VIZ MEDIA UNVEILS NEON ALLEY
24-Hour Anime Channel Launches On Game Consoles This Fall
VIZ Media, the largest publisher, distributor and licensor of manga, graphic novels and anime in North America, unveiled plans for Neon Alley, a 24-hour anime channel featuring the world’s best titles set to debut on game consoles this fall. The service will be available in the United States and Canada.
Neon Alley’s schedule will include a mix of action, adventure, science fiction, supernatural, fantasy, and horror anime, all uncut and dubbed in English, and presented in HD (when available). Programming will include blockbuster anime titles like NARUTO SHIPPUDEN, INUYASHA: THE FINAL ACT, and DEATH NOTE, and will allow fans to discover new titles such as TIGER & BUNNY, BERSERK: THE GOLDEN AGE ARC, ZETMAN, and NURA: RISE OF THE YOKAI CLAN, along with original content that provides news and behind-the-scenes access for fans of anime and manga.
“We created Neon Alley for fans to watch the best anime titles in the world right on their TV,” said Ken Sasaki, President and Chief Executive Officer for VIZ Media. “Neon Alley will have weekly exclusive premieres of the hit titles they love, along with a mix of new, cutting-edge titles they didn’t know they were missing.”
Neon Alley will be a subscription-based service, subsidized with limited commercial advertising, to keep the launch price to consumers at a low $6.99 per month. Anime fans can register online at NeonAlley.com for news, updates on the service’s launch, and to find out how to get a sneak preview of the series debuting during the first season. Neon Alley is the first platform designed to be studio agnostic, featuring titles from other anime producers and distributors, and will unveil its programming lineup, special introductory offers, new acquisitions and other partnerships throughout the next several months.
For more information on Neon Alley, please visit http://www.neonalley.com/.
For more information on VIZ Media, please visit http://www.viz.com/.
Friday, June 29, 2012
Review: "Point Break" is Still On-Point (Happy B'day, Gary Busey)
Point Break (1991)
Running time: 122 minutes (2 hours, 2 minutes)
MPAA – R for violence and adult language
DIRECTOR: Kathryn Bigelow
WRITERS: W. Peter Iliff; from a story by Rick King and W. Peter Iliff
PRODUCERS: Peter Abrams and Robert L. Levy
CINEMATOGRAPHER: Donald Peterman (D.o.P.)
EDITORS: Bert Lovitt and Howard E. Smith
ACTION/CRIME/DRAMA
Starring: Patrick Swayze, Keanu Reeves, Gary Busey, Lori Petty, John C. McGinley, James LeGros, John Philbin, Bojesse Christopher, Julian Reyes, Daniel Beer, Chris Pedersen, Vincent Klyn, and Anthony Kiedis
The subject of this movie review is Point Break, a 1991 action film and crime drama from director Kathryn Bigelow and starring Patrick Swayze and Keanu Reeves. The title, “Point Break,” refers to a surfing term, and the film follows an undercover FBI agent who infiltrates a band of bank robbers who are also surfers.
Keanu Reeves wasn’t a good actor early in his career, but it was obvious from the moment he started appearing in films in the mid to late 1980’s, that he had star quality – that something, that essence that makes the camera love him. A skillful director can manage a real movie star’s deficiencies and make a credible film, which is what director Kathryn Bigelow did in the 1991 summer action flick, Point Break.
Young FBI Special Agent Johnny Utah (Keanu Reeves) goes undercover and joins a group of surfers while searching for a gang of bank robbers. Calling themselves the “Ex-Presidents,” each member of a bank-robbing quartet wears a Halloween rubber mask of one of four former presidents, and they’ve successfully pulled off 30 robberies in the Los Angeles area in three years without being caught. The FBI is puzzled, but Utah and his veteran partner, Angelo Poppas (Gary Busey, being a ham and generally acting nuts), believe they have an angle on catching the robbers. Angelo is sure that the thieves are surfers, and he convinces Utah to take up the sport.
