"Underworld: Evolution" Also Slick, Sexy and Cool

TRASH IN MY EYE No. 14 (of 2006) by Leroy Douresseaux


Underworld: Evolution (2006)
Running time: 105 minutes (1 hour, 45 minutes)
MPAA – R for pervasive strong violence and gore, some sexuality/nudity, and language
DIRECTOR: Len Wiseman
WRITERS: Danny McBride; based upon a story by Danny McBride and Len Wiseman (based upon characters created by Kevin Grevioux and Danny McBride and Len Wiseman)
PRODUCERS: Gary Lucchesi, Tom Rosenberg, and Richard Wright
CINEMATOGRAPHER: Simon Duggan
EDITOR: Nicolas De Toth

FANTASY/ACTION/HORROR with elements of sci-fi

Starring: Kate Beckinsale, Scott Speedman, Tony Curran, Bill Nighy, Derek Jacobi, Shane Brolly, Michael Sheen, and Steven Mackintosh

After the chaos at the end of Underworld, the war between the vampires and the lycans (werewolves) has taken a backseat to unlocking the secrets to the beginnings of the ancient feud. Vampire heroine, Selene (Kate Beckinsale), a Death Dealer (one who hunts lycans), and Michael Corvin (Scott Speedman), the human who became a lycan/vampire hybrid, have found their quest to unlock the secrets of their bloodlines hampered by the reawakening of Marcus (Tony Curran), the first vampire – also a powerful hybrid.

Marcus is hunting for the crypt where his brother William, the first werewolf, has been imprisoned for eight centuries. That also means Marcus must uncover the machinations of Viktor (Bill Nighy), the vampire lord who imprisoned William and who was killed at the end of the first film. [Viktor only appears in this film via flashbacks). Marcus is willing to kill anyone who stands in his way, including Selene, Michael… and Alexander Corvinus (Derek Jacobi), who is Marcus and William’s father and the man who was the first immortal.

Underworld: Evolution, as a sequel, is like Superman II to Superman and Star Trek 2: The Wrath of Kahn to Star Trek: The Motion Picture, more kick-ass than the original. I would call Evolution better than its predecessor. Although this film is even more of an action flick than the first, the two films are different. Whereas the first could be seen as some kind of riff on the Blade films with a twist of Goth style and music video cool, Underworld: Evolution has the explosiveness of a Lethal Weapon movie or a Michael Bay film (say, The Rock or Bad Boys II). It’s a fantasy mini-epic, but more video game fantasy than Tolkien.

The acting is as good as before. Kate Beckinsale is as magnetic and as alluring as the sexist action babe or femme fatale, and she can give a beat down that would make Charles Bronson proud. Scott Speedman is a solid leading man, and he plays second fiddle to Ms. Beckinsale without disappearing; he actually makes us miss him when he’s off screen. The music is better, and there is a nice addition to the costumes in the form of the vampire war armor. The film’s hues are warmer than in the first film – the better to fit Evolution’s hot passions and blood feuds.

But the architects of the film’s success remain director Len Wiseman and screenwriter Danny McBride; they seem to hit all the right notes. Here, it’s the fabulous and intricate back-story of the vampires and lycans that engages the viewer as much as the visual pyrotechnics and theatrics that Wiseman pumps into the film. If there is any reason for this franchise to continue, it’s certainly to see the twists, turns, and surprises that McBride and Wiseman may have in store. In the meantime, Underworld: Evolution simultaneously satisfies and whets the appetite. It will only take a few minutes of this excellent entertainment to make the viewer want to invest himself in the wild ride.

8 of 10
A

Saturday, January 21, 2006

Nine Movies Chase 5 Foreign Language Film Oscar Nominations

9 Foreign Language Films Vie for Oscar®

Beverly Hills, CA (January 18, 2012) – Nine films will advance to the next round of voting in the Foreign Language Film category for the 84th Academy Awards®. Sixty-three films had originally qualified in the category.

