Review: "Nil by Mouth" (Happy B'day, Gary Oldman)

TRASH IN MY EYE No. 29 (of 2004) by Leroy Douresseaux

Nil by Mouth (1997)
COUNTRY OF ORIGIN: U.K. and France
Running time: 128 minutes (2 hours, 8 minutes)
MPAA – R for graphic drug use, non-stop strong language, brutal domestic violence and some nudity
WRITER/DIRECTOR: Gary Oldman
PRODUCERS: Luc Besson, Gary Oldman, and Douglas Urbanski
CINEMATOGRAPHER: Ron Fortunato
EDITOR: Brad Fuller
COMPOSER: Eric Clapton
BAFTA Award winner

DRAMA

Starring: Ray Winstone, Kathy Burke, Charlie Creed-Miles, Laila Morse, Edna Doré, Chrisse Cotterill, Jon Morrison, Jamie Foreman, Steve Sweeney, and Leah Fitzgerald

Nil by Mouth is acclaimed actor Gary Oldman’s directorial debut. It’s what I call “cinema de unflinching,” in particular that “cinema’s” sub-genre “film de raw.” Oldman, an extremely talented actor who can simultaneously bury himself in a role and also exude movie star wattage, composed a film that stands as one of the most powerful family dramas of the 1990’s because of its dogged pursuit of portraying the effects of drugs and alcohol on a poor family in notorious South London.

Ray (Ray Winstone) is a coke snorting, alcoholic bully who brow beats his wife Valerie (Kathy Burke) and his brother-in-law, Billy (Charlie Creed-Miles), who lives with the couple. After Raymond savagely attacks Billy and kicks him out of the apartment, both men spiral downward, as Ray drinks more and becomes more paranoid and Billy does little other than feed his dope habit. Meanwhile, Val and the rest of the women in the family valiantly hold the family together and look for a few good times in a drug-addled world of poverty and crushing of claustrophobia.

The film starts off quite slowly, and I am certain that it will be difficult for many non-Brits to understand the London dialects (as it was for me). Still, the acting is good, quite good, actually. Oldman gives this film a good pace and a high level of intensity, considering that this film is heavy with the kind of dialogue that reveals character. However, when Nil by Mouth bogs down on a plot point, it is almost anal, and I occasionally found myself drifting away from it. Nil by Mouth is raw and unflinching, but it did not always hold my attention. Still, the script is well-written and well thought out; when you consider the movie as a whole, the screenplay seems rather brilliant.

All in all, Nil by Mouth is a satisfying and rewarding film viewing experience. Oldman makes the right choice in terms of satisfying the audience by letting his film family work through their difficulties. Rather than call it a Hollywood ending, I’ll describe it as artfully handled.

7 of 10
B+

NOTES:
1998 BAFTA Awards: 2 wins: “Alexander Korda Award for Best British Film” (Luc Besson, Douglas Urbanski, and Gary Oldman) and “Best Screenplay – Original” (Gary Oldman); 2 nominations: “Best Performance by an Actor in a Leading Role” (Ray Winstone) and “Best Performance by an Actress in a Leading Role” (Kathy Burke)

1997 Cannes Film Festival: 1 win: “Best Actress” (Kathy Burke) and 1 nomination: “Golden Palm” (Gary Oldman)

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Review: Aussie "Animal Kingdom" is Awesome

TRASH IN MY EYE No. 24 (of 2011) by Leroy Douresseaux

Animal Kingdom (2010)
Running time: 113 minutes (1 hour, 53 minutes)
MPAA – R for violence, drug content and pervasive language
WRITER/DIRECTOR: David Michôd
PRODUCER: Liz Watts
CINEMATOGRAPHER: Adam Arkapaw
EDITOR: Luke Doolan
COMPOSER: Antony Partos
Academy Award nominee

DRAMA/CRIME/THRILLER

Starring: James Frecheville, Jacki Weaver, Ben Mendelsohn, Joel Edgerton, Guy Pearce, Luke Ford, Sullivan Stapleton, and Laura Wheelwright

Often, I am reluctant to just come right out and say, “Go see this movie!” When it comes to the Australian crime drama, Animal Kingdom, the debut film from writer/director David Michôd, I cannot hesitate to say, “See this movie!” and “It’s on DVD for your home viewing comfort.”

