Review: For "CLERKS III," It's Closing Time

TRASH IN MY EYE No. 75 of 2022 (No. 1887) by Leroy Douresseaux

Clerks III (2022)

Running time:  100 minutes (1 hour, 40 minutes)

MPA – R for pervasive language, crude sexual material, and drug content

WRITER/DIRECTOR:  Kevin Smith

PRODUCERS:  Liz Destro and Jordan Monsanto

CINEMATOGRAPHER:  Learan Kahanov

EDITOR: Kevin Smith

COMPOSER: James L. Venable

COMEDY/DRAMA

Starring:  Brian O’Halloran, Jeff Anderson, Rosario Dawson, Jason Mewes, Kevin Smith, Trevor Fehrman, Austin Zajur, Ben Affleck, and Danny Trejo

Clerks III is a 2022 comedy-drama film from writer-director Kevin Smith.  It is the third entry in the Clerks film series.  Clerks III is also a sequel to Clerks (1994) and Clerks II (2006) and is a direct sequel to the latter.  Clerks III finds two friends and convenience store co-owners at a crossroads after one of them has a near-fatal heart attack.

Clerks III opens at “Quick Stop Groceries.”  This is the convenience story where best friends, Dante Hicks (Brian O’Halloran) and Randal Graves (Jeff Anderson), work side by side as co-owners of the store where they were once employees.  Vagrant drug dealers, Jay (Jason Mewes) and Silent Bob (Kevin Smith), who used to hangout in front of the store are now also business owners.  They have transformed the business space next door that was once occupied by “RST Video” into a legal marijuana dispensary.

Otherwise, their lives have remained the same, except for a tragedy that occurred in Dante's life.  One day, store employee, Elias (Trevor Fehrman), and his friend, Blockchain (Austin Zajur), are visiting when Randal suffers a heart attack (the type known as “the widow-maker”).  After surviving, Randal decides that he has wasted his life and, looking for a new purpose, decides to make a movie about his life at the convenience store.  In his maniacal focus to get his movie made, however, Randal seems to have forgotten how much a part of his life Dante has been – with tragic results.

Kevin Smith's filmography is filled with surprising movies, like Chasing Amy; interesting, uneven flicks, like Dogma; and interesting bad films, like Mallrats.  Clerks, the film that made him something of a star, and its sequel, Clerks II, are my favorite Kevin Smith movies, and I consider them great films.

Clerks III is not great, and it is surprising to me in the fact that it is an uneven film that is at times bad and at times interesting.  In the first hour, the story meanders so much that Clerks III is practically unwatchable.  At about the 70-minute mark, however, the film has a late inciting incident that changes the tone and essentially saves the film.

I have to admit that I find that Brian O’Halloran, Jeff Anderson, and Kevin Smith have not aged well.  They not only look old, but they also look as if they have had hard lives or lives filled with substance abuse.  Jason Mewes (Jay) has aged well, and I believe that he has actually had issues with substance abuse.  Truthfully, a lot of the returning cast looks old and run down.

Clerks III seems like a love letter to Clerks, which started it all – Kevin Smith's career as a filmmaker and celebrity and Clerks as a media franchise.  [There was a “Clerks” animated series, which aired for six episodes on ABC in 2000 and on Comedy Central in 2002, and a comic book miniseries originally published by Oni Press in the late 1990s.]  Clerks III is also Smith's nod to the part of his earlier life that inspired Clerks.  That's nice, but I would only recommend Clerks III to Kevin Smith fans.  Everyone else should avoid this convenience store.  The grades I am giving this film are an acknowledgment that I like the earlier films and don't really indicate how mediocre I think Clerks III is.

5 of 10

C+

★★½ out of 4 stars

Thursday, December 15, 2022

The text is copyright © 2022 Leroy Douresseaux. All Rights Reserved. Contact this blog or site for reprint and syndication rights and fees.

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VIZ Media's "Seis Manos" Announces Netflix Date

SEIS MANOS DEBUTS WORLDWIDE ON NETFLIX OCTOBER 3rd

VIZ Media’s First Original Anime Series Delivers Intense Action, Original Storytelling And A Star-Studded Cast

San Francisco, CA – VIZ Media, LLC, Netflix, Inc. and Powerhouse Animation Studios announced that the anime series SEIS MANOS will launch globally on Netflix on Thursday, October 3rd, 2019.

All eight episodes will premiere with English and Spanish audio and multiple subtitled language options. SEIS MANOS is VIZ Media’s first original animated property and was developed and produced with Powerhouse Animation Studios (Frederator Studios CASTLEVANIA).

Set in Mexico in the 1970’s, SEIS MANOS centers on three orphaned martial arts warriors who join forces with a DEA agent and a Mexican Federale to battle for justice after their beloved mentor is murdered in their tiny border town.

SEIS MANOS features a notable voice cast highlighted by Aislinn Derbez (La Casa  de las Flores) as Isabela, Mike Colter (Luke Cage) as Brister, Jonny Cruz (Overwatch) as Jesus, Angelica Vale (Jane The Virgin) as Garcia, Vic Chao (Mortal Kombat X) as Chiu, and Danny Trejo (Machete) as El Balde.

“SEIS MANOS offers the very best in storytelling and action, with an incredible voice cast and a unique Latin American storyline rarely seen in animation,” says Brad Woods, Chief Marketing Officer, VIZ Media. “We’re thrilled to partner with Netflix and Powerhouse to share this incredible new series with fans.”

The series is a co-production between Viz Media and Powerhouse, and will stream worldwide exclusively on Netflix. SEIS MANOS was co-created by Powerhouse Animation Studios CEO Brad Graeber (Supervising Producer, Frederator Studios CASTLEVANIA) and writer Alvaro Rodriguez (Machete, From Dusk Till Dawn: The Series). Noted screenwriter Daniel Dominguez (Oishi High School Battle, Captain Underpants) is an additional writer on the series, which is directed by Willis Bulliner (Agents of Mayhem).

For information on anime, manga and other titles published by VIZ Media, please visit viz.com.


About Netflix
Netflix is the world's leading internet entertainment service with over 117 million members in over 190 countries enjoying more than 140 million hours of TV shows and movies per  day, including original series, documentaries and feature films. Members can watch as much as they want, anytime, anywhere, on nearly any internet-connected screen. Members can play, pause and resume watching, all without commercials or commitments.

About VIZ Media, LLC
Established in 1986, VIZ Media is the premier company in the fields of publishing, animation distribution, and global entertainment licensing. Along with its popular SHONEN JUMP brand and blockbuster properties like NARUTO, DRAGON BALL, SAILOR MOON, and POKÉMON, VIZ Media offers an extensive library of titles and original content in a wide variety of book and video formats, as well as through official licensed merchandise. Owned by three of Japan's largest publishing and entertainment companies, Shogakukan Inc., Shueisha Inc., and Shogakukan-Shueisha Productions, Co., Ltd., VIZ Media is dedicated to bringing the best titles for English-speaking audiences worldwide.

Learn more about VIZ Media and its properties at viz.com.

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Netflix Debuts DreamWorks Animation's "3Below: Tales of Arcadia"

DreamWorks Debuts "3Below: Tales of Arcadia"

Premieres on Netflix December 21, 2018

DreamWorks Animation Television has released new clips for Guillermo del Toro’s highly anticipated Netflix original series 3Below: Tales of Arcadia, bringing an out-of-world experience exclusively to Netflix December 21, 2018.

