Showing posts with label James Cromwell. Show all posts
Showing posts with label James Cromwell. Show all posts

Wednesday, May 22, 2019

Review: "Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom" a Fall Off From First Film

TRASH IN MY EYE No. 3 (of 2019) by Leroy Douresseaux

[This review was originally posted on Patreon.]

Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom (2018)
Running time: 128 minutes (2 hours, 8 minutes)
MPAA – PG-13 for intense sequences of science-fiction violence and peril 
DIRECTOR:  J.A. Bayona
WRITERS:  Colin Trevorrow and Derek Connolly (based on characters created by Michael Crichton)
PRODUCERS:  Belen Atienza, Patrick Crowley, and Frank Marshall
CINEMATOGRAPHER:  Oscar Faura (D.o.P.)
EDITOR:  Bernat Vilaplana
COMPOSER:  Michael Giacchino

SCI-FI/ACTION/ADVENTURE/THRILLER

Starring:  Chris Pratt, Bryce Dallas Howard, Rafe Spall, Justice Smith, Daniella Pineda, Ted Levin, Geraldine Chaplin, Isabella Sermon, James Cromwell, B.D. Wong, Toby Jones, and Jeff Goldblum

Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom is a 2018 science fiction-thriller and dinosaur film from director J.A. Bayona.  It is the direct sequel to Jurassic World, the 2015 film that was a restart of the Jurassic Park film franchise, of which this film is the fifth installment.  Fallen Kingdom returns to Isla Nublar where an active volcano forces a rescue mission of the island's remaining dinosaurs, a mission that is not quite what it is supposed to be.

Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom opens on Isla Nublar, the setting of the failed dinosaur theme parks, Jurassic Park and Jurassic World, where a secret mission takes place.  A once dormant volcano on the island has roared back to life and threatens to initiate an extinction-level event for the island's remaining dinosaurs.  Benjamin Lockwood (James Cromwell) is the former partner of John Hammond, the owner of Jurassic Park and the founder of InGen (the company that first cloned dinosaurs).  Lockwood and his aide, Eli Mills (Rafe Spall), have a plan to relocate the dinosaurs to a new island sanctuary.

Lockwood summons Claire Dearing (Bryce Dallas Howard), former Jurassic World operations manager, to reactivate the park's dinosaur tracking system.  She convinces Owen Grady (Chris Pratt), who trained the park's Velociraptors (raptor) to accompany her.  Grady is interested in rescuing the sole remaining raptor from his trainees, the pack leader, Blue.  With a former park technician, Franklin Webb (Justice Smith), and a paleo-veterinarian, Zia Rodriguez (Daniella Pineda), in tow, Dearing and Grady join mercenary leader, Ken Wheatley (Ted Levine), on a rescue mission to Isla Nublar.  As the volcano destroys the island, however, Dearing and Grady soon discover that not everything about this rescue mission as it is supposed to be.

Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom may be described as a science fiction-adventure film, but that is what the original Jurassic Park trilogy of films were.  Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom, like the first film, Jurassic World, is a science fiction-action film with elements of a techno-thriller.  Hanging over Fallen Kingdom are the threats of ecological disaster and environmental or biological apocalypse.  The original Jurassic Park films were about adventure, the chase, and the escape.  The Jurassic World films are about technology and conspiracy.

Beyond that, Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom is a serviceable scary movie.  Director J.A. Bayona offers a by-the-numbers directing style that makes the work of Jurassic World's director, Colin Trevorrow (who returns as this film's co-screenwriter), seem more imaginative than it actually is.  At least in Jurassic World, Trevorrow was able to make the characters and their conflicts, struggles, and dilemmas seem interesting.

In Fallen Kingdom, Claire Dearing and Owen Grady are mostly wooden, except for a few moments.  When he has to play Grady as the ass-kicking hero and rescuer of white maidens in distress, Pratt does not seem to really put his heart into his performance.  I think a child playing with action figures could make his toys more convincing as heroes than Pratt in in this film.

Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom is pass-the-time entertainment that you watch because it is the most convenient or most available thing available, the way a one-dollar McDonald cheeseburger has to satisfy your hunger because that is all that is available to you.  Would I watch Fallen Kingdom again once it starts making the basic cable movie channel rotations?  Sure, if Jurassic World is not playing.

5 of 10
C+

Friday, March 15, 2019


The text is copyright © 2019 Leroy Douresseaux. All Rights Reserved. Contact this site or blog for reprint and syndication rights and fees.

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Monday, September 23, 2013

2013 Primetime Emmy Award Winners List

by Amos Semien

The Emmy Award is a television production award that is considered the television equivalent of the Academy Awards in film and the Grammy Awards in music.  Negromancer’s focus is usually on the Primetime Emmy Awards.  It is presented by the Academy of Television Arts and Sciences.

The 65th Annual Primetime Emmy Awards honored the best in television programming (at least as the members of the Academy of Television Arts and Sciences see it) from June 1, 2012 to May 31, 2013.  The awards ceremony was held on Sunday, September 22, 2013 and televised by CBS (in the United States) and hosted by Neil Patrick Harris, who is a multiple-Emmy winner.

The majority of 2013 Primetime Emmys were actually handed out at the 2013 Creative Arts Emmy Awards ceremony, which was held on Sunday, September 15, 2013.  Go here to read the list.

