Ryan Reynolds Added Charm to Average "Just Friends"

TRASH IN MY EYE No. 133 (of 2006) by Leroy Douresseaux

Just Friends (2005)
Running time: 96 minutes (1 hour, 36 minutes)
MPAA – PG-13 for sexual content including some dialogue
DIRECTOR: Roger Kumble
WRITER: Adam “Tex” Davis
PRODUCERS: Chris Bender, JC Spink, Michael Ohoven, William Vince, and Bill Johnson
CINEMATOGRAPHER: Anthony B. Richmond
EDITOR: Jeff Freeman

COMEDY/ROMANCE

Starring: Ryan Reynolds, Amy Smart, Anna Faris, Julie Hagerty, Stephen Root, Fred Ewanuick, Amy Matysio, Christopher Marquette and Chris Klein

Chris Brander (Ryan Reynolds) has it all. He’s a womanizing, L.A. music executive with money and good looks, but Chris is an ex-dork. In the 1990’s, he was a shy, overweight high school student living in New Jersey. The butt of the cool crowd’s (especially the jocks) jokes, he had only one bright spot in his life as a teen, his friendship with Jamie Palamino (Amy Smart), a super-popular cheerleader and the hottest girl in school. They were best buds, inseparable except when Jamie had a date with a jock. For years Chris harbored a secret crush on his best friend. Jamie wanted to date her – to be more than friends. In his senior year of 1995, Chris finally got the courage to make his feelings known. However, a surprised Jamie tells Chris that she does love him – but as a brother – the “just friends” speech. Chris storms off and never returns to his Jersey hometown, until now…

Ten years later, Chris has transformed himself, reinventing the shy, fat kid as a smooth talking lady-killer, living large in the music industry. Fate throws him a curveball when his record company boss insists that Chris turn Samantha Jones (Anna Faris), a Paris Hilton like spoiled socialite, diva, and magazine pin-up girl into a singing sensation. It’s bad enough that Chris used to actually date Samantha, but now he has to accompany her to Paris. An accident grounds their plane in New Jersey, so Chris takes the opportunity to visit is overly-excited mother, Carol Brander (Julie Hagerty), and his smart-aleck 18-year old brother, Mike (Christopher Marquette). Visiting high school pals now married couple Clark (Fred Ewanuick) and Darla (Amy Matysio) at a local bar, Chris runs into Jamie for the first time since he left home, and is instantly floored by her, as if 10 years had never passed. Jamie may be interested in a serious relationship with Chris because she still sees the old Chris she loved underneath the big city jive, but another old suitor Dusty Lee (Chris Klein), has also transformed himself and is making a hard push for Jamie’s affections.

There is a lot of Just Friends that is pleasantly mediocre, but this flick has a genuine, up and coming star as its lead, Ryan Reynolds, who brought much needed levity to the dour and second-rate Blade: Trinity. A charmer in the Bill Murray mold by way of Vince Vaughn, Reynolds is an appealing comic actor who can bump a comedy with a lame leg a few paces ahead of the rest of the pack of pedestrian movies. Reynolds wears a fat suit to play Chris Brander as a chubby high school kid, and his talents still shine through the makeup. There is such truth to his performance both physically and emotionally. Reynolds certainly conveys the troubles and conflicts of an outcast teen, making young Chris worthy of our sympathy rather than being some fat kid at whom we can laugh.

Anna Faris (the heroine of the Scary Movie franchise) as Chris Brander’s charge, Samantha Jones, delivers a downright delicious turn that is part parody and equal measures farce. Her performance is also a superb jibe at self-absorbed, wealthy debutantes who insist on sharing their second-rate skills and artistic ambitions with the general public in the form of entertainment for commercial consumption.

While not a great movie, Just Friends is a worthy addition to that sub-genre of high school comedies – the revenge flick, a tale of a high school outcast who gets to throw his adult success in his critics’ faces. But Just Friends isn’t mean. Instead it reaffirms the importance of old, deep-running friendship.

