TRASH IN MY EYE Reviews: Universal Pictures

Showing posts with label Universal Pictures. Show all posts

Sunday, March 2, 2025

Review: "OPPENHEIMER" Runs on the Atomic Power of Its Cast

TRASH IN MY EYE No. 11 of 2025 (No. 2017) by Leroy Douresseaux

Oppenheimer (2023)

Running time: 180 minutes (3 hours)

MPA – R for some sexuality, nudity and language

DIRECTOR: Christopher Nolan

WRITER: Christopher Nolan (based on the book by Kai Bird and Martin J. Sherwin)

PRODUCERS: Christopher Nolan, Emma Thomas, and Charles Roven

CINEMATOGRAPHER: Hoyte Van Hoytema (D.o.P.)

EDITOR: Jennifer Lame

COMPOSER: Ludwig Goransson

Academy Award Best Picture winner

DRAMA/BIOPIC/HISTORICAL

Starring: Cillian Murphy, Emily Blunt, Matt Damon, Robert Downey Jr., Alden Ehrenreich, Jason Clarke, Tony Goldwyn, Kenneth Branagh, Tom Conti, Josh Hartnett, Florence Pugh, Matthew Modine, David Dastmalchian, Casey Affleck, James Remar, Rami Malek, and Gary Oldman

Oppenheimer is a 2023 biographical drama and historical film from director Christopher Nolan. The film is based on the 2005 biography, American Prometheus: The Triumph and Tragedy of J. Robert Oppenheimer, by Kai Bird and Martin J. Sherwin. The film is a fictional depiction and dramatization of the life of J. Robert Oppenheimer, the American theoretical physicist who helped develop the first nuclear weapons during World War II. In Oppenheimer the movie, the most famous man in America looks back on his life as he faces a hearing to determine the fate of his security clearance.

Oppenheimer opens with two important events. In 1954, J. Robert Oppenheimer (Cillian Murphy), the man who is sometimes known as “the father of the atomic bomb,” is facing a private security hearing before a Personnel Security Board. The hearing is in regards to the renewal of Oppenheimer's “Q clearance” with the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE), which gives the holder access to “top secret restricted data.” During the hearing, Oppenheimer's loyalty to the United States is questioned and his past affiliation with and ties to communist friends and associates are raised. Oppenheimer's wife, Katherine “Kitty” Oppenheimer (Emily Blunt), wants Robert to fight such charges more aggressively, but he seems to be concerned about the potential of collateral damage to friends and allies.

Springing forward several years: it is 1959, and Rear Admiral Levi Strauss (Robert Downey, Jr.) is facing a confirmation hearing concerning his nomination to the cabinet of President Dwight D. Eisenhower as U.S. Secretary of Commerce. Strauss desperately wants that cabinet position, but his past activities regarding J. Robert Oppenheimer are coming back to complicate matters.

Meanwhile, the film goes back to Oppenheimer's early days as a student overseas in England and Germany and moves to his teaching job at the University of California, Berkeley. There, he meets communists, marries Kitty, and has an intermittent affair with the troubled Jean Tatlock (Florence Pugh). Eventually U.S. Army Colonel Leslie Groves (Matt Damon), the director of the Manhattan Project, recruits Oppenheimer to be the director of the Los Alamos Laboratory in New Mexico. There, he will lead a team that is part of a nationwide effort to develop an atomic bomb during World War II before Nazi Germany does. Along the way Oppenheimer makes friends and also makes friends into enemies – all of which will come back to haunt him.

I decided that since tonight (as of this writing) is the ceremony for the 2025 / 97th Academy Awards (March 2, 2025), it is a good time to finally write a review of Oppenheimer, the winner of the “Best Motion Picture of the Year” Oscar at the 96th Academy Awards. I had been putting it off, and, at one point, decided against seeing it. Not long into watching Oppenheimer, I was reminded of director Terrance Malick's 2011 film, The Tree of Life. Like Malick's film, Oppenheimer features a non-linear narrative, and director Christopher Nolan largely succeeds in using the non-linear form to make Oppenheimer a thoroughly engaging film. At times, I think one could call this film a thriller as much as one might call it a drama, historical, or biographical film. I think what really makes this film work is the large number of excellent performances given by Oppenheimer's cast, but the two that stand out are Cillian Murphy as J. Robert Oppenheimer and Robert Downey, Jr. as Levi Strauss. They both deserved their respective Oscar wins – “Best Actor” for Murphy and “Best Supporting Actor” for Downey.

Like many of the lead characters in Nolan's films, J. Robert Oppenheimer takes on the forces of nature, which includes mankind and its activities. Oppenheimer, also like many of Nolan's heroes, pays a heavy price, and I am convinced because Cillian Murphy, in a career best performance, sells me on the idea that he is a J. Robert Oppenheimer in a constant state of conflict and struggle. Murphy's performance is not so much a tour-de-force as it is the portrayal of the tour-de-force life and times of Oppenheimer. Murphy doesn't impersonate Oppenheimer; he summons a manifestation of the man that brings him to life in a dramatic performance.

As Levi Strauss, Robert Downey Jr. offers an insecure man seemingly made insecure by each subsequent success in his journey of social climbing. It is as if he cannot achieve any victory without attaching to it a perceived slight. Downey performance and Nolan's screenwriting make me wonder why there couldn't be a Levi Strauss biographical film that is also quite engaging.

Christopher Nolan also gets superb production values and creative assistance from his collaborators. The sound, the cinematography, the costumes, the hair and make-up, the visual effects, and Ludwig Goransson supernatural score help Nolan bring this film to the finish line of excellence and of movie award season triumph. It certainly does not feel like a three-hour film, and it nearly has that much narrative because the end credits are short. Oppenheimer is not only superb cinema, but it is also a highly entertaining film that would make for a good movie night or two.

9 of 10

A+

Sunday, March 2, 2025

NOTES:

2024 Academy Awards, USA: 7 wins: “Best Motion Picture of the Year” (Emma Thomas, Charles Roven, and Christopher Nolan), “Best Achievement in Directing” (Christopher Nolan), “Best Performance by an Actor in a Leading Role” (Cillian Murphy), “Best Performance by an Actor in a Supporting Role” (Robert Downey Jr.), “Best Achievement in Cinematography” (Hoyte Van Hoytema), “Best Achievement in Film Editing” (Jennifer Lame), and “Best Achievement in Music Written for Motion Pictures-Original Score” (Ludwig Goransson); 6 nominations: “Best Achievement in Makeup and Hairstyling” (Luisa Abel), “Best Sound” (Willie D. Burton, Richard King, Gary A. Rizzo, and Kevin O'Connell), “Best Performance by an Actress in a Supporting Role” (Emily Blunt), “Best Adapted Screenplay” (Christopher Nolan), “Best Achievement in Production Design” (Ruth De Jong-production designer and Claire Kaufman-set decorator), and “Best Achievement in Costume Design: (Ellen Mirojnick)

