Negromancer News Bits and Bites from Oct 27th to 31st, 2024 - UPDATE #12

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

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SPORTS - From ESPN:  The Los Angeles Dodgers (National League) win the 2024 World Series, beating the New York Yankees (American League), four games to one.

MUSIC/DISNEY - From Deadline:  Disney has snatched the rights to broadcast and stream the Grammy Awards ceremony from CBS, which has been broadcasting the Grammy Awards for 50 years.  The 10 year deal will see the Grammy Awards broadcast on ABC and stream on Hulu and Disney+ beginning in 2027 and ending 2036.

MOVIES - From Deadline:  Keenan Ivory Wayans, Shawn Wayans, and Marlon Wayans are uniting for the first time in 18 years (since 2006's "Little Man") for a return to the "Scary Movie" franchise.  The movie, which would shoot next year, is scheduled for a theatrical release.

SCANDAL - From YahooNews:  Actor, comedian, and voice performer, Jay Johnston, was sentenced to federal prison for one year and a day for his activities during the U.S. Capitol attack and riot on January 6th, 2021. Johnston is best known for his work on such television comedies as "Mr. Show with Bob and David" (HBO), "The Sarah Silverman Program" (Comedy Central), and the Fox Network's "Arrested Development" and "Bob's Burgers."

MOVIES - From THR:  Oscar-nominee Johnny Depp and Oscar-winner Penelope Cruz will team up for "Day Drinker," a thriller that is slated to be directed by Marc Webb ("The Amazing Spider-Man").

MOVIES/STAGE - From Deadline:  George Clooney is bringing his 2005 film, "Good Night, and Good Luck," to Broadway.  This time he will play legendary veteran journalist, Edward R. Murrow.  Actor David Strathairn played Murrow in the 2005 which Clooney directed. Performances will begin March 2025.

BOX OFFICE - From BoxOfficePro:  The winner of the 10/25 to 10/27/2024 weekend box office is Sony Pictures' "Venom: The Last Dance" with an estimated take of 51 million dollars.

KAMALA - From TheAtlantic:  Film and television impresario, Tyler Perry, has apparently made a better closing argument for why people should vote for VP Kamala Harris instead of disgraced former president, Trump.  Perry says “It was so important for me to stand with a candidate who understands that we, as America—we are a quilt. And I could never stand with a candidate who wants America to be a sheet.”

From Variety:  Oscar-winning actor, Leonardo DiCaprio, releases a video endorsement of VP Kamala Harris for President.

LGBTQ - From Deadline: Gay actor, Luke Evans, says he can't think of another gay star getting the kind of macho roles he plays.  The Welsh actor has starred in "The Hobbit" and "Fast & Furious" films and is playing a tough, straight guy in Amazon's upcoming, "Criminal."

OBITS:

From Deadline:  American film and television actress, Terri Garr, has died at the age of 79, Tuesday, October 29, 2024.  Garr was best known for appearing in such films as Mel Brooks' "Young Frankenstine" (1974), Steven Spielberg's "Close Encounters of the Third Kind" (1977), and Sydney Pollack's "Tootsie" (1982).  She received a "Best Supporting Actress" Oscar nomination for her work in "Tootsie."  In television, Garr appeared in multiple episodes of "McCloud," "The Sonny and Cher Comedy Hour," and "Friend," to name a few.

From Deadline:  American television scriptwriter and producer, Jeri Taylor, has died at the age of 86, Thursday, October 24, 2024.  Taylor was best known for her work on television series, "Star Trek: The Next Generation" and "Star Trek: Voyager."  Taylor is credited with writing 13 episode of TNG; 3 episodes of DS9, and numerous episodes of "Voyager," which she co-created with Rick Berman and Michael Piller.  Taylor shared a Primetime Emmy nomination as a producer on the final season of "The Next Generation."  Taylor also wrote multiple episodes of such TV series as "Qunicy, M.E.," "Magnum P.I.," and "In the Heat of the Night," to name a few.

MOVIE AWARDS:

From Deadline:  The 2024 / 34th Gotham Awards kick off the 2024-25 movie awards season by announcing its nominations for achievement in film.  Director Sean Baker's "Anora," which won the Palme d'Or at Cannes this year, leads with four nominations.  The winners will be announced Monday, December 2, 2024.

Review: "PARALLEL MOTHERS" is Another Almodovar-Cruz Masterpiece

TRASH IN MY EYE No. 39 of 2022 (No. 1851) by Leroy Douresseaux

Parallel Mothers (2021)
Original title: Madres paralelas
COUNTRY OF ORIGIN: Spain; Language: Spanish
Running time:  123 minutes (2 hours, 3 minutes)
MPA – R for some sexuality
WRITER/DIRECTOR:  Pedro Almodóvar
PRODUCERS:  Augustin Almodóvar and Esther Garcia
CINEMATOGRAPHER:  José Luis Alcaine (D.o.P.)
EDITOR:  Teresa Font
COMPOSER:  Alberto Iglesias
Academy Award nominee

DRAMA

Starring:  Penelope Cruz, Milena Smit, Israel Elejalde, Aitana Sanchez-Gijon, Julieta Serrano, Adelfa Clavo, Carmen Flores, Ainhoa Santamaria, and Rossy de Palma

Madres paralelas is a 2021 Spanish drama film written and directed by Pedro Almodóvar.  The film is also known by its English release title, Parallel Mothers (the title I will use for this review).  The film focuses on two mothers who give birth on the same day causing them to bond in unexpected ways.

Parallel Mothers introduces Janis Martínez (Penelope Cruz), a highly considered magazine photographer.  She does a photo shoot with renowned forensic archaeologist, Arturo (Israel Elejalde). She asks him if his foundation will help excavate a mass grave in her home village, where she believes her great-grandfather and other men from the village were killed and buried during the Spanish Civil War (1936-39).  After he agrees to review the case with his foundation, Arturo has sexual relations with Janis, who becomes pregnant.

Later, Janis shares a hospital room with Ana Manso (Milena Smit), a teen single mother, and the two end up giving birth at the same time.  Janis has a daughter whom she names “Cecilia,” and Ana a daughter she names “Anita.”  The women promise to stay in touch, but Janis makes a series of shocking discoveries that will change both their lives.

Parallel Mothers is obviously an acting showcase for Penelope Cruz, who wastes no time exercising her prodigious talents.  Cruz won numerous awards and received even more nominations for her performance as Janis Martinez.  Writer-director Pedro Almodovar has spent his four-decade career in film making writing wonderful roles for women that result is wonderful films featuring an eclectic group of actresses.

Parallel Mothers' women are united across time by the bonds of motherhood, family, friendship, and loss.  They are the speakers for the dead and the nurtures of men, but they also nurture and support and lift-up the other women in their lives.  This is the uplift that Janis will provide for Ana, played by actress Milena Smit as a pixie of a girl in need of mothering.  Janis and Ana are the solid center and radiant soul of this film about the complications and twists, the pain and the glory, and joy, sadness, and bittersweet nature of being a mother.

The film has a subplot involving the Spanish Civil War, which is the impetus for the Janis and Arturo conceiving a child.  The search for the missing graves in her village, a grave that will hold the remains of her great-grandfather and the grandfathers of other women she knows is also part of the film's theme of loss and separation.  These men, murdered in the civil war, should ultimately have a decent burial, and Janis and the other women will see to that.

Pedro Almodovar offers a film that is as raw and unflinching as it is beautiful.  He draws out performances that are unashamedly naked and vulnerable in their depictions and displays of emotions, in a way American films tend to avoid, even Oscar-bait films.  Sometimes Almodovar can be riotous and uproarious, but other times he can be uncannily intimate, as he is here.  Sometimes, I feel unworthy of viewing his amazing films, which are so different and so much more daring than what I usually watch.  Parallel Mothers is one of 2021's very best films and reveals that the Spanish maestro is, as usual, in top form.

