film reviews

Movie Review: NOW YOU SEE ME 2

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now_you_see_me_2NOW YOU SEE ME 2 (USA 2016) ***
Directed by Jon M. Chu

Starring: Jesse Eisenberg, Mark Ruffalo, Woody Harrelson, Lizzy Caplan, Dave Franco, Daniel Radcliffe, Michael Caine, Morgan Freeman

Review by Gilbert Seah

NOW YOU SEE ME 2, the sequel to the unexpected hit NOW YOU SEE ME has the same 4 horsemen return for another round of magic trickery to astound audiences, whether they love magic or not.

Except for Lizzy Caplan taking over the female role from Isla Fisher, most of the original cast returns. Jesse Eisenberg plays the main role of Daniel “Danny” Atlas, the group leader followed by Woody Harrelson as Chase, Dave Franco as Jack Wilder, Caplan as Lula and Mark Ruffalo as the FBI mole. There are two sets of bad guys here. One is the FBI – a favourite target organization hated by (most) Americans and non-Americas alike. The other is Walter Mabry (Daniel Radcliffe) an unethical magnate that the Horsemen want to expose for unethical tactics, together with his father, Arthur Tresslr (Michael Caine).

Performances are key to a movie like this. It is not surprising for the filmmakers to assemble such an an impressive cast, all of whom inject sufficient seriousness and energy into the venture. But Radcliffe (HARRY POTTER) looks ill at ease at playing a bad guy as does Michael Caine.

The magic tricks performed in the film are especially outlandish. The are also performed really quickly with the solutions provided ever quicker. When the horsemen first appear again in public, they chose the most famous venues in London such as Trafalgar Square. The tricks include making rain disappear and people transported by plane. But the trickery is explained with the solution often so simple. The disappearing rain is accomplished through rain machines and strobe lights.

The best trick on display involves the horsemen forced to flee from their enemy. They leap off a rooftop through a chute and land up in China. If this act appears impossible, the revelation of how this occurs illustrates the power of imagination in a script that writer Ed Solomon constantly impresses. Though the film runs more than 2 hours, it is too long even though one hardly feels it.

Just as magic often uses doubles, the script cleverly adds a component of Merritt’s evil twin brother, again played by Harrelson, hamming it out the best he can in two different roles.

The business aspect of the film? NOW YOU SEE ME 2 hopes to pull in some big bucks for the flailing Lionsgate, the studio responsible for HUNGER GAMES and the TWILIGHT films, now in dire need of a big hit after the shares took a plunge last earnings session after a drop in quarterly revenue. But the bottom line is that this film provides just more of the same tricks – nothing more, nothing less. The first film was a surprise hit taking the box-office by storm. Lionsgate has lumped a larger amount of $90 million into the sequel, a sort of ‘we need a hit regardless of expense’. The film is up against stiff competition with WARCRAFT and CONJURING 2 both opening this same weekend. Looks like Lionsgate needs some magic on its own.

Movie Review: CHEVALIER (Greece 2015) ***

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chevalier.jpgCHEVALIER (Greece 2015) ***
Directed by Athina Rachel Tsangari

Starring: Efthymis Filippou, Athina Rachel Tsangari

Review by Gilbert Seah

Greek director Athina Rachel Tsangari broke into the art-house cinema circuit in 2010 with her feminine study in ATTENBERG. Like ATTENBERG, CHEVALIER is a deadpan comedy of manners, so deadpan that much of the humour may be missed. However, the females in her previous films are now replaced by six males – all stuck on a yacht in the Aegean Sea, playing an absurd game in which the winner gets to wear the CHEVALIER ring as a reward. What the game requires is each member to grade every other on personal mental and physical challenges, that are determined by the grader himself. So, hilariously, each go about with a notebook taking notes on every other. The winner is the ‘Best in General’.

CHEVALIER has a good premise judging from the popularity of reality shows like BIG BROTHER these days. The difference is that CHEVALIER is a fictionalized reality show but one in which the director allows her assemble cast to react with each other. The fact that all the participants are constantly being scrutinized on what they don’t know makes it all the more hilarious. The difference between this and Big Brother is that no one gets voted out, they cannot form alliances and the prize is one of ego.

Tsangari’s last two features were about women. Her decision to make a film on men instead of women as well as to include a gay couple makes her film even more relevant. The chevalier game is proposed by the men out of boredom. One immediately wonders what would come to mind if the participants were female. Men have been known always to be competitive and the film shows males in their extreme. When watching the film, it should be borne in mind that the film is a look at men from a feminine perspective.

