Review: Animated "Wonder Woman" Film Thunders

TRASH IN MY EYE No. 30 (of 2012) by Leroy Douresseaux

Wonder Woman (2009) – straight-to-video
Running minutes: 74 minutes (1 hour, 14 minutes)
MPAA – PG-13 for violence throughout and some suggestive material
DIRECTOR: Lauren Montgomery
WRITERS: Michael Jelenic; from a story by Michael Jelenic and Gail Simone (based on characters created by William M. Marston)
PRODUCER: Bruce W. Timm
EDITOR: Rob Desales
COMPOSER: Christopher Drake
ANIMATION STUDIO: Moi Animation Studio

ANIMATION/SUPERHERO/SCI-FI/ACTION with elements of drama

Starring: (voices) Keri Russell, Nathan Fillion, Alfred Molina, Rosario Dawson, Virginia Madsen, Vicki Lewis, Marg Helgenberger, Oliver Platt, and Skye Arens

Wonder Woman is a 2009 direct-to-video superhero animated film from Warner Bros. Animation. Starring DC Comics character, Wonder Woman, this is also the fourth feature in the DC Universe Animated Original Movies line. The movie pits the most famous comic book super-heroine, Wonder Woman, against Ares, and is loosely based upon the stories by acclaimed comic book writer/artist, George Perez.

Wonder Woman begins during an epic battle between the proud and fierce race of warrior women, the Amazons, and the forces of Ares (Alfred Molina), the Greek god of war. After Amazon Queen Hippolyta (Virginia Madsen) defeats Ares, the gods force a peace. The Amazons are granted an island, Themyscira, where they can be eternally youthful and isolated from men, but Ares will also be imprisoned on the island.

Over a 1000 years later, United States Air Force pilot, Colonel Steve Trevor (Nathan Fillion) crashes on Themyscira. Modern man’s trespass of the island also leads to events that enable the imprisoned Ares to escape with the help of an Amazon who betrays her sisters. Princess Diana (Keri Russell), daughter of Hippolyta, wins the right to return Trevor to his world and to also recapture Ares. However, Ares plans to not only regain his former powers, but also to bring total war to Earth. Will Princess Diana triumph and become Wonder Woman?

First, I must say that I am surprised at the amount of violence in Wonder Woman, and I’m not just talking about standard science fiction and fantasy violence. Although it is not explicitly depicted, murder and killing are prominent in the film from beginning to end. That doesn’t offend me, but does surprise me, and I thought that I should mention it.

Anyway, this is a terrific movie, and although I have many films to go in the series, I think this is the best of the DC Universe Animated Original Movies I’ve seen. The animation is good, but even better is the action. Wonder Woman’s action set pieces are like having the Lord of the Rings films and the 2007 hit, 300, turned into animation for our viewing pleasure, and it’s pleasurable, indeed. The writing is solid, especially the character development, which emphasizes the relationship between Diana and Steve and also allows both characters to go on a journey of growth.

The voice acting is good; you know that voice acting is good when you see the animated character and voice actor as one. I know that not all DC Universe Animated Original Movies are going to be as good as Wonder Woman. How could they since Wonder Woman is so good.

9 of 10
A+

Wednesday, February 01, 2012

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Review: "Ghost Protocol" the Best "Mission: Impossible" Since First M:I Film

TRASH IN MY EYE No. 29 (of 2012) by Leroy Douresseaux

Mission: Impossible – Ghost Protocol (2011)
Running time: 133 minutes (2 hours, 13 minutes)
MPAA – PG-13 for scenes of intense action and violence
DIRECTOR: Brad Bird
WRITERS: Josh Appelbaum and André Nemec (based upon the television series created by Bruce Geller)
PRODUCERS: Tom Cruise, J.J. Abrams, and Bryan Burk
CINEMATOGRAPHER: Robert Elswit (D.o.P.)
EDITORS: Paul Hirsch
COMPOSER: Michael Giacchino

ACTION/ADVENTURE/SPY/THRILLER

Starring: Tom Cruise, Paula Patton, Simon Pegg, Jeremy Renner, Michael Nyqvist, Vladimir Mashkov, Samuli Edelmann, Ivan Shvedoff, Anil Kapoor, Léa Seydoux, Josh Holloway, Pavel Kriz, Miraj Grbic, and Ilia Volok, with Ving Rhames, Michelle Monaghan, and Tom Wilkinson

Mission: Impossible – Ghost Protocol is a 2011 action thriller and espionage film directed by Brad Bird and starring Tom Cruise. It is the fourth film in the Mission: Impossible film franchise, which is based on the U.S. television series, Mission: Impossible, created by Bruce Geller and aired on CBS from 1966 to 1973 (and revived on ABC from 1988-90).

Ghost Protocol finds the Impossible Mission Force (IMF) accused of a terrorist act and its agents forced to go rogue to clear the organization’s name. Stylish, humorous, and fast-paced, Ghost Protocol is the best Mission: Impossible movie since the 1996 original.

Super spy/secret agent and IMF team leader, Ethan Hunt (Tom Cruise) is locked in a Moscow prison. IMF sends agents from another team, Jane Carter (Paula Patton) and Benji Dunn (Simon Pegg), to extract him. Hunt is then assigned to lead Carter and Dunn on a mission to infiltrate the Moscow Kremlin archives in order to learn the identity of Cobalt, a terrorist determined to start worldwide nuclear war. When the Kremlin is bombed, however, IMF is blamed, and the Russians call the attack an undeclared act of war.

The President of the United States activates “Ghost Protocol,” which effectively disavows IMF and disbands it. The IMF Secretary (Tom Wilkinson) allows Hunt and his team to escape government custody so that they can track down Cobalt. The Secretary’s chief analyst, William Brandt (Jeremy Renner), who doesn’t seem to fit with the team, joins the mission. Without the vast resources of IMF, Ethan Hunt and his team are on their own as they try to stop Cobalt and restore IMF.

Simply put, Mission: Impossible – Ghost Protocol is a terrific thriller. The filmmakers filled it with giant, action set pieces, which grabbed my attention and turned me into a pliant zombie. Despite the fact that many of these action scenes are just plain ludicrous, they are entertaining and thrilling. I used the rewind button to watch some of them a few more times. Perhaps, this movie thrives on the magic of Brad Bird, the Oscar-winning genius behind such Pixar Animation classics as The Incredibles and Ratatouille. Ghost Protocol certainly isn’t anywhere near reality, but Bird will not only make you suspend disbelief, but also hang it high just so that you can really enjoy this flick without thinking about all the ways it doesn’t make sense.

The cast is good, and Paula Patton, Simon Pegg, and Jeremy Renner’s characters have more to do than the supporting characters in the earlier Mission: Impossible films. Still, as ever, this is a Tom Cruise movie, so the big scenes, especially the fantastical action set pieces focus on Cruise’s Ethan Hunt. Cruise’s Mission: Impossible movies are not like the TV series, which was an ensemble espionage drama. If you find Ethan Hunt as annoying as other characters Cruise has played, you may not like this or like it as much as I do.

But I can’t complain. For 15 years, Cruise has delivered the crackerjack action movie that I expected each time I sat down to watch a Mission: Impossible installment. Cruise’s high-wire act over the Burj Khalifa building in Dubai is just one of the improbable parts that make Mission: Impossible – Ghost Protocol a thrilling thriller.

8 of 10
A

Thursday, April 19, 2012

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Televsion Pioneer Dick Clark Dies at 82

Dick Clark, who was best known for hosting the long-running, classical musical variety show, "American Bandstand" and "Dick Clark's New Year's Rockin' Eve," died yesterday, Wednesday, April 18, 2012, in Los Angeles, reportedly after suffering a massive heart attack.  He was 82 years old.  This IMDb news item has the details about Clark's life (such as that he had one older brother who was killed during World War II).

My mother was a huge fan of Bandstand when she was a teenager.  Before her family had a TV set at home, she would go to her cousin's house to watch.  She told me that she would be stomping through the living room, as she danced to the music.  As I child, I made a point to watch the show every Saturday morning.  I remember seeing Prince, who made his television debut on Bandstand.

Thanks for the memories and rest in peace, Mr. Clark.

Tim Burton's "Dark Shadows" Gets Soundtrack Release on May 8th

Danny Elfman’s Dark Shadows Original Score to Be Released May 8

Film Marks 14th Collaboration Between Composer Danny Elfman And Director Tim Burton

LOS ANGELES--(BUSINESS WIRE)--WaterTower Music will release Dark Shadows – Original Score digitally and in stores on May 8, 2012. The album features original music by Grammy Award-winning and four-time Oscar®-nominated composer Danny Elfman, which is featured in director Tim Burton’s new gothic comedy Dark Shadows.

For more than 25 years, Burton and Elfman have collaborated on some of the cinema’s most beloved and recognizable films and soundtracks, including Big Fish, for which Elfman received an Oscar® nomination; Beetlejuice; Batman; Edward Scissorhands; Sleepy Hollow; Corpse Bride; and, more recently, Alice in Wonderland.

“Tim had some specific ideas about the music on Dark Shadows,” says Elfman. “I knew that the bigger dramatic scenes would be played in a rather grand theatrical manner, but the real treat was tapping into the retro pallet Tim had imagined. He wanted something that payed homage to both the original TV series and other '70s horror genres as well. For that we kept it minimal, eerie, and atmospheric with only electronics and a few solo instruments carrying the melodies.”

Elfman has also received Oscar® nominations for his scores for Barry Sonnenfeld’s Men in Black, and Gus Van Sant’s Good Will Hunting and Milk. Movie audiences worldwide have also heard Danny Elfman’s unique sound and style in some 80 film scores, including Sam Raimi’s Spider-Man; Brian De Palma’s Mission: Impossible; Martin Brest’s Midnight Run; Jon Amiel’s Sommersby; the Hughes Brothers’ Dead Presidents; Rob Marshall’s Academy® Award-winning Chicago; and Shawn Levy’s Real Steel.

