Monday, July 26, 2010

Family Guy "Return of the Jedi" Parody Due for Christmas

Feel the Farce as “Family Guy” Skewers Star Wars™ with Its Third Uncensored Satire on Blu-ray and DVD December 21

SAN DIEGO--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Return to the Grffins’ version of that galaxy far, far away as their freakin’ sweet saga continues with “Family Guy: It’s A Trap!” - arriving exclusively on Blu-ray and DVD December 21 from Twentieth Century Fox Home Entertainment. In the third installment of the hilarious Star Wars satire - following 2005’s Family Guy: Blue Harvest and last year’s Family Guy: Something, Something, Something Dark Side - the Griffins reprise their intergalactic roles in an outrageous retelling of Star Wars: Episode VI Return of the Jedi.

Fans received an early peak of the epic farce at San Diego Comic-Con as Seth MacFarlane previewed 10 minutes of “Family Guy: It’s A Trap!” during the “Family Guy” panel Saturday at 11:00 AM in Ballroom 20. Additionally, San Diego Comic-Con attendees were able to pre-order the Blu-ray and DVD at Fox booth #4313, and pick up past titles in the “Family Guy” Star Wars Saga.

In this spectacular and offensively uproarious final chapter, Luke Skywalker (Chris) and Princess Leia (Lois) must travel to Tatooine to free Han Solo (Peter) by infiltrating the wretched stronghold of Jabba the Hutt (Joe), the galaxy’s most loathsome and dreadful gangster. Once reunited, the Rebels team up with a tribe of Ewoks to combat the Imperial forces on the forest moon of Endor. Meanwhile the Emperor (Carter Pewterschmidt) and Darth Vader (Stewie) conspire to turn Luke to the dark side, and young Skywalker is determined to rekindle the spirit of the Jedi within his father. The Galactic Civil War has never been more outrageous, as the Rebel forces gather to attack the seemingly defenseless and incomplete second Death Star in the battle that will determine the fate of the galaxy. Adding to the fun, “Family Guy: It’s A Trap!” is loaded with hysterical cameo voice spots - including Patrick Stewart and Michael Dorn reprising their roles from “Star Trek: The Next Generation,” Adam West (“Batman”), Carrie Fisher (Star Wars Trilogy) and conservative talk radio juggernaut Rush Limbaugh as the voice of the large carnivorous reptomammal, the Rancor.

“The fan base for “Family Guy” and Star Wars, both enthusiastic, have embraced the first two hilarious spoofs,” said Mike Dunn, President, Twentieth Century Fox Home Entertainment. “Bringing the distinctive storylines together for the trilogy of parodies has been enormously successful and lends itself to create unique home entertainment releases.”

As an added bonus, “Family Guy: It’s A Trap!” will also be available in Blu-ray and DVD triple-packs featuring all the “Family Guy” Star Wars spoofs…the perfect gift for the holiday season.


About TWENTIETH CENTURY FOX HOME ENTERTAINMENT
Twentieth Century Fox Home Entertainment, LLC (TCFHE) is a recognized global industry leader and a subsidiary of Twentieth Century Fox Film Corporation, a News Corporation company. Representing 75 years of innovative and award-winning filmmaking from Twentieth Century Fox, TCFHE is the worldwide marketing, sales and distribution company for all Fox film and television programming, acquisitions and original productions on DVD, Blu-ray Disc Digital Copy, Video On Demand and Digital Download. The company also releases all products globally for MGM Home Entertainment. Each year TCFHE introduces hundreds of new and newly enhanced products, which it services to retail outlets from mass merchants and warehouse clubs to specialty stores and e-commerce throughout the world.

STAR WARS™ and related properties are trademarks and/or copyrights, in the United States and other countries, of Lucasfilm Ltd. and/or its affiliates. TM & © Lucasfilm Ltd. All rights reserved. All other trademarks and trade names are properties of their respective owners.


Review: George Romero's "The Crazies" Mocks Bureaucracy

TRASH IN MY EYE No. 57 (of 2010) by Leroy Douresseaux

The Crazies (1973)
Running time: 103 minutes (1 hour, 43 minutes)
DIRECTOR/EDITOR: George A. Romero
WRITERS: Paul McCollough and George A. Romero
PRODUCER: A.C. Croft
CINEMATOGRAPHER: S. William Hinzman (director of photography)

ACTION/MILITARY/THRILLER

Starring: Lane Carroll, W.G. McMillan, Harold Wayne Jones, Lloyd Hollar, Lynn Lowry, Richard Liberty, Richard France, Harry Spillman, and Will Disney

The Crazies is a 1973 satirical drama and military thriller from director George A. Romero (Night of the Living Dead). The film, which has some elements from the horror genre, takes place in a small Pennsylvania town. There, the military is trying to contain an outbreak of a manmade virus that causes death or permanent insanity in those it infects.

The Crazies has two major storylines. One focuses on how politicians and the military try to contain the outbreak, and the other focuses on the civilians who try to stay alive during the chaos, in particular a quartet led by two former serviceman. The action takes place in and around the small town of Evans City, Pennsylvania. Apparently, a few weeks before the story begins, an army plane crash-landed in the hills near the town. The plane was carrying a biological weapon – a top-secret virus codenamed Trixie.

Heavily-armed U.S. troops (clad in white NBC suits) arrive in Evans City and declare martial law. In an attempt to contain Trixie and see which citizens are infected, the military begins to gather the citizens in a central location, but as the military sets up a quarantine perimeter outside of town to stop the virus from spreading, chaos ensues. Two Vietnam veterans who are now firemen, former Green Beret, David (W.G. McMillan), and infantryman, Clank (Harold Wayne Jones), hatch a plan to leave town. With them are David’s pregnant girlfriend, a nurse named Judy (Lane Carroll); Kathie Fulton (Lynn Lowry), a teenager; and her father, Artie (Richard Liberty). Their escape attempt may be too late for some, as the madness caused by Trixie begins to set in.

Many viewers probably consider The Crazies to be a horror movie, especially because it is directed by George Romero. Much of the film, however, is a pointed satire of military and political bureaucracies, focusing on the intractability of the decision and policy makers and also the general disorganization of institutions that are supposed to be quite organized. This satire is certainly interesting, but it slows the narrative, sometimes to a crawl. Still, Romero’s sly wit and blunt commentary occasionally give birth to some good scenes (like the standoff between the military and the local law).

The best parts of the film involve the quintet trying to escape the madness. These five people exemplify the character traits, personalities, and actions that are typical of characters in Romero films that are trapped in some kind of doomsday scenario. The actors’ good performances bring freshness to these familiar Romero types. W.G. McMillan as David and Lane Carroll as Judy have excellent screen chemistry and seem like a real couple. The Crazies reflected the chaotic times in which it first appeared, but McMillan and Carroll are still the heart of this film. Their characters’ trials and tribulations add drama to this film and make it seem like more than just pointed satire.

6 of 10
B

Monday, July 26, 2010

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Sunday, July 25, 2010

Detroit Metal City Live Action Movie Coming to America



VIZ PICTURES LICENSES DETROIT METAL CITY - THE WILDEST, SHOCKINGLY FUNNY JAPANESE ROCK FILM FOR THE NOT SO FAINT OF HEART

Inventive Comedy Is Based On A Popular Manga Series That Has Taken North America By Storm

VIZ Pictures, an affiliate of VIZ Media, LLC that focuses on Japanese live-action film distribution, has announced that it has licensed from Toho Company, Ltd the North American theatrical and DVD distribution rights to the heavy metal live-action comedy, Detroit Metal City. The DVD is scheduled for release later in the fall of this year.

Detroit Metal City takes the zany rock antics inspired by films like Spinal Tap to hilarious new extremes in this film directed by Toshio Lee and based on the popular manga comic created by Kiminori Wakasugi. It features notable appearances by Gene Simmons from the legendary band, KISS, and Marty Friedman of Megadeth, and stars Kenichi Matsuyama, one of the most adored actors in Japan today and known widely for his role as 'L' in the Death Note films (also available from VIZ Pictures).

“We’re extremely excited to announce the license for Detroit Metal City and know it will strike a chord with rock and metal fans as well as followers of the acclaimed manga series,” says Seiji Horibuchi, President and CEO of VIZ Pictures. “Prepare to have your mortal soul devoured by the demonic Johannes Krauser II, front man for Detroit Metal City, the most outrageous death metal band on the Japanese indie rock scene!”

In the film, Soichi Negishi (played by Kenichi Matsuyama) is a sweet and shy young man who dreams of becoming a trendy singer songwriter. But for some reason, he is forced into joining the devil worshiping death metal band “Detroit Metal City” (DMC). In full stage make-up and costume, he transforms into Johannes Krauser II the vulgar-mouthed lead vocalist of the band. But he must keep this a secret from his crush, Yuri Aikawa, who despises death metal. What would she think if she found out? But against Negishi’s will, DMC rises to stardom. Things get even more complicated when the legendary king of death metal, Jack ill Dark (played by Gene Simmons), challenges DMC to a duel in the film’s climatic finale. What will be the fate of innocent Negishi as he climbs to the top of the death metal world?

First appearing in the pages of Japan’s Young Animal manga magazine, Detroit Metal City quickly became a national sensation. The series has sold more than 4.5 million copies in Japan and is also published in North America by VIZ Media (rated ‘M’ for Mature Audiences).

For more information on Detroit Metal City or other VIZ Pictures titles, please visit www.viz-pictures.com.


About VIZ Pictures, Inc.:
Based in San Francisco, California, VIZ Pictures, Inc. licenses and distributes selective Japanese live-action films and DVDs, with focus on Japanese "kawaii (cute) and cool" pop culture. VIZ Pictures strives to offer the most entertaining motion pictures straight from the "Kingdom of Pop" for audiences of all ages, especially the manga and anime generation, in North America. Some titles include DEATH NOTE, 20TH CENTURY BOYS, and TRAIN MAN: DENSHA OTOKO. VIZ Pictures is also the producer of NEW PEOPLE, a part of the J-Pop Center Project, a unique entertainment destination bringing Japanese pop culture through film, art, fashion, and retail products. For more information please visit www.viz-pictures.com or www.newpeopleworld.com. © 2009 VIZ Pictures, Inc.


