Tinsel & Tine

Commentary - The Adventures of Tintin

2012-01-31T21:46:00.002-05:00

You take the imagination of the man who brought us Jurassic Park and Indiana Jones, combine it with the brilliance of the man who brought us The Lord of the Rings trilogy, and the result is... the lackluster, uninspired Adventures of Tintin.

I took my normally attentive 5 year-old niece and 9 year-old nephew to see this animated (performance motion caption) highly anticipated movie, and I don't know which one of us was more restless. I was so detached that when Eva said she needed to use the restroom, I actually welcomed the interruption.

I watched a behind the scenes interview with Steven Spielberg and Peter Jackson both brimming over with love and excitement for this collaborative creation. So how did it go so wrong? I can only imagine the problem I have with the movie lies within the original text - the books and comics of illustrator and writer Hergé.

The Adventures of Tintin series was created in 1929 by a Belgian artist who called himself Hergé. Clever and ever-curious, Tintin is a reporter-turned-detective whose pursuit of villains, criminals, treasure and the occasional artifact takes him all over the world, along with a colorful cast of friends. Hergé based his stories on real-world events and cultures that had caught the Belgian national attention — from space exploration to Arab oil wars — and brought them to life for his readers in inspiring and exciting ways. - The Official Site of Hergé's Tintin Adventures

By this description you may think perhaps the movie's storyline was too complicated, causing our ennui. But no. Although, I feel an introduction to the character of Tintin, his life and dog would have helped draw us in; both the kids and I understood the story which has Tintin buying a model ship that turns out to be part of a clue to an old hidden treasure, involving the ancestors of a boozy Captain Haddock. What I don't understand is why so much gun play and alcoholism should be a core element in a movie for kids.

I suppose like Scorsese's Hugo and Lucas's Red Tails, it all comes down to the special effects, technology and visuals. And I appreciate the scope and advancements in this area. But I want to see more films like Toy Story 3 which made me laugh out loud, fret, cry, and was completely engaging for all ages!

Commentary - Red Tails

2012-01-28T23:44:00.003-05:00

It should have been my priority to get this commentary on Red Tails up much sooner - considering it took George Lucas 20 years to get this film made, with a major obstacle being, Hollywood not wanting to spend big bucks on a movie featuring a black cast. Plus, when I see a preview screening, I'd prefer to get my post up by opening weekend. Well, you know the old cliche - better late than never.

The Red Tails preview screening was sponsored by The Ben Franklin Global Forum, The Union League of Philadelphia and The Tuskegee Airman Greater Philadelphia Chapter. The pre-screening presentation was in honor of these men of such historic significance. In attendance were real life Tuskegee Airmen: Bertram Levy, Eugene Richardson, Henry Moore, John Harrison, Cornelius Gaither and Roscoe Draper. With the audience primarily made up of members of the Military and students in military schools.

The film begins more than halfway into World War II with the pilots of the 332nd Fighter Group (Tuskegee Airmen) already trained, capable, ready and stationed in Italy. They are eager to encounter the "Jerrys" and are looking for an opportunity to do some real combat missions, but this glory goes only to white military pilots.

The Tuskegee pilots are stationed outside of the main action of the war. A fact that disheartens, but does not deter these ever vigilant fly boys. They happen to come upon an enemy train and blow it to smithereens in the first scene. This group of pilots is lead by Marty "Easy" Julian, (Nate Parker) but it's really the dare devil of the group, Joe "Lightening" Litte (David Oyelowo) that the others are inspired by.

I really liked this actor, David Oyelowo, he had real presence, truly the breakout performer of the film. His IMDB profile says he was in Rise of the Planet of the Apes, playing a character named Steven Jacobs - Who? At any rate, I'll be looking out for him in films from this point on.

When I first heard Terrance Howard and Cuba Gooding, Jr were in Red Tails, I pictured both of them as pilots. But that's because I didn't realize how young these airmen were; neither Howard or Gooding would be age appropriate. Instead, they play higher ranking officials. Howard's role as Colonel A.J. Bullard plays politics with The US Army and wages war against prejudice and injustice, an ever present threat to the Airmen, which in many ways was more damaging then the whole German Army.

Gooding plays Major Emanuelle Stance, he's the commanding officer of the Unit, doling out advice and motivating speeches in a laid back, much less military manner than Colonel Bullard.

Lucas having been a fan of HBO's The Wire, choose the man who directed many of those episodes, Anthony Hemingway to direct Red Tails. And in turn, Hemingway brought a number of actors from The Wire to round out this cast. (Here's a fun interview with actors -Ne-Yo, Tristan Wilds and Elijah Kelley on Global Grind.com)

The film does a magnificent job in portraying the skills, patriotism, bravery and honor of these men, and I'm glad the few remaining Tuskegee Airmen lived to see Lucas's version and vision of the film.

However, George Lucas is a real geek - consumed with toys, cool shots, bringing you inside the plane, making you experience the battle, the action - excellent special effects! What he lacks is the ability to bring you inside the characters or to find the heart of the piece. Oh, the elements are there: each character has a foible, Joe has a love interest, the pilots band together as brothers, but the elements don't blend together to become one really good, engrossing picture.

Still, it's an important movie to go see in terms of history and in a show of support to let Hollywood know black casts can create box office revenue. So don't illegally down load or buy a bootleg copy for this one, PLEASE!

Top Five Films About Gambling

2012-01-24T22:06:00.001-05:00

Gambling movies are among some of the most popular in cinema. In fact, Sundance Film Festival is currently premiering a new one featuring Bruce Willis and Catherine Zeta-Jones called Lay The Favorite. Obviously, part of the appeal is the money at stake, but there is also an air of excitement and danger associated with the world of gambling that just makes for great drama.

Below are 5 top films about gambling.

Rounders

For those that love the game of poker, this is the quintessential movie on the game. Starring Matt Damon and Edward Norton, Rounders takes a look at the underground world of poker ranging from friendly home games to the seedy underground casinos of the New York area. Read most any and it cannot help but quote many of the classic lines from the movie. This movie became a cult mega-hit after Chris Moneymaker won the 2003 World Series of Poker and sparked the modern era poker boom.

Starring Jim Sturgess, Kevin Spacey, Kate Bosworth and Laurence Fishburne, 21 is to the game of blackjack what Rounders was to poker. This film tells the story behind the rise of the MIT Blackjack Team as well as the story of Ben Campbell, the newest and brightest addition to the team. It is a tale of action, betrayal, and ultimately double-cross that will keep you glued to your seat until the end.

A Big Hand for the Little Lady

This film stars Henry Fonds as Meredith, a man who is moving with his son and his wife Mary, played by Joanne Woodward, across country to California. He gets into a high-stakes five card draw poker game and puts his family's entire life savings at risk during the game. The game is being played as bettors stakes, meaning that if someone has more money than you, they can run you out the game. When someone makes a bet too big for Meredith to cover, he tries to get money and when he can't, he suffers a heart attack. Mary then has to take over the game and try to find a way to save their savings, but she does not know how to play poker. Or does she?

Casino Royale

The classic James Bond film was rebooted in 2006, and while the plot of the movie surrounds Bond just starting his career, everyone remembers it for the high stakes poker action. This time the game of choice was No-Limit Texas Holdem poker. While the final hand of the game was painfully predictable, it still helped to fuel the Texas Holdem craze that was already sweeping the world.

Eight Men Out

A movie you don't typically think of when talking about gambling movies, this movie focused on the story of the 1919 Chicago "Black Sox" scandal where eight members of the Chicago White Sox intentionally threw the 1919 World Series in exchange for payment for fixing the game for gamblers. The Sox were favored going into the World Series and the scandal not only forced baseball to hire its first Commissioner, but forced baseball to enact a ban on betting on the game, a ban that stands for its players and coaches until this day.

Commentary - Haywire

2012-01-22T23:30:00.001-05:00

I read that Steven Soderbergh was looking to make a more beautiful, stylistic action film in the vein of the classic James Bond film From Russia With Love or the Michael Caine thriller Funeral in Berlin when he set about to make Haywire.

His other inspiration was professional mixed martial arts fighter Gina Carano:

Soderbergh was flipping between channels late one night and stumbled onto one of Carano's fights. "I see Gina coming out. She's got the cornrows; she's got the warrior affect. I thought, 'Wow, that's interesting.' She destroyed this woman in a cage, and I just hadn't seen anything like this before," he said. "I kinda filed it away. I just thought she was a fascinating combination of elements." - moviefone.com

Carano is a bad-ass and her character Mallory is indestructible in this film. I thought it was going to take a sci-fi turn and it would be revealed she was part Cyborg!

I'm loving this whole female action hero thing, first Angelina in Salt, then Zoe in Columbiana and now Gina in Haywire. But not one of these movies has a very smart, tight script. Salt being the best of the three. I'm not even going to try to decipher the plot of Haywire, it's really just there as set dressing. This movie is about butt-kicking and fun, tongue-in-cheek performances by Michael Douglas and Antonio Banderas.

Despite whatever trepidation you might have about Carano's acting chops (certainly the out-of-context five-minute opening didn't assuage any fears), she more than holds her own against her lauded co-stars. Her taciturn performance (Soderbergh compared her character to a Clint Eastwood-type), the minimalist fight scenes, and the way Soderbergh uses Dave Holmes's infectious throwback score, make "Haywire" a genre exercise that you likely haven't seen before. Those expecting quick-cuts and dizzying hand-held shots should probably just Netflix a Jason Bourne movie instead. - moviephone.com

Technically, I agree with the above assessment, but it's a little too enthusiastic. All in all, Haywire does not hold a candle to Soderbergh's other films. I don't believe he achieved his intention to make a "beautiful action film". The brief scenes of Carano with Michael Fassbender is the only time the film has a rich, Bond-like sophistication.

lft. Carla rt. Gina

And as it's my habit to point out look-alikes: Gina Carano very much resembles Carla Gugino.

Haywire was screened courtesy of The Philadelphia Film Society's Sneak Previews.

Hightlighting Films at Sundance 2012

2012-01-21T15:16:00.001-05:00

Sundance Film Festival is in full swing as of Thursday night (1/19) and runs til next Thursday (1/29).

Here's some Sundance screening I'll be watching out for:

The Words starring Zoe Saldana & Bradley Cooper. I just recently found out they were dating in real life.

Spike Lee has a new film Red Hook Summer about a kid from Atlanta moving to Brooklyn to live with a grandfather he's never met.

One half of the Director of The Puffy Chair, Cyrus and Jeff Who Lives at Home, Mark Duplass is in two films: Safety Not Guranteed and Your Sister's Sister.

Red Light is about paranormal activity and a world-renowned psychic. It's from the director of Buried, Rodrigo Cortés and stars Robert Deniro and Elizabeth Olsen from Martha Marcy May Marlene who is also in two films, the other being Liberal Arts.

Robot and Frank has a good, kooky sci-fi premise: an offbeat buddy movie, set in the near future, about an elderly ex-jewel thief and his new caretaker robot.

About Face looks like a doc that would interest me: Shot in Timothy Greenfield-Sanders' intimate portrait style, participants include Isabella Rossellini, Christie Brinkley, Marisa Berenson, China Machado, Beverly Johnson, Carmen Dell'Orefice, Paulina Porizkova, Jerry Hall, and Christy Turlington among others. They discuss the fashion industry, their careers, aging, plastic surgery, botox, and how they have reassessed and redefined their own sense of beauty.

Just a few that caught my eye. Here's the full list of all 110 features.

69th Annual Golden Globe Awards Round Up 2012

2012-01-16T14:39:00.006-05:00

Where do I begin? A quandary due to lack of inspirational material, not a matter of brimming over with too much excitement over last night's NBC broadcast of the 69th Annual Golden Globe Awards - aka The Hollywood Foreign Press Association shindig. Not that it was boring, it was just...fine.

Host Ricky Gervais began with saying that his antics of last year - offending just about everyone in the room, the network and the HFPA themselves, earned him an invitation back! He was given a list of "Don'ts" that included not being able to mention anything having to do with Mel Gibson, including Jodie Foster's Beaver. To which Jodie laughed and gave two thumbs up.

