Disney Pixar’s INSIDE OUT is gearing up to hit theaters, and in celebration, stars Amy Poehler, Phyllis Smith, Bill Hader, Lewis Black, Mindy Kaling, Kyle MacLachlan, and Bobby Moynihan hit the purple carpet for the films premiere. The carpet was also joined by Minnie Driver, David Alan Grier, Tony Hawk and more! Check out my pictures from the red carpet below!
Do you ever look at someone and wonder what is going on inside their head? Disney•Pixar’s original new film “Inside Out” ventures inside the mind to find out.
Based in Headquarters, the control center inside 11-year-old Riley’s mind, five Emotions are hard at work, led by lighthearted optimist Joy (Amy Poehler), whose mission is to make sure Riley stays happy. Fear (voice of Bill Hader) heads up safety, Anger (voice of Lewis Black) ensures all is fair and Disgust (voice of Mindy Kaling) prevents Riley from getting poisoned—both physically and socially. Sadness (voice of Phyllis Smith) isn’t exactly sure what her role is, and frankly, neither is anyone else. When Riley’s family relocates to a scary new city, the Emotions are on the job, eager to help guide her through the difficult transition. But when Joy and Sadness are inadvertently swept into the far reaches of Riley’s mind—taking some of her core memories with them—Fear, Anger and Disgust are left reluctantly in charge. Joy and Sadness must venture through unfamiliar places—Long Term Memory, Imagination Land, Abstract Thought and Dream Productions—in a desperate effort to get back to Headquarters, and Riley.
The INSIDIOUS brand has certainly carved out a name for themselves in the horror world, but does the third installment, INSIDIOUS: CHAPTER 3, deliver?
INSIDIOUS: CHAPTER 3 is a prequel to the first two films. Quinn Brenner (Stefanie Scott) is convinced that her late mother is trying to contact her. She has tried to reach out, with no success, and decides to seek out the help of a psychic named Elise (Lin Shaye).
Elise warns Quinn not to try contacting her mother again after seeing a dark figure, but Quinn ignores her warning and invites evil into her bedroom. With the help of two parapsychologists named Tucker (Angus Sampson) and Specs (Leigh Whannell), Elise ventures into ‘The Further’ to save Quinn from the demon before she is lost forever.
Director Leigh Wannell did a fantastic job of making this film a bit darker than the other films. His imagery is incredible, and he really gives the character of Elise the power that we’ve always wanted her to have. Having said that, this film relies far too much on jump scares for my taste. I know I’ve bitched about this in the past, but horror films need to have a proper balance of thrill in the storyline without solely relying on yelling ‘boo’ at the audience. Every time they build suspense in this film, they ruin it by jumping out at the viewer. Let the story stand by itself at parts. Jeez!
The acting was fantastic. Lin Shaye is incredible, as usual, and we finally get to see her kick some butt! Stefanie Scott is the perfect mix of sweet and strong as Quinn. She’s incredibly likable, and deserves a great deal of credit for spending the majority of the film immobile!
I have mixed feelings about this film. On one hand, I really like the direction that they went, and the actors are enjoyable to watch. On the other hand, they kept taking me out of the moment with all of their cheap scares. I guess you’ll just have to decide for yourselves!
Have you ever wanted to go back and revisit a moment in time where everything seemed like it came together? Or maybe it was a passion project that didn’t quite go as far as you would have liked? Well, get ready for a trip back to the 90’s with Jerry White Jr. and Jeremy Royce in their documentary 20 YEARS OF MADNESS.
In 20 YEARS OF MADNESS, we follow Jerry White Jr., a recent film school graduate who has always wondered ‘what if’ about his old show ’30 Minutes of Madness.’ The 90’s show, put together largely by White, and starring his friends, aired on public access television in Michigan. For 30 minutes, the teens would perform wacky skits, stunts, and sing songs. Unfortunately, White and his friends had a falling out, and the show was left in the dust.
20 years later, White decides to head back to Michigan, rent a house for one month, and reconnect with his former friends to produce a new episode of ’30 Minutes of Madness.’ Along the way he find out just how much some of his friends are struggling, and that this show means something to all of them. Friendships are repaired, and madness has brought happiness to all of their lives once again.
Director Jeremy Royce does a wonderful job of capturing the spirit of just what this show means to the group. Most audience members will be unfamiliar with the small town public access spot, but Royce makes sure to take the time to introduce us. There is a very strange inception type thing happening, since Royce is filming White and his friends while they are filming, but don’t worry… it’s not as confusing as it sounds.
