New "Anchorman 2" Teaser Poster - June 18, 2013

Anchorman 2: The Legend Continues

With the 70's behind him, San Diego's top rated newsman, Ron Burgundy (Will Ferrell), returns to the news desk in "Anchorman 2: The Legend Continues." Also back for more are Ron’s co-anchor and wife, Veronica Corningstone (Christina Applegate), weather man Brick Tamland (Steve Carell), man on the street Brian Fantana (Paul Rudd) and sports guy Champ Kind (David Koechner) - All of whom won’t make it easy to stay classy…while taking New York's first 24-hour news channel by storm.

In theaters everywhere December 20, 2013

https://twitter.com/ronburgundy

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"Anchorman" Exhibit Opens November 2013

Newseum in Washington, D.C., Announces  ‘Anchorman: The Exhibit’ to Open November 14, 2013

‘Anchorman 2: The Legend Continues’ opens nationwide December 20, 2013

It’s kind of a big deal

WASHINGTON — On November 14, 2013, the Newseum, in partnership with Paramount Pictures, will open “Anchorman: The Exhibit,” featuring props, costumes and footage from the 2004 hit comedy Anchorman: The Legend of Ron Burgundy, prior to the release of its highly anticipated sequel “Anchorman 2: The Legend Continues” from Paramount Pictures on December 20.

The original film, written by Will Ferrell & Adam McKay, directed by McKay, and starring Ferrell, Christina Applegate, Paul Rudd, Steve Carell and David Koechner, takes a comic look at a 1970s-era television newsroom and the legendary local anchorman who ruled it until a female reporter arrived to challenge the all-male news team. “Anchorman 2: The Legend Continues” reunites Ferrell and McKay with the original cast.

Included in “Anchorman: The Exhibit” will be costumes worn by the Channel 4 Evening News team and a number of original props from the movie, including Ron Burgundy’s jazz flute and the whip used by rival anchorman Arturo Mendez during the film’s memorable fight scene between rival news teams. The exhibit also includes a re-creation of the KVWN-TV anchor desk and news set where visitors can pose for photo ops.

“For millions of viewers, the news anchor represents the authority and credibility of television news. But anchormen and women also are popular targets for pop culture laughs,” said Cathy Trost, vice president of exhibits and programs at the Newseum. “The exhibit explores the reality behind the humor of “Anchorman” and tracks the rise of personality-driven news formats in the 1970s.”

Visitors to the exhibit also will have an opportunity to step in front of the camera and participate in an Anchorman-themed TV spot at one of the Newseum’s Be a TV Reporter stations. With lead anchor Ron Burgundy providing a snappy introduction, budding reporters can find out if they have what it takes to become a member of the Channel 4 News team. The exhibit also will feature clips from the movie and special commentary by Will Ferrell.

“I’m literally trapped in a glass case of emotion,” said Ron Burgundy, commenting on his inclusion in the museum’s exhibit.

“Anchorman: The Exhibit” will be on display at the Newseum through Aug. 31, 2014.


About the Newseum
The mission of the Newseum is to champion the five freedoms of the First Amendment through education, information and entertainment. One of the top attractions in Washington, D.C., the Newseum’s 250,000-square-foot news museum offers visitors a state-of-the-art experience that blends news history with up-to-the-second technology and hands-on exhibits. The Newseum is a 501(c)(3) public charity funded, in part, by the Freedom Forum. The First Amendment Center at the Newseum and in Nashville and the Diversity Institute serve as forums for the study and exploration of the First Amendment. For more information visit newseum.org or follow us on Facebook and Twitter.

About “Anchorman 2: The Legend Continues”
With the ’70s behind him, San Diego’s top rated newsman, Ron Burgundy (Will Ferrell), returns to the news desk in “Anchorman 2: The Legend Continues.” Also back for more are Ron’s co-anchor and wife, Veronica Corningstone (Christina Applegate), weather man Brick Tamland (Steve Carell), man on the street Brian Fantana (Paul Rudd) and sports guy Champ Kind (David Koechner) — all of whom won’t make it easy to stay classy … while taking New York’s first 24-hour news channel by storm. Produced by Judd Apatow, Will Ferrell and Adam McKay. Written by Will Ferrell & Adam McKay. Directed by Adam McKay.

