Review: "Nil by Mouth" (Happy B'day, Gary Oldman)

TRASH IN MY EYE No. 29 (of 2004) by Leroy Douresseaux

Nil by Mouth (1997)
COUNTRY OF ORIGIN: U.K. and France
Running time: 128 minutes (2 hours, 8 minutes)
MPAA – R for graphic drug use, non-stop strong language, brutal domestic violence and some nudity
WRITER/DIRECTOR: Gary Oldman
PRODUCERS: Luc Besson, Gary Oldman, and Douglas Urbanski
CINEMATOGRAPHER: Ron Fortunato
EDITOR: Brad Fuller
COMPOSER: Eric Clapton
BAFTA Award winner

DRAMA

Starring: Ray Winstone, Kathy Burke, Charlie Creed-Miles, Laila Morse, Edna Doré, Chrisse Cotterill, Jon Morrison, Jamie Foreman, Steve Sweeney, and Leah Fitzgerald

Nil by Mouth is acclaimed actor Gary Oldman’s directorial debut. It’s what I call “cinema de unflinching,” in particular that “cinema’s” sub-genre “film de raw.” Oldman, an extremely talented actor who can simultaneously bury himself in a role and also exude movie star wattage, composed a film that stands as one of the most powerful family dramas of the 1990’s because of its dogged pursuit of portraying the effects of drugs and alcohol on a poor family in notorious South London.

Ray (Ray Winstone) is a coke snorting, alcoholic bully who brow beats his wife Valerie (Kathy Burke) and his brother-in-law, Billy (Charlie Creed-Miles), who lives with the couple. After Raymond savagely attacks Billy and kicks him out of the apartment, both men spiral downward, as Ray drinks more and becomes more paranoid and Billy does little other than feed his dope habit. Meanwhile, Val and the rest of the women in the family valiantly hold the family together and look for a few good times in a drug-addled world of poverty and crushing of claustrophobia.

The film starts off quite slowly, and I am certain that it will be difficult for many non-Brits to understand the London dialects (as it was for me). Still, the acting is good, quite good, actually. Oldman gives this film a good pace and a high level of intensity, considering that this film is heavy with the kind of dialogue that reveals character. However, when Nil by Mouth bogs down on a plot point, it is almost anal, and I occasionally found myself drifting away from it. Nil by Mouth is raw and unflinching, but it did not always hold my attention. Still, the script is well-written and well thought out; when you consider the movie as a whole, the screenplay seems rather brilliant.

All in all, Nil by Mouth is a satisfying and rewarding film viewing experience. Oldman makes the right choice in terms of satisfying the audience by letting his film family work through their difficulties. Rather than call it a Hollywood ending, I’ll describe it as artfully handled.

7 of 10
B+

NOTES:
1998 BAFTA Awards: 2 wins: “Alexander Korda Award for Best British Film” (Luc Besson, Douglas Urbanski, and Gary Oldman) and “Best Screenplay – Original” (Gary Oldman); 2 nominations: “Best Performance by an Actor in a Leading Role” (Ray Winstone) and “Best Performance by an Actress in a Leading Role” (Kathy Burke)

1997 Cannes Film Festival: 1 win: “Best Actress” (Kathy Burke) and 1 nomination: “Golden Palm” (Gary Oldman)

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2001 Oscar Nominee "The Contender" Contends Until the End

TRASH IN MY EYE No. 5 (of 2003) by Leroy Douresseaux

The Contender (2000)
Running time: 126 minutes (2 hours, 6 minutes)
MPAA – R for strong sexual content and language
WRITER/DIRECTOR: Rod Lurie
PRODUCERS: Willi Baer, Marc Frydman, James Spies, and Douglas Urbanski
CINEMATOGRAPHER: Denis Maloney
EDITOR: Michael Jablow
Academy Award nominee

DRAMA

Starring: Joan Allen, Gary Oldman, Jeff Bridges, Christian Slater, Sam Elliot, William L. Petersen, Saul Rubinek, Philip Baker Hall, Mike Binder, Robin Thomas, Kathryn Morris, and Mariel Hemingway

After the Vice President of the United States dies, President Jackson Evans (Jeff Bridges) selects Senator Laine Hanson (Joan Allen, Pleasantville), a Democrat who switched parties, as his nominee to replace the deceased VP. During the confirmation hearings before Congress, a combative rival, Rep. Sheldon “Shelly” Runyon (Gary Oldman) begins leaking lurid stories about Sen. Hanson’s wild past as a sexually promiscuous college student.

