Showing posts with label Michael Fassbender. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Michael Fassbender. Show all posts

Thursday, May 13, 2021

Review: "Dark Phoenix" is a Failed X-Men Resurrection

TRASH IN MY EYE No. 33 of 2021 (No. 1771) by Leroy Douresseaux

[This review was originally posted on Patreon.]

Dark Phoenix (2019)
Running time:  114 minutes (1 hour, 54 minutes)
MPAA – PG-13 for intense sequences of sci-fi violence and action including some gun play, disturbing images, and brief strong language
DIRECTOR:  Simon Kinberg
WRITERS:  Simon Kinberg (based on Marvel Comics characters)
PRODUCERS:  Hutch Parker, Simon Kinberg, Lauren Shuler Donner, and Todd Hallowell
CINEMATOGRAPHER:  Mauro Fiore
EDITORS:  Lee Smith
COMPOSER:  Hans Zimmer

SUPERHERO/SCI-FI/ACTION/DRAMA

Starring:  James McAvoy, Sophie Turner, Michael Fassbender, Jennifer Lawrence, Nicholas Hoult, Evan Peters, Tye Sheridan, Kodi Smit-McPhee, Alexandra Shipp, Summer Fontana, Scott Shepherd, Ato Essandoh, and Jessica Chastain

Dark Phoenix is a 2019 superhero movie from writer-director Simon Kinberg.  It is 20th Century Fox’s twelfth film based on Marvel Comics’ X-Men comic book franchise.  This movie is also a sequel to X-Men: Apocalypse (2016).  In Dark Phoenix (also known as X-Men: Dark Phoenix), one of the X-Men begins to develop incredible powers that will force the rest of the X-Men to decide if this one mutant's life is worth more than all of humanity.

Dark Phoenix opens in 1975 and introduces eight-year-old Jean Grey (Summer Fontana) and depicts the automobile accident that changes her life and brings Charles Xavier/Professor X (James McAvoy) into her life.  Then, the story moves to 1992 and to Xavier's School for Gifted Youngsters.  There, Xavier has turned the X-Men into what some describe as a team of superheroes that steps in to protect and help mankind when no one else can.

The latest emergency involves a distress signal from a recently launched space shuttle, which has been critically damaged by a solar flare-like energy.  Xavier sends his strike team, “the X-Men”:  Hank McCoy/Beast (Nicholas Hoult), Raven/Mystique (Jennifer Lawrence), Peter Maximoff/Quicksilver (Evan Peters), Jean Grey (Sophie Turner), Scott Summers/Cyclops (Tye Sheridan), Kurt Wagner/Nightcrawler (Kodi Smit-McPhee), and Ororo Munroe/Storm (Alexandra Shipp) to rescue the astronauts aboard the space shuttle.  Raven goes along on the mission, but she is furious that Xavier puts his students in danger for the rest of humanity, which she still regards with suspicion.

The X-Men arrive in their jet, the Blackbird, to find the situation rapidly deteriorating and the strange energy mass approaching the shuttle.  While saving the astronauts, Jean is struck by the energy and absorbs it into her body.  This apparently helps her to miraculously survive the blast of the shuttle explosion.  The X-Men and Xavier's other students start calling Jean “Phoenix” because of her miraculously survival.

However, the result of absorbing that energy causes Jean's psychic powers to be greatly amplified.  In turn, that causes her emotional state to begin to deteriorate, leading to tragedy.  Soon, the X-Men are hunting Jean Grey, and so are the X-Men's adversary/rival, Erik Lensherr/Magneto (Michael Fassbender), and also the U.S. militaryVuk, the leader of a shape-shifting alien race known as the D'Bari, is also searching for Jean, specifically for the power Jean harbors inside her.  Can Xavier and the X-Men save Phoenix, or will their act of salvation doom humanity?

Both film adaptations of the classic X-Men comic book story arc, “The Dark Phoenix Saga,” 2006's X-Men: The Last Stand and 2019's Dark Phoenix, fail to approach the riveting melodrama and enthralling soap opera that readers found and continue to find in Marvel Comics's The X-Men #129-138 (publication cover dates:  January to October 1980).  The writers of both films alter the core original story – to the movies' detriment.

Writer-director Simon Kinberg apparently directed some of 2014's X-Men: Days of Future Past and much or most of 2016's X-Men: Apocalypse, although Bryan Singer is credited as the director of both films.  I consider both films to be disappointments, one more than the other.  True to form, Simon Kinberg delivers in Dark Phoenix a film that is mostly a dud.

The storytelling feels contrived, and the screenwriting offers laughable concepts, especially the entire D'Bari alien subplot; that's just some stupid shit.  Dark Phoenix is one of two final films in 20th Century Fox's X-Men film franchise (the other being the long-delayed The New Mutants, which was finally released in 2020).  I say that Dark Phoenix is deeply disappointing, but honestly, I did not expect much of it, from the moment I first heard that it was going into production.  In fact, this film is a devolution from the franchise's peak, which was released 16 years prior to Dark Phoenix, the fantastic X2: X-Men United (2003).

Even the acting is bad.  Playing Vuk the alien is the lowest low point of Jessica Chastain's career, which includes two Academy Award nominations.  James McAvoy as Xavier, Sophie Turner as Jean Grey, and Michael Fassbender as Erik are overwrought, and when they are trying to have serious conversations, they deliver hackneyed and derivative dialogue and unoriginal speeches.  Maybe their bad acting is a result of uninspired script writing.  However, I did find that Tye Sheridan as Scott, Kodi Smit-McPhee as Kurt, and Alexandra Shipp as Ororo made the most of their scenes, especially Sheridan.  If his Scott Summers/Cyclops were the center of Dark Phoenix, the film would be much better.  Because of him, I am giving this film a higher grade than I planned to do.

Dark Phoenix just doesn't work, and it rarely connected with me.  I don't think that it will connect with audiences the way some of the best and most popular X-Men films did.  Oh, well – let's hope that Marvel Studios does better with its planned X-Men films...

4 of 10
C

Thursday, March 25, 2020


The text is copyright © 2021 Leroy Douresseaux. All Rights Reserved. Contact this blog or site for reprint or syndication rights and fees.

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

Amazon wants me to inform you that the link below is a PAID AD, but I technically only get paid (eventually) if you click on the ad below AND buy something(s).


Saturday, August 5, 2017

Review: "X-Men: Apocalypse" is Garbage

TRASH IN MY EYE No. 13 (of 2017) by Leroy Douresseaux

[This review was originally posted on Patreon.]

X-Men: Apocalypse (2016)
Running time:  144 minutes (2 hours, 24 minutes)
MPAA – PG-13 for sequences of violence, action and destruction, brief strong language and some suggestive images
DIRECTOR:  Bryan Singer
WRITERS:  Simon Kinberg; from a story by Simon Kinberg, Bryan Singer, Michael Dougherty, and Dan Harris
PRODUCERS:  Hutch Parker, Simon Kinberg, Lauren Shuler Donner, and Bryan Singer
CINEMATOGRAPHER:  Newton Thomas Sigel
EDITORS:  Michael Louis Hill and John Ottman
COMPOSER:  John Ottman

SUPERHERO/SCI-FI/ACTION/DRAMA

Starring:  James McAvoy, Michael Fassbender, Jennifer Lawrence, Nicholas Hoult, Oscar Isaac, Rose Byrne, Evan Peters, Sophie Turner, Tye Sheridan, Lucas Till, Kodi Smit-McPhee, Ben Hardy, Alexandra Shipp, Lana Condor, Olivia Munn, Josh Helman, and Stan Lee with Hugh Jackman

X-Men: Apocalypse is a 2016 superhero movie from director Bryan Singer.  It is 20th Century Fox’s eighth film based on Marvel Comics’ X-Men comic book franchise.  This new movie is a sequel to X-Men: Days of Future Past.  In X-Men Apocalypse, the world's first mutant, a world-destroyer, reemerges and begins a plan for human extinction that the X-Men must stop.

X-Men: Apocalypse opens in Ancient Egypt, 3600BC and introduces En Sabah Nur/Apocalypse (Oscar Isaac), the ruler of that land and a supremely powerful mutant believed to be the very first of his kind.  He is betrayed by some of his worshipers and is buried alive for centuries.  Apocalypse arises in 1983 and is upset to discover what he considers “false gods” to have arisen in his absence.  He gathers “four horsemen” and Erik Lensherr/Magneto (Michael Fassbender) is one of the quartet.  Apocalypse begins to unleash an extinction level plan to clean the Earth of everything and everyone, so that only the strong survive.

Meanwhile, Charles Xavier/Professor X (James McAvoy) continues to build his educational institute in Westchester County, New York.  He is also adding new students, when a former friend, Raven/Mystique (Jennifer Lawrence), returns to warn him of Magneto's new activities.  When they learn the extent of Apocalypse's threat, the X-Men are forced to come together to save the world.

Some believe that Superman: The Movie, originally released in 1978, is the beginning of the modern superhero film.  Other believe that the current age of superhero movies was spearheaded by Tim Burton's 1989 film, Batman.  [Those are good choices, but I believe the current superhero movie rage was born of the surprise (even shocking) success of the 1998 film, Blade.  Its success spurred Fox into producing X-Men (2000), which was a hit and which really pushed superhero movie production into overdrive.]

