Cedric The Entertainer Tagged Articles at Cinematical
Review: Cadillac Records
Filed under: Drama », Music & Musicals », New Releases », Sony », Theatrical Reviews », New in Theaters »
Etta James blasts her way through a sad song, but it's not good enough. Leonard Chess taunts her and claims she's not "woman enough" for such a song. Didn't anyone ever walk out on her and leave her heartbroken? Take that and put it in the song, he suggests. She steps up for another take, and -- although she has tears in her eyes now -- it sounds pretty much the same. The main trouble with Cadillac Records is that no one took aside writer/director Darnell Martin with the same advice. Scene after scene, Cadillac Records is thin, flat and rote.
Like all biopics, the new film skims over years and years of history in a brief fling. All the moments are historical; they describe what happened, but not who they happened to. Sometime in the 1940s -- the movie is rarely very clear as to what year it is -- Leonard Chess (Adrien Brody) runs a junkyard and decides to get into "race music." He moves from a club to a record label and signs Muddy Waters (Jeffrey Wright), a blues guitarist straight off the plantation. There are a few nice, early scenes showing these two men touring together, sharing meals and getting the stink-eye from local rednecks, but the movie shies away from developing this friendship.
Review: Madagascar: Escape 2 Africa
Filed under: Animation », Comedy », New Releases », Theatrical Reviews », Dreamworks », Remakes and Sequels »
I didn't think much of Madagascar, which had an unfocused story, no internal logic, and only a few laughs, scattered mostly among the minor characters. It relied too much on pop-culture references, too, a common problem these days in animation. So I'm glad to report that the sequel, Madagascar: Escape 2 Africa, is an improvement. The story has a clear protagonist (instead of the lion and zebra battling for screen time), it's a bit more straightforward, and the movie references are all but gone. It's still primarily the supporting cast that's funny, not the leads -- but hey, if Dreamworks were capable of doing everything right it would have to change its name to Pixar.
The sequel, again directed by Eric Darnell and Tom McGrath, finds our heroes having repaired a dilapidated airplane and now preparing to fly themselves back to New York. But instead, they crash-land not far from the island of Madagascar: on the continent of Africa, in fact, and in the very animal preserve where Alex the lion (voice of Ben Stiller) was born. He is joyfully reunited with his parents (Bernie Mac and Sherri Shepherd), and his friends are thrilled with their ancestral homeland, too. Marty the zebra (Chris Rock) is able to run with a herd for the first time, Melman (David Schwimmer) finds his hypochondria to be a hit with his fellow giraffes, and Gloria (Jada Pinkett Smith) loves that with hippos, fat equals attractive.
Christina Ricci is Going to the Renaissance Faire
Filed under: Comedy », Romance », Casting », Scripts », Newsstand »
It's the movie that just keeps on going -- just like its subject matter on a 109 degree summer's day. The Hollywood Reporter says that Ye Olde Times, which saw Jack Black and Lindsay Lohan visiting the Ren Faire has now been revamped into All's Faire in Love. It lost Black and Lohan along the way, but it's aquired Christina Ricci, Owen Benjamin, Cedric the Entertainer, Bill Engvall, and Nadine Velazquez. The plot sounds as though it has gone an overhaul as well -- the story is now centered on Benjamin, whose shiny new drama degree has landed him a job with a Renaissance Faire theater troupe. Reduced to being their fetch boy, he meets a Faire virgin played by Ricci. That's a virgin to the Renaissance Faire, not the Shakesperean sense of "a faire virgin." But his swashbuckling colleagues aim to disrupt his budding romance.
Cedric is taking the role of Professor Shockworthy, who narrates the story in the fairy-tale style. Of the original cast, only Matthew Lillard seems to remain. Everyone else ever associated with the project has vanished, and has been replaced by Ann-Margaret and Louise Griffiths. The director job has also shifted from writer Robert A. White to Scott Marshall.
So much upheaval is rarely good for a film -- and while I adore Ricci, and find her a trade up from Lohan, it bodes ill to lose Cary Elwes (who is necessary in any film with tights) and Black. As cheesy as the premise sounds, the world of Renaissance Faire is ripe for a really good comedy. I know, I've spent too many years there. I don't know if All's Faire will be the send-up I'm looking for, but I'd like to hope it is.