The films, listed in alphabetical order by country, are:

Belgium, "Bullhead," Michael R. Roskam, director;
Canada, "Monsieur Lazhar," Philippe Falardeau, director;
Denmark, "Superclásico," Ole Christian Madsen, director;
Germany, "Pina," Wim Wenders, director;
Iran, "A Separation," Asghar Farhadi, director;
Israel, "Footnote," Joseph Cedar, director;
Morocco, "Omar Killed Me," Roschdy Zem, director;
Poland, "In Darkness," Agnieszka Holland, director;
Taiwan, "Warriors of the Rainbow: Seediq Bale," Wei Te-sheng, director.

Foreign Language Film nominations for 2011 are again being determined in two phases.

The Phase I committee, consisting of several hundred Los Angeles-based members, screened the 63 eligible films between mid-October and January 13. The group’s top six choices, augmented by three additional selections voted by the Academy’s Foreign Language Film Award Executive Committee, constitute the shortlist.

The shortlist will be winnowed down to the five nominees by specially invited committees in New York and Los Angeles. They will spend Friday, January 20, through Sunday, January 22, viewing three films each day and then casting their ballots.

The 84th Academy Awards nominations will be announced live on Tuesday, January 24, at 5:30 a.m. PT in the Academy’s Samuel Goldwyn Theater.

Academy Awards for outstanding film achievements of 2011 will be presented on Sunday, February 26, at the Kodak Theatre at Hollywood & Highland Center®, and televised live by the ABC Television Network. The Oscar® presentation also will be televised live in more than 225 countries worldwide.

"Underworld" Still Slick, Sexy and Cool

TRASH IN MY EYE No. 145 (of 2003) by Leroy Douresseaux


Underworld (2003)
Running time: 121 minutes (2 hours, 1 minute)
MPAA – R for strong violence/gore and some language
DIRECTOR: Len Wiseman
WRITERS: Danny McBride, from a story by Kevin Grevioux, Danny McBride, and Len Wiseman
PRODUCERS: Gary Lucchesi, Tom Rosenberg, and Richard Wright
CINEMATOGRAPHER: Tony Pierce-Roberts
EDITOR: Martin Hunter
COMPOSER: Paul Haslinger

HORROR/FANTASY/ACTION

Starring: Kate Beckinsale, Scott Speedman, Shane Brolly, Michael Sheen, Bill Nighy, Erwin Leder, Sophia Myles, Danny McBride, and Kevin Grevioux

Underworld is a 2003 action/fantasy film about a war between vampires and werewolves (called Lycans). I believe that this film exists in a fantasy world that looks so good and convincing on screen because of modern cinematic technology.

Quite a few people have come to believe that computers generated special effects have elevated what was once traditional Hollywood B-movie material (science fiction, fantasy, horror, etc.) to A-list status. Once upon a time quality story telling was king because even the best that special effects could do no more than make an obviously fake flying saucer look like an obviously fake flying saucer. Now, special effects can convincingly create fantastic worlds, outlandish creatures, and bizarre scenarios. A plain old movie drama pales next to some two-and-a-half hour vampire, car chase, kung fu, and alien invasion action movie.

I’d like to believe that Underworld, with its straight-forward tale about a centuries-long blood feud between werewolves and vampires, could still be very entertaining without the aid of computer generated effects (CGI) or any kind of SFX, for that matter. There’s no doubt that the movie proudly wears its B-movie heritage on its sleeve, and the creators sold the studio on the movie by pitching the idea, “Romeo and Juliet with vampires and werewolves.” Truthfully, very little about Underworld vampire/werewolf conflict makes much sense. The feud only seems a reason for Vampires to walk around in fancy and expensive leather gear and shoot hundreds of rounds of ammunitions. For the werewolves, or Lycans as they called in this film, the conflict gives them a reason to hide in the city’s underbelly, crawling around like low-rent thugs and thieves and engage in homoerotic intra clan feuds, as there are apparently no female Lycans.

