Helen Mirren Saves "The Queen"

TRASH IN MY EYE No. 69 (of 2007) by Leroy Douresseaux


The Queen (2006)
COUNTRY OF ORIGIN: UK, France, and Italy
Running time: 103 minutes (1 hour, 43 minutes)
MPAA – R for brief strong language
DIRECTOR: Stephen Frears
WRITER: Peter Morgan
PRODUCERS: Christine Lagan, Tracey Seaward, and Andy Harries
CINEMATOGRAPHER: Affonso Beato, ASC, ABC (D.o.P.)
EDITOR: Lucia Zucchetti
Academy Award winner

DRAMA

Starring: Helen Mirren, Michael Sheen, James Cromwell, Sylvia Syms, Alex Jennings, Helen McCrory, Roger Allam, and Tim McMullan

The Queen, a film by Stephen Frears, is a fictional and highly speculative account of the behind the scenes incidents in the week following the shocking death of Prince Diana. Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II (Helen Mirren, in a role that won her a Best Actress Oscar) and British Prime Minister Tony Blair (Michael Sheen) engage in intimate talks as Blair tries to convince the Queen that the Royal Family should memorialize Princess Diana in a manner beyond standard protocol. The Queen tries to manage the death on a personal and private level with her family, some members of which, want to follow protocol. Meanwhile, Blair deals with the public and members of his own administration that are demanding that the royals give a grand, public funeral for their beloved Diana: the “people’s princess.”

Peter Morgan’s script presents this story as a character study, but the only truly interesting and engaging character in the film is Queen Elizabeth. The Prince Charles of this scenario is almost criminally libelous in the portrayal of the first heir to the British crown as a watery soup of a man. Alex Jennings plays him as a self-serving crybaby looking to lay his troubles at his mother, the Queen’s door. Prince Phillip, the Queen’s husband, is an irretrievable asshole, a noisy loudmouth, and a conceited, stuck-up jerk, and James Cromwell sticks to the script in portraying him that way.

The strongest supporting character in this tale is Prime Minister Tony Blair, and the script presents him as an over-eager suck-up to the Queen – a sad commoner dying for Her Majesty’s attention or maybe scraps from her table. Michael Sheen plays him as such, so it’s hard to distinguish Blair from the Queen’s pet dogs.

Stephen Frears seems to spend most of his time lavishing attention and much of the film’s detail on Helen Mirren as Queen Elizabeth. If there are times in which The Queen seems like a nimble high comedy or a strong, behind-the-scenes character drama, it’s mostly because of Mirren’s performance. She makes this film, and perhaps Frears, who is quite good at character dramas, deserves some credit for both helping Mirren find the character and for letting Mirren as Elizabeth define this film.

Mirren’s physical transformation as Elizabeth is stunning, and though we may credit some of that to makeup, the character performance is Mirren’s own. Every gesture – a turn of the head, a scowl, a frown, a quiet moment of reflection, a tear, or barked order at a subservient establishes this film’s mood, its setting, its overall character, and even moves the plot like no other element in The Queen. Mirren can take a tart comment and turn this movie into an impudent comedy. Just the manner in which she observes someone or something (the stag on the hunting grounds of her estate) can transform the movie into a grand drama about the life of a monarch.

Luckily, Mirren gives such a wonderful performance because, otherwise, The Queen is mediocre.

6 of 10
B

NOTES:
2007 Academy Awards: 1 win for “Best performance by an actress in a leading role” (Helen Mirren); 5 nominations: “Best achievement in costume design” (Consolata Boyle), “Best achievement in directing” (Stephen Frears), “Best achievement in music written for motion pictures, original score” (Alexandre Desplat), “Best motion picture of the year” (Andy Harries, Christine Langan, and Tracey Seaward), and “Best writing, original screenplay” (Peter Morgan)

2007 BAFTA Awards: 2 wins: “Best Actress in a Leading Role” (Helen Mirren) and “Best Film” (Tracey Seaward, Christine Langan, and Andy Harries; 8 nominations: “Alexander Korda Award for Best British Film” (Tracey Seaward, Christine Langan, Andy Harries, Stephen Frears, and Peter Morgan), “Anthony Asquith Award for Film Music” (Alexandre Desplat), “Best Actor in a Supporting Role” (Michael Sheen), “Best Costume Design” (Consolata Boyle), “Best Editing” (Lucia Zucchetti), “Best Make Up & Hair” (Daniel Phillips), “Best Screenplay – Original” (Peter Morgan), and “David Lean Award for Direction” (Stephen Frears)

