Review: "KRAVEN THE HUNTER" Has a Beast in Aaron Taylor-Johnson

TRASH IN MY EYE No. 57 of 2024 (No. 2001) by Leroy Douresseaux

Kraven the Hunter (2024)

Running time:  127 minutes (2 hours, 7 minutes)

MPA – R for strong bloody violence, and language

DIRECTOR:  J.C. Chandor

WRITERS:  Richard Wenk, Art Marcum, and Matt Holloway; from a story by Richard Wenk (based on the Marvel Comics)

PRODUCERS:  Avi Arad, David B. Householter, and Matt Tolmach

CINEMATOGRAPHER:  Ben Davis (D.o.P.)

EDITORS:  Chris Lebenzon and Craig Wood

COMPOSERS:  Evgueni Galperine, Sacha Galperine, and Benjamin Wallfisch

SUPERHERO/FANTASY/ACTION

Starring:  Aaron Taylor-Johnson, Ariana DeBose, Fred Hechinger, Alessandro Nivola, Christopher Abbott, Levi Miller, Billy Barratt, Tom Reed, Diaana Babnicova, Yuri Kolokolnikov, Damola Adelaja, and Russell Crowe

SUMMARY OF THE REVIEW:

“Kraven the Hunter” has already established itself as having the lowest opening weekend debut of any film carry the Marvel brand, but it is a lot better than many of the other comic book films that came before it

Star Aaron Taylor-Johnson is indeed a star as he carries this film to victory, and he maximizes several intense scenes with co-star, Oscar-winner Russell Crowe

You don't have to be a fan of comic book movies to enjoy “Kraven the Hunter” because its intensity and its extreme and extremely violent action scenes and sequences are exceptionally entertaining

Kraven the Hunter is a 2024 action movie and superhero film from director J.C. Chandor.  The movie is based on the Marvel Comics character, Sergei Kravinoff/Kraven the Hunter, that was created by writer Stan Lee and artist Steve Ditko and first appeared in The Amazing Spider-Man #15 (cover dated: August 1964).  This is also the sixth film in “Sony's Spider-Man Universe” (SSU) series.  The film focuses on a hunter of men and his complex relationship with his father, a ruthless Russian crime lord, which starts him down the path to becoming the greatest hunter of men in the world.

Kraven the Hunter opens in Northern Russia at a prison.  Of particular interest is Prisoner #0864, but soon, prison security and imprisoned Russian gangster, Semyon Chorney (Yuri Kolokolnikov), will learn that this prisoner is really a legendary assassin known as “The Hunter.”  Who is “The Hunter?”

He is really Sergei Kravinoff (Aaron Taylor-Johnson), the elder son of brutal Russian crime lord, Nikolai Kravinoff (Russell Crowe).  Sixteen years before The Hunter killed Chorney, Nikolai took Sergei and his younger son, Dmitri, on a hunting expedition in Northern Ghana.  A terrible accident leaves Sergei near death until a local young woman intervenes in a manner that changes Sergei in ways he never imagined.

In the present day, Sergei goes by the name “Kraven.”  His activities as “The Hunter” have earned him the ire of many criminals.  Kraven has a kill-list, and once someone is on it, they don't get off until he kills them.  Kraven reunites with Calypso (Ariana DeBose), the young woman who saved him sixteen years earlier.  Now, an adult, Calypso is an attorney, and Kraven asks her to assist him in his activities as “The Hunter” by finding information on his targets.

However, Kraven himself is now being hunted.  Wannabe Russian crime boss, Aleksei Sytsevich (Alessandro Nivola), and his ally, “The Foreigner” (Christopher Abbott), have targeted Kraven's brother, Dmitri (Fred Hechinger), now an adult, as a way to trap their prey.  Kraven will have to prove to his enemies that he is indeed the world's greatest hunter and also its most dangerous apex predator.

Kraven the Hunter is sixth film in “Sony's Spider-Man Universe” line of films.  It follows Venom (2018), Venom: Let There Be Carnage (2021), Morbius (2022), Madame Web (2024), and the recently release, Venom: The Last Dance (2024).  This film series stars characters and properties commonly associated with Marvel Comics' character, Spider-Man.  Sadly, media reports indicate that Kraven the Hunter will be the last entry in Sony's Spider-Man Universe, and that's a shame because Kraven the Hunter deserves a sequel.

Most movie actors could not have saved Kraven the Hunter, if it did indeed need saving, as industry and fan gossip indicated.  If we accept those arguments, dear readers, that Kraven the Hunter needed saving, then Aaron Taylor-Johnson is indeed this film's savior.  Taylor-Johnson is a talented young actor, and he can certainly portray the tough-guy hero or antihero in a way that seems genuine, if not outright real.

Without Taylor-Johnson, I think Kraven the Hunter would still be a really entertaining film.  The screenplay, regardless of whatever number of writers contributed to it, intrigued me.  Director J.C. Chandor deftly weaves the film's story across continents and through shifts in plot that keeps things so interesting and involved that I didn't have time to search for plot holes and inconsistencies.  Also, Russell Crowe as Nikolai Kravinoff makes his scenes with Taylor-Johnson's Kraven feel ultra edgy and especially dangerous.

With Taylor-Johnson, however, Kraven the Hunter, is not only a really entertaining film, but it is also an exceptional superhero spin-off comic book film.  As comic book and superhero movies go, Kraven the Hunter is kind of like a B-movie or, at least, a B-list film, but you, dear readers, don't have to be a comic book fan to enjoy the film or its star.  As Kraven, Taylor-Johnson has such animal magnetism; I wanted to see him be in action-mode and be violent.  Taylor-Johnson has true movie star qualities, such as charisma and presence, and girl, the camera absolutely loves him.  Seriously, Taylor-Johnson carries Kraven the Hunter past what most other actors would have done – all the way to whatever kind of cinematic glory a Spider-Man-adjacent film can have.

Marvel Comics fans will likely enjoy the fact that several Spider-Man-related characters appear in the film, some of them surprisingly so.  Still, this film is about Kraven the Hunter, and Aaron Taylor-Johnson makes every subplot, setting, and the other character bow down to his “king of the jungle” performance.  Kraven the Hunter is good, surprisingly and shockingly good, because its leading man knows how to be a beast.