Selene (Kate Beckinsale) is a death dealer, a Vampire warrior who hunts the Lycans. The Lycans were supposed to be on the run ever since their great leader Lucian (Michael Sheen) was killed six centuries prior, but the war never ended. Selene’s people are clan of secretive, modern sophisticates, as much dilettantes as they are vampires, and she alone seems to hold a hard line against the Lycans. Now, Selene has found the werewolves tracking a handsome young human man named Michael Corvin (Scott Speedman), and she is determined to discover why, even as she suspects her clan leader Kraven (Shane Brolly) is involved in a great conspiracy that could endanger all of her kind.

Visually, Underworld resembles The Matrix films, and stylistically the story is quite similar to the Blade films (maybe even a bit of The Crow), but director Len Wiseman and his cohorts create their own crazy dish from the various sources they raided to concoct Underworld. It’s by no means a great movie, and the acting is as much unintentionally funny as it is dreadfully serious. It’s oh-so-dark and oh-so-seriously gothic and Goth, and the dialogue is so stiff and formal that I can almost swear that no character spoke one word of contraction.

Still, though this film is ponderous and painfully derivative, I couldn’t take my eyes off it. I found Underworld to be quite good, and I’ll see it again. I can’t imagine that many fans of genre films would not see it, though many may actually not like it. For me, it’s one of those “ultimate” popcorn flicks – horror, fantasy, and action all put together and filmed as if it were a very, very, very long music video. It’s gloriously and hilariously dark eye candy for the comic book and sci-fi geeks. The nitpicker in me might sneer, but the film geek in me wants more. I’ll take it warts and all.

7 of 10
B+

J.J. Abrams' "Star Trek" Sequel Now in Production

J.J. ABRAMS BEGINS PRODUCTION ON THE NEXT “STAR TREK” MOVIE

Paramount Pictures and Skydance Productions Will Release the Anticipated Sequel on May 17, 2013

Paramount Pictures announced today that principal photography has commenced in Los Angeles, CA on the sequel to Star Trek from director J.J. Abrams. The film will be released on May 17, 2013 in 3D. The 2009 re-launch of the “Star Trek” franchise by Abrams was met with critical acclaim and a worldwide gross of over $385 million at the box office.

Paramount Pictures and Skydance Productions present a Bad Robot Production of a J.J. Abrams Film. Returning to their posts on the Enterprise are John Cho, Bruce Greenwood, Simon Pegg, Chris Pine, Zachary Quinto, Zoë Saldana, Karl Urban, and Anton Yelchin. They are joined by new cast members Benedict Cumberbatch, Alice Eve and Peter Weller.

Based upon “Star Trek” created by Gene Roddenberry, the film is produced by J.J. Abrams, Bryan Burk, Damon Lindelof, Alex Kurtzman and Roberto Orci. The script was written by Alex Kurtzman & Robert Orci & Damon Lindelof.

Jeffrey Chernov, David Ellison, Dana Goldberg and Paul Schwake are the executive producers. The director of photography is Dan Mindel, ASC, BSC. The production designer is Scott Chambliss. The film is edited by Maryann Brandon, A.C.E. and Mary Jo Markey, A.C.E. The costume designer is Michael Kaplan. The music is by Michael Giacchino.


ABOUT Paramount PICTURES CORPORATION
Paramount Pictures Corporation (PPC), a global producer and distributor of filmed entertainment, is a unit of Viacom (NYSE: VIA, VIA.B), a leading content company with prominent and respected film, television and digital entertainment brands. The company's labels include Paramount Pictures, Paramount Vantage, Paramount Classics, MTV Films, and Nickelodeon Movies. PPC operations also include Paramount Digital Entertainment, Paramount Famous Productions, Paramount Home Entertainment, Paramount Pictures International, Paramount Licensing Inc., Paramount Studio Group, and Worldwide Television Distribution.

