Review: "MISSION: IMPOSSIBLE 2" is Still on Fire

TRASH IN MY EYE No. 31 of 2023 (No. 1920) by Leroy Douresseaux

Mission: Impossible 2 (2000)

Running time: 123 minutes (2 hours, 3 minutes)

MPAA – PG-13 for intense sequences of violent action and some sensuality

DIRECTOR:  John Woo

WRITERS:  Robert Towne; from a story by Ronald D. Moore and Brannon Barga (based upon the television series created by Bruce Geller)

PRODUCERS: Tom Cruise and Paula Wagner

CINEMATOGRAPHER: Jeffrey L. Kimball (D.o.P.)

EDITORS:  Steven Kemper and Christian Wagner

COMPOSER: Hans Zimmer

ACTION/ADVENTURE/SPY/THRILLER

Starring: Tom Cruise, Dougray Scott, Thandie Newton, Richard Roxburgh, John Polson, Brendan Gleeson, Rade Serbedzija, William Mapother, Dominic Purcell, Nicholas Bell, Kee Chan, Antonio Vargas, and Ving Rhames with Anthony Hopkins

Mission: Impossible 2 is a 2000 action-thriller and espionage film directed by John Woo and starring Tom Cruise.  It is a sequel to the 1996 film, Mission: Impossible, and is based on the American television series, “Mission: Impossible” (CBS, 1966-73), that was created by Bruce Geller.  In Mission: Impossible 2 (also known as M:I-2), Ethan Hunt battles a rogue fellow agent in a bid to obtain a genetically modified virus.

Mission: Impossible 2 opens in a lab at Australia's Biocyte Pharmaceuticals.  There, Dr. Vladimir Nekhorvich (Rade Serbedzija), a bio-genetics scientist, sends a message to his old friend, “Dimitri,” which is the cover name for Impossible Mission Force (IMF) agent Ethan Hunt (Tom Cruise).  Nekhorvich's employer, Biocyte Pharmaceuticals, has forced him to create a biological weapon, which he calls “Chimera,” and a cure for it, which he names “Bellerophon.”  Biocyte's CEO, John C. McCloy (Brendan Gleeson), plans to profit from Bellerophon as cure for Chimera after the virus is released into the unsuspecting world.

Nekhorvich injects himself with Chimera and carries Bellerophon with him and heads to the U.S., where he hopes to meet “Dimitri.”  However, he is intercepted by IMF agent Sean Ambrose (Dougray Scott), who is, in some ways, Ethan Hunt's equal and opposite.  Ambrose and his men steal Bellerophon and begin their hunt to obtain Chimera, not knowing that it was inside Nekhorvich.

IMF Mission Commander Swanbeck (Anthony Hopkins) orders Hunt to lead his team – computer hacker, IMF agent Luther Stickwell (Ving Rhames), and helicopter pilot, William “Billy” Baird (John Polson), on a mission to get Chimera before Ambrose does.  Swanbeck also orders Hunt to add to his team a professional thief named Nyah Nordoff-Hall (Thandie Newton), who was, until recently, Ambrose's girlfriend.  Can Ethan trust Nyah, or has he gotten to close to her?  And is Ambrose more than a match for Ethan?

I divide the six Mission: Impossible movies into two trilogies.  Mission: Impossible (1996), Mission: Impossible 2 (2000), and Mission: Impossible III (2006) make up the first trilogy.  Mission: Impossible – Ghost Protocol (2011),  Mission: Impossible – Rogue Nation (2015), and Mission: Impossible – Fallout (2018) form the second trilogy.

That's just my personal thing.  M:I-2 is its own thing.  Directed by Hong Kong auteur, John Woo, the film features the hallmarks of Woo's directorial style, including his “bullet ballet” action sequences, stylized imagery, slow motion action and character drama scenes, Mexican standoffs, and fight sequences that recall the Chinese martial arts sub-genres “wuxia” and “wire-fu.”  However, the film doesn't really kick into high gear with some of Woo's best flourishes until its second half.

The first half of the film focuses on Ethan Hunt's obsession with Nyah Nordoff-Hall, which mirrors Sean Ambrose's obsession with her.  This “love triangle” allows Woo and his screenwriters to build tension between Hunt and Ambrose that explodes with jealousy and rage and eventually leads to a fight to the death.  M:I-2 may be the film in this franchise in which Tom Cruise's Ethan Hunt shares the most screen time with other characters, especially Newton's Nyah and Scott's Ambrose.

Anyway, the film really begins to rumble in the second half.  The last half-hour or so is a masterpiece of directing, film editing, cinematography, and stunt coordinators and stuntmen.  My high rating is mainly because of this exhilarating last act, which makes me want to see this movie again.

Tom Cruise was in his late 30s when Mission: Impossible 2 began filming, yet he looks much younger onscreen, about a decade or so (at least to me).  His long hair, that boyish grin, his immature and petulant anger and jealousy would be largely gone 19 months later when his trippy drama, Vanilla Sky (2001), arrived in December 2001.  So for me, Mission: Impossible 2 is a good-bye to the Mission: Impossible film franchise's beginnings.  The series would rapidly begin to morph with the third entry, and boyish Tom Cruise would finally give way to adult Tom Cruise.  At least, I now remember why I loved this film so much 23 years ago, and now, I want to see it again.

8 of 10

A

★★★★ out of 4 stars

Tuesday, July 11, 2023

NOTES:

2001 Image Awards (NAACP):  2 nominations: “Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Motion Picture” (Ving Rhames) and “Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Motion Picture” (Thandie Newton)

The text is copyright © 2023 Leroy Douresseaux. All Rights Reserved. Contact this blog or site for reprint and syndication rights and fees.

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Negromancer News Bits and Bites from April 10th to 16th, 2022 - Update #26

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

You can support Leroy via Paypal or on Patreon:

ENTERTAINMENT AND CULTURE NEWS:

STREAMING - From Deadline:  Tom Hanks and Gary Goetzman's production company, Playtone, has signed a multiyear development deal with Apple TV+.  The deal includes a sequel to Tom Hanks' 2020 World War II thriller, "Greyhound."

MOVIES - From NBC:  In the wake of multiple controversies, is the "Fantastic Beasts" franchise still magical, as the third installment, "Fantastic Beasts: The Secrets of Dumbledore."

MOVIES - From Variety:  Warner Bros. Discovery is planning an overhaul of DC Entertainment and they want "creative and strategic czar" similar to Kevin Feige at Marvel Studios.

MOVIES - From THR:  In a wide-ranging interview, Mads Mikkelsen, talks about the new "Fantastic Beasts" movie and replacing Johnny Depp and a little about "Indiana Jones 5."

STREAMING - From Variety:  Salma Hayek will replace Thandiwe Newton in HBO Max's "Magic Mike's Last Dance." Newton is reportedly stepping away in order to "deal with family issues."

FROM TheSun:  The UK newspaper "The Sun" is saying that Thandie/Thandiwe Newton is gone from "Magic Mike's Last Dance" because she got in a terrible "row" with producer/star Channing Tatum over the Will Smith/Chris Rock Oscars slap.

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CANNES - From Variety:  A completely unexpected David Lynch film will appear at 75th Cannes Film Festival (May 17th to 28th).  David Cronenberg's new film, "Crimes of the Future" will also screen at the festival.

From Deadline:  David Lynch says that he does not have a film for Cannes 2022, although he seems evasive as to whether he is currently working on a film.

