#28DaysofBlack Review: Heroes Abound in "MARSHALL"

[The year after he first played Marvel Comics superhero, Black Panther, the late Chadwick Boseman played real-life hero, Supreme Court Justice Thurgood Marshall, early in his career when he was a defense attorney defending oppressed African-Americans.  There is something about playing both Thurgood Marshall and the Black Panther that makes an actor special.  That is why some of us both mourn Boseman's passing and celebrate his work.]

TRASH IN MY EYE No. 15 of 2021 (No. 1753) by Leroy Douresseaux

Marshall (2017)
Running time: 118 minutes (1 hours, 58 minutes)
MPAA – PG-13 for mature thematic content, sexuality, violence and some strong language
DIRECTOR:  Reginald Hudlin
WRITERS:  Michael Koskoff and Jacob Koskoff
PRODUCERS:  Reginald Hudlin, Jonathan Sanger, and Paula Wagner
CINEMATOGRAPHER:  Newton Thomas Sigel (D.o.P.)
EDITOR:  Tom McArdle
COMPOSER:  Marcus Miller
Academy Award nominee

BIOPIC/DRAMA/HISTORICAL/THRILLER

Starring:  Chadwick Boseman, Josh Gad, Kate Hudson, Dan Stevens, James Cromwell, Sterling K. Brown, Keesha Sharp, John Magaro, Roger Guenveur Smith, Ahna O'Reilly, Jeremy Bobb, Derrick Baskin, Jeffrey DeMunn, Andra Day, Sophia Bush, Jussie Smollett, and Rozonda “Chilli” Thomas

Marshall is a 2017 biographical film, period drama, and legal thriller directed by Reginald Hudlin.  The film's lead character is Thurgood Marshall (1908 to 1993), the first African-American to serve on the Supreme Court of the United States.  Marshall the film focuses on one of the first cases of his career, the State of Connecticut v. Joseph Spell, which concerns an African-American chauffeur accused of raping a white woman in 1940.

Marshall opens in 1941.  Thurgood Marshall (Chadwick Boseman) is an attorney for the “NAACP Legal Defense and Educational Fund,” which he founded.  Marshall travels the country defending people who are accused of crimes solely because of their race.  Upon his return to his New York office, Marshall finds more work waiting for him.  Walter Francis White (Roger Guenveur Smith), Executive Secretary of the NAACP, sends Marshall to Bridgeport, Connecticut.  There, he will defend Joseph Spell (Sterling K. Brown), a chauffeur accused of rape by his white employer, Eleanor Strubing (Kate Hudson), in a case that has gripped the newspapers.

In Bridgeport, insurance lawyer, Sam Friedman (Josh Gad), is assigned by his brother, Irwin Friedman (John Magaro), to get Marshall admitted to the local bar, against Sam's will.  At the hearing for Spell, Judge Carl Foster (James Cromwell), a friend of the father of prosecutor Lorin Willis (Dan Stevens), agrees to admit Marshall, but forbids Marshall from speaking during the trial, forcing Friedman to be Spell's lead counsel.  Now, Marshall must guide Friedman through the trial via notes, but is this case a lost cause when Thurgood and Sam discover that it is rife with lies – on both sides.

Marshall is technically a biographical film, focusing on a specific period in the life and career of future Supreme Court justice, Thurgood Marshall.  Early in the film, however, it is obvious that director Reginald Hudlin has his mind on making Marshall a film that resembles a 1940s film noir with elements of a legal drama and a crime thriller.  The audience can hear that in Marcus Miller's lovely film score and in the way Hudlin stages the action, uses space, and places the actors.

In one of the film's early moments, when Marshall has his back to the camera and is ironing a shirt, I immediately thought of my favorite actor, Humphrey Bogart, and one of his most famous roles, that of Sam Space in director John Huston's The Maltese Falcon (1941).  From that point, there is hardly a setting in which Marshall's life does not seem to be in danger.  Hudlin races his audience through a movie that seems to be shorter than its almost two hours of run time.  Is Marshall a courtroom drama?  Yes, and it is also a courtroom thriller with a mystery at its center.

I do wish the father-son screenwriting team of Michael Koskoff and Jacob Koskoff had given the script  more depth, as the narrative is mostly style and genre.  There is also a lack of depth in the  characterization, and the characters are a bit shallow.  As hard as actor Sterling K. Brown tries, he can't seem to really draw anything from the well of defendant Joseph Spell's soul.  Spell comes across as more of a stand-in than an actual portrait of a man whose life is on the line.

The very talented Josh Gad is able to give a lot of color to Sam Friedman, playing as a subtly wily man who is able to navigate his way between conflicting sides.  Kate Hudson, mostly known for romantic comedies, shows some serious dramatic chops as the trapped suburban wife and alleged victim, Eleanor Strubing.  As usual, Roger Guenveur Smith is spry, this time as the real-life Walter Francis Wright.

Of course, in the wake of his 2020 death to complications of colon cancer, Chadwick Boseman as Thurgood Marshall will be the center of attention in the film, Marshall, going forward.  Despite a lack of characterization in the film's script, Boseman turns Marshall into a relentless paladin, traveling the countryside fighting the forces of white bigotry and racism.  His field of battle is the courtroom, and black men falsely accused because they are black are the people he defends.  Boseman makes me believe that he is a stubborn attorney and hero in an old-fashioned courtroom drama.  He also makes me believe that he is a superhero, almost a year before he became the beloved Black Panther of Disney/Marvel Studios' Oscar-winning film, Black Panther.

Marshall convinces me that Thurgood Marshall was both a heroic lawyer and a superhero.  The film also convinces me that Boseman was the best at bringing the most famous African-American men to life on the big screen.  Plus, Marshall is a really good movie.

8 of 10
A

Monday, February 15, 2021


NOTES:
2018 Academy Awards, USA:  1 nomination: “Best Achievement in Music Written for Motion Pictures-Original Song” (Common and Diane Warren for song “Stand Up for Something”)

2018 Black Reel Awards:  7 nominations: “Outstanding Motion Picture” (Jonathan Sanger, Paula Wagner, and Reginald Hudlin), “Outstanding Actor, Motion Picture” (Chadwick Boseman), “Outstanding Director, Motion Picture” (Reginald Hudlin), “Outstanding Ensemble” (Victoria Thomas-Casting Director), “Outstanding Score” (Marcus Miller-Composer), “Outstanding Original Song” (Andra Day-Performer, Common-Performer, Writer, and Diane Warren-Writer for the song “Stand Up for Something”), and “Outstanding Breakthrough Performance, Male” (Sterling K. Brown)

2018 Image Awards (NAACP):  5 nominations: “Outstanding Motion Picture,” “Outstanding Actor in a Motion Picture” (Chadwick Boseman), “Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Motion Picture” (Sterling K. Brown), “Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Motion Picture” (Keesha Sharp), “and  “Outstanding Directing in a Motion Picture” (Reginald Hudlin)

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

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#28DaysofBlack Review: Eddie Murphy's "HARLEM NIGHTS" is Still Cool

[A little over 21 years after its initial release, Harlem Nights remains unique.  It was the dream project of an African-American movie star, Eddie Murphy, who had reached heights that few African-American stars ever have.  I'm glad Eddie Murphy made this movie.]

