Negromancer News Bits and Bites from April 1st to 8th, 2023 - Update #19

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

You can support Leroy via Paypal or on Patreon:

ENTERTAINMENT AND CULTURE NEWS:

STREAMING - From Deadline:  Damson Idris, star of FX's "Snowfall," has been chosen to co-star with Brad Pitt in Apple Studios, Joseph Kosinki, and Jerry Bruckheimer's F1 racing movie.

STAR WARS - From THR:  Disney announces new "Star Wars" films, including one starring Daisy Ridley and directed by Sharmeen Obaid-Chinoy.

MOVIES - From THR:  The film critics at "The Hollywood Reporter" pick the "50 Best Films of the 21st Century (So Far)."

SCANDAL - From Deadline:  Irving Cartagena, the drug dealer who sold actor Michael K. Williams the drugs that killed him in 2021, has pleaded guilty to “one count of conspiracy to distribute and possess with intent to distribute fentanyl analogue, fentanyl, and heroin.”  He will serve a mandatory minimum of five years and up to 40 years.

MOVIES - From Variety:  Emmy-winner Donald Glover has revealed that Malia Obama, the elder daughter of President Barack Obama and First Lady Michelle Obama, is developing a short film via  his production company, "Gilga."

DISNEY - From Deadline:  Disney+ has unveiled "Pauline," a German original about a teenager who falls in love with the devil from the team behind Netflix’s "How to Sell Drugs Online (Fast)."

TRUMP - From Truthout:  Today, Tuesday, April 4, 2023, former President Donald Trump was formally arraigned by the Manhattan District Attorney’s office in New York City, making him the first former president to be indicted in United States history.

From ManhattanDA:  Read the full indictment of Donald J. Trump in PDF form from the Manhanttan District Attorney's website.

From Truthout:  Former President Donald Trump and his ratchet campaign are leveraging misinformation and anti-Jewish conspiracy theories to turn the media circus around his indictment in New York into a cash cow. 

MOVIES - From Deadline:  Warner Bros. has unleashed "Barbie" movie posters.  The Greta Gerwig-directed film stars Margot Robbie as "Barbie" and Ryan Gosling as "Ken" and is due July 21, 2023.

MOVIES - From Deadline:  Recent Oscar-nominee, Austin Butler ("Elvis"), will play crime boss, "Danny Ryan," in Sony 3000 Pictures' film adaptation of Don Winslow's 2022 novel, "City on Fire."

MOVIES - From Deadline:  Director Michael Mann is considering "Heat 2," as his next film. It would be a sequel to his 1995 classic, "Heat."  Mann is currently in post-production on his current film, "Ferrari," which stars Adam Driver, the possible lead in "Heat 2"

DISNEY - From Variety:  Disney is set to make a live-action remake of its 2016 animated film, "Moana."  Dwayne Johnson, who made the announcement and performed a voice role in the original, is set to return for the remake.

BOX OFFICE - From BoxOfficePro:  The winner of the 3/31 to 4/2/2023 weekend box office is Paramount Pictures' "Dungeons & Dragons: Honor Among Thieves" with an estimated gross of 38.5 million dollars.

From Variety:  "Dungeons & Dragons: Honor Among Thieves" opens with 33 millions dollars at the international box office.

TELEVISION - From Deadline:  The BBC is cancelling its hit comedy, "Ghosts," after its upcoming fifth season.  The series was remade as CBS' hit comedy, "Ghosts."

OBITS:

From Variety:  Japanese composer and record producer, Ryuichi Sakamoto, has died at the age of 71, Tuesday, March 28, 2023.  He won an Oscar with David Byrne and Cong Su for composing the music for the film, "The Last Emperor" (1987). His film music also won him a two Golden Globes, a BAFTA, and a Grammy Award.  He also composed the music for such films as "Merry Christmas, Mr. Lawrence," "The Sheltering Sky" (1990), "Little Buddha" (1993), and "The Revenant" (2015).  With his band, "Yellow Magic Orchestra," he was a pioneer in several electronic music genres.

From THR:  Television producer, N'Neka Garland, has died at the age of 49, Monday, March 27, 2023.  She was best known for her 22-year association with the daytime TV soap opera, "General Hospital."  She began as an assistant to veteran producer, Jill Farren Phelps, but she eventually worked her way up to series producer.  In 2021, she shared a Daytime Emmy award win for "Outstanding Drama Series," after being nominated in that category the previous two years.  Garland was also the half-sister of the late hip-hop and rap legend, Tupac Shakur.

From THR:  Animator and animation filmmaker, Leo D. Sullivan, has died at the age of 82, Saturday, March 25, 2023.  Sullivan was a groundbreaking African-American animator and a pioneer in Black animation.  Sullivan also was a writer, producer, director, layout artist and storyboard artist at studios including Hanna-Barbera, Warner Bros., Filmation, DePatie-Freleng Enterprises, DIC Entertainment and Marvel Productions.  He worked on TV series featuring such characters as Scooby-Doo, Fat Albert, and the Animanicas, to name a few.  Sullivan also helped animated the original locomotive and graphics for the syndicated music series, "Soul Train."  Sullivan co-founded the first Black-owned animation production company, Vignette Films.

Review: "TOP GUN: Maverick" Surpasses the Original and is Hugely Entertaining

TRASH IN MY EYE No. 34 of 2022 (No. 1846) by Leroy Douresseaux

Top Gun: Maverick (2022)
Running time:  131 minutes (2 hours, 11 minutes)
MPAA – PG-13 for sequences of intense action, and some strong language
DIRECTOR:  Joseph Kosinski
WRITERS:  Ehren Kruger, Eric Warren Singer, and Christopher McQuarrie; from a story by Peter Craig and Justin Marks (based on characters created by Jim Cash & Jack Epps Jr.)
PRODUCERS:  Tom Cruise, Jerry Bruckheimer, David Ellison, and Christopher McQuarrie
CINEMATOGRAPHER:  Claudio Miranda (D.o.P.)
EDITOR:  Eddie Hamilton
COMPOSERS:  Lorne Balfe, Lady Gaga, and Harold Faltermeyer

DRAMA/ACTION/MILITARY

Starring:  Tom Cruise, Jennifer Connelly, Miles Teller, Bashir Salahuddin, Jon Hamm, Charles Parnell, Monica Barbaro, Lewis Pullman, Jay Ellis, Danny Ramirez, Glen Powell, Jack Schumacher, Manny Jacinto, Kara Wang, Greg Tarzan Davis, Jake Picking, Raymond Lee, Jean Louisa Kelly, Lyliana Wray, Ed Harris, Chelsea Harris, and Val Kilmer

Top Gun: Maverick is a 2022 action and military drama film directed by Joseph Kosinski and starring Tom Cruise.  The film is a direct sequel to the 1986 film, Top Gun.  Maverick focuses on a veteran U.S. Navy flight instructor ordered to transform a group of the Navy's top young aviators into a fighter squadron that can take on an impossible mission.

Top Gun: Maverick opens over three decades after the events of the first film.  Former “Top Gun” candidate, Captain Pete “Maverick” Mitchell (Tom Cruise) currently serves as a U.S. Navy test pilot.  Over his 33 years of service, he has purposely dodged promotion in order to continue flying for the Navy.  A stunt with the “Darkstar scramjet” program looks as if it is going to be the thing that finally gets Maverick grounded.  However, Admiral Tom “Iceman” Kazansky (Val Kilmer), commander of the U.S. Pacific Fleet, is Maverick's former rival and his friend.  Iceman saves Maverick from being grounded by giving him orders to return to where they first met, the United States Navy Strike Fighter Tactics Instructor program in San Diego, CA.

There, Maverick must train an elite group of 16 Top Gun graduates for a specialized mission – a dangerous and practically impossible mission.  However, there are plenty of ghosts from his past waiting for him there, including Penelope "Penny" Benjamin (Jennifer Connelly), Maverick's former lover, who is a single mother, a bar owner, and the daughter of a former admiral.

The most troubling ghost from Maverick's past, however, may be one of the young aviators he must train, Lieutenant Bradley “Rooster” Bradshaw (Miles Teller).  He is the son of Maverick's late best friend and RIO (Radar Intercept Officer), Nick “Goose” Bradshaw.  Maverick still blames himself for Goose's death during a training flight (as seen in Top Gun), and, in a way, so does Rooster, who also blames Maverick for hurting his career as an aviator.  As he pushes this elite group of aviators to test their limits and beyond, Maverick wonders if he may finally be grounded and fears that he may also end up causing the son's death as he believes he caused the father's death.

