Review: "From Dusk Till Dawn" Still a Bloody, Glorious Mess

TRASH IN MY EYE No. 68 (of 2005) by Leroy Douresseaux


From Dusk Till Dawn (1996)
Running time: 108 minutes (1 hour, 48 minutes)
MPAA – R for strong violence and gore, language, and nudity
DIRECTOR/EDITOR: Robert Rodriguez
WRITERS: Quentin Tarantino; based upon the story by Robert Kurtzman
PRODUCERS: Gianni Nunnari and Meir Teper
CINEMATOGRAPHER: Guillermo Navarro

HORROR/ACTION/DRAMA with elements of comedy and crime

Starring: Harvey Keitel, George Clooney, Quentin Tarantino, Juliette Lewis, Ernest Liu, Salma Hayek, Cheech Marin, Danny Trejo, Tom Savini, Fred Williamson, Michael Parks, Kelly Preston, John Saxson, and Brenda Hillhouse

After a bloody bank robbery, Seth Gecko (George Clooney) and his younger brother, Richard (Quentin Tarantino), are on the lam. The brothers take Jacob Fuller (Harvey Keitel), an ex-preacher, and his children, Kate (Juliette Lewis) and Scott (Ernest Liu) hostage, in order to use the Fullers’ RV for their getaway. The Geckos and the Fullers escape the police dragnet across the border into Mexico, where the Gecko Brothers are supposed to rendezvous with a local drug kingpin at a biker and trucker cantina called the Titty Twister. What the quintet doesn’t know is that the bar’s owners and some of the clientele are bloodthirsty vampires.

Movies like Scream, Bram Stoker’s Dracula, or even Interview with a Vampire might make the list of great horror movies from the 1990’s, but the Robert Rodriguez directed, Quentin Tarantino scripted horror film, From Dusk Till Dawn is a horrifying, classic howler. Part dark comedy, part gore fest, part action horror, and part crime thriller, FDTD is hell of a film. It’s so blood soaked at times that it might give some people pause and grab their stomachs. Some of the monster and creature makeup and effects are way over the top and hilarious, but the film works.

From Dusk Till Dawn is actually like two movies in one. The first half is straight out of classic crime cinema – dangerous, murderous, cop-killing thieves are on the lam with hostages in tow. The second half is apparently an ode to outlandish Mexican horror films (of which I never seen a one). This mixture is something only genre storytellers do well, and two guys like Tarantino and Rodriguez are steeped in stuff like comics, pulp fiction, and lowbrow cinema to the point where they can make something like FDTD work.

The cast is obviously having a good time; the extras seem to have the best time. George Clooney’s cool and calm killer carries this film across two genres, and his movie star presence shines even in something like this. However, blaxtiploitation star Fred Williamson and horror movie makeup legend, Tom Savini, give sweet kicks to their small, but deliciously kooky parts.

8 of 10
A

Friday, May 20, 2005

From Dusk Till Dawn [Blu-ray]

Death Note Anime Streamed by Netflix

VIZ MEDIA BRINGS THE EDGY PSYCHOLOGICAL SUSPENSE OF DEATH NOTE TO NETFLIX

Acclaimed Supernatural Crime Mystery Based On Popular Manga Is The Latest VIZ Media Anime Series To Be Streamed By From Netflix

VIZ Media has announced the premiere of the entire uncut and subtitled DEATH NOTE anime series on Netflix, Inc., the world’s leading Internet subscription service for enjoying movies and TV shows. The supernatural suspense thriller will be available to watch instantly for subscribers in the U.S. beginning today.

A unique storyline and complex characters, combined with visually stunning animation by Madhouse, made DEATH NOTE one of the most popular anime series to ever be released in Japan and North America. The complete 37 episode series joins several other VIZ Media anime titles such as BLEACH, NARUTO, and INUYASHA, which can now be instantly streamed from Netflix.

