Daily Loaf

Are enough people waking up to make a difference? Or, maybe the scenario of The Age of Stupid, the film that’s circulating the globe, is a prediction of things to come.

The Student Environmental Awareness Society is starting their Environmental Film Series with the question, “Why didn’t we stop climate change when we had a chance?”

The film stars Pete Postlethwaite looks back from a devastated Earth in 2055, wondering who these people were in 2008/9 and what they were thinking to allow such a disaster as global warming.
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The only Disney franchise with a sequel good enough to get a theatrical releases is back, but should we care? The Toy Story 3-D Double Feature (TS3D) costs almost twice as much as a normal movie. 3-D movies have traditionally been a little blurry on screen, and those big goofy glasses can make your head throb. Plus, everyone saw Toy Story and Toy Story 2 years ago when they first came out (though they are now in “The Disney Vault,” and not the easiest movies to get a hold of).  You may also be wondering if Pixar’s early work still looks good over a decade later, given how far computer animation has come in the time since Toy Story’s release? So it’s not worth it? This 3-D double feature is a total rip-off, right?

WRONG! The Toy Story 3-D extravaganza is totally worth every penny!

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The 20th annual Tampa International Gay & Lesbian Film Festival concludes today, and if the lines outside the films and the comments from Executive Director Chuck Henson are any indication, this was one of the most successful seasons ever, with large increases in single ticket sales offsetting the drop in corporate sponsorship. The fest certainly felt like a success; last night was a case in point, with long lines and big laughs for the screening of Eating Out 3, and a crowded, convivial men’s party at Czar.

There are a few films left to see, culminating with the splashy Big Gay Musical (right) at 7, reviewed below by Ryan Jent. And if you missed Prodigal Sons or Fig Trees, both of which screened earlier today, read the reviews below and decide whether you need to add them to your Netflix queue; for my money, Sons was one of the most powerful films in the fest, so be sure to check it out if you missed today’s screening. Read the rest of this entry »

Had you told me years ago that there’d be a second installment of Eating Out, let alone a third, I’d have thanked you for the warning. The films are full of eye candy, sure, but living proof of why serious actors John Travolta their way into the closet.

But the now-franchise, the third installment in particular, knows exactly what it is: hunky guys, funny girls, ridiculous plots, a dash of heart and the potential for more. No one’s Oscar-bound, but those at the helm have found a winning formula. Read the rest of this entry »

Two rich families move to London. Girl meets girl at a tennis match. Girl, Leyla, begins to question her feelings about her boyfriend, and more so, about her sexuality. Other girl, Tala, fights the temptation that Leyla dangles in front of her because she’s engaged and she says that people just can’t live like that — as in two women can’t be together in a romantic relationship.
Girl, Leyla, is heartbroken that Tala won’t budge, but uses the inspiration that Tala provides her as fuel to find herself. Time passes and girl and girl get set up on a dinner date by their friends. Although girl, Tala, has broken things off with her fiancé, she still hasn’t come out to her parents. This disappoints Leyla. Girl and girl go their separate ways. Read the rest of this entry »

Patrik 1.5

Patrik 1.5 I can count on one hand the number of subtitled films I’ve watched — and prior to watching Patrik 1.5 I’d have wagered its place would be on my middle finger. The Swedish film showcases the perfect gay couple, their new suburban home and an adoption gone awry, saddling them with a homophobic, criminal teenager due to a typing error. No thanks. It all sounded a bit trite, ridden with tired plot devices. Then I watched it. Beautifully shot, its place wasn’t on my middle finger — but rather my thumb, pointing straight up and a bit green from the film’s symbolism. Goran loves to garden; his husband, Sven, loves to drink. It turns out that Patrik, 15 and not 1.5, loves to garden as well — and the film blossoms into something beautiful. I’ve never seen another Swedish film, but if they’re anything like Patrik 1.5, I’m getting a passport. (Or updating my Netflix queue.) Friday, Oct. 16, 9 p.m., Tampa Theatre. —Ryan Jent

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[Editor's Note: This review is by CL Atlanta's Curt Holman. You can check out more of his work here.]

