Anne Hathaway is Selina Kyle in "The Dark Knight Rises"

There is apparently a press release from Warner Bros. Pictures going around that announces the villains for next year's Batman flick, "The Dark Knight Rises" (July 20, 2012).  Anne Hathaway will play Seline Kyle who is Catwoman.  Apparently, the press release doesn't specifically call Kyle Catwoman.

The press release also announces that Tom Hardy will play the villian, Bane.  In the comic books, Bane is the monstrously muscular behemoth who once broke Batman's back.  Empire Online has more details.  I'll post the press release when I can find an official copy.

Review: Gritty "True Grit" Offers Great Characters and Superb Performances

TRASH IN MY EYE No. 6 (of 2011) by Leroy Douresseaux

True Grit (2010)
Running time: 110 minutes (1 hour, 50 minutes)
MPAA – PG-13 for some intense sequences of western violence including disturbing images
DIRECTORS: The Coen Brothers
WRITERS: Joel Coen and Ethan Coen (based upon the novel by Charles Portis)
PRODUCERS: Ethan Coen, Joel Coen, and Scott Rudin
CINEMATOGRAPHER: Roger Deakins (D.o.P.)
EDITORS: Roderick Jaynes (Ethan Coen and Joel Coen)
COMPOSER: Carter Burwell

WESTERN/ADVENTURE/DRAMA

Starring: Jeff Bridges, Hailee Steinfeld, Matt Damon, Josh Brolin, Barry Pepper, Candyce Hinkle, Roy Lee Jones, Orlando Smart, and Ed Corbin

The latest film from the Coen Bros. (Joel and Ethan) is the Western, True Grit. It is the second film adaptation of the 1968 Charles Portis novel, True Grit; the first was a 1969 film starring John Wayne. True Grit is the story of a stubborn young woman who convinces a tough U.S. Marshal to help her find her father’s murderer.

After her father is murdered by one of his hired hands, a man named Tom Chaney (Josh Brolin), 14-year-old Mattie Ross (Hailee Steinfeld) arrives in a small town to collect her father’s body and get his killer. She attempts to hire U.S. Marshal Reuben “Rooster” Cogburn (Jeff Bridges) to track Chaney into Indian country where he is hiding with a gang of criminals. Mattie tells Cogburn that she chose him because he has “true grit,” but that isn’t enough to convince Cogburn to take the job. When he does accept the offer, Cogburn decides to take a vain Texas Ranger, LaBoeuf (Matt Damon), with him instead of Mattie. But the young woman is about to show them both that she also has “true grit.”

As they do in all their movies, Joel and Ethan Coen get great performances from their actors. Jeff Bridges gives so many layers to Rooster Cogburn (the role John Wayne played in the 1969 film). The viewer will spend the entire movie peeling those layers back and still not have the whole story on this character that Bridges makes so real. Although LaBoeuf isn’t quite as interesting as Rooster, Matt Damon shows his true grit by making a vain chatterbox and (at best) semi-competent lawman/nincompoop a character that I wish was onscreen more.

Yes, the praise that newcomer Hailee Steinfeld, as Mattie, has received for her performance in this film is not mere hype. She’s a natural, and she makes this movie as much as anyone else does – including the Coen Bros.

The one glaring weakness that keeps True Grit from being a truly great film is how the filmmakers treat the villains. There is potential in Josh Brolin’s Tom Chaney and especially in Barry Pepper’s “Lucky” Ned Pepper, but both are hardly ever on screen. The film spends so much time showing us the tremendous work of Bridges, Steinfeld, and Damon and their characters that everyone else gets shorted.

There isn’t anything really profound about True Grit, except this tidbit at the end: time catches up with everyone. This film is really not about ideas. True Grit, even with the performances at its heart, is a Coen Brothers film. This is about how they do it – their style, their rhythms, their quirks, their directorial trademarks and flourishes. That’s not a bad thing simply because Joel and Ethan Coen do their thang so well.

8 of 10
A

Wednesday, January 19, 2011

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Halle Berry Declines Aretha Role

Recently, I posted about Aretha Franklin stating that Halle Berry would play her in a film about the Queen of Soul's life.  More recently at the Golden Globes, Berry politely declined.  Shadow and Act has the story and some opinion.

"The King's Speech" Leads 2011 BAFTA Nominations

The BAFTAs were announced some hours ago (Jan. 18th).  The British Academy of Film and Television Arts is a charity in the United Kingdom that (as they describe it) "supports, develops and promotes the art forms of the moving image by identifying and rewarding excellence, inspiring practitioners and benefiting the public."  Of course, the group is known for handing out an award known as the BAFTA.

In the states, we primarily pay attention to the BAFTA film awards.  The British film, The King's Speech, has the most nominations, 14, while the current American darling, The Social Network, received six.  For those who are not familiar with the BAFTAs, there are two best film categories:  "Best Film" and "Outstanding British Film," and The King's Speech is nominated in both.  The also have a "Rising Star Award," which is voted on by the public.  The awards will be handed out Sunday, February 13, 2011.

2010 NOMINATIONS
(presented in 2011)

BEST FILM
BLACK SWAN Mike Medavoy, Brian Oliver, Scott Franklin
INCEPTION Emma Thomas, Christopher Nolan
THE KING’S SPEECH Iain Canning, Emile Sherman, Gareth Unwin
THE SOCIAL NETWORK Scott Rudin, Dana Brunetti, Michael De Luca, Céan Chaffin
TRUE GRIT Scott Rudin, Ethan Coen, Joel Coen

OUTSTANDING BRITISH FILM
127 HOURS Danny Boyle, Simon Beaufoy, Christian Colson, John Smithson
ANOTHER YEAR Mike Leigh, Georgina Lowe
FOUR LIONS Chris Morris, Jesse Armstrong, Sam Bain, Mark Herbert, Derrin Schlesinger
THE KING’S SPEECH Tom Hooper, David Seidler, Iain Canning, Emile Sherman, Gareth Unwin
MADE IN DAGENHAM Nigel Cole, William Ivory, Elizabeth Karlsen, Stephen Woolley

OUTSTANDING DEBUT BY A BRITISH WRITER, DIRECTOR OR PRODUCER
THE ARBOR Clio Barnard (Director), Tracy O’Riordan (Producer)
EXIT THROUGH THE GIFT SHOP Banksy (Director), Jaimie D’Cruz (Producer)
FOUR LIONS Chris Morris (Director/Writer)
MONSTERS Gareth Edwards (Director/Writer)
SKELETONS Nick Whitfield (Director/Writer)

DIRECTOR
127 HOURS Danny Boyle
BLACK SWAN Darren Aronofsky
INCEPTION Christopher Nolan
THE KING’S SPEECH Tom Hooper
THE SOCIAL NETWORK David Fincher

ORIGINAL SCREENPLAY
BLACK SWAN Mark Heyman, Andrés Heinz, John McLaughlin
THE FIGHTER Scott Silver, Paul Tamasy, Eric Johnson
INCEPTION Christopher Nolan
THE KIDS ARE ALL RIGHT Lisa Cholodenko, Stuart Blumberg
THE KING’S SPEECH David Seidler

ADAPTED SCREENPLAY
127 HOURS Danny Boyle, Simon Beaufoy
THE GIRL WITH THE DRAGON TATTOO Rasmus Heisterberg, Nikolaj Arcel
THE SOCIAL NETWORK Aaron Sorkin
TOY STORY 3 Michael Arndt
TRUE GRIT Joel Coen, Ethan Coen

FILM NOT IN THE ENGLISH LANGUAGE
BIUTIFUL Alejandro González Iñárritu, Jon Kilik, Fernando Bovaira
THE GIRL WITH THE DRAGON TATTOO Søren Stærmose, Niels Arden Oplev
I AM LOVE Luca Guadagnino, Francesco Melzi D’Eril, Marco Morabito, Massimiliano Violante
OF GODS AND MEN Xavier Beauvois
THE SECRET IN THEIR EYES Mariela Besuievsky, Juan José Campanella

ANIMATED FILM
DESPICABLE ME Chris Renaud, Pierre Coffin
HOW TO TRAIN YOUR DRAGON Chris Sanders, Dean DeBlois
TOY STORY 3 Lee Unkrich

LEADING ACTOR
JAVIER BARDEM Biutiful
JEFF BRIDGES True Grit
JESSE EISENBERG The Social Network
COLIN FIRTH The King’s Speech
JAMES FRANCO 127 Hours

LEADING ACTRESS
ANNETTE BENING The Kids Are All Right
JULIANNE MOORE The Kids Are All Right
NATALIE PORTMAN Black Swan
NOOMI RAPACE The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo
HAILEE STEINFELD True Grit

SUPPORTING ACTOR
CHRISTIAN BALE The Fighter
ANDREW GARFIELD The Social Network
PETE POSTLETHWAITE The Town
MARK RUFFALO The Kids Are All Right
GEOFFREY RUSH The King’s Speech

SUPPORTING ACTRESS
AMY ADAMS The Fighter
HELENA BONHAM CARTER The King’s Speech
BARBARA HERSHEY Black Swan
LESLEY MANVILLE Another Year
MIRANDA RICHARDSON Made in Dagenham

ORIGINAL MUSIC
127 HOURS AR Rahman
ALICE IN WONDERLAND Danny Elfman
HOW TO TRAIN YOUR DRAGON John Powell
INCEPTION Hans Zimmer
THE KING’S SPEECH Alexandre Desplat

CINEMATOGRAPHY
127 HOURS Anthony Dod Mantle, Enrique Chediak
BLACK SWAN Matthew Libatique
INCEPTION Wally Pfister
THE KING’S SPEECH Danny Cohen
TRUE GRIT Roger Deakins

EDITING
127 HOURS Jon Harris
BLACK SWAN Andrew Weisblum
INCEPTION Lee Smith
THE KING’S SPEECH Tariq Anwar
THE SOCIAL NETWORK Angus Wall, Kirk Baxter

PRODUCTION DESIGN
ALICE IN WONDERLAND Robert Stromberg, Karen O’Hara
BLACK SWAN Thérèse DePrez, Tora Peterson
INCEPTION Guy Hendrix Dyas, Larry Dias, Doug Mowat
THE KING’S SPEECH Eve Stewart, Judy Farr
TRUE GRIT Jess Gonchor, Nancy Haigh

COSTUME DESIGN
ALICE IN WONDERLAND Colleen Atwood
BLACK SWAN Amy Westcott
THE KING’S SPEECH Jenny Beavan
MADE IN DAGENHAM Louise Stjernsward
TRUE GRIT Mary Zophres

SOUND
127 HOURS Glenn Freemantle, Ian Tapp, Richard Pryke, Steven C Laneri, Douglas Cameron
BLACK SWAN Ken Ishii, Craig Henighan, Dominick Tavella
INCEPTION Richard King, Lora Hirschberg, Gary A Rizzo, Ed Novick
THE KING’S SPEECH John Midgley, Lee Walpole, Paul Hamblin
TRUE GRIT Skip Lievsay, Craig Berkey, Greg Orloff, Peter F Kurland, Douglas Axtell

