Negromancer News Bits and Bites from April 21st to 30th, 2024 - UPDATE #16

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

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ENTERTAINMENT AND CULTURE NEWS:

MOVIES - From Deadline:  Danny and Michael Philippou, the directors of the hit horror film, "Talk To Me," are reteaming with that film's distributor, A24, for a new film, "Bring Her Back."  The film is set to star Sally Hawkins.

EMMYS - From Deadline:  I missed this, dear readers.  The nominations for the 2024 / 51st Annual Daytime Emmy Awards have been announced.  The winners will be announced Sat., June 8, 2024.

CANNES - From Variety:    Lily Gladstone,  Eva Green, Omar Sy, Ebru Ceylan, Nadine Labaki, Juan Antonio Bayona, Pierfrancesco Favino, and Kore-eda Hirokazu comprise the jury for the 2024 Cannes Film Festival.  Oscar-nominee Greta Gerwig is jury president.

BOX OFFICE - From BoxOfficePro:  The winner of the 4/26 to 4/28/2024 weekend box office is Amazon/MGM's "Challengers" (starring Zendaya) with an estimated take of 15 million dollars.

TELEVISION - From Deadline:  The fate of "NCIS: Hawai'i" is no longer up in the air. CBS has cancelled the series after three seasons, making the announcement yesterday, Fri., April 26th.

From Deadline:  CBS has renewed "The Equalizer" starring Queen Latifah for a fifth season.  However, the fate of "NCIS: Hawai'i" is still up in the air.

SCANDAL - From APNews:  The state Court of Appeals, New York’s highest court, overturned Harvey Weinstein’s 2020 rape conviction. The court found that the judge at the landmark #MeToo trial prejudiced the ex-movie mogul with improper rulings, including a decision to let women testify about allegations that weren’t part of the case.  The court ordered a new trial.  The 75-year-old Weinstein has been serving a 23-year sentence in the Mohawk Correctional Facility near Rome, New York.

From Variety:  Harvey Weinstein was admitted to Bellevue Hospital in Manhattan on Saturdays, just two days after his 2020 New York rape conviction was overturned (Thurs., April 25th).

MOVIES - From Deadline:  Sources tell the site that actors Jodie Comer, Aaron Taylor-Johnson, and Oscar-nominated Ralph Fiennes will star in the first film of the upcoming "28 Years Later" trilogy.  The new film will be directed by Danny Boyle and written by Alex Garland, the director and writer, respectively of the original film, "28 Days Later."

ANIMATION - From Variety: This year marks the 25th anniversary of the airing of the debut episode of Fox's long-running animated series, "Family Guy," specifically January 31, 1999.  Because it was cancelled twice, the series is currently concluding its 22nd season.  Recently voice actor, Patrick Warburton, who voices one of the series main character, paraplegic police officer, "Joe Swanson," says that his parents hate the show.  He says that his mother even tried to get "Family Guy" cancelled.

MOVIES - From Deadline:  Oscar-winning documentary filmmaker Davis Guggenheim, laments the end of the 20-year-old film and television production company, Participant.  Participant was behind Guggenheim and Al Gore's Oscar-winning doc, "An Inconvenient Truth."

From Variety:  The 20-year-old film and television production company whose mission was to inspire social justice and humanitarian action, Participant (formerly Participant Media), is shutting down.  Established in 2004, Participant co-produced or co-financed a number of notable movies including the "Best Picture" Oscar winner "Spotlight," as well as Steven Spielberg’s "Lincoln" and the Oscar-winning, breakthrough documentary "An Inconvenient Truth."

MUSIC - From Deadline:  The 2024 Rock and Roll Hall of Fame inductees have been announced.  The inductees are as follows: A Tribe Called Quest, Cher, Foreigner, Dave Matthews Band, Kool & the Gang, Mary J. Blige, Peter Frampton, Ozzy Osbourne, Jimmy Buffett, Dionne Warwick, Norman Whitfield, Alexis Korner, John Mayall, MC5, Suzanne de Passe, and Big Mama Thornton.

POLITICS - From Salon:  "Mainstream conservatives" never really purged the fascists, according to a wonderful piece by Salon writer, Paul Rosenberg.  Rosenberg interviews David Austin Walsh about his new book, "Taking America Back: The Conservative Movement and the Far Right."

BOX OFFICE - From BoxOfficeMojo:  The winner of the 4/19 to 4/21/2024 weekend box office is A24's "Civil War" with an estimated take of 11.1 million dollars.

MOVIES/TRAILERS - From Variety:  Warner Bros. has released the first trailer for M. Night Shyamalan's new thriller, "Trap."  Starring Josh Hartnett, the film follows a father and daughter who attend a pop star's concert only to realize that they are at the center of a dark and sinister event.  And Hartnett's character is a serial killer known as "The Butcher."  The pop star is played by M. Night's daughter, Saleka Shyamalan, who is an actual singer-songwriter.

OBITS:

From Deadline:  American television actress, Marla Adams, has died at the age of 85, Thursday, April 25, 2024.  Adams was best known for her roles as "Belle Clemens" on the former CBS soap opera, "The Secret Storm," from 1968 to 1974, and also as "Dina Abbott Mergeron" a recurring character on "The Young and the Restless," that appeared in 235 episodes on and off from 1983 to 2021.  Adams was twice nominated in the Daytime Emmy Award category of "Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Drama Series," winning in 2021.

From Deadline:  British art director and production designer, Ray Chan, has died at the age of 56, Tuesday, April 23, 2024.  Chan was best known for his work in art direction, production design, and additional photography for Marvel Studios, beginning with "Thor: The Dark World" (2013) to the upcoming "Deadpool & Wolverine" (2024).  He was nominated for five Art Directors Guild Awards and won twice.

Review: "THE KING'S MAN" is the Best "Kingsman" Yet

TRASH IN MY EYE No. 23 of 2022 (No. 1835) by Leroy Douresseaux

The King's Man (2021)
Running time: 131 minutes (2 hours, 11 minutes)
MPA – R for sequences of strong/bloody violence, language, and some sexual material
DIRECTOR:  Matthew Vaughn
WRITERS:  Matthew Vaughn and Karl Gajdusek; from a story by Matthew Vaughn (based on on the comic book, The Secret Service, by Mark Millar and Dave Gibbons)
PRODUCERS:  Adam Bohling, David Reid, and Matthew Vaughn
CINEMATOGRAPHER:  Ben Davis (D.o.P.)
EDITOR:  Jason Ballantine and Rob Hall
COMPOSERS:  Dominic Lewis and Matthew Margeson

FANTASY/ACTION/SPY/WAR with some elements of comedy

Starring:  Ralph Fiennes, Gemma Arterton, Djimon Hounsou, Rhys Ifans, Harris Dickinson, Matthew Goode, Tom Hollander, Daniel Brühl, Charles Dance, Aaron Taylor-Johnson, and Stanley Tucci

The King's Man is a 2021 spy and action movie and war drama from director Matthew Vaughn.  It is the third film in the Kingsman film series, and it is a “prequel” to the previous two films, Kingsman: The Secret Service (2015) and Kingsman: The Golden Circle (2017).  All three films are based on characters and elements from the 2012 comic book miniseries, The Secret Service, by Mark Millar and Dave Gibbons.  The King's Man focuses on an aristocrat and his spy network as they try to stop a plot to pit the British, German, and Russian empires against each other in a war that will wipe out millions of lives.

The King's Man introduces British aristocrat Orlando, Duke of Oxford (Ralph Fiennes).  In 1914, Orlando has formed a private spy network consisting of domestic servants employed by the world's most powerful dignitaries.  His own servants, his butler, Shola (Djimon Hounsou), and his maid/nanny, Polly Watkins (Gemma Arterton), are his closest aides and confidants.  The primary objective of Orlando's network is to protect the United Kingdom and the British Empire from the conflagration of the approaching “Great War.”

Orlando's only son, Conrad (Harris Dickinson), is eager to fight, but Orlando forbids him from joining the British Army and uses his connections to keep him from entering service.  Besides, there are other things to keep father, son, and the spy network busy.  Orlando's friend, the Archduke Franz Ferdinand (Ron Cook), and his wife are assassinated.  Orlando learns that the assassin is part of “The Flock,” a group plotting to pit the German, Russian, and British empires against each other in the Great War.

Orlando and his network then engage in a series of adventures to foil the Flock's plans, that includes killing Grigori Rasputin (Rhys Ifans), the priest and mystic who serves the Flock's mysterious leader, “The Shepherd.”  As his personal physician, Rasputin practically controls Tsar Nicholas (Tom Hollander) of Russia.  And if Nicholas does as Rasputin wants, Great Britain may be doomed.  Can Orlando and his network stop The Shepherd and save the British Empire?  And will Conrad remain with his father's network or will he force his way into military service in a war in which young men like him are dying by the thousands?

The King's Man is easily the best of the Kingsman series, thus far.  The villain, “The Shepherd,” is ridiculous, but his motivations will make more sense and is more likely to appeal to British audiences.  For me, The Shepherd is what keeps The King's Man from being a truly great film.

