"George Washington" Appropriate for MLK Day

TRASH IN MY EYE No. 10 (of 2006) by Leroy Douresseaux


George Washington (2000)
Running time: 89 minutes (1 hour, 29 minutes)
WRITER/DIRECTOR: David Gordon Green
PRODUCERS: Sacha W. Mueller, Lisa Muskat, and David Gordon Green
CINEMATOGRAPHER: Tim Orr
EDITOR: Zene Baker and Steven Gonzales

DRAMA

Starring: Candace Evanofski, Donald Holden, Damian Jewan Lee, Curtis Cotton III, Rachael Handy, Paul Schneider, and Eddie Rouse

The subject of this movie review is George Washington, a 2000 indie drama film from writer-director, David Gordon Green. The film, which earned four nominations at the 2001 Independent Spirit Awards, is set in a depressed North Carolina town and follows a group of children covering up a tragic mistake.

In poor rural North Carolina, three children cover up a tragic accident, and this group decision affects all their lives. It begins when Nasia (Candace Evanofski), girl on the cusp on being a teenager, leaves her boyfriend, Buddy (Curtis Cotton III), because she thinks he acts too young, and falls for Buddy’s friend, the enigmatic George Richardson (Donald Holden). George, on the other hand, has his mind on being something bigger – being a hero who saves lives – but he has a secret to hide.

David Gordon Green made a splash among critics and fans of independent cinema with his film, George Washington. Green’s film emphasizes mood, atmosphere, and emotion, and his film is certainly more meditative and contemplative than most mainstream American films. Green’s natural dialogue sounds wonderful in the mouths of the young cast (all novices), and George Washington is one of the few times when an entire cast of child actors gives such tight performances that ring true to the ears and delight the eyes. The film is a bit slow at times, almost as if Green is determined to make a film that is so different from standard Hollywood fare – kind of like an indie/student art film. It’s perfect for that audience, but may be slow for audiences used to movie fast food.

6 of 10
B

Sunday, January 15, 2006

2013 Eddie Award Nominations Announced

The American Cinema Editors (ACE) is an honorary society of motion picture editors founded in 1950. According to the group’s website, film editors are voted into membership on the basis of their professional achievements, their dedication to the education of others and their commitment to the craft of editing. Since 1962, ACE has given its own annual award of merit, the Eddie Award.

NOMINEES FOR 63rd ANNUAL ACE EDDIE AWARDS:

BEST EDITED FEATURE FILM (DRAMATIC):
Argo - William Goldenberg, A.C.E.

Life of Pi - Tim Squyres, A.C.E.

Lincoln - Michael Kahn, A.C.E.

Skyfall - Stuart Baird, A.C.E.

Zero Dark Thirty - Dylan Tichenor, A.C.E. & William Goldenberg, A.C.E.

BEST EDITED FEATURE FILM (COMEDY OR MUSICAL):
The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel - Chris Gill

Les Misérables - Melanie Ann Oliver & Chris Dickens, A.C.E.

Moonrise Kingdom - Andrew Weisblum, A.C.E.

Silver Linings Playbook - Jay Cassidy, A.C.E. & Crispin Struthers

Ted - Jeff Freeman, A.C.E.

BEST EDITED ANIMATED FEATURE FILM:
Brave - Nicholas C. Smith, A.C.E. & Robert Grahamjones, A.C.E.

Frankenweenie - Chris Lebenzon, A.C.E. & Mark Solomon

Rise of the Guardians - Joyce Arrastia

Wreck-It Ralph - Tim Mertens

BEST EDITED DOCUMENTARY (FEATURE):
Samsara - Ron Fricke & Mark Magidson

Searching for Sugar Man - Malik Bendjelloul

West of Memphis - Billy McMillin

BEST EDITED DOCUMENTARY (TELEVISION):
American Masters – Phil Ochs: There But For Fortune: Pamela Scott Arnold

The Dust Bowl – Episode 1: The Great Plow Up: Craig Mellish

The Weight of the Nation: Episode 1: Consequences: Paula Heredia

BEST EDITED HALF-HOUR SERIES FOR TELEVISION:
Girls: “Pilot” - Robert Frazen, A.C.E. & Catherine Haight

Modern Family: “Mistery Date” - Ryan Case

Nurse Jackie: “Handle Your Scandal” - Gary Levy

BEST EDITED ONE-HOUR SERIES FOR COMMERCIAL TELEVISION:
Breaking Bad: “Dead Freight” - Skip Macdonald A.C.E.

Breaking Bad: “Gliding Over All” - Kelley Dixon, A.C.E.