ABOUT SKYDANCE PRODUCTIONS
Skydance Productions has a strategic partnership with Paramount Pictures which allows it to co-finance and produce several films per year with the studio. The first film to be co-produced under the partnership was the Coen Brothers’ “True Grit,” which was nominated for 10 Academy Awards© and has earned $250 million worldwide. Most recently, Skydance productions released the Paramount feature “Mission: Impossible-Ghost Protocol,” starring Tom Cruise, which has made over $460 million worldwide and growing. Upcoming films include “G.I. Joe 2: Retaliation,” starring Bruce Willis, Channing Tatum and Dwayne Johnson, set for release on June 29, 2012; “My Mother’s Curse,” starring Barbra Streisand and Seth Rogen, slated for release on November 2, 2012; “World War Z,” directed by Marc Forster and starring Brad Pitt, Matthew Fox and David Morse, set for release on December 21, 2012; “One Shot,” based on the best-selling novels by Lee Child, directed by Christopher McQuarrie and starring Tom Cruise, currently in production; the Untitled Star Trek Sequel, starring Zoe Saldana, Zachary Quinto and Chris Pine; and the Untitled Jack Ryan Project starring Chris Pine, to be directed by Jack Bender (“Lost”) and produced by Lorenzo Di Bonaventura and Mace Neufeld. Additionally, Skydance is producing, along with Alex Kurtzman and Roberto Orci, “Without Remorse,” written by Shawn Ryan.

ABOUT BAD ROBOT
Bad Robot was formed by filmmaker J.J. Abrams in 2001. The company has produced television series such as ALIAS, LOST, FRINGE, and PERSON OF INTEREST, and feature films such as CLOVERFIELD, STAR TREK, SUPER 8 and MISSION: IMPOSSIBLE GHOST PROTOCOL. Bad Robot is based in Los Angeles.

2012 BATFA Nominations - Complete List

The Orange British Academy Film Awards (also known as the BAFTAs) are presented in an annual award show hosted by the British Academy of Film and Television Arts (BAFTA). It is the British counterpart of the Oscars.

The 2012 Orange British Academy Film Awards take place on Sunday 12 February at the Royal Opera House, Covent Garden, London. The ceremony will be hosted by Stephen Fry and will be broadcast exclusively on BBC One. Red carpet coverage will be hosted by Edith Bowman on BBC Three.

2011 NOMINATIONS (presented in 2012):

BEST FILM
THE ARTIST - Thomas Langmann
THE DESCENDANTS - Jim Burke, Alexander Payne, Jim Taylor
DRIVE - Marc Platt, Adam Siegel
THE HELP - Brunson Green, Chris Columbus, Michael Barnathan
TINKER TAILOR SOLDIER SPY - Tim Bevan, Eric Fellner, Robyn Slovo

OUTSTANDING BRITISH FILM
MY WEEK WITH MARILYN - Simon Curtis, David Parfitt, Harvey Weinstein, Adrian Hodges
SENNA - Asif Kapadia, James Gay-Rees, Tim Bevan, Eric Fellner, Manish Pandey
SHAME - Steve McQueen, Iain Canning, Emile Sherman, Abi Morgan
TINKER TAILOR SOLDIER SPY - Tomas Alfredson, Tim Bevan, Eric Fellner, Robyn Slovo, Bridget O'Connor, Peter Straughan
WE NEED TO TALK ABOUT KEVIN - Lynne Ramsay, Luc Roeg, Jennifer Fox, Robert Salerno, Rory Stewart Kinnear

OUTSTANDING DEBUT BY A BRITISH WRITER, DIRECTOR OR PRODUCER
ATTACK THE BLOCK - Joe Cornish (Director/Writer)
BLACK POND - Will Sharpe (Director/Writer), Tom Kingsley (Director), Sarah Brocklehurst (Producer)
CORIOLANUS - Ralph Fiennes (Director)
SUBMARINE - Richard Ayoade (Director/Writer)
TYRANNOSAUR - Paddy Considine (Director), Diarmid Scrimshaw (Producer)

FILM NOT IN THE ENGLISH LANGUAGE
INCENDIES - Denis Villeneuve, Luc Déry, Kim McCraw
PINA - Wim Wenders, Gian-Piero Ringel
POTICHE - François Ozon, Eric Altmayer, Nicolas Altmayer
A SEPARATION - Asghar Farhadi
THE SKIN I LIVE IN - Pedro Almodóvar, Agustin Almodóvar

