Review: "Monster's Ball" Retains Its Dark Power (Happy B'day, Halle Berry)

TRASH IN MY EYE No. 17 (of 2002) by Leroy Douresseaux

Monster’s Ball (2001)
Running time: 111 minutes (1 hour, 51 minutes)
MPAA – R for strong sexual content, language, and violence
DIRECTOR: Marc Forster
WRITERS: Milo Addica and Will Rokos
PRODUCER: Lee Daniels
CINEMATOGRAPHER: Roberto Schaefer (D.o.P.)
EDITOR: Matt Cheese
COMPOSERS: Asche and Spencer with Chris Beaty
Academy Award winner

DRAMA/ROMANCE

Starring: Billy Bob Thornton, Halle Berry, Peter Boyle Buck Grotowski, Heath Ledger, Coronji Calhoun, Sean Combs, Mos Def, and John McConnell

The subject of this movie review is Monster’s Ball, a 2001 romantic drama from director Marc Forster. The film is best remembered for Halle Barry winning the Academy Award for Best Actress, the first black actress in a leading role to win the award.

Hank Grotowski (Billy Bob Thorton) is a racist prison guard who works on death row. As he followed his father Buck (Peter Boyle) into the profession, so has his own son Sonny (Heath Ledger, The Patriot) followed him as a prison guard. When Sonny botches the “last walk” of a condemned black man, Lawrence Musgrove (Sean “P. Diddy” Combs), Hank and Sonny fallout and a brutal physical confrontation with tragic consequences. Hank meets and falls in love with Lawrence’s widow Leticia (Halle Berry) who also loses her son Tyrell (Coronji Calhoun). Their relationship confuses and conflicts them as they awkwardly seek their way towards love for each other.

Monster’s Ball is one of those films that does not work as entertainment so much as it explores the storytelling possibilities of a visual medium. Directed by the little known Marc Forster, the film is tightly directed, every frame is of importance to the story. Forster’s visual panache recalls Steven Soderberg’s bold indie feature sex, lies and videotape, and Forster takes great care in steering away from formula storytelling.

The script by Milo Addica and Will Rokos occasionally plays fast and loose with credulity. The viewer really has to suspend disbelief during several scenes. What saves the story is the gritty realism that permeates the script. The writers trust the visual communication of the film, but don’t rely on glitz and glamour to prettify the story. The screenwriters understand that the director and the cast will contribute as well. The screenplay is blueprint and a drama as well.

The acting is superb. Too watch these fairly well known actors open themselves up to what must surely be alien lives and idea is breath taking. Nothing that Heath Ledger has done to date has been this good. His Sonny is both an angel and a martyr; his youthful and clean face is a glimmer of hope extinguished by the pain of his family’s sordid past. Peter Boyle has a long career of making great characters, and his portrayal, as Hank’s racist senile father is another creation well played.

The star crossed and cursed lovers of the film played by Thorton and Ms. Berry are mesmerizing. Thorton has tackled unusual and compelling characters in his career. Ms. Berry has let her guard down and plays a character worlds apart from the high profile, glossy, sex objects she usually plays. To open herself to play a character that would be ridiculed, reviled, and pitied in the real world, who is akin to a pariah, is an act worthy of praise. Ms. Berry bares herself before the camera to be a plain and common woman beset by sorrows. Leticia’s simple needs, wants, and desires are foreign to many viewers and actresses. It’s good to see a cutie pie actress tackle serious and challenging drama.

To watch Thorton and Ms. Berry on the screen is a gift. When the mind calls for something other than a simple pastime, this movie fits the bill. A more unusual and hypnotic screen pair than Thorton and Ms. Berry is rare. They give bravura performances. Monster’s Ball may not be entertainment per se, but it is still a fine cinematic experience.