DEPP V. HEARD - From LATimes:  The lawsuit explained:  Johnny Depp (58) is suing his ex-wife, Amber Heard (35), over a 2018 Washington Post piece she wrote that Depp believes falsely portrayed him as a domestic abuser.  Heard is counter-suing Depp accusing his lawyers of defaming her.

From Deadline:  Oscar-nominee Johnny Depp's 50 million dollar defamation law suit against his ex-wife, Amber Heard, has begun in Fairfax County Circuit Court, Virginia.

From PerezHilton:  Amber Heard lawyer says that Heard's ex, the Oscar-nominated actor, Johnny Depp, held her hostage in Australia for three days. This is one of many claims made in Depp's defamation law suit that has gone from 50 million dollars to 100 million.

From Deadline:  James Franco, "WandaVision" star Paul Bettany, Elon Musk, and representatives of the Walt Disney Company, Warner Bros, and the LAPD could end up in the court in Johnny Depp's defamation case against his former wife, Amber Heard.

From WeGotThisCovered:  Johnny Depp versus Amber Heard is in its first day and already there are allegations of sexual assualt.

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MOVIES - From Deadline:  Will Ferrell is the latest to join director Greta Gerwig's "Barbie" film for Warner Bros. and Mattel. Margot Robbie (Barbie) and Ryan Gosling (Ken) are the film's stars.

MOVIES - From THR:  Ayo Edebiri and former Super Bowl champion, Marshawn Lynch (Seattle Seahawks), have joined the Orion Pictures high school sex comedy, "Bottoms."

DISNEY+ - From THR:  Walker Scobell will take the role of "Percy Jackson" in the Disney+ series, "Percy Jackson and the Olympians."

BOX OFFICE - From BoxOfficePro:  The winner of the 4/8 to 4/10/2022 weekend box office is "Sonic The Hedgehog 2" with an estimated take of 71 million dollars.

From CNN:  "Sonic the Hedgehog 2's" 71-million dollar opening is the largest ever for a video game film adaptation at the North American box office.

MOVIES - From BleedingCool:  "Fast Saga" star Vin Diesel says that Marvel Cinematic Universe star, Brie Larson, has joined "Fast & Furious 10,"which is due in theaters, May 19, 2023.

MOVIES - From TheGate:  In an interview about the iconic film, "The Godfather," which is celebrating its 50th anniversary, actor Robert Duvall says that he thinks Christian Bale has been cast in Francis Ford Coppola's upcoming film, "Megalopolis."

DWAYNE HASKINS:

From USAToday:  Dwayne Haskins, an NFL quarterback with the Pittsburgh Steelers, died after he was struck by a dump truck on Saturday morning, April 9th.  Haskins was 24 and would have made 25 in early May.

From SteelerWire:  Steelers wide receiver Chase Claypool shares an emotional moment over the passing of his teammate, Dwayne Haskins.

From TheWrap:  Former NFL executive Gil Brandt said some really shitty things about Dwayne Haskins after he died. Now, the old bastard is apologizing...

OBITS:

From Variety:  Stand-up comedian, actor, and voice performer, Gilbert Gottfried, has died at the age of 67, Tuesday, April 12, 2022.  Gottfried is best known for his exaggerated loud, screeching, shrill and obnoxious voice.  His best known roles may be that of "Iago" the parrot in Disney's "Aladdin" films and animated television series and of "Degit LeBoid" on the PBS animated series, "Cyberchase."

From NBC:  Comedian Gilbert Gottfried died at the age of 67 of a rare genetic muscle disorder, "type II myotonic dystrophy," that is often overlooked.

From Deadline:  Gilbert Gottfried's comedy career - a photo gallery.

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From Deadline:  Veteran television actress, Liz Sheridan, has died at the age of 93, Sunday, April 10, 2022.  Sheridan was best known for her TV work, especially for playing Jerry Seinfeld's mother, "Helen Seinfeld" on the former NBC comedy, "Seinfield."  She was also the nosy neighbor, "Raquel Ochmonek" on the former NBC sitcom, "ALF."

From Deadline:  Actress Kathy Lamkin has died at the age of 74, Monday, April 4, 2022.  She was known for her scene-stealing turns in the Oscar-winning "No Country for Old Men" and the terrible 2003 remake, "The Texas Chainsaw Massacre" and its sequel/prequel, "The Texas Chainsaw Massacre: The Beginning."

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WILL SMITH/CHRIS ROCK/THE SLAP:

From Deadline:  The Academy of Motion Picture Arts & Sciences has banned recent Oscar-winner Will Smith from attending its programs and events - virtually or in-person - including the Academy Awards ceremony for a period of 10 years.  This is his punishment for bitch-slapping Chris Rock during the 94th Academy Awards ceremony, Sun., March 27th.

From Variety:  Actor Harry Lennix comes off the porch to tell Will Smith that he should ... voluntarily give back his recent "Best Actor" Oscar in order to restore the awards honor ... saying this with a straight face.

From TMZ - Celebrities keep weighing in - Grammy Award-nominated rapper and recording artist, Fat Joe, says that Will Smith slapping Chris Rock at the 94th Academy awards "makes minorities look bad."

From Variety:  Netflix has slowed its development of a Will Smith action-thriller, "Fast and Loose," in the wake of the Oscar slap.

From Variety:   Will Smith has announced that he is withdrawing his membership from the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS).

From Variety:  Will Smith walks onstage at the 94th Academy Awards and slaps Chris Rock in the face for making a joke about his wife, Jada Pinkett Smith.

From Variety:  The Academy has said that Will Smith was asked to leave the 94th Academy Awards ceremony after slapping presenter Chris Rock, but he refused.  The Academy has started disciplinary proceedings against Smith.

From Deadline:  Oscar-winner Will Smith formally apologizes to comedian Chris Rock for slapping him during the 94th Academy Awards show.

From Variety:  Chris Rock says that he is "still kind of processing what happened."

From Variety:   "Harry Potter" star Daniel Radcliffe says that he is "dramatically bored" with hearing people's opinion about "THE SLAP."

From Variety:  Will Smith won the "Best Actor" Oscar for portraying the father of tennis stars, Venus and Serena Willaims, Richard Williams, in the biopic, "King Richard."  In regards to Smith slapping Chris Rock onstage during the 94th Academy Awards, Richard says, "We don't condone anyone hitting anyone else."

From Variety:  The Los Angeles Police Department (LAPD) has confirmed that Chris Rock has declined to file a police report regarding Oscar-winner Will Smith slapping him during the 94th Academy Awards.

From THR:  The actors' union, SAG-AFTRA, calls Will Smith's slap of Chris Rock to be "unacceptable."

From People:  Of the Oscar slap, "Aquaman" Jason Momoa says that he is shocked that Will Smith slapped Chris Rock and that "There's a tipping point for everyone."

From Variety:  Celebrities react to the Oscar bitch slap heard around the world.

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Negromancer News Bits and Bites from April 1st to 10th, 2021 - Update #33

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

You can support Leroy via Paypal or on Patreon:

ENTERTAINMENT AND CULTURE NEWS:

STREAMING - From THR:   Eddie Murphy's sequel film, "Coming 2 America," was Amazon's first streaming film to finish #1 on Nielsen's streaming rankings (for the week of March 1 to 7).  Now, it has become the first feature film from any of the four platforms that Nielsen monitors to repeat at #1 (March 8 to 14).

