Press Release: Ethyrea Announced

Check out Ethyrea: Code of the Brethren, by Producer, Danica Fontaine. Their press release sounds very promising!

Press Release from Ethyrea LLC:
Sci-fi and fantasy fans rejoice! Coming to theaters in 2014 is an all new, all original, fantasy adventure series, that features Knoxville Native Cylk Cozart as the General of All Ethyrea’s Armies in the role of “Takeo SilverWing”, alongside Sci-Fi/Fantasy Icon, Kathy Krantz Stewart, and a cast and crew that includes some of the biggest names in today’s entertainment industry. (Special Announcements Coming Soon!) Cozart was the recent recipient of the “Lifetime Achievement Award” by the Urban League, Presented by Hollywood Icon, Louis Gosset, Jr, with stars such as Martin Luther King III, U.S. Rep. John J. Duncan Jr., Tennessee State Sen. Becky Duncan Massey, Knoxville Mayor Madeline Rogero and former Knoxville Mayor Daniel Brown, along with some of Tennessee’s young professionals to heads of major corporations in attendance to honor him. Cozart, known especially for his work in the film industry with an impressive list of film credits to his name, including: “Conspiracy Theory,” “White Men Can't Jump,” “Three to Tango,” “Love Affair,” “Eraser,” “Play It to the Bone,” “Blue Chips” and Steven Spielberg’s mega Hit, “Eagle Eye.” also has an absolute “heart of gold”; heading up multiple non-profit causes, including his very own non-profit 501-c (3) Foundation, The “Keeping Dreams Alive Foundation”, which continues to uplift, educate and give more than hope, to many children across the Globe. More on Cylk’s foundation can be found online at http://www.KeepingDreamsAliveFoundation.Org ™. One of the things that attracted Cylk to the Ethyrea Franchise is the heart and the number of Non-profit causes that will be supported throughout every phase of the project.

"I don't pick projects. When something hits me that I feel I can help or make a difference in, then that's what I do," Says Cozart. "That's what drew me to this particular project. Throughout the entire production process, every stage, a different non-profit cause will benefit from the project. Danica has some impressive plans up her sleeve that will be a blessing to a lot of people. It’s pretty amazing! And I really look forward to the challenge of the role of Takeo SilverWing as well as working in a creative capacity as a Producer as well. I think a lot of good will come from this project!”

With distribution already guaranteed, this independent blockbuster is a four picture franchise based on the young adult book series, The Order of Ethyrea, from Author Danica Fontaine and Old Line Publishing. One of the freshest, most exciting, and unique concepts to hit Hollywood in a long time, this film franchise is Clash of the Titans meets Lord of theRings. With an A-list crew of seasoned veteran Hollywood filmmakers including Billy Badalato, who is known for his work on Walden Media's Around the World in 80 Days, Dear John, About Schmidt, Alien Resurrection, Broken Arrow, Top Gun and even the Fantastic Four: Rise of the Silver Surfer, this film is steeped in the Hollywood elite and some of the finest independent and mainstream studios, as well as internationally award winning animation houses in the world especially with their partners Sandman Studios and Paralight Films. Also, already signed on board and bringing their vast expertise to the franchise are Steve Old and Peter White as Horse masters, having just wrapped up filming on The
Hobbit, War Horse, Clash and Wrath of the Titans, as well as the Canadian Stunt Team run by Stunt Master Stéphane Lefebvreand his team who did most of the stunt work in films like Red, Total Recall 2012, 300, Rise of the Planet of the Apes, 2012, and even some of the Twilight Saga’s such as “ New Moon” and more, help round this Independent film out as an International “Phenom in the Making.”

“I am extremely excited to be able to work on a film of this caliber. In my thirty years in the industry, I have never had a script draw me into another world so unique and so completely, that I couldn't put it down! Danica has worked very hard reaching out and pulling in the cream of the crop and the most elite that Hollywood has to offer, and I just can't wait to get started”, says Producer Billy Badalato.

Danica, who will be a featured Author and Guest on the film panel for Mysticon in Virginia in 2013, and the rest of her team have been being very tight lipped when it comes to their lead actors and top candidates for the position of Director, and Art/Creature Design, as well as about these “secret non-profit plans incorporated in the project.

“I will only say this,” says Danica as she smiles slyly, “Hollywood isn't going to know what hit them! We have some of the wildest and most completely unheard of marketing plans that are going to make this one of the most fun and exciting film experiences of all time: Experiences that will change a lot of lives for the better. On top of that, Ethyrea will be filmed in some of the most beautiful places on Earth inclusive of Hawaii, Louisiana, Mexico, possibly China or Bulgaria and potentially (fingers crossed) the jewel of the Mediterranean: the Majestic and Mystical Islands of Malta!”

Danica's business partner, Lou Rawls, Jr, the son of the late, great Lou Rawls, is no stranger to the Entertainment Industry and, has been with Danica on this venture for over four years now. He says, “I'm just excited to be a part of this. Danica is a force of nature. Ethyrea is unlike anything Hollywood has ever seen; And Code of the Brethren is just film one. Wait till you see what else is in store with the rest of the franchise. This is definitely not just another remake of an old movie, which seems to becoming typical for Hollywood these days. It's fresh, it's exciting, it's family oriented. Even the very special marketing plans are going to be a magical roller-coaster for the audience, the cast, and the crew alike!

Ethyrea: Code of the Brethren, based on the book series, The Order of Ethyrea by author Danica Fontaine, is the first installment in a franchise that revolves around a world in another realm - a realm where every kingdom has mastered the control of an element. The Brethren are fierce warriors of high moral character, imaginative power, and unrivaled mastery of battle skills and sorcery. The first film’s story revolves around a curse by an evil Sorceress. Ethyrea and its Kingdoms begin to fall prey to an attack from her army of Nightmares, forcing the Royal Brethren of every Kingdom to come together before the Oracle and seek out a long foretold prophecy that will save Ethyrea from a fate far worse than destruction. Together, the Brethren will undertake a perilous quest to reunite the pieces of remembrance that were lost in realms destroyed by their opposite element long, long ago. Alongside of some pretty outstanding magical elements and special CGI effects and techniques, Ethyrea features unique creatures and Guardians rarely seen in fantasy films. There not only be dragons here.... but along with griffins, gargoyles, harpies, and sea serpents, and Draconians there are other wonderful and completely brand new mythical creatures. Ethyrea features no gore, no foul language, and is an exciting, imaginative thrill ride for the whole family. Some of Hollywood's greatest minds: Dean Cundey, Billy Badalato, Stephen Sobisky, Lee Baker, renowned Casting Director Robyn Owen, Troy Edwards of ITM-Entertainment, DQ Entertainment (Winner of the 2012 International Animation Studios of the Year Award) alongside numerous “Oscar” Winning Candidates and companies that have been brought together by the creator of this new blockbuster fantasy franchise that is most definitely going to be a "must see" come Spring 2014. A full list is available on Ethyrea.com, including some "BIG" surprises sure to be announced soon.