He had a couple of other clever quips and barbs, but basically toned it way down this year. Although it was rather cheeky of him to boldly inquire of Johnny Depp, while standing face to face, if he'd ever actually seen The Tourist. To which Depp admitted - No.

Red Carpet

I was IM chatting with my sister on facebook during the red carpet segment, which by the way, is sorely lacking if you're not watching it with Giuliana and Ryan on E.

I tweeted: Awards season is the only time I wish I was paying Comcast their ridiculous tariff!

Now that I think about it, why can't we Pay Per View for Red Carpet Coverage, the way men do for boxing events? hmmm.... I digress...

My sister's red carpet assessment - too many celebs went with the mermaid look this year.

Here's a mermaid slide show (for all slide shows - double click for larger images)

Tinsel & Tine picks for Best Dressed

(Best Dresed slide show)

Nicole Kidman - her Versace gown fit to perfection! I love the beading, not over done or too heavy, the color of the dress may be a little pale for her very pale skin, but she's pulling it off.

Angelina Jolie - was also wearing Versace. The red accent across the cream satin, was just eye candy stunning. The accessories (including Brad) all wonderful. The only things needed to make it perfection, would be to eliminate all those tattoos and put some meat on her boney chicken wing arms. (said with love & affection).

Julie Bowen - whose show Modern Family won for Best TV show - Comedy - looked like confection in this Reem Acra gown. It may be a little too young for her, but I can't judge, cause I know she's younger than I am, and if I got a chance to wear this stunning gown, I'd still go for it too!

Runners up: Jane Fonda who looked very sexy (even George Clooney gave her props during his post award press conference).

Evan Rachel Wood had the most original gown, (Gucci) made out of real feathers - guess we can assume Evan's not a member of PETA ;)

Tinsel & Tine picks for Not Best Dressed

(NOT Best Dresed slide show)

Jessica Biel - looked like she was wearing that Betty White wedding dress Sandra Bullock couldn't fill out in the movie The Proposal.

Charlize Theron - must have been channeling her character from Young Adult, it's the only way to make sense of this headband that could have been purchased in the mall at Claires.

Michelle Williams - again, no headbands at The Golden Globes please. Besides, if you're going to sport a short do, which I don't find this style to be particularly good for her, than you just dress it up with bigger earrings and more make up. I also think the dress would be fine at the SAG awards, but not dressy enough for this night. That being said, congrats to Michelle on winning Best Performance Actress - Comedy Or Musical for My Week with Marilyn.

And it was just wrong to make Melissa McCarthy present next to Paula Patton, come on, give a plus-sized girl a break!

Winners

Best Performance Actress – Drama: Meryl Streep – Iron Lady.

I'm looking forward to seeing this film. (very disappointed The Film Society didn't offer a preview screening). I'm certain as always, Streep's performance will be award worthy; however, since this film hasn't even hit theaters yet, how about giving the Globe to Viola Davis and letting Meryl win the Oscar.

Best Performance Actor – Drama: George Clooney - The Descendants

Clooney coming out on stage with Brad Pitt's cane was a funny bit. And the highlight of my night was when he commended Michael Fassbender on being able to play golf with his hands behind his back. (If you'll recall, my commentary on Shame starts out with a similar reference). All great, except his performance in The Descendants does not deserve a Golden Globe.

And yes, that also means I didn't agree with The Descendants winning Best Motion Picture Drama. This film's got good bones, and I'm a fan of writer/director Alexander Payne; but the movie is not as involving as Moneyball or The Help. And although I've yet to see it, I imagine it's not as smart as The Ides Of March.

At first I was disappointed with The Artist winning Best Motion Picture - Musical/Comedy, then in thinking over its competition: 50/50, Bridesmaids, Midnight in Paris and My Week with Marilyn, all films I enjoyed about equally. 50/50 perhaps a step below the others, but basically, this category was up for grabs.

On a side note: there was an audible gasp from the audience when the producer of The Artist, Ludovic Bource called his Golden Globe an Oscar - talk about a faux pas!

For a complete listing of all the Winners TV and Film click HERE

African American's in the House

Morgan Freeman adds a certain weight and credibility to all the many films to which he plays a part. It's obvious he's really earned respect among his peers. Congratulation to Morgan Freeman on being the 2012 Cecil B. DeMille Award recipient.

He was given the award by former DeMille Award recipient Sidney Poitier, who received a standing ovation. When Kurt Douglas comes out on stage and gets a standing O, it's because of his past work and the fact he's still alive. For Poitier, it's about those things; but it's mostly a sign of deference to the sheer determination he must have possessed to have gotten as far as he did, playing leading roles in Hollywood. Something that's still only available to a very select few black actors.

Congrats go out as well to Octavia Spencer for winning Best Performance- Supporting Role for The Help. She really is the heart of that movie.

Social Media

For previous awards shows, I had a desktop pc and a regular cell phone. This year, I'm so blessed to have both a laptop and smartphone, so I tweeted all throughout the show @tinseltine and posted stuff like the menu courses served at the ceremony to Tinsel & Tine's facebook fan page.

So be sure to follow and like
Tinsel & Tine before the

Academy Awards on Sunday, February 26th!

Commentary - Joyful Noise

2012-01-14T23:13:00.000-05:00

Last week before the screening of Angelina Jolie's In the Land of Blood and Honey, there was a speaker from an international women's advocacy group warning us that what we were about to see was a graphic depiction of horrid abuse against women - the film made a powerful statement, but was hard to watch. So imagine my delight to being greeted at this week's screening with the uplifting voices of the Sharon Baptist Church Choir, performing several rousing numbers before the start of Joyful Noise.

Joyful Noise stars Queen Latifah as Vi Rose, a strong, upstanding, church-going, choir singing mother of two. Her beautiful daughter Olivia (Keke Palmer of Akeelah and the Bee)is 16 and although she still enjoys singing in the church choir, she's also at that age where blind parental obedience has gone out the stained glass window.

Her son Walter (Dexter Darten) suffers from Asperger Syndrome, a kind of autism involving social awkwardness, and often an all-absorbing interest in specific topics; in Walter's case, pop songs from one hit wonders.

It also stars Dolly Parton as Gigi, church benefactress and wife of the choir director, Bernard (Kris Kristofferson). When Bernard unexpectedly dies, Gigi assumes she'll be appointed choir director in his place; instead the Pastor chooses Vi to head up the choir and lead them into regionals in the Joyful Noise Choir Competition.

Although it's hard to picture the ever buxom and lively Parton as a grandma, Gigi does get an unexpected visit from her wayward and gorgeous grandson, Randy (Jeremy Jordan) who's either been kicked out or run away from home. He of course has immediate eyes for Olivia, causing even more tension in the already tenuous relationship between Vi and Gigi.

Then there's singing! Lots and lots of enjoyable numbers, both spiritual and secular and secular done spiritually. Basically, I feel the writer/director Todd Graff thought to himself: What would happen if I took some of Tyler Perry's down home drama and mixed it with Ryan Murphy's teen angst/songfest Glee to create a movie amalgamation?

And he was smart to do so. Okay, the book is not great; there's some hokey lines like - "There's always free cheese in a mouse trap, but the mice there aren't happy". On top of which, the other storylines weaved into the main plot, meant to add texture and a sense of place, including constant shots of boarded up stores and out of business signs, alluding to our present ill-fated economy, just manage to create a very uneven script.

But so what, it's not really important, because the movie for the most part is fun! Particularly the film's climax at the choir competition, where we as an audience felt as if we were part of the show audience; clapping and moving in our seats. Of course, it didn't hurt to see this movie with a primarily African American audience, made up partly of choir people. This really did add to my feeling of elation upon leaving the theater. Still, even without that ambiance, there's something joyous to behold in Joyful Noise.

The screening of Joyful Noise was seen courtesy of and written for Cinedelphia.

Philly Restaurant - City Tavern

2012-01-13T16:00:00.004-05:00

For any regular readers who read my New Year's Eve post I exclaimed about finding $140 in the movie theater on NYE, which I felt was a good omen for me and Tinsel & Tine for 2012. And I felt the best thing to do with the money was spend it on dining out, thus completing the circle of film and food.

My Aunt watches Chef Walter Staib's show on PBS "a Taste of History" , where each week Chef Staib prepares cuisine from the 18th Century. So with the windfall, I decided to treat her to the historic dining experience of his establishment City Tavern Restaurant (138 South 2nd Street at Walnut St).

Before I go into what we ate, here's a little excerpt of history taken from "The Tavern Guide:

The tavern was built "for the convenience and credit of the city" by a group of eminent Philadelphians who felt that their hometown deserved a fine tavern which reflected its status as the largest, most cosmopolitan city in British North America. When the tavern was completed in 1773, it was one of the most elegant buildings in the city. Situated where it resides today on Second Street, then a main thoroughfare.

Inside, it "boasted" several club or dining rooms, (some large enough for ballrooms) lodging rooms, two large kitchens, a bar, a coffee room and attic for servants quarters.

In 1774 the tavern was thrust center stage in the dispute with England. From that time until the close of the century the City Tavern knew the patronage of the great and near-great of the American Revolution.

After the war, City Tavern settled into a more sedate existence which was not interrupted until the opening of the Constitutional Convention in 1787, when once again, these leaders enjoyed the hospitality of the City Tavern. However, by 1834 it began to lose its place of prominence and in 1854 was demolished to make way for new brownstone stores.

In 1975, after painstaking research, the National Park Service rebuilt the City Tavern. Today, the tavern appears essentially as it did two hundred years ago, even down to the front awning which shielded the tavern from the summer sun. Both the National Park Service and Concepts by Staib Ltd, the tavern's operator, have made every effort to faithfully recreate the tavern and the culinary experience to the way it operated during the American Revolution.

I decided if I was going to splurge I'd might as well go all the way, so I ordered:

Rack of Lamb - Roasted with Dijon mustard & walnuts, rosemary infused au jus, mashed potatoes, asparagus & Sauce Béarnaise. $32.95 rating: 4 Tines

My Aunt immediately zoomed in on the: Colonial Turkey Pot Pie -
Tender chunks of turkey, mushrooms, early peas, red potatoes, sherry cream sauce & flaky pastry crust baked in a pewter casserole. Come with a side of egg noodles in a heavenly brown gravy. $21.95 rating: 4 Tines

I also suggested we start with an appetizer of : Mallard Duck Sausage - Broiled duck & pork sausage, sweet & sour cabbage $9.25 rating: 2 Tines - It was good, just not exclamation good. Actually enjoyed the cabbage more than the sausage.

I check into Foursquare upon arrival and discovered an offer of a free dessert for my efforts. We choose the Apple Crumble rating: 2 Tines - When I order this dessert, I always want the apples to be a compote, not hard slices. I'm sure traditionally the apples are supposed to be intact, but for me, that just means I eat the crumble and ice cream and leave the apples. By the way, the a la mode was Cinnamon Ice Cream, which I adore. Always a flavor hard to find.

Two additional treats of the evening 1) Benjamin Franklin was sitting two tables away from us.

Ok, it's the guy who does the historic tours in Olde City; still it was cool to see him in the Tavern. When I went over to ask him for a picture. He spoke to me in character. I never knew he introduced soybeans into the country. Franklin sent the beans and recipe for Tofu (smuggled out of China) back to John Bartram (Bartram's Gardens - where my sister got married). I would have thought this country didn't start eating tofu until the mid-1970's not 1770's.

2) The service was excellent 4 Tines! All the waiters were friendly and informative, not just Lachlan who was our stellar server.

Rating System:
* Excellent - 4 Tines / * Great - 3 Tines / * Good - 2 Tines / * Fair - 1 Tine / * Poor - Tarnished

Commentary - In The Land of Blood & Honey (Angelina Jolie Interview)

2012-01-12T23:51:00.000-05:00

I saw the Philadelphia Film Society screening of In the Land of Blood and Honey more than a week ago, yet I kept putting off writing my commentary. Why? Because I have a hard and fast rule when it comes to movie/film genres - I don't see war movies! I've never seen Bridge Over River Kwai, Platoon, Saving Private Ryan, Black Hawk Down, The Hurt Locker etc... The senselessness of men (and women) in battle is just something I don't care to watch.