DEATH NOTE (rated TV-14, subtitled) was inspired by a 12-volume manga counterpart (published in North America by VIZ Media) written by Tsugumi Ohba and illustrated by Takeshi Obata. The anime series follows the adventures of Light Yagami, an ace student with great prospects but who is bored out of his mind. All of that changes when he finds the Death Note, a strange notebook dropped by a rogue Shinigami death god named Ryuk. Any human whose name is written in the notebook dies, and now Light has vowed to use the power of the Death Note to rid the world of evil. But when criminals mysteriously begin dropping dead, the authorities send the legendary detective L to track down the killer. With L hot on his heels, will Light lose sight of his noble goal - or his life?

More information on DEATH NOTE is available at: DeathNote.viz.com.

Review: "Fast Five" Most Furious Yet

TRASH IN MY EYE No. 36 (of 2011) by Leroy Douresseaux

Fast Five (2011)
Running time: 130 minutes (2 hours, 10 minutes)
MPAA – PG-13
DIRECTOR: Justin Lin
WRITER: Chris Morgan (based on the characters created by Gary Scott Thompson)
PRODUCERS: Vin Diesel, Michael Fottrell, and Neal H. Moritz
CINEMATOGRAPHER: Stephen F. Windon
EDITORS: Kelly Matsumoto, Fred Raskin, and Christian Wagner
COMPOSER: Brian Tyler

ACTION/CRIME/DRAMA

Starring: Vin Diesel, Paul Walker, Dwayne Johnson, Jordana Brewster, Tyrese Gibson, Chris “Ludacris” Bridges, Matt Schulze, Sung Kang, Gal Gadot, Tego Calderon, Don Omar, Joaquim de Almeida, Elsa Pataky, and Michael Irby

My beat up Random House dictionary defines the word “furious” as meaning full of fury, and defines the word, “fury,” as unrestrained or violent anger. Fast Five is the fifth movie in The Fast and the Furious film franchise. It is unrestrained.

Fast Five picks up where the fourth movie, Fast and Furious (2009), left off. Former FBI agent Brian O’Conner (Paul Walker) leads an assault on a prison transport bus to free his pal, elite street racer and ex-con, Dominic “Dom” Toretto (Vin Diesel). Brian and Dom’s sister, Mia Toretto (Jordana Brewster), go on the run to Brazil, where they reunite with Dom for a train heist of high-end cars. The heist goes badly, which earns them the ire and unwanted attention of drug lord, Hernan Reyes (Joaquim de Almeida).

Now, backed into a corner in Rio de Janeiro, Dom suggests they pull one last job in order to gain their freedom – steal 100 million dollars from Reyes. They assemble an elite team of racers, techs, mechanics, and weapons experts. These include Brian’s friends from his time in Miami, Roman Pearce (Tyrese Gibson) and Tej Parker (Ludacris), and some of Dom’s associates like Han Lue (Sung Kang).

However, Reyes is not the only one hunting Brian and Dom. They are wanted by the FBI, which has assigned a Diplomatic Security Service (DSS) officer, Lucas “Luke” Hobbs (Dwayne Johnson), to apprehend Brian and Dom. The hard-nosed Hobbs never misses his target, and he leads an elite strike team on an all-out mission to capture the two men. As his men tear through Brazil and he gets closer to his targets, Hobbs learns that he is caught between desperate forces – Dom and Brian on one side and Reyes on the other.

Fast Five takes the best of the previous four movies and crams that into an action movie extravaganza that runs at just over two hours of massive gun battles, bone-crushing fights, and reality-bending car chases. I give director Justin Lin some credit because this movie does have some moments of genuine character drama with a smattering of poignancy. Still, Lin, his crew, and creative collaborators know what this franchise is about – street racing.

But Fast Five gives us more than mere street racing. This film is furious and unstrained, offering loud, over-the-top, absurd action set pieces. Why just have pretty girls when you can have pretty girls with their butt cheeks hanging out? Why have a car chase when you can have a car chase with two cars dragging a giant safe? Everything is bigger, louder, and sleeker, and much of it defies the laws of physics. This movie made my breath catch a few times.