I don't like Top Gun.  I think that it is not a very well made film.  I love Top Gun: Maverick, which is a direct sequel to the original film and is intimately tied to it.  In a way, Maverick takes some of the best story elements of the first film and gives them dramatic heft, depth, weight, and a gravitas that they really did not have in the original.

Top Gun: Maverick is just all-around well made.  Joseph Kosinski does a much better job at directing the sequel than the late Tony Scott did with the original.  Maverick's screenplay, which like the original, is the result of several writers, nonetheless comes across like a seamless work produced by a single talented story mind.  The film editing is superb, so Maverick's editor, Eddie Hamilton, should also get an Oscar nomination next year, because the editors of the first film were Oscar-nominated for their … problematic work.  Even Maverick's musical score is better, although quite a bit of Harold Faltermeyer's music from the first film does make it into the sequel.

Top Gun: Maverick may also be Tom Cruise's best dramatic performance in over two decades.  Not only do his emotions seem genuine, but his emotional range is shocking.  Cruise has award-worthy moments in this film, especially a pivotal scene between Maverick and Iceman.  Cruise and Miles Teller also seem to work very well together, and Teller once again proves that he has some serious dramatic chops.  Jennifer Connelly, an Oscar-winner, as Penny, makes the most of what comes across as an extraneous token female character.  Actually, quite a few actors make the most of their roles and screen time in this surprisingly heartfelt and genuinely emotional film.

Top Gun: Maverick is, of course, an intense action-thriller with some amazing flight and combat scenes and sequences.  It kept me on the edge of my seat, worrying that one of the young pilots or Maverick would be killed in a crash or in combat.  And no, the filmmakers apparently did not use computer-generated effects for the flight scenes.  This is all advanced cameras, fighter planes, and human pilots, making the film a masterpiece of practical filmmaking and U.S. Navy flying.  Top Gun: Maverick surpasses Top Gun as a military-action film, and is something the first film was not, an emotionally resonate and real military drama.

Yes, it does seem to work a little too hard at pushing our buttons with dramatic conflict and melodrama.  But I honestly enjoyed the heck out of this film in a way that I did not expect – even after hearing so many good things before I saw it.  Top Gun: Maverick is … well, awesome, and this time, I really feel the need for speed and for more Top Gun.  And Tom Cruise still looks good on a motorcycle.

8 of 10
A
★★★★ out of 4 stars

Friday, May 27, 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: Original "TOP GUN" is Still a Bad Movie

TRASH IN MY EYE No. 33 of 2022 (No. 1845) by Leroy Douresseaux

Top Gun (1986)
Running time:  110 minutes (1 hour, 50 minutes)
MPAA – PG
DIRECTOR:  Tony Scott
WRITERS:  Jim Cash & Jack Epps Jr. (based on the magazine article, “Top Guns,” by Ehud Yonay)
PRODUCERS:  Don Simpson and Jerry Bruckheimer
CINEMATOGRAPHER:  Jeffrey Kimball (D.o.P.)
EDITORS:  Chris Lebenzon and Billy Weber
COMPOSER:  Harold Faltermeyer
Academy Award winner

DRAMA/ACTION

Starring:  Tom Cruise, Kelly McGillis, Val Kilmer, Anthony Edwards, Tom Skerritt, Michael Ironside, Tim Robbins, John Stockwell, Barry Tubb, Rick Rossovich, Whip Hubley, James Tolkan, Adrian Pasdar, Meg Ryan, and Clarence Gilyard, Jr.

Top Gun is a 1986 action and drama film directed by Tony Scott and starring Tom Cruise.  The film was inspired by an article entitled, “Top Guns,” which was written by Ehud Yonay and published in the May 1983 issue of California Magazine.  Top Gun the film focuses on a daring young U.S. Navy pilot who is a student at an elite fighter weapons school where he competes with other students and learns a few things from a female instructor.

Top Gun opens on the Indian Ocean aboard the vessel, the “USS Enterprise.”  The story introduces United States Naval Aviator, Lieutenant Pete “Maverick” Mitchell (Tom Cruise), and his RIO (Radar Intercept Officer), Lieutenant Junior Grade Nick “Goose” Bradshaw (Anthony Edwards).  While on a mission flying their fighter aircraft, Maverick and Goose have an encounter with a hostile aircraft.  As a result of the incident, Maverick and Goose are invited to the U.S. Navy “Fighter Weapons School” in Miramar, California (also known as “Fightertown U.S.A.”).  The top one percent of naval aviators (pilots) get to attend Fighter Weapons School, also known as “Top Gun” (or “TOPGUN”).

Naval aviators have to complete a five-week course of classroom studies and flight training (called a “hop”).  The top graduating aviator receives the “Top Gun” plaque.  Maverick's rival for Top Gun is top student, Lieutenant Tom “Iceman” Kazansky (Val Kilmer), who considers Maverick's attitude foolish and his flying dangerous.  Maverick also becomes romantically involved with Charlotte “Charlie” Blackwood (Kelly McGillis), an astrophysicist and civilian instructor, an unwise move for both.

Will Maverick earn the Top Gun trophy?  Or will his reckless ways and tendency to disobey orders endanger those around him and cost him his future.

Until recently, I had never watched Top Gun, not even a minute of it.  From the first time I saw a trailer for it, I thought Top Gun looked stupid, although I was a Tom Cruise fan at the time of its release (as I still am).  I only recently watched it in preparation for seeing the long-awaited sequel, Top Gun: Maverick, which has a good looking trailer and has received glowing early reviews.

But I was right.  Top Gun is stupid.  It is poorly written, especially on the character drama end.  Writers Jim Cash & Jack Epps Jr. are credited as the film's screenwriters.  The film's credited “Associate Producer,” the late Warren Skarren (1946-90), was a screenwriter known for rewriting the screenplays of big Hollywood projects (such as Beetlejuice and the 1989 Batman film).  Skarren apparently did some heavy rewriting for Top Gun's shooting script.  However, the film seems to be made from the parts of several screenplays that were combined to form a new script.  That especially shows during the character drama scenes, which are sometimes awkward, sometimes nonsensical, sometimes inauthentic, and sometimes all three at the same time.

To me, the film looks poorly edited (which was Oscar-nominated), once again, mainly on the drama scenes.  The film's musical score, composed by Harold Faltermeyer, is mostly atrocious.

However, the flight action sequences and the aerial stunts are quite good.  When the film is in the air with those fighter jets or when Maverick is riding his motorcycle, Top Gun can be entertaining and invigorating.  The drama is just so bad that it makes me forget the film's good stuff.

In 2015, Top Gun was added to the “National Film Registry” because it was considered “culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant.”  For me, the only reason that would be true is because of its lead actor, Tom Cruise.  I think Top Gun is the film that made  Cruise a celluloid god.  He became his generation's biggest movie star and remains so.  Top Gun began a decade (1986-96) that gave us “peak” Tom Cruise.  Yes, he is still in his prime, but that was the decade that saw him give his most acclaimed and memorable performances, and in 1996, he began his most successful film franchise with the first Mission: Impossible.  Yes, Cruise has given other memorable and acclaimed performances, but never so many as in that time period of 1986 to 1996.

So Top Gun is significant because of Tom Cruise.  He is so handsome and fresh-faced here, and his youth, dynamism, and screen presence save this thoroughly mediocre film.  Even with the great action sequences, this film would have been at best a cult film had any actor or movie star other than Tom Cruise been the lead.

Yeah, I could talk about the other actors who were in Top Gun, but what they did could not rise above the mediocrity of this film's drama – both in screenwriting and in directing.  Tom Cruise – in a fighter or on a motorcycle – is Top Gun.  As much as I am a fan of his, however, I wouldn't watch this shit again.  But yes, I will see Top Gun: Maverick.