Green Zone Juggles Politics and Action

TRASH IN MY EYE No. 56 (of 2010) by Leroy Douresseaux

Green Zone (2010)
Running time: 115 minutes (1 hour, 55 minutes)
MPAA – R for violence and language
DIRECTOR: Paul Greengrass
WRITER: Brian Helgeland (based on the book Imperial Life in the Emerald City: Inside Iraq's Green Zone by Rajiv Chandrasekaran)
PRODUCERS: Tim Bevan, Eric Fellner, Paul Greengrass, and Lloyd Levin
CINEMATOGRAPHER: Barry Ackroyd
EDITOR: Christopher Rouse

WAR/ACTION/THRILLER

Starring: Matt Damon, Greg Kinnear, Brendan Gleeson, Amy Ryan, Khalid Abdalla, Jason Isaacs, and Yigal Naor

Director Paul Greengrass and actor/movie star Matt Damon came together to produce two of the three Jason Bourne movies (The Bourne Supremacy and The Bourne Ultimatum). They reunited for the film Green Zone, which is not a Jason Bourne movie or anything like that. Green Zone is a movie set at the beginning of the Iraq War. Green Zone is part military action movie, but it also has something to say about the reasons for the Iraq War.

The story focuses on Chief Warrant Officer Roy Miller (Matt Damon) and begins early in the U.S.-led occupation of Baghdad in the spring of 2003. Miller leads a team of U.S. Army inspectors searching for weapons of mass destruction (WMDs) believed to be stockpiled in and around Baghdad. After investigating a series of sites and finding nothing, Miller begins to suspect that the intelligence about Iraq’s weapons of mass destruction is faulty, at best.

Miller’s military superiors and other high-ranking officials dismiss his theories about flawed intelligence, and he comes into conflict with U.S. Defense Intelligence Agent Clark Poundstone (Greg Kinnear) who seems to be guiding much of the American occupation of Iraq. After meeting, Martin Brown (Brendan Gleeson), a Middle East-based CIA officer, Miller stumbles upon an elaborate cover-up of the reasons behind the Iraq War. Now, Miller must navigate the intersecting agendas spun by competing operatives, as he hunts for answers that may clear Iraq’s fallen regime of war crimes or even stop an insurgency from being born.

Green Zone is a politically engaged film. Using Matt Damon’s Roy Miller as a vehicle, Paul Greengrass and screen writer Brian Helgeland addresses Greengrass’ contentions about the decision to invade Iraq (the country’s alleged possession of WMDs) and subsequent decisions made during the U.S.-led Coalition occupation (in particularly the decision to disband the Iraqi army).

Greengrass’ problems with the Iraq War have also been the subject of many television and theatrical films (both fiction and non-fiction). Making these arguments about Iraq within the framework of a military action thriller actually can result in a movie with an identity crisis, which is the case with Green Zone. Greengrass attempts to make his points about the war, unveiling them during the course of Roy Miller’s investigation, which involves talking to and shooting at people.

The first 55 minutes of the movie mostly sets up the story, and it follows Miller as he gradually makes a series of startling discoveries about the run-up to the Iraq War. This is more dry and dull than interesting. The first half of the film is so slow and awkward that it is almost a disaster. Honestly, Greengrass’ contentions about the Iraq War are only interesting in the context of the movie’s second half. That’s the action/thriller half which has Roy Miller trying to find Iraqi General Mohammed Al-Rawi (Yigal Naor) before a Special Forces unit does. This second half will remind audiences of those breathless action scenes Greengrass and Damon pulled off in their two Jason Bourne movies.

It is cool that a Hollywood movie would confront the controversies of the Iraq War, but the best thing about Green Zone is the tense pacing and smartly constructed action sequences. Unfortunately, the politics are, at best, distracting and, at worst, debilitating to the movie.

5 of 10
B-

Sunday, July 25, 2010

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Friday, July 23, 2010

Dark Horse and TNT Team Up on DreamWork's "Falling Skies"

DARK HORSE AND TNT TEAM UP ON COMIC BOOK PREQUEL "TO FALLING SKIES"

THE EAGERLY ANTICIPATED NEW SERIES STARRING NOAH WYLE, PRODUCED BY DREAMWORKS TELEVISION AND EXECUTIVE PRODUCER STEVEN SPIELBERG WILL APPEAR IN COMIC FORM ONLINE AND IN PRINT!

TNT is teaming up with publisher Dark Horse Comics to create a comic book and webcomic prequel to FALLING SKIES, the eagerly anticipated new series starring Noah Wyle (ER, TNT’s The Librarian movies) and produced by DreamWorks Television and executive producer Steven Spielberg. The comic book and webcomic are slated to be unveiled at New York Comic Con in October. FALLING SKIES, which is set to premiere on TNT in summer 2011, is a gripping drama that envisions a world where aliens have invaded, and the fate of humanity lies in the hands of a few survivors.

During New York Comic Con (Oct. 8-10), TNT and Dark Horse will distribute an exclusive, special-edition 12-14 page comic book that tells the harrowing backstory of the alien invasion. Beginning Nov. 1, fans will be able to download an extended webcomic version through tnt.tv, darkhorse.com and iTunes, with new installments posted every two weeks.

“The FALLING SKIES comic book and webcomic provide a great way for TNT to ramp up excitement for FALLING SKIES, while also providing a thrilling backstory to the series’ intriguing premise and characters,” said Tricia Melton, senior vice president of entertainment marketing for TNT, TBS and Turner Classic Movies (TCM). “We look forward to working with Dark Horse Comics as we begin the FALLING SKIES invasion.”

In addition to the comic book and webcomic, Dark Horse is collaborating with TNT on the FALLING SKIES presence at this month’s Comic-Con International in San Diego. The event will include appearances and autograph sessions with series stars Wyle and Moon Bloodgood (Terminator Salvation), along with co-executive producer and writer Mark Verheiden (Heroes, Battlestar Galactica). On Friday, July 23, from 2-3 p.m. (PT), the three will appear at Dark Horse’s Comic-Con International booth, where they will sign exclusive FALLING SKIES posters. Then from 4:45 p.m. – 5:45 p.m. (PT), Wyle, Bloodgood and Verheiden will participate in a Q&A panel session in Room 6A.

In FALLING SKIES, Wyle stars as a former college professor who becomes the leader of a group of soldiers and civilians struggling against an occupying alien force. Bloodgood co-stars as Anne Glass, a therapist who works with the surviving children to help them cope with the traumatic situation. The series also stars Drew Roy (Lincoln Heights) as Hal and Maxim Knight (Brothers & Sisters) as Matt, Tom’s two sons; and Seychelle Gabriel (Weeds) as Lourdes, an orphaned teenager who helps run the group’s commissary. Will Patton (Armageddon, TNT’s Into the West) plays a fierce leader of the resistance.

FALLING SKIES is executive-produced by Steven Spielberg, along with DreamWorks Television heads Justin Falvey and Darryl Frank and screenwriter Robert Rodat. Rodat, who earned an Oscar® nomination for his screenplay for Saving Private Ryan, wrote the pilot from an idea he co-conceived with Spielberg. Verheiden and Greg Beeman (Heroes, Smallville) are co-executive producers. The pilot was directed by Carl Franklin (One False Move, Out of Time).


About Dark Horse Comics
Since 1986, Dark Horse Comics has proven to be a solid example of how integrity and innovation can help broaden a unique storytelling medium and establish a small, homegrown company as an industry giant. The company is known for the progressive and creator friendly atmosphere it provides for writers and artists. In addition to publishing comics from top talent like Frank Miller, Mike Mignola, Neil Gaiman, Gerard Way, Will Eisner, and bestselling prose author, Janet Evanovich, Dark Horse has developed such successful characters as The Mask, Timecop, and SpyBoy. Additionally, their highly successful line of comics and products based on popular properties includes Star Wars, Indiana Jones, Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Aliens, Conan, Mass Effect, Tim Burton, Serenity and Domo. Today, Dark Horse Comics is the largest independent comic-book publisher in the United States and is recognized as both an innovator in the cause of creator rights and the comics industry's leading publisher of licensed material.

About TNT
TNT, one of cable’s top-rated networks, is television’s destination for drama. Seen in 99.6 million households, the network is home to such original series as The Closer, starring Kyra Sedgwick; Leverage, starring Timothy Hutton; and Dark Blue, starring Dylan McDermott; Rizzoli & Isles, starring Angie Harmon and Sasha Alexander; Memphis Beat, with Jason Lee; Men of a Certain Age, with Ray Romano, Andre Braugher and Scott Bakula; and Southland, from Emmy®-winning producer John Wells (ER). TNT also presents such powerful dramas as Bones, Supernatural, Las Vegas, Law & Order, CSI: NY, Cold Case and Numb3rs; broadcast premiere movies; compelling primetime specials, such as the Screen Actors Guild Awards®; and championship sports coverage, including NASCAR and the NBA. The NCAA men’s basketball tournament will appear on TNT beginning in 2011. TNT is available in high-definition.

Turner Broadcasting System, Inc., a Time Warner company, creates and programs branded news, entertainment, animation and young adult media environments on television and other platforms for consumers around the world.

