TRASH IN MY EYE Reviews: Samuel L. Jackson

Showing posts with label Samuel L. Jackson. Show all posts

Thursday, April 24, 2025

Review: "STAR WARS: EPISODE III - REVENGE OF THE SITH" is Darker Than Ever

TRASH IN MY EYE No. 82 (of 2005) by Leroy Douresseaux

Star Wars: Episode III – Revenge of the Sith (2005)

Running time: 140 minutes (2 hours, 20 minutes)

MPAA – PG-13 for sci-fi violence and some intense images

DIRECTOR: George Lucas

WRITER: George Lucas

PRODUCER: Rick McCallum

CINEMATOGRAPHER: David Tattersall (D.o.P.)

EDITORS: Roger Barton and Ben Burtt

COMPOSER: John Williams

Academy Award nominee

SCI-FI/FANTASY and ACTION/ADVENTURE and WAR/THRILLER

Starring: Ewan McGregor, Natalie Portman, Hayden Christensen, Ian McDiarmid, Samuel L. Jackson, Jimmy Smits, (voice) Frank Oz, Anthony Daniels, Christopher Lee, Keisha Castle-Hughes, Silas Carson, Ahmed Best, and Kenny Baker

Star Wars: Episode III – Revenge of the Sith is a 2005 American science fiction, war, action, and epic space opera film from writer-director George Lucas. It is the sixth film in the Star Wars film franchise, which began with 1977's Star Wars. Revenge of the Sith is chronologically the third film in the “Skywalker Saga,” and is a direct sequel to the second film in the saga, Star Wars: Episode II – Attack of the Clones. Revenge of the Sith opens near the end of the Clone Wars, as a Jedi Master pursues a new threat, while his former apprentice is lured into a sinister plot for galactic domination.

George Lucas had access to digital cameras, computer generated images, or CGI, and better special effects for his Star Wars prequel trilogy, technology he didn’t have when he made his original trilogy. Still, after the first two films of the prequel trilogy, it was obvious that the newer series lacked the heart of the original series. It didn’t seem to resonate with audiences, critics, and hardcore Star Wars fans the way the original had.

That changes with the closing film of the prequel trilogy, Star Wars: Episode III – Revenge of the Sith. Revenge of the Sith is about three times the film that Episodes I and II are, at least the second half of Sith is. The first hour gets bogged down in those SFX that Lucas loves so much and that, because of his over reliance on them, hurt the first two prequel films, but this time improved digital photography makes the merger of the real and CGI appear seamless. Watch this film and you realize that Lucas has learned one thing – make it look so good that they don’t see the smoke dissipating and the mirrors crack.

Star Wars: Episode III – Revenge of the Sith opens three years after the events depicted in Star Wars: Episode II – Attack of the Clones. The war between the Republic and the separatist’s droid army is at a standstill. Led by General Grievous, the separatists have laid siege to the Republic’s capitol home world, and Grievous is holding the Republic’s leader, Supreme Chancellor Palpatine (Ian McDiarmid), hostage. The Jedi heroes, Obi-Wan Kenobi (Ewan McGregor) and Anakin Skywalker (Hayden Christensen), arrive just in time to rescue the Chancellor. After Anakin rescues him, the Machiavellian Palpatine, who has always taken an interest in the young Jedi hero, entices Anakin to become closer to him and takes him into his confidence.

As Jedi leaders, Obi-Wan, Yoda (voice of Frank Oz), and Mace Windu (Samuel L. Jackson) try to hold the Republic together and defeat the separatists. Meanwhile, Anakin begins his journey to the Dark Side, putting his friendship with Obi-Wan and his marriage to his wife, Padmé (Natalie Portman), who is pregnant, at risk.

The CGI (computer generated imagery) and special effects blend in so well with the real actors and (what there is of it) props, better than they have in previous Star Wars films, perhaps because the film was shot using digital cameras. Don’t know, but I know the film looks darn good. Beautiful cinematography, riveting battle scenes set deep in space, over great cities, and in exotic alien locales. Maybe, Lucas decided that Star Wars films work best when they look like the kind of video games that really click with gamers – tight story, but even tighter action. Don’t let drama get in the way of great duels, spectacular battles, and awesome explosions.

The acting is shaky, and the actors deliver 98 percent of the mediocre dialogue in a mantra-like neutral monotone. Hayden Christensen waffles between acceptable and lame. Ewan McGregor is about the same as before. Samuel L. Jackson and Natalie Portman were better than I’d heard in early reviews of this film (at least to me). Ian McDiarmid is suave and deliciously evil as the Supreme Chancellor; he’s the great villain as superb cinematic dessert. Sadly, only the CGI Yoda matches the intensity that McDiarmid brings to his performance as the wicked Palpatine.

I won’t blame it all on the actors because it’s not as if the plot, script, and concept often make sense. Anakin is lame, unlikable, and whiny. The Jedi, at least the prequel version, aren’t as bright and as perceptive as one would assume of a group that wields such power; they certainly don’t have their shit together. Watch them interact with Anakin, and this whole “chosen one” thing just seems like malarkey; he doesn’t act like one, and the rest of the Jedi certainly don’t seem like they know how to handle one or at least monitor one.

Still, in spite of shaky internal logic and the senses-shattering siege of digital glory, Revenge of the Sith is, not only the best of the prequels, it competes with Return of the Jedi to be the best Star Wars film since The Empire Strikes Back. It’s fun, and the second half is so thrilling that it makes up for a meandering first half full of overdone effects. It’s tragic. It’s dark, and it sweetly unites the prequel trilogy with the original, answering some old questions and justifying some of the revisions Lucas has been putting the original series through for two and a half decades. It’s a grand finish, and if you’ve ever seen the 1977 film, Star Wars, or any other Star Wars film, then you must also see this one.

I must add that Star Wars: Episode I – The Phantom Menace is my favorite of the prequel films for nostalgic reasons. It is the only Star Wars film that I watched with a group of friends, whereas I saw the others alone.

It is not that this is a great film, and it’s more skillful than artful. This is simply the best that a Star Wars prequel film could be. Star Wars: Episode III – Revenge of the Sith is the one that brings balance to the Force.

8 of 10

★★★★ out of 4 stars

May 22, 2005

Reedited and rewritten: Tuesday, April 22, 2025

NOTES:

2006 Academy Awards, USA: 1 nomination: “Best Achievement in Makeup” (Dave Elsey and Nikki Gooley)

2006 Grammy Awards: 1 nomination: “Best Score Soundtrack Album for a Motion Picture, Television or Other Visual Media” (John Williams)

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Tuesday, April 22, 2025

Review: "STAR WARS: EPISODE II - ATTACK OF THE CLONES" is Stuffed with Spectacle

TRASH IN MY EYE No. 93 (of 2003) by Leroy Douresseaux

Star Wars: Episode II – Attack of the Clones (2002)

Running time: 142 minutes (2 hours, 22 minutes)

MPAA – PG for sustained sequences of sci-fi action/violence

DIRECTOR: George Lucas

WRITERS: Jonathan Hales and George Lucas; from a story by George Lucas

PRODUCER: Rick McCallum

CINEMATOGRAPHER: David Tattersall (D.o.P.)

EDITOR: Ben Burtt with George Lucas

COMPOSER: John Williams

Academy Award nominee

SCI-FI/FANTASY and ACTION/ADVENTURE/WAR

Starring: Ewan McGregor, Natalie Portman, Hayden Christensen, Christopher Lee, Samuel L. Jackson, Frank Oz (voice), Ian McDiarmid, Temuera Morrison, Jimmy Smits, Ahmed Best (voice), and Anthony Daniels & Kenny Baker

Star Wars: Episode II – Attack of the Clones is a 2002 American science fiction, war, action, and epic space opera film from director George Lucas. It is the fifth film in the “Star Wars” film franchise, which began with 1977's Star Wars. Attack of the Clones is chronologically the second film in the “Skywalker Saga,” and is a direct sequel to the first film in the saga, Star Wars: Episode I – The Phantom Menace. Attack of the Clones finds a Jedi Master investigating the mystery behind a secret clone army allegedly created at the behest of the Jedi, while his young Jedi apprentice engages in romance forbidden by the Jedi Order.