However, I made an exception with this film because, I like most who follow Hollywood, am fascinated with Angelina Jolie - as a mother, an actress, an activist, a "wife" to Brad, and now as a writer/director.

For anyone unfamiliar with what the film is about here's a snip-it synopsis:

Set against the backdrop of the Bosnian War that tore the Balkan region apart in the 1990s, In the Land of Blood and Honey tells the story of Danijel (Goran Kostić) and Ajla (Zana Marjanović), two Bosnians from different sides of a brutal ethnic conflict. Danijel, a Bosnian Serb police officer, and Ajla, a Bosnian Muslim artist, are together before the war, but their relationship is changed as violence engulfs the country.

We are able to digest the conflict through the love story, however, Angelina's main objective in making the film was to bring light to the brutality and unthinkable crimes against women that so often goes on without intercession. And also her love for this part of the world (Bosnia/Sarajevo).

Genocide is such an evil threat that can take hold more readily than would seem possible. This was a country where Serbs, Croatians and Muslims all lived peaceably, inter-married and thought of themselves as one nation. Then in the blink of an eye, politics can change people's hearts and heads. Before you know it, rape and massacre replaces kindness and trust. It's not dissimilar to another recent film - Kinyarwanda (guess I did make another war movie exception) where Tutsi and Hutu's destroyed one another out of what seemed like just a notion that they were different and enemies.

In terms of Angelina's directing style, I'm glad that she just shot it straight, it's clean and authentic. She didn't try to be an auteur, no gimmicks, nothing vague or highbrow. And as a side note: each scene was shot twice; once in English and another in the language of the region, creating two versions of the film.

Coincidentally, right before I sat down to write this post, I check my emails and found an invitation from PartnersHubLive who were about to host a live chat with Angelina Jolie and one of the actresses from the film, Vanessa Glodjo. It's excellent! Angelina is so open and articulate. They discuss so much, from her writing/directing process, to her breakdown and insecurity in taking on the task of telling a story that is not her own. Even her son Maddox surprises her by tweeting a question.

You can watch the taped version on facebook - Angelina Q&A

In the Land of Blood and Honey has been nominated for a Golden Globe for best foreign language film. Be sure to watch The Hollywood Foreign Press Association Awards on Sunday January 15th and come back to Tinsel & Tine for my annual Golden Globe recap post on Monday!

Highlighting: Filmmaker Nikias Chryssos (Tower Block and Der Bunker)

2012-01-08T18:53:00.002-05:00

Remember the interview I did for QFest back in July with filmmaker Scud? (click for post) Well, that got the attention of a Munich-based film production company (Deutsche Exotik Filmproduktion) which focuses on independent and art-house films – They asked if I would be interested in interviewing director Nikias Chryssos whose first film Tower Block about a young boy who lives with his sadistic,17 year-old, tormenting brother in the slums of Germany, did well on the festival circuit.

Chryssos latest project is called Der Bunker, it deals with education, excessive demands & mental overload. Nikias approaches these topics in his very own style - playful, artistic and at times bizarre - which can be kind of compared the the 2009 Cannes-winner and Oscar-nominated Dogtooth.

If you'd like to check out Tower Block (Hochhaus) The full movie (ca. 40 Minutes) is available on Vimeo: http://vimeo.com/4508205

Here's also a link to the production blog for Der Bunker: derbunker.deutsche-exotik.de

Nikias and the Deutsche Exotik crew would be over-joyed to received support on Kickstarter: http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/1688807272/the-bunker

(Note: the cinematic scenes in the above Kickstarter video were shot as moods. They feature the actual actors but are not part of the actual film, which they hope to be able to shoot this Spring 2012.)

Feedback on this filmmaker/films is always welcome!

5 Quick Commentaries - The Artist, Girl w/the Dragon Tattoo, Mission Impossible, We Bought a Zoo, New Year's Eve

2012-01-02T21:58:00.003-05:00

I didn't do a lot of Christmas shopping this season, didn't try any new restaurants and my lips were left cold and wanting on New Year's Eve. But on a bright note, I did manage to fit in 5 films between Christmas and New Years.

The Artist (Writer/Director Michel Hazanavicius) - Silent film star George Valentin (Jean Dujardin) is riding high, full of fame, ego and verve, one moment at the height of stardom, the next crashing down to earth, brought low by the advent of sound - "The Talkies". This same new movie craze propels his ingenue, protege Peppy Miller (Bérénice Bejo) into celebrity starlet status. Silently, sans color and with few subtitles, we follow these two early Hollywood lives and careers as they intersect and separate. Gimmick wise I can understand why this film is getting so much buzz, it's cute, the costumes are perfection and it's got a fine Tinseltown ending.

When you watch Chaplin’s films, you tend to remember the comic parts but the stories are pure melodramas, where young girls are not only orphans but also blind! The funny things are always in counterpoint to a poignant story. This is the vein that seems to me to suit the film I wanted to make. Besides, regardless of my wanting to make a silent film, I’ve wanted to do a melodrama for a long time, if only because I love to watch them. I wrote with that in mind but, at first, I was slightly nervous of making this world mine. Until the day I no longer even asked myself that question. - Interview with Michel Hazanavicius from Emanual Levy Cinema 24/7

The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo (Director David Fincher) - I saw the original Denmark version directed by Niels Arden Oplev during the 2010 Philadelphia Film Festival, where they showed the complete trilogy back to back. This was a great way to become totally engrossed in the saga. I was completely satisfied having not been bothered by the subtitles and wasn't going to see the American version; but, it was what my friends wanted to see the Friday leading into the holiday weekend, so I changed my mind.

It's good. They stuck to the main framework and sequences of the original. Daniel Craig is a sexier Mikael Blomkvist and Rooney Mara is a slightly thinner Lisbeth Salander, but otherwise the characters are indistinguishable. In fact, the casting of Martin Vanger was so like the original, I had to check to see if they used the same actor. It's not, but Stellan Skarsgård and Peter Haber could be brothers.

The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo (based on books by Stieg Larsson) American or Danish is a great mix of intrigue, mystery, corporate espionage, family secrets, detective work, romance and danger.

Mission Impossible: Ghost Protocol (Director Brad Bird) - Every time the next installment in this top box office franchise hits the theaters, I've done forgotten what happened in the last one. So I wasn't too choked up about Ethan Hunt (Tom Cruise) having lost his wife. I didn't even remember she was played by Michele Monaghan. I go in looking for crazy stunts, espionage and amazing locales. And that's what you get; with a good dose of spy humor to boot. My only problem with the film was they killed Josh Holloway off too quickly. I'm still having Lost withdrawal and seeing him even with shorten locks, was a soothing balm.

We Bought a Zoo (Director Cameron Crowe) - I know I'm always pointing out celebrities that look a like, it's just kinda my thing, but has anyone notice that Matt Damon and Leonardo DiCaprio have basically morphed into the same bloated, aging, white guy?

I didn't know until the start of the movie that it was a Cameron Crowe (Almost Famous, Jerry Maguire) film or that it was based on the true story of author Benjamin Mee, who bought Dartmoor Wildlife Park, moved his young children and mother into this dilapidated zoo and set about making it a viable family business. - Link to Benjamin Mee You Tube video

In the film, there is no grandmother, Matt Damon's Benjamin Mee, moves to the zoo with a 7 year-old daughter (Maggie Elizabeth Jones) who is a scene stealer, soooo adorable! and 14 year-old son (Colin Ford). He does have a brother who tries to talk him out of the notion, played by a badly aging Thomas Haden Church.

The story centers around the loss of Mee's wife and the mother of the children, whose recent death at the start of the film is the impetus for starting a new life. In the real-life version, Mee's wife dies shortly after they moved into the zoo.

The film has a lot of heart and Disney-esque qualities. Scarlett Johansson plays down her sexy, as the head zookeeper, but still of course plays Mee's love interest. There's a cast of characters that make up the small zoo family and plenty of talented animals. Basically, making it a nice film to take the family to see or more likely to rent.

New Year's Eve (Director Garry Marshall) - I've always envied how smart Kool and the Gang was for writing the song "Celebration" or Baby Face for "Anniversary" these songs are used as anthems over and over again, decade after decade, earning untold royalties for the life-time of these musicians and beyond. Same holds true for Garry Marshall, for taking national holidays and making them into movies. He can probably just keep this format going for years - Memorial Weekend, Halloween, Election Day, is Christmas too cliche? Is anything too cliche for Garry Marshall?

I make fun, but actually I admit to enjoying the cavalcade of stars in overlapping and intersecting, sentimental storylines. I actually think this one was better written than Valentine's Day and found myself shedding a little tear at the end; which probably had more to do with feeling nostalgic and sorry for myself, as going to see this film on New Year's Eve, all alone, was my only plan for the over-hyped holiday.

Wait, that's a sad note to end on, actually my NYE wasn't an entire bust, I found $140 in the movie theater! Really, I did. It was in an envelope with no name. I'm sorry for the person who dropped it, but I'm taking it as a sign of prosperity for 2012!

Happy New Year Readers - wishing everyone blessings of movie magic and culinary delights in the coming year!

Name Your Top 10 Films from 2011

2011-12-31T21:01:00.000-05:00

Are any of your favorites represented in this slide show?

Click HERE to view Tinsel & Tine's Top 10 list and why.

Beer Tasting - Left Hand Brewing Company

2011-12-27T22:02:00.002-05:00

I stumble upon a beer tasting at the Plymouth Meeting Whole Foods earlier this month. And took a liking to all of the selections Dan Conway from Left Hand Brewing Company (Longmont, Colorado) was pouring, although if I had to pick a favorite, I'd go with the Milk Stout.

I asked Dan if I could record his descriptions of all the brews and he agreed so here it is:

Milk Stout - Made with lactose sugar (milk infused sugar) which gives it the creamy texture - aroma is of brown sugar and vanilla cream, with hints of roasted coffee.

Sawtooth Ale: An English style bitter. We aim for a perfect balance between malt and hops. First year out this beer won a Gold Medal at the Great American Beer Festival.

Stranger Pale Ale - This is the first beer I got to work on to help perfect the recipe. Nice rye, malt backbone. A lot of dry hopping involved with cascade hops which gives it this nice grapefruit, citrus flavor.

T & T: What's dry hopping?

Dan: It's kinda like making tea - hops are added into the beer after the onset of fermentation to create more aroma. Great for cask ales.

Black Jack Porter- This is what I drink typically. Easy take on an English style porter. Little higher in alcohol, but we are an American company so we do what we want :-) Nice mix of chocolate and coffee malt. One of the smoothest that I've tasted. It was my favorite even before I started working for them (Left Hand Brewing).

---

I wanted to buy a variety 6 pack as a Christmas gift for someone, but they didn't have the beers available that way, at least not that evening at Whole Foods. Will have to go back and check again, only thank goodness Christmas is over, so when I go back the purchase will be for me!

Commentary - Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy

2011-12-20T22:02:00.004-05:00

At the Philadelphia Film Society preview screening of Tinker Tailor Solider Spy I was handed a cheat sheet for the film. A guide of the characters, Secret Intelligence Service jargon, background on The Circus etc...

Now let me tell you, I love these weekly film screening, but I come to them from an 8 hour day at a mind-numbing, zombie inducing day gig, which upon leaving, I have over an hour's drive in rush hour traffic (gas at $3.43 a gallon) to reach Center City. I park a 15 min walk away from the theater in order to get free parking, with no time to stop for dinner, being revived only by the Ritz Theater's $2 mint hot chocolate.

I don't tell you all this for you to feel sorry for me or even to emphasize my dedication to this movie/blogging "hobby"; rather, I make the point to say, the cheat sheet is a fun bit of movie propaganda - but if I can follow the plot without confusion, coming at the film from a state of low energy, than I can assure the average movie-goer, a background in spy novel fanaticism is not required to enjoy this film.

