Review: Roger Moore Still Cool in "For Your Eyes Only" (Remembering Sir Ian Fleming)

TRASH IN MY EYE No. 54 (of 2013) by Leroy Douresseaux

For Your Eyes Only (1981)
COUNTRY OF ORIGIN:  U.K.
Running time: 127 minutes (2 hours, 7 minutes)
MPAA – PG
DIRECTOR:  John Glen
WRITERS:  Richard Maibaum and Michael G. Wilson (based on short stories and the characters created by Ian Fleming)
PRODUCER:  Albert R. Broccoli
CINEMATOGRAPHER:  Alan Hume (D.o.P.)
EDITOR:  John Grover
COMPOSER:  Bill Conti
THEME SONG:  “For Your Eyes Only” – Lyrics by Michael Lesson, music by Bill Conti, and sung by Sheen Easton
Academy Award nominee

SPY/DRAMA

Starring:  Roger Moore, Carole Bouquet, Topol, Lynn-Holly Johnson, Julian Glover, Jill Bennett, Michael Gothard, John Wyman, Lois Maxwell, Desmond Llewelyn, Geoffrey Keen, and James Villiers

The first James Bond movie that I watched in a movie theater was For Your Eyes Only, the 1981 British spy drama.  For Your Eyes Only was also the 12th film in the James Bond film series.

For Your Eyes Only is based on two short stories written by James Bond’s creator, Ian Fleming.  The two stories, “For Your Eyes Only” and “Risico,” both appeared in the James Bond short story collection, For Your Eyes Only (1960).  For Your Eyes Only the movie follows James Bond-Agent 007 as he hunts for a lost British encryption device before it falls into enemy hands.

For Your Eyes Only centers on a special object that was aboard the British electronic surveillance ship, St. Georges.  This is the ATAC – Automatic Targeting Attack Communicator.  The ATAC can order submarines to launch ballistic missiles.  The St. Georges is sunk by a naval mine in the Ionian Sea.  If the ATAC falls in the wrong hands, such as Soviet Union and the KGB, they could render the British Royal Navy’s Polaris submarine fleet useless.

Now, MI6 agent, James Bond, codename “007” (Roger Moore), must retrieve the ATAC before the bad guys get it.  After the first British ally in the ATAC matter is killed, 007 tracks a Cuban hit man to Spain where the assassin meets another hired killer, Emile Leopold Locque (Michael Gothard).  Following Locque takes 007 into the shadowy Greek criminal underworld, where allies might be adversaries, but where adversaries can also be allies.  As 007 gets closer to finding the ATAC, he meets several beautiful women, including the vengeance-seeking Melina Havelock (Carole Bouquet) and the lusty young figure skater, Bibi Dahl (Lynn-Holly Johnson), who just can’t wait to get James Bond in bed.

As a youngster, I liked Roger Moore; he was my favorite James Bond, largely because he was the first Bond I ever saw.  I’ve changed my mind over the years, going from one favorite Bond actor to another.  [I’m currently crazy about Daniel Craig.]  Prior to recently watching For Your Eyes Only, I had not watched a Roger Moore Bond movie in well over a decade, partly because I thought that I wouldn’t like them.  Maybe, as a kid, I was more accepting of things for which people often criticized the Roger Moore-James Bond movies:  the over-the-top stories, campy qualities (to varying degrees), and the silly sci-fi/fantasy elements.

For Your Eyes Only surprised me, however.  I enjoyed it, and only found a little of it silly.  Its prudently-staged violence and edited-for-television sex and sexual innuendo are actually a bit charming.  The best of For Your Eyes Only are the action set pieces.  The stunt coordinators and crew should be commended for turning some comically-conceived action scenes into sequences that make this a better movie.

As for Roger Moore:  at that point in time, For Your Eyes Only was Moore’s fifth turn as Bond (out of seven).  He is just a bit too old for the role, but in the film, he looks up to the challenge.  Yeah, his charisma has a waxed-fruit quality, and his debonair air is a bit musty.  Still, Moore as Bond knows that he is too old for one of the women looking to bed a secret agent, and that counts for something.  Moore knows his limits, and at least, he seems determined to reach them, never giving less than the best of himself.  It seems, at least, that way to me.

