Review: Original "TRON" Still Impresses

TRASH IN MY EYE No. 48 (of 2011) by Leroy Douresseaux

Tron (1982)
Running time: 96 minutes (1 hour, 36 minutes)
MPAA – PG
DIRECTOR: Steven Lisberger
WRITERS: Steven Lisberger; from a story by Steven Lisberger and Bonnie MacBird
PRODUCER: Donald Kushner
CINEMATOGRAPHER: Bruce Logan
EDITOR: Jeff Gourson
COMPOSER: Wendy Carlos
Academy Award nominee

SCI-FI/FANTASY/ACTION

Starring: Jeff Bridges, Bruce Boxleitner, David Warner, Cindy Morgan, Barnard Hughes, Dan Shor, and Peter Jurasik

First released in 1982, Tron is a science fiction film from Walt Disney Pictures. Written and director by Steven Lisberger and produced by Donald Kushner, it is considered a landmark and a milestone (especially in the computer animation industry). Tron was one of the first films from a major studio to make extensive use of computer graphics and was also one of the first to make extensive use of computer animation.

The film focuses on Kevin Flynn (Jeff Bridges), a gifted young software engineer who used to work for the software company, ENCOM. Flynn has been attempting to hack into ENCOM’s mainframe to get evidence that a senior executive, Ed Dillinger (David Warner), stole Flynn’s code for several now-popular arcade games before firing him. Flynn is blocked by the Master Control Program (MCP), an artificial intelligence that controls the mainframe and also steals other programs.

Flynn’s former coworkers, ENCOM employees, Alan Bradley (Bruce Boxleitner) and Lora Baines (Cindy Morgan), tell Flynn that Dillinger has tightened security clearances. Bradley, however, has created a security program called, “Tron,” which would monitor communications between the Master Control Program and the outside world. Bradley and Baines help Flynn get inside the ENCOM’s building so that Flynn can help the Tron program. During Flynn’s hack, MCP uses a nearby laser to digitize Flynn and transport him into the mainframe.

Inside the mainframe is a Digital World where Programs appear in the likenesses of their creators (called “Users”). The programs also fight each other in gladiatorial events, including Light Cycle races. Flynn joins the Program named Tron (Bruce Boxleitner) in a race to stop the MCP. But to beat the MCP, Flynn will have to race across a digital landscape that is like nothing he has ever seen or experienced.

Considering that computers and animation played the largest part in bringing it to life, Tron is surprisingly engaging, even warm. The story is slight, but the humanity of the characters shines through the technological light show. Especially in the Digital World, the plight of the characters often comes through, allowing the viewers to get, at the very least, a small look at their personalities and quirks. Tron is not all razzle-dazzle, nor is it ultimately empty like so many of the special effects and computer-created extravaganzas that have come since Tron first appeared in theatres.

Tron may have been considered ahead of its time, but looking back on it now, this movie still amazes. The film still looks as if it could not have been created back in the late 1970s and early 1980s. Tron still looks like nothing before or after it. Director Steve Lisberger, producer Donald Kushner, and their collaborators made something special – something new that captured audiences’ attentions and even captured the imaginations of some of them. And 30 years on, Tron is still fun.

8 of 10
A

NOTES:
1983 Academy Awards: 2 nominations: “Best Costume Design” (Eloise Jensson and Rosanna Norton) and “Best Sound” (Michael Minkler, Bob Minkler, Lee Minkler, and James LaRue)

1983 BAFTA Awards: 1 nomination: “Best Special Visual Effects” (Richard Taylor and Harrison Ellenshaw)

Tuesday, June 07, 2011

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New Sylvester Stallone Movie Begins Filming in Louisiana

Dark Castle Entertainment to Partner with IM Global and After Dark Films on New Sylvester Stallone Action Thriller

- The project re-teams producer Joel Silver with Stallone and with director Walter Hill -

BURBANK, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Dark Castle Entertainment will partner with IM Global and After Dark Films on director Walter Hill’s upcoming action thriller starring Sylvester Stallone, it was announced today jointly by the three companies.