2007 Golden Globes: 2 wins: “Best Performance by an Actress in a Motion Picture – Drama” (Helen Mirren) and “Best Screenplay - Motion Picture” (Peter Morgan); 2 nominations: “Best Director - Motion Picture” (Stephen Frears) and “Best Motion Picture – Drama”

Friday, April 27, 2007

"Marvel's The Avengers" Begins Production

MARVEL STUDIOS BEGINS PRODUCTION OF EPIC FEATURE “MARVEL’S THE AVENGERS”

Marvel Super Heroes Assemble To Commence Principal Photography In Preparation for May 4, 2012 Film Release

BURBANK, Calif. (April 26, 2011) -- Production has commenced today in Albuquerque, New Mexico on Marvel Studios’ highly anticipated movie “Marvel’s The Avengers,” directed by Joss Whedon (“Serenity”) from a screenplay by Whedon. The film will continue principal photography in Cleveland, Ohio and New York City. Robert Downey Jr. (“Iron Man,” “Iron Man 2”) returns as the iconic Tony Stark/Iron Man along with Chris Hemsworth (“Thor”) as Thor, Chris Evans (“Captain America: The First Avenger”) as Captain America, Jeremy Renner (“Thor,” “The Hurt Locker”) as Hawkeye, Mark Ruffalo (“The Kids Are Alright”) as Hulk, Scarlett Johansson (“Iron Man 2”) as Black Widow, Clark Gregg (“Iron Man,” “Thor”) as Agent Phil Coulson, and Samuel L. Jackson (“Iron Man,” “Iron Man 2”) as Nick Fury. Set for release in the US on May 4, 2012, “Marvel’s The Avengers” is the first feature to be fully owned, marketed and distributed by Disney, which acquired Marvel in 2009.

Continuing the epic big-screen adventures started in “Iron Man,” “The Incredible Hulk,” “Iron Man 2,” “Thor,” and “Captain America: The First Avenger,” “Marvel’s The Avengers” is the Super Hero team up of a lifetime. When an unexpected enemy emerges that threatens global safety and security, Nick Fury, Director of the international peacekeeping agency known as SHIELD, finds himself in need of a team to pull the world back from the brink of disaster.

Based on the ever-popular Marvel comic book series, first published in 1963, “Marvel’s The Avengers” brings together the mightiest Super Hero characters as they all assemble together on screen for the first time. The star studded cast of Super Heroes will be joined by Cobie Smulders (“How I Met Your Mother) as Agent Maria Hill of SHIELD, as well as Tom Hiddleston (“Wallander”) and Stellan Skarsgård (“Angels & Demons,” “Mamma Mia!”) who will both reprise their respective roles as Loki and Professor Erik Selvig from the upcoming MarvelStudios’ feature “Thor.”

“Marvel’s The Avengers” is being produced by Marvel Studios' President, Kevin Feige, and executive produced by Alan Fine, Stan Lee, Louis D’Esposito, Patty Whitcher, and Jon Favreau. Marvel Studios’ Jeremy Latcham and Victoria Alonso will co-produce.

The creative production team also includes Oscar® nominated director of photography Seamus McGarvey (“Atonement”), production designer James Chinlund (“25th Hour”), Oscar winning costume designer Alexandra Byrne (“Elizabeth: The Golden Age”), Oscar winning visual effects supervisor Janek Sirrs (“Iron Man 2,” “The Matrix”), visual effects producer Susan Pickett (“Iron Man,” “Iron Man 2”), stunt coordinator R.A. Rondell (“Superman Returns”), and four-time Oscar nominated special effects supervisor Dan Sudick (“Iron Man,” “War of the Worlds”). The editors include Oscar nominated Paul Rubell (“Collateral”) and Jeffrey Ford (“Crazy Heart”).

