Negromancer News Bits and Bites from March 11th to 17th, 2018 - Update #11

Support Leroy on Patreon:

CELEBRITY - From TheDailyBeast:  A gun-note, NRA toadie, and bitch hates rock legend Neil Young.

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COMICS-FILM - From Deadline:  Apparently, it is a done deal.  Ava DuVernay will direct "New Gods" for Warner Bros./DC Entertainment.

From BleedingCool:  Ava DuVernay in talks to direct a film based on DC Comics' "New Gods" comic books, which were created by the late, great Jack Kirby.

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MUSIC - From RollingStone:  #FreeMeekMill - Rolling Stone has an interview with troubled, jailed rapper.

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COMICS-FILM - From TheWrap:  Spike Lee is eyeing "Nightwatch," part of Sony Picture's "Spider-Man" film universe as a directing gig.  Nightwatch is an African-American character and first appeared in 1993.

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COMICS-FILM - From SlashFilm:  Once upon a time, Oscar-winning actor Nicolas Cage almost played the role of Superman.  Now, Cage will provide the voice of Superman in the animated "Teen Titans Go!" movie, "Teen Titans GO! to the Movies."  Rapper Lil Yachty will provide the voice of Green Lantern.

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BOX OFFICE - From BoxOfficeMojo:  The winner of the 3/9 to 3/11/2018 weekend box office is "Black Panther" with an estimated take of $41.1 million - the film's fourth straight weekend at #1 and the first film in the Marvel Cinematic Universe to do so.

From Variety:  "Black Panther" wins the weekend at the box office in China with a take of $66 million.

From Deadline:  "The Death of Stalin" has the best specialty theater (art house theaters) debut of 2018.

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OSCARS - From THR:  Kareem Abdul-Jabbar says activism failed at last Sunday's 90th Academy awards ceremony.

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POLITICS - From teleSUR:  Actor-activist Danny Glover and Noam Chomsky condemn recent U.S. and Canadian sanctions against Venezuela.

From NYT:  Actress-activist Angelina Jolie and Senator John McCain unite for a "New York Times" editorial saying that the U.S. should lead in saving Rohingya Muslims in Myanmar (formerly Burma).

OBITS:

From ESPN:  Businessman and professional sports franchise owner, Tom Benson, died at the age of 90, Thursday, March 15, 2018.  Benson owned the NFL's New Orleans Saints pro football team and the NBA's New Orleans Pelicans professional basketball team.  Benson was owner of the Saints when the team won Super Bowl XLIV.

From TheWrap:  British author, cosmologist, and physicist Stephen Hawking has died at the age of 76, Wednesday, March 14, 2018.  A global cultural icon, Hawking was a science communicator who connected with laypersons.  His life was dramatized in the Oscar-winning film, "The Theory of Everything."

From CNN:  Rapper Craig Mack has died at the age of 46, Monday, March 12, 2018.  His 1994 hit, "Flava in Ya Ear" is considered one of the defining rap songs of the 1990s and was the first release and first breakout hit for Sean "Puffy" Combs' Bad Boys Records.  Mack earned a Grammy nomination for "Best Rap Solo Performance" at the 37th Grammy Awards (1995).

Oliver Stone Interviews Edward Snowden in "Snowden Live"

Get Access to the Most Classified Event of the Year with an Early Premiere of Snowden, Featuring an Exclusive Live Interview with Edward Snowden by Filmmaker Oliver Stone, in Cinemas Nationwide

Fathom Events and Open Road Films Premiere the Real Life Account of Snowden’s Unbelievable Story, Starring Joseph Gordon-Levitt and Shailene Woodley, September 14 Only

DENVER--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Get full security clearance for Snowden, one of the most anticipated upcoming releases, ahead of the thriller’s wide release. Fathom Events and Open Road Films are taking an exclusive look into the world of former CIA employee Edward Snowden through the eyes of Academy Award®-winning filmmaker Oliver Stone for a one-night event on Wednesday, September 14, 2016 live at 7:30 p.m. ET / 6:30 p.m. CT and tape-delayed to 7:30 p.m. MT/PT. “Snowden Live” gives audiences the opportunity to be the first to see Snowden on the big screen and hear directly from the man who inspired it all and the filmmaker who brought his story to life during an exclusive live interview between Snowden (via satellite in Moscow) and Stone (live from NYC).

    .@FathomEvents News: Get access to the most classified event of the year w/ an early premiere of Snowden + live Q&A

Tickets for “Snowden Live” can be purchased beginning Friday, August 5, 2016, online by visiting www.FathomEvents.com or at participating theater box offices. Fans throughout the U.S. will be able to enjoy the event in select movie theaters through Fathom’s Digital Broadcast Network. For a complete list of theater locations visit the Fathom Events website (theaters and participants are subject to change).

In this biographical political thriller, Joseph Gordon-Levitt is cast in the title role as the one-time former CIA employee who famously leaked classified information to the media. The film also stars Shailene Woodley, Melissa Leo, Zachary Quinto, Tom Wilkinson, Scott Eastwood, Logan Marshall-Green, Timothy Olyphant, Ben Schnetzer, LaKeith Lee Stanfield, Rhys Ifans and Nicolas Cage. Snowden is directed by Oliver Stone and written by Stone and Kieran Fitzgerald. It is based on the books “The Snowden Files” by Luke Harding and “Time of the Octopus” by Anatoly Kucherena.

“This is a very special event for a number of reasons,” Fathom Events CEO John Rubey said. “The cast is incredible, audiences nationwide get the opportunity to see this feature before anyone else, and Edward Snowden is going to be participating in an exclusive live interview. This is truly a can’t-miss event and Fathom is honored to help bring this to big screens nationwide.”


About Fathom Events
Fathom Events is recognized as the leading domestic distributor of event cinema, and ranks as one of the largest overall distributors of content to movie theaters. Owned by AMC Entertainment Inc. (NYSE: AMC), Cinemark Holdings, Inc. (NYSE: CNK) and Regal Entertainment Group (NYSE: RGC) (known collectively as AC JV, LLC), Fathom Events offers a variety of one-of-a-kind entertainment events that include live, high-definition performances of the Metropolitan Opera, dance and theatre productions such as the Bolshoi Ballet and National Theatre Live’s Hamlet, sporting events like FS1 Presents USA v Mexico, concerts with Roger Waters and One Direction, the TCM Presents classic film series and faith-based events such as The Drop Box and Four Blood Moons. Fathom Events takes audiences behind the scenes and offers unique extras including audience Q&As, backstage footage and interviews with cast and crew, creating the ultimate VIP experience. Fathom Events’ live digital broadcast network (“DBN”) is the largest cinema broadcast network in North America, bringing live and pre-recorded events to 885 locations and 1,348 screens in 181 Designated Market Areas® (including all of the top 50). For more information, visit www.fathomevents.com.

Open Road Films
Open Road Films is a leading, independent, theatrical motion picture company, releasing a diverse slate of star-driven films, which has included multiple #1 releases and enormous critical response. The company was founded in 2011 by AMC Entertainment Inc. (AMC) and Regal Entertainment Group (Regal), the two largest theatrical exhibition companies in the United States. The uniquely formed company is widely known as a filmmaker-focused distributor that supports both box office hits and top prestige titles.