What a difference a year makes. When I first saw Star Wars: Episode II – Attack of the Clones in theaters last year, I hated it. Now a year later, I’ve watched it on home video, and the movie sure seems a lot better. Attack of the Clones is the second of three prequels to Star Wars, the 1977 film that had two sequels. The prequels, of which includes this film and Star Wars: Episode I – The Phantom Menace, are the backstory to Star Wars, what happened before the 1977 film that is now called Star Wars: Episode IV – A New Hope. For one thing, the plot of Episode II is much better than Episode I’s plot.

Star Wars: Episode II – Attack of the Clones begins something like 10 years after Menace. Anakin Skywalker (Hayden Christensen) is now the Padawan learner (apprentice) to his master Obi-Wan Kenobi (Ewan McGregor). The Jedi Council assigns master and student to guard Senator Padme Amidala (Natalie Portman), who has had two close attempts on her life.

While Anakin guards Amidala, Kenobi rushes across the galaxy to track the assassin who targeted her, a bounty hunter named Jango Fett (Temuera Morrison). Kenobi discovers a mysterious Clone Army supposedly ordered ten years earlier by representatives of the galactic Republic. That is just the outer strand of an ever-widening web of mystery and intrigue that began with an attempt on Amidala’s life. Meanwhile, Anakin and Amidala are dangerously falling in love against a backdrop of political turmoil.

There are two holdovers from The Phantom Menace that I had hoped would not make it to Clones, mediocre acting and wooden dialogue. Although the actors seem more comfortable and there is a tad bit more rhythm to the acting, the performances are still too stiff and formal and the dialogue is delivered in an awkward fashion as if everyone in the cast were rank-amateurs. Sometimes I get the feeling that director/creator George Lucas thinks he’s making some great sprawling British epic film in the vein of Sir David Lean, so all of his actors’ speeches must be affected. It just comes across as fake.

The action sequences and fight scenes are good, especially the Yoda (voice of Frank Oz) and Count Dooku (Christopher Lee) lightsaber duel, which has to be seen to be believed. I never knew Yoda had it in him. The special effects in The Phantom Menace were impressive, but no thanks to The Matrix, released the same year, the SFX in The Phantom Menace suddenly seemed dated, compared to the revolutionary work in The Matrix. The SFX are still good in Attack of the Clones, and there is so much of it; sometimes it’s hard to differentiate between what’s live action and what’s computer-generated. However, Star Wars SFX is no longer as awe-inspiring as it once was; now it comes across as looking like the effects in a really good video game.

The film does have the feel of a sprawling epic, but Lucas’s direction hops around too much. He seems uncomfortable dealing with emotion and love in his story lines. He doesn’t have to turn on the waterworks as if this was some Technicolor melodramatic weepy, but he should give the actors enough screen time to make the emotions palatable. Before any kind of mood can be established, Lucas is racing off to the next battle scene. He comfortable staging awesome battles filled war machines of the most fantastic and imaginative designs. However, his “character moments” feel as if he shoehorned them in, if only to remind his audience that this is supposed to be the love story of Anakin and Amidala that would later lead to such tragedy and heartbreak. Before any heat can generate, he drops the personal moments like soiled diapers and is off to the next videogame-style battle scene.

Still, Star Wars fans should like Star Wars: Episode II – Attack of the Clones (which Disney renamed Star Wars: Attack of the Clones) for the most part, and I imagine that it will hold up over time. I know Star Wars fans always have such high hopes. However, after the first two prequels, I think we should understand that the films are meant simply to enforce brand awareness and sell merchandise. Any pretense to cinematic art is just that – a pretense...

6 of 10

★★★ out of 4 stars

RE-edited with some rewriting: Monday, April 21, 2025

NOTES:

2003 Academy Awards, USA: 1 nomination: “Best Visual Effects” (Rob Coleman, Pablo Helman, John Knoll,and Ben Snow)

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Saturday, May 25, 2024

Review: "PULP FICTION" is Still a Wild Child

TRASH IN MY EYE No. 23 of 2024 (No. 1967) by Leroy Douresseaux

Pulp Fiction (1994)

Running time: 154 minutes (2 hours, 34 minutes)

MPAA – R for strong graphic violence and drug use, pervasive strong language and some sexuality

DIRECTOR: Quentin Tarantino

WRITERS: Quentin Tarantino; from stories by Roger Avary and Quentin Tarantino

PRODUCER: Lawrence Bender

CINEMATOGRAPHER: Andrzej Sekula

EDITOR: Sally Menke

Academy Award winner

CRIME/DRAMA

Starring: John Travolta, Uma Thurman, Samuel L. Jackson, Bruce Willis, Ving Rhames, Tim Roth, Amanda Plummer, Phil LaMarr, Frank Whaley, Paul Calderon, Bronagh Gallagher, Rosanna Arquette, Eric Stoltz, Quentin Tarantino, Christopher Walken, and Harvey Keitel

Pulp Fiction is a 1994 crime film from writer-director Quentin Tarantino. The film follows the lives of an ensemble of characters, including two mob hit men, a boxer, a pair of armed robbers, and a gangster and his wife in a series of intertwined tales of violence and redemption.

Thirty years ago, this month, May 1994, brothers Bob and Harvey Weinstein, the then co-chairmen of Miramax Films, blew into France with the entire cast of Pulp Fiction for the 47th Cannes Film Festival. On or about May 21, 1994, the Weinsteins unveiled Pulp Fiction at a midnight screening. From what I read lo those many years ago, that screening cause a sensation. Pulp Fiction would go on to win the festival's top prize, the “Palme d'Or,” for Tarantino.

I had been putting off seeing Pulp Fiction during its initial release, but it was re-released in the spring of 1995 in the run-up to the 67th Academy Awards (March 27, 1995). Pulp Fiction had been nominated for seven Oscars. A friend encourage me to see it with her, which I think we did a week or so before the Oscars. I'd seen Reservoir Dogs (1992), which I considered to be an exceptional film of that time, but even the uncommon nature of Reservoir Dogs did not prepare me for the demented nature of the audacious art that was (and still is) Pulp Fiction. In preparation for this film, I recently rewatched Tarantino's other early films, Jackie Brown (1997) and Reservoir Dogs.

Told out of chronological order, Pulp Fiction is set in and around Los Angeles. It opens in a diner, where a couple, Pumpkin/Ringo (Tim Roth) and Honey Bunny/Yolanda (Amanda Plummer), decide to pull of an armed robbery. Elsewhere, two hit men, Jules Winnfield (Samuel L. Jackson) and Vincent Vega (John Travolta), seek to retrieve a brief case that belongs to their employer, crime boss Marsellus Wallace (Ving Rhames), from a small group of thieves who tried to double-cross Wallace.

Later, Vega takes Wallace's wife, Mia Wallace (Uma Thurman), out to dinner – by request of Marsellus. They banter. They dance. They deal with an overdose. Also, a palooka boxer, Butch Coolidge (Bruce Willis), double-crosses Marsellus. Now, he's on the run, but before the night is done, Butch and Marsellus will find themselves delivered into evil. Finally, Jules meets Pumpkin and Honey Bunny.

Reservoir Dogs is “neo-noir,” which is a modern versions of “Film-Noir,” a term that refers to the stylized Hollywood dramas – especially crime dramas – covering a period from the 1930s to the 1960s. So if Reservoir Dogs is “neo-noir,” Pulp Fiction recalls another vintage American genre of fiction, the storytelling of the pulp magazines and hard-boiled crime novels of the mid-20th century. Tarantino grabs the lurid, exploitative, and sensational, and also the violence and corruption that were featured in some pulps and crime novels and grafts that onto Pulp Fiction's non-linear narrative tale of people living, working, cheating, screwing, and killing in the criminal underground of L.A.