TRASH IN MY EYE No. 11 of 2021 (No. 1749) by Leroy Douresseaux

Harlem Nights (1989)
Running time:  116 minutes (1 hour, 56 minutes)
MPAA – R
WRITER/DIRECTOR: Eddie Murphy
PRODUCER:  Mark Lipsky and Robert D. Wachs
CINEMATOGRAPHER:  Woody Omens (D.o.P.)
EDITORS:  Alan Balsam and George Bowers   
COMPOSER:  Herbie Hancock
Academy Award nominee

CRIME/DRAMA with elements of comedy

Starring:  Eddie Murphy, Richard Pryor, Redd Foxx, Danny Aiello, Michael Lerner, Della Reese, Berlinda Tobert, Stan Shaw, Jasmine Guy, Vic Polizos, Lela Rochon, David Marciano, Arsenio Hall, Thomas Mikal Ford, Joe Pecoraro, Robin Harris, Charles Q. Murphy, Uncle Ray Murphy, Desi Arnez Hines II, Roberto Duran, and Gene Hartline

Harlem Nights is a 1989 crime film and period drama written and directed by Eddie Murphy.  The film is set during the 1930s and focuses on a New York City club owner and his associates as they battle gangsters and corrupt cops.

Harlem Nights introduces Sugar Ray (Richard Pryor).  In 1938, Ray and his surrogate son, Vernest Brown, best known as “Quick,” run a nightclub, dance hall, and gambling house called “Club Sugar Ray,” located in New York City's Harlem neighborhood.  Ray's other associates include Madame Vera Walker (Della Reese), who runs the brothel at the back of Club Sugar Ray, and her longtime companion, Bennie Wilson (Redd Foxx), the craps table dealer.

Club Sugar Ray is wildly successful, making fifteen to twenty thousand dollars a week, and that has drawn the attention of a white gangster, Bugsy Calhoune (Michael Lerner).  Calhoune wants the majority share of Sugar Ray's revenues, and to that end, employs his criminal associates:  his black enforcer, Tommy Smalls (Thomas Mikal Ford); his Creole mistress, Dominique La Rue (Jasmine Guy), and a corrupt police detective, Sgt. Phil Cantone (Danny Aiello).

Ray decides that he will have to give up his business and move on, although Quick is vehemently against this.  Ray decides to use an upcoming championship boxing match between the world heavy weight champion, black boxer Jack Jenkins (Stan Shaw), and a white challenger, Michael Kirkpatrick (Gene Hartline), the “Irish Ironman,” to disguise his ultimate heist plan against Calhoune.  But for the plan to work, Quick will have to avoid all the people trying to kill him?

Harlem Nights has some of the best production values that I have ever seen in an Eddie Murphy film.  The costumes (which were Oscar-nominated), the art direction and set decoration, and the cinematography are gorgeous.  Herbie Hancock's score captures Harlem Nights shifting tones – from jazzy and sexy to mixes of comic and dramatic violence.  The film's soundtrack offers a buffet of songs written, co-written and performed by the great Duke Ellington, plus performances by Billie Holiday, Louis Armstrong, and Buddy Clark, to name a few.

Yet, upon its initial release, that is not what some critics noted about Harlem Nights.  They were obsessed with how many times Eddie Murphy's name appeared on the poster.  They counted:  Eddie was star, writer, director, and executive producer; it was too much – at least according to them.  That all played into the “Eddie Murphy is arrogant” argument that many of these critics, mostly jealous white guys, made.

Harlem Nights remains the only film that Eddie Murphy has ever directed, which is a shame.  Granted that his acting is stiff in this film.  Granted that the screenwriting is average; it is never strong on character drama, and sometimes the story really needs it to be.  Still, Harlem Nights moves smoothly through its narrative.  It is slow and easy, although there have been those that have claimed that the film is “too slow.”  Still, Eddie Murphy has a silken touch at directing.

None of Harlem Nights' problems matter to me.  At the time, there had never been a film like it.  Harlem Nights is a big budget, lavish, Hollywood period film that is thoroughly Black.  Its cast is a once-in-a-life-time event.  I'm not sure a black director could have gotten funding with Harlem Night's cast even as a low budget film.  Harlem Nights is a film that only Eddie Murphy could get produced, and one could argue that it was not until well into the twenty-first century that any other black filmmaker could get something like Harlem Nights made.  So I'm good with its problems, and I am simply happy that it exists.

Harlem Nights is an entertaining film, and I have highly enjoyed it every time that I have seen it.  It stands as a testament to what Eddie Murphy became by the late 1980s – the only African-American who was a real Hollywood “player.”  Eddie Murphy, Richard Pryor, Redd Foxx, and Della Reese:  they were a dream lineup, a fleeting coming together that seemed to be gone in an instant.  Harlem Nights lives on, as a gorgeous, strange hybrid drama-comedy-gangster-period film.  And I, for one, am always ready to recommend it.

B+
7 of 10

Tuesday, February 9, 2021


NOTES:
1990 Academy Awards, USA:  1 nomination: “Best Costume Design” (Joe I. Tompkins)


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#28DaysofBlack Review: All Black Cast is Glorious in "CARMEN JONES"

[For her performance as the title character in Carmen Jones, Dorothy Dandridge became the first African-American actress to be nominated for the “Academy Award for Best Actress.” Dandridge was also the first Black actor nominated for an Oscar in a leading role category, besting by four years Sidney Poitier, the first Black man nominated for “Best Actor in a Leading Role” (for 1958's The Defiant Ones). Dandridge was dead a little under 11 years after the release of Carmen Jones.]

TRASH IN MY EYE No. 5 of 2021 (No. 1743) by Leroy Douresseaux

Carmen Jones (1954)
Running time:  105 minutes (1 hour, 45 minutes)
PRODUCER/DIRECTOR:  Otto Preminger    
WRITERS: Harry Kleiner (screenplay); Oscar Hammerstein 2nd (lyrics and book); (based on the opera by Georges Bizet)
CINEMATOGRAPHER:  Sam Leavitt (D.o.P.)
EDITOR:  Louis R. Loeffler    
COMPOSERS:  Herschel Burke Gilbert (musical director); Georges Bizet (original music)
Academy Award nominee

MUSICAL/DRAMA/ROMANCE

Starring:  Harry Belafonte, Dorothy Dandridge, Pearl Bailey, Olga James, Joe Adams, Brock Peters, Roy Daniels, Nick Stewart, and Diahann Carroll

Carmen Jones is a 1954 American musical film produced and directed by Otto Preminger.  It is a film version of Oscar Hammerstein II's 1943 stage musical, Carmen Jones.  Hammerstein wrote the book (story) and lyrics to Carmen Jones and set them to the music of Georges Bizet's 1875 opera, Carmen.  However, Carmen Jones is a contemporary version of the Bizet opera, with new lyrics, and it features a lead cast of all African-American and black actors.

Carmen Jones is set during World War II.  The story opens as a young woman, Cindy Lou (Olga James), arrives at the “Parachute Division” of A.J. Gardner Manufacturing Corp. (apparently located in North Carolina), where U.S. Army soldiers provide security.  Cindy Lou is there to meet her betrothed, Corporal Joe (Harry Belafonte), a young soldier who is about to enter flight officers training school.  But Cindy Lou isn't the only young woman with her eye on Joe.

Carmen Jones (Dorothy Dandridge) is an employee at the parachute factory.  One of her fellow employees describes Carmen as a “hip-swinging floozie.”  She arrives late to work wearing a loud red skirt, and she shamelessly declares that he wants Joe – mainly because she is attracted to men who play hard to get with her.  Joe seems bound and determined to focus only on Cindy Lou, and, in fact, he wants to marry her right away.

However, after Carmen gets in a fight with another female employee, scheming Sgt. Brown (Brock Peters) orders Joe to take Carmen to a civilian jail in the town of Masonville, which is over fifty miles away from the parachute plant.  Fate and circumstance seemed bound and determined to bring Carmen Jones and Corporal Joe together, but the cards and the spirits seem to say they are bound for tragedy.

