Review: THE PRESTIGE's Brilliance is No Trick

TRASH IN MY EYE No. 225 (of 2006) by Leroy Douresseaux

The Prestige (2006)
Running time: 128 minutes (2 hours, 8 minutes)
MPAA – PG-13 for violence and disturbing images
DIRECTOR: Christopher Nolan
WRITERS: Jonathan Nolan and Christopher Nolan (based upon the novel by Christopher Priest)
PRODUCERS: Emma Thomas, Aaron Ryder, and Christopher Nolan
CINEMATOGRAPHER: Wally Pfister, ASC
EDITOR: Lee Smith A.C.E.
Academy Award nominee

DRAMA/THRILLER with elements of sci-fi and fantasy

Starring: Hugh Jackman, Christian Bale, Michael Caine, Piper Perabo, Rebecca Hall, Scarlett Johansson, David Bowie, and Andy Serkis

Director Christopher Nolan (Memento) reunites with two of the stars of his acclaimed hit film, Batman Begins – Christian Bale and Michael Caine – in The Prestige. Based upon the acclaimed novel of the same title by highly respected science fiction author, Christopher Priest, the film (like the book) blends sci-fi and history in telling the tale of magic and of an out-of-control rivalry.

In turn-of-the-century London, magicians are celebrities of the highest order, and in this age in which their craft can turn them into idols, two young magicians and colleagues are each ready to carve his path to fame and vast fortune. A tragic accident, however, turns them into enemies-for-life – bitter rivals intent on outdoing and upending each other. They’re either causing grave physical injury to one another or ruining each other’s act. The flashy showman and American, Robert Angier (Hugh Jackman) calls himself the “The Great Danton,” and he is obsessed with discovering the secrets of the edgy purist, Alfred Borden (Christian Bale), a.k.a. “The Professor,” who is a genius at inventing new stage tricks, but who lacks Angier’s showmanship. Borden is technically the better magician, and Angier lives to see the shock on his audiences’ faces. Their competition and rivalry grow more ferocious, almost with each trick and every show.

They drag everyone around them into their private war, including Cutter (Michael Caine), Angier’s “ingeneur” (a technician who actually creates magic tricks) and Olivia Wenscombe (Scarlett Johannson), Angier’s stage assistant, and Sarah (Rebecca Hall), Borden’s wife. Angier eventually turns to the fantastic new power of electricity and the brilliance of eccentric scientist, Nikola Tesla (David Bowie), in his bid to outdo Borden. But will the secret of “the prestige” take them too far into the darkest reaches of what is possible?

The Prestige is simply a riveting thriller built within a compelling drama, and the drama itself evolves from mesmeric characters. The Prestige is less like the literal-minded Batman Begins, and more like Nolan’s breakthrough flick, Memento – a time-shifting tale. The story (which Nolan co-wrote with his brother, Jonathan) hops back forth through the past, present, and future like Pulp Fiction, but demands your attention like The Sixth Sense. Grown up sensibilities and adult viewers demand engaging dramatic thrillers, and Christopher Nolan proves that he can deliver it, seemingly with stunning ease. The film isn’t without fault, as it is too dry in some segments and contrived in others. The end stumbles just a tad and overstates the obvious, but its flaws make actually make The Prestige worthy of contemplation long after the screen has faded to black.

Nolan’s cast gives him its all. Hugh Jackman completely sells the desperate and shamefully vain Robert Angier, while the always intense Christian Bale embodies Alfred Borden’s single-minded pursuit of craft and purity. Caine gives his edgiest performance since The Quiet American as Cutter. David Bowie is simply… delicious as the real-life Tesla, and Andy Serkis is a sweet curveball as the dodgy Alley.

Nolan also reunited key members of his technical crew from Batman Begins for The Prestige, and they play key roles (with brilliance) in creating an environment that is totally in synch with the film’s plot and setting. They make sure the visuals are tight, so that when the engaged viewer watches The Prestige with a careful eye, he will be delighted by surprising pledges, delightful turns, and one mind-numbing prestige.