6 of 10
B

Tuesday, June 20, 2006

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Review: "Tupac: Resurrection" is the Story of Tupac by Tupac (Happy B'day, Tupac)

TRASH IN MY EYE No. 14 (of 2005) by Leroy Douresseaux

Tupac: Resurrection (2003)
Running time: 90 minutes (1 hour, 30 minutes)
MPAA – R for strong language and images of drugs, violence and sex
DIRECTOR: Lauren Lazin
WRITER: Lauren Lazin (treatment)
PRODUCERS: Karolyn Ali, Preston L. Holmes, and  Lauren Lazin
CINEMATOGRAPHER: Jon Else
EDITOR: Richard Calderon
Academy Award nominee

DOCUMENTARY

Starring: (voice) Tupac Shakur (archival)

Released theatrically in late 2003, the Lauren Lazin-directed documentary Tupac: Resurrection earned a 2005 Oscar nomination in the category “Best Documentary, Features.” The film is a look at Tupac Shakur’s life, especially his time in the public eye, and the story is told through Tupac’s own words. Ms. Lazin and her fellow filmmakers compiled the Tupac: Resurrection from home movies, photographs, and video and film footage from interviews, concerts, and news stories, as well as images and video recordings taken behind the scenes on video shoots, on film locations, and any place Pac went, lived, and played. Tupac: Resurrection’s narration is provided by Tupac himself via archival audio from the video and film footage used for this film, as well as from interviews, journal readings, poetry recitations, etc.

Tupac was a compelling figure and remains so even after his (some would say alleged) death, murdered by an unknown gunman. The film is riveting precisely because Tupac was and still is hard to ignore and an extremely controversial public personality. Tupac often said he’d be shot and murdered, so he often seemed to be speaking as if he were observing a life already lived. That makes listening to the archival audio eerie because it really seems as if he is speaking from beyond the grave, but Ms. Lazin deserves the credit for pulling off this kind of posthumous autobiography.

Tupac narrating his rise to fame is entrancing; he seems so ambitious and hopeful in spite of his early poverty and surroundings. It is, however, disappointing to watch fame turn him into a paranoid and arrogant celebrity jerk. When he was on the rise, the contradictions of his embrace of violence and misogyny and hope for peace and respect can be viewed as the inconsistencies of a young man struggling to form a philosophy or an ideology for his life. Later, when his legal troubles mount, and he publicly feuds with enemies, both real and imagined, he just seems sad, lost, and without an adequate support system – destined for an extra tragic end.

Still, Ms. Lazin should be commended for this fine film. It’s amazing both that every bit of this film is archival material and how she is able to give such a complete picture of the public figure that was Tupac. In fact, many public figures probably don’t realize how complete a portrait of their public lives can be made from publicly available visual footage and how those portraits of them may not be how they want to be remembered. Ms. Lazin, however, made an honest documentary in which the filmmaker really allows the subject to reveal himself… even from beyond the grave. Would Tupac like what he sees, or would he even care?

8 of 10
A

NOTES:
2005 Academy Awards: 1 nomination: “Best Documentary Features” (Lauren Lazin and Karolyn Ali)

2004 Black Reel Awards: 3 nominations: “Film: Best Theatrical” (Paramount Pictures); “Film: Best Song” (Tupac Shakur-performer and The Notorious B.I.G.-performer for the song "Runnin' (Dying to Live)"), and “Film: Best Soundtrack”

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Ryan Reynolds and Green Lantern Salute the Troops

Ryan Reynolds to Host Advance Screening of “Green Lantern” Feature Film at MCAS Miramar

MIRAMAR, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Actor Ryan Reynolds will make an appearance at MCAS Miramar Bob Hope Theater to introduce an advance screening of “Green Lantern” on Thursday, June 16, at 12:45 p.m. for Marines and their families in celebration of Father’s Day.

About the Film:
In a universe as vast as it is mysterious, an elite, powerful force has existed for centuries. Protectors of peace and justice, they are called the Green Lantern Corps. Warriors sworn to keep intergalactic order, each Green Lantern wears a ring that grants him the ability to create anything his mind can imagine. But when a new enemy called Parallax threatens to destroy the balance of power in the Universe, their fate and the fate of Earth lie in the hands of their newest recruit, the first human ever selected: Hal Jordan.