10 of 10

Friday, June 24, 2022


NOTES:
2022 Academy Awards, USA:  2 nominations: “Best Performance by an Actress in a Leading Role” (Penelope Cruz) and “Best Achievement in Music Written for Motion Pictures-Original Score (Alberto Iglesias)

2022 BAFTA Awards:  1 nomination: “Best Film not in the English Language” (Pedro Almodóvar and Augustin Almodovar)

2022 Golden Globes, USA:  2 nominations: “Best Motion Picture – Non-English Language” (Spain) and Best Original Score – Motion Picture (Alberto Iglesias)


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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Review: "Murder on the Orient Express" 2017 is More Dark Than Cozy

TRASH IN MY EYE No. 6 of 2022 (No. 1818) by Leroy Douresseaux

Murder on the Orient Express (2017)
Running time:  114 minutes (1 hour, 54 minutes)
MPAA – PG-13 for violence and thematic elements
DIRECTOR: Kenneth Branagh
WRITER: Michael Green (based on the novel by Agathie Christie)
PRODUCERS:  Kenneth Branagh, Mark Gordon, Judy Hofflund, Simon Kinberg, Michael Schaefer, and Ridley Scott
CINEMATOGRAPHER:  Haris Zambarloukos
EDITOR:  Mick Audsley
COMPOSER:  Patrick Doyle

MYSTERY

Starring:  Kenneth Branagh, Penelope Cruz, Willem Dafoe, Judi Dench, Olivia Colman, Daisy Ridley, Leslie Odom, Jr., Tom Bateman, Manuel Garcia-Rulfo, Josh Gad, Derek Jacobi, Sergei Polunin, Lucy Boynton, Marwan Kenzari, and Johnny Depp

Murder on the Orient Express is a 2017 mystery film directed by Kenneth Branagh.  It is based on the 1934 novel, Murder on the Orient Express, written by Agatha Christie (1890-1976).  Murder on the Orient Express the movie focuses on a celebrated detective who is recruited to solve a murder that occurs on a train in which he is traveling.

Murder on the Orient Express opens in 1934 and finds renowned Belgian detective, Hercule Poirot (Kenneth Branagh), in the midst of solving a case in Jerusalem.  When Poirot is ready to return to London, his friend, Bouc (Tom Bateman), the nephew of the director of the luxury Orient Express train service, arranges a berth for him aboard the train.

Poirot boards the train with Bouc and thirteen other passengers.  There is the talkative American widow, Caroline Hubbard (Lauren Bacall).  The English governess, Mary Debenham (Daisy Ridley), and physician, Dr. John Arbuthnot (Leslie Odom, Jr.), seem to be previously acquainted.  Spanish missionary, Pilar Estravado (Penelope Cruz), is prayerful.  American businessman, Edward Ratchett (Johnny Depp), is on a business trip with with his secretary/translator, Hector McQueen (Josh Gad), and his English manservant, Edward Masterman (Derek Jacobi).

There is a Cuban-American car salesman, Biniamino Marquez (Manuel Garcia-Rulfo).  Elderly Russian Princess Natalia Dragomiroff (Judi Dench) travels with her maid, Hildegarde Schmidt (Olivia Colman).  Hungarian Count Rudolf Andrenyi (Sergei Polunin) and his wife, Elena (Lucy Boynton), are always together.  Austrian university professor, Gerhard Hardman (Willem Dafoe), has theories about different “races” and nationalities.  The train's French conductor, Pierre Michel (Marwan Kenzari), attends to the passengers' numerous needs.

That first night, an avalanche derails the train.  The next morning, Poirot discovers that Edward Ratchett has been murdered and stabbed 12 times.  Poirot and Bouc begin investigating the passengers in order to discover Ratchett's killer, but this case will be quite trying for the esteemed Monsieur Poirot.  He does not lie, and this case may force him to do just that.

The first film adaptation of Agatha Christie's novel, Murder on the Orient Express (1974), was one of only two films adapted from her work that she liked.  [The other was the 1957 film, Witness for the Prosecution, which was based on Christie's 1953 play, The Witness for the Prosecution.]  In the first film, the late actor Albert Finney gives a tremendous performance as Hercule Poirot, one that earned him an Oscar nomination.  The 1974 film is a classic murder mystery film made classier and more artful by its stellar cast of stars from Hollywood films and international cinema.

Murder on the Orient Express 2017 is stylish and modern with plenty of production values created by computers.  Its cast is a mix of established stars, Oscar-winning actors, and up-and-coming talent.  The 2017 film is so stylish that it often comes across as too cold and too determined to be an Oscar-worthy period piece and costume drama.  Kenneth Branagh, as the film's director and as its leading star (playing Hercule Poirot), sometimes seems lost in the technical details of directing his showy, award-winning cast and in creating an eccentric, OCD, smarter-than-everyone-else detective.

However, Murder on the Orient Express 2017 really shows its power in the last thirty minutes of the film.  The 1974 film offered a tidy happy ending.  The 2017 offers a thoroughly messy happy ending that is more befitting of these troubled, modern times.  Branagh and writer Michael Green turn the last act's revelation of whodunit into an edgy, dark exercise.  Truth be told, dammit!  But it will be done so with all the rawness of grief and the bitterness and hatred of revenge.  No one gets out of this resolution unscathed, and the healing will likely leave painful scabs.

I like Murder on the Orient Express 2017.  I like that the ethnicity and national origins of the cast are more diverse than what is in the 1974 film and in the original novel.  I like that it plainly leaves us with the message that murder is murder – no matter how good the intentions are – and that pain will temporarily make killers of those who are not really killers at heart.  I wonder what Agathie Christie would think of this take on Murder on the Orient Express.

I like Murder on the Orient Express 2017 mainly because it decides not to be cozy about the murder mystery.  I hope the follow up to this film, the just released Death on the Nile, is also this aggressive.

7 out of 10
A-

Thursday, February 10, 2022


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

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Negromancer News Bits and Bites from February 1st to 11th, 2017 - Update #51

Support Leroy on Patreon.

COMICS-FILM - From CNET:  Marvel just released a video featurette concerning the first day of filming of "Avengers: Infinity."

From YahooNews:  Video from the set of "Avengers: Infinity War."

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MOVIES - From TheWrap:  Coen Brothers set to remake "Scarface."

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MOVIES - From Deadline:  Babak Najafi ("London Has Fallen") set to direct Taraji P. Henson in the thriller, "Proud Mary."

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TELEVISION - From TVLine:  ABC's Thursday night lineup from Shonda Rhimes, "Grey's Anatomy," "Scandal," and "How to Get Away with Murder," will return for another season, 2017-18.

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POLITICS - From Esquire - What Jefferson Beauregard Sessions III as the Attorney General of the United States now the Confederate States of America means to us.

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TELEVISION - From Esquire:  What does Alec Baldwin get out of playing Donald Trump on Saturday Night Live.

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BLM - From Time:  She complied with Immigration and still got deported to Mexico, after being in the U.S. for 21 years since she was 14.

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MOVIES - From FlickeringMyth:  Blair Redford joins Marvel/Fox's "X-Men" TV pilot.

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TELEVISION - From Variety:  NBC is in talks to revive "American Idol," which ran on FOX for 15 seasons.

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MOVIES - From Deadline:  Director David Gordon Green ("Pineapple Express") will direct the reboot of the "Halloween" horror film franchise.

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COMICS-FILM - From YahooMovies:  A photo of an Iron Man action figure may reveal what Iron Man's armor looks like in "Spider-Man: Homecoming."

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MOVIES - From TheWrap:  Lee Daniels is in talks to direct Oprah Winfrey in a remake of "Terms of Endearment."  God in Heaven, help us.

MOVIES - From Variety:  Two of the writers behind "Scary Movie" and such parody films as "Vampires Suck" and "Epic Movie," will write and direct a "Star Wars" spoof.

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MOVIES - From Variety:  Jack Nicholson will star in the American remake of "Toni Erdmann," the Oscar-nominated German film.

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COMICS-FILM - From THR:  Billy Dee Williams talks about finally playing Two-Face.

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OBIT - From THR:  The actor Richard Hatch has died at the age of 71, Tuesday, February 7, 2017.  His best known role was as "Captain Apollo" in the original "Battlestar Galactica" (ABC, 1978-79).  He also returned for the 2004-09 reboot of the series.

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MOVIES - From YahooMovies:  Hmm... the Oscar nominees luncheon looks different this year compared to last year.

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MOVIES - From Variety:  Matthew McConaughey will star in Harmony Korine's "The Beach Bum."

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SPORTS - From BusinessInsider: The New England Patriots won Super Bowl 51.  When the team visits the White House, Patriots tight end Martellus Bennett will not attend.

From YahooSports:  Devin McCourty becomes the second Super Bowl winning New England Patriot (after Martellus Bennett) who will not go to the White House.

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MOVIES - From YahooMovies:  All the big Super Bowl movie trailers broadcast during Super Bowl 51 - according to Yahoo.

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MOVIES - From Variety:  M. Night Shyamalan teases "Split" sequel.

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BOX OFFICE - From BoxOfficeMojo:  The winner of the 2/3 to 2/5/2017 weekend box office winner is "Split" with an estimated take of $14.6 million.  This is the film's third weekend at #1.

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TELEVISION - From YahooTV:  Some people think Kristen Stewart killed it hosting "Saturday Night Live" last night (2/4/2017).

From YahooNews:  From a special guest appearance, Melissa McCarthy steals the show last night on "SNL," spoofing President Trump's Press Secretary, Sean Spicer.

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AWARDS - From TheWrap:  Damien Chazelle, director of "La La Land," wins at the Directors Guild Awards.

