Review: Wonderful "Wonder Woman" in Less Than Wonderful Movie

TRASH IN MY EYE No. 16 (of 2017) by Leroy Douresseaux

[This review originally posted on Patreon.]

Wonder Woman (2017)
Running time:  141 minutes (2 hours, 21 minutes)
MPAA – PG - 13 for sequences of violence and action, and some suggestive content
DIRECTOR:  Patty Jenkins
WRITERS:  Allan Heinberg; from a story by Zack Snyder, Allan Heinberg, and Jason Fuchs (based on characters appearing in comic books published by DC Comics and created by William Moulton Marston)
PRODUCERS:  Charles Roven, Zack Snyder, Deborah Snyder, and Richard Suckle
CINEMATOGRAPHER:  Matthew Jensen
EDITOR:  Martin Walsh
COMPOSER:  Rupert Gregson-Williams

SUPERHERO/FANTASY/WAR/HISTORICAL

Starring:  Gal Gadot, Chris Pine, Connie Nielsen, Robin Wright, Danny Huston, David Thewlis, Said Taghmaoui, Ewen Bremner, Eugene Brave Rock, Lucy Davis, Elena Anaya, Lilly Aspell, Lisa Loven Kongsli, Ann Wolfe, Ann Ogbomo, Emily Carey, and James Cosmo

Wonder Woman is a 2017 superhero fantasy, war, and and historical film from director Patty Jenkins.  The film stars the DC Comics superhero, Wonder Woman, who first appeared in All Star Comics #8 (1941) and was created by writer William Moulton Marston (with artist Harry George Peter).  The movie takes place when Wonder Woman was only known as Diana, princess of the Amazons, a young, trained warrior who goes out into the world to discover her full powers and her true destiny.  Wonder Woman is also the fourth film in the DC (Comics) Extended Universe film series.

Wonder Woman opens in present-day Paris, in the Louvre, where Diana Prince/Wonder Woman (Gal Gadot) works as an archivist of some type.   Bruce Wayne has sent her a gift, a World War I-era photographic plate that contains an image of Diana and three men.

This image returns Diana's memories to her past, beginning when she was a child (Lily Aspell) on the hidden island of Themyscira, home to the Amazon race of warrior women.  Diana is the daughter of the queen, Hippolyta (Connie Nielsen), who does not want her daughter trained to be a warrior.  Hippolyta's sister and Diana's aunt, General Antiope (Robin Wright), believes that Diana should be prepared for the eventual day when she will have to fight.

As a young woman, Diana rescues an American pilot and spy, Captain Steve Trevor (Chris Pine), after his plane crashes off the coast of Themyscira.  The Germans pursing Trevor invade Themyscira, but are repelled by the Amazons.  Diana interprets these events as signs that she must accompany Trevor as he returns to the world of men, where Diana believes she must confront the reason for the world war that rages across Europe (World War I).  Diana believes that Ares, the god of war, is behind the so-called “War to End All Wars,” but Diana does not realize that this journey will reveal the truth about her powers, her destiny, and her identity.

Since its release to theaters in the United States (almost a month ago as of this writing) and around the world (over a month as of this writing), Wonder Woman has received rave reviews.  Women and children, especially girls, have embraced the power of this beloved female superhero who finally stars in her own feature film.

I get it; I understand the appeal and the adoration, but for me, Wonder Woman the movie is, at best, a slightly above-average superhero movie.  Gal Gadot is wonderful as Wonder Woman, which surprised me because I thought she was all wrong when I first heard about her casting.  However, here, Gadot is so good that I had trouble imagining another actress (except maybe Linda Carter) as Wonder Woman.  Gadot embodies the strength and independence of a woman raised in a society in which women do not think of themselves as subordinate or inferior to men.

In the character drama, in the film's quiet moments, in the times when Diana fights for the forgotten and ignored (the “little” people?), director Patty Jenkins and Gal Gadot deliver on what Wonder Woman has meant, what she means today, and what she can mean in the future.  Jenkins and Gadot depict the ability of women to pursue the best of themselves and to pursue the best for humanity at large – with their endeavors as equal or even superior to those of men.  To nurture and to create; to defend and to take the initiative:  Wonder Woman/Diana and women can do anything men can do.

The problems with Wonder Woman the film are the men who contribute to this film.  Co-producer and co-writer Zack Snyder's handiwork is all over the cheesy, slow-motion camera fight scenes.  The fact that the last act devolves into a ridiculous supernatural battle between Diana and Ares is typical of the previous Warner/DC Comics films.  Those movies reeked with the ludicrous fights that were the climaxes of Snyder's The Man of Steel and Batman Vs. Superman: Dawn of Justice, as well as last year's Suicide Squad, which is also part of the DC Extended Universe.

Patty Jenkins and Gal Gadot deliver some superb movie making with Wonder Woman.  Unfortunately, the perspective of males, one of whom is a hack filmmaker, ruins it.

6 of 10
B

Friday, June 30, 2017


The text is copyright © 2017 Leroy Douresseaux. All Rights Reserved. Contact this site for reprint and syndication rights and fees.

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Warner Bros. Begins Production on "Wonder Woman" Film

GAL GADOT as Wonder Woman, photo by Clay Enos (Photo: Business Wire)

Production Begins on Warner Bros. Pictures’ Wonder Woman Feature Film

Gal Gadot stars under the direction of Patty Jenkins in the famed DC Amazon Princess’s first time headlining on the big screen

BURBANK, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Principal photography is underway on Warner Bros. Pictures’ Wonder Woman feature film, the highly anticipated action adventure from director Patty Jenkins (“Monster,” AMC’s “The Killing”), starring Gal Gadot (the “Fast & Furious” movies) in the role of Diana Prince/Wonder Woman. The character will make her big screen debut this spring in “Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice,” but the new film will mark her first time headlining a feature.

The film also stars Chris Pine (the “Star Trek” films) as Captain Steve Trevor, Robin Wright (“The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo,” Netflix’s “House of Cards”), Danny Huston (“Clash of the Titans,” “X-Men Origins: Wolverine”), David Thewlis (the “Harry Potter” films, “The Theory of Everything”), Ewen Bremner (“Exodus: Gods and Kings,” “Snowpiercer”), Saïd Taghmaoui (“American Hustle”), Elena Anaya (“The Skin I Live In”) and Lucy Davis (“Shaun of the Dead”).

The film is being produced by Charles Roven, Zack Snyder and Deborah Snyder, with Richard Suckle, Stephen Jones, Wesley Coller, Geoff Johns and Rebecca Roven serving as executive producers.

Joining Jenkins behind the camera are director of photography Matthew Jensen (“Chronicle,” “Fantastic Four,” HBO’s “Game of Thrones”), Oscar-nominated production designer Aline Bonetto (“Amélie,” “A Very Long Engagement,” “Pan”), and Oscar-winning editor Martin Walsh (“Chicago,” “Jack Ryan: Shadow Recruit,” “V for Vendetta”), and Oscar-winning costume designer Lindy Hemming (“The Dark Knight” trilogy, “Topsy-Turvy”).

Principal photography will take place on location in the UK, France and Italy.

Set to open in 2017, the Wonder Woman feature film is based on characters created by William Moulton Marston, appearing in comic books published by DC Entertainment. It will be distributed worldwide by Warner Bros. Pictures, a Warner Bros. Entertainment Company.

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Review: Amy Adams and Christoph Waltz Shine in "Big Eyes"

TRASH IN MY EYE No. 25 (of 2015) by Leroy Douresseaux

Big Eyes (2014)
Running time:  106 minutes (1 hour, 46 minutes)
MPAA – PG-13 for thematic elements and brief strong language
DIRECTOR:  Tim Burton
WRITERS:  Scott Alexander and Larry Karaszewski
PRODUCERS:  Scott Alexander and Larry Karaszewski, Tim Burton, and Lynette Howell
CINEMATOGRAPHER:  Bruno Delbonnel
EDITOR:  JC Bond
COMPOSER:  Danny Elfman
Golden Globe winner

DRAMA/BIOPIC

Starring:  Amy Adams, Christoph Waltz, Danny Huston, Krysten Ritter, Jason Schwartzman, Terence Stamp, Jon Polito, Delaney Raye, Madeleine Arthur, and James Saito

Big Eyes is a 2014 biographical drama from director Tim Burton.  The film is a dramatization of the complicated relationship between American pop-art painter, Margaret Keane, and her husband, Walter Keane.  Brothers Bob Weinstein and Harvey Weinstein are executive producers on the film.

Margaret Keane is famous for her “big eyes” paintings, which are paintings featuring children as waifs with big doe eyes.  For a decade, Margaret's second husband, Walter Keane, took credit for the paintings because, as he told Margaret, people would take her paintings seriously if they were credited to a man.  Margaret's paintings became hugely popular in the 1960s and earned the couple a large fortune, but Walter became more domineering the more prominence “big eyes” art attained.

