Monday, May 31, 2010

Born on the Fourth of July

Throwback Sundays this week is featured today, Memorial Day, as we remember Oliver Stone's Born on the Fourth of July. This film features what is arguably Tom Cruise's greatest performance.

For the Chicago Sun-Times, Roger Ebert said, "BORN ON THE FOURTH OF JULY is one of those films that steps correctly in the opening moments and then never steps wrongly. Nothing Tom Cruise has done will prepare you for what he has done in BORN ON THE FOURTH OF JULY."

For Rolling Stone Magazine, Peter Travers wrote, "Tom Cruise gives an astounding, deeply felt performance. Together Oliver Stone and Tom Cruise do more than show what happened to Ron Kovic. Their fervent, consistently gripping film shows why it still urgently matters."

Thursday, May 27, 2010

UPTOWN Premiere After-Party Announced



The after-party for June 2nd's East Coast Premiere of Uptown has been announced. After the screening is over, we will spill over into the Arlo & Esme bar (A & E) on 42 E. 1st St., which is around the corner from Anthology Film Archives, where the film will be playing. The film begins at 8:00 pm, and with Q & A, should have us leaving the venue at around 9:45 into the bar. The drink specials for the night are $3 Budweisers, $5 House Drinks!

Story:

Single Manhattan resident Ben (Chris Riquinha) finds his romantic tendencies driving him in the direction of a relationship, even though he likes all the advantages of remaining unattached. But just how likely is it that he and Isabel (Meissa Hampton), an unhappily married woman, will wind up together even though they experience a near-magnetic draw to each other?

About the Film:

Using 2 digital cameras, only available light and no permits, Brian Ackley's award-winning debut feature, was produced by One Way or Another Productions in 8 days on location in New York City. The film has been reviewed well by several bloggers and critics, including Jen Johans, James Wegg , and Richard Propes. It has screened in the UK and had its west coast premiere in Seattle in October 2009. It has won LSU Cinema Club's Best Actress Award at the Outhouse Film Festival in Baton Rouge, LA for Meissa Hampton's performance as "Isabel," and also the Honorable Mention Award at the Twin Rivers Media Festival in Asheville, NC.

The Premiere:

Uptown is having its East Coast Premiere here in NYC at the Anthology Film Archives on June 2nd, @ 8:00 pm as part of the NewFilmmakers Spring Series 2010.



The Trailer:



www.uptownfilm.com

Wednesday, May 26, 2010

Tuesday, May 25, 2010

The Puppeteer

The Puppeteer

Dir: Richard Johnson
GoldenTiger Productions and Joystick Films

The Charl(y)ie Factor Screens in Baltimore



Short film starring Jace Nicole The Charl(y)ie Factor, for which she was nominated for Best Actress, is playing in Baltimore tomorrow night. Richard Johnson's highly inventive short film will be screened along with 9 others.

Info HERE

Wednesday, May 19, 2010

Sexy Returns to New York


SEXY INTERNATIONAL FILM FESTIVAL RETURNS TO...

NEW YORK

Thursday 1st of July 2010
Doors open 6:45pm

The Monkey West NYC
12th Floor. 37 W. 26th Street, New York

www.monkeywest.com
T 212.481.1601

Sexy Shorts:
7:15pm

The Body Watchers (6)
Teat Beat of Sex (4)
The Housetaurant (15)
Wet Dreams (4)
Crazy in the Night (13)
Saferty First! The Rise of Women (45)

+ Q&A with filmmakers

Short Break

Sexy Feature:
9:15pm

Can’t Complain, a film by our friend Corey Williams
(also starring our very own Jace Nicole!)
(88 mins)+ Q&A with filmmakers & cast

Tickets are $10 available at the door, limited seats pls reserve by emailing info@sexyfilmfest.com

Send/Forward to your friends! Thanks guys!