Marvel Studios most recently produced “Iron Man 2” which was released in theatres on May 7, 2010. The sequel to “Iron Man,” starring Robert Downey Jr. and Gwyneth Paltrow as well as Don Cheadle, Scarlett Johansson and Mickey Rourke, took the number one spot its first weekend with a domestic box office gross of $128.1 million. To date the film has earned over $620 million in worldwide box office receipts.

In the summer of 2008, Marvel produced the summer blockbuster movies, “Iron Man” and “The Incredible Hulk.” “Iron Man,” in which Robert Downey Jr. originally dons the Super Hero’s powerful armor alongside co-stars Terrence Howard, Jeff Bridges and Gwyneth Paltrow, was released May 2, 2008 and was an immediate box office success. Garnering the number one position for two weeks in a row, the film brought in over $100 million its opening weekend and grossed over $571 million worldwide. On June 13, 2008, Marvel released “The Incredible Hulk” marking its second number one opener of that summer. The spectacular revival of the iconic green goliath grossed over $250 million in worldwide box office receipts.


ABOUT MARVEL ENTERTAINMENT:
Marvel Entertainment, LLC, a wholly-owned subsidiary of The Walt Disney Company, is one of the world's most prominent character-based entertainment companies, built on a proven library of over 8,000 characters featured in a variety ofmedia over seventy years. Marvel utilizes its character franchises inentertainment, licensing and publishing. For more information visit http://www.marvel.com/.

Review: "The Visitor" Brings a Love of People

TRASH IN MY EYE No. 34 (of 2011) by Leroy Douresseaux

The Visitor (2008)
Running time: 104 minutes (1 hour, 44 minutes)
MPAA – PG-13 for brief strong language
WRITER/DIRECTOR: Thomas McCarthy
PRODUCERS: Michael London and Mary Jane Skalski
CINEMATOGRAPHER: Oliver Bokelberg (D.o.P.)
EDITOR: Tom McArdle
COMPOSER: Jan A.P. Kaczmarek
Academy Award nominee

DRAMA

Starring: Richard Jenkins, Haaz Sleiman, Danai Gurira, and Hiam Abbass

The Visitor is a 2008 drama written and directed by Thomas McCarthy. The film focuses on a lonely college professor whose life changes when he becomes wrapped up in the lives of a trio of undocumented immigrants. This forces him to deal with issues of immigration in post 9/11 New York City.

Widower Walter Vale (Richard Jenkins) is an economics professor living and working in Connecticut. He not only lives a solitary existence, but he is also somewhat estranged from this colleagues. Walter reluctantly travels to New York City to deliver a paper at a conference, but when he arrives at an apartment he maintains in Manhattan, he is surprised to find a young unmarried couple squatting there. They are Tarek Khalil (Haaz Sleiman), a Palestinian-Syrian who plays the djembe (a type of drum), and his girlfriend, Zainab (Danai Gurira), a designer of ethnic jewelry from Senegal.

Walter learns that Tarek and Zainab are illegal immigrants, but he lets them stay in his apartment while they look for another place to live. He develops a friendship with them, but that friendship is tested when Tarek is arrested and sent to a detention center in Queens for illegal immigrants. Tarek’s mother, Mouna (Hiam Abbass), comes to NYC, and Walter also bonds with her as they try to keep Tarek from being deported back to Syria.

Much of The Visitor is sad and melancholy, and Walter Vale’s loneliness and grief permeate this film. This is, however, not a bad thing because as Walter bounds with his new immigrant friends, we slowly, but gradually see glimpses of the happiness he once had. And it’s a pretty thing. Movies about people connecting and coming together can be beautiful, and this humanist tale finds joy and light even in disappointment and heartbreak.

Good performances abound, but, of course, Richard Jenkins, who earned an Oscar nod for his turn as Walter, is the standout. Jenkins augments the wonderful everyman quality he brings to his work with subtle expressions which turn Walter into a conundrum that viewers will want to unravel and The Visitor a movie they will want to see.

