Free Ultra-Maniac Anime

VIZ Media announces the launch of ULTRA MANIAC (rated TV-14) available now from the iTunes Store in the U.S. and Canada (http://www.itunes.com/), as well as the streaming content provider HULU (http://www.hulu.com/) and VIZAnime.com, the company’s premier website for anime.

Starting today, iTunes will offer the first part of ULTRA MANIAC season one (dubbed episodes 1-13) for the Download-To-Own (DTO) price of $1.99 (U.S.) each, and a Download-To-Rent (DTR) price of $0.99 (U.S.) each. As a special treat for viewers, ULTRA MANIAC episode 1 is available to download for FREE until November 23rd. Beginning December 6th, ULTRA MANIAC season one part two (episodes 14-26) will also be available for DTO and DTR.

VIZAnime.com and HULU will stream FREE episodes 1-5 of ULTRA MANIAC (subtitled). Two additional new episodes will launch each Monday.

ULTRA MANIAC is based on the popular shojo manga of the same name (also published by VIZ Media, rated ‘A’ for All Ages) by creator Wataru Yoshizumi. Ayu Tetsushi is in her second year of junior high and is known as the cool popular tennis club girl that all the girls idolize. Then, Ayu meets Nina, a transfer student whose strange personality leaves Ayu a little perplexed. Soon, Ayu discovers that Nina is a witch that came from the Kingdom of Magic to study abroad!

To learn more about ULTRA MANIAC anime and manga series, please visit VIZAnime.com or ShojoBeat.com.

Review: Frank Darabont's Take on "Stephen King's The Mist" Has a Sh*tty Ending

TRASH IN MY EYE No. 138 (of 2007) by Leroy Douresseaux

Stephen King’s The Mist (2007)
Running time: 127 minutes (2 hours, 7 minutes)
MPAA – R for violence, terror, gore, and language
DIRECTOR: Frank Darabont
WRITER: Frank Darabont (based upon the novella by Stephen King)
PRODUCER: Frank Darabont and Liz Glotzer
CINEMATOGRAPHER: Ronn Schmidt
EDITOR: Hunter M. Via

HORROR/DRAMA with elements of sci-fi

Starring: Thomas Jane, Marcia Gay Harden, Laurie Holden, Andre Braugher, Toby Jones, William Sadler, Jeffrey DeMunn, Frances Sternhagen, Alexa Davalos, Chris Owen, Sam Witwer, Robert C. Treveiler, David Jensen, and Nathan Gamble

Writer/director Frank Darabont has previously adapted two Stephen King works of fiction into movies: the multiple Oscar-nominated films, The Shawshank Redemption and The Green Mile. His latest King-to-film work is the horror flick, Stephen King’s The Mist, and it’s the kind of horror film that will still be on your mind quite a while after you leave the theatre, if not for a good long time afterwards.

The setting of The Mist is a pretty, Maine village populated by simple, rustic folks, but it is also the home of wealthy New Yorkers seeking a pastoral refuge from the hustle and bustle of the city life that has done well by them. Following a violent thunderstorm, a peculiar white mist creeps towards the small town community. Artist David Drayton (Thomas Jane) and his son, Billy (Nathan Gamble), are getting emergency supplies at a grocery store in the local shopping center when this unnatural mist moves in to cover the entire area.

Unusual as the mist is, the store’s occupants soon discover that there may be something monstrous prowling inside the thick, white mess. The customers barricade themselves inside the grocery story, and Drayton and a small band of customers plot survival and eventually escape after creatures in the mist start attacking the store. However, Drayton and company soon find themselves in a test of wills and a small war with Mrs. Carmody (Marcia Gay Harden), a local self-proclaimed psychic, who insists that only a blood sacrifice to the “God of Israel” will save them all. Her congregation of fear, formed out of the customers who have fallen under her sway, is all too willing to kill for her. Then, there’s the enemy outside that they can’t even see and that is attacking with increasing frequency.