Featuring an all-star voice cast including Diego Luna (Narcos: Mexico), Tatiana Maslany (Orphan Black), Nick Offerman (Parks and Recreation), Glenn Close (TheWife) and more. 3Below: Tales of Arcadia follows two royal teenage aliens, Aja (Maslany) and Krel (Luna), and their bodyguard Vex (Offerman), as they flee a surprise takeover of their home planet and crash-land on Earth – in Arcadia, the same town where the events of Trollhunters take place. Now on the run from intergalactic bounty hunters, they must blend in and adapt to the bizarre world of high school all while attempting to repair their shipt to return to and defend their home planet.

From the seven-time Emmy Award-winning team behind Trollhunters, 3Below is created and executive produced by Guillermo del Toro. Rodrigo Blaas, Marc Guggenheim and Chad Hammes also serve as executive producers. The star studded voice cast also includes Andy Garcia, Nick Frost, Alon Aboutboul, Chris Obi, Uzo Aduba, Cheryl Hines, Tom Kenny, Haley Atwell, Danny Trejo, and Ann Dowd. Additionally, The Crystal Method created the main title theme that can be heard in the main title sequence. Returning talent fromTrollhunters includes Emile Hirsch, Charlie Saxton, Lexi Medrano, Steven Yeun, Cole Sands, Kelsey Grammer and more in epic crossover episodes that bridge the events of Trollhunters and 3Below in surprising ways.

All 13 half-hour episodes of 3Below’s first season will become available to Netflix members worldwide on December 21, 2018.

3BELOW: TALES OF ARCADIA SEASON 1 - Trailer: https://youtu.be/jfVmNGUA-eo

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Warner Bros. Animation's "Storks" Features New Music and Songs

Storks Original Motion Picture Soundtrack Features the Music of Mychael Danna & Jeff Danna, Includes “Holdin’ Out” - New Song by The Lumineers

LOS ANGELES--(BUSINESS WIRE)--WaterTower Music today announced the release of the Storks: Original Motion Picture Soundtrack, which features the music of prolific composers Mychael Danna (Oscar Winner – “Life of Pi,” “Moneyball,” “Little Miss Sunshine”), and Jeff Danna (“Kurt Cobain: Montage of Heck,” “Fracture,” “The Imaginarium of Dr. Parnassus”), and includes “Holdin’ Out” – a brand new song by The Lumineers. The soundtrack will be released September 16, 2016, one week in advance of the film, which will be released in 2D and 3D in select theatres on September 23, 2016.

    “Our approach to the score for Storks was very much inspired by the legacy of the storied Warner Bros. animated tradition”

“Our approach to the score for Storks was very much inspired by the legacy of the storied Warner Bros. animated tradition,” explained composers Mychael Danna and Jeff Danna. “Recorded in the same WB studio that those pioneering animation composers worked in, the music for Storks moves through such divergent musical modes as Latin, Big Band, choral, orchestral, electronic and ensembles of unusual and quirky instruments. Tying these styles together are our melodic and emotional themes, maintaining a cohesive sound despite the careening musical style changes. Witty and bombastic, silly and yet with a strong emotional payoff, we are very proud of the work we did for Storks.”

Mychael Danna and Jeff Danna possess a healthy body of critically acclaimed works, both individually and collaboratively. They write the original music for the FX series “Tyrant,” which earned them both Emmy nominations. They were previously Emmy-nominated for “Camelot” in 2011. Recently, they worked on the score for “The Good Dinosaur” and received an Annie nomination for Outstanding Achievement, Music in an Animated Feature Production. Their collaborative Orchestral Celtic albums have enjoyed worldwide success and placed in the Top Ten on the Billboard chart in the United States.

From Warner Bros. Pictures and Warner Animation Group, the animated adventure “Storks” stars Andy Samberg (“Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs,” “Hotel Transylvania”), Katie Crown (“Clarence”), Kelsey Grammer (“Toy Story 2,” “The Simpsons”), Jennifer Aniston (“We’re the Millers,” “Horrible Bosses”), Ty Burrell (“Finding Dory,” “Modern Family”), Keegan-Michael Key (“The Angry Birds Movie,” “Keanu,” “Key & Peele”), Jordan Peele (“Keanu,” “Key & Peele”) and Danny Trejo (“The Book of Life,” “Muppets Most Wanted”).

The film was directed by Nicholas Stoller (“Neighbors,” “Forgetting Sarah Marshall”; writer, "The Muppets”) and Oscar nominee Doug Sweetland (the animated short “Presto”; supervising animator, “Cars”), from a screenplay written by Stoller.

“Storks” was produced by Brad Lewis (Academy Award-winning “Ratatouille,” “Antz”; co-director, “Cars 2”) and Nicholas Stoller. The executive producers are Glenn Ficarra, Phil Lord, Christopher Miller, John Requa and Jared Stern. The film is edited by John Venzon (“Shark Tale,” “Chicken Run”). Music is composed by Mychael Danna (“The Good Dinosaur,” Oscar winner, “Life of Pi”) and Jeff Danna (“The Good Dinosaur”). Animation is by Sony Pictures Imageworks.

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Doctor Who Stars, Matt Smith and Karen Gillan, Heading to Wizard World Austin

Doctor Who’s Matt Smith and Karen Gillan Added to Wizard World Comic Con Austin’s All-Star Lineup, September 23rd-25th, 2016

LOS ANGELES--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Wizard World, Inc., (WIZD) the preeminent producer of Wizard World Comic Cons across North America, is excited to announce the addition of Doctor Who’s Matt Smith and Karen Gillan to the Wizard World Austin lineup, September 23-25, 2016. Smith, who played the Eleventh incarnation of the Doctor in the British television series, will attend on Saturday, September 24, while Gillan, who portrayed Amy Pond, is scheduled for Saturday and Sunday, September 24-25 at the Austin Convention Center.

    Fans of @bbcdoctorwho can meet Matt Smith, @karengillan at #wizardworld austin sept. 24-25 #ATX #comiccon

“We are thrilled to provide Doctor Who fans with the opportunity to meet Matt Smith and Karen Gillan. They are an exciting addition to our top-notch lineup for Austin,” says John Maatta, Wizard World Chairman & CEO. “Stay tuned for more surprises in store for the event!”

Both Smith and Gillan will greet fans, sign autographs, pose for photo ops and conduct a special Doctor Who Q&A panel during the event. They will also pose together with fans on Saturday, September 24.

Smith began his acting career on stage, appearing in various popular London theatrical performances before landing the coveted role in Doctor Who in 2010. He received a BAFTA Award nomination in 2011 and his final Doctor Who episode in 2013 was BBC America's largest audience ever, attesting to both the popularity of the series in America and Smith's success in the role.

Beginning in 2010, Gillan appeared in Series 5-7 of Doctor Who as the new companion to the Eleventh Doctor, Matt Smith. The Inverness, Scotland, native starred in the film Not Another Happy Ending and was a regular on Adult Swim's NTSF:SD:SUV. Gillan also portrayed the mercenary, Nebula in Guardians of the Galaxy and will appear in Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2, slated for release in 2017.

Doctor Who fandom will be on full display at Wizard World Austin, where fans of the series will find cosplay of numerous beloved characters and the TARDIS (Time And Relative Dimension in Space vehicle) used in the show, courtesy of Tulsa Tardis.

Located at the Austin Convention Center, Smith and Gillan will join previously announced guests including Sebastian Stan (Captain America), William Shatner (Star Trek), Danny Trejo (Machete), Bruce Campbell (Army of Darkness, Evil Dead), James Marsters (Buffy: The Vampire Slayer), Lee Majors (Six Million Dollar Man), Dana DeLorenzo (Ash vs. Evil Dead), and more.