Director Tomas Alfredson’s (Let the Right One In) new movie, Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy is based on the 1974 British novel by John le Carre, the first novel of the “Karla Trilogy” and perhaps the first of a film installment that may activate a franchise. This spy thriller features Gary Oldman, Tom Hardy, Colin Firth, Benedict Cumberbatch, John Hurt, Toby Jones, Mark Strong and Ciarán Hinds as the core members of MI-6 Cambridge Headquarters “The Circus”. Set during the Cold War era, the story follows recently retired 2^nd in command, George Smiley (Oldman) through his investigation of a possible double agent within the ranks.

Those looking for a lot of spy thrilling action, may be disappointed in this film; the concentration is on faces - expressions and lack thereof. It's about depicting a moody, dingy, 70's London, it's about building an atmosphere of mistrust and fraternity.

During my commute, I was listening to a podcast featuring a government conspiracy theorist whistleblower named David Wilcox. Wilcox is purported to be very Zen and in touch with other worlds and his own power; yet he was on the radio program blubbering like a baby, truly frightened by a recent death threat (he was told he'd be tortured to death) but no matter, you don't expect him to have a normal reaction to this kind of thing, he should be more prepared and prepossessed.

Same goes true for the characters of Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy, these are trained agents for goodness sakes, yet they lose their tempers over disloyalty, are thrown off course by the opposite sex, breakdown when accused of double-crossing, risk plans for friendship, are haunted by sentimental items and the one that got away. These elements speak to a basic humanity, even for those in the business of being hardened, stoic and pragmatic.

Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy opens Friday, December 23, 2011 Ritz East Philadelphia.

Fera Ski Outfit

2011-12-18T14:14:00.003-05:00

[Click on slideshow to enlarge pictures]

How does this post relate to film and food?

Film: picture yourself at the Sundance Film Festival in this chic, one piece, Fera snow outfit. Set it off with a pair of Oakley Sunglasses and you'll fit right in with the Hollywood crowd that descends upon the festival each winter.

Food: I only wore this ski suit once, and promptly got too fat for it by the next season.

Seriously, I tried taking it to a consignment shop near me, but they said they don't take individual pieces. I was about to put it on ebay when I thought, perhaps I could eliminate the middleman by posting it on Tinsel & Tine.

I would hope after 3 years of writing this blog, my regular readers have a sense of my good character. And Tinsel & Tine has its own Paypal account, so I thought I'd give this a chance:

I'm looking for the best offer on my practically new Fera Skiwear all-in-one jumpsuit, with removable vest. It's a size 10, but not by regular women standards. It's more like a size 6 - 8.

Cash is good, but bartering works too! Perhaps in exchange for a mention and link from your blog to mine. Or for specialty food items, dining or movie gift certificates or even for 20 new facebook likes or 20 new twitter followers.

You can respond in the comment section or e-mail: tinseltine@gmail.com.

Sincerely,
Le Anne Lindsay, Editor

Commentary - Sherlock Holmes: A Game of Shadows

2011-12-16T23:52:00.001-05:00

I remember nothing of the plot of the first Sherlock Holmes movie, but it didn't seem to impede my enjoyment of the 2nd installment of this sleuthing franchise, directed by Guy Ritchie and starring my love, Robert Downey Jr and Jude Law.

Sherlock Holmes: A Game of Shadows also features one of my favorites from the series Mad Men (Jared Harris/ Lane Pryce) in the role of Holme's nemesis, Dr. Moriarty; along with the official Girl with the Dragon Tattoo, Noomi Rapace.

The same elements used in the first film, work to make this fast-paced, studio vehicle equally or perhaps more fun: Downey carrying the film - slightly insane, with irrepressible humor and uncanny abilities (not unlike his Iron Man persona in many ways). The homosexually tinged banter and loyal friendship between Holmes and Watson. All being held together with the filmmaking technique of magnified, slow motion examination of each action sequence and fight scene.

If you're going to see this film looking for these elements, you won't be disappointed!

Sherlock Holmes Fun Facts:

There are more than 260 movies, the character has been played by more than 70 actors in over 200 films. There has been 2 musicals and a ballet based on the character. In 1964, Sherlock Holmes books were the best sellers second only to the Bible

Holmes brother, Mycroft, (played by Stephen Fry in this latest movie), is a government official who appears in three stories: he's supposedly more gifted than Sherlock in matters of observation and deduction, but prefers to spend his time at ease in the Diogenes Club.

I'd always assumed all the fighting, and physicality was written into these Guy Ritchie versions to suit the film's purposes, but now I know that in several stories Sherlock Holmes is said to possess above average physical strength, knowledge of martial arts and carried several weapons.

Interview: Andi Oakes - Dipping The Vine

2011-12-06T22:51:00.006-05:00

The chocolate & wine nuts that you are about to experience have been crafted by hand and created from the heart with love - Dipping The Vine

The Nut Lady

I met a fun and fabulous new friend who has a truly original and irresistible online gourmet shop called Dipping The Vine. Her name is Andi Oakes and she makes artisanal nuts - gluten, dairy and peanut free!

We're not just talking a bag of mixed nuts here, DTV (link to facebook page) features delightful recipes of chocolate, wine and other savory spices, mixed with the nuts to create a flavorful nosh to have with drinks, accompany a cheese plate, dessert or just as a favorite snack.

The original idea came to Andi while in that open state of mind just before drifting off to sleep - although she was more than satisfied with the menu she'd prepared for a dinner party she was to cater the follow evening, this sudden thought of adding a chocolate and wine cocktail nut to the courses, just couldn't be ignored. So she got up out of bed and started mixing and baking until - Voilà:Dipping The Vine was born!

I met Andi, appropriately in wine country, at a wedding in Napa Valley CA; although she resides in NY, so we conducted our interview via e-mail:

T & T: So, how long were you in the kitchen before the right recipe was met that night?

Andi: When the idea for chocolate and wine cocktail nuts popped into my head, I started experimenting at 11pm -The batch that hit the mark was at around 1:30 in the morning!

T & T: How long did it take to start marketing the product after they became a hit at the party?

Andi: I obtained my business license about 2 months after the party and then began dropping samples and business cards off at various vineyard tasting rooms, wine bars, cheese shops, anything that I felt was a click with the nuts.

Then I started taking photos and working on text for the online store, dippingthevine.com which took another couple of months. Marketing is really an ongoing process and I'm learning how important it is to stay active with it as much as possible - I learn something new just about every day

T & T: At this point you feature 3 varieties of Dipping The Vine mixes:

The original recipe of Mixed Nuts with Red Wine, Cocoa & Spices: Walnuts, almond and pecans are coated in full-bodied red wine, earthy cocoa, cinnamon, ginger, cloves and fresh lemon zest.
Cashews with White Wine, Cocoa & Curry: A bit more on the savory side, large raw cashews are blissfully coated with crisp white wine, cocoa powder and a tingling array of curry spices.
Hazelnuts with Port Wine, Black Cocoa & Espresso: Natural hazelnuts are coated in rich port wine, black cocoa, espresso with a touch of fresh orange peel.

T & T cont: (All available I see, in a handy 3-pack). Are you in the process of trying out new combinations? And if so, anything you are ready to reveal at this time?

Andi: Absolutely! Right now I'm celebrating my second holiday season and it's fantastically busy - I will keep the original three flavors through the new year and then when things quiet down a bit, I'll have more time to experiment with new flavors. I plan on doing an Asian inspired cashew with cocoa, ginger and wasabi which is spiked with sake. And a sort of "romantic" almond with dark cocoa, lavender and champagne. The third new flavor is up in the air but I'm pretty sure it's going to involve chocolate and Mexican chilies!

T &T: All of those sound amazing! Think I'm most intrigued by the lavender and champagne.
a: What is the hardest part of running an online culinary business? b: What is the most satisfying part of running an online culinary business?

Andi: a) Getting it all done. In addition to hand-producing the product, I also do my own packaging, which is almost as labor-intensive as the nut making! Then there's packing supplies, bookkeeping, invoicing and always being ready for orders at all times which absolutely have to be fresh.

b) When a customer tells me how much they enjoy the nuts or that they were a hit at a party or a perfect gift, all of the hard work is worth it. Upon tasting the nuts for the first time, one woman's eyes lit up and she said "They taste like LOVE!"-I'll never forget it.

T & T: Do you still cater private parties?

Andi: When I have time, I will still cater private parties mainly because I love it. I really enjoy personalizing events -The planning, the execution, even the hectic moments are so rewarding when a vision becomes a reality.

T &T: Anything else you'd like Tinsel & Tine readers to know about you and Dipping The Vine?

Andi: I guess that Dipping The Vine Chocolate & Wine Nuts go really well with a movie :-)

T &T: What is your favorite Holiday Movie?

Andi: I'm still a sucker for Rudolph!

I would like to assure my readers that this is NOT a paid post. I met Andi, we hit it off, and I felt highlighting her business would be a perfect holiday post for Tinsel & Tine. However, if you do try Dipping The Vine nuts or purchase a gift certificate for someone on your shopping list, I'd love for you to let me know.

Commentary - Young Adult

2011-12-03T15:47:00.001-05:00

I'm certain Patton Oswalt (Spence from King of Queens) never in his wildest dreams thought he'd ever in this lifetime get a chance to have a love scene with Charlize Theron. His romance with Rachel Dratch on the TV series was most likely more romantic action then he'd ever thought to see as a character actor.

Surprisingly, it's the chemistry between these two actors which allows Young Adult to find its footing and like-ability. The movie is written by Juno screenwriter, Diablo Cody, who seems to have a knack for making geeks look desirable.

We meet Mavis Gary (Charlize Theron) waking up disheveled, seemingly hung over, in a nice, but messy apartment. She guzzles soda from a 2 Liter bottle, does a half attempt at some video game exercise and sits down at her computer to write. Mavis makes her living as a ghost writer in what the publishing industry calls Young Adult Literature. She's attempting to finish the latest edition of a teen serial; nothing as popular as Twilight, more in the vein of Sweet Valley High. The film is punctuated by Mavis's writing voice over interjecting her own thoughts, insecurities and narcissism into the novel's teen heroine.

Less than a paragraph in, Mavis does what I suspect all writers do, I know I do - start to write, and then get distracted by an email. Her diversion being an announcement on the birth of Buddy Slade's daughter. Buddy (Patrick Wilson, the hot Dad from Little Children w/ Kate Winslet) is Mavis's old high school and college boyfriend/love of her life. The idea of Buddy being settled with a wife and daughter triggers something in Mavis that sets her on a mission to return to her home town of Mercury, MN. and win back Buddy Slade.

If Young Adult featured Katherine Heigl in the main role, and if it had been directed by say, James L. Brooks instead of Jason Reitman, this film would probably be classified as a Rom/Com/Chick Flick. However the team of Reitman, Cody and Theron gives the film a more thought-provoking, Indy feeling. Shining a spotlight on a subject near, yet not so dear to my heart - the feeling that time has passed you by. In not wanting to fall into the trapped, humdrum, married with children, suburbia lifestyle, you somehow find yourself displaced; still kinda living the life of someone in their 20's, but realizing you've been doing that for almost 20 years! Which constitutes a feeling of desperation to catch up, examine where things went wrong and attempt to circle back somehow and fix it.

I wonder if Jason Reitman in some way identifies with this arrested state of development as well? Seeing as his last film dealt with a similar theme. Mavis, although more stationary than George Clooney's character in Up in the Air could be considered the female equivalent.

In summary, Young Adult is not as funny as Juno, not as engrossing as Up in the Air, but certainly worthy of notice for adult movie-goers, no matter your level of maturity.

Young Adult screening was courtesy of The Philadelphia Film Society's Sneak Preview Series.

Support AFFRM - Kinyarwanda at select theaters this weekend

2011-12-01T22:52:00.001-05:00

AFFRM is the African-American Film Festival Releasing Movement - empowering black independent filmmakers with collaborative, simultaneous theatrical distribution in multiple markets.

Last March AFFRM got behind Ava DuVernay's I Will Follow (click for T & T commentary). Giving it a chance to reach a wider audience. This weekend AFFRM is launching Alrick Brown's KINYARWANDA. Which I will screen on Sunday.

The below video from Reelblack features Brown talking about the film, AFFRM and the state of African American Cinema in general.

