Review: "INDIANA JONES and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull" is a Nice Coda

TRASH IN MY EYE No. 27 (of 2008) by Leroy Douresseaux

Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull (2008)

Running time:  126 minutes (2 hours, 6 minutes)

MPAA – PG-13 for adventure violence and scary images

DIRECTOR:  Steven Spielberg

WRITERS:  David Koepp; from a story by George Lucas and Jeff Nathanson

PRODUCER:  Frank Marshall

CINEMATOGRAPHER:  Janusz Kaminski (D.o.P.)

EDITOR:  Michael Kahn, A.C.E.

COMPOSER:  John Williams

ACTION/ADVENTURE

Starring:  Harrison Ford, Cate Blanchett, Karen Allen, Ray Winstone, John Hurt, Jim Broadbent, and Shia LaBeouf

There is that old saying, “you can’t go home again,” but you can.  It is simply that the present does not have the cherished golden glow of cherished memories of an idealized past.  With that in mind, in 2008, we saw the return of Indiana Jones to the big screen for the first time in 19 years.

Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull is an action-adventure film from director Steven Spielberg.  It is the fourth entry in the “Indiana Jones” film franchise that began with the 1981 film, Raiders of the Lost Ark (1981).  Kingdom of the Crystal Skull finds Indiana Jones fighting a Soviet plot to uncover the secret behind mysterious artifacts known as the “Crystal Skulls.”

Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull begins in the desert Southwest in 1957 at the height of the Cold War.  There, Dr. Henry “Indiana” Jones, Jr. (Harrison Ford) and his sidekick, George “Mac” McHale (Ray Winstone), encounter the icy cold Soviet beauty, Irina Spalko (Cate Blanchett), and her elite military unit on a remote airfield.  The Soviets want something from Indy, but in the end, he barely escapes the nefarious Soviets.

Afterwards, Indy returns to Marshall College, where he is known as “Professor Jones,” and finds that things have gone from bad to worse.  The government is suspicious of Indy’s recent activities and forced Jones’ close friend and dean of the college, Dean Charles Stanforth (Jim Broadbent), to fire him.  On his way out of town, Indy meets the rebellious young biker, Mutt Williams (Shia LaBeouf), who asks Indy for his help in a deeply personal mission.  If he helps Mutt, Indy could very well make one of the most spectacular archaeological finds in history – the Crystal Skull of Akator, a legendary object of fascination and superstition.

As Indy and Mutt comb the most remote corners of Peru, Spalko and the Soviet agents are also hot on the trail of the Crystal Skull, which they believe can help the Soviets dominate the world, if they can unlock its secrets.  Peru, however, is not only the home of the Crystal Skull, it is also the place where Indiana Jones makes a surprise reunion and learns an even more shocking secret, as he and his friends desperately battle to protect the powerful Crystal Skull.

Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull lacks the old school, B-movie serial charm of the original Raiders of the Lost Ark.  It doesn’t have the gleefully and deliberately gruesome spirit of Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom (1984), nor the comic charm of Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade (1989).

What Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull does have is entertainment value by the truckload.  This pleasing popcorn movie has a mix of action, adventure, and nostalgia that turns it into the perfect summer romp for an afternoon at the movie theater.

Why keep pretending!?  Karen Allen, as the original Indiana Jones heroine, Marion Ravenwood, is back, and that makes this somewhat inferior Indiana Jones sequel even more enjoyable.  Throw in another secret, and Kingdom of the Crystal Skull is a must-see for Indy fans.  Obviously many fans had questions and concerns coming into this new film.  Chief among them would be the use of CGI.  Between the time that The Last Crusade appeared and now, CGI has, for the most part, replaced practical and physical special effects in mainstream Hollywood films.

No, the use of CGI (which the filmmakers claimed was only used on 30% of the film) to create lush jungles, impossible fight scenes (like the sword duel between Mutt and Irina, most of it on top of moving vehicles), and exotic locales doesn’t ruin Kingdom of the Crystal Skull, although this flick lacks the grit and tough guy spirit of the other films.  But let’s face it; Harrison Ford is no longer a spring chicken, so this film needs CGI slickness to give the action a manic video game feel to it.  Kingdom of the Crystal Skull is a modern action movie, and all the quiet, dramatic moments are used to merely prepare us for the next death-defying chase, whereas they existed for themselves in the early films.  Still, the modern touches work.

Set in 1957, the film drops many 1950’s cultural and pop culture tropes: Elvin Presley, B-movie sci-fi, aliens, Communism, bikers, etc.  The fear of being turned into the other or being forced into a like or hive mind is prevalent, as is Steven Spielberg’s familiar motif that knowledge only robs reality of its sense of wonder (OK…).  However, the age of their star Harrison Ford required the driving force behind Indiana Jones, Spielberg and George Lucas, to accept that it’s sometimes okay to grow up.

That’s why Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull is ultimately less a sequel than it is a coda or epilogue to Harrison Ford as Indiana Jones, which is likely the reason that Karen Allen/Marion Ravenwood, the most beloved woman in Indy’s life, is back.  It’s time to grow up and movie on, and what a silly and fun send off this is.  Flaws and all, Kingdom of the Crystal Skull is a good old American summer movie blockbuster.  As the credits rolled on the film’s happy finale, I realized that Indy and I were going our separate ways, but with wonderful memories as parting gifts.

6 of 10

B

★★★ out of 4 stars

NOTES:

2009 BAFTA Awards:  1 nomination: “Best Special Visual Effects” (Pablo Helman, Marshall Richard Krasserm and Steve Rawlins)

Sunday, May 25, 2008

Edited:  Saturday, November 5, 2022

You can purchase the "INDIANA JONES 4-Movie Collection" Blu-ray or DVD here at AMAZON.

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

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Review: "INDIANA JONES and the Last Crusade" Stills Feels Like a True Ending

TRASH IN MY EYE No. 28 of 2023 (No. 1917) by Leroy Douresseaux

Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade (1989)

Running time:  127 minutes (2 hours, 7 minutes)

MPAA – PG-13

DIRECTOR:  Steven Spielberg

WRITERS:  Jeffrey Boam; from a story by George Lucas and Menno Meyjes (based on characters created by George Lucas and Philip Kaufman)

PRODUCER:  Robert Watts

CINEMATOGRAPHER:  Douglas Slocombe (D.o.P.)

EDITOR:  Michael Kahn, A.C.E.

COMPOSER:  John Williams

Academy Award winner

ADVENTURE/ACTION/FANTASY

Starring:  Harrison Ford, Sean Connery, Alison Doody, Denholm Elliot, John Rhys-Davies, Julian Glover, River Phoenix, Michael Byrne, Kevork Malikyan, Robert Eddison, Richard Young, and Michael Sheard

Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade is a 1989 action-adventure film from director Steven Spielberg.  It is the third entry in the “Indiana Jones” film franchise that began with the 1981 film, Raiders of the Lost Ark (1981).  The Last Crusade finds Indiana Jones searching for his father, who along with the Nazis, are search for the Holy Grail.

Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade opens in Utah, 1912.  It is there that teenage Henry Jones, Jr. (River Phoenix) has his first experiences with raiders of an archaeological site.

Over a quarter-century later, in 1938, Dr. Henry “Indiana” Jones, Jr. (Harrison Ford) recovers the treasure he lost as a teenager.  Jones returns to teaching (apparently at Barnett College in Fairfield, New York) when one of the college's wealthy patrons approaches him about a special mission.  Walter Donovan (Julian Glover) wants Jones to help him locate the Holy Grail.

Jones informs him that his father, Professor Henry Jones, Sr. (Sean Connery), is the expert on the Holy Grail and the one whom Donovan should seek.  Donovan shocks Jones by informing him that he had hired his father to find the Grail, but the senior Jones has disappeared.  Jones and his colleague, Marcus Brody (Denholm Elliot), race to Venice, his father's last known location.  Waiting for them is Dr. Elsa Schneider (Alison Doody), who was working with the elder Jones in Venice as he sought to find more clues about the Grail's location.

