Negromancer News Bits and Bites from September 19th to 25th, 2021 - Update #23

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

You can support Leroy via Paypal or on Patreon:

ENTERTAINMENT AND CULTURE NEWS: 

NETFLIX - From TheVerge:  Netflix launches its "Tudum" livestream event that previews over 70 TV series and 28 movies.

MARVEL - From ComicBook:  In a move that will have copyright lawyers at The Walt Disney Company sweating, the estate of late, great comic book artist, Steve Ditko, has filed two notice of copyright termination with Disney/Marvel with regard to the copyright for two classic Marvel Comics' characters, Spider-Man and Doctor Strange. 

STAR TREK/CELEBRITY - From TheDailyBeast:  At the age of 90, "Star Trek" actor William Shatner is set to become the oldest man shot into space.  This will happen when he boards Amazon co-founder Jeff Bezo's Blue Origin New Shepard rocket.

POLITICS From WashPost:  Oscar-nominated actress, Uma Thurman, calls the Texas abortion law (the "Texas Heartbeat Act") a human rights crisis for American women.  She also recounts her experience with having an abortion in her late teens.

ANIMATION - From Variety:  Chris Pratt and Anya Taylor-Joy will lead the cast of a new animated "Super Mario Bros." film.

BUSINESS - From Deadline:  The IATSE (International Alliance of Theatrical Stage Employees) strike-authorization vote will begin October 1st.  Talks with the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers (AMPTP) for a new film and TV contract broke down on Monday, Sept. 20th.

MOVIES - From ShadowandAct:  Lashana Lynch is joing Viola Davis and Thuso Mbedu in "The Woman King," a film on the "Dahomey Amazons" of 18th century Africa.

From TimeOutLondon:   Speaking of Lashana Lynch, meet the new "007" of "No Time to Die," the upcoming James Bond film.

LGBTQ - From TheAdvocate:  Actress Cassandra Peterson, best known as as "Elvira, the Mistress of the Dark," has released her new memoir, "Your Cruelly, Elvira."  In the book, Peterson reveals her 19-year relationship with another woman.

SPORTS/NBA - From NBA:  Veteran shooting guard, JJ Reddick, has announced his retirement from the NBA.  The Orlando Magic drafted Reddick with the No. 11th pick in the first round of the 2006 NBA Draft.  Reddick played college basketball with the Duke Blue Devils (2002-06).  Reddick played for six teams over his 15-year NBA career, spending the the 2020-21 season first with the New Orleans Pelicans and then, the Dallas Mavericks.

EMMYS - From Deadline:  If you care, here is a complete list of winners from the 2021 / 73rd Primetime Emmy Awards ceremony.

TRAILER - From THR:  Michael Myers face briefly revealed in new trailer for "Halloween Kills."

BOX OFFICE - From BoxOfficePro:  The winner of the 9/17 to 9/19/2021 weekend box office is Marvel Studios' "Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings" with an estimated take of 21.7 million dollars.

From Negromancer:  Here is my review of "Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings."

From Deadline:  After two days in international release, Warner Bros.' film, "Dune" has grossed an estimated 8.4 million dollars.

CELEBRITY - From SundayTimesUK:  "The Sunday Times" interviews notorious celebrity gossip blogger and parasite, Perez Hilton, who says he does not expect to be forgiven ... nor should he.  In fact, he should get what he wished upon others, especially what he wished on Grammy-winning recording artist and pop star, Britney Spears.

FILM FESTIVAL - From Deadline:   The winners of the 2021 TIFF (Toronto International Film Festival) People's Choice Awards were announced Sat., Sept. 18th.  Director Kenneth Branagh's black and white semi-autobiographical film, "Belfast," wins the top honor, also called the "People's Choice Award."

GUILDS - From Deadline:  Lesli Linka Glatter has been elected as the new president of the Directors Guild of America.  She is only the second woman to lead the DGA.  Glatter is known for her work directing episodes of prestige television dramas such as "Homeland," "The Walking Dead," "Mad Men," and "The West Wing," to name a few.  Glatter is also a three-time winner of a DGA Award and is an eight-time Emmy Award nominee.

ANIMATION - From PopCulture:  Cult animated TV series, "Family Guy," is leaving Cartoon Network and TBS.  Starting Monday, Sept. 20th, FXX and Freeform will be the exclusive cable homes of the long running series.

OBITS:

From THR:  Actor and filmmaker and novelist and painter, Melvin Van Peeples, has died at the age of 89, Wednesday, September 22, 2021.  He was a pioneering black film director and is best known for his seminal blaxploitation film, "Sweet Sweetback's Baadasssss Song" (1971).  He also directed the 1970 comedy, "Watermelon Man," his only studio film.  Van Peeples was also the father of actor and director, Mario Van Peeples. 

From Deadline:   Actor David Alan Grier and directors Barry Jenkins, Ava DuVernay, and Spike Lee are among the film and TV industry people paying tribute to pioneering Black filmmaker, Melvin Van Peeples, who died Sept. 22nd.

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From Variety:  The television and film actor, Willie Garson, has died at the age of 57, Wednesday, September 21, 2021.  Garson appeared in over 75 films and in over 300 TV episodes.  He is best known for the roles of "Stanford Blatch" on HBO's "Sex in the City" and "Mozzie" on USA Network's "White Collar" (2009-2014).

From Deadline:   Actress and singer, Sarah Dash, has died at the age of 76, Monday, September 20, 2021.  Dash was a founding member of the all-female singing group, "Patti LaBelle & The Bluebelles." In 1967, the group changed its name to "Labelle," but they did not find big success until their 1974 smash hit single, "Lady Marmalade," which reached #1 on the "Billboard 100."  Dash sang backing vocals on The Rolling Stones' 1989 album, "Steel Wheels."  She also sang vocals and backing vocals on the three studio albums released by Keith Richards of "The Rolling Stones."

From TMZ:  Actor and comedian, Anthony Johnson, has died at the age of 55, apparently sometime earlier this month.  He had his breakout role in the film "House Party" (1990), but was also known for his roles in film like "Menace II Society" (1993) and "Friday" (1995).

Negromancer News Bits and Bites from February 1st to 10th, 2018 - Update #34

Support Leroy on Patreon:

COMICS-FILM - From BleedingCool:  See Marvel's Black Panther family tree

OSCARS - From IndieWire:  Paul Michael Thomas, Oscar-nominated director of "Phantom Thread," praises his fellow best director Oscar nominees.

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CRIME - From TheGuardian:  California police work and cooperate with white supremacists against anti-racist activists.

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COMICS-FILM - From Variety:  Joaquin Phoenix in talks to play Batman arch-nemesis, "The Joker," in a stand-alone Joker movie that would be directed by Todd Phillips.

From GeekTyrant:  DC Comics/Entertainment wants Michael Bay to direct a movie based on their character, Lobo.

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MOVIES - From TheFilmStage:  The prolific Richard Linklater, who has directed six films in the last seven years, has apparently set his sights on a film about the 1969 moon landing.

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SCANDAL - From TheGuardian:  Recent statements have famed director Quentin Tarantino facing a backlash.

MOVIE - From IndieWire:   French director Jean Pierre-Jeunet accuses Guillermo del Toro of plagiarism.

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MUSIC - From Vulture:  This is a killer interview with Quincy Jones who talks about Michael Jackson, The Beatles, and the Trumps.

