AMC has created a brand new interactive comic based on the plot of their critically acclaimed series, Breaking Bad. The new game The Interrogation follows the series character DEA Agent Hank Schrader as he tries to uncover the motives behind a crime. You choose the questions that Hank asks his suspect.
There's an art to interrogation -- an art that DEA Agent Hank Schrader, for one, has mastered. But how about you? Here's your chance to find out, assuming the role of Hank in this original Breaking Bad Interactive Comic called “The Interrogation:"
http://www.amctv.com/originals/breakingbad/interrogation
Breaking Bad, Sundays 10pm/9C on AMC:
Breaking Bad follows protagonist Walter White (Bryan Cranston), a chemistry teacher who lives in New Mexico with his wife (Anna Gunn) and teenage son (RJ Mitte) who has cerebral palsy. White is diagnosed with Stage III cancer and given a prognosis of two years left to live. With a new sense of fearlessness based on his medical prognosis, and a desire to secure his family's financial security, White chooses to enter a dangerous world of drugs and crime and ascends to power in this world.
The series explores how a fatal diagnosis such as White's releases a typical man from the daily concerns and constraintsof normal society and follows his transformation from mild family man to a kingpin of the drug trade.
Friday, April 23, 2010
John Singleton to Adapt Kevin Grevioux Graphic Novel for Television
The following Negro movie news comes from an article at AOL Black Voices "BV on Movies" blog:
John Singleton is reportedly going to direct a television miniseries for EPIX TV, a premium movie channel owned by Studio 3 Partners, a joint venture between Paramount Pictures, MGM and Lionsgate. The series is called "The Gray Men" and is based on a new graphic novel by actor Kevin Grevioux.
Grevioux wrote the original screenplay for the 2003 film, Underworld
, although Grevioux was excluded from contributing to the screenplays for the Underworld
sequels. Grevioux played the werewolf, Raze, in the original film. Grevioux also writes comic books for his own line of comics and also for Marvel Comics, including the series, New Warriors
and Adam: Legend of the Blue Marvel
. As of this writing, "The Gray Men" has not been published.
"The Gray Man" is apparently a period piece set in the 1960s, and looks at a time when the government was recruiting young African-American college students to infiltrate radicals groups, including the Black Panthers.
Grevioux reportedly has another film, "I, Frankenstein," in pre-production. Scheduled to start shooting this summer, "I, Frankenstein" is based on the comic book series from Darkstorm Comics and features Frankenstein's monster, Dracula, Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde, among others. Patrick Tatopoulos, who directed Underworld: Rise of the Lycans, will helm this live-action feature with Grevioux, Robert Sanchez, and Lakeshore Entertainment (which produced Underworld) serving as producers.
John Singleton is reportedly going to direct a television miniseries for EPIX TV, a premium movie channel owned by Studio 3 Partners, a joint venture between Paramount Pictures, MGM and Lionsgate. The series is called "The Gray Men" and is based on a new graphic novel by actor Kevin Grevioux.
Grevioux wrote the original screenplay for the 2003 film, Underworld
, although Grevioux was excluded from contributing to the screenplays for the Underworld sequels. Grevioux played the werewolf, Raze, in the original film. Grevioux also writes comic books for his own line of comics and also for Marvel Comics, including the series, New Warriors and Adam: Legend of the Blue Marvel. As of this writing, "The Gray Men" has not been published."The Gray Man" is apparently a period piece set in the 1960s, and looks at a time when the government was recruiting young African-American college students to infiltrate radicals groups, including the Black Panthers.
Grevioux reportedly has another film, "I, Frankenstein," in pre-production. Scheduled to start shooting this summer, "I, Frankenstein" is based on the comic book series from Darkstorm Comics and features Frankenstein's monster, Dracula, Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde, among others. Patrick Tatopoulos, who directed Underworld: Rise of the Lycans, will helm this live-action feature with Grevioux, Robert Sanchez, and Lakeshore Entertainment (which produced Underworld) serving as producers.
Final DVD Collecting 1990s X-Men Cartoon Arrvies Soon
COMPLETE YOUR COLLECTION WITH THE FINAL VOLUME !
