Louie Psihoyos Talks "The Cove" - A Bits and Bites Extra

This year's Academy Award winner for "Best Documentary" is a film called The Cove.  Directed by renowned National Geographic photographer and first-time filmmaker, Louie Psihoyos, the film documents an annual ritual in a small coastal Japanese town called Taiji, in which thousands of dolphins and porpoises are slaughtered by the residents.  The residents even capture dolphins that they sell to U.S. marine mammal parks for upwards of $200,000.

Apparently, there have been efforts on the parts of the Japanese government and the U.S. military to ban and cancel screenings of The Cove in Japan.  Psihoyos gave an interview to Your Call, a daily radio call-in show broadcast in San Francisco and Santa Cruz, in which he discusses The Cove's success, whaling, and environmental issues.  Go here to listen to the interview.

"The Spy Next Door" on DVD Tuesday

From Lionsgate:

PROGRAM DESCRIPTION

Acclaimed martial-arts superstar Jackie Chan (The Forbidden Kingdom) is back to kick up the action and bring in the laughs with his latest film, The Spy Next Door, making its way onto a 2-disc Blu-ray Combo Pack – which includes both Blu-ray and DVD – and is also available as a separate DVD and for digital download. From the director of Snow Dogs, the film features a star-studded cast including Amber Valletta (Hitch), Billy Ray Cyrus (Disney’s “Hannah Montana”) and George Lopez (Valentine’s Day), and grossed over $24 million at the box office. This KIDS FIRST!-endorsed action-comedy which also received the Dove Foundation Seal of Approval, contains bonus features the whole family will enjoy – including a blooper reel and two fun featurettes that bring audiences up-close and personal with the cast.

In true Jackie Chan fashion, The Spy Next Door delivers incredible stunts, fast action suspense and hearty family entertainment. When Bob Ho is called to babysit his neighbor’s unruly children, they accidentally blow his cover as a spy by downloading secret codes on his computer. Suddenly Bob has to kick into super agent mode and take the kids on an action-packed adventure that turns suburbia upside down. Bob fights off assassins and arch villains, narrowly escapes traps and outsmarts double-agents while somehow managing to keep the kids out of harm’s way. The film is “High-flying family fun” (movieweb.com) and “Zany action for the whole family” (nycmovieguru.com). The Spy Next Door will be available on Blu-ray Combo pack for the suggested retail price of $39.99 or on DVD for $29.95.

*BLU-RAY COMBO PACK/DVD SPECIAL FEATURES
• “Jackie Chan: Stunt Master and Mentor” featurette
• “Adventures in Acting with the Kids from The Spy Next Door” featurette
• Blooper reel
*subject to change

CAST
Jackie Chan: The Forbidden Kingdom, Rush Hour, Shanghai Noon, The Tuxedo, Rumble in the Bronx
Amber Valletta: Hitch, Gamer, Premonition, Transporter 2, Raising Helen, The Family Man, Duplex
Madeline Carroll: When a Stranger Calls, The Santa Clause 3: The Escape Clause, Swing Vote
Will Shadley: TV’s “Dirty Sexy Money,” Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs
Magnús Scheving: TV’s “LazyTown”
with Billy Ray Cyrus Hannah Montana: The Movie, Mulholland Drive, Bait Shop, TV’s “Doc” and George Lopez Valentine’s Day, Swing Vote, Balls of Fury, Real Women Have Curves

PROGRAM INFORMATION
Year of Production: 2009
Title Copyright: © 2009 Spy Next Door, LLC. All Rights Reserved.
Type: Theatrical Release
Rating: PG for sequences of action violence and some mild rude humor
Genre: Action/Adventure, Family, Comedy
Closed Captioned: DVD - English Closed Captioned
Blu-ray – English SDH
Subtitles: English and Spanish
DVD Format: 16x9 Widescreen (1.78)
Blu-ray Format: 1080P High Definition 16x9 Widescreen (1.78)
Feature Running Time: 95 minutes
DVD Audio Status: 5.1 and 2.0 Dolby Digital
Blu-ray Disc Audio Status: 5.1 DTS-HD Master Audio

"Something New" is Quite Cool

TRASH IN MY EYE No. 135 (of 2006) by Leroy Douresseaux


Something New (2006)
Running time: 100 minutes (1 hour, 40 minutes)
MPAA – PG-13 for sexual references
DIRECTOR: Sanaa Hamri
WRITER: Kriss Turner
PRODUCER: Stephanie Allain
CINEMATOGRAPHER: Shane Hurlbut
EDITOR: Melissa Kent
Black Reel Award winner

COMEDY/DRAMA/ROMANCE

Starring: Sanaa Lathan, Simon Baker, Wendy Raquel Robinson, Mike Epps, Taraji P. Henson, Donald Faison, Alfre Woodard, Blair Underwood, Golden Brooks, Earl Billings, and Matt Malloy