Vin Diesel and Paul Walker are as cool as ever, even if they aren’t the best actors. I’m sure readers want to know if this movie is as good as or even better than the others. Whether Fast Five is better is matter of taste, and I think it is. I can say one thing for sure. Fast Five is bigger, more outrageous, and more furious than anything else in The Fast and the Furious franchise.

7 of 10
B+

Sunday, May 01, 2011
 

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May Day! Calling All Readers

Welcome to Negromancer, the rebirth of my former movie review website as a movie review and movie news blog. I’m Leroy Douresseaux, and I also blog at http://ireadsyou.blogspot.com/ and write for the Comic Book Bin (which has smart phones apps).

All images and text appearing on this blog are © copyright and/or trademark their respective owners.

Vampire Knight Among VIZ Media Anime DVD in May and June

VIZ MEDIA OFFERS SUMMER ANIME ACTION WITH NEW MAY AND JUNE DVD RELEASES

San Francisco, CA, April 28, 2011 – VIZ Media, LLC (VIZ Media), one of the entertainment industry’s most innovative and comprehensive publishing, animation and licensing companies, has announced an array of upcoming new anime DVD releases scheduled for May and June 2011.

New DVD releases in May include the latest from VIZ Media’s top selling anime properties, POKÉMON and VAMPIRE KNIGHT GUILTY. Two brand new series, HERO: 108 and KEKKAISHI, will make their long-awaited debut on DVD in June in addition to the latest box set installment of BLEACH.

May Anime Releases:

POKÉMON DP GALACTIC BATTLES Volumes 3 & 4 • Rated “A” for All Ages • MSRP: $14.97 U.S. each / $21.99 CAN each • Available May 10th

POKÉMON DP GALACTIC BATTLES GIFT SET 2 • Rated “A” for All Ages • MSRP: $24.92 U.S. / $35.99 CAN • Available May 10th

Ash and his friends are headed to Sinnoh’s snow country, where the weather is the least of their challenges. Dawn and her Pokémon face hard decisions about their future as a team. Ash faces a hard battle against Gym Leader Candice and her mighty Abomasnow – but even if he wins, he’ll still have to beat his rival Paul, who’s determined to avenge a bitter loss from the past. To top it all off, our heroes face a ground-shaking calamity when the Legendary Pokémon Regigigas awakes in Snowpoint Temple! Get ready for more rivals, more revelations, and more adventures!

POKÉMON DP GALATIC BATTLES GIFT SET contains Volumes 3 & 4 in a collector’s box.

For more information POKÉMON and other VIZ Kids titles please visit www.VIZ.com/pokemon/.

VAMPIRE KNIGHT GUILTY Volume 2 • Rated “T+” for Older Teens • MSRP: $19.97 U.S. / $28.99 CAN • Available May 17th

Continually haunted by visions of blood, Yuki is determined to discover the secrets of her past, but Kaname repeatedly evades her questions. Zero confronts Kaname at the Moon Dormitory, and the two end up fighting. Then Kaname advances his relationship with Yuki to an entirely new level, which has the members of the Night Class in a bit of a tizzy. But Yuki's dreams only intensify – will her past be forced into the light at last? Includes Episodes 5-8.

For more information on VAMPIRE KNIGHT, please visit: http://www.shojobeat.com/

June Anime Releases:

HERO: 108 SEASON 1, Volume 1 • Not Rated • MSRP: $14.97 U.S. / $21.99 CAN • Available June 14th

Long ago, the animals and humans of Hidden Kingdom lived together in harmony. But when the wicked trickster HighRoller turned the animals against the humans, chaos erupted! Now, the rebel force known as Big Green - led by ApeTrully and Lin Chung of First Squad - must battle to bring peace to the land. Episodes 1-6.

For more information on HERO: 108, please visit www.viz.com or http://www.vizkids.com/.

KEKKAISHI DVD BOX SET Volume 1 • Rated ‘T’ for Teens • MSRP: $49.95 U.S. / $71.99 CAN • Available June 21st

Yoshimori Sumimura is a 14-year-old student at Karasumori School. Following in the tradition that's come down through the generations, he is the twenty-second Kekkaishi of the Sumimura clan. But he’s constantly fighting with his rival, Tokine Yukimura – his childhood friend and also a Kekkaishi – about who is the rightful heir to the magical barrier arts. Protecting people from danger while growing stronger, Yoshimori will battle the forces of evil again tonight! The 3-disc set includes Episodes 1-13.

