Review: "Undercover Brother" Timeless and Funny

TRASH IN MY EYE No. 110 (of 2003) by Leroy Douresseaux

Undercover Brother (2002)
Running time:  86 minutes (1 hour, 26 minutes)
MPAA – PG-13 for language, sexual humor, drug content and campy violence
DIRECTOR:  Malcolm D. Lee
WRITERS:  John Ridley and Malcolm McCullers, from a story by John Ridley (based upon the Internet series by John Ridley)
PRODUCERS:  Brian Grazer, Michael Jenkinson, and Damon Lee
CINEMATOGRAPHER:  Tom Priestley Jr.
EDITOR:  William Kerr
COMPOSER:  Stanley Clarke

COMEDY/ACTION

Starring:  Eddie Griffin, Chris Kattan, Denise Richards, Aunjanue Ellis, Dave Chappelle, Chi McBride, Gary Anthony Williams, Neil Patrick Harris, Billy Dee Williams, Robert Trumbull, J.D. Hall (voice), William Taylor

The subject of this movie review is Undercover Brother, a 2002 comedy and action film from director Malcolm D. Lee.  The movie is based on an original Internet animated series created by screenwriter John Ridley.  The movie spoofs 1970s blaxploitation films and also James Bond movies via the character “Undercover Brother.”  Undercover Brother the movie focuses on a group of secret agents trying to stop “The Man” from derailing an African-American candidate’s presidential campaign.

As a comedy, Undercover Brother, a broad parody of black exploitation films and 70’s Afro-American pop culture, focuses on its characters rather than its simple storyline and straightforward, but thin plot.  A light plot is a treacherous path for a film; especially in light of how uneven previous blaxtiploitation parodies were, focusing almost entirely on skewering preconceptions rather than telling a story.

This includes Hollywood Shuffle and I’m Gonna Git you Sucka.  Both films rapidly ran out of steam, and Shuffle, which also skewered stereotypes of black people in mainstream Hollywood films, struggled with being both a comedy and social satire.  Sucka tried to be both a parody and a conventional action movie (or it certainly seemed that way) and often failed on both counts.

Undercover Brother doesn’t have any of those problems because it’s a straight yuck fest.  Any social commentary on the relationships between the skin colors is either simply coincidental or so slyly and quickly interjected that the audience will either miss it or ignore it.  Director Malcolm D. Lee (Spike Lee’s cousin and the director of The Best Man) carefully navigates the dangerous straits that are parodies.  He keeps things moving, and with a script that makes almost every word an integral part of a joke, he doesn’t have to deal with nuisances like character development.  I do have to give the film credit because the jokes are little sharper than they appear.  It’s like the mainstream gets to join the mostly black cast for the laughs, but it’s as if the creators aren’t letting them in on the entire joke because “they” might be the punch line.

In the plot, a lone black agent, Undercover Brother (Eddie Griffin), joins B.R.O.T.H.E.R.H.O.O.D., an organization engaged in a secret war against The Man (voice of J.D. Hall), an evil figure who wants to reverse the influence of African-Americans on white American culture.  The Man also wants to derail the candidacy of a promising black presidential hopeful (Billy Dee Williams) by controlling his mind.  Undercover Brother must also face off against The Man’s main henchman, Mr. Feather (Chris Kattan).  Crazed and struggling with own attraction to hip-hop culture, Mr. Feather unleashes the one weapon sure to bring a brother down, an attractive white woman in the form of White She Devil (Denise Richards).

Well, I laughed a lot, and I think that anyone who likes black exploitation films, 70’s black cinema, and movies that poke fun at such will like Brother.  The acting is good enough, although Chris Kattan and Dave Chappelle struggle with over the top characters whose routines are too long and often wear out their welcome.  Denise Richards, an underrated actress because people focus on her stunningly good looks and super fine body, is underutilized in the film.  White She Devil’s successful quest to conquer Brother is funny, the best parody and only true satire in the film, but once her part is over, she is reduced to window dressing.  It’s a shame because the dynamic between Brother, White She Devil and the savvy Sistah Girl (Aunjanue Ellis), who is not big on the idea of a black man sleeping with a white woman, is the film’s best subplot.

My reservations aside, I want to see this movie again because what it does well it does oh-so-damn well.  The filmmakers are incredibly inspired and when they’re on in this film, I laughed as hard as I’ve ever done watching any movie.  Comedy is tricky, so I can only give kudos to this solid effort.  And, hey, I have to give props for the film’s large cast of African-Americans.