2024 BAFTA Awards: 7 wins: “Best Film” (Christopher Nolan, Charles Roven, and Emma Thomas); “Best Director” (Christopher Nolan), “Best Leading Actor” (Cillian Murphy), “Best Supporting Actor” (Robert Downey Jr.), “Best Cinematography” (Hoyte Van Hoytema), “Best Editing” (Jennifer Lame), “Original Score” (Ludwig Göransson); 6 nominations: “Best Screenplay-Adapted” (Christopher Nolan), “Best Supporting Actress” (Emily Blunt), “Best Costume Design” (Ellen Mirojnick), “Best Make Up & Hair” (Luisa Abel, Jaime Leigh McIntosh, Jason Hamer, and Ahou Mofid), “Best Production Design” (Claire Kaufman and Ruth De Jong), “Best Sound” (Richard King, Kevin O'Connell, Gary A. Rizzo, and Willie D. Burton)

2024 Golden Globes, USA: 5 wins: “Best Motion Picture, Drama,” “Best Director, Motion Picture” (Christopher Nolan), “Best Original Score, Motion Picture” (Ludwig Göransson), “Best Performance by a Male Actor in a Motion Picture, Drama” (Cillian Murphy), “Best Performance by a Male Actor in a Supporting Role in Any Motion Picture” (Robert Downey Jr.); 3 nominations: “Best Screenplay, Motion Picture” (Christopher Nolan) and “Best Performance by a Female Actor in a Supporting Role in Any Motion Picture” (Emily Blunt), and “Cinematic and Box Office Achievement”

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Friday, February 14, 2025

Universal Releases First "Jurassic World Rebirth" Official Trailer

Universal Pictures has released the first trailer for its 2025 film, "Jurassic World Rebirth." The film is due in theaters July 2, 2025.

Press Release:

A new era is born. This summer, three years after the Jurassic World trilogy concluded with each film surpassing $1 billion at the global box office, the enduring Jurassic series evolves in an ingenious new direction with Jurassic World Rebirth.

Anchored by iconic action superstar Scarlett Johansson, Emmy and SAG nominee Jonathan Bailey, and two-time Oscar® winner Mahershala Ali, this action-packed new chapter sees an extraction team race to the most dangerous place on Earth, an island research facility for the original Jurassic Park, inhabited by the worst of the worst that were left behind.

Also starring acclaimed international stars, Rupert Friend and Manuel Garcia-Rulfo, the film is directed by dynamic visualist Gareth Edwards (Rogue One: A Star Wars Story) from a script by original Jurassic Park screenwriter, David Koepp.

Five years after the events of Jurassic World Dominion, the planet’s ecology has proven largely inhospitable to dinosaurs. Those remaining exist in isolated equatorial environments with climates resembling the one in which they once thrived. The three most colossal creatures across land, sea and air within that tropical biosphere hold, in their DNA, the key to a drug that will bring miraculous life-saving benefits to humankind.

Academy Award® nominee Johansson plays skilled covert operations expert Zora Bennett, contracted to lead a skilled team on a top-secret mission to secure the genetic material. When Zora’s operation intersects with a civilian family whose boating expedition was capsized by marauding aquatic dinos, they all find themselves stranded on a forbidden island that had once housed an undisclosed research facility for Jurassic Park. There, in a terrain populated by dinosaurs of vastly different species, they come face-to-face with a sinister, shocking discovery that has been hidden from the world for decades.

Ali is Duncan Kincaid, Zora’s most trusted team member; Critics Choice and Olivier Award winner Jonathan Bailey (Wicked, "Bridgerton") plays paleontologist Dr. Henry Loomis; Emmy nominee Rupert Friend ("Homeland," "Obi-Wan Kenobi") appears as Big Pharma representative Martin Krebs, and Manuel Garcia-Rulfo ("The Lincoln Lawyer," Murder on the Orient Express) plays Reuben Delgado, the father of the shipwrecked civilian family.

The cast includes Luna Blaise (Manifest), David Iacono (The Summer I Turned Pretty) and Audrina Miranda ("Lopez vs. Lopez") as Reuben’s family. The film also features, as members of Zora and Krebs’ crews, Philippine Velge (Station Eleven), Bechir Sylvain (BMF) and Ed Skrein (Deadpool).

Jurassic World Rebirth is directed by BAFTA winner Edwards from a script by Koepp (War of the Worlds), based on characters created by Michael Crichton. The film is produced by Oscar® nominee Frank Marshall and Patrick Crowley, both longtime Jurassic franchise producers and of last summer’s blockbuster, Twisters. The film is executive produced by Steven Spielberg, Denis L. Stewart and Jim Spencer.

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Friday, January 24, 2025

USC Libraries Announces Finalists for the 2025 Scripter Awards

USC Libraries Name Finalists for 37th-Annual Scripter Awards

LOS ANGELES--(BUSINESS WIRE)--The USC Libraries named the finalists for the 37th-annual USC Libraries Scripter Awards, which honor the writers of the year’s most accomplished film and episodic series adaptations, as well as the writers of the works on which they are based.

The finalist writers for film adaptation are, in alphabetical order by film title:

-- James Mangold and Jay Cocks for “A Complete Unknown” based on the nonfiction book “Dylan Goes Electric! Newport, Seeger, Dylan, and the Night That Split the Sixties” by Elijah Wald

Peter Straughan for “Conclave” based on the novel by Robert Harris

-- RaMell Ross and Joslyn Barnes for “Nickel Boys” based on the book “The Nickel Boys” by Colson Whitehead

-- Clint Bentley and Greg Kwedar (screenplay and story) and Clarence Maclin and John “Divine G” Whitfield (story) for “Sing Sing” based on the “Esquire” magazine article “The Sing Sing Follies” by John H. Richardson

-- Screenwriter Chris Sanders and novelist Peter Brown for “The Wild Robot”

The finalist writers for episodic series are, in alphabetical order by series title:

-- Richard Gadd for the sixth episode of “Baby Reindeer,” based on his stage play of the same name

-- Steven Zaillian for “V Lucio,” the fifth episode of “Ripley,” based on “The Talented Mr. Ripley” by Patricia Highsmith

-- Joshua Zetumer for the episode “The People in the Dirt” from “Say Nothing,” based on the nonfiction book “Say Nothing: A True Story of Murder and Memory in Northern Ireland” by Patrick Radden Keefe

-- Rachel Kondo and Justin Marks for “Anjin,” the first episode of “Shōgun,” based on the novel by James Clavell

-- Will Smith for the episode “Hello Goodbye,” from “Slow Horses,” based on the novel “Spook Street” by Mick Herron

The 2025 Scripter selection committee selected the finalists from a field of 42 film and 66 episodic series adaptations. Howard Rodman, USC professor and Vice President/Secretary of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, chairs the 2025 committee.

The studios distributing the finalist films and current publishers of the printed works are:

“A Complete Unknown”—Searchlight Pictures and Dey Street Books

“Conclave”—Focus Features and Vintage Books

“Nickel Boys”—Amazon MGM Studios and Vintage Books

“Sing Sing”—A24 and Esquire

“The Wild Robot”—Universal Pictures and Little, Brown and Company

The networks and streaming platforms broadcasting the finalist episodic series and current publishers of the works are:

“Baby Reindeer”—Netflix and Methuen Drama

“Ripley”—Netflix and Vintage Books

“Say Nothing”—FX/Hulu and Vintage Books

“Shōgun”—FX/Hulu and Blackstone Publishing

“Slow Horses”—Apple TV+ and Soho Crime

The USC Libraries will announce the winning authors and screenwriters at a black-tie ceremony on Saturday, Feb. 22, 2025, in the Town & Gown ballroom at the University of Southern California.