65th Annual / 2013 Primetime Emmys winners:

COMEDY

Best Comedy Series:
"Modern Family"

Best Comedy Actor:
Jim Parsons, "The Big Bang Theory"

Best Comedy Actress
Julia Louis-Dreyfus, "Veep"

Best Comedy Supporting Actor:
Tony Hale, "Veep"

Best Comedy Supporting Actress:
Merritt Wever, "Nurse Jackie"

Best Comedy Writing
"30 Rock" -- "Last Lunch" (Tina Fey, Tracey Wigfield)

Best Comedy Directing
"Modern Family" -- "Arrested" (Gail Mancuso)

DRAMA

Best Drama Series
"Breaking Bad"

Best Drama Actor
Jeff Daniels, "The Newsroom"

Best Drama Actress
Claire Danes, "Homeland"

Best Drama Supporting Actor
Bobby Cannavale, "Boardwalk Empire"

Best Drama Supporting Actress
Anna Gunn, "Breaking Bad"

Best Drama Writing
"Homeland" -- "Q&A" (Henry Bromell)

Best Drama Directing
"House of Cards" -- "Chapter 1" (David Fincher)

MOVIE/MINISERIES

Best Movie/Miniseries
"Behind the Candelabra"

Best Movie/Mini Actor
Michael Douglas, "Behind the Candelabra"

Best Movie/Mini Actress
Laura Linney, "The Big C: Hereafter"

Best Movie/Mini Supporting Actor
James Cromwell, "American Horror Story: Asylum"

Best Movie/Mini Supporting Actress
Ellen Burstyn, "Political Animals"

Best Movie/Mini Writing
"The Hour" (Abi Morgan)

Best Movie/Mini Directing
"Behind the Candelabra" (Steven Soderbergh)

VARIETY

Best Variety Series
"The Colbert Report"

Best Variety Series Writing
"The Colbert Report"

Best Variety Series Directing
"Saturday Night Live"

REALITY

Best Reality Competition Series
"The Voice"

CHOREOGRAPHY

Best Choreography
"Dancing with the Stars" -- "Hey Pachuco/Para Los Rumberos/Walking on Air" (Derek Hough)

Thanks to Gold Derby for the list.


Tuesday, May 14, 2013

Review: "Star Trek: First Contact" is a Franchise Highpoint

TRASH IN MY EYE No. 215 (of 2006) by Leroy Douresseaux

Star Trek: First Contact (1996)
Running time: 111 minutes (1 hour, 51 minutes)
MPAA – PG-13 for some sci-fi adventure violence
DIRECTOR: Jonathan Frakes
WRITERS: Ronald D. Moore and Brannon Braga; from a story by Ronald D. Moore, Brannon Braga, and Rick Berman (based on the TV series “Star Trek” created by Gene Roddenberry)
PRODUCER: Rick Berman
CINEMATOGRAPHER: Matthew F. Leonetti (D.o.P.)
EDITORS: John W. Wheeler with Anastasia Emmons
COMPOSER: Jerry Goldsmith
Academy Award nominee

SCI-FI/FANTASY/ACTION/ADVENTURE/DRAMA

Starring: Patrick Stewart, Jonathan Frakes, Brent Spiner, LeVar Burton, Michael Dorn, Gates McFadden, Marina Sirtis, Alfre Woodard, James Cromwell, Alice Krige, Neal McDonough, Robert Picardo, and Dwight Schultz

The subject of this movie review is Star Trek: First Contact, a 1996 science fiction drama and thriller from director Jonathan Frakes, who is also a Star Trek cast member. First Contact is the eighth movie in the Star Trek film franchise.

The cast of the syndicated series, “Star Trek: The Next Generation” returns in their second Star Trek feature film, Star Trek: First Contact. This time, Captain Jean Luc-Picard (Patrick Stewart) leads the crew of the newly commissioned U.S.S. Enterprise-E in a battle against one of the most feared villains of the TV series, the Borg, a sinister alien race of half-machine, half-organic beings.

Once upon a time, the Borg captured Picard and assimilated him into the Borg collective, re-naming him Locutus. Although Picard escaped (which is rare), he never forgot or forgave the Borg for the experience. As First Contact begins, the Enterprise-E is on a routine patrol when Picard gets a message from Starfleet Headquarters that the Borg have entered Federation space and are on a direct course for Earth. Although his orders are to stand down, Picard has the Enterprise enter the fray, and he leads the attack that destroys the Borg ship. Before their ship is destroyed, the Borg jettison an escape pod, which the Enterprise follows. Scanning the pod, the Enterprise discovers that it is entering a time vortex, so Picard has the Enterprise follow it through the vortex.

The Borg have gone back in time to attack Earth when it is vulnerable, a dark age just after World War III. Picard and crew learn that they have come back precisely on the day of April 4, 2063, which is 24 hours before the most momentous day in human history – April 5, 2063First Contact. Commander William Riker (Jonathan Frakes) and Lt. Commander Geordi La Forge (LeVar Burton) land on this Earth of the past to help a shabby scientist, Dr. Zefram Cochrane (James Cromwell), keep his date with destiny. Meanwhile, Picard, Lt. Commander Worf (Michael Dorn), the remaining Enterprise crew, and a guest from the Earth below, Lily Sloane (Alfre Woodard), fight to keep the Borg and their Borg Queen (Alice Krige) from using the ship to destroy the future, as they know it.

Star Trek: First Contact is the best of the four films spun from “The Next Generation,” and it’s an old fashioned romantic adventure (with “romance” in this instance not meaning “love”). ST:FC blends pulp sci-fi with the optimism of the original Star Trek. The central line of conflict – Picard and Worf’s attempts to save the Enterprise-E crew from being turned into Borg drones – is riveting. Towards that end, Patrick Stewart, Michael Dorn, and Alfre Woodard shine in showy roles.

The rest of the story that takes place on mid-21st Earth – Riker and La Forge’s quest to help Zefram Cochrane make history – is a pleasant diversion from the heady action on the Enterprise. It is here that the writers reveal the ingenuity of the plot – that of man both in his past self and his future self fighting all manner of obstacles to reach the stars. Humanity literally has to be ready for anything, and has to be ready to create out of chaos. If you choose only to watch one Star Trek film, First Contact would be a fine choice.

8 of 10
A

NOTES:
1997 Academy Awards: 1 nomination for “Best Makeup” (Michael Westmore, Scott Wheeler, and Jake Garber)

1997 Image Awards: 1 nomination for “Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Motion Picture” (Alfre Woodard)

Thursday, October 19, 2006

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Monday, March 4, 2013

"War Witch" Tops 2013 Canadian Screen Awards

by Leroy Douresseaux

War Witch was named the “Best Motion Picture” of 2012 at the 2013 Canadian Screen Awards. Kim Nguyen, director of War Witch, won “Achievement in Direction.”

