tyrese Tagged Articles at Cinematical

As a friend pointed out yesterday after watching the panel, it seems impossible given the fact that Screen Gems is often a studio imprint that means anything but the mark of quality (Boogeyman, anyone?), but the studio's upcoming film Legion looks pretty kick-ass. Screening an extended trailer and fielding questions from attendees Friday afternoon, cast members Paul Bettany, Adrianne Palicki, Tyrese Gibson, Doug Jones, and director Scott Stewart introduced what could be a surprisingly entertaining film that combines epic scope, an ensemble cast, and of course, lots and lots of guns.

The highlights of the panel:

• Tyrese Gibson is a shameless promoter – sometimes not even a self-promoter. Though he took an opportunity to shill his new comic book and longstanding Twitter page at the end of the q&a, he devoted a surprising amount of time – perhaps even unhealthy – to discussing Bettany's chiseled physique as Michael, the archangel who aligns with humanity to defend it against a horde of violent angels.
• Oh yeah, the movie is about Michael the archangel aligning himself with humanity to defend it against a horde of violent angels.
• Doug Jones reportedly took the role because it was the first one he'd been offered that didn't demand he cover up his face. After playing Silver Surfer and Abe Sapien, the lanky charmer said he embraced the chance to play one of the film's most fearsome creatures, The Ice Cream Man. (I know that sounded anticlimactic but the short clip in which he appeared was truly creepy.)
• The best scene from the footage shown featured a geriatric female diner patron (imagine your sweet grandmother) with a filthy mouth, by which her use of profanity is only a prelude to her devouring other customers with razor-sharp teeth and literally climbing the walls.

One of the most ridiculous lawsuits I've ever seen come out of Hollywood is Frank Davis' claim that he was fired from the crew of 2 Fast 2 Furious because he's black. The assistant director, who had previously worked on Terminator 2: Judgement Day, Se7en and Next Friday, was officially canned by Universal because of "poor job performance," but Davis insisted that racial discrimination was the main reason he was let go. After five years of apparent unemployment, Davis' case, which was filed on his behalf by the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, finally went to trial this month. On Thursday, a federal judge sided with the studio. Davis had already reached a confidential settlement with Universal, though, and it was likely only the EEOC that lost out. According to Nikki Finke, the main problem with both the EEOC's and Davis' claim was that 2 Fast 2 Furious director John Singleton sided with Universal on the issue.

Obviously. This is a movie that employed a black director, black stars (Tyrese Gibson; Ludacris), and I'd bet plenty of other black crew members. What next? Someone claims he was fired from The Fast and the Furious: Tokyo Drift for being Asian? I have to say one thing on Davis' behalf, though. Couldn't there have been some way for the assistant director to shape up and keep his job? He had filled the same position on many major productions for ten years and had even worked with Singleton on Baby Boy. Was his job performance really so terrible as to ruin his career? Personally, having seen 2 Fast 2 Furious, I think a lot more people should have been fired for poor job performance, especially Singleton, who was definitely not up to snuff on this one. And I haven't yet seen Paul Walker exhibit good job performance as an actor. Maybe Universal knows what I'm talking about and that's the reason they had to settle with Davis but not the EEOC.

It's a college movie. No, it's a boot-camp movie. Wait, it's both. Annapolis takes place at the U.S. Naval Academy (commonly called Annapolis) in Maryland, one of the five American institutions of higher education for kids who just can't seem to make up their mind whether to join the armed forces or attend university following high school. Well, that is putting it rather simply. Like the U.S. Military Academy (West Point), the U.S. Air Force Academy, the U.S. Merchant Marine Academy and the U.S. Coast Guard Academy, Annapolis preps its students to become officers in its respective branch of the military in addition to awarding them bachelor degrees. It doesn't charge tuition — in fact it pays those enrolled a weekly salary — but the Naval Academy is one or the toughest schools to get into, and it is even tougher to remain in.

This doesn't stop Jake Huard (James Franco), one of the incoming freshman, or plebes, in Annapolis' class of 2008. He manages to be admitted despite his lack of good grades. I assume he also falls short in the areas of SAT and ACT scores, leadership experience and any number of other expectations the school is likely to have of its applicants. What he does have is a dream, which he's had since he first laid eyes on the campus from his home across the river, as well as a nomination from a congressman — a requirement, not a guarantee, for acceptance. Oh, and he likes to box.

Note: This review was contributed by Deidre Woollard, editor of Weblogs, Inc. sister site, Luxist.

This is the second movie I have seen this summer that has a 1970s theme (the first was The Devil's Rejects). The screenwriters said that they imagined Four Brothers as an urban Western. It definitely has the feel of Clint Eastwood spaghetti Westerns; it's also reminiscent of the John Wayne movie, The Sons of Katie Elder, with just a touch of Shaft courtesy of a Motown-inspired soundtrack.

When Detroit do-gooder Evelyn Mercer is gunned down in a convenience store robbery, her four adopted sons come home to bury their mother and bang some heads. The four brothers are a multiracial group including Bobby (Mark Wahlberg), Angel (Tyrese Gibson), Jack (Garrett Hedlund), and Jeremiah (Andre Benjamin). We learn about the four boys as a local policeman (Terence Howard) narrates their backstories. The four are the most degenerate boys that Evelyn Mercer ever worked with, and because she couldn't place them in foster homes, she adopted them. The movie opens with a lot of very heartfelt grief and teasing/bonding between the boys. Then it's time for the ass-kicking to begin.