The Mist, the film, is like “The Mist, the novella upon which is based (and which first appeared in the 1980 horror fiction anthology, Dark Forces), is about more about the conflicts among the occupants of the grocery store than it is about the supernatural boogeymen waiting in the mist outside. The monsters certainly are terrifying, even when their CGI creators make them look somewhat comical, perhaps, because Darabont maintained an element about which King was clear in the original story – these beasts hiding in that thick, mean mist are so very lethal. Their constant attacks on the grocery store’s structural integrity make this slightly two-hour-plus film actually seem lean, mean, and spry.

However, Darabont captures the most delicious aspect of King’s story and transforms his film from yet-another-King-adaptation into something memorable – a brutish and shockingly pessimistic human drama. Darabont suggests that the humans are just as capable of being killers as the creatures outside are. What can bring about the change? It’s fear, because as the movie’s tagline says – “Fear changes everything.”

All the mist does is quickly peel back the thin veneer of civility and civilization to reveal the ugly side of people just waiting to show itself the first time the comforts of modern life – utilities and machines – stop working. Whether it is the hellfire, hellfire, and more hellfire with a side of brimstone Mrs. Carmody and her demands for expiation (making amends to God via blood sacrifice) or Andre Braugher’s loud-mouthed NYC attorney, many of the characters take their fears and insecurities and use that to separate the customers into two groups, “them” and “us.”

The only thing really disappointing about the movie (well, besides the really downer of an ending) is not the execution of the movie. It is the fact that when a disaster, natural or supernatural, starts to break down institutions like the family, local authority, community bonds, etc., then, many of us will act pretty much the way the characters in this gem of a horror flick do  And that's not the movie's fault, is it?

7 of 10
B+

Sunday, November 25, 2007

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Lawrence Kasdan's Stephen King's Dreamcatcher

TRASH IN MY EYE No. 40 (of 2003) by Leroy Douresseaux

Dreamcatcher (2003)
Running time: 136 minutes (2 hours, 16 minutes)
MPAA - R for violence, gore and language
DIRECTOR: Lawrence Kasdan
WRITERS: William Goldman and Lawrence Kasdan (based upon the novel by Stephen King)
PRODUCERS: Lawrence Kasdan and Charles Okun
CINEMATOGRAPHER: John Seale (D.o.P.)
EDITORS: Raul Davalos and Carol Littleton
COMPOSER: James Newton Howard

HORRO/SCI-FI with elements of a thriller

Starring: Morgan Freeman, Thomas Jane, Jason Lee, Damian Lewis, Timothy Olyphant, Tom Sizemore, Donnie Wahlberg, Mikey Holekamp, Reece Thompson, Giacomo Baessato, Joel Palmer, and Andrew Robb

I understand that in adapting novels to screen, elements including plot, events and character, might have to be removed for various reasons including being able to adapt the novel into a two hour movie. I also understand that sometimes filmmakers make changes for the sake of making changes; some even believe they can even improve the novel’s story by making changes.

That said, I continue to fail to understand why Stephen King allows his novels to be turned into films. The heart of a King novel are the characters, especially the relationship between characters. The supernatural element, usually something horrific, is part of the characters’ environment, but how the characters deal with the supernatural allows us to see into them and usually depth of characterization is more interesting than the supernatural horror. As frightening as the horror was in a novel like Pet Sematery, the really scary crap, the true intensity in that story, was the interpersonal and familial relationships. Getting to see what was behind the closed doors and inside people’s head was a heck of a lot more frightening than the angry dead. The film adaptation of that novel, which was enough of a minor hit to call for a sequel, completely missed that point.

So while watching Lawrence Kasdan’s Dreamcatcher, I pretty much figured that while Kasdan and co-adaptor screenwriter William Goldman may have got the point of King’s Dreamcatcher, they did what most everyone who has adapted King to film have done: drop some characters and character points and favor the boogey men. I haven’t yet read Dreamcatcher, but I assume that the relationship between the four lead characters in the book is something spectacular. The movie only hints at the depth of their relationship; indeed, the viewer has to assume that these men are close.