To learn more about Ethyrea, check out Ethyrea.com. A second edition release of The Order of Ethyrea: Code of the Brethren is being prepared for a second print run and will feature some bonus elements including a map, and a reference guide. The Order of Ethyrea: Tribe of the Lost has also been recently released from Old Line Publishing. The second edition print runs for this series is underway and will soon be available where ever fine books are sold. First editions are still available through Amazon.com, BarnesandNoble.com, and of course, through the publisher, Old Line Publishing or at Ethyrea.com. A discount is available if purchased online from Old Line Publishing. Order your copy today, and then ask yourself: Are you of the Brethren?

Whatever Makes You Happy

You could call them the inbetweeners. Early on in Whatever Makes You Happy, bassist Alex (Tyler Peck) is invited to a dinner party by an old college friend. “Aren’t you too young for a dinner party?” his neighbor asks.

The characters of Whatever Makes You Happy, a group of friends hitting the end of their 20’s, are all in the same place: stuck between where they started and where they’re going. We join them not at point A or point B, but on a dark, Cambridge street somewhere between. Anna (Rachel Parsons) became a teacher, no doubt with high aspirations to reach students and teach them what she never knew. The reality is far less magical. She’s deep into a relationship but not deeply in love, and she sees the same in everyone around her. Those who are committed to something seem to have settled for it. When she’s introduced to Alex at that dinner party, she realizes that she’s even less sure if what she has is what she wants.

Feelings like this probably spawned the terrible term “quarter-life crisis,” but director and writer A.T. Sayre wisely avoids any labels and pat scenarios. Instead, Whatever Makes You Happy plays out in the  cadence of real life in a refreshing way.

When Alex sends a friend request to Anna after the dinner party, he amusingly types and re-types his message several times. Starting out bland, then getting too personal, then just wacky, he finally decides to send it without any message at all. These people know they should be something, but despite having left college years ago they’re still learning what that is. The question that we watch them answer is: what do they have to do to find out?

Ultimately, Whatever Makes You Happy is a thoughtful character study, and the director will be interesting to watch as his career progresses.

Written by S.M. Crowningshield

Whatever Makes You Happy Website

The Bothersome Man

The Icelandic film The Bothersome Man begins with the protagonist on a random bus in the middle of nowhere. He’s quickly shuffled off to a very clean, drab city where he is given an apartment and job, but still no explanation for where he is or how he got there. He finds that all the people in the city are friendly and accepting, but still there is something off about the place. Nobody can die, the food doesn’t have any taste, and all the alcohol in the world will not get him drunk. It is a purgatory that seems eerily similar to normal life.  In a time where audience hand-holding is standard operating procedure for most films, it is refreshing to watch a movie that doesn’t involve copious expository dialogue. In fact, there isn’t any, at all, and it works all the more because of it.

Part of the effectiveness of The Bothersome Man comes from the performances, which are subtly distant. At no point does anyone raise their voice, or swear, or even genuinely smile. They all smile, but nobody actually seems happy. Everyone is both accepting and oblivious, which leads to some dark, absurdist humor later in the film. The human behavior on display in the city is like watching humanity on its best behavior, yet also uncaring, and detached. Very rarely has sex on screen been so passionless and perfunctory. The muted, nearly absent score also helps with the otherworldly calm of the movie.

While a philosophical Icelandic film that deals with the nature of humanity, has little score, and no identifiable actors may not sound like an enjoyable or engrossing film, it is actually rather entertaining, thanks to a wealthy vein of dark humor, and the good sense of the screenwriter, Per Schreiner, and director, Jens Lien, to not give out any overt answers. The movie lives and dies with its ambiguity. If any answers were given, they would, no doubt, seem either clumsy or cheap. Besides, questions of this magnitude are best left unanswered.

The framing and lighting of the movie seems to match the aesthetic of the city where the majority of the action takes place; the shots are well composed, yet nothing is too artistic or daring. It is similar to the technique used recently in the comedy The Invention of Lying, but there is a bit more polish to the shots in The Bothersome Man, much like how the city has much polish, but no real character.

While the tone of the film never waivers, it is tough to figure out just what kind of movie it is. While at times it feels something like a drama, and occasionally a black comedy, and sometimes a horror movie, and also an existential mystery, it isn’t an easy piece of cinema to nail down. It can be both shockingly gruesome and subtly subversive, all without even a hint of violence or even much dialogue outside of the banal language of everyday business. It is a sly piece of cinema, one that removes all the flash, and replaces it with ambiguity, subtlety, and a good dose of absurdity.

Written by Mark Donovan

Solari and Nasser

Producer and Boston Girls actress Camille Solari has just announced she will produce T.J. Mancini's script Hitman's Funeral, about a man who goes up against the Irish mob. Jack Nasser and Nasser Entertainment will executive produce. Universal Studios has agreed to distribute in the States, while Studio City Pictures is handling the foreign rights. Solari also recently struck a deal with Nasser for Lady Luck on which Randal Klieser is set to direct. Al Pacino is said to be in talks to star in "Funeral."

Buddhists In Toy Land

I am lucky enough to have been enjoying the offerings from Reel Groovy Films and their prolific creator, John Mayer Hartman, for a number of years on the independent/underground film scene. Until now, I had only been exposed to Hartman’s quietly quirky brilliance in short-subject form. I have found these white dwarves of movie magic to be universally entertaining, artistically striking, and technically impressive. For all of this, I’ve been hard-pressed for a single, summative word for what this unique experience is. With my recent viewing of the feature Reel-Illusionary Zone, I have found the word that eluded me, and it is Fearless.

