"MirrorMask" a Trip to Wonderland and Oz

TRASH IN MY EYE No. 47 (of 2006) by Leroy Douresseaux


MirrorMask (2005)
Running time: 101 minutes (1 hour, 41 minutes)
MPAA – PG for some mild thematic elements and scary images
DIRECTOR: Dave McKean
WRITERS: Neil Gaiman; from a story by Neil Gaiman and Dave McKean
PRODUCER: Simon Moorhead
CINEMATOGRAPHER: Tony Shearn
EDITOR: Nicholas Gaster

FANTASY

Starring: Stephanie Leonidas, Jason Barry, Gina McKee, Rob Brydon, Dora Bryan, Robert Llewellyn, and Andy Hamilton

The subject of this movie review is MirrorMask, a 2005 fantasy film from Jim Henson Productions. The film, which has animated elements, is the story of a girl who gets trapped in a fantasy world.

Helena (Stephanie Leonidas) is a 15-year old girl who works unhappily in her mother (Gina McKee) and father’s (Rob Brydon) circus as a juggler, and she loves to draw strange creatures and lands. Helena has covered the walls of her bedroom with her drawings and illustrations. When her mother, Joanne, falls ill, Helena blames herself because she had, in a fit of pique, told her mother that she’d wished her mother dead if that’s what it would take for her to escape the circus.

Driven by sadness and worry over her mother’s health, Helena falls into a troubled sleep that finds her transported to the Dark Lands, a civilization equaled ruled by light and darkness. When the Light Queen (Gina McKee) looses her charm, the MirrorMask, to the Princess daughter (Stephanie Leonidas) of the Dark Queen (McKee), the kingdom, which is filled with bizarre giants, Monkeybirds, and a variety of dangerous sphinxes, was plunged into gloomy shadows. Helena, with the aid of a masked companion named Valentine (Jason Barry) takes it upon herself to find the MirrorMask and the Princess in order to restore the Dark Lands’ rightful balance.

MirrorMask is a low budget, live action/animation, fantasy film from the Jim Henson Company It was born from the minds of two of the biggest names in American and British comics books, artist/illustrator/photographer, Dave McKean, and comic book writer/best-selling novelist, Neil Gaiman. McKean has worked on such acclaimed comics books and graphic novels as Batman: Arkham Asylum (which he painted) and Cages (which he wrote and drew). Neil Gaiman is known as the writer/co-creator of DC Comic’s Sandman series that was published from the late 80’s to the early 90’s and won a World Fantasy Award. He’s written several novels and short stories, two of his biggest book successes being American Gods (the winner science fiction’s most prestigious prize, the Hugo Award for best novel) and the recent hit, Anansi Boys. McKean and Gaiman have collaborated several times, two of the best known being Signal to Noise, a graphic novel, and Mr. Punch, a picture book.

McKean designed the film’s outstanding and imaginative visual appearance and directed it, as well as creating the story with Gaiman, who wrote the screenplay. Although MirrorMask has a visual vocabulary, which can dazzle the mind, as well as the eye, the film is highly derivative in its conception. Visually the film looks like Dave McKean’s comix and illustrations with a nod to Tim Burton and Salvador Dali. It’s also very much like the film version of The Wizard of Oz with the same aggressive visual invention, but without Oz’s simple, yet effective script.

MirrorMask can scorch the eye with its glittery mixture of live action and animation, but the story, an allegory about denying who you are and mother/daughter relationships is chump change. I’d give the visuals anywhere from an 8 to a 10, but if I gave the script and storytelling a 4, I would be generous. MirrorMask’s dream world façade seems to be imagination and weirdness for the sake of weirdness, and it’s Freudian, pop-psychology is laughable. The acting, a combination of amateur video and mid-level stage professionalism only serves to show the script’s shortcomings. Gaiman’s screenplay has taken a short story and turned it into a movie that is about 41 minutes too long. The tale needs more supporting characters, and the villainess is a baddie only by de facto menace. And Stephanie Leonidas doesn’t look like a 15-year old girl, just a moody 20-something. Iain Bellamy’s jazz inflected score often manages to establish mood and setting when the Gaiman’s writing or the actors can’t.

