"Lagrange" Anime at VIZAnime.com and Hulu

VIZ MEDIA SIMULCASTS THE NEW SCI-FI ANIME SERIES LAGRANGE – THE FLOWER OF RIN-NE ON VIZANIME.COM

Kinetic Action Comedy Series Created By Production I.G. Features An Arsenal Of Robots Designed By Nissan; First Episode Available To Stream Now!

VIZ Media, LLC (VIZ Media), the largest distributor and licensor of anime and manga in North America, excites anime fans with the announcement of the U.S. online simulcast premiere of the brand new series, LAGRANGE – THE FLOWER OF RIN-NE, on VIZAnime.com, the company’s own website for free anime, as well as on the free, ad-supported Hulu service and in high-definition on the Hulu Plus subscription service (http://www.hulu.com/). The first episode (subtitled) is available now with new installments scheduled to debut each Sunday!

In addition, Kazé SAS will be the official partner in the United Kingdom for the simulcast of LAGRANGE - THE FLOWER OF RIN-NE. Episode 1 is now available on www.anime-on-demand.com, with new episodes debuting every Sunday.

LAGRANGE – THE FLOWER OF RIN-NE just launched on Japanese television on January 8th, and is produced by Studio XEBEC (Broken Blade, Martian Successor Nadesico, Fafner), created by the famed animation studio, Production I.G. (Ghost in the Shell S.A.C Sengoku Basara: Samurai Kings), and directed by Tatsuo Sato (Martian Successor Nadesico, Ninja Scroll: The Series, Stellvia). The robots are designed in collaboration with Nissan Motor Co., LTD’s creative team, chosen from more than 60 designs from an internal Nissan design competition.

LAGRANGE – THE FLOWER OF RIN-NE (Rated TV-MA) depicts the adventures of a 17 year-old girl whose mission becomes to defend her city from invading space aliens. Madoka Kyono is an energetic girl who is full of passion. As the proud, and only, member of the Kamogawa Girls’ High School Jersey Club, she goes around helping people in need. But Madoka’s life is turned upside down when she is suddenly asked by a mysterious girl named Lan to pilot a robot. Motivated by her desire to protect the people and city of Kamogawa, Madoka agrees to pilot the resurrected Vox robot to fight against extraterrestrials that have come to attack Earth.

“LAGRANGE – THE FLOWER OF RIN-NE is a hilarious, action-packed story about a determined teenager that devotes herself to protecting Kamagawa City and its peaceful inhabitants against mysterious alien invaders,” says Brian Ige, Vice President, Animation. “The story features a stylish cast of lead characters, as well as an arsenal of sleek, battle ready robots conceived by a team of top car designers from Nissan Motors. The series plays an important part of our 2012 roster which will deliver near-simultaneous release of many top anime properties throughout the year.”

VIZAnime.com is a free-to-use web destination that is now the permanent home to some of the company’s best-loved animated series. Over 1,800 episodes are currently available, and new content is added on a weekly basis. Series currently simulcast on VIZAnime.com include TIGER & BUNNY, BLUE EXORCIST, NARUTO SHIPPUDEN and BLEACH. Other fan-favorite series available include CROSS GAME, DEATH NOTE, FULL MOON, INUYASHA: THE FINAL ACT, KEKKAISHI, NAOKI URASAWA’S MONSTER, NURA: RISE OF THE YOKAI CLAN, ONE PIECE, VAMPIRE KNIGHT, and more!

For more information on LAGRANGE – THE FLOWER OF RIN-NE and other VIZ Media anime titles, please visit http://www.vizanime.com/.


About VIZ Media, LLC
Headquartered in San Francisco, California, VIZ Media distributes, markets and licenses the best anime and manga titles direct from Japan. Owned by three of Japan's largest manga and animation companies, Shueisha Inc., Shogakukan Inc., and Shogakukan-Shueisha Productions, Co., Ltd., VIZ Media has the most extensive library of anime and manga for English speaking audiences in North America, the United Kingdom, Ireland and South Africa. With its popular monthly manga anthology SHONEN JUMP magazine and blockbuster properties like NARUTO, BLEACH and INUYASHA, VIZ Media offers cutting-edge action, romance and family friendly properties for anime, manga, science fiction and fantasy fans of all ages. VIZ Media properties are available as graphic novels, DVDs, animated television series, feature films, downloadable and streaming video and a variety of consumer products. Learn more about VIZ Media, anime and manga at http://www.viz.com/.