8 of 10

A

★★★★ out of 4 stars

Sunday, December 15, 2024

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

-------------------------

-------------------------

Review: First "GLADIATOR" Film is Still Rockin' the Colosseum

TRASH IN MY EYE No. 50 of 2024 (No. 1994) by Leroy Douresseaux

Gladiator (2000)

Running time:  155 minutes (2 hours, 35 minutes)

MPAA – R for intense, graphic combat

DIRECTOR:  Ridley Scott

WRITERS:  David Franzoni, John Logan, and William Nicholson (from a story by David Franzoni)

PRODUCERS:  David Franzoni, Branko Lustig, and Douglas Wick

CINEMATOGRAPHER:  John Mathieson

EDITOR:  Pietro Scalia

COMPOSERS:  Hans Zimmer and Lisa Gerrard

Academy Award winner

DRAMA/HISTORICAL

Starring:  Russell Crowe, Joaquin Phoenix, Connie Nielsen, Oliver Reed, Richard Harris, Derek Jacobi, Djimon Hounsou, David Schofield, John Shrapnel, Tomas Arana, Ralf Moeller, Spencer Treat Clark, David Hemmings, and Tommy Flanagan

Gladiator is a 2000 historical epic film directed by Ridley Scott.  At the 73rd Academy Awards (March 2001), the film won the Oscar for Best Picture of the Year 2000.  Gladiator focuses on a Roman general who is reduced to slavery, becomes a gladiator, and takes on a corrupt Roman emperor in order to exact vengeance upon him. 

Gladiator opens in the year 180 AD in the region known as Germania.  Emperor Marcus Aurelius (Richard Harris) prepares to end his 17-year campaign against the barbarian tribes in their final stronghold in the region.  The Roman general, Maximus Decimus Meridius (Russell Crowe), a Spaniard, intends to return home after he leads the Roman army to victory against the barbarians.  After the battle, Emperor Aurelius tells Maximus that he does not wish to make his own son, Commodus (Joaquin Phoenix), the next emperor because he is unfit to rule.  Instead, the emperor wants Maximus, who is like a son to him, to succeed him and act as the regent who will restore the Roman Republic.

After secretly murdering his father, Aurelius, Commodus proclaims himself the new emperor.  After Maximus spurns his request for loyalty, Commodus has Maximus arrested and orders him executed.  Commodus also has the Spaniard's family murdered.  After foiling the attempt to execute him, Maximus, badly wounded, is unable to save his family.  Maximus is later found and sold into slavery and becomes the property of Proximo (Oliver Reed), a man who trains slaves to become gladiators whom he forces into fighting in gladiatorial events.

Meanwhile, in Rome, Commodus decides to stage 150 days of games, including gladiatorial events held at “The Colosseum.”  Seeking newfound wealth, Proximo enters his gladiators, which now include Maximus and Juba (Djimon Hounsou), an African Maximus has befriended.  Fate has brought Maximus to Commodus.  Now, the general who became a slave is now a gladiator who just might save Rome when he exacts his vengeance upon the new emperor for murdering his family.

In anticipation of the upcoming, Gladiator II, I decided to watch the original film in its entirety for the first time since I first saw it in a movie theater with some friends back in May of 2000.  Since then, I have re-watched parts of Gladiator of during cable broadcasts more time than I can remember, but I felt that it was time to watch the entire thing again and commit a review.

Gladiator is a great film because it recalls what Hollywood has always done well, historical epics that are more epic than they are history.  The screenplay is a collection of familiar tropes (sword and sandals); stock characters (the crazy usurper; the put-upon woman; the wronged hero); and beloved settings (the Roman empire).  The script is really nothing to write home about.  The cast and crew and the director and his creative cohorts are the people who turn Gladiator into one of those truly great films that gave the twentieth century a grand Hollywood send-off.

Gladiator is probably director Ridley Scott's slickest and most polished Hollywood film.  The film's narrative heart beats strong because Scott gets the best out of his film editor, film music composers, production designer and set decorator, and cinematographer.  Everyone pulls together to make this film a visually sumptuous masterpiece, the kind that pounds audiences until they stop resisting and give into the bliss of a grand cinematic epic made in a true Hollywood style.

However, I think the actors are the true heart of Gladiator, delivering performances that make even the least famous of them seem like movie stars.  Richard Harris is philosophical and earnest as the doomed Emperor Marcus Aurelius, while Joaquin Phoenix turns what could have been a clownish role into an unpredictable, but alluring reptilian super man-beast, the usurper Emperor Commodus.  Oliver Reed, in his final role, made Proximo real and really lovable.  And it's sad that Djimon Hounsou as Maximus' steady, philosophic friend, Juba, got almost no love from the various movie award-giving organizations.

The king – or emperor, if you will – of Gladiator is Russell Crowe.  Maximus Decimus Meridius is one of Crowe's finest roles, even if it isn't one of his most subtle, graceful, and profound performances.  Crowe carries this movie, and Gladiator defeats its own warts because Crowe is its true and one and only Gladiator.  Crowe is the center and the beating heart of Gladiator, and the passage of a quarter-century has not changed that.  Gladiator remains a great work of Hollywood cinema because it has what the great works of Hollywood must have – a movie star that radiates enough light to blind us to the blemishes of film with ambitions to be great.  

9 of 10

A+

Wednesday, November 20, 2024

NOTES:

2001 Academy Awards, USA:  5 wins: “Best Picture” (Douglas Wick, David Franzoni, and Branko Lustig), “Best Actor in a Leading Role” (Russell Crowe), and “Best Costume Design” (Janty Yates), “Best Sound” (Scott Millan, Bob Beemer, Ken Weston, and John Nelson), and “Best Effects, Visual Effects” (John Nelson, Neil Corbould, Tim Burke, and Rob Harvey); 7 nominations: “Best Actor in a Supporting Role” (Joaquin Phoenix), “Best Director” (Ridley Scott), “Best Writing, Screenplay Written Directly for the Screen” (David Franzoni-screenplay and story, John Logan-screenplay, and William Nicholson-screenplay), “Best Cinematography” (John Mathieson), “Best Film Editing” (Pietro Scalia), “Best Music, Original Score” (Hans Zimmer), and “Best Art Direction-Set Decoration” (Arthur Max-art director and Crispian Sallis-set decorator)

2001 BAFTA Awards:  4 wins:  “Best Film” (Douglas Wick, David Franzoni, and Branko Lustig), “Best Cinematography” (John Mathieson), “Best Production Design” (Arthur Max), “Best Editing” (Pietro Scalia); 10 nominations:  “David Lean Award for Direction” (Ridley Scott), “Best Screenplay-Original” (David Franzoni, John Logan, and William Nicholson), “Best Performance by an Actor in a Leading Role” (Russell Crowe), “Best Performance by an Actor in a Supporting Role” (Joaquin Phoenix), “Best Performance by an Actor in a Supporting Role” (Oliver Reed-posthumously), “Anthony Asquith Award for Film Music” (Hans Zimmer and Lisa Gerrard), “Best Costume Design” (Janty Yates), “Best Sound” (Ken Weston, Scott Millan, Bob Beemer, and Per Hallberg), “Best Achievement in Special Visual Effects” (John Nelson, Tim Burke, Rob Harvey, and Neil Corbould), and “Best Make Up/Hair” (Paul Engelen and Graham Johnston)

