Negromancer News Bits and Bites from July 1st to 6th, 2024 - UPDATE #12

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

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ENTERTAINMENT AND CULTURE NEWS:

BOX OFFICE - From Variety:  The winner of the July 4th box office is "Despicable Me 4" with an estimated take of 20.4 million dollars.

CELEBRITY - From EW:  Famous actor Kevin Bacon disguised himself as a regular person for a day and discovered that, compared to fame, it sucks.

MOVIES - From THR:  "Beverly Hills Cop: Axel F" director Matt Molloy said he kept turning down offers from super-producer Jerry Bruckheimer until he said yes to the new "Beverly Hills Cop" film.

FILM FESTIVALS - From Deadline:  Director Tim Burton's new film, "Beetlejuice Beetlejuice," will open the 81st Venice Film Festival on Aug. 28th. The film is the sequel to his 1988 Oscar-winning hit, "Beetlejuice."

MOVIES - From WorldofReel:  Sony teases that more information will come about Quentin Tarantino's 10th and alleged final film. Earlier this year, it was announced that Tarantino had scrapped his plans to make a movie called "The Movie Critic."

NETFLIX - From THR:  Netflix has won the rights to "RIP," a thriller from Matt Damon and Ben Affleck's production company.  Directed by Joe Carnahan, the film also stars Damon and Affleck.

JAMES BOND - From WorldofReel:  Edward Berger ("All Quiet on the Western Front") is the latest name to pop up as a potential director to helm the next James Bond film franchise reboot.

MOVIES - From Deadline:  Universal moves tentpole musical, "Wicked" to November 22nd where it will open against Paramount Pictures' "Gladiator II."

BOX OFFICE - From Deadline:  Disney/Pixar's "Inside Out 2" has crossed the 1 billion dollar mark (1.014 billion dollars) at the global box office, which is the fastest ever for an animated film.

MOVIES - From Deadline:  We are approaching the 50th anniversary of the legendary blockbuster film, Jaws (1975). There are two documentaries about the film, dueling for attention, "Jaws: Making a Splash in Hollywood" and "Jaws @ 50."

OBITS:

From Deadline:  American film producer, Jon Landau, has died at the age of 63, Friday, July 5, 2024.  Landau was best known for his association with writer-director James Cameron and was the COO of Cameron's Lightstorm Entertainment.  Landau shared the "Best Picture" Oscar win with Cameron for the 1997 film, "Titanic."  He also received "Best Picture" Oscar nominations for "Avatar" (2009) and "Avatar: The Way of Water" (2022).

From Deadline:  American screenwriter and director, Robert Towne, has died at the age of 89, Monday, July 1, 2024.  He was best known for his work on the 1975 film, Chinatown," for which he was the "Best Original Screenplay" Oscar.  He was also nominated for Academy Awards for his work on "The Last Detail" (1974), "Shampoo" (1976), and "Greystoke: The Legend of Tarzan" (1984). He wrote and directed four films, including "Personal Best" (1982) and "Tequila Sunrise" (1988).

From Deadline:  American film editor, producer, and director, Bud S. Smith, has died at the age of 88, Sunday, June 23, 2024.  He edited or co-edited such films as "The Karate Kid" (1984), "To Live and Die in L.A. (1985), "Darkman" (1990), and "The Replacements" (2000).  He shared two Oscar nominations for his editing work on "The Exorcist" (1973) and "Flashdance" (1983).

Review: "BAD BOYS FOR LIFE" Takes a Bit to Come to Life

TRASH IN MY EYE No. 24 of 2024 (No. 1968) by Leroy Douresseaux

Bad Boys for Life (2020)

Running time:  124 minutes (2 hours, 4 minutes)

MPA – R for strong bloody violence, language throughout, sexual references and brief drug use

DIRECTORS:  Adil El Arbi and Bilall Fallah

WRITERS:  Chris Bremner, Peter Craig & Joe Carnahan; from a story by Peter Craig & Joe Carnahan (based on characters created by George Gallo)

PRODUCERS:  Doug Belgrad, Jerry Bruckheimer, and Will Smith

CINEMATOGRAPHER:  Robrecht Heyvaert (D.o.P.)

