Posted by Robert Samardick on March 13, 2009 under New Release | Comments are off for this article
THE PERFECT SLEEP
In a city that time has forgot, a man known only as “The Mad Monk” returns to the filthy underbelly from which he was raised. Skilled in the art of killing, his name was given to him due to his effectiveness at murder and his devotion to one woman he has loved since childhood. When her life is endangered he returns to the city in order to use his killer instinct to protect and hopefully, win her heart. The Perfect Sleep is Jermey Alter’sdirectorial debut as well as a homage to film noir.
BROTHERS AT WAR
The story of a family divided and yet bound together by war. Brothers at War follows a young man who wants to tell the story of his brothers. He risks his life to go to Iraq and serve under his older brothers battalion..When he returns home he finds his other brother, a sniper, ridicule and trivialize his experience. He goes back and as the action intensifies he begins to understand both his brother’s role in the war.
THE CAKE EATERS
The Cake Eaters is the story of a family living in rural America. Mr. Kimbrough is grieving the loss of his wife as well as hiding an affair he has had going on. His youngest son works in the school cafeteria yet releases his emotions every night through painting. The older son has been away chasing his dreams to be a musician. When he returns to his family and the town, he begins to fall in love with a terminally ill girl. Meanwhile the father fights to keep his secret from the town and his sons.
SUNSHINE CLEANING
Two Sisters stuck in life and yearning for a better situation decide to start cleaning up dead bodies. As crime-scene cleaners, the Women find themselves in one of the dirtiest jobs on the planet, stuck with the task of cleaning up after horrific murders. Surprisingly this brings them together and they began to explore where they went wrong.
TOKYO SONATA
Tokyo Sonata is the dissection of the modern family. A normal, average family begins to fall apart once the father loses his job. They must now fight to keep themselves together as lies are exposed and the way of life they had known begins to disappear. The film is getting high marks in pretty much every category, a perfect story for the troubled economic times we live in.
Posted by Robert Samardick on March 6, 2009 under New Release | Comments are off for this article
Huge release week for the Indies has something for everyone, a bollywood horror flick, a Yale secret society reunion and a film about tokyo with an exclamation mark.
TOKYO!
TOKYO! brings together three different international directors to create three short films about Tokyo. Michel Gondry (of Eternal Sunshine fame) directs a piece about a nervous breakdown in the fast paced city. Leos Carax tells the tale of Merde (translation: Shit), a monster who lives in the sewers and only comes up to attack and terrorize passerby’s. Bong Joon-Ho shows the bizarre story of a Tokyo Hermit who commands the world through his telephone, then when an earthquake hits leaving a pizza delivery girl stuck in his room, he falls in love. A stunning trailer and three great artists for the price of one, TOKYO! is a sure bet for this weekend.
13B
Manohar just moved into a wonderful new home with his wonderful family. So what’s the problem? Their television set is trying to kill them. Instead of being the source of entertainment for the househeld, the TV has realized it’s own power and has decided to show them the images it wants to see. Specifically a television soap opera that seems to imply their lives are in danger. Bollywood fright flick 13B opens for limited release today.
EVERLASTING MOMENTS
Set in Sweden during the early 1900’s, Everlasting Moments is the story of a working class woman (Maria) who wins a camera in a lottery. She begins to see the world in a new light as her pictures develop and a young man begins to take interest in her photographic abilities.Her alcholic abusive husband doesn’t share the same joy and tries to put a stop to her new sense of liberation.
EXPLICIT ILLS
Explicit Ills binds together four different stories of drugs, love and poverty in Philadelphia. An art student falls in love with her drug dealer. A couple goes through hard times as they attempt to start a charity organization, meanwhile their son trains for the “world’s strongest man “ competition. An asthma ridden seven year old is transformed by his kind neighbor into a well read intelligent boy, just to get a girl to like him. Opens limited in Philly and LA.