White seems to go through a bit of self discovery of his own, and the film sheds just as much of a focus on him repairing his friendship with his former best friend, Joe Hornacek. Joe seems to have really remained stagnant since high school, expressing difficulties with his health, and his lack of enthusiasm for his job. The show really breaths some life back into him.
As someone who was in college around the time of the rise of author JT LeRoy, I’m really surprised that I didn’t know this story. Whether you were a fan of the books, or have never heard his name before… this is one documentary that you don’t want to miss.
THE CULT OF JT LEROY starts out by following a young homeless kid who had suffered a tremendous amount of abuse, and ends up addicted to heroin while prostituting on the streets of San Francisco. His psychologist, who he called into regularly, encouraged him to start writing his stories down, and soon, the world took notice.
JT’s stories told personal accounts of gender confusion, abuse, drug use, sexual exploration and other incredibly intimate topics. After being passed around to various authors, JT’s stories were soon published, and took off with great success. Soon after, JT was taken in by a family – a man named Geoffrey Knoop and his partner Laura Albert – and together, they started a band and took the books on a tour.
It didn’t take long for Hollywood to grab on to the story of the young drug addict, HIV infected underdog. Celebrities such as Shirley Manson, Lou Reed, Ben Foster, Nancy Sinatra, Jeremy Renner, Carrie Fisher, Billy Corgan and Courtney Love all showed support for the budding author. JT claimed stage fright at many of his early readings, so celebrities would take to the stage, share a word or two about him, and then read passages from his books to a full house of fans.
(JT LeRoy, Geoffrey Knoop, and Laura Albert)
The whole movement was very artistic, and had a Warhol feel to it. People started to hold JT on a pedestal. He finally started reading his own material at appearances, and began appearing in magazines worldwide. That’s when trouble hit. People started to see holes and contradictions in his stories. Finally, it was figured out that there was no such person as JT LeRoy. Laura Albert was the author of the books, and she had hired Geoffrey’s half-sister, Savannah Knoop, to play the public persona of JT.
Director Marjorie Sturm was along for the ride from the beginning, having started documenting JT before he was famous. She too had no idea that the whole thing was a farce. As the story unfolded, Sturm followed the clues, and inevitably learned the truth with the rest of the world. From there, she followed the trial where Laura was sued for fraud, although not being allowed inside to record, and later cleverly had a friend catch up with Laura at a book signing.
This documentary does a great job of telling Laura’s side of why [she says] she did what she did, and she does make some good points about whether or not her books would have been recognized in the same way. Her reasoning would have a little more validity had she not pulled people into her lies, and manipulated them. Sturm talks to quite a few men who were on the receiving end of JT’s web. These guys would spend hours on the phone with who they thought was JT as he would threaten suicide, talk about going out in search of rough sex, and devote long periods of time into making them feel like they were the only person that he could talk to. He would even manipulate them into sending him gifts by saying things like his laptop was broken and he didn’t know how he was going to write, or that he had never had a birthday present or cake. It’s still unclear, especially once published, why Laura continued to play mind games with these individuals. That’s the biggest difference between what Laura did, and using a pen name. An author using a pen name doesn’t hire someone to pretend to be the author, or manipulate people to become famous. I mean…wow!
This tale is one hell of a mind-fuck. People really identified JT, who they thought was a refreshing, truthful voice for their generation.
Director Marjorie Sturm did an incredible job of taking the audience through this ride of a story! THE CULT OF JT LEROY is making its way through the festival circuit now. If you get the chance, go see it!
I continue to be impressed by the programming here at the Mammoth Lakes Film Festival, and AUTISM IN LOVE falls under the ‘impressive’ category.
This incredible documentary follows four bright adults of different ages and circumstances as they discover, long for, manage, or lose love in their lives. This film questions just what love truly means, and how important it is, for all of us.
Lindsay and Dave, who are both autistic, happened to meet at a convention for autism in 2005, and at the time of filming, had been together for 8 years and questioning the subject of marriage. Although the two are both diagnosed as autistic, they are very different in their behaviors and thinking patterns. Lindsay is a creative type, whereas Dave is a scientist. Still, the two manage to compliment each other, and have found a way for their love to work.
Stephen, from St. Paul, MN is highly intelligent, but his social skills are a bit farther removed than the rest of the subjects of the film. He had been married to a lovely woman named Guita for over twenty years, but at the time of the initial shooting, she was living somewhere else and fighting ovarian cancer. She later passed away. Stephen talks to the camera about his love for Guita, and was hopeful that she would get better, but later explained that once she had passed away, he stopped loving her. He had to stop loving her, because she was dead.
