Review: "Blade II" is Still Too Legit to Quit (Happy B'day, Wesley Snipes)

TRASH IN MY EYE No. 26 (of 2002) by Leroy Douresseaux

Blade II (2002)
Running time: 117 minutes (1 hour, 57 minutes)
MPAA – R for strong pervasive violence, language, some drug use and sexual content
DIRECTOR: Guillermo del Toro
WRITER: David S. Goyer (Blade based upon the character created by Marv Wolfman and Gene Colan)
PRODUCERS: Peter Frankfurt, Patrick J. Palmer, and Wesley Snipes
CINEMATOGRAPHER: Gabriel Beristain (D.o.P.)
EDITOR: Peter Amundson
COMPOSER: Marco Beltrami

ACTION/FANTASY/HORROR/MARTIAL ARTS

Starring: Wesley Snipes, Kris Kristofferson, Ron Perlman, Leonor Varela, Norman Reedus, Thomas Kretschmann, Luke Goss, Matthew Schulze, Danny John-Jules, and Donnie Yen

The human/vampire warrior Blade (Wesley Snipes) returns to do his thing, which is hunt and destroy vampires. While in Prague, Czech Republic to rescue his old partner Whistler (Kris Kristofferson), Blade receives a summons from Damaskinos (Thomas Kretschmann), the overlord of vampires. A new breed of creatures, The Reapers, is loose, and they feed on both humans and vampires. Damaskinos has formed a vampire tactical unit dubbed the Bloodpack to hunt the Reapers, but he also wants Blade’s assistance and offers a truce. The Reapers, however, led by the powerful Nomak (Luke Goss), prove to be a formidable foe.

Directed by Guillermo del Toro (Mimic), Blade II is that rare sequel that not only surpasses the original in quality, but also manages to be very different than the original. This is primarily through the efforts of del Toro; his sense of visual style has a huge impact upon this movie, and the look is seemingly based on art rather than music videos. (Stephen Norrington, the director of Blade, was also a director of music videos). He plays with light (natural and artificial) and darkness to set mood and tone, but also to suggest character motivation and plot elements. del Toro works like a painter, and he makes Blade 2 a wild ride, but reveals a thoughtful composition behind the camera.

In fact, the art department played a huge role in the look of the film. Wayne D. Barlow, the head creature designer, is famous in science fiction and fantasy circles for his drawings of aliens. Mike Mignola, the concept artist, worked on Atlantis: The Lost Continent for Disney. Timothy Bradstreet, a comic book artist and illustrator like Mignola and like Blade 2 storyboard artist Leo Duranona, designed the vampires in this film. Bradstreet’s work, according to him, probably influenced the look of the Blade character in the first film.

The dark and decayed look of inner city Prague is absolutely beautiful and mesmerizing even in the dankest and dirtiest sections. Kudos to the art directors and set decorators; they manage to make Blade 2 one of the most gorgeous looking movies ever that used low rent sets.

The eclecticism of the cast also adds to the aura of this movie. Snipes is clearly more confident and more comfortable in his role. He dropped his monotone delivery from the first film for more effective banter this time around, and he portrays Blade throughout this film more as the bold warrior who finished off the original film than the one we first saw.

Kristofferson’s role is a little weightier this go round. Whistler has an air of mystery and intrigue about him, and every time he is on screen, there is something about him that makes you wonder about his motivations. His verbal jousts with his replacement Scud (Norman Reedus) brings a little humor to the film.

Although Kretschmann and Goss are good in their respective roles as Damaskinos and Nomak, the Bloodpack are the true supporting vampire stars. Leonor Varela as Nyssa, Damaskinos’s daughter, brings beauty and a hint of sexuality to these mostly male proceedings. Fight choreographer Donnie Yen also has a small role as Bloodpack member Snowman. Ron Perlman also does a nice turn as Reinhardt, Blade’s opposite in the Bloodpack.

Visually exciting, intriguing, and beautiful, Blade 2 is unique horror movie simply because of the way it looks. It is an exciting action movie filled with leather suits and high tech chop-socky. The CGI fights scenes are a little off in some instances, but for the most part are very good and only add to Blade 2’s exceptional look; it gives the movie the feel of being something other than just another violent action movie. The fight scene between Nyssa and Asad (Danny John-Jules of the British sci-fi television series “Red Dwarf”) against Blade, alone, is worth the price of admission because it tops anything in the first film. It stands with some of the good fight scenes found in Hong Kong movies (thanks to Donnie Yen).