FADOS
Fados is a documentary-fusion film that blends cinema with dance and music. The movie focuses on “Fado”, a style of contempary world music often reffered to as “The Portugese Blues”. Each song in the film is accompanied by beautiful images that help to aid the song’s story, as well as dance numbers. It goes farther , blending “Fado” songs with other types of music like hip-hop, jazz and more to illuminate the universal importance of music. The film is a tribute to “Fado” but also a brilliant capture of the soul of this art form.
PHOEBE IN WONDERLAND
A young girl has a dream come true when she is cast as Alice in the school production of Alice In Wonderland. This only creates problems as she now must try hard to be a good student so that the Principal does not take away her role. Stress builds and her Parents try to console her but nothing seems to work. She begins to retreat into her own imaginary world to cope, a world filled with the characters of the book. Her daydreams become increasingly more disturbing as the imaginary safe place she sets up begins to suck her into insanity. Phoebe in Wonderland opens for limited release.
REUNION
Reunion is the story of a group of friends from Yale who reconnect after many years. They all belonged to a secret society in college and when they reunite they commence to try and figure out why none of them have found love or happiness. The confessions take a dark turn when the death of a friend is explored more closely and the secrets of the group are thrust into the light.
SHERMAN’S WAY
Sherman’s Way is a quirky eccentric road trip movie that involves a young and overly ambitious law student and a washed up former athlete. As the Law Student tries to get to Beverly Hills in order to began his career he is taught a lesson by the more relaxed and weird Athlete, who puts a bend in his path.
Posted by editor@vimooz.com on under New Release | Comments are off for this article
The Red Queen, a feature length film shot locally in Edinburg, Texas last summer, will premiere in Edinburg’s Carmike Cinema March 22 at 5 p.m. and 7 p.m. as the opening event for The University of Texas-Pan American’s Festival of International Books and Arts.
The film stars Valente Rodriquez (”The George Lopez Show”,) Estephenia LeBaron (”The Alamo,”) and Harley Jane Kozak (”Parenthood.”).
Associate Professor David B. Carren wrote and directed the movie, which was based on a story conceived by Professor Jack R. Stanley. [via]
GABRIELLA, “GABBY” SALINAS has spent her entire life yearning for a connection with her mother, who died during childbirth at the remote St. Amelia’s Mission on the muddy banks of the Rio Grande. Desperate to know where she came from, Gabby has been pressing her father, JOSE SALINAS, for details, but the man refuses to tell his daughter anything more than her mother was a poor immigrant from Nicaragua and that he’s a foster kid from Santa Fe. As Gabby uses the internet to search for information on her maternal heritage, she sets in motion a series of events that upends her world. She learns her father is not a foster kid from Santa Fe and her late mother was never from Nicaragua. In fact, her mother may not be dead at all, but alive, in hiding, and in mortal danger. As Gabby reels from learning her entire life is a lie, she still continues her pursuit of the truth. Despite many trials and obstacles, and determined and dangerous opponents, Gabby Salinas finally gains the connection with her mother that she has always desired. [via]
Posted by editor@vimooz.com on under New Release | Comments are off for this article
The Town of Clayton, North Carolina is rolling out the red carpet tonight for the world premiere of “Blaire’s Bridge” at the Clayton Center. The film was shot on location in Clayton and at the Pisgah Covered Bridge in Randolph County.
“Blaire’s Bridge” is the story of the impact a covered bridge, built a half-century ago by a man in tribute to his dying wife, has on a community. [via]
Life’s most inspirational moments often happen in places we sometimes take for granted.
Clark Worthington is Clayton High School’s favorite teacher. He and his daughter Cathy are having a difficult time rebounding from a family tragedy. Cathy is also dealing with unexpected feelings for one of the school’s most popular jocks. He is Austin James. His reputation for playing the field extends beyond sports.
The Worthington’s are not alone in searching for answers. Many in the community are dealing with their own demons.
Soon a half-century old gift will transport the entire town to a new place, filled with hope and understanding.
Critically acclaimed Australian film, “The Combination,” has been pulled from theaters by distributor Greater Union, after violent outbursts broke out at two screenings in Sydney. The film centers around ethnic Lebanese gangs in Australia, and utilizes news footage from a violent riot in 2005, during which, anyone who appeared Middle Eastern was targeted. These attacks inspired violent retaliation from Sydney’s Middle Eastern community for the two nights following. Star and screenwriter of the film, George Basha, says he is extremely disappointed with the theaters’ decision to pull the film. The film will continue to show in 27 other cinemas around Australia.