Mad Men: “The Other Woman” - Tom Wilson

Nashville: “Pilot” - Keith Henderson

Smash: “Pilot” - Andrew Weisblum, A.C.E.

BEST EDITED ONE-HOUR SERIES FOR NON-COMMERCIAL TELEVISION:
Homeland: “The Choice” - Terry Kelley, A.C.E.

Homeland: “State of Independence” - Jordan Goldman

The Newsroom: “We Just Decided To (Pilot)” - Anne McCabe, A.C.E.

BEST EDITED MINISERIES OR MOTION PICTURE FOR TELEVISION:
Game Change - Lucia Zucchetti, A.C.E.

Hatfields & McCoys, Part 1 - Don Cassidy

Hemingway & Gellhorn - Walter Murch, A.C.E.

BEST EDITED NON-SCRIPTED SERIES:
Beyond Scared Straight: “Oklahoma County, OK – The Weight” - Rob Goubeaux, A.C.E., Mark S. Andrew, A.C.E., Paul J. Coyne, A.C.E., Mark Baum, Jeremy Gantz, Johnny Skaare, J.C. Solis & Ken Yankee

Frozen Planet: “Ends of the Earth” - Andy Netley & Sharon Gillooly

Deadliest Catch: “I Don’t Want to Die” - Josh Earl, A.C.E. & Alex Durham

Review: Berserk: The Golden Age Arc 1 – The Egg of the King

TRASH IN MY EYE No. 5 (of 2013) by Leroy Douresseaux


Berserk: The Golden Age Arc 1 – The Egg of the King (2012)
Running time: 77 minutes (1 hour, 17 minutes)
DIRECTOR: Toshiyuki Kubooka
WRITER: Ichirô Ôkôchi (based on the manga by Kentaro Miura)
PRODUCERS: Eiichi Kamagata, Mitsuru Ohshima, Akira Shimada, and Eiko Tanaka

ANIME/WAR/FANTASY/ACTION/DRAMA

Starring: (voices) Marc Diraison, Kevin T. Collins, Carrie Keranen, Doug Erholtz, Jesse Corti, Christopher Kromer, Rachael Lillis, Marc Thompson, and Patrick Seitz

Berserk: The Golden Age Arc 1 – The Egg of the King is a 2012 Japanese animated film (anime) from anime director Toshiyuki Kubooka. Kubooka directed the “Working Through Pain,” segment of the 2008 direct-to-DVD film, Batman: Gotham Knight.

Berserk: The Golden Age Arc 1 is based on Berserk, a Japanese manga (comic book) series written and illustrated by Kentaro Miura. Berserk is set in a fantasy world that is modeled on medieval Europe. The story centers around the two characters, Guts (Marc Diraison), an orphaned mercenary, and Griffith (Kevin T. Collins), the leader of a mercenary group called the Band of the Hawk.

As the story begins, Guts is a mercenary on the loosing side of a battle, but he turns the tide of that battle when he defeats the Goliath-like, Bazuso (Russell Nash). This victory earns Guts a contest of skills with the Band of the Hawk, a band of mercenaries so feared that they are called the “grim reapers of the battlefield. The group’s leader, Griffith, convinces Guts, a loner, to join his band of mercenaries.

Soon, the Band of the Hawk is hired by the King of Midland to fight in the Midlanders’ war against their enemy, Chuder. Guts becomes indispensable to Griffith, but a monstrous fighter named Nosferatu Zodd has something to tell Guts about the strange jewel-like object Griffith wears around his neck. It is called the Egg of the King – the Crimson Behelit. And it has the power to shape Guts’ destiny.

When I first looked at the DVD box art for Berserk: The Golden Age Arc 1 – The Egg of the King, I thought that the movie would not amount to much. I was delightfully surprised; in fact, by the end of the movie, I wanted more. As it is set in a medieval Europe-inspired fantasy world, the viewer would expect violent battle scenes and sword fighting, and the film delivers that. The fights and battles are well designed and staged, and the fight between Guts and Nosferatu Zodd features a 360-degree spin of the camera that recalls the bullet time effects in The Matrix. There is a lot of violence, and some of it shocked even me, who, dear reader, has seen some appalling, outrageous, and disgusting depictions of violence over my lifetime as a film semi-fanatic.

The Egg of the King is simply full of surprises. Another of the surprises is the drama. The movie is almost stiff in the way the film depicts the characters’ motivations and conflicts, as if this were a British film of manners. The character drama, however, is intense, and demands that the viewer engage with various conflicts, motivations, and intrigue. Guts and Griffith are appealing characters, and the palace intrigue and court conspiracies are engrossing. The story grasps with many themes, including those of friendship and the nature of good and evil in humans, and the question of why men are so bloodthirsty often arises.