"United 93" Excellent Docudrama and Thriller

TRASH IN MY EYE No. 257 (of 2006) by Leroy Douresseaux

United 93 (2006)
Running time: 111 minutes (1 hour, 51 minutes)
MPAA – R for language, and some intense sequences of terror and violence
WRITER/DIRECTOR: Paul Greengrass
PRODUCERS: Tim Bevan & Eric Fellner, Lloyd Levin, and Paul Greengrass
CINEMATOGRAPHER: Barry Akroyd, BSC
EDITOR: Clare Douglas, Christopher Rouse, and Richard Pearson
Academy Award nominee

DRAMA/THRILLER/HISTORICAL

Starring: Opal Alladin, David Alan Basche, Christian Clemenson, Gary Commock, Cheyenne Jackson, Corey Johnson, JJ Johnson, and Khalid Abdalla, Lewis Alsamari, Omar Berdouni, and Jamie Harding

Directed by Paul Greengrass (Bloody Sunday, The Bourne Supremacy), United 93 is a fictional account of the incidents aboard United Airlines Flight 93, the fourth hijacked plane on September 11, 2001, the day of the worst terrorist attacks on American soil. This docu-drama follows the boarding of a Boeing 757 – United Flight 93 – for an ordinary flight to San Francisco. Then, it moves back and forth from flight control centers in Boston, Cleveland, and New York and the Herndon Command Centers back to 93 as the 9/11 attacks begin. The second half of the film finds the crew and passengers of United 93 realizing with dawning horror that America is under attack and that their flight, which has been hijacked by four men, is part of that attack. Some of the passengers and crew resolve to fight in a desperate attempt to take back control of the plane.

Quality action thrillers reward their viewers with exhilarating highs and even the occasional wallop to the old midsection. United 93 (2006 New York Film Critics Circle Award for “Best Picture”) does just that. This film, however, is really more than just an action movie; it is a memorial to the real events of 9/11. That it also manages to be a harrowing, heartbreaking, and ultimately masterful bit of filmmaking is a triple bonus.

Still, as director Paul Greengrass (2006 Los Angeles Film Critics Association Awards winner for “Best Director”) has admitted, no one really knows what happened aboard United 93 from the time it left Boston until it crashed in Shanksville, Pennsylvania. Phone calls from the passengers and crew are all that the public and storytellers have to piece together a probable timeline of the events. For the best storytellers, that is just enough material to tell a story that captures the popular imagination the way real history does.

This lean, mean fighting machine of movie can be harsh at times, but Greengrass makes us care no matter how desperate the situation is for the passengers and crew. Too bad, the first 50 minutes of this story is so antiseptic. Greengrass switches back and forth from United flight 93 to several command centers as various officials, bureaucrats, and authority types try to figure out what’s going on the day passengers planes were used to terrorize America. He’s clinical and occasionally bland in his attempt to nail down the technical details and reproduce history via digital photography. Why then is the first half so dull? It’s like watching an ordinary TV documentary on the Discovery or History Channels. It’s downright anal the way Greengrass creates verisimilitude in the first half, and his fidelity to what alleged facts he has about the real United 93 is admirable, although that all makes for a great dullness.

It’s in the second half of the film when Greengrass has to deal with speculation, myth, and a lack of facts that United 93 flirts with being a truly great film. As harsh as it is at times, United 93 makes us care about the characters, the place, and the situation no matter how painful it might be to watch. It’s as if we’re there with the characters and rooting for them – maybe, even begging that they survive. No one knows what happened when hijackers took over United Airlines Flight 93, but Paul Greengrass makes a darn good yarn out of speculation. United 93 is the art of making film myth out of history just as Oliver Stone did 15 years earlier with JFK.

8 of 10
A

Wednesday, December 27, 2006

NOTES:
2007 Academy Awards: 2 nominations: “Best Achievement in Directing” (Paul Greengrass) and “Best Achievement in Editing” (Clare Douglas, Richard Pearson, and Christopher Rouse)

2007 BAFTA Awards: 2 wins: “Best Editing” (Clare Douglas, Christopher Rouse, and Richard Pearson) and “David Lean Award for Direction” (Paul Greengrass); 4 nominations: “Alexander Korda Award for Best British Film” (Tim Bevan, Lloyd Levin, and Paul Greengrass), “Best Cinematography” (Barry Ackroyd), “Best Screenplay – Original” (Paul Greengrass), and “Best Sound” (Chris Munro, Mike Prestwood Smith, Doug Cooper, Oliver Tarney, and Eddy Joseph)


Thursday, July 22, 2010

Sam Raimi Adapting "Earp" Comic Book to Film

SAM RAIMI TO DIRECT RADICAL’S EARP

Radical Publishing is proud to announce that director Sam Raimi (Spider-Man, Evil Dead) has signed on to produce and direct the film adaptation of EARP: SAINTS FOR SINNERS, based on Radical Publishing’s miniseries created by Matt Cirulnick and David Manpearl and written by Matt Cirulnick and M. Zachary Sherman. EARP: SAINTS FOR SINNERS will be produced by Mandeville Films partners David Hoberman and Todd Lieberman for DreamWorks with Matt Cirulnick attached to write the screenplay. Radical’s President and Publisher, Barry Levine, and Raimi’s partner at Star Road Entertainment, Josh Donen, will also produce with Radical Studios’ Executive Vice President Jesse Berger, Cirulnick and Manpearl signed on as Executive Producers.

In a world where the American economy has all but collapsed to the levels of the Great Depression, infamous bandits roam the country and the law is as corrupt as the criminals its sworn to stop. Yet one lawman remains a steadfast moral compass for the people: WYATT EARP. Earp has collared more most-wanted men than anyone in history – but after a violent assignment claims the life of his brother, Wyatt sets out to forge a simple life in the only boomtown left: Las Vegas. With gorgeous women and free-flowing money on endless tap, Sin City attracts more people than a modern gold rush. Though Earp no longer wears a U.S. Marshall’s badge, his past is about to catch up to him. With nearly everything to lose, Earp will have to beat the odds stacked against him in order to bring old-fashioned justice to Sin City.

“This is amazing news going into San Diego Comic-Con,” states Levine. “Both Cirulnick and Manpearl have created an exciting setting of Las Vegas in the near future to reinvent the Wyatt Earp legend that will excite fans around the world.”

EARP: SAINTS FOR SINNERS #0 is currently available to purchase for the premiere price of $1.00. A deluxe-sized issue #1 will go on sale in late 2010. Keep checking www.radicalpublishing.com for updates.

Cirulnick will unveil artwork and story details at Radical's creators panel at Comic-Con on Thursday, July 22nd at 2:00 P.M. in room 32AB.

Radical Publishing will also be having a special EARP signing at San Diego Comic-Con booth #3725 on Thursday, July 22nd starting at 5:00 P.M.

Fans are encouraged to visit the Radical Publishing website www.radicalpublishing.com to check out special webisodes and for more information.


About Radical Publishing
Radical Publishing is founded by Barry Levine (producer for Hercules, Caliber, Freedom Formula, Shrapnel, Abattoir, Oblivion, The Last Days of American Crime, Legends, Damaged, Earp: Saints for Sinners and executive producer for the in-development Rex Mundi movie for Warner Bros., written by Jim Uhls and starring Johnny Depp) and entrepreneur Jesse Berger (executive producer for Hercules, Caliber, Freedom Formula, Shrapnel, Abattoir, Oblivion, The Last Days of American Crime, Legends, Damaged and Earp: Saints for Sinners).

For their quality and excellence in 2008, Radical Publishing was granted the Gem Award for “Best New Publisher of the Year” from Diamond Comic Distributors. Radical brings the best writing, storytelling, and fully painted cover and interior art to the global comic book market, from prominent international talents such as Yoshitaka Amano, Keith Arem, Rain Beredo, Marc Bernardin, John Bolton, Darren Lynn Bousman, Ron L. Brinkerhoff, Bing Cansino, Matt Cirulnick, Tomm Coker, Clayton Crain, Lorenzo di Bonaventura, Flint Dille, Marko Djurdjevic, Ian Edginton, Warren Ellis, James Farr, Adam Freeman, E. Max Frye, Antoine Fuqua, Justin Gray, Paul Gulacy, David Hine, Taka Ichise, Joseph Kosinski, Clint Langley, Adam Lawson, David Lapham, Richard Lee, Rob Levin, David Liss, Alex Maleev, Leonardo Manco, David Manpearl, Stephan Martinière, Francesco "Matt" Mattina, Peter Milligan, Steve Moore, Arvid Nelson, Wayne Nichols, Steve Niles, Jimmy Palmiotti, Nick Percival, Troy Peteri, Vincent Proce, Steve Pugh, Patrick Reilly, Rick Remender, Terry Rossio, Luis Royo, Nick Sagan, Kirsi Salonen, Sam Sarkar, Stjepan Sejic, M. Zachary Sherman, Bill Sienkiewicz, Wesley Snipes, Jim Steranko, Arthur Suydam, Patrick Tatopoulos, J.P. Targete, Greg Tocchini, Andree Wallin, Rich Wilkes, Dave Wilkins, Concept Art House, Haberlin Studios, Meduzarts Digital Environment Studio, Weta Workshop, Zombie Studios, and many more.

Currently, Radical Publishing has production deals with Spyglass Entertainment and Peter Berg’s Film 44 for Hercules, with Johnny Depp's Infinitum Nihil for Caliber, New Regency and Bryan Singer’s Bad Hat Harry Productions for Freedom Formula, Ron Howard and Brian Grazer’s Imagine Entertainment for Legends as well as Dreamworks, Sam Raimi’s Star Road Entertainment and Mandeville Films for Earp: Saints for Sinners. .

