Negromancer News Bits and Bites from April 1st to 6th, 2024 - UPDATE #19

by Leroy Douresseaux a.k.a. "I Reads You"

You can support Leroy via Paypal or on Patreon:

Amazon wants me to inform/remind you that any affiliate links found on this page are PAID ADS, but I technically only get paid (eventually) if you click on affiliate links like this, MOVIES PAGE, and BUY something(s).

ENTERTAINMENT AND CULTURE NEWS:

MOVIES - From Deadline:  Drew Barrymore has said that her frequent co-star, Adam Sandler, has written the screenplay for "Happy Gilmore 2," a sequel to one of his most popular films.

TELEVISION - From Deadline:  Actor Raymond Lee, star of NBC's "Quantum Leap," reboot announced via "Instagram" that the NBC has cancelled the series after two seasons.

MOVIES - From Deadline:  Writer-producer-director-star Dev Patel talks about how important Oscar-winner Jordan Peele was in getting his debut feature, "Monkey Man," into theaters.

NETFLIX - From Deadline:  Netflix has revealed the cast of "Tyler Perry’s Beauty in Black."  The new 16-episode, hour-long drama series is coming to the streamer as a result of a previously announced creative partnership between Netflix and Tyler Perry.  The deal calls for Perry will write, direct, and produce feature films and series under a multi-year first-look deal.  Cast members include Taylor Polidore Williams, Amber Reign Smith, Crystle Stewart, Ricco Ross, Debbi Morgan, and Richard Lawson, to name a few.

TELEVISION - From Deadline:  Emmy-winning actress, Gillian Anderson, won't say "No" to appearing in Ryan Coogler's planned reboot of Fox's former sci-fi drama, "The X-Files."  Anderson played FBI Agent Dana Scully in the series, which ran from 1993 to 2002 and again from 2016-18.

DISNEY - From Deadline:  Bob Iger thug life is still a thing.  Disney has succeeded in barring Nelson Peltz from its board of directors as shareholders at the company’s hotly anticipated annual meeting today voted in its slate of 12 nominees, fending off outsiders. It was a months-long bitter and costly fight.  Neither Pletz nor anyone from his Trian Group or Blackwells landed anyone on the board.

MOVIES - From Variety:  Warner Bros. is returning to "the Matrix" for a fourth sequel.  "Matrix 5" will be written and directed by Drew Goddard.  Lana Wachowski, the co-creator of the franchise and the director of the fourth film, "The Matrix: Resurrections," will be an executive producer on this film.  No word yet on what actor will be returning.

STAGE - From Deadline:  The Jamie Lloyd Company announced the full cast for the upcoming West End production of Romeo & Juliet.  They confrimed that newcomer Francesca Amewudah-Rivers confirmed as Juliet opposite Tom Holland as Romeo.  "Romeo & Juliet" opens at the Duke of York’s Theatre on Thursday, May 23, 2024, with previews from Saturday, May 11, and runs until Saturday, August 3.

MUSIC/MOVIES - From TheRoot:  Inspired by Beyonce's smash hit new country album, "Cowboy Carter," "The Root" has a list of must see Black Western films.  The list includes a couple of Idris Elba films, "The Harder They Fall" and "Concrete Cowboy."

SCANDAL - From THR:  The estate of the late, legendary comedian, George Carlin, has settled a lawsuit it brought against the makers of a podcast that used generative AI to impersonate the late stand-up comic's voice and style for an unauthorized special.

TELEVISION - From Variety:  Chris Carter, the creator of Fox's former sci-fi drama, "The X-Files," talks about the reboot being shepherded by Ryan Coogler ("Black Panther").  Also, he mentions that original series star, Gillian Anderson ("Dana Scully") did not have enough "sex appeal" for Fox executives.

MOVIES - From Variety:  Oscar-nominee Benedict Cumberbatch and Oscar-winner Olivia Colman will star in director Jay Roach's reimagining of the 1989 film, "The War of the Roses."  The original was directed by Danny DeVito and starred Michael Douglas and Kathleen Turner.

TELEVISION - From Deadline:  Emmy-winner Felicity Huffman ("Desperate Housewives") joins Paramount+'s "Criminal Minds: Evolution" Season Two.

BOX OFFICE - From Variety:  The winner of the 3/29 to 3/31/2024 weekend box office is Warner Bros. and Legendary Entertainment's "Godzilla x Kong: The New Empire" with an estimated take of 80 million dollars.

From Variety:  "Godzilla x Kong: The New Empire" had an opening weekend of RMB317 (the equivalent of 44.6 million dollars) in mainland China, between Friday and Sunday (March 29th-31st).  Thus far, it is the biggest opening of any Hollywood film in China this year.

From Here:  A review of "Godzilla x Kong: The New Empire" by Leroy Douresseaux.

OBITS:

From Variety:  American actor, writer, and comedian, Joe Flaherty, has died at the age of 82, Monday, April 1, 2024.  A prolific actor, he was best known for his roles on the Canadian sketch comedy series, "Second City Television" ("SCTV"), and on the former NBC sitcom, "Freaks and Geeks."  As a writer, he shared nine Primetime Emmy nominations for his work on SCTV, winning twice.

From THR:  American film, television, and stage actress, Barbara Rush, has died at the age of 97, Sunday, March 31, 2024.  She appeared in over one hundred films, TV series, and TV movies.  Her best known film appearances include "It Came From Outer Space" (1953), "Magnificent Obsession" (1954), "The Young Philadelphians" (1959), and "Robin and the 7 Hoods" (1964), to name a few.  She appeared in such TV series as ABC'S "Peyton's Place" and "All My Children," NBC's "Flamingo Road," and The WB's "7th Heaven," to name a few.  In 1954, Rush won the "Golden Globe Award" for "New Star of the Year - Actress."

From THR:  American visual effects artist, Tim McGovern, has died at the age of 68, Saturday, March 30, 2024.  He won the "Special Achievement Academy Award" for his work on "Total Recall," sharing the win with Eric Brevig, Rob Bottin, and Alex Funke.  A digital effects pioneer, McGovern was also a founding member of Sony Picture ImageWorks, where he worked on such films as "Mission: Impossible - Rogue Nation" (2015) and "Dunkirk" (2017).  His other credits include "Last Action Hero" (1993), "As Good as It Gets" (1997), and "Shazam: Fury of the Gods" (2023).

From THR:  American film and television writer and producer and TV director, Norman Steinberg, has died at the age of 83, Saturday, March 15, 2024.  Steinberg is best known for co-writing Mel Brooks' "Blazing Saddles" (1974) and Richard Benjamin's "My Favorite Year" (1982), which starred Peter O'Toole.  He won a Primetime Emmy Awards for cowriting an episode of the former NBC variety series, "The Flip Wilson Show."

Negromancer News Bits and Bites from October 15th to 21st, 2023 - Update #24

by Leroy Douresseaux a.k.a. "I Reads You"

You can support Leroy via Paypal or on Patreon:

ENTERTAINMENT AND CULTURE NEWS:

TELEVISION/POLITICS - From Deadline:  President Joe Biden‘s 15-minute, Oval Office address on Thursday night (Oct. 19th) drew an estimated 20.3 million people across 10 networks.  The President called for U.S. support for international crises in Israel and Ukraine.

TELEVISION - From Variety:  NBC has given a series order to "Dr. Wolf," a medical drama starring Zachary Quinto.  Because of the ongoing actors' strike, it is not known if it will be a midseason replacement or be held for the 2024-25 television season.

MOVIES - From Variety:  By skipping movies studios and partnering directly with AMC Theatres to distribute "Taylor Swift: The Eras Tour," Christopher Nolan says Swift has shown studios how "incredibly valuable" movie theaters are.

NETFLIX - From Deadline:  Wall Street is hot over Netflix's latest quarterly earnings report.

STREAMING - From Variety:  Director Baz Luhrmann took the over two million feet of film he shot for his 2008 film, "Australia" (starring Nicole Kidman and Hugh Jackman), and is turning that film into a six-part series, "Faraway Downs."  Series debuts November 26th on Hulu.