Bringing the enduringly popular superhero to the big screen for the first time, “Green Lantern” stars Ryan Reynolds in the title role, under the direction of Martin Campbell. Campbell directed the film from a screenplay by Greg Berlanti & Michael Green & Marc Guggenheim and Michael Goldenberg, story by Greg Berlanti & Michael Green & Marc Guggenheim, based upon characters appearing in comic books published by DC Comics. The film also stars Blake Lively, Peter Sarsgaard, Mark Strong, Angela Bassett and Tim Robbins. It was produced by Donald De Line and Greg Berlanti. Herbert W. Gains and Andrew Haas served as executive producers.

Harry Potter Chess Set Coming Soon

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Let the fun of wizard chess come to life in your hands with The Harry Potter Chess Collection. Thirty-two richly illustrated manuals divulgethe strategies and tricks needed to transform you into a wizard at chess -- whether you are a beginner or already know the game. Full of original photos from the Harry Potter films, and a chess quiz at the end of every issue, these manualswill teach you how to trounce the enemy like Harry and Ron.

EACH PIECE HAS ITS OWN SPECIAL EFFECT
The Harry Potter Chess Collection includes an authentic, scaled-down replica of the life-sized wizard chess set seen in the film that started it all, “Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone.” And each “enchanted” piece has its own special effect, bringing the Harry Potter Chess Collection to life in your own home. Guide your rook with a magic wand, see pawns self destruct when captured, and watch the king lower his head and groan in defeat. The knights neigh, the bishops crash, and the queens glow when moved. Whether you’re a Harry Potter fan or a chess aficionado, The Harry Potter Chess Collection is a treasure to play.

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List Price: $249.95


About TimeLife.com
Headquartered in Fairfax VA, Time Life Inc. was founded in 1961 as a direct marketing company specializing in music and books. It has since grown to become one of the world¹s largest direct marketers of audio and video products, selling more than 13 million units each year throughout North America, Europe, Asia and Australia. Time Life set the standard in the direct response industry by pioneering direct marketing techniques, building one of the most trusted and recognized brands in commerce. The company now also sells their products through major traditional and non-traditional retailers around the world as well as via the Internet. Time Life is a registered trademark of Time Warner Inc. used under license by Direct Holdings Americas Inc., which is not affiliated with Time Warner Inc.

About Warner Bros. Consumer Products
Warner Bros. Consumer Products, a Warner Bros. Entertainment Company, is one of the leading licensing and retail merchandising organizations in the world.

HARRY POTTER characters, names and related indicia are trademarks of and © Warner Bros. Entertainment Inc. Harry Potter Publishing Rights © JKR.

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SUPER 8 Mini-Site Launches from West Virginia Film Office

WV Film Office launches ‘Super 8’ promo site

CHARLESTON, W. VA. – “Super 8” is one of the most anticipated films of the summer, and the West Virginia Film Office is launching a dedicated website to celebrate the release of the film which was shot in and around Weirton.

The website, www.wvfilm.com/super8, will allow fans to get a look at some of the behind-the-scene elements of what is expected to be a blockbuster for Paramount Pictures. The film will open nationwide on June 10.

“Super 8” is set in a small town in the summer of 1979. A group of young friends are making a super 8 movie when they witness a catastrophic train crash, after which they suspect it was not an accident. Shortly after, unusual disappearances and inexplicable events begin happening, prompting the local deputy to investigate. The truth is something more terrifying than any of them could have imagined.

The movie was directed by J.J. Abrams and produced by Steven Spielberg, and stars Elle Fanning, Kyle Chandler, Ron Eldard and Noah Emmerich. In addition, numerous West Virginians were hired to work on the crew and hundreds were extras in the film.

The website features a timeline that reveals how “Super 8” came to shoot in West Virginia, from the first call to the state Film Office to the theatrical release. “People often ask how we do what we do, when every project is different in its scope and needs,” said Pam Haynes, director of the Film Office. “We hope this site, and in particular, the timeline, will provide a glimpse of the work that goes into recruiting the film industry to the state.”

