by Leroy Douresseaux a.k.a. "I Reads You"
Support Leroy on Patreon:
DEMOCRATIC NATIONAL CONVENTION:
From CNN: Full video of Vice-President Joe Biden's acceptance speech at the 2020 DNC.
From CNN: Full video of Sen. Kamala Harris acceptance speech at the 2020 DNC
ENTERTAINMENT AND CULTURAL NEWS:
EVENT - From DCFanDome: "DC FanDome" is live.
SCANDAL - From Variety: Actress Lori Loughlin ("Full House") was sentenced to two months in federal prison for her part in paying bribes in order to get her daughters admitted into the University of Southern California (USC). She was also ordered to pay $150,000 in fines and perform 100 hours of community service. Her husband, Mossimo Gainnulli was earlier sentenced to five months in federal prison.
SCIENCE - From IndependentUK: 750 million geneticially engineered mosquitoes to be released in Florida...
FOOD - From YahooLife: Are the so-call "Go Mobile" Taco Bell restaurants the future of fast food?
SPORTS-CRIME - From YahooSports: Could the prostitution case against NFL owner, Robert Kraft (New England Patriots), also help protect citizens from unchecked police surveillance.
STAR TREK - From YahooEntertainment: Their is an intense legal battle for what is basically control over iconic "Star Trek" actress, Nichelle Nichols ("Uhura"), who is 83-years-old and suffers from dementia, involving her son, Kyle Johnson, and her manager, Gilbert Bell.
SCANDAL - From Variety: Nick Cannon may be able to reconcile with ViacomCBS after he has met with Jewish leaders. Cannon made some crazy ass anti-Semitic statements on his podcast June 30th.
MOVIES/TRAILERS - From Variety: "Death on the Nile," the sequel to 2017's "Murder on the Orient Express," has a star-studded first trailer.
MOVIES - From Deadline: "Saturday Night Live‘s" Pete Davidson and "Straight Outta Compton‘s" O’Shea Jackson Jr. are set to co-star in "American Sole," a high-stakes, high-top dramatic comedy set in the world of after-market sneakers. The film will be written and directed by How To Make It In America creator Ian Edelman and produced by Kevin Hart and NBA All-Star Chris Paul.
MOVIES - From Deadline: Will Smith and Kevin Hart will star in and produce a remake of John Hughes' beloved 1987 road trip movie, "Planes, Trains & Automobiles."
SCANDAL - From YahooEntertainment: Rose McGowan accuses director and Oscar-winning screenwriter, Alexander Payne ("Sideways") of sexual misconduct, which is not the first time he has been accused.
CELEBRITY - From YahooEntertainment: Ryan Reynold's "Aviation Gin" sells for 300 million dollars.
MOVIES - From BleedingCool: Laurence Fishburne has confirmed that he will not return for "The Matrix 4." He played the wise warrior monk-type, Morpheus, in the original "Matrix" trilogy.
MOVIES - From Deadline: The latest round California tax incentives have been announced. Among the recipients include a Jordan Peele film and one starring Chris Evans.
BOX OFFICE - From Deadline: The winner of the 8/14 to 8/16/2020 weekend box office is the new release, "The SpongeBob Movie: Sponge on the Run," with an estimated take of $900,000.
From THR: After an unprecedented 5-month shutdown due to the coronavirus pandemic, movie theaters reopen in North America. In Canada, movie theaters welcomed the first new Hollywood releases to open wide since the shutdown. They are "The SpongeBob Movie: Sponge on the Run" and "Unhinged," a Russell Crowe road-rage thriller.
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BLACK ACTRESS - From BuzzFeed: The article article got a call-back: "18 reasons why Angela Bassett is the most amazing actress of all time." [She is certainly underrated and under-appreciated. - Leroy]
CELEBRITY - From YahooEntertainment: Bo Derek reflects on her career... and on those cornrows in "10."
OBITS:
From Loudwire: American rock musician and recording artist, Frankie Banali, has died at the age of 68, Thursday, August 20, 2020, of pancreatic cancer. Banali was best known as the drummer for the 1980s heavy metal band, Quiet Riot. He also was the drummer for W.A.S.P. for a period of time.
From Deadline: English stage, film and television actor, Ben Cross, has died at the age of 72, Tuesday, August 18, 2020. Cross was best known for starring in the "Best Picture" Academy Award-winner, "Chariots of Fire" (1981) and for playing Spock's father, Sarek, in the 2009 reboot film, "Star Trek."
From Deadline: Actor, writer, producer, and prolific filmmaker, Ash Christian, has died at the age of 35, Thursday, August 13, 2020. His best known films include "1985," "Social Animals," and "Coyote Lake." He won a Daytime Emmy in 2014 for the short, "mI Promise."
From Deadline: Television music composer, Duane L. Tatro, has died at the age of 93, Sunday, August 9, 2020. He composed music for TV series, including several for ABC, including "Dynasty," "The Love Boat," and "The Invaders," which was his first TV job. The only television series for which he composed the theme music was "The Manhunter" (CBS, 1974-75).
CORONAVIRUS/COVID-19 NEWS:
From CDC: The Centers for Disease Control has a "COVID Data Tracker."
From YahooNews: Why does COVID-19 kill some people and hardly affects others?
From YahooNews: Yahoo has a dedicated page of links updating news about COVID-19.
From Deadline: The news site "Deadline" has a dedicated page for news about coronavirus and the film, TV, and entertainment industries.
From TheNewYorker: The venerable magazine has a dedicate COVID-19 page free to all readers.
From YahooNews: Re: the federal government's response to COVID-19: What if the most important election of our lifetime was the last one - 2016?
From YahooLife: What is "happy hypoxia?" And do you have this COVID-19 symptom?
From JuanCole: Remeber when President Donald went crazy and suggested that we ingest household cleaning supplies and UV light to fight COVID-19. Here is the video and commentary from Juan Cole.
From TheIntercept: The federal government has ramped up security and police-related spending in response to the COVID-19/coronavirus pandemic, including issuing contracts for riot gear, disclosures show. The purchase orders include requests for disposable cuffs, gas masks, ballistic helmets, and riot gloves...
From TheAtlantic: The Coronavirus Was an Emergency Until Trump Found Out Who Was Dying. The pandemic has exposed the bitter terms of our racial contract, which deems certain lives of greater value than others.
From ProPublica: Hospital's Secret COVID-19 Policy Separated Native American Mothers From Their Newborns
From TheGuardian: More than 20 million Americans could have contracted COVID-19, experts say.