7 of 10
B+

NOTES:
2003 Black Reel Awards:  6 nominations:  “Theatrical - Best Actress” (Aunjanue Ellis), “Theatrical - Best Director” (Malcolm D. Lee), “Theatrical - Best Screenplay (Original or Adapted)” (John Ridley), “Best Film Soundtrack,” “Best Film Poster,” and “Best Song” (Snoop Dogg-performer, Bootsy Collins-performer and song writer, George S. Clinton-song writer, Jerome Brailey-song writer, and Fred Wesley-performer for the song “Undercova Brother (We Got the Funk”)

Updated:  Monday, November 18, 2013

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

Participant Media Pushes "The Square" in Social Media

Participant Media Enters “THE SQUARE” to Mount Social Action Campaign for Jehane Noujaim’s Gripping, Award Winning-Documentary

Film Will Bow Theatrically in Eight North American Cities on January 17, 2014 

LOS ANGELES--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Participant Media will join forces with director-producer Jehane Noujaim (Control Room; Startup.com; Rafea: Solar Mama) and producer Karim Amer (Rafea: Solar Mama) for the documentary THE SQUARE, a riveting, deeply human chronicle of the Egyptian protest movement. Participant Media will mount a comprehensive social action campaign targeting universities, cultural institutions and thought leaders across the country, with support from Participant’s digital network TakePart as well as “TakePart Live,” its live nightly talk show on Pivot, Participant’s new television network.

The first film to win the Audience Award at both the Sundance and Toronto film festivals, THE SQUARE will open theatrically in New York, Los Angeles, Chicago, San Francisco, Seattle, Washington DC, Boston and Toronto on January 17, 2014. The film is being released theatrically by Noujaim Films.

THE SQUARE is an epic documentary that tells the behind-the-headlines story of the Egyptian Revolution through the eyes of young activists who have sought for the last two years to build a better Egypt. The film captures the immediacy and intensity of the protests in Tahrir Square from the 2011 overthrow of military leader Hosni Mubarak through the ousting of Mohammed Morsi in 2013, providing a kaleidoscopic, visceral portrait of the events as they unfold before Magdy, a member of the Muslim Brotherhood, Khalid Abdalla, an Egyptian actor who played the lead in Participant’s The Kite Runner and the charismatic Ahmed, whose poetic storytelling carries the narrative. Armed with nothing more than cameras, social media, deep consciousness, and a resolute commitment to change, these young revolutionaries give us a front line perspective of the ongoing struggle fought with new weapons.

“Jehane has crafted a compelling, emotional and enlightening film that transports you to the center of Tahrir Square,” said Participant CEO Jim Berk. “We look forward to deploying all our social action resources at Participant to bring THE SQUARE to the widest possible audience.”

Noujaim said, “We made THE SQUARE in order to inspire the hearts and minds of people worldwide, and we are thrilled that Participant Media, a company that was founded on the belief that film has the power to change the world, will create and implement a social action campaign for the film.”

The deal was negotiated by Participant’s COO Jeff Ivers, with Cinetic Media’s John Sloss on behalf of the filmmakers.

About Participant Media
Participant is a global entertainment company founded in 2004 by Jeff Skoll to focus on feature film, television, publishing and digital content that inspires social change. Participant's more than 40 films include GOOD NIGHT, AND GOOD LUCK, SYRIANA, AN INCONVENIENT TRUTH, FOOD, INC., WAITING FOR ‘SUPERMAN’, THE HELP, CONTAGION and LINCOLN. Through its films, social action campaigns, digital network TakePart.com and Pivot, its new television network for Millennials, Participant seeks to entertain, encourage and empower every individual to take action.

Review: "Suspect Zero" is Not All it Can Be (Happy B'day, Henry Lennix)

TRASH IN MY EYE No. 171 (of 2004) by Leroy Douresseaux

Suspect Zero (2004)
Running time:  100 minutes (1 hour, 40 minutes)
MPAA – R for violent content, language, and some nudity
DIRECTOR:  E. Elias Merhige
WRITERS:  Zak Penn and Billy Ray; from a story by Zak Penn
PRODUCERS:  Paula Wagner, Gaye Hirsch, and E. Elias Merhige
CINEMATOGRAPHER:  Michael Chapman, ASC (D.o.P.)
EDITORS:  John Gilroy and Robert K. Lambert, A.C.E.
COMPOSER:  Clint Mansell

CRIME/MYSTERY/THRILLER with elements of horror and sci-fi

Starring:  Aaron Eckhart, Ben Kingsley, Carrie-Anne Moss, Harry Lennix, Kevin Chamberlain, Julian Reyes, Keith Campbell, William Mapother, and Buddy Joe Hooker

The subject of this movie review is Suspect Zero, a 2004 crime thriller starring Aaron Eckhart and Ben Kingsley.  The film focuses on two characters, a mysterious serial killer who is hunting other serial killers and an FBI agent who suspects there may be more to this unusual vigilante than anyone can imagine.