Now, I know that I can watch and enjoy For Your Eyes Only again without waiting decades, and I’m ready for more Moore.

6 of 10
B

NOTES:
1982 Academy Awards, USA:  1 nomination: “Best Music, Original Song” (Bill Conti-music and Michael Leeson-lyrics for the song "For Your Eyes Only")

1982 Golden Globes, USA:  1 nomination: “Best Original Song - Motion Picture” (Bill Conti-music and Michael Leeson-lyrics for the song "For Your Eyes Only")

Wednesday, August 07, 2013

Ellen DeGeneres to Host 2014 Oscar Ceremony

Ellen DeGeneres Returns To Host The Oscars®

BEVERLY HILLS, CA – Television icon Ellen DeGeneres will return to host the Oscars® for a second time, producers Craig Zadan and Neil Meron announced today. The Academy Awards® will be broadcast live on Oscar Sunday, March 2, 2014, on the ABC Television Network.

"We are thrilled to have Ellen DeGeneres host the Oscars," said Zadan and Meron. "As a longtime friend, we had always hoped to find a project for us to do together and nothing could be more exciting than teaming up to do the Oscars. There are few stars today who have Ellen's gift for comedy, with her great warmth and humanity. She is beloved everywhere and we expect that the audience at the Dolby Theatre, and in homes around the globe, will be as excited by this news as we are."

"I am so excited to be hosting the Oscars for the second time. You know what they say - the third time's the charm," said DeGeneres.

"I agreed with Craig and Neil immediately that Ellen is the ideal host for this year's show," said Cheryl Boone Isaacs, Academy President. "We're looking forward to an entertaining, engaging and fun show."

"Ellen is talented, wonderfully spontaneous, and knows how to entertain a worldwide audience," said Dawn Hudson, Academy CEO. "She's a big fan of the Oscars; we're huge fans of hers. It's a perfect match."

"It is an honor to welcome back Ellen DeGeneres as the host of the biggest entertainment celebration of the year," said Paul Lee, president, ABC Entertainment Group. "She is the consummate entertainer, equally beloved by her peers in the industry, movie fans and television viewers. We very much look forward to having her back on ABC for Oscar Sunday."

DeGeneres hosted the 79th Academy Awards in 2007, for which she received a Primetime Emmy® nomination for "Outstanding Individual Performance in a Variety or Music Program."

DeGeneres has made a home for herself in daytime with her hit syndicated talk show, "The Ellen DeGeneres Show," which has earned a total of 45 Daytime Emmys during its 10 seasons.

DeGeneres' began her career as an emcee at a local comedy club in her hometown of New Orleans. Her acting career in television included roles in several successful sitcoms before being offered a part on "These Friends of Mine" by ABC. After the first season, the show was renamed "Ellen." Running from 1994 to 1998, the show garnered record ratings, with DeGeneres receiving Emmy nominations each season in the Best Actress category. In 1997, DeGeneres was the recipient of the coveted Peabody Award as well as earning an Emmy for writing the critically acclaimed "Puppy Episode" when her character came out as a gay woman to a record 46 million viewers.

DeGeneres has also been successful in her feature film work. DeGeneres scored unprecedented popular and critical response to her character, Dory, the fish with extreme short-term memory, in the blockbuster Pixar animated feature "Finding Nemo." DeGeneres recently announced the highly anticipated sequel to "Finding Nemo," Disney-Pixar's "Finding Dory," currently scheduled to be released in November 2015.

Academy Awards for outstanding film achievements of 2013 will be presented on Oscar® Sunday, March 2, 2014, at the Dolby Theatre® at Hollywood & Highland Center® and televised live on the ABC Television Network. The presentation also will be televised live in more than 225 countries and territories worldwide.