4 of 10
C
★★ out of 4 stars

Wednesday, May 25, 2022


1987 Academy Awards, USA:  1 win: “Best Music, Original Song” (Giorgio Moroder-music and Tom Whitlock-lyrics for the song “Take My Breath Away”); 3 nominations: “Best Sound” (Donald O. Mitchell, Kevin O'Connell, Rick Kline, and William B. Kaplan), “Best Film Editing” (Billy Weber and Chris Lebenzon), and “Best Effects, Sound Effects Editing” (Cecelia Hall and George Watters II)

1987 Golden Globes, USA:  1 win: “Best Original Song - Motion Picture” (Giorgio Moroder-music and Tom Whitlock-lyrics for the song “Take My Breath Away”); 1 nomination: “Best Original Score - Motion Picture” (Harold Faltermeyer)

2015 National Film Preservation Board, USA:  National Film Registry


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 May 1st to 9th, 2020- Update #26

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

Support Leroy on Patreon:

BLACK AMERICA AND COVID-19 - Crisis or... :

From YahooNews:  A tale of two parks: Enjoying the sun in wealthy Manhattan, social distancing under police scrutiny in the Bronx

From YahooGMA: (4/28) - Rana Zoe Mungin, a 30-year-old teacher from Brooklyn, died on Monday, April 27th for COVID-19.  She had twice been denied a test for the coronavirus after showing symptoms.  Her family and friends blame racial disparity in the health care system.

From RSNWashPost:  How COVID-19 is a perfect storm for Black Americans.

CORONAVIRUS/COVID-19 NEWS - Hollywood and Beyond:

From YahooNews:  Why does COVID-19 kill some people and hardly affects others?

From YahooNews:  Yahoo has a dedicated page of links updating news about COVID-19.

From Deadline:  The news site "Deadline" has a dedicated page for news about coronavirus and the film, TV, and entertainment industries.

From TheNewYorker:  The venerable magazine has a dedicate COVID-19 page free to all readers.

From YahooNews:  Re: the federal government's response to COVID-19: What if the most important election of our lifetime was the last one - 2016?

From YahooLife:  What is "happy hypoxia?"  And do you have this COVID-19 symptom?

From YahooNews:  The U.S. Secret Service has 11 positive cases of COVID-19.

From CNN:  One of President Donald's personal valet has test positive for COVID-19.

From YahooNews:  Academy Award-winning actress and humanitarian, Angelina Jolie, has written a letter to top officials in the U.S. Congress asking them to increase SNAP benefits (Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program) in the next coronavirus legislation.  She said many children are going hungry due to job loss and not being in school due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

From YahooNews:  Pulitzer Prize winning journalist, Laurie Garrett, who has been predicting the global spread of contagious pathogens for decades sees dark times ahead of us because of COVID-19 and no medical miracle arriving anytime soon.

From YahooNews:  As states push ahead with reopening, CDC warns coronavirus cases and deaths are set to soar

From Deadline: (4/30) - Broadway actor, Nick Cordero, has taken a turn for the worse in his battle against COVID-19, including having tremendous lung damage.

From YahooFinance:  Sixteen prominent health officials have proposed giving American $50 a day to self-isolate until testing and treatment for COVID-19 is under control.

From YahooNews:  Anti-vaccination activists (or anti-vaxxers) have joined and in some cases have led the protests against COVID-19 stay-at-home orders.

ENTERTAINMENT NEWS:

CULTURE - From PulitzerPrizes:  The 2020 Pulitzer Prize Winners have been announced.

DISNEY+ - From Deadline:  Producer Jerry Bruckheimer is working on a TV series reboot of his Disney hit film series, "National Treasure."

STREAMING - From BleedingCool:  Director Spike Lee's next film, "Da 5 Bloods," will debut on Netflix June 12th.

POLITICS - From HuffPost:  Veteran Democratic strategist and political consultant, James Carville, warns President Donald about his "grifter campaign.

MOVIES - From RottenTomatoes:  Neve Campbell, who played the central character "Sidney Prescott" in the first four "Scream" films, may return for "Scream 5."

TELEVISION - From Deadline:  CBS has renewed 18 more of its TV series, bringing the total of renewed series to 23.  The network has cancelled four including Patricia Heaton's "Carol's Second Act."

MOVIES - From Deadline:  Filmmaker Ava DuVernay has named former Netflix executive, Sarah Bremner, as president of her ARRAY Filmworks.

MOVIES - From Deadline:  NASA, Tom Cruise, and crazy rich guy Elon Musk are working on a project that would be the first movie (an action-adventure) shot in outer space.

STREAMING - From Deadline:  The streaming service, "Peacock" (Universal), has chosen a showrunner for its reboot (the second) of "Battlestar Galactica."  It's Michael Lesslie, who was the lead writer and showrunner of AMC's "The Little Drummer Girl."

MOVIES - From Deadline:  MGM has won an auction for a production commitment to director Ron Howard's film, "Thirteen Lives," 2018 Thai cave rescue true story.

MOVIES - From Variety:  Because you asked for it... I guess... Paramount Pictures and Hasbro are rebooting the "G.I. Joe" film franchise.  This new film would be a follow-up to "Snake Eyes: G.I. Joe Origins," which is still due October 23rd.

CELEBRITY - From YahooE:  Legendary actor Harrison Ford is once again the subject of an FAA (Federal Aviation Authority) investigation over his actions as pilot of a airplane.  He has been investigated several times, the most infamous being after he crashed a World War II era plane in 2015 that left Ford with a head wound.

ANIMATION - From THR:  Fox claims this is the real reason they fired TV music composer, Alf Clausen, from his job composing music for its long-running animated series, "The Simpson."

OBITS:

From RollingStone:  One of the founding fathers of rock and roll music, Little Richard, has died at the age of 87, Saturday, May 9, 2020.  He combined blues and gospel music to create a thrilling new sound, and his flamboyant and gender-bending persona helped to create the sound and spirit of a new art form, rock and roll or rock 'n' roll music.  His best known recordings included "Tutti Frutti" (1955), "Long Tall Song" (1956), and "Good Golly, Miss Molly" (1958).  In 1986, Little Richard was among the first inductees of the "Rock and Roll Hall of Fame."

From RollingStone:  Music executive and record label founder, Andre Harrell, has died at the age of 59, Friday, May 8, 2020.  In 1986, he founded the highly influential music label, "Uptown Record," which was the home of artists such as Notorious B.I.G., Mary J. Blige, Heavy D & The Boyz, and Jodeci, to name a few.  Although they would eventually fall out, Harrell was also instrumental in the development of the career of Sean "Diddy" Combs.

From ESPN - Legendary NFL coach, Don Shula, has died at the age of 90, Monday, May 4, 2020.  Shula was the coach of the Baltimore Colts from 1963 to 1969, where he lead them to the 1968 NFL Championship (now called NFC Champion), before losing to the New York Jets in Super Bowl III.  He is best known for his stint as head coach of the Miami Dolphins (1970 to 1995), where he lead them to victories in Super Bowls VII and VIII and appearances in Super Bowls XVII and XIX.  The 1972 Dolphins finished the regular season 14-0 and won all their postseason games, including the Super Bowl, finishing 17-0, the only NFL team to finish the season with a perfect season.

From THR:  The actor Sam Lloyd has died at the age of 56, Friday, May 1, 2020.  Lloyd was best known for playing the role of "Ted Buckland" on the NBC-ABC sitcom, "Scrubs" (2001o2010), for 95 episodes.  Lloyd was also the nephew of actor Christopher Lloyd.

From Deadline:  The film and television director and writer, John Lafia, has died at the age of 63, Wednesday, April 29, 2020, reportedly by suicide.  Lafia was best known for co-writing the classic horror film, "Child's Play " (1988) and for directing its sequel "Child's Play" (1990).  He also wrote and directed the popular NBC disaster miniseries, "10.5" (2004) and "10.5: Apocalypse" (2006).

Review: "Gemini Man" Strong Start, Embarrassing Finish

TRASH IN MY EYE No. 2 (of 2020) by Leroy Douresseaux

[This review was originally posted on Patreon.]

Gemini Man (2019)
Running time:  117 minutes (1 hour, 57 minutes)
MPAA – PG-13 for violence and action throughout, and brief strong language.
DIRECTOR:  Ang Lee
WRITERS:  David Benioff, Billy Ray, and Darren Lemke (from a story by Darren Lemke and David Benioff)
PRODUCERS:  Jerry Bruckheimer, David Ellison, Dana Goldberg, and Don Granger
CINEMATOGRAPHER:  Dion Beebe
EDITOR:  Tim Squyres
COMPOSER:  Lorne Balfe

SCI-FI/ACTION/THRILLER

Starring: Will Smith, Mary Elizabeth Winstead, Clive Owen, Benedict Wong, Linda Emond, Douglas Hodge, Ralph Brown, Ilia Volok, and E.J. Bonilla

Gemini Man is a 2019 science fiction and action-thriller film from director Ang Lee and starring Will Smith.  The film focuses on an aging hit man who faces off against a younger version of himself.