About Kazé SAS
Kazé is the leading distributor for Japanese anime in France and beyond, and has gone from strength to strength since becoming a part of VIZ Media Europe. Kazé has a diverse selection of licenses including TV series like BLEACH, DEATH NOTE and PROFESSOR LAYTON AND THE ETERNAL DIVA, across a wide variety of products including DVDs, CDs and merchandise. Watch out in 2012 for new and innovative ways to watch animé from Kazé and a host of other partners in the UK!

Women Film Critics Favor "The Help" and "The Iron Lady"

The Women Film Critics Circle is an association of women film critics, who are involved in print, radio, online and TV broadcast media. Founded in 2004, this group is the first women critics’ organization in the United States.

2011 Women Film Critics Circle Awards:

BEST MOVIE BY A WOMAN
WINNERS: (tie) The Iron Lady and We Need To Talk About Kevin
Pariah
The Whistleblower

BEST MOVIE ABOUT WOMEN
WINNER: The Help
Albert Nobbs
Cracks
Rid Of Me

BEST WOMAN STORYTELLER - Screenwriting Award
WINNER: The Iron Lady [Abi Morgan]
In The Land Of Blood And Honey [Angelina Jolie]
Pariah [Dee Reese]
We Need To Talk About Kevin [Lynne Ramsay]

BEST ACTRESS
WINNER: Viola Davis: The Help
Jessica Chastain: The Debt/The Help
Meryl Streep: The Iron Lady
Tilda Swinton: We Need To Talk About Kevin

BEST ACTOR
WINNER: George Clooney: The Descendants
Jean Dujardin: The Artist
Tom Hardy: Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy/Warrior
Ryan Gosling: Drive, The Ides Of March

BEST COMEDIC ACTRESS
WINNER: Melissa McCarthy: Bridesmaids
Katie O’Grady: Rid Of Me
Sarah Jessica Parker: I Don’t Know How She Does It
Kristen Wiig: Bridesmaids

BEST YOUNG ACTRESS
WINNER: Shailene Woodley: The Descendants
Jordana Beatty: Judy Moody
Liana Liberato: Trust
Amara Miller: The Descendants

BEST FOREIGN FILM BY OR ABOUT WOMEN
WINNER: The Hedgehog
A Separation
In The Land Of Blood And Honey
When We Leave

BEST FEMALE IMAGES IN A MOVIE
WINNER: The Whistleblower
Albert Nobbs
The Iron Lady
Soul Surfer

WORST FEMALE IMAGES IN A MOVIE
WINNER (?): Melancholia
Jack And Jill
My Week With Marilyn
Young Adult

BEST MALE IMAGES IN A MOVIE
WINNER: The Descendants
50/50
Meet Monica Velour
Of Gods And Men

WORST MALE IMAGES IN A MOVIE
WINNER (?): The Hangover 2
No Strings Attached
The Skin I Live In
Straw Dogs

BEST DOCUMENTARIES BY OR ABOUT WOMEN
WINNER: Always Faithful
The Price Of Sex
The Woman With The Five Elephants
Women Art Revolution

BEST FAMILY FILM
WINNER: Hugo
Judy Moody
The Muppets
The Adventures of Tintin

BEST ANIMATED FEMALES
WINNER: Puss N Boots 3D
Arthur Christmas
Gnomeo And Juliet
Kung Fu Panda 2

BEST EQUALITY OF THE SEXES
WINNER: The Debt
The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo
The Iron Lady
Midnight In Paris

COURAGE IN ACTING - Taking on unconventional roles that radically redefine the images of women on screen
WINNER: Glenn Close: Albert Nobbs
Josiane Balasko: The Hedgehog
Mimi Chakarova: The Price Of Sex
Tilda Swinton: We Need To Talk About Kevin