From TMZ:  Quincy Jones claims in his Vulture interview that the late legendary actor Marlon Brando had sex with the late legendary comedian Richard Pryor.  Pryor's widow, Jennifer, apparently confirms it.

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COMICS-TV - From PreviewsWorld:  Gaumont has optioned the rights to produce an animated TV series based on the long-running comic book, Usagi Yojimbo.

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ANIMATION - From Variety:  Fox Animaton and Universal music an united to produce an animated film based on the music of the late world music legend, Bob Marley.

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MOVIES - From Variety:  Newly-minted Oscar nominee, James Mangold, will follow his hit film "Logan" (an X-Men) with a movie Henry Ford II's rivalry with Ferrari.

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STREAMING - From Deadline:  Amazon Studios is developing a series based on Robert E. Howard's "Conan the Cimmerian" (or Conan the Barbarian) character.

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BLM - From NYTimes:  Remembering #TrayvonMartin via Charles M. Blow's opinion piece, "The Whole System Failed Trayvon Martin.

From GuardianUK:  Why NFL player protests still matter - Kareem Abdul-Jabbar.

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SUPERBOWL - From SBNation:   Philadelphia Eagles (NFC) win Super Bowl LII 41 to 33 over the New England Patriots (AFC).

From CBSSports:  Here are the players rosters for Super Bowl LII's participants, the Philadelphia Eables and the New England Patriots.

From YahooEntertainment:  Which movie trailer won Super Bowl LII - see them all.

From EW - Celebrities react to Justin Timberlake's mediocre Super Bowl LII halftime show.

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BOX OFFICE - From BoxOfficeMojo:  The winner of the Super Bowl LII weekend box office - 2/2 to 2/4/2018 - is "Jumanji: Welcome to the Jungle" with an estimated take of $11 million.

From Deadline:  Multiple Oscar nominee, "The Darkest Hour," passes the $100 mark in global box office.

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SCANDAL - From YahooET:  Halle Berry addresses sexual harassment allegations against her former agent, Vincent Cirrincione.

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TELEVISION - From Variety:  CBS has ordered for additional drama pilots for the 2018-19 season.  One of them is a modern take on the James Ellroy's novel, "L.A. Confidential," which was previously adapted into a 1997 Oscar-winning film.

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SCANDAL - From NYTimes:  Actress Uma Thurman has a lot to say about Harvey Weinstein and about Quentin Tarantino, with whom she made three films.

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MOVIES - From GeekTyrant:  Steven Soderbergh eyes a screenplay entitled "Planet Kill" as his next film... although he is supposed to be in retirement.

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POLITICS - From HuffPost:  A graphic cartoon that shows him sniffing President Donald Trump's ass has got British TV personality Piers Morgan enraged.

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MOVIES - From THR:  Director F. Gary Gray is in talks to direct Sony Picture's "Men in Black" spinoff.  The film would focus on new characters and be a semi-reboot the way "Jurassic World" was a semi-reboot of "Jurassic Park."  The film is slate to be released June 14, 2019.

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CELEBRITY - From GQ:   A profile of actor Taylor Kitsch, who is currently starring in the Paramount Network's "Waco" miniseries.

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COMICS-FILM - From BleedingCool:  Marvel Studio's "Black Panther" will pay tribute to the late stuntman, John Bernecker, who died last year on the set of AMC's "The Walking Dead."

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CELEBRITY - From THR:  Apparently, the Los Angeles County Sheriff's Office has named actor Robert Wagner as a "person of interest" in its investigation in the "mysterious death" of his late wife, Natalie Wood, in 1981.

TRAILERS:

From YahooNews:  Here is the first teaser trailer for Sony/Marvel's "Venom" (October 5th, 2018), starring Tom Hardy.

From YouTube:  Here is the first teaser/trailer for Marvel Studios' "Ant-Man and the Wasp" which opens in theaters July 6th, 2018.

OBITS:

From IndieWire:  The actor, Reg E. Cathey, has died at the age of 59, Friday, February 9, 2018.  Cathey is best known for his roles in the television series, "The Wire" and "Oz."  He won an Emmy ("Outstanding Guest Actor in a Drama Series") for his appearances on Netflix's "House of Cards."  He also appeared as "Franklin Richards" in Fox's 2015 reboot of "The Fantastic Four."

From THR:  The actor John Mahoney has died at the age of 77, Sunday, February 4, 2018.  Mahoney is best known for playing "Martin Crane" the cantankerous father on NBC's "Frasier" (1993 to 2004).  Mahoney was also a Tony Award winner.

From RollingStone:  Soul and R&B singer, Dennis Edwards, has died at the age of 74, Friday, February 2, 2018.  Edwards was the former lead singer of seminal Motown vocal group, The Temptations, singing on classic hits, "Papa Was a Rollin' Stone" "I Can't Get Next to You."

From MSN:  Utah billionaire and philanthropist, Jon Huntsman, Sr., died at the age of 80, Friday, February 2, 2018.  The founder of Huntsman Corp, Huntsman and his family have given away more than $1.4 billion.  Huntsman, Sr. was also the father of Jon Huntsman, Jr., the former U.S. ambassador, Utah governor, and Republican presidential candidate.

Negromancer News Bits and Bites from April 16th to 22nd, 2017 - Update #27

Support Leroy on Patreon.

TELEVISION - From RSN:  Fox New replaces one old decrepit racist with two younger racists.

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MOVIES - From Variety:  Margot Robbie to play Queen Elizabeth I in the historical drama, "Mary Queen of Scots."

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SCIENCE - From RSN:  Neil deGrasse Tyson on "Science in America."

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POLITICS - From MiamiHerald:  A Florida State Senator resigns after a rant filled with racial slurs and profanity.

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CELEBRITY - From YahooMovies:  It is actor Jack Nicholson's 80th birthday, and "Superfan" lists his three most underrated Nicholson films.

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COMICS - From SideshowCollectibles:  Did you know that actor Titus Welliver (Amazon's "Bosch") is a comic book fan and toy collector?  I didn't.  Here is a video interview with the details.

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FILM FESTIVALS - From TheWrap:  Uma Thurman (Kill Bill, Pulp Fiction) will be the "Un Certain Regard" jury president at this year's Cannes Film Festival.

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TELEVISION - From IndieWire:  "The X-Files" returns for a second 10-episode season during the 2017-18 season.

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MOVIES - From ScreenDaily:  "Insidious 4" has moved from October 2017 to January 2018.

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MOVIES - From Deadline:  Clint Eastwood's next film at Warner Bros. will be based on the true story of three American friends who stopped a terrorist attack on a train to Paris.

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OBIT - From YahooMusic:  Cuba Gooding Sr., lead singer for 1970s soul group, "The Main Ingredient, died Thursday, April 20, 2017 at the age of 72.  Gooding, Sr. was also the father of Oscar-winning actor, Cuba Gooding, Jr.

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MOVIES - From THR:  Guillermo del Toro's film, "The Shape of Water," will be released December 8th, 2017 by Fox Searchlight.

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MOVIES - From Variety:  Many classic Walt Disney feature animated films are getting live-action reboots, and "Aladdin" is one of them, with Guy Ritchie as director.  Will Smith is considering giving voice to the famous character "Genie," voiced by Robin Williams in the 1992 original film.

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COMICS-FILM - From Variety:  The team of Anna Boden and Ryan Fleck will direct Marvel Studio's "Captain Marvel" with Brie Larson playing the title role.

