Review: "Twilight: Breaking Dawn - Part 2" is a Wonderful Finale

TRASH IN MY EYE No. 89 (of 2012) by Leroy Douresseaux

The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn – Part 2 (2012)
Running time: 115 minutes (1 hour, 55 minutes)
MPAA – PG-13 for sequences of violence including disturbing images, some sensuality and partial nudity
DIRECTOR: Bill Condon
WRITER: Melissa Rosenberg (based upon the novel by Stephenie Meyer)
PRODUCERS: Wyck Godfrey, Karen Rosenfelt, and Stephenie Meyer
CINEMATOGRAPHER: Guillermo Navarro
EDITOR: Virginia Katz
COMPOSER: Carter Burwell

FANTASY/DRAMA/ROMANCE

Starring: Kristen Stewart, Robert Pattinson, Taylor Lautner, Billy Burke, Peter Facinelli, Elizabeth Reaser Ashley Greene, Jackson Rathbone, Nikki Reed, Kellan Lutz, Mackenzie Foy, Julia Jones, Chaske Spencer, Alex Rice, Cameron Bright, and Maggie Grace, with Michael Sheen and Dakota Fanning

The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn – Part 2 is the fifth film in The Twilight Saga film franchise. Like the previous films: Twilight, The Twilight Saga: New Moon, The Twilight Saga: Eclipse, and Breaking Dawn – Part 1, Breaking Dawn – Part 2 is based upon the wildly popular Twilight book series by author, Stephenie Meyer. Each of the first three films is based upon one of the first three books in the series; however, the fourth book, Breaking Dawn, has been adapted into two movies.

The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn – Part 2 continues the love story a young human woman, Bella Swan (Kristen Stewart), and her vampire boyfriend, Edward Cullen (Robert Pattinson), who were married in the previous film. The story begins as Bella opens her eyes to find her senses sharpened. The transformation is complete; she is now a vampire. Still, all is not perfect.

Bella is shocked to learn that her recently born infant daughter has imprinted on her friend and former love interest, Native American werewolf, Jacob Black (Taylor Lautner). Bella must also find a way to explain her new situation to her worried father, Police Chief Charlie Swan (Billy Burke). Meanwhile, Bella and Edward’s daughter does not stay an orphan for long. Renesmee Cullen (Mackenzie Foy) is undergoing a tremendous growth spurt, which leads to a bigger problem. When a false allegation puts their family in front of the Volturi to likely face a death sentence, the Cullens gather other vampire clans and old allies in order to protect Renesmee.

I enjoyed Breaking Dawn – Part 1, but I found the film to be mostly joyless, even dour and morbid. Breaking Dawn – Part 2 is quite the opposite. It is joyful and celebratory. Like Renesmee, Breaking Dawn – Part 2 is fresh and new and curious about the world. It almost seems like a brand new thing, unconnected to the other films, although it is.

I think this is the result of having a director like Bill Condon, who is not just good with character drama. He is also a standout, and he did not get enough credit for what he did with Dreamgirls, getting so much more out of the material than it offered. Here, in his second Twilight movie, he gives all the supernatural characters mortality, not just Edward and Bella (who have seemed forever on the edge of demise in this series). Mortality for the immortals means that not only do their actions have real consequences, but also that those consequences can mean the end of them. When everyone has “skin in the game,” conflict is rich and complicated.

However, the sense of death does not dampen this movie’s themes of hope and happiness. Who knows how many days lie ahead for each character? There may be many days (or not), but they will be happy days, with family and friends. There will also be dark days, as in any human’s life. In fact, The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn – Part 2 is about loving family, close friends, and new friends and allies made.

For Twilight as a whole, the franchise gets something that escapes even the best franchises, a superior ending. Compared to The Dark Knight Rises, the end of Christopher Nolan’s so-called “The Dark Knight trilogy,” Breaking Dawn – Part 2 is Oscar-worthy.

