Pantelion Films COO Edward Allen recently spoke with “Breakthrough Entertainment” about his studio’s new dramedy “Instructions Not Included.”
In “Instructions Not Included,” which opens Friday, Aug. 30 at movie theaters throughout the Valley, Derbez plays a man whose life as Acapulco’s resident playboy comes to a screeching halt when a former fling leaves a baby on his doorstep and takes off without a trace. However, after spending 6 years establishing himself as an unlikely father figure, he finds himself in danger of losing his daughter – and his best friend.
Listen to “Breakthrough Entertainment’s” full interview with Allen by clicking HERE. The following is an excerpt from the interview in which the COO discusses why he thinks that “Instructions Not Included” has been such a box office success – grossing more than $20.3 million during its first 10 days in theaters.
“I think that the first thing that really got people to go to the theaters was our star Eugenio Derbez. A lot of people know him in the Latino community because he has been making hit shows for the last 10 years for the Univision audience. He has built up quite a following so right away the film was selling out just because of his recognition and all the great marketing that was done to bring about awareness for the movie.
“But then I think that word-of-mouth really started to kick in. All weekend the movie was selling out at pretty much every theater that we released the film in. I think that the lesson that we hope people will take away from the film is just the importance of family. One of the things that I think really works for the film is that it touches on universal themes.
“It is really about the love that a father has for his child and the length that that father will go to provide for that child and to make sure that that child feels his love. I think that that is an important universal lesson that everybody can understand and everybody can relate to. And that is what I think is resonating with audiences – and not just a certain type of audience. It is audiences across different spectrums. I think that message is certainly resonating.” – Edward Allen
Actress Tanna Frederick recently spoke with “Breakthrough Entertainment” about her role in the new romantic comedy “The M Word,” in which she co-stars with Corey Feldman, Michael Imperioli and Francis Fisher.
Listen to “Breakthrough Entertainment’s” full interview with Frederick by clicking HERE. The following is an excerpt from the interview in which the actress discusses what she hopes audiences will take away from “The M Word.”
“[Writer/director] Henry Jaglom interweaves interviews with women who are going through hot flashes and doing these funny and touching and moving testimonials about going through menopause with the actual story. It is about menopause, menstruation and lastly men. So ‘The M Word’ kind of covers a broad spectrum of women’s issues. What I think is going to happen and what I would love to happen is that women will walk away feeling confident, sexy and wanting to talk to their friends and husbands.
“But it is still a dude-friendly movie. There are several great guys in this movie and they have been through menopause with their wives so it is not just a woman’s film. It is also men saying, ‘I don’t understand her! I don’t understand why she hates me now!’ I feel that all parties involved with aging and menopause – male and female – are involved with this film. So I hope that it is able to bring some clarity and some understanding and bring people closer together.
“And boost women’s self-esteem. That’s the main thing. It is a topic that women are still very hesitant to talk about. Menopause is not covered in a lot of media so I am hoping that when this film comes out it is going to give women permission to not only laugh at what they have to go through while embracing what they have to go through but also start a dialogue with each other about women’s stuff – like what it is like to get older as women and all that stuff that comes along with.” – Tanna Frederick
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Podcast: Play in new window | Download
Filmmaker Tim Phillips recently spoke with “Breakthrough Entertainment” about his new documentary “Lion Ark.”
In “Lion Ark,” Phillips follows the world’s most ambitious and daring animal rescue, as a shocking undercover investigation leads to a ban on animal circuses in Bolivia and Animal Defenders International risks everything to see 25 lions airlifted to freedom in Colorado.
Listen to “Breakthrough Entertainment’s” full interview with Phillips by clicking HERE. The following is an excerpt from the interview in which the filmmaker discusses how “Lion Ark” went from being one organization’s effort to do make a difference to being a major motion picture.
“I am vice president and co-founder of Animal Defenders International so I am obviously very heavily involved in the organization. And this is a story about how we kind of exposed the suffering of circus animals in Bolivia and secured legislation there. But the whole story of ‘Lion Ark’ is how these illegal circuses simply defied the law and we went back with the Bolivian government to seize all of the animals.
“It culminated with this huge airlift of 25 lions from Bolivia to Colorado. We really knew from the outset that if we pulled this off it would be absolutely historic in a number of ways. All of the animals would be saved from this huge country. And it is a bigger country than people realize. It is about the size of Texas and California combined but with a very small population. So it is very remote and difficult to get around. There are not many proper roads.
“So we knew that it would be spectacular if came off and we knew that it would be a landmark in how animal protection legislation can be enforced. I said, ‘Let’s film everything. Let’s see what we get.’ And this incredible story of tracking down the circuses, confronting them, seizing the animals, bringing them back to health and finally bringing them to the USA just unfolded and it kind of turned out more like an action adventure than a traditional documentary.” – Tim Phillips
Among the new movies that were released Friday, Sept. 6 in theaters throughout the Valley are a romantic dramedy starring Jake M. Johnson and Olivia Wilde, a science-fiction threequel starring Vin Diesel and a sequel to an inspirational movie based on a bestselling book.
‘Adore’
Naomi Watts and Robin Wright play childhood friends and neighbors who fall for each other’s sons (Ben Mendelsohn and Xavier Samuel). Playing exclusively at Harkins Shea 14. (R – 105 minutes)
There is no doubt that the material that writer/director Anne Fontaine forages from Doris Lessing’s novel is incredibly creepy, weirding out anyone who can recognize that sleeping with a woman who has been your mother’s best friend since childhood is essentially an act of incest, but “Adore” is actually an oddly intriguing motion picture. Benefitting from a pair of nuanced performances from actresses Naomi Watts and Robin Wright and a subtle-yet-insightful study of the female psyche, the movie manages to overcome that aforementioned unnaturalness to make a meaningful statement about the effects that “taboo” has on relationships. (Thumbs Up!)
Five young filmmakers retrace the steps of a doomed group of Russian hikers in pursuit of an unsolvable mystery. What they find is far more shocking than anything they could have imagined. Playing exclusively at FilmBar. (R – 96 minutes)
It is getting increasingly difficult for filmmakers to come up with creative ways to navigate the found-footage genre. For proof of this, you need look no further than “Devil’s Pass,” a new thriller that somehow comes courtesy of “Die Hard” helmer Renny Harlin despite demonstrating none of the director’s ability to entertain an audience. After a first hour during which very little happens, the story goes completely off the rails for the flick’s final 30 minutes. If anyone remains duped and thinks that any of this ridiculousness is real, they are likely a danger to themselves as well as those around them. (Thumbs Down!)
Jake M. Johnson and Olivia Wilde play co-workers at a Chicago brewery, where they spend their days drinking and flirting. They are perfect for each other – except that they are both in relationships. Ron Livingston and Anna Kendrick also star. Playing exclusively at Harkins Valley Art. (R – 90 minutes)
“Drinking Buddies” operates on one single, solitary thing – sexual tension. But it does so exceptionally well, with said tension sometimes being so existent that it can be cut with a knife. And although it could be argued that writer/director Joe Swanberg’s new dramedy ends on a note that is not so dissimilar from the one on which it began and the the story’s structure is a little too loose, it addresses such a universally relatable dilemma in such a natural and authentic way with its heart in such a good-intentioned place that the experience is extremely intoxicating. (Thumbs Up!)
Leslie Bibb and Rob Corddry play an expectant couple who moves into the most haunted house in New Orleans and call upon the services of the Vatican’s elite exorcism team to save them from a demonic baby. Playing exclusively at The Loft. (R – 98 minutes)
The first few scenes of “Hell Baby” are sinfully hilarious. However, as the events in the new feature-length comedy from the creators of “Reno 911!” get increasingly irregular, the jokes – many of which are repeated over and over and over until the viewer feels bludgeoned to death – get decreasingly diverting. After all, it is amusing to see star Rob Corddry acting flabbergasted by acutely odd occurrences that may suggest that something sinister is at play; but it is not the least bit funny to see him simply accept without question things that are blatantly bizarre. (Thumbs Down!)
‘Riddick’
Vin Diesel reprises his role as a man who, left for dead on a sun-scorched planet, finds himself up against an alien race of predators. Activating an emergency beacon alerts two ships – one carrying a new breed of mercenary and the other captained by a man from his past. (R – 119 minutes)
“Riddick” may not be as explosively exciting as any of the films in star Vin Diesel’s “Fast and Furious” franchise but it is still an entertaining motion picture nonetheless. The new follow-up to 2000’s “Pitch Black” and 2004’s “The Chronicles of Riddick” is easily the best entry in the series, starting out with a mesmerizing first half hour during which Diesel is on screen all by his lonesome (unless you count a host of computer-generated dingo-dongos and scorpion-like creatures). That helps the new science-fiction flick to earn a few points for backbone alone – even with those who, like myself, are not fans of the genre. (Thumbs Up!)
Logan Bartholomew plays a young man who believes that his world is unraveling until he discovers his late grandfather’s journal and is transported back to 1941 and experiences first-hand his incredible rags-to-riches life. (NR – 86 minutes)
“The Ultimate Life” may pale in comparison to “The Ultimate Gift,” but the new sequel still has its heart in the right place and attempts to impart its important lessons about life without any condescension toward viewers or heavy-handed religious preaching. Granted, the acting is generally below-average, the romance is missing-in-action for most of the movie and the morals are less obvious than those found the first time around, yet director Michael Landon Jr. effectively captures the charming essence of author Jim Stovall’s novel to gracefully teach us to recognize the wealth reaped by one who has friends, family and love. (Thumbs Up!)
Writer/director Lucy Mulloy recently spoke with “Breakthrough Entertainment” about her new drama “Una Noche.”
In “Una Noche,” which opened Friday, Sept. 6 exclusively at Harkins Shea 14, Dariel Arrechaga plays a young man who, accused of assault in Havana, dreams of escaping to Miami. He appeals to his best friend to help him reach the forbidden world 90 miles across the ocean. One night, full of hope, they face the biggest challenge of their lives.
Listen to “Breakthrough Entertainment’s” full interview with Mulloy by clicking HERE. The following is an excerpt from the interview in which the writer/director discusses what she hopes audiences will take away from “Una Noche” as well as what she took away from it herself.
“I would hope that when people watch the film that they feel transported to Cuba, to Havana and to the world of these three characters in the movie and that they can empathize with their story and understand what they are going through. The day that passes in the movie is a very active, very frantic, very action-packed day. A lot happens.
“The movie will hopefully take you there and keep you with it and keep you kind of following them and feeling for them and understanding them and really feeling involved with their lives on this particular day. I think that the main thing that I want people to really feel is the characters, the emotions that they go through and to kind of empathize with them.
“I am just so happy to have this movie out in the cinemas and that it has been having such a great response. It is incredible for me. This is my first movie and it is just been pretty mind-blowing. To have people come out, see it and respond with positivity and so enthusiastically is a complete inspiration to me. I have been traveling with the movie to different film festivals around the world and it is very moving to see that people in Istanbul and people in Russia and people in India all laugh at the same jokes and really understand what is happening while I was making a film that was so specific to a certain place.
“It is pretty humbling to be able to take your film around and have this little idea that starts out as a dream and see it become a reality. To go out and cast and location scout and really make your fantasy into a reality that other people can share is like magic to me. It is kind of mind-blowing that I able to do that and I’m just so grateful and happy that I been able to make this film.” – Lucy Mulloy
Writer/director Joe Swanberg recently spoke with “Breakthrough Entertainment” about his new romantic dramedy “Drinking Buddies.”
In “Drinking Buddies,” which opens Friday, Sept. 6 exclusively at Harkins Valley Art, Jake M. Johnson and Olivia Wilde play co-workers at a Chicago brewery, where they spend their days drinking and flirting. They are perfect for each other – except that they are both in relationships. Ron Livingston and Anna Kendrick also star.
Listen to “Breakthrough Entertainment’s” full interview with Swanberg by clicking HERE. The following is an excerpt from the interview in which the writer/director discusses the source of “Drinking Buddies’” story as well as his thematic intentions.
“It very much came from my own personal experience. I kind of always start there at least. The model of the movie and sort of the relationships were all coming out of things that I related to or had happened to me or friends of mine. And then you get into the fun territory of bringing the actors into the process and sort of seeing how they relate personally to the story and what they want to bring from their own lives to it.
“And you end up with a really nice combination of personal stories that, in the end, don’t resemble one specific person. They become a nice amalgamation of a different people’s experiences. Hopefully you end up with the kind of relatable authenticity of each character but then also there is not somebody sitting in the audience saying, ‘Hey, they are just making an autobiography here.’ It can take on the dimensions of a character rather than being 100 percent a personal self-expression.”
“I hope that people come away feeling like men and women can be friends – even if there is sexual tension there. The pathway to that friendship has to involve acknowledging that sexual tension and overcoming it somehow. I think, additionally, with Jake and Anna’s characters in the film, I am hoping to thematically tell a story about a couple who is able to encounter and then overcome obstacles in their relationship and somehow say that the right person for you is not always obvious.” – Joe Swanberg
Actress Christian Pitre recently spoke with “Breakthrough Entertainment” about her role in the new comedic actioner “Bounty Killer.”
In “Bounty Killer,” which will be available beginning Friday, Sept. 6 on video-on-demand, bounty killers compete for body count, fame and a fat stack of cash as they end a plague of corporate greed and provide survivors of an apocalypse with retribution.
Listen to “Breakthrough Entertainment’s” full interview with Pitre by clicking HERE. The following is an excerpt from the interview in which the actress discusses her character in “Bounty Killer” – Mary Death, a beautiful and dangerous woman who will slit your throat with a smile.
“This character is a blast. She is very sexy and confident but at the same time she is a very dangerous killer. She is a good guy though. A lot of people have been mistaking her for a bad guy. She’s not. She’s good. She fights for the right team. She and the other bounty killers are setting the world right again 20 years past the corporate wars. The corporations have fought for rule over the earth and destroyed it and now a council has put some death warrants out on these guys. She is the most famous bounty killer that is going out and putting things right again.