Animal Kingdom follows Joshua Daniel “J” Cody (James Frecheville). After his mother, Julia Cody, dies of a heroine overdose, J goes to live with his maternal grandmother, Janine “Smurf” Cody (Jacki Weaver), the matriarch of a Melbourne-based crime family. Eldest son, Andrew “Pope” Cody (Ben Mendelsohn) and family friend, Barry “Baz” Brown (Joel Edgerton) are armed robbers. Craig Cody (Sullivan Stapleton) is a mid-level drug dealer, and barely legal Darren Cody (Luke Ford) is an up and coming apprentice to the crime family.

The family is under surveillance by Melbourne’s notorious Armed Robbery Squad. After the Squad strikes first, the Cody brothers strike back. Suddenly, J is the prize in a cat and mouse game between Janine and her sons and the police, personified by a senior detective named Nathan Leckie (Guy Pearce). Now, J has to make a decision that will determine where he belongs – with his relatives or somewhere else.

With all the critical acclaim that Animal Kingdom has received, it would be redundant to go over the film’s highlights in detail. Animal Kingdom is very well acted, and Jacki Weaver certainly deserved the Oscar nomination she received for best supporting actress. Ben Mendelsohn also deserved an Oscar nomination (which he didn’t get) for his stunning turn as Pope, one of the year’s best performances. Luke Ford is quite good in a quiet way as the reluctant and hapless Darren. James Frecheville is a bit stiff as J, but has some moments in the film where he shines.

I must reserve time to heap praise on writer/director David Michôd. I don’t know him well enough to call him a liar, but this cannot be his debut film. Really? This is really good, and it’s his first?

Anyway, not only is Animal Kingdom well written and exceptionally well directed, it is also different from the standard crime family flick. Michôd composes this film with J as the center, but after introducing J, Michôd brings him to the Cody household and then, moves him into the background. There, J becomes the eyes and ears through which Michôd both introduces to and immerses us in the world of the Cody crime family. By the time J returns to the forefront (when he is asked to participate in the act that launches this film’s central conflict), the narrative is ready to focus on him again.

The way Michôd uses J and directs the actor playing him, James Frecheville, gives an odd, otherworldly feel to this film, which is good. Instead of being bloody and gritty, Animal Kingdom is a matter of fact examination of the police and the thieves, presenting both sides as predators always on the lookout for prey they can uses to their advantage. This different way of presenting a crime film, the exceptional character writing, riveting plot, and excellent performances make Animal Kingdom one of 2010’s best movies.

9 of 10
A+

NOTES:
2011 Academy Awards: 1 nomination: “Best Performance by an Actress in a Supporting Role” (Jacki Weaver)

2011 Golden Globes: 1 nomination: “Best Performance by an Actress in a Supporting Role in a Motion Picture” (Jacki Weaver)

Saturday, March 19, 2011

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Review: "The 40 Year-Old Virgin" is Still a Steve Carell Showcase

TRASH IN MY EYE No. 133 (of 2005) by Leroy Douresseaux

The 40 Year-Old Virgin (2005)
Running time: 116 minutes (1 hour, 56 minutes)
MPAA – R for pervasive sexual content, language, and some drug use
DIRECTOR: Judd Apatow
WRITERS: Steve Carell and Judd Apatow
PRODUCERS: Shauna Robertson, Clayton Townsend, and Judd Apatow
CINEMATOGRAPHER: Jack Green
EDITOR: Brent White

COMEDY/ROMANCE

Starring: Steve Carell, Catherine Keener, Paul Rudd, Romany Malco, Seth Rogen, Elizabeth Banks, Leslie Mann, Jane Lynch, Gerry Bednob, Shelley Malil, Kat Dennings, Erica Vittina Phillips, Cedric Yarbrough, David Koechner, Lee Weaver, Gloria Helena Jones, and Nancy Walls

Andy Stitzer (Steve Carell) has never “done the deed,” or, to put it more plainly, Andy has never had sexual intercourse. That makes the avid toy collector, video gaming enthusiast, and comic book reader a 40 year-old virgin. When his co-workers: the three randy bastards, David (Paul Rudd), Jay (Romany Malco), and Cal (Seth Rogen), accidentally discover Andy’s situation, they immediately want to help him get his cherry popped.