However, I can’t discount the talent and vision that created a movie that looks so darn inventive. The creatures, the blend of animation and live action, the backdrops, and settings, the low budget computer animation that so perfectly fits this picture book-like movie, and the Dark Land’s curious denizens make me want to watch this movie repeatedly. Sometimes, McKean makes the film hard to see. There are too many shadows, too many scenes draped in blackness, and scenes that look as if they were shot through a drinking glass. But when you can see the action, you will be dazzled. Think of MirrorMask as the best-looking and most fanciful straight-to-video flick (it did have a short theatrical run) made to this point in cinematic history, and then get ready for something trippy and nice.

6 of 10
B

Thursday, March 2, 2006

Cartoon Network Celebrates 20 Years; Announces "Beware the Batman"

Cartoon Network Celebrates 20th Anniversary with Ratings Growth and a New Generation of Content for a New Generation of Kids

The #1 Network with Boys 6-11 Announces Slate of New and Returning Series

CartoonNetwork.com Ranks as #1 Domain in Kids Category

ATLANTA--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Celebrating its 20th Anniversary, along with double-digit growth and its #1 status with boys 6-11 on all of television, Cartoon Network announced today several new and returning series to its programming line-up.

Having its best first quarter with kids in prime in five years (up 28% vs. 2011) and showing the most gains compared to the competition in the kids space, the network’s afternoon Upfront presentation held at New York’s Roseland Ballroom paid tribute to the past and present with a full orchestra playing classic Cartoon Network television theme songs and live performances from the creative talent behind the hit animated comedy series Adventure Time and Regular Show.

Announcements included a new sketch comedy show from entertainer Nick Cannon; the world premiere of DreamWorks Dragons: The Series, based on the critically-acclaimed feature film, How to Train Your Dragon; an original series based on Web sensation, Annoying Orange; a brand new animated series from the global franchise powerhouse, Ben 10: Omniverse; and a new CG-animated series from Warner Bros. Animation, Beware The Batman. Also, on the heels of the hugely successful Ninjago launch in 2011—currently the #1 show across 1st Quarter 2012 with all boys—a new partnership with LEGO for a second series was announced by the network as it continues to build on its slate of diverse content.

“We are executing a brand vision and content strategy that is fueling tremendous results for Cartoon Network,” said Stuart Snyder, president and chief operating officer, Turner Broadcasting’s Animation, Young Adults and Kids Media (AYAKM). “Today, with a re-invented and thriving prime time, along with overall double-digit growth in total day, we are building the kind of momentum that is making this a great 20th anniversary.”

Ranking #1 in early evening prime time (7-9 p.m.) among boys 6-11 throughout 1st Quarter this year, Cartoon Network also announced new upcoming seasons of its original hit animated comedy series Adventure Time, Regular Show, The Amazing World of Gumball, MAD and The Looney Tunes Show. A 2nd season pick-up for the live-action comedy series Level Up, which debuted as the most watched live-action series in the network’s history, and a 5th season of Star Wars: The Clone Wars, also was announced.

Combined with top-performing acquisitions and specials, these programming anchors not only fueled 2011’s prime time performance as Cartoon Network’s most-watched in five years, they also set the stage for a record breaking first quarter in 2012. New seasons for more than a dozen additional series also will premiere across the 2012-13 programming timeframe.

“For 20 years, Cartoon Network has cultivated truly original voices from a diverse array of artists and producers, making us the great alternative to everything else out there,” said Rob Sorcher, chief content officer for Cartoon Network. “Cartoon Network Studios has grown to become the most supportive and creative environment for a new generation of creators.”

Cartoon Network also announced its ongoing commitment to its shorts program with ten original 7-minute shorts to be produced this year with a wholly dedicated production unit at Cartoon Network Studios. With production already underway on many of these projects, this continuing investment in diverse and unique talent has resulted in many of the network’s hit animated series.

