Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 1 is the One

TRASH IN MY EYE No. 96 (of 2010) by Leroy Douresseaux

Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 1 (2010)
Running time: 146 minutes (2 hours, 26 minutes)
MPAA – PG-13 for some sequences of intense action violence, frightening images and brief sensuality
DIRECTOR: David Yates
WRITER: Steve Kloves (based upon the novel by J.K. Rowling)
PRODUCERS: David Barron and David Heyman and J.K. Rowling
CINEMATOGRAPHER: Eduardo Serra
EDITOR: Mark Day
COMPOSER: Alexandre Desplat

FANTASY/ACTION/DRAMA/MYSTERY

Starring: Daniel Radcliffe, Rupert Grint, Emma Watson, Ralph Fiennes, Alan Rickman, Robbie Coltrane, Bonnie Wright, Julie Walters, Mark Williams, Helena Bonham Carter, Tom Felton, Brendan Gleeson, Jason Isaacs, David Thewlis, Timothy Spall, Peter Mullan, Rhys Ifans, Evanna Lynch, and Michael Gambon

Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows was the seventh (and final) novel in the Harry Potter book series. Warner Bros. Pictures is releasing the film adaptation of the book as two films. The first, Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 1, is now in theatres.

Harry Potter (Daniel Radcliffe) and his closest friends, Ron Weasley (Rupert Grint) and Hermione Granger (Emma Watson) embark on a quest to find and destroy the Horcruxes, the secrets to Lord Voldemort’s (Ralph Fiennes) immortality. Meanwhile, Voldemort launches his latest plot to kill Harry, so the Order of the Phoenix hatches a daring mission to protect Harry. Not to be denied, Voldemort’s allies, the Death Eaters, launch a surprise attack, which scatter Harry and his allies. Harry, Ron, and Hermione continue their quest in London, where the search for a Horcux takes them into the heart of the Ministry of Magic and begins a journey that will find the friends alone with only themselves upon which to rely.

Apparently dividing Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows into two movies will allow the filmmakers to make what is essentially one larger movie that is closer to its Potter book than the previous Harry Potter movies were to their respective books. One thing this split will do is allow the narrative to breathe. Some of the Potter movies always felt like they were missing something.

Sometimes, when filmmakers turn books into movies, they make the action in the book more frantic, in a way to make the narrative pop and seem livelier to movie audiences. They also leave out entire subplots and characters in adapting books to the screen. Movies, especially those created for wide public consumption, are often shallow compared to novels. Novels don’t have to offer fizzy amusement every page and sometimes show the less fun side of a character. Novels can have entire sequences that might seem boring compared to the non-stop nature of film, especially cinema of sensations, event movies, and summer tent pole flicks.

Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 1 is not afraid to show the drier side of the Potter stories, and for the first time, a Harry Potter film really delves into the bittersweet of Harry Potter’s life and the complex dynamics involved in being a Potter friend, ally, or associate. Part 1 is certainly filled with exciting action scenes, breathtaking aerial duels, explosive fight scenes, sparkling displays of magic, and hot death, but it is also contemplative and emotional. This movie has both a meditative inner life and a combative outer life, which makes for a richer movie and a more fulfilling narrative.

Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 1 is everything thrilling/action/fantasy that the previous Harry Potter movies were, but also something more. It has the character and drama befitting a great work of fantasy, and yes, you might even call it a Harry Potter movie that is really for adults.

9 of 10
A+

Thursday, November 25, 2010

"Waiting for 'Superman'" Advances in Oscar Documentary Race

Press release:

15 Documentary Features Advance In 2010 Oscar® Race

Beverly Hills, CA (November 18, 2010) – The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences announced that 15 films in the Documentary Feature category will advance in the voting process for the 83rd Academy Awards®. One hundred-one pictures had originally qualified in the category.