Since 1988, Scripter has honored the authors of original works alongside the screenwriters who adapt their stories. For more information about Scripter, including ticket availability, please email scripter@usc.edu or visit scripter.usc.edu.

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Saturday, January 18, 2025

Review: Very Scary "WOLF MAN" is Gleefully Gruesome

TRASH IN MY EYE No. 4 of 2025 (No. 2010) by Leroy Douresseaux

Wolf Man (2025)

Running time: 103 minutes (1 hour, 43 minutes)

MPA – R for bloody violent content, grisly images and some language

DIRECTOR: Leigh Whannell

WRITERS: Leigh Whannell and Corbett Tuck

PRODUCERS: Jason Blue and Ryan Gosling

CINEMATOGRAPHER: Stefan Duscio

EDITOR: Andy Canny

COMPOSER: Benjamin Wallfisch

HORROR/THRILLER

Starring: Julia Garner, Christopher Abbott, Matilda Firth, Sam Jaeger, Benedict Hardie, Zac Chandler, and Ben Prendergast

SUMMARY OF THE REVIEW:

Wolf Man is a scary, scary movie – a real scary movie that delivers the thrills, the chills, and some gruesome, gory moments.

It is one of the best werewolf movies in recent memory, without ever using the term “werewolf” in the movie, but it is the real deal in bark-at-the-moon, horror movie craziness.

Wolf Man is a 2025 American horror film from director Leigh Whannell. The film follows a father, a mother, and their daughter in their struggle to fend off a murderous creature, even as the father begins to rapidly transform into something monstrous.

Wolf Man opens in 1995 in the remote mountains of Oregon. A hiker has disappeared, and people in the isolated local community speculate that he may have fallen victim to a virus called “Hills Fever,” linked to the region's wildlife. However, the Indigenous people of the area call this ailment, “the Face of the Wolf.” During a deer hunt, survivalist Grady Lovell (Sam Jaeger), and his son, Blake (Zac Chandler), spot a mysterious creature lurking in the forest. They have a terrifying encounter with it.

Thirty years later, Blake Lovell (Christopher Abbot) lives in the big city with his wife, Charlotte Lovell (Julia Garner), and their daughter, Ginger (Matilda Firth). One day, Blake finally receives documents indicating that his long-missing father has been declared dead. Blake convinces Charlotte that they should travel to Grady's remote home and take possession of his belongings.

The trip starts off well enough for Blake, Charlotte, and Ginger, but an accident leads them into an encounter with a fast-moving and mysterious creature (Ben Prendergast), which scratches Blake's arm. The three are able to escape the attack and arrive at Grady's home, where they barricade themselves. Although the creature lurks outside, the house, which had long been fortified by the paranoid Grady, offers some security. However, the scratch on Blake's arm has turned bloody and infected, and now, he is changing... into something.

Once upon a time, Universal Pictures wanted to build a “shared universe” (like the Marvel Cinematic Universe) around the portion of its film library known under the brand name, “Universal Monsters,” by rebooting select films from that brand. The shared universe was known named “Dark Universe,” and the film that launched it was the heavily-criticized, box office disappointment, The Mummy (2017), and I am talking about the one with Tom Cruise.

After that disappointment, Universal decided to move away from a shared universe concept, but kept the idea of rebooting its Universal Monsters films. The new direction was launched with writer-director Leigh Whannell's 2020 hit horror film, The Invisible Man, a reboot of the 1933 film, The Invisible Man. Now, Whannell is back in the Universal reboot game with Wolf Man, which is apparently a re-imagining of Universal Picture's 1941, classic horror film, The Wolf Man.

If you are wondering, dear readers, if Leigh Whannell's new Wolf Man is scary, it is scary as f*ck. It is a true scary movie. It is a scary-ass movie. Now, I think that Whannell and his co-writer Corbett Tuck offer shallow characters and melodramatic interpersonal character tropes, but they fashion a wild, hairy-ass horror movie that is not ashamed of being a gruesome, gross, and gory werewolf movie that leaks bodily fluids all over the place. By the way, the terms, “werewolf” and “wolf man,” are never used in this film as far as I can tell.

Whannell's collaborators are on their “A” game with this film. Hair and make-up and visual effects slow grind Blake's grisly transformation and throw us a nasty curve ball on consumption. It seems as if Benjamin Wallfisch is trying to use his film music to make me choke on my own fear, and the film editing is a constant fear machine.

The cast is quite good at selling us that all of this is real. The characters might by shallow, but the actors go deep into their craft, deep enough to make me feel as if I was there waiting to be slashed and gored by a... “mysterious creature.”

I didn't see Whannell's The Invisible Man, but Wolf Man makes me want to see all his films. Whannell may be best known for creating the 2004 film, Saw, with director James Wan, that launched a two-decade old franchise. However, I'd like him to return to the macabre world he has created with this new film. Wolf Man is not perfect, but it is a perfectly scary movie. Some of you might need a barf bag or some “Depends” undergarments in order to make it through the grim terror that is Wolf Man.

7 of 10

A-

★★★½ out of 4 stars

Saturday, January 18, 2025

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Wednesday, January 15, 2025

Review: "PRINCE OF DARKNESS" Still Scares the Green Liquid Outta Me (Celebrating John Carpenter)

TRASH IN MY EYE No. 9 (of 2004) by Leroy Douresseaux

John Carpenter’s Prince of Darkness (1987)

Running time: 102 minutes (1 hour, 42 minutes)

MPAA – R

DIRECTOR: John Carpenter

WRITER: Martin Quatermass (John Carpenter)

PRODUCER: Larry J. Franco

CINEMATOGRAPHER: Gary B. Kippe

EDITOR: Steve Mikovich

COMPOSERS: John Carpenter and Alan Howarth

HORROR/SCI-FI

Starring: Donald Pleasence, Jameson Parker, Victor Wong, Lisa Blount, Dennis Dun, Susan Blanchard, Anne Marie Howard, Ann Yen, Dirk Blocker, Jessie Lawrence Ferguson, Peter Jason, Robert Grasmere, Thom Bray, and Alice Cooper

Prince of Darkness is a 1987 American supernatural horror film from writer-director John Carpenter. The film focuses on a Catholic priest, quantum physics university professor, and his graduate students as they investigate an ancient cylinder full of swirling liquid, which may be the embodiment of the “Prince of Darkness.”

Prince of Darkness introduces Father Loomis (Donald Pleasence), a high-ranking priest. He has come across a long-hidden secret, one kept even from the Vatican. A priestly order, “The Brotherhood of Sleep,” has possessed a canister that apparently contains the liquefied remains of the “Prince of Darkness.” When the last of the order dies, Loomis seeks out a prestigious professor of physics, Prof. Howard Birack (Victor Wong), to help him understand the discoveries he’s made at the Brotherhood’s church.