From LATimes:  Winners make politicized speeches at the 2017 DGA Awards.

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AWARDS - From Variety:  "Zootopia" tops at the animation industry's "Annie Awards."

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MOVIES - From Variety:  John Lithgow has joined the cast of "Pitch Perfect."

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POLITICS - From TIME:  Kareem Abdul-Jabbar says President Trump's "Muslim ban" like a bad horror movie.

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ANIMATION - From TheWrap:  The director of "The Lego Movie" sequel is Mike Mitchell, who directed DreamWork Animation's hit, "Trolls."

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MOVIES - From TheWrap:  New Line Cinema is spinning off a horror movie from "The Conjuring 2."  It is "The Nun" and it will be directed by Corin Hardy.

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COMICS-FILM - From TheWrap:  Marvel has found its leads for its TV series, "Runaways," which is set on Hulu.

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ANIMATION - From TheWrap:  Universal and its animation unit, Illumination, books five straight July 4 weekends through 2023 for film debuts, including "Minions 2."

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MOVIES - From ThePlaylist:  Penelope Cruz and Edgar Ramirez join "Love Child" from director Todd Solondz.

CELEBRITY - From YahooCelebrity:  Patton Oswalt gets in a nasty Twitter exchange with a guy who brings up Oswalt's recently deceased wife.

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POLITICS - From YahooCelebrity:  Matthew McConaughey says that it is time to embrace President Trump.  Hell, no!

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MOVIES - From TheVillageVoice: Bilge Ebiri lists the 10 best films of Sundance 2017.

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CULTURE - From TheIntercept:   The FBI has quietly been investigating white supremacist infiltration of law enforcement.

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COMICS-FILM - From ScreenRant:  Kevin Smith does not want to director "The Batman" movie that Ben Affleck recently declined to direct.

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MOVIES - From Deadline:  Lesley Manville and Vicky Krieps are added to the new film by Paul Thomas Anderson, which stars Daniel Day-Lewis.

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POLITICS - From RSN:  Reuters orders reporters to cover the President Trump administration as if it were an authoritarian regime.

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MOVIES - From YahooFinance:  Apparently, Johnny Depp has almost ruined himself financially with an unsustainable lifestyle.

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MOVIES - From ThePlaylist:  Denis Villeneuve has apparently been confirmed as the director of the latest screen adaptation of Frank Hebert's legendary novel, "Dune."  Villeneuve is hot off his Oscar-nominated film, "Arrival" and his upcoming "Blade Runner" sequel.

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MUSIC - From YahooStyle:  Beyonce announces that she is pregnant with twins.

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MOVIES - From THR:  Colin Farrell in talks to join Denzel Washington in the thriller, "Inner City," from director Dan Gilroy ("Nightcrawler")

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TELEVISION - From IndieWire:  Two hot new shows, "American Gods" and "Dear White People," headed to SXSW 2017.

TRAILERS:

From YouTube:  Here is the Super Bowl commercial for Netflix's "Stranger Things 2" (Season 2).

From YouTube:  Here is an extended version of the "Guardians of the Galaxy Volume 2" Super Bowl commercial.

From YouTube:  Here is the 30-second commercial for "Logan" that appeared during Super Bowl 51.

From YouTube:  Here is the Super Bowl commercial for "Ghost in the Shell." It is 30 seconds long.

From YouTube:  Here is the "Transformers: The Last Knight" 30-secon "spot" to be shown during the Super Bowl.

New "Zoolander 2" Trailer Set Record

“ZOOLANDER 2” IS THE MOST SUCCESSFUL COMEDY TRAILER LAUNCH OF ALL TIME

THE TRAILER RECEIVED 52.2 MILLION VIEWS IN ITS FIRST WEEK

HOLLYWOOD, CA – The new trailer for Paramount Pictures’ “ZOOLANDER 2” has broken the record to become the most successful comedy trailer launch of all time. The trailer, which debuted online on November 18, 2015 and offers fans a sneak peek at the highly anticipated sequel to 2001’s “ZOOLANDER,” reached 52.2 million views in its first week of release.

“ZOOLANDER 2” is directed by Ben Stiller and features an all star cast of Stiller, Owen Wilson, Will Ferrell, Penélope Cruz, Kristen Wiig, Fred Armisen, Milla Jovovich, Christine Taylor, Justin Theroux and Kyle Mooney. The film is written by Justin Theroux & Ben Stiller and Nick Stoller and John Hamburg. Ben Stiller, Stuart Cornfeld, Scott Rudin and Clayton Townsend are producing. Jeff Mann is executive producing.

“ZOOLANDER 2”opens nationwide on February 12, 2016.


About Paramount Pictures Corporation
Paramount Pictures Corporation (PPC), a global producer and distributor of filmed entertainment, is a unit of Viacom (NASDAQ: VIAB, VIA), a leading content company with prominent and respected film, television and digital entertainment brands. Paramount controls a collection of some of the most powerful brands in filmed entertainment, including Paramount Pictures, Paramount Animation, Paramount Television, Paramount Vantage, Paramount Classics, Insurge Pictures, MTV Films, and Nickelodeon Movies. PPC operations also include Paramount Home Media Distribution, Paramount Pictures International, Paramount Licensing Inc., and Paramount Studio Group.

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Review: European Actors Shine in Woody Allen's "To Rome with Love"

TRASH IN MY EYE No. 34 (of 2014) by Leroy Douresseaux

To Rome with Love (2012)
Running time:  112 minutes (1 hour, 52 minutes)
MPAA – R for some sexual references
WRITER/DIRECTOR:  Woody Allen
PRODUCERS:  Letty Aronson, Stephen Tenenbaum, Faruk Alatan, and Giampaolo Letta
CINEMATOGRAPHERS:  Darius Khondji
EDITOR:  Alisa Lepselter

ROMANCE/COMEDY with elements of fantasy

Starring:  Woody Allen, Judy Davis, Flavio Parenti, Alison Pill, Fabio Armiliato, Alessandro Tiberi, Alessandra Mastronardi, Penelope Cruz, Antonio Albanese, Jesse Eisenberg, Greta Gerwig, Ellen Page, Alec Baldwin, and Roberto Benigni

To Rome with Love is a 2012 romantic comedy written and directed by Woody Allen.  Like other Allen films, To Rome with Love has magical realist elements.  To Rome with Love follows a small group of visitors and residents of Rome and focuses on their romances and adventures and the predicaments into which they get themselves.

To Rome with Love tells four unrelated stories.  Hayley (Alison Pill), an American tourist, falls in love with Italian pro bono lawyer and Rome resident, Michelangelo (Flavio Parenti), and they become engaged.  Hayley’s parents, Jerry and Phyllis (Woody Allen and Judy Davis), arrive in Rome to meet Michelangelo and his parents.  Jerry, a retired opera director, discovers that Michelangelo’s father, Giancarlo (Fabio Armiliato), has a wonderful operatic voice, so Jerry decides to make Giancarlo an opera star in spite of everyone’s protests against that.

Newlyweds Antonio (Alessandro Tiberi) and Milly (Alessandra Mastronardi) arrive in Rome from their rustic hometown.  They are supposed to meet Antonio’s well-connected and posh uncles who have lined up a fantastic job interview for him.  However, Antonio and Milly get separated.  Antonio is accidentally forced into an encounter with a gorgeous prostitute named Anna (Penelope Cruz).  Milly meets her favorite actor, Luchino “Luca” Salta (Antonio Albanese), who immediately begins to plot to have sex with the young wife.

John Foy (Alec Baldwin) is visiting Rome and meets Jack (Jesse Eisenberg), a young architecture student.  Jack lives with his girlfriend, Sally (Greta Gerwig).  Sally’s friend, Monica (Ellen Page), a pretentious young actress, arrives in Rome to visit them.  John warns Jack about falling in love with Monica…  Finally, ordinary business man, Leopold Pisanello (Roberto Benigni), suddenly gains an extraordinary life.

To Rome with Love is a romantic, comic, and romantic comedy romp through Rome.  It is not by any means a great film, but this movie does have a kind a charm that I cannot explain.  The American actors are mostly stiff, but Allen does not give them particularly flexible characters.  There is, however, this one great moment when Alec Baldwin’s John gives Ellen Page’s Monica a fantastic death stare.  There is something potent, electric, and maybe even dangerous in this one stare that I wish the rest of the John-Jack-Sally-Monica storyline had.

On the opposite side, the European actors sparkle.  Allen gives them the best characters and also better subplots than he gives the Americans.  The Europeans get inside the shallow characters Allen gives them and make them less shallow and more attractive. One example of this is Antonio Albanese.  Bald at the top of his head and somewhat pudgy, Albanese makes Luca Salta an alluring, sexy man, which in turn makes the idea of Salta as a movie star convincing.