8 of 10
A

NOTES:
2002 Academy Awards: 1 win: “Best Actress in a Leading Role” (Halle Berry) and 1 nomination: “Best Writing, Screenplay Written Directly for the Screen” (Milo Addica and Will Rokos)

2003 BAFTA Awards: 1 nomination: “Best Performance by an Actress in a Leading Role” (Halle Berry)

2002 Golden Globes: 1 nomination: “Best Performance by an Actress in a Motion Picture – Drama” (Halle Berry)

2002 Black Reel Awards: 1 win: “Theatrical - Best Actress” (Halle Berry)

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Silence Makes "The Artist" Golden

TRASH IN MY EYE No. 66 (of 2012) by Leroy Douresseaux


The Artist (2011)
COUNTRY OF ORIGIN: France, Belgium; Language: English
Running time: 101 minutes (1 hour, 41 minutes)
MPAA – PG-13 for a disturbing image and a crude gesture
WRITER/DIRECTOR: Michel Hazanavicius
PRODUCERS: Thomas Langmann and Emmanuel Montamat
CINEMATOGRAPHER: Guillaume Schiffman
EDITORS: Anne-Sophie Bion and Michel Hazanavicius
COMPOSER: Ludovic Bource
Academy Award winner

COMEDY/DRAMA

Starring: Jean Dujardin, Bérénice Bejo, John Goodman, James Cromwell, Penelope Ann Miller, Missi Pyle, Beth Grant, Ed Lauter, Ken Davitian, Michael McDowell, and Uggy

The Artist is a 2011 French romantic comedy and drama done in the style of a black and white silent film. It should be noted that although the film is French, what dialogue it does have is in English. The Artist won the Academy Award for “Best Picture,” one of five it won at the 84th Academy Awards (February 2012). It was the first primarily silent film to win the best picture Oscar since 1927 and the first black and white film to win since Schindler’s List (1993).

The Artist was also one of the best reviewed films of the year (if not the best). I had my doubts, but after seeing it, I can say that it is indeed a fine and exceptional film. It is a true feel-good movie, and is also visually quite beautiful.

The Artist opens in 1927 and finds silent film star, George Valentin (Jean Dujardin), posing for pictures with his dog and frequent film sidekick, Jack the dog (Uggy). That is when he meets aspiring actress, Peppy Miller (Bérénice Bejo). George and Peppy strike up a friendship that creates newspaper headlines, and soon Peppy is getting small parts in some films.

George’s boss at Kinograph Motion Picture Company, Al Zimmer (John Goodman), informs his star that silent films are about to be replaced by “talkies,” motion pictures with a sound. As silent films fade away, Peppy’s career begins to rise. How will George survive in this new era in motion pictures and will his relationship with Peppy survive all the changes occurring in this new world?

Some of you, dear readers, may groan when I say that I found The Artist to be inimitably charming. Well, it’s true; this movie has a lot of charm, and I think its charm is what wins people over. There is a simplicity in the storytelling here that reminds viewers that movies don’t need a wall of surround sound noise and the tsunami of cinema technology to create something that wins hearts and captures imaginations.

For a little over two decades, beginning especially with Terminator 2: Judgment Day and personified by Jurassic Park (1993), movie making (in general) and the Hollywood filmmaking industry (in particular), have been on an inexorable march towards post human cinema. Movies seem to be mostly generated inside a computer, but The Artist harks back to what is still pure about movies. A group of people in front and behind the camera come together and ply their trade, show off their skills, and let their humanity show.

Taking advantage of the human body and face’s ability to express emotion, ideas, and even thought, actors Jean Dujardin and Bérénice Bejo embody Michel Hazanavicius’ delicate but spry love story. In The Artist, the people are the show, not science, although I imagine that it took cinema-tech to bring us back to early filmmaking and to remind us of people power in film. The Artist deserved its Oscars.

