Strong Acting Helps "Half Nelson" Overcome Half-Ass Directing (Happy B'day, Anthony Mackie)

TRASH IN MY EYE No. 38 (of 2007) by Leroy Douresseaux

Half Nelson (2006)
Running time: 107 minutes (1 hour, 47 minutes)
MPAA – R for drug content throughout, language, and some sexuality
DIRECTOR: Ryan Fleck
WRITERS: Anna Boden and Ryan Fleck
PRODUCERS: Anna Boden, Lynette Howell, Rosanne Korenberg, Alex Orlovsky, and Jamie Patricof
CINEMATOGRAPHER: Andrij Parekh
EDITOR: Anna Boden
2007 Academy Award nominee

DRAMA

Starring: Ryan Gosling, Shareeka Epps, Anthony Mackie, Monique Curnen, Deborah Rush, and Jay O. Sanders

In the independent film drama, Half Nelson, an inner-city schoolteacher and one of his students form an unlikely friendship that just might help him pull it together and stop her from following her brother into prison.

Dan Dunne (Ryan Gosling) is anxious to help his students learn outside the parameters of what is accepted in public schools, but each day that he’s in front of his class, it is clear that his mind is elsewhere. Dunne is a frustrated novelist and a drug addict who knows he’s in trouble but won’t stop using illegal drugs. Drey (Shareeka Epps) lives in a small apartment with her divorced mom, and her father chooses to live outside of her life. Her brother is doing a stint in prison, apparently for his dealings with Frank (Anthony Mackie), the neighborhood drug dealer. Now, Frank is trying to recruit Drey into his service. As Dunne spirals downward, he is surprised to find Drey acting as his conscience, when he plans on being hers.

Co-writer/director Ryan Fleck and co-writer Anna Boden are so intent on not offering easy answers and pat resolutions in their film, Half Nelson, that they almost ruin it. They’ve made an underwritten, slice-of-life movie. Instead of giving Half Nelson a beginning, middle, and ending, they instead act as if they’re making a docu-drama and are presenting just the facts – thank you very much and can’t (and perhaps shouldn’t) make judgments.

Luckily, at the heart of their film sit two outstanding acting performances. First, Ryan Gosling, who seems to be on the cusp of greatness (or is at least still a simmering “next big thing”), delivers a sharp and heartrending performance as a druggie teacher that is as harrowing as it is quiet and graceful. Gosling doesn’t glamorize drug addiction, nor does he play teacher Dan Dunne as some kind of trashy lowlife always dressed in filthy rags. Dunne is woefully in denial and, therefore, helpless against his addiction. We can feel sorry for him, while simultaneously being tired of his self-destructive ways.

Meanwhile, Shareeka Epps as the inner city, almost-lost girl Drey offers a stout and stoic face to the world. It’s as if Epps realizes that the only way that Drey survives her life of sorrow and loneliness is to keep a stiff upper lip, so Drey offers a facial expression that might make Clint Eastwood’s Dirty Harry blink. Still, Epps allows us to see underneath to the vulnerable girl who isn’t so sure that she isn’t destined to end up an incarcerated drug dealer like her brother.

Anthony Mackie, as the neighborhood drug kingpin, also offers Half Nelson a fine performance. Mackie’s Frank is a sly salesman who wears his dishonesty and predatory ways on his sleeve as if they were banners of personal pride. Mackie makes Frank dangerous without grandstanding or scene stealing, which is what most actors do when they play drug lords and dealers.

What Gosling, Epps, and Mackie offer is substance to Fleck and Boden’s faux and cheapie realism. They make Half Nelson a standout film when it could have been just another pretentious, underwritten independent drama.

7 of 10
A-

NOTES:
2007 Academy Awards: 1 nomination for “Best Performance by an Actor in a Leading Role” (Ryan Gosling)

2007 Black Reel Awards: 2 nominations: “Best Breakthrough Performance” (Shareeka Epps) and “Best Supporting Actress” (Shareeka Epps)

Sunday, February 18, 2007

Hot Anime "Redline" Coming to America

VIZ CINEMA REVS UP THE EXCITEMENT FOR THE U.S. PREMIERE OF ANIME RACING FILM REDLINE

New Film 5 Years In The Making Written By Katsuhito Ishii And Directed By Takeshi Koike And Plays For One Week Only At Bay Area Pop Culture Theatre

VIZ Cinema, the nation’s only movie theatre dedicated to Japanese film, brings on the excitement for October with a very special North American premiere of the anime feature Redline. Creative wizard Katsuhito Ishii has teamed up with spirited director Takeshi Koike for the film, which will screen at the theater – for one week only – October 8th -14th, the same week of its release in Japan. Tickets are $10.00. Screening times, trailers and tickets are available at: www.vizcinema.com.