This was the inaugural Canadian Screen Awards, which honor achievements in Canadian film and television production, as well as achievements in digital media. In 2012, the formerly separate Genie Awards (for film) and Gemini Awards (for television) merged into a single ceremony, the Canadian Screen Awards.

War Witch, which is also known by its French-language name, Rebelle, swept away nearly all competition at the inaugural Canadian Screen Awards broadcast gala Sunday night (March 3, 2013). The Congo-set drama about child soldiers won in 10 of the 12 categories for which it was nominated.

War Witch’s teen star, Rachel Mwanza, won “Actress in a Leading Role.” Mwanza once lived on the streets of Kinshasa (the capital of the Democratic Republic of the Congo). Now, she is earning accolades internationally for her performance as Komona, a child forced to kill her parents and join a local warlord’s band of soldiers

The 2013 Canadian Screen Award winners:

Film categories:

Best Motion Picture: War Witch

Achievement in Direction: Kim Nguyen, War Witch

Actor in a Leading Role: James Cromwell, Still Mine.

Actress in a Leading Role: Rachel Mwanza, War Witch.

Actor in a Supporting Role: Serge Kanyinda, War Witch.

Actress in a Supporting Role: Seema Biswas, Midnight’s Children

Original Screenplay: Kim Nguyen, War Witch

Adapted Screenplay: Salman Rushdie, Midnight’s Children

Art Direction/Production Design: Emmanuel Frechette and Josée Arsenault, War Witch.

Make-Up: Colleen Quinton, Kathy Kelson, Michelle Cote, and Martin LaPointe, Laurence Anyways.

Costume Design: Xavier Dolan and François Barbeau, Laurence Anyways.

Cinematography: Nicolas Bolduc, War Witch.

Editing: Richard Comeau, War Witch.

Music - Original Score: Howard Shore, Cosmopolis.

Music - Original Song: Howard Shore, Emily Haines, James Shaw, “Long to Live” (from Cosmopolis)

Overall Sound: Claude La Haye, Daniel Bisson, Bernard Gariepy Stroble, War Witch.

Sound Editing: Martin Pinsonnault, Jean-Francois, B. Sauve, Simon Meilleur, and Claire Pochon, War Witch.

Feature Length Documentary Award: Sarah Polley and Anita Lee, Stories We Tell.

Short Documentary: Ariel Nasr and Annette Clarke, The Boxing Girls of Kabul.

Live Action Short Drama: Miranda de Pencier and Stacey Aglok MacDonald, Throat Song.

Animated Short: Dominic Étienne Simard and Julie Roy, Paula.

Visual Effects: Dennis Beradi, Jason Edwardh, Matt Glover, Trey Harrell, Leann Harvey, Jo Hughes, Ethan Lee, Scott Riopelle, Eric Robinson, and Kyle Yoneda, Resident Evil: Retribution.

Television categories:

Dramatic Series: Flashpoint.

Comedy Program/Series: Less Than Kind.

International Drama: The Borgias.

Lead Actor in a Dramatic Role: Enrico Colantoni, Flashpoint.

Lead Actress in a Dramatic Role: Meg Tilly, Bomb Girls.

Lead Actor in a Comedic Role: Gerry Dee, Mr. D.

Lead Actress in a Comedic Role: Wendel Meldrum, Less Than Kind.

Reality/Competition Program: Dragon’s Den.

News Anchor: Peter Mansbridge, CBC News The National.

Sports Host or Analyst: Brian Williams, London 2012 Olympic Games.

Host in a Variety, Lifestyle, Reality/Competition, Performing Arts or Talk Program: George Stroumboulopoulos, George Stroumboulopoulos Tonight.

Previously announced awards:

Claude Jutra Award for Best First Feature Film: Jason Buxton, Blackbird.

Cineplex Golden Reel Award: Resident Evil: Retribution

Academy Special Film Award: Victor Loewy, former head of Alliance and Vivafilm.

Saturday, March 2, 2013

2013 Canadian Screen Awards - Film Nominees

by Leroy Douresseaux

The Canadian Screen Awards honor achievements in Canadian film and television production, as well as achievements in digital media. In 2012, the formerly separate Genie Awards (for film) and Gemini Awards (for television) merged into a single ceremony, the Canadian Screen Awards.

The 2013 Canadian Screen Awards are scheduled to be held on March 3, 2013, to honor achievements in Canadian film and television production in 2012. This will be the first-ever Canadian Screen Awards ceremony. In addition, the new Canadian Screen Awards will include awards for achievements in digital media.

The 2013 Canadian Screen Award nominations were announced on January 15, 2013. The awards ceremony will be hosted by Martin Short.

I am posting the nominations in the feature film, documentary film, and short film categories. Visit the Canadian Screen Awards website for a complete list of nominees.


FEATURE FILMS: NOMINATIONS BY CATEGORY
BEST MOTION PICTURE / MEILLEUR FILM (Sponsor / Commanditaire : Comweb Group / William F. White International Inc.)
L'AFFAIRE DUMONT - Nicole Robert
INCH'ALLAH - Luc Déry, Kim McCraw
LAURENCE ANYWAYS - Lyse Lafontaine
MIDNIGHT'S CHILDREN - David Hamilton
REBELLE / WAR WITCH - Pierre Even, Marie-Claude Poulin
STILL MINE - Tamara Deverell, Jody Colero, Avi Federgreen, Michael McGowan

ACHIEVEMENT IN DIRECTION / MEILLEURE RÉALISATION (Sponsor / Commanditaire : Pinewood Toronto Studios)
MICHAEL DOWSE - Goon
XAVIER DOLAN - Laurence Anyways
DEEPA MEHTA - Midnight's Children
KIM NGUYEN - Rebelle / War Witch
BERNARD ÉMOND - Tout ce que tu possèdes / All That You Possess