8 of 10
A

Friday, November 03, 2006

NOTES:
2007 Academy Awards: 2 nominations: “Best Achievement in Art Direction” (Nathan Crowley-art director and Julie Ochipinti-set decorator) and “Best Achievement in Cinematography” (Wally Pfister)

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Blacula's Lady, Vonetta McGee Dead at 65

Vonetta McGee, the African-American actress who had a starring role in Blacula, has died at the age of 65.  Born in San Francisco, McGee debuted in the 1968 Italian comedy, Faustina, playing the title role.  Among the films in which McGee appeared are the 1972 black action movie, Hammer (with Fred Williamson), the 1972 crime drama, Melinda, and Shaft in Africa (1973).  She also appeared opposite Clint Eastwood in The Eiger Sanction (1975).  McGee would go on to having recurring roles in 1980s television drama, Cagney and Lacey and L.A. Law.

The website for the magazine Cinema Retro has a small obit for the actress, but a longer article about her can be found at AOL's Black Voices.

Rest in peace, my Queen.

Review: Christopher Nolan's "Insomnia" Remake Offers Good Performances

TRASH IN MY EYE No. 2 (of 2003) by Leroy Douresseaux

Insomnia (2002)
Running time: 118 minutes (1 hour, 58 minutes)
MPAA – R for language, some violence and brief nudity
DIRECTOR: Christopher Nolan
WRITER: Hilary Seitz (based upon the screenplay by Nikolai Frobenius and Erik Skjoldbjaerg)
PRODUCERS: Broderick Johnson, Paul Junger Witt, Andrew A. Kosove, and Edward L. McDonnell
CINEMATOGRAPHER: Wally Pfister (director of photography)
EDITOR: Dody Dorn

CRIME/THRILLER with elements of drama

Starring: Al Pacino, Robin Williams, Martin Donovan, Hilary Swank, Paul Dooley, Nicky Katt, and Maura Tierney

Christopher Nolan, the director of the fantastic Memento, follows his breakthrough masterpiece with Insomnia, a remake of a 1997 Swedish film of the same title. Which is better? One is foreign film, and the other is big budget Hollywood production; although the plot is basically the same, they’re two different films.

Al Pacino is Will Dormer, a famous and an acclaimed homicide investigator with books to his credit. He and his partner Hap Eckhart (Martin Donovan) are dispatched to Nightmute, Alaska, a town where the sun doesn’t set during the summer, to investigate the shocking murder of teenage girl. While in pursuit of the killer (Robin Williams), Dormer makes a horrible mistake (which he later learns the killer witnessed) and he compounds his error by covering it up. Suddenly, Dormer engages himself in a terrific juggling act. He has to deal with the killer, a wily fellow. Also, a bright, young detective, Ellie Burr (Hilary Swank, Boys Don’t Cry), is assigned to investigate the crime scene of Dormer’s “error,” and there are stars in her eyes, as she’s a huge fan of his. Further complicating matters, the lead, local detective, Fred Duggar (Nicky Katt) is a young stud who doesn’t like the big city investigator sniffing around his territory.

Pacino is good, and Robin Williams is very good. The film seems to be about the invasion of the societal demands, influence, power, and roles into the personal space of individuals - what they believe and desire to be their roles, needs, and responsibilities. The constant flood of daylight causes Dormer to lose sleep, and the lack of sleep causes his world to blur. Suddenly, his desire to solve the case is in conflict with his checkered past, with his errors in judgment regarding this case, and with his sense of right and wrong and crime and punishment. Williams plays it quiet; his character’s conceit is his wish to control the outer world the way he controls and manipulates the inner worlds of his creativity. There’s a nice test of wills and battle of sanities between Pacino and Williams' characters that could have been lost in the glare of their star power – credit to Nolan for keeping these bright lights in check.

However, I really liked the supporting roles. Donovan’s Hap Eckhart is a nice counterweight to Pacino’s Dormer; Dormer’s high wattage as a famous investigator simply does not faze Eckhart, a by the book, straight laced cop. Donovan correctly plays the character so that Eckhart immediately reveals the cracks in Dormer’s armor, so we know that Dormer’s not so perfect even if that is the public perception of him. Nicky Katt stares Pacino in the eyes and doesn’t blink; his character Duggar keeps Dormer and check so that when Dormer runs amok, he doesn’t completely control the investigation, even if his activities complicates it.