Penelope Cruz, who won a supporting actress Oscar for her performance in an earlier Woody Allen film (Vicky Cristina Barcelona), gives To Rome with Love’s best performance.  She deserved another supporting actor Oscar nomination (at least) for her work here.  When her Anna is onscreen, this film seems to sparkle with new energy because that is what Cruz does – enliven things.  She is an excellent actress and is also quite the spitfire.

I will recommend To Rome with Love to fans of both Woody Allen and Penelope Cruz.  It is not great, but it is worth seeing.

6 of 10
B

Tuesday, July 08, 2014


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

Review: "Sahara" is a Solid Action-Adventure Film (Happy B'day, Matthew McConaughey)

TRASH IN MY EYE No. 188 (of 2005) by Leroy Douresseaux

Sahara (2005)
Running time: 124 minutes (2 hours, 4 minutes)
MPAA – PG-13 for action violence
DIRECTOR: Breck Eisner
WRITERS: Thomas Dean Donnelly & Joshua Oppenheimer, John C. Richards, and James V. Hart (based upon the novel by Clive Cussler)
PRODUCERS: Howard Baldwin, Karen Baldwin, Mace Neufeld, and Stephanie Austin
CINEMATOGRAPHER: Seamus McGarvey, BSC
EDITOR: Andrew MacRitchie
COMPOSER: Clint Mansell

ACTION/ADVENTURE with elements of comedy

Starring: Matthew McConaughey, Steve Zahn, Penelope Cruz, Lambert Wilson, Glynn Turman, with Delroy Lindo and William H. Macy, Rainn Wilson, Paulin F. Fodouop, and Lennie James

The subject of this movie review is Sahara, a 2005 comedy-adventure and action film starring Matthew McConaughey and directed by Breck Eisner. The film is based on the 1992 novel of the same name by author Clive Cussler and is the eleventh book in Cussler’s Dirk Pitt book series.

Master explorer Dirk Pitt (Matthew McConaughey) is searching for a Confederate iron clad ship no else thinks exists. When he finds a fabled Confederate gold coin linked to the historical legend, his hunt takes him through some of the most dangerous regions of West Africa in the rousing adventure film, Sahara.

While searching for the long-lost Civil War battleship, the Texas, that African locals call the “Ship of Death,” Dirk and his wisecracking long-time sidekick and best pal, Al Giordino (Steve Zahn), meet Dr. Eva Rojas (Penelope Cruz), a doctor from WHO (the World Health Organization) looking for the source of a plague that is killing people in Niger. Her quest coincides with Dirk and Al’s search, and she joins their traveling party for a bit before going her separate way in Mali, a country that borders Niger. After a warlord named General Zateb Kazim (Lennie James) launches an assault on their boat in his hunt for Eva, Dirk and Al temporarily abandon their quest to find and protect Eva, endangered because her quest to learn the mysteries of the plague interferes with Kazim’s power. Together, the trio discovers an environmental catastrophe, battle Kazim and his forces, and survive the desert terrain of Northwest Africa on the way to getting to the bottom of both mysteries.

Sahara is a fun action adventure – aesthetically similar to The Mummy, but not quite as fun. The film’s hero Dirk Pitt, a charming rogue who is a scientist, but could get down in a barroom brawl, is a treasure hunter like Indiana Jones and is as resourceful as James Bond. So the film has a tone similar to a Raiders of the Lost Ark or a James Bond film. It’s a bit Die Hard, and has the buddy action vibe of a Lethal Weapon movie; it even throws in a bit of Lawrence of Arabia.

The direction by Breck Eisner (the son of former Disney head honcho Michael Eisner) is by the book, and almost, but not quite pedestrian. The film comes across as a true collaboration. The script hits the right notes. The cinematographer does a good job capturing pretty pictures. The editor does a professional job, not any more or less than any of the rest of the crew. The cast is also pleasant. Matthew McConaughey is a movie star with handsome, good looks and a good character actor – not always common in leading men. Steve Zahn is funny, but the role of Al Giordino is not like his better-known quirky, comedic parts. Penelope Cruz is just not a good actress (at least speaking English), and when she isn’t being a zombie in this film, she actually manages some good scenes. There is a nice supporting cast with Delroy Lindo and William H. Macy adding a bit of seriousness and gravity to the flick. The best supporting parts belong to Paulin F. Fodouop and Lennie James as feuding military leaders, Modibo and General Kazim, respectively.

Sahara is not a great film or even a very good film; it’s certainly not film art. However, it’s the kind of solid entertainment flick that doesn’t deliver too much to overload the senses or deliver too little, which pisses off the viewer.

6 of 10
B

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Review: Women Make Almodavor's "VOLVER" Spin (Happy B'day, Penelope Cruz)

TRASH IN MY EYE No. 63 (of 2007) by Leroy Douresseaux

Volver (2006)
COUNTRY OF ORIGIN: Spain
Running time: 121 minutes (2 hour, 1 minutes)
MPAA – R for sexual content and language
WRITER/DIRECTOR: Pedro Almodóvar
PRODUCER: Esther García
CINEMATOGRAPHER: José Luis Alcaine (director of photography)
EDITOR: José Salcedo
2007 Academy Award nominee

DRAMA with elements of comedy and fantasy

Starring: Penélope Cruz, Carmen Maura, Lola Dueñas, Blanca Portillo, Yohana Cobo, and Chus Lampreave

In his new film, Volver, two-time Academy Award winner Pedro Almodóvar (All About my Mother, Talk to Her) gives us three generations of women living in a world where the living and dead coexist. In this film, it is natural for the people of the La Mancha region of Spain, with its ever-present east wind, to practice a culture of death in which the deceased remain present in the lives of their living relatives. Also, José Luis Alcaine’s cinematograph for Volver is easily among the year’s best.

Abuela Irene (Carmen Maura), who died in a fire four years ago, is apparently revisiting her hometown in La Mancha. Irene wants to resolve the problems she didn’t or couldn’t during her lifetime, especially her relationship with her estranged daughter Raimunda (Penélope Cruz), who has her own problems. Raimunda has to surreptitiously bury her husband, Paco (Antonio de la Torre), after their daughter, Paula (Yohana Cobo who plays her part with such naturalness), kills him when he tries to rape his own daughter. After appearing first to her sister, the elderly Aunt Paula (Chus Lampreave), Irene also visits her daughter Sole (Lola Dueñas), who makes a living as an illegal, home-based hairdresser. Meanwhile, fellow villager, Agustina (Blanca Portillo), is seeking out Irene for help with her own family issues.

If there are men who were born to make movies, Pedro Almodóvar is undoubtedly one of them. That’s evident in his beautiful films filled with vibrant colors, narratives, and people; in fact, José Luis Alcaine’s vivid cinematograph for Volver is easily among the year’s best.

Almodóvar also understands women. Here, in Volver (which mean “coming back”) his female characters make it through life by lying when necessary – either to protect themselves or the feelings of their loved ones. These women also survive the troubles of life because they have persistent vitality and a treasure trove of goodness in them. That’s how Almodóvar makes you root for them. These are good, simple, plain folks who, if possible, won’t let their complex interior selves bring harm to their loved ones, but they’re still capable of making bold moves to enrich their lives.

To play such funny, spontaneous, and intrepid women, Almodóvar guides a cast capable of deep, genuine emotion and of playing characters that sometimes take the hilarious path out of trouble. You’ll never look at Penélope Cruz the same way again after seeing her in this movie. Her Raimunda is a painterly performance, full of subtle color and audacious, but gentle strokes. Cruz is layered and flavored like a buffet of earthy dishes, and I was sad whenever her Raimunda left the screen.

The same can be said for the rest of cast: from Blanca Portillo as the troubled, gentle soul, Agustina to Carmen Maura as Irene, back-from-the-dead and looking to heal wounds and bandage hurts. Almodóvar’s Volver is why I like foreign cinema. It doesn’t mind telling stories that are as rich and as complex as literary fiction. But Almodóvar does the telling in a purely visual style that makes one appreciate storytelling shown on the screen.