2001 Golden Globes, USA:  2 wins: “Best Motion Picture-Drama” and “Best Original Score - Motion Picture” (Hans Zimmer and Lisa Gerrard); 3 nominations: “Best Director-Motion Picture” (Ridley Scott), “Best Performance by an Actor in a Motion Picture – Drama” (Russell Crowe), and “Best Performance by an Actor in a Supporting Role in a Motion Picture” (Joaquin Phoenix)

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

---------------------------

---------------------------

Negromancer News Bits and Bites from June 9th to 15th, 2024 - UPDATE #11

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

You can support Leroy via Paypal or on Patreon:

Amazon wants me to inform/remind you that any affiliate links found on this page are PAID ADS, but I technically only get paid (eventually) if you click on affiliate links like this, MOVIES PAGE, and BUY something(s).

ENTERTAINMENT AND CULTURE NEWS:

MOVIES - From Variety:  Oscar-winner Russell Crowe explains why he turned down the role of "Aragorn" in Peter Jackson's "The Lord of the Rings" trilogy. Viggo Mortensen eventually won the role.

TELEVISION - From Deadline:  Longtime TNT sports broadcaster, Charles Barkley, says that he is going to retire after the 2024-25 NBA season. The news comes as it seems TNT's parent, Warner Bros. Discovery, is going to lose its NBA rights to NBC.

NETFLIX - From Deadline:  Idris Elba and Rebecca Ferguson are circling roles in Oscar-winner Kathryn Bigelow's ("The Hurt Locker) next film for Netflix.

ANIMATION - From Variety:  Warner Bros. Animation, New Line Cinema, and Sola Entertainment previewed 20 minutes of its upcoming anime feature “The Lord of the Rings: The War of the Rohirrim.”  Directed by Kenji Kemiyana ("Ghost in the Shell: Stand Alone Complex"), the footage received thunderous applause during the packed presentation on Tuesday at the Annecy Animation Festival.

MOVIES - From Variety:  Director Henry Selick is once again interested in a film adaptation to Neil Gaiman's 2013 novel, "The Ocean at the End of the Lane."  Selick also hopes to revive his failed Pixar project, "The Shadow King."

NETFLIX - From Deadline:  Yahya Abdul Mateen II will star in Netflix's TV adaptation of the 2004 Denzel Washington film, "Man on Fire."

BOX OFFICE - From BoxOfficePro:  The winner of the 6/7 to 6/9/2024 weekend box office is Sony Pictures' Bad Boys: Ride or Die with an estimated total of 56 million dollars.

From Deadline:  Bad Boys: Ride or Die leads the international box office with a debut of 48.6 million dollars. It's global box office haul is 104.6 million dollars.

AMAZON - From Deadline:  Oscar-nominee Kristen Stewart will play ground-breaking American astronaut, Sally Ride, in the Amazon MGM Studios miniseries, "The Challenger."

MOVIES - From THR:  The film that will follow the recent hit, "Godzilla x Kong: The New Empire," has a director.  It is Grant Sputore, who directed the 2019 Hilary Swank sci-fi flick, "I Am Mother."

OBITS:

From NBA:  American basketball player, coach, scout, and executive, Jerry West, has died at the age of 86, Wednesday, June 12, 2024.  He is best remembered for his association with the NBA's Los Angeles Lakers, including being a member of the 1971-72 NBA Championship team that went 69 wins and 13 losses.  That won-loss record was an NBA season record that stood until the 1995-96 Chicago Bulls won 72 games and lost 10 on the way to an NBA title.  West also won 8 titles as an executive, including five as a member of the Lakers front office and two as a member of the Golden State Warriors front office.  West is a three-time member of the Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame.  As a player, he was inducted as a member of the 1960 U.S. Olympic Basketball team which won the gold medal and again as a player in 1980.  Later, this year (2024), he will be inducted as an NBA executive. West's silhouette is the basis for the NBA's logo.

From Deadline:  American journalist and television commentator, Howard Fineman, has died at the age of 75, Tuesday, June 11, 2024.  Fineman was best known for his work with the cable news network, MSNBC.

----------------

POLITICS - 

From TheRoot:  "The Root" gives you "The Long Racist History of Donald Trump, from the 1970s to Now."

From YahooNews:  In case you were wondering, even after being convicted of 34 felony counts in New York yesterday (5/30), Donald Trump can still run for President of the United States and he can still vote for himself in Florida.

From Truthout:  On Thursday afternoon (May 30th, 2024), in "The People vs. Donald Trump" — the New York-based trial featuring, for the first time in United States history, an ex-president in a criminal proceeding— a jury of the former president’s peers delivered a unanimous verdict: that he was guilty of all crimes he was accused of committing. Trump becomes the first former President in US History to be convicted of a crime.

From NBCNews:  Outside the courthouse where Donald Trump is on trial, legendary Oscar-winning actor, Robert De Niro, clashed with Trump supporters.

Review: "THOR: LOVE AND THUNDER" is Full of Love and Thunder

TRASH IN MY EYE No. 42 of 2022 (No. 1854) by Leroy Douresseaux

Thor: Love and Thunder (2022)
Running time:  119 minutes (1 hour, 59 minutes)
MPAA – PG-13 for intense sequences of sci-fi violence and action, language, some suggestive material and partial nudity
DIRECTOR:  Taika Waititi
WRITERS: Taiki Waititi and Jennifer Kaytin Robinson; from a story by Taika Waititi (based on the Marvel Comics)
PRODUCERS:  Kevin Feige and Brad Winderbaum
CINEMATOGRAPHER:  Barry Idoine (D.o.P.)
EDITORS:  Peter S. Elliot, Tim Roche, Matthew Schmidt, and Jennifer Vecchiarello
COMPOSERS:  Michael Giacchino and Nami Melumad

SUPERHERO/FANTASY/ACTION and COMEDY/DRAMA

Starring:  Chris Hemsworth, Christian Bale, Tessa Thompson, Taika Waititi (voice) Jaimie Alexander, Chris Pratt, Dave Bautista, Karen Gillan, Pom Klementieff, Vin Diesel (voice), Bradley Cooper (voice), Kieron L. Dyer, Idris Elba, Brett Goldstein, and Russell Crowe and Natalie Portman

Thor: Love and Thunder is a 2022 superhero fantasy and action-comedy directed by Taika Waititi and produced by Marvel Studios and distributed by Walt Disney Pictures.  It is the fourth film in Marvel's Thor film series, which began with Thor (2011).  Thor is a Marvel Comics character that first appeared in the comic book, Journey into Mystery #83 (cover dated: August 1962), and is based on the Norse mythological deity of the same name.  In Love and Thunder, Thor reunites with his ex-girlfriend to fight a being who plans to make the gods extinct.