TELEVISION - From THR:  For the first time, the Walt Disney Company is revealing how profitable its sports network, ESPN, is.  In fiscal 2022, the worldwide leader in sports made $16 billion in revenue and $2.9 billion in profit.  In comparison, the rest of the "entertainment division" made $2.1 billion from $39.6 billion in revenue.

From Variety:   The Walt Disney Company is plotting to move ABC's "Good Morning America" from its Times Square studios.

MOVIES - From Variety:  In an interview, Austin Butler (Elvis) says that fellow Oscar-nominee, Tom Hardy (Venom), liked to joke around on the set of Jeff Nichols' motorcycle drama, "The Bikeriders."  However, when the "Action!" was called, Butler says that Hardy turned very intense.  The film's release may be delayed by the SAG-AFTRA strike.

DISNEY - From Variety:  Rick Riordan, the author of the "Percy Jackson" book series, says that he is honored that some of his fans call him "Uncle Rick."  He talks about bringing Percy Jackson to Disney+ and fighting racist trolls and reviving the series after 20th Century Fox's failed Percy Jackson film series, which began with 2010's "Percy Jackson & the Olympians: The Lightning Thief."

MOVIES - From Deadline:  Oscar-winning director Barry Levinson ("Rain Man") will direct Oscar-winning actor, Al Pacino ("Scent of a Woman"), in "Assassination," a JFK-thriller written by David Mamet (Ronin).

SCANDAL - From Variety:  New Mexico prosecutors will present a new case against Alec Baldwin in regards to his involvement in the shooting death of cinematographer Halyna Hutchins on the set of the Western film, "Rust."

ANIMATION - From Variety:  The English-dub voice cast of "The Boy and the Heron," the new film from the legendary Japanese director of animated film, Hayao Miyazaki, has been announced.  The big names include Christian Bale, Dave Bautista, Willem Dafoe, Mark Hamill, and Robert Pattinson, to name a few. Miyazaki's last film was 2013's The Wind Rises.

TELEVISION - From Deadline: Idris Elba is narrating and producing a National Geographic documentary series with the tentative title, "The Color of Victory: Heroes of WW2." The series will focus on people of color who fought in World War II.

NETFLIX - From Deadline:  According to a recent interview she gave, actress Millie Bobby Brown is ready to move on from her breakthrough series, Netflix's "Stranger Things."  She says that it is preventing her from telling stories that she is passionate about.

ANIMATION - From Variety:  Adult Swim's hit animated series, "Rick and Morty," debuts new voice actors. Ian Cardoni is the new voice of "Rick Sanchez" and Harry Belden is "Morty Smith." Their names appeared in the credits for the Season 7, which premiered last night (Sun., Oct. 15th).  Cardoni and Belden replaces series co-creator, Justin Roiland, who voiced both characters before he was fired in January 2023 by Adult Swim.

POLITICS - From MeidasTouch:  Former Manhattan DA prosecutor, Karen F. Agnifilo, put together a comprehensive list of nearly all of Donald Trump’s threats against judges, witnesses, prosecutors and more ahead of his gag order hearing today.  The list begins with Trump's Sept. 29th, 2020 debate call for the Proud Boys to "stand back and stand by."

TELEVISION - From Variety:  Recently, comedian Jerry Seinfeld teased a reunion of his beloved former NBC sitcom, "Seinfeld" (1989-98). Once of his co-stars from the series, Emmy-winning actress, Julia Louis-Dreyfus ("Elaine Benes") says that she does not know what the hell Jerry is talking about.

BOX OFFICE - From BoxOfficePro:  The winner of the 10/13 to 10/15/2023 weekend box office is AMC Theatres/Variance Films' "Taylor Swift: The Eras Tour" with an estimated total 97 million dollars.

AMAZON/ANIMATION - From Variety:  Keith David, Stephanie Beatriz, and Kimiko Glenn are set to star in the new adult animated series “Hazbin Hotel.” The first season will premiere exclusively on Prime Video in January 2024.

MOVIES - From Deadline:  Focus Features says that it will release "Lisa Frankenstein," the Diablo Cody-written horror film, Feb. 9th, 2024.  Cody won an Oscar for writing the film, "Juno."

OBITS:

From Variety:  American television actress, author, and businesswoman, Suzanne Somers, has died at the age of 76, Sunday, October 15, 2023.  Somers was best known for the role of Chrissy Snow on ABC's former hit sitcom, "Three's Company."  ABC fired her from the program in a contract dispute after the series' fifth season.  She also starred in the syndicated sitcom, "She's the Sheriff" (1987-89) and on the long-running former ABC-CBS sitcom, "Step by Step" (1991-98).  She earned a single Daytime Emmy nomination for her talk, "The Suzanne Show" (Lifetime, 2013).

From Variety:  American film and television actress, Piper Laurie, has died at the age of 91, Saturday, October 14, 2023.  Laurie was best known for roles in such films as "The Hustler" (1961), "Carrie" (1976), and "Children of a Lesser God" (1986), the three films for which she earned her three Oscar nominations.  Her eight Primetime Emmy nominations came for her roles in such series as "The Thorn Birds" (1983), "St. Elsewhere," and "Twin Peaks."  She won her lone Emmy for her role in the 1986 TV movie, "Promise."

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ACTORS STRIKE:

From Deadline:  SAG-AFTRA President Fran Drescher says that the offer from top-earning Hollywood actors to chip in some money to help end the strike "isn't legally compatible with the union's contract.

From Deadline:  Top earning Hollywood actors want to chip in some money to end the SAG-AFTRA strike.

From Deadline:  George Clooney, Emma Stone, Ben Affleck, Tyler Perry and Scarlett Johansson were among a group of top talent guild members that spoke Tuesday (Oct. 17th) with guild president Fran Drescher and chief negotiator Duncan Crabtree-Ireland for a detailed debrief, we hear.

From Deadline:  The movie studios via AMPTP have suspended their talks with striking actors via SAG-AFTRA.  The snag seems to be that actors want "2 precent of potential profits" on streaming.

From Variety:  SAG-AFTRA (the actors) and AMPTP (the studios) are to resume strike talks Wed., Oct. 11th, as the actors strike enters Day 88.

From Deadline:  The Screen Actors Guild (SAG) and the Hollywood studios CEOs met for strike talks for the first time since the actors went on strike July 14th. They plan to meet again, Wed., Oct. 4th.

BREAKING - From Deadline:  The Writers Guild of America (WGA) has reached a tentative agreement with the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers (AMPTP) to end its strike after nearly five months. The parties finalized the framework of the deal Sunday when they were able to untangle their stalemate over AI and writing room staffing levels.

From WGAContract:  The WGA contract page has additional information on the settlement.

From WGAContract:  A summary of the new agreement.

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From Deadline:   The actors’ strike is now in its 63rd day.  Now, SAG-AFTRA leaders are ramping up their rhetoric against the studio heads, accusing them in the latest issue of the "SAG-AFTRA Magazine" of “behaving like petty tyrants,” “would-be feudal lords” and “land barons in feudal times.”

From Deadline:  Sony Pictures Entertainment CEO Tony Vinciquerra says that Hollywood unions need to embrace AI.

From Deadline:  Warner Bros. Discovery boss David Zaslav says the industry must focus and fight to resolve the writers and actors strikes.

From Deadline:  Hollywood’s superstars are answering the call from the SAG-AFTRA Foundation, donating $1 million or more each to help their fellow performers during the ongoing actors and writers strikes.  Among the big donors are Leonardo DiCaprio, Meryl Streep, Oprah Winfrey, and Ryan Reynolds and Blake Lively.

From Deadline:  If you are interested, here is a list of the film and TV productions SAG-AFTRA has granted waivers to continue filming.

From Variety:  International superstar, Dwayne Johnson, makes a seven-figure contribution to the "SAG-AFTRA Foundation Relief Fund." Foundation president, actor Courtney B. Vance, says the amount will remain confidential.

