"Bridesmaids" Offers More Than Just Belly Laughs

TRASH IN MY EYE No. 89 (of 2011) by Leroy Douresseaux


Bridesmaids (2011)
Running time: 125 minutes (2 hours, 5 minutes)
MPAA – R for some strong sexuality, and language throughout
DIRECTOR: Paul Feig
WRITERS: Kristen Wiig and Annie Mumolo
PRODUCERS: Judd Apatow, Barry Mendel, and Clayton Townsend
CINEMATOGRAPHER: Robert D. Yeoman
EDITOR: William Kerr and Mike Sale

COMEDY/DRAMA/ROMANCE

Starring: Kristen Wiig, Maya Rudolph, Rose Byrne, Melissa McCarthy, Chris O’Dowd, Jill Clayburgh, Wendi McLendon-Covey, Ellie Kemper, Tim Heidecker, Rebel Wilson, Matt Lucas, Michael Hitchcock, Franklyn Ajaye, Terry Crews, Jon Hamm, and Wilson Phillips (Carnie Wilson, Wendy Wilson, and Chynna Phillips)

Bridesmaids is a 2011 comedy and drama starring and co-written by Kristen Wiig, a current cast member of “Saturday Night Live” (as of this writing). Produced by Apatow Productions, Bridesmaids follows a down-on-her-luck maid of honor whose personal problems threaten to derail a friend’s wedding.

Annie Walker (Kristen Wiig) is a single woman in her mid 30s and lives in Milwaukee. In recent years, she has seen her dream bakery (called Cake Baby) fail and drain away her life savings. Her current boyfriend, the self-absorbed Ted (Jon Hamm), really isn’t her boyfriend; Ted is just someone who uses Annie for sex. When her best friend, Lillian (Maya Rudolph), announces that she is engaged to marry her boyfriend, Doug (Tim Heidecker), Annie should be happy for her, but Lillian’s impending nuptials only make Annie think about her own sad state of affairs.

Lillian asks Annie to be her maid of honor, but at the engagement party, Annie is shocked to discover that one of the other bridesmaids, Helen Harris III (Rose Byrne), has a relationship with Lillian that can best be described as “best friends.” Annie is also put off by the other bridesmaids: raunchy, cynical, frustrated housewife, Rita (Wendi McLendon-Covey); idealistic new bride, Becca (Ellie Kemper); and Lillian’s crude, but lively future sister-in-law, Megan (Melissa McCarthy). Annie’s attempts at being maid of honor are disastrous and her life isn’t much better. Meanwhile, a local cop, Officer Nathan Rhodes (Chris O’Dowd), takes a liking to Annie.

The title, Bridesmaids, is a little misleading. This film is really about Annie Walker; all the other characters are supporting players to one degree or another. Even Lillian’s wedding, an event that weighs heavily on the story, is merely a subplot in Annie’s complicated life. I would say that much of what was shown in trailers and in television advertisements for this film, especially the hijinks of the Bridesmaids, mostly comes from a section of this film that runs from the end of the first hour to the first 30 or so minutes of the second hour.

That’s not to say that this movie isn’t funny. It’s quite funny. I found myself laughing out loud (really loud, sometimes) at many moments throughout this movie. The bridesmaids live up to the expectations, especially Melissa McCarthy, an Emmy winner for the CBS sitcom, “Mike & Molly.” McCarthy steals practically every scene in which she appears; there should be, at least, some kind of award nomination coming her way. On the other hand, one of this film’s faults is that Maya Rudolph’s Lillian is not in this movie enough. Every time Lillian appears, the movie seems to beg her to stay longer.

Still, this movie is really about Annie Walker, and to that extent, it is well-written by Wiig and co-writer Annie Mumolo. Wiig also gives an excellent comic performance, one that brings humor and sarcasm to Annie’s troubles without making them seem less troublesome. Annie’s life is pretty crappy. That Annie’s dilemmas feel so real is probably why having the policeman, Nathan Rhodes, show up in her life, adds such a lovely romantic touch to this movie. Irish comedian and actor Chris O’Dowd gives what is probably a career-turning performance as the genial, extremely likeable Rhodes, who is a kind of a knight in shining armor. Even I have a crush on the character.

