Negromancer News Bits and Bites from March 1st to 5th, 2022 - Update #16

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

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ENTERTAINMENT AND CULTURE NEWS:

MOVIES - From THR:  Will Smith is returning for the long-talked about sequel to his hit 2007 film, "I Am Legend." This time actor Michael B. Jordan will also star in the film as well as be one of its producers.

MOVIES - From Deadline:   The first photographic image has been released from the action film, "Dead Zone," which stars Michael Jai White and Chad Michael Collins.

MOVIES - From Deadline:  Reportedly, rapper Jack Harlow's first screen audition lands him a role in the reboot of writer-director Ron Shelton's 1992 sports comedy, "White Men Can't Jump."

TRAILER - From Deadline:  There is a trailer for the 50th Anniversary re-release of Francis Ford Coppola's "The Godfather."  This film and the others in the series will also have a 4K Ultra HD and Ultra Blu-ray release.

STREAMING - From Variety:  Actor Anthony Mackie will star in and executive produce a TV series based on the Sony Playstation video game, "Twisted Metal." The series is being produced for NBCUniversal's streaming service, Peacock.

OSCARS - From Variety:   Samuel L. Jackson says, ‘I Should’ve Won’ an Oscar, but Oscars Don’t Get ‘Asses in Seats’ Like I Do

TRAILER - From Variety:  Sony Pictures has released the official trailer for the stylish action movie, "Bullet Train" starring Brad Pitt and directed David Leitch.

MOVIES - From Consequence:  There is a report that says that Oscar-winning film producer, Brad Pitt, has come on board as a producer on the long-rumored sequel to "Beetlejuice" (1988).

ANIMATION - From Deadline:  The beloved sci-fi animated comedy, "Futurama," is returning on Hulu with 20 episodes and with "Bender" voice actor, John DiMaggio.

NETFLIX - From Deadline:  On the comeback trail, actress Lindsay Lohan strikes two-picture deal with Netflix.

AWARDS - From Deadline:  The winners of the 2022 / 22nd annual Black Reel Awards were announced Monday evening, Feb. 28th in a livestream.  The Black Western, "The Harder They Fall" led with 6 wins, and "King Richard" was named "Outstanding Film" of 2021.

DISNEY - From Deadline:  The Walt Disney Company is temporarily pulling its theatrical releases from Russian movie theaters due to Russia's invasion of the nation of Ukraine.

BOX OFFICE - From BoxOfficeMojo:  The winner of the 2/25 to 2/27/2022 weekend box office is Sony Pictures' "Uncharted" with a take of 23 million dollars.

MOVIES - From CNN:  Mid-budget Hollywood movies are in decline.  What does that mean for American cinema?

OBITS:

From Deadline:  American film executive and film producer, Alan Ladd, Jr., has died at the age of 84, Wednesday, March 2, 2022.  Ladd won an Oscar for producing "Braveheart" with Mel Gibson and Bruce Davey.  He was also the president of 20th Century Fox who approved the production of "Star Wars" and he was an executive at MGM/UA.

From Deadline:  Broadway and television actor, Ned Eisenberg, has died at the age of 65, Sunday, February 27, 2022.  Eisenberg was best known for his recurring role on NBC's "Law & Order: Special Victim's Unit" as the villainous defense attorney Roger Kressler.  Eisenberg had a prolific career in film and TV and on stage.

From Deadline:  Actress Farrah Forke has died at the age of 54, Friday, February 25, 2022.  Forke is best known for her recurring role as "Alex Lambert" on Seasons 4 through 6 of NBC's former sitcom, "Wings."  She also appeared on ABC's former romantic drama, "Lois & Clark: The New Adventures of Superman" and the CBS comedy, "Dweebs."

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94TH ACADEMY AWARDS:

OSCARS - From Variety:  The nominations for the 2022 / 94th Academy Awards have been announced.  "The Power of the Dog" leads with 12 nominations.  The winners will be revealed March 27th.

From Deadline:    With his "Best Actor" nomination for "The Tragedy of Macbeth," Denzel Washington is the most nominated Black actor is Oscar history.  He has been nominated in two acting categories a total of 10 times with two wins total.

From Variety:   With her "Best Director" Oscar nomination for "The Power of the Dog," Jane Campion becomes the first woman nominated twice in that category. She was previously nominated in that category for "The Piano" (1993).

From Variety:  With his three nominations today, Kenneth Branagh of "Belfast" becomes the first person to have been nominated in seven individual categories over his career.