SPECIAL VISUAL EFFECTS
ALICE IN WONDERLAND Nominees TBC
BLACK SWAN Dan Schrecker
HARRY POTTER AND THE DEATHLY HALLOWS PART 1 Tim Burke, John Richardson, Nicolas Ait'Hadi, Christian Manz
INCEPTION Chris Corbould, Paul Franklin, Andrew Lockley, Peter Bebb
TOY STORY 3 Nominees TBC

MAKE UP & HAIR
ALICE IN WONDERLAND Nominees TBC
BLACK SWAN Judy Chin, Geordie Sheffer
HARRY POTTER AND THE DEATHLY HALLOWS PART 1 Amanda Knight, Lisa Tomblin
THE KING’S SPEECH Frances Hannon
MADE IN DAGENHAM Lizzie Yianni Georgiou

SHORT ANIMATION
THE EAGLEMAN STAG Michael Please
MATTER FISHER David Prosser
THURSDAY Matthias Hoegg

SHORT FILM
CONNECT Samuel Abrahams, Beau Gordon
LIN Piers Thompson, Simon Hessel
RITE Michael Pearce, Ross McKenzie
TURNING Karni Arieli, Saul Freed, Alison Sterling, Kat Armour-Brown
UNTIL THE RIVER RUNS RED Paul Wright, Poss Kondeatis

THE ORANGE WEDNESDAYS RISING STAR AWARD (voted for by the public)
GEMMA ARTERTON
ANDREW GARFIELD
TOM HARDY
AARON JOHNSON
EMMA STONE

http://www.bafta.org/.

2011 Nominations for British Academy Film Awards Announced

Press release:

NOMINATIONS ANNOUNCED FOR THE ORANGE BRITISH ACADEMY FILM AWARDS IN 2011

The King’s Speech receives 14 nominations. Black Swan is nominated in 12 categories, Inception has nine nominations and 127 Hours and True Grit are each nominated eight times. The Social Network has six nominations.

Alice in Wonderland has five nominations; The Kids Are All Right and Made in Dagenham have four nominations apiece; and The Fighter, The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo and Toy Story 3 each receive three nominations.

The King’s Speech has been nominated in the categories Best Film, Cinematography, Costume Design, Editing, Make Up & Hair, Original Music, Original Screenplay, Production Design, Sound and Outstanding British Film. Tom Hooper is nominated for Director and Colin Firth is nominated for Leading Actor. His co-stars Helena Bonham Carter and Geoffrey Rush are nominated for Supporting Actress and Supporting Actor.

Black Swan has been nominated for Best Film, Cinematography, Costume Design, Editing, Make Up & Hair, Original Screenplay, Production Design, Sound and Special Visual Effects. Darren Aronofsky is nominated for Director, Natalie Portman for Leading Actress and Barbara Hershey for Supporting Actress.

Inception is nominated for Best Film, Cinematography, Editing, Original Screenplay, Original Music, Production Design, Sound and Special Visual Effects. Christopher Nolan is nominated for Director.

Completing the Best Film line up are The Social Network and True Grit, both of which are also nominated for Adapted Screenplay.

David Fincher is nominated for Director for The Social Network and Jesse Eisenberg and Andrew Garfield are nominated in the Leading and Supporting Actor categories, respectively. The film is also nominated for Editing.

True Grit has six further nominations: Cinematography, Costume Design, Production Design and Sound as well as Leading Actor and Leading Actress nominations for Jeff Bridges and Hailee Steinfeld.

Danny Boyle is nominated for Director for 127 Hours and the film’s star James Franco is nominated in the Leading Actor category. The film is also nominated in Outstanding British Film, Adapted Screenplay, Cinematography, Editing, Original Music and Sound.

Javier Bardem is nominated in the Leading Actor category for Biutiful, which is also nominated for Film Not in the English Language.

Joining Andrew Garfield and Geoffrey Rush in the Supporting Actor category are Christian Bale for The Fighter, Pete Postlethwaite for The Town and Mark Ruffalo for The Kids Are All Right.

Mark Ruffalo’s co-stars in The Kids Are All Right, Annette Bening and Julianne Moore, are both nominated in the Leading Actress category. The film is also nominated for Original Screenplay.

Noomi Rapace completes the Leading Actress category, for her performance in The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo, which has two further nominations, for Adapted Screenplay and Film Not in the English Language.

In the Supporting Actress category, Amy Adams is nominated for The Fighter, which also has an Original Screenplay nomination. Lesley Manville is nominated for Another Year and Miranda Richardson for Made in Dagenham.

Both Another Year and Made in Dagenham are nominated for Outstanding British Film. Made in Dagenham also has nominations for Costume Design and Make Up & Hair.

Four Lions is nominated for Outstanding British Film and the film’s writer/director Chris Morris is nominated for Outstanding Debut by a British Writer, Director or Producer. Joining him in that category are: Clio Barnard and Tracy O’Riordan, director and producer of The Arbor; Gareth Edwards, writer/director of Monsters; Nick Whitfield, writer/director of Skeletons; and Jaimie D’Cruz and Banksy, producer and director of Exit Through the Gift Shop.

Despicable Me, How to Train Your Dragon and Toy Story 3 are the nominees in the Animated Film category. Toy Story 3 also has nominations for Adapted Screenplay and Special Visual Effects. How to Train Your Dragon is nominated in the Original Music category.

Alice in Wonderland’s five nominations are for Costume Design, Make Up & Hair, Original Music, Production Design and Special Visual Effects.

Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 1 has two nominations: for Make Up & Hair and Special Visual Effects.

I Am Love, Of Gods and Men and The Secret in Their Eyes are nominated in the Film Not in the English Language category alongside Biutiful and The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo.

The Short Animation nominations are The Eagleman Stag, Matter Fisher, and Thursday and the Short Film nominations are Connect, LIN, Rite, Turning and Until the River Runs Red.

The nominees for the Orange Wednesdays Rising Star Award, announced earlier this month, are Gemma Arterton, Andrew Garfield, Tom Hardy, Aaron Johnson and Emma Stone. This audience award is voted for by the British public and presented to an actor or actress who has demonstrated exceptional talent and promise.

The Orange British Academy Film Awards take place on Sunday 13 February at the Royal Opera House, Covent Garden, London. This is the fourteenth year of Orange’s sponsorship of the Film Awards.

The ceremony will be hosted for the fifth year by Jonathan Ross and will be broadcast exclusively on BBC One. Red carpet coverage will be hosted by Edith Bowman on BBC Three.


About BAFTA:
The British Academy of Film and Television Arts is an independent charity that supports, develops and promotes the art forms of the moving image by identifying and rewarding excellence, inspiring practitioners and benefiting the public. In addition to its Awards ceremonies, BAFTA has a year-round Learning & Events programme that offers unique access to some of the world’s most inspiring talent through workshops, masterclasses, lectures and mentoring schemes, connecting with audiences of all ages and backgrounds across the UK, Los Angeles and New York. BAFTA relies on income from membership subscriptions, individual donations, trusts, foundations and corporate partnerships to support its ongoing outreach work. For further information, visit http://www.bafta.org/.

Complete List of 68th Golden Globe Winners

The Golden Globe Awards, presented by the Hollywood Foreign Press Association, were handed out last night.  On the film side of things, things were fairly boring as the expected winners won.  If you are starting to see a pattern, you are not paranoid.  Once again, The Social Network triumphs.  So here is a list of the winners in both the film and television categories:

2011 Golden Globe Awards Winners (For the year ended December 31, 2010)

FILM AWARDS
Picture, Drama: "The Social Network."

Picture, Musical or Comedy: "The Kids Are All Right."

Actor, Drama: Colin Firth, "The King's Speech."

Actress, Drama: Natalie Portman, "Black Swan."

Director: David Fincher, "The Social Network."

Actress, Musical or Comedy: Annette Bening, "The Kids Are All Right."

Actor, Musical or Comedy: Paul Giamatti, "Barney's Version."

Supporting Actor: Christian Bale, "The Fighter."

Supporting Actress: Melissa Leo, "The Fighter."

Foreign Language: "In a Better World."

Animated Film: "Toy Story 3."

Screenplay: Aaron Sorkin, "The Social Network."

Original Score: "The Social Network."

Original Song: "You Haven't Seen the Last of Me," (written by Diane Warren), "Burlesque."

TELEVISION AWARDS
Series, Drama: "Boardwalk Empire," HBO.

Actor, Drama: Steve Buscemi, "Boardwalk Empire."

Actress, Drama: Katey Sagal, "Sons of Anarchy."

Series, Musical or Comedy: "Glee," Fox.

Actor, Musical or Comedy: Jim Parsons, "The Big Bang Theory."

Actress, Musical or Comedy: Laura Linney, "The Big C."

Miniseries or Movie: "Carlos," Sundance Channel.

Actress, Miniseries or Movie: Claire Danes, "Temple Grandin."

Actor, Miniseries or Movie: Al Pacino, "You Don't Know Jack."

Supporting Actress, Series, Miniseries or Movie: Jane Lynch, "Glee."

Supporting Actor, Series, Miniseries or Movie: Chris Colfer, "Glee."

PREVIOUSLY ANNOUNCED
Cecil B. DeMille Lifetime Achievement Award: Robert De Niro.

Review: "Coming to America" is Still a Classic (Happy B'day, James Earl Jones)

TRASH IN MY EYE No. 34 (of 2006) by Leroy Douresseaux

Coming to America (1988)
Running time: 116 minutes (1 hour, 56 minutes)
MPAA – R
DIRECTOR: John Landis
WRITERS: David Sheffield and Barry W. Blaustein; from a story by Eddie Murphy
PRODUCERS: George Folsey, Jr. and Robert D. Wachs
CINEMATOGRAPHER: Woody Omens with Sol Negrin
EDITOR: George Folsey, Jr. and Malcolm Campbell
Academy Award nominee

COMEDY/ROMANCE

Starring: Eddie Murphy, Arsenio Hall, James Earl Jones, John Amos, Madge Sinclair, Shari Headley, Paul Bates, Eriq La Salle, Frankie Faison, Vanessa Bell , Louie Anderson, Allison Dean, Calvin Lockhart, Clint Smith, Don Ameche, Ralph Bellamy, and Samuel L. Jackson

A pampered heir to an African throne, Prince Akeem (Eddie Murphy), wants more out of life, and he wants a woman with her own mind, someone other than the beautiful woman to whom he’s engaged, Imani Izzi (Vanessa Bell). His father, King Jaffe Joffer (James Earl Jones), the ruler of Zamunda, encourages Akeem to go to America and sow his royal oats. However, Akeem heads to New York City, specifically Queens, to find a mate who will fall in love with him for who he is not what he is. Accompanied by his trusty sidekick, Semmi (Arsenio Hall), Akeem takes a low-paying job at a McDonald’s-like fast food restaurant, McDowell’s. He keeps his true identity secret and eventually begins a romance with Lisa McDowell (Shari Headley), the daughter of the boss, Cleo McDowell (John Amos). But will his royal lineage ruin Akeem’s chances with Lisa?

