Review: Why Did I Get Married Too?

TRASH IN MY EYE No. 20 of (2010) by Leroy Douresseaux


Why Did I Get Married Too? (2010)
Running time: 121 minutes (2 hours, 1 minute)
MPAA – PG-13 for thematic material including sexuality, language, drug references and some domestic violence
WRITER/DIRECTOR: Tyler Perry
PRODUCERS: Tyler Perry and Reuben Cannon
CINEMATOGRAPHER: Toyomichi Kurita
EDITOR: Maysie Hoy

DRAMA with elements of comedy

Starring: Tyler Perry, Janet Jackson, Jill Scott, Sharon Neal, Malik Yoba, Richard T. Jones, Tasha Smith, Lamman Rucker, Michael Jai White, Louis Gossett Jr., Cicely Tyson, Richard Whiten, and K Callan

We last saw them in the 2007 film, Why Did I Get Married?, working through marriage and relationship issues at a beautiful house in the snowy mountains of Colorado. Now, Why Did I Get Married Too? reunites those four close couples. They have gathered together in the Bahamas for their annual one-week reunion. They’re eager to reconnect and share news about their lives and relationships, but there are some changes and looming troubles.

Best-selling author and popular psychologist, Patricia (Janet Jackson), and her successful architect husband, Gavin (Malik Yoba), show their friends smiles, but their marriage is deeply troubled. Successful attorney, Dianne (Sharon Leal) and her supportive husband, Terry (Tyler Perry), once had sexless marriage, but while there is now plenty of lovemaking, a secret threatens to destroy their union.

Angela (Tasha Smith) and Marcus (Michael Jai White) still argue all the time, but now Marcus has a successful new career as a television sports commentator. Angela, who once criticized Marcus for not having a job, is now jealous that Marcus makes more money than she does, and that envy drives her suspicious that he is cheating on her.

Shelia (Jill Scott) replaced her emotionally abusive and philandering husband, Mike (Richard T. Jones), with the former Colorado sheriff, Troy (Lamman Rucker). However, a recent move, a new baby, and Troy’s difficulty finding a job have put a strain on their marriage. Then, Mike also decides to visit the Bahamas.

2007’s Why Did I Get Married? was a scandalous relationship comedy and engaging reunion drama. It had plenty of soap opera theatrics and over-the-top drama with a capitol “D.” Why Did I Get Married Too? is also filled with theatrics and big “D” drama, but this second film is also darker and edgier. These squabbling couples now have even bigger problems, problems that would give marriage counselors pause. In each case, husband and wife are unsatisfied with each other, and instead of talking through their problems, they scream at each other, rant and rave, and storm out the door.

It’s fun to watch… sometimes. Other times, it’s painful to watch – not only because the anger is so raw, but also because sometimes the couples’ problems seemed contrived. This might be Tyler Perry’s best effort at writing emotional character drama and at constructing multi-layered conflict. This may also be his worst screenwriting simply because the quarreling and marital problems come across as greatly exaggerated. Perry packs this movie’s two hours with wall-to-wall marital discord; then, he ties it up with a pat happy ending that simply cannot wash away the grit Why Did I Get Married Too? leaves in the viewer’s mouth.

This is still a Tyler Perry movie, so it is entertaining, and there is also a cameo at the end that adds much needed sweet to the previous two hour’s sour. Still, with all the arguing the characters do here, the question is not Why Did I Get Married Too? but why are any of them still married!

6 of 10
B

Sunday, April 11, 2010

Entertainment Weekly Celebrates "The Empire Strikes Back" 30th Anniversary

Highlights from ENTERTAINMENT WEEKLY’s April 16, 2010 issue


(on newsstands nationwide Friday, April 9):

ENTERTAINMENT WEEKLY CELEBRATES THE EMPIRE STRIKES BACK WITH EXCLUSIVE NEVER BEFORE SEEN PHOTOS

George Lucas celebrates the 30th anniversary of his landmark sequel by opening his vault of rare and never-before-seen photos for an upcoming book, and this week’s issue has the exclusive excerpt. Star Wars hit theaters on May 25, 1977, and it was unlike anything anyone had ever seen. However, when most Star Wars aficionados go back to watch their favorite installment from the franchise it is not the original film, but its follow-up, The Emperor Strikes Back, that fans gravitate towards. EW explains why The Empire Strikes Back remains the ultimate Star Wars film.

