Archive for the 'Events' Category
May 5th, 2012 by Aaron Neuwirth
Wrapping up my work at 2012’s Newport Beach Film Festival, the last film I was able to attend was the romantic-themed comedy-drama, Save the Date. Having just watched Lola Versus the previous night, I felt like I found myself more or less in familiar territory, except that Lola Versus took place amongst a hip bunch of New Yorkers, whereas Save the Date revolves around some of the exploits of a hip bunch of Los Angelinos. It is another independent film that deals with a woman coming out of one relationship and finding her way into another, despite the fact that everyone still hangs around with each other, occasionally. I can’t hold the film back for timing on my part, though I can be put off by the drastic tonal changes that take hold over the course of the film. I appreciated the performances, as it starred people I liked seeing, but a lot of the warmth this film has is brought down by the required drama of a film of this type. Regardless, it is the kind of film that I generally like when it comes to this familiar story and the film had enough in it for me to enjoy it overall. Continue reading ‘NBFF Review: Save The Date’
May 5th, 2012 by Aaron Neuwirth
I kicked off the last night of the Newport Beach Film Festival with a really offbeat piece of work. Doppelganger Paul (Or a Film about How Much I Hate Myself), to borrow a descriptor from one of my favorite NBFF programmers, is a sardonic, strange, occasionally humorous, and fairly introspective film that plays like an alternative type of buddy movie. It revolves around events that bring two very different people together in an effort to confront some of the issues they have and share, given that they would appear to despise themselves. Very much fitting the bill of an independent feature, it is the way the film’s moody sense of humor carries over with the players involved, which makes this somewhat slow film worthy of an open-minded viewing. Continue reading ‘NBFF Review: Doppelganger Paul (Or A Film About How Much I Hate Myself)’
May 5th, 2012 by Aaron Neuwirth
To go a completely different direction from Detention of the Dead, the first film I saw at the Newport Beach Film Festival on Wednesday night, May 2, 2012, the follow up screening was an offbeat romantic comedy, starring an actress who is currently a fixture of independent and art house features, Greta Gerwig. Lola Versus may play out in its own sort of way, but it very much follows a lot of the same patterns that these types of films tend to have. That does not make it bad, as I liked a lot of the film, save for some issues I had with the third act. Despite the disastrous nature of some of the romantic follies Gerwig’s character becomes involved with, the film had enough going for it to make it work for me. Continue reading ‘NBFF Review: Lola Versus’
May 3rd, 2012 by Aaron Neuwirth
Wednesday night, May 2, 2012, at the Newport Beach Film Festival gave me the chance to see something different for a change. As opposed to another independent comedy/drama (which was the type of film I saw at the next screening), the film I was able to catch a showing of was Detention of the Dead, a horror-comedy about high school students caught up in the middle of a zombie apocalypse. The film is very lighthearted, playing out as a riff on both The Breakfast Club and Shaun of the Dead, even though it never quite reaches those levels. Still, the film is a fun enough watch that is very cute overall, in a gore-filled, dumb comedy sort of way. It does not really add much to the genre, but it’s a fun little ode to the joy of seeing zombie movies. Continue reading ‘NBFF Review: Detention Of The Dead’
May 3rd, 2012 by Aaron Neuwirth
After seeing Supporting Characters at the Newport Beach Film Festival, the next film I saw that Tuesday night was Le Skylab, written and directed by Julie Delpy. The film is a French comedy/drama that features Delpy, among many other well cast individuals, all playing the members of a large family, gathering for a reunion of sorts, as they honor a grandmother’s birthday at her country home. The film plays around with the various dynamics seen between all of the different family members and has many moments of humor, emotion, and depth in understanding where everyone is coming from. It is more aimless than plot driven, but it is an enjoyable film that brings a lot out of its ensemble cast. Continue reading ‘NBFF Review: Le Skylab’
May 2nd, 2012 by Aaron Neuwirth