Studio: Buena Vista Home Entertainment
Synopsis: The original tales of Marvel comic books come to life in Volume 5
of the X-men collection. Relive the action of the popular animated series in this collectible compilation of the X-men adventures. The X-men must turn to their arch-nemesis, Magneto, in an effort to save the life of Professor Xavier! Watch the action unfold in the final episode, “Graduation Day, “ and don’t miss a moment of X-men excitement in this 2-disc set, complete with 14 riveting episodes. Complete your X-men collection with this must-own final installment of this great animated series.X-men stars voice talents Iona Morris (Law and Order, Spider-man, Fantastic Four, The Wayans Bros), Lenore Zann (Law and Order, Dragon Tales) and Alison Seasly-Smith (Honey, Degrassi: The Next Generation, M.V.P: The Secret Lives of Hockey Wives) and is executive produced by Stan Lee (Spider-Man, Iron Man, The Fantastic Four, The Ultimate Avengers II), Scott Thomas (Gargoyles: The Goliath Chronicles) and Will Meugniot (Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, X-Men: Evolution
, Silver Surfer).EPISODE LIST:
Disc 1
Episode 63 The Phalanx Covenant (Part 1)
Episode 64 The Phalanx Covenant (Part 2)
Episode 65 A Deal With The Devil
Episode 66 No Mutant Is An Island
Episode 67 Longshot
Episode 68 Bloodlines
Disc 2
Episode 69 Storm Front (Part 1)
Episode 70 Storm Front (Part 2)
Episode 71 Jubilee's Fairy Tale Theatre
Episode 72 The Fifth Horseman
Episode 73 Old Soldiers
Episode 74 Descent
Episode 75 Hidden Agendas
Episode 76 Graduation Day
STREET DATE: May 4, 2010
Suggested retail price: $23.99 US; $29.99 Canada
Rated: TV – Y7
Run time: 308 minutes
DVD aspect ratio: 4:3
Sound: Dolby Digital Surround Sound, Spanish and French Language
Tracks & Subtitles
© MARVEL, X-MEN, and all related characters and their distinctive likenesses thereof are trademarks of Marvel Entertainment, Inc. and its subsidiaries and are used with permission. © 2010 Marvel Entertainment, Inc. and its subsidiaries. © Buena Vista Home Entertainment, Inc.
Review: "The Return of Jafar" a Nice Follow-up to Walt Disney's "Aladdin"
TRASH IN MY EYE No. 191 (of 2006) by Leroy Douresseaux
The Return of Jafar (1994) – straight to video – animation
Running time: 69 minutes (1 hour, 9 minutes)
MPAA – G
DIRECTORS: Toby Shelton, Tad Stones, and Alan Zaslove
WRITERS: Kevin Campbell, Mirith JS Colao, Bill Motz, Steve Roberts, Dev Ross, Bob Roth, Jan Strnad, and Brian Swenlin; from a story by Duane Capizzi, Douglas Langdale, Mark McCorkle, Robert Schooley, and Tad Stones
PRODUCERS: Tad Stones and Alan Zaslove
EDITOR: Elen Orson
ANIMATION/FANTASY/COMEDY/ACTION/MUSICAL
Starring: (voices) Scott Weinger, Gilbert Gottfried, Linda Lavin, Dan Castellaneta, Jonathan Freeman, Jason Alexander, Val Bettin, Frank Welker, and Jim Cummings, Brad Kane, and Liz Callaway
The heroes and villains of Walt Disney’s Oscar-winning Aladdin (1992) return in the straight-to-video feature, The Return of Jafar – produced mostly by the now-defunct Walt Disney Television Animation based in Australia (DisneyToon Studios).
Aladdin (Scott Weinger) and Jasmine (Linda Lavin) are ready to begin their life as a royal couple, especially now that the Sultan of Agrabah (Val Bettin), Jasmine’s father, has a big announcement to make concerning Aladdin. However, Iago (Gilbert Gottfried), the parrot sidekick of Aladdin’s nemesis in the original film, Jafar (Jonathan Freeman) reappears. Iago, ever an opportunist, wants to be on the winning side and return to the life of luxury at the Sultan’s palace, so he attempts to make nice with Aladdin. Iago is succeeding in earning Aladdin’s trust on a provisional basis when Jafar, now the powerful Red Genie, returns to Agrabah with the help of Abis Mal (Jason Alexander), the chief of a local band of thieves. Both Jafar and Abis Mal want their revenge against Aladdin, and Jafar coerces Iago into helping him. The scene-stealing (blue) Genie (Dan Castellaneta) also returns, but can he help Aladdin stop Jafar’s diabolical plans and get rid of him for good?