The book also has great quotes from the cast and crew such as:

Mark Hamill: “Actually, Harrison and I never fought in either picture. It was Carrie and I who had the screaming matches from time to tie, though afterward neither of us could remember what they were about”

Carrie Fisher: “Eric Idle had returned from Tunisia, where Monty Python were shooting Life of Brian [1979]. And he brought over what I believe he called ‘Tunisian Table-Cleaner,’ which was a beverage. Well, Harrison came over and the Rolling Stones came over, and I think we stayed up most of the night. So when we arrived at Cloud City, we were very happy.”

(Cover Story, Page 34)

Link to story on EW.com http://popwatch.ew.com/2010/04/08/empire-strikes-back-star-wars/

Review: "Anchorman" is Odd and Funny

TRASH IN MY EYE No. 121 (of 2004) by Leroy Douresseaux 

 

Anchorman: The Legend of Ron Burgundy (2004)

Running time: 94 minutes (1 hour, 34 minutes)

MPAA – PG-13 for sexual humor, language and comic violence DIRECTOR: Adam McKay WRITERS: Will Ferrell and Adam McKay PRODUCER: Judd Apatow CINEMATOGRAPHER: Thomas Ackerman (D.o.P.) EDITOR: Brent White

 

COMEDY 

 

Starring: Will Ferrell, Christina Applegate, Paul Rudd, Steven Carell, David Koechner, Fred Willard, Chris Parnell, Kathryn Hahn, Luke Wilson, Bill Kurtis, Monique McIntyre, and Danny Trejo with uncredited screen appearances by Jack Black, Missi Pyle, Tim Robbins, Stephen Root, Ben Stiller, and Vince Vaughn

 

Will the actor/comedian Will Ferrell make a nice, long run of being a comedic leading man? He has a few hits behind him, and even if he ever falters as the star, he’s funny enough to lift quite a few movies to that next level by playing funny and crucial supporting roles.

 

In Anchorman: The Legend of Ron Burgundy, a film in which he co-wrote, Ferrell is Ron Burgundy. In 1970’s San Diego, he rules the city as the most popular anchorman of the most popular local TV news broadcast. He’s a legend, mostly in his own mind, and he’s God’s gift to women – if only they knew that he isn’t much of a journalist and his news skills rely heavily on a TelePrompTer.

 

Burgundy is also the captain of his station’s news team, a fellow cast of cads that includes a lecherous beat reporter named Brian Fantana (Paul Rudd), Brick Tamland (Steve Carell), a mentally challenged weatherman, and Champ Kind (David Koechner), a chauvinist, dude cowboy sports reporter. All is well in their world of ladies and parties until Veronica Corningstone (Christina Applegate), an ambitious female with her eye on being a network anchorwoman, arrives to rock their world. For Ron, it’s love at first sight, but all goes bad when Veronica becomes his partner both personally and professionally.

 

Anchorman is quite silly and filled with lots of belly laughs, but it also has a surprising number of satirical and sardonic moments. The humor recalls the mocking antics of Mel Brooks 70’s classics like Blazing Saddles, but the humor here is often deadpan and blunt. It’s also self-mockingly serious and also flat out hilarious. Too bad, the story is soft and the script is mostly a blueprint for jokes, gags, and general silliness.

 

Will Ferrell is his usual funny self, but the Burgundy character is a bit odd and off-putting. It’s not one of Ferrell’s more endearing characters, but he has a knack of making the most annoying characters very funny, even when they’re under your skin. The supporting cast is quite nice. Fred Willard embodies 70’s kitsch, and the three actors that make up Burgundy’s crew are fantastic, especially Carell and Koechner who play their parts with a frightening, scene stealing relish. Ms. Applegate’s performance is a bit odd; she plays Veronica in a never where between cardboard character dumb blonde and sly vixen, but with the gumption to make her character surprise us at every turn.