8 of 10
A

NOTES:
2009 Academy Awards: 1 nomination: “Best Performance by an Actor in a Leading Role” (Richard Jenkins)

2009 Image Awards: 1 nomination: “Outstanding Independent Motion Picture”

Wednesday, April 27, 2011

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The Avengers All-New Animated Series Now on DVD

The First 13 Episodes of Marvel’s All New Animated Series To Debut on DVD April 26, 2011

BURBANK, Calif., March 2, 2011 – When the forces of evil are so overwhelming that no single hero can save the world... the Avengers assemble! Featuring Iron Man, Thor, Captain America and The Hulk, fans can now own the first 13 episodes of The Avengers: Earth’s Mightiest Heroes! in two must-have, collectible DVD volumes, available April 26 by The Walt Disney Studios.

”the show unleashes enough action to be plenty mighty with boys” - Variety Magazine

The Avengers: Earth’s Mightiest Heroes! Volume 1 includes episodes 1-7 plus an exclusive look at the evolving characters and storyline of Season 2, and The Avengers: Earth’s Mightiest Heroes! Volume 2 includes episodes 8-13 plus another exclusive sneak peek at Season 2 that reveals what makes the Marvel Super Heroes and Villains so unique.

Featuring your favorite animated Super Heroes - Iron Man, Thor, Captain America, and The Hulk - The Avengers: Earth’s Mightiest Heroes! sees planet Earth threatened by Super Villains, time traveling conquerors, alien invaders, mythical beasts and rampaging robots -- all bent on the total destruction of humanity. Unfortunately against these impossible odds, no individual hero has the power to save the world and just when all appears to be hopeless, the most skilled champions in the Marvel universe join forces to form the mightiest Super Hero team in history. The Avengers come to the rescue when the fate of the world rests on their shoulders.

“It's all about the action, and "The Avengers: World's Mightiest Heroes" delivers” ComicBookResources.com

The Avengers: Earth’s Mightiest Heroes! stars the well-known voice talents of Rick D. Wasserman (Planet Hulk, Marvel Vs. Capcom 3, “House M.D.”) as Thor, Brian Bloom (The A Team, Marvel: Ultimate Alliance 2) as Captain America, Fred Tatasciore (Tron: Evolution, Hulk Vs., “Wolverine and the X-Men”) as The Hulk, Wally Wingert (“The Family Guy,” “The Tonight Show with Jay Leno”) as Ant Man, and Phil Lamarr (“Mad TV,” “Futurama”) as Jarvis.

EPISODES:
Volume 1 Episodes:
1. Iron Man Is Born!
2. Thor The Mighty
3. Hulk Versus The World
4. Meet Captain America
5. The Man in the Ant Hill
6. Breakout: Part 1
7. Breakout: Part 2

Volume 2 Episodes:
8. Some Assembly Required
9. Living Legend
10. Everything Is Wonderful
11. Panther’s Quest
12. Gamma World: Part1
13. Gamma World: Part 2

DISC SPECIFICIATION:
Street Date: April 26, 2011
Suggested Retail Price:
Volume 1 - Single Disc DVD = $19.99 U.S.
Volume 2 - Single Disc DVD = $19.99 U.S.
Rated: TV-Y7 (*Bonus materials not rated)
Run Time:
Volume 1 - Approximately 154 minutes (seven 22-minute episodes)
Volume 2 - Approximately 132 minutes (six 22-minute episodes)
Aspect Ratio: 1.78:1 (16x9 widescreen)
Sound: Languages:
English 5.1 Dolby Digital Sound English & Spanish


ABOUT MARVEL ENTERTAINMENT, LLC
Marvel Entertainment, LLC, a wholly-owned subsidiary of The Walt Disney Company, is one of the world's most prominent character-based entertainment companies, built on a proven library of over 8,000 characters featured in a variety of media over seventy years. Marvel utilizes its character franchises in entertainment, licensing and publishing. For more information visit http://www.marvel.com/.

ABOUT THE WALT DISNEY STUDIOS:
For more than 85 years, The Walt Disney Studios has been the foundation on which The Walt Disney Company (DIS: NYSE) was built. Today, the Studio brings quality movies, music and stage plays to consumers throughout the world. Feature films are released under four banners: Walt Disney Pictures, which includes Walt Disney Animation Studios and Pixar Animation Studios, Disneynature, Touchstone Pictures and Marvel. Through the Home Entertainment division, innovative distribution methods provide access to creative content across multiple platforms. Original music and motion picture soundtracks are produced under Walt Disney Records and Hollywood Records, while Disney Theatrical Group produces and licenses live events, including Broadway theatrical productions, Disney on Ice and Disney LIVE! For more information, please visit www.disney.com. These press materials are available in electronic form at http://www.wdshepublicity.com/.