THE INVISIBLE WOMAN AWARD - Performance by a woman whose exceptional impact on the film dramatically, socially or historically, has been ignored
WINNER (tie): Miral: Hiram Abbass and Meeks Cutoff: Michelle Williams
Danai Gurira: 3 Backyards
Red Shirley

WOMEN’S WORK: BEST ENSEMBLE
WINNER: The Help
Albert Nobbs
Bridesmaids
The Whistleblower

BEST SCREEN COUPLE
WINNER: The Artist: Berenice Bejo and Jean Dujardin
Gnomeo And Juliet
The Iron Lady
Like Crazy

LIFETIME ACHIEVEMENT
WINNERS: (tie) Kathy Bates and Cicely Tyson
Hiam Abbass
Michelle Yeoh

ACTING AND ACTIVISM
WINNER: Elizabeth Taylor
Mia Farrow
Daryl Hannah
Alfre Woodard

ADRIENNE SHELLY AWARD - For a film that most passionately opposes violence against women
WINNER: The Whistleblower
In A Better World
In The Land Of Blood And Honey
Life, Above All

JOSEPHINE BAKER AWARD - For best expressing the woman of color experience in America
WINNER: The Help
America
Pariah
3 Backyards

KAREN MORLEY AWARD - For best exemplifying a woman’s place in history or society, and a courageous search for identity
WINNER: Albert Nobbs
The Conspirator
Meek’s Cutoff
Snow Flower And The Secret Fan

MOMMIE DEAREST WORST SCREEN MOM OF THE YEAR AWARD
Judi Dench: J. Edgar

Directors Guild Announces 2011 Film Nominees

64th Annual DGA Awards Feature Film Nominees Announced

LOS ANGELES, CA: On January 9, 2012, DGA President Taylor Hackford announced the five nominees for the DGA Award for Outstanding Directorial Achievement in Feature Film for 2011.

"The directors nominated this year for the Outstanding Directorial Achievement in Feature Film Award have each demonstrated an inspired command of the medium. The fact that their prodigious talents have been recognized by their peers is the highest honor a director can achieve," said Hackford. "I offer my most sincere congratulations to each of the nominees."

The winner will be named at the 64th Annual DGA Awards Dinner on Saturday, January 28, 2012, at the Grand Ballroom at Hollywood and Highland.

The nominees are (in alphabetical order):

WOODY ALLEN
Midnight in Paris
(Sony Pictures Classics)

Mr. Allen’s Directorial Team:
Unit Production Managers: Matthieu Rubin, Helen Robin
First Assistant Director: Gil Kenny
Second Assistant Director: Delphine Bertrand

This is Mr. Allen’s fifth DGA Feature Film Award nomination. He won the DGA Award for Outstanding Directorial Achievement in Feature Film for Annie Hall (1977), and was previously nominated in that category for Manhattan (1979), Hannah and Her Sisters (1986) and Crimes and Misdemeanors (1989). Mr. Allen was honored with the DGA Lifetime Achievement Award in 1996.

DAVID FINCHER
The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo
(Columbia Pictures, Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Pictures)

Mr. Fincher’s Directorial Team:
Unit Production Manager: Daniel M. Stillman
First Assistant Director: Bob Wagner
Second Assistant Director: Allen Kupetsky
Production Manager (Sweden Unit): Karolina Heimburg
Second Assistant Directors (Sweden Unit): Hanna Nilsson, Pontus Klänge
2nd Second Assistant Director (Sweden Unit): Niklas Sjöström
2nd Second Assistant Director (U.S. Unit): Maileen Williams
Unit Production Manager (Zurich Unit): Christos Dervenis
Unit Production Manager (U.K. Unit): Lara Baldwin
Second Assistant Director (U.K. Unit): Paul Taylor

This is Mr. Fincher’s third DGA Feature Film Award nomination. He was previously nominated in this category last year for The Social Network and for The Curious Case of Benjamin Button in 2008. He previously won the DGA Commercial Award for Speed Chain (Nike), Gamebreakers (Nikegridiron.com), and Beauty for Sale (Xelibri Phones) in 2003 and was nominated in that category again in 2008.