Big Eyes opens in 1958 in Northern California.  Margaret Ulbrich (Amy Adams), a painter, leaves her husband and takes her young daughter, Jane (Delaney Raye), with her.  Mother and child arrive in North Beach, San Francisco where Margaret's friend, DeAnn (Krysten Ritter), lives.  One day, Margaret in selling drawings in a local park when she catches the attention of Walter Keane (Christoph Waltz), a painter who is also selling his art in the park.

Margaret and Walter marry, and Walter begins to try to sell both their paintings.  People ignore Walter's paintings, but the “big eyes” paintings of his new wife, Margaret Keane (Amy Adams), soon become a sensation.  Walter lies when people ask him and claims to be the creator of the “big eyes” art, and Margaret goes along with him.  The “big eyes” become a sensation, but Margaret cannot truly find peace of mind.  Can she ever break away from Walter and take credit for her work?

When director Tim Burton's 2003 film, Big Fish, debuted, some critics said that Burton had finally made an adult film instead of his usual, a fantasy film.  Big Fish actually had its share of surrealism and eccentricity, like practically all Burton's work.  I think Burton's first adult film was the fanciful biopic, Ed Wood, which was more humorous than dramatic.

One might call Big Fish an adult film, but I found it dull and stiff.  Burton's 2014 movie, Big Eyes, is a drama, and it is similar to Ed Wood in that both movies focus on an outside or cult artist.  Big Eyes simply plays the biographical matter in a straighter fashion than Ed Wood.  In that movie, Ed Wood and his band of merry filmmakers were weirdos (and I'm not saying this in a pejorative manner).  Margaret Keane's art may be weird, but the screenwriters, Scott Alexander and Larry Karaszewski, and even director Tim Burton take her life seriously.  Their movie is a fictional account of Keane's life that details the path she took to independence and to an awakening.

Since her coming-out-party in the indie film, Junebug, Amy Adams has been one of the best American actresses of the last decade.  As Margaret Keane, she gives one of her best performances, if not her best.  She embodies in herself and shows the struggle of a woman who is trying to break free of everything that holds her back – including herself.  In her face and in her emotions, Adams conveys the trials of the artist trying to claim her own work and of a woman living in an era when the wife must be “the little wifey” and little more.

It is a testament to Christoph Waltz's skill as an actor and a performer that he keeps Walter Keane from being burned in the radiance of Adams' performance.  Waltz makes it impossible to believe much of what Walter says, but he also keeps the fraudulent painter from becoming a caricature.  In his hands, Walter is a fully realized character, which I realized when I noticed that I was sympathetic to him (just a little) by the end of the film.

Big Eyes, which is essentially a low-budget independent film, is Tim Burton's first good movie in a few years.  With Ed Wood 20 years ago and with Big Eyes now, he shows that he sympathizes and identifies with artists who are off the beaten path, but who take their art as seriously as the “elite” artists.  Burton does indeed know how to let the best dramatic actors do some of their best work.  While I like a “serious” film (or Burton's version of it) such as Big Eyes, I do want more Tim Burton movies like Beetlejuice and Sleepy Hollow, which are both Oscar-winners, by the way.

8 of 10
A

Thursday, June 11, 2015


NOTES:
2015 Golden Globes, USA:  1 win: “Best Performance by an Actress in a Motion Picture - Comedy or Musical: (Amy Adams); 2 nominations: “Best Performance by an Actor in a Motion Picture - Comedy or Musical” (Christoph Waltz) and “Best Original Song - Motion Picture” (Lana Del Rey and Daniel Heath for "Big Eyes")

2015 BAFTA Awards:  2 nominations: “Best Leading Actress” (Amy Adams) and “Best Production Design” (Rick Heinrichs and Shane Vieau)

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Review: "Justice League: The Flashpoint Paradox"

TRASH IN MY EYE No. 26 (of 2014) by Leroy Douresseaux

Justice League: The Flashpoint Paradox (2013) – straight-to-video
Running minutes: 81 minutes (1 hour, 21 minutes)
MPAA – PG-13 for sci-fi violence and action throughout
DIRECTOR:  Jay Oliva with Yoshiharu Ashino (animation director)
WRITER:  James Krieg (from a comic book by Geoff Johns and Andy Kubert)
EDITOR:  Christopher D. Lozinski
COMPOSER:  Frederik Wiedmann
ANIMATION STUDIO:  Studio 4ºC

ANIMATION/SUPERHERO/ACTION/SCI-FI

Starring:  (voices) Justin Chambers, C. Thomas Howell, Michael B. Jordan, Kevin McKidd, Kevin Conroy, Dana Delany, Cary Elwes, Vanessa Marshall, Dee Bradley Baker, Grey DeLisle, Danny Huston, Danny Jacobs, Ron Perlman, Kevin Michael Richardson, Andrea Romano, and Nathan Fillion

Justice League: The Flashpoint Paradox is a 2013 direct-to-video superhero animated film from Warner Bros. Animation.  Starring DC Comics’ ultimate superhero team, the Justice League, this is also the 17th feature in the DC Universe Animated Original Movies line.  The Flashpoint Paradox is based on the 2011 DC Comics’ crossover publishing event, “Flashpoint.”

Barry Allen (Justin Chambers), who is also known as the superhero the Flash, visits the grave of his mother, Nora Allen (Grey DeLisle).  A day after an adventure with his Justice League teammates, Barry awakens to discover that his mother is alive, but that is not the only thing that has changed.  The entire world is different.  Some superheroes no longer exist.  Aquaman (Cary Elwes) and the military forces of Atlantis are engaged in a terrible war against Wonder Woman (Vanessa Marshall) and the Amazons.

Flash believes that his archenemy, Eobard Thawne a/k/a Professor Zoom (C. Thomas Howell), has done something to change time.  Now, he finds himself teaming up with an even darker version of Batman (Kevin McKidd) and a young superhero named Cyborg (Michael B. Jordan) to stop a war that will destroy the world.

In 2011, DC Comics used their Flashpoint publishing event to relaunch practically its entire line of superhero comic books.  As an adaptation of that event, Justice League: The Flashpoint Paradox is going to be a fresh start for the DC Universe Animated Original Movies line.  I imagine, however, that might not mean much to many viewers of these animated superhero movies.  Is Justice League: The Flashpoint Paradox any good?

Well, the first 20 minutes or so are a disaster.  At 81 minutes, it’s one of the longer DC Comics animated films, and I initially thought that there was no way I could make it through the entire thing.  Once I settled into the concept and understood the players, central plot, and various conflicts and rivalries, I started to enjoy The Flashpoint Paradox.

After all, it is pure superhero fun, and the filmmakers really play up the idea of what it means to be a superhero.  Themes of sacrifice and redemption run throughout the movie.  The belief that selflessness and togetherness can get mankind through the worst of the worst situations proudly permeates this film.  At a time when so many politicians and public figures smugly and shamelessly preach nihilistic individualism and naked self-interest, it is good to see classic superheroes giving life and limb to right wrongs and even to correct themselves.

I don’t like this film’s character design, because much of it is unimaginative.  The Flashpoint Paradox also offers some of the stiffest character animation I’ve seen in some time.  But watching these superheroes being genuinely heroic makes me like Justice League: The Flashpoint Paradox in spite of many reservations.

7 of 10
B+

Wednesday, May 21, 2014


The text is copyright © 2014 Leroy Douresseaux. All Rights Reserved. Contact this site for syndication rights and fees.

Review: "The Kingdom" is a Thrill Ride (Happy B'day, Richard Jenkins)

TRASH IN MY EYE No. 4 (of 2008) by Leroy Douresseaux

The Kingdom (2007)
Running time:  110 minutes (1 hour, 50 minutes)
MPAA – R for intense sequences of graphic brutal violence and for language
DIRECTOR:  Peter Berg
WRITER:  Matthew Michael Carnahan
PRODUCERS:  Peter Berg, Michael Mann, and Scott Stuber
CINEMATOGRAPHER:  Mauro Fiore (D.o.P.)
EDITORS:  Colby Parker, Jr. and Kevin Stitt
COMPOSER:  Danny Elfman

ACTION/THRILLER/CRIME/DRAMA

Starring:  Jamie Foxx, Chris Cooper, Jennifer Garner, Jason Bateman, Ashraf Barhom, Ali Suliman, Jeremy Piven, Richard Jenkins, Kyle Chandler, Frances Fisher, Danny Huston, Kelly AuCoin, Anna Deavere Smith, and Minka Kelly

The subject of this movie review is The Kingdom, a 2007 action thriller and crime drama directed by Peter Berg.  The film follows a team of agents from the United States, investigating the bombing of an American facility in the Middle East.

When terrorists attack and kill over 100 people at the Al Rahmah Western Housing Compound in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, FBI Agent Ronald Fleury (Jamie Foxx) leads a small squad to investigate the bombing and find the culprits.  Once Fleury and the other U.S. agents – Grant Sykes (Chris Cooper), Janet Mayes (Jennifer Garner), and Adam Leavitt (Jason Bateman) – arrive, they learn that in Saudi Arabia, many consider them the true enemy.