Three decades later, I find that some of the film has not aged will, such as the opening scene at the diner and the early parts of the misadventures of Vincent and Jules. The rest of the film still sparkles with cinematic magic, as Tarantino delights in the myriad elements of both American pop culture and international cinema that he borrows (or steals) for this film. I will say that this film's last act – the diner scene featuring Vincent & Jules and Pumpkin & Honey Bunny – is what keeps Pulp Fiction in place as one of the best films of the 1990s. If I can divide films into increments of a quarter-hour or so, I'd say that Pulp Fiction's last 17 minutes before the end credits form the one of the best sequences of film that I have ever seen.

Seeing it again, I was frozen in place, mesmerized, and riveted by the power of this moment in American cinema. Honestly, Samuel L. Jackson,who was nominated for a “Best Supporting Actor” Oscar for his work in this film, should have won the award based solely on his performance in this last act of Pulp Fiction. And I say that even as I believe that the actor who did win, the late Martin Landau for Tim Burton's Ed Wood, was deserving of the Oscar.

Back in 1994, at the moment Dick Dale & His Del-Tones' 1962 surf rock anthem, “Misirlou,” blasts across the film's soundtrack, Pulp Fiction injected some much needed juice and venom into American cinema, even if some rejected that injection at the time. Someone once described Pulp Fiction as a “succulent guilty pleasure.” I'll still suck on it, and I won't feel guilty about its pleasures.

10 of 10

Saturday, May 25, 2024

NOTES:

1995 Academy Awards, USA: 1 win: “Best Writing, Screenplay Written Directly for the Screen” (Quentin Tarantino and Roger Avary); six nominations: “Best Picture” (Lawrence Bender), “Best Actor in a Leading Role” (John Travolta), “Best Actor in a Supporting Role” (Samuel L. Jackson), “Best Actress in a Supporting Role” (Uma Thurman), “Best Director” (Quentin Tarantino), and “Best Film Editing” (Sally Menke)

1995 BAFTA Awards: 2 wins: “Best Actor in a Supporting Role” (Samuel L. Jackson) and “Best Screenplay – Original” (Quentin Tarantino and Roger Avary); 7 nominations: “Best Film” (Lawrence Bender), “Best Actor” (John Travolta), “Best Actress” (Uma Thurman), “Best Cinematography” (Andrzej Sekula) “David Lean Award for Direction” (Quentin Tarantino), “Best Editing” (Sally Menke), and “Best Sound” (Stephen Hunter Flick, Ken King, Rick Ash, and Dean A. Zupancic)

1995 Golden Globes, USA: 1 win: “Best Screenplay-Motion Picture: (Quentin Tarantino); 5 nominations: “Best Motion Picture – Drama,” “Best Director - Motion Picture” (Quentin Tarantino), “Best Performance by an Actor in a Motion Picture – Drama” (John Travolta), “Best Performance by an Actress in a Supporting Role in a Motion Picture” (Uma Thurman), and “Best Performance by an Actor in a Supporting Role in a Motion Picture” (Samuel L. Jackson)

1994 Cannes Film Festival: 1 win: “Palme d'Or” (Quentin Tarantino)

2013 National Film Preservation Board, USA: National Film Registry

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Sunday, March 17, 2024

Review: "KONG: SKULL ISLAND" is a Monster Movie Paradise

TRASH IN MY EYE No. 14 of 2024 (No. 1958) by Leroy Douresseaux

Kong: Skull Island (2017)

Running time: 118 minutes (1 hour, 58 minutes)

MPAA – PG-13 for intense sequences of sci-fi violence and action, and for brief strong language

DIRECTOR: Jordan Vogt-Roberts

WRITERS: Max Borenstein, Dan Gilroy, and Derek Connolly; from a story by John Gatins

PRODUCERS: Jon Jashni, Mary Parent, Thomas Tull, and Alex Garcia

CINEMATOGRAPHER: Larry Fong (D.o.P.)

EDITOR: Richard Pearson

COMPOSER: Henry Jackman

Academy Award nominee

ADVENTURE/HISTORICAL/HORROR and MILITARY/SCI-FI

Starring: Tom Hiddleston, Samuel L. Jackson, Brie Larson, John C. Reilly, John Goodman, Corey Hawkins, John Ortiz, Tian Jing, Toby Kebbell, Jason Mitchell, Shea Whigham, Thomas Mann, Eugene Cordero, Marc Evan Jackson, Terry Notary, and Richard Jenkins

Kong: Skull Island is a 2017 monster movie, sci-fi military, and period, adventure film directed by Jordan Vogt-Roberts. It is a reboot of the King Kong film franchise and is also the second film in the “MonsterVerse” film series following 2014's Godzilla. Set at the end of the Vietnam war, Kong: Skull Island focuses on a group of military personnel and civilian scientists who must fight to escape an uncharted island full of giant monsters that includes the island's king, the mighty Kong.

Kong: Skull Island introduces Bill Randa (John Goodman), the head of the U.S. government organization, “Monarch.” It is 1973, and the U.S. is ending its mission in Vietnam. Randa fears his time is running out to launch a mission to a recently discovered island that has long been shrouded in mystery and legend, “Skull Island.”

He convinces a U.S. senator to fund an expedition to the island, and subsequently recruits a U.S. Army unit commanded by Lieutenant Colonel Packard (Samuel L. Jackson) to accompany him. Also on the mission are recent Monarch recruits, geologist Houston Brooks (Corey Hawkins) and biologist San Lin (Tian Jing). Randa also hires James Conrad (Tom Hiddleston), a former British Special Air Service Captain, as a hunter-tracker for this expedition. Mason Weaver (Brie Larson), an “anti-war” photographer, forces her way onto the expedition.

The expedition begins with thirteen U.S. army helicopters penetrating the fearsome storms that surround Skull Island. Randa and Brooks told Packard that they wanted to map the island by dropping seismic explosives, and shortly after arriving on the island, Packard's men begin dropping the explosives, which does help to map the island. The explosions also draw the attention of a giant ape, which promptly attacks the helicopters. Soon, the expedition is divided into two groups of survivors. One is led by Packard who wants revenge against the giant ape, and the other by Conrad who wants to reach a rendezvous point where they will be rescued. The giant ape, however, is “Kong,” king of Skull Island, and he isn't the only deadly, giant monster on the island.

The “MonsterVerse” is an American multimedia franchise that includes movies; a streaming live-action television series (Apple TV+) and a streaming animated series (Netflix); books and comic books; and video games. It is a shared fictional universe that includes the character, “Godzilla” and other characters owned and created by the Japanese entertainment company, Toho Co., Ltd. The MonsterVerse is a reboot of Toho's Godzilla franchise. It is also a reboot of the King Kong film franchise, which is based on the character, “King Kong,” that was created by actor and filmmaker, Merian C. Cooper (1893-1973).

The fifth film in the MonsterVerse series, Godzilla x Kong: The New Empire, is due to be released sometime in March, so I have decided to watch and review the previous four films: 2014's Godzilla, 2017's Kong: Skull Island (which is the subject of this review), Godzilla: King of the Monsters (2019), and Godzilla vs. Kong (2021). I have previously seen Godzilla and Kong: Skull Island, but only recently made attempts to review them.

Kong: Skull Island is proudly both a monster movie and a King Kong movie. Like Peter Jackson's 2005 film, King Kong (Universal Pictures), Kong: Skull Island digs into its “lost world” pulp fiction and pre-Code horror movie roots. Kong is as King Kong as any other cinematic version of the character, and the result is an exhilarating film that is fun to watch even after repeated viewings. Most books about writing fiction and screenplays will emphasize that the characters should drive the narrative, but Kong: Skull Island's narrative is driven by its plot, by its other-worldly setting, and especially by its monstrous gods and god-like monsters.

There are quite a few interesting characters in the film. Samuel L. Jackson makes the most of his Lt. Col. Packard, who is driven crazy by his insane mission to kill Kong as a salve for his bitterness about the end of the American misadventure in Vietnam. John C. Reilly once again displays his tremendous character actor chops as the lost-in-time, U.S. Army Air Force Lt. Hank Marlow. Tom Hiddleston is a good heroic lead as James Conrad in a film in which the human hero is not the film's most important character. Brie Larson also shows off her acting skills by chopping out some space for his character, Mason Weaver.

