Category Archives: Movies

DVDs, Movies

“As Good As You” is a bittersweet, poignant and funny lesbian drama

First Run Features continues to live up to its name. What else were you expecting?

FRF offers the Los Angeles theatrical premiere of As Good As You on June 9 at Laemmle’s Music Hall. The lesbian drama/comedy—named winner of Best LGBT Film by Hollywood Reel Independent Film Festival—marks the feature film debut of Heather de Michele. The screenplay is by Gretchen M. Michelfeld, executive produced by Michelfeld and produced by Reena Dutt. Another reason to celebrate Pride Week.

Laura Heisler leads an outstanding cast in this poignant and witty film about a bereaved woman searching for meaning and purpose in the aftermath of her wife’s death. Jo (Heisler) enlists her brother-in-law Jamie (Bryan Dechart) as a sperm donor in an effort to salvage her dream of raising a family. Along the way she leans a bit too heavily on her two best friends, a lesbian punk photographer named Lisa (Anna Fitzwater) and a straight male barfly named Nate (Raoul Bhaneja).

The film also features Peter Maloney, Karis Campbell, Elizabeth Herring and Annie Potts. The story is consistently tender in its portrayal of grief, even as the film becomes a kind of willful, triumphant comedy. Director de Michele navigates the tonal shifts with good timing, taste and craftsmanship.

Director Heather de Michele is a co-founder of the NY comedy troupe Lesbian Pulporama, which included playwright Michelfeld and her late partner. The film is inspired by Michelfeld’s own story and partly a tribute to her partner, also a performer in the troop who died in 2012, made by close personal friends. It is the first feature for both director and writer. In fact, de Michele’s partner plays Lisa in the film.

“Lesbian pregnancy, infertility, hormone shots, artificial insemination–these were subjects I hadn’t seen explored in film yet,” de Michele explains. “I told Gretchen she should get on that; then her partner got sick and it all stopped. Once she passed, too shortly thereafter, Gretchen dove back into her work. She needed to write. We were all grieving madly. The story of As Good As You became a hybrid of all of these experiences. It’s deeply personal for both of us. ”

IF YOU GO
Laemmle Music Hall
9036 Wilshire Blvd, Beverly Hills, CA 90211
310.274.6869
laemmle.com

 

DVDs, Movies, Music

Danny Garcia’s next gritty, punk-infused film: “Stiv: The Life and Times of Dead Boy”

He’s a dead boy, this Stiv Bators. He was one of the early American punk pioneers, and is primarily known for his work with The Dead Boys and The Lords of the New Church. Classic songs like “Sonic Reducer” and “Ain’t It Fun” continue to inspire fans and musicians from all walks of life.

While Bators made a few films (the camp classic John Waters film, Polyester; a  cameo appearance as “Dick Slammer”, the lead singer of “The Blender Children” in the offbeat comedy, Tapeheads), he is now the subject of the upcoming Stiv: The Life and Times of Dead Boy. It will be the first film ever made about the rowdy and controversial performer, and his life will be documented through archive footage, photography, music and all-new interviews with the people who knew him.

Acclaimed director Danny Garcia will helm the project, and already has numerous punk documentaries under his belt, such as The Rise and Fall Of The Clash, Looking For Johnny and Sad Vacation: The Last Days Of Sid and Nancy.

Following in the same gritty underground style that has become Garcia’s hallmark, STIV: The Life and Times of a Dead Boy has a tentative release date of May 2018.

Bators died on June 4, 1990 in Paris, France. He was 40. Drugs? Nope. He 0was struck by a taxi in Paris. Though he was taken to a hospital, he left before seeing a doctor, after waiting several hours and assuming he was not injured. Reports indicate that he died in his sleep as the result of a traumatic brain injury. Bators, a fan of rock legend Jim Morrison, had earlier requested that his ashes be spread over Morrison’s Paris grave. He girlfriend Caroline complied.

In the director’s commentary of the film Polyester, John Waters stated that Bators’ girlfriend confessed to him that she snorted a portion of Stiv’s ashes to be closer to him.

Much less addictive than coke.

 

 

Celebrity Chatter, Movies

Andrea Bucko: An actress who bucks up her career by accepting roles that will “make an impact”

It’s always important to fight for freedom. Always.