From RSN/WashPost: The COVID-19 mutation that has taken over the world.
7/13 - From YahooSports: Maybe a pandemic means that there will not be college football this fall.
7/13- From YahooNews: The CDC adds four new symptoms (including nausea and purple or blue lesions on feet and toes) to the list of COVID-19 symptoms.
7/19 - From YahooFinance: Harvard Public Health professor Dr. Howard Koh says the U.S. "needs to regroup" to find COVID-19.
7/22 - From YahooNews: A public health employee predicted Florida's coronavirus catastrophe — then she was fired.
7/22 - From YahooLifestyle: Florida mom loses son, 20, to coronavirus, and then days later, her daughter.
7/23 - From TheWrap: The site has a list of movie and TV stars, entertainment and sports figures who have tested positive for COVID-19
From YahooEntertainment: Oscar-winning filmmaker Mel Gibson reveals that he was hospitalized with COVID-19 for a week in April.
From Bloomberg: Will the COVID-19 pandemic turn Millennials into socialists?
7/27 - From CNN: Chief of critical care at Baltimore's Mercy Medical Center, Dr. Joseph Costa, passes away due to Covid-19 complications... after treating the hospital's sickest COVID-19 patients. He was 56 and leaves behind family, including a husband of 28 years.
7/29 - From YahooPolitico: Rep. Louie Gohmert, the defiant Texas Republican U.S. congressman who refused to wear a mask, has tested positive for COVID-19.
7/30 - From Deadline: Emmy-winning actor Bryan Cranston ("Breaking Bad") reveals that he had a bout with COVID-19.
7/31 - From YahooEntertainment: Writer and actress, Lena Dunham, creator of HBO's "Girls, reveals that she contracted COVID-19 and the symptoms she experiences and still experience.
7/30 - From YahooGMA: In their bid to crackdown on illegal gatherings amid COVID-19, New York authorities break up an alleged sex party.
7/31 - From Slate: COVID-19 is airborne - for reals!
8/2 - From TheDailyBeast: In Mississippi, COVID-19 has coroners terrified.
8/6 - From CNN: Ohio Governor Mike DeWine (Republican) has tested positive for COVID19.
8/6 - From YahooNews: Testing everyone constantly could stop the spread of COVID-19... according to this article.
8/8 - From YahooNYT: The coronavirus is new, but your immune system might recognize it.
8/8 - From YahooNBC: They thought COVID-19 was a hoax, and they almost died from it or are watching family and loved ones suffer with it or die from it.
8/9 - From YahooNews: The rest of the world is incredulous at the pitiful U.S. response to COVID-19.
8/9 - From YahooAFP: According to the real-time tally kept by John Hopkins University, the United States has hit 5 million cases of COVID-19.
8/15 - From NBA: Bosnian NBA player Jusuf Nurkic of the Portland Trail Blazers says that his grandmother, 67-year-old Hana, has died of COVID-19.
8/16 - From Truthout: COVID Deaths Continue to Surge in Countries Led by Far Right Authoritarians
8/16 - From YahooEntertainment: Sharon Stone reports that her sister, Kelly, is in the hospital with COVID-19. She blames "non-mask wearers" for his sister's condition.
BLACK LIVES MATTER:
From RSN: Judge's Blistering Opinion Says Courts Have Placed Police Beyond Accountability
From Billboard: In an interview will the venerable music publication, legendary country music singer-songwriter and actress, Dolly Parton, expresses support for the "Black Lives Matter" movement.
From RSN: Reader Supported News' "Sunday Song" for Aug. 8th, 2020 is "Chain Gang" by Sam Cooke.
Showing posts with label Rose McGowan. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Rose McGowan. Show all posts
Saturday, August 22, 2020
Saturday, October 21, 2017
Negromancer News Bits and Bites from October 15th to 21st, 2017 - Update #38
Support Leroy on Patreon.
MOVIES - From Variety: Documentary filmmaker Tony Zierra plans a documentary about legendary filmmaker, the late Stanley Kubrick.
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SCANDAL - From Vulture: In breaking a non-disclosure agreement (NDA), Rose McGowan claimes that Harvey Weinstein raped her.
From YahooGMA: Director Rob Reiner says that there are more "Harvey Weinsteins."
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MUSIC - From BET: Grammy-winning recording artist, Frank Ocean, has won his a libel suit brought by his father.
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BOX OFFICE - From BoxOfficeMojo: Tyler Perry's "Boo 2!" headed to be #1 at weekend box office.
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CELEBRITY - From Variety: PartyCasino claims to name the most and least profitable actors and actresses in Hollywood.
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CELEBRITY - From YahooEntertainment: Jackie Chan remembers impromptu game of bowling with Bruce Lee just days before Lee died.
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SCANDAL - From ShadowandAct: Lupita N'yongo documents her awful encounter with Harvey Weinstein.
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MOVIES - From Variety: The writers behind FX's "Feud: Betty and Joan" miniseries are writing a biopic of actress Vivien Leigh, who won two best actress Oscars, the most famous for her role as Scarlett O'Hara in "Gone with the Wind."
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MOVIES - From THR: Channing Tatum haults development on a sexual abuse movie he was working on with The Weinstein Company.
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TELEVISION - From TheWrap: Fox orders a pilot from "Carmichael Show" creator, Jerrod Carmichael.
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CULTURE - From InformedComment: Some Vikings were Muslin?!
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MANGA-FILM - From Gizmodo: "Fast & Furious" franchise director, Justin Lin, wants to turn legendary manga, "Lone Wolf and Cub" into a manga.
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CULTURE - From Truthout: How the Nazis used Jim Crow laws as models for their race laws.
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COMICS-FILM - From TheWrap: Ryan Potter has been cast as "Beast Boy" in the TV series, "Titans" (based on the DC Comics series). Titans is slated to bow in 2018 on an unnamed DC Comics streaming service.
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POLITICS - From RawStory: President Trump tells widow of fallen soldier "he knew what he signed up for."
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STAR WARS - From CNN: Ron Howard announces the title of his Star Wars movie, "Solo: A Star Wars Story."
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BOOK NEWS - From BBC: American George Saunders won the UK's highest literary award, the Man Booker Prize, for his novel, "Lincoln in the Bardo." Saunders is the only the second American to win the award. The award has only been open to American authors since 2014.
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CELEBRITY - From YahooLifestyle: Oscar winner Jennifer Lawrence once had to do a nude lineup.