Written by Katsuhito Ishii (Director of The Taste of Tea, Funky Forest, Shark Skin Man & Peach Hip Girl and the anime segment of Kill Bill Vol.1) and directed by the up-and-coming Takeshi Koike, who participated in the “World Record” segment of Animatrix (2003), Redline was 5 years in the making and proudly demonstrates the new possibilities of 2D animation, amidst the current prominence of 3D.

“The release of Redline has been highly anticipated by fans and we’re very proud to premiere the film at VIZ Cinema,” says Seiji Horibuchi, the founder of NEW PEOPLE and President and CEO of VIZ Pictures. “The kinetic visual action follows a fine tradition of car films like The Fast And The Furious, Death Race and Initial D. We invite import racers, car fanatics, anime and action fans to catch this exciting feature!”

Redline is a racing film created by studio Madhouse (Paprika, The Girl Who Leapt Through Time, Summer Wars). The toughest and the most destructive underground car race in the universe, REDLINE, has just begun! JP is a reckless driver oblivious to speed limits, and Sonoshee, one of his competitors with whom JP is secretly in love with, is a hot girl determined to do whatever it takes to stand on the winner’s podium. In order to win the finals, they’re up against the craziest drivers with their heavily armed and awesome road-tearing vehicles. On top of that, during the race, they have to avoid military crackdown by the government because the race is actually prohibited in Roboworld. The only help JP wants is the engine obtained and custom tuned by his long time buddies, Frisbee the mechanic and Mogura Oyaji the junk shop. While cars crash and burn into flames, the race course becomes a merciless hell and JP whips his ride into a dead heat. Who will survive to win in this mass-destruction race?\

VIZ Cinema is the nation’s only movie theatre devoted exclusively to Japanese film and anime. The 143-seat subterranean theatre is located in the basement of the NEW PEOPLE building and features plush seating, digital as well as 35mm projection, and a THX®-certified sound system.


About NEW PEOPLE
NEW PEOPLE offers the latest films, art, fashion and retail brands from Japan and is the creative vision of the J-Pop Center Project and VIZ Pictures, a distributor and producer of Japanese live action film. Located at 1746 Post Street, the 20,000 square foot structure features a striking 3-floor transparent glass façade that frames a fun and exotic new environment to engage the imagination into the 21st Century. A dedicated web site is also now available at: http://www.newpeopleworld.com/.

Congratulations, Mom!

Miss Mary has a new job!

Fifth "Final Destination" Movie Begins Production in Canada

New Line Begins Production on “Final Destination 5 – 3D”

The Next Installment in the Horror Series Once Again Proves That No Matter Where You Run, No Matter Where You Hide…You Can’t Cheat Death.

BURBANK, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Production is underway on New Line Cinema’s fifth installment of the gripping “Final Destination” franchise, which began back in 2000, with the original film quickly becoming a cult hit. The new victims of Death’s plan are part of a cast led by Emma Bell (“Frozen,” TV’s “The Walking Dead”) and Nick D’Agosto (“Fired Up!,” TV’s “Heroes”). The film is being shot on location in Vancouver, Canada.

The second of the Final Destination films to be shot in 3-D, “Final Destination 5” is being directed by Steve Quale, marking his major feature film directorial debut. Producer Craig Perry (“American Pie”) returns for the fifth time, working with executive producers Sheila Hanahan Taylor, Erik Holmberg, Richard Brener, Walter Hamada and David Neustadter. The screenplay was written by Eric Heisserer, with revisions by Gary Dauberman; Heisserer is no stranger to the horror genre, having penned New Line’s recent hit “A Nightmare on Elm Street.”

