Review: "Rush Hour" is Decent Entertainment (Happy B'day, Chris Tucker)

TRASH IN MY EYE No. 112 (of 2007) by Leroy Douresseaux

Rush Hour (1998)
Running time: 97 minutes (1 hour, 37 minutes)
MPAA – PG-13 for sequences of action/violence, shootings, and for language
DIRECTOR: Brett Ratner
WRITERS: Jim Kouf and Ross LaManna; from a story by Ross LaManna
PRODUCERS: Roger Birnbaum, Jonathan Glickman, and Artur Sarkissian
CINEMATOGRAPHER: Adam Greenberg
EDITOR: Mark Helfrich
COMPOSER: Lalo Schifrin

ACTION/COMEDY/CRIME

Starring: Jackie Chan, Chris Tucker, Tzi Ma, Tom Wilkinson, Ken Leung, Julia Hsu, Elizabeth Pena, Philip Baker Hall, Rex Linn, Mark Rolston, and Chris Penn

The subject of this movie review is Rush Hour, a 1998 action comedy film from director Brett Ratner. The film stars Jackie Chan and Chris Tucker and was the first in a franchise of three films (thus far).

In the action/comedy, Rush Hour, the Fastest Hands in the East meet the Biggest Mouth in the West when two detectives from different worlds come together. They quickly discover that they don’t like each other, but are forced to work together to save the life of a little girl.

Hong Kong Detective Inspector Lee (Jackie Chan) comes to the United States to assist in the investigation of a kidnapped girl. The girl, Soo Young (Julia Hsu), and her father, Consul Han (Tzi Ma), the head of Hong Kong’s U.S. consulate, are close friends of Lee. However, the FBI doesn’t want Lee to participate in the investigation. Detective James Carter (Chris Tucker) of the LAPD also wants to get in on the investigation, but the FBI only wants him around to be escort Lee and keep him away from the investigation. Neither Lee nor Carter is willing to be relegated to the sidelines, and they begin their own mission to rescue the Soo Young. However, they’re up against the mysterious Hong Kong crime lord Juntao and his vicious henchman, Sang (Ken Leung), so Lee and Carter are getting all they can handle and more.

Rush Hour succeeds because of the chemistry between the two leads. Jackie Chan and Chris Tucker seem like a natural fit. Perhaps, one of the reasons the pairing works is because each actor has several scenes alone, which allows each actor to do the things that audiences expect of him – martial arts from Chan and brash, edgy, streetwise comedy from Tucker. In that way, when they are together, we can enjoy them instead of pining for what we expect from them as solo performers.

The film is written and directed as if it were a cheap knockoff of Beverly Hills Cop and Lethal Weapon. Without Chan and Tucker, Rush Hour would have been little better than a direct-to-video action movie, but with them, it is a highly entertaining action/comedy.

6 of 10
B

Friday, August 03, 2007

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"A Separation" is a Unique Family Drama

TRASH IN MY EYE No. 70 (of 2012) by Leroy Douresseaux


A Separation (2011)
Jodaeiye Nader az Simin – Iranian title
COUNTRY OF ORIGIN: Iran; Language: Persian
Running time: 123 minutes (2 hours, 3 minutes)
MPAA – PG-13 for mature thematic material
WRITER/PRODUCER/DIRECTOR: Asghar Farhadi
CINEMATOGRAPHER: Mahmoud Kalari
EDITOR: Hayedeh Safiyari
COMPOSER: Sattar Oraki
Academy Award winner

DRAMA

Starring: Peyman Moadi, Leila Hatami, Sarina Farhadi, Sareh Bayat, Shahab Hosseini, Kimia Hosseini, Ali-Asghar Shahbazi, Shirin Yazdanbakhsh, and Babak Karimi

The subject of this movie review is A Separation, a 2011 Iranian drama from filmmaker, Asghar Farhadi. The film, originally titled Jodaeiye Nader az Simin, won the Academy Award for “Best Foreign Language Film” in 2012. A Separation focuses on an Iranian middleclass couple who separate and the resulting troubles from that separation.

As the film opens, Nader Lavasani (Peyman Moadi) and his wife, Simin (Leila Hatami), are seeking a divorce after 14 years of marriage. Simin wants to leave Iran in order to improve the life of their 11-year-old daughter, Termeh (Sarina Farhadi). Nader does not want to leave because he wants to care for his father (Ali-Asghar Shahbazi), who has Alzheimer's disease and whose situation is deteriorating. Now, Termeh must choose the parent with which she will live. When Nader hires a lower class woman to care for his father, it sets off a series of events that makes things worse.