-----------------------------------------------
MUSIC - From Billboard: The "Selena Quintanilla Google Doodle" celebrates the anniversary of the October 17, 1989 release of the first album from the late Mexican-American singer, Selena. Billboard has the exclusive story behind the development and creation of the Selena Google Doodle.
From Google: To read more about the "Selena Quintanilla Google Doodle."
From Google: There is an interactive museum exhibit featuring Selena.
-------------------------------------------------
SPORTS - From YahooSports: Gregg Popovich, coach of the NBA's San Antonio Spurs, calls President Trump a "soulless coward."
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MUSIC - From YahooMusic: The original members of Bananarama reunite.
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CELEBRITY - From EOnline: Oscar-winning actress Alicia Vikander has married Oscar-nominated actor Michael Fassbender.
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COMICS-FILM - From YahooEntertainment: Marvel's "Black Panther" trailer is a game changer.
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BOX OFFICE - From BoxOfficeMojo: The winner of the 10/13 to 10/15/2017 weekend box office is "Happy Death Day" with an estimated take of $26.5 million.
From FilmSchoolRejects: A list of movies that are similar to "Happy Death Day" to varying degress.
----------
MOVIES - From ThinkProgress: Woody Allen, who has been accused of sexual transgressions, does not want the accusations against Harvey Weinstein to turn into "a witch hunt."
From TheNewYorkTimes: In an opinion piece for the times, Academy Award-nominated filmmaker, Sarah Polley, talks about the lecherous men she meets making films, including Harvey Weinstein.
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CELEBRITY - From TheGuardian: Tom Hanks has written his first book of short stories.
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DISNEY - From FinancialTimes: The site applauds Disney's thus-far successful "Movies Anywhere" service, but wonders if it is seven years too late.
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MOVIES - From NOW: Are social media posts about movies more important than film critic reviews?
TRAILERS and VIDEOS:
From YouTube: New Black Panther trailer (10/16).
From YouTube: Here is a trailer for "Roman J. Israel, ESQ." from writer/director Dan Gilroy ("Nightcrawler") and starring Denzel Washington.
From YouTube: Here is a trailer for the Amazon Prime Video exclusive, "Jean Claude Van Johnson." Jean Claude Van Damme plays Van Johnson a spy who moonlights as an actor named "Jean Claude Van Damme."
From ShadowandAct: Tyler Perry appeared on "The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon" Madea, President Donald Trump's new press secretary.
MOVIES - From Variety: Documentary filmmaker Tony Zierra plans a documentary about legendary filmmaker, the late Stanley Kubrick.
----------
SCANDAL - From Vulture: In breaking a non-disclosure agreement (NDA), Rose McGowan claimes that Harvey Weinstein raped her.
From YahooGMA: Director Rob Reiner says that there are more "Harvey Weinsteins."
----------
MUSIC - From BET: Grammy-winning recording artist, Frank Ocean, has won his a libel suit brought by his father.
----------
BOX OFFICE - From BoxOfficeMojo: Tyler Perry's "Boo 2!" headed to be #1 at weekend box office.
---------
CELEBRITY - From Variety: PartyCasino claims to name the most and least profitable actors and actresses in Hollywood.
----------
CELEBRITY - From YahooEntertainment: Jackie Chan remembers impromptu game of bowling with Bruce Lee just days before Lee died.
----------
SCANDAL - From ShadowandAct: Lupita N'yongo documents her awful encounter with Harvey Weinstein.
----------
MOVIES - From Variety: The writers behind FX's "Feud: Betty and Joan" miniseries are writing a biopic of actress Vivien Leigh, who won two best actress Oscars, the most famous for her role as Scarlett O'Hara in "Gone with the Wind."
---------
MOVIES - From THR: Channing Tatum haults development on a sexual abuse movie he was working on with The Weinstein Company.
----------
TELEVISION - From TheWrap: Fox orders a pilot from "Carmichael Show" creator, Jerrod Carmichael.
----------
CULTURE - From InformedComment: Some Vikings were Muslin?!
----------
MANGA-FILM - From Gizmodo: "Fast & Furious" franchise director, Justin Lin, wants to turn legendary manga, "Lone Wolf and Cub" into a manga.
----------
CULTURE - From Truthout: How the Nazis used Jim Crow laws as models for their race laws.
---------
COMICS-FILM - From TheWrap: Ryan Potter has been cast as "Beast Boy" in the TV series, "Titans" (based on the DC Comics series). Titans is slated to bow in 2018 on an unnamed DC Comics streaming service.
---------
POLITICS - From RawStory: President Trump tells widow of fallen soldier "he knew what he signed up for."
----------
STAR WARS - From CNN: Ron Howard announces the title of his Star Wars movie, "Solo: A Star Wars Story."
----------
BOOK NEWS - From BBC: American George Saunders won the UK's highest literary award, the Man Booker Prize, for his novel, "Lincoln in the Bardo." Saunders is the only the second American to win the award. The award has only been open to American authors since 2014.
----------
CELEBRITY - From YahooLifestyle: Oscar winner Jennifer Lawrence once had to do a nude lineup.
-----------------------------------------------
MUSIC - From Billboard: The "Selena Quintanilla Google Doodle" celebrates the anniversary of the October 17, 1989 release of the first album from the late Mexican-American singer, Selena. Billboard has the exclusive story behind the development and creation of the Selena Google Doodle.
From Google: To read more about the "Selena Quintanilla Google Doodle."
From Google: There is an interactive museum exhibit featuring Selena.
-------------------------------------------------
SPORTS - From YahooSports: Gregg Popovich, coach of the NBA's San Antonio Spurs, calls President Trump a "soulless coward."
----------
MUSIC - From YahooMusic: The original members of Bananarama reunite.
----------
CELEBRITY - From EOnline: Oscar-winning actress Alicia Vikander has married Oscar-nominated actor Michael Fassbender.
---------
COMICS-FILM - From YahooEntertainment: Marvel's "Black Panther" trailer is a game changer.
----------
BOX OFFICE - From BoxOfficeMojo: The winner of the 10/13 to 10/15/2017 weekend box office is "Happy Death Day" with an estimated take of $26.5 million.
From FilmSchoolRejects: A list of movies that are similar to "Happy Death Day" to varying degress.
----------
MOVIES - From ThinkProgress: Woody Allen, who has been accused of sexual transgressions, does not want the accusations against Harvey Weinstein to turn into "a witch hunt."
From TheNewYorkTimes: In an opinion piece for the times, Academy Award-nominated filmmaker, Sarah Polley, talks about the lecherous men she meets making films, including Harvey Weinstein.