Happy Juneteenth 2013

We get free!

Review: "Texas Chainsaw 3D" Gory and Scary

TRASH IN MY EYE No. 42 (of 2013) by Leroy Douresseaux


Texas Chainsaw 3D (2013)
Running time: 92 minutes (1 hour, 32 minutes)
MPAA – R for strong grisly violence and language throughout
DIRECTOR: John Luessenhop
WRITERS: Adam Marcus and Debra Sullivan, and Kirsten Elms; from a story by Stephen Susco, Adam Marcus and Debra Sullivan (based upon the characters by Kim Henkel and Tobe Hooper)
PRODUCER: Carl Mazzocone
CINEMATOGRAPHER: Anastas N. Michos
EDITOR: Randy Bricker
COMPOSER: John Frizzell

HORROR

Starring: Alexandra Daddario, Dan Yeager, Tremaine “Trey Songz” Neverson, Tania Raymonde, Shaun Sipos, Keram Malicki-Sanchez, Thom Barry, Paul Rae, Scott Eastwood, James McDonald, Richard Riehle, David Born, and Sue Rock

Texas Chainsaw 3D is a 2013 horror film presented in 3D. It is the seventh film in The Texas Chainsaw Massacre franchise. Texas Chainsaw 3D is a sequel to the events of the original The Texas Chainsaw Massacre (1974), which was directed by Tobe Hooper. Hooper also directed The Texas Chainsaw Massacre 2 (1986), the first sequel to his classic film. In Texas Chainsaw 3D, a young woman travels to Texas with her friends to collect an inheritance, but she does not realize that a chainsaw-wielding killer is part of her family legacy.

Picking up immediately after the events of the original movie, Sheriff Hooper (Thom Barry) arrives at the Sawyer home to arrest Jedidiah “Jed” Sawyer (Dan Yeager), for murdering several people – killing some with a chainsaw. However, the people of Newt, Texas, led by Burt Hartman (Paul Rae), want immediate justice and burn down the Sawyer family home, killing everyone inside. In the chaos, Gavin and Arlene Miller (David Born and Sue Rock) find a baby from the Sawyer family and adopt her.

Some two decades later, the daughter, Heather Miller (Alexandra Daddario), is a young artist, living with her boyfriend, Ryan (Tremaine “Trey Songz” Neverson). Heather receives a letter that her grandmother, Verna Carson, has died, and this is the first time that Heather learns that the Millers adopted her. Heather, Ryan, and their friends, Nikki (Tania Raymonde) and Kenny (Keram Malicki-Sanchez), head to Newt, Texas in order for Heather to receive the inheritance that Verna left for her.

When she meets her grandmother’s lawyer, Farnsworth (Richard Riehle), Heather discovers that her grandmother left her a lot of money and a mansion. Heather and her friends love the mansion, planning to spend the night, but do not realize that it holds a monstrous secret, hidden in its bowels.

There is a lot that one can say about Tobe Hooper’s career, some of it negative, but he made one of the greatest horror movies (American and otherwise) ever in The Texas Chainsaw Massacre. I see the film as a uniquely American gothic tale. It takes the Southern gothic and gives it a Texas edge that also visually encapsulates the decaying state of post-1960s, post-Vietnam America.

I have seen some of the sequels and remakes, not all, and they just do not live up to the original – even Hooper’s own 1986 sequel (which had its moments). No sequel, remake, or re-imagining of the 1974 ever will.

That said, Texas Chainsaw 3D is actually a fairly good movie. It a slasher film with a unique take on family obligations. Texas Chainsaw 3D also plays around with the idea that even the most horrific villain can be a kind of anti-hero when compared to unsavory characters that peddle in class conflict, prejudice, and lynch mobs – the so-called pillars of the community. I’m not going to lie and call this movie an American classic, but this film has a Texas macabre vibe that stuck with me long after I finished watching it.

I did find a few things odd. So if this movie takes place two decades after the original, which took place in the early to mid-1970s, then, Texas Chainsaw 3D takes place in the early to mid-1990s. Just judging by the smart phones, this movie does not take place in the 90s. I guess they just moved the timeline. Also, there is a scene when a jerk rips open Heather’s shirt, for no apparent reason. As she is not wearing a bra, this must be a moment of exploitation to give male audience members a peek at the actress Alexandra Daddario’s breasts.

