Review: "Semi-Pro" is an Uneven Comedy (Happy B'day, Will Ferrell)

TRASH IN MY EYE No. 11 (of 2008) by Leroy Douresseaux

Semi-Pro (2008)
Running time: 90 minutes (1 hour, 30 minutes)
MPAA – R for language and some sexual content
DIRECTOR: Kent Alterman
WRITER: Scot Armstrong
PRODUCER: Jimmy Miller
CINEMATOGRAPHER: Shane Hurlbut (D.o.P.)
EDITOR: Debra Neil-Fisher

COMEDY/SPORTS

Starring: Will Ferrell, Woody Harrelson, André Benjamin, Maura Tierney, Andrew Daly, Andy Richter, David Koechner, Rob Corddry, Matt Walsh, Jackie Earle Haley, DeRay Davis, Josh Braaten, Jay Phillips, Peter Cornell, and Patti LaBelle

When a comic actor hits his stride as a box office star and has a string of huge successes, he has also reached a place where everything he does afterwards will be judged by this peak. It seems as if Eddie Murphy is forever being judged by his legendary time on “Saturday Night Live,” and by his trio of early 80’s hit films: 48 Hrs., Trading Places, and Beverly Hills Cop. Fans and critics still think Murphy should go back to being what they think he was back then.

Will Ferrell, also the owner of a legendary SNL run, became an A-list hit-making comedy monster with a co-starring role in Old School, before having something for which most actors would sell their souls – a family hit (and a Christmas one at that) with Elf. But after a string of hit movies, will Semi-Pro be looked upon as a misfire?

It shouldn’t. Semi-Pro is quite funny, and is rich in Ferrell’s brand of tomfoolery, which will appeal to Ferrell’s fans. Semi-Pro just feels like something that could have been much better.

Set in Flint, Michigan in 1976, Semi-Pro follows the wacky exploits of Jackie Moon (Will Ferrell), who became a one-hit wonder with his groovy disco song, “Love Me Sexy.” Moon used the profits from his chart-topping success to achieve his dream of owning a basketball team. However, his Flint Michigan Tropics are the worst team in the ABA (American Basketball Association), and the league is about to fold and merge its four best teams with the NBA (National Basketball Association). The Tropics are not one of those four teams.

Now, Jackie is desperate to do what seems impossible for his lovable losers – win. He brings in Monix (Woody Harrelson), a former NBA champion to be the team’s new point guard, but Monix’s knees are practically ruined. Moon’s star player, Clarence “Coffee” Black (André Benjamin), has all-star talent, but is so self-centered that he’s stalled his career. Although he has an endless supply of wacky promotional ideas, Jackie is running out of cash, and even when they start to win, Moon and the Tropics may have already run out of time.

Like his Ron Burgundy in Anchorman: The Legend of Ron Burgundy, Ricky Bobby in Talladega Nights: The Ballad of Ricky Bobby, and Chazz Michael Michaels in Blades of Glory, Will Ferrell’s Jackie Moon is a success in his chosen field, but that is surpassed by his arrogance, conceit, and inanity, which makes for a lovable comic character. For all the laughs Ferrell’s Moon gives Semi-Pro, the film is best when it lets the other guys get in on the fun.

Watching this motley crew of sub-par basketball players, sad addicts, crazy announcers, and assorted oddballs gas and sass each other is a good time at the movies. The characters are untidy, but like the film, they feel familiar. They’re not at the top of the heap, but they aren’t necessarily losers; they’re semi-regular guys just trying to get their piece. Each character brings something good to Semi-Pro in the way he or she walks, talks, and looks, but the film spends too much time on Ferrell making goofy faces, as funny as that might be.

Semi-Pro sits somewhere between sports melodrama and parody. Ferrell sells the parody, but if only the filmmakers had allowed the supporting cast to build the melodrama. Then, Semi-Pro would be the kind of memorable comedy/drama that great sports films like Bull Durham and The Longest Yard (1974) are, and not just another funny Will Ferrell movie.