8 of 10
A

Sunday, November 25, 2012

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"J.R. Ewing" Larry Hagman Dies at 81

Larry Hagman, best known for his iconic television role as the ruthless oil baron, J.R. Ewing, on the CBS television series, Dallas (1978-1991), died on Friday, November 23, 2012.  I first encountered Mr. Hagman when I saw reruns of I Dream of Jeannie (1965-1970).  Dallas was recently revived as a drama series for cable network, TNT.

Negromancer sends condolences to Larry Hagman's family. Rest in peace, Mr. Hagman.

Bleach: Hell Verse Movie on Neon Alley

VIZ MEDIA PREMIERES BLEACH THE MOVIE: HELL VERSE EXCLUSIVELY ON NEON ALLEY

Soul Reaper Ichigo Embarks On A Perilous Mission To Hell To Rescue His Younger Sister In New Anime Feature Film Also Launching On DVD And Blu-ray!

VIZ Media, LLC (VIZ Media), the largest publisher, distributor and licensor of manga and anime in North America, delivers the supernatural anime action of the latest Bleach feature film to fans with the premiere of BLEACH THE MOVIE: HELL VERSE on Neon Alley on Sunday, November 25th at 8:00pm EST / 5:00pm PST. The film will repeat 12:00am EST November 26th / 9:00pm PST November 25th, and will air again throughout the week.

Bleach the Movie: Hell Verse will also be released on DVD and Blu-ray on December 4th with both English-subtitled and dubbed dialogue options. The new film carries a DVD MSRP of $19.98 U.S. / $24.98 CAN and a Blu-ray MSRP of $24.98 U.S. / $27.50 CAN. Bonus features include the original Japanese theatrical trailer.

Neon Alley is VIZ Media’s new 24-hour, subscription-based anime channel featuring the world’s best titles (dubbed in English and uncut) and presented in HD (when available) for a low monthly subscription rate of $6.99. Neon Alley is the first platform designed to be studio agnostic, offering with a diverse array of titles from many leading anime producers and distributors. For a limited time only, the game console based-service is offering a one-week free trial, available for fans who sign up at NeonAlley.com.

Bleach the Movie: Hell Verse (rated TV-14) takes audiences on a wild trip to the underworld – a place where beings that have committed mortal sins during their lifetime are sent. It is a realm where even Soul Reapers are forbidden to interfere. When a group of vicious Sinners plots to escape from this eternal prison, they discover that Substitute Soul Reaper Ichigo Kurosaki is the key to their freedom. The Sinners launch an attack and in the process kidnap Ichigo’s younger sister Yuzu and take her to Hell. With the help of a mysterious man named Kokuto, Ichigo and his friends must now travel into the depths of Hell to stop the Sinners and save Yuzu, unaware that their actions could bring Hell to the World of the Living.

“ Bleach the Movie: Hell Verse is the fourth feature film of the popular Bleach movie franchise and based on the smash hit manga series originally created by Tite Kubo,” says Brian Ige, Vice President, Animation. “Ichigo will face his most dangerous adversaries yet as he journeys to the underworld on a perilous mission to save his sister. Don’t miss this special North American movie premiere on our new digital anime platform this coming weekend!”

The Bleach animated films and TV series follow the adventures of Ichigo, a 15-year old student with the ability to see ghosts. When his family is attacked by a Hollow — a malevolent lost soul – Ichigo encounters Rukia, a Soul Reaper, and inadvertently absorbs her powers. Now, he’s dedicating his life to protecting the innocent and helping tortured souls find peace.

Bleach is a tremendously successful multimedia property internationally. The manga has been licensed to more than a dozen countries and has sold over 50 million copies in Japan alone. In North America, the manga has been a sales hit and the popular animated series (both rated 'T' for Teens) is viewed weekly by millions in the United States and Canada. This success has further spawned an array of related video games, apparel, action figures, trading cards and other merchandise.

For more information on Bleach please visit bleach.viz.com.