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MOVIE AWARDS:

From Deadline:   The winners at the 2022 / 28th annual SAG Awards. "CODA" wins the top prize, "Outstanding Performance by a Cast in a Motion Picture."

From Variety:  Here is a complete list of winners at 2022 / 53rd NAACP Image Awards in the film, television and music categories.  Jennifer Hudson was named "Entertainer of the Year."

From Deadline:   The 2022 / 9th annual Make-Up Artists & Hair Stylists Guild Awards were announced.  The Amazon film, "Coming 2 America" (the sequel to the 1988 film, "Coming to America"), led with three wins.

From Deadline:  The 2022 BAFTA Film Awards nominations have been announced.  "Dune" leads with 11 nominations.  The winners will be announced March 13th.

From Deadline:   The 2022 / 33rd annual Producers Guild of America Awards nominations have been announced.  The winners will be announced Saturday, March 19th.

From Deadline:  The nominations for the 2022 / 74th annual Directors Guild Awards have been announced.  The winners will be announced March 12th.

From COFCA:  The Columbus Film Critics Association name "The Power of the Dog" the "Best Film" of 2021.

From Deadline:  Netflix's Black Western, "The Harder They Fall," was named the "Best Picture" of 2021 at the 13th annual African American Film Critics Association Awards.  The Western tied with "King Richard" for most wins with four.  Will Smith was named "Best Actor" for "King Richard."

From Deadline:  The nominations for the 2022 / 28th Screen Actors Guild Awards have been announced.

From Variety:  The snubs and surprises in the nominations for the 28th Screen Actors Guild Awards.

From Variety:   At the 2022 / 79th Golden Globes, "The Power of the Dog" wins "Best Motion Picture-Drama" and "West Side Story" wins "Best Motion Picture-Musical or Comedy."

From Variety:  The National Society of Film Critics names the Japanese film, "Drive My Car," the best film of 2021.

From AwardsWatch:  The nominations for the 22nd Annual Black Reel Awards were announced a few weeks ago. Netflix's Black Western, "The Harder They Fall," has a record 20 nominations.  The winners will be announced February 27, 2022.

From AwardsWatch:  The Columbus Film Critics Association announced the nominations for their annual film awards.  Director Jane Campion's "The Power of the Dog" leads with 12 noms.  The winners will be announced Thurs., Jan. 6th, 2022.

From Deadline:  The Los Angeles Film Critics Association has named the Japanese film, "Drive My Car," the "Best Picture" of 2021.

From Deadline:  The 2022 / 37th annual Film Independent Spirit Awards have announced their nominations. "Zola" leads with six nominations. The winners will be announced Sun., March 6, 2022.

From THR:  The 2022 / 79th Golden Globes Awards nominations have been announced.  "Belfast" and "The Power of the Dog" lead with seven nominations each.  Winners will be announced Jan. 9th, 2022.

From GoldDerby:   The 2022 Critics Choice Awards nominations have been announced. "Belfast" and "West Side Story" leads with 11 nominations each. Winners will be announced Jan. 9th, 2022.

From Deadline:   The American Film Institute announced the "2021 AFI Awards" Top 10 list, and the list includes "Dune," "The Tragedy of Macbeth," and "West Side Story."

From THR:  Director Aleem Khan's "After Love" tops the 2021 British Independent Film Awards, winning six awards, including "Best Film of 2021."

From Variety:   The New York Film Critics Circle has named the Japanese drama, "Drive My Car," as the "Best Film of 2021."

From Deadline:  The National Board of Review hands director Paul Thomas Anderson's "Licorice Pizza" it "Best Film" and "Best Director" awards.  Will Smith picks up the "Best Actor" award for "King Richard."

From THR:  Netflix’s "The Lost Daughter," directed by actress Maggie Gyllenhaal, dominated the 2021 Gotham Awards in New York on Monday night (Nov. 29th).  The film won in four of the five categories in which it was nominated, including "Best Feature."

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"RUST" ACCIDENTAL SHOOTING DEATH:

From Deadline:  This link will take you to Deadline's Halyna Hutchins page, which articles related to everything about her shooting death on the set of the Western film, "Rust."

From Deadline:  Matt Hutchins, the husband of Halyna Hutchins, blames Alec Baldwin for Halyna's accidental shooting death on the set of the doomed Western film, "Rust."

