Review: First "Spider-Man" Flick Entertaining, but Average

TRASH IN MY EYE No. 28 (of 2002) by Leroy Douresseaux

Spider-Man (2002)
Running time: 121 minutes (2 hours, 1 minute)
MPAA – PG-13 for stylized violence and action
DIRECTOR: Sam Raimi
WRITER: David Koepp (based upon the comic book by Stan Lee and Steve Ditko)
PRODUCERS: Ian Bryce and Laura Ziskin
CINEMATOGRAPHER: Don Burgess (D.o.P.)
EDITOR: Arthur Coburn and Bob Murawski
COMPOSER: Danny Elfman
Academy Award nominee

DRAMA/FANTASY/ACTION/SCI-FI

Starring: Tobey Maguire, Willem Dafoe, Kirsten Dunst, James Franco, Cliff Robertson, Rosemary Harris, J.K. Simmons, Joe Manganiello, and Bill Nunn

When a genetically modified spider bites high school outcast Peter Parker (Tobey Maguire), Parker gains powers and abilities based upon the natural characteristics of spiders. After a robber Parker failed to stop when he had a chance kills his Uncle Ben, Parker becomes Spider-Man (again, Maguire), a costumed superhero to use his super powers for the greater good. Spider-Man soon encounters a destructive costumed super villain named Green Goblin (Willem Dafoe, The Last Temptation of Christ), who is the alter ego of a wealthy industrialist Norman Osborn. In addition to dealing with super crooks, Parker has domestic troubles. He is in love with Mary Jane Watson (Kirsten Dunst, Interview with a Vampire), who is also the love interest of his roommate, Harry Osborn (James Franco), the son of Norman.

Directed by the diverse Sam Raimi (The Evil Dead, A Simple Plan) and based upon the Marvel comic book of the same name, Spider-Man revels in the excellent execution of the fight scenes of its two antagonists. A combination of computer animation, close-ups, and stunt doubles, the confrontations between hero and villain burst with energy. Raimi, no stranger to SFX, knows how to compose a movie that takes advantage of effects and how to shape the effects around the movie or to shape the movie around the effects.

The script David Koepp (Jurassic Park, Panic Room) is another thing entirely. The plot is simple: Spider-Man is in the Green Goblin’s way, and Goblin wants to remove him. The story is fairly straightforward, and it’s nothing special. Whether the fault of the director or of the writer, the character drama between the action is boring and dry, and you could find your mind wandering while waiting for the next get together between Spidey and the Goblin. While the drama is clunky, the fights are so exciting; getting them is like getting a Christmas gift.

The acting is on the whole professional work. Both Maguire and Dafoe play the roles with class and are quite believable as Parker/Spider-Man and Osborn/Goblin respectively. Maguire totally sells us as the nerdy Parker, and when he becomes super powered, Maguire shifts into a whole other gear. Dafoe is funny, wacky, and intense as both Norman Osborn and as the Goblin. His prowess as an actor bleeds through the Goblin’s mask and gives the villain depth and dimension.

Spider-Man is a summer blockbuster: light on drama but heavy on the eye candy of the effects. Luckily the effects really work, because the drama is weak. Fans of comic books and action movies will likely get a jolt out of this movie. However, if you’re looking for something really special, or at least, very good, this is not it. Spider-Man is, at best, an average product with a big ad campaign behind it.

5 of 10
B-

NOTES:
2003 Academy Awards: 2 nominations: “Best Sound” (Kevin O'Connell, Greg P. Russell, and Ed Novick) and “Best Visual Effects” (John Dykstra, Scott Stokdyk, Anthony LaMolinara, and John Frazier)

2003 BAFTA Awards: 1 nomination: “Best Achievement in Special Visual Effects” (John Dykstra, Scott Stokdyk, Anthony LaMolinara, and John Frazier)

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Roger Ebert Gets a New "Voice"

As you  may know, one of my favorite people, the Pulitizer Prize-winning film critic, Roger Ebert, has been battling cancer since 2002.  The battle has at time left him in poor health, and the cancer has cost him a portion of his lower jaw, so he can no longer speak.  This Associated Press news article updates his condition.