When it comes to Carmen Jones the musical film, I can take it or leave it.  Oh, I enjoyed it enough, and some of the songs actually tickles my senses.  For me, the joy of Carmen Jones is its magnificent cast.  It is a shame how things were for African-American actors and performers in film back in those days.  This cast includes actors who should have dominated their craft and profession.

When Dorothy Dandridge first appears as Carmen Jones, she cuts through this film like a red hot knife through butter, and it is not only because of the hot red skirt she wears, which could launch a thousand ships.  Her presence is glorious, and director Otto Preminger clearly makes her the center of the film – as if he had a choice.  Because Dandridge, who was a singer, did not sing opera, she does not sing in the film; her singing voice is dubbed by Marilyn Horne, but Dandrige's lip-syncing is so convincing that it is hard to believe that she is actually not singing.  I can see why she captured the imaginations of enough voters in the Academy Awards to earn a “Best Actress” Oscar nomination as Carmen.

That is saying something considering that Harry Belafonte as Joe throws off quite a bit of energy himself.  When he wants to, Belafonte moves about like a panther, all power and lightning.  Belafonte's name appears first onscreen among the performers, and he acquits himself very, very well.  Belafonte's singing voice is also dubbed (by LeVern Hutcherson), but he also does some powerful lip-syncing, probably because he is also a singer.

If there is another actress in Carmen Jones packing as much dynamite as Dandridge, it is Pearl Bailey as Frankie, one of Carmen's friends.  Wow!  I am almost without words to describe how mesmerizing Bailey is the moment.  When she sings “Beat Out Dat Rhythm on a Drum (Gypsy Song),” Bailey pumps so much sexual heat into the film that I am surprised that scene did not get cut out by censors.

So I recommend Carmen Jones to anyone ready to see that an all-black cast can be magnetic on the screen.  They can be sexy and alluring and make you want to follow them on any adventure.  They can transport you to another world, and … they make Carmen Jones much more than it could have been.

8 of 10
A

Tuesday, February 2, 2021


NOTES:
1955 Academy Awards, USA: 2 nominations: “Best Actress in a Leading Role” (Dorothy Dandridge) and “Best Music, Scoring of a Musical Picture” (Herschel Burke Gilbert)

1955 Golden Globes, USA:  2 wins: “Best Motion Picture - Comedy or Musical” and “Most Promising Newcomer – Male” (Joe Adams)

1956 BAFTA Awards:  2 nominations: “Best Film from any Source” (USA) and “Best Foreign Actress” (Dorothy Dandridge-USA)


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

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Review: "THE PRINCESS BRIDE" Still Storming the Castle

TRASH IN MY EYE No. 21 (of 2020) by Leroy Douresseaux

[This review originally appeared on Patreon.]

The Princess Bride (1987)

Running time: 98 minutes (1 hour, 38 minutes)

MPAA – PG

DIRECTOR:  Rob Reiner

WRITER:  William Goldman (based on the book by William Goldman)

PRODUCERS:  Rob Reiner and Andrew Scheinman

CINEMATOGRAPHER:  Adrian Biddle

EDITOR:  Robert Leighton

COMPOSER:  Mark Knopfler

Academy Award nominee

FANTASY/ROMANCE/ADVENTURE/FAMILY

Starring:  Cary Elwes, Robin Wright, Mandy Patinkin, Chris Sarandon, Christopher Guest, Wallace Shawn, Andre the Giant, Fred Savage, Peter Falk, Carol Kane, and Billy Crystal

The Princess Bride is a 1987 fantasy-adventure and romantic film from director Rob Reiner.  The film is based on William Goldman's 1973 novel, The Princess Bride, for which Goldman wrote the screenplay adaptation.  2017 will mark the 30th anniversary of the film's release (October 9, 1987).  In The Princess Bride the film, a grandfather tells his grandson the story of a princess sought by two men who desire her – one a mysterious hero and the other a hateful prince.

The Princess Bride opens with a framing story in which The Grandfather (Peter Falk) reads a book, “The Princess Bride,” to The Grandson (Fred Savage), who is sick and relegated to his bed.  The story then travels from the present day of the Grandson's bedroom to the past of the Renaissance Era.  The place of arrival is a country named “Florin.”  There, we meet Buttercup (Robin Wright), a beautiful young woman, and Westley (Cary Elwes), the farmhand she loves to order around.  The truth is that Buttercup loves Westley, but one day, Westley leaves the farm to seek his fortune.

Later, Buttercup learns that Westley was on ship that was attacked by the Dread Pirate Roberts and is assumed dead.  The story moves ahead five years, and Buttercup has reluctantly agreed to marry Humperdinck (Chris Sarandon), Prince of Florin.  There are, however, conspiracies and conspirators afoot who stand in the way of that marriage.  This includes a Sicilian crime boss named Vizzini (Wallace Shawn), a giant named Fezzik (André the Giant), a Spanish master swordsman named Inigo Montoya (Mandy Patinkin), and a mysterious man in black.

Recently, IDW Publishing sent me a copy-for-review of their adult coloring book based on The Prince Bride, entitled The Princess Bride: A Storybook to Color.  I decided that I finally needed to sit down and watch The Princes Bride, start to finish, in its entirety, which I had never done.  Why had I not done that before?  I don't know.  I have always been curious about the movie, and I even owned a copy of William Goldman's novel a long time ago (which I lost before I could read it).

I can describe The Princess Bride as a multi-genre movie.  It is part medieval fantasy, part storybook romance, and part swashbuckling adventure (quietly and gently adventurous).  And the result is a damn fine movie.  I don't know what makes it work, but I think director Rob Reiner has a lot to do with that.  His directorial pace and mood suggests that he wanted this movie to be a storybook tale that found comedy in the elements of fairy tales and fantasy, but without mocking and parodying them.  Also, I think William Goldman's screenplay builds the characters using quirks and eccentricities so that he can poke fun at the players rather than at the genres that are their field of play.

The resulting film is an utterly delightful and a truly unique cinematic gem.  I don't think Reiner could get The Princess Bride made today, not without pumping it full of intense action and making extensive use of computer-generated imagery (CGI).  If made today, even the film's photography would be heavily altered and enhanced through the use of software.

The Princess Bride is essentially a “hand-made” movie, and somehow the talent involved in this film made magic.  I bet they did not realize that until they saw the finished film.  If you have not yet seen The Princess Bride, it is time for you to realize the magic, too.

9 of 10
A+

Sunday, January 22, 2017

NOTES:
1988 Academy Awards, USA:  1 nomination: “Best Music, Original Song” (Willy DeVille for the song "Storybook Love")

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

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Review: "Knives Out" a Fresh Cut of Murder Mystery

TRASH IN MY EYE No. 15 (of 2020) by Leroy Douresseaux

[This review was originally posted on Patreon.]

Knives Out (2019)
Running time:  130 minutes (2 hours, 10 minutes)
MPAA – PG-13 for thematic elements including brief violence, some strong language, sexual references, and drug material
WRITER/DIRECTOR:  Rian Johnson
PRODUCERS:  Rian Johnson and Ram Bergman
CINEMATOGRAPHER:  Steve Yedlin (D.o.P.)
EDITOR:  Bob Ducsay
COMPOSER:  Nathan Johnson
Academy Award nominee

MYSTERY/COMEDY

Starring:  Daniel Craig, Chris Evans, Ana de Armas, Jamie Lee Curtis, Michael Shannon, Don Johnson, Toni Collette, LaKeith Stanfield, Christopher Plummer, Katherine Langford, Jaeden Martell, Riki Lindhome, Edi Patterson, Frank Oz, K Callan, Noah Segan, M. Emmet Walsh, and Marlene Forte

Knives Out is a 2019 mystery film written and directed by Rian Johnson.  The film is a modern whodunit and a murder mystery inspired by the works of the legendary mystery novelist, Agatha Christie.  Knives Out focuses on a master detective investigating an eccentric, combative family after the family's patriarch is found dead.