From Deadline:  The family and estate of Halyna Hutchins has filed suit against Alec Baldwin (who accidentally shot Hutchins), a slew of production companies and entities, producers, and key crew members involved in the Western film, "Rust," for her death.

From THR:   A Republican New Mexico legislator, State Sen. Cliff Pirtle of Roswell, on Monday introduced a bill that would require all film set personnel who handle firearms to complete a safety course offered by the New Mexico Game and Fish Department.  This is in the wake a cinematographer, Halyna Hutchins, being fatally shot on the set of the Western, "Rust," last year by Alec Baldwin with a weapon he says he thought was not loaded with live ammunition.

From Deadline:  Alec Baldwin and the other producers of the doomed Western film, "Rust," want a California judge to dismiss the lawsuit filed against them by the script supervisor, Mamie Mitchell.

From Deadline:   Alec Baldwin has finally turned over his cell phone to police for their probe into the fatal shooting of cinematographer Halyna Hutchins on the set of Baldwin's Western film, "Rust," last October in New Mexico.

From Variety:  One of the producers of tragic Western film, Rust, Emily Salveson, pushes tax shelters and hid income.

From THR:  "I let go of the hammer and 'Bang,' the gun goes off" says Alec Baldwin says in his first interview of the moment when a gun he was holding accidentally killed cinematographer Halyna Hutchins on the set of the Western film, "Rust."

From Deadline:  Alec Baldwin will sit down with ABC's news-reading clown George Stephanopoulos for a one hour special tomorrow night to talk about what happened on the set of the movie "Rust."  It will be Baldwin’s first extensive interview about the shooting.

From Deadline:  Industry veteran, Thall Reed, the father of Hannah Gutierrez-Reed, the armorer on the Western, "Rust," may have handed the police a tip on why the film's cinematographer, Halyna Hutchins, was shot to death on the set.

From THR:  A search warrant affidavit filed Tuesday for a prop shop sheds light on how alleged live ammunition ended up on the set of the Western film, "Rust," where cinematographer Halyna Hutchins was killed in October.

From Deadline:  A month after cinematographer, Halyna Hutchins, was shot and killed on the New Mexico set the movie Western, "Rust," by a prop gun “discharged” by Alec Baldwin, those closest to the cinematographer held a private ceremony and interred her ashes at an unknown location.

From Deadline:  Actor Daniel Baldwin defends his brother, Alec Baldwin, in the accidental shooting death of cinematographer Halyna Hutchins on the set of the film, "Rust."  "Someone loaded that gun improperly," Daniel says.

From Deadline:  The newest lawsuit involving the tragic shooting on the set of the Western film, "Rust," has been filed by the film's script supervisor, Mamie Mitchell, against Alec Baldwin, the producers, the production company, armorer Hanna Gutierrez Reed, and others.

From Deadline:  Serge Svetnoy, the gaffer on "Rust," has filed a lawsuit against several parties related to the film, including the production, the financiers, star Alec Baldwin, armorer Hannah Gutierrez Reed, and first Assistant Director David Halls.

From THR:   In the wake of the tragic accidental shooting on the set of his film, "Rust," Alec Baldwin on Monday took to social media to urge Hollywood to employ a police officer on every film and TV set that uses guns.

From THR:   The budget for "Rust" - Alec Baldwin was set to earn $150,000 as lead actor and $100,000 as producer, while $7,913 was earmarked for armorer Hannah Gutierrez-Reed and $17,500 was set aside for the rental of weapons and $5,000 for rounds.

From Deadline:  Attorneys for Hannah Gutierrez-Reed, the armorer on the set of the film, "Rust," said that they’re looking into whether a live bullet was placed in a box of dummy rounds with the intent of  “sabotaging the set.”

From THR:   Hannah Gutierrez-Reed, the armorer on the film, "Rust," released a statement through her lawyers.  She says she had “no idea where the live rounds came from” that were recovered by the Santa Fe County Sheriff's during the investigation of the accidental on-set shooting death of Halyna Hutchins.

From Jacobin:  An opinion piece says that cinematographer Halyna Hutchins' death on the set of the film, "Rust," was not a freak accident, but was about Alec Baldwin and his fellow producers' cost-cutting decisions.  Baldwin accidentally fired the gun that killed Hutchins.

From Deadline:   Two of executive producers on "Rust," Allen Cheney and Emily Salveson, disavow responsibility for the film's troubled production.