DOCUMENTARY
GEORGE HARRISON: LIVING IN THE MATERIAL WORLD - Martin Scorsese
PROJECT NIM - James Marsh, Simon Chinn
SENNA - Asif Kapadia

ANIMATED FILM
THE ADVENTURES OF TINTIN: THE SECRET OF THE UNICORN - Steven Spielberg
ARTHUR CHRISTMAS - Sarah Smith
RANGO - Gore Verbinski

DIRECTOR
THE ARTIST Michel Hazanavicius
DRIVE Nicolas Winding Refn
HUGO Martin Scorsese
TINKER TAILOR SOLDIER SPY Tomas Alfredson
WE NEED TO TALK ABOUT KEVIN Lynne Ramsay

ORIGINAL SCREENPLAY
THE ARTIST Michel Hazanavicius
BRIDESMAIDS Annie Mumolo, Kristen Wiig
THE GUARD John Michael McDonagh
THE IRON LADY Abi Morgan
MIDNIGHT IN PARIS Woody Allen

ADAPTED SCREENPLAY
THE DESCENDANTS Alexander Payne, Nat Faxon, Jim Rash
THE HELP Tate Taylor
THE IDES OF MARCH George Clooney, Grant Heslov, Beau Willimon
MONEYBALL Steven Zaillian, Aaron Sorkin
TINKER TAILOR SOLDIER SPY Bridget O'Connor, Peter Straughan

LEADING ACTOR
BRAD PITT Moneyball
GARY OLDMAN Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy
GEORGE CLOONEY The Descendants
JEAN DUJARDIN The Artist
MICHAEL FASSBENDER Shame

LEADING ACTRESS
BÉRÉNICE BEJO The Artist
MERYL STREEP The Iron Lady
MICHELLE WILLIAMS My Week with Marilyn
TILDA SWINTON We Need to Talk About Kevin
VIOLA DAVIS The Help

SUPPORTING ACTOR
CHRISTOPHER PLUMMER Beginners
JIM BROADBENT The Iron Lady
JONAH HILL Moneyball
KENNETH BRANAGH My Week with Marilyn
PHILIP SEYMOUR HOFFMAN The Ides of March

SUPPORTING ACTRESS
CAREY MULLIGAN Drive
JESSICA CHASTAIN The Help
JUDI DENCH My Week with Marilyn
MELISSA MCCARTHY Bridesmaids
OCTAVIA SPENCER The Help

ORIGINAL MUSIC
THE ARTIST Ludovic Bource
THE GIRL WITH THE DRAGON TATTOO Trent Reznor, Atticus Ross
HUGO Howard Shore
TINKER TAILOR SOLDIER SPY Alberto Iglesias
WAR HORSE John Williams

CINEMATOGRAPHY
THE ARTIST Guillaume Schiffman
THE GIRL WITH THE DRAGON TATTOO Jeff Cronenweth
HUGO Robert Richardson
TINKER TAILOR SOLDIER SPY Hoyte van Hoytema
WAR HORSE Janusz Kaminski

EDITING
THE ARTIST Anne-Sophie Bion, Michel Hazanavicius
DRIVE Mat Newman
HUGO Thelma Schoonmaker
SENNA Gregers Sall, Chris King
TINKER TAILOR SOLIDER SPY Dino Jonsater

PRODUCTION DESIGN
THE ARTIST Laurence Bennett, Robert Gould
HARRY POTTER AND THE DEATHLY HALLOWS – PART 2 Stuart Craig, Stephenie McMillan
HUGO Dante Ferretti, Francesca Lo Schiavo
TINKER TAILOR SOLDIER SPY Maria Djurkovic, Tatiana MacDonald
WAR HORSE Rick Carter, Lee Sandales

