Dark Horse Comics Turns Showtime's "Dexter" into a Bust

DARK HORSE CAPTURES THE WORLD’S MOST NOTORIOUS SERIAL KILLER ALL NEW DEXTER™ BUST TO BE UNVEILED AT THIS WEEKEND’S C2E2 CONVENTION!

Dexter Morgan, recently of Miami, is now securely detained and immobilized in a sculptural facsimile limited-edition bust. He is slated for release in July.

Dexter Morgan, Miami Metro Police Department blood spatter analyst, has a double life. When he's not helping the Homicide division solve murders, he spends his time hunting and killing bad guys who slip through the justice system.

These days, America's favorite serial killer has gone from freewheeling bachelor to doting dad. Maintaining an average-guy facade while satisfying his need to kill has never been easy. But now, after being drawn into a deadly game with The Trinity Killer, a killer every bit as dangerous and conflicted as he is, last season’s shocking finale has left him dealing with the devastating consequence of his own actions.

In bringing the SHOWTIME® character, brilliantly portrayed by recent Golden Globe® and Screen Actors Guild Award® winner, Michael C. Hall, into a sculpture, Dark Horse wanted to capture both “sides” of Dexter. Their solution: viewed from the front, he is examining a blood spatter slide, as he would do in his job for the police. But danger lurks hidden behind his back, as evidenced by a razor-sharp blade.

The detailed sculpture re-creates Dexter’s signature knit shirt, right down to the weave of the fabric. The likeness of Michael C. Hall is spot-on, sculpted expressly for the Dark Horse project by the artisans at Gentle Giant Studios, who are recognized as industry leaders in the collectibles and filmed entertainment fields.

The Dexter limited-edition bust is a hand-painted, numbered edition. It is produced under license with the cooperation and participation of Showtime Networks and Michael C. Hall. It will be packaged in full-color collector packaging, and contains a Certificate of Authenticity. Release is slated for August, 2010. Fans will have the chance to see the piece in person at this weekend’s C2E2 convention in Chicago.

About Dark Horse Comics
Since 1986, Dark Horse Comics has proven to be a solid example of how integrity and innovation can help broaden a unique storytelling medium and establish a small, homegrown company as an industry giant. The company is known for the progressive and creator friendly atmosphere it provides for writers and artists. In addition to publishing comics from top talent like Frank Miller, Mike Mignola, Neil Gaiman, Gerard Way and comics legend Will Eisner, Dark Horse has developed such successful characters as The Mask, Timecop, and SpyBoy. Additionally, their highly successful line of comics and products based on popular properties includes Star Wars, Indiana Jones, Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Aliens, Conan, Emily the Strange, Tim Burton, Trigun, Serenity and Domo. Today, Dark Horse Comics is the largest independent comic-book publisher in the U.S. and is recognized as one of the world's leading publisher of licensed comics material.

About Showtime Networks Inc.
Showtime Networks Inc. (SNI), a wholly-owned subsidiary of CBS Corporation, owns and operates the premium television networks SHOWTIME®, THE MOVIE CHANNEL™ and FLIX®, as well as the multiplex channels SHOWTIME 2™, SHOWTIME® SHOWCASE, SHOWTIME EXTREME®, SHOWTIME BEYOND®, SHOWTIME NEXT®, SHOWTIME WOMEN®, SHOWTIME FAMILY ZONE® and THE MOVIE CHANNEL™ XTRA. SNI also offers SHOWTIME HD®, THE MOVIE CHANNEL™ HD, SHOWTIME ON DEMAND® and THE MOVIE CHANNEL™ ON DEMAND. SNI also manages Smithsonian Networks, a joint venture between SNI and the Smithsonian Institution. All SNI feeds provide enhanced sound using Dolby Digital 5.1. SNI markets and distributes sports and entertainment events for exhibition to subscribers on a pay-per-view basis through SHOWTIME PPV®.