From THR:   Iconic "Ghostbusters" actor Ernie Hudson is reeling from the news of the death of Halyna Hutchins, like the rest of Hollywood. Hudson also appeared in the film, "The Crow," the film in which its star, Brandon Lee, was killed because of an on-set accidental shooting.  He also agrees with the call to ban real guns from movie sets.

From THR:  The Sheriff of Sante Fe County says that his office has recovered three guns and 500 rounds of ammunition from the set of the movie "Rust" where cinematographer Halyna Hutchins was killed.

From Deadline:  Regarding criminal charges in the death of Halyna Hutchins on the set of the film "Rust," District Attorney Mary Carmack-Altweis, "all options are on the table - no one has been ruled out."

From THR:  Does Hollywood Need Guns? Will new regulations lead to an overreactions to a tragedy.

From Deadline:   "Rust" producers have opened an internal investigation into the fatal shooting on the set of the Western film.  They have hired outside lawyers to conduct interviews with the film's production crew.

From Deadline:  "Rust's" AD (assistant director), Dave Halls, has come under scrutiny in the wake of the on-set shooting death of the film's cinematographer, Halyna Hutchins.

From Deadline:  The affidavit of Sante Fe Sheriff's Department Detective Joel Cano has been made public. It can be read at "Deadline."  The affidavit was for a search warrant from the property were the Western, "Rust," was being filmed.

From THR:  The production company behind "Rust" has shut the film down until the police investigation into the fatal, on-set shooting of cinematographer Halyna Hutchins is through.  The Sante Fe County Sheriff's Office has also revealed a timeline of the shooting.

From Deadline:  The Santa Fe Sheriff’s Department confirmed Thursday night that Alec Baldwin “discharged” a prop gun on the New Mexico set of the movie, "Rust."  As a result, one crew member, director of photography Halyna Hutchins, was killed and director Joel Souza was injured and remains in a local hospital - his condition unknown.

From THR:  "Rust" director, Joel Souza, who was wounded in the accidental on-set shooting, says that he is "gutted" by the death of his cinematographer on the film, Halyna Hutchins.

From Deadline:  The fatal shooting on the set of "Rust" may have been "recorded" according to detective for Santa Fe Sheriff's Department.

From Deadline:  The production company behind the film, "Rust," will launch an internal safety review after the fatal accident that killed Halyna Hutchins; possible prior gun incidents; and a camera crew walkout.

From CNN:   Crew member yelled "cold gun" as he handed Alec Baldwin prop weapon, court document shows.

From Variety:  Actor Alec Baldwin releases statement on the death of Halyna Hutchins: "There are no words to convey my shock and sadness."

From Variety:  The prop gun that killed “Rust” cinematographer Halyna Hutchins and wounded director Joel Souza on during an on-set accident on Thursday contained a “live single round,” according to an email sent by IATSE Local 44 to its membership.

Negromancer News Bits and Bites for July 13 to July 19, 2014 - Update #14

MOVIE NEWS:

From Variety:  Paramount Pictures has picked F. Javier Gutierrez to direct "The Ring 3."  No word on the return of Naomi Watts, the star of the The Ring and The Ring Part 2.

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From EW's InsideMovies:  An oral history of The Terminator, 30 years after its release.  Gwynne Watkins at Yahoo takes a look at that oral history.

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From THR:  What the critics are saying about Cameron Diaz and Jason Segel's Sex Tape.

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From CSMonitor:  Hit-Girl a/k/a Chloe Grace Moretz will provide the voice in the English-language version of the Japanese animated film, "The Tale of the Princess Kaguya."  Due in October of this year, the film is a production of Studio Ghibli and is directed by the studio's co-founder, Isao Takahata.

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From YahooFinance:  Rupert Mudoch wants HBO so badly that he's willing to buy TimeWarner to get it.  And it's also a bid to destroy Netflix.

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From Variety:  More on the Travis McGee movie with James Mangold directing and maybe with Christian Bale.

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From TheHollywoodReporter:  Once upon a time, maybe 20 years ago, I read on of late author, John D. MacDonald's Travis McGee novels.  I loved it.  So I am somewhat exited to hear that 20th Century Fox is looking to bring the character to the big screen.  I am not that crazy about Christian Bale as McGee, as the actor is in early talks to play the character.  James Mangold as director?  He could do something good with this.

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From TheHollywoodReporter:  ABC is extending its deal with Oscar-winning screenwriter, John Ridley (12 Years a Slave).