Subtitled episodes of Bleach also may be streamed on the company’s own free-to-use VIZAnime.com, as well as on Hulu. In addition, Download-To-Own dubbed episodes are available for purchase through iTunes®, PlayStation®Network, Xbox Video, Amazon Instant Video, and the Google Play store.

To read a free chapter 1 preview of the Bleach manga series, please visit VIZManga.com/bleach.

Review: "The Expendables 2" is Darker, But Still Fun

TRASH IN MY EYE No. 88 (of 2012) by Leroy Douresseaux - support on Patreon.

The Expendables 2 (2012)
Running time: 103 minutes (1 hour, 43 minutes)
MPAA – R for strong bloody violence throughout
DIRECTOR: Simon West
WRITERS: Richard Wenk and Sylvester Stallone; from a story by Ken Kaufman & David Agosto and Richard Wenk (based on characters created by David Callaham)
PRODUCERS: David Lerner, Avi Lerner, Kevin King Templeton, John Thompson, and Les Weldon
CINEMATOGRAPHER: Shelly Johnson
EDITOR: Todd E. Miller
COMPOSER: Brian Tyler

ACTION

Starring: Sylvester Stallone, Jason Statham, Jean-Claude Van Damme, Jet Li, Dolph Lundgren, Randy Couture, Liam Hemsworth, Scott Adkins, Nan Yu, Charisma Carpenter, Chuck Connors, and Terry Crews with Bruce Willis and Arnold Schwarzenegger

The Summer 2010 movie season offered an unexpected treat, The Expendables, an explosive action film co-written, directed, and starring Sylvester Stallone. It was a throwback to the macho, testosterone-fueled, action flicks of the 1980s.

The subject of this movie review is its sequel, The Expendables 2, a 2012 action movie from director Simon West. Like its predecessor, The Expendables 2 is not an homage to or parody of action movie days-gone-by. It is an authentic ass-kicking, ass-stabbing, cap-popped-in-ass action movie, but it is a little darker and more downbeat than the original.

Barney Ross (Sylvester Stallone) is still the leader of the Expendables, an elite band of mercenaries. Ross and his right-hand man/knife specialist, Lee Christmas (Jason Statham); martial artist Yin Yang (Jet Li); unstable Gunner Jensen (Dolph Lundgren); demolitions expert Toll Road (Randy Couture); weapons specialist Hale Caesar (Terry Crews); and the new guy, sniper Billy the Kid (Liam Hemsworth), charge into Nepal on a rescue mission. It is a success, of course, but Ross and the Expendables have a debt to pay. So says secretive CIA agent, “Mr. Church” (Bruce Willis).

Soon, the Expendables are escorting one of Church’s operatives, Maggie Chan (Nan Yu), to a crash site in the Gasak Mountains, Albania. The item that the Expendables are trying to retrieve is also the target of Jean Vilain (Jean-Claude Van Damme), the leader of a large mercenary band called the Sangs. After one of the Expendables is brutally murdered, Ross leads his team into hostile territory on a mission of revenge.

Early in The Expendables 2, even with the crazy opening in Nepal, it is obvious that this is a darker movie. This sequel replaces the cartoonish and stylish violence with more grit. It seems that just as many, if not more people are casually shot and also shot to pieces, but there is something meaner here. Perhaps, it is this film’s chilly shooting locations in Bulgaria, or maybe it’s the story.

More than the original film, The Expendables 2 is a Sylvester Stallone movie, and the theme, or at least emphasis, is that his character, Barney Ross, has come to a morbid conclusion about his life. He’s a tired, old soldier, but this dog still has a lot of fight in him. But Ross is simply determined not to drag any new people into the meat grinder that is his place of work and profession. The other Expendables are largely in the background compared to the first movie, which is hugely disappointing to me. Still, wise-ass Jason Statham gets many opportunities to spread his wings of sarcasm, and he has some cool, solo martial arts fight scenes. That’s worth the price of admission.