Review: Miyazaki's "Ponyo" is Simply Magical

TRASH IN MY EYE No. 22 (of 2010) by Leroy Douresseaux

Ponyo (2009)
Gake no ue no Ponyo (2008) – COUNTRY OF ORIGIN: Japan
Running time: 101 minutes (1 hour, 41 minutes)
WRITER/DIRECTOR: Hayao Miyazaki
PRODUCERS: Toshio Suzuki, Steve Alpert, Kathleen Kennedy, and Frank Marshall
CINEMATOGRAPHER: Atsushi Okui (D.o.P.)
EDITOR: Hayao Miyazaki and Takeshi Seyama

ANIMATION/FANTASY

Starring: Noah Cyrus, Cate Blanchett, Matt Damon, Tina Fey, Frankie Jonas, Cloris Leachman, Liam Neeson, Lily Tomlin, Betty White, and Carlos Alazraqui

It is a shame that moviegoers have largely turned away from hand-drawn animation (2D animation), but devour computer-animated or 3D animation. Pixar’s 3D feature-length animated films are extremely well written, and DreamWorks is usually pushing the technology of 3D with their films. Still, it is hard to believe that Walt Disney’s The Princess and the Frog cannot out gross something like Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs and Bee Movie.

American 2D feature-length animation is largely relegated to straight-to-video releases and television, and much of that is actually produced outside the U.S. The malaise at the box office for American 2D animated films means even more trouble for high-quality, 2D animated features from other countries. This is a shame because that means so many people will miss the chance to see a hand-drawn animated, instant-classic from Hayao Miyazaki on a big screen. Miyazaki is arguably one of the world’s greatest living movie directors – live action or animation. He won an Oscar for his animated film, Spirited Away, but his other films are also highly acclaimed. Last year, Miyazaki’s most recent animated film, Ponyo, arrived in the U.S.

Ponyo centers on a fish-girl, named “Brunhilde,” who lives in an aquarium in her father, Fujimoto’s (Liam Neeson) underwater castle. During a trip in which her father takes her and her numerous siblings on an outing in his four-flippered submarine, Brunhilde decides to see more of the world and swims away, only to end up stranded. On the shore of a small fishing town, a boy named Sōsuke (Frankie Jonas) rescues Brunhilde and names her Ponyo (Noah Cyrus).

In spite of her father and his “wave spirits” efforts to stop her, Ponyo grows legs and turns into a human. To become human, however, Ponyo unleashes huge amounts of her father’s magic. When released into the ocean, this magic causes an imbalance in the world, resulting in a huge storm and later massive flooding. Now, only Sōsuke can save the world, but does he know how?

A full-length animated feature can require its animation staff to draw over 100,000 separate images. Yet when you watch a Miyazaki film, you may doubt that humans rather than super computers produced it, and Ponyo is example of the magic Miyazaki can create through 2D animation. Such scenes as the ocean storms with its seething waves, swelling surfs, and those odd-looking wave spirits are breathtaking in their ability to depict the might and power of the ocean. The night scenes that depict the storms hammering the coast along the small fishing village in which this film is set are simply terrifying. I felt the kind of fear I usually only feel when watching night scenes in horror movies.

To look at Ponyo, one might think the design of the characters and setting look rather simply, like the art and illustrations one might produce for a daily comic strip. That simplicity in design, however, belies the magic that happens when the drawings are connected to form a “moving picture.” The color, the movement, the visual effects, and the sound come together at the behest of the maestro Hayao Miyazaki, and cinematic magic is a real thing. From the majesty of Ponyo’s mother, Granmamare (Cate Blanchett), to the simple enchantment of a low tide full of prehistoric fish, Ponyo is poetic and has the magic to charm adults and children. I will not stop using the word “magic” to describe Miyazaki’s work, and when you see one of his films, you will see why.

9 of 10
A+

Thursday, April 15, 2010

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

Chris Rock to Remake Akira Kurosawa Film

According to AOL Black Voice, BV on Movie blog, Chris Rock is working on a screenplay for director Mike Nichols' planned remake of High and Low, a film from legendary Japanese filmmaker, Akira Kurosawa.  According to the article, Rock revealed this news while promoting his new film, Death at a Funeral (itself a remake of a British comedy).