EDITORS: Dan Lebental and Peter McNulty

COMPOSER:  Lorne Balfe

ACTION/CRIME/COMEDY

Starring:  Will Smith, Martin Lawrence, Vanessa Hudgens, Paola Núñez, Alexander Ludwig, Charles Melton, Kate del Castillo, Nicky Jam, Joe Pantoliano, Jacob Scipio, and Theresa Randle

Bad Boys for Life is a 2020 American action, crime, and buddy cop film directed by Adil El Arbi and Bilall Fallah, better known as “Adil & Bilall.”  It is the third entry in the Bad Boys film series, which began with 1995's Bad Boys, and it is a sequel to Bad Boys II (2003).  In Bad Boys for Life, Detectives Lowrey and Burnett, the “Bad Boys,” face off against a mysterious killer whose campaign of revenge is centered on Lowrey.

Bad Boys for Life opens in Mexico at the Santa Maria Ixcotel Prison.  There, Isabel Aretas (Kate del Castillo) escapes with the help of her son, Armando (Jacob Scipio).  Isabel is the son of the late cartel kingpin, Benito Aretas, and she wants revenge against the men who helped take down her husband twenty-four years ago.  Armando, a highly-skilled criminal, savvy fighter, and vicious killer, is the instrument of her revenge.

One of those men is Detective Lt. Michael “Mike” Lowrey (Will Smith), and Armando comes close to killing him.  Mike is a hard man to keep down, and he wants payback.  His boss, Captain Conrad Howard (Joe Pantoliano), wants Mike to let a new, tech-driven police unit, called “AMMO” (Advance Miami Metro Operations), hunt the shooter.  Mike doesn't like that, especially as his former girlfriend, Lieutenant Rita Secada (Paolo Nunez), is head of AMMO.  Even worse, Mike's longtime partner, Det. Lt. Marcus Burnett (Martin Lawrence), has retired and wants to stay that way.  But when things get worse, will the Bad Boys be forced to unite for one last ride?

I still laugh at the fact that the film that became 1995's Bad Boys was originally written for actor-comedians, Dana Carvey and Jon Lovitz.  Bad Boys would go on to become a signature entry in the filmographies of both eventual Oscar-winning actor, Will Smith (King Richard), and Martin Lawrence, who would go on to star in such films as Big Momma's House (2000) and Wild Hogs (2007).  The duo eventually reunited for 2003's Bad Boys II.  Because the fourth entry in the Bad Boys series, Bad Boys: Ride or Die (2024), is about to be released, I decided to go back and watch and review the one film in the franchise that I had not seen in its entirety, Bad Boys for Life (2020).

A close friend told me that he thought Bad Boys for Life was bad.  I did find the first hour to be rather poorly developed.  After all, Lowrey and Burnett seem pretty slow in figuring out that the shootings of Lowrey and others are obviously related.  All these veteran cops and young, smart, new-school law enforcement are working on this case, and they are as clueless as can be.

However, in the film's second hour, directors Adil & Bilall make the most of their creative cohorts, especially their stunt coordinators, lighting department, and film editors in order to deliver a film that is fast-paced and slickly violent.  The filmmakers also bring out all of the colors and life in both the Miami and Mexican locations  Adil & Bilall do their best to summon the spirit of Michael Bay, the director of the first two films.  I wonder what he thought of the new directors' homage to his style.  I must say that Adil & Bilall eschew Bay's over-the-top theatrics for a slick visual, action style that is more focused on the characters than on sweeping shots and a deafening score and soundtrack.

In some ways, Bad Boys for Life is this series' best entry.  Yes, Martin Lawrence looks a little pudgy in the face, but his comic timing and humor eventual rev up.  Will Smith still looks lithesome and on the edge.  While it starts clunky, Bad Boys for Life doesn't show its age, but it does show that – surprisingly – there is still life in these cinematic bad boys.

7 of 10

B+

★★★½ out of 4 stars

Saturday, June 1, 2024

NOTES:

2021 Image Awards (NAACP):  1 win: “Outstanding Motion Picture” and 1 nomination: “Outstanding Actor in a Motion Picture” (Will Smith)

The text is copyright © 2024 Leroy Douresseaux. All Rights Reserved. Contact this site for syndication rights and fees.

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Gareth Evan's "The Raid" Gets the Comic Book Treatment

TITAN ANNOUNCES THE CREATIVE TEAM ON THE RAID COMICS

An all-new comic series based on the popular martial-arts blockbuster, written by Ollie Masters and Alex Paknadel

Titan Comics are thrilled to announce that writers Ollie Masters (The Kitchen) and Alex Paknadel (Assassin’s Creed: Uprising) are teaming up with artists Budi Setiawan (Rex Royd, Savage Dragon) and Brad Simpson (Wolfenstein) to helm a brand-new story from the world of martial arts movie masterpiece, The Raid!