Open Road Films led the 2016 critically acclaimed film, Spotlight, to win the Oscar® for Best Picture, becoming the youngest studio in history win the big prize. The film, which earned almost $45 million at the U.S. box-office, stars Michael Keaton, Mark Ruffalo, Rachel McAdams, Liev Schreiber, Brian d’Arcy James, Stanley Tucci and Billy Crudup was directed by Tom McCarthy, who also won the Oscar® for Best Original Screenplay, with his co-writer (and executive producer) Josh Singer. Spotlight has won numerous high profile critics and guild awards, including the Screen Actors Guild Best Ensemble Award and the Film Independent Spirit Award for Best Feature Film. Spotlight also appeared on over 250 critics’ Top Ten lists for 2016.

The company, led by industry veteran CEO Tom Ortenberg, is based in Los Angeles.

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Review: "The Wicker Man" Remake is Whickety Whickety Whack

TRASH IN MY EYE No. 201 (of 2006) by Leroy Douresseaux (support on Patreon)

The Wicker Man (2006)
Running time:  102 minutes (1 hour, 42 minutes)
MPAA – PG-13 for disturbing images and violence, language, and thematic issues
DIRECTOR:  Neil LaBute
WRITER:  Neil LaBute (based upon the screenplay by Anthony Shaffer)
PRODUCERS:  Nicolas Cage, Norm Golightly, Avi Lerner, Randall Emmett, John Thompson, and Boaz Davidson
CINEMATOGRAPHER:  Paul Sarossy, B.S.C., C.S.C. (director of photography)
EDITOR:  Joel Plotch
COMPOSER:  Angelo Badalamenti

MYSTERY/HORROR/THRILLER with elements of drama

Starring:  Nicolas Cage, Ellen Burstyn, Kate Beahan, Frances Conroy, Molly Parker, Leelee Sobieski, Diane Delano, Michael Wiseman, and Erika-Shaye Gair

The subject of this movie review is The Wicker Man, a 2006 horror film and mystery thriller from director Neil LaBute.  The film is a remake of the 1973 British film, The Wicker Man, and this remake sources both the 1973 screenplay by Anthony Shaffer and the 1967 horror novel, Ritual, that was the source material for the original film.  In the 2006 version of The Wicker Man, a policeman searches a small island for his missing daughter, but meets resistance from the island's secretive neo-pagan community.

After failing to save a little girl from a fiery car crash, California Highway Patrol officer Edward Malus (Nicolas Cage) sinks into months of pill-popping.  He finds his chance at redemption when another opportunity arrives to save a little girl in danger.  He receives a mysterious and desperate letter from his former fiancée, Willow (Kate Beahan): her daughter, Rowan (Erika-Shaye Gair), is missing.  Willow begs Edward to come to her home on a private island in Washington’s Puget Sound, Summerisle.  Edward soon finds himself on a seaplane headed for the islands of the Pacific Northwest.

He finds, however, the community on Summerisle to be exceedingly strange.  The local culture, built around honey harvesting, is dominated by its matriarch, Sister Summerisle (Ellen Burstyn), and the community is in fact a commune and a matriarchy where the women apparently rule over the men who speak nary a word.  Malus finds Willow, now Sister Willow, vague about the disappearance of her daughter, saying only that she believes her fellow islanders have taken Rowan.  The secretive women of Summerisle only ridicule his investigation insisting that Rowan doesn’t exist or that she did but is no longer alive.

Edward also finds the islanders bound by arcane tradition, and they are preparing for a festival to which they refer as “the Day of Death and Rebirth.”  As Edward navigates these bizarre (to him) ancient traditions, he believes that he is getting closer to finding Rowan, but he is also moving towards something unspeakable and perhaps closer to a mysterious figure known as The Wicker Man.

If you’ve ever seen the Robin Hardy-directed British film, The Wicker Man, which stars Edward Woodward as a strongly-devout Christian (and virginal) cop investigating the disappearance of a little girl and Christopher Lee as the leader of a pagan community on an isolated Scottish isle, you’re probably angry that anyone would remake the cult classic.  The original (written by famed playwright Anthony Shaffer who was in turn influenced by actor/writer David Pinner’s novel, Ritual) was genuinely creepy (and occasionally kitschy) with a killer ending.  This film is required viewing for true film fanatics who must experience the pagan villagers swaying like mad trees in their happy, smiling dance of death.

Neil Labute’s remake, also entitled The Wicker Man, is an American “re-imagining” that does have its inventive moments, but is mostly so-so – the kind of thing that seems like a strange CBS television movie.  Some of LaBute’s (an indie director known for such films as In the Company of Men and Your Friends & Neighbors) new touches and ideas are rather sweet.  There is something uncomfortably charming about Summerisle as an old-fashioned agrarian society (this one sustains itself by harvesting honey).  Building the film’s costume and production design around the beehive motif adds for some cool visuals.  The beehives are in a field in which the layout resembles a honeycomb (super cool!).  The villagers are still creepy, but whereas they seemed like clueless Jonestown yokels in the original, they’re more dangerous, like Charles Manson’s followers.

Ellen Burstyn gives a simply delicious performance as Sister Summerisle, her every appearance dominates the screen and she literally eats up a script that cannot contain her performance nor satisfy her fire.  Nicolas Cage is actually pretty good as Edward Malus, but once again I think he would have played better had LaBute written stronger supporting characters to go up against Malus, as well as given some of them more lines.  The implausible aspects of this concept show more here than they did in the original.  Also, like the original, this would work better as a longer film, and like the original, the sight of The Wicker Man and that killer ending still hit hard.

5 of 10
C+

Saturday, September 23, 2006

NOTES:
2007 Razzie Awards:  5 nominations: “Worst Picture,” “Worst Actor” (Nicolas Cage), “Worst Screen Couple” (Nicolas Cage... and his bear suit), “Worst Remake or Rip-Off,” and “Worst Screenplay” (Neil LaBute based on the original screenplay by Anthony Shaffer)


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

"Outcast" with Nicolas Cage and Hayden Christensen Opens February 6th, 2015

On February 6th, Entertainment One (eOne) is set to release Outcast in select theaters! The film packs an all-star cast, including Nicolas Cage and Hayden Christensen.

IN THEATERS: FEBRUARY 6, 2015

DIRECTOR: Nicholas Powell
WRITER: James Dormer

PRODUCERS:
Alan Zhang (Waiting in Beijing)
Jeremy Bolt (Shopping, Event Horizon, Resident Evil, The Dark)
Christopher Milburn (An American Haunting, Getaway, Transit)
Karine Martin (Magic Beyond Words: The JK Rowling Story)
Gary Hamilton (Lord of War, The Bank Job, Predestination)
Ye Ying (Three Kingdoms, 14 Blades, The Four)
George Mizen (The Holding)
Léonard Glowinski (The Diving Bell & the Butterfly, Unknown, Alexander)
Xun Zhang (CJ7,  Forever Enthralled,  The Founding of A Republic)

CAST: Nicolas Cage,Hayden Christensen, Yifei Liu
RUNNING TIME: 98 Minutes
RATING: Not rated

SYNOPSIS:
When the heir of the Imperial throne becomes the target of an assassination by his despised older brother, the young prince must flee the kingdom and seek protection. His only hope for survival is a reluctant war-weary crusader named Jacob, who must overcome his own personal demons and rally the assistance of a mythical outlaw known as The White Ghost. Together they must fight side by side in an epic battle to return the prince to his rightful place on the throne.

Trailer on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=seRWrLzOHUg&list=UUKblsekljxEoeYXDwHb_peQ

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Negromancer News Bits and Bites for the Week of September 21st to September 27th, 2014 - Update #16

NEWS:

From YahooTV:  Information about some of the characters in the still-in-development Walking Dead spinoff.

From YahooCelebrity: George Clooney married Amal Alamuddin today, Saturday, September 27, 2014, in Italy.  The marriage will be made official in a civil ceremony on Monday.