For all the credit that Kristen Wiig, her co-writer, and the rest of the cast deserve, credit should also go to director Paul Feig. He knows just what tone to strike for each scene and also which genre conventions should be present depending on the moment. It’s one thing to direct a comedy-drama, but to also direct a romantic comedy that is connected to a spirit-crushing mid-life crisis is quite a feat.

Do believe the hype. Bridesmaids was a big hit in theatres because people liked it and kept spreading the word about it. And the word I want to use for it is “classic.” I hope it lives up to that. I think it will.

8 of 10
A

Tuesday, November 01, 2011

British Independent Film Awards Nominations List

The Moët British Independent Film Awards nominees for 2011:

BEST BRITISH INDEPENDENT FILM Sponsored by Moët & Chandon
SENNA
SHAME
TINKER TAILOR SOLDIER SPY
TYRANNOSAUR
WE NEED TO TALK ABOUT KEVIN

BEST DIRECTOR Sponsored by The Creative Partnership
Ben Wheatley – KILL LIST
Steve McQueen – SHAME
Tomas Alfredson – TINKER TAILOR SOLDIER SPY
Paddy Considine – TYRANNOSAUR
Lynne Ramsay – WE NEED TO TALK ABOUT KEVIN

THE DOUGLAS HICKOX AWARD [BEST DEBUT DIRECTOR] Sponsored by 3 Mills Studios
Joe Cornish – ATTACK THE BLOCK
Ralph Fiennes – CORIOLANUS
John Michael McDonagh – THE GUARD
Richard Ayoade – SUBMARINE
Paddy Considine – TYRANNOSAUR

BEST SCREENPLAY Sponsored by BBC Films
John Michael McDonagh – THE GUARD
Ben Wheatley, Amy Jump – KILL LIST
Abi Morgan, Steve McQueen – SHAME
Richard Ayoade – SUBMARINE
Lynne Ramsay, Rory Kinnear – WE NEED TO TALK ABOUT KEVIN

BEST ACTRESS Sponsored by M.A.C
Rebecca Hall – THE AWAKENING
Mia Wasikowska – JANE EYRE
MyAnna Buring – KILL LIST
Olivia Colman – TYRANNOSAUR
Tilda Swinton – WE NEED TO TALK ABOUT KEVIN

BEST ACTOR
Brendan Gleeson – THE GUARD
Neil Maskell – KILL LIST
Michael Fassbender – SHAME
Gary Oldman – TINKER TAILOR SOLDIER SPY
Peter Mullan – TYRANNOSAUR

BEST SUPPORTING ACTRESS
Felicity Jones – ALBATROSS
Vanessa Redgrave – CORIOLANUS
Carey Mulligan – SHAME
Sally Hawkins – SUBMARINE
Kathy Burke – TINKER TAILOR SOLDIER SPY

BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR
Michael Smiley – KILL LIST
Tom Hardy – TINKER TAILOR SOLDIER SPY
Benedict Cumberbatch – TINKER TAILOR SOLDIER SPY
Eddie Marsan – TYRANNOSAUR
Ezra Miller – WE NEED TO TALK ABOUT KEVIN

MOST PROMISING NEWCOMER Sponsored by STUDIOCANAL
Jessica Brown Findlay – ALBATROSS
John Boyega – ATTACK THE BLOCK
Craig Roberts – SUBMARINE
Yasmin Paige – SUBMARINE
Tom Cullen – WEEKEND

BEST ACHIEVEMENT IN PRODUCTION Sponsored by Deluxe142
KILL LIST
TYRANNOSAUR
WEEKEND
WILD BILL
YOU INSTEAD

BEST TECHNICAL ACHIEVEMENT
Chris King, Gregers Sall – Editing – SENNA
Sean Bobbitt – Cinematography – SHAME
Joe Walker – Editing – SHAME
Maria Djurkovic – Production Design – TINKER TAILOR SOLDIER SPY
Seamus McGarvey – Cinematography – WE NEED TO TALK ABOUT KEVIN