The person experiencing the hardest time in the film was Lenny, a twenty-something kid from Los Angeles, CA who has yet to come to terms with his autism. Throughout the film we see Lenny repeatedly tell the interviewer how he longed to just be a normal kid. Lenny wears his heart on his sleeve, and his struggle is rather difficult to watch. Not only is he uncomfortable with himself, but he is convinced that the only way that he will get a girlfriend is if he has money, a job, and a car. Towards the end of the film Lenny finally does get a job, but it doesn’t really help much on his quest for happiness and self-acceptance.
Director Matt Fuller does an incredible job of getting these amazing people to open up on camera, and I later found out that he actually projected his face onto a mirror in front of the lens so that everyone would know where to look. What he captured is a humane, heart filled tale of universal love and heartache. This film is a journey for the soul.
It was reported after the film that PBS saw the film at the Tribeca Film Festival, and has now bought the rights. AUTISM IN LOVE should be aired or screened widely (hopefully) sometime soon. If you get the chance to see this film, do it!
Today, I kicked off my visit to the Mammoth Lakes Film Festival in Mammoth Lakes, CA with their first film screening of the day, SHORTS BLOCK I. Below you can find the films that screened, and just what I thought of them. Check it out now!
MULIGNANS – Director : Shaka King / USA / 5 min
MULIGNANS is a play on the Italian-American slang for a black man, which is based on the Italian word for “eggplant.” This comedic film reverses roles, and puts African-Americans in the role of Italian Gangsters, much like any mob movie that you’ve ever seen. Not only is this film funny, but it’s also a big of an eye opener, with caucasian hipsters being the underdogs. 5 stars
UNA NIT – Director : Marta Bayarri / Spain / 17 min
Boy meets girl. Girl goes back to his place. Girl finds out he’s completely nuts! UNA NIT follows two frisky individuals looking to have some fun. When the girl decides to ask too many questions his behavior starts to change, leaving us with an open ending as to her fate. This film is intense and uncomfortable… and reminds us that stranger danger is still something that all of us should look out for! 3 stars
JAM – Director : Brett Fleisher / USA / 8 min
Director Brett Fleisher was inspired to write JAM after sitting in traffic in LA for far too long. The short takes us through various cars stuck in a ridiculously long traffic jam. We end up visiting different characters as they try to cope with their predicament, as they journey to the front of the jam and find out exactly how/why they are there. This film jumps around from comedic, to honest and intense, and holds the interest of the viewer. 4 stars
T’ES PAS GAME – Director : Sandrine Brodeur-Desrosiers / Canada / 12 min
David and Margot are a happy couple that likes to have fun. They’re spontaneous, and aren’t afraid to make complete fools out of themselves for a laugh. After accidentally locking themselves in the bedroom, the two are forced to check back into reality and have a serious discussion. The actors have a great deal of chemistry, and the subject matter is incredibly relatable for most couples today. This film is charming, with a message that isn’t discussed in many films. 4 stars
UPON THE ROCK – Director : James Bascara / 9 min
UPON THE ROCK is an animated short that tells the story of a man stuck in a rut. One day, after seeing an image of an island, his entire life changes. He drops everything and goes on a life-long quest to find his dream island. The animation in this film is beautiful, but the way it transforms into a mythological story might be confusing for some viewers. I heard the guys behind me stating that they didn’t get it, ‘but it looked cool.’ It’s strange, but if you like interpreting imagery then you will enjoy it. 3 stars
FORCER BABY – Director : Spencer Showalter / USA / 14 min
FORCER BABY tells the tale of Spook, a greaser kid on a mission to avenge his father by taking out the man who killed him, Sheriff Jones. The only way to do that is to find his fathers secret weapon, The Enforcer, a steam punk later gun that’s said to be the ultimate weapon. This film is a spaghetti western mixed with steam punk (or as the director calls it, ‘syrup punk’) and sci-fi. You can really see the 80’s, sci-fi and adventure film influence. FORCER BABY is cheesy, but it’s a ton of fun! 5 stars
LAY IN WAIT – Director : Jonathan Ade / USA / 25 min
File this under the category ‘Do Not See With Spouse!” because LAY IN WAIT is a bit uncomfortable. Maggie goes into the woods to meet with her secret lover while her husband is at home. While on the trip she loses her wedding ring, and is on a mission to find it before she returns home. Maggie is faced with ultimately choosing her lover or her husband, and it’s all decided by whether she stays to look for her ring, or returns to town with her boyfriend. The director does a great job of capturing the emotions of the actors, who are absolutely terrific, and showing Maggie as both empowered and vulnerable. 4 stars
If you’re in the area, SHORTS BLOCK II will screen tomorrow (Friday) at 2:30pm at the Edison Theater in Mammoth Lakes, CA, and SHORTS BLOCK III will screen at 10:00am Saturday Morning at the same theater. For More Info : mammothlakesfilmfestival.com
OMO CHILD: THE RIVER AND THE BUSH follows the story of Lale Labuko, a member of the Kara tribe and his journey to stop one of their oldest traditions – the slaughtering of children deemed cursed.