Additionally, the network revealed that a third Cartoon Network Hall of Game Awards special has been slated for early 2013. The second annual telecast (Feb. 20, 2012), hosted by Shaquille O’Neal, ranked as the #1 program of the day among all boy demos, and out-performed the inaugural Hall of Game special by double and triple-digits—between 64% and 103%—across all kid and boy demos. Online voting for the celebrity sports awards also nearly tripled in participation, from 37 million votes in 2011 to more than 100 million votes in 2012.

“Cartoon Network enters into the upfront season with strong momentum and a programming foundation that is resonating with our audience, as well as advertisers,” said John O’Hara, executive vice president and general sales manager, Cartoon Network. “The ad sales team is committed to developing ideas that extend the reach of an advertiser’s message and connects their brands across multiple screens with an engaged audience. As brands look to deliver measurable return on their investment, we believe it’s a good time to reassess plans and for advertisers to strategically increase their media budgets with Cartoon Network.”

Building off of the success of CartoonNetwork.com ranking as the #1 domain in the kids category among kids 6-11*, the network announced that its next big foray into on-line gaming would be the global roll-out of Formula Cartoon, a huge on-line racing game which will let players race against their friends or favorite Cartoon Network characters.

* Source: Data from comScore Media Metrix run on domain level for Unique Visitors age 6-11 in the Media – Entertainment – Kids category for the February 2012 reporting period

Further details of Cartoon Network’s programming announcements include the following:

CARTOON NETWORK NEW SERIES

•Nick Cannon Sketch Comedy Series: The series is a live-action, half-hour, sketch comedy show rooted in raw mischief, high energy and slapstick humor. You’ll never know what will happen next! Some of the silliest kids you know will make up this wild comedy troupe led by teen stars Jeremy Shada (Adventure Time), Brandon Soo Hoo (Enders Game, Tropic Thunder), Shameik Moore (Joyful Noise), Shauna Case (American Horror Story) and Chanelle Peloso (Level Up). Nick Cannon will bring the funny as creator and executive producer along with executive producers Michael Goldman and Scott Tomlinson. The series is being produced by Cartoon Network Studios in association with NCredible Entertainment.

•Annoying Orange: Boasting more than 1 billion YouTube online views to date, Annoying Orange is the Web sensation transformed into a new television series that follows Orange and his buddies as they go on a wide range of adventures that take them from the fruit stand to parts unknown and everything in between. The television series was developed and will be produced by The Collective. Dane Boedigheimer co-created the television series with Tom Sheppard (Emmy Award-winning writer for Pinky and the Brain). Conrad Vernon (director of Madagascar 3 and Monsters vs. Aliens) will serve as executive producer for the series along with Gary Binkow and Dan Weinstein of The Collective. The series will premiere on Cartoon Network this summer.

•DreamWorks Dragons: The Series: Picking up where the critically-acclaimed feature film, How to Train Your Dragon, left off, this weekly animated series follows the continuing adventures of Hiccup and his dragon Toothless on the island of Berk, along with the band of dragon trainers, all of whom now have dragons of their own!

Through their training, the kids are finding out the cool things dragons can do. Not only will they learn more about their dragons, they’ll also discover new ones and battle against enemies as they explore worlds they never dreamed existed. In addition, the talented cast from the feature film—Jay Baruchel (Hiccup), America Ferrera (Astrid), Christopher Mitz-Plasse (Fishlegs) and T.J. Miller (Tuffnut)—will lend their voices to the series, which is produced by DreamWorks Animation and premieres this fall.

•New LEGO Project: Following the instant ratings success of the CG-animated Ninjago, LEGO and Cartoon Network plan to expand their partnership with an all-new series from LEGO for 2013.

•Ben 10: Omniverse: In the brand-new animated series, Ben 10: Omniverse, Ben will have a new character design that pays homage to his past, and he’ll have a whole new batch of aliens to battle. Beating the bad guys is just part of the superhero gig. With a little help from his new, by-the-book rookie partner, Ben explores the quirkier side of things in the alien underground and discovers enemies from his past looking for a re-match, all while a mysterious hunter is hot on his trail! With 10 new aliens at his disposal and a brand new lease on life, Ben 10 is back and more fun than ever! Matt Youngberg is supervising producer for the series, which will premiere on Cartoon Network this fall.

