"Crank" Don't Stank

TRASH IN MY EYE No. 60 (of 2007) by Leroy Douresseaux


Crank (2006)
Running time: 87 minutes (1 hour, 27 minutes)
MPAA – R for strong violence, pervasive language, sexuality, nudity, and drug use
WRITERS/DIRECTORS: Neveldine/Taylor
PRODUCERS: Tom Rosenberg, Gary Lucchesi, Richard Wright, and Skip Williamson
CINEMATOGRAPHER: Adam Biddle (director of photography)
EDITOR: Brian Berdan

ACTION/CRIME

Starring: Jason Statham, Amy Smart, Jose Pablo Cantillo, Efren Ramirez, Dwight Yoakam, Carlos Sanz, Reno Wilson, Jay Xcala, Edi Gathegi, and Keone Young

In Crank, an action movie from the team of Mark Neveldine and Brian Taylor, a hit man tears through the streets of Los Angeles to get revenge on the man who fatally poisoned him, and he has to do it before the poison kills him. It’s like Speed, except instead riding a bus, we’re following a man on a mission.

Freelance killer Chev Chelios (Jason Statham) wakes up one morning to find that Ricky Verona (Jose Pablo Cantillo), a petty mob boss wannabe, has fatally poisoned him with something called the “Chinese cocktail,” which is designed to make his heart stop. The poisoning is supposed to be some kind of payback for Chelios’ hit on Chinese crime lord, Don Kim (Keone Young).

The clocks starts ticking when Chelios realizes that to stave off death, he must keep his adrenaline pumping. With no time to waste, Chelios cuts a swatch through Los Angeles, on a rampage for Verona with the hope of getting his revenge before he dies, and he has to tie up his loose ends soon. Verona made it clear to Chelios that he plans of savaging Chev’s girlfriend, Eve (Amy Smart), so Chelios races to save Eve, wreaking havoc on anyone who gets in his way – bystanders, cops, emergency workers, store clerks, etc. His hopes of finding an antidote, if it one really exists, may rest in the hands of a debauched and loony underworld physician named Doc Miles (played with creepy mellowness by Dwight Yoakum).

I don’t know if the writing and directing team of Mark Neveldine & Brian Taylor are great filmmakers, but they’re highly skilled and bursting with enough visual tricks and shorthand that they can certainly make engaging movies. If talent borrows and genius steals, they’re somewhere in the middle. Watching Crank, I recognize the gigantic buffet of camera effects and editing techniques from other movies that the duo used, and I’m overjoyed that Neveldine/Taylor use them well. Crank is at heart like other American action films with their breakneck pace and testosterone, but look carefully a you’ll find a Whitman sampler of exploitation movies, Pacific Rim action films, and stylish British gangster flicks. Neveldine/Taylor cram it all into something that’s like a video game.

For all their visual cleverness and editing dexterity, Neveldine/Taylor benefit from having a truly great action movie star in Jason Statham. His moderate box office success as a leading man in action movies might be reminiscent of the late 80’s to early 90’s career of Steven Segal (or even Jean-Claude Van Damme), but Statham’s badass aura seems genuine. A tough guy with a balding buzz cut, he literally leaks testosterone, and the cameras that film the roughneck B-movie action flicks in which he stars lap it up.

Crank may seem like a completely disposable thriller for those in need of an adrenaline rush, but that’s not exactly entirely the case. Occasionally clumsy, Crank is well staged when it comes to getting the kicks out. What Neveldine/Taylor and Statham (their skills and style; his tough guy-ness) bring to this misbegotten movie-as-videogame is enough to make Crank stand out. You won’t forget this little movie because it’s the asshole that gave you a kick in the teeth when you thought all it was going to be was just another action movie.