Hilary Swank is all good. Her character Ellie, in a sense, mirrors the victim, except that she survives her mentor and might become a better policeman for it. Perhaps, she won’t be as famous, but her quality and honesty will likely surpass his. She’s the quiet wild card in this movie, and really, she’s the axis. In a world of shifting realities, half-truths, lies, and masks, she strips away the facades to reveal the bare bone facts.

While not great, Insomnia is better than a lot of hackneyed thrillers. Nolan continues to prove that he is already a great director on the strength of just a few films, and the photography by Wally Pfister (Nolan’s partner in crime on Memento), from the opening panorama to the claustrophobic interiors, is gorgeous and perfectly sets the tone. Besides Nolan’s work, this film is certainly worth seeing for its performances, which include one of Robin Williams’s less manic, but still good, performances.

6 of 10
B

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Original "Insomnia" Both Cold and Engaging

TRASH IN MY EYE No. 1 (of 2003) by Leroy Douresseaux


Insomnia (1997)
COUNTRY OF ORIGIN: Norway
Running time: 97 minutes (1 hour, 37 minutes)
DIRECTOR: Erik Skjoldbjaerg
WRITERS: Nikolaj Frobenius and Erik Skjoldbjaerg
PRODUCERS: Tomas Backström, Petter J. Borgli, and Tom Remlov
CINEMATOGRAPHER: Erling Thurmann-Andersen
EDITOR: Håkon Øverås

DRAMA/MYSTERY with elements of crime

Starring: Stellan Skarsgård, Sverre Anker Ousdal, Maria Mathiesen, and Bjorn Moan,

The thriller film, especially the kind mixed with the element of a murder mystery, is a venerable Hollywood genre. Seeing a foreign version of such a genre can be a jarring experience. Lacking the star power wattage, lavish production values, and the insistence that the screenplay explain every bit of action and leave no sense of mystery (not to mention the never-ending public relations campaigns to promote movies), many foreign films must rest the case for their quality on the art and technique of filmmaking and on storytelling free of high concepts. That is exactly the case with the Norwegian film Insomnia.

Two detectives cross the Arctic Circle into northern Norway to solve the murder of a young girl, Tonya Lorentzen (Maria Mathiesen), where during the summer daylight lasts for 23 hours. Jonas Engstrom (the sublime Stellan Skarsgard, Good Will Hunting) is the best at what he does, catch murderers, and with his partner of one year, Erik Vik (Sverre Anker Ousdal), Jonas guesses that he himself will quickly solve the crime.

The investigators find Tonya’s friends and classmates reluctant to cooperate, and Jonas, who is a Swede, has a tough time communicating with them. Initially Jonas and Erik suspect Tonya’s boyfriend Eilert (Bjorn Moan), but he is merely a distraction. The murderer, who took time to clean his crime scene, is someone smart. During a stakeout at the crime scene to catch the killer, Jonas accidentally shoots and kills Erik, mistaking him for Tonya’s killer, who did, in fact, walk right into the police’s trap.

Rather than admit his mistake, Jonas covers the shooting of his partner, blaming it on the killer. He soon learns that Tonya’s killer witnessed Jonas’s mistake. Now, as the police move in on the Tonya’s murderer, Jonas must protect him, cover up his own crime, and frame someone else. Meanwhile, Jonas grows steadily exhausted; in the near perpetual daylight, he cannot sleep, and his reality blurs just as his web of deceit becomes more desperate. And a bright, local detective assigned to Erik’s killing begins to find the flaws in Jonas’s story.

Directed by Erik Skjoldbjaerg and co-written with Nikolaj Frobenius, Insomnia is a quite, but intense thriller that harks back to old Hollywood. The location, the setting, and every character are important to the tapestry of the story. However, it is Skarsgard who owns the film; greasy and sullen, he stalks his sleepless world trying to save himself, his sense of self worth, and his sense of justice.