Guillermo del Toro has created a special cinematic visual experience in Blade 2, which adds to the appeal of seeing his other work. Simply put, in popular parlance, Blade 2 rocks, and it is worth repeated viewings.

8 of 10
A

--------------------------

---------------------------

Half of "The Lincoln Lawyer" Remains Unseen

TRASH IN MY EYE No. 65 (of 2011) by Leroy Douresseaux


The Lincoln Lawyer (2011)
Running time: 118 minutes (1 hour, 58 minutes)
MPAA – R for some violence, sexual content and language
DIRECTOR: Brad Furman
WRITER: John Romano (based upon the novel by Michael Connelly)
PRODUCERS: Sidney Kimmel, Gary Lucchesi, Tom Rosenberg, Scott Steindorff, and Richard S. Wright
CINEMATOGRAPHER: Lukas Ettlin (D.o.P.)
EDITOR: Jeff McEvoy
COMPOSER: Cliff Martinez

DRAMA/CRIME/MYSTERY/THRILLER

Starring: Matthew McConaughey, Marisa Tomei, Ryan Phillippe, William H. Macy, Josh Lucas, John Leguizamo, Michael Peña, Bob Gunton, Frances Fisher, Bryan Cranston, Trace Adkins, Laurence Mason, Margarita Levieva, Pell James, Shea Whigham, Michael Paré, and Reggie Baker

The Lincoln Lawyer is a 2011 courtroom drama and legal thriller starring Matthew McConaughey as the lead character, Mickey Haller. The film is based upon the 2005 novel, The Lincoln Lawyer, the first book in the Mickey Haller series from American crime writer, Michael Connelly.

Mickey Haller (Matthew McConaughey) is a criminal defense attorney who operates around Los Angeles County in a Lincoln Town Car, currently driven by his chauffer, Earl (Laurence Mason). Haller has spent his career defending the usual suspects (drug dealers, murderers), but he has just landed the case of his career. Louis Roulet (Ryan Phillippe), a Beverly Hills playboy, has been charged in the brutal beating of a sex worker, Regina Campo (Margarita Levieva). Mickey’s sleazy reputation and Roulet’s tastes for prostitutes, however, only complicate an already difficult case.

I have not read the book upon which The Lincoln Lawyer is based, so I don’t know how close the movie is to novel. Watching this film, I got the idea that screenwriter John Romano and director Brad Furman certainly tried to squeeze as much of the novel as they could into the movie. As good as this film is, a lot of the story seems to be happening offstage or off-camera, in this case. I lost track of how many times, supporting and minor characters ran up to McConaughey’s Mickey Haller and talked about something big they did or found out for him. I kept thinking, “Did I miss something?” It is as if half of the movie takes place out of sight, and only the half with Haller actually happens in front of the audience. That makes many of the film’s twist and turns and sudden revelations seem contrived and arbitrary.

However, I do think that Matthew McConaughey gives a very good, layered, and textured performance, one that makes Haller, who is way too sleazy, an engaging character that you might want to follow around L.A. This is probably the best performance of McConaughey’s career and certainly his best turn as a dramatic actor in a long time. He makes The Lincoln Lawyer worth seeing. He makes a problematic legal thriller something of a thrill to watch.

6 of 10
B

Thursday, July 28, 2011

Negromancer News Bits and Bites for July 29 2012: The Dark Knight! Red Nails! and More!

Here's some stuff I like and some you might like:

The Dark Knight Rises News: Thompson on Hollywood alerted me to this story in the Pittsburgh Business Times.  Batman and crew are in the Steel City to film Chris Nolan's third Batman flick.

“When you’re making a large-scale action film that has to showcase the vitality and size of a large American city,” director Christopher Nolan told The Pittsburgh Business Times, “it also involves a certain amount of disruption to that city in order to make the action credible on screen.”

I'll try to keep you up to date on Batman... if y'all want me to...

________________________

DreamWorks Animation CEO and Disney exile Jeffrey Katzenberg says movies suck now in this CNN Money interview:

"Today the thing that is probably most askew in Hollywood is the issue of marketability versus playability, and what that really means is that there is this sort of unholy alliance that has existed forever between art and commerce, show and biz. Today, it's out of balance, and it's too much on the biz, too much on the commerce, too much on the marketability. … The last seven or eight months of movies is the worst lineup of movies you've experienced in the last five years of your life. They suck. It's unbelievable how bad movies have been."