Gemini Man introduces Henry Brogan (Will Smith), a government assassin who is considered the best assassin of his generation.  After completing an assassination mission in Europe that turns complicated, Henry decides to retire.  However, the government agency for which Henry kills, the Defense Intelligence Agency (D.I.A.), decides that it is time to permanently retire him, and sends an assassination squad to kill him.

Henry kills the team, and rescues a fellow D.I.A. agent, Danny Zakarweski (Mary Elizabeth Winstead), who had been watching him.  Henry and Danny turn to a longtime associate of Henry's, Baron (Benedict Wong), who flies them to Bogata, Colombia.  There, Henry plots his next move, but what he doesn't know is that a D.I.A. supervisor, Clayton “Clay” Varris (Clive Owen), head of a top-secret black ops unit code-named “GEMINI,” has marked him for death.  And the assassin Clay has sent to kill Henry may be the most-perfect assassin to take down the world's best assassin.

While watching Gemini Man, I thought the film reminded me of one of those mid-1990s action movies that had science fiction elements.  I am thinking of director John Woo's Nicolas Cage vs. John Travolta film, Face/Off (1997), or director Chuck Russell's Eraser (1996), starring Arnold Schwarzenegger.  Sure enough, I later learned that Gemini Man was originally meant to go into production back in 1997, but it ended up in “development hell” until producer David Ellison bought the rights.

They really don't make movies like Gemini Man anymore.  Our current movie action heroes are superhero action heroes like Black Panther, Captain America, and Iron Man, and, quite frankly, their films are better than Gemini Man is.

Actually, Gemini Man starts off pretty strongly, kind of like a slightly less polished version of a Jason Bourne film.  The first hour or so of Gemini Man is tense, thrilling, and filled with mystery.  However, once the mystery is solved and once the film reveals the identity and origin of the killer (code-named “Junior”) sent to kill Henry Brogan, the tension and drama of the film is let out like air out of a balloon.  There is an fierce “final battle” in the film's last act, and there is a feel-good, if not weird, happy ending, but the atmosphere of high-tech thrills that initially filled Gemini Man is gone.

The special effects in Gemini Man look like special effects – in a too obvious way.  The computer-generated 23-year-old Will Smith sometimes looks weird and plastic.  I don't want to use the word “awful,” but...  I think Marvel Studios did a much better job creating a younger face for Samuel L. Jackson/Nick Fury in this year's blockbuster, mega-smash hit film, Captain Marvel.

Anyway, the performances are good, but not great.  Will Smith's performance as Henry Brogan is practically the same he gave in his previous sci-fi action-thriller, I, Robot (2004).  It is good to see that Mary Elizabeth Winstead can play an adult, and Benedict Wong is proving to be a winning character actor in roles that provide both comic relief and wit.  As usual, Clive Own proves that he can do mean, but his Clay Farris is much more menacing early in Gemini Man.  By the end of the film, Farris is practically a cartoon villain.

Gemini Man is a good and entertaining film.  It could have been so much better though; in fact, (as I keep saying), the beginning is really good and holds the promise of being the start of an exceptional action film.  Alas, Gemini Man is not exceptional.  If you are a Will Smith fan, Gemini Man is not so good that you have to see it in a theater; you can certainly wait for the home media release.

6 of 10
B

Saturday, October 12, 2019


The text is copyright © 2019 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 November 10th to 16th, 2019 - Update #25

Support Leroy on Patreon:

TELEVISION - From Deadline:  Oscar-nominated actor Clive Owen ("Closer") will play President Bill Clinton in "Impreachment: American Crime Story," which will be the third entry in the "American Crime Story" series.

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MOVIES - From RollingStone:   This is the story of how Oscar-winning actress Mary Steenburgen ("Melvin and Howard") had surgery and then became a songwriter.

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DISNEY - From Variety:  Disney has greenlit Ridley Scott's period drama, "The Last Duel" with Matt Damon, Ben Affleck, and Adam Driver.

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BLM - From BET:  At a Tennessee Popeye's, a white customer called the employees "niggers," and one of them body-slammed her in the parking lot.  See the hilarious video.

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TELEVISION - From Deadline:  Last night (Wed., Nov. 13th), the fantastic ninth season of "American Horror Story," entitled "AHS 1984," came to an end.  Series co-creator, super-producer Ryan Murphy, talks about this season and the future of "American Horror Story."

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MOVIES - From Deadline:  Netflix and Paramount Pictures have reportedly struck a deal so that Netflix could make a fourth installment of the "Beverly Hills Cop" franchise with star Eddie Murphy and producer Jerry Bruckheimer.

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BUSINESS - From Variety:  Emotions run high as the U.S. Supreme Court hears arguments in Byron Allen vs. Comcast.

----------
COMICS-FILM - From YahooMusic:  Danny Elfman scored the 1989 Tim Burton film, "Batman," but once upon a time producer Jon Peters wanted Elfman to compose the film's score with the late Prince, who did provides songs for the film.  Elfman refused and now, talks about how he thought that he was risking his career at the time.

----------
TELEVISION - From YahooTV:  Jodi Serling is the daughter of the late Rod Serling, who created the landmark and legendary television series, "The Twilight Zone."  Ms. Serling shares some secrets and stories about her father and the series on the 60th anniversary of "The Twilight Zone."

----------
DISNEY - From Variety:  Newcomer Jonah Hauer-King will play "Prince Eric" in Disney's live-action remake of its classic animated film, "The Littler Mermaid."

----------
STREAMING - From Variety:  A reunion special for the beloved NBC TV series, "Friends," is in the early planning stages.  The UNSCRIPTED special would appear in WarnerMedia's streaming service, "HBO Max."

----------
TELEVISION - From ShadowandAct:  We get a first look at HBO's "Lovecraft Country," from Jordan Peele, Misha Green, and J.J. Abrams and is based on the most excellent novel by Matt Ruff.

----------
AWARDS - From Deadline:  Ricky Gervais is returning to host the 77th Golden Globes Awards, Jan. 5th, 2020 on NBC.  It will be his fifth time hosting the awards ceremony, and he says it will be his last.

----------
STREAMING-DISNEY - From Deadline:  This is the launch day (Nov. 12th) of Disney's new streaming service, Disney+.  And, of course, there are a few tech issues.

----------
MOVIES - From Variety:  Paramount Pictures has landed the worldwide distribution rights to Oscar-winning director Damien Chazelle's next film, "Babylon," which is due for a limited release December 25, 2021.

----------
SPORTS-LGBTQ - From YahooFinance:  Former Major League Baseball player, Billy Bean, is now an LGBTQ advocate, but talks about his time "living a secret life."

----------
AWARDS - From Deadline:  The 2019 People's Choice Awards were announced Sunday night, Nov. 10th.  "Avengers: Endgame" and Netflix's "Stranger Things" were the big winners.

---------
BOX OFFICE - From BoxOfficeMojo:  The winner of the 11/8 to 11/10/2019 weekend box office is "Midway" with an estimated take of 17.5 million dollars.

From Deadline:  Warner Bros. is looking at about a $20 million dollar loss on its Stephen King adaptation, "Doctor Sleep," which has a soft debut weekend.

----------
MOVIES - From YahooPeople:  Dan Aykroyd said during a radio interview that Bill Murray will appear in "Ghostbusters 2020."

---------
GUILD NEWS - From Variety:  The Writers Guild of America have named more than two dozen of its members to be on a negotiating committee as threat of a Hollywood writers' strike looms for next year.

----------
AWARDS - From Variety:  The nominations for the 2019 / 32nd European Film Awards have been announced.  Winners will be announced Dec. 7th in Berlin.

----------
STREAMING - From Deadline:  The Oscar-winning writer-director Woody Allen has settled his 68 million dollar lawsuit against Amazon.  Terms of the settlement were not disclosed.

TRAILER:

From YouTube:  Here is the first official for the upcoming animated Scooby-Doo film, "Scoob," which is due May 15, 2020.

OBITS:

From LATimes:  The American scholar and historian, Noel Ignatiev, died at the age of 78, Saturday, November 9, 2019.  Ignatiev was best known for his efforts to abolish the concept of "whiteness" and to end white racial privilege.  His first book, "How the Irish Became White" (1995), was a sensation.