MOVIES - From WeGotThisCovered:   Rumors say that Robert Downey, Jr. is still trying to get troubled movie star, Johnny Depp, a part in Downey's third entry in his "Sherlock Holmes" franchise.

TELEVISION - From THR:  Tyler Perry is developing a new series, "Mabel" for Showtime.  "Mabel" will act as a prequel to Perry's "Madea" films as the new series will chronicle Madea's life going back to 1972.

SCANDAL - From THR:  The magazine and its website offer an article featuring tales of Hollywood and Broadway super-producer, Scott Rudin's abusive behavior towards his young assistants and other professionals. 

From Deadline:  Oscar-nominated producer Megan Ellison, who has worked with Scott Rudin says that his behavior is worst than what "The Hollywood Reporter" claims.

MOVIES - From Deadline:   Rising stars Jorge Lendeborg Jr. and Tosin Cole are in negotiations to lead New Line’s reimagining of the 1990 cult comedy, "House Party," produced by LeBron James and Maverick Carter's The SpringHill Company. Award-winning music video director Calmatic will be helming in his feature debut.

SCANDAL - From YahooLATimes:   Zachary J. Horwitz, who is an actor under the name, Zachery Avery, was arrested on Tues., April 6th under the federal charge of operating a ponzi scheme.  Horwitz reportedly owes investors 227(!) million dollars.

DC COMICS TO MOVIE - From THR:   "Justice League" actor Ray Fisher gives a bombshell interview about his experiences with key figures in the making of the film, including acclaimed writer-director Joss Whedon.

From Vulture:  A history of allegations of abuse on the part of Joss Whedon.

COVID-19 - From Deadline:  California Gov. Gavin Newsom says that the state will be ending most COVID restrictions and will be "opening up" on June 15th, 2021.

From Deadline: Tyler Perry is reportedly going to end the COVID quarantine bubble at his studio in Atlanta because most of his crew has been vaccinated.

SPORTS - From YahooSports:  The Baylor University Bears are the NCAA Division I Men's Basketball Tournament Champions.  The Bears (28-2) beat the Gonzaga University Bulldogs (31-1) 86-70 in the men's championship game on Monday, April 5, 2021 at Lucas Oil Stadium, Indianapolis, Indiana.

TELEVISION - From Deadline:   Byron Allen's Allen Media Group owns the free-to-air TV network, "This TV."  Now, This TV has signed a distribution deal with eight major ABC-owned TV station subchannels in order to expand its reach.

CELEBRITY - From YahooEntertainment:   30 years ago, actress Melanie Thandiwe Newton's name was misspelled in the credits of her first film, the Australian pic, "Flirting."  Since then, the world knows her as "Thandie Newton," but now she is reclaiming the "w" and she is Thandiwe Newton.  "Thandiew" is pronounced "tan-DEE-way."

LGBTQ - From YahooEntertainment:  Oscar-winning actress, Kate Winslet, says she knows many gay actors, especially young actors, who fear that coming out will derail their careeers.

SCANDAL - From Deadline:  Former movie studio boss and Oscar-winning producer, Harvey Weinstein, is appealing his New York state sex crime convictions, which landed him in prison for 23 years.  Meanwhile, on April 9th, there will be a hearing to extradite him to Los Angeles to face multiple sex crime charges.

MOVIES/STREAMING(?) - From WeGotThisCovered:  Paramount is reportedly developing a "Star Trek" project that is set only on Earth.

SAG AWARDS - From Variety:   If you care ... "Variety" is live-blogging / updating the 2021 / 27th annual Screen Actors Guild Awards with the announcement of the winners as they happen.

From THR:  "The Trial of the Chicago 7" tops the 2021 SAG Awards.

From THR:   Michael Keaton becomes the first actor to be part of three winning ensembles in the category of "Outstanding Performance by a Cast in a Motion Picture."  In addition to being a cast member of tonight's winner, "The Trial of the Chicago 7," Keaton was also a member of "Birdman" (2014) and "Spotlight" (2015), which both won "Outstanding Performance by a Cast in a Motion Picture."

BOX OFFICE - From Variety:   The winner of the 4/2 to 4/4/2021 weekend box office is "Godzilla vs. Kong" with an estimated take of 32.2 million dollars. This is the best pandemic-era opening weekend.

From Deadline:  "Godzilla vs. Kong" earns an estimated 48.5 million dollars during its first five days at the domestic box office.

From Deadline:   Warner Bros./Legendary's "Godzilla vs. Kong" opened on Wed., March 31st, 2021 and had the biggest opening day since the COVID pandemic, 9.6 million dollars in domestic box office.

ANIMATION - From Deadline:  Emmy-winning actress Zendaya has been cast as "Lola Bunny" in "Space Jam: A New Legacy," the sequel to the 1996 film, "Space Jam," which starred Michael Jordan.  The film is due July 16, 2021.

MOVIES - From YahooEntertainment:  Actor Edward Norton said that he got his breakthrough role, as a 19-year-old altar boy who kills a Catholic bishop in the 1996 film, "Primal Fear," when Leonardo DiCaprio passed on the role.  Norton would earn an Oscar nomination for the part.

MUSIC - From Variety:   HYBE (formerly known as "Big Hit Entertainment"), the home of South Korean pop super-group, BTS, and Ithaca Holdings, which manages Justin Bieber and Ariana Grande (among others), have merged.

STREAMING - From Deadline:   Popular cast member, Rege-Jean Page, will not be returning for Season 2 at "Bridgerton."

MOVIES - From THR:   Actor Steven Yeun is in talks to join Oscar-winner Jordan Peele's upcoming thriller.  The title of the film has not been announced, but it is due July 2022.

MOVIES - From THR:  Anthony Ramos has apparently made a star turn in the upcoming film, "In the Heights."  Now, he is in final negotiations to be the lead in next installment of the "Transformers" film franchise.  Steve Caple, Jr., who directed "Creed II," is scheduled to direct the film.

TELEVISION - From Deadline:   CBS has officially picked up "CSI: Vegas," a sequel to the original series, "CSI: Crime Scene Investigation," for the upcoming TV season.  Original series stars, William Petersen and Jorja Fox, will return to join a new cast.

JAMES BOND - From Collider: How to Watch the James Bond Movies in Order (Chronologically and by Release Date)

OBITS:

From XXL:   The rapper, Earl Simmons, better known as "DMX," has died at the age of 50, Friday, April 9, 2021.  His debut LP, 1998's "It's Dark and Hell is Hot," debuted at #1 on the Billboard 200 LP chart.  His first five LP would reach #1 and would be certified platinum.  DMX was also an actor and appeared in numerous films, including the 2001 hit, "Exit Wounds."

From Deadline:   The voice-over artist, Mark Elliot, has died at the age of 81, Saturday, April 3, 2021.  He was best known for his work with The Walt Disney Company doing voice-overs for Disney promos and trailers.

From Deadline:   The film and television actress, Gloria Henry, has died at the age of 98, Saturday, April 3, 2021.  Henry is best known for playing "Alice Mitchell," the mother of Dennis Mitchell in the former CBS sitcom, "Dennis the Menace" (1959-63).  She also appeared in numerous TV series, such as "Perry Mason," "The Thin Man," and "Dallas," to name a few.

Negromancer News Bits and Bites from July 1st to 11th, 2020 - Update #28

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

Support Leroy on Patreon:

ENTERTAINMENT NEWS:

TELEVISION - From TheWrap:  Black Neff, the writer most responsible for the shit that Fox News personality, Tucker Carlson, spews from his mouth, has resigned from Fox after CNN Business discovered a Neff's racist and sexist post on an online forum.