Review: "Solomon Kane" Raises a Little Cain

TRASH IN MY EYE No. 53 (of 2013) by Leroy Douresseaux

Solomon Kane (209)
Running time:  104 minutes (1 hour, 44 minutes)
MPAA – R for violence throughout
DIRECTOR:  Michael J. Bassett
WRITERS:  Michael J. Bassett (based upon the character created by Robert E. Howard)
PRODUCERS:  Paul Berrow and Samuel Hadida
CINEMATOGRAPHER:  Dan Laustsen (D.o.P.)
EDITOR:  Andrew MacRitchie
COMPOSER:  Klaus Badelt

FANTASY/ACTION

Starring:  James Purefoy, Max von Sydow, Pete Postlethwaite, Alice Krige, Rachel Hurd-Wood, Patrick Hurd-Wood, Philip Winchester, Anthony Wilks, Ben Steel, Rory McCann, Tomas Tobola, Mackenzie Crook, and Jason Flemyng

Solomon Kane is a 2009 dark fantasy and action film, starring James Purefoy in the title role.  The film was produced by a consortium of production companies from the countries of the Czech Republic, France, and the United Kingdom.  Solomon Kane first opened in France in December 2009, but did not open in theatres in the United States until September 2012.

The movie features Solomon Kane, a pulp magazine-era fictional character created by Robert E. Howard (who also created Conan the Barbarian).  Solomon Kane first appeared in publication in the August 1928 issue of Weird Tales in the short story, “Red Shadows.”  In Howard’s original stories, Kane traveled through Europe and Africa, vanquishing evil.

Solomon Kane the movie acts as an origin story for the character, and opens in North Africa, in the year 1600.  English mercenary Solomon Kane (James Purefoy) leads the crew of his ship into battle against the occupiers of a fortress town.  It is there that Kane learns that his soul is bound for Hell.  He renounces violence and lives in seclusion before being forced out into the world at large again.

Kane meets William Crowthorn (Pete Postlethwaite) and his wife, Katherine (Alice Krige).  They are Puritans, and with their three children, are planning to immigrate to the New World.  After the Crowthorns’ daughter, Meredith (Rachel Hurd-Wood), is kidnapped by the followers of a sorcerer named Malachi (Jason Flemyng), Kane is once again forced to fight in order to save the girl and perhaps gain the redemption of his soul.

I think Solomon Kane’s writer-director Michael J. Bassett wanted this movie to be like the Lord of the Rings trilogy.  Instead, what Bassett created is like a straight-to-DVD, sword-and-sorcery movie, with only a few moments that suggest LoTR’s epic fantasy.  Solomon Kane isn’t bad, but it isn’t particularly good, mainly because it is inconsistent.

For instance, James Purefoy gives a mostly good performance as Solomon Kane.  However, the screenplay is clumsy and repetitive when it comes to developing Kane’s character.  Plus, I think Purefoy is miscast as Kane.  I would prefer someone taller, leaner, and certainly more dour and gaunt than the pretty Purefoy.

The main villains, Malachi and the Masked Rider (Malachi’s henchman), are superb adversaries, but the two, especially Malachi, are mostly relegated to the background.  Bassett is so determined to focus on Kane’s story that he misses how two great villains can create the kind of potent conflict that invigorates a drama.

Solomon Kane is a fantasy film that has the action, brutality, and violence of other films like it, but lacks the flair of other supernatural action films like Hansel & Gretel: Witch Hunters and Underworld.  The pacing is sometime dry and stiff, which makes the movie feel a bit too long, but if you like the supernatural action genre, Solomon Kane is worth watching – as a rental.

5 of 10
C+

Friday, August 09, 2013

"Lovelace" with Amanda Seyfried Opens Today - August 9, 2013

Radius/TWC Presents

LOVELACE

FILM BY ROB EPSTEIN & JEFFREY FRIEDMAN

STARRING: AMANDA SEYFRIED, PETER SARSGAARD, HANK AZARIA, WES BENTLEY, ADAM BRODY, BOBBY CANNAVALE, JAMES FRANCO, DEBI MAZAR, CHRIS NOTH, ROBERT PATRICK, ERIC ROBERTS, CHLOE SEVIGNY, SHARON STONE, JUNO TEMPLE

OPEN WIDE on AUGUST 9th

Download the UK Red Band Trailer Here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dkkU5jkIopM