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From TheWrap:  Legendary will be at Comic-Con International 2014 to tease Guillermo del Toro's 2015 film, "Crimson Peak" about that "breathes, bleeds...and remembers."

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From TheWrap:  Did not know that the 1995 film, 12 Monkeys, is being adapted/re-imagined into a TV series for the Syfy channel.  I'm semi-interested.

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From CNBC:  Disney could rake in the cash for Guardians of the Galaxy.  I think that if this movie is a big hit, the people who were the decision makers at Sony, rumored to be interested in buying Marvel before Disney did, should be beaten by the stockholders.

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From eonline:  Yeah, she probably is a bitch and her mama, too!

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From WebProNews:  This leaked photo of a muzzled raptor from "Jurassic World" is making the rounds.

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From TheHollywoodReporter:  Dawn of the Planet of the Apes (20th Century Fox) wins the July 11-13, 2014 box office with an estimated domestic box office take of $73 million.  That is nearly $20 million better than 2011's Rise of the Planet of the Apes (which I loved).  I'm surprised because I wondered if larger number of people would want more Planet of the Apes this soon, if at all.

Meanwhile, North American box office was down from the same weekend in 2013, and is down as a whole from last year.

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From the BBC:  Lindsay Lohan promises to show up for work on time at the West End in London.

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COMIC BOOKS and COMIC BOOK MOVIE NEWS:

From EW's InsideMovies:  Wentworth Miller of "Prison Break" is the villain "Captain Cold" in The CW's Fall series, "The Flash."

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From EW Popwatch:  News on changes for the Avengers in Marvel Comics' "Avengers NOW" event.

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From EW Popwatch:  Marvel Comics is killing Wolverine, beginning this September.

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From Wall Street CheatSheet:  Six DC characters headed to the big screen.

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From Variety:  Deborah Ann Woll of "True Blood" will play Karen Page on Marvel/Netflix's "Daredevil" series.

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From TheBeat:  Heidi on the secret history of girls reading comics.

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From TheWrap:  New writers to polish "Ant-Man" screenplay.

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From TheHollywoodReporter:  I was watching "The View" this morning when Whoopi Goldberg broke the news that Marvel's Thor, a male character, will become a female character.  THR has more details.

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From ComicBookMovie:  Kate Mara, who will play Sue Storm a/k/a Invisible Woman, says that Josh Trank's Fantastic Four reboot will not be based on any existing Fantastic Four comic book story.

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From Hitfix:  Oh, and no "Hellboy 3."


TV NEWS:
Review of "The Strain" - TheHollywoodReporter (apparently the first few episodes).


OBITS:

From Variety:  Tony Award and Emmy Award-winning actress, Elaine Stritch, has died at the age of 89.


MISC:

From Yahoo:  The Hollywood Reporter magazine did a feature on the first former NFL star to come out as gay, David Kopay.  There are apparently plans to rerelease his best-selling memoir, The David Kopay Story (1977) .

From TheVillageVoice: an alternate history of rap and Hip-Hop.

Also from TheVillageVoice:  How Bob Marley became a "Legend."

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From TheHill:  President Obama stresses out the Secret Service

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From ThinkProgress via ReaderSupportedNews: How Deputy Erick Gelhaus got away with killing a child named Andy Lopez.  We knew this would happen, but Nick Flatow talks about how it happened.

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From TheHollywoodReporter:  Radiohead to begin work on 9th album in September.  Last album was "The King of Limbs" in 2011.

Review: "Confessions of a Teenage Drama Queen" Rules Only for Young'uns (Happy B'day, Lindsay Lohan)

TRASH IN MY EYE No. 128 (of 2004) by Leroy Douresseaux

Confessions of a Teenage Drama Queen (2004)
Running time: 89 minutes (1 hour, 29 minutes)
MPAA – PG for mild thematic elements and brief language
DIRECTOR: Sara Sugarman
WRITER: Gail Parent (based upon the book by Dyan Sheldon)
PRODUCERS: Jerry Leider and Robert Shapiro
CINEMATOGRAPHER: Stephen H. Burum (D.o.P.)
EDITOR: Anita Brandt Burgoyne
COMPOSER: Mark Mothersbaugh

COMEDY/FAMILY/MUSIC

Starring: Lindsay Lohan, Alison Pill, Adam Garcia, Glenne Headly, Eli Marienthal, Carol Kane, Megan Fox, Shelia McCarthy, Tom McCamus, Richard Fitzpatrick, and Sheila Sealy-Smith

The subject of this movie review is Confessions of a Teenage Drama Queen, a 2004 family comedy and teen musical from Walt Disney Pictures. The film is based on the 1999 young adult novel, Confessions of a Teenage Drama Queen, by Dyan Sheldon.