“When you watch the movie, we are not taking this too seriously. We are not really promoting going out and killing CEOs or any type of violence for that matter. ‘Bounty Killer’ is more about comedy than anything. I think that people mistake it for [horror] because it is extremely gory – almost in a cartoonish way because it is so over-the-top – but it is fun to watch because you can’t take it seriously. And you can definitely sleep the night afterward.
“We had a guy named Kris Kobzina, who was a finalist on ‘Face-Off’ this season. He is just amazing. I kept asking him how he even thinks of these things. It is almost disturbing. And he said that he watches movies to find things that have not been done before. It is important to him to be able to actually do the gig. It is not fake. He really has found a way to make a head explode and have brains [come] out of it. He really is a genius at what he does and we were really lucky to have him.” – Christian Pitre
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Podcast: Play in new window | Download
Among the new movies that were released Friday, Aug. 30 in theaters throughout the Valley are a 90-minute car chase starring Ethan Hawke, a foreign-language dramedy starring Eugenio Derbez and a rehab drama starring Brie Larson.
‘Getaway’
Ethan Hawke plays a burned out race car driver who is thrust into a do-or-die mission behind the wheel when his wife is kidnapped. With his only ally being a young hacker (Selena Gomez), his one hope of saving his wife is to follow the orders of the mysterious voice (Jon Voight) who’s watching his every move through cameras mounted on his car. (PG-13 – 90 minutes)
One’s first reaction to a review, such as this one, that claims that “Getaway” is one of the absolute worst movies of the year might be to ask, “Well what did you expect from a 90-minute car chase?” A logical response would be, “Something, I don’t know… fun?” The new actioner crashes and burns within the first few minutes of its runtime thanks to a nearly non-existent narrative and the unpleasant presence of wannabe-actress Selena Gomez. The only bright spot is a pulse-pounding 90-second sequence that places the viewer on the hood of a car weaving in and out of traffic. (Thumbs Down!)
Stan Rowe plays a man suffering from a frightening new disease that is turning him into a zombie. After an experimental new treatment fails, his condition deteriorates and he ends up on the run from a group of violent vigilantes who are out for blood. Playing exclusively at FilmBar. (NR – 77 minutes)
Had “Harold’s Going Stiff” been made with a bit more continuity, it could have been considered a resounding success. After all, writer/director Keith Wright has essentially come up with an incredibly fresh concept for the zombie genre, which has been growing increasingly rotten in recent years. Although none of it is likely to make you laugh out loud or shed an actual tear, the entire tale is concocted in such a way that is comically clever and honestly heartfelt. The problem is that Wright does not always adhere to the mockumentary style that works so well and occasionally drops the point-of-view ball, so to speak. (Thumbs Up!)
Armed with nothing more than twigs, their imaginations and a simple set of rules, a group of 12-year-olds engaged in a game of Capture the Flag in the neighborhood woods start dangerously blurring the lines between make-believe and reality. Playing exclusively at Harkins Shea 14. (NR – 96 minutes)
From the very first scene, one does not quite know how to react to “I Declare War.” Should they be offended by the inappropriate sight of 12-year-olds shooting each other with submachine guns and blowing one another away with grenades? Or should they disregard the often graphic imagery and instead take the new dramatic actioner as some sort of socio-political statement? Or maybe its is merely a satirical send-up of the war movie genre? Or a simple celebration of a child’s limitless imagination? I would go with the first option as it is neither clever nor amusing nor charming. The only thing that it is is disturbing. (Thumbs Down!)
Evelyne Brochu plays a Canadian doctor who finds her sympathies sorely tested while working in the conflict ravaged Palestinian territories. Playing exclusively at Harkins Shea 14. (R – 102 minutes)
“Inch’Allah’ is a beautifully-shot motion picture that is incredibly well-intentioned. However, the new foreign-language film’s pace is somewhat too slow and its story too loose to leave viewers feeling as emotionally impacted as the serious subject matters suggests they should be. And that is a shame because writer/director Anaïs Barbeau-Lavalette employs a technical proficiency that essentially makes the movie feel real and raw – kind of like a documentary – with a straight-up sincerity to show us the deeply devastating consequences of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. Ultimately, it just lacks the urgency and cohesiveness that would have weighed heavily on audiences’ hearts. (Thumbs Down!)
Eugenio Derbez plays a man whose life as Acapulco’s resident playboy comes to a screeching halt when a former fling leaves a baby on his doorstep and takes off without a trace. However, after spending 6 years establishing himself as an unlikely father figure, he finds himself in danger of losing his daughter – and his best friend. (PG-13 – 100 minutes)
Do not be mislead by “Instructions Not Included’s” ill-suited title, which suggests that director/star Eugenio Derbez’s new movie is all about the harebrained hijinks that take place when Acapulco’s resident playboy is thrust head-first into fatherhood. Although there are some comedic moments, the motion picture is actually an affectionately heartfelt tale of understanding our parents’ peculiar methods and appreciating life’s inconvenient detours – no matter how brief they may be. It is tender and touching with a ultimately tragic twist that will tear your emotions in two while simultaneously strengthening your belief that everything happens for a reason. (Breakthrough!)
‘Passion’
Rachel McAdams plays the manipulative boss of an advertising agency whose rivalry with her talented protégée (Noomi Rapace) escalates from stealing credit to public humiliation to murder. Playing exclusively at Harkins Valley Art. (R – 98 minutes)
In my review of “Love Crime,” I stated that revenge was a dish best served French. Little did I know how true that statement would end up being. That is not to say that “Passion” – writer/director Brian De Palma’s English-language remake of the 2011 thriller – is an absolute failure. In fact, in some ways it is actually an improvement over the original – particularly during the first 45 minutes, which gets the ball rolling a bit faster this time around. But where it counts – in all of the twists and turns that make this a titillating tale- this flick feels kind of campy whereas its predecessor was sincerely surprising. (Thumbs Down!)
Brie Larson plays a 20-something supervising staff member of a foster care facility who navigates the troubled waters of that world alongside her co-worker and longtime boyfriend (John Gallagher Jr.). Playing exclusively at Harkins Camelview 5. (R – 96 minutes)
“Short Term 12” is a deeply affecting film that earns each and every one of the emotions felt by its viewers in an exceptionally genuine way. The new drama is undoubtedly difficult to watch at times as it tackles topics that we tend to not like talking about. But, by its last scene, it demonstrates how healing can only happen if silence is broken and that hope always exists – even when it appears as though all hope is lost. Stars Brie Larson and Kaitlyn Dever give great performances but it is Rami Malek in a supporting role who steals the show. (Thumbs Up!)
Writer/director/actor Eugenio Derbez recently spoke with “Breakthrough Entertainment” about his new dramedy “Instructions Not Included.”
In “Instructions Not Included,” which opens Friday, Aug. 30 at movie theaters throughout the Valley, Derbez plays a man whose life as Acapulco’s resident playboy comes to a screeching halt when a former fling leaves a baby on his doorstep and takes off without a trace. However, after spending 6 years establishing himself as an unlikely father figure, he finds himself in danger of losing his daughter – and his best friend.
Listen to “Breakthrough Entertainment’s” full interview with Derbez by clicking HERE. The following is an excerpt from the interview in which the actor discusses “Instructions Not Included’s” heart, what this particular project taught him about himself and what audiences can take away from the film.
“I realized that a film with no heart – even though it is really funny – nothing happens with it. I have seen a lot of films that are really funny but with no heart at all. That is just another funny movie. It is very simple and it does not stick to your heart. So I think that to do a memorable film, it is really important to put a lot of emotion into it and make it inspirational. So that is why we worked a lot on the script to do something memorable, like ‘Life is Beautiful,’ ‘Amelie’ and ‘Cinema Paradiso’ – all of these things with heart and comedy at the same time.
“I started writing this film 12 years ago because I was rejected every time I tried to get a job in the film industry. I have always been a TV actor and when I tried to switch to the movies, they would reject me constantly. So I started writing my own film. I think that that was the worst thing that happened to me during this experience but, at the same thing, it was the best thing that could have happened to me because I had the strength and the courage to write my own movie and finally I have a beautiful film.
“Sometimes life comes with surprises, like maybe suddenly being a father or a mother or maybe losing your job or any other kind of issue. And you think that it is the worst thing ever. But maybe later you realize that it was an obstacle you needed to overcome to be a better human being. You have to face life even though it comes with instructions not included.” – Eugenio Derbez
Writer/director Keith Wright recently spoke with “Breakthrough Entertainment” about his new zombie flick “Harold’s Going Stiff.”
In “Harold’s Going Stiff,” which screens 10:15 p.m. Friday, Aug. 30 and 2 p.m. Saturday, Aug. 31 exclusively at the FilmBar, Stan Rowe plays a man suffering from a frightening new disease that is turning him into a zombie. After an experimental new treatment fails, his condition deteriorates and he ends up on the run from a group of violent vigilantes who are out for blood.
Listen to “Breakthrough Entertainment’s” full interview with Wright by clicking HERE. The following is an excerpt from the interview in which the writer/director discusses the driving forces behind “Harold’s Going Stiff,” including the film’s ultimate theme.
“Basically, I was looking for an interesting project. I was really interested in making a zombie film. But there are so many zombie films out there. In fact, if you go to something like IMDb and put in the word ‘zombie,’ there are like thousands of results. So I was really interested in trying to come up with a different spin on the zombie film. I wanted to try to do something that had a little more depth to it that wasn’t sort of like just a slasher movie.
“And that was the challenge, really, to try and break the mold a little bit on zombie films. I love the classic George Romero zombie films. They have so much depth to them. I just wanted to try and figure out a new way of approaching the zombie film since there are already so many zombie movies out there – and a lot of them quite generic with nothing new to say. So we really just tried to take a different spin on it.
“If you look at the film’s theme, it is about someone who is becoming ill. One of the driving factors of the story was this idea of aging and dementia. I had a grandparent who suffered from dementia so that idea of slowly losing someone is something that is definitely in the film. The zombie element represents the progression of that disease. And I think that is kind of a universal thing that everybody can sort of relate to – people getting ill around them and having to deal with that.” – Keith Wright
Actress Kaitlyn Dever, who is best known for her role as Eve Baxter alongside Tim Allen on television’s “Last Man Standing,” recently spoke with “Breakthrough Entertainment” about her role in Cinedigm’s new drama “Short Term 12.”
In “Short Term 12,” which opens Friday, Aug. 30 exclusively at Harkins Camelview 5, Brie Larson plays a 20-something supervising staff member of a foster care facility who navigates the troubled waters of that world alongside her co-worker and longtime boyfriend (John Gallagher Jr.).
Question: What about this project appealed to you as an actress?
Answer: It was such a deep and beautiful script. Destin Cretton wrote and directed it. I feel like it was his. He knew the backstory. He knew everything. And it just came out on paper. To be able to bring it to life with [Brie Larson] and the whole cast was just so awesome. And then for us to win the Grand Jury Prize at SXSW was so amazing.
Q: Tell me about your character. Specifically, what about her did you like from a performer’s point of view?
A: I play a girl named Jayden who goes to Short Term 12, which is sort of this foster care home for kids who have been abused or have just had really bad lives at home. My character cuts herself. She is depressed. Her dad abuses her and her mom died so she has got this really dark life. It was really amazing being able to do that because I had never really done anything like it. I feel like Jayden has so much going on.
Q: She does. But the movie also shows that there is hope for those who have got, as you called it, a “really dark life.” Right?
A: By the end of the movie, me and [Brie Larson’s] character bond in a really great way that helps the movie kind of come to an end. And I also help Brie Larson’s character find herself as a person because she had the same childhood that I had. When she meets me, I remind her of her childhood because she was abused by her dad and she cuts herself as well. So we really bonded together in the end and it was just an amazing experience.
Q: This is the second time that you have appeared in a movie with Brie Larson. You two were also both in “The Spectacular Now.” What is she like?
A: I never met Brie on the set of “The Spectacular Now.” We didn’t have any scenes together. And when I read “Short Term 12,” I knew that most of my scenes would be with her so I was excited to get to be able to get to know her as a person. We would talk with one another between takes and it was such a pleasure because she was so cool. I felt like she was my older sister.
Among the movies that became available Tuesday, Aug. 27 on Blu-ray and DVD at retail stores and rental outlets throughout the Valley are a drama pairing Dennis Quaid with Zac Efron, an adventure flick about a 4,300-mile crossing of the Pacific on a balsa wood raft and a dark ensemble comedy in which Brendan Fraser plays a sad-sack Elvis impersonator.
Dennis Quaid plays a farmer who wants his rebellious son (Zac Efron) to help expand his family’s empire. However, said son instead has his sights set on becoming a professional race car driver. (R – 105 minutes)
Apparently, the title of “At Any Price” refers to the lengths that those in the agricultural industry will go in order to stay successful. And although said lengths may not be as far as the ones reflected in the comedic horror flick “100 Bloody Acres,” the final act of writer/director Ramin Bahrani’s new drama takes an abruptly dark turn. It almost feels as though Bahrani became puzzled about how to tie up this otherwise wholesome examination of the American Dream and decided to do something drastic, thereby leaving viewers feeling somewhat unsatisfied and just a bit bewildered. (Thumbs Down!)
Tobey Maguire plays a would-be writer who moves from the Midwest to New York where he is drawn into the captivating world of the super rich, their illusions, loves and deceits. Leonardo DiCaprio, Carey Mulligan and Joel Edgerton also star. (PG-13 – 142 minutes)
“The Great Gatsby” is extraordinarily flashy but emotionally flat. Granted, all of the words are there as writer/director Baz Luhrmann goes through the motions of adapting the classic piece of literature for the silver screen with visual pomp and circumstance that was impossible to portray prior to today’s technology. However, the heart and soul of F. Scott Fitzgerald’s story seems to have been sucked right out of it – or at least swallowed up in all of the style. It may encourage you to contemplate the corruption of the American Dream, but there is a difference between thinking about it and truly feeling it. (Thumbs Down!)