COSTUME DESIGN
THE ARTIST Mark Bridges
HUGO Sandy Powell
JANE EYRE Michael O'Connor
MY WEEK WITH MARILYN Jill Taylor
TINKER TAILOR SOLDIER SPY Jacqueline Durran

MAKE UP & HAIR
THE ARTIST Julie Hewett, Cydney Cornell
HARRY POTTER AND THE DEATHLY HALLOWS – PART 2 Amanda Knight, Lisa Tomblin
HUGO Morag Ross, Jan Archibald
THE IRON LADY Marese Langan
MY WEEK WITH MARILYN Jenny Shircore

SOUND
THE ARTIST Nadine Muse, Gérard Lamps, Michael Krikorian
HARRY POTTER AND THE DEATHLY HALLOWS – PART 2 James Mather, Stuart Wilson, Stuart Hilliker, Mike Dowson, Adam Scrivener
HUGO Philip Stockton, Eugene Gearty, Tom Fleischman, John Midgley
TINKER TAILOR SOLDIER SPY John Casali, Howard Bargroff, Doug Cooper, Stephen Griffiths, Andy Shelley
WAR HORSE Stuart Wilson, Gary Rydstrom, Andy Nelson, Tom Johnson, Richard Hymns

SPECIAL VISUAL EFFECTS
THE ADVENTURES OF TINTIN: THE SECRET OF THE UNICORN Joe Letteri
HARRY POTTER AND THE DEATHLY HALLOWS – PART 2 Tim Burke, John Richardson, Greg Butler, David Vickery
HUGO Rob Legato, Ben Grossman, Joss Williams
RISE OF THE PLANET OF THE APES Joe Letteri, Dan Lemmon, R. Christopher White
WAR HORSE Ben Morris, Neil Corbould

SHORT ANIMATION
ABUELAS - Afarin Eghbal, Kasia Malipan, Francesca Gardiner
BOBBY YEAH - Robert Morgan
A MORNING STROLL - Grant Orchard, Sue Goffe

SHORT FILM
CHALK - Martina Amati, Gavin Emerson, James Bolton, Ilaria Bernardini
MWANSA THE GREAT - Rungano Nyoni, Gabriel Gauchet
ONLY SOUND REMAINS - Arash Ashtiani, Anshu Poddar
PITCH BLACK HEIST - John Maclean, Gerardine O'Flynn
TWO AND TWO - Babak Anvari, Kit Fraser, Gavin Cullen

THE ORANGE WEDNESDAYS RISING STAR AWARD (voted for by the public)
ADAM DEACON
CHRIS HEMSWORTH
CHRIS O’DOWD
EDDIE REDMAYNE
TOM HIDDLESTON

"The Artist" Leads 2012 BAFTA Nominations

Nominations Announced for the Orange British Academy Film Award in 2012

The 2012 Orange British Academy Film Awards nominations were announced today by Daniel Radcliffe and Holliday Grainger at BAFTA's headquarters at 195 Piccadilly in London.

The Artist receives 12 nominations. Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy is nominated in 11 categories, Hugo has nine nominations, My Week with Marilyn has six nominations and The Help and War Horse are each nominated five times.

Drive, The Iron Lady and Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows – Part 2 have four nominations. The Descendants, Moneyball, Senna and We Need to Talk about Kevin all have three nominations apiece and Shame, The Ides of March, The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo, Bridesmaids, The Adventures of Tintin: Secret of the Unicorn each receive two.

The Artist is nominated in the following categories: Best Film, Original Screenplay, Original Music, Cinematography, Editing, Make Up & Hair, Costume Design, Sound and Production Design. Michel Hazanavicius is nominated for Director and Jean Dujardin is nominated for Leading Actor. His co-star Bérénice Bejo is nominated for Leading Actress.

Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy is nominated for Best Film, Outstanding British Film, Adapted Screenplay, Original Music, Cinematography, Editing, Production Design, Costume Design and Sound. Tomas Alfredson is nominated for Director and Gary Oldman for Leading Actor.

Completing the Best Film line up are The Descendants, The Help and Drive.

