Review: Idris Elba and the Lion Be Beastin' in "BEAST"

TRASH IN MY EYE No. 65 of 2022 (No. 1877) by Leroy Douresseaux

Beast (2022)
Running time:  93 minutes (1 hour, 33 minutes)
MPA – R for violent content, bloody images and some language
DIRECTOR:  Baltasar Kormakur
WRITERS: Ryan Engle; from a story by Jaime Primak Sullivan
PRODUCERS:  Baltasar Kormaku, James Lopez, and Will Packer
CINEMATOGRAPHERS:  Philippe Rousselot and Baltasar Breki (D.o.P.)
EDITOR:  Jay Rabinowitz
COMPOSER:  Steven Price

THRILLER

Starring:  Idris Elba, Iyana Halley, Leah Sava Jeffries, and Sharlto Copley

Beast is a 2022 wildlife thriller film from director Baltasar Kormakur.  The film focuses on a widowed father and his two teenage daughters who must fight for survival after they are attacked and stalked by a rogue lion.

Beast opens in South Africa.  Recently widowed Dr. Nathaniel “Nate” Samuels (Idris Elba) and his teenage daughters, Meredith “Mare” Samuels (Iyana Halley) and Norah Samuels (Leah Sava Jeffries), travel to South Africa for a vacation.  They arrive at the Mopani Reserve where Nate reunites with his old friend and dear family friend, Martin Battles (Sharlto Copley), a biologist and manager of the Mopani Reserve.

Nate was recently widowed when his wife, Amahle, died of cancer, and he is somewhat estranged from his daughters.  Mare is argumentative and rebellious, and Norah is sensitive.  Both girls are bitter about the separation of their father and late mother prior to the latter's death.  Nate hopes that this trip will help him to reconnect with his daughters.

On the second day of the trip, Martin takes the Samuels to the reserve's restricted areas.  Along the way, they encounter an injured man that has apparently been mauled by a lion.  That same lion attacks again, and suddenly, Nate and his daughters are trapped in their vehicle.  Stranded in a remote area inside a damaged vehicle, Nate must find a way to save himself and his daughters from a bloodthirsty rogue lion that does not stop stalking its prey until it they are dead.

First, I wish that I'd seen Beast on a movie theater screen.  Secondly, the mini-melodrama between Nate and his daughters did not interest me.  I found Mare and Norah to be often irritating, and more than once, they made their plight against the lion worse.  Beside that subplot, the film is well written.  There are certainly enough death-defying moments to keep the viewer's attention on the film.

Still, Beast is very well directed and edited.  As soon as Martin, Nate, Mare and Norah leave Martin's home, director Baltasar Kormakur begins turning up the heat.  Before Beast becomes a full-on survival thriller, Kormakur makes it a riveting suspense thriller as the story moves about the reserve, visiting a local pride and moving on to a small village.  That's where the movie explodes, and the rest of the way, Beast is a gripping, edge-of-your-seat thriller.  Honestly, I feel like the film mesmerized me, and I certainly didn't think that I would end up liking it as much as I did … and still do.  I can see myself watching it again.

In addition to having a great monster – the rogue lion, Beast also has a great actor and true movie star, Idris Elba, as its lead.  Elba has that kind of big screen magic that can make the viewer want to vicariously experience a movie through him.  I certainly found myself following his every step, living through the obstacles and threats to Nate Samuels' very life.  Elba also convincingly plays a medical doctor and a loving and patient father, especially to two stubborn daughters.  So Beast has a lion of an actor and movie star to go along with its killer super-lion.  Both will make you feel as if you need to catch your breath, dear readers.

7 of 10
A-
★★★½ out of 4 stars

Friday, October 28, 2022


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

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

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

Amazon wants me to inform you that the affiliate link below is a PAID AD, but I technically only get paid (eventually) if you click on the affiliate link below AND buy something(s).

Negromancer News Bits and Bites from October 1st to 9th, 2021 - Update #26

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

You can support Leroy via Paypal or on Patreon:

ENTERTAINMENT AND CULTURE NEWS:

MOVIES - From Deadline:  Deadline is confirming that actor Cillian Murphy will play J. Robert Oppenheimer in Christopher Nolan's biopic, "Oppenheimer."  The film is due July 21, 2023.

MUSIC/CELEBRITY - From Variety:  Dwayne Johnson enters the rap game via Tech N9ine's new single, "Face Off."

NETFLIX - From THR:  Netflix has ordered a spinoff of Fox's late sitcom, "That 70's Show."  Creators Bonnie and Terry Turner and original cast members, Kurtwood Smith (Red Forman) and Debra Jo Rupp (Kitty Forman), are back for "That 90's Show."

POLITICS/TELEVISION - From Reuters:   How AT&T helped build far-right One America News (OAN).

From RollingStone:  "Fox News and OAN Were Deeper in the Bag for Trump Than Anyone Realized."

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

TELEVISION - From Variety:  The cable net, Food Network, is reportedly parting ways with one of its most famous faces, superstar chef Bobby Flay, who has been with the network for 27 years.

SCANDAL - From YahooNews:  Rachel Lindsay, the first black woman to star on ABC's "The Bachelorette," tells a crazy story about ESPN's tragic mulatto, Sage Steele.