Coming to America remains one of my favorite Eddie Murphy films. It’s both funny, and the film also reveals the romantic side of Eddie Murphy’s talents as an actor – something we’d see more of in later films. The script by David Sheffield and Barry W. Blaustein, two writers who wrote many of Murphy’s sketches while he was a cast member of “Saturday Night Live” in the mid-80’s, crafted a light-hearted, but engaging romantic comedy, and sprinkle it with numerous comic sketches and scenes. The writers provide comic gems not only for Murphy and Arsenio Hall, but also for the rest of the cast, which gives even actors with the smallest parts something into which they can sink their teeth. James Earl Jones, John Amos, and Madge Sinclair as Queen Aoleon shine in supporting roles.

Many people remember the film for the fact that Murphy and Hall played more than one role, thanks in large part to the amazing makeup by Oscar-winning makeup effects whiz, Rick Baker (who earned an Oscar nomination for this film, but lost that year to the makeup team on Beetlejuice). Hall plays three characters in addition to Semmi, including one female character. Murphy plays three characters in addition to Prince Akeem, including a Caucasian male. The makeup and their performances were so convincing that some of the audience didn’t realize that Murphy and Hall were playing multiple parts, in particularly Murphy as the old white man, Saul.

Coming to America also had good production values, including an amazing array of colorful (though sometimes outlandish costumes) costumes and a multiplicity of sets reflecting everything from regal splendor to lower class squalor. Probably the best thing that the set decorator and art director did was create an African kingdom that reflects African-American fantasy and myth-making about African monarchies, but something with the whimsy of, say, the Emerald City in The Wizard of Oz. If that weren’t enough, the cast features many very talented black actors who rarely get work simple because they’re black, but this film gives us a chance to see these talented performers. That’s why Coming to America remains one of the great African-American romantic comedies, and it is also one of the first times in film that we see Eddie Murphy show the scope of his ability to play a variety of characters.

8 of 10
A

NOTES:
1989 Academy Awards: 2 nominations: “Best Costume Design” (Deborah Nadoolman) and “Best Makeup” (Rick Baker)

1990 Image Awards: 2 wins: “Outstanding Motion Picture” and “Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Motion Picture” (Arsenio Hall)

Monday, February 13, 2006

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Review: "Fun with Dick and Jane is Timely and Timeless" (Happy B'day, Jim Carrey)

TRASH IN MY EYE No. 189 (of 2005) by Leroy Douresseaux

Fun with Dick and Jane (2005)
Running time: 90 minutes (1 hour, 40 minutes)
MPAA – PG-13 for brief language, some sexual humor, and occasional drug references
DIRECTOR: Dean Parisot
WRITERS: Judd Apatow, Nicholas Stoller, and Peter Tolan; from a story by Judd Apatow, Nicholas Stoller, and Gerald Gaiser (based upon the novel by Gerald Gaiser)
PRODUCERS: Jim Carrey and Brian Grazer
CINEMATOGRAPHER: Jerzy Zielinski
EDITOR: Don Zimmerman

COMEDY/CRIME with elements of historical


Starring: Jim Carrey, Téa Leoni, Alec Baldwin, Richard Jenkins, Gloria Garayua, John Michael Higgins, Jeff Garlin, and Angie Harmon

In Fun with Dick and Jane, an upper middle class couple finds themselves unemployed and broke, even though they always played by the rules to reach their American dream. Desperate, they finally turn to crime to pay the bills.

It’s America, circa 2000. Dick Harper (Jim Carrey) and his wife Jane (Téa Leoni) have a lovely son, Billy, a Latino housekeeper named Blanca (Gloria Garayua) to take care of him, and a fancy two-story home in a swanky neighborhood. After waiting 15 years for that big promotion, Dick becomes Vice-President of Communications at Globodyne, a media consolidation company. This new prestige position allows Jane to quit her horrible job at a travel agency and become a stay-at-home mom.

But the American Dream is about to become a nightmare. Globodyne goes belly up in an Enron-style meltdown, and Globodyne CEO Jack McCallister (Alec Baldwin) leaves his new VP of Communications holding the bag. After months of ceaseless job searching, Dick can’t find another company to give him an executive job. Eventually, because the bank is about to foreclose on his home, he has to take any job he can find, which includes working as a greeter at a giant box store, a Wal-Mart type place named KostMart. Jane even bluffs her way into a job as a Tae Bo instructor.

Neither is good at their new jobs, so Dick, at his wit’s end, suggests that he and Jane start pulling off nighttime robberies. The screwball Bonnie and Clyde eventually have a chance encounter with former Globodyne CFO Frank Bascom (Richard Jenkins), who tells Dick that Jack McCallister siphoned off 400 million dollars from the company before it collapsed. Dick, Jane, and Frank promptly launch a plot to steal Jack’s ill-gotten gains, just as he stole them from Globodyne.

Fun with Dick and Jane is a remake of a 1977 film starring George Segal and Jane Fonda as an upwardly mobile couple who find themselves unemployed and in debt and turn to armed robbery to alleviate their problems. While the original film took place in the post-Nixon malaise of the late mid-1970’s, the new film starring Jim Carrey and Téa Leoni takes place at the turn of the century when the communications and Internet boom of the go-go 90’s hit an awful Wall Street bump and many people found themselves unemployed, in deep debt with mortgage companies, credit card companies, and sometimes the IRS – not to mention having much of their savings and/or personal worth died up in worthless stocks.

The current version actually looks at the Dick and Jane Harper’s situation from two angles. The first is to view the Harper’s disintegration as a satirical comment on materialism. The audience can certainly sympathize with the couple, but at the same time, the Harpers are largely responsible for their situation. They mortgaged their future for an expensive car (a Mercedes), a big home in a “good” neighborhood (the kind where the residents play “keeping up with the Joneses”), and a house full of expensive trinkets, accessories, appliances, and toys, such as a plasma screen TV. Their fall is not only poignant, but it is also quite real. This isn’t some idealized financial fall; people who go deeply into debt for the American dream often fall so low as too literally have nothing – to go from being executives to working lower paying service jobs. In the hands of the capable Jim Carrey and the surprisingly nimble Téa Leoni, the kind of financial “hardship” is actually quite funny to watch.

The second angle or second half of this film is purely a comic caper. Fun with Dick and Jane becomes a screwball, revenge film in which the Harpers gleefully rob various businesses. They even rob an executive (who made fun of Dick) of cash and expensive home furnishings. When Dick plots his revenge against Jack McCallister, the film goes overboard in asking us to suspend disbelief. However, Carrey and company give us such madcap antics that we can forgive the script’s more ridiculous notions.

Director Dean Parisot (Galaxy Quest) juggles satire with slapstick and pratfalls. He makes an even smarter move by giving Jim Carrey all the space he needs to roam. Carrey is the ultimate class clown, but he is also the consummate actor. Some may not give him enough credit for all that he can do, but in Fun with Dick and Jane, there is both pathos and farce in his performance. Like many of his performances, here, he realizes both the comic horror and monotonous drama of life. He is droll one second, wickedly funny the next, and miserable just a few second after that.

Téa Leoni may never convince anyone that she is a great actress, but she is a superbly capable co-star. Few actors, either male or female, can keep up with Carrey. She does that and brings her character to meaningful life. Too often, actresses allow their characters to be loose appendages to the big male star’s role. Leoni doesn’t go for that, making us believe that this is Jane Harper’s story, too.

Also good in smaller roles are Alec Baldwin and Richard Jenkins. Baldwin does a tart turn as the consummate Southern-born and bred businessman who uses his employees like slaves and then steals their wages. Jenkins is like a gleeful child as Richard Bascom, making the most of his screen time.

I liked the screenplay’s good mix of social satire and ludicrous comedy, though I regret that the entire film couldn’t be a satire. As fun as the revenge portion was, Fun with Dick and Jane was on the way to being an outstanding and dead-on commentary on corporate greed and crass materialism. Still, I enjoyed watching Jim Carrey, Téa Leoni, and their supporting cast make chaotic and zany comedy out of the material they had.

7 of 10
B+

Saturday, December 24, 2005

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"The Social Network" Wins Best Motion Picture-Drama Golden Globe

Best Motion Picture - Drama:

The Social Network (2010) WINNER

Black Swan (2010)

The Fighter (2010)

Inception (2010)

The King's Speech (2010)

Colin Firth Wins "Best Actor-Drama" Golden Globe for "The King's Speech"

Best Performance by an Actor in a Motion Picture - Drama:

Colin Firth for The King's Speech WINNER

Jesse Eisenberg for The Social Network

James Franco for 127 Hours

Ryan Gosling for Blue Valentine

Mark Wahlberg for The Fighter

Paul Giamatti Wins "Best Actor-Musical or Comedy" Golden Globe for "Barney's Version"

Best Performance by an Actor in a Motion Picture - Musical or Comedy:

Paul Giamatti for Barney's Version WINNER

Johnny Depp for The Tourist

Johnny Depp for Alice in Wonderland

Jake Gyllenhaal for Love and Other Drugs

Kevin Spacey for Casino Jack

The Kids Are All Right Wins "Best Picture-Musical or Comedy" Golden Globe

Best Motion Picture - Musical or Comedy:

The Kids Are All Right (2010) WINNER

Alice in Wonderland (2010)

Burlesque (2010)

Red (2010)

The Tourist (2010)

Natalie Portman Wins Best Actress Drama Golden Globe for "Black Swan"

Best Performance by an Actress in a Motion Picture - Drama:

Natalie Portman for Black Swan WINNER

Halle Berry for Frankie and Alice

Nicole Kidman for Rabbit Hole

Jennifer Lawrence for Winter's Bone

Michelle Williams for Blue Valentine

David Fincher Wins Best Director Golden Globe for "The Social Network"

Best Director - Motion Picture:

David Fincher for The Social Network WINNER

Darren Aronofsky for Black Swan

Tom Hooper for The King's Speech

Christopher Nolan for Inception

David O. Russell for The Fighter

Robert De Niro Gets Cecil B. DeMile Award

Matt Damon presented Robert De Niro with the Cecil B. DeMille Award, which is the lifetime achievement award given by the Hollywood Foreign Press Association at the Golden Globes.

There was a period from the mid-1970s to about 1991 and Cape Fear that De Niro was the best actor in the world (although I will give Jack Nicholson credit for also being super during that time period).