‘Kon-Tiki’
Pål Sverre Hagen plays an explorer who embarks on an epic 4,300-mile crossing of the Pacific on a balsa wood raft in an effort prove it was possible for South Americans to settle in Polynesia in pre-Columbian times. (PG-13 – 119 minutes)
“Kon-Tiki” may not be as adventurous and as exciting as some would have you believe. After all, the new biographical drama is based on a 101-day/43,000-mile expedition during which six clean-shaven men slowly grew beards that would impress even Rip Van Winkle. In other words, save for a single encounter with a shiver of sharks, not much action occurs over the course of this flick. However, what does occur is the ultimate test of faith which – paired with a convincing performance from star Pål Sverre Hagen and vitalizing visuals from cinematographer Geir Hartly Andreassen – makes this a story worth setting sail with. (Thumbs Up!)
Mark Wahlberg, Dwayne Johnson and Anthony Mackie play personal trainers who, in pursuit of the American Dream, get caught up in a criminal enterprise that goes horribly wrong. Tony Shalhoub, Ed Harris, Rob Corddry, Rebel Wilson and Ken Jeong also star. (R – 120 minutes)
“Pain & Gain” is a ripped riot – so long as you are not the kind of person who gets offended by seeing a man flip severed hands on a barbeque as if they are burgers. Oh, and as a well-timed on-screen note reminds us, this is a true story. So if that inhibits your ability to find amusement in this too-bonkers-to-believe story, you may wish to steer clear. Otherwise, you are certain to see this movie as entertainment on steroids thanks to director Michael Bay’s all-business/action-packed approach, incredibly clever narration and characters who have an abundance of brawn but no brains whatsoever. (Thumbs Up!)
A man searching for his kidnapped wife, a couple of white-supremacist meth heads and a sad-sack Elvis impersonator pawn more than they bargain for at a Southern small-town pawn shop. Stars include Brendan Fraser, Elijah Wood, Vincent D’Onofrio, Thomas Jane, Lukas Haas, Norman Reedus, Matt Dillon and Paul Walker. (R – 112 minutes)
The phrase “off-the-wall” does not even begin to describe “Pawn Shop Chronicles.” In fact, there is little that one could actually say that would accurately relay the intensity of the insanity that director Wayne Kramer achieves in his new darkly comedic anthology. The same could be said of the resulting entertainment value, which is – at the very least – through the roof. Accentuated by an all-star cast – many members of which are practically unrecognizable – these three salacious stories will have your head spinning in circles and cause your jaw to punch a hole straight through the floor. (Thumbs Up!)
‘The Reluctant Fundamentalist’
Riz Ahmed plays a young Pakistani man who, while chasing corporate success on Wall Street, finds himself embroiled in a conflict between his American Dream, a hostage crisis and the enduring call of his family’s homeland. (R – 128 minutes)
“The Reluctant Fundamentalist” tells a timely and relatively tense tale about American patriotism that is rarely told or even pondered. However, director Mira Nair’s heavy-handed approach makes the message just a tad bit too hard to swallow. As she did in 2006’s “The Namesake,” Nair hammers the story’s significance into the viewer rather than tapping it in just enough to then allow author Mohsin Hamid’s narrative an opportunity to sink in on its own merits. Having said that, Declan Quinn’s cinematography speaks volumes as does star Riz Ahmed’s performance. Co-star Kate Hudson seems to be somewhat of a black sheep here, though. (Thumbs Down!)
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Podcast: Play in new window | Download
Among the new movies that were released Friday, Aug. 23 in theaters throughout the Valley are the latest entry in the young adult book-to-film adaptation craze, a dramatic thriller in which Josh Duhamel sports a mohawk and a horror flick that has more laughs than scares.
Casey Affleck plays an outlaw who escapes from prison and sets out across the Texas hills to reunite with his wife (Rooney Mara) and the daughter he has never met. Ben Foster also stars. (NR – 97 minutes)
There is an awful lot of substance packed into several aspects of “Ain’t Them Bodies Saints.” For example, its cinematography is beyond breathtaking, its characters are extremely complex and the performances given by its three leads are genuinely nuanced. However, the one aspect of writer/director David Lowery’s new drama that is in desperate need of more substance is its story, which is so meager that it cannot sustain viewers’ interest for the film’s relatively brief runtime. After rushing through the most monumental moments of the movie in the first few minutes, the motion picture plods along to its anticlimactic end. (Thumbs Down!)
An international crew of astronauts undertakes a privately funded mission to investigate the possible existence of alien life on Jupiter’s fourth largest moon. Stars include Michael Nyqvist, Sharlto Copely and Dan Fogler. Playing exclusively at Harkins Valley Art. (PG-13 – 90 minutes)
Chances are, if you are able to stay awake throughout the entire duration of “Europa Report,” you would make an excellent astronaut. After all, there is nothing more boring than sitting inside of a spacecraft while absolutely nothing happens. So, if you can watch other people do that without succumbing to sleep’s siren-like call, then you are more than equipped for interstellar travel. The new science-fiction thriller plays up the science but skimps on the thrills. And although director Sebastián Cordero paints a breathtaking portrait of our solar system, screenwriter Philip Gelatt waits way too long to inject anything interesting into the story. (Thumbs Down!)
‘The Mortal Instruments: City of Bones’
Lily Collins plays a seemingly ordinary teenager who, when her mom (Lena Headey) is attacked and taken from their home in New York City by a demon, finds out truths about her past and bloodline that changes her entire life. (PG-13 – 130 minutes)
“The Mortal Instruments: City of Bones” is, to date, the worst entry in the young adult book-to-film adaptation craze spurred by the success of “The Twilight Saga.” The new supernatural-themed romantic drama/adventure flick is less a movie than it is a feature-length pilot for a bad CW television series that nobody in their right mind would ever actually watch. It is too scary for kids, too silly for adults and too long, convoluted and incomplete for everyone in between. Its acting is so atrocious, dialogue is so dreadful and revelations are so ridiculous that its only logical use is as drinking-game fodder. (Thumbs Down!)
‘Savannah’
Jim Caviezel plays a post-Civil War aristocrat who seeks his fortune as a market hunter on the Savannah River and clashed with the government while exercising his right to free enterprise. Along the way, Allen remains deeply loyal to his business partner (Chiwetel Ejiofor) and falls for an irrepressible Southern belle (Jaimie Alexander). Playing exclusively at Harkins Shea 14. (PG-13 – 101 minutes)
Contrary to its theme of man’s eternal longing to live a life meaningful enough to avoid being forgotten, “Savannah” will be erased from your memory almost the exact moment that you exit the movie theater. There is nothing particularly bad about writer/director Annette Haywood-Carter’s new historical drama. It is just that the film flies through an extended period of time with very little flavor except for a pair of excellent performances from stars Jim Caviezel and Chiwetel Ejiofor. It is the cinematic equivalent of a folk song; the melody is certainly pleasurable but the lyrics sing an all-too-familiar tune. (Thumbs Down!)
Josh Duhamel and Dan Fogler play best friends who are on a road trip when their old pickup breaks down, leaving them stranded on an isolated desert road. As the relentless elements of the desert grind them down, they start to attack each other’s life decisions with unwavering brutality. (R – 85 minutes)
“Scenic Route” is a top-notch dramatic thriller that forces you to doubt your own reality when life’s pendulum finally starts swinging in a positive direction. Anchored by a razor-sharp screenplay from scribe Kyle Killen and amplified by two powerhouse performances from stars Josh Duhamel and Dan Fogler, this flick’s intensity slowly but surely escalates from trivial friction to extreme brutality, eventually landing smack-dab in the center of psychological unbalance. This story of survival is a journey that is well worth taking – not only for its excellent entertainment value but also for its thrilling theoretical ramifications. (Thumbs Up!)
Filmmakers Steve Brown and Jessie Deeter provide an inside look at the Burning Man organization and the challenges it is facing as it grows in global recognition and popularity. Playing exclusively at Harkins Valley Art. (NR – 112 minutes)
Although Burning Man has grown from a small annual bonfire into a week-long event drawing more than 50,000 people to the Black Rock Desert in northern Nevada, few of us will ever actually attend the experiment in community, art, radical self-expression and radical self-reliance. Therefore, that – the up-close and personal tour into something so exceptionally eccentric and especially exotic – is the primary appeal of “Spark: A Burning Man Story.” And while filmmakers Steve Brown and Jessie Deeter essentially turn the last half-hour into a series of false endings, it is a titillating tour that is well-worth taking. (Thumbs Up!)
When a gang of masked, ax-wielding murderers descends upon a family reunion, the hapless victims seem trapped – until an unlikely guest of the family proves to be the most talented killer of all. (R – 94 minutes)
“You’re Next” will not only scare the living daylights out of you but it will also afford you one of the most frighteningly fun times that you will have while watching a movie all year. The new home-invasion slasher does this by laying groundwork of a truly terrifying set of circumstances and slowly but surely raising the stakes while also taking advantage of each and every opportunity that arises along the way to toy with the horror genre’s contrivances – of which, as any die-hard fan could tell you, there are many. The end-result is a uniquely engaging experience. (Breakthrough!)
Actress Sharni Vinson, whose film credits include “Step Up 3D” and “Bait,” recently spoke with “Breakthrough Entertainment” about her role in the new horror flick “You’re Next.”
In “You’re Next,” which opens Friday, Aug. 23 at movie theaters throughout the Valley, a gang of masked, ax-wielding murderers descends upon a family reunion leaving the hapless victims trapped – until an unlikely guest of the family proves to be the most talented killer of all.
Listen to “Breakthrough Entertainment’s” full interview with Vinson by clicking HERE. The following is an excerpt from the interview in which the actress discusses the unique blend of comedy and horror that “You’re Next” possesses.
“To be honest, in reading the script, I never saw it coming. It was not until we actually got on set and we started shooting that insane dinner table scene that unfolds at the beginning of the movie. I was sitting across the table from Joe Swanberg, Ti West, Amy Seimetz and AJ Bowen, just watching them have this unbelievable dialogue floating between them that literally had us all in stitches.
“And I turned to Nick Tucci and Wendy Glenn and said, ‘Are we shooting a horror or a comedy because this is funny.’ I did not see it coming. And then I wasn’t sure if it was just like an inside, on-set joke that we all thought was funny or if audiences were actually going to be able to get on board with the humor as well. It was such a new experience for me to see the tonal shift in the film and the way that we can infuse the elements of horror and comedy and have them both as prominent as one another within the film.
“One minute you are really are laughing and then you are really terrified. It is not common that you are laughing with the characters and at the actual situations. More typically, you are kind of laughing at the characters. So I think that we blended that really well and that is full credit to a great screenplay from Simon Barrett but ultimately casting the right people who were able to bring these characters to life and give them that type of humor and personality.” – Sharni Vinson
Actor Josh Duhamel, whose film credits include “Win a Date with Tad Hamilton” and the “Transformers” franchise, recently spoke with “Breakthrough Entertainment” about his role in the new dramatic thriller “Scenic Route.”
In “Scenic Route,” which opens Friday, Aug. 23 exclusively at Harkins Arizona Mills, Duhamel and Dan Fogler play best friends who are on a road trip when their old pickup breaks down, leaving them stranded on an isolated desert road. As the relentless elements of the desert grind them down, they start to attack each other’s life decisions with unwavering brutality.
Listen to “Breakthrough Entertainment’s” full interview with Duhamel by clicking HERE. The following is an excerpt from the interview in which the actor discusses his reasons for wanting to star in “Scenic Route,” what audiences can take away from the film and what this particular project taught him about himself.
“I knew that it was something that I wanted to do right off the bat. I related to it in a lot of ways. I got to have a mohawk, which was cool. I never had the chance to have a mohawk before, so that’s always good. And it was just a challenge for me to show something that I had never had a chance to show before. You always look for that as an actor to try and stretch and show people different sides of what you are capable of.
“I think that the lesson here is even though you may have big dreams as a 20-year-old and thought that you were going to go out and set the world on fire but look back and have not necessarily achieved all of the things that you thought you might, sometimes it takes dramatic events like this to realize that you have a lot of blessings in your life and that you should appreciate some of things that you do have.
“I think that it is a true in life that sometimes if something scares you, then you should do it because usually you are going to be happy that you went through that experience. This was a really scary undertaking because it was such a dense script and so difficult emotionally and physically to get through. And I learned a lot. I am a lot more confident and brave as an actor going forward because I went through something like this. So I learned a lot both from this character and from just the experience of making this movie.” – Josh Duhamel
Directors Kevin and Michael Goetz recently spoke with “Breakthrough Entertainment” about their new dramatic thriller “Scenic Route.”
In “Scenic Route,” which opens Friday, Aug. 23 exclusively at Harkins Arizona Mills, Josh Duhamel and Dan Fogler play best friends who are on a road trip when their old pickup breaks down, leaving them stranded on an isolated desert road. As the relentless elements of the desert grind them down, they start to attack each other’s life decisions with unwavering brutality.
Listen to “Breakthrough Entertainment’s” full interview with Kevin and Michael by clicking HERE. The following is an excerpt from the interview in which the directors discuss the theme of doubting one’s own reality in “Scenic Route.”
“The film’s theme is in itself metaphorical of filmmaking. You are creating another reality when you make a film. We have always been fascinated by that and we love movies that are ambiguous in some way and sort of let the audience choose how it ends or what it makes them feel. So when we read the script, I think that was one of the things that really drew us to it.
“And we really related to it as well. The themes are talking about when you suddenly come to this place in your life where everything that you thought that you were going to be and what you really are do not match up anymore. It is kind of the end of a dream. Those themes really spoke to us. And then to take a movie that is a one setting thing and trying to come up with a way to end it that is different and has not really been done and really in the mind because it kind of answers all of these questions that go along with the very beginning, that ending just sort of became the only way.
“And we knew that ending was tough. We knew that some people can walk out of films like this being unsatisfied. But there was really no other way to end this. This movie just spoke to so many themes of what is real and what is not, so we knew that we kind of just had to go for it. So we went full-speed with that slightly ambiguous ending that some people are finding still sticks with them and haunts them after a while. And that is what we wanted to do. We really want to make people think.” – Kevin and Michael Goetz
Writer/director David Lowery recently spoke with “Breakthrough Entertainment” about his new drama “Ain’t Them Bodies Saints.”