Birack enlists the aid of a group of fellow scientists and students to study ancient texts and to learn the truth about the thing that may hold the “Prince of Darkness.” However, whatever the liquid is, it is awakening, and it is beginning to possess some members of the investigation team, turning them into killer zombies. Worse still, Father Loomis, Birack, and the students discover that the Prince of Darkness intends to bring his even more evil father back from the dark side to our world.

Prince of Darkness is one of my favorite John Carpenter films. It is the second installment in what Carpenter calls his “Apocalypse Trilogy,” which began with his 1982 film, The Thing (1982), and concluded with his 1994 film, In the Mouth of Madness (1994). Prince of Darkness is quite scary and suspenseful, and Carpenter’s screenplay is filled with many wonderful and eccentric ideas about the nature of time, existence, and religion. Perhaps, the most frightening thing about the film is its atmosphere of the unknown. A lot of the ideas and philosophy within the film are half-explained or unexplained, but there’s just enough to make you curious and feel that your safety and that of the film’s characters are on the line if someone doesn’t solve the riddles behind the dark conspiracy. This is also one of the better examples of Carpenter’s ability to create a narrative flow that maintains a sense of dread or a sense of impending horror from start to finish.

The actors confine their performances to doing what’s necessary to serve a horror film, so there is some stiffness to the acting, as well as some occasionally unnecessary histrionics. Still, they are integral in making this one of the better end-of-world movies. Prince of Darkness also fits in well with that sub-genre in horror in which a small band of humans stand alone against forces bent on destroying or conquering the world – the last line of defense for a humanity that doesn’t know about the secret war to save it. Prince of Darkness, in that sense, works and is a truly underrated and excellent film, especially for fans who love a good mixture of horror and science fiction.

8 of 10

★★★★ out of 4 stars

EDITED: Wednesday, January 15, 2025

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Friday, December 27, 2024

Review: "NOSFERATU" 2024: You'll Either Be Impressed or Roll Your Eyes

TRASH IN MY EYE No. 61 of 2024 (No. 2005) by Leroy Douresseaux

Nosferatu (2024)

Running time: 133 minutes (2 hours, 13 minutes)

MPA – R for bloody violent content, graphic nudity and some sexual content

DIRECTOR: Robert Eggers

WRITER: Robert Eggers (inspired by the film, Nosferatu, and the novel by Bram Stoker)

PRODUCERS: Chris Columbus, Eleanor Columbus, Robert Eggers, John Graham, and Jeff Robinov

CINEMATOGRAPHER: Jarin Blaschke (D.o.P.)

EDITOR: Louise Ford

COMPOSER: Robin Carolan

HORROR/THRILLER

Starring: Lily-Rose Depp, Nicholas Hoult, Bill Skarsgard, Aaron Taylor-Johnson, Willem Dafoe, Emma Corrin, Ralph Ineson, and Simon McBurney

SUMMARY OF THE REVIEW:

Nosferatu is entertaining – in places, but quite a bit of it is also over-the-top and overdone. Honestly, I'd be reluctant to recommend it to people who don't go to movie theaters too often because they could find better films upon which to spend their infrequent cinema visits

Nepo-baby thespian, Lily-Rose Depp, gives an excellent performance, emphasizing facial expressions and physical feats, but Bill Skarsgard as the Nosferatu, manages only to create a vampire that is as boring as he is scary and ugly

Also, if you remember Francis Ford Coppola's 1992 film, Bram Stoker's Dracula, you will find this film shockingly similar to it

Nosferatu is a 2024 American vampire horror film from writer-director Robert Eggers It is a remake of the 1922 German silent film, Nosferatu. Like that German film, the modern Nosferatu also takes inspiration from the 1897 novel Dracula, written by author Bram Stoker. The new Nosferatu focuses on a young woman and the terrifying vampire that is infatuated with her.

Nosferatu introduces Ellen (Lily-Rose Depp). Since she was a child, Ellen has had a connection to the spiritual and mystical realms. When she was a girl, she called out to a spirit, and that caused her to have a vision of a disfigured and corpse-like creature attack her. This in turns leads to Ellen having a violent seizure.

In 1838, Ellie is now an adult and is newly wed to a husband, the young estate agent, Thomas Hutter (Nicholas Hoult). The couple is living in Wisborg, Germany where Thomas works for “Knock & Associates.” His employer, Herr Knock (Simon McBurney), offers Thomas a generous commission, but to get it, Thomas must embark on a six-day journey to the small country of Transylvania.

There, Thomas will meet the mysterious Count Orlok (Bill Skarsgard), who wants to buy property in Wisborg, which he plans to make his new home. However, there is a conspiracy behind this business venture between Knock and Orlok, and Ellen, who is once again besieged by dark, monster-filled dreams, is the prize. Now, Professor Albin Eberhart Von Franz (Willem Defoe), a controversial scientist and expert on the occult and mysticism, may be the only one who can figure out what everyone else seems to ignore. And that is the fact that Orlok is a monstrous vampire – a Nosferatu!

First, some history: director F.W. Murnau's 1922 German silent film, Nosferatu, was an unauthorized film adaptation of Bram Stoker's novel, Dracula (1897). Stoker's heirs sued and the film was ordered destroyed, but several prints survived this purge. So the modern Nosferatu is both a remake of the 1922 film and an adaptation of Stoker's novel. I also find quite a bit of this new Nosferatu to be a literally and spiritually rehash of director Francis Ford Coppola's visionary, Oscar-winning film, Bram Stokers Dracula (1992).

Moving on: Lily-Rose Depp delivers a stunning performance as Ellen, one that is both emotionally charged and also physically impressive, thanks to the scenes in which she portrays having blood-curdling seizures, apparently without the help of computer-generated imagery. Depp makes by far the best out of director Robert Eggers' screenplay, which I find to be shallow and also imaginative only in the superficial way that directors borrow from other directors' films in a bid to seem clever before their sycophants and devotees.

That is exemplified by Bill Skarsgard's Count Orlok. He is both frightening and tedious. Skarsgard is buried under a mound of makeup and likely computer-rendering that makes him look like a homeless and destitute version of the infamous Russian mystic and political Svengali, Grigori Rasputin. The new Count Orlok is a scary mountain of monster-man, but he has no personality, And girl, he grunts his garbled dialogue real good. Ultimately, Skarsgard turn as Count Orlok is no better than one of actor Robert Englund's latter turns as “Freddy Krueger” in one of the many sequels to A Nightmare on Elm Street (1984).

Eggers really does not give the rest of his characters great dramatic material. Nicholas Hoult's Thomas Hutter is an embarrassing crybaby, and Aaron Taylor-Johnson's Friedrich Harding is a stubborn moron. Willem Defoe's Von Franz is smart and stupid in alternating waves that suggest that suggests he was created by some AI algorithm. Emma Corrin's Anna Harding (Friedrich's wife) seems very smart and capable, so the male writer's screenplay kills her off way too early.

Yeah, I have a lot of complaints about this new Nosferatu, mainly because it is one of those maddening films that has many brilliant elements that are beset by many tedious, hilarious, and ridiculous elements. This is not “style over substance,” but it is style strangling the shit out of substance. I heartily recommend Nosferatu to fans of vampire films and to adventurous movie lovers, but I would be reluctant to recommend it to people who are not as into movies as I am. Something like Nosferatu would make them roll their eyes.

