TRASH IN MY EYE Reviews

Monday, May 1, 2023

A Negromancer May 2023

Welcome to May 2023. Welcome to Negromancer 2.0. This is the rebirth of Negromancer, the former movie review website as a new movie review and movie news site.

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Sunday, April 30, 2023

Review: Mesmerizing "BABYLON" Sings and F**ks in the Rain

TRASH IN MY EYE No. 18 of 2023 (No. 1907) by Leroy Douresseaux

Babylon (2022)

Running time: 189 minutes (3 hours, 9 minutes)

MPA – R for strong and crude sexual content, graphic nudity, bloody violence, drug use, and pervasive language.

WRITER/DIRECTOR: Damien Chazelle

PRODUCERS: Olivia Hamilton, Marc Platt, and Matthew Plouffe

CINEMATOGRAPHER: Linus Sandgren (D.o.P.)

EDITOR: Tom Cross

COMPOSER: Justin Hurwitz

Academy Award nominee

DRAMA/HISTORICAL

Starring: Brad Pitt, Margot Robbie, Diego Calva, Jovan Adepo, Jean Smart, Li Jun Li, Olivia Wilde, Telvin Griffin, Flea, Eric Roberts, Max Minghella, Jeff Garlin, Ethan Suplee, and Tobey Maguire

Babylon is a 2022 period film, drama, and black comedy from writer-director Damien Chazelle. The film chronicles the rise and fall of several Hollywood characters as the film industry transitions from silent films to sound films in the late 1920s and early 1930s.

Babylon opens in the Bel Air neighborhood of Los Angeles, 1926. Manuel “Manny” Torres (Diego Calva), a Mexican immigrant, helps transport an elephant. It's destination is a debauched bacchanal (party) at the lavish mansion of Don Wallach (Jeff Garlin), chief of Hollywood's Kinoscope Studios, which produces silent films. It is there that Manny meets a young woman who has given herself the name, Nellie LaRoy (Margot Robbie). She is brash, ambitious, and declares that she is a “star” from New Jersey, and Manny is quickly smitten with her.

Manny and Nellie soon cross paths with the party's other colorful attendees, including the Chinese-American, lesbian, cabaret singer, Lady Fay Zhu (Li Jun Li), and the Black American jazz trumpeter, Sidney Palmer (Jovan Adepo). All four of them are going to find a place in the ecosystem of Hollywood, playing an important part in making silent films. None of them will be as big as one of Hollywood's greatest silent film stars, Jack Conrad (Brad Pitt), who seems to be married as often as he is starring in a new silent film epic.

But just a year later, in 1927, the first sound film, The Jazz Singer, arrives, and everything begins to change – rapidly. A world of out-sized ambition and outrageous excess starts pretending to be a tad bit more conservative. So will any of the stars of silent film transition to the new world of sound film, also known as “talkies?” Will Jack Conrad remain a star? Is there still a place for Fay Zhu? And what of the newcomers, Nellie, Manny, and Sidney?

For me, Babylon is the film that delivers the way I was told Damien Chazelle's earlier film, La La Land (2016), would, but did not. What some critics saw as overwhelming in Babylon, I see as exhilarating spectacle. In a way, Babylon isn't so much about the end of the silent film era and the beginning of sound films as it is a celebration of Hollywood's glitz and glamour, which has enthralled audiences around the world for over a century. Chazelle treats Hollywood's excess as a wonderful, magical thing. Debauchery is loud, proud, and colorful. Why be conservative and safe when the audience for Hollywood's films want the opposite. Even as silence gives way to sound, films remain weird, wild, and wonderful, even if the people behind them pretend to have cleaned up their act and grown up.

The film's production values: cinematography, costume and production design, sound, lighting, and editing play up the fun part – the hedonism and the revelry. Babylon is one of the best-looking films of this still young century, and when I currently think of the word “cinematic,” I think of it.

The film has a number of good performances, but I will fault Chazelle for a screenplay that doesn't really immerse itself into the characters. This film isn't into the characters the way it dives into the spectacle and the darkness behind the Hollywood film industry and the lifestyle of the people in front of and behind the cameras. As much as they try, Brad Pitt and especially Margot Robbie and Diego Calva cannot really raise their characters above the sound and fury of Babylon. Speaking of sound and fury, Justin Hurwitz's score for Babylon is a thing of magic; it never lets Babylon's narrative, drama, or action fall.