Akeelah and the Bee Spells Wonderful

TRASH IN MY EYE No. 200 (of 2006) by Leroy Douresseaux


Akeelah and the Bee (2006)
Running time: 112 minutes (1 hour, 52 minutes)
MPAA – PG for some language
WRITER/DIRECTOR: Dough Atchison
PRODUCERS: Nancy Hult Ganis & Sid Ganis, Michael Romersa & Danny Llewelyn and Laurence Fishburne
CINEMATOGRAPHER: M. David Mullen, ASC (director of photography)
EDITOR: Glenn Farr

DRAMA/FAMILY

Starring: Keke Palmer, Laurence Fishburne, Angela Bassett, Curtis Armstrong, JR Villarreal, Sean Michael Afable, Sahara Garey, Erica Hubbard, Lee Thompson Young, Julito McCullum, Dalia Phillips, and Tzi Ma

11-year old Akeelah Anderson (Keke Palmer) has an aptitude for words, and after her principal compels her to enter the first spelling bee ever held at her school, Crenshaw Middle School, Akeelah wins. Entering local and regional contests, she places high enough to land a spot in the Scripps National Spelling Bee (a real event broadcast annually on ESPN) in Washington D.C. Despite her own reluctance and her mother, Tanya’s (Angela Bassett) initial objections, Akeelah gets support from her bookish spelling coach, Dr. Larabee (Laurence Fishburne), her principal, Mr. Welch (Curtis Armstrong), and proud members of her community. She even makes a friend of one her rivals, Javier (JR Villarreal), and earns the grudging notice of the previous two years’ runner up at nationals, Dylan Chiu (Sean Michael Afable), who is the boy to beat this year. Now, can Akeelah win?

Family dramas are rarely this good, and if part of the reason that some of us think Akeelah and the Bee is so good is because the movie’s characters are African-Americans in the kind of story and setting that so rarely sees winning black characters, well, the problem is the game, not the players. Combining the best aspects of plotlines involving the against-all-odds, the fish out of water, and the underdog scenarios, Akeelah and the Bee is determined to make the audience feel extra good. It’s a direct cousin of such rousing flicks as Rudy and Coach Carter.

Though writer/director Doug Atchison can be forgiven for his script’s more mawkish moments, as a director, Atchison trusts his casts to make this uplifting story work. Keke Palmer is puckish as the fiercely intelligent Akeelah, who is struggling to find her place. Laurence Fishburne’s somber turn as Mr. Larabee is spiced by Fishburne’s grave but wise voice, as Larabee guides (Morpheus-like) Akeelah down the path to accepting her gifts and glory. Even Angela Bassett turns a stereotype into a character with whom everyone else has to reckon, and Curtis Armstrong is always a welcomed presence.

Akeelah and the Bee almost convinces me that I should get into spelling bees, but it completely convinces me of the joy a feel good movie can bring, especially when the filmmakers actually succeed in what they’re trying to sell. It might be hokey how the community rallies around Akeelah, but this would happen in real life. The truth of the matter is that some of us would really enjoy seeing a competitor who shouldn’t be there take on the establishment. As Fishburne’s Mr. Larabee guides Akeelah, his rich voice steering her to her destiny, we’re with him encouraging this lovely flower to bloom. When she wins, the audience wins.

8 of 10
A

Wednesday, September 20, 2006

Review: An Education

TRASH IN MY EYE No. 21 (of 2010) by Leroy Douresseaux


An Education (2009)
COUNTRY OF ORIGIN: UK
Running minutes: 100 minutes (1 hour, 40 minutes)
MPAA – PG-13 for mature thematic material involving sexual content, and for smoking
DIRECTOR: Lone Scherfig
WRITER: Nick Hornby (from the memoir by Lynn Barber)
PRODUCERS: Finola Dwyer and Amanda Posey
CINEMATOGRAPHER: John de Borman (D.o.P.)
EDITOR: Barney Pilling
Academy Award nominee

DRAMA/ROMANCE

Starring: Carey Mulligan, Peter Sarsgaard, Alfred Molina, Cara Seymour, Dominic Cooper, Rosamund Pike, Olivia Williams, Matthew Beard, and Emma Thompson

An Education is, at the very least, an exceptional coming-of-age film because it is exceptionally well-directed and well-written, and the actors give high-quality performances. However, it is Carey Mulligan’s star-making turn that anchors An Education.

