Review: "50 First Dates" Surprisingly Works (Happy B'day, Adam Sandler)

TRASH IN MY EYE No. 24 (of 2004) by Leroy Douresseaux

50 First Dates (2004)
Running time:  99 minutes (1 hour, 39 minutes)
MPAA – PG-13 for appeal for crude sexual humor and drug references
DIRECTOR:  Peter Segal
WRITER:  George Wing
PRODUCERS:  Jack Giarraputo, Steve Golin, Nancy Juvonen
CINEMATOGRAPHER:  Jack Green (D.o.P.)
EDITOR:  Jeff Gourson
COMPOSER:  Teddy Castellucci

COMEDY/ROMANCE

Starring:  Adam Sandler, Drew Barrymore, Rob Schneider, Sean Astin, Lusia Strus, Dan Aykroyd, Amy Hill, Blake Clark, Nephi Pomaikai Brown, and Allen Covert

The subject of this movie review is 50 First Dates, a 2004 romantic comedy starring Adam Sandler and Drew Barrymore.  The film focuses on a man, who is afraid of commitment, and the girl of his dreams, who has short-term memory loss and wakes up every morning not remembering who he is.

The reunion of The Wedding Singer co-stars Adam Sandler and Drew Barrymore sounds like a great idea, which it is, but even better than a great idea is when the movie reunion turns out to be such a charming and hilarious romantic comedy.  Although I initially had some misgivings about it, 50 First Dates is not only flat out hilarious, it’s also a very good romantic comedy.  50 First Dates' faults are few or are minor, but it definitely felt too long.

Lothario Henry Roth (Adam Sandler) is a serial dater, loving and leaving a legion of women and assorted lovers in the wake of whirlwind, weekend romances.  He finally believes he’s find that special lady when he experiences love at first sight.  However, Lucy Whitmore (Drew Barrymore), the object of his affection, suffers from short-term memory loss (like the protagonist in Memento) as the result of a car accident a year earlier.  Every day she awakens with no memory of anything she’s learned in the time since her accident.  After gaining the grudging approval of Lucy’s father, Marlin (Blake Clark), and brother, Doug (Sean Astin), Henry concocts a plan to remind Lucy of his love for her as the first thing she discovers when she awakens each morning, but for how long will she go along with the plan?

Director Peter Segal helmed Sandler’s 2003 smash, Anger Management, which is a harder belly laugh film.  Here, Segal smartly focuses on the leads to create and sustain the star-crossed romance, and he makes the best and most appropriate use of the supporting characters.  He lets the comic relief provide silly laughs and the more “mature” characters make just enough intensity to create what little dramatic conflict and tension 50 First Dates needs.  George Wing’s script is an exercise in sustaining laughs long enough to keep the audience chuckling and not looking behind the curtain to see the credibility gaffes until the film is over and they’ve reached the parking.

For all his detractors, Sandler is truly a talented comedian, and he has become a very accomplished comic actor.  His deadpan, sarcastic, neo-slob characters are endearing and charming, and the only viewers who truly dislike simply just want to dislike him.  Drew Barrymore is quite attractive, and, in spite of her beauty, she has an everyman, make that every woman quality, which endears her characters to the audience.  Sandler and Ms. Barrymore make a winning screen pair, and hopefully they won’t wait too long before giving us another fine film.

7 of 10
B+

Updated:  Monday, September 09, 2013

The text is copyright © 2013 Leroy Douresseaux. All Rights Reserved. Contact this site for syndication rights and fees.

See a Brother on the "Down Low" in the Indie Film, "FOUR"

Provocative Film -- FOUR -- Sheds Light on Black Men "On The Down Low"

Film About A Black Married Man Who Steps Out For A Night With A White Teenage Boy Starts Conversation

NEW YORK, Sept. 5, 2013 /PRNewswire/ -- Actor Wendell Pierce (HBO's "The Wire") takes the lead in, FOUR, a new film in which he plays a closeted middle-aged man who, while away from his family on a "business trip" on the Fourth of July, is actually out on a date with a teenage boy he met online.  And while he's away, his wife and daughter are left at home to quietly deal with the reality he leaves behind.