For all its greatness, "Hotel Rwanda" nevertheless used the conventional Hollywood technique of a movie star as a protagonist to serve as the audience's entry point. None of the actors in "Kinyarwanda" are stars, and their characters all live in the same world. By the equal weighting and linking of their stories in rotation, Brown prevents us from anticipating who will prevail. The criticism of this approach by Variety's critic is unfortunate. Here is a powerful film- rogerebert.com

Philly Restaurant - Dmitri's

2011-11-29T22:47:00.001-05:00

I've posted my Tine ratings and pictures of my meal at Dmitri's Restaurant (2227 Pine Street Philadelphia) on the Tinsel & Tine facebook page. Please click HERE to view!

Commentary - Hugo

2011-11-25T09:45:00.002-05:00

So here we are once again in the midst of the holiday movie season with plenty of family fun and enchantment to choose from: The Muppets make a comeback; Happy Feet II or is it III?; For the tweens and teens, another addition to the Twilight Saga, and for adults wanting to take their children to something magical with a message - Martin Scorsese's Hugo, based on Brian Selznick award winning book The Invention of Hugo Cabret.

The film is set circa 1930's, although Hugo (Asa Butterfield) looks like a street urchin straight out of a Dickens novel. He's an orphan whose wonderfully loving father, a clockmaker (Jude Law) dies mysteriously in a fire. Hugo's uncle takes him to live in the walls of a busy Paris train station; teaches him how to keep the station clocks running; then disappears. Hugo, afraid of being sent to an orphanage, must be careful not to draw attention to himself, least anyone, particularly the ever vigilant station guard (Sacha Baron Cohen), find out he has no guardian. Clocks and time hold some significance for the film/book, but you'll have to draw your own meaning to this metaphor.

Hugo's adventure begins when he encounters the owner (Ben Kingsley) of a small toy booth in the train station and his precocious daughter, Isabelle, (Chloë Grace Moretz) which intertwines with a cryptic drawing, a treasured notebook, a stolen key and an automaton (mechanical man).

What's missing from my synopsis, and more importantly, what drew Scorsese to this work of fiction, was the non-fiction element involving early filmmaker, Georges Méliès who made movies from the 1890s through the 1920s. He created the world’s first science fiction movie called A Trip to the Moon, which looks kinda trippy and strange. Both the film Hugo and the book The Invention of Hugo Cabret celebrate the life of this early film pioneer and magician, involving a large portion of the plot.

In addition, the movie is obviously a love letter from Scorsese to the film industry in general; all the while teaching, encouraging and reminding the viewer of the importance of film preservation and restoration. In fact, Hugo will probably act as a lucrative funding tool for Scorsese's The Film Foundation.

I have not seen the book, but I understand it's almost like a graphic novel. Brian Selznick's large, colorful illustrations creating an integral part of the magic of the story. Scorsese brings these pictures to life using 3D technology; giving the movie a pop-up picture book effect. It was shot using 3D Arri Alexa cameras with Cooke 5/i lenses on Cameron/Pace mirror rigs. (Not that that means anything to me, but thought it might be an interesting tidbit to add, for those in the know).

“The use of 3D is exciting but at the same time it demands a certain respect,” said Scorsese. “We hadn’t shot 3D (before) so it was a learning process for us shot-by-shot.” We were back to square one, but that was the excitement of it.”... "and yes, it was a headache, but a really enjoyable headache. It was a discovery with each shot, every facet of it was a rethinking of about how to make pictures. Obviously the element of 3D, but also the recreation of a boy’s memory of where he was in the past, and trying to create a sense of a heightened impression of Paris in 1929/1930. It was arduous, but a great deal of fun", said Scorsese, -Jon Fauer's Film and Digital Times

For my taste, I like a bit more fantasy, magic and supernatural elements, like in Harry Potter or Chronicles of Narnia. Still, I feel Hugo will be a timeless treasure discovered after the frenzy of holiday franchise movies finish dominating the box office.

Hugo screening took place at The Franklin Institute's IMAX theater, courtesy of Philadelphia Film Society's Sneak Preview Series.

Commentary - Demi & Ashton Call it Quits

2011-11-19T09:45:00.001-05:00

It is with sadness and a heavy heart that I accept the news of Demi and Ashton's divorce. I always liked them as a couple. For so long they defyed the odds - not only the May-Dec thing or the fact that you can't look at Kutcher without seeing him as Kelso, but they seemed to work out the fact that Demi was living a less Hollywood existence and Ashton was smack in the middle of it. I love that he was able to find his role with her daughters and with Bruce. But most of all, there was always something so genuine about their enjoyment of each other.

On the other hand, although Demi's ability to be ageless is uncanny; unless she's taken a page out of Oscar Wilde's novel and has a horribly disfiguring, aging portrait of herself hidden somewhere, then eventually she and Ashton would have looked like George Sr. and Barbara Bush did back in the day. So perhaps she's smart to get out now before they look like mother and son.

Wishing them both a relatively painless divorce.

At Home with Trader Joe's: Chicken Quesadillas & Lobster Ravioli

2011-11-14T22:44:00.004-05:00

Gotta start by saying this is NOT a paid sponsorship or affiliation. I wouldn't be adverse to that opportunity, but this post just comes from the fact that when I'm home, I don't cook. I make easy does it, just add water or oil and stir kinda meals, while still looking for comfort foods, big tastes and lots of flavor.

All of which I find in Trader Joe's Southwest Chicken Quesadillas (4 Tines) - they come 2 in a box costing $3.29, so that's less than $1.70 each. A price you can't get at any restaurant, but they are restaurant quality! All the ingredients are real, as if you cut everything up fresh and folded it into the tortilla yourself: white meat chicken, Monterey Jack cheese, red bell peppers, black beans, cilantro, jalapeno and spinach. It really oozes with the filling.

I haven't tried it in the microwave. I don't think it would be nearly as good cooked that way. I make mine in an iron skillet on low heat with a little olive oil in the pan. I don't follow the directions which instructs to either thaw the Quesadilla or microwave it slightly before putting it in the skillet. I just take it right out of the freezer and cook with a covered lid for the first 5-7 minutes before turning it over. The low heat allows the Quesadilla to get golden brown. Cooking time 15-20 minutes.

This was my first time trying the Trader Joe's Lobster Ravioli (2 Tines) with Organic Vodka Sauce (3 Tines), $3.99 for a 9oz package, which really only feeds one person. The price of the sauce was around $3.50. Like all Trader Joe's meals, nothing was artificial (lobster meat, ricotta & mozzarella cheese, paprika, egg whites, white wine, chives, garlic...) although, I didn't care for the red stripes adorning each ravioli.

I do admit I may have boiled the pasta a little too long, but just the same, this is a dish I'll continue to order out, but won't try again at home.

Check back later this month for more hits and misses from my freezer - featuring Trader Joe's

Rating System:
* Excellent - 4 Tines / * Great - 3 Tines / * Good - 2 Tines / * Fair - 1 Tine / * Poor - Tarnished

Commentary - J. Edgar

2011-11-10T14:24:00.003-05:00

He was a mysterious figure in American history. His personal life was always shrouded in mystery ... He was this bulldog figure, the face of the FBI, and he changed our country in a time of great lawlessness. Bank robbers were going from state to state becoming local heroes; he cleaned up all that mess. Got rid of the Commies and Bolshevik invasion while single handily creating this new federal police force. He was part of modern forensics and identifying everybody in our country. But then there were all those salacious rumors that you heard about him too. So it was very exciting to see somebody's (Clint Eastwood) very specific take on who J. Edgar Hoover was through these different time periods. From the beginning of his career... to the end ...where he became a political dinosaur and didn't adapt to the changing of our country - Leonardo DiCaprio (Access Hollywood)

Immediately post Film Festival, The Philadelphia Film Society got back to their weekly preview screenings in a big way, with the much anticipated Clint Eastwood film - J. Edar. Starring Leonardo DiCaprio in the title role and Naomi Watts as J. Edgar Hoover's trusted and lifetime assistant, Helen Gandy.

Films like this are why I love biopics. I was never a very good student of history and although I realize biopics are certainly no replacement for the accuracy of classes and books; they fill in hazy knowledge of what was going on in specific time periods. How certain events intersected and the origins of things we just take for granted now.

Before watching this film, what I knew of J. Edgar Hoover - he ran the FBI for a long time. I had no idea he created it, nor did I realize he served through 8 United States Presidents! And then of course, in later years, we all heard about the cross dressing. I like the way the movie handles this possible quirk - that if he wore women's clothes, it may have been as a way to channel or bring himself closer to his mother (Dame Judi Dench) once she passed. Not like Anthony Perkins in Psycho or anything that over the top, just as a moment of grief.

This film is not played for sensationalism at all. Eastwood and writer Dustin Lance Black (Milk) keep everything very grounded and gray. As if you're revisiting it all through a faded, old newspaper. It's a veritable time capsule of history: from the post WW1 red scare hysterics, to the depression era outlaws, to the Lindbergh kidnapping, and into the turmoil and assassinations of the 60's.

But the film finds its color in the close relationships Hoover had with just three people in his life; the previously mentioned, Gandy, his mother, who took on the role of confidant, advisor, champion and heavy task-master. And most importantly, his colleague, friend, second in command and lover? Clyde Tolson (Armie Hammer). Although the two were life-long companions, the "G" in G-Man did not stand for gay. And perhaps even more than the lack of societal acceptance of same sex relationships during his lifetime; Hoover's sense of decorum, duty and pride would never have allowed him to admit to homosexuality.

I've seen most of Leonardo DiCaprio's movies, not because he's in them, but despite the fact. I've never really been a fan, however; in my opinion, this is truly his best work to date. He really loses himself in Hoover, particularly as the older version.

My prediction: The film will earn no less than 5 Oscar nominations, which considering the talent behind it, including producers Ron Howard and Brian Grazer, it doesn't exactly take a crystal ball.

Philly Film Fest - Tinsel & Tine Wrap Up

2011-11-08T01:26:00.002-05:00

Final wrap up of Tinsel & Tine's 20th Anniversary Philadelphia Film Festivaling:

My day gig allows me to listen to podcasts and videos during the day while working. I even downloaded a phone app that reads text on websites/blogs, so I can catch up on what others are writing, without having to stop and read.

This got me to thinking that I may have followers who are interested in the commentary I wrote on the films I saw during the festival; but don't have time to do that much reading. So, I've made a recording of each write up and uploaded it to 4 Share.com (click player icon to listen).

I (Tinsel & Tine) also interviewed two Philadelphia Film Society Members/20th Anniversary Philadelphia Film Festival Badge holders, Lee O'Donnell and Susan Tindel about what they saw, liked and disliked at the film festival. Video filmed Thursday, November 2, 2011 Outside Ritz East Theater Philadelphia, PA.

Here's the video link on You Tube for readers receiving this post via RSS.

Here's the link to my commentary on a film that screened at the festival, which I saw several weeks prior: Martha Marcy May Marlene

Here's a link to the wrap up of the festival per The Philadelphia Film Society including winners of all the jury prizes.

Signing out from the 20th Philadelphia Film Festival. Great fun as always! Now, I can catch up on some of the dining posts that have been waiting in the wings.

20th Philadelphia Film Festival - The Descendants

2011-11-05T22:02:00.002-04:00

The Closing night film, featured George Clooney in The Descendants. Basically, it's hard not to like this film set in Hawaii, although, I don't feel it's as good as writer/director Alexander Payne's film Sideways. Still, I was very impressed with the balancing act of threading laugh out loud humor into really tough situations. The timing of which, is nothing short of brilliant.