Download the Green Band Trailer Here:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2gJrCfNNzA8&feature=youtu.be

In 1972—before the internet, before the porn explosion—Deep Throat was a phenomenon: the first scripted pornographic theatrical feature film, featuring a story, some jokes, and an unknown and unlikely star, Linda Lovelace. Escaping a strict religious family, Linda discovered freedom and the high-life when she fell for and married charismatic hustler Chuck Traynor. As Linda Lovelace she became an international sensation—less centerfold fantasy than a charming girl-next-door with an impressive capacity for fellatio. Fully inhabiting her new identity, Linda became an enthusiastic spokesperson for sexual freedom and uninhibited hedonism. Six years later she presented another, utterly contradictory, narrative to the world—and herself as the survivor of a far darker story.

Review: "The Original Kings of Comedy" - Remembering Bernie Mac

TRASH IN MY EYE No. 3 (of 2003) by Leroy Douresseaux

The Original Kings of Comedy (2000)
Running time:  115 minutes (1 hour, 55 minutes)
MPAA – R for language and sex related humor
DIRECTOR:  Spike Lee
PRODUCERS:  David Gale, Walter Latham, and Spike Lee
CINEMATOGRAPHER:  Malik Sayeed
EDITOR:  Barry Alexander Brown
Image Award nominee

CONCERT/DOCUMENTARY

Starring:  Steve Harvey, D.L. Hughley, Cedric the Entertainer, and Bernie Mac

The subject of this movie review is The Original Kings of Comedy, a 2000 concert film and documentary from director Spike Lee.  This stand-up comedy film featured Steve Harvey, D.L. Hughley, Cedric the Entertainer, and Bernie Mac, who at the time, were probably the four major African-American stand-up comedians.

First, I must note that I liked half this movie – the half with Bernie Mac and Cedric the Entertainer.  I like D.L. Hughley as a political and social commentator, but not so much as a stand-up comic.  I have mixed feelings about Steve Harvey, and I’ll leave it at that.

For two years in the late 90’s into early 2000, comedians Steve Harvey, D.L. Hughley, Cedric the Entertainer, and Bernie Mac toured the United States in a comedy show called “The Original Kings of Comedy.”  Director Spike Lee (Malcolm X) captured a two-night performance by the “Kings” in Charlotte, North Carolina on digital film, which became the documentary/concert film, The Original Kings of Comedy.

All four of the performances have film and television backgrounds in addition to their stage work, but they are best known to and most liked by urban i.e. African-American audiences.  In fact, the huge success of the concert tour so surprised mainstream i.e. white news media that the tour was the subject of numerous stories.  Those writers expressed shock at how the Kings played to packed houses, but there wasn’t really a secret to their success.  Tickets prices were cheap (usually around 10 bucks), and tours of King’s were kind of geared toward the so-called urban audience are rare.  Some concert venues consider large gatherings of African-Americans a security risk and demand exorbitant insurance coverage from tour promoters.

I can only hope that the Charlotte shows were not indicative of the tour as a whole.  Much of the performances were thoroughly dry and not funny.  It’s hard to chose between who was worse - tour “host” Steve Harvey (of TV’s “The Steve Harvey Show”) or D.L. Hughley (of TV’s “The Hughleys”).  The audience seemed to like them.  Maybe it was a black thing, or perhaps a certain “class” of black thing – not so monolithic, after all, eh?

Cedric the Entertainer and Bernie Mac were hilarious, especially Mac.  They are gifted both as comedians and storytellers, something that is important for all the Richard Pryor wannabees to remember.  Pryor just didn’t tell jokes; he told hilarious, often uproarious, stories.  Many of the profanity junkies that currently pass for comedians would do best to understand what made Pryor so funny and why he enormously crossed over to white audiences.  Cedric and Mac are funny storytellers, and their humor, laced with tales about black folks, actually reaches to a larger segment of the black population.  In fact, a lot of people from different backgrounds can relate to Bernie’s tales, which is why he has the most diverse work history as an entertainer of all the “Kings.”