From Variety:  Why haven't A-list stars joined the SAG-AFTRA picket line?, asks "Variety."

From Deadline:  Author George R.R. Martin, whose works were the basis for HBO's "Game of Thrones," says the strikes will be long and bitter.

From Variety:  Halted film productions due to the writers and actors strikes are costing each Hollywood studio at least 600,000 dollars per week.

From Variety:  Said at a strike meeting: “Without a transformative change in SAG-AFTRA’s current contract with the AMPTP, the acting profession will no longer be an option for future generations of performers, and actors already working in the industry will need to pursue other careers in order to survive.”

From Deadline:  If you are a "social media influencer" who is NOT  a member of SAG-AFTRA, you can be barred from future membership for promoting a film or television series during the actors' strike.

From Variety:  The SAG/AFTRA strike begins in New York and Los Angeles.  Hollywood actors began striking today, Fri., July 14th.

From Deadline:  The site has the video of the powerful strike speech given by SAG-AFTRA president, Fran Drescher, the actress best known for CBS' former sitcom, "The Nanny."

From Deadline: SAG-AFTRA is already preparing strike picket signs in case the actors' strike begins next week.

From Deadline:  The Hollywood studios via the AMPTP has given Canadian actors a new contract, including a 5 percent raise.

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Negromancer News Bits and Bites from May 14th to 20th, 2023 - Update #23

by Leroy Douresseaux a.k.a. "I Reads You"

You can support Leroy via Paypal or on Patreon:

ENTERTAINMENT AND CULTURE NEWS:

CANNES - From THR:  Indiana Jones star Harrison Ford received an honorary Palme d’Or for lifetime achievement at the 2023 Cannes Film Festival.

From Variety:  Variety's Zach Sharf describes the audience's reaction to seeing to a screening of "Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny" as "a muted standing ovation."

SPORTS/STREAMING - From Deadline:  National Football League (NFL) Commissioner Roger Goodell says that the league's deal with YouTube to carry the "NFL Sunday Ticket" is just the beginning of strengthening ties between the NFL and YouTube.

ANIMATION - From Deadline:  Hulu's revival of the former Fox animated series, "Futurama," will debut Monday, 24th.  The 20 episodes will constitute Season 11 of the series.

MOVIES/TRAILERS - From Variety:  Apple/Paramount have released the first trailer for director Martin Scorsese's "Killers of the Flower Moon," starring Leonardo DiCaprio and Robert De Niro.  The film is due in theaters Oct. 18th.

From KOSU:  "People Need to Know the History" - Osage citizens are excited and nervous as "Killers of the Flower Moon" hits the big screen.

DISNEY - From Deadline:  In an exclusive Q&A, director Rob Marshall talks about turning an animated classic into the live-action "The Little Mermaid."

MOVIES/TRAILERS - From THR: The new trailer for Mission: Impossible — Dead Reckoning: Part One reveals more of what Tom Cruise has in store when he returns to the IMF agent role of "Ethan Hunt" he originated in 1996's "Mission: Impossible."

MOVIES - From THR:  In this wide-ranging Q&A, Hollywood legend and icon, Arnold Schwarzenegger talks about the end of his involvement with "The Terminator" franchise and about the "Conan" movie he is struggling to get made, among other things.

LGBTQ+ - From CNN:  Oscar and Tony Award-winning actress, Marcia Gay Harden, says that all three of her adult children identify as "Queer."  Harden is an advocate for the LGBTQ community.

DISNEY - From Lucasfilm:  All "Indiana Jones" is coming to Disney+ on May 31st. That includes the four films and, as they titled it, "The Adventures of Young Indiana Jones" (ABC, The Family Channel, 1992-96). So the streamer will likely have the reworked and not the original TV series, "The Young Indiana Jones Chronicles" (ABC, 1992-96).

From Deadline:  Lucasfilm president Kathleen Kenney says the full "Indiana Jones" catalog will land on Disney+ before the new film, "Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny" arrives in theaters June 30th.

TELEVISION - From Deadline:  Because of the writer's strike, ABC has released a contingent 2023-24 television schedule.  It leans heavily on unscripted series, such as "Dancing with the Stars" and "Bachelor in Paradise."

From Deadline:  The Fox broadcast network revealed its 2023-24 television schedule at it "upfront" in NYC on Monday (May 15th).

ANIMATION - From Variety:  Cable network FXX's long-running animated series, "Archer," will end after its upcoming 14th season, which debuts August 30th.

DISNEY/STREAMING - From Variety:  "Avatar: The Way of Water" will begin streaming on both Disney+ and Max (formerly HBO Max) on June 7th.

BOX OFFICE - From BoxOfficePro:  The winner of the 5/12 to 5/14/2023 weekend box office is Disney/Marvel Studios' "Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3" with an estimated total of 60.5 million dollars.

From Here:  My review of "Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3."

TELEVISION - From Deadline:  The winners of the 2023 BAFTA TV Awards have been announced.

MOVIES - From Deadline:  Millennium Media is going to Cannes to shop around "Infernus," an action thriller that Idris Elba will produce, direct, and star in.

From Deadline:  Mel Gibson's first directorial effort since the Oscar-nominated "Hacksaw Ridge" is "Flight Fisk" a thriller starring Mark Wahlberg. Lionsgate will be selling the film at the Cannes Film Festival.

CELEBRITY - From EW:  65-year-old action movie legend, Dolph Lundgren ("Universal Soldier," "The Expendables" franchises) has revealed that he has been privately engaged in an 8-year battle with cancer.

OBITS:

From AP:  Social activist, actor, and former professional football player, Jim Brown, has died at the age of 87, Thursday, May 18, 2023.  One of the greatest players in football, he is best remembered as the running back for the Cleveland Browns (1957-65).  He was a three-time NFL Most Valuable Player (1957, 1958, and 1965) and "Rookie of the Year" (1957).  He was a member of the Brown's 1964 NFL Champions.  In addition to being one of the greatest football players of all time, Brown is also considered to be one of the greatest lacrosse players of all time.  He was also a prolific film and television actor, appearing in such films as "The Dirty Dozen" (1967), "100 Rifles" (1969), and "Three the Hard Way" (1974), to name a few.  As an activist, Brown organized black professional athletes in the fight for civil rights and against the Vietnam War. He later to curb gang violence in Los Angeles.

From Deadline:  American film editor, John Refoua, has died at the age of 58, Sunday, May 14, 2023.  He was best known for his work editing "Avatar" (for which he shared an Oscar nomination) and "Avatar: The Way of Water."  He also worked on "The Equalizer" (2014), "The Magnificent Seven" (2016), and "Geostorm" (2017), to name a few.

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WRITERS STRIKE:

From Deadline:   President Joe Biden speaks on the Writers Guild of America strike.

From Deadline:  Retaliation! The studios have starting informing writer-producers who have "overall" and "first-look" deals that such deals are being suspended.

From Deadline:  Retaliation!  Prolific HBO creator, David Simon, who is best known for "The Wire," is one of the many writers who have had their overall deals suspended the studios due to the WGA strike.  Simon has been with HBO for 25 years.

From Deadline:  The Writers Guild of America (WGA) is on strike.

From Deadline:  Disney, HBO/HBO Max, and CBS have sent letters to showrunners (the TV equivalent of film directors) instructing them to return to work, inspite of the writer's strike.

From Deadline:  The WGA's chief negotiator, Ellen Stutzman, talks about the state of the writers' strike, including the lack of engagement on the part of the strike's other party, AMPTP.

From Deadline:  What went wrong between the WGA and AMPTP? What could they not agree on that led to a strike?

From Deadline:  The site explains the WGA strike: the issues, the stakes, movies and TV shows affected, and how long it might last.