Melissa Leo Wins Supporting Actress Golden Globe for "The Fighter"

Best Performance by an Actress in a Supporting Role in a Motion Picture:


Melissa Leo for The Fighter WINNER

Amy Adams for The Fighter

Helena Bonham Carter for The King's Speech

Mila Kunis for Black Swan

Jacki Weaver for Animal Kingdom

"In a Better World" Wins Foreign Language Golden Globe

Best Foreign Language Film:

In a Better World (2010) (Denmark) WINNER

Biutiful (2010) (Mexico/Spain)

The Concert (2009) (France)

The Edge (2010) (Russia)

I Am Love (2009) (Italy)

Aaron Sorkin Wins Best Screenplay Golden Globe for "The Social Network"

Best Screenplay - Motion Picture:

The Social Network: Aaron Sorkin WINNER

127 Hours: Danny Boyle, Simon Beaufoy

Inception: Christopher Nolan

The Kids Are All Right: Stuart Blumberg, Lisa Cholodenko

The King's Speech: David Seidler

Annette Bening Wins Best Actress Musical/Comedy Golden Globe

Best Performance by an Actress in a Motion Picture - Musical or Comedy:

Annette Bening for The Kids Are All Right WINNER

Anne Hathaway for Love and Other Drugs

Angelina Jolie for The Tourist

Julianne Moore for The Kids Are All Right

Emma Stone for Easy A

Toy Story 3 Wins Best Animated Film Golden Globe (Ho-hum)

Best Animated Film:

Toy Story 3 WINNER

Despicable Me

How to Train Your Dragon

The Illusionist

Tangled

Trent Reznor, Atticus Ross Win Golden Globe for "The Social Network"

Best Original Score - Motion Picture:

The Social Network (2010): Trent Reznor, Atticus Ross WINNER

127 Hours (2010): A.R. Rahman

Alice in Wonderland (2010): Danny Elfman

Inception (2010): Hans Zimmer

The King's Speech (2010): Alexandre Desplat

Diane Warren Wins Best Song Golden Globe for "Burlesque"

Best Original Song - Motion Picture:

Burlesque: Diane Warren ("You Haven't Seen The Last of Me") WINNER

Burlesque: Samuel Dixon, Christina Aguilera, Sia Furler ("Bound to You")

Country Strong: Bob DiPiero, Tom Douglas, Hillary Lindsey, Troy Verges ("Coming Home")

The Chronicles of Narnia: The Voyage of the Dawn Treader: Carrie Underwood, David Hodges, Hillary Lindsey ("There's A Place For Us")

Tangled: Alan Menken, Glenn Slater ("I See the Light")

Christian Bale Wins Best Supporting Actor Golden Globe

Best Performance by an Actor in a Supporting Role in a Motion Picture:

Christian Bale for The Fighter (2010) WINNER

Michael Douglas for Wall Street: Money Never Sleeps (2010)

Andrew Garfield for The Social Network (2010)

Jeremy Renner for The Town (2010)

Geoffrey Rush for The King's Speech (2010)

I'm Semi-Live Blogging the Globes

I'm only interested in the winners in the film categories, so I'll post those results as they happen.

I know.  I'm late.  Jets vs. Steelers, baby!  I had to watch the Jets at Pats to see where and who my beloved Steelers would play.  Now, how's that Patriots Invitational Tournament turn out for the sure Super Bowl bet, huh?

Oh!  I'm supposed to be talking about the Globes!

68th Golden Globe Awards Movie Nominations

The Golden Globes Awards ceremony is tonight (Sunday, Jan. 16th 2011), beginning at 8:00 EST - Live on NBC. Here are the nominees in the film categories:

2011 Golden Globe Awards Nominations (For the year ended December 31, 2010)

Best Motion Picture - Drama
Black Swan (2010)
The Fighter (2010)
Inception (2010)
The King's Speech (2010)
The Social Network (2010)

Best Motion Picture - Musical or Comedy
Alice in Wonderland (2010)
Burlesque (2010)
The Kids Are All Right (2010)
Red (2010)
The Tourist (2010)

Best Performance by an Actor in a Motion Picture - Drama
Jesse Eisenberg for The Social Network
Colin Firth for The King's Speech
James Franco for 127 Hours
Ryan Gosling for Blue Valentine
Mark Wahlberg for The Fighter

Best Performance by an Actress in a Motion Picture - Drama
Halle Berry for Frankie and Alice
Nicole Kidman for Rabbit Hole
Jennifer Lawrence for Winter's Bone
Natalie Portman for Black Swan
Michelle Williams for Blue Valentine

Best Performance by an Actor in a Motion Picture - Musical or Comedy
Johnny Depp for The Tourist
Johnny Depp for Alice in Wonderland
Paul Giamatti for Barney's Version
Jake Gyllenhaal for Love and Other Drugs
Kevin Spacey for Casino Jack

Best Performance by an Actress in a Motion Picture - Musical or Comedy
Annette Bening for The Kids Are All Right
Anne Hathaway for Love and Other Drugs
Angelina Jolie for The Tourist
Julianne Moore for The Kids Are All Right
Emma Stone for Easy A

Best Performance by an Actor in a Supporting Role in a Motion Picture
Christian Bale for The Fighter
Michael Douglas for Wall Street: Money Never Sleeps
Andrew Garfield for The Social Network
Jeremy Renner for The Town
Geoffrey Rush for The King's Speech

Best Performance by an Actress in a Supporting Role in a Motion Picture
Amy Adams for The Fighter
Helena Bonham Carter for The King's Speech
Mila Kunis for Black Swan
Melissa Leo for The Fighter
Jacki Weaver for Animal Kingdom

Best Director - Motion Picture
Darren Aronofsky for Black Swan
David Fincher for The Social Network
Tom Hooper for The King's Speech
Christopher Nolan for Inception
David O. Russell for The Fighter

Best Screenplay - Motion Picture
127 Hours: Danny Boyle, Simon Beaufoy
Inception: Christopher Nolan
The Kids Are All Right: Stuart Blumberg, Lisa Cholodenko
The King's Speech: David Seidler
The Social Network: Aaron Sorkin

Best Original Song - Motion Picture
Burlesque: Samuel Dixon, Christina Aguilera, Sia Furler ("Bound to You")
Burlesque: Diane Warren ("You Haven't Seen The Last of Me")
Country Strong: Bob DiPiero, Tom Douglas, Hillary Lindsey, Troy Verges ("Coming Home")
The Chronicles of Narnia: The Voyage of the Dawn Treader: Carrie Underwood, David Hodges, Hillary Lindsey ("There's A Place For Us")
Tangled: Alan Menken, Glenn Slater ("I See the Light")

Best Original Score - Motion Picture
127 Hours: A.R. Rahman
Alice in Wonderland: Danny Elfman
Inception: Hans Zimmer
The King's Speech: Alexandre Desplat
The Social Network: Trent Reznor, Atticus Ross

Best Animated Film
Despicable Me (2010)
How to Train Your Dragon (2010)
The Illusionist (2010)
Tangled (2010)
Toy Story 3 (2010)

Best Foreign Language Film
Biutiful (2010) (Mexico/Spain)
The Concert (2009) (France)
The Edge (2010) (Russia)
I Am Love (2009) (Italy)
In a Better World (2010) (Denmark)

Cecil B. DeMille Award
Robert De Niro

68th Golden Globe Awards Television Nominations

The Golden Globes Awards ceremony is tonight (Sunday, Jan. 16th 2011), beginning at 8:00 EST - Live on NBC.  Here are the nominees in the television categories:

2011 Golden Globe Awards Nominations (For the year ended December 31, 2010)

Best Television Series - Drama
"Boardwalk Empire" (2009)
"Dexter" (2006)
"The Good Wife" (2009)
"Mad Men" (2007)
"The Walking Dead" (2010)

Best Television Series - Musical or Comedy
"The Big Bang Theory"
"The Big C"
"Glee"
"Modern Family"
"Nurse Jackie"
"30 Rock"

Best Mini-Series or Motion Picture Made for Television
"Carlos" (2010)
"The Pacific" (2010)
"The Pillars of the Earth" (2010)
Temple Grandin (2010) (TV)
You Don't Know Jack (2010) (TV)

Best Performance by an Actor in a Mini-Series or a Motion Picture Made for Television
Idris Elba for "Luther"
Ian McShane for "The Pillars of the Earth"
Al Pacino for You Don't Know Jack
Dennis Quaid for The Special Relationship
Édgar Ramírez for "Carlos"

Best Performance by an Actress in a Mini-Series or a Motion Picture Made for Television
Hayley Atwell for "The Pillars of the Earth"
Claire Danes for Temple Grandin
Judi Dench for "Cranford"
Romola Garai for "Emma"
Jennifer Love Hewitt for The Client List

Best Performance by an Actor in a Television Series - Musical or Comedy
Alec Baldwin for "30 Rock"
Steve Carell for "The Office"
Thomas Jane for "Hung"
Matthew Morrison for "Glee"
Jim Parsons for "The Big Bang Theory"

Best Performance by an Actress in a Television Series - Musical or Comedy
Toni Collette for "United States of Tara"
Edie Falco for "Nurse Jackie"
Tina Fey for "30 Rock"
Laura Linney for "The Big C"
Lea Michele for "Glee"

Best Performance by an Actor in a Television Series - Drama
Steve Buscemi for "Boardwalk Empire"
Bryan Cranston for "Breaking Bad"
Michael C. Hall for "Dexter"
Jon Hamm for "Mad Men"
Hugh Laurie for "House M.D."

Best Performance by an Actress in a Television Series - Drama
Julianna Margulies for "The Good Wife"
Elisabeth Moss for "Mad Men"
Piper Perabo for "Covert Affairs"
Katey Sagal for "Sons of Anarchy"
Kyra Sedgwick for "The Closer"

Best Performance by an Actor in a Supporting Role in a Series, Mini-Series or Motion Picture Made for Television
Scott Caan for "Hawaii Five-0"
Chris Colfer for "Glee"
Chris Noth for "The Good Wife"
Eric Stonestreet for "Modern Family"
David Strathairn for Temple Grandin

Best Performance by an Actress in a Supporting Role in a Series, Mini-Series or Motion Picture Made for Television
Hope Davis for The Special Relationship
Jane Lynch for "Glee"
Kelly Macdonald for "Boardwalk Empire"
Julia Stiles for "Dexter"
Sofía Vergara for "Modern Family"

Review: Pixar-Like "Despicable Me" is a Pleasant Surprise

TRASH IN MY EYE No. 5 (of 2011) by Leroy Douresseaux

Despicable Me (2010)
Running time: 95 minutes (1 hour, 35 minutes)
MPAA – PG for rude humor and mild action
DIRECTOR: Pierre Coffin and Chris Renaud
WRITERS: Ken Daurio and Cinco Paul; from a story by Sergio Pablos
PRODUCERS: John Cohen, Janet Healy, and Christopher Meledandri
EDITOR: Gregory Perler and Pam Ziegenhagen
COMPOSERS: Heitor Pereira and Pharrell Williams

ANIMATION/FANTASY/SCI-FI/COMEDY/FAMILY with elements of action

Starring: (voice) Steve Carell, Jason Segel, Russell Brand, Julie Andrews, Will Arnett, Kristen Wiig, Miranda Cosgrove, Dana Gaier, and Elsie Fisher

Despicable Me is a computer-animated film from Illumination Entertainment, an arm of NBC Universal that creates computer-animated (CGI) animated films. Despicable Me is a sci-fi/fantasy comedy about a criminal mastermind who uses a trio of orphan girls as pawns in his evil plot and then, finds himself profoundly changed by his growing love for them.