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From YahooTV:  "Gilligan's Island" is 50-years-old today.

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From YahooScreen:  Apparently, there will be a third installment of Bill & Ted's Excellent Adventure.  I don't like this movie, but strangely, I really loved Evan Dorkin's comic book adaptation of the film for Marvel Comics.

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From InsideMovies:  Famously (infamously) reclusive writer, Thomas Pynchon, may make a cameo in Paul Thomas Anderson's film adaptation of his novel, Inherent Vice.

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From CinemaBlend:  "Taken 3" gets a new title, Tak3n... seriously.

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From CinemaBlend:  A story about Kenan Thompson of "Saturday Night Live" and "What Up With That?"

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From YahooNews:  Will Smith posts cute birthday pic of he and and wife, Jada.

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From UPI:  Oscar-nominated actress, Kate Hudson, claims that she and mother, Oscar-winning legend, Goldie Hawn, can see ghosts.

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From YahooCelebrity:  Emma Watson, of Harry Potter fame, delivers a stirring speech on gender equality before the United Nations on Saturday, September 20, 2014.

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From TheHollywoodReporter:  New release, The Maze Runner, wins the September 19th to 21st, 2014 weekend box office with an estimated take of $32.5 million.

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From the HuffingtonPost:  Idris Elba's tale of the vampire Nic Cage.


COMICS BOOKS - Books and Films:

From TheMotleyFool:  Five things you might not know about "Batman Vs. Superman."

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From Inquisitr:  "Batman vs. Superman" cast member, Henry Lennix, says that fans of Frank Miller's seminal Batman graphic novel, Batman: The Dark Knight Returns, will be pleased about the 2016 film.

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From Vulture:  Bryan Singer will direct "X-Men: Apocalypse" and an update on his legal trouble.

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From CinemaBlend:  If he is in "Batman Vs. Superman: Dawn of Justice," what will Aquaman look like.

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From YahooTV:  TV Guide on what works and doesn't work in "Gotham" (FOX affiliates - 8 Eastern/7Central, but check your local listings).


STAR WARS:

From Inquisitr:  Episode 7 concept art reveals a light sabre duel in a snowy forest

From CinemaBlend:  Storm Troopers may have a new look in Episode 7.

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From IBTimes:  Five villains who may be in Episode 7.

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From /Film:  Roger Moore, James Bond and The Saint, talks about his Star Wars Episode 7 set visit.


INTERVIEWS and REVIEWS:

From The Hollywood Reporter via YahooMovies:  Richard Gere talks about playing a homeless man in "Time Out of Mind.

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From YahooTV:  A review of Episode 1 of Marvel Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. Season 22

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From TheVillageVoice:  An interview of Terry Gilliam for the release of his new film, Zero Theorem.


TRAILERS:

From 20th Century Fox:  New trailer for Kingsman: The Secret Service.

Review: "The Ant Bully" is Impressive (Happy B'day, Nicolas Cage)

TRASH IN MY EYE No. 8 (of 2007) by Leroy Douresseaux

The Ant Bully (2006) – computer animation
Running time:  89 minutes (1 hour, 29 minutes)
MPAA – PG for some mild rude humor and action
DIRECTOR:  John A. Davis
WRITER:  John A. Davis (based upon the John Nickle)
PRODUCERS:  Tom Hanks, Gary Goetzman, and John A. Davis
CINEMATOGRAPHER:  Ken Mitchroney (D.o.P.)
EDITOR:  Jon Price
COMPOSER:  John Debney

ANIMATION/FANTASY/ADVENTURE/COMEDY/FAMILY

Starring:  (voices) Zach Tyler Eisen, Julia Roberts, Nicolas Cage, Meryl Streep, Paul Giamatti, Regina King, Bruce Campbell, Lily Tomlin, Cheri Oteri, Larry Miller, Allison Mack, Ricardo Montalban, and Myles Jeffrey

The subject of this movie review is The Ant Bully, a 2006 computer-animated fantasy film  from director John A Davis.  The movie is a joint venture from Warner Bros. Animation, Legendary Pictures, DNA Productions and Playtone, which is the production company owned by partners, Tom Hanks and Gary Goetzman.  The movie is based on The Ant Bully, a 1999 children’s picture book written and drawn by John Nickle.  The Ant Bully the film focuses on a boy who terrifies an ant colony and then finds himself magically shrunken down to insect size and sentenced to hard labor.

Ten-year old Lucas Nickle (Zach Tyler Eisen) doesn’t have any friends, and he’s always the target of the neighborhood bully, Steve (Myles Jeffrey), and his gang.  His sister, Tiffany (Allison Mack) mostly ignores him.  His father, Fred (Larry Miller), is too busy planning his wedding anniversary trip to Puerto Vallarta, and his grandmother, Mommo (Lily Tomlin), is just plain weird.  However, Lucas finds his mother, Doreen (Cheri Oteri), to be a bit overbearing, and he hates that she calls him “Peanut.”

Lucas takes his frustrations out on the anthill in his front yard – tormenting the ants by frequently flooding their territory.  Lucas thinks of them as “just a bunch of stupid ants,” but he doesn’t know that the anthill is a complex society, in which the members of that colony have names, relationships, emotions, and responsibilities.  They decide to fight back against Lucas – the one they know as the “Destroyer,” so Zoc (Nicolas Cage), a wizard ant, concocts a potion to take care of the Destroyer.  After the ants pour the magic elixir down his ear, Lucas shrinks down to their size, and the ants promptly take him to stand trial for “crimes against the colony.”

The wise Ant Queen (Meryl Streep) sentences Lucas to live amongst the ants and learn their ways so that he can become an ant.  Zoc’s girlfriend, Hova (Julia Roberts), a nurse ant, volunteers to mentor the miniaturized Lucas, much to Zoc’s chagrin.  With the help of Kreela (Regina King), a forager ant, and Fugax (Bruce Campbell), a scout ant, Hova helps the reluctant Lucas fit into the colony.  Lucas’ skills and new friendships are tested when he and the ants must have to take on Stan Beals (Paul Giamatti), a local exterminator, in an epic air battle over the Nickles’ front lawn.

There were so many computer-animated movies that received a wide theatrical release in 2006 that some were bound to get lost in the shuffle.  One of the lost was The Ant Bully, an excellent talking animal fable produced by actor Tom Hanks’ production company (Playtone) and the computer animation studio behind Jimmy Neutron: Boy Genius, DNA Productions.  Written for the screen and directed by the creator of Jimmy Neutron, John A. Davis, The Ant Bully is several times better than Jimmy Neutron, in terms of story, voice acting, and animation.

Adapting John Nickle’s book, Davis wrote a traditional animal fable that teaches a lesson or makes a moral point, but is not didactic or overbearing.  Davis simply uses comedy, adventure, action, dramatic conflict, and obstacles to make a point that a group of individuals with different skills can work together and make the whole better.  However, to take Davis’ film as saying that the group is good and the individual is bad would be a poor misreading.

The voice performances are quite good.  For all the star power the voice cast has, what stars like Julia Roberts and Nicolas Cage do is bring color and character to the parts the play.  Zach Tyler Eisen simply brings Lucas Nickle to life.  Lucas’ troubles fitting in, his stubbornness, and his struggle to break away from mommy all seem genuine.  Even Regina King, Bruce Campbell, Lily Tomlin manage to add much comic flavor to the film via their supporting roles.