To purchase Admissions and VIP Admissions for the event, set for September 23-25, 2016 and to view the schedule, location, show hours, hotel & travel info, please visit: http://wizardworld.com/comiccon/austin .


About Wizard World (OTCBB: WIZD)
Wizard World, Inc. (www.wizardworld.com) produces comic cons and pop culture conventions across North America that celebrate the best in pop-fi, pop culture, movies, television, cosplay, comics, graphic novels, toys, video gaming, sci-fi, gaming, original art, collectibles, contests and more. A first-class lineup of topical programming takes place at each event, with celebrity Q&A's, comics-themed sessions, costume contests, movie screenings, evening parties and more. Wizard World has also launched Wizard World Store (www.shopwizardworld.com), CONtv, a digital media channel in partnership with leading independent content distributor Cinedigm™ (NASDAQ: CIDM), and ComicConBox™ (www.comicconbox.com), a premium subscription-based monthly box service. Fans can interact with Wizard World on Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest, Instagram and other social media services.

The Wizard World 2016 schedule is available at: http://wizardworld.com/searchby/city/.

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Review: "Delta Farce" Tries (Happy B'day, Danny Trejo)

TRASH IN MY EYE No. 134 (of 2007) by Leroy Douresseaux

Delta Farce (2007)
Running time:  89 minutes (1 hour, 29 minutes)
MPAA – PG-13 for crude and sexual humor
DIRECTOR:  CB Harding
WRITERS:  Bear Aderhold and Thomas F.X. Sullivan
PRODUCERS:  Alan Blomquist and J.P. Williams
CINEMATOGRAPHER:  Tom Priestley, Jr.
EDITOR:  Mark Conte
COMPOSER:  James S. Levin

COMEDY/ACTION

Starring:  Larry the Cable Guy, Bill Engvall, DJ Qualls, Keith David, Marisol Nichols, Glenn Morshower, Michael Papajohn, and Danny Trejo

The subject of this movie review is Delta Farce, a 2007 action-comedy starring comedians, Larry the Cable Guy and Bill Engvall.  The film follows three bumbling Army reservists who are bound for Iraq, but instead are accidentally dropped near a Mexican village besieged by bandits.

After being mistaken for Army reserve troops, Larry (Larry the Cable Guy), Bill (Bill Engvall), and Everett (DJ Qualls), three small-town losers who are also National Guardsmen, find themselves introduced to angry Sgt. Kilgore (Keith David).  After berating them for their slovenliness, Kilgore eventually hustles the trio onto a transport plane bound for Iraq.

During the flight, the pilots unwittingly drop Larry, Bill, Everett, and Kilgore in Mexico.  After burying Kilgore whom they believe was killed by the drop, Larry, Bill, and Everett begin liberating what they think are Iraqi civilians.  When they discover that they are in Mexico, the trio finds itself saving the small Mexican village of La Miranda from a gang of bandits led by the man who calls himself the “real Carlos Santana” (Danny Trejo).

How do you take two funny comedians and turn them into listless joke machines delivering dry one-liners?  You try to make them actors, which is what the film Delta Farce does.  Larry the Cable Guy and Bill Engvall are best known as part of the Blue Collar Comedy Tour, although Larry the Cable Guy, as a solo act, is currently the most successful touring comedian in terms of tickets sold.  They’re funny guys, and Larry is especially talented.  But turn them into actors, and their comedy becomes strained.

The film Larry the Cable Guy: Health Inspector played to Larry’s strengths by fashioning a flimsy movie scenario and basically letting him perform his stage act with the rest of the movie’s cast playing off him.  His voiceover performance in Disney/Pixar’s Cars was basically Larry being Larry.

In Delta Farce, Larry and Bill not only have to play characters; they also have to move the narrative.  That requires a performer to do more acting than just pretending.  It’s more than telling jokes, performing skits and routines, and saying silly things.  Larry and Engvall are good at delivering one-liners and saying a few funny things, but this comic duo often seems out of place in the context of film narrative.  Ultimately, they’re not bad, and what they do in Delta Farce should appease their fan base.

On the other hand, DJ Qualls, a pretty good comic actor, and Keith David, a fine and under-utilized character actor, fit comfortably.  Qualls and David actually play comic characters and when they perform, it’s like acting and not a stand-up comedy routine.

Delta Farce is harmless and is for the most part funny.  It actually could have been much better, but the directing by C.B. Harding, who helmed Blue Collar Comedy Tour: The Movie and the TV follow ups, is abysmal.  The film is largely apolitical, though odd “support the troops” comments pop up here and there.  As is, Delta Farce is decent entertainment for fans of the various cast members, especially Larry the Cable Guy and Bill Engvall.

4 of 10
C

Updated: Friday, May 16, 2014


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

Review: "Force of Execution" Has a Cap for Every Ass

TRASH IN MY EYE No. 82 (of 2013) by Leroy Douresseaux

Force of Execution (2013)
Running time:  99 minutes (1 hour, 39 minutes)
MPAA – R for strong violence throughout, sexual content/nudity and pervasive language
DIRECTOR:  Keoni Waxman
WRITERS:  Richard Beattie and Michael Black
PRODUCERS:  Nicolas Chartier, Phillip B. Goldfine, and Steven Seagal
CINEMATOGRAPHER:  Nathan Wilson
EDITOR:  Trevor Mirosh
COMPOSER:  Michael Richard Plowman

CRIME/ACTION/THRILLER

Starring:  Steven Seagal, Ving Rhames, Danny Trejo, Bren Foster, Jenny Gabrielle, David House, Eric Steinig, Jermaine Washington, J.D. Garfield, Cajardo Lindsey, Marlon Lewis, Andy Brooks, and Jesus Jr.

Force of Execution is a 2013 action and crime thriller from director Keoni Waxman.  Starring Steven Seagal and Ving Rhames, Force of Execution focuses on a war between a crime boss concerned about his legacy and the new boss who wants to take his place.

Mob kingpin Mr. Alexander (Steven Seagal) is an old-school boss – the kind who rules his criminal empire with nobility as well as brutality.  His protégé is Roman Hurst (Bren Foster), a skilled fighter and hit man.  Alexander assigns to Hurst a simple prison hit that goes wrong, and Hurst is forced to pay a price for his “failure.”

Later, challenges to Alexander’s power arise on two different fronts.  The first is a cold-blooded gangster known as “The Iceman” (Ving Rhames) or simply, “Ice.”  Ice is a kind of prince of a powerful street gang, and he soon begins to consolidate power, using murder and mayhem strategically.  The second group of rivals is a merciless Mexican cartel, led by a man known as Cesare (J.D. Garfield).  As these groups divide and fight over territory, the body count rises.  A shadow player, Oso (Danny Trejo), ex-con and cook, has a few hidden moves of his own.  He is helping the man who may well decide the winner of this citywide gangway find redemption and healing.

Force of Execution is by no means a great movie, but it is a surprisingly entertaining crime flick.  It is kind of like a clunky version of a Hong Kong action movie/shoot ‘em up.  Force of Execution’s biggest problem is in the writing.  Like Brooklyn’s Finest or the recent Pawn, Force of Execution has a screenplay that would work better if it were the basis for a television series.  This movie has a lot of good characters, but writers Richard Beattie and Michael Black squeeze them into a storytelling timeframe that is not adequate for allowing several characters to emerge and to fully develop, at least not the way a television series would.

Still, the script seems tailored made to let Steven Seagal, Ving Rhames, and Danny Trejo portray the kind of on-the-edge, crazy characters that movie fans want to see these actors play.  Older and pudgier, Seagal does not have to move very fast to be a convincing bad ass, and he can still kick some ass.  As far as I’m concerned, Danny Trejo is always a good thing.  There is always a little bit more to his characters than is obvious, and in this movie, that little bit more involves a kind of person called a “curandero.”