9 of 10
A+

NOTES:
2012 Academy Awards: 5 wins: “Best Motion Picture of the Year” (Thomas Langmann), “Best Achievement in Directing” (Michel Hazanavicius), “Best Performance by an Actor in a Leading Role” (Jean Dujardin), “Best Achievement in Costume Design” (Mark Bridges), and “Best Achievement in Music Written for Motion Pictures, Original Score” (Ludovic Bource); 5 nominations: “Best Achievement in Art Direction” (Laurence Bennett-production designer and Robert Gould-set decorator), “Best Achievement in Cinematography” (Guillaume Schiffman), “Best Achievement in Film Editing” (Anne-Sophie Bion and Michel Hazanavicius), “Best Performance by an Actress in a Supporting Role” (Bérénice Bejo), and “Best Writing, Original Screenplay” Michel Hazanavicius)

2012 BAFTA Awards: 7 wins: “Best Cinematography” (Guillaume Schiffman), “Best Costume Design” (Mark Bridges), “Best Director” (Michel Hazanavicius), “Best Film” (Thomas Langmann), “Best Leading Actor” (Jean Dujardin), “Best Original Music” (Ludovic Bource), and “Best Original Screenplay” (Michel Hazanavicius); 5 nominations: “Best Editing” (Anne-Sophie Bion and Michel Hazanavicius), “Best Leading Actress” (Bérénice Bejo), “Best Make Up & Hair” (Julie Hewett and Cydney Cornell), “Best Production Design” (Laurence Bennett and Robert Gould), and “Best Sound” (Michael Krikorian and Nadine Muse)

2012 Golden Globes, USA: 3 wins: “Best Motion Picture - Comedy or Musical,” “Best Original Score - Motion Picture” (Ludovic Bource), and “Best Performance by an Actor in a Motion Picture - Comedy or Musical” (Jean Dujardin); 3 nominations: “Best Director - Motion Picture” (Michel Hazanavicius), “Best Performance by an Actress in a Supporting Role in a Motion Picture” (Bérénice Bejo), and “Best Screenplay - Motion Picture” (Michel Hazanavicius)

2011 Cannes Film Festival: 1 win: “Best Actor” (Jean Dujardin) and 1 nomination: “Palme d'Or” (Michel Hazanavicius)

Sunday, August 12, 2012

FOX Launches Spanish-Language Network, "MundoFox"

August 13, 2012 12:01 AM Eastern Daylight Time MundoFox Goes Live: New Network Launches for Latino Audiences Across the U.S.

Fox International Channels and RCN Television Group premiere Spanish-language TV network that brings innovative drama, comedy, news and game shows to millions of Hispanic viewers

LOS ANGELES--(BUSINESS WIRE)--MundoFox, the new Spanish-language broadcast network from Fox International Channels and RCN Television Group of Colombia launches today with an impressive line-up of scripted dramas, news, sports, game shows and comedy. The launch positions MundoFox as the newest player in the underserved Hispanic media marketplace.

MundoFox is proud to have a diverse roster of quality programming that echoes the interests of the ‘New Latino’ viewer. Network viewers can tune in to see such well-known stars as Marlon Moreno, Maria Adelaida Puerta and Andres Suarez in the Spanish hit “El Capo.” The acclaimed Mexican actors Veronica Castro, Jaime Camil and Ludwika Paleta star in “Los Exitosos Perez.” Carlos Espejel, Mexican telenovela actor and comedian, and Roselyn Sanchez, Puerto Rican singer-songwriter/actress in the upcoming comedy series “EXPOSOS” and Christopher Von Uckermann, star of the critically-acclaimed series “Kdabra.” The brilliant and funny Marco Antonio Regil will host the new game show “Minuto Para Ganar“ and every weeknight, the Peabody Award-winning journalist Rolando Nichols will anchor “Noticias MundoFox” at 6 p.m., the only newscast in Spanish to be produced live for both the East and the West Coast.

The MundoFox lineup includes:

•El Capo 2 – the second season of one of the most successful Spanish-Language teleseries ever created, based on the story of the fictional drug lord Pedro Pablo Jaramillo, will air every weeknight at 9 (8 Central).

•Los Exitosos Perez – a story where identity theft is the groundbreaking plot and where the sentimental bonds of Martin Perez are managed with a tone of comedy.

•Kdabra – mystery, magic, and intrigue that gathers elements from the real and the supernatural worlds; where the enthralling mystery surrounding its main character, a 17-year-old teenager who has escaped from a dark community- triggers a series of unexpected events.

