Review: "Super Troopers" Can Be Funny (Happy B'day, Jay Chandrasekhar)

TRASH IN MY EYE No. 36 (of 2002) by Leroy Douresseaux

Super Troopers (2001)
Running time:  100 minutes (1 hour, 40 minutes)
MPAA – R for language, sexual content and drug use
DIRECTOR:  Jay Chandrasekhar
WRITERS:  Broken Lizard (Jay Chandrasekhar, Kevin Heffernan, Steve Lemme, Paul Soter, and Erik Stolhanske)
PRODUCER:  Richard Perello
CINEMATOGRAPHER:  Joaquín Baca-Asay
EDITORS:  Jumbulingam (Jay Chandrasekhar), Jacob Craycroft, and Kevin Heffernan
COMPOSERS:  38 Special

COMEDY

Starring:  Jay Chandrasekhar, Kevin Heffernan, Steve Lemme, Paul Soter, Erik Stolhanske, Marisa Coughlan, Brian Cox, Daniel van Bargen, Michael Weaver, Dan Fey, Jim Gaffigan, and Lynda Carter

The subject of this movie review is Super Troopers, a 2001 comedy starring the comedy troupe, Broken Lizard, and directed by member, Jay Chandrasekhar.  The film focuses on five Vermont state troopers, who are pranksters and screws ups, trying to outperform an overachieving local police department.  Although Super Troopers was shown at the 2001 Sundance Film Festival, it did not receive a national U.S. theatrical release (by Fox Searchlight Pictures) until 2002.

Movie reviewers often take the easy road or the high-minded road when they opine on what we film lovers call the guilty pleasure – the bad movie that is “really (seriously, now) entertaining.”  So a movie often has to be taken for what it is, and what it is may not amount to very much.  Perhaps the filmmakers were expressing themselves in the only way they knew.  They were being themselves or being true to their game.  Or maybe speaking in their own voices and not in someone else’s voice, and they made a movie just to have a silly time.

This is Super Troopers, and for the sake of the usual argument, this is a poorly constructed movie.  It’s way too long, has a poor story, a predictable plot and premise, a boring setting, and is set in an indeterminate time, etc.

The plot, in which the appealing underdogs must overcome the overachieving jerks in order to save their low rent livelihoods, is the stiff upon which this cast hangs their act, and the act is the show.

Broken Lizard is a New York and Los Angeles based comedy troop made up of this movie’s director and his co-writers.  The movie is merely a vehicle for their uproarious act.  I’ve never seen them onstage, but, based upon this funny (no, really) film, I’m anxious to taste them.  They are difficult to categorize.  They aren’t slackers, because they lack the phony Gen X cool, and they aren’t thugs, ruffians, and lowlifes.  Goofy and dumb doesn’t quite fit.

They’re like regulars guys, and their extreme antics are their means to wile away the extreme boredom, continued dullness, and constant pain-in-the-ass throb of life.  Their sexual antics are loud without being raunchy.  Their act is harmful, but like “Beavis and Butthead” and “Bart Simpson,” they are mostly harmful to themselves.  Broken Lizard comes across as regular guys having a way too wild time.

When you watch Super Troopers, you can forget about what a movie is supposed to be like and what’s supposed to be in a movie, you just have a great time laughing at these clowns.

Yeah, maybe the show does go on a bit too long, as if Broken Lizard is not aware that as funny as they are, they can wear out their welcome, but that doesn’t take away from the fun, not by much.

6 of 10
B

Updated:  Wednesday, April 09, 2014

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

Happy Birthday, Liz Martel

Happy B'day, sister girl.  Hope you have a great day and many, many, many more.

Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtle Teaser Poster - Raphael: Choose Your Weapon

Visit the official Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles Tumblr and choose your weapon.
http://tmntmovie.tumblr.com/

In theaters August 8th 2014

Watch the official teaser trailer: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wRipBOQl95o
Official Tumblr: http://tmntmovie.tumblr.com/
Official Site: http://www.teenagemutantninjaturtlesmovie.com/
Official YouTube Channel: https://www.youtube.com/tmntmovie
Official Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/TMNT
Official Twitter: https://twitter.com/TMNTmovie

Oscar Nominee Review: "The Wolf of Wall Street" is a Howler

TRASH IN MY EYE No. 18 (of 2014) by Leroy Douresseaux

The Wolf of Wall Street (2013)
Running time:  180 minutes (3 hours)
MPAA – R for sequences of strong sexual content, graphic nudity, drug use and language throughout, and for some violence
DIRECTOR: Martin Scorsese
WRITER: Terence Winter (based on the book by Jordan Belfort)
PRODUCERS: Riza Aziz, Leonardo DiCaprio, Joey McFarland, Emma Tillinger Koskoff, and Martin Scorsese
CINEMATOGRAPHER: Rodrigo Prieto (D.o.P)
EDITOR: Thelma Schoonmaker
Academy Award nominee