9 of 10
A+

NOTES:
2007 Academy Awards: 1 nomination for “Best performance by an actress in a leading role” (Penélope Cruz)

2007 BAFTA Awards: 2 nominations: “Best Actress in a Leading Role” (Penélope Cruz) and “Best Film not in the English Language” (Agustín Almodóvar and Pedro Almodóvar)

2007 Golden Globes, USA: 2 nominations: “Best Foreign Language Film” and “Best Performance by an Actress in a Motion Picture – Drama” (Penélope Cruz)

2007 Image Awards: 2 nominations: “Outstanding Actress in a Motion Picture” (Penélope Cruz) and “Outstanding Independent or Foreign Film”

2006 Cannes Film Festival: 2 wins: “Best Actress” (Penélope Cruz, Carmen Maura, Lola Dueñas, Blanca Portillo, Yohana Cobo, and Chus Lampreave to the female ensemble cast) and “Best Screenplay” (Pedro Almodóvar); 1 nomination: “Palme d'Or” (Pedro Almodóvar)

Saturday, April 14, 2007

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"Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides" a Good Trip

TRASH IN MY EYE No. 97 (of 2011) by Leroy Douresseaux


Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides (2011)
Running time: 137 minutes (2 hours, 17 minutes)
MPAA – PG-13 for intense sequences of action/adventure violence and some frightening images
DIRECTOR: Rob Marshall
WRITERS: Ted Elliot and Terry Rossio; from a screen story by Ted Elliot and Terry Rossio (based upon characters created by Stuart Beattie, Jay Wolpert, and Ted Elliot and Terry Rossio; suggested by the novel, On Stranger Tides, by Tim Powers, and based upon Walt Disney’s Pirates of the Caribbean)
PRODUCER: Jerry Bruckheimer
CINEMATOGRAPHER: Dariusz Wolski (D.o.P.)
EDITORS: David Brenner, Michael Kahn, and Wyatt Smith
COMPOSER: Hans Zimmer

ACTION/FANTASY/ADVENTURE

Starring: Johnny Depp, Penelope Cruz, Geoffrey Rush, Ian McShane, Kevin McNally, Sam Clafin, Astrid Bergès-Frisbey, Stephen Graham, Richard Griffiths, Greg Ellis, Damian O’Hare, Judi Dench, and Keith Richards

Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides is a 2011 fantasy adventure film and pirate movie. It is also the fourth movie in the film franchise that began with Pirates of the Caribbean: Curse of the Black Pearl in 2003. This film draws its inspiration from the 1987 historical fantasy novel, On Stranger Tides, by Tim Powers. On Stranger Tides the movie has the world’s most infamous pirates on a quest to find the Fountain of Youth.

After failing to rescue his first mate, Joshamee Gibbs (Kevin McNally), Captain Jack Sparrow (Johnny Depp) is taken before King George II of England (Richard Griffiths). The King forces Jack to guide an expedition to find the Fountain of Youth. Much to his chagrin, Jack discovers that his old nemesis, Captain Hector Barbossa (Geoffrey Rush), is heading the expedition.

Jack escapes and learns that someone is pretending to be him and is enlisting a crew for a rival expedition to find the Fountain. Then, he crosses paths with a woman from his past, the lovely Spaniard, Angelica (Penelope Cruz), and her father, the ruthless pirate, Blackbeard (Ian McShane), who uses voodoo magic and possesses supernatural powers and a magical sword. Kidnapped and taken aboard Blackbeard’s ship, the Queen Anne’s Revenge, Jack is forced to guide Blackbeard’s expedition to find the Fountain of Youth. This journey will take Jack places where nothing is as it seems and connect him with people who never tell the truth. And who is more dangerous – Blackbeard or Angelica?

I avoided going to the theatre this past summer to see Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides because, quite frankly, I’d had enough of the franchise. I liked the first film; really hated the second (Dead Man’s Chest); and really liked the third (At World’s End), but I was exhausted of the repeated showings of the films, especially the second and third, on various cable networks.

The first good move the filmmakers made with On Stranger Tides was to strip it down of characters and elements. It’s still ostentatious and is still filled with big set pieces, big action scenes, and big characters, and there are actors willing to give the kind of loud performances that bring these flamboyant characters to life.

After saying that, I know that it is hard to believe that it is possible for this gaudy, immodest Hollywood franchise to be stripped down. However, only three characters from the earlier films return for On Stranger Tides: Jack Sparrow, Hector Barbossa, and Joshamee Gibbs. Rather than have several subplots stretched over multiple locales, On Stranger Tides focuses on Sparrow, Barbossa, Blackbeard, and Angelica’s quest to find the Fountain of Youth, which involves only three locales: England, the sea, and Whitecap Bay (the area where the Fountain can be found). Screenwriters Ted Elliot and Terry Rossio basically create a straight line from mission start, the quest, and the goal – beginning, middle, and end – without too much in the way of side stories or sidetracks.

I think the addition of two fine actors, Ian McShane and Penelope Cruz as Blackbeard and Angelica respectively, was the move that paid off most for On Stranger Tides. Both are good characters and they add freshness to this franchise. It is as if On Stranger Tides exists outside the other films, which is a good thing. The audience doesn’t need to have seen the other films to enjoy this one. Indeed, some may need to forget the first three in order to give this lively and entertaining, big budget flick the benefit of the doubt.

Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides is everything you liked about the Pirates of the Caribbean franchise (exotic locales, eccentric characters, the supernatural, etc.) without a horde of characters. Now, there is no reason not to like it.

7 of 10
B+

Friday, November 25, 2011

Pirates of the Caribbean 4 on DVD Tuesday, October 18th

Dive Deeper Into the Epic Quest to Find The Fountain of Youth

Johnny Depp is Back as Captain Jack Sparrow in Disney’s PIRATES OF THE CARIBBEAN: ON STRANGER TIDES

Grossing Over $1 Billion at the Worldwide Box Office, One of the Biggest Films of All Time Sails Home on Disney Blu-ray™ Combo Pack and Blu-ray 3D™ on October 18th

The Walt Disney Studios and Jerry Bruckheimer Films are proud to present the #1 worldwide box office success of 2011 - making over $1 billion globally - Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides, in stunning high definition Blu-ray™, eye popping Blu-ray 3D™ (a first for the legendary franchise) and Movie Download on October 18, 2011.

Setting sail on an ocean full of hi-def adventures, Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides will debut in a Limited Edition 5-Disc Combo Pack (1-Disc Blu-ray 3D + 2-Disc Blu-ray + 1-Disc DVD + 1-Disc Digital Copy), a 2-Disc Combo Pack (1-Disc Blu-ray + 1-Disc DVD), and for the ultimate fan a 15-Disc Four Movie Collection. Additionally the movie will be available in 3D and High-Definition Movie Download.

The Limited Edition 5-Disc Blu-ray Combo Pack includes hours of bonus materials offering fans a deeper dive inside Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides including immersive Disney Second Screen technology, exclusive behind-the-scenes experiences, Fountain of Youth mythology, an extensive look at mermaids, bloopers, deleted and extended scenes, and much more.

In addition, the Pirates of the Caribbean 15-Disc Four Movie Collection offers fans more adventures than ever before. The Collection is packaged in an authentic replica Pirate’s Chest, and includes a collectible map and an iconic skull disc case that holds the Blu-ray™ discs and digital copies of ALL four Pirates of the Caribbean movies, along with the Blu-ray 3D™ disc and DVD of Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides.

Produced by Jerry Bruckheimer, directed by Rob Marshall (Nine, Chicago), and written by Ted Elliott and Terry Rossio (Pirates of the Caribbean franchise, National Treasure 2, Mask of Zorro), Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides is the latest addition to the incredibly successful Pirates of the Caribbean franchise that has for years entertained audiences of all ages with its thrilling adventures, hi-tech special effects and unique storylines.

Back as Captain Jack Sparrow, Johnny Depp (Disney’s Pirates of the Caribbean franchise, Alice in Wonderland) returns leading a sensational cast of talents that includes Penélope Cruz (Vicky Cristina Barcelona), Geoffrey Rush (The King’s Speech), Ian McShane (HBO’s “Deadwood”) and more.

The visually stunning film shot in high-definition 3D invites viewers to embark on an adventure-filled ride with Captain Jack Sparrow as he searches for the breathtaking Fountain of Youth. Along the turbulent trip, fans are forced to re-think their knowledge of fairytale creatures when they are introduced to a group of alluring yet precarious mermaids, traverse isolated islands and fight international enemies.

