Review: "INDIANA JONES and the Dial of Destiny" is a Wonderful Final Adventure

TRASH IN MY EYE No. 29 of 2023 (No. 1918) by Leroy Douresseaux

Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny (1989)

Running time:  154 minutes (2 hours, 34 minutes)

MPA – PG-13 for sequences of violence and action, language and smoking

DIRECTOR:  James Mangold

WRITERS:  Jez Butterworth & John-Henry Butterworth and David Koepp & James Mangold (based on characters created by George Lucas and Philip Kaufman)

PRODUCERS:  Kathleen Kennedy, Frank Marshall, and Simon Emanuel

CINEMATOGRAPHER:  Phedon Papamichael (D.o.P.)

EDITORS:  Andrew Buckland, Michael McCusker, and Dick Westervelt

COMPOSER:  John Williams

ADVENTURE/ACTION/FANTASY

Starring:  Harrison Ford, Phoebe Waller-Bridge, Mads Mikkelsen, Antonino Banderas, Shaunette Renée Wilson, Thomas Kretschmann, Toby Jones, Boyd Holbrook, Olivier Richters, Ethann Isidore, Nasser Memarzia, Karen Allen, and John Rhys-Davies, 

Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny is a 2023 action-adventure film directed by James Mangold.  It is the fifth entry in the “Indiana Jones” film franchise that began with the 1981 film, Raiders of the Lost Ark.  Dial of Destiny finds Indiana Jones racing to retrieve a legendary artifact from a Nazi who wants change the course of history.

Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny opens in 1944, deep inside Europe during the Allied liberation of World War II.  Dr. Henry “Indiana” Jones, Jr. (Harrison Ford) and his colleague and fellow archaeologist, Basil Shaw (Toby Jones), are both captured by Nazis while attempting to retrieve “the Lance of Longinus.”  This relic is also known as the “Spear of Destiny,” the lance that is alleged to have pierced the side of Jesus Christ.  Adolf Hitler believes it can save him and his dying Third Reich.

However, Nazi scientist Jürgen Voller (Mads Mikkelsen) believes that he has found part of the relic that can save the Nazis, the “Antikythera”or “Archimedes's Dial,” a device created by the ancient Greek mathematician, Archimedes,  Voller believes that if he can make the device whole it is capable of locating fissures in time.  As usual, Indiana Jones foils the Nazis.

A quarter-century later, in August 1969, Jones is retiring from his position as a professor and instructor at Hunter College.  He is approached by Helena “Wombat” Shaw (Phoebe Waller-Bridge), Jones' goddaughter and Basil Shaw's daughter.  She has come looking for the Dial, but she isn't the only one.  A Nazi ghost from Indiana Jones' past also wants to retrieve the Dial and to find its missing half.  Can Indiana Jones, now an old man, find the will for one more adventure to save the world from Nazi machinations?  Can he really trust his own goddaughter's motivations?

In preparation for Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny, I recently watched Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade in its entirety for the first time in over two decades.  I have seen the first film, Raiders of the Lost Ark, countless times, and I re-watched its follow-up, Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom (1984), in November of last year (2022).  I have watched the fourth film in the series, Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull (2008), many times since its release.

I am happy to report that Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny is the best Indiana Jones since Temple of Doom.  It is a bit long and drags in the middle, but when it is time to deliver the old-fashioned Indiana Jones thrills, this film brings it with renewed freshness.  The two street chases, one in New York and one in Tangier, Morocco, kept me on the edge of my seat.  Indiana Jones on a horse tearing through the streets and subways of NYC is every bit as good as it could be.

Dial of Destiny is also blessed by Phoebe Waller-Bridge as Helena Shaw.  The script presents a very well conceived and executed character, and Bridge turns her into a character that can match Indiana Jones step for step.  Hers is not the only high-quality supporting character, but this film could not work without Waller-Bridge playing Shaw the way she does.

The best Indiana Jones villains are the Nazis, and Mads Mikkelsen as Voller and Boyd Holbrook as Klaber, Voller's crazy and homicidal lackey, gives us Nazis worthy of not only being punched, but also of being killed.  It's good to see that the Indiana Jones franchise makes Nazis plainly and clearly evil.  There isn't any “good people on both sides here” double talk in this movie.

No, Steven Spielberg and George Lucas do not return for Dial of Destiny, being listed in the credits as “executive producers.”  James Mangold has replaced Spielberg as director, and he does a much better job with this film than I expected.  Lucas has co-written the story for the previous films doesn't for this one, but the spirit of adventure and mystery he first imagined decades ago is strong in Dial of Destiny.

I understand that some viewers may be put off by the age of Dial of Destiny's star and title character.  I like that Dial of Destiny does not hesitate to grapple with Indiana Jones' age and about the grief and regret that have become a big part of his life.  It is nice to see returning supporting characters, Sallah (John Rhys-Davies) and Marion Ravenwood (Karen Allen), although it is a bit off-putting not seeing them so much older.  Still, Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny, with its themes of time and tide, of change, of new eras, of aging, of a hero in the sunset of his life, offers a perfect good-bye to a beloved hero.  It says that there is still a story to tell, but the story we followed for so long … well, that's over.

7 of 10

A-

★★★½ out of 4 stars

Friday, June 30, 2023

The text is copyright © 2023 Leroy Douresseaux. All Rights Reserved. Contact this site or blog for reprint and syndication rights and fees.

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Review: Mads Mikkelsen is the Best Reason for "ANOTHER ROUND"

TRASH IN MY EYE No. 35 of 2021 (No. 1773) by Leroy Douresseaux

Another Round (2020)
Original title: Druk (Denmark)
Running time:  117 minutes(1 hour, 57 minutes)
MPAA - not rated
DIRECTOR:  Thomas Vinterberg
WRITERS: Thomas Vinterberg and Tobias Lindholm
PRODUCERS:  Kasper Dissing and Sisse Graum Jørgensen
CINEMATOGRAPHER:  Sturla Brandth Grøvlen
EDITORS:  Janus Billeskov Jansen and Anne Østerud
Academy Award winner

DRAMA with elements of comedy

Starring:  Mads Mikkelsen, Thomas Bo Larsen, Magnus Millang, Lars Ranthe, Maria Bonnevie, Magnus Sjørup, Silas Cornelius Van, and Susse Wold

Druk is a 2020 Danish drama film from director Thomas Vinterberg.  Druk is also known by its English title, Another Round, the title to which it will be referred in this review.  Although the film is an international co-production between Denmark, the Netherlands, and Sweden, Another Round won the “Best International Feature Film” Oscar at the recent 2021 / 93rd Academy Awards as a representative of Denmark.  Another Round focuses on four high school teachers who binge drink alcoholic beverages to see how it affects their lives and work.

Another Round opens in Denmark and introduces Martin (Mads Mikkelson), a middle-age high school teacher.  He is married to Anika (Maria Bonnevie), and they have two teenage sons, Jonas (Magnus Sjørup) and Kasper (Silas Cornelius Van).  Martin is a close friend of three of his colleagues:  Nikolaj (Magnus Millang), Peter (Lars Ranthe), and Tommy (Thomas Bo Larsen) at a gymnasium school in Copenhagen.  All four men struggle with unmotivated students, and each feels that his life has become boring and stale, especially Martin, who is the instructor for senior history.  In fact, his students and their parents are so concerned that he is not preparing them for their graduation exams that they meet with him.  Martin is also depressed because of troubles to his marriage to Anika.

At a dinner celebrating Nikolaj's 40th birthday, the four men begin to discuss Norwegian psychiatrist Finn Skårderud (a real-life person).  The “Skårderud hypothesis” says that man is born with a deficit of 0.05% blood alcohol content (BAC).  A 0.05 BAC makes a person more creative and relaxed.  Thus, Nikolaj suggests that the four of them engage in an experiment to test the Skårderud hypothesis.  The experiment will involve the four of them consuming alcohol on a daily basis in order to make sure that their BAC should never be below 0.05.  The initial results are good, especially for Martin, but will flirting with alcoholism always yield good results?