Marvel The Avengers: Earth's Mightiest Heroes, Vol. 1

Review: Mediocre "The One" Has Lots of Good Jet Li (Happy 'B'day, Jet Li)

TRASH IN MY EYE No. 10 (of 2001) by Leroy Douresseaux

The One (2001)
Running time: 87 minutes (1 hour, 27 minutes)
MPAA – PG-13 intense action violence and some language
DIRECTOR: James Wong
WRITERS: Glen Morgan and James Wong
PRODUCERS: Steven Chasman, Glen Morgan, Charles Newirth, and James Wong
CINEMATOGRAPHER: Robert McLachlan
EDITOR: James Coblentz
COMPOSER: Trevor Rabin

SCI-FI/ACTION/MARTIAL ARTS

Starring: Jet Li, Carla Gugino, Delroy Lindo, Jason Statham, and James Morrison

Longtime television writer (“X-Files,” “Millennium,” “Space: Above and Beyond”), James Wong begins his sci-fi, action-adventure movie, The One on an alternate earth where Al Gore is President of the United States (which elicited some delighted clapping from the audience with whom I saw the film). Within minutes of that opening, an unbelievable fast and powerful villain has killed a convict who looks exactly like him. After a protracted chase, two armed men Roedecker (Delroy Lindo) and Funsch (Jason Stratham), apprehend the super criminal.

We then learn that he is Yulaw (Jet Li), a former cop like Roedecker and Funsch, who has been killing alternate versions of himself. The universe is actually a multiverse, several universes instead of one. Yulaw finds his other universe opposites and kills them, thereby absorbing some of their energies. When he kills the last one, number 124, he may become like a god.

Cut to “our” world, Yulaw’s earth-twin, number 124, is a sheriff’s deputy named Gabriel (Jet Li again) happily married to his soul mate T.K. (Carla Gugino). When Yulaw intrudes upon Gabriel’s world, he finds that Gabriel has also absorbed the power of the other 123 versions of himself that Yulaw killed. Confused and unsure of Funsch as an ally, Gabriel must stop Yulaw without killing him lest Gabriel himself become a god and endanger all of existence.

When one views a Jet Li movie, one hopes to see the man who moves like a dance artist; in his body, the martial arts are indeed a performance art, and gymnastics are a fatal, beautiful craft. Like Jackie Chan, his body bubbles with enthusiasm. Both their screen gifts are not in the craft of how an actor uses language, but in emotions, exaggerated facial expressions, and movement. They both recall the film greats from the silent era and the golden age of Hollywood, Buster Keaton and Charlie Chaplin. They do have a major difference.

Whereas Chan is a comedian, Li is hardcore action star. Imagine a pint sized Clint Eastwood who uses his hands and feet rather than a big, phallic pistol. Picture a Bruce Willis hero with the charmed nine lives of a cat that uses Far Eastern methods of self-defense over a pistol. Best of all, filmgoers get a fine heir to the Bruce Lee film hero.

Li, who was the wildcard in Lethal Weapon 4, doesn’t need a great script or director behind him; he is the movie. He gets neither in The One. Wong and Glen Morgan’s script is standard sci-fi claptrap, and Wong is a serviceable director who at least manages to capture dynamic movement of his star. Still, the story does occasionally get in the way of Li’s brilliance. Having to balance the nonsensical, fantastic elements draws the audience’s attention away from Li. Worm holes, black holes, and psuedo physics get in the way. We don’t need the science, but the fiction of this impossible superman played by a gifted screen actor is just what we want.

Delroy Lindo’s (Li’s co-star in Romeo Must Die) enormous talents are usually wasted or ignored in supporting roles, but it’s good to see him, even in a bad part. At least he got this job; it easily could have gone to a white actor. Stratham is an odd piece here as he was in John Carpenter’s Ghosts of Mars. So far he has only really seemed a good fit in Guy Ritchie’s Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels and Snatch, but like Lindo, it’s fun to watch him most anytime.