The next major big-screen fight will be found in the upcoming film Freedom Fight, starring Sam Neill, David Kross and Ella Purnell.  in which Canadian actress Andrea Bucko and leads a cast of “next-generation” actors, in a harrowing portrayal of a true Cold War escape. Directed by Hungarian actor/director Endre Hules, Freedom Fight takes place in 1956, and vividly follows the first-person account of journalist Frank Iszak and his struggle to divert a domestic Hungarian flight across the Iron Curtain to safely find refuge in West Germany. The film is based on the book Free to All to Freedom.

The movie begins shooting this fall, and is director Endre Hules’ powerful follow-up to his CINE Golden Eagle Award-winning feature The Maiden Danced to Death. He is a  director whose work has been seen on every continent and at more than 50 festivals, and Hules hand-picked Andrea Bucko’s for the role. “She has impressed me immediately with her talent as an actress,” he says. “Andrea’s sensibility and quirky sense of humor made her perfect for one of the film’s vital roles.” 

Bucko brings to light the liberating journey that began on a rainy afternoon on Friday, July 13, 1956. She plays Monika, one of seven desperate young people boarded a twin engine DC-3 in the Eastern Bloc People’s Republic of Hungary, with plans to redirect it to freedom. They had no weapons, no map and no idea whether the plane carried enough fuel. They braved Russian MiG fighters in hot pursuit and a harrowing flight over the stormy Alps, without navigation. Failure would mean certain death.

It is a moment of ascension for the energetic actress. Bucko is a thoughtful artist making a name for herself in Hollywood by selecting ambitious projects that reveal with untold true stories. Freedom Flight adds to a series of films she has in the works, each drawing on historical incidents to create powerful narratives.

“Reading Frank Iszak’s inspiring true story, I felt it must be told,” she says. “Storytelling can make a difference and sometimes have a huge impact on the world. I want to make an impact with the stories I choose to be a part of.”

Other upcoming roles clearly demonstrate her sincere passion. She’s slated to portray Evelyn in Jubilee, a feature film by Mason Freeman that will star Peter Fonda and Tarynn Manning. This movie chronicles the path of the Underground Railroad and the lives of enslaved Americans seeking liberation on a long road towards justice. She will also play the role of Danielle Devert in another of her upcoming film projects, an international co-production that draws from the riveting facts of the 1973 kidnapping of Paul Getty III.

Want her sooner? Bucko will next be seen on camera in September as Trina in Neon Candy, a psychosexual thriller takes place in the early ’90s along Route 66 and the Las Vegas outskirts. written by Courtney Paige Theroux and directed by Kate Twa.  The cast includes Sean Carrigan, Courtney Paige Theroux and Sarah Porchetta.

Do we dare say Bucko, known for the films Big Eyes, Gord’s Brother and Meridiem, is also eye candy?

DVDs, Movies

Vincent Perez’s “Alone in Berlin” offers a riveting true-life tale of courage

How did an ordinary, middle-aged couple become a symbol of defiance against Nazi brutality?

Alone in Berlin, a true-life tale of courage from award-winning actor-director Vincent Perez, unfolds against the tumultuous backdrop of Berlin in 1940. Otto and Anna Quangel (portrayed by Brendan Gleeson and Emma Thompson) are a working-class husband and wife doing their best to ride out the war.

Everything changes, however, when their son is killed fighting on the front lines. They begin pouring their rage and grief into postcards emblazoned with anti-Nazi slogans, risking everything to disseminate their messages of protest across the city. But this seemingly small act of subversion rattles the regime, including a police inspector (Daniel Brühl) who will not rest until the culprits have been caught.
Based on the bestselling novel Every Man Dies Alone by Hans Fallada, Alone in Berlin is both a gripping thriller and a stirring ode to resistance.
Books, CDs, DVDs, Movies, Music

Iggy Pop’s new film brings “Starlight” to the audience

Whenever I heard the name “Iggy Pop” I smile. Broadly. Karz-Cohl published his book (I Need More!) in 1982, followed by mine (Liza! Liza!, named on of the Best Books of the Year by The New York Times). Now I learn that Cleopatra Entertainment LLC, the movie division of famed indie record label Cleopatra Records, has acquired all domestic rights to Starlight, a feature film by French film maker Sophie Blondy that has found a home on Blu-ray and VOD.