_________________________

Entertainment Weekly's Popwatch looks at what's next for the cast of Harry Potter in the wake of Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 2.  Draco Malfoy is in Rise of the Planet of the Apes!

_________________________

George Lucas is finally unleashing Red Tails, the World War II drama about the Tuskegee Airmen, the legendary African-American fighter pilot squad who battled Nazis abroad and discrimination at home in the good old U.S. of A.  January 20, 2012, kids.  Entertainment Weekly has the trailer..

Review: "Wild Wild West" Another Weird Western Disappointment

TRASH IN MY EYE No. 11 (of 2002) by Leroy Douresseaux

Wild Wild West (1999)
Running time: 106 minutes (1 hour, 46 minutes)
MPAA – PG-13 for action violence, sex references and innuendo
DIRECTOR: Barry Sonnenfeld
WRITERS: S. S. Wilson, Brent Maddock, Jeffrey Price, and Peter S. Seaman; based on the screen story by Jim Thomas and John Thomas
PRODUCERS: Jon Peters and Barry Sonnenfeld
CINEMATOGRAPHER: Michael Ballhaus
EDITOR: Jim Miller
COMPOSER: Elmer Bernstein

ACTION/ADVENTURE/FANTASY/SCI-FI/WESTERN

Starring: Will Smith, Kevin Kline, Kenneth Branagh, Selma Hayek, M. Emmett Walsh, Ted Levine, Garcelle Beauvais, and Ling Bai

Wild Wild West is a 1999 science fiction film starring Will Smith. The film is based upon the 1960s CBS television series, The Wild Wild West. While the TV series features lots of gadgets, the film focuses on bizarre machines and steampunk technology.

Jim West (Will Smith) is a brash gunslinger with a quick mouth. Artemus Gordon (Kevin Kline) is a U.S. Marshal with a mind for inventions and disguises. Arliss Loveless (Kenneth Branagh), an embittered former Confederate, threatens the United States and President Ulysses S. Grant (also played by Kline). President Grant forces West and Gordon to join and to fight Loveless and his diabolical machines. The mismatched pair bickers its way to Loveless as the villain and his most devastating creation awaits the two heroes in Spider Canyon, Utah.

Sonnenfeld first came to acclaim as Joel and Ethan Coen’s cinematographer in films like Raising Arizona and Miller’s Crossing. He went onto shoot When Harry Met Sally and Misery for Rob Reiner. His career as a director has been hit (Get Shorty and Men in Black) and miss (Addams Family Values and For Love or Money). Wild Wild West falls somewhere in between, kind of leaning toward being a miss.

This film allegedly went through many reshoots to up the humor content, and the changes only served to make an already awkward film more awkward. Wild Wild West is a hybrid, and like the television series upon which it is based, “The Wild, Wild West” (1965-70), that was part western, part science fiction, part adventure, the film is also a mish mash of several genres. It is dressed up like a high priced costumed drama circa late 19th Century, set in the Deep South, Washington D. C., and the barren wild West. It has elements of sci-fi, specifically in the assorted gadgets, machines, and inventions. Its characters are clearly modern in their outlook and with their know-it-all sensibilities.

The script, by four veteran Hollywood writers with resumes full of scripts for action movies and cinema of the fantastic, bounces along the wall and stumbles about like a drunk. The plot is simple: stop Lawless before he defeats the U.S. The execution is senseless, very likely because too many hands were involved. No one person with a single vision was really in charge. West has many moments of genuine comedy and a few decent action sequences, but at its heart, it is a badly constructed, weak movie.

Will Smith does his best to carry the load, and his character is both brash and funny. His humor never comes across as strained, and Smith is seemingly comfortable acting captain of this sinking ship. His personality is lively, and his face, whether happy with his own jokes or stern with action readiness, is open and engaging. It’s a joy to watch him.

Kline is okay, but certainly miscast. Being older than Smith, he could have been the wise, older hand. He has his moments, but sometimes he just seems like a fifth wheel on a bike. He buries himself so far in make up for his duel role as President Grant that he gets lost in the part of this expendable character. He does a decent job in the part, but, like the movie, it’s not really worth noting.