Tuesday night, May 1, 2012, at the Newport Beach Film Festival proved to be a pretty entertaining one. I managed to see a couple films, which were both very enjoyable. The first was Supporting Characters, a film about two young film editors in New York, who are in the middle of working on a film project that has lasted for months, while also sorting out their romantic relationships. Despite being set in modern times, the tone and handling of the characters and various scenes of dialogue definitely calls back to 70s Woody Allen, regardless of how successful it is in truly matching up. The film may be a little too loose and all over the place as a whole, but there was a charming quality to all that was occurring and I enjoyed the core friendship in this story. It is too well scripted to be described as breezy, but it certainly fits the type of being a film that gets by with ease. Continue reading ‘NBFF Review: Supporting Characters’
May 2nd, 2012 by Aaron Neuwirth
On April 26th, 2012, the opening night of the Newport Beach Film Festival saw the world premiere of Jewtopia. Based on one of the longest running off-Broadway plays, Jewtopia is the film adaptation, which revolves around two friends dealing with the prospect of finding love with Jewish women. Unfortunately, while billed as a “comedy”, I can’t recall ever even smiling during this terrible feature. Jewtopia turned out to be one of the worst films I have seen in recent time, managing to leave me so unsettled that I could not honestly write up a review immediately after I saw it, choosing to let my emotions simmer down instead. Now, even after having calmed down, I still have nothing very positive to say. The cast and crew may have had a good time, but the bad jokes, bad story, poorly established comedic style, among other factors, all proved to sum up to a bad time at the movies for me. Continue reading ‘NBFF Review: Jewtopia’
May 1st, 2012 by Aaron Neuwirth
Monday night, April 30, 2012, at the Newport Beach Film Festival proved to be fairly worthwhile, as I was able to see a fairly entertaining thriller. This was the Norwegian film Headhunters, which felt, in a lot of ways, like a nice follow up to other recent trashy thrillers such as Limitless or even The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo (when referring the basic plot of that film). Headhunters is not so much a film that has deeper meanings as it is a film that simply sets up some key characters and lets various amounts of suspense and action follow suit. The film has some tonal issue, as the thrilling nature of the film is counterbalanced by some over-the-top elements, but for the most part, Headhunters is a pretty entertaining (and violent) way to spend a couple hours. Continue reading ‘NBFF Review: Headhunters’
April 26th, 2012 by Aaron Neuwirth
There should be a lot more coverage coming in the near future, but I just wanted to point out that from April 26th to May 3rd, 2012, the 13th annual Newport Beach Film Festival will be in full swing. As always, the festival takes place in beautiful Newport Beach, right along the coast. Over 400 films from over 50 countries will be screened during the week and, in addition, the Newport Beach Film Festival offers filmgoers the opportunity to meet the filmmakers. Directors, screenwriters and cinematographers eager to share their work will provide an exclusive inside look at the industry during post-screening Q&A’s. Continue reading ‘The 2012 Newport Beach Film Festival Begins’
March 22nd, 2012 by Aaron Neuwirth
The final major movie-related panel that took place at WonderCon, in the main ballroom, on Saturday, March 17, 2012, was the presentation of a trio of films from Sony Pictures. This presentation included panels for Resident Evil: Retribution, Looper, and The Amazing Spider-Man. While two of the films listed will certainly spark a level of interest for many, the other film is definitely one to keep their eye on as well. Each panel provided a sneak peak at what is coming; some more extended looks than others, and the panel members involved all had a good time talking about the features they were a part of. There certainly seemed to be something for everyone at this panel. Read on to learn more about each film project and to see some trailers for them. Continue reading ‘WonderCon 2012: Sony: Resident Evil, Looper, and The Amazing Spider-Man’
March 22nd, 2012 by Aaron Neuwirth
