Review: "The Return of the King" is a Crowning Achievement

TRASH IN MY EYE No. 178 (of 2003) by Leroy Douresseaux

The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King (2003)
Running time: 201 minutes (3 hours, 21 minutes)
MPAA – PG-13 for intense epic battle sequences and frightening images
DIRECTOR: Peter Jackson
WRITERS: Frances Walsh, Philippa Boyens, and Peter Jackson (from the novel by J.R.R. Tolkien)
PRODUCERS: Peter Jackson, Barrie M. Osborne, and Fran Walsh
CINEMATOGRAPHER: Andrew Lesnie (D.o.P.)
EDITOR: Jamie Selkirk
COMPOSER: Howard Shore
Academy Award winner including “Best Picture”

FANTASY/ACTION/ADVENTURE

Starring: Elijah Wood, Ian McKellan, Viggo Mortensen, Sean Astin, Orlando Bloom, Liv Tyler, Hugo Weaving, Billy Boyd, Cate Blanchett, Dominic Monaghan, Miranda Otto, John Rhys-Davies, Andy Serkis, David Wenham, Paul Norell, Lawrence Makoare, and Alan Howard (voice)

The subject of this movie review is The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King, a 2003 fantasy film from director Peter Jackson. The film is the third of three movies based on J.R.R. Tolkien’s three-novel cycle, The Lord of the Rings (1954-55), specifically the first book, The Return of the King (1955).

The Rings trilogy ends with The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King, a magnificent epic of war, romance, honor, loyalty, and salvation. Although I view it as the least of the three films, ROTK is quite entertaining – at many moments, spectacularly so. Anyone who loved the first two pictures will certainly love this finale.

Most of the former Fellowship of the Ring: the man who would be king Aragorn (Viggo Mortensen), the elfin archer Legolas (Orlando Bloom), the wizard Gandalf (Ian McKellan), Gimli (John Rhys-Davies), and the Hobbits – Pippin (Billy Boyd) and Merry (Dominic Monaghan) gather in preparation for the final battle in the defense of Middle Earth. They join the people of Rohan to aid Gondor in a ferocious battle to save the human royal city of Minas Tirith. Meanwhile, Gollum leads the other two hobbits – Sam (Sean Astin) and the bearer of the One Ring, Frodo (Elijah Wood), to Mount Doom. The Hobbits are unaware of the treacherous path upon which Gollum leads them; he is the former owner of the One Ring and seeks to destroy the Hobbits so that he may regain possession of the Ring. As Frodo and Sam approach Mount Doom, the birth place of the Ring and the only place where it can be destroyed, the good guys gather at the Black Gates for a battle against the bad guys as the evil eye of Sauron searches for the One Ring, the object that will restore Sauron to Middle Earth.

Although ROTK is certainly a fine film, it has an air about it of being a story that’s run too long. Much of what makes The Lord of the Rings so endearing, the pageantry, the epic scope, the romantic soliloquies, the grand battles, the sweeping score, and the lead characters love for one another slowly creep towards self-parody. Thrilling speeches seem flat; fascinating fantastical creatures become comical. That maybe one reason director Peter Jackson cut the film to three hours and 20 minutes, as an earlier cut of the film had reportedly crept close to four and half hours in length.

Because the film story’s is so wonderful and engaging, I can overlook the flaws as ROTK wraps up LOTR. All aspects of the filmmaking is, for the most part, either excellent or very good: directing, acting, script, score, photography, visual effects, costume and set design. The one really great element of the film is it’s editing; that is what holds the film together even in the moments when it starts to tread the fine line between sublime and pure ridiculous.

In the end, The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King is probably the best closing chapter of a trilogy since Return of the Jedi, and ROTK is, even with its blemishes, a technically superior effort to Jedi. It’s certainly better than The Matrix Revolutions, so I’ll be happy that The Return of the King is a tremendously satisfying conclusion and heartily recommend it.