The animation in The Return of Jafar isn’t nearly as good or as pretty as it is Aladdin. The colors aren’t as rich, and the shading on characters and objects isn’t there. The character animation is good, but not up to the standards of Disney feature animation. At the time of release, however, this was better than most of the animation produced domestically or overseas for American television, and The Return of Jafar is a nice second serving of the characters and situations from the original film. The last 20 minutes of this movie is riveting, thrilling stuff – as good as that in many live action, action flicks.
The characters are still themselves with the cast giving good voice acting performances, for the most part. Here, Genie is voiced by Dan Castellaneta, the voice of “Homer Simpson” (and numerous others) on “The Simpsons,” but he’s so-so as Genie. The absence of Robin Williams, who refused to reprise the role because of a dispute over merchandising money with Disney, is painfully obvious. Luckily, the dispute was resolved and Williams returned for a second direct-to-video sequel to Aladdin.
6 of 10
B
Saturday, September 02, 2006
The Return of Jafar (1994) – straight to video – animation
Running time: 69 minutes (1 hour, 9 minutes)
MPAA – G
DIRECTORS: Toby Shelton, Tad Stones, and Alan Zaslove
WRITERS: Kevin Campbell, Mirith JS Colao, Bill Motz, Steve Roberts, Dev Ross, Bob Roth, Jan Strnad, and Brian Swenlin; from a story by Duane Capizzi, Douglas Langdale, Mark McCorkle, Robert Schooley, and Tad Stones
PRODUCERS: Tad Stones and Alan Zaslove
EDITOR: Elen Orson
ANIMATION/FANTASY/COMEDY/ACTION/MUSICAL
Starring: (voices) Scott Weinger, Gilbert Gottfried, Linda Lavin, Dan Castellaneta, Jonathan Freeman, Jason Alexander, Val Bettin, Frank Welker, and Jim Cummings, Brad Kane, and Liz Callaway
The heroes and villains of Walt Disney’s Oscar-winning Aladdin (1992) return in the straight-to-video feature, The Return of Jafar – produced mostly by the now-defunct Walt Disney Television Animation based in Australia (DisneyToon Studios).
Aladdin (Scott Weinger) and Jasmine (Linda Lavin) are ready to begin their life as a royal couple, especially now that the Sultan of Agrabah (Val Bettin), Jasmine’s father, has a big announcement to make concerning Aladdin. However, Iago (Gilbert Gottfried), the parrot sidekick of Aladdin’s nemesis in the original film, Jafar (Jonathan Freeman) reappears. Iago, ever an opportunist, wants to be on the winning side and return to the life of luxury at the Sultan’s palace, so he attempts to make nice with Aladdin. Iago is succeeding in earning Aladdin’s trust on a provisional basis when Jafar, now the powerful Red Genie, returns to Agrabah with the help of Abis Mal (Jason Alexander), the chief of a local band of thieves. Both Jafar and Abis Mal want their revenge against Aladdin, and Jafar coerces Iago into helping him. The scene-stealing (blue) Genie (Dan Castellaneta) also returns, but can he help Aladdin stop Jafar’s diabolical plans and get rid of him for good?
The animation in The Return of Jafar isn’t nearly as good or as pretty as it is Aladdin. The colors aren’t as rich, and the shading on characters and objects isn’t there. The character animation is good, but not up to the standards of Disney feature animation. At the time of release, however, this was better than most of the animation produced domestically or overseas for American television, and The Return of Jafar is a nice second serving of the characters and situations from the original film. The last 20 minutes of this movie is riveting, thrilling stuff – as good as that in many live action, action flicks.
The characters are still themselves with the cast giving good voice acting performances, for the most part. Here, Genie is voiced by Dan Castellaneta, the voice of “Homer Simpson” (and numerous others) on “The Simpsons,” but he’s so-so as Genie. The absence of Robin Williams, who refused to reprise the role because of a dispute over merchandising money with Disney, is painfully obvious. Luckily, the dispute was resolved and Williams returned for a second direct-to-video sequel to Aladdin.
6 of 10
B
Saturday, September 02, 2006
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Thursday, April 22, 2010
1994 Iron Man Animated TV Series on DVD in May
3-Disc DVD Set - FACT SHEET
Studio: Buena Vista Home Entertainment
Story: From Stan Lee comes Marvel’s complete 1994 animated television series, Iron Man
. Experience every thrilling moment – from the very first episode, to the final climactic battle – in this 3-disc collector’s edition. Witness the action-packed adventure from the very beginning as billionaire inventor Tony Stark dons his invincible suit of iron to battle the villainous Mandarin and the power of his ten deadly rings.With fellow super heroes Nick Fury, War Machine, Scarlet Witch, Spider Woman and Hawkeye at his side, Iron Man faces off against a band of evil foes, including Whiplash…and confronts his own demons, as well.