There are subtle shifts, sans special effects, in reality, or at least, in Jonas’s perception of it. His lack of sleep allows his dilemmas to incessantly haunt him. Because the thriller is told from his point of view, the audience must share Jonas’s vague and murky world. It is a testament to Skarsgard’s skill that he can draw us inescapably to his character.

The other great character is Tonya’s killer. Although the police peg him as suspect early on, we see him mainly through Jonas’s eyes. His relationship with Jonas should be troubling, and he is a murderer. But like Jonas, the audience is drawn to him. Why? There seems to be so many reasons that this killer makes us curious and dare I say…sympathetic.

Insomnia has a sense of vagueness that can be off putting at time, and the creators are somewhat clumsy with the filmmaking as the moves to its resolution. It is still a very good film - one that demands its audience’s participation and attention, all the while burying us in a world of ambiguity. It was fun to be entertained and to feel like a part of this story; I wish it happened more often.

7 of 10
B+

Own First 3 "InuYasha" Films for a Pittance

Press release:

VIZ MEDIA ANNOUNCES SPECIAL NEW PROMOTION FOR INUYASHA FEATURE FILMS AND TV EPISODES AVAILABLE FROM iTUNES, HULU AND VIZANIME.COM

Offered At Special Prices Only For Limited Time

VIZ Media announces a new promotion for INUYAHSA episodes and feature films (all rated ‘T’ for Teens) available now from the iTunes Store in the U.S. and Canada (www.iTunes.com), as well as the streaming content provider HULU (www.Hulu.com) and VIZAnime.com, the company’s premier website for anime.

iTunes will offer the first three INUYASHA feature films (dubbed) – INUYASHA THE MOVIE: AFFECTIONS TOUCHING ACROSS TIME, INUYASHA THE MOVIE 2: THE CASTLE BEYOND THE LOOKING GLASS, and INUYASHA THE MOVIE 3: SWORDS OF AN HONORABLE RULER, for a special Download-To-Own (DTO) sale price of $4.99 (U.S.) each until August 3rd. Additionally, INUYASHA TV episode 1 is available to download for FREE, and episodes 2-167, covering Seasons 1-7, will be 50% off and available for iTunes users to download for only $0.99 each.

HULU will stream INUYASHA: AFFECTIONS TOUCHING ACROSS TIME (subtitled) for free until August 11th; it will also be available during the same period on VIZAnime.com, the free-to-use interactive web destination that is the permanent home to some of the company’s best-loved animated series.

INUYASHA is a hit TV anime series is based on a massively popular manga (also published by VIZ Media, rated ‘T+’ for Older Teens) by famed creator Rumiko Takahashi, who won the prestigious Shogakukan Manga Award for the series in 2002. Many of Takahashi’s titles have been adapted into other media such as anime, live-action TV series, and film. The INUYASHA anime series ran for 167 episodes in total and has also spawned an exciting finale series, INUYASHA THE FINAL ACT (also available on VIZAnime.com), as well as several successful feature films.

INUYASHA
When an enchanted well draws her into the past, Kagome, an ordinary modern schoolgirl, finds her destiny tied to the doglike half-demon Inuyasha and a mythical gem called the Shikon Jewel, or "Jewel of Four Souls," of which the smallest shard can grant the user unimaginable power. Throughout their quest to restore the shattered Shikon Jewel, Inuyasha and Kagome have never faced an enemy more deadly or more cunning than the demon mastermind Naraku. With the Shikon Jewel nearly whole and in Naraku’s hands, the race to collect the remaining shards intensifies and a battle of epic proportions is brewing on the horizon...

INUYASHA THE MOVIE: AFFECTIONS TOUCHING ACROSS TIME
200 years ago, Inuyasha's father sealed away a powerful demon from a foreign land named Hyoga. A Shikon Jewel shard awakens Hyoga's son, Menomaru, inspiring him to absorb the remains of his father's power to take control of the world! It's now up to Inuyasha and his friends to stop this nearly invincible foe!