Review: "The Bourne Ultimaturm" is Ultimate

TRASH IN MY EYE No. 114 (of 2007) by Leroy Douresseaux

The Bourne Ultimatum (2007)
Running time: 111 minutes (1 hour, 51 minutes)
MPAA – PG-13 for violence and intense sequences of action
DIRECTOR: Paul Greengrass
WRITERS: Tony Gilroy, Scott Z. Burns, and George Nolfi; from a screen story by Tony Gilroy (based upon the novel by Robert Ludlum)
PRODUCERS: Frank Marshall and Paul Sandberg
CINEMATOGRAPHER: Oliver Wood
EDITOR: Christopher Rouse
Academy Award winner

DRAMA/ACTION/THRILLER

Starring: Matt Damon, Julia Stiles, David Strathairn, Scott Glenn, Paddy Considine, Edgar Ramirez, Albert Finney, Joan Allen, Chris Cooper, and Corey Johnson

In The Bourne Identity, he fought to answer the question, “Who am I?” In The Bourne Supremacy, he wanted to know, “Who killed my girlfriend,” and he killed for what was done to him. In The Bourne Ultimatum, Jason Bourne (Matt Damon) remembers everything, and his journey takes him from Europe and North Africa to a trip home to New York City where all the answers will be found.

After he got his revenge for the killing of Marie, Bourne planned to disappear and forget the life that was stolen from him, but a front-page story in a London newspaper speculates about his existence. Bourne sets up a meeting with Simon Ross (Paddy Considine), the journalist who wrote the story, but that meeting makes Bourne a target again. The journalist does give him a lead on two top-secret black operations or black-ops programs, Treadstone and its successor Blackbriar, which may hold the key to Bourne’s past. Bourne’s reemergence also gets him marked for death by Noah Vosen (David Strathairn), the head of a new covert wing of the CIA and the director of Blackbriar. Bourne gains the trust of conflicted agent Nicky Parsons (Julia Stiles) and CIA operative/internal investigator and spy hunter Pamela Landy (Joan Allen), and with their help, he will have his day of reckoning.

Like his previous effort in the Jason Bourne series, The Bourne Supremacy, Oscar-nominated director Paul Greengrass (United 93) delivers mind blowing action, whiplash-paced fighting, and thoughtful plotting. Greengrass does this picture with equal parts humor and brutality, and makes it is as smart as it is stylish.

Matt Damon is Jason Bourne, and he leaves no doubt that it would be nearly impossible for anyone to take his place. His acting chops and screen charisma combined with his physical training for the role invents Bourne as a supernatural covert operative who can kick any ass, go anywhere, break into the most secure locations, and be invisible in a crowd.

The supporting cast may not be A-list actors in terms of star power, but they are A+ list in terms of screen acting. Added to Damon’s work here, they put The Bourne Ultimatum over the top. It’s not just a great espionage thriller; it’s the best thriller of the year and a great film. Whether you’re a Bourne fan, or just a friend, mother, father, etc. going along with a fan, you’ll go home impressed and happy.

9 of 10
A+

Sunday, August 12, 2007

NOTES:
2008 Academy Awards: 3 wins: “Best Achievement in Editing” (Christopher Rouse), “Best Achievement in Sound” (Scott Millan, David Parker, and Kirk Francis), and “Best Achievement in Sound Editing” (Karen M. Baker and Per Hallberg)

2008 BAFTA Awards: 2 wins: “Best Editing” (Christopher Rouse) and “Best Sound” (Kirk Francis, Scott Millan, David Parker, Karen M. Baker, and Per Hallberg); 4 nominations: “Best British Film” (Frank Marshall, Patrick Crowley, Paul Sandberg, Paul Greengrass, Tony Gilroy, Scott Z. Burns, and George Nolfi), “Best Cinematography” (Oliver Wood), “Best Director” (Paul Greengrass), and “Best Special Visual Effects” (Peter Chiang, Charlie Noble, Mattias Lindahl, and Joss Williams)

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New Line Begins Production on "Horrible Bosses"

“Horrible Bosses” Shooting in Los Angeles with an All-Star Cast

LOS ANGELES--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Principal photography is underway on New Line Cinema’s comedy “Horrible Bosses,” starring Jason Bateman (“Couples Retreat”), Charlie Day (TV’s “It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia,” upcoming “Going the Distance”), Jason Sudeikis (TV’s “Saturday Night Live,” upcoming “Going the Distance”), Jennifer Aniston (“He’s Just Not That Into You”), Colin Farrell (“Crazy Heart”), Academy Award® winner Jamie Foxx (“Ray”), two-time Academy Award® winner Kevin Spacey (“American Beauty,” “The Usual Suspects”), Julie Bowen (TV’s “Modern Family”) and veteran actor Donald Sutherland. The production is filming in Los Angeles, under the direction of Seth Gordon.

For Nick, Kurt and Dale, the only thing that would make the daily grind more tolerable would be to grind their intolerable bosses into dust. Quitting is not an option, so, with the benefit of a few-too-many drinks and some dubious advice from a hustling ex-con, the three friends devise a convoluted and seemingly foolproof plan to rid themselves of their respective employers…permanently. There’s only one problem: even the best laid plans are only as foolproof as the brains behind them.

Bateman, Sudeikis and Day play the three hapless workers, while Spacey, Farrell and Aniston are their unbearable bosses. Foxx appears as the con, whose street cred is priced on a sliding scale.

Seth Gordon (“Four Christmases,” “The King of Kong: A Fistful of Quarters”) directs “Horrible Bosses” from an original screenplay by Michael Markowitz, with revisions by Jonathan Goldstein & John Francis Daley. Brett Ratner and Jay Stern are producing the film, with Richard Brener, Michael Disco, Sam Brown and Diana Pokorny serving as executive producers. John Cheng, John Rickard and Mary Rohlich are co-producers.

Slated for a Summer 2011 release, New Line Cinema’s “Horrible Bosses,” a Rat Entertainment Production, will be distributed by Warner Bros. Pictures, a Warner Bros. Entertainment Company.


About New Line Cinema
New Line Cinema continues to be one of the most successful independent film companies. For more than 40 years, its mission has been to produce innovative, popular, profitable entertainment in the best creative environment. A pioneer in franchise filmmaking, New Line produced the Oscar-winning “The Lord of the Rings” trilogy, which is a landmark in the history of film franchises. New Line Cinema is a division of Warner Bros.

Wednesday, July 21, 2010

"Black Dynamite" is Dy-No-Mite!

TRASH IN MY EYE No. 55 (of 2010) by Leroy Douresseaux

Black Dynamite (2009)
Running time: 84 minutes (1 hour, 24 minutes)
MPAA – R for sexuality/nudity, language, some violence and drug content
DIRECTOR: Scott Sanders
WRITERS: Michael Jai White, Byron Minns, and Scott Sanders; from a story by Michael Jai White and Byron Minns
PRODUCERS: Jenny Wiener Steingart and Jon Steingart
CINEMATOGRAPHER: Shawn Maurer
COMPOSER/EDITOR: Adrian Younge

ACTION/MARTIAL ARTS

Starring: Michael Jai White, Salli Richardson-Whitfield, Tommy Davidson, Kevin Chapman, Byron Minns, Richard Edson, Myketli Williamson, Kim Whitley, Tucker Smallwood, Cedric Yarbrough, John Salley, Brian McKnight, Bokeem Woodbine, Miguel Nunez, Roger Yuan, James McManus, Nicole Sullivan, and Arsenio Hall

Mel Brook’s 1974 comedy, Blazing Saddles, was a successful spoof of Hollywood Westerns because it looked and acted like a real Western. Black Dynamite, the recent parody of blaxploitation movies, ends up being brilliant because it acts like a blaxploitation movie and still manages to skewer every convention of the violent action movies featuring African-American anti-heroes that appeared in the 1970s.

The film focuses on the title character, Black Dynamite (Michael Jai White), a gun-toting, nunchuck-wielding street hero. This self-styled ladies man and soul brother is also a Vietnam veteran and former CIA agent. After his brother Jimmy is murdered, Black Dynamite is reinstated into the CIA to keep him from seeking revenge by himself. After learning that local orphanages for black children are being filled with heroin, he goes after the drug dealers to clean up the streets. However, Black Dynamite discovers a more diabolical conspiracy against the Black man that will take Black Dynamite from the ghetto streets to Kung Fu Island and finally to the Honky House (the White House).

Like Keenen Ivory Wayan’s I’m Gonna Get You Sucka (1988), Black Dynamite is a mock blaxploitation movie that also works as a black action movie, although Black Dynamite is the more convincing of the two as an action movie. Because he is apparently a professional martial artist and has a big muscular body, Michael Jai White can pull off the moves, attitude, and looks of an ass-kicking black superhero. Using his pumped up star, Black Dynamite director Scott Sanders constructs an action movie built on the physicality of his star, and it works. Black Dynamite is like Shaft meets Bruce Lee.

Comedy is Black Dynamite’s calling card. It minds blaxploitation films for laughs more than it makes fun of genre. The filmmakers are nostalgic for those black action movies of the 1970s. How else could they and Michael Jai White capture the language and the feel of blaxploitation so well? Plus, there are several appearances by comic actors in small and cameo roles (Arsenio Hall, Reno 911’s Cedric Yarbrough, MadTV’s Nicole Parker, among them) that add to this movie’s many delights.

Black Dynamite has also given me a new appreciation of Michael Jai White. This actor, who had the title role in the comic book movie, Spawn, and a flashy small part as a crime boss in The Dark Knight, has genuine screen charisma. Hopefully, we’ll see him more often. In the meantime, we have Black Dynamite. Maybe, many people won’t get this flick if they aren’t well versed in the characteristics of black exploitation films, which is unfortunate for them. Those of us who get it get a really good time.

7 of 10
A-

NOTES:
2010 Black Reel Awards: 2 nominations: “Best Director” (Scott Sanders) and “Best Screenplay, Original or Adapted” (Scott Sanders, Michael Jai White, and Byron Minns

2010 Image Awards: 1 nomination: “Outstanding Directing in a Motion Picture (Theatrical or Television)” (Scott Sanders)

Wednesday, July 21, 2010

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Tuesday, July 20, 2010

"Arthur" Remake Begins Production in NYC

Russell Brand, Helen Mirren and Greta Gerwig to Star in Romantic Comedy “Arthur,” Now in Production in New York City

BURBANK, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Principal photography is now underway on location in New York City for the romantic comedy “Arthur,” starring Russell Brand (“Get Him to The Greek”), Academy Award® winner Helen Mirren (“The Queen”) and Greta Gerwig (“Greenberg”). The film will be directed by Jason Winer, a 2010 Directors Guild Award recipient for the hit ABC comedy “Modern Family.”