6 of 10

★★★ out of 4 stars

Friday, December 27, 2024

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Friday, November 22, 2024

Comcast Plans to Dump Most of Its Cable Television Networks into Spin-off Company

Comcast Announces Intention to Create Leading Independent Media Business Through Spin-off of Select Cable Television Networks

New company to provide world-class news, sports and entertainment with significant scale and resources

Media veterans Mark Lazarus and Anand Kini to lead the new company

Comcast will continue its strategic focus on driving its core growth businesses, including residential broadband, wireless, business services and NBCUniversal’s streaming, studios and theme parks

Tax-free transaction expected to be completed in approximately one year

PHILADELPHIA--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Comcast Corporation (NASDAQ: CMCSA) today announced its intent to create a new publicly traded company comprised of a strong portfolio of NBCUniversal’s cable television networks, including USA Network, CNBC, MSNBC, Oxygen, E!, SYFY and Golf Channel along with complementary digital assets including Fandango and Rotten Tomatoes, GolfNow and Sports Engine, through a tax-free spin-off. The well-capitalized independent company (“SpinCo”) will have significant scale as a pure-play set of assets anchored by leading news, sports and entertainment content.

SpinCo will be an industry-leading news, sports and entertainment cable television business with a focused strategic direction. SpinCo’s stable of marquee brands will provide a diverse and differentiated content offering that will reach approximately 70 million U.S. households.

“When you look at our assets, talented management team and balance sheet strength, we are able to set these businesses up for future growth,” said Brian L. Roberts, Chairman and CEO of Comcast. “With significant financial resources from day one, SpinCo will be ideally positioned for success and highly attractive to investors, content creators, distributors and potential partners.”

The planned spin-off will also strategically position NBCUniversal with its leading broadcast and streaming media properties, including NBC entertainment, sports, news and Bravo – which all power Peacock – along with Telemundo, the theme parks business and film and television studios.

“This transaction positions both SpinCo and NBCUniversal to play offense in a changing media landscape,” said Mike Cavanagh, President of Comcast. “Taken together, the entirety of NBCUniversal will be on a new growth trajectory, fueled by our world-class content, technology, IP, properties and talent – all working in concert with each other as an integrated media company.”

As a global media and technology company, Comcast will be well-positioned to continue to invest in its strategic core growth businesses across its Content & Experiences and Connectivity & Platforms businesses, including residential broadband, wireless, business services, streaming, studios and theme parks. The transaction is expected to be accretive to revenue growth at Comcast and approximately neutral to Comcast’s leverage position. The company does not anticipate any change to its credit profile or ratings as a result of this transaction.

SpinCo Leadership Team and Profile:

SpinCo will be led by an experienced and well-respected management team. Mark Lazarus, current Chairman of NBCUniversal Media Group, will serve as the company’s Chief Executive Officer, and Anand Kini, current Chief Financial Officer of NBCUniversal and EVP of Corporate Strategy at Comcast, as its Chief Financial Officer and Chief Operating Officer. Together they will lead the development of an independent strategy, while also establishing SpinCo as a potential partner and acquirer of other complementary media businesses.

“As a standalone company with these outstanding assets, we will be better positioned to serve our audiences and drive shareholder returns in this incredibly dynamic media environment across news, sports and entertainment,” said Mark Lazarus. “We see a real opportunity to invest and build additional scale and I'm excited about the growth opportunities this transition will unlock. Our financial strength will also provide capacity for an attractive capital return policy while allowing for investment in the growth of these businesses.”

Over the last twelve months ended September 30, 2024, SpinCo generated approximately $7 billion in revenue. SpinCo will have the same dual-class share structure as Comcast. As an independent company, SpinCo will be better positioned to achieve long-term growth and create value for stakeholders, benefitting from:

Financial flexibility to pursue growth opportunities
A dedicated management team with deep sector expertise that can tailor decisions and allocate capital based on the needs of the business
Well capitalized balance sheet with strong credit metrics
Capacity for attractive capital return policy to drive shareholder value
Increased operational focus
Dedicated board of directors
While SpinCo will operate as an independent business, it will enter into a transition services agreement with NBCUniversal to allow SpinCo to operate seamlessly from day one.

Transaction Details:

Comcast is targeting to complete the spin-off in approximately one year, subject to the satisfaction of customary conditions, including obtaining final approval from the Comcast Board of Directors, satisfactory completion of SpinCo financing, receipt of tax opinions and receipt of any regulatory approvals. There can be no assurance that a separation transaction will occur, or, if one does occur, of its terms or timing.

Advisors:

Goldman Sachs & Co. LLC and Morgan Stanley & Co. LLC are serving as financial advisors to Comcast, and Davis Polk & Wardwell LLP is serving as legal counsel.

About Comcast Corporation:

Comcast Corporation (Nasdaq: CMCSA) is a global media and technology company. From the connectivity and platforms we provide, to the content and experiences we create, our businesses reach hundreds of millions of customers, viewers, and guests worldwide. We deliver world-class broadband, wireless, and video through Xfinity, Comcast Business, and Sky; produce, distribute, and stream leading entertainment, sports, and news through brands including NBC, Telemundo, Universal, Peacock, and Sky; and bring incredible theme parks and attractions to life through Universal Destinations & Experiences. Visit www.comcastcorporation.com for more information.

Caution Concerning Forward-Looking Statements:

This press release includes statements that may constitute forward-looking statements. In evaluating these statements, readers should consider various factors, including the risks and uncertainties we describe in the “Risk Factors” sections of our most recent Annual Report on Form 10-K, our most recent Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q and other reports filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). Factors that could cause our actual results to differ materially from these forward-looking statements include changes in and/or risks associated with: the competitive environment; consumer behavior; the advertising market; consumer acceptance of our content; programming costs; key distribution and/or licensing agreements; use and protection of our intellectual property; our reliance on third-party hardware, software and operational support; keeping pace with technological developments; cyber attacks, security breaches or technology disruptions; weak economic conditions; acquisitions and strategic initiatives; operating businesses internationally; natural disasters, severe weather-related and other uncontrollable events; loss of key personnel; labor disputes; laws and regulations; adverse decisions in litigation or governmental investigations; and other risks described from time to time in reports and other documents we file with the SEC. Readers are cautioned not to place undue reliance on forward-looking statements, which speak only as of the date they are made, and involve risks and uncertainties that could cause actual events or our actual results to differ materially from those expressed in any such forward-looking statements. We undertake no obligation to update or revise publicly any forward-looking statements, whether because of new information, future events or otherwise. The amount and timing of any dividends and share repurchases are subject to business, economic and other relevant factors.

