Review: "The Keep" Plays Keep-Away with Audience

TRASH IN MY EYE No. 154 (of 2003) by Leroy Douresseaux

The Keep (1983)
Running time:  93 minutes (1 hour, 33 minutes)
MPAA – R
DIRECTOR:  Michael Mann
WRITER:  Michael Mann (from the novel by F. Paul Wilson)
PRODUCERS:  Gene Kirkwood and Howard W. Koch Jr.
CINEMATOGRAPHER:  Alex Thomson (D.o.P.)
EDITORS:  Dov Hoenig and Chris Kelly with Tony Palmer
COMPOSER:  Tangerine Dream

HORROR/FANTASY with elements of a thriller

Starring:  Scott Glenn, Alberta Watson, Jurgen Prochnow, Ian McKellan, Gabriel Byrne, and Robert Prosky

The subject of this movie review is The Keep, a 1983 horror-fantasy film from writer-director Michael Man.  The film is based on the 1981 novel, The Keep, by author F. Paul Wilson.  The Keep the movie focuses on a group of Nazis and the Jewish historian they turn to for help after they inadvertently free an ancient demon from its prison.

During World War II, the German army is sent to guard a Romanian mountain pass.  The soldiers take up residence in an old, mysterious and uninhabited fortress, The Keep.  They unwittingly unleash an ancient evil that begins killing them.  Thinking that the deaths are the result of rebellious locals, Nazi commandos arrive to deal with the trouble.

However, the Germans eventually summon an ailing Jewish historian, Dr. Theodore Cuza (Ian McKellan), from a concentration camp.  The professor arrives with his daughter, Eva Cuza (Alberta Watson), to solve the mystery.  Arriving right behind them is a stoic stranger (Scott Glenn) with mysterious powers and who obviously knows something about what’s going on in the Keep.

I imagine that the novel from which this film is adapted is lively and wildly fantastic, but the movie is short and dull.  Apparently, the original version of this movie ran nearly three hours in length.

Director Michael Mann would eventually produce the seminal television series, Miami Vice, and would direct well regarded films like Manhunter, Heat, and The Insider.  With The Keep, he gives us lots of smoke, glaring lights, and an extended laser show.  There is little story and no plot, and the cast, which is very talented, is lost in a maze of nothing.  This movie is, at best, a series of vaguely related scenes taped together into something coherent but really, really boring.  The saddest thing is that this film really has the basic material to make an entertaining horror and fantasy film.  What happened?

2 of 10
D

Updated: Friday, February 07, 2014


The text is copyright © 2014 Leroy Douresseaux. All Rights Reserved. Contact this site for syndication rights and fees.

2014 Black Reel Award Nominations - Complete List

by Leroy Douresseaux

The Black Reel Awards annually honor African-Americans in feature, independent and television film.  The awards also take notice of the work in film of people of color throughout the African Diaspora.  The awards were launched in 2000, and this is the 13th year the awards will be handed out.  The Black Reel Awards are now given out by the Foundation for the Advancement of African-Americans in Film (FAAAF).

The official Black Reel Awards blog describes 2013 as the most competitive year in Black film.  That may be true as three films:  12 Years a Slave, Fruitvale Station, and Lee Daniels’ The Butler received 9 nominations each – a record for the Black Reel Awards.

It does seem that 2013 is a noteworthy year for these awards.  For instance, all five of the “Outstanding Motion Picture” nominees are based on real individuals:  baseball pioneer, Jackie Robinson; slain Bay-area resident, Oscar Grant; recently deceased political icon, Nelson Mandela; former-slave-turned-author, Solomon Northup; and long-time White House butler, Eugene Allen.

Black Reel Award records:

The Weinstein Company received a record-breaking 24 nominations.  [On the television side, Lifetime led with 10 nominations.]

A record 17 actors received multiple nominations.

With his nomination for “Outstanding Television Director” for the HBO documentary, Mike Tyson: Undisputed Truth, Spike Lee received his 24th nomination, making him the most nominated person in Black Reel Awards history.