Adding more to my series of WonderCon posts, there is something to be said for what Universal has in store for audiences this summer. This blockbuster studio’s presentations included panels for the upcoming films Snow White and the Huntsman and Battleship. There was much to enjoy from both in regards to the footage that we were treated to, even if one panel was way more awkward to watch than the other (Hint: one involves things blowing up real good, while the other has the awkwardness of Kristen Stewart at a comic convention). Regardless, in terms of providing a good case for both of these movies, I think the audience was able to learn enough about both upcoming blockbusters to make them much more interested than they might have been beforehand. Read on to learn more about these films, the panels, and to find more footage. Continue reading ‘WonderCon 2012: Universal Pictures – Battleship and Snow White and the Huntsman’
March 21st, 2012 by Aaron Neuwirth
Really, this movie should just be called Space Jail, which will probably not be the last time I mention that in writing, as I am kind of excited to see this mindlessly fun-looking sci-fi/action flick. WonderCon presented a whole panel devoted to the upcoming release from Open Road Films, Lockout, which takes place in the future, set mainly aboard a prison located in space, outside of earth’s atmosphere. The premise is essentially Escape from New York in space, but the attitude this film seems to have, judging by its footage and trailers, indicates a film that has more of a desire of being silly fun rather than serious and bleak. Read on to learn more about this film, the panel, and to see some footage. Continue reading ‘WonderCon 2012: Lockout’
March 20th, 2012 by Aaron Neuwirth
In a somewhat strange movie, before the Fox panel for Prometheus and Abe Lincoln: Vampire Hunter, Fox Searchlight was scheduled to present a panel for an upcoming film of theirs, Sound of My Voice. This is a film that premiered at the 2011 Sundance Film Festival, only now coming close to being released in theaters. The film is a psychological thriller that surrounds the concept of a mysterious cult-like group, led by a young woman, and discovering whether or not she is for real in her claims or leading an elaborate con. Given that this was an independent film with a different sort of premise, it felt kind of odd to put it on display in a room full of thousands of people more interested in panel’s for blockbuster films; however, at the same time, upon finding out the premise, there is a some logic as to why this film would be benefited by such a panel. Read on to find out more about this film and to see a trailer and clip from the film. Continue reading ‘WonderCon 2012: Sound of My Voice’
March 19th, 2012 by Aaron Neuwirth
Everyone fights. No one quits. During WonderCon, many arrived to the main ballroom (which holds around 4,000 people) early in order to catch some of the bigger panels that would be happening later on in the day. The first thing to actually occur in the ballroom that day was a series of trailers for many upcoming films. All of the trailers had been seen at this point, but the one exception was the trailer that played at the very end of this entertaining reel. This new trailer was for Starship Troopers: Invasion, an upcoming direct-to-Blu-ray and DVD CG-animated film. The film is apparently a sequel to the first Starship Troopers film and is set to arrive this summer. Little else is known so far, but read on to find out a bit more and to see the trailer. Continue reading ‘WonderCon 2012: Starship Troopers: Invasion’
March 19th, 2012 by Aaron Neuwirth
During the weekend of March 16-18, 2012, I was able to be a part of WonderCon 2012. WonderCon is normally located up in San Francisco, but this year, due to renovations taking place at the Moscone Center, WonderCon was relocated to the Anaheim Convention Center. 2012 marks the 26th anniversary of WonderCon and to kick things off for Why So Blu’s coverage, here is a post about the 20th Century Fox panel, which premiered new footage and trailers for two of their big summer movies, Prometheus and Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter and featured appearances from the cast and crew from both films. Continue reading ‘WonderCon 2012: 20th Century Fox – Prometheus and Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter’
March 19th, 2012 by Scott Wampler
