Original "Nightmare on Elm Street" IS a Classic

TRASH IN MY EYE No. 28 (of 2010) by Leroy Douresseaux


A Nightmare on Elm Street (1984)
Running time: 91 minutes (1 hour, 31 minutes)
WRITER/DIRECTOR: Wes Craven
PRODUCER: Robert Shaye
CINEMATOGRAPHER: Jacques Haitkin
EDITORS: Pat McMahon and Rick Shaine

HORROR

Starring: Heather Langenkamp, John Saxon, Ronee Blakley, Amanda Wyss, Nick Corri, Johnny Depp, Charles Fleischer, and Robert Englund

Originally released in 1984, A Nightmare on Elm Street was a film written and directed by legendary horror auteur, Wes Craven (Scream). A low-budget horror flick, A Nightmare on Elm Street launched a film franchise, a television series, merchandising, and imitators, but the film is a classic scary movie because of its penchant for blurring the border between dreams and reality. Most importantly, A Nightmare on Elm Street introduced one of the very best screen villains ever, Freddy Krueger.

Tina Gray (Amanda Wyss) has a dream in which she is stalked by a mutilated man with a second distinctive feature, razor-sharp knives attached to the fingers on his right hand. Her friend, Nancy Thompson (Heather Langenkamp), has experienced a similar dream involving the same sinister figure. Even Tina’s estranged boyfriend, Rod Lane (Nick Corri), has dreamed of this creepy man.

After Tina is murdered and Rod is blamed, Nancy discovers that Fred Krueger (Robert Englund), a child murderer killed by a mob of angry parents, is the man in her dreams. Krueger has returned to haunt the children of his killers, using their dreams to get his revenge from beyond the grave. When local teens fall asleep, Krueger attacks and kills them in their dreams, which also kills them in the real world. Nancy and her boyfriend, Glen Lantz (Johnny Depp, in his screen debut), hatch a plan to drag Krueger into the real world, but will that help them or make things worse?

In spite its low budget, A Nightmare on Elm Street delivers the thrills, chills, and scares of a movie with many times its budget. This first installment of the franchise has a high creepy factor because the narrative muddles reality with surreal moments in which imagination and the dream world intrude on everyday reality. One could make an argument that all or most of the movie is a dream, and that neither the narrative nor its characters are reliable.

Plus, in Fred (eventually Freddy) Krueger, A Nightmare on Elm Street has a villain who can terrorize his victims in their dreams and occasionally wreak havoc in the real world, which strengthens this story’s unsettling atmosphere. He is a bloodthirsty demon with a wicked sense of humor, and his glove, with its sharp knives, is one of the great weapons in horror movie history and in cinematic history, in general. Practically all the credit for Freddy Krueger’s fame belongs to character actor, Robert Englund, who achieved a rare feat – creating movie monster whose fame spans generations and who has international appeal.

The film’s target audience – the audience that first saw it back in the mid-80s – and likely many that see it now, can identify with Nancy and her friends. Adults don’t take them or their fears and concerns seriously, leaving them at Krueger’s mercy, which is ironic considering that the adults killed Krueger in order to protect their children. The teens are on their own, unable to discern the shifty reality that has become their existence. Like them, we are left alone to figure out this crazy, scary dream world, and A Nightmare on Elm Street delivers. It is the real deal in scary movies, and Freddy is a fictional serial killer who seems almost real.

7 of 10
A-

Saturday, May 01, 2010

Review: Sandra Bullock Shines in Winning "The Blind Side"

TRASH IN MY EYE No. 27 (of 2010) by Leroy Douresseaux

The Blind Side (2009)
Running time: 129 minutes (2 hours, 9 minutes)
MPAA – PG-13 for one scene involving brief violence, drug and sexual references
DIRECTOR: John Lee Hancock
WRITER: John Lee Hancock (based on the book The Blind Side: Evolution of a Game by Michael Lewis)
PRODUCERS: Broderick Johnson, Andrew A. Kosove, and Gil Netter
CINEMATOGRAPHER: Alar Kivilo (director of photography)
EDITOR: Mark Livolsi
COMPOSER: Carter Burwell
Academy Award winner

DRAMA/SPORTS

Starring: Sandra Bullock, Tim McGraw, Quinton Aaron, Jae Head, Lily Collins, Ray McKinnon, Kim Dickens, Adriane Lenox, and Kathy Bates

Michael Oher is a professional football player for the Baltimore Ravens of the National Football League (NFL), and he was also a college All-American at Ole Miss. Oher spent much of his youth living in foster homes or being homeless. During his high school years, Leigh Anne and Sean Tuohy, a couple with a daughter and a son at Oher’s school, took Oher into their home and eventually adopted him. Oher’s story became a book by Michael Lewis, The Blind Side: Evolution of a Game, which was adapted into the 2009 Best Picture nominee, The Blind Side. This film will likely be remembered as the movie for which Sandra Bullock won her “Best Actress” Oscar.