8 of 10
A

NOTES:
2004 Academy Awards: 11 wins: “Best Picture” (Barrie M. Osborne, Peter Jackson, and Fran Walsh), “Best Art Direction-Set Decoration” (Grant Major-art director, Dan Hennah-set decorator, and Alan Lee-set decorator), “Best Costume Design” (Ngila Dickson and Richard Taylor), “Best Director” (Peter Jackson), “Best Film Editing” (Jamie Selkirk), “Best Makeup” (Richard Taylor and Peter King), “Best Music, Original Score” (Howard Shore), “Best Music, Original Song” (Fran Walsh, Howard Shore, and Annie Lennox for the song "Into the West"), “Best Sound Mixing” (Christopher Boyes, Michael Semanick, Michael Hedges, and Hammond Peek), “Best Visual Effects” (Jim Rygiel, Joe Letteri, Randall William Cook, and Alex Funke), and “Best Writing, Adapted Screenplay” (Fran Walsh, Philippa Boyens, and Peter Jackson)

2004 BAFTA Awards: 5 wins: “Best Film” (Barrie M. Osborne, Fran Walsh, and Peter Jackson), “Audience Award, “Best Achievement in Special Visual Effects” (Joe Letteri, Jim Rygiel, Randall William Cook, and Alex Funke), “Best Cinematography” (Andrew Lesnie), and “Best Screenplay – Adapted” (Fran Walsh, Philippa Boyens, and Peter Jackson); 9 nominations: “Anthony Asquith Award for Film Music” (Howard Shore), “BAFTA Children's Award Best Feature Film” (Peter Jackson, Fran Walsh, and Barrie M. Osborne), “Best Costume Design” (Ngila Dickson and Richard Taylor), “Best Editing” (Jamie Selkirk), “Best Make Up/Hair” (Richard Taylor, Peter King, and Peter Owen), “Best Performance by an Actor in a Supporting Role” (Ian McKellen), “Best Production Design” (Grant Major), “Best Sound” (Ethan Van der Ryn, Mike Hopkins, David Farmer, Christopher Boyes, Michael Hedges, Michael Semanick, and Hammond Peek) and “David Lean Award for Direction” (Peter Jackson)

2004 Golden Globes, USA: 4 wins: “Best Director - Motion Picture” (Peter Jackson), “Best Motion Picture – Drama” “Best Original Score - Motion Picture” (Howard Shore), and “Best Original Song - Motion Picture” “Howard Shore, Fran Walsh, and Annie Lennox for the song "Into the West")

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Review: "The Two Towers" is the Best of the Trilogy

TRASH IN MY EYE No. 172 (of 2003) by Leroy Douresseaux

The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers (2002)
Running time: 179 minutes (2 hours, 59 minutes)
MPAA – PG-13 for epic battle sequences and scary images
DIRECTOR: Peter Jackson
WRITERS: Fran Walsh, Philippa Boyens, Stephen Sinclair, and Peter Jackson (based upon the novel by J.R.R. Tolkien)
PRODUCERS: Peter Jackson, Barrie M. Osborne, and Fran Walsh
CINEMATOGRAPHER: Andrew Lesnie (D.o.P.)
EDITOR: Michael Horton
COMPOSER: Howard Shore
Academy Award winner

FANTASY/ACTION/ADVENTURE

Starring:  Elijah Wood, Ian McKellan, Liv Tyler, Viggo Mortensen, Sean Astin, Cate Blanchett, John Rhys-Davies, Bernard Hill, Christopher Lee, Billy Boyd, Dominic Monaghan, Orlando Bloom, Hugo Weaving, Miranda Otto, David Wenham, Brad Dourif, and Andy Serkis

The subject of this movie review is The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers, a 2002 fantasy film from director Peter Jackson. The film is the second of three movies based on J.R.R. Tolkien’s three-novel cycle, The Lord of the Rings (1954-55), specifically the first book, The Two Towers (1954).

As the second installment of the Ring Trilogy, The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers, begins, the hobbits Frodo (Elijah Wood) and his companion Sam (Sean Astin) continue alone to Mordor to destroy the One Ring, as the Fellowship (the group of heroes who were to accompany Frodo) is broken. The Uruk-hai (Orcs) have captured their fellow hobbits, Merry (Dominic Monaghan) and Pippin (Billy Boyd).