In the year 1750, Joshua and Naomi Collins, with young son Barnabas, set sail from Liverpool, England to start a new life in America. Two decades pass and Barnabas (Johnny Depp) has the world at his feet—or at least the town of Collinsport, Maine. The master of Collinwood Manor, Barnabas is rich, powerful and an inveterate playboy…until he makes the grave mistake of breaking the heart of Angelique Bouchard (Eva Green). A witch, in every sense of the word, Angelique dooms him to a fate worse than death: turning him into a vampire, and then burying him alive. Two centuries later, Barnabas is inadvertently freed from his tomb and emerges into the very changed world of 1972. He returns to Collinwood Manor to find that his once-grand estate has fallen into ruin and the dysfunctional remnants of the Collins family have fared little better, each harboring their own dark secrets.

Warner Bros. Pictures, in association with Village Roadshow Pictures, presents an Infinitum Nihil/GK Films/Zanuck Company production, a Tim Burton Film Dark Shadows in theaters and IMAX on May 11, 2012. “Dark Shadows” stars Johnny Depp, Michelle Pfeiffer, Helena Bonham Carter, Eva Green, Jackie Earle Haley, Jonny Lee Miller, Chloë Grace Moretz, Bella Heathcote and Gully McGrath.

The Dark Shadows -- Original Score on WaterTower Music will be available digitally and in stores on May 8, 2012; and on the same date, WaterTower Music will also be releasing the Dark Shadows –Original Motion Picture Soundtrack, containing eleven songs from the film.

http://www.darkshadowsmovie.com/

Film Critic Wesley Morris Wins Pulitzer Prize

Boston Globe's Wesley Morris Wins Pulitzer for Criticism

BOSTON--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Today, Boston Globe film critic Wesley Morris was awarded the Pulitzer Prize for Criticism for his expansive and energetic work covering the world of film.

Morris’ work spans from the humorous to the serious, with reviews of films such as “Scream 4” and “The Help,” complemented by an appreciation of Apple CEO Steve Jobs and director Sidney Lumet, along with an essay on how a movie about car thieves, “The Fast and the Furious,” became a progressive force in American cinema. He artfully shares his movie experiences with readers in a unique and powerful way.

Of today's prize, Globe editor Martin Baron said, “Wesley’s writing can be playful, and it can be explosive. Always, there’s a boiling energy, informed by seemingly boundless knowledge. In one review after the next he helps us see the world in ways that might not come naturally. All of us at the Globe are immensely proud that Wesley has received our profession’s highest honor.”

This award marks the Globe's twenty-second (22) Pulitzer. In recent years, the Pulitzer Prizes awarded to the Globe include the Criticism Award, given to art critic Sebastian Smee in 2011 for his vibrant writing about art, and in 2005 the Explanatory Reporting Award, given to science reporter Gareth Cook for his coverage of the issues surrounding stem cell research, and the Public Service Award in 2003, for the Globe Spotlight Team's investigative reporting on sexual abuse within the Catholic Church.

The Globe has now won the Criticism category three (3) times in the last five (5) years. In addition to Smee and Morris, Mark Feeney won in the Criticism category in 2008 for his photography reviews.

Speaking today from The Boston Globe about his Pulitzer, Morris described his work. “Movies are visual, aural, they involve people, and life, and ideas and art, they are so elastic. They can hold anything, withstand everything, and make you feel anything. Other arts can do that, but movies are the only ones that can incorporate other media into cinema.”

Wesley Morris, a native of Philadelphia, is a film critic at the Boston Globe. Prior to that, he wrote film reviews and essays for the San Francisco Examiner, and later the San Francisco Chronicle. He is also a contributor to the ESPN-owned national sports website Grantland. Morris is a graduate of Yale University.

“This recognition for Wesley underscores the remarkable work our journalists are doing every day in our community,” said Christopher M. Mayer, publisher of The Boston Globe. “Wesley's distinctive voice and astute observations have been engaging Globe readers for years. His winning a Pulitzer Prize is a terrific honor that is a testament to the quality of his work.”

The award was one of thirteen (13) Pulitzers in journalism announced today. The New York Times was awarded a Pulitzer for Explanatory Reporting and International Reporting.


About The Boston Globe
The Boston Globe is wholly owned by the New York Times Company (NYSE: NYT), a leading, global multimedia news and information company with 2011 revenues of $2.3 billion, that includes The New York Times, the International Herald Tribune, The Boston Globe, NYTimes.com, BostonGlobe.com, Boston.com, About.com and related properties. The Company's core purpose is to enhance society by creating, collecting and distributing high-quality news, information and entertainment.

Review: "Sunset Boulevard" is a Hollywood Classic (Happy B'day, William Holden)

TRASH IN MY EYE No. 80 (of 2005) by Leroy Douresseaux

Sunset Blvd. (1950) – Black & White
Running time: 110 minutes (1 hour, 50 minutes)
DIRECTOR: Billy Wilder
WRITERS: Charles Brackett, D.M. Marshman, Jr., and Billy Wilder
PRODUCER: Charles Brackett
CINEMATOGRAPHER: John F. Seitz
EDITOR: Arthur Schmidt
COMPOSER: Franz Waxman
Academy Award winner

DRAMA/FILM-NOIR

Starring: William Holden, Gloria Swanson, Erich von Stroheim, Nancy Olson, Fred Clark, Lloyd Gough, Jack Webb, and Cecil B. DeMille

The subject of this movie review is Sunset Boulevard, the 1950 Film-Noir from director Billy Wilder. The film follows an unsuccessful screenwriter drawn into the fantasy world of a faded silent movie star who dreams of a big screen comeback. Sunset Boulevard, named for the boulevard that runs through Los Angeles and Beverly Hills, California, is widely accepted as one of the greatest films of American cinema.

Joe Gillis (William Holden) was a struggling, journeyman screenwriter in late 1940’s Hollywood. Recently deceased, he begins to narrate the final months of his life. He only has a few films to his credit – B-movies, and he’s a few months behind on both his rent and car payment; in fact, two repo men are tracking him to take his car. Chance takes him into the driveway of a humongous old mansion (an actual mansion once owned by Jean Paul Getty) built at the height of the silent film era.

There, he meets the owner, faded silent film star, Norma Desmond (Gloria Swanson). After a bit of a rocky start to their relationship, Norma hires Joe to help edit a long script she has penned for what she firmly believes will be her comeback film, a movie directed by her old collaborator, director Cecil B. DeMille (playing himself). As the work progresses, however, Norma draws ever so closer to Joe and becomes more dependent on him for support during this trying (for her) time, but her neediness and passionate obsession engulfs him in its fiery throes.

Sunset Blvd. or Sunset Boulevard is famed writer/director Billy Wilder’s ode to the decadence of old, old, Hollywood – the silent film era, and it is am unblinking look at the people on the periphery of Hollywood filmmaking – journeyman (or hack) writers, assistant directors, script readers, and other second and third string behind-the-camera people and studio foot soldiers. Not many individual elements of this film can be called great, with the exception of Holden’s narration, his screen performance, and the film’s art direction and set decoration. The screenplay also daringly tackled the less glamorous side of filmmaking from various angles, and that was groundbreaking.

The magic in Sunset Blvd. is how everything comes together. William Holden’s narration combined with John Seitz’s sultry black and white photography create a film-noir edge that is riveting and engages the audience like a championship wrestler. Billy Wilder’s patient direction seems to slowly gather up all the ingredients, allowing them to blend into a haunting tale of obsession and the ravenous hunger to regain what was lost.

Gloria Swanson’s performance strikes the right note, for the most part, but the performance often seems like it’s too much, annoying even. The truth of the matter is that Ms. Swanson is all surface, and she never gets to the bottom or to the meat of the character; there is no real history or reason why behind her. Gloria Swanson becomes more hysterical as the film advances toward the conclusion; Norman Desmond becomes more pathetic than sympathetic, and that hurts the storytelling. As good as the film is and as good as things come together progressively, about three-quarters of the last hour are redundant.

William Holden’s Joe Gillis, on the other hand, is a great character. Holden creates a man who has no pretensions and has accepted the idea that he’s a hack. He can deal with being a failure without falling apart or feeling like a failure. He’s an extraordinary ordinary Joe. While it’s true that Gillis and Desmond know they need each other, but are either too caught up in himself (or herself) or are blind except for his or her own need, Gillis is a reasonable voice to tell this peculiar story. There is something that keeps me coming back to this near perfect gem, and I think it is Holden. He embodies the thing this film is trying to be (about unrequited want), and his achievement is what we call movie magic.

9 of 10
A+

NOTES:
1951 Academy Awards: 3 wins: “Best Art Direction-Set Decoration, Black-and-White” (Hans Dreier, John Meehan, Sam Comer, and Ray Moyer), “Best Music, Scoring of a Dramatic or Comedy Picture” (Franz Waxman), and “Best Writing, Story and Screenplay” (Charles Brackett, Billy Wilder, and D.M. Marshman Jr.); 8 nominations: “Best Picture” ((Paramount), “Best Director” (Billy Wilder), “Best Actor in a Leading Role” (William Holden), “Best Actor in a Supporting Role” (Erich von Stroheim), “Best Actress in a Leading Role” (Gloria Swanson), “Best Actress in a Supporting Role” (Nancy Olson), “Best Cinematography, Black-and-White” (John F. Seitz), and “Best Film Editing” (Arthur P. Schmidt and Doane Harrison)

1951 Golden Globes: 4 wins: “Best Motion Picture – Drama,” “Best Motion Picture Actress – Drama” (Gloria Swanson), “Best Motion Picture Director” (Billy Wilder), and “Best Motion Picture Score” (Franz Waxman); 3 nominations: “Best Cinematography - Black and White” (John F. Seitz), “Best Screenplay” (Charles Brackett, D.M. Marshman Jr., and Billy Wilder), and “Best Supporting Actor” (Erich von Stroheim)

1989 National Film Preservation Board, USA: “National Film Registry”

May 23, 2005

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"Iron Man 3" Goes to China

Marvel’s IRON MAN 3 to Be Co-Produced in China

The Walt Disney Company China, Marvel Studios and DMG Entertainment to Bring Super Hero to China

SHANGHAI & BEIJING & LOS ANGELES--(BUSINESS WIRE)--The Walt Disney Company China, Marvel Studios and DMG Entertainment today announced the intention to co-produce IRON MAN 3 in China. Under the arrangement, DMG Entertainment will make an investment in the production of IRON MAN 3, manage the Chinese co-production process, and jointly produce the film in China. The Chinese portion of IRON MAN 3’s production will run through DMG Entertainment in coordination with Marvel Studios’ production and creative teams. DMG will also distribute IRON MAN 3 in China in collaboration with The Walt Disney Company China.