“Final Destination 5” brings together an ensemble cast that includes Bell and D’Agosto, along with Miles Fisher (TV’s “Mad Men” and “Gossip Girl”), Arlen Escarpeta (“Friday the 13th”), Jacqueline MacInnes Wood (TV’s “The Bold and the Beautiful”), P.J. Byrne (“Dinner for Schmucks”) and Ellen Wroe (TV’s “Huge”). Rounding out the rest of the cast are Courtney B. Vance (TV’s “Flash Forward,” “ER”), David Koechner (“The Office,” “Anchorman”) and “Final Destination” franchise icon Tony Todd (“Hatchet II”).

In this fifth installment, Death is just as omnipresent as ever, and is unleashed after one man’s premonition saves a group of coworkers from a terrifying suspension bridge collapse. But this group of unsuspecting souls was never supposed to survive, and, in a terrifying race against time, the ill-fated group frantically tries to discover a way to escape Death’s sinister agenda.

Collaborating with Steve Quale behind the scenes are director of photography Brian Pearson (“Drive Angry 3D,” “My Bloody Valentine 3D”); production designer David Sandefur (“Repo Men,” “Journey to the Center of the Earth”); editor Eric Sears (“Shooter”) and costume designer Jori Woodman (“Eight Below”).

The film is a production of New Line Cinema and will be distributed worldwide by Warner Bros. Pictures, a Warner Bros. Entertainment Company.


ABOUT NEW LINE CINEMA:
New Line Cinema continues to be one of the most successful independent film companies. For more than 40 years, its mission has been to produce innovative, popular, profitable entertainment in the best creative environment. A pioneer in franchise filmmaking, New Line produced the Oscar®-winning “The Lord of the Rings” trilogy, which is a landmark in the history of film franchises. New Line Cinema is a division of Warner Bros.

Death Still Becomes Original "Final Destination"

TRASH IN MY EYE No. 12 (of 2003) by Leroy Douresseaux


Final Destination (2000)
Running time: 98 minutes (1 hour, 38 minutes)
MPAA – R for violence and terror, and for language
DIRECTOR: James Wong
WRITERS: Jeffrey Reddick, Glen Morgan, and James Wong; based upon a story by Jeffrey Reddick
PRODUCERS: Glen Morgan, Craig Perry, and Warren Zide
CINEMATOGRAPHER: Robert McLachlan (director of photography)
EDITOR: James Coblentz
COMPOSER: Shirley Walker

HORROR/THRILLER/MYSTERY with elements of action

Starring: Devon Sawa, Ali Larter, Kerr Smith, Tony Todd, Kristen Cloke, Seann William Scott, and Daniel Roebuck

A group of seven, six students and a teacher, disembark from an airplane that eventually explodes less than a minute after it leaves the runway. It all begins when student Alexander “Alex” Chance Browning (Devon Sawa) has a vision of his and his fellow passengers’ demise as the plane falls disintegrates around them. The survivors are left in shock, and Alex quickly becomes a pariah because of his vision of the plane’s destruction. Because of the strangeness of Alex’s vision, local FBI agents are suspicious of him. He begins to have more visions and premonitions of death returning for he and the other survivors, and the only one who shares his dread is a fellow outcast, Clear Rivers (Ali Larter). One by one, the survivors begin to die mysteriously, as Alex races against time to unravel the puzzle of death’s design.

Final Destination fits in neatly with the wave of late 90’s teen thrillers and horror films, but it really works as a supernatural suspense thriller. It has an interesting premise built around the idea of a person having a specific time to die: if you avoid some accident that could have or was meant to kill you, are you really cheating death? Can you cheat Death? If you deny Death your life, what do you have to do to keep cheating Death if he keeps coming back for his prize?

Producer/co-writer Glen Morgan and director/co-writer James Wong are not strangers to the weird, both having worked on the television programs “The X-Files” and “Millennium.” They’ve created a nice, little thriller with enough bumps, shimmering shadows, and chilly atmosphere to keep an audience stuck to the back of their seats. The idea of death lurking around the corner and setting up fatal accidents like a snickering, prank crazed teen raises the hackles. This is one you watch with the light on; it gives you a feeling of dread, that impending sense of doom from the opening scene to the last frame. In a world of sloppy horror films and scary movies that sometime limp to an end, a movie that can keep its premise erect from start to stop is too good to pass.