----------
CELEBRITY - From TheGuardian: Tom Hanks has written his first book of short stories.
----------
DISNEY - From FinancialTimes: The site applauds Disney's thus-far successful "Movies Anywhere" service, but wonders if it is seven years too late.
----------
MOVIES - From NOW: Are social media posts about movies more important than film critic reviews?
TRAILERS and VIDEOS:
From YouTube: New Black Panther trailer (10/16).
From YouTube: Here is a trailer for "Roman J. Israel, ESQ." from writer/director Dan Gilroy ("Nightcrawler") and starring Denzel Washington.
From YouTube: Here is a trailer for the Amazon Prime Video exclusive, "Jean Claude Van Johnson." Jean Claude Van Damme plays Van Johnson a spy who moonlights as an actor named "Jean Claude Van Damme."
From ShadowandAct: Tyler Perry appeared on "The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon" Madea, President Donald Trump's new press secretary.
Saturday, October 14, 2017
Negromancer News Bits and Bites from October 8th to 14th, 2017 - Update #40
Support Leroy on Patreon.
MOVIES - From THR: The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS), which bestows the Academy Awards (Oscars), has expelled Harvey Weinstein in the wake of sexual harassment and sexual assault charges.
From THR: Harvey's brother, Bob Weinstein, who cofounded The Weinstein Company with Harvey, gives an interview to "The Hollywood Reporter."
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CULTURE - From BoingBoing: A white guy tries to blow up a plane and hardly anyone noticed... this is not a joke.
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MOVIES - From TheWrap: Amazon severs ties with The Weinstein Company and that means that it cancels its involvement with David O. Russell and his TV series to star Robert DeNiro and Julianne Moore.
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MOVIES - From IndieWire: The title of the Paul Thomas Anderson and Daniel Day-Lewis film is "Phantom Thread."
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MOVIES - From TheWrap: Actress Amber Tamblyn releases a statement for her friend, Quentin Tarantino, about his friend, Harvey Weinstein.
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COMICS-FILM - From Collider: "X-Men" spinoff "Gambit," with Channing Tatum, is back on and has a Feb. 2019 release date. Gore Verbinski is supposed to direct the film.
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MOVIES - From Deadline: Even if its changes its name, The Weinstein Company may not be able to survive the still-growing Harvey Weinstein scandal.
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MOVIES - From Deadline: "Beetlejuice 2" is apparently really happening, and has a new writer.
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COMICS-FILM - From JoBlo: The first teaser for Fox's "X-Men" spinoff, "New Mutants," arrives some time after midnight, Fri., Oct. 13th.
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COMICS-FILM - From DenofGeek: Marvel Studios will publish an official time line of the Marvel Cinematic Universe so that viewers can figure out what happened and when it happened.
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CULTURE - From TheNewYorker: From a story by Ronan Farrow, Harvey Weinstein's victims tell their stories.
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MOVIES: From THR: Gal Gadot ("Wonder Woman") is in talks to star in the Nazi revenge thriller, "Ruin." Gadot is a citizen of Israel.
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TELEVISION - From TheWrap: Fox has cast "Ralphie" in its live musical version of "A Christmas Story." He is 11-year-old Alex Walken.
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ANIMATION - From Variety: Walt Disney Animation Studios has stopped development on "Gigantic," its adaptation of the fairy tale "Jack and the Beanstalk."
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POLITICS - From YahooAOL: LeBron James and Colin Kaepernick have perfect reactions to Eminem's freestyle diss of President Trump during Tuesday night's BET Hip Hop Awards.
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MOVIES - From YahooUKMovies: - A film fan "mansplains" Indiana Jones' costume to the woman who designed it, Deborah Landis.
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CELEBRITY - From YahooEntertainment: Ben Affleck expressed disgust at the sexual harassment behavior of movie mogul, Harvey Weinstein, but actress Rose McGowan says Affleck knew years ago about Harvey's behavior... because she told him about it!
From YahooUKMovies: Plus, former MTV host, Hilarie Burton, says Ben Affleck once groped her when she "was a kid."
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RELIEF - From Remezcla: Here is how you can keep helping Puerto Rico recover from Hurricane Maria.
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TELEVISION - From TheWrap: Apple is nearing a deal with Steven Spielberg's Amblin Television and NBCUnivesal to revive the 1980s anthology series, "Amazing Stories."
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CELEBRITY - From YahooEntertainment: When Harvey Weinstein allegedly sexually harassed Gwyneth Paltrow, she was dating Brad Pitt. Pitt reportedly threatened to beat up Weinstein over the incident with Paltrow.
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CELEBRITY - From YahooNews: Actor and celebrity host Terry Crews recounts a recent experience with sexual harassment, which sounds more like sexual assault.
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MOVIES - From CinemaBlend: Dwayne Johnson says that he wants to use his "Hobbs" "Fast & Furious" spinoff to expand the franchise.
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MOVIES - From ThePlaylist: Sylvester Stallone wants to produce and direct "Creed 2," the sequel to "Creed," which was directed by Ryan Coogler.
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SPORTS - From TheNation: In light of former NFL player and coach, Mike Ditka's latest racist rants, here is another classic from sports writer, Dave Zirin, "The Unbearable Bigotry of Mike Ditka."
From TheChicagoTribune: And if Mike Ditka can't see oppression during the last 100 years [Didn't know he was that old! - Ed.], medicines like Viagra (for which he once famously shilled) may cause injury to one's eyesight.
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EMMY - From Emmys: This Microsoft Word PDF is a detailed list of the winners of the 38th Annual News & Documentary Emmy Awards.
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CELEBRITY - From YahooEntertainment: The late actor, Anton Yelchin (who died in June 2016) is honored in an emotional celebration of life.
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BOX OFFICE - From BoxOfficeMojo: The winner of the 10/6 to 10/8/2017 box office weekend is "Blade Runner 2049."
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HUMAN RIGHTS - From Truthout: This Holocaust survivor is more afraid of Neo-Nazi than Antifa activists.
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CELEBRITY - From THR: And The Weinstein Company terminates Harvey Weinstein.
From RSN: Harvey Weinstein losing supporters, including his advisor Lisa Bloom, as controversy around sexual harassment allegations mounts.
From HuffPost: And Harvey ejaculated into a potted plant.
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HARRY POTTER - From Variety: Jessica Williams, formerly a correspondent on "The Daily Show," are among the new announced cast members of the "Fantastic Beasts" sequel.
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MOVIES - From BusinessInsider: Jennifer Lawrence wants to explain her film, "mother," to you.