Set in England in 1961, An Education focuses on Jenny Mellor (Carey Mulligan), a bright schoolgirl who is focused on taking and passing the A-levels, the exams that could help her get into Oxford. She meets David Goldman (Peter Sarsgaard), a charming, older Jewish man, and the two begin a relationship that steadily leads to romance. David even manages to charm Jenny’s protective parents, Jack played by Alfred Molina, giving his usually fine performance, and Marjorie (Cara Seymour).

David introduces Jenny to his fast lifestyle and to his friends, Danny (Dominic Cooper) and Danny’s girlfriend, Helen (Rosamund Pike, who is so radiantly beautiful that she steals practically every scene in which she appears). Jenny becomes torn between studying for a place at Oxford and enjoying the more exciting and fun alternative lifestyle that David offers, but then, she must also confront the darker side of David’s freewheeling lifestyle.

In creating Jenny Mellor, Carey Mulligan fashioned the kind of female character that carries a drama all the way to victory. Mulligan convincingly gives Jenny that cheeky arrogance which makes high school age teens believe they know how to live a much better life than any adult they know has ever lived. Jenny is a clever girl, and Mulligan makes sure her smarts shine through every time. This is a rich, multi-layered performance that absorbs everything that An Education is trying to convey to its audience and makes it crystal clear.

Mulligan’s wonderful turn almost eclipses the exceedingly fine performance by the underrated Peter Sarsgaard as David. Sarsgaard deftly keeps David’s secrets close to him, making David act as the perfect foil for Jenny’s haughty smarts, but Sarsgaard also gives David an edge that is somehow too sweet to resist. Sarsgaard’s wonderful contribution and Mulligan’s terrific performance make An Education a coming-of-age story that will work its magic through the ages.

8 of 10
A

NOTES:
2010 Academy Awards: 3 nominations: “Best Motion Picture of the Year” (Finola Dwyer and Amanda Posey), “Best Performance by an Actress in a Leading Role” (Carey Mulligan), and “Best Writing, Screenplay Based on Material Previously Produced or Published” (Nick Hornby)

2010 BAFTA Awards: 1 win: “Best Leading Actress” (Carey Mulligan); 7 nominations: “Best Costume Design” (Odile Dicks-Mireaux), “Best Director” (Lone Scherfig), “Best Film” (Amanda Posey and Finola Dwyer), “Best Make Up & Hair” (Elizabeth Yianni-Georgiou), “Best Screenplay – Adapted” (Nick Hornby), “Best Supporting Actor” (Alfred Molina), and “Outstanding British Film” (Amanda Posey, Finola Dwyer, Lone Scherfig, and Nick Hornby)

2010 Golden Globes: 1 nominations: “Best Performance by an Actress in a Motion Picture – Drama” (Carey Mulligan)

Tuesday, April 13, 2010

Tyler Perry is Glenn Beck's Hero

Yep.  You'll have to go to AOL Black Voices' Black Spin blog to read this article.  I would prefer that it explain itself.  Still, Beck apparently said:

"How is it I don't know this man? How is it we are not friends?" said Beck who admitted to just recently seeing his first Tyler Perry movie.


"It's exactly the kind of movie that would make a lot of money. It is amazing -- he can't get it done so he sets up his own production company and he's wildly successful.... I just told the guys this morning that I want to meet him – I want to set up a meeting because from what little I know, we think exactly the same way."

No, wonders will never cease.  And this is Glenn Beck, so...

Tasha Hopes for Third "Why Did I Get Married?" in Paris

According to the BET.com blog, What the Flick, Tasha Smith, a co-star in the Tyler Perry films, Why Did I Get Married? and Why Did I Get Married Too?, hopes for a third film in this franchise.