6 of 10
B

Sunday, March 02, 2008

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Review: Forest Whitaker is Magnificent in "The Last King of Scotland" (Happy B'day, Forest Whitaker)

TRASH IN MY EYE No. 260 (of 2006) by Leroy Douresseaux

The Last King of Scotland (2006)
COUNTRY OF ORIGIN: UK
Running time: 121 minutes (2 hours, 1 minute)
MPAA – R for some strong violence and gruesome images, sexual content, and language
DIRECTOR: Kevin MacDonald
WRITERS: Peter Morgan and Jeremy Brock (based upon the novel by Giles Foden)
PRODUCERS: Andrea Calderwood, Lisa Bryer, and Charles Steel
CINEMATOGRAPHER: Anthony Dod Mantle, DFF, BSC
EDITOR: Justine Wright
Academy Award winner

DRAMA/HISTORICAL/THRILLER

Starring: Forest Whitaker, James McAvoy, Kerry Washington, Simon McBurney, and Gillian Anderson, Adam Kotz, David Oyelowo, and Abby Mukiibi

Instead of going into medical practice with his father, Nicholas Garrigan (James McAvoy) heads to Uganda to work at the mission clinic run by a Dr. Merrit (Adam Kotz) and his wife, Sarah (Gillian Anderson). Garrigan has a chance encounter with the newly self-appointed president of Uganda, Idi Amin (Forest Whitaker), who is impressed with Garrigan’s brazen attitude in a moment of crisis. Amin handpicks Garrigan to be his personal physician, and although Garrigan is at first reluctant to take the position, he eventually does and becomes fascinated with Amin. However, before long, Garrigan begins to see just how savage and unstable Amin is, and Garrigan realizes that he’s been complicit in some of Amin’s barbarity. Garrigan is knee deep in trouble, even having an affair with Kay Amin (Kerry Washington), one of Amin’s wives, and he may not be able to get out of the country alive.

Idi Amin, president, dictator, and tyrant of Uganda (1971-79) remains a reviled figure even after his 2003 death while in exile in Saudi Arabia. Director Kevin MacDonald’s The Last King of Scotland is a film dramatization of Amin as seen through the eyes of his personal physician, a young Scotsman.

Forest Whitaker, a thoroughly underrated and under-appreciated actor (at least to general movie audiences) gives the performance of a career in creating a film version of Amin. Think of Whitaker’s breathtaking performance as an actor creating a human monster. From the moment Whitaker’s Amin first appears on screen, as he climbs on an improvised stage to speak to a large crowd of fellow Ugandans, the fearsome power of the actor’s creation radiates from the screen, throbbing with the unpredictable power of a wild storm. Whitaker’s turn as Amin literally transforms The Last King of Scotland into a horror flick. Still for all Amin’s viciousness, Whitaker reveals a complex character, making this as much a study of human nature as it is an indictment of the real Amin.

MacDonald deserves credit on two fronts: for allowing Whitaker to show his up-to-now largely untapped talent and for keeping this movie from being strictly about Whitaker’s Amin. Just as director Ron Howard took Russell Crowe’s great performance and transformed A Beautiful Mind into a compelling and riveting film, so has MacDonald taken Whitaker’s generous performance and made The Last King of Scotland into the kind of thriller than crawls into your belly and then sits on your chest. Of course, a skilled creative staff ably abets MacDonald, especially his costume designer and production designer who both meld earthy, indigenous costumes and sets and ill-placed Western attire together. Cinematographer Anthony Dod Mantle also saturates both rural and urban Uganda in colors that complement the nation’s fertile land.

The usual forgotten person in all the praise for The Last King of Scotland is James McAvoy as Nicholas Garrigan (a fictional character). McAvoy, who played Mr. Tumnus the Faun in The Chronicles of Narnia in 2005, makes Garrigan Amin’s scratching post, and through McAvoy’s superb co-lead role (it’s not really a supporting part), Whitaker gets to strut his stuff. Garrigan mirrors Uganda’s initial excitement and then eventual dread of Amin. McAvoy holds The Last King of Scotland together so Whitaker can give his great performance and MacDonald can make a scary, political thriller about the disintegration of a country that leaves the viewer on edge. That’s worth something.