STREAMING - From THR:   Spyglass is rebooting the classic 1987 horror film, "Hellraiser," with "The L Word: Generation Q" actress," Jamie Clayton playing the iconic villian, "Pinhead."  The movie will debut on Hulu in 2022.  Clive Barker, the creator of Hellraiser and of its source material, the novella, "The Hellbound Heart," is one of the film's producers.

ANIMATION - From Deadline:  FXX's long-running animated series, "Archer," said good-bye to one of its main characters, "Malory Archer," voiced by Jessica Walter, in the Season 12 finale.  Walter died March 24th of this year at the age of 80.

AMAZON - From Variety:  Amazon has licensed “Hotel Transylvania: Transformania” from Sony Pictures Animation. The fourth (and final) installment in the blockbuster franchise will stream globally — excluding China — on Prime Video on Jan. 14, 2022. 

COVID-19 - From THR:   "Hollywood Battle Lines Emerge in Simmering Vaccine War." Without mandates to get a shot, some film and TV sets have been thrown into chaos as A-list holdouts have caused work stoppages while others say, “It’s not my place to police anyone.”

MOVIES - From THR:  On a recent episode of her talk show, "The Drew Barrymore Show," Drew talked about the infamous clash between her co-stars, Lucy Liu and Bill Murray, on the set of the 2000 "Charlie's Angels" film.

TELEVISION - From Deadline:  Actor Robert Carlyle is set to reprise his role as "Francis Begbie," a character he made famous in the film, "Trainspotting" (1996).  Begbie will return in a six-part series that is an adaptation of author Irvine Welsh's 2016 novel, "The Blade Artist," a sequel to "Trainspotting," Welsh's 1993 novel that became the beloved 1996 British film.

TELEVISION - From Deadline:  The former NBC legal drama, "L.A. Law" (1984-86), has taken another step in making a comeback.  ABC has ordered a pilot for a sequel series, and original series star, Blair Underwood, returns as his character, "Jonathan Rollins," in addition to being an executive producer.

BOX OFFICE - From BoxOfficePro:   The winner of the 10/1 to 10/3/21 weekend box office is "Venom: Let There Be Carnage" with an estimated take of 90.1 million dollars.

Negromancer:  My review of "Venom: Let There Be Carnage."

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

NEWS - Truthout:  The United States Post Office (USPS) has started offering check-cashing services as part of a pilot program in four cities.  USPS customers are being given the opportunity to cash payroll or other types of checks, up to $500 in total, at single-branch post office locations in Washington, D.C., Falls Church, Virginia, Baltimore, Maryland, and the Bronx in New York City. 

ACADEMY AWARDS - From Deadline:   Will Packer has been named Producer of the 94th Annual Academy Awards, set for March 27, 2022.  Packer is a prolific producer of numerous films and TV projects including "Straight Outta Compton," "Ride Along," and "Girls Trip," to name a few.  He also produced the 2016, four-episode, remake of the television miniseries "Roots."

TELEVISION - From Deadline:  WarnerMedia has released the first teaser for "House of the Dragon," a spin-off from the Emmy-winning, "Game of Thrones."

COVID-19 - From YahooNews:   Trying to Make Sense of COVID's Mysterious 2-Month Cycle

MOVIES - From Deadline:  Universal has moved the Bluhouse horror flick, "The Black Phone," from Jan. 28th, 2021 to Feb. 4, 2022.

DISNEY - From Deadline:  Disney and Scarlett Johansson have settled their legal issues, and her projects with the studio are back on, including "Tower of Terror."  No terms of the settlement were made public, but Deadline estimates the multiple Oscar-nominated Johansson could get 40 million dollars.

DISNEY - From Deadline:  The Disney Channel favorite, "Raven's Home," has been renewed for a fifth season.  Actor Rondell Sheridan, who played Raven Baxter's father, "Victor Baxter," on the original series, "That's So Raven," will be one of the new series regulars.   However, the storyline moves to San Francisco and that results in the departure of several series regulars, Navia Robinson (Nia), Jason Maybaum (Levi), Sky Katz (Tess) and Anneliese van der Pol (Chelsea).

AMAZON - From THR:  Amazon is working on an update of the 1999 hit film, "Cruel Intentions," for its IMDb TV.

From THR:  Speaking of IMDb TV, the streamer is also interested in a greenlighting a second season of the cancelled ABC legal drama, "Rebel."  IMDb has the free streaming rights to the first season.

NFL - From Deadline:   Dr. Dre, Snoop Dogg, Kendrick Lamar, Eminem and Mary J. Blige will perform during the 2022 Super Bowl Halftime Show (Sun., Feb. 13th, 2022) at SoFi Stadium near Los Angeles.  The five artists have never before appeared together onstage, according to the official announcement of the show. Among them, they have 43 Grammys and 22 No. 1 albums on the Billboard charts.

TELEVISION - From GoodHousekeeping:    The sister cable networks, "Hallmark Channel" and "Hallmark Movies & Mysteries" are debuting a combined 41 movies across both networks this holiday season.  "Good Housekeeping" has posted Hallmark Channel's "Countdown to Christmas" 2021 movie schedule and Hallmark Movies & Mysteries' "Miracles of Christmas" 2021 movie schedule.  Hallmark starts off with "You, Me & Christmas Tree" on Fri., Oct. 2nd.  HMM starts off with "Christmas in My Heart" on Sat., Oct. 23rd.