IRON MAN 3 will be the third movie in the billion-dollar plus franchise from Marvel and stars a returning cast including Robert Downey Jr. (as billionaire inventor Tony Stark) Gwyneth Paltrow (as Pepper Potts) and Don Cheadle (as James “Rhodey” Rhodes). IRON MAN 3 is produced by Kevin Feige and executive produced by Alan Fine, Stan Lee, Louis D'Esposito, Charles Newirth, Victoria Alonso, Stephen Broussard and Dan Mintz. The film is being directed by Shane Black who is working on the script with Drew Pearce. The film releases in the United States on May 3, 2013, and is being distributed by Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures in all territories worldwide other than in China (which is being distributed by DMG Entertainment) and Germany/Austria (which is being distributed by the Tele München Group).

“The popularity of the Marvel franchise globally creates a huge opportunity to deliver fans yet another action packed film,” said Stanley Cheung, Managing Director, The Walt Disney Company, Greater China. “The co-production of IRON MAN 3 in China is testimony to the importance of this audience to Disney and the local industry capability to deliver a blockbuster title,” he added.

“We look forward to working alongside DMG to bring IRON MAN to the Chinese marketplace in a significant way. We are confident that Marvel’s stories will continue to be enjoyed by Chinese audiences, and adding a local flavor, and working with our new local partner, will enhance the appeal and relevance of our characters in China’s fast-growing film marketplace,” said Rob Steffens, General Manager of Operations and Finance for Marvel Studios.

“Our collaboration with Disney and Marvel marks a milestone in the global entertainment landscape, as this signifies the first multi-billion dollar franchise to be produced between Hollywood and China,” said Dan Mintz, CEO of DMG Entertainment. “The IRON MAN franchise has been a major success worldwide, and we look forward to pushing the series to new heights with IRON MAN 3. The movie will further build upon its compelling storyline, and feature the hottest A-list stars, and spectacular action, which will resonate well both globally and in China, the second largest box office market in the world.”

The first installment of IRON MAN lifted off with high-speed, high-flying action when jet-setting industrialist Tony Stark survives an unexpected attack and escapes by building a high-tech robotic suit of armor. When he uncovers a nefarious plot with global implications, he dons his powerful armor and vows to protect the world as Iron Man. Straight from the pages of the legendary comic book, Iron Man is a hero who is built—not born—to be unlike any other and made US$581 million at the global box office when released in 2008. Based on Marvel's iconic Super Hero, IRON MAN 2 continued the story of the 2008 summer box office blockbuster IRON MAN, and made US$624 million at the global box office when released in 2010. Now, IRON MAN 3 continues the story with a new chapter that will deliver more heart-pounding action than ever before. Marvel Studios’ IRON MAN 3 will find Tony Stark with his back against the wall, facing his most fearsome foes yet.

Shooting is expected to commence in May in the United States and begin location filming in China in late summer 2012.


About The Walt Disney Company in China
The Walt Disney Company (NYSE:DIS), together with its subsidiaries and affiliates, is a diversified international family entertainment enterprise with five business segments and is a Dow 30 company with revenues of $41 billion in its most recently reported fiscal year. Disney's first animation screened in China in the 1930s and today our long association continues with offices in Beijing, Shanghai and Guangzhou with over 1000 employees. The Company has a broad range of businesses including publishing, broadcast, mobile, web, retail and its English language program, Disney English, which launched in 2008. Nearly 24 hours of Disney television programming is now available in China every week, reaching 300-360 million people each month. In September 2005, Disney opened its doors to its first theme park in China, Hong Kong Disneyland and in 2011 announced ground breaking for the Shanghai Disneyland Resort, a joint venture with Shanghai Shendi Group.

About Marvel Entertainment
Marvel Entertainment, LLC, a wholly-owned subsidiary of The Walt Disney Company, is one of the world's most prominent character-based entertainment companies, built on a proven library of over 8,000 characters featured in a variety of media over seventy years. Marvel utilizes its character franchises in entertainment, licensing and publishing. For more information visit www.marvel.com. Super Hero(es) is a co-owned registered trademark.

About DMG Entertainment
Founded in China in 1993, DMG owns and operates a premier entertainment company (DMG Entertainment), and an award-winning communications agency (DMG Media), possessing nearly 20 years of experience. DMG Entertainment is a leader in China’s film market through the production of a diverse portfolio of commercially driven films, including 2009’s The Founding of a Republic, 2010’s Go Lala Go!, and 2011’s Beginning of the Great Revival, as well as through the distribution of Hollywood titles such as Twilight, Knowing, Killers, Resident Evil: Afterlife, RED, The Eagle, and Priest. DMG Entertainment has also produced Hollywood/China films including Looper set for release in 2012. DMG Media has provided strategic and creative campaigns for international brands looking to connect with Chinese consumers through DMG’s all-encompassing platform.

Review: "The Invincible Iron Man" Kind of Clunky Animated Film

TRASH IN MY EYE No. 41 (of 2007) by Leroy Douresseaux

The Invincible Iron Man (2007) – DVD
Running time: 83 minutes (1 hour, 23 minutes)
MPAA – PG-13 for action violence and some sensuality
DIRECTORS: Patrick Archibald and Jay Oliva with Frank D. Paur (supervising director)
WRITER: Greg Johnson; from a screen story by Avi Arad, Craig Kyle, and Greg Johnson
PRODUCER: Frank D. Paur
EDITOR: George Rizkallah

ANIMATION/SUPERHERO/ACTION/FANTASY

Starring: (voices) Marc Worden, Gwendoline Yeo, Rodney Saulsberry, Elisa Gabrielli, John McCook, James Sie, and Fred Tatasciore

The Invincible Iron Man is a 2007 straight-to-DVD animated film starring Marvel Comics’ superhero, Iron Man. It is the third movie in the Marvel Animated Features line. This was a series of eight animated feature films produced by MLG Productions, a joint venture between Marvel Entertainment and Lionsgate. The Invincible Iron Man is a retelling of Iron Man’s origin story.

Billionaire industrialist, inventor, and playboy Tony Stark (Marc Worden) unearths an ancient Chinese ruin and digs up more than he bargained for when he awakens the Mandarin (Fred Tatasciore), an evil entity buried for centuries in the ruined palace. The Chinese government also blames Stark for providing weapons to the Jade Dragons, a terrorist group bent on keeping the ruins beneath the earth and the Mandarin from rising again. A Jade Dragon, Li Mei (Gwendoline Yeo), is sympathetic towards Tony.

Meanwhile, Tony’s father, Howard Stark (John McCook), has taken steps to remove his son from the family business. Finding himself buried in trouble, Stark turns to his employees and friends, Rhodey (Rodney Saulsberry) and Pepper Potts (Elisa Gabrielli). However, it is his high-tech suit of armor that gives Stark the power to fight the Mandarin’s minions, the monstrous Elementals. With that suit, Iron Man is born.

The Invincible Iron Man is the third direct-to-DVD film from Marvel Entertainment and film company Lionsgate featuring characters from Marvel’s extensive library of comic book characters. Iron Man isn’t as good as the two earlier Ultimate Avengers films, which featured Iron Man as an Avenger. The animation in Iron Man is average at best, although the background art is quite beautiful. The animators used computer rendering to create the three suits of armor Iron Man actually wears in the film, and also to create the Elementals that IM battles and several moving vehicles.

The acting is so-so, with only Gwendoline Yeo as Li Mei distinguishing herself. The writing is pretty bad. In fact, there are several lapses in logic that exist merely to justify or to create certain conflicts. What saves this movie is its action-packed second half, which is one long run of fight scenes that prove that animation is the best medium for adapting comic books to motion pictures.

5 of 10
B-

Saturday, February 24, 2007

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"The Descendants" Ascends to the Top

TRASH IN MY EYE No. 28 (of 2012) by Leroy Douresseaux


The Descendants (2011)
Running time: 115 minutes (1 hour, 55 minutes)
MPAA – R for language including some sexual references
DIRECTOR: Alexander Payne
WRITERS: Alexander Payne, Nat Faxon, and Jim Rash (based on the novel by Kaui Hart Hemmings)
PRODUCERS: Jim Burke, Alexander Payne, and Jim Taylor
CINEMATOGRAPHER: Phedon Papamichael
EDITOR: Kevin Tent
Academy Award winner

DRAMA

Starring: George Clooney, Shailene Woodley, Amara Miller, Nick Krause, Patricia Hastie, Beau Bridges, Matt Corboy, Robert Forster, Barbara L. Southern, Matthew Lillard, Judy Greer, and Scott Michael Morgan

The subject of this movie review is The Descendants, a 2011 family drama from director Alexander Payne. The film is set in Hawaii and is based upon the 2007 novel of the same name by Kaui Hart Hemmings. The film, which is set in Hawaii, focuses on a man who tries to reconnect with his two daughters after his wife is seriously injured in a boating accident. By the time you read this review, dear reader, you will have heard that The Descendants is one of the best films of 2011. That’s for damn true.

