Showing posts with label Warner Bros. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Warner Bros. Show all posts

Sunday, March 17, 2024

Review: "KONG: SKULL ISLAND" is a Monster Movie Paradise

TRASH IN MY EYE No. 14 of 2024 (No. 1958) by Leroy Douresseaux

Kong: Skull Island (2017)
Running time: 118 minutes (1 hour, 58 minutes)
MPAA – PG-13 for intense sequences of sci-fi violence and action, and for brief strong language
DIRECTOR:  Jordan Vogt-Roberts
WRITERS:  Max Borenstein, Dan Gilroy, and Derek Connolly; from a story by John Gatins
PRODUCERS:  Jon Jashni, Mary Parent, Thomas Tull, and Alex Garcia
CINEMATOGRAPHER:  Larry Fong (D.o.P.)
EDITOR:  Richard Pearson
COMPOSER:  Henry Jackman
Academy Award nominee

ADVENTURE/HISTORICAL/HORROR and MILITARY/SCI-FI

Starring:  Tom Hiddleston, Samuel L. Jackson, Brie Larson, John C. Reilly, John Goodman, Corey Hawkins, John Ortiz, Tian Jing, Toby Kebbell, Jason Mitchell, Shea Whigham, Thomas Mann, Eugene Cordero, Marc Evan Jackson, Terry Notary, and Richard Jenkins

Kong: Skull Island is a 2017 monster movie, sci-fi military, and period, adventure film directed by Jordan Vogt-Roberts.  It is a reboot of the King Kong film franchise and is also the second film in the “MonsterVerse” film series following 2014's Godzilla.  Set at the end of the Vietnam war, Kong: Skull Island focuses on a group of military personnel and civilian scientists who must fight to escape an uncharted island full of giant monsters that includes the island's king, the mighty Kong.

Kong: Skull Island introduces Bill Randa (John Goodman), the head of the U.S. government organization, “Monarch.”  It is 1973, and the U.S. is ending its mission in Vietnam.  Randa fears his time is running out to launch a mission to a recently discovered island that has long been shrouded in mystery and legend, “Skull Island.”

He convinces a U.S. senator to fund an expedition to the island, and subsequently recruits a U.S. Army unit commanded by Lieutenant Colonel Packard (Samuel L. Jackson) to accompany him.  Also on the mission are recent Monarch recruits, geologist Houston Brooks (Corey Hawkins) and biologist San Lin (Tian Jing).  Randa also hires James Conrad (Tom Hiddleston), a former British Special Air Service Captain, as a hunter-tracker for this expedition.  Mason Weaver (Brie Larson), an “anti-war” photographer, forces her way onto the expedition.

The expedition begins with thirteen U.S. army helicopters penetrating the fearsome storms that surround Skull Island.  Randa and Brooks told Packard that they wanted to map the island by dropping seismic explosives, and shortly after arriving on the island, Packard's men begin dropping the explosives, which does help to map the island.  The explosions also draw the attention of a giant ape, which promptly attacks the helicopters.  Soon, the expedition is divided into two groups of survivors.  One is led by Packard who wants revenge against the giant ape, and the other by Conrad who wants to reach a rendezvous point where they will be rescued.  The giant ape, however, is “Kong,” king of Skull Island, and he isn't the only deadly, giant monster on the island.

The “MonsterVerse” is an American multimedia franchise that includes movies; a streaming live-action television series (Apple TV+) and a streaming animated series (Netflix); books and comic books; and video games.  It is a shared fictional universe that includes the character, “Godzilla” and other characters owned and created by the Japanese entertainment company, Toho Co., Ltd.  The MonsterVerse is a reboot of Toho's Godzilla franchise.  It is also a reboot of the King Kong film franchise, which is based on the character, “King Kong,” that was created by actor and filmmaker, Merian C. Cooper (1893-1973).

The fifth film in the MonsterVerse series, Godzilla x Kong: The New Empire, is due to be released sometime in March, so I have decided to watch and review the previous four films:  2014's Godzilla, 2017's Kong: Skull Island (which is the subject of this review), Godzilla: King of the Monsters (2019), and Godzilla vs. Kong (2021).  I have previously seen Godzilla and Kong: Skull Island, but only recently made attempts to review them.

Kong: Skull Island is proudly both a monster movie and a King Kong movie.  Like Peter Jackson's 2005 film, King Kong (Universal Pictures), Kong: Skull Island digs into its “lost world” pulp fiction and pre-Code horror movie roots.  Kong is as King Kong as any other cinematic version of the character, and the result is an exhilarating film that is fun to watch even after repeated viewings.  Most books about writing fiction and screenplays will emphasize that the characters should drive the narrative, but Kong: Skull Island's narrative is driven by its plot, by its other-worldly setting, and especially by its monstrous gods and god-like monsters.

There are quite a few interesting characters in the film.  Samuel L. Jackson makes the most of his Lt. Col. Packard, who is driven crazy by his insane mission to kill Kong as a salve for his bitterness about the end of the American misadventure in Vietnam.  John C. Reilly once again displays his tremendous character actor chops as the lost-in-time, U.S. Army Air Force Lt. Hank Marlow.  Tom Hiddleston is a good heroic lead as James Conrad in a film in which the human hero is not the film's most important character.  Brie Larson also shows off her acting skills by chopping out some space for his character, Mason Weaver.

However, the characters are just pawns in the film's plot, which involves surviving Skull Island's various monsters and advancing to the rendezvous point.  The setting of Kong: Skull Island is a lost world Eden that is part tropical paradise and part jungle horror, an environment in which the most beautiful place is the most dangerous.  The amazing things to see on this island are its deadly denizens, which includes gargantuan spiders, man-snatching carnivorous birds, and seemingly unstoppable lizards that are literally nothing more than perfectly designed death machines.  I would be remiss if I didn't mention the practically mute human natives of Skull Island with their dazzling array of face and body painting and eclectic costumes.

At the center of Kong: Skull Island is the film's most important character and element, Kong, himself.  He is a thing of beauty, the best special effect in a movie favored with enough impressive CGI to have earned itself an Oscar nomination for “Best Achievement in Visual Effects.”  Kong's introduction into the story, a breathtaking display of fight choreography pitting him against a squadron of military helicopters, is as good as the best fight scenes audiences will find in the top superhero movies.  Whatever glitches in the overall narrative and character development Kong: Skull Island has, Kong's introduction glosses over.  Kong is made king again in Kong: Skull Island, and that is why it is a damn shame that there is not a Kong: Skull Island 2.

[This film has an extra scene at the end of the credits.]

A-
7 of 10
★★★½ out of 4 stars

Sunday, March 17, 2024


NOTES:
2018 Academy Awards, USA:  1 nomination: “Best Achievement in Visual Effects” (Stephen Rosenbaum, Jeff White, Scott Benza, and Michael Meinardus)


The text is copyright © 2024 Leroy Douresseaux. All Rights Reserved.  Contact this blog or site for reprint and syndication rights and fees.

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Saturday, February 24, 2024

Review: "MEG 2: THE TRENCH" is Truly Megilicious

TRASH IN MY EYE No. 13 of 2024 (No. 1957) by Leroy Douresseaux

Meg 2: The Trench (2023)
Running time:  116 minutes (1 hour, 56 minutes)
MPA – PG-13 for action/violence, some bloody images, language and brief suggestive material
DIRECTOR:  Ben Wheatley
WRITERS:  Dean Georgaris and Jon Hoeber & Erich Hoeber; from a screen story by Dean Georgaris and Jon Hoeber & Erich Hoeber (based on the novel by Steve Alten)
PRODUCERS:  Belle Avery and Lorenzo di Bonaventura
CINEMATOGRAPHER:  Haris Zambarloukos (D.o.P.)
EDITOR:  Jonathan Amos
COMPOSER:  Harry Gregson-Williams

SCI-FI/HORROR/ACTION

Starring:  Jason Statham, Jing Wu, Cliff Curtis, Sophia Cai, Page Kennedy, Sergio Peris Mencheta, Skyler Samuels, Melissanthi Mahut, Whoopie Van Raam, Kiran Sonia Sawar, Felix Mayr, Ivy Tsui, and Sienna Guillory

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SUMMARY OF THE REVIEW:

Meg 2: The Trench offers the same fun as the original film, The Meg (2018), but with all new monsters, villains, and action.

