Review: Washington and Franklin Save "Out of Time" (Happy B'day, Denzel Washington)

TRASH IN MY EYE No. 150 (of 2003) by Leroy Douresseaux on Patreon

Out of Time (2003)
Running time: 105 minutes (1 hour, 45 minutes)
MPAA – PG-13
DIRECTOR: Carl Franklin
WRITER: David Collard
PRODUCERS: Jesse B'Franklin and Neal H. Moritz
CINEMATOGRAPHER: Theo van de Sande (D.o.P.)
EDITOR: Carole Kravetz-Aykanian
COMPOSER: Graeme Revell

CRIME/DRAMA/THRILLER

Starring: Denzel Washington, Eva Mendes, Sanaa Lathan, Dean Cain, John Billingsley, Alex Carter, and Robert Baker

Director Carl Franklin (One False Move) and Denzel Washington previously joined forces to make the underrated noir thriller, Devil in a Blue Dress. They’re together again in the deliciously dumb crime thriller Out of Time. It’s dumb because its premise is stretched light years past the point of probability and reasonable suspension of disbelief. It’s hilarious, but not so dumb that’s it hard to watch. In fact, it’s quite delicious because, like the best thrillers, Out of Time is a riveting drama that hard to stop watching.

Mathias Lee Whitlock (Denzel Washington), the police chief of a small community in the Florida Keys, is having an affair with his high school sweetheart Anne Merai Harrison (Sanaa Lathan). After Anne is diagnosed with terminal cancer, Chief Whitlock gives her 500,000 in cash for an experimental cancer treatment. The problem is that Whitlock is supposed to hold onto the money because it’s evidence in a big time criminal case. When Anne disappears, Chief Whitlock suddenly finds himself knee deep in crap from an arson/double homicide, and the local FBI is pressuring him to give them the money for another criminal case. It doesn’t help that his estranged wife Alex Diaz-Whitlock (Eva Mendes) becomes an investigator in the homicide case, and Whitlock knows all the evidence is pointing at him as the killer.

For all the suspense movie clichés that the script gobbles, Carl Franklin is still able to create an incredibly intense police thriller. The characters are shallow, and the script short shrifts some of the better ones, though Washington’s Whitlock and John Billingsley’s Chae are quite captivating. Still, Franklin moves the players around like an adept gamesman and makes Out of Time very entertaining and fun to watch film. There may be no art here, but the movie shows all the signs of being directed by a master craftsmen. Denzel is a known property, as a star, an actor, and an artist. It’s time more film fans also recognize the fine director that Franklin is. Hopefully, he isn’t being slighted because of the prominence of melanin in his skin.

6 of 10
B

NOTES:
2004 Black Reel Awards: 2 wins: “Film: Best Actress” (Sanaa Lathan) and “Film: Best Theatrical (Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer-MGM); 2 nominations: “Film: Best Actor” (Denzel Washington) and “Film: Best Director” (Carl Franklin)

2004 Image Awards: 2 nominations: “Outstanding Actor in a Motion Picture: (Denzel Washington) and “Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Motion Picture” (Sanaa Lathan)

"The Dark Knight Rises" Trailer Hotter Than Cayenne

Trailer for “The Dark Knight Rises” Shatters Record with More Than 12.5 Million Downloads on iTunes in First Day

BURBANK, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--The new trailer for Warner Bros. Pictures’ and Legendary Pictures’ “The Dark Knight Rises” smashed the record for most combined downloads through the iTunes Movie Trailers site (www.itunes.com/trailers) and the iTunes Trailers iOS app for iPhone, iPad and iPod touch. The trailer went online at 10:00 Monday morning, December 19, and was viewed more than 12.5 million times in its first 24 hours, breaking the previous record by well over two million. The trailer can be viewed in HD at http://trailers.apple.com/trailers/wb/thedarkknightrises/.