Selling this film as a 3D movie is cynical, and although I did not see it in 3D, I wonder what I missed. I didn’t notice many scenes that would have been effective in 3D. However, Texas Chainsaw 3D has a number of generally riveting scenes and set pieces, especially the fair ground chase. I would like to see director John Luessenhop and the creative crew and staff of this motion picture get a shot at another film in the franchise.

6 of 10
B

Wednesday, June 12, 2013

Review: "Texas Chainsaw Massacre" Remake Just a Remake

TRASH IN MY EYE No. 66 (of 2004) by Leroy Douresseaux


The Texas Chainsaw Massacre (2003)
Running time: 98 minutes (1 hour, 38 minutes)
MPAA – R for strong horror violence/gore, language and drug content
DIRECTOR: Marcus Nispel
WRITER: Scott Kosar (based upon the original screenplay by Kim Henkel and Tobe Hooper)
PRODUCERS: Michael Bay and Mike Fleiss
CINEMATOGRAPHER: Daniel C. Pearl (D.o.P.)
EDITOR: Glen Scantlebury
COMPOSER: Steve Jablonsky
Razzie Awards nominee

HORROR

Starring: Jessica Biel, Jonathan Tucker, Erica Leerhsen, Mike Vogel, Eric Balfour, Andrew Bryniarski, David Dorfman, Lauren German, Terrence Evans, Marietta Marich, Heather Kafka, Kathy Lamkin, Brad Leland, Mamie Meek, and John Larroquette (voice)

The Texas Chainsaw Massacre, the 2003 remake of the 1974 horror film classic, is a by-the-books horror film with a few pages missing. It’s scary, and has all the requisite bumps. All jokes aside, there are some really intense moments. It seems that the idea of a chainsaw-wielding maniac chasing people, even fictional ones, is really unsettling. The characters here, however, seem a bit too dumb, and the film also has too many throwaway characters that could have been left out of the film.

The story is basically the same. Five teenagers or young people take the back roads of rural Texas to trouble where they encounter a monstrous killer who murders his victims with a chainsaw. In the original film, the kids took a detour to visit an old family estate of one of the youths. This time around, the gang gets sidetracked when they encounter a young woman wandering in a semi-daze along the road. After she kills herself, the kids look for help from the local law, and that’s how they set themselves up for gruesome deaths.

If the original TCM can be seen as a work of art in the horror genre, the remake is simply product – a professionally done movie meant to separate teens and other horror fans from their cash. There are no artistic pretensions here. It’s not half bad, and actually quite intense, creepy, and skin crawling during most of the movie. Having the cinematographer of the original film, Daniel Pearl, return to photograph this movie was an excellent choice by the producers. Pearl creates some spine-chilling and hair-raising shots in this movie that help to sell the film’s horrific atmosphere.

I have mixed feelings about the cast, but Jessica Biel is a champ and does a star turn in this film. The Texas Chainsaw Massacre 2003 is an easy recommendation for any and all who like scary movies.

5 of 10
C+

NOTES:
2004 Razzie Awards: 1 nomination: “Worst Remake or Sequel”

First Trailer: "The Wolf of Wall Street" June 17 2013

Watch Now: http://youtu.be/iszwuX1AK6A

Review: "Man of Steel" Overstuffed with Spectacle

TRASH IN MY EYE No. 41 (of 2013) by Leroy Douresseaux

Man of Steel (2013)
Running time: 143 minutes (2 hours, 23 minutes)
MPAA – PG-13 for intense sequences of sci-fi violence, action and destruction, and for some language
DIRECTOR: Zack Snyder
WRITERS: David S. Goyer; from a story by David S. Goyer and Christopher Nolan (based upon the Superman characters created by Jerry Siegel and Joe Shuster and published by DC Comics)
PRODUCER: Christopher Nolan, Charles Roven, Deborah Snyder, and Emma Thomas
CINEMATOGRAPHER: Amir Mokri (D.o.P.)
EDITOR: David Brenner
COMPOSER: Hans Zimmer