Dr. Henry Devlin (Thomas Jane), Joe “Beaver” Clarendon (Jason Lee), Gary “Jonesy” Jones (Damian Lewis), and Pete Moore (Tom Olyphant) are four troubled friends who reunite for a camping trip. They’re all still affected by their relationship with Douglas Clavell (Donnie Wahlberg), a strange, seemingly handicapped child they saved 20 years earlier. That boy, whom they named Duddits, weighs heavily on their minds during their trip. Strange things begin to happen when the friends, in separate pairs, encounter lost hunters in the snow bound Maine woods. As a vicious snow storm sets in, a strange and unknown menace stalks the forest. Meanwhile, a military force led by a dangerous commander (Morgan Freeman) has closed off the area because of an alleged contagion, and the friend’s only hope may be an independent thinking soldier (Tom Sizemore).

Dreamcatcher summons up the ghosts of others “King” films and television movies, including Stand by Me and It. Most of all, Dreamcatcher the movie is a re-imagining and de facto remake of John Carpenter’s superb (and almost lost) film The Thing, but Dreamcatcher lacks Carpenter’s film’s intensity and eye popping gore. The first half hour of set up does intrigue, creating anticipation and whetting the appetite for hot supernatural action. It is somewhat stunted and clumsy in that you can pretty much figure out that the film is trying to tell us a lot, but doesn’t have the time to tell us in detail, so all we’re left with is vagueness.

When the crap does hit the fan – the scary stuff starts to happen, Dreamcatcher delivers the chills and thrills quite well. I was literally on the edge of my seat, and I was certain I could feel my heart racing and stopping with each new bump and chill. The film gives a good scare for quite a while, but as the film heads towards the homestretch, the sci-fi element unravels just enough to hamstring the film.

Because the acting is good and some of my favorite actors are in the film made watching Dreamcatcher fairly pleasant. Thomas (Deep Blue Sea and The Sweetest Thing) is a star in the making. I don’t think that he has the action movie chops of say Bruce Willis. I think his forte will probably be to play the leading man in comedies and dramas, but whenever he’s on the screen, I think the viewer naturally gravitates towards his character. Tom Sizemore continues to be the solid supporting guy, and Freeman, one of the best American actors of the last fifteen years, can play a really cool nasty guy. And when you see Donnie Wahlberg’s name in the credits, you still won’t believe it’s him.

Dreamcatcher is by no means a great thriller. However, sometimes it’s very good, and for a long time, it delivers some fairly effective chills, and that is good enough. The characters are engaging, and the creatures, except for a few moments of looking ridiculous, are pretty scary and threatening. Yeah, I think Carpenter’s aforementioned The Thing is a better and more satisfying version of this story, but Dreamcatcher, imperfect as it is, has enough good moments to make it a fairly decent thriller, worth watching if you like the scary stuff.

6 of 10
B

"The Ghost Writer" Leads Nominations for European Film Awards

Press release:

Nominations for the 23rd European Film Awards

At the Seville European Film Festival the European Film Academy and EFA Productions announced the nominations for the European Film Awards 2010.

The more than 2,300 EFA Members will now vote for the winners which will be presented during the Awards Ceremony on 4 December in Tallinn/Estonia.

European Film Awards Nominations:

EUROPEAN FILM 2010:
BAL (Honey), Turkey/Germany
directed by Semih Kaplanoğlu
written by Semih Kaplanoğlu & Orçun Köksal
produced by Semih Kaplanoğlu & Johannes Rexin

DES HOMMES ET DES DIEUX (Of Gods and Men), France
directed by Xavier Beauvois
written by Etienne Comar & Xavier Beauvois

THE GHOST WRITER, France/Germany/UK
directed by Roman Polanski
written by Robert Harris & Roman Polanski
produced by Robert Benmussa, Alain Sarde & Roman Polanski

LEBANON, Israel/Germany/France
written and directed by Samuel Maoz
produced by Moshe Edery, Leon Edery, David Silber, Uri Sabag, Einat Bickel, Benjamina Mirnik & Illan Girard

EL SECRETO DE SUS OJOS (The Secret in their Eyes), Spain/Argentina
directed by Juan José Campanella
written by Eduardo Sacheri & Juan José Campanella
produced by Gerardo Herrero, Mariela Besuievsky & Juan José Campanella