Much of the comedy here deals with black culture, black folks, black people’s habits, black people who grew up in the 70’s versus young blacks of the 90’s, old school versus hip hop, and, of course white people.  And they deal with white people rather stiffly.  It’s telling that many of the white faces in the audience were not smiling.  Some of the barbs against white folks were mean, and mostly not funny.  When Redd Foxx, Pryor, and Eddie Murphy joked about whites, it was funny and dead on true.  Mac approaches their touch.  The rest of these guys act as if they’d never met a white person.

Lee covers the stage, the audience, and to a lesser extent, the backstage very well – just enough directing not to take away from the main show.  The performances don’t live up to the hype.  I will recommend this to people who want to see the work of a fine entertainer, and that’s Bernie Mac.

5 of 10
C+

NOTES:
2001 Image Awards:  1 nomination: “Outstanding Motion Picture”

Updated:  Friday, August 09, 2013

"Elysium" Makes Worldwide Landing in IMAX Theatres

Sony's Elysium Lands In IMAX® Theatres Worldwide Starting August 9

LOS ANGELES, PRNewswire/ -- IMAX Corporation (NYSE:IMAX; TSX:IMX), along with TriStar Pictures and Media Rights Capital today announced that Elysium, filmmaker Neill Blomkamp's (District 9) futuristic action film starring Matt Damon and Jodie Foster, will be digitally re-mastered into the immersive IMAX® format and released in IMAX® theatres worldwide beginning August 9.

"Neill Blomkamp is the kind of innovative, creative storyteller that moviegoers seek out, and we are thrilled to bring this highly anticipated film to IMAX audiences worldwide," said Greg Foster, CEO of IMAX Entertainment and Senior Executive Vice President IMAX Corp.

"Elysium is one of the most highly anticipated films of the summer, so we're pleased that audiences will have the chance to see Neill Blomkamp's vision for the future in IMAX's immersive format," said Rory Bruer, president, Worldwide Distribution for Sony Pictures.

The IMAX release of Elysium will be digitally re-mastered into the image and sound quality of The IMAX Experience® with proprietary IMAX DMR® (Digital Re-mastering) technology.  The crystal-clear images, coupled with IMAX's customized theatre geometry and powerful digital audio, create a unique environment that will make audiences feel as if they are in the movie.

For more information about Elysium, please visit Sony's official website at http://www.itsbetterupthere.com/site/.

About Elysium
In the year 2154, two classes of people exist: the very wealthy, who live on a pristine man-made space station called Elysium, and the rest, who live on an overpopulated, ruined planet. The people of Earth are desperate to escape the crime and poverty that is now rampant throughout the land. The only man with the chance to bring equality to these worlds is Max (Matt Damon), an ordinary guy in desperate need to get to Elysium. With his life hanging in the balance, he reluctantly takes on a dangerous mission - one that pits him against Elysium's Secretary Delacourt (Jodie Foster) and her hard-line forces - but if he succeeds, he could save not only his own life, but millions of people on Earth as well.  Written and directed by Neill Blomkamp.  The QED International / Alphacore Studios / Kinberg Genre production is produced by Bill Block, Neill Blomkamp, and Simon Kinberg.

About IMAX Corporation
IMAX, an innovator in entertainment technology, combines proprietary software, architecture and equipment to create experiences that take you beyond the edge of your seat to a world you've never imagined. Top filmmakers and studios are utilizing IMAX theatres to connect with audiences in extraordinary ways, and, as such, IMAX's network is among the most important and successful theatrical distribution platforms for major event films around the globe.

IMAX is headquartered in New York, Toronto and Los Angeles, with offices in London, Tokyo, Shanghai and Beijing.  As of March 31, 2013, there were 738 IMAX theatres (606 commercial multiplexes, 19 commercial destinations and 113 institutions) in 53 countries.

IMAX®, IMAX® 3D, IMAX DMR®, Experience It In IMAX®, An IMAX 3D Experience®, The IMAX Experience® and IMAX Is Believing® are trademarks of IMAX Corporation. More information about the Company can be found at www.imax.com. You may also connect with IMAX on Facebook (www.facebook.com/imax), Twitter (www.twitter.com/imax) and YouTube (www.youtube.com/imaxmovies).