In “Ain’t Them Bodies Saints,” which opens Friday, Aug. 23 exclusively at Harkins Shea 14, Casey Affleck plays an outlaw who escapes from prison and sets out across the Texas hills to reunite with his wife (Rooney Mara) and the daughter he has never met. Ben Foster also stars.
Listen to “Breakthrough Entertainment’s” full interview with Lowery by clicking HERE. The following is an excerpt from the interview in which the writer/director discusses his reasons for casting Affleck, Mara and Foster in “Ain’t Them Bodies Saints.”
“First and foremost, they are all amazing actors whom I have been fans of. More than anything else, the reason that I wanted them – aside from their talent – was the fact that I felt that they all could blend into the time period and setting of the movie. I wanted actors who could be part of that texture and part of that ruffian feel that is part and parcel with small-town Texas – especially the time period in which the movie takes place.
“They all have a quality to them that is distinctly un-modern and that was really important to me. I did not want them to stick out. I did not want them to feel like modern person in an old-fashioned town. I wanted them to feel like they have grown up in these places, lived there and spent their whole lives in this one little area. That was something that I felt that all three of them could completely disappear into that world.
“What I hope that people take away [from the film] is the feeling that they have gained a new perspective through a very old-fashioned lens. That is a weird way to put it, but I wanted to make a movie that felt old and familiar and almost comforting in how traditional it was and yet because it is so familiar you are able to access very immediate and very deep emotions that are hopefully applicable to whatever is going on in your life. As a filmmaker, you always hope that something that means a lot to you will mean a lot somebody else. I hope that they feel that they have had an experience that feels familiar and surprisingly new at the same time.” – David Lowery
Among the movies that became available Tuesday, Aug. 20 on Blu-ray and DVD at retail stores and rental outlets throughout the Valley are a new take on the zombie genre, a horror flick with a title that is a dead-giveaway and the latest installment in the “Scary Movie” franchise.
‘Amour’
Jean-Louis Trintignant and Emmanuelle Riva play retired music teachers who are in their eighties. When one of them has an attack, the couple’s bond of love is severely tested. (PG-13 – 127 minutes)
“Amour” is the cinematic equivalent of spending an afternoon in a stranger’s room at a hospice facility. That is to say that writer/director Michael Haneke’s new French film is an excruciating experience to endure in that nobody wants to watch someone slowly be slipped away by death’s graceless grip – especially when that someone’s spouse is there, too, struggling with losing their loved one. Granted, the flick features a pair of powerful performances but it lacks the necessary insight – be it emotional or intellectual – that would have made such a sickening sight worth sitting through. (Thumbs Down!)
‘Epic’
Amanda Seyfried voices a teenager who finds herself transported to a deep forest setting where a battle between the forces of good and the forces of evil is taking place. She bands together with a rag-tag group characters in order to save their world – and ours. (PG – 102 minutes)
If we are being completely honest, the title of “Epic” may be a bit of a stretch. The new animated adventure based on William Joyce’s children’s book “The Leaf Men and the Brave Good Bugs” is certainly beautiful to look at and tells a story that has both the entertainment value to enchant younger viewers and the strong subtext to teach them a laudable lesson along the way, but it in no way warrants such a bold name. This is because the motion picture caters primarily to kids, trading in the momentous tone of the teaser trailer for disposable excitement and a juvenile sense of humor. (Thumbs Down!)
Stan Rowe plays a man suffering from a frightening new disease that is turning him into a zombie. After an experimental new treatment fails, his condition deteriorates and he ends up on the run from a group of violent vigilantes who are out for blood. (NR – 77 minutes)
Had “Harold’s Going Stiff” been made with a bit more continuity, it could have been considered a resounding success. After all, writer/director Keith Wright has essentially come up with an incredibly fresh concept for the zombie genre, which has been growing increasingly rotten in recent years. Although none of it is likely to make you laugh out loud or shed an actual tear, the entire tale is concocted in such a way that is comically clever and honestly heartfelt. The problem is that Wright does not always adhere to the mockumentary style that works so well and occasionally drops the point-of-view ball, so to speak. (Thumbs Up!)
Derek Magyar plays the leader of a ruthless criminal gang that takes a young couple hostage and goes to ground in an abandoned house. However, when the captive girl is killed, the tables are unexpectedly turned and the gang’s members find themselves outsmarted by an urbane and seasoned killer. (R – 86 minutes)
About 20 minutes into “No One Lives,” director Ryûhei Kitamura and screenwriter David Cohen employ an exciting twist that has the potential to put the new horror movie on the map. Within that moment, they turn what would otherwise appear to be a conventional story on its ear. Unfortunately, save for a scene shortly thereafter during which a character makes a brilliantly bloody albeit absurd entrance, the rest of the movie returns to familiar territory – a bunch of bad guys getting bested by an even worse guy. And when no one is likeable, does anyone care if no one lives? (Thumbs Down!)
Ashley Tisdale and Simon Rex play a couple that begins to experience some unusual activity after bringing their newborn son home from the hospital. With the help of home-surveillance cameras and a team of experts, they learn that they are being stalked by a nefarious demon. (PG-13 – 86 minutes)
After having suffered through “Scary Movie 5,” it is almost impossible to believe that this half-baked comedy that lacks even a single, solitary laugh is a direct descendant of the movie that, in 2000, was clever and quite hilarious. Granted, the franchise’s fall from grace did not happen overnight as its quality has been consistently decaying over the course of four sequels. And while this latest (and hopefully last) installment is slightly less insignificant than “A Haunted House” released earlier this year, anyone who saw that putrid pile of refuse knows that such a statement is hardly a compliment. (Thumbs Down!)
Andrea Riseborough plays a single mother living in Belfast who is arrested for her part in an aborted IRA bomb plot in London and forced to become an informant for MI5 in order to protect her son’s welfare. Clive Owen and Gillian Anderson also star. (R – 96 minutes)
Despite an initially intriguing premise and a complex performance from actress Andrea Riseborough, “Shadow Dancer” is a mundane and monotonous movie. The new drama based on author Tom Bradby’s novel never picks up the pace enough to deliver viewers any authentic thrills and therefore loses them long before its cushioned climax. If this lifeless effort is any indication, James Marsh – who helmed one of 2011’s greatest motion pictures “Project Nim” – ought to stick to directing documentaries. Even star power in the form of Clive Owen cannot save this snooze-fest of a feature film. (Thumbs Down!)
Writer/producer/actress Kyra Zagorsky recently spoke with “Breakthrough Entertainment” about her new short film “Chained.”
In “Chained,” which will screen Thursday, Aug. 22 at the Action on Film International Film Festival, Mike Dopud plays great war-king Agamemnon, whose daughter Iphigenia (MacKenzie Porter) is fated to be sacrificed to the gods. In a last ditch effort to rescue her, he calls upon his guardian goddess Athena (Kyra Zagorsky) and entreats her to defend Iphigenia from her death sentence.
Listen to “Breakthrough Entertainment’s” full interview with Zagorsky by clicking HERE. The following is an excerpt from the interview in which the writer/producer/actress discusses the theme of the timeless relationship between mankind and their creators in “Chained.”
“I have always been a bit of Greek myth nerd. I really like those stories. I think that there is something about the magic. But, I have seen a lot of films – like ‘Clash of the Titans’ – where you are just watching these big, epic gods and don’t really feel connected to them. So I thought, ‘What if the gods were chained to the humans? What if [the humans] actually had a connection to their creators so that they have to really deal with them and have real relationships with them?’
“That way, the audience can actually connect to the humanity of the gods and the humans. I think that it just make you feel for all of the characters. And then you are also dealing with cause-and-effect issues. You have to take responsibility for your actions. So, if you kill the sacred stag, you can’t just go around doing that. It’s a sacred creature. So you are also dealing with things of nature and the bigger picture other than just our North American narcissistic society. So it is just getting into bigger, more important things beyond ourselves.
“After studying the different myths and deciding how I wanted to create the character, I trained
Kalie Scrima. It is a Filipino martial art. I was also playing around with the idea that her symbol is the owl. She is the wise goddess. So I was watching different owl videos, trying to incorporate their movement into my character in the way that I move, in the way that I fight and just in the way that I even pay attention to things in the scene. It was kind of fun and creative that way.” – Kyra Zagorksy
Director Michelle Danner recently spoke with “Breakthrough Entertainment” about her new drama “Hello Herman.”
In “Hello Herman,” which is now available on video-on-demand, Norman Reedus plays a famous journalist who interviews a 16-year-old boy (Garrett Backstrom) who is awaiting sentencing after entering his suburban school and killing 39 students, two teachers and a police officer.
Listen to “Breakthrough Entertainment’s” full interview with Danner by clicking HERE. The following in an except from the interview in which the director discusses what she hopes “Hello Herman” will instill within its viewers.
“I think it is just a very interesting conversation that we need to keep having as to why this happens. I just thought the subject matter was very provocative and something that needed to be explored. There is this perception that there is a certain kind of kid that would snap when in fact that is not true. It can be a kid on the honor roll. We have always known that there is cruelty and bullying in our education system but now there are certain weapons that the kids have, like the Internet.
“We watch our youth become completely addicted to certain aspects of the Internet and become more and more desensitized. And we keep wondering why these tragedies keep happening – especially in schools. As parents, we think that we have it all under control but there are times when we don’t. It can happen to anybody. Nobody can be immune. I think that we are all part of this and we have to keep raising the awareness of these problems and what they lead to.
“This movie is about connection. It is about reaching out to someone else – especially as the world of technology increases. In several test screenings, people have come up to me and said, ‘I want to go home and hug my child.’ Someone very famous came up to me and said, ‘I am canceling my business trip tomorrow and staying home to cook breakfast for my children. When people came up to me and said those things, I felt that the things that I wanted the movie to be about were coming through.” – Michelle Danner
Filmmaker Ky Dickens recently spoke with “Breakthrough Entertainment” about her new documentary “Sole Survivor.”
In “Sole Survivor,” which opened Friday, Aug. 16 exclusively at Harkins Camelview 5, Dickens brings together four sole survivors of commercial aviation disasters to share their very complex, personal stories for the first time. They revisit the most harrowing moments of their lives in an effort to heal and overcome their most perplexing questions.
Listen to “Breakthrough Entertainment’s” full interview with Dickens by clicking HERE. The following is an excerpt from the interview in which the filmmaker discusses the challenge of getting the survivors featured in “Sole Survivor” to open up to her about their very painful and ultimately extremely complex experience.
“It took a lot of time and a lot of trust and it took a lot of friendship-building first. There was travel and lunches and dinners and emails and letters and phone calls. That happened for months and months before we started shooting. It is one of the most complex situations in your life. Often the survivors lost someone themselves. They might have lost parents or, in the case of Cecilia, she lost her entire family.
“So, to revisit something that has been so difficult and that you want to try to avoid – especially the meaning of what your life means… I think that we all are kept up by that on some nights but we try not to think about it too much because it’s just a lot of pressure to think about ‘the meaning of life’ and ‘what does this all mean’ and ‘why am I here.’ And here is a film that is kind of asking those questions in an even greater scale because they are sole survivors
“The survivors in the film are very brave. Most of them had never before discussed what happened or what goes on in their mind or how their life looks now. I really think that, through their bravery, they are going to heal a lot of other survivors. It doesn’t matter if you survived a natural disaster and your house is the only thing standing or you are on the only person coming home from Iraq that was in your platoon. That doesn’t matter. The experience is still the same no matter what you survived.” – Ky Dickens
Podcast: Play in new window | Download
Podcast: Play in new window | Download
Among the new movies that were released Friday, Aug. 16 in theaters throughout the Valley are a biographical drama in which Ashton Kutcher plays a computer genius, a sequel in which a bunch of everyday men and women play superheroes and another biographical drama in which Forest Whitaker plays a White House butler.
James Deen plays a calculating young movie producer who discovers that his actress girlfriend (Lindsay Lohan) has been hiding an affair with an actor from her past, leading the young Angelenos into a violent, sexually-charged tour through the dark side of human nature. Playing exclusively at Harkins Valley Art. (NR – 100 minutes)
Some of the best movies of all time have been adapted from Bret Easton Ellis’ novels, including “American Psycho” and “The Rules of Attraction.” Therefore, it is somewhat surprising that the author has not had the same success upon penning his own screenplays. 2009’s “The Informers” was exceptionally shallow; but at least it starred several skilled actors, which is more than one can say about “The Canyons” – an original feature from Ellis that is plastic, pretentious and unpleasant. The new cinematic castigation against Hollywood’s only claim to fame is casting Lindsay Lohan in a lead role, where she overdramatizes every line as if her parole depended on it. (Thumbs Down!)
Jeff Garlin plays a famous comedian who, faced with the absurd competitiveness surrounding his son’s youth league baseball team, decides to get to know the colorful parents and coaches of the team better in an attempt to find the inspiration for his next movie. Playing exclusively at Harkins Shea 14. (NR – 86 minutes)
Aside from a small handful of inspired moments that mirror the deadpan sense of humor of “Curb Your Enthusiasm,” “Dealin’ with Idiots” is mostly unfunny and annoying. After all, the thing that makes “Curb Your Enthusiasm” work so well is its relatability. Yet writer/director/star Jeff Garlin instead injects this feature-length comedy with characters and situations that are so extreme that viewers cannot possibly identify with any of it. Everything is exaggerated even though the natural altitude of absurdity in circumstances surrounding so-called soccer moms and dads is already astonishing enough. (Thumbs Down!)
‘Jobs’
Ashton Kutcher portrays Steve Jobs, the original innovator and ground-breaking entrepreneur who let nothing stand in the way of greatness, blazing a trail that changed technology – and the world – forever. (PG-13 – 102 minutes)
“Jobs” is an extraordinary story told in an extremely ordinary way. Star Ashton Kutcher turns in a fine performance portraying late Apple, Inc. Co-Founder, Chairman and CEO Steve Jobs, but the film itself is too fixated on the man’s company and not nearly enough on the man – which is ironic seeing as the same criticism could be said of Jobs himself. The end-result is a movie that is a tad too technical for anyone other than those viewers who not only can but choose to “build” their own computers but it is still worth seeing if only to witness how far we have come – and how we have come so far. (Thumbs Up!)