BLM - From YahooEntertainment:  Actress and activist, Rashida Jones, is the daughter of an African-American man (music legend Quincy Jones) and a white actress (Peggy Lipton).  Regarding Black Lives Matter protests mean that this is the time for the country to show what it can be.

MOVIES - From Deadline:  Actors Zendaya and John David Washington made a secret movie during the COVID-19 pandemic with Euphoria creator, Sam Levinson.  The film, entitled "Malcolm & Marie," has already completed production.

POLITICS - From RSN:  Former U.S. Secretary of Labor Robert Reich warns of a looming even worse "Great Recession."

DISNEY - From Variety:  Jude Law is in talks to portray Captain Hook in Disney's live-action Peter Pan film, "Peter Pan & Wendy."

CELEBRITY - From YahooEntertainment:   Oscar, Emmy, and Tony Award winning actress Viola Davis' "Black Meryl Streep" speech goes viral again.

COVID-19 - From LATimes:  Tom Hanks is baffled by people who don't take COVID-19 seriously.  Hanks and his wife, film producer/singer Rita Wilson, both contracted COVID-19.

CELEBRITY - From Vulture:  The Emmy Award-winning actress, Thandie Newton, gives up juicy details in this career-spanning interview with "Vulture."

DISNEY - From Variety:  Blacklisted NFL quarterback, Colin Kaepernick, has signed a first look deal with the Walt Disney Company.  Part of the deal includes a documentary series produced by ESPN Films.

DISNEY - From YahooEnterainment:  Why "Song of the South" is still a cultural flashpoint...

BLM - From YahooNews:  Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Gen. Mark Milley said that some soldiers deployed to Washington, D.C. to possibly assist in thwarting Black Lives Matter protests were issued bayonets, USA TODAY has confirmed.

CULTURE - From Slate:   How Being Bullied Affects Your Adulthood

STAR TREK-ANIMATION - From Deadline:  The new Star Trek animated comedy series, "Star Trek: Lower Decks," debuts August 6th, 2020 on the streaming service, CBS All Access.

CELEBRITY - From THR:  The lovely Sarah Jessica Parker is developing a dating show for the Lifetime cable network.

COVID-19/CELEBRITY - From YahooEntertainment:  Acclaimed actress Jennifer Aniston pleads with her fans to wear masks to prevent the spread of #COVID19.

ANIMATION - From Deadline:  Mike Judge has signed a 2-season deal with Comedy Central to revive his animated creation, "Beavis and Butt-Head," which includes spin-offs and specials.

MOVIES - From Deadline:  Apple will pay a record amount for the Antoine Fuqua-Will Smith project, "Emancipation."  The deal may exceed $120 million.

MOVIES - From Vulture:  The site asks if it is safe to go to the movies right now.

OBITS:

From Variety:  The Italian film composer, Ennio Morricone, has died at the age of 91, Monday, July 6, 2020.  Morricone is best known to American audiences for scoring director Sergio Leone's "Dollars" trilogy, and Morricone's score for the the third film in that trilogy, "The Good, the Bad and the Ugly," is considered one of the most influential film scores in history.  Morricone received an "Honorary Academy Award" in 2007.  He received six competitive Academy Award nominations, finally winning the "Best Original Score" Oscar for his work on Quentin Tarantino's "The Hateful Eight" (2015).

From Deadline:  Screen and television writer, Bettina Gilois, has died at the age of 58, Sunday, July 5, 2020.  She was best known for co-writing the 2015 HBO TV miniseries, "Bessie," (for which she earned an Emmy nomination) and for co-writing two sports films, 2006's "Glory Road" and 2015's "McFarland USA."

From Deadline:  Broadway and television actor, Nick Cordero, has died at the age of 41, Sunday, July 5, 2020, of complications of COVID-19.  He had been battling the disease since early April.  Cordero received a Tony Award nomination for his role in "Bullets Over Broadway," and appeared in such productions as "A Bronx Tale," "Rock of Ages," and "Waitress."

From THR:  Trailblazing Black British actor, Earl Cameron, died at the age of 102, Friday, July 3, 2020.  Born in Bermuda, Cameron became the first Black actor to play a role in a mainstream British film with his appearance in the 1951 film, "Pool of London."  Cameron's character in the film, "Johnny Lambert," also has an interracial romance, which also broke ground in British cinema.

From THR:  The broadcaster, television host, and news anchor, Hugh Downs, has died at the age of 99, Wednesday, July 1, 2020.  Downs game to fame a co-host of NBC's "Today" from 1962 to 1971.  He was probably best known as the anchor of ABC News television magazine, "20/20," from 1978 to 1999.

From Deadline:  Pioneering television comedy writer and director, Carl Reiner has died at the age of 98, Monday, June 29, 2020.  Reiner is best known as the creator and writer-director and actor on "The Dick Van Dyke Show (1961-66).  Five of the 9 Primetime Emmy Awards Reiner won were for his work on the show.  He first came to big TV fame and acclaim working on Sid Ceasar's TV series, "Your Show of Shows" (NBC, 1950-54) and "Ceasar's Hour" (NBC, 1954-57).  Reiner was also famous for being the son of television and film writer, director, and actor, Rob Reiner.

From Deadline:  Mel Brooks pays homage to his friend, the late, great Carl Reiner.


BLACK LIVES MATTER NEWS:

From RSN:  The four corners of police violence

From TheIntercept:  Black Lives Matter Wants to End Police Brutality. History Suggests It Will Go Much Further.

From YahooNews:  "The Confederacy of California": life in the valley where Robert Fuller was found hanged

From CNN:  Colorado police officers involved in the death of Elijah McClain reassigned for safety reasons.

From Truthout: " Three North Carolina Police Fired for Racist Rants, Threats to Kill Black People" - and what they said is crazy and scary

From Truthout: Bryant Gumbel Gives Powerful Commentary on the 'Black Tax,' the 'Added Burden' of Being Black

From YahooEntertainment:  Oscar-nominated songwriter and Grammy Award-winning recording artist, Ray Parker, Jr., may be best known for writing the theme to the film, "Ghostbusters," but when he was a teenager, Parker was beaten by Detroit police officers.

From RSNewYorker:  Jelani Cobb: An American Spring of Reckoning.

From NBCNews:  Baton Rouge, LA activist, Gary Chambers, makes an impassioned speech about changing the name of Robert E. Lee High School in Baton Rouge.

From YahooNews:  Racial violence and a pandemic: How the Red Summer of 1919 relates to 2020

From DemocracyNow:   Fear Grows of Modern-Day Lynchings as Five People of Color Are Found Hanged

From NYPost:  Caramel, Indiana Catholic priest suspended for comparing Black Lives Matters activists to maggots.

From NBCNews:   NYPD is disbanding a unit that is the 'last chapter' of stop-and-frisk

From YahooLifestyle:  A history of the "Karen."


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 NPR:  A sad milestone: over 100,000 American have died due to COVID-19.

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 Truthout:  Trump Moves to End Federal Support for Testing Sites Amid Record COVID Spikes

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.

From NYPost:  Students in Tuscaloosa, Alabama, are reportedly throwing “COVID parties” with their friends and gambling on who will get sick first, according to local officials.