In the movie, Lohan plays a teenage girl who acts as if New York City revolves around her, but finds herself competing for attention after her family movies to the suburbs. Every time I see the movie poster for Confessions of a Teenage Drama Queen, I think, “Great poster, not great at all movie.”

Her name is Mary Steppes (Lindsay Lohan), but she wants to be called “Lola” instead of Mary. Lola is also an avowed New York teenager, but her social life is uprooted when her mother (Glenne Headly) moves the family to Dellwood, New Jersey. Determined to be popular at her new high school, she challenges the reigning Queen Bee, Carla (Megan Fox), for the lead role in a modern retelling of George Bernard Shaw’s Pygmalion.

However, the biggest trick she wants to pull is to get into the farewell concert and after party of her favorite band, Sidarthur. So she drags her conservative, take-no-chances friend, Ella (Alison Pill), along for the ride, but will it cost her Ella’s friendship and her plum role in the musical?

Confessions of a Teenage Drama Queen is a pleasant, but mediocre teen film that will likely find a place only in the hearts of preteen girls and young women just getting into their teenage years. Lindsay Lohan gives her usually spirited performance, and it takes everything she gives (while this is admittedly nowhere near her best) this show to make it tolerable. Luckily co-star Alison Pill’s character is mildly interesting, so the film only rests on Ms. Lohan young, but broad, star presence shoulders 98% of the time. Confessions of a Teenage Drama Queen should be good for the kids, but may likely bore everyone else.

4 of 10
C

Updated: Tuesday, July 02, 2013

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Review: "Mean Girls" Gave us Peak Lohan (Happy B'day, Lindsay Lohan)

TRASH IN MY EYE No. 62 (of 2004) by Leroy Douresseaux

Mean Girls (2004)
Running time: 97 minutes (1 hour, 37 minutes)
MPAA – PG-13 for sexual content, language and some teen partying
DIRECTOR: Mark S. Waters
WRITER: Tina Fey (from a book, Queen Bees and Wannabes, by Rosalind Wiseman)
PRODUCERS: Lorne Michaels and Tony Shimkin
CINEMATOGRAPHER: Daryn Okada
EDITOR: Wendy Greene Bricmont

COMEDY

Starring: Lindsay Lohan, Rachel McAdams, Tim Meadows, Lacy Chabert, Amanda Seyfried, Ana Gasteyer, Amy Poehler, Neil Flynn, Tina Fey, Jonathan Bennett, Lizzy Caplan, Daniel Franzese, Rajiv Surendra, and Daniel DeSanto

She’s been home-schooled since she was a small child growing up in Africa, but now Cady Heron (Lindsay Lohan) is living in a small town outside Chicago, Illinois. It’s time to attend North Shore High School for her junior year, and Cady is a cultural blank slate totally unaware of the social politics of high school students. Even her time in Africa has not prepared her for how wild and dangerous things can be in high school, and Cady learns this like a cold slap in the face when she meets the “Queen Bee,” the most popular girl in high school, Regina George, (Rachel McAdams).

Regina invites Cady to join her crew, The Plastics:” three girls who rule the top of the social ladder. Cady creates havoc in the group, however, when she literally falls head over heels for Regina’s ex-boyfriend, Aaron Samuels (Jonathan Bennett). When Regina sabotages the budding relationship by reuniting with Aaron, Cady joins two social outcasts in a quest for revenge. Cady enjoys both being in The Plastics and hanging with the outcasts, but her fence straddling has disastrous consequences.

Although Paramount may try to sell this film as some kind of teen comedy or high school version of Legally Blonde, Mean Girls is the smartest comedy about teenagers and high school cliques since Election. Directed by Mark S. Powers, it’s a dark comedy and blunt satire of status seeking and of how cruel, hypocritical, mean-spirited, vicious, and two-faced people can be to one another. It stings all the more because we actually have to watch people who aren’t legally adults doing with relish to each other what we’d like to believe only exists in the “adult world.”