Michael Oher (Quinton Aaron) is a homeless African-American youngster who has lived with different foster families. The father of one of his friends gets Oher enrolled in an exclusive Christian school. There, Michael, called “Big Mike,” befriends a younger boy named Sean Tuohy, Jr. or SJ (Jae Head). SJ’s mother, Leigh Anne Tuohy (Sandra Bullock), a fiery interior designer, takes notice of Michael with her son. After a pre-holiday Thanksgiving school event, Leigh Anne sees Michael walking in the rain and offers to let him spend the night at her home. That leads to Michael spending Thanksgiving with Leigh Anne, her husband, Sean Tuohy (Tim McGraw), her daughter, Collins (Lily Collins), and SJ.

Michael begins to thrive in his new environment with the Tuohys, and his presence leads the Tuohys to some insightful self-discoveries of their own. However, this new life offers a new set of challenges for Michael. Leigh Anne also decides to make her and Sean Michael’s legal guardians, but that means delving into Michael’s troubled past. Suddenly Leigh Anne, her family, and their latest addition, Michael, find road blocks on the way to their happy ending.

I imagine that most viewers will feel very good after watching The Blind Side. This movie is the real deal because it is more than just another heartwarming story about Black people and White people coming together. Writer/director John Lee Hancock makes The Blind Side different from most inspirational sports drama by actually not contriving phony explanations for why the characters make the peculiar and surprising choices they do in relating to other people. He simply dazzles us with the Tuohys’ stunning generosity and the spirit of Christianity displayed by many of the characters. We don’t have to ask why they do it, but accept on faith that they are doing it for the right reasons.

As the spitfire Leigh Anne Tuohy, Sandra Bullock is certainly deserving of her Academy Award. Bullock not only embodies the fierce stubbornness of a modern Southern woman; she also personifies the inscrutable nature of humans. Sandra allows us to see Leigh Anne’s care and concern for Michael’s well-being and future, as well as her don’t-stand-in-my-way attitude, but shuts us out of what really goes on in Leigh Anne’s head. In reality, neither Bullock nor the audience knows why the real or fictional Leigh Anne does what she does, but in this movie that is not important. We’re supposed to be blind sided by people’s actions, especially Leigh Anne’s, because we don’t see them coming, as Leigh Anne is blind sided by her own feelings for Michael.

While much is made of Bullock’s performance (and rightfully so), Quinton Aaron gives a calm, but powerful performance as Michael Oher. In his quiet way, Aaron actually makes “Big Mike” that much more interesting, attracting the viewer to the character. Every time Aaron is on screen, he has the viewer trying to dig into Oher. As SJ, young Jae Head is a lovable scene-stealer, and the young actor makes SJ solidly the third most interesting character after Leigh Anne and Michael Oher. Consider him the adorable extra in The Blind Side, one of the great sports movies and fine family drama.

8 of 10
A

NOTES:
2010 Academy Awards: 1 win: “Best Performance by an Actress in a Leading Role” (Sandra Bullock); 1 nomination: “Best Motion Picture of the Year” (Gil Netter, Andrew A. Kosove, and Broderick Johnson)

2010 Golden Globe: 1 win for “Best Performance by an Actress in a Motion Picture – Drama” (Sandra Bullock)

2010 Black Reel Awards: 4 nominations: “Black Reel Best Actor” (Quinton Aaron), “Best Breakthrough Performance” (Quinton Aaron), “Best Film,” and “Best Screenplay, Original or Adapted” (John Lee Hancock)

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

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).

April 2010 Welcome

Welcome to Negromancer, the rebirth of my former movie review website as a movie review and movie news blog. I’m Leroy Douresseaux, and I also blog at http://ireadsyou.blogspot.com/. I also write for the Comic Book Bin, which has its own iPhone app.