However, the characters are just pawns in the film's plot, which involves surviving Skull Island's various monsters and advancing to the rendezvous point. The setting of Kong: Skull Island is a lost world Eden that is part tropical paradise and part jungle horror, an environment in which the most beautiful place is the most dangerous. The amazing things to see on this island are its deadly denizens, which includes gargantuan spiders, man-snatching carnivorous birds, and seemingly unstoppable lizards that are literally nothing more than perfectly designed death machines. I would be remiss if I didn't mention the practically mute human natives of Skull Island with their dazzling array of face and body painting and eclectic costumes.

At the center of Kong: Skull Island is the film's most important character and element, Kong, himself. He is a thing of beauty, the best special effect in a movie favored with enough impressive CGI to have earned itself an Oscar nomination for “Best Achievement in Visual Effects.” Kong's introduction into the story, a breathtaking display of fight choreography pitting him against a squadron of military helicopters, is as good as the best fight scenes audiences will find in the top superhero movies. Whatever glitches in the overall narrative and character development Kong: Skull Island has, Kong's introduction glosses over. Kong is made king again in Kong: Skull Island, and that is why it is a damn shame that there is not a Kong: Skull Island 2.

[This film has an extra scene at the end of the credits.]

A-

7 of 10

★★★½ out of 4 stars

Sunday, March 17, 2024

NOTES:

2018 Academy Awards, USA: 1 nomination: “Best Achievement in Visual Effects” (Stephen Rosenbaum, Jeff White, Scott Benza, and Michael Meinardus)

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Friday, November 10, 2023

Review: "THE MARVELS" is a Fun-Filled Marvel

TRASH IN MY EYE No. 49 of 2023 (No. 1938) by Leroy Douresseaux

The Marvels (2023)

Running time: 105 minutes (1 hour, 45 minutes)

MPAA – PG-13 for action/violence and brief language

DIRECTOR: Nia DaCosta

WRITERS: Nia DaCosta, Megan McDonnell, and Elissa Karasik

PRODUCER: Kevin Feige

CINEMATOGRAPHER: Sean Bobbitt (BSC)

EDITORS: Catrin Hedström and Evan Schiff

COMPOSER: Laura Karpman

SUPERHERO/SCI-FI/ACTION with elements of comedy

Starring: Brie Larson, Teyonah Parris, Iman Vellani, Zawe Ashton, Gary Lewis, Park See-joon, Zenobia Shroff, Mohan Kapur, Saagar Shaikh, Leila Farzad, Abraham Popoola, Lashana Lynch, and Samuel L. Jackson, Tessa Thompson, Hailee Steinfeld, and Kelsey Grammer

REVIEW SUMMARY:

The Marvels is a direct sequel to the film, Captain Marvel (2019), and a continuation of the Disney+ miniseries, “Ms. Marvel” (2022).

The story brings Carol Danvers/Captain Marvel, Monica Rambeau, and Kamala Khan/Ms. Marvel together to stop a Kree warrior named Dar-Benn from destroying several worlds in a bid to save the Kree home world, Hala.

The film is short and sweet and is also a quirky and weird science fiction superhero film that is similar in tone to Marvel's Guardians of the Galaxy franchise and to the Marvel film, Thor: Ragnarok (2017).

The Marvels' plot is a bit scattershot, but the fight and action scenes are highly energetic, resulting in a fun Marvel film full of likable characters.

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The Marvels is a 2023 superhero film directed by Nia DaCosta and produced by Marvel Studios. The film is the 33rd entry in the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU) and is also a direct sequel to 2019's Captain Marvel. The Marvels is also a continuation of the Disney+/Marvel Studios television miniseries, "Ms. Marvel" (2022).

The film is headlined by the Marvel Comics character, Carol Danvers, who first appeared in the comic book, Marvel Super-Heroes #13 (cover dated: March 1968), and who later became Captain Marvel. In The Marvels, Captain Marvel gets her powers entangled with two other similarly-powered individuals, forcing the trio to work together to save the universe.

The Marvels opens with a focus on Hala, the capital planet of the Kree Empire. The collapse of the empire's “Supreme Intelligence” leads to a civil war among the Kree on their home world of Hala. The result is that the planet is becoming barren as it loses its natural resources and its sun is rapidly going dark. Dar-Benn (Zawe Ashton), the new leader of the Kree, retrieves one of two “Quantum Bands.” She hopes to harness its power and to pair it with her staff, “the Universal Weapon,” as part of her scheme to save Hala.

On Earth, specifically in a home in Jersey City, New Jersey, teenager Kamala Khan (Iman Vellani), who is also the superhero, “Ms. Marvel,” is dealing with teenage and family issues. Kamala also happens to possess the other half of the Quantum Bands.

Meanwhile, above the Earth, Nick Fury (Samuel L. Jackson), now residing at the S.A.B.E.R. space station, has detected a “jump point” (which allows for hyperspace travel) anomaly caused by Dar-Benn. Nick Fury calls in Carol Danvers/Captain Marvel (Brie Larson) and Monica Rambeau (Teyonah Parris), an astronaut who has the ability to manipulate all wavelengths of the electromagnetic spectrum, to investigate the jump point anomaly near S.A.B.E.R.

When Monica touches the jump point at the same time as Captain Marvel, it causes a reaction in which Monica, Carol, and Kamala switch places through teleportation. Now, this reaction brings the three young women together in order to stop Dar-Benn from destroying several worlds in order to save her home world, Hala. And Kamala thinks that she, Carol, and Monica can best do this as a team, a super-team she names “The Marvels.

In addition to being a sequel to the 2019 film, Captain Marvel, and being a continuation of the Ms. Marvel TV series, The Marvels includes story elements that appear in the Disney+ Marvel Studios miniseries, “WandaVision” (2021) and “Secret Invasion” (2023). There are also elements from Avengers: Infinity War (2018) and Avengers: Endgame (2019). At this point, I wonder if watching Marvel movies means having to be familiar with what has happened in too many previous films and television series. There is also a scene that runs in the middle of the end credits that references other movies based on Marvel Comics characters.

Still, I love The Marvels. I have not subscribed to Disney+, and I only saw the fifth and sixth episodes of the Ms. Marvels miniseries when it was aired on the ABC broadcast network in early September (2023). I love The Marvels because I can figure out what is going on without having seen everything else it references. If I really want to know more, I can read Wikipedia summaries of the Disney+ series that I have not seen.

The Marvels is marvelously enjoyable. It is a science fiction adventure comedy that makes a comedy of physical errors out of every fight. It's more like Guardians of the Galaxy (2014) and Thor: Ragnarok (2017) than it is like any other Marvel film. Director Nia DaCosta and her co-writers take time to develop the relationship between Carol Danvers/Captain Marvel, Monica Rambeau, and Kamala Khan/Ms. Marvel. Also, giving so much time to Kamala family: her mother, Muneeba Khan (Zenobia Shroff); her father, Yusuf Khan (Mohan Kapur); and her older brother, Aamir Khan (Saagar Shaikh), gives the film a human element that keeps the sci-fi, outer space weirdness of The Marvels from entirely taking over the narrative. Yes, the plot is a bit scattershot, but The Marvels is kinetic and packs a lot energy in its fight and action scenes.

The Marvels also gives us a lighter, funnier side of Nick Fury, and, the delights of Goose, the cat-like “Flerken” alien is multiplied this time. Dar-Benn turns out to be one of the more ruthless and interesting of the MCU's recent villains. And if that isn't enough, The Marvels has one of the MCU's best (if not the best) extra credit scenes. The Marvels is refreshingly short, and while it is more loose than cohesive, it does remind me of one thing. Every trip to the world of Marvel Studios' films is an out of this world experience.

[The film includes one extra-credits scenes that takes place during the middle of the credits (mid-credits).]

8 of 10

★★★★ out of 4 stars

Friday, November 10, 2023

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Tuesday, October 31, 2023

Negromancer News Bits and Bites from October 22nd to 31st, 2023 - Update #29

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

You can support Leroy via Paypal or on Patreon:

ENTERTAINMENT AND CULTURE NEWS:

MOVIES - From Deadline: Quiver Distribution announced they have completed production on the military action/science fiction film, "Agent Recon." It features legendary martial arts expert and action film and TV hero, Chuck Norris (The Expendables 2, "Walker Texas Ranger"). Quiver and will launch sales at the 2023 American Film Market (AFM), which takes place Oct. 31st to Nov. 5th.