The film's remix of the history of the “Great War” (World War I) seems inappropriate, but the film's inclusion of WWI is what makes it stand out from other films based on comic books.  In fact, The King's Man is grounded in a darker take on that war than another comic book movie, Wonder Woman (2017), which is also largely set during the first World War.  In a way, The King's Man seems like a salute to the men who served and the ones who died in the muck and mud of Europe during “the war to end all wars.”

Ralph Fiennes brings a touch of class and some serious dramatic chops to this film.  It seems as if director Matthew Vaughn and his co-writer, Karl Gajdusek, take this film more seriously than Vaughn did with the previous two films, which were action-spy movies with a strong comic overtone.  The King's Man is a war drama, spy serial, and action-thriller, and Fiennes, as Orlando, the Duke of Oxford, sells this film's seriousness.

Gemma Arterton and Djimon Hounsou are also quite good as Orlando's top lieutenants, Polly and Shola, respectively.  As Rasputin, Rhys Ifans offers a performance that is off-beat, over-the-top, and colorful.  Tom Hollander, with the help of the make-up and hairstyling crew of The King's Man, is credible in three roles, but makes his most potent turn as Britain's King George.  Harris Dickinson as Orlando's son, Conrad, gives the film's most hot-blooded and nuanced performance.

The best way I can describe The King's Man is as being like a serial adventure.  The film's plot is comprised of multiple missions and subplots, which keeps the film's narrative hopping.  The film moves fast, fast enough to keep audiences from focusing on the film's inconsistencies and flaws in logic, but also fast enough to make the story seem like a non-stop, breathtaking adventure.  Like Matthew Vaughn himself, I want to see a fourth film in the series, one that focuses on the characters that make it to the end of this film and on their first decade as the “Kingsman.”  I highly recommend The King's Man to audiences that have watched either of the first two films or both.  They were really a build up to the best of their lot, The King's Man.

7 of 10
A-

Thursday, April 14, 2022


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

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Review: "NO TIME TO DIE," But Plenty of Time to Bore

TRASH IN MY EYE No. 60 of 2021 (No. 1798) by Leroy Douresseaux

No Time to Die (2021)
Running time:  163 minutes (2 hours, 43 minutes)
MPAA – PG-13 for sequences of violence and action, some disturbing images, brief strong language and some suggestive material
DIRECTOR:  Cary Joji Fukunaga
WRITERS:  Neal Purvis & Robert Wade and Cary Joji Fukunaga, and Phoebe Waller-Bridge; from a story by Cary Joji Fukunaga and Neal Purvis & Robert Wade (based on the characters created by Ian Fleming)
PRODUCERS:  Barbara Broccoli and Michael G. Wilson
CINEMATOGRAPHER:  Linus Sandgren (D.o.P.)
EDITORS:  Tom Smith and Elliot Graham
COMPOSER:  Hans Zimmer
SONG:  “No Time to Die,” sung by Billie Eilish; written by Billie Eilish and Finneas O'Connell

SPY/ACTION/ADVENTURE

Starring:  Daniel Craig, Rami Malek, Lea Seydoux, Lashana Lynch, Ralph Fiennes, Ben Whishaw, Naomie Harris, Rory Kinnear, Billy Magnussen, David Dencik, Dali Benssalah, and Jeffrey Wright with Christoph Waltz

No Time to Day is a 2021 spy and action-adventure film from director Cary Joji Fukunaga.  It is the 25th entry in EON Productions' James Bond film franchise, and it is also the fifth and (supposedly) final film in which actor Daniel Craig portrays Bond.  In No Time to Die, James Bond is attempting to enjoy life after having left active service when an old friend asks him to help the CIA secure a dangerous new weapon.

No Time to Die finds former M16 agent, James Bond-007 (Daniel Craig), enjoying life after leaving active service with his lover, Dr. Madeleine Swann (Lea Seydoux).  While vacationing in Matera, Italy, Spectre assassins ambush Bond, and although he survives that attempt, he believes that he has been betrayed.  Bond blames Madeleine and leaves her.

Five years later, MI6 scientist, Valdo Obruchev (David Dencik), is kidnapped from an MI6 laboratory.  Obruchev was working on a bio-weapons project, “Project Heracles,” at the behest of Gareth Mallory (Ralph Fiennes), also known as “M,” the head of MI6.  In Jamaica, Bond's friend, CIA agent Felix Leiter (Jeffrey Wright), asks Bond to help him track Obruchev, but Bond refuses.  Later, Bond encounters Nomi (Lashana Lynch), the MI6 agent who has succeeded him as the new “007.”  After discovering more about “Project Heracles” via Nomi, Bond agrees to help Leiter find Obruchev.

Bond discovers that his old nemesis, Ernst Stavro Blofeld (Christoph Waltz), the founder and head of the criminal syndicate, Spectre, is somehow involved with Obruchev.  However, the true mastermind behind Obruchev's activities is a mysterious terrorist leader (Rami Malek) on a mission of revenge and harboring plans to kill untold millions of people.

Of the previous Daniel Craig James Bond films:  Casino Royale (2006), Quantum of Solace (2008), Skyfall (2012) and Spectre (2015), the last two join No Time to Die to form some kind of Daniel Craig as James Bond life cycle.  When it comes to James Bond, I am not interested in s life story, origin tale, or death story of 007.  Craig is the first actor to play Bond who gets a swan song film.  All the other Bond actors did not get a goodbye movie; they simply left.

Although it has some good moments and some exceptional set pieces – in the form of extended action scenes – No Time to Die gets old and listless, especially after the action that takes place in Matera.  This film is also too long and too tired, especially wants the drama moves to Japan.  Even Daniel Craig, who is only 53-years-old, seems to be much older than he really his.  His body is tight, but his face is Beetlejuice.  It is as if everything about this film inadvertently says that both Craig and Bond are way past their expiration date.  In fact, both seem like spoiled milk.

No Time to Die has other problems.  Ray Fiennes, with his dour faced portrayal of “M,” only makes things seem more rundown.  Naomie Harris is utterly wasted as Eve Moneypenny.  Lashana Lynch cannot do much to save her utterly wasted and woefully underdeveloped character, Nomi, the new 007.  Jeffrey Wright seems like an out-of-gas old car as Felix Leiter.  As for Rami Malek: what could have been is so obvious in how much he gets out of so little.

On the other hand, Rory Kinnear brings some quiet energy as M's chief of staff, Bill Tanner.  As usual Ben Whishaw is top notch as “Q,” and I hope the Bond bosses bring him back in the next iteration of the franchise.  Also, Bill Magnussen provides an expected pretty boy, watermelon sugar rush as the bright-eyed CIA agent, Logan Ash.

In the final analysis, if I had to do it again, I would not go to a movie theater to see No Time to Die.  Don't get me wrong.  I am a huge James Bond fan and would see this movie anyway.  I will always find a lot to like even in Bond movies about which I have mixed feelings.  However, No Time to Die is the kind of Bond movie that I could have waited to see at home.  It is sad that Daniel Craig's tenure as James Bond did not so much end as it simply petered out.

6 of 10
B

Friday, October 8, 2021


The text is copyright © 2021 Leroy Douresseaux. All Rights Reserved. Contact this blog or site for reprint and syndication rights and fees.

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"No Time to Die" is the Title of the Next James Bond Film

NO TIME TO DIE is the official title of Bond 25

Daniel Craig returns in his fifth 007 film

James Bond Producers, Michael G. Wilson and Barbara Broccoli today released the official title of the 25th James Bond adventure, NO TIME TO DIE. The film, from Albert R. Broccoli’s EON Productions, Metro Goldwyn Mayer Studios (MGM), and Universal Pictures International is directed by Cary Joji Fukunaga (Beasts of No Nation, True Detective) and stars Daniel Craig, who returns for his fifth film as Ian Fleming’s James Bond 007.

Written by Neal Purvis & Robert Wade (SPECTRE, SKYFALL), Cary Joji Fukunaga, Scott Z. Burns (Contagion, The Bourne Ultimatum) and Phoebe Waller-Bridge (Killing Eve, Fleabag) NO TIME TO DIE is currently in production. The film will be released globally from April 3, 2020 in the UK through Universal Pictures International and in the US on April 8, 2020, from MGM via their United Artists Releasing banner.

NO TIME TO DIE also stars Rami Malek, Léa Seydoux, Lashana Lynch, Ben Whishaw, Naomie Harris, Billy Magnussen, Ana de Armas, Rory Kinnear, David Dencik, Dali Benssalah with Jeffrey Wright and Ralph Fiennes.

In NO TIME TO DIE, Bond has left active service and is enjoying a tranquil life in Jamaica. His peace is short-lived when his old friend Felix Leiter from the CIA turns up asking for help. The mission to rescue a kidnapped scientist turns out to be far more treacherous than expected, leading Bond onto the trail of a mysterious villain armed with dangerous new technology.