After a series of misadventures, Andy is once again ready to accept that he will never have sexual intercourse, but fate brings him into contact with Trish (Catherine Keener), a single mother of three children and a grandmother of one. Andy and Trish become very close and decide to have a platonic relationship until they get to know each other. However, when the time finally arrives for them to get intimate, Andy is still having reservations…

The 40 Year-Old Virgin could have been nothing more than a shameless excuse to make a tawdry film aimed at teenagers and 20-somethings – full of bad jokes about virginity, loosing one’s virginity and having awkward first-time sex. Instead the film is only half that. Sure, there is plenty of gross humor and embarrassingly frank discussions of sexuality. In fact much of the sex talk is the kind of triple-blue tales guys tell each other when they’re not in polite company because together they aren’t polite company.

Romany Malco and Seth Rogen gamely lead the charge unleashing a barrage of X-rated storytelling that tops the wretched bragging that is a stable on B.E.T.’s “ComicView,” but Malco and Rogen are 10 times funnier. In fact, this is a breakthrough performance for Malco, who deft plays Jay as both comically and as a hypocrite. Both he and Rogen should have long film careers playing “the buddy” to a big name star’s turn as a struggling romantic. However, the third member of the support trio is limply played by Paul Rudd, but it’s not entirely his fault; the script gives him a few good scenes, and then leaves both him and the audience hanging for more of the obviously complicated David.

One thing that The 40 Year-Old Virgin’s screenplay (co-written by the director Judd Apatow and Steve Carell) has going for it is its sense of realness. There is a naturalness to the individual scenes that suggests the truth of real life. What the script lacks is a cohesive sense of honesty. Some things are true; others are just plot contrivances designed to make an outsider tale seem like normal Hollywood fare. In fact, since the writers chose to gloss over the supporting characters, they made the film too long by ten minutes. They could have given those 10 minutes to Catherine Keener so her character, Trish, wouldn’t only come across as a cardboard, sympathetic mother figure and cherry popper – a waste of a powerful actress for sure.

Ultimately, the main reason to see this film is Steve Carell; the seemingly humble actor (at least he comes across that way in interviews) has quietly delivered a number of roles, stunning in how good they are for their smallness, in films such as Bruce Almighty and Anchorman: The Legend of Ron Burgundy. Here, he plays a 40 year-old virgin not as a pathetic figure, but a man to be pitied because he has so willingly bought into a life of loneliness. This is especially sad because he’s the proverbial quiet and shy guy who is really a good fellow, and would make a fine pal.

While The 40 Year-Old Virgin’s script is soft, the film’s actors build their roles into characters that the audience wants to like and finally do. Carell, more than anyone else in this film, builds a guy in Andy Stitzer who is so likeable that the audience accepts everything about him, including his many quirks and eccentricities. In the real world, a lot of people wouldn’t recognize or pay attention to a guy like Andy. Carell amazingly turns Andy into an ideal, a perfection of nerd, if you will; Andy is the kind of dork that you could love, root for, cheer, and go out of your way to help.

The 40 Year-Old Virgin has been compared to an earlier 2005 summer hit, Wedding Crashers, but the latter is funnier by far. However, both films make up for crassness with engaging tales of romantic entanglements. Virgin isn’t perfect, and Steve Carell’s performance is more memorable than the film, which in the end may be remembered as a star-making vehicle for him. Although that ending has got to go, the film is daring in so many ways. It’s one of the very few “mainstream” comedies that have almost as many African-American roles as the typical “urban comedy” (comedy with a lot of black characters), and an actress (Catherine Keener) who is older than the male lead (Carell) playing the love interest. That alone makes it a class act.

7 of 10
B+

Saturday, August 20, 2005

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Kevin Costner Cast as Jonathan Kent in Upcoming "Superman" Film Reboot

Kevin Costner Cast as Jonathan Kent in Warner Bros. Pictures’ and Legendary Pictures’ Upcoming Superman Movie

 

BURBANK, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Warner Bros. Pictures and Legendary Pictures announced today that Kevin Costner will play Jonathan Kent, the father who raised Clark Kent as his own son, in the new Superman movie to be directed by Zack Snyder.