6 of 10
B

Monday, April 02, 2007

Review: "Tales from Earthsea" is Pretty

TRASH IN MY EYE No. 13 (of 2012) by Leroy Douresseaux

Tales from Earthsea (2006)
Gedo senki – Original Japanese title
(U.S. theatrical release: August 2010)
Running time: 116 minutes (1 hour, 56 minutes)
MPAA – PG-13 for some violent images
DIRECTOR: Goro Miyazaki
WRITERS: Goro Miyazaki and Keiko Niwa; from a concept by Hayao Miyazaki (based upon the Earthsea novels by Ursula K. Le Guin)
PRODUCERS: Toshio Suzuki and Steve Alpert and Javier Ponton
COMPOSER: Tamiya Terashima
ANIMATION STUDIO: Studio Ghibli

ANIMATION/FANTASY

Starring: (English dub voices) Timothy Dalton, Matt Levin, Blaire Restaneo, Mariska Hargitay, Willem Dafoe, Cheech Marin, Susanne Blakeslee, Terrence Stone, Liam O’Brien, and Kevin Michael Richardson

Tales from Earthsea is a 2006 Japanese animated fantasy film produced by the Studio Ghibli, best known for the animated films of director Hayao Miyazaki (Ponyo). Tales from Earthsea is directed by Miyazaki’s son, Goro Miyazaki and is based upon the first four books in the Earthsea series by author, Ursula K. Le Guin. This movie is also inspired by Hayao Miyazaki’s manga/illustrated story, The Journey of Shuna (1983).

The film is set in the world of Earthsea and focuses on Prince Arren of Enlad (Matt Levin). Enlad, like the rest of Earthsea, is troubled by drought and pestilence. After killing his father, Arren takes his father’s sword and goes on the run. He is later rescued by Sparrowhawk the Archmage (Timothy Dalton). Sparrowhawk and Arren travel to the farm of an old friend of Sparrowhawks’s, a woman named Tenar (Mariska Hargitay). There, Arren is also reunited with Therru (Blaire Restaneo), a young woman he’d recently protected from slave traders.

Therru is hostile to Arren, but he and Sparrowhawk remain on the farm, plowing and planting the fields for Tenar. However, the quartet’s agrarian lifestyle is interrupted by Lord Cob (Willem Dafoe), a sinister wizard who plans to shatter the barrier between life and death so that he can live forever. Cob needs Arren for his plans and wants revenge against Sparrowhawk.

Apparently, there was some hullabaloo and controversy around the production of Tales from Earthsea, including author Ursula K. Le Guin’s mixed feelings about how the film adapted the source material of her original novels. I like this movie, but I can understand how some would be put off by the film’s staid manner. The characters are way too laid back, and the dialogue is delivered at such an easy pace as to suggest that this film lacks conflict. In fact, Goro Miyazaki and Keiko Niwa (co-writer) have put together something that lacks dramatic punch. Tales from Earthsea is the most easy-going battle between good and evil on film that I can remember experiencing. The film’s most energetic element is Cheech Marin’s voice performance as the lackey, Hare, which is not only funny, but also scene-stealing when this movie really needs someone to steal a scene in order to save a scene.

Still, Tales from Earthsea sure is pretty. The film’s color is a symphony of shimmering reds and glowing pinks, and green is used almost entirely to suggest pastoral, verdant splendor. The film’s central theme is the need for balance, especially the balance of life and death. I think that in Tales from Earthsea, color is meant to celebrate not just life, but also living. This is unusual thematic material for an animated feature film, but Tales from Earthsea is characteristic of Studio Ghibli’s manner of doing things in animated films that are different and unique.

7 of 10
B+

Thursday, February 16, 2012

"Journey 2: The Mysterious Island" Now an International Box Office Success

Moviegoers Worldwide Take New Line Cinema’s “Journey 2: The Mysterious Island” beyond the $100 Million Mark

Fans Also Turn Out in Force for its Concurrent IMAX® Release

BURBANK, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Audiences around the globe have enthusiastically embarked on the new 3D family adventure “Journey 2: The Mysterious Island,” delivering more than $112 million in combined domestic and overseas box office. The announcement was made today by Dan Fellman, President of Domestic Distribution, and Veronika Kwan-Rubinek, President of International Distribution, Warner Bros. Pictures.

“Journey 2: The Mysterious Island” opened in North America on Friday, February 10, going on to earn a weekend box office total of $27.3 million. That followed an international release, launched on January 19, which has taken in $85 million to date, exceeding by 85% the success achieved in the same markets by its popular predecessor, the 2008 worldwide hit “Journey to the Center of the Earth.”

“Journey 2: The Mysterious Island” is also a major hit on IMAX® screens in more than 410 locations around the world, with a strong box office performance of $8.9 million, and counting.

Fellman stated, “We are immensely happy to see this fun family film become the crowd pleaser we believed it would be and we anticipate continued success as more moviegoers join in the adventure in the weeks to come. Congratulations are in order for the talented filmmakers and cast, as well as our colleagues at New Line Cinema.”