For more information on KEKKAISHI or other Shonen Sunday series, please visit http://www.shonensunday.com/.


BLEACH UNCUT DVD BOX SET Volume 9 • Rated ‘T’ for Teens • MSRP: $49.95 U.S. / $71.99 CAN • Available June 21st

In the perpetual night and white sand world of Hueco Mundo, Ichigo and the others fight their way to Las Noches, the stronghold of former Soul Reaper captain Sosuke Aizen, where Orihime is being held. In the depths of Las Noches, Rukia encounters Espada Number Nine, Aaroniero Arruruerie, who removes his mask to reveal a very familiar face – could he really be former Squad Three Lieutenant Kaien Shiba? The 3-disc set contains Episodes 146-156.

More information on BLEACH is available at Bleach.viz.com.


Kekkaishi Set 1

Review: Great Performances Help Deliver "The King's Speech"

TRASH IN MY EYE No. 35 (of 2011) by Leroy Douresseaux

The King’s Speech (2010)
COUNTRY OF ORIGIN: United Kingdom
Running time: 118 minutes (1 hour, 58 minutes)
MPAA – R for some language
DIRECTOR: Tom Hooper
WRITER: David Seidler
PRODUCERS: Iain Canning, Emile Sherman, and Gareth Unwin
CINEMATOGRAPHER: Danny Cohen (D.o.P.)
EDITOR: Tariq Anwar
COMPOSER: Alexandre Desplat
Academy Award winner

DRAMA/HISTORICAL

Starring: Colin Firth, Geoffrey Rush, Helena Bonham Carter, Guy Pearce, Jennifer Ehle, Michael Gambon, Derek Jacobi, Timothy Spall, Eve Best, Freya Wilson, Ramona Marquez, Dominic Applewhite, Calum Gittins, Ben Wimsett, and Claire Bloom

The King’s Speech isn’t just any British historical drama. After all, it won the Academy Award as “Best Picture” of 2010. I don’t think it is as good as some of the British costume or period dramas from Merchant Ivory Productions (like Howard’s End and Remains of the Day) or even Shakespeare in Love (another best picture Oscar winner). However, this film about a king with a stammer and the man who helps him overcome it is a really good movie that I heartily recommend to fans of historical dramas.

The film begins in 1925. Prince Albert, Duke of York (Colin Firth) addresses a crowd, and his stammering speech clearly unsettles thousands of listeners. Known as “Bertie” to his wife, Elizabeth, Duchess of York (Helena Bonham Carter), and to his family, Prince Albert tries several unsuccessful treatments for his stammer and eventually gives finding a cure. The Duchess convinces Prince Albert to see Lionel Logue (Geoffrey Rush), an unorthodox Australian speech therapist living in London.

Logue’s pioneering treatment helps Albert, and the two men form an unlikely friendship. After Albert’s older brother, David, the Prince of Wales (Guy Pearce), steps down as King, Albert becomes King George VI and relies on Lionel even more. As war with Germany looms, George VI will need Logue’s help to deliver the King’s speech to Great Britain and the British Empire, a radio address that will assure the people’s confidence in their still-new king.

Tom Hooper, the director of The King’s Speech, was primarily known for his work directing for television (including the Emmy-winning, HBO miniseries, John Adams). However, the visual style he uses for The King’s Speech gives the film the grand feel of a historical epic, while simultaneously capturing the intimacy necessary for a character drama. Hooper is aided and abetted by art direction that brings the royal existence of the 1920s and 1930s to vivid life.