Haley Joel Osment Making His Comeback on Broadway
Filed under: Casting », Celebrities and Controversy »
We hadn't heard from child star extraordinaire Haley Joel Osment for a while -- at least not in any productive way. His last film (not counting the unreleased Home of the Giants) was the mediocre 2003 coming-of-ager Secondhand Lions; since then, news about him has mostly involved car accidents and drunk driving. But thankfully, things seem to be turning around. The actor, now 20 years old, will star in this fall's Broadway revival of David Mamet's challenging American Buffalo, alongside John Leguizamo and Cedric the Entertainer. I'm assuming that he'll be taking on the role of teenaged Bobby, played by Sean Nelson in the 1996 film. Not a huge part, but being one of a cast of three on Broadway certainly isn't trivial.So few child stars make a successful transition into adult careers, but an actor of Osment's caliber deserves one. (The Sixth Sense is all well and good, but A.I.'s "David" was a masterpiece.) Now that he's no longer an adorable moppet, he should probably aim for "character actor" rather than "star." If that's the goal, then American Buffalo seems like a step in the right direction; there are few things like a little Mamet to establish some thespian street cred.
The play starts previews on October 31st and opens in November.
Cedric the Entertainer Becomes a Director
Filed under: Comedy », Independent », Casting », Deals », Cinematical Indie »
Although he has produced, acted in, and written projects, Cedric the Entertainer is finally jumping behind the camera for his directorial debut. The Hollywood Reporter has posted that Cedric will helm the indie comedy Chicago Pulaski Jones, which was written by Kel Mitchell (who has appeared in everything from Clifford flicks to Honeydripper) and Janis Woody (a production manager of Cedric's).The film stars Mitchell, Cedric, Tommy Davidson, and Gary Sturgis, and it focuses on Jones, a young championship dancer. Like any person with talent who doesn't live in the big city, he heads there to become famous. "On the day he arrives, his uncle is murdered, leaving Jones to avenge his uncle's death vigilante style and alone." Yeah, that wasn't quite the twist you were expecting, was it? At the very least, it sounds more interesting than the glamorized superstardom stories, or the depressing homeless drug addict ones.
Production began this week in LA.
Brody and Wright Slip Into 'Cadillac Records'
Filed under: Drama », Music & Musicals », Casting »
Goodbye, Matt Dillon! Hellloooo Adrien Brody! I don't know what happened since October, when Matt Dillon was in final negotiations to star, but Cadillac Records has found itself a new leading man. Variety reports that The Pianist, Adrien Brody, has signed on to star along with Jeffrey Wright, the insanely wonderful actor from Basquiat, in the upcoming film. Now, don't get me wrong, I don't mind Matt Dillon, but this project just went from good to great in my books. Brody would've been enough, but with Wright? No one could keep me away.Adrien has taken on the role of Leonard Chess, and Wright will be Muddy Waters in the feature, which starts filming in March. They will be joined by Columbus Short (Stomp the Yard), Emmanuelle Chriqui (Entourage), Cedric the Entertainer (Code Name: The Cleaner), and Tammy Blanchard (Life with Judy Garland: Me and My Shadows). I'm neither here nor there on the supporting cast, but I'm sort of hoping Joe Morton pops up in a role. Should he, I think I will pass out from movie fan heaven. But anyway...
Coming from writer/director Darnell Martin, Cadillac Records dips into the Chicago music scene of the 1950s -- "charting the colorful lives of American musical legends like Waters, Chess, Little Walter, Howlin' Wolf, and Elvis Presley." There's no word on who will play the rest of the greats yet, but we should find out soon, before production begins in New Jersey and Mississippi this spring.
Cedric the Entertainer Reportedly Joins 'Night Watch'
Filed under: Drama », Casting », Deals », Mystery & Suspense »
So you probably had to read that headline a few times before it sunk in. That's right, the man behind Code Name: The Cleaner has apparently joined the cast of the gritty crime thriller Night Watch (no relation to the Russian film of the same name) written by James Ellroy. Cedric (The Entertainer) Kyles told Blackfilm.com that he had joined the cast which already includes; Keanu Reeves, Hugh Laurie (TVs Dr. House, or as he will always be known to me, Lieutenant George in The Blackadder) Forrest Whitaker, Chris Evans, and Naomie Harris. Kyles seemed happy at the prospect of doing something other than comedy -- although calling Code Name: The Cleaner a comedy is still up for debate -- saying, "I play an informant named Scribbles. There are all these corrupt cops and they getting information from this modern day "Huggy Bear", but it's not comedic. I'm a street guy and I'm on some drugs a little bit. The director said that this would be a great serious role for me."The story is set in LA and focuses on an alcoholic cop who is framed for the murder of his mentor and considering it's a James Ellroy story, it will be packed with the usual array of corrupt cops and double crosses. David Ayer is on board to direct and is working from a script he co-wrote with Ellroy. Since the film has already taken some leaps in casting in hiring Reeves as an embittered career detective, should it really be that much of a surprise that Cedric The Entertainer is now along for the ride?