 

Anchorman will likely stand out as one of the year’s funniest comedies, but in the long run, it may be remembered as an oddity, perhaps a forgotten oddity. But I’m hoping it hangs around, even with some kind of cult status.

 

7 of 10 

B+ 

 

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Streamy Awards Ceremony Tomorrow

Watch the Live Online Broadcast of the 2nd Annual Streamy Awards Ceremony Recognizing Excellence in Web Television Programs

Sunday, April 11, 2010 at 5:30pm (PST) on www.streamys.org

Join your favorite Web TV stars and actor/comedian Paul Scheer as he hosts the 2nd Annual Streamy Awards this Sunday! The excitement kicks off with a live online Red Carpet Pre-Show starting at 4:00 p.m. (PST), followed by the Awards ceremony at 5:30 p.m. Real-time closed captioning will be provided for this global audience in five languages: English, German, Italian, Spanish and Mandarin Chinese.

The star-studded event will feature nominees including Kevin Pollack, Felicia Day, Illeana Douglas, Robert Englund, David Faustino, and many others. For a full list of nominees, including The Guild, Auto-Tune The News, FEAR Clinic and many more, visit: http://www.streamys.org/winners/2010-nominees/

An impressive group of global corporate and digital entertainment industry sponsors have signed on to support this year’s Streamy Awards, including Kodak, Trident, IKEA, and Boxee. For more details, see the Partner release: http://bit.ly/bEaqF9

The show is sure to be a laugh-riot as the hilarious Paul Scheer gets behind the podium to flex his hosting muscles. Scheer is best known for his work on the MTV sketch comedy series Human Giant, which he co-created and starred in with Aziz Ansari, Rob Huebel and director Jason Woliner. He also stars in FX's newest hit comedy, The League, which will return this Fall for its second season. This summer Paul can be seen in Dimension Films' Piranha 3D opposite Elisabeth Shue and Jerry O'Connell and in Adult Swim's newest live action comedy show, Children’s Hospital. To learn more, visit the Official Paul Scheer Web site at http://paulscheer.com.

Download the First-Ever Streamy Awards iPhone App!
You can even watch the Streamy Awards Ceremony LIVE on your iPhone! Learn more:
http://www.streamys.org/2010/04/08/watch-the-2nd-annual-streamy-awards-live-on-the-apple-iphone/


About The Streamy Awards
Presented by the International Academy of Web Television and co-hosted by new media companies Tubefilter (www.tubefilter.tv) and NewTeeVee (www.newteevee.com),
Streamy Awards recognize excellence in global web television programming for broadband distribution across 35 creative categories, from acting and directing, to editing and special effects. Members of the International Academy of Web Television review shows submitted through a free, public submissions process and vote on the final nominees and winners for each category. The Audience Choice Award for Best Web Television Series is selected by members of the public. Winners of the 2nd Annual Streamy Awards will be announced at the Streamy Awards Ceremony on April 11, 2010 at the Orpheum Theatre in Los Angeles. The Streamy Craft Award winners will be announced at a separate ceremony on April 7, 2010 at the Barnsdall Art Center in Hollywood. Founded in 2009, the Streamy Awards is produced by Tubefilter, Inc. (www.tubefilterinc.com). For more information, visit www.streamys.org, follow @streamyawards on Twitter and become a Fan at www.facebook.com/streamys.