BEST DOCUMENTARY
HELL AND BACK AGAIN
LIFE IN A DAY
PROJECT NIM
SENNA
TT3D: CLOSER TO THE EDGE

BEST BRITISH SHORT
0507
CHALK
LOVE AT FIRST SIGHT
RITE
ROUGH SKIN

BEST FOREIGN INDEPENDENT FILM
ANIMAL KINGDOM
DRIVE
PINA
A SEPARATION
THE SKIN I LIVE IN

THE RAINDANCE AWARD Sponsored by Exile Media
ACTS OF GODFREY
BLACK POND
HOLLOW
LEAVING BAGHDAD
A THOUSAND KISSES DEEP

THE RICHARD HARRIS AWARD (for outstanding contribution by an actor to British Film) Sponsored by Working Title
To Be Announced

THE VARIETY AWARD
To Be Announced

THE SPECIAL JURY PRIZE
Announced at the Moët British Independent Film Awards on Sunday 4 December.

2011 British Independent Film Awards Nominations Announced

At least for me, the 2012 movie award season (for movies released in 2011) has begun with the announcement yesterday (Monday, October 31, 2011) of the nominations for the 2011 British Independent Film Awards.

Created in 1998, The British Independent Film Awards, by its own description, celebrates merit and achievement in independently funded British filmmaking, honor new film talent, and promote British films and filmmaking to a wider public.  Here, is the press release:

NOMINATIONS AND JURY REVEALED FOR THE MOËT BRITISH INDEPENDENT FILM AWARDS

The nominations and jury members for the 14th annual Moët British Independent Film Awards were announced today, Monday 31October at St Martins Lane, London by Helen McCrory.

Joint Directors, The Moët British Independent Film Awards’ Johanna von Fischer & Tessa Collinson said: “This year’s nominees really highlight the immense wealth of British talent in this country today. We are incredibly proud that the Awards have grown to a level that garners attention worldwide, helping to bring British talent and independent filmmaking to the international stage.”

The highest number of nominations this year goes to three films, Shame, Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy and Tyrannosaur, all with seven nods. All three titles are battling for the coveted Best British Film Award, Best Director, Best Actor and Best Supporting Actor or Actress awards. We Need to Talk About Kevin and Kill List each receive six nominations with Submarine following closely with five.

Nominations for Best Actress go to Rebecca Hall (The Awakening), Mia Wasikowska (Jane Eyre), MyAnna Buring (Kill List), Olivia Colman (Tyrannosaur) and Tilda Swinton (We Need To Talk About Kevin). Leading men hoping to take home the Best Actor award include Brendan Gleeson (The Guard), Neil Maskell (Kill List), Michael Fassbender (Shame), Gary Oldman (Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy) and Peter Mullan (Tyrannosaur).

Directors who have delivered dynamic debuts this year and are fighting for the Douglas Hickox Award are Joe Cornish (Attack The Block), Ralph Fiennes (Coriolanus), John Michael McDonagh (The Guard), Richard Ayoade (Submarine) and Paddy Considine (Tyrannosaur).

Elsa Corbineau, Marketing Director Moët & Chandon commented: “Moët & Chandon is thrilled to continue to support the Awards this year. There are some truly remarkable films in today's nominations which reflect the talent of the British filmmakers. We look forward to celebrating all of the nominees and winners on 4 December."

The Raindance Award nominees for 2011 include: Acts of Godfrey, Black Pond, Hollow, Leaving Baghdad and A Thousand Kisses Deep. This Award honours exceptional achievement for filmmakers working against the odds, often with little or no industry support. Elliot Grove, Founder Raindance Film Festival and Moët British Independent Film Awards added: "Delighted to see that this year's nominations prove that once again British independent filmmakers have risen to the creative challenge of making astounding movies in the midst of economic chaos."