As for Ving Rhames:  well, as The Iceman, he calls everybody “nigger.”  I love a movie that lets niggas call niggas “niggas,” and here, Ving Rhames calls blacks, whites, browns, etc. “nigger,” when he is feeling jolly and little bit dangerous.  As Ice, Rhames has this movie’s best dialogue, and he makes good use of it.

I do wish the story had a better focus on Bren Foster’s Ramon Hurst.  Foster is good in the fight scenes, although he needs to improve as a dramatic actor.  Still, Foster would be a good choice to play the lead if some studio remade a classic Seagal flick like Marked for Death or Out for Justice.

Force of Execution is enjoyable.  It’s fun to watch Seagal beat people up and throw them into furniture and stacks of whatever is nearby.  Hand-to-hand combat does not take a backseat to gunplay, and the executions do have force behind them.  I wouldn’t mind at sequel to Force of Execution, at all.

6 of 10
B

Monday, December 16, 2013


The text is copyright © 2013 Leroy Douresseaux. All Rights Reserved. Contact this site for syndication rights and fees.

Review: "The Devil's Rejects" a Different Kind of Crime Flick

TRASH IN MY EYE No. 79 (of 2006) by Leroy Douresseaux

The Devil’s Rejects (2005)
Running time:  101 minutes (1hour, 41 minutes)
MPAA – R for sadistic violence, strong sexual content, language, and drug use
DIRECTOR:  Rob Zombie
WRITER:  Rob Zombie (based upon his characters)
PRODUCERS:  Mike Elliot, Andy Gould, Marco Mehlitz, Michael Ohoven, and Rob Zombie
CINEMATOGRAPHER:  Phil Parmet (D.o.P.)
EDITOR:  Glenn Garland
COMPOSER:  Tyler Bates

HORROR/CRIME/ACTION/THRILLER

Starring:  Sid Haig, Bill Moseley, Sheri Moon Zombie, William Forsythe, Ken Foree, Matthew McGrory, Leslie Easterbrook, Geoffrey Lewis, Priscilla Barnes, Dave Sheridan, Ken Norby, Lew Temple, Danny Trejo, Diamond Dallas Page, and Tom Towles

The subject of this movie review is The Devil’s Rejects, a 2005 horror thriller and crime film from director Rob Zombie.  The film is a sequel to Zombie’s 2003 film, House of 1000 Corpses.  In the new film, the villains of the first movie are now seen as anti-hero types on the run from the law.

The Firefly Family or, as they call themselves, The Devil’s Rejects, a band of sadistic killers, wake up one morning to find their isolated farm hideout ambushed by the vengeful Sheriff John Quincy Wydell (William Forsythe) and a posse of his deputies.  With guns blazing, only Otis B. Driftwood (Bill Moseley) and his sister Baby Firefly (Sheri Moon Zombie) escape the barrage of bullets unharmed.

The duo hide out in an isolated desert motel waiting to be joined by another murderous relative, the killer clown, Captain Spaulding (Sid Haig), killing whoever stands in their way or angers them.  However, as the body count soars, Sheriff Wydell, seeking revenge for the Rejects’ murder of his brother, George Wydell (Tom Towles), decides to take matters into his own hands and begins a private and violent war against The Devil’s Rejects outside the jurisdiction of the law.

The Devil’s Rejects is Rob Zombie’s sequel to his controversial 2003 indie hit, House of 1000 Corpses.  Rejects is structurally better in terms of narrative flow and writing, and Zombie sprinkles his cast with a collection of character actors known either for their roles in violent action movies or for their cult status in TV and film.  Among them include Priscilla Barnes, who is best remembered as “Terri Allen,” the third and final blonde roommate on the popular late 70’s/early 80’s television sitcom, “Three’s Company,”  and Ken Foree, who was “Peter,” one of the four human survivors trapped in a shopping mall in the original 1978 Dawn of the Dead.

In fact, Zombie designed his film to look like one of those violent crime thrillers that were synonymous with 70’s cinema.  Even going back to the first film, this franchise was as much Deliverance as it was The Texas Chainsaw Massacre.  The film’s opening sequence, a bullet-laden shootout, is as good as any Hong Kong crime film and is as intense as the big shootout in Michael Mann’s Heat – though much shorter.  Zombie’s film is silly, sadistic, and unabashedly subversive.  While the film and its characters’ antics (both the “hero” and the “villains are brutal and vicious assholes) get old after awhile, Zombie doesn’t commit the same flawed, artistic pretensions he did in House of 1000 Corpses.

His film is gloriously and rebelliously a bloody, gore-laden, crime film about bad-asses headed for a showdown.  There are a few scenes and sequences in this film that true film fans cannot and must not miss.  Those who can take the buckets of blood, F-bombs (several hundred), and atrocious murders will find The Devil Rejects a welcomed respite from the highly-polished polished movies that currently pass for Hollywood’s version what a gritty crime flick is.

6 of 10
B

Monday, April 17, 2006

Updated:  Sunday, October 20, 2013

The text is copyright © 2013 Leroy Douresseaux. All Rights Reserved. Contact this site for syndication rights and fees.

"Death Race 3" Begins Production

The Stakes Are Higher Than Ever For the Ultimate Road Warrior In An All-New Deadly Race

DEATH RACE 3 Currently Filming in South Africa

Death Race 3, the latest heart-pounding entry in the high-octane franchise, is currently filming in and around Cape Town, South Africa. In this all-new original feature film from Universal 1440 Entertainment, hardened criminalsrace for their freedom in vicious new vehicles and face-off in the ultimateblood sport, when the popular Death Race is transported across the globe to the unforgiving and rugged terrain of South Africa. Forced against his will to participate in this global TV spectacle, Frankenstein - the greatest Death Race driver of all time - takes on this ultimate challenge to not only save himself, but his pit crew as well.

Inspired by Roger Corman’s cult classic thrill ride, Death Race 3 marks the return of Luke Goss (Death Race 2, Hellboy 2: The Golden Army, Blade 2), Danny Trejo (Death Race 2, Machete, “Sons of Anarchy”), Ving Rhames (Death Race 2, Mission: Impossible franchise, Pulp Fiction), Fred Koehler (Death Race 1 & 2, “Lost”), Robin Shou (Death Race 1 & 2, Mortal Kombat) and Tanit Phoenix (Death Race 2, “Femme Fatales”). Also, joining the action are Dougray Scott (Mission: Impossible II, “Heist”) and Hlubi Mboya (How to Steal 2 Million).

“Universal’s first two Death Race films have garnered an ardent global following that is eagerly awaiting a new chapter in this riveting saga,” says Glenn Ross,General Manager and Executive Vice President, Universal 1440 Entertainment. “Death Race 3 will exceed their expectations with even more explosive action, elaborately outfitted cars, inventive weaponry and death-defying stunts that have made the franchise such a huge fan favorite.”

Director Roel Reiné (Death Race 2, Scorpion King 3) once again takes the wheel of the explosive, action-thrill ride. Death Race 3 is produced by Mike Elliott (Death Race 2, Smokin’ Aces 2: Assassins Ball), with Paul W.S. Anderson and Jeremy Bolt serving as executive producers. The screenplay is by Tony Giglio (Death Race 2). The film is an official South African/German Co-Production between Universal Pictures Productions GmbH and Moonlighting DR3 Production (Pty) Ltd, shot in South Africa and co-produced by Genevieve Hofmeyr, Marvin Saven, and Ralph Tuebben. The film’s stellar production team includes director of photography John Shields (The Last House on the Left).