Tom Reviews "Bitch Slap"

Tom's Corner

Bitch Slap
(2010, Rick Jacobson, director)

I really don't understand some people's sexual fetishes. I mean, yeah, we all have our particular buttons that once pressed, get us going, but some things just don't strike me or most other people as sexy. I've never been turned on by women doing hard labor...you know, digging holes, stuff like that. Riding a woman like a horse? Nope, not getting me going. Two women fighting has never even gotten a teeny rise out of me. Ditto to chicks holding large firearms. And those guys who pose photos of women in order to make said women look like they are giantesses? That one I really don't get. “Bitch Slap” is full of those things that just don't titillate me, but seem to be intended to (except the giantess thing; that one just really makes me wonder...does ANYONE really get off to that?). In fact, the movie barely entertains.

Our story is focused around three women: Hel (Erin Cummings) is a ball-busting businesswoman...or is she? Trixie (Julia Voth) is a bubble-headed stripper...or is she? And lastly Camero (America Olivo), a drug popping crazy-ass ex-con with anger management issues...or is...ok, that's exactly what she is. They are apparently searching for 200 million dollars worth of diamonds that were obtained by Gage (Michael Hurst, who along with appearances by Kevin Sorbo, Lucy Lawless, and Renee O'Connor, makes this movie a reunion of the stars of Hercules: The Legendary Journeys and Xena Warrior Princess), possibly from mythical crime figure Pinky. Pinky is a big bad boogieman of the underworld, a person who kills all adversaries and has never been seen. It may surprise you to learn that one of the three women is Pinky...unless you've seen “The Usual Suspects,” of course, since that's where this oh-so-shocking turn of events was stolen from. Unlike that movie, though, this one offers no intelligent sub-text or psychological thrills.

Parts of this movie DO invoke old hair metal videos though, with the girls digging to what sounds like someone trying to recapture that sleazy ol' Sunset Strip sound. I half expected to see Slash playing guitar in the background, cigarette dangling out of his mouth, as Axl wails. But the music isn't even at that level. No, for this movie, at least for one song, we get a group that calls themselves the Eagles of Death Metal. Yup, you did not read that wrong. This group's name, at least to me, means this is the way that the Eagles would sound like if Don Fucking Henley played death metal. Well fuck, sounds like a way to make a buck. Think I'll start a band called the Air Supply of Gangster Rap. We'll see how the fuck that goes, ok?

Unbeknownst to all three, as well as the audience, they and Gage were all involved in the big barn dance...er...shoot-out at the Glory Hole Casino. You'll find out about this, and everything else, for that matter, in a series of movie interrupting flashbacks. Where has Deputy Fuchs seen Trixie before? There's a Flashback! for that. How did any of the characters meet? There's a Flashback! for that. And nearly every single one of these flashbacks were shot on green screen. Hell, the desert trailer where Gage stows his goods was the only thing NOT on green screen. This film is a classic example of a filmmaker who can't have the characters tell each other anything. Every tiny little detail of their past that comes up and may be important must be shown in a flashback. It gets...painful. How painful?



This is Flashback. She is a character from DC Comic's “separate but equal” Milestone universe. She has the power to turn back time a few seconds. Even SHE would be annoyed by the amount of flashbacks in this movie and she was a damned crackhead.

So, what have we learned today? Why, several things: Sexual fetishes are confusing. No one is who they say they are. The Eagles of Death Metal need a new name. “Bitch Slap” is not a very good movie. Lesson over. Go watch something good.

- Tom Trombley

Monday, May 17, 2010

Pulp Movies Reviews Uptown


Pulp Movies has written a very detailed, wonderful review for Brian Ackley's Uptown. The film is having its East Coast Premiere on June 2nd, at the Anthology Film Archives at 8pm, as part of the NewFilmmakers Spring Series. The film has also recently received the award for Best Actress in a Feature for Meissa Hampton's portrayal of Isabel. The award was given by LSU Cinema Club at the Outhouse Film Festival in Baton Rouge, LA.

Here is the review below, after the jump:


"Uptown is the story of two people and the trajectory of their relationship. The film starts with the first meeting and follows the highs, lows, confidences and uncertainties that ensue as these two individuals take tentative steps towards becoming a couple.

Ben (Chris Riquinha) is an actor and an aspiring film-maker. Isabel (Meissa Hampton) is a professional dog-walker and someone that Ben sees as being well suited to a role in the film he is trying to put together. Isabel is clearly nervous and the pair are initially little uncertain with each other. Both characters are clearly trying to navigate new territory but, as the evening progresses, it becomes apparent that the two do like each other, and the seeds of a friendship are laid.