Paramount Pictures Announces "What Men Want" Special Event Screenings

PARAMOUNT PICTURES AND EXHIBITION PARTNERS LAUNCH “GIRLS’ NIGHT OUT” ADVANCE SCREENINGS TO THE COMEDY, "WHAT MEN WANT"

Fans will have the opportunity to see the film early for one day only, on Wednesday, February 6th, 2019 at 7:00pm

HOLLYWOOD, CA - Paramount Pictures announced today that on Wednesday, February 6th, 2019, fans at select theatres in the U.S. will have the chance to attend paid WHAT MEN WANT Girls’ Night Out Screenings.

Fans who participate in this one-day only event will get the chance to grab their friends for a fun night out and see the film on the big screen before it opens nationwide on Friday, February 8th. Tickets will be on sale for the prevailing price at participating locations, and each paid admission includes a ticket to the movie, bonus content and a free WHAT MEN WANT cocktail glass at all participating theatres - while supplies last. Some circuits will offer special concession deals, specialty beverages themed around the movie, and/or more.  Offers will vary from circuit to circuit and theatre to theatre.

Showtime will be 7:00PM at all participating locations, with 335 theatres participating in over 70 markets. Over 200 of the screenings to take place at theatres with bars and/or with beer/wine & frozen drink service.

Tickets go on sale Friday, January 18th, 2019 at WhatMenWantMovie.com as well as at participating theatre box offices and respective exhibitor ticketing sites.

Ali Davis (Taraji P. Henson) is a successful sports agent who’s constantly boxed out by her male colleagues. When Ali is passed up for a well-deserved promotion, she questions what else she needs to do to succeed in a man’s world... until she gains the ability to hear men’s thoughts! With her newfound power, Ali looks to outsmart her colleagues as she races to sign the next basketball superstar, but the lengths she has to go to will put her relationship with her best friends and a potential new love interest (Aldis Hodge) to the test. WHAT MEN WANT is the latest comedy from director Adam Shankman (HAIRSPRAY) and producers Will Packer and James Lopez (Girls Trip), co-starring Tracy Morgan, Richard Roundtree, Wendi McLendon-Covey, Josh Brener, Tamala Jones, Phoebe Robinson, Max Greenfield, Jason Jones, Brian Bosworth, Chris Witaske and Erykah Badu. The story is by Jas Waters and Tina Gordon, with a screenplay by Tina Gordon and Peter Huyck & Alex Gregory.


About Paramount Pictures Corporation
Paramount Pictures Corporation (PPC), a global producer and distributor of filmed entertainment, is a unit of Viacom (NASDAQ: VIAB, VIA), a leading content company with prominent and respected film, television and digital entertainment brands. Paramount controls a collection of some of the most powerful brands in filmed entertainment, including Paramount Pictures, Paramount Animation, Paramount Television, Paramount Players, MTV Films, and Nickelodeon Movies. PPC operations also include Paramount Home Media Distribution, Paramount Pictures International, Paramount Licensing Inc., and Paramount Studio Group.

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

Negromancer News Bits and Bites from October 21st to 31st, 2018 - Update #23

Support Leroy on Patreon:

CELEBRITY - From YahooEntertainment:  Actor Todd LaTourrette, who has appeared on TV series like "Better Call Saul" and "Longmire," admitted that he cut off his own arm and is not a veteran who lost it in Afghanistan.

----------
MOVIES - From BleedingCool:  Sigourney Weaver says that Neill Blomkamp's planned direct sequel to James Cameron's "Aliens" (1986) could still happen.

----------
BOX OFFICE - From BoxOfficeMojo:  The winner of the 10/26 to 10/28/2018 weekend box office is "Halloween" with an estimated take of $32 million.

----------
MOVIES - From THR:  Japanese director Shinichiro Ueda talks about his buzzy zombie film, "One Cut of the Dead."

----------
MOVIES - From Collider:  Aaron Sorkin will direct "The Trial of the Chicago 7" starring Sacha Baron Cohen.

----------
MOVIES - From Deadline:  Chris Rock will direct Universal's Kevin Hart comedy, "Co-Parenting," which Will Packer is producing.

----------
COMICS-FILM - From ThePlaylist:  Spike Lee says that he is not directing Sony's "Spider-Man" spinoff film, "Nightwatch."

----------
STAR TREK - From Variety:  The streaming service, CBS All Access, has ordered two seasons of the animated comedy, "Star Trek: Lower Deck."

----------
CELEBRITY - From YahooEntertaiment:  25 years after his death in 1993, actress Samantha Mathis is finally able to speak about the death of her boyfriend, actor River Phoenix.

----------
DISNEY - From Deadline:  Disney is exploring rebooting "Pirates of the Caribbean" with "Deadpool" and "Zombieland" writers, Rhett Reese and Paul Wernick.

----------
PIXAR - From Variety:  Ed Catmull, who cofounded Pixar with John Lasseter and the late Steve Jobs in 1986, is retiring from his leadership role at Pixar and at Walt Disney Animation.  He will transition into an advisory role in 2019.

----------
STREAMING - From Collider:  Steve Carell is returning to television in an untitled drama from stars and executive producers Jennifer Aniston and Reese Witherspoon for Apple TV.

----------
ANIMATION - From BleedingCool:  Oscar-winner Guillermo del Toro is co-writing and co-directing a stop-motion animated version of "Pinocchio."  The project's home is Netflix.