At first, The Ant Bully’s animation seems to make every thing look plastic and fake, but perhaps, the eyes need time to adjust.  The film is imaginative in concept and design – especially in building a world of outsized and giant sets for tiny beings.  Everything has texture and surface quality to it.  The exoskeletons of the ants and wasps actually look solid; it’s as if the eyes are actually touching the surfaces to verify what is genuine.  The character movement is good, and jumps up to wonderful and superb during all the big action set pieces – especially during the air battle at the end.

Fans of computer animation and also families that want to share a movie with a good message absolutely won’t go wrong with The Ant Bully.  We follow Lucas down into the anthill where awaits a world of wonder and magical animal creatures that dazzle the eyes and sometimes blow the mind.  And the movie’s pretty funny, too.

8 of 10
A

Thursday, January 11, 2007

Updated:  Tuesday, January 07, 2014

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

Review: "The Croods" Like a Full-Length Looney Tunes Movie

TRASH IN MY EYE No. 75 (of 2013) by Leroy Douresseaux

The Croods (2013)
Running time:  98 minutes (1 hour, 38 minutes)
MPAA – PG for some scary images action
DIRECTORS:  Kirk DeMicco and Chris Sanders
WRITERS:  Kirk DeMicco and Chris Sanders; from a story by John Cleese and Kirk DeMicco and Chris Sanders
PRODUCERS:  Kristine Belson and Jane Hartwell
EDITOR:  Darren T. Holmes
COMPOSER:  Alan Silvestri
PRODUCTION DESIGNER:  Christophe Lautrette
ART DIRECTORS:  Paul Duncan and Dominique R. Louis

ANIMATION/FANTASY/ADVENTURE/COMEDY with elements of action and drama

Starring:  (voices) Nicolas Cage, Emma Stone, Ryan Reynolds, Catherine Keener, Cloris Leachman, Clark Duke, Chris Sanders, and Randy Thom

The Croods is a 2013 computer-animated adventure and comedy film that was theatrically presented in 3D.  It was produced by DreamWorks Animation and distributed by 20th Century Fox.  The Croods focuses on a caveman family trekking through an unfamiliar, fantastical world with the help of an inventive boy.

The Croods is set in a fictional version of the prehistoric Pliocene era (apparently called “The Croodaceous”).  The Croods are a six-member family living in a cave.  The father is Grug Crood (Nicolas Cage), who is doggedly protective of his family:  wife, Ugga (Catherine Keener); teenage daughter, Eep (Emma Stone); nine-year-old son, Thunk (Clark Duke); ferocious toddler daughter, Sandy (Randy Thom); and Gran (Cloris Leachman), Grug’s mother-in-law and Ugga’s mother.

Grug wants his family to stay in the cave at all times, except when they hunt for food, which is getting harder to find.  Grug is also against his family trying new things or making discoveries; “new things” are a threat to survival, he declares.  This causes problems between Grug and his rebellious teen daughter, Eep, whose curious nature clashes with her conservative father.  Then, Eep meets Guy (Ryan Reynolds), a nomadic cave boy, who is both clever and inventive.  Eep is immediately attracted to the boy.  Grug hates Guy, but after their cave is destroyed, The Croods find they need Guy, as they travel through an exotic land in search of a new home.

Since the original Madagascar (2005) and Kung Fu Panda (2008), DreamWorks Animation has improved on the technology of computer animation in terms of motion (characters and objects), depiction and creation of environments, picture definition, texture, and range of color.  The Croods proves that this animation production company is determined to keep pushing the envelope.

As for the story and characters, The Croods is best when it’s being fast and funny.  I have found that some of DreamWorks Animation’s films (and even television episodes) have the zest and style of Warner Bros. Looney Tunes animated shorts.  In a way, much of The Croods is an extended series of gags that recall Bugs Bunny, Daffy Duck, and Road Runner cartoons.

Pretty much every member of The Croods’ cast seems to be a looney toon, except for the mother, Ugga.  For some reason Ugga is practically non-existent; she is like a voice of wisdom, reason, and caution that is repressed and only heard when the film needs to squeeze in a poignant moment between chuckles and yucks.  And then, Ugga’s voice seems barely able to be heard above the fray of manic comedy.  In fact, Catherine Keener, who gives voice to Ugga, is unable to distinguish herself from the standard female voice.  I actually thought that Maya Rudolph was Ugga’s voice.  That is shocking when one considers how distinctive a performer Keener is.

But I guess it comes down to this.  DreamWorks Animation has mastered the technology of computer animation.  They have refined a brand of comedy that ranges from broad to slapstick and from satire to parody.  They embrace the crazy concepts they turn into films that are often inventive concerts of explosive visuals.  Still, DreamWorks Animation’s films lack the emotional resonance frequently found in movies from Pixar (except for Cars 2, which is straight crap).

The Croods can be viewed as a love triangle involving Grug, Eep, and Guy – mostly with Eep in love with Guy and with Grug hating Guy, mainly for that reason.  The performances by the three actors playing these characters are good, but the script really does not delve into this conflict.  It is easier to be surface and let comic moments rather than dramatic moments sell this three-way conflict.

That said, going by what is on the screen, The Croods is an exceptional movie, although stronger drama could have made it a truly great film.  I love the physicality the filmmakers give the characters.  Their wildness and animal-like tendencies (especially the way they move) make them attractive; the way they move, their facial ticks and expressions, and their reactions may it hard to ignore them.  The animation has a sense of depth that makes even its fantastic backdrops seem real – such as the cave and surrounding landscape where the Croods live at the beginning of the film.  I can use this old standby:  The Croods is a visual feast.  It falls short of greatness and perfection, but there is nothing like it, and it is quite good, indeed.

8 of 10
A

Thursday, November 07, 2013

The text is copyright © 2013 Leroy Douresseaux. All Rights Reserved. Contact this site for syndication rights and fees.

Nicolas Cage on "The Frozen Ground" August 2013

Lionsgate presents

THE FROZEN GROUND

A Film by Scott Walker

Starring: Nicolas Cage, John Cusack, Vanessa Hudgens, AND 50 Cent

THE FROZEN GROUND Opens in Theaters and On Demand August 23, 2013

THE FROZEN GROUND is inspired by the incredible true story that follows Alaskan State Trooper Jack Halcombe (Nicolas Cage) as he sets out to end the murderous rampage of Robert Hansen (John Cusack), a serial killer who has gone unnoticed for 13 years. As the bodies of street girls start to pile up in Anchorage, fear strikes a chord with the public. Risking his life, Halcombe goes on a personal manhunt to find the killer before the next body surfaces. When a seventeen year old escapee (Vanessa Hudgens) reveals key information about the case, Halcombe is finally on the trail of the killer. But will he catch him in time to save the next victim?

Trailer: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y_V40je3kiU

Rated: R
Run Time: 104 Minutes

"Ghost Rider: Spirit of Vengeance" Raises a Little Hell

TRASH IN MY EYE No. 69 (of 2012) by Leroy Douresseaux


Ghost Rider: Spirit of Vengeance (2012)
Running time: 95 minutes (1 hour, 35 minutes)
MPAA – PG-13 for intense sequences of action and violence, some disturbing images, and language
DIRECTOR: Neveldine/Taylor
WRITERS: Scott M. Gimple & Seth Hoffman and David S. Goyer; from a story by David S. Goyer (based upon the Marvel Comics character)
PRODUCERS: Ashok Amritraj, Ari Arad, Avi Arad, Michael De Luca, and Steven Paul
CINEMATOGRAPHER: Brandon Trost
EDITOR: Brian Berdan
COMPOSER: David Sardy

SUPERHERO/ACTION/HORROR

Starring: Nicolas Cage, Violante Placido, Ciaran Hinds, Idris Elba, Johnny Whitmorth, Fergus Riordan, Anthony Head, and Christopher Lambert

The subject of this movie review is Ghost Rider: Spirit of Vengeance, a 2012 superhero, action, and horror movie from directors Mark Neveldine and Brian Taylor, who jointly work under the moniker, Neveldine/Taylor. Ghost Rider is a Marvel Comics character that was created by writers Roy Thomas and Mark Friedrich and artist Mike Ploog and that first appeared in the comics magazine, Marvel Spotlight #5 (1972).