A traveling salesman is found dead in his car just across the Arizona/New Mexico state line, and the killer performed some kind of ritual on the victim’s body.  The FBI and police wonder if there are others.  A second murder victim, a sixth-grade teacher from Boulder, Colorado, is found bound and gagged in the trunk of the car.  His killer also marked his body, so the police wonder if the two murders are connected.

FBI Agent Thomas Mackelway (Aaron Eckhart) isn’t sure, but he knows that the third murder is a personal message from the killer to him.  The victim is Raymond Starkey (Keith Campbell), a rapist/murder who escaped justice after Mackelway illegally goes to Mexico and does his Dirty-Harry-doesn’t-have-to-follow-the-rules routine that gets his case thrown out and lets Mackelway slip from the crack of Lady Justice’s butt cheeks.

Before long Agent Mackelway believes that the murderer is a man named Benjamin O’Ryan (Sir Ben Kingsley), and O’Ryan is either taunting him or helping him.  Mackelway’s past comes back to haunt him in the form of his ex-partner FBI Agent Fran Kulok (Carrie-Anne Moss).  He’ll need her to support him as the pressure mounts, and mysterious images…or could they be messages start to blossom in his mind as he tries to solve the riddle of Ryan and the next killer Ryan is hunting, the ultimate serial killer, Suspect Zero.

If, as the saying goes, the devil is in the details, it’s those devilish details that keep the mystery thriller, Suspect Zero, from becoming a great mystery thriller, but as the film is, it’s a damn good mystery thriller when all is said and done.  The film’s lone problem is its biggest, the slightly-more-than-paper-thin characters.  The character we get the most information about is Eckhart’s Mackelway, enough to find his plight and mission intriguing.  The script doesn’t give us enough to really enjoy and embrace him, and he’s the good guy, an enjoyable, embraceable kind of guy.  However, concerning Mackelway’s colleagues and the rest of the cast, we get next to nothing, just enough about them to move the plot.  There’s so little chemistry between Eckhart’s Mackelway and Ms. Moss’ Fran Kulok that if the filmmakers had replaced Kulok with a gay lover we still wouldn’t notice the character.

While the plot is the film’s strongpoint, the script isn’t.  It’s more or less a vehicle to move along genre conventions and to move the movie from one mystery, one murder, or one scary moment to the next.  It seems as if writer Zak Penn’s original script that he finished in 1997 was really a novel.  Screenwriter Billy Ray’s revisions tried to bring the novel back down to being a movie that runs just under two hours at the cost of characterization.  Luckily, both writers have made a career of composing actions and thrills for film so the missteps still make for a riveting movie.

When all is said and done and we look past the warts and all, Suspect Zero is not bad or great, but pretty good.  If you don’t mind the intense concentration this film’s oblique concepts and storytelling requires of you, and you accept that this is one of those times when you just can’t sit back and not think, then Suspect Zero will rock your recliner even if it doesn’t rock your world.

6 of 10
B

Updated: Saturday, November 16, 2013

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

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

"The Hobbit" Part 2 Soundtrack Arrives December 10, 2013

The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug Original Motion Picture Soundtrack 2 CD Set Due December 10th from WaterTower Music

Featuring Original Music by Academy Award® Winner Howard Shore

With An Original Song I See Fire Performed by GRAMMY-Nominated Singer-Songwriter Ed Sheeran

2 CD Special Edition Soundtrack Also Available

LOS ANGELES--(BUSINESS WIRE)--WaterTower Music today announced details of the soundtrack to “The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug,” a production of New Line Cinema and Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Pictures (MGM), the second in a trilogy of films by Academy Award®-winning filmmaker Peter Jackson adapting the enduringly popular masterpiece The Hobbit, by J.R.R. Tolkien. The soundtrack will be released on December 10, 2013, three days before the December 13 release of the film, and will be available both digitally and as a 2 CD set. A Special Edition soundtrack, featuring twelve extended tracks, a bonus track, expanded liner notes and interactive sheet music will also be available. Fans will be able to preorder the album at both iTunes and Amazon on November 5.

The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug Original Motion Picture Soundtrack features the music of Howard Shore, one of film music’s most respected, honored, and active composers and conductors. “I’m looking forward to introducing you to Smaug,” exclaimed Shore, who previously worked with director Peter Jackson on The Lord of the Rings Trilogy and on The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey.

Jackson added, “Howard Shore's music soars and enriches way beyond its connection to our images, a unique sound like no other. He truly has created an epic musical world of his own.”