The 14th Annual Black Reel Awards winners will be announced Thursday, February 13, 2014.

The 2014 / 14th Annual Black Reel Awards nominees (for the year in film 2013):

Outstanding Motion Picture:
• 12 Years a Slave | Brad Pitt, Steve McQueen, Anthony Katagas, Jeremy Kleiner, Bill Pohlad, Arnon Milchan
• 42 | Thomas Tull
• Fruitvale Station | Nina Yang Bonogivoi & Forest Whitaker
• Mandela: Long Walk to Freedom | Anant Singh & David M. Thompson
• Lee Daniels’ The Butler | Lee Daniels, Pam Williams & Laura Ziskin

Outstanding Actor, Motion Picture:
• Chiwetel Ejiofor | 12 Years a Slave
• Idris Elba | Mandela: Long Walk to Freedom
• Michael B. Jordan | Fruitvale Station
• Isaiah Washington | Blue Caprice
• Forest Whitaker | Lee Daniels’ The Butler

Outstanding Actress, Motion Picture:
• Halle Berry | The Call
• Rosario Dawson | Trance
• Danai Gurira | Mother of George
• LisaGay Hamilton | Go for Sisters
• Nia Long | The Best Man Holiday

Outstanding Supporting Actor, Motion Picture:
• Barkhad Abdi | Captain Phillips
• David Oyelowo | Lee Daniels’ The Butler
• Nate Parker | Ain’t Them Bodies Saints
• Tequan Richmond | Blue Caprice
• Keith Stanfield | Short Term 12

Outstanding Supporting Actress, Motion Picture:
• Melonie Diaz | Fruitvale Station
• Naomie Harris | Mandela: Long Walk to Freedom
• Lupita Nyong’o | 12 Years a Slave
• Octavia Spencer | Fruitvale Station
• Oprah Winfrey | Lee Daniels’ The Butler

Outstanding Director, Motion Picture:
• Ryan Coogler | Fruitvale Station
• Lee Daniels | Lee Daniels’ The Butler
• Malcolm D. Lee | The Best Man Holiday
• Steve McQueen | 12 Years a Slave
• George Tilman Jr. | The Inevitable Defeat of Mister & Pete

Outstanding Screenplay (Original or Adapted), Motion Picture:
• Ryan Coogler | Fruitvale Station
• Malcolm D. Lee | The Best Man Holiday
• Kasi Lemmons | Black Nativity
• John Ridley | 12 Years a Slave
• Michael Starburry | The Inevitable Defeat of Mister & Pete

Outstanding Documentary:
• 20 Feet From Stardom | Morgan Neville
• Free Angela and All Political Prisoners | Shola Lynch
• God Loves Uganda | Roger Ross Williams
• The Trials of Muhammad Ali | Bill Siegel
• Venus & Serena | Maiken Baird & Michelle Major

Outstanding Ensemble:
• 12 Years a Slave | Francine Maiser
• 42 | Victoria Thomas
• The Best Man Holiday | Julie Hutchinson
• Fruitvale Station | Nina Henninger
• Lee Daniels’ The Butler | Leah Daniels & Billy Hopkins

Outstanding Foreign Film:
• Better Mus Come | Jamaica
• Home Again | Canada
• Nairobi Half Life | Kenya
• Storage 24 | UK
• War Witch | Canada

Outstanding Score:
• Stanley Clarke | The Best Man Holiday
• Ludwig Goransson | Fruitvale Station
• Mark Isham | 42
• Rodrigo Leao | Lee Daniels’ The Butler
• Hans Zimmer | 12 Years a Slave

Outstanding Original Song:
• “Desperation” from 20 Feet From Stardom | Written & Performed by: Judith Hill
• “Happy” from Despicable Me 2 | Written & Performed by: Pharrell Williams
• “In the Middle of the Night” from Lee Daniels’ The Butler | Performed by: Fantasia Barrino; Written by: F. Barrino, K. Washington, A. Terry & K. McMasters
• “Queen of the Field (Patsey’s Song)” from 12 Years a Slave | Written & Performed by: Alicia Keys
• “You and I Ain’t No More” from Lee Daniels’ The Butler | Performed by: Gladys Knight, Written by: Lenny Kravitz