AMAZON - From Deadline: Michael B. Jordan's production company, Outlier Society, will join Amazon MGM Studios to develop Rebecca Yarros' fantasy novel series, "The Empyrean," for television.

From Variety: Amazon MGM Studios is in the early stages of developing a TV series based on the 1982 film, "Poltergeist."

MOVIES - From THR: David Robert Mitchell is ready to make a sequel to his hit horror film, It Follows (2014). Mitchell is taking "They Follow" to the 2023 American Film Market (AFM), where film people try to find buyers for new films and projects. The fun starts Oct. 31st and ends Nov. 5th.

BOX OFFICE - From BoxOfficePro: The winner of the 10/27 to 10/29/2023 weekend box office is "Five Nights at Freddy's" with an estimated take of 78 million dollars.

From THR: It's 78 million dollar opening weekend gives "Five Nights at Freddy's" the largest box office opening for a Halloween weekend.

MOVIES - From Deadline: Jason Statham will star in the film, "Levon's Trade," directed by David Ayer from a script by Sylvester Stallone.

STREAMING - From Deadline: On Fri., Oct. 27th, Spectrum SportsNet and the Los Angeles Lakers announced the launch of "Spectrum SportsNet+." This is a new direct-to-consumer streaming subscription service that will deliver a 24/7 feed of Spectrum SportsNet programming, including live Lakers games and behind-the-scenes Lakers content. Now available, it is free to existing Spectrum SportsNet customers. Others will pay $19.99 a month or $179.99.

DISNEY - From THR: Disney releases a first-look at its film, "Disney's Snow White," a live-action version of its classic animated feature film, "Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs" (1937). The other news is that the film is moving to a 2025 release date from its original March 2024 release date. This will be first of many release date changes as the Hollywood actors' strike continues.

AMAZON - From THR: Amazon's ad revenue soars to $12 billion - in the third quarter.

POLITICS - From Medium: Former President Barack Obama offers "Thoughts on Israel and Gaza."

BOX OFFICE - From Deadline: There is a new film in The Hunger Games franchise. "The Hunger Games: The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes" looks to have a strong box office debut.

MUSIC - From Variety: Taylor Swift, SZA, and Morgan Wallen lead the nominations for the 2023 Billboard Music Awards. The winners will be announced Nov. 19th.

MOVIES - From Variety: While promoting his new film, "Killers of the Flower Moon," Martin Scorsese comments on fellow director Quentin Tarantino's impending retirement.

SCANDAL - From Deadline: In a hearing today (Wed. Oct. 25th), New York Supreme Court Judge Michael Gaffey denied a defense motion to dismiss the domestic abuse charges that actor Jonathan Majors (Creed III) is facing. Judge Gaffey set a start date of November 29th for the trial.

MOVIES - From Deadline: "Mission: Impossible - Dead Reckoning Part Two," starring Tom Cruise, changes its release date from June 28, 2024 to May 23, 2025.

NETFLIX - From Deadline: Filmmaker and media mogul Tyler Perry has struck a new, multi-year first-look deal with Netflix that will see him write, direct and produce features for the streamer. Perry signed a deal with Amazon Studios in November 2022 to write, direct and produce four features for Prime Video.

AMAZON - From Deadline: "Good Omens" hopes to be renewed for a third and final season on Amazon Prime. If it renewed, co-showrunner Douglas Mackinnon will not return. The series is based on the book by Neil Gaiman and Terry Pratchett.

SCANDAL - From Deadline: During his stand-up performance at the TD Garden in Boston on Thurs., Oct. 19th, comedian Dave Chappelle addressed the events in Israel-Palestine and the audience reacted with cheers, jeers, and walk-outs.

BOX OFFICE - From BoxOfficePro: The winner of the 10/20 to 10/22/2023 weekend box office is "Taylor Swift: The Eras Tour" with an estimated take of 31 million dollars.

DISNEY - From ScreenRant: Disney has confirmed "Zootopia 2," the sequel to its 2016 Oscar-winning hit, Zootopia. The sequel may not arrive in theaters until 2028.

OBITS:

From Variety: Television and film actor, Matthew Perry, has died at the age of 54, Saturday, October 28, 2023. Perry was best known for the role of "Chandler Bing" in the long-running former NBC sitcom, "Friends" (1994-2004), a role for which he received one Primetime Emmy nomination in the category of "Outstanding Lead Actor in a Comedy Series." Perry would receive two more Emmy nominations for his guest role in the former NBC drama, "The West Wing" (2003) and another Emmy nomination for his starring role in the television film, "The Ron Clark Story" (2006, TNT). His final Emmy nod came as an executive producer on HBO Max's "Friends: The Reunion" special (2021).

From Deadline: In a joint statement to "People," the five surviving leads of the former NBC sitcom, "Friends": Jennifer Aniston, Courteney Cox, Lisa Kudrow, Matt LeBlanc, and David Schwimmer said “We are all so utterly devastated by the loss of Matthew. We were more than just cast mates. We are a family. There is so much to say, but right now we’re going to take a moment to grieve and process this unfathomable loss.”

From Deadline: Canadian Prime Minister, Justin Trudeau, paid an emotional tribute to his former classmate, "Friends" actor, Matthew Perry, who died on Sat., Oct. 28th. They both attended Rockcliffe Park Public School in Ottawa, Canada.

From Deadline: The Hollywood "breaking news" site, "Deadline," has a page dedicated to the recently deceased "Friends" actor, Matthew Perry.

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From Deadline: The film and television actor, Richard Roundtree, has died at the age of 81, Tuesday, October 25, 2023. Roundtree is considered to be "the first black action hero" for his most famous role, the private detective, John Shaft, in the 1971 film, "Shaft." He played the role in two sequels, "Shaft's Big Score!" (1972) and "Shaft in Africa" (1973), as well as a series to TV films for CBS during the 1973-74 broadcast season. He would return to the role in the "contemporary sequels," "Shaft" (2000) and "Shaft" (2019). In addition to his film roles, he made numerous TV appearances, including in such TV miniseries and series as "Roots," "Murder, She Wrote," "Beauty and the Beast," and "Desperate Housewives," to name a few.

From Deadline: Richard Roundtree (1942-2023) - a life in photographs.

From Deadline: Samuel L. Jackson offers a remembrance of his late co-star, Richard Roundtree.

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ACTORS STRIKE:

From Deadline: Striking actors are set to meet the studios today for Halloween negotiations, but they are still "far apart on key issues."

From Variety: SAG-AFTRA (actors) and AMPTP (studios) will resume strike negotiations tomorrow (Tues., Oct. 24th).

From Deadline: SAG-AFTRA President Fran Drescher says that the offer from top-earning Hollywood actors to chip in some money to help end the strike "isn't legally compatible with the union's contract.

From Deadline: Top earning Hollywood actors want to chip in some money to end the SAG-AFTRA strike.

From Deadline: George Clooney, Emma Stone, Ben Affleck, Tyler Perry and Scarlett Johansson were among a group of top talent guild members that spoke Tuesday (Oct. 17th) with guild president Fran Drescher and chief negotiator Duncan Crabtree-Ireland for a detailed debrief, we hear.

From Deadline: The movie studios via AMPTP have suspended their talks with striking actors via SAG-AFTRA. The snag seems to be that actors want "2 precent of potential profits" on streaming.

From Variety: SAG-AFTRA (the actors) and AMPTP (the studios) are to resume strike talks Wed., Oct. 11th, as the actors strike enters Day 88.

From Deadline: The Screen Actors Guild (SAG) and the Hollywood studios CEOs met for strike talks for the first time since the actors went on strike July 14th. They plan to meet again, Wed., Oct. 4th.

BREAKING - From Deadline: The Writers Guild of America (WGA) has reached a tentative agreement with the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers (AMPTP) to end its strike after nearly five months. The parties finalized the framework of the deal Sunday when they were able to untangle their stalemate over AI and writing room staffing levels.