Stallone and some of his costars are starting to look real hoary because of plastic surgery. In fact, there is enough plastic surgery between some of them that it would not be too snarky to say that they are starting to look like action figure toys. Anyway, if you liked the first movie, you’ll likely like the second. The Expendables 2 is good enough to make me ready to go on a third mission with Ross and company.

6 of 10
B

Friday, November 23, 2012

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Amazon wants me to inform you that the affiliate link below is a PAID AD, but I technically only get paid (eventually) if you click on the affiliate link below AND buy something(s).

William Joyce Talks "Rise of the Guardians"

Academy Award® Winner William Joyce Shares His Story on DreamWorks Animation’s “Rise of the Guardians” 3D Animated Film

The Guardians -- Santa Claus, Tooth Fairy, Easter Bunny, Sandman and Jack Frost Emerge from Print onto the Big Screen in Theatres Across the Globe

SHREVEPORT, La.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--On the opening day of DreamWorks Animation SKG, Inc.’s (NASDAQ: DWA) much-anticipated “Rise of the Guardians”, William Joyce, an Academy Award®-winning filmmaker and #1 New York Times best-selling author, today shared why he chose DreamWorks Animation to bring his characters to life, what inspired him to write the epic adventure and his role with the film overall.

“Rise of the Guardians,” which features the voices of Chris Pine, Alec Baldwin, Jude Law Isla Fisher and Hugh Jackman, tells the story of a group of heroes – Santa Claus, the Tooth Fairy, the Easter Bunny, the Sandman, and Jack Frost – each with extraordinary abilities. When an evil spirit known as Pitch lays down the gauntlet to take over the world, the immortal Guardians must join forces for the first time to protect the hopes, beliefs and imagination of children all over the world.

Joyce began his relationship with DreamWorks Animation several years ago after receiving a tremendous amount of interest from Hollywood studios to adapt his books into a feature film. His choice was easy. The author and the studio shared the same vision: neither wanted a traditional adaptation of the book into a movie form. Rather, they wanted to create a unique story featuring the same characters, but set 200 years after the version of events laid out in Joyce’s best-selling Simon & Schuster Guardians of Childhood book series.

“I wanted to set up the world in the books and then show how they deal with their lives in the movie when their ancient enemy returns in Rise of the Guardians,” said William Joyce, creator of The Guardians series and an executive producer of the film. “I didn’t want to be stuck trying to be true to something we’d already done. No studio in town wanted to do both the books and movies this way. DreamWorks Animation was the only studio who liked the idea of them being separate. They liked the idea that the audience would have a surprise narrative they would be experiencing for the first time. Director Peter Ramsey shared my vision and helped transform the Guardians from books to the big screen.”

“Bill Joyce is a master storyteller and the mythology that he created in his book series has inspired our creative team at DreamWorks Animation,” said Bill Damaschke, chief creative officer at DreamWorks Animation. “There is perhaps no more collaborative medium than the art of animation and we are thrilled to have had the unique opportunity to work closely with Bill Joyce to bring the individual stories of the Guardians together for the first time on the big screen.”

Joyce plans to write 13 books in his series, including picture books and novels that tell the story of these classic childhood heroes. The movie is really just one moment in a much larger narrative that Joyce is shaping. William Joyce’s daughter Mary Katherine inspired him to do the series when she asked if Santa Claus and the Easter Bunny knew each other. This question sparked his creativity which became the common thread of the book series and central theme behind the animated film. He hopes these stories will speak to children of all ages who are trying to make sense of the characters.

Joyce added, “My vision is to explain the mythology for these classic characters in picture, film and story form. This movie is just the beginning.”