Review: "THREE THOUSAND YEARS OF LONGING" is a Fairy Tale of Love Stories

TRASH IN MY EYE No. 73 of 2022 (No. 1885) by Leroy Douresseaux

Three Thousand Years of Longing (2022)

Running time:  108 minutes (1 hour, 48 minutes)

MPA – R for some sexual content, graphic nudity and brief violence

DIRECTOR:  George Miller

WRITERS:  George Miller and Augusta Gore (based upon the short story by A.S. Byatt)

PRODUCERS:  Doug Mitchell and George Miller

CINEMATOGRAPHER:  John Seale (D.o.P.)

EDITOR:  Margaret Sixel

COMPOSER: Junkie XL

FANTASY/ROMANCE/DRAMA

Starring:  Tilda Swinton, Idris Elba, Erdil Yasaroglu, Aamito Lagum, Ece Yuksel, Matteo Bocelli, and Nicolas Mouawad

Three Thousand Years of Longing is a 2022 fantasy film and romantic drama directed by George Miller  It is based on the short story, “The Djinn in the Nightingale's Eye,” which was written by author A. S. Byatt and first published in the Winter 1994 edition of The Paris Review.  Three Thousand Years of Longing focuses on lonely scholar and a djinn who offers her three wishes in exchange for his freedom.

Three Thousand Years of Longing introduces Alithea Binnie (Tilda Swinton), a lonely British scholar and “narratologist.”  She travels to Istanbul, Turkey for a conference.  While there, Alithea visits Istanbul's “Grand Bazaar” where she enters a store filled with beautiful and intricate glassware.  She purchases an odd, antique bottle, and takes it back to her hotel.

While cleaning the bottle, Alithea is shocked to discover that there is something inside it and that she has unwittingly released its contents.  Alithea has accidentally unleashed a djinn that was trapped inside the bottle.  The Djinn (Idris Elba) offers to grant her three wishes, but Alithea believes that djinn are tricksters and that the wishes they grant turn out to be misfortune for those that did the wishing.  So The Djinn tells Alithea three tales that explain how he came to be in the bottle in which she found him.  Will this convince Alithea to accept his offer of three wishes – an act that will grant him freedom?

First, I must say that Three Thousand Years of Longing has excellent production values, and I would expect nothing less from a great filmmaker like George Miller, best known for his Mad Max films, including the original Mad Max (1979) and the most recent, the winner of multiple Oscar-winner, Mad Max: Fury Road (2015).  The costumes, sets, art direction, hair and make-up, the score, and cinematography give Three Thousand Years of Longing a golden hue.  It is in the depiction of The Djinn's stories that this film's production values assert their power in transforming Three Thousand Years of Longing into a engaging fairy tale full of wondrous fairy tales

However, these same fairy tales often outshine the main narrative, much of which deals with the impasse in which Alithea and The Djinn find themselves.  Luckily, Three Thousand Years of Longing is a story with a beginning, middle, and an end.  For it is at the end that we learn that Three Thousand Years of Longing is truly a love story, but a love story that only a fairy tale can tell.  Love is a story, and in this story, love, with its endless longing, is different and lives differently.

George Miller and his co-writer, Augusta Gore, could only tell this film story with two extraordinary and exceptional actors.  Tilda Swinton, strange chameleon and splendid thespian, and Idris Elba, whose profound voice reveals the deep pool of ability from which it springs, are so perfectly matched in being mismatched and star-crossed, that they make us believe in what their characters ultimately make for themselves.  Three Thousand Years of Longing is not perfect, but it is the kind of fantasy film that only exceptional cinematic talents can create.

7 of 10

A-

★★★½ out of 4 stars

Saturday, December 3, 2022

The text is copyright © 2022 Leroy Douresseaux. All Rights Reserved. Contact this blog or site for reprint and syndication rights and fees.

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Review: Idris Elba and the Lion Be Beastin' in "BEAST"

TRASH IN MY EYE No. 65 of 2022 (No. 1877) by Leroy Douresseaux

Beast (2022)
Running time:  93 minutes (1 hour, 33 minutes)
MPA – R for violent content, bloody images and some language
DIRECTOR:  Baltasar Kormakur
WRITERS: Ryan Engle; from a story by Jaime Primak Sullivan
PRODUCERS:  Baltasar Kormaku, James Lopez, and Will Packer
CINEMATOGRAPHERS:  Philippe Rousselot and Baltasar Breki (D.o.P.)
EDITOR:  Jay Rabinowitz
COMPOSER:  Steven Price

THRILLER

Starring:  Idris Elba, Iyana Halley, Leah Sava Jeffries, and Sharlto Copley

Beast is a 2022 wildlife thriller film from director Baltasar Kormakur.  The film focuses on a widowed father and his two teenage daughters who must fight for survival after they are attacked and stalked by a rogue lion.

Beast opens in South Africa.  Recently widowed Dr. Nathaniel “Nate” Samuels (Idris Elba) and his teenage daughters, Meredith “Mare” Samuels (Iyana Halley) and Norah Samuels (Leah Sava Jeffries), travel to South Africa for a vacation.  They arrive at the Mopani Reserve where Nate reunites with his old friend and dear family friend, Martin Battles (Sharlto Copley), a biologist and manager of the Mopani Reserve.

Nate was recently widowed when his wife, Amahle, died of cancer, and he is somewhat estranged from his daughters.  Mare is argumentative and rebellious, and Norah is sensitive.  Both girls are bitter about the separation of their father and late mother prior to the latter's death.  Nate hopes that this trip will help him to reconnect with his daughters.

On the second day of the trip, Martin takes the Samuels to the reserve's restricted areas.  Along the way, they encounter an injured man that has apparently been mauled by a lion.  That same lion attacks again, and suddenly, Nate and his daughters are trapped in their vehicle.  Stranded in a remote area inside a damaged vehicle, Nate must find a way to save himself and his daughters from a bloodthirsty rogue lion that does not stop stalking its prey until it they are dead.

First, I wish that I'd seen Beast on a movie theater screen.  Secondly, the mini-melodrama between Nate and his daughters did not interest me.  I found Mare and Norah to be often irritating, and more than once, they made their plight against the lion worse.  Beside that subplot, the film is well written.  There are certainly enough death-defying moments to keep the viewer's attention on the film.

Still, Beast is very well directed and edited.  As soon as Martin, Nate, Mare and Norah leave Martin's home, director Baltasar Kormakur begins turning up the heat.  Before Beast becomes a full-on survival thriller, Kormakur makes it a riveting suspense thriller as the story moves about the reserve, visiting a local pride and moving on to a small village.  That's where the movie explodes, and the rest of the way, Beast is a gripping, edge-of-your-seat thriller.  Honestly, I feel like the film mesmerized me, and I certainly didn't think that I would end up liking it as much as I did … and still do.  I can see myself watching it again.

In addition to having a great monster – the rogue lion, Beast also has a great actor and true movie star, Idris Elba, as its lead.  Elba has that kind of big screen magic that can make the viewer want to vicariously experience a movie through him.  I certainly found myself following his every step, living through the obstacles and threats to Nate Samuels' very life.  Elba also convincingly plays a medical doctor and a loving and patient father, especially to two stubborn daughters.  So Beast has a lion of an actor and movie star to go along with its killer super-lion.  Both will make you feel as if you need to catch your breath, dear readers.

7 of 10
A-
★★★½ out of 4 stars

Friday, October 28, 2022


The text is copyright © 2022 Leroy Douresseaux. All Rights Reserved. Contact this site or blog for reprint and syndication rights and fees.