----------
SPORTS-MOVIES - From BleedingCool:  LeBron James and his Springhill Entertainment production company may reboot Paramount's "Friday the 13th" franchise.

----------
SPORTS-CRIME - From NFL:  Former NFL wide reciever, Rae Carruth (Carolina Panthers) was released from prison, the Sampson Correctional Institution in Clinton, North Carolina, Monday morning, October 22, 2018.  Carruth served 18 years of a 24-year sentence for conspiracy to murder his then-pregnant girlfriend, Cherica Adams, in November 1999.  After being shot four time, Adams fell into a coma and died nearly a month later.  The child, Chancellor Lee Adams, she was carrying was delivered via cesarean section and will be 19 years old this year.

From SportsIllustrated:  The boy they couldn't kill, Chancellor Lee Adams.

----------
BOX OFFICE - From BoxOfficeMojo: The winner of the 10/19 to 10/21/2018 weekend box office is "Halloween" with an estimated take of $77.5 million.

From TheWrap:  With an estimated opening of $77.5 million, "Halloween" has the biggest opening weekend for a film with a lead actress who is older than 55 years old.

----------
AWARDS - From GoldDerby:  The site talks up Regina King's Oscar chances for Barry Jenkins' "If Beale Street Could Take."

----------
CELEBRITY - From People:  Actress Selma Blair reveals that she has MS - multiple sclerosis.

----------
TELEVISION - From BloodyDisgusting:  First footage revealed of Robert Englund as "Freddy Krueger" on the Halloween episode of "The Goldbergs."

----------
MOVIES - From THR:  Steve McQueen ("12 Years a Slave") is back and he never thought of himself as anything other than brilliant.

OBITS:

From ESPN:  Former Major League Baseball player, Willie McCovey, has died at the age of 80, Wednesday, October 31, 2018.  McCovery played 19 of his 22 MLB seasons for the San Francisco Giants.  He was the 1959 National League "Rookie of the Year" and the 1969 National League MVP.  He was inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame in 1986.  He played in one World Series, as the Giants lost the 1962 series to the New York Yankees.

From People:  American actress Diana Sowle died at the age of 88, Friday, October 19, 2018.  Sowle was best known for playing the role of "Mrs. Bucket," the mother of golden ticket winner, Charlie Buckett, in the film, "Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory.

Negromancer News Bits and Bites from August 1st to 5th, 2017 - Update #29

Support Leroy on Patreon.

TELEVISION - From YahooTV:  FOX News "personality" Eric Bolling is the latest FOX white male in trouble for sexual harassment of female co-workers.

----------
TELEVISION - From ShadowandAct:  Scripps Network  has bought Black-oriented television network, "Bounce TV."

----------
TELEVISION - From Variety:  Whoopi Goldberg is returning this fall for Season 21 of "The View."

----------
COMICS-FILM - From TheTrackingBoard:  Jeff Robinov's Studio 8 has optioned the independent comic book series, "Black," for film.  The series is set in a world where only African-Ameicans have super powers.

----------
TELEVISION - TheTrackingBoard:  Teagan Croft is the first cast member of "Titans," based on the comic book from DC Comics.

----------
TELEVISION - From TheWrap:  NBC's "Will & Grace" revival has been renewed for a second season before the first season makes it debut (set for September 28th).

----------
MOVIES - From THR:  Jaden Smith to star in director Crystal Moselle's film about female skateboarders in New York City.

----------
TELEVISION - From TheWrap:  Sylvester Stallone will appear in the upcoming season of NBC's much talked about series, "This is Us."

----------
TELEVISION - From Vulture:  The "Divergent" novel series is comprised of three books.  The third book, "Allegiant," was supposed adapted into two films.  The first film, also entitled "Allegiant," was a box office disappointment, and it seems that Lionsgate is not making the second part, to be called "Ascendant."  Starz is developing "Ascendant" as a TV series, instead.

----------
TELEVISION - From Variety: Vin Diesel's One Race Television is working on a reboot of NBC's classic TV series, "Miami Vice."

----------
COMICS-FILM - From CinemaBlend:  Dave Bautista, who plays "Drax" in the "Guardians of the Galaxy" films, says he will appear in a film adaptation of Valiant Comics' "Eternal Warrior" comic books.

----------
DISNEY - From THR:  Chiwetel Ejiofor is in talks to voice "Scar" in Disney's live-action remake of its animated classic, "The Lion King" (1994), which will be directed by Jon Favreau.

----------
CELEBRITY - From YahooStyle:  President and Mrs. Obama send newlywed couple a moving note of congratulations.

----------
JAMES BOND - From YahooCelebrity:  Halle Berry does not think that James Bond should be played by a woman.  Berry was a co-star in the 2002 Bond film, "Die Another Day."

----------
MOVIES - From ThePlaylist:  Scott Cooper to write and direct "Hellhound on His Trail," about the hunt for the assassination of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.

----------
SPORTS - From YahooSports:  NBA Legend/G.O.A.T. Michael Jordan says that Kobe is higher on the all-time list than LeBron James.

----------
TELEVISION - From YahooTV:  ABC's long-running sitcom, "The Middle," will end after this coming season, its ninth.

----------
COMICS-FILM - From YahooMovies:  Marvel's "Ant-Man and the Wasp" begins production and releases a teaser video.

----------
MOVIES - From BleedingCool:  Ian McShane joins the "Hellboy" film franchise reboot, "Hellboy: Rise of the Blood Queen."