[via Moviehole.net]
Trailer for Don Cheadle's Talk To Me Is Online
Filed under: Comedy », Drama », Movie Marketing »
I'll admit that the only Don Cheadle project I had been keeping track of was the Miles Davis biopic; so it was no surprise that Cheadle's Talk To Me had flown completely under my radar. That is until I noticed the new trailer up on Yahoo! Movies. Also starring is Martin Sheen, Chiwetel Ejiofor (Inside Man) and Cedric The Entertainer -- who might be looking to redeem himself with audiences after the reception Code Name: The Cleaner received.Directed by Kasi Lemmons, the film is the biography of Ralph "Petey" Greene, an ex-con who became an Emmy winning broadcaster and social activist. Greene passed away in 1984 at the age of 53. The movie looks to be dripping with nostalgia and even manages to work in a shot of a burning flag in case you think this period comedy doesn't have a serious point to make. Luckily, Cheadle has the uncanny ability of walking away with his dignity intact no matter what the rest of the movie is like; if you don't believe me, watch Swordfish and tell me he doesn't save himself from total embarrassment, if only John Travolta had managed to do the same. Talk To Me opens July of this year.
Review: Code Name: The Cleaner
Filed under: Comedy », New Releases », New Line », Theatrical Reviews »
Q: What do Code Name: The Cleaner and Cars have in common?
A: The "outtakes" in the closing credits were the funniest parts of the movie.
My expectations for Code Name: The Cleaner were not high -- certainly not as high as they were for Cars, or even for Flushed Away. I expected to see a silly, predictable comedy with wacky hijinks provided by Cedric the Entertainer, vampy allure provided by Nicollette Sheridan, and -- Lucy Liu? I wasn't sure how Liu got involved with this movie but I always enjoy watching her in action. Even with low expectations, however, I was disappointed in this movie.
Code Name: The Cleaner hangs its comedy on a stale action-adventure storyline. Jake (Cedric) wakes up one morning in a strange bed, unsure how he got there, his head hurting as if in the throes of a hangover. He realizes someone's next to him, and immediately starts ass-grabbing. Okay, raise your hands -- who thinks that the unseen stranger in bed is going to be a guy? Yep. Gotta get that first laugh in there. But at least there's a twist: it's a dead guy, who turns out to be an FBI agent. Jake can't remember how he got there or even who he is -- his head is hurting due to an injury that inflicted Hollywood Amnesia upon him.
Insert Caption: 'Code Name: The Cleaner'
Filed under: Movie Photos », Insert Caption », Hold the 'Fone »
Wowzers. I knew 'Pirates of the Caribbean' was insanely popular -- the movie did make a whopping $423 million at the box office and some of you are still pretty heated at us for ranking 'Dead Man's Chest' #41 on our list our top 50 favorite movies of 2006 -- but didn't expect nearly 2,000 of you to chime in with a caption for a photo we posted from the upcoming third installment, 'At World's End.' (Some visitors were directed here by a rumor that the winning caption-writer would receive a first look at the film's teaser trailer. Yeah, not sure how whoever got that idea got that idea. Sorry.)
There were some overriding themes to the constituency's captions: rum, eunuchism, krakens, monkeys, hiding the rum, nudity, foul odors, the rum being gone, 'Bulletproof Monk,' and rum. And though we typically only appoint a single winner, with so many entries, it's only right we recognize three of you. So congrats to the winners: your captions were topical, comical and alcohol-free. See them below and then take a stab at this week's contest, with a pic of Cedric the Entertainer and Lucy Liu in 'Code Name: The Cleaner.' Who knows, the comedy might just be this year's 'Dead Man's Chest.' You know what they say about Cedric: The man's an entertainer. 3. "Who hired Mel Gibson to direct?!?" -- Dave 2. "Oh no ... here comes Tom Cruise ... he must still want to be a samurai!" -- Darek Kowal 1. "And then they saw Britney get out of the car..." See full image and all captions POST: Write your own caption (UPDATE: WINNER ANNOUNCED! Click Here) GET IT: Get more on 'Code Name: The Cleaner'
-- Mariah
This week's contest:
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Celebs Return to Their Most Iconic Roles for Photo Shoot
Check Out Concept Art From Marvel's Futuristic Theme Park
Chris Weitz to Direct Two-Part 'Breaking Dawn' Finale?
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Alec Baldwin Becomes Latest to Threaten Retirement
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