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CELEBRITY - From TheGuardian: How weird does a movie star have to be before we stop watching their films.
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MOVIES - From NPR: National Public Radio offers 16 Fall movies they think we should pay attention to.
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MOVIES - From Variety: There is a fight over who will have the final cut on the film, "The Professor and the Madman," starring Mel Gibson.
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FILM FESTIVALS - From Wired: The best films from the 2017 Toronto International Film Festival to look forward to.
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MOVIES - From Variety: 14-year-old Jaeden Lieberher talks about his hit movie, "IT."
TRAILERS:
From YahooEntertaiment: Here is the first trailer for Fox's "X-Men," spinoff, "The New Mutants."
From YouTube: The second official trailer for "Star Wars: The Last Jedi."
From Kottke: Here is the trailer for the documentary, "Score: A Film Music Documentary."
OBITS:
From TheNewYorkTimes: Basketball Hall of Fame member, Connie "The Hawk" Hawkins, has died at the age of 75, Friday, October 6, 2017. Hawkins played seven seasons in the NBA. As a freshman, Hawkins was expelled from Iowa and later barred for awhile from the NBA because his name was connected via unsubstantiated rumors that he was involved in a New York City point shaving scandal.
From ESPN: Pro Football Hall of Fame quarterback, Y.A. Tittle, has died at the age of 90, Sunday, October 8, 2017. He was on the 1963 MVP. He played his college football at Louisiana State University, which he led to the 1947 Cotton Bowl, known as the "Ice Bowl." He played most of his career for the San Francisco 49ers, but had his greatest success at the end of his career with the New York Giants.
MOVIES - From THR: The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS), which bestows the Academy Awards (Oscars), has expelled Harvey Weinstein in the wake of sexual harassment and sexual assault charges.
From THR: Harvey's brother, Bob Weinstein, who cofounded The Weinstein Company with Harvey, gives an interview to "The Hollywood Reporter."
----------
CULTURE - From BoingBoing: A white guy tries to blow up a plane and hardly anyone noticed... this is not a joke.
----------
MOVIES - From TheWrap: Amazon severs ties with The Weinstein Company and that means that it cancels its involvement with David O. Russell and his TV series to star Robert DeNiro and Julianne Moore.
----------
MOVIES - From IndieWire: The title of the Paul Thomas Anderson and Daniel Day-Lewis film is "Phantom Thread."
----------
MOVIES - From TheWrap: Actress Amber Tamblyn releases a statement for her friend, Quentin Tarantino, about his friend, Harvey Weinstein.
----------
COMICS-FILM - From Collider: "X-Men" spinoff "Gambit," with Channing Tatum, is back on and has a Feb. 2019 release date. Gore Verbinski is supposed to direct the film.
----------
MOVIES - From Deadline: Even if its changes its name, The Weinstein Company may not be able to survive the still-growing Harvey Weinstein scandal.
---------
MOVIES - From Deadline: "Beetlejuice 2" is apparently really happening, and has a new writer.
----------
COMICS-FILM - From JoBlo: The first teaser for Fox's "X-Men" spinoff, "New Mutants," arrives some time after midnight, Fri., Oct. 13th.
----------
COMICS-FILM - From DenofGeek: Marvel Studios will publish an official time line of the Marvel Cinematic Universe so that viewers can figure out what happened and when it happened.
----------
CULTURE - From TheNewYorker: From a story by Ronan Farrow, Harvey Weinstein's victims tell their stories.
----------
MOVIES: From THR: Gal Gadot ("Wonder Woman") is in talks to star in the Nazi revenge thriller, "Ruin." Gadot is a citizen of Israel.
----------
TELEVISION - From TheWrap: Fox has cast "Ralphie" in its live musical version of "A Christmas Story." He is 11-year-old Alex Walken.
----------
ANIMATION - From Variety: Walt Disney Animation Studios has stopped development on "Gigantic," its adaptation of the fairy tale "Jack and the Beanstalk."
----------
POLITICS - From YahooAOL: LeBron James and Colin Kaepernick have perfect reactions to Eminem's freestyle diss of President Trump during Tuesday night's BET Hip Hop Awards.
----------
MOVIES - From YahooUKMovies: - A film fan "mansplains" Indiana Jones' costume to the woman who designed it, Deborah Landis.
----------
CELEBRITY - From YahooEntertainment: Ben Affleck expressed disgust at the sexual harassment behavior of movie mogul, Harvey Weinstein, but actress Rose McGowan says Affleck knew years ago about Harvey's behavior... because she told him about it!
From YahooUKMovies: Plus, former MTV host, Hilarie Burton, says Ben Affleck once groped her when she "was a kid."
----------
RELIEF - From Remezcla: Here is how you can keep helping Puerto Rico recover from Hurricane Maria.
----------
TELEVISION - From TheWrap: Apple is nearing a deal with Steven Spielberg's Amblin Television and NBCUnivesal to revive the 1980s anthology series, "Amazing Stories."
----------
CELEBRITY - From YahooEntertainment: When Harvey Weinstein allegedly sexually harassed Gwyneth Paltrow, she was dating Brad Pitt. Pitt reportedly threatened to beat up Weinstein over the incident with Paltrow.
---------
CELEBRITY - From YahooNews: Actor and celebrity host Terry Crews recounts a recent experience with sexual harassment, which sounds more like sexual assault.
----------
MOVIES - From CinemaBlend: Dwayne Johnson says that he wants to use his "Hobbs" "Fast & Furious" spinoff to expand the franchise.
----------
MOVIES - From ThePlaylist: Sylvester Stallone wants to produce and direct "Creed 2," the sequel to "Creed," which was directed by Ryan Coogler.
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SPORTS - From TheNation: In light of former NFL player and coach, Mike Ditka's latest racist rants, here is another classic from sports writer, Dave Zirin, "The Unbearable Bigotry of Mike Ditka."
From TheChicagoTribune: And if Mike Ditka can't see oppression during the last 100 years [Didn't know he was that old! - Ed.], medicines like Viagra (for which he once famously shilled) may cause injury to one's eyesight.
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EMMY - From Emmys: This Microsoft Word PDF is a detailed list of the winners of the 38th Annual News & Documentary Emmy Awards.
----------
CELEBRITY - From YahooEntertainment: The late actor, Anton Yelchin (who died in June 2016) is honored in an emotional celebration of life.
----------
BOX OFFICE - From BoxOfficeMojo: The winner of the 10/6 to 10/8/2017 box office weekend is "Blade Runner 2049."