From Variety:  Holocaust survivor and Academy Award-winning film producer, Branko Lustig, has died at the age of 87, Wednesday, November 14, 2019.  Lustig won two Oscars, one for producing "Schindler's List" (1993) and one for producing "Gladiator" (2000).  During World War II, Lustig was imprisoned in the Auschwitz and Bergen-Belsen concentration camps.

Negromancer News Bits and Bites from August 20th to 26th, 2017 - Update #33

Support Leroy on Patreon.

TELEVISION - From SlashFilm:  Lionsgate is among a group of entities developing a reboot of the 2008 film "Jumper."  Doug Liman, who directed the film, is also developing a "Jumper"-related series for Youtube Red.

----------
TELEVISION - TVLine:  The first three episode of "American Horror Story: Cult" have been screened for the press, revealing details about Lena Dunham and Emma Roberts' characters.

----------
MOVIES - From FlickeringMyth:  Vera Farmiga and J.K. Simmons are joining Hugh Jackman in his Gary Hart biopic, "The Front Runner."

----------
MOVIES - From TheWrap:  "It," the new film adaptation of Stephen King's epic novel, is looking like it may set a box office record for the month of September.

----------
COMICS-FILM - From Vulture:  James Cameron ain't buying all the self-congratulatory back slapping over the "Wonder Woman" film.

----------
MOVIES - From ThePlaylist:  A "Girls Trip" sequel may be in the works.

----------
COMICS-FILM - From THR:  Glenn Ficarra and John Requa, the producers of NBC's hit drama, "This is Us," will write and direct a film featuring DC Comics' characters, The Joker and Harley Quinn.

----------
COMICS-FILM - From YahooMovies:  Jon Favreau teases a reunion of Robert Downey, Gwyneth Paltrow and himself in "Avengers 4."

----------
CELEBRITY - From YahooTV:  Tyler Perry says that he still takes care of his step-father although the man physically and verbally abused him as a child.

----------
COMICS-FILM - From TheWrap:  Director Matt Reeves says that his movie, "The Batman" (starring Ben Affleck as Batman) will not be part of the DC Extended Universe and it will be a stand alone film.

----------
MOVIES - From TheWrap:  Martin Lawrence does not think "Bad Boys 3" will happen.

----------
BLM - From GuardianUK:  The U.S. justice system uses the chokehold to oppress and humiliate black men.

----------
TELEVISION - From Variety:  Common will star in Starz "Black Samurai" series with RZA (Wu-Tang Clan) and Jerry Bruckheimer executive producing.

----------
MOVIES - From Variety:  Iranian filmmaker, Asghar Farhadi, has begun shooting his new film in Spain with Oscar winners Javier Bardem and Penelope Cruz headlining the film.

----------
MOVIES - From Deadline:  Warner Bros. and DC Entertainment are planning another Batman spinoff movie.  This one would focus on the origin of iconic Batman villian, The Joker, and would involve the creative talents of Todd Phillips and Martin Scorsese.

----------
MOVIES - From CinemaBlend:  Ed Skein of "Deadpool" is joining the "Hellboy" reboot film.

----------
TELEVISION - From TheWrap:  NBC has scrapped its plans for a reboot of "Xena: Warrior Princess."

----------
MOVIES - From YahooMovies:  Margot Robbie is unrecognizable as Queen Elizabeth I in the film, "Mary Queen of Scots."

----------
SPORTS - From BET:  A large number of NYPD officers rally in support of blackballed NFL quarterback, Colin Kaepernick.

-----------
CULTURE - From RollingStone:  The history of White supremacy in America.

----------
MOVIES - From Deadline:  New details emerge on "Deadpool 2" crash that took the life of stunt woman Joi Harris.

----------
TELEVISION - From Deadline:  Lynn Whitfield joins Sanaa Lathan in Netflix's comedy, "Nappily Ever After."

----------
TELEVISION - From YahooTV:  A spoiler-filled recap of the Aug. 20th, 2017 "Game of Thones."

----------
BOX OFFICE - From BoxOfficeMojo:  The winner of the 8/18 to 8/20/2017 weekend box office is "Hitman's Bodyguard" with an estimated take of $21.6 million.

----------
ANIMATION - From YahooTV:  Writer-director Adam Reid is trying to raise money to produce a pilot for a proposed animated TV series featuring President Barack Obama and Vice-President Joe Biden as time traveling heroes.

----------
MOVIES - From Variety:  Cover story:  Has Netflix's Ted Sarandos rescued or ruined Hollywood?

From Variety:  Marvel/Netflix's "The Defenders" could set binge-viewing / streaming records.

----------
MOVIES - From Variety:  New Line is looking to reboot the "Shaft" film franchise again.  Samuel L. Jackson is in negotiations to join the film with Jessie T. Usher ("Survivor's Remorse").  Jackson starred in the title role in Paramount Pictures' 2000 "Shaft" film.

CULTURE - From Politico:  How militias became the private police force for White supremacists.


OBITS:

From THR:  The comedian, radio talk show host, and comic actor, Jay Thomas, has died at the age of 69, Thurs., August 24, 2017.  Thomas won two Emmys playing "Jay Gold" on the 1980s-90s CBS sitcom, "Murphy Brown."  He was also known for his annual appearances on David Letterman's late-night talks shows.

From RollingStone:  Actor, filmmaker, comedian, and philanthropist, Jerry Lewis, has died at the age of 91, Sunday, August 20, 2017.  Before he embarked on a solo film career, he partnered with legendary singer and actor, Dean Martin.  Many knew Lewis for his annual "The Jerry Lewis MDA Labor Day Telethon," which raised money for the Muscular Dystrophy Association.

---------------------------------
From Variety:  Groundbreaking civil rights activist and comedian, Dick Gregory, has died at the age of 84, Saturday, August 19, 2017.  He counted among his friends Dr. Martin Luther King and Medgar Evars.  Gregory wrote several books, including "Nigger: An Autobiography."  His new book, "Defining Moments in Black History" is due in September.

From Variety:  Tributes to Dick Gregory, who died on Saturday, pour in from colleagues, fans, and admirers, including Whoopi Goldberg, George Wallace, Ava DuVernay, Gilbert Gottfried, Jesse Jackson, Rev. Al Sharpton, Lawrence O'Donnell, and more.

From Variety:  Dick Gregory recent guest column for Variety: "Fight Police Brutality with Your Wallet."
-----------------------------------------

From Variety:  The actor Sonny Landham died at the age of 76, Thursday, August 17, 2017.  Part Seminole and Cherokee, Landham was best known for playing the Native American tracker, Billy Sole, in the Arnold Schwarzenegger film, Predator (1987).  He also had roles in "The Warriors," "48 Hrs," and "Action Jackson."

Negromancer News Bits and Bites from October 26 to October 31, 2014 - Update #10

NEWS:

From Hitflix via YahooTV:  Terminator: Genisys makes "pop culture."

------------------
From Variety:  American Gigolo the television series... from Jerry Bruckheimer.

-------------------
From Salon:  5 reasons everyone needs to see Dear White People.

-------------------
From Variety via YahooMovies:  Meet Chadwick Boseman the Black Panther.

--------------------
From YahooMovies:  Marvel Studios' movies from Avengers: Age of Ultron through May 2019:

May 1, 2015: Avengers: Age of Ultron

·        July 17, 2015: Ant-Man

·        May 6, 2016: Captain America: Civil War

·        Nov. 4, 2016: Doctor Strange

·        May 5, 2017: Guardians of the Galaxy 2

·        July 28, 2017: Thor: Ragnarok

·        Nov. 3, 2017: Black Panther

·        May 4, 2018: Avengers: Infinity Wars Part I

·        July 6, 2018: Captain Marvel

·        Nov. 2, 2018: Inhumans

·        May 3, 2019: Avengers: Infinity Wars Part II

---------------------
From YahooMovies:  Jake Gyllenhaal talks about his career highlights, including Brokeback Mountain.

---------------------
From YahooMovies:  What can be learned from Vulture's Hollywood MVP list.

---------------------
From BusinessInsider:  Marvel is holding a secret press event tomorrow (Tuesday, October 25, 2014), which doesn't seem so secret now.  This article contains speculation about the huge announcement that is supposed to be made at the event.

----------------------
From THR:  The new, micro-budgeted horror film, Ouija, won the October 24th to 26th, 2014 weekend box office with an estimated gross of $20 million.  In second place was John Wick, starring Keanu Reeves, with an estimated take of $14.2 million.