Details:
2-Disc Combo Pack (1-Disc Blu-ray™ + 1-Disc DVD) SRP = $39.99 U.S./$46.99 Canada
• Disney Second Screen
• Bloopers of the Caribbean
• Audio Commentary by director Rob Marshall
• LEGO Animated Shorts: Captain Jack’s Brick Tales

Limited Edition 5-Disc Combo Pack (1-Disc Blu-ray 3D™ + 2-Disc Blu-ray + 1-Disc DVD + 1-Disc Digital Copy) SRP = $49.99 U.S./$56.99 Canada

All of the above features plus…
• Legends of On Stranger Tides
• In Search of the Fountain
• Last Sail/First Voyage
• Under the Scene: Bringing Mermaids to Life
• Deleted and Extended Scenes with Intros by director Rob Marshall

Limited Edition 15-Disc Four Movie Collection SRP = $169.99 U.S./$189.99 Canada
• Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl (2-Disc Blu-ray+1-Disc Digital Copy )
• Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man’s Chest (2-Disc Blu-ray+1-Disc Digital Copy )
• Pirates of the Caribbean: At World’s End (2-Disc Blu-ray+1-Disc Digital Copy)
• Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides (1-Disc Blu-ray 3D +2-Disc Blu-ray+Digital Copy+1-Disc DVD)
• 1-Disc Blu-ray bonus disc that includes all-new never-before-seen short film “Wedlocked”
• Authentic replica Pirate’s Chest, a collectible map and an iconic skull disc case.
• And much more…

High Definition Movie Download SRP = $39.99 U.S./$46.99 Canada
• Bloopers of the Caribbean
• Deleted and Extended Scenes with Intros by director Rob Marshall
• LEGO Animated Shorts: Captain Jack’s Brick Tales

3D Movie Download SRP = $49.99 U.S./$56.99 Canada

Disc Specifications:
STREET DATE: October 18, 2011
Suggested Retail Prices: 2-Disc Combo Pack = $39.99 U.S./$46.99 Canada
5-Disc Combo Pack = $49.99 U.S./$56.99 Canada
15-Disc Four Movie Collection = $169.99 U.S./$189.99 Canada
High Definition Movie Download = $39.99 U.S./46.99 Canada
3D Movie Download = $49.99 U.S./$56.99 Canada

Feature Run Time: 136 minutes
Rating: U.S. = PG-13 (Not Recommended for Young Children & Frightening Scenes)
Canada = PG (Not Recommended for Young Children & Frightening Scenes) **Bonus Material Not Rated
Presentation: Blu-ray 3D & Blu-ray = 1080p High Definition 2.40:1
DVD = Widescreen 2.40:1 – Enhanced for 16x9 Televisions
Audio/Language: Blu-ray 3D & Blu-ray = English 7.1 DTS-HD MA (48kHz/24-bit), English 2.0 Dolby Digital, English 2.0 DVS Dolby Digital, French, Spanish 5.1 Dolby Digital (3D Blu-ray), French, Spanish 7.1 DTS0HD HR (Blu-ray)
DVD = English, French, Spanish 5.1 Dolby Digital
Subtitles: Blu-ray 3D & Blu-ray = English SDH, French, Spanish
DVD = English SDH, French Spanish **applies to film content only

Film Synopsis:
From Disney and producer Jerry Bruckheimer comes all the fun, epic adventure and humor that ignited the original. Johnny Depp returns as Captain Jack Sparrow in Pirates Of The Caribbean: On Stranger Tides. A tale of truth, betrayal, youth, demise — and mermaids! When Jack crosses paths with a woman from his past (Penélope Cruz), he’s not sure if it’s love or if she’s a ruthless con artist using him to find the fabled Fountain of Youth. Forced aboard the ship of the most feared pirate ever, Jack doesn’t know who to fear more —Blackbeard (Ian McShane) or the woman from his past. Directed by Rob Marshall, it’s filled with eye-popping battle scenes, mystery and all-out wit.

Social Media:
For those who would like to stay connected with the world of Pirates are encouraged to:
• “Like” the Facebook page at www.facebook.com/PiratesoftheCaribbean
• Follow us on Twitter at www.twitter.com/DisneyPirates
• Visit the website and mobile site: www.disney.com/pirates


About Walt Disney Studios:
For more than 85 years, The Walt Disney Studios has been the foundation on which The Walt Disney Company (DIS: NYSE) was built. Today, the Studio brings quality movies, music and stage plays to consumers throughout the world. Feature films are released under four banners: Walt Disney Pictures, which includes Walt Disney Animation Studios and Pixar Animation Studios, Disneynature, Touchstone Pictures and Marvel. Original music and motion picture soundtracks are produced under Walt Disney Records and Hollywood Records, while Disney Theatrical Group produces and licenses live events, including Broadway theatrical productions, Disney on Ice and Disney LIVE!. For more information, please visit http://www.disney.com/.

Review: "Gothika" is Creepy and Crazy (Happy B'day, Halle Berry)

TRASH IN MY EYE No. 168 (of 2003) by Leroy Douresseaux

Gothika (2003)
Running time: 98 minutes (1 hour, 38 minutes)
MPAA – R for violence, brief language and nudity
DIRECTOR: Mathieu Kassovitz
WRITER: Sebastian Gutierrez
PRODUCERS: Susan Levin, L. Levin, Joel Silver, and Robert Zemeckis
CINEMATOGRAPHER: Matthew Libatique (D.o.P.)
EDITOR: Yannick Kergoat
COMPOSER: John Ottman
HORROR/THRILLER

Starring: Halle Berry, Robert Downey, Jr., Charles S. Dutton, John Carroll Lynch, Bernard Hill, Penélope Cruz, Bronwen Mantel, and Kathleen Mackey

Gothika is a 2003 supernatural thriller and movie vehicle for Halle Berry. It is a ghost story about a female psychiatrist who awakens to fins herself a patient in the very asylum where she works.

Miranda Grey (Halle Berry) is psychiatrist who deals with really crazy people everyday at a prison for the criminally insane. A respected colleague, Dr. Douglas Grey (Charles Dutton), is her husband. One night she leaves work during a driving rainstorm. After taking a detour, a girl suddenly appears on the road ahead of her and forces Miranda to drive her vehicle off the road. When she goes to the girl who obviously seems to be in some kind of distress, something really strange happens. When Miranda awakens, she finds herself locked in the same institution where she worked, and she’s been accused of committing a horribly gruesome crime of which she has no memory.

Quite a few critics have given it bad reviews. One even called it trash – glorious trash, but Gothika is a very entertaining movie. Like a lot of films, it’s really absent of new ideas, and it seems to borrow heavily from What Lies Beneath and The Ring (2002). It is, however, an effective and entertaining horror film and a nicely made thriller. It has some genuinely creepy moments, and at the theatre where I saw it, one girl immediately screamed after a nice “bump in the night” moment.

French director Mathieu Kassovitz is a hot property, and he has the makings of good director, although I don’t see much that would make him stand out from a whole pack of qualified professionals. There are moments in the film, when Kassovitz makes Gothika a bit too mannered and cold. With an asylum for the criminally insane as a setting and a shocking murder upon which the plot turns, Kassovitz needed to make his film get down and dirty. Instead, Gothika is overdressed and over designed, and the cinematography is too slick and glossy.

But you know what? I love watching Halle Berry, and she gets better practically with each film she does. She sells us this film, even when her costar Ms. Cruz seems to be hanging around only to lend her tabloid star presence and her accent. Like the great actresses and stars, Ms. Berry takes us inside the character with her, forcing us to share the extreme terror that comes from loosing one’s memory, place in society, and, most fearsome of all, loosing one’s mind. We can believe that there is a horrible crime hanging over her head, and that she doesn’t remember it and doesn’t want to because it means admitting and learning horrific things. Have fun, and go see this movie.

6 of 10
B

NOTES:
2004 Black Reel Awards: 1 nomination: “Film: Best Actress” (Halle Berry)

2004 Image Awards: 2 nominations: “Outstanding Actress in a Motion Picture” (Halle Berry) and “Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Motion Picture” (Charles S. Dutton)

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Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides Crosses Billion Dollar Mark

Disney’s and Jerry Bruckheimer Films’ “Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides” Crosses $1 Billion in Global Box Office

Fourth installment becomes second “Pirates” film and fourth Walt Disney Pictures film to reach billion-dollar box office threshold

BURBANK, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Disney’s and Jerry Bruckheimer Films’ Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides crossed the $1 billion mark in global box office on July 2, only the eighth film in history to reach this threshold. This is The Walt Disney Studios’ fourth title to earn a place on this exclusive list, with no other studio achieving more than one. Five of the 10 biggest films of all time are now from The Walt Disney Studios.

Produced by Jerry Bruckheimer Films and The Walt Disney Studios, and directed by Rob Marshall, Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides is the second film in the Pirates of the Caribbean series to accomplish this box-office feat; 2006’s Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man’s Chest was the Studios’ first billion-dollar film ever. Rounding out the Studios’ four billion-dollar earners are 2010’s Alice in Wonderland and Toy Story 3.

“Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides has shown us just how strongly this story and these characters resonate with people the world over,” said Rich Ross, Chairman, The Walt Disney Studios. “To reach $1 billion with any film is such a rare and exciting milestone, and I want to thank and congratulate Jerry Bruckheimer, Johnny Depp, Rob Marshall and the rest of our Pirates family on this incredible feat.”