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HUMAN RIGHTS - From Truthout: This Holocaust survivor is more afraid of Neo-Nazi than Antifa activists.
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CELEBRITY - From THR: And The Weinstein Company terminates Harvey Weinstein.
From RSN: Harvey Weinstein losing supporters, including his advisor Lisa Bloom, as controversy around sexual harassment allegations mounts.
From HuffPost: And Harvey ejaculated into a potted plant.
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HARRY POTTER - From Variety: Jessica Williams, formerly a correspondent on "The Daily Show," are among the new announced cast members of the "Fantastic Beasts" sequel.
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MOVIES - From BusinessInsider: Jennifer Lawrence wants to explain her film, "mother," to you.
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CELEBRITY - From TheGuardian: How weird does a movie star have to be before we stop watching their films.
----------
MOVIES - From NPR: National Public Radio offers 16 Fall movies they think we should pay attention to.
----------
MOVIES - From Variety: There is a fight over who will have the final cut on the film, "The Professor and the Madman," starring Mel Gibson.
----------
FILM FESTIVALS - From Wired: The best films from the 2017 Toronto International Film Festival to look forward to.
----------
MOVIES - From Variety: 14-year-old Jaeden Lieberher talks about his hit movie, "IT."
TRAILERS:
From YahooEntertaiment: Here is the first trailer for Fox's "X-Men," spinoff, "The New Mutants."
From YouTube: The second official trailer for "Star Wars: The Last Jedi."
From Kottke: Here is the trailer for the documentary, "Score: A Film Music Documentary."
OBITS:
From TheNewYorkTimes: Basketball Hall of Fame member, Connie "The Hawk" Hawkins, has died at the age of 75, Friday, October 6, 2017. Hawkins played seven seasons in the NBA. As a freshman, Hawkins was expelled from Iowa and later barred for awhile from the NBA because his name was connected via unsubstantiated rumors that he was involved in a New York City point shaving scandal.
From ESPN: Pro Football Hall of Fame quarterback, Y.A. Tittle, has died at the age of 90, Sunday, October 8, 2017. He was on the 1963 MVP. He played his college football at Louisiana State University, which he led to the 1947 Cotton Bowl, known as the "Ice Bowl." He played most of his career for the San Francisco 49ers, but had his greatest success at the end of his career with the New York Giants.
Wednesday, September 30, 2015
Negromancer News Bits and Bites from September 27th to 30th, 2015 - Update #15
Support Leroy on Patreon.
NEWS:
From Deadline: A new label will distribute Michael Moore's doc, "Where to Invade Next."
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From Vulture: A spinoff of the smash hit FOX television series, "Empire," is apparently happening.
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From DeadlineTV: Amazon has plans for a "Jack Ryan" television series.
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From Variety: "Pacific Rim 2" has been delayed; some think the film has been scrapped all together.
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From THR: Jim Carrey's girlfriend, Cathriona White, found dead of an apparent suicide.
From Variety: Jim Carrey releases a statement about the apparent drug overdose death of his girlfriend, Irish makeup artist, Cathriona White.
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From YahooTV: 5 reasons not to worry about "The Daily Show" under Trevor Noah.
From YahooTV: Ken Tucker reviews Noah's first show.
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From BleedingCool: Idris Elba talks about his Star Trek villain as "groundbreaking."
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From CinemaBlend: "Trainspotting 2" is moving forward, but with a title change. The sequel novel to the original Trainspotting novel is entitled "Porno," so no, that will not be the title of the film.
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From TheWrap: "Flight 462" is a web series that will tie into "Fear the Walking Dead."
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From BoxOfficeMojo: The winner of the 9/25 to 9/27/2015 weekend box office is "Hotel Transylvania 2" with an estimated take of $47.5 million.
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From CinemaBlend: Did Vin Diesel reveal the end of "The Fast and the Furious" franchise?
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From THR: Denzel Washington talks about his son's career, diversity, and more in a talk held on Sept. 17th.
---------------
From THR: Rose McGowan still on spittin' fire.
COMICS: Books and Films:
From CBR: The creators of the infamous manga, "Death Note," debuted a color illustration from their upcoming manga.
---------------
From BleedingCool: When Black comic book fans avoid Black comic book creators...
TRAILERS:
From YouTube: A second trailer for the film, "The Revenant," with Leonardo DiCaprio, which looks really good.
From BleedingCool: See Marvel/Netflix's "Jessica Jones" teaser trailer.
NEWS:
From Deadline: A new label will distribute Michael Moore's doc, "Where to Invade Next."
---------------
From Vulture: A spinoff of the smash hit FOX television series, "Empire," is apparently happening.
---------------
From DeadlineTV: Amazon has plans for a "Jack Ryan" television series.
---------------
From Variety: "Pacific Rim 2" has been delayed; some think the film has been scrapped all together.
---------------
From THR: Jim Carrey's girlfriend, Cathriona White, found dead of an apparent suicide.
From Variety: Jim Carrey releases a statement about the apparent drug overdose death of his girlfriend, Irish makeup artist, Cathriona White.
---------------
From YahooTV: 5 reasons not to worry about "The Daily Show" under Trevor Noah.
From YahooTV: Ken Tucker reviews Noah's first show.
---------------
From BleedingCool: Idris Elba talks about his Star Trek villain as "groundbreaking."
---------------
From CinemaBlend: "Trainspotting 2" is moving forward, but with a title change. The sequel novel to the original Trainspotting novel is entitled "Porno," so no, that will not be the title of the film.
---------------
From TheWrap: "Flight 462" is a web series that will tie into "Fear the Walking Dead."
---------------
From BoxOfficeMojo: The winner of the 9/25 to 9/27/2015 weekend box office is "Hotel Transylvania 2" with an estimated take of $47.5 million.
---------------
From CinemaBlend: Did Vin Diesel reveal the end of "The Fast and the Furious" franchise?
---------------
From THR: Denzel Washington talks about his son's career, diversity, and more in a talk held on Sept. 17th.
---------------
From THR: Rose McGowan still on spittin' fire.
COMICS: Books and Films:
From CBR: The creators of the infamous manga, "Death Note," debuted a color illustration from their upcoming manga.
---------------
From BleedingCool: When Black comic book fans avoid Black comic book creators...
TRAILERS:
From YouTube: A second trailer for the film, "The Revenant," with Leonardo DiCaprio, which looks really good.
From BleedingCool: See Marvel/Netflix's "Jessica Jones" teaser trailer.