Thor: Love and Thunder finds Thor (Chris Hemsworth), using his second enchanted hammer, “Stormbreaker,” is fighting the bad guys of the galaxy with the Guardians of the Galaxy:  Star-Lord (Chris Pratt), Mantis (Pom Klementieff), Drax the Destroyer (Dave Bautista), Nebula (Karen Gillan), Groot (voice of Vin Diesel), and Rocket (voice of Bradley Cooper).  Thor is at a crossroads in his life and is unsure of what to do next.

Back on Earth, Thor's ex-girlfriend, the astrophysicist Dr. Jane Foster (Natalie Portman), is battling stage four cancer.  Seeking medical treatment, Jane travels to New Asgard.  There, she has a strange encounter with Thor's broken hammer, Mjolnir.

Meanwhile, Thor has answered a distress signal from one of Asgard's warriors, Sif (Jaimie Alexander).  She warns him of Gorr the God Butcher (Christian Bale), a being who possesses the god-killing weapon, “the Necrosword.”  When Gorr attacks New Asgard, Thor returns to join the battle.  Much to his shock, he discovers that Mjolnir has reforged and bonded with Jane Foster, transforming her into another Thor.

Now, Valkyrie (Tessa Thompson), King of Asgard, and Korg (voice of Taika Waititi), the rocky Kronan warrior, join Thor and Thor on a journey to fight Gorr.  But are they enough to fight a being that has already killed many gods?

The last year's worth of Marvel Studios films, five including Thor: Love and Thunder, have been different, even offbeat, much to the chagrin of some critics and fans.  People complained that Marvel's films were too much alike, and now that the studio has given us five films that are quite different from the first 11 years of films, they still aren't happy.

Anyway, I want to make it clear that there is plenty of “thunder” in Thor: Love and Thunder.  Director Taika Waititi offers some action set pieces that are either unusual or have an unusual angle to them.  As Gorr, Christian Bale gives a multi-layered performance full of pathos, humor, and maniacal glee.  It is a seemingly effortless performance from one of the best actors of the last quarter-century.  So, this superhero movie has a great villain, one who can match both Thors and is genuinely vengeful, a vengeance grounded in love.

Still, Waititi wants Thor to be something really different.  The films trades in themes of love, death, and change.  Thor Odinson and Jane Foster-Thor are both in crisis.  The Odinson is having a sort of mid-life crisis.  If he is no longer the rascally young heir to the throne of Asgard or the Avenger's lightning, thunder, and muscle, then, what is he?  Jane Foster is facing an existential crisis; her cancer is really terminal.  Should she quietly accept her fate or should she go out with a bang and some thunder as Thor, fighting their enemy to death, if need be?

Thor: Love and Thunder is a perfect film for this time.  It chooses love over despair.  It is a post-breakup movie in which Thor and Jane Foster find their way back to one another.  Although death is an end, it can also mean change, and that is what can be in store for Thor and Thor and for King Valkyrie, Korg, and a few other characters.

I love what director Taika Waititi has created in his two Thor films, this and the earlier Thor: Ragnarok (2017).  Thor: Love and Thunder finds the humor in every situation, even the dark and dangerous ones, which might put off some of its audience.  However, I like that Thor: Love and Thunder is a film made of joy, color, and wonder that travels across the galaxy and into different realms.  But no matter where it goes, Thor: Love and Thunder full of thunderous sounds and furious love.

[This film as two scenes that occur during the credits, one in the middle and one at the end.]

8 of 10
A
★★★★ out of 4 stars

Friday, July 8, 2022


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

---------------------------

---------------------------

Negromancer News Bits and Bites from August 16th to 22nd, 2020 - Update #25

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.
-----------------------

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.

Negromancer News Bits and Bites from May 10th to 16th, 2020 - Update #29

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

Support Leroy on Patreon:

BLACK AMERICA AND COVID-19 - Crisis or... :

From TheVox:  (May 8th) - Social distancing arrests target people of color.

From YahooNews:  A tale of two parks: Enjoying the sun in wealthy Manhattan, social distancing under police scrutiny in the Bronx

From YahooGMA: (4/28) - Rana Zoe Mungin, a 30-year-old teacher from Brooklyn, died on Monday, April 27th for COVID-19.  She had twice been denied a test for the coronavirus after showing symptoms.  Her family and friends blame racial disparity in the health care system.

From RSNWashPost:  How COVID-19 is a perfect storm for Black Americans.

################
From NBCNews:  Because COVID-19 is NOT killing enough black people fast enough for some people... Breonna Taylor, a 26-year-old EMT worker, was killed in a botched police raid on the part of the Louisville Metro Police Department.

From ABCNews:  This article has a picture of the three Klansmen... I mean Louiville police officers who slaughtered Breonna Taylor.

################
From NewYorkTimes:  Because COVID-19 isn't killing enough black people fast enough for some people... a timeline in the killing of Ahmaud Arbery.

From YahooSports:  NBA superstar and champion, LeBron James, speaks on the killing of Ahmaud Arbery.  "We're literally hunted everyday," James says.

From YahooSports:  NFL champion and Tampa Bay Buccaneers quarterback, Tom Brady, signs letter on Ahmaud Arbery.

################
From USAToday:  Because COVID-19 isn't killing enough black people fast enough for some people... Dreasjon "Sean" Reed was killed by the Indianapolis Metro Police Department on May 7th.

From TMZ:  Cops joke about "closed casket" funeral after killing Sean Reed.

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 RSN:  Former U.S. Secretary of Labor (under President Bill Clinton), Robert Reich, list the new "class divides" with their inequalities that he says the COVID-19 pandemic has created.

From Grist:  The scientists that saw coronavirus coming are hunting for the next pandemic.

From YahooNews:  Senate majority leader, Sen. Mitch McConnell (Republican of Kentucky) blames former President Obama for current President Donald's piss-poor response to the COVID-19 pandemic.