Before long, Indiana Jones and Henry Jones Sr. are racing for their lives, staying one step ahead of the Nazis, who also want the Grail, and the Brotherhood of the Cruciform Sword, who want to protect it.  Reunited with his old friend, Sallah (John Rhys-Davies), the Jones boys get closer to the Holy Grail, but the secret of the Grail is that it offers both eternal life and total destruction.

In preparation for the upcoming fifth film in the series, Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny, I decided to see the one Indiana Jones film that I have not watched in its entirety since the 1990s, Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade.  I have seen the first film, Raiders of the Lost Ark, countless times, and I rewatched its follow-up, Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom (1984), in November of last year (2022).  I have watched the fourth film in the series, Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull (2008), many times since its release.

I have long considered Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade the true end of the Indiana Jones film series because it was the third film in the original trilogy and because it felt like the end of something.  The Kingdom of the Crystal Skull felt like a “coda,” in the sense that it was both an addition to the three-film series that ran from 1981 to 1989 and a final piece added to the ending of The Last Crusade's tale of family and friends out for one last adventure.

Seeing The Last Crusade in its entirety for the first time in decades, I still feel like I'm watching the end of trilogy.  If there was going to be another film after it, that ceased to be when River Phoenix, the actor who played teen Henry Jones, Jr. in this film, died in 1993 at the age of 23.  Actor Denholm Elliot, who played Marcus Brody in the original film and in The Last Crusade, died at the age of 70, a year earlier in 1992.  Henry Jones Sr., actor Sean Connery, only recently died (2020) at the age of 90.  So, you see, dear readers, because of the passing of a number of cast members, more and more, I associate Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade with endings.

The Last Crusade is my least favorite film of the original trilogy.  I know that some audiences prefer it to the darker Temple of Doom, and apparently, director Steven Spielberg made The Last Crusade the way he did to offer a lighter film in response to the criticism of the Temple of Doom's violence and exotic mysticism.  However, I find Temple of Doom to be wildly inventive, darkly imaginative, and a roller coaster ride.  If Raiders of the Lost Ark is an original, in a way, Temple of Doom still seems determined to be something very different from its predecessor.

Honestly, I find The Last Crusade to be only mildly entertaining until the film's last 45 minutes.  Then, it explodes and really finds itself with lots of Nazi-punching and killing and also with a spine-tingling jaunt to the Holy Grail.  Besides, Indiana Jones is always at his best when he's beating Nazis.  Honestly, I think it is important that audiences who have not seen the original films watch them all before moving on to the new film.  By the time they get to the end of Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade, many newbies may finally understand what Indiana Jones meant to American cinema once upon a time, and why, over four decades after the release of the first film, there is a new one.

7 of 10

B+

★★★½ out of 4 stars

Wednesday, June 28, 2023

You can purchase the "INDIANA JONES 4-Movie Collection" Blu-ray or DVD here at AMAZON.

NOTES:

1990 Academy Awards, USA:  1 win: “Best Effects, Sound Effects Editing” (Ben Burtt and Richard Hymns); 2 nominations: “Best Sound” (Ben Burtt, Gary Summers, Shawn Murphy, and Tony Dawe), and “Best Music, Original Score” (John Williams)

1990 BAFTA Awards:  3 nominations: “Best Actor in a Supporting Role” (Sean Connery), “Best Sound” (Richard Hymns, Tony Dawe, Ben Burtt, Gary Summers, and Shawn Murphy), and “Best Special Effects” (George Gibbs, Michael J. McAlister, Mark Sullivan, and John Ellis)

1990 Golden Globes, USA:  1 nomination: “Best Performance by an Actor in a Supporting Role in a Motion Picture” (Sean Connery)

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

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Review: "TRANSFORMERS: Rise of the Beasts" is the Best Transformers Movie That I'VE Seen

TRASH IN MY EYE No. 24 of 2023 (No. 1913) by Leroy Douresseaux

Transformers: Rise of the Beasts (2023)

Running time:  127 minutes (2 hours, 7 minutes)

MPA – PG-13 for intense sequences of sci-fi action and violence, and language

DIRECTOR:  Steven Caple, Jr.

WRITERS:  Joby Harold, Darnell Metayer, Josh Peters, Erich Hoeber, and Jon Hoeber; from a story by Joby Harold (based on Hasbro’s Transformers Action Figures)

PRODUCERS:  Don Murphy, Tom DeSanto, Lorenzo di Bonaventura, Michael Bay, Duncan Henderson, and Mark Vahradian

CINEMATOGRAPHER:  Enrique Chediak

EDITORS:  William Goldenberg and Joel Negron

COMPOSER: Jongnic Bontemps

SCI-FI/ACTION

Starring:  Anthony Ramos, Dominique Fishback, Luna Lauren Velez, Dean Scott Vazquez, Tobe Nwigwe, and Sarah Stiles; (voices) Peter Cullen, Pete Davidson, Ron Perlman, Peter Dinklage, Liza Koshy, Michelle Yeoh, Cristo Fernandez, Michaela Jae Rodriguez, John DiMaggio,Tongayi Chirisa, David Sobolov, and Colman Domingo

Transformers: Rise of the Beasts is a 2023 science fiction action film.  It is based on Hasbro's Transformers toy line, and it is the seventh movie in the Transformers live-action film series.  The film serves a standalone sequel to the sixth film, Bumblebee (2018), and also as a prequel to the first film in the series, Transformers (2007).  Set during the 1990s, Rise of the Beasts sees a new faction of Transformers join the Autobots as allies in a battle to save Earth from a planet-eating threat.

Transformers: Rise of the Beasts opens thousands of years in the past.  There, the planet-eating dark god, Unicron (voice of Colman Domingo), devours a planet inhabited by the Transformers known as the “Maximals.”  Unicron had sent his servant, Scourge (voice of Peter Dinklage), and the Terrorcons to steal the Maximals' greatest piece of technology, “the Transwarp Key,” which can open portals through space and time.  Optimus Primal (voice of Ron Perlman) and the Maximals:  Airazon (voice of Michelle Yeoh), Cheetor (voice of Tongayi Chirisa) and Rhinox (voice of David Sobolov), escape to Earth with the Transwarp Key.

Moving forward to Brooklyn, 1994: the story introduces two humans that are about to get caught up in the Transformers' drama.  The first is Noah Diaz (Anthony Ramos), an ex-military electronics expert who struggles to find a job to support his family, his mother, Breanna Diaz (Luna Lauren Velez), and his younger brother, Kris (Dean Scott Vazquez), who suffers from sickle cell.

The second is Elena Wallace (Dominique Fishback).  She is an intern at a museum and an artifact researcher who doesn't get the credit for how her knowledge benefits the museum.  She has discovered that an artifact which her museum recently obtained has what turns to be a Maximal symbol on it.  Soon, Noah and Elena will find themselves in the company of the Autobots:  Optimus Prime (voice of Peter Cullen), Mirage (Pete Davidson), and Arcee (voice of Liza Koshy) and caught in a battle to protect the Transwarp Key from falling into the clutches of Scourge in service of Unicron.

Transformers: Rise of the Beasts is the best Transformers movie that I have seen, although I have only seen three of the previous six.  I liked the first film, Transformers, and its sequel, Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen (2009), but after the second sequel, Transformers: Dark of the Moon (2011), I'd had enough.  I didn't bother with Transformers: Age of Extinction (2014), and I tried to watch Transformers: The Last Knight (2017) on television and found it unwatchable.  I have never gotten around to watching the first prequel film, Bumblebee (2018), although I had planned on doing it.

There are several things that make Rise of the Beasts stand out from the earlier films.  First, there is some genuine human drama.  Noah's dedication to his family, especially his little brother, Kris, resonates, and Noah's determination to help his family financially makes his decisions seem logical.  Honestly, I really identified with Elena, whose boss, Jillian (Sarah Stiles), keeps taking credit for her work, a situation I have dealt with on and off for four decades (!).  I give the filmmakers a lot of credit for choosing non-white actors as the leads, and the screenwriters even more credit for being willing to depict the slights, micro-aggressions, and job discrimination that talented people of color put up with from mediocre white people.