6 of 10
B

Review: A "Summer of '42" For All Seasons

TRASH IN MY EYE No. 78 (of 2010) by Leroy Douresseaux

Summer of ’42 (1971)
Running time: 104 minutes (1 hour, 44 minutes)
MPAA – R (later PG)
DIRECTOR: Robert Mulligan
WRITER: Herman Raucher
PRODUCER: Richard A. Roth
CINEMATOGRAPHER: Robert Surtees
EDITOR: Folmar Blangsted
COMPOSER: Michel Legrand
Academy Award winner

DRAMA

Starring: Jennifer O’Neill, Gary Grimes, Jerry Houser, Oliver Conant, Katherine Allentuck, Christopher Norris, and Lou Frizzell

Summer of ’42 is a coming-of-age drama released in 1971. An eventual Oscar-winner, the film is based on the memoirs of screenwriter, Herman Raucher, specifically the summer of 1942.

The film is set on Nantucket Island (off the coast of New England), where 15-year-old Hermie (Gary Grimes) is spending summer vacation with his parents. Joining Hermie on the island are his best friend, Oscy (Jerry Houser) and his second best friend, the introverted nerd Benjie (Oliver Conant) – the Terrible Trio. They spend a lot of time playing and hanging out on the beach, where one day they spot a young soldier carrying his new bride (Jennifer O’Neill) to a house on the beach. The boys are struck by the bride’s beauty, especially Hermie, who is unable to get her out of his mind.

The boys’ afternoons on the beach bring them into contact with scantily-clad girls, and their thoughts turn to sex. Oscy is obsessed with losing his virginity, and though Benjie is scared off by the idea of sex, Hermie and Oscy try to learn everything necessary to lose their virginity. Meanwhile, Hermie strikes up a friendship with the young bride after her husband leaves the island to return to military service. It is a relationship that will change his life.

Neither idealized nor romanticized, Summer of ’42 seems natural in its depiction of teens dealing both with the pangs of adolescence and the first stirrings of adulthood. Instead of being sentimental, Raucher’s script focuses on the details and moments through which the audience will understand the boys’ thoughts and feelings and perhaps recognize them as similar to their own experiences.

Director Robert Mulligan captures the nuances and subtleties of Raucher’s script, but also zeroes in on the youthful exuberance and rascally nature of his ostensible leads, Gary Grimes as Hermie and Jerry Houser as Oscy, which certainly further endears the characters to the audience. Both Grimes and Houser give pitch perfect performances, especially Grimes, who gives Hermie an impressive range of emotions. Grimes and Houser make the characters’ mixed-up emotions and ignorance about the facts of life seem both absolutely real and perfectly normal.

Summer of ’42 is a superb coming of age story that no one who enjoys stories about growing up should go without seeing. Even after four decades, this World War II era story seems authentic and timeless.

8 of 10
A

You can buy the Summer of '42 Blu-ray or novel at AMAZON.

NOTES:
1972 Academy Awards: 1 win: “Best Music, Original Dramatic Score” (Michel Legrand); 3 nominations: “Best Cinematography” (Robert Surtees), “Best Film Editing” (Folmar Blangsted), and “Best Writing, Story and Screenplay Based on Factual Material or Material Not Previously Published or Produced” (Herman Raucher)

1972 BAFTA Awards: 1 win: “Anthony Asquith Award for Film Music” (Michel Legrand) and 1 nominations: “Most Promising Newcomer to Leading Film Roles” (Gary Grimes)

1972 Golden Globes: 4 nominations: “Best Motion Picture – Drama,” “Best Director - Motion Picture” (Robert Mulligan), “Best Original Score” (Michel Legrand), and “Most Promising Newcomer – Male” (Gary Grimes)

Tuesday, September 21, 2010

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

"Tinker Bell and the Great Fairy Rescue" Now on DVD

THE WORLDS OF FAIRIES AND HUMANS CONVERGE FOR THE FIRST TIME IN AN ALL-NEW MAGICAL ADVENTURE

Disney Tinker Bell and the Great Fairy Rescue

Debuts On Blu-rayTM Combo Pack, DVD, and movie download September 21

Walt Disney Studios Home Entertainment Celebrates Spring Solstice with the Announcement of an Exciting New Adventure

BURBANK, Calif. March19, 2010 – Tinker Bell, the world’s favorite fairy, will be spreading her mirth and magic for audiences of all ages, as the worlds of fairies and humans meet for the first time in Tinker Bell and the Great Fairy Rescue. An all-new, original full-length CG animated film featuring breathtaking animation, spectacular music and an all-star cast of voice talents debuts September 21st, 2010 on Blu-ray Combo Pack (includes Blu-ray and bonus DVD of the film & movie download).