Zone is a powerful, stylistic fusion of classic German minimalist cinema, the New American Independent esthetic, Buddhist philosophy, and vintage stop-motion animation techniques. It approaches deep, introspective themes with both a subtle beauty and a genuinely whimsical sense of itself. In light of how risky being so true to one's art really is, fearless is the only fitting adjective, which is good, since 'Pygmalian Drops Acid' with the 'Vampire in Wonderland' as performed by the Buster Keaton Players is nowhere near as snappy or dramatic sounding.

The film makes the most of a mixed bag of low-budget, high-impact special effects, expertly chosen scoring and nuanced, high-theatrical performances. Bringing together these elements to highlight an otherwise very sparse, mostly black & white, silent production, the mad coven at Reel Groovy films present a truly affecting and enjoyable Odyssey of oddity. Hartman and Co. craft a psychedelic epic beyond the frontiers of the individual mind, through the interwoven fringes of our shared consciousness, across the assumed boundaries of what is ‘real,’ into the very heart of the human experience.

We embark on this journey along with the Toymaker (Hartman) a cursed, dimensionally displaced hermit. His only companions are his lovingly crafted, creepily human toys. When his beloved creations, Groovy Girl and Bean Pole, are lost and stumble into the Reel-Illusionary Zone, the mystical border between the land of toys and the ‘real’ world, the saga begins. First, the Toymaker builds replacement toys, including a disturbing, faceless creature and 2.0 versions of Groovy Girl and Bean Pole. The Toymaker charges these creations with finding their predecessors, and they, too, get lost in the mysterious landscape.

The two sets of toys have a variety of misadventures, my favorite of which involves a beautiful homage to the gold standard of German minimalist film, Nosferatu, complete with gothic European castle and buck-toothed vampire. Eventually, the toys each emerge into the ‘real’ world, attaining humanity as they do so. With all the new knowledge, and needs of humanity, the toys attempt to make their way in our world. Their travels leave them (in succession and ultimately mistaken for each other) at a movie set, where the story has its conclusive epiphany.

The Toymaker, for his part, has gone in search of his ‘children’ himself. Following the advice of a supernatural princess, he retraces the steps of his creations. His path is advanced by super-trippy visions, transcendental trances, saints, and sorcerers. He is challenged with his own fears, misconceptions, and prejudices of perspective. It is only by facing and overcoming these inner limitations, including his attachments to a lost love and his toys, that he is able to navigate the Zone and find his way back to his rightful dimension. When all the players are reunited on the movie set for the climax, the development and depth of the characters is fulfilled.

The Reel-Illusionary Zone is a deep meditation cleverly disguised as whimsical, art-house experimentation. Hartman and, indeed, all the talented creators and performers who bring this delightful fantasy to life can be proud. It’s a visual treat, a true work of art, full of thought and emotion that really shows off excellent mastery of classic minimalist film-making.

Written by Joseph James Bellamy
Editor: Deb Bellamy

Bernhardt's New Slate

Kevin Bernhardt, best known as a prolific Hollywood screenwriter, and his role in Hellraiser III, has a slew of new titles which are in the pre-production stages.

Among the titles are Daughter of Destiny, produced by Marianne Metropoulos, Shi, based on the popular Billy Tucci comic book, Blue Eyed Samurai, produced by Michael Steiger, The Dove, produced by Paul Schiff & Tai Duncan, The Charm School, produced by Philip Anschutz and Walden Media, an untitled ‘lookalike’ project produced by Pitchblack Pictures, and last but not least, Coup d'Etat which is being directed by Abel Ferrara. Coup was shelved around '99, but Bernhardt got back the rights and is now acting as producer on the project.

Aside from his role as J.P. Monroe and his Cenobitic alter-ego in the 1992 Action/Horror film Hellraiser III: Hell on Earth, Dean in Top of the World (1997), he starred as Billy Knox in The Immortals (1995) and was a series regular roles on "Dynasty" as Father Tanner McBride.

Written by Mark Donovan

FILM REVIEW: 13 Assassins, by Mark Donovan

Mark Donovan  FILM REVIEW: "13 Assassins," by Mark Donovan The second and possibly most memorable axiom in the Hagakure, the book of the Samurai, is this; “The way of the Samurai is found in death. When it comes to either/or, there is only the quick choice of death. It is not particularly difficult.” That is quite true. Death is easy, as is blind obedience.

 And, if director Takashi Miike had been reading the Hagakure, which he almost certainly did-- he probably also noticed this other axiom; “If you cut a face lengthwise, urinate on it, and trample on it with straw sandals, it is said the skin will come off.”

Miike is probably best known in America for two movies, Audition and Ichi the Killer, though he has made some 84 movies over 20 years, and for a while he was churning out films at the blistering pace of six per year. These days he seems to have limited himself to only directing two movies per year, which is still quite the accomplishment.

To say that his movies can be offbeat – or off-putting- would be putting it lightly. He is a director known for making weird genre mash-ups and films of almost staggering violence; his 2001 musical-comedy, Happiness of the Katakuris, featured dancing zombies and a claymation fistfight; Dead or Alive ended (spoiler) with the entire world exploding, and then went on to have two sequels. Given his reputation, the most surprising aspect of 13 Assassins is how straightforward and reserved the movie is.

The first hour is given over to political maneuvering and set-up. Lord Naritsugu (Goro Inagaki) is a sadistic feudal lord who enjoys violent oppression of the general population, to put it mildly. When other politicians hear that he is to become the Shogun’s chief advisor, they hire Samurai Shinzaemon (Koji Yakusho) to assassinate Naritsugu. From there, Shinzaemon assembles 11 other Samurai, and one outsider, to take on Naritsugu and the hundreds of men that are protecting him.

While 13 Assassins is a direct remake of a 1963 film by Eiichi Kudo, it owes quite a debt to Akira Kurosawa’s Seven Samurai. It certainly has the feel of Seven Samurai, with more postmodern violence. The titular 13 assassins also have echoes of Kurosawa’s film, most notably Yusuke Iseya as a forest bandit who evokes Toshiro Mifune’s character Kikuchiyo.