Also, Rise of the Beasts has excellent visual special effects and eye-popping computer-generated imagery.  The transformational process the robots go through still looks really cool and sometimes mind-bending.  The robot fight scenes rival and probably surpass anything audiences would find in Star Wars movies.  This time, however, it means something and isn't just one long slog of creatures of metal slamming into each other.  There is a real sense of peril for both human and Autobots.  They might die or be destroyed, and the Earth might be devoured.  Plus, Unicron is a deliciously evil villain who is equally god and monster.  I hope he returns in future movies because as much as he scared me, he also fascinated me.

Director Steven Caple, Jr. has delivered a Transformers movie that is both visually busy and also dramatically hefty with genuine melodrama.  Yes, the third act is a bit tedious, but...  I'm shocked to say this.  I heartily recommend Transformers: Rise of the Beasts.

[Transformers: Rise of the Beasts has an extra scene that appears just after the credits begin and also a mid-credits scene.]

7 of 10

A-

★★★½ out of 4 stars

Friday, June 9, 2023

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

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Review: Mesmerizing "BABYLON" Sings and F**ks in the Rain

TRASH IN MY EYE No. 18 of 2023 (No. 1907) by Leroy Douresseaux

Babylon (2022)

Running time:  189 minutes (3 hours, 9 minutes)

MPA – R for strong and crude sexual content, graphic nudity, bloody violence, drug use, and pervasive language.

WRITER/DIRECTOR:  Damien Chazelle

PRODUCERS:  Olivia Hamilton, Marc Platt, and Matthew Plouffe

CINEMATOGRAPHER:  Linus Sandgren (D.o.P.)

EDITOR:  Tom Cross

COMPOSER:  Justin Hurwitz

Academy Award nominee

DRAMA/HISTORICAL

Starring:  Brad Pitt, Margot Robbie, Diego Calva, Jovan Adepo, Jean Smart, Li Jun Li, Olivia Wilde, Telvin Griffin, Flea, Eric Roberts, Max Minghella, Jeff Garlin, Ethan Suplee, and Tobey Maguire

Babylon is a 2022 period film, drama, and black comedy from writer-director Damien Chazelle.  The film chronicles the rise and fall of several Hollywood characters as the film industry transitions from silent films to sound films in the late 1920s and early 1930s.

Babylon opens in the Bel Air neighborhood of Los Angeles, 1926.  Manuel “Manny” Torres (Diego Calva), a Mexican immigrant, helps transport an elephant.  It's destination is a debauched bacchanal (party) at the lavish mansion of Don Wallach (Jeff Garlin), chief of Hollywood's Kinoscope Studios, which produces silent films.  It is there that Manny meets a young woman who has given herself the name, Nellie LaRoy (Margot Robbie).  She is brash, ambitious, and declares that she is a “star” from New Jersey, and Manny is quickly smitten with her.

Manny and Nellie soon cross paths with the party's other colorful attendees, including the Chinese-American, lesbian, cabaret singer, Lady Fay Zhu (Li Jun Li), and the Black American jazz trumpeter, Sidney Palmer (Jovan Adepo).  All four of them are going to find a place in the ecosystem of Hollywood, playing an important part in making silent films.  None of them will be as big as one of Hollywood's greatest silent film stars, Jack Conrad (Brad Pitt), who seems to be married as often as he is starring in a new silent film epic.

But just a year later, in 1927, the first sound film, The Jazz Singer, arrives, and everything begins to change – rapidly.  A world of out-sized ambition and outrageous excess starts pretending to be a tad bit more conservative.  So will any of the stars of silent film transition to the new world of sound film, also known as “talkies?”  Will Jack Conrad remain a star?  Is there still a place for Fay Zhu?  And what of the newcomers, Nellie, Manny, and Sidney? 

For me, Babylon is the film that delivers the way I was told Damien Chazelle's earlier film, La La Land (2016), would, but did not.  What some critics saw as overwhelming in Babylon, I see as exhilarating spectacle.  In a way, Babylon isn't so much about the end of the silent film era and the beginning of sound films as it is a celebration of Hollywood's glitz and glamour, which has enthralled audiences around the world for over a century.  Chazelle treats Hollywood's excess as a wonderful, magical thing.  Debauchery is loud, proud, and colorful.  Why be conservative and safe when the audience for Hollywood's films want the opposite.  Even as silence gives way to sound, films remain weird, wild, and wonderful, even if the people behind them pretend to have cleaned up their act and grown up.

The film's production values:  cinematography, costume and production design, sound, lighting, and editing play up the fun part – the hedonism and the revelry.  Babylon is one of the best-looking films of this still young century, and when I currently think of the word “cinematic,” I think of it.

The film has a number of good performances, but I will fault Chazelle for a screenplay that doesn't really immerse itself into the characters.  This film isn't into the characters the way it dives into the spectacle and the darkness behind the Hollywood film industry and the lifestyle of the people in front of and behind the cameras.  As much as they try, Brad Pitt and especially Margot Robbie and Diego Calva cannot really raise their characters above the sound and fury of Babylon.  Speaking of sound and fury, Justin Hurwitz's score for Babylon is a thing of magic; it never lets Babylon's narrative, drama, or action fall.

I know that Babylon is a polarizing film among film critics, movie reviewers and audiences.  I see it, however, as the work of a highly skilled writer-director, Damien Chazelle, who can do great things in movies.  But will he?  As far as I'm concerned, he has delivered with Babylon.

9 of 10

A+

★★★★+ out of 4 stars

Sunday, April 30, 2023

NOTES:

2023 Academy Awards, USA:  3 nominations: “Best Achievement in Production Design” (Florencia Martin and Anthony Carlino), “Best Achievement in Music Written for Motion Pictures-Original Score (Justin Hurwitz), and “Best Achievement in Costume Design: (Mary Zophres)

2023 BAFTA Awards:  1 win: “Best Production Design” (Florencia Martin and Anthony Carlino); 2 nominations: “Best Costume Design” (Mary Zophres), and “Original Score” (Justin Hurwitz)

2023 Golden Globes, USA:  1 win: “Best Original Score – Motion Picture” (Justin Hurwitz); 4 nominations: “Best Motion Picture - Musical or Comedy,” “Best Performance by an Actor in a Supporting Role in Any Motion Picture” (Brad Pitt), “Best Performance by an Actor in a Motion Picture-Musical or Comedy” (Diego Calva), and “Best Performance by an Actress in a Motion Picture-Musical or Comedy” (Margot Robbie)

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

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Negromancer News Bits and Bites from April 1st to 8th, 2023 - Update #19

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

You can support Leroy via Paypal or on Patreon:

ENTERTAINMENT AND CULTURE NEWS:

STREAMING - From Deadline:  Damson Idris, star of FX's "Snowfall," has been chosen to co-star with Brad Pitt in Apple Studios, Joseph Kosinki, and Jerry Bruckheimer's F1 racing movie.

STAR WARS - From THR:  Disney announces new "Star Wars" films, including one starring Daisy Ridley and directed by Sharmeen Obaid-Chinoy.

MOVIES - From THR:  The film critics at "The Hollywood Reporter" pick the "50 Best Films of the 21st Century (So Far)."

SCANDAL - From Deadline:  Irving Cartagena, the drug dealer who sold actor Michael K. Williams the drugs that killed him in 2021, has pleaded guilty to “one count of conspiracy to distribute and possess with intent to distribute fentanyl analogue, fentanyl, and heroin.”  He will serve a mandatory minimum of five years and up to 40 years.

MOVIES - From Variety:  Emmy-winner Donald Glover has revealed that Malia Obama, the elder daughter of President Barack Obama and First Lady Michelle Obama, is developing a short film via  his production company, "Gilga."

DISNEY - From Deadline:  Disney+ has unveiled "Pauline," a German original about a teenager who falls in love with the devil from the team behind Netflix’s "How to Sell Drugs Online (Fast)."