Go behind the armor and get to know the man under the powered suit. This complete Iron Man collection is a must-have for fans of all ages !
“Iron Man” stars voice talent Robert Hays (Superhero Movie
), John Reilly (TV’s “General Hospital: Night Shift”), Jennifer Hale (Ariel’s Beginning – Voice) and is executive produced by Stan Lee (Spider-Man, Iron Man, The Fantastic Four, The Ultimate Avengers II
), Avi Arad (Spider-Man 4, Fantastic Four, X-Men: The Last Stand) and Larry Leiber (Iron Man, Iron Man 2).EPISODE LIST:
Disc 1:
1. And The Sea Shall Give Up It's Dead
2. Rejoice! I Am Ultimo Thy Deliverer
3. Data In - Chaos Out
4. Silence My Companion, Death My Destination
5. The Grim Reaper Wears A Teflon Coat
6. Enemy Within, Enemy Without
7. Origin Of The Mandarin
8. Defection Of The Hawkeye
Disc 2:
9. Iron Man To The Second Power (Part 1)
10. Iron Man To The Second Power (Part 2)
11. Origin Of Iron Man (Part 1)
12. Origin Of Iron Man (Part 2)
13. Wedding Of Iron Man!
14. The Beast Within
15. Fire And Rain
16. Cell Of Iron
17. Not Far From The Tree
Disc 3:
18. Beauty Knows No Pain
19. On The Inside
20. Distant Boundaries
21. The Armor Wars (Part 1)
22. The Armor Wars (Part 2)
23. Hulkbuster
24. Empowered
25. Hands Of The Mandarin (Part 1)
26. Hands Of The Mandarin (Part 2)
STREET DATE: May 4, 2010
Suggested retail price: $29.99 US; $35.99 Canada
Rated: TV – Y7
Run time: 572 minutes
DVD aspect ratio: 4:3
Sound: Dolby Digital Surround Sound, Spanish and French Language Tracks & Subtitles
© MARVEL, IRON-MAN and all related characters and their distinctive likenesses thereof are trademarks of Marvel Entertainment, Inc. and its subsidiaries and are used with permission. © 2010 Marvel Entertainment, Inc. and its subsidiaries. © Buena Vista Home Entertainment, Inc.
Review: Walt Disney's "Aladdin" a True Classic
Walt Disney’s Aladdin (1992) – animated
Running time: 90 minutes (1 hour, 30 minute)
MPAA – G
PRODUCER/DIRECTORS: Ron Clements and John Musker
WRITERS: Ted Elliot & Terry Rossio and Ron Clements & John Musker; from a story by Ed Gombert, Burny Mattinson, Roger Allers, Daan Jippes, Kevin Harkey, Sue Nichols, Francis Glebas, Darrell Rooney, Larry Leker, James Fujii, Kirk Hanson, Kevin Lima, Rebecca Rees, David S. Smith, Chris Sanders, Brian Pimental, and Patrick A. Ventura
EDITOR: H. Lee Peterson
Academy Award winner
ANIMATION/FANTASY/COMEDY and FAMILY/MUSICAL/ROMANCE
Starring: (voices) Scott Weinger, Robin Williams, Linda Lavin, Jonathan Freeman, Gilbert Gottfried, Douglas Seale, Frank Welker, Bruce Adler, Brad Kane, Lea Solanga, and Jim Cummings
Resourceful “street rat,” Aladdin (Scott Weinger) makes his living on the streets of Agrabah as a thief, ably assisted by his constant companion, a spunky monkey named Abu (Frank Welker). One day his eyes catch the sight of a beautiful young woman, whom he later rescues from an overzealous fruit vendor. Aladdin learns that she is Jasmine (Linda Lavin), the daughter of the Sultan of Agrabah (Douglas Seale), and she is walking the streets of Agrabah in disguise just to experience life outside the Sultan’s palace. Aladdin falls in love with Jasmine, but believes that he must be a prince to win her heart.