Brand stars as Arthur Bach, a man who has always relied on two things to get by: his limitless fortune and the good sense of lifelong nanny Hobson (Mirren) to keep him out of trouble. Now he faces his biggest challenge, choosing between an arranged marriage that will ensure his lavish lifestyle or an uncertain future with the one thing money can’t buy—Naomi (Gerwig), the only woman he has ever loved. With Naomi’s inspiration and some unconventional help from Hobson, Arthur will take the most expensive risk of his life and finally learn what it means to become a man, in this re-imagining of the 1981 classic.

“Arthur” also stars Jennifer Garner as Susan, Arthur’s appointed bride and keeper of the family fortune, and Nick Nolte as his imposing future father-in-law, Burt.

Winer will direct from a screenplay by Peter Baynham and Jared Stern. The film’s producers are Larry Brezner, Kevin McCormick, Chris Bender and Michael Tadross. J.C. Spink, Scott Kroopf, Russell Brand and Nik Linnen will serve as executive producers.

The creative behind-the-scenes team includes director of photography Uta Briesewitz (“Walk Hard: The Dewey Cox Story,” HBO’s “The Wire”), production designer Sarah Knowles (“Dan in Real Life,” “Invincible”), editor Brent White (“Knocked Up”) and costume designer Juliet Polcsa (“Brooklyn’s Finest”).

“Arthur” will film on location in Manhattan and in other areas of New York City. It will be distributed by Warner Bros. Pictures, a Warner Bros. Entertainment Company.


Monday, July 19, 2010

Review: "Meet the Browns" Movie Needs More Browns

TRASH IN MY EYE No. 54 (of 2010) by Leroy Douresseaux


Tyler Perry’s Meet the Browns (2008)
Running time: 100 minutes (1 hour, 40 minutes)
MPAA – PG-13 for drug content, language including sexual references, thematic elements, and brief violence
DIRECTOR: Tyler Perry
WRITER: Tyler Perry (based upon his play)
PRODUCERS: Tyler Perry and Reuben Cannon
CINEMATOGRAPHER: Sandi Sissel
EDITOR: Maysie Hoy

DRAMA/COMEDY

Starring: Angela Bassett, David Mann, Tamela J. Mann, Lance Gross, Chloe Bailey, Mariana Tolbert, Rick Fox, Sofia Vergara, Irma P. Hall, Frankie Faison, Margaret Avery, Jenifer Lewis, Lamman Rucker, Phillip Edward Van Lear, and Tyler Perry

Tyler Perry’s Meet the Browns is a 2008 film based upon a 2004 play written by Perry (like many of his films). The film was later spun off into a cable television series of the same name.

The film focuses on Brenda Brown (Angela Bassett), a single mother living in inner city Chicago, with her three children: daughters Tosha (Chloe Bailey) and Lena (Mariana Tolbert), and her oldest child, Michael (Lance Gross), a talented high school basketball player. Struggling for years to make ends meet and keep her three kids off the street, Brenda loses her job when her company shuts down (on pay day!). Brenda is feeling very down when a letter from Georgia arrives announcing the death of the father she has never met.

Looking for a chance to get away, Brenda takes her family to an unnamed small town in Georgia for the funeral. Nothing could have prepared her, however, to meet the Browns, her long lost relatives. Crass and fun loving, this Southern clan welcomes Brenda and her children to raucous family get-togethers and lavish meals of traditional Southern fare. Brenda also once again encounters Harry Belton (Rick Fox), a basketball recruiter interested in Michael’s future who first visited the family in Chicago, but Brenda is suspicious of Harry’s intentions both towards her and her son. Meanwhile, back in Chicago, Michael is determined to help alleviate the family’s financial problems and begins to consider becoming a drug dealer. Should Brenda stay and fight it out in Chicago or return to her strange, new family in Georgia?

Like Tyler Perry’s Daddy’s Little Girls, Meet the Browns is a drama with some humor. In a way, it also seems to be two movies – one focusing on Brenda and her family’s trials and tribulations in Chicago, and the other (the shorter of the two) focusing on Brenda’s small town relatives, the Browns. The parts of the film that take place in Chicago feature Perry’s usual besieged, single-parent melodrama, but it isn’t as good as what was in Daddy’s Little Girls. Frankly, except for a few sequences, the only part of Brenda-in-Chicago that I enjoyed was the delightful comic performance by Sofia Vergara as Brenda’s coworker and friend, Cheryl.

Meet the Browns is at its best when we are meeting the Browns, especially the wonderful Mr. Brown (David Mann), who is the main character of the spin-off television series. Jenifer Lewis also gives a salty comic turn as Vera Brown, and this film would have been better had Lewis had a bigger role. Former Los Angeles Laker, Rick Fox, gives an average performance, a bit stiff and dry, about what one would expect from former professional athletes taking up acting.

Another problem with this movie is that the lead actress, Angela Bassett, often seems out of place. There are moments when Bassett’s turn as Brenda Brown is pitch-perfect and poignant, but there are indeed moments when Bassett overacts and Brenda comes across as shrill. It is a testament to her skill that those bad moments don’t overwhelm the entire performance, as well as the movie

Audiences that enjoy Tyler Perry’s usual mixture of moralizing, affection, and forgiveness mixed with boisterous comedy and mockery will enjoy Meet the Browns, although as Perry films go, it is not one of his better films.

5 of 10
B-

Monday, July 19, 2010


Alien Anthology Arrives on Blu-ray October 25

ALIEN ANTHOLOGY: The Ultimate Collection Featuring All Four ALIEN Films Hatches On Blu-ray from October 25 With Never-Before-Seen Bonus Material And The Debut Of The Exclusive and Groundbreaking Interactive Experience, MU-TH-UR Mode

ON BLU-RAY, EVERYONE WILL HEAR YOU SCREAM

Fans Have A Chance To Board The Nostromo During Comic-Con At Booth #3528 And Enter The Hibernation Chamber Of The Doomed Intergalactic Crew

LOS ANGELES--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Sometimes, the scariest things come from within. Twentieth Century Fox Home Entertainment presents one of the most successful and terrifying film franchises of all time when the ALIEN ANTHOLOGY debuts on Blu-ray for the first time ever from October 25 internationally and on October 26 in North America. All four ALIEN films have been reinvigorated for an intense Blu-ray high-definition viewing experience. The release also marks the debut of MU-TH-UR Mode, a fully interactive companion that takes the extensive materials in the ALIEN ANTHOLOGY and puts them in the user’s hand – connecting fans to special features on all six discs and instantly providing an index of all available ALIEN content, including over 60 hours of special features and over 12,000 images.

The ALIEN ANTHOLOGY is a truly unique home entertainment experience. For the first time ever, the studio has united the material from every home video release of the ALIEN saga including the 1991/1992 laserdisc releases, the 1999 “Legacy” release and 2003’s groundbreaking ALIEN QUADRILOGY release into one complete Blu-ray collection. The set also includes two versions of each film and over four hours of previously unreleased exclusive material such as original screentests of Sigourney Weaver prior to filming the original ALIEN, unseen deleted scenes, thousands of still photographs from the Fox archives, the previously unseen original cut of “Wreckage and Rage: The Making of ALIEN3,” and much, much more.

The ALIEN ANTHOLOGY will be available for a suggested retail price of $139.99 U.S. / $179.99 Canada. Prebook is September 22.

The ALIEN ANTHOLOGY is just one aspect of Twentieth Century Fox Home Entertainment’s yearlong campaign to honor the studio’s 75th birthday. This year the division will debut several select fan-favorites on Blu-ray for the first time ever including The Rocky Horror Picture Show, William Shakespeare’s Romeo + Juliet, Moulin Rouge!, The Last of the Mohicans1 and The Sound of Music.

DISC ONE: ALIEN
1979 Theatrical Version
2003 Director’s Cut with Ridley Scott Introduction
Audio Commentary by Director Ridley Scott, Writer Dan O’Bannon, Executive Producer Ronald Shusett, Editor Terry Rawlings, Actors Sigourney Weaver, Tom Skerritt, Veronica Cartwright, Harry Dean Stanton and John Hurt
Audio Commentary (for Theatrical Cut only) by Ridley Scott
Final Theatrical Isolated Score by Jerry Goldsmith
Composer’s Original Isolated Score by Jerry Goldsmith
Deleted and Extended Scenes
MU-TH-UR Mode Interactive Experience with Weyland-Yutani Datastream

DISC TWO: ALIENS
1986 Theatrical Version
1991 Special Edition with James Cameron Introduction
Audio Commentary by Director James Cameron, Producer Gale Anne Hurd, Alien Effects Creator Stan Winston, Visual Effects Supervisors Robert Skotak and Dennis Skotak, Miniature Effects Supervisor Pat McClung, Actors Michael Biehn, Bill Paxton, Lance Henriksen, Jenette Goldstein, Carrie Henn and Christopher Henn
Final Theatrical Isolated Score by James Horner
Composer’s Original Isolated Score by James Horner
Deleted and Extended Scenes
MU-TH-UR Mode Interactive Experience with Weyland-Yutani Datastream

DISC THREE: ALIEN3
1992 Theatrical Version
2003 Special Edition (Restored Workprint Version)
Audio Commentary by Cinematographer Alex Thomson, B.S.C., Editor Terry Rawlings, Alien Effects Designers Alec Gillis and Tom Woodruff, Jr., Visual Effects Producer Richard Edlund, A.S.C., Actors Paul McGann and Lance Henriksen
Final Theatrical Isolated Score by Elliot Goldenthal
Deleted and Extended Scenes
MU-TH-UR Mode Interactive Experience with Weyland-Yutani Datastream

DISC FOUR: ALIEN RESURRECTION
1997 Theatrical Version
2003 Special Edition with Jean-Pierre Jeunet Introduction
Audio Commentary by Director Jean-Pierre Jeunet, Editor Hervé Schneid, A.C.E., Alien Effects Creators Alec Gillis and Tom Woodruff, Jr., Visual Effects Supervisor Pitof, Conceptual Artist Sylvain Despretz, Actors Ron Perlman, Dominique Pinon and Leland Orser
Final Theatrical Isolated Score by John Frizzell
Deleted and Extended Scenes
MU-TH-UR Mode Interactive Experience with Weyland-Yutani Datastream

DISC FIVE: MAKING THE ANTHOLOGY
In addition to over 12 hours of candid, in-depth documentaries, you now have the ability to go even deeper into Alien Anthology history with nearly five hours of additional video Enhancement Pods created exclusively for this collection, presenting behind-the-scenes footage, raw dailies and interview outtakes from all four films. At topical points in the documentaries, you may access these pods to enhance your experience, or watch them on their own from the separate Enhancement Pod index.