After launching with the biggest international opening ever, Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides now ranks as the #3 film of all time at the international box office and Disney’s biggest overseas release ever, with a total gross of $774 million (as of 7/4/11). The film sailed past the $500 million international threshold in a record-setting 14 days and is the biggest Pirates of the Caribbean installment in 59 territories. In Japan, Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides has passed $100 million USD, having spent its first 6 weeks at the top of the box office chart. Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides became the highest-grossing Disney film ever released in the burgeoning Chinese and Russian markets in just nine and 11 days respectively, its opening weekend surpassing the entire gross of Pirates of the Caribbean: At World’s End in each market.

“There can be no greater thrill or satisfaction than knowing that you’ve been fortunate enough to produce a series of films which have delighted millions all over the world,” said Jerry Bruckheimer. “The success of Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides is a testament to the great talents of Johnny Depp and our wonderful cast, director Rob Marshall, screenwriters Ted Elliott and Terry Rossio, and the entire company.”

Director Rob Marshall adds, “I am thrilled that Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides has been embraced by the global audience in such a profound way. I feel incredibly fortunate to have been able to make a movie that reaches across the world.”

The four Pirates of the Caribbean films have earned a combined $3.68 billion in global box office, with the second, third and fourth claiming spots on the all-time top 10 list. Series star Johnny Depp – who also headlined Disney’s Alice in Wonderland – now has four films on that list, three of which have surpassed the billion-dollar threshold.


About “Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides”
Produced by Jerry Bruckheimer and directed by Rob Marshall, Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides captures the fun, excitement and humor that ignited the hit franchise—this time in Disney Digital 3D™. Johnny Depp returns to his iconic role of Captain Jack Sparrow in this action-packed adventure that finds him crossing paths (and swords) with the enigmatic Angelica (Penélope Cruz). When she forces him aboard the “Queen Anne’s Revenge,” the ship of the legendary pirate Blackbeard (Ian McShane), Jack finds himself on an unexpected journey to the fabled Fountain of Youth. Along the way Jack must use all his wiles to deal with the barbarous Blackbeard and his crew of zombies, Angelica, the ravishing pirate with whom he shares a dubious past, and the beautiful, enchanting mermaids whose masterful cunning can lure even the most seasoned sailor to his doom. The international cast includes franchise vets Geoffrey Rush as the indestructible Captain Hector Barbossa and Kevin R. McNally as Captain Jack’s longtime comrade Joshamee Gibbs, plus Sam Claflin as a stalwart missionary and Astrid Bergès-Frisbey as a mysterious mermaid.

About “Pirates of the Caribbean”
In 1967, the Pirates of the Caribbean ride opened at Disneyland Park in California, quickly becoming one of the theme park’s most popular attractions and a natural inclusion in the planning of the Magic Kingdom at Walt Disney World Resort, Disneyland Paris and Tokyo Disneyland. More than three decades later, The Walt Disney Studios brought the attraction’s scenes to vibrant life in a film series that has reinvigorated the pirate and adventure genres, while The Walt Disney Company’s Interactive and Consumer Products divisions have parlayed the rich source material into a treasure trove of toys, clothes, home décor, books, video games and more.

Review: Penelope Cruz Rescues Woody Allen's "Vicky Cristina Barcelona"

TRASH IN MY EYE No. 56 (of 2011) by Leroy Douresseaux

Vicky Cristina Barcelona (2008)
Running time: 96 minutes (1 hour, 36 mintues)
MPAA – PG-13 for mature thematic material involving sexuality, and smoking
WRITER/DIRECTOR: Woody Allen
PRODUCERS: Letty Aronson, Stephen Tenenbaum, and Gareth Wiley
CINEMATOGRAPHER: Javier Aguirresarobe (D.o.P)
EDITOR: Alisa Lepselter
Academy Award winner

COMEDY/ROMANCE/DRAMA

Starring: Rebecca Hall, Scarlett Johansson, Javier Bardem, Penélope Cruz, Chris Messina, Patricia Clarkson, Kevin Dunn, Pablo Schreiber, Carrie Preston, Zak Orth, Josep Maria Domenech, and Christopher Evan Welch (narrator)

Vicky Cristina Barcelona is a 2008 romantic comedy and drama from director Woody Allen. This was also his fourth consecutive film shot outside the United States (beginning with 2005’s Match Point). This Oscar-winning film is the story of two American girlfriends on a summer holiday in Spain who both fall in love with a womanizing Spanish painter.

Vicky (Rebecca Hall) and Cristina (Scarlett Johansson) travel to Barcelona, Spain to spend the summer with Vicky’s distant relatives, Judy (Patricia Clarkson), and her husband, Mark Nash (Kevin Dunn). Vicky is practical and traditional in her approach to love and is preparing to marry Doug (Chris Messina), a well-to-do white collar type. Cristina is non-conformist and spontaneous, but doesn’t know what she’s looking for in love.

Late one night at a restaurant, Juan Antonio Gonzalo (Javier Bardem), an artist, boldly approaches Vicky and Cristina and invites them to spend the weekend in the city of Oviedo with him. Vicky is reluctant, but Cristina is ready to go. Both young women eventually develop strong romantic feelings for Juan Antonio, but in different ways. Neither woman, however, knows that Juan Antonio’s mentally unstable ex-wife, María Elena (Penélope Cruz), is about to re-enter his life.

Vicky Cristina Barcelona received some of the best reviews any Allen film has had the past decade. Penélope Cruz even received a best supporting actress Oscar for her performance as the tempestuous and sometimes violent María Elena. In fact, it is Cruz’s Elena that saves this film. The first 50 minutes are listless, dull, and, in a few places, almost unwatchable. When Elena arrives, this movie perks up and its themes of unhappy marriages, romantic longing, and the search for meaningful, fulfilling relationships suddenly resonate, whereas those themes were hollow and did not feel genuine before the arrival of Elena.

One of Allen’s strengths has been his screenplays, but this one isn’t strong. The dialogue is flat and fake, and the actors, try as they might, cannot make it anything better. Working this poor script causes the actors to give middling performances, except for Cruz. These characters and the subplots all have potential; the screenplay just rushes by them as if they were nothing more than items on a grocery list that just needs to be gotten out the way. Vicky Cristina Barcelona was a successful film for Woody Allen, and I am happy for him as a fan of his work, but I only enjoyed half of this movie. Once again, I credit the lovely and talented Penélope Cruz, who can bring energy even to a limp film like Vicky Cristina Barcelona.

5 of 10
B-

NOTES:
2009 Academy Awards: 1 win: “Best Performance by an Actress in a Supporting Role” (Penélope Cruz)

2009 BAFTA Awards: 1 win: “Best Supporting Actress” (Penélope Cruz)

2009 Golden Globes: 1 win: “Best Motion Picture - Comedy or Musical;” 3 nominations: “Best Performance by an Actor in a Motion Picture - Comedy or Musical” (Javier Bardem), “Best Performance by an Actress in a Motion Picture - Comedy or Musical” (Rebecca Hall), and “Best Performance by an Actress in a Supporting Role in a Motion Picture” (Penélope Cruz)

2008 Black Reel Awards: 1 nomination: “Best Supporting Actress” (Penélope Cruz)

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"A Matador's Mistress" Debuts on DVD and Video on Demand in June 2011

Penelope Cruz and Adrien Brody Steam Up The Screen In Long-Awaited "A Matador's Mistress"

SANTA MONICA, Calif., April 5, 2011 /PRNewswire/ -- Oscar-winning Actress Penelope Cruz unveiled her star on the Hollywood Walk Of Fame on Friday as Xenon Pictures and Viva Pictures LLC announced the national DVD and VOD release of the long-awaited romantic saga "A Matador's Mistress." The film stars Penelope Cruz ("Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tide") and Adrien Brody ("King Kong," "The Pianist") and was written and directed by acclaimed filmmaker Menno Meyes ("The Color Purple," "Indiana Jones and The Last Crusade"). "A Matador's Mistress" finally gets a highly anticipated U.S. release when it arrives on DVD and Video on Demand on June 7th.

Along with breathtaking international locations, steamy love scenes and stunning bullfighting sequences, "A Matador's Mistress" features deeply moving performances by both the Spanish-born Cruz who took home the Oscar for "Vicky Cristina Barcelona" and co-star Adrien Brody who won Best Actor for "The Pianist." Menno Meyes who wrote and directed the $28 million production is also an Oscar nominee for writing the screenplay for "The Color Purple."

Set in the 1940's, "A Matador's Mistress" tells the story of the most celebrated bullfighter in Spain, Manuel Rodriguez Sanchez (Adrien Brody), famously known around the world as Manolete.

Manolete's life changes when he becomes obsessed with the beautiful and mysterious Lupe Sino (Penelope Cruz). What unfolds is a passionate and tragic romance that ends with Manolete's death in the bullring in 1947 at the age of 30.

"A Matador's Mistress" premiered at the Toronto Film Festival under the working title "Manolete" and has been praised for Brody and Cruz's performances as well as the dazzling art direction and cinematography.