Later, Aladdin goes on a mission for another resident of the palace in disguise, Grand Vizier Jafar (Jonathan Freeman), the Sultan’s advisor. It is then that Aladdin comes into possession of a magical lamp. When Aladdin rubs the lamp, out springs the show-stealing Genie (Robin Williams). Genie takes a liking to his new master and uses his magical powers to help Aladdin get closer to Jasmine by disguising him the wealthy Prince Ali Ababwa. However, Aladdin must learn to be himself if he’s going to earn the love of the independent-minded Jasmine, and he’ll need all his smarts to stop the diabolical Jafar and his scheming parrot, Iago (Gilbert Gottfried), from overthrowing the Sultan to become rulers of Agrabah.
In 1989, Walt Disney Feature Animation began a second golden age of Disney feature-length animated films with The Little Mermaid
. Almost with each successive film, the box office take grew – Beauty and the Beast
in 1991 and Aladdin
in 1992 (while the underrated The Rescuers Down Under
floundered in 1990), peaking in 1994 with The Lion King
, which at the time set a record for box office gross by an animated flick. The Little Mermaid, Beauty and the Beast and Aladdin are quasi musicals, a sort of “lite” version of a Broadway musical. Of the trio, the most comic is Aladdin.In some ways, however, Aladdin is old school. The filmmakers and the Disney story department created lively characters with strong personalities and provided each one with sketch comic scenes that helped to endear him or her to the audience. The character animation is superb, and the characters move with fluidity and grace. The animators also provided visual quirks and clever visual gags that further defined each character – the best, of course, being Robin Williams’ Genie. While the other characters are certainly good (Jafar and Iago and Aladdin’s Magic Carpet stand out to me), Williams steals scenes without coming across as a scene hog, and his non-stop antics and transformations make Aladdin such a special movie. Genie was and remains the character that best fits Williams’ manic comic personality, and it’s not William’s effort alone. Genie is a creation of both William’s work as a voice actor and the drawing skills of large group of animators.
When a movie has Williams’ comical madness and Alan Menken’s evocative score and the songs Menken co-wrote with lyricists Tim Rice and Howard Ashman (a frequent partner of Menken’s who died over a year before Aladdin premiered), it has the potential to be a great film. Add in a cast of wonderful and charming characters, a simple, straight forward romance filled with magic and magical creatures, and two deliciously bad, bad guys, and you have a Disney classic.
9 of 10
A+
NOTES:
1993 Academy Awards: 2 wins: “Best Music, Original Score” (Alan Menken) and “Best Music, Original Song” (Alan Menken-music and Tim Rice-lyrics for the song "A Whole New World"); 3 nominations: “Best Effects, Sound Effects Editing” (Mark A. Mangini) “Best Music, Original Song” (Alan Menken-music and Howard Ashman-lyrics for the song "Friend Like Me"), and “Best Sound” Terry Porter, Mel Metcalfe, David J. Hudson, and Doc Kane)
1994 BAFTA Awards: 2 nominations: “BAFTA Film Award Best Score” (Alan Menken) and “Best Special Effects” (Don Paul and Steve Goldberg)
1993 Golden Globes: 3 wins “Best Original Score - Motion Picture” (Alan Menken), “Best Original Song - Motion Picture” (Alan Menken-music and Tim Rice-lyrics for the song "A Whole New World"), and “Special Award” (Robin Williams for his vocal work); and 3 nomination: “Best Motion Picture - Comedy/Musical,” “Best Original Song - Motion Picture” (Alan Menken-music and Howard Ashman-lyrics for the song “Friend Like Me”), and “Best Original Song - Motion Picture” (Alan Menken-music and Howard Ashman-lyrics for the song "Prince Ali")
Saturday, September 02, 2006
Wednesday, April 21, 2010
The "House Party" Anniversary Bash (A Negromancer New Bits and Bites Extra)
I'd forgotten that this year is the 20th anniversary of the film, House Party. This article from AOL's Black Voices "BV on Movies" blog reminded me. There was an anniversary party at the Tribeca All Access kickoff event, part of the 2010 Tribeca Film Festival.
Released in 1990 by New Line Cinema, House Party starred the rap duo Kid 'N Play having a (what else) house party when Kid's dad (played by the much-missed comic, Robin Harris) is away. The film also starred Martin Lawrence and Tisha Campbell, among others. There would be two theatrical sequels and one straight-to-video movie.
Buy House Party Collection: 4 Film Favorites
Released in 1990 by New Line Cinema, House Party starred the rap duo Kid 'N Play having a (what else) house party when Kid's dad (played by the much-missed comic, Robin Harris) is away. The film also starred Martin Lawrence and Tisha Campbell, among others. There would be two theatrical sequels and one straight-to-video movie.
Buy House Party Collection: 4 Film Favorites
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