TRUMP - From Truthout:  Today, Tuesday, April 4, 2023, former President Donald Trump was formally arraigned by the Manhattan District Attorney’s office in New York City, making him the first former president to be indicted in United States history.

From ManhattanDA:  Read the full indictment of Donald J. Trump in PDF form from the Manhanttan District Attorney's website.

From Truthout:  Former President Donald Trump and his ratchet campaign are leveraging misinformation and anti-Jewish conspiracy theories to turn the media circus around his indictment in New York into a cash cow. 

MOVIES - From Deadline:  Warner Bros. has unleashed "Barbie" movie posters.  The Greta Gerwig-directed film stars Margot Robbie as "Barbie" and Ryan Gosling as "Ken" and is due July 21, 2023.

MOVIES - From Deadline:  Recent Oscar-nominee, Austin Butler ("Elvis"), will play crime boss, "Danny Ryan," in Sony 3000 Pictures' film adaptation of Don Winslow's 2022 novel, "City on Fire."

MOVIES - From Deadline:  Director Michael Mann is considering "Heat 2," as his next film. It would be a sequel to his 1995 classic, "Heat."  Mann is currently in post-production on his current film, "Ferrari," which stars Adam Driver, the possible lead in "Heat 2"

DISNEY - From Variety:  Disney is set to make a live-action remake of its 2016 animated film, "Moana."  Dwayne Johnson, who made the announcement and performed a voice role in the original, is set to return for the remake.

BOX OFFICE - From BoxOfficePro:  The winner of the 3/31 to 4/2/2023 weekend box office is Paramount Pictures' "Dungeons & Dragons: Honor Among Thieves" with an estimated gross of 38.5 million dollars.

From Variety:  "Dungeons & Dragons: Honor Among Thieves" opens with 33 millions dollars at the international box office.

TELEVISION - From Deadline:  The BBC is cancelling its hit comedy, "Ghosts," after its upcoming fifth season.  The series was remade as CBS' hit comedy, "Ghosts."

OBITS:

From Variety:  Japanese composer and record producer, Ryuichi Sakamoto, has died at the age of 71, Tuesday, March 28, 2023.  He won an Oscar with David Byrne and Cong Su for composing the music for the film, "The Last Emperor" (1987). His film music also won him a two Golden Globes, a BAFTA, and a Grammy Award.  He also composed the music for such films as "Merry Christmas, Mr. Lawrence," "The Sheltering Sky" (1990), "Little Buddha" (1993), and "The Revenant" (2015).  With his band, "Yellow Magic Orchestra," he was a pioneer in several electronic music genres.

From THR:  Television producer, N'Neka Garland, has died at the age of 49, Monday, March 27, 2023.  She was best known for her 22-year association with the daytime TV soap opera, "General Hospital."  She began as an assistant to veteran producer, Jill Farren Phelps, but she eventually worked her way up to series producer.  In 2021, she shared a Daytime Emmy award win for "Outstanding Drama Series," after being nominated in that category the previous two years.  Garland was also the half-sister of the late hip-hop and rap legend, Tupac Shakur.

From THR:  Animator and animation filmmaker, Leo D. Sullivan, has died at the age of 82, Saturday, March 25, 2023.  Sullivan was a groundbreaking African-American animator and a pioneer in Black animation.  Sullivan also was a writer, producer, director, layout artist and storyboard artist at studios including Hanna-Barbera, Warner Bros., Filmation, DePatie-Freleng Enterprises, DIC Entertainment and Marvel Productions.  He worked on TV series featuring such characters as Scooby-Doo, Fat Albert, and the Animanicas, to name a few.  Sullivan also helped animated the original locomotive and graphics for the syndicated music series, "Soul Train."  Sullivan co-founded the first Black-owned animation production company, Vignette Films.

Review: Terrifying "SMILE" Will Knock That... Smile Off Your Face

TRASH IN MY EYE No. 76 of 2022 (No. 1888) by Leroy Douresseaux

Smile (2022)

Running time:  116 minutes (1 hour, 56 minutes)

MPA – R for strong violent content and grisly images, and language

WRITER/DIRECTOR:  Parker Finn

PRODUCERS:  Marty Bowen, Wyck Godfrey, Isaac Klausner, and Robert Salerno

CINEMATOGRAPHER:  Charlie Sarroff

EDITOR: Elliot Greenberg

COMPOSER: Cristobal Tapia de Veer

HORROR

Starring:  Sosie Bacon, Jessie T. Usher, Kyle Gallner, Robin Weigert, Caitlin Stasey, Kal Penn, Rob Morgan, Gillian Zinser, Nick Arapoglou, Matthew Lamb, and Dora Kiss

Smile is a 2022 psychological horror film from writer-director Parker Finn, his debut feature film.  Finn based Smile on his 2020 horror short film, Laura Hasn't Slept.  Smile focuses on a psychiatrist who starts having terrifying experiences and witnessing a young woman's bizarre suicide.

Smile introduces Dr. Rose Carter (Sosie Bacon), a clinical psychiatrist.  While working at a psychiatric ward, Rose meets a new patient, a very frightened young woman named Laura Weaver (Caitlin Stasey).  Laura believes that she is cursed because days earlier, she witnessed her art history professor, Gabriel Munoz, die by suicide – using a hammer to bludgeon himself to death.  Now, Laura claims that an entity, which takes the form of smiling people, is haunting her and telling her that she is going to die.  Laura says that it is the same smile that she saw on Munoz's face before he killed himself.

After her encounter with Laura, Rose has a series of bizarre experiences, including one with a troubled patient in the psychiatric ward and another at her nephew's birthday party.  Is Rose's own traumatic past manifesting itself as an entity that vexes her mind and dreams?  Or is some entity haunting her to a gruesome death?

Smile is not the first film to use childhood trauma and the subsequent adult grief and guilt as devices to scare audiences.  [One is 2005's Boogeyman, which is not nearly as scary or as good as Smile.]  Parker Finn plays fast and loose with the genre and is rather tricky.  He makes Dr. Rose Cotter an unreliable narrator, one reason being that she should recognize her symptoms.  Rose has trouble distinguishing between delusions and reality.  Are her troubles a result of a job that exposes her to people with problems, or are her troubles really the result of a curse?  Finn's screenplay keeps us wondering about the truth and about the validity of the curse.

Sometime, the film is rather clear that Rose is cursed and that everything else is just to confuse … and scare the viewer.  And I was scared.  Smile is genuinely scary and, at times, terrifying, and Sosie Bacon gives a strong performance as Dr. Rose Cotter, a character that is obviously troubled and traumatized.

The one thing that keeps Smile from being great is the ending, not because of its variations, but because Finn practically telegraphs it halfway through the film.  Although I wouldn't say that Smile is a copy of the buzzed about horror film, It Follows (2014), but Smile follows... it.  I have no problem recommending Smile to viewers that want to be scared out of their wits by a horror movie, but don't want a high body count.  Smile is a really good horror movie – creepy but not slash-film violent.

7 of 10

A-

★★★½ out of 4 stars

Friday, December 23, 2022

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Review: Spielberg's "INDIANA JONES and the Temple of Doom" Still Goes Boom! (Celebrating "The Fabelmans")

TRASH IN MY EYE No. 71 of 2022 (No. 1883) by Leroy Douresseaux

Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom (1984)
Running time:  118 minutes (1 hour, 58 minutes)
MPAA – PG
DIRECTOR:  Steven Spielberg
WRITERS:  Willard Huyck and Gloria Katz; from a story by George Lucas
PRODUCER:  Robert Watts
CINEMATOGRAPHER:  Douglas Slocombe (D.o.P.)
EDITOR:  Michael Kahn, A.C.E.
COMPOSER:  John Williams
Academy Awards winner

ACTION/ADVENTURE

Starring:  Harrison Ford, Kate Capshaw, Ke Huy Quan, Amrish Puri, Roy Chiao, Roshan Seth, Philip Stone, Raj Singh, D. R. Nanayakkara, Dan Aykroyd, and Pat Roach

Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom is a 1984 action-adventure film from director Steven Spielberg.  It is the second entry in the “Indiana Jones” film franchise that began with the 1981 film, Raiders of the Lost Ark (1981), but it is also a prequel to Raiders.  In the Temple of Doom, Indiana Jones takes on a secret cult in India in order to reclaim a sacred rock stolen from a simple Indian village.

Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom opens in Shanghai, 1935.  Dr. Henry “Indiana” Jones, Jr. a.k.a. “Indy” (Harrison Ford) has been hired by Lao Che (Roy Chiao), a Shanghai crime boss, to find the remains of Emperor Nurhaci.  Che betrays Indy, who goes on the run with Willie Scott (Kate Capshaw), one of Che's nightclub singers, and Short Round (Ke Huy Quan), a young Chinese orphan who is Indy's sidekick.

After surviving a plane crash orchestrated by Lao Che, the trio ends up in a small village in northern India.  The village chieftain (D. R. Nanayakkara) believes that Indy's arrival is fated, and that he will help the village with two problems.  The first is to retrieve the village's stolen “Shivalinga,” a rock the villagers hold in high esteem.  Indy believes that this rock is one of the five sacred “Sankara stones.”  The chieftain also wants Indy to find the villagers' missing children.  The chieftain informs Indy that the village's troubles began when the new Maharajá reopened the Pankot Palace in Pankot, an opening that has brought back a “dark light” to the land.

Traveling to Pankot Palace, Indy, Willie, and Short Round discover that the Maharajá of Pankot (Raj Singh) is a child, and beneath his palace, the ancient “Thuggee” cult has also been revived.  The cult leader, Mola Ram (Amrish Puri), wants to find all five Sankara stones in order to gain power from the Thuggees' goddess, Kali.  Now, Indiana Jones has taken it upon himself to stop the cult.

For years, I encountered pretentious film fans who despised Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom and who insisted that I should hate it, too.  However, I have always found Temple of Doom to be endlessly entertaining, but I also understand that it has a lot to live up to.  It is the sequel (prequel) to one of the most popular movies of all time and one of the greatest films of all time (as far as I'm concerned), Raiders of the Lost Ark.

Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom is a great action-adventure film precisely because the filmmakers were not trying to make “Raiders of the Lost Ark II” so much as they were creating a franchise.  Temple of Doom is essentially world-building, as the film, especially early in the narrative, hints that Indiana Jones has had many adventures.  So before there was Indiana Jones and the Raiders of the Lost Ark, there was Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom.  That is what I liked most when I first saw it and still like:  Indiana Jones was not a one-time great thing; it was new universe and a new series of adventures centering on an archaeologist who was as much a cowboy as he was an professor and academic.

Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom also remains the most unique film in the series.  To date, it is the only entry that does not have a single moment set in the United States.  Set in China and India, it is the only film in the series in which the main cast is largely non-white.  The film has an intriguing villain to open the story, the Shanghai crime boss, Lao Che, and a superb main villain, Mola Ram, the Thuggee cult leader.  Both actors play their respective villainous roles quite well.

Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom is also the first film in the series to suggest that Indy has a network of helpers or at least a circle of associates.  For me, Short Round is an excellent sidekick, and he fits better than Kate Capshaw's Willie Scott, who seems like nothing more than a noisy dame.

Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom also has excellent production values, especially its costumes, hair and make-up, and art direction and sets.  The film won an Oscar for its visual effects, which remain impressive four decades later, especially for the scenes involving the lava pit and the chase through the mine's tunnel system.

I am watching and, in some cases, re-watching early Steven Spielberg films, such as Duel, Jaws, and 1941, in anticipation of Spielberg's autobiographical film, The Fabelmans.  I have lost track of how many times I have watched at least part of Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom, but this is the first time that I have watched the film in its entirety in decades.  Watching it again, I am sure now, more than ever, that I love this film.  Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom was the first sequel to Raiders of the Lost Ark, and to date, it remains the best.

8 of 10
A
★★★★ out of 4 stars

Saturday, November 19, 2022

You can purchase the "INDIANA JONES 4-Movie Collection" Blu-ray or DVD here at AMAZON.

NOTES:
1985 Academy Awards, USA:  1 win: “Best Effects, Visual Effects” (Dennis Muren, Michael J. McAlister, Lorne Peterson, and George Gibbs) and 1 nomination: “Best Music, Original Score” (John Williams)

1985 BAFTA Awards:  1 win: “Best Special Visual Effects” (Dennis Muren, George Gibbs, Michael J. McAlister, and Lorne Peterson; 3 nominations: “Best Cinematography” (Douglas Slocombe), “Best Editing” (Michael Kahn), and “Best Sound” (Ben Burtt, Simon Kaye, and Laurel Ladevich)


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Negromancer News Bits and Bites from October 9th to 15th, 2022 - Update #14

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

You can support Leroy via Paypal or on Patreon:

ENTERTAINMENT AND CULTURE NEWS:

TELEVISION - From Deadline:   Miramax Television is developing a TV series adaptation of Martin Scorsese's 2002 film, "Gangs of New York," from writer Brett Leonard.  Scorsese is currently attached to executive produce the series and direct its first two episodes.

NETFLIX - From Deadline:  Netflix's ad-supported streaming tier will cost $6.99 and will launch November 3rd, 2022 in the U.S.

STREAMING - From Deadline:  Actress Indira Varma ("Obi-Wan") is joining "Dune: The Sisterhood" (working title), an HBO Max prequel series to the "Dune" movie series.

TELEVISION - From Deadline:  Trevor Noah has set a date for his exit from "The Daily Show with Trevor Noah" and it is Thursday, December 8th, 2022.

ANIMATION - From CartoonBrew:   In the latest round of layoffs, Warner Bros. Animation and Cartoon Network Studios were merged, effectively ending the latter.  Cartoon Network will apparently continue to exist as a brand.  Hanna-Barbera Studios Europe will remain separate.

MOVIE - From Deadline:   Sony Pictures has snatched the fights to "Dumb Money," the film about the 2021 Wall Street "short squeeze" of GameStop.

TELEVISION - From Deadline:   Comedian and actor, Damon Wayans, and his son, actor Damon Wayans, Jr., are set to star in a multi-camera sitcom for CBS.

MOVIES - From Deadline:  Director Kenneth Branagh is returning to 20th Century Studios for a third film based on a work by the legendary late author, Agatha Christie.  The new film, "A Haunting in Venice," which is based on Christie's novel, "Hallowe'en Party," and the all-star cast includes Tina Fey and Michelle Yeoh.

BOX OFFICE - From BoxOfficePro:  The winner of the 10/7 to 10/9/2022 weekend box office is Paramount Pictures' horror flick, "Smile," with an estimated take of 17.6 million dollars.

STAR TREK - From Deadline:  At New York Comic Con 2022, Paramount+ has released a new trailer for what is the third and likely final season of "Star Trek: Picard."  Season 3 premieres February 16, 2023.

OBITS:

From THR:   The Scottish actor and comedian, Robbie Coltrane, has died at the age of 72, Friday, October 14, 2022.  Coltrane is best known for playing "Rubeus Hagrid" in the "Harry Potter" film series.  He first gained national prominence in the U.K. starring as criminal psychologist, "Dr. Eddie 'Fitz' Fitzgerald" in the ITV television series, "Cracker" (1993–2006).

From THR:  The film and television actor, Austin Stoker, has died at the age of 92, Friday, October 7, 2022.  Born in Trinidad and Tobago, Stoker began his acting career on Broadway.  He is best known for the role of "Lt. Ethan Bishop" in John Carpenter's cult film "Assault on Precinct 13" (1976).  He also appeared in such black exploitation films as "Abby" (1974) and "Sheba, Baby" (1975).  He appeared in numerous TV series and miniseries, including "Roots" (1977), "The Incredible Hulk" (1979), and "The Bold and the Beautiful" (1991), to name a few.