Matthew “Matt” King (George Clooney) is a man with a lot on his mind. The Honolulu-based lawyer is the sole trustee of a family trust that controls 25,000 acres of untouched land on the Hawaiian island of Kaua’i. At this time, King and his relatives must decide to whom they will sell the land, which has been in the family for 150 years and which they must sell because of a rule against perpetuities.

What else is on Matt’s mind? Recently, his wife, Elizabeth Thorson King (Patricia Hastie), was in a boating accident, and now she is in a coma. As he prepares to comply with his wife’s living will, Matt must deal with his taciturn father-in-law, Scott Thorson (Robert Forster). Most difficult is reconnecting with his two daughters, to whom he is not close. Alexandra “Alex” King (Shailene Woodley), at 17-years-old, seems to specialize in self-destructive behavior. Ten-year-old Scottie (Amara Miller) shocks everyone with her brazenly inappropriate behavior. If that weren’t enough, Elizabeth had a lover, local real estate stud, Brian Speer (Matthew Lillard).

Director Alexander Payne, and his co-writers, Nat Faxon and Jim Rash, won Oscar statuettes for The Descendants’ screenplay, but this film was certainly worthy of winning more Oscars back on February 26, 2012 during the 84th Academy Awards. It’s on my shortlist of films that can arguably be said to be the top one of 2011. I am not the biggest fan of Payne’s critically acclaimed films, Sideways (2004) and About Schmidt (2002), both of which featured dark humor, as they took a satirical view of Middle American life. Although I think both movies are good, I found significant things about them to be contrived, with characters that were more annoying (which I hate) than they were unlikable (which I can accept).

The Descendants is unfailingly human, especially compared to all the contrived dramas and fantastical special effects-laden films being released. Everything this film says about marriage, family discord, and friendship just feels so authentic, but Payne doesn’t turn this film dark and morbid. He handles this potent family drama with poignancy and splashes of humor that make the heartfelt substantive rather than manipulative.

The Descendants is a testament to the amazing things filmmakers and casts can do when they come together to tell a great story about characters with whom the audience members not only identify, but also recognize in the core of their souls. In fact, Payne gets great performances from his cast, and I can see why many thought Shailene Woodley as “Alex” should have received an Oscar nomination as best supporting actress. Truthfully, everyone in this cast deserves some kind of notice; each person makes his character seem real in the context of this larger circle of family and friends.

Yes, The Descendants is one of the year’s very best movies. It is the kind of drama that is hard to forget.

9 of 10
A+

NOTES:
2012 Academy Awards: 1 win: “Best Writing, Adapted Screenplay” (Alexander Payne, Nat Faxon, and Jim Rash); 4 nominations: “Best Motion Picture of the Year” (Jim Burke, Alexander Payne, and Jim Taylor), “Best Achievement in Directing” (Alexander Payne), “Best Achievement in Film Editing” (Kevin Tent), and “Best Performance by an Actor in a Leading Role” (George Clooney)

2012 BAFTA Awards: 3 nominations: “Best Film” (Alexander Payne, Jim Burke, and Jim Taylor), “Best Adapted Screenplay” (Jim Rash, Alexander Payne, and Nat Faxon), “Best Leading Actor” (George Clooney)

2012 Golden Globes: 2 wins: “Best Motion Picture – Drama” and “Best Performance by an Actor in a Motion Picture – Drama” (George Clooney); 3 nominations: “Best Director - Motion Picture” (Alexander Payne), “Best Performance by an Actress in a Supporting Role in a Motion Picture” (Shailene Woodley), and “Best Screenplay - Motion Picture” (Nat Faxon, Jim Rash, and Alexander Payne)

Saturday, April 14, 2012

"March of the Penguins" a Quality Family Film

TRASH IN MY EYE No. 148 (of 2005) by Leroy Douresseaux


La Marche de l’empereur (2005)
COUNTRY OF ORIGIN: France; Language: French

March of the Penguins (2005 ) – U.S. release
Running time: 84 minutes (1 hour, 24 minutes)
MPAA – G for General Audiences
DIRECTOR: Luc Jacquet
WRITER: Michel Fessler and Luc Jacquet, from a story by Luc Jacquet; Jordan Roberts (narration for American version)
PRODUCERS: Yves Darondeau, Christophe Lioud, and Emmanuel Priou
CINEMATOGRAPHERS: Laurent Chalet and Jérôme Maison
EDITOR: Sabine Emilani
Academy Award winner

DOCUMENTARY- Nature

Starring: Morgan Freeman (narrator, U.S. version)

The subject of this movie review is La Marche de l’empereur, a 2005 nature documentary film from France. It was released in the United States as March of the Penguins, where it was a box office success and later won the Oscar for best documentary film.

In the Antarctic, the emperor penguins make an annual trek in order to return to their breeding grounds for mating season. Leaving their home, the ocean, in which they spend only a short time considering the time they devote to breeding, the emperor penguins must overcome daunting obstacles, and their trek calls to the mind of the viewer many of human experiences: birth and death, courtship and mating, comedy and drama, elation and heartbreak, and just fighting for survival. Morgan Freeman narrates the American version of La Marche de l’empereur, entitled March of the Penguins, one of the most popular documentaries in American box office history.

Viewers who like nature documentaries may like March of the Penguins. I don’t find it anymore compelling than the numerous episodes of “Mutual of Omaha’s Wild Kingdom” (1963-88) that I watched on TV when I was a child. The one thing that makes it stand out from what’s available on PBS, the Discovery Channel, The Learning Channel, etc., is the amazing cinematography (all those lovingly long shots of the cold, foreboding Antarctic icescape) and Alex Wurman’s haunting and captivating score done for the U.S. version (the original French film has a pop music score). Morgan Freeman’s voice makes for an irritating narration, but I didn’t like his short prologue and short epilogue for Steven Spielberg’s War of the Worlds either. Mostly, March of the Penguins is a mildly fascinating, but quality TV show masquerading as a film, so try it on home video and DVD.

6 of 10
B

Saturday, September 17, 2005

NOTES:
2006 Academy Awards: 1 win: “Best Documentary, Features” (Luc Jacquet and Yves Darondeau)

2006 BAFTA Awards: 2 nominations: “Best Cinematography” (Laurent Chalet and Jérôme Maison) and “Best Editing” (Sabine Emiliani)

"Stuck on You" Not a Typical Farrelly Brothers Film

TRASH IN MY EYE No. 76 (of 2004) by Leroy Douresseaux


Stuck on You (2003)
Running time: 118 minutes (1 hour, 58 minutes)
MPAA – PG-13 for crude and sexual humor, and some language
DIRECTOR: The Farrelly Brothers
WRITERS: Bobby Farrelly and Peter Farrelly; from a story by Charles B. Wessler, Bennett Yellin, and the Farrelly Brothers
PRODUCERS: Bobby Farrelly, Peter Farrelly, Bradley Thomas, and Charles B. Wessler
CINEMATOGRAPHER: Dan Mindel (D.o.P)
EDITORS: Christopher Greenbury and Dave Terman
COMPOSER: Charlie Gartner

COMEDY with elements of drama

Starring: Matt Damon, Greg Kinnear, Eva Mendes, Cher, Seymour Cassel, Griffin Dunne, Wen Yann Shih, Jackie Flynn, Terence Bernie Hines, with Frankie Muniz, Jesse Ventura, and Meryl Streep

The subject of this review is Stuck on You, the 2003 comedy from brotherly filmmaking duo, Bobby and Peter Farrelly. The film follows the adventures of conjoined twin brothers who want to become professional actors.

In the Farrelly Bros.’ film, Stuck on You, Bob Tenor (Matt Damon) and his brother Walt (Greg Kinnear) are conjoined twins (also known as Siamese twins) living in Martha’s Vineyard and working at Bob restaurant, Quickie Burger. When Walt decides to pursue his acting career, Bob, of course, has to move to L.A. with Walt. The twins find fame and fortune when Cher (playing herself) picks the boys to be “co-stars” in a new TV show she’s obliged to do, hoping that the presence of the conjoined siblings will get the show cancelled. Of course, it doesn’t work, and the brothers become the program’s true stars. When Bob loses her girlfriend, however, the brothers may just have to do the thing that’s been in the back of their minds for most of their lives – have a difficult and dangerous surgery that will separate them. And even then, can they stand being apart from each other?

Farrelly films are known for the sibling directors including such shocking elements as characters with handicaps, physical deformities, retardation, and anything that makes a person really stand out in a crowd. Some of their characters are also astoundingly dumb, naïve, and stupid. Farrelly films succeed because their characters oddities make us uncomfortable, no matter how PC or charitable we may pretend to be. Within the context of the film, all the characters may act as if nothing is peculiar, but we know better, and this strangeness often leads to belly laughs.

In this Stuck on You, the Farrelly’s have toned things down considerable. Odd and odd-looking character prevail, but it all seems somewhat mundane, as if odd really isn’t odd. It’s part of the everyday fabric of the outside world. The citizens of Bob and Walt’s hometown certainly don’t act as if anything is “wrong” with the brothers; indeed, even the folks in la-la land don’t act all that freaked out by conjoined twins.

What makes Stuck on You work and that’s different from other Farrelly Bros. films is the poignancy; there is a realness to the story that goes beyond the usual craziness of Farrelly world. Damon and Kinnear are very good actors, and they sell us on the close-knit relationship between the brothers. Both are good-looking men and have charming personalities, so the audience is likely endeared to them. The closer the actors make us feel towards the characters, the more likely we’re going to laugh at the crazy things that happen to them and root for them to overcome obstacles.

Ultimately, it’s Damon and Kinnear who really sell this film as a heart-warming comedy and make it worth watching. That’s important because, Stuck on You is the antithesis of Farrelly classics like Kingpins and There’s Something About Mary. For all the laughs, the film is, indeed, quite dramatic, and while that drags at the film a few times, there are many heart-warming moments to go along with the belly laughs.