I am starting to believe that the most influential film in the current onslaught of superhero movies is 2012's Marvel's The Avengers.  Why?  The Avengers' immediate and massive success at the box office was practically unprecedented.  It's opening weekend dollar gross set what was at the time a record for North American box office.  It's worldwide box office exceeded a billion dollars, and while that was not the first time a superhero movie crossed the billion-dollar mark (which 2008's The Dark Knight did first), I don't think anyone, not Disney, Marvel, box office watchers, or movie fans, expected The Avengers to be so successful in terms of box office – not before its release.

Such surprising success breeds copycats.  Superhero movies that are big, even massive, and filled with destruction followed The Avengers.  See Warner Bros. The Man of Steel (2013) and Batman v. Superman: Dawn of Justice (2015).  In fact, the latter is Warner Bros. desperate attempt to make an Avengers-like movie featuring characters from DC Comics, which is, like Warner Bros., part of Time Warner.

To me, X-Men: Days of Future Past was trapped between being 2011's X-Men: First Class and Marvel's The Avengers.  X-Men: Apocalypse reeks of the desperation to be like The Avengers.  20th Century Fox owns the film rights to Marvel Comics X-Men franchise, and as Fox makes one mediocre and/or financial failure X-Men movie after another, they cannot help but look at Marvel Studios' unprecedented success with the Marvel Comics characters to which it still has film rights.  Hell, Fox isn't the only Hollywood studio that wants to be like Marvel.

But the X-Men are not the Avengers.  The Avengers are a gathering of loosely connected superheroes who come together to defend Earth – or avenge it.  The X-Men can be superheroes, but their story has largely been about a racial minority, known as “Mutants,” that bands together for protection.  Their acts of heroism are essentially a defense of the race or species.  It is as if the X-Men's heroic actions declare that they can peacefully coexist on this planet with humans, which gives them reason to want to defend it.

X-Men: Apocalypse is just a big action movie.  Familiar X-Men themes:  fear, racism, bigotry, tribalism, unity, extended families, familial and friendship bonds, etc. are just window dressing for big special effects driven and created set pieces.  X-Men: Apocalypse does not take from the wheelhouse of the best X-Men films (such as the first two films in the franchise); instead, it steals from Marvel's The Avengers and even Michael Bay's Transformers movies.

You know what, dear reader?  I've taken enough of your time.  I hate this movie.

3 of 10
D+

Friday, December 16, 2016


The text is copyright © 2016 Leroy Douresseaux. All Rights Reserved. Contact this site for reprint or syndication rights and fees.

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


Thursday, December 1, 2016

2016 British Independent Film Award Nominations Announced

In 1998, Raindance created the British Independent Film Awards to celebrate merit and achievement in independently funded British filmmaking.  The awards also honor new talent and promote British films and filmmaking to a wider public.

On Tuesday, November 1, 2016, the nominations for the 2015/19th Moët British Independent Film Awards were announced in London.  The winners will be announced at The Moët British Independent Film Awards on Sunday, December 4, 2016 at Old Billingsgate. The event, hosted by Jennifer Saunders, will be live streamed on www.bifa.film.

The 2016 / 19th Moët British Independent Film Awards nominations:

BRITISH INDEPENDENT FILM
AMERICAN HONEY Andrea Arnold, Lars Knudsen, Jay Van Hoy, Pouya Shahbazian, Alice Weinberg, Thomas Benski, Lucas Ochoa
COUPLE IN A HOLE Tom Geens, Zorana Piggott
I, DANIEL BLAKE Ken Loach, Paul Laverty, Rebecca O’Brien
NOTES ON BLINDNESS Peter Middleton, James Spinney, Mike Brett, Jo-Jo Ellison, Steve Jamison, Alex Usborne
UNDER THE SHADOW Babak Anvari, Emily Leo, Oliver Roskill, Lucan Toh

INTERNATIONAL INDEPENDENT FILM
HUNT FOR THE WILDERPEOPLE Taika Waititi, Carthew Neal, Matt Noonan, Leanne Saunders
MANCHESTER BY THE SEA Kenneth Lonergan, Kimberly Steward, Matt Damon, Chris Moore, Lauren Beck, Kevin J. Walsh
MOONLIGHT Barry Jenkins, Adele Romanski, Dede Gardner, Jeremy Kleiner
MUSTANG Deniz Gamze Ergüven, Alice Winocour, Charles Gillibert
TONI ERDMANN Maren Ade, Janine Jackowski, Jonas Dornbach, Michel Merkt

DIRECTOR
ANDREA ARNOLD American Honey
BABAK ANVARI Under the Shadow
BEN WHEATLEY Free Fire
KEN LOACH I, Daniel Blake
PETER MIDDLETON, JAMES SPINNEY, Notes on Blindness

SCREENPLAY
ANDREA ARNOLD American Honey
BABAK ANVARI Under the Shadow
BILLY O’BRIEN, CHRISTOPHER HYDE I Am Not a Serial Killer
PAUL LAVERTY I, Daniel Blake
RACHEL TUNNARD Adult Life Skills

ACTRESS
HAYLEY SQUIRES I, Daniel Blake
JODIE WHITTAKER Adult Life Skills
KATE DICKIE Couple in a Hole
NARGES RASHIDI Under the Shadow
SASHA LANE American Honey

ACTOR
DAVE JOHNS I, Daniel Blake
MAX RECORDS I Am Not a Serial Killer
MICHAEL FASSBENDER Trespass Against Us
SHIA LABEOUF American Honey
STEVE BRANDON My Feral Heart

SUPPORTING ACTRESS
AVIN MANSHADI Under the Shadow
GEMMA ARTERTON The Girl With All the Gifts
NAOMIE HARRIS Our Kind of Traitor
SHANA SWASH My Feral Heart
TERRY PHETO A United Kingdom

SUPPORTING ACTOR
ARINZÉ KENE The Pass
BRETT GOLDSTEIN Adult Life Skills
CHRISTOPHER LLOYD I Am Not a Serial Killer
JAMIE DORNAN Anthropoid
SEAN HARRIS Trespass Against Us

DOCUMENTARY
THE CONFESSION: LIVING THE WAR ON TERROR Ashish Ghadiali, James Rogan
DANCER Steven Cantor, Gabrielle Tana
THE HARD STOP George Amponsah, Dionne Walker
NOTES ON BLINDNESS Peter Middleton, James Spinney, Mike Brett, Jo-Jo Ellison, Steve Jamison, Alex Usborne
VERSUS: THE LIFE AND FILMS OF KEN LOACH Louise Osmond, Rebecca O’Brien

OUTSTANDING ACHIEVEMENT IN CRAFT
JOAKIM SUNDSTRÖM Sound – Notes on Blindness
PAUL MONAGHAN, MAT WHITECROSS Editing – Supersonic
ROBBIE RYAN Cinematography – American Honey
SEB BARKER Visual Effects – The Girl With All the Gifts
SHAHEEN BAIG Casting – Free Fire

THE DOUGLAS HICKOX AWARD (DEBUT DIRECTOR)
ADAM SMITH Trespass Against Us
ALICE LOWE Prevenge
BABAK ANVARI Under the Shadow
PETER MIDDLETON, JAMES SPINNEY Notes on Blindness
RACHEL TUNNARD Adult Life Skills

DEBUT SCREENWRITER
ED TALFAN The Passing (Yr Ymadawiad)
HOPE DICKSON LEACH The Levelling
JOHN CAIRNS, MICHAEL McCARTNEY A Patch of Fog
RACHEL TUNNARD Adult Life Skills
SIMON FARNABY, JULIAN BARRATT Mindhorn

BREAKTHROUGH PRODUCER
CAMILLE GATIN The Girl With All the Gifts
DIONNE WALKER The Hard Stop
MICHAEL BERLINER Adult Life Skills
MIKE BRETT, JO-JO ELLISON, STEVE JAMISON Notes on Blindness
PAUL FEGAN Where You’re Meant to Be

MOST PROMISING NEWCOMER
DAVE JOHNS I, Daniel Blake
HAYLEY SQUIRES I, Daniel Blake
LETITIA WRIGHT Urban Hymn
SENNIA NANUA The Girl With All the Gifts
STEVE BRANDON My Feral Heart

THE DISCOVERY AWARD
BLACK MOUNTAIN POETS Jamie Adams, Jon Rennie
THE DARKEST UNIVERSE Tom Kingsley, Will Sharpe, Tiani Ghosh, Jo-Jo Ellison
THE GHOUL Gareth Tunley, Jack Healy Guttmann, Tom Meeten
GOZO Miranda Bowen, Leo Scott
THE GREASY STRANGLER Jim Hosking, Toby Harvard, Daniel Noah, Andrew Starke, Ant Timpson, Josh C Waller, Elijah Wood

BRITISH SHORT
JACKED Rene Pannevis, Ashish Ghadiali, Jennifer Eriksson
MOTHER Leo Leigh, Scott O’Donnell
OVER Jörn Threlfall, Jeremy Bannister
RATE ME Fyzal Boulifa, Taina Galis
THE WRONG END OF THE STICK Terri Matthews, Chris Cornwell, Sam Bank

The BIFA Variety Award:
Naomie Harris
(The Variety Award recognises a director, actor, writer or producer who has made a global impact and helped to focus the international spotlight on the UK.)

The Richard Harris Award:
Alison Steadman
(The Richard Harris Award was introduced in 2002 in honour of Richard Harris and recognises outstanding contribution to British film by an actor.)