Pierce, who was nominated for an Independent Spirit Award for his performance, believes people should be uncomfortable with this movie, accurately reflecting the discomfort people can have about the life choices of others.  "I expect people to say, 'Why did Wendell participate in the emasculating of a black man?'  The real question is, 'Why do you feel as though that's emasculating?'"

The film not only challenges the cultural ideals of black masculinity, but also creates dialogue about the "in-between" existence that many middle class minorities live (i.e. being "too black" or not being "black enough"), about how people suppress their true selves in order to maintain the favor of others and about how many people keep God at arm's length.  It's also a portrayal of a black family rarely seen on film.  Wendell Pierce will be on The Tom Joyner Morning Show, on September 9, to discuss the film.

With a mostly minority cast, and helmed by first-time filmmaker, Joshua Sanchez, FOUR powerfully explores race, class and sexuality.  The cast includes Aja Naomi King (Damsels in Distress), who plays a role that any young black woman who has ever felt pressured to straighten her hair, can relate.  Emory Cohen (The Place Beyond the Pines) and E.J. Bonilla (ABC's "Revenge"), who was nominated for an Imagen Award for his performance, play powerful characters who intersect Pierce and King's lives for the night.

FOUR will be released, beginning September 13, at the following locations with the director, and members of the cast, participating in Q&As at each location:

    --  Atlanta - AMC Phipps Plaza 14
    --  Atlanta - AMC Southlake 24
    --  Baltimore - AMC Owings Mills 30
    --  Chicago - AMC River East 21
    --  Dallas - AMC Mesquite 30
    --  Houston - AMC Studio 30
    --  L.A. - AMC Marina Pacifica 12
    --  L.A. - AMC Ontario Mills 30
    --  L.A. - Laemmle's Playhouse 7
    --  NYC - AMC 19th St. East 6
    --  Philadelphia - AMC Cherry Hill 24

The distributor is also hosting several giveaways surrounding the film, including one on Instagram in which a winner, and three of her girlfriends, will each receive $100, manicures and pedicures, a dinner for four and tickets to see the film.

About 306 Releasing
Backed by nearly 15 years of film industry experience, 306 Releasing takes a customized approach to film distribution, never ceding to the mentality that a theatrical release is a futile proposition.

www.306releasing.com

Review: "The Chronicles of Riddick" is Epic

TRASH IN MY EYE No. 95 (of 2004) by Leroy Douresseaux

The Chronicles of Riddick (2004)
Running time:  119 minutes (1 hour, 59 minutes)
MPAA – PG-13 for intense sequences of violent action and some language
DIRECTOR:  David Twohy
WRITER:  David Twohy (based upon characters created by Jim Wheat and Ken Wheat)
PRODUCERS:  Vin Diesel and Scott Kroopf
CINEMATOGRAPHER:  Hugh Johnson (D.o.P.)
EDITORS:  Martin Hunter and Dennis Virkler
COMPOSER:  Graeme Revell

SCI-FI/ACTION/ADVENTURE/FANTASY

Starring:  Vin Diesel, Colm Feore, Thandie Newton, Judi Dench, Karl Urban, Alexa Davalos, Linus Roache, Yorick van Wageningen, Nick Chinlund, and Keith David

The subject of this movie review is The Chronicles of Riddick, a 2004 science fiction and action-adventure film from writer-director David Twohy.  Starring Vin Diesel in the title role, this film is a sequel to the 2000 science fiction thriller, Pitch Black.

