Zoe Saldana Acts "Colombiana" Out of Action Movie Ghetto

TRASH IN MY EYE No. 11 (of 2012) by Leroy Douresseaux


Colombiana (2011)
Running time: 108 minutes (1 hour, 48 minutes)
MPAA – PG-13 for violence, disturbing images, intense sequences of action, sexuality and brief strong language
DIRECTOR: Olivier Megaton
WRITERS: Luc Besson and Robert Mark Kamen
PRODUCERS: Luc Besson and Pierre-Ange Le Pogam
CINEMATOGRAPHER: Romain Lacourbas (D.o.P.)
EDITOR: Camille Delamarre
COMPOSERS: Nathaniel Méchaly and Craig Walker

ACTION with elements of drama

Starring: Zoe Saldana, Cliff Curtis, Jordi Mallà, Beto Benites, Lennie James, Michael Vartan, Amandla Stenberg, Callum Blue, Jesse Borrego, Cynthia Addai-Robinson, Ofelia Medina, and John McConnell

Colombiana is a 2011 action movie from French filmmaker, Luc Besson. An American and French co-production, Colombiana is another of Besson’s films featuring a fight girl or action chick (my terms). These lovely ladies appear in such Besson films as Nikita (1990) and The Fifth Element (1997).

Colombiana opens in Bogota, Colombia in 1992. Nine-year-old Cataleya Restrepo (Amandla Stenberg) sees her parents killed by gunmen working for the drug lord, Don Luis Sandoval (Beto Benites). With the help of the U.S. Embassy, Cataleya escapes to the United States, where she is reunited with her uncle, Emilio Restrepo (Cliff Curtis). The girl insists that he train her to be a killer.

The story moves to 2007 and finds the adult Cataleya (Zoe Saldana) working as a killer-for-hire for Emilio, but Cataleya leads a double life. First, she has a boyfriend, Danny Delanay (Michael Vartan), an artist. Secondly, she is a tag killer, murdering various criminal types and leaving messages on their bodies, messages directed to Don Luis. Meanwhile, her activities have attracted the attention of FBI Special Agent James Ross (Lennie James), who is trying to learn the identity of the tag killer. When Don Luis decides to pay attention to Cataleya’s messages to him, he sends his right hand man, Marco (Jordi Mallà), to send a message back to Cataleya.

Colombiana is a good revenge action flick. I won’t say great because the screenplay leaves Cataleya as a cipher. It’s cool that in the movie, the other characters don’t know much about her, but the audience should get to know her more than we actually do. Still, the action scenes with both young Cataleya and the sexy older Cataleya are stimulating and visceral. Zoe Saldana proves two things: that her beauty and presence make her a movie star and that she has the acting chops to elevate even B-movie material like this. Young Amandla Stenberg as young Cataleya also shows some acting chops and even a bit of “it” factor.

Colombiana isn’t high cinema, but it delivers on what it is. This is titillation cinema that pays off.

6 of 10
B

NOTES:
2012 Black Reel Awards: 1 nomination: “Best Actress” (Zoe Saldana)

2012 Image Awards: 1 nomination: “Outstanding Actress in a Motion Picture” (Zoe Saldana)

Friday, February 03, 2012

"Rango" Dominates 2012 Visual Effects Society Awards

On its website, the Visual Effects Society (VES) says that it is the only organization representing the full breadth of visual effects practitioners in the entertainment industry. This is includes artists, technologists, model makers, educators, studio leaders, supervisors, PR/marketing specialists and producers in all areas of entertainment from film, television and commercials to music videos and games. The VES has 2,300 members in 26 countries.

The 10th Annual VES Awards winners in motion picture categories:

Outstanding Visual Effects in a Visual Effects-Driven Feature Motion Picture
Rise of the Planet of the Apes: Dan Lemmon, Joe Letteri, Cyndi Ochs, Kurt Williams

Outstanding Supporting Visual Effects in a Feature Motion Picture
Hugo: Ben Grossmann, Alex Henning, Rob Legato, Karen Murphy

Outstanding Visual Effects in an Animated Feature Motion Picture
Rango: Tim Alexander, Hal Hickel, Jacqui Lopez, Katie Lynch

Outstanding Animated Character in a Live Action Feature Motion Picture
Rise of the Planet of the Apes – Caesar: Daniel Barrett, Florian Fernandez, Matthew Muntean, Eric Reynolds

Outstanding Animated Character in an Animated Feature Motion Picture
Rango – Rango: Frank Gravatt, Kevin Martel, Brian Paik, Steve Walton

Outstanding Created Environment in a Live Action Feature Motion Picture
Transformers: Dark of the Moon - 155 Wacker Drive: Giles Hancock, John Hanson, Tom Martinek, Scott
Younkin