Set in the dunes near the North Sea, a small circus company is suffering from a serious lack of audience for their shows. Spectators are rare but the magic of the circus still thrives.

Each performer rehearses and performs new numbers, but this fragile balance will quickly shatter to unveil their real nature and their most obscure feelings. The circus will then become a place of romantic lust where each will use their powers to satisfy their desires.

Angele, the diaphanous ballerina, her clown lover Elliot and the circus ringmaster, full of cruelty and disturbed by fits of schizophrenia on one side. Zohra in love with Elliot, haunted by an uncanny conscience on the other side. Secrets, jealousy, envy will progressively take hold of them and trigger some irreversible acts. The life of the circus will then take a whole new turn. What does all this have to do with Mr. Pop? Iggy appears throughout the film as an “angel” type character.

Starlight was selected and screened at Tallinn-Black Nights Film Festival (Estonia, 2013); Montreal World Film Festival (Canada, 2013); Moscow-International Film Festival (Russia, 2013); Rendez-vous with New French Cinema in Rome (2013); and Rotterdam International Film Festival (Netherlands, 2013).

DVDs, Movies, TV

Has the federal government overstepped its authority? “American Patriot” says yes

Drawing on deep access to key people on all sides of the battle, Frontline: American Patriot (PBS Distribution) investigates the standoffs that propelled the Bundy family into the national spotlight and the crosshairs of the federal government. With “Patriot” groups that rallied to the Bundys’ cause surging to levels not seen in decades, the film also reports on what’s next for the family and the wider movement around them. The riveting documentary will be available on DVD June 13; the program will also be available for digital download.

 

The effort traces the Bundy family’s story as ranchers in the high deserts of Nevada, grazing cattle for generations on federal land and ultimately going to war against the government.

Now, their fight has become a lot bigger.

What began as one family’s dispute with the government over grazing fees has reinvigorated a national movement of self-styled militias and “Patriots.” They believe the federal government has overstepped its authority, strayed from its founding principles, and is filled with agents they are duty-bound to oppose. They call themselves Oath Keepers, Constitutional Sheriffs, sovereign citizens, Three Percenters. And while each group has its own cause, they rally under the same banner: opposition to federal overreach.

Over the past several years, many of these “Patriots” have answered the Bundys’ call, taking up arms to defend against what they see as government infringement of their rights as American citizens. In 2014, armed men faced down the federal government at the Bundy ranch when agents came to impound their cattle. In the end, the federal agents backed down. Then, last year, armed “Patriots” again joined Ammon and Ryan when they occupied a federal wildlife preserve in Oregon to protest the imprisonment of fellow ranchers, the Hammonds, who were convicted of starting fires on federal lands. Last October, Ammon, Ryan and five other supporters were acquitted of federal charges relating to the occupation. A trial for the remaining defendants is scheduled to begin next month.

 American Patriot and the accompanying written and audio story helps audiences to understand the Bundys, their fight and the people who have rallied to their cause.

DVDs, Movies, TV

‘Secrets of the Dead: Nero’s Sunken City’ takes a riveting look at Roman Beverly Hills

Beneath the turquoise waves of the Bay of Naples lies an extraordinary underwater archeology site, the ancient Roman city of Baiae. From the first century to the third century AD, Baiae was the exclusive playground for the rich and powerful among Rome’s elite. What made Baiae such a special place? What really went on there? And why did it disappear?

For the first time, an international team of scientists, archaeologists and historians is meticulously mapping the underwater ruins and piecing together evidence that could provide answers to these questions in the riveting documentary Secrets of the Dead: Nero’s Sunken City. The DVD will be available on May 9; the program will also be available for digital download.

https://youtu.be/7RH_vzTXQP4

While some of Baiae’s ruins remain intact on land, more than half of this coastal city is submerged under water. These underwater ruins are three times the size of those in Pompeii. Archaeologists have found a network of roads, miles of brick walls and villas with rich marble floors, and splendid mosaics. But what they haven’t found are any identifiable public buildings, no forum, temple or market place.