Other special features include interviews with local crew members, community leaders and visiting industry professionals who were made to feel welcome in Weirton. Also, you can find selected news clips and behind-the-scenes photos of the production. Haynes added that the website will be regularly updated with new information as it becomes available.

Part of the lure for Paramount to shoot in Weirton was the West Virginia Film Industry Investment Act, a tax credit program designed to recruit film business to the state. Paramount filmed in Weirton for four weeks in September and October 2010 with additional days in February 2011.

Haynes said one of the ways Weirton is taking advantage of the tourism potential from the film is by conducting tours of the locations where “Super 8” was shot. There also is a brochure that includes a list of those locations available for fans. Weirton was recently named one of the top five movie location destinations to visit this summer by Fandango.

The West Virginia Film Office is a section under the WV Division of Tourism at the WV Department of Commerce, and can be visited at http://www.wvfilm.com/.

Review: High Quality Ensemble Leads "Galaxy Quest" (Happy B'day, Tim Allen)

TRASH IN MY EYE No. 118 (of 2006) by Leroy Douresseaux

Galaxy Quest (1999)
Running time: 102 minutes (1 hour, 42 minutes)
MPAA – PG for some action violence, mild language, and sensuality
DIRECTOR: Dean Parisot
WRITERS: David Howard and Robert Gordon; from a story by David Howard
PRODUCERS: Mark Johnson and Charles Newirth
CINEMATOGRAPHER: Jerzy Zielinski
EDITOR: Don Zimmerman

SCI-FI/COMEDY/ADVENTURE

Starring: Tim Allen, Sigourney Weaver, Alan Rickman, Tony Shalhoub, Sam Rockwell, Daryl Mitchell, Enrico Colantino, Robin Sachs, Patrick Breen, Missi Pyle, Jed Rees, and Justin Long

For a period of 4 years from the late 70’s to the early 80’s, on a sci-fi television series called “Galaxy Quest,” the starship, NSEA Protector, and its crew set off on thrilling and dangerous missions in outer space, until the show was cancelled. Twenty years after the series began, the five stars of the classic show: Jason Nesmith as Commander Peter Quincy Taggart (Tim Allen); Gwen DeMarco as Lt. Tawny Madison (Sigourney Weaver); Alexander Dane as Dr. Lazarus (Alan Rickman); Fred Kwan as Tech Sgt. Chen (Tony Shaloub); and Tommy Webber as Lt. Laredo (Daryl Mitchell) are still in costume, making appearances at various Galaxy Quest shows and sci-fi conventions, making speeches and signing autographs for their rabid and die-hard fans.

However, a new group of fans that are a bit too “far out,” appear at one of the conventions, but it turns out they really are aliens – the Thermians from the planet Thermia located in the Klatuu Nebula. The Thermians, who saw Galaxy Quest when the TV transmissions of the show traveled through space and reached their planet, believe that Galaxy Quest was a series of “historical documents,” of the real events. They shockingly believe that Galaxy Quest was about a real commander and his crew. They’ve built an exact replica of the Protector, but it is fully functional and operational. The Thermians whisk the crew off into space on an adventure to help them in their all-too-real war against the vile and deadly General Roth’h’ar Sarris (Robin Sachs). Now, the original crew plus Galaxy Quest TV show extra Guy Fleegman (Sam Rockwell) have to use their wits and their acting talents to save the Thermians and their own lives.

Galaxy Quest is simply an ode to the ultimate cult TV series, the original 1960’s “Star Trek.” This movie plays on the notion of the original Trek cast trying to escape the fame (or infamy) that came with being on the show, although the series’ enduring popularity made them famous and kept earning them money. Galaxy Quest’s hook is to ask the question, “What if the cast of such a show really had to be interstellar space adventurers taking on deadly galactic threats?” Ultimately, the film takes this novel idea and turns it into a superb, comic sci-fi film – one of the best sci-fi comedies ever to hit the screen. Anyone who has ever seen Star Trek will get the jokes and in-jokes because this film is so obviously a riff on everything that has to do with Star Trek, from the series itself to the Trek actors and the rabid Star Trek fan base, known as “Trekkies.”