8 of 10
A

Friday, January 26, 2007

NOTES:
2007 Academy Awards: 1 win: “Best Performance by an Actor in a Leading Role” (Forest Whitaker)

2007 BAFTA Awards: 3 wins: “Alexander Korda Award for Best British Film” (Andrea Calderwood, Lisa Bryer, Charles Steel, Kevin Macdonald, Peter Morgan, and Jeremy Brock), and “Best Actor in a Leading Role” (Forest Whitaker), and “Best Screenplay – Adapted” (Peter Morgan and Jeremy Brock); 2 nominations: “Best Actor in a Supporting Role” (James McAvoy) and “Best Film” (Andrea Calderwood, Lisa Bryer, and Charles Steel)

2007 Golden Globes: 1 win: “Best Performance by an Actor in a Motion Picture – Drama” (Forest Whitaker)

2007 Black Reel Awards: 1 win “Best Actor” (Forest Whitaker); 1 nomination: “Best Supporting Actress” (Kerry Washington)

2007 Image Awards: 1 win: “Outstanding Actor in a Motion Picture” (Forest Whitaker); 1 nomination: “Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Motion Picture” (Kerry Washington)

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"Deathly Hallows - Part 2" Sets Advance Ticket Sales Records

“Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows – Part 2” Breaks Multiple Records in Advance of Opening Day

Midnight showings are scheduled around the country as anticipation builds for the finale of the blockbuster motion picture series

BURBANK, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Warner Bros. Pictures’ “Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows – Part 2” has already broken several records in the days leading up to the series finale’s hugely anticipated release. The announcement was made today by Dan Fellman, President, Warner Bros. Pictures Domestic Distribution.

Advance ticket sales have skyrocketed to more than $32 million, a new pre-opening record. Many midnight and first-day show times are already sold out across the country, despite the fact that the movie will be showing on more than 11,000 screens in 4,375 locations—both marking records for the Harry Potter series—with more than 3,800 locations opening the film at midnight on Thursday night. Breaking another industry record, the film is being released on 274 IMAX screens nationwide.

The very first Harry Potter movie to be released in 3D, “Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows – Part 2” will be shown in 3D at more than 3,000 locations. In a nod to one of the most iconic features of the title character, special commemorative Harry Potter 3D glasses will be given free to fans attending select 3D midnight showings, while supplies last.

In making the announcement, Fellman stated, “We appreciate the loyalty of Harry Potter fans and understand that they have been waiting 10 years for this moment. We can’t wait to show them the movie, which we believe delivers on every level, so we are putting the film out on as many screens as possible in an effort to satisfy demand from coast to coast. We want to ensure that fans who have been counting down to the finale will have every chance to see it, early and often, and we hope that they will take advantage of the opportunity to watch all their favorite characters in 3D for the first time, which is an experience not-to-be-missed.”

“Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows – Part 2” is the final adventure in the Harry Potter film series. In the epic finale, the battle between the good and evil forces of the wizarding world escalates into an all-out war. The stakes have never been higher and no one is safe. But it is Harry Potter who may be called upon to make the ultimate sacrifice as he draws closer to the climactic showdown with Lord Voldemort. It all ends here.

Daniel Radcliffe, Rupert Grint and Emma Watson reprise their roles as Harry Potter, Ron Weasley and Hermione Granger. The film’s ensemble cast also includes Helena Bonham Carter, Robbie Coltrane, Warwick Davis, Tom Felton, Ralph Fiennes, Michael Gambon, Ciarán Hinds, John Hurt, Jason Isaacs, Matthew Lewis, Gary Oldman, Alan Rickman, Maggie Smith, David Thewlis, Julie Walters and Bonnie Wright.

“Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows – Part 2” was directed by David Yates, and produced by David Heyman, David Barron and J.K. Rowling. Steve Kloves adapted the screenplay, based on the novel by J.K. Rowling. Lionel Wigram is the executive producer.

“Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows – Part 2” is the first Harry Potter film to be released in both 3D and 2D. Concurrently with its nationwide theatrical distribution, the film will be released in select IMAX® theatres. The film has been digitally re-mastered into the unparalleled image and sound quality of The IMAX Experience® through proprietary IMAX DMR® technology.