•Tiempo Final – each week, the characters face a dead end or an inevitable fate that will change their lives forever — from lovers who are exhausted by their anonymity and decide to disclose their relationship to a serial murderer who is hiding under the harmless image of a plumber or a bachelor party that quickly becomes one that will not be forgotten.

•Minuto para Ganar – an entertainment program adapted from the wildly successful U.S. show "Minute to Win It" whereby contestants play ten challenges, each lasting one minute..

•Betty La Fea – one of the most popular Spanish-Language shows ever created, for the first time in the US in half-hour versions.

•American Dad - one of the most successful animated comedies, from Family Guy creator Seth McFarlane, will air in late night.

•Las Santísimas – the Latino version of “Sex and the City”, following the lives of five women from different backgrounds who, in their pursuit for happiness, encounter both internal and external obstacles.

•Pobres Rico – the story of a wealthy family cut off from their riches by betrayal from within. Fate and necessity force them into an uneasy alliance with a rival family, but love blossoms in unexpected places teaching both families lessons about trust, unity and solidarity.

•El Joe, La Leyenda – a seventies period drama based on the exclusive story of music legend Joe Arroyo, a young, fun-loving but happily engaged musician, who indulges in a weekend fling with an alluring young woman, who unbeknownst to him, is the daughter of a music mogul. However, an unexpected series of twists and turns will conspire to bring the lovers together again years later and reignite their forbidden affair.

•Nat Geo Kids – the U.S.’ most popular kids magazine turned TV by MundoFox including great fact-filled, fast paced kids programming originally produced by National Geographic.

•UFC-LIVE – action from the premier mixed martial arts organization with the most top-ranked fighters in the world. Live events will air throughout the year on MundoFox.

MundoFox has already built a base of 50 affiliate stations in markets representing 80% of U.S. Hispanic households, and the network is confident its groundbreaking and innovative program mix will appeal to a significant portion of the 52 million (and growing) Latinos who live in the U.S. MundoFox will be available on broadcast over-the-air television, as well as through cable, satellite and telco providers (for local channel number information, please visit mundofox.com or call your cable, satellite or telco provider).

Knowing that the entertainment wants and needs of American Latinos have changed and continue to evolve, MundoFox is targeting this new mindset with “Latino entertainment, American attitude”. MundoFox is set to capture the imagination of this bi-cultural audience that lives in both the English and Spanish speaking worlds with a mix of well-produced, culturally relevant and sophisticated programming.

“We’ve reached a tipping point in the evolution of U.S. Spanish-language programming and the time is right for MundoFox,” said Emiliano Saccone, President of MundoFox. “Like we did in 1986 when we launched Fox Broadcasting, we’ve read the landscape and believe the time is now. We know that while there is incredible competition in this arena, our strong line-up of inspired and creative programs, robust foundation of affiliates, internationally recognized advertisers and clear sense of direction are a formula for long-term success.”

Demographic experts expect the burgeoning population of U.S. Latinos to reach 133 million by 2050, meaning that nearly one in three Americans will be Hispanic. Fifty percent of U.S. population growth over the past decade has come from this group with an annual spending power of $1 trillion. This number is forecast to climb to $1.5 trillion by 2015, according to Nielsen Media Research. Advertisers understand the power of these numbers. Toyota Motor Sales USA, L’Oreal and T-Mobile USA are among over fifty advertisers already committed to MundoFox.


About MundoFox
MundoFox is a joint venture between Fox International Channels (FIC), News Corporation’s international multi-media business, and RCN, the leading Latin American television network and production company belonging to Organización Ardila Lülle (OAL). Together, FIC and RCN currently reach over 1.2 billion households worldwide with primetime comedies, dramas and daytime series, as well as factual, sports and lifestyle programming. Additionally, both operate and program cable networks and twenty-four-hour global news channels. The new network, headquartered in Los Angeles, CA, will launch in August of 2012.

For more information, visit MundoFox online at http://us.mundofox.com/.