The animation is very good, often beautiful. It is a mixture of computer-animation (3D), some hand-drawn (2D) animation, and what looks like the computer-animation process of cel shading, which makes computer-animation look like hand-drawn animation. Some of the backgrounds, castles, interiors, landscapes, encampments, and battlefronts have the quality of paintings and fantasy illustration.

Berserk: The Golden Age Arc 1 – The Egg of the King is simply an all-around, high-quality, exceptional film. As an anime, this movie seems to be off in its own corner. It seeks to be more than just another fantasy war movie, and that it is.

8 of 10
A

Thursday, January 17, 2013

Dallas-Fort Worth Critics Name "Lincoln" Best of 2012

The Dallas-Fort Worth Film Critics Association named Steven Spielberg's Lincoln as the "Best Picture of 2012."  At the time of this announcement (mid-December 2012), this was the first critics' group to name Lincoln as the best film of the year.  However, the group chose Kathryn Bigelow as "Best Director" for her work on Zero Dark Thirty.

The Dallas-Fort Worth Film Critics Association is also known as the DFW Film Critics Association. The group describes itself as a not-for-profit, unincorporated voluntary organization of print, broadcast and internet film critics based in the Dallas-Fort Worth metropolitan area and greater North Texas who meet its membership criteria. The DFW Film Critics Association currently consists of 29 broadcast, print, and online journalists from throughout North Texas.

The Dallas-Fort Worth Film Critics Association 19th Annual Critics’ Poll:

Best Picture
1. "Lincoln"
2. "Argo"
3. "Zero Dark Thirty"
4. "Life of Pi"
5. "Les Misérables"
6. "Moonrise Kingdom"
7. "Silver Linings Playbook"
8. "Skyfall"
9. "The Master"
10. "Beasts of the Southern Wild"

Best Director
1. Kathryn Bigelow, "Zero Dark Thirty"
2. Steven Spielberg, "Lincoln"
3. Ben Affleck, "Argo"
4. Ang Lee, "Life of Pi"
5. Wes Anderson, "Moonrise Kingdom"

Best Actor
1. Daniel Day-Lewis, "Lincoln"
2. Joaquin Phoenix, "The Master"
3. John Hawkes, "The Sessions"
4. Hugh Jackman, "Les Misérables"
5. Denzel Washington, "Flight"

Best Actress
1. Jessica Chastain, "Zero Dark Thirty"
2. Jennifer Lawrence, "Silver Linings Playbook"
3. Emmanuelle Riva, "Amour"
4. Quvenzhané Wallis, "Beasts of the Southern Wild"
5. Naomi Watts, "The Impossible"

Best Supporting Actor
1. Tommy Lee Jones, "Lincoln"
2. Philip Seymour Hoffman, "The Master"
3. Christoph Waltz, "Django Unchained"
4. Alan Arkin, "Argo"
5. Robert De Niro, "Silver Linings Playbook"

Best Supporting Actress
1. Sally Field, "Lincoln"
2. Anne Hathaway, "Les Misérables"
3. Amy Adams, "The Master"
4. Helen Hunt, "The Sessions"
5. Ann Dowd, "Compliance"

Best Screenplay
1. "Zero Dark Thirty"
2. "Django Unchained"

Best Cinematography
1. "Life of Pi"
2. "Skyfall"

Best Animated Film
1. "ParaNorman"
2. "Frankenweenie"
3. "The Pirates! Band of Misfits"

Best Foreign Language Film
1. "Amour" (Austria)
2. "A Royal Affair" (Denmark)
3. "The Intouchables" (France)
4. "Holy Motors" (France)
5. "The Kid with a Bike" (Belgium, France, Italy)

Best Documentary
1. "Searching for Sugar Man"
2. "Bully"
3. "How to Survive a Plague"
4. "West of Memphis"
5. "The Invisible War"

DreamWorks Gets Matthew Quick's Upcoming Novel

DreamWorks Studios Acquires Matthew Quick’s “The Good Luck of Right Now”

LOS ANGELES--(BUSINESS WIRE)--DreamWorks Studios has acquired the manuscript to Matthew Quick’s latest work entitled “The Good Luck of Right Now,” it was announced today by Holly Bario, President of Production of the studio. Quick authored the book "The Silver Linings Playbook," as well as the young adult novels “Boy 21,” “Forgive Me, Leonard Peacock,” and “Sorta Like a Rock Star.”