About Dreamworks Animation
DreamWorks Animation creates high-quality entertainment, including CG animated feature films, television specials and series and live entertainment properties, meant for audiences around the world. The Company has world-class creative talent, a strong and experienced management team and advanced filmmaking technology and techniques. DreamWorks Animation has been named one of the "100 Best Companies to Work For" by FORTUNE® Magazine for four consecutive years. In 2012, DreamWorks Animation ranks #14 on the list. All of DreamWorks Animation's feature films are now being produced in 3D. The Company has theatrically released a total of 24 animated feature films, including the franchise properties of Shrek, Madagascar, Kung Fu Panda and How to Train Your Dragon. The Company's theatrical releases for the current year are Madagascar 3: Europe's Most Wanted on June 8, 2012 and Rise of the Guardians on November 21, 2012.

About William Joyce
William Joyce has achieved world-wide recognition as an author, illustrator and pioneer in the digital and animation industry. In February 2012, he won an Academy Award for “The Fantastic Flying Books of Mr. Morris Lessmore,” an animated short film about the curative powers of story. Working with his team at Moonbot Studios, Joyce also created two best-selling, interactive iOS Apps, “Morris Lessmore” and “The Numberlys.” In past two years, he has also written seven hard copy Simon & Schuster children’s books including “The Fantastic Flying Books of Mr. Morris Lessmore,” “The Man in the Moon,” “The Guardians of Childhood,” “The Sandman: Story of Sanderson Mansnoozie, "Toothania: Queen of the Tooth Fairy Armies," “Nicholas St. North and the Battle of the Nightmare King,” “E. Aster Bunnymund and the Warrior Eggs at the Earth’s Core!” Named by Newsweek magazine as “One of the 100 people to watch in the new millennium”, Joyce has been heavily involved in the world of digital animation from its full-scale inception at Pixar Animation. His projects have been produced by nearly every major film studio including Disney, 20th Century Fox and DreamWorks Animation. His feature films and television shows include the films Robots and Meet the Robinsons and the television series Rolie Polie Olie for which he won three Emmy Awards.

Joyce was an executive producer of the animated feature, “Rise of the Guardians,” for DreamWorks. Additionally, he is the writer, producer, and production designer on the Fox Studios feature film, Epic, based on his book The Leaf Men. Epic is scheduled for a summer 2013 release. The combined box office total of the films he has originated or been an integral part of is close to a billion dollars. All five of his feature films have earned over $100 million worldwide. Both of his television series achieved worldwide status, the rarest and most difficulty level of achievement in broadcast television.

Negromancer's Thankful

Happy Thanksgiving to all you readers and visitors.  We are thankful for your support, from visits to purchases and donations.  You keep us going.  Let's do this again next Thanksgiving.

71 Nations Seeks 2012 Foreign Film Oscar Noms

71 Countries Vie for 2012 Foreign Language Film Oscar®


BEVERLY HILLS, CA – A record 71 countries, including first-time entrant Kenya, have submitted films for consideration in the Foreign Language Film category for the 85th Academy Awards®.

The 2012 submissions are:

Afghanistan, "The Patience Stone," Atiq Rahimi, director;

Albania, "Pharmakon," Joni Shanaj, director;

Algeria, "Zabana!" Said Ould Khelifa, director;

Argentina, "Clandestine Childhood," Benjamín Ávila, director;

Armenia, "If Only Everyone," Natalia Belyauskene, director;

Australia, "Lore," Cate Shortland, director;

Austria, "Amour," Michael Haneke, director;

Azerbaijan, "Buta," Ilgar Najaf, director;

Bangladesh, "Pleasure Boy Komola," Humayun Ahmed, director;

Belgium, "Our Children," Joachim Lafosse, director;

Bosnia and Herzegovina, "Children of Sarajevo," Aida Begic, director;

Brazil, "The Clown," Selton Mello, director;

Bulgaria, "Sneakers," Valeri Yordanov and Ivan Vladimirov, directors;

Cambodia, "Lost Loves," Chhay Bora, director;

Canada, "War Witch," Kim Nguyen, director;

Chile, "No," Pablo Larraín, director;

China, "Caught in the Web," Chen Kaige, director;

Colombia, "The Snitch Cartel," Carlos Moreno, director;

Croatia, "Vegetarian Cannibal," Branko Schmidt, director;

