Review: "MISSION: IMPOSSIBLE – THE FINAL RECKONING" is a Long Goodbye

TRASH IN MY EYE No. 23 of 2025 (No. 2029) by Leroy Douresseaux

Mission: Impossible – The Final Reckoning (2025)

Running time: 169 minutes (2 hours, 49 minutes)

MPA – PG-13 for sequences of strong violence and action, bloody images, and brief language

DIRECTOR:  Christopher McQuarrie

WRITERS:  Christopher McQuarrie and Erik Jendresen (based upon the television series created by Bruce Geller)

PRODUCERS: Tom Cruise and Christopher McQuarrie

CINEMATOGRAPHER: Fraser Taggart (D.o.P.)

EDITOR:  Eddie Hamilton

COMPOSERS:  Max Aruj and Alfie Godfey

ACTION/ADVENTURE/SPY/THRILLER

Starring: Tom Cruise, Hayley Atwell, Ving Rhames, Simon Pegg, Esai Morales, Pom Klementieff, Shea Whigham, Greg Tarzan Davis, Holt McCallany, Janet McTeer, Nick Offerman, Hannah Waddingham, Tramell Tillman, Rolf Saxon, Lucy Tulugarjuk, Charles Parnell, Mark Gatiss, and Henry Czerny and Angela Bassett

SUMMARY OF REVIEW:

-- Mission: Impossible – The Final Reckoning is a Mission: Impossible film, and fans of the franchise will like it to one extent or another

-- However, even as a fan, I find it to be too long and not as good as the previous film, Mission: Impossible – Dead Reckoning Part One

-- I think that the possibility of Mission: Impossible – The Final Reckoning being Tom Cruise's final Mission: Impossible film (at least as a lead) added to my desire to like it more than I probably should

Mission: Impossible – The Final Reckoning is a 2025 action-thriller and espionage film directed by Christopher McQuarrie and starring Tom Cruise.  It is the eighth film in the Mission: Impossible film series which began with the 1996 film, Mission: Impossible, and is based on the American television series, “Mission: Impossible” (CBS, 1966-73), that was created by Bruce Geller.  This film is also a direct sequel to 2013's Mission: Impossible – Dead Reckoning Part One.  In The Final Reckoning, Ethan Hunt learns that our lives are the sum of our choices as he and his IMF team race to stop an assassin from gaining control of a rogue AI that wants to destroy humanity.

Mission: Impossible – The Final Reckoning opens in the wake of the events depicted in Mission: Impossible – Dead Reckoning Part One.  The IMF (Impossible Mission Force) has failed to put an end to the machinations of either “The Entity,” the most powerful ever AI (artificial intelligence), or the assassin, Gabriel (Esai Morales), who wants to control The Entity.  The Entity is plotting global nuclear annihilation against humanity.

IMF agent Ethan Hunt (Tom Cruise) turns himself over to authorities and is brought before President of the United States Erika Sloane (Angela Bassett), who was once the Director of the CIA.  He asks her for the resources to find the sunken advanced Russian submarine, the “Sevastopol.”  There, he hopes to obtain the “the Rabbit's Foot,” the core module that contains the original source code for The Entity.  IMF computer technician, Luther Stickwell (Ving Rhames), has created malware in the form of a kind of flash drive that when inserted into the core module will help imprison The Entity where it can no longer be a threat to humanity.

President Sloane gives Ethan permission to act independently, and he brings together a new ragtag IMF team that includes technical field agent, Benji Dunn (Simon Pegg); a professional thief, Grace (Hayley Atwell), a French assassin, Paris (Pom Klementieff), a U.S. intelligence agent, Theo Degas (Greg Tarzan Davis); CIA agent William Donloe (Rolf Saxon); and Rolf's wife, Tapeesa (Lucy Tulugarjuk).  Ethan and his IMF team head to South Africa for an epic showdown while the world's nuclear powers await nuclear Armageddon.

I divide the six Mission: Impossible movies into two trilogies.  Mission: Impossible (1996), Mission: Impossible 2 (2000), and Mission: Impossible III (2006) make up the first trilogy.  Mission: Impossible – Ghost Protocol (2011),  Mission: Impossible – Rogue Nation (2015), and Mission: Impossible – Fallout (2018) form the second trilogy.  Mission: Impossible – Dead Reckoning Part One and Mission: Impossible – The Final Reckoning are, for the time being, the two-part conclusion to Tom Cruise's Mission: Impossible franchise.

And let's be honest, unlike the original “Mission: Impossible” TV series, which was an ensemble espionage drama, the Mission: Impossible films are a Tom Cruise vehicle / espionage action movies.  The Final Reckoning is all about Tom Cruise's Ethan Hunt.  Heck, the theme of this film is that Ethan's life is the sum of his choices.  Yes, the other characters all get their moment or, in some cases, moments to shine, but this film is about Tom/Ethan.

Like Dead Reckoning Part One, The Final Reckoning is a non-stop thrill machine full of heart-pounding races, chases, standoffs, last-second escapes, and near death experiences with Tom Cruise running more than he ever has.  I initially balked at Dead Reckoning's runtime of two hours and forty-three minutes, but the film didn't feel that long.  The Final Reckoning feels too long at two hours and forty-nine minutes.

I don't really have anything else to say.  Like all the previous films, The Final Reckoning is a perpetual thrill-machine.  If it were any other film, I'd give it a grade of “B.”  However, I am a sucker for both Tom Cruise and for his Mission: Impossible films, which I still, for the most part, re-watch.  I will watch Mission: Impossible – The Final Reckoning again – many times, so it gets a preferential grade.

7 of 10

B+

★★★½ out of 4 stars

The text is copyright © 2025 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 January 19th to 25th, 2025 - UPDATE #16

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

You can support Leroy via Paypal or on Patreon:

Amazon wants me to inform/remind you that any affiliate links found on this page are PAID ADS, but I technically only get paid (eventually) if you click on affiliate links like this, MOVIES PAGE, and BUY something(s).

TREATS: From AnotherCookie?:  There is a new online cookie retailer, "AnotherCookie?" The cookies are delicious.

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NEWS:

OSCARS - From Variety:  The nominations for the 2025 / 97th Academy Awards have been announced.  "Emilia Perez" leads with 13 nominations.  The winners will be announced March 2, 2025.

From Variety:  Karla Sofia Gascon, star of "Emilia Perez," becomes the first openly trans actor to be nominated for an Oscar.  The Spanish star received her "Best Actress" nomination for playing the title role of "Emilia Perez."

From Deadline:  Songwriter Diane Warren broke her own record this morning at the nominations announcement for the 97th Oscars.  She received her 16th nomination in the category of "Best Original Song," for her end credits song, "The Journey," for Tyler Perry's historical drama, "The Six Triple Eight."  This is also the eighth year in a row that she has been nominated in that category, but she did not win the previous 15 times she was nominated.  This is also the first time that a Tyler Perry has received an Oscar nomination in any category.

From YahooMovies:  With 13 nominations, Yahoo's Kelsey Weekman asked if "Emilia Perez" is this year's Oscar villain?

From YahooMovies:  Yahoo's Kelsey Weekman looks at the "surprises" in who was nominated and "snubs" in who was not.

From YahooMovies:  The Oscar-nominated "Sing Sing" is back in theaters.  It also makes history by being simultaneously available to one million incarcerated people around the country.  Yahoo's Kelsey Weekman talks about why that matters.

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MOVIES - From THR:  Hot off Nosferatu and about to embark on a remake of Jim Henson's Labyrinth, Robert Eggers will direct, "Werewulf," a werewolf movie set in the 13th century, for Focus Features.

MOVIES - From Deadline:  Christopher McQuarrie, director of Mission: Impossible — The Final Reckoning, said that at a recent small screening, someone said that they almost had a heart attack during a particular action sequence. The Tom Cruise movie is reportedly the final film in the franchise starring Cruise.

NATIVE AMERICAN - From APNews:  In one of his last acts as President of the United States, President Joe Biden commuted the sentence of the Indigenous activist, Leonard Peltier.  Imprisoned for the killing of two FBI agents on June 26, 1975, Peltier will leave the federal prison system after nearly half a century and spend his remaining time on Earth in home confinement.