The 15 films are listed below in alphabetical order by title, with their production company:

“Client 9: The Rise and Fall of Eliot Spitzer” Alex Gibney, director (ES Productions LLC)

“Enemies of the People” Rob Lemkin and Thet Sambath, directors (Old Street Films)

“Exit through the Gift Shop” Banksy, director (Paranoid Pictures)

“Gasland” Josh Fox, director (Gasland Productions, LLC)

“Genius Within: The Inner Life of Glenn Gould” Michele Hozer and Peter Raymont, directors (White Pine Pictures)

“Inside Job” Charles Ferguson, director (Representational Pictures)

“The Lottery” Madeleine Sackler, director (Great Curve Films)

“Precious Life” Shlomi Eldar, director (Origami Productions) “Megamind”

“Quest for Honor” Mary Ann Smothers Bruni, director (Smothers Bruni Productions)

“Restrepo” Tim Hetherington and Sebastian Junger, directors (Outpost Films)

“This Way of Life” Thomas Burstyn, director (Cloud South Films)

“The Tillman Story” Amir Bar-Lev, director (Passion Pictures/Axis Films)

“Waiting for ‘Superman” Davis Guggenheim, director (Electric Kinney Films)

“Waste Land” Lucy Walker, director (Almega Projects)

“William Kunstler: Disturbing the Universe” Emily Kunstler and Sarah Kunstler, directors (Disturbing the Universe LLC)

The Documentary Branch Screening Committee viewed all the eligible documentaries for the preliminary round of voting. Documentary Branch members will now select the five nominees from among the 15 titles on the shortlist.

The 83rd Academy Awards nominations will be announced live on Tuesday, January 25, 2011, at 5:30 a.m. PT in the Academy's Samuel Goldwyn Theater.

Academy Awards for outstanding film achievements of 2010 will be presented on Sunday, February 27, 2011, at the Kodak Theatre at Hollywood & Highland Center®, and televised live by the ABC Television Network. The Oscar presentation also will be televised live in more than 200 countries worldwide.

Review: The Rock Gave Action Stardom "The Rundown"

TRASH IN MY EYE No. 149 (of 2003) by Leroy Douresseaux

The Rundown (2003)
Running time: 104 minutes (1 hour, 44 minutes)
MPAA – PG-13 for adventure violence and some crude dialogue
DIRECTOR: Peter Berg
WRITERS: R.J. Stewart and James Vanderbilt, from a story by R.J. Stewart
PRODUCER: Marc Abraham, Bill Corless, Karen Glasser, and Kevin Misher
CINEMATOGRAPHER: Tobias Schliessler (D.o.P.)
EDITOR: Richard Pearson
COMPOSER: Harry Gregson-Williams

ACTION/ADVENTURE/COMEDY

Starring: Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson, Seann William Scott, Rosario Dawson, Christopher Walken, Ewen Bremner, Jon Gries, William Lucking, Ernie Reyes, Jr., and Arnold Schwarzenegger (no screen credit)

Early in The Rundown, Arnold Schwarzenegger makes a cameo appearance in which he tells The Rock/Dwayne Johnson’s character to have fun. It’s an unofficial passing of the torch from one veteran comic book action hero to the new guy who just may be at the head of the class of the next generation of action heroes. It an appropriate meeting of the rippling bods because The Rundown is the kind of over the top action movie that is just as much fun to watch as classic Ah-nold cinema.

In The Rundown, Beck (The Rock) specializes in finding people who owe money to the wrong kind of people or who run away from an obligation. His latest assignment (and he hopes his last) is to find Travis (Seann William Scott), an irresponsible rich kid who owes a terrible debt to his father. Travis is hiding in small isolated town in the Amazon where he is searching for that one big treasure that will make his fortune and reputation as a treasure hunter. Beck’s arrival attracts the unwanted attention of Hatcher (Christopher Walken), a local despot, who begins a small war against Beck and Travis to obtain Travis’ treasure.

Director Peter Berg (who is also an actor) does an excellent job playing up the personality quirks that make his cast so popular, but he also gives The Rock and Scott a new twist on their respective shticks. The Rock has some gloriously brutal fight scenes that combine the style of professional wrestling with a hyper realistic video game version of wrestling. Berg, however, lets The Rock show a more human, thoughtful, and intelligent side; he’s less like the cartoonish gladiator of WWE and more like the determined warrior of his earlier movie hit, The Scorpion King. Seann Scott also shines as something more than the one-note joke for which he is best known in the American Pie movies; he’s a funny and wacky idiot when the moment calls for laughs, but he’s also a gritty, stand up guy tailor made to play the buddy movie sidekick.