Welcome to Negromancer, Because There is No Mancer Like Negromancer

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

Countdown to Oscar 2010: 16th Annual SAG Nominees and Winners

Inglourious Basterds Claims Top SAG


The nominees and winners for the 16th annual Screen Actors Guild Awards with the WINNERS in bold:

Outstanding Performance by a Male Actor in a Drama Series for Television
Simon Baker, "The Mentalist"
Bryan Cranston, "Breaking Bad"
Michael C. Hall, "Dexter" WINNER
Jon Hamm, "Mad Men"
Hugh Laurie, "House"

Outstanding Performance by a Female Actor in a Drama Series for Television (Because there was a tie, there are six nominees instead of the traditional five in this category.)
Patricia Arquette, "Medium"
Glenn Close, "Damages"
Mariska Hargitay, "Law and Order: Special Victims Unit"
Holly Hunter, "Saving Grace"
Julianna Margulies, "The Good Wife" WINNER
Kyra Sedgwick, "The Closer"

Outstanding Performance by an Ensemble in a Drama Series for Television
"The Closer"
"Dexter"
"The Good Wife"
"Mad Men" WINNER
"True Blood"

Outstanding Performance by a Female Actor in a Comedy Series for Television
Christina Applegate, "Samantha Who?"
Toni Collette, "United States of Tara"
Edie Falco, "Nurse Jackie"
Tina Fey, "30 Rock" WINNER
Julia Louis-Dreyfus, "The New Adventures of Old Christine"

Oustanding Performance by a Male Actor in a Comedy Series for Television
Alec Baldwin, "30 Rock" WINNER
Steve Carell, "The Office"
Larry David, "Curb Your Enthusiasm"
Tony Shalhoub, "Monk"
Charlie Sheen, "Two and a Half Men"

Outstanding Performance by an Ensemble in a Comedy Series for Television
"30 Rock"
"Curb Your Enthusiasm"
"Glee" WINNER
"Modern Family"
"The Office"

Outstanding Performance by a Male Actor in a Television Movie or Miniseries
Kevin Bacon, "Taking Chance" WINNER
Cuba Gooding Jr., "Gifted Hands: The Ben Carson Story"
Jeremy Irons, "Georgia O'Keeffe"
Kevin Kline, "Great Performances: Cyrano de Bergerac"
Tom Wilkinson, "A Number"

Outstanding Performance by a Female Actor in a Television Movie or Miniseries
Joan Allen, "Georgia O'Keeffe"
Drew Barrymore, "Grey Gardens" WINNER
Ruby Dee, "America"
Jessica Lange, "Grey Gardens"
Sigourney Weaver, "Prayers for Bobby"

Outstanding Performance by a Male Actor in a Supporting Role in a Motion Picture
Matt Damon, "Invictus"
Woody Harrelson, "The Messenger"
Christopher Plummer, "The Last Station"
Stanley Tucci, "The Lovely Bones"
Christoph Waltz, "Inglourious Basterds" WINNER

Outstanding Performance by a Female Actor in a Supporting Role in a Motion Picture
Penelope Cruz, "Nine"
Vera Farmiga, "Up in the Air"
Anna Kendrick, "Up in the Air"
Diane Kruger, "Inglourious Basterds"
Mo'Nique, "Precious: Based on the Novel Push by Sapphire" WINNER

Outstanding Performance by a Male Actor in a Leading Role in a Motion Picture
Jeff Bridges - "Crazy Heart" WINNER
George Clooney - "Up in the Air"
Colin Firth - "A Single Man"
Morgan Freeman - "Invictus"
Jeremy Renner - "The Hurt Locker"