From KABB:  Alice Guzman, the stepmother of Congressman Joaquin Castro and former Democratic presidential candidate Julian Castro, has died of COVID-19.  Their father is also ill with the virus.


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

Review: "Solo: A Star Wars Story" is Pure Classic Era

TRASH IN MY EYE No. 7 (of 2018) by Leroy Douresseaux

[This review was originally posted on Patreon.]

Solo: A Star Wars Story (2018)
Running time:  135 minutes (2 hours, 15 minutes)
MPAA – PG-13 for sequences of sci-fi action/violence
DIRECTOR:  Ron Howard
WRITERS:  Jonathan Kasdan and Lawrence Kasdan; based on the characters created by George Lucas)
PRODUCERS:  Simon Emanuel (p.g.a.) and Kathleen Kennedy (p.g.a.)
CINEMATOGRAPHER:  Bradford Young (D.o.P.)
EDITOR:  Pietro Scalia
COMPOSER:  John Powell (and adaptation)

SCI-FI/FANTASY/ACTION/ADVENTURE

Starring:  Alden Ehrenreich, Joonas Suotamo, Woody Harrelson, Emilia Clarke, Donald Glover, Thandie Newton, Paul Bettany, Clint Howard, Erin Kellyman, Anthony Daniels, and Warwick Davis and the voices of Phoebe Waller-Bridge, Jon Favreau, and Linda Hunt

Solo: A Star Wars Story is a 2018 science fiction and fantasy film from director Ron Howard.  It is the tenth live-action film in the Star Wars film franchise, and it is the second anthology or “stand-alone” film (meaning that it is not part of the “Skywalkers saga”), following 2016's Rogue One: A Star Wars Story.  The film focuses on a younger version of classic Star Wars character, Han Solo, and tells the story of how he got his start as a space pirate and smuggler.

Solo: A Star Wars Story opens on the shipbuilding world of Corellia.  There we meet a young "scrumrat" and aspiring pilot named Han (Alden Ehrenreich) and his lover, Qi'ra (Emilia Clarke), who both long to escape the clutches of the local criminal gangs and to leave the planet for new lives.  However, only Han manages to escape, and he joins the Imperial Navy of the Galactic Empire as a flight cadet.

Three years later, Han is serving as an infantryman during a battle on the planet Mimban.  There, he encounters a gang of criminals posing as Imperial officers, led by Tobias Beckett (Woody Harrelson).  Han and his new friend, Chewbacca (Joonas Suotamo), a Wookie with whom he just became acquainted, bribe their way onto Beckett's crew.  Han and Chewbacca's first heist with Beckett, however, leads him into dangerous places.  Han meets a murderous crime lord, Dryden Vos (Paul Bettany); discovers a smooth-talking and rising young smuggler, Lando Calrissian (Donald Glover); enters a new heist that could make or break his future; and reunites with a figure from his past.

Much about Solo: A Star Wars Story feels contrived and shoved in, as if the filmmakers and storytellers are trying to reveal the origins of everything Star Wars fans know about the Han Solo.  From his name to his personality, very little if anything is not covered.  Still, one can make an argument that much about the original Star Wars (1977) is contrived.

What is important is that Solo: A Star Wars Story feels like classic era Star Wars films (1977 to 1983).  Like the other anthology film, Rogue One, Solo: A Star Wars Story is infused with the spirit of adventure of the original films.  Solo is partly a Western, like the original Stars Wars.  Solo is a far-flung space opera and interstellar fantasy like the original trilogy.  Part of the reason that Solo feels so classic Star Wars is that one of the film's two screenwriters, Lawrence Kasdan, wrote two of the original trilogy films, and his son, Jonathan, is the co-screenwriter here.  Solo director Ron Howard should have directed a Star Wars film a long time ago, as far as I am concerned.  He has previously worked with Star Wars creator, George Lucas, on the fantasy film, Willow (1988).  So Howard was fated for a Star Wars film, and I am glad it is Solo.

As for the characters, Alden Ehrenreich is good as young Han Solo.  Ehrenreich tries to capture the spirit of the performance of the original Han Solo actor, Harrison Ford, but Ehrenreich plays young Han, not as a fully grown man, but as someone still evolving.  Donald Glover is excellent, superb, and great as young Lando Calrissian (who was originally played by Billy Dee Williams).  Solo is not a big enough movie for two personalities like young Han and young Lando, so Lando needs his own movie.  And new Chewbacca actor, Joonas Suotama, is good, but it is hard to mess up playing Chewbacca.

If this review makes it seem that I am much more pleased with Solo: A Star Wars Story than I am about the most recent other Star Wars film, Star Wars: The Last Jedi, I unequivocally am.  Solo is a real movie all on its own – beginning, middle, and end.  While it may not add much to the fictional mythology of the Star Wars franchise, Solo: A Star Wars Story gets it right by looking, feeling, and acting like classic Star Wars.

8 of 10
A

Friday, May 25, 2018


The text is copyright © 2018 Leroy Douresseaux. All Rights Reserved. Contact this blog or site for reprint and syndication rights and fees.

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

General Organa's General Star Wars Link-O-Rama 2017 - Update #111

Posted by Leroy Doureseaux - on Patreon.

SOLO - From BleedingCool:  There is a rumor that Disney is prepared for its young Han Solo movie, "Solo: A Star Wars Story," to bomb.

CARRIE FISHER - From ComicBook:  Billie Lourd shares a touching tribute to her mother, Carrie Fisher, who died a year ago today. #CarrieOnForever

A NEW HOPE - From YahooEntertainment:  There has been a death in the Star Wars family.  Alfie Curtis played the Mos Eisley cantina thug who threatens Luke Skywalker and promptly gets his hand lopped off by Obi-Wan Kenobi.  He died Tuesday, December 26, 2017 at the age of 87.

THE EMPIRE STRIKES BACK - From io9:  Here is an article about what fans thought about Episode V.

THE EMPIRE STRIKES BACK - From THR:  James Earl Jones did not believe that Darth Vader was Luke Skywalker's father.

RETURN OF THE JEDI - From THR:  See a touching farewell scene between Luke Skywalker and Han Solo that was cut from the film.

WEIRD - From Nerdist:  There are indeed Star Wars sex toys.

FRANCHISE - From BleedingCool:  Lucasfilm's Kathleen Kennedy would like to see Taika Waititi ("Thor: Ragnarok") director a Star Wars film.

COMICS - From Crunchyroll:  Yen Press has the first manga license in years and will publish the "Star Wars: Lost Stars" manga in May 2018.

CELEBRITY - From YahooGMA:  Mark Hamill surprises "Star Wars" fans at a Disneyland ride.

NEW TRILOGY - From THR:  Rian Johnson, the director of "The Last Jedi," create a new Star Wars trilogy set in an until now unexplored corner of the galaxy.  Johnson will write and direct at least the first film.

STREAMING - From THR:  A live-action Star Wars TV will help launch Disney's streaming service in 2019.  Neither the service nor the series have a title yet.

FRANCHISE - From ScreenRant:  Lucasfilm is planning the next decade of Star Wars films.

HAN/LEIA - From RollingStone:  Harrison Ford did finally speak a little on Carrie Fisher's claim of their affair during filming of the first Star Wars film.

THE FORCE AWAKENS - From RollingStone:  Mark Hamill was afraid to come back to Star Wars, but credits Harrison Ford for changing his mind.

OBIT - From THR:  Film costume designer, John Mollo, has died at the age of 86, Wednesday, October 25, 2017.  He won a Academy Award for designing the costumes for "Star Wars."  He shared a second Oscar for his work on "Gandhi."