Action film fans may find the earlier scenes to be a little on the slow side; especially if they aren’t inured to Japanese history, or classic Samurai films. Miike keeps the carnage to a minimum in the early going, letting the film build like Bolero towards its chaotic, extremely violent, and immensely enjoyable climax, set in a small town that has been turned into a death trap/maze. The fight scenes are shot extremely well, given the number of actors on the screen, and it rarely gets confusing in the way that most current action films do. The audience knows who the characters are, where they are, and what they are doing for the majority of the fight, save for a scene filmed from the perspective of a dying Samurai. And it was all done with a minimal amount of CGI. It is like the swords and Samurai version of the hospital shootout at the end of Hard Boiled.

Still, no Samurai movie would be complete without some philosophizing about the code of the Samurai. What do servants owe to their rulers? And what does a servant do when it is clear that their ruler is wrong? Why do so many choose to follow someone that is clearly not worthy of their faithfulness? Part of the fun of 13 Assassins comes from knowing that the 13 assassins are just in their cause, and that, at least in Miike’s film, right makes might.

Film website:/www.rubberthemovie.com

Written by Mark Donovan
Editor: TS Harmon

"CONVENTO": The Art of Living, by SM Crowningshield

S. M. Crowningshield Convento refers to the former monastery Convento Sao Francisco which sits on a green, wooded hill on the outskirts of the Portuguese village of Mértola. But its location is perhaps insignificant because the Convento is truly it’s own world. And director Jared Alterman captures that world beautifully, with a deft eye and clear reverence for the people -- and things -- that inhabit it.

As the film’s only textual captions will tell you at the beginning, the Convento itself was built in the 1600s to house Christian relics from The Crucifiction. It was a monastery until the 1830s, and remained abandoned for some 120 years after. It’s a rich history, and Convento shows how that history is continuing today. But rather than Christian monks it’s the Zwanikken family who now walk the corridors and tend the elaborate gardens. They also practice their own form of monkish dedication to their beliefs. Alterman says that the minute he stepped into the Convento and met the Zwanikkens, he knew he’d have to come back. And bring a camera.

Geraldine Zwanikken and her husband decided to move from the Amsterdam art scene decades ago and they bought the overgrown land and decrepit buildings that make up the Convento. They left the Netherlands not to escape anything -- in fact Geraldine was at the height of a ballet career -- but because they felt change was a good thing. It is great to do art for a crowds, but perhaps doing your own art for yourself could be something sublime. The Zwanikkens brought with them their two young sons, Louis and Christiaan, barely older than toddlers at the time.

Together they made the Convento into the world that it is today. They repaired the buildings, brought in electricity, began growing their food -- but more than that they created a world solely for themselves. Like the monks before them who distanced themselves from the rest of the world in order to perfect their reverence for God, the Zwanikkens began perfecting their reverence for life.

Today, some 30 years later, the boys are grown and their father has died (though Geraldine will tell you that death does not exist). She tends the grounds, trundling through the pond to pull the weed-like plants that prevent the turtles from surfacing. Always laughing and casual, she refers to it as the pond’s “haircut.” Louis focuses on the animals, putting so much time and effort into their care that director Alterman has said he could barely keep up. Louis has grown to think of the animals as friends.

They each clearly have reached that sublime status of pure life, living how they want to live. The things they must do are also the things they want to do. But it is the activities of Christiaan that perhaps best exemplifies this notion, and in a tangible way.

Christiaan is a kinetic artist. He blends mechanics and the remains of animals found on the property into otherworldly creatures that move and occasionally speak in awe-inspiring ways. It is his artwork that provides the strange helmeted-rabbit creation used to promote Convento, an image likely disturbing to some but one that is simply assembled from the components of our daily lives. Alterman shows these creations in action, he in fact collaborated with Christiaan to really bring them to life for the camera. The jaw bones that clatter effortlessly, the bird skulls that look left and right as if watching for prey -- they are all truly amazing.

Perhaps the most surprising piece of all is the ancient water well that pulls up water for the entire garden and for centuries was turned by donkey. In today’s Convento, it’s turned by a mechanical animal with tire treads for feet and ears that flit about as if swishing real flies away. It is artwork blended with practicality as much as it is modern mechanics blended with bits of nature’s own machines. 

Convento shows a world dedicated to that blend. The practicality of art, the art of living. It shows this with amazing images, alternating the strange with the familiar. It balances images of death with a casual air and occasional humor. The world that Alterman captures in Convento is a world well worth paying a visit to.

Website: Convento

Review written by S.M. Crowningshield
Editor: TS Harmon
Published by Modern Cinema Magazine
© Modern Cinema Magazine

"THE FUTURE": Man’s and Woman’s Search for Meaning, by Mark Donovan

There is an old adage that says, “Matters of great importance should be handled lightly.” I’d be willing to believe that Miranda July lives by that. Her new feature film, only her second, abounds in heady themes, yet she exerts a very delicate touch. She doesn’t let the material weigh down the film. It is actually quite amazing. For those that are a fan of Me and You and Everyone We Know, I’d say that this is an even better, more sure-handed film. For those that are not a fan of her earlier work, I’d implore you to give this film a chance. If the crowd at the Independent Film Festival Boston is to be believed, this may be the sleeper hit of the summer. It is certainly unlike any other film you will see in a theater this summer.

The film stars July and Hamish Linklater as a couple of bohemian slackers in Los Angeles who seem to avoid all responsibility and/or movement, lest it get in the way of all the wonderful things they plan to do if they could ever get off the couch. July is a dancer who gets stuck every time she starts to dance; it’s as if the weight of decisions renders her immobile. Meanwhile, Linklater is looking for a sign to point him towards his purpose in life, having not found one on his own. Together they decide to adopt a sick cat, of which the responsibility of caring for it is seen as an end to their youth and their freedom. Since the cat isn’t well enough for them to take home, they plan to spend their remaining month living life to its fullest. Did I mention that the cat- voiced by July- provides the narration?

The Future seems to exist in a somewhat dreamlike state; from July being stalked by her favorite shirt, to Linklater stopping time, the movie feels as if it is stuck somewhere between reality and a dream, with July and Linklater sleepwalking towards maturity. These characters are in a perpetual fugue state, which eventually begins to affect their relationships, both to each other and to the world around them.