Aaron Taylor-Johnson reprises his role as a costumed high-school hero, who joins with a group of normal citizens that have been inspired to fight crime. Chloë Grace Moretz and Christopher Mintz-Plasse also reprise their roles while Jim Carrey joins the cast. (R – 113 minutes)
“Kick-Ass 2” not only possesses exceptional entertainment value; it also possesses a surprisingly strong moral fiber. The new sequel – which, by the way, is even better than its action-packed predecessor – may at least look like just a bunch of violence and vigilantism but it is actually a shrewdly delivered cinematic message about using one’s pain as a force for good. As a result, it remains a fantastically fun and frenzied film while avoiding the trappings of tawdry motion pictures whose sole purpose is to amuse audiences. Moreover, the movie gives us actor Jim Carrey’s best role in years. (Thumbs Up!)
Forest Whitaker portrays a White House butler who served eight American presidents over three decades. Other stars include Robin Williams, John Cusack, Alan Rickman, James Marsden and Liev Schreiber. (PG-13 – 126 minutes)
“Lee Daniels’ The Butler” not only takes its viewers on a historical tour de force; it also takes them on an incredibly inspiring journey through more life-affirming themes than you can count. Using light to drive out darkness, seizing each and every single solitary day and wearing multiple masks in order to survive are among the new biographical drama’s richest lessons. Throw in a plethora of au fait performances – the most transcendent of which are James Marsden as John F. Kennedy and Alan Rickman as Ronald Reagan – and you have got a movie that is as meaningful as it is enjoyable. (Thumbs Up!)
Filmmaker Ky Dickens brings together four sole survivors of commercial aviation disasters to share their very complex, personal stories for the first time. They revisit the most harrowing moments of their lives in an effort to heal and overcome their most perplexing questions. Playing exclusively at Harkins Camelview 5. (NR – 118 minutes)
When “Sole Survivor” focuses on the philosophical themes of loss, guilt and the immense pressure of feeling “spared,” filmmaker Ky Dickens’ new documentary bringing together four sole survivors of commercial aviation disasters is emotionally and psychologically arresting. After all, these are feelings that many of us feel experience at one time or another in our lives but never nearly to the extent of the people featured in this film. However, the attention too often turns toward the physical “why” and “how” – which, although compelling questions, are not nearly as absorbing as their abstract counterparts. (Thumbs Up!)
Among the movies that became available Tuesday, Aug. 13 on Blu-ray and DVD at retail stores and rental outlets throughout the Valley are a single-setting thriller about a man buried alive in his own vehicle, a sports comedy starring five underutilized actresses and the far better of the year’s two White House hostage crisis actioners.
Paul Brannigan plays a new dad who, narrowly avoiding jail, vows to turn over a new leaf. A visit to a whiskey distillery inspires him and his mates to seek a way out of their hopeless lives. (NR – 96 minutes)
Although it really refers to the 2 percent of alcohol that disappears into thin air each year during the Scotch whiskey maturation process, it is almost ironic that “The Angels’ Share” title suggests something spiritual. Director Ken Loach’s new Scottish dramedy, which was written by his “The Wind that Shakes the Barley” collaborator Paul Laverty, has a social conscience that is kind of confusing. What starts out as a charming and almost fairytale-like story about unfair working class contraventions takes a tonal turn in the third act and suggests that two wrongs may actually make a right after all. (Thumbs Down!)
Robert De Niro and Diane Keaton play a long divorced couple who are once again forced to play the happy husband and wife for the sake of their adopted son’s (Ben Barnes) wedding after his ultra conservative biological mother (Patricia Rae) unexpectedly decides to fly halfway across the world to attend. (R – 89 minutes)
“The Big Wedding” really is big – the biggest waste of talent that you will see all year, that is. Granted, writer/director Justin Zackham’s new comedy may not have come across as such a colossal disaster if it had starred a bunch of unknowns – or even lesser-knowns. But with a cast of A-list actors that includes Robert De Niro, Diane Keaton, Susan Sarandon, Robin Williams, Katherine Heigl, Topher Grace, Amanda Seyfried and Ben Barnes, one can only shake their head in disbelief of its ineptitude. Such a simple-minded script populated with cardboard-like characters should have been left at the alter. (Thumbs Down!)
Robert Redford plays a wanted man and former member of the revolutionary militant group the Weather Underground who goes on the run after a journalist (Shia LaBeouf) outs him. (R – 125 minutes)
Seeing Robert Redford, Julie Christie, Susan Sarandon, Nick Nolte, Chris Cooper, Richard Jenkins, Brendan Gleeson and Sam Elliott – or what is essentially a parade of cinematic legends – walk across the silver screen in “The Company You Keep” is a bewildering blast from the past but at some point it all just seems superficial. The sensation is only amplified by the thriller’s spineless story, which lacks any suspense whatsoever and is quite confusing thanks to the unnecessarily high number of players involved. It does not help matters much that none of these characters are particular worth rooting for. (Thumbs Down!)
‘Detour’
Neil Hopkins plays a man who, trapped inside his car by a mudslide with no hope of rescue, must defy the odds – battling Mother Nature for his survival. (NR – 87 minutes)
Single-setting thrillers (think elevators ala “Devil” and ski chairlifts ala “Frozen”) are a tough nut to crack. They are even tougher when a single actor is responsible for carrying the entire movie on his shoulders alone (think Ryan Reynolds in “Buried” and James Franco in “127 Hours”). However, writer/director William Dickerson and star Neil Hopkins have done exactly that with “Detour” – and on an indie filmmaker’s production budget no less. The film features all of the claustrophobia, desperation and pure panic that you could possibly want in a motion picture, taking you on an emotional and psychological roller-coaster ride without ever leaving the confines of a car. (Thumbs Up!)
‘Emperor’
Matthew Fox plays a general who, as the Japanese surrender at the end of WWII, is tasked with deciding if Emperor Hirohito will be hanged as a war criminal. Tommy Lee Jones also stars. (PG-13 – 98 minutes)
At one point during the new post-WWII drama “Emperor,” Tommy Lee Jones retorts, “I don’t need a history lesson.” My thoughts exactly – especially one as devastatingly dull as director Peter Weber’s new motion picture. There are mere glimpses of a remotely fascinating film found here and there – namely the scenes shared by Matthew Fox and Eriko Hatsune, who plays his character’s love interest – but said scenes are fighting a losing battle with a story so scant on style and padded with pokerfaced performances that you will be willing to fall on your own sword to escape it. (Thumbs Down!)
Brooke Shields, Virginia Madsen, Daryl Hannah, Wanda Sykes and Camryn Manheim play an unlikely group of middle-aged women who challenge the high school girls’ state basketball champs to raise money for a mobile breast cancer screening truck to continue its work. (R – 99 minutes)
“The Hot Flashes” is a good-natured film about refusing to be sidelined due to one’s age – especially when the incentive is a bit bigger than a championship trophy. Having said that, the new sports comedy plays strictly by the genre’s rules – shot for three-point shot – and thus cannot really be called original much less groundbreaking. Moreover, the scenes on the court are not exactly nail-biting (or even authentic for that matter). But that is why director Susan Seidelman’s motion picture is so universally appealing; it scores with its humongous heart as opposed to its superficial skills. (Thumbs Up!)
Gerard Butler plays a disgraced former presidential guard who, when the White House is captured by a terrorist mastermind (Rick Yune) and the President (Aaron Eckhart) is kidnapped, helps retake the White House, save the President and avert an even bigger disaster. (R – 118 minutes)
“Olympus Has Fallen” is explosively exciting, exceptionally suspenseful and has everything that one could possibly want in an entire season of “24” condensed into two intense hours. It is hard to believe that director Antoine Fuqua’s new action-thriller was not initially conceived as an mission for Jack Bauer because it seems tailor-made for him. However, Gerard Butler’s Mike Banning is a spectacular stand-in, single-handedly saving the day in such a way that ensures viewers a really riveting time from the moment the White House comes under crowd attack to the last-ditch effort to protect the president’s life and simultaneously stop America’s apocalypse. (Thumbs Up!)
Onata Aprile plays a 6-year-old girl who, while struggling for grace in the midst of her parents’ (Julianne Moore and Steve Coogan) bitter custody battle, navigates ever-widening turmoil with innocence, charm and generosity of spirit. (R – 93 minutes)
“What Maisie Knew” is a touching and triumphant exercise in point-of-view filmmaking but it fails to add any new insight to it sadly familiar story. We already knew what Maisie knew – divorces and domestic squabbling do spectacular damage to young hearts that soak up negative emotions like a sponge and are robbed of childhood’s playful impunity. The modern-day cinematic adaptation of Henry James’s 1897 novel shows its 6-year-old star reacting to things we have seen on the screen a thousand times. The tragedy of it all is felt within the first minute. However, for some reason, we are asked to stick around for 92 more. (Thumbs Down!)
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Actress Kaitlyn Dever, who is best known for her role as Eve Baxter alongside Tim Allen on television’s “Last Man Standing,” recently spoke with “Breakthrough Entertainment” about her role in A24’s new coming-of-age dramedy “The Spectacular Now.”
In “The Spectacular Now,” which opens Friday, Aug. 9 exclusively at Harkins Camelview 5, Miles Teller plays a high school senior who unexpectedly falls in love with a young woman (Shailene Woodley). What starts as an unlikely romance becomes a sharp-eyed, straight-up snapshot of the heady confusion and haunting passion of youth – one that doesn’t look for tidy truths.
Question: Tell me about your character. Who is Krystal and what about her appealed to you as an actress?
Answer: Krystal is very annoying and sort of controlling – but in a funny way. She is very protective of Shailene Woodley’s character. She was a really fun character to play because I felt like it was sort of a comedic character. And I love going back and forth from drama to comedy so I really loved the opportunity to play her. That is pretty much why I wanted to do the film. I really liked the character. And also the script in and of itself was awesome.
Q: Tell me more of your thoughts about the script and other elements that drew you to the project. What did you think of screenwriters Scott Neustadter and Michael H. Weber and director James Ponsoldt?
A: The script on page by itself was so good. And I thought [screenwriters Scott Neustadter and Michael H. Weber] would be really cool but when I met them they were way cooler than I even expected. They were awesome and were the nicest guys. And when I met with director James Ponsoldt, it was one of the coolest auditions ever. He is completely down-to-earth and laid-back. I immediately fell in love with James as a director.
Q: What kind of director was James? In other words, how did he approach his role as director? And is that an approach that you prefer?
A: I love both types of directors. There is the one type, who will come to you with a lot of ideas and have you do different takes different ways. Then there is the other type, who kind of lets you try to find the character on your own. That is the way that James worked with me. And I really appreciated that because he was so down-to-earth. I felt like I was talking to just a regular guy who was very passionate about a movie he was directing. He had a perfect vision. I feel like he really knew what he wanted and he got it.
Q: Finally, if moviegoers were to come away from “The Spectacular Now” with only one theme or lesson about life, what do you hope that would be?
A: I think that the main thing that you can learn from watching “The Spectacular Now” is just learning about growing up and moving on. Miles Teller plays a high school senior and coming-of-age stories are usually about 14- to 16-year-olds but I feel like this is still a coming-of-age film because he is worrying about what he wants to do with the rest of his life. And Shailene Woodley’s character is also worrying about what she wants to do with her life. She is going to move on to college while [Miles’s character] is living in the now. So I feel like what you learn from it is basically to just follow your instincts. That is the one thing that I took away from it. And when I saw the finished product at Sundance, I really did learn a lot. It was just amazing.
Among the new movies that were released Friday, Aug. 9 in theaters throughout the Valley are a science-fiction flick starring Matt Damon, the sequel to a family film grounded in Greek mythology and a comedy pairing Jason Sudeikis with Jennifer Aniston.
Filmmaker Gabriela Cowperthwaite documents notorious killer whale Tilikum, who is responsible for the deaths of three individuals, thereby showing the sometimes devastating consequences of keeping such intelligent and sentient creatures in captivity. Playing exclusively at Harkins Camelview 5. (PG-13 – 80 minutes)
If anyone is able to watch “Blackfish” and still pursue a career as a whale trainer at SeaWorld or some similarly themed amusement park, then they very well may be pathologically insane. The same can be said about anyone who watches filmmaker Gabriela Cowperthwaite’s new documentary and does not immediately feel compelled to take a firm stand against keeping wild animals in captivity and exploiting them for our entertainment. Those whose hearts were broken by 2011’s “Project Nim” will feel similarly anguished upon bearing witness to this cautionary tale, which comes complete with scenes that are more petrifying than anything seen in even the greatest psychological thriller. (Thumbs Up!)
‘Elysium’
Matt Damon plays a man who, in the year 2154 where the very wealthy live on a man-made space station while the rest of the population resides on a ruined Earth, takes on a mission that could bring equality to the polarized worlds. Jodie Foster co-stars. (PG-13 – 97 minutes)
The first 30 minutes of “Elysium” is absolutely brilliant but, unfortunately, it quickly and continuously devolves during its second and third acts. The new science-fiction film from “District 9” writer/director Neill Blomkamp begins in such a way that possesses the socio-political significance of his earlier effort. However, the moment that star Matt Damon gets surgically outfitted with a robotic exoskeleton, things get a bit too bizarre as the movie constantly switches gears from heist thriller to chase drama and ultimately hand-to-hand-combat flick – none of which emulate even a molecule of the impressive meaning that made up the motion picture’s profound prologue. (Thumbs Down!)
‘Lovelace’
Amanda Seyfried plays Linda Lovelace, a woman who is used and abused by the porn industry at the behest of her coercive husband (Peter Sarsgaard) before taking control of her life. Playing exclusively at Harkins Shea 14. (R – 92 minutes)
“Lovelace” is tasteless, pointless and completely irrelevant. The new biographical drama about the woman who starred in “Deep Throat” squanders the potential of both its subject and its cast, separating its story into two distinctly different points of view. The first, which is filtered through glitz and glamor, is almost as exploitative as its source material. The second, which is meant to be like a hard punch of truth to the gut, stops short of the segment of time where star Amanda Seyfried could show off the full range of her acting abilities and emotional impact experienced by the woman she portrays. (Thumbs Down!)