Outstanding Breakthrough Actor Performance
• Barkhad Abdi | Captain Phillips
• Chadwick Boseman | 42
• Skylan Brooks | The Inevitable Defeat of Mister & Pete
• Tequan Richmond | Blue Caprice
• Keith Stanfield | Short Term 12

Outstanding Breakthrough Actress Performance
• Melonie Diaz | Fruitvale Station
• Danai Gurira | Mother of George
• Lindiwe Matshikiza | Mandela: Long Walk to Freedom
• Lupita Nyong’o | 12 Years a Slave
• Tashiana Washington | Gimme the Loot

Outstanding Voice Performance
• Keith David | Free Birds (Relativity Media)
• Snoop Dogg | Turbo (20th Century Fox)
• Samuel L. Jackson | Turbo (20th Century Fox)
• Beyonce Knowles | Epic (20th Century Fox)
• Maya Rudolph | Turbo (20th Century Fox)

INDEPENDENT

Outstanding Independent Feature:
• An Oversimplification of Her Beauty | Terence Nance
• Blue Caprice | Alexandre Moors
• Go for Sisters | John Sayles
• Mother of George | Andrew Dosumu
• Things Never Said | Charles Murray

Outstanding Independent Documentary:
• Africa: The Beat | Javier Arias Bal, Polo Vallejo, Pablo Vega, Manuel Velasco
• I Want My Name Back | Roger Paradiso
• Lenny Cooke | Benny & Joshua Safdie
• The New Black | Yoruba Richen
• Unheard: Black Women in Civil Rights | Nev Nnaji

Outstanding Independent Short:
• African Cowboy | Rodney Charles
• Black Girl in Paris | Kiandra Parks
• A Different Tree | Steven Caple Jr.
• Sweet Honey Child | Talibah Newman
• They Die by Dawn | Jeymes Samuel

TELEVISION

Outstanding Television Documentary
• Dark Girls | Bill Duke & Dr. Channsin Berry
• Jimi Hendrix: Hear My Train A Comin | Bob Smeaton
• Made in America | Ron Howard
• Venus vs. | Ava DuVernay
• Whoopi Goldberg Presents Moms Mabley | George Schlatter

Outstanding TV Movie or Mini-Series
• Being Mary Jane | Claire Brown
• Betty & Coretta| Yves Simoneau & Jacqueline Lavoie
• Crazy, Sexy, Cool: The TLC Story | Bill Diggins, Lyyn Hylden, Maggie Malina, Rozonda “Chili” Thomas, Tionne “T-Boz Watkins”
• Mike Tyson: Undisputed Truth | Emily Cohen
• The Watsons Go to Birmingham | Philip Kleinbart, Tonya Lewis Lee, Nikki Silver

Outstanding Actor, TV Movie or Mini-Series
• Keith David | Pastor Brown
• Chiwetel Ejiofor | “Dancing on the Edge”
• Omari Hardwick | A Christmas Blessing
• Ernie Hudson | Pastor Brown
• Mike Tyson | Mike Tyson: Undisputed Truth

Outstanding Actress, TV Movie or Mini-Series
• Angela Bassett | Betty & Coretta
• Keke Palmer | Crazy, Sexy, Cool: The TLC Story
• Anika Noni Rose | The Watsons Go to Birmingham
• Gabrielle Union | Being Mary Jane
• Salli Richardson-Whitfield | Pastor Brown

Outstanding Supporting Actor, TV Movie or Mini-Series
• Richard Brooks | Being Mary Jane
• Danny Glover | Muhammad Ali’s Greatest Fight
• Omari Hardwick | Being Mary Jane
• Wood Harris | The Watsons Go to Birmingham
• Ernie Hudson | Call Me Crazy: A Five Film