CELEBRITY - From Deadline:  Oscar and Emmy-winning actor, Rami Malek, talks about a racial profiling incident in which the Los Angeles Police Department officers threw him on the hood of a car.

BOX OFFICE - From BoxOfficePro:  The winner of the 1/17 to 1/19/2025 weekend box office is Sony Pictures' "One of Them Days" with an estimated take of 11.6 million dollars.

From Variety:  With 445 million dollars in domestic box office and 567 million dollars in international box office, "Moana 2" has crossed the one-billion dollar mark, becoming the third film released in 2024 to cross that mark.  All of three:  "Inside Out 2," "Deadpool & Wolverine," and "Moana 2" are Disney releases.

STREAMING - From Variety:  After two seasons, Paramount+ has enough of its revival of "Frasier," the former NBC sitcom that ran from 1993-2004.  CBS Studios, the producer, is shopping the revival series to other platforms.

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BOWL SCHEDULE - From YahooSports:  Here is your 2024-2024 college football bowl schedule with games, matchups, times, and dates.  Most of the games are on ESPN.

It begins with the "Cricket Celebration Bowl" on Saturday, December 14th featuring Jackson State vs South Carolina State at Noon EST on ABC.

The first round of the "College Football Playoff" begins Friday, December 20th with Indiana at Notre Dame at 8 p.m. EST on ESPN.

It all climaxes January 20th, 2025 with the "College Football Playoff National Championship" between the #6 Ohio State Buckeyes and the Notre Dame Fighting Irish on ESPN.

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MOVIE AWARDS:

From THR:  The winners for the 2025 / 82nd Annual Golden Globes have been announced.  "Emilia Perez" won "Best Motion Picture - Musical or Comedy" and "Best Motion Picture - Non-English Language."  "The Brutalist" won "Best Motion Picture - Drama."  "Wicked" won in the new category, "Cinematic and Box Office Achievement."  "Flow" won "Best Motion Picture - Animated."

From THR:  The nominations for the 2025 / 36th Producers Guild of America Awards have been announced.  The winners will be announced Sat. Feb. 8th.

From BBC:  The nominations for the 2025 / 78th British Academy Film Awards (BAFTAs) have been announced.  "Conclave" leads with 12 nominations.  The winners will be Sunday, Feb. 16th, 2025.

From Deadline:  The nominations for the 2025 / 77th Annual Directors Guild Awards have been announced.  In the awards' marquee category, "Theatrical Feature Film," the nominees are Jacques Audiard ("Emilia Perez"), Sean Baker ("Anora"), Edward Berger ("Conclave"), Brady Corbet ("The Brutalist"), and James Mangold ("A Complete Unknown").  The winners will be announced February 8th.

From EW:  The Screen Actors Guild has cancelled the 2025 / 31st SAG Awards nominations announcement live-stream because of the current wildfires sweeing through the Los Angeles area.  The nominations will be announced Thursday morning, January 9th via press release and on SAG Awards website.  The SAG Award ceremony will be hired Feb. 23rd.

From AwardsWatch:  The nominations for the 2025 / 56th Annual NAACP Image Awards have been announced.  Netflix's "The Piano Lesson" leads with 14 nominations.  The winners will be announced February 21st and 22nd.

From AwardsWatch:  The winners at the 2024 Pittsburgh Film Critics Association (PFCA) Awards have been announced. This is the association inaugural awards announcement.  "The Substance" was named "Best Picture."

From AwardsWatch:  The winners at the 2024 Chicago Independent Critics (CIC) Awards have been announced.  "The Substance" has won seven awards, including "Best Indepent Film," "Best Director" (Coralie Fargeat), and "Best Actress" (Demi Moore).  "Dune: Part Two" won "Best Studio Film."

From AwardsWatch:  The winners at the 2024 Women Film Critics Circle (WFCC) Awards have been announced.  "Emilia Perez" wins "Best Movie About Women."  Coralie Fargeat's "The Substance" wins "Best Movie By a Woman" (directing)

From AwardsWatch:  The winners at the annual Portland Critics Association (PCA) Awards have been announced.  "The Brutalist" won in 10 of the 13 categories in which it was nominated, including "Best Picture," "Best Director" (Brady Corbet), and "Best Actor" (Adrien Brody). 

From AwardsWatch:  The winners at the 2024 North Dakota Film Society (NDFS) Awards have been announced.  "Anora" won five awards, including "Best Picture," "Best Director" (Sean Baker), and "Best Actress" (Mikey Madison).

From AwardsWatch:  The winners at the 2024 Hawaii Film Critics Society (HFCS) Awards have been announced.  "The Brutalist" took four awards, including "Best Picture" and "Best Actor" (Adrien Brody). 

From AwardsWatch:  The winners at the 2024 Utah Film Critics Association (UFCA) Awards have been announced.  "The Wild Robot" won two awards - "Best Picture" and "Best Animated Feature."

From AwardsWatch:  The winners of the Minnesota Film Critics Association (MNFCA) Awards have been announced.  "The Brutalist" has taken five awards, including "Best Picture," "Best Director" (Brady Corbet), and "Best Actor" (Adrien Brody). 

From AwardsWatch:  The winners at the 2024 Music City Film Critics Association (MCFCA) Awards have been announced.  "Dune: Part Two" has won four awards, including "Best Picture" and "Best Director" (Denis Villeneuve).

From AwardsWatch:  The winners at the 2024 George Film Critics Association (GFCA) Awards have been announced.  "Anora" won four awards, including "Best Picture," "Best Director" (Sean Baker), and "Best Actress" (Mikey Madison).

From AwardsWatch:  The winners of the 2024 Alliance of Women Film Journalists (AWFJ) EDA Awards have been announced.  "The Brutalist" has won "Best Film."

From AwardsWatch:  The winners at the 2024 Austin Film Critics Association (AFCA) Awards have been announced.  "Anora" won five awards, including "Best Film," "Best Director" (Sean Baker), and "Best Actress" (Mikey Madison).

From AwardsWatch:  The winners at the 2024 Kansas City Film Critics Circle (KCFCC) Awards have been announced.  "The Substance" has won six awards, including "Best Film," "Best Director" (Coralie Fargeat), and "Best Actress" (Demi Moore). 

From AwardsWatch:  The winners at the 2024 Greater Western New York Film Critics Association (GWNYFCA) Awards have been announced.  "Challengers" has won "Best Film" and "Best Director" (Luca Guadagnino).

From AwardsWatch:  The winners at the 2024 DiscussingFilm's Global Film Critics Awards have been announced.  "Nickel Boys" won "Best Picture."

From EW:  The nominations for the 2025 / 82nd Annual Golden Globes have been announced.  "Emilia Perez" leads with 10 nominations.  The winners will be announced January 5, 2025 on CBS and Paramount+.

From THR:  The winners at the 2025 National Society of Film Critics (NSFC) Awards have been announced. "Nickel Boys" has won the award for "Best Picture" of 2024.

From AwardsWatch:  The winners at the 2024 Oklahoma Film Critics Circle (OFCC) Awards have been announced.  "Conclave" won five awards, including "Best Film," "Best Director" (Edward Berger), and "Best Actor" (Ralph Fiennes).

From AwardsWatch:  The winners at the North Carolina Film Critics Association (NCFCA) Awards have been announced.  "Conclave" has won three awards, including "Best Narrative Film."

From AwardsWatch:  The winners at the 2024 Columbia Film Critics Association (COFCA) Awards have been announced. "The Substance" has won four awards, including "Best Film," "Best Director" (Coralie Fargeat), and "Best Actress" (Demi Moore), 

From AwardsWatch:  The winners at the 29th Capri, Hollywood-International Film Festival Awards have been announced. "Emilia Perez" won six awards, including "Best Picture."

From AwardsWatch:  The winners at the 2024 Critics Association of Central Florda (CACF) Awards have been announced.  "Anora" has been named "Best Picture."

From AwardsWatch:  The winners at the 2024 UK Film Critics Association (UKFCA) Awards have been announced. "Dune: Part Two" won "Film of the Year" and "Best Director" (Denis Villeneuve).

