And a Happy Mother's Day! to all the mothers, daughters, sisters, aunts and to the baby mamas and the baby mama's mamas and the baby mama's mama's mamas... mama's mamas
Seriously, Happy Mother's Day.
Sunday, May 8, 2011
Saturday, May 7, 2011
"Skyline" No "Independence Day"
TRASH IN MY EYE No. 38 (of 2011) by Leroy Douresseaux
Skyline (2010)
Running time: 94 minutes (1 hour, 34 minutes)
MPAA – PG-13 for sequences of intense sci-fi action and violence, some language, and brief sexual content
DIRECTORS: The Brothers Strause
WRITERS: Joshua Cordes and Liam O'Donnell
PRODUCERS: Kristian James Andresen, Liam O'Donnell, and Colin Strause and Greg Strause
CINEMATOGRAPHER: Michael Watson (D.o.P.)
EDITOR: Nicholas Wayman-Harris
COMPOSER: Matthew Margeson
SCI-FI/ACTION
Starring: Eric Balfour, Scottie Thompson, Brittany Daniel, Crystal Reed, Neil Hopkins, David Zayas, Robin Gammell, and Donald Faison
Skyline is a 2010 alien invasion film from Colin and Greg Strause. Known as the Brothers Strause, the siblings directed Aliens vs. Predator: Requiem. They also own the visual effects company, Hydraulx, which has created special effects for films like 300, The Day After Tomorrow, and Terminator 3: Rise of the Machines.
Skyline follows New York City-based artist, Jarrod (Eric Balfour), and his girlfriend, Elaine (Scottie Thompson). The two are traveling to Los Angeles for the birthday party of Terry (Donald Faison), Jarrod’s best friend who runs a successful movie special effects company. After a night of wild partying, Jarrod and company awaken to discover Terry’s apartment filled with a mysterious blue light. The origin of the light is an alien invasion. Monstrous alien ships hover over the city and are vacuuming up thousands of people. Jarrod and friends stick together to survive and plot a way to escape while the alien machines pick them off one by one.
Skyline has some wonderful visual special and creature effects. The film seems to be a mixture of ideas from George Pal’s The War of the Worlds (1953) and Independence Day (1996). There is some Oscar-worthy visual effects work here, but even this dazzling light show cannot blind the viewer to Skyline’s glaring problems – a poor cast and even poorer characters.
I don’t want to dog the actors, but they don’t inspire interest or even engage what interest you might have for this flick. The one actor who could do this film some good, Donald Faison, isn’t in the movie for very long. The rest of the actors have no star power and their acting isn’t bad – it’s just lackluster. The characters are just deadwood and driftwood. The writers merely hint at their personalities, professions, and interests, but abandon that when its time for the invasion theatrics to begin.
You may find yourself begging for more science fiction/alien stuff, especially during the moments when the movie focuses on the characters. Skyline is half a really good alien invasion movie, and the other half is pure tedium.
5 of 10
C+
Saturday, May 07, 2011
Friday, May 6, 2011
Tommy Lee Jones Among Actors Slated for Steven Spielberg's "Lincoln"
Steven Spielberg Adds Key Members to His "Lincoln" Cast
Tommy Lee Jones Among Those Joining DreamWorks Studios Film About Abraham Lincoln
LOS ANGELES--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Tommy Lee Jones, Joseph Gordon-Levitt, Hal Holbrook, James Spader, John Hawkes, Tim Blake Nelson, Bruce McGill and Joseph Cross are in negotiations to join the cast of DreamWorks Studios' "Lincoln," it was announced today by DreamWorks partners Steven Spielberg and Stacey Snider. Also in negotiations to join the film are David Costabile, Byron Jennings, Dakin Matthews, Boris McGiver, Gloria Reuben, Jeremy Strong, and David Warshofsky. This group joins the previously announced casting of Daniel Day-Lewis and Sally Field in the Spielberg directed film about the 16th President of the United States.
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.
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.
Oscar winner Tommy Lee Jones will play Thaddeus Stevens, a Republican leader and powerful congressman from Pennsylvania in the U.S. House of Representatives. Stevens was a staunch supporter of abolishing slavery and was critical to writing the legislation that funded the American Civil War.
Joseph Gordon-Levitt, known for his roles in "Inception," "(500) Days of Summer," and next year's "The Dark Knight Rises," will take on the role of Robert Todd Lincoln, eldest son of President Lincoln and the only one to live past his teenage years.
Other announced cast will take on various supporting roles in the film.
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 in Virginia 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 “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.
Tommy Lee Jones Among Those Joining DreamWorks Studios Film About Abraham Lincoln
LOS ANGELES--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Tommy Lee Jones, Joseph Gordon-Levitt, Hal Holbrook, James Spader, John Hawkes, Tim Blake Nelson, Bruce McGill and Joseph Cross are in negotiations to join the cast of DreamWorks Studios' "Lincoln," it was announced today by DreamWorks partners Steven Spielberg and Stacey Snider. Also in negotiations to join the film are David Costabile, Byron Jennings, Dakin Matthews, Boris McGiver, Gloria Reuben, Jeremy Strong, and David Warshofsky. This group joins the previously announced casting of Daniel Day-Lewis and Sally Field in the Spielberg directed film about the 16th President of the United States.
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.
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.
Oscar winner Tommy Lee Jones will play Thaddeus Stevens, a Republican leader and powerful congressman from Pennsylvania in the U.S. House of Representatives. Stevens was a staunch supporter of abolishing slavery and was critical to writing the legislation that funded the American Civil War.