Johnny meets girl surfer, Tyler Ann Endicott (Lori Petty), and convinces her to teach him to surf. Johnny eventually meets Tyler’s former boyfriend, Bodhi (Patrick Swayze), the leader of a small circle of local surfers. Bodhi takes a liking to Utah and quickly draws him into the surfing subculture. Entangled in this new lifestyle, Utah earns the ire of his boss, FBI Agent Ben Harp (John C. McGinley), and when Utah later discovers the identity of the Ex-Presidents, he finds himself ensnared in a trap of his own making.
Point Break was the movie that established Keanu Reeves as a convincing action star, when up to the time of this film, he’d mostly played naïve and/or goofy boys in a series of comedies and dramas (including Dangerous Liaisons, believe it or not). Overall, the acting here is mostly mediocre to bad, and the dialogue is a combination of hokey surf philosophy and the kind of phony law enforcement dialogue frequently found in cop movies. All of it sounds the worst coming from Reeves. However, the film features striking aerial photography and beautiful cinematography. Bigelow skillfully stages all the actions scenes to get the most out of them – including a thrilling scene when Utah chases Bodhi on foot. Point Break isn’t great, but the surfing and masked bank robbers angles make it memorable and definitely worth a view.
6 of 10
B
Saturday, May 12, 2007
Thursday, June 28, 2012
Review: "Red Tails" Has Wings
Red Tails (2012)
Running time: 125 minutes (2 hours, 5 minutes)
MPAA – PG-13 for some sequences of war violence
DIRECTOR: Anthony Hemingway
WRITERS: John Ridley and Aaron McGruder; from a story by John Ridley
PRODUCERS: Rick McCallum and Charles F. Johnson
CINEMATOGRAPHER: John B. Aronson
EDITORS: Ben Burtt and Michael O'Halloran
COMPOSER: Terence Blanchard
WAR/DRAMA/HISTORICAL
Starring: Terrence Howard, Cuba Gooding, Jr., Nate Parker, David Oyelowo, Tristan Wilds, Elijah Kelley, Ne-Yo, Kevin Phillips, Bryan Cranston, Lee Tergensen, Gerald McRaney, Daniela Ruah, Marcus T. Paulk, Leslie Odom, Jr., Michael B. Jordan, Andre Royo, Cliff “Method Man” Smith, and Lars van Riesen
The subject of this movie review is Red Tails, a 2012 war film and historical drama produced by Lucasfilm and released by 20th Century Fox. Starring Terrence Howard and Cuba Gooding, Jr., Red Tails is a fictionalized portrayal of the Tuskegee Airmen, a group of African-American servicemen who served in the United States Air Force (USAAF) during World War II. George Lucas financed Red Tails (both production and distributions costs) and also directed re-shoots for the film.
Red Tails is set in Italy, 1944. The 332d Fighter Group of young African-American (called “Negroes”) USAAF pilots have already made it through recruitment and training in the Tuskegee training program. They have endured racism, and, now that they are in Europe, are still facing segregation from their white counterparts. In fact, they have not flown a single combat mission, but instead conduct strafing runs against German targets and also fly coastal patrols. Even their planes are secondhand, worn out Curtiss P-40 Warhawk aircraft.
Back in Washington, Colonel A.J. Bullard (Terrence Howard) is fighting the white bureaucracy to get his black flyers treated as equals. Meanwhile, in Italy, Major Emanuel Stance (Cuba Gooding, Jr.) is keeping his bored men in fighting shape. Opportunity comes when Bullard is asked to have his fighter pilots act as bomber escorts for the Boeing B-17 Flying Fortress bombers. There is an unacceptably high casualty rate among bomber crews mainly because of the actions of their current escorts. Bullard accepts and also manages to get new planes, North American P-51 Mustangs, for the 332d. With the tails of their aircraft painted bright red, these African-American flyers become known as the “Red Tails.” Now, can they prove themselves to the doubters?
Apparently, the critical consensus on Red Tails is that the film has “one-dimensional characters, corny dialogue, and heaps of clichés.” With the exception of Platoon and a few others, war movies are inherently clichéd. As for the corny dialogue, which is another staple of war films (old and new), that is true, but it is so infrequent that it stands out when someone does utter something trite or contrived.
As for the characters, they are anything but one-dimensional. They are fairly complicated, especially in terms of their motivations, external and internal conflicts, hopes, dreams, and fears. The screenplay is a bit light on the characters’ past, but the most important thing that the audience needs to know about the characters’ past is known. What is that? Well, that is the fact that they are black and that bigots and racists have been trying to hold them back and hurt them all their lives. “Nuff said.