Opening nationwide on July 15, the film is being distributed worldwide by Warner Bros. Pictures, a Warner Bros. Entertainment Company. It has been rated PG-13 for some sequences of intense action violence and frightening images.

http://www.harrypotter.com/

Review: "Insidious" Scarier Than Darth Sidious

TRASH IN MY EYE No. 59 (of 2011) by Leroy Douresseaux

Insidious (2011)
Running time: 103 minutes (1 hour, 43 minutes)
MPAA – PG-13 for thematic material, violence, terror and frightening images, and brief strong language
DIRECTOR: James Wan
WRITER: Leigh Whannell
PRODUCERS: Jason Blum, Oren Peli, and Steven Schneider
CINEMATOGRAPHERS: David M. Brewer (D.o.P.) and John R. Leonetti (D.o.P.)
EDITORS: Kirk M. Morri and James Wan
COMPOSER: Joseph Bishara

HORROR/FANTASY/MYSTERY/THRILLER

Starring: Patrick Wilson, Rose Byrne, Ty Simpkins, Barbara Hershey, Lin Shaye, Leigh Whannell, Angus Sampson, and Andrew Astor

Insidious is a 2011 supernatural horror film from the people behind films like Saw and Paranormal Activity. This film was a surprise hit during this past spring, and some reviews compared it favorably to The Exorcist. Actually, Insidious only shares a few ideas and elements with the classic, 1973 Oscar-winning horror movie. I would say that it is more similar to the 1982 hit, Poltergeist. On its own, Insidious is a superb scary movie that can occasionally freeze your blood.

The story focuses on young parents, Josh (Patrick Wilson) and Renai Lambert (Rose Byrne), and, as the film begins, they are moving into a new house with their three children. Their eldest child, a son named Dalton (Ty Simpkins), falls into a coma, and then, weird things begin to happen. The house is filled with noises, voices, and occasionally, the appearance of strange figures.

In a desperate move to escape the madness, Josh and Renai move the family to a new home, but the supernatural events follow them and increase in intensity and in violence. Then, Josh’s mother, Lorraine (Barbara Hershey), and her friend, Elise Reiner (Lin Shaye), arrive with something shocking to tell the couple about the horror.

To put it simply, Insidious works because the creators know that scary movies do not have to scare audiences with blood, gore, loud noises, or monsters jumping out of the closet. Although Insidious does have some ghostly beings in the closet, the film relies on a chilly atmosphere to scare. The atmospherics make viewers anticipate ethereal frights and also those sneaky happenings that will make their skin crawl.  Joseph Bishara's edgy score will also have some skin crawling.

The film also depends on its characters, and while they aren’t great, they do their part to make this movie work. Elise, Specs (Leigh Whannell), and Tucker (Angus Sampson) are funny and seem like they stepped out of The X-Files.

Insidious falls apart a little in the second half, and the ending is a little predictable. However, the ending is done in such a way that it, like the rest of the film, will stay on your mind for a few days. I heartily recommend Insidious for those who enjoy horror movies about supernatural possession and evil spirits.

7 of 10
A-

Thursday, July 14, 2011

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Harry Potter Brings "Deathly Hallows - Part 2" to Ultimate Fan Celebration

Celebrate “Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows - Part 2” at the Ultimate Fan Celebration

LOS ANGELES--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Be a part of history and celebrate the final adventure of the most successful film franchise of all time at the Ultimate Fan Celebration for Warner Bros. Pictures’ “Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows - Part 2.” The event is being held on Thursday, July 14th at Chinese Theatre in Hollywood, from 9:00 p.m. to the midnight hour, when the film officially opens.

L.A.’s hit music station Power 106 will be hosting the event. Fans gathered for the midnight showing will have the opportunity to be entered to win prizes, including soundtracks, t-shirts, hats and much more!