INUYASHA THE MOVIE 2: THE CASTLE BEYOND THE LOOKING GLASS
With their greatest foe seemingly defeated, Inuyasha and his friends return to their lives. But their short period of peace is once again shattered as a new enemy begins to emerge. Kaguya, the self-proclaimed Princess from the Moon of legend, begins a plan to plunge the world into a perpetual night of the full moon. Inuyasha, Kagome, Miroku, Sango and Shippo must once again unite to face a new threat.

INUYASHA THE MOVIE 3: SWORDS OF AN HONORABLE RULER
Many years ago, the Great Dog Demon wielded the Three Swords of the Fang. Upon his death, he bequeathed a sword to each of his sons, Inuyasha and Sesshomaru, leaving the third sword, the wrath-filled Sounga, locked away forever. Now that the Sounga's power has been awakened, these two battling brothers must put away their sibling rivalry and face off against the force that spells doom for all mankind.

To learn more about the INUYASHA anime and manga series, please visit VIZAnime.com or ShonenSunday.com.

Review: "Brooklyn's Finest" is Actually Not The Finest

TRASH IN MY EYE No. 52 (of 2010) by Leroy Douresseaux

Brooklyn’s Finest (2009)
Wide U.S. release: March 5, 2010
Running time: 132 minutes (2 hours, 12 minutes)
MPAA – R for bloody violence throughout, strong sexuality, nudity, drug content and pervasive language
DIRECTOR: Antoine Fuqua
WRITER: Michael C. Martin
PRODUCERS: Elie Cohn, Basil Iwanyk, John Langley, and John Thompson
CINEMATOGRAPHER: Patrick Murguia
EDITOR: Barbara Tulliver

CRIME/DRAMA

Starring: Richard Gere, Don Cheadle, Ethan Hawke, Wesley Snipes, Brian O’Byrne, Will Patton, Lili Taylor, Ellen Barkin, Jesse Williams, Shannon Kane, Lela Rochon, Ed Moran, Isiah Whitlock, Michael Kenneth Williams, Hassan Iniko Johnson, Jas Anderson and Vincent D’Onofrio

Ever watch a movie that just frustrates you because you want it to be better than it is because it should be better than it is? That’s Brooklyn’s Finest, a crime film from director Antoine Fuqua, an accomplished director of violent action films like Training Day and Tears of the Sun, which are aimed at guys who love violent action.

Brooklyn’s Finest follows three veteran New York cops struggling with right and wrong. Cynical, washed-up Edward “Eddie” Dugan (Richard Gere) stopped caring about the job or the rules years ago. Days from retirement, he finds himself overseeing rookies who will be assigned to tough neighborhoods. Detective Salvatore “Sal” Procida (Ethan Hawke) is desperate for money to support his growing family, so he starts taking money he finds during drug busts. Deeply religious, he struggles to reconcile his criminal deeds with his family’s needs, but with a down payment on a bigger house due, he plots his most dangerous cash-grab yet.

Clarence “Tango” Butler (Don Cheadle) is an undercover narcotics officer who hopes his latest assignment will earn him a promotion to detective and a desk job. However, he must betray Casanova “Caz” Phillips (Wesley Snipes), a prison buddy just released from prison on appeal of his conviction. A vulgar federal agent demands that Tango set up a drug deal that will assure Caz’s return to prison, but that causes Tango to be torn between his conflicting loyalties – the job and his friend. Eddie, Sal, and Tango converge on the Van Dyke housing projects of Brooklyn’s notorious Brownsville section where their lives will change forever.

Brooklyn’s Finest is a sprawling crime drama that offers good characters and a good setup, but it never really develops. The characters are the kind of stock players found in movies dealing with the New York City Police Department and Big Apple crime: cynical cops, dirty cops, vulgar cops, asshole cops, compromised cops, bureaucratic cops, arrogant federal agents, prostitutes, wannabe gangsters, and drug dealers. Plus, there are shootings – lots and lots of shootings. Although Brooklyn’s Finest is his first screenplay, writer Michael C. Martin actually seems as if he is going to do something grand, if not different, with this story and these characters. However, he eventually writes himself into a corner, where violent death is the only resolution, so the movie ends up seeming so predictable. Martin develops everything slowly, as if this were a pilot for a television series, when it really is a movie screenplay. Martin just builds and builds, and before the plot can thicken, it’s time for the story to end. And the only way left to end this is by using good old mister shoot ‘em up.