The Beast Within: Making ALIEN
Star Beast: Developing the Story
The Visualists: Direction and Design
Truckers in Space: Casting
Fear of the Unknown: Shepperton Studios, 1978
The Darkest Reaches: Nostromo and Alien Planet
The Eighth Passenger: Creature Design
Future Tense: Editing and Music
Outward Bound: Visual Effects
A Nightmare Fulfilled: Reaction to the Film
Enhancement Pods
Superior Firepower: Making ALIENS
57 Years Later: Continuing the Story
Building Better Worlds: From Concept to Construction
Preparing for Battle: Casting and Characterization
This Time It’s War: Pinewood Studios, 1985
The Risk Always Lives: Weapons and Action
Bug Hunt: Creature Design
Beauty and the Bitch: Power Loader vs. Queen Alien
Two Orphans: Sigourney Weaver and Carrie Henn
The Final Countdown: Music, Editing and Sound
The Power of Real Tech: Visual Effects
Aliens Unleashed: Reaction to the Film
Enhancement Pods
Wreckage and Rage: Making ALIEN3
Development Hell: Concluding the Story
Tales of the Wooden Planet: Vincent Ward’s Vision
Stasis Interrupted: David Fincher’s Vision
Xeno-Erotic: H.R. Giger’s Redesign
The Color of Blood: Pinewood Studios, 1991
Adaptive Organism: Creature Design
The Downward Spiral: Creative Differences
Where the Sun Burns Cold: Fox Studios, L.A. 1992
Optical Fury: Visual Effects
Requiem for a Scream: Music, Editing and Sound
Post-Mortem: Reaction to the Film
Enhancement Pods
One Step Beyond: Making ALIEN RESURRECTION
From the Ashes: Reviving the Story
French Twist: Direction and Design
Under the Skin: Casting and Characterization
Death from Below: Fox Studios, Los Angeles, 1996
In the Zone: The Basketball Scene
Unnatural Mutation: Creature Design
Genetic Composition: Music
Virtual Aliens: Computer Generated Imagery
A Matter of Scale: Miniature Photography
Critical Juncture: Reaction to the Film
Enhancement Pods
MU-TH-UR Mode Interactive Experience to Access and Control Enhancement Pods

DISC SIX: THE ANTHOLOGY ARCHIVES
ALIEN
Pre-Production
First Draft Screenplay by Dan O’Bannon
Ridleygrams: Original Thumbnails and Notes
Storyboard Archive
The Art of Alien: Conceptual Art Portfolio
Sigourney Weaver Screen Tests with Select Director Commentary
Cast Portrait Gallery
Production
The Chestbuster: Multi-Angle Sequence with Commentary
Video Graphics Gallery
Production Image Galleries
Continuity Polaroids
The Sets of Alien
H.R. Giger’s Workshop Gallery
Post-Production and Aftermath
Additional Deleted Scenes
Image & Poster Galleries
Experience in Terror
Special Collector’s Edition LaserDisc Archive
The Alien Legacy
American Cinematheque: Ridley Scott Q&A
Trailers & TV Spots

ALIENS
Pre-Production
Original Treatment by James Cameron
Pre-Visualizations: Multi-Angle Videomatics with Commentary
Storyboard Archive
The Art of Aliens: Image Galleries
Cast Portrait Gallery
Production
Production Image Galleries
Continuity Polaroids
Weapons and Vehicles
Stan Winston’s Workshop
Colonial Marine Helmet Cameras
Video Graphics Gallery
Weyland-Yutani Inquest: Nostromo Dossiers
Post-Production and Aftermath
Deleted Scene: Burke Cocooned
Deleted Scene Montage
Image Galleries
Special Collector’s Edition LaserDisc Archive
Main Title Exploration
Aliens: Ride at the Speed of Fright
Trailers & TV Spots

ALIEN3
Pre-Production
Storyboard Archive
The Art of Arceon
The Art of Fiorina
Production
Furnace Construction: Time-Lapse Sequence
EEV Bioscan: Multi-Angle Vignette with Commentary
Production Image Galleries
A.D.I.’s Workshop
Post-Production and Aftermath
Visual Effects Gallery
Special Shoot: Promotional Photo Archive
Alien3 Advance Featurette
The Making of Alien3 Promotional Featurette
Trailers & TV Spots

ALIEN RESURRECTION
Pre-Production
First Draft Screenplay by Joss Whedon
Test Footage: A.D.I. Creature Shop with Commentary
Test Footage: Costumes, Hair and Makeup
Pre-Visualizations: Multi-Angle Rehearsals
Storyboard Archive
The Marc Caro Portfolio: Character Designs
The Art of Resurrection: Image Galleries
Production
Production Image Galleries
A.D.I.’s Workshop
Post-Production and Aftermath
Visual Effects Gallery
Special Shoot: Promotional Photo Archive
HBO First Look: The Making of Alien Resurrection
Alien Resurrection Promotional Featurette
Trailers & TV Spots

ANTHOLOGY
Two Versions of Alien Evolution
The Alien Saga
Patches and Logos Gallery
Aliens 3D Attraction Scripts and Gallery
Aliens in the Basement: The Bob Burns Collection
Parodies
Dark Horse Cover Gallery
Patches and Logos Gallery
MU-TH-UR Mode Interactive Experience


About Twentieth Century Fox Home Entertainment
Twentieth Century Fox Home Entertainment, LLC (TCFHE) is a recognized global industry leader and a subsidiary of Twentieth Century Fox Film Corporation, a News Corporation company. Representing 75 years of innovative and award-winning filmmaking from Twentieth Century Fox, TCFHE is the worldwide marketing, sales and distribution company for all Fox film and television programming, acquisitions and original productions on DVD, Blu-ray Disc Digital Copy, Video On Demand and Digital Download. The company also releases all products globally for MGM Home Entertainment. Each year TCFHE introduces hundreds of new and newly enhanced products, which it services to retail outlets from mass merchants and warehouse clubs to specialty stores and e-commerce throughout the world.

ALIEN ANTHOLOGY

Street Date: October 26, 2010
Prebook Date: September 22, 2010
Screen Format:
ALIEN: Widescreen 2.35:1
ALIENS: Widescreen 1.85:1
ALIEN3: Widescreen 2.35:1
ALIEN RESURRECTION: Widescreen 2.35:1

Audio:
ALIEN: English 5.1 DTS-HD Master Audio, English 4.1 Dolby Surround, English Dolby Surround, French 5.1 DTS, Spanish 5.1 Dolby Digital, Portuguese 5.1 Dolby Digital

ALIENS: English 5.1 DTS-HD Master Audio, English 4.1 Dolby Surround, English Dolby Surround, French 5.1 DTS, Spanish 5.1 Dolby Digital, Portuguese 5.1 Dolby Digital

ALIEN3: English 5.1 DTS-HD Master Audio, English, French 5.1 DTS, Spanish 5.1 Dolby Digital, Portuguese 5.1 Dolby Digital

ALIEN RESURRECTION: English 5.1 DTS-HD Master Audio, English, French 5.1 DTS, Spanish 5.1 Dolby Digital, Portuguese 5.1 Dolby Digital

Subtitles: English, French, Spanish, Portuguese
U.S. Rating: R
Total Run Time: 1020 Minutes
Closed Captioned: Yes

1 North America only.


Sunday, July 18, 2010

Review: "Inception" is Fantastic but Hollow

TRASH IN MY EYE No. 53 (of 2010) by Leroy Douresseaux

Inception (2010)
Running time: 148 minutes (2 hours, 28 minutes)
MPAA – PG-13 for sequences of violence and action throughout
WRITER/DIRECTOR: Christopher Nolan
PRODUCERS: Christopher Nolan and Emma Thomas
CINEMATOGRAPHER: Wally Pfister
EDITOR: Lee Smith
COMPOSER: Hans Zimmer

SCI-FI/FANTASY/ACTION/THRILLER

Starring: Leonardo DiCaprio, Joseph Gordon-Levitt, Ellen Page, Tom Hardy, Ken Watanabe, Dileep Rao, Cillian Murphy, Tom Berenger, Marion Cotillard, Pete Postlethwaite, and Michael Caine

Christopher Nolan, the director of The Dark Knight, has unleashed a stunning new film – a visionary spectacle of spectacular visuals called Inception. Filled with mind-blowing visual effects, Inception is a mind-bending journey through the dreams and the subconscious. It will take your breath away; even dazzle you as long as you don’t pay attention to the shallow, clumsily built framework of a story.

Inception follows a thief named Dom Cobb (Leonardo DiCaprio) who has mastered a rather unusual craft called “extraction.” As an “extractor”, Cobb has the power the enter people’s dreams by thrusting himself into their subconscious, which gives him access to ideas and information that would be impossible to get otherwise. Cobb’s rare talent, ability, and technological know-how have made him a coveted player in this new frontier of corporate espionage, but this is a treacherous field that has also made him an international fugitive and keeps him from his family.