SOUL KITCHEN, Germany
directed by Fatih Akin
written by Fatih Akin & Adam Bousdoukos
produced by Fatih Akin & Klaus Maeck

European Director:

Olivier Assayas, “Carlos”
Semih Kaplanoglu, “Bal” (““Honey”) 

Samuel Maoz, “Lebanon”
Roman Polanski, “The Ghost Writer” 

Paolo Virzi, “The First Beautiful Thing”

European Actress:

Zrinka Cvitesic, “Na Putu”

Sibel Kekilli, “When We Leave”

Lesley Manville, “Another Year”

Sylvie Testud, “Lourdes”

Lotte Verbeek, “Nothing Personal”

European Actor:

Jakob Cedergren, “Submarino”

Elio Germano, “La Nostra Vita”
Ewan McGregor, “The Ghost Writer”
George Pistereanu, “If I Want to Whistle, I Whistle” 

Luis Tosar, “Cell 211”

European Screenwriter:

Jorge Guerricaechevarria & Daniel Monzon, “Cell 211” 

Robert Harris & Roman Polanski, “The Ghost Writer”

Samuel Maoz, “Lebanon”

Radu Mihaileanu, “The Concert”

Carlo di Palma European Cinematographer Award:

Giora Bejach, “Lebanon”

Caroline Champetier, “Of Gods and Men”

Pavel Kostomarov, “How I Ended this Summer”
Baris Oezbicer, “Honey”

European Editor:

Luc Barnier & Marion Monnier, “Carlos”

Arik Lahav-Leibovich, “Lebanon”

Herve de Luze, “The Ghost Writer”

European Production Designer:
Paola Bizzarri & Luis Ramirez, “I, Don Giovanni” 

Albrecht Konrad, “The Ghost Writer”

Markku Paetilae & Jaagup Roomer, “The Temptation of St Tony”

European Composer:
Ales Brezina, “Kawasaki’s Rose” 

Pasquale Catalano, “Loose Cannons” 

Alexandre Desplat, “The Ghost Writer” 

Gary Yershon, “Another Year”

European Discovery (FIPRESCI Prize):

“The Double Hour”

“If I Want to Whistle, I Whistle”

“Lebanon”

“Nothing Personal”

”When We Leave”

European Film Academy Animated Feature Film:

“The Illusionist”

”Planet 51”

“Sammy’s Adventures: The Secret Passage”

European Film Academy Documentary:

“Armadillo”

“Nostalgia for the Light”
“Steam of Life”

European Film Academy Short Film:
“Amor”
“Diarchy”
“The External World”
“Hanoi – Warsaw”
“Here I Am”
“Joseph’s Snails”
“Lights”
“The Little Snow Animal”
“Maria’s Way”
“Out of Love”
“Rendez-Vous in Stella-Plage”
“Stay, Away”
“Talleres Clandestinos”
“Tussilago”
“Venus vs Me”

Watch the 23rd European Film Awards: 4 December 2010 live stream on http://www.europeanfilmawards.eu/

The European Film Awards 2010 are presented by the European Film Academy e.V. and EFA Productions gGmbH with the support of European Capital of Culture Tallinn 2011, Estonian Ministry of Culture, the City of Tallinn, Estonian Cultural Endowment, Enterprise Estonia, Estonian Public Broadcasting, Tallinn Black Nights Film Festival and BDG.

http://www.europeanfilmacademy.org/

Review: With "Click" Adam Sandler Does a Family Movie True to His Style

TRASH IN MY EYE No. 230 (of 2006) by Leroy Douresseaux

Click (2006)
Running time: 108 minutes (1 hour, 48 minutes)
MPAA – PG-13 for language, crude and sex related humor, and some drug references
DIRECTOR: Frank Coraci
WRITERS: Steve Koren and Mark O’Keefe
PRODUCERS: Adam Sandler, Jack Giarraputo, Neal H. Moritz, Steve Koren, and Mark O’Keefe
CINEMATOGRAPHER: Dean Semler, A.C.S. A.S.C.
EDITOR: Jeff Gourson
Academy Award nominee