The Pre-Selection Committee of 70 members viewed nearly 200 films, out of which they selected the nominations, which were decided by ballot.

The winners of The Moët British Independent Film Awards are decided by an independent jury comprised of leading professionals and talent from the British film industry.

The Jury for 2011 includes:
Josh Appignanesi (Director / Writer), Lucy Bevan (Casting Director), Edith Bowman (Broadcaster), Mike Goodridge (Editor), Ed Hogg (Actor), Neil Lamont (Art Director), Mary McCartney (Photographer), Molly Nyman (Composer), Debs Paterson (Director / Writer), Tracey Seaward (Producer), Charles Steel (Producer), David Thewlis (Actor), Ruth Wilson (Actress) and Justine Wright (Editor).

The winners will be announced at the much anticipated 14th awards ceremony, which will take place on Sunday 4 December at the impressive Old Billingsgate in London.

Proud supporters and patrons of The Moët British Independent Film Awards include Mike Figgis, Tom Hollander, Adrian Lester, Ken Loach, Ewan McGregor, Helen Mirren, Samantha Morton, Michael Sheen, Trudie Styler, Tilda Swinton, Meera Syal, David Thewlis, Ray Winstone and Michael Winterbottom.

The Moët British Independent Film Awards would like to thank all its supporters, especially: Moët & Chandon, The British Film Institute, 3 Mills Studios, BBC Films, Deluxe142, The Creative Partnership, Exile Media, M.A.C, Raindance, Soho House, Studiocanal, Swarovski, Variety, Working Title and Zander Creative.


About BIFA
Created in 1998, The British Independent Film Awards set out to celebrate merit and achievement in independently funded British filmmaking, to honour new talent, and to promote British filmmaking and British talent to a wider public.

In recognition of Moët & Chandon’s generous contribution as headline sponsor, the 2011 event is referred to as The MOËT British Independent Film Awards.

For further information on BIFA, visit http://www.bifa.org.uk/

Knowvember at Negromancer

Welcome to Negromancer, the rebirth of my former movie review website as a movie review and movie news blog. I’m Leroy Douresseaux, and I also blog at http://ireadsyou.blogspot.com/ and write for the Comic Book Bin (which has smart phones apps).

And read a horror graphic novel in progress here.

All images and text appearing on this blog are © copyright and/or trademark their respective owners.

Rob Zombie's "Halloween" Fueled by Brutal Violence

TRASH IN MY EYE No. 8 (of 2009) by Leroy Douresseaux


Halloween (2007)
Running time: 109 minutes (1 hour, 49 minutes)
MPAA – R for strong brutal bloody violence and terror throughout, sexual content, graphic nudity, and language
DIRECTOR: Rob Zombie
WRITER: Rob Zombie (based upon the movie written by John Carpenter and Debra Hill)
PRODUCERS: Malek Akkad, Andy Gould, Rob Zombie, and Andy La Marca
CINEMATOGRAPHER: Phil Parmet (D.o.P.)
EDITOR: Glenn Garland

HORROR

Starring: Malcolm McDowell, Scout Taylor-Compton, Brad Dourif, Daeg Faerch, Sheri Moon Zombie, William Forsythe, Hanna Hall, Ken Foree, Lew Temple, Danny Trejo, Danielle Harris, Kristina Klebe, Pat Skipper, Dee Wallace, and Tyler Mane

In 2007, musician turned movie director Rob Zombie already had two brutal horror films to his credit, House of 1000 Corpses and its sequel, The Devil Rejects, when he unleashed Halloween, a remake and re-imagining of director John Carpenter’s 1978 classic horror film of the same name. Zombie’s film followed the now familiar storyline, but went into the past to reveal some origins.

It’s Halloween, and 10-year-old Michael Myers (Daeg Faerch) goes on a murderous rampage in the quiet town of Haddonfield, Illinois. He spends the next 17 years in the Smith’s Grove Sanitarium under the care of noted child behaviorist, Dr. Samuel Loomis (Malcolm McDowell). Loomis seems to be the only person who can truly understand the evil of Michael’s nature.