Now, Saito (Ken Watanabe), a Japanese businessman has offered Cobb a chance to clear his name. Saito wants Cobb to pull off the difficult (and thought to be impossible) job of inception – using a dream to plant an idea within a person’s mind. Their target is Robert Fischer, Jr. (Cillian Murphy), the heir to mega-corporation. Cobb and his team, including his point man, Arthur (Joseph Gordon-Levitt) and the newest member, college graduate student Ariadne (Ellen Page), think they’re about to pull off the perfect heist, until a dangerous enemy begins to track their every move. And this enemy is someone Cobb should have seen coming.

Far all its razzle dazzle, Inception is a heist movie. It’s like blending The Matrix with Ocean’s Eleven. Imagine Neo and his friends going into the Matrix not to fight the machine, but to steal people’s stuff. Inception may be a trippy trip like The Matrix, but as a heist movie, Cobb and company aren’t as cool as Danny Ocean’s crew.

But it is difficult to feel for the characters when nothing in this movie feels real, and other than the impressive imagery and effects, nothing else is powerful in this story. The characters are shallow, although they all have potential, and the female characters, Marion Cotillard’s Mallorie and (the ridiculously skinny) Ellen Page’s Ariadne, are especially wasted on the flimsy character drama. In fact, it is only Leonardo DiCaprio’s usually intense performance that makes the Dom Cobb character interesting, even at times alluring. The movie is so visually overwhelming, yet the story is about nothing. As a movie, Inception is merely an ingenious game.

Perhaps, Christopher Nolan has stolen into our dreams and implanted the idea that this is a great movie, and it is indeed an exceptional movie. Thanks to composer Hans Zimmer’s pounding score, Inception is even invigorating. However, this is a riff on The Matrix, and while its ending may leave a smile on your face (as it did to me), the lack of story makes Inception more a great experience than a great movie or story.

7 of 10
A-

Sunday, July 18, 2010

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Tyrese and Ludacris Return to "The Fast and the Furious"

According to this entry at AOL's Black Voices "BV on Movies" blog, actor-singer Tyrese Gibson and rapper-actor Ludacris announced via their Twitter accounts that they will be in the fifth installment of the The Fast and the Furious franchise.  The movie is tentatively titled "Fast Five."

"Just landed in Puerto Rico. Shooting for Fast & Furious 5 is about to be underway," tweeted Ludacris.

Of course, Vin Diesel and Paul Walker reprising their roles as Dominic Toretto and Brian O'Conner.

Tyrese and Ludacris appeared in the 2003 entry in the franchise, 2 Fast 2 Furious, the first sequel to 2001's The Fast and the Furious.  Tyrese played Roman Pearce, Brian's boyhood friend who is on house arrest after serving time in prison for which he still blames Brian. Ludacris played Tej Parker, a race host and a friend of Brian's, who arranges high stakes street racing events that Brian often races in and wins.

Director Justin Lin, who helmed the third and fourth films, The Fast and the Furious: Tokyo Drift and Fast & Furious, is returning for "Fast Five."  Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson will play a lawman in pursuit of Dominic and Brian in the next filmm, which is scheduled to hit theatres in June 10, 2011.


Saturday, July 17, 2010

Review: "The Twilight Samurai" Different and Moving

TRASH IN MY EYE No. 53 (of 2005) by Leroy Douresseaux


Tasogare seibei (2002)
International English title: The Twilight Samurai (2003)
COUNTRY OF ORIGIN: Japan
Running time: 129 minutes (2 hours, 9 minutes)
DIRECTOR: Yoji Yamada
WRITERS: Yoshitaka Asama and Yoji Yamada (based upon the three novels by Shuuhei Fujisawa)
PRODUCERS: Hiroshi Fukazawa, Shigehiro Nakagawa, and Ichiro Yamamoto
CINEMATOGRAPHY: Mutsuo Naganuma
EDITOR: Iwao Ishii
Academy Award nominee

DRAMA with elements of romance

Starring: Hiroyuki Sanada, Rie Miyazawa, Min Tanaka, Reiko Kusamura, Erina Hashiguchi, Miki Ito, Mitsuro Fukikoshi, and Tetsuro Tamba

Although trained as a samurai and belonging to a samurai clan, Seibei Iguchi (Hiroyuki Sanada) doesn’t fight alongside his clan in any battles. In the late Edo period of Japanese history, this samurai is a bookkeeper who rushes home at dusk, but doesn’t join his comrades in any festivities. Instead, the recent widower devotes himself to his two young daughters, Kayana (Miki Ito) and Ito (Erina Hashiguchi), and his ailing mother, Kino (Reiko Kusamura); that and his lack of hygiene make him a curiosity to his fellow clansmen, who call him Twilight Seibei. However, his defense of his friend, Michinojo Iinuma (Mitsuro Rukikoshi), and his unusual fighting technique bring him unwanted attention and soon an assignment that could cost him his life – just as he is accepting his love for his childhood friend, Michinojo’s sister, Tomoe Iinuma (Rie Miyazawa).

Tasogare seibei or The Twilight Samurai is a heartfelt elegy about man who doesn’t want to rise above his station in the world, but just wants to take care of his children and mother. Director Yoji Yamada takes a huge risk in losing his audience’s patience with the film’s slowly moving character drama. He focuses on somber, everyday detail to build Seibei’s character, a taciturn and impoverished man who eschews happiness for duty to family, as if they were mutual exclusive.

One might be fooled by the title, but this isn’t some martial arts slash fest. Seibei’s existence is bookkeeping and piecework to put food on his family’s table. However, there are hints at his past, both as a warrior and as a husband who believes that his late wife was disappointed in his material status, that come through gradually in this film. Thankfully, Sanada has the patience and acting chops to play with such sorrow until the film does have a chop-socky moment – a muscular and awkward fight scene that is more about one’s status in society than it is about power and violence.

There are good performances all around, and the voice over narration by an adult Kayana enhances the story of the father and adds easy commentary about this particular era of Japanese history. The Twilight Samurai, a 2004 Oscar nominee for best foreign-language film, is an eloquent domestic drama that doesn’t play to the usual samurai melodrama and shtick, but is still as moving as the most battling samurai films.

9 of 10
A+

NOTES:
2004 Academy Awards: 1 nomination: “Best Foreign Language Film (Japan)


Entertainment Weekly Covers Green Lantern Movie and Comic-Con International


From Entertainment Weekly’s July 23, 2010 issue (on newsstands nationwide Friday, July 16):

ENTERTAINMENT WEEKLY’S SPECIAL COMIC-CON PREVIEW

THIS WEEK’S SPECIAL ISSUE HAS THE EXCLUSIVE FIRST LOOK AT RYAN REYNOLDS AS GREEN LANTERN

New York – Ryan Reynolds is Hollywood’s newest superhero, as he prepares to star in next summer’s Green Lantern. This week’s issue of Entertainment Weekly, which is the third annual Comic-Con Preview issue, takes a look at whether Reynolds’ power ring (and his six-pack abs) can save the universe.

As he was propelled at 60 feet a second on a wire to create the illusion he can fly, Reynolds opens up about the perils of flying at high speed. “The first time you do it, you’re deeply considering an adult diaper,” he admits. He’s spent countless hours training for elaborately choreographed fight scenes and maintained a monklike diet. “It’s all part of the job, so I guess I can’t complain,” he says. “You spend one day a week eating what you want and the other six days eating drywall and wood chips.”

Since being created in 1940, Green Lantern has been one of the most beloved characters in the DC Comics stable of heroes, but beyond a hardcore audience of fanboys, he’s basically known as just a guy in a green suit with a magical ring. “Green Lantern doesn’t enjoy the familiarity or renown of, say, Batman or Spider-Man,” producer Donald De Line acknowledges. “We have to make the movie stand on its own.”

Figuring out the right way to bring the story to the screen wasn’t simple. In 2004, reports surfaced that a zany comedic take on Green Lantern was in the works, but fanboys didn’t like it and the project quickly died. Greg Berlanti, a comic-book fan and TV producer (Brothers & Sisters), wrote a screenplay and pitched Warner Bros. an outline for a grand trilogy. “I had to convince them this was the most valuable property they hadn’t tapped into and that it wasn’t just a cartoony thing about a guy with a magic ring,” says Berlanti. “Of all the comic-book movies, there hadn’t been something with an Americana feeling on earth and an epic feeling in space.”

Reynolds got hooked by the notion that power-ring slinging intergalactic do-gooder Hal Jordan’s ring can conjure anything he dreams up. And the actor already had experience in the superhero realm, playing the acerbic Deadpool in X-Men Oirins: Wolverine and flirted with playing the Flash. Though a Deadpool spin-off is in development, Reynolds foresees no problem juggling two superhero characters. “Green Lantern is a totally different bag of tricks,” he says. “I wouldn’t think twice about playing a cop in one movie and an FBI agent in another one.”

With Reynolds’ wife, Scarlett Johansson, playing Black Widow in the Iron Man franchise, he says, “We have a lot of comic books lying around the house – more than the average young married couple.”

The actor reflects on the burden of carrying a superhero movie on his shoulders: “The pressure is all on me,” he says. “I try not to think too much about that.” He muses about the merchandising blitz that this summer tentpole movie will eventually unleash, a bonanza of green-hued products, each with his face plastered on it. “There’ll be the Green Lantern hubcaps,” he says drily. “The Green Lantern terry-cloth onesie. The Green Lantern prostate check.” For his part, there’s just one souvenir he wants when it’s all over: “I’m definitely leaving with a ring,” he says. “And maybe an ulcer.”