Jason Statham's Jonas Taylor does not dominate the new film as he did in the first, but Statham is still at his action-movie best.

I like Meg 2: The Trench enough that I want a third film... as soon as possible.

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Meg 2: The Trench is a 2023 science fiction, horror, and action film directed by Ben Wheatley and starring Jason Statham.  The movie is a direct sequel to the 2018 film, The MegMeg 2: The Trench finds a research team fending off giant sharks and also the murderous criminals behind a malevolent mining operation in some of the greatest depths of “the Trench.”

Meg 2: The Trench opens several years after the events of the first film.  Jonas Taylor (Jason Statham), the diver who specializes in deep sea search and rescue, has been involved in fighting environmental crimes on the ocean.  He is also helping the underwater research facility, Mana One, in exploring a further deep part of the Mariana Trench where the Megalodon of the original film was discovered.

Following the death of Suyin Zhang (which is not show onscreen), Jonas has been raising her teenage daughter, now 14-year-old Meiying (Sophia Cai), alongside her uncle and Suyin's brother, Jiuming Zhang (Jing Wu).  Jiuming has acquired his father's company, X-Pletandum Technologies, alongside wealthy financier, Hillary Driscoll (Sienna Guillory).  Jiuming has also been studying an 80 ft (24 m) female Meg called Haiqi, who was discovered as a pup and trained by Jiuming, but who has been acting erratically of late.

Jonas returns to Mana One where he and the survivors of the first Meg disaster, Mac (Cliff Curtis), Mana One operations manager, and DJ (Page Kennedy), a Mana One engineer, join Jiuming's latest project.  He wants to explore more of the Mariana Trench, unaware that here are more Megs and also now human danger with which to contend.  Can Jonas save the day, again?

The first film, The Meg, is loosely based on Steve Alten's 1997 novel, Meg: A Novel of Deep Terror.  Meg 2: The Trench is based on Alten's 1999 novel, The Trench, one of six sequels to the original novel, with a seventh due in 2024 or 2025.  I have enjoyed the two films so much that I am considering reading, at least, some of the novels.

I gave The Meg a grade of “C+,” but in the years since I first saw it, I have come to love it.  It is one of my favorite films, and now I would give it a “B+.”  Meg 2: The Trench starts off slowly, but the film really kicks into gear when the story returns to Mana One, the central setting of the first film.  The Trench is not a retread, as most of the action set pieces are new.  There are a few references to the first film, but the writers of the original film return to offer new jump-scares, new monsters, and an added number of awful humans.

Meg 2: The Trench gives Jason Statham's Jonas Taylor the chance to show off his martial art fighting skills, which he did not do in the first film.  In fact, one of the other returning characters gets to kick some butt, and the sequel actually gives several characters their own set pieces so that they can shine.

Meg 2 isn't great cinema, but it is a great time at the movies.  It is upgraded, campy monster movie fun that will have you swept up, dear readers, if you are willing to be swept up.  I had a blast watching it, and I heartily recommend it to fans of the first film.  Meg 2: The Trench makes me hope we get to see more Megs and more Trench in a third film.

B+
7 out of 10
★★★½ out of 4 stars


The text is copyright © 2024 Leroy Douresseaux. All Rights Reserved. Contact this blog or site for reprint and syndication rights and fees.

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Saturday, February 10, 2024

Review: "GODZILLA" 2014 is Still Awesome

TRASH IN MY EYE No. 7 of 2024 (No. 1951) by Leroy Douresseaux

Godzilla (2014)
Running time: 123 minutes (2 hours, three minutes)
MPAA – PG-13 for intense sequences of destruction, mayhem and creature violence
DIRECTOR:  Gareth Edwards
WRITERS:  Max Borenstein; from a story by Dave Callaham
PRODUCERS:  Jon Jashni, Mary Parent, Brian Rogers, and Thomas Tull
CINEMATOGRAPHER:  Seamus McGarvey (D.o.P.)
EDITOR:  Bob Ducsay
COMPOSER:  Alexandre Desplat

SCI-FI/ACTION/MILITARY/THRILLER

Starring:  Aaron Taylor-Johnson, Elizabeth Olsen, Bryan Cranston, Ken Watanabe, Carson Bolde, Sally Hawkins, Juliette Binoche, David Strathairn, Richard T. Jones, and Victor Rasuk

Godzilla is a 2014 science fiction-monster film and military thriller directed by Gareth Edwards.  Produced by Legendary Pictures and distributed by Warner Bros. Pictures, the movie was the first in the “MonsterVerse” film series, and it is a reboot of Toho Co., Ltd.'s Godzilla film franchise.  Godzilla 2014 focuses on the reappearance of monstrous creatures that have the power to destroy human civilization, but one of them may be humanity's only hope for survival.

Godzilla opens in 1999Dr. Ishiro Serizawa (Ken Watanabe) and Vivienne Graham (Sally Hawkins), two scientists from “Project Monarch,” are investigating the skeleton of a monstrous creature that was unearthed in the Philippines.  Meanwhile, in Janjira, Japan, Joe Brody (Bryan Cranston), the supervisor at the Janjira Nuclear Power Plant, prepares for another day of work with his wife, Sandra Brody (Juliette Binoche).  Something odd has been happening in and around the power plant, and before the day is over, the plant will collapse due to what seems to be an earthquake.  It is an incident that will leave Joe Brody broken and haunted.

Fifteen years later, Lt. Ford Brody (Aaron Taylor-Johnson) is a U.S. Navy EOD officer (United States Navy Explosive Ordinance Disposal).  The son of Joe and Sandra, Ford has moved on with his life and is now on-leave in San Francisco with his wife, Elle Brody (Elizabeth Olsen), a nurse, and their son, Sam (Carson Bolde).  However, Ford is forced to return to Japan when he learns that his father has been detained for trespassing in Janjira's quarantine zone (Q zone).  Joe is determined to find the cause of the meltdown 15 years ago at the Janjira power plant.  Ford thinks his father is crazy and does not believe anything he tells him.

However, what Ford is about to witness will introduce him to the world of the MUTO (massive unidentified terrestrial organism).  One such MUTO has the power to disrupt human civilization by emitting an intense electromagnetic pulse (EMP), and now, it's headed for the United States.  Monarch's Dr. Serizawa believes that the only thing that can stop the MUTO is an ancient alpha predator he calls “Gojira.”  But Gojira is also a MUTO...

The “MonsterVerse” is an American multimedia franchise that includes movies; a streaming live-action television series (Apple TV+) and a streaming animated series (Netflix); books and comic books; and video games.  It is a shared fictional universe that includes the character, “Godzilla” and other characters owned and created by the Japanese entertainment company, Toho Co., Ltd.  The MonsterVerse is a reboot of Toho's Godzilla franchise.  It is also a reboot of the King Kong franchise, which is based on the character, “King Kong,” that was created by actor and filmmaker, Merian C. Cooper (1893-1973).

The fifth film in the MonsterVerse series, Godzilla x Kong: The New Empire, is due to be released sometime in March, so I have decided to watch and review the previous four films:  Godzilla (which is the subject of this review), Kong: Skull Island (2017), Godzilla: King of the Monsters (2019), and Godzilla vs. Kong (2021).  I have previously seen Godzilla and Kong: Skull Island, but I have not previously reviewed them.