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

Saturday, July 16, 2016

Waypoint Entertainment Acquires Film Rights to Image Comics' "Plutona"

WAYPOINT ENTERTAINMENT ACQUIRES LEMIRE AND LENOX’S PLUTONA

Addictive Pictures to produce alongside Waypoint Entertainment under their first-look deal

LOS ANGELES — Waypoint Entertainment has acquired the rights to bestselling and award-winning author Jeff Lemire and illustrator Emi Lenox's comic series Plutona, a coming-of-age story which centers on a group of kids who find the body of a famous dead superhero in the woods. Waypoint Entertainment’s Ken Kao (The Nice Guys), will produce with partner Dan Kao and Addictive Pictures' Russell Ackerman (Mama) and John Schoenfelder under their first-look deal.

Image Comics released Plutona, a five-issue limited series, on September 2015 to critical acclaim.

"Emi and I are extremely excited to be working with Waypoint Entertainment and Addictive Pictures to help bring our vision for Plutona to the big screen,” said Lemire. “Plutona has been a labor of love for us and we were very careful about finding a home for it, and we are thrilled that the team at Addictive and Waypoint share our passion for the story and for its potential as a film."

Lemire is the author of titles including the Essex County Trilogy, Sweet Tooth, The Nobody, and wrote a run of Animal Man. He is known for his moody, humanistic stories and sketchy, cinematic, black-and-white art and has worked extensively with DC and Marvel Comics. Lenox is perhaps best known for her diary comic Emitown, as well as having work featured in such critically-acclaimed series as Nowhere Men, Madman, Glory, and Sweet Tooth.

Lemire is represented by Angela Cheng Caplan of Cheng Caplan Company and attorney Allison Binder of Smelkinson, Genow, Stone, Binder & Christopher LLP.

Waypoint Entertainment recently acquired the rights to two Mark Millar properties, American Jesus and Supercrooks, which Ken Kao will produce with partner Dan Kao and Addictive Pictures. They are also in pre-production on the sci-fi thriller Tau, directed by Federico D’ Alessandro and starring Maika Monroe and Ed Skrein.

Waypoint Entertainment is a film and television development, production, and finance company with a slate that includes: Scott Cooper’s Hostiles starring Christian Bale and Rosamund Pike; Martin Zandvliet’s The Outsider starring Jared Leto; Shane Black’s detective thriller The Nice Guys starring Russell Crowe and Ryan Gosling; Gus Van Sant’s The Sea of Trees starring Matthew McConaughey, Ken Watanabe, and Naomi Watts; and Terrence Malick's Weightless starring Ryan Gosling Michael Fassbender, Natalie Portman, Cate Blanchett, and Rooney Mara.

Addictive Pictures is a film and television production company with a specialty in elevated genre films. Addictive is currently prepping Jeremy Saulnier's next film Hold the Dark for A24, and recently closed a deal for Deeper written by Max Landis starring Bradley Cooper at MGM.


ABOUT IMAGE COMICS
Image Comics is a comic book and graphic novel publisher founded in 1992 by a collective of best-selling artists. Image has since gone on to become one of the largest comics publishers in the United States. Image currently has five partners: Robert Kirkman, Erik Larsen, Todd McFarlane, Marc Silvestri and Jim Valentino. It consists of five major houses: Todd McFarlane Productions, Top Cow Productions, Shadowline, Skybound and Image Central. Image publishes comics and graphic novels in nearly every genre, sub-genre, and style imaginable. It offers science fiction, fantasy, romance, horror, crime fiction, historical fiction, humor and more by the finest artists and writers working in the medium today. For more information, visit www.imagecomics.com.

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

Saturday, June 18, 2016

Negromancer News Bits and Bites from June 12th to 18th, 2016 - Update #54

Support Leroy on Patreon.

MOVIES - From Deadline:  Paramount looking to revive "The Saint" again.  Roger Moore or nothing, baby!

---------------
MOVIES - From Deadline:  Summer Redstone looks like a Deadite, but he's still fighting for Viacom.

---------------
MOVIES - From TheTrackingBoard:  Judi Dench boards period film, "Victoria and Abdul."

---------------
BOX OFFICE - From Showbiz411:  FOX is apparently preparing for bad news regarding Independence Day: Resurgence.

---------------
OBIT - From TheWrap:  The actor Ron Lester has died at the age of 45, Friday, June 17, 2016.  He was best known for the 1999 film, "Varsity Blues."

---------------
PIXAR - From YahooMovies:  Pixar changed a voice in "Finding Dory."

---------------
CELEBRITY - From YahooNews:  Chelsea Clinton, daughter of former President Bill Clinton and soon-to-be-President Hillary Clinton, welcomes a baby boy with her husband, Marc Mezvinsky.

---------------
BLACK LIVES MATTER - From YahooNews:  Michael Brown's family are suing the city of Ferguson, Missouri; Mike's killer (former cop Darren Wilson); and other enemies and adversaries.  Lawyers for the enemy want Mike's juvenile record, which has so far been refused them.

---------------
BOX OFFICE - From HitFix:  How will "Independence Day: Resurgence" before at the box office?  Can it match the original film?

---------------
TELEVISION - From Variety:  Common to star in a television adaptation of "Black Samurai."  Marc Olden's 1974 book series, "Black Samurai," which was previously adapted as a 1977 film starring Jim Kelly.

---------------
LGBT - From VillageVoice:  If only America could embrace queer and trans before they're dead.

---------------
MUSIC/CRIME - From YahooBeauty:  New information on the pathetic killer of Christina Grimmie, a contestant on NBC's "The Voice."

---------------
SPORTS/CRIME - From NYPost:  Some female swimmers at Stanford thought convicted rapist, Brock Turner, was a creep before he was arrested for sexually assaulting a Stanford student.

---------------
COMICS - From EOnline:  Tyler Hoechlin will play "Superman" on the "Supergirl," the former CBS series that is moving to The CW this fall.

---------------
MOVIES - From Deadline:  "A Star is Born" remake that is to be directed by Bradley Cooper, who will also star in the film, may feature Lady Gaga as the female lead.  Beyonce was once attached to the project.

---------------
OBIT - From Variety:   The actress Ann Morgan Guilbert died at the age of 87, Tuesday, June 14, 2016.  She was best known for her role as neighbor "Minnie Helper on "The Dick Van Dyke Show" and "Yetta Rosenberg," the forgetful grandmother on "The Nanny."

---------------
MOVIES - From ScreenRant:  Image of Michael Fassbender as "David" on the set of "Alien: Covenant."

---------------
MOVIES - From BleedingCool:   "Beverly Hills Cop 4" has it directors.

---------------
TELEVISION - From BleedingCool:   Orlando Jones and Demore Barnes join Starz's "American Gods."

---------------
COMICS - From DenofGeek:  DC Entertainment's Diane Nelson talks Wonder Woman.

---------------
MOVIES - From Hitflix:  Helen Mirren is joining cast of "Fast 8."

---------------
TELEVISION - From TheWrap:  "Curb Your Enthusiasm" to return for a ninth season on HBO.

---------------
TELEVISION - From Variety:  Matt Lucas joins Season 10 of "Doctor Who."

----------------
MOVIES - From Variety:  Craig Gillespie to direct Margot Robbie in Tonya Harding biopic.

---------------
SPORTS - From Time:  Kareem Abdul-Jabbar:  Muhammad Ali Became a Big Brother to Me - and to All African-Americans.

COMICS - From WeGotThisCovered:  Donald Glover signs to join next year's "Spider-Man Homecoming."

---------------
BROADWAY - From LATimes:  Complete list of 2016 Tony Award winners.

---------------
FILM - From TheWrap:  Oscar-nominated, Emmy Award winner Bill Murray to receive the "Mark Twain Prize for American Humor" on October 23rd, 2016.

---------------
POLITICS - From RSN:  8 reasons why the GOP should dump Trump.

---------------
SPORTS - From YahooSports:  See the massive championship rings received by the Denver Broncos for the win in Super Bowl 50.

---------------
MOVIES - From ThePlaylist:  Andy Goddard, a "Downton Abbey" director, to helm a film about the Rolling Stones and the recording of their legendary LP, "Exile of Main Street."

---------------
BOX OFFICE - From BoxOfficeMojo:  The winner of the 6/10 to 6/12/2016 weekend box is "The Conjuring 2" with an estimated take of $40.35 million.

---------------
SPECIAL - #PulseShooting in Orlando, Florida:

CRIME - From YahooNews:  50 people dead in worst mass shooting in U.S. history.

From YahooNews:  Remembering the victims fatally shot at the Pulse.

From telSUR:  Omar Mateen's wife was told by the FBI not to tell the U.S. media that she and family members thought he was gay.

From YahooNews:  Florida found Omar Mateen suspicious and refused to sell him body armor and bulk amunition.

From TheWrap:  Disney gives $1 million to Orlando victims.

From InformedConsent:  Omar Mateen and Rightwing Homophobia: Hate Crime or Domestic Terrorism?

From ThinkProgress:  LGBT people can still be fired from their jobs in Florida for being gay.

From YahooNews:  CNN's Anderson Cooper grills Florida Attorney General and anti-gay politician, Pam Bondi, on her anti-gay activism.

From RSN:  Omar Mateen committed LGBT mass murder, and we must confront that.

From YahooNews:  Anderson Cooper's moving tribute.

From YahooNews:  Omar Mateen's father apologizes for his son's murderous actions.

From YahooFinance:  Pulse shooter, Omar Mateen, was a regular at the club.

From CNN:  Orlando shooting article with updates.

From YahooNews:  Pulse shooting victims mourned nationally and globally.