PERFORMANCE BY AN ACTOR IN A LEADING ROLE / INTERPRÉTATION MASCULINE DANS UN PREMIER RÔLE
JAMES CROMWELL – Still Mine
PATRICK DROLET - Tout ce que tu possèdes / All That You Possess
MARC-ANDRÉ GRONDIN - L'affaire Dumont
DAVID MORSE - Collaborator
MELVIL POUPAUD - Laurence Anyways

PERFORMANCE BY AN ACTRESS IN A LEADING ROLE / INTERPRÉTATION FÉMININE DANS UN PREMIER RÔLE
EVELYNE BROCHU - Inch'Allah
GENEVIÈVE BUJOLD – Still Mine
MARILYN CASTONGUAY - L'affaire Dumont
SUZANNE CLÉMENT - Laurence Anyways
RACHEL MWANZA - Rebelle / War Witch

PERFORMANCE BY AN ACTOR IN A SUPPORTING ROLE / INTERPRÉTATION MASCULINE DANS UN RÔLE DE SOUTIEN
JAY BARUCHEL - Goon
KIM COATES - Goon
STEPHAN JAMES - Home Again
SERGE KANYINDA - Rebelle
ELIAS KOTEAS - Winnie

PERFORMANCE BY AN ACTRESS IN A SUPPORTING ROLE / INTERPRÉTATION FÉMININE DANS UN RÔLE DE SOUTIEN
SEEMA BISWAS - Midnight's Children
FEFE DOBSON - Home Again
ALICE MOREL MICHAUD – Les Pee Wee 3D
GABRIELLE MILLER - Moving Day
SABRINA OUAZANI - Inch'Allah

ORIGINAL SCREENPLAY / MEILLEUR SCÉNARIO (Sponsor / Commanditaire : Astral’s Harold Greenberg Fund)
JASON BUXTON - Blackbird
XAVIER DOLAN - Laurence Anyways
KIM NGUYEN - Rebelle / War Witch
MICHAEL MCGOWAN - Still Mine
BERNARD ÉMOND - Tout ce que tu possèdes / All That You Possess

ADAPTED SCREENPLAY / MEILLEURE ADAPTATION
DAVID CRONENBERG - Cosmopolis
JAY BARUCHEL, EVAN GOLDBERG - Goon
ANITA DORON - The Lesser Blessed
MARTIN VILLENEUVE - Mars et Avril
SALMAN RUSHDIE - Midnight's Children

ACHIEVEMENT IN ART DIRECTION/PRODUCTION DESIGN / MEILLEURE DIRECTION ARTISTIQUE
EMMANUEL FRECHETTE, JOSÉE ARSENAULT - Rebelle / War Witch
ARVINDER GREWAL - Antiviral
ANDRÉ GUIMOND - L'affaire Dumont
DILIP MEHTA - Midnight's Children
ANNE PRITCHARD - Laurence Anyways

ACHIEVEMENT IN CINEMATOGRAPHY / MEILLEURES IMAGES (Sponsor / Commanditaire : Christie Digital)
NICOLAS BOLDUC - Rebelle / War Witch
PHILIPPE LAVALETTE - Inch'Allah
GILES NUTTGENS - Midnight's Children
BOBBY SHORE - Goon
BRENDAN STEACY – Still Mine

ACHIEVEMENT IN COSTUME DESIGN / MEILLEURS COSTUMES
XAVIER DOLAN, FRANÇOIS BARBEAU - Laurence Anyways
PATRICIA HENDERSON - Mad Ship
WENDY PARTRIDGE - Resident Evil: Retribution
WENDY PARTRIDGE - Silent Hill: Revelation 3D
ÉRIC POIRIER - Rebelle / War Witch

ACHIEVEMENT IN EDITING / MEILLEUR MONTAGE
RICHARD COMEAU - Rebelle / War Witch
RODERICK DEOGRADES – Still Mine
VALÉRIE HÉROUX - L'affaire Dumont
SOPHIE LEBLOND - Inch'Allah
KIMBERLEE MCTAGGART – Blackbird

ACHIEVEMENT IN MAKE-UP / MEILLEURS MAQUILLAGES (Sponsor / Commanditaire : Lancôme)
KATIE BRENNAN, KAROLA DIRNBERGER, PAUL JONES - Silent Hill: Revelation 3D
BRENDA MAGALAS, LORI CAPUTI - Goon
CATHERINE DAVIES-IRVINE, TRASON FERNANDES - Antiviral
MARLÈNE ROULEAU, ANDRÉ DUVAL - L'affaire Dumont
COLLEEN QUINTON, KATHY KELSO, MICHELLE CÔTÉ, MARTIN LAPOINTE - Laurence Anyways

ACHIEVEMENT IN MUSIC - ORIGINAL SCORE / MEILLEURE MUSIQUE ORIGINALE
NOIA - Laurence Anyways
BENOIT CHAREST - Mars et Avril
DON ROOKE, HUGH MARSH, MICHELLE WILLIS – Still Mine
HOWARD SHORE - Cosmopolis
E.C. WOODLEY - Antiviral

ACHIEVEMENT IN MUSIC - ORIGINAL SONG / MEILLEURE CHANSON ORIGINALE (Sponsor / Commanditaire : Slaight Music)
EMILY HAINES, JAMES SHAW, HOWARD SHORE - Cosmopolis - Long to Live
ERLAND & THE CARNIVAL - Rufus - Wanting
ERLAND & THE CARNIVAL - Rufus - Out of Sight

ACHIEVEMENT IN OVERALL SOUND / MEILLEUR SON D'ENSEMBLE (Sponsor / Commanditaire : Deluxe Toronto Ltd.)
SYLVAIN ARSENEAULT, STEPH CARRIER, LOU SOLAKOFSKI, DON WHITE - Midnight's Children
OLIVIER CALVERT, PASCAL BEAUDIN, LUC BOUDRIAS, DANIEL BISSON - Mars et Avril
CLAUDE LA HAYE, DANIEL BISSON, BERNARD GARIÉPY STROBL - Rebelle / War Witch
PHILIP STALL, IAN RANKIN, LOU SOLAKOFSKI, JACK HEEREN - Antiviral
ZANDER ROSBOROUGH, ALLAN SCARTH - The Disappeared