If Danish actor Mads Mikkelson is not an international movie star, he should be.  He career includes appearances in several Danish Oscar-nominated foreign language films, besides Another Round, and those are After the Wedding (2006), A Royal Affair (2012), and The Hunt (2013).  He has also made appearances in some Hollywood big-budget event movies, including the James Bond movie, Casino Royale (2006); the remake, Clash of the Titans (2010); and Marvel Studios' Doctor Strange (2016), to name a few.

Mikkelson's Martin defines the themes of Another Round that deal with the midlife crisis, marital strife, family discord, and professional dissatisfaction.  His costars give good performances, but Mikkelson is the star here.  His nuanced and layered performance as a man in full midlife depression is radiant, and the story seems to lack quite a bit of energy whenever he is not on screen.

As films about midlife crises go, Another Round is enjoyable, and it is quaint compared to the lurid American Beauty (1999), a “Best Picture” Oscar winner that is as pretentious as it is salacious.  Truthfully, neither film really excites me, as I could give a crap about middle crises.  I can't see myself recommending Another Round except to Americans who enjoy “international films.”  Still, Another Round has Mikkelsen, and if it must be remembered, it should be remembered as an entry in his exceptional filmography.

7 of 10
B+

Tuesday, May 18, 2021


NOTES:
2021 Academy Awards, USA:  1 win: “Best International Feature Film” (Denmark) and 1 nomination: “Best Achievement in Directing” (Thomas Vinterberg)

2021 Golden Globes, USA:  1 nomination:  1 nomination: “Best Motion Picture - Foreign Language”

2021 BAFTA Awards:  1 win: “Best Film Not in the English Language” (Thomas Vinterberg, Sisse Graum Jørgensen, and Kasper Dissing); 3 nominations: “Best Leading Actor” (Mads Mikkelsen); “Best Screenplay-Original” (Tobias Lindholm and Thomas Vinterberg), and “Best Director” (Thomas Vinterberg)

The text is copyright © 2021 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 November 8th to 14th, 2020 - Update #25

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

Support Leroy on Patreon:

ENTERTAINMENT AND CULTURE NEWS:

CELEBRITY - From Deadline:  A suspect has been arrested in the Oct. 2nd sucker punch attack on beloved actor, Rick Moranis.

MOVIES - From THR:   Paramounts pictures has removed the Michael B. Jordan starrer, "Without Remorse," off its 2021 release schedule.  It may sell the film to Amazon Studios.  Director Dean DeBlois' film, "Micronauts," based on the Hasbro toys, has also been moved from 2021.

DISNEY - From THR:  Director John M. Chu("Crazy Rich Asians") is in negotiations to direct a live-action version of Disney's 2002 animated hit, "Lilo & Stitch."

KAMALA HARRIS - From BET:   Meet Kamala Harris' husband, stepchildren, parents, and more.

STREAMING - From THR:   The "Friends" reunion special, which will stream on HBO Max, is scheduled to be film in March 2021, according to one of the series' original stars, Matthew Perry.

AWARDS - From Variety:  The nominations for the 2020 / 30th annual "IFP Gotham Awards" have been announced.  The late Chadwick Boseman received a "Best Actor" nomination for his role in "Ma Rainey's Black Bottom."  The winners will be announced Monday, Jan. 11th, 2021.

CELEBRITY - From YahooEntertainment:   George W. Bush's daughter, Jenna Bush Hager, shares a sweet photos of the time she showed Barack Obama's daughters, Sasha and Malia, around the White House, and it has gone viral.

MOVIES - From THR:  Oprah Winfrey, Brad Pitt, and MGM are uniting for an adaptation of Ta'Nehisi Coates' hit novel, "The Water Dancer."

MOVIES - From THR:  Universal Pictures and Dwayne Johnson are planning to reboot their 2002 film, "The Scorpion King," which when on to spawn a straight-to-DVD movie franchise.

MOVIES - From THR:   Johnny Depp may have been fired from "Fantastic Beasts," but he will get his full salary due to pay-or-play contract.

From THR:  Danish actor Mads Mikkelson is in early talks to replace Johnny Depp in the third installment of the "Fantastic Beasts" franchise.

CELEBRITY - From HuffPost:   Jason Momoa Says He And Lisa Bonet Were ‘Starving’ After He Died On "Game of Thrones."

STREAMING - From Deadline:  Jamie Foxx to star in and produce "The Burial" for Amazon Studios.

TELEVISION - From Deadline:   The network has introduced an edict that 50% of its casts for its unscripted shows must be Black, Indigenous or People of Color (BIPOC) and it has committed that at least 25% of its annual unscripted development budget must go towards creators and producers that are BIPOC.

PRESIDENT - From NBCNews:  Democratic candidate Joe Biden defeats President Trump to win White House

From LATimes:  Kamala Harris makes history many times over as vice president-elect

From YahooNews: Read: President-elect Joe Biden's full victory speech

From YahooNews:  Read Kamala Harris' full speech after historic election win

From CNN:  The Moment When Networks Called The Presidential Race For Joe Biden

From Deadline:   Hollywood reacts to Joe Biden's victor over President Donald.

From YahooEntertainment:   Celebrities react to Joe Biden's victor over President Donald.

From YahooSports:  The NBA's Golden State Warriors celebrate Oakland native and Warriors' fan, Vice-President-Elect Kamala Harris.

From CNN:   Vice-President-Elect Kamala Harris' husband, Douglas Emhoff, will be the first male spouse of a vice-president.  He will also be the first Jewish spouse of a president or vice-president.

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BOX OFFICE - From Deadline:   The winner of the 11/6 to 11/8/2020 weekend box office is "Let Him Go" with an estimated take of 4.1 million dollars.

TELEVISION - From YahooEntertainment:  Dave Chappelle addresses Trump, racism and the coronavirus in a powerful "SNL" monologue

MOVIES-SCANDAL - From CTVMontreal:   Dying for movies: Suicide highlights labour issues in Canada's visual effects sector.

OBITS:

From NFL:   American football player, Paul Hornung, has died at the age of 84, Friday, November 13, 2020.  Hornung was a legendary University of Notre Dame football player, where he was the 1956 Heisman Trophy winner.  In the NFL, he played for the Green Bay Packers from 1957 to 1966, where he won four NFL Championships, including being a member of the Packers team that won "The First AFL-NFL World Championship Game" (now known as "Super Bowl I).  Hornung was inducted into the "College Football Hall of Fame" in 1985 and the "Pro Football Hall of Fame" in 1896.

From Deadline:   Canadian-American television game show host, Alex Trebek, has died at the age of 80, Sunday, November 8, 2020 after his years-long battle with pancreatic cancer.  Trebek was best known for his tenure on the 1984 revival of the game show, "Jeopardy!"  Trebek hosted the show from 1984 to 2020 and won seven Daytime Emmy Awards for his work on the show out of the 31 times he was nominated during his career.  In 2011, Trebek received the Daytime Emmy "Lifetime Achievement Award."

COVID-19:

From CDC:   The Centers for Disease Control has a "COVID Data Tracker."

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 JuanCole:  Remember when President Donald went crazy and suggested that we ingest household cleaning supplies and UV light to fight COVID-19.  Here is the video and commentary from Juan Cole.

From TheIntercept:  The federal government has ramped up security and police-related spending in response to the COVID-19/coronavirus pandemic, including issuing contracts for riot gear, disclosures show. The purchase orders include requests for disposable cuffs, gas masks, ballistic helmets, and riot gloves...

From TheAtlantic:  The Coronavirus Was an Emergency Until Trump Found Out Who Was Dying. The pandemic has exposed the bitter terms of our racial contract, which deems certain lives of greater value than others.

From ProPublica:  Hospital's Secret COVID-19 Policy Separated Native American Mothers From Their Newborns

From TheGuardian:  More than 20 million Americans could have contracted COVID-19, experts say.

From RSN/WashPost:  The COVID-19 mutation that has taken over the world.

7/13 - From YahooSports:  Maybe a pandemic means that there will not be college football this fall.

7/13- From YahooNews:  The CDC adds four new symptoms (including nausea and purple or blue lesions on feet and toes) to the list of COVID-19 symptoms.