Snyder stated, “Jonathan Kent is the only father figure Clark has ever had, the man who was there to help Clark understand what he was meant to do in the world as Superman. Kevin will be able to communicate the quiet strength of this rural American man who raised the greatest super hero of all time.”

Costner will star alongside Diane Lane, who plays his wife, Martha, and the film’s star, Henry Cavill, who will play the new Clark Kent/Superman.

Costner most recently starred in 2010’s “The Company Men,” and is currently in development on the comedy “The One.” He has won two Academy Awards®, for producing and directing the epic “Dances with Wolves,” also garnering a nomination for Best Actor. He has also starred in a wide range of memorable films, including “The Untouchables,” “No Way Out,” “Bull Durham,” “Field of Dreams,” “JFK,” “The Bodyguard,” “Wyatt Earp,” “Tin Cup” and “Swing Vote,” to name a few.

Charles Roven, Emma Thomas, Christopher Nolan and Deborah Snyder are the producers of the film. The screenplay is being written by David S. Goyer based on a story by Goyer and Nolan. Thomas Tull and Lloyd Phillips are serving as executive producers.

The new Superman movie will be distributed worldwide by Warner Bros. Pictures, a Warner Bros. Entertainment Company.

Review: "Set It Off" (Happy B'day, Queen Latifah)

TRASH IN MY EYE No. 63 (of 2003) by Leroy Douresseaux

Set It Off (1996)
Running time: 123 minutes (2 hours, 3 minutes)
MPAA – R for strong graphic violence, pervasive language, some sex and drug use
DIRECTOR: F. Gary Gray
WRITERS: Takashi Buford and Kate Lanier; from a story by Takashi Buford
PRODUCERS: Oren Koules and Dale Pollock
CINEMATOGRAPHER: Marc Reshovsky (D.o.P.)
EDITOR: John Carter
Image Award nominee

DRAMA/ACTION/CRIME

Starring: Jada Pinkett, Queen Latifah, Vivica A. Fox, Kimberly Elise, Blair Underwood, John C. McGinley, Thomas Jefferson Byrd, Ella Joyce, Dr. Dre and Anna Marie Horsford

Set If Off, the second film from music video director F. Gary Gray, was almost the best film ever made about the plight of impoverished African-American women at the turn of the century. Instead, the filmmakers settled on making a film that is a decent drama and a cathartic action movie. Part western and part girl movie, Set If Off resonates with the pain of these female characters although the film only scratches the surface of who the characters are.

After some neighborhood acquaintances of Francesca “Frankie” Sutton’s (Vivica A. Fox) rob the bank where she works and kill a few people, her supervisors at the bank fire her because they find the fact that she knew the culprits disturbing. Her diligence and hard work (only a day prior, she’d counted $240,000 by hand to help one of her bosses) don’t matter one bit. Detective Strode (John C. McGinley), the lead detective in the case, also considers her to be in cahoots with the robbers.

Lida “Stony” Newson (Jada Pinkett) has been plans for her brother Stevie (Chaz Lamar Shepard) to attend UCLA. Stevie is a friend of one of the bank robbers. He visits him after the robbery, and a pack of cowardly, punk cops murders Stevie when they mistake him for the bank robber. Thinking Stevie has a gun, they shoot him down like a dog, only to discover that he was trying to show them that all he had in his jacket was a bottle of champagne a friend had given him for his birthday.

Tired of being on the beating end of the stick, Stony and Frankie join two other downtrodden friends, Cleopatra “Cleo” Sims (Queen Latifah) and Tisean “T.T.” Williams (Kimberly Elise, in a sparkling debut), as bank robbers themselves, to make a little money to get ahead in life and to stick it to the evil, white tyrants who go out of their way to oppress a sister.