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Review: "THOR: LOVE AND THUNDER" is Full of Love and Thunder

TRASH IN MY EYE No. 42 of 2022 (No. 1854) by Leroy Douresseaux

Thor: Love and Thunder (2022)
Running time:  119 minutes (1 hour, 59 minutes)
MPAA – PG-13 for intense sequences of sci-fi violence and action, language, some suggestive material and partial nudity
DIRECTOR:  Taika Waititi
WRITERS: Taiki Waititi and Jennifer Kaytin Robinson; from a story by Taika Waititi (based on the Marvel Comics)
PRODUCERS:  Kevin Feige and Brad Winderbaum
CINEMATOGRAPHER:  Barry Idoine (D.o.P.)
EDITORS:  Peter S. Elliot, Tim Roche, Matthew Schmidt, and Jennifer Vecchiarello
COMPOSERS:  Michael Giacchino and Nami Melumad

SUPERHERO/FANTASY/ACTION and COMEDY/DRAMA

Starring:  Chris Hemsworth, Christian Bale, Tessa Thompson, Taika Waititi (voice) Jaimie Alexander, Chris Pratt, Dave Bautista, Karen Gillan, Pom Klementieff, Vin Diesel (voice), Bradley Cooper (voice), Kieron L. Dyer, Idris Elba, Brett Goldstein, and Russell Crowe and Natalie Portman

Thor: Love and Thunder is a 2022 superhero fantasy and action-comedy directed by Taika Waititi and produced by Marvel Studios and distributed by Walt Disney Pictures.  It is the fourth film in Marvel's Thor film series, which began with Thor (2011).  Thor is a Marvel Comics character that first appeared in the comic book, Journey into Mystery #83 (cover dated: August 1962), and is based on the Norse mythological deity of the same name.  In Love and Thunder, Thor reunites with his ex-girlfriend to fight a being who plans to make the gods extinct.

Thor: Love and Thunder finds Thor (Chris Hemsworth), using his second enchanted hammer, “Stormbreaker,” is fighting the bad guys of the galaxy with the Guardians of the Galaxy:  Star-Lord (Chris Pratt), Mantis (Pom Klementieff), Drax the Destroyer (Dave Bautista), Nebula (Karen Gillan), Groot (voice of Vin Diesel), and Rocket (voice of Bradley Cooper).  Thor is at a crossroads in his life and is unsure of what to do next.

Back on Earth, Thor's ex-girlfriend, the astrophysicist Dr. Jane Foster (Natalie Portman), is battling stage four cancer.  Seeking medical treatment, Jane travels to New Asgard.  There, she has a strange encounter with Thor's broken hammer, Mjolnir.

Meanwhile, Thor has answered a distress signal from one of Asgard's warriors, Sif (Jaimie Alexander).  She warns him of Gorr the God Butcher (Christian Bale), a being who possesses the god-killing weapon, “the Necrosword.”  When Gorr attacks New Asgard, Thor returns to join the battle.  Much to his shock, he discovers that Mjolnir has reforged and bonded with Jane Foster, transforming her into another Thor.

Now, Valkyrie (Tessa Thompson), King of Asgard, and Korg (voice of Taika Waititi), the rocky Kronan warrior, join Thor and Thor on a journey to fight Gorr.  But are they enough to fight a being that has already killed many gods?

The last year's worth of Marvel Studios films, five including Thor: Love and Thunder, have been different, even offbeat, much to the chagrin of some critics and fans.  People complained that Marvel's films were too much alike, and now that the studio has given us five films that are quite different from the first 11 years of films, they still aren't happy.

Anyway, I want to make it clear that there is plenty of “thunder” in Thor: Love and Thunder.  Director Taika Waititi offers some action set pieces that are either unusual or have an unusual angle to them.  As Gorr, Christian Bale gives a multi-layered performance full of pathos, humor, and maniacal glee.  It is a seemingly effortless performance from one of the best actors of the last quarter-century.  So, this superhero movie has a great villain, one who can match both Thors and is genuinely vengeful, a vengeance grounded in love.

Still, Waititi wants Thor to be something really different.  The films trades in themes of love, death, and change.  Thor Odinson and Jane Foster-Thor are both in crisis.  The Odinson is having a sort of mid-life crisis.  If he is no longer the rascally young heir to the throne of Asgard or the Avenger's lightning, thunder, and muscle, then, what is he?  Jane Foster is facing an existential crisis; her cancer is really terminal.  Should she quietly accept her fate or should she go out with a bang and some thunder as Thor, fighting their enemy to death, if need be?

Thor: Love and Thunder is a perfect film for this time.  It chooses love over despair.  It is a post-breakup movie in which Thor and Jane Foster find their way back to one another.  Although death is an end, it can also mean change, and that is what can be in store for Thor and Thor and for King Valkyrie, Korg, and a few other characters.

I love what director Taika Waititi has created in his two Thor films, this and the earlier Thor: Ragnarok (2017).  Thor: Love and Thunder finds the humor in every situation, even the dark and dangerous ones, which might put off some of its audience.  However, I like that Thor: Love and Thunder is a film made of joy, color, and wonder that travels across the galaxy and into different realms.  But no matter where it goes, Thor: Love and Thunder full of thunderous sounds and furious love.

[This film as two scenes that occur during the credits, one in the middle and one at the end.]

8 of 10
A
★★★★ out of 4 stars

Friday, July 8, 2022


The text is copyright © 2022 Leroy Douresseaux. All Rights Reserved. Contact this blog or site for syndication rights and fees.

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Negromancer News Bits and Bites from May 22nd to 31st, 2022 - Update #41

by Leroy Douresseaux a.k.a. "I Reads You"

You can support Leroy via Paypal or on Patreon:

ENTERTAINMENT AND CULTURE NEWS:

BOX OFFICE - From Deadline:  In the final tally, the Memorial Day holiday weekend domestic box office take for "Top Gun: Maverick" is a record 160.5 million dollars.

From BoxOfficePro:  The winner of the 5/27 to 5/29/2020 weekend box office is Paramount Pictures' "Top Gun: Maverick" with an estimated take of 124 million dollars.

From TheWrap:  With an estimated 156 million dollars at the domestic box office, "Top Gun: Maverick" has broken the Memorial Day weekend box office record. The surpasses "Pirates of the Caribbean: At World's End" which grossed 153 million dollars during the 2007 Memorial Day weekend.

From Here:  Here is my review of "Top Gun: Maverick."

From THR:  On review aggregator, "Rotten Tomatoes," "Top Gun: Maverick" has tied "Mission: Impossible - Fallout" (2018) as the best reviewed Tom Cruise movie of all time.

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MOVIES - From TheWrap:  Indie entertainment company, A24's horror films ranked from best to worse.

MOVIES - From Variety:  Here is a first look at Oscar-nominee, Bradley Cooper, as legendary Broadway composer, Leonard Bernstein, "Maestro."

MOVIES - From WorldofReel:  David Cronenberg says that he has an idea for a movie starring "Twilight Saga" costars, Robert Pattinson and Kristen Stewart.

TELEVISION - From Deadline:  Oscar-winning actress Jodie Foster will appear in the fourth season of HBO's anthology series, "True Detective."  Entitled, "True Detective: Night Country," it will be Foster's first major adult TV role.

SCANDAL - From CNN:  Former reality TV star, Josh Duggar ("19 Kids and Counting") was sentenced to 12.5 years in prison, a $10,000 fine, and 20 years of supervised release, during which he cannot have contact with minors.  In December 2021, Duggar was found guilty of "receipt of child pornography" and "possession of child pornography"

ANIMATION - From Deadline:  Samuel L. Jackson will join Chris Pratt's in Alcon Entertainment's animated "Garfield" film.

TRAILERS - From TheWrap:  Paramount Pictures has debuted the first trailer for "Mission: Impossible - Dead Reckoning Part One (the seventh film).  The film is due July 14, 2023.

BOX OFFICE - From Variety:  The winner of the 5/20 to 5/22/2022 weekend box office is Marvel Studios' "Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness" with an estimated take of 31.6 million dollars.

From Here:  My review of "Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness."

NETFLIX - From TheWeek:  Netflix is apparently trying to end its "war" with movie theaters, but the streamer will have to make deals with its adversaries, AMC Theaters and Regal Cinemas.

POLITICS - From WashPost:  Russia has permanently banned 963 U.S. citizens from entering the country.  The list includes President Joe Biden and Vice-President Kamala Harris and even actor Morgan Freeman.

CANNES - From Variety:  "Three Thousand Years of Longing," the new film from director George Miller ('Mad Max" series), received a six-minutes standing ovation during its world premiere at the 2022 Cannes Film Festival.  The film stars Tilda Swinton as a solitary academic and Idris Elba as the genie she finds.