Outstanding Performance by a Female Actor in a Leading Role in a Motion Picture
Sandra Bullock - "The Blind Side" WINNER
Helen Mirren - "The Last Station"
Carey Mulligan - "An Education"
Gabourey Sidibe - "Precious: Based on the novel Push by Sapphire"
Meryl Streep - "Julie and Julia"

Outstanding Performance by a Cast in a Motion Picture
"An Education"
"The Hurt Locker"
"Inglourious Basterds" WINNER
"Nine"
"Precious: Based on the novel Push by Sapphire"

"American Hardcore" is a Potent Rock Documentary

TRASH IN MY EYE No. 58 (of 2007) by Leroy Douresseaux

American Hardcore (2006)
Running time: 100 minutes (1 hour, 40 minutes)
MPAA – R for pervasive language including sex and drug references
PRODUCER/DIRECTOR: Paul Rachman
PRODUCER/WRITER: Steven Blush (inspired by his book, American Hardcore: A Tribal History)
EDITOR/CAMERA: Paul Rachman
DOCUMENTARY – Music, Retrospective

Starring: Henry Rollins, Edward Colver, Flea, Paul “H.R.” Hudson, Ian MacKaye, and Moby

Director Paul Rachman and writer Steven Blush joined forced to created the music documentary, American Hardcore, tracing punk rock music’s turbulent history from 1980 to 1986. The filmmakers focus on “thrash” hardcore bands and the punk music scenes in cities such as Boston, New York, and Washington, D.C., and various locales in California. They also explain the cultural and political backdrops and social context in which hardcore was born.

The thesis of American Hardcore is that hardcore began in 1980 and ended in 1986, although some will argue that new and different versions of it continued after ’86. The film also says very little about the pre-hardcore bands like The Ramones or Sex Pistols or that period of 1977-80 that set the stage for hardcore. The film is really a quick and broad overview of the hardcore punk scene that, while it might frustrate hardcore fans, experts, historians, etc., is easily digestible for people who know little or nothing about hardcore (including this reviewer).

Rachman packs the film with archival concert footage, which is something akin to a revelation when seeing these kinds of performances for the first time. It’s just mind-boggling to watch all that youthful energy and mania – both onstage and in the crowd. This film also features many photographs by Edward Colver. For many viewers, next to the concert footage, the best material in the film will be the many interviews with members of hardcore bands active during the 1980-86 period:  Bad Brains, Black Flag, Circle Jerks, Gang Green, MDC, Minor Threat, SS Decontrol and many more. There are even appearances by musicians influenced by the scene (Flea of Red Hot Chili Peppers and Moby). The best thing about American Hardcore is that it offers something for everyone from punk rock fans to newcomers, and while the film seems to lose energy after the first hour or so, it’s still fun to watch and an eye-opening experience.

7 of 10
B+

Friday, March 30, 2007

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Review: Colin Firth is Strong in "The Advocate" a.k.a. "The Hour of the Pig"

TRASH IN MY EYE No. 94 (of 2006) by Leroy Douresseaux


The Hour of the Pig (1993)
Also known as The Advocate
COUNTRY OF ORIGIN: France/UK
Running time: 102 minutes
MPAA – R (originally NC-17)
WRITER/DIRECTOR: Leslie Megahey
PRODUCER: David M. Thompson
CINEMATOGRAPHER: John Hooper
EDITOR: Isabelle Dedieu

DRAMA/MYSTERY/HISTORICAL with elements of a thriller

Starring: Colin Firth, Ian Holm, Donald Pleasence, Amina Annabi, Nicol Williamson, Michael Gough, Harriet Walter, Jim Carter, Lysette Anthony, Sophie Dix, and Justin Chadwick

France in the year 1452: Richard Courtois (Colin Firth), a lawyer from Paris, and his law clerk, Mathieu (Jim Carter), move to the small rural village of Abbeville, in the province of Ponthieu, where Courtois will become the public defender. He hopes to find peace in the countryside, but what he finds instead is ignorance, superstition, and fear. He is especially taken aback because some of the clients he must defend are animals (because in Middle Ages France, animals could be tried and executed for murder as the law recognized they could be possessed to do evil).