The film is scheduled to begin production on location in Louisiana later this month and will be distributed domestically by Warner Bros. Pictures, under its ongoing arrangement with Dark Castle.

Based on the graphic novel Bullet to the Head, written by Matz and illustrated by Colin Wilson, it tells the story of a New Orleans hitman (Stallone) and a New York City cop who form an alliance to bring down the killers of their respective partners.

Joel Silver, Chairman of Dark Castle Entertainment, previously produced the Stallone films “Demolition Man” and “Assassins.” He says, “Sylvester Stallone is an iconic action star the world over and I’m thrilled to be working with him again. I look forward to joining with IM Global and After Dark in bringing this exciting new story to the screen.”

Says IM Global CEO Stuart Ford, “Joel and his Dark Castle team are the perfect partners to help steer a project like this successfully forward and we’re delighted to have them onboard, as well as having Warner Bros. as the U.S. distribution home for the film.”

Silver’s previous creative collaborations with veteran director Hill include the box-office hit “48 Hours,” “Warriors” and HBO’s long-running “Tales from the Crypt.”

The new film, a Warner Bros. Pictures presentation, in association with Dark Castle Entertainment, IM Global and After Dark Films, also features rising star Sung Kang (“Fast Five,” “Ninja Assassin”) in a key supporting role. Additionally serving as producers will be Alexandra Milchan, Miles Millar, Alfred Gough, Kevin King-Templeton and Andrew Rona. Stuart Ford, Brian Kavanaugh-Jones, Deepak Nayar, Courtney Solomon, Allan Zeman and Steve Richards will executive produce.

Review: "Holes" is a Winning Mystery Film (Happy B'day, Shia LaBeouf)

TRASH IN MY EYE No. 117 (of 2005) by Leroy Douresseaux


Holes (2003)
Running time: 117 minutes (1 hour, 57 minutes)
MPAA – PG for violence, mild language, and some thematic elements
DIRECTOR: Andrew Davis
WRITERS: Louis Sachar (based upon his novel)
PRODUCERS: Mike Medavoy, Lowell Blank, Teresa Tucker-Davies, and Andrew Davis
CINEMATOGRAPHER: Stephen St. John
EDITORS: Tom Nordberg and Jeffrey Wolfe, A.C.E.

DRAMA/FAMILY/MYSTERY with elements of adventure and comedy

Starring: Shia LaBeouf, Sigourney Weaver, Jon Voight, Patricia Arquette, Tim Blake Nelson, Dulé Hill, Khelo Thomas, Jake M. Smith, Byron Cotton, Max Kasch, Miguel Castro, Brenden Jefferson, Henry Winkler, Siobhan Fallon, Nathan Davis, Rick Fox, and Eartha Kitt

Stanley Yelnats (Shia LaBeouf) is dogged by the bad luck stemming from an old curse on the Yelnats, and it gets him in trouble with the law when he’s wrongly accused of stealing the prized shoes of an athlete named Sweet Feet (Rick Fox). For this, a judge sends Stanley to Camp Green Lake, a very weird work camp for male juvenile offenders that isn’t very green and isn’t a lake; it seems that Green Lake may also be laboring under a curse.

At the camp, he meets a colorful cast of campmates, and like them, he has to dig a hole a day to keep The Warden (Sigourney Weaver) and her henchmen, Mr. Sir (Jon Voight) and Dr. Pendanski (Tim Blake Nelson) at bay. There is, however, more to digging those holes than just the character building Mr. Sir says digging gives a boy. Stanley’s family history is somehow tied to incidents that happened a century ago where Camp Green Lake stands today, and Stanley and his new friend, Hector Zeroni or “Zero” (Khelo Thomas) are going to solve that old mystery, even if it gets them in trouble with The Warden and endangers their lives.