Things are not entirely straightforward, however, and both characters have a fair bit of emotional and historical baggage to deal with. Although Ben is clearly very comfortable with the single life, he is also a bit of a romantic at heart and someone torn between the desire to meet Miss Right and a fear that Miss Right may not exist. Isabel, on the other hand, is married but not happy. The spark has gone out of her relationship and she finds herself torn between loyalty to her often absent husband and the loneliness of her situation."

Read the rest of the review HERE.

Thursday, May 13, 2010

Boyband Begins Theatrical Release!

My good friend and mentor Andrea Ajemian produced this film (she taught me nearly everything I know), and its coming to theaters!

BoyBand opens June 4th in Worcester, MA and June 11th in Revere, MA. Please help them spread the word and add more theaters throughout the country to their run!

A hilarious indie comedy, "Boyband" is about a high school quarterback who quits the team his senior year to turn his heavy metal band into the first ever boyband in 1982.

"Boyband; Breakin' Through in '82" stars Michael Copon, Robert Hoffman, Ryan Hansen, Ryan Pinkston, Laura Breckenridge, Brendan Miller, E-Knock, Lorenzo Hooker III, Richard Riehle, Tom Wright, with Kurt Fuller and Ming-Na.

Written & Directed by Jon Artigo
Produced by Andrea Ajemian
Music by Kaz Gamble



Check out their killer website HERE

"Compound" - a New Zealand Horror Feature


Compound

Seven kiwi travelers come face to face with their worst nightmares in rural New Zealand.

After hours of late-night driving, they find what looks to be an abandoned, dilapidated, haunted house attraction.

Once inside, the house goes into a state of lockdown.

It's a fight for survival when they meet unexpected guests and do anything to prevent becoming a victim.

Wednesday, May 12, 2010

Sunday, May 9, 2010

2007 Oscar Roundtable: Films That Inspired Them

Throwback Sundays this week features 2007 Oscar Roundtable: Penelope Cruz, Cate Blanchett, Forest Whitaker, Helen Mirren, Brad Pitt and Leonardo DiCaprio discuss the moment they knew that had to become actors (Editor: Jon Groat / Newsweek.com). Some include films that were immediate inspirations:

Saturday, May 8, 2010

Tom Reviews "Gentlemen Broncos"

Tom's Corner:

Gentlemen Broncos
(2010, Jared Hess – Director)

My lovely and talented wife, who is an attorney, tells me I need to preempt this review for some legal mumbo jumbo. Apparently it's 'for my own good.' Without further ado, the legalese!

DISCLAIMER: We at One Way or Another Productions LLC are not advocating or encouraging anyone to go & break the law. Tom is using a literary device known as “hyperbole”—if you don't know what this means, go look it up. If you or your child decides to commit a crime because of anything Tom writes, then you need to either stop doing everything the media tells you OR stop using film & television characters to babysit your child.

To any child that tells his/her parent to stop blaming the media for society's downfall, take heart that you will go on to do great things & have redeemed my personal hope in society's future. For any parent who is dumb enough to let their children read these reviews, I have to say “What the [bleep] is wrong with you?”

I don't like to bandy about the phrase “most worthless piece of bothersome nigh unsalvageable shit I've ever seen in my life” but this easily falls into the top 5. How I sat through the entire thing I'll never know, but I think it speaks to my intestinal fortitude. From the creators of “Napoleon Dynamite” comes yet another piece of unwatchable excrement. Come with us as we journey into a world that by all rights shouldn't exist. This is the world of “Gentlemen Broncos”....

The movie takes place in an unnamed small town in Utah. The residents of this town appear mostly to be inbred morons with less sense than your average houseplant. If this place really existed, I'd assume it was the result of some government experiment from the 50's aimed to 'make the Commies stupid,' and had Nixon beaten Kennedy, it would've been used. Before I get into the characters or what passes (and painfully, at that, like a kidney stone) for a plot, I want to note that I have no problems with the actors. I think they made the best from the shit they were handed. Unfortunately, as the old saying goes, you just can't polish a turd. Plot holes abound, and two scenes were so deliberately gross and unnecessary I had to look away for a bit. I usually don't give away too much of the plot, but I truly do not give two shits about this movie. I am trying to save you from an hour and a half of optical rape here, people! If I save you from seeing it, it's good karma for me.

