Bridesmaids

Directed by: Paul Feig            
Run Time: 125 minutes
Release Date: May 13, 2011           

Starring: Kristen Wiig, Maya Rudolph, Rose Byrne, Melissa McCarthy

                        With any wedding a lot of things start to take its toll on people.  For the groom it can be paying for the event and keeping his bride happy. For a bride there is all the planning and detail of putting the event in order to specifications that she wants. Then there is the maid of honor who is the bride’s right hand girl; she often helps with wedding planning, organizes that bachelorette party and keeps the bride calm.  It is no wonder why some friendships between bride and bridesmaids are tested.

            In the film Bridesmaids Anne is a woman that is down on her luck financially and in love. Then when her best friend becomes engaged she is thrilled for her but now she is given more responsibility that she can handle and events than she can afford. Will the other bridesmaids get the best of her or will she shine under pressure and be the perfect maid of honor?

       Kristen Wiig gives a great performance in her first leading role as the character Annie.  Her timing is spot on and she radiates the liveliness of her character. Her contributions to the film did not end at her acting since she was a Producer and Co-Writer on the script.  The collaboration with Annie Mumolo proves to be a lethal combination for a great script. Every character in the film that they create has their own personality and voice that contributes to the film as a whole. Not to mention that most of the jokes are actually funny which doesn’t accord that often anymore. Furthermore the commercials aren’t lying when they say that the movie can be enjoyed by anyone, even men.  Most look at a film with a predominant feel male cast and assume that it is a chick flick.  This film does by standards fall into this category but there were men at the advanced screening that was attended and they laughed their heads off. 
   Melissa McCarthy also has a supporting role in the film but gives a big punch to the film. McCarthy plays the groom's sister Megan who doesn't fit that girl persona that some people would see outside of a Redneck wedding as seen on CMT. She is a little more of a guy's girl or tomboy and talks like one too, ie the " I don't want to hear about my brother's junk" line that is in commercials. It is a far cry from her character of Molly on CBS's Mike & Molly as well as her perfectionist cook Sookie from Gilmore Girls but she nailed the outragiousness of it.  
    Bring in the love interest character is one of my fav Irishmen Chris O'Dowd. He is best known in the United States as Simple Simon from the film Pirate Radio, General Edwards in Gulliver's Travels and for those in the I.T. world possibly Roy from The IT Crowd (love that show). He play Rhodes, a police officer that the main character continuously has a run in with but is the kind of cop that you hope to meet if you ever get pulled over.  His character is the good guy that many girls want but may screw over because you aren't ready for him yet. This is a role that he has played before and he does it well, I fall for him during their first meeting.
    My biggest point that I could drive on this film is that it is not just a chic flick. There is comedy for everyone to enjoy from the silly stuff that you do with your friends to a scene that reminds me more of something from the Farrelly Brothers would do. In the end if a guy decided to take a date to see this movie I don't think either person would leave thinking the film sucked.

Florida Film Festival coverage Day 2

    It was a long long day for me at the Florida Film Festival today. I had one volunteer shift to complete myself and then I spent the rest of the day watching films. I spent 2pm to 11om at the Winter Park regal watching two short film programs (short programs) and two features.  The first short program that I watched was Shorts #2: Scales of Justice 1 and Shorts #4 Love Me Not 2.  My favorite film from Shorts#2 was a film entitled Thule which made its world premier at the festival.  It was about men in the service working out of a secluded artic base where the only good thing is news from home.  The short starred Chris Marquette (The Girl Next Door) and Noel Fisher. The only part that stunk a little bit was that there were some audio problems during the screening of this and two other shorts in the program, which made it heard to hear.  Luckily the director was very nice and eager to answer questions after the screening, which was great to hear about the film and invited people to stop him during the festival for a chance at a proper viewing of his film.
     In Shorts #4 there were a lot of films that I enjoyed.  This set included Oscar winning short narrative God of Love which was an adorable film with an original idea around an age old question, "Can't I get this person to like me?".  One film that hit many audience members over the head with surprise was The Candidate, which features well known character actor Robert Picardo (Stargate: Atlantis, Star Trek Voyager).
    My first feature length film was called Norman.  It was about a boy that was a very self loathing individual that accidentally gets a rumor started that he has cancer.  The film stars Dan Byrd (Easy A, The Hills Have Eyes, Cougar Town) Emily VanCamp (Brothers and Sisters) and Richard Jenkins (Six Feet Under, Hall Pass).
     The second film that I watched was The Happy Poet.  The film is about a man that has hit a few dead ends in his life and decides to make a small change in his life by opening a vegetarian food cart.  The film has a simple direction and a some interesting performances.  The director also wrote, produced and starred in the film.
  All of the films/ programs have at least another showing coming up this week (The Happy Poet has two more screenings) and I would suggest that anyone go ahead attend anyone of them.