From Variety:   A legend and star of the stage, film, and television, Angela Lansbury, has died at the age of 96, Tuesday, October 11, 2022.  Lansbury was best known for her starring role as mystery writer and amateur sleuth, Jessica Fletcher," on the late, long-running CBS mystery series, "Murder, She Wrote" (1984-96).  Among her best known films are "The Manchurian Candidate" (1962) and Walt Disney's animated "Beauty and the Beast" (1991).  Her career spanned 75 years and also included many stages, including the Broadway stage, and Lansbury won seven Tony Awards.

From Deadline:  American entertainment journalist, Nikki Finke, has died at the age of 68, Sunday, October 9, 2022.  Finke was best known as the founder of the website, "Deadline Hollywood," in 2006.  It was the Internet version of her long-running print column, "Deadline Hollywood," for the "LA Weekly."

From Deadline:  The film and television actress, Eileen Ryan, has died at the age of 94, Sunday, October 9, 2022.  She appeared in such TV series as "The Twilight Zone," "The Detective," and "Bonanza."  Ryan was the widow of actor-director Leo Penn (1921-98) and the mother of Oscar-winning actor Sean Penn, the late actor Chris Penn (1965-2006), and singer-songwriter Michael Penn.

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BRITTNEY GRINER:

From Reuters:  Russia says that it is ready to talk prisoner swamp for Brittney Griner and U.S. Marine veteran Paul Whelan, but also scolds the U.S. Embassy.

From TheDailyBeast:   Legendary NBA bad boy and champion (Detroit Pistons, Chicago Bulls), Dennis Rodman claims that he has been given permission to go to Russia and help free imprisoned hostage, WNBA star, Brittney Griner.

From Vox:  Vox's Jonathan Guyer talks the Brittney Griner case with Danielle Gilbert, a Dartmouth professor who is writing a book about states and rogue actors that take hostages.

From ESPN:   A Russian court sentenced WNBA star Brittney Griner to nine years in prison Thursday, Aug. 4th.  Griner was arrested Feb. 17 for bringing cannabis into the country and pleaded guilty July 7, though the case continued under Russian law.

From ESPN:  The Biden administration has offered a deal to Russia aimed at bringing home WNBA star Brittney Griner and another jailed American, Paul Whelan, Secretary of State Antony Blinken said Wednesday.

From RSN:  "Will Support From LeBron James, Joe Rogan, Kim Kardashian, and Other Celebrities Help Free Brittney Griner From a Russian Prison?" by Kareem Abdul-Jabbar via Substack

From ESPN:  Detained WNBA star Brittney Griner pleaded guilty on Thursday to bringing hashish oil into Russia, telling a judge that she had done so "inadvertently" while asking the court for mercy.

From CBSSports:  The Brittney Griner situation explained.

From RSN:  According to The Washington Post Editorial Board: "Brittney Griner is a hostage, plain and simple."

Negromancer News Bits and Bites from October 1st to 8th, 2022 - Update #11

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

You can support Leroy via Paypal or on Patreon:

ENTERTAINMENT AND CULTURE NEWS:

TELEVISION - From Deadline: CBS' new drama series, "Fire Country," debuted Fri., Oct. 7th and had the highest debut of any series of the new 2022-23 television season.

NETFLIX - From Deadline:   For the first time, all three big exhibitors (movie theater chains) are on board with releasing a major Netflix title, Rian Johnson's "Knives Out" sequel, "Glass Onion: A Knives Out Mystery."  The movie will hit theaters on Wednesday, Nov. 23, the day before Thanksgiving, and will begin streaming on Netflix on Dec. 23rd.

MOVIES - From Deadline:  Rust Movie Productions LLC and its "Rust" star and producer, Alec Baldwin, have reached a settlement with the estate of slain cinematographer, Halyna Hutchins, who died on the set of the Western film due to the discharge of a firearm.  As part of the peace, her husband, Matthew Hutchins, will executive produce Rust, which will return to production in January 2023 with the original cast.

MOVIE - From Deadline:   Actress Taissa Farmiga will return as "Sister Irene" in "The Nun 2," the sequel to 2018's "The Nun."  The new film is due Sept 2023.

JAMES BOND - From Fatherly:   The next James Bond actor will not be in his twenties when he starts the series.

BOX OFFICE - From BoxOfficePro:   The winner of the 9/30 to 10/2/2022 weekend box office is Paramount Pictures' "Smile" with an estimated take of 22 million dollars.

CELEBRITY - From TeenVogue:  Actress and businesswoman, Keke Palmer, is starting her own digital television network, "Key TV," which hopes to spotlight "a new generation of creators."

TELEVISION - From Variety:  Trevor Noah has reportedly announced that he is stepping down as host of Comedy Central's "The Daily Show."  No date for his exit has been announced.

OBITS:

From Deadline:   Comedian and actress, Judy Tenuta, has died at the age of 72, Thursday, October 6, 2022.  Known to her fans as the "Love Goddess," Tenuta appeared on numerous television shows, including several cable comedy specials, game shows, and documentaries.  Tenuta was known for her unconventional and brash stage act and also as a voice performer on several animated TV series, including "Duckman" and "Cow and Chicken."  She was also a two-time nominee in the category, "Grammy Award for Best Comedy Album."

From RollingStone:  Singer-songwriter and country music icon, Loretta Lynn, has died at the age of 90, Tuesday, October 4, 2022.  A three-time Grammy Award winner, Lynn was a pioneering woman in country music for women empowerment with songs like "Fist City" (1968) and "The Pill" (1975).  Her 1970 hit, "Coal Miner's Daughter" (from the album of the same name) was her signature song and became the title of the 1980 Oscar-winning biographical film about her life.

From Variety:  Native American civil rights activist and actress, Sacheen Littlefeather, has died at the age of 75, Sunday, October 2, 2022.  Littlefeather had been suffering from breast cancer.  She was best known for her appearance at the 1973 / 45th Academy Awards where she declined Marlon Brando’s "Best Actor" Oscar for “The Godfather” (1972) on his behalf.  In June (2022), the Academy of Motion Pictures Arts and Sciences apologized to Littlefeather for her treatment at the Oscars that night, and she attended an in-person presentation ("An Evening with Sacheen Littlefeather") of the apology at the Academy Museum on Sept. 17.

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

BRITTNEY GRINER:

From Reuters:  Russia says that it is ready to talk prisoner swamp for Brittney Griner and U.S. Marine veteran Paul Whelan, but also scolds the U.S. Embassy.

From TheDailyBeast:   Legendary NBA bad boy and champion (Detroit Pistons, Chicago Bulls), Dennis Rodman claims that he has been given permission to go to Russia and help free imprisoned hostage, WNBA star, Brittney Griner.

From Vox:  Vox's Jonathan Guyer talks the Brittney Griner case with Danielle Gilbert, a Dartmouth professor who is writing a book about states and rogue actors that take hostages.

From ESPN:   A Russian court sentenced WNBA star Brittney Griner to nine years in prison Thursday, Aug. 4th.  Griner was arrested Feb. 17 for bringing cannabis into the country and pleaded guilty July 7, though the case continued under Russian law.

From ESPN:  The Biden administration has offered a deal to Russia aimed at bringing home WNBA star Brittney Griner and another jailed American, Paul Whelan, Secretary of State Antony Blinken said Wednesday.

From RSN:  "Will Support From LeBron James, Joe Rogan, Kim Kardashian, and Other Celebrities Help Free Brittney Griner From a Russian Prison?" by Kareem Abdul-Jabbar via Substack

From ESPN:  Detained WNBA star Brittney Griner pleaded guilty on Thursday to bringing hashish oil into Russia, telling a judge that she had done so "inadvertently" while asking the court for mercy.

From CBSSports:  The Brittney Griner situation explained.

From RSN:  According to The Washington Post Editorial Board: "Brittney Griner is a hostage, plain and simple."