Shore’s music for The Lord of the Rings Trilogy has been performed in numerous concerts internationally. In 2003 he conducted the New Zealand Symphony Orchestra and Chorus in the world premiere of The Lord of the Rings Symphony in Wellington, New Zealand. Since then, the work has been performed nearly 300 times by the world’s most prestigious orchestras, and has been the subject of a book, The Music of The Lord of the Rings Films: A Comprehensive Account of Howard Shore's Scores.

Howard Shore’s music for The Lord of the Rings Trilogy stands as his most towering achievement to date, garnering three Academy Awards® for his music for those films, two for Best Original Score, and one for Best Original Song. Shore has also won numerous other honors for his film work, including four Grammys and three Golden Globe Awards, the Career Achievement for Music Composition Award from the National Board of Review of Motion Pictures, New York Chapter’s Recording Academy Honors, ASCAP’s Henry Mancini Award, the Frederick Loewe Award and the Max Steiner Award from the city of Vienna. He holds honorary doctorates from Berklee College of Music and York University, and is an Officier de l’ordre des Arts et des Lettres de la France and the recipient of the Governor General’s Performing Arts Award in Canada.

Included on the soundtrack is I See Fire, a new song created for the film by Ed Sheeran, the 22-year old British singer/songwriter and multi-platinum global phenomenon who was nominated in the prestigious “Song of the Year” category at this year’s 55th Annual Grammy Awards. Sheeran is also a two-time BRIT Award winner and recipient of the highly esteemed Ivor Novello award for best song musically and lyrically in the UK. “It was such an honor working with Peter Jackson on this song,” Sheeran says. “Not only is he one of my favorite directors of my favorite films, The Hobbit was the first book I ever read as a child, so it means a lot that I get to produce music for the motion picture.”

Elaborating on the collaboration with Jackson, as well as filmmakers Fran Walsh and Philippa Boyens, Sheeran stated, “I was allowed complete freedom to create what I thought was fitting for the film, which is very rare, and Peter, Fran and Philippa were always on hand to give notes and pointers. The entire team down in New Zealand was out of this world. The film is amazing, I'm still geeking out that I've done a song for a Peter Jackson film set in Middle-earth!”

“Ed Sheeran is a true Tolkien fan, and also happens to be a brilliant singer-songwriter,” offered Peter Jackson. “I See Fire is Ed's emotional response to the film. It's perfect.”

“It is an honor to once again work with the tremendous Howard Shore, who has created the musical voice of Peter Jackson’s iconic The Hobbit and The Lord of The Rings films from the beginning,” stated WaterTower Music head Jason Linn. “And we are thrilled that the stars aligned for this collaboration with Ed Sheeran and his truly inspired original song for our soundtrack. WaterTower anticipates another exciting and successful soundtrack journey with these two exceptional musicians.”

The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug Original Motion Picture Soundtrack will be released on December 10, 2013. The track list is as follows:

DISC 1
1. The Quest for Erebor
2. Wilderland
3. A Necromancer (Bonus Track) *
4. The House of Beorn **
5. Mirkwood **
6. Flies and Spiders **
7. The Woodland Realm **
8. Feast of Starlight
9. Barrels Out of Bond
10. The Forest River **
11. Bard, a Man of Lake-town **
12. The High Fells **
13. The Nature of Evil
14. Protector of the Common Folk
15. Beyond the Forest

DISC 2
1. Thrice Welcome
2. Girion, Lord of Dale **
3. Durin's Folk **
4. In the Shadow of the Mountain
5. A Spell of Concealment **
6. On the Doorstep
7. The Courage of Hobbits
8. Inside Information
9. Kingsfoil
10. A Liar and a Thief
11. The Hunters **
12. Smaug **
13. My Armor Is Iron
14. I See Fire performed by Ed Sheeran

* Bonus track available on Special Edition Soundtrack only

** Extended Versions of these songs Available on Special Edition Soundtrack only

From Academy Award®-winning filmmaker Peter Jackson comes “The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug,” the second in a trilogy of films adapting the enduringly popular masterpiece The Hobbit, by J.R.R. Tolkien.

The three films tell a continuous story set in Middle-earth 60 years before “The Lord of the Rings,” which Jackson and his filmmaking team brought to the big screen in the blockbuster trilogy that culminated with the Oscar®-winning “The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King.”

The screenplay for “The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug” is by Fran Walsh & Philippa Boyens & Peter Jackson & Guillermo del Toro, based on the novel by J.R.R. Tolkien. Jackson also produced the film, together with Carolynne Cunningham, Zane Weiner and Fran Walsh. The executive producers are Alan Horn, Toby Emmerich, Ken Kamins and Carolyn Blackwood, with Philippa Boyens and Eileen Moran serving as co-producers.