From AwardsWatch:  The winners at the 2024 North Texas Film Critics Association (NTFCA) Awards have been announced. "Anora" has won four awards, including "Best Picture," "Best Director" (Sean Baker), and "Best Actress" (Mikey Madison).

From AwardsWatch:  The winners at the 2024 Online Association of Female Film Critics (OAFFC) Awards have been announced.  "The Substance" won six awards, including "Best Director" (Coralie Fargeat). and "Best Leading Performance" (Demi Moore).  "The Substance" shared the "Best Film" honor with "Anora."

From AwardsWatch:  The winners at the 2024 Philadelphia Film Critics Circle (PFCCA) Awards have been announced.  "Anora" won six awards, including "Best Film," "Best Director" (Sean Baker), and "Best Actress" (Mikey Madison).

From AwardsWatch:  The winners at the 2024 Florida Film Critics Circle (FFCC) Awards have announced.  "The Beast" has won "Best Picture" and "Best Director" (Bertrand Bonello).

From AwardsWatch:  The winners at the 2024 Nevada Film Critics Society (NFCS) Awards have been announced.  "The Brutalist" has taken six awards, including "Best Picture," "Best Director" (Brady Corbet), and "Best Actor" (Adrien Brody). 

From AwardsWatch:  The winners at the 2024 Dublin Film Critics Circle (DFCC) Awards have been announced.  "The Zone of Interest" was named "Best Film" and its director, Jonathan Glazer, won "Best Director."  Although the film was released in Dublin this year, it was eligible for the Academy Awards in 2023.

From AwardsWatch:  The winners at the 2024 Dallas-Fort Worth Film Critic Association (DFWFCA) Awards have been announced.  "Anora" has won three awards: "Best Picture," "Best Director" (Sean Baker), and "Best Actress" (Mikey Madison).

From AwardsWatch:  The winners of the 2024 Southeastern Film Critics Associations (SFCA) Awards have been announced.  "Anora" has been named "Best Film."

From AwardsWatch:  The winners at the 2024 Iowa Film Critics Association (IFCA) Awards have been announced.  "Anora" won three awards: "Best Film," "Best Director" (Sean Baker), and "Best Actress" (Mikey Madison).

From AwardsWatch: The winners at the 2024 New York Film Critics Online (NYFCO) Awards have been announced.  "The Substance" has won "Best Picture" and "Best Director" (Coralie Fargeat)

From AwardsWatch:  The winners at the 2024 Seattle Film Critics Society (SFCS) Awards have been announced.  "The Substance" has been named "Best Picture."

From AwardsWatch:  The winners at the 2024 Phoenix Film Critics Society (PFCS) Awards have been announced.  "The Brutalist" has been named "Best Picture."

From AwardsWatch:  The winners of the 2024 Indiana Film Journalists Association (IFJA) Awards.  "The Substance" has won six awards, including "Best Film," "Best Director" (Coralie Fargeat), and "Best Leading Performance" (Demi Moore), and "Best Supporting Performance" (Margaret Qualley).

From AwardsWatch:  The winners at the 2024 Toronto Film Critics Association (TFCA) Awards have been announced.  "Nickel Boys" has won "Best Picture" and "Best Director" (RaMell Ross)

From AwardsWatch:  The winners at the 2024 St. Louis Film Critics Association (StLFCA) Awards have been announced. "Dune: Part Two" has won three awards, including "Film" and "Best Director" (Denis Villeneuve).

From AwardsWatch:  The Producers Guild of America (PGA) has announced the nominations in the category of "Outstanding Producer of Documentary Motion Pictures." The winners at the 2025 / 39th Annual Producers Guild Awards will be announced Saturday, February 8, 2024.

From AwardsWatch:  The winners at the 2024 San Francisco Bay Area Film Critics Circle Awards have been announced. "Anora" has been named "Best Film."

From AwardsWatch:  The winners at the 2024 Boston Online Film Critics Association (BOFCA) Awards have been announced. "The Brutalist" has taken five awards, including "Best Picture," "Best Director" (Brady Corbet), and "Best Actor" (Adrien Brody). 

From AwardsWatch:  The winners at the 2024 Las Vegas Film Critics Society (LVFCS) Awards have been announced.  "Dune: Part Two" has won six awards, including "Best Picture" and "Best Director" (Denis Villeneuve).

From AwardsWatch:  The winners at the 2024 African-American Film Critics Association (AAFCA) Awards have been announced.  "Nickel Boys" has won "Best Picture" and "Best Director" (RaMell Ross). "Sing Sing" has won "Best Actor" (Colman Domingo) and "Best Supporting Actor" (Clarence Maclin).

From AwardsWatch:  The winners at the 2024 Phoenix Critics Circle (PCC) Awards have been announced.  "The Brutalist" has been named "Best Picture."  The films four total wins including for "Best Director" (Brady Corbet) and "Best Actor" (Adrien Brody).

From AwardsWatch:  The winners at the 2024 Chicago Film Critics (CFC) Awards have been announced.  "The Brutalist" has won "Best Picture."

From AwardsWatch:  The winners of the 2024 San Diego Film Critics Society (SDFCS) Awards have been announced.  "Sing Sing" won "Best Picture," won of three awards it received.

From AwardsWatch:  The winners of the 2024 Michigan Movie Critics Guild (MMCG) Awards have been announced.  "Anora" was named "Best Picture," one of its four wins.

From AwardsWatch:  The winners of the 2024 Atlanta Film Critics Circle Awards have been announced.  "Anora" was named "Best Film," one of four awards it won.

From AwardsWatch:  The winners at the 2024 Washington Area Film Critics Association Awards have been announced.  "Wicked" has won the award for "Best Feature."

From AwardsWatch:  The winners of the 49th Los Angeles Film Critics Association Awards have been announced.  "Anora" was named "Best Picture."  Marianne Jean-Baptiste (for "Hard Truths") became the first Black woman to win a lead performance honor in the groups history.

From AwardsWatch:  The winners for the 2024 / 27th British Independent Film Awards have been announced.  The Irish film, "Kneecap," wins "Best British Independent Film."

From AwardsWatch:  The winners at the 2024 Boston Society of Film Critics (BSFC) have been announced.  "Anora" wins "Best Picture," "Best Director" (Sean Baker), "Best Actress" (Mikey Madison), and "Best Original Screenplay."

From AFI:  The American Film Institute has named its top ten films and television series.  Among the films honored are "Dune: Part Two," "Nickel Boys," and "Wicked."

From THR:  The winners at the 2024 / 37th European Film Awards have been announced.  "Emilia Perez" wins the award for "European Film."  It also won the directing (Jacques Audiard), writing (Audiard), and actress (Karla Sofia Gascon) honors.

From NBR:  The National Board of Review has named its 2024 film honorees.  "Wicked" wins "Best Film" and "Best Director" (for John M. Chu).

From Deadline:  The nominations for the 2025 / 40th Film Independent Spirit Awards have been announced.  Cannes 2024 Palme d'Or winner, "Anora," and "I Saw the TV Glow" each lead with six nominations apiece.  The winners will be announced Saturday, February 22, 2025.

From Deadline:  The winners of the 2024 / 90th New York Film Critics Circle Awards have been announced.  Director Brady Corbet's three-hour epic, "The Brutalist," has won "Best Film" and its star, Adrian Brody, has won "Best Actor."

From Variety:  The winners at the 2024 / 34th Gotham Awards have been announced.  Writer-director Aaron Schimberg's "A Different Man" has won the "Best Feature" award.

From Deadline:  The 2024 / 34th Gotham Awards kick off the 2024-25 movie awards season by announcing its nominations for achievement in film.  Director Sean Baker's "Anora," which won the Palme d'Or at Cannes this year, leads with four nominations.  The winners will be announced Monday, December 2, 2024.

From Deadline:  The nominations for the 2024 / 27th British Independent Film Awards have been announced.  The Irish film, "Kneecap," leads with 14 nominations. The winners will be announced Sunday, December 8, 2024.