July must have quite a lot on her mind. Just to give a quick run-through of some of these themes: the film deals with the future, the past, life, death, forgiveness, movement, fate, chance, time, responsibility, loneliness, relationships, decisions, the apocalypse, and many others. Though the themes may be somewhat heavy, the film is anything but. July, as writer and director, handles them with a light touch, allowing humor and ambiguity to come through. Most other films with such weighty ambitions can turn into an existential dirge, but this film seems to float on air.

This is a movie that defies characterization. Is it a comedy? A tragedy? A surrealist romance? There are scenes that evoke the mumblecore movement, and others that evoke David Lynch. Time skips around when it isn’t stopped altogether. There is a sublime sort of magic happening; whether it is July watching her life fast-forward in front of her, or Linklater wandering through a frozen L.A., or two gesticulating paws talking about the hardship of waiting. To go into any more detail would perhaps spoil the surprise of experiencing the film as it goes.

With just two feature length films to her name, July has shown that she has a gift for creating superbly original art that exists on its own level, but is easily enjoyed by almost all. Having been six years since her last feature length film, I hope she doesn’t take quite as long to make her next one. Though, if her next film is anywhere near as good as this one, it would be well worth the wait.

Hollywood: You Pull The Trigger On My Gun Love

Joseph Bellamy Hollywood: You Pull the Trigger on My Gun Love, by Joseph James Bellamy PG-13  is the second newest, next to the nearly unused NC-17 of MPAA ratings. We who are old enough to remember thought of it as “nearly R”, often pushing imagery to just short of the skin barrier. Allowing just enough violence to be fun; without a single F-bomb. It was an innocent creation of a slightly more innocent age, intended to save the already lost innocence of a generation. After all, how many among us hadn’t sneaked a peak at our big brother’s “reading material” or Dad’s beta tape collections by 1984 when the rating was first introduced?

Inevitably, time passes and all things must change. The same holds true of pop-culture, and for the PG-13 film, times have most assuredly changed.

Not long ago, my wife and I double-dated with some friends. In order to keep it light and fun for all concerned, we decided on the tween-actioner Sucker Punch. It was a fun, flashy, popcorn-fest to be sure. If you can imagine constructing a narrative from the frustrated musings of a contemporary 12-year-old boy, then you may have a sense of this film.

 I was settled in to the story, which centers on the disturbing misadventures of a group of teen girls in a shady mental health facility in the 60’s. I began to notice certain elements of the film were setting off bells in my head. The story takes place in three worlds. The first is the institution. The second is an alternate world, some sort of hyper-cabaret gentleman’s club and brothel, where the girls are the main attraction. The third is a non-sequitor pastiche of combat missions into war-torn fantasy landscapes that rival the top gamer favorites. In this world, the girls are presented as a squad of heavily armed and scantily clad super-commandos (including a naughty-as-she-wants-to-be-looking Vanessa Hudgens, who has apparently outgrown mouse-eared musicals) pitted against endless hordes of inhuman villains. It was the second and third worlds and their sequential relation to each other, that gave me pause. I began to pay more attention as a filmmaker, to what I was seeing. The pattern became starkly, worryingly obvious.

 Every time things in “Bordello World” reach the point of explicit exposure, we are moved by way of a MacGuffin device, cleverly disguised as a jailbait lap dance, to a battle sequence, a sort-of bloodless war-gasm, if you will. Interestingly enough, blood, at least as much as would be expected from so much violence, is conspicuously absent. It is made all the more conspicuous when one considers that it was the blood and gore of films such as Indian Jones and the Temple of Doom and Gremlins that gave rise to the rating in the first place. I doubt one would get much argument that both films would be considered tame in today’s Hollywood. 

Needless to say, by the end of the picture (which I did thoroughly enjoy incidentally) my mind was on spin cycle as I tried to remember if the PG-13 films of my youth presented the same aesthetic. I couldn’t think of one, which isn’t to say that it doesn’t exist; I just couldn’t and can’t come up with one. Since that day, I have watched (observed?) a number of more recent offerings that have earned this rating and there seems to be a discernable trend. Take the obviously unstoppable franchise of the Fast and the Furious for example. Nothing against the filmmakers, they’ve just made it work so well, it’s worth referencing. Stars Vin Diesel and Paul Walker, both have highly-flirtatious and highly-sexualized relationships with women. As the underlying tension escalates, not only is the sex avoided by the camera, but it seems the only solution to that tension is a fist-fight, a gun-fight, an explosion, or the franchise signature race/chase. The case is similar across the board and if the gimmicks aren’t for gear heads, they’re for gamers. Ask Mila Jovovich how to make a billion dollars and she’ll say two words, “Resident Evil”, and Peter Jackson is still trying to get a Halo movie made. 

I can understand keeping the sex under wraps. I can just as easily understand sanitizing the violence. What worries me is the thought that the sex = violence connection is being drilled into the minds of a very specific market: boys, age 11-14. Fusing seamlessly into an adolescent lifestyle typified, if not defined, by globe-spanning FPS video games, remote access socializing, and burgeoning sexuality, this kind of kiss-kiss, bang-bang may have further reaching effects than a mere 90 minutes of entertainment.  I won’t go so far, or be so paranoid, as to claim greater plan. That said, we live in a world where wars are fought with laser-guided missiles, drone planes, subs, and robotic weapons platforms. I’m not too comfortable with the next few generations of eligible serviceman having their trigger fingers hardwired to their private parts, a lifetime of simulator hours, and a taste for violence without consequence. Are you?      

Written by Joseph James Bellamy

Editor: TS Harmon

Published by Modern Cinema Magazine

© Modern Cinema Magazine

Deus ex Machina: A FILM REVIEW of "Little Gods" by Robert P. Young

Robert P. Young I recall seeing a post from a Facebook friend regarding the ubiquitous Hitler meme culled from the gripping movie Der Untergang. This scene is in Hitler’s bunker, where all is lost, and Hitler’s generals are reluctantly telling him that the cavalry will not arrive. Hitler characteristically explodes and blames everyone and everything but himself for losing the war.

It is powerfully acted by Bruno Ganz, but when it is subverted for use as a meme, Hitler dutifully rants about everything from losing at Xbox to hating the controversial revamp of Star Trek to expressing disgust at LeBron James’ “decision.”