Posted by Robert Samardick on February 27, 2009 under New Release | Comments are off for this article
A quiet release week offers few good films, here are your choices
CROSSING OVER
Trying to follow up on the success of films like Crash and Babel, Crossing Over is a gritty and violent look at immigration in 21st century LA. The film follows the story of a Mexican mother and Son, Australian actress, Korean family and a rebellious Muslim teenager as they experience the good and (mostly) bad aspects of being an immigrant. Starring Harrison Ford and Ashley Judd, the film is being heavily criticized for it’s exploitative nature, simply using graphic images with no real narrative implications. New York Times makes a mockery of Crossing Over.
THE TROUBLE WITH ROMANCE
Ok, so Crossing Over too much for you? How about a more light-hearted ensemble piece. The Problem With Love tells the stories of different couples spending a night in a hotel. There’s the couple trying to spice up their sex life, the guy who learns life lessons from a call girl. There’s that guy who invites his “bro’s” to come hang out on what was supposed to be a romantic night for two. There are also more bizarre stories like a woman who argues with a hallucination of her ex-lover, as her new lover awaits her in the bedroom. The film blends together multiple shorts (likeCoffee & Cigarettes) to show a patchwork of love (Not like Coffee & Cigarettes). New York Times makes a mockery of The Problem With Romance.
THE ECHELON CONSPIRACY
A young American engineer (Shane West) begins to receive strange cell phone messages that promise him incredible wealth. His life is soon endangered as he finds himself the target in a massive government conspiracy. Pursued across the globe by a mysterious figure who wants him dead, he must get to the bottom of the set-up in order to save his life. Promises action and you know they’ll be a twist at the end.
California movie goers are the only ones this week who get to see a good film open. Unfortunately everyone in NY has already seen it. Must Read After My Death opens today in LA.
A young man travels with his ailing grandmother from America to India, where she was the born. He’s reluctant to go, finding no interest in India and unaware of his roots. When they arrive he is confronted by a chaotic world where everyone has a story. That world is Delhi-6, the nickname for an old city in which he immediately feels unwelcome. The city is filled with vibrant characters, the neighborhood cop with a hitler fetish, the housewives who gossip through a hole in the wall, the legend of “The Monkey Man”. This film is a lighthearted trip back, emphasizing the importance of community, history and culture.
ELEVEN MINUTES
Jay McCarrol, America’s Next Top Designer winner, prepares for his first New York City fashion show amongst a slew of pressure, expectations and problems. This doc follows McCarrol’s struggle to get his clothing line off the ground and is an inside look at the hectic fashion world. Eleven Minutes is also an interesting look into the reality show world and the new type of celebrity that has emerged from it.
MUST READ AFTER MY DEATH
Film maker Morgan Dews was shocked when he discovered a box left by his deceased grandmother titled “Must Read After My Death”. Inside it he found tons of audio recordings, video and photographs documenting her life. This documentary film is Dews attempt to recreate a family’s journey through his grandmothers eyes, a family that was going through turbulent and testing times. The family constantly fought and as the film goes on it’s clear that his grandmother was very unhappy. A strange and chilling film, exposing the intricacies of family and american life.
Posted by Jonathan Monina on February 19, 2009 under Documentary, Industry, New Release | Comments are off for this article
The independent film market is going through some serious changes. With the Internet becoming an increasingly popular media for watching movies, it’s about the time indie’s catch up. Mark Lipsky is pioneering the next generation of film with Morgan Dews’ new movie, “Must Read After Death.” The film is premiering in only three places: New York, Los Angeles, and the world wide web. For $2.99, you can go to Lipsky’s website, giganticdigital.com, and watch the new flick as many times as you want in a three day span. Sure beats the $12 one would spend at the theaters.