MICHEL HAZANAVICIUS
The Artist
(The Weinstein Company)

Mr. Hazanavicius’ Directorial Team:
Unit Production Manager: Antoine De Cazotte
Production Manager (FR): Ségoléne Fleury
First Assistant Director (FR): James Canal
First Assistant Director (US): David Cluck
Second Assistant Director: Dave Paige
Second Second Assistant Directors: Karla Strum, Ricky Robinson

This is Mr. Hazanavicius’ first DGA Feature Film Award nomination.

ALEXANDER PAYNE
The Descendants
(Fox Searchlight Pictures)

Mr. Payne’s Directorial Team:
Unit Production Manager: George Parra
First Assistant Director: Richard L. Fox
Second Assistant Director: Scott August
Second Second Assistant Director: Amy Wilkins Bronson

This is Mr. Payne’s second DGA Feature Film Award nomination. He was previously nominated in that category for Sideways in 2004.

MARTIN SCORSESE
Hugo
(Paramount Pictures)

Mr. Scorsese’s Directorial Team:
Unit Production Managers: Charles Newirth, Georgia Kacandes, Angus More Gordon
First Assistant Director: Chris Surgent
Second Assistant Director: Richard Graysmark
Second Assistant Directors: Tom Brewster, Fraser Fennell-Ball
Production Managers (Paris Unit): Michael Sharp, Gilles Castera
First Assistant Director (Paris Unit): Ali Cherkaoui

This is Mr. Scorsese’s ninth DGA Award nomination. He won the DGA Award for Outstanding Directorial Achievement in Feature Film in 2006 for The Departed, and was previously nominated in that category for Taxi Driver (1976), Raging Bull (1980), Goodfellas (1990), The Age of Innocence (1993), Gangs of New York (2002), and The Aviator (2004). Mr. Scorsese also won the DGA Award last year for Outstanding Directorial Achievement in Dramatic Television for Boardwalk Empire. In 1999, Mr. Scorsese was presented with the Filmmaker Award at the inaugural DGA Honors Gala, and he was honored with the DGA Lifetime Achievement Award in 2003.

Review: "Seven Men from Now" Rises Above B-Movie Pedigree

TRASH IN MY EYE No. 178 (of 2006) by Leroy Douresseaux

Seven Men From Now (1956)
Running time: 78 minutes (1 hour, 18 minutes)
DIRECTOR: Budd Boetticher
WRITER: Burt Kennedy, from a story by Burt Kennedy
PRODUCERS: Andrew V. McLaglen and Robert E. Morrison
CINEMATOGRAPHER: William H. Clothier
EDITOR: Everett Sutherland

WESTERN

Starring: Randolph Scott, Gail Russell, Lee Marvin, Walter Reed, Donald Barry, and John Larch

Sometimes a “B” Western (a Western that wasn’t the main feature when it was released) makes such a lasting impression on some of its audience that they never see it as just another movie, and the film takes on a life of its own and never really dies. As time passes, this kind of movie comes to be seen a classic or, in retrospect, a great film. Director Budd Boetticher and writer Burt Kennedy’s Seven Men from Now is that kind of B-movie Western. The film was produced by John Wayne’s production company (Batjac Productions), and The Duke was one of the movie’s producers, although he did not receive a screen credit as a producer.

Ben Stride (Randolph Scott) was a man of the law when he was sheriff of Silver Springs for 12 years until he lost an election. Now, he’s just a man on a mission of revenge – looking for the seven men who robbed the Silver Springs express office. They stole a Well’s Fargo box holding $20,000 in gold and unknowingly killed Stride’s wife. Along his journey to retribution, he encounters and befriends a young Kansas City couple John and Annie Greer (Walter Reed and Gail Russell) who are also heading to Flora Vista, the place where Stride plans to settle scores. The trio eventually crosses paths with a criminal who has a past with Stride, the scoundrel Bill Masters (Lee Marvin) and his partner, Clete (Donald Barry), both of whom may know something about the men who killed Stride’s wife. Things, however, aren’t quite what they seem, and then, there’s the thing about Stride with his eyes on John Greer’s fetching wife, Annie.