BOOKS - From WeGotThisCovered:  New "Star Wars" novel, ""The Legends of Luke Skywalker," links Luke with the "Battle of Jakku."

THE FORCE AWAKENS - From BleedingCool:  Acclaimed director David Fincher says he turned down directing "The Force Awakens" because he was afraid of Harrison Ford and Carrie Fisher.

EPISODE IX - From CinemaBlend:  Star Wars 9 may tie into the prequel trilogy.

SOLO - From YahooEntertainment:  Ron Howard announces that the young Han Solo movie will is entitled, "Solo: A Star Wars Story."

EPISODE IX - From ScreenRant:  John Boyega expresses happiness that J.J. Abrams is returning to direct Star Wars 9.

EPISODE IX - From YahooEntertainment:  Domhnall Gleason (General Hux) is glad that J.J. Abrams is back to direct Episode 9.

SOLO - From BleedingCool:  Paul Bettany has wrapped up filming his part in "young Han Solo" movie.

EPISODE IX - From Variety:  The release date for "Star Wars Episode 9" has moved from May 24, 2019 to December 20, 2019.

EPISODE IX - From THR:  J.J. Abrams is the new director of Star Wars 9.  He will co-write the film with Chris Terrio, an Oscar-winning screenwriter for "Argo."

EPISODE IX - From Entertainment.ie:  Lucasfilm boss, Kathleen Kennedy, sack Colin Trevorrow as director of Episode 9 because he was unbearable and difficult.

EPISODE IX - From TheWrap:  "The Last Jedi" director Rian Johnson says that he is not directing "Star Wars Episode 9," in the wake of announced director Colin Treverrow's firing... at least for now.

EPISODE IX - From YahooEntertainment:  Colin Trevorrow supposedly chased off Star Wars 9 because he was "difficult."

SOLO - From ScreenRant:  For the "young Han Solo" film, Han Solo will have a new version of the Millennium Falcon.

EPISODE IX - From Deadline:  Not that Colin Trevorrow is no longer directing IX, could VIII's director, Rian Johnson, become IX's new director.

EPISODE IX - From Deadline:  Colin Trevorrow out as director of Star Wars Episode 9.

SOLO - From Variety:  Ron Howard announce that Paul Bettany has joined the "young Han Solo" movie.  Bettany previously worked with Howard on "A Beautiful Mind (2001)."

HAN SOLO - From Vulture:  Ron Howard shared a photo of Donald Glover with his Lando Calrissian mustache.

HAN SOLO - From TheWrap:  Because he was not available for reshoots, Michael K. Williams' character had to be cut from the "young Han Solo" film.

FILMS - From Variety:  Disney in early development of a stand-alone Obi-Wan Kenobi film, with Stephen Daldry ("Billy Elliot") in early talks to direct.

GEORGE LUCAS - From YahooNews:  George Lucas still offers advice on the new films.

HAN SOLO - From ScreenRant: Ron Howard shares a new set photo from "young Han Solo" movie.

A NEW HOPE - From YahooNews:  George Lucas says that Princess Leia received her Ph.D. at age 19.

HAN SOLO - From CBR:  Ron Howard hints that his brother, actor Clint Howard, will have a part in the "young  Han Solo" movie.

EPISODE IX/9 - From THR:  Star Wars Episode 9 is getting a new writer, Jack Thorne, who will work on the script written by Colin Trevorrow and his writing partner, Derek Connolly.

HAN SOLO - From YahooNews:  Emilia Clarke, whose role in the young Han Solo movie remains a mystery, teases the new Chewbacca.

DARTH VADER - From CinemaBlend:  Spencer Wilding, who currently wears the Darth Vader costume, is apparently currently filming another Star Wars film.

HAN SOLO - From YahooTV:  Warwick Davis will appear in the "young Han Solo" film, according to a tweet from director Ron Howard.

HAN SOLO - From ShadowandAct:  Ron Howard reveals glimpse of Donald Glover at young Lando.

HAN SOLO - From USAToday:  No one from the "young Han Solo" movie was at D23 Expo 2017.  Should we be worried about this film?

HAN SOLO - From Mashable:  Ron Howard teases Lando Calrissian's costumes.

HAN SOLO - From CinemaBlend:  Woody Harrelson thinks the "young Han Solo" movie is in good hands with Ron Howard directing.

HAN SOLO - From TMZ:  A set photo from the "young Han Solo" movie reveals a scene with Woody Harrelson.

From FlickeringMyth:  Will the "young Han Solo" debacle with its original directors teach Disney not to tread on Star Wars sacred ground?

CARRIE FISHER - From YahooMovies:  Carrie Fisher's only child, her daughter Billie Lourd, will inherit her late mother's estate.

ANIMATION - From USAToday:  Rey turns in animated shorts, "Star Wars: "Forces of Destiny."

CULTURE - From YahooMovies:  An R2-D2 droid that was using in several Star Wars movies was sold at auction for $2.76 million.

HAN SOLO - From WeGotThisCovered:  Disney CEO Bob Iger is confident that Han Solo movie will be alright.  Yes, because Ron Howard is directing it.

HAN SOLO - From Mashable:  With every new Han Solo revelation, Phil Lord and Chris Miller look like the problems and got themselves fired.

HAN SOLO - From Gizmodo:  Lucasfilm was so concerned about Alden Ehrenreich's performance as Han Solo that they hired an acting coach for him.

HAN SOLO - From THR:  In an exclusive breaking story, "The Hollywood Reporter" is reporting that Oscar-winning filmmaker, Ron Howard, will take over as director of the "young Han Solo" movie after the original directors, Phil Lord and Christopher Miller, were fired.

HAN SOLO - From THR:  Golden boys, Phil Lord and Christopher Miller, have quit as the directors of the "Young Han Solo" movie over creative differences.

From THR:  Why were Lord and Miller fired?  It seems the comedic tone they used in making the film clashed with what Lucasfilm and the "Han Solo" movie screenwriter, Lawrence Kasdan, wanted.

From TheUKIndependent:  Maybe, the firing of Lord and Miller indicates that Disney and Lucasfilm are afraid of the future for Star Wars.

------------------------------
VIDEO GAMES - From YahooNews:  The upcoming video game, "Star Wars Battlefront 2" will give the "first official on-screen look" at the years between "Return of the Jedi" and "The Force Awakens."

CARRIE FISHER - From USMagazine:  Los Angeles County coroner's office says Fisher dies of combination of factors, including sleep apnea.

COMICS - From BusinessInsider:  Marvel Comics will tell the story of Captain Phasma in a new four-issue comic book series.

EPISODE 9 - From YahooNews:  Director Colin Trevorrow wants Star Wars Episode 9 to be kid-friendly...

RUMOR - From CNET:  Could director Edgar Wright ("Baby Drive," "Shaun of the Dead") be involved with Star Wars.

FRANCHISE - From NME:  The identity of the third stand alone anthology film will be revealed in June.  The first film was "Rogue One" and the second will be a "Young Han Solo" film due May 2018.

CARRIE FISHER:  From SideshowToys:  A look at Carrie Fisher/Princess Leia - then and now - on the 40th anniversary of the theatrical debut of Star Wars (May 25th 1977).

CARRIE FISHER - From Vulture:  Princess Leia would have been center stage in Episode 9.