Spike Jonze and Dave Eggers’ Where the Wild Things Are remembers something most adults have forgotten: A huge gulf lies between the simplicity of children’s entertainment and the complexity of actual childhood. Growing up may be a time of pure delight, but it also features stretches of agonizing boredom, sudden fright, occasional sorrow and general perplexity at the arbitrary nature of adult rules.

Most artwork aimed at children, even some of the great ones, grabs for the pleasure and maybe a pinch of terror, but seldom attempts to evoke the tangled youthful feelings that go hand-in-hand with the sense of the wonder. Where the Wild Things Are serves as a remarkable exception that grounds its visual splendors in bittersweet realism.

Being John Malkovich director Jonze and co-writer Eggers retain many images from Maurice Sendak’s archetypal picture book. Rambunctious young Max (played by a talented young actor named Max Records — really) wears an off-white wolf suit reminiscent of Ralphie’s bunny outfit from A Christmas Story and chases the family dog with a fork in an early scene. Jonze and Eggers provide the requisite feature film backstory with admirable economy. Max grows up as an imaginative, latch-key son of divorce with a working mother (Catherine Keener) and a neglectful teenage sister.

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We now take a brief break from the world of sports to discuss cinema.

Movies are a matter of personal preference. A film that I may love, someone else may think is total garbage and vice versa. For example, critics acclaim Citizen Kane as one of the greatest films of all time. Personally, I think it’s unwatchable. I guess it’s a generational thing. I’m sure years down the road, people will see modern classics like Pulp Fiction or Crash in whatever technological format they’re available in at the time and think they’re pieces of crap. Or maybe they’ll stand the test of time. Who knows?

There are, however, more recent movies that I’ve sat through and wondered how people could have dubbed them cult classics. What am I missing? Again, cinema is a matter of taste. I won’t hold it against someone who thinks Titanic is the best movie of all time (it’s not, by the way), but I certainly won’t sit with them and watch it. I think I have a pretty good feel for what’s good and what’s not, but for the five movies I’m about to mention … I just don’t get it.

Do they make your overrated list? If not, feel free to throw your hands angrily in the air and tell me I don’t know what the heck I’m talking about. Convince me to sit through them again and I promise to give them a fair shake … while wincing uncomfortably on my sofa. Also please feel free to comment on any movies I may have forgotten. I’m sure there are plenty.

Okay, here goes….

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Buzz, Woody and the gang are back.  Yes, the toys are back in town. The Disney/Pixar juggernaut hits theaters June 18, 2010 and the first theatrical trailer hit the Web today. Click the teaser poster below to check it out.

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The halls of the Wyndham convention center were overrun by the die-hard horror fans.

Thousands of horror fans from all over the country gathered this past weekend at the Orlando Wyndham Resort for Florida’s largest horror convention — Spooky Empire’s Ultimate Horror Weekend.

Featuring dozens of celebrity guests, the event is an annual three-day festival of music, movies, and just about anything horror-related.

This was the convention’s seventh year, and by far the largest yet. The gathering’s size and notoriety has grown immensely in the past few years. Starting as a relatively small horror gathering in Ft. Lauderdale, the convention (formerly dubbed Screamfest) has since relocated to the Wyndham Orlando Resort on International Drive. Once filling a lone ballroom, the Ultimate Horror Weekend has now taken over the Wyndham’s massive convention center.

Filmmakers such as John Landis (American Werewolf in London, The Blues Brothers) and Hershell Gordon Lewis (Blood Feast, 2000 Maniacs) joined horror legends, including Linda Blair (The Exorcist), Tippi Hedren (The Birds), and Adrienne Barbeau (The Fog), as guests for the event.