The two things that make Seven Men from Now stand out are Budd Boetticher’s direction and Burt Kennedy’s script – in particular their quirky choices that make their film seem different from the standard Western while still looking like a standard Western. Here, Boetticher would focus on the loser in a gunfight instead of the shooter, which makes a duel sudden and jarring. Instead of only being some epic moment in a film, it heightens the sense of danger and gives the audience the idea that in this movie anything goes, which in turn makes the film’s central plotline (the quest for vengeance) an epic contest. This lets the audience know that these proceedings are serious business, and that Seven Men from Now is not just another by-the-numbers gun-slinging cowboy opera.

Boetticher also makes excellent use of the nicely written characters and vivid inter-character dynamics, motivations, and conflicts that Burt Kennedy wrote. Kenney uses a love triangle (John Greer, Annie Greer, and Ben Stride), an old rivalry (Stride and Bill Masters), and personal failure (Stride believing that his pride directly led to the death of his wife) to give Seven Men from Now a sense of drama and purpose that went beyond mere entertainment and into epic storytelling for what is basically a short, feature-length film. Boetticher was also keen on transforming Kennedy’s well-developed characters into players that made each other strong. A strong woman instead of a shrinking violent (Annie Greer) and a wily, eccentric villain who shows no fear of, but has respect for the hero instead of a standard bad guy (Bill Masters) actually makes Ben Stride appear more daring and gallant.

Boetticher also wrangled excellent performances from his cast. Southern gentleman Randolph Scott brings the stoic Ben Stride to life as the quintessential, more-action-than-talk hero. Gail Russell came back from a career beset by alcoholism to transform Annie Greer into a strong pioneer woman, while Walter Reed makes John Greer a genial determined man who is misunderstood by the kind of men who roamed the western outback. Lee Marvin is puckish as the crafty gunslinger manipulating his way to a super fortune in gold.

In Seven Men from Now, the viewer has the privilege of watching how Budd Boetticher employs his cast and transforms a superbly crafted script into an exceptional Western. Seven Men from Now looks like a Western, but it is also a fine drama cast in the Western mold. Too bad it isn’t a little longer.

8 of 10
A

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National Society of Film Critics Feeling "Melancholia"

The National Society of Film Critics was founded in New York City in 1966 and is made up of 58 of the country’s most prominent movie critics. Known for their highbrow tastes, these critics form one of the most prestigious film groups on the United States. Current members include some of my favorite film critics: Roger Ebert, David Edelstein, and J. Hoberman, among others. The society has produced several anthologies about movies, including the must-have for film fans, Produced and Abandoned: The Best Films You’ve Never Seen (1990).

The 46th annual awards used a weighted ballot system. Scrolls will be sent to the winners.

46th Annual (2011) National Society of Film Critics Awards (* denotes winner):

BEST PICTURE
*1. Melancholia – 29 (Lars von Trier)
2. The Tree of Life – 28 (Terrence Malick)
3. A Separation – 20 (Asghar Farhadi)

BEST DIRECTOR
*1. Terrence Malick – 31 (The Tree of Life)
2. Martin Scorsese – 29 (Hugo)
3. Lars von Trier – 23 (Melancholia)

BEST ACTOR
*1. Brad Pitt – 35 (Moneyball, The Tree of Life)
2. Gary Oldman – 22 (Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy)
3. Jean Dujardin – 19 (The Artist)

BEST ACTRESS
*1. Kirsten Dunst – 39 (Melancholia)
2. Yun Jung-hee – 25 (Poetry)
3. Meryl Streep – 20 (The Iron Lady)

BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR
*1. Albert Brooks – 38 (Drive)
2. Christopher Plummer – 24 (Beginners)
3. Patton Oswalt – 19 (Young Adult)

BEST SUPPORTING ACTRESS
*1. Jessica Chastain – 30 (The Tree of Life, Take Shelter, The Help)
2. Jeannie Berlin – 19 (Margaret)
3. Shailene Woodley – 17 (The Descendants)

BEST NONFICTION
*1. Cave of Forgotten Dreams – 35 (Werner Herzog)
2. The Interrupters – 26 (Steve James)
3. Into the Abyss – 18 (Werner Herzog)