Xenon Pictures CEO Leigh Savidge said Xenon acquired U.S. distribution rights for "A Matador's Mistress" in a co-venture with Viva Pictures LLC and the two companies are in talks for a theatrical release.

Xenon Pictures is an independent film and media distribution company specializing in cutting edge urban dramas and popular independent films often over-looked by the mainstream studios. Viva Pictures LLC is a Westwood, Ca. based multi-media distributor of high quality star driven films with award winning casts and talent.

Review: "Sex and the City 2" is a Little Lost in the Desert

TRASH IN MY EYE No. 98 (of 2010) by Leroy Douresseaux

Sex and the City 2 (2010)
Running time: 146 minutes (2 hours, 26 minutes)
MPAA – R for some strong sexual content and language
DIRECTOR: Michael Patrick King
WRITER: Michael Patrick King (based upon the book by Candace Bushnell and the television series created by Darren Star)
PRODUCERS: Michael Patrick King, John Melfi, Sarah Jessica Parker, and Darren Star
CINEMATOGRAPHER: John Thomas (D.o.P.)
EDITOR: Michael Berenbaum

COMEDY/DRAMA/ROMANCE

Starring: Sarah Jessica Parker, Kim Cattrall, Kristin Davis, Cynthia Nixon, Chris Noth, David Eigenberg, Evan Handler, Jason Lewis, Mario Cantone, Willie Garson, Liza Minelli, John Corbett, Omid Djalili, Art Malik, Raza Jaffrey, Lynn Cohen, Joseph Pupo, Miley Cyrus, Penélope Cruz, and Alexandra Fong and Parker Fong

Sex and the City was an American comedy television series that was originally broadcast on HBO over six seasons from 1998 to 2004. Created by Darren Star, the series was based in part on Candice Bushnell’s book of the same title and spawned a hit feature film in 2008. The success of the first film gave birth to a sequel, Sex and the City 2, released earlier this year.

Sex and the City 2 opens two years after the wedding that almost wasn’t. Now, Carrie Bradshaw (Sarah Jessica Parker) and John Preston A.K.A. Mr. Big (Chris Noth) have settled down, but John has settled down a bit more than Carrie likes. Meanwhile, Samantha Jones (Kim Cattrall), now 52, fights a never-ending battle to stay ahead of menopause. Miranda Hobbes (Cynthia Nixon) struggles at the law firm where she works and where her new boss seems not to like her. Charlotte York (Kristin Davis) struggles with being a mother of two children, especially because her youngest is in the full throes of the terrible twos.

An Arab sheikh (Art Malik) approaches Samantha about devising a PR campaign for his business. He offers to fly her and her friends to an all-expenses-paid luxury vacation in his country Abu Dhabi (United Arab Emirates). Once in the country, the girls find themselves living like royalty, but trouble is ahead. Carrie runs into an old boyfriend and Samantha chafes under Abu Dhabi’s strict laws about showing public affection and how women may act.

While much of the first film was about the girls and the people in their lives, Sex and the City 2 is primarily about the girls, and from there, Carrie and Samantha (to a lesser extent) dominate the film. There is nothing wrong with that, except that the film lacks conflict, and the drama is more like melodrama. The film is too insular, and considering that these four women already seem pampered and spoiled, the lavish Arabian setting in which this film drops them, makes them seem even more pampered and spoiled. Carrie’s troubles with Mr. Big come across as slight, petty, and childish, and even Samantha gives the impression that she is less a lusty woman and more a desperate trollop. Her two sex scenes are certainly funny, but in a way, look mechanical.

Still, I had fun with this movie. I enjoy watching Carrie, Samantha, Miranda, and Charlotte going places together where they can have fun and just talk about whatever and the luxuries of Abu Dhabi are nice. While Sex and the City 2 is not as good as the first film, it is always good to have the girls around, and this movie won’t stop fans from wanting a third trip to the theatres to see them.

6 of 10
B

Thursday, December 02, 2010

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Review: "Vanilla Sky" is a Crazier Cruise-Diaz Team-Up

TRASH IN MY EYE No. 20 (of 2001) by Leroy Douresseaux

Vanilla Sky (2001)
Running time: 136 minutes (2 hours, 16 minutes)
MPAA – R for sexuality and strong language
DIRECTOR: Cameron Crowe
WRITER: Cameron Crowe (based upon the film Abre los Ojos (Open Your Eyes) by Alejandro Amenábor and Mateo Gil Rodreguez)
PRODUCERS: Cameron Crowe, Tom Cruise, and Paula Wagner
CINEMATOGRAPHER: John Toll (D.o.P.)
EDITORS: Joe Hutshing and Mark Livolsi
COMPOSER: Nancy Wilson
Academy Award nominee

DRAMA/FANTASY/ROMANCE/SCI-FI/THRILLER

Starring: Tom Cruise, Penélope Cruz, Cameron Diaz, Kurt Russell, Jason Lee, Noah Taylor, Timothy Spall, Johnny Galecki, Michael Shannon, and Tilda Swinton

David Aames (Tom Cruise) is the wealthy scion of a publishing empire who lives only for himself and his pleasures. He treats his novelist friend Brian Shelby (Jason Lee, Chasing Amy) as a possession to be admitted or dismissed as needed, though Aames often professes deep love for Shelby. He has recreational sex with another friend, Julie Gianni (Cameron Diaz), a girl who practically admits to being around the block quite a few times. At a party that he hosts, David sees a stunning beauty that Brian has brought to the party with him. The looker, Sofia Serrano (Penelope Cruz, who was in the Spanish film upon which Vanilla Sky is based), throws David for a loop and he falls very hard for her.

Aww, but Julie is jealous; she follows David and is waiting for him after he spends the night (a sex free night) with Sofia. In an insane rage, Julie, with David a passenger, runs her car off the road, killing herself. David survives, but his body is damaged and his face is badly scarred. From that point, David’s life is a series of time shifts; past, present, and future loose their meanings.

Directed by Cameron Crowe, who also directed Tom Cruise in Jerry Maguire, Vanilla Sky is a mind numbing and genre bending film that mixes elements of romance, romantic thriller, mystery, suspense, and science fiction. It demands the viewers’ complete attention, while it careens across the screen like the out of control car that changes David Aames life.

Vanilla Sky is also a movie that can test an audience’s patience. It has ideas and messages, and most people do not want their movies to preach to them, at least not preach smart ideas. They want a loud, vivid, cinematic experience – special effects and movie magic. “Entertain me” is the mantra, and Crowe adds only the thinnest of candy coatings to his film.

The movie begins with a beautiful scene in which David discovers that he is alone in Times Square; he runs down the street for a few minutes totally afraid of being alone before we learn that this is a dream. There are also voiceovers while we follow David’s privileged life. There is the accident, and then we find David in a dark room wearing a mask, while a psychologist (Kurt Russell) prods him for answers regarding a murder of which David has been accused. From then, we’re bouncing back and forth through time, through illusions, dreams, fantasies, flashbacks. It can be disconcerting, but the film is so alluring that you want to soldier on.

Cruise has always been a good actor in the hands of good director, and Crowe is good. Over his career, Cruise has learned to open himself up to the possibilities of using his handsome face to express a variety of feelings and emotions, where once he simply lit up that million dollar smile and that was that. He is good here and quite believable. It’s no trick to play a spoiled, wealthy brat, but he convincingly transforms himself into the tortured package of damaged goods.

The supporting cast in nice, but while Penelope Cruz got all the attention, Diaz is the surprise. Some may believe her looks carry her career, but she can act. She plays the wild, vulnerable, hurt, and angry Julie Gianni to the hilt while also playing it down low and subtle. She creates a three-dimensional villain of sly evil and of terrible sadness.

Vanilla Sky is rife with musical references, most of which are quite annoying, but the Jeff Blakely reference is dead on appropriate for its scene. There are lots of visual references from pop culture to fine art, and they mean something, but you have to catch them, as they fly by so quickly.

Vanilla Sky is a good film, especially because it asks for the viewer to get involved where most movies only want to yell at you. At its heart are good messages about responsibility for the choices one makes, selfishness, love, and sacrifice. It stumbles and rushes to it fantastical, sci-fi ending that almost destroys film, but the movie is a worthy effort by ambitious talents. By no means perfect, it is still a grand entertainment and a wonderful puzzle with which to struggle, and it doesn’t mind trying to be smart even when it over reaches its ambitions.

7 of 10
B+

NOTES:
2002 Academy Awards: 1 nominations: “Best Music, Original Song” (Paul McCartney for the song "Vanilla Sky")

2002 Golden Globes: 1 nomination: “Best Original Song - Motion Picture” (Paul McCartney for the song "Vanilla Sky") and “Best Performance by an Actress in a Supporting Role in a Motion Picture” (Cameron Diaz)

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