Technology now allows us to alter what was once sobering into something incongruously mundane.

What if soldiers—and I hope non-Axis ones—had iPhones back in the 1940’s? Despite the politics of the leaders, average soldiers are pretty similar. Young. Full of bravado. Ball-busting constantly. Fearful. Unintentionally poignant.

Gods’ lead character, Private Doss (Matthew Schlichter) is no John Wayne as a soldier. (Doubly so—Doss actually served.) Wide-eyed, youthful, it’s surprising that he’s married, rather than playing the field with girls his age. But then again, he’s in the military, a world in which men take on responsibility earlier than the average man-child Kay Hymowitz writes about.

Where does Doss come from? We see his family about halfway into the film. His wife is pleasant enough. But Doss’s blood relatives have the real spark—dysfunctional even as they send their video messages of love. His mother is overbearing, physically dominating the screen by standing too close to the camera. She casually embarrasses her older son, Danny, by claiming that her late husband would be proud only of the son in Afghanistan. Like a good suburban mother, her suspicions about why her thirty-five year old son “with a good job” still lives with a male “roommate” are only skin-deep. Did Doss join the military to get away from this dynamic, or because there weren’t other good jobs like his brother’s? The film doesn’t answer those questions, but having them in the back of my mind deepened my interest.

Back in Afghanistan, each of the soldiers gets a chance to mug for the camera, and it seems like this will be a spring break video in “camo” gear. Then we are reminded that this is war. Doss’s best friend, a smart-mouthed, resourceful black man nicknamed “Trench,” is ignominiously killed while defecating in the open air.

Immediately after, Doss’s traumatized eye fills the frame, unblinking, almost as if it is as dead as his friend’s. Though overused later, this is a strong choice.

Back in the barracks, the soldiers’ superior officer expresses his regret that not all of his men will return home. Trench’s sleeping bag is rolled up and his effects surround his cot. Seeing the space, for the first time without the man, was striking—it made me feel his death far more powerfully than seeing a corpse. The real pain of death is what you leave behind.

Doss descends into depression and anti-social behavior. The line readings, which previously played out as 100% spontaneous and improvisational, seemed a little less convincing after this turning point, a side-effect of what I suspect was the need to adhere somewhat more closely to the script. Despite this slight lessening of the fly-on-the-wall/ documentary feeling, it is not to the detriment of the film overall. In fact, Schlichter's charisma easily, as well as that of the entire cast overpowers any shortcomings in the shooting technique.

Spear’s unflinching choice to show the unpleasant side of the iPhone, a voyeuristic device at the most inappropriate times--especially when a maimed (and possibly dying) soldier pleads with Doss not to film him in his condition—is quite impressive. True, Doss is capturing a powerful moment, much like a photographer would have captured Pulitzer-prize winning images from 9/11 or Katrina, but it begs the question, where is your humanity, your decency, when you choose to film rather than to help?

The soldiers are fascinatingly vulnerable human beings. This is where I believe the film is most successful, in depicting our soldiers as people we would—and do—have a beer with, rather than as statistics, victims, or killers. Yet these ordinary men have volunteered to put themselves into extraordinary circumstances. They are demigods—little gods—with their courage.

When future generations look back at our generation’s wars, they will not be separated from their ancestors like we were with the barriers of black and white footage and stagecraft from the media and the government. They will have great gifts like Ms. Spear’s Little Gods, which will illustrate the unfiltered horrors of war along with the triumphs of survival. Little Gods will not only reduce you to tears, it will get your blood boiling. Little Gods is a triumph as a film, and doubtlessly it will do more for today's soldiers than any recruiting ad will.

Don’t ignore this iPhone call.

Film: "Little Gods"
Director: Elizabeth Spear
Film's website: www.littlegodsfilm.com
Screening at Reel Fest, March 15th, 2011 www.reelfest.org

Review written by Robert P. Young III
Editor: TS Harmon
Published by Modern Cinema Magazine

LOOK! UP ON THE SCREEN! by Joseph James Bellamy

JJ Bellamy

All of you who read my work regularly know that I am a huge fan of comics and the superhero sub culture. It should come as no surprise to all four of you that I was very excited to see Captain America: the First Avenger. Having seen it, I can now say with total clarity that it was absolutely, positively, totally…adequate. I could not help but think a character with such a sense of legacy, not to mention importance, to the upcoming Avenger’s film franchise deserved a weightier, deeper treatment. Luckily, the cure for exposure to the kryptonite of a lackluster superhero flick was near at hand.

Superheroes (HBO, Monday 8/8, 9pm) Michael Barnett’s documentary look at the real-life superhero movement saves the day. The film focuses on a cross-section of the movement’s more interesting advocates, with origins as diverse as an EMT student, a married couple, and even reformed drug addicts and criminals. Through the eyes of such dedicated individuals as Master Legend of Orlando, Mr. Extreme, securing the streets of San Diego, and the hyper-organized New York Initiative, we see a world in the grip of real evils. While at first it seems ludicrous to even consider dressing up in bright colors and body armor to become a symbol of justice, the subjects of Superheroes are far from kidding. Let us not forget that in the real world, Bruce Wayne would be considered a bit of an eccentric nut.

The look and approach of real-life superheroes is certainly extreme; it is easy to ignore their message in favor of ridiculing their appearance. Beneath the masks, costumes, and somewhat awkward tendency to speak in dramatic phrase, are considerate, compassionate people, who help wherever they can, from pitching in at hit-and-run scenes to bringing life-saving basics to the homeless and helpless of their community. Some are even willing to put their lives and safety on the line, confronting drug dealers and conducting coordinated anti-street crime stings. 

I was impressed and inspired by these people and their cause. I found myself reminded of why I had run around the backyard as a child, with a towel tied around my neck and my arms outstretched before me. The heart of this film is spoken in earnest by Mr. Extreme, “It doesn’t take super powers to be a superhero,” he says, protective goggles in place, Wanted flyers in hand. “It takes being super motivated and doing super deeds.”

Leaping into action Monday night @ 9pm on HBO, Superheroes is a hopeful delight, a positive, real-life crusade for justice that is not to be missed!