In “Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows – Part 2,” the battle between the good and evil forces of the wizarding world escalates into an all-out war. The stakes have never been higher and no one is safe. But it is Harry Potter who may be called upon to make the ultimate sacrifice as he draws closer to the climactic showdown with Lord Voldemort. It all ends here.

The film stars Daniel Radcliffe, Rupert Grint and Emma Watson, reprising their roles as Harry Potter, Ron Weasley and Hermione Granger. The ensemble cast also includes Helena Bonham Carter, Robbie Coltrane, Warwick Davis, Tom Felton, Ralph Fiennes, Michael Gambon, Ciarán Hinds, John Hurt, Jason Isaacs, Matthew Lewis, Gary Oldman, Alan Rickman, Maggie Smith, David Thewlis, Julie Walters and Bonnie Wright.

“Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows – Part 2” was directed by David Yates, and produced by David Heyman, David Barron and J.K. Rowling. Screenwriter Steve Kloves adapted the screenplay, based on the book by J.K. Rowling. Lionel Wigram served as the executive producer.

Warner Bros. Pictures presents a Heyday Films Production, a David Yates Film, “Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows – Part 2,” which is the first Harry Potter film to be released in both 3D and 2D. The film opens nationwide on Friday, July 15, 2011, and is rated PG-13 for some sequences of intense action violence and frightening images.

http://www.harrypotter.com/

Review: "Clear and Present Danger" is Presently Really Good (Happy B'day, Harrison Ford)

TRASH IN MY EYE No. 66 (of 2006) by Leroy Douresseaux

Clear and Present Danger (1994)
Running time: 141 minutes (2 hours, 21 minutes)
MPAA – PG-13 for some intense action/violence and language
DIRECTOR: Philip Noyce
WRITERS: Donald Stewart, Steven Zaillian, and John Milius
PRODUCERS: Mace Neufeld and Robert Rehme
CINEMATOGRAPHER: Donald McAlpine
EDITOR: Neil Travis
Academy Award nominee

DRAMA/ESPIONAGE/ACTION/ADVENTURE

Starring: Harrison Ford, Willem Dafoe, Anne Archer, Joaquim de Alemeida, Henry Czerny, Harris Yulin, Donald Moffat, Miguel Sandoval, Benjamin Bratt, Raymond Cruz, Thora Birch, Ann Magnuson, Greg Germann, Vondie Curtis-Hall, Belita Moreno, Ted Raimi, and James Earl Jones

Tom Clancy’s intrepid CIA agent, Jack Ryan, makes his third big screen appearance, with Harrison Ford reprising the role of Ryan, which he first played in 1992’s Patriot Games, after replacing Alec Baldwin, who played Ryan in The Hunt for Red October.

When his mentor, Admiral James Greer (James Earl Jones) becomes gravely ill, Jack Ryan (Ford) is assigned the position of acting CIA Deputy Director of Intelligence, but he meets some resistance in the form of two fellow CIA officers, Robert Ritter (Henry Czerny) and James Cutter (Harris Yulin). Ryan’s first assignment is to investigate the murder of a prominent U.S. businessman and his family. A friend of President Bennett (Donald Moffat), the murdered businessman apparently had secret ties to a Columbian drug lord, Ernesto Escobedo (Miguel Sandoval).

Unbeknownst to Ryan, Ritter and Cutter, with an unofficial, official go-ahead from President Bennett, have already dispatched a Columbian-based U.S. field operative named John Clark (Willem Dafoe) to lead a paramilitary force against the Columbian drug lords, Escobedo in particular. Ryan also finds that he must match wits with a Latin American version of himself, (Joaquim De Alemeida), who works for Escobedo. Caught in the middle of a brewing scandal and the crossfire of an illegal war, Ryan risks his career and life and jumps into the fray to uncover the thing that means the most to him – the truth.

Clear and Present Danger is the kind of espionage thriller that stands up to repeated viewings because it is also a very good drama, but the main reason the film remains popular is Harrison Ford. As he did so well from the early to the mid-90’s, Ford plays the self-righteous, heroic, sensitive macho man who fights for truth and justice (and sometimes the American way). He is a do-right man, but not just for the ladies. Here, he plays it to the hilt, grim-faced when confronted by lies and wrongful death, grim and solemn over a friend or colleague’s demise, and grimly but gamely going after the baddies.