Runyon prefers a popular governor, Jack Hathaway (William L. Peterson, TV’s “C. S. I.: Crime Scene Investigation”), as the new VP instead of Sen. Hanson. With an eager young congressman, Rep. Reginald Webster (Christian Slater), at his beck and call, Runyon turns the hearings into his bully pulpit. As Sen. Hanson struggles with the decision to defend herself and answer the horrid charges, investigations into her past by rival interests unearth a mound of increasingly sensational stories.

The Contender could have been a boring Capitol Hill whodunit, but it saves the boring for the end. For most of its length, the film is actually a bracing thriller that gives a fly on the wall view of how nasty and petty our nation’s leaders can be. Writer/director Rod Lurie creates a fascinating, edge of your seat thriller that burns slowly and then explodes with each new shocking revelation. You can hardly take your eyes from the screen, but the film loses its bite, as it gets closer to the end.

It is as if all the air just blows out of the film. Luckily, the cast is game, and they save the film’s ending. When The Contender gets too preachy, it’s blessed to have good actors who can make even talking heads interesting. Joan Allen is what she always is – good. Her strange, subtle beauty gives her a look that makes you sympathetic to her; of course, she has much experience playing the put upon woman in such films as Nixon and The Crucible. Bridges is well liked and respected amongst his peers because he’s a craftsman and an artist. He pulls a trick on the viewer. For most of this film, you can think of President Jackson as a phony, but he sneaks in a broader view of the character that can have you shaking your head. Clearly, President Jackson is not what he seems to be and more than what he seems to be. Gary Oldman is good, even in this unsexy role for an actor who transformed many of the characters he played into sexy, charming rogues. He’s nothing but convincing as the low rent, thuggish nerd, Rep. Runyon.

If for nothing else, a political thriller with a cast of very good actors is worth watching, and The Contender is occasionally quite exciting, even if it limps to the ending.

5 of 10
B-

NOTES:
2001 Academy Awards: 2 nominations: “Best Actor in a Supporting Role” (Jeff Bridges) and “Best Actress in a Leading Role” (Joan Allen)

2001 Golden Globes: “Best Performance by an Actor in a Supporting Role in a Motion Picture” (Jeff Bridges) and “Best Performance by an Actress in a Motion Picture – Drama” (Joan Allen)

Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix a Lean and Mean Movie

TRASH IN MY EYE No. 108 (of 2007) by Leroy Douresseaux

Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix (2007)
Running time: 138 minutes (2 hours, 18 minutes)
MPAA – PG-13 for sequences of fantasy violence and frightening images
DIRECTOR: David Yates
WRITER: Michael Goldenberg (based upon the book by J.K. Rowling)
PRODUCERS: David Barron and David Heyman
CINEMATOGRAPHER: Slawomir Idziak (D.o.P.)
EDITOR: Mark Day
BAFTA Awards nominee

FANTASY/DRAMA/ACTION/MYSTERY/THRILLER

Starring: Daniel Radcliffe, Emma Watson, Rupert Grint, Ralph Fiennes, Michael Gambon, Maggie Smith, Alan Rickman, Imelda Staunton, Robbie Coltrane, Jason Isaacs, Matthew Lewis, Emma Thompson, Helena Bonham Carter, Gary Oldman, David Thewlis, Brendan Gleeson, Bonnie Wright, Katie Leung, and George Harris

Harry Potter (Daniel Radcliffe) enters his fifth year at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry with something of a bad attitude. He’s spent another miserable summer with his sour and despicable relatives, the Dursleys, and none of his friends, especially Hermione Granger (Emma Watson) and Ron Weasley (Rupert Grint), had the decency to contact him. Feeling hungry and edgy for news from the magic world, Harry discovers that his friends have been keeping secrets from him, and Harry’s anxious to know if there is any news about the activities of the recently revived Lord Voldemort (Ralph Fiennes).