Written by by Joseph James Bellamy
Editor: Deb Bellamy

When Life Gives You Razorblades… by Mark Donovan

Mark Donovan  FILM REVIEW: "Hobo With A Shotgun," by Mark Donovan Your enjoyment of Hobo with a Shotgun depends on your love of 70s exploitation films, and whether you can watch the kid from Small Soldiers take a flamethrower to a bus full of children. Yes, this in an unapologetic filth classic, served straight.

It is, indeed, a joke, in case the title alone didn’t tip you off, but there are no winking moments, no breaking of the fourth wall, and the director and cinematographer keep the aesthetic within the confines of the 70s/80s exploitation genre. This is an ugly movie, but it is ugly on purpose. If I didn’t know better I would have thought it was a forgotten 70s grindhouse classic.

The movie was originally conceived as a fake trailer for the Canadian release of the Quentin Tarantino/Robert Rodriguez film Grindhouse, which also gave the world Machete. Both films perfectly capture the same low-budget, DIY-style 70s aesthetic, but Hobo with a Shotgun hews closer to the rules of the genre by keeping the violence over-the-top and pace brisk. The main problem with Machete was that, at two hours long, it started to drag in the middle. With Hobo being a swift 86 minutes, there’s not enough time for it to get bogged down in plot, let alone for the middle to sag. This is all killer, no filler – no pun intended.

Shortly after arriving in Hopetown/Scumtown, a nameless hobo, played by Rutger Hauer, witnesses some extreme violence, brought on by a man named Drake and his two sons, Slick and Ivan. Slick is the son played by Gregory Smith, of Small Soldiers non-fame, who looks like a cross between Edward Furlong and Corey Feldman. His brother, Ivan, is played by Nick Bateman of…stuff…and looks like a cross between Andy Samburg and Dane Cook. Practically everyone in this movie looks like the non-union, Mexican counterpart to somebody famous - except for Rutger Hauer, who is indeed Rutger Hauer. I’m not sure if that was what casting directors Deirdre Bowen and Sheila Lane were going for, but it works.

Scumtown/Hopetown is the classic 70s/80s staple of a city overrun by crime. In the eternal conflict between Us vs. Them, the Thems have won, and then some. This is an entire city populated by Them. Everyone is either a drug dealer, pimp, pusher, prostitute, or bum. Nobody works a 9-5, drives a minivan, or lives with 2.5 kids and a dog. The police are either ineffective or corrupt. And there is a Santa Claus, but he kidnaps children, and he apparently does it year-round. Scumtown/Hopetown is where hope goes to die – a point made obvious long before the titular Hobo delivers a soliloquy to a room full of newborns - which is why it is amazing that it takes 30 minutes of an 86 minute movie before somebody, anybody, grabs a shotgun and just starts killing people.

The carnage in Hobo with a Shotgun is bloody, morbid, and strangely creative. The manhole-cover thing was given away in the trailer, but there is much more inventive carnage to behold. Still, for a faux-grindhouse film, there isn’t much nudity. Where most exploitation films would be awash in gratuitous nudity, Hobo keeps the clothes on, for the most part. The cinematography, by Karim Hussain, is appropriately over-saturated, giving the film its grimy feel. There are also some nice 70s touches, like how Slick and Ivan drive around in a Bricklin. The Bricklin is also one of two visual clues as to the setting of the movie; apparently our neighbors to the north are just as overrun by filth and crime as we are.

Still, as I said, your enjoyment of the film hinges on your enjoyment on mindless violence and over-the-top gore. This is a faux-filth film that can either be immensely enjoyable, or deplorable, depending on your tastes. In the recent wave of 70s and 80s throwbacks, it ranks just behind Black Dynamite, and just ahead of Machete. Those looking for a true throwback to the days of anything –goes filmmaking should definitely seek out Hobo with a Shotgun. You won’t be disappointed.

Film website/ Magnet Releasing

Written by Mark Donovan
Editor: TS Harmon

FILM REVIEW: MODUS OPERANDI Uno, Dos, Trejo! By Joseph James Bellamy

Joseph Bellamy Born in 1974, I missed the popular explosion of the so called ’Exploitation’ genre, having instead been part of the generation that made huge budget , FX laden action blockbusters the film of choice in Hollywood. Having seen Modus Operandi, I now miss what I didn’t know.

Aiming to capture the romance and allure of these lower-budget, harder-boiled classics, Writer/Director Frankie Latina’s Modus hit’s the mark like a sniper shot, and makes it look as smooth and easy as uno, dos, Trejo! With a Porn-Star pedigree (Former Porn A-lister, Actress, and Independent Film Maven Sasha Grey touts a ‘Presented by:’ Credit on the film ) , bare bones, 8mm vision, life-is-as-cheap-as-bullets narrative and the casting of Hollywood’s hands-down scariest bad guy, Modus Operandi is an outstanding, cult-ready ready offering for the cerebral film-goer, and the booms-and-boobs audience alike!

Shot in a medium once relegated to the least respectable of film efforts, It’s a feast of vintage cinematic technique, glam-art sex appeal and contemporary indie style. Not the typical Hollywood roller-coaster, but rather a slow cruise through the darkest part of town, In an impossibly slick black sedan. The story, the chronicle of a burned-out hit-man’s quest for vengeance, is played out amidst a world of perverse secrets, professional lies and political murders. The action percolates and simmers, often boiling over with sex and violence, but never cheapens itself with an overtly gratuitous explosion. Instead, the blood and pyrotechnics are applied for impact, not mindless flash-effect.

First, we are inducted into the films world with a sepia-toned smoking advisory and title-card. We then meet our (anti) hero, Stanley Cashay, through flash backs and the voiced-over memories of his deceased wife. Cashay, a retired triggerman for the shadowy ‘Intelligencia’, is brought to a sort of spooky half-life by the gaunt look and smooth mannerisms of Randy Russell ("American Job"). His suit, shades and smokes all invoke to the uber-cool secret agent men of a hipper time. Cue the funky, retro credits, and you can almost hear the door to the slick black sedan click shut behind you. ’Modus’ is rolling, and you’re along for the ride.