7/19 - From YahooFinance:  Harvard Public Health professor Dr. Howard Koh says the U.S. "needs to regroup" to find COVID-19.

7/22 - From YahooNews:  A public health employee predicted Florida's coronavirus catastrophe — then she was fired.

7/22 - From YahooLifestyle:  Florida mom loses son, 20, to coronavirus, and then days later, her daughter.

7/23 - From TheWrap:  The site has a list of movie and TV stars, entertainment and sports figures who have tested positive for COVID-19

From Bloomberg:  Will the COVID-19 pandemic turn Millennials into socialists?

7/27 - From CNN:   Chief of critical care at Baltimore's Mercy Medical Center, Dr. Joseph Costa, passes away due to Covid-19 complications... after treating the hospital's sickest COVID-19 patients.  He was 56 and leaves behind family, including a husband of 28 years.

7/31 - From Slate:  COVID-19 is airborne - for reals!

8/9 - From YahooAFP:  According to the real-time tally kept by John Hopkins University, the United States has hit 5 million cases of COVID-19.

8/16 - From Truthout: COVID Deaths Continue to Surge in Countries Led by Far Right Authoritarians

9/19 - From WashPost:  U.S. coronavirus death toll reaches 200,000

9/23 - From CNBC:  Mark Cuban, who owns the NBA's Dallas Mavericks and star of ABC's "Shark Tank," suggests that every household in American get a $1000 check every two weeks for the next two months.

9/28 - From Deadline:  John Hopkins University's coronavirus tracker reports that over 1 million people have died of COVID-19 worldwide.

10/2 - From YahooNews:  President Donald and the First Lady have tested positive for COVID-19.

10/26 -  From YahooFinance:  Walmart CEO detects a new wave a panic buying as consumers stock up for another surge in coronavirus cases.

11/5 - From CNN:  The US set a grim new Covid-19 record Thursday -- following a week marked by high case numbers -- surpassing 120,000 infections in a single day. 

11/7 - From YahooNews:  "It's a slaughter," doctors say of new coronavirus wave.

11/13 - YahooNews:  "We blew it": U.S. reaches 'explosive' COVID-19 spread as virus is nearly impossible to control, experts say

BLACK LIVES MATTER:

From RSN:   Judge's Blistering Opinion Says Courts Have Placed Police Beyond Accountability

From TheGuardian:  Yusef Salaam, one of the "Central Park Five," says in an interview, "Trump would have had me hanging from a tree in Central Park."

From NPR:  Prosecutors' plea deal required drug suspect to name Breonna Taylor a "co-defendant."

From ChicagoSunTimes:  Rev. Jesse Jackson: America has millions of people in poverty because Americans choose not to demand the policies that would lift them out of poverty.

From APNews:  No one will be held accountable for the killing of Louisville African-American resident, Breonna Taylor.

From Channel4:  Revealed: Trump campaign strategy to deter millions of Black Americans from voting in 2016

From GuardianUK:  California is going to consider paying reparations to the descendants of African slaves after adopting a landmark law to study and to develop proposals around the issue.

From TheRoot:   What to Do When Your Country Turns Into a Dumpster Fire

From Vox:  It's True: 1 in 1,000 Black Americans Have Died in the Covid-19 Pandemic

From CBS:  Breonna Taylor's boyfriend certain cops didn't identify themselves

From DonaldTrump:  Well, because it has been in the news a lot lately (via Ice Cube and Li'l Wayne), here is "The Platinum Plan."  It is impressive, but no Republican Congress would go along with even 10 percent of this plan which is basically a long list of promises to the Black Americans - individually and as a group.

Still Talking "Rogue One" at Negromancer - Update #25

Posted by Leroy Doureseaux - on Patreon.

From CinemaBlend:  Tony Gilroy, who directed the extensive reshoots on "Rogue One" is blunt about what he did.

From ScreenRant:  A Rogue One sequel comic book... kinda.

From Patreon:  The ghosts of "Rogue One" are at play in Marvel's "Star Wars #38."

From Patreon:  A review of "Rogue One: Star Wars - Cassian & K-2SO Special #1" comic book.

From GoldDerby:  "Rogue One" wins "Best Science Fiction Film" and "Best Film Director" (for Gareth Edwards) at 2017 Saturn Awards.

From DiamondPreviews:  The third issue of Marvel Comics' comic book adaptation has been released.

From Deadline:  Mad Mikkelson talks about several things in this interview, including his role in "Rogue One."

From io9:  Marvel Comics has announced a "Rogue One" prequel comic books, "Rogue One: Cassian and K-2SO," which recounts the first meeting of the two characters.

From io9:  There are two new "Rogue One" prequel novels that expand Star Wars canon: "Rebel Rising" by Beth Revis and "Guardian of the Whills" by Greg Rucka.

From Movieweb:  "Rogue One" first saw life as a pitch for a live-action TV series.

From Newsarama:  Marvel Comics will publish a six-issue comic book adaptation of "Rogue One" beginning with the first issue in April.

From TheHDRoom:  Lucasfilm and Disney make it official - Blu-Ray 3D, Blu-Ray, DVD, and Digital dates confirmed.

From ScreenRant:  "Rogue One" Blu-ray release date, April 4, 2017.

From YahooNews:  Lucasfilm releases a video revealing how "Rogue One's" effects came together.

From CBR:  An upcoming novel, "Inferno Squad," will act as a sequel to "Rogue One."

From YahooNews:  "Rogue One" leads Britain's "Empire Awards" with 9 nominations.

From SlashFilm:  Where was Rogue Antilles?

From TheHollywoodReporter:  "Rogue One received 2 Oscar nominations for the 89th Academy Awards.

From TheWrap:  "Rogue One" has crossed the $1 billion mark in worldwide box office.

From YahooNews:  "Rogue One" is now the highest grossing film at the domestic box office for the year 2016.

From YahooMovies:   Defending themselves against criticism, Lucasfilm says that Peter Cushing's estate approved the digital recreation of Cushing's character Grand Moff Tarkin and that Carrie Fisher liked the digital Princess Leia.

From YahooMovies:  Darth Vader's appearance in "Rogue One" almost did not happen, but was tweaked.

From Deadline:  "Rogue One" reachers $914 million in global box office.  It nets $31 million in its debut in China.

From Variety:  "Rogue One" is among the nominees for the 2017 Art Directors Guild Awards.

From NYDailyNews:  Here is a book review of the novelization of "Rogue One," written by Alexander Freed, who has previously written a Star Wars novel.

From IGN:  "Rogue One" novel adds new scenes to story.

From Deadline:  "Rogue One" at $775 million in worldwide box office.

From Deadline:  "Rogue One" is now the second highest grossing film at the domestic box office of 2016, behind "Finding Dory."

From Variety:  Perhaps, a third straight weekend at #1 for "Rogue One."

From Variety:  As of Tuesday, December 27, 2016, the worldwide box office for "Rogue One" is at $615 million.

From Patreon:  My review of "Rogue One."

From Deadline:  "Rogue One" soars past $200 million.

From TheVerge:  "Rogue One" had a different ending.

From ABC7:  Gareth Edwards hopes for lasting cultural impact of "Rogue One."

From Polygon:  Don't be afraid to talk about "Rogue One" and politics.

From Variety:  "Rogue One" has $155 million opening weekend.

From CBR:  Rebellions are built on hope.  Why "Rogue One" matters now.

From YahooMovies:  The inspiration for the "Star Wars" logo.

From Variety:  $71 million in box office (North America) for "Rogue One" on Friday, Dec. 16th.

From Variety:  "Rogue One" debuts with a massive $29 million Thursday night preview, the largest box office for a Thursday preview this year.

From YouTube:  Third and final (supposedly) official "Rogue One" trailer.

From YahooMovies:  Spoilers in third Rogue One trailer.

From Gamespot:  International "Rogue One" trailer with new Darth Vader footage.

From YouTube:  New official trailer - released for the Olympics.

From YouTube:  "Rogue One: A Star Wars Story" - Celebration Reel.

From ThePlaylist:   New "Rogue One" poster.

From ScreenRant:  "Rogue One" gets an official synopsis.