Five years after the incidents in the movie Pitch Black, the dark hero Riddick (Vin Diesel) is a hunted man, but mercenaries aren’t just hunting Riddick to send him back to prison.  A fellow survivor of Pitch Black, Imam (Keith David), seeks Riddick because the Imam’s home world needs Riddick’s kind of evil to fight evil.  In The Chronicles of Riddick, the title character takes on the world conquering Necromongers and their vicious, quasi-supernatural leader, the Lord Marshal (Colm Feore).  Apparently, the Lord Marshal and Riddick have a mutual past.  Riddick learns that his people were known as the Furians, and a prophecy said that the Lord Marshal would die at the hands of a Furian.  Thirty years after the Lord Marshal’s pogrom against the Furians, the most contrary and stubborn of them all, Riddick, comes looking for payback.

The Chronicles of Riddick isn’t by any means a great movie, but it’s rather a very entertaining macho movie.  Despite the sci-fi trappings, the film and its title character are basically throwbacks to the kind of action movies and muscular heroes that stomped the shit out silver screen bad guys in films like the Rambo, Die Hard, and Terminator franchises.  Visually, the production design is as dark as The Empire Strikes Back and The Crow, so TCOR is very much the work of talented artists, craftsman, and photographers and CGI artists.

Beyond that, director David Twohy has put together a fun film full of explosions and (relatively) gore free wrestling matches.  TCOR may look like a video game, but it’s futuristic fisticuffs in which the dark champion speaks with the force of muscular body and wins by guile and savvy.  Vin Diesel may not be a solid actor, but he’s game to throw testosterone around a movie set, and the lead doesn’t need to be a great actor when a fine stage actor like Colm Feore (he was the bad guy Andre Linoge in the TV mini-series Stephen King’s “Storm of the Century”) plays the villain.

I had a good (if not great) time, and when it comes down to it, The Chronicles of Riddick is a slugfest man’s movie for the guy who’ll watch any half decent action movie.  And this one is a lot better than half decent.  Some ladies might get a kick out of it, too.

7 of 10
B+

NOTES:
2005 Razzie Awards:  1 nomination: “Worst Actor” (Vin Diesel)

Updated:  Wednesday, August 14, 2013

Read the Pitch Black review and The Chronicles of Riddick: Dark Fury review.

The text is copyright © 2013 Leroy Douresseaux. All Rights Reserved. Contact this site for syndication rights and fees.

Review: "The Chronicles of Riddick: Dark Fury" Fast and Furious

TRASH IN MY EYE No. 61 (of 2013) by Leroy Douresseaux

The Chronicles of Riddick: Dark Fury (2004) – Video
Running time:  35 minutes
Not rated by the MPAA
DIRECTOR:  Peter Chung
WRITERS:  Brett Mathews; from a story by David Twohy (based upon characters created by Jim Wheat and Ken Wheat)
PRODUCERS:  John Kafka and Jae Y. Moh
EDITOR:  Ken Solomon
COMPOSERS:  Machine Head with Tobias Enhus and Christopher Mann
ANIMATION STUDIOS:  Sunwoo Entertainment and DNA Animation

ANIMATION/SCI-FI/ACTION

Starring:  (voices) Vin Diesel, Rhiana Griffith, Keith David, Roger Jackson, Tress MacNeille, Julia Fletcher, Nick Chinlund, and Dwight Schultz

The Chronicles of Riddick: Dark Fury is a 2004 made-for-DVD, animated short film.  It is directed by Peter Chung, the Korean-American best known for creating the animated series, Æon Flux.  Dark Fury acts as a bridge between the films, Pitch Black (2000), and its sequel, The Chronicles of Riddick.

The Chronicles of Riddick: Dark Fury takes place shortly after the events depicted in Pitch Black.  The last survivors of the Hunter-Gratzner spacecraft:  Richard B. Riddick (Vin Diesel), Jack (Rhiana Griffith), and Imam Abu al-Walid (Keith David), are aboard the shuttle they used to leave the planet upon which the transport ship crashed.

They find themselves the target of a Mercenary spacecraft (“Merc ship”), after the mercenaries realize that Riddick, a wanted man with a huge bounty on his head, is aboard the shuttle.  Riddick discovers that he has piqued the interest of Antonia Chillingsworth (Tress MacNeille), the Merc ship’s owner, and this crazy woman has some crazy plans in store for Riddick.