See The One for its star, and forget the phony plot and sci-fi trappings, watching Li is a privilege.

5 of 10
C+

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"East Fifth Bliss" Opens 12th Annual Newport Beach Film Festival

World Premiere of "EAST FIFTH BLISS" Starring Michael C. Hall, Lucy Liu and Peter Fonda to Kick Off 12th Annual Newport Beach Film Festival

NEWPORT BEACH, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--The 2011 Newport Beach Film Festival (NBFF) proudly announces the World Premiere of EAST FIFTH BLISS as its Opening Night film. The Gala red carpet screening of EAST FIFTH BLISS will take place on Thursday, April 28th, 2011 at 7:30pm at Edwards Big Newport (300 Newport Center Drive), followed by a Q&A with the cast and crew. The Opening Night Gala reception will take place at Fashion Island (401 Newport Center Drive). The 12th annual NBFF will run from April 28th - May 5th, 2011.

EAST FIFTH BLISS stars Golden Globe® winner Michael C. Hall (Dexter), Lucy Liu (Charlie's Angels), Academy Award® nominee Peter Fonda (Easy Rider), Chris Messina (Vicky Cristina Barcelona), Brie Larson (Scott Pilgrim vs. The World), Brad William Henke (Choke) and Sarah Shahi (Fairly Legal).

EAST FIFTH BLISS (2011, USA, 97 minutes) is a comedy / drama about 35 year-old Morris Bliss who is clamped in the jaws of New York City inertia: he wants to travel, but has no money; he needs a job, but has no prospects; he still shares an apartment with his widowed father; and perhaps worst of all, the premature death of his mother still lingers and has left him emotionally walled up. When he finds himself wrapped up in an awkward relationship with the sexually precocious daughter of a former high school classmate, Morris quickly discovers his static life comically unraveling and opening up in ways that are long overdue. (Not yet rated, but anticipated to be PG-13)

EAST FIFTH BLISS, filmmaker Michael Knowles's third narrative feature, is an adaptation of the novel of the same title by author Douglas Light. The book won the "Benjamin Franklin Popular Fiction" award in 2007. EAST FIFTH BLISS is co-written for the screen by Douglas Light and Michael Knowles, and produced by John Ramos and Michael Knowles of 7A Productions and John Will of Torn Sky Entertainment.

“I am thrilled Newport Beach Film Festival chose EAST FIFTH BLISS as the opening night film of this year’s festival. It feels good to have such a prestigious festival support and believe in our film. I'm looking forward to sitting in the amazing opening night theater and experiencing East Fifth Bliss with 1100 people, because for me, that's what it's all about,” stated director Michael Knowles.

Cast and crew from EAST FIFTH BLISS are scheduled to appear at the red carpet and screening. Press check in will be from 5:30pm - 6:30pm and red carpet arrivals will take place from 6:30pm - 7:30pm. The screening will commence at 7:30pm. All press must be credentialed prior to covering the Opening Night event. Press can register for credentials online at www.NewportBeachFilmFest.com.

Following the screening, the Festival, in partnership with Fashion Island and Esquire Magazine, will host an Opening Night Gala at Fashion Island. The Gala will feature culinary tastings from over twenty-five of Orange County’s premier restaurants, a runway fashion show spotlighting the latest looks from several of Fashion Island's top retailers including Neiman Marcus, Bloomingdale's and Nordstrom and a hosted bar provided by Absolut Vodka, Stella Artois and Perrier.

Tickets to the Opening Night screening and Gala are $125 each and are now available at http://www.newportbeachfilmfest.com/. Patrons can also purchase tickets to the Opening Night Gala for $80 each. Dress is black tie optional. Guests must be at least 21 years old.

The Newport Beach Film Festival will showcase over 400 films from over 45 countries and host nightly special events, red carpet galas, compelling conversations with filmmakers, international spotlight events and seminars. The Festival offers filmgoers unique opportunities to mingle with celebrities, filmmakers from around the globe and film industry professionals in a beautiful seaside locale.

The NBFF is sponsored in part by Absolut Vodka, Fashion Island, Regal Entertainment Group, Newport Lexus, Los Angeles Times, Time Warner Cable, and the City of Newport Beach.