Ghost Rider: Spirit of Vengeance is a sequel to the 2007 film, Ghost Rider, and, as in the first film, Oscar-winning actor, Nicolas Cage, plays the title roll. Spirit of Vengeance, which finds Ghost Rider trying to protect a child from the devil, is much better than the first film, although it is by no means great.

Ghost Rider: Spirit of Vengeance opens in a monastery in Eastern Europe. There, the monk, Benedict (Anthony Head), and his brothers are hiding a mother, Nadya (Violante Placido), and her son, Danny (Fergus Riordan). Apparently, the Devil Mephisto wants Danny in order to complete some kind of ritual.

A French priest named Moreau (Idris Elba) decides to take matters into his own hands after Mephisto’s forces attack the monastery. Moreau seeks out Johnny Blaze (Nicolas Cage), who is also the Ghost Rider, the fiery spirit of vengeance whose head is a flaming skull. Blaze sold his soul to Mephisto, who is currently going by the name, Roarke (Ciaran Hinds), which is why the Ghost Rider is inside him. After Ghost Rider proves to be too much of problem for him, Roarke turns one of his stooges into Blackout (Johnny Whitmorth), a supernatural creature that can take on the Rider.

One thing I can say about the directing team, Neveldine/Taylor, is that the duo has style, and Ghost Rider: Spirit of Vengeance has got style. The film is visually snazzy, spunky, and even cool. The action scenes are quite good, and the computer effects (CGI) don’t look phony and are an improvement over the CGI in the first film.

The story is different, seeming unique although it mines familiar territory – the hero trying to save a vulnerable woman or child from being possessed by the Devil. That’s probably because Spirit of Vengeance is not like other movies based on comic book superheroes, and of course, Ghost Rider isn’t like other superheroes. The script has some good ideas, which is not surprising considering that one of Spirit of Vengeance’s screenwriters is David S. Goyer, who has written horror movies and movies based on comic books, including the Blade franchise, which combines both.

The problems with Spirit of Vengeance are the characters and the acting. There is no character development, nor are the characters really interesting. There are some novel and interesting things about them, but that does not translate into wholly interesting characters. The acting is bad. Sometimes, I cannot tell if Nicolas Cage is hamming for the cameras or is simply phoning in a performance. Idris Elba tries, but even his honest effort cannot save Moreau from seeming unintentionally comical or not funny when the character is supposed to be comical.

Still, I find Ghost Rider: Spirit of Vengeance to be much better than the first film. The action and the visual effects pop enough to make me actually want more of this.

6 of 10
B

Tuesday, August 21, 2012

Review: Someone Likes "Next" (Happy B'day, Nicolas Cage)

TRASH IN MY EYE No. 141 (of 2007) by Leroy Douresseaux

Next (2007)
Running time: 96 minutes (1 hour, 36 minutes)
MPAA – PG-13 for intense sequences of violent action and some language
DIRECTOR: Lee Tamahori
WRITERS: Gary Goldman, Jonathan Hensleigh, and Paul Bernbaum; from a screen story by Gary Goldman (based upon the short story “The Golden Man” by Philip K. Dick)
PRODUCERS: Nicolas Cage, Norm Golightly, Todd Garner, Arne L. Schmidt, and Graham King
CINEMATOGRAPHER: David Tattersall, BSC
EDITOR: Christian Wagner

ACTION/SCI-FI/THRILLER

Starring: Nicolas Cage, Julianne Moore, Jessica Biel, Thomas Kretschmann, Tory Kittles, and Peter Falk

Starring Oscar-winner Nicolas Cage (Leaving Las Vegas), Oscar-nominee Julianne Moore (Far From Heaven), and not-hard-on-the-eyes Jessica Biel (The Illusionist), Next is a sci-fi/action flick based upon the 1954 story, “The Golden Man” by the late Philip K. Dick. Dick was the visionary science fiction author whose novels and stories have been adapted into such films as Blade Runner, Minority Report, and Paycheck.

Next focuses on Cris Johnson (Nicolas Cage), a Las Vegas magician with a secret gift that is both a blessing and a curse to him. Cris has the uncanny ability to know what will be the next thing that happens to him because he can see two minutes into the future. Performing under the stage name, Frank Cadillac, Cris uses his extrasensory talent to make a living off cheap stage tricks and off his gambling winnings at the blackjack table. His latest project is to find and meet, Liz (Jessica Biel), a young woman who seems to have a strange effect on his powers.

Other eyes, however, have been taking notice of Cris’ talent and dexterity with the portal of time. Callie Ferris (Julianne Moore), an FBI counter-terror agent is eager to tap Cris’ brain to help thwart a terrorist group’s planned attack on Los Angeles with a nuclear time bomb. Using all her wiles, Callie, with the help of a fellow agent, Cavanaugh (Tory Kittles), pursues Cris trying to convince him to help her. When the terrorists, who are also aware of his powers, kidnap Liz, Cris may be forced to put his reluctance aside to save Liz and stop nuclear destruction in California.

Directed by Lee Tamahori (Once Were Warriors, Die Another Day), Next is an absurd popcorn flick, but easy to watch and enjoy. Of course, it wasn’t really worth a trip to the theatre, as it’s more like a big-budget, prestige “original movie” from the Sci-Fi Channel. Still, it’s occasionally clever, and Tamahori is actually quite good at making action-filled set pieces that somehow manage to catch the attention of an unwary action movie junkie.

Nicolas Cage isn’t very good here, but neither is he very bad. He’s only cheesy bad, as is the rest of the cast. In fact, it’s a good thing that Jessica Biel is easy on the eyes, because her acting talent sure ain’t the thing that is getting her roles. Nicolas Cage is a movie star and there’s something about him on the big screen that is attractive. Put him and Biel together, and that’s not a bad thing, even when it’s not really that good a thing – as in Next.

6 of 10
B

Wednesday, December 12, 2007

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"The Sorcerer's Apprentice" a Miscast Spell

TRASH IN MY EYE No. 99 (of 2010) by Leroy Douresseaux

The Sorcerer’s Apprentice (2010)
Running time: 109 minutes (1 hour, 49 minutes)
MPAA – PG for fantasy action violence, some mild rude humor and brief language
DIRECTOR: Jon Turteltaub
WRITERS: Matt Lopez, Doug Miro, and Carlo Bernard; from a screen story by Lawrence Konner, Mark Rosenthal, and Matt Lopez
PRODUCERS: Jerry Bruckheimer
CINEMATOGRAPHER: Bojan Bazelli
EDITOR: William Goldenberg

FANTASY/ACTION

Starring: Nicolas Cage, Jay Baruchel, Alfred Molina, Teresa Palmer, Toby Kebbell, Omar Benson Miller, Monica Bellucci, Alice Krige, and Jake Cherry

Released this past summer, The Sorcerer’s Apprentice is a fantasy/adventure film based, in part, on The Sorcerer’s Apprentice segment of Walt Disney’s 1940 animated film, Fantasia (which itself is based on earlier source material). In this new film, a centuries-old, former apprentice of Merlin must take an apprentice of his own – a young man barely out of boyhood who must save the world.