The Chronicles of Riddick: Dark Fury is one of the best made-for-DVD animated films that I have ever seen.  It is true to the spirit and nature of the two feature-length Riddick films and the characters, especially Riddick.  Dark Fury’s script is as well-written and as imaginative as the scripts for Pitch Black and The Chronicles of Riddick.

The voice acting is also superb.  Whatever Vin Diesel may lack as an actor in live-action films, he has as a voice actor for an animated character:  nuance, affect, and richness and the ability to create a depth of character.  It goes without saying that Keith David is good, and Rhiana Griffith makes Jack a lively character that brings energy to Dark Fury every time she opens her mouth.

Dark Fury is further proof that Peter Chung is one of the true visionary animators, character designers, and directors of animated film of the last quarter-century.  Dark Fury needs a buddy.  There should be more animated Riddick films or maybe a television series, especially if Chung were to be the hands guiding animated (or anime) Riddick.  No Riddick fan should miss The Chronicles of Riddick: Dark Fury.

8 of 10
A

Sunday, September 01, 2013

The text is copyright © 2013 Leroy Douresseaux. All Rights Reserved. Contact this site for syndication rights and fees.

Read Pitch Black review.

Guy Ritchie Helms "The Man from U.N.C.L.E." Film

Production to Begin on “The Man from U.N.C.L.E.” for Warner Bros. Pictures

Henry Cavill and Armie Hammer Star Under the Direction of Guy Ritchie

BURBANK, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Principal photography will begin on September 9 on Warner Bros. Pictures’ “The Man from U.N.C.L.E.” The film is the first to be made under filmmaker Guy Ritchie’s and producer Lionel Wigram’s new production shingle, Ritchie/Wigram Productions, which has a first-look deal with Warner Bros. Having successfully re-imagined the classic detective Sherlock Holmes in two hit films, the pair now bring their fresh take on the hugely popular 1960s television series by bringing super spies Napoleon Solo and Illya Kuryakin to the big screen.

Henry Cavill (“Man of Steel”) stars as Napoleon Solo opposite Armie Hammer (“The Social Network”) as Illya Kuryakin, alongside stars Alicia Vikander (“Anna Karenina”), Elizabeth Debicki (“The Great Gatsby”), Jared Harris (“Sherlock Holmes: Game of Shadows”), and Hugh Grant (“Cloud Atlas”) as Waverly.

“Guy and I have long loved these characters, and wanted to start from scratch with our own take and create a film steeped in the 1960s for today’s audiences,” said Wigram. “We are particularly happy about our cast, who all bring something special to the film. Henry, Armie, Alicia and Elizabeth are among the best and most exciting actors of the next generation. In addition, we are thrilled to be working with Hugh Grant, who we have known and been fans of for many years, and Jared Harris, who did such a great job for us as Moriarty.”

Set against the backdrop of the early 1960s, at the height of the Cold War, “The Man from U.N.C.L.E.” centers on CIA agent Solo and KGB agent Kuryakin. Forced to put aside longstanding hostilities, the two team up on a joint mission to stop a mysterious international criminal organization, which is bent on destabilizing the fragile balance of power through the proliferation of nuclear weapons and technology. The duo’s only lead is the daughter of a vanished German scientist, who is the key to infiltrating the criminal organization, and they must race against time to find him and prevent a worldwide catastrophe.

The screenplay is written by Ritchie and Wigram, who also serve as producers. John Davis (“Chronicle”) and Steve Clark-Hall (“RocknRolla,” the “Sherlock Holmes” films) are also producing. David Dobkin is executive producer.