SYNOPSIS:
Convicted cop-killer Carl Lucas, aka Frankenstein, is a superstar driver in the brutal prison yard demolition derby known as Death Race. Only one victory away from winning freedom for himself and his pit crew, Lucas is plunged into an all-new competition more vicious than anything he has experienced before. Pitted against his most ruthless adversaries ever, Lucas fights to keep himself and his team alive in a race in South Africa’s infernal Kalahari Desert. With powerful forces at work behind the scenes to ensure his defeat, will Lucas’ determination to win at all costs mean the end of the road for him?


Universal 1440 Entertainment is a production entity of Universal Studios Home Entertainment (USHE). Universal Studios Home Entertainment is a unit of Universal Pictures, a division of Universal Studios (http://www.universalstudios.com/). Universal Studios is a part of NBCUniversal, one of the world’s leading media and entertainment companies in the development, production and marketing of entertainment, news and information to a global audience. NBCUniversal owns and operates a valuable portfolio of news and entertainment television networks, a premier motion picture company, significant television production operations, a leading television stationsgroup and world-renowned theme parks.Comcast Corporation owns a controlling 51% interest in NBCUniversal, with GE holding a 49% stake.

Review: Cast Makes Little Indie, "SherryBaby," Seem Really Big (Happy B'day, Maggie Gyllenhaal)

TRASH IN MY EYE No. 21 (of 2007) by Leroy Douresseaux

SherryBaby (2006)
Running time: 96 minutes (1 hour, 36 minutes)
MPAA – R for strong sexuality, nudity, language, and drug content
WRITER/DIRECTOR: Laurie Collyer
PRODUCERS: Melissa Marr, Lemore Syvan, and Marc Turtletaub
CINEMATOGRAPHER: Russell Lee Fine (D.o.P.)
EDITORS: Curtiss Clayton and Joe Landauer
Golden Globe nominee

DRAMA

Starring: Maggie Gyllenhaal, Brad William Henke, Sam Bottoms, Giancarlo Esposito, Ryan Simpkins, Danny Trejo, and Bridget Barkan

After serving three years of a five-year prison stint, Sherry Swanson (Maggie Gyllenhaal) is out on parole and dealing with the realities of both her old life and her new life. She has to face her hard-nosed parole officer, Hernandez (Giancarlo Esposito), find a job, and deal with the heroin addiction that led her to prison. She has also has to renew her relationship as mother to her five-year old daughter, Alexis Parks (Ryan Simpkins). In her absence, however, Sherry’s brother Bobby Swanson (Brad William Henke) and his wife Lynette (Bridget Barkan) have become surrogate parents to Alexis, and they aren’t anxious to give her back to Sherry, whom they consider to still be troubled. Another complication is her questionable relationship with her father, Bob Swanson, Sr. (Sam Bottoms), but she does find some companionship in a fellow addict, Dean Walker (Danny Trejo).

Writer/director Laurie Collyer’s small, sharp indie drama, SherryBaby showcases the best performance Maggie Gyllenhaal has given to date. Gyllenhaal builds her performances on nuance, and she creates a genuine young woman struggling with addiction, regret, and the longing to recover the one thing she considers to really be hers – the daughter she had to abandon to her brother. For her performance as a young woman who is an emotional wreck, Gyllenhaal received a 2007 Golden Globe nomination for “Best Actress in a Motion Picture – Drama.”

Gyllenhaal is not alone in her excellent work. Collyer brings out fine work in everyone, including a moving and authentic performance from Brad William Henke as Sherry’s brother Bobby, who is struggling to balance the needs of the trio of women in his life: Sherry, his wife Lynette, and Alexis. Henke shines in two scenes – one in which Bobby surreptitiously watches his father Bob, Sr. (played by Sam Bottoms, pitch perfect in a small, but crucial role) and Sherry, and the second in which Bobby has lunch with Sherry as he tries to convince her of how much he cares about her. Henke quietly, but intensely reveals the depth of Bobby’s love for his sister, and also the difficult situations he must navigate in his extended family as a result of his unqualified love and support of Sherry.

The trio of Collyer, Gyllenhaal, and Henke and the rest of the cast and crew have created one of those indie films that looks small, but also looks like a large flashy gem when viewed in the best light.

7 of 10
A-

Sunday, January 28, 2007

NOTES:
2007 Golden Globes: 1 nomination: “Best Performance by an Actress in a Motion Picture – Drama” (Maggie Gyllenhaal)

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Rob Zombie's "Halloween" Fueled by Brutal Violence

TRASH IN MY EYE No. 8 (of 2009) by Leroy Douresseaux


Halloween (2007)
Running time: 109 minutes (1 hour, 49 minutes)
MPAA – R for strong brutal bloody violence and terror throughout, sexual content, graphic nudity, and language
DIRECTOR: Rob Zombie
WRITER: Rob Zombie (based upon the movie written by John Carpenter and Debra Hill)
PRODUCERS: Malek Akkad, Andy Gould, Rob Zombie, and Andy La Marca
CINEMATOGRAPHER: Phil Parmet (D.o.P.)
EDITOR: Glenn Garland

HORROR

Starring: Malcolm McDowell, Scout Taylor-Compton, Brad Dourif, Daeg Faerch, Sheri Moon Zombie, William Forsythe, Hanna Hall, Ken Foree, Lew Temple, Danny Trejo, Danielle Harris, Kristina Klebe, Pat Skipper, Dee Wallace, and Tyler Mane

In 2007, musician turned movie director Rob Zombie already had two brutal horror films to his credit, House of 1000 Corpses and its sequel, The Devil Rejects, when he unleashed Halloween, a remake and re-imagining of director John Carpenter’s 1978 classic horror film of the same name. Zombie’s film followed the now familiar storyline, but went into the past to reveal some origins.

It’s Halloween, and 10-year-old Michael Myers (Daeg Faerch) goes on a murderous rampage in the quiet town of Haddonfield, Illinois. He spends the next 17 years in the Smith’s Grove Sanitarium under the care of noted child behaviorist, Dr. Samuel Loomis (Malcolm McDowell). Loomis seems to be the only person who can truly understand the evil of Michael’s nature.

After 17 years, the adult Michael Myers (Tyler Mane) escapes from the mental facility on the day of Halloween and begins a bloody trek back to Haddonfield. He stalks a high school girl, Laurie Strode (Scout Taylor-Compton), and her friends, Annie (Danielle Harris) and Lynda (Kristina Klebe). When Dr. Loomis hears about Michael’s escape, he races to Haddonfield and joins Sheriff Brackett (Brad Dourif) to find Michael and to put an end to Michael’s reign of terror. There, Loomis discovers that Myers and Laurie Strode have ties to a similar past.

Rob Zombie’s Halloween is a prequel, a re-imagining, a reinvention, and a remake of the original film. This new film is partly a prequel because Zombie, as both writer and director, chose to begin the story earlier in Michael Myer’s life than the writers of the original movie, John Carpenter and the late Debra Hill, did. That the story begins before the scene in which Michael puts on the mask and kills his sister, which is where the first film began. Zombie’s film begins Halloween morning, at the breakfast table of a highly dysfunctional “white trash” family. The audience sees Myers the “perfect storm” as Dr. Loomis calls it: Myers’ destructive home environment and his murderous tendencies.