From YahooNews:  What is known about #PulseShooting killer, Omar Mateen.

From YahooNews:  President Obama's statement.

From YahooNews:  Omar Mateen's father speaks.

From YahooNews:  Donald Trump's self-congratulatory tweets prove that he should not and cannot be President of the United States.

From BleedingCool:  Comic book people react to #PulseShooting.

From YahooNews:  Witness accounts of shooting at Orlando dance club, Pulse.

---------------
ANIMATION - From BleedingCool:  A trailer has been released for Disney's next animated film, "Moana."  However, that trailer has been released overseas where the movie is called "Vaiana."

---------------
BLACK LIVES MATTER - From Truthout:  What is the future of resistance to racist police violence.

COMICS - From CBR:   Comic Book Resources has gathered all the character designs and re-designs for DC Comics' "Rebirth" event in one place.

---------------
TELEVISION - From YahooTV:  Norman Reedus of "The Walking Dead" has a new reality series, "Ride with Norman Reedus."  Here are 25 things you may not know about him.



Wednesday, January 27, 2016

Houston Film Critics Named "Spotlight" Best Picture of 2015- Complete List of Winners

Houston Film Critics Society is a not-for-profit, unincorporated voluntary organizaton of print, broadcast, and internet film critics based in the Greater Houston metropolitan area that meet its membership criteria.  According its website, the group was founded in 2007 by Nick Nicholson and Danny Minton and helps to organize and coordinate the local area film critics community.

The nominees for the 9th annual Houston Film Critics Society Awards were announced, December 13, 2015.  The winners were announced January 9, 2016.

2015 / 9th Houston Film Critics Society winners:

Best Picture:  Spotlight

Best Director:  Alejandro G. Iñárritu for The Revenant

Best Actor:  Michael Fassbender for Steve Jobs

Best Actress:  Brie Larson for Room

Best Supporting Actor:  Tom Hardy for The Revenant

Best Supporting Actress:  Rooney Mara for Carol

Best Screenplay:  Tom McCarthy and Josh Singer for Spotlight

Best Animated Film:  Inside Out (Pete Doctor, director)

Best  Cinematography:  Emmanuel Lubezki for The Revenant

Best Documentary:  Amy (Asif Kapadia, director)

Best Foreign Film:  Son of Saul (Hungary; László Nemes, director)

Best Score:  Ennio Moriccone for The Hateful Eight

Best Song:  Brian Wilson for "Love and Mercy" from Love & Mercy

Texas Independent Film Award:  Mark Craig for The Last Man on the Moon

Technical:  Guy Norris for Mad Max: Fury Road

Worst Movie:  Pixels                      

Lifetime Achievement:  Dennis Quaid

Humanitarian of the Year:  Matt Damon

Outstanding Cinematic Contribution:  Joe Leydon

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


Sunday, January 3, 2016

Austin Film Critics Name "Mad Max: Fury Road" Best Film of 2015

The Austin Film Critics Association describes itself as a group dedicated to supporting the best in film, whether at the international, national, or local level.  Members of the AFCA contribute to such publications and outlets as Ain’t It Cool News, the Austin American-Statesman, the Austin Chronicle, The Daily Texan, DVDActive, Fandango, Film School Rejects, FirstShowing.net, KOOP Radio, Movies.com, among others.

The AFCA announced its 2015 awards winners, Top 10 films of the 2015, and special awards on Tuesday, December 29, 2015.

2015 Austin Film Critics Association Awards winners:

Best Film: Mad Max: Fury Road (dir: George Miller)

Best Director: George Miller, Mad Max: Fury Road

Best Actor: Michael Fassbender, Steve Jobs

Best Actress: Brie Larson, Room

Best Supporting Actor: Sylvester Stallone, Creed
Best Supporting Actress: Alicia Vikander, Ex Machina
Best Original Screenplay: Pete Docter, Meg LeFauve, Josh Cooley, Inside Out
Best Adapted Screenplay: Emma Donoghue, Room
Best Cinematography: Edward Lachman, Carol
Best Score: Ennio Morricone, The Hateful Eight
Best Foreign-Language Film: Son of Saul (dir: László Nemes)
Best Documentary: The Look of Silence (dir: Joshua Oppenheimer)
Best Animated Film: Inside Out (dir: Pete Docter)
Best First Film: Ex Machina (dir: Alex Garland)

The Robert R. “Bobby” McCurdy Memorial Breakthrough Artist Award: Jacob Tremblay, Room
Austin Film Award: Kumiko, the Treasure Hunter (dir: David Zellner)

Special Honorary Award: Austin-based writer/animator Don Hertzfeldt in celebration of a career of remarkable short filmmaking and contributions to animation spanning two decades, with 2015’s award-winning “World of Tomorrow” being recognized as his best work to date

AFCA 2015 Top Ten Films:

1. Mad Max: Fury Road
2. Spotlight
3. Carol
4. Anomalisa
5. Room
6. TIE: Ex Machina and Inside Out
8. Creed
9. The Big Short
10. Sicario

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


Wednesday, December 16, 2015

Online Film Critics Name "Mad Max: Fury Road" Best Picture of 2015

Founded in 1997, the Online Film Critics Society (OFCS) describes itself as “the largest, most respected organization for critics whose work appears primarily on the Internet.”  The OFCS says that it has been the key force in establishing and raising the standards for Internet-based film journalism.  Its membership consists of film reviewers, journalists and scholars based in the U.S., Canada, Europe, Latin America and the Asia/Pacific Rim region.  The Online Film Critics Society currently consists of 254 members with writers representing 22 countries across the globe.

The 19th Online Film Critics Society Awards were announced on Monday, December 14, 2015.

2015 / 19th OFCS Award winners:

Best Picture:
Mad Max: Fury Road

Best Animated Feature:
Inside Out

Best Film Not in the English Language:
The Assassin (Taiwan)

Best Documentary:
The Look of Silence

Best Director:
George Miller (Mad Max: Fury Road)

Best Actor:
Michael Fassbender (Steve Jobs)

Best Actress:
Cate Blanchett (Carol)

Best Supporting Actor:
Oscar Isaac (Ex Machina)

Best Supporting Actress:
Rooney Mara (Carol)

Best Original Screenplay:
Spotlight (Josh Singer, Tom McCarthy)

Best Adapted Screenplay:
Carol (Phyllis Nagy)

Best Editing:
Mad Max: Fury Road (Margaret Sixel)

Best Cinematography:
Mad Max: Fury Road (John Seale)

Best Non-U.S. Release
Aferim!
Cemetery of Splendor
The Club
Dheepan
The Lobster
Mountains May Depart
Mia Madre
Rams
Right Now, Wrong Then
The Sunset Song

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


Monday, December 7, 2015

Los Angeles Film Critics Name "Spotlight" Best Picture of 2015

The Los Angeles Film Critics Association (LAFCA) is a professional organization of Los Angeles-based, professional film critics working in the Los Angeles print and electronic media.  Since 1975, LAFCA members vote on the year's Achievement Awards each December, honoring screen excellence on both sides of the camera.

41st Annual (2015) Los Angeles Film Critics Association Awards:

Picture: Spotlight
Runner-up: Mad Max: Fury Road.

Director: George Miller, Mad Max: Fury Road
Runner-up: Todd Haynes, Carol.

Actor: Michael Fassbender, Steve Jobs
Runner-up: Géza Röhrig, Son of Saul.

Actress: Charlotte Rampling, 45 Years
Runner-up: Saoirse Ronan, Brooklyn.

Supporting actor: Michael Shannon, 99 Homes
Runner-up: Mark Rylance, Bridge of Spies.

Supporting actress: Alicia Vikander, Ex Machina
Runner-up: Kristen Stewart, Clouds of Sils Maria.

Screenplay: Josh Singer and Tom McCarthy, Spotlight
Runner-up: Charlie Kaufman, Anomalisa.

Animation: Anomalisa
Runner-up: Inside Out.

Foreign-language film: Son of Saul (Hungary)
Runner-up: The Tribe (Ukraine)

Documentary/nonfiction film: Amy
Runner-up: The Look of Silence.

New Generation: Ryan Coogler, Creed.

Film editing: Hank Corwin, The Big Short
Runner-up: Margaret Sixel, Mad Max: Fury Road.

Cinematography: John Seale, Mad Max: Fury Road
Runner-up: Edward Lachman, Carol.

Production design: Colin Gibson, Mad Max: Fury Road
Runner-up: Judy Becker, Carol.

Music score: Carter Burwell, Anomalisa and Carol
Runner-up: Ennio Morricone, The Hateful Eight.

Special citation: David Shepard, for his invaluable work in film preservation, particularly of films from the silent era.

Lifetime achievement: Anne V. Coates (British film editor who edited “Lawrence of Arabia” and is a recipient of five Oscar nominations.)

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


Saturday, September 12, 2015

Negromancer News Bits and Bites for the Week of September 6th to 12th, 2015 - Updated #14

Support Leroy on Patreon.

NEWS:

From Variety:  Oscar winner A.R. Rahman (Slumdog Millionaire) has a "fatwa" issue against him.

---------------
From Deadline:  2 people die in a plane crash on set of Tom Cruise's movie "Mena."

---------------
From YahooMovies:  Michael Moore unveils his new film, "Where to Invade Next," at the 2015 Toronto International Film Festival.

---------------
From YahooTV:  "A Charlie Brown Christmas" is celebrating its 50th anniversary with a new stamp collection and new ABC special.

