Negromancer News Bits and Bites from December 1st to 10th, 2022 - Update #21

by Leroy Douresseaux a.k.a. "I Reads You"

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ENTERTAINMENT AND CULTURE NEWS:

STREAMING - From Deadline:  Netflix and one of its biggest content providers, Warner Bros. Discovery, may be head for a streaming war due to the unhappiness of the latter's CEO David Zaslav.

MOVIES - From Variety:  "Scream 6" cast member Melissa Barrera says that the upcoming horror flick is "100 times gorier" than any previous entry in the franchise.

SCANDAL - From EW:  Grammy Award winning recording artist, Celine Dion, has revealed that she has a rare neurological disorder, "stiff-person syndrome," that will leave her rigid and suffering spasms in her torso and limbs.

MOVIES - From Variety:   Jennifer Lawrence says that the biggest reaction to her being cast in "The Hunger Games" was "how much weight is she going to lose."

MOVIES - From Variety:  There is a first-look image of Robert Pattinson in Oscar-winner Bong Joon Ho's ("Parasite") next film "Mickey 17.  The film is not due until March 29, 2024.

NETFLIX - From Deadline:  Robert Downey, Jr. talks about "Sr.," a Netflix documentary film about his late father, the filmmaker Robert Downey, Sr.

SCANDAL - From Variety:  Disgraced Oscar-winning film producer and former studio executive, Harvey Weinstein, has abnormal testicles, as they reside in his inner thighs.  That and more tidbits from his rape trial in Los Angeles.

BOX OFFICE - From BoxOfficePro:   The winner of the 12/2 to 12/4/2022 weekend box office is Disney/Marvel Studios' "Black Panther: Wakanda Forever" with an estimated take of 17.5 million dollars.

From Here:  Leroy Douresseaux's review of "Black Panther: Wakanda Forever."

SPORTS - From Deadline:  Soccer great and sometimes actor, Pele, has reportedly entered end-of-life care in Brazilian hospital.

CANNES - From Variety:  Pedro Almodovar says his "queer Western" short film, "Strange Way of Life" will debut at the Cannes Film Festival in May 2023.  The film stars Pedro Pascal and Ethan Hawke.

DISNEY - From Variety:  Indiana Jones 5 has a title, "Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny," and the film has its first trailer.  It features a de-aged Harrison Ford/Indiana Jones.

MOVIES - From Deadline:  Peter Dinklage is among the voice cast added to "Transformers: Rise of the Beasts," which is due June 9, 2023.

AVATAR - From THR:  Director James Cameron talks about "Avatar: The Way of Water," the "Avatar" franchise, and more in a wide-ranging interview.

MOVIES - From Deadline:  Two-time "Best Director" Oscar winner, Ang Lee, will direct a Bruce Lee biopic with Ang's son, Mason Lee, playing martial arts film legend.

OBITS:

From Variety:  Television and film actress, Kirstie Alley, has died at the age of 71, Monday, December 5, 2022.  Alley rose to fame as "Rebecca Howe" on the former NBC sitcom, "Cheers," from 1987-93, a role for which she won a Primetime Emmy Award for "Outstanding Lead Actress in a Comedy Series."  She originated the role of "Saavik" in "Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan," and she also appeared in three "Look Who's Talking" films.

From Variety:   Actor, singer, musician, recording artist, and children's book author, Bob McGrath, has died at the age of 90, Sunday, December 4, 2022.  McGrath played one of the original human characters, "Bob Johnson," on the long-running PBS education series, "Sesame Streeet."  McGrath played Bob Johnson from 1969 until 2016.

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AWARDS:

From Deadline:  The American Film Institute (AFI) has named its "AFI Awards Film" list of "Top 10 Films of 2022."  The list includes "Avatar: The Way of Water," "Top Gun: Maverick," and "The Woman King."

From THR:  The African-American Film Critics Association name "The Woman King" the "Best Film of 2022."