The performances are utterly on the money; rarely has a young adult ensemble been this good. Lindsay Lohan isn’t yet showing the chops of a top actress, but she has the makings of a movie star; the screen loves her face, and she looks good on the big screen. Although this won’t happen, Rachel McAdams as Regina and Lacy Chabert as Gretchen Weiners give Oscar® caliber performances, especially McAdams who chews the scenery like a natural born screen diva. It’s the kind of over-the-top supporting performance that makes a film and steals the attention from the other stars.

The film drags during a few crucial moments in the story, and the adult characters are superfluous, like grown ups in the comic strip, Peanuts. Still, it’s quite entertaining, although like the aforementioned Election, it may appeal more to an older audience, in particular because the humor is hard-edged and not the silly fluff teens and most 20-somethings prefer in their teen comedies. It’s an odd film, filled with countless hilarious and uproarious moments, but the comedy skirts being sinister. In fact, you can feel that some of the filmmakers were trying to use the film to send a message.

Mean Girls is an interesting movie, and although it winds down to a Hollywood happy ending, that same ending is off-kilter. The film is not perfect, but seeing a major Hollywood film studio throw a curve ball to the audience is worth the price of admission.

7 of 10
B+

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Review: Robert Altman Signs off with Sweet "A Prairie Home Companion" (Happy B'day, Robert Altman)

TRASH IN MY EYE No. 157 (of 2006) by Leroy Douresseaux

A Prairie Home Companion (2006)
Running time: 105 minutes (1 hour, 45 minutes)
MPAA – PG-13 for some risqué humor
DIRECTOR: Robert Altman
WRITERS: Garrison Keillor, from a story by Ken LaZebnik and Garrison Keillor (based upon the radio program “A Prairie Home Companion” created by Garrison Keillor)
PRODUCERS: Robert Altman, Wren Arthur, Joshua Astrachan, Tony Judge, and David Levy
CINEMATOGRAPHER: Edward Lachman
EDITOR: Jacob Craycroft

COMEDY/DRAMA/MUSIC

Starring: Woody Harrelson, Tommy Lee Jones, Garrison Keillor, Kevin Kline, Lindsay Lohan, Virginia Madsen, John C. Reilly, Maya Rudolph, Meryl Streep, Lily Tomlin, Marylouise Burke, L.Q. Jones, Sue Scott, Tim Russell, and Jearlyn Steele.

Director Robert Altman’s new film, A Prairie Home Companion, is a fictionalized version of Garrison Keillor’s long running, public-radio variety show, also titled "A Prairie Home Companion." In this film, A Prairie Home Companion isn’t the fabled national phenomenon that it has been for decades (since its first broadcast on July 6, 1974), but is rather an obscure local program performed at a small local venue, the Fitzgerald Theatre (where the real Prairie Home Companion is performed), and broadcast onto a single Minnesota radio station, WLT. The film opens on what is to be the show’s final performance after the better part of four decades, as the Fitzgerald has been bought by a Texas conglomerate that is going to demolish the theatre to build a parking lot.

There is much backstage drama – the death of a long time Prairie Home performer; a mysterious woman (Virginia Madsen) who seems to bring death with her stalks the halls and stage; and the theatre security, Guy Noir (Kevin Kline), is rather self-absorbed. However, the focus is on the stage and the performers. There is the whimsical, sad sack maestro, GK (Garrison Keillor), who seems to be an undertaker as much as he is the master of ceremonies and host. His stars include the country-singing Johnson sisters, Yolanda (Meryl Streep) and Rhonda (Lily Tomlin), and the cowboy duo, the Old Trailhands, Dusty (Woody Harrelson) and Lefty (John C. Reilly), and more. Still, the Prairie Home performers and crew await the arrival of the Axeman (Tommy Lee Jones), who will signal the end of both the show and the showplace.

Although Altman works from Garrison Keillor’s script and this concept is Keillor’s, Altman makes the film his own by employing the techniques that have made him a filmmaking legend: the improvisational chatter and babble, the characters overlapping dialogue, and the wandering, zooming cameral – sometimes orbital, sometimes a stationary eye, but always capturing the story that Altman is weaving.

The performances, although good, are mostly small, but the actors make the most of their moments. Each character is quirky, and each actor gives that part an idiosyncratic turn that makes this entire film seem special. In fact, the cast is in perfect harmony, and one can watch the actors building up to this synchronization as the characters continually interact with one another. In the end, the make Prairie Home’s final moments as a variety show an example of simple, heartwarming, old-fashioned harmony. Clearly the actors believe in their baggy and shelf-worn characters. It’s a testament to their faith in Altman and perhaps to a lesser extent Keillor’s creation.