FANTASY/COMEDY with elements of drama and sci-fi

Starring: Adam Sandler, Kate Beckinsale, Christopher Walken, Henry Winkler, David Hasselhoff, Julie Kavner, Sean Astin, Joseph Castanon, Tatum McCann, Cameron Monaghan, Jake Hoffman, and Jennifer Coolidge

Adam Sandler is a dad now, and like some actors who began their career as rowdy or raunchy stand-up comedians, Sandler is probably going to start making movies that are more family friendly and less risqué since he’s a family man. Or probably not. Sandler’s recent Summer 2006 comedy hit, Click, features one of Sandler’s perpetually adolescent characters, but this time with a dramatic twist. This is another twist on It’s a Wonderful Life, but with more salt-of-the-earth type folks.

Michael Newman (Adam Sandler) is a workaholic architect with dreams of becoming a partner at the firm for which he works. His boss, Mr. Ammer (David Hasselhoff), keeps dangling promises of advancement, but only if Michael, his go-to guy, tackles the most difficult building design projects. These high profile assignments, however, keep Michael from spending time with his wife, Donna (Kate Beckinsale), and two children: son Ben (Joseph Castanon) and daughter Samantha (Tatum McCann). At Bed, Bath & Beyond, fate has him stumble across a mysterious figure named Morty (Christopher Walken), who offers Michael a magical universal remote that allows Michael to pause events in his life or fast-forward through them.

However, Michael begins to use the device not only to get out of daily tedium like dressing, showering, or driving through heavy traffic, but he also uses them to avoid times he doesn’t really want to be bothered with family obligations such as camping trips, dinner with his parents, Ted and Trudy Newman (Henry Winkler and Julie Kavner), or (good) sex with Donna. Things take a turn for the worse and the bizarre when the remote, through self-programming, takes on a mind of its own and starts fast-forwarding through Michael’s life. Michael always said that once he made partner and got the big paycheck, he’d stop working so much and spend more time with his wife and children, and now he may not be able to enjoy his family or his life.

Upon its theatrical release, many movie reviewers and film critics called Click crass and mean-spirited, which it is. The film is rude, crude, and vulgar, but Click is also a riotous, laugh-out-loud comedy. This film is trying to make a point, but it also wants to be funny. Sandler is true to his comic roots and to his core audience – an audience that wants him to be all-funny, all the time.

Click is also a life-altering comedy, but it doesn’t require Sandler’s Michael Newman to alter his character – just the way he lives. It’s not that Michael has forgotten how important his family is (and he apparently has little or no friends), but he’s ignoring them because he’s obsessed with being rich. He thinks that once he’s wealthy and can give his family all the niceties, life will be grand, but his wife and children are happy with life as they currently have it, only wanting more of him. Normally, a movie following this message would be syrupy and dull, but Click doesn’t short us on the belly laughs.

There are good performances all around, though none are great, and Sandler looks kinda punchy and tired. The greatness in this movie is the writing, and unlike Old School, Click’s writers don’t play at being subversive and rude, only to chicken out in the end to defend some bland, pop culture version of middle class values. It defends real middle class people – good guys who don’t have to be squeaky clean. That’s why Click is a heart-warming comedy/drama about love of family, but it’s still rowdy deep in its comic soul.

7 of 10
A-

Tuesday, November 7, 2006

NOTES:
2007 Academy Awards: 1 nomination: “Best Achievement in Makeup” (Kazuhiro Tsuji and Bill Corso)

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Former Ninja Turtle to Produce Martial Arts Films for Young Viewers

I found the following press release through Business Wire, and by running it, I am admitting that I liked those live-action Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles movies from the early 1990s.  I think it's time to see them again:

Former Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtle Star Ernie Reyes Jr. Teams Up To Produce Slate of Youth Oriented Martial Arts Films

SANTA MONICA, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Former Ninja Turtle star Ernie Reyes Jr. of Smasher Entertainment and Art Birzneck of Birch Tree Entertainment announced today at the American Film Market that they are teaming up to produce a slate of youth-oriented martial arts films targeted at the teen and twenty-something audience.