The film opens in 740 A.D., as the sorcerer Merlin (James A. Stephens) battles the evil sorceress, Morgana le Fay (Alice Krige). One of Merlin’s three apprentices, Maxim Horvath (Alfred Molina), sides with Morgana. Merlin’s other two apprentices, Balthazar Blake (Nicolas Cage) and Veronica Gorloisen (Monica Bellucci), are forced to stop Morgana and Maxim, but not before Morgana mortally wounds Merlin. Merlin charges Balthazar with finding his successor, known as the Prime Merlinian, the only one who can put an end to Morgana.

In present day Manhattan, Balthazar is a master sorcerer and shop owner when he encounters New York University student, David “Dave” Stutler (Jay Baruchel), a seemingly average guy who demonstrates hidden potential. Dave becomes Balthazar’s reluctant protégé and begins a crash course in the art and science of magic. However, Dave has more than magic on his mind; he’s in love with a former school chum and fellow NYU student, Rebecca “Becky” Barnes (Teresa Palmer). Even the return of Balthazar’s mortal enemy, Horvath, cannot get Dave to focus on magic. Can the sorcerer’s apprentice survive his training, help his master save New York City from Horvath, and finally get the girl?

As a film narrative, The Sorcerer’s Apprentice is a good idea. Actually, it is a movie with a lot of good ideas, but much of it is badly done. The movie is also largely miscast. Nicolas Cage feels wrong as a sorcerer and Jay Baruchel is just plain wrong as a sorcerer’s apprentice. It is almost pointless to get into the acting because it is bad. What the hell is Nicolas Cage doing in this film, because it can barely past as pretending, let alone performing?

The script is filled with substandard dialogue, or does it just seem that way because of Cage and Baruchel’s bad acting? Or maybe bad dialogue isn’t the culprit because the wonderful-as-usual Alfred Molina does well with it, making the most of everything this story and script offers him. His Horvath is genuinely a menacing guy, and he will make you dread his appearances on screen – in a good way.

Poor Teresa Palmer: I don’t even know what Becky Barnes is doing in this movie. The character defines extraneous.

As a Nicolas Cage fan, I was determined to find good in The Sorcerer’s Apprentice. Most of the first 40 minutes of the movie is dynamite entertainment, but the final act is a welcomed sign that this movie is coming to a conclusion. What more can I say? The Sorcerer’s Apprentice has such potential, and those few times it meets that promise, the movie offers light-hearted fun – just not enough to save the rest of the movie.

4 of 10
C

Sunday, December 05, 2010

The Sorcerer's Apprentice with Nicolas Cage Arrives on DVD Tuesday, Nov. 30th

Release information:

THE SORCERER’S APPRENTICE from WALT DISNEY PICTURES and JERRY BRUCKHEIMER FILMS

About the Film:
A fun, modern-day adventure follows Dave (JAY BARUCHEL), just an average college student, or so it appears, until the sorcerer Balthazar Blake (NICOLAS CAGE) recruits him as his reluctant protégé and gives him a crash course in the art and science of magic. As he prepares for a battle against the forces of darkness in modern-day Manhattan, Dave finds it is going to take all of the courage he can muster to survive his training, save the city and get the girl as he becomes THE SORCERER’S APPRENTICE.

Bonus Features:
Go behind the scenes and on location to learn all about the making of The Sorcerer’s Apprentice

Blu-Ray:
Magic In The City
The Science Of Sorcery
Making Magic Real
The Fashionable Drake Stone
The Grimhold: An Evil Work Of Art
The Encantus
Wolves & Puppies
The World’s Coolest Car
5 Deleted Scenes
Outtakes
And more!

DVD / iTunes:
o The Making Of The Sorcerer’s Apprentice (DVD only)
Deleted Scene: Balthazar Recruits Dave

Genre: Comedy Adventure
Rating: PG
U.S. Release Date: November 30, 2010

Suggested Retail Price:
3-Disc Combo Pack (Blu-ray + DVD + Digital Copy) -- $44.99 U.S./$51.99 Canada
2-Disc Combo Pack (Blu-ray + DVD) -- $39.99 U.S./$44.99 Canada
1-Disc DVD -- $29.99 U.S/ $35.99 Canada

Review: "Kick Ass" Stumbles; Hit Girl Soars

TRASH IN MY EYE No. 61 (of 2010) by Leroy Douresseaux

Kick Ass (2010)
Running time: 118 minutes (1 hour, 58 minutes)
MPAA – R for strong brutal violence throughout, pervasive language, sexual content, nudity and some drug use - some involving children
DIRECTOR: Matthew Vaughn
WRITERS: Jane Goldman and Matthew Vaughn (based upon the comic book by Mark Millar and John Romita Jr.)
PRODUCERS: Adam Bohling, Tarquin Pack, Brad Pitt, David Reid, Kris Thykier, and Matthew Vaughn
CINEMATOGRAPHER: Ben Davis (director of photography)
EDITORS: Eddie Hamilton, Jon Harris, and Pietro Scalia

SUPERHERO/FANTASY/CRIME/COMEDY

Starring: Aaron Johnson, Nicolas Strong, Chloë Grace Moretz, Mark Strong, Christopher Mintz-Plasse, Lyndsy Fonseca, Clark Duke, Evan Peters, Stu “Large” Riley, Xander Berkeley, and Garrett M. Brown

The film, Kick Ass, is based upon Kick-Ass, an eight-issue comic book series from writer Mark Millar (the creator of Wanted) and John Romita, Jr. The comic book, filled with violent imagery, profanity, racism, and misogyny (among many controversial elements) is utterly deranged, but hugely entertaining. Kick Ass the movie isn’t as deranged as it thinks it is, nor is it as entertaining as its source material.

The film follows Dave Lizewski (Aaron Johnson), a high school student/geek and comic-book fanboy. Dave has been thinking about taking his obsession with comic books and making it real by become a real-life superhero. He chooses “Kick-Ass” as his superhero name and transforms a green wetsuit with yellow stripes into his costume. Dave has absolutely no superpowers, however, and the first time he tries to fight crime turns into a disaster.

Dave’s continued activities bring him into contact with another pair of real-life superheroes, a father-daughter team who are more costumed vigilantes than superheroes. Eleven-year-old Hit Girl (Chloë Grace Moretz), who seems inhumanely good with bladed weapons, and her father, the Batman-like Big Daddy (Nicolas Cage), are waging war on Frank D’Amico (Mark Strong), a local drug kingpin. And Kick-Ass gets dragged into the blood and mayhem.

Directed by Matthew Vaughn and co-written by Vaughn and Jane Goldman, Kick Ass makes some nice changes to the original comic book (such as the reasons for Big Daddy’s campaign). Still, the movie is awkward, mainly because the narrative oscillates between two storylines: (1) Dave Lizewski’s adventures as Kick-Ass and (2) Big Daddy and Hit Girl’s war against Frank D’Amico. The action focusing on Big Daddy and Hit Girl is far more interesting than the adventures of Kick-Ass.

In fact, Dave and his friends just aren’t that interesting. They’re all stock characters, and Vaughn and Goldman aren’t able to inject anything into them that would make them worthy following. The only time Dave’s story is interesting is when he is with a new superhero calling himself Red Mist (Christopher Mintz-Plasse) or with Big Daddy and Hit Girl. Big Daddy and Hit Girl, especially the latter, are such fun that I wish they were the title characters. They even have the best adversaries in Frank D’Amico, a crime boss with great screen presence, and his gleefully malevolent underlings.