This movie could have been so much more than it ended up being, maybe an intense urban drama about what these young women go through and the ends they meet when they finally lash out (perhaps blindly and unwisely) at the world for their pain. However, I will review this movie for what it is. The drama is about average. I caught on to what the story was about; I felt the sisters’ pain. Still, other than Stony, the film mostly relegates the characters to being ciphers, and the script only skims the surface of Stony’s character, for that matter. The filmmakers feel compelled to spend much of the film’s time detailing the intricacies and violence of bank robbery, and they do that quite well. As robbers, the four women are clumsy, but they’re raw and eager. Their crimes are swift and abrupt, and Gray presents it all in a bracing fashion in which the camera lovingly follows the ladies’ every move.

I wanted this film to be more, but, honestly, I really enjoyed what I got. The drama, as mishandled as it was, it still touching and visceral, and the action had me cheering my girls every step of the way. As things fall apart for them, I couldn’t help but feel the emotions and bond they shared, both strong enough to make them sacrifice for one another.

The acting is also quite good. This was a breakthrough role for Queen Latifah, who is full of snarling and barely checked rage; the camera loves her. Ms. Pinkett easily revealed the depth of her talent as a strong dramatic actress, but this performance didn’t earn her lots of new roles, being of the jigaboo persuasion. Ms. Fox’s character barely registers, but that’s the fault of the script. This was a good start for Ms. Elise; her large expressive eyes make her a film natural in her ability to convey feelings.

For all its shortcomings, Set It Off is a very good film, and we need more like it, albeit of a higher quality, that detail the hard lives of poor people and their willingness to fight back when they need to. See this film, and then watch it again.

7 of 10
A-

NOTES:
1997 Image Awards: 3 nominations: “Outstanding Lead Actress in a Motion Picture” (Jada Pinkett Smith), “Outstanding Lead Actress in a Motion Picture” (Queen Latifah) and “Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Motion Picture” (Blair Underwood)

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New People to Screen "Hula Girls" for Japanese Tsunami Relief

NEW PEOPLE TO RAISE FUNDS FOR JAPANESE EARTHQUAKE/TSUNAMI RELIEF WITH A SPECIAL SCREENING OF HULA GIRLS

Award Winning Film Set in Fukushima Prefecture Plays On March 26th And Offers A Heartwarming Story That Is A Testament To The Enduring Human Spirit

NEW PEOPLE, the nation’s only entertainment complex dedicated to Japanese popular culture, will present a special screening of director Lee Sang-il’s celebrated film, HULA GIRLS, to raise funds for Japanese earthquake and tsunami relief. HULA GIRLS will screen on Saturday, March 26th at 2:00pm, 4:30pm and 7:00pm. Suggested donations are $10.00 or more per person. NEW PEOPLE is located in the heart of San Francisco’s Japantown at 1746 Post St.

Proceeds from the screenings will be donated to the Northern Japan Earthquake Relief Fund, administered by JCCCNC and Union Bank in San Francisco’s Japantown. More information on the screenings and the work of this relief organization is available at: http://www.newpeopleworld.com/.

A heartwarming film, HULA GIRLS is set in Fukushima prefecture, site of the Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant that was heavily damaged during the recent earthquake and tsunami on March 11th. HULA GIRLS was Japan’s official entry to the 2007 Academy Awards Best Foreign Film category and also won four Japanese Academy Awards the same year including Best Picture, Best Director, Best Screenplay and Best Supporting Actress.

“The world was stunned by the damage and tragic loss of life from the recent earthquake and we invite audiences to donate to the recovery efforts and attend the screening of this uplifting film that is set in the area of Japan that was affected by the disaster,” says Seiji Horibuchi, president of NEW PEOPLE, Inc. “HULA GIRLS is a moving testament to the indomitable human spirit and we hope its story inspires audiences to contribute to the ongoing relief efforts that are now underway.”

Based on a true story set in 1965, the desolate and declining mining town of Iwaki, located in Fukushima prefecture in Northern Japan, tries to revive itself by building a Hawaiian-themed resort. The featured attraction is to be a hula show, but in this isolated place far from the tropical bliss of Hawaii there are no palm trees or hula dancers. In fact, no one knows how to do the dance or even knows what the hula is! The town leaders invite a dance instructor from Tokyo to teach the local minors' daughters how to hula, but conservative townspeople are initially resistant to the provocative dance. The skepticism and conservatism of the locals is gradually overcome as their daughters fall under the spell of the talented and determined dance instructor from Tokyo.