Karate Cops, the first film in the slate, is scheduled to start shooting April 2011 in San Francisco, CA. Karate Cops, created by Ernie Reyes Jr. and written by 2010 Page Award silver medalist Cody Yarbrough and Ernie Reyes Jr., features a pair of high-flying detectives in a battle against a super-villain on a quest to take over a mystical martial arts kingdom in Chinatown. Karate Cops will be followed by Cheer Ninjas and Teen Samurai.

“With our extensive connections and combined experience in the production and distribution of martial arts films, Birch Tree and Smasher are uniquely positioned to fill a void in what we believe is an under-serviced youth action film market,” stated Birzneck. “It also doesn’t hurt that we are both black belts.”

“We are re-inventing the classic martial arts hits of the 70s, 80s and 90s and making them relevant to young people today. I was fortunate to be part of The Last Dragon and the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles franchise and we are going to bring back that energy and excitement,” said Reyes Jr.

Smasher will take the lead in all creative and production aspects, with Birch Tree taking the lead in all business and distribution aspects. Strategic partnerships are also part of the production plan. Media Network Services and Straight Up Technologies will be providing video collaboration solutions for the production of Karate Cops. In addition to utilizing video collaboration technologies during the production of Karate Cops, a case study will be written on the behind the scenes integration of next generation technologies during the film making process.


About Birch Tree Entertainment
Birch Tree Entertainment is an international film sales and production company specializing in high quality martial arts and action films

About Smasher Entertainment
Smasher Entertainment is a martial arts multimedia production company

Review: Thandie Newton Makes Star Turn in "Flirting" (Happy B'day, Thandie Newton)

TRASH IN MY EYE No. 64 (of 2006) by Leroy Douresseaux

Flirting (1991)
COUNTRY OF ORIGIN: Australia
Running time: 99 minutes (1 hour, 33 minutes)
MPAA – R for scenes of teen sexuality
WRITER/DIRECTOR: John Duigan
PRODUCERS: Terry Hayes, George Miller, and Doug Mitchell
CINEMATOGRAPHER: Geoff Burton
EDITOR: Robert Gibson

DRAMA/ROMANCE

Starring: Noah Taylor, Thandie Newton, Nicole Kidman, Bartholomew Rose, Felix Nobis, Josh Picker, Kiri Paramore, Marc Gray, Kiri Paramore, Jeff Truman, Marshall Napier, Kym Wilson, and Naomi Watts

Danny Embling (Noah Taylor) is a free-spirited young man attending St. Alban’s, an all-boys prep school in rural Australia, circa 1965. Called “Bird” by his classmates, Danny is an outcast. He meets Thandiwe Adjewa (Thandie Newton), a sophisticated girl from Uganda, the daughter of Ugandan dissidents living in Australia. Thandiwe is a student at Cirencester Ladies College, an all-girls prep school across the lake from St. Albans. Danny and Thandiwe began an interracial romance that blossoms despite some prejudice they face from fellow students. Nicole Kidman plays Nicola Radcliffe, at first a rival, then eventual confidant of Thandiwe.

Flirting, a follow up (or sequel) to the 1987 John Duigan film, The Year My Voice Broke, is one of the best and least contrived depictions of first love ever put to film. Taylor and Newton bring verisimilitude to this tale of surprising and unexpected love. One can just feel the spark between them and how their love grows, so that as the relationship progresses, their actions seem so natural.

The film also has a numerous supporting performances; many are small, but add just the right touch for the film’s setting and narrative. Bartholomew Rose as Danny’s friend, Gilbert “Gilby” Fryer, is full of advice for Danny and perhaps a little envious of him (or has a “boy crush” on him as boys sometimes do have on particular male friends). Nicole Kidman also adds a nice touch in a small but motherly role as the “it” girl at Cirencester. John Duigan’s gentle film has touches of John Hughes’ teen romances (Pretty in Pink) with the dramatic narrative detail of a John Sayles (Passion Fish, Lone Star) film.

8 of 10
A

Sunday, April 2, 2006