‘Percy Jackson: Sea of Monsters’
Logan Lerman reprises his role as the son of Poseidon who, in order to restore their dying safe haven, embarks on a quest to the Sea of Monsters to find the mythical Golden Fleece and to stop an ancient evil from rising. (PG – 110 minutes)
Watching “Percy Jackson: Sea of Monsters” is like riding every attraction at an amusement park without ever leaving the movie theater. The new sequel to the 2010 family film is jam-packed with excitement that will thrill audiences of all ages – including those who, like myself, are usually put off by fantasy film franchises like “Harry Potter” and “The Chronicles of Narnia.” Moviegoers are taken on an adventurous array of roller-coasters in rapid succession while also being hit with just a splash of spiritual sensibility, making this one of the best and most universally entertaining motion pictures of the summer. (Thumbs Up!)
Paul Rudd and Emile Hirsch play highway road workers who spend the summer of 1988 away from their city lives. The isolated landscape becomes a place of misadventure as the men find themselves at odds with each other and the women they left behind. Playing exclusively at Harkins Valley Art. (R – 94 minutes)
There really is not much of a plot to “Prince Avalanche.” And what meaning – if any – its title possesses is anybody’s guess because even after having endured writer/director David Gordon Green’s new dramedy, one will be utterly unsure as to exactly how to describe the experience. The simplest way is perhaps to just use the word “slow.” But that does not do the enigma that is this flick justice since it suggests that something eventually does happen whereas, in reality, the movie is merely a meanderingly idiosyncratic exercise in the effects of loneliness and isolation. (Thumbs Down!)
Miles Teller plays a high school senior who unexpectedly falls in love with a young woman (Shailene Woodley). What starts as an unlikely romance becomes a sharp-eyed, straight-up snapshot of the heady confusion and haunting passion of youth – one that doesn’t look for tidy truths. Playing exclusively at Harkins Camelview 5. (R – 95 minutes)
Save for a few scenes that are dramatically intense yet oddly lead absolutely nowhere, “The Spectacular Now” is a deeply felt film that redefines the coming-of-age experience. By generally avoiding conventions and instead extracting emotional resonance out of the insecurities of its characters – namely its male lead, played with much profundity by actor Miles Teller – director James Ponsoldt and screenwriters Scott Neustadter and Michael H. Weber have made a movie that sincerely speaks to its audience, reminding us to live in the “now” and take solace in the fact that there is always another “now” tomorrow. (Thumbs Up!)
Jason Sudeikis plays a veteran pot dealer who creates a fake family as part of his plan to move a huge shipment of weed into the U.S. from Mexico. Jennifer Aniston, Emma Roberts, Will Poulter, Ed Helms and Nick Offerman also star. (R – 109 minutes)
“We’re the Millers” is easily one of the funnier movies of 2013. Thanks to an outstandingly original premise, a lot of lewd jokes that will leave you laughing out loud and a world-class cast led by the abundantly talented yet typically underutilized Jason Sudeikis, the new motion picture positions itself as one of the year’s few comedies that actually clicks. Upping the ante even further is the unconventional juxtaposition of its incredibly crass sense of humor with a surprisingly sweet message about different dysfunctional people coming together to somehow form a family that is far more functional than most. (Thumbs Up!)
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Among the movies that became available Tuesday, Aug. 6 on Blu-ray and DVD at retail stores and rental outlets throughout the Valley are a thriller starring Eli Roth, a drama starring Ryan Gosling and a musical dramedy starring Chris O’Dowd.
Eli Roth plays a hapless American tourist who, in the middle of a night of wild partying with his friends, is suddenly plunged into a living hell when a powerful earthquake rips through the coastal town of Valparaíso, Chile. (R – 90 minutes)
Those expecting “Aftershock” to essentially show what would happen if an earthquake had hit smack dab in the middle of “Hostel” will be sorely disappointed. Although it is true that Eli Roth has both writing and producing credits on the new thriller in which he also stars and director Nicolás López does place some pretty painful looking ways to die on display, none of it is particularly creative and therefore it all feels somewhat generic. Cementing that quality is a third act that is less about the disquieting consequences of natural disaster than about bad people doing barbaric things. (Thumbs Down!)
Caleb Jones plays an employee at a clinic that sells injections of live viruses harvested from sick celebrities to obsessed fans. When he becomes infected with the disease that kills the most revered celebrity of all, he becomes a target for collectors and rabid fans. (NR – 106 minutes)
It is not necessarily a bad thing that writer/director Brandon Cronenberg’s style seems so inspired by that of his father David. After all, he has picked up many useful skills – including an eye for visual poetry and a knack for infusing an interesting idea with significant social subtext. However, some stories – such as the one in “Antiviral” – ought to be told with at least some sense of humanity. Brandon borrows too much from David for this particular premise, using a parasite in place of an actual character and adopting a pace that will put most audiences to sleep. (Thumbs Down!)
‘Oblivion’
Tom Cruise plays a veteran soldier who is sent by a court martial to a distant planet, where he is to destroy the remains of an alien race. The arrival of an unexpected traveler causes him to question what he knows about the planet, his mission and himself. (PG-13 – 125 minutes)
“Oblivion” borrows from just about every science-fiction flick imaginable. Writer/director Joseph Kosinski’s new movie does not have so much as a single original bone in its entire body. Although this essentially does not bode well for its chances at longevity, it ensures fans of the genre a great time in the here and now. And while the visuals are quite spectacular, the motion picture is particularly effective in its use of sound. Its score is the best that I have heard since Kosinski’s “Tron: Legacy” and the reverberation of its attacking drones makes this feel less like film than a theme park ride. (Thumbs Up!)
Sam Riley and Garrett Headlund play an aspiring writer and an ex-con who, determined not to get locked into a constricted life, cut their ties and take to the road in search of the world, of other encounters and of themselves. Kristen Stewart also stars. (R – 124 minutes)
Regardless of the company that they might afford you, some road trips should just never be taken. “On the Road” is an one of them. Director Walter Salles’ cinematic adaptation of Jack Kerouac’s novel of the same title is a tedious, overlong and meandering motion picture – which is a shame considering its cast includes the likes of Kristen Stewart, Amy Adams and Viggo Mortensen. Sure, the scenery is sometimes spectacular but you are almost guaranteed to get lost along the way – be it out of sheer boredom or simply out of the strenuously spontaneous nature of the narrative. (Thumbs Down!)
Ryan Gosling plays a motorcycle stunt rider who turns to robbing banks as a way to provide for his lover (Eva Mendes) and their newborn child – a decision that puts him on a collision course with an ambitious rookie cop (Bradley Cooper) navigating a department ruled by a corrupt detective (Ray Liotta). (R – 140 minutes)
“The Place Beyond the Pines” is clandestinely epic. That is to say that writer/director Derek Cianfrance’s new drama is every bit as monumentally entertaining as not only one summer blockbuster but an entire trilogy – except instead of big-budget special effects to astound audiences it utilizes gigantic and genuine emotions. In fact, its story is so intensely arresting that you will not be able to take your eyes off of the screen for the entire duration of its 140-minute runtime while the powerful journey and its compelling consequences will remain with you long after the end credits have rolled. (Breakthrough!)
Miranda Tapsell, Deborah Mailman, Jessica Mauboy and Shari Sebbens play Australian Aboriginal girls who learn about love, friendship and war when they are discovered by a talent scout (Chris O’Dowd) and their all-girl group entertains the U.S. troops in 1968 Vietnam. (PG-13 – 99 minutes)
Much like the four female characters whose story it tells, “The Sapphires” is – against seemingly all odds – sensational. The new historical musical dramedy is emotionally manipulative as it travels along a relatively conventional narrative path but it is so exorbitantly lively and gosh-darn likeable that you cannot help but overlook those somewhat sour notes and just enjoy the ride. And even though it is particularly less polished than most motion pictures and comes with accents that are occasionally difficult to decipher, the always charismatic Chris O’Dowd and a stellar soundtrack help to make this low-budget Australian import much easier to swallow. (Thumbs Up!)
Olga Kurylenko and Ben Affleck play a couple who, after visiting Mont Saint-Michel, come to Oklahoma where problems arise. The woman meets a priest and fellow exile (Javier Bardem) who is struggling with his vocation while the man renews his ties with a childhood friend (Rachel McAdams). (R – 112 minutes)
Writer/director Terrence Malick’s characters in “To the Wonder” love to spin around in circles. At first, everything looks so absolutely gorgeous – with dialogue that makes this romantic drama feel less like a motion picture than a piece of poetry that has come to life – that you embrace the experience and spin around with them. However, as time goes on and things get increasingly abstract, you lose your grasp on the story and are sent flying into a state of discombobulation by the centrifugal force. Eventually, you are merely looking at the movie as opposed to actually absorbing it. (Thumbs Down!)
Filmmaker Amy Berg examines a catastrophic failure of justice in Arkansas, telling the story behind an extraordinary and desperate fight to bring the truth to light. (R – 147 minutes)
One would think that Amy Berg, the director of “West of Memphis” – a remarkably well-researched documentary that essentially condemns the criminal system for taking too long to grant justice to the wrongly convicted – would have found a way to tell the story of the West Memphis Three in less than two-and-a-half hours. All irony aside, this motion picture packs a powerful punch – both intellectually and emotionally. Prepare to be disturbed. Prepare to be angry. Prepare to be inspired. The movie is as compelling as it comprehensive, drawing those who are familiar with the case as well as newcomers deep into the difficult ordeal. (Thumbs Up!)
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Director Matthias Hoene recently spoke with “Breakthrough Entertainment” about his new comedic horror flick “Cockneys vs. Zombies.”
In “Cockneys vs. Zombies,” which opened Friday, Aug. 2 exclusively at Harkins Valley Art, a bunch of east-enders fight their way out of a zombie infested London, lead by an unlikely gang of amateur banks robbers and foul-mouthed plucky pensioners. Stars include Michelle Ryan, Honor Blackman and Harry Treadaway.
Question: This movie is based on an original idea of yours. What inspired said idea?
Answer: I was working with a couple of cockney actors on a web series that I was directing. They were just side characters but because of their big attitudes and their really funny demeanor, they kind of took over the whole series. I thought, “My God! These guys need their own film!” Cockneys are primarily known for their almost [unintelligible] language. But cockneys also look out for one another. They look out for their family. And they defend their East London turf against anyone who tries to invade it. Never in cinema history have cockneys fought against zombies or any supernatural entity. So that is why I wanted to make this film.
Q: The movie really reflects the theme of traditional values vs. modernization. What about that theme appealed to you?
A: I have lived in East London for 12 years now. Like many urban places, it has completely changed over the years. I have seen a lot of old traditional cockney places and hangouts – these beautiful pubs, cafés and shops – torn down and redeveloped into these bland, urban high-rises. I wanted this film to be a declaration of love to the East London that I used to know and is sort of fading away, which is symbolized by the zombie outbreak. I did not want to get too philosophical about it but it is the cockneys themselves – with their foul mouths and shotguns – who defend East London against the zombies.
Q: This movie sees the return of the slow zombie as opposed to the one that moves quickly. Why is that?
A: It takes a long time to make a movie. And when I started developing this film, shows like “The Walking Dead” had not come out yet and everyone was doing fast zombies. I wanted to go back to the slower zombies – the Romero zombies – because they are really more of a device to play a character story against. I did not want this to be an out-of-breath, running-away kind of movie. I wanted it to be a comedy, with cockneys doing their banter and joking about the zombies as they approach them. So it was really crucial for me to make them slow-moving zombies. At the time, everyone was saying, “People are not going to be scared” and “Nobody is going to believe that” and “Nobody is going to take slow-moving zombies seriously.” But we stood our ground.
Q: And I am glad that you did. Some of my favorite scenes in the film are those in which the old folks struggle to outrun… er, outwalk the zombies.
A: Having an old-age pension home full of old cockneys who sort of symbolize the old traditional East London ways was really fun because even though the zombies are slow the pensioners in their wheelchairs and walking frames are even slower. I just love that idea of an old pensioner trying his hardest to walk as fast as he can and even though he is giving it his best he is still slower than the shuffling zombie that is coming after him. And shooting some of those scenes was funny because if a line in the script says, for example, “The gang walks to the docks,” it can take 10 minutes just to film that one line when you have eight actors who are more than 70 years old.
Q: You mentioned earlier that you intended this film to be a declaration of love to East London. You shot scenes at some pretty spectacular places. Was it easy to get permission to do that?
A: It was not easy but it was especially worth it. It is an independent movie and people often make a contained movie on the sort of budget that I was working with. But I really wanted to show the whole area. The production team really pulled that out of the bag, the fact that we could shoot it all those places – like the financial center of England. We were shooting machine guns and pensioners were doing stunts,jumping onto boats and battling zombies. I can only imagine what the bankers looking out of their windows thought of the scenes that were happening at their feet.
Q: Finally, if moviegoers come away from this film with only one message or lesson, what do you hope that would be?
A: There are a couple of lessons. The first lesson is, if you get caught in a zombie apocalypse, the safest place to be is near a bunch of cockneys. The other one is, family sticking together is always the way forward.
Among the new movies that were released Friday, Aug. 2 in theaters throughout the Valley are a an actioner starring Mark Wahlberg and Denzel Washington, a live-action/animated hybrid starring Hank Azaria and a bunch of blue creatures and a drama starring Wes Bentley and Frank Langella.