I watched parts of Godzilla 2014 more times than I can remember over the last decade.  It is a fascinating American “kaiju” film.  “Kaiju” is a Japanese sub-genre of science fiction that features giants monsters, and the term can also be used to refer to the giant monsters themselves.  Godzilla 2014 is very well directed by Englishmen, Gareth Edwards, who first came to notice because of his excellent 2010 film, Monsters, and later gained notoriety as the director of Rogue One: A Star Wars Story (2016).  Edwards is a natural when it comes to big monsters and big monster conspiracies and threats.

The film includes some good performances, although Bryan Cranston is the real standout with his intense, heartbreaking turn as Joe Brody.  Elisabeth Olsen as Elle Brody is sidelined and wasted, and Aaron Taylor-Johnson gamely plays Lt. Ford Brody as the film's ostensible lead, who is more dragged along by the film's action than leading it.

What makes this modern Godzilla film exceptional to me is the work of the technicians, artisans, and crew that don't always get credit for making a film work.  Godzilla's camera work, the lighting, the film editing, the film score, the visual effects, the sound editing and mixing combine to create a film that is successful in what it conveys.  What this film is pushing to us is a deep and abiding sense of mystery.  It is in the shadows that hides the monsters and incredible battles.  It is in the mood altering and heartbeat pacing score by the great Alexandre Desplat.

The mystery is in the sound and in the silence.  It is in the flitting light and frequent flares and in the subtle film editing that hides itself while controlling the film's pace and mood.  Godzilla's technical skill is the art of cinematic craftsmanship coming together, and that is best exemplified in the beautiful, breathtaking “Halo drop” sequence.

Godzilla's sense of mystery keeps the film from coming across like lowbrow, popcorn entertainment, which was the fate of director Roland Emmerich's 1998 film, Godzilla.  Godzilla 2014's characters are in the dark almost as much as the audience is.  By maintaining a sense of mystery, the film's narrative could convince me that humanity may be on the precipice of extinction, and it did.  I highly recommend the MonsterVerse Godzilla, and I'll keep watching it.

A
8 of 10
★★★★ out of 4 stars

Saturday, February 10, 2024


The text is copyright © 2024 Leroy Douresseaux. All Rights Reserved.  Contact this blog or site for reprint and syndication rights and fees.

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Thursday, January 11, 2024

Review: "SALTBURN" is not Salty, nor Does it Burn

TRASH IN MY EYE No. 1 of 2024 (No. 1945) by Leroy Douresseaux

Saltburn (2023)
Running time: 131 minutes (2 hours, 11 minutes)
MPA – R for strong sexual content, graphic nudity, language throughout, some disturbing violent content, and drug use.
WRITER/DIRECTOR:  Emerald Fennell
PRODUCERS:  Emerald Fennell, Josey McNamara, and Margot Robbie
CINEMATOGRAPHER:  Linus Sandgren (D.o.P.)
EDITOR:  Victoria Boydell
COMPOSER:  Anthony Willis

DRAMA/COMEDY

Starring:  Barry Keoghan, Jacob Elordi, Rosamund Pike, Richard E. Grant, Archie Madekwe, Alison Oliver, Sadie Soverall, Paul Rhys, and Carey Mulligan

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REVIEW SUMMARY:
-- The new film from the writer-director of Emerald Fennell has an intriguing premise and is actually intriguing for about its first hour.

-- Their are few good performances, particularly by Jacob Elordi, Rosamund Pike, and Archie Madekwe. Sadly, the movie focuses on its least interesting character, Oliver Quick, played by one of the hottest dull actors around, Barry Keoghan.

-- Saltburn is mainly for adventurous movie fans. Viewers looking to be entertained may want to look for a movie that is less stiff.

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Saltburn is a 2023 psychological drama and black comedy from writer-director Emerald Fennell.  The film follows a new student at Oxford University who is drawn into the world of a charming and aristocratic classmate, which leads to a tragic summer at the classmate's family's sprawling estate.

Saltburn  introduces Oliver Quick (Barry Keoghan), a scholarship student at Oxford University.  Oliver struggles to fit in due to his inexperience with upper-class manners and deportment.  However, one of Oliver's fellow students does capture his imagination, Felix Catton (Jacob Elordi), an affluent and popular student.  It turns out that Felix is empathetic to Oliver and his stories of his parents' substance abuse and mental health issues.

After Oliver becomes distraught when he learns of his father's sudden death, Felix comforts him.  Later, Felix invites Oliver to spend the summer at his family's sprawling estate, Saltburn.  Oliver meets Felix's eccentric parents, his father, Sir James Catton (Richard E. Grant), and his mother, Lady Elspeth Catton (Rosamund Pike).  He also meets Felix's kooky and lewd sister, Venetia (Alison Oliver).  Also staying at the state is fellow Oxford student and Felix's first cousin, Farleigh Start (Archie Madekwe), who thinks very little of Oliver.  As the summer wears on, however, these unlikable people become too self-absorbed to recognize the danger so very near to them.

I was a huge fan of Saltburn writer-director Emerald Fennell's 2020, Promising Young Woman, for which Fennell won a “Best Original Screenplay” Oscar.  Promising Young Woman was a shocking, funny, vindictive, and righteous film, and which is much more than I can say about Saltburn, which looks like a sumptuous period drama.  On the other hand, for all its good looks, Saltburn is sterile as a black comedy.

I can deal with a film that focuses on unlikable people, which Saltburn does.  Still, I found Saltburn's lead actor, Barry Keoghan, and his character, Oliver Quick, dull and unimaginative.  I don't get Keoghan's critical acclaim.  He was pitiful and sad in The Banshees of Inisherin (2020), which earned him a “Best Supporting Actor” Oscar nomination.  However, sad, silent waif characters bore me, and Keoghan's Oliver Quick is duller than his Dominic Kearney was in Banshees.  Here, Keoghan's personality-free performance in this film does not convince me that Oliver is what the film's final act suggests he is.  Honestly, what Fennell offers here is nothing more than a riff on novelist Patricia Highsmith's literary character, "Tom Ripley," if Ripley were played as a character that was stuffed and mounted.  Also, I must admit to often mistaking Keoghan for another milky white boy actor, Ezra Miller (The Flash), who did the pale, waif thing really well until his... secrets came out.

I like Jacob Elordi as Felix Catton, a funny and charming character, and Elordi's boyish, white boy looks should give him at least a few years in Hollywood as a “hot thing.”  The film's best performance is given by Archie Madekwe, the Black British actor who creates Saltburn's most intriguing character.  As the “mixed-race” Farleigh Start, Madekwe is mysterious and sexy, and honestly, I wish Saltburn was about Farleigh's relationship with the Cattons and his life at Saltburn.  I should also admit that I'm always crazy about Rosamund Pike, so I was in love with Lady Elspeth.

Ultimately, I can only recommend Saltburn to adventurous movie fans who are always on the lookout for films from interesting filmmakers, which Emerald Fennell certainly is.  I simply wish that Saltburn burned a little more.

5 of 10
C+
★★½ out of 4 stars

You can stream the SALTBURN film here on AMAZON Prime Video.


The text is copyright © 2024 Leroy Douresseaux. All Rights Reserved. Contact this blog or site for reprint and syndication rights and fees.