As well directed as The King’s Speech is, the core of the movie rests on the performances of Colin Firth and Geoffrey Rush. This movie is essentially the tale of a troubled prince/king who is shown the way to victory by a curmudgeonly wizard, and, in that sense, Firth as the distressed royal and Rush as the stern but doting old mage are triumphant. I have been watching Firth for years, so I know that he is an excellent actor. Still, I almost totally believed that he was the sorely troubled King George VI, fighting a real stammer. What can I say about Rush other than that he is always good, but, as Logue, this is one of those performances that will be marked in his career as a peak in a great body of work.

Helena Bonham Carter is also quite good, making the most of her time on screen and even stealing a few scenes. Firth won an Oscar for his performance here, and Rush and Carter should have also won Oscars, although they did receive nominations. There is much to like about The King’s Speech, but this trio makes the film a classic among British historical dramas.

8 of 10
A

NOTES:
2011 Academy Awards: 4 wins: “Best Motion Picture of the Year” (Iain Canning, Emile Sherman, and Gareth Unwin), “Best Achievement in Directing” (Tom Hooper), “Best Performance by an Actor in a Leading Role” (Colin Firth), and “Best Writing, Screenplay Written Directly for the Screen” (David Seidler); 8 nominations: “Best Achievement in Art Direction” (Eve Stewart and Judy Farr), “Best Achievement in Cinematography” (Danny Cohen), “Best Achievement in Costume Design” (Jenny Beavan), “Best Achievement in Editing” (Tariq Anwar), “Best Achievement in Music Written for Motion Pictures, Original Score” (Alexandre Desplat), “Best Achievement in Sound Mixing” (Paul Hamblin, Martin Jensen, and John Midgley), “Best Performance by an Actor in a Supporting Role” (Geoffrey Rush), and “Best Performance by an Actress in a Supporting Role” (Helena Bonham Carter)

2011 BAFTA Awards: 7 wins: “Alexander Korda Award for Best British Film” (Emile Sherman, Iain Canning, and Gareth Unwin), “Anthony Asquith Award for Film Music” (Alexandre Desplat), “Best Actor” (Colin Firth), “Best Film” (Emile Sherman, Gareth Unwin, and Iain Canning), “Best Screenplay-Original” (David Seidler), “Best Supporting Actor” (Geoffrey Rush), and “Best Supporting Actress” (Helena Bonham Carter); 7 nominations: “Best Cinematography” (Danny Cohen), “Best Costume Design” (Jenny Beavan), “Best Editing” (Tariq Anwar), “Best Make Up/Hair,” “Best Production Design” (Eve Stewart and Judy Farr), “Best Sound” (John Midgley-production mixer, Paul Hamblin-re-recording mixer, Martin Jensen-re-recording mixer, and Lee Walpole-supervising sound editor), and “David Lean Award for Achievement in Direction” (Tom Hooper)

2011 Golden Globes: 1 win: “Best Performance by an Actor in a Motion Picture – Drama” (Colin Firth); 6 nominations: “Best Director - Motion Picture” (Tom Hooper), “Best Motion Picture – Drama,” “Best Original Score - Motion Picture” (Alexandre Desplat), “Best Performance by an Actor in a Supporting Role in a Motion Picture” (Geoffrey Rush), “Best Performance by an Actress in a Supporting Role in a Motion Picture” (Helena Bonham Carter), and “Best Screenplay - Motion Picture” (David Seidler)

Thursday, April 28, 2011

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Review: Helen Mirren Saves "The Queen"

TRASH IN MY EYE No. 69 (of 2007) by Leroy Douresseaux

The Queen (2006)
COUNTRY OF ORIGIN: UK, France, and Italy
Running time: 103 minutes (1 hour, 43 minutes)
MPAA – R for brief strong language
DIRECTOR: Stephen Frears
WRITER: Peter Morgan
PRODUCERS: Christine Lagan, Tracey Seaward, and Andy Harries
CINEMATOGRAPHER: Affonso Beato, ASC, ABC (D.o.P.)
EDITOR: Lucia Zucchetti
Academy Award winner

DRAMA

Starring: Helen Mirren, Michael Sheen, James Cromwell, Sylvia Syms, Alex Jennings, Helen McCrory, Roger Allam, and Tim McMullan