From WGAContract: The WGA contract page has additional information on the settlement.

From WGAContract: A summary of the new agreement.

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From Deadline: The actors’ strike is now in its 63rd day. Now, SAG-AFTRA leaders are ramping up their rhetoric against the studio heads, accusing them in the latest issue of the "SAG-AFTRA Magazine" of “behaving like petty tyrants,” “would-be feudal lords” and “land barons in feudal times.”

From Deadline: Sony Pictures Entertainment CEO Tony Vinciquerra says that Hollywood unions need to embrace AI.

From Deadline: Warner Bros. Discovery boss David Zaslav says the industry must focus and fight to resolve the writers and actors strikes.

From Deadline: Hollywood’s superstars are answering the call from the SAG-AFTRA Foundation, donating $1 million or more each to help their fellow performers during the ongoing actors and writers strikes. Among the big donors are Leonardo DiCaprio, Meryl Streep, Oprah Winfrey, and Ryan Reynolds and Blake Lively.

From Deadline: If you are interested, here is a list of the film and TV productions SAG-AFTRA has granted waivers to continue filming.

From Variety: International superstar, Dwayne Johnson, makes a seven-figure contribution to the "SAG-AFTRA Foundation Relief Fund." Foundation president, actor Courtney B. Vance, says the amount will remain confidential.

From Variety: Why haven't A-list stars joined the SAG-AFTRA picket line?, asks "Variety."

From Deadline: Author George R.R. Martin, whose works were the basis for HBO's "Game of Thrones," says the strikes will be long and bitter.

From Variety: Halted film productions due to the writers and actors strikes are costing each Hollywood studio at least 600,000 dollars per week.

From Variety: Said at a strike meeting: “Without a transformative change in SAG-AFTRA’s current contract with the AMPTP, the acting profession will no longer be an option for future generations of performers, and actors already working in the industry will need to pursue other careers in order to survive.”

From Deadline: If you are a "social media influencer" who is NOT a member of SAG-AFTRA, you can be barred from future membership for promoting a film or television series during the actors' strike.

From Variety: The SAG/AFTRA strike begins in New York and Los Angeles. Hollywood actors began striking today, Fri., July 14th.

From Deadline: The site has the video of the powerful strike speech given by SAG-AFTRA president, Fran Drescher, the actress best known for CBS' former sitcom, "The Nanny."

From Deadline: SAG-AFTRA is already preparing strike picket signs in case the actors' strike begins next week.

From Deadline: The Hollywood studios via the AMPTP has given Canadian actors a new contract, including a 5 percent raise.

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Friday, December 30, 2022

Review: Pam Grier is Radiant in "JACKIE BROWN," Tarantino's Best (Maybe) Film

TRASH IN MY EYE No. 77 of 2022 (No. 1889) by Leroy Douresseaux

Jackie Brown (1997)

Running time: 154 minutes (2 hours, 34 minutes)

MPAA – R for strong language, some violence, drug use and sexuality

DIRECTOR: Quentin Tarantino

WRITER: Quentin Tarantino (based upon the novel by Elmore Leonard)

PRODUCER: Lawrence Bender

CINEMATOGRAPHER: Guillermo Navarro

EDITOR: Sally Menke

Academy Award nominee

DRAMA/CRIME

Starring: Pam Grier, Samuel L. Jackson, Robert Forster, Bridget Fonda, Michael Keaton, Robert De Niro, Michael Bowen, Chris Tucker, LisaGay Hamilton, Tom Lister, Jr., Hattie Winston, Sid Haig, Aimee Graham, Tangie Ambrose, and T'Keyah Crystal Keymah

Jackie Brown is a 1997 drama and crime film from writer-director Quentin Tarantino. It is based on Elmore Leonard's 1992 novel, Rum Punch. Jackie Brown the movie focuses on a flight attendant who schemes with an aging bail bondsman in a bid to defeat both the ATF and her boss who smuggles guns into Mexico.

Jackie Brown introduces 44-year-old, Jackie Brown (Pam Grier), a flight attendant for the low-budget Mexican airline, Cabo Air. She smuggles money from Mexico into the United States for her (kind of) boss, Ordell Robbie (Samuel L. Jackson), a gun runner in Los Angeles. One day, Ordell's courier, Beaumont Livingston (Chris Tucker), is arrested, and he snitches about Ordell's business.

Acting on that information, LAPD Detective Mark Dargus (Michael Bowen) and Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) agent, Ray Nicolette (Michael Keaton), intercept Jackie while she is returning with some of Ordell's cash, with a small bag of cocaine thrown in. Dargus and Nicolette use the cocaine to threaten Jackie with serious criminal charges and hard prison time.

Ordell hires bail bondsman, Max Cherry (Robert Forster), of Cherry Bail Bonds, to bail Jackie out of jail. Feeling trapped between Ordell and the law, Jackie conspires with Max to pretend to give both sides what they want – Ordell the money and the ATF Ordell. If this heist works, Jackie and Max will secure her future with half a million dollars of Ordell's money.

Jackie Brown is obviously writer-director Quentin Tarantino's ode to 1970s blaxploitation films. The film is also a star vehicle that Tarantino created for the actress playing the title role in Jackie Brown, the great Pam Grier. She starred in some of the most fondly remembered and popular blaxploitation films, most notably Coffy (1973) and Foxy Brown (1974). The roles in those two films obviously inspired the role of “Jackie Brown,” although “Flower Child Coffin” a.k.a “Coffy” (of Coffy) and Foxy Brown are action heroes. Instead, Tarantino makes Jackie Brown a world-weary woman, not an action hero, but a working woman willing to take the action that will help her make her way in the world.

Grier plays Jackie Brown with subtlety and grace, making Jackie comfortable in her skin. Her sexiness is not forced, but radiates from her, buoyed by her confidence. Grier makes it seem quite genuine that Brown would one day finally have enough with getting the crappy end of the stick in life. Jackie takes a chance, and with nothing to lose, she works her magic. Grier also works her magic, and the audience can believe that she is going to pull off this implausible heist of Ordell's money and also trick the ATF and LAPD by giving them only some of what they want. Here, Grier gives the best performance of her career, and it is a shame that Hollywood has under-utilized her amazing talent and screen presence.

I have not seen enough of his performances to say that Max Cherry is actor Robert Forster's best performance of his career. Playing Max revitalized Forster's career, which was mostly stalled at the time. With charming stoicism, Forster perfectly plays the calm, wise, and a little weary, Max Cherry, one of the most perfect characters that Tarantino ever wrote. Forster also convinces us that he has so totally fallen for Jackie Brown that he is willing to do everything she wants even if it is everything that he should not do.

I also think that Ordell Robbie is Samuel Jackson's best performance. Ordell is an example of what would become the stereotypical Samuel L. Jackson character – the menacing, bad-ass Black man who loves to shoot people and curse up a storm. However, Jackson makes Ordell a man full of angles and twists. He is coarse with a trashy sophistication; he is menacing, but sentimental in odd ways. He is not nearly as smart as he thinks he is, so he is ultimately a cheap hood with enough low-rent ambitions to make himself a doomed idiot.

Tarantino uses Grier, Forster, and Jackson's performances and those of several others (Robert De Niro, Bridget Fonda, and Michael Keaton) to give his usual style, wit, humor, and rapid-fire bravado traction and depth. Jackie Brown does not have the snappy banter nor the nonlinear antics of Tarantino's previous film, Pulp Fiction. Jackie Brown's narrative is a straight story, Tarantino's most substantive film to date. It may be an ode to blaxploitation and also a smooth heist film, but most of all, Jackie Brown is a character drama. With a superb soundtrack behind it (focusing on “The Delfonics” 1969 classic song, “Didn't I (Blow Your Mind This Time)”), Tarantino uses a slow pace to weave a delightful Los Angeles crime story about the criminal things people do when they are desperate … or in love.

I think that Quentin Tarantino and Pam Grier are a match made in cinematic heaven. 2022 is the twenty-fifth anniversary of Jackie Brown's original theatrical release (December 8, 1997). Jackie Brown has aged well, and for me, it gets better every time I watch it.