New "Cirque du Soleil: Worlds Away" Movie Poster is Released

  The Cirque du Soleil 3D film is due in December 2012, apparently around Christamas.

http://www.worldsaway3d.com/

Review: Peter Cushing is Cool in Lame "Island of Terror" (Remembering Peter Cushing)

TRASH IN MY EYE No. 24 (of 2001) by Leroy Douresseaux

Island of Terror (1966)
COUNTRY OF ORIGIN: UK
Running time: 89 minutes - USA (1 hour, 29 minutes)
DIRECTOR: Terence Fisher
WRITERS: Edward Andrew Mann and Alan Ramsen
PRODUCER: Tom Blakeley
CINEMATOGRAPHER: Reginald H. Wyer
EDITOR: Thelma Connell
COMPOSER: Malcolm Lockyer

HORROR/SCI-FI

Starring: Peter Cushing, Edward Judd, Carole Gray, Eddie Byrne, Sam Kydd, Niall MacGinnis, James Caffrey, and Liam Gaffney

The subject of this movie review is Island of Terror, a 1966 British horror film starring Peter Cushing. The film was made and released by Planet Film Productions, but in the U.S., Universal Studios released Island of Terror as a double feature with a 1967 film called The Projected Man. Island of Terror is kind of silly, but being as I am a big fan of the famed British actor, the late Peter Cushing, I found enjoyment in it.

In the manor of a posh English estate on a small island, a group of scientists are engaged in some cancer research that is about to result in live saving cures. However, the research suddenly goes wildly wrong and creates a group of creeping, tentacled blobs. The blobs devour human and animal bone matter and self-divide after each meal. They threaten to overrun the island when Dr. Brian Stanley (Peter Cushing), Dr. David West (Edward Judd), and Dr. Reginald Landers (Eddie Byrne) arrive coincidentally in time to try to save the day. Dr. West’s girlfriend, Toni Merrill (Carole Gray), tags along to swoon and scream whenever the creatures are near.

The real treat in Island of Terror is the wonderful Peter Cushing. I’ll watch anything in which he stars, even something as poor as this. It’s sad, but funny sci-fi horror, and it does have some spooky moments and some rare seconds of suspense and fear. Otherwise, it’s forgettable. Cushing, however, is a trooper, always giving A list work no matter how goofy the material is, and here he makes no exception in giving a good performance. His Dr. Stanley is stoic, calm, scientific and brave even in the face of ridiculous monsters and in light of loosing his left hand at one point in the movie.

Eddie Judd is hilarious as Dr West, the young stud who demands the cooperation of the townsfolk. He uses a firm hand in dealing with his screaming Mimi of a girlfriend Toni. They are definitely a movie couple from another era. Today, Toni would not be so obvious in her histrionics, nor would Dr. West treat her more like a petulant child than an equal in a relationship.

It’s also nice to see such well dressed movie heroes, with jackets and ties nonetheless, and always looking neat and professional enough to walk right into a board meeting moments after fighting off monster-death with only an ax and their British wits.

Quaint and silly, see this one to get another look at the amazing Mr. Cushing, a distinct film star and personality even in this oddly charming banal film.

4 of 10
C

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The Music Charts Belong to WaterTower Music in 2012

WaterTower Music Dominates Billboard’s Soundtrack Chart in 2012

Label’s Titles Combine for 13 Weeks at #1

LOS ANGELES--(BUSINESS WIRE)--WaterTower Music announced today that the label has held the top spot on Billboard’s soundtrack chart for 13 weeks in 2012. In addition, a WaterTower Music soundtrack has occupied the #1 position on the soundtrack chart for the last eight consecutive weeks.

The current run began with WaterTower’s Rock of Ages - Original Motion Picture Soundtrack, which held the #1 soundtrack chart position for six consecutive weeks according to Billboard – the longest a title has consecutively held the top position since September 2011.

Following Rock of Ages, The Dark Knight Rises: Original Motion Picture Soundtrack took the #1 soundtrack spot, and is now the #1 soundtrack in the country for the second consecutive week. It also debuted last week at #8 on the Top 200 chart, the highest charting score album of composer Hans Zimmer’s illustrious career. Additionally, it has the distinction of being the highest charting score album in over 10 years.