DRAMA/COMEDY/BIOFILM

Starring:  Leonardo DiCaprio, Jonah Hill, Margot Robbie, Matthew McConaughey, Kyle Chandler, Rob Reiner, Jon Bernthal, Jon Favreau, Jean Dujardin, Joanna Lumley, Cristin Milioti, Shea Whigham, P.J. Byrne, Kenneth Choi, Brian Sacca, Henry Zebrowski, Ethan Suplee, Bo Dietl, and Johnnie Mae

The Wolf of Wall Street is a 2013 drama, bio-film, and black comedy from director Martin Scorsese and writer Terence Winter.  The film stars actor Leonardo DiCaprio and is the fifth collaboration between Scorsese and DiCaprio.

The Wolf of Wall Street is based on the memoirs of Jordan Belfort (the 2007 book, The Wolf of Wall Street).  The Wolf of Wall Street the film dramatizes the true story of Belfort:  how he rose to become a wealthy stockbroker, how he lived the high-life, and how he fell into the clutches of the FBI.

Jordan Belfort (Leonardo DiCaprio) breaks the fourth wall of the movie screen and narrates The Wolf of Wall Street.  He gives a tour of his incredible financial wealth, which includes a lavish house on Long Island’s Gold Coast and his trophy wife, Naomi Lapaglia (Margot Robbie).  He then goes back to the beginning of his career in a low-level job at an established Wall Street firm.  Although he soon moves into a job as a real stock broker, the firm soon goes bankrupt.

Belfort then tells us of his less glamorous job selling penny stocks.  However, his aggressive pitching style makes him a huge success in penny stocks.  Eventually, Belfort opens his own brokerage firm, Stratton Oakmont, Inc., and hires his low-rent pals to be his first employees.  His controversial style earns him the moniker, the “Wolf of Wall Street.”  Belfort makes more money than he can spend, and he leads a decadent lifestyle of sex-filled, drug-fueled parties.  However, all that money and his reputation earn Belfort the attention of the FBI and an ambitious agent, Patrick Denham (Kyle Chandler), who begins investigating Belfort and Stratton Oakmont.

The Wolf of Wall Street is a box office success and earned many accolades, including five Oscar nominations and a Golden Globe award win for Leonardo DiCaprio.  Still, the film is controversial, mostly for its moral ambiguity, sexual content, the presence of drugs, and/or its vulgarity, among many complaints.

I don’t see the film as morally ambiguous.  The filmmakers are clear in the storytelling and the depiction of the characters and their actions that Jordan Belfort and his cohorts are crooks and scam artists, and they are certainly depraved and lecherous.  Belfort may be a sociopath, and he is at least self-centered and narcissistic.  Wall Street did not make him the way he is; it is simply the perfect place for Belfort to be what he is.

Director Martin Scorsese, writer Terence Winter, and lead actor Leonardo DiCaprio offer a black comedy that is timeless in its focus.  They hold the mirror up to us and make it clear that people never change and they never learn.  People chase money and some money chasers prey on other money chasers.  They are the predators that clean up and rake in the dough every time.  As this kind of predator – this wolf of Wall Street, DiCaprio gives a performance that deserves to be described as a tour de force.

Some predators live it up on their ill-gotten gains.  The Wolf of Wall Street shows us the ribaldry and depravity of those who live it up to the extreme.  And this film is a blast because of that.  If you stop yourself from thinking about the real-life Jordan Belfort’s victims, you might find this film dynamic and irreverent.  Scorsese isn’t glorifying Belfort’s excessive lifestyle.  Instead, the director offers a great character study of a larger-than-life American archetype; this is a randy version of that archetype.  This version simply spends more time with his pants down and blow up his nose than most.

You can hate both the player and the game, but it is hard to hate The Wolf of Wall Street, at least it is for me.  This fifth Marty and Leo film makes me eager for the sixth.