DISNEY - From MiceChat:  The blog has updates on "Temporary Star Wars Land."

A NEW HOPE - From ComicBook:  To celebrate the 40th anniversary of the original theatrical release of the original Star Wars films, New Zealand Mint will release a commemorative silver coin.

CULTURE - From YahooMovies:  Kid wears Darth Vader costume to school on "Star Wars Celebration Day" (May 4th - as in May the Fourth/Force Be With You) and causes a panic, started by a "concerned parent."

CULTURE - From CNNHealth:  There is a hospital tech in Tennessee whose real name is "Darth Vader."

STAR WARS REBELS - From ScreenRant:  The Disney XD animated series, "Star Wars Rebels" is heading into its fourth and final season.  It may also tie into the recent live-action, "Rogue One."

CARRIE FISHER:  From THR:  George Lucas and Billie Lourd, daughter of Carrie Fisher, offer tributes to the late actress and Star Wars icon.

From YouTube:  A Tribute to Carrie Fisher video.

From YouTube:  Carrie Fisher tribute at Star Wars Celebration 2017.

From YahooMovies:  A touching photo of Mark Hamill, Harrison Ford, and Billie Lourd (Carrie's daughter) - "It was almost as if we were cuddling our princess again."

From YahooMovies:  Lucasfilm boss says no Carrie in Episode IX.

----------
A NEW HOPE - From Movieweb:  A big 40th anniversary announcement is coming tomorrow morning, Tues., April 11th, on "Good Morning America."

EPISODE IX - From NYDailyNews:  Carrie Fisher will appear in Star Wars Episode 9 (due for 2019), according to her brother, Todd Fisher.

HAN SOLO SPINOFF - From Variety:  "Sing Street" breakout star Ian Kenny joins "Young Han Solo" film.

FRANCHISE - From YahooMovies:   Disney CEO Bob Iger talks (vaguely) about the future of the franchise, including "The Last Jedi" and the "Han Solo" spinoff.

FRANCHISE - From CinemaBlend:  Future Star Wars films will move away from legacy characters and story elements.

A NEW HOPE - From Deadline:  This may be the very first photographic image of Mark Hamill as Luke Skywalker.

COMIC BOOKS - From YahooNews:  Marvel Comics is launching a new "Darth Vader" comic book series, which will be set immediately after the events depicted in "Star Wars: Episode III - Revenge of the Sith."

HAN SOLO - From Variety:  Michael K. Williams in final talks to join "Young Han Solo" film.

ORIGINAL TRILOGY - From SlashFilm:  The original cuts of the original Star Wars films may get a re-release or release for the 40th anniversary of the original theatrical release of Stars Wars, which is this year.

THEME PARKS - From FlickeringMyth:  Disney announces "Star Wars Land."

THE FORCE AWAKENS - From YahooNews:  Fans freak out over database saying that there is a connection between Kylo Ren and Rey.

HAN SOLO SPINOFF - From Variety:  Thandie Newton in talks to join the "Young Han Solo" spinoff movie.

HAN SOLO SPINOFF - From Variety:  Pheobe Waller-Bridge, hot off the Amazon series, "Fleabag," is being considered for a role in the Han Solo spinoff movie (which would be set before the event depicted in "Star Wars: A New Hope."  Reportedly, the role would be CGI-driven.

HAN SOLO SPINOFF - From THR:  Billy Dee Williams, the original Lando Calrissian, had lunch with Donald Glover, who will play the character in the "Young Han Solo" movie.

A NEW HOPE - From Forbes:  20 years ago, "Star Wars: Special Edition" arrived.

OBIT - From Variety: Sound engineer Richard Portman has died at the age of 82, Saturday, February 28, 2017.  He won an Oscar for his work on "The Deer Hunter."  He mixed the sound on "Star Wars."

EPISODES 8 AND 9- From CinemaBlend:  Should Lucasfilm reconsider its decision about a CGI Leia for Episode 9.

RETURN OF THE JEDI - From YahooMovies:  Mark Hamill reunited with the lightsaber prop he used in "Return of the Jedi."

HAN SOLO SPINOFF - From Deadline:  Donald Glover wants to live up to the expectations of playing Lando.

THE FORCE AWAKENS - From YahooNews:  Chewbacca yanks off an arm in deleted scene.

HAN SOLO SPINOFF - From StarWars:  It's official.  Woody Harrelson has signed on for the "Young Han Solo" movie due late 2018.

HAN SOLO SPINOFF - From Variety:  Oscar-nominated actor, Woody Harrelson, is being considered to play the mentor of the title character in the "Young Han Solo" movie.  Alden Ehrenreich has been cast as young Han Solo.

FRANCHISE - From Wired:  You won't live to see the final Star Wars movie.

ROGUE ONE - From Deadline:  "Rogue One" at $775 million in worldwide box office.

ROGUE ONE - From Deadline:  "Rogue One" is now the second highest grossing film at the domestic box office of 2016, behind "Finding Dory."


CARRIE FISHER:

From THR:  Carrie Fisher and her mother, Debbie Reynolds, were celebrated at a jubilant memorial.

From YahooNews:  Carrie Fisher wanted Harrison Ford to sing at her Oscars' tribute.

From YahooCelebrity:  Dan Akroyd speaks about Carrie Fisher, whom he once considered marrying.

From YahooCelebrity:  Debbie Reynolds was buried with some of her daughter Carrie's ashes.

From YahooCelebrity:  Carrie Fisher's urn is a giant Prozac pill.

From YahooMovies:  There is a fan petition to make Princess Leia a "Disney Princess."

From YahooNews:  Disney could receive a $50 million dollar insurance payoff because of Carrie Fisher's death.

From YahooNews:  Mark Hamill talks about the first time he met Carrie Fisher.

From YahooNews:  Billie Lourd, the only child of actress Carrie Fisher, breaks her silence about the deaths of her mother and her grandmother, Debbie Reynolds.

From BleedingCool:  Carrie Fisher dies at the age of 60, Tuesday morning, December 27, 2016.  Carrie was, of course, best known as Princess/General Organa in the "Star Wars" film franchise.

From THR:  Debbie Reynolds, the mother of Carrie Fisher, has died at the age of 84, Wednesday, December 28, 2016, one day after the death of her daughter.

From YahooNews:  Carrie Fisher's autopsy was completed Friday morning, December 30, 2016 and her body was released to her family.

From ET:  Carrie and her mother, Debbie Reynolds, will be buried together at Forest Lawn Memorial Park after a joint funeral.

From BleedingCool:  "Bright Lights: Starring Carrie Fisher and Debbie Reynolds" is a documentary about the Star Wars daughter and her Hollywood legend mother.  It's release date has been moved up to January 2017 on HBO.

From People:  "I want to be with Carrie" were Debbie Reynold's last words according to her son, Todd Fisher.

From YahooStyle:  Why she really hated the gold metal bikini in "Return of the Jedi."

From YahooNews:  Debbie Reynolds speaks about the death of her daughter, Carrie Fisher - our Princess Leia.

From Variety:  Fisher reportedly finished her work on Star Wars Episode 8 before she died.