I know that Babylon is a polarizing film among film critics, movie reviewers and audiences. I see it, however, as the work of a highly skilled writer-director, Damien Chazelle, who can do great things in movies. But will he? As far as I'm concerned, he has delivered with Babylon.

9 of 10

A+

★★★★+ out of 4 stars

Sunday, April 30, 2023

NOTES:

2023 Academy Awards, USA: 3 nominations: “Best Achievement in Production Design” (Florencia Martin and Anthony Carlino), “Best Achievement in Music Written for Motion Pictures-Original Score (Justin Hurwitz), and “Best Achievement in Costume Design: (Mary Zophres)

2023 BAFTA Awards: 1 win: “Best Production Design” (Florencia Martin and Anthony Carlino); 2 nominations: “Best Costume Design” (Mary Zophres), and “Original Score” (Justin Hurwitz)

2023 Golden Globes, USA: 1 win: “Best Original Score – Motion Picture” (Justin Hurwitz); 4 nominations: “Best Motion Picture - Musical or Comedy,” “Best Performance by an Actor in a Supporting Role in Any Motion Picture” (Brad Pitt), “Best Performance by an Actor in a Motion Picture-Musical or Comedy” (Diego Calva), and “Best Performance by an Actress in a Motion Picture-Musical or Comedy” (Margot Robbie)

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Comics Review: "Scooby-Doo, Where Are You? #121" is a Monster Mash

SCOOBY-DOO, WHERE ARE YOU? (2010) #121

DC COMICS

STORY: John Rozum; Sholly Fisch

PENCILS: Walter Carzon; Robert Pope

INKS: Horacio Ottolini; Scott McRae

COLORS: Sylvana Brys; Heroic Age

LETTERS: Saida Temofonte; Dezi Sienty

EDITORS: Courtney Jordan; Kwanza Johnson (reprint)

COVER: Walter Carzon and Horacio Ottolini with Sylvana Brys

32pp, Color, $2.99 U.S. (June 2023)

Ages 8+

“Local Legends”

Welcome, dear readers, to my continuing journey through the Scooby-Doo, Where Are You? comic book series, which began publication in 2010. I continue to renew my subscription so that I can continue to review this series for you, dear readers.

Scooby-Doo, Where Are You? #121 opens with “Local Legends,” which is written by John Rozum and drawn by Walter Carzon and Horacio Ottolini. The story finds Mystery Inc.: Scooby-Doo, Shaggy, Fred, Daphne, and Velma are visiting the small town of “Pond Cove.” The town is beset by monsters: the Goat Man, the Lizard Man, and the Green Devil, in particular, but it has also been the longtime haunt of Bigfoot.

Professor Collier at the local “Intercontinental Museum of Cryptozoology”believes that there is more to these hauntings than people suspect. Mystery Inc. agrees, but can they unravel the mystery before someone gets away with something?

As usual, the second story, “Mummy Knows Best,” is a reprint story and is written by Sholly Fisch and drawn by Robert Pope and Scott McRae. [This story was originally published in Scooby-Doo, Where Are You? #24 (cover date: October 2012).] The story finds Mystery Inc. visiting the museum.

They are getting an early preview of the exhibit of the mummy of King Tookooforskool, which was discovered by the famous archaeologist and adventurer, North Dakota Smith. When the mummy comes to life, however, the gang has a new mystery to solve.

I usually find a theme shared between the two stories in each issue of Scooby-Doo, Where Are You?, but issue #121 doesn't seem to have one. I really like “Local Legends” because of the reason I usually like many of the stories in this series – it would make a good plot for an animated Scooby-Doo direct-to-DVD film. It has a main plot, but the secondary plot is the one to watch. That would play well in an animated film. Plus, “Local Legends” is written by a favorite Scooby-Doo comic book writer, John Rozum, and a favorite series artist, Walter Carzon.

I don't have a lot to say about the reprint story, “Mummy Knows Best.” It has some nice ideas, and I like Robert Pope and Scott McRae's odd art.

Scooby-Doo, Where Are You? #121 is a fun read. So grab your “Scooby Snacks” and read issue #121 and maybe watch a Scooby-Doo movie, later. And until next time, Scooby-Dooby-Doo!