We'll start with our lead character, home schooled teenager Benjamin Purvis. Yeah, he's your stereotypical home schooled kid: awkward and introverted. His father, who by the looks of his picture and the knife hugging up to the frame was an insane mountain man who dragged young women to his woodsy hideaway if they 'had a purty mouth,' has been dead for many years, and Benjamin has no male role model (a fact that will become blindingly obvious as the movie progresses at an excruciating pace). His parental figure (and I would assume teacher, though I see NO WAY that this woman could teach a dog to sit, let ALONE educate a child) is his mother, Judith, who designs awful clothing that Peggy Bundy wouldn't wear. Anyway, Benjy-boy attends a writers workshop (which is named after the slack jawed yokel from “The Simpsons”) and meets Tabatha and her friend, Lonnie Donaho. Lonnie is apparently some sort of an idiot savant who excels in making terrible films, and Tabatha is a wanna-be writer and actress in Lonnie's horrid crap-fests. There, Benjamin attends a workshop held by his favorite writer, Ronald Chevalier, who is somehow acclaimed in his field. While I was not able to read any of his fiction, as this was a movie, all evidence points to it being science-fictional misogyny.

A small digression, dear reader. I have read many books, and in my tenure as an information & literacy specialist, have ordered and recommended many more. I tend to view fiction through a jaded lens. It is my opinion that 85% of all fiction, in any genre, is complete and utter crap. This movie highlights what I consider to be the most crap-filled genre, science fiction. As anyone in my field could tell you, finding good sci-fi is like finding a virgin in an L.A. nightclub. You know there's got to be one or two, but you're too afraid to check for fear of a fatal disease. End digression.

Chevalier's company has a contest wherein they will publish the best work. Chevalier, after taking out his impotent rage on the manuscripts, chances across Benjamin's and reads it. He decides that it is plagiarism time and changes the characters EVER so slightly. The book, of course, is a bestseller.

PLOT HOLE!!!!

How would Benjamin NOT find out that his FAVORITE author put out a new book and not read it immediately, since he is shown to be a huge fan? I would like to pose this one to the writer, since facing it early on would actually make the film interesting.

Benjamin, unaware of this, sells the rights to film his book to Lonnie for 500 bucks! Lonnie stars as the female lead. As I do love the English and their humor, I find cross dressing hilarious. When Lonnie does it, not so much. Starring in this film is Dusty, Benjamin's “guardian angel,” who his mom recruited from church to attempt to give her son a male role model. What a great picker she is. He looks like a former hair band member who did way too many drugs and is now operating on maybe half strength when it comes to brain cells. As expected, the movie sucks. A shitty movie within a shitty movie! Wow! Tabatha, pretty much out of left field, decides she likes Benjamin and kisses him after he vomits upon seeing a trailer he stars in for one of Lonnie's other movies. Yes, this is as disgusting as it sounds, if not more so. Then, Benjamin finds out about the book.

Later, the problem of the plagiarism is solved via deus ex machina, which our friends at Wikipedia define as: "a plot device whereby a seemingly inextricable problem is suddenly and abruptly solved with the contrived and unexpected intervention of some new character, ability, or object." Throw that one around at cocktail parties.

In closing I urge all of you to hunt down the men responsible for this film and keep them from putting ANYTHING on celluloid ever again. Please, use whatever means you deem necessary. Your eyes, and mine, will thank you.

- Tom Trombley

Adapting a True Story into a Narrative Feature Film

For those of you that don't know, director Brian Ackley has begun a journal, a book of sorts in blog form about the process of making Uptown, a no budget feature. In the latest installment, he eloquently describes his process of adapting a true story into cinematic form. Here is some of it after the jump:

"If I had to choose between the tedious tasks of rebuilding an engine and building one from scratch, I would be equally disenthralled and equally lost. In both cases, success depends upon the same requirement of mechanical ingenuity; there must be the same general understanding of the basic mechanical principles involved to complete either objective. Therefore, to have the ability to do one is to have the ability to do the other.