Opening on July 20, 2012, “The Dark Knight Rises” is the much-anticipated epic conclusion to Christopher Nolan’s Batman trilogy. The film’s international all-star cast is led by Oscar® winner Christian Bale (“The Fighter”) in the dual role of Bruce Wayne/Batman. The film also stars Anne Hathaway, as Selina Kyle; Tom Hardy, as Bane; Oscar® winner Marion Cotillard (“La Vie en Rose”), as Miranda Tate; and Joseph Gordon-Levitt, as John Blake. Reprising their roles from both “Batman Begins” and “The Dark Knight,” Oscar® winner Michael Caine (“The Cider House Rules”) plays Alfred; Gary Oldman is Commissioner Gordon; and Oscar® winner Morgan Freeman (“Million Dollar Baby”) plays Lucius Fox.

The film is directed by Nolan from a screenplay by Jonathan Nolan and Christopher Nolan, story by Christopher Nolan & David S. Goyer. The film is produced by Emma Thomas, Christopher Nolan and Charles Roven, who previously teamed on “Batman Begins” and the record-breaking blockbuster “The Dark Knight.” Benjamin Melniker, Michael E. Uslan, Kevin De La Noy and Thomas Tull are the executive producers, with Jordan Goldberg serving as co-producer. “The Dark Knight Rises” is based upon characters appearing in comic books published by DC Comics. Batman created by Bob Kane.

A presentation of Warner Bros. Pictures, in association with Legendary Pictures, “The Dark Knight Rises” will be distributed worldwide by Warner Bros. Pictures, a Warner Bros. Entertainment Company.

"The Artist" Dominates San Diego Film Critics Awards

The members of San Diego Film Critics Society write and/or broadcast for a San Diego County based outlet. The society’s mission statement is “to provide diverse critical opinion about movies, advance film education and awareness, and recognize excellence in cinema.”

2011 San Diego Film Critics winners:

BEST FILM –
WINNER: THE ARTIST

Nominees:
DRIVE
HUGO
MIDNIGHT IN PARIS
THE TREE OF LIFE

BEST DIRECTOR –
Winner: Nicolas Winding Refn, DRIVE

Nominees:
Martin Scorsese, HUGO
Michel Hazanavicius, THE ARTIST
Terrence Malick, THE TREE OF LIFE
Woody Allen, MIDNIGHT IN PARIS

BEST ACTRESS –
Winner: Brit Marling, ANOTHER EARTH

Nominees:
Elizabeth Olsen, MARTHA MARCY MAY MARLENE
Michelle Williams, MY WEEK WITH MARILYN
Tilda Swinton, WE NEED TO TALK ABOUT KEVIN
Viola Davis, THE HELP

BEST ACTOR –
Winner: Michael Shannon, TAKE SHELTER

Nominees:
Brad Pitt, MONEYBALL
Brendan Gleeson, THE GUARD
George Clooney, THE DESCENDANTS
Jean Dujardin, THE ARTIST

BEST SUPPORTING ACTRESS –
Winner: Shailene Woodley, THE DESCENDANTS

Nominees:
Bérénice Bejo, THE ARTIST
Carey Mulligan, SHAME
Jessica Chastain, THE HELP
Mélanie Laurent, BEGINNERS

BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR –
Winner: Nick Nolte, WARRIOR

Nominees:
Albert Brooks, DRIVE
Andy Serkis, RISE OF THE PLANET OF THE APES
Christopher Plummer, BEGINNERS
Max von Sydow, EXTREMELY LOUD AND INCREDIBLY CLOSE

BEST ORIGINAL SCREENPLAY –
Winner: Woody Allen, MIDNIGHT IN PARIS

Nominees:
Michel Hazanavicius, THE ARTIST
Mike Mills, BEGINNERS
Thomas McCarthy, WIN WIN
Will Reiser, 50/50