B-

[This comic book includes a seven-page preview of the DC Comics original graphic novel, “Shazam! Thundercrack” by Yehudi Mercado.]

Reviewed by Leroy Douresseaux a.k.a. "I Reads You"

https://www.dccomics.com/

https://twitter.com/DCComics

https://www.facebook.com/dccomics

https://www.youtube.com/user/DCEntertainmentTV

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https://www.periscope.tv/DCComics/1ZkKzezXwZdxv

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Negromancer News Bits and Bites from April 23rd to 30th, 2023 - Update #20

by Leroy Douresseaux a.k.a. "I Reads You"

You can support Leroy via Paypal or on Patreon:

ENTERTAINMENT AND CULTURE NEWS:

CELEBRITY - From THR: Actor Michael J. Fox, 61, tells Jane Pauley of "CBS Sunday Morning" that his battle with Parkinson's disease gets tougher every day. Fox says, "I'm not going to be 80."

STRIKE - From Deadline: The site explains the WGA strike: the issues, the stakes, movies and TV shows affected, and how long it might last.

MOVIES - From Variety: Director David Borenstein talks about his new documentary film, ""Can't Feel Nothing," which explores the connections between Internet use and emotional disorders.

TELEVISION - From TheNewYorker: "Why are TV writers so miserable?" by Michael Schulman.

SPORTS/CELEBRITY - From Deadline: Hollywood icon and Oscar-winning actor, Jack Nicholson, attended his first Los Angeles Lakers game since October 2021. He attended Friday, April 28th's Memphis Grizzles vs. Lakers' Game 6 in this first round of the NBA playoffs. The Lakers won the game 125-85 and won the series 4 games to 2.

CINEMACON/ANIMATION - From Deadline: At CinemaCon 2023, Paramount Pictures announces its first "Transformers" animated film, "Transformers One." This isn't the first Transformers animated film. "The Transformers: The Movie" was released to theaters in 1986.

CELEBRITY - From THR: This profile of 79-year-old actress Valerie Perrine, includes information on her caretaker and on an appeal for financial assistance.

CINEMACON - From BloodyDisgusting: At CinemaCon, the audience was treated to footage of "The Exorcist: Believer," the first in a new trilogy set in the world of 1973 film, "The Exorcist." Ellen Burstyn reprises her iconic role as "Chris MacNeil," the mother of a daughter possessed by a demon.

MOVIES - From ScreenTime: Actress Dakota Fanning talks about reunited with Denzel Washington for the first time since 2004's "Man on Fire." The two will appear together in "The Equalizer 3."

TELEVISION - From Deadline: The shape of things to come: Of the 13-member series-regular cast of CBS’ comedy "Bob❤️Abishola," only the two leads, Billy Gardell and Folake Olowofoyeku, will remain series regulars next season. The others can recur in as few as five episodes in Season 5.

DISNEY - From Deadline: The Walt Disney Company has sued Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis.

POLITICS/TELEVISION - From CNN: Fox News has parted ways with its most popular host, Tucker Carlson.

From RollingStone: Fox News executives have in their possession a dossier of alleged dirt on Tucker Carlson should he attack the network in the wake of his departure, eight sources at the network and close to it have told "Rolling Stone" magazine.

From CNN: CNN has parted ways with its most whatever host, Don Lemon.

MOVIES - From People: Oscar-nominated actress, Terry Moore, reflects on her relationship with ex-husband and eccentric billionaire, Howard Hughes. Moore is one of the last living performers of the Golden Age of Hollywood, and she is still working.

BOX OFFICE - From BoxOfficePro: The winner of the 4/21 to 4/23/2023 weekend box office is Universal Pictures/Illumination Entertainment's "The Super Mario Bros. Movie" with an estimated take of 58.2 million dollars.

MUSIC/LGBTQ+ - From Deadline: The state of Tennessee may have a law banning drag performances, but during her concert in Knoxville, TN, Grammy-winner Lizzo invited several drag performers on stage with her to perform.

STREAMING - From Variety: Actor Bruce Campbell has joined Peacock's upcoming "Satanic Panic" drama, "Hysteria!"

OBITS:

From Variety: Politician and television personality, Jerry Springer, has died at the age of 79, Thursday, April 27, 2023. He was the mayor of Cincinnati, Ohio for one year in the 1970s. However, Springer is known for his long-running daytime talk show, "Jerry Spring" (1991-2018). At the height of the show's popularity, it was a cultural touchstone, and in 1998, it was more popular "The Oprah Winfrey Show."