Once upon a time Gru (Steve Carell) was the world’s number one supervillain, but a younger supervillain, an egotistical nerd named Vector (Jason Segel), has replaced Gru by pulling off the audacious theft of an Egyptian pyramid. Gru believes that he needs to do something big, really big, to be on top again, so he decides to pull of the heist of the century – steal the Moon. As part of his grand scheme, Gru adopts three orphan girls: Margo (Miranda Cosgrove), Edith (Dana Gaier), and Agnes (Elsie Fisher), under false pretenses so that he can use them to steal a shrink ray device. Once, Gru gets to know the girls, however, their innocent love begins to change him.

The animation in Despicable Me is beautiful, at least to me. It was not often that I could take my eyes away from this gorgeous looking film. The art direction, set design, and even some of the character designs are similar to the visual style of early Tim Burton films like Beetlejuice, Edward Scissorhands, and the Henry Selick-directed The Nightmare Before Christmas. This dark, but quirky visual design and pop Gothic graphic sensibility, which also recalls Charles Addams macabre cartoons, makes Despicable Me less sci-fi/fantasy and more like a dark fairy tale. The film also has the sensibilities of Looney Tunes cartoons and offers neat slapstick comedy with smartly conceived chase and heist scenes.

The film also offers a lot of cuteness in the form of Gru’s minions, his capsule and pill shaped lab assistants and lackey/employees. The most important elements of cute are the orphan girls. Little Agnes’ cute countenance could melt a planet of icebergs, but the girls aren’t meant just to be cute. The animators make the girls’ faces capable of showing a wide range of emotions that make them more expressive than many live actors. This helps to sell the story’s focus on love and attachment.

But for all the cuteness of the girls and the minions, Despicable Me is about Gru and both the animators and Steve Carell bring the character to life. Between the expressive character animation and Carell’s delicate voice performance, Gru develops as a layered character, one that will perplex and engage the audience. He is despicable as a villain, but not in the sense that he is exceedingly evil and full of hysterical pronouncements about world domination. In many scenes, Carell and the animators tell the story in a way that allows the audience to read how much Gru’s past hurts and disappoints shape his adult optimism and determination. We get to watch Gru grow.

Despicable Me works so well because it is different from standard computer-animated films. Its adorable sweetness, peculiar look, and a quirky turn of the lead character are the heart of this strangely captivating movie. Despicable Me is a thoughtful take on the idea that even a bad guy can find room in his heart for someone else, and though this is a fantasy, the film really sells that idea.

8 of 10
A

Sunday, January 16, 2011

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

"The Social Network" the Big Winner at Critics' Choice Awards

With the announcement of the winners of the 16th annual Critics' Choice Movie Awards last night (Friday, Jan. 14th), the movie awards season has kicked into high gear. The awards are put on by the Broadcast Film Critics Association, the largest film critics organization in the United States and Canada, representing about 250 television, radio and online critics.

The Social Network won the best picture, director, adapted screenplay, and composer awards, but Inception was the night’s biggest winner with six awards, all of them in “technical categories,” except for “Best Action Movie.”

Last year, the Critics' Choice Movie Awards essentially predicted the winners in the four major acting category, although the Critics’ Choice featured a tie at best actress between Meryl Streep and eventual Oscar winner Sandra Bullock. The Critics also chose The Hurt Locker for Best Picture and its director, Kathryn Bigelow, as Best Director, and both won those awards at the Oscars. So is The Social Network on its way to Oscar gold?

16th Critics’ Choice Movie Award winner:

Best Picture: 'The Social Network'

Best Actor: Colin Firth, 'The King's Speech'

Best Actress: Natalie Portman, 'Black Swan'

Best Supporting Actor: Christian Bale, 'The Fighter'

Best Supporting Actress: Melissa Leo, 'The Fighter'

Best Young Actor/Actress: Hailee Steinfeld, 'True Grit'

Best Acting Ensemble: 'The Fighter'

Best Director: David Fincher, 'The Social Network'

Best Original Screenplay: 'The King's Speech,' David Seidler

Best Adapted Screenplay: 'The Social Network,' Aaron Sorkin

Best Cinematography: 'Inception,' Wally Pfister

Best Art Direction: 'Inception,' Guy Hendrix Dyas and Larry Dias & Doug Mowat

Best Editing: 'Inception,' Lee Smith

Best Costume Design: 'Alice in Wonderland,' Colleen Atwood

Best Makeup: 'Alice in Wonderland'

Best Visual Effects: 'Inception'

Best Sound: 'Inception'

Best Animated Feature: 'Toy Story 3'

Best Action Movie: 'Inception'

Best Comedy: 'Easy A'

Best Picture Made For Television: 'The Pacific'

Best Foreign Language Film: 'The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo'

Best Documentary Feature: 'Waiting for 'Superman" '

Best Song: 'If I Rise,' performed by Dido and A.R. Rahman/music by A.R. Rahman/lyrics by Dido Armstrong and Rollo Armstrong; '127 Hours'

Best Score: 'The Social Network,' Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross

http://www.bfca.org/

42nd Image Awards Motion Picture Nominations

The nominees for the 42nd Annual NAACP Image Awards were recently announced. The press release is long, so I’m breaking it up over several posts:

MOTION PICTURE

Outstanding Motion Picture
• "For Colored Girls" (Lionsgate/34th Street Films)
• "Just Wright" (Fox Searchlight Pictures)
• "The Book of Eli" (Warner Bros. Pictures)
• "The Kids Are All Right" (Focus Features)
• "Tyler Perry's Why Did I Get Married Too?" (Lionsgate)

Outstanding Actor in a Motion Picture
• Anthony Mackie - "Night Catches Us" (Magnolia Pictures)
• Common - "Just Wright" (Fox Searchlight Pictures)
• Denzel Washington - "The Book of Eli" (Warner Bros. Pictures)
• Jaden Smith - "The Karate Kid" (Columbia Pictures)
• Morgan Freeman - "Red" (Summit Entertainment)

Outstanding Actress in a Motion Picture
• Halle Berry - "Frankie & Alice" (Freestyle Releasing)
• Janet Jackson - "Tyler Perry's Why Did I Get Married Too?" (Lionsgate)
• Kerry Washington - "Night Catches Us" (Magnolia Pictures)
• Queen Latifah - "Just Wright" (Fox Searchlight Pictures)
• Zoë Saldana - "The Losers" (Warner Bros. Pictures)

Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Motion Picture
• Don Cheadle - "Brooklyn's Finest" (Overture Films)
• Idris Elba - "Takers" (Screen Gems)
• Justin Timberlake - "The Social Network" (Columbia Pictures)
• Michael Ealy - "For Colored Girls" (Lionsgate/34th Street Films)
• Samuel L. Jackson - "Mother and Child" (Sony Pictures Classics)

Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Motion Picture
• Anika Noni Rose - "For Colored Girls" (Lionsgate/34th Street Films)
• Kimberly Elise - "For Colored Girls" (Lionsgate/34th Street Films)
• Phylicia Rashad - "For Colored Girls" (Lionsgate/34th Street Films)
• Jill Scott - "Tyler Perry's Why Did I Get Married Too?" (Lionsgate)
• Whoopi Goldberg - "For Colored Girls" (Lionsgate/34th Street Films)

Outstanding Independent Motion Picture
• "Conviction" (Fox Searchlight Pictures)
• "Frankie & Alice" (Freestyle Releasing)
• "La Mission" (Screen Media Ventures)
• "Mother and Child" (Sony Pictures Classics)
• "Night Catches Us" (Magnolia Pictures)

Outstanding Foreign Motion Picture
• "A Barefoot Dream" (Showbox/Mediaplex)
• "Biutiful" (Roadside Attractions)
• "Four Lions" (Drafthouse Films)
• "Mother" (Magnolia Pictures)
• "Outside the Law" (Tessalit Productions)

DOCUMENTARY

Outstanding Documentary (Theatrical or Television)• "For Love of Liberty: The Story of America's Black Patriots" (PBS)
• "Hugh Hefner: Playboy, Activist and Rebel" (Metaphor Films)
• "If God is Willing and the Creek Don't Rise" (HBO)
• “Waiting for "Superman" (Paramount Vantage)
• "William Kunstler: Disturbing the Universe" (POV)

42nd Image Awards Television Acting Nominations

The nominees for the 42nd Annual NAACP Image Awards were recently announced. The press release is long, so I’m breaking it up over several posts:

TELEVISION

Outstanding Comedy Series
• "30 Rock" (NBC)
• "Are We There Yet?" (TBS)
• "Glee" (FOX)
• "Modern Family" (ABC)
• "Tyler Perry's House of Payne" (TBS)

Outstanding Actor in a Comedy Series
• David Mann - "Tyler Perry's Meet the Browns" (TBS)
• Dulé Hill - "Psych" (USA)
• LaVan Davis - "Tyler Perry's House of Payne" (TBS)
• Phil Morris - "Love That Girl!" (TV One)
• Terry Crews - "Are We There Yet?" (TBS)

Outstanding Actress in a Comedy Series
• Cassi Davis - "Tyler Perry's House of Payne" (TBS)
• Essence Atkins - "Are We There Yet?" (TBS)
• Salli Richardson-Whitfield - "Eureka" (Syfy)
• Tatyana Ali - "Love That Girl!" (TV One)
• Vanessa Williams - "Desperate Housewives" (ABC)

Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Comedy Series
• Craig Robinson - "The Office" (NBC)
• Ice Cube - "Are We There Yet?" (TBS)
• Lamman Rucker - "Tyler Perry's Meet the Browns" (TBS)
• Lance Gross - "Tyler Perry's House of Payne" (TBS)
• Tracy Morgan - "30 Rock" (NBC)

Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Comedy Series
• Amber Riley - "Glee" (FOX)
• Anna Deavere Smith - "Nurse Jackie" (Showtime)
• Keshia Knight Pulliam - "Tyler Perry's House of Payne" (TBS)
• Sofia Vergara - "Modern Family" (ABC)
• Viola Davis - "United States of Tara" (Showtime)