Punching and kicking its way into stores in August 2018 with Issue #1, Titan Comics’ new four-part series brings the bone-crunching cinematic martial arts action to the bloodied page. Readers are invited to go beyond the movie to discover the shocking story behind fan-favorite characters, Hammer Girl and Baseball Bat Man.

Premiering in 2011, Indonesian martial-arts movie The Raid (also known as The Raid: Redemption) sent pulses racing at the Toronto International Film Festival and secured unanimous critical praise, rocketing to cult film status across the globe.

The movie captured audiences with its boundary-pushing, inventive choreography and piston-pumping narrative when a lone, isolated SWAT team are trapped by a ruthless mobster and his army of killers and thugs inside a tenement block, and they have to fight their way to the top.

Directed by Gareth Evans and produced by PT. Merantau Films and XYZ Films, the high-octane franchise has garnered great success since its release. The first film had 10 nominations at the 2012 Maya Awards, and was followed, in 2014 by The Raid 2, which featured the character of Rama returning to battle against corruption in his own police force.

Titan’s new comic series, overseen by series creator Gareth Evans, is a perfect companion to the upcoming American reimagining of The Raid mythos, which is being brought to life by renowned director Joe Carnahan.

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MGM Releases New Poster for Eli Roth, Bruce Willis' "Death Wish" Remake

From Press Materials:

DEATH WISH
Release Date: March 2, 2018
Genre: Action- Thriller
Director: Eli Roth
Screenplay: Joe Carnahan, based on a novel by Brian Garfield
Producer: Roger Birnbaum
CAST: Bruce Willis, Vincent D'Onofrio, Elisabeth Shue, Camila Morrone, Dean Norris and Kimberly Elise

SYNOPSIS:
Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Pictures presents director Eli Roth's re-imagining of the classic 1974 revenge thriller Death Wish.  Dr. Paul Kersey (Bruce Willis) is a surgeon who only sees the aftermath of Chicago violence when it is rushed into his ER - until his wife (Elisabeth Shue) and college-age daughter (Camila Morrone) are viciously attacked in their suburban home.  With the police overloaded with crimes, Paul, burning for revenge, hunts his family's assailants to deliver justice.  As the anonymous slayings of criminals grabs the media's attention, the city wonders if this deadly vigilante is a guardian angel or a grim reaper.  Fury and fate collide in the intense, action-thriller
Death Wish.

Paul Kersey becomes a divided person: A man who saves lives, and a man who takes them; a husband and father trying to take care of his family, and a shadowy figure fighting Chicago crime; a surgeon extracting bullets from suspects' bodies, and the vigilante called "The Grim Reaper" who detectives are quickly closing in on.

Updated from the original novel by Brian Garfield, director Eli Roth  and screenwriter Joe Carnahan's (The Grey, Narc) Death Wish also stars Vincent D'Onofrio (The Magnificent Seven, TV's Daredevil and Law & Order: Criminal Intent), Elisabeth Shue (Leaving Las Vegas), Camila Morrone, Dean Norris (Breaking Bad) and Kimberly Elise (The Great Debaters). It's a knife's-edge portrayal that challenges our assumptions, and pushes our buttons.

By bringing the complex psychology of Brian Garfield's book up-to-the-moment and injecting new thrills and a stark, unflinchinglook at the American psyche in 2017, Eli Roth and Death Wish brings audiences to the height of unforgettable suspense.

A Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Pictures production, Death Wish is set for release on March 2, 2018.  It will be distributed in the U.S. by APR and internationally by Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Pictures.  Death Wish stars Bruce Willis, Vincent D'Onofrio, Elisabeth Shue, Camila Morrone, Dean Norris, Kimberly Elise.  Directed by Eli Roth.  Screenplay by Joe Carnahan, based on the 1974 Motion Picture by Wendell Mayes from the Novel by Brian Garfield.  Producer, Roger Birnbaum.  Associate Producer, Stephen J. Eads.  Executive Producer, Ilona Herzberg.  Director of Photography, Rogier Stoffers.  Edited by Mark Goldblatt.  Music by Ludwig Göransson.  Production Design by Paul Kirby.  Costume Design by Mary Jane Fort.

DEATH WISH Official Channels:
Website: http://deathwish.movie/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/DeathWishFilm
Twitter: https://twitter.com/DeathWishMovie
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/DeathWishMovie 
#DeathWishMovie


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Negromancer News Bits and Bites for the Week of June 7th to 13th, 2015 - Update #8

Posted by Leroy Douresseaux; you can support him on Patreon.

NEWS:

From YahooTV:  Jurassic World is apparently about to take over the world... box office.