Under Jackson’s direction, “The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug” was shot in 3D 48 frames-per-second and will be released in High Frame Rate 3D (HFR 3D) in select theaters, other 2D and 3D formats, and IMAX®.

New Line Cinema and Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Pictures Present a WingNut Films Production, “The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug.” The film is a production of New Line Cinema and Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Pictures (MGM), with New Line managing production. Warner Bros. Pictures is handling worldwide theatrical distribution, with select international territories as well as all international television distribution being handled by MGM. www.thehobbit.com

WaterTower Music, the in house music label for Warner Bros., has been releasing recorded music since 2001. Distributed through InGrooves Fontana, WTM has released over 150 titles, including the film soundtracks to “The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey,” “Gravity,” “Man of Steel,” “The Dark Knight Rises,” “Game of Thrones,” and “The Great Gatsby Jazz Recordings,” among others.

Review: "42" Good Film; Does Good by History

TRASH IN MY EYE No. 77 (of 2013) by Leroy Douresseaux

42 (2013)
Running time:  128 minutes (2 hours, 8 minutes)
MPAA – R for thematic elements including language
WRITER/DIRECTOR:  Brian Helgeland
PRODUCER:  Thomas Tull
CINEMATOGRAPHER:  Don Burgess (D.o.P.)
EDITOR:  Peter McNulty and Kevin Stitt
COMPOSER:  Mark Isham

DRAMA/BIOPIC/SPORTS/HISTORICAL

Starring:  Chadwick Boseman, Harrison Ford, Nicole Beharie, Andre Holland, Christopher Meloni, Ryan Merriman, Lucas Black, Alan Tudyk, Hamish Linklater, T.R. Knight, John C. McGinley, Toby Huss, Max Gail, Brad Beyer, and James Pickens, Jr.

The late Jack Roosevelt Robinson, better known as Jackie Robinson, was an American baseball player who is best known as the first African-American to play in Major League Baseball (MLB) in the modern era.  The MLB once had a color line, which meant that Black men could not play the game, and, prior to Robinson, no Black man had played for a major league baseball team (apparently) since the 1880s.

So when the Brooklyn Dodgers started him at first base on April 15, 1947, Jackie Robinson broke the baseball color line.  However, it was both Robinson’s unquestionable talent and his character that challenged the basis of segregation in the United States, in all aspects of American life, including professional sports.

How did Jackie Robinson get to play Major League Baseball?  In the mid-1940s, Branch Rickey, the club president and general manager of the Brooklyn Dodgers, began to scout the Negro Leagues with the specific intention of finding a promising black player he could bring to his organization.  Rickey found Robinson, and thus, began a relationship that guided Robinson into baseball and through tough times to make history.

42 is a 2013 biopic-historical film and baseball movie from writer-director, Brian Helgeland.  It is a dramatization of the relationship between the iconic Jackie Robinson and the ground-breaking Brooklyn Dodgers general manager Branch Rickey.  42 takes the audience from Rickey’s signing of Robinson, through the 1947 MLB season as Robinson and Rickey try to make history and the Dodgers try to make it to the playoffs.

42 opens in Brooklyn, New York, Spring 1945.  Brooklyn Dodgers general manager, Branch Rickey (Harrison Ford), is making moves to find and hopefully sign the black baseball player who will break the baseball color barrier that keeps Major League Baseball all white.  In Birmingham, Alabama, in the summer of 1945, the Kansas City Monarchs, a Negro League baseball team, is in midst of a road trip.  The team bus stops at a gas station, where team member Jackie Robinson (Chadwick Boseman) tries to use the men’s restroom and stirs up a little trouble.

However, that gas station is where a Dodgers’ scout catches up to Robinson.  Soon, Robinson and Rickey are planning to change baseball and maybe the world.  Robinson has his wife, Rachel (Nicole Beharie), by his side, and a black sportswriter, Wendell Smith (Andre Holland), offering a helping hand.  But is that enough to help Robinson overcome hostile crowds, racist taunts, racial epitaphs, and belligerent opponents?  Together, a stubborn general manager and tough-as-nails player race towards the playoffs and history.

42 is a genial, easy-going movie about a dark time in American history.  As the film expresses, however, dark times allow men and women of character and strength to be the light that shines through the clouds and maybe even dispel some of that darkness.  The film is really the story of two men, Jackie Robinson and Branch Rickey, who wage battle on different, but related fronts.