SUPERHERO/ACTION/DRAMA/SCI-FI

Starring: Henry Cavill, Amy Adams, Michael Shannon, Diane Lane, Kevin Costner, Russell Crowe, Antje Traue, Harry Lennix, Richard Schiff, Christopher Meloni, Ayelet Zurer, Laurence Fishburne, Michael Kelly, Dylan Sprayberry, and Cooper Timberline

Man of Steel is a 2013 superhero movie from director Michael Bay. Ooops! I mean…

Man of Steel is a 2013 superhero movie from director Zack Snyder. The film is co-produced and co-written by Christopher Nolan, the director of “The Dark Knight trilogy” (yep, that’s what they’re calling Nolan’s Batman films) with a screenplay by David S. Goyer, who co-wrote Nolan’s Batman films. Man of Steel is a reboot of the Superman film franchise and is the first Superman movie since 2006’s Superman Returns.

Man of Steel focuses on Superman living as a young drifter and itinerant worker. He is forced to confront his destiny and secret extraterrestrial heritage when Earth is invaded by members of his race. That sounds warm and dramatic, but the actual film is an over-produced event movie that loses its heart and soul in a tsunami of computer-generated imagery and special effects. Once you see the movie, you might also think that this loud movie looks like something Michael Bay made, especially his Transformers films.

Man of Steel opens on the planet Krypton, where renowned scientist, Jor-El (Russell Crowe), and his wife, Lara Lor-Van (Ayelet Zurer), celebrate the arrival of a son, Kal-El. Their world, however, is dying as the rebel, General Zod (Michael Shannon), and his followers attack Krypton’s ruling council. In order to save Kal-El, Jor-El launches him in a spacecraft bound for Earth. The infant Kal-El lands on Earth in Smallville, Kansas, where he is found and adopted by Martha and Jonathan Kent (Diane Lane and Kevin Costner), who name the baby, “Clark Kent.” Clark’s alien physiology gives him superhuman abilities on Earth, but also causes him to feel confused and isolated.

As an adult, Clark Kent (Henry Cavill) lives a nomadic life. He does not realize that Lois Lane (Amy Adams), a Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist for the Daily Planet, is tracking him. Both Kent and Lane discover that Kent’s alien past is about to return in a way that could mean the end of humanity and the world as we know it.

Man of Steel is half-good, half-ridiculous. First, the ridiculous: the movie is all over the place. It jumps back in forth in time from occasionally overly-sentimental flashbacks to over-charged, present-day fight scenes. The characters are either under-utilized or underdeveloped. Henry Cavill and Amy Adams are actually good as Clark and Lois, but every time they seem about to really bond as characters, Man of Steel runs over to action scenes that look like they came out of the Transformers films, Revenge of the Fallen and Dark of the Moon.

Some of the set pieces depict levels of destruction that are practically impossible to fully comprehend. Fight scenes and aerial battles happen in a whirlwind of computer-generated imagery; sometimes, I couldn’t make out much of anything, even the combatants. In fact, much of Man of Steel is one big tornado of special-effects crap thrown at the screen. There is so much destruction going on in Metropolis that it began to annoy me. After ten minutes of this, I realized that the movie had crossed the line of relentless triteness that now defines big-budget Hollywood event movies.

Even this post-human movie offers moments of genuine humanity. The scenes in Smallville, present and flashback, offer some poignant character drama, if not the occasional tedious homily. There is a good moving and emotional set piece with Laurence Fishburne as Daily Planet Editor in Chief Perry White, as he and some of the Planets’ staff fight to survive the destruction of Metropolis. Michael Shannon is brilliantly demented as General Zod, in way that makes the character alluring.

The filmmakers and (more likely) the studio do not seem interested in Clark Kent’s humanity. They seem obsessed with the spectacle of the superhero and his adversaries as videogame wrecking balls, tearing apart the world in visuals created by computers, software, and cinema technology. Sometimes, that looks quite good, as in Marvel’s The Avengers. Sometimes, it looks like a preposterous overstatement, as in Man of Steel. I found this movie to be a mostly unpleasant viewing experience. Is this what future Superman movies are going to look like? I hope the intriguing, interesting character bits that really left an impression on me and are the reason for my “B-“ score can have a bigger place in the next Man of Steel.

5 of 10
B-

Sunday, June 16, 2013