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Friday, December 29, 2023

"The Color Purple (Music from and Inspired by)" Soundtrack Album Has Arrived


Warner Bros. Pictures, WaterTower Music and gamma. Announce December 15th Arrival of THE COLOR PURPLE (MUSIC FROM AND INSPIRED BY)

All Star Line-up Includes Stars From the Film and the Music World, Including Alicia Keys, H.E.R., Usher, Megan Thee Stallion, Mary J. Blige, Fantasia Barrino, Jennifer Hudson, Missy Elliott, Halle Bailey, Keyshia Cole, Coco Jones, Taraji P. Henson, Ciara, Jorja Smith, Mary Mary and More

First Single, Lifeline, Written, Co-Produced and Performed by Alicia Keys, Out Now


LOS ANGELES--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Warner Bros. Pictures, WaterTower Music and gamma. announce their partnership in curating the soundtrack album for the upcoming, newly reimagined motion picture release of The Color Purple. A star-studded musical journey, THE COLOR PURPLE (MUSIC FROM AND INSPIRED BY) features beloved songs from director Blitz Bazawule’s bold new film, in addition to original material inspired by the rich tapestry of the film’s narratives. The album became available December 15th.

The Color Purple’s preeminent onscreen ensemble delivers stunning performances, creating an emotional journey through Fantasia Barrino’s soulful melodies, Taraji P. Henson’s emotive depth, Colman Domingo’s captivating energy, Danielle Brooks’ powerful resonance, H.E.R.’s contemporary artistry, and Halle Bailey’s radiant vocals. New songs from the film combined with source material from Grammy Award-winning songwriters of The Color Purple musical, Brenda Russell, Allee Willis and Stephen Bray, promises an auditory experience that’s both fresh and deeply nostalgic.

New material on this collection, stirred by the story’s rich emotional journey, is exquisitely performed by vocal powerhouses Alicia Keys, Mary J. Blige, Megan Thee Stallion, Jennifer Hudson, Keyshia Cole, Jorja Smith, Coco Jones, Ciara, Mary Mary; collaborations include a breathtaking duet by Usher x H.E.R. and a special remix by Missy Elliott.

And finally, the film’s sweeping end credit song, written and produced by lauded hitmaker The-Dream, is performed by the film’s transcendent north star, Fantasia.

The first offering from this musical bounty is its first single, Lifeline, written, co-produced and performed by Grammy Award-winning multi-platinum superstar Alicia Keys. Keys’ production partners include Tricky Stewart (Beyoncé and Rihanna); Marshmello (Selena Gomez, Juice Wrld) and TMS (Dua Lipa, Lewis Capaldi). Lifeline, released today, is Alicia’s heartfelt ode to the unequivocal comfort emanating from friends, family and community that holds us up as we face life’s challenging moments.

The creative engine for the project includes the film’s executive music producers, Grammy-winning film composer Nick Baxter, Tony-nominated composer and lyricist Stephen Bray, and multimedia artist Blitz Bazawule, who in addition to directing The Color Purple, was co-director on Beyoncé’s Black is King.

Additionally, the album is executive produced by music legend Quincy Jones and Scott Sanders, both of whom produce the new film and collaborated to create the Tony-winning Broadway musical, and gamma. Co-founder & CEO Larry Jackson.

“I am so immensely proud that the filmmakers and Warner Bros. Pictures chose us to collaborate on a hugely cultural album that musically brings to life this reimagined classic,” comments Jackson. “The Color Purple, in its many iterations, is unquestionably hallowed ground in black culture. Just as film director Blitz Bazawule has done a spectacular job in taking the film to another level artistically, we, too, wanted to bring an equally adventurous, creative take to this expanded soundtrack. Complementing the fabulously infectious musical moments of the new film, we wanted to further celebrate the stories of the film’s protagonists with additional current, contemporary songs that thematically spoke to their relatable experiences and struggles. And deeply influenced by the great, iconic R&B/pop soundtracks of the 1990s, I’ve always wanted to make an ‘Inspired By’ soundtrack that had cultural legends and new artists of a genre come together for a piece of art that defines a moment in time. I feel great pride in what the team at gamma. has creatively achieved with The Color Purple (Music From And Inspired By) and I hope everyone else enjoys what I feel is the BEST R&B soundtrack since some of the most iconic ones of the ‘90s!”

The score for the film, composed by Kris Bowers, will be released on December 25.

ABOUT THE COLOR PURPLE:
Warner Bros. Pictures invites you to experience The Color Purple, a bold new take on the classic story of love and resilience. Directed by Blitz Bazawule, the film is produced by Oprah Winfrey, Steven Spielberg, Scott Sanders and Quincy Jones. The screenplay is by Marcus Gardley, based on the novel by Alice Walker and the musical stage play, book (of the musical stage play) by Marsha Norman, music and lyrics by Brenda Russell, Allee Willis and Stephen Bray.

Warner Bros. Pictures Presents an Amblin Entertainment Production, A Harpo Films Production, An SGS Pictures Production/A QJP Production, The Color Purple. It will be distributed worldwide by Warner Bros. Pictures and opened in theaters in North America on December 25, 2023 and will open internationally beginning January 18, 2024.

ABOUT WATERTOWER MUSIC:
WaterTower Music, the in-house label for the Warner Bros. Discovery companies, releases recorded music as rich and diverse as the companies themselves. It has been the soundtrack home to many of the world’s most iconic films, television shows and games since 2001.

ABOUT gamma.:
gamma., founded by CEO Larry Jackson and President Ike Youssef, is a modern media and technology enterprise created to revolutionize the way artists create, distribute, and monetize their content and brand. Announced gamma. repertoire includes a long-term agreement with entertainment icon Snoop Dogg for exclusive rights to market and distribute the iconic Death Row Records catalog including new music from Snoop Dogg and R&B rising star October London; mega, a joint venture with multi-platinum, Grammy Award-winning superstar Usher & industry pioneer L.A. Reid; a global partnership with 3x Grammy-nominated, Diamond-certified recording artist French Montana; music from rap’s new queen Sexyy Red through a partnership with Open Shift; a new multi-media project from multi-platinum artist/entrepreneur Russ; and a partnership with multi platinum iconic rapper and mogul Rick Ross’ Maybach Music Group. Digital distributor Vydia is a wholly-owned division of gamma.

The company is headquartered in Los Angeles, with offices in New York, London, Miami, Nashville, Lagos and Dubai.

thegamma.com
Vydia.com

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Saturday, December 23, 2023

Negromancer News Bits and Bites from Dec. 17th to 23rd, 2023 - Update #16

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

You can support Leroy via Paypal or on Patreon:

ENTERTAINMENT AND CULTURE NEWS:

CULTURE - From Variety:  On Jan. 1st, 2024, the earliest versions of Mickey Mouse enter the public domain. Also entering the public domain works from 1928 (such as Virginia Woolf's novel, "Orlando") and sound recordings from 1923 (including works by Bessie Smith and Ma Rainey).

MOVIES - From THR:  The stars of "The Color Purple": Fantasia Barino, Taraji P. Henson, and Danielle Brooks, and the film's producer, Oprah Winfrey, discuss the film with "The Hollywood Reporter."

From Deadline:  During an interview on Gayle King's SiriusXM show about the upcoming movie musical, "The Color Purple," Oscar-nominated and Emmy-nominated actress, Taraji P. Henson breaks down over pay disparity in Hollywood.

OSCARS - From Deadline:  The Oscars "shortlists" have been revealed for 10 categories:  "International Feature Film," "Documentary Feature," "Original Song," "Music Score," "Sound," "Visual Effects," "Makeup & Hairstyling," and the documentary, animated and live action short-film categories.

AWARDS - From Deadline:  Comedian Jo Koy will host the 81st Golden Globe Awards.  Koy is coming off his successful "Funny is Funny World Tour."  The 81st Golden Globes will air on CBS, Sunday, Jan. 7th and stream on Paramount+.

BREAKING - From VarietyWarner Bros. Discovery and Paramount Global have held talks about a potential merger of the two media companies.

From Variety:  Media mogul Byron Allen has renewed his attempt to buy BET Media Group from Paramount Global.  He has made an offer of 3.5 billion dollars (up from his previous 2.7 billion offer), which would get him the BET cable channel, VH1, BET Studios, and the BET+ stream service.