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TELEVISION - From Variety:  21st Century Fox has fired Fox News host Bill O'Reilly from his long-running and popular cable news TV series, "The O'Reilly Factor."  "On the Record" with host Tucker Carlson will replace "The O'Reilly Factor."

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OBIT - From YahooSports:  Former NFL player, Aaron Hernandez, reportedly committed suicide inside his prison cell.  Hernandez was serving a life sentence for the 2013 murder of his friend, Odin Lloyd, at the Souza Baranowski Correctional Center in Shirley, Massachusetts.  Hernandez played tight end for the New England Patriots from 2010 to 2012.  Hernandez was 27 years old.

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COMICS-FILM - From Variety:  Depending on the source, "Guardians of the Galaxy 2" will have four or five post-credit scenes.

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TELEVISION - From IndieWire:  Some entity is developing a King Kong TV series with a female lead.

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TELEVISION - From YahooTV:  The banned-in-the-UK mockumentary "Ghost Watch" makes it to the U.S.

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MOVIES - From YahooMovies:  Meet "Carlos," the scene-stealing baby from "The Fate of the Furious."

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COMICS-FILM - From TheWrap:  James Gun will return to write and direct "Guardians of the Galaxy 3."

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BOX OFFICE - From BoxOfficeMojo:  The winner of the Easter 2017 weekend box office (4/14 to 4/16/2017) is "The Fate of the Furious" with an estimated take of $100.2 million.

From THR:  With its $190 million dollar debut, "The Fate of the Furious" has the biggest opening weekend for an American film at the Chinese box office.  That total is the second highest overall (behind the film "The Mermaid");

From Deadline:  The specialty ("art house") weekend box office goes to "The Lost City of Z" and "Norman."

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COMICS-FILM - From FlickeringMyth:  "X-Men: New Mutants" may start shooting in June 2017.

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MOVIES - From THR:  "The Hollywood Reporter" offers a trailer and a premiere date for every sequel, reboot, and remake Hollywood is offering Summer 2017.

From THR:  The week in trailers, including new Star Wars, Transformers, Kathryn Bigelow.

TRAILERS:

From Vulture:  Here is the first trailer for Marvel's "Cloak and Dagger" which will appear on Freeform (formerly Disney Family)

"Selma," "Still Alice" Win "Best Movie" Awards from Women Film Critics Circle

Editor's Note:  I forgot to post these a few weeks ago:

The Women Film Critics Circle (WFCC) is an association of women film critics, who are involved in print, radio, online and TV broadcast media.  Founded in 2004, this group is the first women critics’ organization in the United States.

The 2014 Women Film Critics Circle Award winners were announced December 13, 2014.

Women Film Critics Circle Awards 2014:

BEST MOVIE ABOUT WOMEN
Still Alice

BEST MOVIE BY A WOMAN
Selma: Ava Duvernay

BEST WOMAN STORYTELLER [Screenwriting Award]
Ida: Rebecca Lenkiewicz [Co-screenwriter]

BEST ACTRESS
Julianne Moore: Still Alice

BEST ACTOR
Eddie Redmayne: The Theory Of Everything

BEST YOUNG ACTRESS
Mira Grosin: We Are The Best

BEST COMEDIC ACTRESS
Jenny Slate: Obvious Child

BEST FOREIGN FILM BY OR ABOUT WOMEN
Two Days, One Night

BEST FEMALE IMAGES IN A MOVIE
The Hunger Games: Mockingjay, Part 1

WORST FEMALE IMAGES IN A MOVIE
Horrible Bosses 2
      
BEST MALE IMAGES IN A MOVIE 
Love Is Strange

WORST MALE IMAGES IN A MOVIE  
Dumb And Dumber To

BEST DOCUMENTARY BY OR ABOUT WOMEN
Citizenfour

BEST SCREEN COUPLE
The Skeleton Twins

BEST THEATRICALLY UNRELEASED MOVIE BY OR ABOUT WOMEN
Girlhood

BEST EQUALITY OF THE SEXES
TIE: Life Itself, The Skeleton Twins

BEST ANIMATED FEMALE
Winnie: Boxtrolls

BEST FAMILY FILM
Big Hero 6

WOMEN'S WORK/BEST ENSEMBLE
The Homesman

*SPECIAL MENTION AWARDS*

COURAGE IN FILMMAKING:
LAURA POITRAS: For bringing the Edward Snowden NSA revelations to light in Citizenfour, and driven into exile in Germany for doing so.

*ADRIENNE SHELLY AWARD: A film that most passionately opposes violence against women:
Frontera
Private Violence

*JOSEPHINE BAKER AWARD: For best expressing the woman of color experience in America:
Anita: Speaking Truth To Power

*KAREN MORLEY AWARD: For best exemplifying a woman’s place in history or society, and a courageous search for identity:
Belle

ACTING AND ACTIVISM AWARD: Rosario Dawson
For her work with The Lower East Side Girls Club; the environmental group Global Cool; the ONE Campaign; Oxfam; Amnesty International; Voto Latino; V-Day, a global non-profit movement that raises funds for women's anti-violence groups; RESPECT! Campaign, a movement aimed at preventing domestic violence; and countless other organizations.

LIFETIME ACHIEVEMENT AWARD:
Oprah Winfrey

COURAGE IN ACTING: [Taking on unconventional roles that radically redefine the images of women on screen]:
Julianne Moore: Still Alice

BEST FEMALE ACTION STAR:
Oprah Winfrey: Selma

THE INVISIBLE WOMAN AWARD: [Performance by a woman whose exceptional impact on the film dramatically, socially or historically, has been ignored]:
Felicity Jones: The Theory Of Everything

WOMAN'S RIGHT TO MALES ROLES IN MOVIES:
Jessica Chastain: Interstellar

MOMMIE DEAREST WORST SCREEN MOM OF THE YEAR AWARD:
*TIE
Charlotte Gainsbourg: Nymphomaniac
Uma Thurman: Nymphomaniac

JUST KIDDING AWARDS

*Best Female Images: Nymphomaniac

*Forty-Plus Female Empowerment Award: For the producers who give women over forty  meaningful roles in movies on a regular basis, in an industry where forty is the new  ninety-five - and as other than maniacs and witches.

*Merry Macho Award: Seth Rogen and James Franco: For advancing the cause of world peace with their presidential assassination comedy, The Interview. And who knows, while possibly mulling the  Interview II sequel comedy, the assassination of US President Obama. And for further extending  Hollywood as a wing of the US military and CIA, following leaked email revelations that the US State Department advocated Sony to use the film to help bring down the DPRK government.

BEST LINE IN A MOVIE:
Big Hero 6: 'Stop Whining. Woman Up!'

About the Special Mention Awards:
**ADRIENNE SHELLY AWARD: Adrienne Shelly was a promising actress and filmmaker who was brutally strangled in her apartment in 2006 at the age of forty by a construction worker in the building, after she complained about noise. Her killer tried to cover up his crime by hanging her from a shower rack in her bathroom, to make it look like a suicide. He later confessed that he was having a “bad day.” Shelly, who left behind a baby daughter, had just completed her film, Waitress, which she also starred in, and which was honored at Sundance after her death.