Outstanding Supporting Actress, TV Movie or Mini-Series
• Loretta Devine | Saving Westbrook High
• Audra McDonald | The Sound of Music
• Nicole Ari Parker | Pastor Brown
• LaTonya Richardson | The Watsons Go to Birmingham
• Octavia Spencer | Call Me Crazy: A Five Film

Outstanding Director, TV Movie or Mini-Series
• Salim Akil | Being Mary Jane
• Rockmond Dunbar | Pastor Brown
• Spike Lee | Mike Tyson: Undisputed: Truth
• Kenny Leon | The Watsons Go to Birmingham
• Charles Stone III | Crazy, Sexy, Cool: The TLC Story

Outstanding Screenplay (Adapted or Original), TV Movie or Mini-Series
• Mara Brock Akil | Being Mary Jane
• Rhonda Baraka | Pastor Brown
• Caliope Brattlestreet, Stephen Glantz & Tonya Lee Lewis | The Watsons Go to Birmingham
• Kate Lanier | Crazy, Sexy, Cool: The TLC Story
• Kiki Tyson | Mike Tyson: Undisputed Truth

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

http://blackreelawards.wordpress.com/

Grammy-Winner Pharrell Williams to Perform at Oscars

Pharrell Williams To Perform On The Oscars®

BEVERLY HILLS, CA — Singer-songwriter-producer Pharrell Williams will perform his Oscar®-nominated song “Happy” at the Oscars®, show producers Craig Zadan and Neil Meron announced today. The Oscars, hosted by Ellen DeGeneres, will air on Sunday, March 2, live on ABC.

“Happy,” which Williams wrote and produced for “Despicable Me 2,” is nominated for Original Song. The three other nominated songs are "Ordinary Love" from "Mandela: Long Walk to Freedom," "Let It Go" from "Frozen" and "The Moon Song" from "Her."

Pharrell Williams has won seven Grammy Awards®, two (in 2004 and 2014) for Producer of the Year. Named Billboard’s Producer of the Decade in 2010, his productions have sold over 100 million copies. Williams collaborated on two of 2013’s most ubiquitous anthems: Robin Thicke’s “Blurred Lines” which he co-wrote and produced and Daft Punk’s “Get Lucky,” which he co-wrote and also sang.  As a solo producer and as part of the prolific producing team The Neptunes, Williams has played a key role in creating a string of hits over more than two decades, including Jay-Z’s "I Just Wanna Love U (Give it 2 Me)," Nelly’s "Hot in Herre," Gwen Stefani’s "Hollaback Girl," Snoop Dogg’s "Drop it Like it's Hot," Britney Spears’ “I’m A Slave 4 U” and Justin Timberlake’s “Like I Love You.”

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 Oscars, produced by Craig Zadan and Neil Meron, also will be televised live in more than 225 countries and territories worldwide.

"Gravity" Wins Top American Society of Cinematographers Prize

by Amos Semien

The American Society of Cinematographers held its annual American Society of Cinematographers (ASC) Awards for Outstanding Achievement on Saturday, February 1, 2014.  The 28th Annual American Society of Cinematographers (ASC) Awards for Outstanding Achievement ceremony took place at the Ray Dolby Ballroom at Hollywood & Highland.  Awards were given out in five competitive categories.  The big award was the ASC Award for “Feature Film,” which went to Emmanuel Lubezki for his work on director Alfonso Cuaron’s film, Gravity.  This was Lubezki’s third ASC win for feature film, and his fourth overall nomination.

The 2014 / 28th Annual American Society of Cinematographers Awards (for the year in film and television 2013):

FEATURE FILM:
Emmanuel Lubezki, ASC, AMC for Gravity

TELEVISION MOVIE/MINISERIES:
Jeremy Benning, CSC for National Geographic Channel’s Killing Lincoln

TELEVISION EPISODIC SERIES (ONE HOUR):
Jonathan Freeman, ASC for HBO’s Game of Thrones (“Valar Dohaeris”)

TELEVISION EPISODIC SERIES (HALF HOUR):
Blake McClure for Comedy Central’s Drunk History (“Detroit”)