Other members of the creative team are; Composer Dan Romer, Director of Photography Linus Sandgren, Editors Tom Cross and Elliot Graham, Production Designer Mark Tildesley, Costume Designer Suttirat Larlarb, Hair and Make up Designer Daniel Phillips, Supervising Stunt Coordinator Olivier Schneider, Stunt Coordinator Lee Morrison and Visual Effects Supervisor Charlie Noble. Returning members to the team are; 2nd Unit Director Alexander Witt, Special Effects and Action Vehicles Supervisor Chris Corbould and Casting Director Debbie McWilliams.

Press release from https://www.007.com/no-time-to-die-is-the-official-title-of-bond-25/

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LEGO Dark Knight Eclipses Worldwide Box Office

“The LEGO® Batman Movie” Builds at the Box Office, Crossing $200 Mllion Worldwide

BURBANK, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Audience enthusiasm continues to build for “The LEGO® Batman Movie,” pushing the latest LEGO animated adventure to $202 million in global box office after just two weeks in release. The announcement was made today by Sue Kroll, President of Worldwide Marketing and Distribution, Warner Bros. Pictures.

    “We are proud and happy to mark another resounding success for our LEGO film franchise. Congratulations to our partners at the LEGO Group, to director Chris McKay and to the multitude of talented individuals who made this film such an extraordinary cinema experience for the whole family.”

Scoring the biggest box office opening of 2017, the new film from director Chris McKay and the team behind the 2014 blockbuster “The LEGO Movie” took the top spot in its first weekend in North America, and registered an A- Cinemascore. It ranked first again in its second weekend, and has so far earned over $118 million on the domestic front.

It simultaneously made a robust debut in day-and-date engagements in 60 markets across Europe, Asia and Latin America. The film has maintained the number one spot in the UK since its opening, and has continued to hold strong overseas for an international cume of $84 million, to date.

Just as much a hit with critics as with fans, “The LEGO Batman Movie” is Certified Fresh at 91% on Rotten Tomatoes.

The film will continue its international run in additional territories yet to open, including Japan, China, Australia and New Zealand.

In making the announcement, Kroll said, “We are proud and happy to mark another resounding success for our LEGO film franchise. Congratulations to our partners at the LEGO Group, to director Chris McKay and to the multitude of talented individuals who made this film such an extraordinary cinema experience for the whole family.”

In the irreverent spirit of fun that made “The LEGO Movie” a worldwide phenomenon, the self-described leading man of that ensemble – LEGO Batman – stars in his own big-screen adventure. But there are big changes brewing in Gotham City, and if he wants to save the city from The Joker’s hostile takeover, Batman may have to drop the lone vigilante thing, try to work with others and maybe, just maybe, learn to lighten up.

“The LEGO Batman Movie” stars Will Arnett, Zach Galifianakis, Michael Cera, Rosario Dawson and Ralph Fiennes. Directed by Chris McKay, it is produced by Dan Lin, Phil Lord, Christopher Miller, and Roy Lee. The executive producers are Jill Wilfert, Matthew Ashton, Will Allegra and Brad Lewis. The screenplay is by Seth Grahame-Smith and Chris McKenna & Erik Sommers and Jared Stern & John Whittington; story by Seth Grahame-Smith, based on LEGO Construction Toys and based on characters from DC. Batman is created by Bob Kane with Bill Finger; Superman is created by Jerry Siegel and Joe Shuster.

From Warner Bros. Pictures and Warner Animation Group, in association with LEGO System A/S, a Lin Pictures/Lord Miller/Vertigo Entertainment production, “The LEGO Batman Movie” will be distributed by Warner Bros. Pictures, a Warner Bros. Entertainment Company.

It will play in theaters in 3D, 2D and IMAX. This film is rated PG for rude humor and some action. www.legobatman.com

BATMAN and all related characters and elements are trademarks of and © DC Comics.

LEGO, the LEGO logo, the Minifigure and the brick and knob configuration are trademarks of the LEGO Group. © 2017 The LEGO Group. Used with permission. All rights reserved.

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Review: "Spectre" Tackles the Ghosts of Daniel Craig's James Bond

TRASH IN MY EYE No. 1 (of 2017) by Leroy Douresseaux

Spectre (2015)
Running time:  148 minutes; (2 hours, 28 minutes)
MPAA – PG-13 for intense sequences of action and violence, some disturbing images, sensuality and language
DIRECTOR:  Sam Mendes
WRITERS:  John Logan, Neal Purvis, Robert Wade, and Jez Butterworth; from a story by John Logan, Neal Purvis, and Robert Wade (based on the character created by Ian Fleming)
PRODUCERS:  Barbara Broccoli and Michael G. Wilson
CINEMATOGRAPHER:  Hoyte Van Hoytema
EDITOR:  Lee Smith
COMPOSER:  Thomas Newman
SONG:  “Writing's on the Wall” performed by Sam Smith and written by Sam Smith and James Napier
Academy Award winner

SPY/ACTION/ADVENTURE

Starring:  Daniel Craig, Christoph Waltz, Lea Seydoux, Ralph Fiennes, Ben Whishaw, Naomie Harris, Rory Kinnear, Dave Bautista, Monica Bellucci, Andrew Scott, Jesper Christensen, Marc Zinga, Tam Williams, and Alessandro Cremona

Spectre is a 2015 spy and adventure film from director Sam Mendes.  It is the 24th entry in EON Productions' James Bond film franchise, and it is also the fourth film in which actor Daniel Craig portrays Bond.  Spectre reintroduces the global criminal syndicate and terrorist organization, Spectre (formerly SPECTRE), which first appeared in the 1961 Bond novel, Thunderball, written by Bond's creator, Sir Ian Fleming.

Spectre opens with M16 agent James Bond-007 (Daniel Craig) on a mission in Mexico City where he confronts and kills terrorist leader, Marco Sciarra (Alessandro Cremona).  It turns out that Bond's mission was unauthorized.  That puts Gareth Mallory (Ralph Fiennes), the new “M” and the head of MI6, in a difficult position with one of his own superiors, Max Denbigh (Andrew Scott).  Denbigh wants to combine MI6 with MI5 and also to shutdown the “00” (or “Double-0”) program, and he sees Bond's activities in Mexico City as proof that the Double-0 program is outdated.

Bond disobeys an order that he not leave the U.K. and flies to Rome where he attends Sciarra's funeral.  He meets Sciarra's widow, Lucia (Monica Bellucci), who tells him that her late husband was part of a mysterious criminal organization known as “Spectre.”  Bond learns the location of a secret Spectre meeting and infiltrates it, where he identifies the leader, Franz Oberhauser (Christoph Waltz).  However, Oberhauser has been expecting Bond, and much to Bond's surprise, this shadowy leader is apparently and shockingly connected to Bond himself.

This is sort of spoiler warning:  Spectre is intimately connected to the previous Daniel Craig Bond films, Casino Royale (2006), Quantum of Solace (2008), and Skyfall (2012).  It completes the origin story of James Bond (at least the Craig iteration) and, at the end of the film, seems to send Bond off into retirement with a new love interest, Dr. Madeleine Swann (Léa Seydoux), who may finally be the real and true love interest for Bond.

Spectre received mixed reviews, but I have to say that I like it a lot and have few complaints.  It is reportedly the most expensive James Bond film ever made, with a production budget of about $245 million.  The Mexico City set piece alone must have cost millions of dollars to produce.  Still, Spectre does not come across as a giant, CGI-laden, blockbuster, event movie.

In different ways and at different moments, Spectre recalls the James Bond movies starring Sean Connery and Roger Moore.  When he needs to be, Craig is like Connery's masculine, gentlemanly killer, who was a chauvinist.  At other times, Craig is Moore's Bond, a suave secret agent who can cross multiple lines of social class in a single day and who always seems to be thinking at least a few steps ahead of his adversaries.  I think that I have always considered Connery and Moore to be the real movie James Bonds, with Moore being my favorite.  For me, Spectre solidified Daniel Craig as a real Bond.

Beside Craig, I cannot think of another performance that really captures my attention, maybe Dave Bautista as Mr. Hinx.  I found the two-time Academy Award winner, Christoph Waltz, somewhat unimpressive as the villain.  I do think that the Bond film series is onto something in giving Fiennes' M, Naomie Harris' Eve Moneypenny, Ben Whishaw's Q, and Rory Kinnear's Bill Tanner something to do other than simply to be at Bond's beck-and-call.

So... being honest with you, dear reader, I have to admit that Spectre hit something primal in me as a fan of James Bond films.  My enjoyment of it is so personal that perhaps you should take my rating of Spectre with a grain of salt – in a glass, shaken, not stirred.

7 of 10
A-

Monday, May 2, 2016


NOTES:
2016 Academy Awards, USA:  1 win: “Best Achievement in Music Written for Motion Pictures, Original Song” (Sam Smith and James Napier-as Jimmy Napes for the song “Writing's On The Wall”)

2016 Golden Globes, USA:  1 win: “Best Original Song - Motion Picture” (Sam Smith and James Napier as Jimmy Napes for the song: “Writing's on the Wall”)

The text is copyright © 2016 Leroy Douresseaux. All Rights Reserved. Contact this site for reprint and syndication rights and fees.