Culture and the local bureaucracy hamper their investigation, but a local policeman, Col. Faris Al Ghazi (Ashraf Barhom), becomes sympathetic to Fleury’s predicament.  Soon, Fleury realizes that he and his team are the targets of the mysterious terrorist leader, Abu Hamza, but neither the threat of death or disgrace back home will stop Fleury’s mission.

With The Kingdom, director Peter Berg (The Rundown, Friday Night Lights) and writer Matthew Michael Carnahan (Lions for Lambs) dive headlong into the snake pit that movies about the “war on terrorism” and set in Middle East can be.  What Berg and Carnahan come up with is an imperfect, but entertaining and engaging action flick that doesn’t shy away from the fact that there are few if any easy answers when fighting the murderous criminals who are terrorists.

Berg doesn’t shy away from making a hardcore action movie.  There are intense car chases, with the requisite automobile flips and explosions, and there are sequences of manic gun battles that arrive in the kind of big slabs that keep an action movie junkie euphoric.  The screenplay even insists on being a police procedural, making The Kingdom something like Black Hawk Down meets Michael Mann’s Heat (Mann also co-produced The Kingdom), and TV’s “CSI: Crime Scene Investigation.”

Honestly, the movie drags when it focuses on the investigation, detective work, and forensics.  On the other hand, The Kingdom soars when it lays on the gun battles and car violence.  When the movie tries to be an FBI investigation flick, the narrative and indeed the performances get bogged down in detective work and the complications that can arise when different cultures meet.  The film does raise several issues – asking questions that complicate what many only want to see as black and white.  Are the FBI agents seeking justice or are they out for revenge?  Does the subsequent violence only make matters worse?  Does anyone gain anything or does everyone lose?  These are the kind of questions that get a movie like this in trouble in the current political/social climate.  An action movie requires that everything be in black and white, but the film’s setting and the issues it tackles just won’t be divided in two like that.

Ultimately, The Kingdom is a riveting action thriller that delivers.  It affirms that Jamie Foxx can carry an action flick (but is there room for more than one or two action “stars of color?”), that Jason Bateman is funny, and that Jeremy Piven is a great character actor.  However, the audience might have to take on some sticky issues to enjoy the thrill ride that is The Kingdom.

7 of 10
B+

Friday, January 18, 2008

Updated:  Sunday, May 04, 2014

The text is copyright © 2014 Leroy Douresseaux. All Rights Reserved. Contact this site for syndication rights and fees.

"Wrath of the Titans" Mostly Tepid

TRASH IN MY EYE No. 71 (of 2012) by Leroy Douresseaux


Wrath of the Titans (2012)
Running time: 99 minutes (1 hour, 39 minutes)
MPAA – PG-13 for intense sequences of fantasy violence and action
DIRECTOR: Jonathan Liebesman
WRITERS: Dan Mazeau and David Leslie Johnson; from a story by Greg Berlanti, David Leslie Johnson and Dan Mazeau (based upon the 1981 screenplay by Beverley Cross)
PRODUCERS: Basil Iwanyk and Polly Johnsen
CINEMATOGRAPHER: Ben Davis
EDITOR: Martin Walsh
COMPOSER: Javier Navarrete

FANTASY/ACTION

Starring: Sam Worthington, Liam Neeson, Ralph Fiennes, Edgar Ramirez, Toby Kebbell, Rosamund Pike, Bill Nighy, John Bell, Lily James, Alejandro Naranjo, Sinead Cusack, Spencer Wilding, and Danny Huston

Released earlier this year, Wrath of the Titans is a 2012 American fantasy film. It is a sequel to the 2010 version of Clash of the Titans (itself a remake of the 1981 film of the same name). Perseus, the hero of first film, must free his father, Zeus, from the underworld and also stop an ancient evil from destroying the universe. Louis Leterrier, the director of the 2010 film, acts as one of Wrath of the Titans’ executive producers.

Wrath of the Titans opens a decade after Perseus’ heroic defeat of the monstrous Kraken. Since the death of his wife, Io, Perseus (Sam Worthington), the demigod son of Zeus, is attempting to live a quiet life as a village fisherman and as the sole parent to his 10-year old son, Helius (John Bell). Meanwhile, the power of the gods has been fading, and the walls of the underworld prison, Tartarus, are breaking and threatening to free the imprisoned Titans. Both are caused by humanity’s growing lack of devotion to the gods.

Zeus (Liam Neeson) and Poseidon (Danny Huston) travel to Tartarus to meet their estranged brother, Hades (Ralph Fiennes), hoping that they can reunite and rebuild Tartarus’ walls, but Hades has other plans. He imprisons Zeus and begins to drain him of his divine power, which Hades will use to revive the monstrous Kronos, the father of Zeus, Hades, and Poseidon. As Kronos slowly revives, the Titans are loosed upon Earth.

Now, Perseus leads a small band of brave souls towards the treacherous underworld to rescue his father, Zeus. He must also gather the three great weapons of Zeus, Hades, and Poseidon: Zeus’ Thunderbolt, Hades’ Pitchfork, and Poseidon’s Trident, in order to form the one weapon that can stop Kronos, the Spear of Trium.

I’m not sure what I should say about Wrath of the Titans. I liked some of it, especially the last act, which is mostly action and which mostly held my attention. I strongly disliked the first act, which is mechanical and surprisingly unimaginative. The middle act has some good ideas and moments. Wrath of the Titans lacks the charm of the 1981 film, and in this film, Perseus, lacks the passion he had in the 2010 movie. That is surprising considering that Perseus has something big for which he must fight – a son.

I can say that after seeing this, I am glad that I didn’t go to the trouble of driving to the local cinema and spending money for a ticket to see Wrath of the Titans. I think that it is time to put this franchise to rest.

5 of 10
C+

Friday, September 07, 2012

"30 Days of Night" Almost Gets it Right

TRASH IN MY EYE No. 135 (of 2007) by Leroy Douresseaux


30 Days of Night (2007)
Running time: 113 minutes (1 hour, 53 minutes)
MPAA – R for strong horror violence and language
DIRECTOR: David Slade
WRITERS: Steve Niles, Stuart Beattie, and Brian Nelson (based on the comic by Steve Niles and Ben Templesmith)
PRODUCERS: Sam Raimi and Robert G. Tapert
CINEMATOGRAPHER: Jo Willems (D.o.P.)
EDITOR: Art Jones

HORROR/THRILLER with elements of mystery

Starring: Josh Hartnett, Melissa George, Danny Huston, Ben Foster, Mark Boone Junior, Mark Rendall, Manu Bennett, Megan Franich, and Joel Tobeck

Barrow, Alaska is the northernmost town in the United States and is isolated, about 80 miles from the next nearest town. At one point during winter, the sun does not appear for 30 days and nights. This year, when the darkness falls, a stranger (Ben Foster) arrives in Barrow. Unknown to the residents of this isolated village, the stranger is the harbinger of a legendary evil hungry to feed on them. Barrow’s youthful sheriff, Eben Oleson (Josh Hartnett), and his estranged wife, Stella Oleson (Melissa George), lead a small band of survivors against the marauding killers and their terrifying leader, Marlow (Danny Huston). Their only hope is to hide and survive the 30 days of night.

Part of the selling of 30 Days of Night was to tell potential audiences that the film would be some kind of new vision of vampires, but the truth is that this movie is like an imaginative retelling of the 80’s vampire flick, Near Dark. Director David Slade (Hard Candy) creates a proficient, atmospheric horror film, recalling the claustrophobic dread of John Carpenter’s The Thing, and composer Brian Reitzell’s unnerving score also adds a deeply ominous mood over the movie. However, the storytelling ultimately takes a backseat to the clever premise, and the movie suffers for it.

Midway through, the film comes frayed at the ends. The cool idea – to set a vampire tale in a place where night last for 30 days – can’t save a movie where the narrative is a collection of scenes and plot points rather than an actual story. There’s not so much as a beginning, middle, and end as there is a series of vampire attacks. Also, the characters are merely fodder – meat for the beasts, and they’re played by a dreary, chilly cast, although Josh Hartnett and Melissa George stand out for reasons that will be obvious. Who are the people of Barrow? What do they like, and what are their goals? What makes them want to live in an extremely remote place like Barrow, where it’s actually dangerous to live? Those questions are never posed because the filmmakers are obsessed with the blood and guts of horror to the neglect of anything about good storytelling.

30 Days of Night will ultimately be remembered as a good idea that became a misfire in the hands of filmmakers so blinded by the surface shine that they wouldn’t dig deep. Yes, it does have its inspired moments and can entertain, but what could have been a special horror flick ends up being yet another flashy display of horror movie blood and excessive violence.