Joseph Gordon-Levitt, known for his roles in "Inception," "(500) Days of Summer," and next year's "The Dark Knight Rises," will take on the role of Robert Todd Lincoln, eldest son of President Lincoln and the only one to live past his teenage years.
Other announced cast will take on various supporting roles in the film.
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 in Virginia 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 “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.
Review: Kenneth Branagh Makes Much Magic in "Much Ado About Nothing"
Much Ado About Nothing (1993)
Running time: 110 minutes (1 hour, 50 minutes)
MPAA – PG-13
DIRECTOR: Kenneth Branagh
WRITER: Kenneth Branagh (adapted for the screen from Much Ado About Nothing by William Shakespeare)
PRODUCERS: Stephen Evan, David Parfitt, and Branagh
CINEMATOGRAPHER: Roger Lanser
EDITOR: Andrew Marcus
BAFTA nominee
COMEDY/ROMANCE with elements of drama, music, and musical
Starring: Kenneth Branagh, Michael Keaton, Robert Sean Leonard, Keanu Reeves, Emma Thompson, and Denzel Washington, Richard Briers, Kate Beckinsale, Brian Blessed, Imelda Staunton, Jimmy Yuill, Phyllida Law, Richard Clifford, and Gerard Horan
Kenneth Branagh earned two Oscar-nominations (acting and directing) for his 1989 film, Henry V, a screen adaptation of William Shakespeare’s stage drama. Branagh brought the Bard back to the screen for a second time under his direction with the 1993 film, Much Ado About Nothing, which received a 1993 Golden Globe nomination for Best Motion Picture – Comedy/Musical (and an Independent Spirit Award nom for “Best Feature”).
A high-spirited tale of love, mistaken identity, and bawdy humor, Much Ado About Nothing is set in Messina (Sicily), where hot-bloodied youth, Claudio (Robert Sean Leonard), is engaged to marry a beautiful young woman named Hero (Kate Beckinsale). Claudio is so anxious to wed that his best friend, Don Pedro (Denzel Washington), devises some mischief to distract Claudio. Don Pedro concocts a romantic trap for Hero’s cousin, the sharp-tongued Beatrice (Emma Thompson, Independent Spirit Award nomination for “Best Female Lead”) and the man she most loves to hate, Benedick (Kenneth Branagh). However, amusement turns to horror, scandal, and tragedy by the hand of Don Pedro’s rakish brother, Don John (Keanu Reeves), who schemes to destroy the engagement and marriage of Claudio and Hero. Can the chance intervention of the local law, Dogberry (Michael Keaton), restore the love and laughter to this circle of friends?
It’s almost hard to believe, but Much Ado About Nothing manages to be ravishing entertainment, engaging brain food, and a finely crafted costume drama in only 102 minutes of screen time. It’s a sexy, joyous romp filmed with delightful rudeness, playful sexual innuendo, and the sun-drenched charm of its shooting location (Chianti, Toscana, Central Italy). It takes an attentive ear (and more patience than many moviegoers are willing to give) to hear every Shakespearean word and turn of a phrase, but the cast’s exuberant delivery of the Bard’s masterful language is… well, masterful.
If the good acting weren’t enough (Branagh and Emma Thompson actually outshine the rest of this talented cast of movie stars and fine character actors), this exuberant production is filled with lively songs, musical numbers, and a soaring life-giving score. If you like Shakespeare on the big screen, this is a gift for you. If you never believed that Shakespeare could be so funny and sexy, Branagh and his cohorts will convert you into a true believer.
8 of 10
A
NOTES:
1994 BAFTA Awards: 1 nomination: “Best Costume Design” (Phyllis Dalton)
1993 Cannes Film Festival: 1 nomination: “Palme d'Or” (Kenneth Branagh)
1994 Golden Globes: 1 nomination: “Best Motion Picture - Comedy/Musical”
1994 Razzie Award: 1 nomination: “Worst Supporting Actor” (Keanu Reeves)
Happy Birthday, Sarah
Belated, of course. I always miss these - even with a Microsoft Office Calendar reminder.
Sad, this boy is - Yoda.
Sad, this boy is - Yoda.
Thursday, May 5, 2011
About This Movie: THOR
Paramount Pictures and Marvel Entertainment Present
A Marvel Studios Production
A Kenneth Branagh Film
“Thor”
Co‐Producers: Craig Kyle Victoria Alonso
Executive Producers: Alan Fine Stan Lee David Maisel Patricia Whitcher Louis D’Esposito
Produced by Kevin Feige
Story by J. Michael Straczynski and Mark Protosevich
Screenplay by Ashley Edward Miller & Zack Stentz and Don Payne
Directed by Kenneth Branagh
Cast: Chris Hemsworth, Natalie Portman, Tom Hiddleston, Stellan Skarsgård, Colm Feore, Ray Stevenson, Idris Elba, Kat Dennings, Jaimie Alexander, Josh Dallas, Tadanobu Asano, Clark Gregg, with Rene Russo and Anthony Hopkins as Odin
Synopsis:
The epic adventure THOR spans the Marvel Universe from present day Earth to the mystical realm of Asgard. At the center of the story is The Mighty Thor, a powerful but arrogant warrior whose reckless actions reignite an ancient war. As a result, Thor is banished to Earth where he is forced to live among humans. When the most dangerous villain of his world sends its darkest forces to invade Earth, Thor learns what it takes to be a true hero.
Release: May 6, 2011
THOR has been rated PG-13 for sequences of intense sci-fi action and violence
Thor by Walter Simonson Omnibus
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