The story follows the intertwined lives of four people, who are all outsiders in their own right. However, in the wake of grieving over pain and loss in their lives, they come together to form the most unlikely family.

“We immediately sparked to Matthew Quick's book and the heart and humor which is infused in his storytelling,” said Holly Bario. “All of us at DreamWorks are excited to begin developing this story and look to make it a priority at the studio.”

Matthew Quick is repped by CAA in conjunction with Douglas Stewart of Sterling Lord Literistic, Inc., who simultaneously negotiated the publishing rights for the book to Harper Collins.

Harper-Collins pre-empted the manuscript for publishing in the U.S. and Canada. They are targeting Spring 2014 to launch the book.


About DreamWorks Studios
DreamWorks Studios is a motion picture company formed in 2009 and led by Steven Spielberg and Stacey Snider in partnership with The Reliance Anil Dhirubhai Ambani Group. The company’s recent releases include “Real Steel,” starring Hugh Jackman and directed by Shawn Levy, Steven Spielberg’s “War Horse,” based on Michael Morpurgo’s award-winning book and was nominated for six Academy Awards including Best Picture, and “The Help,” which resonated with audiences around the country and earned over $200 million at the box office and received four Academy Award nominations with Octavia Spencer winning one for Best Supporting Actress. Currently in theaters is Spielberg’s “Lincoln” starring Daniel Day-Lewis.

DreamWorks Studios can be found on Facebook at http://www.facebook.com/DreamWorksStudios and on Twitter at http://twitter.com/dw_studios.

Review: "Resident Evil: Retribution" is OK

 

TRASH IN MY EYE No. 4 (of 2012) by Leroy Douresseaux

Resident Evil: Retribution (2012)
COUNTRY OF ORIGIN: Canada/Germany; Language: English
Running time: 96 minutes (1 hour, 36 minutes)
MPAA – R for sequences of strong violence throughout
DIRECTOR: Paul W.S. Anderson
WRITER: Paul W.S. Anderson (based upon the videogame, Resident Evil)
PRODUCERS: Paul W.S. Anderson, Jeremy Bolt, Don Carmody, Samuel Hadida, and Robert Kulzer
CINEMATOGRAPHER: Glen MacPherson
EDITOR: Niven Howie
COMPOSER: tomandandy

HORROR/SCI-FI/ACTION

Starring: Milla Jovovich, Sienna Guillory, Michelle Rodriguez, Aryana Engineer, Bingbing Li, Johann Urb, Kevin Durand, Oded Fehr, Robin Kasyanov, Ofilio Portillo, Colin Salmon, Shawn Roberts and Boris Kodjoe

Resident Evil: Retribution is a 2012 science fiction-action film. It is the fifth installment in the film franchise based upon the Capcom survival horror video game series, Resident Evil. This film is a direct sequel to the fourth movie, Resident Evil: Afterlife.

After the events depicted in Afterlife, Alice (Milla Jovovich) finds herself in the clutches of the Umbrella Corporation and being interrogated by her former ally, Jill Valentine (Sienna Guillory). Alice isn’t sure what is real, as she starts encountering old allies like Carlos Olivera (Oded Fehr) and Rain Ocampo (Michelle Rodriguez).

Even more surprising, an enemy claims to be a friend and declares that he has already initiated a plan to free Alice from the clutches of Umbrella. Alice is trapped in Umbrella Prime, and a five-man strike team is coming to her rescue. More than just Alice’s life is at stake, however, as she becomes the guardian of a hearing-impaired little girl named Becky (Aryana Engineer). Now, Alice is determined that nothing stops her: not zombie hordes, Las Plagas zombies, monsters, or even lickers.

Over the years, I have read many movie reviews in which the writers described action movies, especially ones they didn’t like, as video game movies. Because it is based on a video game, Resident Evil: Retribution is a video game movie, but that’s not the only reason it is. With its fire-fights, hand-to-hand combat, car chases, shootouts, monsters, science fiction elements, and explosions, Resident Evil: Retribution is a video game doing a decent impersonation of an actual movie.

Retribution isn’t a bad movie, but the acting is poor. The script is confusing. The plot barely has a pulse. This movie is about something, but not much other than action scenes. So what is the plot? Alice has to escape? There is some human interest by throwing in a child that the female action hero must save, similar to the surrogate mother-daughter dynamic in James Cameron’s Aliens (1986).

Still, the action scenes are good, especially after the movie crawls out of the hole that is the first twenty minutes or so runtime. The special effects and fight choreography save a mediocre story. Visually, Resident Evil: Retribution is pretty, but it feels like an empty installment in what has been a good franchise.