5 of 10
B-

Monday, November 05, 2007

Review: Strong Performances Carry "21 Grams" (Happy B'day, Alejandro González Iñárritu)

TRASH IN MY EYE No. 98 (of 2004) by Leroy Douresseaux

21 Grams (2003)
Running time: 124 minutes (2 hours, 4 minutes)
MPAA – R for language, sexuality, some violence and drug use
DIRECTOR: Alejandro González Iñárritu
WRITER: Guillermo Arriaga
PRODUCERS: Alejandro González Iñárritu and Robert Salerno
CINEMATOGRAPHER: Rodrigo Prieto
EDITOR: Stephen Mirrione
COMPOSER: Gustavo Santaolalla
Academy Award nominee

DRAMA

Starring: Sean Penn, Naomi Watts, Benicio Del Toro, Eddie Marsan, Clea DuVall, Danny Huston, Melissa Leo, and Paul Calderon

In the heavy drama, 21 Grams, the lives of a former drug addict, Cristina Peck (Naomi Watts), a terminally ill mathematics professor, Paul Rivers (Sean Penn), and a spiritual ex-convict, Jack Jordan (Benicio Del Toro), intersect tragically and hopefully after a car accident. Jordan kills Cristina’s husband Michael (Danny Hutson) and her two daughters in a hit and run accident. After receiving Michael’s heart in a transplant operation, Rivers seeks and woos Cristina at the cost of his already deteriorating marriage.

The film by rising directorial star Alejandro González Iñárritu and screenwriter Guillermo Arriaga (the duo who collaborated on Academy Award nominee Amores Perros) is wrought with unpleasant circumstances in the lives of the characters. That’s not bad, but too much heartache and tragedy can become tragicomic. Verisimilitude becomes stark reality, and the drama is spoiled by harsh realism. The audience prefers the staged reality of drama to heavily dramatized reality. Iñárritu and Arriaga deliver the pain and suffering with the precision of sledgehammer blows, and it all becomes too much and can disengage the viewer from the characters.

That’s a pity, too, because the cast gives such good performances that make the viewer care about the characters, really get into their lives, and root for them. For this film, Ms. Watts earned an Oscar® nomination for “Best Actress in a Leading Role,” and Del Toro earned a nomination for “Best Actor in a Supporting Role.” Had Sean Penn not earned an Oscar nod for Mystic River in 2003 (which he later won), he certainly would have received a nomination for his work here.

21 Grams is worth a look for people who love to see exceptional acting, especially the kind delivered by the leads, but the supporting players also do some standout work.

6 of 10
B

NOTES:
2004 Academy Awards: 2 nominations: “Best Actor in a Supporting Role” (Benicio Del Toro) and “Best Actress in a Leading Role” (Naomi Watts)

2004 BAFTA Awards: 5 nominations: “Best Editing” (Stephen Mirrione), “Best Performance by an Actor in a Leading Role” (Benicio Del Toro), “Best Performance by an Actor in a Leading Role” (Sean Penn), “Best Performance by an Actress in a Leading Role” (Naomi Watts), “Best Screenplay – Original” (Guillermo Arriaga)

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Production Begins on "Clash of the Titans" Sequel

Production on “Clash of the Titans 2” Underway for Warner Bros. Pictures and Legendary Pictures

Stars Sam Worthington, Ralph Fiennes and Liam Neeson Once Again Gods at War

BURBANK, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Principal photography has begun on Warner Bros. Pictures’ and Legendary Pictures’ epic action adventure sequel to “Clash of the Titans,” being directed by Jonathan Liebesman (“Battle: Los Angeles”). Returning to star in the film are Sam Worthington (“Avatar”) as Perseus, and Academy Award® nominees Ralph Fiennes (“The English Patient,” the “Harry Potter” films) as Hades and Liam Neeson (“Schindler’s List,” “Unknown”) as Zeus.

A decade after his heroic defeat of the monstrous Kraken, Perseus—the demigod son of Zeus—is attempting to live a quieter life as a village fisherman and the sole parent to his 10-year old son, Helius.

Meanwhile, a struggle for supremacy rages between the gods and the Titans. Dangerously weakened by humanity’s lack of devotion, the gods are losing control of the imprisoned Titans and their ferocious leader, Kronos, father of the long-ruling brothers Zeus, Hades and Poseidon. The triumvirate had overthrown their powerful father long ago, leaving him to rot in the gloomy abyss of Tartarus, a dungeon that lies deep within the cavernous underworld.

Perseus cannot ignore his true calling when Hades, along with Zeus’ godly son, Ares (Edgar Ramírez), switch loyalty and make a deal with Kronos to capture Zeus. The Titans’ strength grows stronger as Zeus’ remaining godly powers are siphoned, and hell is unleashed on earth.

Enlisting the help of the warrior Queen Andromeda (Rosamund Pike), Poseidon’s demigod son, Argenor (Toby Kebbell), and fallen god Hephaestus (Bill Nighy), Perseus bravely embarks on a treacherous quest into the underworld to rescue Zeus, overthrow the Titans and save mankind.

Jonathan Liebesman directs the film from a screenplay by Dan Mazeau & David Leslie Johnson and Steven Knight, story Greg Berlanti & David Leslie Johnson & Dan Mazeau, based on the 2010 hit “Clash of the Titans” and the 1981 film of the same name, written by the late Beverley Cross.

The film is produced by Basil Iwanyk (“The Town”), who also produced the previous “Clash of the Titans,” and Polly Cohen Johnsen (“Cats & Dogs: The Revenge of Kitty Galore”). The executive producers are Thomas Tull, Jon Jashni, William Fay, Callum McDougall, Kevin De La Noy and Louis Leterrier.

Joining Worthington, Fiennes and Neeson in the international cast are Danny Huston (“Robin Hood”), reprising his role as Poseidon, god of the sea; Edgar Ramírez (“The Bourne Ultimatum,” TV miniseries “Carlos”) as the traitorous god of war, Ares; Bill Nighy (“Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows – Part 1”) as Hephaestus, whose twisted, lame figure belies his Olympian origins; Toby Kebbell (“Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time”) as Agenor, imprisoned thief and son of Poseidon who joins Perseus on his journey to Tartarus; and Rosamund Pike (“Barney’s Version”) as Andromeda, the princess whose life Perseus once saved, and who now, as a queen, follows Perseus into battle.

The behind-the-scenes team bringing this mythical epic to life includes director of photography Ben Davis (“The Rite,” “Kick Ass”); production designer Charles Wood (“The Italian Job,” “The A-Team”); Academy Award®-winning editor Martin Walsh (“Chicago,” “V for Vendetta”); and costume designer Jany Temime (the “Harry Potter” films). “Clash of the Titans 2” also reunites several talents from the previous film, including Oscar®-nominated visual effects supervisor Nick Davis (“The Dark Knight,”); Oscar®-nominated prosthetics supervisor Conor O’Sullivan (“The Dark Knight,” “Saving Private Ryan”); and Academy Award®-winning special effects and animatronics supervisor Neil Corbould (“Gladiator”). Also on board are Oscar®-nominated makeup designer Paul Engelen (“Frankenstein,” “Robin Hood”) and hair designer Kevin Alexander (“Robin Hood,” “The Chronicles of Narnia: Prince Caspian”).

“Clash of the Titans 2” will be filming in studios outside London and will later shoot on location in Surrey, South Wales and in the Spanish Canary Islands on the island of Tenerife. The film is currently scheduled for release in March 2012.

A Warner Bros. Pictures presentation, in association with Legendary Pictures, a Thunder Road Film, “Clash of the Titans 2” is being co-produced by Furia de Titanes II, A.I.E. and COTT Productions and will be distributed in 3D and 2D worldwide by Warner Bros. Entertainment Companies.

Review: "The Constant Gardener" is Constantly Good (Happy B'day, Rachel Weisz)

TRASH IN MY EYE No. 22 (of 2006) by Leroy Douresseaux

The Constant Gardener (2005)
COUNTRY OF ORIGIN: Germany/UK
Running time: 129 minutes (2 hours, 9 minutes)
MPAA – R for language, some violent images, and sexual content/nudity
DIRECTOR: Fernando Meirelles
WRITER: Jeffrey Caine (based upon the novel by John le Carré)
PRODUCER: Simon Channing Williams
CINEMATOGRAPHER: César Charlone
EDITOR: Clair Simpson
Academy Award winner

DRAMA/THRILLER/ROMANCE

Starring: Ralph Fiennes, Rachel Weisz, Danny Huston, Bill Nighy, and Pete Postlethwaite, Donald Sumpter, Hubert Koundé, Archie Punjabi, Gerard McSorley, and Samuel Otage

Justin Quayle (Ralph Fiennes) fell in love with his wife, Tessa (Rachel Weisz), when she first confronted him after a speech at a diplomatic conference. Tessa followed the Justin, a member of the British High Commission to Nairobi, Kenya and became his wife, but she remained a dedicated human rights and peace activist on her own, fighting for the health of poor Africans. Eventually, Tess is found brutally murdered, and her companion, a local doctor (Samuel Otage) and close friend of Tessa’s, appears to have fled the seen of the murder

The gossips in the Quayle’s personal and professional circle think this was a crime of passion. Justin’s colleague, Sandy Woodrow (Danny Huston, in a fine supporting performance), and Justin’s superior at the British High Council, Bernard Pellegrin (Bill Nighy), assume that Justin will leave the matter of Tessa’s murder to their discretion and instead, tend to his passion – the lovely gardens that surround the Quayles’ home in Nairobi.