A Separation is a potent family drama, and writer-director Asghar Farhadi manages to unveil a train wreck without resorting to the kind of hysterics some American films about divorce use. A Separation is so atypical of divorce films that it is less about feuding spouses and more about the dynamics of family life. Farhadi’s depiction of inter-family relationships is so blunt and honest that it sometimes seems alien and contrived. I frequently found myself saying that certain incidences in the film could not happen, but I think this was simply because I have devoured so many contrived Hollywood family dramas that anything that is different seems to be phony. Farhadi is simply honest about the lengths to which people will go to lie to members of their immediate family and other close relatives out of pride or because they are being stubborn.

Good performances abound, though I wish the film gave more focus to Leila Hatami as Nader’s wife, Simin. The story treats Simin as a supporting character, but she is just as important to A Separation as Nader, although her screen time suggests otherwise. Ms. Hatami, however, makes the most of her time and forces Simin to the forefront. A Separation is one of the year’s best modern (non-genre) dramas and people looking for something good, but different will find a gem in this.

8 of 10
A

NOTES:
2012 Academy Awards: 1 win: “Best Foreign Language Film of the Year” (Iran) and 1 nomination: “Best Writing, Original Screenplay” (Asghar Farhadi)

2012 BAFTA Awards: 1 nomination: “Best Film Not in the English Language” Asghar Farhadi)

2012 Golden Globes, USA: 1 win: “Best Foreign Language Film” (Iran)

2012 Image Awards: 1 nomination: “Outstanding Foreign Motion Picture”

Thursday, August 30, 2012

Morgan Freeman Among Voice Cast Added to LEGO 3D Movie

Will Arnett, Elizabeth Banks, Chris Pratt and Morgan Freeman Join Voice Cast of New LEGO® Movie, Now in Production

BURBANK, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Will Arnett, Elizabeth Banks, Chris Pratt and Morgan Freeman will lend their vocal talents to the LEGO® world, starring as characters in the upcoming original 3D animated LEGO feature, currently in production, from Warner Bros. Pictures and Village Roadshow Pictures.

The film, the first-ever full length theatrical LEGO movie, follows Emmet, an ordinary, rules-following, perfectly average LEGO minifigure who is mistakenly identified as the most extraordinary person and the key to saving the world. He is drafted into a fellowship of strangers on an epic quest to stop an evil tyrant, a journey for which Emmet is hopelessly and hilariously underprepared.

Chris Pratt (“Moneyball”) stars as Emmet. Oscar® winner Morgan Freeman (“Million Dollar Baby”) and Elizabeth Banks (“The Hunger Games,” Emmy nominee for “30 Rock”), will star as two of Emmet’s fellow travelers: Vitruvius, an old mystic; and tough-as-nails Lucy, who mistakes Emmet for the savior of the world and guides him on his quest. She also calls upon the mysterious Batman, a LEGO® minifigure voiced by Will Arnett (Emmy nominee, “30 Rock”), with whom she shares a history.

The 3D computer animated adventure will open nationwide on February 28, 2014.

Phil Lord & Christopher Miller (“21 Jump Street,” Golden Globe nominee “Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs”) are directing from their original screenplay, story by Dan Hageman & Kevin Hageman and Phil Lord & Christopher Miller, based on LEGO construction toys. The film will incorporate some of the most popular LEGO figures while introducing several new characters, inviting fans who have enjoyed the brand’s innovative toys and hugely popular video games for generations to experience their visually unique LEGO world as never seen before.

The film will be produced by Dan Lin (“Sherlock Holmes,” “Sherlock Holmes: A Game of Shadows”) and Roy Lee (“The Departed,” “How to Train Your Dragon”). It will be distributed by Warner Bros. Pictures, a Warner Bros. Entertainment Company, and in select territories by Village Roadshow Pictures.

LEGO, its logo, brick & knob configuration and the Minifigure are trademarks of The LEGO Group. ©2012 The LEGO Group. All rights reserved.