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Negromancer News Bits and Bites from December 1st to 5th, 2015 - Update #18

Support Leroy on Patreon.

NEWS:

From Deadline:  "Trainspotting" sequel lands at TriStar, with original principal cast returning.

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From TheWrap:  T.I., Mekhi Phifer, and James Purefoy join A&E's "Roots" miniseries.

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From YahooMusic:  Coldplay may do the Super Bowl 50 halftime show in Feb. 2016.

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From ThePlaylist:  Steven Spielberg does not think that Indiana Jones will ever be recast.

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From TVLine:  New episodes of "Samurai Jack" for 2016; article has a short teaser video.

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From ThePlaylist:   The 15-film shortlist for the "Best Documentary" Oscar is out, and the Kurt Cobain doc, "Kurt Cobain: Montage of Heck" did not make it.

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From Vulture:  Reese Witherspoon is developing a biopic about Ruth Handler, the creator of the Barbie doll.  Unfortunately, Witherspoon is not playing Barbie.

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From Variety:  Helen Mirren in talks to join Will Smith in new drama.

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From Deadline:  Fox is developing "Rambo: New Blood," a series which would focus Sylvester Stallone's "John Rambo" and his son.  Stallone would at least executive produce the series.

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From YahooNews:  Lupita Nyong'o recalls being Ralph Fiennes assistant on "The Constant Gardner."


HARD NEWS:

From RSN:  On Dec. 4th, remember Fred Hampton of the Black Panters.

From the NYTimes:  The children left behind after mass shootings.

From YahooNews:  An Iraqi War veteran among those killed by the White terrorist who attacked Planned Parenthood in Colorado.


STAR WARS:


From YahooNews:  Chinese poster for "The Force Awakens" has some noticeable changes from other posters.

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From YahooTV:  J.J. checks people complaining about "Black stormtroopers."


COMICS - Films and Books:

From Variety:  Ryan Coogler (Fruitvale Station, Creed) in talks to direct Marvel's "Black Panther."

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From CinemaBlend:  Robert Downey, Jr. confirms Spider-Man in "Captain America: Civil War."

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From TheWrap:  5 things about Black Panther.


TRAILERS:

From DCComics:  The new "Batman vs. Superman: Dawn of Justice" trailer.  And it is quite good.


OBIT:

From Variety:  The actor, Robert Loggia, died today (Friday, December 4, 2015) at the age of 85.  He appeared in such films as "Big," "Independence Day," and "Scarface," among many.  He earned a supporting actor Oscar nomination for his role in the film, "Jagged Edge."

Review: "The Grand Budapest Hotel" is Stylish and Quirky, of course

TRASH IN MY EYE No. 17 (of 2015) by Leroy Douresseaux

The Grand Budapest Hotel (2014)
Running time:  99 minutes (1 hour, 39 minutes)
MPAA – R for language, some sexual content and violence
DIRECTOR:  Wes Anderson
WRITERS:  Wes Anderson; from a story by Wes Anderson and Hugo Guinness (inspired by the writings of Stefan Zweig)
PRODUCERS:  Wes Anderson, Jeremy Dawson, Steven Rales, and Scott Rudin
CINEMATOGRAPHER:  Robert Yeoman (D.o.P.)
EDITOR:  Barney Pilling
COMPOSER:  Alexandre Desplat
Academy Award winner

ADVENTURE/COMEDY/DRAMA with elements of fantasy

Starring:  Ralph Fiennes, Tony Revolori, F. Murray Abraham, Adrien Brody, Willem Dafoe, Edward Norton, Saoirse Ronan, Jeff Goldblum, Mathieu Amalric, Harvey Keitel, Jude Law, Bill Murray, Jason Schwartzman, Lea Seydoux, Tilda Swinton, Tom Wilkinson, Bob Balaban, and Owen Wilson

The Grand Budapest Hotel is a 2014 comedy-drama and adventure film from writer-director Wes Anderson.  Anderson and Hugo Guinness, who wrote the film's story with Anderson, were inspired by the writings of Austrian, Stefan Sweig (1881-19420, a novelist, playwright, journalist and biographer.  The Grand Budapest Hotel focuses on the adventures of a legendary concierge at a famous hotel and the lobby boy who becomes his trusted sidekick.

The Grand Budapest Hotel opens in the present day, before moving back to 1985.  The film moves back again to the year 1968.  A man, known as “The Author” (Jude Law), travels to the Republic of Zubrowka (a fictional Central European state).  He stays at a remote mountainside hotel in the spa town of Nebelsbad.  The Author discovers that the Grand Budapest Hotel has fallen on hard times.  He meets the owner of the hotel, an elderly gentleman named Zero Moustafa (F. Murray Abraham).  Moustafa tells “The Author” how he came to own the Grand Budapest Hotel.

That takes the story back to the year 1932, during the hotel's glory days.  Monsieur Gustave H (Ralph Fiennes) is the Grand Budapest Hotel's devoted concierge.  He manages the hotel's large staff and sees to the needs of the hotel's wealthy clientele,  Gustave also often has sexual relationships with some of the hotel's elderly female clientele.  One of the aging women who flock to the hotel to enjoy M. Gustave's “exceptional service” is Madame Céline Villeneuve "Madame D" Desgoffe und Taxis a.k.a. “Madame D” (Tilda Swinton).

After Madame D dies, M. Gustave discovers that she has left him something in her will, a highly-sought after painting by Johannes van Hoytl (the younger), entitled, “Boy With Apple.”  M. Gustave also learns that Madame D was murdered and that he is not only the chief suspect, but that he is also caught up in a dispute over a vast family fortune.  M. Gustave is in trouble, but luckily he has hired a most capable and talented new lobby boy, Zero (Tony Revolori).  M Gustave's most trusted friend and protege, Zero, may be the only one who can help a legendary concierge save himself.

I said that Ethan and Joel Coen's 2010 film, True Grit (a remake of the classic John Wayne western), was a movie in which the brothers got to work out and to employ their visual tics, cinematic style, and storytelling techniques on a Western.  It was a good film, but it was truly “a Coen Bros. movie.”

In a similar fashion, The Grand Budapest Hotel is Wes Anderson employing everything that is eccentric, quirky, and unique to his films going back at least a decade.  Embodied in this movie, the Wes Anderson style is wonderful and invigorating and a joy to watch.  Truly, The Grand Budapest Hotel has a striking and an eye-catching visual style.  Anderson's mix of ornate visual environments and eccentric characters with deeply held emotions makes his movies hard to ignore, if you give them half the chance.

Those characters can be a problem, though.  For this film, Anderson easily offers 20 characters worth knowing, but other than M. Gustave and Zero, Anderson uses the others as quirky backdrops or as caricatures upon which he can hang his plot.  Thus, The Grand Budapest Hotel is beautiful, but depth of character is lacking.  The adventure of M. Gustave and Zero plays as if it were something straight out of a beloved children's book.  Much has been made of Ralph Fienne's performance in this film, and it is indeed a good one.  It must be noted that Tony Revolori as Zero is also quite good.  Still, the adventure of the two leads would be better with more interplay from the other characters than the film offers.  Adrien Brody's Dmitri Desgoffe und Taxis is wasted, and Willem Dafoe's J.G. Jopling is not so much a menacing villain as he is a bad guy straight out of Jay Ward Productions.

However, while this movie does not fail to burrow into the imagination, it does not really plant its roots in the viewers' hearts.  It is gorgeous on the surface, but Anderson seems to avoid the deeply emotional ideas he introduces, making The Grand Budapest Hotel an exceptional film, but keeping it from being truly great.  It is Wes Anderson art for Wes Anderson's art sake.

8 of 10
A

Friday, April 10, 2015


NOTES:
2015 Academy Awards, USA:  4 wins: “Best Achievement in Costume Design” (Milena Canonero), “Best Achievement in Makeup and Hairstyling” (Frances Hannon and Mark Coulier), “Best Achievement in Music Written for Motion Pictures, Original Score” (Alexandre Desplat) and “Best Achievement in Production Design” (Adam Stockhausen-production design and Anna Pinnock-set decoration); 5 nominations: “Best Motion Picture of the Year” (Wes Anderson, Scott Rudin, Steven M. Rales, and Jeremy Dawson), “Best Achievement in Directing” (Wes Anderson), “Best Achievement in Cinematography” (Robert D. Yeoman), and “Best Achievement in Film Editing” (Barney Pilling), and “Best Writing, Original Screenplay” (Wes Anderson-screenplay/story and Hugo Guinness-story)

2015 BAFTA Awards:  5 wins: “Best Original Music” (Alexandre Desplat), “Best Costume Design” (Milena Canonero), “Best Production Design” (Adam Stockhausen and Anna Pinnock), “Best Original Screenplay” (Wes Anderson), and “Best Make Up & Hair” (Frances Hannon and Mark Coulier); 6 nominations: “Best Film” (Wes Anderson, Scott Rudin, Steven M. Rales, and Jeremy Dawson), “Best Leading Actor” (Ralph Fiennes), “Best Cinematography” (Robert D. Yeoman), “Best Editing” (Barney Pilling), “Best Sound” (Wayne Lemmer, Christopher Scarabosio, Pawel Wdowczak), and “David Lean Award for Direction” (Wes Anderson)

2015 Golden Globes, USA:  1 win: “Best Motion Picture - Comedy or Musical;” 3 nominations: “Best Director - Motion Picture” (Wes Anderson), “Best Performance by an Actor in a Motion Picture - Comedy or Musical” (Ralph Fiennes), and “Best Screenplay - Motion Picture” (Wes Anderson)

The text is copyright © 2015 Leroy Douresseaux. All Rights Reserved. Contact this site for syndication rights and fees.