Career Achievement in Television Award: Richard Rawlings Jr. (previously announced)

ASC Bud Stone Award of Distinction: Beverly Wood

International Achievement Award: Eduardo Serra, AFC, ASC (previously announced)

Board of Governors Award: John Wells (previously announced)

Lifetime Achievement Award: Dean Cundey, ASC (previously announced)

Spotlight Award: Lukasz Zal and Ryszard Lenczewski for Ida

---

Press release for The American Society of Cinematographers’ official website:

GRAVITY Earns Top Honors from Cinematographers;

KILLING LINCOLN, GAME OF THRONES and DRUNK HISTORY Win in TV Categories; IDA Takes Spotlight Award

LOS ANGELES, February 1, 2014 – Emmanuel Lubezki, ASC, AMC; Jeremy Benning, CSC; Jonathan Freeman, ASC, Blake McClure, Lukasz Zal, and Ryszard Lenczewski earned top honors in the five competitive categories at the 28th Annual American Society of Cinematographers (ASC) Awards for Outstanding Achievement. The ceremony was held here tonight at the Ray Dolby Ballroom at Hollywood & Highland. Lubezki won the ASC Award in the feature film competition for Gravity. Benning won the TV movie/miniseries award for Killing Lincoln. Freeman took home top honors in the one-hour episodic television category for Game of Thrones, and McClure was the recipient of the half-hour episodic series award for Drunk History. Zal and Lenczewski won the ASC Spotlight Award for Ida.

The ASC Award for best feature was presented by Caleb Deschanel, ASC. Lubezki has won the organization’s top prize twice for The Tree of Life (2012) and Children of Men (2007), and was also nominated for Sleepy Hollow (2000).

The other nominees in the feature film category were Sean Bobbitt, BSC for 12 Years a Slave, Barry Ackroyd, BSC for Captain Phillips, Philippe Le Sourd for The Grandmaster, Bruno Delbonnel, ASC, AFC for Inside Llewyn Davis, Phedon Papamichael, ASC for Nebraska, and Roger Deakins, ASC, BSC for Prisoners.

Debbie Allen presented the Television Movie/Miniseries Award to first-time ASC nominee Benning for National Geographic Channel’s Killing Lincoln.

Also nominated in the Television Movie/Miniseries category were David Luther for Starz Network’s The White Queen (“War at First Hand”), and Ashley Rowe, BSC for Starz Network’s Dancing on the Edge (Episode 1.1).

Actress Niecy Nash presented the Outstanding Achievement Award in the one-hour episodic television category to Freeman for his work on “Valar Dohaeris,” the third season premiere episode of HBO’s Game of Thrones. This is the fourth statue for Freeman who previously won for Boardwalk Empire (2012, 2011) and Homeland Security (2005). He has also earned nominations for another Boardwalk Empire episode (2011), as well as Taken (2003), Strange Justice (2000) and Prince Street (1998).

The other nominees in the one-hour television series category were Steven Bernstein, ASC for Starz Network’s Magic City (“The Sins of the Father”), David Franco for HBO’s Boardwalk Empire (“Erlkönig”), Pierre Gill, CSC for Showtime’s The Borgias (“The Purge”), David Greene, CSC for The CW’s Beauty and the Beast (“Tough Love”), Anette Haellmigk for HBO’s Game of Thrones (“Kissed by Fire”), Kramer Morgenthau, ASC for Fox’s Sleepy Hollow (Pilot), and Ousama Rawi, BSC, CSC for NBC’s Dracula (“The Blood Is the Life”).

Cheryl Ladd presented the half-hour episodic television category award to McClure, also a first-time ASC nominee, for the “Detroit” episode of Comedy Central’s Drunk History.

McClure’s fellow nominees in the half-hour TV category were Peter Levy, ACS, ASC for Showtime’s House of Lies (“The Runner Stumbles”), and Matthew J. Lloyd, CSC for Amazon’s Alpha House (Pilot).