Prior to that, the soundtracks to Joyful Noise and Project X combined for an additional five weeks at the top of the soundtrack chart in 2012.

WaterTower has also held the top slot on Billboard’s indie chart for five weeks in 2012, more than any other label this year.

“This has been an extraordinary year for us, the strongest we’ve ever had,” commented WaterTower Music head Jason Linn. “And we anticipate a robust year-end with new music from The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey.”

"Superman/Batman: Apocalypse" Rocks the House

TRASH IN MY EYE No. 65 (of 2012) by Leroy Douresseaux


Superman/Batman: Apocalypse (2010) – straight-to-video
Running time: 78 minutes (1 hour, 18 minutes)
MPAA – PG-13 for violence and brief sensuality
DIRECTOR: Lauren Montgomery
WRITERS: Tab Murphy (Based upon the graphic novel by Jeph Loeb and Michael Turner and characters created by Bob Kane (Batman), Jerry Siegel and Joe Shuster (Superman), William Moulton Marston (Wonder Woman), and Jack Kirby (Darkseid and The New Gods)
PRODUCERS: Lauren Montgomery, Bobbie Page, and Bruce W. Timm
EDITOR: Margaret Hou

ANIMATION/SUPERHERO/ACTION

Starring: Andre Braugher, Kevin Conroy, Tim Daly, Susan Eisenberg, Summer Glau, Julianne Grossman, Edward Asner, and Rachel Quaintance

Superman/Batman: Apocalypse is the ninth in Warner Bros. Animation’s line of DC Universe Animated Original Movies. It is a sequel to the animated film, Superman/Batman: Public Enemies (2009), and is based on “The Supergirl from Krypton,” a storyline in the Superman/Batman comic book series from DC Comics. Superman/Batman: Apocalypse focuses on a mysterious teen-aged girl with super-human powers, her connection to Superman, and a villain’s diabolical plan to control her.

While investigating the wreckage of a spaceship that landed in Gotham City Harbor, Batman (Kevin Conroy) discovers that the ship had a passenger. It is a young woman who raises all sorts of havoc with her apparent super human powers, but Batman manages to subdue her. It is Superman (Tim Daly), however, who discovers that the young woman is Kara Zor-El (Summer Glau), his biological cousin, and like himself, a refuge from Krypton. Kara has little memory of her past, and her powers make her dangerous. Wonder Woman (Susan Eisenberg) steps in and takes Kara to her home, Themyscira, the island home of the Amazons.

They are not the only ones interested in Kara. On the planet, Apokolips, its lord, Darkseid (Andre Braugher), has learned of Kara and desires her to lead his honor guard, the Female Furies, so he kidnaps her. To rescue Kara, Superman, Batman, and Wonder Woman must recruit the former leader of the Furies, Big Barda (Julianne Grossman), but even her help may not be enough to overcome Darkseid, a god.

What I like about Superman/Batman: Apocalypse is that it gets everything right. First, the writing is strong. Screenwriter Tab Murphy efficiently presents the characters: their personalities, quirks, motivations, conflicts, and relationships. It all comes across as genuine – from Kara’s confusion and struggle to adjust to a new world to Superman’s almost desperate yearning to both protect Kara and to connect with someone from the world of his birth. Also, the action of the story is gripping, from the first moments to the tear-the-roof-off-the-mutha, battle royale featuring Superman, Kara, and Darkseid.

The animation is also good, not as good as feature film animation, but the characters look good during the action and fight scenes, which is what counts in these direct-to-DVD movies based upon superhero comic books. The animation’s design style is based on the art of the artist who drew “The Supergirl from Krypton, the late Michael Turner. This movie’s designers and animators capture Turner’s quirky style and his graceful approach to drawing women. Kara’s hairdo certainly reflects Turner’s sensibilities.

All in all, Superman/Batman: Apocalypse is one of the better DC Universe Animated movies, and is one I’d watch again.

8 of 10
A

Sunday, July 29, 2012