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Wednesday, November 20, 2024

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

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

Gladiator (2000)

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

MPAA – R for intense, graphic combat

DIRECTOR: Ridley Scott

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

PRODUCERS: David Franzoni, Branko Lustig, and Douglas Wick

CINEMATOGRAPHER: John Mathieson

EDITOR: Pietro Scalia

COMPOSERS: Hans Zimmer and Lisa Gerrard

Academy Award winner

DRAMA/HISTORICAL

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

9 of 10

A+

Wednesday, November 20, 2024

NOTES:

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

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

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

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Thursday, October 31, 2024

Review: "HALLOWEEN ENDS" Because It Ran Out of Gas

TRASH IN MY EYE No. 45 of 2024 (No. 1989) by Leroy Douresseaux

Halloween Ends (2022)

Running time: 111 minutes (1 hour, 51 minutes)

MPA – R for bloody horror violence and gore, language throughout and some sexual references

DIRECTOR: David Gordon Green

WRITERS: David Gordon Green & Danny McBride and Paul Brad Logan and Chris Bernier (based on the characters created by John Carpenter and Debra Hill)

PRODUCERS: Malek Akkad, Bill Block, and Jason Blum

CINEMATOGRAPHER: Michael Simmonds (D.o.P.)

EDITOR: Tim Alverson

COMPOSERS: Cody Carpenter, John Carpenter, and Daniel Davies

HORROR/THRILLER

Starring: Jamie Lee Curtis, Andi Matichak, James Jude Courtney, Rohan Campbell, Will Patton, Jesse C. Boyd, Michael Barbieri, Destiny Moné, Joey Harris, Marteen, Joanne Barron, Rick Moose, Michele Dawson, Keraun Harris,Kyle Richards, Michael O'Leary, Jaxon Goldenberg, Candice Rose,Jack William Marshall, and Omar Dorsey

Halloween Ends is a 2022 slasher-horror film from director David Gordon Green. It is the thirteenth installment in the Halloween film franchise. It is also the third film in a trilogy of sequels to the original 1978 Halloween, the first of that trilogy being 2018's Halloween. Halloween Ends finds Laurie Strode wondering if the troubled young man that her granddaughter is dating carries the evil she saw in her decades long nemesis, Michael Myers.

Halloween Ends opens in Haddonfield, Illinois on Halloween night, 2019. Twenty-one-year-old Corey Cunningham (Rohan Campbell) is babysitting a bratty 11-year-old boy. The night ends tragically, and Corey becomes a pariah in Haddonfield.

Three years later, it is 2022. Haddonfield is still reeling from the aftermath of the killing spree launched by the notorious Michael Myers (James Jude Courtney) in 2018 (as seen in 2018's Halloween and 2021's Halloween Kills). Michael has vanished, and his main victim, Laurie Strode (Jamie Lee Curtis), is writing a memoir and living with her granddaughter, Allyson Nelson (Andi Matichak). Corey is working at his stepfather, Roger's (Rick Moose) salvage yard.

A bullying incident brings Corey into contact with Laurie, so Corey meets Allyson, who is immediately taken with him. It seems as if the pariah Corey and the traumatized Allyson have found the perfect mate in each another. However, Corey has a strange and unexpected encounter that might lead to the creation of a new serial killer.

One could argue that Halloween 4: The Return of Michael Myers (1988) is a soft reboot of the first two films in the franchise – Halloween (1978) and Halloween II (1981). Halloween H20: 20 Years Later (1998) was a reboot of the franchise in that it ignored franchise entries four through six. Rob Zombie's 2007 film, Halloween, was an ever harder reboot. Halloween 2018 was not so much a reboot as it was a true sequel to the original story. Halloween Kills (2021) was basically an attempt to insert a course correction of Halloween II that would sit between the original Halloween and 2018 Halloween, while kicking 1981's Halloween II partially to the curb.

Halloween Ends is spiritually related to Rob Zombie's 2007 film, at least a little. Zombie's film asks the question what creates a monster like Michael Myers. Halloween Ends depicts how a town's toxic legacy and history and its shitty townsfolk can come together to create the kind of monster and inhuman killer that will stalk the town's streets and kill the townsfolk.

Halloween Ends flirts with brilliance, but director David Gordon Green and his co-writers turn the second half of the film into a tedious display of ultra-violence. The film has a lot to say about scapegoating, pariahs, grief, trauma, post-traumatic stress, victim-blaming, and mercilessness, to name a few. In the end, however, Halloween Ends has to be a Halloween movie and bodies need to be dismembered, smashed, crushed, shot, and violently penetrated.

I really enjoyed this movie for a time; then, I was ready for it to... end. The performances are good, but no one performance really stands out to me, although (sexy) Will Patton as Deputy Frank Hawkins certainly tries, as he usually does in all his film and television performances. Whatever future this franchise has, it is time to move on to something really new. Halloween Ends is a good, but not great way to end the murder spree that began with the original film.

6 of 10

★★★ out of 4 stars

Wednesday, October 30, 2024

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Wednesday, October 30, 2024

Review: "HALLOWEEN III: Season of the Witch" is More Strange Than Good

TRASH IN MY EYE No. 155 (of 2003) by Leroy Douresseaux

Halloween III: Season of the Witch (1982)

Running time: 98 minutes (1 hour, 38 minutes)

MPAA – R

DIRECTOR: Tommy Lee Wallace

WRITER: Tommy Lee Wallace

PRODUCERS: John Carpenter and Debra Hill

CINEMATOGRAPHER: Dean Cundey (D.o.P.)

EDITOR: Millie Moore

COMPOSERS: John Carpenter and Alan Howarth

HORROR/SCI-FI/FANTASY

Starring: Tom Atkins, Stacy Nelkin, Dan O’Herlihy, Michael Currie, Ralph Strait, Jadeen Barbor, and Brad Schacter

Halloween III: Season of the Witch is a 1982 American horror and science fiction-fantasy film from director Tommy Lee Wallace. It is the third installment in the Halloween film series and the only one not to feature the franchise's star antagonist, Michael Myers. British science fiction author, Nigel Kneale, and series co-creator, John Carpenter, joined director Tommy Lee Wallace in contributing to the writing of this film. Season of the Witch focuses on a doctor who uncovers a plot use children and a particular brand of Halloween masks to resurrect an ancient ritual.

When her father is murdered in his hospital bed, Ellie Grimbridge (Stacy Nelkin) begins to suspect the involvement of a powerful novelty company with whom her father, Harry (Al Berry), had a relationship. She convinces an over-stressed physician Dr. Daniel “Dan” Challis (Tom Atkins) to accompany her to the headquarters of the company, Silver Shamrock, where they meet the company’s creepy owner Conal Cochran (Dan O’Herlihy).

Silver Shamrock’s big sales push occurs at Halloween, and everywhere the two go, they encounter omnipresent television ads for the company’s three Halloween masks. As Halloween gets closer, the world around Dan and Ellie becomes more perilous and stranger, and they delve deeper into Silver Shamrock’s evil plans for the holiday.

After wrapping up the story he began in the 1978 film, Halloween, in the sequel, Halloween II (1981), John Carpenter had different plans. He intended Halloween III: Season of the Witch to be the first in an annual series of Halloween movies that each told a different Halloween related story. Each film would, of course, have the “Halloween” brand name, but this film failed at the box office and killed that plan. Directed by Tommy Lee Wallace, the film editor of the original Halloween and for Carpenter's 1980 film, The Fog, Season of the Witch is average horror film with the potential to be something really great. It is gross-filled genre fare having equal doses of horror, mystery, and science fiction.