Outstanding Drama Series
• "Detroit 1-8-7" (ABC)
• "Grey's Anatomy" (ABC)
• "HawthoRNe" (TNT)
• "Law & Order: Special Victims Unit" (NBC)
• "Treme" (HBO)

Outstanding Actor in a Drama Series
• Anthony Anderson - "Law & Order" (NBC)
• Blair Underwood - "The Event" (NBC)
• Hill Harper - "CSI: NY" (CBS)
• Laurence Fishburne - "CSI: Crime Scene Investigation" (CBS)
• LL Cool J - "NCIS: Los Angeles " (CBS)

Outstanding Actress in a Drama Series
• Chandra Wilson - "Grey's Anatomy" (ABC)
• Gugu Mbatha-Raw - "Undercovers" (NBC)
• Jada Pinkett Smith - "HawthoRNe" (TNT)
• Regina King - "Southland" (TNT)
• Wendy Davis - "Army Wives" (Lifetime)

Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Drama Series
• Andre Braugher - "Men of a Certain Age" (TNT)
• Giancarlo Esposito - "Breaking Bad" (AMC)
• James Pickens, Jr. - "Grey's Anatomy" (ABC)
• Nelsan Ellis - "True Blood" (HBO)
• Terrence Howard - "Law & Order: Los Angeles" (NBC)

Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Drama Series
• Alfre Woodard - "Memphis Beat" (TNT)
• Sandra Oh - "Grey's Anatomy" (ABC)
• Sara Ramirez - "Grey's Anatomy" (ABC)
• S. Epatha Merkerson - "Law & Order" (NBC)
• Vanessa Bell Calloway - "HawthoRNe" (TNT)

Outstanding Television Movie, Mini-Series or Dramatic Special
• "America: The Story of Us (Part 4)" (History)
• "Filling the Gap" (PBS)
• "Luther" (BBC America)
• "Sins of the Mother" (Lifetime Movie Network)
• "The Wronged Man" (Lifetime Movie Network)

Outstanding Actor in a Television Movie, Mini-Series or Dramatic Special
• Benito Martinez - "Lies in Plain Sight" (Lifetime Movie Network)
• Idris Elba - "Luther" (BBC America)
• Jon Seda - "The Pacific" (HBO)
• Mahershalalhashbaz Ali - "The Wronged Man" (Lifetime Movie Network)
• Michael Jai White - "One Angry Juror" (Lifetime Movie Network)

Outstanding Actress in a Television Movie, Mini-Series or Dramatic Special
• Jill Scott - "Sins of the Mother" (Lifetime Movie Network)
• Lucy Liu - "Marry Me" (Lifetime)
• Rosie Perez - "Lies in Plain Sight" (Lifetime Movie Network)
• Tamera Mowry - "Double Wedding" (Lifetime Movie Network)
• Tia Mowry - "Double Wedding" (Lifetime Movie Network)

Outstanding Actor in a Daytime Drama Series
• Aaron D. Spears - "The Bold and the Beautiful" (CBS)
• Cornelius Smith, Jr. - "All My Children" (ABC)
• Darnell Williams - "All My Children" (ABC)
• Rodney Saulsberry - "The Bold and the Beautiful" (CBS)

Outstanding Actress in a Daytime Drama Series
• Debbi Morgan - "All My Children" (ABC)
• Julia Pace Mitchell - "The Young and the Restless" (CBS)
• Tatyana Ali - "The Young and the Restless" (CBS)
• Tonya Lee Williams - "The Young and the Restless" (CBS)
• Yvette Freeman - "The Bold and the Beautiful" (CBS)

Outstanding News/Information (Series or Special)
• "A Conversation with President Obama" (BET, CMT, MTV)
• "Anderson Cooper 360" (CNN)
• "The Judge Mathis Show" (Syndicated)
• "Unsung" (TV One)
• "Washington Watch with Roland Martin" (TV One)

Outstanding Talk (Series)
• "Conversations with Ed Gordon" (BET Networks)
• "Larry King Live" (CNN)
• "The Mo'Nique Show" (BET Networks)
• "The View" (ABC)
• "TV One on One with Cathy Hughes" (TV One)

Outstanding Reality Series
• "American Idol" (FOX)
• "America's Next Top Model" (The CW)
• "Dancing with the Stars" (ABC)
• "Extreme Makeover: Home Edition" (ABC)
• "Sunday Best" (BET Networks)

Outstanding Variety (Series or Special)
• "2010 BET Honors" (BET Networks)
• "Beyoncé: I AM...WORLD TOUR" (ABC)
• "Black Girls Rock!" (BET Networks)
• "TV One Night Only: Live from the Essence Music Festival" (TV One)
• "UNCF An Evening of Stars Tribute to Lionel Richie" (Syndicated)

Outstanding Children’s Program
• "Brave New Voices 2010" (HBO)
• "Dora the Explorer" (Nickelodeon)
• "The Backyardigans" (Nickelodeon)
• "True Jackson, VP" (Nickelodeon)
• "Wizards of Waverly Place" (Disney Channel)

Outstanding Performance in a Youth/ Children’s Program (Series or Special)
• Keke Palmer - "True Jackson, VP" (Nickelodeon)
• Lance Robertson - "Yo Gabba Gabba: Baby" (Nickelodeon)
• Nick Cannon - "TeenNick Halo Awards 2010" (TeenNick)
• Selena Gomez - "Wizards of Waverly Place" (Disney Channel)
• Victoria Justice - "Victorious" (Nickelodeon)

42nd Image Awards Nominees for Writing and Directing in Film and TV

The nominees for the 42nd Annual NAACP Image Awards were recently announced. The press release is long, so I’m breaking it up over several posts:

WRITING

Outstanding Writing in a Comedy Series
• Aaron McGruder - "The Boondocks" -The Fund-Raiser (Cartoon Network)
• Daniel Chun - "The Office" -Nepotism (NBC)
• Kenny Smith - "Pair of Kings" -Where the Wild Kings Are (Disney XD)
• Myra J. - "Tyler Perry's Meet the Browns" -Meet the Racist (TBS)
• Vali Chandrasekaran - "30 Rock" -Khonani (NBC)

Outstanding Writing in a Dramatic Series
• Alexander Woo - "True Blood" - It Hurts Me Too (HBO)
• Janine Sherman Barrois - "Criminal Minds" -Remembrance of Things Past (CBS)
• Judith McCreary - "Law & Order: Special Victims Unit" -Disabled (NBC)
• Leyani Diaz, Vanessa Rojas - "The Event" -Loyalty (NBC)
• Shonda Rhimes - "Private Practice" -Did You Hear What Happened to Charlotte King? (ABC)

Outstanding Writing in a Motion Picture -(Theatrical or Television)
• Mary King, Anna Waterhouse, Joe Shrapnel, Marko King, Jonathan Watters, Cheryl Edwards - "Frankie & Alice" (Freestyle Releasing)
• Michael C. Martin - "Brooklyn's Finest" (Overture Films)
• Michael Elliot - "Just Wright" (Fox Searchlight Pictures)
• Rodrigo Garcia - "Mother and Child" (Sony Pictures Classics)
• Tyler Perry - "Tyler Perry's Why Did I Get Married Too?" (Lionsgate)

DIRECTING

Outstanding Directing in a Comedy Series
• Joe Morton - "Eureka" -Stoned (Syfy)
• Justin Lin - "Community" -Modern Warfare (NBC)
• Ken Whittingham - "30 Rock" -Anna Howard Shaw Day (NBC)
• Kevin Rodney Sullivan - "Modern Family" -Game Changer (ABC)
• Michael Schultz - "Chuck" -Chuck vs. "The Couch Lock" (NBC)

Outstanding Directing in a Dramatic Series
• Felix Alcala - "Southland" -What Makes Sammy Run (TNT)
• Millicent Shelton - "Men of A Certain Age" -Go with the Flow (TNT)
• Paris Barclay - "In Treatment" -Sunil: Week 6 (HBO)
• Seith Mann - "Friday Night Lights" -Injury List (DirecTV/NBC)
• Stephen L. Williams - "Undercovers" -Instructions (NBC)

Outstanding Directing in a Motion Picture -(Theatrical or Television)
• Geoffrey Sax - "Frankie & Alice" (Freestyle Releasing)
• George Tillman, Jr. - "Faster" (CBS Films)
• Tanya Hamilton - "Night Catches Us" (Magnolia Pictures)
• The Hughes Brothers - "The Book of Eli" (Warner Bros. Pictures)
• Tyler Perry - "For Colored Girls" (Lionsgate/34th Street Films)

42nd Image Awards Recording Nominees

RECORDING

Outstanding New Artist
• B.o.B (Rebel Rock/Grand Hustle/Atlantic)
• Bruno Mars (Elektra Records)
• Jason Derulo (Warner Bros. Records)
• Nicki Minaj (Young Money/Cash Money/Universal Motown)
• Willow (Roc Nation/Columbia Records)

Outstanding Male Artist
• Cee Lo Green (Elektra Records)
• Jay-Z (Roc Nation/Def Jam)
• Kanye West (Island Def Jam Music Group)
• Ne-Yo (Island Def Jam Music Group)
• Usher (Laface/Jive Records)

Outstanding Female Artist
• Chrisette Michele (Island Def Jam Music Group)
• Corinne Bailey Rae (Capitol Records)
• Mary J. Blige (Geffen Records/Matriarch)
• Rihanna (Island Def Jam Music Group)
• Sade (Epic Records)

Outstanding Duo, Group or Collaboration
• Diddy-Dirty Money (Bad Boy/Interscope)
• Eminem & Rihanna (Shady/Aftermath/Interscope)
• Herbie Hancock (feat. India.Arie, Chaka Khan and others) (Hancock Music)
• John Legend and The Roots (Columbia Records)
• The Black Eyed Peas (Interscope)

Outstanding Jazz Album
• "Dee Dee Bridgewater Eleanora Fagan (1915-1959): To Billie With Love From Dee Dee" - Dee Dee Bridgewater (EmArcy, Decca Label Group, DDB Records)
• "From Billie Holiday to Edith Piaf - Live in Marciac" -The Wynton Marsalis Quintet & Richard Galliano (The Orchard)
• "Geri Allen & Timeline Live" - Geri Allen & Timeline Live (Motema Music)
• "The Imagine Project" - Herbie Hancock (Hancock Music)
• "VOCAbuLarieS" - Bobby McFerrin (Universal Music Group/Decca/Emarcy)

Outstanding Gospel Album -(Traditional or Contemporary)
• "Gospel According to Jazz, Chapter III" - Kirk Whalum (Rendezvous Music/Mack Avenue Records)
• "Here I Am" - Marvin Sapp (Verity Gospel Music Group)
• "Just Love Deluxe" - Brian Courtney Wilson (Music World Gospel)
• "Master Plan" -Tamela Mann (TillyMann)
• "You Are Not Alone" - Mavis Staples (ANTI Records)