I don’t know if someone who has never seen Star Trek will get this flick (“Galaxy Quest” was the title of an actual short lived Canadian TV series), but those who know Trek will love the gentle reminder of what made the series good and what makes it fun to be a fan. When Galaxy Quest seems to ask, “What if this were real?” we can feel that and can dream of how much fun it would be, and this winning and charming film captures that sense of fun.

8 of 10
A

Saturday, May 27, 2006

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Review: "TRON: Legacy" is All Good All on its Own

TRASH IN MY EYE No. 49 (of 2011) by Leroy Douresseaux

TRON: Legacy (2010)
Running time: 125 minutes (2 hours, 5 minutes)
MPAA – PG sequences of sci-fi action violence and brief mild language
DIRECTOR: Joseph Kosinski
WRITERS: Edward Kitsis and Adam Horowitz; from a story by Edward Kitsis and Adam Horowitz and Brian Klugman and Lee Sternthal (based upon the characters created by Steven Lisberger and Bonnie MacBird)
PRODUCERS: Sean Bailey, Steven Lisberger, and Jeffrey Silver
CINEMATOGRAPHER: Claudio Miranda
EDITOR: James Haygood
COMPOSER: Daft Punk
Academy Award nominee

SCI-FI/ACTION/DRAMA

Starring: Jeff Bridges, Garrett Hedlund, Olivia Wilde, Bruce Boxleitner, James Frain, Beau Garrett, and Michael Sheen

TRON: Legacy is a 2010 science fiction film. It is the sequel to Walt Disney Pictures’ 1982 sci-fi film, Tron. Tron: Legacy follows Sam Flynn, the son of Kevin Flynn, the innovative software engineer who entered the Digital World, a place that existed inside a computer (as depicted in the original Tron).

In 1989, Kevin Flynn (Jeff Bridges), who was also the CEO of ENCOM International, disappeared seven years after he defeated the Master Control Program in the Digital World. Twenty years later, Sam Flynn (Garrett Hedlund), now a tech-savvy 27-year-old, has little interest in ENCOM, although he is the controlling shareholder. His father’s friend and ENCOM executive, Alan Bradley (Bruce Boxleitner), tells Sam that he has received a mysterious page from a number originating at Kevin Flynn’s old arcade, which has been shutdown for 20 years.

Entering the arcade, Sam finds a concealed computer laboratory hidden in the basement. Sitting at his father’s computer, Sam accidentally transports himself to the Grid, a virtual world inside his father’s computer. There, he finds a world of gladiatorial games and fierce computer programs, and the Grid is ruled by CLU, a renegade program that looks like a young Kevin Flynn and was actually created by Flynn. Escaping CLU’s attempt to kill him, Sam is reunited with his now older father and Quorra (Olivia Wilde), a warrior and Kevin Flynn’s confidant. Together, reunited father and son try to stop CLU’s plot to invade the real world.

With its dazzling visuals and state-of-the-art production design, Tron: Legacy is one of the most innovative films of the last few years. It is a digital light show that dazzles the mind via the eyes, sometimes threatening to fry both. The computer-generated, younger version of Jeff Bridges as CLU is quite impressive, except for those few moments when CLU looks too plastic and moves awkwardly.

As in the original Tron, the human characters and story occasionally get lost in Tron: Legacy, especially amidst the elegant, eye-popping special effects. It is not that the story is bad. This is a standard action movie pitting good guys against bad guys, but a movie this visually adventurous deserves a more daring story. However, with the imaginative landscapes and production design and inventive costume design, this standard action movie doesn’t look so standard.

At this point, I have to say that you, dear reader, should see this visually splendid film for yourself. Some of the effects are breathtaking, and the simply magnificent score by the electronic music duo, Daft Punk, is the perfect soundtrack for a milestone film like Tron: Legacy. Modern with the touch of retro-1980’s synthesizer music, Daft Punk’s score thunders and swells, and best of all, it sweeps you off your feet just like film. It may be a little soft on story and character, but Tron: Legacy soars to the next level visually, sonically, and musically.

8 of 10
A

NOTES:
2011 Academy Awards: 1 nomination: “Best Achievement in Sound Editing” (Gwendolyn Yates Whittle and Addison Teague)

Friday, June 10, 2011

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