1. Shorts #2 Line up
Inside Out
DIRECTED BY JIM O’DOHERTY
USA, 2010, 24 MIN
SOUTHEAST PREMIERE
Producer Denis Leary presents this hilarious glimpse at the privileged inmates and blue collar corrections officers inside a minimum security prison.

We’re Leaving
DIRECTED BY ZACHARY TREITZ
USA, 2010, 12.5 MIN
SOUTHEAST PREMIERE
Rusty and Veronica have 30 days to vacate their mobile home and find a new place that will accommodate Chopper, their 19-year-old pet alligator.

LaSalle de Jeux (The Playroom)
DIRECTED BY TIM MILLER
USA, 2010, 5 MIN
IN FRENCH WITH ENGLISH SUBTITLES
WORLD PREMIERE
Amid a moody black-and-white tableau of cigarette smoke and low-key lighting, two existentialists discuss (en Français, natch) the nature of art, life, and cheese.

Captain Fork
DIRECTED BY G.J. ECHTERNKAMP
USA, 2010, 13 MIN
EAST COAST PREMIERE/2ND US SHOWING
Lyle wonders what his life would be like if his four-year-old, Fox News-loving son were to tragically die. His conclusion: it’d be pretty sweet. A darkly funny new work from the director of Frank & Cindy (FFF 2007).

Spider Fang!
DIRECTED BY JUSTIN PERKINSON
USA, 2010, 2 MIN
2ND US SHOWING
A cute little girl and her goofy grandpa make scary faces at each other—some scarier than others.

After the Snow
DIRECTED BY BROOKE SEBOLD
USA, 2010, 9 MIN
EAST COAST PREMIERE/2ND US SHOWING
In the dead of winter, a very pregnant woman with a gun shows up on the doorstep of the man who raped her eight months ago. A powerful new drama from the director of “The Last Cigarette” (FFF 2010).

Thule
DIRECTED BY ROBERT SCOTT WILDES
USA, 2010, 27 MIN
WORLD PREMIERE
For men in the arctic desolation of a Cold War air base, mail from home means everything—even if retrieving it means risking their lives.


2. Shorts #4
California Romanza
DIRECTED BY EVA MENDES
USA, 2010, 19 MIN
WORLD PREMIERE
No one wants to spend Christmas Eve tracking down her aunt and uncle’s lost cat, but Lena may luck out with love after all. The directorial debut of noted actress Eva Mendes stars Christina Ricci, Daniel Stern, and Kathy Najimy.

¡Una Carrerita, Doctor! (A Doctor’s Job)
DIRECTED BY JULIO O. RAMOS
USA, 2010, 10.5 MIN
IN SPANISH WITH ENGLISH SUBTITLES
EAST COAST PREMIERE
A doctor, forced by circumstance to also drive a cab, finds himself challenged by his latest fare.

God of Love
DIRECTED BY LUKE MATHENY
USA, 2010, 18 MIN
A love-struck lounge singer is gifted with a box of darts worthy of Cupid in this Oscar-nominated short. Winner of the 2011 Academy Award for Best Live Action Short!

Ex-Sex
DIRECTED BY MICHAEL MOHAN
USA, 2010, 9 MIN
EAST COAST PREMIERE
She calls him, suggesting one last hook-up for fun. Can he do just sex, though?