ACHIEVEMENT IN SOUND EDITING / MEILLEUR MONTAGE SONORE
• PIERRE-JULES AUDET, MICHELLE CLOUTIER, THIERRY BOURGAULT D'AMICO, NATHALIE FLEURANT, CÉDRICK MARIN, NICOLAS GAGNON - L'affaire Dumont

• MARTIN PINSONNAULT, JEAN-FRANCOIS B. SAUVÉ, SIMON MEILLEUR, CLAIRE POCHON - Rebelle / War Witch

• STEPHEN BARDEN, STEVE BAINE, KEVIN BANKS, ALEX BULLICK, JILL PURDY - Resident Evil: Retribution

• SYLVAIN BRASSARD, STÉPHANE CADOTTE, ISABELLE FAVREAU, PHILIPPE RACINE - Laurence Anyways

• ALLAN SCARTH, BOB MELANSON, ZANDER ROSBOROUGH, CORY TETFORD - The Disappeared

ACHIEVEMENT IN VISUAL EFFECTS / MEILLEURS EFFETS VISUELS
• DENNIS BERARDI, KEITH ACHESON, MICHAEL BORRETT, WILSON CAMERON, MICHAEL DICARLO, TOM NAGY, BRITTON PLEWES, SCOTT RIOPELLE, MATT WHELAN, WOJCIECH ZIELINSKI - Silent Hill: Revelation 3D

• CARLOS MONZON, MARTIN BELLEAU, DOMINIC DAIGLE, NATHALIE DUPONT, GAËL HOLLARD, BENOÎT LADOUCEUR, VIVIANE LEVESQUE BOUCHARD, JÉRÉMIE LODOMEZ, ANNIE NORMANDIN, ALEXANDRA VAILLANCOURT - Mars et Avril

• DENNIS BERARDI, JASON EDWARDH, MATT GLOVER, TREY HARRELL, LEANN HARVEY, JO HUGHES, ETHAN LEE, SCOTT RIOPELLE, ERIC ROBINSON, KYLE YONEDA - Resident Evil: Retribution

• ÈVE BRUNET, MARC MORISSETTE, ALEXANDRA VAILLANCOURT - Rebelle / War Witch

• RALPH MAIERS, DEBORA DUNPHY, JOHN FUKUSHIMA, PATRICK KAVANAUGH, BILL MARTIN, CHRIS PHILIPS, JEREMY PRICE, KENTON RANNIE, LAUREN WEIDEL - Midnight's Children

THEATRICAL DOCUMENTARIES & SHORT FILMS: NOMINATIONS BY CATEGORY

TED ROGERS BEST FEATURE LENGTH DOCUMENTARY AWARD / PRIX TED ROGERS POUR LE MEILLEUR LONG MÉTRAGE DOCUMENTAIRE (Sponsor / Commanditaire : Rogers Group of Funds)
ALPHÉE DES ÉTOILES - Hugo Latulippe, Eric De Gheldere, Colette Loumède
INDIE GAME: THE MOVIE - Lisanne Pajot, James Swirsky
OVER MY DEAD BODY - Brigitte Poupart, Virginie Dubois, Stéphanie Morissette
STORIES WE TELL - Sarah Polley, Anita Lee
THE WORLD BEFORE HER - Nisha Pahuja, Ed Barreveld, Cornelia Principe

BEST SHORT DOCUMENTARY / MEILLEUR COURT MÉTRAGE DOCUMENTAIRE (Sponsor / Commanditaire : Hot Docs)
THE BOXING GIRLS OF KABUL - Ariel Nasr, Annette Clarke
THE FUSE: OR HOW I BURNED SIMON BOLIVAR - Igor Drljaca
KEEP A MODEST HEAD / NE CRÂNE PAS SOIS MODESTE - Deco Dawson, Catherine Chagnon, Craig Trudeau
LET THE DAYLIGHT INTO THE SWAMP - Jeffrey St. Jules, Anita Lee
THREE WALLS - Zaheed Mawani, Andrea Bussmann

BEST LIVE ACTION SHORT DRAMA / MEILLEUR COURT MÉTRAGE DRAMATIQUE
CHEF DE MEUTE - Chloé Robichaud, Fanny-Laure Malo, Sarah Pellerin
FROST - Jeremy Ball, Lauren Grant, Robert Munroe
LE FUTUR PROCHE / THE NEAR FUTURE - Sophie Goyette
PREMIÈRE NEIGE / FIRST SNOW - Michaël Lalancette
THROAT SONG - Miranda de Pencier, Stacey Aglok MacDonald

BEST ANIMATED SHORT / MEILLEUR COURT MÉTRAGE D'ANIMATION
BYDLO - Patrick Bouchard, Julie Roy
DEMONI - Theodore Ushev
EDMOND WAS A DONKEY - Franck Dion, Richard Van Den Boom, Julie Roy
PAULA - Dominic Étienne Simard, Julie Roy

2013 Claude Jutra Award (best feature film by a first-time film director):
Jason Buxton, Blackbird

2013 Golden Reel Award (presented to the Canadian film with the biggest box office gross of the year):
Resident Evil: Retribution

http://www.academy.ca/awards/

Monday, August 13, 2012

Silence Makes "The Artist" Golden

TRASH IN MY EYE No. 66 (of 2012) by Leroy Douresseaux


The Artist (2011)
COUNTRY OF ORIGIN: France, Belgium; Language: English
Running time: 101 minutes (1 hour, 41 minutes)
MPAA – PG-13 for a disturbing image and a crude gesture
WRITER/DIRECTOR: Michel Hazanavicius
PRODUCERS: Thomas Langmann and Emmanuel Montamat
CINEMATOGRAPHER: Guillaume Schiffman
EDITORS: Anne-Sophie Bion and Michel Hazanavicius
COMPOSER: Ludovic Bource
Academy Award winner

COMEDY/DRAMA

Starring: Jean Dujardin, Bérénice Bejo, John Goodman, James Cromwell, Penelope Ann Miller, Missi Pyle, Beth Grant, Ed Lauter, Ken Davitian, Michael McDowell, and Uggy

The Artist is a 2011 French romantic comedy and drama done in the style of a black and white silent film. It should be noted that although the film is French, what dialogue it does have is in English. The Artist won the Academy Award for “Best Picture,” one of five it won at the 84th Academy Awards (February 2012). It was the first primarily silent film to win the best picture Oscar since 1927 and the first black and white film to win since Schindler’s List (1993).