Outstanding Created Environment in an Animated Feature Motion Picture
Rango - Main Street Dirt: John Bell, Polly Ing, Martin Murphy, Russell Paul

Outstanding Virtual Cinematography in a Live Action Feature Motion Picture
Hugo: Martin Chamney, Rob Legato, Adam Watkins, Fabio Zangla

Outstanding Virtual Cinematography in an Animated Feature Motion Picture
Rango – The Dirt Saloon: Colin Benoit, Philippe Rebours, Nelson Sepulveda, Nick Walker

Outstanding Models in a Feature Motion Picture
Transformers: Dark of the Moon – Driller: Tim Brakensiek, Kelvin Chu, David Fogler, Rene Garcia

Outstanding Compositing in a Feature Motion Picture
Captain America: The First Avenger – Skinny Steve: Casey Allen, Trent Claus, Brian Hajek, Cliff Welsh

See the complete list here, at least for the time being.

The 10th Annual VES Awards will air exclusively on REELZCHANNEL Sunday, February 19 at 10pm ET/7pm PT with encore presentations throughout February. For more information on the VES Awards and the Visual Effects Society please visit http://www.visualeffectssociety.com/.

Bill Hinzman, First Zombie in "Night of the Living Dead," Dies at 76 (Bits and Bites Extra)

Bill Hizman essentially played "zombie alpha," the first zombie to appear in George A. Romero's classic film, Night of the Living Dead (as seen in the above still image from the film).

Bill Hinzman has died of cancer at age 76. He played the gaunt-faced, lumbering zombie that is sometimes referred to as the "Cemetery Zombie."  This is the zombie that brother and sister, Johnny and Barbra, see in the film's opening graveyard scene.  Hinzman's zombie attacks and kills Johnny after the young man taunts his (too easily) frightened sister with the warning, “They’re coming to get you, Barbra.”

Born S. William Hinzman in 1936, the actor also appeared in other Romero films and directed two movies of his own (FleshEaters and The Majorettes).

R.I.P. Mr. Hinzman.

Review: Strong Performances Lift "Peaceful Warrior" (Happy B'day, Nick Nolte)

TRASH IN MY EYE No. 101 (of 2007) by Leroy Douresseaux

Peaceful Warrior (2006)
Running time: 120 minutes (2 hours)
MPAA – PG-13 for sensuality, sex references, and accident scenes
DIRECTOR: Victor Salva
WRITER: Kevin Bernhardt (based upon a novel, Way of the Peaceful Warrior by Dan Millman)
PRODUCERS: Mark Amin, Robin Schorr, David Welch, and Cami Winikoff
CINEMATOGRAPHER: Sharone Meir
EDITOR: Ed Marx

DRAMA

Starring: Scott Mechlowicz, Nick Nolte, Amy Smart, Tim DeKay, Ashton Holmes, Paul Wesley, B.J. Britt, Agnes Bruckner, and Ray Wise

An exceptionally skilled and endowed gymnast, Dan Millman (Scott Mechlowicz) has everything he wants, plus a shot at the Olympics. He meets a mysterious gas station attendant whom he dubs, “Socrates” (Nick Nolte). Socrates tries to show Dan how to reach a greater potential as an athlete, but Dan eventually brushes off Socrates. Later, Dan is in an accident and sustains a horrible injury that could take away his ability to be a gymnast. During his recovery, he turns to Socrates and Joy (Amy Smart), a young woman somehow connected to Socrates, to heal. Socrates unlocks a world of sage wisdom and spiritual understanding that will teach Dan to live in “the now,” and just maybe this journey will bring him back to being a champion gymnast.

Director Victor Salva’s (Powder, the Jeepers Creepers movies) Peaceful Warrior is a lovely inspirational film, and while it doesn’t break any new ground, Salva creates moments in time that transform the film from mere motivational sports movie into a compelling narrative about appreciating the present. Inspired by true events, this spiritually-oriented film is based on the book by the real Dan Millman, who mixed fiction, metaphor, and symbolism with the facts of his life to create an inspirational philosophical story.

In Peaceful Warrior (which was initially released in 2006 and then again in 2007), Salva successfully sells the idea that non-religious spiritual thought and experience are real things and that the two can benefit, comfort, and improve the lives of practitioners. When he convinces the audience to buy into the idea that each moment is important, and the one in which we currently live is not less than the ones that have passed or the ones to come, then, Peaceful Warrior succeeds. Salva also mixes in some excellent scenes of gymnastic events.

Nick Nolte gives a beautiful performance that is so smooth and easy going. Scott Mechlowicz is nearly pitch-perfect as the arrogant, ambitious, and conflicted college athlete. Together they forge the wonderful teacher/student relationship that is the strong and brilliant heart of this film.