Branagh is nutty and hilarious in his over the top performance as the psychotic, and vengeful Southern. Missing his lower extremities and riding a mechanical chair thing, Arliss Loveless is ridiculous, but he throws himself into a role so extreme and wacky, it belongs in a cheap novel or a superhero comic book. He’s simply a hoot. The rivalry between Smith’s West and Branagh’s Loveless is hilarious, and they make a very good screen pair.

Wild Wild West is a somewhat entertaining movie, but it is difficult to see where it had any potential to be better. The studio, Time-Warner, might have figured that it would be easy to sell a movie based on an idea with which people were already familiar, namely the television program The Wild, Wild West. They may have thought that audiences would readily accept a big budget update of this idea made with big named stars. It’s worked box office magic in the past, but, as in this case, it usually means average at best product. Even in its best moments, West is a light, fluffy distraction, forgotten soon after consumption.

5 of 10
C+

NOTES:
2000 Razzie Awards: 4 wins: “Worst Director” (Barry Sonnenfeld), “Worst Original Song” (Stevie Wonder, Kool Moe Dee, and Will Smith for the song "Wild Wild West"), “Worst Picture” (Warner Bros.), “Worst Screen Couple” (Kevin Kline and Will Smith), and “Worst Screenplay” (Jim Thomas, John Thomas, S.S. Wilson, Brent Maddock, Jeffrey Price, and Peter S. Seaman); 4 nominations: “Worst Actor” (Kevin Kline), “Worst Supporting Actor” (Kenneth Branagh), “Worst Supporting Actress” (Salma Hayek), and “Worst Supporting Actress” (Kevin Kline as a prostitute)

------------------------

Negromancer News Bits and Bites for July 28, 2011

Here's a roundup of stuff that interests me or may interest you, dear reader:

Apparently, some people feel that Oscar-nominated actress Viola Davis has to defend her role in The Help.  I don't.  I think that people who are uncomfortable with the subject matter of the film and the book upon which it is based should just avoid the film, which I may do.

Anyway, BET cribbed some quotes from an interview she gave to another website.  Here, is a good one:

Davis: “I feel one of the most revolutionary things you could do [in film] is to humanize the Black woman. And what I mean by that is that is… there is no way that I’m going to believe that if Meryl Streep or a Jodie Foster or any number of fabulous Caucasian actresses were sitting in front of you that anyone would ask them why they did a role if there was something about that character that they didn’t feel was politically correct...

_________________________

Yep, it's been 20 years.  John Singleton talks to BET.com about the Oscar-nominated Boyz N the Hood, which is 20 years old this year.

_________________________

Deadline: New York has an exclusive.  J.J. Abrams is ready to begin work on the sequel to his 2009 smash hit reboot, Star Trek (the first Trek flick to win an Oscar).  But the film will not meet its June 29 2012 release date, so Paramount Pictures is giving that release date to G.I. Joe: Retaliation.  Currently, Star Trek 2 does not even have a script. Egads!

_________________________

More from Deadline:  Paramount has moved Mission: Impossible - Ghost Protocol from December 16th to Dec. 21st.  Meanwhile, the next Tom Cruise franchise, based upon the Jack Reacher novels by Lee Child, is set to launch in February 2013.

_________________________

We love Simon Pegg.  Word is out about a new movie, "A Fantastic Fear of Everything," which has him playing, "a children’s author turned crime novelist whose research into the lives of Victorian serial killers turns him into a paranoid wreck, especially when a Hollywood executive decides he wants to make a film out of his findings."

_________________________

Movieline has the lineup for the 68th Venice Film Festival, which runs from August 31st to September 10th.

Review: "The Eagle" Soars on the Performances of its Leads

TRASH IN MY EYE No. 64 (of 2011) by Leroy Douresseaux

The Eagle (2011)
Running time: 114 minutes (1 hour, 54 minutes)
MPAA – PG-13 for battle sequences and some disturbing images
DIRECTOR: Kevin Macdonald
WRITER: Jeremy Brock Rosemary Sutcliff (based on the novel, The Eagle of the Ninth, by Rosemary Sutcliff)
PRODUCER: Duncan Kenworthy
CINEMATOGRAPHER: Anthony Dod Mantle
EDITOR: Justine Wright

HISTORICAL/DRAMA/ACTION

Starring: Channing Tatum, Jamie Bell, Donald Sutherland, Mark Strong, Tahar Rahimm Ned Dennehy, Thomas Henry, and Denis O’Hare

The Eagle is a 2011 historical film from Kevin Macdonald, who directed The Last King of Scotland (2006). The Eagle is based upon The Eagle of the Ninth, a 1954 historical adventure novel written by Rosemary Sutcliff. The Eagle follows a young Roman officer’s journey to find a lost Roman eagle standard in the wild north of Great Britain, which the Roman Empire does not control.