The Queen, a film by Stephen Frears, is a fictional and highly speculative account of the behind the scenes incidents in the week following the shocking death of Prince Diana. Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II (Helen Mirren, in a role that won her a Best Actress Oscar) and British Prime Minister Tony Blair (Michael Sheen) engage in intimate talks as Blair tries to convince the Queen that the Royal Family should memorialize Princess Diana in a manner beyond standard protocol. The Queen tries to manage the death on a personal and private level with her family, some members of which, want to follow protocol. Meanwhile, Blair deals with the public and members of his own administration that are demanding that the royals give a grand, public funeral for their beloved Diana: the “people’s princess.”

Peter Morgan’s script presents this story as a character study, but the only truly interesting and engaging character in the film is Queen Elizabeth. The Prince Charles of this scenario is almost criminally libelous in the portrayal of the first heir to the British crown as a watery soup of a man. Alex Jennings plays him as a self-serving crybaby looking to lay his troubles at his mother, the Queen’s door. Prince Phillip, the Queen’s husband, is an irretrievable asshole, a noisy loudmouth, and a conceited, stuck-up jerk, and James Cromwell sticks to the script in portraying him that way.

The strongest supporting character in this tale is Prime Minister Tony Blair, and the script presents him as an over-eager suck-up to the Queen – a sad commoner dying for Her Majesty’s attention or maybe scraps from her table. Michael Sheen plays him as such, so it’s hard to distinguish Blair from the Queen’s pet dogs.

Stephen Frears seems to spend most of his time lavishing attention and much of the film’s detail on Helen Mirren as Queen Elizabeth. If there are times in which The Queen seems like a nimble high comedy or a strong, behind-the-scenes character drama, it’s mostly because of Mirren’s performance. She makes this film, and perhaps Frears, who is quite good at character dramas, deserves some credit for both helping Mirren find the character and for letting Mirren as Elizabeth define this film.

Mirren’s physical transformation as Elizabeth is stunning, and though we may credit some of that to makeup, the character performance is Mirren’s own. Every gesture – a turn of the head, a scowl, a frown, a quiet moment of reflection, a tear, or barked order at a subservient establishes this film’s mood, its setting, its overall character, and even moves the plot like no other element in The Queen. Mirren can take a tart comment and turn this movie into an impudent comedy. Just the manner in which she observes someone or something (the stag on the hunting grounds of her estate) can transform the movie into a grand drama about the life of a monarch.

Luckily, Mirren gives such a wonderful performance because, otherwise, The Queen is mediocre.

6 of 10
B

NOTES:
2007 Academy Awards: 1 win for “Best performance by an actress in a leading role” (Helen Mirren); 5 nominations: “Best achievement in costume design” (Consolata Boyle), “Best achievement in directing” (Stephen Frears), “Best achievement in music written for motion pictures, original score” (Alexandre Desplat), “Best motion picture of the year” (Andy Harries, Christine Langan, and Tracey Seaward), and “Best writing, original screenplay” (Peter Morgan)

2007 BAFTA Awards: 2 wins: “Best Actress in a Leading Role” (Helen Mirren) and “Best Film” (Tracey Seaward, Christine Langan, and Andy Harries; 8 nominations: “Alexander Korda Award for Best British Film” (Tracey Seaward, Christine Langan, Andy Harries, Stephen Frears, and Peter Morgan), “Anthony Asquith Award for Film Music” (Alexandre Desplat), “Best Actor in a Supporting Role” (Michael Sheen), “Best Costume Design” (Consolata Boyle), “Best Editing” (Lucia Zucchetti), “Best Make Up & Hair” (Daniel Phillips), “Best Screenplay – Original” (Peter Morgan), and “David Lean Award for Direction” (Stephen Frears)

2007 Golden Globes: 2 wins: “Best Performance by an Actress in a Motion Picture – Drama” (Helen Mirren) and “Best Screenplay - Motion Picture” (Peter Morgan); 2 nominations: “Best Director - Motion Picture” (Stephen Frears) and “Best Motion Picture – Drama”

Friday, April 27, 2007

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