Meanwhile, the shadow of the Dark Lord Sauron spreads across the land as he hungers for the One Ring, which he once wore and that gave him great powers. Aragorn (Viggo Mortensen), the elfin archer Legolas (Orlando Bloom), and the dwarf Gimli (John Rhys-Davies) make friends with a race of humans called the Rohan. Gandalf the Grey (Ian McKellan), thought to be dead, returns as Gandalf the White. The two towers that are between Sauron’s Mordor and at the corrupt wizard Saruman’s stronghold Isengard are united in their lust for destruction.

Aragorn and his companions join the Rohan king Théoden (Bernard Hill) at the Rohan fortress Helms Deep to fend off a grand Uruk-hai army created by Saruman (Christopher Lee) to destroy mankind and Middle-earth. Frodo and Sam meet one of the Ring’s original bearers, Gollum (Andy Serkis). The creature had been stalking the hobbit pair in hopes of recapturing his “precious,” the name by which he calls the Ring, but Frodo and Sam capture Gollum and use him to lead the way to Mt. Doom, the only place where the Ring can be destroyed.

Those who liked The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring, the first installment, will very likely love this one as much if not more. I certainly found The Two Towers to be a superior film, which is no mean thing, as TFOTR is also a fantastic and great film. It’s an epic war story, which director Peter Jackson fills to its brim with traditional romance. In fact, it is a great romantic film, in the mold of the classic adventure films that combined intense drama or melodrama and powerful emotions.

I did find some of the special effects and computer-generated effects to be a bit weak and lame. The best SFX/CGI achievement is Gollum, who is CGI; however, Gollum actor Andy Serkis apparently acted the part out in whole – emotionally and physically. The CGI people then took his actual work and made a CGI character. Serkis also provided Gollum’s voice. Many thought Serkis was deserving of an Academy Award nomination because the CGI was “merely” copying his work, as if they simply drew over his filmed performance. Alas, Serkis did not receive a nomination.

That doesn’t matter because The Two Towers was the best film of 2002, and is arguably one of the best fantasy films ever made. Its three-hour running time goes by quickly. From TTT’s overwhelming and powerful battle scenes to the deeply, heartfelt moments between the characters, this is a film experience not to be missed, especially if you’re the kind of viewer who can understand and absorb a film of strongly fantastic elements.

10 of 10

NOTES:
2003 Academy Awards: 2 wins: “Best Sound Editing” (Ethan Van der Ryn and Mike Hopkins) and “Best Visual Effects” (Jim Rygiel, Joe Letteri, Randall William Cook, and Alex Funke); 4 nominations: “Best Art Direction-Set Decoration” (Grant Major-art director, Dan Hennah-set decorator, and Alan Lee-set decorator), “Best Film Editing” (Michael Horton), and “Best Picture” (Barrie M. Osborne, Fran Walsh, and Peter Jackson), “Best Sound” (Christopher Boyes, Michael Semanick, Michael Hedges, and Hammond Peek)

2003 BAFTA Awards: 3 wins: “Audience Award,” Best Achievement in Special Visual Effects” (Jim Rygiel, Joe Letteri, Randall William Cook, and Alex Funke), “Best Costume Design” (Ngila Dickson and Richard Taylor); 8 nominations: “Best Film” (Barrie M. Osborne, Fran Walsh, and Peter Jackson), “BAFTA Children's Award Best Feature Film” (Peter Jackson, Barrie M. Osborne, Fran Walsh), “Best Cinematography” (Andrew Lesnie), “Best Editing” (Michael Horton and Jabez Olssen), “Best Make Up/Hair” (Peter Owen, Peter King, and Richard Taylor), “Best Production Design” (Grant Major), “Best Sound” (Ethan Van der Ryn, David Farmer, Mike Hopkins, Hammond Peek, Christopher Boyes, Michael Semanick, and Michael Hedges), and “David Lean Award for Direction” (Peter Jackson)