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Review: "Rogue One: A Star Wars Story" is a Wonderful Story

TRASH IN MY EYE No. 7 (of 2017) by Leroy Douresseaux

Rogue One: A Star Wars Story (2016)
Running time:  134 minutes (2 hours, 14 minutes)
MPAA – PG-13 for extended sequences of sci-fi violence and action
DIRECTOR:  Gareth Edwards
WRITERS:  Chris Weitz and Tony Gilroy; based on a story John Knoll and Gary Whitta (based on characters created by George Lucas)
PRODUCERS:  Kathleen Kennedy, Samuel Emanuel, and Allison Shearmur
CINEMATOGRAPHER:  Greig Fraser (D.o.P.)
EDITORS:  John Gilroy, Colin Goudie, and Jabez Olssen
COMPOSER:  Michael Giacchino
Academy Award nominee

SCI-FI/FANTASY/ACTION/ADVENTURE/DRAMA

Starring:  Felicty Jones, Diego Luna, Alan Tudyk (voice), Donnie Yen, Wen Jiang, Ben Mendelsohn, Forest Whitaker, Riz Ahmed, Mads Mikkelsen, Jimmy Smits, Genevieve O'Reilly, Alistair Petrie, Sharon Duncan-Brewster, and James Earl Jones

Rogue One: A Star Wars Story is a 2016 science fiction-fantasy and action film directed by Gareth Edwards.  It is the seventh film based on the characters, ideas, and situations first introduced in the 1977 film, Star Wars, written and directed by George Lucas.  In fact, Rogue One is set immediately before the events depicted in Star Wars and tells the story of a small band of rebels who embark on a mission to steal the plans for the Empire's planet-killing Death Star.

Rogue One is set a long time ago in a galaxy far, far away.  It opens upon a scene in which a young girl watches her father taken away by Imperial Director Orson Krennic (Ben Mendelsohn), an officer of the evil Galactic Empire.  A decade and a half later, that young girl is now the career criminal, Jyn Erso (Felicity Jones).  Cassian Andor (Diego Luna), an officer of the Rebel Alliance, the group that seeks to end the tyranny of the Empire, leads a group of rebels that frees Jyn from her current incarceration.

The Rebels need Jyn to help them find her father, Galen Erso (Mad Mikkelsen), a research scientist and engineer who is working on the Empire's rumored, planet-killing weapon, the Death Star.  They also need Jyn to act as an intermediary between them and an old friend of hers, the “extremist” and “terrorist,” Saw Gerrera (Forest Whitaker), who rescued Jyn after the Empire took her parents.  Gerrera apparently has possession of Bodhi Rook (Riz Ahmed), a defecting Imperial pilot, who has a holographic message from Galen Erso.  However, Jyn and Cassian are about to discover just how determined the Empire is to protect the secrets of the Death Star

Dear reader, I tried not to be too detailed about the plot of Rogue One, although I have summarized the first half-hour or so in great detail above.  I just saw the film night before last, and at this point, I think that it is the best Star Wars film since the original trilogy (Star Wars, The Empire Strikes Back, and Return of the Jedi).  The first seven films are connected as part of a decades-running narrative, while this eighth movie, Rogue One, is a standalone film.  Still, it connects to the original trilogy better and more immediately than the “prequel films” (The Phantom Menace, Attack of the Clones, and Revenge of the Sith) or the recent sequel film, Star Wars: The Force Awakens.

I guess that I am saying that Rogue One is the best Star Wars film in over 30 years.  It is also the most convincing “war movie” of all the Star Wars films.  It is the most realistic looking because many of outside locations look like real places, probably because they were shot on-location.  I can safely say that this is the best-looking Star Wars film.  The blend of real, computer-generated, and special effects is seamless, with only a few exceptions.  It is almost perfect.  I only found the first hour or so to be a little clunky, but I understand the need to introduce so many characters, plot lines, and settings as early as possible in a film.

Also important:  Rogue One is a Star Wars film for our times – for now.  It features a multi-ethnic cast of engaging, likable characters, and the lead is a female character who is every bit as capable and as brave and bold as the best male characters.  Jyn Erso is a heroine in which we can believe, and even Krennic, the bad guy, is someone audiences can like or even love.

My mind bought into the idea that Rogue One takes place just before the original Star Wars.  Anyone who has ever seen at least one sequel to the Star Wars of 1977 owes it to themselves to see, Rogue One: A Star Wars Story.

8 of 10
A

Sunday, December 18, 2016
Edited:  Sunday, April 2, 2017

NOTES:
2017 Academy Awards, USA:  2 nominations:  “Best Achievement in Sound Mixing” (David Parker, Christopher Scarabosio, and Stuart Wilson) and “Best Achievement in Visual Effects” (John Knoll, Mohen Leo, Hal T. Hickel, and Neil Corbould)

2017 BAFTA Awards:  2 nominations:  “Best Make Up/Hair” (Amanda Knight, Neal Scanlan, and Lisa Tomblin) and “Best Achievement in Special Visual Effects” (Neil Corbould, Hal T. Hickel, Mohen Leo, John Knoll, and Nigel Sumner)


The text is copyright © 2017 Leroy Douresseaux. All Rights Reserved. Contact this site for reprint and syndication rights and fees.

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Review: "Doctor Strange" Shows Potential for Future Strange Movies

TRASH IN MY EYE No. 3 (of 2017) by Leroy Douresseaux

[This review was originally posted on Patreon.]

Doctor Strange (2016)
Running time:  115 minutes (1 hour, 55 minutes)
MPAA – PG-13 for sci-fi violence and action throughout, and an intense crash sequence
DIRECTOR:  Scott Derrickson
WRITERS:  Jon Spaihts, Scott Derrickson, and C. Robert Cargill (based on the comic books created by Steve Ditko and Stan Lee)
PRODUCER:  Kevin Feige
CINEMATOGRAPHER:  Ben David (D.o.P.)
EDITORS:  Sabrina Plisco and Wyatt Smith
COMPOSER:  Michael Giacchino
Academy Award nominee

SUPERHERO/FANTASY/ACTION

Starring:  Benedict Cumberbatch, Chiwetel Ejiofor, Rachel McAdams, Benedict Wong, Mads Mikkelsen, Tilda Swinton, Michael Stuhlbarg, Benjamin Bratt, Scott Adkins, and Stan Lee

Doctor Strange is a 2016 superhero and fantasy film directed by Scott Derrickson and produced by Marvel Studios.  The film focuses on the Marvel Comics character, Doctor Strange, who first appeared in Strange Tales #10 (cover dated: July 1963) and who was created by Steve Ditko and Stan Lee.  Doctor Strange the movie focuses on a former neurosurgeon whose journey of healing takes him into the fantastic world of the magic and mysticism.

Doctor Strange introduces Dr. Stephen Strange (Benedict Cumberbatch), an acclaimed neurosurgeon and scientist and also an arrogant and conceited  person.  After being in a terrible car accident, Strange discovers that his hands are damaged and rendered useless in performing the delicate surgical procedures for which he is celebrated.  He obsessively searches for a surgery that will make his hands like they were before, but when he cannot, he turns bitter, even rejecting his co-worker and former lover, Dr. Christine Palmer (Rachel McAdams).

Strange learns of a place called “Kamar-Taj” in Kathmandu, Nepal, where he can be cured.  What he discovers is The Ancient One (Tilda Swinton) and sorcerers like Karl Mordo (Chiwetel Ejiofor).  They introduce him to other dimensions, to the astral plane, and to the mystic arts, but there is a darker side to this that Strange will be forced to confront.

The cast of Doctor Strange includes three actors with at least one Academy Award nomination and also one winner (Tilda Swinton).  Oscar-nominated Chiwetel Ejiofor appeared in the Oscar-winning “Best Picture,” 12 Years a Slave, and Oscar-nominated Rachel McAdams appeared in this previous year's “Best Picture” Oscar-winnner, Spotlight.  Mads Mikkelsen (who plays this film's villain, Kaecilius) has appeared in at least two films that were nominated for foreign-language film Academy Awards.