BEST PICTURE WINNER COUNT:

From AwardsWatch:  This link will take you, dear readers, to "AwardWatch's" article, "Who Won What? - The 2024/2025 Film Award Precursor Guide."

"Anora": 15 wins (Atlanta Film Critics Circle; Austin Film Critics Association; Boston Society of Film Critics; CACF: DFWFCA; Georgia Film Critics Association; IFCA; LAFCA; Michigan Movie Critics Guild; North Dakota Film Society; OAFFC; NTFCA; Philadelphia Film Critics Circle; SFBAFCC; SFCA)

"The Beast": 1 win (Florida Film Critics Circle)

"The Brutalist": 11 wins (AWFJ; BOFCA; Chicago Film Critics; Golden Globes-Drama; HFCS; MNFCA; Nevada Film Critics Society; NYFCC; Phoenix Critics Circle; Phoenix Film Critics Circle; Portland Critics Association)

"Challengers": 1 win (GWNYFCA)

"Conclave":  2 wins (North Carolina Film Critics Association; Oklahoma Film Critics Circle)

"A Different Man": 1 win (Gotham Awards)

"Dune: Part Two" - 5 wins (Chicago Independent Critics; LVFCS; Music City Film Critics Associations; St.LFCA; UKFCA)

"Emilia Perez":  4 wins (Capri, Hollywood-International Film Festival Awards; European Film Awards; Golden Globes-Comedy or Musical; WFCC)

"Kneecap": 1 win (British Independent Film Awards)

"Nickel Boys": 4 wins (AAFCA; DiscussingFilm; National Society of Film Critics; TFCA)

"Sing Sing": 1 win (San Diego Film Critics Society)

"The Substance": 9 wins (Chicago Independent Critics; COFCA; Indiana Film Journalists Association; KCFCC; NYFCO; OAFFC; Pittsburgh Film Critics Association; Seattle Film Critics Society; WFCC)

"Wicked": 2 wins (National Board of Review; WAFCA)

"The Wild Robot":  1 win (Utah Film Critics Association)

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Negromancer News Bits and Bites from July 16th to 22nd, 2023 - Update #18

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

You can support Leroy via Paypal or on Patreon:

ENTERTAINMENT AND CULTURE NEWS:

CELEBRITY - From THR:  For the first time since his medical emergency, Jamie Foxx speaks publicly, releasing a video on his "Instagram" page.

TELEVISION - From Deadline:  FX's "Aliens" television series has begun filming in Thailand, but are filming scenes that don't include SAG-AFTRA actors.

MOVIES - From YahooEntertainment:  Antonio Banderas recalls Steven Spielberg's prescient words about CGI on the set of his film, "The Mask of Zorro" (1998). This is the 25th anniversary of the film's release.

MUSIC - From Deadline:  Grammy Award winning singer-songwriter and recording artist, Sheryl Crow, calls out country singer Jason Aldean over his violent and obviously racist song, "Try That in a Small Town."

OPPENHEIMER - From Deadline:  Actor Cillian Murphy talks about his starring role in "Oppenheimer" and about working with Christopher Nolan again.

From Variety:  Matt Damon had told his wife he was taking a break from acting unless director Christopher Nolan called. Then, Nolan called about "Oppenheimer"...

STREAMING - From Deadline:  Paramount+ has unveiled a first look at "Pet Sematary: Bloodlines," a prequel to Stephen King's 1983 novel. "Pet Sematary."

MEDIA - From Deadline:  Lionsgate seems to be in the lead to buy the film and television entertainment company eOne (Entertainment One) from Hasbro.

STREAMING - From Variety:  NBCUniversal's streaming service, "Peacock," has raised its prices for the first time since its launch.

BOX OFFICE - BoxOfficePro:  The winner of the 7/14 to 7/16/2023 weekend box office is Paramount Pictures' "Mission Impossible - Dead Reckoning Part One" with an estimated take of 56.2 million dollars.

From Here:  A review of "Mission: Impossible - Dead Reckoning Part One" by Leroy Douresseaux

From Deadline:  Director Christopher McQuarrie considered using the "de-aging" process for Tom Cruise in order to create a young Ethan Hunt, but ultimately chose not to go with it.

OBITS:

From Deadline:   Legendary American singer, Tony Bennett, has died at the age of 96, Friday, July 21, 2023.  He career spanned decades and generations. He made his first recordings in 1949.  He had his first hit in 1951 ("Because of You").  He recorded his first album in 1952 ("Because of You"), which would be one of over 100 albums released.  Younger audiences discovered Bennett in the early 1990s and continue to do so, listening to his catalog of jazz, traditional pop, show tunes, and big band, to name a few of the genres of music in which he has performed. He won 19 Grammy Awards and received the Grammy "Lifetime Achievement Award."

From Deadline:  American actress Josephine Chaplin has died at the age of 74, Thursday, July 13, 2023.  The daughter of legendary filmmaker and actor, Charlie Chaplin, and British actress, Oona O'Neill, Josephine made an appearance as a child actor in her father's Oscar-winning film, "Limelight."  Her other roles include "Canterbury Tales" (1972), "Jack the Ripper," and "A Countess from Hong Kong" (1967), which was also her father's final film.

From Deadline:  Film and television producer and director, Robert Lieberman, has died at the age of 77, Saturday, July 1, 2023. As a film director, his best known work is the science fiction cult classic, "Fire in the Sky" (1993). As a TV director, he helmed numerous series, including multiple episodes of USA Network's "The Dead Zone" and Syfy's "The Expanse."  Lieberman directed over two thousand TV commercials and in 1980, he won the first Directors Guild of America (DGA) Awards for "Best Commercial Director," one of two that he won in that category.

WRITERS/ACTORS STRIKE:

From THR:  Production works at Warner Bros. Animation (66) and at Cartoon Network (22) have gone public with their attempt to unionize via The Animation Guild.

From Variety:  Halted film productions due to the writers and actors strikes are costing each Hollywood studio at least 600,000 dollars per week.

From Variety:  Said at a strike meeting: “Without a transformative change in SAG-AFTRA’s current contract with the AMPTP, the acting profession will no longer be an option for future generations of performers, and actors already working in the industry will need to pursue other careers in order to survive.”

From Deadline:  If you are a "social media influencer" who is NOT  a member of SAG-AFTRA, you can be barred from future membership for promoting a film or television series during the actors' strike.

From Variety:  The SAG/AFTRA strike begins in New York and Los Angeles.  Hollywood actors began striking today, Fri., July 14th.

From Deadline:  The site has the video of the powerful strike speech given by SAG-AFTRA president, Fran Drescher, the actress best known for CBS' former sitcom, "The Nanny."

From Deadline:  Concerning the Hollywood writers strike (via the WGA), the Hollywood Studios (as represented by the AMPTP) is to let the writers go broke before resuming talks deep into the Fall.

From Deadline: SAG-AFTRA is already preparing strike picket signs in case the actors' strike begins next week.

From Deadline:  WGA is picketing the New York City filming location of the 12th series of FX's "American Horror Story" (entitled "Delicate") after series co-creator Ryan Murphy threaten litigation against an east coast strike captain.

From THR:  TV super-producer, Ryan Murphy, in a letter from his attorney to the leadership of the Writers Guild of America, threatened litigation against Warren Leight, an East Coast strike captain and Strike Rules Compliance Committee member who has subsequently forfeited those positions.

From Deadline:  The Hollywood studios via the AMPTP has given Canadian actors a new contract, including a 5 percent raise.

From Deadline:  Writers Strike puts the spotlight back on the challenge from writers for animation productions to be covered by the WGA.

From THR:  Studios won't give writers better pay, and now, are laying off janitors.

From Deadline:  The Directors Guild of America (DGA) has reached a tentative new three-year deal with the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers (AMPTP). So what does the Writers Guild (WGA), currently on strike and negotiating with the AMPTP, think of that deal.

From Deadline:  Netflix shareholders declined to support the 2023 pay packages of top executives during a non-binding vote at the company’s annual shareholder meeting on Thursday.  The vote won't prevent these execs from getting their loot (an total of $166 million), but this is a rare public rebuke.  The Writers Guild of America (WGA) has urged shareholders to vote "No" because the pay was "inappropriate" at this time.