James Bond "SPECTRE" Has Begun Production

SPECTRE THE 24TH JAMES BOND ADVENTURE SET TO BEGIN PRODUCTION

Directed by Sam Mendes Produced by Michael G. Wilson and Barbara Broccoli Starring Daniel Craig as James Bond 007

LONDON, UK, - 007 Soundstage, Pinewood Studios, London. James Bond Producers, Michael G. Wilson and Barbara Broccoli, released the title of the 24th James Bond adventure, SPECTRE. The film, from Albert R. Broccoli’s EON Productions, Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Studios, and Sony Pictures Entertainment, is directed by Sam Mendes and stars Daniel Craig, who returns for his fourth film as Ian Fleming’s James Bond 007. SPECTRE began principal photography on Monday, December 8, 2014 and is set for global release on November 6, 2015.

Along with Daniel Craig, Mendes presented the returning cast, Ralph Fiennes, Naomie Harris, Ben Whishaw and Rory Kinnear as well as introducing Christoph Waltz, Léa Seydoux, Dave Bautista, Monica Bellucci and Andrew Scott. Mendes also revealed Bond’s sleek new Aston Martin, the DB10, created exclusively for SPECTRE.

A cryptic message from Bond’s past sends him on a trail to uncover a sinister organisation. While M battles political forces to keep the secret service alive, Bond peels back the layers of deceit to reveal the terrible truth behind SPECTRE.

The 007 production will be based at Pinewood Studios, and on location in London, Mexico City, Rome and Tangier and Erfoud, in Morocco. Bond will return to the snow once again, this time in Sölden, along with other Austrian locations, Obertilliach, and Lake Altaussee.

Commenting on the announcement, Wilson and Broccoli said, "We’re excited to announce Daniel’s fourth installment in the series and thrilled that Sam has taken on the challenge of following on the success of SKYFALL with SPECTRE."

Written by John Logan and Neal Purvis & Robert Wade, Director of Photography is Hoyte van Hoytema and Editor is Lee Smith. Production Designer, Dennis Gassner returns along with Costume Designer, Jany Temime and Composer, Thomas Newman. Action Specialist, Alexander Witt is the 2nd Unit Director. Stunt Coordinator is Gary Powell, SFX Supervisor is Chris Corbould, and Visual Effects Supervisor is Steve Begg.

Skyfall, the 23rd James Bond film, was a worldwide box office phenomenon, opening #1 in 70 territories around the world, taking over $1.1 billion worldwide and setting a new all-time box office record in the UK by becoming the first film to take over £100 million.

The launch of SPECTRE was streamed live on 007.com and Facebook.com/JamesBond007, and the video is now available on demand at both sites.

About Albert R. Broccoli’s EON Productions
EON Productions Limited and Danjaq LLC are wholly owned and controlled by the Broccoli/Wilson family. Danjaq is the US based company that co-owns, with Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Studios, the copyright in the existing James Bond films and controls the right to produce future James Bond films as well as all worldwide merchandising. EON Productions, an affiliate of Danjaq, is the UK based production company which makes the James Bond films. The 007 franchise is the longest running in film history with twenty-three films produced since 1962. Michael G Wilson and Barbara Broccoli succeeded Albert R ‘Cubby’ Broccoli and have produced some of the most successful Bond films ever including CASINO ROYALE, QUANTUM OF SOLACE and SKYFALL.

About Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer
Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer is celebrating 90 years as a leader in the entertainment business and as an innovator in the industry. Today, MGM is an entertainment company focused on the production and distribution of film and television content globally. The company owns one of the world’s deepest libraries of premium film and television content. In addition, MGM has investments in domestic and international television channels and is the majority owner of and distributor for United Artists Media Group (UAMG). For more information, visit www.mgm.com.

About Sony Pictures Entertainment
Sony Pictures Entertainment (SPE) is a subsidiary of Sony Entertainment Inc., a subsidiary of Tokyo-based Sony Corporation. SPE's global operations encompass motion picture production, acquisition and distribution; television production, acquisition and distribution; television networks; digital content creation and distribution; operation of studio facilities; and development of new entertainment products, services and technologies. For additional information, go to http://www.sonypictures.com.

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Review: "The White Countess" Does Not Quite Capture Old Merchant Ivory Magic (Remembering Natasha Richardson)

TRASH IN MY EYE No. 131 (of 2006) by Leroy Douresseaux

The White Countess (2005)
Running time:  136 minutes (2 hours, 16 minutes)
MPAA – PG-13 for some violent images and thematic elements
DIRECTOR:  James Ivory
WRITER:  Kazuo Ishiguro
PRODUCER:  Ismail Merchant
CINEMATOGRAPHER:  Christopher Doyle (director of photography)
EDITOR:  John David Allen
COMPOSER:  Richard Robbins

DRAMA/HISTORICAL with elements of romance

Starring:  Ralph Fiennes, Natasha Richardson, Vanessa Redgrave, Hiroyuki Sanada, Lynn Redgrave, Allan Corduner, Da Ying, and Madeleine Daly

The subject of this movie review is The White Countess, a 2005 period drama from director James Ivory and producer Ismail Merchant for their Merchant Ivory Productions.  This is the last film produced by Merchant, who died during production of the film.  Written by Kazuo Ishiguro, The White Countess is set in 1930s Shanghai and focuses on a blind American diplomat and a young Russian trying to support members of her dead husband’s aristocratic family.

A traumatic political event took the lives of both his wife and son, and a second one killed his daughter and blinded him.  Now, 40-something, disenchanted, ex-U.S. diplomat Todd Jackson (Ralph Fiennes) lives a lonely life amid the political turmoil of 1930’s Shanghai, and dreams of owning a gentleman’s club – the kind that he can still see in his mind and quite unlike the hotels and clubs in which he currently languishes.

However, his life changes when he crosses paths with Countess Sofia Belinskya (Natasha Richardson), a widowed Russian countess living in impoverished exile with her in-laws and her daughter.  Where once she lived the life of nobility, now, she accepts sordid jobs to support her family.  When fortune strikes and gives Jackson the means to open his bar, he names it The White Countess, and convinces Sofia to accept a job as the club’s hostess.  But will he have the strength to admit his love before a coming Japanese invasion of Shanghai separates them forever?

The team of director James Ivory and producer Ismail Merchant are known to the film world as Merchant Ivory Productions and have produced such Oscar-winning and Oscar-nominated films as A Room with a View, Howard’s End, and Remains of the Day.  The Indian born Merchant (who also directed films) died in May of 2005, and The White Countess was his final collaboration with James Ivory.  The film is quiet and lacks the grandeur of the better-known Merchant Ivory Production like Howard’s End.  It’s very low key, and dialogue moves the narrative.  It’s almost as if The White Countess is more a historical epic made for television than it is a work for the cinema.

Ralph Fiennes and Natasha Richardson give strange, quiet performances.  Fiennes is as usual quite good, and Richardson is mysterious and detached.  One would think that the two couldn’t have any chemistry, but their facial expressions and subtle physical movements give their characters and their relationship a deeply evocative tone.  They essentially define this slow moving, but classy period piece, as all the other actors seem to follow their tranquil acting.

In fact, there are a number of fine supporting performances including a rare appearance in the same film by famous acting sisters, Vanessa Redgrave and Lynn Redgrave (real life mother and aunt respectively of Natasha Richardson), in small but well-done roles.  Hiroyuki Sanada gives an excellent turn as the mysterious Mr. Matsuda, who establishes the film’s exotic, but politically volatile setting, 1930’s Shanghai.  The White Countess may seem overly serene at times, but the impeccable cast makes it a good choice for fans of fine acting and Merchant Ivory films.

6 of 10
B

Saturday, June 17, 2006

Updated:  Tuesday, March 18, 2014

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

Review: "Skyfall" is Among the Best Daniel Craig James Bond Films... so far

TRASH IN MY EYE No. 84 (of 2012) by Leroy Douresseaux

Skyfall (2012)
Running time: 143 minutes (2 hours, 23 minutes)
MPAA – PG-13 for intense violent sequences throughout, some sexuality, language and smoking
DIRECTOR: Sam Mendes
WRITERS: Neal Purvis, Robert Wade, and John Logan
PRODUCERS: Barbara Broccoli and Michael G. Wilson
CINEMATOGRAPHER: Roger Deakins
EDITORS: Stuart Baird with Kate Baird
COMPOSER: Thomas Newman
MAIN THEME: “Skyfall” performed by Adele and composed by Adele and Paul Epworth

ACTION/DRAMA/THRILLER

Starring: Daniel Craig, Judi Dench, Javier Bardem, Ralph Fiennes, Naomie Harris, Berenice Marlohe, Albert Finney, Ben Wishaw, Rory Kinnear, and Ola Rapace

Skyfall is a 2012 action movie and spy thriller. Directed by Sam Mendes (American Beauty), Skyfall is the 23rd film in the James Bond series. Actor Daniel Craig returns for his third outing as James Bond, agent 007. Skyfall finds Bond’s loyalty tested as the British Secret Intelligence Service comes under attack.