Once a leading performer, the instructor at first looks down on the coal miners and their amateurish daughters, but the girls’ sincere dedication gradually rekindles a passion in her. Each dealing with their own harsh lives, the local girls find a new lease on life and, for the first time, support in their friendships as they absorb the essence of hula dancing. The film has been praised as an enchanting story of women who take once-in-a-lifetime chances to escape their monotonous lives, only to become unwitting heroes to their depressed mining town as well as the whole of Japan.


About NEW PEOPLE, Inc.
Based in San Francisco, California, NEW PEOPLE, Inc. (www.newpeopleworld.com) offers the latest films, art, fashion and retail brands from Japan through its unique entertainment destination as well as through licensing and distribution of selective Japanese films. NEW PEOPLE Entertainment (www.newpeopleent.com), a film division of NEW PEOPLE, Inc. strives to offer the most entertaining motion pictures straight from the "Kingdom of Pop" for audiences of all ages, especially the manga and anime generation, in North America. Some titles include DEATH NOTE, GANTZ, KAMIKAZE GIRLS, and THE TASTE OF TEA.

Review: Always Ready to Escape to "Escape from New York" (Happy B'day, Kurt Russell)

TRASH IN MY EYE No. 28 (of 2004) by Leroy Douresseaux

John Carpenter’s Escape from New York (1981)
Running time: 99 minutes (1 hour,  39 minutes)
MPAA – R
DIRECTOR: John Carpenter
WRITERS: Nick Castle and John Carpenter
PRODUCERS: Larry Franco and Debra Hill
CINEMATOGRAPHERS: Dean Cundey and George D. Dodge (D.o.P.)
EDITORS: Todd Ramsay
COMPOSERS: John Carpenter and Alan Howarth

SCI-FI/ACTION/ADVENTURE/THRILLER

Starring: Kurt Russell, Lee Van Cleef, Ernest Borgnine, Donald Pleasence, Isaac Hayes, Harry Dean Stanton, Adrienne Barbeau, and Tom Atkins

One film certainly deserving of its cult movie status is John Carpenter’s early 80’s futuristic sci-fi thriller, Escape from New York. Set in (what was then) the future of 1997, Manhattan Island in its entirety is a giant maximum-security prison where all hardened convicts are sent for life i.e. no one gets out alive.

Early in the film, a terrorist hijacks Air Force One and crashes it into Manhattan. The President (Donald Pleasance) escapes the crash in a pod, but he falls into the clutches of Manhattan’s overlord, The Duke of New York (Isaac Hayes). The Duke holds the President hostage, in an attempt to use him as leverage for his own release from the island.

After the security force that guards the prison on Manhattan Island is unable to rescue the president, the “warden” of the prison, Bob Hauk (Lee Van Cleef), tries something different. Hauk makes a deal with a former Special Forces serviceman turned bank robber, Snake Plissken (Kurt Russell), who is about to be imprisoned on the island. All Plissken has to do is sneak onto the island and rescue the president in 23 hours, and Hauk has a micro detonation device inserted into Plissken’s neck to give him incentive to complete the mission.

Escape from New York might be seen a cheesy entertainment, and much of the film, both in story and production values, certainly seems dated, but the film remains an excellent example of speculative science fiction film, especially of the sci-fi action/adventure sub-genre. Carpenter, an exceptional director when he’s on his game, was right in the middle of his golden age. Escape from New York is a delicious, wacky gumbo that combines several film types: urban thriller, western, search and rescue, gangster, exploitation. Carpenter is an imaginative filmmaker and storyteller, who mixes pop science with pulp fiction craziness quite well.

Kurt Russell, a frequent collaborator of Carpenter’s, does his usually cool John Wayne riff, mixing it with a flavor that can be best described as a pre-hip hop gangsta/thug precursor. Escape from New York gives us Snake Plissken, a wonderful and strangely endearing character for such a hard ass. If anything, Russell’s Plissken is always worth the price of admission.

7 of 10
B+

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