Outstanding World Music Album
• "Hymns for the Rebel Soul" - Rocky Dawuni (Aquarian Records)
• "Oyo" - Angelique Kidjo (Razor & Tie)
• "The Imagine Project" - Herbie Hancock (Hancock Music)
• "The Sound of Sunshine" - Michael Franti (EMI Music)
• "VOCAbuLarieS" - Bobby McFerrin (Universal Music Group/Decca/Emarcy)

Outstanding Music Video
• "Fistful of Tears" - Maxwell (Columbia Records)
• "Soldier of Love" - Sade (Epic Records)
• "Un-thinkable (I'm Ready)" - Alicia Keys (J Records)
• "Whip My Hair" – Willow Smith (Roc Nation/Columbia Records)
• "Why Don't You Love Me" - Beyoncé Knowles (Columbia Records)

Outstanding Song
• "Bittersweet" - Fantasia (J Records)
• "Fistful of Tears" - Maxwell (Columbia Records)
• "Forget You" - Cee-Lo Green (Elektra Records)
• "Soldier of Love" - Sade (Epic Records)
• "Un-thinkable (I'm Ready)" - Alicia Keys (J Records)

Outstanding Album
• "My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy" - Kanye West (Island Def Jam Music Group)
• "Now and Then" - Smokey Robinson (Saguaro Road/Cracker Barrel/Robso Records)
• "Raymond vs. Raymond" - Usher (Laface/Jive Records)
• "Soldier of Love" - Sade (Epic Records)
• "Wake Up!" - John Legend and The Roots (Columbia Records)

42nd Image Award Nominees Announced

The nominees for the 42nd Annual NAACP Image Awards were recently announced. The press release is long, so I’m breaking it up over several posts:

“42ND NAACP IMAGE AWARDS” NOMINEES ANNOUNCED

Special Airs Live Friday, March 4, on FOX

The 42ND NAACP IMAGE AWARDS nominees were announced today during a live press conference from the Paley Center for Media in Beverly Hills, CA. Actresses Kimberly Elise and Sanaa Lathan, actor/rapper Curtis "50 Cent" Jackson, singer/songwriter Smokey Robinson, actor Columbus Short and Actor/Comedian Affion Crockett joined NAACP IMAGE AWARDS chairman Clayola Brown and 42ND NAACP IMAGE AWARDS executive producer Vic Bulluck to announce the categories and nominees.

The 42nd NAACP IMAGE AWARDS celebrates the accomplishments of people of color in the fields of television, music, literature and film. The awards also honor individuals or groups who promote social justice through creative endeavors during the two-hour event airing live Friday, March 4 (8:00-10:00 PM ET live/PT tape-delayed) on FOX. ABC and NBC lead the nominees in the TV categories, each with 18 nominations, followed by TBS with 12, CBS with 10, and Lifetime Movie Network with 9. In the recording category, Columbia Records leads with seven nominations, followed by J Records and Island Def Jam Music Group both with six and Epic Records with 5 nominations. Lionsgate/34th Street Films leads with seven nominations, while Fox Searchlight followed with six, and Magnolia Pictures with five in the motion picture category.

Founded in 1909, the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) is the nation’s oldest and largest civil rights organization. The organization’s half-million adult and youth members throughout the United States and the world are the premier advocates for civil rights in their communities and monitor equal opportunity in the public and private sectors.

Event sponsors for the 42nd NAACP Image Awards include FedEx, UAW/Chrysler, Wells Fargo, Anheuser-Busch, Ford Motor Company, Bank of America, and Hyundai.

Review: "A Beautiful Mind" is Beautiful

TRASH IN MY EYE No. 24 (of 2002) by Leroy Douresseaux

A Beautiful Mind (2001)
Running time: 135 minutes (2 hours, 15 minutes)
MPAA – PG-13 for intense thematic material, sexual content and a scene of violence
DIRECTOR: Ron Howard
WRITER: Akiva Goldsman (based upon the book by Sylvia Nasar)
PRODUCERS: Brian Glazer and Ron Howard
CINEMATOGRAPHER: Roger Deakins
EDITORS: Dan Hanley and Mike Hill
Academy Award winner

DRAMA with elements of mystery and romance

Starring: Russell Crowe, Ed Harris, Jennifer Connelly, Christopher Plummer, Paul Bettany, Adam Goldberg, Josh Lucas, Anthony Rapp, Jason Gray-Stanford, and Judd Hirsch

A Beautiful Mind is based upon the real life story of John Forbes Nash, Jr. (Russell Crowe), a math prodigy, who goes on to win the Nobel Prize after years of struggling with schizophrenia. The handsome and arrogant Nash made an astonishing discovery early in his career and also meets his wife Alicia (Jennifer Connelly). On the brink of international fame, his world falls apart when he succumbs to mental illness. With the help of his wife, he struggles to regain his career and his social life and to be a husband and father to his wife and child.

Directed by Ron Howard, A Beautiful Mind is an engaging and riveting biopic that runs the gamut of emotions from elation to revulsion and from despair to hope. It is earnest and intense, playful and romantic, heartbreaking and life affirming. Not a biography in the art house mold, but a wonderful sort of middlebrow picture with a feel-good resolution for the masses, or at least those who are interested in Hollywood product that doesn’t involve SFX and titillation.

The artistry here is the performance of Russell Crowe. Increasingly a controversial figure hounded by the tabloids and infotainment news organizations, he has replaced Kevin Spacey as the actor of the moment. Here, he combines the best of his performances in The Insider (for which he earned an Academy Award nomination) and in Gladiator (for which he won an Academy Award) to portray John Nash – the paranoid hero of the former and the never-say-die leader of the latter. Since Romper Stomper, Crowe has been a mesmerizing screen presence, and he is at full wattage here.

He sells us on this movie, and we buy asking for more. When Nash is the shy boy, we yearn for him to get a woman. We thrill and laugh at Nash’s clumsy arrogance, and we enjoy his success. We cringe at his illness and hope against hope for his recovery. And who couldn’t, at least, almost shed tears when Nash’s peers and the Nobel committee honor him.

Ron Howard does good work here, and Ms. Connelly is pretty good as Alicia Nash, but this is Russell’s show, he can win the audience over. Since the twilight so-called Golden Age of studio pictures in Hollywood, there have been so few real, masculine men in movies. Some of them, post Golden Age are not great actors, and some that are, don’t have the box office draw. Crowe is all man, a fine actor, and a box office draw.

He’s an artist. He attracts the audience to Nash using every part of himself – in his gestures and the way he moves his body. We can believe Crowe is Nash in the way it seems that Crowe really loves mathematics. His face is a tapestry of emotions that are so convincing and so important to selling the scene, so layered and three-dimensional that were transported into the movie. We live and suffer vicariously with Crowe’s Nash.

For the haters out there, the best is yet to come. Things about the real Nash’s past that were left out of this film don’t matter one wit in respect to Crowe’s amazing performance. No disrespect to his collaborators, but A Beautiful Mind is all his.

8 of 10
A

NOTES:
2002 Academy Awards: 4 wins: “Best Picture” (Brian Grazer and Ron Howard), “Best Actress in a Supporting Role” (Jennifer Connelly), “Best Director” (Ron Howard), and “Best Writing, Screenplay Based on Material Previously Produced or Published” (Akiva Goldsman); 4 nominations: “Best Actor in a Leading Role” (Russell Crowe), “Best Editing” (Mike Hill and Daniel P. Hanley), “Best Makeup” (Greg Cannom and Colleen Callaghan), and “Best Music, Original Score” (James Horner)

2002 BAFTA Awards: 2 wins: “Best Performance by an Actor in a Leading Role” (Russell Crowe) and “Best Performance by an Actress in a Supporting Role” (Jennifer Connelly); 3 nominations: “Best Film” (Brian Grazer and Ron Howard), “Best Screenplay – Adapted” (Akiva Goldsman) and “David Lean Award for Direction” (Ron Howard)

2002 Golden Globes: 4 wins: “Best Motion Picture – Drama,” “Best Performance by an Actor in a Motion Picture – Drama” (Russell Crowe), “Best Performance by an Actress in a Supporting Role in a Motion Picture” (Jennifer Connelly), and “Best Screenplay - Motion Picture” (Akiva Goldsman); 2 nominations: “Best Director - Motion Picture” (Ron Howard) and “Best Original Score - Motion Picture” (James Horner)

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Halle Berry to Portray Aretha Franklin?

Apparently, Aretha Franklin made a recent appearance on "The Wendy Williams Show" and confirmed that Halle Berry will play Franklin in a long-promised biopic about the legendary Soul and gospel singer.  There may have even been a press release about this floating around since the middle of last year.  I'll keep you updated.
I love Halle, but doesn't this seem like a role better suited for Jennifer Hudson?  Things that make you go, Hmmm, huh?

Museum of The Moving Image Honors David O. Russell

Press release:

FILM DIRECTOR DAVID O. RUSSELL TO RECEIVE RETROSPECTIVE AT MUSEUM OF THE MOVING IMAGE

FILMMAKER TO BE JOINED BY SPIKE JONZE FOR SPECIAL SCREENING OF THE FIGHTER

ASTORIA, NY, January 11, 2011 – David O. Russell will be the subject of the first director retrospective at the newly expanded Museum of the Moving Image. From January 19 through February 6, 2011, Moving Image will screen all five of Russell’s feature films, from his audacious 1994 comedy Spanking the Monkey to his new film, The Fighter, which is a critical and popular success. The retrospective opens on Wednesday, January 19, with a special screening of The Fighter in the Museum’s magnificent new 267-seat Moving Image Theater. Russell will discuss the film in a post-screening conversation moderated by his friend, director Spike Jonze (Being John Malkovich, Where the Wild Things Are).

Teeming with life, Russell’s acclaimed film The Fighter is at once assured and powerful, a cinematic experience that doesn’t fit neatly into any one genre. His debut, Spanking the Monkey, is a coming-of-age story that ventures into mother-son incest without sacrificing emotional honesty or comedy. Flirting with Disaster is a screwball family comedy that cheerfully explores adoption, adultery, and many other loaded subjects. Three Kings uses wild humor to attack the absurdity of modern warfare. And I Heart Huckabees is a playful, irreverent comedy that is completely serious in its exploration of profound existential questions. “In short, Russell has firmly established himself as one of the most consistently original and inventive contemporary filmmakers. With all the attention surrounding his latest film, this is a good time to take a look at his remarkable and unconventional career,” said David Schwartz, the Museum’s chief curator, who organized the retrospective.

The Films of David O. Russell
January 15–February 20, 2011

Special screening: The Fighter
Wednesday, January 19, 7:00 p.m.