MOVIES - From Deadline:  Director Christopher Nolan says "Oppenheimer" is his most successful film to date.

SCANDAL - From Deadline:  A New York City jury of three men and three women has found actor Jonathan Majors guilty of reckless assault and harassment in his domestic violence trial.  The actor, who appeared in Creed III and Disney+/Marvel Studios' "Loki" is scheduled to be sentenced Feb. 6th, 2024.  He could face up to a year in jail.

From DeadlineDisney/Marvel Studios has fired actor Jonathan Majors in the wake of his guilty verdict on charges of reckless assault and harassment in New York City.  Majors had played "He Who Remains" a.k.a. "Kang the Conqueror" in two seasons of the Disney+ series, "Loki," and in the film Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania.

BOX OFFICE - From BoxOfficePro:  The winner of the 12/15 to 12/17/2023 weekend box office is Warner Bros.'s "Wonka" with an estimated take of 39 million dollars.

From Deadline:  Searchlight Pictures' "Poor Things" tops the specialty box office with an estimated take of 1.3 million dollars, also good enough to make it to the #10 spot at the domestic box office.

MOVIES - From DeadlineMichael Jai White (Black Dynamite) has wrapped production on "Trouble Man!," the action-comedy that he directed and stars in for Samuel Goldwyn Films.  The movie, which also stars Orlando Jones, Mike Epps, and Method Man, to name a few, will be released in 2024.

CELEBRITY - From ETOnline:  Actress Rosario Dawson is going to be a grandmother. [Yeah, I'm shocked, too. Leroy.]

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AWARDS:

From AwardsWatch:  The New York Film Critics Online (NYFCO) have named "Killers of the Flower Moon" the "Best Film" of 2023.  Christopher Nolan wins "Best Director" for "Oppenheimer."

From AwardsWatch:  The Las Vegas Film Critics Society have named "Oppenheimer" the "Best Picture" of 2023, with the film's director, Christopher Nolan, winning "Best Director."

From AwardsWatch:  The winners at the 2023 Chicago Film Critics Association Awards have been announced.  "Killers of the Flower Moon" wins "Best Picture," and Christopher Nolan wins "Best Director" for "Oppenheimer."

From THR:   The winners at the 2023 / 49th annual Los Angeles Film Critics Association Awards have been announced.  The Holocaust historical drama, "The Zone of Interest," wins four awards, including "Best Picture," "Best Director" (Jonathan Glazer), and "Best Actress" (Sandra Huller).

From Deadline:  The nominations for the 2024 / 29th annual Critics Choice Awards have been announced. "Barbie" leads with 18 nominations.

From Deadline:  The nominations for the 2024 / 81st annual Golden Globe Awards have been announced.  The winners will be announced Jan. 7th, 2024 on CBS and Paramount Plus.

From AwardsWatch:  The Las Vegas Film Critics have announced their 2023 LVFC Awards nominations.  "Barbie" and "Oppenheimer" are the leading vote getters.  The winners will be announced Wed., Dec. 13th.

From THR:  The winners at the 2023 European Film Awards have been announced.  "Anatomy of a Fall" won five awards including for "Best Film," "Best Director" (Justine Triet), and "Best Actress" (Sandra Huller).

From AwardsWatch:  The 2023 National Board of Review film honors have been announced.  "Killers of the Flower Moon" won "Best Film," "Best Director" (Martin Scorsese), and "Best Actress" (Lily Gladstone).

From AwardsWatch:  The American Film Institute (AFI) names its top ten films: American Fiction, Barbie, The Holdovers, Killers of the Flower Moon, Maestro, May December, Oppenheimer, Past Lives, Poor Things, and Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse.  It also names its top ten television series: Abbott Elementary, The Bear, Beef, Jury Duty, The Last of Us, The Morning Show, Only Murders in the Building, Poker Face, Reservation Dogs, and Succession.

From AwardsWatch:  "Barbie" and "Oppenheimer" lead the nominations for "Astra Film & Creative Arts Awards," which are put on by the "Hollywood Creative Alliance" (formerly known as the Hollywood Critics Association).  The winners will be announced Jan. 6th, 2024 in Los Angeles.

From Deadline:  At the 2023 / 26th British Independent Film Awards, director Andrew Haigh's "All of Us Strangers" won seven awards, including "Best British Independent Film."

From Variety:  The winners at the 2023 / 89th New York Film Critics Circle Awards have been announced.  "Killers of the Flower Moon" (directed by Martin Scorsese) was named "Best Film of 2023."  Christopher Nolan won "Best Director" for his film, "Oppenheimer."

From Variety:  The winners at the 2023 / 33rd Annual Gotham Awards were announced Mon., Nov. 27th.  Writer-director Celine Song's South Korean romantic drama, "Past Lives" won the "Best Feature" award.

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Wednesday, September 13, 2023

Review: "ENTER THE DRAGON" and Bruce Lee Are Still Kicking Ass 50 Years Later

TRASH IN MY EYE No. 43 of 2023 (No. 1932) by Leroy Douresseaux

Enter the Dragon (1973)
Running time: 102 minutes (1 hour, 42 minutes)
MPAA – R for martial arts violence and brief nudity
DIRECTOR:  Robert Clouse
WRITER:  Michael Allin
PRODUCERS:  Fred Weintraub, Raymond Chow, and Paul Heller
CINEMATOGRAPHER:  Gilbert Hubbs (D.o.P.)
EDITORS:  Kurt Hirschler and George Watters
COMPOSER:  Lalo Schifrin

MARTIAL ARTS/ACTION

Starring:  Bruce Lee, John Saxon, Jim Kelly, Ahna Capri, Kien Shih, Bob Wall, Angela Mao, Betty Chung, Geoffrey Weeks, Marlene Clark, Peter Archer, Ho Lee Yan, and Bolo Yeung with Jackie Chan, Sammo Hung, and Yeun Wah

Enter the Dragon is a 1973 martial arts and action film directed by Robert Clouse and starring Bruce Lee (1940-1973).  An international co-production between the United States and Hong Kong, the film debuted one month after Lee's death on July 20, 1973.  Thus, August 19, 1973 was the fiftieth anniversary of the film's American release.  Enter the Dragon focuses on a Shaolin martial artist who travels to an island fortress to compete in a martial arts tournament and to also spy on the tournament's benefactor, a mysterious drug lord.

Enter the Dragon opens on the grounds of a Shaolin temple and introduces Lee (Bruce Lee), a highly proficient martial artist, martial arts instructor, and Shaolin monk.  Braithwaite (Geoffrey Weeks), a British intelligence agent, approaches Lee about spying on a crime lord and drug kingpin named Han (Shih Kien).  Braithwaite convinces Lee to attend the high-profile martial arts tournament that Han is holding at his private island fortress.  Attending the tournament would be a good cover as Lee has already been invited.  Before he leaves for Han's island, Lee learns that the man who murdered his sister, Su-Lin (Betty Chung), is Oharra (Bob Wall), one of Han's bodyguards.

While traveling to the island, Lee meets two friends who have also been invited to the tournament.  Both are martial artists and Vietnam veterans.  They are Roper (John Saxon), a white man who is deep in debt because of gambling, and Williams (Jim Kelly), a black man with deep ties to the martial arts in his community.

Once on the island, Lee begins to gather evidence of Han's drug trafficking, but Han is no ordinary criminal.  His tournament is no ordinary martial arts tournament, and Lee, Roper, and Williams are about to discover just how dangerous Han and his tournament are. 