Much to their chagrin, Justin begins his own investigation, and nothing will stop him from uncovering the truth, not even rumors of his wife’s affairs. But this is a conspiracy much larger and more dangerous than he can imagine, involving giant, multi-national pharmaceutical companies, assassins for hire, and the continent of Africa – rife with civil war, starvation, corrupt governments, and deadly epidemics.

Based upon the best-selling novel by John Le Carré, The Constant Gardener delivers on the promise shown by director Fernando Meirelles in the Oscar-nominated, City of God. It’s a riveting suspense thriller full of conniving agents, evil corporations, and British accents. Its complicated web of bribes, handshake deals, and murder ensnares the viewer with engaging characters in a thrill delivery system that pays off like crack and makes you want more – credit to screenwriter Jeffrey Caine. Meirelles is clever and imaginative with the way he uses camera angles, movements, focus, subject, structure, etc., making the most of the possibilities afforded him by a good script.

But what’s most surprising here is that there is a rather poignant and engaging romance film that weaves through of the scheming and deceptions (keenly embodied by Bill Nighy, a master of playing sly, bold, and cultured bad guys) – basically a political thriller seen through a romance. Meirelles expertly balances this, making the romance as entrancing as the suspense. Through flashbacks that increase the narrative flow and enhances the intensity of Justin Quayle’s search for his wife’s murderers, Meirelles insures that the film’s advertising tagline, “Love. At all costs,” is damn true.

It helps to have a good cast, in particularly strong leads. Rachel Weisz is beautiful, charming, and sexy as the passionate activist. She gives Tessa Quayle an exuberant quality that makes the early stages of Justin and Tessa’s love a bubbly affair. Later, she makes Tessa a proud and strong woman who looks out for her man and for the world, but retains a shy vulnerability that makes us believe she really needs Justin, wants him, and loves him.

Ralph Fiennes is the master of the upper class gentleman characters, always involved in dangerous or controversial love affairs, usually with women who aren’t in his social class or social circles. There is, however, truth in his performances that we can see in his facial expressions and in his eyes. You can buy his characters’ passions; they are real where a lesser actor would make such an affair seem contrived. For some reason, I can believe that this man will be true to his love at all costs, and that’s what sells this poignant drama and gripping whodunit – the thing that takes a good film one step up to the next level.

9 of 10
A+

Monday, January 30, 2006

NOTES:
2006 Academy Awards: 1 win: “Best Performance by an Actress in a Supporting Role” (Rachel Weisz); 4 nominations: “Best Achievement in Editing” (Claire Simpson), “Best Achievement in Music Written for Motion Pictures, Original Score” (Alberto Iglesias), and Best Writing, Adapted Screenplay” (Jeffrey Caine)

2006 BAFTA Awards: 1 win: “Best Editing” (Claire Simpson); 9 nominations: “Alexander Korda Award for Best British Film” (Simon Channing Williams, Fernando Meirelles, and Jeffrey Caine), “Anthony Asquith Award for Film Music” (Alberto Iglesias), “Best Cinematography” (César Charlone), “Best Film” (Simon Channing Williams), “Best Performance by an Actor in a Leading Role” (Ralph Fiennes), “Best Performance by an Actress in a Leading Role” (Rachel Weisz), “Best Screenplay – Adapted” (Jeffrey Caine), “Best Sound” (Joakim Sundström, Stuart Wilson. Mike Prestwood Smith, and Sven Taits), and “David Lean Award for Direction” (Fernando Meirelles)

2006 Golden Globes: 1win: “Best Performance by an Actress in a Supporting Role in a Motion Picture” (Rachel Weisz); 2 nominations: “Best Director - Motion Picture” (Fernando Meirelles), “Best Motion Picture – Drama

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Review: "Children of Men" is a Great Science Fiction Film (Happy B'Day, Alfonso Cuaron)

TRASH IN MY EYE No. 9 (of 2007) by Leroy Douresseaux

Children of Men (2006)
Running time: 114 minutes (1 hour, 54 minutes)
MPAA – R for strong violence, language, some drug use, and brief nudity
DIRECTOR: Alfonso Cuarón
WRITERS: Alfonso Cuarón & Timothy J. Sexton, David Arata, and Mark Fergus and Hawk Ostby (based upon the book The Children of Men by P.D. James)
PRODUCERS: Marc Abraham, Eric Newman, Hilary Shor, Tony Smith and Iain Smith
CINEMATOGRAPHER: Emmanuel Lubezki, A.S.C., A.M.C.
EDITORS: Alex Rodríguez and Alfonso Cuarón
Academy Award nominee

SCI-FI/DRAMA/THRILLER/WAR

Starring: Clive Owen, Clare-Hope Ashitey, Julianne Moore, Michael Caine, Chiwetel Ejiofor, Charlie Hunnam, Danny Huston, Peter Mullan, and Pam Ferris

It’s London, 2027, and Theo (Clive Owen) is just trying to get by, working as a bureaucrat who lives in a state of numbness. The world has changed so much since he was an idealistic young activist. Hope for the future is dying because it has been almost 19 years since the last baby was born. Most nations have fallen apart as people embrace separatism and descend into nihilism and lawlessness. To survive the ever-increasing internal strife, terror attacks, and tremendous influx of desperate refugees, Great Britain embraces militaristic imperialism. The government has been moving the refugees – called “fugees” – into detainment camps for deportation.

Meanwhile, Theo is content to visit his old friend, Jasper (Michael Caine, looking surprisingly fresh in a shock of long white hair) at his secluded home in the remote countryside away from London, but suddenly, Theo’s ex-wife, Julian (Julianne Moore), is back in his life. The leader of the Fishes, a covert group fighting for immigration rights, she needs Theo to obtain transit papers for a young woman named Kee (Clare-Hope Ashitey), whom Julian wants to move out of the country. Theo suddenly finds himself deep into Julian’s covert operations when disaster befalls them all, and Theo learns that Kee is eight-months pregnant. Suddenly, Theo and Kee are in a desperate race, avoiding friend and foe, in an attempt to get Kee to safety and maybe save the future of mankind.

Children of Men may very well be the best speculative science fiction film to come around in ages. With its relentlessly bleak view of the future, it is one of the scariest dystopian films to come along in while. Since this future is certainly plausible, Children of Men is one of the few sci-fi films of the last few decades with that favor the grit of realism rather than the flashy gleam of such science fiction stalwarts as aliens and time travel.

Director Alfonso Cuarón (Y tu mamá tambíen and Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban) and his creative staff, in particular cinematographer Emmanuel Lubezki and production designers, Geoffrey Kirkland and Jim Clay, focus on keeping Children of Men from being so way out there in the future (Blade Runner) or almost supernatural (The Matrix) that the audience is not only riveted, but can’t ignore a story that one could mark on a calendar as likely to occur soon. Cuarón goes full steam ahead mixing art, politics, and entertainment. Almost from the early moments of the film, it is hard to separate the film. I found myself entertained at the highest level, while being impressed with Children of Men as high art, but at the same time, I couldn’t ignore the politics. Cuarón makes England look like the ruined version of present-day Iraq that I see every day on the news. It’s so much to take in, and Cuarón has the film hit the ground running with the kind of wild ride that popcorn action movies provide. Children of Men, however, is a gourmet film meal with the kick of a Memphis (or Texas) barbeque event action movie.

There are good performances all around. Although Julianne Moore and Michael Caine share top billing with Clive Owen, the star couple is Owen and newcomer Clare-Hope Ashitey. They have the kind of screen chemistry that directors would almost sell their souls for in order to have it for the leads in their films. Owen and Ashitey with unyielding subtlety, quiet determination, and simmering intensity give Children of Men its spiritual hook. Together, they make sure that this political sci-fi, New Testament allegory closes as it should, and Alfonso Cuarón has chosen a grim and dour scenario and executed it with breathtaking technique. Children of Men is an undeniably entertaining art film and artfully entertaining movie that would make the short list of best pictures in any year.