Read more and check out video of the Ultimate Horror Weekend after the jump …

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Here’s a great mini-documentary from Lance Bangs that chronicles the making of the music for Spike Jonze‘ upcoming film, Where the Wild Things Are. Karen O (of the Yeah Yeah Yeahs) wrote most of the songs and produced the sessions. It turns out the kid voices you here on the soundtrack (listen to it here) come from actual kids, un-trained singers at that — an idea inspired by the The Langley Schools Music Project from the 1970s.

Check it out: Read the rest of this entry »

A maddening, heartbreaking, ultimately satisfying documentary about the fight to depose Rene Portland, the celebrated women’s basketball coach at Penn State who wielded her “no lesbians” rule with brutal force. For almost 30 years Portland threatened students, threw them off the team, made insinuations about other universities’ programs, all with impunity — until a courageous former student took her to court with the help of the National Center for Lesbian Rights (and Tampa attorney Karen Doering). Read the rest of this entry »

When you’re trying to stay within a budget, you have to weigh your entertainment options. Is it worth the money? Can I afford to bring a date, or go with a group of people?

None of that is a concern tonight. Read the rest of this entry »

It’s October, and do you know what that means? OK, yes, it is the season of post-season baseball, but I was talking about Halloween. More specifically, I’m talking about a steady diet of scary movies regularly consumed by cinema fans in honor of our annual festival of the dead. After watching more than my fair share of fright flicks over the past few days, I’ve put together a list of my picks for the five scariest movies ever. Be sure to include your top 5 in the comments section, and let me know what you think of my selections. And please, if you see me out in public, keep the whole ‘Kevin screams like a girl’ thing to yourself!

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[Editor's Note: This review is by CL Atlanta's Curt Holman, part of his Hollywood Product series. To see more reviews by Curt, go here.]

GENRE: Frat-pack vacation.

THE PITCH: Jason Bateman and Kristen Bell play spouses contemplating divorce who convince three couples to join them at a tropical resort that requires a mandatory “skill-building” session. Other pairs include Vince Vaughn and Watchmen’s Malin Akerman, Jon Favreau and Sex and the City’s Kristin Davis, and Faizon Love and Kali Hawk.

MONEY SHOTS: Bateman and Bell pitch their friends the trip idea with a Power Point presentation that enumerates their marital problems. A bucket of chum splashes Vaughn in shark-infested waters. A barely clad Adonis (Carlos Ponce) practically humps the characters — male and female — during a yoga lesson. Vaughn has a video game showdown with the resort’s supercilious major domo, “Sctanley” (Peter Serafinowicz).

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Ladies, gentleman and movie geeks, Kevin’s Korner is back, and better than ever. This week, I wrap up some news found floating around the Interwebs, check the box office tally *cough Zombieland cough*, sample what’s out on DVD, throw in a mild rant and top it all off with the hotly anticipated Trailer of the Week. So, let’s get going with the good stuff, shall we?

MOVIE NEWS

A Pryor Engagement: It was announced that Eddie Murphy was going to portray Richard Pryor in a biopic entitled Richard Pryor: Is It Something I Said? for Paramount. Now, unfortunately, Paramount and Eddie Murphy have backed out because they apparently don’t like each other very much. Alas, the show must go on, now with Adam Sandler’s Happy Madison production company backing the film and Marlon Wayans in the lead role. Despite Wayans doing a good job in G.I. Joe, I simply don’t see him as the lead in a movie like this. I guess we’ll see …

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We’ve recently seen an influx of environmental themed films that deal with what we’re putting into our bodies. Food, Inc. and Fresh dealt with the mega industrial food industries, and the results of the hormones and chemicals that enter our bodies from the overprocessed foods we eat. But what about chemicals and pesticides that enter our bodies from the upkeep of our prized lush, green lawns?

The new documentary, A Chemical Reaction: The Story of a True Green Revolution, addresses the health risks and side effects of synthetic lawn pesticide and herbicide use and human and animal illnesses, and what a small town did to be the first place in North America to ban the use of these toxic chemicals.