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From Collider:  Pixar has apparently replaced the entire voice cast (except maybe one actor) of The Good Dinosaur, which is due in December 2015.  

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From Variety:  The great British actor, Christopher Lee, died on Sunday, June 7, 2015 at the age of 93.  He is probably best known as the actor who revitalized Dracula in the 1958, Horror of Dracula.  He was the 20th Century's second most famous screen Dracula.

Young fans will know him for his appearances in The Lord of the Rings and The Hobbit films.  He was a James Bond villain in The Man with the Golden Gun.  He was "Count Dooku" in the second and third films of Star Wars prequel trilogy.  He was a close friend of one of my favorite actors, Peter Cushing (who died in 1994).  I believe that they are reunited.

From IMDb:  Christopher Lee: A Life in Pictures.
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From THR:  Apparently, Sony still wants "Bad Boys 3."  Joe Carnahan is circling to work on the script and to direct.  Michael Bay directed the first two films in the series.

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From THR:  The new comedy, Spy, wins the 6/5 to 6/7/2015 weekend box office with an estimated take of $30 million.  The Paul Reig film stars Melissa McCarthy.

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From CinemaBlend:  J.K. Rowling offers clues about an American wizarding school.


COMICS - Films and Books

From Collider:  Marvel and Sony at odds over which actor will be the next Spider-Man, apparently, my fave, Asa Butterfield, is out.

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From Vulture:  Someone else takes a shot at writing a screenplay adaptation of one of the greatest manga and comic books of all time, Akira.

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From YahooTech:  Joseph Gordon-Levitt says his "Sandman" film won't be a typical superhero film.


TRAILERS:

From YouTube:  The new trailer for Ridley Scott's "The Martian."


OBIT:

From Variety via YahooMovies:  The actress, Mary Ellen Trainor, died May 20, 2015 at the age of 62.  She appeared in numerous movies, including The Goonies, Die Hard, and all four Lethal Weapon movies, among many.

Review: "Smokin' Aces" is Not Quite Smokin' (Happy B;day, Ray Liotta)

TRASH IN MY EYE No. 117 (of 2007) by Leroy Douresseaux

Smokin’ Aces (2006)
Running time:  109 minutes (1 hour, 49 minutes)
MPAA – R for strong bloody violence, pervasive language, some nudity, and drug use
WRITER/DIRECTOR:  Joe Carnahan
PRODUCERS:  Tim Bevan, Eric Fellner, Joe Carnahan, and Liza Chasin
CINEMATOGRAPHER:  Mauro Fiore (D.o.P.)
EDITOR:  Robert Frazen
COMPOSER:  Clint Mansell

CRIME/ACTION with elements of comedy and drama

Starring:  Ryan Reynolds, Jeremy Piven, Ray Liotta, Ben Affleck, Andy Garcia, Alicia Keys, Common, Taraji Henson, Martin Henderson, Peter Berg, Christopher Michael Holley, Nestor Carbonell, Chris Pine, Kevin Durand, Maury Sterling, Tommy Flanagan, Curtis Armstrong, Jason Batman, Mike Falkow Joseph Ruskin, Alex Rocco, Joel Edgerton, and Matthew Fox

The subject of this movie review is Smokin’ Aces, a 2007 crime and action film from director Joe Carnahan.  The movie focuses on a Las Vegas performer-turned-snitch and the large number of people trying to kill him.  The film was released theatrically in January 2007.

Smokin’ Aces is the first film from writer/director Joe Carnahan since his gritty crime flick, Narc, which premiered at the 2002 Sundance Film Festival and went onto receive rave reviews (including praise from Harrison Ford).  The attention even earned him a deal to direct Mission: Impossible 3 before Carnahan departed the project over creative differences with Tom Cruise.

Buddy “Aces” Israel (Jeremy Piven) grew up amongst card sharks, gamblers, killers, and thugs.  By the time he was 21, Buddy was a wildly popular magician in Las Vegas, a celebrity who also got to hang out with the most dangerous criminals.  But Buddy wanted more.  He wanted to be gangster and became one before the law caught up with him.  After the sleazy Las Vegas illusionist agrees to testify against his former mob partners, he embarks on one last hurrah in Lake Tahoe before entering witness protective custody.

His one-time benefactor, Primo Sparazza (Joseph Ruskin), a mob power broker, isn’t about to let that happen.  Rumors are that Sparazza is willing to pay up to $1,000,000 for Buddy dead and his heart delivered back to Sparazza.  When word hits the street, a rogues gallery of degenerate assassins, killers, and psychopaths head for Lake Tahoe and the Nomad Casino where Buddy is hiding to claim the prize.  FBI Deputy Director Stanley Locke (Andy Garcia) sends his top agent, Richard Messner (Ryan Reynolds) and Messner’s veteran partner, Donald Carruthers (Ray Liotta), to keep Buddy safe, but can a few agents protect the seedy magician from a slew of would-be assassins?