Announcing Gulfstream, a New Film Production and Financing Company

Warner Bros. Signs Exclusive First-Look Deal with Producers Mike Karz & Bill Bindley’s New Gulfstream Pictures, a Partnership with Korea’s Redrover Ltd. and U.S. Private Equity Funds

Gulfstream Sets Up Shop at Warner Bros. to Develop and Co-Finance Tentpole Films

BURBANK, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Warner Bros. has signed an exclusive first-look deal with Mike Karz and Bill Bindley’s new film production and financing company, Gulfstream Pictures. The company gets its start with an initial multi-million-dollar development fund from Korea-based 3D stereoscopic leader Redrover Ltd. and a consortium of U.S. private equity funds.

Under the two-year pact, Gulfstream will be based on Warners' Burbank lot and will co-finance development with Warners with the option of co-financing the films, which will be distributed worldwide by Warners. Gulfstream is currently meeting with additional investors to complete the formation of a $200 million film fund, of which Redrover and the U.S. private equity funds are lead investors. Gulfstream plans to produce and co-finance two films per year.

Gulfstream’s first film is “The Nut Job,” a $45-million animated feature directed by Peter Lepeniotis for Redrover and Toonbox Entertainment, a top Toronto animation studio, which becomes a sister company to Gulfstream.

“Mike and Bill have been valued members of the Warner family for a long time,” said Greg Silverman, President of Production for Warner Bros. Pictures. “We're excited to extend our relationship to include Gulfstream and eagerly anticipate making more great movies together.”

Hoe-jin Ha, Redrover's CEO, said: “This opportunity is a historic step for the Korean film industry. We are very excited to set up this fund, supported by Warner Bros., and we look forward to co-financing many films through this partnership with Gulfstream.”

This new deal follows producer Karz’s long-standing relationship with the studio, where he produced such hits as “New Year’s Eve” and “Valentine’s Day,” the latter of which set box-office records, including the top-grossing romantic comedy weekend of all time and the top-grossing Presidents’ Day Weekend opening. Karz’s most recent film for Warners, “Thunderstruck,” starring the NBA’s Kevin Durant, is in theaters now.

Bindley and Karz are currently producing two films for Warners: “West Texas United,” a comedy with Russell Brand attached to star, and “Say Uncle,” a family comedy, with Bindley attached to direct. Bindley directed the Jim Caviezel-starrer “Madison,” a Sundance Film Festival favorite, distributed by MGM Pictures.


About Redrover Ltd.
Redrover Ltd. is a global leader in the 3D stereoscopic industry, founded in 2000 with the participation of college professors and researchers. Since then, Redrover Ltd., a publicly held company, has obtained patents from 30 countries, including Korea, and established a global network in major trading countries, including the U.S., Canada, China, and Japan. In 2008 Redrover began producing 3D stereoscopic animation movies and television series with its North American studio Toonbox Entertainment, and will continue producing two to four Korean films each year, beginning this fall with its first film.

"Attack of the Clones" and "Revenge of the Sith" Get the 3D Treatment

Star Wars 3D Continues with Episodes II and III

Attack of the Clones and Revenge of the Sith to be Theatrically Released in 3D back-to-back in September and October, 2013

SAN FRANCISCO--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Lucasfilm Ltd. and Twentieth Century Fox have announced the official release dates for the 3D theatrical launch of Star Wars: Episode II Attack of the Clones and Star Wars: Episode III Revenge of the Sith. Attendees at the closing ceremony for Star Wars Celebration VI, the franchise’s massive fan event, learned that the epic movies that chronicle the rise of the Galactic Empire will be released back-to-back, with Episode II hitting theaters on September 20, 2013 and Episode III arriving soon after on October 11, 2013.

With its deeply detailed worlds and engulfing action, Star Wars is perfectly suited for the immersive 3D theatrical experience. Episode II and III deliver such captivating locales as the gleaming clone hatcheries of rain-swept Kamino, and the fiery lava planet of Mustafar as well as spectacular action sequences like Yoda’s unforgettable debut as a lightsaber duelist, the explosive space and ground battles of the Clone Wars, and the dramatic showdown between Obi-Wan Kenobi and Anakin Skywalker.

Supervised by Industrial Light & Magic, the meticulous 3D conversion was undertaken by Prime Focus, the global visual entertainment services company. With their proprietary View-D™ process, Prime Focus transformed Episode II and III into 3D with the utmost respect for the source material, and with a keen eye for both technological consideration and artistic intentions.