In Holes, the star of the film is not the setting, although the rundown camp and desert add a sense of foreboding and mystery to the film. The star is also not the story, which is intriguing with its twists and turns, interconnectedness with the past, and the fact that characters from the past are related to some in the present. Holes’ star, its center of radiance, is then-16-year old Shia LaBeouf, although his name was fourth on the marquee, behind the better-known adult actors. Shia drives this film, and the narrative sometimes drifts when it shifts away from him, especially when it shifts to the past. Shia epitomizes the average kid who rises to the challenge – a Harry Potter type, and that talent is this film’s charm.

I liked the central mystery and Holes’ resounding message about family and legacy. The mild turn of the 20th-century romance, that happens in a series of flashbacks during Stanley’s time at the camp, can feel a little jagged (because it was such a dangerous thing for two people to do), but the romance only adds to this Holes’ sense of peril and risk. Tim Blake Nelson stands out amongst the adult cast, and it’s always good to see Sigourney Weaver on the big screen. The rest of the boys in the camp seem woefully underutilized, but even their relatively small parts help to make Holes a compelling family drama and a winning juvenile mystery.

7 of 10
A-

July 19, 2005

Critics' Choice Television Award Nominees Announced

BTJA Announces Nominations for First Critics’ Choice Television Awards

LOS ANGELES--(BUSINESS WIRE)--The Broadcast Television Journalists Association (BTJA), a new offshoot of the Broadcast Film Critics Association, today announced nominations for the inaugural Critics’ Choice Television Awards, hosted by Cat Deeley and scheduled to take place at a luncheon at the Beverly Hills Hotel on June 20, 2011.

ABC was the most nominated broadcast network with 16 nominations, followed closely by NBC with 12. AMC and FX led nominations for cable networks, with nine each. Modern Family was the most nominated series with six.

Best Drama Series
Boardwalk Empire - HBO
Dexter - Showtime
Friday Night Lights - DirecTV
Fringe - FOX
Game of Thrones - HBO
The Good Wife - CBS
Justified - FX
The Killing - AMC
Mad Men - AMC
The Walking Dead - AMC

Best Actor in a Drama Series
Steve Buscemi - Boardwalk Empire - HBO
Kyle Chandler - Friday Night Lights - DirecTV
Michael C. Hall - Dexter - Showtime
Jon Hamm - Mad Men - AMC
William H. Macy - Shameless - Showtime
Timothy Olyphant - Justified - FX

Best Actress in a Drama Series
Connie Britton - Friday Night Lights - DirecTV
Mireille Enos - The Killing - AMC
Julianna Margulies - The Good Wife - CBS
Elisabeth Moss - Mad Men - AMC
Katey Sagal - Sons of Anarchy - FX
Anna Torv - Fringe - FOX

Best Supporting Actor in a Drama Series
Alan Cumming - The Good Wife - CBS
Walton Goggins - Justified - FX
Shawn Hatosy - Southland - TNT
John Noble - Fringe - FOX
Michael Pitt - Boardwalk Empire - HBO
John Slattery - Mad Men - AMC

Best Supporting Actress in a Drama Series
Michelle Forbes - The Killing - AMC
Christina Hendricks - Mad Men - AMC
Margo Martindale - Justified - FX
Kelly Macdonald - Boardwalk Empire - HBO
Archie Panjabi - The Good Wife - CBS
Chloë Sevigny - Big Love - HBO

Best Reality Series
Extreme Makeover: Home Edition - ABC
Hoarders - A&E
The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills - Bravo
Sister Wives - TLC
Undercover Boss - CBS

Best Reality Series – Competition
The Amazing Race - CBS
American Idol - FOX
Dancing with the Stars - ABC
Project Runway - Lifetime
RuPaul’s Drag Race - Logo
Top Chef - Bravo

Best Reality Show Host
Tom Bergeron - Dancing with the Stars - ABC
Cat Deeley - So You Think You Can Dance - FOX
Ty Pennington - Extreme Makeover: Home Edition - ABC
Mike Rowe - Dirty Jobs - Discovery
Ryan Seacrest - American Idol - FOX

Best Talk Show
Chelsea Lately - E!
The Daily Show - Comedy Central
The Ellen DeGeneres Show - Warner Bros.
Jimmy Kimmel Live! - ABC
The Oprah Winfrey Show - Harpo