2003 Golden Globes, USA: 2 nominations: “Best Director - Motion Picture” (Peter Jackson) and “Best Motion Picture – Drama”

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Review: "The Fellowship of the Ring" is Still a Great Start to a Trilogy

TRASH IN MY EYE No. 5 (of 2002) by Leroy Douresseaux

The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring (2001)
Running time: 178 minutes (2 hours, 58 minutes)
MPAA – PG-13 for epic battle sequences and some scary images
DIRECTOR: Peter Jackson
WRITERS: Frances Walsh, Philippa Boyens, and Peter Jackson (based upon the novel by J.R.R. Tolkien)
PRODUCERS: Peter Jackson, Barrie M. Osborne, Tim Sanders, and Fran Walsh
CINEMATOGRAPHER: Andrew Lesnie
EDITOR: John Gilbert
COMPOSER: Howard Shore
Academy Award winner

FANTASY/ADVENTURE/ACTION/DRAMA

Starring: Elijah Woods, Ian McKellen, Viggo Mortensen, Liv Tyler, Hugo Weaving, Sean Astin, Orlando Bloom, Sean Bean, Billy Boyd, Dominic Monaghan, Christopher Lee, Cate Blanchette, Sala Baker, John Rhys-Davies, Ian Holm, Craig Parker, Andy Serkis, and (voice) Alan Howard

The subject of this movie review is The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring, a 2001 fantasy film from director Peter Jackson. The film is the first of three movies based on J.R.R. Tolkien’s three-novel cycle, The Lord of the Rings (1954-55), specifically the first book, The Fellowship of the Ring (1954).

In the adaptation of J. R. R. Tolkein’s novel The Fellowship of the Ring, a hobbit named Frodo Baggins (Elijah Wood, The Ice Storm) inherits a ring from his famous uncle Bilbo Baggins (Ian Holm, The Sweet Hereafter). When a wizard named Gandalf (Ian McKellen, X-Men and Gods and Monsters), who is a friend of the family, discovers that the ring is in fact the One Ring of the Dark Lord Sauron, the ring must be taken to the place of its creation, the Cracks of Doom, the only place where the ring can be destroyed. That task falls upon the shoulders of Frodo.

Three fellow hobbits join Frodo on his quest, including one who becomes very close to him, Samwise “Sam” Gamgee (Sean Astin, Rudy). Before long the group becomes nine, a Fellowship to take the ring to the Cracks of Doom so that Frodo can destroy it. However, great evil besets them in the form of Gandalf’s mentor Saruman the White (the great Christopher Lee), who is now on the side of darkness, and his army of mighty Orcs, who serve the rings original dark owner, Sauron (voice of Sala Baker). Obstacles, great dangers, horribly evils, and death confront the Fellowship every step of their quest.

Directed by Peter Jackson (Heavenly Creatures, The Frighteners), The Fellowship of the Ring is the first of three films each released a year apart that will comprise the Lord of the Rings trilogy. Even within budget constraints, Jackson has always proved himself to be an inventive and imaginative director. Like a painter, his canvases are well planned and constructed, and he does not waste shots; every frame seems important to the larger work.

He previous experience in dark fantasy, horror, and the weird made him an ideal choice to direct a film version of Tolkein’s sprawling epic, and Jackson delivers a nearly three hour film that is both visceral and subdued. An epic as good as any every delivered by a Hollywood studio, it captures the imagination while keeping the viewer nearly unawares of its length.

Nearly, that is. It’s a bit of hubris on Jackson and on New Line Cinema, Lord’s studio, to assume that an audience will tolerate Fellowship’s abrupt ending simply because the story is “to be continued” next year. The beginning, middle, and end of LOTR’s story are actually three separate films, not one film. It isn’t that FOTR’s ending is bad, just presumptuous of our patience and acceptance that this movie is like a serial. We will have to wait over two years to get the entire story.