Kenya Denise McQueen (Sanaa Lathan) has carefully calculated her professional life, and the young African-American accounting executive is up for partner at the firm for which she works. Still, she’s concerned that her personal life doesn’t measure up to her professional success. She accepts a blind date coordinated by a colleague, but the blind date turns out to be a white man named Brian Kelly (Simon Baker). She brushes him off, but that’s not the last she hears from Brian. He also turns out to be the sexy, free-spirited landscape architect a friend recommends. A relationship develops between Kenya and Brian, but though he’s comfortable with her, she can’t get past the fact that he is a white man. She’s later meets the IBM, the Ideal Black Man, a tax attorney named Mark (Blair Underwood), and they seemingly hit it off. Although Mark seems like her dream come true, Kenya’s heart might be somewhere else – regardless of what her friends, family, and the rest of society have to say.

Something New is the latest film about interracial (an absurd term) dating. The best-known recent examples include Spike Lee’s infamous Jungle Fever and the Julia Stiles hit, Save the Last Dance. Something New is not as incendiary as the former, nor does it have the youthful passion of the latter. The film by director Sanaa Hamri and writer Kriss Turner (a TV scribe whose credits include “Whoopi” and “Everybody Hates Chris”) is rather tame, but gets its energy from a willing cast. We know what the film is supposed to be about – unexpected love, but we know what this film is really about – a black girl dating a white guy. The actors grapple with that, and all they have to work with is Turner’s screenplay, which doesn’t know if it’s a love story or a lesson planner. Everything seems a little too loose, in a subject matter that demands structure (although I may be wrong) Still, what Turner’s script and Hamri’s directing offer would be enough to make this a good film. The actors make Something New a little better than just “good.”

One really impressive thing about this is that it showcases so many talented Black actors, whom we’d normally not see, at least not more than once a year. Alfre Woodard is fantastic as Kenya’s mother, Joyce McQueen, and one can only assume that being a Black actress has more often than not been an impediment to her career. Here, she shines as a woman madly wedded to her social status and to the idea that her children should live up to it – or so it seems. Wendy Raquel Robinson is equally good as the friend/voice of reason, Cheryl.

Leads Sanaa Lathan and Simon Baker do have screen chemistry, mostly because they play their characters so well, knowing exactly what to give their characters respective to the needs of the story. It’s their performances, in particularly Sanaa Lathan’s that gives this film its juice. Lathan practically emanates career obsession and embodies the hard-working, professional black woman tightly holding it together in all the ways it takes to climb the corporate ladder. At times, it is uncanny how true she makes Kenya’s reactions to people and situations. Her acting in the Starbucks’ scene when Kenya first meets Brian is uncommonly good – the art of verisimilitude with an attention to detail that gives this scene a documentary feel. It’s everything she does. Kenya’s vainly subtle ticks when she’s in public with Brian seem like painful compromises with strangers so that they won’t sneer at her for being with a white man. Those things that Lathan does make this a genuinely moving picture.

Baker is perfect as the laid-back, free spirit who just won’t hide his disdain for social hang-ups. In the end, he tips the balance and makes this movie seem, if not quite real, honest in its intentions. Something New makes its points in a gentle way while offering several entertaining supporting characters and then occasionally gives the viewer a hard nudge thanks to fine situational acting. Something New is the good choice for those wishing to either make that leap to the other side or just see how cool things could be if we all just got along… or at least the few of us who get along no matter what the hell the others have to say

7 of 10
B+

Saturday, June 24, 2006

Twilight News: Regal Theatres Has "Eclipse" Tickets on Sale

Regal Entertainment Group Announces Tickets Now On Sale for The Twilight Saga: Eclipse

Midnight Shows Preceded by Regal Encore Presentations of ‘Twilight’ and ‘New Moon’

KNOXVILLE, Tenn.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Regal Entertainment Group, a leading motion picture exhibitor owning and operating the largest theatre circuit in the United States, announced today that tickets are on sale for Twilight Saga: Eclipse opening on Wednesday, June 30. Fans of this popular series can also see the first two films in the series at a special double-feature price of $10 with Twilight showing at 6:30PM and Twilight Saga: New Moon at 9:00PM on Tuesday, June 29. This Regal Encore Presentation of the two earlier films will then be followed by the first 12:01AM screening of Twilight Saga: Eclipse.

“We are excited to celebrate the latest release from this movie franchise based on Stephenie Meyer's blockbuster book series. Our moviegoers will be amongst the first to see Eclipse at our special midnight showings and fans will also have the opportunity to enjoy the extremely popular first and second films again on the big screen,” stated Dick Westerling, Senior Vice President of Marketing and Advertising for Regal Entertainment Group.