The more interesting battle is Jackie’s because it takes place on the field of combat that is professional sports.  Director Brian Helgeland is quite good at making the baseball scenes of this film engaging, even occasionally fascinating.  The scenes in which Robinson is heckled with the word, “nigger,” the most used of all the hate speech, are riveting.  Even if the N-word makes you uncomfortable, it is hard to look away from these most potent moments of 42.  Kudos to Alan Tudyk as the horrid Ben Chapman; it is a superb turn that makes a small role unforgettable.

Helgeland is not quite as good at depicting Branch Rickey’s struggles.  He picks the right adversaries for the pugnacious executive, but the director is shoddy in executing the backroom verbal brawls.  When it comes to Rickey, Helgeland presents an opponent with a gripe, and has Rickey tell him off, in what amounts to a short, one-sided spat.  I can imagine that the real-life versions of Rickey’s battles were a tad bit more dramatic and combative than they are depicted here.  That aside, Harrison Ford gives one of the best performances of his career as Rickey; it is worthy of an Oscar nomination.

When Brian Helgeland combines Rickey and Robinson’s struggles into a single struggle, he creates a rhythm that beats out a tale of two men determined to overcome obstacles.  Yeah, 42 is feel-good and even schmaltzy, especially in scenes that bring Jackie and his wife, Rachel, together.  I can put that aside because 42 is a movie that American film needed to tell, and it does good by the real-life story it tells

8 of 10
A

Wednesday, November 13, 2013

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

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

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

2013 European Film Award Nominations List

by Amos Semien

The European Film Awards (EFA) recognize excellence in European cinematic achievements.  They have been presented annually since 1988 by the European Film Academy. There are over ten categories, with the most important being the “film of the year” award.  Formerly known as the “Felix Awards,” the European Film Awards are restricted to European cinema and European producers, directors, and actors.

The host cities alternate, as Berlin hosts them every other year while other European cities get the chance in between the years in which Berlin hosts.

The film, The Broken Circle Breakdown (Belgium), a love story from Felix van Groeningen, leads the 2013 EFA with five nominations.  This film is also Belgium’s official entry for the foreign language category in this year’s Academy Awards.  Paolo Sorrentino’s La Grande Bellezza (The Great Beauty), an homage to the city of Rome, received four nominations.

The more than 2,900 EFA Members will vote for the winners.  The awards will be presented in Berlin on December 7, 2013.

26th European Film Awards (2013) nominees:

European Film 2013:
THE BEST OFFER
Italy, 130 min
WRITTEN & DIRECTED BY: Giuseppe Tornatore
PRODUCED BY: Isabella Cocuzza & Arturo Paglia

BLANCANIEVES
Spain/France, 104 min
WRITTEN & DIRECTED BY: Pablo Berger
PRODUCED BY: Ibon Cormenzana, Jérôme Vidal & Pablo Berger

THE BROKEN CIRCLE BREAKDOWN
Belgium, 100 min
DIRECTED BY: Felix van Groeningen
WRITTEN BY: Carl Joos & Felix van Groeningen
PRODUCED BY: Dirk Impens

LA GRANDE BELLEZZA (THE GREAT BEAUTY)
Italy/France, 140 min
DIRECTED BY: Paolo Sorrentino
WRITTEN BY: Paolo Sorrentino & Umberto Contarello
PRODUCED BY: Nicola Giuliano & Francesca Cima

OH BOY!
Germany, 83 min
WRITTEN & DIRECTED BY: Jan Ole Gerster
PRODUCED BY: Marcos Kantis & Alexander Wadouh

LA VIE D’ADELE: CHAPITRES 1 & 2 (ADELE: CHAPTERS 1 & 2)
France, 179 min
DIRECTED BY: Adellatif Kechiche
WRITTEN BY: Abdellatif Kechiche & Ghalya Lacroix
PRODUCED BY: Brahim Chioua, Vincent Maraval & Abdellatif Kechiche

European Comedy 2013:

LOS AMANTES PASAJEROS (I’M SO EXCITED!)
Spain, 90 min
WRITTEN & DIRECTED BY: Pedro Almodóvar
PRODUCED BY: Agustín Almodóvar & Esther García

BENVENUTO PRESIDENTE! (WELCOME MR PRESIDENT!)
Italy, 100 min
DIRECTED BY: Riccardo Milani
WRITTEN BY: Fabio Bonifacci
PRODUCED BY: Nicola Giuliano & Francesca Cima

DEN SKALDEDE FRISØR (LOVE IS ALL YOU NEED)
Denmark, 111 min
DIRECTED BY: Susanne Bier
WRITTEN BY: Anders Thomas Jensen & Susanne Bier
PRODUCED BY: Sisse Graum Jørgensen, Vibeke Windeløv