**JOSEPHINE BAKER AWARD: The daughter of a laundress and a musician, Baker overcame being born black, female and poor, and marriage at age fifteen, to become an internationally acclaimed legendary performer, starring in the films Princess Tam Tam, Moulin Rouge and Zou Zou. She also survived the race riots in East St. Louis, Illinois as a child, and later expatriated to France to escape US racism. After participating heroically in the underground French Resistance during WWII, Baker returned to the US where she was a crusader for racial equality. Her activism led to attacks against her by reporter Walter Winchell who denounced her as a communist, leading her to wage a battle against him. Baker was instrumental in ending segregation in many theaters and clubs, where she refused to perform unless integration was implemented.

**KAREN MORLEY AWARD: Karen Morley was a promising Hollywood star in the 1930s, in such films as Mata Hari and Our Daily Bread. She was driven out of Hollywood for her leftist political convictions by the Blacklist and for refusing to testify against other actors, while Robert Taylor and Sterling Hayden were informants against her.  And also for daring to have a child and become a mother, unacceptable for female stars in those days.  Morley maintained her militant political activism for the rest of her life, running for Lieutenant Governor on the American Labor Party ticket in 1954.  She passed away in 2003, unrepentant to the end, at the age of 93.

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"Selma," "Still Alice" Win Best Movie Awards from Women Film Critics Circle

The Women Film Critics Circle (WFCC) is an association of women film critics, who are involved in print, radio, online and TV broadcast media.  Founded in 2004, this group is the first women critics’ organization in the United States.

The 2014 Women Film Critics Circle Award winners were announced December 13, 2014.

Women Film Critics Circle Awards 2014:

BEST MOVIE ABOUT WOMEN
Still Alice

BEST MOVIE BY A WOMAN
Selma: Ava Duvernay

BEST WOMAN STORYTELLER [Screenwriting Award]
Ida: Rebecca Lenkiewicz [Co-screenwriter]

BEST ACTRESS
Julianne Moore: Still Alice

BEST ACTOR
Eddie Redmayne: The Theory Of Everything

BEST YOUNG ACTRESS
Mira Grosin: We Are The Best

BEST COMEDIC ACTRESS
Jenny Slate: Obvious Child

BEST FOREIGN FILM BY OR ABOUT WOMEN
Two Days, One Night

BEST FEMALE IMAGES IN A MOVIE
The Hunger Games: Mockingjay, Part 1

WORST FEMALE IMAGES IN A MOVIE
Horrible Bosses 2
      
BEST MALE IMAGES IN A MOVIE 
Love Is Strange

WORST MALE IMAGES IN A MOVIE  
Dumb And Dumber To

BEST DOCUMENTARY BY OR ABOUT WOMEN
Citizenfour

BEST SCREEN COUPLE
The Skeleton Twins

BEST THEATRICALLY UNRELEASED MOVIE BY OR ABOUT WOMEN
Girlhood

BEST EQUALITY OF THE SEXES - TIE
Life Itself
The Skeleton Twins
BEST ANIMATED FEMALE
Winnie: Boxtrolls

BEST FAMILY FILM
Big Hero 6

WOMEN'S WORK/BEST ENSEMBLE
The Homesman

*SPECIAL MENTION AWARDS*

COURAGE IN FILMMAKING:
LAURA POITRAS: For bringing the Edward Snowden NSA revelations to light in Citizenfour, and driven into exile in Germany for doing so.

*ADRIENNE SHELLY AWARD: A film that most passionately opposes violence against women:
Frontera
Private Violence

*JOSEPHINE BAKER AWARD: For best expressing the woman of color experience in America:
Anita: Speaking Truth To Power

*KAREN MORLEY AWARD: For best exemplifying a woman’s place in history or society, and a courageous search for identity:
Belle

ACTING AND ACTIVISM AWARD: Rosario Dawson
For her work with The Lower East Side Girls Club; the environmental group Global Cool; the ONE Campaign; Oxfam; Amnesty International; Voto Latino; V-Day, a global non-profit movement that raises funds for women's anti-violence groups; RESPECT! Campaign, a movement aimed at preventing domestic violence; and countless other organizations.

LIFETIME ACHIEVEMENT AWARD:
Oprah Winfrey

COURAGE IN ACTING: [Taking on unconventional roles that radically redefine the images of women on screen]:
Julianne Moore: Still Alice

BEST FEMALE ACTION STAR:
Oprah Winfrey: Selma

THE INVISIBLE WOMAN AWARD: [Performance by a woman whose exceptional impact on the film dramatically, socially or historically, has been ignored]:
Felicity Jones: The Theory Of Everything

WOMAN'S RIGHT TO MALES ROLES IN MOVIES:
Jessica Chastain: Interstellar

MOMMIE DEAREST WORST SCREEN MOM OF THE YEAR AWARD:
*TIE
Charlotte Gainsbourg: Nymphomaniac
Uma Thurman: Nymphomaniac

JUST KIDDING AWARDS

*Best Female Images: Nymphomaniac

*Forty-Plus Female Empowerment Award: For the producers who give women over forty  meaningful roles in movies on a regular basis, in an industry where forty is the new  ninety-five - and as other than maniacs and witches.

*Merry Macho Award: Seth Rogen and James Franco: For advancing the cause of world peace with their presidential assassination comedy, The Interview. And who knows, while possibly mulling the  Interview II sequel comedy, the assassination of US President Obama. And for further extending  Hollywood as a wing of the US military and CIA, following leaked email revelations that the US State Department advocated Sony to use the film to help bring down the DPRK government.

BEST LINE IN A MOVIE:
Big Hero 6: 'Stop Whining. Woman Up!'

About the Special Mention Awards:
**ADRIENNE SHELLY AWARD: Adrienne Shelly was a promising actress and filmmaker who was brutally strangled in her apartment in 2006 at the age of forty by a construction worker in the building, after she complained about noise. Her killer tried to cover up his crime by hanging her from a shower rack in her bathroom, to make it look like a suicide. He later confessed that he was having a “bad day.” Shelly, who left behind a baby daughter, had just completed her film, Waitress, which she also starred in, and which was honored at Sundance after her death.

**JOSEPHINE BAKER AWARD: The daughter of a laundress and a musician, Baker overcame being born black, female and poor, and marriage at age fifteen, to become an internationally acclaimed legendary performer, starring in the films Princess Tam Tam, Moulin Rouge and Zou Zou. She also survived the race riots in East St. Louis, Illinois as a child, and later expatriated to France to escape US racism. After participating heroically in the underground French Resistance during WWII, Baker returned to the US where she was a crusader for racial equality. Her activism led to attacks against her by reporter Walter Winchell who denounced her as a communist, leading her to wage a battle against him. Baker was instrumental in ending segregation in many theaters and clubs, where she refused to perform unless integration was implemented.

**KAREN MORLEY AWARD: Karen Morley was a promising Hollywood star in the 1930s, in such films as Mata Hari and Our Daily Bread. She was driven out of Hollywood for her leftist political convictions by the Blacklist and for refusing to testify against other actors, while Robert Taylor and Sterling Hayden were informants against her.  And also for daring to have a child and become a mother, unacceptable for female stars in those days.  Morley maintained her militant political activism for the rest of her life, running for Lieutenant Governor on the American Labor Party ticket in 1954.  She passed away in 2003, unrepentant to the end, at the age of 93.