Knives Out introduces wealthy crime novelist, Harlan Thrombey (Christopher Plummer).  He has invited his family to his Massachusetts mansion for his 85th birthday party.  The following morning, Harlan's housekeeper, Fran (Edi Patterson), finds Harlan dead, with his throat slit.  Local police Detective Lieutenant Elliott (LaKeith Stanfield) believes Harlan's death to be a suicide.  However, an anonymous party among the family has secretly paid private eye, Benoit Blanc (Daniel Craig), to investigate Harlan's death as a homicide.  Blanc finds his suspects among the members of the family, and each one is either eccentric or combative.

Blanc learns that Harlan's relationships with his family were strained.  Blanc is keeping an eye on particular members of the family.  There is Harlan's eldest daughter, Linda Drysdale (Jamie Lee Curtis), a real estate mogul, and his youngest son, Walt Thrombey (Michael Shannon).  There is also Joni Thrombey (Toni Collette), Harlan's daughter-in-law and the widow of his late son, Neil, and his son-in-law, Richard Drysdale (Don Johnson), Linda's husband.  Even Harlan's nurse and close friend, Marta Cabrera (Ana de Armas), is a suspect... or at least has knowledge that will answer important questions.  And where is Harlan's grandson, Ransom “Hugh” Drysdale (Chris Evans), the spoiled playboy son of Linda and Richard?

Whodunit... if it is true that someone did anything criminal?  Or is the truth more complicated and too obvious for even world-famous private investigator Benoit Blanc to discover?

Rian Johnson's Knives Out starts with an excellent screenplay, not necessarily in terms of the mystery's plot.  That is mostly just an exercise in genre elements and trappings – similar to the twists and terms found in the works of Agatha Christie and those stories inspired by Christie.  The best of Knives Out is in the characters, the kind that character actors can use to chew up movie scenery.

The cast of Knives Out is comprised of actors who have been at or near the top of their professions in film or television at some point in their careers.  They are not really known as character actors because they have been or still are headliners.  However, they are mostly veteran actors, and they can do what character actors do best, and that is deliver performances that create the kind of characters of which film audiences cannot get enough.

That is what Rian Johnson did with this film.  He composed a topnotch script, and then, he directed his actors to topnotch performances.  The result is a mystery film that grabs the viewers and holds them from start to finish.  I certainly felt as if I could not let stop watching Knives Out; it is truly a fun film to watch.  It is not perfect; there seems not to be enough screen time for some of the best characters, such as Jamie Lee Curtis' Linda Drysdale, Michael Shannon's Walt Thrombey, and Toni Collette's Joni Thrombey.  And Chris Evan's Ransom Drysdale seems misused...

Still, get yourself to Knives Out, dear reader.  It is one of the funniest and most enjoyable murder mystery films in quite some time.

8 of 10
A

Saturday, June 20, 2020


NOTES:
2019 Academy Awards, USA:  1 nomination: “Best Original Screenplay” (Rian Johnson)

2019 BAFTA Awards:  1 nomination: “Best Screenplay” (Rian Johnson)

2019 Golden Globes, USA:  3 nominations:  “Best Motion Picture - Musical or Comedy,” “Best Performance by an Actress in a Motion Picture - Musical or Comedy” (Ana de Armas), and “Best Performance by an Actor in a Motion Picture - Musical or Comedy” (Daniel Craig)


The text is copyright © 2020 Leroy Douresseaux. All Rights Reserved. Contact this site or blog for reprint and syndication rights and fees.

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Review: "Hellboy II: The Golden Army" is Magical and Imaginative

TRASH IN MY EYE No. 33 (of 2008) by Leroy Douresseaux

Hellboy II: The Golden Army (2008)
Running time:  110 minutes (1 hour, 50 minutes)
MPAA – PG-13 for sequences of sci-fi action and violence and some language
DIRECTOR:  Guillermo del Toro
WRITERS:  Guillermo del Toro; from a story by Guillermo del Toro and Mike Mignola (based upon the comic book by Mike Mignola)
PRODUCERS:  Lawrence Gordon, Lloyd Levin, Mike Richardson, and Joe Roth
CINEMATOGRAPHER:  Guillermo Navarro
EDITOR:  Bernat Vilaplana
COMPOSER:  Danny Elfman
Academy Award nominee

FANTASY/ACTION/HORROR with elements of comedy and drama

Starring:  Ron Perlman, Selma Blair, Doug Jones, Luke Goss, Anna Walton, Jeffrey Tambor, John Hurt, Roy Dotrice and Seth MacFarlane (voice)

In Hellboy II: The Golden Army, the breaking of an ancient truce between humankind and the denizens of the invisible realm means Hellboy, the big, red, horned hero, will have to face his toughest challenges to date – save the world and save his relationship with his favorite flammable chick.

In distant, ancient times, there was a war between humans and mythical creatures.  A Goblin built an unstoppable clockwork army for Balor, King of the Elves (Roy Dotrice), but Balor grieved when he saw the carnage inflicted upon humanity by this “Golden Army” of 4900 mechanical fighters.  Balor called for a truce that would allow humans to live in their cities and that would allow the mythical creatures to keep to the forests.  The Golden Army was locked away in a secret location.

Cut to present day, Balor’s son, Prince Nuada (Luke Goss), has returned from exile.  Having never agreed with the original truce between humanity and his father, Nuada sets about reuniting the three pieces of King Balor’s crown, the device that will allow him to raise the Golden Army.  This time, Prince Nuada will not stop the Golden Army until it has destroyed humanity.

Meanwhile, Hellboy (Ron Perlman) is having relationship issues with his girlfriend, Liz Sherman (Selma Blair), and chafing under a government order that the existence of Hellboy and the Bureau for Paranormal Research and Development (BPRD) must remain a secret.  When Prince Nuada launches his first attack on the human world, Hellboy, Liz, and their BPRD comrade, Ape Sapien (Doug Jones), a fish-man, must put aside their domestic issues.  Joined by Prince Nuada’s twin sister, Princess Nuala (Anna Walton), Hellboy and company take on the fight of their lives, but find their job complicated by a strange new special agent, Johann Krauss (voice of Seth MacFarlane), a gaseous being living in a containment suit.

Some filmmakers make movies that seem right out of a dream, one of them being Guillermo del Toro, the brilliant creator of such films as The Devil’s Backbone and Pan’s Labyrinth.  Hellboy II: The Golden Army is a sequel to del Toro’s 2004 movie Hellboy; both films are based upon the Hellboy comic books from creator Mike Mignola (who co-wrote this film’s story).  Hellboy II is a daydream, nightmare, hallucination and reverie right out of the deepest parts of minds, which still holds onto the fear of mythical creatures.  Del Toro mixes the gossamer-spun enchantment of a fairytales, the elegant gothic mood of old-school monster movies (especially from Universal Studios), and the kooky, but grand comic book monsters of Jack Kirby to create probably the most vivid and imaginative fantasy film since Lord of the Rings.

Hellboy II certainly has fanboy wit, the kind that will bring in fans of the Hellboy comic books, of comic books in general, and of fantasy and horror films.  Hellboy II, however, is an exercise in old-fashioned monster movie style; even the CGI creatures move like they were created by Ray Harryhausen.  And imagination: this film has imagination to burn.  Every nook and cranny, seemingly every frame of film, and every scene is occupied by fantastical creatures, weird people, bizarre beings.  Del Toro’s film doesn’t just claim that there is a shadowy other world next to ours, existing mostly unseen; Hellboy II brings that world to life.  From a “goblin market” under the Brooklyn Bridge to a giant, green forest god with tentacles and a mantis’ face stomping through New York City, the fantastic is made flesh.  And Hellboy II: The Golden Army is made great.