These are certainly minor complaints in light of what Jackson delivers. He has a fine cast of actors, and the characters that he took from the novel he has made into excellent cinematic characters. The work of his SFX group creates nearly flawless special effects shots. Using New Zealand as the Middle Earth location of the stories is a wonderful choice. Between special effects and creative camera work, Jackson has created a world that is itself a character. Jackson and his fellow screenwriters Frances Walsh (a frequent collaborator of Jackson’s) and Philippa Boyens have created an excellent script makes the battle of good and evil unambiguous and quite compelling. Although the characters’ desires and personalities may occasionally straddle a gray area, what is right is clearly defined from what is wrong. That’s always the case regardless of character motivations and goals; moral relativism is kicked to the curb.

While he has made it highly emotional and thoughtful at its heart, Jackson has also managed to make a war and action movie. He juggles genres like fantasy, comedy, drama, and war and weaves them into an epic. The movie, both its back-story and the main story, spans time, has multiple locations and environments, and has a wealth of characters. Visually pleasing and intellectual thoughtful, it is one of the best films in recent memories, a grand fantasy that captures the imagination on a deeper level (than say The Phantom Menace) like Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon. We can only hope that the two follow-ups are this good.

Go see this film.

9 of 10
A+

NOTES:
2002 Academy Awards: 4 wins: “Best Cinematography” (Andrew Lesnie), “Best Effects, Visual Effects” (Jim Rygiel, Randall William Cook, Richard Taylor, and Mark Stetson), “Best Makeup” (Peter Owen and Richard Taylor), and “Best Music, Original Score” (Howard Shore); 9 nominations: “Best Picture” (Peter Jackson, Barrie M. Osborne, and Fran Walsh), “Best Actor in a Supporting Role” (Ian McKellen), “Best Art Direction-Set Decoration” (Grant Major-art director and Dan Hennah-set decorator), “Best Costume Design” (Ngila Dickson and Richard Taylor), “Best Director” (Peter Jackson), “Best Film Editing” (John Gilbert), “Best Music, Original Song” (Enya, Nicky Ryan, Roma Ryan for the song "May It Be"), “Best Sound” (Christopher Boyes, Michael Semanick, Gethin Creagh, and Hammond Peek), “Best Writing, Screenplay Based on Material Previously Produced or Published” (Fran Walsh, Philippa Boyens, and Peter Jackson)

2002 BAFTA Awards: 5 wins: “Best Film” (Peter Jackson, Barrie M. Osborne, and Tim Sanders), “Audience Award,” “Best Achievement in Special Visual Effects” (Jim Rygiel, Richard Taylor, Alex Funke, Randall William Cook, and Mark Stetson), “Best Make Up/Hair” (Peter Owen, Peter King and Richard Taylor), “David Lean Award for Direction” (Peter Jackson); 9 nominations: “Anthony Asquith Award for Film Music” (Howard Shore), “BAFTA Children's Award Best Feature Film” (Peter Jackson, Barrie M. Osborne, Fran Walsh, and Tim Sanders), “Best Cinematography” (Andrew Lesnie), “Best Costume Design” (Ngila Dickson), “Best Editing” (John Gilbert), “Best Performance by an Actor in a Leading Role” (Ian McKellen), “Best Production Design’ (Grant Major), “Best Screenplay – Adapted” (Fran Walsh, Philippa Boyens, and Peter Jackson), “Best Sound” (David Farmer, Hammond Peek, Christopher Boyes, Gethin Creagh, Michael Semanick, Ethan Van der Ryn, and Mike Hopkins)

2002 Golden Globes, USA: 4 nominations: “Best Director - Motion Picture” (Peter Jackson), “Best Motion Picture – Drama,” “Best Original Score - Motion Picture” (Howard Shore), and “Best Original Song - Motion Picture (Enya for the song "May It Be")

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L.A. Film Critics in Love with "Amour"

The Los Angeles Film Critics Association (LAFCA) is a professional organization of Los Angeles-based, professional film critics working in the Los Angeles print and electronic media. Since 1975, LAFCA members vote on the year's Achievement Awards each December, honoring screen excellence on both sides of the camera.