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Review: "Paycheck" More Than Minimum Wage Film

TRASH IN MY EYE No. 108 (of 2004) by Leroy Douresseaux

Paycheck (2003)
Running time: 119 minutes (1 hour, 59 minutes)
MPAA – PG-13 for intense action violence and brief language
DIRECTOR: John Woo
WRITER: Dean Georgaris (based upon a short story by Philip K. Dick)
PRODUCERS: Terence Chang, John Davis, Michael Hackett, and John Woo
CINEMATOGRAPHER: Jeffrey L. Kimball (D.o.P.)
EDITORS: Christopher Rouse and Kevin Stitt
COMPOSERS: John Powell

SCI-FI/ACTION/THRILLER

Starring: Ben Affleck, Aaron Eckhart, Uma Thurman, Paul Giamatti, Colm Feore, Joe Morton, Michael C. Hall, and Peter Friedman

The subject of this movie review is Paycheck, a 2003 science fiction movie from director John Woo and starring Ben Affleck. The film is based on the short story, “Paycheck,” written by author Philip K. Dick and first published in the June 1953 issue of Imagination, a 1950s American science fiction and fantasy magazine. Paycheck the movie focuses on an engineer who takes what seems like an easy million-dollar payday, but ends up on the run and trying to piece together the reason why.

Michael Jennings (Ben Affleck), a brilliant reverse engineer (takes other people’s technology and works backwards to figure out what makes the tech work), takes a job from a powerful friend named Rethrick (Aaron Eckhart). The final part of each of Michael’s assignments involves his employer wiping Michael’s mind clean of the memories of his time working on a project; that’s how his employers keep what they’ve done secret.

However, Michael discovers something decidedly nasty while working on Rethrick’s project, so he mails himself a package full of goodies to help him remember his mission before Rethrick has Michael’s memory wiped. The problem is that once he wakes up from his mind wipe, he can’t remember why he needs this packet full of odds and ends, but he does learn that Rethrick wants him dead.

The writings of science fiction author Philip K. Dick, especially his short fiction, has been adapted into quite a few well-regarded films including Blade Runner, Total Recall, and Minority Report. Director John Woo’s Paycheck is the most recent adaptation, and while the film doesn’t make movie history or break new ground in cinema as the aforementioned have, Paycheck is an entertaining action thriller that doesn’t wear its sci-fi on its sleeves.

This is an old-fashioned action movie that relies on complicated and dangerous stunt work for the action sequences. It does not rely on CGI and the other computer enhancements that have become so favored since The Matrix. The film is true to what Woo does best, pure macho action built around car chases, explosions, gunfights, and fisticuffs. While Paycheck may not be as good as Woo classics like his Hong Kong work or Face/Off, the film is in that spirit.

The casting, however, isn’t great; I could think of actors who would have better fit these roles, and some of these actors weren’t given much with which to work. Still, everyone is game, and they seemed like they were into the film. They play their parts well enough to make this quite entertaining, so while Paycheck isn’t landmark science fiction, it is a fun movie to watch. It has more than enough suspense and mystery to keep the viewer intrigued. And while the chase scenes won’t keep you on the edge of the your seat all the time, they’ll get you close enough most of the time.

7 of 10
B+

NOTES:
2004 Razzie Awards: 1 win “Worst Actor” (Ben Affleck – also for Daredevil-2003 and Gigli-2003)

2010 Razzie Awards: 1 nomination: “Worst Actor of the Decade” (Ben Affleck – also for Daredevil-2003, Gigli-2003, Jersey Girl-2004, Pearl Harbor-2001, and Surviving Christmas-2004; nominated for 9 “achievements” and “winner” of 2 Razzies)

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Review: "Kill Bill: Volume 2" Gets Better with Age

TRASH IN MY EYE No. 53 (of 2004) by Leroy Douresseaux

Kill Bill: Volume 2 (2004)
Running time: 136 minutes; MPAA – R for violence, language and brief drug use
DIRECTOR: Quentin Tarantino
WRITER: Quentin Tarantino (The Bride character by Uma Thurman and Quentin Tarantino)
PRODUCER: Lawrence Bender
CINEMATOGRAPHER: Robert Richardson (D.o.P.)
EDITOR: Sally Menke
COMPOSER: Robert Rodriguez
Golden Globe nominee

CRIME/DRAMA with elements of Action, Martial Arts, and Thriller

Starring: Uma Thurman, David Carradine, Daryl Hannah, Samuel L. Jackson, Michael Madsen, Lucy Liu, Michael Parks, Jeannie Epper, Perla Haney-Jardine, Caitlin Keats, Chris Nelson, Gordon Liu, LaTanya Richardson, and Bo Svenson

The subject of this movie review is Kill Bill: Volume 2, a 2004 crime drama and martial arts film from writer/director Quentin Tarantino. It is the second of two films that were released within several months of each other. The film follows a character called “The Bride,” who is seeking revenge against her former colleagues.

In Kill Bill: Vol. 2, the sequel or second half of Quentin Tarantino’s film, Kill Bill: Volume 1, The Bride (Uma Thurman) continues her mission of revenge against her former colleagues for killing her husband-to-be and the wedding party and for shooting and leaving her for dead. Most of all, she want her old boss, Bill (David Carradine); he fired the shot in her head that was supposed to kill her. But Bill has a secret named B.B. (Perla Haney-Jardine), so will The Bride be able to handle the shock of meeting B.B.?

Where Kill Bill: Vol. 1 was a stylish martial arts movie done in lively colors with the relentlessness of a revenge movie cum video game, Kill Bill: Vol. 2 is slick, crime drama – part Western and part hard-boiled novella. There’s a movie poster for a film by the late actor, Charles Bronson, used a set piece in the film, and Vol. 2 indeed has the gall of Bronson bullet ballad. Some viewers may be put off by the jarring change of pace from the first film to the second. There are very few fight scenes in 2, and they’re quite short. Only the battle between Elle Driver/California Mountain Snake (Daryl Hannah) and The Bride has the hard-edged intensity of anything near the fisticuffs of the first film.

Still, Kill Bill: Vol. 2 is an example of virtuoso filmmaking and an expert homage to many well known American film genres. Vol. 2 isn’t anywhere near as fun to watch as the first, but for those viewers who have varied tastes in films and movies and who are familiar with many film styles and techniques, Vol. 2 will be exciting to watch. As all his films have been, Kill Bill: Vol. 2 is ultimately worth watching because director Quentin Tarantino simply does so many interesting things. He’s that know-it-all film nerd who can actually make the great film he might say no one else can make, although Kill Bill Volume 2 isn’t that exactly the great film either.

8 of 10
A

NOTES:
2005 Golden Globes, USA: 2 nominations: “Best Performance by an Actor in a Supporting Role in a Motion Picture” (David Carradine) and “Best Performance by an Actress in a Motion Picture – Drama” (Uma Thurman)

2005 Black Reel Awards: 1 nomination: “Best Original Score” (RZA)

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Review: "Kill Bill: Volume 1" is Still a Killer

TRASH IN MY EYE No. 152 (of 2003) by Leroy Douresseaux

Kill Bill: Volume 1 (2003)
Running time: 111 minutes (1 hour, 51 minutes)
MPAA – R for strong bloody violence, language and some sexual content
WRITER/DIRECTOR: Quentin Tarantino
PRODUCER: Lawrence Bender
CINEMATOGRAPHER: Robert Richardson (D.o.P.)
EDITOR: Sally Menke
COMPOSER: The RZA
BAFTA Awards nominee

ACTION/CRIME/MARTIAL ARTS/THRILLER

Starring: Uma Thurman, David Carradine, Lucy Liu, Daryl Hannah, Vivica A. Fox, Michael Madsen, Michael Parks, James Parks, Sonny Chiba, Chiaki Kuriyama, Julie Dreyfus, and Chia Hui Liu

The subject of this movie review is Kill Bill: Volume 1, a 2003 martial arts and action film from writer/director Quentin Tarantino. It is the first of two films that were released within several months of each other. The film follows a character called “The Bride,” who is seeking revenge against her former colleagues.