Ultimately, A Prairie Home Companion is an unusual film, simple and sometimes profound. It’s a fantasy about a kind of public performance that has nothing to do with big event corporate entertainment or prepackaged amusements put together by media conglomerates, which have all the soul one would expect from plastic. A Prairie Home Companion begs you to watch such stellar talent create an idealized version of something from another time – variety radio programs – and watch them do it with such conviction that you don’t want to leave your strange new friends. You’re worried that someone might hurt them and stop what they do – you care.

7 of 10
B+

Saturday, July 22, 2006

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Review: Wam! Bam! Thank You "Machete"

TRASH IN MY EYE No. 14 (of 2011) by Leroy Douresseaux

Machete (2010)
Running time: 105 minutes (1 hour, 45 minutes)
MPAA – R for strong bloody violence throughout, language, some sexual content and nudity
DIRECTORS: Ethan Maniquis and Robert Rodriguez
WRITERS: Robert Rodriguez and Álvaro Rodríguez
PRODUCERS: Elizabeth Avellan, Robert Rodriguez, and Rick Schwartz
CINEMATOGRAPHER: Jimmy Lindsey
EDITORS: Rebecca Rodriguez and Robert Rodriguez

ACTION

Starring: Danny Trejo, Robert De Niro, Jessica Alba, Steven Seagal, Michelle Rodriguez, Jeff Fahey, Cheech Marin, Don Johnson, Shea Whigham, Lindsay Lohan, Daryl Sabara, Gilbert Trejo, and Tom Savini

Robert Rodriguez’s recent hell-raising flick, Machete, first hit the screen as a fake trailer in the 2007 Rodriguez/Quentin Tarantino double feature, Grindhouse. Part tongue-in-cheek action comedy and part exploitation movie, Machete offers deranged fun that includes everything from dismemberment to a mini-race war.

The film focuses on Machete Cortez (Danny Trejo), a former Mexican Federale turned illegal immigrant. Three years after the powerful drug lord, Rogelio Torrez (Steven Seagal) killed his wife and daughter, Machete roams Texas looking for work. A shady businessman named Michael Booth (Jeff Fahey) offers Machete $150,000 to assassinate corrupt Texas State Senator John McLaughlin (Robert De Niro). After he is double-crossed, Machete joins forces with immigration agent Sartana Rivera (Jessica Alba) to take down McLaughlin and a far-ranging conspiracy that includes anti-immigration racists and Machete’s old nemesis, Torrez. Luckily, Machete and Rivera find help in the form of Machete’s brother, the gun-wielding priest, Padre (Cheech Marin), and the taco-truck lady, Luz (Michelle Rodriguez).

I enjoy Robert Rodriguez’s films so very much, and although he has a co-director, Ethan Maniquis, for this film, Machete is true to the spirit of mayhem inherent in movies produced by Troublemaker Studios, Rodriguez’s production company. Machete does seem a bit long, and the narrative is occasionally clunky, but the action sequences have a seamless quality that gives the violence maxim impact upon the viewer.

The cinematic art of beheading, dismemberment, gouging, puncturing, and bladed-weapon-thrusting have rarely looked so good (obviously thanks to computer effects enhancement). Those of us who like that sort of thing will howl with pleasure. The terrific gunfights and pitched gun battles are the giant, juicy, succulent cherry on top of this hack-and-slash fun.

As well-made as this film is from creative and technical points of view, the cast is what assures that Machete manages not to take itself seriously, but also still work as an over-the-top action movie. Of course, Robert De Niro is good; in fact, his spot-on creation of the opportunistic, chauvinistic Senator McLaughlin is gold for this movie. Steve Seagal, Jeff Fahey, and Don Johnson were all, at one point in their careers, B-movie action stars, and they deliver some of their best action flick work here, especially Johnson. The girls are all good here, but Lindsay Lohan effortlessly outshines Jessica Alba and Michelle Rodriguez in a much smaller role.

Machete ultimately relies on Danny Trejo. Seemingly hewn from granite (sans the pretty boy looks), Trejo is an action star with the soul of a thespian. As good as this movie is, there actually isn’t enough of him on screen. Trejo has palatable film presence, and he makes Machete not just a good action movie, but also a good movie, regardless of genre.

7 of 10
A-

Friday, February 11, 2011

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