Best Comedy Series
Archer - FX
The Big Bang Theory - CBS
Community - NBC
Glee - FOX
Louie - FX
The Middle - ABC
Modern Family - ABC
The Office - NBC
Parks and Recreation - NBC
30 Rock - NBC

Best Actor in a Comedy Series
Alec Baldwin - 30 Rock - NBC
Steve Carell - The Office - NBC
Louis C.K. - Louie - FX
Charlie Day - It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia - FX
Joel McHale - Community - NBC
Jim Parsons - The Big Bang Theory - CBS

Best Actress in a Comedy Series
Courteney Cox - Cougar Town - ABC
Edie Falco - Nurse Jackie - Showtime
Tina Fey - 30 Rock - NBC
Patricia Heaton - The Middle - ABC
Martha Plimpton - Raising Hope - FOX
Amy Poehler - Parks and Recreation - NBC

Best Supporting Actor in a Comedy Series
Ty Burrell - Modern Family - ABC
Neil Patrick Harris - How I Met Your Mother - CBS
Nick Offerman - Parks and Recreation - NBC
Ed O’Neill - Modern Family - ABC
Danny Pudi - Community - NBC
Eric Stonestreet - Modern Family - ABC

Best Supporting Actress in a Comedy Series
Julie Bowen - Modern Family - ABC
Jane Krakowski - 30 Rock - NBC
Jane Lynch - Glee - FOX
Busy Philipps - Cougar Town - ABC
Eden Sher - The Middle - ABC
Sofía Vergara - Modern Family - ABC


Submissions are still being accepted for The Most Exciting New Series category.

Cable and satellite network REELZCHANNEL, available in more than 58 million homes, will broadcast the Critics’ Choice Television Awards premiering on June 22 at 8 p.m. ET and repeating at 11 p.m. and 2 a.m. ET. The Awards will be rebroadcast throughout the week. VH1.com will exclusively live stream the awards show on June 20 and will make select footage available for on-demand viewing following the star-studded event. VH1.com will also offer celebrity interviews, behind-the-scenes footage and an opportunity for fans to interact with celebrities backstage with its "fan-cam" stream. Bob Bain will executive produce the show for Bob Bain Productions.

The Critics’ Choice Television Awards honors programs and performances that aired between June 1, 2010 and May 31, 2011.

About BTJA
The newly formed Broadcast Television Journalists Association (BTJA) is a partner organization to the Broadcast Film Critics Association. BTJA includes TV, radio and Internet journalists who cover television on a regular basis. The organization is launching the inaugural Critics’ Choice Television Awards on June 20, 2011 at the Beverly Hills Hotel. For more information, visit: http://www.criticschoice.com/

The A.V. Club Talks to John Sayles

I'm a big fan of writer/director John Sayles.  The A.V. Club has an extensive interview, Page One and Page Two, with Sayles, thought of as one of the father's of American independent filmmaking.  Sayles received best screenplay Oscar nominations in the 1990s for his films, Passion Fish and Lone Star.

About This Movie: SUPER 8

SUPER 8
Bad Robot/Amblin Entertainment Production

WRITER/DIRECTOR: J.J. Abrams
PRODUCERS: Steven Spielberg, J.J. Abrams and Bryan Burk

OPENING DATE: Friday, June 10, 2011
RUNTIME: 112 minutes
RATING: MPAA – PG-13 for intense sequences of sci-fi action and violence and some drug use

Starring: Kyle Chandler, Elle Fanning, Joel Courtney, Gabriel Basso, Noah Emmerich, Ron Eldard, Riley Griffiths, Ryan Lee and Zach Mills

Synopsis:
In the summer of 1979, a group of friends in a small Ohio town witness catastrophic train crash while making a super 8 movie and soon suspect that it was not an accident. Shortly after, unusual disappearances and inexplicable events begin to take place in town, and the local Deputy tries to uncover the truth - something more terrifying than any of them could have imagined.