If there was much doubt that Quentin Tarantino could still make not just good movies, but great movies, Kill Bill: Volume 1 should dispel that doubt, unless the doubters are just being contrary. That Kill Bill is one of the most violent, if not the most violent, American films ever made is very certain. Only time will tell if Kill Bill Vol. 1 is the best American action movie ever made, but it is the best and most thrilling film since James Cameron abruptly reshaped thrills and intensity of movies with Aliens.

In the film, The Bride (Uma Thurman) awakes from a coma in which she’d been in for four years. It has been four years since her fellow assassins of the Deadly Viper Assassination Squad killed her husband and wedding party at a small church in Texas. Her boss, Bill (David Carradine), however, did the honor of shooting The Bride, showing no mercy even though she was late in her obvious pregnancy. Bill’s biggest mistake was that he didn’t kill her, and now The Bride is out to Kill Bill. Before Bill, she has scores to settle with two of her colleagues, Copperhead (Vivica A. Fox) and Cottonmouth, now known as O-Ren Ishi (Lucy Liu), and a Yakuza crime boss in Tokyo.

Tarantino reportedly shot so much footage for Kill Bill that he and the studio Miramax Films ultimately decided to divide the film into two parts. One of Tarantino’s signature techniques is to juxtapose time in his scripts, dividing his films into self-contained chapters that are complete little short stories on their own. Each chapter fits in quite well with the larger film story and embellishes it so very well.

Kill Bill isn’t so much about the story as it is about the technique of making film. Tarantino basically asks his audience to go along with this long homage to Asian cinema, in particular martial arts epics and crime films. He mixes film genres with varied visual styles of films, and in that his cinematographer Robert Richardson (an Academy Award winner for Oliver Stone’s JFK) ably assists. At times, Kill Bill is totally about what the film stock looks like – the colors, the lack of color, grittiness, glossiness, etc.

This is a film geek’s film – the kind of genre film a big fan of a particular genre would like to make as well as see, and Tarantino makes it so well. Kill Bill is a grand time. For fans of martial arts films who loved the elaborate fight scenes in movies like The Matrix and Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon, the master fight choreographer who worked on both films, Yuen Wo-Ping, worked with Tarantino on the heart-stopping and eye-popping fights in Kill Bill.

Tarantino gets the most out of all his crew. The RZA (of hip hop act Wu-Tang Clan fame) composes a brilliant, genre-crossing, ear-bending score that recalls the sounds and tunes of classic gangster, Western, martial arts, and crime cinema classics. Shout outs also go to the art and costume departments.

Kill Bill is without a doubt great cinema about cinema, and it’s excellent entertainment. By no means perfect, it does dry up on occasion and even seems a bit long. There were also too many bits obviously thrown in to accommodate the next chapter. Still, the fault lines don’t matter because Kill Bill is so damn fine. Action movie lovers and lovers of great filmmaking cannot miss this because Kill Bill Volume 1 is that proverbial good movie about which people are always complaining Hollywood doesn’t make anymore.

9 of 10
A+

NOTES:
2004 BAFTA Awards: 5 nominations: “Anthony Asquith Award for Film Music”(RZA); “Best Achievement in Special Visual Effects” (Tommy Tom, Kia Kwan, Tam Wai, Kit Leung, Hin Leung, and Jaco Wong), “Best Editing” (Sally Menke), “Best Performance by an Actress in a Leading Role” (Uma Thurman), and “Best Sound” (Michael Minkler, Myron Nettinga, Wylie Stateman, and Mark Ulano)

2004 Black Reel Awards: 1 nominee: “Best Supporting Actress” (Vivica A. Fox)

2004 Golden Globes, USA: 1 nomination: “Best Performance by an Actress in a Motion Picture – Drama” (Uma Thurman)

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Review: "Batman and Robin" or Badman and Rotten

TRASH IN MY EYE No. 81 (of 2003) by Leroy Douresseaux

Batman and Robin (1997)
Running time: 125 minutes (2 hours, 5 minutes)
MPAA – PG-13 for strong stylized action and some innuendos
DIRECTOR: Joel Schumacher
WRITER: Akiva Goldsman (based upon the Batman character created by Bob Kane and Bill Finger)
PRODUCER: Peter Macgregor-Scott
CINEMATOGRAPHER: Stephen Goldblatt (D.o.P.)
EDITORS: Mark Stevens and Dennis Virkler
COMPOSER: Elliot Goldenthal

SUPERHERO/ACTION/ADVENTURE/FAMILY

Starring: Arnold Schwarzenegger, George Clooney, Chris O’Donnell, Uma Thurman, Alicia Silverstone, Michael Gough, Pat Hingle, John Glover, Elle Macpherson, Vivica A. Fox, Coolio, Nicky Katt, and Jeep Swenson

Until there is a fourth sequel, the third sequel to the 1989 box office smash Batman, Batman and Robin will be considered the film that killed the modern Batman film franchise. It’s not as if there is nothing redeemable about this film in particular because it has some good story elements. Batman and Robin is awful simply because it is over-produced. It is as ostentatious as a lavishly decorated and spectacularly colorful Mardi Gras or drag ball.

Batman (George Clooney) and Robin (Chris O’Donnell) face the combined forces of Mr. Freeze (Arnold Schwarzenegger) and Poison Ivy (Uma Thurman). Complicating matters is a rivalry that has grown between the Dynamic Duo. Robin/Dick Grayson wants to do his own thing, and although he understands his young friend’s quest for independence, Batman/Bruce Wayne thinks the young man has a lot to learn, and that he, Bruce, is the teacher, and that the boy should listen. Poison Ivy picks up on this and plays the partners against one another. More trouble arrives in the form of Wayne Manor butler Alfred Pennyworth’s (Michael Gough) niece Barbara Wilson (Alicia Silverstone) who eventually becomes Batgirl.

Everything is overdone in this movie except for the script and the acting, both of which seem neglected. The art direction is as over-the-top sweet as high fructose corn syrup, and the costumes are high camp. Clowns wouldn’t want them, and trick-or-treaters wouldn’t be caught dead in them. The script is poor when it comes to internal logic and consistency. For example, how does Poison Ivy create that ridiculously fancy lair of hers? Where does it come from, and what’s the point of it? It’s just another over-dressed set. I could suspend disbelief if that, along with so much else, just didn’t seem…well, stupid, dumb, and tactless.

The acting is also over the top and bad. At times, Arnold Schwarzenegger seems to revert to the skill (or lack thereof) he showed in his early films. George Clooney, though earnest, is very weak as both Bruce Wayne and Batman. Batman needs to carry the movie, but Clooney struggles with poor material, and that’s made worse by the fact that he doesn’t have a grasp of what he’s supposed to do. It’s like the whole time he was running around the movie wondering just what the hell a “Batman” was. Also, it is high time to drop the use of sexual innuendo is Batman films. It’s not funny, and the dialogue is so hackneyed that these “naughty bits” fall flat when delivered by actors who are already being way too campy. I’m not saying that Batman needs to be so dark and serious, but nor should it be played as a bad joke.