See the film’s trailer after the break
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"Drool" is one of the films showing at TIGLFF this year.

The Tampa International Gay & Lesbian Film Festival is 20 years old and still going strong. The festival runs Oct. 8-18 at Tampa Theatre and Muvico Baywalk (and at party spots like Czar and Honey Pot), and this week you can read all about it at cltampa.com: interviews with people behind the scenes, like Programming Director Margaret Murray and Executive Director Chuck Henson ; a history of the fest from one of its major players, Jim Harper; and lots of movie reviews.

Which flicks are must-sees and which ones are must-nots? How’d the festival reach this big two-decade milestone? And how do Henson and Murray keep the crowds coming in the age of Bravo, Logo and Netflix?

Go to cltampa.com/tiglff to find out. And stay tuned to the Daily Loaf as we post individual reviews throughout the week.

Managing to be both implausible and predictable, this slapdash little coming-out movie is diverting nevertheless, boosted by funny characterizations, cute boys and pop-cult knowingness.

Big Queer On Campus Olaf “Gunn” Gunnunderson somehow remains closeted to his family, a fact that comes as a surprise to his boyfriend Nathan when he shows up unexpectedly at Gunn’s Midwestern home during Christmas break. Read the rest of this entry »

The scariest movie of the year, Paranormal Activity will continue to expand to more theaters this weekend after stellar reviews — especially from yours truly (check it out here) — a successful “demand it” viral marketing campaign, and grosses of $535,000 last weekend in just 33 theaters convinced the studio that they have a winner on their hands.

Paranormal Activity has already been bumped to over 40 theaters, with more to come this weekend. Additional screenings have been scheduled at Tampa’s AMC Veterans theater to go with the midnight showings already set.

The film has been a huge success largely due to the “Demand it” marketing campaign which asked fans to beg theaters to book the film, compounded by word of mouth through Twitter with TweetYourScream. The film was shot for roughly $15,000, but don’t let the price tag fool you. If you’re looking for a great scary movie, I encourage you to check Paranormal Activity out … if you’ve got the guts.

Catherine Durkin Robinson is a handful creating quite a scene over at Out in Left Field.

Last week I got a request to appear on Studio 10, a local morning talk show in Tampa, hosted by Holley Sinn and Jerome Ritchey. They wanted to discuss my review of Capitalism: A Love Story and maybe even my blogging adventures here at CL and Out in Left Field.

Despite the fact they have no open bar, I agreed to go on the show.

Thursday morning, I arrived early and asked for the makeup room.

Lovely Receptionist blinked a few times.

“Where do you think you are?” she asked. “Oprah?”

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A MacGuffin is a term coined by famous director Alfred Hitchcock (and used continuously by George Lucas) to define a plot element, generally an object, that drives the characters and the story. To illustrate, I compiled some of the most famous MacGuffins. Check my list out, and let me know all good ones I missed by leaving a comment!

7) The Matrix – The Matrix

This one is debatable as a true MacGuffin, because it’s not necessarily an object, but an environment. However, throughout the movie, the question “what is the Matrix” is asked, and answered with varying layers, with the ultimate answer establishing it as a MacGuffin. My head hurts.

Check out the trailer

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When I was 6 years old, I saw Jaws for the first time and was truly terrified that my trip to the beach the next day would be my last. Despite my love of the water, I still feel the terror that movie caused. Now, 20-something years later, I have experience true terror yet again. This time, though, the scare isn’t in the water; it’s in the bedroom. The movie: Paranormal Activity.

I saw reports that claimed Paranormal Activity was the scariest movie some people had ever seen, so I sought out the flick and “demanded it” on the the film’s website. Sure enough, the movie came to Tampa (your welcome), but only for a midnight showing. After seeing the movie that only cost a small amount to make, I was truly terrified and amazed at something as simple as a shadow or a random light turning on could be so scary.