After 17 years, the adult Michael Myers (Tyler Mane) escapes from the mental facility on the day of Halloween and begins a bloody trek back to Haddonfield. He stalks a high school girl, Laurie Strode (Scout Taylor-Compton), and her friends, Annie (Danielle Harris) and Lynda (Kristina Klebe). When Dr. Loomis hears about Michael’s escape, he races to Haddonfield and joins Sheriff Brackett (Brad Dourif) to find Michael and to put an end to Michael’s reign of terror. There, Loomis discovers that Myers and Laurie Strode have ties to a similar past.

Rob Zombie’s Halloween is a prequel, a re-imagining, a reinvention, and a remake of the original film. This new film is partly a prequel because Zombie, as both writer and director, chose to begin the story earlier in Michael Myer’s life than the writers of the original movie, John Carpenter and the late Debra Hill, did. That the story begins before the scene in which Michael puts on the mask and kills his sister, which is where the first film began. Zombie’s film begins Halloween morning, at the breakfast table of a highly dysfunctional “white trash” family. The audience sees Myers the “perfect storm” as Dr. Loomis calls it: Myers’ destructive home environment and his murderous tendencies.

Zombie re-imagines the film in the way he presents Michael Myers. Michael is not something of supernatural force, as the first film suggest, but he is simply a human monster – a psychopath. In the original film and its sequels (in which John Carpenter was involved to some extent) Carpenter suggested that Michael Myer’s evil was in some way a reflection of the darkness that existed at the heart of small towns like Haddonfield. Zombie provides no such social context or metaphor. Myers is simply a bad-ass, evil killer dude.

The film is a re-invention of sorts because it presents the violent slasher film as sort of a reality show in which all the gushing fluids of violent murder must be on display before the voyeuristic audience. In the original Halloween, Carpenter showed no blood, although Myers’ attacks on his victims were quite violent. In Zombie’s hands, the attacks are rude and crude – exercises in blood and mayhem and in bloody mayhem.

This film remains a respectful remake. Scenes, sequences, and even certain shots are repeated from the original or are only slightly altered. Halloween 2007 can stand on its own. The acting wasn’t great, but Zombie chose a nice mixture of character actors for the major parts and some famous faces and somewhat cult figures to fill in the bit parts and cameos, and that works out well.

Towards the end, the film seems out of control, both in terms of Zombie’s usual excesses and the fact that the ending seems padded. Still, Halloween is a scary movie, a celebration of raw violent horror, and true to Zombie’s rebel spirit. It is scandalous and disrespectful of those “our values” about which so-called conservatives like to preach. It’s funny and scary – a black comedy and horror movie that is stained dark with a lot of blood.

6 of 10
B

Wednesday, August 26, 2009

Review: John Carpenter's "Halloween" is a Great Horror Movie and Great Film

TRASH IN MY EYE No. 112 (of 2006) by Leroy Douresseaux

Halloween (1978)
Running time: 91 minutes (1 hour, 31 minutes)
DIRECTOR: John Carpenter
WRITERS: Debra Hill and John Carpenter
PRODUCER: Debra Hill
CINEMATOGRAPHER: Dean Cundey
EDITORS: Tommy Lee Wallace and Charles Bornstein

HORROR/THRILLER

Starring: Jamie Lee Curtis, Donald Pleasence, Nancy Loomis, P.J. Soles, Charles Cyphers, Kyle Richards, Brian Andrews, and Nick Castle

On Halloween night 1963 in Haddonfield, Illinois, six-year old Michael Myers stabbed his sister to death. Fifteen years later, Michael escapes from a mental institution in Smith’s Grove, IL, and he heads back to Haddonfield with his psychiatrist, Dr. Sam Loomis (Donald Pleasence), hot on the trail. Halloween night 1978, Michael is about to go on a bloody rampage, and high school student and babysitter Laurie Strode (Jamie Lee Curtis) and her friends are his targets.