COVID-19 OBIT:

From CNN:  Entertainer and magician, Roy Horn, has died at the age of 75, May 8, 2020 of complications of COVID-19.  Horn was best known as one-half of the Las Vegas animal and magic act, "Siegfried & Roy," with his partner Seigfried Fischbacher.

ENTERTAINMENT NEWS:

MOVIES - From Deadline:  Oscar-winner Danny Boyle is set to direct Micheal B. Jordan in the film, "Methuselah," which is based on the Biblical character.

MOVIES - From Deadline:  Warner Bros. is remaking director Blake Edwards' 1979 comedy, "10," which originally starred Julie Andrews, Dudley Moore, and Bo Derek.

MOVIES - From Variety:  Universal Pictures has tapped Luca Guadagnino ("Call Me By Your Name") to direct its reboot of the film "Scarface."  Joel Coen and Ethan Coen wrote the latest version of the script.

DISNEY - From Variety:  Disney+ is in the early stages of developing the "Percy Jackson" book series as a live-action series.  Fox previously produced two live-action films based on the books by Rick Riordan.

MOVIES - From CNN:  Russell Crowe's thriller, "Unhinged," gets a July 1st, 2020 release date.  This may make it the first new film to arrive in movie theaters during the pandemic.

DISNEY - From Deadline:  Disney+ will stream a filmed version of Lin-Manuel Miranda's Tony Award-winning Broadway musical, "Hamilton." beginning July 3, 2020.  Director Tommy Kail, who also directed the musical, comprised the film version by shooting three live performances of the musical.  Disney paid $75 million for the worldwide rights to the movie.

From GQ:  Robert Pattinson shot his own cover for the latest "GQ" magazine and its "A Dispatch from Isolation" interview with him.  He talks about a number of things including his role in "The Batman" and his struggle to describe the plot of Christopher Nolan's "Tenet."

From THR:  For its Fall 2020 schedule, Fox is picking on "L.A.'s Finest," a scripted original series for cable provider, Spectrum.

From Deadline:  Ryan Murphy is working on an anthology spinoff of his hit FX series, "American Horror Story."  It will be titles "American Horror Stories."

From Variety:  There will be no Cannes Film Festival this year - even in the fall.

From Deadline:  Not even a basket of horrid "X-Men" can stop writer-producer Simon Kinberg's career trajectory.  Netflix has picked up his heist spec script, "Here Comes the Flood," for deal in the mid-7 figures.

From Deadline:  Kal Penn talks about CBS' 2020-2021 TV sequel to the 1991 Oscar-winning film, "Silence of the Lambs."

From Deadline:  CBS has picked up three new series for next season: The Equalizer reboot starring Queen Latifah; "Silence of the Lambs," sequel "Clarice," starring Rebecca Breeds; and the Chuck Lorre-Marco Pennette multi-camera comedy, "B Positive," headlined by Thomas Middleditch and Annaleigh Ashford.

OBITS:

From Deadline:  Veteran film and television character actor, Fred Willard, has died at the age of 86, Friday, May 15, 2020.  Willard was known for playing a long list of roles in various comedic films ("Best in Show" and "How High" to name a few) and television series ("Fernwood 2 Night" and "Everybody Loves Raymond" to name a few).  On IMDb, Willard has 311 credits.  He will be seen posthumously in the upcoming Netflix comedy, "Space Force," with Steve Carell.

From THR:  The comedian and actor, Jerry Stiller, has died at the age of 92, Monday, May 11, 2020.  He is best known for TV series.  First is for the recurring role of "George Costanza's" father, "Frank," on the NBC series, "Seinfeld" (1989-1998), from 1993 to 1998.   The second role is that of series regular, "Arthur Spooner," on CBS' "The King of Queens" (1998 to 2007).  Decades ago, Stiller was best known for being part of the comedy team of Stiller and Meara with the late Ann Meara, who would become his wife.  The couple had two children, actor and filmmaker, Ben Stiller, and

From Essence:  Noted R&B and soul singer, Betty Wright, has died at the age of 66, Sunday, May 10, 2020.  Noted for her use of the "whistle register," Wright had a number of hit songs.  His signature single was "Clean Up Woman" (1974), a top 10 hit on "Billboard" magazine's "Hot 100" and "R&B" charts.  In 1975, she had a hit with what is called a "proto-disco" song, "Where is the Love?"  She won a "Best R&B Song" Grammy Award for composing the song with Harry Wayne Casey and Richard Finch of "KC & the Sunshine Band."  Wright was also a prolific and prominent background vocalist who performed on recordings for a number of popular recording artists, including Gloria Estefan, Stevie Wonder, and David Byrne, to name a few.

From RollingStone:  One of the founding fathers of rock and roll music, Little Richard, has died at the age of 87, Saturday, May 9, 2020.  He combined blues and gospel music to create a thrilling new sound, and his flamboyant and gender-bending persona helped to create the sound and spirit of a new art form, rock and roll or rock 'n' roll music.  His best known recordings included "Tutti Frutti" (1955), "Long Tall Song" (1956), and "Good Golly, Miss Molly" (1958).  In 1986, Little Richard was among the first inductees of the "Rock and Roll Hall of Fame."

From RollingStone:  Little Richard wrote this tribute to himself in 2010 for "Rolling Stone's" "100 Greatest Artists" issue.

Negromancer News Bits and Bites from May 12th to 18th, 2019 - Update #17

Support Leroy on Patreon:

TELEVISION - From Variety:  Oscar-nominated actress, Sharon Stone, and Grammy-nominated recording artist, Marilyn Manson, will appear in HBO's "The New Pope," from director Paolo Sorrentino.

----------
COMICS-FILM - From Variety:  The site is reporting that Robert Pattison ("Twilight" series) will be the new Batman/Bruce Wayne in director Matt Reeves' upcoming film, "The Batman," which is due June 25, 2021.

----------
MOVIES - From Deadline:  Chris Rock (yes, that Chris Rock) is joining Lionsgate and Twisted Pictures to reboot the "Saw" film franchise.  The new film is due October 2020.

----------
MOVIES - From Deadline:  James Gunn talks about being fired from "Guardians of the Galaxy 3" and then, being reinstated.

----------
MOVIES - From Movieweb:  James Wan ("Aquaman") is rebooting the "Mortal Kombat" film franchise (based on the beloved video game).  Wan will produce the film.

----------
DISNEY/STREAMING - From Variety:  Disney now has full operational control of the streaming service, Hulu, of which it has at least 60% ownership interest.  Comcast/NBCU retains its 33% ownership interest, which Disney can buy at some point in the future.  Comcast is planning to launch a free, ad-supported streaming service next year.