Doctor Strange needs that acting pedigree because its screenplay is soft and a little weak.  Cumberbatch and company go beyond merely making the best of the screenplay.  They create character drama, conflict, and tension where it is weak or where there is none in the story.  But we know what people are wondering about... the superhero action.

The filmmakers could have taken the material from Marvel Comics Doctor Strange comic books and made something crazy, and they did not play it safe and did indeed make something crazy.  Doctor Strange takes the visual effects of Christopher Nolan's 2010 film, Inception, with its shifting buildings and hallways and turns it into something far more nutty.

Every inch of floor, wall, street, bridge, building, structure – everything, y'all, is flipped, shifted, twisted, melted, divided, and sometimes broken.  The world of Doctor Strange is like Rubik's cube undergoing an earthquake; Salvador Dali on purple drank, and ice cream cone turned into ice cream dots.  Well, you have to see it for yourself, and you should see Doctor Strange.

Doctor Strange is Marvel's weirdest movie; it is the outsider making not only its own corner in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, but also its own shifting realities.  Director Scott Derrickson is known for making low-budget horror films like Insidious.  He proves that he can play in the bigger sandbox that is Marvel Studios and Walt Disney Pictures.  Doctor Strange is not perfect, but it tries to be as “out there” as a Marvel movie can be and still be part of a universe that includes the Avengers, Iron Man, and Captain America movies.  There is so much going on in Doctor Strange that I need to see it again.

7 of 10
B+

Sunday, November 6, 2016

NOTES:
2017 Academy Awards, USA:  1 nominations: “Best Achievement in Visual Effects” (Stephane Ceretti, Richard Bluff, Vincent Cirelli, and Paul Corbould)

2017 BAFTA Awards:  3 nominations: “Best Production Design” (John Bush and Charles Wood), “Best Make Up/Hair” (Jeremy Woodhead), and “Best Achievement in Special Visual Effects” (Richard Bluff, Stephane Ceretti, Paul Corbould, and Jonathan Fawkner)


The text is copyright © 2017 Leroy Douresseaux. All Rights Reserved. Contact this site for reprint and syndication rights and fees.

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Negromancer News Bits and Bites from June 19th to 25th, 2016 - Update #46

Support Leroy on Patreon.

TELEVISION - From Variety:  "Gilmore Girls'" Rory Gilmore meets First Lady Michelle Obama in this video clip.

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OBIT - From Deadline:  The author and screenwriter, Michael Herr, has died at the age of 76, Thursday, June 23rd, 2016.  Herr was the author of the heralded Vietnam War memoir, "Dispatches."  Herr also contributed to two seminal Vietnam War movies, "Apocalypse Now," and "Full Metal Jacket," for which he shared an adapted screenplay Oscar nomination with Stanley Kubrick and Gustav Hasford.

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COMICS - From CinemaBlend:  Director David Ayers warns fans - Suicide Squad is like nothing they've seen.

From YahooNews:  Viola Davis says she almost pepper-sprayed fellow "Suicide Squad" actor, Jared Leto (Joker).

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LGBT - From YahooCelebrity:  Celebs remember their first experience at a gay bar.

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POLITICS - From YahooFinance:  Because the United Kingdom is leaving the the European Union, as a result of the "Brexit" vote, J.K. Rowling says "Goodbye, U.K."

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TELEVISION - From Deadline:  Starz releases a first-look image from "American Gods."

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MOVIES - From YahooMovies:  Hear "Ghostbusters (I'm not Afraid)," the theme for the new "Ghostbusters" film.  The track is by Fall Out Boy featuring Missy Elliot.  The song uses some of Ray Parker Jr.'s theme for the 1984 film.

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COMICS - From BleedingCool:  Bokeem Woodbine joins "Spider-Man: Homecoming," apparently to play a villain.

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OBITS - From Variety:  Conductor and composer, Harry Rabinowitz, has died at the age of 100.  He is known for conducting the music for "Best Picture" Oscar-winner, "Chariots of Fire," among his many credits.

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MUSIC - From YahooMusic:  Led Zeppelin wins the "Stairway to Heaven" copyright infringement lawsuit.

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SPORTS/MOVIE - From YahooNews:  Ben Affleck goes on anti-NFL deflate-gate rant.

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LAW - From YahooNews:  Affirmative Action had a major victory in college admissions in regards to a case brought against the University of Texas.  It must be a bitter loss for neo-segregationist Edward Blum and his skank surrogate, Abigail Fisher.

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STAR WARS - From TheWrap:  Who Forest Whitaker plays in "Rogue One: A Star Wars Story"  Plus, a photo gallery.

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MOVIES - From TheVox:  Jesse Eisenberg talks about being a successful Jewish American.

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COMICS - From YahooMusic:  Hannibal Buress joins "Spider-Man: Homecoming."

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MOVIES - From ThePlaylist:  John Boyega to star in Kathryn Bigelow's movie about the 1967 Detroit riots.  The movie also re-teams Bigelow with screenwriter Mark Boal and financier Megan Ellison.

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MOVIES - From Variety:  Kate Winslet in final negotiations to appear in Woody Allen's next film, which begins shooting in the fall.

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COMICS - From CBR:  Abraham Attah, who played the child soldier, "Abu" in "Beasts of No Nation," will appear in "Spider-Man: Homecoming."

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MOVIES - From YahooMovies:  Will Smith most regrets 1999's "Wild Wild West" (which I kinda like), but what hurt the most was the box office failure of 2013's "After Earth" (which I really like), because his son Jaden was involved.

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COMICS - From TheWrap:  Lots of information is leaking out about the "Justice League" movie.

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MUSIC/LEGAL - From YahooMusic:  Led Zeppelin wants a halt to the "Stairway to Heaven" copyright infringement trial.

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COMICS - From IGN:  In the Doctor Strange" film, Mads Mikkelsen will play...

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MOVIES - From BleedingCool:  Noomi Rapace to appear in "Alien: Covenant," a follow-up to the film, "Prometheus."

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TELEVISION - From Indiewire:  J.J. Abrams and Tavis Smiley come together for an event TV series about Michael Jackson.  Bad Robot is developing the project on a Smiley book.

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ANIMATION - From TheWrap:  Sony Pictures Animation announces animated TV series based on "Ghostbusters" and "Hotel Transylvania."

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MOVIES - From ThePlaylist:  Eli Roth to make his big studio debut by directing a remake of "Death Wish" with Bruce Willis.

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PIXAR - From WashPost:  Sigourney Weaver and Ed O'Neill steal the show in "Finding Dory."

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COMICS - From Gamespot:  The new poster for the "Suicide Squad" is eye-popping.

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SPORTS - From YahooSports:  Cleveland Cavaliers are the 2015-16 NBA Champions.  LeBron James wins the NBA Playoffs MVP.

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BOX OFFICE - BoxOfficeMojo:  The winner of the 6/17 to 6/19/2016 weekend box office is Pixar's "Finding Dory" with an estimated take of $136.1 million.  This is the largest opening weekend ever for an animated feature film.

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STAR TREK - The Death of Anton Yelchin:

OBIT - From YahooMovies:  The actor Anton Yelchin died early Sunday, June 19, 2016.  He was 27-years-old and was best known for his role as Pavel Chekhov in the "Star Trek" reboot film series that began in 2009.  Yelchin's death was apparently an accident and involved his car.

From IMDb:  Remembering Anton Yelchin.

From Variety:  Yelchin's life and career in photos.

From Variety:  Anton Yelchin leaves behind several unreleased films (including "Star Trek Beyond") and a high-profile animated series.

From Variety:  J.J. Abrams, who directed the 2009 "Star Trek" reboot and its 2013 sequel "Star Trek Into Darkness" mourns Yelchin.

From YahooMovies:  Hollywood mourns Yelchin.

From YahooMovies:  Anton Yelchin's most memorable roles.

From YahooMovies:  The original Pavel Chekhov of "Star Trek," Walter Koenig, mourns the death of Anton Yelchin, who played Chekhov in the "Star Trek" reboot film franchise.

From IndieWire:  Anton Yelchin's death made be tied to recently vehicle recall.

From YahooCelebrity:  Anton Yelchin apparently died about a minute after his accident.