However, there are good elements in the story: Mr. Freeze’s quest to save his wife, Poison Ivy’s machinations against Freeze and the Dynamic Duo, Alfred’s illness, Batman dealing with Robin’s growing pains, and the emphasis on family in the story. But it’s all tossed aside in favor of throwing tons of garish crap against the wall in hopes that something will stick; in the end, almost nothing does. The movie is almost a total failure from top to bottom, and it’s frustrating because it could have been something good. Director Joel Schumacher is not without some directorial skill and screenwriter Akiva Goldsman is one of Hollywood’s top scribes.

What we get in this movie is an overblown and wild spectacle made by people who cynically believed that enough people would pay to see this movie no matter how abysmal it was because they just have to see the next installment in the Batman franchise. And that worked to an extent, but many of their ticket buyers left as unsatisfied customers. If Warner Bros. wants to make shit, it’s no skin of my nose. There are always other action movies, always another action blast out, even if it’s from Warner’s own stable.

2 of 10
D

NOTES:
1998 Razzie Awards: 1 win: “Worst Supporting Actress” (Alicia Silverstone); 10 nominations: “Worst Picture” (Peter Macgregor-Scott), “Worst Director” (Joel Schumacher), “Worst Original Song” (Billy Corgan for the song "The End is The Beginning is The End"), “Worst Reckless Disregard for Human Life and Public Property,” “Worst Remake or Sequel,” “Worst Screen Couple” (George Clooney and Chris O'Donnell), “Worst Screenplay” (Akiva Goldsman), “Worst Supporting Actor” (Chris O'Donnell), “Worst Supporting Actor” (Arnold Schwarzenegger), and “Worst Supporting Actress” (Uma Thurman)

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"Be Cool" Never Heats Up

TRASH IN MY EYE No. 33 (of 2005) by Leroy Douresseaux


Be Cool (2005)
Running time: 114 minutes (1 hour, 54 minutes)
MPAA – PG-13 for violence, sensuality, and language including sexual references
DIRECTOR: F. Gary Gray
WRITER: Peter Steinfeld (from the novel by Elmore Leonard)
PRODUCERS: Danny DeVito, David Nicksay, Michael Shamberg, and Stacey Sher
CINEMATOGRAPHER: Jeffrey L. Kimball
EDITOR: Sheldon Kahn

CRIME/COMEDY

Starring: John Travolta, Uma Thurman, Vince Vaughn, Cedric the Entertainer, André (3000) Benjamin, Steven Tyler, Christina Milian, Harvey Keitel, Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson, Paul Adelstein, Danny DeVito, Robert Pastorelli, James Woods, and Debi Mazar with Joe Perry and Aerosmith, The Black Eye Peas with Sergio Mendes, The RZA, Kobe Bryant, and Seth Green

Be Cool is a 2005 crime comedy and is also a sequel to the 1995 film, Get Shorty. It is adapted from the 1999 novel of the same name by Elmore Leonard.

Ten years after Get Shorty, the sequel, Be Cool, shows up at theatres. Both films are based upon novels by Elmore Leonard, whose books have long been a source of film materials for Hollywood. Be Cool is not as witty and as sharp as Get Shorty, but it certainly tries to be the same blunt comic crime caper that the latter was. It has the characters, the cast, and some truly sidesplitting comedy, but ultimately, a faulty script and clunky directing mar a film that was so close to being a really fine crime comedy.

Chili Palmer (John Travolta), the Miami-based shylock who came to Hollywood and charmed and bullied his way into filmmaking, is now tired of the movie business. He’s interested in music, and when Tommy Athens (James Woods), a friend who owns a record label, is murdered by Russian mobsters before Chili’s eyes, that homicide opens the door for him. Chili meets Linda Moon (Christina Milian), a struggling singer stuck with a wannabe Negro named Raji (Vince Vaughn) for a manager. Chili, in his usual way, relieves Raji of Linda’s contract with him, and becomes her new manager.

Chili makes his next connection with Tommy’s widow, Edie Athens (Uma Thurman), who after some convincing is ready to take on Chili and Linda. However, there is the issue of Linda contract with Raji, and Raji’s partner, Nick Carr (Harvey Keitel) who isn’t crazy about letting go off a potential star. Edie also has another big problem: Tommy owed $300,000 to Sin LaSalle (Cedric Entertainer), a very successful, but violently inclined record producer. Raji, Nick, and Sin all see Chili as their problem; as they angle towards him, he’ll try to make Linda a star, woo Edie, and get his way, always dealing with violence and pressure by his motto, be cool.

There are probably a lot more belly laughs in Be Cool than Get Shorty, and that makes it worth seeing. The cast is littered with star turns and novel and hilarious supporting performances, especially Vaughn as Raji and The Rock as his gay, wannabe actor bodyguard, Elliot Wilhelm. Christina Milian holds her own; she works in this movie because her confidence makes her come across as a fine singer and actress, even if there might be stronger singing voices and better young actresses than her.

Travolta reportedly suggested Uma Thurman as his leading lady for Be Cool because they could recapture their screen chemistry from Pulp Fiction, which restarted Travolta’s career and boosted Ms. Thurman’s, but they don’t. Yes, a rapport and friendliness exist between them, but they are sluggish here. Travolta is Chili Palmer, but he’s on automatic here, older and heavier. Even Thurman looks strained, only managing about half the time to have the perkiness, determination, and raw magnetism that show themselves in her collaborations with Quentin Tarantino.

The lion’s share of the blame from this go to writer Paul Steinfeld and director F. Gary Gray. They never seem to be able to integrate the music business element into this plot (after all it’s about Chili getting in the music business), and the film’s musical numbers (except the Aerosmith/Christina Milian performance) and music videos ring hollow. This is a gangster film with laughs, lots of them, but these hilarious and likeable characters don’t seem to be in music because the music industry isn’t in this film the way the movie business was clearly and strongly a part of Get Shorty. Still, Travolta, Ms. Thurman, and a supporting cast of wacky players make this a crime comedy worth seeing, even if you can’t make it to the theatre.

5 of 10
B-

Studio Ghibli's "Nausicaa" and "Earthsea" Anime Due on DVD in March

On March 8th, Studio Ghibli's TALES FROM EARTHSEA (DVD only) and NAUSICAA OF THE VALLEY OF THE WIND (Blu-ray + DVD Combo Pack) will be available to bring home.

Goro Miyazaki's directorial debut, Tales from Earthsea, features exquisite hand-drawn animation and the vocal talents of Timothy Dalton, Willem Dafoe, Cheech Marin, and Mariska Hargitay. Bonus material includes a behind-the-scenes look at the studio and Studio Ghibli Trivia Challenge.

Nausicaa of Valley of the Wind launched the Academy Award-winning career of famed director Hayao Miyazaki! This stunning animated tale features the voices of Uma Thurman, Shia LeBeouf, and Patrick Stewart. Bonus features include a behind-the-scenes look into the recording booth and the birth story of Studio Ghibli.

Nausicca Film Synopsis: For the first time ever, the magic of Blu-ray™ high definition reveals the exquisite details in Hayao Miyazaki’s epic masterpiece, Nausicaä Of The Valley Of The Wind. Experience the film that launched the Academy Award–winning career (2002 for best animated feature, Spirited Away) of one of the most celebrated filmmakers in the history of animation.