9 of 10
A+

Friday, April 04, 2014


NOTES:
2014 Academy Awards, USA:  5 nominations: “Best Motion Picture of the Year” (Leonardo DiCaprio, Emma Tillinger Koskoff, Joey McFarland, and Martin Scorsese), “Best Performance by an Actor in a Leading Role” (Leonardo DiCaprio), “Best Performance by an Actor in a Supporting Role” (Jonah Hill), “Best Achievement in Directing” (Martin Scorsese), “Best Writing, Adapted Screenplay” (Terence Winter)

2014 Golden Globes, USA:  1 win: “Best Performance by an Actor in a Motion Picture - Musical or Comedy” (Leonardo DiCaprio); 1 nomination: “Best Motion Picture - Comedy or Musical)”

2014 BAFTA Awards:  4 nominations: “Best Adapted Screenplay” (Terence Winter), “Best Leading Actor” (Leonardo DiCaprio), “Best Editing” (Thelma Schoonmaker), and “David Lean Award for Direction” (Martin Scorsese)

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

William H. Macy's "Rudderless" Finds Distributors

Paramount Home Media Distribution and Samuel Goldwyn Films Collaborate on Distribution of William H. Macy’s Directorial Debut and Sundance Feature RUDDERLESS

Starring Billy Crudup, Anton Yelchin, Felicity Huffman, Jamie Chung, Selena Gomez and Laurence Fishburne

HOLLYWOOD--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Paramount Home Media Distribution and Samuel Goldwyn Films announced today a collaboration to bring RUDDERLESS to theatrical and home viewing audiences. The feature directorial debut of Academy Award® and Golden Globe® nominee* William H. Macy, RUDDERLESS was produced by Keith Kjarval (Unified Pictures) and Brad Greiner in association with Aaron L. Gilbert's Bron Studios and had its world premiere as the Closing Night Film at the 2014 Sundance Film Festival. The film stars Billy Crudup (Almost Famous), Anton Yelchin (Star Trek Into Darkness), Felicity Huffman (“Desperate Housewives”), Jamie Chung (“Believe”), Selena Gomez (Spring Breakers) and Laurence Fishburne (The Matrix).

Samuel Goldwyn Films will handle U.S. theatrical distribution day-and-date with Paramount Home Media Distribution’s VOD release. Paramount will also handle other U.S. ancillary platforms and all distribution in Canada, the UK, Russia and certain territories in Asia.

After a man has his life torn apart when he loses his son, he is content wasting the rest of his days until he discovers a box of unpublished music. Coming from such an unexpected source, the music is a revelation. He begins obsessively learning the songs, until one day he decides to play one of them at a local bar. The song captivates a young musician in the audience and the two unlikely friends decide to form a local band that gains sudden popularity and changes both of their lives.

"After seeing such a fabulous response at Sundance, we are thrilled to be partnering with two of the most prestigious distributors in our business on my directing debut,” said director William H. Macy. “When I first moved to LA, many years ago, I lived just off of Melrose, and I passed those beautiful gates to Paramount almost every day. Seeing them become our partner on RUDDERLESS and adding the storied Goldwyn Company into the mix excites me to no end."

“William H. Macy has always been a true talent in front of the cameras and now also proves to be a major force behind the scenes. Billy Crudup, Felicity Huffman and the rest of the cast deliver stellar performances. We are excited to again partner with Paramount Home Media Distribution in bringing Macy’s remarkable first feature to theaters,” said Peter Goldwyn, Senior Vice President, Samuel Goldwyn Films.

“RUDDERLESS is an incredibly powerful and moving film and we are extremely excited to bring it to audiences around the world,” said Syrinthia Studer, Senior Vice President, Marketing and Acquisitions, Paramount Home Media Distribution. “William H. Macy has delivered a terrific first feature with extraordinary performances by his stellar cast, a compelling story and wonderful original music. We feel confident that it will be embraced by audiences both in the U.S. and internationally.”

The deal was negotiated by Paramount Home Media Distribution, WME Global and Peter Goldwyn, Senior Vice President of Samuel Goldwyn Films, with Radiant Films handling international.