7 of 10
A-

Friday, July 06, 2007

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"Harry Potter" Wins Big at 2012 Art Directors Guild Awards

The Art Directors Guild (ADG) is an American labor union and also a branch of the International Alliance of Theatrical and Stage Employees (IATSE) that represents motion picture and television professionals. Among the ADG’s sponsored activities are a film society and the Annual ADG Awards.

The ADG has announced the nominations for their 16th Annual Excellence in Production Design Awards. The winners were announced Saturday, February 4, 2012.

16th Annual (2012) Excellence in Production Design Awards winners:

Period Film:
HUGO Production Designer: Dante Ferretti

Fantasy Film
HARRY POTTER AND THE DEATHLY HALLOWS PART 2 Production Designer: Stuart Craig

Contemporary Film
THE GIRL WITH THE DRAGON TATTOO Production Designer: Donald Graham Burt

In addition, the guild
• presented a lifetime achievement award to Tony Walton
• inducted Robert Boyle, William Darling and Alfred Junge into its hall of fame

This year's Art Directors Guild Cinematic Imagery Award will be presented to the principal team behind the Harry Potter films, including producers David Heyman and David Barron; directors Christopher Columbus, Alfonso Cuaron, Mike Newell, David Yates; creator and author J.K. Rowling; screenwriters Steve Klove and Michael Goldenberg; production designer Stuart Craig; art director Neil Lamont; and set decorator Stephenie McMillan.

NOMINEES FOR EXCELLENCE IN PRODUCTION DESIGN IN TELEVISION:

One-Hour Single Camera Television Series
"Boardwalk Empire" (Episode: 21) Production Designer: Bill Groom

Television Movie or Miniseries
"Mildred Pierce" Production Designer: Mark Friedberg

Episode of a Half Hour Single-Camera Television Series
"Modern Family" (Episode: Express Christmas) Production Designer: Richard Berg

Episode of a Multi-Camera, Variety, or Unscripted Series
"Saturday NIght Live" (Episode: host Justin Timberlake) Production Designers: Keith Ian Raywood, Eugene Lee, Leo Yoshimura, N. Joseph De Tullio

Awards, Music, or Game Shows
83rd Annual Academy Awards Production Designer: Steve Bass

Commercials and Music Videos:
"Activision: Call of Duty" (Episode: Modern Warfare 3) Production Designer: Neil Spisak

Disney's "Lady and the Tramp" Remains Romance Movie Classic

TRASH IN MY EYE No. 62 (of 2006) by Leroy Douresseaux


Lady and the Tramp (1955) – animation
Running time: 76 minutes (1 hour, 16 minutes)
DIRECTORS: Clyde Geronomi, Wilfred Jackson, and Hamilton Luske
WRITERS: Erdman Penner, Joe Rinaldi, Ralph Wright, and Don DaGradi (based upon the story Happy Dan, the Whistling Dog by Ward Greene)
PRODUCER: Walt Disney
EDITOR: Don Halliday
BAFTA Award nominee

ANIMATION/COMEDY/MUSICAL/ROMANCE with elements of drama

Starring: (voices) Peggy Lee, Barbara Luddy, Larry Roberts, Bill Thompson, Bill Baucom, Stan Freberg, Verna Felton, and Lee Millar

Lady and the Tramp is a 1955 animated romantic film from Walt Disney Pictures. It was the 15th full-length animated feature film from Disney and is based in part on a short story originally published in Cosmopolitan Magazine. The film centers on the growing romantic relationship between two dogs, a female American Cocker Spaniel, who is from an upper middle-class family, and a male mutt who is a stray.

Because of drama and turmoil in her owners’ home, Lady (Barbara Luddy), a pampered and sheltered cocker spaniel, wanders away from the safety of her neighborhood and meets Tramp (Larry Roberts), a jolly, freedom-loving, and streetwise mutt with a heart of gold. They share romantic adventures that occasionally imperil their safety while they move towards an inevitable union. Memorable songs (written by Sonny Burke and Peggy Lee) and memorable characters including the twin Pekingese cats, Si and Am (Peggy Lee), highlight this classic, Disney’s fifteenth animated feature.

Lady and the Tramp remains Walt Disney’s signature romantic animated film; although romance often plays a part in their full-length animated films; this is the Disney animated love story. It exemplifies two particular elements that really stand out in a Disney animated features – the art of beauty and technical skills. The character animation is beautifully drawn making even characters meant to be ugly or villainous quite gorgeous and handsome eye candy. The background art, backdrops, and sets are also elegant, even stunning. The technical virtuosity on display is simply dazzling; this is text book work on animating animals. Characters move with such grace and precision that the film looks, on one hand, like museum quality high art, and, on the other hand, has such striking realism in terms of movement and rhythm.

Lady and the Tramp is probably best known for its romantic heart. A melodic score, charming and adorable songs, and the star-crossed pair of Lady and the Tramp make this an animated film that captures the romantic in the hearts of young and old viewers. That’s why this film is so memorable and also well-remembered by adults who first saw it as a child – a true Disney classic.