BEST ADAPTED SCREENPLAY –
Winner: Steve Zaillian and Aaron Sorkin, MONEYBALL

Nominees:
Alexander Payne, Nat Faxon and Jim Rash, THE DESCENDANTS
Hossein Amini, DRIVE
John Logan, HUGO
Steve Kloves, HARRY POTTER AND THE DEATHLY HALLOWS: PART 2

BEST FOREIGN LANGUAGE FILM –
Winner: LE QUATTRO VOLTE

Nominees:
A SOMEWHAT GENTLE MAN
HAPPY HAPPY
OF GODS AND MEN
THE DOUBLE HOUR


BEST DOCUMENTARY –
Winner: PROJECT NIM

Nominees:
BUCK
CAVE OF FORGOTTEN DREAMS
INTO THE ABYSS
PAGE ONE: INSIDE THE NEW YORK TIMES

BEST CINEMATOGRAPHY –
Winner: Emmanuel Lubezki, THE TREE OF LIFE

Nominees:
Adam Stone, TAKE SHELTER
Guillaume Schiffman, THE ARTIST
Newton Thomas Sigel, DRIVE
Robert Richardson, HUGO

BEST ANIMATED FILM –
Winner: ARTHUR CHRISTMAS

Nominees:
HAPPY FEET TWO
KUNG FU PANDA 2
RANGO
WINNIE THE POOH

BEST EDITING –
Winner: Oliver Bugge Coutté, BEGINNERS

Nominees:
Anne-Sophie Bion & Michel Hazanavicius, THE ARTIST
Hank Corwin, Jay Rabinowitz, Daniel Rezende, Billy Weber, & Mark Yoshikawa, THE TREE OF LIFE
Mat Newman, DRIVE
Thelma Schoonmaker, HUGO

BEST PRODUCTION DESIGN –
Winner: Dante Ferretti, HUGO

Nominees:
Anne Seibel, MIDNIGHT IN PARIS
Jack Fisk, THE TREE OF LIFE
Laurence Bennett, THE ARTIST
Stuart Craig, HARRY POTTER AND THE DEATHLY HALLOWS: PART 2

BEST SCORE –
Winner: Alexandre Desplat, HARRY POTTER & THE DEATHLY HALLOWS: PART 2

Nominees:
Alexandre Desplat, EXTREMELY LOUD AND INCREDIBLY CLOSE
Alexandre Desplat, THE TREE OF LIFE
Howard Shore, HUGO
Ludovic Bource, THE ARTIST

BEST ENSEMBLE PERFORMANCE –
Winner: HARRY POTTER AND THE DEATHLY HALLOWS: PART 2

Nominees:
CARNAGE
MARGIN CALL
MIDNIGHT IN PARIS
THE HELP

BODY OF WORK FOR 2011
Winner: Jessica Chastain

KYLE COUNTS AWARD
Lee Ann Kim, San Diego Asian Film Foundation

Hanks and Roberts Shine in Winning "Larry Crowne"

TRASH IN MY EYE No. 107 (of 2011) by Leroy Douresseaux


Larry Crowne (2011)
Running time: 98 minutes (1 hour, 38 minutes)
MPAA – PG-13 for brief strong language and some sexual content
DIRECTOR: Tom Hanks
WRITERS: Tom Hanks and Nia Vardalos
CINEMATOGRAPHER: Philippe Rousselot (D.o.P.)
EDITOR: Alan Cody
COMPOSER: James Newton Howard

COMEDY/DRAMA/ROMANCE

Starring: Tom Hanks, Julia Roberts, Cedric the Entertainer, Taraji P. Henson, Gugu Mbatha-Raw, Wilmer Valderrama, Bryan Cranston, Pam Grier, Rami Malek, Maria Canals Barrera, Rita Wilson, George Takei, Ian Gomez, and Rob Riggle

Larry Crowne is a 2011 romantic comedy and college film directed by Tom Hanks and is the first film Hanks has directed since That Thing You Do! (1996). The film focuses on a middle-aged man, downsized from a big-box company, who decides to attend college for the first time. In a landscape full of movies that are full of unbelievable things, Larry Crowne is level-headed, real, and, for me, a great !@#$%& movie.