----------
TELEVISION - From Variety:  Amazon is developing a TV series from Aaron McGruder (creator of "The Boondocks") and super-producer Will Packer ("Girls Trip") that will deal with a post-slavery reparations America.

----------
TELEVISION - From Variety:  Leah Remini is reuniting with her "King of Queens" cast mate, Kevin James, on his recent CBS comedy, "Kevin Can Wait."  In order to do that, the character played by Erinn Hayes in "Kevin Can Wait" will be killed off.

----------
TELEVISION - From Variety:  50 Cent is threatening to take his hit show, "Power," from Starz.

---------
TELEVISION - From Vulture:  Jason Bateman says Season 5 of "Arrested Development" begins next week for Netflix.

---------
ANIMATION - From YahooMovies:  Sony's "The Emoji Movie" may be the worst reviewed movie of the year.

----------
LGBTQ - From YahooNews:  A federal judge orders the FBT to probe records of a 1950 program to purge LGBT federal workers from their jobs, as per Executive Order 10450 by then President Dwight Eisenhower.

----------
SPORTS - From YahooSports:  Legendary Major League Baseball player Pete Rose had sex with an underage girl, according to court documents.

----------
HEALTH - From Propublica:  Could "Agent Orange" exposure in Vietnam be behind Senator John McCain's (a Vietnam War prisoner of war) battle with brain cancer?

----------
CELEBRITY - From Mashable:  Mark Hamill sends a sweet DM to a fan trying to verify an old Hamill autograph.

----------
CELEBRITY - From YahooMovies:  Idris Elba would like to be in a third "Magic Mike" film, is one happens.  "Magic Mike" star, Matthew McConaughey, thinks so, too.

OBIT:

From People:  The British actor Robert Hardy has died at the age of 91, Thursday, August 3, 2017.  Harry Potter fans know Hardy for playing Minister of Magic Cornelius Fudge in four "Harry Potter" films.

From Variety:  The film and television music composer, Daniel Licht,  died at the age of 60, Wednesday, August 2, 2017.  He was best known for composing the music for all eight seasons of Showtime's serial killer drama, "Dexter."  He composed music for two of the films in the "Children of the Corn" series.

Negromancer News Bits and Bites from July 23rd to 31st, 2017 - Update #51

Support Leroy on Patreon.

BLM - From YahooNews:  NAACP issues a travel advisory for minorities and women heading to the state of Missouri.

----------
COMICS-FILM - From ShadowandAct:  First look at Zazie Beetz as "Domino" in "Deadpool 2," as posted to Instagram by Deadpool himself, Ryan Reynolds.

----------
TELEVISION - From Deadline:  HBO responds to protests over its early-in-development show, "Confederate" from "Game of Thrones show-runners, David Benioff and D.B. Weiss.

----------
MOVIES - From YahooTV:  Angelina Jolie denies that the casting staff on her upcoming film, "First They Killed My Father," abused Cambodian orphans and poor kids during auditions.

----------
WALKING DEAD - From THR:  SPOILERS -Season 8 will answer the time jump fans saw at San Diego Comic-Con International.

----------
BOX OFFICE - From BoxOfficeMojo:  The winner of the 7/28 to 7/30/2017 weekend box office is "Dunkirk" with an estimated take of $28.1 million.

----------
MOVIES - From BleedingCool:  A Marvel Studios executive has defected to 20th Century Fox.

----------
ANIMATION - From Indiewire:  "The Simpsons Movie 2" is in its earliest stage of development.

----------
POLITICS - From BuzzFeed:  The most influential racist you have never heard of, William Regnery II.

----------
SDCC - From SideshowToys:  Did you see Lupita Nyong'o at 2017 Comic-Con International?

----------
TELEVISION - From Variety:  Starz has order a series, "The Rook," a thriller "Twilight" author Stephenie Meyer, Lionsgate, and Liberty Global.

----------
MOVIES - From THR:  Amazon will begin self-distributing its film with Woody Allen's "Wonder Wheel."

----------
TELEVISION - From BleedingCool:  Several producers from "The Walking Dead" will attend the funeral of series stuntman John Bernecker.  Bernecker died in June after sustaining injuries from a fall during film for Season 8.

----------
TELEVISION - From ShadowandAct:  Jordan Peele and Tracy Morgan have created a comedy series, "The Last O.G.," in which Morgan will star.  TBS has set the premiere date for Thurs., October 24th.

COMICS-FILM - From ScreenRant:  Ryan Coogler says he had creative freedom while directing Marvel's upcoming "Black Panther."

From ScreenRant:  15 characters scheduled to appear in Marvel's "Black Panther."

----------
SPORTS - From YahooSports:  Los Angeles Lakers General Manager Rob Pelinka says that current Lakers are like early Taylor Swift.

----------
TELEVISION - From TVLine:  Chris Pine and Patty Jenkins, both of the hit movie, "Wonder Woman," are re-teaming a TNT television series, "Black Dahlia."

----------
COMICS-FILM - From ThePlaylist:  Joss Whedon will be a major part of the DC Extended Universe films, while others may see their roles reduced.

----------
COMICS-FILM - From ThePlaylist:  Damon Lindelof, who was announced as developing an HBO series based on the comic book "Watchmen," says that he is uncertain about the project.