---------------
From Vulture:  Ronda Rousey is set to be the lead in a remake of the Patrick Swayze flick, "Road House."

---------------
From Variety:  Tom Cruise joins Doug Liman for sci-fi film, "Luna Park."

----------------
From Variety:  Christopher Nolan's next film, of which nothing is known, is due from Warner Bros. in July 2017.

---------------
From ThePlaylist:  Jamie Foxx heads to Edgar Wright's "Baby Driver," which might not show up until 2017.

---------------
From TheHollywoodNews:  Grammy winner Sam Smith is apparently going to sing the theme song from the upcoming James Bond film, Spectre.

---------------
From BenBussey:  Marcus Dunstan talks about his Halloween franchise re-calibration, "Halloween Returns."

---------------
From RollingStone:  Danny Boyle says "Trainspotting 2" is his next film.

---------------
From BoxOfficeMojo:  The winner of the 9/4 to 9/6/2015 weekend box office is the religiously-themed film, "War Room," with an estimated take of $9.3 million.  In its debut weekend last week, War Room finished second to "Straight Outta Compton."  The weekend "Compton" finished second with a take of $8.8 million.

---------------
From THR:  Hugh Jackman says that he would consider playing James Bond.

---------------
From Variety:  On Michael Fassbender as Steve Jobs in the Danny Boyle biopic.


COMICS - Movies and Books:

From ScreenRant:  15 superhero TV shows that almost were.


OBITS:

From DeadlineHollywood:  The actor, Martin Milner, has died at the age of 83.  Milner was best known for his role as "Pete Malloy" on the popular TV cop series, "Adam-12."  Milner was also known for his lead role as "Tod Stiles" on the classic series, "Route 66."

I am a big fan of "Adam-12," and discovered "Route 66" a few years ago.  I wish to express my condolences to Milner's family.  R.I.P. Martin Milner, and "End of watch, Pete Malloy."



Sunday, March 8, 2015

Review: "12 Years a Slave" is the Best of Its Year and Among the Best of All Years

TRASH IN MY EYE No. 13 (of 2015) by Leroy Douresseaux

12 Years a Slave (2013)
Running time:  134 minutes (2 hours, 14 minutes)
MPAA - R for violence/cruelty, some nudity and brief sexuality
DIRECTOR:  Steve McQueen
WRITER:  John Ridley
PRODUCERS:  Brad Pitt, Dede Gardner, Jeremy Kleiner, Steve McQueen, Anthony Katagas, Arnon Milchan, and Bill Pohlad
CINEMATOGRAPER:  Sean Bobbitt (D.o.P.)
EDITOR:  Joe Walke
COMPOSER:  Hans Zimmer
Academy Award winner

DRAMA/HISTORICAL/BIOPIC

Starring:  Chiwetel Ejiofor, Michael Fassbender, Lupita Nyong'o, Benedict Cumberbatch, Paul Dano, Paul Giamatti, Sarah Paulson, Brad Pitt, Alfre Woodard, Adepero Oduye, Garret Dillahunt, Scoot McNairy, Taran Killam, Chris Chalk, Michael Kenneth Williams, Liza J. Bennett, Devyn A. Tyler, Kelsey Scott, Quvenzhané Wallis, Cameron Zeigler, Dwight Henry, and John McConnell

12 Years a Slave is a 2013 historical drama and period film from director Steve McQueen.  The film is based on the 1853 memoir and slave narrative, Twelve Years a Slave.  At the 86th Oscars, 12 Years a Slave became the first film directed and produced by a black filmmaker (Steve McQueen) and also the first film to be written by an African-American (John Ridley) to win the Academy Award for “Best Motion Picture of the Year” (for the year 2013).  12 Years a Slave the movie is the story of a free black man from upstate New York, who is kidnapped and sold into slavery in antebellum Louisiana.

12 Years a Slave introduces Solomon Northup (Chiwetel Ejiofor), a free black man.  In 1841, Solomon lives in New York with his wife, the former Anne Hampton (Kelsey Scott), and his children, Alonzo (Cameron Zeigler) and Margaret (Quvenzhané Wallis).  Solomon works as violinist, and that is what gets him the offer of a two-week job as a musician in Washington D.C.  What Solomon does not realize is that this job offer is a trap.  His erstwhile employers drug and abduct him, and later sell Solomon to a slave trader in New Orleans.

The slave trader gives Solomon a new name, “Platt.”  He is sold first, to sugar cane plantation owner, William Ford (Benedict Cumberbatch), and then, to cotton plantation owner, Edwin Epps (Michael Fassbender).  It is on Epps' plantation that Solomon meets Patsey (Lupita Nyong'o), a young female slave.  Through her, Solomon learns the true depravity of slavery and falls into despair, believing that he may never see his family again.

12 Years a Slave is not only the best film of 2013, it may also be the best film of the 21st century.  Everything about it is magnificent.  Steve McQueen's directing is a work of art – truthfully.  McQueen stages and composes this film with a painter's attention to detail, dedication to story (both narrative and message), and an artist's quest for the sublime and for even the divine.

McQueen creates a sense of intimacy between his characters – master/slave, oppressor/oppressed, abuser/abused – so that the action and emotions between characters feels like the interactions between real people.  This is a masterstroke in film-making, with the film drama having the power and immediacy of stage drama.  Hans Zimmer's evocative and heartbreaking score has uncannily perfect timing and tone in emphasizing story, setting, and mood, and also in embellishing and strengthening McQueen's choices.

12 Years a Slave is buttressed by three incredible and dumbfounding performances that are also works of art.  Damn, you could take the performances given by Chiwetel Ejiofor, Michael Fassbender, and Lupita Nyong'o, individually, in pairs, or as a trio, and hang them on a museum wall.

Fassbender could become the most honored actor of the next quarter-century the way that Daniel Day-Lewis has been the most honored of the last quarter-century or so.  As Edwin Epps, Fassbender personifies both the banality of evil of slavery and also of the institution's naked lust for money (as in the need to recoup costs and to make even more money).  Fassbender received an Oscar nomination as best supporting actor in 2014, but lost to Jared Leto as the cartoonish stereotype, Rayon (in Dallas Buyers Club).  That's a shame and maybe even a tragedy.  For real, it should have been Fassbender's.

On the other side, as Patsey, Lupita Nyong'o becomes the face of the slaves, especially the face of black female slaves, surviving brutality and enduring degradation even while wishing for the sweet freedom that death might bring.  The depth, the poignancy, and the prowess of Nyong'o as an actor defy description, but at least she won her Oscar as best supporting actress for her supernaturally good acting.

Chiwetel Ejiofor lost the best actor Oscar to Matthew McConaughey who played Ron Woodroof in Dallas Buyers Club.  McConaughey did deliver an exceptional performance, but the reason film award voters were so impressed with McConaughey in Dallas Buyers Club was because they did not know that he had a Ron Woodroof in him.  Up to that point, McConaughey had spent much of his career playing shallow pussy-hounds, grown-ass men in a state of pathetic arrested development, and leading roles that required him to do little more than give good face.  Being a white man also gave McConaughey an advantage with Oscar voters.

On the other hand, it is easy to take Ejiofor for granted; he is always good.  In film, he has perhaps never been better than he is in 12 Years a Slave.  He carries this movie because it is his character's story, a personal and hellish travelogue into the darkest and cruelest countries of mankind's nature.  Ejiofor opens up his heart, his mind, his personality, his emotions – his very being – to the audience.  Through him, we experience the suffering and dehumanization of Solomon Northup.

I think this movie is, in large measure, about how people will make others suffer for their own material gain and how some humans degrade others for their own satisfaction and pleasure.  Few films have depicted that as well as 12 Years a Slave does.  Maybe, it is indeed too hard for some to watch, but 12 Years a Slave is a great film (one of the greatest of all time), and it is a necessary one – more necessary than some of us will admit.

10 of 10

Saturday, March 7, 2015


NOTES:
2014 Academy Awards, USA:  3 wins: “Best Motion Picture of the Year” (Brad Pitt, Dede Gardner, Jeremy Kleiner, Steve McQueen, and Anthony Katagas), “Best Performance by an Actress in a Supporting Role” (Lupita Nyong'o), and “Best Writing, Adapted Screenplay” (John Ridley); 6 nominations: “Best Performance by an Actor in a Leading Role” (Chiwetel Ejiofor), “Best Performance by an Actor in a Supporting Role” (Michael Fassbender), “Best Achievement in Costume Design” (Patricia Norris), “Best Achievement in Directing” (Steve McQueen), “Best Achievement in Film Editing” (Joe Walker), and “Best Achievement in Production Design” (Adam Stockhausen-production design and Alice Baker-set decoration)

2014 BAFTA Awards:  2 wins: “Best Film” (Anthony Katagas, Brad Pitt, Dede Gardner, Jeremy Kleiner, and Steve McQueen) and “Best Leading Actor” (Chiwetel Ejiofor); 8 nominations: “Anthony Asquith Award for Film Music” (Hans Zimmer); “Best Adapted Screenplay” (John Ridley), “Best Supporting Actor” (Michael Fassbender), “Best Supporting Actress” (Lupita Nyong'o), “Best Cinematography” (Sean Bobbitt), “Best Editing” (Joe Walker), “Best Production Design” (Adam Stockhausen and Alice Baker), and “David Lean Award for Direction” (Steve McQueen)