From Deadline:  Warner Bros Discovery chief David Zaslav gave the commencement address at Boston University. There he was met with jeers and also chants of "pay your writers" from picketers and from some in the audience.

From Deadline:   President Joe Biden speaks on the Writers Guild of America strike.

From Deadline:  Retaliation! The studios have starting informing writer-producers who have "overall" and "first-look" deals that such deals are being suspended.

From Deadline:  Retaliation!  Prolific HBO creator, David Simon, who is best known for "The Wire," is one of the many writers who have had their overall deals suspended the studios due to the WGA strike.  Simon has been with HBO for 25 years.

From Deadline:  The Writers Guild of America (WGA) is on strike.

From Deadline:  Disney, HBO/HBO Max, and CBS have sent letters to showrunners (the TV equivalent of film directors) instructing them to return to work, inspite of the writer's strike.

From Deadline:  The WGA's chief negotiator, Ellen Stutzman, talks about the state of the writers' strike, including the lack of engagement on the part of the strike's other party, AMPTP.

From Deadline:  What went wrong between the WGA and AMPTP? What could they not agree on that led to a strike?

From Deadline:  The site explains the WGA strike: the issues, the stakes, movies and TV shows affected, and how long it might last.

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Review: "MISSION: IMPOSSIBLE - Dead Reckoning Part One" Embraces the Impossible

TRASH IN MY EYE No. 32 of 2023 (No. 1921) by Leroy Douresseaux

Mission: Impossible – Dead Reckoning Part One (2023)

Running time: 163 minutes (2 hours, 43 minutes)

MPAA – PG-13 intense sequences of violence and action, some language and suggestive material

DIRECTOR:  Christopher McQuarrie

WRITERS:  Christopher McQuarrie and Erik Jendresen (based upon the television series created by Bruce Geller)

PRODUCERS: Tom Cruise and Christopher McQuarrie

CINEMATOGRAPHER: Fraser Taggart (D.o.P.)

EDITOR:  Eddie Hamilton

COMPOSER: Loren Balfe

ACTION/ADVENTURE/SPY/THRILLER

Starring: Tom Cruise, Hayley Atwell, Ving Rhames, Simon Pegg, Rebecca Ferguson, Vanessa Kirby, Esai Morales, Pom Klementieff, Shea Whigham, Greg Tarzan Davis, Frederick Schmidt, Maria Garriga, Cary Elwes, and Henry Czerny

Mission: Impossible – Dead Reckoning Part One is a 2023 action-thriller and espionage film directed by Christopher McQuarrie and starring Tom Cruise.  It is the seventh film in the Mission: Impossible film series, which is based on the American television series, “Mission: Impossible” (CBS, 1966-73), that was created by Bruce Geller.  In Dead Reckoning Part One, Ethan Hunt and his IMF team race to obtain half of a key that is connected to something that could be a doomsday device.

Mission: Impossible – Dead Reckoning Part One opens in the Bering Sea.  Beneath the surface, an advanced Russian submarine, the “Sevastopol,” prepares to test a new AI (artificial intelligence) system.  But disaster strikes.

Later, Eugene Kittridge (Henry Czerny), the director of the IMF (Impossible Mission Force), offers IMF agent Ethan Hunt (Tom Cruise) a new mission.  Should he accept, Hunt must retrieve half of a mysterious cruciform key.  It is currently in the possession of his ally, the former British agent, Ilsa Faust (Rebecca Ferguson), who also has had a 50-million-dollar bounty placed on her.

Next, Hunt and his team – Benji Dunn (Simon Pegg) and Luther Stickwell (Ving Rhames) – must trace the current holder of the second half of that cruciform key to a buyer.  However, the mission is complicated by the intercession of new players:  Grace (Hayley Atwell), a professional thief; Alanna Mitsopolis (Vanessa Kirby), a black-market arms dealers also known as the “White Widow;” and Paris (Pom Klementieff), a French assassin.  The most shocking new player is Paris' boss, Gabriel (Esai Morales), a powerful terrorist with an intimate connection to Ethan Hunt's past.  Ethan and his IMF team clash with these new people in a struggle for a key that is connected to something that could rule the world or destroy it, The Entity. 

I divide the six Mission: Impossible movies into two trilogies.  Mission: Impossible (1996), Mission: Impossible 2 (2000), and Mission: Impossible III (2006) make up the first trilogy.  Mission: Impossible – Ghost Protocol (2011),  Mission: Impossible – Rogue Nation (2015), and Mission: Impossible – Fallout (2018) form the second trilogy.

Mission: Impossible – Dead Reckoning Part One is something new.  It was originally meant to be the first part of a two-part send off for Ethan Hunt, but that has apparently changed.  Still, Dead Reckoning Part One feels like the beginning of the end.  It's as if Ethan is facing his ultimate test, a mission in which most of the potential resolutions can make things worse for the U.S. and the rest of the world.  Honestly, this feels like a mission in which Ethan should not survive.

That aside, should you choose to accept this mission, dear readers, Mission: Impossible – Dead Reckoning Part One is a non-stop thrill machine full of heart-pounding races, car chases, standoffs, and Tom Cruise running more than he ever has.  I balked at the runtime of two hours and forty-three minutes, but the film doesn't feel that long.  It's always moving and grooving to a electrifying pace.  The plot is a bit thin, and even that thinness manages to be a bit convoluted, but Dead Reckoning Part One moves too much to allow you to think about any inconsistencies.  Why think about plot when the action and thrills are so mesmerizing and exhilarating?  I had seen several video clips of Ethan Hunt's motorcycle cliff dive, which is the super-big stunt in Dead Reckoning Part One, but seeing the entire thing on the big, silver screen still made me nervous.  That's the peak power of the extravagant action movie treats that this film offers.

Dead Reckoning Part One has beautiful cinematography and a hypnotic, pounding film score, and killer production values.  Everyone is dressed so nicely, and all the sets put the art in art direction.  The cast is amazing, and I couldn't get enough of Pom Klementieff's Paris.  But the stars here are true movie star, Tom Cruise, and director Christopher McQuarrie.  They wanted to give people a reason to come back to movie theaters, and they have.  Mission: Impossible – Dead Reckoning Part One is the kind of high-quality and breath-taking entertainment that demands to be seen in a darkened movie theater with a bunch of other people as equally thrilled as you or I are.

8 of 10

A

★★★★ out of 4 stars

Friday, July 15, 2023

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

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Review: "MISSION: IMPOSSIBLE 2" is Still on Fire

TRASH IN MY EYE No. 31 of 2023 (No. 1920) by Leroy Douresseaux

Mission: Impossible 2 (2000)

Running time: 123 minutes (2 hours, 3 minutes)

MPAA – PG-13 for intense sequences of violent action and some sensuality

DIRECTOR:  John Woo

WRITERS:  Robert Towne; from a story by Ronald D. Moore and Brannon Barga (based upon the television series created by Bruce Geller)

PRODUCERS: Tom Cruise and Paula Wagner

CINEMATOGRAPHER: Jeffrey L. Kimball (D.o.P.)

EDITORS:  Steven Kemper and Christian Wagner

COMPOSER: Hans Zimmer

ACTION/ADVENTURE/SPY/THRILLER

Starring: Tom Cruise, Dougray Scott, Thandie Newton, Richard Roxburgh, John Polson, Brendan Gleeson, Rade Serbedzija, William Mapother, Dominic Purcell, Nicholas Bell, Kee Chan, Antonio Vargas, and Ving Rhames with Anthony Hopkins

Mission: Impossible 2 is a 2000 action-thriller and espionage film directed by John Woo and starring Tom Cruise.  It is a sequel to the 1996 film, Mission: Impossible, and is based on the American television series, “Mission: Impossible” (CBS, 1966-73), that was created by Bruce Geller.  In Mission: Impossible 2 (also known as M:I-2), Ethan Hunt battles a rogue fellow agent in a bid to obtain a genetically modified virus.