Ben 10 is Cartoon Network’s most successful original global franchise. Since the premiere of the original Ben 10 series, created by Man of Action Studios, in 2006, the franchise has spawned four animated series, one animated movie, two live-action movies, a CG movie, a feature film currently in development, a widely-popular consumer products line and has captured the imaginations of viewers on a worldwide scale.

•Beware the Batman: A cool, new take on the classic Dark Knight franchise, Beware the Batman incorporates Batman’s core characters with a rogues gallery of new villains not previously seen in animated form. Along with backup from ex-secret agent Alfred and lethal swordstress Katana, the Dark Knight faces the twisted machinations of Gotham City’s criminal underworld led by the likes of Anarky, Professor Pyg, Mister Toad and Magpie. Produced by Warner Bros. Animation, this action-packed detective thriller deftly redefines what we have come to know as a “Batman show.” Featuring cutting-edge CGI visuals to match the intricate twists and turns of the narrative, Batman steps out of the shadows and into the spotlight for an entirely new generation of fans. With WBA’s Sam Register executive producing, and Batman Beyond’s Glen Murakami and Scooby-Doo! Mystery Incorporated’s Mitch Watson producing, Beware the Batman, based on characters from DC Comics, is coming soon to Cartoon Network!

•Total Drama: Revenge of the Island: It’s back to the island where Total Drama began with an all-new cast! Since the series’ host Chris took the show worldwide, Camp Wawanakwa has been abandoned and turned into a toxic nuclear waste dump—the perfect place for new and painful, cringe-inducing challenges! Fighting for the million dollar prize are thirteen wild new players. Total Drama: Revenge of the Island is produced by Fresh TV and will premiere on Cartoon Network this summer.

SPECIALS AND MOVIES

•Cartoon Network Hall of Game Awards: Hall of Game is Cartoon Network’s signature venture into the broadcast awards arena, created and produced in association with IMG Media, the production arm of global sports, entertainment and media company, IMG. This high-energy, multi-platform experience lets viewers decide who’s got game, by honoring their favorite sports stars and sports moments of the year. From the red carpet, to the never-before-seen stunts and surprises on stage, this unconventional celebration in 2013 will be led by a celebrity host and feature icons from television, film, music and sports, as kids experience an evening of humor and fun at the most raucous and biggest sports awards show ever presented on television.

RETURNING SERIES

•Adventure Time

•Regular Show

•MAD

•The Amazing World of Gumball

•The Looney Tunes Show

•Ninjago

•Level Up

•Star Wars: The Clone Wars

•Young Justice

•Johnny Test

•Pokémon

•Green Lantern: The Animated Series

•Almost Naked Animals

•Casper's Scare School

•Hero 108

•Scaredy Squirrel

•Sidekick

Cartoon Network (CartoonNetwork.com), currently seen in 99 million U.S. homes and 168 countries around the world, is Turner Broadcasting System, Inc.’s ad-supported cable service now available in HD offering the best in original, acquired and classic entertainment for youth and families.

Turner Broadcasting System, Inc., a Time Warner company, creates and programs branded news, entertainment, animation and young adult media environments on television and other platforms for consumers around the world.

Review: 2011 Version of "The Three Musketeers" is Silly, But Enjoyable Sci-Fi

TRASH IN MY EYE No. 26 (of 2012) by Leroy Douresseaux

The Three Musketeers (2011)
Running time: 110 minutes (1 hour, 50 minutes)
MPAA – PG-13 for sequences of adventure action violence
DIRECTOR: Paul W.S. Anderson
WRITER: Alex Litvak and Andrew Davies (based upon the novel by Alexandre Dumas père)
PRODUCERS: Paul W.S. Anderson, Jeremy Bolt, and Robert Kulzer
CINEMATOGRAPHER: Glen MacPherson
EDITOR: Alexander Berner
COMPOSER: Paul Haslinger

HISTORICAL/ACTION with elements of adventure, comedy and drama

Starring: Matthew Macfadyen, Milla Jovovich, Orlando Bloom, Christoph Waltz, Logan Lerman, Luke Evans, Ray Stevenson, Mads Mikkelson, Freddie Fox, Juno Temple, Gabriella Wilde, Carsten Norgaard, and James Corden

The subject of this review is The Three Musketeers, a 3D action/adventure film from director Paul W.S. Anderson, perhaps best known for his work on the Resident Evil film franchise. Like all the other Musketeer films, this 2011 version is based upon Alexandre Dumas père’s 1844 novel, The Three Musketeers, but this new movie re-imagines and reworks the story by adding in science fiction and fantasy elements.