The Artist was also one of the best reviewed films of the year (if not the best). I had my doubts, but after seeing it, I can say that it is indeed a fine and exceptional film. It is a true feel-good movie, and is also visually quite beautiful.

The Artist opens in 1927 and finds silent film star, George Valentin (Jean Dujardin), posing for pictures with his dog and frequent film sidekick, Jack the dog (Uggy). That is when he meets aspiring actress, Peppy Miller (Bérénice Bejo). George and Peppy strike up a friendship that creates newspaper headlines, and soon Peppy is getting small parts in some films.

George’s boss at Kinograph Motion Picture Company, Al Zimmer (John Goodman), informs his star that silent films are about to be replaced by “talkies,” motion pictures with a sound. As silent films fade away, Peppy’s career begins to rise. How will George survive in this new era in motion pictures and will his relationship with Peppy survive all the changes occurring in this new world?

Some of you, dear readers, may groan when I say that I found The Artist to be inimitably charming. Well, it’s true; this movie has a lot of charm, and I think its charm is what wins people over. There is a simplicity in the storytelling here that reminds viewers that movies don’t need a wall of surround sound noise and the tsunami of cinema technology to create something that wins hearts and captures imaginations.

For a little over two decades, beginning especially with Terminator 2: Judgment Day and personified by Jurassic Park (1993), movie making (in general) and the Hollywood filmmaking industry (in particular), have been on an inexorable march towards post human cinema. Movies seem to be mostly generated inside a computer, but The Artist harks back to what is still pure about movies. A group of people in front and behind the camera come together and ply their trade, show off their skills, and let their humanity show.

Taking advantage of the human body and face’s ability to express emotion, ideas, and even thought, actors Jean Dujardin and Bérénice Bejo embody Michel Hazanavicius’ delicate but spry love story. In The Artist, the people are the show, not science, although I imagine that it took cinema-tech to bring us back to early filmmaking and to remind us of people power in film. The Artist deserved its Oscars.

9 of 10
A+

NOTES:
2012 Academy Awards: 5 wins: “Best Motion Picture of the Year” (Thomas Langmann), “Best Achievement in Directing” (Michel Hazanavicius), “Best Performance by an Actor in a Leading Role” (Jean Dujardin), “Best Achievement in Costume Design” (Mark Bridges), and “Best Achievement in Music Written for Motion Pictures, Original Score” (Ludovic Bource); 5 nominations: “Best Achievement in Art Direction” (Laurence Bennett-production designer and Robert Gould-set decorator), “Best Achievement in Cinematography” (Guillaume Schiffman), “Best Achievement in Film Editing” (Anne-Sophie Bion and Michel Hazanavicius), “Best Performance by an Actress in a Supporting Role” (Bérénice Bejo), and “Best Writing, Original Screenplay” Michel Hazanavicius)

2012 BAFTA Awards: 7 wins: “Best Cinematography” (Guillaume Schiffman), “Best Costume Design” (Mark Bridges), “Best Director” (Michel Hazanavicius), “Best Film” (Thomas Langmann), “Best Leading Actor” (Jean Dujardin), “Best Original Music” (Ludovic Bource), and “Best Original Screenplay” (Michel Hazanavicius); 5 nominations: “Best Editing” (Anne-Sophie Bion and Michel Hazanavicius), “Best Leading Actress” (Bérénice Bejo), “Best Make Up & Hair” (Julie Hewett and Cydney Cornell), “Best Production Design” (Laurence Bennett and Robert Gould), and “Best Sound” (Michael Krikorian and Nadine Muse)

2012 Golden Globes, USA: 3 wins: “Best Motion Picture - Comedy or Musical,” “Best Original Score - Motion Picture” (Ludovic Bource), and “Best Performance by an Actor in a Motion Picture - Comedy or Musical” (Jean Dujardin); 3 nominations: “Best Director - Motion Picture” (Michel Hazanavicius), “Best Performance by an Actress in a Supporting Role in a Motion Picture” (Bérénice Bejo), and “Best Screenplay - Motion Picture” (Michel Hazanavicius)

2011 Cannes Film Festival: 1 win: “Best Actor” (Jean Dujardin) and 1 nomination: “Palme d'Or” (Michel Hazanavicius)

Sunday, August 12, 2012

Sunday, September 25, 2011

Review: "I, Robot" is a Star Vehicle and a Star Sci-Fi Film (Happy B'day, Will Smith)

TRASH IN MY EYE No. 126 (of 2004) by Leroy Douresseaux

I, Robot (2004)
Running time: 115 minutes (1 hour, 55 minutes)
MPAA – PG-13 for intense stylized action, and some brief partial nudity
DIRECTOR: Alex Proyas
WRITERS: Jeff Vintar and Akiva Goldsman; from a screen story by Jeff Vintar (suggested by a book by Isaac Asimov)
PRODUCERS: John Davis, Topher Dow, Wyck Godfrey, and Laurence Mark
CINEMATOGRAPHER: Simon Duggan (D.o.P.)
EDITORS: William Hoy, Richard Learoyd, and Armen Minasian
COMPOSER: Marco Beltrami
Academy Award nominee

SCI-FI/ACTION/THRILLER with elements of drama and mystery

Starring: Will Smith, Bridget Moynahan, Alan Tudyk, James Cromwell, Bruce Greenwood, Adrian L. Ricard, Chi McBride, Jerry Wasserman, and Fiona Hogan

In the year 2035, U.S. Robotics is about to roll out their most advanced robot, the NS5, when the company’s most brilliant robot scientist and inventor, Dr. Alfred Lanning (James Cromwell), commits suicide. Techno-phobic cop, Detective Del Spooner (Will Smith) investigates the case with the notion that a robot, specifically an apparently hyper-advanced version of the NS5 named “Sonny” (voice of Alan Tudyk), actually killed Dr. Lanning. Spooner’s investigation earns him the ire of his supervisor (Chi McBride) and U.S. Robotics’ headman, Lawrence Robertson (Bruce Greenwood). Spooner, nevertheless, soldiers on and uncovers an even larger threat to humanity posed by the new robots and a mysterious other.