This film isn’t just another big budget special effects bonanza.  The heart of the film’s narrative is a tale of misfits that can’t hide what makes them bizarre-looking, outsider oddballs.  The public might initially embrace their fantastic looks, but the novelty soon wears off.  Does it make sense to save a world that doesn’t want you in it?  Because it asks this question and because of the way it tries to find answers, Hellboy II takes its place next to such magnificent fairy tale-based fantasy films as The Wizard of Oz and La belle et la bête.  Hellboy II is certainly among this year’s very best.

10 of 10

Sunday, August 03, 2008

Revised:  Friday, June 12, 2020

2009 Academy Awards, USA:  1 nomination: “Best Achievement in Makeup” (Mike Elizalde and Thomas Floutz)


The text is copyright © 2020 Leroy Douresseaux. All Rights Reserved. Contact this blog or site for reprint and  syndication rights and fees.


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

Review: "Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker"

TRASH IN MY EYE No. 5 (of 2020) by Leroy Douresseaux

[This review was originally posted on Patreon.]

Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker (2019)
Running time:  141 minutes (2 hours, 21 minutes)
MPAA – PG-13 for sci-fi violence and action
DIRECTOR:  J.J. Abrams
WRITERS:  Chris Terrio and J.J. Abrams; from a story by Chris Terrio and J.J. Abrams and Colin Trevorrow and Derek Connolly (based on characters created by George Lucas)
PRODUCERS:  Kathleen Kennedy, J.J. Abrams, and Michelle Rejwan
CINEMATOGRAPHER:  Dan Mindel
EDITORS:  Maryann Brandon and Stefan Grube
COMPOSER:  John Williams

SCI-FI/FANTASY/ACTION/ADVENTURE/DRAMA

Starring:  Mark Hamill, Billy Dee Williams, Daisy Ridley, Adam Driver, John Boyega, Oscar Isaac, Lupita Nyong'o, Anthony Daniels, Ian McDiarmid, Naomi Ackie, Kelly Marie Tran, Richard E. Grant, Keri Russell, Domhnall Gleeson, Billie Lourd, Dominic Monaghan, Warwick Davis, Denis Lawson, and Joonas Suotamo with Carrie Fisher (archive footage)

Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker is a 2019 science fiction, fantasy, and action film directed by J.J. Abrams.  It is the ninth movie in the Star Wars film franchise's “Skywalker Saga,” which began with the 1977 Oscar-winning film, Star Wars, created by George Lucas.  Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker is also a direct sequel to Star Wars: The Force Awakens (2015) and Star Wars: The Last Jedi (2017).  In The Rise of Skywalker, the surviving Resistance fighters battles the First Order as the last of the Jedi faces the most powerful of the Dark Side.

Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker begins one year after the “Battle of Crait” (as seen in Star Wars: The Last Jedi).  Kylo Ren (Adam Driver) is now “Supreme Leader” of the First Order, and he is vexed by mysterious broadcasts that carry the voice of someone claiming to be “the Emperor.”  Determined to find this “phantom Emperor,” Kylo uses a Sith device called the “Wayfinder,” which leads him to a secret part of the galaxy and the planet, “Exegol.”

There, Kylo discovers a physically impaired Palpatine (Ian McDiarmid), the Emperor of the late Galactic Empire, long thought to be dead.  Palpatine reveals that he has been manipulating things behind the scenes, including luring Kylo to the Dark Side.  He wants Kylo to find Rey (Daisy Ridley) and to bring her to him.

Meanwhile, on the world the “Resistance” calls its home, Rey continues her Jedi training under the tutelage of General Leia Organa (archive footage of the late Carrie Fisher).  Thanks to a mole/spy in the First Order, the Resistance has learned of Kylo Ren's discovery.  Now, Rey, Finn (John Boyega), Poe Dameron (Oscar Isaac), Chewbacca (Joonas Suotamo), BB-8, and C-3PO (Anthony Daniels) leave on a mission to find a second Wayfinder, the one for which the late Luke Skywalker (Mark Hamill) had once searched, one that will lead them to Exegol.

Rey, Finn, and Poe will need the help of old heroes, like Lando Calrissian (Billy Dee Williams), and new friends, like Jannah (Naomi Ackie), if they are going to stop the forces of the Dark Side.  Kylo and Palpatine are plotting something called “the Final Order,” which includes a secret armada of the most powerful “Star Destroyers” ever assembled.

Hopefully, I can keep this review from running on too long.  The reviews for Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker, both formal and commentary from social media, are decidedly mixed.  Some think The Rise of Skywalker is the worst Star Wars movie ever.  Others have called it mediocre or average.  Some don't like one half of it and like the other half.  Some think it is the best Star Wars movie (1) in the sequel trilogy, (2) since the original trilogy (3) or the best Star Wars movie ever.

I think Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker is the best Star Wars film since the end of the original Star Wars trilogy, Return of the Jedi, which was released in 1983.  I like everything about The Rise of Skywalker.  The directing, the writing, the CGI and the science and technology, the cinematography, editing, film score, costume design, art direction and set decoration, and, of course the acting.

Co-writer-director J.J. Abrams and co-writer Chris Terrio give us a satisfying resolution to the story arcs of both Rey and Kylo Ren.  Finn and Poe Dameron finally get quality screen time that allows the audience to see the best of their characters.  A number of actors who have appeared in Star Wars films over the last four decades-plus lend their voices to Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker.  Lando Calrissian finally returns, with Billy Dee Williams making a star turn in each of his scenes.  Their are wonderful new characters (Keri Russell's Zorri Bliss) and the delightful return of familiar characters.

Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker also offers the revival of old plots, and the film contains numerous references to important moments in previous films (including the execution of a feat of power displayed by Yoda in The Empire Strikes Back).  Even the last shot of the movie references an important moment in the original Star Wars film.

I love Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker without reservation...  Well, maybe I think the movie is not long enough, because I could have watched another hour of it.  It is like a dark, but fantastic fairy tale, full of symbolism and magic.  So, you, dear reader, can take my sky-high recommendation with many proverbial grains of salt.  Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker is my favorite movie of the year.  It is a fine end to the “Skywalker Saga”... or it is a satisfying goodbye until we see Rey, Finn, Poe, and our favorite Star Wars characters next time.

10 of 10

2020  Academy Awards, USA:  3 nominations: “Best Achievement in Music Written for Motion Pictures-Original Score” (John Williams), “Best Achievement in Visual Effects” (Neal Scanlan, Patrick Tubach, Dominic Tuohy, and Roger Guyett), and “Best Achievement in Sound Editing” (Matthew Wood and David Acord)

2020 BAFTA Awards 2020:  3 nominations: “Original Music” (John Williams), “Best Sound” (David Acord, Andy Nelson, Christopher Scarabosio, Stuart Wilson, and Matthew Wood) and “Best Achievement in Special Visual Effects” (Roger Guyett, Paul Kavanagh, Neal Scanlan, and Dominic Tuohy)

Friday, December 20, 2019

Edited Tuesday, March 17, 2020


The text is copyright © 2020 Leroy Douresseaux. All Rights Reserved.  Contact this blog or site for reprint and syndication rights and fees.

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

Review: "Star Wars: The Last Jedi" Earns Love, Draws Ire

TRASH IN MY EYE No. 3 (of 2018) by Leroy Douresseaux

[This review was originally posted on Patreon.]