Larry Crowe (Tom Hanks) has just been fired from his job at the retail giant, UMart. The divorced, middle-aged man is drowning in a six-figure mortgage and suddenly cannot find another job. His neighbors, Lamar (Cedric the Entertainer) and B’Ella (Taraji P. Henson), suggest that he attend college, so Larry enrolls at East Valley Community College where he even joins a scooter club.

One of the members, the free-spirited Talia (Gugu Mbatha-Raw), befriends Larry, renames him “Lance Corona,” and turns him into her makeover project. Larry thrives in an economics class with a peculiar instructor, Dr. Ed Matsutani (George Takei). In a public-speaking class, Larry develops an unexpected crush on his teacher, the taciturn Mercedes “Mercy” Tainot (Julia Roberts), who has lost her passion for teaching and is in the midst of a personal crisis. Both are about to discover a new reason for living.

I saw a quote from a review of Larry Crowne that described it as bland and conventional. On the surface, Larry Crowne may seem so, but it actually isn’t. Ostensibly a romantic comedy, this film is really about two people, Larry Crowne and Mercedes Tainot, in full midlife crisis. In those roles, Hanks and Roberts, respectively, give their best performances of recent years. The shock and grief Hanks portrays early in the film when Larry is fired is palatable, so much so that I nearly burst into tears (having undergone a similar experience).

Roberts’ turn as the burnt-out professor, Tainot, is equally inspired. She fashions Mercy as a sarcasm addict whose suffer-no-fools attitude actually hides a generous soul. Roberts does what Hanks does – uses every moment of screen time to build her character into something a bit deeper than what can be described in 20 words or less. Crowne and Tainot are more than my brief descriptions imply.

The supporting characters are mostly types and are not fully realized characters. They are in this movie to add laughs and to give the film some zest and odd flavors. Why else have Cedric the Entertainer, Wilmer Valderrama, Bryan Cranston, Pam Grier, George Takei, Ian Gomez, and Rob Riggle in throw-away parts if not to give the film different essences from unique characters?

However, it is the relaxed chemistry between Hanks and Roberts and also their robust performances that make Larry Crowne surprisingly not conventional and certainly not bland. It’s one of the best romantic comedies of the year, if not the best.

8 of 10
A

Monday, December 26, 2011

2011 Phoenix Film Critics Society Award Nominations - Complete List

The Phoenix Film Critics Society announced the slate of nominees for their 2011 Annual Awards. The winner in each category will be announced on Tuesday, December 27, 2011. The Best Picture will be chosen from the Top Ten Films of 2011.

Phoenix Film Critics Society 2011 Award Nominations:

TOP TEN FILMS OF 2011 (in alphabetical order)
"The Artist”
"The Descendants"
"Drive"
"The Help"
"Hugo"
"Midnight in Paris"
"Moneyball"
"My Week With Marilyn"
"Super 8"
"The Tree of Life"

BEST DIRECTOR
Woody Allen, “Midnight in Paris”
Michael Hazanavicius, "The Artist"
Alexander Payne, “The Descendants”
Martin Scorsese, "Hugo"
Tate Taylor, "The Help"

BEST ACTOR IN A LEADING ROLE
George Clooney, "The Descendants"
Jean Dujardin, "The Artist
Michael Fassbender, “Shame”
Gary Oldman, "Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy"
Brad Pitt, "Moneyball"

BEST ACTRESS IN A LEADING ROLE
Glenn Close, "Albert Nobbs"
Viola Davis, "The Help"
Elizabeth Olsen, "Martha Marcy May Marlene"
Meryl Streep, "The Iron Lady"
Michelle Williams, "My Week with Marilyn"

BEST ACTOR IN A SUPPORTING ROLE
Kenneth Branagh, "My Week with Marilyn"
Albert Brooks, "Drive"
John Hawkes, "Martha Marcy May Marlene"
Jonah Hill, "Moneyball"
Christopher Plummer, "Beginners"