As the film opens, MI6 agents James Bond (Daniel Craig) and Eve Moneypenny (Naomie Harris) are in Turkey where they are tracking a killer named Patrice (Ola Rapace). This mercenary has in his possession a computer hard drive containing highly-sensitive information that belongs to the British, but the mission goes badly.

Later, Bond’s superior, M (Judi Dench), comes under political pressure to retire, even as MI6 comes under attack. With his credibility and ability to perform under question, Bond sets out to discover the identity of the attacker. What he finds is that M’s past has come back to haunt her in the form of a mysterious figure known as Raoul Silva (Javier Bardem). As 007 tracks down the threat, he finds himself facing his own past, but he must destroy that threat no matter how personal the cost.

I don’t think that there is much to say. Skyfall is good, and it is the best James Bond movie in recent memory, and certainly one of the best Bond films ever. It is well-directed with bracing action set pieces and thrilling scenes that, quite frankly, enthralled me. The performances are good, especially Javier Bardem as Raoul Silva; surely, he should at least be considered for an Oscar nomination.

The film is well-written, but I wouldn’t say that it is much better written than any of the other Daniel Craig Bond films. Most of the first hour of Skyfall is testament to brilliant spy thriller screenwriting. Once the film moves to London (because the story is resolved in Great Britain), it loses some of its mojo. It is not that Skyfall turns bad. It simply slows from a genius pop confection and transitions into a highly-skillful, espionage, shoot-‘em-up, action flick.

That’s not much of a fall, but it is still a step down from the near-perfection that opened Skyfall. Anyway, no one who has every enjoyed a James Bond film should miss this. Plus, I saw Skyfall in digital, and the picture sure was pretty.

8 of 10
A

Sunday, November 11, 2012

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"Wrath of the Titans" Mostly Tepid

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


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

FANTASY/ACTION

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

5 of 10
C+

Friday, September 07, 2012

Review: Fine Actors Kick "Coriolanus" Up a Notch

TRASH IN MY EYE No. 51 (of 2012) by Leroy Douresseaux

Coriolanus (2011)
COUNTRY OF ORIGIN: U.K.
Running time: 123 minutes (2 hours, 3 minutes)
MPAA – R for some bloody violence
DIRECTOR: Ralph Fiennes
WRITER: John Logan (based on the play Coriolanus by William Shakespeare)
PRODUCERS: Ralph Fiennes, John Logan, Gabrielle Tana, Julia Taylor-Stanley, and Colin Vaines
CINEMATOGRAPHER: Barry Ackroyd
EDITOR: Nicolas Gaster
COMPOSER: Ilan Eshkeri
BAFTA nominee

DRAMA/WAR

Starring: Ralph Fiennes, Gerard Butler, Brian Cox, Vanessa Redgrave, Jessica Chastain, John Cani, Paul Jesson, James Nesbitt, Dragan Micanovic, and Harry Fenn

The subject of this movie review is Coriolanus, a 2011 military drama starring Ralph Fiennes and Gerard Butler. The film is based on William Shakespeare’s tragedy, Coriolanus, which was based on the story of a legendary Roman general. The film is Fiennes’ directorial debut and is the story of a banished Roman hero who joins Rome’s enemy to take his revenge on the city.

Coriolanus is set in “a place calling itself Rome” (but the movie was filmed in Serbia). General Caius Martius (Ralph Fiennes) leads the forces of Rome to victory against Volsces and the leader of its forces, Tullus Aufidius (Gerard Butler). Martius should be the hero of Rome, beloved by all, but the citizens of Rome are hungry. He may be a great soldier, but Martius despises the people for whom he supposedly fights. Martius is elected as a consul to the Roman Senate, but his inflexible self-belief and extreme views present an opportunity for his enemies. Before long, Martius finds that some of his friends have turned to enemies, but some of his enemies may become his friends.

Throughout my schooling, teachers told me that Shakespeare’s work was timeless, and Coriolanus certainly has contemporary parallels. Caius Martius’ story is a familiar one. He is the proud warrior who saves the state, but who is despised by the citizenry and politicians. The politicians wish to exploit him and have little or no use for him otherwise. Those politicians also loath that he fought when they did not – either because they could not or chose not to.

As a director, Fiennes makes smart choices, including having the accomplished John Logan as his screenwriter. He also surrounds himself with a strong supporting cast; Brian Cox as Menenius and Venessa Redgrave as Volumnia (Martius’ mother) are just plain great. Fiennes’ inexperience as a director, however, shows in some scenes, especially those that make up the first hour of the film. This first half of Coriolanus drifts and the use of Shakespeare’s dialogue seems out of place in the film’s modern Eastern European setting.

The second half of the film is strong and passionate, and that’s where Fiennes’ talents show. He knows great performances and first-rate acting, and he gets that from his cast. Fiennes lets Gerard Butler do what he does best – smolder. Coriolanus is not the best film adaptation of Shakespeare, but the good acting and the subject matter make it one worth watching in these times.

6 of 10
B

NOTES:
2012 BAFTA Awards: 1 nomination: “Outstanding Debut by a British Writer, Director or Producer” (Ralph Fiennes-director)

Wednesday, June 20, 2012

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Review: "Schindler's List" is Fine Art

TRASH IN MY EYE No. 19 (of 2005) by Leroy Douresseaux

Schindler’s List (1993) – B&W with color segments
Running time: 194 minutes (3 hour, 14 minutes)
MPAA – R for language, some sexuality and actuality violence
DIRECTOR: Steven Spielberg
WRITER: Steven Zaillian (from the novel by Thomas Keneally)
PRODUCERS: Gerald R. Molen, Branko Lustig, and Spielberg
CINEMATOGRAPHER: Janusz Kaminski
EDITOR: Michael Kahn, A.C.E.
Academy Award winner

DRAMA/WAR with elements of thriller

Starring: Liam Neeson, Ben Kingsley, Ralph Fiennes, Caroline Goodall, Jonathan Sagalle, and Embeth Davidtz

When Steven Spielberg finally won his Oscar for “Best Director,” he also picked up an additional statue as a producer when Schindler’s List won the “Best Picture” of 1993. Schindler’s List is without a doubt one of the greatest films of the last quarter of the 20th century, and it is also truly film as art.

The film’s title character is the real life Oskar Schindler (Liam Neeson), a member of the Nazi Party and a war profiteer. The Czech-born, German businessman made his fortune exploiting cheap Jewish labor in German-occupied Poland. As World War II progresses, Schindler grows more horrified as the Nazi’s step up the process of exterminating Jews, especially after he witnesses the liquidation of the Krakow ghetto in 1943. He convinces a barbaric German commander, Amon Goeth (Ralph Fiennes), to let him have the 1100 Polish Jews he has on a list he created with his longtime partner and Jewish prisoner, Itzhak Stern (Ben Kingsley). This group of Jews are scheduled to be gassed at Auschwitz, but he is allowed to use them to operate a munitions factory at Brinnlitz. The second half of the film follows Schindler as he lavishly spends his fortune on bribes, parties, and gifts on important German officials who will tolerate him using Jewish workers. Schindler’s Jews and their benefactor struggle to stay alive as Germany steadily loses the war because it is at this point that Germany begins to try to hide evidence of the Holocaust.

Although many have criticized the film for being overly-sentimental, propagandistic, and historically inaccurate (Oskar Schindler may have been less charitable and more opportunistic in his quest to save the Jews, and Jewish prisoners may have had to pay their way onto the list, according to some), Schindler’s List is nevertheless a very powerful film. It resonates more than just emotionally and is also a very well made film. In fact, Spielberg’s mixture of classic Hollywood style, black and white photography, and a documentary-like directing technique make for a inimitable and distinctive film. Whenever the film narrative turns to Liam Neeson’s Schindler, Spielberg frames the character as if Schindler were in an archetypal 1940’s Hollywood film noir. When chronicling the Germans’ brutality against the Jews, Spielberg creates a raw, visceral, and immediate art splashed on the wide canvas of a world simultaneously real and dreamlike.

It’s a bravura effort from one of the great film helmsmen. Spielberg makes a compelling film that you can’t help but watch even as he brazenly displays the monstrous cruelty of Germans. Still, that is the way Spielberg emphasizes that the Germans considered their Jewish slaves and prisoners to have no future, that they were merely the tattered remains of a history already forgotten.