Returning to Hogwarts isn’t any relief. The new “Defense against the Dark Arts” instructor, Dolores Umbridge (Imelda Staunton) is a notorious busybody intent on bending both faculty and staff to her iron will. She does her best to discourage spell-casting and any discussion of Voldemort, who is often referred to as “He who must not be named.” Harry, however, gathers a small, loyal group of classmates and trains them to be his secret army for when (not if) Voldemort strikes. Harry also meets the remnants of the Order of the Phoenix, an organization founded by Albus Dumbledore (Michael Gambon) to counter Voldemort. Still, most of the magic community is willfully blind to the signs that Voldemort is rebuilding his army, and Harry isn’t sure that his own small army will be up to the task of stopping the Dark Lord.

Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix is darker than the other Potter films. It’s darker even than 2005’s Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire, but Order of the Phoenix is much less expansive than Goblet of Fire or 2004’s Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban, both of which were large, elegant films with high production values and epic stories. Order of the Phoenix is leaner and meaner. David Yates directs some of this film as if it were a TV movie, but the Potter magic shines through Yates determination to make a terse drama. The costumes are darker, and the art direction and set decoration is mostly spare.

The film’s opening act is fast paced and edgy, and the last act is killer. In between are some truly exciting and thrilling moments, but most of the middle involves the tiresome subplot which sees Dolores Umbridge take on the status quo at Hogwarts. The Umbridge character as portrayed in the film is annoying, and not always in an entertaining manner. When Voldemort attacks in the last act, the appearance of the dark lord almost makes me forget the dour Hogwarts segment… almost.

6 of 10
B

Friday, July 27, 2007

NOTES:
2008 BAFTA Awards: 2 nominations: “Best Production Design” (Stuart Craig and Stephanie McMillan) and “Best Special Visual Effects” (Tim Burke, John Richardson, Emma Norton, and Chris Shaw)

Kung Fu Panda 2 Set For May 27 2011

Press release:

 

DreamWorks Animation Presents

 

KUNG FU PANDA 2

 

Cast: Jack Black, Angelina Jolie, Dustin Hoffman, Jackie Chan, Seth Rogen, Lucy Liu, David Cross, James Hong, Gary Oldman, Michelle Yeoh, Jean-Claude Van Damme, Victor Garber

Filmmakers: Produced by Melissa Cobb, Directed by Jennifer Yuh Nelson

Synopsis: In KUNG FU PANDA 2, Po is now living his dream as The Dragon Warrior, protecting the Valley of Peace alongside his friends and fellow kung fu masters, The Furious Five. But Po’s new life of awesomeness is threatened by the emergence of a formidable villain, who plans to use a secret, unstoppable weapon to conquer China and destroy kung fu. He must look to his past and uncover the secrets of his mysterious origins; only then will Po be able to unlock the strength he needs to succeed.

Release: May 27, 2011

This film has not yet been rated -CREDITS NOT FINAL AND SUBJECT TO CHANGE

VISIT THE OFFICIAL SITE: http://www.kungfupanda.com/

Review: "Batman Begins" Still Thrills

TRASH IN MY EYES No. 96 (of 2005) by Leroy Douresseaux

Batman Begins (2005)
Running time: 140 minutes (2 hours, 20 minutes)
MPAA – PG-13 for intense action violence, disturbing images, and some thematic elements
DIRECTOR: Christopher Nolan
WRITER: David S. Goyer and Christopher Nolan; from a story by David S. Goyer (based upon the BATMAN characters published by DC Comics and created by Bob Kane)
PRODUCERS: Emma Thomas, Charles Roven, and Larry Franco
CINEMATOGRAPHER: Wally Pfister, A.S.C.
EDITOR: Lee Smith, A.C.E.
Academy Award nominee

DRAMA/ACTION/ADVENTURE/MYSTERY

Starring: Christian Bale, Michael Caine, Liam Neeson, Katie Holmes, Gary Oldman, Cillian Murphy, Tom Wilkinson, Rutger Hauer, Ken Watanabe, Morgan Freeman, Mark Boone Junior, Linus Roache, Sara Stewart, Gus Lewis, Gerald Murphy, and Christine Adams

In Batman Begins, Bruce Wayne (Christian Bale) is tormented by guilt and anger over the death of his parents, Dr. Thomas and Martha Wayne (Linus Roache and Sara Stewart), killed one dark night by a common hood, when Bruce was a child (Gus Lewis). When he grew older, he became determined to fight injustice and fear and to also honor his parents’ altruistic legacy, so Bruce decides to educate himself in the ways of the criminal mind by traveling the world and mixing with criminals. Eventually, the mysterious Henri Ducard (Liam Neeson) mentors him in the mastery of the physical and mental disciplines. Ducard also offers Bruce a place in the League of Shadows, a vigilante group to which Ducard belongs and that is headed by the enigmatic Ra’s al Ghul (Ken Watanabe).