10 of 10

A+

Friday, December 30, 2022

NOTES:

1998 Academy Awards, USA: 1 nomination: “Best Actor in a Supporting Role” (Robert Forster)

1998 Golden Globes, USA: 2 nominations: “Best Performance by an Actress in a Motion Picture-Comedy or Musical” (Pam Grier) and “Best Performance by an Actor in a Motion Picture-Comedy or Musical” (Samuel L. Jackson)

1998 Image Awards (NAACP): 1 nominations: “Outstanding Lead Actress in a Motion Picture” (Pam Grier)

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Saturday, March 5, 2022

Negromancer News Bits and Bites from March 1st to 5th, 2022 - Update #16

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

You can support Leroy via Paypal or on Patreon:

ENTERTAINMENT AND CULTURE NEWS:

MOVIES - From THR: Will Smith is returning for the long-talked about sequel to his hit 2007 film, "I Am Legend." This time actor Michael B. Jordan will also star in the film as well as be one of its producers.

MOVIES - From Deadline: The first photographic image has been released from the action film, "Dead Zone," which stars Michael Jai White and Chad Michael Collins.

MOVIES - From Deadline: Reportedly, rapper Jack Harlow's first screen audition lands him a role in the reboot of writer-director Ron Shelton's 1992 sports comedy, "White Men Can't Jump."

TRAILER - From Deadline: There is a trailer for the 50th Anniversary re-release of Francis Ford Coppola's "The Godfather." This film and the others in the series will also have a 4K Ultra HD and Ultra Blu-ray release.

STREAMING - From Variety: Actor Anthony Mackie will star in and executive produce a TV series based on the Sony Playstation video game, "Twisted Metal." The series is being produced for NBCUniversal's streaming service, Peacock.

OSCARS - From Variety: Samuel L. Jackson says, ‘I Should’ve Won’ an Oscar, but Oscars Don’t Get ‘Asses in Seats’ Like I Do

TRAILER - From Variety: Sony Pictures has released the official trailer for the stylish action movie, "Bullet Train" starring Brad Pitt and directed David Leitch.

MOVIES - From Consequence: There is a report that says that Oscar-winning film producer, Brad Pitt, has come on board as a producer on the long-rumored sequel to "Beetlejuice" (1988).

ANIMATION - From Deadline: The beloved sci-fi animated comedy, "Futurama," is returning on Hulu with 20 episodes and with "Bender" voice actor, John DiMaggio.

NETFLIX - From Deadline: On the comeback trail, actress Lindsay Lohan strikes two-picture deal with Netflix.

AWARDS - From Deadline: The winners of the 2022 / 22nd annual Black Reel Awards were announced Monday evening, Feb. 28th in a livestream. The Black Western, "The Harder They Fall" led with 6 wins, and "King Richard" was named "Outstanding Film" of 2021.

DISNEY - From Deadline: The Walt Disney Company is temporarily pulling its theatrical releases from Russian movie theaters due to Russia's invasion of the nation of Ukraine.

BOX OFFICE - From BoxOfficeMojo: The winner of the 2/25 to 2/27/2022 weekend box office is Sony Pictures' "Uncharted" with a take of 23 million dollars.

MOVIES - From CNN: Mid-budget Hollywood movies are in decline. What does that mean for American cinema?

OBITS:

From Deadline: American film executive and film producer, Alan Ladd, Jr., has died at the age of 84, Wednesday, March 2, 2022. Ladd won an Oscar for producing "Braveheart" with Mel Gibson and Bruce Davey. He was also the president of 20th Century Fox who approved the production of "Star Wars" and he was an executive at MGM/UA.

From Deadline: Broadway and television actor, Ned Eisenberg, has died at the age of 65, Sunday, February 27, 2022. Eisenberg was best known for his recurring role on NBC's "Law & Order: Special Victim's Unit" as the villainous defense attorney Roger Kressler. Eisenberg had a prolific career in film and TV and on stage.

From Deadline: Actress Farrah Forke has died at the age of 54, Friday, February 25, 2022. Forke is best known for her recurring role as "Alex Lambert" on Seasons 4 through 6 of NBC's former sitcom, "Wings." She also appeared on ABC's former romantic drama, "Lois & Clark: The New Adventures of Superman" and the CBS comedy, "Dweebs."

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94TH ACADEMY AWARDS:

OSCARS - From Variety: The nominations for the 2022 / 94th Academy Awards have been announced. "The Power of the Dog" leads with 12 nominations. The winners will be revealed March 27th.

From Deadline: With his "Best Actor" nomination for "The Tragedy of Macbeth," Denzel Washington is the most nominated Black actor is Oscar history. He has been nominated in two acting categories a total of 10 times with two wins total.

From Variety: With her "Best Director" Oscar nomination for "The Power of the Dog," Jane Campion becomes the first woman nominated twice in that category. She was previously nominated in that category for "The Piano" (1993).

From Variety: With his three nominations today, Kenneth Branagh of "Belfast" becomes the first person to have been nominated in seven individual categories over his career.

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MOVIE AWARDS:

From Deadline: The winners at the 2022 / 28th annual SAG Awards. "CODA" wins the top prize, "Outstanding Performance by a Cast in a Motion Picture."

From Variety: Here is a complete list of winners at 2022 / 53rd NAACP Image Awards in the film, television and music categories. Jennifer Hudson was named "Entertainer of the Year."

From Deadline: The 2022 / 9th annual Make-Up Artists & Hair Stylists Guild Awards were announced. The Amazon film, "Coming 2 America" (the sequel to the 1988 film, "Coming to America"), led with three wins.

From Deadline: The 2022 BAFTA Film Awards nominations have been announced. "Dune" leads with 11 nominations. The winners will be announced March 13th.

From Deadline: The 2022 / 33rd annual Producers Guild of America Awards nominations have been announced. The winners will be announced Saturday, March 19th.

From Deadline: The nominations for the 2022 / 74th annual Directors Guild Awards have been announced. The winners will be announced March 12th.

From COFCA: The Columbus Film Critics Association name "The Power of the Dog" the "Best Film" of 2021.

From Deadline: Netflix's Black Western, "The Harder They Fall," was named the "Best Picture" of 2021 at the 13th annual African American Film Critics Association Awards. The Western tied with "King Richard" for most wins with four. Will Smith was named "Best Actor" for "King Richard."

From Deadline: The nominations for the 2022 / 28th Screen Actors Guild Awards have been announced.

From Variety: The snubs and surprises in the nominations for the 28th Screen Actors Guild Awards.

From Variety: At the 2022 / 79th Golden Globes, "The Power of the Dog" wins "Best Motion Picture-Drama" and "West Side Story" wins "Best Motion Picture-Musical or Comedy."

From Variety: The National Society of Film Critics names the Japanese film, "Drive My Car," the best film of 2021.

From AwardsWatch: The nominations for the 22nd Annual Black Reel Awards were announced a few weeks ago. Netflix's Black Western, "The Harder They Fall," has a record 20 nominations. The winners will be announced February 27, 2022.

From AwardsWatch: The Columbus Film Critics Association announced the nominations for their annual film awards. Director Jane Campion's "The Power of the Dog" leads with 12 noms. The winners will be announced Thurs., Jan. 6th, 2022.

From Deadline: The Los Angeles Film Critics Association has named the Japanese film, "Drive My Car," the "Best Picture" of 2021.

From Deadline: The 2022 / 37th annual Film Independent Spirit Awards have announced their nominations. "Zola" leads with six nominations. The winners will be announced Sun., March 6, 2022.

From THR: The 2022 / 79th Golden Globes Awards nominations have been announced. "Belfast" and "The Power of the Dog" lead with seven nominations each. Winners will be announced Jan. 9th, 2022.

From GoldDerby: The 2022 Critics Choice Awards nominations have been announced. "Belfast" and "West Side Story" leads with 11 nominations each. Winners will be announced Jan. 9th, 2022.

From Deadline: The American Film Institute announced the "2021 AFI Awards" Top 10 list, and the list includes "Dune," "The Tragedy of Macbeth," and "West Side Story."