The remains consist of one vast luxury villa after another–a Roman Beverly Hills–with elaborate spas and water features, marble statues inspired by Greek art, ponds for farming fish and more. The villas were like mini-cities. No expense was spared to create these seaside vacation homes where barges floating in the bay were the site of raucous parties.

More than any other emperor, Nero was infamous for his hedonism and Baiae was his escape. Here, he could indulge in his sadistic fantasies. But Baiae was more than a place of opulence, the Las Vegas of its day. It was also the site of some of the most treacherous political dealings of ancient Rome with Emperor Nero and his enemies hatching deadly plots against each other.

What lengths was Nero willing to take to gain his Aunt Domitia’s villa? What plans did Gaius Calpurnius Piso, a wealthy nobleman, have for the emperor as he vacationed at his villa?  What scheme did Nero devise in Baiae to end the power struggle with his mother?

In the fourth century AD, seismic activity caused half of Baiae to sink into the bay. Located 150 miles south of Rome, Baiae remains one of the least explored places in the Roman Empire. Until now.

DVDs, Movies, TV

‘Viva Puerto Rico’ documents the work of three conservationists restoring the island’s most endangered species

Manatees, parrots and turtles, oh my! There are important conservation efforts underway in the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico to protect its endangered native wildlife from extinction on land and sea. Once home to ancient rainforests that covered the Caribbean island when Columbus first landed in 1493, centuries of development have impacted Puerto Rico’s rich natural resources. By 1900, only five percent of its rainforests remained, causing a major loss of habitat.

Nature: Viva Puerto Rico (PBS Distribution) follows the work of three conservationists and the ways in which each is trying to restore populations of the island’s most endangered species:  the Puerto Rican Amazon parrot, Leatherback turtle and the manatee. The documentary  will be available on DVD May 16; the program will also be available for digital download.

The film states that there was a time when only 13 Puerto Rican Amazon parrots were left in existence. But wildlife biologist Jafet Vélez-Valentín, who manages the Puerto Rican Parrot Recovery Program, has devoted his life to increasing their numbers. He and his team run a captive breeding program for these rare birds at an undisclosed location in the rainforest. They have developed techniques to improve the number of chicks that hatch. They employ exercise training for the juveniles to build up their wing muscles and increase their ability to fly long enough to evade predators in the wild. The episode documents the release of Vélez-Valentín’s largest ever flock, composed of 24 parrots, into El Yunque National Forest increasing the wild population by 10%.

The warm tropical waters surrounding Puerto Rico are home to five threatened native species of sea turtles. Carlos Diez is a world-renowned turtle conservationist whose research on the Hawksbill turtle led to an international trade ban on its shell. Diez documents the key evidence needed to make the legal case to protect a crucial nesting site of the endangered Leatherback turtle from potential development at Dorado Beach. At night, a female Leatherback emerges from the sea to dig her nest two feet down in the sand, then lays about 80 eggs. Two months later, the last of the hatchlings are seen at sunrise making a mad dash to the ocean to evade capture by sea birds. Diez then presents his testimony in court along with other members of the community and the judge decides the fate of the beach.

The final story takes place at the Manatee Conservation Center where Dr. Antonio (“Tony”) Mignucci and his team care for, treat, and rehabilitate injured and stranded marine mammals. The film focuses on Mignucci’s efforts to prepare two juvenile manatees for a return to the sea. Before that happens, they will need to weigh at least 600 pounds each and be in good health.

With only 700 manatees left in the Puerto Rican waters, it is hoped the two manatees, a male and female, will also breed when they are released. When it’s time to transport the pair to a fenced off area of a bay to allow them time to acclimatize, the Center receives all kinds of help from the National Guard, Department of Natural and Environmental Resources, the police, and dozens of volunteers. In three months, the gates to the sea pen will open to allow the manatees to head into the ocean. As for the island’s rainforests, more than 60 percent are starting to recover as conservation awareness and efforts continue to be adopted by the people of Puerto Rico.