The Rundown is a very good action movie and a lot of fun to watch because of its fair amount of humor. The fights scenes (two in particular, one in the beginning and one in the middle, are nearly as mind bending as anything in The Matrix) are fabulous, breathtaking, and really make the movie. The gun fights and explosions are fairly typical of big budget film productions and only detract from the movie. Christopher Walken and Rosario Dawson’s characters are little more than barnacles, and Walken is himself rapidly becoming a stock character. Still, in the end, all hail The Rock; it really does seem as if a movie star is born.

6 of 10
B

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"Justin Bieber: Never Say Never" Sneak Preview and Ticket Sale Dates Set

Press release:

NATIONAL SNEAK PREVIEW MOVIE EVENT OF “JUSTIN BIEBER: NEVER SAY NEVER” SET FOR WEDNESDAY, FEBRUARY 9, 2011

OFFERS FANS CHANCE TO SEE MOVIE FIRST, AND EXCLUSIVE MERCHANDISE PACK WITH PURPLE REALD® 3D GLASSES, JUST IN TIME FOR HOLIDAY GIFT GIVING!

ADVANCE EVENT TICKETS GO ON SALE STARTING “CYBER MONDAY”, NOVEMBER 29th at 10am

HOLLYWOOD, CA (November 22, 2010) – Moviegoers across the U.S and Canada may be among the first to experience the new 3D film, “JUSTIN BIEBER: NEVER SAY NEVER,” at exclusive “sneak preview” screening events set for Wednesday, February 9th at 6pm at specially selected RealD® 3D equipped movie theaters across the country.

"Everyone thinks this is going to be another 3D concert movie, but it's anything but that. It’s a story of how my family, friends and the fans helped me get here and everyday are helping me live an impossible dream. That’s why I want them to see it first," said Justin Bieber.

Sure to be a hot holiday gift seller, tickets for the February “sneak preview” event, will go on sale exclusively online Monday, November 29th at 10am local time. In addition to ensuring fans will see the movie first, the purchase also includes official movie merchandise and purple 3D glasses.

Each complete Sneak Preview Gift Pack is priced at $30.00 (plus shipping) and includes:

· One ticket to the movie sneak preview Wednesday, February 9th at 6pm

· A pair of limited edition purple “JUSTIN BIEBER: NEVER SAY NEVER” RealD® 3D glasses

· A souvenir VIP event lanyard

· Official “JUSTIN BIEBER: NEVER SAY NEVER” branded glow stick and bracelet

For event locations around the country, to purchase tickets, or to learn more about this exclusive event, please go to: http://www.jb3dpreview.com/. Limit is 6 tickets per credit card transaction. Supplies are limited.

“JUSTIN BIEBER: NEVER SAY NEVER” in 3D will open nationwide on Friday, February 11th. The event is presented in association with RealD® and Bravado International Group, the leading merchandiser of top music artists.

ABOUT PARAMOUNT PICTURES CORPORATION
Paramount Pictures Corporation (PPC), a global producer and distributor of filmed entertainment, is a unit of Viacom (NYSE: VIA, VIA.B), a leading content company with prominent and respected film, television and digital entertainment brands. The company's labels include Paramount Pictures, Paramount Vantage, Paramount Classics, Insurge Pictures, MTV Films, and Nickelodeon Movies. PPC operations also include Paramount Digital Entertainment, Paramount Famous Productions, Paramount Home Entertainment, Paramount Pictures International, Paramount Licensing Inc., Paramount Studio Group, and Worldwide Television Distribution.

About Bravado International Group
Bravado, the only global, 360° full service merchandise company, develops and markets high-quality licensed merchandise to a worldwide audience. The company works closely with new & established entertainment clients, creating innovative products carefully tailored to each artist or brand. Product is sold on live tours, via selected retail outlets and through web-based stores. Bravado also licenses rights to an extensive network of third party licensees around the world. The company maintains offices in London, Los Angeles, New York, Nashville, Berlin, Paris, Stockholm, Tokyo and Sydney. In addition to Justin Bieber, Bravado artists include The Rolling Stones, Michael Jackson, Beyonce, Paul McCartney, Rihanna, Kanye West, Mariah Carey, No Doubt, Nickelback, Lady Gaga, Katy Perry, Elton John, Guns 'N Roses, Metallica, Led Zeppelin, Green Day and The Killers, among many others.