7 of 10
B+

"Woman Thou Art Loosed" Stirring, Powerful

TRASH IN MY EYE No. 40 (of 2005) by Leroy Douresseaux


Woman Thou Art Loosed (2004)
Running time: 99 minutes (1 hour, 39 minutes)
MPAA – R for violence, sexual content, and drug use
DIRECTOR: Michael Schultz
WRITER: Stan Foster (from the novel by T.D. Jakes)
PRODUCER: Reuben Cannon
CINEMATOGRAPHER: Reinhart “Rayteam” Peschke
EDITOR: Billy Fox
Black Reel Award winner

DRAMA/RELIGIOUS

Starring: Kimberly Elise, Loretta Devine, Debbi Morgan, Michael Boatman, Clifton Powell, Idalis DeLeon, Bishop T.D. Jakes, Sean Blackmore, Jordan Moseley, Philip Daniel Bolden, Destiny Edmond, and Ricky Harris

The subject of this movie review is Woman Thou Art Loosed, a 2004 religiously-themed drama that is directed by famed African-American filmmaker, Michael Schultz. The film is an adaptation of the 1994 self-help book of the same name.

Woman Thou Art Loosed, adapted from Bishop T.D. Jakes best-selling self-help book for women, begins with Michelle Jordan (Kimberly Elise) committing a murder at a revival. Later, Bishop T.D. Jakes (playing himself) visits Michelle on death row. Told through flashbacks, we then see Michelle, just released from prison and determined not to return to her self-destructive life of drugs, stripping, and prostitution, struggle with the demons of her past, including being molested by her mother Cassey’s (Loretta Devine) boyfriend, Reggie (Clifton Powell). At the encouragement of Twana (Debbi Morgan), a family friend, Michelle begins attending Bishop Jakes’ three-day revival, the scene of Michelle’s ultimate tragedy. Can Bishop Jakes help Michelle to accept the healing power of Jesus’ love?

Woman Thou Art Loosed is a beautiful and spiritually engaging film. What it lacks in refinement and technique, it makes up for with religious fervor. Directed by Michael Shultz (Cooley High and Car Wash among others), who was probably the only black film director to consistently direct movies during the 1970’s and 80’s, the film is mostly disjointed for the first half of its running time. Actually, the film is quite hard to follow for the first 20 minutes or so, but then the narrative seems to miraculously come together and flows smoothly the rest of the way. The tragedy of the film is that the script, which tells a very good and compelling story, is short of characterization and character development. Rich characters fill this story, but we only get a taste of them, just enough to irritate because the story doesn’t give more.

What makes this clunky movie soar is Kimberly Elise’s brilliant and searing portrayal of Michelle, young woman who seemingly can’t stop making bad decisions once her innocence is destroyed when she is a child. Ms. Elise has a magnetic screen presence and her performance as a young woman with trials and tribulations is much truer than Oscar winner Hilary Swank’s tepid routine as a trailer trash boxer in Million Dollar Baby. Also stirring is the ministry and preaching of Bishop Jakes.

Though there are moments in the film when the revival seems a bit over the top, 80 percent of the time, it is awe-inspiring and stirs the soul and awakens the intellect. Bishop Jakes’ message of hope and Ms. Elise’s performance, as well as the other actors who give excellent supporting performances in spite of a limp script, make this a fine religious drama. What it lacks as art, Woman Thou Art Loosed makes up for with spirit and hope.

7 of 10
B+

NOTES:
2005 Black Reel Awards: 2 wins: “Best Actress, Independent Film” (Kimberly Elise) and “Best Director, Independent Film” (Michael Schultz); 2 nominations: “Best Actor, Independent Film” (Clifton Powell) and “Best Independent Film” (Reuben Cannon)

2005 Image Awards: 1 win: “Outstanding Independent or Foreign Film;” 2 nominees: “Outstanding Actress in a Motion Picture” (Kimberly Elise) and “Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Motion Picture” (Loretta Devine)

TNT and Dark Horse Announce "Falling Skies: Season 2" Comics

DARK HORSE DIGITAL and TNT Partner for Season Two FALLING SKIES COMIC

TNT and Dark Horse Comics have partnered again for the Falling Skies season two digital comic. The comic will be available beginning April 18 on FallingSkies.com and Dark Horse Digital. TNT’s epic drama Falling Skies, basic cable’s number-one new series of last year, chronicles the chaotic aftermath of an alien attack that has left most of the world completely incapacitated. Season two will premiere with back-to-back episodes on Sunday, June 17, at 9 p.m. (ET/PT).

Dark Horse Comics began working with TNT over a year ago, publishing a free webcomic prequel to Falling Skies. The inaugural comic quickly sold out and was a fan favorite in advance of the series premiere. The upcoming digital comic series, Falling Skies: The Battle of Fitchburg, chronicles what happens to the Second Mass in the three months between when season one ends and season two picks up. With an army of skitters closing in, and the group sustaining heavy losses, the Second Mass shields itself in an armory in Fitchburg ready to finish the battle once and for all. Falling Skies: The Battle of Fitchburg will be released as free eight-page, biweekly comics featuring art by Juan Ferreyra (Rex Mundi) and scripts by Paul Tobin (Marvel Adventures: Fantastic Four, Marvel Adventures: Spider-Man). Fans can get a sneak peek of the animated trailer by visiting EW’s Shelf Life!

This season will continue its extraordinary story about life and survival in the wake of a catastrophic alien invasion. Noah Wyle (ER) stars as Tom Mason, a former college professor and father of three, who has become an unlikely leader for the Second Massachusetts civilian resistance group. Falling Skies comes to TNT from DreamWorks Television and is executive produced by Steven Spielberg and DreamWorks Television heads Justin Falvey and Darryl Frank. Remi Aubuchon, Greg Beeman, and Robert Rodat are also executive producers. Fans can find the latest Falling Skies news online at FallingSkies.com and via @FallingSkiesTNT on Twitter.

In its debut season, TNT’s Falling Skies averaged more than 6.9 million viewers, 3.3 million adults 18–49 and 3.7 million adults 25–54 to rank as basic cable’s number-one new series of 2011. On the international front, Falling Skies premiered in more than 115 global markets, achieving hit status in the United Kingdom, Australia, and Latin America, among others. The premiere of Falling Skies also ranks as the biggest series launch ever for TNT networks in Spain, Germany, and Austria.


About TNT
TNT, one of cable’s top-rated networks, is television’s destination for drama. Seen in 99 million households, the network is home to such original series as The Closer, starring Emmy® winner Kyra Sedgwick; Rizzoli & Isles, starring Angie Harmon and Sasha Alexander; Falling Skies, starring Noah Wyle; Franklin & Bash, with Mark-Paul Gosselaar and Breckin Meyer; Leverage, starring Timothy Hutton; and Southland, from Emmy-winning producer John Wells, as well as the upcoming series Major Crimes, Dallas, Perception and The Great Escape. TNT also is the cable home to powerful dramas like The Mentalist, Bones, Supernatural, Las Vegas, Law & Order, CSI: NY, Cold Case and, starting this year, Castle; primetime specials, such as the Screen Actors Guild Awards®; blockbuster movies; and championship sports coverage, including NASCAR, the NBA and the NCAA Division I Men’s Basketball Championship. TNT is available in high-definition.

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

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 best-selling prose author Janet Evanovich, Dark Horse has developed such successful characters as the Mask, Timecop, and the Occultist. Additionally, its highly successful line of comics and products based on popular properties includes Star Wars, Avatar: The Last Airbender, Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Aliens, Conan the Barbarian, Mass Effect, 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.

Paramount Pictures Announces Release Date for "The Dictator"

THE DICTATOR, will open on Wednesday, May 16, 2012.

Review: "Strange Brew" is a Strange Blend (Hapy B'day, Max von Sydow)

TRASH IN MY EYE No. 89 (of 2006) by Leroy Douresseaux


The Adventures of Bob and Doug Mckenzie: Strange Brew (1983)
COUNTRY OF ORIGIN: Canada
Running time: 90 minutes (1 hour, 30 minutes)
MPAA – PG
DIRECTORS: Rick Moranis and Dave Thomas
WRITERS: Rick Moranis and Dave Thomas and Steve De Jarnatt
PRODUCERS: Louis M. Silverstein
CINEMATOGRAPHER: Steven Poster
EDITOR: Patrick McMahon

COMEDY with elements of sci-fi

Starring: Dave Thomas, Rick Moranis, Max von Sydow, Paul Dooley, Lynne Griffin, Angus MacInnes, Tom Harvey, Douglas Campbell, Brian McConnachie, Len Doncheff, and Mel Blanc (voice)

The subject of this movie review is The Adventures of Bob and Doug Mckenzie: Strange Brew, a 1983 Canadian comedy film. Also widely known as Strange Brew, the film stars Rick Moranis and Dave Thomas (who also both direct the film) and features Max von Sydow as a villain.

Brothers Bob (Rick Moranis) and Doug Mckenzie (Dave Thomas) are two beer-guzzling Canadians who luck upon a goldmine – an unlimited supply of beer – when they land jobs at the Elsinore Beer brewery. However, the two “hosers,” end up helping the beautiful Pam Elsinore save the brewery from her conniving Uncle Claude Elsinore (Paul Dooley) and the diabolical Brewmaster Smith (Max von Sydow), who plans on using his own concoction, a strange brew of Elsinore Beer to control the world. Hijinks ensue in this very loose, nutty, and slightly surreal reworking of Shakespeare’s Hamlet.

The Adventures of Bob and Doug Mckenzie: Strange Brew or just Strange Brew (for the movie’s American release) was born out of a skit, “The Great White North” that appeared on “SCTV,” (1976-84) a Canadian sketch comedy television series that also aired in the U.S. (1981-85). The skit featured Bob and Doug, two brothers meant to parody Canadian culture. Eventually, Rick Moranis and Dave Thomas’ characters actually became icons of the very culture they were mocking, and the “brothers” appeared in commercials and made cameo appearances on TV and in films. Before the act’s popularity faded, they also released two comedy albums, The Great White North: Bob and Doug Mckenzie and The Great White North: Strange Brew. Moranis and Thomas also played a variation of Bob and Doug when they provided the voices of the characters “Tuke and Root,” talking moose in the 2003 Disney animated feature, Brother Bear.