The 2011 film is much like the 1993 Walt Disney version (with Charlie Sheen and Kiefer Sutherland). Both are rollicking action films that are light and fluffy fare, although neither film is well-acted. Like the 1993 movie, the 2011 movie is fast, loose, and fun.

The Three Musketeers 2011 opens in Venice, Italy at the beginning of the 17th Century. The Three Musketeers: Athos (Matthew Macfadyen), Porthos (Ray Stevenson), and Aramis (Luke Evans), and Athos’ longtime lover, Milady de Winter (Milla Jovovich), go treasure hunting. However, the Duke of Buckingham (Orlando Bloom) arrives to spoil the fun. One year later, the disgraced Musketeers are in a funk when they meet the spunky young d’Artagnan (Logan Lerman) who arrives in Paris with dreams of becoming one of the Musketeers, the King of France’s personal guards.

Soon, d’Artagnan is part of the Musketeers rivalry with Count Richelieu (Christoph Waltz), the chief advisor to King Louis XIII of France (Freddie Fox). In fact, Richelieu has hatched a plot against Queen Anne (Juno Temple), part of a larger plot against France. Queen Anne’s lady-in-waiting, Constance Bonacieux (Gabriella Wilde), implores d’Artagnan to help the young Queen, and soon the Three Musketeers plus one are fighting over land, over sea, and in the sky to save France.

The script for this version of The Three Musketeers has some good ideas, but Paul W.S. Anderson’s direction often fails the film. Quite a bit of the movie has an awkward feel, and some elements, from the actors to the technical aspects, move like big, clumsy animals. Anderson clearly wants to make a film that is sly, clever, and sarcastic, but sometimes it comes across as ill at ease and flat.

The acting is also awkward, as if the performers are either having trouble speaking the dialogue or are trying to be intentionally too clever or too glib. That also sometimes falls flat. However, there is a swashbuckling fun that is inherent in the Musketeers films that lifts any Musketeers film above its faults. So I am not bewildered that I enjoyed The Three Musketeers 2011, and that I even wish for a sequel, which is not likely to happen.

5 of 10
B-

Friday, March 30, 2012

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Warner Bros.' "Seventh Son" Starts Production in Canada.

Production Begins on “Seventh Son” for Warner Bros. Pictures and Legendary Pictures

Jeff Bridges, Julianne Moore and Ben Barnes Lead the International Cast

BURBANK, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Principal photography is underway on Warner Bros. Pictures’ and Legendary Pictures’ fantasy action adventure “Seventh Son.” Shooting began on March 19, under the direction of award-winning filmmaker Sergei Bodrov, director of the Oscar®-nominated foreign language films “Mongol: The Rise of Genghis Khan” and “Prisoner of the Mountains.” “Seventh Son” stars Academy Award® winner Jeff Bridges (“Crazy Heart,” “Iron Man”), Oscar® nominee Julianne Moore (“Far From Heaven,” “The Hours”), and Ben Barnes (“The Chronicles of Narnia” films).

In a time long past, an evil is about to be unleashed that will reignite the war between the forces of the supernatural and humankind once more. Master Gregory (Jeff Bridges) is a knight who had imprisoned the malevolently powerful witch, Mother Malkin (Julianne Moore), centuries ago. But now she has escaped and is seeking vengeance. Summoning her followers of every incarnation, Mother Malkin is preparing to unleash her terrible wrath on an unsuspecting world. Only one thing stands in her way: Master Gregory.

In a deadly reunion, Gregory comes face to face with the evil he always feared would someday return. Now he has only until the next full moon to do what usually takes years: train his new apprentice, Tom Ward (Ben Barnes) to fight a dark magic unlike any other. Man’s only hope lies in the seventh son of a seventh son.