Before she was ever introduced to Wendy and the Lost Boys, Tinker Bell met Lizzy, a girl with a steadfast belief in fairies. Tinker Bell and the Great Fairy Rescue begins in summertime in the beautiful English countryside. An enchanting encounter unfolds when Tinker Bell is discovered by Lizzy, and as their different worlds unite, Tink develops a special bond with the curious girl in need of a friend.

As her fellow fairies launch a daring rescue, Tinker Bell takes a huge risk, putting her own safety and the future of the fairies in jeopardy. This action-packed adventure takes the fairies of Pixie Hollow on a daring flight to London to save Tinker Bell and all of fairy kind.

Produced by DisneyToon Studios, Tinker Bell and the Great Fairy Rescue is a captivating and exciting adventure for all the family.

Disney Fairies has become one of the Walt Disney Company’s most successful franchises--driven on multiple platforms and across numerous business units of The Walt Disney Company, including Disney Consumer Products, Parks and Resorts, Disney Interactive Media Group, and Disney Channel.

STREET DATE: September 21, 2010
Suggested retail price: U.S. $29.99 DVD, $39.99 Blu-ray Combo Pack; Canada: $35.99 DVD, $44.99 Blu-ray
Feature run time: TBD
Rated: This movie is not yet rated
Technical specifications may only apply to feature
Aspect ratio: Family-friendly wide screen, 2.35:1
Sound: DVD: Dolby Digital 5.1 surround sound
Blu-ray: DTS-HD
Languages: English, Spanish and French
Subtitles: English, Spanish and French


About Disney's Blu-ray + DVD Combo Pack:
To provide consumers with unprecedented quality, value and portability of their favorite Disney movies, in 2008 Walt Disney Studios Home Entertainment pioneered the Combo Pack – a Blu-ray Disc plus a DVD in a single package.

About Walt Disney Studios Home Entertainment
Walt Disney Home Entertainment is distributed by Walt Disney Studios Worldwide Home Entertainment, Inc., a recognized industry leader. Walt Disney Studios Worldwide Home Entertainment is the marketing, sales and distribution company for Walt Disney, Touchstone, Hollywood Pictures, Miramax, and Buena Vista Blu-ray, DVDs and Digital Downloads.

About Disney Fairies
Disney Fairies is rooted in Disney's rich heritage of children's storytelling. The franchise builds upon the enormous popularity of Tinker Bell and introduces girls to her secret, magical world and a new circle of enchanting fairy friends – Fawn, Iridessa, Rosetta and Silvermist – each with an incredibly diverse talent, personality and look. Launched just a few years ago, the $1B franchise boasts a thriving publishing and lifestyle merchandising program. To date, over 675 Disney Fairies and Tinker Bell titles have been published in 57 countries and 31 languages, selling nearly 30 million copies; Disney Fairies magazines have sold over 7.5 million copies in 28 countries and an array of products from apparel and toys to electronics, home décor and stationery has extended storylines into many girls’ homes across the globe.

DisneyFairies.com is now available in more than 20 territories across North America, Latin America, EMEA and Asia Pacific. Fans have created more than 25 million personalized Fairy avatars to date that can take flight in the virtual world of Pixie Hollow. Disney theme parks have also launched a Pixie Hollow attraction where fans can meet the Disney Fairies. The Disney Fairies are highlighted in the production of Disney On Ice presents Worlds of Fantasy, and additionally, Tinker Bell is in four other Disney On Ice shows touring the world. Following the success of Walt Disney Pictures Tinker Bell on Disney Blu-ray and hi-def DVD, Disney released Tinker Bell and the Lost Treasure in 2009 as the second title in the series.