‘2 Guns’
Mark Wahlberg and Denzel Washington play a DEA agent and an undercover Naval Intelligence officer who, having been tasked with investigating one another, find that they have been set up by the mob – the very organization the two men believe they have been stealing money from. (R – 109 minutes)
“2 Guns” is exactly as generic as its title suggests. The new actioner is incredibly nondescript, leading one to believe that if it were not for stars Mark Wahlberg and Denzel Washington this film would have been destined for direct-to-disc status. Having said that, at least most direct-to-disc titles are easy to follow whereas this movie is a jumbled mess from the very beginning, making it exceptionally difficult for the audience to retain a firm grasp on who is good, who is bad, who is working for whom and why we should care enough to even try to keep up with its preposterous plot twists. (Thumbs Down!)
A bunch of east-enders fight their way out of a zombie infested London, lead by an unlikely gang of amateur banks robbers and foul-mouthed plucky pensioners. Stars include Michelle Ryan, Honor Blackman and Harry Treadaway. Playing exclusively at Harkins Valley Art. (NR – 88 minutes)
Half of “Cockneys vs. Zombies” is charming, clever and incredibly fresh. However, the other half is loud, obnoxious and somewhat stale. Director Matthias Hoene divides his new zom-com into two separate storylines. One, which features amateur bank robbers, treads ground that is familiar to anyone who has ever seen “Shaun of the Dead” or “Attack the Block.” The other, which features tenants of an old-folks home, is much more amusing. After all, seeing the same old gags resurrected for what feels like the 400th time is tiresome, But seeing not-so-spry senior citizens try to outrun… rather, outwalk… the unhurried undead is entertainment at its very best. (Thumbs Down!)
‘Drift’
Xavier Samuel and Myles Pollard play brothers who, in the 1970s, battle killer waves, conservative society and ruthless bikers to kick-start the modern surf industry. Sam Worthington also stars. Playing exclusively at AMC Arizona Center 24. (R – 113 minutes)
If the purpose of “Drift” were to showcase some “primo” wave-riding skills and “gnarly” Australian landscapes, then the new drama would undoubtedly be a resounding success. However, there are plenty of other places that viewers looking for that kind of thing can “hang ten,” so to speak – namely documentaries, in which case they would not be as burdened by the distinct deficiency of plot that plagues this motion picture. And although the 1970s atmosphere in this movie is as authentic as it gets, the cardboard characters and lack of any structural story other than simply striving to “shoot the curl” make this a “wipe out.” (Thumbs Down!)
Neil Patrick Harris reprises his role as a human that once again teams up with the Smurfs to rescue Smurfette (Katy Perry), who has been kidnapped by Gargamel (Hank Azaria) since she knows a secret spell involving the evil sorcerer’s newest creation – the Naughties. (PG – 105 minutes)
After its pop-culture-reference- and product-placement-laden predecessor, the fun that is afforded by “The Smurfs 2” may seem as though it has come completely out of the “blue.” The new sequel inspired by Peyo’s classic cartoons is certain to satisfy young viewers and may even win over a few parents in the process by promoting an excellent message about acknowledging, accepting and reciprocating unconditional love. By heightening the heart, adding a subplot starring a duck and showcasing more of star Hank Azaria’s pitch-perfect portrayal of Gargamel in a real-world setting, this family film franchise has finally found the “blue”-print for success. (Thumbs Up!)
Wes Bentley plays a struggling young artist who is approached by a reclusive millionaire (Frank Langella) to complete a series of increasingly bizarre surveillance assignments. As he starts to unravel the secrets behind the requests, he must determine if the old man is out to further his career or ruin his life. Playing exclusively at Harkins Shea 14. (NR – 88 minutes)
What begins as a monopolizing mystery quickly reveals itself to be something not so special and a story that we have seen time and time again in “The Time Being.” Writer/director Nenad Cicin-Sain’s new drama certainly has its heart in the right place, trying its best to manipulate our emotions in order to teach us a lesson about balancing our family life and our creative ambitions. But it is simply too typical of a tale to make us feel anything other than our time being wasted. Having said that, stars Wes Bentley and Frank Lengella turn in terrific performances, as usual. (Thumbs Down!)
Writer/director Bryan Michael Stoller recently spoke with “Breakthrough Entertainment” about the new family film that he will begin shooting this weekend in the Valley titled “The Wizard of Paws.”
Stoller is seeking extras to appear on-camera during a scene that he describes as being “similar to auditions for ‘America’s Got Talent’ and ‘American Idol.’” The scene will be shot 8:30-11 a.m. Sunday, Aug. 4 at the Hilton Phoenix Suites, 10 E. Thomas Road.
Question: First of all, what is “The Wizard of Paws?”
Answer: “The Wizard of Paws” is a magical family feature film about a young boy who inherits a magical dog from an ancient wizard. As it turns out, the dog can actually talk. The boy has always wanted to be a magician and he ends up finding this book that was once owned by the wizard. Once he opens the book, he ends up getting these powers and he and the dog go on these magical adventures.
Q: So then describe the scene that you will be shooting this weekend. Can you set the stage, so to speak?
A: The boy finds out about a million-dollar talent show and he wants to win the million dollars to save his house from foreclosure. That is what we are going to be shooting this weekend and we are looking for people to come downtown to be in the movie. We need a lot of people on camera. We can pretty much get everybody on camera and they will be seen in the movie.
Q: What should they wear? Can they come in costume?
A: They can come in anything from ballerina outfits to karate outfits. We are looking for acrobats, jugglers and musicians. Bring your guitar. Bring your bongo drums. Bring anything that is interesting. Come as a clown. Come in any homemade outfit; no logos, commercial brand names or anything like that.
Q: So does one need to have a particular talent to come out and be an extra? And will there be opportunities to perhaps get an acting credit in the film?
A: They do not need to have a particular talent. But if they do have a talent, we may actually call them back to perform, as well. They can also be performing the lobby or even just pretending that they have a certain talent. We just want some fun faces. Now, we do have other scenes after Sunday because we are going to be filming for a couple of weeks. So, for anybody who comes down on Sunday, we are also going to pick people to be in a movie theater scene that we will be filming the next day. And we will need extras throughout the film. So anybody who comes out on Sunday has a chance to not only be in that scene but also in some other scenes, as well.
Q: Other filmmakers have criticized Phoenix for not exactly having the greatest tax incentives for movie productions. So what draws you to the city?
A: I think that the biggest thing that draws me to the city is the people. Everybody is so friendly here. When we are scouting locations, we walk in and people are so excited to be a part of the movie. They offer their location and themselves to be in the movie whereas in Hollywood everybody is just a little bit jaded. You walk in and they want a lot of money to shoot there because they are so is used to studios coming in all of the time. It is much more unique for a professional film to come to this town. Plus, we are kind of rebels and it is nice to get away from the hustle and bustle Hollywood.
Q: Finally, when can audiences expect to see “The Wizard of Paws” in theaters?
A: We should be finished filming by the end of August and there could be another 4 to 6 months of post-production. I do not think that it will be ready in time for Christmas but maybe shortly after that if we are lucky.
Actor Wes Bentley – whose film credits include “American Beauty,” “The Hunger Games” and “P2” – recently spoke with “Breakthrough Entertainment about his role in the new drama “The Time Being.”
In “The Time Being,” which opens Friday, Aug. 2 exclusively at Harkins Shea 14, Bentley plays a struggling young artist who is approached by a reclusive millionaire (Frank Langella) to complete a series of increasingly bizarre surveillance assignments. As he starts to unravel the secrets behind the requests, he must determine if the old man is out to further his career or ruin his life.
Question: What initially attracted you to this project?
Answer: I was attracted to the nature of the struggling artist. Being an actor myself, I was drawn to that because I have been there – especially with having a family and having to decide between whether you are going to do what you think is an artist with integrity by only picking the best things and having to choose to do things that provide for your family and put food on the table. I have had a much easier struggle with that then [my character] has in this movie. He has a much more profound one. But I was attracted to that. And I was attracted to telling the story of an artist in this way – someone who has neither totally failed nor totally been successful.
Q: Tell me more about the artist’s struggle. And how, specifically, were you able to identify with this character?
A: I struggled a bit after I got sober. I wanted to get my career back on track and I had to kind of start from zero. I had to make some decisions that I didn’t always want to make. They are not things that I regret by any means. I am very grateful for them. But I had to choose to do some films that I would not have necessarily done had I not needed to put food on the table for my family. [My character] has to do that in a much more amplified way, having to decide between sticking to the art that he wants to make or making some concessions to sell some art so that he can be a father and and a husband. He has a real struggle with that, which is only amplified when he meets Frank Langella’s character.
Q: So then what did this character teach you about yourself?
A: There was a real connection between he and I. I guess what I took away from him is that I am just so happy and grateful to have a family. I could not be a good actor without my family. I would just not have it in me without my wife and my son. We all think, “If I was alone, I could just do it all by myself.” But that is not how it works. I am lucky to have people in my life who inspire me and make me want to be a better actor. I got that from this film. I also got that I eventually want to paint. I am not a painter but I would love to just do some stuff for myself and not show to anybody – because that would probably be something that you would not want to see. But I would love to paint later in life.
Q: So then is that to say that you did not do any of the painting in the film?
A: I spent a couple of days with the artists who did the real painting for the film. A lot of what I did in the film was build the backgrounds, which is sort of the easiest part of the painting. They would build the front or the focus of the piece. I did not have time to learn how to do that nor would I have had anywhere near the talent that they had. But it was a bit of a trade-off. I would do a little bit of the painting and then they would do more of the detail.
Q: What did you learn from your co-star Frank Langella?
A: I learned a lot from Frank. We actually really clicked on this film. The house that he was staying at while we were shooting the film was right across the street from the set. So every morning before work, I would go in early and he and I had breakfast at his place. We would run through our lines but we would also talk a lot about acting and life. I learned a lot of great things from him. He was very good at sort of explaining, teaching and giving some good pointers. I would go hang out there with him whenever we had time. I love Frank and I loved spending that time with him.
Q: If moviegoers were to take away only one theme or idea from this film, what do you hope that would be?
A: How important people are in your life and how lucky we are to have people we love in our lives. They truly are more than just people who are there to make us feel good about ourselves. They are truly inspiring and already the real core of our being. I would say that that is what I took from it and I would hope that most people take that away, too. We cannot really do the things that we do without the people who we love in our lives.
Q: Finally, what one of your previous films would you want people to check out most? And what future film are you most excited about sharing with the world?
A: There is a role of mine that not many people have seen. It is a really silly comedy but I had the most fun doing it. It was a film called “Weirdsville” with Scott Speedman, who is also going to be doing this HBO show with me. It is this silly stoner comedy but I just had the best time on it. There is another film that I just recently shot that won’t be out for a while but it is called “Things People Do.” It is the most complete character that I have been allowed to play and I am really looking forward to that coming out because I had a great time doing that as well.
Q: My personal favorite film of yours is “P2.” Do you have any insights about that particular project?
A: I love “P2.” We actually shot “P2” right after “Weirdsville” and we had a lot of the same crew. I think that it is a very misunderstood film – or at least the character is. I was not trying to play a cackling madman. I was trying to play a real guy who snaps one night. I had a great time playing that character and doing that film. It is fun to do a film with just a few people, as well. That is a hard thing to do and we had a good time trying.
Among the movies that became available Tuesday, July 30 on Blu-ray and DVD at retail stores and rental outlets throughout the Valley are a thriller starring Kate Bosworth, a horror flick starring Sarah Butler and an actioner starring Bruce Willis.
Kate Aselton, Lake Bell and Kate Bosworth play childhood friends who set aside their personal issues and reunite for a girls’ weekend on a remote island off the coast of Maine. However, one wrong move turns their weekend getaway into a deadly fight for survival. (R – 83 minutes)
“Black Rock” is a dynamite thriller that is also a bit deeper than most. Director Katie Aselton, who co-wrote the motion picture’s screenplay with her husband Mark Duplass, draws viewers to the edge of their seats with an emotionally electrifying cat-and-mouse/battle-of-wills setup and simultaneously provokes profound thoughts about gender roles and putting aside differences for the simple sake of survival. Constantly surprising, deeply engaging and incredibly exciting, this movie demonstrates not only the extreme exhilaration that a bare-bones production is capable of achieving but also the complex contemplation that a genre film is capable of stimulating. (Thumbs Up!)
Six college friends unite for a weekend getaway where they find themselves fighting for their lives after a terrorist attack turns the local residents into rage infused zombies. Stars include Sarah Butler, Kayla Ewell and Michael Welch. (R – 90 minutes)
Had writer/director Christopher Roosevelt actually decided upon one ending to his film rather than giving us two distinctly different versions of the same scene, “The Demented” would have been a fairly strong low-budget horror flick. On the other hand, it remains a fairly strong low-budget horror flick; the double-edged finale just leaves a somewhat sour taste in your mouth. Other than that and the fact that it skimps on the gore, the new movie is an excellent entry in the zombie genre, thrilling fans of such films with plenty of tense moments – including a couple of edge-of-your-seat foot-chases. (Thumbs Up!)
The G.I. Joes are forced to contend with not only their mortal enemy Cobra but also threats from within the government that jeopardize their very existence. Dwayne Johnson, Channing Tatum and Bruce Willis star. (PG-13 – 110 minutes)
Though seemingly impossible, “G.I. Joe: Retaliation” is even worse than 2009’s “G.I. Joe: The Rise of Cobra.” Not only does it pool all of its resources into nonstop action thereby robbing viewers of a compelling plot but it also lacks any specificity whatsoever. There is absolutely nothing that makes this movie unique and, as a result, its impression is about as long-lasting as a stick of dollar-store chewing gum. Accompanied by a bait-and-switch in which actors Channing Tatum and Bruce Willis’s screentime consists of less than 10 minutes apiece despite appearing on the motion picture’s poster and you have got a bomb of nuclear proportions. (Thumbs Down!)
Producer John Waldron recently spoke with “Breakthrough Entertainment” about his new feature-length anthology film “Locker 13.”
“Locker 13” tells stories of a down and out boxer (Ricky Schroder) who is given the opportunity to become a real golden gloves killer; an assassin (Rick Hoffman) who kidnaps three people in order to find out who hired him for his latest hit; a new recruit (Bart Johnson) who is initiated into a lodge of fez-wearing businessmen where hazing can take a malevolent turn; a member of a suicide club (Jason Marsden) who introduces real fear to a man about to jump to his death; and a young janitor (Jason Spisak) who discovers a portal to another universe.