OBITS:

From Deadline:   Tytyana Miller, the daughter of rapper Master P, has died at the age of 29.  Paramedics found her unresponsive early Saturday, May 28, 2022.  She had appeared in the WE TV series, "Growing Up Hip Hop."

From Deadline:  The television and film actor, Bo Hopkins, has died at the age of 84, Saturday, May 28, 2022.  He was best known for appearing in films such as "The Wild Bunch" (1969), "American Graffiti" (1973), and "Midnight Express" (1978).  I remember him for his appearance in two mid-1970s films, "White Lightning" (1973), with Burt Reynolds, and "Posse" (1975), which was led by Kirk Douglas. A prolific TV actor, Hopkins appeared in over 100 films and TV series.

From Deadline:   Actor Ray Liotta has died at the age of 67, Thursday, May 26, 2022.  Liotta was best known for playing mobster Henry Hill in the 1990 Martin Scorsese film, "Goodfellas."  He was also known for playing Shoeless Joe Jackson in "Field of Dreams" (1989) and "Ray Sinclair" in "Something Wild" (1986).  He was currently experiencing a career resurgence.

From Deadline:  Hollywood mourns and remembers Ray Liotta.  This article includes comments from co-star Robert De Niro ("Goodfellas").

UVALDE, TEXAS MASS SHOOTING:

From YahooAP:  An 18-year-old gunman slaughtered 19 children and two teachers on Tues., May 24th, 2022 in Uvalde, Texas.  All 21 victims were in the same 4th grade classroom at Robb Elementary.

From DallasNews:  Joe Garcia, the husband of Irma Garcia, one of the two teachers killed at Robb Elementary in Uvalde, Texas, has died of a heart attack two days after the murder of his wife.  They had been married for 24 years and had been high school sweethearts.

From Axios:  Texas gubernatorial candidate, Beto O'Rourke, interrupted Texas Gov. Greg Abbott's gaslighting press conference on the Uvalde elementary school mass shooting.

From USAToday:  Beto O'Rourke's outburst at Gov. Greg Abbott's Uvalde news conference shows the spine Democrats need.

From BostonGlobe:  Steve Kerr, head coach of the NBA's Golden State Warriors, asks "When are we going to do something?"

From NBCNews:  A Robb Elementary teacher describes "the longest 35 minutes of my life" and the terror she now feels.

From NBCNews:  The Uvalde school district had an extensive safety plan, but 19 children were killed at Robb Elementary anyway.  Even security plans that appear to be up to the latest research-based standards may have gaps and fall short of preventing the worst-case scenario, experts said.

From MSN:  Angeli Rose Gomez, the mother who was handcuffed outside Robb Elementary in Uvalde, Texas, was able to get inside the school and rescue her two children.

From YahooNews:   Daniel Defense, the maker of the rifles used by the Uvalde massacre killer, has used "incendiary ads" in the past, including one in which a toddler holds one of its rifles.

From TheIntercept:  The police aren't obligated to protect anyone NOT in their custody, as the Supreme Court has ruled twice.

From RollingStone:  Right wing lies about the Second Amendment and why they tell them are killing America's childrne.

From Vice:  The law enforcement personnel in Texas that arrived at Robb Elementary in Uvalde, Texas on Tues., May 24th did the opposite of what their own training documentary videos show.

From Vox:  Uvalde police keep changing their story.

From TheDailyBeast:  The families in Uvalde, Texas who lost loved one in the Robb Elementary massacre say that the cops there are "Nothing more than cowards" and that they need to pay for doing nothing while a gunman rampaged through the school last Tues, May 24th.

From TheNewYorker:  Thoughts and prayers, Uvalde, Texas. This is the America that Republicans and the right wing have being thinking about and praying for all these decades.

BLM-BUFFALO:

From ABCNews:  A 18-year-old white MAN shot 13 people, killing 10 at a Buffalo, New York Tops Friendly Markets supermarket on Saturday, May 14, 2021.

From Truthout:  The racist attack in Buffalo at the Tops Friendly supermarket was crafted to terrorize us.  We can fight back, and here’s how we fight back.

From WGRZ:  Who are the victims of the Buffalo Tops Friendly Markets grocery store shooting. This comes from local station WGRZ Channel 2 and includes video and some victim photos.

From BuffaloNews:  One of the 10 Black murder victims of the Buffalo massacre was Katherine "Kat" Massey.  She was a leader in her community and civil rights activist and advocate for education.

From NewYorkPost:  One of the 10 Black murder victims of the Buffalo massacre was Andre Mackniel. He was at TOPS Supermaket to pick up a birthday cake for his son.

From Truthout:  The racist attack in Buffalo, NY at the Tops supermarket was crafted to terrorize us, so here is how we fight back.

From CNN:  What is known about the 18-year-old MAN, Payton Gendron.

From NPR:  198 mass shooting this year ... so far.

From Truthout:  White supremacist massacre of 10 people in Buffalo, NY shows that the “Alt-Right” ideology leads to murder.

From RollingStone:  Buffalo rampage killing is "Straight Up Racially Motivated Hate Crime."

From InformedComment:  Rene Binet, the originator the "great replacement" was a French Nazi, and he saw all American as "Negroes," an "impure mestizo 'race'."

From WashPost:  Only 22 people saw the live-stream of a white terrorist kill Black shoppers at the Buffalo Tops Friendly Markets supermarket, but millions have seen it since...

From GuardianUK:  Buffalo Tops Friendly Markets shooter may have been motivated by "eco-fascism," a focus on overpopulation and environmental degradation.

From RSN:  "What Lessons Have We Learned From the Buffalo Shooting?" by Kareem Abdul-Jabbar.

From Truthout:  “Innocent” White People Are Also Complicit in the Anti-Black Murders in Buffalo by George Yancy.

From Truthout:  "Black Lives Matter" cofounder discovered that Alicia Garza has learned that her name is mentioned in the Buffalo Tops supermarket killer's manifesto.

From GuardianUK:   Cornell West says, "Trump isn't out there with a gun, but he's enabled this war against Black people.

From Slate:  From the Tulsa Race Massacre to the Buffalo Tops Friendly Markets shootings: the legacy of anti-Black violence.

From Truthout:  After mass shootings, Republicans shield white supremacists from scrutiny

UKRAINE:

From TheDailyBeast:  Russian soldiers allegedly raped and killed a 1-year-old Ukrainian boy and have reportedly raped or sexually abused children as young as 9 months old.

Review: Super Sonic VFX and Humor Drive "SONIC THE HEDGEHOG 2"

TRASH IN MY EYE No. 25 of 2022 (No. 1837) by Leroy Douresseaux

Sonic the Hedgehog 2 (2022)
Running time:  122 minutes (2 hours, 2 minutes)
MPAA – PG for action, some violence, rude humor, and mild language
DIRECTOR:  Jeff Fowler
WRITERS:  Pat Casey & Josh Miller and John Whittington; based on a story by Pat Casey & Josh Miller
PRODUCERS:  Toby Ascher, Neal H. Moritz, Toru Nakahara, and Hitoshi Okuno
CINEMATOGRAPHER:  Brandon Trost (D.o.P.)
EDITOR:  Jim May
COMPOSER: Tom Holkenborg (Junkie XL)

FANTASY/FAMILY/ACTION/ADVENTURE/COMEDY

Starring:  James Marsden, Tika Sumpter, Natasha Rothwell, Adam Pally, Shemar Moore, Lee Majdoub, Tom Butler; Ben Schwartz, Colleen O'Shaughnessey, Idris Elba, and Jim Carrey

Sonic the Hedgehog 2 is a 2022 action-adventure, fantasy and comedy film directed by Jeff Fowler.  The film is based on the Japanese video game series and media franchise that was created and is owned by the Sega Corporation and which began with the 1991 Sega Genesis game, Sonic the Hedgehog.  The film is also a direct sequel to the 2020 film, Sonic the Hedgehog.  Sonic the Hedgehog 2 pits the titular character and his archenemy in a race to obtain an all-powerful jewel.