Here's what other reviewers are saying about the film:

With The Descendants, Payne has once again found an eccentric realm for us to explore, though with less caustic wit, presenting a Hawaii set tale of another off-kilter character...Our preconceptions about Hawaii as a paradise are arrested in George Clooney’s opening narration; his wife, seen enjoying the adrenaline rush from water skiing behind a power boat, lies in a coma, the victim of an accident that followed soon afterwards. People from the islands experience tragedy and work stress and strife like everyone else, we’re told, and we’re about to experience it. Matt King, Clooney’s sole trustee to an inherited family plot of unspoilt land with a Pacific aspect, is engaged, on behalf of his enormous brood, in selling it to developers, while his daughters, hitherto the domain of the mother, are now his sole responsibility -LFF Film Review: by Ed Whitfield

Brilliantly scripted and superbly well acted (there’s a cracking turn from newcomer Nick Krause as Alexandra’s teenage stoner ‘friend’ Sid) this film is more than the sum of its constituent parts. As a reflection of values, family and honor it’s not only unimpeachable but downright hilarious. Clooney describes it as ‘a coming of age tale for a 50 year old man.” - Redbull.com's movie critic, Chris Sullivan

Payne’s first theatrical film in seven years (why is he so slow?), “The Descendants” navigates smoothly, delicately, and gracefully a turf that has become Payne’s specialty, an emotionally affective and effective hybrid of tragedy and comedy, melodrama and satire, tear-jerker and enlightening exploration of nothing short of the meaning of life, what’s important, what’s trivial, and so on. -Emanuel Levy Cinema

Alexander Payne sent along his long-time producer, George Parra to handle the Q & A after the screening. Below is the video:

For readers receiving Tinsel & Tine via RSS feed. Here's the link to the video.

20th Philadelphia Film Festival - Race to the Bottom of the Earth

2011-11-05T13:11:00.002-04:00

The only other documentary I saw during the festival other than "I am Carolyn Parker" was a Philly produced doc called Race to the Bottom of the Earth. It features Philadelphia-based explorer, Todd Carmichael's attempt to not only be the first American to solo trek the seven hundred miles across Antarctica to the South Pole, but to set the record for fastest trek at the same time.

Surprisingly compelling considering it's basically one man talking into a video camera about frost bite, broken camping stoves, broken skies, whiteout conditions, and calling his wife each night with sometimes incoherent reports of the day.

Partly what keeps you hanging in there is the fact that Carmichael is very likable and rather sexy, in a non-traditional sense of the word. And just like the movies, Cast Away, 127 Hours and Buried , one person's confined plight and strength of will to carry on, can really make for great storytelling.

On a side note: I didn't know there was really a barbershop pole at the South Pole, I thought that was just made up for Santa Claus!

Unfortunately, Todd Carmichael wasn't able to attend the Q & A after the screening. Producer Nancy Glass & filmmaker Michele Loschiavo answered the questions from the audience; allowing the Q & A to be about the filmmaking process of turning all that raw footage into a good, tense documentary.

Below is the video:

Congrats to everyone associated with "Race" in winning Greater Filmadelphia Award for Best Local Film.

For Tinsel & Tine readers receiving the RSS feed, here's the link to the Race to the Bottom of the Earth Q &A on Tinseltine's You Tube channel

20th Philadelphia Film Festival - My Week with Marilyn

2011-11-03T21:42:00.003-04:00

Wikipedia: Colin Clark (9 October 1932 – 17 December 2002) was a British writer and filmmaker who specialized in films for cinema and television about the arts. He was the son of the art historian Lord Clark of Saltwood (Sir Kenneth Clark), and the younger brother of the Conservative politician and military historian Alan Clark, with whom he was not always on good terms.[1]
Born in London, he was educated at Eton College and Christ Church, Oxford. From 1951 to 1953 he did National Service as a pilot officer in the Royal Air Force.[2]
Colin Clark's first job on leaving university was as an assistant director on the film The Prince and the Showgirl (1957), directed by Laurence Olivier and starring Olivier and Marilyn Monroe, an experience Clark later turned into two books, one a set of diaries[3] (a TV documentary version of which was also made in 2004)[4] and the other a memoir of his relationship with Monroe.[5] Clark's time with Monroe is the basis of the 2011 film My Week with Marilyn.

I had never heard of Colin Clark before viewing this film, but now I really wish he had lived long enough to see this movie come to fruition and to have been present at the screening during the Philly Film Fest. What man (or perhaps woman) wouldn't want to have had a brief affair of the heart with Marilyn Monroe? What a gift to have spent one on one time in her presence. The film is magical for this fact alone. I so enjoyed watching Colin (Eddie Redmayne) a kind-hearted, eager kid, not even 25 years-old, land his first job in the industry and find himself being an integral part of the movie. Not just any movie, but one that continues to be a big part of Hollywood history. No wonder this experience made a lasting impact on his life.

Michelle Williams finds all of the sides of Marilyn Monroe. At first I felt she was an odd choice to play the role. I like her as an actress, but I never think of Williams as bombshell sexy. I don't even think of her as pretty. However, she succeeds in not only pulling off these aspects of Monroe; but more importantly, you come to know the vulnerable, sad, child-like Monroe as well, through William's stellar performance.

Here's an interview with Michelle Willams from Mail Online talking about taking on this role:

Michelle admitted that initially she was terrified of taking on Monroe, so her first answer to director Simon Curtis and producer David Parfitt was a resounding No.

But Michelle told me: ‘I knew I wouldn’t be able to resist, eventually. Physically and vocally, everything about her is different from me. I’ve kind of gone to school and had teachers to help me understand Marilyn, so I could project an essence of her.'

‘When I first approached the part, I thought that there were three, even four parts to -Marilyn,’ she continued. There was the public Marilyn — the one Norma Jean would refer to as ‘her’, ‘as in the voluptuous, strike-a-pose “her” ’.But there was also the private Norma Jean; and Elsie Marina, the song-and-dance performer Monroe was playing in The Prince And The Showgirl. All of which can throw a thespian off balance. ‘It rearranges you, it shifts your molecules, lifts you up, spins you around, puts you back down and you’re not quite the same, for better or for worse,’ she said.

'Later, when I viewed some footage shot by cinematographer Ben Smithard I was knocked out by her performance. One moment there’s the lightness of touch required by the high comedy of being showgirl Elsie, the next there’s the poignancy of Norma Jean'.

20 Philly Film Fest -Jonathan Demme - I Am Carolyn Parker

2011-11-01T21:56:00.000-04:00

Intellectually, I know the beauty of a film festival is to see small films, those without distribution yet, documentaries and foreign films. I always have good intentions of puttting these things in my schedule, but for me, it's kinda like doing laundry - I love fashion and I want to wear clean clothes, but I don't feel like sorting the wash and going to the basement.

Seeing all the bigger, glitzy, star studded films, that yes, will be released in a couple of months, but I get to see them before the average movie-goer, is my favorite part of a film festival; this I compare to going shopping!

So to make my point, I wasn't going to see the documentary I Am Caroyln Parker: The Good, The Mad and the Beautiful, until I learned that noted filmmaker Jonathan Demme would be present for a Q & A.

I don't want to come across as desensitized and self-involved; but going into the theater, although excited about Demme, I was thinking, come on, yet another displaced Katrina victim - I'm tired of New Orleans reconstruction, the lower 9th Ward, the corruption, the politics, the destruction, the housing crisis... But if I'm tired of it, can you imagine how weary someone would be who truly has been living the nightmare for the last 5 or 6 years.

Which is why the documentary I Am Carolyn Parker is compelling, because Carolyn Parker was, and is, anything but weary. Her sense of humor, sense of pride and sense of madness makes for a fascinating character study. A woman determined to get back into her home and church. She didn't always know the way or the means, but she never stopped believing.

When Jonathan Demme started this project in 2006, he didn't have a plan for the documentary; he only felt compelled to want to lend a hand to the Katrina victims in some manner, so he did what he does best, took a camera to the lower 9th Ward and started shooting. Originally, the piece was going to feature several families who were trying to have their homes restored to livability, but obviously the other families didn't possess the presence of Carolyn Parker, who just took to the camera like she'd been being filmed her whole life. She has a way of expressing herself that is humorous, determined and unexpectedly wise all at once.

The film, shows the progress and more often defeats that Carolyn and her family endure over 5 years following Hurricane Katrina, with Demme and crew coming back several times a year to check in and get more footage.

One thing I should have asked during the Q & A was whether Carolyn was aware that an Oscar winning director was coming back time and again to film her. Did she or at least her daughter Google him? Cause they just invited him in like family each time, feeding him and the small crew and talking like old friends. You also wonder, did Demme ever offer her any financial assistance? Can you be paid to be a subject in a documentary, or does that taint the whole project?

Someone asked if he planned to continue to visit Carolyn now that the documentary is complete. He replied, he didn't have plans to go back. I wonder if that meant just no more plans to film her progress, or no more plans to see her? Because you truly got the feeling a genuine bond was created.

I'm including the link to the Q & A I uploaded to You Tube, but I warn you, other than flashes of light from photographers, Demme is in the dark through the entire conversation. However, the audio is good.

20th Philadelphia Film Festival - Butter

2011-10-31T14:36:00.000-04:00

Butter stars Jennifer Garner as Laura Pickler, a woman obsessed with Mid-western social status and being the cream of the crop; the cream she uses to get and stay at the top - butter. Well, butter carving, a competition her husband Bob (Ty Burrell from Modern Family) has won for 15 years in a row. And in those 15 years, Laura has been by his side cheering at regionals and basking at state fairs, using his victories to further her social and political agenda.

When the butter committee feels Bob should bow out of this season to allow someone else a chance at the "Blue Bonnet" :-) I mean blue ribbons. Laura decides she's not about to let all her ambitions melt away and signs up to compete herself. Two of her competitors includes an African American 10 year-old foster child named Destiny (Yara Shahidi) who narrates most of the movie. And Brooke, the stripper Laura's husband is boffing on the side (Olivia Wilde).

Unfortunately, Butter veers off course of being a Christopher Guest-type satirical, parody and meanders into sickeningly sweet, corny territory too often. Jennifer Garner gets it. She shines as a scarily intense, Republican housewife; but the rest is folly. Particularly, Hugh Jackman in the role of a car salesman, seduced by Laura to sabotage the competition. He must have owed someone a favor to have even entertained doing the insipid and small role.

Personally, I don't see Butter spreading to a wide-release.

Director: Jim Field Smith /Writer: Jason A. Micallef

20th Philadelphia Film Festival - Jeff, Who Lives at Home

2011-10-27T15:46:00.001-04:00

Family stuff and life in general is getting in the way of seeing as much as I want, and writing as much as I see. Which is why as great as it is to have a big film festival in your own backyard, it would be better to be here on vacation and experience all the films without so many interruptions.

I was glad to make the second screening of Jeff, Who Lives at Home, particularly since the director was available for another Q & A. Well, co-director, this film is by another team of writer/director brothers. Not the Farrelly Bros. or the Coen Bros. It's the Duplass Brothers - Mark and Jay (The Puffy Chair, Baghead, Cyrus).

Jeff, Who Lives at Home is a good bit more out and out comedy, compared to Cyrus. Mostly due to its lead, a bigger and dopier than usual, Jason Segel. Segal plays a 30-something pothead who still lives in his mother's (Susan Sarandon) basement. He hasn't had a girlfriend in years and no mention is made of the last time he held gainful employment.

He is however, still hopeful about his life. He's not lethargic, just unsure what he wants to do. He belives in waiting for a sign. That sign comes in the form of a wrong number for someone named Kevin; which sets Jeff off on a days adventure that winds up involving his brother Pat (Ed Helms) who's rather an ass, but let's say vexing, and Pat's on the rocks marriage to Linda (Judy Greer). Intersperesed is a side story involving Jeff & Pat's mom (Sarandon) finding out she has a secret admirer at work.

On the whole, it's an entertaining quasi-road-buddy-comedy with heart. At the Q & A an audience member asked if Mark and Jay have a spiritual center? Do they believe in fate, destiny signs etc... Mark replied (paraphrased) that he wished he was a bit more like the character of Jeff in some ways, but personal philosophy wasn't the orgins for the story.

Watch the below Q & A video of Mark Duplass as he also answers the questions of going from small budget films like Baghead to their last two films with bigger budgets and bigger named actors and also which of the brothers does the bulk of the work.

Part of the fun of a film festival is talking to people after a screening. I met this couple Andy and Sandy Ehrlich on the bus as we were all traveling from The Prince after Jeff, Who Lives at Home to the screening of Butter at Ritz East. Last year, they were part of Ruth Perlmutter's team of screeners to decide on jury prize for best new director. This year they are just enjoying the festival at their leisure.