John Carpenter’s Halloween, more than any other film, was responsible for the 1980’s slasher movie genre. Lunatic/spree killer Michael Myers would influence the horror movies psychos that would wield knives, axes, and assorted sharp and blunt instruments to kill their teenage and 20-something victims in such films as Friday the 13th and Prom Night, especially the characters that had sex sometime during the course of the movie.

Although slasher films are a particularly bloody movie genre, Halloween is relatively free of blood and gore. There are only four onscreen murders (one off screen), and one of those happens at the beginning of the film to establish Michael’s legend. Carpenter spends most of the films first 50 minutes or so establishing mood and atmosphere. Once night falls, Carpenter allows only minimal lighting, so that most of the violence occurs in near total night darkness, which only adds to the creepiness and heightens the scares.

Carpenter also scored the film, and his “Halloween theme” is one of the most famous scary pieces of movie music. The other element that helped Carpenter create such a great horror flick is actress Jamie Lee Curtis, whose appearances in scary movies in the late 70’s and early 80’s made her the quintessential scream queen. Here, she personifies suburban innocence and all-American teen beauty – a flower ready to be plucked – which makes her the perfect victim for a knife-wielding maniac.

9 of 10
A+

"Paranormal Activity 3" a Spine-Tingler for Real

TRASH IN MY EYE No. 88 (of 2011) by Leroy Douresseaux


Paranormal Activity 3 (2011)
Running time: 85 minutes (1 hour, 25 minutes)
MPAA – R for some violence, language, brief sexuality and drug use
DIRECTORS: Henry Joost and Ariel Schulman
WRITER: Christopher B. Landon (based on film created by Oren Peli)
PRODUCERS: Jason Blum, Oren Peli, and Steven Schneider
CINEMATOGRAPHER: Magdalena Gorka Bonacorso
EDITOR: Gregory Plotkin

HORROR

Starring: Christopher Nicholas Smith, Lauren Bittner, Jessica Tyler Brown, Chloe Csengery, Dustin Ingram, Hallie Foote, Johanna Braddy, Katie Featherston, and Sprague Grayden

Paranormal Activity 3 is a 2011 supernatural horror film, and it is also a prequel to the earlier films, Paranormal Activity (2009) and Paranormal Activity 2 (2010). Paranormal Activity 3 is set 18 years before the events depicted in the first two films and focuses on the two sisters at the heart of the series when they were children.

The main story opens in late summer of 1988 at the birthday party of Katie (Chloe Csengery), during which her younger sister, Kristi (Jessica Tyler Brown), can be seen in the background talking to empty space. The girls live with their mother, Julie (Lauren Bittner), and her boyfriend, Dennis (Christopher Nicholas Smith).

Dennis notices that strange things have begun to happen in the house ever since Kristi began interacting with an imaginary (or invisible) friend whose name she says is Toby. Dennis sets up cameras around the house to record these strange events. Through his investigations, Dennis discovers a strange symbol drawn on a wall in the house, which leads to an even more shocking discovery. As Dennis tries to learn more, the paranormal activity increases both in number and in intensity.

I compared the first two Paranormal Activity films to The Blair Witch Project, and the final act of this film has striking similarities to the end of the original Blair Witch film, which is a good thing in this instance. I really like Paranormal Activity 3 because it is genuinely scary. Several times, I hugged myself tightly in an anticipation of the next bump in the night or shadowy figure standing in the background. This movie delivers the chills. I was still thinking about it the morning after seeing it.

Still, it feels as if something is missing from Paranormal Activity 3. It’s as if there is a glitch in the storyline that runs through this film series and through the backstory that is the series’ spine. I won’t let that bother me. This movie is a real Halloween, scary movie thriller. Perhaps, it is because the entity seems angrier this time and because it threatens small children so much in this film. Whatever the reason, Paranormal Activity 3 is the real deal, and I’m looking forward to the next film.

7 of 10
A-

Sunday, October 30, 2011