Chilling "The Cove" is also Thrilling

TRASH IN MY EYE No. 95 (of 2010) by Leroy Douresseaux

The Cove (2009)
Running time: 92 minutes (1 hour, 32 minutes)
MPAA – PG-13 for disturbing content
DIRECTOR: Louie Psihoyos
WRITER: Mark Monroe
PRODUCERS: Paula DuPré Pesman and Fisher Stevens
CINEMATOGRAPHER: Brook Aitken
EDITOR: Geoffrey Richman
COMPOSER: J. Ralph
Academy Award winner

DOCUMENTARY - Environmental

Starring: Richard O’Barry, Louis Psihoyos, Mandy-Rae Cruikshank, Charles Hambleton, Hardy Jones, Hayden Panettier, and Roger Payne

The Cove is a documentary film that depicts the annual killing of dolphins at Taiji, Wakayama, Japan. The film won the Oscar for “Best Documentary, Features” at the 2010 (82nd Annual) Academy Awards. The Cove follows former dolphin trainer, Ric O’Barry’s quest to document the capture and slaughter of dolphins at Taiji, as part of a larger plan to end the capture of dolphins worldwide. O’Barry captured and trained the five dolphins used in the 1960s television show, Flipper.

After meeting O’Barry, former National Geographic photographer, Louie Psihoyos, founder of the Oceanic Preservation Society, decided to get involved with O’Barry’s cause. Psihoyos and a crew traveled to Taiji in 2007. There, using underwater microphones and high-definition cameras, they secretly filmed the slaughter of dolphins in an isolated cove.

The best part of The Cove, indeed, the key to its power, comes near the end of the film with the playback of the video featuring the killing of the dolphins. I don’t know if I was more shocked at the blood in the water or the dolphins’ thrashing. The blood was so thick that the pink-colored water looked like some kind of shake or malted drink. The film’s musical score by J. Ralph creates suspense and tension with stunning precision, while also being the perfect musical accompaniment to savage, senseless murder.

Before that sequence, much of the film focuses on three other themes or elements. First, the film details the task of getting by authorities in Taiji and setting up recording equipment, which is fun to watch. It has an almost special ops quality to it and reveals the tight filmmaking chops of Psihoyos and film editor, Geoffrey Richman.

The film also focuses on the prevalence of mercury in dolphin meat, in amounts far higher than is acceptable for human consumption. That’s interesting, but the film seems to lose its focus when it goes off on its mercury tangent. Another important element in the film is the focus on the role governments, environmental organizations (which is surprising), and groups from various industries play directly or indirectly in the slaughter at Taiji.

It is good and important that The Cove exists. I’m sure that there are a lot of people who do not know that this is happening. I didn’t until I first heard of this film. Is The Cove one of those so-called “important films?” The answer is a resounding yes. This film is important because what is happening in that cove at Taiji is a reflection of what we are doing to our planet, specifically the world’s oceans and the fish population.

Right now, we can be entertained by The Cove because it is a good movie. We’ll cry later because it will be a warning we ignored.

8 of 10
A

NOTES:
2010 Academy Awards: 1 win: “Best Documentary, Features” (Louie Psihoyos and Fisher Stevens)

Tuesday, November 23, 2010

Review: "The Fog of War" the Best Film of 2003

TRASH IN MY EYE No. 86 (of 2004) by Leroy Douresseaux

The Fog of War: Eleven Lessons from the Life of Robert S. McNamara (2003)
Running time: 95 minutes (1 hour, 35 minutes)
MPAA – PG-13 for images and thematic issues of war and destruction
WRITER/DIRECTOR: Errol Morris
PRODUCERS: Julie Ahlberg, Errol Morris, and Michael Williams
CINEMATOGRAPHER: Robert Chappell (D.o.P.) Peter Donahue (D.o.P.)
EDITORS: Doug Abel, Chyld King, and Karen Schmeer
COMPOSER: Philip Glass
Academy Award winner

DOCUMENTARY/WAR

Starring: Robert S. McNamara

Oscar® finally noticed famed documentary filmmaker Errol Morris, and the first time turned out to be the charm. Morris’ The Fog of War: Eleven Lessons from the Life of Robert S. McNamara won the Academy Award for “Best Documentary, Features.”