Sonic the Hedgehog 2 opens several months after the events depicted in Sonic the Hedgehog.  The mad scientist, Dr. Robotnik, also known as “Eggman” (Jim Carrey), is still trapped on the mushroom planet.  As luck would have it, his schemes to escape the planet draw the attention of Knuckles the Echidna (voice of Idris Elba), an anthropomorphic red echidna (a spiny anteater) warrior who possesses superhuman strength.

Meanwhile, Robotnik and Knuckles mutual adversary, Sonic the Hedgehog (voice of Ben Schwartz), is living in Seattle as the superhero, “Blue Justice.”  However, Sonic, an anthropomorphic blue hedgehog who can run at supersonic speeds, is not really good at being a superhero.  Tom (James Marsden) and Maddie Wachowski (Tika Sumpter) adopted Sonic as their son, and Tom, as his father, advises Sonic to remain patient for the day his power will be needed.  Then, he and Maddie leave for Hawaii for the wedding of Maddie's sister, Rachel (Natasha Rothwell).

That leaves Sonic home alone for some fun, and he is having fun until Robotnik and Knuckles arrive, with the latter immediately attacking him.  Knuckles turns out to be a formidable fighter, and he also desires to honor his extinct tribe.  To do so, he must find the legendary “Master Emerald,” an ancient relic that allows anyone who possesses it to bend reality to their will.  Knuckles not only believes that the emerald is on Earth, but also that Sonic knows its secret location.

Sonic is rescued by Miles “Tails” Prower (voice of Colleen O'Shaughnessey), an anthropomorphic, two-tailed, yellow fox who idolizes Sonic and came to warn him about Knuckles.  Tails can fly by spinning his tails like a helicopter's blades.  Now, Sonic and Tails are on a race to keep Robotnik and Knuckles from locating the Master Emerald.  But can Sonic keep his parents, Tom and Maddie, from getting involved, and is that the right thing to do?

I have not seen the first film, Sonic the Hedgehog, and I had no intentions of watching it.  So, I also had no plans on seeing Sonic the Hedgehog 2, but then, my niece asked to me to take her to the theater to see it, as she did not want to wait for it to stream on Paramount+.  Because she rarely asks me to take her to the movies and because she usually turns down my offers to take her when I'm going, I (reluctantly) agreed to see Sonic the Hedgehog 2 with her.

I must say that Sonic the Hedgehog 2 is much better than I thought it would be.  I must be honest and admit that early in the movie, I dozed off several times – because I was tired and it had already been a long day.  However, Sonic's second live-action film has many exciting scenes, and the special effects and CGI are really good.  Sonic the Hedgehog may be a kids' movie, but the visual effects (VFX) are as a good as most big event, tent pole movies made for adults.  Soon, I was into it, pretty much enthralled by the impressive VFX.

The character animation is top notch.  Sonic, Tails, and Knuckles are obviously CGI and animated characters, but the character animation gives them personality and character.  They don't look like stuffed animals with weird eyes that have come to life.  The voice acting is quite good, with Colleen O'Shaughnessey making Tails see like a real hero-worshiping boy who finally meets his idol, and Idris Elba sounds all tough guy as Knuckles.  Ben Schwartz brings Sonic to life as a fully developed film character.  Schwartz makes Sonic's doubts and dilemmas seem genuine, and Sonic's exuberance and Schwartz's voice performance shine through the narrative.  Here, Sonic is more movie star than video game character.

As for Jim Carrey, he is what he usually is as an actor:  the good, the bad, and ugly of a performer in constant over-the-top mode.  The rest of the live-action cast makes the best of their roles with James Marsden and Tika Sumpter seeming like real parents in love with their alien child.  Natasha Rothwell, as Maddie's sister, Rachel, is quite good at stealing scenes.

So after saying all that, it is obvious that I like Sonic the Hedgehog 2.  But will I see the first film...?

6 of 10
B
★★★ out of 4 stars

Friday, April 22, 2022


The text is copyright © 2022 Leroy Douresseaux. All Rights Reserved. Contact this blog or site for reprint and syndication rights and fees.

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Negromancer News Bits and Bites from August 8th to 14th, 2021 - Update #23

by Leroy Douresseaux a.k.a. "I Reads You"

You can support Leroy via Paypal or on Patreon:

ENTERTAINMENT AND CULTURE NEWS: 

BOX OFFICE - From Deadline:   Disney/20th Century Studios "Free Guy," starring Ryan Reynolds, looks to lead the weekend box office.

TELEVISION - From IndieWire:  In an interview, actor Jonathan Majors talks about the "jarring" end of HBO's "Lovecraft Country."

MOVIES - From Deadline:  Oscar-winner Emma Stone signs a deal to star in a sequel to Disney's recent hit, "Cruella."

TELEVISION - From Deadline:   FX chairman John Landgraf would like TV super-producer Ryan Murphy to return to 20th Century Television and Disney from his current perch at Netflix.

MOVIES - From Deadline:   Gina Carano's first project since getting fired from the Disney+ series, "The Mandalorian," is an untitled revenge thriller.  Eric Red ("The Hitcher") has written the script for the film, which is based on his novel "White Knuckle."  Carano will star in the film and will be one of the film's producers.

MUSIC - From Afrotech:   Singer-songwriter Dolly Parton has made millions of dollars in songwriting royalties from the late Whitney Houston's 1992 remake of Parton's 1974 song, "I Will Always Love You."  Parton revealed that she has invested some of that money in the African-American community of Nashville, TN.

CELEBRITY - From YahooTelegraphy:  Oscar-nominated actress, Debra Winger, talks about how the MeToo movement has gone too far and about why she really left Hollywood in the early 1990s.

TELEVISION - From Variety:  There is a second teaser and a full trailer for FX's "Impeachment: American Crime Story," which debuts Sept 7th.  The series focuses on the scandal involving President Bill Clinton and the intern Monica Lewinsky.

CELEBRITY - From YahooEntertainment:   Oscar-winner Quentin Tarantino says that the has stuck to a childhood promise not to never give a "penny" to his mother.

From YahooEntertainment:  His mother, Connie Zastoupil, has something else to say.

MOVIES - From IndieWire:   Recent Oscar-winner Chloe Zhao has raved about director Denis Villeneuve's upcoming sci-fi epic, "Dune."  But how many people will see it in movie theaters.

TELEVISION - From TVInsider:   Seth McFarlane says the third season of his sci-fi comedy TV series, "The Orville," has wrapped and will debut on Hulu.

SPORTS/TELEVISION - From Deadline:   According to early numbers, NBC suffered an all-time viewership low in its broadcast of the 2021 Tokyo Olympics (a.k.a. "the Games of the XXXII Olympiad").  Still, an average of 15.5 million in today's numbers is actually good.  NBC has broadcast the Summer Olympics since 1988 Seoul Korea Olympics.

MOVIES - From IGN:   Actor Idris Elba will provide the voice for the character, "Knuckles," in the sequel to the "Sonic the Hedgehog" movie.

NETFLIX - From Variety:  Netflix is developing "Wednesday Addams," a TV series based on "The Addams Family" television series and on Charles Addams' series of cartoons in "The New Yorker" magazine.   Actor Luis Guzman has been cast as "Gomez Addams."

From Variety:  Oscar-winning actress Catherine Zeta-Jones will play Morticia Addams in Netflix's series, "Wednesday Addams."  Jenny Ortega has been previously announced as Wednesday.

ANIMATION - From YahooEntertainment:   Voice actor Jeff Bergman talks about the responsibility in voicing classic animated cartoon characters like Bugs Bunny and Yogi Bear.

SCANDAL - From Deadline:   Actor Joel Kinnaman has obtained a restraining order against a former sex partner, Swedish model Gabriella Magnusson.  According to Kinnaman, Magnusson has threatened to accuse him of raping her.