Bruce eventually returns to the city that he called home before his seven-year odyssey, Gotham, and finds it devoured by rampant crime and corruption. Wayne Enterprises, the business that his family has owned for generations, is about to make a public stock offering at the behest of it’s CEO, Richard Earle (Rutger Hauer), a man not interested in Wayne Enterprises’ history of serving the public good. Bruce’s close childhood friend, Rachel Dawes (Katie Holmes), is an Assistant District Attorney struggling to gain convictions against the city’s most notorious criminals and their scumbag crime boss, Carmine Falcone (Tom Wilkinson). Her efforts are often thwarted by Dr. Jonathan Crane (Cillian Murphy), a prominent Gotham psychiatrist who bolsters insanity defenses for Falcone’s thugs in return for his own favors.

But Bruce has a plan. He is developing a costumed alter ego, the Batman, based upon the things that frightened him most as a child, bats. With the help of the Wayne family’s long-time trusted butler, Alfred (Michael Caine), detective Jim Gordon (Gary Oldman) – one of the few good cops on the Gotham police force – and Lucius Fox (Morgan Freeman), his ally at Wayne Enterprises’ Applied Sciences division, Bruce unleashes the masked crusader Batman, who uses his strength, fighting skills, intellect, and an array of high tech weaponry to fight the sinister forces gathered to destroy Gotham.

In Batman Begins, the first film in the Batman movie franchise since the failed 1997 film, Batman and Robin and also a restart for the franchise, the acting is quite good. Christian Bale is superb as Bruce Wayne, a man who doesn’t yet have a thousand faces, but may eventually. Bale’s Bruce has grit and determination, but he suffers the imperfections and infallibilities of a man haunted by childhood fears and the deaths of his parents. He is a believable Bruce Wayne to whom we can attach our fortunes and through whom we can live vicariously as Bruce Wayne searches for the deeper answers to crime and punishment, justice, vigilance, and charity. Bale’s Bruce Wayne is Bruce played by an actor who takes the part of a comic book character and brings it to life through his art the way serious actors bring great literary characters to life.

Liam Neeson is magnetic and electric as the menacing, almost religious, leader Ducard. Neeson gives Ducard’s every word weight and gravity, which solidifies the character’s importance. Michael Caine is grandfatherly and matronly as Bruce’s loyal butler, Alfred, the best interpretation of the character in live action film to date. Morgan Freeman is sly and witty as Lucius Fox. Katie Holmes is scrappy, savvy, and smart as Rachel Dawes, a character who is too little in this film, but Ms. Holmes, like Neeson with Ducard, makes Rachel’s every word and scene count.

The directing by Christopher Nolan is good (but not as good as his debut Memento); the editing, photography, action sequences, costumes, art direction/set decorations, and locations are all tight-ass fine. However, the thing that makes Batman Begins good is the script by Nolan and co-writer David S. Goyer (the Blade franchise), from a story by Goyer. They treat the subject matter with seriousness that is tremendous, as if this comic book film should be adapted with all the somberness one would an acclaimed literary novel. Batman Begins is a summer film with meat on it; it’s eye candy that sticks in the mind and in the heart. The story is always engaging the thought process and appealing to the emotional side. Audiences probably won’t feel as if they just had a fluffy desert when they leave the theatre after seeing this. Batman Begins is a great romantic adventure, the kind that thrived in the 19th century and sadly died by the mid-20th century. Though Batman Begins drags on a few occasions, this enthralling film will remind some how good heroic tales can be and introduce others to the joys of romantic, heroic adventure.