Morris built his 95-minute film out of over 20 hours of interviews he conducted with Robert McNamara (1916-), the Secretary of Defense for both the John F. Kennedy and Lyndon B. Johnson presidential administrations. Morris also supplemented the film with archival footage and other interviews, as well as with charts, graphs, animation, and other film footage. Although the film covers most of McNamara’s life, Morris’ focus is on McNamara’s involvement with the Vietnam War.

Although the film doesn’t seem to make any moral judgments on its own, Morris leaves that up to McNamara, who, in the end, doesn’t seem like he’s in the mood to make apologies for what happened in Vietnam. Watch the film and listen to the man and really understand that war, like fog, can be ethereal, so people can have a difficult time seeing the wholeness of a thing, unable to see all the possibilities and angles. McNamara is also difficult to see. For all that he tells, he really doesn’t answer many questions; he doesn’t answer the questions he’s expected to answer. Why did the war happen? Why didn’t the U.S. end it sooner?

Still, McNamara lived a large life and worked for and with a lot of very influential and powerful people. Obviously, he’s a bright fellow, and he shares a lot of knowledge and information with us. He may not answer some of the big questions that we have, but he brings us inside the machinery of war and lets us see a lot. The Fog of War is a revealing portrait, and those who listen will learn a lot about the man and a lot about 20th century American military history. It’s amazing how much McNamara and Morris can pack into such a short film. The Fog of War is a vivid film more potent than fiction and as rich as life itself.

10 of 10

NOTES:
2004 Academy Awards: 1 win: “Best Documentary, Features” (Errol Morris and Michael Williams)

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Daniel Day-Lewis is Lincoln in Spielberg Movie

Press release:

Academy Award Winner Daniel Day-Lewis to Star as Lincoln for DreamWorks Studios

LOS ANGELES--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Two-time Academy Award winner Daniel Day-Lewis will star as the 16th President of the United States in DreamWorks Studios’ Lincoln to be directed by Steven Spielberg. The announcement was made today by Spielberg and Stacey Snider, Co-Chairman and CEO of DreamWorks Studios.

“Daniel Day-Lewis would have always been counted as one of the greatest of actors, were he from the silent era, the golden age of film or even some time in cinema's distant future. I am grateful and inspired that our paths will finally cross with Lincoln,” said Steven Spielberg. "Throughout his career, he has been exceptionally selective in his choice of material," added Stacey Snider, "which makes us feel even more fortunate that he has chosen to join with us for Lincoln."

Based on the best-selling book, Team of Rivals, by Pulitzer Prize-winning historian Doris Kearns Goodwin, the screenplay has been written by the Pulitzer Prize winner, Tony Award winner, and Academy Award nominated writer Tony Kushner. It will be produced by Kathleen Kennedy and Steven Spielberg.

It is anticipated that the film will focus on the political collision of Lincoln and the powerful men of his cabinet on the road to abolition and the end of the Civil War.

Doris Kearns Goodwin won her Pulitzer Prize for No Ordinary Time, the story of Franklin and Eleanor Roosevelt and the home front in World War II. Kushner's prize was for his play Angels in America, which later became an Emmy Award-winning television special. He had previously worked with Spielberg on Munich for which he was nominated for an Oscar in the Adapted Screenplay category.

Filming is expected to begin in the fall of 2011 for release in the fourth quarter of 2012 through Disney’s Touchstone distribution label.


About DreamWorks Studios
DreamWorks Studios is a motion picture company formed in 2009 and led by Steven Spielberg and Stacey Snider in partnership with The Reliance Anil Dhirubhai Ambani Group. Upcoming releases include “I Am Number Four,” “Cowboys & Aliens,” “The Help,” “Fright Night,” “Real Steel,” and “War Horse.”

DreamWorks Studios can be found on Facebook at http://www.facebook.com/DreamWorksStudios and on Twitter at http://twitter.com/dw_studios.