From Deadline:  The nominations for the "2023 Critics Choice Awards" in the television categories have been announced.  ABC's sitcom, "Abbot Elementary" leads the nominations.  The winners will be announced Sunday, January 15, 2023 and broadcast on The CW.

From Variety:  The 2022 / 88th Annual New York Film Critics Circle (NYFCC) Awards have been announced.  Todd Field's "Tar" wins "Best Film" and "Best Actress" (Cate Blanchett).  Keke Palmer wins "Best Supporting Actress" for her performance in "Nope."

From Deadline:  "Everything Everywhere All at Once" wins the "Best Feature" award at the 2022 / 32nd Annual Gotham Awards, one of two wins for the film.

From IndieWire:  The nominations for the 2023 Film Independent Spirit Awards have been announced.   "Everything Everywhere All at Once" leads with eight nominations.  The winners will be announced March 4th, 2023.

From Variety:  The nominations for the 2022 / 32nd Annual Gotham Awards were announced a month ago.  Todd Field's "Tar" leads with five nominations.  The winners will be announced Monday, November 28th.

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BRITTNEY GRINER:

From CBSNews:  WNBA star Brittney Griner has been released from her Russian imprisonment in a one-for-one prisoner swap for notorious international arms dealer, Viktor Bout.

From NBCNews:   Brittney Griner will enter a system of isolation, grueling labor and psychological torment when she is transferred to a penal colony, the successor to the infamous Russian gulag, to fulfill a nine-year sentence handed down Tuesday in Moscow, former prisoners and advocates said.

From NBCNews:  A Russian court has rejected Brittney Griner's appeal of her nine-year prison sentence on (fake) drug charges.

From Reuters:  Russia says that it is ready to talk prisoner swamp for Brittney Griner and U.S. Marine veteran Paul Whelan, but also scolds the U.S. Embassy.

From TheDailyBeast:   Legendary NBA bad boy and champion (Detroit Pistons, Chicago Bulls), Dennis Rodman claims that he has been given permission to go to Russia and help free imprisoned hostage, WNBA star, Brittney Griner.

From Vox:  Vox's Jonathan Guyer talks the Brittney Griner case with Danielle Gilbert, a Dartmouth professor who is writing a book about states and rogue actors that take hostages.

From ESPN:   A Russian court sentenced WNBA star Brittney Griner to nine years in prison Thursday, Aug. 4th.  Griner was arrested Feb. 17 for bringing cannabis into the country and pleaded guilty July 7, though the case continued under Russian law.

From ESPN:  The Biden administration has offered a deal to Russia aimed at bringing home WNBA star Brittney Griner and another jailed American, Paul Whelan, Secretary of State Antony Blinken said Wednesday.

From RSN:  "Will Support From LeBron James, Joe Rogan, Kim Kardashian, and Other Celebrities Help Free Brittney Griner From a Russian Prison?" by Kareem Abdul-Jabbar via Substack

From ESPN:  Detained WNBA star Brittney Griner pleaded guilty on Thursday to bringing hashish oil into Russia, telling a judge that she had done so "inadvertently" while asking the court for mercy.

From CBSSports:  The Brittney Griner situation explained.

From RSN:  According to The Washington Post Editorial Board: "Brittney Griner is a hostage, plain and simple."

Review: "Snowpiercer" is Unique and Thrilling

TRASH IN MY EYE No. 11 (of 2015) by Leroy Douresseaux

Snowpiercer (2013)
COUNTRY OF ORIGIN:  South Korea
Running time:  126 minutes (2 hours, 6 minutes)
MPAA – R for violence, language and drug content
DIRECTOR:  Bong Joon Ho
WRITERS: Joon-ho Bong and Kelly Masterson; from a screen story by Joon-ho Bong (based on the comic book,  Le Transperceneige by Jacques Lob, Benjamin Legrand, and Jean-Marc Rochette)
PRODUCERS:  Tae-sung Jeong, Wonjo Jeong, Miky Lee, Tae-hun Lee, Steven Nam, and Chan-wook Park
CINEMATOGRAPHER:  Kyung-pyo Hong
EDITORS:  Steve M. Choe and Changju Kim
COMPOSER:  Marco Beltrami