In the step with the films deliberate pacing, We then bare witness to a deal gone dirty, and are introduced to our ‘bad-guys‘:. Squire Parks, An altogether too-smooth politician portrayed with oily aplomb by Michael Sottile ("Reservoir Dogs"), the crooked Copper Gore, played by Mark Metcalf, and his long haired associate Dallas Deacon played by noted independent film-maker Mark Borchardt ("American Movie.") Lest we think these miscreants aren‘t carrying enough criminal credentials, enter Danny Trejo as bad-ass boss-man Director Holiday. Trejo’s brand of gravel-voiced menace immediately fills the screen, and your consciousness, like the sight of a venomous snake coiled for the lunge.

The holy-grail of the story is also established, in the form of two much-sought after black briefcases. Cashay must track them down and bring them back to his former handlers in the Intelligencia. The assignment is made irresistible when the ‘good-guys’ offer Cashay the chance to avenge his wife’s murder.

What follows is a tension building skulk through an attractively gritty, sexy underworld of strippers and killers, that spans from the dark alleys of Milwaukee to the bright lights of Tokyo. It is a darkly fantastic landscape, made real with the use of period-appropriate props, and peopled with the genre-essential cast of supporting characters. There is the always cooperative privateer, Casey Thunderbird (Barry Polterman,) the deliciously sexy hit-woman, Black Licorice (Nicole Johnson,) and a whole host of agents, assassins, hit-girls and hotties. A series of hand-offs, coded conversations and doubles crosses move the story along smoothly, without every letting up the pressure that has been steadily re-doubling since the first turn of the projector.

The drama is expertly punctuated with shoot-outs, car chases and even a brief, but impacting homage to Hitchcock’s classic thriller North By North West. All the while, the viewers sense that they have been taken on a ride that is far more than they had bargained for sinks deeper into the psyche, which is cruising more and more comfortably with every passing 8 mm. frame.

Over the course of the film, we are shown several clips of what appears to be beta-cam recorded video of young women seemingly auditioning for porno. As the story progresses, we come to understand the true nature of the footage, how it ties the principals players together, and ultimately, what they, and it, convey to us about the true meaning of power. This last idea, the meaning of power, is driven home for the audience in a climactic encounter between Squire Parks and Director Holiday, where Trejo’s words and deeds can only be described as pure Vato Loco, HOMES!

All in all, Frankie Latina and Milwaukee-based Special Entertainment can be very proud of Modus Operandi. They have not only succeeded in bringing a spot-on homage to the hard-hitting , so-called exploitation genre to a modern audience, but they have managed to remind us that a good film is about transporting the audience.

Modus Operandi is sure winner that takes you through the shadows and into another world. Now that I know, I can tell you; between the cool tunes of the sound-track, the seemingly endless supply of Hot bodies and the cold, calculated style of Stanley Cashay, it’s a world in which you will be fully engrossed, and won’t ever want to leave.

Film: "Modus Operandi"
Director: Frankie Latina
Film's website: www.frankielatina.com
Screening at Reel Fest, March 14th, 2011 www.reelfest.org

Review written by Joseph James Bellamy
Editor: TS Harmon

Be Careful What You Pretend To Be

             Live action role playing is a topic that has been widely covered in documentary form, since it is easy find subjects worthy of an audience’s sympathy, pity, or scorn, and there is already an easily defined narrative to the proceedings that can be easily juxtaposed with the reality of the subjects’ lives. It is also an area that is relatively unexplored in narrative features, given that it is home to outsized personalities, giant battles, opposing factions, and it all seems very silly to those who choose not to partake. It can make for great comedy, or, as it is used in The Wild Hunt, it can make for some tense drama.

            The Wild Hunt starts out in a similar fashion to another movie about LARPing, Darkon, in that it fully immerses the audience in the actual game, as if it were real, before pulling back the curtain to reveal that all of the fights were with foam swords. From there it moves, briefly, to the real world, where Eric and his girlfriend, Lyn, are going through relationship problems. After she leaves to take part in the game, he begins having bad dreams about her, and eventually heads off to crash the game in search of her. The early scenes come off like so many mumblecore dramas, with characters milling about, unable to express their emotions with any sort of clarity or enunciation. This is also contrasted with the land of the game, where everyone tends to shout their feelings and desires in a theatrical style reminiscent of fantasy. The early scenes are also shot through a blue filter, with overexposed lighting, giving the real world a sort of unreal, depressing quality.

            Once at the game, Eric trudges through it, begrudgingly dressing in proper costume attire and loudly declaring to anyone he comes into contact with how he is not really playing the game, looking for Lyn. His feelings of superiority to the silly costumed people that are taking the game seriously are easy to see. After his first, brief encounter with Lyn, in which she rebuffs him in favor of the silly costumed people, he teams up with his older brother, Bjorn, to try to win her back through playing the game, setting in motion events that nearly destroy the fantasy world.

            Alexandre Franchi’s excellent direction, in conjunction with the terrific cinematography by Claudine Sauve, creates a mood of mounting dread that starts shortly after Eric enters the fantasy world and doesn’t let up until the end. There is something unsettling about the fantasy world, and the way some of these characters wrap themselves in it, like religious zealots. It’s easy to see how such people could end up running wild, given that so much of their ego is wrapped up in the game. They have played characters of great importance for so long that they actually believe they are important.

            Despite taking place in expansive woods, the film feels claustrophobic. It is as if the escape that these characters are searching for is also keeping them confined. There is no true freedom to be found through the game, and nowhere in these woods to hide. The only character that seems to be truly enjoying everything is King Argyle, who uses the rules and his position in the game world to just be a terrific bastard to everyone else. He’s not above using cheap tricks to win, and then taunting his opponents.

            The one problem with the film is the character of Lyn, and what I like to call the Ramona Flowers conundrum: she does not seem to care enough about the relationship to make the audience care about the relationship, or make us understand why the main character would go to such lengths for her. She is more like a prize, and the only sense we get of her character is that she is only interested in fun. She seems to just want to be wanted, and shows extreme ambivalence about everything that doesn’t revolve around her. If I were Eric, I’d just cut my losses, as opposed to going through all that trouble just for her.

            Still, even with that problem, The Wild Hunt is fun little movie, filled with great characters, and enough respect for its fantasy world that it never falls into derision, yet still has a sense of humor about it. The direction is tight, and the cinematography is top notch. If you are a fan of role playing, tense dramas, or well made films in general, check out The Wild Hunt.


Written by Mark Donovan
Editor: TS Harmon