Enter the Dragon is considered one of the most influential action films of all time.  The film's success contributed to the mainstream worldwide interest in the martial arts, and it continues to inspire filmmakers and storytellers to this day.  In addition to film, the influence of Enter the Dragon can be seen in television productions, video games, comic books, and Japanese manga (comics) and anime (animation).  It revolutionized the way Asians, Asian-Americans, and even African-Americans are portrayed on screen, especially in action and martial arts films.  The film also had an impact on mixed martial arts (MMA), including on the clothes and uniforms that MMA fighters wear.

Enter the Dragon is obviously a huge influence on the Mortal Kombat and Street Fighter video game franchises.  The original Mortal Kombat film, 1995's Mortal Kombat, borrows numerous story elements from Enter the Dragon, so much so that it would not be incorrect to call 1995 film a re-imagining of Enter the Dragon.

Obviously, Bruce Lee is magnetic in this film.  Decades after his passing and the arrival of this film, Lee still seems like a natural born movie star.  In this film, he is both subtle and graceful and over-the-top and explosive as needed, but yet he made space for the rest of the cast to shine.  John Saxon is both world-weary and witty as the underutilized Roper, and Jim Kelley, the first African-American martial arts film star, had enough screen time to turn this into his breakthrough role.

Rich in atmosphere, Enter the Dragon is at times odd and eccentric, and it would have been better served by another ten minutes of storytelling – at least.  However, those last twenty or so minutes of the film were like nothing ever seen in American films at the time, and today, still seem revolutionary.  Here, Lee is a coiled cobra, striking like lighting.  He is both time and lightning in a bottle, unleashing his energy while blowing the minds and expectations of the audience.  Fifty years after its original theatrical release, Enter the Dragon is ageless and timeless, and, while the earthly Bruce Lee is long since gone, the cinematic Bruce Lee is eternally youthful and alive and kicking.

10 of 10

Wednesday, September 13, 2023

You can buy a 50th anniversary 4K copy of ENTER THE DRAGON here at AMAZON.


NOTES:
2004 National Film Preservation Board, USA:  National Film Registry


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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Sunday, August 27, 2023

Review: "TENET" May Have Been 2020's Best Film

TRASH IN MY EYE No. 39 of 2023 (No. 1928) by Leroy Douresseaux

Tenet (2020)
Running time:  150 minutes (2 hours, 30 minutes)
MPA – PG-13 for intense sequences of violence and action, some suggestive references and brief strong language
WRITER/DIRECTOR:  Christopher Nolan
PRODUCERS:  Christopher Nolan and Emma Thomas
CINEMATOGRAPHER:  Hoyte Van Hoytema (D.o.P.)
EDITOR:  Jennifer Lame
COMPOSER:  Ludwig Goransson
Academy Award winner

SCI-FI/ACTION/SPY

Starring:  John David Washington, Robert Pattinson, Elizabeth Debicki, Aaron Taylor-Johnson, Dimple Kapadia, Himesh Patel, Denzil Smith, Yuri Kolokolnikov, Clémency Poséy, Fiona Dourif, Laurie Shepherd, Martin Donovan, and Kenneth Branagh and Michael Caine

Tenet is a 2020 science fiction, secret agent, and action-thriller film written and directed by Christopher Nolan.  The film, Nolan's eleventh as a director, is a co-production between the United Kingdom and the United States.  Tenet focuses on a CIA operative on a mission to save the world, armed with only one word, “Tenet.”

Tenet introduces a CIA operative known only as "The Protagonist" (John David Washington).  The Protagonist leads a covert CIA extraction during a staged terrorist siege at the National Opera House in Kyiv., Ukraine.  After he is injured and the mission goes badly, the Protagonist is recruited by a secretive organization known only by the word, “Tenet.”  He is told that with a gesture, Tenet can “open the right doors and the wrong doors.”

He is briefed about bullets with “invertedentropy that move backwards through time.  It seems that the man who possesses the technology to invert entropy is a Russian oligarch named Andrei Sator (Kenneth Branagh).  The technology has been given to Sator from mysterious forces in the future, and those forces are also sending Sator the pieces of something called the “Algorithm,” which is a threat to the present world.

Suddenly, the Protagonist finds himself surrounded by a menagerie of people he cannot quite trust or really know.  That includes the Mumbai-based arms dealer, Priya Singh (Dimple Kapadia), and Sator's estranged and abused wife, Katherine “Kat” Barton (Elizabeth Debicki).  Another is Ives (Aaron Taylor-Johnson), a Tenet military commander.  Most mysterious of all is Neil (Robert Pattinson), who is supposed to be the Protagonist's “handler” from Tenet, and Neil seems to know the Protagonist in ways he does not know Neil.  Now, the Protagonist must uncover the secrets of inversion, the secrets of the Algorithm, and perhaps, even the secrets of himself.

Christopher Nolan gained many fans for his series of films starring DC Comics' Batman, known as “The Dark Knight Trilogy”: Batman Begins (2005), The Dark Knight (2008), and The Dark Knight Rises (2012).  However, Tenet is closer to Nolan's films such as Memento (2000), Insomnia (2002), The Prestige (2006), and Inception (2010), which, like Tenet, have some combination of complex plots and character time lines, ambiguous elements, and cleverly hidden details that are open to many theories and interpretations.

Tenet freely plays with the themes of free will and determinism.  Do people really have free will, or is it better that people think that they have free will?  In the end, I think the narrative ultimately decides that free will and determinism are compatible, which is one of many reasons that I love this film.  Many secret agent and spy films offer the illusion that the hero (or the protagonist) is in control.  From the first movie in Eon Productions' “James Bond film series, Dr No (1962), the hero, James Bond, seems to have a measure of control or at least force of will to save the day or often, the world.  One can say the same of Universal Pictures' “Jason Bourne” film series.  It starts with The Bourne Identity (2002), and Matt Damon's Jason Bourne seems to exert free will all the more with each film, although his fate was determined and settled before the narrative of the first film begins.  In Tenet, free will is a work in progress, exercised within the settled plots of determinism.

I love Tenet's cast.  Either The Protagonist was tailor-made for actor John David Washington, or he was the perfect casting.  I feel the same way about Robert Pattison's Neil, and Kenneth Branagh is such a fine actor that he can make any role seem like a real person.  Elizabeth Debicki, honestly, is Oscar-worthy as Kat Barton, and Dimple Kapadia adds a delightful flavor as Priya Singh.  Aaron Taylor-Johnson is all fire, menace, and masculinity as Ives.

I had not seen a Christopher Nolan film since Inception, although I'd planned to see Tenet in a theater.  However, I was really wary of returning to movie theaters during the 2020 year of COVID-19 movie theater shutdowns, even after they reopened.  In a way, that worked out.  I got to savor Tenet on DVD as a way of prepping for eventually seeing his most recent film, Oppenheimer.

I like Tenet's trippy, surreal, time-shifting, inscrutable nature, and I like that Nolan is willing both to throw out a lot of ideas and to engage them.  For me, it is mysterious, a mystery worth losing myself in every chance I get.  As far as my opinion is concerned, Tenet is Christopher Nolan's best, most imaginative, and truly most inventive film.

10 of 10

Sunday, August 27, 2023


NOTES:
2021 Academy Awards, USA:   1 win: “Best Achievement in Visual Effects” (Andrew Jackson, David Lee, Andrew Lockley, and Scott R. Fisher); 1 nomination: “Best Achievement in Production Design”
{Nathan Crowley-production design and Kathy Lucas-set decoration)

2021 BAFTA Awards:  1 win: “Best Achievement in Special Visual Effects” (Scott R. Fisher, Andrew Jackson, and Andrew Lockley)

2021 Golden Globes, USA:  1 nomination: “Best Original Score - Motion Picture” (Ludwig Göransson)

2021 Black Reel Awards:  2 nominations: “Outstanding Cinematography” (Hoyte Van Hoytema) and 1 nomination: “Outstanding Production Design” (Nathan Crowley)


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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Saturday, August 26, 2023

Negromancer News Bits and Bites from August 20th to 26th, 2023 - Update #13

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

You can support Leroy via Paypal or on Patreon:

ENTERTAINMENT AND CULTURE NEWS:

NETFLIX - From Variety:  Director Sammi Cohen talks about directing Adam Sandler's daughters in the Netflix teen movie, "You're So Not Invited to My Bat Mitzvah."