Mission: Impossible 2 opens in a lab at Australia's Biocyte Pharmaceuticals.  There, Dr. Vladimir Nekhorvich (Rade Serbedzija), a bio-genetics scientist, sends a message to his old friend, “Dimitri,” which is the cover name for Impossible Mission Force (IMF) agent Ethan Hunt (Tom Cruise).  Nekhorvich's employer, Biocyte Pharmaceuticals, has forced him to create a biological weapon, which he calls “Chimera,” and a cure for it, which he names “Bellerophon.”  Biocyte's CEO, John C. McCloy (Brendan Gleeson), plans to profit from Bellerophon as cure for Chimera after the virus is released into the unsuspecting world.

Nekhorvich injects himself with Chimera and carries Bellerophon with him and heads to the U.S., where he hopes to meet “Dimitri.”  However, he is intercepted by IMF agent Sean Ambrose (Dougray Scott), who is, in some ways, Ethan Hunt's equal and opposite.  Ambrose and his men steal Bellerophon and begin their hunt to obtain Chimera, not knowing that it was inside Nekhorvich.

IMF Mission Commander Swanbeck (Anthony Hopkins) orders Hunt to lead his team – computer hacker, IMF agent Luther Stickwell (Ving Rhames), and helicopter pilot, William “Billy” Baird (John Polson), on a mission to get Chimera before Ambrose does.  Swanbeck also orders Hunt to add to his team a professional thief named Nyah Nordoff-Hall (Thandie Newton), who was, until recently, Ambrose's girlfriend.  Can Ethan trust Nyah, or has he gotten to close to her?  And is Ambrose more than a match for Ethan?

I divide the six Mission: Impossible movies into two trilogies.  Mission: Impossible (1996), Mission: Impossible 2 (2000), and Mission: Impossible III (2006) make up the first trilogy.  Mission: Impossible – Ghost Protocol (2011),  Mission: Impossible – Rogue Nation (2015), and Mission: Impossible – Fallout (2018) form the second trilogy.

That's just my personal thing.  M:I-2 is its own thing.  Directed by Hong Kong auteur, John Woo, the film features the hallmarks of Woo's directorial style, including his “bullet ballet” action sequences, stylized imagery, slow motion action and character drama scenes, Mexican standoffs, and fight sequences that recall the Chinese martial arts sub-genres “wuxia” and “wire-fu.”  However, the film doesn't really kick into high gear with some of Woo's best flourishes until its second half.

The first half of the film focuses on Ethan Hunt's obsession with Nyah Nordoff-Hall, which mirrors Sean Ambrose's obsession with her.  This “love triangle” allows Woo and his screenwriters to build tension between Hunt and Ambrose that explodes with jealousy and rage and eventually leads to a fight to the death.  M:I-2 may be the film in this franchise in which Tom Cruise's Ethan Hunt shares the most screen time with other characters, especially Newton's Nyah and Scott's Ambrose.

Anyway, the film really begins to rumble in the second half.  The last half-hour or so is a masterpiece of directing, film editing, cinematography, and stunt coordinators and stuntmen.  My high rating is mainly because of this exhilarating last act, which makes me want to see this movie again.

Tom Cruise was in his late 30s when Mission: Impossible 2 began filming, yet he looks much younger onscreen, about a decade or so (at least to me).  His long hair, that boyish grin, his immature and petulant anger and jealousy would be largely gone 19 months later when his trippy drama, Vanilla Sky (2001), arrived in December 2001.  So for me, Mission: Impossible 2 is a good-bye to the Mission: Impossible film franchise's beginnings.  The series would rapidly begin to morph with the third entry, and boyish Tom Cruise would finally give way to adult Tom Cruise.  At least, I now remember why I loved this film so much 23 years ago, and now, I want to see it again.

8 of 10

A

★★★★ out of 4 stars

Tuesday, July 11, 2023

NOTES:

2001 Image Awards (NAACP):  2 nominations: “Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Motion Picture” (Ving Rhames) and “Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Motion Picture” (Thandie Newton)

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

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Negromancer News Bits and Bites from May 22nd to 31st, 2022 - Update #41

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

You can support Leroy via Paypal or on Patreon:

ENTERTAINMENT AND CULTURE NEWS:

BOX OFFICE - From Deadline:  In the final tally, the Memorial Day holiday weekend domestic box office take for "Top Gun: Maverick" is a record 160.5 million dollars.

From BoxOfficePro:  The winner of the 5/27 to 5/29/2020 weekend box office is Paramount Pictures' "Top Gun: Maverick" with an estimated take of 124 million dollars.

From TheWrap:  With an estimated 156 million dollars at the domestic box office, "Top Gun: Maverick" has broken the Memorial Day weekend box office record. The surpasses "Pirates of the Caribbean: At World's End" which grossed 153 million dollars during the 2007 Memorial Day weekend.

From Here:  Here is my review of "Top Gun: Maverick."

From THR:  On review aggregator, "Rotten Tomatoes," "Top Gun: Maverick" has tied "Mission: Impossible - Fallout" (2018) as the best reviewed Tom Cruise movie of all time.

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MOVIES - From TheWrap:  Indie entertainment company, A24's horror films ranked from best to worse.

MOVIES - From Variety:  Here is a first look at Oscar-nominee, Bradley Cooper, as legendary Broadway composer, Leonard Bernstein, "Maestro."

MOVIES - From WorldofReel:  David Cronenberg says that he has an idea for a movie starring "Twilight Saga" costars, Robert Pattinson and Kristen Stewart.

TELEVISION - From Deadline:  Oscar-winning actress Jodie Foster will appear in the fourth season of HBO's anthology series, "True Detective."  Entitled, "True Detective: Night Country," it will be Foster's first major adult TV role.

SCANDAL - From CNN:  Former reality TV star, Josh Duggar ("19 Kids and Counting") was sentenced to 12.5 years in prison, a $10,000 fine, and 20 years of supervised release, during which he cannot have contact with minors.  In December 2021, Duggar was found guilty of "receipt of child pornography" and "possession of child pornography"

ANIMATION - From Deadline:  Samuel L. Jackson will join Chris Pratt's in Alcon Entertainment's animated "Garfield" film.

TRAILERS - From TheWrap:  Paramount Pictures has debuted the first trailer for "Mission: Impossible - Dead Reckoning Part One (the seventh film).  The film is due July 14, 2023.

BOX OFFICE - From Variety:  The winner of the 5/20 to 5/22/2022 weekend box office is Marvel Studios' "Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness" with an estimated take of 31.6 million dollars.

From Here:  My review of "Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness."

NETFLIX - From TheWeek:  Netflix is apparently trying to end its "war" with movie theaters, but the streamer will have to make deals with its adversaries, AMC Theaters and Regal Cinemas.

POLITICS - From WashPost:  Russia has permanently banned 963 U.S. citizens from entering the country.  The list includes President Joe Biden and Vice-President Kamala Harris and even actor Morgan Freeman.

CANNES - From Variety:  "Three Thousand Years of Longing," the new film from director George Miller ('Mad Max" series), received a six-minutes standing ovation during its world premiere at the 2022 Cannes Film Festival.  The film stars Tilda Swinton as a solitary academic and Idris Elba as the genie she finds.

OBITS:

From Deadline:   Tytyana Miller, the daughter of rapper Master P, has died at the age of 29.  Paramedics found her unresponsive early Saturday, May 28, 2022.  She had appeared in the WE TV series, "Growing Up Hip Hop."

From Deadline:  The television and film actor, Bo Hopkins, has died at the age of 84, Saturday, May 28, 2022.  He was best known for appearing in films such as "The Wild Bunch" (1969), "American Graffiti" (1973), and "Midnight Express" (1978).  I remember him for his appearance in two mid-1970s films, "White Lightning" (1973), with Burt Reynolds, and "Posse" (1975), which was led by Kirk Douglas. A prolific TV actor, Hopkins appeared in over 100 films and TV series.

From Deadline:   Actor Ray Liotta has died at the age of 67, Thursday, May 26, 2022.  Liotta was best known for playing mobster Henry Hill in the 1990 Martin Scorsese film, "Goodfellas."  He was also known for playing Shoeless Joe Jackson in "Field of Dreams" (1989) and "Ray Sinclair" in "Something Wild" (1986).  He was currently experiencing a career resurgence.