BEST SCREENPLAY
*1. A Separation – 39 (Asghar Farhadi)
2. Moneyball – 22 (Steven Zaillian, Aaron Sorkin)
3. Midnight in Paris – 16 (Woody Allen)

BEST FOREIGN-LANGUAGE FILM
*1. A Separation – 67 (Asghar Farhadi)
2. Mysteries of Lisbon – 28 (Raoul Ruiz)
3. Le Havre – 22 (Aki Kaurismäki)

BEST CINEMATOGRAPHY
*1. The Tree of Life – 76 (Emanuel Lubezki)
2. Melancholia – 41 (Manuel Alberto Claro)
3. Hugo – 33 (Robert Richardson)

EXPERIMENTAL
Ken Jacobs, for “Seeking the Monkey King.”

FILM HERITAGE
1. BAMcinématek for its complete Vincente Minnelli retrospective with all titles shown on 16 mm. or 35 mm. film.

2. Lobster Films, Groupama Gan Foundation for Cinema and the Technicolor Foundation for Cinema for the restoration of the color version of George Méliès’s “A Trip to the Moon.”

3. New York’s Museum of Modern Art for its extensive retrospective of Weimar Cinema.

4. Flicker Alley for their box set “Landmarks of Early Soviet Film.”

5. Criterion Collecton for its 2-disc DVD package “The Complete Jean Vigo.”

Warner Bros. Surpasses $4 Billion in Worldwide Box Office... Again

Warner Bros. Pictures Group Has Another Record-Breaking Year at the Box Office

With a combined box office exceeding $4.7 billion, Warner Bros. is the only studio in history to surpass the $4 billion benchmark for three consecutive years.

BURBANK, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--The Warner Bros. Pictures Group enjoyed another hugely successful year, with a combined worldwide box office gross of more than $4.7 billion, led by 2011’s top-grossing film, “Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows – Part 2.” The announcement was made today by Jeff Robinov, President, Warner Bros. Pictures Group.

Warner Bros. has now exceeded $4 billion globally for three consecutive years, a milestone no other studio has ever achieved. In addition, with a domestic box office gross of more than $1.83 billion, Warner Bros. is the only studio to surpass the billion dollar mark eleven years in a row, and, in addition, it has done so 12 out of the last 13 years. Setting another record, Warner Bros. is the only studio to have topped $1.8 billion domestically for three years running.

There have also been a number of international benchmarks. The studio has surpassed $1 billion at the international box office a total of 14 times, with four of those years exceeding $2 billion, including 2011. The studio earned $2.87 billion internationally last year, and was the number one studio in Europe.

In making the announcement, Robinov stated, “Our 2011 slate saw a broad range of hits that encompassed comedy, action, suspense, and, of course, a little magic. We share these successes with our production partners, as well as all those who worked so hard, not only to make the movies but to bring them to a worldwide audience.”

The cornerstone of the studio’s success in 2011 was the record-breaking finale of the top-grossing Harry Potter film franchise, “Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows – Part 2,” which earned more than $1.33 billion worldwide to become not only the highest-grossing film of the year but also the third-highest-grossing of all time, globally. Among the numerous records that the film broke during its theatrical run, it had the biggest opening weekend of all time, both domestically and internationally, and, on the international side, it is the highest-grossing Warner Bros. movie of all time.

A wide variety of other Warner Bros. releases that opened in 2011 went on to gross well over $100 million worldwide, just a few of which include “The Hangover Part II” ($586 million), “Horrible Bosses” ($215 million), “Final Destination 5” ($164 million), “Crazy, Stupid, Love.” ($148 million), and “Contagion” ($141 million), as well as the current release “Sherlock Holmes: A Game of Shadows,” which has grossed $286 million worldwide to date, with 25 international markets, including a number of major territories, yet to open. Warner Bros. also saw nine of its releases open at number one domestically.