A CONVERSATION WITH DAVID O. RUSSELL AND SPIKE JONZE
2010, 115 mins. Paramount Pictures. With Mark Wahlberg, Christian Bale, Melissa Leo, Amy Adams. Russell’s vibrant new film is a true-life boxing drama and a family drama about the rivalry between two brothers and between a controlling mother-manager and her son’s girlfriend. Gaining atmosphere from its Lowell, Massachusetts setting, this film features four of the year’s most indelible performances. A labor of love for producer/star Wahlberg, the film is also a dazzling comeback of sorts for Russell, making his first feature film in six years.

TICKETS: $15 public / $10 Museum members / Free for Silver Screen members and above. Order online at movingimage.us or call 718 777 6800.

Spanking the Monkey
Friday, January 21, 7:30 p.m.

1994, 100 mins. With Jeremy Davies. In his impressive debut, which won the Audience Award at Sundance, Russell brings deadpan humor and emotional complexity to what could have been very lurid subject matter: the improper relationship that develops over a summer between a housebound mother and her college-age son.

Flirting with Disaster
Saturday, January 29, 6:00 p.m.

1996, 92 mins. With Ben Stiller, Tea Leoni. Madcap road movie meets screwball romance meets dysfunctional family comedy in Russell’s wild and assured film about an adopted man who decides to track down his biological father. Russell’s sophomore film is filled with surprises and great acting from an ensemble that includes George Segal, Lily Tomlin, Patricia Arquette, Richard Jenkins, and Josh Brolin.

Three Kings
Saturday , February 5, 6:00 p.m.

1999, 114 mins. With George Clooney, Mark Wahlberg, Ice Cube. An audacious, satirical movie and one of the few Hollywood films set during the first Gulf War, Three

Kings, about a group of cynical American soldiers tracking down a pile of gold stolen by Saddam Hussein, was described by Roger Ebert as “some kind of weird masterpiece, a screw-loose war picture that sends action and humor crashing head-on into each other and spinning off into political anger.”

I Heart Huckabees
Sunday , February 6, 5:30 p.m.

2004, 107 mins. With Dustin Hoffman, Lily Tomlin, Jason Schwartzman. A down-on-his-luck poet/activist enlists the help of an existential detective agency to help solve some cosmic questions in Russell’s brilliant one-of-a-kind philosophical comedy about nothing less than the meaning of life and the nature of reality. Russell’s most provocative and unpredictable movie is also his most personal.

MUSEUM INFORMATION
Hours (beginning January 15, 2011): Tuesday-Thursday, 10:30 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. Friday, 10:30 to 8:00 p.m. Saturday-Sunday, 10:30 a.m. to 7:00 p.m. Holiday Openings: Monday, January 17 (Martin Luther King, Jr. Day, and Monday, February 21 (Washington’s Birthday), 10:30 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. (Closed on Monday except for holiday openings).

Film Screenings: See schedule above for schedule.

Museum Admission: $10.00 for adults; $7.50 for persons over 65 and for students with ID; $5.00 for children ages 5-18. Children under 5 and Museum members are admitted free. Admission to the galleries is free on Fridays, 4:00 to 8:00 p.m. Paid admission includes film screenings (except for special ticketed events and Friday evenings) Tickets for special screenings and events may be purchased in advance online at movingimage.us or by phone at 718.777.6800.

Location: 35 Avenue at 37 Street in Astoria.

Subway: R or M trains (R on weekends) to Steinway Street. N or Q trains to 36 Avenue.

Program Information: Telephone: 718.777.6888; Website: http://movingimage.us

The Museum is housed in a building owned by the City of New York and its operations are made possible in part by public funds provided through the New York City Department of Cultural Affairs, the New York City Economic Development Corporation, the New York State Council on the Arts, the National Endowment for the Arts, the National Endowment for the Humanities, the Institute of Museum and Library Services, and the Natural Heritage Trust (administered by the New York State Office of Parks, Recreation, and Historic Preservation). The Museum also receives generous support from numerous corporations, foundations, and individuals. For more information, please visit http://movingimage.us/.

Review: I Heart "I Heart Huckabees"

TRASH IN MY EYE No. 41 (of 2005) by Leroy Douresseaux

I Heart Huckabees (2004)
Also known as I ♥ Huckabees
Running time: 106 minutes (1 hour, 46 minutes)
MPAA – R for language and a sex scene
DIRECTOR: David O. Russell
WRITERS: Jeff Baena and David O. Russell
PRODUCERS: Gregory Goodman, Scott Rudin, and David O. Russell
CINEMATOGRAPHER: Peter Deming
EDITOR: Robert K. Lambert

COMEDY/MYSTERY

Starring: Jason Schwartzman, Dustin Hoffman, Lily Tomlin, Jude Law, Mark Wahlberg, Naomi Watts, Isabelle Huppert, Angela Grillo, Ger Duany, Jean Smart, Talia Shire, Bob Gunton, and Shania Twain

A “mid-life crisis” is an example of an “existential crisis.” Other examples can be summed up by such laments as “What am I doing with my life?” “my life has been a mistake?” or “my life is a joke.” These are the kind of issues David O. Russell (Flirting with Disaster and Three Kings) tackles in his inventive and daring film, I Heart Huckabees (or I ♥ Huckabees).

Husband and wife existential detectives, Vivian (Lily Tomlin) and Bernard Jaffe (Dustin Hoffman), solve the mysteries that are made of a maze of emotions. Their first client, Albert Markovski (Jason Schwartzman), comes to them to learn why he keeps running into a tall African named Steve Nimieri (Ger Duany). However, the Jaffes discover that Albert’s problems are rooted in his work for the Open Spaces Coalition. It is an environmental organization that is fighting a giant retail chain, Huckabees, over the corporation’s plans to build a new mall in a marshland and wooded area.

The Jaffes’ work with Albert brings them other clients: Brad Stand (Jude Law), a PR guy for Huckabees who is feigning interest in Albert’s organization as a ploy to remove the troublesome do-gooder Albert as an obstacle to Huckabees building plans and Dawn Campbell (Naomi Watts), the beautiful face and spokesmodel of Huckabees, who is also Brad’s girlfriend and to whom Brad won’t commit. Meanwhile, Albert encounters a soul mate, Tommy Corn (Mark Wahlberg), an existential fireman who introduces Albert to Caterine Vauban (Isabelle Huppert), a French radical philosopher and former student of the Jaffes, who he claims will help Albert more than the Jaffes. It all adds to one big existential meltdown.

Admittedly, I Heart Huckabees is hard to follow. There is way more existential discussion in this film than practically any other film financed by a mainstream American studio. While I found Russell’s Three Kings to be off-putting at times, I Heart Huckabees totally engaged me. Not only is the script the most ingenious screenplay written outside of anything by written by Charlie Kaufman (Being John Malkovich), it is also witty and captivating. And the next best thing Russell does is allow his cast to have fun with their parts.

There are no great characters in this film. What is there is greatly played characters. Schwartzman, Hoffman, Ms. Tomlin, Law, and Wahlberg really dig into these roles and give them life, and they had to or the movie would collapse into utter nonsense. The characters aren’t deep or special, for that matter. They’re dealing with deep and weighty matters, and the actors seem to understand that. So their performances are not about chewing scenery or showing off their chops, but rather about playing ordinary people trying to deal with extraordinary and plaguing questions. The only really wacky characters are the Jaffes, and Hoffman and Lily Tomlin make them appealing to ordinary people, in spite of their sometimes creepy intrusiveness.

This film isn’t for everyone, but viewers who’ve tackled the work of David Lynch and Spike Jonze should be able to handle I Heart Huckabees. Liking it, however, is a whole ‘nother thing. Except for a few rough patches, I think this is brilliant and hilarious.

10 of 10

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Review: "Three Kings" Prophetic, Timeless, and Timely

TRASH IN MY EYE No. 102 (of 2003) by Leroy Douresseaux

Three Kings (1999)
Running time: 114 minutes (1 hour, 54 minutes)
MPAA – R for graphic war violence, language and some sexuality
DIRECTOR: David O. Russell
WRITERS: David O. Russell, story by John Ridley
PRODUCERS: Paul Junger Witt, Edward L. McDonnell, and Charles Roven
CINEMATOGRAPHER: Newton Thomas Sigel
EDITOR: Robert K. Lambert
COMPOSER: Carter Burwell

ACTION/COMEDY/DRAMA/WAR

Starring: George Clooney, Mark Wahlberg, Ice Cube, Spike Jonze, Cliff Curtis, Nora Dunn, Jamie Kennedy, Mykelti Washington, Judy Greer, and Liz Stauber

David O. Russell’s (Flirting with Disaster) film Three Kings is set in the aftermath of the Gulf War (Operation Desert Storm). Four soldiers set out to recover Iraqi gold that Saddam Hussein stole from Kuwait. Somewhere along the way, they discover that the people, the ordinary citizens caught between the United Nations (i.e. American) juggernaut and Saddam’s brutality, need the soldiers more than the soldiers need the gold.

This is obviously an anti-war picture, but that term is rather broad, as it is for many films that are war movies or take a hard look at war and strife. Shot in a palette of shifting and unusual colors, the film is as surrealistic as the experience of sudden and massive violence can be. In the end, it’s “anti-war” in the sense that it shows how the individual must confront his part in large scale violence, in which he exists as a servant and when the warlords are faceless bureaucrats and manic officers far away from the ground level violence. It’s also about how the little people, the one’s who have no say in how things are run, take the sucker punches. If this movie does one thing well, it is how it portrays the plight of the powerless.

The elements of the film: setting, story, and characters have a hard, visceral feel. The brutal edge bites deep into the soul and makes the viewer feel for the players. On the other hand, the film feels out of control and overly earnest, as if it’s screaming its message at you. That’s not off-putting, but the film often feels hollow because the chain of events are so predictable. From the first time the soldiers (ably played by George Clooney, Mark Wahlberg, Ice Cube, and Spike Jonze) encounter some Iraqi civilians getting beat up and shot, you know what’s coming. Clooney’s Maj. Archie Gates can’t leave them behind, and while Wahlberg’s Sfc. Troy Barlow first resists getting involved, he predictably relents. From that point, the Three Kings (Ice Cube’s SSgt. Chief Elgin is the third) are on an earnest holy mission; even Cube’s Elgin is made to play a pious man calling on a high authority to guide them.

Though it is well meaning and flashy, I do give Russell and story writer John Ridley credit for bluntly confronting the hypocrisy of the U.N.’s (once again, U.S.’s) public stance on why they were in Iraq the first time. Three Kings says a lot of things that needed to be said back then and are as relevant today as they were then. It’s a gut check to for a lethargic audience fat on the film treats that will inevitably lead them to tire of SFX tricks. To hear not one, but several characters, both military and civilian, in a film, confront war with such sarcasm, disdain, and sorrow is refreshing.

7 of 10
B+

NOTES:
2000 Black Reel Awards: 1 nomination: “Theatrical - Best Supporting Actor” (Ice Cube)

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