From Deadline:  Hollywood mourns and remembers Ray Liotta.  This article includes comments from co-star Robert De Niro ("Goodfellas").

UVALDE, TEXAS MASS SHOOTING:

From YahooAP:  An 18-year-old gunman slaughtered 19 children and two teachers on Tues., May 24th, 2022 in Uvalde, Texas.  All 21 victims were in the same 4th grade classroom at Robb Elementary.

From DallasNews:  Joe Garcia, the husband of Irma Garcia, one of the two teachers killed at Robb Elementary in Uvalde, Texas, has died of a heart attack two days after the murder of his wife.  They had been married for 24 years and had been high school sweethearts.

From Axios:  Texas gubernatorial candidate, Beto O'Rourke, interrupted Texas Gov. Greg Abbott's gaslighting press conference on the Uvalde elementary school mass shooting.

From USAToday:  Beto O'Rourke's outburst at Gov. Greg Abbott's Uvalde news conference shows the spine Democrats need.

From BostonGlobe:  Steve Kerr, head coach of the NBA's Golden State Warriors, asks "When are we going to do something?"

From NBCNews:  A Robb Elementary teacher describes "the longest 35 minutes of my life" and the terror she now feels.

From NBCNews:  The Uvalde school district had an extensive safety plan, but 19 children were killed at Robb Elementary anyway.  Even security plans that appear to be up to the latest research-based standards may have gaps and fall short of preventing the worst-case scenario, experts said.

From MSN:  Angeli Rose Gomez, the mother who was handcuffed outside Robb Elementary in Uvalde, Texas, was able to get inside the school and rescue her two children.

From YahooNews:   Daniel Defense, the maker of the rifles used by the Uvalde massacre killer, has used "incendiary ads" in the past, including one in which a toddler holds one of its rifles.

From TheIntercept:  The police aren't obligated to protect anyone NOT in their custody, as the Supreme Court has ruled twice.

From RollingStone:  Right wing lies about the Second Amendment and why they tell them are killing America's childrne.

From Vice:  The law enforcement personnel in Texas that arrived at Robb Elementary in Uvalde, Texas on Tues., May 24th did the opposite of what their own training documentary videos show.

From Vox:  Uvalde police keep changing their story.

From TheDailyBeast:  The families in Uvalde, Texas who lost loved one in the Robb Elementary massacre say that the cops there are "Nothing more than cowards" and that they need to pay for doing nothing while a gunman rampaged through the school last Tues, May 24th.

From TheNewYorker:  Thoughts and prayers, Uvalde, Texas. This is the America that Republicans and the right wing have being thinking about and praying for all these decades.

BLM-BUFFALO:

From ABCNews:  A 18-year-old white MAN shot 13 people, killing 10 at a Buffalo, New York Tops Friendly Markets supermarket on Saturday, May 14, 2021.

From Truthout:  The racist attack in Buffalo at the Tops Friendly supermarket was crafted to terrorize us.  We can fight back, and here’s how we fight back.

From WGRZ:  Who are the victims of the Buffalo Tops Friendly Markets grocery store shooting. This comes from local station WGRZ Channel 2 and includes video and some victim photos.

From BuffaloNews:  One of the 10 Black murder victims of the Buffalo massacre was Katherine "Kat" Massey.  She was a leader in her community and civil rights activist and advocate for education.

From NewYorkPost:  One of the 10 Black murder victims of the Buffalo massacre was Andre Mackniel. He was at TOPS Supermaket to pick up a birthday cake for his son.

From Truthout:  The racist attack in Buffalo, NY at the Tops supermarket was crafted to terrorize us, so here is how we fight back.

From CNN:  What is known about the 18-year-old MAN, Payton Gendron.

From NPR:  198 mass shooting this year ... so far.

From Truthout:  White supremacist massacre of 10 people in Buffalo, NY shows that the “Alt-Right” ideology leads to murder.

From RollingStone:  Buffalo rampage killing is "Straight Up Racially Motivated Hate Crime."

From InformedComment:  Rene Binet, the originator the "great replacement" was a French Nazi, and he saw all American as "Negroes," an "impure mestizo 'race'."

From WashPost:  Only 22 people saw the live-stream of a white terrorist kill Black shoppers at the Buffalo Tops Friendly Markets supermarket, but millions have seen it since...

From GuardianUK:  Buffalo Tops Friendly Markets shooter may have been motivated by "eco-fascism," a focus on overpopulation and environmental degradation.

From RSN:  "What Lessons Have We Learned From the Buffalo Shooting?" by Kareem Abdul-Jabbar.

From Truthout:  “Innocent” White People Are Also Complicit in the Anti-Black Murders in Buffalo by George Yancy.

From Truthout:  "Black Lives Matter" cofounder discovered that Alicia Garza has learned that her name is mentioned in the Buffalo Tops supermarket killer's manifesto.

From GuardianUK:   Cornell West says, "Trump isn't out there with a gun, but he's enabled this war against Black people.

From Slate:  From the Tulsa Race Massacre to the Buffalo Tops Friendly Markets shootings: the legacy of anti-Black violence.

From Truthout:  After mass shootings, Republicans shield white supremacists from scrutiny

UKRAINE:

From TheDailyBeast:  Russian soldiers allegedly raped and killed a 1-year-old Ukrainian boy and have reportedly raped or sexually abused children as young as 9 months old.

Paramount Debuts the First Trailer for "MISSION: IMPOSSIBLE 7"

Paramount Pictures released the first trailer for the film, “Mission: Impossible — Dead Reckoning Part One,” on Monday, May 23rd, 2022.  The stars Tom Cruise, Ving Rhames, Henry Czerny, Simon Pegg, Rebecca Ferguson, Vanessa Kirby, and Frederick Schmidt, all of whom will reprise their roles from the previous films.  Newcomers include Hayley Atwell, Pom Klementieff, Shea Whigham, Esai Morales, Rob Delaney, and Cary Elwes.  The film is written and directed by Christopher McQuarrie.

The film opens in theaters on July 14, 2023.

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Negromancer News Bits and Bites from June 1st to 5th, 2021 - Update #14

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

You can support Leroy via Paypal or on Patreon:

ENTERTAINMENT AND CULTURE NEWS:

MOVIES - From WeGotThisCovered:   Christina Ricci has been cast in a mystery role in "The Matrix 4."

AMAZON - From InTheseTimes:  Bezos the Great and Powerful: Beyond the dangers of corporate consolidation, Amazon’s acquisition of MGM has exposed an American economy that’s mostly make-believe.

CULTURE/BLM - From THR: Tom Hanks penned a guest essay for The New York Times on Friday in which he called for the truth of the Tulsa race massacre to be taught in schools.

POLITICS - From Variety:   Facebook says that it will suspend former president Donald Trump from its Facebook and Instagram social media platforms until at least January 2023.  Further, Trump will only be reinstated "if conditions permit."

STREAMING - From Deadline:  Emmy-winning actor, Billy Porter, and executive producer Greg Berlanti are developing a TV series, "Fruits of Thy Labor," for NBC's "Peacock" streaming service.

ANIMATION - From Deadline:   Nickelodeon has released a teaser trailer and art form the "Spongebob Squarepants" spinoff, "The Patrick Star Show."

MOVIES - From Deadline:   Hong Kong actor and filmmaker, Donnie Yen, is joining Keanu Reeves in "John Wick 4."

MOVIES - From Deadline:  Despite all Tom Cruise's cussin' and hollarin', production on "Mission: Impossible 7" in the U.K. will shut down for 14 days because of a positive COVID-19 test.

FILM FESTIVALS - From Variety:   The lineup for the 2021 Cannes Film Festival has been announced.  This year's festival will be held from July 6th to 17th, 2021.

DISNEY - From Deadline:   "Indiana Jones 5" will begin filming in the United Kingdom next week, according to sources.

BOX OFFICE - From Deadline:   Paramount Pictures brings resurrects movie-going with "A Quiet Place Part II" ... or do "Deadline" says.