SVECENIKOVA DJECA (THE PRIEST’S CHILDREN)
Croatia/Serbia, 93 min
DIRECTED BY: Vinko Brešan
WRITTEN BY: Mate Matišić & Vinko Brešan
PRODUCED BY: Ivan Maloča

European Director 2013:
Pablo Berger for BLANCANIEVES
Felix van Groeningen for THE BROKEN CIRCLE BREAKDOWN
Abdellatif Kechiche for LA VIE D’ADELE: CHAPITRES 1 & 2 (Adele: Chapters 1 & 2)
François Ozon for DANS LA MAISON (In the House)
Paolo Sorrentino for LA GRANDE BELLEZZA (The Great Beauty)
Giuseppe Tornatore for THE BEST OFFER

European Actress 2013:
Keira Knightley in ANNA KARENINA
Veerle Baetens in THE BROKEN CIRCLE BREAKDOWN
Barbara Sukowa in HANNAH ARENDT
Naomi Watts in LO IMPOSIBLE (The Impossible)
Luminita Gheorghiu in POZITIA COPILULUI (Child's Pose)

European Actor 2013:
Jude Law in ANNA KARENINA
Johan Heldenbergh in THE BROKEN CIRCLE BREAKDOWN
Fabrice Luchini in DANS LA MAISON (In the House)
Toni Servillo in LA GRANDE BELLEZZA (The Great Beauty)
Tom Schilling in OH BOY

European Screenwriter 2013:
Tom Stoppard for ANNA KARENINA
Giuseppe Tornatore for THE BEST OFFER
Carl Joos & Felix van Groeningen for THE BROKEN CIRCLE BREAKDOWN
François Ozon for DANS LA MAISON (In the House)
Paolo Sorrentino & Umberto Contarello for LA GRANDE BELLEZZA (The Great Beauty)

Here are the previously announced nominations and winners:

European Discovery - Prix FIPRESCI:
• Äta sova dö (Eat Sleep Die), Gabriela Pichler, Sweden
• Call Girl, Mikael Marcimain, Sweden, Norway, Ireland and Finland
• Miele (Honey), valeria Golino, Italy and France
• Oh Boy!, Jan Ole Gerster, Germany
• La Plaga (The Plague), Neus Ballús, Spain

European Animated Feature Film:
• The Congress, Ari Folman, Israel, Germany, Poland, Luxembourg, France and Belgium
• Jasmine, Alain Ughetto, France
• Pinocchio, Enzo d'AIò, Italy, Luxembourg, France and Belgium

European Documentary:
• The Act of Killing, Joshua Oppenheimer, Denmark, Norway and UK
• L'Escale (Stop-Over), Kaveh Bakhtiari, Switzerland and France
• L'Image Manquante (The Missing Picture), Rithy Panh, France and Cambodia

European Short Film:
• Cut, Christoph Girardet & Matthias Müller, Germany, 12' (Vila do Conde nominee)
• Dood Van Een Schaduw (Death of a Shadow), Tom Van Avermaet, Belgium and France, 20' (Valladolid nominee)
• Houses with Small Windows, Bülent Öztürk, Belgium, 15' (Venice nominee)
• La Lampe au Beurre de Yak (Butter Lamp), Hu Wei, France and China, 15' (Drama nominee)
• Letter, Sergei Loznitsa, Russia, 20' (documentary) (Krakow nominee)
• Misterio (Mystery), Chema García Ibarra, Spain, 12' (Berlin nominee)
• Morning, Cathy Brady, UK and Ireland, 21' (Cork nominee)
• As Ondas (The Waves), Miguel Fonseca, Portugal, 22' (Ghent nominee)
• Orbit Ever After, Jamie Stone, UK, 20' (Bristol nominee)
• Skok (Jump), Petar Valchanov and Kristina Grozeva, Bulgaria, 30' (Clermont-Ferrand nominee)
• Sonntag 3 (Sunday 3), Jochen Kuhn, Germany, 14' (Tampere nominee)
• A Story for the Modlins, Sergio Oksman, Spain, 26' (documentary) (Sarajevo nominee)
• Though I Know The River Is Dry, Omar Robert Hamilton, Egypt, Palestine and UK, 20' (Rotterdam nominee)
• Yaderni Wydhody (Nuclear Waste), Myroslav Slaboshpytskiy, Ukraine, 25' (Grimstad nominee)
• Zima, Christina Picchi, Russia, 12' (documentary) (Locarno nominee)

Carlo di Palma European Cinematographer Award: Asaf Sudry for Lemale et Ha'Halal (Fill The Void), Israel

European Editor: Cristiano Travaglioli for La Grande Bellezza (The Great Beauty), Italy and France

European Production Designer: Sarah Greenwood for Anna Karenina, UK

European Composer: Ennio Morricone for The Best Offer, Italy

European Costume Designer: Paco Delgado for Blancanieves, Spain and France

European Sound Designer: Matz Müller and Erik Mischijew for Paradies: Glaube (Paradise: Faith), Austria, Germany and Fran.