The performances by the three leads are good, if not great. Richard Gere is so real as the cynical, burned-out Eddie that the character seems weird and out of place. The best acting comes from the supporting players. Wesley Snipes is pitch perfect as the old dog gangsta; Snipes shows it in his face that Caz is tired and out of place among the younger, harder, and more brutal drug dealers. The talented Brian O’Byrne is excellent as the way too underutilized character, Officer Ronny Rosario. Ellen Barkin reminds us how good she is as the ball-busting Federal Agent Smith, a part Barkin plays as if she has a chip on shoulder and dynamite up her ass. Someone should give Smith her own movie because the disappointing Brooklyn’s Finest is not worthy of the character.

4 of 10
C

Tuesday, July 13, 2010

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Danny Glover's Short Film "Second Life" Debuts Online

Danny Glover’s Newest Short Film Debuts on The Responsibility Project


“Second Line” Reminds Viewers to “Do the Right Thing”

Directed by Danny Glover and Produced by Moving Parts, Inc.

--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Liberty Mutual Group:
About the Film: A neighbor, a friend or a stranger in need of a small act of kindness often passes by us unnoticed. It’s a decision we make every day — “Am I too busy to lend a moment of my time to another person?” Despite overloaded schedules and the struggle to balance the responsibilities of daily life, it’s important to remember how little time it takes to “do the right thing.”

Danny Glover directs and stars in the latest short film from Liberty Mutual’s Responsibility Project entitled, “Second Line.” Glover portrays a wealthy and frustrated businessman who is forced to walk to work after his car will not start. The man, characterized as being too busy and self-consumed to notice the people and places he passes, rushes through the streets of San Francisco. Viewers join the man on what appears to be an ordinary walk to work. After breezing past others in need, the man arrives at work and finally realizes all that he has missed. A changed expression appears on his face and he suddenly becomes present again as he helps a homeless man on the street. The film ends as the businessman enters his office building, turns around and notices another “lost soul” speeding by.

The four-and-a-half minute short film, “Second Line” was written by Nicole Middleton, directed by Danny Glover and produced by Moving Parts, Inc. The film’s director of photography, Michael Chin, was nominated for an Emmy® in Outstanding Cinematography for “The American Experience,” a series of documentaries on American history. The filmmakers were inspired by the collective spirit of street parades or “second lines,” a long-standing cultural tradition in New Orleans that celebrates family and community. The short film can be found at www.ResponsibilityProject.com.


About the Director:
Danny Glover, who grew up in San Francisco, where “Second Line” was filmed, made his directing debut in 2002 with “Just A Dream.” Glover, a beloved American actor, has produced over 20 films and television productions. He has been nominated for four Emmy® awards and has been recognized for his support of various humanitarian and political causes.

About The Responsibility Project:
The Responsibility Project, created by Liberty Mutual, uses entertainment content to create a forum for people to discuss personal acts of responsibility. Through short films, online content and television programming, The Responsibility Project is a catalyst for examining the decisions that confront people trying to “do the right thing.”

Individuals can participate in online conversations about personal responsibility and also review live-action and animated film shorts on the project’s online community, www.ResponsibilityProject.com.

About Liberty Mutual:
Boston-based Liberty Mutual Group is a diversified global insurer and fifth largest property and casualty insurer in the U.S. based on 2008 direct written premium. The Company also ranks 71st on the Fortune 500 list of largest corporations in the U.S. based on 2009 revenue. As of December 31, 2009, Liberty Mutual Group had $109.5 billion in consolidated assets, $94.9 billion in consolidated liabilities and $31.1 billion in annual consolidated revenue.

Liberty Mutual Group offers a wide range of insurance products and services, including personal automobile, homeowners, workers compensation, commercial multiple peril, commercial automobile, general liability, global specialty, group disability, assumed reinsurance, fire and surety.

Liberty Mutual Group (www.libertymutualgroup.com) employs over 45,000 people in more than 900 offices throughout the world.

Where: “Second Line” is available now on http://www.responsibilityproject.com/.