Twilight Saga: Eclipse opens Wednesday, June 30 in traditional 35mm format, digital projection and The IMAX Experience®. Eclipse is rated PG-13 for intense sequences of action and violence, and some sensuality. Tickets for the new film are sold separately from the $10 double feature ticket for Twilight and Twilight Saga: New Moon.

In Twilight Saga: Eclipse, Bella (Kristen Stewart) once again finds herself surrounded by danger as Seattle is ravaged by a string of mysterious killings and a malicious vampire continues her quest for revenge. In the midst of it all, she is forced to choose between her love for Edward (Robert Pattinson) and her friendship with Jacob (Taylor Lautner) knowing that her decision has the potential to ignite the ageless struggle between vampire and werewolf. With her graduation quickly approaching, Bella is confronted with the most important decision of her life.

Regal Encore Presentations of Twilight and Twilight Saga: New Moon both rated PG-13, are available at 441 Regal Entertainment Group theatres.

Visit www.REGmovies.com for updated information about ticket sales, showtimes and locations.


About Regal Entertainment Group:
Regal Entertainment Group (NYSE: RGC) is the largest motion picture exhibitor in the United States. The Company's theatre circuit, comprising Regal Cinemas, United Artists Theatres and Edwards Theatres, operates 6,739 screens in 545 locations in 38 states and the District of Columbia. Regal operates theatres in 43 of the top 50 U.S. designated market areas. We believe that the size, reach and quality of the Company's theatre circuit not only provide its patrons with a convenient and enjoyable movie-going experience, but is also an exceptional platform to realize economies of scale in theatre operations. Additional information is available on the Company's Web site at www.REGmovies.com.

Movie Review: "Brown Sugar" Was Much Needed

TRASH IN MY EYE No. 62 (of 2003) by Leroy Douresseaux


Brown Sugar (2002)
Running time: 109 minutes (1 hour, 49 minutes)
MPAA – PG-13 for sexual content and language
DIRECTOR: Rick Famuyiwa
WRITERS: Michael Elliot and Rick Famuyiwa, from a story by Michael Elliot
PRODUCER: Peter Heller
EXECUTIVE PRODUCER: Earvin “Magic” Johnson
CINEMATOGRAPHER: Jeff Barnett and Enrique Chediak (director of photography)
EDITOR: Dirk Westervelt
Black Reel Award winner

ROMANCE with elements of drama

Starring: Taye Diggs, Sanaa Lathan, Mos Def, Nicole Ari Parker, Boris Kodjoe, and Queen Latifah

National Basketball Association legend Earvin “Magic” Johnson entered the world of filmmaking as executive producer in what 20th Century Fox billed as a hip-hop romance, Brown Sugar. The truth of the matter is that the hip-hop has very little to do with the romance other than being window dressing. The fact of the matter is that Brown Sugar is actually a nice romance.

Dre (Taye Diggs) and Sidney (Sanaa Lathan, Love & Basketball) have been friends since childhood. Dre is a successful record executive and Sidney wrote articles on hip-hop music for the Los Angeles Times before moving on to run XXL magazine. They’re each other’s best friend, sharing the good times and the bad and sharing gossip and the intimate secrets of their lives. They only once came close to consummating their deep friendship as serious love, but avoided it. However, when Dre rushes into marriage with Reese (Nicole Ari Parker, Remember the Titans), a high society money girl that he hasn’t known very long, Sidney has mixed feelings, and her deeper love for Dre begins to surface.

Director Rick Famuyiwa (The Wood) and co-writer Michael Elliot seemed determined to make a film that’s simply about romance in which hip-hop is as important to the story as the romance is. Both characters are obviously big fans of hip-hop; both their careers are built around it. The writers even have the characters mouth platitudes about how great hip-hop is. But no matter how much they talk about hip-hop, rap music, or whatever you want to call it, the story of the film is about two friends finally succumbing to the love they have for each other that they both denied for so long, a denial that has one in a bad marriage and the other about to enter into one. The hip-hop love jones is strained and forced, and it severely hampers the romantic center of this movie; the love story is natural and flows.

This film may not be as well known as more “mainstream” and “traditional” romantic films like Sleepless in Seattle or When Harry Met Sally, but Brown Sugar is good. It’s not perfect, but when I was growing up, films like this simply didn’t exist. They couldn’t; racist Hollywood didn’t want to make them, and the beast always claimed that there was no audience for such a film. Well, there’s always an audience for good films; it may not be as large as the audience for Titanic, but people will find a good movie.

I must say that the performances outshine the film. Taye Diggs is a good actor, and he has the stature and emotional range to play a leading man. Can’t you just see how much fun he would have been in something like Boomerang? Ms. Lathan is new to me, but I like what she has to offer. She easily skates through her character of this soft script, managing to be a comedian, a heroine, and a lovelorn professional gal just looking for true love. Queen Latifah adds spark to this film, although her part is quite small, but her hip-hop colleague, Mos Def, is another find. He played the sidekick very well, and he manages to be “real” as a hip-hop artist without once calling a bitch a ho or threatening to peal a nigga’s cap back. He’s a natural, quite comfortable on screen, and I hope to see more of him.