BEST ACTRESS IN A SUPPORTING ROLE
Berenice Bejo, "The Artist"
Bryce Dallas Howard, "The Help"
Jessica Chastain, "The Help"
Octavia Spencer, "The Help"
Shailene Woodley, "The Descendants"

BEST ENSEMBLE ACTING
"Bridesmaids"
"Contagion"
"Margin Call"
"Midnight in Paris"
"Super 8"

BEST SCREENPLAY – ORIGINAL
"The Artist"
"Beginners"
"Midnight in Paris"

BEST SCREENPLAY – ADAPTATION
"Descendants"
"The Help"
"Hugo"

BEST LIVE ACTION FAMILY FILM
"Dolphin Tale"
"Hugo"
"The Muppets"
"We Bought a Zoo"

THE OVERLOOKED FILM OF THE YEAR
"A Better Life"
"The Conspirator"
"Texas Killing Fields"

BEST ANIMATED FILM
"The Adventures of Tintin"
"Rango"
"Winnie the Pooh"

BEST FOREIGN LANGUAGE FILM
"Incendies"
"Point Blank"
"The Skin I Live In"

BEST DOCUMENTARY
"African Cats"
"The Greatest Movie Ever Sold"
"Page One: Inside the New York Times"
"Project Nim"

BEST ORIGINAL SONG
"I Believe In You, "Johnny English Reborn"
"Life's a Happy Song, "The Muppets"
"The Living Proof, "The Help"
"Star Spangled Man, "Captain America"

BEST ORIGINAL SCORE
"The Artist"
"Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close"
"Moneyball"
"Super 8"

BEST CINEMATOGRAPHY
"The Artist"
"Hugo"
"Tree of Life"

BEST FILM EDITING
"The Artist"
"Super 8"
"Tree of Life"

BEST PRODUCTION DESIGN
"The Artist"
"Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 2"
"Hugo"

BEST COSTUME DESIGN
"The Artist"
"Hugo"
"Jane Eyre"

BEST VISUAL EFFECTS
"Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 2"
"Hugo"
"Rise of the Planet of the Apes"

BEST STUNTS
"Drive"
"Fast Five"
"Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 2"

BREAKTHROUGH PERFORMANCE ON CAMERA
Elle Fanning, "Super 8"
Thomas Horn, "Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close"
Elizabeth Olsen, "Martha Marcy May Marlene"
Shailene Woodley, "The Descendants"

BREAKTROUGH PERFORMANCE BEHIND THE CAMERA
Sean Durkin, "Martha Marcy May Marlene"
Michael Hazanavicius, "The Artist"
Tate Taylor, "The Help"

BEST PERFORMANCE BY A YOUTH IN A LEAD OR SUPPORTING ROLE – MALE
Asa Butterfield, “Hugo"
Joel Courtney, "Super 8"
Thomas Horn, "Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close"

BEST PERFORMANCE BY A YOUTH IN A LEAD OR SUPPORTING ROLE – FEMALE
Elle Fanning, "Super 8"
Amara Miller, "The Descendants"
Chloe Grace Moretz, "Hugo"
Saoirse Ronan, "Hanna"

Review: Woody Allen's "Midnight in Paris" is Magical and One of the Year's Best Films

TRASH IN MY EYE No. 106 (of 2011) by Leroy Douresseaux

Midnight in Paris (2011)
Running time: 94 minutes (1 hour, 34 minutes)
MPAA – R for some sexual references and smoking
WRITER/DIRECTOR: Woody Allen
PRODUCERS: Letty Aronson, Jaume Roures, and Stephen Tenenbaum
CINEMATOGRAPHERS: Darius Khondji with Johanne Debas
EDITOR: Alisa Lepselter