The Aegean sea and the rocky landscape of the surrounding islands make stunning cinematography. The modern yacht with all the amenities is also gorgeous to be on.

Tsangari’s ATTENBERG was really slow, artsy and about women. I could not get into that feature and was not looking forward to CHEVALIER. CHEVALIER took me my surprise. Absurd, hilarious, relevant and absorbing, Tsangari has proven herself apt at films dealing with the nature of human beings.

A contest among males would inevitably lead to a segment with a contest of cock size. This truth occurs in one funny segment ins which a contender argues that his non-erection that morning could be a result of a bad dream in which his accuser was murdered, and that accuser could have vouched for his big dick in another instance when he had screwed someone in front of him.

All the characters are equally interesting. It takes a while for the audience to be able to identify each character as being different from another. As far as who will win the contest or which character is the most interesting, viewers will likely not pick the same person. The film does not give any real reason for the six assembling in the yacht except for a few like one older bullying brother, Yannis (Yorgos Pirpassopoulos) allowing his younger brother Dimitris (Makis Papadimitriou) out of feeling sorry for him.

Like the other Greek film auteur Yorgos Lanthimos’ THE LOBSTER, Tsangari offers audiences another society within our living one. Perhaps this is a reflection of what is desired as a result of what’s happening with the Greeks current economic crisis. CHEVALIER won Best Film at the London Film Festival.

Movie Review: Warcraft: The Beginning (2016)

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warcraft.jpgWARCRAFT (USA 2016) ***
Directed by Duncan Jones

Starring: Travis Fimmel, Paula Patton, Ben Foster, Dominic Cooper, Toby Kebbell

Review by Gilbert Seah

The phrase ‘based on a video game’ should scare serious movie goers from this CGI blockbuster extravaganza. Based on the Blizzard Entertainment Warcraft series which consisted of 5 core games, this film is actually based just on the first one. WARCRAFT is set in the human Kingdom of Azeroth, threatened by an Orc invasion before Azeroth was expanded into new continents of Kalimdor, Northrend and Pandaria, allowing the introduction of new characters like the Night Elves.

The story in nutshell involves humans fighting against the Orcs as they invade through a portal. The battle lasts from the start to the end of the film. There are several main characters, humans and good Orcs to distract audiences from a basically non-existent story.

The Orcs come from another world called Draenor to invade Azeroth. The warrior Lothar (Travis Fimmel) fights for his king (Dominic Cooper) who relies on the suspicious Guardian, Medivh (Ben Foster) who has taken to the dark side, and is responsible for opening the dreaded portal. Meanwhile, the young warlock Khadgar (Ben Schnetzer) lands a hand. The Orcs are led by an evil Gul’dan (Daniel Wu), that a good Orc chieftain recognizes should be stopped. The characters help to liven the video game movie up several notches.

The film is best watched in IMAX 3-D – forget the small extra cost. It is difficult not to get into the action on a film in 3-D IMAX. The special and video effects, production design by Gavin Bocquet) and costume design all look the more convincing. This is director Duncan Jones blockbuster directorial debut after making small films like MOON and SOURCE CODE.
I entered the screening with the lowest expectations after all the bad hype about the movie. But truthfully, WARCRAFT is not bad. It is better watching an expensive blockbuster that is difficult to make than a well reviewed low budget film with maybe just two characters. On has to give credit for effort put in.

WARCRAFT ends with the obvious set-up for a sequel. Judging from other critic reviews so far, WARCRAFT has been panned. But for video game fans, this might be the fun film summer has promised. The film has already made $45 million in China on opening day breaking all records for a weekday opening day. So it looks like a sequel will likely be in the making with Night Elves.

See WARCRAFT for what it is – guilty entertainment with super special CGI effects. And Remember – to see it in 3-D IMAX.

Interview with Festival Director Michel Zgarka (Views of the World Film & Music Festival)

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Born in the creative brains of four Film, TV and Production and Marketing professionals, the originally US based Views of the World Film & Music Festival’s primary goal is to present films, scripts & film scores which have the power to raise awareness about vital social issues and inspiring audiences to take positive action. This year (2016), and for at least 2 more years, the beautiful city of Montréal will be the home of the Views of the World Film and Music Festival. This year, it will be from September 22 to 25.

http://www.viewsoftheworldfestival.com/

Interview with Michel Zgarka:

Matthew Toffolo: What is your Film Festival succeeding at doing for filmmakers?