About Samuel Goldwyn Films
Samuel Goldwyn Films is a major, independently owned and operated motion-picture company that develops, produces and distributes innovative feature films and documentaries. The company is dedicated to working with both world renowned and emerging writers/filmmakers and committed to filmed entertainment that offers original voices in uniquely told stories. This is best exemplified by the Academy Award® nominated THE SQUID AND THE WHALE and SUPER SIZE ME; AMAZING GRACE and Julie Delpy's hit comedy 2 DAYS IN PARIS. Past Goldwyn titles include the critically hailed ELEGY starring Academy Award® winner Penélope Cruz, HARRY BROWN starring Michael Caine and the box office smash FIREPROOF. MAO’S LAST DANCER, directed by Academy Award® nominee Bruce Beresford was one of the top grossing independent films of 2010. Samuel Goldwyn Films released THE WHISTLEBLOWER, a powerful, ripped from the headlines thriller starring Academy Award® winner Rachel Weisz and the 2012 critics’ darling, ROBOT & FRANK, starring Academy Award® nominee Frank Langella, James Marsden, Liv Tyler and Academy Award® winner Susan Sarandon. Additional Samuel Goldwyn Films releases include DIANA VREELAND: THE EYE HAS TO TRAVEL, an acclaimed documentary about the late fashion icon, Gilles Bourdos’ RENOIR, the lush film about the famous painter’s later years and France’s official submission for the 2014 Academy Awards®, Academy Award® nominee James Cromwell starrer, STILL MINE, and the Jason Wise much buzzed about film SOMM. Upcoming releases include Academy Award®-winner Freida Mock’s critically acclaimed documentary ANITA featuring intimate and in-depth interviews with Anita Hill and filmmaker Lucia Puenzo’s haunting film and Argentina’s official submission to the 2014 Academy Awards® THE GERMAN DOCTOR.

About Paramount Home Media Distribution
Paramount Home Media Distribution (PHMD) is part of Paramount Pictures Corporation (PPC), a global producer and distributor of filmed entertainment. PPC is a unit of Viacom (NASDAQ: VIAB, VIA), a leading content company with prominent and respected film, television and digital entertainment brands. The PHMD division oversees PPC’s home entertainment, digital and television distribution activities worldwide. The division is responsible for the sales, marketing and distribution of home entertainment content on behalf of Paramount Pictures, Paramount Animation, Paramount Vantage, Paramount Classics, Insurge Pictures, MTV, Nickelodeon, Comedy Central and CBS and for providing home entertainment fulfillment services for certain DreamWorks Animation Home Entertainment titles. PHMD additionally manages global licensing of studio content and distribution across worldwide digital and television distribution platforms including online, mobile and portable devices and emerging technologies.

About Unified Pictures:
Unified Pictures operates as an independent film production and distribution company dedicated to the development, financing, production and distribution of top-tier filmed entertainment. With several cutting-edge and artistically innovative films, Unified Pictures has established an impressive presence in a wide variety of film genres.

The company has completed seven films in the past two and a half years. Unified’s latest film “Loitering with Intent,” starring Sam Rockwell, Marisa Tomei and Natasha Lyonne is world premiering at the upcoming Tribeca Film Festival.

Additional films include William H. Macy’s directorial debut “Rudderless,” which closed this year’s Sundance Film Festival; "The Inevitable Defeat of Mister and Pete" (dir. George Tillman Jr., starring Jennifer Hudson, Jordin Sparks), which opened the 2013 Sundance Film Festival; "A Single Shot" (dir. David Rosenthal, starring Sam Rockwell, William H. Macy, Jeffrey Wright), which premiered at the 2013 Berlin Film Festival; and “Trust Me” (dir. Clark Gregg, starring Gregg, Sam Rockwell, Amanda Peet, Molly Shannon, and William H. Macy) which had its world premiere at the 2013 Tribeca Film Festival.

For more information please visit www.unifiedpictures.com.

About Bron Studios
Bron Studios is a British Columbia based producer of original motion pictures. Bron co-­‐produced the Sundance closing night film Rudderless, starring Billy Crudup, Anton Yelchin, Selena Gomez and Laurence Fishburne and directed by William H. Macy. Bron’s recent productions include: Welcome to Me, starring Kristen Wiig, Tim Robbins, Wes Bentley and James Marsden; Trust Me, starring Clark Gregg, Amanda Peet, Sam Rockwell, and Alison Janney, and A Single Shot, starring Sam Rockwell, Jeffrey Wright, Jason Isaacs, and William H. Macy. Bron is led by Managing Director Aaron L. Gilbert, Executive Producer and/or Producer of recent films Kill Me 3 Times, Son of a Gun, Miss Julie, Elsa & Fred, Ginger and Rosa, The English Teacher, Lullaby, and others. For more information please visit www.bronstudios.com.