From Deadline: American singer, actor, activist, and Civil Rights icon, Harry Belafonte, has died at the age of 96, Tuesday, April 26, 2023. The child of Jamaican-born parents, Belafonte was among the most successful Caribbean-American music stars and recording artists of all time. A three-time Grammy Award winner, he helped popularize Calypso music with international audiences. As an actor, he was one of the first Black leading men in Hollywood and starred in such films as "Carmen Jones" (1954), "Island in the Sun" (1957), and "Buck and the Preacher" (1972), to name a few. Belafonte also won an Emmy Award, a Tony Award, and the Jean Hersholt Humanitarian Award from the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences.

From Deadline: "Harry Belafonte: A Career in Photos."

Wednesday, April 26, 2023

Comics Review: "THE AMBASSADORS #3" is Like a New Verse to Tupac's "Dear Mama"

THE AMBASSADORS #3 (OF 6)

IMAGE COMICS/Netflix

STORY: Mark Millar

ART: Travis Charest

COLORS: Dave Stewart

LETTERS: Clem Robins

EDITORIAL: Sarah Unwin

COVER: Travis Charest

VARIANT COVER ARTISTS: Valerio Giangiordano; Travis Charest

28pp, Color, $3.99 U.S. (May 2023)

Rated M / Mature

The Ambassadors created by Mark Millar at Netflix

The Ambassadors is a new comic book miniseries written and created by Mark Millar. The series focuses on the six people out of eight billion humans who will receive super-powers. Each person will become a member of the international rescue squad, The Ambassadors. Each issue of The Ambassadors will be drawn by a different superstar comic book artist. The third issue is drawn by Travis Charest; colored by Dave Stewart; and lettered by Clem Robins.

The Ambassadors #3 opens in Paris, France. Yasmine Gauvin fears that her seemingly troubled teen son is headed for a bad place. She believes that he may even lash-out in acts of violence at other children. Can the mother-son super-team, Codename France and Paris, save a mother-son relationship and Jean-Luc's future?

THE LOWDOWN: Thanks to a review copy provided by the Mark Millar division of Netflix, I got to read the first three issues The Ambassadors. This is a treat for which I have been awaiting since the announcement of the series last year.

First, I'll say this. The fourth issue of The Ambassadors will have to be really fucking good to surpass the masterpiece that is The Ambassadors #3. This issue may be the most poignant, emotional, and genuinely human work of character drama that Mark Millar has written in his four decades of comic book writing. [I will admit to being crazy about mother-son combos; for instance, I am a fan of authors, David Watjen, and his late mother, Carolyn Watjen, who wrote mystery novels under the pen name “Caroline and Charles Todd” and simply as “Charles Todd.”]

The relationship that Millar fashions for Yasmine and Jean-Luc feels natural and at-ease, in a storytelling sense. Doing that makes the action sequences and also the threats looming against mother and son visceral and threatening. And that last page...

Now, to artist Travis Charest: he just blew-the-fuck-up when he started drawing comics' for Jim Lee's Wildstorm Productions about 1993. After several years of producing stunningly intricate and ornate art, his output slowed. The Ambassadors #3 is the first full-length comic book that Charest has drawn in 24 years, and it's a doozy. In a way, Charest's art here is something like the photo-realism of Bryan Hitch combined with the humanism and sentiment of Will Eisner, as shown in his New York City-set stories and melodramas.

Travis Charest art and storytelling for The Ambassadors #3 is like another step forward in the visual and graphical storytelling evolution of superhero comic books. It is a thing of extreme beauty – some of the pages are both breathtaking and orgasmic – and of power. Also, Dave Stewart's evocative colors really heighten this story's drama, conflict, and tension.

If The Ambassadors has a European graphic album in it, it's this third issue. Beautifully written, drawn, colored, and lettered: The Ambassadors #3 is unexpected, undeniable, and unmatched.

I READS YOU RECOMMENDS: Fans of Mark Millar and of big concept superhero comic books will want to read The Ambassadors.

