Review: Kenneth Branagh Makes Much Magic in "Much Ado About Nothing"

TRASH IN MY EYE No. 127 (of 2005) by Leroy Douresseaux

Much Ado About Nothing (1993)
Running time: 110 minutes (1 hour, 50 minutes)
MPAA – PG-13
DIRECTOR: Kenneth Branagh
WRITER: Kenneth Branagh (adapted for the screen from Much Ado About Nothing by William Shakespeare)
PRODUCERS: Stephen Evan, David Parfitt, and Branagh
CINEMATOGRAPHER: Roger Lanser
EDITOR: Andrew Marcus
BAFTA nominee

COMEDY/ROMANCE with elements of drama, music, and musical

Starring: Kenneth Branagh, Michael Keaton, Robert Sean Leonard, Keanu Reeves, Emma Thompson, and Denzel Washington, Richard Briers, Kate Beckinsale, Brian Blessed, Imelda Staunton, Jimmy Yuill, Phyllida Law, Richard Clifford, and Gerard Horan

Kenneth Branagh earned two Oscar-nominations (acting and directing) for his 1989 film, Henry V, a screen adaptation of William Shakespeare’s stage drama. Branagh brought the Bard back to the screen for a second time under his direction with the 1993 film, Much Ado About Nothing, which received a 1993 Golden Globe nomination for Best Motion Picture – Comedy/Musical (and an Independent Spirit Award nom for “Best Feature”).

A high-spirited tale of love, mistaken identity, and bawdy humor, Much Ado About Nothing is set in Messina (Sicily), where hot-bloodied youth, Claudio (Robert Sean Leonard), is engaged to marry a beautiful young woman named Hero (Kate Beckinsale). Claudio is so anxious to wed that his best friend, Don Pedro (Denzel Washington), devises some mischief to distract Claudio. Don Pedro concocts a romantic trap for Hero’s cousin, the sharp-tongued Beatrice (Emma Thompson, Independent Spirit Award nomination for “Best Female Lead”) and the man she most loves to hate, Benedick (Kenneth Branagh). However, amusement turns to horror, scandal, and tragedy by the hand of Don Pedro’s rakish brother, Don John (Keanu Reeves), who schemes to destroy the engagement and marriage of Claudio and Hero. Can the chance intervention of the local law, Dogberry (Michael Keaton), restore the love and laughter to this circle of friends?

It’s almost hard to believe, but Much Ado About Nothing manages to be ravishing entertainment, engaging brain food, and a finely crafted costume drama in only 102 minutes of screen time. It’s a sexy, joyous romp filmed with delightful rudeness, playful sexual innuendo, and the sun-drenched charm of its shooting location (Chianti, Toscana, Central Italy). It takes an attentive ear (and more patience than many moviegoers are willing to give) to hear every Shakespearean word and turn of a phrase, but the cast’s exuberant delivery of the Bard’s masterful language is… well, masterful.

If the good acting weren’t enough (Branagh and Emma Thompson actually outshine the rest of this talented cast of movie stars and fine character actors), this exuberant production is filled with lively songs, musical numbers, and a soaring life-giving score. If you like Shakespeare on the big screen, this is a gift for you. If you never believed that Shakespeare could be so funny and sexy, Branagh and his cohorts will convert you into a true believer.

8 of 10
A

NOTES:
1994 BAFTA Awards: 1 nomination: “Best Costume Design” (Phyllis Dalton)

1993 Cannes Film Festival: 1 nomination: “Palme d'Or” (Kenneth Branagh)

1994 Golden Globes: 1 nomination: “Best Motion Picture - Comedy/Musical”

1994 Razzie Award: 1 nomination: “Worst Supporting Actor” (Keanu Reeves)

Happy Birthday, Sarah

Belated, of course.  I always miss these - even with a Microsoft Office Calendar reminder.

Sad, this boy is - Yoda.

About This Movie: THOR

Paramount Pictures and Marvel Entertainment Present
A Marvel Studios Production
A Kenneth Branagh Film

“Thor”

Co‐Producers: Craig Kyle Victoria Alonso
Executive Producers: Alan Fine Stan Lee David Maisel Patricia Whitcher Louis D’Esposito
Produced by Kevin Feige
Story by J. Michael Straczynski and Mark Protosevich
Screenplay by Ashley Edward Miller & Zack Stentz and Don Payne
Directed by Kenneth Branagh

Cast: Chris Hemsworth, Natalie Portman, Tom Hiddleston, Stellan Skarsgård, Colm Feore, Ray Stevenson, Idris Elba, Kat Dennings, Jaimie Alexander, Josh Dallas, Tadanobu Asano, Clark Gregg, with Rene Russo and Anthony Hopkins as Odin

Synopsis:
The epic adventure THOR spans the Marvel Universe from present day Earth to the mystical realm of Asgard. At the center of the story is The Mighty Thor, a powerful but arrogant warrior whose reckless actions reignite an ancient war. As a result, Thor is banished to Earth where he is forced to live among humans. When the most dangerous villain of his world sends its darkest forces to invade Earth, Thor learns what it takes to be a true hero.