Red Tails isn’t as heavy and dramatic as a war movie like Saving Private Ryan; in fact, sometimes, Red Tails’ drama is a little soft, like a sentimental television movie. Red Tails’ most potent drama comes from the aviation sequences, especially the aerial battles. When the Tuskegee airmen are in the air, the film soars. The scenes of aerial combat are exciting and skillfully executed, but what else would we expect from Lucasfilm, the people who gave us the soaring spacecraft in the Star Wars films.
Some viewers may be put off that Red Tails is a dramatic retelling of a real group of men and their exploits during World War II. Red Tails is more historical fiction than history, but it is still a truly exceptional film. I am just happy that someone made a film to acknowledge the contribution black servicemen made during World War II, because African-American are generally absent when Hollywood visits World War II. I bet many of those same people complaining about Red Tails’ historical inaccuracies never previously gave a thought to the absence of Black men in WWII films.
George Lucas’ 93 million dollar investment in this project is not at all wasted. It is a lovely gift to African-American history and film, and it is a damn good film, also. By the time Red Tails’ end credits faded away, I still could have watched another two hours just like it.
8 of 10
A
Wednesday, June 27, 2012
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Review: "A GUY NAMED JOE" is Sweet and Sentimental
A Guy Named Joe (1943) – Black & White
Running time: 120 minutes (2 hours)
DIRECTOR: Victor Fleming
WRITERS: Dalton Trumbo, adapted by Frederick Hazlitt Brennan; from a story by David Boehm and Chandler Sprague
PRODUCER: Everett Riskin
CINEMATOGRAPHERS: George Folsey and Karl Freund
EDITOR: Frank Sullivan
Academy Award nominee
FANTASY/DRAMA/ROMANCE/WAR
Starring: Spencer Tracy, Irene Dunne, Van Johnson, Ward Bond, Barry Nelson, James Gleason, Lionel Barrymore, and Don DeFore
In Victor Fleming’s sentimental and patriotic film, A Guy Named Joe, the spirit of a World War II bomber pilot who died in combat plays guardian angel to a younger pilot who also romances his old girlfriend. The film is hokey and even corny at times, but it’s a wonderful, gentle, and poignant film that plays romantic with the tragedy of World War II as the backdrop.
Major Peter Sandidge (Spencer Tracy) is a daredevil bomber pilot who has a knack for getting under his superiors’ skin with his reckless flying, and, while some may see his attitude and aggressiveness in combat as courageous, others see it as crazy. The latter might include Pete’s girlfriend, Dorinda Durston (Irene Dunne), who is also a pilot and his wife-to be. However, Major Sandidge’s plane is shot down and crashes into the ocean during a reconnaissance mission. After death, he finds himself in heaven and under the command of The General in Heaven (Lionel Barrymore). The General directs the spirits of pilots killed in the air, to return to earth where they act as guardian angels and quasi-guidance counselors to young pilots-in-training.
Accompanied to earth by Captain Dick Rumney (Barry Nelson), another angel and the spirit of a pilot he knew that died before him, Pete begins to train new pilots. He becomes an angel to Ted Randall (Van Johnson), a young college grad and recent heir to an enormous fortune. Pete likes Ted enough, and follows him around giving him advice that Ted, who of course doesn’t know his guardian angel is near, receives the advice sort of like a gentle and prodding thought. However, Pete begins to dislike Ted when he falls madly in love with Pete’s old gal, Dorinda, who is still carrying a torch for Pete. When Pete asks Dorinda to marry him and she accepts, Pete becomes jealous and decides to give the newly commissioned Captain Ted Randall nothing but bad advice. Still, Pete has to reconsider his actions when Ted accepts a dangerous bombing mission from which is highly unlikely to return, and Dorinda risks own her life to protect Ted.