With companies like Netflix and iTunes (as well as bootleggers) making mainstream films available online , and the innovations in entertainment system technology, the pressures for the indie market are increasing. The traditional distribution life of an independent film is as follows: get the film into a festival and hope it gets picked up by a distributor, who then promotes it across the country while a huge chunk of the box office sales go to the theaters and studios themselves. Under Lipsky’s model, the movie keeps a much larger percent of the revenue generated by the film. In a suffering economy where many large distribution companies are scaling back their “boutique” film divisions, indies need every share of the profit they can get.
Lipsky is bold in predicting that this form of distribution will one day be the norm for independent films, but it is definitely a possibility. With all the excitement over how the film is coming out, has anyone asked if the film is actually any good? According to critics: Yea, sure. For $2.99, who won’t give it a shot? Take a look at the synopsis and trailer below and decide for yourself.
Filmmaker Morgan Dews was very close to his grandmother Allis, but it wasn’t until after her death in 2001 that he became aware of an astounding archive she’d amassed throughout the 1960s. Filled with startlingly intimate and candid audio recordings detailing her family’s increasingly turbulent lives, the collection also contained hundreds of silent home movies, photographs and written journals. Using only these found materials, Dews has fashioned a searing family portrait that affords fly-on-the-wall access to one family’s struggles amid an America on the verge of dramatic transformation.
Must Read After My Death follows Allis, her husband Charley and their four children in Hartford, Connecticut. Charley’s work takes him to Australia four months each year, so the couple purchases Dictaphone recorders as a way to stay in touch throughout Charlie’s extended absences. A modern woman at least a decade ahead of her time, Allis struggles against conformity – against the conventional roles of wife and mother. She finds the recordings cathartic and, with the family’s cooperation, incorporates them into their everyday existence. When the family turns to psychologists and psychiatrists, their strife increases and the recordings turn progressively darker – even desperate. All the while, Dews employs the family’s many home movies and the seemingly placid, typically American façade that they convey, as visual counterpoint to the raw and sobering tape recordings.
Posted by editor@vimooz.com on February 15, 2009 under New Release | Comments are off for this article
Gomorrah
Grand Prize winner at the 2008 Cannes Film Festival, “Gomorrah”, is adapted from Roberto Saviano’s bestseller about the Camorra.
The result is a true story within a story of the workings of the Naples crime families. A single rule, a single tool: violence. A single language: the gun. A single dream: power. A single fulfillment: blood. We look in on a few days in the life of those who dwell in a world devoid of mercy. As clan wars rage over various illicit business operations, “Gomorrah” traces the interlocking destinies of several characters trapped in the infernal web of the Camorra. [via: Cannes Film Festival]
Posted by Jonathan Monina on February 11, 2009 under New Release | Comments are off for this article
Whoever heads up marketing at Revolver Entertainment deserves a fat raise. The UK distribution company has placed a Golden Ticket in one of the first 1000 DVDs sold of “The Wackness,” which was released on February 9th. The only difference between Willy Wonka’s ticket and Revolver’s is the prize. The winner of this promotional contest will be awarded a trip for two to Amsterdam and free gram of high-grade skunk marijuana. In the film, Ben Kingsley and Josh Peck’s characters seem to have nothing in common- until we discover that both of them are potheads. It is estimated that 500,000 people in the UK habitually use marijuana. Talk about relating to the audience… Read more.
Comments are off for this article 
The Red Queen, a feature length film shot locally in Edinburg, Texas last summer, will premiere in Edinburg’s Carmike Cinema March 22 at 5 p.m. and 7 p.m. as the opening event for The University of Texas-Pan American’s Festival of International Books and Arts.
A young man travels with his ailing grandmother from America to India, where she was the born. He’s reluctant to go, finding no interest in India and unaware of his roots. When they arrive he is confronted by a chaotic world where everyone has a story. That world is Delhi-6, the nickname for an old city in which he immediately feels unwelcome. The city is filled with vibrant characters, the neighborhood cop with a hitler fetish, the housewives who gossip through a hole in the wall, the legend of “The Monkey Man”. This film is a lighthearted trip back, emphasizing the importance of community, history and culture.