Directed by Alex Proyas, I, Robot has none of the dark visuals Proyas displayed in his best-known work, The Crow and Dark City. Visually the film looks like Minority Report, and the film story is similar to both that film and the recent Paycheck. Proyas does an admirable job making I, Robot, a very entertaining and thrilling summer action movie. The film seamless flows from one scene to another, which is quite a trick for Proyas to have turned considering the script juggles and discards three major plot points: a murder mystery, corporate intrigue, and technological Armageddon. It’s a disappointment that the film didn’t focus on any one of the three, for it would have better severed the movie; still, the film is very good popcorn entertainment.

I must admit to being a big fan of Will Smith’s work. The handsome, talented, and (clearly) ambitious performer is both a quality actor and a big time movie star. His bravado, charm, endearing personality, wit and sarcasm, and screen presence carry this film and keep it well above mediocrity. Smith is also very good in sci-fi films; they’re a natural fit for him, and he dominates them the way Harrison Ford used to do in action movies or the way Tom Cruise still does in anything. If you’re a fan of Smith’s work, I, Robot is a must-see delight; if you’re an SF fan, you’ll probably see this anyway.

7 of 10
B+

NOTES:
2005 Academy Awards: 1 nomination: “Best Achievement in Visual Effects” (John Nelson, Andy Jones, Erik Nash, and Joe Letteri)

2005 Black Reel Awards: 1 nomination: “Best Film, Drama”

2005 Image Awards: 1 nomination: “Outstanding Actor in a Motion Picture” (Will Smith)

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Thursday, April 28, 2011

Helen Mirren Saves "The Queen"



TRASH IN MY EYE No. 69 (of 2007) by Leroy Douresseaux


The Queen (2006)
COUNTRY OF ORIGIN: UK, France, and Italy
Running time: 103 minutes (1 hour, 43 minutes)
MPAA – R for brief strong language
DIRECTOR: Stephen Frears
WRITER: Peter Morgan
PRODUCERS: Christine Lagan, Tracey Seaward, and Andy Harries
CINEMATOGRAPHER: Affonso Beato, ASC, ABC (D.o.P.)
EDITOR: Lucia Zucchetti
Academy Award winner

DRAMA

Starring: Helen Mirren, Michael Sheen, James Cromwell, Sylvia Syms, Alex Jennings, Helen McCrory, Roger Allam, and Tim McMullan

The Queen, a film by Stephen Frears, is a fictional and highly speculative account of the behind the scenes incidents in the week following the shocking death of Prince Diana. Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II (Helen Mirren, in a role that won her a Best Actress Oscar) and British Prime Minister Tony Blair (Michael Sheen) engage in intimate talks as Blair tries to convince the Queen that the Royal Family should memorialize Princess Diana in a manner beyond standard protocol. The Queen tries to manage the death on a personal and private level with her family, some members of which, want to follow protocol. Meanwhile, Blair deals with the public and members of his own administration that are demanding that the royals give a grand, public funeral for their beloved Diana: the “people’s princess.”

Peter Morgan’s script presents this story as a character study, but the only truly interesting and engaging character in the film is Queen Elizabeth. The Prince Charles of this scenario is almost criminally libelous in the portrayal of the first heir to the British crown as a watery soup of a man. Alex Jennings plays him as a self-serving crybaby looking to lay his troubles at his mother, the Queen’s door. Prince Phillip, the Queen’s husband, is an irretrievable asshole, a noisy loudmouth, and a conceited, stuck-up jerk, and James Cromwell sticks to the script in portraying him that way.

The strongest supporting character in this tale is Prime Minister Tony Blair, and the script presents him as an over-eager suck-up to the Queen – a sad commoner dying for Her Majesty’s attention or maybe scraps from her table. Michael Sheen plays him as such, so it’s hard to distinguish Blair from the Queen’s pet dogs.

Stephen Frears seems to spend most of his time lavishing attention and much of the film’s detail on Helen Mirren as Queen Elizabeth. If there are times in which The Queen seems like a nimble high comedy or a strong, behind-the-scenes character drama, it’s mostly because of Mirren’s performance. She makes this film, and perhaps Frears, who is quite good at character dramas, deserves some credit for both helping Mirren find the character and for letting Mirren as Elizabeth define this film.

Mirren’s physical transformation as Elizabeth is stunning, and though we may credit some of that to makeup, the character performance is Mirren’s own. Every gesture – a turn of the head, a scowl, a frown, a quiet moment of reflection, a tear, or barked order at a subservient establishes this film’s mood, its setting, its overall character, and even moves the plot like no other element in The Queen. Mirren can take a tart comment and turn this movie into an impudent comedy. Just the manner in which she observes someone or something (the stag on the hunting grounds of her estate) can transform the movie into a grand drama about the life of a monarch.

Luckily, Mirren gives such a wonderful performance because, otherwise, The Queen is mediocre.