SCI-FI/DRAMA/ACTION

Starring:  Chris Evans, Song Kang Ho, Tilda Swinton, Ko Asung, Octavia Spencer, Jamie Bell, John Hurt, Ewen Bremner, Vlad Ivanov, Marcanthonee Jon Reis, Emma Levie, Allison Pill, and Ed Harris

Snowpiercer is a 2013 South Korean science fiction film from director Bong Joon Ho.  The film is based on a series of French graphic novels that began in 1982 with the first book, Le Transperceneige (Snowpiercer).  Snowpiercer the movie takes place on a class strife-ridden train that is the only home of the last humans alive on Earth.

At the beginning of Snowpiercer, we learn that humans made an attempt to halt global warming by spraying the chemical, CW-7, into the atmosphere.  That backfired, and the result was the start of an ice age so severe that almost all life on Earth was destroyed.

The only human survivors are now living in Snowpiercer, a massive train that travels on a globe-spanning train track.  However, a rigid class system pervades Snowpiercer with the elites living in the front of the train; people useful to the elites occupying in the middle; and the utterly poor and destitute inhabiting the tail of the train.

In the year 2031, the tail inhabitants prepare to launch another rebellion against the elites.  Although past rebellions have failed, this new rebellion may have finally found the one man who can lead the poor people to the very front door of Wilford (Ed Harris), the creator of the train.  This new leader's name is Curtis Everett (Chris Evans), and he has a plan to get past Snowpiercer's security system and its armed guards.  In order for his plan to work, however, Curt must rely on Nam Kung Min Soo (Song Kang Ho), a drug addict who doesn't speak a word of English, and also on his kooky daughter, Yona (Ko Asung).

Snowpiercer is one of the best films of 2014.  Everything about it is high-quality, especially its beautiful cinematography and its production design, which is both imaginative and inventive.  Considering the narrow spaces with which production designer Ondrej Nekvasil had to work, he managed to recreate a diverse cross section of modern humanity's interior living environments in a way that is almost too impressive for words.

The ensemble cast is also excellent, with Tilda Swinton delivering a splendid performance as Mason.  This is a character that is so odd that anyone other than a highly-talented and skilled actor would fumble.  My favorite performance, however, is that of Chris Evans as Curtis Everett.

Evans began his rise as a movie star by showing his ability to be funny or to deliver light comic flourishes whenever a film in which he appeared desperately needed some genuine humor.  He was often the saving grace of 20th Century Fox's 2005-2007 Fantastic Four film franchise.  Evans then showed that he could be an action movie star in Marvel Studio's Captain America films by bring dramatic heft and gravitas to both Captain America films and to Marvel's The Avengers, in which he also appeared as Captain America.

In Snowpiercer, Evans puts a lock on leading man status.  He looks like a leader, and, in this performance, he carries and embodies this film's social commentary in Curtis Everett's physicality and his emotions, and especially in his spirit.  Evans leaves no doubt that he is not only the real deal as a movie star, but also as an actor.

Co-writer and director Bong Joon Ho (or Joon-ho Bong) gives Snowpiercer visual scope, creating a big picture in a setting that is both intimate and claustrophobic.  Bong shows that science fiction can be more than just imaginative and speculative about the future.  It can and should speak to the modern condition; the genre wants to be more than just escapism.  I still wish that Snowpiercer had spent more time with more of its amazing cast of characters.  That does not keep me from declaring that this is a unique science fiction film because its themes and ideas are both non-fiction and important.

8 of 10
A

Tuesday, February 24, 2015


NOTES:
2015 Black Reel Awards:  1 nomination: “Outstanding Supporting Actress, Motion Picture” (Octavia Spencer)


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