MOVIES - From Deadline:  Warner Bros. Pictures has moved it big event film, "Dune: Part Two," to 2024.  The sequel to the Oscar-winning "Dune: Part One" is now scheduled to hit theaters March 15, 2024.

STREAMING - From Deadline:  Paramount+'s steaming sequel "Frasier," the sequel to the long-running NBC sitcom, "Frasier" (1993-2004), will beginning streaming with two episodes on October 12, 2023. Afterwards, new episodes will arrive on Thursdays.  The first two episodes of the 10-episode series will also air on CBS on October 17th.

CELEBRITY - From Variety: Grammy-winning recording artist, Britney Spears, says news of her divorce from her husband of 14-months, Sam Asghari, is "nobody's business."  However, she did say that she couldn't take the pain anymore.

BOX OFFICE - From BoxOfficePro:  The winner of the 8/18 to 8/20/23 weekend box office is Warner Bros.'s "Blue Beetle" with an estimated take of 25.4 million dollars.

From Here:  A review of "Blue Beetle" by Leroy Douresseaux.

From Deadline:  At the specialty box office (art house), the 20th anniversary re-release of the South Korean film, "Oldboy," grosses 495,000 dollars on 250 screens. It may reach 1 million dollars before the end of its first week back in circulation.

From Here:  This is a nearly seventeen year-old review of "Oldboy" by Leroy Douresseaux.

AMAZON - From Variety:  Amazon has cancelled its series, "A League of Their Own," so it won't have a second and final season.

OBITS:

From Deadline:  American television writer, producer, and director, David Jacobs, has died at the age of 84, Sunday, August 20, 2023.  He was best known for creating the long-running CBS dramas, "Dallas" and its spin-off, "Knots Landing."  He left "Dallas" after its third season in order to focus on "Knots Landing" for the duration of its 14 season fun.  Jacobs received two Primetime Emmy Award nominations - one for his work on the ABC TV movies, "Homefront" (1991) and the subsequent "Homefront" TV series (ABC, 1991-93).

From THR:  American film and television actor, Ron Cephas Jones, has died at the age of 66, Saturday, August 19, 2023.  Jones was best known for his role as "Walter Hill" on the former NBC drama, "This Is Us."  As Walter Hill, Jones received four Primetime Emmy Award nominations.  He won twice in the category of "Outstanding Guest Actor in a Drama Series" (2018, 2020). Jones also had roles in USA Network's "Mr. Robot," Netflix/Marvel's "Luke Cage," and Apple TV+'s "Truth Be Told," to name a few.

WRITERS/ACTORS STRIKE:

From THR:  As talks with the Writers Guild of America stall, the studio trade association, AMPTP, has retained D.C.-based firm, The Levinson Group, to pursue a fresh messaging strategy.

From Deadline:  Regarding the Hollywood writers strike, the AMPTP (representing the studios) released the details of a proposed labor agreement that it made to the WGA (the Writers Guild) on August 11th.

From Deadline:  A pair of former production assistants-turned-assistant directors have created a nonprofit in hopes of providing financial aid to PAs (production assistants) who’ve been put out of work due to the strike.

From Deadline:  Writers Guild (WGA) and the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers (AMPTP) will resume strike talks today, Fri., Aug. 11th.

From Deadline:  Meeting for the first time in more than three months, the Writers Guild and the AMPTP on Friday failed to reach an agreement to resume contract negotiations. The Writers Strike will go on indefinitely.

From Deadline:  Hollywood’s superstars are answering the call from the SAG-AFTRA Foundation, donating $1 million or more each to help their fellow performers during the ongoing actors and writers strikes.  Among the big donors are Leonardo DiCaprioMeryl StreepOprah Winfrey, and Ryan Reynolds and Blake Lively.

From Deadline:  If you are interested, here is a list of the film and TV productions SAG-AFTRA has granted waivers to continue filming.

From Variety:  International superstar, Dwayne Johnson, makes a seven-figure contribution to the "SAG-AFTRA Foundation Relief Fund." Foundation president, actor Courtney B. Vance, says the amount will remain confidential.

From Variety:  Why haven't A-list stars joined the SAG-AFTRA picket line?, asks "Variety."

From Deadline:  Author George R.R. Martin, whose works were the basis for HBO's "Game of Thrones," says the strikes will be long and bitter.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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Friday, August 18, 2023

Review: "BLUE BEETLE" is a Family Affair

TRASH IN MY EYE No. 38 of 2023 (No. 1927) by Leroy Douresseaux

Blue Beetle (2023)
Running time:  127 minutes (2 hours, 7 minutes)
MPA – PG-13 for sequences of action and violence, language, and some suggestive references
DIRECTOR:  Angel Manuel Soto
WRITER:  Gareth Dunnet-Alcocer (based on characters from DC Comics)
PRODUCERS:  Zev Foreman and John Rickard
CINEMATOGRAPHER:  Pawel Pogorzelski (D.o.P.)
EDITOR:  Craig Alpert
COMPOSER:  The Haxan Cloak

SUPERHERO/FANTASY/ACTION/FAMILY

Starring:  Xolo Maridueña, Bruna Marquezine, Damien Alcazar, Adriana Barraza, Belissa Escobedo, Elpidia Carrillo, Raoul Max Trujillo, Modesto Lacen, and Harvey Guillén, Susan Sarandon, George Lopez, and  (voice) Becky G

Blue Beetle is a 2023 superhero and action-fantasy film directed by Ángel Manuel Soto.  The film is based on the DC Comics character, Blue Beetle/Jaime Reyes, that was created by Keith Giffen, John Rogers, and Cully Hamner and first appeared in the comic book, Infinite Crisis #3 (cover dated: February 2006).  Blue Beetle the movie focuses on a young man who finds himself chosen to be the symbiotic host of an alien artifact that gives him a suit of armor.

Blue Beetle introduces recent college graduate, Jaime Reyes (Xolo Mariduena), who is returning to his hometown of Palmera City.  He receives a warm welcome from his family:  his father, Alberto Reyes (Damian Alcazar); his mother, Rocio Reyes (Elpidia Carrillo); his Nana (Adrian Barraza), his younger sister, Milagro (Belissa Escobedo); and his uncle, Rudy Reyes (George Lopez).  Jaime soon learns that his family will lose their home due to financial difficulties and to Alberto's poor health.  Still, Jaime is optimistic that he will quickly get a job and make enough money for his family.

Some time later, Jaime meets Jenny Kord (Bruna Marquezine), the daughter of Ted Kord, the currently-missing CEO OF Kord Industries.  Jenny is at odds with her aunt, Victoria Kord (Susan Sarandon), the current CEO.  Jenny discovers that Victoria has dark plans for her recent discovery, an alien artifact called “the Scarab.”  Jenny steals the Scarab, and not knowing its true nature, she passes it on to Jaime.
 
As soon as Jaime touches the Scarab, it activates and attaches to him, creating a suit of armor around him.  The suit gives Jaime extraordinary powers, such as flight, super-strength, and invulnerability, but those powers are unpredictable.  Now, Jaime's family calls him a “superhero.”  However, Jaime isn't sure that he wants to be a superhero, and Victoria Kord will do whatever she has to do – including murder – to regain possession of the Scarab.