Saturday, November 26, 2011
Review: New "Conan the Barbarian" is Gleefully Lunatic
Conan the Barbarian (2011)
Running time: 113 minutes (1 hour, 53 minutes)
MPAA – R for strong bloody violence, some sexuality and nudity
DIRECTOR: Marcus Nispel
WRITERS: Thomas Dean Donnelly and Joshua Oppenheimer, and Sean Hood (based upon the character, Conan, created by Robert E. Howard)
PRODUCERS: John Baldecchi, Boaz Davidson, Randall Emmett, Joe Gatta, Avi Lerner, Danny Lerner, Fredrik Malmberg, and Les Weldon
CINEMATOGRAPHER: Thomas Kloss
EDITOR: Ken Blackwell
COMPOSER: Tyler Bates
FANTASY/ACTION
Starring: Jason Momoa, Stephen Lang, Rachel Nichols, Ron Perlman, Rose McGowan, Bob Sapp, Leo Howard, Steven O’Donnell, Nonso Anozie, Saïd Taghmaoui, Milton Welsh, and Morgan Freeman (narrator)
Conan the Barbarian is a fictional character created by Robert E. Howard. Conan first appeared in publication in the December 1932 issue of Weird Tales in the short story, “The Phoenix on the Sword.” Howard featured Conan in several short stories, but only one novel. After Howard’s death, other authors would write Conan novels, and the character has also appeared in comic books nearly non-stop since 1970.
The character is best known, outside of people who read fantasy fiction and comic books, for his appearance in two films from the early 1980s. Arnold Schwarzenegger portrayed Conan in Conan the Barbarian (1982) and Conan the Destroyer (1984). After over two decades, Conan returned to movie screens in Conan the Barbarian, a 2011 action/fantasy film and sword and sorcery movie. In the new film, Conan seeks revenge against the ambitious and ruthless warlord who killed his father.
After his father, Corin (Ron Perlman), is killed and his entire village murdered, young Conan (Leo Howard) swears revenge. The killer is an empire-building warlord, Khalar Zym (Stephen Lang), who wants to reassemble the Mask of Acheron, an ancient relic that will give him the power to conquer the world. The story picks up 20 years later and finds Conan (Jason Momoa) a pirate living amongst the Zamoran pirates led by Artus (Nonso Anozie).
Fate brings Conan into contact with one of the men who raided his village. From this man, Conan learns that Zym and his sorceress daughter, Marique (Rose McGowan), are searching for a pureblood descendant of the necromancers that made the Mask of Archeron. They find that descendant in the form of Tamara Amaliat Jorui Karushan (Rachel Nichols), a young woman living in a monastery, but Conan gets Tamara first. This begins a battle between Conan and Zym that will decide the fate of the world.
There are so many fantasy films in theatres that are aimed at the family audience or, at least, general audiences, including females. Conan the Barbarian is aimed squarely at males, but mainly at males whose balls dropped more than a few years ago. Speaking of balls: Conan the Barbarian is balls to the wall in terms of the sheer lunacy thrown on the screen. This movie is hardcore – even more so than the darker Conan the Barbarian and certainly more than its lighter, PG-rated sequel, Conan the Destroyer. Hacking, slashing, a bloody caesarean, beheadings, torture, topless wenches, mass murder, and assorted depictions of gore and brutal murder: this is the real Conan, steeped in the violent and edgy material of weird pulp fiction.
Visually, Conan the Barbarian looks like a Robert E. Howard Conan story should look. There are swarthy pirates, hefty warriors, comely maidens and wenches, reptilian witches, and miscreants of all sizes and shapes. Barbarian villages dot the landscape; ruined fortresses protrude from rocky outcroppings; a monastery hides beyond a cavernous pass; immense castles and structures reach for the sky; and deceptively fast ships cut across the sea.
Conan the Barbarian does have its problems. The movie is a little too long, and, without spoiling, I can say that some of the places the story sends Conan don’t seem to make much sense. It is as if the film is simply being stretched or the story padded. Some of the action scenes work very well, but others are simply extraneous or gratuitous.
The characters are bit shallow, but the actors make the most of them. I would describe the performances as grand and flamboyant rather than over the top. Rose McGowan is a hoot as the conniving, vicious Marique. Stephen Lang brings to this movie the same aggressive physicality he brought to Avatar as the villain, Colonel Miles Quaritch. It is difficult for me to separate Arnold Schwarzenegger from Conan, but I like Jason Momoa’s take on the character. Momoa’s Conan is younger, leaner, and meaner; he is like a wolverine and a panther.
Overall, I like this new Conan the Barbarian. Visually, aesthetically, and in the story, it reminds me of many of the Conan comic books that I read as a kid, especially The Savage Sword of Conan. With its disappointing box office, there likely won’t be a sequel, but the new Conan the Barbarian deserves one.
7 of 10
B+
Saturday, November 26, 2011
----------------------------
Tuesday, April 12, 2011
Review: "Scream" Still a Scream
TRASH IN MY EYE No. 50 (of 2004) by Leroy Douresseaux
Scream (1996)
Running time: 111 minutes (1 hour, 51 minutes)
MPAA – R for strong graphic horror violence and gore, and for language
DIRECTOR: Wes Craven
WRITER: Kevin Williamson
PRODUCERS: Cathy Konrad and Cary Woods
CINEMATOGRAPHER: Mark Irwin (D.o.P.)
EDITOR: Patrick Lussier
COMPOSER: Marco Beltrami
HORROR/MYSTERY/THRILLER
Starring: Neve Campbell, David Arquette, Courtney Cox, Skeet Ulrich, Rose McGowan, Matthew Lillard, Jamie Kennedy, W. Earl Brown, Drew Barrymore, Joseph Whipp, Lawrence Hecht, Roger Jackson (voice), Liev Schreiber, and Henry Winkler
In the GenX/post-GenX thriller Scream, a psychopathic killer stalks a group of teens just like psychos stalk victims in slasher movie. His primary focus is teenage virgin Sidney Prescott (Neve Campbell), and the killings begin near the one-year anniversary of her mother’s death. A tabloid reporter, Gale Weathers (Courtney Cox), who covered sensational murder trial of the alleged killer of Sidney’s mom, is determined to uncover the truth because she believes the wrong man was convicted of killing Mrs. Prescott and that the real killer is still at large. Of course, the mystery surrounding the killer culminates during a raucous teen party held at the obligatory isolated farmhouse. Finding out who survives is as fun as learning who the killer is.