5 of 10
C+

Sunday, January 06, 2013

2013 "Scripter Award" Nominations Announced

USC Libraries Name Finalists for 25th-Annual Scripter Award

Tie results in six sets of writers and screenwriters earning nominations

LOS ANGELES--(BUSINESS WIRE)--The USC Libraries have named the authors and screenwriters of Argo, Beasts of the Southern Wild, Life of Pi, Lincoln, Perks of Being a Wallflower and Silver Linings Playbook as finalists for the 25th-annual USC Libraries Scripter Award. A tie resulted in six sets of finalists for the 2013 honor, rather than the typical five.

The finalists are, in alphabetical order by film title:

•Joshuah Bearman, author of the article “The Great Escape,” Antonio J. Mendez, author of The Master of Disguise, and screenwriter Chris Terrio, for Argo

•For Beasts of the Southern Wild, dramatist Lucy Alibar, who wrote the play Juicy and Delicious, and screenwriter Benh Zeitlin, who co-wrote the screenplay with Alibar

•Novelist Yann Martel and screenwriter David Magee for Life of Pi

•Doris Kearns Goodwin, author of Team of Rivals: The Political Genius of Abraham Lincoln, and screenwriter Tony Kushner for Lincoln

•Stephen Chbosky, author of the novel Perks of Being a Wallflower, as well as the screenplay based upon the book

•For Silver Linings Playbook, author Matthew Quick and screenwriter David O. Russell

The Scripter Award honors the screenwriter or screenwriters of the year’s most accomplished cinematic adaptation as well as the author of the written work upon which the screenplay is based. The Friends of the USC Libraries established Scripter in 1988, presenting the inaugural awards to author Helene Hanff and screenwriter Hugh Whitemore for 84 Charing Cross Road. This year marks the award’s 25th anniversary.

Other previous Scripter winners include the screenwriters and authors of The Descendants, The Social Network, Schindler’s List and L.A. Confidential.

Co-chaired by Golden Globe-winning screenwriter Naomi Foner and USC professor and vice president of the Writers Guild of America, West, Howard Rodman, the 2013 Scripter selection committee selected the six finalists from a field of 82 eligible adaptations.

Serving on the selection committee, among many others, are film critics Leonard Maltin and Kenneth Turan; authors Michael Chabon, Kaui Hart Hemmings and Jonathan Lethem; screenwriters Geoffrey Fletcher, Gale Ann Hurd and Lawrence Kasdan; and USC deans Elizabeth Daley of the School of Cinematic Arts, Madeline Puzo of the School of Dramatic Arts and Catherine Quinlan of the USC Libraries.

The studios distributing the finalist films and the publishers of the original stories are:

•Argo—Warner Bros., Wired for Bearman’s article, and Penguin for Mendez’s book

•Beasts of the Southern Wild—Fox Searchlight and Diversion Books, publisher of the play Juicy and Delicious, upon which Beasts of the Southern Wild is based

•Life of Pi—20th Century Fox and Mariner Books

•Lincoln—DreamWorks and Mariner Books

•Perks of Being a Wallflower—Summit Entertainment and MTV Books

•Silver Linings Playbook—Weinstein Company and Sara Crichton Books

The USC Libraries will announce the winning authors and screenwriters at a black-tie ceremony on Saturday, Feb. 9, 2013 in the historic Edward L. Doheny Jr. Memorial Library on the University Park campus of the University of Southern California. Academy Award winners Helen Mirren and Taylor Hackford are serving as honorary dinner chairs.

Brokeback Mountain screenwriters Larry McMurtry and Diana Ossana will attend the ceremony to receive the previously announced Literary Achievement Award.

Current silent auction donors and other sponsors include Bennett Farms, the Cosmopolitan of Las Vegas, Hawaii Five-0 and Eye Productions, Hungry Cat Santa Monica, L.A. Saddlery, the Los Angeles Clippers, the Namale Resort & Spa in Fiji, Paperblanks, PGA Tour, Picca Peruvian Cantina, the NFL, Pizzeria Mozza, Pleasant Holidays, the Sundance Institute, Terranea Resort, Tony Robbins, Montage Beverly Hills, the Wine of the Month Club, the USC Roski School of Fine Arts, the USC Thornton School of Music and the Friends of the USC Libraries board of directors.

For more information about Scripter—including ticket availability, additional sponsorship opportunities, and an up-to-date list of sponsors—please email scripter@usc.edu or visit scripter.usc.edu.