John Bailey, ASC revealed that Zal and Lenczewski earned the ASC’s inaugural Spotlight Award for Ida. The award was created by the organization to recognize outstanding cinematography in features and documentaries typically screened at film festivals, internationally or in limited theatrical release. ASC members submitted entries for consideration which went before a Blue Ribbon panel that chose the nominees. All active members voted on the winner. Also nominated for the Spotlight Award was Mark Lee Ping Bing for Renoir, and Camille Cottagnoud for Winter Nomads.

Acclaimed filmmaker John Carpenter presented the ASC Lifetime Achievement Award to Dean Cundey, ASC. Cundey first attracted widespread attention when he teamed with Carpenter on Halloween (1978). The two filmmakers went on to collaborate on The Fog, Escape from New York, The Thing, Halloween II and III, and Big Trouble in Little China. Cundey’s work on Robert Zemeckis’ landmark, live-action film Who Framed Roger Rabbit (1988), garnered him both Oscar and BAFTA nominations. Cundey’s credits include the Back to the Future trilogy, Romancing the Stone, Death Becomes Her, Hook, Apollo 13, Jurassic Park, What Women Want, Garfield, The Holiday, The Spy Next Door, Jack and Jill, Crazy Kind of Love, and the upcoming releases Walking with the Enemy and Carry Me Home.

The ASC International Award was presented to Eduardo Serra, AFC, ASC by director Edward Zwick. Serra earned his first Academy Award® nomination for Iain Softley’s The Wings of the Dove (1997), which also netted him a BAFTA Award. In 2004, he received Oscar and BAFTA nominations for Peter Webber’s Girl with the Pearl Earring. His work on such films as Jude, Map of the Human Heart, What Dreams May Come and Funny Bones is highly acclaimed. Serra has over 50 features to his credit, including A Promise, Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 1 and Part 2, Blood Diamond, Beyond the Sea, Unbreakable, and The Widow of Saint-Pierre, among others.

The Career Achievement in Television Award was presented to Richard Rawlings, Jr., ASC, by John C. Flinn III, ASC and Michael O’Shea, ASC. Rawlings’ first TV series as a director of photography was in 1978 on Charlie’s Angels. He went on to shoot such memorable series as Matt Houston, Stingray, L.A. Law, Boston Public, Gilmore Girls and Desperate Housewives, among others. He earned Emmy nominations for the series Ohara (1987), Paradise (1988), Reasonable Doubts (1991), and the television movie Big Dreams & Broken Hearts: The Dottie West Story (1995).

The ASC Bud Stone Award of Distinction was given to Beverly Wood, EVP of Technical Services and Client Relations for EFILM, a Deluxe Digital Studios company. The award is presented to an Associate ASC Member who has demonstrated extraordinary service to the society and/or has made a significant contribution to the motion picture industry. In 2012, the organization bestowed the honor to Milt Shefter, owner of Miljoy Ent. Inc., and a motion picture industry consultant on the preservation of moving images, recorded sound and high intrinsic value objects.

Last year, Roger Deakins, ASC, BSC won the ASC feature award for Skyfall.

END of press release

http://www.theasc.com/

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

Review: "Zero Dark Thirty" is History as a Great Story

TRASH IN MY EYE No. 5 (of 2014) by Leroy Douresseaux

Zero Dark Thirty (2012)
Running time:  157 minutes (2 hours, 37 minutes)
MPAA – R for strong violence including brutal disturbing images, and for language
DIRECTOR:  Kathryn Bigelow
WRITER:  Mark Boal
PRODUCERS: Kathryn Bigelow, Mark Boal, and Megan Ellison
CINEMATOGRAPHER:  Greg Fraser (D.o.P.)
EDITORS:  William Goldenberg and Dylan Tichenor
COMPOSER:  Alexandre Desplat
Academy Award winner

WAR/DRAMA/ACTION

Starring:  Jessica Chastain, Jason Clarke, Reda Kateb, Kyle Chandler, Jennifer Ehle, Harold Perrineau, Jeremy Strong, J.J. Kandle, Lauren Shaw, Jessica Collins, Fredric Lehne, Joel Edgerton, Nash Edgerton, Edgar Ramirez, Mike Colter, Yoav Levi, Mark Strong, and James Gandolfini

Zero Dark Thirty is a 2012 war film and suspense thriller from director Kathryn Bigelow and writer Mark Boal, the creators of The Hurt Locker.  Zero Dark Thirty dramatizes the decade-long hunt for Osama bin Laden, leading up to his death at the hands of Navy S.E.A.L. Team 6.  In my estimation, it is one of the best films of 2012 and one of the few truly great films about war in the 21st century.