38th Annual (2012) Los Angeles Film Critics Association Awards:

BEST PICTURE: "Amour"
Runner-up: "The Master"

BEST DIRECTOR: Paul Thomas Anderson, "The Master"
Runner-up: Kathryn Bigelow ("Zero Dark Thirty")

BEST ACTOR: Joaquin Phoenix, "The Master"
Runner-up: Denis Lavant ("Holy Motors")

BEST ACTRESS: (tie)
Jennifer Lawrence, Silver Linings Playbook and Emmanuelle Riva, “Amour”

BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR: Dwight Henry, "Beasts of the Southern Wild"
Runner-up: Christoph Waltz ("Django Unchained")

Best Supporting Actress: Amy Adams, "The Master"
Runner-up: Anne Hathaway ("The Dark Knight Rises" and "Les Miserables")

Best Screenplay: Chris Terrio, “Argo"
Runner-up: David O. Russell ("Silver Linings Playbook")

Best Cinematography: Roger Deakins, "Skyfall"
Runner-up: Mihai Malaimare Jr ("The Master")

Best Production Design: Jack Fisk and David Crank, "The Master"
Runner-up: Adam Stockhausen ("Moonrise Kingdom")

Best Editing: Dylan Tichenor and William Goldenberg, "Zero Dark Thirty"
Runner-up: William Goldenberg ("Argo")

Best Music Score: "Beasts of the Southern wild" by Dan Romer and Benh Zeitlin
Runner-up: Jonny Greenwood ("The Master")

Best Foreign-Language Film: "Holy Motors" (from France) - Directed by Leos Carax
Runner-up: "footnote" (from Israel) directed by Joseph Cedar

Best Documentary/Non-Fiction Film: "The Gatekeepers" - directed by Dror Moreh
Runner-up: "Searching for Sugar Man" by Malik Bendjelloul

Best Animation: "Frankenweenie" – directed by Tim Burton
Runner-up: "It's Such a Beautiful Day" directed by Don Hertzfeldt

New Generation: Benh Zeitlin, "Beasts of the Southern Wild"

Career Achievement: Frederick Wiseman

The Douglas Edwards Experimental/Independent Film/Video Award: "Leviathan"

http://www.lafca.net/

Detroit Film Critics Society Announce 2012 Nominations

The Detroit Film Critics Society was founded in Spring 2007 and currently consists of a group of 22 Michigan film critics who write or broadcast in the Detroit area as well as other major cities within a 150-mile radius of the city including Ann Arbor, Grand Rapids, Kalamazoo, Lansing, and Flint, Michigan.

The critics have stated that they will announce their winners Friday, December 14, 2012.  The other announcement was that there was one major film they were unable to see, Michael Haneke’s acclaimed French drama, Amour.

THE DFCS NOMINEES FOR 2012 (in alphabetical order)

BEST PICTURE
•ARGO
•THE IMPOSSIBLE
•SILVER LININGS PLAYBOOK
•TAKE THIS WALTZ
•ZERO DARK THIRTY

BEST DIRECTOR
•BEN AFFLECK – ARGO
•JUAN ANTONIO BAYONA – THE IMPOSSIBLE
•KATHERINE BIGELOW – ZERO DARK THIRTY
•SARAH POLLEY – TAKE THIS WALTZ
•DAVID O. RUSSELL – SILVER LININGS PLAYBOOK

BEST ACTOR
•BRADLEY COOPER – SILVER LININGS PLAYBOOK
•JOHN HAWKES – THE SESSIONS
•DANIEL DAY-LEWIS – LINCOLN
•BILL MURRAY – HYDE PARK ON HUDSON
•JOAQUIN PHOENIX – THE MASTER

BEST ACTRESS
•JESSICA CHASTAIN – ZERO DARK THIRTY
•GRETA GERWIG – DAMSELS IN DISTRESS
•JENNIFER LAWRENCE – SILVER LININGS PLAYBOOK
•NAOMI WATTS – THE IMPOSSIBLE
•MICHELLE WILLIAMS – TAKE THIS WALTZ

BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR
•ROBERT DENIRO – SILVER LININGS PLAYBOOK
•PHILIP SEYMOUR HOFFMAN – THE MASTER
•TOMMY LEE JONES – LINCOLN
•MATTHEW MCCONAUGHEY – MAGIC MIKE
•EWAN MCGREGOR – THE IMPOSSIBLE
•EZRA MILLER – THE PERKS OF BEING A WALLFLOWER

BEST SUPPORTING ACTRESS
•AMY ADAMS – THE MASTER
•ANN DOWD – COMPLIANCE
•SALLY FIELD – LINCOLN
•ANNE HATHAWAY – LES MISÉRABLES
•HELEN HUNT – THE SESSIONS

BEST ENSEMBLE
•ARGO
•MARVEL’S THE AVENGERS
•LINCOLN
•MOONRISE KINGDOM
•SILVER LININGS PLAYBOOK

BREAKTHROUGH
•STEPHEN CHBOSKY – THE PERKS OF BEING A WALLFLOWER
•ZOE KAZAN – RUBY SPARKS
•REBEL WILSON – PITCH PERFECT
•BENH ZEITLIN – BEASTS OF THE SOUTHERN WILD
•CRAIG ZOBEL – COMPLIANCE

BEST SCREENPLAY
•STEPHEN CHBOSKY – THE PERKS OF BEING A WALLFLOWER
•DREW GODDARD & JOSS WHEDON – THE CABIN IN THE WOODS
•TONY KUSHNER – LINCOLN
•SARAH POLLEY – TAKE THIS WALTZ
•DAVID O. RUSSELL – SILVER LININGS PLAYBOOK

BEST DOCUMENTARY
•THE HOUSE I LIVE IN
•THE IMPOSTER
•JIRO DREAMS OF SUSHI
•THE QUEEN OF VERSAILLES
•SEARCHING FOR SUGAR MAN

http://detroitfilmcritics.com/

"Big Top Scooby-Doo!" a Circus of Action

TRASH IN MY EYE No. 97 (of 2012) by Leroy Douresseaux


Big Top Scooby-Doo! (2012) – Video
Running time: 80 minutes (1 hour, 20 minutes)
DIRECTOR: Ben Jones
WRITER: Douglas Langdale
PRODUCERS: Spike Brandt and Tom Cervone
EDITOR: Kyle Stafford
COMPOSER: Robert J. Kral
ANIMATION STUDIO: Digital Emation Inc.

ANIMATION/ACTION/COMEDY/MYSTERY/FAMILY

Starring: (voices) Frank Welker, Matthew Lillard, Grey DeLisle, Mindy Cohn, Greg Ellis, Maurice LaMarche, Peter Stormare, Jeff Dunham, Carlos Ferro, Jess Harnell, Jim Meskimen, Candi Milo, Hynden Walch, and Craig Ferguson

Big Top Scooby-Doo! is the 18th movie in the Scooby-Doo direct-to-video series from Warner Bros. Animation. This series began in 1998 with Scooby-Doo on Zombie Island. This new film has Scooby-Doo and company working in a circus to solve a mystery involving jewel heists and werewolves.

Big Top Scooby-Doo! finds Mystery Inc.: Shaggy Rogers (Matthew Lillard), Fred Jones (Frank Welker), Daphne Blake (Grey DeLisle), Velma Dinkley (Mindy Cohn), and, of course, Scooby-Doo (Frank Welker) arriving in Atlantic City. They’re hoping to find some monster-free fun, when they discover that the circus is in town. Not long after arriving at the camp site of the Brancusi Circus, they are attacked by a werewolf.

After rescuing them, Marius Brancusi (Greg Ellis), owner of the circus, tells the gang that the werewolf has been terrorizing his performers. The werewolf has also apparently committed a jewelry store robbery in each town in which the circus has recently performed. Desperate for help, Marius hires Mystery Inc. to catch the werewolf, but the gang will have to work incognito as circus performers. Jealous acrobats, cranky clowns, and the other eccentric denizens of the Brancusi Circus complicate the case as Mystery Inc. learns to perform circus stunts and try to unravel a werewolf mystery.