Review: "What We Do in the Shadows" Does It Good

TRASH IN MY EYE No. 41 of 2022 (No. 1853) by Leroy Douresseaux

What We Do in the Shadows (2014)
Running time:  86 minutes (1 hour, 26 minutes)
MPAA – R for bloody violent content, some sexual material and language
WRITERS/DIRECTORS:  Jemaine Clement and Taika Waititi
PRODUCERS:  Emanuel Michael, Taika Waititi, and Chelsea Winstanley
CINEMATOGRAPHERS:  Richard Bluck and D.J. Stipsen
EDITORS:  Tom Eagles, Yana Gorskaya, and Jonathan Woodford-Robinson
COMPOSER:  Plan 9

COMEDY/FANTASY

Starring:  Jemaine Clement, Taika Waititi, Cori Gonzalez-Macuer, Jonny Brugh, Stu Rutherford, Ben Fransham, Jackie Van Beek, and Elena Stejko

What We Do in the Shadows is a 2014 New Zealand comic vampire film and mockumentary (mock documentary) written and directed by Jemaine Clement and Taika Waititi.  The film focuses on three vampires who live together in a flat while trying to deal with the mundane aspects of modern life in Wellington, New Zealand.

What We Do in the Shadows introduces four vampires living as housemates in a flat in a suburb of Wellington, New Zealand.  They are 379-year-old Viago (Taika Waititi), 862-year-old Vladislav (Jemaine Clement), 183-year-old Deacon (Jonny Brugh), and 8000-year-old Petyr (Ben Fransham).  A documentary film crew follows them as they prepare for “the Unholy Masquerade,” a ball held by some of the monster secret societies of Wellington.

The vampires struggle with the ordinary aspects of modern life:  overcoming flatmate conflicts, keeping up with chores, dealing with demanding familiars (human servants), etc.  Most of all they struggle to navigate the city's nightclub scene where they hunt for human victims who will become their food.  One of their victims-to-be is Nick (Cori Gonzalez-Macuer), the ex-boyfriend of Deacon's familiar, Jackie (Jackie Van Beek).  Nick is unexpectedly turned into a vampire, and the new bloodsucker brings complications into the older vampires' lives.  Nick even brings his human friend, Stu (Stu Rutherford), whom everyone wants to eat, but likes too much to eat, into the vampire world.

Plus, they still have to attend “the Unholy Masquerade” where they will meet “the Beast.”

The most famous example of a mockumentary and perhaps, the most beloved is director Rob Reiner's 1984 film, This is Spinal Tap.  With the exception of that film, I am usually bored of mockumentaries by the second half of such films.  I was surprised to discover that except for a few places, I found myself thoroughly engaged with What We Do in the Shadows.

I think the combination of the script and the acting really brings the film to life.  The actors seem to create fully functioning people by emphasizing the ordinary aspects of the human character and personality.  Although the film's leads are vampires, they manage to be only a little special, amazing, horrible, and fantastic.  They are interesting and lovable by being only a little above ordinary.  They are not too bright, not smart enough to be conniving, and rather short-sighted, and that all makes them endearing to me.

I also like that What We Do in the Shadows quotes from or references a number of vampire films, including the Blade film series, Bram Stoker's Dracula, Interview with the Vampire, and Twilight, to name a few.  That helps to make it feel like a genuine vampire film, rather than being only a documentary and horror comedy.  I actually started watching (on and off) the FX cable television series, also titled “What We Do in the Shadows,” that is based on the film.  Truthfully, the film is such a delight, it feels like something that has a lot more to offer, so we are lucky to have a TV series.

I would not recommend What We Do in the Shadows to everyone who enjoys the mainstream work of the film's co-writer and co-director, Taika Waititi, such as his Thor films for Disney/Marvel Studios.  I will recommend it to film audiences who are always searching for something different, offbeat, and/or daring in modern independent and foreign films.  For being another in a long, long line of vampire films, What We Do in the Shadows manages to be fresh blood.

7 of 10
A-
★★★½ out of 4 stars

Thursday, July 7, 2022


The text is copyright © 2022 Leroy Douresseaux. All Rights Reserved. Contact this blog or site for syndication rights and fees.

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Review: "TOP GUN: Maverick" Surpasses the Original and is Hugely Entertaining

TRASH IN MY EYE No. 34 of 2022 (No. 1846) by Leroy Douresseaux

Top Gun: Maverick (2022)
Running time:  131 minutes (2 hours, 11 minutes)
MPAA – PG-13 for sequences of intense action, and some strong language
DIRECTOR:  Joseph Kosinski
WRITERS:  Ehren Kruger, Eric Warren Singer, and Christopher McQuarrie; from a story by Peter Craig and Justin Marks (based on characters created by Jim Cash & Jack Epps Jr.)
PRODUCERS:  Tom Cruise, Jerry Bruckheimer, David Ellison, and Christopher McQuarrie
CINEMATOGRAPHER:  Claudio Miranda (D.o.P.)
EDITOR:  Eddie Hamilton
COMPOSERS:  Lorne Balfe, Lady Gaga, and Harold Faltermeyer

DRAMA/ACTION/MILITARY

Starring:  Tom Cruise, Jennifer Connelly, Miles Teller, Bashir Salahuddin, Jon Hamm, Charles Parnell, Monica Barbaro, Lewis Pullman, Jay Ellis, Danny Ramirez, Glen Powell, Jack Schumacher, Manny Jacinto, Kara Wang, Greg Tarzan Davis, Jake Picking, Raymond Lee, Jean Louisa Kelly, Lyliana Wray, Ed Harris, Chelsea Harris, and Val Kilmer

Top Gun: Maverick is a 2022 action and military drama film directed by Joseph Kosinski and starring Tom Cruise.  The film is a direct sequel to the 1986 film, Top Gun.  Maverick focuses on a veteran U.S. Navy flight instructor ordered to transform a group of the Navy's top young aviators into a fighter squadron that can take on an impossible mission.

Top Gun: Maverick opens over three decades after the events of the first film.  Former “Top Gun” candidate, Captain Pete “Maverick” Mitchell (Tom Cruise) currently serves as a U.S. Navy test pilot.  Over his 33 years of service, he has purposely dodged promotion in order to continue flying for the Navy.  A stunt with the “Darkstar scramjet” program looks as if it is going to be the thing that finally gets Maverick grounded.  However, Admiral Tom “Iceman” Kazansky (Val Kilmer), commander of the U.S. Pacific Fleet, is Maverick's former rival and his friend.  Iceman saves Maverick from being grounded by giving him orders to return to where they first met, the United States Navy Strike Fighter Tactics Instructor program in San Diego, CA.

There, Maverick must train an elite group of 16 Top Gun graduates for a specialized mission – a dangerous and practically impossible mission.  However, there are plenty of ghosts from his past waiting for him there, including Penelope "Penny" Benjamin (Jennifer Connelly), Maverick's former lover, who is a single mother, a bar owner, and the daughter of a former admiral.

The most troubling ghost from Maverick's past, however, may be one of the young aviators he must train, Lieutenant Bradley “Rooster” Bradshaw (Miles Teller).  He is the son of Maverick's late best friend and RIO (Radar Intercept Officer), Nick “Goose” Bradshaw.  Maverick still blames himself for Goose's death during a training flight (as seen in Top Gun), and, in a way, so does Rooster, who also blames Maverick for hurting his career as an aviator.  As he pushes this elite group of aviators to test their limits and beyond, Maverick wonders if he may finally be grounded and fears that he may also end up causing the son's death as he believes he caused the father's death.

I don't like Top Gun.  I think that it is not a very well made film.  I love Top Gun: Maverick, which is a direct sequel to the original film and is intimately tied to it.  In a way, Maverick takes some of the best story elements of the first film and gives them dramatic heft, depth, weight, and a gravitas that they really did not have in the original.

Top Gun: Maverick is just all-around well made.  Joseph Kosinski does a much better job at directing the sequel than the late Tony Scott did with the original.  Maverick's screenplay, which like the original, is the result of several writers, nonetheless comes across like a seamless work produced by a single talented story mind.  The film editing is superb, so Maverick's editor, Eddie Hamilton, should also get an Oscar nomination next year, because the editors of the first film were Oscar-nominated for their … problematic work.  Even Maverick's musical score is better, although quite a bit of Harold Faltermeyer's music from the first film does make it into the sequel.