It’s a shame Neeson did not win the “Best Actor in a Leading Role” Oscar that year, losing to Tom Hanks. In many ways, Neeson is as important to the film as Spielberg. Schindler is both the foundation upon which this story is built and the axis upon which it turns. Neeson recognizes the faults of the man and subtly pushes Schindler’s less than savory attributes to the surface. He makes him more human than hero. Neeson conveys the sense that there is always something else going on in Schindler’s mind, something quite different from what he tells his friends and adversaries. An actor giving a character that much verisimilitude is rare. That Neeson can make the sly, sneaky, and recklessly flawed Schindler so engaging and intriguing is itself a work of art.

10 of 10

NOTES:
1994 Academy Awards: 7 wins: “Best Picture” (Steven Spielberg, Gerald R. Molen, and Branko Lustig), “Best Director” (Steven Spielberg), “Best Writing, Screenplay Based on Material Previously Produced or Published” (Steven Zaillian), “Best Art Direction-Set Decoration” (Allan Starski and Ewa Braun), “Best Cinematography” (Janusz Kaminski), and “Best Film Editing” (Michael Kahn), “Best Music, Original Score” (John Williams); 5 nominations: “Best Actor in a Leading Role” (Liam Neeson), “Best Actor in a Supporting Role” (Ralph Fiennes), “Best Costume Design” (Anna B. Sheppard), “Best Makeup” (Christina Smith, Matthew W. Mungle, and Judith A. Cory), “Best Sound” (Andy Nelson, Steve Pederson, Scott Millan, and Ron Judkins)

1994 BAFTA Awards: 7 wins: Best Actor in a Supporting Role” (Ralph Fiennes), “Best Cinematography” (Janusz Kaminski), “Best Editing” (Michael Kahn), “Best Film” (Steven Spielberg, Gerald R. Molen, and Branko Lustig), “Best Score” (John Williams), “Best Screenplay – Adapted” (Steven Zaillian), and “David Lean Award for Direction” (Steven Spielberg); 6 nominations: “Best Actor” (Liam Neeson), “Best Actor in a Supporting Role” (Ben Kingsley), “Best Costume Design” (Anna B. Sheppard), “Best Make Up Artist” (Christina Smith, Matthew W. Mungle, Waldemar Pokromski, and Pauline Heys), “Best Production Design” (Allan Starski), and “Best Sound” (Charles L. Campbell, Louis L. Edemann, Robert Jackson, Ron Judkins, Andy Nelson, Steve Pederson, and Scott Millan)

1994 Golden Globes: 3 wins: Best Director - Motion Picture (Steven Spielberg), “Best Motion Picture – Drama,” and “Best Screenplay - Motion Picture” (Steven Zaillian); 3 nominations: “Best Original Score - Motion Picture” (John Williams), “Best Performance by an Actor in a Motion Picture – Drama” (Liam Neeson), and “Best Performance by an Actor in a Supporting Role in a Motion Picture” (Ralph Fiennes)

2004 National Film Preservation Board: National Film Registry

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Review: Gromit Shines in "The Curse of the Were-Rabbit"

TRASH IN MY EYE No. 152 (of 2005) by Leroy Douresseaux

Wallace & Gromit: The Curse of the Were-Rabbit (2005) – animation
COUNTRY OF ORIGIN: UK
Running time: 94 minutes (1 hour, 34 minutes)
MPAA – G
DIRECTOR: Nick Park and Steve Box
WRITERS: Bob Baker, Mark Burton, Nick Park and Steve Box
PRODUCERS: Claire Jennings, Peter Lord, Carla Shelley, David Sproxton, and Nick Park
CINEMATOGRAPHERS: Tristan Oliver and Dave Alex Riddett
EDITORS: David McCormick and Gregory Perler
Academy Award winner

ANIMATION/ACTION/COMEDY/FAMILY/FANTASY

Starring: (voices) Peter Sallis, Ralph Fiennes, Helena Bonham Carter, Peter Kay, Nicholas Smith, Liz Smith, John Thomson, Mark Gatiss, and Vincent Ebrahim

Wallace & Gromit: The Curse of the Were-Rabbit is a 2005 Oscar-winning, stop-motion animated film. This comic horror, British film focuses on the eccentric inventor, Wallace, and his silent dog, Gromit (the brains of this duo).

Director Nick Park and his stop-motion, “Claymation”-like characters Wallace & Gromit, return in a new film, Wallace & Gromit: The Curse of the Were-Rabbit. The cheese-loving Wallace (voice of Peter Sallis), an affable, absent-minded inventor, and his faithful dog, Gromit, who doesn’t say a word, but is smarter and wiser than his human master/friend, have their first full-length film in The Curse of the Were-Rabbit; they previously were the stars of three animated short films, all Academy Award-nominated, with two winning Oscars.

In this new feature, Wallace & Gromit’s hometown is in the midst of a vegetable growing fever because the Tottington Hall Giant Vegetable Competition. The enterprising chums have been cashing in on this “veggie-mania” with their pest control outfit, “Anti-Pesto,” which captures and humanely dispatches the hundreds of rabbits that have invaded the town’s sacred vegetable gardens, trying to eat all those overly pampered giant veggies the town folks are growing for the Giant Vegetable Competition.

Suddenly, a huge, mysterious vegetable-ravaging beast begins terrorizing the town attacking all those prized garden plots by night, eating or destroying everything in its path. Panic sets in because this monster, dubbed the were-rabbit, endangers the Giant Vegetable Competition. Determined to protect the competition Tottington Hall has held almost annually for over 500 years, its hostess, Lady Tottington (voice of Helena Bonham Carter), hires Anti-Pesto to catch the creature, but in a humane fashion that doesn’t lead to the vegetable-chomping marauder’s demise. Also, lying in wait, is Lady Tottington’s snobby suitor, Victor Quatermaine (voice of Ralph Fiennes), who’d rather shoot the were-rabbit, which would not only make him a local hero, but might also secure him Lady Tottington’s hand in marriage. With Wallace & Gromit having so much trouble securing the beast, Lady Tottington must eventually give in to Victor’s desire to hunt the were-rabbit. What she doesn’t know (but Victor does) is that the hunt could have dire consequences for Wallace, who is smitten with Lady Tottington. Can Gromit save the day again?

Co-directed by Nick Park and Steve Box, The Curse of the Were-Rabbit is easily one the few truly great films I’ve seen this year. Five years in the making, and the film shows that Park and his crew are geniuses of stop-motion animation (also known as Claymation®). There is just so much ingenuity in the film, from Wallace’s crazy inventions and assorted contraptions – such as the brain altering machine that is supposed to make rabbits shun veggies to the suction device and tanks that holds captured rabbits.

Park and company create amazing edge-of-the-seat action scenes as thrilling as those in live action movies. The Curse of the Were-Rabbit also has safe adult humor – a combination of soap opera romance and mystery and intrigue mixed with the offbeat Wallace & Gromit’s disarming humor. The film is a touch dry in several places, in which scenes play out slowly or seem padded. Also, I didn’t like Lady Tottington and Victor Quatermaine because they were both facially unattractive and too caricatured, especially Victor, more unlikable than he needs to be even as a villain.

The story, ultimately, is about a man and his dog – Wallace the happy chum and Gromit the good-natured patient companion who always takes care of his cheese-loving master. Gromit, who doesn’t have a mouth, has physicality on par with silver screen legends of the silent era such as Buster Keaton and Charlie Chaplin, and Gromit’s face can be as expressive as a pantomime character. Gromit, made by hand and animated by a painstaking stop-motion process, has soul in a way that characters created in the other 3-D animated process, computer animation, likely won’t ever have. Wallace & Gromit, two of the most delightful characters in the history of animation, are more engaging than the characters that populate such films as Shrek and Monster’s Inc., as fun as they are.

Expertly crafted, Wallace & Gromit: The Curse of the Were-Rabbit will impress even viewers not interested in “how they do it.” Fun to watch, it’s one of the year’s premiere comedies and best films.

9 of 10
A+

NOTES:
2006 Academy Awards: 1 win: “Best Animated Feature Film of the Year” (Steve Box and Nick Park

2006 BAFTA Awards: 2 wins: “Alexander Korda Award for Best British Film” (Claire Jennings, David Sproxton, Nick Park, Steve Box, Mark Burton, Bob Baker) and “BAFTA Children's Award Best Feature Film” (Nick Park, Steve Box, Peter Lord, David Sproxton)

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British Independent Film Awards Name "Tyrannosaur" Best Film

WINNERS ANNOUNCED AT THE 14th MOËT BRITISH INDEPENDENT FILM AWARDS

London, Sunday 4th December – There was a spectacular turn out this evening from the very best in British talent for the 14th Moët British Independent Film Awards. The winners were announced at the star-studded ceremony, held at Old Billingsgate which was hosted by actor and comedian Chris O’Dowd and streamed live for the first time ever on LOVEFiLM.

Best British Independent Film was won by Tyrannosaur with Lynne Ramsay picking up Best Director for We Need to Talk About Kevin, Olivia Colman Best Actress for Tyrannosaur and Michael Fassbender Best Actor for Shame. Vanessa Redgrave won Best Supporting Actress for Coriolanus and Michael Smiley Best Supporting Actor for Kill List.