The Strange Ones
DIRECTED BY CHRISTOPHER RADCLIFF AND LAUREN WOLKSTEIN
USA/FRANCE, 2011, 14 MIN
EAST COAST PREMIERE
Stranded on the road, a young boy and his older brother each ask a hotel clerk for help in this short from the director of “Cigarette Candy” (FFF 2010 Special Jury Award-winner).

The Candidate
DIRECTED BY DAVID KARLAK
USA, 2010, 20 MIN
WORLD PREMIERE
If you could kill off your most aggravating co-worker and get away with it, would you?

Florida Film Festival coverage Day 1

The Florida Film Festival 2011 (20th year) started today with film, food and a little gluttony on my part.  For the Opening Night Screening the audience was privy to the HBO film Project Nim, which also screened at Sundance.  The film is a documentary about a chimp that was raising entirely by humans for the first few years of its life and almost as if he were a human. The film is a combination of a cautionary tale of treating animals as humans as it is a film about the exploitation of animals for human gain. Many people that I talked to very much enjoyed that film and as an added bonus two of the participants in the film were in the audience.  Unfortunately because I was a little hungry I did not stay for the post screening Question and Answer session and headed over to the party.
  There was samples pf food from many different places in the area.  There were booths for K Restaurant, Black Bean Cafe, Ravenous Pig, 4 Rivers, Eden Bar (Enzian Theater), Whole Foods and there was alcohol thanks to Greygoose Vodka.  Black Bean had some empanadas, a Spanish version of a Shepard's Pie and plaintain chips. Eden Bar had a pepper tart as well as fried aligator.  Everything was fantastic and I am currently full.  Tomorrow looks to be another crazy day and I can't wait.

Rain Wilson is going to save you

     James Gunn, the writer of the live action Scooby Doo films and writer director of Slither, has decided to take a comic book type turn.  With the film Super he has created his own super hero out of the average Joe that has found something to fight for.  Rain Wilson is Frank D'Arbo a man that takes a lot of knocks but it isn't until his wife falls under the influence of a drug dealer that he breaks.  Frank transforms himself into The Crimson Bolt to go out and fight crime.
     Other actors that appear in the film are Ellen Paige, Kevin Bacon and Liv Tyler.  According to imdb the film has not had many showings and its showing at the festival may be part of the film's official domestic release.  So if you believe in truth, and kicking evil to the curb this could be your movie to check out at the Florida Film Festival.
April 16 at 6:30pm at the Winter Park Regal
April 17 at 7:30pm at the Winter Park Regal
for Super page at Florida Film Festival website click here

Eva Mendes: bombshell actress and director?

  Latina screen siren Eva Mendes, like many other actresses, started her career doing small parts in films and television hoping to get the one role that would help her breaking into into the forefront.  Good thing some one saw that special spark in her because she was cast along side Denzel Washington in as his girlfriend in Training Day because that role got her a lot of exposure, small pun intended.  From that moment she has become a very recognizable name and face in films with roles in such films as Once Upon a Time In Mexico, 2 Fast 2 Furious, and The Other Guys.  After so many films under her belt it appears that she is beginning to do a little behind the camera work as well.
    Mendes directed and co-wrote a short film called California Romanza which will be making it's World Premier during the 2011 Florida Film Festival.  The film plot of the film according to imdb.com is "Lena heads to her Auntie JoJo and Uncle Pops' for annual Christmastime festivities. Little does she know, this Christmas will be like none of the rest."   The film which has a reported running time of 19 minutes will be 1 of 26 competitive narrative short films and 1 of 89 different short films that will screen during the festival.   

    The Florida Film Festival will be held in Central Florida, Greater Orlando area, beginning from April 8 to April 17.  If you have any interest in seeing the film or interested in finding out more about the Florida Film Festival head to their website. 