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Who knew the zombie-filled apocalypse would be this much fun? Mixing comedy, horror, road movie and coming-of-age story, Zombieland manages to be gross, hilarious and — dare I say it — heartwarming.

Read more of Sal’s review of Zombieland after the jump …

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Oh, and what’s-her-name looks to be along as well. Ya know who I’m talking about, right, that hot chick? I know no one has heard of her, but she is hot, and has a big mouth, and looks good standing over the engine of a car … Megan … oh, yeah, Megan Fox.

Details on Transformers 3 after the jump …

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Editor’s Note: This review is by CL Atlanta’s Curt Holman. (You can check out the original here.) For more movie reviews and news, check out CL’s Movies & Television site.

Drew Barrymore usually radiates high spirits and good cheer on screen, so it makes sense that her directorial debut, Whip It, would display the same virtues. In fact, Barrymore’s film shows more skill and subtlety than she often reveals in her acting, which comes as a particular surprise in a coming-of-age tale full of roller derby players with names such as Iron Maven and Maggie Mayhem.
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Those giddy with anticipation for the Spike Jonze film adaptation of Maurice Sendak’s Where the Wild Things Are (out Oct. 16) can now enjoy the soundtrack, which is streaming over at imeem.

The tracks are credited to “Karen O (of the Yeah Yeah Yeahs) And the Kids.” Also adding their talents: Deerhunter’s Bradford Cox and YYY band-mates Nick Zinner and Brian Chase.

Listen now.

No one can explain capitalism in a simple manner, and Michael Moore is no exception. Yet Capitalism: A Love Story does a fine job tackling the different sides of a complicated issue and sets forth the premise that the struggle we now face, no matter what the pundits tell you, isn’t between capitalism and socialism.
It’s between capitalism and democracy.
Do we want a society based on profit for some, or freedom for all? That’s the choice and question at the heart of this important documentary.

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Film director Roman Polanski was arrested entering Switzerland Saturday for a decade’s old arrest warrant. By request of the United States, the 76-year old Academy Award winner was questioned by Swiss police upon entering the country regarding the warrant issued in 1978.

In 1977, Polanski plead guilty to having sex with a 13-year-old girl, and permanently left the United States in 1978 before he was sentenced. Polanski is considered an international fugitive. Read the rest of this entry »

Just in case you missed the first run showing of Fresh in the Tampa Bay area, you now have two more chances to see this new film about what’s wrong with the mega-industrial food industry.

FRESH celebrates the farmers, thinkers and business people across America who are re-inventing our food system. Each has witnessed the rapid transformation of our agriculture into an industrial model, and confronted the consequences: food contamination, environmental pollution, depletion of natural resources, and morbid obesity. Forging healthier, sustainable alternatives, they offer a practical vision for a future of our food and our planet.
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That’s right, film fans, the director of  A History of Violence and The Fly is getting back to work on a remake of The Fly. Generally, remakes are done to bring fresh blood and a new take on a classic story to audiences who may not have seen it, but Cronenberg seems to just want to get back to work on one of his greatest hits.

The original, starring Jeff Goldblum (I thought he was dead) and Geena Davis came out in 1986 and was a huge hit, netting over $40 million. With special effects the way they are these days, Cronenberg could make a very different movie.

So, after seeing District 9, which bears similarities to The Fly, do you think anyone will want to see the remake? It will be really tough, in my opinion, to make a movie that will top District 9, quality wise.

So, lets indulge in a bit of fantasy casting. Read the rest of this entry »

Not your average movie about a hot cheerleader and her nerdy best friend, Jennifer’s Body hit theaters last week. Staring Megan Fox and Amanda Seyfried, Jennifer’s Body tells the story of a popular girl who is slighty more evil than the teenage girls of today’s society.