Tyrannosaur won the most awards on the night, picking up three trophies for Best British Independent Film, Best Actress and Paddy Considine was awarded The Douglas HickoxAward for Best Debut Director. Weekend won two awards for Best Achievement in Production and Most Promising Newcomer for Tom Cullen

Joint Directors, The Moët British Independent Film Awards Johanna von Fischer & Tessa Collinson said: “What a fantastic year for British film! This year’s nominees embodied a diverse range of genres and those walking away with awards tonight are representative of the high quality of outstanding talent we have in this country. Congratulations to them all."

As previously announced, Ralph Fiennes was awarded the coveted Richard Harris Award for outstanding contribution by an actor to British film, and Kenneth Branagh the Variety Award. The Special Jury Prize went to Graham Easton.

Elsa Corbineau, Marketing Director for Moët & Chandon, commented: “As the Champagne of film, cinema and celebration, Moët & Chandon is delighted to toast the achievements of the British Film Industry at The Moët British Independent Film Awards. We are thrilled that so many winners and nominees from this years awards have supported ‘Toast for a Cause’, helping raise thousands of pounds for their favourite charities by toasting with mini Moët & Chandon bottles.”

Elliot Grove, Founder Raindance Film Festival and BIFA added: “As always the Moët British Independent Film Awards has been an awesome celebration of the very best of British independent filmmaking. This year demonstrates that the international spotlight is on Britain for quality, innovation and creativity.”

The Moët British Independent Film Awards are proud to announce the following winners for 2011:

BEST BRITISH INDEPENDENT FILM - Sponsored by Moët & Chandon
TYRANNOSAUR

BEST DIRECTOR - Sponsored by The Creative Partnership
Lynne Ramsay – WE NEED TO TALK ABOUT KEVIN

THE DOUGLAS HICKOX AWARD [BEST DEBUT DIRECTOR] - Sponsored by 3 Mills Studios
Paddy Considine – TYRANNOSAUR

BEST SCREENPLAY - Sponsored by BBC Films
Richard Ayoade – SUBMARINE

BEST ACTRESS - Sponsored by M.A.C
Olivia Colman – TYRANNOSAUR

BEST ACTOR
Michael Fassbender – SHAME

BEST SUPPORTING ACTRESS
Vanessa Redgrave – CORIOLANUS

BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR
Michael Smiley – KILL LIST

MOST PROMISING NEWCOMER - Sponsored by STUDIOCANAL
Tom Cullen – WEEKEND

BEST ACHIEVEMENT IN PRODUCTION - Sponsored by Deluxe142
WEEKEND

THE RAINDANCE AWARD - Sponsored by Exile Media
LEAVING BAGHDAD

BEST TECHNICAL ACHIEVEMENT
Maria Djurkovic – Production Design – TINKER TAILOR SOLDIER SPY

BEST DOCUMENTARY
SENNA

BEST BRITISH SHORT
CHALK

BEST FOREIGN INDEPENDENT FILM
A SEPARATION

THE RICHARD HARRIS AWARD (for outstanding contribution by an actor to British Film) - Sponsored by Working Title
Ralph Fiennes

THE VARIETY AWARD
Kenneth Branagh

THE SPECIAL JURY PRIZE
Graham Easton

Now in its 14th year, the Awards were created by Raindance in 1998 and set out to celebrate merit and achievement in independently funded British filmmaking, to honour new talent, and to promote British films and filmmaking to a wider public.

Previous winners of the prestigious Best British Independent Film award include The King’s Speech, Moon, Control, Slumdog Millionaire, The Constant Gardener and This Is England.


Recognised for its quality and prestige, Moët & Chandon is the champagne of choice for celebration at international film festivals. The venerable house has captured the attention of Hollywood’s brightest stars since the birth of the film industry. Generations of legendary actors, actresses, producers and directors have celebrated their achievements with Moët &Chandon at the most significant and exclusive cinema events, including the Oscars & Golden Globes celebrations.

Proud supporters and patrons of The Moët British Independent Film Awards include Mike Figgis, Tom Hollander, Adrian Lester, Ken Loach, Ewan McGregor, Helen Mirren, Samantha Morton, James Nesbitt, Michael Sheen, Trudie Styler, Tilda Swinton, Meera Syal, David Thewlis, Ray Winstone and Michael Winterbottom.

The Moët British Independent Film Awards would like to thank all its supporters, especially: Moët & Chandon, The British Film Institute, 3 Mills Studios, BBC Films, Company 3, The Creative Partnership, Exile Media, M.A.C, Raindance, Soho House, Studiocanal, Swarovski, Variety, Working Title and Zander Creative.

British Independent Film Awards Nominations List

The Moët British Independent Film Awards nominees for 2011:

BEST BRITISH INDEPENDENT FILM Sponsored by Moët & Chandon
SENNA
SHAME
TINKER TAILOR SOLDIER SPY
TYRANNOSAUR
WE NEED TO TALK ABOUT KEVIN

BEST DIRECTOR Sponsored by The Creative Partnership
Ben Wheatley – KILL LIST
Steve McQueen – SHAME
Tomas Alfredson – TINKER TAILOR SOLDIER SPY
Paddy Considine – TYRANNOSAUR
Lynne Ramsay – WE NEED TO TALK ABOUT KEVIN

THE DOUGLAS HICKOX AWARD [BEST DEBUT DIRECTOR] Sponsored by 3 Mills Studios
Joe Cornish – ATTACK THE BLOCK
Ralph Fiennes – CORIOLANUS
John Michael McDonagh – THE GUARD
Richard Ayoade – SUBMARINE
Paddy Considine – TYRANNOSAUR

BEST SCREENPLAY Sponsored by BBC Films
John Michael McDonagh – THE GUARD
Ben Wheatley, Amy Jump – KILL LIST
Abi Morgan, Steve McQueen – SHAME
Richard Ayoade – SUBMARINE
Lynne Ramsay, Rory Kinnear – WE NEED TO TALK ABOUT KEVIN

BEST ACTRESS Sponsored by M.A.C
Rebecca Hall – THE AWAKENING
Mia Wasikowska – JANE EYRE
MyAnna Buring – KILL LIST
Olivia Colman – TYRANNOSAUR
Tilda Swinton – WE NEED TO TALK ABOUT KEVIN

BEST ACTOR
Brendan Gleeson – THE GUARD
Neil Maskell – KILL LIST
Michael Fassbender – SHAME
Gary Oldman – TINKER TAILOR SOLDIER SPY
Peter Mullan – TYRANNOSAUR

BEST SUPPORTING ACTRESS
Felicity Jones – ALBATROSS
Vanessa Redgrave – CORIOLANUS
Carey Mulligan – SHAME
Sally Hawkins – SUBMARINE
Kathy Burke – TINKER TAILOR SOLDIER SPY

BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR
Michael Smiley – KILL LIST
Tom Hardy – TINKER TAILOR SOLDIER SPY
Benedict Cumberbatch – TINKER TAILOR SOLDIER SPY
Eddie Marsan – TYRANNOSAUR
Ezra Miller – WE NEED TO TALK ABOUT KEVIN

MOST PROMISING NEWCOMER Sponsored by STUDIOCANAL
Jessica Brown Findlay – ALBATROSS
John Boyega – ATTACK THE BLOCK
Craig Roberts – SUBMARINE
Yasmin Paige – SUBMARINE
Tom Cullen – WEEKEND

BEST ACHIEVEMENT IN PRODUCTION Sponsored by Deluxe142
KILL LIST
TYRANNOSAUR
WEEKEND
WILD BILL
YOU INSTEAD

BEST TECHNICAL ACHIEVEMENT
Chris King, Gregers Sall – Editing – SENNA
Sean Bobbitt – Cinematography – SHAME
Joe Walker – Editing – SHAME
Maria Djurkovic – Production Design – TINKER TAILOR SOLDIER SPY
Seamus McGarvey – Cinematography – WE NEED TO TALK ABOUT KEVIN

BEST DOCUMENTARY
HELL AND BACK AGAIN
LIFE IN A DAY
PROJECT NIM
SENNA
TT3D: CLOSER TO THE EDGE

BEST BRITISH SHORT
0507
CHALK
LOVE AT FIRST SIGHT
RITE
ROUGH SKIN

BEST FOREIGN INDEPENDENT FILM
ANIMAL KINGDOM
DRIVE
PINA
A SEPARATION
THE SKIN I LIVE IN

THE RAINDANCE AWARD Sponsored by Exile Media
ACTS OF GODFREY
BLACK POND
HOLLOW
LEAVING BAGHDAD
A THOUSAND KISSES DEEP

THE RICHARD HARRIS AWARD (for outstanding contribution by an actor to British Film) Sponsored by Working Title
To Be Announced

THE VARIETY AWARD
To Be Announced

THE SPECIAL JURY PRIZE
Announced at the Moët British Independent Film Awards on Sunday 4 December.