This heartwarming documentary infiltrates one of the oldest, and seemingly well-preserved tribes in Ethiopia (although westernization has started to show itself through clothing and education), and uncovers one of their biggest secrets known as ‘mingi.’Mingi is a curse that affects children, and it presents itself to the tribe in three ways: Woman, Girl, or Teeth. Woman Mingi is when a child is born with no elder blessing. Girl Mingi are children born to unwed mothers. Teeth Mingi are children, around the age of two, whose teeth start to come in from the top, rather than the bottom. Three different ways two show the curse, but for all they had the same outcome… they were to be killed by the women of the tribe.Thousands of children, since the beginning of the tribe, were slaughtered due to mingi. As a boy of around fifteen, Lale learned if this ancient tradition and knew that he had to do something to stop it.
The filmmakers spent around five years working on this project, following Lale as he began his mission to save the mingi children before they were put to death. What started as an impossible mission turned into the building of a sanctuary called ‘Omo Child’ where mingi children were taken in and given the chance to live their lives. Eventualy, the Kara people vowed to abolish the mingi tradition. That being said, there are still thousands of tribes that still practice this ancient belief. Children are still being killed every day, and director John Rowe did a fantastic job of getting this message across.
This documentary is extraordinary! Director John Rowe and his son, Producer Tyler Rowe spoke with many of the elders, and handled this subject matter delicately, and with ease. It would have been easy to paint this tribe as archaic and menacing, but instead, they went into depth as to why the Kara people were scared of the curse, and their fears of death and devastation if they ended the tradition that goes back to their beginning.
OMO CHILD : THE RIVER AND THE BUSH is an important piece of documentary filmmaking. It speaks a message of hope, and change. If you have the chance, please go see this film!
The first annual MAMMOTH LAKES FILM FESTIVAL will make it’s debut this week. Set in the scenic and majestic setting of Mammoth Lakes, California, and will take place May 27-31, and will open with acclaimed Academy Award winning filmmaker Alex Gibney’s new documentary STEVE JOBS: THE MAN IN THE MACHINE.
The festival will present sixteen films in Narrative and Documentary Competition. I recently spoke with Artistic Director/Director Shira Dubrovner about choosing the films for the festival. She said:
“[The films] have a common thread. The one thing I did with this festival is give the full power to Paul Sbrizzi, who is a veteran at programming. He’s been programming for Slamdance for the past fifteen years, he programs for LA film fest and many other film festivals in the country. I knew his artistic taste, and I know that he also has an eye for talent. He discovered Benh Zeitlin and Lena Dunham from ‘Girls’ when they were putting out their shorts for festivals. It didn’t get into sundance and he thought ‘This is brilliant! We need to put it into Slamdance!’ so, he definitely has the eye. What I think is the common denominator with all the films is, is that the directors themselves have a unique storytelling talent. I think that’s what Paul really specializes in. We definitely wanted to have an element of the human story, and an honesty, and a truth in the execution of these stories. I think that’s where the common denominator lies. Sometimes it’s not pretty. Sometimes it’s an ugly thing to watch, but they all come from an incredibly honest and truthful human, universal point of view. Whether it’s narrative or documentary, they all have that essence.”
The festival will also feature over 30 short films, presented in 3 different blocks, a panel on women in filmmaking featuring producer Allison Amon (THE QUEEN OF VERSAILLES), actress Kristanna Loken actress (TERMINATOR 3) and other guests. There will also be an opening night gala, a chance to mingle with the filmmakers at the Filmmakers Happy Hour, a bash with psychedelic and acid western rock band Spindrift and a closing night awards party.
The festival takes filmgoers away from their busy city lives, and transports them to a beautiful mountain town. I asked Shira Dubrovner why she feels Mammoth Lakes is the perfect destination for a film festival, and she replied:
“The landscape itself is amazing. The eastern Sierras are on the outside of Yosemite park. Mono Lake is a twenty minute drive from here. It’s a ski resort, so it’s very mountainous. There are many lakes, and we’re at high elevation. So, the landscape itself is a very inspiring area. John Weir walked through all of the back woods of here, and Mono Lake – Mark Twain wrote about. The landscape itself evokes inspiration. Whether you’re an artist or an athlete, or even if you just want to live in an area that is beautiful and gives you a quality of life.