The film’s international cast also includes Alicia Vikander (“The Crown Jewels”), Antje Traue (“Pandorum,” upcoming “Man of Steel”), Olivia Williams (“Hanna”) and Kit Harington (HBO’s “Game of Thrones”).

Bodrov is directing the film from a screenplay by Matt Greenberg, Charles Leavitt and Steve Knight, based on the book The Spook’s Apprentice by Joseph Delaney. “Seventh Son” is being produced by Basil Iwanyk (“The Town,” “Clash of the Titans” upcoming “Wrath of the Titans”), Thomas Tull (“Inception,” “The Dark Knight” upcoming “The Dark Knight Rises”) and Lionel Wigram (“Sherlock Holmes: A Game of Shadows,” the “Harry Potter” films). The executive producers are Jon Jashni, Brent O’Connor and Alysia Cotter, with Jillian Zaks and Erica Lee serving as co-producers.

The behind-the-scenes team collaborating with Bodrov includes director of photography Newton Thomas Sigel (“Drive”); three-time Oscar®-winning production designer Dante Ferretti (“Hugo,” “Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street,” “Aviator”); Oscar®-nominated editor Paul Rubell (“Collateral,” “The Insider”); Oscar®-nominated costume designer Jacqueline West (“The Curious Case of Benjamin Button,” “The Social Network”), and Oscar®-winning visual effects supervisor John Dykstra (“Spider-Man,” “Spider-Man 2”).

“Seventh Son” will be filmed entirely on location in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada.

A presentation of Warner Bros. Pictures and Legendary Pictures, “Seventh Son” will be distributed worldwide by Warner Bros. Pictures, a Warner Bros. Entertainment Company.

"The Muppets" is Muppet-ational

TRASH IN MY EYE No. 25 (of 2012) by Leroy Douresseaux


The Muppets (2011)
Running time: 103 minutes (l hour, 43 minutes)
MPAA – PG for some mild rude humor
DIRECTOR: James Bobin
WRITERS: Jason Segel and Nicholas Stoller
PRODUCERS: David Hoberman and Todd Lieberman
CINEMATOGRAPHER: Don Burgess
EDITOR: James Thomas
COMPOSER: Christophe Beck
Academy Award winner

FANTASY/COMEDY/FAMILY/MUSICAL

Starring: Jason Segel, Amy Adams, Chris Cooper, Rashida Jones, and Jack Black and The Muppets: (voices) Peter Linz, Steve Whitmire, Eric Jacobson, Dave Goelz, Bill Barretta, David Rudman, Matt Vogel, Tyler Bunch, and Alice Dinnean with Emily Blunt, Whoopi Goldberg, and Zach Galifianakis

The Muppets is a 2011 live-action, musical comedy and fantasy film from Walt Disney Pictures. This Oscar-winning film stars The Muppets, the puppet characters created by the late Jim Henson, specifically the characters that appeared on the television series, “The Muppets” (1976-81). This film finds The Muppets reuniting to save their old theatre from a crooked oil tycoon.

Walter (voice of Peter Linz) is a man born as a Muppet. He lives in Smalltown (presumably a small town in the American Midwest) with his brother, Gary (Jason Segel). Gary has planned a vacation to Los Angeles with his girlfriend, Mary (Amy Adams), for their tenth anniversary, and he invites Walter along, so that he can tour the Muppet Studios.

Once in L.A., the trio finds the studio lot abandoned and Muppet Theatre decrepit. Walter happens to overhear Tex Richman (Chris Cooper), a greedy oil tycoon, plotting to seize control of Muppet Theatre, which he also plans to destroy. Walter, Gary, and Mary travel to the mansion of Kermit the Frog (Steve Whitmore), and convince him to reunite The Muppets. Kermit wants to put on a telethon to raise the ten million dollars needed to save Muppet Theatre, but The Muppets have not performed together in years and are scattered around the country. Even if Kermit reunites his friends, no television network thinks that The Muppets are still popular or relevant enough to give them the television time they will need to raise so much money.