Star Wars: The Last Jedi (2017)
Running time:  152 minutes (2 hours, 32 minutes)
MPAA – PG-13 for extended sequences of sci-fi action and violence
DIRECTOR:  Rian Johnson
WRITER:  Rian Johnson (based on characters created by George Lucas)
PRODUCERS:  Kathleen Kennedy and Ram Bergman
CINEMATOGRAPHER:  Steve Yedlin (D.o.P.)
EDITOR:  Bob Ducsay
COMPOSER:  John Williams
Academy Award nominee

SCI-FI/FANTASY/ACTION/ADVENTURE/DRAMA

Starring:  Mark Hamill, Carrie Fisher, Daisy Ridley, Adam Driver, John Boyega, Oscar Isaac, Lupita Nyong'o, Andy Serkis, Domhnall Gleeson, Anthony Daniels, Gwendoline Christie, Kelly Marie Tran, Laura Dern, Benicio del Toro, Frank Oz (voice), Billie Lourd, Joonas Suotamo, Amanda Lawrence, Jimmy Vee, and Justin Theroux

Star Wars: The Last Jedi is a 2017 science fiction-fantasy action film written and directed by Rian Johnson.  It is the ninth movie in the Star Wars film franchise, which began with the 1977 Oscar-winning film, Star Wars, created by George Lucas.  The Last Jedi is also a direct sequel to Star Wars: The Force Awakens (2015) and the eighth Star Wars “episode” film.  The Last Jedi focuses on a young woman who takes her first steps into the world of the Jedi and tries to unlock the mysteries of The Force and the secrets of the past.

Star Wars: The Last Jedi finds the wannabe galactic rulers, the First Order, and its Supreme Commander Snoke (Andy Serkis), ascendant.  The First Order moves to destroy the main base of its enemy, the Resistance.  General Leia Organa (Carrie Fisher) struggles to keep the Resistance one step ahead of the First Order.  Heroic Resistance pilot, Poe Dameron (Oscar Isaac),  leads the charge that gives the Resistance vessels the time they need to jump into hyperspace to escape the First Order.  However, escaping the First Order will not be so easy, and now stormtropper turned Resistance fighter, Finn (John Boyega), and mechanic, Rose Tico (Kelly Marie Tran), must execute a dangerous mission to allow the Resistance to really escape the First Order.

Meanwhile, budding Jedi, Rey (Daisy Ridley), is on the planet, Ahch-To, where she has found the long-missing Jedi Knight legend, Luke Skywalker (Mark Hamill).  However, Luke refuses to initiate Rey into the ways of the Force and also declares that the Jedi Order must end with him.  Frustrated, Rey also discovers that she has some kind of psychic connection to Kylo Ren (Adam Driver), Luke's former student who turned to the Dark Side and now serves Snoke and the Resistance.

I found Star Wars: The Last Jedi to be as entertaining and as well-made as Star Wars: The Force Awakens.  It is quite thrilling at times and kept my on the proverbial edge of my seat hoping our heroes could survive the overwhelming First Order odds against them.  The Last Jedi is not exactly a “non-stop thrill machine,” but it is thrilling.  But neither The Last Jedi nor The Force Awakens are as good as 2016's Rogue One: A Star Wars film.

I thought about why I feel that way.  I thought about it, and I think that The Force Awakens and The Last Jedi both suffer because Star Wars creator George Lucas did not have direct hand in making them.

For all the criticism leveled against Lucas by critics and fans over the decades, especially because of the Lucas directed “prequel” films, (Star Wars: Episodes I to III), Lucas is a wildly imaginative and inventive filmmaker and storyteller.  Each prequel film had enough subplots, characters, settings, worlds, ideas, and creatures to power its own film trilogy.  Lucas' weakness (relatively speaking) seems to be in the execution of telling a  film story via screenplay and directing (especially in directing actors).  Visually, Lucas' films seem almost too big for even the biggest movie screens, but that size and scale comes at the cost of the narrative.

The Force Awakens (Episode VII) and The Last Jedi (Episode VIII) are disciplined and narrow in focus, in terms of plot.  The Last Jedi focuses on (1) the struggle of the Resistance to escape destruction at the hands of the First Order and (2) Rey's quest to discover the secrets of the Jedi and the Force.  The Last Jedi is so focused that it looses the sense of wonder that permeates the original Star Wars films.  Instead, The Last Jedi references and remakes scenes from Star Wars, The Empire Strikes Back (1980), and Return of the Jedi (1983).  Some people complained that The Force Awakens was a kind of remake and reboot of the original Star Wars film, but The Last Jedi does not do that as much.  [Strangely, I find that Rogue One, which is a side story connected to Star Wars 1977, comes across as a fresh, new take on Star Wars, while being true to the work of George Lucas.]

Star Wars: The Last Jedi is a Star Wars movie, and I will likely always love all Star Wars movies, to one extent or another.  [Every time one is on TV, I try to watch at least some of it.]  So I love The Last Jedi and will give it a high grade.  However, this final trilogy (Episodes VII to IX) is starting to seem like fan fiction, created by writers and directors who cherry pick ideas from their childhood Star Wars favorite moments.  Maybe the current owner of Star Wars, The Walt Disney Company, and the filmmakers it hires to continue the “Star Wars saga” are really afraid of new ideas or too many new ideas.  Maybe, Disney got the message; the prequel trilogy looked too different from the original trilogy and audiences, at least the vocal part of it, were pissed.  Well, the Disney-produced Star Wars films will suffer for playing it safe.

Let me summarize my thoughts and feelings this way.  If Disney replaced the title, Star Wars: The Last Jedi, with something else, say Alien or Predator, I would give this film a rating of 5 or 6 out of 10 at most.  This 8 out of 10 is the kind of love you show family.

8 of 10
A

Sunday, December 17, 2017
Edited:  Thursday, March 15, 2018

NOTES:
2018 Academy Awards, USA:  4 nominations: “Best Achievement in Visual Effects” (Ben Morris, Michael Mulholland, Neal Scanlan, and Chris Corbould), “Best Achievement in Music Written for Motion Pictures-Original Score” (John Williams), “Best Achievement in Sound Editing” (Matthew Wood and Ren Klyce), and” Best Achievement in Sound Mixing” (Michael Semanick, David Parker, Stuart Wilson, and Ren Klyce)

2018 BAFTA Awards:  2 nominations: “Best Sound” (Ren Klyce, Michael Semanick, Matthew Wood, David Parker, and Stuart Wilson) and “Best Achievement in Special Visual Effects”


The text is copyright © 2018 Leroy Douresseaux. All Rights Reserved. Contact this site or blog for reprint and syndication rights and fees.

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

Review: Disney's "The Jungle Book" is Animation That Sounds Cool

TRASH IN MY EYE No. 22 (of 2017) by Leroy Douresseaux

The Jungle Book (1967)
Running time:  78 minutes
MPAA – G
DIRECTOR:  Wolfgang Reitherman
WRITERS:  Larry Clemmons, Ralph Wright, Ken Anderson, and Vance Gerry (inspired the “Mowgli” stories written by Rudyard Kipling)
PRODUCER: Walt Disney
EDITORS:  Tom Acosta and Norman Carlisle
COMPOSER:  George Bruns
SONGS:  Terry Gilkyson; Richard M. Sherman and Robert B. Sherman
Academy Award nominee

ANIMATION/FANTASY/FAMILY

Starring:  Phil Harris, Sebastian Cabot, Bruce Reitherman, George Sanders, Sterling Holloway, Louis Prima, J. Pat O'Malley, Verna Felton, Clint Howard, and Ben Wright

The Jungle Book is a 1967 animated, musical fantasy film produced by Walt Disney Productions and directed by Wolfgang Reitherman.  It is inspired by Rudyard Kipling's “Mowgli” stories found in his 1894 collection of stories, The Jungle Book, from which this movie also takes its name.  The Jungle Book is the 19th Disney animated feature film and is also the last film to be produced by Walt Disney, who died during its production (1966).  Disney's The Jungle Book focuses on a talking panther and bear who try to convince a human boy that he must leave the jungle before an evil tiger kills him.