Review: "Looney Tunes: Back in Action" is Surprisingly Quite Good

TRASH IN MY EYE No. 166 (of 2003) by Leroy Douresseaux

Looney Tunes: Back in Action (2003)
Running time:  91 minutes (1 hour, 31 minutes)
MPAA – PG for some mild language and innuendo
DIRECTOR:  Joe Dante with Eric Goldberg (animation director)
WRITER:  Larry Doyle
PRODUCERS:  Bernie Goldmann, Joel Simon, and Paula Weinstein
CINEMATOGRAPHER:  Dean Cundey (D.o.P.)
EDITORS:  Rick W. Finney and Marshall Harvey
COMPOSER:  Jerry Goldsmith

ANIMATION/ACTION/ADVENTURE and COMEDY/FAMILY/FANTASY

Starring:  Brendan Fraser, Jenna Elfman, Steve Martin, Timothy Dalton, Heather Locklear, John Cleese, Joan Cusack, Bill Goldberg, Dan Stanton, Don Stanton, Matthew Lillard, Ron Perlman, and (voices) Joe Alaskey, Bob Bergen, Casey Kasem, Frank Welker, Billy West, with (receiving no screen credit) Peter Graves and Michael Jordan

The subject of this movie review is Looney Tunes: Back in Action, a 2003 adventure and comedy film from director Joe Dante.  Back in Action blends live-action and animation and stars Bugs Bunny, Daffy Duck and the rest of the Looney Tunes characters.  In the movie, the Looney Tunes help a down-on-his-luck security guard find his missing father and the mythical Blue Monkey diamond.

Right out of the box, let’s proclaim Looney Tunes: Back in Action a fantastically funny film, almost as good as the gold standard of films that mix live action and animation, Who Framed Roger Rabbit? and better than Space Jam.  It’s not dumb and hackneyed as some have claimed; nor is it a cynical attempt to market Time Warner trademarks and merchandise.  Just about anyone who has ever loved the Looney Tunes characters will love this film.

As simple and as silly as it is, LT:BIA’s story ends up making a very funny film.  Daffy Duck (Joe Alaskey) is having another of his many conniptions about his status as second banana to Bugs Bunny (Joe Alaskey), but this time Kate Houghton (Jenna Elfman), an eager young Warner Bros. Studio executive fires Daffy.  Daffy’s shenanigans also cost a studio lot guard, DJ Drake (Brendan Fraser), his job.

Later Daffy and DJ discover that DJ’s dad, Damien Drake (Timothy Dalton), the famous spy movie star, is actually a real life spy.  He’s been kidnapped and is being held hostage in Las Vegas.  Via a special spy signal, he asks his son to find the Blue Monkey Diamond and keep it from the evil Mr. Chairman (Steve Martin), head of the Acme Corporation, who wants to use the diamond’s mystical powers to turn everyone on the planet into monkeys.  It’s up to DJ, Kate, Bugs, and Daffy to find the jewel, rescue DJ’s dad, and save the world.

The films is technically well made, and the merger of animation and live action is easily on par, if not superior to Roger Rabbit.  Joe Dante (Gremlins), no stranger to special effects and genre films, does a fantastic job prepping his film, especially its stars, to act with characters and effects that would only be added after the principal photography was finished.  Animation director Eric Goldberg has also done some of the best helming of animated film in years.  It’s the best work this year by a director of animation after the Finding Nemo crew, which is clearly evident in the Bugs/Daffy/Elmer Fudd (Billy West) surrealistic and imaginatively designed race through the Louvre in Paris.

The cast of actors is fantastic.  Brendan Fraser is an underrated actor, movie star, and comedian.  He’s excellent with physical comedy, and by now has a knack for working in an environment where a lot of the film elements are added after he does his work.  Jenna Elfman is a pleasant surprise, and she has excellent chemistry with her costars, live and animated.

The films gets a hardy recommendation because it’s such fun.  The fact that almost all major and minor characters that have ever appeared in a Warner Bros. Looney Tunes cartoon have a part in the film makes it a must see.  There’s even a small scene that plugs 2004’s Scooby-Doo 2, and if that’s not enough for certain moviegoers, then, they are indeed in need of a laugh.  Looney Tunes: Back in Action is just what the doctor ordered.

8 of 10
A

Updated: Wednesday, November 13, 2013

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