In the year 140 AD, 20 years after the unexplained disappearance of the entire Ninth Legion in the mountains of Caledonia (Scotland), Marcus Flavius Aquila (Channing Tatum), a young Roman centurion, arrives in Britain to serve as a garrison commander. Marcus also hopes to redeem his family’s honor and to restore the reputation of his father, the commander of the Ninth.

Accompanied only by his British slave, Esca (Jamie Bell), Marcus sets out across Hadrian’s Wall into the uncharted highlands of Caledonia, beyond the frontier of the Roman Empire. There, he will not only confront the mystery of his father’s disappearance, but also the savage tribes of the north, in particular, the Seal People. Along the way, Marcus will learn the truth about Esca, the fate of the Ninth Legion, and the whereabouts of the legion’s golden standard, the Eagle of the Ninth.

The Eagle belongs to a sub-genre of the adventure and historical film genres that some critics, reviewers, and fans call “sword and sandal” (or “sword and shield” as Roger Ebert calls them). Troy, 300, and Gladiator (the best picture Oscar winner back in 2000) are recent examples of sword and sandal flicks. Like those films, The Eagle is about men of war and about the honor they seek to gain, regain, or retain.

However, this film offers something more. Marcus Aquila is clearly the hero, and his quest to recover the eagle standard is a heroic one. However, the society to which he belongs, the Roman Empire, is not heroic. The film contrasts Marcus’ behavior as a warrior with Rome’s behavior towards the people the empire conquers. The film views the quest for honor from two sides – Rome and Rome’s opponents – is personified by Marcus’ slave, Esca, played by Jamie Bell, who gives this film’s best performance.

What appeals to me about this film is that it is a rousing, manly adventure that is open to different points of view – including those of the antagonists. The Eagle reminds us that while war, even battle, may seem simple, it is complex, indeed, even messy.

The Eagle is not perfect. Marcus’ time at the garrison, the battles, and the chases through the forest are superb cinema, while the character moments are somewhat dull. I for one liked Channing Tatum’s pugnacious performance. It is the movie star sweet to this movie’s determination not to be straight-forward rah-rah about war. The Eagle is a film I’ll come back to many times.

7 of 10
B+

Wednesday, July 27, 2011

-------------------

Hiroshima and Nagasaki Bombings Documentary Screens in August

SPECIAL NEW PEOPLE FILM SCREENING OF TWICE BOMBED, TWICE SURVIVED REMEMBERS THE ATOMIC BOMBINGS OF HIROSHIMA & NAGASAKI

Emotional Documentary Recalls One Man’s Incredible Experience Having Survived Bombings Of Both Japanese Cities

San Francisco, CA, July 26, 2011 – NEW PEOPLE, the nation’s only entertainment complex dedicated to Japanese popular culture, commemorates the 66th Anniversary of the atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki with a very special screening of Twice Bombed, Twice Survived, a thought provoking documentary about Tsutomu Yamaguchi, the only person to have been officially recognized by the Japanese government for surviving both explosions. Tickets, a trailer and more information are available here.

Twice Bombed, Twice Survived plays at NEW PEOPLE’s cinema on Saturday, August 6th at 2:00pm. Tickets are $10.00 each. A portion of sales will be donated directly to the Friends of Hibakusha, a San Francisco organization dedicated to supporting U.S. citizens and Japanese-American survivors of radiation exposure from the bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki. The U.S. government does not currently subsidize any medical treatment programs for atomic bomb survivors. Several survivors from the Friends of Hibakusha will speak in a Q&A immediately following the screening.

In August 1945, two atomic bombs were dropped over the Japanese cities of Hiroshima and Nagasaki. More than 210,000 people were killed and many more victims were affected by both of the bombings. Tsutomu Yamaguchi is one person who was bombed twice, and survived twice. His hope towards the abolition of nuclear weapons brought 90-year-old Yamaguchi to appear in this incredible film. Along with Yamaguchi, seven other twice-bombed twice-survived people also recount their experiences in the film.


About NEW PEOPLE, Inc.
Based in San Francisco, California, NEW PEOPLE, Inc. (http://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 (http://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.