All images appearing on this blog are © copyright and/or trademark their respective owners.

Freddie Vs. Jason Simply Bad

TRASH IN MY EYE No. 128 (of 2003) by Leroy Douresseaux


Freddy Vs. Jason (2003)
Running time: 97 minutes (1 hour, 37 minutes)
MPAA – R for pervasive strong horror violence/gore, gruesome images, sexuality, drug use and language
DIRECTOR: Ronny Yu
WRITERS: Damian Shannon and Mark Swift (based upon characters created by Wes Craven and Victor Miller)
PRODUCER: Sean S. Cunningham
CINEMATOGRAPHER: Fred Murphy (D.o.P.)
EDITOR: Mark Stevens
COMPOSER: Graeme Revell

HORROR/FANTASY/ACTION/THRILLER

Starring: Robert Englund, Monica Keena, Ken Kirzinger, Kelly Rowland, Jason Ritter, James Callahan, Brendan Fletcher, and Lochlyn Munro

There’s little reason to say a whole lot about the long-awaited film showdown between two venerable movie maniacs, Freddy Krueger of the A Nightmare on Elm Street films and Jason Voorhees of the Friday the 13th films. It’s not simply a question of loving or hating it; when you get down to the bare bones, Freddy Vs. Jason is a truly awful film.

Freddy (Robert Englund) is in hell, fuming because he can’t get at the children of Elm Street in the town of Springwood. The parents and town leaders have found a few ways of keeping Freddy from the minds and dreams of their children. Thus, Freddy resurrects Jason (Ken Kirzinger) in hopes that Jason will scare up memories of Freddy. Of course, a plot, even a silly one, between two undead, homicidal maniacs is bound to fall apart. Jason gets out of hand, taking all the kills for himself, so Freddy decides to take him out of the equation.

Ronny Yu, who breathed new life into the Child’s Play series with Bride of Chucky, can’t do a damn thing for Freddy Vs. Jason, and I totally blame the manically lame script. Whereas Bride was perverse, funny, and perversely funny, Freddy is clunky, dull, and painfully dry. I think the writers, Damian Shannon and Mark Swift, instead of telling a good story, used too much of their script to shoehorn into this new film all the continuity and characteristics of the two original series. Because of this, more than half of Freddy Vs. Jason is without a story beyond what amounts to preflight commentary. There are quite a few good moments in the film, but everything else is, to speak plainly and crudely, crap.

Although the film as some imaginative effects, it’s not nearly as imaginative as the original Nightmare films, which all surely had smaller budgets than this film. Oh, it does have its moments, but it’s cursed by all the things that typically make horror movies bad: poor acting, weak plot and script, and lack of imagination. As far as horror films goes, most fans are willing to overlook all those problems if the damn thing is scary, and Freddy Vs. Jason isn’t, not even close. It’s just vile and violent, mostly a self-parody that exudes an air of cynicism about itself and the audience.

We, who loved the originals, were programmed to come, despite the misgivings we had from the moment we first heard of that “they” were making a Freddy Vs. Jason movie. Some of us just can’t resist, so we deserve the occasional cow patty thrown squarely in our mugs. The real tale will be told when we see how many of us come back for more, because in the end we deserve a much better film than this.

2 of 10
D

New "Madea" Film Due April 2011

Press release from Lionsgate:

LIONSGATE IS HOME, SWEET HOME TO TYLER PERRY’S MADEA’S BIG HAPPY FAMILY

11TH Title in Hit Franchise is Planned For Easter 2011 Release

SANTA MONICA, CA, April 28, 2010 – LIONSGATE® (NYSE: LGF), the leading next generation studio, today announced that it has acquired the rights to the next film by writer/director/actor/producer Tyler Perry, TYLER PERRY’S MADEA’S BIG HAPPY FAMILY. The film will be the eleventh title in the studio’s hit Perry franchise. Perry will reprise his signature role as the straight-shooting Madea in the film, adapted from his new stage play “Madea’s Happy Family,” which is currently on tour in the U.S. The announcement was jointly made by Joe Drake, Lionsgate Chief Operating Office and Motion Picture Group President, and Mike Paseornek, Lionsgate President of Motion Picture Production

Lionsgate plans to release TYLER PERRY’S MADEA’S BIG HAPPY FAMILY on April 22, 2011.