Release: May 6, 2011

THOR has been rated PG-13 for sequences of intense sci-fi action and violence


Thor by Walter Simonson Omnibus

"The Tourist" May Trap Jolie and Depp Fans

TRASH IN MY EYE No. 37 (of 2011) by Leroy Douresseaux


The Tourist (2010)
Running time: 103 minutes (1 hour, 43 minutes)
MPAA – PG-13 for violence and brief strong language
DIRECTOR: Florian Henckel von Donnersmarck
WRITERS: Florian Henckel von Donnersmarck, Christopher McQuarrie, and Julian Fellowes (based upon the film Anthony Zimmer by Jérôme Salle)
PRODUCERS: Gary Barber, Roger Birnbaum, Jonathan Glickman, Tim Headington, and Graham King
CINEMATOGRAPHER: John Seale
EDITORS: Joe Hutshing and Patricia Rommel
COMPOSER: James Newton Howard
Golden Globe nominee

CRIME/ROMANCE with elements of comedy

Starring: Johnny Depp, Angelina Jolie, Paul Bettany, Timothy Dalton, Steve Berkoff and Rufus Sewell

Movies that bring together a big-time male and female movie star for a tale of romance and/or sex can be disastrous, such as Perfect Strangers with Halle Berry and Bruce Willis. The recent film, The Tourist, brings together A-list stars, Johnny Depp and Angelina Jolie (although they weren’t the original choices for this movie). Depp and Jolie have almost no screen chemistry; they simply seem like a mismatched pair, and for some reason, this works for The Tourist.

A remake of a French action film, The Tourist is the story of an American in Venice who becomes a decoy in a cat-and-mouse game involving the police, gangsters, a thief, and his lover. Widower Frank Tupelo (Johnny Depp) is an American tourist on a train to Venice, Italy, when he encounters a mysterious beauty, Elise Clifton-Ward (Angelina Jolie). Ward is going to Venice for a long-awaited reunion with her former boyfriend, Alexander Pearce.

Frank is smitten with Elise, and while she surprisingly spends some time with him, Elise abandons Frank to find Pearce. Elise isn’t the only one looking for Pearce. The others include Robert Shaw (Steve Berkoff), a gangster from whom Pearce stole 2.3 billion dollars, and Inspector John Acheson (Paul Bettany) and Scotland Yard. The problem for Frank is that they think he is Pearce because they saw Frank kissing Elise. But no one knows what Pearce now looks like, even Elise.

Truthfully, The Tourist has a slow, muddled plot. Combine that with the obvious-from-the-beginning lack of chemistry between Johnny Depp and Angelina Jolie, and this is a recipe for disaster. So why do I like this movie? Well, I am a huge fan of Depp, and I also like Jolie quite a bit. Perhaps, putting them in such a lovely setting as Venice and also adding a bit of international intrigue are just enough to get a sap like me to go along for The Tourist’s ride.

This film is beautifully photographed by the accomplished, Australian cinematographer, John Seale, who won an Academy Award for his work on The English Patient (1996). Seale also received Oscar nominations for Witness, Rain Man, and Cold Mountain. Seale does the majority of the work that gives The Tourist its elegance and sophistication. This glowing, shimmering romantic, half-romp is one of the most beautiful movies of the year. It seems as if the director, writers, and even the stars Depp and Jolie didn’t know how to make The Tourist work, but the cinematographer did. How often does that happen?

That’s okay. Fans of Jolie and Depp can find reasons to enjoy The Tourist. It does not matter what those reason are.

6 of 10
B

NOTES:
2011 Golden Globes: 3 nominations: “Best Motion Picture - Musical or Comedy,” “Best Performance by an Actor in a Motion Picture - Musical or Comedy” (Johnny Depp), and “Best Performance by an Actress in a Motion Picture - Musical or Comedy” (Angelina Jolie)

Thursday, May 05, 2011

2011 MTV Movie Award Nominees Full List

The MTV Movie Awards began in 1992, and since that time, I’ve probably watched less than half of an hour combined of the various award telecasts. Anyway, the nominees for the 2011 awards were just announced.