2014 Golden Globes, USA:  1 win: “Best Motion Picture – Drama;” 6 nominations: “Best Performance by an Actor in a Motion Picture – Drama” (Chiwetel Ejiofor), “Best Performance by an Actor in a Supporting Role in a Motion Picture” (Michael Fassbender), “Best Performance by an Actress in a Supporting Role in a Motion Picture” (Lupita Nyong'o), “Best Director - Motion Picture” (Steve McQueen), “Best Screenplay - Motion Picture” (John Ridley), and “Best Original Score - Motion Picture” (Hans Zimmer)

2014 Black Reel Awards 2014:  8 wins: “Outstanding Motion Picture” (Brad Pitt, Steve McQueen, Anthony Katagas, Jeremy Kleiner, Bill Pohlad, and Arnon Milchan – Fox Searchlight Pictures), “Outstanding Actor, Motion Picture” (Chiwetel Ejiofor), “Outstanding Supporting Actress, Motion Picture” (Lupita Nyong'o), “Outstanding Director, Motion Picture” (Steve McQueen), “Outstanding Screenplay (Adapted or Original), Motion Picture” (John Ridley), “Outstanding Ensemble” (Francine Maisler (Casting Director), “Outstanding Score” (Hans Zimmer), and “Outstanding Breakthrough Performance, Female” (Lupita Nyong'o); 1 nomination: “Outstanding Song” (Alicia Keys: Performer & Writer for the song "Queen of the Field (Patsey's Song))

2014 Image Awards:  4 wins: “Outstanding Motion Picture,” “Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Motion Picture” (Lupita Nyong'o), “Outstanding Writing in a Motion Picture - (Theatrical or Television)” (John Ridley), and “Outstanding Directing in a Motion Picture” (Steve McQueen); 2 nominations: “Outstanding Actor in a Motion Picture” (Chiwetel Ejiofor) and “Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Motion Picture” (Alfre Woodard)


The text is copyright © 2015 Leroy Douresseaux. All Rights Reserved. Contact this site for syndication rights and fees.



Saturday, November 8, 2014

2014 British Independent Film Award Nominations Announced - Complete List

In 1998, Raindance created the British Independent Film Awards to celebrate merit and achievement in independently funded British filmmaking.  The awards also honor new talent and promote British films and filmmaking to a wider public.

On Monday, November 3, 2014, the nominations for the 17th Annual Moët British Independent Film Awards were announced in London, at St Martins Lane.  London actor, Jared Harris, presented the nominations.  The winners will be announced at the 17th awards ceremony on Sunday, December 7, 2014 at the Old Billingsgate in London.

The 2014/17th Annual Moët British Independent Film Awards nominees:

BEST BRITISH INDEPENDENT FILM -Sponsored by Moët & Chandon
'71
Calvary
Mr Turner
Pride
The Imitation Game

BEST DIRECTOR - Sponsored by AllCity & Intermission
John Michael McDonagh – Calvary
Lenny Abrahamson – Frank
Matthew Warchus – Pride
Mike Leigh – Mr Turner
Yann Demange  – '71

THE DOUGLAS HICKOX AWARD [BEST DEBUT DIRECTOR] - Sponsored by 3 Mills Studios
Daniel Wolfe, Matthew Wolfe – Catch Me Daddy
Hong Khaou – Lilting
Iain Forsyth, Jane Pollard – 20,000 Days on Earth
Morgan Matthews – X+Y
Yann Demange –  '71

BEST SCREENPLAY - Sponsored by BBC Films
Graham Moore – The Imitation Game
Gregory Burke  – '71
John Michael McDonagh – Calvary
Jon Ronson, Peter Straughan – Frank
Stephen Beresford – Pride

BEST ACTRESS - Sponsored by M.A.C Cosmetics
Alicia Vikander – Testament of Youth
Cheng Pei Pei – Lilting
Gugu Mbatha-Raw – Belle
Keira Knightley – The Imitation Game
Sameena Jabeen Ahmed – Catch Me Daddy

BEST ACTOR - Sponsored by Movado
Asa Butterfield  – X+Y
Benedict Cumberbatch – The Imitation Game
Brendan Gleeson – Calvary
Jack O'Connell – '71
Timothy Spall – Mr Turner

BEST SUPPORTING ACTRESS
Dorothy Atkinson – Mr Turner
Imelda Staunton – Pride
Maggie Gyllenhaal – Frank
Sally Hawkins – X+Y
Sienna Guillory – The Goob

BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR - Sponsored by St Martins Lane
Andrew Scott – Pride
Ben Schnetzer – Pride
Michael Fassbender – Frank
Rafe Spall – X+Y
Sean Harris – ‘71

MOST PROMISING NEWCOMER
Ben Schnetzer – Pride
Cara Delevingne – The Face of An Angel
Gugu Mbatha-Raw – Belle
Liam Walpole – The Goob
Sameena Jabeen Ahmed – Catch Me Daddy

BEST ACHIEVEMENT IN PRODUCTION
'71
20,000 Days on Earth
Catch Me Daddy
Lilting
The Goob

BEST TECHNICAL ACHIEVEMENT
Chris Wyatt - Editing - '71
Dick Pope - Cinematography - Mr Turner
Robbie Ryan - Cinematography - Catch Me Daddy
Stephen Rennicks - Music – Frank
Tat Radcliffe - Cinematography - '71

BEST DOCUMENTARY
20,000 Days on Earth
Next Goal Wins
Night Will Fall
The Possibilities Are Endless
Virunga

BEST BRITISH SHORT
Crocodile
Emotional Fusebox
Keeping Up With The Joneses
Slap
The Kármán Line

BEST INTERNATIONAL INDEPENDENT FILM
Blue Ruin
Boyhood
Fruitvale Station
Ida
The Badadook

THE RAINDANCE AWARD
Flim: The Movie...
Gregor
Luna
Keeping Rosy
The Beat Beneath My Feet

THE RICHARD HARRIS AWARD (for outstanding contribution by an actor to British Film)
To Be Announced

THE VARIETY AWARD
To Be Announced

THE SPECIAL JURY PRIZE
Announced at the Moët British Independent Film Awards on Sunday 7th December


For further information on MBIFA, visit www.bifa.org.uk

For further information on Moët & Chandon, visit http://moet.com

For further information on Raindance, visit www.raindance.org


Monday, June 2, 2014

Review: "X-Men: Days of Future Past" - Why So Serious?

TRASH IN MY EYE No. 28 (of 2014) by Leroy Douresseaux

X-Men: Days of Future Past (2014)
Running time:  131 minutes (2 hours, 11 minutes)
MPAA – PG-13 for sequences of intense sci-fi violence and action, some suggestive material, nudity and language
DIRECTOR:  Bryan Singer
WRITERS:  Simon Kinberg; from a story by Jane Goldman, Simon Kinberg, and Matthew Vaughn 
PRODUCERS:  Hutch Parker, Simon Kinberg, Lauren Shuler Donner, and Bryan Singer
CINEMATOGRAPHER:  Newton Thomas Sigel
EDITOR/COMPOSER:  John Ottman

SUPERHERO/SCI-FI/ACTION/DRAMA

Starring:  Hugh Jackman, James McAvoy, Michael Fassbender, Jennifer Lawrence, Nicholas Hoult, Peter Dinklage, Patrick Stewart, Ian McKellan, Halle Berry, Ellen Page, Shawn Ashmore, Omar Sy, Daniel Cudmore, Bingbing Fan, Adan Canto, Booboo Stewart, Evan Peters, Josh Helman, and Anna Paquin

X-Men: Days of Future Past is a 2014 superhero movie from director Bryan Singer.  It is 20th Century Fox’s seventh film based Marvel Comics’ X-Men comic book franchise.  This new movie is a sequel to 2011’s X-Men: First Class and a kind of sequel to 2006’s X-Men: The Last StandX-Men: Days of Future Past finds the X-Men of the future sending one of their own into past in a desperate effort to change history and to prevent the destruction of the world for both humans and mutants.

The film opens (apparently) sometime in the third decade of the 21st century.  By this time, mutant-hunting machines called Sentinels have wiped out nearly all mutants and also the humans that supported them.  The last of the X-Men are about to make a desperate bid to change their apocalyptic future.  Charles Xavier/Professor X (Patrick Stewart) concocts a plan that sends the mind of Logan/The Wolverine (Hugh Jackman) back into the past and into the body of his younger self in the year 1973.

In 1973, Logan must contact the younger Charles Xavier (James McAvoy) and convince him that they must stop Raven/Mystique (Jennifer Lawrence) from committing an assassination that will lead to the creation of the Sentinels.  However, Wolverine finds that the younger Charles is a mess.  Xavier wants no part of his future self’s plan, especially when he discovers that he must cooperate with Erik Lensherr/Magneto (Michael Fassbender), his dear friend-turned-bitter enemy.

Released in 2011, X-Men: First Class was a combination prequel to the original film, X-Men (2000), and a partial reboot of the franchise.  First Class was sparkly, fun, energetic, and even a bit sexy.  X-Men: Days of Future Past is ponderous and takes both its subject matter and its plot way too seriously.  I liked the film, but I only really enjoyed certain moments and a few characters.

Jennifer Lawrence is fantastic as Mystique, making the character’s emotions, mission, and anger seem real.  Nicholas Hoult is poignant as Hank McCoy/Beast; so much of his performance is restrained.  Hoult makes the most of subtle facial expressions, and his expressive eyes convey Beast in a way that gives him weight and depth.

What this film lacks is gravitas.  Days of Future Past pretends to be important serious because it metaphorically or symbolically deals with serious and important real world issues.  However, the movie is tedious instead of being weighty in any meaningful a way.  It is as if this film has so much to cover that it almost ends up sinking under the burden of its moralizing via multiple points of view, characters, and competing timelines.