COMIC BOOKS - Movies and Books:

From YahooMovies:  Marvel "secret event" happened.  Chadwick Boseman (who has famous black people on screen, such as Jackie Robinson and James Brown) is the Black Panther.

----------------------
From Deadline:  Marvel wants Benedict Cumberbatch to play Doctor Strange.


STAR WARS:

From IBT:  Descriptions about the filming of a scene involving actor Boyega and reveals about his character in Star Wars 7.

----------------------
From YahooParenting:  Dad plays Princess Leia to his daughter's Han Solo.


REVIEWS:

Dear White People by TheVillageVoice.

Review: "The Lone Ranger" is a Little Bit Stranger

TRASH IN MY EYE No. 9 (of 2014) by Leroy Douresseaux

The Lone Ranger (2013)
Running time:  149 minutes (2 hours, 29 minutes)
MPAA – PG-13 for sequences of intense action and violence, and some suggestive material
DIRECTOR:  Gore Verbinski
WRITERS:  Justine Haythe and Ted Elliot & Terry Rossio; from Justine Haythe and Ted Elliot and Terry Rossio
PRODUCERS:  Jerry Bruckheimer and Gore Verbinski
CINEMATOGRAPHER:  Bojan Bazelli
EDITORS:  James Haygood and Craig Wood
COMPOSER:  Hans Zimmer
Academy Award nominee

WESTERN/ACTION with elements of fantasy

Starring:  Johnny Depp, Armie Hammer, William Fichtner, Tom Wilkinson, Ruth Wilson, Helena Bonham Carter, James Badge Dale, Bryant Prince, Barry Pepper, Leon Rippy, Stephen Root, Terry Treadaway, Saginaw Grant, Joaquin Cosio, James Frain, Leonard Earl Howze, Grover Coulson, and Mason Cook.

For those who don’t know:  The Lone Ranger is a fictional character that first debuted in a radio show in late January 1933.  The Lone Ranger is a Texas Ranger who fights injustice in the American Old West with the assistance of Tonto, his Native American friend.

The radio show ran from 1933 to the mid-1950s for almost 3,000 episodes.  The character is probably best-remembered for the television series, The Lone Ranger, which aired for eight seasons (1949 to 1957) for over 200 episodes on the ABC television network.  Clayton Moore starred as the Lone Ranger, and Jay Silverheels played Tonto.  The character also made several appearance in film, the last being an infamous and unsuccessful 1981 movie.  Early in the Summer of 2013, the Lone Ranger and Tonto returned to the big screen.

The Lone Ranger is a 2013 action and Western film from producer-director Gore Verbinski and producer Jerry Bruckheimer.  Starring Johnny Depp and Armie Hammer, The Lone Ranger 2013 focuses on the earliest efforts of The Lone Ranger and Tonto to end corruption in and to bring justice to the American Old West.

[A NOTE:  Since the following review is a longish one, I’ll summarize it here.  I thoroughly enjoyed The Lone Ranger 2013, and had a blast watching it.  However, it is not a traditional Western movie, just as the Pirate of the Caribbean movies are not typical pirate movies.  The Lone Ranger is funny, but quirky.  If you look past its oddness and focus on the action, you might find it to be quite entertaining.]

The Lone Ranger opens in 1933 at a fair in San Francisco.  In a sideshow, a boy named Will (Mason Cook) just happens to meet an elderly Native American who claims to be Tonto (Johnny Depp).  Learning that Will idolizes the Lone Ranger, Tonto tells the boy the story of how he first met the legendary hero.

The story moves back to 1869.  Lawyer John Reid (Armie Hammer) returns to his hometown of Colby, Texas.  He finds the Transcontinental Railroad to be the focus of attention, but railroad tycoon, Latham Cole (Tom Wilkinson), is focused on the capture of outlaw, Butch Cavendish (William Fichtner).  John joins his brother, Texas Ranger Dan Reid (James Badge Dale), who leads the search for Cavendish and his gang.

John discovers that Native American Comanche warrior, Tonto (Johnny Depp), is also searching for Cavendish, whom the Indian believes is a creature he calls “windigo.”  Events leave John a “lone Ranger,” and he is forced join Tonto in an often-contentious but effective partnership.  But can the two new partners stop a conspiracy that is bigger and older than they may realize?

I think that the movie reviews which accompanied The Lone Ranger upon its initial theatrical release back in late June 2013 can be described as mostly negative to mixed.  I unequivocally like this movie, although I will admit that it has some flaws.  For instance, I have a question that has already been asked by other critics.  What is the target audience for The Lone Ranger?

The Lone Ranger 2013 is a Western.  It has several elements that can be found throughout the history of American Western films:  brothels, construction of a railroad, cowboys and Indians, lone lawman, outlaws, quests for redemption, revenge, and the shoot ‘em up.  However, this new Lone Ranger is nothing like The Lone Ranger television series, which was a traditional Hollywood Western aimed at a general audience and relied on stock elements that were familiar to viewers of all ages.

This movie is also a comedy and action flick as much as it is a Western, but it is not reverent about the things found in many Western movies and television programs from the 1930s to the 1950s.  The film has those big, reality-bending action scenes we have come to expect of Jerry Bruckheimer movies like the Pirates of the Caribbean franchise (which also stars Johnny Depp).  As a comedy, the film sometimes mocks elements and aspects associated with The Lone Ranger franchise.  Some of the dialogue and scenes in this movie have a single purpose – be funny.

The Lone Ranger 2013 is also surprisingly quirky.  It is kind of a “weird Western,” like the films, Jonah Hex and Wild Wild West (1999).  The movie has a strange mixture of imitation Native American mysticism and quasi-occultism, with a funky supernatural twist.  Much of that is tied to violence, cannibalism in particular.

I think that in order to enjoy this film, the viewer has to focus more on the basic plot, the characters, and the big action scenes and sequences and less on the setting (the post-Civil War “Old West”) and genre (the Western).  I didn’t mind that The Lone Ranger is an unusual Western film, and I certainly like the plot, characters, and action set pieces.

Also, Armie Hammer turned out to fit in this movie better than I thought he would.  Still, to me, it seems as if he can never make his character, John Reid/The Lone Ranger, escape the tremendous shadow cast by Johnny Depp’s Tonto.  Depp owns this movie, and that is a bigger problem for this movie than anything else.  It is more about Tonto than it is about The Lone Ranger.  In fact, whenever the story switched to other characters, I could feel myself chomping-at-the-bits for the movie to go back to Depp/Tonto.

I have to admit that I wish that we get a sequel to The Lone Ranger.  That is unlikely, as this movie is considered a box office disappointment and, to some, a flop.

7 of 10
B+

NOTES:
2014 Academy Awards, USA:  2 nominations:  ‘Best Achievement in Makeup and Hairstyling” (Joel Harlow and Gloria Pasqua Casny) and “Best Achievement in Visual Effects” (Tim Alexander, Gary Brozenich, Edson Williams, and John Frazier)

2014 Razzie Awards:  1 win: “Worst Remake, Rip-Off or Sequel;” 4 nominations: “Worst Picture,” “Worst Actor” (Johnny Depp), “Worst Director” (Gore Verbinski), and “Worst Screenplay” (Ted Elliott-screen story and screenplay, Justin Haythe-screen story and screenplay, and Terry Rossio-screen story and screenplay)

Tuesday, March 04, 2014


The text is copyright © 2014 Leroy Douresseaux. All Rights Reserved. Contact this site for syndication rights and fees.

2014 Razzie Awards - Complete Winners aka Losers List

by Amos Semien

The Golden Raspberry Award or, as it is best known, the Razzie Award, is basically the opposite of the Academy Awards (the Oscars).  This award honors the worst achievements in film in a calendar year, as determined by the paid membership of the Golden Raspberry Award Foundation.

And now… the haters.  The winners (or losers, if you will) of the 2014 Razzie Awards were announced Saturday, March 1, 2014, one day before the Academy Awards ceremony (or “Oscar eve”) – the traditional date for the Razzies.

After Earth and Movie 43 each won three awards.  Movie 43, an anthology comedy film, was named “Worst Picture” of 2013.  Grown Up 2, the Adam Sandler and pals film that was a sequel to an earlier Adam Sandler and pals film, had received nine nominations, but did not win any – apparently the biggest shutout in Razzie Award history.