ROMANCE/COMEDY/DRAMA/FANTASY

Starring: Owen Wilson, Rachel McAdams, Marion Cotillard, Kurt Fuller, Mimi Kennedy, Michael Sheen, Nina Arianda, Carla Bruni, Corey Stoll, Alison Pill, Tom Hiddleston, Yves Heck, Kathy Bates, Marcial Di Fonzo Bo, Adrien Brody, Sonia Rolland, Adrien de Van, and Léa Seydoux

Midnight in Paris is a 2011 romantic comedy/drama and fantasy film written and directed by Woody Allen. The film focuses on a struggling novelist who has magical experiences in Paris which begin each night at midnight. Midnight in Paris is the first high-quality Woody Allen film since Match Point (2005), and it is his best film since the early to mid 1990s, certainly the best since Bullets Over Broadway (2004).

Gil Pender (Owen Wilson) is a successful Hollywood screenwriter, but he hates the kind of movies with which he is usually involved. He travels to Paris with his fiancée, Inez (Rachel McAdams), and her wealthy, conservative parents, John (Kurt Fuller) and Helen (Mimi Kennedy), for a vacation. Gil is struggling to finish his first novel, and he believes a permanent move to Paris would be a good thing. Inez, who wants to live in Malibu, sees this desire as a foolish romantic notion, and this disagreement is but one of many of the couple’s divergent goals.

One night, a drunken Gil wanders the streets of Paris. At the stroke of midnight, an antique car pulls up and the passengers, who are dressed in 1920s clothing, beckon Gil to join them. Gil soon finds himself in a bar enjoying a performance by Josephine Baker (Sonia Rolland), watching Cole Porter (Yves Heck) sing and play the piano, having a meeting of the minds with Ernest Hemingway (Corey Stoll), and chatting up Zelda (Allison Pill) and F. Scott Fitzgerald (Tom Hiddleston). Gil realizes that he has been transported back to Paris of the 1920s, an era he idolizes. He visits the home of Gertrude Stein (Kathy Bates), where he meets Pablo Picasso (Marcial Di Fonzo Bo) and Picasso’s mistress, a young woman named Adriana (Marion Cotillard). Gil and Adriana are quickly attracted to each other, but their strange romance also reveals their unhappiness with their current personal situations.

In a broad sense, Midnight in Paris specifically deals with nostalgia as a theme, especially people’s nostalgia for a time that existed before they were born – a golden age. For instance, Gil yearns for the 1920s, which occurred decades before he was born. Allen’s script allows Gil to revel in his ability to go back into the past, which is perhaps the only way for Gil to come to grips both with reality and with his idealization of a time in which he didn’t live. Allen resolves this in a way both sensible and satisfying.

On a personal and character drama level, Midnight in Paris plays with themes of denial and cognitive dissonance. The characters have desires and find ways to sabotage or sully their desires when they find them difficult to obtain or perhaps too costly. Both in his script writing and directing, Allen subtly tells us that only those who are honest with themselves about what they want can be happy.

Beyond that, I have to say that Midnight in Paris is just an utterly magical film. There are fantasy films that only feel like Hollywood action movie product and lack a sense of enchantment. Then, there are others that, when you watch them, you can feel the magic emanating and oozing from the screen. That’s how Midnight in Paris is, and Darius Khondji’s shimmering, golden-hued, ember-infused cinematography is a big reason why Midnight in Paris looks like one big enchanted holiday. This movie moves, sounds, looks, and feels like a romantic film.

I am a big fan of Woody Allen and have been for nearly 30 years. I love his films that take place in the past, like Radio Days (1987), which is set in a period when my parents would have been small children or toddlers. I also like his films that are infused with magic, like Alice (1990). For me, Midnight in Paris is the best of both those worlds. A lot of people may dismiss Allen, but they would have to be honest after seeing this film. Few feel-good movies feel better than Midnight in Paris.

9 of 10
A+

Sunday, December 25, 2011

It's a Very Merry (Negromancer) Christmas

Be good to each other.  Happy Holidays! Remember the less fortunate.

Merry Christmas!