Passes and tickets for film screenings, galas and special events are currently on sale. To purchase tickets and for information about the Newport Beach Film Festival visit http://www.newportbeachfilmfest.com/.

About the Newport Beach Film Festival
Celebrated as one of the leading lifestyle film festivals in the United States, the Newport Beach Film Festival seeks to bring to Orange County the best of classic and contemporary filmmaking from around the world. Committed to enlightening the public with a first-class international film program, a forum for cultural understanding and enriching educational opportunities, the NBFF focuses on showcasing a diverse collection of studio and independent films from around the globe. The 12th annual Newport Beach Film Festival runs April 28th - May 5th and will spotlight over 350 films from around the world.

Review: "Bridget Jones: The Edge of Reason" is Better Than the Original (Happy B'day, Renee Zellweger)

TRASH IN MY EYE No. 237 (of 2004) by Leroy Douresseaux

Bridget Jones: The Edge of Reason (2004)
Running time: 108 minutes (1 hour, 48 minutes)
MPAA – R for some language and some sexual content
DIRECTOR: Beeban Kidron
WRITERS: Andrew Davies, Richard Curtis, Adam Brooks, and Helen Fielding (based upon the novel of the same title by Helen Fielding)
PRODUCERS: Tim Bevan, Jonathan Cavendish, and Eric Fellner
CINEMATOGRAPHER: Adrian Biddle and Doug Propp
EDITOR: Greg Hayden
Golden Globe nominee

COMEDY/ROMANCE with elements of drama

Starring: Renée Zellweger, Hugh Grant, Colin Firth, Gemma Jones, Jim Broadbent, and Jacinda Barrett

Bridget Jones’s Diary was a comic romance – a romantic film with a huge helping of humor. The 2004 sequel, Bridget Jones: The Edge of Reason, is a romantic comedy – a thoroughly comic film that deals with romance. Taking place several weeks after the end of the original film, The Edge of Reason should find Bridget Jones (Renée Zellweger) happy, right?

She found her Mr. Right in Mark Darcy (Colin Firth) by the end of Diary, but as Edge begins Bridget discovers that the couple has huge cultural, social, and personality conflicts. Mark is a conservative who has poor people-hating, rich Tory friends. Bridget is full of insecurities, although Mark is supportive and (almost) tolerant of Bridget’s tiny jealousies. However, the trouble comes to a head when Bridget meets Mark’s leggy new intern, Rebecca (Jacinda Barrett). Rebecca is thin, oh-so-young, drop-dead gorgeous, and she always says the right thing at the right time. Fed up with what she perceives as Mark’s cold lack of concern about their future together she dumps him. Just in time, her old flame, old boss, and eternal cad, Daniel Cleaver (Hugh Grant), sweeps in and to become Bridget’s new co-worker. Their television partnership eventually takes them to Thailand in what becomes the worst vacation Bridget ever had. Will Mark come to her rescue… and rescue of their relationship?

Bridget Jones: The Edge of Reason is one of the funniest movies of the year, the funniest movie Ms. Zellweger has done to date, and funnier (though not as romantic) than the original. Ms. Zellweger gives one of the finest comic performances in recent years; it’s part slapstick and part physical comedy (lots of pratfalls). Not only did she have to give near perfect timing on the delivery of her dialogue, but also her facial ticks and mannerisms had to perfectly fit the moment, which they always do in this film.

Colin Firth didn’t bring anything new to the second film, but he didn’t need to change what he did in the original film. His film persona is endearing (even when he plays the bad guy, as he did in Shakespeare in Love); Firth makes Mark Darcy as he must be – perfectly so to explain Bridget’s craziness about their relationship. Hugh Grant is cut from the classic mold of old Hollywood. He’s a star known for “playing himself.” He is however, vastly underrated, because of his skill in slightly modifying the same character (he plays every time) to flawlessly fit each new film in which the character appears. Virtually every classic Hollywood film star from Humphrey Bogart to James Stewart did this, and Grant’s spin on his film persona is another reason Bridget Jones: The Edge of Reason is not only better than the original, but also a standout comedy.

8 of 10
A

NOTES:
2005 Golden Globes: 1 nomination: “Best Performance by an Actress in a Motion Picture - Musical or Comedy” (Renée Zellweger)

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