“The strength of the film in international markets, releasing as early as three weeks prior to its successful domestic opening, shows that this is truly global entertainment,” Kwan-Rubinek said. “We’re thrilled that audiences everywhere have responded so strongly to the fantastic world brought to life by director Brad Peyton and his wonderful cast and crew.”

In this follow-up to the 2008 worldwide hit “Journey to the Center of the Earth,” the new adventure begins when young Sean Anderson receives a coded distress signal from a mysterious island where no island should exist. It’s a place of strange life forms, mountains of gold, deadly volcanoes, and more than one astonishing secret. Unable to stop him from going, Sean’s new stepfather joins the quest. Together with a helicopter pilot and his beautiful, strong-willed daughter, they set out to find the island, rescue its lone inhabitant and escape before seismic shockwaves force the island under the sea and bury its treasures forever.

“Journey 2: The Mysterious Island” stars Dwayne Johnson, Michael Caine, Josh Hutcherson, Vanessa Hudgens, Luis Guzmán and Kristin Davis. It is directed by Brad Peyton and produced by Beau Flynn & Tripp Vinson and Charlotte Huggins, from a screenplay by Brian Gunn & Mark Gunn, screen story by Richard Outten. Serving as executive producers are Michael Bostick, Evan Turner, Marcus Viscidi, Richard Brener, Samuel J. Brown and Michael Disco. The creative filmmaking team includes director of photography David Tattersall; production designer Bill Boes; costume designer Denise Wingate; and Academy Award® nominee Boyd Shermis ("Poseidon") as visual effects supervisor. The music is composed by Andrew Lockington.

“Journey 2: The Mysterious Island” is a New Line Cinema presentation of a Contrafilm Production and is distributed by Warner Bros. Pictures, a Warner Bros. Entertainment Company. Concurrently, the film is being released in IMAX® theatres worldwide.

It is rated PG for some adventure action and brief, mild language.

http://www.themysteriousisland.com/

"Daffy's Rhapsody" Cartoon Showing with "Journey 2: The Mysterious Island"

New Looney Tunes Cartoon “Daffy’s Rhapsody” Debuts in Theaters February 10 with “Journey 2: The Mysterious Island”

BURBANK, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Moviegoers seeing the 3D family adventure “Journey 2: The Mysterious Island” are in for a bonus reel of laughs and action with “Daffy’s Rhapsody.” The original Looney Tunes cartoon short makes its theatrical debut in tandem with the feature film release from New Line Cinema and Warner Bros. Pictures, opening nationwide Friday, February 10th.

In “Daffy’s Rhapsody,” a brand new escapade starring Elmer Fudd and Daffy Duck, a relaxing evening at the theater turns into hunting season when Fudd is surprised by the unexpected appearance of his perpetual and ever-elusive target, Daffy. As Elmer gives chase, Daffy cleverly evades him while regaling the audience with a song that illustrates his plight—how hunters never leave him alone.

Featuring an original story and all-new animation, the short stars the voice of the late, legendary Mel Blanc in Daffy’s song, recorded in the 1950s, alongside acclaimed voice actor Billy West’s current characterization of Elmer Fudd.

Directed by Matthew O’Callaghan, it is the second in a new series of three original 3D cartoon shorts created for theatrical release, in keeping with Warner Bros. Animation’s commitment to present the Looney Tunes on the big screen as they were first enjoyed and embraced by audiences around the world.

Sam Register, Executive Vice President, Creative Affairs, Warner Bros. Animation, served as executive producer on “Daffy’s Rhapsody,” as well as the first short of the series, last year’s “I Tawt I Taw a Puddy Tat.” He says, “Everyone grew up loving the Looney Tunes characters, and it has been both a great honor and an enormous challenge to continue the legacy of these animation icons and introduce them to a new generation of fans. To hear the incomparable Mel Blanc voicing these characters once more is nothing short of a dream come true.”

As with “Journey 2: The Mysterious Island,” “Daffy’s Rhapsody” will screen in both 2D and 3D, and in IMAX where available, in theaters across the country.

"The Help" Sweeps Up at the 2012 Black Reel Awards

My favorite Negro-American film awards organization (and my favorite film critics awards, for that matter) is The Black Reel Awards.  The Black Reel Awards annually honors African-Americans in feature, independent and television film. The awards were launched in 2000, and this is the 12th year the awards will be handed out. The Black Reel Awards are now given out by the Foundation for the Advancement of African-Americans in Film (FAAAF).