STREAMING - From Deadline:   Actor Sebastian Stan (Marvel's "Winter Soldier") has posted a new photo of himself as the rocker, Tommy Lee (of the band "Motley Crue") to promote Hulu's limited series, "Pam & Tommy."

OBITS:

From Deadline:   The actress Romy Walthall has died at the age of 57, Wednesday, 19, 2021.  Her first screen was in 1984 and her last in 2011.  Walthall made appearances in some of the biggest television series of the 1980 and 90s.  This included "T.J. Hooker," "Moonlight," "Matlock," "In the Heat of the Night," "L.A. Law," and "The X-Files," to name a few.  Walthall also had small role in the director John Woo's hit movie, "Face/Off," starring Nicolas Cage and John Travolta.

From Deadline:   American stunt coordinator and film director, Buddy Van Horn, has died at the age of 92, Tuesday, May 11, 2021.  Van Horn was actor Clint Eastwood's stunt double and was credited as the stunt coordinator on Eastwood films from 1972 to 2011.  Van Horn also directed three films in which Eastwood starred, "Any Which Way You Can" (1980), "The Dead Pool" (1988), and "Pink Cadillac" (1989).

From XXL:   Dashawn Maurice Robertson, known as the rapper "Lil Loaded," has died at the age of 20, Monday, May 31, 2021.  Lil Loaded came to fame in 2019 when his song, "Blocc Baby" went viral.  He self-released his one studio album, "A Demon in Blue," October 2020, as a digital download/streaming.

 

Negromancer News Bits and Bites from December 13th to 19th, 2020 - Update #25

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

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ENTERTAINMENT AND CULTURE NEWS:

BLM - From WashPost:   The Rev. William H. Lamar IV is the pastor of the Metropolitan African Methodist Episcopal Church in Washington D.C. that was attacked on Sat., Dec. 12th, 2020 by members of the racist group, the "Proud Boys."  The "Boys" were in Washington for a pro-Trump rally/riot.  Rev. Lamar wrote an opinion piece for the "Washington Post" entitled "My church will replace our Black Lives Matter sign. Will America replace its racist myth?" One of the quotes is "...that White men can employ violence to take what they want and do what they want and call that criminality justice, freedom and liberty."

COVID-19 - From CNN:  US sees record Covid-19 cases as CDC advisory group votes to recommend Moderna vaccine

CELEBRITY - From THR:   Inside Johnny Depp's self-made implosion.

CULTURE - From YahooEntertainment:   The last "Blockbuster" video rental store keeps chugging along and is the subject of a new documentary, "The Last Blockbuster."

AWARDS - From THR:  The New York Film Critics Circle (NYFCC) names "First Cow" its best film of 2020.

STREAMING - From YahooEW:   New set photos from "Coming 2 America," Netflix's sequel to the classic Eddie Murphy film, "Coming to America," include an image of Wesley Snipes.

MOVIES - From DirtyMovies:   There will be another entry in the "Texas Chainsaw Massacre" film franchise in 2021.  "Dirty Movies" analyzes what went wrong with the last two entries.

TELEVISION - From Deadline:  NBC is working on a reboot of its classic legal comedy, "Night Court" (1984-1992), with Warner Bros. Television.  John Larroquette, who won several Emmy Awards for the show, will return as "Dan Fielding," and Melissa Rauch ("The Big Bang Theory") will play the role of Judge Abby Stone, the daughter of the late Judge Harry Stone (played by the late Harry Anderson).

TELEVISION - From Deadline:  ABC is in early development on "Pine Valley," a prime time follow-up to its daytime soap opera, "All My Children," which ended its run on the network in 2011.

TELEVISION-BLM - From Variety: "Heroes" Was Supposed to Be Leonard Roberts’ Big Break. Instead, It Nearly Broke Him. An African-American actor speaks about his poor treatment on the set of the former NBC series.

TOM CRUISE - From Deadline:   Tom Cruise Goes Off On Crew After Covid Breach On ‘Mission: Impossible 7’ London Set – Hear The Audio.

From YahooMovies:  Apparently, five crew members have quit "Mission: Impossible 7" over Tom Cruise's tirade against them for allegedly breaking COVID-19 protocol.

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SPORTS-BLM - From MLB:   Major League Baseball has long celebrated the legacy of the Negro Leagues. But for the first time, MLB is officially recognizing that the quality of the segregation-era circuits was comparable to its own product from that time period.  Addressing what MLB described as a “long overdue recognition,” Commissioner Rob Manfred on Wednesday bestowed Major League status upon seven professional Negro Leagues that operated between 1920 and 1948. The decision means that the approximately 3,400 players of the Negro Leagues during this time period are officially considered Major Leaguers, with their stats and records becoming a part of Major League history.

COVID-19 - From GuardianUK: US Covid Deaths Pass 300,000 as First Americans Receive Coronavirus Vaccine

MOVIES - From YahooEntertainment:  As we acknowledge the 25th anniversary of Michael Mann's film, "Heat," which starred Oscar-winners, Al Pacino and Robert De Niro, we revisit an interview in which Pacino talks about his friendly rivalry with De Niro.

STREAMING - From Deadline:   Lily James and Sebastian Stan (Marvel Studios "Winter Soldier") will play model/actress Pam Anderson and rock musician Tommy Lee in Hulu's biopic about the infamous celebrity couple.

MOVIES - From Deadline:   Chris Pine is in talks to star in "Dungeons & Dragons" for eOne and Paramount Pictures.  Jonathan Goldstein and John Francis Daley are set to direct from a script they wrote.

SPORTS - From YahooSports:   Major League Baseball's Cleveland Indians are dropping "Indians" from their name.  Here are the possibilities for a new name, including a Negro League name.

BLM - From Deadline:  Tyler Perry has donated $100,000 to the legal defense fund for Kenneth Walker, the boyfriend of Breonna Taylor, the medical worker murdered in her apartment by members of the Louisville Metro Police Department.

BOX OFFICE - From Deadline:   The winner of the 12/11 to 12/13/20 weekend box office is "The Croods: A New Age" with an estimated take of 3 million dollars.

COVID-19 - From YahooNewsAP:  Trucks with first batches of COVID-19 vaccine in US get ready to roll

CHRISTMAS - From YahooNews:  Rare planetary conjunction means a rare "Christmas Star" will light up the night for the first time since the year 1226.

OBITS:

From THR:   American dancer, actress, and choreographer, Ann Reinking, has died at the age of 71, Saturday, December 12, 2020.  She is best known for her association with the Broadway musical, "Chicago," both as an actress (1977 and 1996) and as a choreographer (1996).  In 1997, she won a "Tony Award for Best Choreography" for the 1996 revival of "Chicago."  Reinking was nominated for a Tony three other times.

From Variety:  The spy-turned-spy-novelist, John le Carre, has died at the age of 89, Saturday, December 12, 2020.  During the 1950s and 1960s, le Carre (born David John Moore Cornwell) worked the British "Security Service" (MI5) and "Secret Intelligence Service" (MI6).  By the time he left the service, le Carre has already published three novels, including the international bestseller, "The Spy Who Came in From the Cold" (1963).  Ten of his novels have been adapted into film, including 2001's "The Constant Gardener," which became the 2005 Oscar-winning film.

From RollingStone:  Iconic country music singer, Charley Pride, has died at the age of 86, Saturday, December 12, 2020 of complications of COVID-19.  Pride was a pioneering African-American country musician and is one of only three Black members of the "Grand Old Opry," and he was inducted into the "Country Music Hall of Fame" in 2000.  In 1971, at the "Country Music Association Awards, Pride won the "Entertainer of the Year" award.  Pride was a three-time Grammy Award winner, and received the "Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award" in 2017.

From RollingStone:   10 essential Charley Pride songs, according to Rolling Stone.

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From Deadline:  The actress Marguerite Ray has died at the age of 89, November 18, 2020.  Ray was the first African-American regular on the CBS soap opera, "The Young and the Restless," playing the role of Mamie Johnson from 1980 to 1990.  Ray was also a regular on "Sanford" (1980-81), NBC's sequel series to "Sanford and Son."