Zombie re-imagines the film in the way he presents Michael Myers. Michael is not something of supernatural force, as the first film suggest, but he is simply a human monster – a psychopath. In the original film and its sequels (in which John Carpenter was involved to some extent) Carpenter suggested that Michael Myer’s evil was in some way a reflection of the darkness that existed at the heart of small towns like Haddonfield. Zombie provides no such social context or metaphor. Myers is simply a bad-ass, evil killer dude.

The film is a re-invention of sorts because it presents the violent slasher film as sort of a reality show in which all the gushing fluids of violent murder must be on display before the voyeuristic audience. In the original Halloween, Carpenter showed no blood, although Myers’ attacks on his victims were quite violent. In Zombie’s hands, the attacks are rude and crude – exercises in blood and mayhem and in bloody mayhem.

This film remains a respectful remake. Scenes, sequences, and even certain shots are repeated from the original or are only slightly altered. Halloween 2007 can stand on its own. The acting wasn’t great, but Zombie chose a nice mixture of character actors for the major parts and some famous faces and somewhat cult figures to fill in the bit parts and cameos, and that works out well.

Towards the end, the film seems out of control, both in terms of Zombie’s usual excesses and the fact that the ending seems padded. Still, Halloween is a scary movie, a celebration of raw violent horror, and true to Zombie’s rebel spirit. It is scandalous and disrespectful of those “our values” about which so-called conservatives like to preach. It’s funny and scary – a black comedy and horror movie that is stained dark with a lot of blood.

6 of 10
B

Wednesday, August 26, 2009

Review: Original "Spy Kids" a Family Action Flick

TRASH IN MY EYE No. 135 (of 2005) by Leroy Douresseaux

Spy Kids (2001)
Running time: 88 minutes (1 hour, 28 minutes)
MPAA – PG for action sequences
EDITOR/WRITER/DIRECTOR: Robert Rodriguez
PRODUCERS: Elizabeth Avellan and Robert Rodriguez
CINEMATOGRAPHER: Guillermo Navarro
COMPOSERS:  John Debney, Danny Elfman, Los Lobos, and Robert Rodriguez

ACTION/COMEDY/FAMILY

Starring: Antonio Banderas, Carla Gugino, Alexa Vega, Daryl Sabara, Alan Cumming, Tony Shalhoub, Teri Hatcher, Cheech Marin, Robert Patrick, and Danny Trejo

Robert Rodriguez is a low-budget filmmaker even when he gets a big budget to make a film. His breakthrough work, El Mariachi, was an effort of gathering money from wherever he could, including selling his body for medical experiments. Even as his budgets grew larger, his films still had a low cost, B-movie feel to them including such entertaining movies as From Dusk Till Dawn (which was actually a low-budget film) and The Faculty. When he turned his eye towards making a kid-friendly film, he retained his charming visual style, and used a bigger budget to create imaginative and novel backdrops and characters – all of which are seen in Spy Kids.

In Spy Kids, Gregorio and Ingrid Cortez (Antonio Banderas and Carla Gugino) are retired spies with two precocious children, Carmen (Alexa Vega) and Juni (Daryl Sabara), but Gregorio has a secret. He’s still doing spy work, and a project he worked on, named the Third Brain, is the object of desire of a bad spy, Mr. Lisp (Robert Patrick). When Lisp and his cohorts capture Gregorio and Ingrid, their spunky, resourceful children, Carmen and Juni, decides that it’s up to them to find their parents and save the world from the threat of Lisp and his band of nefarious Spy Kids.

Spy Kids has a lot in it that’s worth liking. For one thing, it’s a decidedly low-wattage action movie, which is perfect for children. It lacks the violence and intensity of many action films, but it retains the spirit of action flicks with a sense of adventure and lots of high tech gadgets and vehicles. The cast of villains is a collection of oddballs, seemingly more inspired by Tim Burton films than James Cameron films. Rodriguez fills his Spy Kids with imaginative sets and creatures that seemingly come right out of a children’s fairytale book or a comic book. It all looks so unusual in the context of an action movie, but that’s what makes Spy Kids really unique.

The acting is mostly pretty good. While Banderas and Ms. Gugino are kind of wooden as the parents, young Alexa Vega and Daryl Sabara get better as the film goes along. They manage to be both serious and have a sense of fun about their work. They’re having a good time, and they manage to establish a sly, sort of winking relationship with the audience; they definitely make this picture. The cast of villains is very good, including a surprising turn by Alan Cumming as Fegan Floop, the host of Juni’s favorite TV program; he really buries himself in the character and seems inseparable from the role while on screen.

Although Rodriguez’s script belabors the point about the need for family members to have each other’s back, the film is a fine example of an action film that everyone in the family can enjoy. The plot and story are simplistic, but not simple-minded, and Spy Kids has all the things that make “real” action movies exciting – thrills, gadgets, and a sense of urgency to save the good from the bad.

6 of 10
B

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Review: "From Dusk Till Dawn" Still a Bloody, Glorious Mess

TRASH IN MY EYE No. 68 (of 2005) by Leroy Douresseaux


From Dusk Till Dawn (1996)
Running time: 108 minutes (1 hour, 48 minutes)
MPAA – R for strong violence and gore, language, and nudity
DIRECTOR/EDITOR: Robert Rodriguez
WRITERS: Quentin Tarantino; based upon the story by Robert Kurtzman
PRODUCERS: Gianni Nunnari and Meir Teper
CINEMATOGRAPHER: Guillermo Navarro

HORROR/ACTION/DRAMA with elements of comedy and crime

Starring: Harvey Keitel, George Clooney, Quentin Tarantino, Juliette Lewis, Ernest Liu, Salma Hayek, Cheech Marin, Danny Trejo, Tom Savini, Fred Williamson, Michael Parks, Kelly Preston, John Saxson, and Brenda Hillhouse

After a bloody bank robbery, Seth Gecko (George Clooney) and his younger brother, Richard (Quentin Tarantino), are on the lam. The brothers take Jacob Fuller (Harvey Keitel), an ex-preacher, and his children, Kate (Juliette Lewis) and Scott (Ernest Liu) hostage, in order to use the Fullers’ RV for their getaway. The Geckos and the Fullers escape the police dragnet across the border into Mexico, where the Gecko Brothers are supposed to rendezvous with a local drug kingpin at a biker and trucker cantina called the Titty Twister. What the quintet doesn’t know is that the bar’s owners and some of the clientele are bloodthirsty vampires.

Movies like Scream, Bram Stoker’s Dracula, or even Interview with a Vampire might make the list of great horror movies from the 1990’s, but the Robert Rodriguez directed, Quentin Tarantino scripted horror film, From Dusk Till Dawn is a horrifying, classic howler. Part dark comedy, part gore fest, part action horror, and part crime thriller, FDTD is hell of a film. It’s so blood soaked at times that it might give some people pause and grab their stomachs. Some of the monster and creature makeup and effects are way over the top and hilarious, but the film works.

From Dusk Till Dawn is actually like two movies in one. The first half is straight out of classic crime cinema – dangerous, murderous, cop-killing thieves are on the lam with hostages in tow. The second half is apparently an ode to outlandish Mexican horror films (of which I never seen a one). This mixture is something only genre storytellers do well, and two guys like Tarantino and Rodriguez are steeped in stuff like comics, pulp fiction, and lowbrow cinema to the point where they can make something like FDTD work.

The cast is obviously having a good time; the extras seem to have the best time. George Clooney’s cool and calm killer carries this film across two genres, and his movie star presence shines even in something like this. However, blaxtiploitation star Fred Williamson and horror movie makeup legend, Tom Savini, give sweet kicks to their small, but deliciously kooky parts.