It is difficult to point out concretely just where it all went wrong. The mystery element is great, while the science fiction element is far fetched and more fantasy than science. The sci-fi/fantasy element fails because of a lack of proper execution and because the magical elements are flat and unconvincing. The horrific aspects are strong, and the dénouement is bracing and unsettling. Somewhere along the line, however, it all falls apart, and the movie can leave the viewer as unsatisfied as it will leave him curious about what happens in the story after the movie fades to black.

Still, I’d watch it again. There’s something in it, warts and all, that intrigues me, and I wish the filmmakers had taken the time to get whatever it is right.

4 of 10

★★ out of 4 stars

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Tuesday, July 2, 2024

Review: "DESPICABLE ME 2" Will Make Kids Happy, Happy, Happy...

TRASH IN MY EYE No. 27 of 2024 (No. 1971) by Leroy Douresseaux

Despicable Me 2 (2013)

Running time: 98 minutes (1 hour, 38 minutes)

MPAA – PG for rude humor and mild action

DIRECTORS: Pierre Coffin and Chris Renaud

WRITERS: Ken Daurio and Cinco Paul

PRODUCERS: Janet Healy and Chris Meledandri

EDITOR: Gregory Perler

COMPOSERS: Heitor Pereira (score) and Pharrell Williams (songs)

Academy Award nominee

ANIMATION/FANTASY and ACTION/COMEDY/FAMILY

Starring: (voice) Steve Carell, Kristen Wiig, Miranda Cosgrove, Dana Gaier, Elsie Fisher Russell Brand, Benjamin Bratt, Moises Arias, Ken Jeong, Steve Coogan, Pierre Coffin, and Chris Renaud

Despicable Me 2 is a 2013 computer-animated action-fantasy and comedy film directed by Pierre Coffin and Chris Renaud. The film is produced by Illumination Entertainment and distributed by Universal Pictures. It is a direct sequel to the 2010 film, Despicable Me. Despicable Me 2 finds bad guy-tuned-dad guy, Gru, recruited by a secret organization to discover who stole a deadly chemical.

Despicable Me 2 finds Gru (Steve Carell), formerly the world’s number one super-villain, settled into his role as the adopted father of the three orphan girls: Margo (Miranda Cosgrove), Edith (Dana Gaier), and Agnes (Elsie Fisher). All is not well at home, however. Gru is trying to get his “jams and jellies” business to succeed, while one of his female neighbors tries to set him up on a blind date. Also, Gru's longtime gadget man, Dr. Nefario (Russell Brand), quits so that he can take a job that will allow him to be a bad guy again.

But Gru's old life comes calling when the Anti-Villain League (AVL) demands that he help them discover who stole the dangerous transmutation serum, “PX-41.” They appoint AVL agent, Lucy Wilde (Kristen Wiig), as his partner. The two set up in a fake business, a bakery named “Bake My Day,” in Paradise Mall, a shopping mall near Gru's home. As for the thief of the serum, Gru has a suspect in mind, a former super-villain who supposedly died in a volcano, but AVL doesn't believe him. Meanwhile, someone is stealing some of Gru's little helpers, the Minions.

I really liked the original Despicable Me, but when Despicable Me 2 arrived back in 2013, I decided not to see it because... well, because the first was enough. I'd gotten all the cuteness of Margo, Edith, and Agnes that I needed, and I had gotten the best of Gru's character arc and transformation from villain to father.

However, I was shocked to find that I really liked the first full-length trailer for the upcoming Despicable 4 (2024). So I decided to watch Despicable Me 2 for the first time, and I was right the first time. The first film was really enough for me. The girls are still cute, but there is less of them so that there can be more screen time for Gru's burgeoning relationship with Lucy Wilde. I'm only kinda interested in that. Gru's character arc in this film isn't as engaging as it was in the first film. Clearly, the Minions needed more screen time than they got here, although they do play a pivotal part in the villain's wacky plot. In fact, two years after the release of this film, the Minions got their own movie, 2015's Minions.

Despicable Me 2 isn't bad, but the film's storytellers play it safe rather than advance the elements that made the first film a surprise hit. It earned two Oscar nominations, one for Pharrell Williams' song, “Happy,” which was practically ubiquitous from July 2013 to well into 2014. I'm just not sure how invested I can be in this franchise, although the fourth film has sort of captured my interest. It is really in the last twenty minutes of the film before the end credits that Despicable Me 2 really comes to life. That's okay for me, but I'm sure family audiences will find it more than okay.

6 of 10

★★★ out of 4 stars

Tuesday, July 2, 2024

NOTES:

2014 Academy Awards, USA: 2 nominations: “Best Animated Feature Film of the Year” (Chris Renaud, Pierre Coffin, Christopher Meledandri) and “Best Achievement in Music Written for Motion Pictures, Original Song” (Pharrell Williams-music and lyrics for the song, “Happy”)

2013 BAFTA Children's Awards: 1 win: “BAFTA Kids Vote – Feature Film”

2014 BAFTA Awards: 1 nomination: “Best Animated Film” (Chris Renaud and Pierre Coffin)

2013 Golden Globes, USA: 1 nomination: “Best Animated Feature Film”

2014 Black Reel Awards: 1 nomination: “Outstanding Song” (Pharrell Williams-Performer & Writer for the song “Happy”)

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Friday, May 31, 2024

Negromancer News Bits and Bites from May 26th to 31st, 2024 - UPDATE #11

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

You can support Leroy via Paypal or on Patreon:

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

ENTERTAINMENT AND CULTURE NEWS:

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

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

MOVIES - From Deadline: Mike Flanagan will write, direct, and produce a radical new take on "The Exocist" for Blumhouse. Flanagan has previously directed such films as "Oculus" (2013) and "Doctor Sleep."

NETFLIX - From THR: Emmy-winner, Kerry Washington, has joined director Rian Johnson's third "Knives Out" film, "Wake Up Dead Man: A Knives Out Mystery." The film is due in 2025.

SPORTS/BLM - From ESPN: Major League Baseball (MLB) has incorporated the statistics from the Negro Leagues, the professional baseball leagues that were made up of African-American baseball players. The first Black players league formed in 1887 and the last such league, Negro American League, disbanded after the 1962 season, although some consider its 1951 season to be the last major league seasons. The records that were incorporated into the MLB record books apparently cover six different Negro Leagues over a period from 1920 to 1948.

BOX OFFICE - From BoxOfficePro: The winner of the three-day Memorial Day weekend (5/24 to 5/26/2024) box office is Warner Bros.' "Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga" with an estimated take of 25.6 million dollars.

CANNES - From Deadline: Director Sean Baker's New York-set romantic comedy-drama, "Anora," has won the top prize, the Palme d'Or, at the 77th Cannes Film Festival. It is the first American film to do so since director Terrence Malick's The Tree of Life (2011).

MOVIES - From Deadline: Universal Pictures has announced a new original event film created and directed by Steven Spielberg set for May 15, 2026. Universal always had the weekend reserved for an event title.

OBITS:

From ESPN: Television sportscaster and former American professional basketball player, Bill Walton, has died at the age of 71, Monday, May 27, 2024. Walton won two titles as a member of the UCLA Bruins (1971-72, 1972-73). He played for three NBA franchises: the Portland Trailblazers, where he won a title in 1976-77; the San Diego/Los Angeles Clippers; and the Boston Celtics, where he won a title in 1985-86. He became a member of the Basketball Hall of Fame in 1993. Since 1990, he'd been a television sportscaster, winning an Emmy Award in 2001.