Michel Zgarka: As our name and mission statement indicates clearly, we open the eyes of the attendees, participants and supporters on the rich existence of many cultures around the world, some ignored by the public, some too weak to spread their own message and some having no easy access to the modern Media

MT: What would you expect to experience if you attend the festival this year (2016)?

MZ: Solidity of the script
Quality of production
Being closed to our mission statement
Originality and creativity

MT: What are the qualifications for the selected films?

MZ: As there are thousands of film festivals on our planet, good films can be seen in many places. What is missing is the right context that makes the festival goer better understand and at times discover these new films popping up around the globe. Most festivals are more geared to media attention due to major talent attendance rather than the inherent quality of the properties (film, script and/or music), our main goal is to show talent through a complete work.

MT: What motivates you and your team to do this festival?

MZ: Discovering little “gems” and sharing these discoveries with all of the Festival attendees.

MT: How has the festival changed since its inception?

MZ: Little by little we become more attuned to the needs of producers and filmmakers from outside of the main media centers and our festival develops better tools to serve everyone

MT: Where do you see the festival by 2020?

MZ: Among the 10 best Festivals on Earth

MT: What film have you seen the most times in your life?

MZ: LA Confidential, Night Porter,

MT: In one sentence, what makes a great film?

MZ: The story (its script)

MT: How is the film scene in your city?

MZ: Blooming!

_____
Interviewer Matthew Toffolo is currently the CEO of the WILDsound FEEDBACK Film & Writing Festival. The festival that showcases 10-20 screenplay and story readings performed by professional actors every month. And the FEEDBACK Monthly Festival held in downtown Toronto on the last Thursday of every single month. Go towww.wildsound.ca for more information and to submit your work to the festival.

Happy Birthday: Julianna Margulies

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juliannamargulies.jpgHappy Birthday actor Julianna Margulies

Born: Julianna Luisa Margulies
June 8, 1966 in Spring Valley, New York, USA

Married to: Keith Lieberthal (10 November 2007 – present) (1 child)

Read reviews of the best of the actor:

SOPRANOS SEASON 6Sopranos
Season 6
Watch reviews of the season

MOVIE POSTERSTAND UP GUYS
2013
dir. Fisher Stevens
Stars:
Al Pacino
Alan Arkin

videoWATCH – TOP 20 JULIANNA MARGUILIES VIDEOS

megan foxBest of GOOD WIFE TV Series

megan foxBest of GOOD WIFE Season 5

TV POSTERBest of GOOD WIFE Season 4
Stars:
Archie Panjabi
Christine Baranski

TV POSTERBest of GOOD WIFE Season 1
Creators:
Michelle King
Robert King

TV POSTERBest of GOOD WIFE Season 2
Stars:
Julianna Margulies
Chris Noth

TV POSTERBest of GOOD WIFE Season 3
Stars:
Josh Charles
Matt Czuchry

MOVIE POSTERSNAKES ON A PLANE
2006
dir. David R Ellis
Stars:
Samuel L Jackson
Julianna Margulies

SEE TOP 100 JULIANNA MARGULIES PHOTOS

and Andy Garcia

and Archie Panjabi

and Boyfriend

and Emmy

and Famke Janssen

and George Clooney

and Golden Globe

and Husband

and Jon Bon Jovi

and Josh Charles

and Keith Lieberthal

and Kyra Sedgwick

and Maura Tierney

and Narciso Rodriguez

and Paul Rudd

and Pierce Brosnan

and Ron Eldard

and Son

and Tom Hanks

Arms

as Alicia Florrick

as Carol Hathaway

Back

Bangs

Beautiful

Before and After

Black and White

Body

Breasts

Casual

Collage

Curly Hair

Earrings

Emmy Dress

Esquire

Eyebrows

Eyes

Face

Fashion

Feet

Gloves

Good Wife Fashion

Gown

Green Dress

Hairstyle

Harpers Bazaar

Hat

Heels

Hot

in ER

in Snakes on a Plane

in The Good Wife

in The Sopranos

Jeans

Kiss Scene

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Legs

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Lipstick

L’Oreal

Makeup

Measurements

Model

More Magazine

Nose

on SNL

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Reebok

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Sexy

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Style

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TV Guide

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Young

Movie Review: POPSTAR: NEVER STOP NEVER STOP STOPPING

festreviews 2016 movies, Movie Review, Uncategorized , , , ,

Deadlines to Submit your Screenplay, Novel, Story, or Poem to the festival: http://www.wildsound.ca

popstar
POPSTAR: NEVER STOP NEVER STOP STOPPING (USA 2016) ***
Directed by Jorma Taccone and Akiva Schaffer