----------
MOVIES - From Deadline:  Rami Malek is in talks to join Denzel Washington in the serial killer film, "Little Things" from director John Lee Hancock.

----------
TELEVISION - From TVLine:  The upcoming sixth season (2019-2020) will be the final season for Fox's soap opera-drama, "Empire."

----------
BOX OFFICE - From BoxOfficeMojo:  The winner of the 5/10 to 5/12/2019 weekend box office is "Avengers: Endgame" with an estimated take of 63 million dollars.

From Forbes:  "Pokemon: Detective Pikachu" debuted this weekend and grossed 58 million dollars at the box office, the biggest opening weekend ever for a movie based on a video game.

From Patreon:  My review of "Avengers: Endgame."

----------
TELEVISION - From Deadline:  Broadcast television networks announce series orders and pick-ups.

-----------
STREAMING - From TheVerge:  CBS All Access to give Jordan Peele's rebooted "The Twilight Zone," which is in full-color the black and white treatment, beginning May 30th.

----------
MOVIES - From Variety:  Russell Crowe to star in road-rage thriller, "Unhinged."

OBITS:

From Deadline:  The Emmy-winning actor and comedian, Tim Conway, has died at the age of 85, May 14, 2019.  Conway was best known for his work on the ABC sitcom, "McHale's Navy" (1962-1966), and the long-running CBS variety program, The Carol Burnett Show" (1967-1978).  Conway won six Emmy Awards out of 13 nominations.

From TheWrap:  The actor Isaac Kappy died at the age of 42, Monday, May 13, 2019.  He had a small role in Marvel Studios' "Thor" (2011) and appeared in films such as "Terminator: Salvation" and "Beerfest."

From Deadline:  Iconic American actress and singer, Doris Day, has died at the age of 97, May 13, 2019.  She was known for such films as "Pillow Talk" (1959), which she made with her longtime friend, Rock Hudson; "That Touch of Mink" (1962), co-starring Cary Grant; and "Move Over, Darling" (1963) with James Garner.  She was also known for her TV series, "The Doris Day Show" (1968-1973) and for a string a hit records from the mid-1940s to the mid-1950s.

From Variety:  The actress and singer, Peggy Lipton, has died at the age of 72, Saturday, May 11, 2019.  Lipton appeared in the TV series, "The Mod Squad" (1968-1973), as the flower child, Julie Barnes, a role for which she received four Emmy nominations and won a Golden Globe.  Lipton also had a main role in the ABC TV series, "Twin Peaks" (1990-91).  Lipton was married to legendary music producer, Quincy Jones, with whom she has two daughters, actress and producer, Rashida Jones, and model and fashion designer, Kidada Jones.

2018 Austin Film Festival Reveals Film Program First Wave

Austin Film Festival Reveals First Wave of Films for 25th Anniversary, Including Retrospective Presented by Roger Corman and Robert Rodriguez

AUSTIN, Texas--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Austin Film Festival (AFF), the premier film festival recognizing writers’ and filmmakers’ contributions to film, television, and new media, announced today the first wave of films to be included in their 2018 program taking place October 25 to November 1, 2018, including Boy Erased, Can You Ever Forgive Me?, and Cannes Palme D’or winner Shoplifters.

World Premieres include The Black String, Fishbowl, Speaking in Tongues, and Fathers of Football.

As part of its retrospective series, AFF will screen Roger Corman’s Rock All Night, presented by Robert Rodriguez and Corman himself, Extraordinary Contribution to Filmmaking honoree.

The complete list of programming will be announced in late September.

AFF FIRST WAVE:

The Black String
World Premiere
Writers: Brian Hanson, Richard Handley
Director: Brian Hanson
Starring: Frankie Muniz, Cullen Douglas, Chelsea Edmundson

Boy Erased
Writer/Director: Joel Edgerton
Starring: Lucas Hedges, Russell Crowe, Nicole Kidman, Joel Edgerton

Can You Ever Forgive Me?
Writers: Nicole Holofcener, Jeff Whitty
Director: Marielle Heller
Starring: Melissa McCarthy, Richard E. Grant, Julie Ann Emery

Fathers of Football
World Premiere
Director: Bradley Beesley

Fishbowl
World Premiere
Writers: Stephen Kinigopoulos, Piero Iberti, Bennett Elliott
Directors: Stephen Kinigopoulos, Alexa Kinigopoulos
Starring: Rick Kain, Belle Shickle, Emily Peachey, Caroline Coleman

Little Woods
Writer/Director: Nia DaCosta
Starring: Tessa Thompson, Lily James, Lance Reddick

The Long Dumb Road
Writers: Hannah Fidell, Carson Mell
Director: Hannah Fidell
Starring: Tony Revolori, Jason Mantzoukas, Taissa Farmiga, Ron Livingston

Rock All Night (1957) presented by Roger Corman and Robert Rodriguez
Writer: Charles B. Griffith
Director: Roger Corman

Shoplifters
Writer/Director: Hirokazu Koreeda
Starring: Lily Franky, Ando Sakura, Matsuoka Mayu

Speaking in Tongues
World Premiere
Writers: Nathan Deming, Lawrie Doran
Director: Nathan Deming


ABOUT AUSTIN FILM FESTIVAL:
Austin Film Festival (AFF) is a non-profit organization dedicated to furthering the art, craft and business of writers and filmmakers, recognizing their contributions to film, television and new media. AFF is supported in part by the Cultural Arts Division of the City of Austin Economic Development Department and the Texas Commission on the Arts. All attendees and events are based on permitting schedules and are subject to change and/or cancellation without notice. To apply for press credentials, please complete this form. Badges and passes are available for purchase at www.austinfilmfestival.com or by phone at 1-800-310-FEST.

-------------------------

Negromancer News Bits and Bites from April 15th to 21st, 2018 - Update #21

Support Leroy on Patreon:

MOVIES - From BleedingCool:  Universal planning a new movie based on the videogame, "Doom."  There was a 2005 "Doom" film that under performed at the box office.

---------
SCANDAL - From THR:  The actress Allison Mack in an alleged cult sex trafficking case.  A story that has been roiled for months, Mack is accused of recruiting women for the leader of the NIXVM cult.  The 35-year-old Mack is best known as an actress for her role as "Chloe Sullivan" on The WB's "Smallville."

----------
MOVIES - From BleedingCool:  Director Ridley Scott talks about "Alien," H.R. Giger, and "Thelma & Louise."

----------
MUSIC - From CBSNews:  The late music legend Prince may have thought he was taking "Vicodin" when he took the "fentanyl" that killed him.