Hugo is nominated for Cinematography, Editing, Original Music, Make Up & Hair, Production Design, Costume Design, Sound and Special Visual Effects. Martin Scorsese is nominated for Director. He is also nominated in the Documentary category for George Harrison: Living in the Material World and, as previously announced, will receive the BAFTA Fellowship.

George Clooney is nominated for Leading Actor in The Descendants which is also nominated for Adapted Screenplay, as well as Best Film. Joining it in Adapted Screenplay is The Ides of March (co-written by Clooney) which also picks up a nomination for Philip Seymour Hoffman in Supporting Actor.

Also in the Leading Actor category are Brad Pitt for Moneyball and Michael Fassbender for his performance in Shame, which is also nominated in Outstanding British Film.

Nicolas Winding Refn is nominated for Director for Drive and Carey Mulligan is nominated for Supporting Actress. The film is also nominated for Editing, as well as Best Film.

Completing the Director line up is Lynne Ramsay for We Need to Talk about Kevin which also picks up a nomination for Outstanding British Film and a Leading Actress nomination for Tilda Swinton.

Michelle Williams is nominated in the Leading Actress category for My Week with Marilyn, joining in Supporting Actor and Supporting Actress are her co-stars Kenneth Branagh and Judi Dench. The film is also nominated in Outstanding British Film, Costume Design and Make Up & Hair.

Viola Davis is nominated for Leading Actress for her turn in The Help and her co-stars Jessica Chastain and Octavia Spencer are nominated in Supporting Actress, it also picks up a nomination in Adapted Screenplay, as well as Best Film.

Completing the Leading Actress line up, Meryl Streep is nominated for her performance in The Iron Lady alongside Jim Broadbent who is nominated for Supporting Actor. Further nominations for this film are: Original Screenplay and Make Up & Hair.

Joining Kenneth Branagh, Jim Broadbent and Philip Seymour Hoffman in Supporting Actor are Christopher Plummer for Beginners and Jonah Hill for Moneyball. Moneyball also picks up a nomination for Adapted Screenplay.

Bridesmaids receives an Original Screenplay nomination, as well as a Supporting Actress nomination for Melissa McCarthy.

Senna is nominated for Outstanding British Film as well as for Editing and Documentary, where it is joined in the Documentary category by George Harrison: Living in the Material World and Project Nim.

War Horse is nominated in five categories: Original Music, Cinematography, Production Design, Sound and Special Visual Effects.

Attack the Block’s Writer/Director Joe Cornish is nominated in the Outstanding British Debut category alongside Director Ralph Fiennes for Coriolanus, Writer/Director Richard Ayoade for Submarine and Director Paddy Considine and Producer Diarmid Scrimshaw for Tyrannosaur. The self-distributed Black Pond is the final film in this category with nominations for Will Sharpe (Director/Writer), Tom Kingsley (Director), Sarah Brocklehurst (Producer).

Spielberg’s The Adventures of Tintin: The Secret of the Unicorn, Arthur Christmas and Rango are the nominees in the Animated Film category. The Adventures of Tintin: The Secret of the Unicorn is also nominated in the Special Visual Effects category alongside Rise of the Planet of the Apes.

Midnight in Paris and The Guard are nominated in the Original Screenplay category.

The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo is nominated in Original Music and Cinematography.

Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows – Part 2 has four nominations: Make Up & Hair, Production Design, Sound and Special Visual Effects.

Jane Eyre is nominated for Costume Design.

Incendies, Pina, Potiche, A Separation and The Skin I Live In are all nominated in the Film Not in the English Language category.

The Short Animation nominations are Abuelas, Bobby Yeah and A Morning Stroll and the Short Film nominations are Chalk, Mwansa the Great, Only Sound Remains, Pitch Black Heist and Two & Two.

The nominees for the Orange Wednesdays Rising Star Award, announced earlier this month, are Adam Deacon, Chris Hemsworth, Chris O’Dowd, Eddie Redmayne and Tom Hiddleston. This audience award is voted for by the British public and presented to an actor or actress who has demonstrated exceptional talent and promise.