The Jungle Book opens in the deep jungles of India.  Bagheera the black panther (Sebastian Cabot) finds a human male baby in a basket in the deep and gives him to a mother wolf who just had cubs.  She raises the boy along with her own cubs.  Ten years later, the human boy is Mowgli (Bruce Reitherman, the director's son), a feral child who lives among the wolves as if he were one of them.

However, the wolf tribes learn that Shere Khan (George Sanders), a man-eating Bengal tiger, has returned to the jungle, and that the human-hating tiger wants to kill Mowgli.  Baheera volunteers to take Mowgli to the “Man-Village,” a nearby human settlement, but Mowgli is determined to stay in the jungle.  Mowgli finds a sympathetic animal in Baloo the sloth bear (Phil Harris).  The laid-back, fun-loving bear decides to raise Mowgli himself, but will Baloo and Mowgli do the right thing before Shere Khan strikes?

I love the beautiful background art for The Jungle Book, even the foliage in the foreground that is animated is nice.  The characters that most entertain me are Baloo and Shere Khan; I think I am becoming a bigger fan of the late George Sanders, who gives voice to Shere Khan, every time I see him in a movie, even if I have seen that movie previously.

Beyond that, I am not particularly impressed, amused, or entertained by The Jungle Book the way I am by Disney films I consider exceptional (Bambi, Peter Pan, and Pinocchio to name a few).  I have to admit that having seen it for the first time (as far as I can remember) I can understand why some consider it a “beloved Disney classic.”  It is simply a Disney classic that I like, but don't love.

6 of 10
B

Friday, November 10, 2017

1968 Academy Awards, USA:  1 nomination: “Best Music, Original Song” (Terry Gilkyson for the song "The Bare Necessities")


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

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

Review: Wahlberg and Berg Drive "Lone Survivor"

TRASH IN MY EYE No. 8 (of 2017) by Leroy Douresseaux

Lone Survivor (2013)
Running time:  121 minutes (2 hours, 1 minute)
MPAA – R for strong bloody war violence and pervasive language
DIRECTOR:  Peter Berg
WRITER:  Peter Berg (based on the book by Marcus Luttrell and Patrick Robinson)
PRODUCERS:  Sarah Aubrey, Peter Berg, Randall Emmett, Akiva Goldsman, Vitaly Grigoriants, Norton Herrick, Stephen Levinson, Barry Spikings, and Mark Wahlberg
CINEMATOGRAPHER:  Tobias Schliessler (D.o.P.)
EDITOR:  Colby Parker Jr.
COMPOSERS:  Explosions in the Sky and Steve Jablonsky
Academy Award nominee

WAR/ACTON/DRAMA/BIOPIC

Starring:  Mark Wahlberg, Taylor Kitsch, Emile Hirsch, Ben Foster, Yousuf Azami, Ali Suliman, Eric Bana, Alexander Ludwig, Jerry Ferrar, and Rohan Chand

Lone Survivor is a 2013 war film written and directed by Peter Berg.  The film is an adaptation of the 2007 nonfiction book, Lone Survivor: The Eyewitness Account of Operation Redwing and the Lost Heroes of SEAL Team 10, written  Marcus Luttrell and Patrick Robinson.  The film is a dramatization of a failed 2005 mission to kill a Taliban leader in Afghanistan and also of Luttrell and his teammates fight to survive after the mission goes bad.

Lone Survivor opens in Afghanistan at the Bagram Air Base.  There is an Afghan Taliban leader named Ahmad Shah (Yousuf Azami), who is responsible for killing over twenty United States Marines, as well as villagers and refugees who were aiding American forces.  The Navy SEALs are ordered to capture or kill Shah, and as part of the mission, a four-man SEAL reconnaissance and surveillance team gets the task of tracking down Shah and killing him.

That SEAL team:  leader Michael P. “Murph” Murphy (Taylor Kitsch); snipers Marcus Luttrell (Mark Wahlberg) and Matthew "Axe" Axelson (Ben Foster); and communications specialist, Danny Dietz (Emile Hirsch), are inserted into a mountainous region near Shah's base of operations.  The team finds Shah, but the mission inadvertently goes awry.  The SEALs attempt to leave the area, but are forced to battle Taliban forces.  Injured, outnumbered, and at a tactical disadvantage, the SEALs begin a valiant struggle to survive.

Lone Survivor has visceral power, which it reveals in the way it brings the Navy SEALs mission to kill Shah to life.  Director Peter Berg and film editor Colby Parker Jr. bring the viewers deep into the action, so much so that I started to believe that the Taliban was also hunting me.

However, the film's first 34 minutes are largely about military jargon and also about forcing heavy-handed jingoism about the United States' military mission and presence in Afghanistan on the viewer.  Truthfully, Lone Survivor avoids any examination about the U.S. presence in that country.  The movie is strictly about  (1) the mission, (2) military courage, (3) the band-of-brothers ethos in the U.S. military, (4) how great the SEALs are, and (5) survival.  Lone Survivor is not so much a story as it is the depiction of a moment or perhaps, of a particularly memorable sequence of events in the history of the “War on Terror” in Afghanistan.

I think that writer/director Peter Berg attempts to dazzle his audience with muscular, physical film making and with a story of a grueling struggle to survive.  I think this makes the film light on characterization, but heavy on stereotypes and assumptions.  By the time the film presented friendly natives, it was hard for me to believe they were friendly because, except for a child character, everyone seemed like a dangerous brown person.

Still, I am impressed by Mark Wahlberg's performance.  Unable to show a deeper side of Marcus Luttrell, Wahlberg turns himself into a battered-and-bruised wounded warrior in order to make us like Luttrell.  It's like Wahlberg is channeling Mel Gibson in Braveheart (1995).  Peter Berg slyly sets us up for cathartic release when the cavalry shows up to rescue the lone survivor.  It's a cheat, but I guess you do what you have to in order to make a shallow script into a good movie.  And Lone Survivor, in its own way, is indeed a good movie.

7 of 10
B+

Wednesday, July 29, 2015


NOTES:
2014 Academy Awards, USA:  2 nominations:  “Best Achievement in Sound Mixing” (Andy Koyama, Beau Borders, and David Brownlow) and “Best Achievement in Sound Editing” (Wylie Stateman)


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

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

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

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

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

SCI-FI/FANTASY/ACTION/ADVENTURE/DRAMA

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

8 of 10
A

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

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

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


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

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

Review: Disney's Live-Action "Cinderella" is Good, But is not Disney Classic

TRASH IN MY EYE No. 5 (of 2017) by Leroy Douresseaux

[This review was originally posted on Patreon.]

Cinderella (2015)
Running time:  105 minutes (1 hour 45 minutes)
Rating: MPAA – PG for mild thematic elements
DIRECTOR:  Kenneth Branagh
WRITER:  Chris Weitz
PRODUCED:  David Barron, Simon Kinberg, and Allison Shearmur
CINEMATOGRAPHER:  Haris Zambarloukos (D.o.P.)
EDITOR:  Martin Walsh
COMPOSER:  Patrick Doyle
Academy Award nominee

FANTASY/ROMANCE

Starring:  Cate Blanchett, Lily James, Richard Madden, Helen Bonham Carter, Nonso Anozie, Stellan Skarsgard, Sophie McShera, Holliday Grainger, Derek Jacobi, Ben Chaplin, and Hayley Atwell

Cinderella is a 2015 fantasy and romance film from director Kenneth Branagh and writer Chris Weitz.  Released by Walt Disney Pictures, the film is based on Walt Disney's 1950 animated feature film, Cinderella, and the folk tale of the same name.  In this new version of the story, a young woman is at the mercy of her cruel stepmother, but her fortunes change after she meets a dashing young man.