Jennifer’s Body takes place in Devil’s Kettle, a middle-of-nowhere small town where everyone knows everyone. Eager to up her slut status, Jennifer Check (Megan Fox) wants to see (and presumably, sleep with) a band playing at a local bar. She brings along her best friend Anita “Needy” Lesnicky (Amanda Seyfriend). After flirting with the “salty” lead singer Nikolai Wolf (Adam Brody aka Seth Cohen from the O.C.!), Jennifer ends up getting herself kidnapped and sacrificed to the devil. To keep herself hot and desirable, Jennifer needs to eat human flesh. She prefers boys but later tells her best friend that she “goes both ways.” It’s now up to Needy to save the day and her boyfriend Chip’s life.

Written by Diablo Cody, Jennifer’s Body is full of quirky one liners and made up words much like those that were enjoyed by all in her 2007 flick,  Juno. Read the rest of this entry »

Our favorite Upper East Siders started college this week. Dan, Vanessa and Blair all are at NYU, Nate’s starting at Columbia soon, and Serena is off to Brown, right? Maybe not. In her apparent quest to be the center of attention, Serena decided Brown was not the right decision for her. Ivy League just isn’t good enough for this van der Woodsen, so Serena is taking the path less traveled for now, socializing with martinis and Manolo Blahniks and living her fabulous life. Who needs college when you have limos, crazy woods sex with Carter Basin, and the world at your fingertips? At least for now…we’ll see what happens when Lily comes home.

While Serena is “finding herself,” guess who found Blair Waldorf? None other than Georgina Sparks (our favorite villain!) who is now also her new roommate. Welcome to your freshman year from hell, Blair! Let the battle for Queen B begin. While Blair tries and fails with headbands and sake (see above for proof), Georgina throws a boho chic rooftop rager. But Blair never admits defeat that early. Instead, she calls in new recruits in the form of missionaries from Georgina’s past at bible camp, all sporting shirts that say OMJC and tambourines… cause everyone loves a good Jesus party. Read the rest of this entry »

[Tampa, FL-  Sept.21, 2009]  Tonight I attended the global premiere of the film The Age of Stupid. I was invited to this event by my friend Ingrid Esteves, a French national who doesn’t understand how the U.S. could back out of the Kyoto Treaty, or why we’d want to be as stupid as Napoleon and start wars on two fronts at the same time. Yes, there’s lots of ’stupid’ to discuss in our age, but let’s talk about this outstanding film first. This film is ambitious in several respects. Firstly, there’s the way it premiered.

The film opened globally tonight in synch with a star-studded live screening event in New York. Before the film began audiences were able to watch VIPs arrive at the Manhattan premiere by bike, rickshaw, electric car and sail boat via a satellite link that broadcast the event to 700 cinemas in 50+ countries. The celebrities then walked a green carpet (made from recycled soda bottles) to a solar powered cinema tent in downtown New York.
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*Patrick Swayze was the next victim of Death’s War on Hollywood 2009 Edition. This makes me sad because this one time I swam in the lake where they shot Dirty Dancing. So yeah, basically he was like a father to me and I am awaiting my flowers and sympathy cards. Sidenote: I like daisies.

*Jessica Simpson has lost the battle against the coyotes while searching for her poor little puppy, Daisy. You may remember Daisy from her supporting role in MTV’s Newlyweds, which also suffered a tragic death far too early in life. A sign of things to come for poor Daisy? Maybe…maybe.

*Avril Lavigne, (remember her, she had that hit like eight years ago and wears a tie with everything and cusses on the red carpet cuz she’s super bad-ass punk?) and husband Deryck Whibley (remember him, he was in that band and they had that hit like eight years ago and there were a bunch of kids skateboarding and he wears Dickies everything  and cusses on the red carpet cuz he’s a super bad-ass punk?) have decided to split. Shocking that it didn’t work out, they both seem so mature and content in their own unique identities.

*Kate Gosselin found mousse and the scrunching technique popularized in 1990. Does anyone care? At all? Hands? Ok, no one. Moving on.

After the jump, The Emmys, Zooey and Ben get married and Audrina Patridge does chores topless…

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