I think the art form of filmmaking gives you that same kind of feeling. It’s thought provoking. It makes you think. When people come here, I think, they’re going to be away from the city and they can focus on the film festival, and enjoy it in a way that they wouldn’t have been able to being in a big city with all of the bustling, and cell phones ringing. I think it puts you in a different state of mind when you get here, so I think the two together will just be a great combination.”
The festival will present a diverse collection of feature films – from world premieres to film festival favorites, short film screenings and Q&As over five days. The festival will also include nightly gala events that celebrate the excitement and discovery of visionary filmmaking.
Festival passes are available now, and individual tickets are on sale now.
Discounted lodging through the festival’s lodging partner Sierra Nevada Resort & Spa can be purchased at http://thesierranevadaresort.com/
All screenings and special events will take place in a variety of venues in Mammoth Lakes, including Edison Theatre and the Forest Service Visitor’s Center Theater.
You may have to wait a few more weeks to see INSIDIOUS: CHAPTER 3, but you don’t have to wait for the terror. Check out this all new featurette that gives you a glimpse into the third film in this frightful horror franchise. Press play… if you dare.
The newest chapter in the terrifying horror series is written and directed by franchise co-creator Leigh Whannell. This chilling prequel, set before the haunting of the Lambert family, reveals how gifted psychic Elise Rainier (Lin Shaye) reluctantly agrees to use her ability to contact the dead in order to help a teenage girl (Stefanie Scott) who has been targeted by a dangerous supernatural entity.
UNFRIENDED is a pretty intense cyber-thriller that is sure to scare teens straight with its anti-bullying theme.
Sure, we’ve all seen the wave of found footage flicks that has come out in the past decade or so, starting with THE BLAIR WITCH PROJECT (which, FYI, still holds up). Since it’s release, audiences have been bombarded with the sub-genre of films… some good, some terrible, such as the never-ending supply of PARANORMAL ACTIVITY movies. This is where UNFRIENDED broke the mold. The film modified the handheld cam look, and upgraded it to a laptop. Think about it. What are teens up to when they are at home on a school night? They’re talking to their friends in group chats, posting on Facebook, and texting with their smartphones. It’s never been easier for kids to have access to whatever it is that they want. Unfortunately, this is also a source of instant gratification without thinking about the consequences. I couldn’t imagine growing up in a world where every mistake that I made had the possibility of being seen by millions, just because some jerk with a camera phone thought it was funny, and wanted a few ‘likes.”
This is where the tale of Laura Barns comes in. Here, we have a girl who got too drunk at a party, and passed out in a humiliating way. When video of the hazy night went viral amongst her schoolmates, the harassment and bullying was enough for her to end her life, which someone also caught on video and shared online.
One year later, on the anniversary of her death, a few friends go about their normal teen lives and join up for a group chat on Skype. Everything is fine until a mysterious caller chimes in, and continues to mess with them, until finally revealing that it is Laura Barns. It’s simple. Now that she is gone, she’s determined to figure out which one of her supposed friends released the tape. It’s a game of ‘whodunit’ where no one really wins.
I, being in my thirties, don’t use Skype on a regular basis, but am still rather familiar with it. Hearing the call noise, and waiting to see what would happen actually had me anxious. That never happens, since I’ve watched so many horror films in my life, and generally know what to expect. This, however, felt fresh. They didn’t rely on just using jump scares to horrify the audience. Instead, they also used a relatable story theme, and created tension throughout the film. Director Levan Gabriadze did a great job of creating a natural flowing, fun film. The same goes for the cast. A lot was riding on their shoulders since most of their script was improvised. They were in charge, in a way, of how they looked on camera since they really did have a makeshift skype-type of chat screen in front of them, and really moving the script along. Also, kudos to these guys for playing teens, since they’re all in their mid-to-late twenties, with the exception of Jacob Wysocki, who is now 24.
Look, it takes a lot to get through to the youth of today. They have the whole world at their fingertips, and at an impressionable age, that can be dangerous. If a good scare is what’s needed to get them to think before they upload something, or type something cruel on the internet, then let’s scare them. Remember, it takes no courage to say something while hiding behind a screen, but on the other side there is a person, just like you. Words hurt. Bravo on the message, even though it’s a bit extreme!