In a peaceful kingdom there is a father (Ben Chaplin), a mother (Hayley Atwell), and their beautiful daughter, Ella (Lily James).  Ella's parents teach her courage and kindness, and her mother teaches her to believe in magic.  Some years after her mother dies, Ella's father marries the Lady Tremaine (Cate Blanchett), who has two loud, rude daughters, Anastasia (Holliday Grainger) and Drisella (Sophie McShera).

When Ella's father goes abroad for business, Lady Tremaine reveals her cruel and jealous nature.  After Ella's father dies, Lady Tremaine takes over the household and pushes Ella from her own bedroom and into the attic.  Anastasia and Drisella even give Ella a new name, Cinderella.  After one particularly cruel day, Ella rides off into the woods where she meets a young man who says his name is Kit (Richard Madden).  For both young people, this meeting is a turning point, but there are forces arrayed to keep them apart.

At the end of this movie, the Fairy Godmother (played by Helena Bonham Cater) describes the “forever-after” as being defined by “courage,” “kindess,” and “a little magic” (or something like that).  This live-action version of Cinderella is indeed about “just a little magic.”  Disney's classic, 1950 animated Cinderella is a fairy tale that is practically entirely infused with magic – from talking animals to an atmosphere of enchantment.  Cinderella is more like a fantasy-romance or a romantic fantasy than it is like a fairy tale.  With its lavish costumes and opulent sets, Cinderella plays like a period set piece set in a fictional kingdom in an indeterminate time.

But I can move past that.  2015 live-action Cinderella does not have to be 1950 animated Disney classic Cinderella.  This new Cinderella relies on its title character for the magic that a wand or a fairy godmother might provide.  As Cinderella, Lily James is quite good.  When she smiles or is happy, the movie lights up.  When she is sad, I felt sad, too.  In this film, James does not have the greatest range between happy and sad.  When Cinderella isn't happy or sad, James makes her look as if she is in a solid state of consternation.  Luckily, it is Cinderella's state of happiness or sadness that drives the movie, and that works.

I don't need to say that Cate Blanchett is really good as Lady Tremiane, “the Stepmother.”  Blanchett dominates her scenes, and the filmmakers were wise to limit her screen time; otherwise, Blanchett would have burned this movie down in a larger roll.  Everyone else is good enough to pretty good, although Stellan Skarsgård seems neutered as The Grand Duke.  Of course, there is not enough of Nonso Anozie as Captain of the Guards, but I am glad that this film's decision-makers were willing to cast him.

Cinderella is not for everyone.  It is sweet and cute, a feel-good movie that goes down like warm hot chocolate on a cold winter's night.  Cinderella is a good, but not great film, and director Kenneth Branagh does nothing to distinguish himself here.  But there is enough Disney magic here to entertain some of us.

6 of 10
B

Sunday, September 18, 2016


NOTES:
2016 Academy Awards, USA:  1 nomination: “Best Achievement in Costume Design” (Sandy Powell)

2016 BAFTA Awards:  1 nomination: “Best Costume Design” (Sandy Powell)


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

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

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

[This review was originally posted on Patreon.]

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

SUPERHERO/FANTASY/ACTION

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

7 of 10
B+

Sunday, November 6, 2016

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

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


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

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Review: "Nightcrawler" an L.A. Crime Classic

TRASH IN MY EYE No. 14 (of 2016) by Leroy Douresseaux

[This review was originally posted on Patreon.]

Nightcrawler (2014)
Running time:  118 minutes (1 hour, 58 minutes)
MPAA – R for violence including graphic images, and for language
WRITER/DIRECTOR:  Dan Gilroy
PRODUCERS:  Jennifer Fox, Tony Gilroy, Jake Gyllenhaal, David Lancaster, and Michel Litvak
CINEMATOGRAPHER:  Robert Elswit
EDITOR:  John Gilroy
COMPOSER:  James Newton Howard
Academy Award nominee

CRIME/THRILLER/DRAMA

Starring:  Jake Gyllenhaal, Rene Russo, Riz Ahmed, Bill Paxton, Kevin Rahm, Ann Cusack, Michael Hyatt, and Price Carson

Nightcrawler is a 2014 neo-Noir drama and crime-thriller from writer-director Dan Gilroy.  Starring Jake Gyllenhaal, the film focuses on a Los Angeles man who enters the world of freelance video journalism and then begins to manipulate events in order to create more lurid stories.

Nightcrawler opens in Los Angeles.  It introduces Louis “Lou” Bloom (Jake Gyllenhaal), a thief always looking to convert his stolen merchandise into quick cash.  One night, Bloom is driving back to his apartment when he comes across the scene of a car crash.  He pulls over to witness the chaos, but most of his attention is taken by the “Stringers,” freelance cameramen who are filming live footage of the crash scene with the intent of selling that video footage to local television news stations.

Fascinated and inspired, Bloom buys his first camcorder and a police radio scanner and begins driving the streets of L.A. at night.  He looks for accidents, emergencies, and crime scenes that he can film.  He makes his first sale to KWLA, a bottom-rung television station, where he catches the notice of the station's morning news director, Nina Romina (Rene Russo).  As he muscles his way into the world of L.A. crime journalism, however, Bloom's dark side quickly emerges.

On the surface, Nightcrawler might seem like it is only a slick crime film, especially because of Robert Elswit's gorgeous cinematography.  What writer-director Dan Gilroy also offers, however, is a mean, edgy film that is classic L.A. crime story.  This film is high-quality neo-Noir that recaptures the classic, black and white L.A. Film-Noir, without being a prisoner to style and expectations.

Nightcrawler might not be the excellent film it is without Jake Gyllenhaal's marvelous performance as the sociopathic and murderously ambitious Lou Bloom.  It is now official; doubting that Gyllenhaal is a supremely talented and skilled actor is no longer okay.  I must also throw some cheer Rene Russo's way.  Hell, yeah, she's good, but Hollywood industry ageism now keeps her away from audiences.  She takes a throwaway character like Nina and makes her crucial to the execution of the narrative.  Also, I must not forget Riz Ahmed.  As Rick, Bloom's desperate-for-money assistant, Ahmed delivers a star-turn that just comes out of nowhere.

It might be easy to focus on Louis Bloom's sociopathic tendencies; one might call him an outright sociopath.  However, I think Nightcrawler speaks to the world that creates the Lou Blooms.  The world of L.A. local television news is little better than rogue capitalism.  The movie is rife with characters that are me-first and win-at-all-costs, to say nothing of the anal obsession with acknowledging achievement that comes from literally walking over dead bodies.

Nightcrawler is not perfect; some of it seems a bit far-fetched.  Louis Bloom gets away with things that stretch credulity, although I won't be specific in order to avoid spoilers.  Still, I was destined to like Nightcrawler because I like neo-Noir set in Los Angeles.  I think that what makes Nightcrawler so fascinating to watch are the things that sometimes make it hard to watch.  Dan Gilroy's gem is blunt about a morally bankrupt society in which class status is everything and in which society treats actual people as nothing more than commodities.

8 of 10
A

Saturday, February 6, 2016


NOTES:
2015 Academy Awards, USA:  1 nomination: “Best Writing, Original Screenplay” (Dan Gilroy)

2015 BAFTA Awards:  4 nominations: “Best Leading Actor” (Jake Gyllenhaal), “Best Supporting Actress” (Rene Russo), “Best Editing” (John Gilroy), and “Best Original Screenplay” (Dan Gilroy)

2015 Golden Globes, USA:  1 nomination: “Best Performance by an Actor in a Motion Picture – Drama” (Jake Gyllenhaal)


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

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