More 50 film critics from television, radio, print and the Internet comprise the voting members of the Black Reel Awards. Winners were announced on Friday, February 10, 2012 in ceremony held in Washington D.C.  The Help dominated this year's awards winning six, including "Best Film."

2012 Black Reel Award Winners:

Theatrical
Outstanding Film – The Help

Outstanding Director – Steve McQueen / Shame

Outstanding Actor – John Boyega / Attack the Block

Outstanding Actress – Viola Davis / The Help

Outstanding Supporting Actor - Don Cheadle / The Guard

Outstanding Supporting Actress – Octavia Spencer / The Help

Outstanding Screenplay, Original or Adapted – Steve McQueen / Shame

Outstanding Breakthrough Performance – Adepero Oduye / Pariah

Outstanding Ensemble – The Help

Outstanding Original Song – “The Living Proof” / Mary J. Blige (The Help)

Outstanding Score – Thomas Newman / The Help

Outstanding Foreign Film – Attack the Block

Outstanding Feature Documentary – Beats, Rhymes & Life: The Travels of a Tribe Called Quest / Michael Rapaport

Independent
Outstanding Independent Feature Film – My Last Day Without You / Stefan C. Schaefer

Outstanding Independent Short Film – Wake / Bree Newsome

Outstanding Independent Documentary – Infiltrating Hollywood: The Rise and Fall of the Spook Who Sat By the Door / Christine Acham and Clifford Ward

Television
Outstanding Television or Mini-Series Performance, Male – Idris Elba / Luther

Outstanding Television or Mini-Series Performance, Female – Taraji P. Henson / Taken From Me: The Tiffany Rubin Story

Outstanding Television Documentary – Planet Rock: The Story of Hip Hop and the Crack Generation / VH1 (Richard Low and Martin Torgoff)

Outstanding Television or Mini-Series Film – Thurgood / HBO (Michael Stevens)

http://blackreelawards.wordpress.com/

Muddled "Twist of Faith" Still a Timely Documentary

TRASH IN MY EYE No. 50 (of 2006) by Leroy Douresseaux


Twist of Faith (2004)
Running time: 87 minutes (1 hour, 27 minutes)
Not rated by the MPAA
DIRECTOR: Kirby Dick
PRODUCER: Eddie Schmidt
EDITOR: Matthew Clark
Academy Award nominee

DOCUMENTARY

Starring: Tony Comes, Wendy Comes, and various

Twist of Faith is a 2004 documentary film from director Kirby Dick. This American documentary film earned a 2005 Oscar nomination for “Best Documentary, Features.” It takes a close look at one of the stories to come out of the 2002 Catholic Church child sexual abuse scandals.

The focus of this film is on Tony Comes who claimed to have been sexually molested by a priest who taught at the Catholic school Comes attended in the 1980’s. Now, a husband, father, and firefighter, Comes discovers that the now ex-priest, whom he claims abused him, lives five houses down the street from the home into which Tony, his wife, Wendy, and his two children have just moved. Tony must suddenly deal with his past, and he chooses to do so publicly. That decision brings pain and embarrassment into his life, causing marital strife and disagreements with the rest of his friends and family. He comes to distrust his Church and faith, especially when the local diocese hires a high-powered law firm to combat his and others’ lawsuits. However, Tony does get to meet and form a bond with five other men who claim to be former victims of the same priest. Much of the film deals with events that occurred in 2003 and 2004.

Twist of Faith’s publicity sold them film as being a documentary about how Tony Comes struggled with the public fallout from him going public with his claims of being sexually abused by a Catholic priest. That would have been a good film, but director Kirby Dick actually focuses on Tony Comes. Dick gave Comes and his wife hand-held cameras that allowed them to directly record their thoughts and feelings. Wendy Comes does just that – talking mostly about what Tony’s situation is doing to their marriage. Tony carries the camera around wherever he goes, so we do get to see him interact with people outside his home – fellow abuse victims, friends, and his mother (including an ugly argument Tony has with her about her continuing support of the church in spite of the wrongs Tony claims the church has done to him). However, it’s all about Tony and not really about public reaction to his personal business made private.