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SPORTS - From YahooSports:  Dustin Johnson wins golf's U.S. Open, his first victory in one of professional golf's four "Major" tournaments.

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MOVIES - From ThePlaylist:  Warner Bros. moves the release date of Ben Affleck's upcoming directorial effort, "Live By Night," presumably for Oscar consideration.

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TELEVISION - From TheWrap:  Everything that has led up to "Game of Throne's" "Battle of the Bastards."

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POLITICS - From TIME:  Kareem Abdul-Jabbar - Trump and ISIS depend on irrationality.

TRAILERS:

From YouTube:  New trailer for "Jack Reacher: Never Go Back," starring Tom Cruise and releasing October 21, 2016.

From YouTube:  This is the second official trailer for Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children - from Tim Burton.

From YahooMovies:  Here is a new clip that gives the first straight-on look at the title character from Steven Spielberg's "The BFG."

2016 Cannes Film Festival Winners Announced; Ken Loach Wins Second Palme d'Or

The 69th annual Cannes Film Festival was held in Cannes, France from May 11 to May 22, 2016.  The closing ceremony and the 2016 awards ceremony were held on Sunday, May 22, 2016.

I’ve included a list of winners from the “In Competition” categories; this is the main competition in which films compete for the festival’s top prize, the “Palme d’Or” (Golden Palm).  I’ve included the winners from other Cannes award competitions, including “Un Certain Regard” and the “Golden Camera.”

The “Grand Prix” is the second most prestigious prize given at Cannes, after the Palme d’Or.  The competition known as “Un Certain Regard” is a part of Cannes that runs parallel to the competition for the Palme d’Or.

Judges for the 2016 Main Competition – “In Competiton”:
George Miller, Australian film director (President)
Arnaud Desplechin, French film director
Kirsten Dunst, American actress
Valeria Golino, Italian actress and film director
Mads Mikkelsen, Danish actor
László Nemes, Hungarian film director
Vanessa Paradis, French actress and singer
Katayoon Shahabi, Iranian film producer
Donald Sutherland, Canadian actor

2016/69th Cannes Film Festival winners:

COMPETITION – Feature Films

Palme d’Or: “I, Daniel Blake” (Ken Loach, U.K.)

Grand Prix: “It’s Only the End of the World” (Xavier Dolan, Canada-France)

Director: TIE
Olivier Assayas, “Personal Shopper” (France)
Cristian Mungiu, “Graduation” (Romania)

Actor: Shahab Hosseini, “The Salesman” (Iran)

Actress: Jaclyn Jose, “Ma ‘Rosa” (Philippines)

Jury Prize: Andrea Arnold, “American Honey” (U.K.-U.S.)

Screenplay: Asghar Farhadi, “The Salesman” (Iran)

OTHER PRIZES

Palme d’Honneur: Jean-Pierre Léaud

Camera d’Or: “Divines” (Houda Benyamina, France-Qatar)

Short Films Palme d’Or: “Timecode” (Juanjo Jimenez, Spain)

Special Mention – Short Films Palme d’Or: “The Girl Who Danced With the Devil” (Joao Paulo Miranda Maria, Brazil)

Ecumenical Jury Prize: “It’s Only the End of the World” (Xavier Dolan, Canada-France)

UN CERTAIN REGARD

Un Certain Regard Prize: “The Happiest Day in the Life of Olli Mäki” (Juho Kuosmanen, Finland)

Jury prize: “Harmonium” (Koji Fukada, Japan)

Director: Matt Ross, “Captain Fantastic” (United States)

Screenplay: Delphine and Muriel Coulin, “The Stopover” (France)

Special Jury Prize: Michael Dudok de Wit, “The Red Turtle” (France-Japan)

DIRECTORS’ FORTNIGHT

Art Cinema Award: “Wolf and Sheep” (Shahrbanoo Sadat)

Society of Dramatic Authors and Composers Prize: “The Together Project” (Solveig Anspach)

Europa Cinemas Label: “Mercernary” (Sacha Wolff)

CRITICS’ WEEK

Grand Prize: “Mimosas” (Oliver Saxe)

Visionary Prize: “Album” (Mehmet Can Mertoğlu)

Society of Dramatic Authors and Composers Prize: “Diamond Island” (Day Chou)

FIPRESCI

Competition: “Toni Erdmann” (Maren Ade, Germany-Austria)

Un Certain Regard: “Dogs” (Bogdan Mirică, Romania-France)

Critics’ Week: “Raw” (Julia Ducournau, France-Belgium)

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Negromancer News Bits and Bites from December 27th to 31st, 2015 - Update #17

Support Leroy on Patreon.

NEWS:

From VillageVoice:  Here is a piece on the late Bill Gunn, whose vampire film, "Ganja and Hess," was the subject of a Spike Lee remake, "Da Sweet Blood of Jesus."

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From YahooNews:  Leo DiCaprio said no to George Lucas when offered the role of Anakin Skywalker.

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From TheWrap:  "Making a Murder" docuseries has spawned a WhiteHouse.org petition.

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From YahooSports:  Kobe wishes he could tell his younger self to "understand compassion."

From YahooSports:  Michael Jordan records tribute to Kobe Bryant.

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From YahooNews:  No charges in the Tamir Rice killing.  Of course not... No justice, no peace.

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From TheWrap:  The "Halloween" franchise is looking for a new home after Dimension lets its rights to the property expire.

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From TheWrap:  Katherine Waterston is the female lead in Ridley Scott's "Alien: Covenant," the follow-up to "Prometheus."  Covenant is apparently the start of a new Alien trilogy and will connect Prometheus to original Alien (1979) film.

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From TheWrap:  Chris Nolan's next film is "Dunkirk," a World War II film.

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From TruthVoice:  Quentin Tarantino says that he utterly rejects that idea that only some cops are bad apples.

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From BoxOfficeMojo:  The winner of the Christmas weekend box office (12/25 to 12/27/2015) is "Star Wars: The Force Awakens" with an estimated take of $153.5 million.  That is the largest second weekend at the box office in history.  Meanwhile the film has crossed the $1 billion mark in worldwide ticket sales in just 12 days.

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From Deadline:  "Star Wars: The Force Awakens" has repeated as weekend box office champion, according to early estimates.

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From BleedingCool:  Quentin Tarantino and Paul Thomas Anderson praise 70mm in this interview.

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From CinemaBlend:  Before Andrew Lincoln became Rick Grimes on "The Walking Dead," Thomas Jane was the choice.


COMICS - Films and Books:

From BleedingCool:  Mads Mikkelsen is the main villain in Dr. Strange, apparently.

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Variety:  First look at Benedict Cumberbatch as Doctor Stange.


REVIEWS:

From the VillageVoice:  A review of Charlie Kaufman and Duke Johnson's "Anomalisa."


OBITS:

From TheWrap:  Lemmy Kilmister, the front man for the rock band, Motorhead, died at the age of 70 on Monday, December 28, 2015.  Once upon a time, I was a Motorhead fan.

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From TheWrap:  Meadowlark Lemon, the legendary member of the Harlem Globetrotters, died Sunday, December 27, 2015 at the age of 83.  Known as "the Clown Prince of Basketball," Lemon joined the team in 1954 and left in 1978 after a contract dispute.  Negromancer sends condolences to Lemon's family.  R.I.P.

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From IndieWire:  Haskell Wexler, the legendary cinematographer, died this morning, Sunday, December 27, 2015.  He was 93.  Wexler won two Oscar for his work ("Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf" and "Bound for Glory").  Negromancer sends condolences to his family.  R.I.P.

Star Wars "Rogue One" Begins Principal Photography

Rogue One—The Daring Mission Has Begun: Cast and Crew Announced

Lucasfilm announced that their first film in the new standalone Star Wars stories series, Rogue One, has begun principal photography. Gareth Edwards (Godzilla, Monsters) is directing Rogue One, which tells the story of resistance fighters who have united to steal plans to the dreaded Death Star. The film is produced by Kathleen Kennedy and is slated for a December 16, 2016 release.