From TheGuardian:  The secrets of Prince's hit "Nothing Compares 2 U," and no, he did not like Sinead O'Connor's version.

----------
MOVIES - From THR:  F. Gary Gray (a seriously underrated director) is set to direct a film based on Hasbro's toy line, "M.A.S.K."

----------
CULTURE - From NYTimes:  Myles E. Johnson drops revelations in this Times op-ed, "Beyonce and the End of Respectability Politics."

----------
MOVIES - From Variety:  Vin Diesel's One Race Films and H Collective have acquired the rights to the "xXx" film franchise Revolution Studios and plan a fourth film.  Revolution will retain ownership of the first three films in the franchise.

---------
BOOKS - From CNET:  August 30th, HarperCollins will publish "The Fall of Gondolin," an unpublished book by J.R.R. Tolkien, the later of author "The Hobbit" and "The Lord of the Rings."

----------
AWARDS - From NPR:  The 2018 Pulitzer Prizes in "Journalism" and "Letters, Drama and Music" have been announced.  Kendrick Lamar becomes the first non-classical or jazz artist to win a Pulitzer for music when he received the award for his 2017 LP, "DAMN."

----------
TELEVISION - From TheWrap:  John Oliver's HBO show bought Russell Crowe's leather jockstrap that was used in the film, "Cinderella Man."

----------
BOX OFFICE - From BoxOfficeMojo:  The winner of the 4/13 to 4/15/2018 weekend box office is "Rampage" with an estimated take of $34.5 million.

----------
MUSIC - From YahooEntertainment:  The heirs to the estate of the late musician Prince are still squabbling over his estate and have received no money to date.

----------
MUSIC - From IndependentUK:  Beyonce makes history as the first Black woman to headline the Coachella music festival.

----------
TELEVISION - From THR:  Who's who and what's what as Season 4 of "Fear the Walking Dead" begins.

----------
MOVIES - From YahooEntertainment:  William H. Macy talks about his most memorable roles.

OBITS:

From Variety:  The actor Verne Troyer has died at the age of 49, Saturday, April 21, 2018.  Troyer is best known for playing the character "Mini-Me" in two "Austin Powers" films.  At the height of 2 feet 8 inches, Troyer was one of the shortest men in the world.

From Variety:  Recording artist, DJ, and music producer, Tim Bergling, has died at the age of 28, Friday, April 20, 2018.  Best known as "Avicii," he was one of the most successful electronic dance music (EDM) artists of all times.  His hits included "Levels" and "Wake Me Up."  He produced and remixed music for Daft Punk, Madonna, and Coldplay.

From WWE:  Professional wrestler Bruno Sammartino has died at the age of 82, Wednesday, April 18, 2018.  Born in Italy, he became a professional wrestler in 1959 and was best known for his work with the WWWF, now known as the WWE.

From ABC:  Former First Lady Barbara Bush has died at the age of 92, Tuesday, April 17, 2018.  She was the wife of the 41st President of the United States, George Herbert Walker Bush, and mother of the 43rd President, George Walker Bush.  Mrs. Bush was also the mother of the 43rd Governor of the State of Florida, John Ellis "Jeb" Bush, Sr.

From Deadline:  The actor and magician, Harry Anderson, has died at the age of 65, Monday, April 16, 2018.  Anderson was best known for his starring role in the long-running NBC sitcom, "Night Court" (1984 to 1992 - 9 seasons).  He later starred in the CBS sitcom, "Dave's World" (1993 to 1997 - 4 seasons).

From THR:  U.S. Marine,Vietnam veteran, and actor, R. Lee Ermey, has died at the age of 74, Sunday, April 15, 2018.  Ermey may be best remembered for his role as "Gunnery Sergeant Hartman" in Stanley Kubrick's 1987 film, "Full Metal Jacket."  Kubrick allowed Ermey to improvise his performance, which Kubrick rarely did.  He was also a voice performer in Disney/Pixar's "Toy Story" films.

From Variety:  Italian film director, Vittorio Taviani, has died at the age of 88, Sunday, April 15, 2018.  Vittorio and his brother, Paolo (who is still living), directed their films together.  The brothers won the Cannes Film Festival's "Palme d'Or" in 1977 for the film, "Padre padrone."

Review: Tom Cruise's The Mummy is an Odd Duck

TRASH IN MY EYE No. 1 (of 2018) by Leroy Douresseaux

[This review was originally posted on Patreon.]

The Mummy (2017)
Running time:  110 minutes (1 hour, 50 minutes)
MPAA – PG-13 for violence, action and scary images, and for some suggestive content and partial nudity
DIRECTOR:  Alex Kurtzman
WRITERS:  David Koepp, Christopher McQuarrie, and Dylan Kussman; from a screen story by Jon Spaihts, Alex Kurtzman, and Jenny Lumet
PRODUCERS:  Sarah Bradshaw, Sean Daniel, Alex Kurtzman, and Chris Morgan
CINEMATOGRAPHER:  Ben Seresin (D.o.P.)
EDITORS:  Gina Hirsch, Paul Hirsch, and Andrew Mondshein
COMPOSER:  Brian Tyler

FANTASY/ACTION/HORROR

Starring:  Tom Cruise, Annabelle Wallis, Sofia Boutella, Russell Crowe, Jake Johnson, Courtney B. Vance, Marwan Kanzari, and Selva Rasalingam

The Mummy is a 2017 action, horror, and thriller film directed by Alex Kurtzman.  It is a reboot of Universal Pictures' The Mummy franchise and is also the first installment in Universal's Dark Universe cinematic universe.  The Mummy 2017 focuses on an ancient Egyptian princess that hunts the man who awakened her so that she can use him to bring a great evil into the modern world.

In the New Kingdom era of the Egyptian kingdom, Princess Ahmanet (Sofia Boutella) kills her father, the Pharoah Menehptre (Selva Rasalingam), as well as his wife and child so that she can claim the throne for herself.  She is captured and condemned to be mummified alive for eternity as punishment for the murders she committed and for trying to bring her lover, the dark god Set, into the world.

In present-day Iraq, Sergeant Nick Morton (Tom Cruise) and Corporal Chris Vail (Jake Johnson) of the United States Army stumble upon Ahmanet's underground tomb.  Dr. Jennifer “Jenny” Halsey (Annabelle Wallis), who previously had a contentions relationship with Nick, is the archaeologist sent to investigate the tomb.  None of these three people realize that they are about to release an evil that defies human comprehension.  That evil will make Nick a target both of Ahmanet and of Prodigium, a secret society dedicated to hunting supernatural threats.