Clear and Present Danger presents a cerebral Jack Ryan against a cast of Machiavellian bad guys, in particularly a trio of Americans willfully and recklessly waging a misguided and illegal war in the name of revenge and political expediency. Sound familiar? Although Clear and Present Danger seems at times to be a television mini-series (length and narrative structure), this timeless and timely tale, propped up by an amazing leading man (in the true sense of the term), maintains its edge and thrills.

8 of 10
A

NOTES:
1995 Academy Awards: 2 nominations: “Best Effects, Sound Effects Editing” (Bruce Stambler and John Leveque) and “Best Sound” (Donald O. Mitchell, Michael Herbick, Frank A. Montaño, and Art Rochester)

Monday, April 03, 2006

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Review: "Star Trek: Generations" Does Not Stray Far from the TV Series

TRASH IN MY EYE No. 211 (of 2006) by Leroy Douresseaux

Star Trek: Generations (1994)
Running time: 118 minutes (1 hour, 58 minutes)
MPAA – PG
DIRECTOR: David Carson
WRITERS: Ronald D. Moore and Brannon Braga; from a story by Ronald D. Moore, Brannon Braga, and Rick Berman (based on the TV series “Star Trek” created by Gene Roddenberry)
PRODUCER: Rick Berman
CINEMATOGRAPHER: John A. Alonzo
EDITOR: Peter E. Berger, A.C.E.

SCI-FI/ACTION/ADVENTURE/DRAMA

Starring: Patrick Stewart, Jonathan Frakes, Brent Spiner, LeVar Burton, Michael Dorn, Gates McFadden, Marina Sirtis, Malcolm McDowell, James Doohan, Walter Koening, William Shatner, Alan Ruck, Tim Russ, and Whoppi Goldberg

In 1994, the seventh film in the Star Trek movie franchise debuted in theatres, but unlike the previous six films, this one featured a new incarnation of the U.S.S. Enterprise (Enterprise-D) and a new crew, led by Captain Jean-Luc Picard (Patrick Stewart). Star Trek: Generations starred the cast of the second Trek series, “Star Trek: The Next Generation,” which ran for seven seasons from 1987-1994 in syndication.

While investigating a disaster at an outlying observation station, the crew of the Enterprise finds that the catastrophe’s sole survivor is Dr. Tolian Soran (Malcolm McDowell), an intense man insistent that he be allowed to complete his work on the station. Soran turns out to be of the same race as the Enterprise’s bartender, Guinan (Whoopi Goldberg, who did not receive a screen credit in the film), the El Aurian. Soran has malevolent plans for a roaming energy field called The Nexus, which involves the destruction of the Veridian solar system. When Picard tries to intervene, he becomes caught in the Nexus and meets a man presumed-dead the last time a U.S.S. Enterprise (Enterprise-B) tangled with The Nexus, the retired Captain James T. Kirk (William Shatner).

Star Trek: Generations is a good, but not great film, which is the same way one can categorize it as part of the Trek pantheon – good, but not great. Perhaps, it needs to grow on the audience; in fact, I certainly liked it much more the second time I saw it than I did the first. Generations is simply an extended version of the TV show, “Star Trek: The Next Generation” put in the context of a feature film, meaning a longer story, better special effects, and improved production values (even a few scenes of exceptional cinematography).

The acting is more or less the same as in the TV show with a moment here and there of more thoughtful performances. Malcolm McDowell brings a welcome jolt of viciousness as the single-minded Soran. The actors playing the Klingons also bring the same kind of intensity to their performances, as did the actors who played the aliens in the earlier installments of the franchise. Even director David Caruso seems to spring to life when the Klingons are involved.

The best parts of the film are those that take place in the past and involve the only three cast members from the original “Star Trek” television series and films to appear in Star Trek: Generations. Seeing Shatner, Koening, and Doohan made me sad because for all intents and purposes, their Trek can only exist as artifacts from a long time ago.

6 of 10
B

Wednesday, October 11, 2006

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