----------
MOVIES - From Collider:  James Cameron considering a new producing a new "Terminator" trilogy, as the rights to the franchise revert to him in 2018.

----------
BOOKS - From Vulture:  Former President Bill Clinton and prolific novelist James Patterson have a mystery novel coming out Summer 2018, and they are courting A-list directors to helm the film adaptation.

----------
COMICS-FILM - From Variety:  The release date for "Wonder Woman 2" is December 13, 2017.  Still no word on whether Patty Jenkins will return to direct the sequel.

----------
MOVIES - From THR:  Ultimate pretty actor Nicholas Hoult in early talks to play J.R.R. Tolkien in a biofilm.

---------
MOVIES - From Variety:  Ric Roman Waugh will direct "Angel Has Fallen," the third film in the "Olympus Has Fallen" series.

----------
MOVIES - From ShadowandAct:  Will Packer, the producer behind hit films like the recent "Girls Trip" and the "Ride Along" franchise, has started Will Packer Media with Discovery Communications and Universal Pictures.

----------
COMICS-FILM - From ShadowandAct:  In Marvel's film "Black Panther" (due 2018), Michael B. Jordan says that the relationship between his character, "Killmonger," and Chadwick Boseman's "T'Challa" is like that of Professor X and Magneto in the "X-Men."

----------
MOVIES - From ShadowandAct:  Chris Nolan's "Dunkirk" continues the whitewashing of the history of World War II.

----------
MOVIES - From ShadowandAct:  Netflix has picked up the thriller "Message from the King," starring Chadwick Boseman, Luke Evans, Teresa Palmer, and Alfred Molina.

----------
TELEVISION - From ShadowandAct:  Malcolm Jamal-Warner and Tatyana Ali join USA crime comedy-drama, "Olive Forever."

----------
JAMES BOND - From YahooMovies:  The 25th Eon Productions James Bond movie is scheduled to hit theaters November 8, 2019.

From NewYorkTimes:  Details on the return of Daniel Craig as James Bond.

----------
COMICS-FILM - From Variety:  Extensive re-shoots for "Justice League" causing headaches for some.

----------
COMICS-FILM - From YahooMovies:  Concept art shows Brie Larson as "Captain Marvel."

----------
CELEBRITY - From BET:  After going after Rob Kardashian, celebrity attorney Lisa Bloom is taking on Usher because of his herpes scandal.

----------
BOX OFFICE - From BoxOfficeMojo:  The winner of the 7/21 to 7/23/2017 weekend box office is Christopher Nolan's "Dunkirk" with an estimated take of $50.5 million.

From ShadowandAct:  "Girls Trip" has the largest opening weekend for a live-action comedy this year.

----------
SDCC:

From BleedingCool:  New footage from Marvel Studios' "Black Panther" stuns crowd at Comic-Con.

From YahooMovies:  Olivia Munn talks about the Predator reboot, 2018's "The Predator."

From ShadowandAct:  More casting news from Marvel's "Ant Man and the Wasp," including a probably villain and Michelle Pfeiffer.

From YahooMovies:  Marvel unveils new "Thor: Ragnarok" trailer.  The film is due November 3rd, 2017.

From TheWrap:  Marvel Studio's "Captain Marvel" movie will be a prequel to the first Iron Man movies (2008).  Samuel Jackson will appear as Nick Fury.  Oscar-winner Brie Larsonis Carol Danvers/Captain Marvel.

From Variety:  The "Iron Giant" will appear in Steven Spielberg's film, "Ready Player One."

MOVIES - From BleedingCool:  Laurence Fishburne is joining Marvel's "Ant Man and the Wasp" as the character "Bill Foster."

----------
TELEVISION - From Variety:  Tom Welling, who played Clark Kent for 10 seasons in The WB's "Smallville" will join Seaon 3 of Fox's "Lucifer."

OBIT:

From YahooMovies:  Actor and playwright, Sam Shepard, died at the age of 73, Thursday, July 27, 2017.   He was an Oscar-nominated and Emmy-nominated actor.  He won the 1979 "Pulitzer Prize for Drama" for his 1978 play, "Buried Child."

From THR:  Legendary French actress Jeanne Moreau has died at the age of 89, Monday, July 31, 2017.  Her films include, "The Lovers" and "Jules et Jim."

From NewYorkTimes:   The musician and singer, D.L. Menard, died at the age of 85, Thursday, July 27, 2017.  A recording artist of contemporary Cajun music, Menard was also known as the "Cajun Hank Williams."

From Variety:  Voice actress and performer June Foray at the age of 99, Thursday, July 27, 2017.  Foray was known for providing the voice for such animated characters as Rocky the Flying Squirrel on "The Rocky and Bullwinkle Show" and Natasha Fatale of "Boris and Natasha."  She was a key figure in the animation industry and created the prestigious "Annie Awards" for achievement in film and television animation.

From YahooSports:  Hall of Fame NBA head coach, John Kundla, has died at the age of 101, Sunday, July 23, 2017.  He lead the Minneapolis Lakers to five BBA/NBA championships.