Kick Ass isn’t bad; the story just pretends to love Kick-Ass, while making Big Daddy and Hit Girl so alluring. The comic book made the most of its loveable loser Dave Lizewski, but the movie makes him nondescript in a story that is ostensibly about him. For all its wanton violence, foul language, and sexual content, Kick Ass is comical when it wants to be subversive. It is worth watching if only to wish we could see more Hit Girl in action.

5 of 10
B-

Thursday, August 05, 2010

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Walt Disney Pictures Holds Special Event for "The Sorcerer's Apprentice"

Press release:

The Sorcerer’s Apprentice: A Night of Magic and Music in Midtown Manhattan

Walt Disney Studios and Jerry Bruckheimer Films Celebrate the Release of “The Sorcerer’s Apprentice” with Special Event in Bryant Park on Tuesday, July 6, 2010

Musical Performances by OneRepublic and Alpha Rev

Q&A Session with the Film’s Stars & Filmmakers

Entire Event to be Streamed Live on MySpace, Powered by Ustream

BURBANK, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--The mystical masters behind the blockbuster “National Treasure” franchise, Walt Disney Pictures and Jerry Bruckheimer Films, are celebrating their latest big screen incarnation, “The Sorcerer’s Apprentice,” with a special music event in the heart of Manhattan. Since this epic comedy adventure about a sorcerer and his hapless apprentice was filmed entirely on location in New York City, it is a “super” natural fit to honor the film’s impending July 14 release by throwing a party in iconic Bryant Park featuring performances by OneRepublic and Alpha Rev, plus appearances from the movie’s stars and filmmakers, including Nicolas Cage, Jay Baruchel, Alfred Molina, Toby Kebbell, Teresa Palmer, director Jon Turteltaub and producer Jerry Bruckheimer.

By tapping into entertainment powerhouse, MySpace, the festivities go global as fans around the world can watch the musical performances LIVE via Ustream and get the chance to interact with the film’s talent by posting comments and questions to the page. The event, emceed by Z100’s JJ, is free to the public. Bryant Park lawn is open to the general public starting at 7:00 p.m. and the streaming goes live at 8:15 p.m. on July 6, 2010 at www.myspace.com/SorcerersApprentice.

Sorcery & Songs
OneRepublic will perform a short set, including “Secrets,” a song featured prominently in the film, as well as their multi platinum breakthrough single and internet sensation, “Apologize.”

Alpha Rev, a MySpace.com #1 ranked indie band from Texas, will perform their song from the film, “Phoenix Burn.”

MySpace hosts the exclusive live stream of the event at www.myspace.com/SorcerersApprentice, powered by Ustream. Viewers around the world can experience the event first-hand, see exclusive backstage interviews with talent and interact by posting comments and questions to the page.

Ustream, the leader in live interactive video on the web, powers the live webcast of the event. Also to watch, interact or embed the live stream, visit ustream.tv/WaltDisneyStudios.

This special celebration marks the 1st live streaming event on Disney.com

Advance tickets for “The Sorcerer’s Apprentice” can be purchased now through Disney.com/Sorcerer.


ABOUT “THE SORCERER’S APPRENTICE”
Walt Disney Studios, producer Jerry Bruckheimer and director Jon Turteltaub, the team behind the “National Treasure” franchise, present “The Sorcerer’s Apprentice”— an innovative and epic comedy adventure about a sorcerer and his hapless apprentice who are swept into the center of an ancient conflict between good and evil.

Balthazar Blake (Nicolas Cage) is a master sorcerer in modern-day Manhattan trying to defend the city from his arch-nemesis, Maxim Horvath (Alfred Molina). Balthazar can't do it alone, so he recruits Dave Stutler (Jay Baruchel), a seemingly average guy who demonstrates hidden potential, as his reluctant protégé. The sorcerer gives his unwilling accomplice a crash course in the art and science of magic, and together, these unlikely partners work to stop the forces of darkness. It'll take all the courage Dave can muster to survive his training, save the city and get the girl as he becomes “The Sorcerer’s Apprentice.” The screenplay is by Matt Lopez and Doug Miro & Carlo Bernard from a screen story by Lawrence Konner & Mark Rosenthal and Matt Lopez. In theaters July 14, 2010. Disney.com/Sorcerer; like us on Facebook: facebook.com/SorcerersApprentice; follow us on Twitter: twitter.com/DisneyPictures.

ABOUT MYSPACE
MySpace is a technology company connecting people through personal expression, content, and culture. MySpace empowers its global community to experience the Internet through a social lens by integrating personal profiles, photos, videos, mobile, messaging, games, and the world's largest music community. MySpace is a division of News Corporation (NASDAQ: NWS, NWSA; ASX: NWS, NWSLV). For more information please visit http://www.myspace.com/pressroom.

Review: "Adaptation" is a Film That Boggles the Mind

TRASH IN MY EYE No. 107 (of 2003) by Leroy Douresseaux

Adaptation (2002)
Running time: 114 minutes (1 hour, 54 minutes)
MPAA – R for language, sexuality, some drug use and violent images
DIRECTOR: Spike Jonze
WRITERS: Charlie Kaufman and Donald Kaufman (based upon the novel by Susan Orlean)
PRODUCERS: Jonathan Demme, Vincent Landay, and Edward Saxon
CINEMATOGRAPHER: Lance Acord (D.o.P.)
EDITOR: Eric Zumbrunnen
COMPOSER: Carter Burwell

COMEDY/DRAMA

Starring: Nicolas Cage, Meryl Streep, Chris Cooper, Cara Seymour, Tilda Swinton, Ron Livingston, Brian Cox, Maggie Gyllenhaal, Jim Beaver, Judy Greer, and Litefoot

Charlie Kaufman, a real, living, breathing person, is a well-known screenwriter. You absolutely must see the film made from his most famous script, Being John Malkovich. A few years ago, he struggled with writing a script adaptation of Susan Orlean’s best-selling novel, The Orchid Thief. He met with Ms. Orlean, and explained his troubles. They apparently came to an agreement that Kaufman would write a screenplay that would be in part about him wrestling with the adaptation of the novel and in part about the story in the book.  That screenplay became the movie, Adaptation.

So here’s the plot of the film Adaptation: Charlie Kaufman (Nicolas Cage) is struggling in an attempt to write a screenplay based upon Susan Orlean’s (Meryl Streep) best-selling non-fiction book, The Orchid Thief. His twin brother Donald (Cage, again) moves in with Charlie, and Donald decides to write his own original script. With wild and joyful abandon, Donald takes a seminar and leaps into writing a typical Hollywood thriller about a serial killer, while The Orchid Thief slowly drives Charlie to madness.

Meanwhile, in a subplot, the film carries on and we meet Susan who goes to Florida to write an article for the New Yorker about an orchid thief named John Laroche (Chris Cooper), who’s been recently arresting for poaching plants on a federal reserve. Ms. Orlean is simultaneously fascinated with and repulsed by Laroche, a divorced and lonely man who lost his mother and uncle in an auto accident for which he blames himself.

In the other major subplot: as the film goes on, Donald convinces Charlie that Susan is hiding something, so they track her to Florida to learn the dark secret she shares with Laroche. It mostly ends tragically in a typically Hollywood fashion.

The amazing thing about this film is that it is so good, yet it seems to have almost nothing to do with the director, Spike Jonze, who collaborated with Kaufman on Being John Malkovich. But never doubt Jonze’s prodigious talents, especially if you’ve seen even one of his visionary music videos for acts like Beck or Fatboy Slim. Here he’s almost invisible as he navigates the eccentricities, shifting points of view, and multiple story threads that is Kaufman’s sexy script.