From Deadline: American songwriter, Richard M. Sherman, has died at the age of 95, Saturday, May 25, 2024. Richard and his the late brother, Robert B. Sherman (1925-2012), were known as the "Sherman Brothers" and were also known for the work in musical films. They produced more motion picture song scores than any other team. Apparently all their music was produced for the Walt Disney Company, and Richard and Robert won two Oscars for the music the produced for Mary Poppins (1964). Richard and Robert were named "Disney Legends" in 1990.

From Variety: Film and television writer, producer, director, and personality, Morgan Spurlock, has died at the age of 53, Thursday, May 23, 2024. Spurlock was best known for the 2003 documentary film, Super Size Me, which earned him an Academy Award nomination. His career was mostly derailed after he admitted to sexual misconduct in 2017.

From Deadline: American television entrepreneur and visionary, Patrick Gottsch, has died at the age of 70, Saturday, May 18, 2024. In the early 1980s, he started his own home satellite installation company and also began working for a livestock auction company in the early 1990s. Gottsch put his experiences together and launched "Rural Free Delivery Television" (RFD-TV), a 34-hour rural television network, on the DISH Network in December 2000. Gottsch had first tried to launch RFD-TV in the late 1980s and in the 1990s, but could not get funding. In 2017, he also launched "The Cowboy Channel," which like RFD-TV, operates under Gottsch's company, Rural Media Group.

Thursday, October 5, 2023

Review: "THE BROTHERHOOD OF THE WOLF" is Crazy (Literally), Sexy, Cool

TRASH IN MY EYE No. 6 (of 2002) by Leroy Douresseaux

Pacte des loups, Le (2001)

COUNTRY OF ORIGIN: France; Language: French, German, Italian

The Brotherhood of the Wolf (2002) – USA title

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

MPAA – R for strong violence, gore, and sexuality/nudity

DIRECTOR: Christophe Gans

WRITERS: Stephane Cabel and Christophe Gans

PRODUCERS: Richard Grandpierre and Samuel Hadida

CINEMATOGRAPHER: Dan Laustsen

EDITORS: Xavier Loutreuil, Sébastien Prangère, and David Wu

COMPOSER: Joseph LoDuca

DRAMA/HISTORICAL AND HORROR/MYSTERY/THRILLER with elements of adventure

Starring: Samuel Le Bihan, Vincent Cassel, Emilie Dequenne, Monica Bellucci, Jérémie Rénier, Mark Dacascos, Jean Yanne, Jean-Francois Stévenin, and Jacques Perrin

Le Pacte des loups is a 2001 French period film, action and horror movie directed by Christophe Gans. The film was released in the United States in early 2002 by Universal Pictures under the title, The Brotherhood of the Wolf (the title by which I will refer to this film in this review). The film's plot is loosely based on the legend of the “beast of Gévaudan” and a real-life series of killings that took place in France in the 18th century. The Brotherhood of the Wolf focuses on a French knight and his Native American companion who are sent to investigate the mysterious slaughter of hundreds of people by an unknown creature in the county of Gévaudan.

At the beginning of The Brotherhood of the Wolf, Old Thomas d'Apcher (Jacques Perrin) recounts a fantastic fable/story of his youth. It is France of 1765, and the King sends two envoys to the Gevaudan province (which no longer exists) to investigate a series of brutal murders of which the locals believe is committed by a mysterious beast. The envoys are the Chevalier Gregoire de Fronsac (Samuel Le Bihan), a naturalist, and his companion, Mani (Mark Dacascos), a Mohawk Iroquois shaman of New France (Canada). They arrive in Gevandan to find the provincials bigoted and superstitious, even in the midst of the death all around them.

Among the colorful cast of characters include a mysterious and powerful priest, Henri Sardis (Jean-Francois Stevenin), and a sly and dangerous one-armed hunter, Jean Francois de Morangias (Vincent Cassel). The young Thomas d’Apcher (Jeremie Renier) becomes a hunting companion of Fronsac and Mani. Two strong female characters compete for the attentions of the virile and intelligent Fronsac: Marianne de Morangias (Emilie Dequenne), Jean Francois’s beautiful younger sister, and the nubile and hypnotic courtesan Sylvia (Monica Bellucci). As Fronsac and Mani pierce the veil of mystery and terror that covers the province, intrigue and deceit surround them, and the beast continues to kill.

Directed by Christophe Gans, The Brotherhood of the Wolf bends genres as easily as the film’s beast tears through its victims. Horror, thriller, western, martial arts, and mystery, the film is filled with suspense, terror, romance, eroticism, and political intrigue. It is at times intoxicating and mind bending and at other times, languid and thoughtful. It is difficult to categorize, but the movie is largely fantasy and action, but different from most of the movies that both genres recall.

Fronsac is a man of reason who sees a human conspiracy behind the killings that is darker and more insidious than any beast of Hell. Still, this man of science also understands the mystic worldview and belief system of his friend and blood brother, Mani. Fronsac is enlightenment’s soldier against the backward and ignorant peasants and nobles of Gevaudan. The provincials fear the ways of a city like Paris, and Sardis and Jean Francois resent the capital’s intrusion into their world. They disdain the confidence and intelligence of the King’s envoys. The beast is a physical manifestation of the provincials superstitions, isolationism, hatred, and evil that feeds upon the populace, and the creature resists the authority of the government.

The movie’s creature is a computer-generated image (CGI); at its best is fearsome. At its worst, the creature, especially during some daylight scenes, is hokey. However, Gans wisely holds revealing the beast in scenes that go by so quickly that we rarely get a good look at it. Sometimes, just the unseen beast’s roars, growls, and footsteps are enough to set the heart racing.

Le Bihan as Fronsac is strong and strongly confident. He is the romantic lead upon which the audience hitches its wagon. When he and Mani arrive early in the movie, after the film’s opening murder, they appear in a driving rainstorm, masked minutemen with the presence of demigods. Mani’s assault upon the villagers recalls fight scenes from The Matrix, but his are down to earth and more physical, more visceral; the threat of danger to him from the attackers is much greater. Decascos is mostly very good on the screen as Mani, though a few bits of his screen time are a little flat. When Gans unleashes him late in the movie, Decascos is a beautiful force a nature, a small storm in human guise tearing through his antagonists.

Vincent Cassel’s Jean Francois is the serpentine equal to Fronsac. He dominates all of his screen time, except for his scenes with Fronsac, in which both must share the screen. The movie nearly bursts from having to contain both their magnetic presences. They alone are worth the price of admission, but the rest of the cast, both veterans and newcomers, make the most of their roles.

Although a little long, The Brotherhood of the Wolf is wonderful; a dark horse, it is one of the best films of the year 2001. Gans and his screenwriting partner, Stephane Cabel, created a script that melds raw action with social intrigue, and the result is quite an accomplishment. The Brotherhood of the Wolf is plainly good entertainment. Not quite high art, it is eye candy that is very smart and very fun.

8 of 10

★★★★ out of 4 stars

Edited: Wednesday, October 4, 2023

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