"Think Like a Man" a Frothy Battle of the Sexes

TRASH IN MY EYE No. 72 (of 2012) by Leroy Douresseaux


Think Like a Man (2012)
Running time: 122 minutes (2 hours, 2 minutes)
MPAA – PG-13 for sexual content, some crude humor, and brief drug use
DIRECTOR: Tim Story
WRITERS: Keith Merryman and David A. Newman (based on the book, Act Like a Lady, Think Like a Man, by Steve Harvey)
PRODUCER: William Packer
CINEMATOGRAPHER: Larry Blanford
EDITOR: Peter S. Elliot
COMPOSER: Christopher Lennertz

ROMANCE/COMEDY

Starring: Michael Ealy, Jerry Ferrara, Meagan Good, Regina Hall, Kevin Hart, Taraji P. Henson, Terrence J, Jenifer Lewis, Romany Malco, Gary Owen, Gabrielle Union, La La Anthony, Chris Brown, Wendy Williams, Sherri Shepherd, Caleel Harris, Arielle Kebbel, Steve Harvey, Tony Rock, and Luenell with Matt Barnes, Shannon Brown, Rasual Butler, Darren Collison, Lisa Leslie, and Metta World Peace

Think Like a Man is a 2012 ensemble romantic comedy from director Tim Story (Fantastic Four). The film is based on comedian and actor Steve Harvey’s 2009 advice book, Act Like a Lady, Think Like a Man. The film follows four male friends who conspire to turn the tables on the women in their lives when they discover that their ladies have been using Steve Harvey’s relationship advice against them.

Cedric (Kevin Hart), Dominic (Michael Ealy), Zeke (Romany Malco), Michael (Terrence J), Jeremy (Jerry Ferrara), and Bennett (Gary Owen) are friends who like to get together and talk about their relationships with women. Cedric is going through a divorce, and Bennett is happily married. Jeremy’s relationship with his longtime girlfriend, Kristen (Gabrielle Union), is frayed, although he doesn’t seem to notice it. Dominic uses deception to begin a relationship with Lauren (Taraji P. Henson), a successful businesswoman.

Zeke meets Mya (Meagan Good), a young woman who has just decided that before she has sex with a new boyfriend, he has to wait 90 days. Zeke, however, always wants to “hit it” right away. Michael begins a relationship with Candace (Regina Hall), a single mother, but Michael is a mama’s boy, and that creates strife in the new relationship.

However, Kristen, Lauren, Mya, and Candace decide to take the advice of Steve Harvey (playing himself) as presented in his book, Act Like a Lady, Think Like a Man, to help them get the upper hand in their relationships. When the guys discover what their ladies are doing, they decide to get familiar with the same book. Game on!

The first thing I want to say is that Kevin Hart is a pure scene-stealer. Hart not only plays a character, Cedric, but he is also the film’s narrator. As the narrator, he practically owns half this movie. He’s good; he’s funny.

The other half of the ownership goes to director Tim Story. I think that Story’s talent as a director is largely untapped. His two Fantastic Four films for 20th Century Fox were underserved by uneven screenwriting. Story shows his skills in Think Like a Man, because there are so many characters and so many actors playing them that the director has to get a handle on them. Handle them Story does, which is quite a feat, as there are way too many characters in this movie. Still, Story gives every actor the opportunity to make the most of his or her character, and most of the actors take advantage of the opportunities. That is why Think Like a Man movie works.

Think Like a Man is a frothy, romantic comedy, and it has the same cinematic bubbles and fizz to tickle the nose that movie audiences find in frivolous romantic comedies featuring predominately white casts. Tim Story delivers the same feel-good charm which directors of those other films do, but with a way-too large cast.

Think Like a Man may be the best romantic comedy starring a predominately African-American cast to date. It’s sweet and filled with empty calories, but they feel good going down. They’re so good that you might want more… later.

7 of 10
B+

Saturday, September 08, 2012

Review: "Takers" Brings Heat

TRASH IN MY EYE No. 8 (of 2011) by Leroy Douresseaux

Takers (2010)
Running time: 107 minutes (1 hour, 47 minutes)
MPAA – R for intense sequences of violence and action, a sexual situation/partial nudity
DIRECTOR: John Luessenhop
WRITERS: Peter Allen, Gabriel Casseus, John Luessenhop, and Avery Duff
PRODUCERS: Jason Geter, William Packer, and Tip “T.I.” Harris
CINEMATOGRAPHER: Michael Barrett (D.o.P.)
EDITOR: Armen Minasian

CRIME/DRAMA/ACTION

Starring: Idris Elba, Paul Walker, Matt Dillon, Chris Brown, Hayden Christensen, Michael Ealy, T.I., Jay Hernandez, Marianne Jean-Baptiste, Zoe Saldana, Steve Harris, Gaius Charles, Johnathan Schaech, and Glynn Turman

Arriving in theatres last August 2010, Takers is an ensemble crime drama that focuses on a seasoned team of professional bank robbers and the hard-nosed detective that is hunting them. Though not great, Takers is nonetheless an exciting little heist movie that manages to walk its own way, while showing its influences.

Gordon Cozier (Idris Elba), John Rahway (Paul Walker), A.J. (Hayden Christensen), and brothers Jake Attica (Michael Ealy) and Jesse Attica (Chris Brown) are a highly-organized team of bank robbers. They describe themselves a “takers,” because they see something they want and they take it. After shocking Los Angeles with their latest heist, they plan to lead a life of luxury for a long time before taking on their next job.