Mechanical engineering aside, this rule is just as fit when applied to screenwriting. The difference between invention and innovation has not to do with what those basic principles in building a story are, but with how and in what order they are applied. Adapting a story from a play, novel, television concept, newspaper headline, etc. requires the same set of skills as developing one from conflict to resolution; success depends upon the same requirement of creative ingenuity."

Read the rest of this in depth piece, as well as previous entries HERE.

Friday, May 7, 2010

Consent

Consent, the 2nd feature by Ron Farrar Brown, is a drama about a wealthy Manhattan family's inability to cope with the suicide of their eldest daughter and the subsequent downward spiral of drugs, alcohol and sexual taboos that threatens to destroy them.



More about the film on it's Facebook page.

Thursday, May 6, 2010

Request a Screening of "How I Killed Mumblecore"


You can now go to Openindie and request to see Brandon Hutchinson's feature film How I Killed Mumblecore, which we covered last year on this blog.

Three young Chicago professionals, bored out of their mind discover real movies are never like life, or... maybe they can be. Over a typical Chicago winter Devin and Benjamin play out a relationship in transformation. Is the outcome cause for rejoicing or mourning? "How I Killed Mumblecore" is a collection of moments, a series of events directed by Brandon Hutchinson, starring Cassandra Bissell (performed with Chicago Shakespeare and in Chicago Theater downstairs) and Gizelle Alverio ("And He Just Comes Around And Dances With You"), and produced by John Otterbacher ("RiffRaff").



Request a screening HERE.

Wednesday, May 5, 2010

May DVD #1: The Man Who Loved

Among May DVDs worth mentioning is Tom and Mary Russell's early film The Man Who Loved.

There's something wrong with Sarah. Something inside her that she doesn't quite understand. Her husband, George, hopes it'll just go away on its own. But his passivity only seems to make things worse.

A tense yet delicate portrait of a marriage in crisis, The Man Who Loved is directed by wife-and-husband filmmakers Mary and Tom Russell with verve, humour, honesty, and an eye for everyday beauty.

The DVD contains these SPECIAL FEATURES:

+ Directors' commentary.
+ Trailers for future Turtleneck releases Son of a Seahorse (# 2) and Olivia Forever!!
+ Cinema du Kitteh: a collection of three 2006 shorts (Cat Singles, Cat-astrophe, and The Invaders From Above) created by the Russells and starring the feline thespians of The Man Who Loved.

You can purchase this film either through CreateSpace or Amazon.

Here is the rather heartbreaking trailer:



Read their blog where they document their filmmaking process HERE.

Follow them on Twitter HERE.

The Slammin' Salmon

Tom's Corner:

The Slammin' Salmon
(2009, Kevin Heffernan, director)

I've seen a lot of movies from the "Broken Lizard"comedy troupe. I think they are puerile, juvenile and utterly in bad taste. This is why I like them. For those of you not familiar, a little history can be found here. After seeing Super Troopers and Beerfest, there was no way I would let this film pass me by.

This time, the troupe, along with April Bowby and Colbie Smulders, are waiters at a posh Miami restaurant owned by former heavyweight champ Cleon “Slammin'” Salmon (Michael Clarke Duncan). Salmon made a bet with a Yakuza chief and now owes twenty grand, so the restaurant needs to have a good night, or else he loses his restaurant and Rich (played by director Heffernan) gets a beating. A contest is instituted wherein the waiter with the most sales gets a prize, while the one with the least gets a severe beating from the champ.

Duncan has the timing and expressions for comedy (which anyone who saw him play the bald black gay virgin in The Underground Comedy Movie already knows), and he proves it here. I found myself laughing louder and harder at his jokes and angry outbursts then nearly any of the other pieces of dialogue. All the regular members of "Broken Lizard" are in top form as well: Steve Lemme plays Connor, the waiter who had left for a starring role in TV, but comes back in disgrace. Jay Chandrasekhar plays Nuts, the waiter who had better stay on his meds, or he becomes someone else entirely. Paul Soter plays a set of twins, Donnie and Dave, the former is a new busboy, the latter a chef with serious anger management issues. Erik Stolhanske plays Guy, the douchebag waiter. There are numerous cameos littered throughout the movie, so be on the lookout for familiar faces.