Hosted by Jason Sudeikis, the 20th annual MTV Movie Awards will air live on Sunday, June 5, at 9 p.m. ET, from the Gibson Amphitheatre in Universal City, California.

20th Annual MTV Movie Award nominees:

Best Movie
"Black Swan"
"Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, Part 1"
"Inception"
"The Social Network"
"The Twilight Saga: Eclipse"

Best Female Performance
Emma Stone, "Easy A"
Emma Watson, "Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, Part 1"
Jennifer Aniston, "Just Go With It"
Kristen Stewart, "The Twilight Saga: Eclipse"
Natalie Portman, "Black Swan"

Best Male Performance
Daniel Radcliffe, "Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, Part 1"
Jesse Eisenberg, "The Social Network"
Robert Pattinson, "The Twilight Saga: Eclipse"
Taylor Lautner, "The Twilight Saga: Eclipse"
Zac Efron, "Charlie St. Cloud"

Best Breakout Star
Andrew Garfield, "The Social Network"
Chloë Grace Moretz, "Kick-Ass"
Hailee Steinfeld, "True Grit"
Jay Chou, "The Green Hornet"
Olivia Wilde, "TRON: Legacy"
Xavier Samuel, "The Twilight Saga: Eclipse"

Best Comedic Performance
Adam Sandler, "Just Go With It"
Ashton Kutcher, "No Strings Attached"
Emma Stone, "Easy A"
Russell Brand, "Get Him to the Greek"
Zach Galifianakis, "Due Date"

Best Line From A Movie (New Category)

• Alexys Nycole Sanchez, "Grown Ups": "I want to get chocolate wasted."
• Amanda Bynes and Emma Stone, "Easy A": Amanda Bynes: "There is a higher power that will judge you for your indecency." Emma Stone: "Tom Cruise?"
• Jesse Eisenberg, "The Social Network": "If you guys were the inventors of Facebook, you'd have invented Facebook."
• Justin Timberlake and Andrew Garfield, "The Social Network": Justin Timberlake: "... A million dollars isn't cool. You know what's cool?" Andrew Garfield: "A billion dollars. And that shut everybody up."
• Tom Hardy, "Inception": "You mustn't be afraid to dream a little bigger darling."

Best Villain
Christoph Waltz, "The Green Hornet"
Leighton Meester, "The Roommate"
Mickey Rourke, "Iron Man 2"
Ned Beatty, "Toy Story 3"
Tom Felton, "Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, Part 1"

Best Fight

Amy Adams vs. The Sisters, "The Fighter"
Chloë Grace Moretz vs. Mark Strong, "Kick-Ass"
Daniel Radcliffe, Emma Watson and Rupert Grint vs. Death Eaters, "Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, Part 1"
Joseph Gordon-Levitt vs. Hallway Attacker, "Inception"
Robert Pattinson vs. Bryce Dallas Howard and Xavier Samuel, "The Twilight Saga: Eclipse"

Best Kiss

Ellen Page and Joseph Gordon-Levitt, "Inception"
Emma Watson and Daniel Radcliffe, "Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, Part 1"
Kristen Stewart and Robert Pattinson, "The Twilight Saga: Eclipse"
Kristen Stewart and Taylor Lautner, "The Twilight Saga: Eclipse"
Natalie Portman and Mila Kunis, "Black Swan"

Best Jaw-Dropping Moment

James Franco, "127 Hours," Cuts Off His Arm
Justin Bieber, "Justin Bieber: Never Say Never," Performance Spectacular
Leonardo DiCaprio and Ellen Page, "Inception," Paris Café Scene
Natalie Portman, "Black Swan," Mutilation: Pulls the Skin off Her Finger
Steve-O, "Jackass 3D," Port-A-Potty Bungee Stunt

Best Scared-As-Sh-- Performance

Ashley Bell, "The Last Exorcism"
Ellen Page, "Inception"
Jessica Szohr, "Piranha 3D"
Minka Kelly, "The Roommate"
Ryan Reynolds, "Buried"

Biggest Badass Star

Alex Pettyfer, "I Am Number Four"
Chloë Grace Moretz, "Kick-Ass"
Jaden Smith, "The Karate Kid"
Joseph Gordon-Levitt, "Inception"
Robert Downey Jr., "Iron Man 2"

At MovieAwards.MTV.com <http://www.mtv.com/ontv/movieawards/2011/>, you can vote for your favorite flicks now.

For breaking news, celebrity columns, humor and more — updated around the clock — visit MTVMoviesBlog.com <http://moviesblog.mtv.com/.>

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.