They get a surprise, however, from former team member, Dalonte Rivers A.KA. Ghost (Tip “T.I.” Harris). Caught in a previous robbery five years earlier, Ghost received an early release from prison and is on parole. Claiming he harbors no ill will towards his former teammates, Ghost convinces them that now is the right time to strike an armored car carrying $20 million. The “takers” carefully plot out their strategy and draw nearer to the day of the heist, but their activities have brought a reckless, rule-breaking police officer named Jack Welles (Matt Dillon) closer to learning their identities. As Welles and his partner, Eddie Hatcher (Jay Hernandez), get closer, things get crazy and new players move into the game.

Early on in the film, I recognized Takers as a sort of urban contemporary take on Michael Mann’s influential heist flick, Heat (1995), but Takers isn’t the complex and insightful character study that Mann’s film is. Takers’ characters are either shallow (John, A.J.), potential poorly executed (Ghost), or well-developed, but shorted on time (Jack Welles, Gordon Cozier).

Takers moves quickly and has a cool, slick visual manner befitting an L.A. crime film. Gripping set pieces open the film, straddle the film’s middle, and close the film, all of which make this work very well as an action movie. Takers is a thrill to watch. It’s a shame that the writing on the character side isn’t stronger, because that is pretty much what keeps Takers from being an exceptional action and crime film. Still, Takers is better than most recent crime films, and I wouldn’t mind seeing a sequel or even a prequel.

7 of 10
B+

Tuesday, January 25, 2011

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

Negromancer Bits and Bites: "Takers" Producer Will Packer Talks to AOL

I hadn't noticed this rising star among African-American film producers (producers of color, anyone?).  AOL's Black Voices "BV on Movies" blog has an interview with Will Packer, the producer of Stomp the Yard, Obsessed (with Beyonce), and the current #1 movie in North America, Takers, starring Paul Walker, Idris Elba and Chris Brown (among others).

Review: Sylvain White Made "Stomp the Yard" Step with Fire

TRASH IN MY EYE No. 79 (of 2007) by Leroy Douresseaux

Stomp the Yard (2007)
Running time: 114 minutes (1 hour, 54 minutes)
MPAA – PG-13 for a scene of violence, some sexual material, and language
DIRECTOR: Sylvain White
WRITERS: Robert Adetuyi (based upon Gregory Anderson’s earlier screenplay)
PRODUCERS: William Packer and Rob Hardy
CINEMATOGRAPHER: Scott Kevan (D.o.P.)
EDITOR: David Checel
NAACP Image Awards nominee

DRAMA/MUSIC/ROMANCE

Starring: Columbus Short, Meagan Good, Ne-Yo, Darrin Dewitt Henson, Brian J. White, Laz Alonso, Valarie Pettiford, Jermaine Williams, Allan Louis, Harry J. Lennix, Allan Louis, and Chris Brown

In the film, Stomp the Yard, “stepping,” an ages-old style of dance done by African-American college fraternities, takes center stage. Steppers demonstrate complex moves and use their bodies to create rhythmic sounds (slapping their legs, clapping their hands, stomping their feet, etc.) While the drama is certainly good, this film’s electric vibe is the result of both Sylvain White’s direction and Dave Scott’s choreography.

After the shooting death of his brother, Duron (Chris Brown), Darnell James Williams or DJ (Columbus Short), a talented Los Angeles street dancer, finds himself in Atlanta with his Aunt Jackie (Valarie Pettiford) and Uncle Nate (Harry J. Lennix) and attending the historically black college, Truth University. As DJ struggles to adjust to this new world, much of it about class and privilege, his life becomes even more complicated when two rival fraternities recruit him. Mu Gamma Xi has won the college step championship for 7 years in a row. Theta Nu Theta wants to win, and they see DJ, with his hip-hop inspired moves, as the stepper who will get them over Mu Gamma’s title hump. However, it is DJ’s romance of April Palmer (Meagan Good), the refined daughter of Dean William Palmer (Allan Louis) and the girlfriend of Mu Gamma’s star stepper, Grant (Darrin Dewitt Henson), that just might derail his college career.

It is of great importance to reiterate how good the film’s raucous dancing is and how much of the film’s drama is invested in these astonishing dance moves. That’s why quite a bit of the film’s success should be credited to Dave Scott, who also choreographed You Got Served. Scott skillfully blends various dance styles into something new and very explosive.

Still, it’s director Sylvain White (I’ll Always Know What You Did Last Summer) who builds a sustainable narrative structure and riveting character drama out of the dancing. For the film’s opening minutes, White creates a sequence that is as intense and visually vibrant and forceful as anything in the film 300, which was released about a month after Stomp the Yard. White adroitly balances the eye-popping dance numbers with the drama of college life. In fact, White has directed the most realistic film about African-American college life since Spike Lee’s School Daze.

White makes the best of his leads, Columbus Short, who is more willing as an actor than he is skilled (so far), and Meagan Good, who is pretty but still very raw as an actress. Short is an accomplished dancer, having toured with Savion Glover’s “Stomp” dance extravaganza. Through the duo of Short and Good, however, White makes potent social statements about class conflict amongst African-Americans and also poverty and justice, and all the while, Stomp the Yard dances until your heart and spirit soar with these stunning steppers.

7 of 10
B+

Friday, May 18, 2007

NOTES:
2008 Image Awards: 3 nominations: “Outstanding Actor in a Motion Picture” (Columbus Short), “Outstanding Directing in a Motion Picture-Theatrical or Television” (Sylvain White), and “Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Motion Picture” (Meagan Good)

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