6 of 10
B

NOTES:
2007 Academy Awards: 1 win for “Best performance by an actress in a leading role” (Helen Mirren); 5 nominations: “Best achievement in costume design” (Consolata Boyle), “Best achievement in directing” (Stephen Frears), “Best achievement in music written for motion pictures, original score” (Alexandre Desplat), “Best motion picture of the year” (Andy Harries, Christine Langan, and Tracey Seaward), and “Best writing, original screenplay” (Peter Morgan)

2007 BAFTA Awards: 2 wins: “Best Actress in a Leading Role” (Helen Mirren) and “Best Film” (Tracey Seaward, Christine Langan, and Andy Harries; 8 nominations: “Alexander Korda Award for Best British Film” (Tracey Seaward, Christine Langan, Andy Harries, Stephen Frears, and Peter Morgan), “Anthony Asquith Award for Film Music” (Alexandre Desplat), “Best Actor in a Supporting Role” (Michael Sheen), “Best Costume Design” (Consolata Boyle), “Best Editing” (Lucia Zucchetti), “Best Make Up & Hair” (Daniel Phillips), “Best Screenplay – Original” (Peter Morgan), and “David Lean Award for Direction” (Stephen Frears)

2007 Golden Globes: 2 wins: “Best Performance by an Actress in a Motion Picture – Drama” (Helen Mirren) and “Best Screenplay - Motion Picture” (Peter Morgan); 2 nominations: “Best Director - Motion Picture” (Stephen Frears) and “Best Motion Picture – Drama”

Friday, April 27, 2007

Tuesday, April 20, 2010

Review: "Spider-Man 3" is Too Crowded

TRASH IN MY EYE No. 76 (of 2007) by Leroy Douresseaux

Spider-Man 3 (2007)
Running time: 140 minutes (2 hours, 20 minutes)
MPAA – PG-13 for sequences of intense action violence
DIRECTOR: Sam Raimi
WRITERS: Sam Raimi & Ivan Raimi and Alvin Sargent; from a screen story by Sam Raimi and Ivan Raimi (based upon the Marvel Comic Book by Stan Lee and Steve Ditko)
PRODUCERS: Laura Ziskin, Avi Arad, and Grant Curtis
CINEMATOGRAPHER: Bill Pope
EDITOR: Bob Muraski
BAFTA Award nominee

SCI-FI/FANTASY/ACTION/DRAMA/ROMANCE

Starring: Tobey Maguire, Kirsten Dunst, James Franco, Thomas Haden Church, Topher Grace, Bryce Dallas Howard, Rosemary Harris, J.K. Simmons, James Cromwell, Theresa Russell, Dylan Baker, Bill Nunn, Bruce Campbell, Elizabeth Banks, Cliff Robertson, Ted Raimi, Perla Haney-Jardine, Elya Baskin, and Mageina Tovah

Sam Raimi returns to direct Spider-Man 3, and this time he has the hero and film juggling a gaggle of new characters, which ultimately weighs down this film and denies the best villain of this installment, Venom, the substantial screen time that would have made SpM3 as good as Spider-Man 2.

Peter Parker (Tobey Maguire) has finally struck a balance between his life as the costumed superhero, Spider-Man, and his civilian life, which includes his girlfriend, Mary Jane Watson (Kirsten Dunst) or M.J., but there are so many troubles brewing on his horizon. First, Harry Osborn (James Franco), the son of Spider-Man’s most dangerous enemy, the villainous Green Goblin, strikes at him using some of his father’s technology. Next, Peter learns that Flint Marko (Thomas Haden Church) was the man who really killed Peter’s beloved Uncle Ben (Cliff Robertson). A freak scientific accident fuses Marko’s DNA with sand, and he becomes the shape-shifting Sandman. If that weren’t enough, Peter, a photographer for the Daily Bugle meets his new rival, Eddie Brock (Topher Grace), a sneaky twerp willing to do just about anything to impress the Bugle’s editor-in-chief, J. Jonah Jameson (J.K. Simmons), in order to get the fulltime photographer position Peter wants.

Peter and M.J. (who knows that Peter is also Spider-Man) are also at odds because M.J. feels that whenever she needs a shoulder to cry on, Pete is too busy talking about being Spider-Man and how popular the hero has become with the general public. Their relationship crumbles when M.J. sees Spider-Man/Peter Parker kissing Eddie Brock’s girlfriend, Gwen Stacy (Bryce Dallas Howard). Meanwhile, Peter has encountered an alien substance, a symbiotic creature, which merges with Spider-Man and his traditional red and blue costume and turns it black. The union also changes Peter’s personality, and it is the new, more aggressive and selfish Peter who publicly humiliates Brock. Unbeknownst to Pete, Brock will play a major part in bringing forth Spider-Man’s arch-nemesis, Venom. As Peter Parker tries to repair the rifts between he and his closet friends and also rediscover his compassion, Sandman and Venom form an unholy union to have their revenge against the wall-crawling hero.

Spider-Man 3 is a special effects extravaganza, featuring dizzying chase scenes in which characters are whirling, twirling, spinning, soaring, plunging, etc. between the buildings and structures of New York City. Above the street and below, Spider-Man and his adversaries defy gravity and avoid destruction even when gravity or the force of their own punches and kicks send them spiraling toward an extra hard landing. Computer rendered characters including CGI version of Spider-Man, Sandman, Venom, “Goblin, Jr. Harry Osborn, and the civilians they endanger (including M.J. and Gwen) account for the bulk of the complex action scenes, which couldn’t be pulled off with such dazzling, dizzying flair using real actors.

In the end, however, Spider-Man 3 is like the original 2002 Spider-Man movie – a lot of sound and fury dropped in between poignant character drama. The core of this movie is the message of compassion, forgiveness, and heroism. Early in the film, things are going so well for Peter – he’s going to propose to M.J. and the public adores Spider-Man – that when an obstacle presents itself or a little rain falls in his life, he’s turns to anger, pride, envy, and vengeance. In fact, most of the characters are looking for retribution or dealing with bitterness and personal defeat.

Try as Raimi, his co-writers, and cast might, the film has no soul, however. It’s simply a loud, superhero action fantasy built on CGI. There are too many characters and subplots to allow the drama and message to fully bloom into hearty flowers. Spider-Man 3 has the thrills and chills of superhero and villains colliding, but it is exceedingly dark and gloomy, which doesn’t allow the heroism to come through until the end. Of course, if this is really just popcorn entertainment, who cares if the human drama is just window dressing?

5 of 10
B-

Friday, May 11, 2007

NOTE:
2008 BAFTA Awards: 1 nomination: “Best Special Visual Effects” (Scott Stokdyk, Peter Nofz, John Frazier, and Spencer Cook)

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