Review: Oscar-nominated "Howl's Moving Castle" is Quite Imaginative

TRASH IN MY EYE No. 56 (of 2006) by Leroy Douresseaux

Hauru no ugoku shiro (2004) – animation
COUNTRY OF ORIGIN: Japan
DIRECTOR: Hayao Miyazaki
WRITER: Hayao Miyazaki (based upon the book by Diana Wynne Jones)
PRODUCER: Toshio Suzuki
CINEMATOGRAPHER: Atsushi Okui
EDITOR: Takeshi Seyama

Howl’s Moving Castle (2005) – USA version
Opening date: June 10, 2005
Running time: 119 minutes (1 hour, 59 minutes)

MPAA – PG for frightening images and brief mild language
DIRECTORS: Pete Docter and Rick Dempsey
WRITERS: Cindy Davis Hewitt and Donald H. Hewitt – adapters; Jim Hubbert – translator
PRODUCERS: Rick Dempsey and Ned Lott
Academy Award nominee

ANIMATION/FANTASY/SCI-FI/ACTION/ADVENTURE/ROMANCE with elements of war

Starring: (English voices) Emily Mortimer, Sofie Gråbøl, Christian Bale, Josh Hutcherson, Blythe Danner, Lauren Bacall, and Billy Crystal

Eighteen-year old Sophie (Emily Mortimer) lives a humdrum existence working in her late father’s hat shop in a dull town when powerful magic enters her life. She encounters the mysterious, handsome, and self-indulgent young wizard, Howl (Christian Bale, who delivers an embarrassingly stiff voice performance). However, the evil Witch of the Waste (Lauren Bacall, sly and droll) is looking for Howl, and since Sophie won’t cooperate, the witch casts a spell on Sophie that turns the unconfident young woman into an elderly woman, Grandma Sophie (Sofie Gråbøl). Determined to get the spell reversed, Sophie seeks out Howl again, and with the help of a scarecrow who moves by bouncing up and down on his pole (Sophie calls him “Turnip”), she finds Howl’s moving castle, an amazing contraption that walks across the landscape on spindly mechanical legs. Inside the castle lives Calcifer (Billy Crystal, who mixes comedy, mock menace, and a touch poignancy for a fine vocal performance), a fire demon (in the form of a ball of fire) that gives the moving castle the power to travel through time and space. However, Howl’s life is very complicated, and he fights for one side in an on-going war that leaves a terrible wake of destruction. It’s up to Sophie to free Howl of the curse that haunts him, while he plots to end the war.

The animated film, Hauru no ugoku shiro, or Howl’s Moving Castle, is another masterwork from revered Japanese animated filmmaker, Hayao Miyazaki. Howl received a 2006 Oscar nomination for “Best Animated Feature Film of the Year,” an award Miyazaki won in 2003 for Spirited Away. While Howl doesn’t reach the heights of Spirited Away, it is a brilliant film, and in many ways surpasses most American films of the last two years in terms of narrative and use of technical achievement in a creative way.

Miyazaki and his collaborators have once again created enormous panoramas of images – awe-inspiring, extravagant, spectacular visuals that coalesce into a narrative that is almost too big even for a Miyazaki film. His movies usually have a novel’s worth of sub-plots and enough characters for an ensemble film, which is the case with Howl’s Moving Castle, although the film really focuses on Sophie and Howl.

Howl’s Moving Castle is a quiet anti-war film. It may be hard to imagine that an animated film could capture the astounding devastation that war can bring to a city, (especially through aerial bombing) as well as a live action film does. However, watching the marvelous flying contraptions of war drop bombs on the countryside and in cities and towns in this film is breathtaking. Miyazaki even takes it up a notch. Magical creatures and monstrosities launch from the incredible flying battle warships and engage Howl in grand aerial battles. Strangely, this art (some of it computer generated) makes war seem cool instead of scary.

For all that this film is about war, Howl is at its heart a romance with war almost as a backdrop, and Sophie and Howl are superb star-crossed lovers. Miyazaki’s script (a loose adaptation of Diana Wynne Jones’ novel of the same title) deftly mixes romance with a magic-drenched fantasy of competing wizards and enchanted machinations. It all rings true, except for Christian Bale’s horrid voice acting as Howl. Howl’s Moving Castle is a visual assault on the senses, and it captures the imagination with magic and engages the heart with a love that overcomes all.