The SCTV skit also became the movie Strange Brew, which is unabashedly one of those intentionally “stupid movies” that are supposed to illicit laughter because they’re actually funny in their stupidity. Strange Brew is sometimes hilarious, often funny, and mostly entertaining. Actually, it is a bit surreal – almost a mixture of comedy and light drama – a farcical thriller. It’s a strange comedy/sci-fi/horror blend like Abbott and Costello Meet Frankenstein. Strange Brew has long had cult status, and it’s a must see for serious fans of film comedies. The brothers are likeable, and the supporting cast is decent and also notable for an appearance by famed actor, Swedish-born actor, Max von Sydow.

6 of 10
B

Saturday, April 22, 2006

Review: "The Day After Tomorrow" is Still Relevant and Entertaining (Happy B'day, Dennis Quaid)

TRASH IN MY EYE No. 83 (of 2004) by Leroy Douresseaux

The Day After Tomorrow (2004)
Running time: 124 minutes (2 hours, 4 minutes)
MPAA – PG-13 for intense situations of peril
DIRECTOR: Roland Emmerich
WRITERS: Jeffrey Nachmanoff and Roland Emmerich; from a story by Roland Emmerich
PRODUCERS: Roland Emmerich and Mark Gordon
CINEMATOGRAPHER: Ueli Steiger (D.o.P.)
EDITOR: David Brenner
COMPOSERS: Harald Kloser and Thomas Wanker
BAFTA winner

ACTION/ADVENTURE/DRAMA/FANTASY/SCI-FI/THRILLER


Starring: Dennis Quaid, Jake Gyllenhaal, Emmy Rossum, Dash Mihok, Jay O. Sanders, Sela Ward, Austin Nichols, Arjay Smith, Tamlyn Tomita, Ian Holm, Kenneth Welsh, and Perry King

The subject of this movie review is The Day After Tomorrow, the 2004 science fiction and environmental disaster film from director Roland Emmerich (Independence Day). Released by 20th Century Fox, the film is an ensemble drama about people trying to survive a new ice age brought upon by abrupt global warming. The character that is the main focus is a climatologist who is determined to save his son who is trapped in a frozen New York City.

A crack paleoclimatologist, Professor Jack Hall (Dennis Quaid), discovers that the Ice Age is coming back with a vengeance in director Roland  Emmerich’s hip retro cool disaster film, The Day After Tomorrow. Mixing such controversial concepts as the green house effect, global warming, and modern super SFX, the film is truly the movie as roller coaster ride.

After this new Ice Age hits the northern hemisphere with almost unimaginable fury, especially New York City, Hall begins a dangerous track across the frozen face of the northeastern U.S. to reach his son Sam (Jake Gyllenhaal), who is trapped in NYC with a group of fellow students. Meanwhile, the freak weather is tearing half the planet apart.

Although many critics and detractors will cry over the film’s allegedly implausible concept, the important question is always, “Is it good.” Hell, yeah, it’s good. It’s a big, old giant tub of popcorn movie fun. The Day After Tomorrow is also a finely constructed drama and thriller with that just right touch of melodrama that stays one notch below over the top, which is just enough to pull at the old heartstrings. It’s exciting. It’s thrilling. It’s a damn good time at the movies.

Roland Emmerich reaffirms what his film Independence Day hinted – he’s a great movie director. Emmerich does the same thing Martin Scorcese and Steven Spielberg do with a “serious” drama – make the ordinary extraordinary. When it comes to a fun film, The Day After Tomorrow is a keeper.

8 of 10
A

NOTES:
2005 BAFTA Awards: 1 win: “Best Achievement in Special Visual Effects” (Karen E. Goulekas, Neil Corbould, Greg Strause, and Remo Balcells)

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Happy Birthday, Liz

Unlike Anna, I won't tell your age.  Happy B'day and I wish you many more.

Review: Crazy White Women Put the Bloom in "White Oleander" (Happy B'day, Robin Wright)

TRASH IN MY EYE No. 132 (of 2003) by Leroy Douresseaux

White Oleander (2002)
Running time: 109 minutes (1 hour, 49 minutes)
MPAA – PG-13 for mature thematic elements concerning dysfunctional relationships, drug content, language, sexuality and violence
DIRECTOR: Peter Kosminsky
WRITER: Mary Alice Donoghue (from the novel by Janet Fitch)
PRODUCERS: Hunt Lowry and John Wells
CINEMATOGRAPHER: Elliot Davis (D.o.P.)
EDITOR: Chris Ridsdale
COMPOSER: Thomas Newman

DRAMA

Starring: Alison Lohman, Robin Wright Penn, Michelle Pfeiffer, Renee Zellweger, Amy Aquino, Patrick Fugit, Cole Hauser, Noah Wylie, Marc Donato, Billy Connolly, and Dallas McKinney

The subject of this movie review is White Oleander, a 2002 American drama film. It based upon the 1999 novel of the same name from author Janet Fitch, a novel which also has the distinction of being picked for Oprah’s Book Club in 1999.

In White Oleander, Michelle Pfeiffer is Ingrid Magnussen, a woman sentenced to prison when she murders her lover in a crime of passion. Her imprisonment sends her daughter Astrid (Alison Lohman) on a journey through the foster care system where she undergoes intense experiences of love, loss, and near death. She, however, never loses touch with her mother, maintaining contact through letters and Astrid’s brief visits to the prison. As the years past, Astrid begins to resent her mother’s insistence that she live her life as her mother wishes, and their relationship becomes a war between a controlling mother and a teenage girl determined to find her own way.

I could describe the film White Oleander (the name of a beautiful, but deadly poisonous plant) as beautiful, but I would have to add on the descriptive term, “hauntingly.” If you like chick movies, especially sad chick movies, White Oleander is one of the best I’ve seen in ages. It is unrelentingly sad, and that has put off some viewers, but the performances are monster and deserve to be seen. Ms. Pfieffer can play the shrinking violet as well as anyone (see Dangerous Liaisons), but her talents are quite sharp when she extends her razor-like claws of her talent into bad girl/misunderstood woman roles (The Fabulous Baker Boys or her voice work in the animated Sinbad: Legend of the Seven Seas). Young Alison Lohman shows an ability to channel pain that recalls the early work of the first lady of tragic heroines, Meryl Streep. Ms. Lohman dominates this movie, and she saves this from being a dreadful movie of the week. Director Peter Kosminsky (an award-winning television movie director) smartly lets her shine.

White Oleander is quite engaging and enthralling, unusual for a movie of such palatable sadness, but it’s rewarding. It’s a feel good movie about surviving the really rough patches in life. I fault an incoherent script for running from one sad scene to another as if the writer was trying to make a grocery list of the bad things that can happen in life. The film never really slows down to take the time and show us the process of Astrid growing up and growing independent. Still, this has to be one of the prettiest sad movies in a long time. It’s like a beautiful car wreck and if you’re not careful, you might find yourself in love with all this pain.

7 of 10
B+

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Review: "Master and Commander" Was One of 2003's Best Films (Happy B'day, Russell Crowe)

TRASH IN MY EYE No. 82 (of 2004) by Leroy Douresseaux

Master and Commander: The Far Side of the World (2003)
Running time: 138 minutes (2 hours, 18 minutes)
MPAA – PG-13 for intense battle sequences, related images, and brief language
DIRECTOR: Peter Weir
WRITERS: John Collee and Peter Weir (from the novels by Patrick O’Brian)
PRODUCERS: Samuel Goldwyn Jr., Duncan Henderson, and Peter Weir
CINEMATOGRAPHER: Russell Boyd
EDITOR: Lee Smith
COMPOSERS: Iva Davies, Christopher Gordon, and Richard Tognetti
Academy Award winner

WAR/ADVENTURE/DRAMA/ACTION/THRILLER

Starring: Russell Crowe, Paul Bettany, James D’Arcy, Edward Woodall, Chris Larkin, Max Pirkis, Jack Randall, Max Benitz, Lee Ingleby, Richard Pates, Robert Pugh, and Richard McCabe

The subject of this movie review is Master and Commander: The Far Side of the World, a 2003 historical war drama. Much of the film’s plot comes from the 1984 novel, The Far Side of the World.

One of the best films of 2003 is Australian director Peter Weir’s film, Master and Commander: The Far Side of the World. It was also one of the most honored films of the year, earning many award nominations and capturing quite a few critical prizes, including wins of two Oscars (for Russell Boyd’s cinematography and Richard King’s sound editing). It’s on my very short list of best pictures of the year, and it’s one of the best films of the last half-decade.

Based upon an outline in the tenth book of Patrick O’Brian’s series of 20 novels about Lucky Jack Aubrey (Russell Crowe), the British Royal Navy’s greatest fighting captain, and his ship’s doctor, Stephen Maturin (Paul Bettany), Master and Commander is set during the Napoleonic Wars. The brash Lucky Jack pushes the crew of his ship, the Surprise, in pursuit of a formidable French frigate, the Acheron. The Acheron launches a sneak attack on the Surprise near Brazil. Although his ship is heavily damaged, Lucky Jack, the “Master” of the Surprise and the “Commander” of his men, chases the Acheron around South America, all leading to a daring showdown near the Galapagos Islands.

As an expensive film production by three of the biggest film studios in the world (Fox, Miramax, and Universal), Master and Commander is blessed with a big production budget that guaranteed that the film would look brilliant and the technical aspects of the film would be quite good. But what makes this film is that the basics are topnotch. First, the story is a rousing sea adventure, something that is sure to please the male audience – there’s something to the lure of the sea. When a sea adventure movie is done well, we have a memorable film on our hands.