Although this film features several superbly staged battle scenes and air attacks, A Guy Named Joe is nevertheless sweet and sentimental. While the cast is mostly good, it is Spencer Tracy who keeps this movie from being sappy. He is far and away the star of the picture and everyone else, including Ms. Dunne and Van Johnson’s characters, is a supporting player. Tracy was a fine actor, even in a time when film personality was more important than acting prowess, and Tracy gave films (as he does so in this one) an artistic and weighty center. Ms. Dunne’s performance is good, but not outstanding, although it’s not her fault. Dorinda is conceptually a good and (for that time) groundbreaking female part, but the script mostly regulates her to being a stereotype. Barry Nelson and Lionel Barrymore give exemplary supporting performances as Pete’s heavenly colleagues, while Don DeFore and Ward Bond are excellent earthly supporting players.
Victor Fleming’s directorial effort is exceptional. He makes A Guy Named Joe a credible fantasy film, while holding onto the film’s war story elements without using a heavy hand. Though saddled with a punch-drunk script, Fleming clearly got the spirit of David Boehm and Chandler Sprague’s original story (for which they received an Oscar nomination in the category of “Best Writing, Original Story”), and that’s what makes A Guy Named Joe a swell romantic fable about a guy, his girl, and the rival who becomes “his boy.”
8 of 10
A
NOTES:
1945 Academy Awards: 1 nomination: “Best Writing, Original Story” (David Boehm and Chandler Sprague)
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Wednesday, June 27, 2012
"Rise of the Guardians" Character Poster: The Easter Bunny
Hugh Jackman is providing the voice for this character who is named E. Aster Bunnymund AKA the Easter Bunny.
Monday, June 25, 2012
Pixar's Marty Baumann is a Guest at 2012 Baltimore Comic-Con
The Baltimore Comic-Con is proud to announce the addition of Pixar's Marty Baumann as a guest at this year's show, taking place September 8-9, 2012 at the Baltimore Convention Center in downtown Baltimore.
Marty Baumann is an artist at Pixar Animation Studios and Walt Disney Pictures, an illustrator, graphic artist and production designer on such films as Toy Story 3, Cars 2, Mater's Tall Tales, Planes, and many others. He also helped develop theme park installations, toy packaging, and Pixar corporate branding.
Beyond Pixar, Marty has rendered illustrations and developed characters for toy manufacturers, magazines and newspapers, illustrated children's books, created logos, info-graphics, Web sites, broadcast promotions, and presentation art for Hasbro, McDonald's, HarperCollins, Chronicle Books, National Geographic, Scholastic Books, Universal Studios, Weekly Reader, Nickelodeon, and many others.
Recent Marty has worked on projects including the Carsland pavilion at Disneyland, a redesign of the classic game Monopoly, and a redesign of the Cheetos mascot, Chester the Cheetah.
Marty has created "Robot Rodeo," a portfolio of recent work, especially for the Baltimore Comic-Con.
"Marty is such a great guest, and brings a great pedigree to the show," said Marc Nathan, show promoter for the Baltimore Comic-Con. "I'm so pleased to be able to provide access to such a talent to our guests. Marty was also a guest at the first Baltimore Comic-Con so it's great to have him back!"
Tickets
Tickets are now on sale at baltimorecomiccon.com/tickets. Please see the website for information about General Admission tickets for Saturday and Sunday, as well as Single-Day admission for both days; Stan Lee VIP Experience Tickets for Saturday only; and tickets for photo and autograph sessions with Stan Lee for Saturday only.
With Stan Lee returning as Guest of Honor this year, tickets are sure to sell fast, so please visit baltimorecomiccon.com/tickets for more information about our VIP packages and to purchase your tickets online!
In the coming weeks, look for more announcements from the Baltimore Comic-Con. We are looking forward to highlighting our guests, the Harvey Awards, industry exclusives, and programming. The latest developments can always be found on our website, Twitter, and Facebook pages.
This year's Baltimore Comic-Con will be held September 8-9, 2012. Convention hours are Saturday 10 AM to 6 PM and Sunday 10 AM to 5 PM. The ceremony and banquet for the Harvey Awards will be held Saturday night, September 8th.