20th Philadelphia Film Festival - A Dangerous Method

2011-10-25T20:44:00.001-04:00

I had seen the trailer for A Dangerous Method months ago and was highly anticipating its release. My excitement increased learning I'd get to see it early as part of the Philadelphia Film Festival. But just like when you're in a restaurant and there's an item on the menu that sounds perfect, you envision how it will come presented, the moment of satisfaction when it hits the pleasure center of the brain... but upon arrival to your table, it's dry or watery or small or tasteless or just not what you had in mind.

And such was the case with David Cronenberg's A Dangerous Method. In my opinion, the film is lifeless, it's just lays there on one level. You keep waiting for the hit to your brain that never comes. Yet the elements were all there, two of my favorite, stellar actors (Viggo Mortensen and Michael Fassbender) playing two fascinating figures from history - Dr. Sigmund Freud and Dr. Carl Jung, presenting us with the origins of Psychoanalysis, duking it out (via the postal service) when their beliefs and methods took on differing approaches. And best of all, Jung's torrid love affair with an insane patient, Sabina Spielrein (Keira Knightley).

And the acting is good. I'm now convinced Michael Fassbender, is one of those shape-shifting actors that has no real form of his own, he just morphs into any character he's playing.

Viggo Mortensen has aged with season and feels comfortable in the role of father figure.

And I knew Keira Knightley would put that under-bite, flashing eyes and lithe figure to good use, playing someone who's mental faculties weren't all there.

One thing I found interesting, which didn't really come to light in the movie, but I read about in reference to the background material - many women of the late 19th and early 20th Century suffered from a mental illness called Hysteria. I've heard of this, but never really knew what it meant, or rather the cause. It seemed women had so much pent up frustration over not using all their capabilities, that it would result in a fit of hysterics.

Funny, I feel it's the opposite now, women have to be such multi-taskers, expected to do so much everyday, that the stress of it all is sending many over the bend.

Perhaps the problem with A Dangerous Method is that the script got watered down through too many adaptations; as the screenplay was adapted by Christopher Hampton's (Atonement) 2002 stage play The Talking Cure, which itself is based on the 1993 non-fiction book by John Kerr, A Most Dangerous Method.

I do like that The Philly Film Fest is pairing many directors current work with a film from their past, however, I also didn't care for Cronenberg's Naked Lunch - monster typewriters, bugs a plenty, homophobic themes, writer's anguish, all in an incomprehensible soup of yuck!

20th Philadelphia Film Festival - Melancholia

2011-10-23T21:23:00.000-04:00

If I owned an incredibly elegant, picturesque, stately castle with an 18 hole golf course and stable full of horses, I'd too would be sad and scared to see the end of the world, because you gotta figure life on the other side might not be as good.

In writer/director Lars von Trier's film, Melancholia is a planet that has been hiding behind the sun for eons and has suddenly made its appearance known as it starts traveling through the galaxy. During its rotation, it has come close, but not hit other planets in the solar system; therefore, the scientist on earth predict Melancholia passing by the earth will be an incredible site to witness and presents no danger of collision.

All this is going on in the background while we are brought into the lives of a young couple on their wedding day, Justine (Kirsten Dunst) and Michael (Alexander Skarsgård) are in a limo heading to their reception, which takes place at the previously mentioned mansion/resort, owned by the bride's sister Claire (Charlotte Gainsbourg) and her husband John (Kiefer Sutherland). Other than being late to the reception because the white stretch limo can't make the bend in the road that leads to the stately grounds; all seems happy with the couple, until we witness awkward, hostile toasts from both Justine's mother (Charlotte Rampling) and father (John Hurt). Then Claire take Justine aside and warns her to keep it together, no scenes. A warning that does no good, the bride's erratic behavior deteriorates so much that her newly wed husband leaves her before the honeymoon begins.

It all sounds wonderfully dramatic and soap opera like, but it isn't. The scenes are rather moody and distant. You're watching the action from afar and the pace is so slow, action doesn't seem an appropriate word. The film is structured in three acts. The first part a preamble, long, slow motion foreshadowing, very similar to the beginning of Terrence Malick's Tree of Life (links to T & T commentary). The second part is from the perspective of Justine, the bride, suffering from depression, which she describes as trudging through gray yarn weighing down her steps. The third part is told from the perspective of Claire as a wife, mother, caretaker to her sister and the only one worried about the possibility of Melancholia hitting the earth.

Despite the slow pacing, Melancholia is interesting. I had a fun time discussing the film with a group of people in the lobby of the Prince after the screening. None of them were willing to do a video review, because it's a movie that you leave the theater not quite knowing how you feel about it. There's a lot of unanswered questions, some having to do with plot points, others having to do with the psychology of the film, like is Justine's illness due to a metaphysical connection to the planet Melancholia? And other minor points like, why is everyone in Justine's family British except Justine?

The best part of the film for me was the incredibly sweeping, colossal score, aptly entitled End of the World by Tristan and Isolde. I feel lucky to have been able to see this movie in a theater with an awesome sound system. The opus rumbled throughout my body and almost transported me to another place and time.

20th Philadelphia Film Festival - Shame

2011-10-23T11:02:00.001-04:00

Michael Fassbender has a Dirk Diggler size schlong! And an Adonis rear-end. Beyond that, I don't remember anything about the film Shame. Just kidding. Well, about the film resonance, not about Fassbender. In actuality, the film stayed with me for quite awhile. Seeing two people in so much pain with no clue how to get relief, yet basically from the outside, look as if they are managing the day in and out of life.

Director Steve McQueen (Hunger), (why doesn't he go by S. McQueen or use his middle name, Rodney or Stephen?) has created an intense character study of a sex addict without really having to go overboard on graphic content. Not that there isn't a lot of very visual sex scenes, but it's not gratuitous. With that being said, it was still however, embarrassing to watch the film with so many senior citizens. The audience was very mixed in age and race; but I just happened to be sitting next to a group of grayed haired people to my left and right, making me grateful that movies take place in the dark.

I really don't want to give too much away, it's one of those films where you have to bring your own conclusion to what these two characters Brandon (Fassbender) and his sister Sissy (Carey Mulligan) have been through in their past to bring them to this place in their lives.

On both a food in film, and an ever watching to see good roles for African American women note: this restaurant scene of Brandon on a date with Marianne (Nicole Beharie) both lightens the mood and represents a momentary glimmer of hope for Brandon.

I can also say, Shame has a beautifully shot, sophisticated uptown New York City feel in the beginning, and slowly dissolves into a more gritty, desolate New York. Very subtle, but effective. The scene depicted in the picture at the top, Brandon and Sissy's with their backs to the camera, while waiting for a subway, is such a great shot and a touching exchange without being the least bit schmaltzy. There's another scene with them shot in profile against a backdrop of Looney Tune cartoons that's incredibly intense and should earn an Oscar nomination for them both.

Philadelphia Film Festival Opening - Like Crazy

2011-10-21T14:17:00.055-04:00

Everything appeared to go as planned last night at the opening of the 20th Anniversary Philadelphia Film Festival. The spacious Zellerbach (Annenberg) theater felt full and the mood was light as we were welcomed by PFS Executive Director Andrew Greenblatt, Artistic Director Michael Lerman and Mayor Michael Nutter.

The film chosen to set off this milestone occasion, would seem an insignificant choice by the description - basically a romance involving two recent college grads, Anna an accessibly pretty, unaffected young woman (Felicity Jones) who is in the US on a student visa from the UK and must return upon graduation. Jacob (Anton Yelchin) is an adorable, curly-haired, furniture maker. The two fall for each other in touching and simple ways. Their only obstacle being Anna's obligation to return home to England, until a work permit can be arranged. When things go horribly wrong in this regard, the film becomes about their attempts to hold onto a long distance relationship, even when all signs point to being better off letting go.

Like Crazy is co-written and directed by Drake Doremus who received the Dramatic Grand Jury prize at Sundance 2011 with Felicity Jones receiving Dramatic Special Jury Prize. We were treated to the attendance of both director and actress at last night's opening. (see slide show above) what you can't see in the pictures are the wonderfully comical, bright lime green shoelaces adorning Doremus' sneakers.

Doremus a graduate of the famed AFI, wrote the outline (50 page scriptment) in March of last year and starting shooting in June; although the story (inspired by true events) had been rattling around in his head and heart for 10 years before being written down, without dialogue, as all the lines in the film were improvised by the actors themselves. This, along with a lot of hand held camera work, gives the film an intimate, natural effect, that the critics are responding favorably too.

Below is a video excerpt of the Q & A. (Please excuse the distance of the shot, I admit to being lazy and shooting from my seat):

And this is a video of a Opening night party attendee giving her feedback on the film:

And for more on the film, Cinedelphia.com interview with Felicity Jones:
C: Could you tell on set that something special was happening with the film?

FJ: Because of the method of making it, it felt very special. We didn’t really think about it coming out, but it felt like we cared, and every single person cared. It was a really small crew and people were prepared to give up their lives for the duration of the film... READ MORE

Check back, much more to come from PFF20!

Commentary - Toast

2011-10-20T12:27:00.004-04:00

There's a scene in this film where young Nigel Slater, (played with wonderful pathos by a young actor named Oscar Kennedy) is in his room under the covers moaning and breathing heavily, his father hearing the suspicious sounds, barges in to stop what we all assume is a prepubescent self-exploration. Turns out Nigel is pleasuring himself, but not with his hands, rather with his eyes. He's actually devouring a food magazine, with a flash light, under the covers. The sights of beautifully prepared dishes and desserts is what has him so excited.

This same excitement and enthusiasm for all things culinary would follow Nigel Slater into adulthood and into British celebrity. The film Toast is the early biography of Slater's life growing up in Wolverhampton, England with a very sweet, but sickly mother, who relied heavily on serving toast for meals when her meager attempts at preparing dinner would turn out unappetizing and often inedible. It would seem his mother's shortcoming became an endearing part of Slater's childhood as even today he writes this about toast and cheese:

There's nothing quite like cheese on toast – and the endless variations make for truly sumptuous snacks.

I can trace my need for some sort of toasty cheese fix to the day my mother cut up soldiers of toast for me and spread them with Dairylea. Talk about love at first bite. The recipe itself may have moved on more than a bit, but to this day there are few things I like to hear more than the sound of crunchy toast and oozing cheese. I still order Welsh rabbit in restaurants if it's on the menu. (Still around if you know where to look.) Cheeses may change, and the bread moves on, but I suspect cheese on toast in some form or another will always be with us. No matter how simply or fancifully we interpret it. - The Guardian The Observer - Nigel Slater (Sept. 2011)

Unfortunately, his dear mum (Victoria Hamilton) passed away from asthma while Nigel was still a boy, leaving him to be raised by a distant and gruff father. (Ken Stott). Soon Nigel's father hires a cleaning woman to help out around the house, played by Helena Bonham Carter, who must have put on 20lb to play the part, and boy does she have fun with it! I read this description of the role and feel I must reprint it as it captures the character to a tee:

...the arrival of ‘Miss Potter’ – a coarse but beguiling cleaner on the make, who bewitched Slater Sr with her saucy outfits and seductive home cooking. Dressed in crimplene housecoats and seamed stockings, a cigarette permanently dangling from her rouged lips, Miss Potter, becomes the second Mrs Slater, leaving a desolate Nigel out in the cold -By Elizabeth Sanderson and Christine Challand. (This article featured Nigel's real-life stepsister, not mentioned in the film, who is livid over the making of Toast both the book and the movie, as she feels it's a libelous depiction of her mother and her mother's marriage to Nigel's father).

But on a lighter note, who would think housework could be so suggestive? There is a very clever montage underscored by the song "The Look of Love", where Nigel's father can't take his eyes off of Mrs. Potter's ample behind, as she scrubs and polishes, then gets turned on when she runs the vacuum cleaner in and out between his legs.

As far as Nigel is concerned the only good thing about Mrs. Potter is the fact that she can cook. And cook she does, the film treats us to another montage, this time of fattening, artery clogging, caloric dishes popular in the late 60's early 70's. But as Nigel discovers his own talent for the culinary arts, Mrs Potter feels her place in the family is being threatened and a rivalry develops between Nigel and his step-mum, causing anguish for Nigel's father.