From THR: Director Aleem Khan's "After Love" tops the 2021 British Independent Film Awards, winning six awards, including "Best Film of 2021."

From Variety: The New York Film Critics Circle has named the Japanese drama, "Drive My Car," as the "Best Film of 2021."

From Deadline: The National Board of Review hands director Paul Thomas Anderson's "Licorice Pizza" it "Best Film" and "Best Director" awards. Will Smith picks up the "Best Actor" award for "King Richard."

From THR: Netflix’s "The Lost Daughter," directed by actress Maggie Gyllenhaal, dominated the 2021 Gotham Awards in New York on Monday night (Nov. 29th). The film won in four of the five categories in which it was nominated, including "Best Feature."

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"RUST" ACCIDENTAL SHOOTING DEATH:

From Deadline: This link will take you to Deadline's Halyna Hutchins page, which articles related to everything about her shooting death on the set of the Western film, "Rust."

From Deadline: Matt Hutchins, the husband of Halyna Hutchins, blames Alec Baldwin for Halyna's accidental shooting death on the set of the doomed Western film, "Rust."

From Deadline: The family and estate of Halyna Hutchins has filed suit against Alec Baldwin (who accidentally shot Hutchins), a slew of production companies and entities, producers, and key crew members involved in the Western film, "Rust," for her death.

From THR: A Republican New Mexico legislator, State Sen. Cliff Pirtle of Roswell, on Monday introduced a bill that would require all film set personnel who handle firearms to complete a safety course offered by the New Mexico Game and Fish Department. This is in the wake a cinematographer, Halyna Hutchins, being fatally shot on the set of the Western, "Rust," last year by Alec Baldwin with a weapon he says he thought was not loaded with live ammunition.

From Deadline: Alec Baldwin and the other producers of the doomed Western film, "Rust," want a California judge to dismiss the lawsuit filed against them by the script supervisor, Mamie Mitchell.

From Deadline: Alec Baldwin has finally turned over his cell phone to police for their probe into the fatal shooting of cinematographer Halyna Hutchins on the set of Baldwin's Western film, "Rust," last October in New Mexico.

From Variety: One of the producers of tragic Western film, Rust, Emily Salveson, pushes tax shelters and hid income.

From THR: "I let go of the hammer and 'Bang,' the gun goes off" says Alec Baldwin says in his first interview of the moment when a gun he was holding accidentally killed cinematographer Halyna Hutchins on the set of the Western film, "Rust."

From Deadline: Alec Baldwin will sit down with ABC's news-reading clown George Stephanopoulos for a one hour special tomorrow night to talk about what happened on the set of the movie "Rust." It will be Baldwin’s first extensive interview about the shooting.

From Deadline: Industry veteran, Thall Reed, the father of Hannah Gutierrez-Reed, the armorer on the Western, "Rust," may have handed the police a tip on why the film's cinematographer, Halyna Hutchins, was shot to death on the set.

From THR: A search warrant affidavit filed Tuesday for a prop shop sheds light on how alleged live ammunition ended up on the set of the Western film, "Rust," where cinematographer Halyna Hutchins was killed in October.

From Deadline: A month after cinematographer, Halyna Hutchins, was shot and killed on the New Mexico set the movie Western, "Rust," by a prop gun “discharged” by Alec Baldwin, those closest to the cinematographer held a private ceremony and interred her ashes at an unknown location.

From Deadline: Actor Daniel Baldwin defends his brother, Alec Baldwin, in the accidental shooting death of cinematographer Halyna Hutchins on the set of the film, "Rust." "Someone loaded that gun improperly," Daniel says.

From Deadline: The newest lawsuit involving the tragic shooting on the set of the Western film, "Rust," has been filed by the film's script supervisor, Mamie Mitchell, against Alec Baldwin, the producers, the production company, armorer Hanna Gutierrez Reed, and others.

From Deadline: Serge Svetnoy, the gaffer on "Rust," has filed a lawsuit against several parties related to the film, including the production, the financiers, star Alec Baldwin, armorer Hannah Gutierrez Reed, and first Assistant Director David Halls.

From THR: In the wake of the tragic accidental shooting on the set of his film, "Rust," Alec Baldwin on Monday took to social media to urge Hollywood to employ a police officer on every film and TV set that uses guns.

From THR: The budget for "Rust" - Alec Baldwin was set to earn $150,000 as lead actor and $100,000 as producer, while $7,913 was earmarked for armorer Hannah Gutierrez-Reed and $17,500 was set aside for the rental of weapons and $5,000 for rounds.

From Deadline: Attorneys for Hannah Gutierrez-Reed, the armorer on the set of the film, "Rust," said that they’re looking into whether a live bullet was placed in a box of dummy rounds with the intent of “sabotaging the set.”

From THR: Hannah Gutierrez-Reed, the armorer on the film, "Rust," released a statement through her lawyers. She says she had “no idea where the live rounds came from” that were recovered by the Santa Fe County Sheriff's during the investigation of the accidental on-set shooting death of Halyna Hutchins.

From Jacobin: An opinion piece says that cinematographer Halyna Hutchins' death on the set of the film, "Rust," was not a freak accident, but was about Alec Baldwin and his fellow producers' cost-cutting decisions. Baldwin accidentally fired the gun that killed Hutchins.

From Deadline: Two of executive producers on "Rust," Allen Cheney and Emily Salveson, disavow responsibility for the film's troubled production.

From THR: Iconic "Ghostbusters" actor Ernie Hudson is reeling from the news of the death of Halyna Hutchins, like the rest of Hollywood. Hudson also appeared in the film, "The Crow," the film in which its star, Brandon Lee, was killed because of an on-set accidental shooting. He also agrees with the call to ban real guns from movie sets.

From THR: The Sheriff of Sante Fe County says that his office has recovered three guns and 500 rounds of ammunition from the set of the movie "Rust" where cinematographer Halyna Hutchins was killed.

From Deadline: Regarding criminal charges in the death of Halyna Hutchins on the set of the film "Rust," District Attorney Mary Carmack-Altweis, "all options are on the table - no one has been ruled out."

From THR: Does Hollywood Need Guns? Will new regulations lead to an overreactions to a tragedy.

From Deadline: "Rust" producers have opened an internal investigation into the fatal shooting on the set of the Western film. They have hired outside lawyers to conduct interviews with the film's production crew.

From Deadline: "Rust's" AD (assistant director), Dave Halls, has come under scrutiny in the wake of the on-set shooting death of the film's cinematographer, Halyna Hutchins.

From Deadline: The affidavit of Sante Fe Sheriff's Department Detective Joel Cano has been made public. It can be read at "Deadline." The affidavit was for a search warrant from the property were the Western, "Rust," was being filmed.

From THR: The production company behind "Rust" has shut the film down until the police investigation into the fatal, on-set shooting of cinematographer Halyna Hutchins is through. The Sante Fe County Sheriff's Office has also revealed a timeline of the shooting.

From Deadline: The Santa Fe Sheriff’s Department confirmed Thursday night that Alec Baldwin “discharged” a prop gun on the New Mexico set of the movie, "Rust." As a result, one crew member, director of photography Halyna Hutchins, was killed and director Joel Souza was injured and remains in a local hospital - his condition unknown.

From THR: "Rust" director, Joel Souza, who was wounded in the accidental on-set shooting, says that he is "gutted" by the death of his cinematographer on the film, Halyna Hutchins.

From Deadline: The fatal shooting on the set of "Rust" may have been "recorded" according to detective for Santa Fe Sheriff's Department.

From Deadline: The production company behind the film, "Rust," will launch an internal safety review after the fatal accident that killed Halyna Hutchins; possible prior gun incidents; and a camera crew walkout.

From CNN: Crew member yelled "cold gun" as he handed Alec Baldwin prop weapon, court document shows.

From Variety: Actor Alec Baldwin releases statement on the death of Halyna Hutchins: "There are no words to convey my shock and sadness."

From Variety: The prop gun that killed “Rust” cinematographer Halyna Hutchins and wounded director Joel Souza on during an on-set accident on Thursday contained a “live single round,” according to an email sent by IATSE Local 44 to its membership.