Lucasfilm, STAR WARS™ and related properties are trademarks and/or copyrights, in the United States and other countries, of Lucasfilm Ltd. and/or its affiliates. TM & © Lucasfilm Ltd. All rights reserved. All other trademarks and trade names are properties of their respective owners.


About Fox Filmed Entertainment
One of the world’s largest producers and distributors of motion pictures, Fox Filmed Entertainment produces, acquires and distributes motion pictures throughout the world. These motion pictures are produced or acquired by the following units of FFE: Twentieth Century Fox, Fox 2000 Pictures, Fox Searchlight Pictures, Twentieth Century Fox Animation and Fox International Productions. Twentieth Century Fox International is a unit of Fox Filmed Entertainment, a segment of Fox Entertainment Group.

Review: "The Maltese Falcon" is an All-Time Great (Remembering John Huston)

TRASH IN MY EYE No. 44 (of 2003) by Leroy Douresseaux

The Maltese Falcon (1941) – Black & White
Running time: 101 minutes (1 hour, 41 minutes)
DIRECTOR: John Huston
WRITER: John Huston (based upon the novel by Dashiell Hammett)
CINEMATOGRAPHER: Arthur Edeson
EDITOR: Thomas Richards
PRODUCER: Hal B. Wallis (executive producer)
Academy Award nominee

MYSTERY/FILM-NOIR

Starring: Humphrey Bogart, Mary Astor, Gladys George, Peter Lorre, Barton MacLane, Lee Patrick, Sydney Greenstreet, Ward Bond, Jerome Cowan, and Elisha Cook, Jr.

The subject of this movie review is The Maltese Falcon, a 1941 film noir detective film. It is based upon Dashiell Hammett’s 1930 novel of the same name and was the film debut of actor, Sydney Greenstreet, who earned a best supporting actor Oscar nomination for his performance. The Maltese Falcon was also John Huston’s directorial debut and went on to earn a best picture Oscar nomination.

Before the word “thug” entered the popular lexicon via Hip-Hop culture, there were men we could have called “thugs.” If we go by popular rapper Nas’s definition, a thug is “a man who answers to no one.” That describes one of my favorite characters of the golden age of Hollywood, “Bogie,” a popular nickname for that famous actor Humphrey Bogart, to a tee. Bogie was a thug, and he gave the ladies and not-so-lady-like his thug lovin;’ he answered to no man and even used cops to further his own agenda. And in no film is that more evident than in the beautiful and fantastic The Maltese Falcon, one of the great detective dramas and one of the films that created the template for film noir.

After someone kills his associate Miles Archer (Jerome Cowan) during a seemingly routine assignment, Samuel “Sam” Spade (Bogart) reasons, “When a man’s partner is killed, he’s supposed to do something about it.” He’s not “all talk,” and is certainly going to do something about the murder of his partner. Along the way of finding the killer, Spade becomes involved in a desperate quest to find and to possess “The Black Bird,” the Maltese Falcon, a legendary treasure so prized that it tangles Spade with some of the most devious and eccentric characters he’s ever faced.

There’s the damsel in distress Brigid O’Shaughnessy (Mary Astor) who first catches Archer’s eye and later Spade’s. Close on her heels is the shifty and effete Joel Cairo (Peter Lorre) who always finds himself on the wrong side of slap or a punch even when he has the gun. Finally, there’s “The Fat Man,” Kasper Gutman (Sydney Greenstreet) and his tag-along gunman (or “gunsel” as Spade slyly calls him), Wilmer Cook (Elisha Cook, Jr.). Gutman is the main mover and shaker in the scheme to get the Falcon, the man with the most dough and who is a gourmand when it comes to the finer things.

The performances are heightened to a fever pitch, and the actors play their characters with a theatrical flair. Even the dialogue crackles with energy, bite and wit, but it’s all for a good purpose. It adds style and even color to the black and white film. Most of the players fairly drip with deceit and duplicity, but the mack daddy, the playa, is Bogart’s Sam Spade. A crouching tiger and a hidden dragon, he’s always on top even when it seems as if he’s just got the bad end of things. With the ladies, especially Ms. Astor’s Brigid, he’s tough but romantic. He’s world weary, but savvy, and he has an unbreakable code of honor when it comes to his profession as a detective. It’s what drives him through the maze of weird foes and police traps to find his partner’s murderer.