8 of 10
A

Friday, May 20, 2005

From Dusk Till Dawn [Blu-ray]

Review: Wam! Bam! Thank You "Machete"

TRASH IN MY EYE No. 14 (of 2011) by Leroy Douresseaux

Machete (2010)
Running time: 105 minutes (1 hour, 45 minutes)
MPAA – R for strong bloody violence throughout, language, some sexual content and nudity
DIRECTORS: Ethan Maniquis and Robert Rodriguez
WRITERS: Robert Rodriguez and Álvaro Rodríguez
PRODUCERS: Elizabeth Avellan, Robert Rodriguez, and Rick Schwartz
CINEMATOGRAPHER: Jimmy Lindsey
EDITORS: Rebecca Rodriguez and Robert Rodriguez

ACTION

Starring: Danny Trejo, Robert De Niro, Jessica Alba, Steven Seagal, Michelle Rodriguez, Jeff Fahey, Cheech Marin, Don Johnson, Shea Whigham, Lindsay Lohan, Daryl Sabara, Gilbert Trejo, and Tom Savini

Robert Rodriguez’s recent hell-raising flick, Machete, first hit the screen as a fake trailer in the 2007 Rodriguez/Quentin Tarantino double feature, Grindhouse. Part tongue-in-cheek action comedy and part exploitation movie, Machete offers deranged fun that includes everything from dismemberment to a mini-race war.

The film focuses on Machete Cortez (Danny Trejo), a former Mexican Federale turned illegal immigrant. Three years after the powerful drug lord, Rogelio Torrez (Steven Seagal) killed his wife and daughter, Machete roams Texas looking for work. A shady businessman named Michael Booth (Jeff Fahey) offers Machete $150,000 to assassinate corrupt Texas State Senator John McLaughlin (Robert De Niro). After he is double-crossed, Machete joins forces with immigration agent Sartana Rivera (Jessica Alba) to take down McLaughlin and a far-ranging conspiracy that includes anti-immigration racists and Machete’s old nemesis, Torrez. Luckily, Machete and Rivera find help in the form of Machete’s brother, the gun-wielding priest, Padre (Cheech Marin), and the taco-truck lady, Luz (Michelle Rodriguez).

I enjoy Robert Rodriguez’s films so very much, and although he has a co-director, Ethan Maniquis, for this film, Machete is true to the spirit of mayhem inherent in movies produced by Troublemaker Studios, Rodriguez’s production company. Machete does seem a bit long, and the narrative is occasionally clunky, but the action sequences have a seamless quality that gives the violence maxim impact upon the viewer.

The cinematic art of beheading, dismemberment, gouging, puncturing, and bladed-weapon-thrusting have rarely looked so good (obviously thanks to computer effects enhancement). Those of us who like that sort of thing will howl with pleasure. The terrific gunfights and pitched gun battles are the giant, juicy, succulent cherry on top of this hack-and-slash fun.

As well-made as this film is from creative and technical points of view, the cast is what assures that Machete manages not to take itself seriously, but also still work as an over-the-top action movie. Of course, Robert De Niro is good; in fact, his spot-on creation of the opportunistic, chauvinistic Senator McLaughlin is gold for this movie. Steve Seagal, Jeff Fahey, and Don Johnson were all, at one point in their careers, B-movie action stars, and they deliver some of their best action flick work here, especially Johnson. The girls are all good here, but Lindsay Lohan effortlessly outshines Jessica Alba and Michelle Rodriguez in a much smaller role.

Machete ultimately relies on Danny Trejo. Seemingly hewn from granite (sans the pretty boy looks), Trejo is an action star with the soul of a thespian. As good as this movie is, there actually isn’t enough of him on screen. Trejo has palatable film presence, and he makes Machete not just a good action movie, but also a good movie, regardless of genre.

7 of 10
A-

Friday, February 11, 2011

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Review: Danny Trejo Revealed in "Champion"

TRASH IN MY EYE No. 13 (of 2011) by Leroy Douresseaux

Champion (2005)
Running time: 81 minutes (1 hour, 21 minutes)
DIRECTOR: Joe Eckardt
WRITER: Cecily Gambrell
PRODUCERS: Joe Eckardt and Cecily Gambrell
CINEMATOGRAPHER: Vitaly Bokser, Dana Gonzales, and Daniel S. Haas
EDITORS: Joe Eckardt and Joseph Lorigo

DOCUMENTARY – Biography/Interview

Starring: Danny Trejo, Cecily Gambrell, Edward Bunker, Steve Buscemi, Dennis Hopper, Val Kilmer, and Robert Rodriguez

His body covered in tattoos, actor Danny Trejo has appeared in such films as Desperado, Con Air, and Spy Kids. Trejo is mostly known for playing tough guys, criminals, and villains. You’ll recognize him when you see him, and you may not be surprised to learn that Trejo has a past that includes substance abuse, drug dealing, and prison.

There is another side to Trejo. His troubled childhood, which included drug addiction, armed robbery, and extensive prison time, eventually led him to a career as a counselor, where his vocation became helping people who are struggling with alcohol, drugs, and gang-banging. That in turn led Trejo into acting, beginning with work in the 1985 film Runaway Train. The 2005 documentary Champion offers an intimate and detailed look at Trejo’s life and journey and includes testimonials from actors Steve Buscemi, Dennis Hopper, and Val Kilmer, among others.

The first hour of Champion mainly deals with Trejo’s troubled youth and a 20-year period from the 1950s to the late 1960s in which Trejo beat up people and/or robbed them, while selling drugs and doing time in juvenile and prison facilities. Although interesting, some of this first hour is repetitive or dry and slows the film. Then, Champion has a Saul-to-St. Paul moment and seems to suddenly open up, revealing the man who has a great big heart and a drive to help people. Champion is not a traditional documentary; in fact, it is essentially one long interview film. What the film ultimately documents is an inspirational story of how far up someone can come from being so down. Watch it and understand why Danny Trejo is indeed a champion.

7 of 10
B+

Friday, February 11, 2011

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Review: "Predators" Rocks Except When It Sucks

TRASH IN MY EYE No. 94 (of 2010) by Leroy Douresseaux

Predators (2010)
Running time: 107 minutes (1 hour, 47 minutes)
MPAA – R for strong creature violence and gore, and pervasive language
DIRECTOR: Nimród Antal
WRITERS: Alex Litvak and Michael Finch (from Jim Thomas and John Thomas)
PRODUCERS: Elizabeth Avellan, John Davis, and Robert Rodriguez
CINEMATOGRAPHER: Gyula Pados
EDITOR: Dan Zimmerman

SCI-FI/ACTION with elements of horror

Starring: Adrien Brody, Topher Grace, Alice Braga, Walton Goggins, Oleg Taktarov, Laurence Fishburne, Danny Trejo, Louis Ozawa Changchien, and Mahershalahashbaz Ali

In the 1987 movie, Predator, Arnold Schwarzenegger’s Dutch led a Special Forces team into the Guatemalan jungle. There, they encountered an alien hunter (called “the Predator”) that picked them off one by one. The 2010 movie, Predators, is a direct sequel to the original film, and follows a ruthless mercenary, as he leads a group of trained and untrained killers through a jungle on another planet.

In Predators, Royce (Adrien Brody), an ex-American military turned mercenary, awakens to find himself falling from the sky into a vast, unknown jungle. He soon meets seven other people that arrived there in the same manner. They include Isabelle (Alice Braga), a sniper and black operations soldier; Edwin (Topher Grace), a doctor; Hanzo (Louis Ozawa Changchien), a Yakuza, and Stans (Walton Goggins), a death row inmate; among others. They are killers without a conscience.