Said Paseornek, “No one makes a big-screen entrance like Madea, and we’re very excited to welcome her back with TYLER PERRY’S MADEA’S BIG HAPPY FAMILY. To us, the title of the film couldn’t be more apt. Not only is Tyler a cherished member of the Lionsgate family; his unique brand of storytelling, humor, music and uplift has created a big happy family of moviegoers.”

Said Perry, “It’s very important to me to make movies that audiences can relate to, and I can’t think of a more relatable subject than family. I’m looking forward to bringing back Madea and the gang, and I’m glad to have Lionsgate with me for the journey.”

Perry’s tenth film for Lionsgate, FOR COLORED GIRLS WHO HAVE CONSIDERED SUICIDE WHEN THE RAINBOW IS ENUF, is scheduled to begin principal photography on June 1 in Atlanta. Perry directs his screen adaptation of the Obie Award-winning play by Ntozake Shange, and produces alongside Paul Hall. The film’s all-star cast includes Janet Jackson, Mariah Carey, Whoopi Goldberg, Phylicia Rashad, Jurnee Smollett, Kimberly Elise, Kerry Washington, Loretta Devine, Anika Noni Rose and Macy Gray. FOR COLORED GIRLS WHO HAVE CONSIDERED SUICIDE WHEN THE RAINBOW IS ENUF is scheduled for nationwide release on January 14, 2011.


ABOUT LIONSGATE
Lionsgate (NYSE: LGF - News) is the leading next generation studio with a strong and diversified presence in the production and distribution of motion pictures, television programming, home entertainment, family entertainment, video-on-demand and digitally delivered content. The Company has built a strong television presence in production of prime time cable and broadcast network series, distribution and syndication of programming through Debmar-Mercury and an array of channel assets. Lionsgate currently has nearly 20 shows on 10 different networks spanning its prime time production, distribution and syndication businesses, including such critically-acclaimed hits as "Mad Men," "Weeds" and "Nurse Jackie" along with new series such as "Blue Mountain State" and the syndication successes "Tyler Perry's House of Payne," its spinoff "Meet The Browns" and "The Wendy Williams Show."

Its feature film business has generated such recent hits as TYLER PERRY’S WHY DID I GET MARRIED TOO?, the action film KICK-ASS, which opened at #1 at the North American box office and the critically-acclaimed PRECIOUS, which has garnered nearly $50 million at the North American box office and won two Academy Awards®. The Company’s home entertainment business has grown to more than 7% market share and is an industry leader in box office-to-DVD revenue conversion rate. Lionsgate handles a prestigious and prolific library of approximately 12,000 motion picture and television titles that is an important source of recurring revenue and serves as the foundation for the growth of the Company’s core businesses. The Lionsgate brand remains synonymous with original, daring, quality entertainment in markets around the world.

"The Rookie" is a Warm Family Sports Drama

TRASH IN MY EYE No. 37 (of 2002) by Leroy Douresseaux


The Rookie (2002)
Running time: 127 minutes (2 hours, 7 minutes)
DIRECTOR: John Lee Hancock
WRITER: Mike Rich
PRODUCERS: Mark Ciardi, Gordon Gray, and Mark Johnson
CINEMATOGRAPHER: John Schwartzman (director of photography)
EDITOR: Eric L. Beason
COMPOSER: Carter Burwell

DRAMA/SPORTS

Starring: Dennis Quaid, Rachel Griffiths, Jay Hernandez, Beth Grant, Angus T. Jones, and Brian Cox

Jimmy Morris’s (Dennis Quaid) perennially losing baseball team made a bet with him. If they won district, he would give his dream of being a Major League Baseball player another shot. Of course they won, and he did try again.

Director John Lee Hancock, a television director and screenwriter (A Perfect World), and writer Mike Rich (Finding Forrester) take the ideas of dreams and wish fulfillment and force them into the harsh light of day in the film, The Rookie. They remind the viewer that getting what you want isn’t always easy, but they have a bigger surprise in store for the viewer. It’s how this film deals with what happens when you get what you want.

In the case of Morris, he does make it to the big leagues (no big spoiler), and the majors is what he expected it to be. It’s just that he had a life and responsibilities before he got his dream job, and now the two conflict. He also discovers that being a big leaguer is a little more complicated than just “playing ball.” Director and screenwriter weave a story and create characters that seem real, because, not only is the story based on real events, the Morris struggle is universal – the desire to do what you want to do and the need to do what you have to do. This is the most intense and heaviest G-rated film in history. The creators still manage to make it fun and uplifting because they encourage us to identify with Morris’s quest.