2014 / 34th Annual Razzie Awards winners (for the year in film, 2013):

WORST PICTURE:
Movie 43 – Relativity Media

WORST ACTOR
Jaden Smith: After Earth

WORST ACTRESS
Tyler Perry: A Madea Christmas

WORST SUPPORTING ACTRESS
Kim Kardashian: Tyler Perry’s Temptation

WORST SUPPORTING ACTOR
Will Smith: After Earth

WORST DIRECTOR:
The 13 People Who Directed Movie 43 (Elizabeth Banks, Steven Brill, Steve Carr, Rusty Cundieff, James Duffy, Griffin Dunne, Peter Farrelly, Patrik Forsberg, Will Graham, James Gunn, Bob Odenkirk, Brett Ratner, and Jonathan van Tulleken)

WORST SCREEN COMBO
Jaden Smith & Will Smith on Planet Nepotism: After Earth

WORST SCREENPLAY
Movie 43: Written by 19 “Screenwriters” (Steve Baker, Ricky Blitt, Will Carlough, Tobias Carlson, Jacob Fleisher, Patrik Forsberg, Will Graham, James Gunn, Claes Kjellstrom, Jack Kukoda, Bob Odenkirk, Bill O'Malley, Matthew Alec Portenoy, Greg Pritikin, Rocky Russo, Olle Sarri, Elizabeth Wright Shapiro, Jeremy Sosenko, Jonathan van Tulleken and Jonas Wittenmark)

WORST REMAKE, RIP-OFF or SEQUEL
The Lone Ranger – Walt Disney Pictures

http://www.razzies.com/

--------------------------------

Review: "Kangaroo Jack" Jacked-Up, but Fun

TRASH IN MY EYE No. 133 (of 2003) by Leroy Douresseaux


Kangaroo Jack (2003)
Running time: 89 minutes (1 hour, 29 minutes)
MPAA – PG for language, crude humor, sensuality and violence
DIRECTOR: David McNally
WRITERS: Steve Bing and Scott Rosenberg, from a story by Barry O’Brien and Steve Bing
PRODUCER: Jerry Bruckheimer
CINEMATOGRAPHER: Peter Menzies Jr. (D.o.P.)
EDITORS: William Goldenberg, Jim May, and John Murray
COMPOSER: Trevor Rabin
Razzie Awards nominee

COMEDY with elements of Action/Adventure/Crime

Starring: Jerry O’Connell, Anthony Anderson, Estella Warren, Christopher Walken, Marton Csokas, Dyan Cannon, Michael Shannon, Bill Hunter, and David Ngoombujarra

The subject of this movie review is Kangaroo Jack, a 2003 comedy starring Jerry O’Connell and Anthony Anderson. The film follows two childhood friends, who are forced by the mob to deliver $50,000 to Australia and then, forced to chase a wild kangaroo that ends up with that money.

Hollywood mega-movie producer Jerry Bruckheimer isn’t strictly a producer of gargantuan action flicks that “blow us away” during the summer and holiday seasons. Although known for films like Top Gun and Armageddon, he’s also produced films like Flashdance and Remember the Titans, as well as television programs like “C.S.I.: Crime Scene Investigation” and “Amazing Race.” The latest bit of diversity in his oeuvre is the comedy Kangaroo Jack.

This movie is a tale of two hapless schmoes, Charlie Carbone (Jerry O’Connell) and Louis Booker (Anthony Anderson) chasing a kangaroo in the Australian outback because the marsupial has “stolen” 50 thousand dollars from them. It’s a funny, but mostly lame, film with some very good moments. There’s a sexy girl, and we get a few shots of her nipples, particularly in a wet t-shirt moment. The film winds down with a really convincing and heartfelt moment of two guys, one black and one white, pledging their undying friendship for each other.

I want to be cynical about the whole relationship, but it’s good to see that a white man and black man can really be best buds, even if it’s just in a movie. Don’t expect anything great because Kangaroo Jack is pure tripe straight from the film factory and made by some of Tinseltown’s brightest filmmaking hacks. It’s acceptable and likeable low quality funny, much in the way you might accept off-brand crystallized ice cream in a moment of desperation.

4 of 10
C

NOTES:
2001 Razzie Awards: 2 nominations: “Worst Supporting Actor” (Christopher Walken-also for Gigli-2003) and “Worst Supporting Actor” (Anthony Anderson)

Producers Guild Names "Argo" Best Picture of 2012

The Producers Guild of America gave Ben Affleck's film, Argo, "The Darryl F. Zanuck Award for Outstanding Producer of Theatrical Motion Pictures," which is essentially the guild's 'best picture" award.  Right now, it seems as if Argo is just rolling its way to the best picture Oscar next month.

 

The 24th Annual Producers Guild Awards winners were announced last night, Saturday, January 26, 2013 at the Beverly Hilton Hotel. This year, the Producers Guild also presented special honors to Bob and Harvey Weinstein (Milestone Award), Tim Bevan and Eric Fellner (David O. Selznick Achievement Award in Theatrical Motion Pictures), J.J. Abrams (Norman Lear Achievement Award in Television), Russell Simmons (Visionary Award) and BULLY (Stanley Kramer Award).

 

I've included the winners in the television categories along with the winners in the theatrical film categories.

 

2013 Producers Guild Of America Award Winners:

 

The Darryl F. Zanuck Award for Outstanding Producer of Theatrical Motion Pictures:
"Argo” (Warner Bros.)
Producers: Ben Affleck, George Clooney, Grant Heslov

 

The Award for Outstanding Producer of Animated Theatrical Motion Pictures:
"Wreck-It Ralph” (Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures)
Producer: Clark Spencer

 

The Award for Outstanding Producer of Documentary Theatrical Motion Pictures:
"Searching For Sugar Man” (Sony Pictures Classics)
Producers: Malik Bendjelloul, Simon Chinn

 

The Norman Felton Award for Outstanding Producer of Episodic Television, Drama
Homeland (Showtime)
Producers: Henry Bromell, Alexander Cary, Michael Cuesta, Alex Gansa, Howard Gordon, Chip Johannessen, Michael Klick, Meredith Stiehm

 

The David L. Wolper Award for Outstanding Producer of Long-Form Television
Game Change (HBO)
Producers: Gary Goetzman, Tom Hanks, Jay Roach, Amy Sayres, Steven Shareshian, Danny Strong

 

The Danny Thomas Award for Outstanding Producer of Episodic Television, Comedy
Modern Family (ABC)
Producers: Cindy Chupack, Paul Corrigan, Abraham Higginbotham, Ben Karlin, Steven Levitan, Christopher Lloyd, Jeff Morton, Dan O’Shannon, Jeffrey Richman, Chris Smirnoff, Brad Walsh, Bill Wrubel, Danny Zuker

 

The Award for Outstanding Producer of Non-Fiction Television:
American Masters (PBS)
Producers: Prudence Glass, Susan Lacy, Julie Sacks

 

The Award for Outstanding Producer of Competition Television
The Amazing Race (CBS)
Producers: Jerry Bruckheimer, Elise Doganieri, Jonathan Littman, Bertram van Munster, Mark Vertullo

 

The Award for Outstanding Producer of Live Entertainment & Talk Television
The Colbert Report (Comedy Central)
Producers: Meredith Bennett, Stephen Colbert, Richard Dahm, Paul Dinello, Barry Julien, Matt Lappin, Emily Lazar, Tanya Michnevich Bracco, Tom Purcell, Jon Stewart

 

The Award for Outstanding Sports Program
Real Sports with Bryant Gumbel (HBO)

 

The Award for Outstanding Children’s Program TIE
Sesame Street (PBS)
“The Weight of the Nation for Kids: The Great Cafeteria Takeover” (HBO)

 

The Award for Outstanding Digital Series
“30 Rock: The Webisodes” (www.nbc.com)

 

 

The Return of "Top Gun" - in IMAX 3D

“TOP GUN” TO BE RELEASED IN IMAX® 3D FOR THE VERY FIRST TIME

THE CLASSIC FILM RETURNS TO THE BIG SCREEN EXCLUSIVELY IN SELECT IMAX 3D THEATRES FOR A LIMITED ENGAGEMENT BEGINNING FEBRUARY 8, 2013

“TOP GUN” Debuts on Blu-ray 3D™/ Blu-ray 2D™ Two-Disc Set February 19, 2013

“Top Gun,” Paramount Pictures’ 1986 classic from director Tony Scott, producers Don Simpson and Jerry Bruckheimer, and starring Tom Cruise, takes off on a new adventure with an exclusive six-day 3D engagement in select IMAX® theatres beginning February 8, 2013. The film has been re-mastered for the IMAX® 3D release and subsequent debut on Blu-ray.