If Magic Johnson has more films like Brown Sugar up his sleeves, by all means, he should go to fewer Laker games and more studio briefings.

6 of 10
B

Review: "Daybreakers" Breaks Vampire Mold... Sort of

TRASH IN MY EYE No. 33 (of 2010) by Leroy Douresseaux

Daybreakers (2009)
Release date: January 8, 2010
Running time: 98 minutes (1 hour, 38 minutes)
MPAA – R for strong bloody violence, language and brief nudity
DIRECTORS: Michael Spierig and Peter Spierig
WRITERS: The Spierig Brothers
PRODUCERS: Chris Brown, Bryan Furst, and Sean Furst
CINEMATOGRAPHER: Ben Nott
EDITOR: Matt Villa

HORROR/SCI-FI/ACTION

Starring: Ethan Hawke, Willem Dafoe, Claudia Karvan, Michael Dorman, Isabel Lucas, Vince Colosimo, Jay Laga’aia, Christopher Kirby, and Sam Neill

Daybreakers mixes new flavors and ingredients into the old blood that is vampire apocalypse movies. This U.S./Australian co-production has some fresh ideas and some bite to it, but ultimately, the filmmakers, The Spierig Brothers (Undead), seemed content to make another action movie, or at least focus on action.

In the film: by the year 2019, a vicious plague has transformed most of Earth’s population into vampires. With the human population down to five percent, the world is losing what is now its most precious resource – blood. Edward Dalton (Ethan Hawke) is a vampire and also a researcher for the corporation, Bromley Marks. Dalton is trying to create a blood substitute to answer the growing vampire food crisis because of the shrinking blood supply.

Dalton encounters a covert group of humans and their charismatic leader, Lionel “Elvis” Cormac (Willem Dafoe) and his right-hand woman, Audrey Bennett (Claudia Karvan). They are working on a way to turn vampires back into humans and have already made a remarkable discovery which may save the human race. However, Bromley Marks CEO, Charles Bromley (Sam Neill), has plans of his own for the future of the blood supply, and he is using Dalton’s brother, Frankie (Michael Dorman), as his thug.

As a narrative, Daybreakers comes together quite well. For what is essentially a vampire, B-movie, this film is thoughtfully shot and staged. It also has pretensions to be socially relevant and offers commentary on the current state of world affairs. Daybreakers’ vampire plague and Bromley Marks’ response to it are metaphors for corporate exploitation of human suffering and also all-consuming greed. Still, this movie often feels disjointed because the thoughtful character and social drama clash with the brutal fight scenes, fierce action scenes, and the occasional bloodshed, which comes in abrupt splatters like rude ejaculations.

Visually, that is OK for a science fiction film that emphasizes sudden violence and brutality, but the Spierig Brothers should have taken advantage of the complicated and well-conceived family dynamics they obviously took the time to create. Playing up the Dalton brothers’ relationship even more would have better served this film than some of the gunfight and vampire attack scenes.

On the other hand, a movie that is so unromantic about vampires can’t be all that bad. Plus, Daybreakers stars three actors that I have always thought have an alluring screen presence: Ethan Hawke, Willem Dafoe, and Sam Neill, and they didn’t disappoint me here. Daybreakers is fun and thoughtful; too bad it subverts its new ideas for old ideas – bloody violence piled upon more blood and violence.

5 of 10
B-

Friday, May 14, 2010

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NBC Cancels Original "Law & Order;" Launches Another

According to HitFix, NBC officially announced that "Law & Order" will not be back for the 2010-2011 season.  This ends the series at 20 seasons, tying it with Gunsmoke as the longest-running drama in primetime television history.  "Law & Order" won the 1997 Emmy for "Outstanding Drama Series." The series finale for "Law & Order" will air on Monday, May 24.

"Law & Order: Special Victims Unit" has been picked up for a 12th season.  "Law & Order: Criminal Intent" will continue on USA.

NBC will begin "Law & Order: Los Angeles" for the 2010-11 season. The new show will also have the Law & Order brand's familiar storytelling structure, but set on the West Coast.  The new series is created by "Law and Order" creator Dick Wolf and Blake Masters.  No news on casting as yet.

I was an avid watcher of "Law & Order" beginning in 1994 until about the late 90s, often watching it on NBC and on whatever cable channel I could find repeats.  I don't watch as much TV as I used to, but I still find time for "Law & Order."  I am a little disappointed at this news, but there are so many episodes that I haven't seen and so many episodes in general that I can't really be sad.