Secondly, the Peter Weir, one of the great directors of the last three or so decades (and one of the most underrated and under-appreciated in proportion to his talent and work) simply makes this a grand movie: a brilliant tale of fighting men, camaraderie, brotherhood, and old-fashioned adventure that is the superb and perfect vicarious experience for those of us that have never had to run from a cannonball or live through the hardships of naval life during wartime.

Last, but not least, is a collection of excellent performances. It goes without saying that Russell Crowe was good. Can he ever be bad? In the tradition of old Hollywood stars, Crowe allows his film personality to shine through every performance. There’s a basic template that we recognize no matter how disparate the roles he takes. Still, he’s the great method actor who can also bury himself in a part.

However, I must also give shout outs to Paul Bettany as the ship surgeon, Dr. Maturin. He well plays Maturin as both confidant and foil to Crowe’s’ Aubrey. A child talent to watch is Max Pirkis, as the young Lord Blakeney, Midshipman. I think Pirkis’ character is the one the audience lives through, as we, like him, are novices. Pirkis’ performance is open and invites us in to suffer the hardships, enjoy the good times, and learn from his experiences. His performance is so good and plays such an important part in the film’s success that it can be considered a gift.

I heartily endorse Master and Commander: The Far Side of the World. Not only is it good drama, it’s also an adventure film likely to stand the test of time, and if it doesn’t, it’s still damn fine for the here and now.

10 of 10

NOTES:
2004 Academy Awards: 2 wins: “Best Cinematography” (Russell Boyd) and “Best Sound Editing” (Richard King); 8 nominations: “Best Picture” (Samuel Goldwyn Jr., Peter Weir, and Duncan Henderson), “Best Director” (Peter Weir), “Best Art Direction-Set Decoration” (William Sandell-art director and Robert Gould-set decorator), “Best Costume Design” (Wendy Stites), “Best Film Editing” (Lee Smith), “Best Makeup” (Edouard F. Henriques and Yolanda Toussieng), “Best Sound Mixing” (Paul Massey, Doug Hemphill, and Art Rochester), and “Best Visual Effects” (Daniel Sudick, Stefen Fangmeier, Nathan McGuinness, and Robert Stromberg)

2004 BAFTA Awards: 4 wins: “Best Costume Design” (Wendy Stites), “Best Production Design” (William Sandell), “Best Sound” (Richard King, Doug Hemphill, Paul Massey, and Art Rochester), and “David Lean Award for Direction” (Peter Weir); 4 nominations: “Best Achievement in Special Visual Effects” (Stefen Fangmeier, Nathan McGuinness, Robert Stromberg, Daniel Sudick), and “Best Cinematography” (Russell Boyd), “Best Film” (Samuel Goldwyn Jr., Peter Weir, and Duncan Henderson), “Best Performance by an Actor in a Supporting Role” (Paul Bettany)

2004 Golden Globes: 3 nominations: “Best Director - Motion Picture” (Peter Weir), “Best Motion Picture – Drama,” and “Best Performance by an Actor in a Motion Picture – Drama” (Russell Crowe)

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Flashy "Immortals" Mortally Flawed

TRASH IN MY EYE No. 27 (of 2012) by Leroy Douresseaux


Immortals (2011)
Running time: 110 minutes (1 hour, 50 minutes)
MPAA – R for sequences of strong bloody violence, and a scene of sexuality
DIRECTOR: Tarsem Singh Dhandwar
WRITERS: Charles Parlapanides and Vlas Parlapanides
PRODUCERS: Mark Canton, Ryan Kavanaugh, and Gianni Nunnari
CINEMATOGRAPHER: Brendan Galvin (D.o.P.)
EDITORS: Wyatt Jones, Stuart Levy, and David Rosenbloom
COMPOSER: Trevor Morris

FANTASY/DRAMA/WAR

Starring: Henry Cavill, Mickey Rourke, Stephen Dorff, Freida Pinto, Luke Evans, John Hurt, Joseph Morgan, Alan Van Sprang, Isabel Lucas, and Kellan Lutz

The subject of this movie review is Immortals, a 2011 3D fantasy film (which I saw in traditional D). The film, which is loosely based on various Greek myths, follows the quest of a man seeking vengeance against the ruthless king who killed his mother.

In the year 1228 B.C., Hyperion (Mickey Rourke), the mortal Heraklion king, seeks the Epirus Bow, a weapon of immense power that can be used to slay immortals and gods. Hyperion will use the bow to free the enemies of the gods, the Titans, so that they can destroy Zeus (Luke Evans) and the other gods. His search for the bow takes Hyperion and his army to the village of Koplos.

During their rampage through the village, Hyperion kills the mother of Theseus (Henry Cavill), a highly skilled warrior. Theseus is shunned by his fellow villagers because he was born a bastard child, but the gods favor him. During his mission of vengeance, Theseus meets Phaedra (Freida Pinto), an Oracle priestess. Phaedra’s visions tell her that Theseus will play an integral part in Hyperion’s quest to free the Titans, but whose side Theseus will choose remains a mystery.

Director Tarsem Singh likely first made a big impression on pop culture because he directed the music video for the R.E.M. song, “Losing My Religion,” which won “Best Video of the Year” at the 1991 MTV Video Music Awards. I found the video to be as pretentious and as ridiculous as the song (although I like R.E.M.). He next gained attention for directing the Jennifer Lopez movie, the visually striking, but pretentious and dumb, The Cell.

Immortals is less pretentious and less dumb than the R.E.M. music video and The Cell, but still pretentious. Immortals is certainly visually striking; there were moments during the film when certain costumes, sets, and backdrops gave me pause and made me press the rewind button on the remote. Sadly, the movie seems like little more than a fairy tale that someone could tell in less than half an hour stretched past the breaking point in order to become a nearly two-hour long movie.

Immortals can be described as 300 and Troy retrofitted with elements of Lord of the Rings. So there are epic battles, clashes of supernatural beings, and big pre-battle speeches, but there is not much of a narrative.

I must say that Mickey Rourke gives a stellar performance as the brutal King Hyperion, but Rourke’s performance fashions a character that is better than the movie in which he plays the central villain. Henry Cavill’s performance is a mixed bag. Sometimes, Theseus is rousing; other times, the character doesn’t come across as the kind of great hero that an epic action fantasy film needs. Hopefully, Cavill does better next year when he debuts as the lead in the Superman film franchise reboot, The Man of Steel.

Immortals is not bad, but it isn’t particularly good. It is a movie with potential and lots of good elements that don’t quite come together. Thus, Immortals will likely be relegated to that great pile of mediocre movies that exists between the really good and highly entertaining stuff and the stand-out bad stuff.

5 of 10
C+

Thursday, April 05, 2012

Brian Grazer and Craig Brewer Guide Katy Perry Doc to Big Screen

“KATY PERRY: PART OF ME” FROM PRODUCERS KATY PERRY, DIRECT MANAGEMENT, IMAGINE ENTERTAINMENT, AEG AND EMI WILL BE RELEASED ON JULY 5, 2012

THE 3D FEATURE FILM FROM PARAMOUNT INSURGE WILL REVEAL KATY’S LIFE ON-AND OFF-STAGE

Academy Award®-Winner Brian Grazer of Imagine Entertainment Will Produce the Film, Along With Katy and Her Team at Direct Management Group

Boarding the Project as an Executive Producer is “Hustle & Flow” Director Craig Brewer

Paramount’s Insurge Pictures today announced they have partnered with Katy Perry, Direct Management, Imagine Entertainment, AEG and co-financing partner EMI on a 3D feature film starring Katy. To be released on July 5, 2012, KATY PERRY: PART OF ME will be a first-ever big-screen look at the international superstar’s life both on- and off-stage.

Said Katy, "I am so excited to paint the silver screen in 3D color with help from our friends at Paramount and Imagine. For the last year and a half, I have intimately documented my life both on and off the stage of The California Dreams Tour. I want to take you behind the cotton candy clouds and reveal the highs and lows and nuts of bolts of this extraordinary ride. I promise you, after seeing this film, you will truly know me."

President of Paramount Film Group, Adam Goodman, said, “Katy’s one-of-a-kind story, and our unique ability at Insurge to create equally unique movie going experiences, was a natural fit. We’re beyond excited to offer her fans, who inspired this movie, and moviegoers everywhere, this once-in-a-lifetime look into her world and capture a moment in time.”

"This has been a milestone year for Katy. She is emblematic of the culturally forward thinking artists that we endeavor to highlight at Insurge, so when the opportunity came about to work with her on this film, Adam and I immediately jumped at the chance," said Amy Powell, President, Paramount Insurge.

Katy began documenting her California Dreams Tour, consisting of 124 performances, over a year ago. Her management team, Direct Management, soon after brought AEG into the project to film the artist's two shows at Staples Center in LA in 3D. A partnership with Imagine Entertainment followed.

Directed by the Magical Elves team of Jane Lipsitz and Dan Cutforth (JUSTIN BIEBER: NEVER SAY NEVER), KATY PERRY: PART OF ME is produced by Katy, along with Martin Kirkup, Bradford Cobb, and Steven Jensen of Direct Management; and Academy Award®-winner Brian Grazer (8 MILE, A BEAUTIFUL MIND) of Imagine Entertainment. The film’s executive producers include Craig Brewer (FOOTLOOSE, HUSTLE & FLOW), Randy Phillips of AEG, Erica Huggins and Michael Rosenberg of Imagine Entertainment; and Ed Lovelace and James Hall of Pulse Films. Lukasz “Dr. Luke” Gottwald and Max Martin, who co-wrote the title song with Perry, will serve as co-producers, along with Nanette Bernstein (AMERICAN TEEN), Thomas Benski and Dan Bowen of Pulse Films, Anna Culp of Imagine Entertainment, and Archie Gips of Magical Elves.