Courtois must defend a pig accused of murdering a Jewish boy. He tries to settle the case by buying the pig, but the owner, Samira (Amina Annabi), refuses the offer. Samira is an alluring Moor who travels throughout France in a caravan with her people, and she believes that the pig is innocent and shouldn’t be punished. Courtois comes to believe that the Jewish boy’s murder is part of a sinister conspiracy. Still, he is trying to solve a mystery in a town where the denizens view Courtois’ intelligence as if it were as mysterious as the witchcraft they fear so much.

The Hour of the Pig better known as The Advocate to American audiences, is probably one of the strangest coherent movies many film viewers will ever see. The history of filmmaking is full of strange, peculiar, and ultimately confounding films. There are others films that are strange because they contain ideas from the real world, either past or present, that mystify us because they are so alien either to our times and culture. The Advocate is one such film. It’s story takes place in a time in France when the power of the feudal lords was waning, and the economically powerful bourgeoisie were throwing their power behind a centralized authority, the monarchy.

Still, the feudal lord in this film, Seigneur Jehan d’Auferre, the Lord of Abbeville (wonderfully played by the always regal Nicol Williamson), wields a lot of power and also influences both the outcome of both and the lives of the film’s central players. The Seigneur recognizes that the peasants are ignorant and superstitious, but it is best to appease their fear when it comes to religious matters. Into this comes Courtois, who recognizes the law about prosecuting animals, but thinks it to be ridiculous as a practical matter. In his estimation, the local magistrate, Boniface (Michael Gough, who played Bruce Wayne’s butler Alfred in the 1989 film Batman and its three sequels), and the local prosecutor, Pincheon (Donald Pleasence), should not prosecute animals simply because they are supposed to be reasonable and enlightened men who shouldn’t do such a… dumb thing.

Courtois finds himself in the midst of a murder mystery, where the political and religious leaders of Abbeville know more than they let on. They are corrupt not only so they can maintain their power, but also because it allows them to take advantage of the villagers for both their bodies and souls. In a quiet way, this film takes a glance at how superstition and particularly fear dictate how a community lives. The Advocate is fascinating; combine that with a murder mystery and plenty of seduction (the frankness of language, innuendo, and sex will surprise some viewers who expect period dramas to be so refined) and The Advocate is a mystery thriller to rival classic Film-Noir.

Actor Colin Firth is one of the two people who hold this concept together. He plays Richard Courtois with great subtlety for a lead. Although we see this narrative largely through Courtoir’s eyes, Firth is not flashy and doesn’t try to dominate the screen. He doesn’t need to because he knows that the strange world of Middle Ages Abbeville will develop before our eyes with him as the guide, but doesn’t need to show off because of it. We attend him without Firth forcing our attention to Courtois, and Firth rewards us with a wonderful trip into the past with his character as our guide.

The other pillar is writer/director Leslie Megahey, who allows the actors to play with and embody the characters. However, the fact that Megahey created such an engaging screenplay from such an alien time (that feels so real) is the biggest achievement, and his film (whether you know it as The Hour of the Pig or The Advocate) is a fascinating story worth watching.

7 of 10
A-

Saturday, May 06, 2006

Twilight's Robert Pattinson to Appear on "The Daily Show"

Robert Pattinson, the wildly popular young actor who portrays dreamy vampire Edward Cullen in the "Twilight" movies will be in New York City next week.  Pattinson will visit several talk shows to promote his new film, Remember Me (March 12, 2010).  This is, of course, all subject to change:

March 2: The Daily Show
March 2: The View with Remember Me costar Emilie de Ravin
??? Jimmy Kimmel

"The View" is broadcast on ABC affiliates in the morning, while "The Daily Show" appears on cable channel Comedy Central, 11 p.m. Eastern and 10 p.m. Eastern, but check your local listings.