Zero Dark Thirty begins with a brief audio recount of the events of the September 11, 2001 attacks.  The film moves to the year 2003 and introduces Maya (Jessica Chastain), a young officer in the CIA (U.S. Central Intelligence Agency).  Since graduating high school, Maya has spent her entire career focused solely on gathering intelligence related to al-Qaeda terrorist leader Osama bin Laden.  Assigned to Pakistan, Maya witnesses the torture (including water-boarding and humiliation) of detainee prisoners.

Eventually, Maya begins to focus on a mysterious figure known as Abu Ahmed, who is allegedly working as a personal courier for bin Laden.  Maya sifts through masses of data and information, using a variety of technology and her own hunches and insights, but the years pass without her finding Ahmed or bin Laden.  Back in the United States, the political climate changes; a new U.S. Presidential administration arrives, and Maya’s CIA superiors stop believing in her work.  Now, this one agent has to battle the system if she is going to remain on the trail of clues that will lead her to bin Laden.

Fascinating, intriguing, thrilling, and suspenseful:  I could go on, but I’ll simply say that Zero Dark Thirty is truly a gripping film narrative.  It grabbed a hold of my imagination and my heart, and I was practically endlessly captivated by this truly unique film.  It is a testament to the filmmaking and storytelling skills of director Kathryn Bigelow and writer Mark Boal.

Boal has the ability to take a decade’s worth of intelligence activity:  the good, the bad, the boring, the important, and the inconsequential and to summarize that into one story.  He uses the most interesting and important information as subplots – all on the way to creating a riveting screen story.

Much has been made of the fact that Bigelow is a woman film director who makes action movies and other types of films that are usually aimed at men.  The truth is that she is a highly skilled director whose films are like no one else’s.  Her success is that she makes movies that absorb the viewer into the story by creating action scenes that not only matter to the drama, but are also sometimes the drama.  Not all of Bigelow’s movies are great; it is simply that for most of the time in all of her movies, she occupies the viewer’s imagination.  When watching a Bigelow flick, it is not often that I find myself thinking about what I will be doing after the movie.

In Maya, Jessica Chastain fashions a female character that is truly a heroine.  Zero Dark Thirty turns on the idea that one woman fights the system to lead the hunt for Osama bin Laden.  So Chastain has to not only create a female lead that can carry a CIA movie, but also create a female lead that the audience will believe is capable going into the dark places she goes and doing the contentious things she must do.  In a world of exceedingly dangerous times, of deceitful men, and of alpha males, Maya has to be a stubborn mule, fierce lioness, and the smartest guy in the room, all at the same time.  It seems as if she must also lose something of herself in certain situations and at certain times.  There are scenes in Zero Dark Thirty in which Maya seems like nothing more than a wraith, a human turned into a shadowy leftover by her cause.

I believe that Jennifer Lawrence, as Tiffany Maxwell in Silver Linings Playbook, won the best actress Oscar over Chastain as Maya because Tiffany, complicated though she is, is girl-next-door likeable.  Maya is a complicated personality and is morally comprised, and her dedication to her job hunting bin Laden is like an affliction.  What’s to like about that?  A lot actually, but it is easier to like wounded duckling Tiffany.

I am glad that Zero Dark Thirty had people questioning the filmmakers’ intentions.  That means that people thought the movie was worth the mental effort to engage it.  It is a great film, nearly perfect.  I think the raid on bin Laden’s compound, which takes up the film’s last half hour is a little clumsy in its staging.  Bigelow’s effort to “keep it real,” took something away from the drama and intensity of that raid.  Still, Zero Dark Thirty will stand the test of time.  It may occasionally be forgotten, but as soon as something causes people to remember Zero Dark Thirty, people will be ready to engage the issues it raises again.