10 of 10

Friday, January 12, 2007

NOTES:
2007 Academy Awards: 3 nominations: “Best Achievement in Cinematography” (Emmanuel Lubezki), “Best Achievement in Editing” (Alfonso Cuarón and Alex Rodríguez) and “Best Writing, Adapted Screenplay” (Alfonso Cuarón, Timothy J. Sexton, David Arata, Mark Fergus, and Hawk Ostby)

2007 BAFTA Awards: 2 wins: “Best Cinematography” (Emmanuel Lubezki) and “Best Production Design” (Geoffrey Kirkland, Jim Clay, and Jennifer Williams); 1 nomination: “Best Achievement in Special Visual Effects” (Frazer Churchill, Timothy Webber, Mike Eames, and Paul Corbould

2007 Black Reel Awards: 2 nominations: “Best Supporting Actor” (Chiwetel Ejiofor) and “Best Supporting Actress” (Clare-Hope Ashitey)

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Review: Braveheart + Gladiator = Russell Crowe's (Pre) Robin Hood

TRASH IN MY EYE No. 87 (of 2010) by Leroy Douresseaux

Robin Hood (2010)
Running time: 140 minutes (2 hours, 20 minutes)
MPAA – PG-13 for violence including intense sequences of warfare, and some sexual content
DIRECTOR: Ridley Scott
WRITERS: Brian Helgeland; from a story by Ethan Reiff and Cyrus Voris and Brian Helgeland
PRODUCERS: Russell Crowe, Brian Grazer, and Ridley Scott
CINEMATOGRAPHER: John Mathieson
EDITOR: Pietro Scalia

ACTION/DRAMA/HISTORICAL

Starring: Russell Crowe, Cate Blanchett, Max von Sydow, William Hurt, Mark Strong, Oscar Isaac, Danny Huston, Eileen Atkins, Mark Addy, Matthew Macfadyen, Kevin Durand, Scott Grimes, Alan Doyle, Douglas Hodge, Lisa Seydoux, Jonathan Zaccai, and Jack Downham

Back in 2000, Ridley Scott unleashed his Roman costume drama/action movie, Gladiator. The film was a big box office hit and turned its lead, Russell Crowe, into a major movie star. Gladiator went on to win several Academy Awards, including “Best Picture” and a “Best Actor” Oscar for Crowe. Scott and Crowe have worked together since then, but those films have not been as successful as Gladiator.

Scott and Crowe distilled the manly man of honor essence of Gladiator and put it into their recent film, Robin Hood, but this movie is not like other Robin Hood movies. The Scott/Crowe Robin Hood isn’t a reinvention or re-imagining or anything like that. It is a kind of prequel, essentially asking the question of what would have turned a man into an outlaw like Robin Hood. This is the story of how, when, and why Robin Hood came to be, and the story goes like this…

It is 1199, and as the Third Crusade comes to an end, Richard the Lionheart (Danny Huston) continues his war against Philip II of France (Jonathan Zaccai). In the siege of Chalus Castle, Robin Longstride (Russell Crowe) is a common archer. Following the death of Richard, Robin and two other common archers, Alan A’Dale (Alan Doyle) and Will Scarlet (Scott Grimes), and the soldier Little John (Kevin Durand) make an attempt to return home to England after 10 years away. The quartet arrives at the site of an ambush of the Royal guard. There, Robin makes a promise to a dying knight, Robert Loxley (Douglas Hodge), to return a sword to his father, Sir Walter Loxley (Max von Sydow), in Nottingham.

Impersonating Loxley, Robin returns to England to find the land beset by the ill rule of Richard’s brother, now King John (Oscar Isaac). Robin and his companions travel to Nottingham where he meets Loxley’s now-widowed wife, Lady Marian (Cate Blanchett), and Sir Walter, who is old and blind. Walter asks Robin to continue to impersonate his son in order to keep his family lands from being taken by the crown for taxes. In fact, Prince John sends his henchman, Sir Godfrey (Mark Strong), an English knight secretly aligned with the French, across England to collect taxes from everyone by any means necessary. Robin fights back, but soon discovers that England has bigger problems than out of control tax collectors. Now, Robin Longstride must lead the fight to save the country.

Robin Hood is a rousing adventure combat movie. It isn’t Ridley Scott’s best work (or anywhere near that), nor is it Crowe’s best work. Neither, however, seems on automatic. Crowe is a superb actor and consummate craftsman; it may seem as if he is in cruise control mode here. Crowe just makes it look easy, and perhaps, Scott does the same in this movie. The truth is Robin Hood is very well made and quite entertaining, except for a small dry spell in the second hour of the movie.

Perhaps, it is easy to take this film and the people behind it for granted. I marveled at the high-quality performances throughout. Cate Blanchett gives a strong turn and fashions a forceful character out of the well-worn, almost stock character, Maid Marian. Mark Strong is, as usual, strong as the villain – in this case, the conniving Godfrey, and Oscar Isaac is award nomination-worthy for his creation of the unashamedly jealous King John.

I thought of Gladiator and Braveheart while watching this new take on Robin Hood. I certainly like its depiction of how lowly, common men sacrifice their lives and spend years away from their families to fight wars started by a small circle of vain royalty. After expending so much blood and sweat, they get nothing in return and even have to fight to find a way home on their own. That much is relevant to our modern times. Scott, Crowe, and screenwriter Brian Helgeland get it right. That injustice is reason enough to turn a man into an outlaw, and reason enough for me to enjoy Robin Hood.

7 of 10
B+

Friday, October 29, 2010

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Sam Worthington Puts the Smash in "Clash of the Titans"

TRASH IN MY EYE No. 71 (of 2010) by Leroy Douresseaux

Clash of the Titans (2010)
Running time: 106 minutes (1 hour, 46 minutes)
MPAA – PG-13 for fantasy action violence, some frightening images and brief sensuality
DIRECTOR: Louis Leterrier
WRITERS: Travis Beacham, Phil Hay, and Matt Manfredi (based upon the 1981 screenplay by Beverley Cross)
PRODUCERS: Kevin De La Noy and Basil Iwanyk
CINEMATOGRAPHER: Peter Menzies, Jr. (D.o.P.)
EDITORS: Vincent Tabaillon and Martin Walsh

FANTASY/ACTION/THRILLER with elements of adventure

Starring: Sam Worthington, Liam Neeson, Ralph Fiennes, Gemma Arterton, Alexa Davalos, Mads Mikkelsen, Jason Flemyng, Nicholas Hoult, Hans Matheson, Ian Whyte, Pete Postlethwaite, Elizabeth McGovern, and Danny Huston

Released earlier this year, Clash of the Titans is a remake of the 1981 film of the same name. The original was a goofy, delightful, children’s adventure film and monster movie that featured the talents of film producer and special effects wizard, Ray Harryhausen. The 2010 version takes itself very seriously (way more seriously than the original), but is still a goofy fantasy adventure film and monster movie.

The story is set in a time that seems as if it will be the twilight of the Olympian gods, who gain their powers from the prayer, worship, and love humans give them. Humans, however, have been turning away from the gods. For instance, soldiers from the city of Argos destroy a massive statue of Zeus as their declaration of war against the gods. Hades (Ralph Fiennes), the master of the Underworld, convinces his brother, Zeus (Liam Neeson), the ruler of the Olympians, to allow him to punish Argos for the soldiers’ actions. Hades, who gains his power from human fear, threatens to unleash the monstrous Kraken on Argos unless King Kepheus (Vincent Rega) offers his beautiful daughter, Andromeda (Alexa Davalos), as a sacrifice.

In steps the hero. Raised by his foster father, the kindly fisherman, Spyros (Pete Postlethwaite), Perseus (Sam Worthington) is really a demigod – the son of Zeus and a human woman. After watching Hades kill Spyros, his foster mother, and foster sister, Perseus vows vengeance against him. When he discovers that by killing the Kraken he could strike at Hades, Perseus volunteers to lead a dangerous mission deep into forbidden worlds where he may discover a method to kill the Kraken. Kepheus’ Praetorian Guard follows Perseus, but head guard, Draco (Mads Mikkelsen), has grave doubts about Perseus, who insists that he will succeed as a man and not as a demigod. But the fate of his mission and his own survival may depend upon Perseus accepting his powers as a god.

Simply put, Clash of the Titans 2010 is mildly entertaining, but it does have some grand moments (like the battles against the Gorgon and the Kraken). Most of the time, however, it has an odd rhythm. There is no sense of urgency in the story and very little to indicate how imperative it is that the heroes successfully complete their mission in a short amount of time. Even Lord of the Rings, which is a trilogy composed of three movies, each running at over three hours in length, always feels like time is running out for the heroes. Conversely, quite a bit of Clash of the Titans’ first hour feels flat.

The special effects are either good or bad; there isn’t much in between. The Gorgon and especially the Kraken are really good. The visual effects and CGI used for Hades are embarrassingly weak; luckily, with minimal effort, the powerful Ralph Fiennes makes Hades the good villain that the effects could not.

Strangely, this film is packed with good characters and actors making the best of even small parts. Mads Mikkelsen is superb as Draco, leader of the Praetorian Guard; his performance will make you wish to see more of the character. As usual Sam Worthington is just fun to watch. There is no doubt that this movie would be a disaster without him. He could portray a fast food clerk at a drive-in window and make the role seem compelling.