This was not the best "Broken Lizard" film (I still give that to Super Troopers), but it was still an enjoyable and most of all funny film. If you like comedy with a little bit of gross out humor, this may be the movie for you to order.

- Tom Trombley

Check out the trailer:

Monday, May 3, 2010

The Schleicher Spin's Uptown Review

Here is a cool, comprehensive review of Uptown by The Schleicher Spin . Among other things, the blog features independent art and spotlights it.

Uptown is having its East Coast Premiere on June 2nd, 8pm, at the Anthology Film Archives as part of the NewFilmmakers Spring Series 2010. Find more info on the screening HERE.

Here is some of the review after the jump:



"Brian Ackley (who also co-scripted the film with his two stars) embraces the low-budget aesthetics of indie films. There’s nothing like filming in NYC, and Ackley takes full advantage of the natural setting. Well paced and nicely shot, Ackley puts you right there with this likable though flawed pair and makes you feel as if you’re strolling along as a third wheel on their dates throughout the city. With all of its relationship-focused “walking and talking” scenes, Ackley crafts a meaningful and real film reminiscent of the early works of Richard Linklater and Nicole Holofcener."

Read the full piece HERE.

Sunday, May 2, 2010

Entre Nos Opens in NYC May 14th


Being huge fans of the work of the lead actress, we're pleased to announce that Entre Nos, directed by Gloria La Morte and Paola Mendoza (who also stars in the leading role) is opening theatrically on May 7th, where it will debut in Jackson Heights, NY at 8pm. On Saturday, the film plays at 3pm, 6pm, and 8pm, and on Sunday at 4pm and 7pm. The venue will be 82-22 Northern Blvd, Jackson Heights, NY 11372 , at the Natives Theater/Restaurant.

This kicks off the theatrical release of the critically acclaimed film that begins at Quad Cinema and Center Cinemas in Sunnyside Queens, NY, beginning on May 14th. The film will then also open in Miami on May 21st. Get specific screening times and locations HERE.

In Entre Nos, adoring mother Mariana has toted her two children from Colombia to New York City to indulge her husband's whim. But when he abruptly abandons the family, she'll have to rely on her own imagination and courage of her remarkable kids to survive insurmountable odds during their first summer in the United States.

If you want to have a NYC adventure come out to Jackson Heights, have some amazing Colombian food, watch ENTRE NOS and then go dance the night away at a Salsa club!

Here is the trailer:




Learn more about Entre Nos HERE at its official website.

Defendor







Tom's Corner:



Defendor

(2009, Peter Stebbings, Director)



Sometimes you sit down to watch a movie, expecting one thing, and get something totally...different. In lieu of going to Tribeca, I initiated my own little film festival tonight. First up, Woody Harrelson's latest film, Defendor.



This was an amazing film. The premise is actually quite believable, and similar has been done before. Here we have a mentally handicapped man, Arthur Poppington (brilliantly played by Woody Harrelson) who decides to become a superhero named Defendor. He is hunting for “Captain Industry” the man who he believes killed his mother. Defendor uses an array of homemade weapons, along with cheap kids toys. Harrelson brings charm and sympathy to a part which could have easily been played up for cheap laughs. During his crime fighting escapades, Defendor meets Katrina, a teenage prostitute (played by Kat Dennings). The two strike up an odd friendship, partly due to the fact that Arthur is paying her for information on Captain Industry.



After beating down a corrupt cop named Dooney (Elias Koteas), Defendor is arrested. He forms a unique connection with Constable Mike, who decides to let him go after they talk about his primary weapon, a vintage World War I trench club and Mike figures he's harmless. Sandra Oh also appears as Dr. Park, a psychiatrist, and Michael Kelly plays Paul Carter, Arthur's boss and friend.



Arthur eventually gets in over his head, but he never gives up, no matter what gets thrown at him. This film runs the gamut of emotions. You'll laugh, you'll cry, but in the end, you will enjoy yourself. I give this one two trench clubs up. Go out and give it a chance, you truly won't be disappointed.