Looking ahead to 2012, Warner Bros. Pictures has some of the most anticipated films of the coming year, with just a sample including “Wrath of the Titans,” the sequel to the blockbuster “Clash of the Titans,” starring Sam Worthington, Liam Neeson and Ralph Fiennes; Tim Burton’s “Dark Shadows,” with Johnny Depp leading an all-star ensemble cast, including Michelle Pfeiffer, Helena Bonham Carter and Eva Green; Adam Shankman’s screen version of the hit musical “Rock of Ages,” starring Tom Cruise, Julianne Hough, Russell Brand, Paul Giamatti, Catherine Zeta-Jones, Malin Akerman, Mary J. Blige, Bryan Cranston and Alec Baldwin; “The Dark Knight Rises,” Christopher Nolan’s epic conclusion to his Batman trilogy, starring Christian Bale, Michael Caine, Anne Hathaway, Tom Hardy, Gary Oldman, Marion Cotillard, Joseph Gordon-Levitt and Morgan Freeman; the true-life drama “Argo,” directed by and starring Ben Affleck; the drama “The Gangster Squad,” starring Sean Penn, Josh Brolin, Ryan Gosling and Emma Stone; Peter Jackson’s return to Middle-earth with “The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey”; and Baz Luhrmann’s screen adaptation of the classic “The Great Gatsby,” starring Leonardo DiCaprio in the title role.

"Don't Be Afraid of the Dark" More Fantasy Than Horror

TRASH IN MY EYE No. 1 (of 2012) by Leroy Douresseaux


Don’t Be Afraid of the Dark (2011)
Running time: 99 minutes (1 hour, 39 minutes)
MPAA – R for violence and terror
DIRECTOR: Troy Nixey
WRITERS: Guillermo del Toro and Matthew Robbins (based on the 1973 teleplay by Nigel McKeand)
PRODUCERS: Mark Johnson and Guillermo del Toro
CINEMATOGRAPHER: Oliver Stapleton
EDITOR: Jill Bilcock
COMPOSERS: Marco Beltrami and Buck Sanders

FANTASY/HORROR/THRILLER

Starring: Katie Holmes, Guy Pearce, Bailee Madison, Julia Blake, and Jack Thompson

Don’t Be Afraid of the Dark is a 2011 dark fantasy film, and it is also a remake of a 1973 ABC made-for-television horror movie of the same name. Co-written and co-produced by Guillermo del Toro, the new Don’t Be Afraid of the Dark is sort of a cross between a horror film and a scary movie for kids. It is certainly an atmospheric film, but it is never truly scary as it could be.

Although she wishes she didn’t have to do so, 8-year-old Sally Hirst (Bailee Madison) arrives in Rhode Island to live with her father, Alex Hirst (Guy Pearce), and his girlfriend, Kim (Katie Holmes). Alex and Kim are living in Blackwood Manor, the former home of the late renowned painter, Lord Blackwood. The couple is also restoring the manor in order to put it back on the market for sale.

Not long after moving in, Sally begins to hear strange, small voices in the walls of the manor. She even discovers that the mansion has a long-hidden basement where Lord Blackwood once worked. There, Sally opens an old fireplace and unleashes creatures that want to claim her as one of their own.

Don’t Be Afraid of the Dark features a theme familiar to horror films – how often victims go unheard or ignored. With that in mind, Sally Hirst is ostensibly the lead character, and she should be both protagonist and hero. However, the screenplay doesn’t mind telling a story of a small child being menaced, but the writers seem to blanch at the idea of that same small child fighting back.

Don’t Be Afraid of the Dark also juxtaposes fantasy and horror, and ultimately comes across as a really scary fairy tale. Because so much about the creatures, the film’s adversaries, remains in the dark, however, the movie isn’t as scary as it could be. In the bid to remain mysterious and secretive, the film, instead, views like a slice from a larger and far more interesting story. It doesn’t help that the creatures often look like bad CGI creations, which makes some of the sequences in which they attack seem more comical than scary. I could not help but feel disappointed in them; it is a vague disappointment, but still a feeling of discontent.

I still like that Don’t Be Afraid of the Dark has imagination, and the art direction and sets are museum-worthy. The photography by Oliver Stapleton is perfect for fantasy and horror and also resembles the work Guillermo del Toro’s frequent collaborator, cinematographer Guillermo Navarro. To be honest, I’d take Don’t Be Afraid of the Dark’s imperfection over other films’ perfection.

6 of 10
B

Saturday, January 07, 2012