Czech Republic, "In the Shadow," David Ondrícek, director;

Denmark, "A Royal Affair," Nikolaj Arcel, director;

Dominican Republic, "Jaque Mate," José María Cabral, director;

Estonia, "Mushrooming," Toomas Hussar, director;

Finland, "Purge," Antti J. Jokinen, director;

France, "The Intouchables," Olivier Nakache and Eric Toledano, directors;

Georgia, "Keep Smiling," Rusudan Chkonia, director;

Germany, "Barbara," Christian Petzold, director;

Greece, "Unfair World," Filippos Tsitos, director;

Greenland, "Inuk," Mike Magidson, director;

Hong Kong, "Life without Principle," Johnnie To, director;

Hungary, "Just the Wind," Bence Fliegauf, director;

Iceland, "The Deep," Baltasar Kormákur, director;

India, "Barfi!" Anurag Basu, director;

Indonesia, "The Dancer," Ifa Isfansyah, director;

Israel, "Fill the Void," Rama Burshtein, director;

Italy, "Caesar Must Die," Paolo Taviani and Vittorio Taviani, directors;

Japan, "Our Homeland," Yang Yonghi, director;

Kazakhstan, "Myn Bala: Warriors of the Steppe," Akan Satayev, director;

Kenya, "Nairobi Half Life," David 'Tosh' Gitonga, director;

Kyrgyzstan, "The Empty Home," Nurbek Egen, director;

Latvia, "Gulf Stream under the Iceberg," Yevgeny Pashkevich, director;

Lithuania, "Ramin," Audrius Stonys, director;

Macedonia, "The Third Half," Darko Mitrevski, director;

Malaysia, "Bunohan," Dain Iskandar Said, director;

Mexico, "After Lucia," Michel Franco, director;

Morocco, "Death for Sale," Faouzi Bensaïdi, director;

Netherlands, "Kauwboy," Boudewijn Koole, director;

Norway, "Kon-Tiki," Joachim Rønning and Espen Sandberg, directors;

Palestine, "When I Saw You," Annemarie Jacir, director;

Peru, "The Bad Intentions," Rosario García-Montero, director;

Philippines, "Bwakaw," Jun Robles Lana, director;

Poland, "80 Million," Waldemar Krzystek, director;

Portugal, "Blood of My Blood," João Canijo, director;

Romania, "Beyond the Hills," Cristian Mungiu, director;

Russia, "White Tiger," Karen Shakhnazarov, director;

Serbia, "When Day Breaks," Goran Paskaljevic, director;

Singapore, "Already Famous," Michelle Chong, director;

Slovak Republic, "Made in Ash," Iveta Grófová, director;

Slovenia, "A Trip," Nejc Gazvoda, director;

South Africa, "Little One," Darrell James Roodt, director;

South Korea, "Pieta," Kim Ki-duk, director;

Spain, "Blancanieves," Pablo Berger, director;

Sweden, "The Hypnotist," Lasse Hallström, director;

Switzerland, "Sister," Ursula Meier, director;

Taiwan, "Touch of the Light," Chang Jung-Chi, director;

Thailand, "Headshot," Pen-ek Ratanaruang, director;

Turkey, "Where the Fire Burns," Ismail Gunes, director;

Ukraine, "The Firecrosser," Mykhailo Illienko, director;

Uruguay, "The Delay," Rodrigo Plá, director;

Venezuela, "Rock, Paper, Scissors," Hernán Jabes, director;

Vietnam, "The Scent of Burning Grass," Nguyen Huu Muoi, director.

The 85th Academy Awards nominations will be announced live on Thursday, January 10, 2013, at 5:30 a.m. PT in the Academy's Samuel Goldwyn Theater.

Academy Awards for outstanding film achievements of 2012 will be presented on Sunday, February 24, 2013, at The Dolby Theatre™ at Hollywood & Highland Center®, and televised live on the ABC Television Network. The Oscar presentation also will be televised live in more than 225 countries worldwide.