9 of 10
A+

Monday, March 27, 2005

NOTES:
2006 Academy Awards: 1 nomination: “Best Animated Feature Film of the Year” (Hayao Miyazaki)

Clint Black Replaces Tim McGraw in "Flicka 2"

Clint Black Takes the Reins from Tim McGraw in the All-New Family Adventure Flicka 2

Based On The Best-Selling Novel, Hearts Will Race When The Exhilarating Family Film Arrives On DVD May 4 Exclusively at Walmart, Sam’s Club and Walmart.com

LOS ANGELES--(BUSINESS WIRE)--The wild mustangs of Wyoming return when Flicka 2 makes its exclusive premiere on DVD and DVD Combo Pack May 4th from Twentieth Century Fox Home Entertainment. The uplifting film, directed by Michael Damian (Moondance Alexander), a continuation of the popular 2006 Flicka that starred Tim McGraw, features Patrick Warburton (“Family Guy,” “Seinfeld”), newcomer Tammin Sursok (“The Young And The Restless”) and country legend Clint Black in a thrilling story of the special bond between one girl and the mustang no one could tame.

Carrie (Sursok) is a big-city teenager whose life is turned upside down when she moves to a horse ranch in Wyoming to live with her father (Warburton). But everything changes when Carrie meets Flicka, a wild, jet-black mustang who’s just as free-spirited and strong-willed as Carrie. The two form a special bond and Carrie opens her heart to her father and a handsome, local boy, but when a jealous rival puts Flicka’s life in jeopardy, Carrie must do whatever it takes to save her best friend.

The Flicka 2 DVD includes behind-the-scenes featurettes; a documentary on the North American Mustang; an in-depth interview with Clint Black; bloopers and more for the suggested retail price of $22.98 DVD and $34.98 Flicka / Flicka 2 2-pack DVD. Fans, families and Flicka friends can find the DVD and 2-pack DVD on May 4th at 4,000 Walmart and Sam’s Club locations nationwide and in Canada. DVD and DVD Combo Pack are now available for pre-order exclusively at Walmart.com:

Flicka 2 DVD: www.walmart.com/ip/13996365

Flicka / Flicka 2 2-pack DVD: www.walmart.com/ip/13996366

DVD Special Features:

A Conversation With Clint Black
Running Wild: The North American Mustang
Making Flicka 2
Horsin’ Around
About Twentieth Century Fox Home Entertainment

A recognized global industry leader, Twentieth Century Fox Home Entertainment LLC (TCFHE) is the worldwide marketing, sales and distribution company for all Fox film and television programming on DVD, Blu-ray Disc (BD) and Digital Copy as well as acquisitions and original productions. The company also releases all products around the globe for MGM Home Entertainment. Each year TCFHE introduces hundreds of new and newly enhanced products, which it services to retail outlets -- from mass merchants and warehouse clubs to specialty stores and e-commerce - throughout the world. Twentieth Century Fox Home Entertainment LLC is a subsidiary of Twentieth Century Fox Film Corporation, a News Corporation company.

Press materials available at www.foxpressroom.com

Follow Twentieth Century Fox Home Entertainment on Twitter @FoxHomeEnt

FLICKA 2
Street Date: May 4, 2010
Screen Format: Widescreen – 1.78:1
Audio: English 5.1 Dolby Digital, French and Spanish Dolby Surround
Subtitles English and Spanish
U.S. Rating: PG
Total Run Time: 96 minutes
Closed Captioned: Yes

Review: "Spirited Away" is Pure Magic

TRASH IN MY EYE No. 45 (of 2003) by Leroy Douresseaux

 

Sen to Chihiro no kamikakushi (2001) – animation

Running time: 125 minutes (2 hours, 5 minutes) COUNTRY OF ORIGIN: Japan

WRITER/DIRECTOR: Hayao Miyazaki

PRODUCER: Toshio Suzuki

CINEMATOGRAPHER: Atsushi Okui

EDITOR: Takeshi Seyama

 

Spirited Away (2002) – USA English dub

MPAA – PG for some scary moments

WRITERS: Cindy Davis Hewitt and Donald H. Hewitt – English script

PRODUCER: Donald W. Ernst

Academy Award winner

 