9 of 10
A+

NOTES:
2013 Academy Awards, USA:  1 win: “Best Achievement in Sound Editing” (Paul N.J. Ottosson – tied with Per Hallberg and Karen Baker Landers for Skyfall); 4 nominations: “Best Motion Picture of the Year” (Mark Boal, Kathryn Bigelow, and Megan Ellison), “Best Performance by an Actress in a Leading Role” (Jessica Chastain), “Best Writing, Original Screenplay” (Mark Boal) and “Best Achievement in Film Editing” (William Goldenberg and Dylan Tichenor)

2013 BAFTA Awards:  5 nominations: “Best Film” (Kathryn Bigelow, Megan Ellison, and Mark Boal), “Best Leading Actress” (Jessica Chastain), “Best Original Screenplay” (Mark Boal), “Best Editing” (Dylan Tichenor and William Goldenberg), and “David Lean Award for Direction” (Kathryn Bigelow)

2013 Golden Globes, USA:  1 win: “Performance by an Actress in a Motion Picture – Drama” (Jessica Chastain); 3 nominations: “Best Motion Picture – Drama,” Best Director - Motion Picture” (Kathryn Bigelow), and “Best Screenplay - Motion Picture” (Mark Boal)

Friday, January 31, 2014


The text is copyright © 2014 Leroy Douresseaux. All Rights Reserved. Contact this site for syndication rights and fees.

Happy Anniversary, Jay and Megan

I can't remember what year you guys got married, though...

"12 Years a Slave" Named "Film of the Year" by London Critics' Circle

by Amos Semien

The London Film Critics’ Circle is part of a larger organization, The Critics’ Circle, which makes an annual award for Services to the Arts.  This circle is comprised of the five sections:  dance, drama, film, music, and visual arts.

The Critics’ Circle Film Section held its annual awards on Sunday night, February 2, 2014 at the May Fair Hotel.  The 34th London Critics’ Circle Film Awards featured sponsorship by The May Fair, Beluga, Novikov, Cameo, Audi, Innerplace and Publicity Media.

The big winner at the ceremony was 12 Years a Slave, which won awards for “Film of the Year,” “Actor of the Year” (Chiwetel Ejiofor), and “Supporting Actress of the Year” (Lupita Nyong'o).  The film's director, Steve McQueenc was on hand to collect the awards.

The Selfish Giant won two awards, “British Film of the Year” and “Young British Performer of the Year” (Conner Chapman).  Actor John Hurt introduced Gary Oldman who was presented with the Dilys Powell Award for Excellence in Film.

Full list of winners 2014 / 34th London Critics’ Circle Film Awards (for the year in film 2013):

Film of the Year: 12 Years a Slave

Foreign-language Film of the Year: Blue Is the Warmest Colour

Documentary of the Year: The Act of Killing

British Film of the Year: The Selfish Giant

Director of the Year: Alfonso Cuarón - Gravity

Screenwriter of the Year: Ethan Coen & Joel Coen - Inside Llewyn Davis

Actor of the Year: Chiwetel Ejiofor - 12 Years a Slave

Actress of the Year: Cate Blanchett - Blue Jasmine

Supporting Actor of the Year: Barkhad Abdi - Captain Phillips

Supporting Actress of the Year: Lupita Nyong'o - 12 Years a Slave

British Actor of the Year: James McAvoy - Filth / Trance / Welcome to the Punch

British Actress of the Year: Judi Dench - Philomena

Young British Performer of the Year: Conner Chapman - The Selfish Giant

Breakthrough British Filmmaker: Jon S Baird - Filth

Technical Achievement Award: Gravity - Tim Webber, special effects

Dilys Powell Award for Excellence in Film: Gary Oldman


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

http://www.criticscircle.org.uk/