Quaid gives a very good performance as man navigating his life, between the responsibilities and the dreams. It’s the performance that endears us to him, and Quaid sells us on a story that could have been very down beat. His every gesture, each look into his eyes and his face sells us that the reward at the end is worth the struggle along the way. In Quaid’s Morris, we see that there are rarely ever any pat resolutions to the problems we face in life.

The movie does seem a bit long, and some of the other characters (Morris’s wife and father) should have had more screen time, as they are obviously important to the growth of the character. There’s also a religious element in the film that’s clumsily underplayed. However, The Rookie does deliver both a message and fine entertainment. One other nice thing that it is subtly played throughout the film – regardless of how tough it is to achieve a dream and no matter how lonely one might feel, there are a lot of people around the dreamer supporting him along the way.

6 of 10
B

The Real "Brazil" Still Dazzles the Imagination

TRASH IN MY EYE No. 209 (of 2006) by Leroy Douresseaux


Brazil (1985) – Director’s Cut
Running time: 144 minutes (2 hours, 24 minutes)
MPAA – R
COUNTRY OF ORIGIN: UK
DIRECTOR: Terry Gilliam
WRITERS: Terry Gilliam, Tom Stoppard, and Charles McKeown
PRODUCERS: Arnon Milchan
CINEMATOGRAPHER: Roger Pratt
EDITOR: Julian Doyle
Academy Award nominee

SCI-FI/FANTASY/COMEDY with element of romance

Starring: Jonathan Pryce, Robert De Niro, Katherine Helmond, Ian Holm, Bob Hoskins, Michael Palin, Peter Vaughan, Kim Greist, Barbara Hicks, Charles McKeown, Kathryn Pogson, Shelia Reid, and Holly Gilliam

In a dystopian future, an inefficient bureaucracy controls society. Sam Lowry (Jonathan Pryce) is a daydreaming civil servant in the Department of Records (part of the Ministry of Information) who spots an error in a sea of paperwork – an innocent man was arrested and apparently killed because that error mistakenly identified him as a terrorist. In this future, the government expects citizens to pay fines and monetary penalties for their offences against society (the government) simply because even the most minor offenses generate so much paperwork. So the family of the innocent, now-deceased man is owed a refund for the money charged them for his “crimes.” While attempting to deliver the refund, Sam encounters Jill Layton (Kim Greist), and she looks exactly like the woman who is in all his daydreams. In the course of trying to catch up with Jill, Sam incorrectly becomes the object of government’s (via the Ministry) ire, as they assume him to be the mysterious, illegal serviceman and terrorist, Harry Tuttle (Robert De Niro).

Part social commentary, part outrageous fantasy, and black comedy, Terry Gilliam’s Brazil is one of the most dead-on socio-political satires in film history. It so accurately portrays both bureaucratic excess and negligence that it is both uncanny and uncannily timely, especially in light of recent events involving individual citizens being mistaken for terrorists because of their names, nationalities, and/or ethnicities. In fact, the Ministry of Information’s slogan, “Suspicion Breeds Confidence” defines the mentality of post-9/11 America.

The things that make this film excellent are the script and the actors’ ability to interpret its subtleties, while performing amidst the director’s indulgences. Terry Gilliam’s (Time Bandits) direction is obtuse, and he often seems more enamored with the dressings of his scenario rather than the narrative and allegorical aspects of it. Meanwhile, the cast seems better at bringing Gilliam’s vision to the screen that the director himself. This includes a brilliant performance by Jonathan Pryce as an exasperated everyman who doesn’t realize that he truly is different from everyone one else (kind, considerate, intelligent) and how much that endangers his life. The text (writing) is what makes Brazil a superb social commentary and an exceptional black comic satire, and luckily the cast acted as midwife to bring the script’s best aspects to screen even when Gilliam meanders.

8 of 10
A

NOTES:
1986 Academy Awards: 2 nominations: “Best Writing, Screenplay Written Directly for the Screen” (Terry Gilliam, Tom Stoppard, and Charles McKeown) and “Best Art Direction-Set Decoration” (Norman Garwood and Maggie Gray)


1986 BAFTA Awards: 2 wins” “Best Production Design (Norman Garwood) and “Best Special Visual Effects” (George Gibbs and Richard Conway)

Sunday, October 8, 2006