Much has been made of how Scream references the many horror films that preceded it, especially 1980’s slasher flicks, but Scream is simply a great horror film and as much a mystery thriller as it is a scary movie. Maybe that’s because the film is a horror movie for the sake of being a horror movie. Any social commentary the film makes is ancillary, and anything it says about other movies is just the nature of the beast. Just about any horror movie will reflect the others that came before it.
While casting young stars from TV shows popular with teens and twenty-somethings in the mid-90’s was a savvy move on the part of the filmmakers (most 80’s slasher movies cast young unknowns), the two elements of that make Scream great are screenwriter Kevin Williamson and director Wes Craven. Williamson’s script is tight, smart, funny, deft, self-referential, and most of all, creates a solid structure of suspense. The characters are mostly throwaways, but Williamson makes us care about them because the situations he puts them in are so precarious, we’d be cruel not to root for them to escape. For all the artful window dressings, Williamson’s script simply tells a scary story.
Wes Craven is one of the greatest horror film directors of all time having helmed A Nightmare of Elm Street and The Last House on the Left. Scream simply cements his position as a master director of the suspense genre. He turns Williamson’s words into palatable fear. He knows when to make the film outright scary, and when slowly increase the level of suspense and fright. Craven knows when to be funny and silly, and he knows when to deliver the deathblow, but most of all when to leave it all hanging on a thin string.
Scream is a film no slasher fan should go without seeing, and certainly it’s a work not to be missed by admirers and students of horror cinema.
8 of 10
A
------------------------------
Scream (1996)
Running time: 111 minutes (1 hour, 51 minutes)
MPAA – R for strong graphic horror violence and gore, and for language
DIRECTOR: Wes Craven
WRITER: Kevin Williamson
PRODUCERS: Cathy Konrad and Cary Woods
CINEMATOGRAPHER: Mark Irwin (D.o.P.)
EDITOR: Patrick Lussier
COMPOSER: Marco Beltrami
HORROR/MYSTERY/THRILLER
Starring: Neve Campbell, David Arquette, Courtney Cox, Skeet Ulrich, Rose McGowan, Matthew Lillard, Jamie Kennedy, W. Earl Brown, Drew Barrymore, Joseph Whipp, Lawrence Hecht, Roger Jackson (voice), Liev Schreiber, and Henry Winkler
In the GenX/post-GenX thriller Scream, a psychopathic killer stalks a group of teens just like psychos stalk victims in slasher movie. His primary focus is teenage virgin Sidney Prescott (Neve Campbell), and the killings begin near the one-year anniversary of her mother’s death. A tabloid reporter, Gale Weathers (Courtney Cox), who covered sensational murder trial of the alleged killer of Sidney’s mom, is determined to uncover the truth because she believes the wrong man was convicted of killing Mrs. Prescott and that the real killer is still at large. Of course, the mystery surrounding the killer culminates during a raucous teen party held at the obligatory isolated farmhouse. Finding out who survives is as fun as learning who the killer is.
Much has been made of how Scream references the many horror films that preceded it, especially 1980’s slasher flicks, but Scream is simply a great horror film and as much a mystery thriller as it is a scary movie. Maybe that’s because the film is a horror movie for the sake of being a horror movie. Any social commentary the film makes is ancillary, and anything it says about other movies is just the nature of the beast. Just about any horror movie will reflect the others that came before it.
While casting young stars from TV shows popular with teens and twenty-somethings in the mid-90’s was a savvy move on the part of the filmmakers (most 80’s slasher movies cast young unknowns), the two elements of that make Scream great are screenwriter Kevin Williamson and director Wes Craven. Williamson’s script is tight, smart, funny, deft, self-referential, and most of all, creates a solid structure of suspense. The characters are mostly throwaways, but Williamson makes us care about them because the situations he puts them in are so precarious, we’d be cruel not to root for them to escape. For all the artful window dressings, Williamson’s script simply tells a scary story.
Wes Craven is one of the greatest horror film directors of all time having helmed A Nightmare of Elm Street and The Last House on the Left. Scream simply cements his position as a master director of the suspense genre. He turns Williamson’s words into palatable fear. He knows when to make the film outright scary, and when slowly increase the level of suspense and fright. Craven knows when to be funny and silly, and he knows when to deliver the deathblow, but most of all when to leave it all hanging on a thin string.
Scream is a film no slasher fan should go without seeing, and certainly it’s a work not to be missed by admirers and students of horror cinema.
8 of 10
A
------------------------------
Amazon wants me to inform you that the link below is a PAID AD, but I technically only get paid (eventually) if you click on the ad below AND buy something(s).
Saturday, February 27, 2010
Gregg Araki Went Straight for "The Doom Generation"
The Doom Generation (1995)
Running time: 85 minutes; Unrated
WRITER/DIRECTOR: Gregg Araki
PRODUCERS: Gregg Araki and Andrea Sperling
CINEMATOGRAPHER: Jim Fealy
EDITORS: Gregg Araki with Kate McGowan
COMEDY/DRAMA
Starring: James Duval, Rose McGowan, Johnathon Schaech, Cress Williams, Dustin Nguyen, Margaret Cho, Nicky Katt, Parker Posey, and Perry Farrell
Sex, mayhem, murder, and whatever are all in ample evidence in bad boy indie director Greg Araki’s film, The Doom Generation. Controversial and bold, the film is an apocalyptic vision of a dead end generation who live for whatever makes them feel something good (usually feeling good through sex, drugs, and giving others pain) at the moment.
A teen couple, Jordan White (James Duval) and Amy Blue (Rose McGowan), picks up Xavier Red (Johnathon Schaech), an adolescent drifter with a penchant for violence and kinky (or deviant as some call it) sex. Dimwitted Jordan and crystal method addict Amy save Xavier from some skinheads who are stomping his ass. Xavier returns the favor when he saves the kooky couple from a gun-wielding, Asian convenience store clerk (Dustin Nguyen) by killing the clerk. Thus begins a hellish road trip that finds the trio dishing out remorseless brutality and freefalling into nihilism, and it all leads to a sad and shattering ending.
The film is filled with shocking images, jaw-dropping sex, and uproariously deadpan dialogue that pricks up the ears. The film, however, is mostly flat. Fictional road trips are often a sign of a story that doesn’t know where it’s going or of a writer who is stalling for time while he figures out where his story is going. Still, The Doom Generation
is bold and unflinching and is the perfect antidote for the staid, mind numbing, eye candy that the film industry churns out for the movie masses. Araki’s bold stokes and colorful decadence is a breath of fresh air even if the story is flat and the plot nonexistent. So boldness must count for something.5 of 10
C+
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