Resources
floridafilmfestival.com
Eva Mendes's Imdb page

The lure of the Film Festival

   Have you ever been interested in attending a film festival but thought it wasn't for you?  I understand that some people may only have heard about these festivals because they caught an interview with a star at his festival or saw pictures of celebs there.  My first thing that I would like to say to that is "you don't have to be a celeb to go to a film festival".  There are more film festivals popping up all over the United States and the world than you would believe along with pre-established festivals.  Some of these festivals can be very reasonably priced and some can cost as much as a used car to attend.  In the end there are many things about festivals that are very alluring.
    As I said, festivals can cost a lot of money but it appears that there are more festivals than you would think that cost reasonable prices to go see films.  I was lucky enough to attend the Orlando Film Festival at the end of last year that have the screenings open to the public for FREE.  Also I was lucky to attend films at the Florida Film Festival (FFF) which has screenings costing only $10 each which s cheaper than see a film in the commercial theaters.
   Beyond the possibilities of cheap screenings there is also the wide variety of people that attend film festivals.  If you are really interested in film you are able to learn things about the industry and make connections to other filmmakers.  Because people that are in love with film you may be able to network with people for any potential business if you are an entrepreneur or need a job. 
    There are also the film related events that occur during festival.  Of course there are the films that are screened that sometimes first run.  At the Orlando Film Festival I saw the premier of Montana Amazon that stars Alison Brie (Community, Mad Men), Haley Joel Osment (The 6th Sense) and Olympia Dukakis (In the Land of Women, Moonstruck) and film won't be offically released until April of this year. Also a lot of the filmmakers or even cast from a film will show up to do a Question and Answer session (Q&A) at a screening.  Last year at FFF I saw Winter's Bone (nominated for 4 Oscars this year) and was able to catch the Q&A with one of the film's stars Dale Dickey.  Not to mention at the opening film for FFF was Paper Man which starred Emma Stone and Kieran Culkin who both attended the screening. Also there are sometime film panels where you  can learn from big industry people.  At the Orlando Film Festival there was a panel that featured Florida based industry people that were leaders in the craft as well as Alison Brie and Haley Joel Osment answered questions. Furthermore some of the films that may show up at film festival may be making their premier, could have been nominated for an Oscar, could be nominated for an Oscar in the future or could have won and Oscar.
     Beyond that if you have noticed you have seen that there is potential to actual see actors in real life.  Besides the ones that I mentioned above, I was also able to get a picture with Amber Benson (Buffy) and Sam Levine who where their promoting a film called Drones.  I actually ran into Gena Rowlands (not literally) on my way into a screening at FFF last year.
    So if you have ever thought of even going to a film festival take a look a round, there could be one not too far from you.  If you decide to go get ready for a new experience if you attend the whole festival.

Not convinced?  Check out a few Q&A video I shot at last year's Florida Film Festival:

Vanishing on 7th Street hit the net before theaters

   In an interesting way to see how the distribution of films has changed in the last few year, the film Vanishing on 7th Street is currently available on Video on Demand (VOD).  Vanishing, a film starring Hayden Christensen (Jumper, Star Wars: Episode II and III) and Thandie Newton (Mission Impossible 2, Crash), is a horror, thriller about mysterious black out in Detroit where after the lights come back on most of the people have vanished into thin air.  The film does not appear to be distributed through any of the major 6 studios but has an estimated budget of $10 million according to the International Movie Database (imdb). 
     This is a risky bet to put the film on the internet before it's release on February 18 into theaters.  One of the risks that the film will face is the very common internet pirates that will copy the film and put out on the net for others to watch for free.  In this day and age you know that there is some one that has probably created software to pull movies from VOD sources.  Beyond internet piracy there is also the fact that you can loose out on ticket sales prices per person.  At $9.99 per view some one can have a party or just bring a lot of friends together for a viewing and the distributors are loosing around $10 a head per viewer.  Finally there is the number of reviews that get out before the film's theatrical release which can be bad as well as good.  Of course before any film is released into theaters there are reviews done by the press that anyone can read but some rely more on the opinions of their peers than the critics.  If the film this not perceived well then others that could have been interested in seeing it in the theater may be turned off by reviews.  Then again if there are a lot of good reviews people may be more eager to see the film in the theaters.   Along with the sway of the public the reviews could also possibly influence filmmakers to make last minute changes to the film since editing is easier to adjust now than before. 
   In the end only the opening box office of this film will tell what the VOD has done to the demand of the film in theaters.