*Academy Award nominee Best Actor in a Supporting Role, Fargo, 1996; Golden Globe nominee Best Performance by an Actor in a Supporting Role in a Motion Picture, Seabiscuit, 2004; Golden Globe nominee Best Performance by an Actor in a Mini-Series or Motion Picture Made for Television, The Wool Cap (2005) and Door to Door (2003)

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I Launched "Grumble #2" Indiegogo Campaign

Review: "Captain America: The Winter Soldier" Rises

TRASH IN MY EYE No. 17 (of 2014) by Leroy Douresseaux

Captain America: The Winter Soldier (2014)
Running time:  136 minutes (2 hours, 16 minutes)
MPAA – PG-13 for intense sequences of violence, gunplay and action throughout
DIRECTORS:  Anthony Russo and Joe Russo
WRITERS:  Christopher Markus and Stephen McFeely; from a story and concept by Ed Brubaker (based upon the comic books by Joe Simon and Jack Kirby)
PRODUCER:  Kevin Feige
CINEMATOGRAPHER:  Trent Opaloch (D.o.P.)
EDITOR:  Jeffrey Ford
COMPOSER:  Henry Jackman

SUPERHERO/SCI-FI/ACTION/THRILLER

Starring:  Chris Evans, Samuel L. Jackson, Scartlett Johansson, Robert Redford, Sebastian Stan, Anthony Mackie, Cobie Smulders, Frank Grillo, Maximiliano Hernandez, Emily VanCamp, Hayley Atwell, Toby Jones, Jenny Agutter, and Stan Lee

Captain America: The Winter Soldier is a 2014 superhero film featuring Marvel Comics character, Captain America.  It is a direct sequel to the 2011 film, Captain America: The First Avenger, and is also a follow-up to 2012’s Marvel’s The Avengers.  This movie is also the ninth film produced by Marvel Studios (a sister company of Marvel Comics) in its Marvel Cinematic Universe.  The Avenger’s director Joss Whedon contributes a post-credits scene for this film.

Captain America: The Winter Soldier finds Captain America joining forces with his Avengers teammate, The Black Widow, to fight a covert enemy and an assassin who has some kind of link to Captain America’s past.  Captain America: The Winter Soldier is Marvel’s most mature movie to date, and it is also the best of the Marvel films that focus on one hero.  It is a must-see for fans of superhero movies.

Captain America: The Winter Soldier opens two years after the events of The Avengers.  Steve Rogers (Chris Evans) lives in Washington D.C. and continues to work as Captain America (Chris Evans) for the espionage agency, S.H.I.E.L.D.  As a man of the 1930s and 40s, however, Rogers struggles to adapt to contemporary society.

He also has misgivings about S.H.I.E.L.D.’s recent activities.  After a rescue operation, Rogers comes into conflict with Nick Fury (Samuel L. Jackson), the director of S.H.I.E.L.D., but soon finds that he and Fury have problems in common.  They are facing off with a mysterious assassin known as The Winter Solider (Sebastian Stan), and he seems to be every bit as powerful and as skilled as Captain America.

To stop him, Captain America joins forces with Natasha Romanoff a/k/a The Black Widow (Scartlett Johansson).  When things get too hot even for the two of them, they find a friend in ex-paratrooper Sam Wilson (Anthony Mackie), who possesses a winged-flight exoskeleton called “Falcon.”  Still, that may not be enough to stop a conspiracy which has its tentacles everywhere.

While Captain America: The First Avenger is as much a World War II fantasy adventure film as it is a superhero movie, Captain America: The Winter Soldier is a superhero movie that acts like an installment of the Mission: Impossible franchise, with some Jason Bourne thrown in for good measure.  And I like it.  The Winter Soldier is funny, awe-inspiring, thrilling, edge-of-your-seat, and riveting.  It is a big movie packed with the kind of CGI that makes you think everything on the screen is real.  It was hard for me to look away from the screen because this is the kind of movie that really grabs hold of your attention at the start of the story and won’t let go even at the end.

Captain America: The Winter Soldier is also a character drama and political thriller that examines the lead characters’ lives in the context of the modern geopolitical climate and state-security apparatus.  In one way or another, Steve Rogers, Natasha Romanoff, and Nick Fury are basically out of step with either the times (Rogers) or their place in national and international politics and intrigue (Romanoff and Fury).  The film asks the questions:  how much are their lives tied to their jobs and what are they willing to do to achieve righteousness?  They are forced to confront what they both want and believe the truth to be and what it may actually be.  To that end, Chris Evans, Samuel L. Jackson, and Scartlett Johansson give some of the best performances seen in superhero movies over the past twenty-five years.  I don’t want to spoil the movie, but I will say that this film’s other actors, especially Robert Redford, are also good.

I have heard that some have described Captain America: The Winter Soldier as being Marvel Studio’s equivalent of the 2008 Batman film, The Dark Knight.  I wouldn’t go quite that far, but The Winter Soldier is exceptional.  One measurement of how good a movie is that I use works out like this:  if I don’t want a movie to end, then I really, really like it.  I did not want Captain America: The Winter Soldier to end.  I could have watched another half-hour or so.

8 of 10
A

Sunday, April 06, 2014


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