Q: How did you become involved in this project? And tell me about your vision for it?
A: I am a part of a production company called Brothers Ink. It was founded by identical twin brothers Adam and Donovan Montierth from here in the Valley probably 10 years ago. They saw a short comedy film of mine that won a bunch of awards, asked me to join their company and we developed the concept for this feature film – “Locker 13.” They have mastered the short film genre as filmmakers and we wanted to come up with a film that was very similar in tone to the “Twilight Zone.” There are four standalone vignettes in the film and then there is one story that weaves all the way through it that ties all of those other chapters in.
Q: The movie has an amazing cast! Was it at all difficult to get so many tremendously talented actors attached to the project?
A: Not really! If you are naïve and do not know any better, you can circumvent the traditional arenas of going through managers and agents whereas if you are in the industry they say you just do not do that. But we did what we had to do to get a hold of people. And once we started getting some big attachments on the film, it helped to attract higher caliber acting talent and crew. It was synergy. And I have to honestly say that the “Locker 13” script tells a wonderful story. We found that if actors think that it is a good story, it is well-written and is going to be done in a professional way, they want to work.
Q: Finally, at what stage of development does this project sit at this moment? I understand that you are raising funds on Kickstarter to help finish the film and get it into theaters nationwide. Why is that?
A: It is done, shot and in the can. We are in [post-production] right now. This is just a good opportunity to get other people involved in [the project]. We initially sold interests in the film that are monitored by the Securities Exchange Commission. We had a set a goal and once we reached that goal that was pretty much all we could raise. But we wanted to involve a lot of other people who really want to see the product get finished. The interests were pretty large to buy in and a lot of people say, “I would love to get involved but I cannot afford to buy a whole share.” So this is just a wonderful opportunity for people who want to support us, want to get some memorabilia or props from the film and want to see the film early or get copies of it to do so. It is part fundraising and part marketing. It is goodwill. It just a wonderful way to get word out about our film.
Help fund the completion of “Locker 13” by contributing to the Kickstarter campaign and receive such rewards as your name listed in the film’s end credits; a copy of the screenplay; a copy of the graphic novel; props and costumes from the film; signed merchandise by the cast and crew; an invitation to a screening of the film; and much, much more!
Writer/director Torre Catalano and actress Martha MacIsaac recently spoke with “Breakthrough Entertainment” about their new short film “Seasick Sailor.”
In “Seasick Sailor,” which wrapped production last week, Keir Gilchrist plays a teenager who spends his days stocking shelves at the local drugstore – that is, when he is not killing people for a boss that he has never met. Over the course of the story, we see him try to balance the growing responsibilities of this unorthodox job while trying desperately to establish a real connection with someone else like an adjusted young adult.
Question: Tell me about the inception of this project. Where did this story come from?
Torre: I have always been fascinated with looking at oddball characters. When I met Keir and saw what a great actor he was and saw that he had this darker side to him, I thought that it would be cool to put him in a part where we could explore the life of a hitman who is 17- or 18-years-old and trying to grow up, go through growing pains and balance that with killing people.
Question: The cast includes Keir Gilchrist, Martha MacIssac, Emily Osment, Brandon Jay McLaren, Martin Starr and Fran Kranz among many others. How did you get everyone together for this project? And was working around everyone’s schedules at all difficult?
Torre: No, it was not hard. We all kind of show each other what we are working on. A lot of the actors in the movie … are always working on bigger things but everyone kind of has their passion projects, as well. So when it came time to cast this, we went out to our friends and friends of friends. Devon Bostick was a huge part of that. He is a well-connected man for a 21-year-old. We didn’t even really need a casting director because everyone kind of knew what was going on. We just gave everyone the script and said, “Hey, if you are free for the day, we would love to have you. So it was pretty easy actually.
Question: Martha, aside from simply supporting your husband in all of his endeavors, what was it about this project that appealed to you?
Martha: I was kind of there from the birth of this project so it is something that I have been passionate about the whole time. And it was the first time that I actually have tried my hand at producing, which is a totally different ballgame. I am usually just on the other side of the fence, waiting for a job to kind of fall into my lap. But with this one I got to help along and give my ideas while we were on set and not have them be ignored. So was pretty cool and that side was my main interest. And then my husband is such a wonderful writer. He wrote a great little story that I think that we all just latched onto and wanted to have a part in telling.
Question: So you just wrapped up production on the project and are now in the midst of post-production. What happens next?
Torre: We just hope to get some buzz going. We have got some amazing actors who will hopefully be plugging it when they are promoting their other stuff. And then we will go to some festivals. I think that it is a really good festival film because it is entertaining, has got a good cast and shows in a short amount of time what our crew and our talent can do. So we will go to some festivals and hopefully pick up a little recognition.
Question: Is there any hope of this short being extended to feature-length?
Torre: That was not the original intent. We kind of had this compact short story and it was exciting everybody but as we brought it to different people they said, “This should be a feature!” And after we heard that for the 10th time, we were like, “ Alright. I guess it could be a feature.” So we are going to see how the first cut looks – we are editing it as we speak – and if it looks as good as we think it will, Devon and I definitely want to have a conversation about expanding it into a feature. And I would love to see these amazing actors in an expanded role for these characters. So definitely something that we are thinking about.
Question: If we could push pause on our discussion about “Seasick Sailor” for just a moment, I would like to commend Martha on a terrific performance in the undervalued NBC sitcom “1600 Penn.” What were your feelings when you heard that, unfortunately, the show had not been picked up for a second season?
Martha: I had such incredible time on “1600 Penn.” We had an amazing cast and we had such a fun time going to work everyday. It did not even seem like work. I think that, in the beginning, we all thought that we would be going forever. We were having the time of our lives on that set. I think that we produced something really wonderful but I think that we knew when the numbers were coming in and nobody was watching anything on NBC that we probably would not be sitting around for too long. So it was not a shock but it was certainly a disappointment because I thought that the material was wonderful and I really loved the people I was working with. It was disappointing but not unexpected.
Question: This short is the first time that you two have actually worked with one another. So… how did that go?
Torre: It was pretty easy. When I said, “This is our first time working together,” a lot of people would say, “Oh no! What is going to happen?” And that kind of freaked me out because I thought that it was a good thing. I think that people’s gut reaction is, “Don’t work with your family or with your wife.” But I like to have family and close friends around me during all of my endeavors. My father was one of the executive producers. My sister helped out on production. My wife is in one of the leading roles. And that made it pretty easy. That was one point on a day that was getting to be a bit long and hot. I kind of gave [Martha] some quick direction for a scene and I didn’t really say it right. But since we know each other so well, she kind of knew what I was saying anyway. So that it is an example of how it was positive.
Question: Finally, if audiences were to take away only one theme or idea from this short film, what do you both hope that would be?
Torre: It has got some darker tones but there are actually some funny and heartfelt moments in it, too. Yes there is violence and such but the theme for me is that this kid he has a job that is a bit different than the job that most teens have but he is just like everybody else. He wants to finish work quickly so that he can go hang out with his friends. It just so happens that his job is as a hitman. So I think that the theme, for me, is just an exaggerated metaphor that everybody has a job and everybody has something to do that gets in the way of their fun. This is just an extreme look at that.
Martha: That is hopefully what we got across to everybody. At the end of the day, though, movies like this are there to be entertaining. And I think that we got that done. I am excited for everyone to see it. I think that you will laugh, you will be scared, you will hide your eyes, you will hold your breath and – hopefully – at the end the day you will be entertained.
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Among the new movies that were released Friday, July 26 in theaters throughout the Valley are a drama about a young man whose life is cut entirely too short, a drama about a man whose life is obliterated by a little white lie and an actioner about a mutant whose life is full of regret.
Michael Cera plays a boorish, insensitive American in Chile who, in a fit of drunkenness at a wild party, invites an eccentric young woman (Gaby Hoffmann) on a road trip north to experience a legendary shamanistic hallucinogen called the San Pedro cactus. Playing exclusively at Harkins Shea 14. (NR – 98 minutes)
The first half of “Crystal Fairy” is not exactly brilliant, but it is at least a delightfully diverting experience. After all, writer/director Sebastián Silva essentially invites viewers on a spur-of-the-moment road trip with Michael Cera as Michael Cera (or at least what we have come to believe is Michael Cera) – and who wouldn’t welcome that? However, the thing about road trips is that the journey is usually more momentous than the destination. Silva and company arrive at theirs entirely too soon and what was once a carbonated chronicle comes to grinding halt with a deeply digressive second half. (Thumbs Down!)
Michael B. Jordan plays a 22-year-old Bay Area resident who is shot in cold blood by BART officers at the Fruitvale subway stop on New Year’s Day. His life and tragic death shakes the Bay Area – and the entire nation – to its very core. (R – 84 minutes)
“Fruitvale Station” is expertly acted and is designed in such a way that is certain to get an emotional reaction out of some of its viewers. However, others – the more rationally thinking ones – will wonder why, lacking any intellectual insight, this story even warranted being made into a movie. Granted, it is a gut-wrenching event that writer/director Ryan Coogler documents in his new drama, which is based on a true story. But bad things happen to good people – regardless of race – every single day yet the filmmaker fails to acknowledge that overarching issue and instead focuses on inciting socio-political protest. (Thumbs Down!)
‘Grabbers’
Richard Coyle and Ruth Bradley play a pair of police officers in an idyllic fishing village off the coast of Ireland who discover that the only way to fend off the bloodsucking aliens that have invaded their island is to get drunk – very, very drunk. Playing exclusively at the FilmBar. (NR – 94 minutes)
Anyone who grew up on the B-movie charm of “Tremors” will see the initial appeal in “Grabbers.” After all, the new motion picture promises plenty of schlocky entertainment. But, unfortunately, the film fails to deliver that in such a way that will leave you laughing your head off and instead comes across as slightly more serious than one might expect. Having said that, the special effects are spectacular and the premise is just peculiar enough to keep you intrigued from beginning to end. You just cannot help but think that Simon Pegg and Nick Frost could have ratcheted up the comedic value, though. (Thumbs Up!)
Nils d’Aulaire plays a decorated soldier from the planet Hondo who is sent to Earth to wipe out its current inhabitants with a flesh-eating virus. However, shortly after landing, he is enchanted by the mystical human invention known as “music,” abandons his mission to eradicate the human race and launches a one-alien bluegrass act instead. Playing exclusively at Harkins Valley Art. (NR – 85 minutes)
From the looks of “The History of Future Folk’s” poster, on which its two stars rock both stringed instruments and red bucket-head space-suits, you would never predict that the new so-called “alien-folk-duo sci-fi-action-romance-comedy” is actually an extremely endearing motion picture. And although said endearment remains potent from beginning to end, the novelty of its plot wears off rather quickly and what was once charming grows slightly annoying. Writer/director John Mitchell and co-director Jeremy Kipp Walker summarize the story’s most magnetic moments during which star Nils d’Aulaire’s character is first enhanced by music and spend most of the movie’s time on humdrum hijinks. (Thumbs Down!)
‘The Hunt’
Mads Mikkelsen plays a former school teacher who has been forced to start over having overcome a tough divorce and the loss of his job. Just as things are starting to go his way, his life is shattered when an untruthful remark throws his small community into a collective state of hysteria. Playing exclusively at Harkins Camelview 5. (R – 115 minutes)
“The Hunt” is the kind of movie that will make you vehemently angry. However, unlike most motion pictures that do so, writer/director Thomas Vinterberg’s new drama does not make it very easy for its viewers to find someone at whom they can aim that anger. The only thing that is absolutely certain is that we are all just one little white lie away from eternal and universal condemnation – which may be the scariest concept that each of us will ever have to swallow. Destined to provoke compelling conversations born from elevated emotions, this may be the year’s best foreign-language film. (Breakthrough!)
Steve Coogan plays adult magazine publisher and entrepreneur Paul Raymond who, as a modern-day King Midas, became one of the richest men in Britain at the cost of losing those closest to him. Anna Friel and Imogen Poots also star. Playing exclusively at Harkins Shea 14. (NR – 105 minutes)
“The Look of Love” is the kind of movie that truly transports viewers to a previous point in time – in this case, the 1960s – with an amazing amount of authenticity. That is to say that director Michael Winterbottom’s new biopic is the closest thing to a time machine that we will likely ever see. However, in spite of not only that but also the purity in the performances of its three stars, the film fails to fully impress as it glosses over the life of its subject rather than thoroughly probing into only the pertinent parts and unearthing some significant insight. (Thumbs Down!)
‘Terms & Conditions May Apply’
Filmmaker Cullen Hoback exposes what corporations and governments learn about people through Internet and cell phone usage and what can be done about it – if anything. Playing exclusively at Harkins Valley Art. (NR – 79 minutes)
Although filmmaker Cullen Hoback could have presented the information contained in “Terms & Conditions May Apply” with a little more pizazz, there is no denying that his new documentary is a dynamic and eye-opening experience. If viewed as part of a double-feature with the excellent ensemble drama “Disconnect” released earlier this year, some may very well be scared straight into Amish-hood. The rest of us, though, will take the more logical approach of actually reading the fine print for the first time in our lives and taking a firm stand against those who see privacy as more of a luxury than a civil liberty. (Thumbs Up!)
Hugh Jackman reprises his role as Wolverine, who makes a voyage to modern-day Japan where he encounters an enemy from his past that will impact on his future. Famke Janssen also reprises her role as Jean Grey. (PG-13 – 126 minutes)
The bad news is that “The Wolverine” is the weakest “X-Men” movie to date. The good news is that it is still the best superhero movie of the summer. And although anyone who has seen the transitory “Iron Man 3” and the spiritless “Man of Steel” can attest how such a statement is not exactly saying all that much, the new actioner is at least unique in its approach, coming off as a contemplative study of a broken warrior. That along with a gripping bullet-train sequence and star Hugh Jackman’s innate charisma as this character make it so that this “X” still marks the spot for engaging entertainment. (Thumbs Up!)