With the release of The Muppets last year, I got a chance to rediscover my love for these characters. I watched the first television series, The Muppet Show, during its original run and later, in syndication for several years. I must say that I’m pleased with this new movie, which was critically well-received and performed well at the box office. For the most part, these are still The Muppets that I knew and loved and still love.

The new songs are better than I thought they would be. The beguiling, Elton John-esque “Man or Muppet” (written by Bret McKenzie) won a best original song Oscar, but I prefer two other McKenzie-penned songs. “Life’s a Happy Song” and “Me Party” (co-written by Paul Roemen) are the kind of catchy tunes that can stand on their own as lively jingles outside The Muppets (or even be used in another movie).

Early in the film, I found the characters played by Jason Segel and Amy Adams intolerable and intrusive. I was only a little more tolerant of nouveau-faux Muppet, Walter. As Segel’s Gary and Adams’ Mary recede more into the background and take their place as supporting characters, they grew on me… a little. Besides, I find it hard not to like Amy Adams. Truthfully, Gary, Mary, and Walter seem like minor gateway characters that create the contrivances which in turn bring The Muppets back into the picture. By the end of the movie, I liked that the new characters were part of the film.

Of course, the best thing in The Muppets are The Muppets. Whenever they’re singing and dancing and squabbling and trying to keep their stuff together, The Muppets have their mojo, and their mojo is back. By the end of The Muppets, I was sad because I wanted the movie to be longer.

8 of 10
A

NOTES:
2012 Academy Awards: 1 win: “Best Achievement in Music Written for Motion Pictures, Original Song” (Bret McKenzie for the song "Man or Muppet")

Saturday, March 24, 2012

Fans Invited to Be Part of Katy Perry

PARAMOUNT’S INSURGE PICTURES AND TWITTER INVITE KATY PERRY’S FANS TO BE A PART OF THE UPCOMING 3D FEATURE FILM KATY PERRY: PART OF ME

In A First of its Kind Partnership, Katy Perry’s Millions of Twitter Fans Have an Opportunity to be Integrated into the Movie, Releasing this Summer

Paramount’s Insurge Pictures and Twitter announced today they have partnered to give Katy Perry’s fans on Twitter an exclusive opportunity to be a part of her upcoming feature film, KATY PERRY: PART OF ME, releasing this summer.

Over the next several months, Twitter and Paramount will jointly offer unprecedented access to one of the world’s most famous pop stars by offering multiple opportunities for Katy’s millions of Twitter fans to play a role in helping to shape the final film. From helping to choose which songs Katy will sing, to weighing in on her always exciting wardrobe options, this first-of-its kind interactive experience will set a new precedent for engaging movie going audiences on Twitter.

Fans can visit www.Twitter.com/KatyPerry to get involved. They can also follow Katy on Twitter to see exclusive behind-the-scenes content of the movie, which will provide fans a first-ever big-screen look at the international superstar’s life both on and off-stage.

"Kate Perry: Part of Me" is a really fun and engaging movie that celebrates every aspect of Katy’s life including her relationship with fans,” said Amy Powell, President of Insurge Pictures. “What better way to kick start the filmmaking process than by inviting her millions of fans on Twitter into her world.”

“Millions of Katy’s most passionate fans use Twitter every day to hear directly from her and get a unique glimpse into the life of one of music’s biggest stars,” said Dick Costolo, Twitter CEO. “With this new approach to filmmaking, Paramount is taking the connections forged on Twitter one step further by empowering people to take part in the movie.”

Fans can use the hashtag #KP3D to connect with each other and share on Twitter.

For more information, go to http://www.katyperrypartofme.com/, http://www.katyperry.com/ or follow Katy Perry on Twitter at www.Twitter.com/KatyPerry.


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, Insurge Pictures, 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 Paramount Television & Digital Distribution.