Top Gun: Maverick may also be Tom Cruise's best dramatic performance in over two decades.  Not only do his emotions seem genuine, but his emotional range is shocking.  Cruise has award-worthy moments in this film, especially a pivotal scene between Maverick and Iceman.  Cruise and Miles Teller also seem to work very well together, and Teller once again proves that he has some serious dramatic chops.  Jennifer Connelly, an Oscar-winner, as Penny, makes the most of what comes across as an extraneous token female character.  Actually, quite a few actors make the most of their roles and screen time in this surprisingly heartfelt and genuinely emotional film.

Top Gun: Maverick is, of course, an intense action-thriller with some amazing flight and combat scenes and sequences.  It kept me on the edge of my seat, worrying that one of the young pilots or Maverick would be killed in a crash or in combat.  And no, the filmmakers apparently did not use computer-generated effects for the flight scenes.  This is all advanced cameras, fighter planes, and human pilots, making the film a masterpiece of practical filmmaking and U.S. Navy flying.  Top Gun: Maverick surpasses Top Gun as a military-action film, and is something the first film was not, an emotionally resonate and real military drama.

Yes, it does seem to work a little too hard at pushing our buttons with dramatic conflict and melodrama.  But I honestly enjoyed the heck out of this film in a way that I did not expect – even after hearing so many good things before I saw it.  Top Gun: Maverick is … well, awesome, and this time, I really feel the need for speed and for more Top Gun.  And Tom Cruise still looks good on a motorcycle.

8 of 10
A
★★★★ out of 4 stars

Friday, May 27, 2022


The text is copyright © 2022 Leroy Douresseaux. All Rights Reserved. Contact this blog or site for reprint and syndication rights and fees.

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Review: Original "TOP GUN" is Still a Bad Movie

TRASH IN MY EYE No. 33 of 2022 (No. 1845) by Leroy Douresseaux

Top Gun (1986)
Running time:  110 minutes (1 hour, 50 minutes)
MPAA – PG
DIRECTOR:  Tony Scott
WRITERS:  Jim Cash & Jack Epps Jr. (based on the magazine article, “Top Guns,” by Ehud Yonay)
PRODUCERS:  Don Simpson and Jerry Bruckheimer
CINEMATOGRAPHER:  Jeffrey Kimball (D.o.P.)
EDITORS:  Chris Lebenzon and Billy Weber
COMPOSER:  Harold Faltermeyer
Academy Award winner

DRAMA/ACTION

Starring:  Tom Cruise, Kelly McGillis, Val Kilmer, Anthony Edwards, Tom Skerritt, Michael Ironside, Tim Robbins, John Stockwell, Barry Tubb, Rick Rossovich, Whip Hubley, James Tolkan, Adrian Pasdar, Meg Ryan, and Clarence Gilyard, Jr.

Top Gun is a 1986 action and drama film directed by Tony Scott and starring Tom Cruise.  The film was inspired by an article entitled, “Top Guns,” which was written by Ehud Yonay and published in the May 1983 issue of California Magazine.  Top Gun the film focuses on a daring young U.S. Navy pilot who is a student at an elite fighter weapons school where he competes with other students and learns a few things from a female instructor.

Top Gun opens on the Indian Ocean aboard the vessel, the “USS Enterprise.”  The story introduces United States Naval Aviator, Lieutenant Pete “Maverick” Mitchell (Tom Cruise), and his RIO (Radar Intercept Officer), Lieutenant Junior Grade Nick “Goose” Bradshaw (Anthony Edwards).  While on a mission flying their fighter aircraft, Maverick and Goose have an encounter with a hostile aircraft.  As a result of the incident, Maverick and Goose are invited to the U.S. Navy “Fighter Weapons School” in Miramar, California (also known as “Fightertown U.S.A.”).  The top one percent of naval aviators (pilots) get to attend Fighter Weapons School, also known as “Top Gun” (or “TOPGUN”).

Naval aviators have to complete a five-week course of classroom studies and flight training (called a “hop”).  The top graduating aviator receives the “Top Gun” plaque.  Maverick's rival for Top Gun is top student, Lieutenant Tom “Iceman” Kazansky (Val Kilmer), who considers Maverick's attitude foolish and his flying dangerous.  Maverick also becomes romantically involved with Charlotte “Charlie” Blackwood (Kelly McGillis), an astrophysicist and civilian instructor, an unwise move for both.

Will Maverick earn the Top Gun trophy?  Or will his reckless ways and tendency to disobey orders endanger those around him and cost him his future.

Until recently, I had never watched Top Gun, not even a minute of it.  From the first time I saw a trailer for it, I thought Top Gun looked stupid, although I was a Tom Cruise fan at the time of its release (as I still am).  I only recently watched it in preparation for seeing the long-awaited sequel, Top Gun: Maverick, which has a good looking trailer and has received glowing early reviews.

But I was right.  Top Gun is stupid.  It is poorly written, especially on the character drama end.  Writers Jim Cash & Jack Epps Jr. are credited as the film's screenwriters.  The film's credited “Associate Producer,” the late Warren Skarren (1946-90), was a screenwriter known for rewriting the screenplays of big Hollywood projects (such as Beetlejuice and the 1989 Batman film).  Skarren apparently did some heavy rewriting for Top Gun's shooting script.  However, the film seems to be made from the parts of several screenplays that were combined to form a new script.  That especially shows during the character drama scenes, which are sometimes awkward, sometimes nonsensical, sometimes inauthentic, and sometimes all three at the same time.

To me, the film looks poorly edited (which was Oscar-nominated), once again, mainly on the drama scenes.  The film's musical score, composed by Harold Faltermeyer, is mostly atrocious.

However, the flight action sequences and the aerial stunts are quite good.  When the film is in the air with those fighter jets or when Maverick is riding his motorcycle, Top Gun can be entertaining and invigorating.  The drama is just so bad that it makes me forget the film's good stuff.

In 2015, Top Gun was added to the “National Film Registry” because it was considered “culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant.”  For me, the only reason that would be true is because of its lead actor, Tom Cruise.  I think Top Gun is the film that made  Cruise a celluloid god.  He became his generation's biggest movie star and remains so.  Top Gun began a decade (1986-96) that gave us “peak” Tom Cruise.  Yes, he is still in his prime, but that was the decade that saw him give his most acclaimed and memorable performances, and in 1996, he began his most successful film franchise with the first Mission: Impossible.  Yes, Cruise has given other memorable and acclaimed performances, but never so many as in that time period of 1986 to 1996.

So Top Gun is significant because of Tom Cruise.  He is so handsome and fresh-faced here, and his youth, dynamism, and screen presence save this thoroughly mediocre film.  Even with the great action sequences, this film would have been at best a cult film had any actor or movie star other than Tom Cruise been the lead.

Yeah, I could talk about the other actors who were in Top Gun, but what they did could not rise above the mediocrity of this film's drama – both in screenwriting and in directing.  Tom Cruise – in a fighter or on a motorcycle – is Top Gun.  As much as I am a fan of his, however, I wouldn't watch this shit again.  But yes, I will see Top Gun: Maverick.

4 of 10
C
★★ out of 4 stars

Wednesday, May 25, 2022


1987 Academy Awards, USA:  1 win: “Best Music, Original Song” (Giorgio Moroder-music and Tom Whitlock-lyrics for the song “Take My Breath Away”); 3 nominations: “Best Sound” (Donald O. Mitchell, Kevin O'Connell, Rick Kline, and William B. Kaplan), “Best Film Editing” (Billy Weber and Chris Lebenzon), and “Best Effects, Sound Effects Editing” (Cecelia Hall and George Watters II)

1987 Golden Globes, USA:  1 win: “Best Original Song - Motion Picture” (Giorgio Moroder-music and Tom Whitlock-lyrics for the song “Take My Breath Away”); 1 nomination: “Best Original Score - Motion Picture” (Harold Faltermeyer)

2015 National Film Preservation Board, USA:  National Film Registry


The text is copyright © 2022 Leroy Douresseaux. All Rights Reserved. Contact this blog or site for reprint and syndication rights and fees.

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

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

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