ANIMATION/FANTASY/ADVENTURE 

 

Starring: (voices) Daveigh Chase, Suzanne Pleshette, Jason Marsden, Susan Egan, David Ogden Stiers, Lauren Holly, Michael Chiklis, and Tara Strong

 

The world’s best director of animated films is Hayao Miyazaki (Princess Mononoke), and even the masters at Disney represent with Miyazaki. In 2001, his film Sen to Chihiro no kamikakushi became the all-time highest grossing film in Japan, and in 2003, Spirited Away, the English language version of the film, won the Oscar for Best Animated Feature.

 

While moving to their new home, a ten-year girl named Chihiro (voice of Daveigh Chase) and her parents get lost on an overgrown stretch of road. At the end of the road, they find a lonely building that her father surmises was part of an abandoned theme park. Continuing to track through their discovery, the parents wander into the park where they catch the smell of cooking food. The parents begin to chow down on a veritable feast that they find in an empty restaurant. They don’t know that the food is enchanted and meant for the spirits. Within minutes, the magic transforms Chihiro’s parents into pigs.

 

Chihiro meets a boy named Haku (Jason Marsden) who tells her than the theme park is actually a rest haven for spirits. Haku tells her that he will help her and her parents, but she must wait. Meanwhile, Chihiro indentures herself to Yubaba (Suzanne Pleshette), a greedy and devious she-creature who runs the bathhouse that is the centerpiece of this magical world. Yubaba changes Chihiro’s name to Sen and forces her to work in the bathhouse while the girl struggles to find a way to free herself from slavery and her parents from the spell.

 

Whereas Miyazaki’s previous film Princess Mononoke was an epic tale of magic versus modern with the threat of a great war as the backdrop, Spirited Away is a magical fantasy in which the level of magic reaches epic proportions. From beginning to end, Miyazaki fills every frame of the film with an eldritch charm that defies comparisons to any other movies, including his own work. It’s a dazzling display of the supernatural that held me spellbound. Witches, monsters, phantasms, spirits, creatures, mythical beasts, and wondrous landscapes populate the world of Spirited Away. It’s part Alice in Wonderland, part faerie tale, and part Japanese myth. Every frame is pure wonder and fantasy.

 

All of the magical creatures seem so real and so much real part of their environment. Miyazaki has a variety of fantastical beings for almost every scene, and it never seems like too much or too phony. So many filmmakers cheat now because of computer-generated imagery and throw anything on the screen just because they it pops into their heads. The wondrous people and things of Spirited Away seem natural and purposeful, a part of a divine order, not forced, but correct and part of a circle.

 

The film’s story and script, also by Miyazaki, isn’t so much about plot as they are about the imagination, the magic of the film’s world, and, in the end, about growing up and losing the magical corners of youth where ethereal, unreal, and surreal things exist and happen. Chihiro/Sen’s adventure is a wonderful one, and Miyazaki so draws you into Spirited Away that you feel the presence of the supernatural as much as Chihiro does, and like her, you hurt from the loses that come with growing up and getting older.

 

This is more than just a great animated film; this is simply a great film. There are times when it did seem a bit long, and Miyazaki’s craft seemed too polished, too perfect, but a master like Miyazaki can’t help but be overbearing at times. He’s a filmmaker and a magician. Spirited Away has to be seen on the big screen; it’s the only way to truly feel the awe-inspiring enchantment of the most fantastical film since Terry Gilliam’s The Adventures of Baron Munchausen.

 

There are a lot of fantasy films and films about magic, but only once in a generation is one so resonant with the mysterious of power miracles, magic, and fantastic beings that the film itself feels other worldly. Spirited Away is the supra fantasy of this time.

 

9 of 10

 A+ 

 

NOTES: 2003 Academy Awards: 1 win: “Best Animated Feature” (Hayao Miyazaki) 

 

2004 BAFTA Awards: 1 nomination: “Best Film not in the English Language” (Toshio Suzuki and Hayao Miyazaki)

 

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