Katy's new single, "Part Of Me" debuted in the #1 spot on Billboard's Hot 100 on February 22nd, making it the first in a year, and only the 20th in 53 years, to debut at #1. Since the 2008 release of “One of the Boys,” Perry has topped the charts in more than 25 countries and has sold more than 50 million digital tracks and mobile products, as well as 10 million albums worldwide. Her hits include “I Kissed a Girl,” “Hot N Cold,” “Thinking Of You,” “Waking Up in Vegas,” as well as "California Gurls," "Teenage Dream," "Firework," "E.T.," "Last Friday Night," and "The One That Got Away," all from the "Teenage Dream" album. A special edition of Katy’s double platinum album “Teenage Dream: The Complete Confection," was released on March 26th.

An EMI artist, Katy is represented by managers Bradford Cobb, Martin Kirkup, Steven Jensen and Ngoc Hoang of Direct Management Group, Inc.

For more information, go to KatyPerryPartOfMe.com or follow Katy Perry on Twitter at www.Twitter.com/KatyPerry. #KP3D


About Paramount Pictures Corporation
Paramount Pictures Corporation (PPC), a global producer and distributor of filmed entertainment, is a unit of Viacom (NASDAQ: VIA, VIAB), a leading content company with prominent and respected film, television and digital entertainment brands. Paramount controls a collection of some of the most powerful brands in filmed entertainment, including Paramount Pictures, Paramount Animation, Paramount Vantage, Paramount Classics, Insurge Pictures, MTV Films, and Nickelodeon Movies. PPC operations also include Paramount Famous Productions, Paramount Home Media Distribution, Paramount Pictures International, Paramount Licensing Inc., and Paramount Studio Group.

Review: "All About Eve" is an Eternal Film Classic (Happy B'day, Bette Davis)

TRASH IN MY EYE No. 41 (of 2003) by Leroy Douresseaux

All About Eve (1950) – Black & White
Running time: 138 minutes (2 hour, 18 minutes)
DIRECTOR: Joseph L. Mankiewicz
WRITER: Joseph L. Mankiewicz (based upon the short story, “The Wisdom of Eve” by Mary Orr)
PRODUCER: Daryl F. Zanuck
CINEMATOGRAPHER: Milton R. Krasner
EDITOR: Barbara McLean
Academy Award winner

DRAMA

Starring: Bette Davis, Anne Baxter, George Sanders, Celeste Holm, Gary Merrill, Hugh Marlowe, Gregory Ratoff, Barbara Bates, Marilyn Monroe, and Thelma Ritter

The subject of this movie review is the 1950 American drama, All About Eve. This Oscar-winning “Best Picture” was produced by Daryl F. Zanuck and was based upon Mary Orr’s 1946 short story, “The Wisdom of Eve.”

Considered the great “backstage” movie of all time, Joseph L. Mankiewicz’s All About Eve was recently released in one of those shiny DVD retrospective packages, deservedly so. Filled with an all star cast that is more than up to the challenge of turning on the thespian heat, the film is as mesmerizing, catty, and blunt as it probably was over half a century ago.

Eve Harrington (Anne Baxter), an aspiring actress, insinuates herself into a circle of theatre friends, the most famous of them being the established but aging stage actress Margo Channing (Bette Davis). Eve wants so badly to be an actress that she will manipulate, grovel, connive, lie, cheat, and do whatever it takes to make it as a star of the theatre, including hiding her real name and creating a fictitious past. Before long she is Margo’s unofficial assistant and soon fashions a close relationship with Margo’s best friend, Karen Richard (Celeste Holm), but she has her eyes of Karen’s husband Lloyd (Hugh Marlowe), a popular and critically respected playwright. Margo, in a sense, is Lloyd’s muse, and she has starred in most of Lloyd’s plays; however, Margo is fortyish and beyond the age of some of Lloyd’s youthful fictional female leads. Here is where Eve believes she can step in and capture the essence of a Lloyd character, and with the help of Addison DeWitt (George Sanders), a theatre critic (and the film’s dominant narrator), she makes it to the top of the theatrical world over the bodies of her friends.

All About Eve is a study of where ambition can get you, but it is also an examination of how cut throat a person feels she has to be to get to the top. Ms. Baxter languishes in the early part of her character as the tepid friend who just wants to serve Margo, but the actress bears her fangs and claws when Eve finally gets the proverbial foot in the door. It’s a radical and shocking transformation.

What can I add about the incomparable Bette Davis? Believe me, she shines like a nova, and she chews up her part. Margo is a force of nature and a supernatural force, throwing her weight around the story. The movie is ostensibly about Eve; she is the catalyst for the proceedings, but much of the film deals with Margo’s travails. Ms. Davis’s performance is the work of an actress dominating the screen in the chosen style of the time. Movie lovers, films buffs, and critics – none of them should ever miss this on the strength of Ms. Davis’s performance alone.

It’s a bonus to get star performances by Sanders (who won an Academy Award for his supporting role as DeWitt), drool and witty by turns and slightly menacing and all knowing most of the time. Hugh Marlowe hams it up as the playwright Lloyd Richards, but it’s the only way he can keep up with Ms. Davis.

As the film approaches the end, it really delves into the process of how stars of the stage are born, but it really lays bare the potential for ugliness in a dog eat dog world. By the end of the film, you can’t help but watch Eve’s ascendancy and realize that you have been watching what could be a story similar to Margo’s as a young, struggling actress. All About Eve is about Eve becoming Margo as the latter’s career winds to the end and the former becomes the new star of Broadway and theatre. And as another ingénue walks into the picture as the story closes, we realize that the stage is a vicious circle. Eve is about to experience what she did to Eve and her friends.

There’s only one Margo, and there’s usually only place for one at the top. In the world of performance, one has to climb over everyone else who is also trying to reach the pinnacle. After you’ve reached the top, you can sulk over the bitter feelings and ruthless process. You can wish things hadn’t been so nasty, but at least you get to sulk from the top of the heap.

9 of 10
A+

NOTES:
1951 Academy Awards: 6 wins: “Best Director” (Joseph L. Mankiewicz), “Best Picture” (20th Century Fox), “Best Actor in a Supporting Role” (George Sanders), “Best Costume Design, Black-and-White” (Edith Head and Charles Le Maire), “Best Sound, Recording” ((20th Century-Fox Sound Dept.), and “Best Writing, Screenplay” (Joseph L. Mankiewicz); 8 nominations: “Best Actress in a Leading Role” (Anne Baxter), “Best Actress in a Leading Role” (Bette Davis), “Best Actress in a Supporting Role” (Celeste Holm), “Best Actress in a Supporting Role” (Thelma Ritter), “Best Art Direction-Set Decoration, Black-and-White” (Lyle R. Wheeler, George W. Davis, Thomas Little, and Walter M. Scott), “Best Cinematography, Black-and-White” (Milton R. Krasner), “Best Film Editing” (Barbara McLean), “Best Music, Scoring of a Dramatic or Comedy Picture” (Alfred Newman)

1951 BAFTA Awards: 1 win: “Best Film from any Source” (USA)

1951 Golden Globes: 1 win: “Best Screenplay” (Joseph L. Mankiewicz); 5 nominations: “Best Motion Picture – Drama,” “Best Motion Picture Actress – Drama” (Bette Davis), “Best Motion Picture Director” (Joseph L. Mankiewicz), “Best Supporting Actor” (George Sanders), and “Best Supporting Actress” (Thelma Ritter)

1990 National Film Preservation Board: National Film Registry

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Sci-Fi Anime "Zetman" Now on Hulu and VIZ Anime Websites

VIZ MEDIA ANNOUNCES THE SIMULCAST PREMIERE OF THE INTENSE DARK ACTION SERIES ZETMAN, THE SAME DAY AS IT DEBUTS IN JAPAN

Seinen Sci-Fi Anime Adventure Launches Today On VIZAnime.com And Hulu And Is Based On A Manga Series By Acclaimed Creator Masakazu Katsura

VIZ Media, LLC (VIZ Media), the largest distributor and licensor of anime and manga in North America, is proud to announce today’s online simulcast debut of the gritty new sci-fi anime action series – ZETMAN –on VIZAnime.com, the company’s own website for free anime, as well as on the free, ad-supported Hulu service and the Hulu Plus subscription service (http://www.hulu.com/).

ZETMAN is rated ‘TV-MA’ for Mature Audiences, and is based on a popular seinen manga (graphic novel) series by Masakazu Katsura, who also created VIDEO GIRL AI and I”S (both published in North America by VIZ Media) and was the character designer for the hit anime TIGER & BUNNY (also available on VIZAnime.com). The anime series, presented in Japanese with English subtitles, launches in U.S. the same day as it debuts in Japan; a new episode will be available each Monday.

“ZET,” the one who is entrusted with the future of mankind. “ALPHAS,” the one who is searching for the meaning of true justice. They will be the ones who will change the world. Is it coincidence or fate that brings these two heroes together? Soon, the two will learn what fate has in mind for them…

“What is justice? What is hope? What does it mean to be strong? What does it mean to be human? ZETMAN ponders these questions and offers some surprising action-packed answers,” says Brian Ige, Vice President, Animation at VIZ Media. “Don’t miss the exciting simulcast debut, streaming exclusively on VIZAnime.com and Hulu, and tune in each week for a brand new episode to follow the remarkable changes that ensue after Jin Kanzaki meets a super-powered bloodthirsty killer!”

VIZAnime.com is a free-to-use web destination that is now the permanent home to some of the company’s best-loved animated series. Over 1,800 episodes are currently available, and new content is added on a weekly basis. Series currently simulcast on VIZAnime.com include LAGRANGE – THE FLOWER OF RIN-NE and NARUTO SHIPPUDEN. Other fan-favorite series available include BLEACH, BLUE EXORCIST, CROSS GAME, DEATH NOTE, FULL MOON, INUYASHA: THE FINAL ACT, KEKKAISHI, NAOKI URASAWA’S MONSTER, NURA: RISE OF THE YOKAI CLAN, ONE PIECE, TIGER & BUNNY, VAMPIRE KNIGHT, and more!

For more information on ZETMAN and other animated titles from VIZ Media please visit http://www.vizanime.com/.