The Orange British Academy Film Awards take place on Sunday 12 February at the Royal Opera House, Covent Garden, London. This is the fifteenth year of Orange’s sponsorship of the Film Awards.

The ceremony will be hosted by Stephen Fry and will be broadcast exclusively on BBC One. Red carpet coverage will be hosted by Edith Bowman on BBC Three.

For public information about the 2012 Orange British Academy Film Awards go to the BAFTA Film Awards Information <http://www.bafta.org/film/awards/public-information,2348,BA.html> page.

"Attack the Block" Attacks the Sci-Fi Movie Status Quo

TRASH IN MY EYE No. 3 (of 2012) by Leroy Douresseaux

Attack the Block (2011)
COUNTRY OF ORIGIN: UK, France
Running time: 88 minutes (1 hour, 28 minutes)
MPAA – R for creature violence, drug content and pervasive language
WRITER/DIRECTOR: Joe Cornish
PRODUCERS: Nira Park and James Wilson
CINEMATOGRAPHER: Thomas Townend
EDITOR: Jonathan Amos
COMPOSER: Steven Price

SCI-FI/COMEDY/ACTION

Starring: John Boyega, Jodie Whittaker, Alex Esmail, Franz Drameh, Leeon Jones, Simon Howard, Luke Treadaway, Jumayn Hunter, Danielle Vitalis, Paige Meade, Michael Ajao, Sammy Williams, and Nick Frost

Attack the Block is a 2011 British alien invasion movie and science fiction comedy. Written and directed by English comedian Joe Cornish, the film follows the members of a South London street gang who defend their block from an alien invasion. Edgar Wright of Shaun of the Dead fame is one of the film’s executive producers.

Attack the Block opens on Bonfire Night (also known as Guy Fawkes Night) in South London. While walking home, a young nurse named Sam (Jodie Whittaker) is mugged by a gang of teenage boys and their leader, the sullen Moses (John Boyega). The attack on Sam is interrupted when an object falls from the sky and smashes into a nearby car. While Sam escapes, the boys investigate the object and find a small, strange creature which attacks them.

After killing it, Moses and the boys hope to gain fame and profit from the creature. However, more objects like the first are falling from the sky, and the creatures that emerge from them are larger and more vicious that the first creature. Now, Moses and friends have to protect their block, Wyndham Towers, from alien jaws of death.

Early in my viewing of Attack the Block, I thought of J.J. Abrams’ Summer 2011 movie Super 8, which I liked but found to be an under-achiever. Attack the Block is the imaginative, socially conscious, and fun teens vs. alien invaders film that the too-serious Super 8 could have been. While Super 8 can come across as Abrams’ Steve Spielberg masturbation fantasy, Attack the Block is Joe Cornish’s imaginative and inventive fantasy. This is a small science fiction movie that stands tall next to the big boys of 2011’s slate of science fiction and action films (Green Lantern, Super 8, Transformers: Dark of the Moon, etc.).

There are many reasons for Attack the Block’s success. One is the simple, uncomplicated creature effects. The alien monsters look like guys in gorilla suits that have a luminescent set of choppers, yet they are effectively scary. I think these monsters should make more film appearances.

Two other reasons for this film’s success are the performances and the character development. First, let me say that it is cool and makes me ecstatically happy that most of the main characters in a science fiction movie are “lower class” black teens. What is even better is that Cornish’s script delves into them, especially Moses, whom Cornish grows as a character from the beginning to the end of the story. Of course, John Boyega’s quietly potent, still-wet-behind-the-ears turn as Moses is the key reason the character rises in stature. However, Cornish sadly under-utilizes Sam, who comes across as an intriguing player from the start of the film.

Attack the Block is a blast, and that Cornish deftly inserts social commentary into this science fiction mix makes this film more than just escapism. To me, Attack the Block is real speculative, imaginative fiction simply because it takes the elements of science fiction and places them in a fresh context.

8 of 10
A

Tuesday, January 17, 2012