DVDs, Movies

MHz Choice offers three great international shows . . . a free 30-day trial

We continue to share the wonderful releases MHz Choice offers U.S. viewers with streaming access to MHz Networks’ expanding library of the best international television mysteries, dramas, comedies and documentaries subtitled in English.  MHz Choice delivers a high quality experience to a growing list of subscribers who watch online and across a suite of apps and services, including Amazon Channels, Amazon Fire TV, Android, Apple TV, iOS & Roku. New customers receive a free 30-day trial. For more information or to subscribe, go to mhzchoice.com.

Some of the latest . . .
The Bridge Season 3
Since its initial release in 2011, The Bridge has been captivating audiences all over the world. Starring Robert Award-winning actress Sofia Helin as the socially awkward but brilliant police investigator Saga Norén. The Telegraph hails The Bridge as “a masterclass in tone, plot and characterization.” FYI: The Robert Awards are given out by the the Danish Film Academy and are regarded as “The Danish Oscars”.
When a famous Danish gender activist and owner of Copenhagen’s first gender-neutral preschool is found murdered, Saga is assigned to the case. The murder sparks the beginning of a series of spectacular crimes reaching back into Saga’s own past. With her career at risk, and the question of personal responsibility haunting her, it looks as if she might be pulled from the case. When her mother unexpectedly re-enters her life, Saga must also cope with unforeseen and unwanted demands.

Murders at Barlume
The hit Italian TV show, Murders at Barlume is a colorful new series of quirky mysteries based on the novels by Marco Malvaldi and produced by the same team that brought Detective Montalbano to the small screen.
Set in the idyllic beach resort town of Pineta on the beautiful Tuscan coast, the show stars Filippo Timi as Massimo Viviani, the recently-divorced owner of the local watering hole, Barlume. Massimo loves puzzles of all kinds, and his sharp mind comes in handy as he frequently finds himself moonlighting as an amateur detective, solving strange crimes along with the gossipy gang of eccentric septuagenarians who frequent his establishment.
Filmed on the magical island of Elba, Murders at Barlume is an irreverent mix of twisty mystery, outlandish comedy and Italian charm.

Agatha Christies’s Family Murder Party
Agatha Christie’s iconic novel Hercule Poirot’s Christmas is delightfully adapted in the four-part French mini-seriesAgatha Christie’s Family Murder Party.
It’s sexy, witty and definitely addictive! Superintendent Larosière and Inspector Lampion are the lead investigators in this delicious prequel to The Little Murders of Agatha Christie. The mystery begins when chateau owner Simon Le Tescou is found dead in his home . . . and all of his grown children have motives for murder.

DVDs, Movies

First Run Features offers two first-rate documentaries

First Run Features offer two new titles that are, as usual,  first-rate features.

Some info to intrigue you:

Concrete Love (German with English subtitles)
Pritzker Prize laureate Gottfried Böhm is widely regarded as Germany’s preeminent architect. The son of a master builder of churches, he’s also the patriarch of a modern architecture dynasty to which his three sons, Stephan, Peter and Paul, belong. But with the death of Gottfried’s wife Elisabeth, also an architect and a key source of inspiration for all the Böhm builders, the family loses its emotional lodestone.

One German shares his take on Maurizius Staerkle Drux’s documentary: “Concrete Love tells a multi-layered tale of love, the passion for architecture and four generations of German history. With sensitive observations, intimate interviews and stirring filmic explorations of an extraordinary architectural legacy, the film creates a lasting impression of the buildings and the people.”

The Ruins of Lifta ( Arabic & Hebrew with English subtitles)
The village Lifta, on the outskirts of Jerusalem, is the only Arab village abandoned in the 1948 Arab-Israeli war that has not been completely destroyed or repopulated by Jews. Its ruins are now threatened by an Israeli development plan that would convert it into an upscale Jewish neighborhood.

Filmmaker Menachem Daum–an Orthodox Jew from Brooklyn–sets out to discover the story behind the headlines. He meets Yacoub, a Palestinian who was expelled from Lifta and now leads the struggle to save the haunting ruins of his village from Israeli plans to build luxury villas on the site. Learning that Lifta was once a place where Jews and Arabs got along, Menachem joins Yacoub’s campaign in the hopes that Lifta can serve as a place of reflection and reconciliation. This leads to a climactic encounter between a Holocaust survivor and a Nakba refugee amidst the ruins of Lifta.