1990 saw the release of a movie entitled Hudson Hawk.  The film starred Bruce Willis as a thief and was a box office bomb, although I really liked it.  Hudson Hawk was directed by Michael Lehmann, hot off his cult film, Heathers.  The film's producer was Joel Silver, known for some of the most successful and most violent action films of the 1980s.  One of the film's writers was Daniel Water, who rose to prominence for writing Heathers.

Years ago, I read a review of Hudson Hawk in which the critic said that the film was sold as a “Bruce Willis movie,” but it was not – not entirely.  The critic said that the film reflected the differing sensibilities of the primary creative forces behind hit:  Willis, Silver, Lehmann, and Waters, and each of those four men had different ideas about what Hudson Hawk should be.  Hudson Hawk ended up being some kind of mish-mash, hybrid action, adventure, comedy, crime caper, and sci-fi film.

From the time Universal first announced that it was rebooting The Mummy franchise to its completion of the film, The Mummy has involved several directors and writers.  The result is a film that is weird, thin on plot, and encompasses multiple genres while really not belonging to any of them.  The Mummy 2017 really seems like a movie made by too many people with the power to shape the film – a Frankenstein of Hollywood heavyweights making a patchwork of a movie.

There are rumors that Tom Cruise took control of all aspects of the film once he arrived on set.  That is funny to contemplate because Cruise seems out of place in this film.  I cannot help but view it and ask, “What is he doing here?”  I can't think of The Mummy as “a Tom Cruise movie.”

The Mummy 2017 mostly reminds me of how much I like... no, love writer-director Stephen Sommers' turn of the century reboot of Universal's The Mummy franchise.  Starring Brendan Fraser and Rachel Weisz, The Mummy (1999) and The Mummy Returns (2001) were rousing adventure films in the tradition of Raiders of the Ark.  The Mummy 2017 is not rousing and is in the tradition of Hollywood, big-budget, tent pole, franchise-wannabe films that end up being nothing more than another cynical film trying to exploit a moment or a market.

To be fair, The Mummy 2017 did have some interesting, inventive, imaginative, and exciting moments; there were parts of this film that really interested me.  It is not particularly good or bad; it just never really comes together (and sometimes, it is so shamelessly mediocre).  The Mummy 2017 cuts right down the middle, equally okay and equally messy – canceling each other out.  The truth is I really wanted to like this movie... even if it is not a Tom Cruise movie...

5 of 10
C+

Friday, November 17, 2017


The text is copyright © 2017 Leroy Douresseaux. All Rights Reserved. Contact this blog for syndication rights and fees.

----------------------------

Negromancer News Bits and Bites from May 1st to 7th, 2016 - Update #26

Support Leroy on Patreon.

MOVIES - From MoviedotCom:  Tom Hooper won an Oscar for directing "The King's Speech."  Then, he directed the Academy Award-winning film adaptation of "Les Miserables."  Now, he adapting the Tony Award-winning legendary musical, "Cats" into film.

---------------
MOVIES - From Collider:  We finally have a synopsis for "The Mummy" reboot starring Tom Cruise.

---------------
COMICS - From ScreenRant:  There is a strong chance of a "Black Widow" movies, says Marvel super-producer Kevin Feige.

---------------
STAR WARS - From YahooMovies:  Young Han Solo is Alden Ehrenreich.

---------------
COMICS - From XMenMovies:  Play X-Men" retro arcade game.

--------------
TELEVISION - From Variety:  Netflix has ordered a 10-episode series based on Justin Simien's film, "Dear White People."

---------------
MOVIES - From LatinoReview:  Universal is producing a new series of movies based on Anne Rice's "The Vampire Chronicles," and the first movie may have its Lestat.

----------------
BLACK LIVES MATTER - From Truthout:  Man who spent 37 years in Angola for killing to Klanmen cops, dies at 98.

--------------
COMICS - From GMA:  Anthony Mackie makes a surprise appearance at Langley Air Force Base.

---------------
MUSIC - From RSN:  Afeni Shakur, the mother of the late rapper, Tupac Shukar, died Tuesday, May 3, 2016.  She was 69.

---------------
MOVIES - From LatinoReview:  Did you know that Bruce Willis is headlining a remake of Charles Bronson's "Death Wish?"  Well, it has lots its directors.

--------------
TELEVISION - From Variety:  FOX picks up sci-fi TV series from Seth MacFarlane.

--------------
MOVIES - From Variety:  Russell Crowe in talks to star with Tom Cruise in "The Mummy" reboot.

--------------
THEATER - From YahooNews:  "Hamilton" breaks record at the 2016 Tony Award nominations with 16.

---------------
MOVIES - From Variety:  Stephenie Meyer, the creator of the "Twilight" novels, is developing someone else book franchise, "Anna Dressed in Blood," for film.

---------------
POLITICS - From YahooNews:  Sen. Ted Cruz is out of 2016 Republican primary.

---------------
COMICS - From CinemaBlend:  There looks to be some subtraction in Marvel's ABC television plans.

--------------
MOVIES - From TheWrap:  Director Justin Lin of the "Fast and Furious" films is set to direct "Space Jam 2" with LeBron James... Do you remember the original "Space Jam" with Michael Jordan?  Is this a sign of the apocalypse?

---------------
TELEVISION - From DeadlineTV:  Complete list of 2016 Daytime Emmy Award winners.

---------------
TELEVISION - From Variety:  On "Game of Thrones," Jon Snow's fate is revealed.

---------------
BOX OFFICE - From BoxOfficeMojo:  The #1 movie at the box office for the 4/29 to 5/01/2016 weekend is Disney's "The Jungle Book" with a take of $42.4 million.  This is its third week on top.

From Variety:  "Captain America: Civil War" makes it international debut, taking in a haul of $200.2 million in 37 major territories.

---------------
TELEVISION - From Variety:  HBO to sumbit Beyonce's "Lemonade" special for Emmy Awards consideration.

From Variety:  See "The Late Late Show's" James Corden parody "Lemonade."

---------------
POLITICS - From YahooNews:  A list of President Obama's top zingers at 2016 White House Correspondence Dinner.

POLITICS - From YahooNews:   Helen Mirren wears body art and purple dress in tribute to Prince.

---------------
COMICS - From SlashFilm:  Jon Favreau does not rule out directing another Marvel film. He previously directed Iron Man and Iron Man 2.

---------------
COMICS - From FlickeringMyth:   Rumors say that Zack Snyder and Warner Bros. execs are fighting over the direction of their Justice League film.  Warners once called Snyder "visionary director."