Clash of the Titans often lacks drama, but the things about it that work well (Worthington, Mikkelsen, the Kraken, etc.) actually work quite well. This is a fun-in-its-own-way, wannabe epic, but it never seems overwrought. “Goofy” is a word that can describe it, but I would watch Clash of the Titans 2010 again and again – just as I do with the original 1981 film.

6 of 10
B

Saturday, August 28, 2010

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Mel Gibson Returns in Average "Edge of Darkness"

TRASH IN MY EYE No. 43 (of 2010) by Leroy Douresseaux

Edge of Darkness (2010)
Running time: 117 minutes (1 hour, 57 minutes)
MPAA – R for strong bloody violence and language
DIRECTOR: Martin Campbell
WRITERS: William Monahan and Andrew Bovell (based upon the television series created by Troy Kennedy-Martin
PRODUCERS: Tim Headington, Graham King, and Michael Wearing
CINEMATOGRAPHER: Phil Meheux (director of photography)
EDITOR: Stuart Baird
COMPOSER: Howard Shore

CRIME/MYSTERY with elements of drama and thriller

Starring: Mel Gibson, Ray Winstone, Danny Huston, Bojana Novakovic, Shawn Roberts, Jay O. Sanders, Damian Young, Gbenga Akinnagbe, and Gabrielle Popa

Mel Gibson’s most recent star vehicle is the film, Edge of Darkness, which is actually a remake of a 1980s British television serial (or miniseries). This film, Gibson’s first movie as an actor since 2002, is ostensibly some kind of crime thriller, but Edge of Darkness is only truly thrilling in the scenes that feature brutal violence, usually in the form of gunfire.

The story focuses on Thomas Craven (Mel Gibson), a veteran homicide detective and a single father. Early in the movie, Craven watches as his only child, 24-year-old Emma (Bojana Novakovic), is murdered on the steps of his home by a masked gunman. His colleagues in the Boston Police Department assume that Craven was the target, and it seems as if everyone else also thinks so. Craven insists that he be part of the investigation, but he soon realizes that he can find no credible evidence that he was really the shooter’s target.

Craven embarks on a mission that slowly reveals parts of his daughter’s life to which he wasn’t privy (such as a boyfriend), but his investigation also leads him into the shadowy world of his daughter’s employer, Northmoor, and creepy company head, John “Jack” Bennett (Danny Huston). Shrouded in mystery, Northmoor has ties to an influential senator, and the corporation’s activities have apparently drawn the attention of Darius Jedburgh (Ray Winstone), a mysterious operative and “cleaner” of some sort. As Craven gets closer to the truth, dark forces begin to align against him, and Craven seems headed for the same fate as his daughter.

The advertisements for this film would lead the viewer to believe that Edge of Darkness is primarily about a determined father relentlessly on the path of his daughter’s killer. It is actually a little more complicated than that and involves government conspiracies, political cover-ups, and international intrigue. This is mildly entertaining, but it really lacks the energy and dramatic tension one would expect of a cop-out-for-revenge drama.

Edge of Darkness does have its shocking moments and a few scenes that provide the kind of edge-of-your-seat suspense a thriller will general supply. However, much of the film is hollow. The complicated, bittersweet relationship between Thomas Craven and his daughter comes across as shallow in most scenes, although the flashback scenes featuring Emma as a child (played by Gabrielle Popa) are genuinely father/daughter sentimental.

Edge of Darkness’ biggest problem is that the characters are more like character types and stereotypes than fully realized characters. The only thing Ray Winstone’s Jedburgh seems to be doing in this story is looking mysterious. Even Mel Gibson’s Thomas Craven is listless, and there are only a few moments when Gibson seems passionate about this character (such as the moment when he asks a thug tailing him, “Did you shoot my daughter?”).

The screenwriters may have tried to pretend that this movie was ultimately the story of a lonely old cop’s search for answers about his daughter’s death as way to both avenge her and to somehow redeem their relationship. Edge of Darkness is really an uninspired, though occasionally pleasurable movie, and it is also nothing special in the exceptional career of Mel Gibson.

5 of 10
C+

Friday, June 11, 2010

Review: Scorsese, DiCaprio Revived Old Hollywood Style with "The Aviator"

TRASH IN MY EYE No. 12 (of 2005) by Leroy Douresseaux

The Aviator (2004)
Running time: 170 minutes (2 hours, 50 minutes)
MPAA – PG-13 for thematic elements, sexual content, nudity, language, and a crash sequence
DIRECTOR: Martin Scorsese
WRITER: John Logan
PRODUCERS: Sandy Climan, Charles Evans, Jr., Graham King, and Michael Mann
CINEMATOGRAPHER: Robert Richardson
EDITOR: Thelma Schoonmaker
Academy Award winner

DRAMA

Starring: Leonardo DiCaprio, Cate Blanchett, Kate Beckinsale, John C. Reilly, Alec Baldwin, Alan Alda, Ian Holm, Danny Huston, Adam Scott, Matt Ross, Gwen Stefani, Jude Law, Brent Spiner, Willem Dafoe, Kelli Garner, and Frances Conroy

Martin Scorsese’s The Aviator recounts the years of Howard Hughes’ (Leonardo DiCaprio) life from the late 1920’s to the late 1940’s. In that epoch, the eccentric billionaire industrialist was a Hollywood film mogul producing scandalous and infamous films. However, he was best known even in Hollywood as the daring pilot who was test flying innovative aircraft he built and designed. The film begins with Hughes’ four-year odyssey making his war epic film, Hell’s Angels, and ends with him preparing to take the next big steps in aeronautics after the successful flight of his giant wooden plane he called The Hercules, but others derogatorily called the Spruce Goose. In between, the wealthy playboy has passionate but doomed affairs with legendary actress Katherine Hepburn (Cate Blanchett) and the no-nonsense, independent starlet, Ava Gardner (Kate Beckinsale). Hughes, owner of TWA (Trans World Airlines), also has a feud with Juan Trippe (Alec Baldwin), owner of Pan Am Airlines, and Senator Ralph Owen Brewster (Alan Alda), a Maine senator in Trippe’s pocket.

The Aviator has three things going for it. First, it’s a brilliant technical achievement in terms of its special effects and photography (easily the year’s best). Secondly, Martin Scorsese’s directorial effort is spectacular, not in terms of being showy, but because of his choices. For instance, he designed each year in the film to look just like color film from that time period would have looked. The photographic color technique actually drives the film narrative forward. Whereas, his 2002 film Gangs of New York, fell apart by basically tacking on a fourth act, The Aviator almost, but doesn’t fall apart by the end of it’s nearly three-hour running time. The Aviator is lively and energetic, and, at times, seems as if it is actually a film made in the golden age of Hollywood. Only a few moments of weirdness (especially an ending that hints at or suggests Hughes ultimately disintegration) hamper (barely) the film. Still, the good moments, such as the aerial scenes, both flights and crashes, may finally earn Scorsese an Oscar. [It didn't; Clint Eastwood won for Million Dollar Baby.]

The acting more than anything else makes this a special film. It goes without saying that Leonardo DiCaprio gives a great performance. He makes Howard Hughes his own, and turns him into a magnetic presence that stalks the film stage as if he were the king of the world. However, it is Hughes’ mentally unstable side that hamstrings DiCaprio’s performance. That part of the act is more odd and embarrassing than skillful. Although I personally don’t like people imitating Katherine Hepburn, Cate Blanchett does a fine job turning a caricature into an engaging, three-dimensional character. However, Kate Beckinsale’s turn as Ava Gardner is a scene-stealer, and Ms. Beckinsale makes Ms. Gardner an intriguing and appealing figure. Suffice to say, the rest of the supporting cast also go a long way to making this a cinema must-see.