After a global war, the seaside kingdom known as the Valley Of The Wind remains one of the last strongholds on Earth untouched by a poisonous jungle and the powerful insects that guard it. Led by the courageous Princess Nausicaä, the people of the Valley engage in an epic struggle to restore the bond between humanity and Earth.

Like Hayao Miyazaki’s Spirited Away and Ponyo, Nausicaä Of The Valley Of The Wind will dazzle your senses with its intricately imagined storytelling and stunning animation.

U.S. Release Date: March 8, 2011
(Direct Prebook January 11, 2011/ Distributor Prebook January 25, 2011)
Rating: US-PG; Canada-PG
Feature Run Time: Approximately 118-minutes
Release Format: Blu-ray Combo Pack (Blu-ray Disc™ + DVD)
Suggested Retail Pricing: 2-Disc Blu-ray Combo Pack (BD+DVD) = $39.99 U.S./$44.99 Canada
Exclusive Blu-ray Bonus World of Ghibli including
Features: Behind the Studio
Enter the Lands
Studio Ghibli Trivia Challenge
Original Japanese storyboards
General Blu-ray & DVD Behind the Microphone
Bonus Features: The Birth Story of Studio Ghibli
Original TV trailers

Talent/Cast: Uma Thurman (Kill Bill: Vol 1, Kill Bill: Vol 2, Pulp Fiction, Gattaca), Shia LeBeouf (Wall Street: Money Never Sleeps, Tranformers, Surf’s Up), and Patrick Stewart (Gnomeo & Juliet, Bambi II, Chicken Little)

Director: Hayao Miyazaki (Ponyo, Spirited Away, Princess Mononoke)
Producers: Michio Kondô (Nausiacaä and the Valley of the Wind)
Isao Takahata (Castle in the Sky, Nausiacaä and the Valley of the Wind)
Yasuyoshi Tokuma (Spirited Away, Pulse, Ritual)

Tales from Earthsea:
Film Synopsis: From Disney and Studio Ghibli comes the epic animated adventure Tales From Earthsea, directed by Goro Miyazaki, and featuring the voices of Timothy Dalton, Willem Dafoe, Cheech Marin, and Mariska Hargitay.

Based on the classic “Earthsea” fantasy book series by Ursula Le Guin, Tales from Earthsea is set in a mythical world filled with magic and bewitchment. Journey with Lord Archmage Sparrowhawk, a master wizard, and Arren, a troubled young prince, on a tale of redemption and self-discovery as they search for the force behind a mysterious imbalance in the land of Earthsea; crops are dwindling,dragons have reappeared, and humanity is giving way to chaos.

Featuring a timeless story and magnificent hand-drawn animation, Tales From Earthsea is must-have DVD for every film enthusiast’s collection.

U.S. Release Date: March 8, 2011
(Direct Prebook January 11, 2011/Distributor Prebook January 25, 2011)
Feature Run Time: Approximately 115-minutes
Release Format: DVD
Suggested Retail Pricing: 1-Disc DVD = $29.99 U.S./$35.99 Canada
DVD The World of Ghibli including:
Bonus Features: Behind the Studio
Enter The Lands
Studio Ghibli Trivia Challenge

Talent/Cast: Timothy Dalton (Toy Story 3, The Tourist, The Informant), Willem Dafoe (John Carter of Mars, Fantastic Mr. Fox, Spider Man), Cheech Marin (Cars, Beverly Hills Chihuahua, Spy Kids), and Mariska Hargitay (TV’s Law & Order: Special Victims Unit, Law & Order)

Director: Goro Miyazaki (directorial debut)
Producers: Toshio Suzuki (Howl’s Moving Castle, Spirited Away, Princess Mononoke)

"Review: The Lightning Thief" a Bad Start for Percy Jackson Films

TRASH IN MY EYE No. 60 (of 2010) by Leroy Douresseaux

Percy Jackson & the Olympians: The Lightning Thief (2010)
Running time: 118 minutes (1 hour, 58 minutes)
MPAA – PG for action violence and peril, some scary images and suggestive material, and mild language
DIRECTOR: Chris Columbus
WRITER: Craig Titley (based upon the novel by Rick Riordan)
PRODUCERS: Michael Barnathan, Chris Columbus, Mark Morgan, Guy Oseary, Mark Radcliffe, and Karen Rosenfelt
CINEMATOGRAPHER: Stephen Goldblatt
EDITOR: Peter Honess
COMPOSER: Christophe Beck

FANTASY/ACTION/ADVENTURE

Starring: Logan Lerman, Brandon T. Jackson, Alexandra Daddario, Jake Abel, Sean Bean, Pierce Brosnan, Steve Coogan, Rosario Dawson, Catherine Keener, Kevin McKidd, Joe Pantoliano, and Uma Thurman

Percy Jackson is a fictional character and the star of the book series, Percy Jackson & the Olympians from author Rick Riordan. Percy is a demigod, the child of a god and a human. Perseus “Percy” Jackson’s father is Poseidon, the Greek god of the sea, and his mother is Sally Jackson, a mortal. The movie Percy Jackson & and the Olympians: The Lightning Thief is based on the first novel in the series, The Lightning Thief (2005)

Seventeen-year-old Percy Jackson (Logan Lerman) lives with his mother Sally Jackson (Catherine Keener) and his obnoxious, smelly stepfather, Gabe Ugliano (Joe Pantoliano), but he is clueless about who he really is. That’s about to change, because a war is brewing among the gods of Olympus. The master bolt, the lightning bolt that Zeus (Sean Bean) uses to create other lightning, has been stolen. Zeus believes the lightning thief is the son of his brother, Poseidon (Kevin McKidd), none other than Percy Jackson.

Meanwhile, Percy has the truth about his origins forced upon him. He is a demigod and even his best friend, Grover Underwood (Brandon T. Jackson), is a satyr and his protector. Percy immediately leaves his old life behind to attend Camp Half-Blood, a training camp for demigods. There, he meets other children of the gods, including the furious fighter, Annabeth Chase (Alexandra Daddario), the daughter of the goddess Athena. When Hades (Steve Coogan), the brother of Zeus and Poseidon, kidnaps Sally in order to force Percy to give him the bolt, Percy, Gabe, and Annabeth begin a quest to Underworld to rescue Percy’s mother. But they must also find the lightning thief before a war of the gods destroys the world.

Obviously, Percy Jackson stands in the shadowy of that other star of children’s fantasy literature, Harry Potter. Although Percy Jackson & the Olympians: The Lightning Thief is directed by Chris Columbus, the man who directed the first two Harry Potter films and produced the third, this is no Harry Potter movie.

Percy Jackson & the Olympians: The Lightning Thief just doesn’t match the quality of a Harry Potter movie, and it doesn’t even offer a great villain like Potter’s enemy, You-Know-Who. Even if I didn’t compare this Percy Jackson movie to a Harry Potter movie, Percy would still be judged as a mediocre film. The action scenes are quite entertaining, but when the film isn’t offering action, for instance, when the story focuses on character drama, it is a disaster.

The acting is acceptable, but unspectacular, and Brandon T. Jackson as the satyr Grover certainly tries to bring some levity to this stiff special effects-heavy fantasy – with, at best, mixed results. A cool sequence with Uma Thurman, however, is this movie’s best moment and is worth seeing even if you avoid the rest of the movie. Percy Jackson & the Olympians: The Lightning Thief isn’t bad. It’s just another passable fantasy film aimed at children and their parents.

5 of 10
C+

Tuesday, August 03, 2010

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