In fact, after seeing Days of Future Past, I realized that Wolverine is not particularly consequential to the plot, or at least the screenplay does not make him seem so.  For what the character does, just about any other X-Men could have made that trip into the past.  [In The X-Men comic book story, “Days of the Future Past,” upon which this movie is based, Kitty Pryde travels into the past – the year 1983.]  I read a review of this movie in which the writer said that this was a movie about Mystique and Wolverine.  In a way, this movie is indeed most about what Mystique wants, and the movie would be better off if it stayed with Mystique longer than it actually does.

Although I like it, X-Men: Days of Future Past is my least favorite X-Men movie.  I found the future Sentinels particularly scary and chilling, and Evan Peters as Quicksilver is a blast.  Of all the X-Men movies, it has the best production values and the best special effects.  It is, however, full of sound and fury, and even in the universe of X-Men movies, it does not signify much of anything.

5 of 10
B-

Saturday, May 31, 2014


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



Sunday, March 2, 2014

Jared Leto Wins 2014 "Best Supporting Actor" Oscar

Performance by an actor in a supporting role:

Jared Leto in “Dallas Buyers Club” WINNER

Nominees:
Barkhad Abdi in “Captain Phillips”
Bradley Cooper in “American Hustle”
Michael Fassbender in “12 Years a Slave”
Jonah Hill in “The Wolf of Wall Street”

Monday, December 23, 2013

Kansas City Film Critics Choose "12 Years a Slave" 2013's Best Film

by Amos Semien

The Kansas City Film Critics Circle named director Steve McQueen's 12 Years a Slave the "Best Film" of 2013.  McQueen shared the "Robert Altman Award for Best Director" with Alfonso Cuaron (for the film Gravity).  Cuaron has been a favorite of many critics groups this year.

Founded in 1967, The Kansas City Film Critics Circle (KCFCC) says that it is the "second oldest professional film critics" association in the United States" (behind the New York Film Critics Circle).  The organization is composed of media film critics in the Kansas City metropolitan area.  The KCFCC’s awards are named for the group’s founder, James Loutzenhiser, who died in November 2001.

On Sunday, December 15th, 2013, the Kansas City Film Critics Circle announced the winners of its 47th annual awards.

2013 Loutzenhiser Awards:

Best Film: 12 Years a Slave

Robert Altman Award for Best Director – Tie: Alfonso Cuaron, Gravity & Steve McQueen, 12 Years a Slave

Best Actor: Chiwetel Ejiofor, 12 Years a Slave

Best Actress: Sandra Bullock, Gravity

Best Supporting Actor: Michael Fassbender, 12 Years a Slave

Best Supporting Actress: Lupita Nyong’o, 12 Years a Slave

Best Original Screenplay: Spike Jonze, Her

Best Adapted Screenplay: John Ridley, 12 Years a Slave

Best Animated Film – Tie: Despicable Me 2 & Frozen

Best Foreign Film: Blue Is the Warmest Color (France)

Best Documentary: The Act of Killing

Vince Koehler Award for Best Science Fiction, Fantasy or Horror Film: Her

http://www.kcfcc.org/

END


Tuesday, December 17, 2013

"12 Years a Slave" 2013's Best Picture Sez Online Film Critics Society

by Amos Semien

The Online Film Critics Society announced the recipients of the 17th annual OFCS awards for excellence in film.  Over 250 members voted in this year’s awards.

Director Steve McQueen’s 12 Years a Slave was the standout with five wins.  The film is based on Solomon Northup’s 1853 memoir about his life after being kidnapped into slavery.  It earned recognitions for “Best Picture,” “Best Actor” (Chiwetel Ejiofor), “Best Supporting Actor” (Michael Fassbender), “Best Supporting Actress” (Lupita Nyong’o), and “Best Adapted Screenplay” (John Ridley).  McQueen lost “Best Director” to Alfonso Cuaron for Gravity.

The Online Film Critics Society 2013 Film Awards Winners:

Best Picture: 12 Years a Slave

Best Animated Feature: The Wind Rises

Best Film Not in the English Language: Blue Is the Warmest Color

Best Documentary: The Act of Killing

Best Director: Alfonso Cuaron – Gravity

Best Actor: Chiwetel Ejiofor – 12 Years a Slave

Best Actress: Cate Blanchett – Blue Jasmine

Best Supporting Actor: Michael Fassbender – 12 Years a Slave

Best Supporting Actress: Lupita Nyong’o – 12 Years a Slave

Best Original Screenplay: Her

Best Adapted Screenplay: 12 Years a Slave

Best Editing: Gravity

Best Cinematography: Gravity

Special Awards:
Best Sound Design and Best Visual Effects to Gravity
To Roger Ebert, for inspiring so many of our members

Top Ten films Without a U.S. Release:
Closed Curtain
Gloria
Like Father, Like Son
Our Sunhi
R100
The Rocket
Stranger By the Lake
We Are the Best!
Le Weekend
Why Don’t You Play in Hell?

http://www.ofcs.org/

END

Thursday, December 12, 2013

2014 Screen Actors Guild Awards Nominations - Film Categories List

by Amos Semien

The Screen Actors Guild (SAG) is an American labor union that represents film and television performers worldwide.  Most people probably know SAG for the various actors’ strikes or for the Screen Actors Guild Award, which SAG uses to honor outstanding performances by its members.  The first SAG Awards ceremony was held in February 1995 (for films released in 1994).

In the theatrical motion picture categories, director Steve McQueen’s 12 Years a Slave led the 20th annual Screen Actors Guild Award nominations with 4 nominations, including a best ensemble nomination and three nominations in the acting categories:  Chiwetel Ejiofor (lead), Michael Fassbender (supporting), and Lupita Nyong'o (supporting).  Rita Moreno will receive this year's "Life Achievement Award."

Winners will be announced at the 20th Annual Screen Actors Guild Awards® ceremony.  The ceremony will be simulcast live nationally on TNT and TBS on Saturday, Jan. 18, 2014 at 8 p.m. (ET)/5 p.m. (PT) from the Los Angeles Shrine Exposition Center.

An encore presentation will air immediately following live telecast on TNT only at 10 p.m. (ET)/7 p.m. (PT).  A live stream of the SAG Awards can also be viewed online through the TBS and TNT websites, as well as through the “Watch TBS” and “Watch TNT” apps for iOS or Android.  Apparently, viewers who want to use these apps must sign in using their TV provider user name and password in order to view the live stream.

20th ANNUAL SCREEN ACTORS GUILD AWARDS NOMINATIONS – Full list of nominations:

THEATRICAL MOTION PICTURES Categories:

Outstanding Performance by a Male Actor in a Leading Role
BRUCE DERN / Woody Grant – “NEBRASKA” (Paramount Pictures)

CHIWETEL EJIOFOR / Solomon Northup – “12 YEARS A SLAVE” (Fox Searchlight Pictures)

TOM HANKS / Capt. Richard Phillips – “CAPTAIN PHILLIPS” (Columbia Pictures)

MATTHEW McCONAUGHEY / Ron Woodroof – “DALLAS BUYERS CLUB” (Focus Features)

FOREST WHITAKER / Cecil Gaines – “LEE DANIELS’ THE BUTLER” (The Weinstein Company)

Outstanding Performance by a Female Actor in a Leading Role
CATE BLANCHETT / Jasmine – “BLUE JASMINE” (Sony Pictures Classics)

SANDRA BULLOCK / Ryan Stone – “GRAVITY” (Warner Bros. Pictures)

JUDI DENCH / Philomena Lee – “PHILOMENA” (The Weinstein Company)

MERYL STREEP / Violet Weston – “AUGUST: OSAGE COUNTY” (The Weinstein Company)

EMMA THOMPSON / P.L. Travers – “SAVING MR. BANKS” (Walt Disney Pictures)

Outstanding Performance by a Male Actor in a Supporting Role
BARKHAD ABDI / Muse – “CAPTAIN PHILLIPS” (Columbia Pictures)

DANIEL BRÜHL / Niki Lauda – “RUSH” (Universal Pictures)

MICHAEL FASSBENDER / Edwin Epps – “12 YEARS A SLAVE” (Fox Searchlight Pictures)

JAMES GANDOLFINI / Albert – “ENOUGH SAID” (Fox Searchlight Pictures)

JARED LETO / Rayon – “DALLAS BUYERS CLUB” (Focus Features)

Outstanding Performance by a Female Actor in a Supporting Role:
JENNIFER LAWRENCE / Rosalyn Rosenfeld – “AMERICAN HUSTLE” (Columbia Pictures)

LUPITA NYONG’O / Patsey – “12 YEARS A SLAVE” (Fox Searchlight Pictures)

JULIA ROBERTS / Barbara Weston – “AUGUST: OSAGE COUNTY” (The Weinstein Company)

JUNE SQUIBB / Kate Grant – “NEBRASKA” (Paramount Pictures)

OPRAH WINFREY / Gloria Gaines – “LEE DANIELS’ THE BUTLER” (The Weinstein Company)

Outstanding Performance by a Cast in a Motion Picture:

12 YEARS A SLAVE (Fox Searchlight Pictures)
BENEDICT CUMBERBATCH / Ford
PAUL DANO / Tibeats
GARRET DILLAHUNT / Armsby
CHIWETEL EJIOFOR / Solomon Northup
MICHAEL FASSBENDER / Edwin Epps
PAUL GIAMATTI / Freeman
SCOOT McNAIRY / Brown
LUPITA NYONG’O / Patsey
ADEPERO ODUYE / Eliza
SARAH PAULSON / Mistress Epps
BRAD PITT / Bass
MICHAEL KENNETH WILLIAMS / Robert
ALFRE WOODARD / Mistress Shaw

AMERICAN HUSTLE (Columbia Pictures)
AMY ADAMS / Sydney Prosser
CHRISTIAN BALE / Irving Rosenfeld
LOUIS C.K. / Stoddard Thorsen
BRADLEY COOPER / Richie DiMaso
PAUL HERMAN / Alfonse Simone
JACK HUSTON / Pete Musane
JENNIFER LAWRENCE / Rosalyn Rosenfeld
ALESSANDRO NIVOLA / Federal Prosecutor
MICHAEL PEÑA / Sheik (Agent Hernandez)
JEREMY RENNER / Mayor Carmine Polito
ELISABETH RÖHM / Dolly Polito
SHEA WHIGHAM / Carl Elway

AUGUST: OSAGE COUNTY (The Weinstein Company)
ABIGAIL BRESLIN / Jean Fordham
CHRIS COOPER / Charles Aiken
BENEDICT CUMBERBATCH / “Little” Charles Aiken
JULIETTE LEWIS / Karen Weston
MARGO MARTINDALE / Mattie Fae Aiken
EWAN McGREGOR / Bill Fordham
DERMOT MULRONEY / Steve
JULIANNE NICHOLSON / Ivy Weston
JULIA ROBERTS / Barbara Weston
SAM SHEPARD / Beverly Weston
MERYL STREEP / Violet Weston
MISTY UPHAM / Johnna

DALLAS BUYERS CLUB (Focus Features)
JENNIFER GARNER / Dr. Eve Saks
MATTHEW McCONAUGHEY / Ron Woodroof
JARED LETO / Rayon
DENIS O’HARE / Dr. Sevard
DALLAS ROBERTS / David Wayne
STEVE ZAHN / Tucker

LEE DANIELS’ THE BUTLER (The Weinstein Company)
MARIAH CAREY / Hattie Pearl
JOHN CUSACK / Richard Nixon
JANE FONDA / Nancy Reagan
CUBA GOODING, JR. / Carter Wilson
TERRENCE HOWARD / Howard
LENNY KRAVITZ / James Holloway
JAMES MARSDEN / John F. Kennedy
DAVID OYELOWO / Louis Gaines
ALEX PETTYFER / Thomas Westfall
VANESSA REDGRAVE / Annabeth Westfall
ALAN RICKMAN / Ronald Reagan
LIEV SCHREIBER / Lyndon B. Johnson
FOREST WHITAKER / Cecil Gaines
ROBIN WILLIAMS / Dwight D. Eisenhower
OPRAH WINFREY / Gloria Gaines

SAG AWARDS® HONORS FOR STUNT ENSEMBLES

Outstanding Action Performance by a Stunt Ensemble in a Motion Picture:
ALL IS LOST (Lionsgate)
FAST & FURIOUS 6 (Universal Pictures)
LONE SURVIVOR (Universal Pictures)
RUSH (Universal Pictures)
THE WOLVERINE (20th Century Fox)

LIFE ACHIEVEMENT AWARD

Screen Actors Guild 50th Annual Life Achievement Award: RITA MORENO

http://www.sagawards.org/

END

Monday, July 29, 2013

Saturday, November 10, 2012

"Prometheus" is One of 2012's Best Films

TRASH IN MY EYE No. 83 (of 2012) by Leroy Douresseaux


Prometheus (2012)
Running time: 124 minutes (2 hours, 4 minutes)
MPAA – R for sci-fi violence including some intense images, and brief language
DIRECTOR: Ridley Scott
WRITERS: Jon Spaihts and Damon Lindelof (based on elements created by Dan O'Bannon and Ronald Shusett)
PRODUCERS: David Giler, Walter Hill, and Ridley Scott
COMPOSER: Marc Streitenfeld
CINEMATOGRAPHER: Dariusz Wolski (D.o.P.)
EDITOR: Pietro Scalia
COMPOSER: Marc Streitenfeld

SCI-FI/ACTION/MYSTERY

Starring: Noomi Rapace, Michael Fassbender, Charlize Theron, Idris Elba, Guy Pearce, Logan Marshall-Green, Sean Harris, Rafe Spall, and Benedict Wong

Prometheus is a 2012 science fiction film from director Ridley Scott. The film is related to Ridley Scott’s 1979 film, Alien, and is not quite a prequel to the movie, at least according to Scott. I think that it is one of the year’s best films, thus far.

Prometheus is mainly set near the end of the 21st century. In 2089, archaeologists Elizabeth Shaw (Noomi Rapace) and Charlie Holloway (Logan Marshall-Green) discover a star map, one similar to others they have found at archaeological digs of other ancient sites. They interpret these maps as an invitation from the beings that created humanity, which the two call the “Engineers.”

They convince Peter Weyland (Guy Pearce), the elderly and dying CEO of Weyland Corporation, to fund a space-going, scientific exploration vessel, Prometheus, so that they can follow the star map to a distant moon. Prometheus and her crew of 17 arrive at the moon, LV-223, where they find an artificial structure. What awaits them inside is a mystery that spans time and space and a terrifying battle to save the human race.

By the point in the film where Prometheus arrived at its destination, I was sure that Prometheus the movie was Ridley Scott’s attempt at making his own 2001: A Space Odyssey, the famous Stanley Kubrick science fiction film. This film has a sense of wonder, so much so that it seems to celebrate the human urge to explore and to discover. The screenplay, which is brimming with interesting ideas and intriguing notions, offers a counter-balance to Scott’s urge to explore. That is the idea that people do the things they do simply because they can, and that asking why may be irrelevant.

The film is beautiful. Its visual aesthetic design mixes the slick holographic cool of James Cameron’s Avatar with touches of H.R. Giger’s “biomechanoid” style which defined the film, Alien. There are also a number of good performances. As Meredith Vickers, Charlize Theron does menace in a way more bracing than in her Oscar-winning performance in Monster, and Idris Elba steals scenes as Janek, the captain of the Prometheus. However, Michael Fassbinder as the android, David, is fantastic. He is mesmerizing, intimidating, and even sexy.

Prometheus is thoughtful, always playing around with ideas or a thesis or two; even when the film turns on the action and the thrills, it’s still thinking. It does no damage to the original Alien film, but Scott and collaborators have the makings for a new, genuine science fiction franchise.

9 of 10
A+

Friday, November 09, 2012

Monday, May 14, 2012

Review: Lean "Haywire" is Hard and Mean

TRASH IN MY EYE No. 36 (of 2012) by Leroy Douresseaux

Haywire (2011)
U.S. release – January 2012
Running time: 93 minutes (1 hour, 33 minutes)
MPAA – R for some violence
EDITOR/CINEMATOGRAPHER/DIRECTOR: Steven Soderbergh
WRITER: Lem Dobbs
PRODUCER: Gregory Jacobs
COMPOSER: David Holmes

ACTION/DRAMA/THRILLER

Starring: Gina Carano, Ewan McGregor, Michael Angarano, Channing Tatum, Michael Douglas, Antonio Banderas, Michael Fassbender, Matthieu Kassovitze, Anthony Brandon Wong, and Bill Paxton

Haywire is a 2011 action movie and espionage thriller from director Steven Soderbergh. Released in the United States earlier this year, Haywire focuses on a female secret operative who must go rogue in order to stay alive.

Mallory Kane (Gina Carano) works for a private firm employed by the American government to perform covert operations. Kenneth (Ewan McGregor) is the firm’s director and, until recently, he was Mallory’s boyfriend. He sends Mallory and a team to Barcelona, Spain to rescue Jiang (Anthony Brandon Wong), a Chinese national being held hostage. After the mission, things go haywire. Mallory goes on the run with Scott (Michael Angarano), a young man she meets at a restaurant. Aaron (Channing Tatum), a member of her team, is pursuing her. Now, she must outwit her pursuers on both sides of the Atlantic if she is going to outlast them and discover who betrayed her.

Although he didn’t write the script, Haywire is a definitely a Steven Soderbergh movie, as he not only directed it, but also photographed it (under the name Peter Andrews) and edited it (under the name Mary Ann Bernard). The film is fast and spare, unlike the extravagant norm of many Hollywood spy and espionage thrillers and action movies. Haywire skewers closer to reality, from the gritty hand to hand combat to Gina Carano’s body and facial features. Mallory Kane looks like a woman who has really served in the military and is trained to do security and covert ops work.

However, there is much about this movie that is flat. There is too much impersonal dialogue and delivery between the characters, and the few scenes of intimacy and personal relationships come across as phony. Much of the cast is underutilized. There isn’t enough of the fantastic Michael Fassbender, and Bill Paxton as John Kane, Mallory’s father, looks as if he is chomping at the bit to do more in this movie.

Still, Haywire is a nice anecdote to the overcooked action, post-human cinema tech, and computer-generated effects that dominate most of the action thrillers now splashed across American movie theatre screens. I like the rough-and-ready Mallory Kane that actress Gina Carano creates. I want more of her, especially if Soderbergh would direct a hypothetical sequel. Haywire is a lean, mean, fighting machine, a breath of fresh air in Hollywood kick-ass cinema.

6 of 10
B

Thursday, May 10, 2012

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