nash part two for her.
6 of 10
B
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Wednesday, February 24, 2010
Marlon Wayans Ready to Play Richard Pryor
Marlon Wayans will portray Richard Pryor in the biopic, "Richard Pryor: Is it Something I Said," which will begin filming Fall 2010. In this LA Times piece, Marlon says, in regard to playing Pryor, "I'm ready."
Adam Sandler's Happy Madison production company and Sony Pictures are the entities behind this movie. Bill Condon (Dreamgirls) will direct the film which will reportedly focus on Pryor's controversial brand of comedy and his drug addiction.
Apparently, Wayans is replacing Eddie Murphy, who was attached to the film because of Condon, his Dreamgirls director. "Creative differences" with the producers apparently made Murphy drop out. At one time, Mike Epps was attached to this role.
Conversations at AOL Black Voices has something to say about it. BV Movies Wilson Morales posted about this story, which has been brewing since last October.
I know people think of White Chicks
and Little Man
when they think of Marlon. People hate on those films, both of which I liked. Still, Requiem for a Dream
proved Marlon's dramatic chops. I highly recommend it.
Adam Sandler's Happy Madison production company and Sony Pictures are the entities behind this movie. Bill Condon (Dreamgirls) will direct the film which will reportedly focus on Pryor's controversial brand of comedy and his drug addiction.
Apparently, Wayans is replacing Eddie Murphy, who was attached to the film because of Condon, his Dreamgirls director. "Creative differences" with the producers apparently made Murphy drop out. At one time, Mike Epps was attached to this role.
Conversations at AOL Black Voices has something to say about it. BV Movies Wilson Morales posted about this story, which has been brewing since last October.
I know people think of White Chicks
and Little Man when they think of Marlon. People hate on those films, both of which I liked. Still, Requiem for a Dream proved Marlon's dramatic chops. I highly recommend it.
Saturday, February 20, 2010
Review: To Hell with the Razzies, "Norbit" Rocks!
Norbit (2007)
Running time: 102 minutes (1 hour, 42 minutes)
MPAA – PG-13 for crude and sexual humor, some nudity, and language
DIRECTOR: Brian Robbins
WRITERS: Eddie Murphy & Charles Murphy and Jay Scherick & David Ronn; story by Eddie Murphy & Charles Murphy
PRODUCERS: John Davis and Eddie Murphy
CINEMATOGRAPHER: Clark Mathis
EDITOR: Ned Bastille, A.C.E.
Academy Award nominee
COMEDY/ROMANCE
Starring: Eddie Murphy, Thandie Newton, Eddie Griffin, Terry Crews, and Cuba Gooding, Jr., Clifton Powell, Katt Williams, Lester “Rasta” Speight, and Marlon Wayans
If you were offended by the riotous 2003 Steve Martin/Queen Latifah comedy, Bringing Down the House
, and considered it racially insensitive and filled with racial stereotypes, then the new Eddie Murphy comedy, Norbit, is not for you. Now, onto my glowing review:Abandoned as a baby, Norbit Albert Rice (Eddie Murphy) was an orphan brought up by Mr. Wong (Murphy, again) at the Golden Wonton Restaurant and Orphanage. Lonely and feeling the need for a family, Norbit marries the hefty Rasputia Latimore (Murphy, yet again). A truly dysfunctional family, the monstrous Latimore and her three brothers – Big Jack (Terry Crews), Earl (Clifton Powell), and Blue (Lester “Rasta” Speight) – run Latimore Construction Company, and the Latimore boys use the company as an outpost to run the town of Boiling Springs, Tennessee, as they extort money from the town’s hard-working businesspeople.
Norbit is meek and held in contempt by the enormous Rasputia, and his only friends are two gregarious former pimps, Pope Sweet Jesus (Eddie Griffin) and Lord Have Mercy (Katt Williams). Norbit’s world takes a turn for the better when his childhood betrothed, the lovely Kate (Thandie Newton), returns to Boiling Springs to buy the orphanage from Mr. Wong. Norbit feels love swelling in his heart again, but Kate is engaged to her seemingly adoring fiancé, Deion (Cuba Gooding, Jr.). Deion, however, is a phony, and he’s conspiring with the Latimores to steal the Golden Wonton and turn the orphanage into a revolting strip club.
Meanwhile, Rasputia doesn’t like how chummy Norbit and the Kate have become, nor does she like Norbit’s new found assertiveness. She brings the pain, and now, Norbit must find a way to get through her, her brothers, and anyone else that stands in the way of him getting to his true love, Kate.
Norbit
is Eddie Murphy’s return to the boisterous, ribald comedy that shot him to fame in the 1980’s. When he was a youngster (“The Kid”), he displayed this unruly comedy on “Saturday Night Live
,” in his HBO comedy special Eddie Murphy: Delirious
, and in the film, 48 Hrs
. Rude, crude, and able to do impersonations by putting an uncanny spin on famous figures in American popular culture, Murphy made people laugh. His 1988 film, Coming to America
, revealed his ability to play multiple characters while performing under the work of special effect make-up god emperor, Rick Baker. In the 1996 film, The Nutty Professor
, Murphy took Baker’s make-up and his own ability to create multiple characters to play several characters with surprising grace and felicity. In Norbit, Rick Baker, the winner of six Academy Awards, again does amazing work creating two visually astonishing characters (Rasputia and Mr. Wong) for Murphy to play.As Norbit, Rasputia, and Mr. Wong, Murphy takes everything he’s learned and all the skills he’s sharpened to turn in a bravura performance. This is not to say that the rest of Norbit’s cast doesn’t do great work. They’re funny, but they have very few moments in which they aren’t shining because they’re playing off Murphy. Even Thandie Newton is pitch perfect as the gentle sweetheart, Kate. Still, this is Murphy’s show, and he blazes.
I laughed myself to exhaustion, and cried with laughter the way many people cry with grief. Murphy plays Norbit with such subtlety. Norbit isn’t some nerd stereotype. Murphy has fully realized this character giving him physical habits and ticks (such his penchant for mumbling his frustration and rage). Through the make-up, Murphy humanizes Norbit; in fact, Murphy plays him so well that Norbit comes across as a put-upon man struggling to stand up for himself, rather than as just another movie nerd. This is a performance similar to the one Murphy gave as Professor Sherman Klump in The Nutty Professor.
Murphy’s performance as Rasputia is pure, screen brilliance. She’s over the top, but she is also multi-layered. Murphy plays Rasputia for full comic effect that is to comedy what a slew of Oscar-nominated performances are to drama. Some people wondered why Murphy just didn’t let Mo’Nique play Rasputia, but as funny as she is, Mo’Nique could never do what Murphy does with the character.
Norbit is rude and filled with crude, sexual humor, and despite its rating, the film is way too vulgar for a broad family audience. Still, I should not discourage anyone from having a chance to see Murphy. He is a great actor too often thought of as just a great comedian who acts. Basically, Norbit is a laugh-out-loud comedy and there are some talented comics and actors featured in this film. But Murphy’s trio of performances makes Norbit something really special.
8 of 10
A
Sunday, February 11, 2007
NOTES:
2008 Academy Awards: 1 nomination for “Best Achievement in Makeup” (Rick Baker and Kazuhiro Tsuji)
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