The filmmakers have assembled a stellar cast, including Felicity Jones, nominated for an Academy Award for her leading role in The Theory of Everything; Diego Luna, who was featured in 2008’s Oscar-winning Milk and 2013’s Elysium; Ben Mendelsohn, recently nominated for an Emmy for his leading role in Bloodline and co-starring in the upcoming Mississippi Grind; Donnie Yen, Hong Kong action star and martial artist who starred in Ip Man and Blade II; Jiang Wen, who co-wrote, produced , directed and starred in the award-winning Let the Bullets Fly and Devils on the Doorstep; Forest Whitaker, recently featured in the critically-acclaimed Lee Daniels’ The Butler and winner of an Academy Award for his leading role in 2006’s The Last King of Scotland; Mads Mikkelsen, who starred in The Hunt and was the memorable villain from 2006’s Casino Royale; Alan Tudyk, who plays a performance-capture character in Rogue One, stars in the soon-to-be-released Con Man series and Trumbo, which releases this November; and Riz Ahmed, who was recently featured in Nightcrawler and starred in the BAFTA-winning film Four Lions.

“Rogue One takes place before the events of Star Wars: A New Hope and will be a departure from the saga films but have elements that are familiar to the Star Wars universe,” says Kathleen Kennedy. “It goes into new territory, exploring the galactic struggle from a ground-war perspective while maintaining that essential Star Wars feel that fans have come to know. Gareth is such an innovative director and I’m so excited to be working with him and the extraordinary ensemble cast he’s selected for ‘Rogue One.’”

Veteran ILM visual effects supervisor John Knoll, who shares a long history with the Star Wars movies, dating back to the mid-1990s, originated the idea for the movie. Allison Shearmur (The Hunger Games: Catching Fire, Cinderella), John Knoll, Simon Emanuel (The Dark Knight Rises, Fast & Furious 6) and Jason McGatlin (Tintin, War of the Worlds) are executive producers. Kiri Hart and John Swartz (Star Wars: The Force Awakens) are co-producers.

To create the lived-in, realistic feel of Rogue One, Edwards chose Greig Fraser (Zero Dark Thirty, Foxcatcher) to be his director of photography and Neil Corbould (Black Hawk Down, Gladiator, Saving Private Ryan) to be his special effects supervisor. Star Wars and Lucasfilm veteran Doug Chiang (Star Wars: Episodes I-II, Forrest Gump) and Neil Lamont (supervising art director for the Harry Potter series, Edge of Tomorrow) will be the production designers. Additional crew members will include stunt coordinator Rob Inch (World War Z, Marvel’s Captain America: The First Avenger), creature effects supervisor Neal Scanlan (Prometheus) and co-costume designers Dave Crossman (costume supervisor for the Harry Potter series, Saving Private Ryan) and Glyn Dillon (costume concept artist for Kingsman: The Secret Service, Jupiter Ascending).

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2014 Cesar Award Nominations - Complete List

by Leroy Douresseaux

First given out in 1975, the César Award is the national film award of France.  Some even think of the César Award as the French equivalent of the American Academy Awards (Oscars). The nominations are selected by the members of the Académie des Arts et Techniques du Cinéma, and the award ceremony is held in Paris each February.  The name of the award comes from the late sculptor César Baldaccini, and the trophies are actual sculptures of the artist.

The nominations for the 39th Cesar Awards were announced Friday, January 31, 2014.

The 39th Cesar Awards will be presented on Friday, February 28, 2014 in Paris, just two days before the Oscars at the Dolby Theater in Los Angeles.  Cesar-winning actor, Francois Cluzet (The Intouchables), will host the ceremony at the Chatelet Theater, with fellow Cesar-winner, Cecile de France (Hereafter), serving as mistress of ceremonies.

An honorary Cesar is traditionally handed out to a foreign actor for their body of work. Kevin Costner received the prize in 2013.  This year’s honoree is Scarlett Johansson.

The 2014 / 39th Cesar Award nominees (for the year in 2013) – complete list:

Best Film:
9 Month Stretch
Me, Myself and Mum
Stranger by the Lake
Jimmy P.
The Past
Venus in Fur
Blue Is the Warmest Color

Best Director
Albert Dupontel for 9 Month Stretch
Guillaume Gallienne for Me, Myself and Mum
Alain Guiraudie for Stranger by the Lake
Arnaud Desplechin for Jimmy P.
Asghar Farhadi for The Past
Roman Polanski for Venus in Fur
Abdellatif Kechiche for Blue Is the Warmest Color

Best Foreign Film
The Broken Circle Breakdown, director Felix van Groeningen
Blancanieves, director Pablo Berger
Blue Jasmine, director Woody Allen
Dead Man Talking, director Patrick Ridremont
Django Unchained, director Quentin Tarantino
La Grande Bellezza, director Paolo Sorrentino
Gravity, director Alfonso Cuaron

Best Actress:
Fanny Ardant for Les Beaux Jours
Berenice Bejo for The Past
Catherine Deneuve for Elle S'En Va
Sara Forestier for Suzanne
Sandrine Kiberlain for 9 Month Stretch
Emmanuelle Seigner for Venus in Fur
Lea Seydoux for Blue Is the Warmest Color

Best Actor:
Mathieu Amalric for Venus in Fur
Michel Bouquet for Renoir
Albert Dupontel for 9 Month Stretch
Gergory Gadebois for Mon Ame Par Toi Guerie
Guillaume Gallienne for Me, Myself and Mum
Fabrice Luchini for Alceste a Bicyclette
Mads Mikkelsen for Michael Kohlhaas

Best Supporting Actress:
Marisa Borini for A Castle in Italy
Francoise Fabian for Me, Myself and Mum
Julie Gayet for Quai d'Orsay
Adele Haenel for Suzanne
Geraldine Pailhas for Young & Beautiful

Best Supporting Actor:
Neils Arestrup for Quai d'Orsay
Patrick Chesnais for Les Beaux Jours
Patrick d'Assumcao for Stranger by the Lake
Olivier Gourmet for Grand Central
Francois Damiens for Suzanne

Most Promising Actress (Newcomer):
Lou de Laage for Jappeloup
Pauline Etienne for La Religieuse
Adele Exarchopoulos for Blue Is the Warmest Color
Goshifteh Farahni for Syngue Sabour - Pierre de Patience
Marine Vacth for Young & Beautiful

Most Promising Actor (Newcomer):
Paul Bartel for Les Petits Princes
Pierre Deladonchamps for Stranger by the Lake
Paul Hamy for Suzanne
Vincent Macaigne for La Fille du 14 Juillet
Nemo Schiffman for Elle S'En Va

Best Original Screenplay:
Albert Dupontel for 9 Month Stretch
Philippe Le Guay for Alceste a Bicyclette
Alain Guiraudie for Stranger by the Lake
Asghar Farhadi for The Past
Katelle Quillevere and Mariette Desert for Suzanne

Best Adapted Screenplay:
Guillaume Gallienne for Me, Myself and Mum
Arnaud Desplechin for Jimmy P.
Antonin Baudry, Christophe Blain and Bertrand Tavernier for Quai d'Orsay
David Ives and Roman Polanski for Venus in Fur
Abdellatif Kechiche and Ghalya Lacroix for Blue Is the Warmest Color

Best Original Music:
Jorge Arriagada for Alceste a Bicyclette
Loik Dury and Christophe "Disco" Minck for Chinese Puzzle
Etienne Charry for L'Ecume des Jours
Martin Wheeler for Michael Kohlhaas
Alexandre Desplat for Venus in Fur

Best Sound:
Marc-Antoine Beldent, Loic Prian and Olivier Do Huu for Me, Myself and Mum
Philippe Grivel and Nathalie Vidal for Stranger by the Lake
Jean-Pierre Duret, Jean Mallet and Melissa Petitjean for Michael Kohlhaas
Lucien Balibar, Nadine Muse and Cyril Holtz for Venus in Fur
Jerome Chenevoy, Fabien Pochet and Jean-Paul Hurier for Blue Is the Warmest Color

Best Cinematography:
Thomas Hardmeier for The Young and Prodigious T.S. Spivet
Claire Mathon for Stranger by the Lake
Jeanne Lapoirie for Michael Kohlhaas
Mark Ping Bing Lee for Renoir
Sofian el Fani for Blue Is the Warmest Color