From TheWrap:  Posted a little over an hour ago, Debbie Fisher, mother of Carrie Fisher, who suffered a heart attack about a day and a half ago, says that Carrie is in "stable condition."
----------

Review: "The Chronicles of Riddick" is Epic

TRASH IN MY EYE No. 95 (of 2004) by Leroy Douresseaux

The Chronicles of Riddick (2004)
Running time:  119 minutes (1 hour, 59 minutes)
MPAA – PG-13 for intense sequences of violent action and some language
DIRECTOR:  David Twohy
WRITER:  David Twohy (based upon characters created by Jim Wheat and Ken Wheat)
PRODUCERS:  Vin Diesel and Scott Kroopf
CINEMATOGRAPHER:  Hugh Johnson (D.o.P.)
EDITORS:  Martin Hunter and Dennis Virkler
COMPOSER:  Graeme Revell

SCI-FI/ACTION/ADVENTURE/FANTASY

Starring:  Vin Diesel, Colm Feore, Thandie Newton, Judi Dench, Karl Urban, Alexa Davalos, Linus Roache, Yorick van Wageningen, Nick Chinlund, and Keith David

The subject of this movie review is The Chronicles of Riddick, a 2004 science fiction and action-adventure film from writer-director David Twohy.  Starring Vin Diesel in the title role, this film is a sequel to the 2000 science fiction thriller, Pitch Black.

Five years after the incidents in the movie Pitch Black, the dark hero Riddick (Vin Diesel) is a hunted man, but mercenaries aren’t just hunting Riddick to send him back to prison.  A fellow survivor of Pitch Black, Imam (Keith David), seeks Riddick because the Imam’s home world needs Riddick’s kind of evil to fight evil.  In The Chronicles of Riddick, the title character takes on the world conquering Necromongers and their vicious, quasi-supernatural leader, the Lord Marshal (Colm Feore).  Apparently, the Lord Marshal and Riddick have a mutual past.  Riddick learns that his people were known as the Furians, and a prophecy said that the Lord Marshal would die at the hands of a Furian.  Thirty years after the Lord Marshal’s pogrom against the Furians, the most contrary and stubborn of them all, Riddick, comes looking for payback.

The Chronicles of Riddick isn’t by any means a great movie, but it’s rather a very entertaining macho movie.  Despite the sci-fi trappings, the film and its title character are basically throwbacks to the kind of action movies and muscular heroes that stomped the shit out silver screen bad guys in films like the Rambo, Die Hard, and Terminator franchises.  Visually, the production design is as dark as The Empire Strikes Back and The Crow, so TCOR is very much the work of talented artists, craftsman, and photographers and CGI artists.

Beyond that, director David Twohy has put together a fun film full of explosions and (relatively) gore free wrestling matches.  TCOR may look like a video game, but it’s futuristic fisticuffs in which the dark champion speaks with the force of muscular body and wins by guile and savvy.  Vin Diesel may not be a solid actor, but he’s game to throw testosterone around a movie set, and the lead doesn’t need to be a great actor when a fine stage actor like Colm Feore (he was the bad guy Andre Linoge in the TV mini-series Stephen King’s “Storm of the Century”) plays the villain.

I had a good (if not great) time, and when it comes down to it, The Chronicles of Riddick is a slugfest man’s movie for the guy who’ll watch any half decent action movie.  And this one is a lot better than half decent.  Some ladies might get a kick out of it, too.

7 of 10
B+

NOTES:
2005 Razzie Awards:  1 nomination: “Worst Actor” (Vin Diesel)

Updated:  Wednesday, August 14, 2013

Read the Pitch Black review and The Chronicles of Riddick: Dark Fury review.

The text is copyright © 2013 Leroy Douresseaux. All Rights Reserved. Contact this site for syndication rights and fees.

"Good Deeds" is Good Indeed

TRASH IN MY EYE No. 16 (of 2012) by Leroy Douresseaux


Good Deeds (2012)
Running time: 111 minutes (1 hour, 51 minutes)
MPAA - PG-13 for sexual content, language, some violence and thematic material
WRITER/DIRECTOR: Tyler Perry
PRODUCERS: Ozzie Areu, Paul Hall, and Tyler Perry
CINEMATOGRAPHER: Alexander Gruszynski
EDITOR: Maysie Hoy
COMPOSER: Aaron Zigman

ROMANCE/DRAMA

Starring: Tyler Perry, Thandie Newton, Gabrielle Union, Eddie Cibrian, Brian White, Jordenn Thompson, Phylicia Rashad, Beverly Johnson, Rebecca Romijn, and Jamie Kennedy, Andrew Masset, and Victoria Loving

Good Deeds is a 2012 romantic drama from writer/director Tyler Perry. Although Perry is also the film’s lead actor, this isn’t a “Tyler Perry film,” as far as what we generally expect of a Perry film – broad comedies often featuring the character, Mabel “Madea” Simmons, who does not appear in this movie. Good Deeds is about a businessman who leaves his comfort zone to help a struggling single mother.

Wesley Deeds (Tyler Perry) is a San Francisco-based businessman who is CEO of Deeds Corporation, the software company his late father started. He is engaged to marry Natalie (Gabrielle Union), a beautiful young woman who works in real estate, but his mind is always on work. With the assistance of John, (Eddie Cibrian), a company executive, Wesley is currently trying to buy a rival company, but Wesley’s resentful younger brother, Walter Deeds (Brian White), may be trying to sabotage the company. Their mother, Wilimena (Phylicia Rashad), is totally plugged into planning the wedding. Wesley Deeds does what he is supposed to and expected to do.

However, Wesley is jolted out of his scripted life when he meets Lindsey Wakefield (Thandie Newton), a single mother who is a janitor in Wesley’s office building. Lindsey speaks her mind and is fiercely independent, but when she and her daughter, Ariel (Jordenn Thompson), are left homeless, she needs help. A chance encounter brings together two people who are in a really bad place in their lives.

If Wesley Deeds can be said to leave his comfort zone in this story, then, it can be said that Tyler Perry, for the most part, leaves his comfort zone to create Good Deeds. This is an uplifting movie that emphasizes living the life one wants to live (or trying to) by relying on one’s self. In this movie, Perry pushes believing in yourself as a vehicle of change rather than a belief in faith and God as the path to change. Good Deeds is by no means anti-religion, but this is the most secular film Perry has done to date. The religious themes and testifying that are so evident in his broad comedies are absent in this romance and drama.

I was also surprised by how well written the screenplay is, considering (once again) that Perry has left his broad comedy comfort zone. Good Deeds does sometimes come across as an African-American soap opera (especially the elevator scene late in the film). However, this is also a character drama that puts a laser focus on Wesley Deeds and Lindsey Wakefield. Perry really delves into these characters and pulls out their insides so that the audience can see what makes them tick. Perry shows the audience the inner conflicts and struggles as much as he depicts Wesley and Lindsey’s exterior drama.

I think that Thandie Newton is, as usual, very good. She can do trials and tribulations as well as any African-American actress, and better than most. Perry, on the other hand, is mostly hit or miss as Wesley. There are moments in which he just does not seem convincing as an upper class Black man from an old money African-American family with an Ivy League pedigree.

Another of the film’s faults is that it largely ignores some of the other characters that have potential: Walter and Wilimena Deeds and Natalie, in particular. Perry created three good characters in them, but gave them small spaces to shine except in moments that seem like little more than stereotypical melodrama. Young Jordenn Thompson as Lindsey’s daughter, Ariel, also steals a few scenes.

Still, Good Deeds is really about Wesley and Lindsey, and to that end, the film is a pleasant drama that has a few riveting moments. These moments can jerk some tears from the audience, and that’s surprising to me. I didn’t expect even that much from Good Deeds.

6 of 10
B

Sunday, February 26, 2012