Review: Strong Quartet Leads Us "Closer" (Happy B'day, Natalie Portman)

TRASH IN MY EYE No. 46 (of 2005) by Leroy Douresseaux

Closer (2004)
Running time: 104 minutes (1 hour, 44 minutes)
MPAA – R for sequences of graphic sexual dialogue, nudity/sexuality, and language
DIRECTOR: Mike Nichols
WRITER: Patrick Marber (based upon his play)
PRODUCERS: Cary Brokaw, John Calley, and Mike Nichols
CINEMATOGRAPHER: Stephen Goldblatt
EDITOR: John Bloom
Academy Award nominee

DRAMA with elements of romance

Starring: Julia Roberts, Jude Law, Natalie Portman, and Clive Owens

Mike Nichols directed the extraordinary Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf?, an adaptation of a stage drama, which earned Nichols an Oscar nom for direction. He won an Emmy in 2004 for directing another acclaimed stage play, Angels in America, this time for television. Nichols again guides a play to the silver screen with Closer, from Patrick Marber’s play.

The film focuses on four casual strangers, their chance meetings, instant attractions, and casual betrayals. Daniel (Jude Laws), a newspaper obituary writer, spies Alice (Natalie Portman), a waif who is also a stripper, in the streets of London. He falls for her. Later, Dan is instantly attracted to and falls in love with Anna (Julia Roberts), an American photographer and divorcee living in London. However, Dan inadvertently connects Anna with Larry (Clive Owens), a dermatologists, who falls deeply in love with Anna. The rest of the film follows this kind of love quadrangle and the emotional fallout from the betrayals these four commit against one another.

Closer is strictly an adult drama, and a damn fine one, at that. The language is frank, sexually explicit, profane, and straight razor sharp, and the characters certainly apply the blade to their relationships and lovers. Nichols, as he usually does, quietly allows the drama of the script to come to the surface and gives his actors the chance to bring some truth to the fiction, and boy, do they. Sometimes, it seems that some things in human sexual and personal relationships shouldn’t be onscreen, and I certainly thought that some of the drama in Closer went too far. Still, that doesn’t seem bad when it’s a skilled filmmaker doing it. Anyway, this is a formal and stylized version of the brutality that can result from deeply intimate relationships that are wrecked on the rocks of betrayal and infidelity, so it’s not too discomforting.

Although I consider the script to be the champion of this film, the cast is quite good in making this so riveting a drama when it could have struck a note as phony. Jude Law, Clive Owen, and Natalie Portman are especially potent. Natalie Portman makes another star turn, as if she hasn’t already done that, and we get to see how beautiful and how super duper fine her body is. What a knockout ass she has! Owen reeks of danger, aggression, wildness, vitality, and virility. Law is smooth and charming, and creates a three-dimensional portrait of self-obsession and romantic neurosis. Julia Roberts is good, but is the least of the four actors. She stands out a few times in the middle of the film, but overall, she seems determined not to stand out or chewy up the scenery. She supposedly likes to do ensemble work because she doesn’t want to always carry a film or stand out in front of everyone. Here, that attitude not to steal the spotlight hurts the film a little and her performance a lot.

9 of 10
A+

NOTES:
2005 Academy Awards: 2 nominations: “Best Actor in a Supporting Role” (Clive Owen) and “Best Actress in a Supporting Role” (Natalie Portman)

2005 BAFTA Awards: 1 win “Best Performance by an Actor in a Supporting Role” (Clive Owen); 2 nominations: “Best Performance by an Actress in a Supporting Role” (Natalie Portman) and “Best Screenplay – Adapted” (Patrick Marber)

2005 Golden Globes: 2 wins: “Best Performance by an Actor in a Supporting Role in a Motion Picture” (Clive Owen) and “Best Performance by an Actress in a Supporting Role in a Motion Picture” (Natalie Portman); 3 nominations: “Best Director - Motion Picture” (Mike Nichols), “Best Motion Picture – Drama,” and “Best Screenplay - Motion Picture” (Patrick Marber)

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