Best Editing:
Christophe Pinel for9 Month Stretch
Valerie Deseine for Me, Myself and Mum
Jean-Christophe Hym for Stranger by the Lake
Juliette Welfling for The Past
Camille Toubkis, Albertine Lastera and Jean-Marie Langelle for Blue Is the Warmest Color

Best Costume:
Florence Fontaine for L'Ecume des Jours
Madeline Fontaine for The Young and Prodigious T.S. Spivet
Olivier Beriot for Me, Myself and Mum
Anina Diener for Michael Kohlhaas
Pascaline Chavanne for Renoir

Best Production Design (Décor):
Stephane Rozenbaum for L'Ecume des Jours
Aline Bonetto for The Young and Prodigious T.S. Spivet
Sylive Olive for Me, Myself and Mum
Yan Arlaud for Michael Kohlhaas
Benoit Barouh for Renoir

Best Documentary:
Comment J'ai Deteste les Maths, director Olivier Peyon
Le Dernier des Injustes, director Claude Lanzmann
Il Etait une Foret, director Luc Jacquet
La Maison de la Raido, director Nicolas Philibert
Sur le Chemin de l'Ecole, director Pascal Plisson

Best First Film:
La Bataille de Solferino, director Justine Triet
La Cage Doree, director Ruben Alves
En Solitaire, director Christophe Offenstein
La Fille du 14 Julliet, director Antonin Peretjatko
Me, Myself and Mum, director Guillaume Gallienne

Best Short Film:
Avant Que de Tout Perdre, director Xavier Legrand
Bambi, director Sebastien Lifshitz
La Fugue, director Jean-Bernard Marlin
Les Lezards, director Vincent Mariette
Marseille la Nuit, director Marie Monge

Best Animated Feature Film:
Ayay de Yopougon, directors Marguerite Aboute and Clement Oubrerie
Loulou l'Incroyable Secret, director Eric Omond
My Mommy is in America and She Met Buffalo Bill, directors Marc Boreal and Thibaut Chatel

Best Animated Short Film:
Lettres de Femmes, director Augusto Zanovello
Mademoiselle Kiki et les Montparnos, director Amelie Harrault

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Michael Haneke Wins Palme d'Or for "Amour" at 2012 Cannes

The 65th annual Cannes Film Festival was held from May 16 to May 27, 2012. Below is a list of winners of “In Competition,” which means the films competing for the festival’s top prize, the Palme d'Or.

“Un Certain Regard” is the part of Cannes that runs parallel to the competition for the Palme d’Or. The “Grand Prix” is the second most prestigious prize given at Cannes, after the Palme d’Or.

With his win for Amour, Michael Haneke became the second director to win the Palme d’Or for consecutive films. Haneke previously won the Palme d’Or for his last film, The White Ribbon, in 2009. Bille August was the first to achieve this feat. No director has won the Palme d’Or more than twice.

2012/65th Cannes Film Festival winners:

FEATURE FILMS

Palme d’Or
AMOUR (Love) by Michael Haneke

Grand Prix
REALITY by Matteo Garrone

Award for Best Director
Carlos Reygadas for POST TENEBRAS LUX

Jury Prize
THE ANGELS’ SHARE by Ken Loach

Award for Best Actor
Mads Mikkelsen in JAGTEN (The Hunt) by Thomas VINTERBERG

Award for Best Actress
Cristina Flutur & Cosmina Stratan in DUPÃ DEALURI (Beyond The Hills) by Cristian MUNGIU

Award for Best Screenplay
Cristian Mungiu for pour DUPÃ DEALURI (Beyond The Hills)

Palme d’Or (Short Film)
SESSIZ-BE DENG (Silent) by L. Rezan Yesilbas

Camera d’Or (for a directorial debut)
BEASTS OF THE SOUTHERN WILD by Benh Zeitlin presented in Un Certain Regard Selection

PRIZE OF UN CERTAIN REGARD
DESPUÉS DE LUCIA by Michel Franco

SPECIAL JURY PRIZE
LE GRAND SOIR by Benoît Delépine and Gustave Kervern

UN CERTAIN REGARD AWARD FOR BEST ACTRESS
Suzanne Clément for her performance in LAURENCE ANYWAYS directed by Xavier Dolan

UN CERTAIN REGARD AWARD FOR BEST ACTRESS
Emilie Dequenne for her performance in À PERDRE LA RAISON directed by Joachim Lafosse

SPECIAL DISTINCTION OF THE JURY
DJECA by Aida Begic (Children of Sarajevo)

Review: 2011 Version of "The Three Musketeers" is Silly, But Enjoyable Sci-Fi

TRASH IN MY EYE No. 26 (of 2012) by Leroy Douresseaux

The Three Musketeers (2011)
Running time: 110 minutes (1 hour, 50 minutes)
MPAA – PG-13 for sequences of adventure action violence
DIRECTOR: Paul W.S. Anderson
WRITER: Alex Litvak and Andrew Davies (based upon the novel by Alexandre Dumas père)
PRODUCERS: Paul W.S. Anderson, Jeremy Bolt, and Robert Kulzer
CINEMATOGRAPHER: Glen MacPherson
EDITOR: Alexander Berner
COMPOSER: Paul Haslinger

HISTORICAL/ACTION with elements of adventure, comedy and drama

Starring: Matthew Macfadyen, Milla Jovovich, Orlando Bloom, Christoph Waltz, Logan Lerman, Luke Evans, Ray Stevenson, Mads Mikkelson, Freddie Fox, Juno Temple, Gabriella Wilde, Carsten Norgaard, and James Corden

The subject of this review is The Three Musketeers, a 3D action/adventure film from director Paul W.S. Anderson, perhaps best known for his work on the Resident Evil film franchise. Like all the other Musketeer films, this 2011 version is based upon Alexandre Dumas père’s 1844 novel, The Three Musketeers, but this new movie re-imagines and reworks the story by adding in science fiction and fantasy elements.

The 2011 film is much like the 1993 Walt Disney version (with Charlie Sheen and Kiefer Sutherland). Both are rollicking action films that are light and fluffy fare, although neither film is well-acted. Like the 1993 movie, the 2011 movie is fast, loose, and fun.

The Three Musketeers 2011 opens in Venice, Italy at the beginning of the 17th Century. The Three Musketeers: Athos (Matthew Macfadyen), Porthos (Ray Stevenson), and Aramis (Luke Evans), and Athos’ longtime lover, Milady de Winter (Milla Jovovich), go treasure hunting. However, the Duke of Buckingham (Orlando Bloom) arrives to spoil the fun. One year later, the disgraced Musketeers are in a funk when they meet the spunky young d’Artagnan (Logan Lerman) who arrives in Paris with dreams of becoming one of the Musketeers, the King of France’s personal guards.

Soon, d’Artagnan is part of the Musketeers rivalry with Count Richelieu (Christoph Waltz), the chief advisor to King Louis XIII of France (Freddie Fox). In fact, Richelieu has hatched a plot against Queen Anne (Juno Temple), part of a larger plot against France. Queen Anne’s lady-in-waiting, Constance Bonacieux (Gabriella Wilde), implores d’Artagnan to help the young Queen, and soon the Three Musketeers plus one are fighting over land, over sea, and in the sky to save France.

The script for this version of The Three Musketeers has some good ideas, but Paul W.S. Anderson’s direction often fails the film. Quite a bit of the movie has an awkward feel, and some elements, from the actors to the technical aspects, move like big, clumsy animals. Anderson clearly wants to make a film that is sly, clever, and sarcastic, but sometimes it comes across as ill at ease and flat.

The acting is also awkward, as if the performers are either having trouble speaking the dialogue or are trying to be intentionally too clever or too glib. That also sometimes falls flat. However, there is a swashbuckling fun that is inherent in the Musketeers films that lifts any Musketeers film above its faults. So I am not bewildered that I enjoyed The Three Musketeers 2011, and that I even wish for a sequel, which is not likely to happen.

5 of 10
B-

Friday, March 30, 2012

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