Big Top Scooby-Doo! is good, but not great and is not one of the standouts of this series. The best moments in this movie, by far, are the scenes in which Mystery Inc. performs in the circus, run from werewolves, or both. There is also an exciting chase scene finale. The action is what carries this movie, and carries it quite well.

Other than that, Big Top Scooby-Doo! is a little listless, although much of the dialogue is spry. There is also a subplot involving a heavy metal musical act called Wulfsmoon that is pointless. One of the surprises is a nicely executed feud between Scooby and Shaggy that perks up the movie every time it is brought up.

Big Top Scooby-Doo! is for the diehard Scooby-Doo fans and for youngsters satisfied with watching any kind of cartoon. However, people who have watched Scooby-Doo cartoons in the past might like some of this.

6 of 10
B

Tuesday, December 11, 2012

Review: Tom and Jerry: Robin Hood and His Merry Mouse

TRASH IN MY EYE No. 96 (of 2012) by Leroy Douresseaux


Tom and Jerry: Robin Hood and His Merry Mouse (2012) – straight-to-video
Running time: 58 minutes
PRODUCERS/DIRECTORS: Spike Brandt and Tony Cervone
WRITERS: Earl Kress and Michael F. Ryan; from a story by Earl Kress
EDITOR: Kyle Stafford
COMPOSER: Michael Tavera
SONGS: Michael Tavera, Scott Bradley, Spike Brandt, Alan Burnett, and Michael F. Ryan
ANIMATION STUDIO: Yearim Productions Co. Ltd.

ANIMATION/FANTASY/COMEDY/FAMILY/MUSICAL

Starring: (voices) Jamie Bamber, Charles Shaughnessy, John Michael Higgins, Grey DeLisle, Joe Alaskey, John DiMaggio, Clive Revill, Phil LaMarr, Richard McGonagle, Greg Ellis, and Jess Harnell

Tom and Jerry: Robin Hood and His Merry Mouse is a 2012 animated direct-to-video film starring the famous cartoon cat and mouse duo, Tom and Jerry. Produced by Warner Bros. Animation, this film basically takes Tom and Jerry and places them in a cartoon version of the 1938 Warner Bros. film, The Adventures of Robin Hood, which starred Errol Flynn as Robin Hood. The cartoon Robin Hood in Tom and Jerry: Robin Hood and His Merry Mouse is essentially a caricature of Flynn’s Robin Hood.

Tom and Jerry: Robin Hood and His Merry Mouse is set in a time similar to the High Middle Ages. Prince John (John Michael Higgins) rules England while his brother, King Richard the Lionheart (Clive Revill), is out of the country fighting in the Crusades. Living in Sherwood Forest, Robin Hood (Jamie Bamber) and his Merry Men rob the rich of their coin and treasure and give that loot to the poor.

The Sheriff of Nottingham (Charles Shaughnessy) is determined to capture Robin Hood and tells his boss, Prince John, that he believes that Robin has a spy in the castle. The Sheriff sends his cat-at-arms, Thomas Cat, to capture the spy. Tom catches Jerry Mouse attempting to contact Maid Marian (Grey DeLisle), who is secretly romancing Robin. Thus, cat and mouse begin their small, private war. When the scope of Prince John’s schemes are revealed, however, enemies may have to become friends in order to save both the throne and England.

I didn’t expect much of Tom and Jerry: Robin Hood and His Merry Mouse, but it turned out to be rather entertaining. The art direction for the animation is just a little on the high side of the work that appears in direct-to-DVD productions from Warner Bros. Animation. A faux-musical, the movie’s songs are good. Actually, the songs are surprisingly good, a little better than I would expect of a straight-to-video cartoon.

By the time, Tom and Jerry: Robin Hood and His Merry Mouse ended, I would have enjoyed a little more, so I’ll recommend it to those who have seen other Tom and Jerry DVD movies.

6 of 10
B

Tuesday, December 11, 2012