9 of 10
A+

NOTES:
2005 Academy Awards: 5 wins: “Best Achievement in Art Direction” (Dante Ferretti-art director and Francesca Lo Schiavo-set decorator), “Best Achievement in Cinematography” (Robert Richardson), “Best Achievement in Costume Design” (Sandy Powell), “Best Achievement in Editing” (Thelma Schoonmaker), and “Best Performance by an Actress in a Supporting Role” (Cate Blanchett); 6 nominations: “Best Motion Picture of the Year” (Michael Mann and Graham King), “Best Achievement in Directing” (Martin Scorsese), “Best Achievement in Sound Mixing” (Tom Fleischman and Petur Hliddal), “Best Performance by an Actor in a Leading Role” (Leonardo DiCaprio), “Best Performance by an Actor in a Supporting Role” (Alan Alda), and “Best Writing, Original Screenplay” (John Logan)

2005 BAFTA Awards: 4 wins: “Best Film” (Michael Mann, Sandy Climan, Graham King, and Charles Evans Jr.), “Best Make Up/Hair” (Morag Ross, Kathryn Blondell, and Sian Grigg), “Best Performance by an Actress in a Supporting Role” (Cate Blanchett), “Best Production Design” (Dante Ferretti); 10 nominations: “Anthony Asquith Award for Film Music” (Howard Shore), “Best Achievement in Special Visual Effects” (Robert Legato, Peter G. Travers, Matthew Gratzner, and R. Bruce Steinheimer), “Best Cinematography” (Robert Richardson), “Best Costume Design” (Sandy Powell), “Best Editing” (Thelma Schoonmaker), “Best Performance by an Actor in a Leading Role” (Leonardo DiCaprio), “Best Performance by an Actor in a Supporting Role” (Alan Alda), “Best Screenplay – Original” (John Logan), “Best Sound” (Philip Stockton, Eugene Gearty, Petur Hliddal, and Tom Fleischman), and “David Lean Award for Direction” (Martin Scorsese)

2005 Golden Globes: 3 wins: “Best Motion Picture – Drama” “Best Original Score - Motion Picture” (Howard Shore), “Best Performance by an Actor in a Motion Picture – Drama” (Leonardo DiCaprio); 3 nominations: “Best Director - Motion Picture” (Martin Scorsese), “Best Performance by an Actress in a Supporting Role in a Motion Picture” (Cate Blanchett), and “Best Screenplay - Motion Picture” (John Logan)

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Sofia Coppola's "Marie Antoinette" Pretty, Empty

TRASH IN MY EYE No. 39 (of 2007) by Leroy Douresseaux


Marie Antoinette (2006)
Running time: 123 minutes (2 hours, 3 minutes)
MPAA – PG-13 for sexual content, partial nudity, and innuendo
DIRECTOR: Sofia Coppola
WRITER: Sofia Coppola (based upon the book Maria Antoinette: The Journey by Antonia Fraser)
PRODUCERS: Ross Katz and Sophia Coppola
CINEMATOGRAPHER: Lance Acord, A.S.C. (director of photography)
EDITOR: Sarah Flack
2007 Academy Award nominee

DRAMA/HISTORICAL

Starring: Kirsten Dunst, Jason Schwartzman, Judy Davis, Rip Torn, Rose Byrne, Asia Argento, Molly Shannon, Shirley Henderson, Danny Huston, Jamie Dornan, Marianne Faithful, and Steve Coogan

In her film, Marie Antoinette, Sofia Coppola directs a stylized portrait of a naïve princess, who became Queen of France when she was 19 years old.

Austria, 1768: Austrian princess Marie Antoinette (Kirsten Dunst) becomes betrothed to the dauphin (heir) of the French crown, Louis XVI (Jason Schwartzman). At the age of 14, Marie is stripped of all her possessions and thrown into the opulent French court at Versailles (near Paris) where vicious gossip defines everyone. Marie is alone and mostly without guidance, and Louis remains distant even after marriage – even refusing to consummate their union. By 19, Marie is Queen.

Adrift in Versailles’ dangerous world of conspiracy and scandal, Marie dives into the decadent life of French aristocracy, living the lavish life of a young royal. She buys extravagant clothing and jewelry for herself and has hugely expensive tastes when it comes to decorating the estate. She even has an affair with an alluring Swede, Count Fersen (Jamie Dornan). Many, however, view Marie as out of touch with her subjects, and the youthful indiscretions and frivolity that are her only releases from the confining life as Queen also become her undoing.

Coppola, who won a screenplay Oscar for her film, Lost in Translation, focuses Marie Antoinette on the life of the super wealthy and aimless. Coppola’s stated goal was to capture life in 18th century Versailles from the point of view of a lonely foreigner, so the narrative follows Marie through a whirlwind of extravagant costumes, opulent surroundings, and luxurious foodstuffs. In fact, one might consider this movie to be a lavish soufflé of kaleidoscopic operas, revelries, and even a costume ball that looks like a 21st century bash. Watching the film, you might get hungry for this pastel-colored world where cookies, candies, and cakes, and other sweets are so abundant, even a chamber pot might hold a multi-tiered cake.

Don’t think of Marie Antoinette even as historical fiction. It has little or no historical or political weight; this is all about the look. Visual anachronisms (as well as the modern rock, new wave, alternative soundtrack) mark this as more Coppola’s personal cinematic vision (a colorful art project) than it does cinema as history or even docu-drama. To that end, Marie Antoinette sure is a beautiful film. The costumes (Oscar-nominated), art direction/set decoration, cinematography, and makeup are some of the most stunningly beautiful that I’ve ever seen on film. So while the acting (Kirsten Dunst is wooden, except for a moment here and there) and the story are dry, stiff, and sometimes missing in action, the setting is splendid eye candy. Two hours of pretty style and no substance, however, is just too much to bear.

5 of 10
B-

NOTES:
2007 Academy Awards: 1 win: “Best Achievement in Costume Design” (Milena Canonero)

2007 BAFTA Awards: 3 nominations: “Best Costume Design” (Milena Canonero), “Best Make Up & Hair” (Jean-Luc Russier and Desiree Corridoni), and “Best Production Design” (K.K. Barrett and Véronique Melery)

Wednesday, February 21, 2007

X-Men Origins: Wolverine a Solid Superhero Flick

TRASH IN MY EYE No. 12 (of 2010) by Leroy Douresseaux


X-Men Origins: Wolverine (2009)
Running time: 107 minutes (1 hour, 47 minutes)
MPAA – PG-13 for intense sequences of action and violence, and some partial nudity
DIRECTOR: Gavin Hood
WRITERS: David Benioff and Skip Woods
PRODUCERS: Hugh Jackman, John Palermo, Lauren Shuler Donner, and Ralph Winter
CINEMATOGRAHER: Donald A. McAlpine (D.o.P.)
EDITOR: Nicolas De Toth and Megan Gill

SUPERHERO

Starring: Hugh Jackman, Liev Schreiber, Danny Huston, will.i.am, Lynn Collins, Kevin Durand, Dominic Monaghan, Taylor Kitsch, Daniel Henney, and Ryan Reynolds

The fourth film in the X-Men franchise is X-Men Origins: Wolverine, a film that delves into the history of Wolverine, the Canadian-born mutant with the super healing factor and those awesome metal (adamantium) claws. As he did in the X-Men trilogy, Hugh Jackman portrays Logan a.k.a. Wolverine.

Telling the story of Wolverine’s violent and romantic past, X-Men Origins: Wolverine opens in 1845 in the wilds of Canada. A boy named James experiences the activation of his mutant powers and ends up on the run with his older half-brother. James (Hugh Jackman) and his brother, Victor Creed (Live Schreiber), spend the next century as soldiers in the American army, fighting in the Civil War, both World Wars, and the Vietnam War.

Eventually imprisoned, the brothers enter the custody of Major William Stryker (Danny Huston), who offers them a membership in Team X. This is a military black operations unit comprised of mutants, including the mercenary Wade Wilson (Ryan Reynolds) and a teleporter named John Wraith (will.i.am). James eventually leaves Team X and moves back to Canada, where he assumes the identity, Logan. He and his girlfriend, Kayla Silverfox (Lynn Collins), live in peace until Stryker and Victor, separately, find them. Two things happen. Logan is suddenly plunged into a diabolical conspiracy to create the ultimate mutant weapon, and Wolverine is born.

In terms of quality, X-Men Origins: Wolverine is almost, but not quite as good as the original X-Men film (2000), and it is better than X-Men: The Last Stand. X-Men Origins: Wolverine’s character drama – relationships, personal history, conflicts – is not as good as in the first X-Men film, and some of it, such as the origin story at the beginning of this movie, is awkward and poorly done. Some of it, like Wolverine’s brief time with an elderly couple is very good and should have had more screen time or at least replaced some of this film’s other “quiet,” character moments.

The actions scenes are… well, let me just come out and say that I thought they were kick ass. They are by no means perfect, and some of the CGI is a little too obvious. However, the action scenes and fights were so good that they made everything about this film which seemed mediocre leave my mind. The action made me ready for a sequel.

One thing that did surprise me about this film was the acting. It’s good across the board – from the top line stars (Jackman, Schreiber) to the smaller players (Dominic Monaghan as Chris Bradley). Jackman is a good actor, and his performances going back to the original X-Men film are what turned a wildly popular comic book character named Wolverine into a bankable action movie character.

It seems as if it is easy to forget how good an actor Liev Schreiber is, but he reminds us with his Victor Creed. In Schreiber’s hands, Creed is deliciously evil, a rare superb performance as a villain in a superhero movie, and Schreiber will make you miss him every time Creed leaves the story.

X-Men Origins: Wolverine takes the generic explosions, motorcycle stunts, and screaming blood feuds of the action movie and makes them cool and compelling the way a summer popcorn movie should make them. It may have its problems, but what X-Men Origins: Wolverine does, it does well enough to earn our attention.

6 of 10
B

Friday, March 12, 2010