9 of 10
A+

Sunday, April 2, 2006

NOTES:
1956 BAFTA Awards: 1 nomination: “Best Animated Film” (USA)

2012 Annie Awards Winners - Complete List; "Rango" Wins Best Film

ASIFA-Hollywood, the Los Angeles, California branch of the International Animated Film Society, presents the Annie Awards. The Annie honors achievements in animation as a whole, including current animated productions, as well as career and lifetime achievements. At the beginning of this week, the group announced the nominations and award recipients for the 39th Annual Annie Awards.

Award recipients claimed their trophies at the 39th Annual Annie Awards in ceremony held Saturday, February 4, 2012 at UCLA's Royce Hall in Los Angeles, California.

39th (2012) Annual Annie Awards Winners:

PRODUCTION CATEGORIES

Best Animated Feature
Rango – Paramount Pictures and Nickelodeon Movies present A Blind Wink/GK Films Production

Annie Award for Best Animated Special Production
Kung Fu Panda – Secrets of the Masters – DreamWorks Animation

Best Animated Short Subject
Adam and Dog – Minkyu Lee

Best Animated Television Commercial
Twinings “Sea” – Psyop

Best General Audience Animated TV Production
The Simpsons – Gracie Films

Best Animated Television Production - Preschool
Disney Jake and the Never Land Pirates – Disney Television Animation

Best Animated Television Production – Children
The Amazing World of Gumball – Cartoon Network in Association with Dandelion Studios, Boulder Media
& Studio Soi

Best Animated Video Game
Insanely Twisted Shadow Planet – Shadow Planet Productions, Gagne/Fuelcell

INDIVIDUAL ACHIEVEMENT CATEGORIES

Animated Effects in an Animated Production
Kevin Romond “Tintin” – Amblin Entertainment, Wingnut Films and Kennedy/Marshall

Animated Effects in a Live Action Production
Florent Andorra “Transformers: Dark of the Moon” – Industrial Light & Magic

Character Animation in a Television Production
Tony Smeed “Prep & Landing: Naughty vs. Nice” – Walt Disney Animation Studios

Character Animation in a Feature Production
Jeff Gabor “Rio” – Blue Sky Studios

Character Animation in a Live Action Production
Eric Reynolds “Rise of the Planet of the Apes” – 20th Century Fox

Character Design in a Television Production
Bill Schwab “Prep & Landing: Naughty vs. Nice” – Walt Disney Animation Studios

Character Design in a Feature Production
Mark “Crash” McCreery “Rango” – Paramount Pictures and Nickelodeon Movies present A Blind Wink/GK Films Production

Directing in a Television Production
Matthew Nastuk “The Simpsons” – Gracie Films

Directing in a Feature Production
Jennifer Yuh Nelson “Kung Fu Panda 2” – DreamWorks Animation

Music in a Television Production
Grace Potter, Michael Giacchino “Prep & Landing: Naughty vs. Nice” – Walt Disney Animation Studios

Music in a Feature Production
John Williams “Tintin” – Amblin Entertainment, Wingnut Films and Kennedy/Marshall

Production Design in a Television Production
Mark Bodnar, Chris Tsirgiotis, Sue Mondt and Daniel Elson “Secret Mountain Fort Awesome” – Cartoon Network Studios

Production Design in a Feature Production
Raymond Zibach “Kung Fu Panda 2” – DreamWorks Animation

Storyboarding in a Television Production
Brian Kesinger “Prep & Landing: Naughty vs. Nice” – Walt Disney Animation Studios

Storyboarding in a Feature Production
Jeremy Spears “Winnie The Pooh” – Walt Disney Animation Studios

Voice Acting in a Television Production
Jeff Bennett as Kowalski “Penguins of Madagascar” – Nickelodeon and DreamWorks Animation

Voice Acting in a Feature Production
Bill Nighy as Grandsanta “Arthur Christmas” – Sony Pictures Animation, Aardman Animations

Writing in a Television Production
Carolyn Omine “The Simpsons -Treehouse of Horror XXII” – Gracie Films

Writing in a Feature Production
John Logan, Gore Verbinski and James Byrkit “Rango” – Paramount Pictures and Nickelodeon Movies present A Blind Wink/GK Films Productions

Editing in Television Production
Ted Machold, Jeff Adams, Doug Tiano, Bob Tomlin “Penguins of Madagascar” – Nickelodeon and DreamWorks Animation

Editing in a Feature Production
Craig Wood, A.C.E. “Rango” – Paramount Pictures and Nickelodeon Movies present A Blind Wink/GK Films Production

JURIED AWARDS
Winsor McCay Award —Walt Peregoy, Borge Ring, Ronald Searle

June Foray — Art Leonardi

Special Achievement — Depth Analysis