TOP GUN was re-mastered for the big screen from high-resolution original negative scans and painstakingly converted to 3D by Legend3D under the supervision of the film’s director, Tony Scott. Rendered in 3D, the film’s complex, long shots reveal extraordinary depth and clarity, allowing viewers to explore every detail of the action. From the spectacular aerial dogfights to the intense close-ups in the cockpits, each frame enables the audience to feel a part of the story.

The story of an elite group of pilots competing to be the best in their class and earn the title of

“TOP GUN” captured the imagination of a generation and earned a worldwide box office of over $350 million upon its release. The film stars Tom Cruise as Maverick and Kelly McGillis as his civilian instructor. The film also stars Val Kilmer, Anthony Edwards and Meg Ryan.

The “TOP GUN” Blu-ray 3D disc presents the film with pristine high definition picture and sparkling sound in spectacular 3D for the ultimate home viewing experience. The Blu-ray 2D includes the re-mastered film in high definition, along with a six-part documentary on the making of the movie, a behind-the-scenes featurette, interviews with Tom Cruise, commentary by producer Jerry Bruckheimer, director Tony Scott, co-screenwriter Jack Epps, Jr. and more. The two-disc set available for purchase also includes a digital copy of the film and will be enabled with UltraViolet technology.


About Paramount Pictures Corporation
Paramount Pictures Corporation (PPC), a global producer and distributor of filmed entertainment, is a unit of Viacom (NASDAQ: VIA, VIAB), a leading content company with prominent and respected film, television and digital entertainment brands. Paramount controls a collection of some of the most powerful brands in filmed entertainment, including Paramount Pictures, Paramount Animation, Paramount Vantage, Paramount Classics, Insurge Pictures, MTV Films, and Nickelodeon Movies. PPC operations also include Paramount Famous Productions, Paramount Home Media Distribution, Paramount Pictures International, Paramount Licensing Inc., and Paramount Studio Group.

About IMAX Corporation
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2012 Primetime Emmy Winners Announced

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. My focus is usually on the Primetime Emmy Awards.

The Primetime Emmys award show aired on Sunday, Sept. 23rd. The list below is not a complete list of the 2012 Primetime Emmy winners. The winners in some Primetime Emmy categories were previously announced as part of the Creative Arts Emmy Awards, although I think I have included two or three winners in this list who were already announced at the Creative Arts ceremony.

2012 PRIMETIME EMMY AWARD WINNERS in categories announced Sunday, September 23, 2012:

COMEDY SERIES
“Modern Family”
ABC; Levitan-Lloyd Productions in association with Twentieth Century Fox Television
Steven Levitan, Executive Producer
Christopher Lloyd, Executive Producer
Danny Zuker, Executive Producer
Dan O’Shannon, Executive Producer
Bill Wrubel, Executive Producer
Paul Corrigan, Executive Producer
Brad Walsh, Executive Producer
Jeff Morton, Co-Executive Producer
Jeffery Richman, Co-Executive Producer
Abraham Higginbotham, Co-Executive Producer
Cindy Chupack, Co-Executive Producer
Chris Smirnoff, Producer

COMEDY ACTOR
Jon Cryer as Alan Harper in "Two and a Half Men"

COMEDY ACTRESS
Julia Louis-Dreyfus as Selina Meyer in "Veep"

SUPPORTING COMEDY ACTOR
Eric Stonestreet as Cameron Tucker in "Modern Family"

SUPPORTING COMEDY ACTRESS
Julie Bowen as Claire Dunphy in "Modern Family"

DRAMA SERIES
“Homeland”
Showtime; Showtime Presents, Teakwood Lane Productions, Cherry Pie Productions, Keshet, Fox 21
Alex Gansa, Executive Producer
Howard Gordon, Executive Producer
Michael Cuesta, Executive Producer
Gideon Raff, Executive Producer
Avi Nir, Executive Producer
Ran Tellem, Executive Producer
Chip Johannessen, Co-Executive Producer
Alexander Cary, Co-Executive Producer
Michael Klick, Produced By

DRAMA ACTRESS
Claire Danes as Carrie Mathison in "Homeland"

DRAMA ACTOR
Damian Lewis as Nicholas Brody in "Homeland"

SUPPORTING DRAMA ACTRESS
Maggie Smith as Violet, Dowager Countess of Grantham in "Downton Abbey"

SUPPORTING DRAMA ACTOR
Aaron Paul as Jesse Pinkman in "Breaking Bad"

MINISERIES OR TV MOVIE
Game Change
HBO • Playtone and Everyman Pictures in association with HBO Films
Tom Hanks, Executive Producer
Gary Goetzman, Executive Producer
Jay Roach, Executive Producer
Danny Strong, Co-Executive Producer
Steven Shareshian, Co-Executive Producer
Amy Sayres, Produced By

LEAD ACTRESS IN A MINISERIES OR MOVIE
Julianne Moore as Sarah Palin in "Game Change"

LEAD ACTOR IN A MINISERIES OR MOVIE
Kevin Costner as 'Devil' Anse Hatfield in "Hatfields & McCoys"

SUPPORTING ACTRESS IN A MINISERIES OR MOVIE
Jessica Lange as Constance Langdon in "American Horror Story"

SUPPORTING ACTOR IN A MINISERIES OR MOVIE
Tom Berenger as Jim Vance in "Hatfields & McCoys"

VARIETY SERIES
“The Daily Show With Jon Stewart”
Comedy Central; Central Productions, LLC
Jon Stewart, Executive Producer/Host
Rory Albanese, Executive Producer
Kahane Cooperman, Co-Executive Producer
Steve Bodow, Co-Executive Producer
Jennifer Flanz, Co-Executive Producer
Adam Lowitt, Co-Executive Producer
Jim Margolis, Co-Executive Producer
Pamela DePace, Supervising Producer
Hillary Kun, Supervising Producer
Timothy Greenberg, Supervising Producer
Stuart Miller, Supervising Producer
Jill Katz, Producer

REALITY-COMPETITION PROGRAM
“The Amazing Race”
CBS; World Race Productions Inc.
Bertram van Munster, Executive Producer
Elise Doganieri, Executive Producer
Jerry Bruckheimer, Executive Producer
Jonathan Littman, Executive Producer
Mark Vertullo, Executive Producer
Dan Coffie, Co-Executive Producer
Giselle Parets, Co-Executive Producer
Phil Keoghan, Co-Executive Producer
Michael Norton, Supervising Producer
Matt Schmidt, Supervising Producer
Patrick Cariaga, Supervising Producer
Michael Miller, Supervising Producer
Darren Bunkley, Senior Producer
Chad Baron, Senior Producer
Neil Jahss, Senior Producer

HOST FOR A REALITY OR REALITY-COMPETITION PROGRAM
Tom Bergeron, "Dancing With the Stars"

DIRECTING FOR A COMEDY SERIES
Steven Levitan, "Modern Family" (“Baby On Board” episode)

WRITING FOR A COMEDY SERIES
Louis C.K., "Louie" (Episode: “Pregnant”)

DIRECTING FOR A DRAMA SERIES
Tim Van Patten, "Boardwalk Empire" (“To The Lost” episode)

WRITING FOR A DRAMA SERIES
Alex Gansa, Howard Gordon & Gideon Raff, "Homeland" (Pilot episode)

DIRECTING FOR A MINISERIES, MOVIE OR DRAMATIC SPECIAL
Jay Roach, "Game Change"

WRITING FOR A MINISERIES, MOVIE OR DRAMATIC SPECIAL
Danny Strong, "Game Change"

SPECIAL-CLASS PROGRAMS
"65th Annual Tony Awards" (CBS)

DIRECTING FOR A VARIETY SERIES
Don Roy King, "Saturday Night Live" (“Host: Mick Jagger”)

DIRECTING FOR A VARIETY SPECIAL
Glenn Weiss, "65th Annual Tony Awards"

WRITING FOR A VARIETY SERIES
"The Daily Show With Jon Stewart," Tim Carvell (head writer), Rory Albanese, Kevin Bleyer, Rich Blomquist, Steve Bodow, Wyatt Cenac, Hallie Haglund, JR Havlan, Elliott Kalan, Dan McCoy, Jo Miller, John Oliver, Zhubin Parang, Daniel Radosh, Jason Ross, & Jon Stewart

WRITING FOR A VARIETY SPECIAL
"Louis C.K. Live at the Beacon Theatre," Louis C.K.