Casablanca: Still the Greatest 70 Years Later

TRASH IN MY EYE No. 143 (of 2005) by Leroy Douresseaux


Casablanca (1942) – B&W
– wide release in 1943 –
Running time: 103 minutes (1 hour, 43 minutes)
DIRECTOR: Michael Curtiz
WRITERS: Julius J. Epstein & Philip G. Epstein and Howard Koch (based upon a play Every Body Comes to Rick’s by Murray Burnett and Joan Allison)
PRODUCER: Hal B. Wallis
CINEMATOGRAPHER: Arthur Edeson
EDITOR: Owen Marks
Academy Award winner

FILM-NOIR/DRAMA/ROMANCE with elements of thriller

Starring: Humphrey Bogart, Ingrid Bergman, Paul Henreid, Claude Rains, Conrad Veidt, Dooley Wilson, Sydney Greenstreet, Peter Lorre, S.Z. Sakall, Madeleine LeBeau, Leonid Kinskey, and Corinna Mura

The subject of this movie review is the 1942 American romantic drama film, Casablanca. Starring Humphrey Bogart and Ingrid Bergman, the film was apparently considered, at the time of its production, to be just another Hollywood movie.

Casablanca: some consider it to be the best American film ever made; the winner of the Oscar for “Best Picture” at the 1944 Academy Awards certainly has a place in my holy trinity. Directed by Michael Curtiz, who won the directing Oscar for helming this film, Casablanca is a beloved and popular movie, cherished by film fans, movie historians, and film critics throughout America – then and now.

In the story: Casablanca (a city in Morocco, a country in northwest Africa), circa 1941, is easy to enter, but much harder to leave – especially for people trying to escape the Nazi infestation of Europe. Living a life of exile in Casablanca is American Rick Blaine (Humphrey Bogart), who owns and operates Rick’s Café Américain. He’s a cynical man who sticks his neck out for no one, but his ex-lover Isla Lund (Ingrid Bergman) tests that rigid cynicism when she arrives in Casablanca with her husband, both on the run from Nazi persecutors.

Isla’s husband, Victor Laszlo (Paul Henreid), is on the top of the Nazi’s most wanted list. Victor and Isla came to Casablanca seeking the transit papers/official documents that would get them safe passage to Lisbon, Portugal, from where they could leave for America. From the USA, Victor could continue his work in support of the various European undergrounds fighting the Nazi’s. However, the papers have come into Rick’s possession, and his bitterness at Isla for suddenly and mysteriously leaving him some years ago after a whirlwind Paris love affair. So when Isla offers herself to Rick in exchange for Victor’s safe transport out of the country, the bitter and angry Rick must decide what’s important – his happiness, revenge, or the countless lives that hang in the balance and depend of Victor Laszlo’s safe passage.

What can I say that hasn’t been said. Casablanca was the right movie at the right time. It’s the consummate Hollywood production – superbly acted and directed, and filmed with beautiful production values, including art direction, set decoration, cinematography, and editing. The film’s popularity at the time has much to do with America’s involvement in World War II. The Allies invaded Casablanca in real life on November 8, 1942, and Warner Bros. premiered Casablanca in New York about three and half weeks later. By the time, of the film’s wide release in 1943, the real life city was still in the news, and the film captured the sense that the good guys (represented by Rick, Isla, and Victor) were at war with the bad guys (the Nazi’s, best represented in the film by Major Strasser, played by Conrad Veidt), mirroring American’s situation. The semi-tragic romantic triangle of Rick, Isla, and Victor, the intense drama, the fictional Casablanca’s atmosphere of intrigue and danger all came touched audiences and continues to.

The miracle, considering that Casablanca began filming without a completed script and went through the usual casting difficulties, is not really that the film was popular then (it was, after all, topical), but is instead that the film remains a favorite and outshines most of the great films made after its release nearly 63 years ago.

10 of 10

NOTES:
1944 Academy Awards: 3 wins: “Best Director” (Michael Curtiz), “Best Picture” (Warner Bros.), and “Best Writing, Screenplay” (Julius J. Epstein, Philip G. Epstein, and Howard Koch); 5 nominations: “Best Actor in a Leading Role” (Humphrey Bogart), “Best Actor in a Supporting Role” (Claude Rains), “Best Cinematography, Black-and-White” (Arthur Edeson), “Best Film Editing” (Owen Marks), “Best Music, Scoring of a Dramatic or Comedy Picture” (Max Steiner)

1989 National Film Preservation Board, USA: National Film Registry

Friday, September 9, 2005