9 of 10
A+

NOTES:
2006 Academy Awards: 1 nomination: “Best Achievement in Cinematography” (Wally Pfister)

2006 BAFTA Awards: 3 nominations: “Best Achievement in Special Visual Effects” (Janek Sirrs, Dan Glass, Chris Corbould, and Paul J. Franklin), “Best Production Design” (Nathan Crowley), and “Best Sound” (David Evans, Stefan Henrix, and Peter Lindsay)

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Review: "The Book of Eli" is Another Denzel Winner

TRASH IN MY EYE No. 2 (of 2010) by Leroy Douresseaux

The Book of Eli (2010)
Running time: 118 minutes; MPAA – R for some brutal violence and language
DIRECTOR: Albert Hughes and Allen Hughes
WRITERS: Gary Whitta
PRODUCERS: Joel Silver, Denzel Washington, Broderick Johnson, Andrew A. Kosove, and David Valdes
CINEMATOGRAPHER: Don Burgess (D.o.P.)
EDITORS: Cindy Mollo

SCI-FI/ACTION/DRAMA

Starring: Denzel Washington, Gary Oldman, Mila Kunis, Ray Stevenson, Jennifer Beals, Evan Jones, Joe Pingue, Frances de la Tour, Michael Gambon, Tom Waits, and Malcolm McDowell

Regarding The Book of Eli, I don’t really have to say that Denzel Washington is good in this film, do I? Washington is always good, usually great – even in mediocre movies. Like the performances Washington gave in his Oscar-turn, Training Day, not to mention in films like Malcolm X and The Hurricane, the performance in The Book of Eli reflects both a meticulous craftsman and an artist. The craftsman shows in the way Washington knows the habits, the mannerisms, and the other physical details that will make the audience buy Eli as a real character. The artist is the one who turns his acting, his performance, his portrayal into a work that transfixes the viewer and transports him to another world.

So we know that Washington delivers, as always, but is The Book of Eli a good film? It’s an excellent film, and is on par with The Road Warrior as a superb post-apocalyptic science fiction film. The Book of Eli takes place in the not-too-distant future, about 30 years after some kind of nuclear war. The cities are apparently largely empty; the highways are broken, and the earth is thoroughly seared. The most noticeably absent color is green, and everything looks faded and washed out.

Across this wasteland where there is no civilization and no law, a solitary man named Eli (Denzel Washington) walks, heading west. He hopes to find a place, a city where there is a spot of civilization. There, he can deliver a mysterious book he carries. A warrior by necessity, Eli is a peaceful man, but when challenged, he uses almost supernatural speed, cunning, and fighting skill to cut his attackers down before they realize their fatal mistake in fooling with him (think Wesley Snipes’ Blade character).

In a makeshift town, Eli finds his most dangerous adversary yet, Carnegie (Gary Oldman), a self-appointed despot with a small army of thieves and gunmen. Besides Eli, Carnegie is the only one who realizes the power of Eli’s mysterious book. However, Carnegie’s stepdaughter, Solara (Mila Kunis), surprisingly becomes fascinated by Eli, and her decision to choose between Eli and Carnegie will change each man’s fate.

Besides Washington, Gary Oldman also delivers a grand performance, creating the broken down tyrant Carnegie in subtle layers, giving this film the kind of showy crackpot that every action movie needs. In Oldman’s hand, however, this loud, crazy, killer villain is always way, way more than the standard bad guy.

There are other things about The Book of Eli that capture my attention. The religious and spiritual elements are probably the secret ingredients that make this film a winning dish. Or let’s say religion is the independent voter that wins The Book of Eli the election. I think that Hollywood often forgets the complex flavors that Christian elements and themes can give science fiction films.

The other thing that just blows my mind is how good the Hughes Brothers are at directing films (and music videos). Albert and Allen Hughes have both the eye and the visual storytelling acuity in which to tell gripping, grabbing narratives in the motion picture medium. Everything that the brothers direct the camera to capture – a still moment, a scene that cuts from one place to another, a long moving shot – not only looks great, but is also mesmerizing storytelling. The truth is that these guys just don’t make movies as often as they should, and they are robbing us of their amazing talent.

The Book of Eli is the first fantastic film of 2010, which is reason enough to see it. Seeing the under-utilized Jennifer Beals and getting a Malcolm McDowell cameo are obviously delightful extras.

8 of 10
A

Monday, February 01, 2010

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