The group soon learns that they are not on Earth. After a pack of alien beasts attacks them, Royce deduces that the planet is a game preserve and that they are the game and the prey. When the hunters stalking them finally attack, the humans discover just how formidable they are. Their only hope – to get off the planet – is seemingly an impossible one, but they may get help from the unlikeliest sources.

I found Predators to be immensely entertaining, and this is also one time that I can certainly give credit to the director the film, in this case, Nimród Antal. He works action movie magic out of a script filled with inane characters and inconsistencies. Some of the characters are extraneous and pointless (a Yakuza!) or defy common sense (a death row inmate!). Some of the good ones disappear too early in the film, Danny Trejo’s Cuchillo, a drug cartel enforcer, and Mahershalahashbaz Ali’s Mombasa, a death squad soldier. The audience doesn’t get to know the characters that well, if at all, and they often come across as cardboard cutouts. However, Laurence Fishburne’s Noland is a delight; Fishburne plays him as so deranged that the character is both scary and alluring.

Meanwhile, the director took advantage of a new setting for the Predator franchise (an alien world) and special effects, CGI, and production design talent, improved from the original, to make a movie that looks cool, especially when the Predators attack. The moment the viewer stops and tries to make sense of the plot, story, and concept, Predators begins to fall apart. When the viewer focuses on the chasing and the killing, Predators is just plain fun – so much fun that I didn’t want it to end. So let’s go with this formula for a future film: more Predator action and fewer crappy characters.

6 of 10
B

Saturday, November 20, 2010

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Review: "Once Upon a Time in Mexico" - Robert Rodriguez's "Mexico Trilogy" Stumbled to the Finish Line

TRASH IN MY EYE No. 142 (of 2003) by Leroy Douresseaux

Once Upon a Time in Mexico (2003)
Running time: 102 minutes (1 hour, 42 minutes)
MPAA – R for strong violence and for language
WRITER/DIRECTOR: Robert Rodriguez
PRODUCERS: Elizabeth Avellan, Carlos Gallardo, and Robert Rodriguez
CINEMATOGRAPHER/COMPOSER/EDITOR: Robert Rodriguez

ACTION/CRIME/DRAMA

Starring: Antonio Banderas, Salma Hayek, Johnny Depp, Mickey Rourke, Eva Mendes, Danny Trejo, Enrique Inglesias, Marco Leonardi, Cheech Marin, Ruben Blades, Gerardo Vigil, Pedro Armendariz, Jr., and Willem Dafoe

Take a Sergio Leone spaghetti western like The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly and spin it on its head; add the flavor of the Southwest and Mexico, and you just might have director Robert Rodriguez’s Once Upon a Time in Mexico, a follow up of sorts to his 1995 film Desperado, itself a remake of Rodriguez’s El Mariachi. The film is certainly unique, being a mixture of several genres, but not really being like anything else in particular. As with most Rodriguez’s work, the film is of his own unique and zesty recipe, even if the film ends up being quite messy.

Sands (Johnny Depp) maybe a rogue agent of the Central Intelligence Agency, but like a lot of things in this movie, it’s not entirely clear what he is and what he wants. He hires the legendary El Mariachi (Antonio Banderas, reprising his role from Desperado), the guitar case assassin, and his compadres to kill Mexico’s El Presidente (Pedro Armendariz). Sands, however, is into manipulating a whole slew of players including a police officer (Eva Mendes) for whom he has amorous feelings, retired FBI agent (Ruben Blades) and a drug lord (Willem Dafoe), among others. It’s an explosive plan Sands has set for detonation during Mexico’s Day of the Dead celebrations, but he just might find himself scorched by the explosion.

Once Upon a Time has a lot going on in it, and there is so much to see; the film is literally a visual feast. Its most glaring deficit, probably the most important element, is a weak story and an even weaker script. Even if you take this film at its face value, which is that the tale is more impressionistic and symbolic than literal, the narrative is too jumbled to make much sense. There’s a lot of goofiness in the hyper-violence, and the film’s action sequences have a rapid and rabid, colorful, manic, music video cool about them. The film’s color palette is so lush and delicious that the film seems practically edible. Still, when all the dazzling is done, by the end of the film, the best you can do is agree that it seems as if the good guys won.

The acting (what there is of it) is mostly good, and Depp (He’s one of those actors that the camera really loves) steals the show. He is, however, not the lead, and although this is an ensemble drama, his character, if not the most important, is played by the most intriguing cast member. Maybe, he should have been the lead and his character more than just a catalyst (the crap starter) because Banderas, as the central figure here, just doesn’t work.

Rodriguez, as usual, is a one-man gang filmmaker. A musician, he scored the film, and edited it. He shot the film himself using digital video camera technology (which filmmaker George Lucas introduced him to in 2000), and he is, of course co-producer, writer, and director. I’m impressed with his verve, but I wish there was a little more meat to Rodriguez’s film. He’s a jack-of-all-trades, but sometimes, he doesn’t seem to be very good at any one. This is one of those times when a collaborator or two would have better served the end product. Once Upon a Time in Mexico is a good idea that doesn’t come to fruition. Although on the surface it may seem otherwise, it ends up being like a lot of summer action flicks, full of sound and fury, and not, surprisingly, empty.

5 of 10
C+

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Review: "Desperado" Both Beautiful and Brutal

TRASH IN MY EYE No. 65 (of 2005) by Leroy Douresseaux

Desperado (1995)
Running time: 106 minutes (1 hour, 46 minutes)
MPAA – R for strong bloody violence, a strong sex sequence, and language
DIRECTOR/WRITER/EDITOR: Robert Rodriguez
PRODUCERS: Bill Borden and Robert Rodriguez
CINEMATOGRAPHER: Guillermo Navarro

ACTION/WESTERN with elements of crime

Starring: Antonio Banderas, Salma Hayek, Joaquim de Almeida, Cheech Marin, Steve Buscemi, Carlos Gomez, Quentin Tarantino, Tito Larriva, Carlos Gallardo, Albert Michel, Jr., and Danny Trejo

Robert Rodriguez followed up his ultra-low budget independent thriller, El Mariachi, with the larger-budgeted ($7 million, which is low by Hollywood standards) Desperado. The film is a slightly re-imagined sequel. El Mariachi is now played by Antonio Banderas, replacing Carlos Gallardo, who played the character in the original film and who does make a cameo appearance here. This time the no-named musician (we do learn his name by the end of the film) is stalking Bucho (Joaquim de Almeida), the last Mexican drug lord with connections to the death of his girlfriend (as seen in the first film). He meets Carolina (Salma Hayek), a beautiful bookstore owner and falls in love with her while also taking on a small army of Bucho’s henchmen in a small, dusty border town. El Mariachi learns, however, that Bucho has a strong link to his past.

Some described Robert Rodriguez’s poetic way of presenting violence in this movie to the cinematic styles of John Woo and Sam Peckinpah, and the shoot-‘em-ups in Desperado are indeed eye candy, especially the violence in the first hour of this film. This first half of the film sparkles with black comedy, acerbic wit, and violent slapstick, but as the film goes on, it begins to list. The romantic scenes are dry and are only road bumps in the narrative. Whereas El Mariachi was short and tightly efficient, Desperado is a bit long and a little padded. Still, the combination of Guillermo Navarro’s warmly hued photography and Rodriguez’s visual acumen make for a beautiful, brutal, ballet of film violence, proving that violence does indeed look good on film, if the director knows what he’s doing. And with each movie, Rodriguez proves to be a natural born moviemaker.

7 of 10
B+

Monday, May 16, 2005

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