Wendy comes across as sympathetic, a wife trying very hard to help her husband through a bad time. Tony, on the other hand, comes across as being as pathetic as he is sympathetic. I tend to believe that he was molested, but his status as a victim doesn’t change the fact that he comes across as whiny, self-righteous jerk. He is petulant, always lashing out at his wife and mother – so bitter, and immature. He plays the victim to the hilt – a drama queen who would be right at home in some 1930’s or 1940’s era film melodrama. He is the epitome of a type we’ve seen much of since the revelations of Catholic Church sex abuse scandals: a grown-ass, 30-something white man pissing and moaning about the priest that got in his pants. That’s the kind of man who could make someone wonder if he wanted Father So-and-so in his pants.

There are some good moments in the film. Many involve Tony Comes, but many more bad ones also involve him. So anyone who has a bleeding heart for victims – any victims – will find this documentary poignant. Others may find it dull, or even – dare I say – embarrassing.

5 of 10
C+

Monday, March 07, 2006

NOTES:
2005 Academy Awards: 1 nomination: “Best Documentary, Features” (Kirby Dick and Eddie Schmidt)

"Margin Call" Sure as Heck Ain't Marginal

TRASH IN MY EYE No. 12 (of 2012) by Leroy Douresseaux


Margin Call (2011)
Running time: 107 minutes (1 hour, 47 minutes)
MPAA – R for language
WRITER/DIRECTOR: J.C. Chandor
PRODUCERS: Robert Ogden Barnum, Michael Benaroya, Neal Dodson, Joe Jenckes, Corey Moosa, and Zachary Quinto
CINEMATOGRAPHER: Frank G. DeMarco
EDITOR: Pete Beaudreau
COMPOSER: Nathan Larson
Academy Award nominee

DRAMA

Starring: Kevin Spacey, Paul Bettany, Jeremy Irons, Zachary Quinto, Penn Badgley, Simon Baker, Stanley Tucci, Demi Moore, Aasif Mandvi, and Mary McDonnell

Margin Call is a 2011 ensemble drama written and directed by J.C. Chandor. This independent film takes place over a 36-hour period and is set in an investment firm during the early days of the 2008 financial crisis.

At an unnamed investment firm, a typical morning in 2008 turns atypical with a round of layoffs. One of these fired employees, Eric Dale (Stanley Tucci), passes a USB drive to one of his former subordinates, Peter Sullivan (Zachary Quinto). While perusing the data on the drive, Sullivan makes a shocking discovery, so he alerts the firm’s trading desk bosses, Sam Rogers (Kevin Spacey) and Will Emerson (Paul Bettany). The news goes to more senior executives, including division head, Jared Cohen (Simon Baker), and finally to CEO John Tuld (Jeremy Irons). How they fix this crisis could damage the firm, to say nothing of the damage done to people and entities outside the firm.

Not only is Zachary Quinto a cast member of Margin Call, but his production company, Before the Door Pictures (owned with fellow Margin Call producers, Neal Dodson and Corey Moosa), is also one of the companies behind this film. Because he produced this movie, I think it means that Quinto may have a good sense for quality screenplays. Margin Call is sharply written, and rather than bogging down the audience in the jargon of mortgage back securities and investment trading, the script looks at the characters, personalities, and people behind the decisions that rock the financial foundations of both our nation and also of the entire world.

Writer/director J.C. Chandor has earned an Oscar nomination for this screenplay, but the more impressive feat is directing this cast. There are three Oscar wins between Kevin Spacey and Jeremy Irons and a lot of superb work on the theatre stage. Stanley Tucci has years of excellent performances behind him, and he deserves an Oscar. The rest of the cast is rock solid.

Chandor gives each actor a chance not only to shine as an individual performer, but also to help bring all the performances together to tell a riveting story. Chandor and his cast turn this character drama into a Wall Street thriller. There are some hiccups in the script, and there are also moments when the performances seem like stiff dialogue reading, but they don’t hurt this excellent film. Overall, Margin Call has a better story and screenplay than Oliver Stone’s Wall Street (1987), although Margin Call doesn’t have a monster performance like what Michael Douglas gives Wall Street. Thus far, however, Margin Call is this new century’s signature film about the callous greedy.

8 of 10
A

NOTES:
2012 Academy Awards: 1 nomination: “Best Writing, Screenplay Written Directly for the Screen” (J.C. Chandor)

Friday, February 10, 2012