This press release contains forward looking statements that are based on IMAX management's assumptions and existing information and involve certain risks and uncertainties which could cause actual results to differ materially from future results expressed or implied by such forward looking statements. These risks and uncertainties are discussed in IMAX's most recent Annual Report on Form 10-K and most recent Quarterly Reports on Form 10-Q.

Review: "S.W.A.T." is by the Book Crime Thriller

TRASH IN MY EYE No. 126 (of 2003) by Leroy Douresseaux

S.W.A.T. (2003)
Running time:  117 minutes (1 hour, 57 minutes)
MPAA – PG-13 for violence, language and sexual references
DIRECTOR:  Clark Johnson
WRITERS:  David Ayer and David McKenna; from a story by Ron Mita and Jim McClain (based upon characters by David Hamner)
PRODUCERS:  Dan Halsted, Chris Lee, and Neal H. Moritz
CINEMATOGRAPHER:  Gabriel Beristain
EDITOR:  Michael Tronick
COMPOSER:  Elliot Goldenthal

ACTION/CRIME/DRAMA

Starring:  Samuel L. Jackson, Colin Farrell, Michelle Rodriguez, LL Cool J, Josh Charles, Jeremy Renner, Brian Van Holt, Olivier Martinez, Reginald E. Cathey, Larry Poindexter, and James DuMont

The subject of this movie review is S.W.A.T., a 2003 action-thriller and crime film.  The film is based on the short-lived television series, “S.W.A.T.”  This ABC action-crime drama (Feb. 1975 to April 1976) was created by Robert Hamner and Lee Stanley.  In S.W.A.T. the movie, S.W.A.T. tries to prevent an imprisoned drug kingpin from breaking out of police custody.

When the law gets a hold of Alex Montel (Olivier Martinez), billionaire drug lord and arms dealer, Montel offers 100 million dollars (say it in a heavy Al Pacino/Tony Montana accent to get the full effect) to anyone who can free him.  Who you gonna call?  How about the Los Angeles Police Department’s finest – S.W.A.T. (Special Weapons and Tactics)?

Led by a legendary S.W.A.T. veteran, Sgt. Dan “Hondo” Harrelson (Samuel L. Jackson), the group includes LAPD’s best, brightest, and toughest: Jim Street (Colin Farrell) a disgraced S.W.A.T. officer Hondo gives a second chance; Chris Sanchez (Michelle Rodriguez), repeatedly denied admission into the S.W.A.T. program because she is a female; and David “Deke” Kay (LL Cool J), a tough street cop who can run down you and yo mama.

S.W.A.T. is a by the book action thriller that correctly presses all the right buttons except those bothersome story and character buttons.  But the fireworks, explosions, gunshots, and machismo all work, and that’s pretty much all that’s needed to make an successful action movie – one that doesn’t make you feel like you’ve wasted your money as soon as you leave the theatre.  The plot is simple and straight, and the script contains familiar American archetypes:  Jackson’s Hondo is the black mentor to Farrell’s Street, the dangerous young white stud.  Hollywood seems intent on making Farrell a matinee idol whether the matinee wants him or not.

The movie was fun, a pleasant distraction, pleasantly intense, not manically and obscenely intense like Bad Boys II, but intense in a way that lets us get excited about overwrought gun battles.  There’s even an ultra hilarious segment in which an L.A. street gang tries to liberate Montel for his 100 meeeeell-yon dollerz!  There’s no meaningful drama in the story, nothing to make you really care for the characters other than the fact that you’d like to see Street show the department it was wrong for disgracing him.  But this is good film popcorn, one I’d heartily recommend to fans of hardcore action films and one I’ll see again.

Of course, if you want a gritty cop film, something with meat on the bones, there’s always Joe Carnahan’s Narc.

5 of 10
B-

NOTES:
2004 Black Reel Awards:  1 nomination: “Best Film” (Christopher Lee, Neal H. Moritz, and Dan Halsted)

2004 Image Awards:  1 nomination: “Outstanding Actor in a Motion Picture” (Samuel L. Jackson)

Updated:  Wednesday, August 07, 2013

------------------------