Ritchie’s behind-the-scenes creative team includes two-time Oscar®-nominated director of photography John Mathieson (“Gladiator”), production designer Oliver Scholl (“Jumper”), editor James Herbert (the “Sherlock Holmes” films), Oscar®-nominated costume designer Joanna Johnston (“Lincoln”) and Oscar®-winning key makeup and hair designer Sarah Monzani (“Quest for Fire,” upcoming “Edge of Tomorrow”).

Filming will take place in England, with location filming also in Italy, in Rome and Naples.

A presentation of Warner Bros. Pictures, “The Man from U.N.C.L.E.” will be distributed worldwide by Warner Bros. Pictures, a Warner Bros. Entertainment Company.

Review: "The Order" is Unfortunately Out of Order

TRASH IN MY EYE No. 18 (of 2004) by Leroy Douresseaux

The Order (2003)
Running time:  102 minutes (1 hour, 42 minutes)
MPAA – R for violent images, sexuality and language
WRITER/DIRECTOR:  Brian Helgeland
PRODUCERS:  Craig Baumgarten and Brian Helgeland
CINEMATOGRAPHER:  Nicola Pecorini
EDITOR:  Kevin Stitt
COMPOSER:  David Torn

MYSTERY/HORROR/THRILLER with elements of and fantasy

Starring:  Heath Ledger, Shannyn Sossamon, Benno Fürmann, Mark Addy, Peter Weller, and Francesco Carnelutti

The subject of this movie review is The Order, a 2003 mystery-horror film from writer-director, Brian Helgeland.  The film stars Heath Ledger as a young priest who travels to Rome to investigate the troubling death of the head of his order.

In Oscar® winning screenwriter Brian Helgeland's (L.A. Confidential) The Order, two priests belonging to an arcane order known as the Carolingians and a troubled painter track a figure of Catholic lore known as the Sin Eater.  When the leader of the Carolingians, Dominic (Francesco Carnelutti), dies, Alex Bernier (Heath Ledger) goes to Rome to investigate the circumstances of his mentor’s mysterious death.

Dominic’s body bears strange scars that may be the markings of the Sin Eater, a renegade who offers absolution of the gravest sins.  This is the only way to heaven for those who are outside the jurisdiction of the church, either by choice or because of excommunication.  However, there is a bigger problem; as Alex and his own colleague Father Thomas Garrett (Mark Addy) search for the Sin Eater, there may be a conspiracy surrounding Alex, drawing him closer to the Sin-Eater, a centuries old man named William Eden (Benno Fürmann).

The Order has an interesting premise, and it actually could have been a fairly good suspense thriller (and a creepy one, at that) without the hokey special effects.  The Order’s story is basically a tale of religious conspiracy, in this case, that old Hollywood standby, a conspiracy reaching the upper levels of the Roman Catholic Church and involving arcane Catholic lore.  One can wonder what Helgeland was thinking when he dreamed up this story.  It’s all flash and no substance.  What are the themes?  What is it really about?  Is it just a film exercise meant to be a scary movie.

Two things really hurt The Order.  First, the special effects and fantasy, horror, supernatural elements seem tacked on, as if the studio knew that people would not go for some religious mystery thriller if there wasn’t some unholy bump in the night going on.  Secondly, the actors, except for a few, spare moments, are pitiful.  They lack energy and seem lethargic or drugged.  Speaking accents and dialects are plentiful, but no actor is consistent.  Each one seems to grab whatever accent works for the moment, as if he or she will simply try everything in hopes that something will stick.

If you’re looking for a hardcore horror movie, this isn’t it.  If you like mystery and religious conspiracies, this isn’t a totally bad way to spend VCR time.

4 of 10
C

Updated:  Wednesday, September 04, 2013

The text is copyright © 2013 Leroy Douresseaux. All Rights Reserved. Contact this site for syndication rights and fees.

"Transformers 4" Has a Title and a New Poster

New Teaser Poster for TRANSFORMERS: AGE OF EXTINCTION

Exclusively on Yahoo - See the new poster HERE.

OFFICIAL SITE: WWW.TRANSFORMERSMOVIE.COM

IN THEATERS 06.27.14

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