A+

Reviewed by Leroy Douresseaux a.k.a. "I Reads You"

https://www.mrmarkmillar.com/

https://twitter.com/ImageComics

https://twitter.com/mrmarkmillar

https://twitter.com/netflix

http://www.millarworld.tv/

www.imagecomics.com

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Tuesday, April 25, 2023

Comics Review: "KILLADELPHIA #30" is Also Designed to Fill Your Mind

KILLADELPHIA #30

IMAGE COMICS

STORY: Rodney Barnes

LAYOUTS: Jason Shawn Alexander

PENCILS: Germán Erramouspe

INKS: Jason Shawn Alexander with Robert Melendrez

COLORS: Lee Loughridge

LETTERS: Marshall Dillon

EDITOR: Greg Tumbarello

COVER: Jason Shawn Alexander

VARIANT COVER ARTIST: J.A.W. Cooper

32pp, Colors, 3.99 U.S. (April 2023)

Rated “M/ Mature”

Killadelphia created by Rodney Barnes and Jason Shawn Alexander

“There's No Place Like Home” Part VI: “This One's for Ray”

Killadelphia is an apocalyptic vampire and dark fantasy comic book series from writer Rodney Barnes and artist Jason Shawn Alexander. Published by Image Comics, it centers on a conspiracy in which vampires attempt to rule Philadelphia. The series is currently written by Barnes and drawn by Alexander and Germán Erramouspe. Colorist Lee Loughridge and letterer Marshall Dillon complete Killadelphia's creative team.

Killadelphia focuses on James “Jim” Sangster, Jr., a ragtag team of fighters, and a menagerie of gods and monsters on one side or the other or both in the vampire invasion of Philadelphia. Of note are a special young vampire (Tevin Thompkins a.k.a. “See Saw”), Anansi the Spider-God, and the infamous rebel leader turned monster hunter, Toussaint Louverture, and his army of killers.

Killadelphia #30 (“This One's for Ray”) opens with the story of Raynard, a friend of our vampire prodigy, See Saw. In the story of Raynard, we see the origins of See Saw's curiosity and of how he views the world. It all leads to his terrible and transformational decision, one that will spawn great consequences.

Meanwhile, holed up in their apartment are Jim, Jr. and a pregnant Jose. They're about to receive a visitor, and it isn't one they expect. But it is one that had to happen, considering what Jim left behind in Baltimore, Maryland.

THE LOWDOWN: We have reached the final chapter of Killadelphia's fifth story arc, “There's No Place Like Home.” Before this arc debuted, creators Rodney Barnes and Jason Shawn Alexander warned readers that they were not prepared for what was coming in the arc – which has proven to be true, very true – even truer than true.

In many of my previous reviews of Killadelphia, I have talked about how Barnes and artist Alexander have embraced change. The surprises and shockers aren't just story arc to story arc or even just issue to issue. Change and transformation are the foundation of the rhythms of this narrative.

Barnes has taken history, mythology, myth, and lore and used the connections that bind them to weave a complicated dark fantasy that is as much supernatural realism as it is vampire comic book. And it is a very good vampire comic book. Killadelphia is simply world-building that excepts change and chaos more than it deals with order and canonical trappings and other tropes of fictional universes.

The art team for Killadelphia #30, Jason Shawn Alexander and Germán Erramouspe, offer a poignant closer that explodes in preparation for what comes next. Yes, we didn't know what was coming in Killadelphia #30, but we did know that the unexpected was coming. That much is always assured.

I READS YOU RECOMMENDS: Fans of vampire comic books and of exceptional dark fantasy will want Killadelphia.

A+

NOTES:

- Killadelphia #30 is also available in a “Noir Edition,” featuring black-and-white line art interiors.

- This issue includes an “Afterword” by Rodney Barnes

Reviewed by Leroy Douresseaux a.k.a. "I Reads You"

https://twitter.com/TheRodneyBarnes

https://twitter.com/jasonshawnalex

https://twitter.com/MarshallDillon

https://twitter.com/ImageComics

https://imagecomics.com/

http://rodneybarnes.com/

https://www.instagram.com/imagecomics/

https://www.facebook.com/pages/Image-Comics-Inc/178643148813259

https://www.twitch.tv/imagecomics

https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCHmaKLo0FXWIPx-3n6qs3vQ

https://www.linkedin.com/company/image-comics/

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Monday, April 24, 2023

BOOM! Studios Shipping from Diamond Distributors for April 26, 2023

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