BOX OFFICE - From Variety:   The winner of the 8/6 to 8/8/2021 weekend box office is "The Suicide Squad" with an estimated take of 26.5 million dollars.

MOVIE REVIEW - From Negromancer:   Here is my review of "The Suicide Squad."

TELEVISION - From Deadline:   Actor Kapil Talwalkar ("Zoey's Extraordinary Playlist") will be a series regular on NBC's upcoming sequel to "Night Court" (1984-92), its long-running courtroom comedy.

OBITS:

From Deadline:  Former child star, Jane Withers, has died at the age of 95, Saturday, August 7, 2021.  She was one of the most popular child stars of the 1930s and early 1940s, and she was the only child star to complete a seven-year contract.  Her breakthrough role came as a supporting actor next to Shirley Temple in the film, "Bright Eyes" (1934).   Withers retired at 21 in 1947, but returned to screen and television work in 1955.

From Deadline:   The actress, Markie Post, has died at the age of 70, Saturday, August 7, 2021, after a nearly four-year battle with cancer.  Post was best known for playing the role of "Christine Sullivan" on NBC's former courtroom comedy, "Night Court," becoming a series regular in its third season.  Post was also the star (with John Ritter) of CBS' late sitcom, "Hearts Afire" (1992-95).  In recent years, Post had a recurring role on NBC's police drama, "Chicago P.D."

From Deadline:  Former costars and colleagues remember Markie Post ("The Fall Guy," "Night Court,") who died on Saturday at the age of 70.

TRAILERS:

From THR:  There is a trailer for Nicolas Cage's upcoming film, "Prisoners of the Ghostland," which arrives Sept. 17th at theaters, on digital, and video-on-demand.

Review: Idris Elba Drives James Gunn's "THE SUICIDE SQUAD"

TRASH IN MY EYE No. 49 of 2021 (No. 1787) by Leroy Douresseaux

The Suicide Squad (2021)
Running time:  132 minutes (2 hours, 12 minutes)
MPAA – R for strong violence and gore, language throughout, some sexual references, drug use and brief graphic nudity
DIRECTOR:  James Gunn
WRITER:  James Gunn (based on characters appearing in DC Comics)
PRODUCERS:  Charles Roven and Peter Safran
CINEMATOGRAPHER:  Henry Braham (D.o.P.)
EDITORS:  Fred Raskin and Christian Wagner
COMPOSER:  John Murphy

SUPERHERO/FANTASY/ACTION and COMEDY/DRAMA

Starring:  Idris Elba, Margot Robbie, John Cena, Joel Kinnaman, Daniela Melchior, David Dastmalchian, Storm Reid, Sylvester Stallone (voice), Michael Rooker, Jai Courtney, Nathan Fillion, Flula Borg, Mayling Ng, Pete Davidson, Sean Gunn, Peter Capaldi, Juan Diego Botto, Joaquin Cosio, Lynne Ashe, Taika Waititi, and Viola Davis

[Overview:  Yes, The Suicide Squad 2021 is the entertaining film that Suicide Squad 2016 should have been, but was not.  And that has as much to do with star Idris Elba as it does with writer-director James Gunn.]

The Suicide Squad is a 2021 superhero and action-fantasy film from writer-director James Gunn.  It is a sequel to the 2016 film, Suicide Squad, and is based on the DC Comics team of antiheroes, Suicide Squad.  The Suicide Squad the film focuses on a team of imprisoned super-villains who are forced to invade a South American island where a deadly creature supposedly resides.

As The Suicide Squad opens, intelligence officer Amanda Waller (Viola Davis) has activated her “Task Force X,” a team composed of dangerous criminals.  Imprisoned in Louisiana's Belle Reve penitentiary, these individuals either possess super-powers, have special abilities, or are some kind of meta-human, humanoid, animal hybrid, or mutant.  All of them are “super-villains.”  Waller chooses thirteen of these inmates and divides them into two teams (unbeknownst to the inmates) and sends them to the small island nation of Corto Maltese, off the coast of South America.

The first team is led by Army Special Forces Colonel Rick Flag (Joel Kinnaman) and is comprised of  former psychiatrist and Joker boy toy, Harley Quinn (Margot Robbie); Australian thief and super-boomerang thrower, Captain Boomerang (Jai Courtney); animal hybrid and child killer, Weasel (James Gunn), meta-human, T.D.K. (Nathan Fillion); long-haired computer hacker, Savant (Michael Rooker); overeager mercenary, Blackguard (Pete Davidson); possessor of a special javelin ... Javelin (Flula Borg); and the alien warrior, Mongal (Mayling Ng).

The second more serious team is comprised of five super-villains.  It is lead by a mercenary and hit man with an advanced technological suit and weapons, Bloodsport (Idris Elba), and is comprised of the former military officer who kills for peace, Peacemaker (John Cena); a man who can emit polka-dots, Polka-Dot Man (David Dastmalchian); a female thief who controls rats, Ratcatcher 2 (Daniela Melchior); and a man-eating, human-shark hybrid, Nanaue a.k.a. “King Shark” (Sylvester Stallone).

Once on Corto Maltese, Task Force X has to reach a structure called “Jötunheim.”  It houses a laboratory built on the island decades ago by exiled Nazi scientists so that they could continue their monstrous experiments.  Now, Jötunheim apparently houses a secret program known as “Project Starfish.”  At the heart of this project is something referred to as “the beast,” and to destroy this project, the members of this squad will show why the nickname for Task Force X is “The Suicide Squad.”

First, I can say that The Suicide Squad is a much better film than its predecessor, Suicide Squad (2016), which was probably made problematic by Warner Bros. Pictures executives making bad decisions about it.  In The Suicide Squad, writer-director James Gunn offer his audience gleeful and extreme violence, insane set pieces, and snappy dialogue.  However, Gunn is also very good at creating engaging character drama that allows even the most troubling characters to have a journey in which he or she experiences a poignant or uplifting heroic arc.  In this case, Bloodsport (kinda) transforms from selfish, killer asshole into an anti-hero who cares … about a few things and people … and a rat.

Other characters more or less have a similar arc, although Margot Robbie's Harley Quinn is as crazy, as homicidal, and as sweet as ever.  Joel Kinnaman's Rick Flag, a holdover from the first film, is a much more interesting and likable character.  Viola Davis' Amanda Waller is darker, maybe even more … evil than ever, and Storm Reid delivers a surprisingly deft turn in a small role as Tyla, Bloodsport's daughter, who appears in two scenes.  David Dastmalchian steals a few scenes as the surprisingly endearing Polka-Dot Man.  Overall, the characters are both more interesting and much more appealing and fun than the characters in the first film.  I say that although in the new film, the Suicide Squad is much more homicidal.

Gunn makes sure The Suicide Squad feels irreverent and outrageous and pours on the ultra-violence, and most of the time, it works.  Sometimes, however, it feels like Gunn is trying too hard, and the violence is either gross or is so over the top as to come across as lame.  Gunn is known for writing and directing Disney/Marvel Studios' Guardians of the Galaxy films.  However, I think Gunn was trying to make The Suicide Squad like 20th Century Fox's Deadpool films, which are gleefully violent and shameless and infused with droll humor.  However, the Deadpool movies have Ryan Reynolds, who has mastered his own brand of (sometimes) endearing comedy that is witty, sarcastic, sardonic, silly, and stupid.  There is no Ryan Reynolds om The Suicide Squad, so the film can seem a little desperate in its bid to be crazy and cool.

However, The Suicide Squad does have Idris Elba, and if not for him, James Gunn would have ended up with a Suicide Squad film that works about as well as David Ayers' Suicide Squad film.  Elba, as the world-weary, but supernaturally skilled killer, Bloodsport, plays the complicated anti-hero turned action hero with his usual understated grace and commanding screen presence.  The Suicide Squad is bonkers, inventive, and imaginative – thanks to James Gunn.  However, it is a superhero fantasy and action thrill machine because of Idris Elba.

7 of 10
A-

Friday, August 6, 2021


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