Of course, Kaufman turns out another outstanding script. The film credits list the screenwriters as Charlie Kaufman and Donald Kaufman, but Charlie really doesn’t have a twin brother named Donald. Charlie’s attempt was to write a script about script writing, but he also covered such fertile territory as the necessity of change, human isolation and loneliness, writer’s bloc, the treacherous path that is adapting other people’s work, professional jealousy, sibling relationships, guilt, loss, etc. It’s all wonderfully done, but the part of his story that’s supposed to be the typical Hollywood film adaptation is kinda dull and uninteresting. That’s the joke. For the film’s closing segment, Charlie was able to turn Ms. Orlean’s novel into a conventional thriller, and he shows that that can be simultaneously intriguing and dull. The conventional can often seem exciting, but so often it ends in predictability. Thus, Kaufman does get to make his point about cookie cutter film shockers, but the irony is that even his satire of formula writing and filmmaking seems listless. Am I missing the point? I can go on all day, but the best way to tell you about this film would be to share it with you visually, like telepathy, sending sensory images of Adaptation into your mind. That ain’t gonna happen, and I can almost forgive the filmmakers for an ending that was too smart for its own good.

The performances are excellent, and two of them are spectacular. Cage’s Kaufman is his most inspired, witty, and imaginative performance in almost a decade. It the kind of work where he digs deep into himself to find the character the way he did in Leaving Las Vegas, for which he won an Academy Award. His performance as Charlie Kaufman earned his an Academy Award nomination. The second excellent performance was Chris Cooper’s turn as the flower thief Laroche. The lead in two John Sayles films, Matewan and Lone Star, Cooper won an Oscar for his role as Laroche. He earned it with his ability to show that the character was not only stunningly eccentric, but was also mostly just another guy bummed out by life who is doing his best to roll with the punches. It’s enough to inspire even the most blue of us.

7 of 10
A-

NOTES:
2003 Academy Awards: 1 win: “Best Actor in a Supporting Role” (Chris Cooper); 3 nominations: “Best Actor in a Leading Role” (Nicolas Cage), “Best Actress in a Supporting Role” (Meryl Streep), “Best Writing, Adapted Screenplay” (Charlie Kaufman Donald Kaufman)


2003 BAFTA Awards: 1 win: “Best Screenplay – Adapted” (Charlie Kaufman, Donald Kaufman); 3 nominations “Best Performance by an Actor in a Leading Role” (Nicolas Cage); “Best Performance by an Actor in a Supporting Role” (Chris Cooper), and “Best Performance by an Actress in a Supporting Role” (Meryl Streep)


2003 Golden Globes: 2 wins: “Best Performance by an Actor in a Supporting Role in a Motion Picture” (Chris Cooper) and “Best Performance by an Actress in a Supporting Role in a Motion Picture” (Meryl Streep); 4 nominations: “Best Director - Motion Picture” (Spike Jonze), “Best Motion Picture - Musical or Comedy” “Best Performance by an Actor in a Motion Picture - Musical or Comedy” (Nicolas Cage), and “Best Screenplay - Motion Picture” (Charlie Kaufman, Donald Kaufman)

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Review: "Ghost Rider" in the Mediocre Sky

TRASH IN MY EYE No. 37 (of 2007) by Leroy Douresseaux


Ghost Rider (2007)
Running time: 114 minutes (1 hour, 54 minutes)
MPAA – PG-13 for horror violence and disturbing images
DIRECTOR: Mark Steven Johnson
WRITER: Mark Steven Johnson; based upon his screen story (based on the Marvel Comic)
PRODUCERS: Avi Arad, Steven Paul, Michael De Luca, and Gary Foster
CINEMATOGRAPHER: Russell Boyd, ACS
EDITOR: Richard Francis-Bruce, A.C.E.

SUPERHERO/FANTASY/HORROR/ACTION

Starring: Nicolas Cage, Eva Mendes, Wes Bentley, Sam Elliot, Donal Logue, Peter Fonda, Matt Long, Raquel Alessi, and Brett Cullen

With his new movie, Ghost Rider, Mark Steven Johnson has written and directed his second mediocre film based upon a comic book (2003’s Daredevil being the other). In spite of both Johnson and a comically amateurish performance by Nicolas Cage as the hero, Ghost Rider survives on visual effects that create some scary monsters and cool, disturbing images.

When he was a young man, carnival stunt motorcyclist, Johnny Blaze (Matt Long) sold his soul to the devil, Mephistopheles (Peter Fonda), in order to save his father, Barton Blaze’s (Brett Cullen) life, and that deal also cost Johnny his girlfriend, Roxanne Simpson (Raquel Alessi). Years later, Johnny Blaze (Nicolas Cage) is the world’s most famous motorcycle daredevil, but that other devil has come for his due. Mephistopheles is at war with his son, Blackheart (Wes Bentley), and he wants Blaze to stop Blackheart from finding something that both hellish father and son want – a lost contract of damned souls belonging to Mephistopheles.

To that end, Blaze discovers the gift/curse of power that Mephistopheles had given him for the price of his soul. At night, in the presence of evil, Johnny becomes the fiery, motorcycle-riding demon with a flaming skull, Ghost Rider. Although obligated to serve his dark master, Johnny is also struggling to rekindle his romance with Roxanne (Eva Mendes), now a TV news reporter, and she’s isn’t buying Johnny’s story that he is the mysterious Ghost Rider. Perhaps, the only one who truly believes Johnny and knows what he’s going through as Ghost Rider is the mysterious grave keeper, Caretaker (Sam Elliot), and Johnny Blaze/Ghost Rider will need Caretaker’s help as he takes on Blackheart and his demonic minions.

Mark Steven Johnson based his screen story and screenplay for Ghost Rider upon the Marvel Comics character of the same name. Created by writers Roy Thomas and Mark Friedrich and artist Mike Ploog, Ghost Rider first appeared in the comic magazine, Marvel Spotlight #5 (1972), and would later be updated for the 1990’s by writer Howard Mackie and artist Javier Saltares. For this new Ghost Rider movie, Johnson has borrowed elements from throughout the character’s publishing history.

Despite four decades of source material from which to cherry pick, Johnson still delivers a cheesy, superhero horror flick. Ghost Rider is of the same quality as one of those low-end Sci-Fi Channel original movies, except GR has the production and promotional budget of a Hollywood blockbuster and a big movie star as the film lead.

There’s nothing much to be said of Nicolas Cage’s performance in this film. He’s an admitted, serious comic book fan. Still, his sincerity and love of the material doesn’t wring from him, for Ghost Rider, the kind of great performances that won him an Oscar (Leaving Las Vegas) and earned him another nomination (Adaptation). Here, Cage does a kind of hammy riff on Elvis Presley, which, speaking as a fan of Cage’s work, is embarrassing.

However, when Ghost Rider (which is certainly a computer generated character) is onscreen, especially when he’s facing off against Blackheart (well played by Wes Bentley), the film is actually fun, though still cheesy. The fiery motorcycle stunts, the wicked villains, and the frightening (and occasionally) disturbing images – mostly generated by computer – are fun. Beyond fans of comic books and comic book-based movies, Ghost Rider may attract the attentions of action movie junkies and some fans of Cage. This is simply a mediocre movie, although Eva Mendes looks white hot in a form-fitting white dress, and that’s worth seeing.

4 of 10
C

Saturday, February 17, 2007