Although the film has a delightful and wildly diverse cast, Smokin’ Aces is mostly a Pulp Fiction clone except that it has an even weirder cast of characters.  Defined by action movie frivolity, Smokin’ Aces attempts to make slime look glamorous.  Carnahan raises the crass display of bloodletting to new faux art heights.  The film has its moments, and its violence is as much cartoonish as it is nightmarish.  In a sense, it’s like some crazy, hyperactive crime comic book.  The film’s narrative is itself a card trick – an illusion in which the viewer keeps seeing what he expects to see and misses the obvious.  So the ending may come as a shock because it is something of a commentary on the dishonest and sometimes illegal means by which law enforcement goes after a large quarry.

Before that ending, there are some exceptional characters brought to life by actors giving rich performances.  Ryan Reynolds is the best of the lot, but Common as Sir Ivy and Alicia Keys and Taraji Henson as the badass assassin duo, Georgia Sykes and Sharice Watters, are fun to watch.

5 of 10
B-

Saturday, August 18, 2007

Updated:  Wednesday, December 18, 2013

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

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Joe Carnahan's "Narc" is a Fiery Cop Thriller

TRASH IN MY EYE No. 129 (of 2003) by Leroy Douresseaux


Narc (2002)
Running time: 105 minutes (1 hour, 45 minutes)
MPAA – R for strong brutal violence, drug content and pervasive language
WRITER/DIRECTOR: Joe Carnahan
PRODUCERS: Michelle Grace, Ray Liotta, Diane Nabatoff, and Julius R. Nasso
CINEMATOGRAPHER: Alex Nepomniaschy (D.o.P.)
EDITOR: John Gilroy
COMPOSER: Cliff Martinez

CRIME/DRAMA/MYSTERY

Starring: Ray Liotta, Jason Patric, Chi McBride, Busta Rhymes, Alan Van Sprang, Krista Bridges, and Gavyn and Myles Donaldson

The subject of this movie review is Narc, a 2002 crime film from Joe Carnahan and starring Ray Liotta and Jason Patric. The film is about corrupt police involved in the drug trade in Detroit, Michigan.

Writer/director Joe Carnahan’s Narc is the kind of gritty cop film, that if done right, will make select audiences and critics sit up and take notice. Add a punch in the face and to the stomach ending and we have a film that actually gets better as it goes along, racing to a blistering climax. This is both a writer’s and an actors’ film, although the directing, photography, and editing are all quite good – lots of clever and quick cuts, extreme close-ups, and a sense of claustrophobia to go with all that washed out, bluish lighting that pervades the film.

In the film, Nick Tellis (Jason Patric), an undercover narcotics officer banished indiscriminately shooting at a suspect, returns to the Job to investigate the unsolved murder of a fellow narc, Michael Calvess (Alan Van Sprang). Tellis requests that Calvess’ partner Henry Oak (Ray Liotta) assist him in the investigation, but Detective Oak is one of those violent hot-tempered cops who need to be leashed. He has a record of battering suspects and wants nothing more than to do worse to Calvess’ murderers.

Both Liotta and Patric are way underrated actors in that neither one will ever be a big time matinee idol, but both are very good actors. Each has a knack for playing hard-nosed, but neither is a pretty boy. If a character needs to be “searing,” especially in a dark drama, either one is the man for the part. Liotta even has a stunning Oscar-worthy moment in Narc that, in the end, failed to earn him an Academy Award nomination.

Carnahan’s script for Narc is densely plotted, as the Calvess’ murder investigation is actually more than just an attempt to find the cop killers. It involves politics, convoluted and complex personal relationships, police procedure, hypocrisy, and redemption. Carnahan only hints at the larger personalities of Tellis and Oak, choosing to focus on their characteristics and personalities as they relate to being cops. In that vein, Narc is a complex, searing, and ultimately disheartening and frustrating look at the cop culture. Thrilling, riveting, and mesmerizing are just a few of the words that I could use to describe just how strongly this film holds the viewer in its sway. It is suffice to say that Carnahan (who is scheduled to direct Mission: Impossible 3) explodes our preconceptions much in the way his characters find out that little is what it seems. By the end of this movie, Carnahan leaves you crying for an encore.

8 of 10
A