PLUS: AN EXCLUSIVE COMIC-CON PREVIEW

Each July, Hollywood offers sneak peeks at the hottest movies and TV shows at Comic-Con, the ultimate comic-book convention. This week’s issue offers an early look at some of this year’s coolest stuff, including Thor. Comic-book history might have been very different if Thor didn’t have a hammer but instead fought evil with, say, needle-nose pliers. “The look of the hammer was the very first conversation I had the day I started the job,” says director Kenneth Branagh. “We had conversations about Thor’s hammer the night before we started shooting. We had conversations about the hammer – the look of the hammer, how to shoot it – on the set. We’re still talking about the hammer.” Other exclusive sneak peeks include Sucker Punch, Buffy the Vampire Slayer: Season 8 Motion Comic, Tron: Legacy, Paul, Don’t Be Afraid of the Dark, Scott Pilgrim Vs. The World, The Expendables, and more. (Cover Story Package, Page 36)

Link for full story on EW.com: http://popwatch.ew.com/2010/07/15/green-lantern-ryan-reynolds/

See related story at I Reads You blog.

Friday, July 16, 2010

Review: THE PRESTIGE's Brilliance is No Trick

TRASH IN MY EYE No. 225 (of 2006) by Leroy Douresseaux

The Prestige (2006)
Running time: 128 minutes (2 hours, 8 minutes)
MPAA – PG-13 for violence and disturbing images
DIRECTOR: Christopher Nolan
WRITERS: Jonathan Nolan and Christopher Nolan (based upon the novel by Christopher Priest)
PRODUCERS: Emma Thomas, Aaron Ryder, and Christopher Nolan
CINEMATOGRAPHER: Wally Pfister, ASC
EDITOR: Lee Smith A.C.E.
Academy Award nominee

DRAMA/THRILLER with elements of sci-fi and fantasy

Starring: Hugh Jackman, Christian Bale, Michael Caine, Piper Perabo, Rebecca Hall, Scarlett Johansson, David Bowie, and Andy Serkis

Director Christopher Nolan (Memento) reunites with two of the stars of his acclaimed hit film, Batman Begins – Christian Bale and Michael Caine – in The Prestige. Based upon the acclaimed novel of the same title by highly respected science fiction author, Christopher Priest, the film (like the book) blends sci-fi and history in telling the tale of magic and of an out-of-control rivalry.

In turn-of-the-century London, magicians are celebrities of the highest order, and in this age in which their craft can turn them into idols, two young magicians and colleagues are each ready to carve his path to fame and vast fortune. A tragic accident, however, turns them into enemies-for-life – bitter rivals intent on outdoing and upending each other. They’re either causing grave physical injury to one another or ruining each other’s act. The flashy showman and American, Robert Angier (Hugh Jackman) calls himself the “The Great Danton,” and he is obsessed with discovering the secrets of the edgy purist, Alfred Borden (Christian Bale), a.k.a. “The Professor,” who is a genius at inventing new stage tricks, but who lacks Angier’s showmanship. Borden is technically the better magician, and Angier lives to see the shock on his audiences’ faces. Their competition and rivalry grow more ferocious, almost with each trick and every show.

They drag everyone around them into their private war, including Cutter (Michael Caine), Angier’s “ingeneur” (a technician who actually creates magic tricks) and Olivia Wenscombe (Scarlett Johannson), Angier’s stage assistant, and Sarah (Rebecca Hall), Borden’s wife. Angier eventually turns to the fantastic new power of electricity and the brilliance of eccentric scientist, Nikola Tesla (David Bowie), in his bid to outdo Borden. But will the secret of “the prestige” take them too far into the darkest reaches of what is possible?

The Prestige is simply a riveting thriller built within a compelling drama, and the drama itself evolves from mesmeric characters. The Prestige is less like the literal-minded Batman Begins, and more like Nolan’s breakthrough flick, Memento – a time-shifting tale. The story (which Nolan co-wrote with his brother, Jonathan) hops back forth through the past, present, and future like Pulp Fiction, but demands your attention like The Sixth Sense. Grown up sensibilities and adult viewers demand engaging dramatic thrillers, and Christopher Nolan proves that he can deliver it, seemingly with stunning ease. The film isn’t without fault, as it is too dry in some segments and contrived in others. The end stumbles just a tad and overstates the obvious, but its flaws make actually make The Prestige worthy of contemplation long after the screen has faded to black.

Nolan’s cast gives him its all. Hugh Jackman completely sells the desperate and shamefully vain Robert Angier, while the always intense Christian Bale embodies Alfred Borden’s single-minded pursuit of craft and purity. Caine gives his edgiest performance since The Quiet American as Cutter. David Bowie is simply… delicious as the real-life Tesla, and Andy Serkis is a sweet curveball as the dodgy Alley.

Nolan also reunited key members of his technical crew from Batman Begins for The Prestige, and they play key roles (with brilliance) in creating an environment that is totally in synch with the film’s plot and setting. They make sure the visuals are tight, so that when the engaged viewer watches The Prestige with a careful eye, he will be delighted by surprising pledges, delightful turns, and one mind-numbing prestige.

8 of 10
A

Friday, November 03, 2006

NOTES:
2007 Academy Awards: 2 nominations: “Best Achievement in Art Direction” (Nathan Crowley-art director and Julie Ochipinti-set decorator) and “Best Achievement in Cinematography” (Wally Pfister)

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Blacula's Lady, Vonetta McGee Dead at 65


Vonetta McGee, the African-American actress who had a starring role in Blacula, has died at the age of 65.  Born in San Francisco, McGee debuted in the 1968 Italian comedy, Faustina, playing the title role.  Among the films in which McGee appeared are the 1972 black action movie, Hammer (with Fred Williamson), the 1972 crime drama, Melinda, and Shaft in Africa (1973).  She also appeared opposite Clint Eastwood in The Eiger Sanction (1975).  McGee would go on to having recurring roles in 1980s television drama, Cagney and Lacey and L.A. Law.

The website for the magazine Cinema Retro has a small obit for the actress, but a longer article about her can be found at AOL's Black Voices.

Rest in peace, my Queen.


Thursday, July 15, 2010

Review: Christopher Nolan's "Insomnia" Remake Offers Good Performances

TRASH IN MY EYE No. 2 (of 2003) by Leroy Douresseaux

Insomnia (2002)
Running time: 118 minutes (1 hour, 58 minutes)
MPAA – R for language, some violence and brief nudity
DIRECTOR: Christopher Nolan
WRITER: Hilary Seitz (based upon the screenplay by Nikolai Frobenius and Erik Skjoldbjaerg)
PRODUCERS: Broderick Johnson, Paul Junger Witt, Andrew A. Kosove, and Edward L. McDonnell
CINEMATOGRAPHER: Wally Pfister (director of photography)
EDITOR: Dody Dorn

CRIME/THRILLER with elements of drama

Starring: Al Pacino, Robin Williams, Martin Donovan, Hilary Swank, Paul Dooley, Nicky Katt, and Maura Tierney

Christopher Nolan, the director of the fantastic Memento, follows his breakthrough masterpiece with Insomnia, a remake of a 1997 Swedish film of the same title. Which is better? One is foreign film, and the other is big budget Hollywood production; although the plot is basically the same, they’re two different films.

Al Pacino is Will Dormer, a famous and an acclaimed homicide investigator with books to his credit. He and his partner Hap Eckhart (Martin Donovan) are dispatched to Nightmute, Alaska, a town where the sun doesn’t set during the summer, to investigate the shocking murder of teenage girl. While in pursuit of the killer (Robin Williams), Dormer makes a horrible mistake (which he later learns the killer witnessed) and he compounds his error by covering it up. Suddenly, Dormer engages himself in a terrific juggling act. He has to deal with the killer, a wily fellow. Also, a bright, young detective, Ellie Burr (Hilary Swank, Boys Don’t Cry), is assigned to investigate the crime scene of Dormer’s “error,” and there are stars in her eyes, as she’s a huge fan of his. Further complicating matters, the lead, local detective, Fred Duggar (Nicky Katt) is a young stud who doesn’t like the big city investigator sniffing around his territory.

Pacino is good, and Robin Williams is very good. The film seems to be about the invasion of the societal demands, influence, power, and roles into the personal space of individuals - what they believe and desire to be their roles, needs, and responsibilities. The constant flood of daylight causes Dormer to lose sleep, and the lack of sleep causes his world to blur. Suddenly, his desire to solve the case is in conflict with his checkered past, with his errors in judgment regarding this case, and with his sense of right and wrong and crime and punishment. Williams plays it quiet; his character’s conceit is his wish to control the outer world the way he controls and manipulates the inner worlds of his creativity. There’s a nice test of wills and battle of sanities between Pacino and Williams' characters that could have been lost in the glare of their star power – credit to Nolan for keeping these bright lights in check.

However, I really liked the supporting roles. Donovan’s Hap Eckhart is a nice counterweight to Pacino’s Dormer; Dormer’s high wattage as a famous investigator simply does not faze Eckhart, a by the book, straight laced cop. Donovan correctly plays the character so that Eckhart immediately reveals the cracks in Dormer’s armor, so we know that Dormer’s not so perfect even if that is the public perception of him. Nicky Katt stares Pacino in the eyes and doesn’t blink; his character Duggar keeps Dormer and check so that when Dormer runs amok, he doesn’t completely control the investigation, even if his activities complicates it.

Hilary Swank is all good. Her character Ellie, in a sense, mirrors the victim, except that she survives her mentor and might become a better policeman for it. Perhaps, she won’t be as famous, but her quality and honesty will likely surpass his. She’s the quiet wild card in this movie, and really, she’s the axis. In a world of shifting realities, half-truths, lies, and masks, she strips away the facades to reveal the bare bone facts.

While not great, Insomnia is better than a lot of hackneyed thrillers. Nolan continues to prove that he is already a great director on the strength of just a few films, and the photography by Wally Pfister (Nolan’s partner in crime on Memento), from the opening panorama to the claustrophobic interiors, is gorgeous and perfectly sets the tone. Besides Nolan’s work, this film is certainly worth seeing for its performances, which include one of Robin Williams’s less manic, but still good, performances.

6 of 10
B

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