The Blue Beetle first appeared in Fox Comics' Mystery Men Comics #1 (cover dated: August 1939) and was the secret identity of a young police officer, Dan Garrett.  The second Blue Beetle first appeared in Charlton Comics' Captain Atom #83 (November 1966) and was Ted Kord, an industrialist and owner of KORD Industries.  I mention this because Dan Garrett is referenced in this film.  Also, Ted Kord, with a new origin, is a major subplot in this film, although the story is that he has been missing for years under mysterious circumstances.

However, this is Blue Beetle/Jaime Reyes' film.  He comes across as a normal young man in his early twenties.  Warner Bros. didn't even cast some muscular young android-like actor for the role.  Xolo Mariduena's body is in good shape, but he looks more like a high school kid still in physical development.  Everything about Xolo comes across as boy-next-door, which makes him more relatable to a larger segment of the audience.  After all, Jaime seems so vulnerable that even an alien suit of armor doesn't seem capable of completely protecting him.  If there is a superhero of the people – the champion next door – Xolo makes Jaime Reyes as Blue Beetle fit the role perfectly.

Like Warner Bros.'s 2019 DC Comics film, Shazam, Blue Beetle emphasizes family, and the Reyes are delightful.  George Lopez's Uncle Rudy is a scene stealer, and I'm glad the story reveals that there is so much more to him than meets the eye.  Of course, one can judge how good a family is by placing it in contrast with a problematic family, and that is the Kords.  Susan Sarandon plays the evil aunt, Victoria Kord, with relish, although she doesn't really go over the top.  The film puts Jenny Kord, smoothly played by actress Bruna Marquezine, at the center of the good family (the Reyes)-bad family (Victoria Kord) dynamic.  Which will Jenny ultimately choose?  Like Shazam, Blue Beetle shows how cool an extended or surrogate family can be, especially to someone in need.

I like what director Angel Manuel Soto does with his collaborators, cast, and crew.  Blue Beetle is an easy-going superhero film that is fun for a family audience, even with the sometimes intense action and dark plot elements.  I'm surprised that the film has as its themes, “imperialism in the name of democracy” and “militarized capitalism,” neither of which are ever portrayed as a good thing.  Uncle Rudy even calls Batman a “fascist,” which has caused a stir in some Internet circles.  This film definitely has an anti-authoritarian streak.

That aside, Blue Beetle is hugely and surprisingly entertaining, and it sparkles with humor.  By focusing on Jaime Reyes as much as it does on the Blue Beetle armor, the film gets to center on the most winning aspect of it story, family and friends.  Blue Beetle won't get the attention of bigger superhero film productions, but it has more heart than most of those other films.

[Blue Beetle has two extra scenes during the end credits.]

7 of 10
B+
★★★½ out of 4 stars

Friday, August 18, 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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Friday, June 23, 2023

Review: Miller, Keaton Speed "THE FLASH" Forward

TRASH IN MY EYE No. 26 of 2023 (No. 1915) by Leroy Douresseaux

The Flash (2023)
Running time:  144 minutes (2 hours, 24 minutes)
MPAA – PG-13 for sequences of violence and action, some strong language and partial nudity
DIRECTOR:  Andy Muschietti
WRITERS:  Christina Hodson; from a screen story by John Francis Daley, Jonathan Goldstein, Joby Harold (based on the DC Comics characters)
PRODUCERS:  Barbara Muschietti and Michael Disco
CINEMATOGRAPHER:  Henry Braham
EDITORS:  Jason Ballantine and Paul Machliss
COMPOSER:  Benjamin Wallfisch

SUPERHERO/FANTASY/ACTION

Starring:  Ezra Miller, Michael Keaton, Sasha Calle, Michael Shannon, Ron Livingston, Maribel Verdu, Kiesey Clemons, Antje Traue Temuera Morrison, Ben Affleck, Gal Gadot, Nicolas Cage, George Clooney, Jason Momoa, and Jeremy Irons

The Flash is a 2023 superhero and action-fantasy film directed by Andy Muschietti.  The film is based on the DC Comics character, The Flash, with the two most famous versions being created by the teams of writer Gardner Fox and artist Harry Lampert and writer Robert Kanigher and artist Carmine Infantino.  The film is the 13th entry in the DC Extended Universe (DCEU).  In The Flash, the superhero known as “the fastest man alive” uses his super-speed to change his family's tragic past, but also creates a world without superheroes.

The Flash opens at a very important time in the life of Barry Allen/The Flash (Ezra Miller).  His father, Henry Allen (Ron Livingston), has been imprisoned, wrongfully convicted for murdering his wife and Ezra's mother, Nora Allen (Maribel Verdu).  As a police forensic investigator for the Central City Police Department, Barry has been using his knowledge and connections in a bid to free his father, whose next appeal of his conviction is a day away.

However, Barry's superhero life intrudes, so he races to Gotham City where he helps Batman (Ben Affleck) stop a terrorist group.  After that, the Flash visits his childhood home.  Overcome by his emotions, Barry starts running so fast that he does not realize that his power, super-speed, has tapped into the “Speed Force” to such an extent that he has traveled back in time.  Although Batman's alter-ego, Bruce Wayne (Ben Affleck), warns him against doing so, the Flash travels back in time, again.

He returns to the day his mother was murdered and changes events in order to save her life, and the thing about which Bruce warned Barry occurs, the unintended consequences of time travel.  Soon, Barry comes face to face with his younger self, college-age Barry (Ezra Miller).  Not long afterwards, Barry learns that his big change to the past has also created an Earth without superheroes.  As an alien threat looms, the two Barrys seek out the one superhero everyone knows exists – or at least once existed, Batman.  However, this Earth's Bruce Wayne (Michael Keaton) does not want to be Batman again, even if it dooms the world.

When I first heard of the premise of The Flash, I knew that Warner Bros. Pictures wanted to make its on version of Sony Pictures and Marvel Studios' multiverse adventure, Spider-Man: No Way Home (2021).  Unlike this very sharp Spider-Man flick, The Flash is not as crisp and as efficient.  The Flash's action scenes are always at least a minute too long and too overdone.  The drama is a bit too melodramatic, sometimes in danger of being corny.  Still, director Andy Muschietti and his editors offer a film that is often quite engaging, thrilling, and entertaining.

I believe that the persons that really carry The Flash are first, Ezra Miller as The Flash/Barry Allen and as younger Barry Allen and second, Michael Keaton as Batman/Bruce Wayne.  This time around Ezra offers a superhero and alter-ego that are both far less annoying and forced than they were in Joss Whedon's 2016 superhero film, Justice League.  Miller is so good at portraying two versions of Barry that they seem like distinctly different people and personalities.  Here, Miller's Flash is more like a quirky character than in Justice League, where he seemed like bad character writing and a resulting confused and awkward performance.  Sadly, Miller's legal problems may keep them from portraying the Flash again, which is a shame.  They have finally got a bead on how to play that kind of character in a way that makes him endearing.

To a slightly lesser extent, Michael Keaton also carries this film.  His Batman/Bruce Wayne is one of the most famous iterations of the character, having appeared in director Tim Burton's Batman (1989) and Batman Returns (1992).  Keaton revives the beats of the way he played the character over three decades ago, while adding a lot of new flavors to his character and new engagement in his performance.  After this appearance, I would really like to see more of Keaton's Batman.

Ben Affleck also makes a really nice turn as the “DCEU Batman/Bruce Wayne.”  Sasha Calle as Kara Zor-El/Supergirl gives a performance that makes the character seem shoe-horned into this film.  And there are some delightful cameos from other actors and characters that have appeared in DC Comics-related film and television series.  Plus, there is a surprise appearance from another cinematic Batman.  As I have said, however, Ezra Miller and Michael Keaton put a light-speed jolt into The Flash.  I found The Flash entertaining, but I'm giving it the grade I am because of Miller and Keaton.

[The Flash has one scene at the end of the credits.]

7 of 10
B+
★★★½ out of 4 stars

Friday, June 23, 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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