Starring: Andy Samberg, Jorma Taccone, Akiva Schaffer, Sarah Silverman, Imogen Poots, Maya Rudolph, Joan Cusask

Review by Gilbert Seah

POPSTAR is a Saturday Night Live type comedy that centres on a successful white rapper, by the stage name of Conner4real (SNL’s Adam Sambrg). It is Samberg’s vehicle with his name on the starring, writing and producing credits. It is a send up of pop stars – which one, no one is really certain. It could be Justin Bieber, judging from the tattoos’ on Conner’s arms or from the jokes on Anne Frank’s house in Amsterdam. His boy band, Style Boyz could be parodying The Beastie Boys or even NSynch. His donkey hop is a variation of the famous horse dance by North Korean rapper, Psy. Whatever the parody is, the film quickly changes to another so no one is really sure. The film also moves along so fast that there is hardly time for the audience to realize what most of the words of the dialogue mean. Or to understand what the film intends to do- if there is an intention.

Real life boy bands break up and never get back together. The Style Boyz has Conner still working with his best friend and DJ, Owen (Jorma Taccone) while finally getting back with the estranged Lawrence (Akiva Schaffer) at the end of the film
Where the film succeeds are the laughs and tie-ins the film brings with corporations like Aquaspin hosted by Maya Rudolph. But bits of the stories are also thrown into the film, as if at random. The story puts in bits like the need for the band for a corporate tie-in without any warning. Just as fast as this point is introduced, it is taken away. The same goes with Conner’s girlfriend, Ashley (Imogen Poots) who disappears just as fast as she appears.

The film is however, hilarious in parts. Samberg is a fast talker and a fast performer. His music videos (example the one on Bin Laden) are well orchestrated in the film. If only the film had a stronger narrative with all the points better assembled together.

A good number of music business and TV celebrities appear in the film as cameos. The list is endless and includes artists Snoopy Dog, Paul McCartney, TMZ, Ringo Starr, actors Martin Sheen, Joan Cusack (as his mother) and comics Bill Hader, Will Arnett and Maya Rudolph to mention a few. This is one of the film’s delights that would more than cover the film’s flaws.
The film takes the one idea story nowhere. The story of the white-boy band star who grows up to to be a spoilt man that eventually grows up runs out of steam fast.

POPSTAR is a film for the young and for those who know the music business. A similar film that falls into this category was ENTOURAGE. It is not surprising therefore to see a number of the older audience walking out of the theatre during the promotional screening. Those in the know can relate to the film’s inside jokes, identify the pop-up cameos and enjoy the silly yet entertaining song and rap numbers.

POPSTAR NEVER STOP NEVER STOPPING is conceived by Samberg’s long time partners Taccone and Schaffer – the film’s directors, who with him (they call themselves The Lonely Island) also wrote the script. The story of the Style Boyz must, for all that it’s worth, has some truth in it.

Also, Free logline submissions. The Writing Festival network averages over 95,000 unique visitors a day.
Great way to get your story out: http://www.wildsound.ca/logline.html

Deadlines to Submit your Screenplay, Novel, Story, or Poem to the festival:http://www.wildsound.ca

Watch recent Writing Festival Videos. At least 15 winning videos a month:http://www.wildsoundfestival.com

Happy Birthday: Liza Weil

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lizaweil.jpgHappy Birthday actor Liza Weil

Born: Liza Rebecca Weil
June 5, 1977 in Passaic, New Jersey, USA

Married to: Paul Adelstein (October 2006 – present) (filed for divorce) (1 child)

QUOTES:

I had a mediocre academic career, so playing a good student is fun for me. It’s like sweet revenge. I’m constantly learning stuff now that I didn’t even know before.