Back when V/H/S (which, for brevity and sanity’s sake, we’re going to call VHS from here on out) premiered at the Sundance Film Festival, the word on the street was that directors Ti West, Joe Swanberg, Radio Silence, David Bruckner, Adam Wingard, and Glenn McQuaid had crafted one helluva found-footage horror anthology: reports had audience members vomiting in their seats, people fainting out of sheer terror, massive rounds of applause when the credits rolled, and so on. And so, it was with great anticipation that I decided to check out one of the film’s midnight screenings during this year’s SXSW Film Festival. Did the film live up to the hype? Find out below, folks. Continue reading ‘SXSW Film Festival: ‘V/H/S’ (Movie Review)’
March 15th, 2012 by Scott Wampler
At this point, there’s a good chance that you’ve already heard people singing the praises of Gareth Evans’ The Raid (now clunkily titled The Raid: Redemption, but we’re just gonna continue calling it The Raid): for months now, the film—which may, in fact, be the greatest action movie since the original Die Hard—has been making the rounds on the festival circuit, and it’s never played to anything less than a wildly enthusiastic response. Earlier this week, Evans’ film played as part of the SXSW 2012 lineup. Wanna know more? Read on for our official review. Continue reading ‘SXSW Film Festival: ‘The Raid’ (Movie Review)’
March 15th, 2012 by Scott Wampler
This past weekend, the 2012 SXSW Film Festival opened with Drew Goddard’s Cabin in The Woods, a horror/comedy mashup you’re going to end up seeing on a whole bunch of film geek top-ten lists come December 2012. The buzz surrounding Cabin in The Woods has—let’s be frank—kind of bordered on the hyperbolic, calling it a “masterpiece”, “brilliant”, “worth seeking out immediately in a packed theater”, and a dozen other effusive bits of praise. Well, folks, I can’t help but join in with the rest of ‘em: this is a film that’s worthy of every bit of hype it receives. Read on to find out why you need to see Cabin in The Woods immediately. Continue reading ‘SXSW Film Festival: ‘The Cabin in the Woods’ (Movie Review)’
March 10th, 2012 by Aaron Neuwirth
On Friday, March 9, 2012, at the Regent Showcase Theater in Hollywood, California, the Los Angeles Animation Festival presented a screening of the 1999 animated film, The Iron Giant, followed by a Q&A with director Brad Bird, actor Eli Marienthal (all grown up), and members of the crew. The screening was presented with an original 35mm print of the film, in a theater that was packed with fans. Those who know of the history of The Iron Giant remember that, despite high critical praise, the film did poorly in theaters, only to find a much larger audience on home video and DVD. Now the film has a strong cult following, which was certainly apparent due to the enthusiasm seen at this crowded charity screening of the film. Continue on to find a full recording of the Q&A that followed the screening of the film. Continue reading ‘Los Angeles Animation Festival: The Iron Giant’
February 26th, 2012 by Ken Johnson
It’s Oscar Day! After a week of preparation and stories leading up to the event, I’m almost sad that the day is upon us. Of course, this also means I have to return to Northeast Ohio and my day job, but I think I am ready to get back. In today’s video clip, we walk you down the red carpet and show you some behind the scenes footage of the media setting up, and let you see what the stars will see and from their vantage point as they work their way down the red carpet to the Kodak Theater. Continue reading ‘Oscars – Day 7′
Wrapping up my work at 2012’s Newport Beach Film Festival, the last film I was able to attend was the romantic-themed comedy-drama, Save the Date. Having just watched Lola Versus the previous night, I felt like I found myself more or less in familiar territory, except that Lola Versus took place amongst a hip bunch of New Yorkers, whereas Save the Date revolves around some of the exploits of a hip bunch of Los Angelinos. It is another independent film that deals with a woman coming out of one relationship and finding her way into another, despite the fact that everyone still hangs around with each other, occasionally. I can’t hold the film back for timing on my part, though I can be put off by the drastic tonal changes that take hold over the course of the film. I appreciated the performances, as it starred people I liked seeing, but a lot of the warmth this film has is brought down by the required drama of a film of this type. Regardless, it is the kind of film that I generally like when it comes to this familiar story and the film had enough in it for me to enjoy it overall. Continue reading ‘NBFF Review: Save The Date’