Contact Information
Please use the following e-mail addresses to contact the Baltimore Comic-Con:
press@baltimorecomiccon.com - for any general press inquiries or to be added to our PR distribution
promoter@baltimorecomiccon.com - for requesting exhibitor, publisher, and Artist Alley applications
registrar@baltimorecomiccon.com - for inquiries about submitted registrations
harveys@baltimorecomiccon.com - for the Harvey Awards ceremony and banquet
general@baltimorecomiccon.com - for general Baltimore Comic-Con inquiries
About The Baltimore Comic-Con
The Baltimore Comic-Con is celebrating its 13th year of bringing the comic book industry to the Baltimore and Washington D.C. area. With a guest list unequaled in the industry, the Baltimore Comic-Con will be held September 8-9, 2012. For more information, please visit http://www.baltimorecomiccon.com/.
About The Harvey Awards
The Harvey Awards are one of the comic book industry's oldest and most respected awards. With a history of over 20 years, the last 7 in conjunction with the Baltimore Comic-Con, the Harveys recognize outstanding achievements in over 20 categories. They are the only industry awards nominated and selected by the full body of comic book professionals. For more information, please visit http://www.harveyawards.org/.
Sunday, June 24, 2012
Review: Fine Actors Kick "Coriolanus" Up a Notch
Coriolanus (2011)
COUNTRY OF ORIGIN: U.K.
Running time: 123 minutes (2 hours, 3 minutes)
MPAA – R for some bloody violence
DIRECTOR: Ralph Fiennes
WRITER: John Logan (based on the play Coriolanus by William Shakespeare)
PRODUCERS: Ralph Fiennes, John Logan, Gabrielle Tana, Julia Taylor-Stanley, and Colin Vaines
CINEMATOGRAPHER: Barry Ackroyd
EDITOR: Nicolas Gaster
COMPOSER: Ilan Eshkeri
BAFTA nominee
DRAMA/WAR
Starring: Ralph Fiennes, Gerard Butler, Brian Cox, Vanessa Redgrave, Jessica Chastain, John Cani, Paul Jesson, James Nesbitt, Dragan Micanovic, and Harry Fenn
The subject of this movie review is Coriolanus, a 2011 military drama starring Ralph Fiennes and Gerard Butler. The film is based on William Shakespeare’s tragedy, Coriolanus, which was based on the story of a legendary Roman general. The film is Fiennes’ directorial debut and is the story of a banished Roman hero who joins Rome’s enemy to take his revenge on the city.
Coriolanus is set in “a place calling itself Rome” (but the movie was filmed in Serbia). General Caius Martius (Ralph Fiennes) leads the forces of Rome to victory against Volsces and the leader of its forces, Tullus Aufidius (Gerard Butler). Martius should be the hero of Rome, beloved by all, but the citizens of Rome are hungry. He may be a great soldier, but Martius despises the people for whom he supposedly fights. Martius is elected as a consul to the Roman Senate, but his inflexible self-belief and extreme views present an opportunity for his enemies. Before long, Martius finds that some of his friends have turned to enemies, but some of his enemies may become his friends.
Throughout my schooling, teachers told me that Shakespeare’s work was timeless, and Coriolanus certainly has contemporary parallels. Caius Martius’ story is a familiar one. He is the proud warrior who saves the state, but who is despised by the citizenry and politicians. The politicians wish to exploit him and have little or no use for him otherwise. Those politicians also loath that he fought when they did not – either because they could not or chose not to.
As a director, Fiennes makes smart choices, including having the accomplished John Logan as his screenwriter. He also surrounds himself with a strong supporting cast; Brian Cox as Menenius and Venessa Redgrave as Volumnia (Martius’ mother) are just plain great. Fiennes’ inexperience as a director, however, shows in some scenes, especially those that make up the first hour of the film. This first half of Coriolanus drifts and the use of Shakespeare’s dialogue seems out of place in the film’s modern Eastern European setting.
The second half of the film is strong and passionate, and that’s where Fiennes’ talents show. He knows great performances and first-rate acting, and he gets that from his cast. Fiennes lets Gerard Butler do what he does best – smolder. Coriolanus is not the best film adaptation of Shakespeare, but the good acting and the subject matter make it one worth watching in these times.
6 of 10
B
NOTES:
2012 BAFTA Awards: 1 nomination: “Outstanding Debut by a British Writer, Director or Producer” (Ralph Fiennes-director)
Wednesday, June 20, 2012
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