Spade would define the kind of characters Bogart would play for the rest of his career, but even in this highly stylized performance, we can see a man with superior talent and ability to act in front of a movie camera. Both Bogart and his character Spade are intriguing and exciting; let this performance go down as one of the great ones.

The Maltese Falcon was the debut of legendary director and filmmaker John Huston. Although he would continue to do fine and challenging work, Huston caught lightning in a bottle with Falcon. He gave life to a genre of film and a style of filmmaking that continues to influence all of popular culture to this day. It’s a great work, and if you like movies, you should have seen it already.

10 of 10

NOTES:
1942 Academy Awards: 3 nominations: “Best Picture” (Warner Bros.), “Best Actor in a Supporting Role” (Sydney Greenstreet), and “Best Writing, Screenplay” (John Huston)

1989 National Film Preservation Board, USA: National Film Registry

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"Street Fight" is a Heavy Weight Political Documentary

TRASH IN MY EYE No. 222 (of 2006) by Leroy Douresseaux


Street Fight (2005)
Running time: 82 minutes (1 hour, 22 minutes)
(Not rated by the MPAA)
PRODUCER/WRITER/DIRECTOR: Marshall Curry
EDITOR/CINEMATOGRAPHER: Marshall Curry
Academy Award nominee

DOCUMENTARY

Starring: Cory Booker and Sharpe James

The subject of this movie review is Street Fight, a 2005 documentary film from director Marshall Curry. The film received a best documentary film Oscar nomination and was also aired on the PBS series, P.O.V.

In 2002, documentary filmmaker Marshall Curry followed Cory Booker, a candidate for Mayor of Newark, New Jersey, taking viewers behind the scenes in what turned out to be a cutthroat 2002 mayoral race. Booker, a Newark city councilman, was an Ivy League upstart who’d only won a single political race prior to his 2002 mayoral campaign – that of the city council seat he held at the time.

The incumbent Sharpe James was a four-term, old-timer who represented the old-fashioned political machine’s way of running a political campaign and managing a government. That old political machine will try to win by any means necessary. James was the undisputed king of New Jersey politics, and some called him a “king maker.” James was also not above using down-and-dirty tactics to win, and he was not above bringing forth race and skin color as divisive issues he could use to defeat his opponents.

Booker and James are both African-Americans, but Booker has a lighter skin complexion than James. James, who at the time of the film had been in politics for 32 years, was one of the politicians that enjoyed the first fruits of the hard fought Civil Rights battles. Booker, on the other hand, represented the new generation of black leaders born after the Civil Right movement. These young African-Americans want to bring new ideas to government, and race (skin color, ethnicity) is less of a factor in how they run their campaigns, manage government, and operate in the public arena. Just being one of the father’s of Civil Rights or being a first generation beneficiary of the movement doesn’t make one untouchable or above criticism from these young black leaders.

Such an attitude rankled supporters of Sharpe who saw Sharpe and his career as the epitome of the struggle for civil rights and what the movement wanted to achieve. So Booker, who wasn’t born in Newark (whereas James was) was seen as an outsider. James encouraged that sentiment and went so far as to suggest that Booker wasn’t black or, as a light-skinned Negro, not black enough. James also liked to accuse Booker of being Jewish (he’s not) and a lackey of right wing, white Republicans. Booker often struck back by pointing out Newark’s problems and how the city had languished under James’ stewardship.

Raising hard questions about American politics, race and racial identity, and democracy, Street Fight earned a 2006 Academy Award nomination (“Best Documentary, Features”) for its story of a bare-knuckles political race. Marshall Curry’s brilliant follows it all, letting his camera record something uniquely American and rarely shown to the country at large – an inner city political campaign in which two black candidates go after each other for blood. The film’s one flaw is that Curry deliberately avoided covering the issues and focused on the “street fight.” Curry has said in interviews that in the battle, in which both men went into the neighborhoods of Newark canvassing for votes and feting voters, he saw the true story. It’s debatable if issues such as poverty, gang violence, municipal construction, etc. weren’t as important.

Still, anyone who likes politics and documentaries will find that Street Fight is a gourmet meal and a lavish dessert in one.

9 of 10
A+

Thursday, October 26, 2006

NOTES:
2006 Academy Awards: 1 nomination: “Best Documentary, Features” (Marshall Curry)