Happy Birthday: Amelia Warner

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ameliawarner.jpgHappy Birthday actor Amelia Warner

Born: Amelia Catherine Bennett
June 4, 1982 in Liverpool, Merseyside, England, UK

Married to: Jamie Dornan (26 April 2013 – present) (2 children)

Read reviews of the best of the actor:

STONEDStoned
2005
dir. Stephen Woolley
Starring
Leo Gregory
Paddy Considine

Winter Passing
2005
dir. Adam Rapp
Starring
Deschanel
Darrell Larson
MOVIEQUILLS
2000
dir. Philip Kaufman
Cast:
Geoffrey Rush
Kate Winslet

Interview with Festival Director Jes Reyes (Altered Esthetics Film Festival)

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Over the past ten years Altered Esthetics has hosted over 100 group exhibitions, launched a solo exhibitions program for emerging artists, and have brought the work of more than 500 artists to public view – many of whom were sharing their artwork with the public for the very first time. Altered Esthetics largest program is the the Ae Film Festival (formerly the Ae Art House Film Festival), an annual event dedicated to the organization’s mission to foster an inclusive and sustainable arts community through exhibitions, education, and outreach.

Going on its 3rd season, the Ae Film Fest will present July 27-31, 2016.

Altered Esthetics is a nonprofit 501(c)3 organization /  www.alteredesthetics.org

Interview with Festival Director Jes Reyes:

Matthew Toffolo: What is your Film Festival succeeding at doing for filmmakers?

Jes Reyes: We offer exhibition opportunities for artists who create experimental short films. We aim primarily at exhibiting Minnesota-based works – all to demonstrate the active presence of moving image artists in our home state. 81% of artists exhibited at the 2014 Ae Film Festival were practicing Minnesota-based film/video artists. In 2015, we exhibited 30% Minnesota-made projects. For our 2016 season, exhibiting this July, we will showcase 55% local artists.

In addition to showing local artists, the film festival also works to represent gender equality within Ae’s film/video lineup. Both in 2014 and 2015, male and female identified artists exhibited at 50% each. Representing cultural and racial diversity is also an aim and success of this festival.

MT: What would you expect to experience if you attend the festival this year (2016)?

JR: Community and conversation – we do a lot of outreach to partner with filmmakers, artists, and local groups to show off the amazing talents that live and create in the Twin Cities. This festival is about coming together once a year to celebrate those local artists. We want our programming to spark conversations, especially around the artwork and what the moving image is and can be. We will also offer the experience to see short films from international and national-based artists, too.

MT: What are the qualifications for the selected films?

JR: Films generally have to be 12 minutes or shorter. We have a preference for experimental works and moving image that explores contemporary art practices.

MT: Do you think that some films really don’t get a fair shake from film festivals? And if so, why?

JR: It is hard to get selected for a film festival, especially if you are emerging or not apart of the larger network or local film communities. I know this first hand as an artist. It is one of the very reasons I started the Ae Film Festival.

Declining a film for exhibition – it’s probably one of the hardest parts of my job. You can’t show everything. What generally happens on our end is that programming gets organized based upon themes that arise from submissions. We then select films by what works best together when it comes to planning screenings.

MT: What motivates you and your team to do this festival?

JR: What motivates us is our appreciation and admiration towards the medium, as it is a diverse and progressive art form. We find value in representing artists and aim to share their work.

MT: How has the festival changed since its inception?

JR: The amount of programming has definitely changed. We started off as a one-night event and now – three years in – we have stretched out to four to five days of screenings.

MT: Where do you see the festival by 2020?

JR: In my eyes, the festival is a living and breathing organism. It will continue to grow into whatever it wants to be – whatever the community wants it to be.

MT: What film have you seen the most times in your life?

JR: I have probably seen Maya Deren’s Meshes of the Afternoon the most. I return to it often.

MT: In one sentence, what makes a great film?

JR: I am always looking for honesty in a film, so a great film is one that explores reality rather than constructs reality.

MT: How is the film scene in your city?

JR: We have a diverse film community in the Twin Cities that includes a variety of opportunities and festivals, which I adore. We are also supportive of each other. I do feel that this is all because of the excellent resources in the area and how our community appreciates and advocates for the arts.
About the Festival Director:

Jes Reyes is a multidisciplinary artist, curator, and arts administrator. Recent photography and video art of hers has exhibited with Artists in Storefronts, Altered Esthetics and the Walker Art Center. Components (2015), a short silent video poem in collaboration with Katie Rensch, premiered recently with with Made Here, a public art project of Hennepin Theatre Trust. Jes is the founder of the Ae Film Festival, Altered Esthetics largest group exhibition program.

altered_esthetics

_____
Interviewer Matthew Toffolo is currently the CEO of the WILDsound FEEDBACK Film & Writing Festival. The festival that showcases 10-20 screenplay and story readings performed by professional actors every month. And the FEEDBACK Monthly Festival held in downtown Toronto on the last Thursday of every single month. Go towww.wildsound.ca for more information and to submit your work to the festival.