While watching the film, I felt the tone was reminiscent of Billy Elliot, and soon discovered the reason being, it was penned by the same screenwriter, Lee Hall. I liked the movie, not just because it represents food in film; but rather because of its subtle humor mixed with melancholy; the nice handling of Slater's sexual orientation; there's some gems of wisdom by Nigel's precocious boyhood friend, and yes, plenty of feasting for the eyes.

I contacted Katherine Tidy, the film's food stylist for an online interview earlier this week. She has yet to respond, but check back, as this post may be expanded to include her insights.

20th Philadelphia Film Festival - Day 1 - 4 Picks

2011-10-18T23:18:00.043-04:00

I picked up my press pass for the 20th Anniversary Philadelphia Film Festival tonight! Just to get you in the festival mood, here's the films I plan to see the first few days (Thursday, October 20th thru Sunday October 23rd). Of course, the festival runs till November 3rd, and I plan to be present throughout most of it; however, during the festival, I'll be posting on facebook and twitter each day what film(s) I plan to see. In fact, if time runs short and things get hectic, my commentary on a few films may never make it to this blog or PFF blog, but may only be posted on facebook / twitter, so if you're interested, please follow me.

THURSDAY: Opening night! 8pm Like Crazy

A heartbreaking portrait of young love, embodied by Anton Yelchin as an American college student who falls in love with aEnglish exchange student (Felicity Jones). When Jones outstays her Visa, she is denied access to the U.S., putting a strain on their relationship.

Then on to the Opening Night Party! New venue: The Agora (202 S. 36th Street) University City.

FRIDAY: 7:55pm Shame

Powerful and provocative, explicit and controversial, Shame is the story of a man (Michael Fassbender) who is forced to confront his own sexual compulsions along with the self-destructive acts of his sister (Carey Mulligan).

10:15pm Jeff Who Lives at Home

Living in his mother’s basement without a job, Jeff (Jason Segel) can’t even bring himself to leave the house to run some simple errands. Instead, he sits around hoping that destiny will fall straight into his lap. After interpreting a strange coincidence as a sign that he my have finally discovered his fate, Jeff finds himself on a strange journey. Co-director Mark Duplass will be present for Q & A.

SATURDAY: 2:20pm Melancholia

In this beautiful movie about the end of the world, Justine (Kirsten Dunst) and Michael (Alexander Skarsgård) are celebrating their marriage at a sumptuous party in the home of her sister Claire (Charlotte Gainsbourg), and brother-in-law John (Kiefer Sutherland). Despite Claire's best efforts, the wedding is a fiasco, with family tensions mounting and relationships fraying. Meanwhile, a planet called Melancholia is heading directly towards Earth.

7:40pm A Dangerous Method

Right at the cusp of hitting the most successful moment in both his marriage and his carrer, Carl Jung (Michael Fassbender), a protégé of Sigmond Freud (Viggo Mortensen), begins sessions with Sabine Spielrein (Keira Knightley), a Russian Jewish aspiring doctor who is in need of treatment for her history of physical abuse. As the two begin to explore innovative ways to cure Sabine,an unexpected affair blossoms.

10:15pm A Lonely Place to Die

When a group of old friends meet for a vacation of rock climbing in the Scottish mountains, a disturbing discovery launches them into a deadly chase in this action packed thrill ride full of surprises.

SUNDAY: 4pm Butter

Bob Pickler (Ty Burrell) is the reigning champion of butter carving and a local celebrity of great proportions. Known throughout the Midwest as “the Elvis of butter,” Pickler’s legendary skill and reputation has brought great acclaim to him and his family, with no one loving it more than his outwardly supportive wife Laura (Jennifer Garner). Imagining Bob’s talent with butter as a steppingstone to the presidency, Laura is devastated when Bob is persuaded to retire. Unable to convince Bob to make a comeback,Laura decides to enter herself in the competition...

7:30pm Amador

In order to support her husband's spending habits, a poor woman goes through hilarious hijinks to protect her job security in this crowd-pleasing dark comedy

And here's a link to the Top 8 PFF Film's to check out per Geekadelphia

Hope any readers in the area, plan to support and enjoy the 20th Philadelphia Film Festival, produced by the Philadelphia Film Society. And as always, your thoughts and comments are welcome!

Commentary - The Big Year

2011-10-14T00:00:00.005-04:00

This the Big Year post was written for CINEDELPHIA.com

The movie's about a competition, but the competition is really a metaphor for trying to achieve great ambition. It's about the pursuit of excellence, and it's about three guys who are just trying to get outside of their normal, everyday existence and achieve something they've always dreamed of... - Director David Frankel (Marley & Me) excerpt from interview on BirdingBlogs.com

What are these three guys played by Steve Martin, Jack Black and Owen Wilson trying to achieve? A Big Year! A term in Birding (not to be called bird watching) for an entire year spent traveling around the country, up hills, down rivers, over streams, in the tundra, peering between branches and sailing the oceans in search of bird species. The person who spots the most variety of birds within that year is called "The Best Birder". That's it - no prize money, no endorsements, not even an ugly green jacket like the one Tiger Woods has gotten to sport 4 times; nope, just the title, and awe from others within the birding community.

Yet, supposedly this ornithological obsession can drive a person to put their life on hold for a year, clear out their savings, leave jobs, family, jump on planes, trains and automobiles in search of a pink footed booby. And thus the movie takes us into the passion of this sport/hobby through three enthusiasts -

Brad Harris (Black) a bit of a loser, divorced, living at home again with his parents (Diane Wiest and Brian Dennehy); his mom supports his passion, but his dad thinks the whole thing's for the birds and wants Brad to straighten up and fly right.

Stu Preissler (Martin) a very successful CEO who's been wanting to retire to do a " Big Year", but obligation and an almost equal passion to his company has always taken precedence. Stu's bird quest gets constant interruptions from his left and right hand VP's, a comic fric and frac (Kevin Pollak & Joel McHale) hounding him to handle just one more business deal.

Kenny Bostick (Wilson) holds the title of Best Birder, his "Big Year" totalling 732 birds, a score no one has yet been able to match or beat and Kenny aims to keep it that way, even if it means putting off starting a family with his wife who is currently going through fertility treatments in order to conceive as soon as possible, but absent husband = no stork.

The Big Year is light-hearted, but hardly a comedy. Screenwriter Howard Franklin (based on Mark Obrnascik's book) did not write this movie for laughs, using a backdrop of the pursuit of birding; instead, it's almost a National Geographic look at the sport, with characters who happen to be comedic actors. As I was watching the film, I kept thinking, my Mom would enjoy this movie. It is the perfect movie to watch in mixed company, nothing offensive, very PG.

Leaving the theater and thinking about how crazy competitive people can be, I ran into a fellow film blogger, Brian from Flieder on Film, And although our exchange was very pleasant, I couldn't help but think, perhaps I shouldn't really be too forthcoming with my thoughts on the film, what if he uses it (which, of course he wouldn't). Then discussing the upcoming Philadelphia Film Festival, I started feeling a sense of panic when he said he'd already chosen 20 films to see, and that was just a start. In my mind's eye, I could see the counter icon from the film, which would flash up in front of each guy to keep us informed of their current birding score. Will my counter register 20 films? I don't get out of work till 5:30pm and a lot of the films start at 5, should I take time off? should I quit my job? Which goes to show, even if you can't relate to the subject of The Big Year, you're bound to relate to the competitive nature of man (and woman).

The Big Year opens tonight - Friday, October 14th

Coming soon - Toast

2011-10-13T21:14:00.001-04:00

I don't normally plug a movie before screening it unless I'm interviewing the filmmaker; however, I was just reading the Landmark Theater newsletter and a new food in film flick is coming out that looks scrumptious!

Toast is the ultimate nostalgia trip through everything edible in 1960's Britain. Based on the hilarious and touching memoir of food writer Nigel Slater's childhood, and set to the songs of Dusty Springfield, it's a delicious love letter to the tastes and smells that turned a young boy into a lifelong foodie. Nigel's mother (Victoria Hamilton) appears to have been the world's worst cook, boiling unopened cans of food to a soggy pulp and nervously refusing young Nigel's (Oscar Kennedy) suggestions that she try an occasional fresh veg. After many a ruined dinner they fall back on that old reliable, toast—the one dish she has mastered. But Nigel loves her dearly, and is devastated by her early death, leaving him and his lonely dad (Ken Stott) to look after each other. When new cleaner Mrs. Potter (Helena Bonham Carter) arrives, her curves, charms and fabulous lemon meringue pies quickly bewitch Nigel's father, and, much to his son's horror, the three move to the country to live together. The one silver lining is Domestic Science class at Nigel's new school, where Nigel (now played by Freddie Highmore) can finally shine. Soon he and Mrs. P. have embarked on a highly competitive cooking duel, vying for Dad's affections.

Making a film where food plays a key role does have its drawbacks, not simply due to the temptation to gorge on giant slices of lemon meringue pie and luminous pink trifles which I can assure you instigated a constant battle between indulgence and self-control, but also and more importantly—how do you bring food to life?- director S. J. Clarkson (Excerpt from Landmark Theaters Exclusive Read More).

Philadelphia Film + Music Festival Recap

2011-09-28T22:25:00.007-04:00

The 2nd Annual Philadelphia Film + Music Festival took place this past weekend (Sept 22-25, 2011) mostly in and around Northern Liberties and Fishtown areas (Venues: The Skybox @2424 Studios, Invincible Pictures Sound Stages, M Room, The El Bar, Penn's Landing, The Fire, Murph's Bar, Kung Fu Necktie, The Ukie Club, Girard Fest, Tracadero Theater, World Cafe Live, TLA on South Street, North Star Bar).

Organizers: Joseph Lekkas, Isaac Friese & David Grasso, managed to put together a Sh*# load of bands to perform all weekend! Some performances started as early as 11am and some started as late as 1am.

I requested a press pass before finding out how many venues there would be, how late it was going to go and how few movie events were scheduled. So, suffice it to say, I really didn't make a dent in the festival, but I gave it a poke.

I made it to the Heineken sponsored opening night party at 2424 Studios around 10:30pm, like a hip clubber- right, it was only because I was coming from the PFS preview screening of Moneyball (Moneyball commentary to come) and I left the party at 11:30pm

Adam Thompson & Janel Sterbentz

I felt this couple totally represented the music fest type, kinda rock chic, so I yelled to them over the super loud rock/rap group - Philadelphia Slick "What are you planning to see during the festival?" I couldn't hear their reply, so I told them to point on the festival program guide, Janel's fingers jabbed at Viva Voce, the 5pm band at the Ukie Club Outdoor Stage and to the film, Meet Me on South Street:The Story of JC Dobbs.

Friday, went to the screening of Sound It Out. It was shown on a TV in the Green Room at Invincible Pictures, because of one of those pesky PAL (EU) vs NTSC (USA) formatting issues. There were all of 10 of us at the screening, so the downloaded version on the small screen worked just fine.

The film was about the last surviving vinyl record store in the UK, located in Teesside, North East England. A worthy subject, however, I felt the doc needed major editing, a far more interesting store owner and a bit more of a hook; somehow interviewing the store patrons wasn't enough to keep the piece from falling flat.

The next film, shown on the big screen, and well attended, was Color Me Obsessed: The Replacements. Color me clueless, as I've never heard of The Replacements. However, according to filmmaker Gorman Bechard and the 15 - 20 people interviewed, which included George Wendt (Norm from Cheers) and The Goo Goo Dolls, this was the quintessential, singular, mother of all, underground punk scene bands of the 80's and early 90's. These 4 hooligans were unpredictable, unprofessional and unholy, all things a great rock band should be. Their music? From all accounts, truly stellar cuts. I'll have to take their word for it, because the film was music-less. Bechard said he wanted this to be a complete homage to the band, more of a reminiscence, so no song clips, no interviews with the remaining band members and not even any pictures of The Replacements until the last frame of the doc. Embedded below is an except of the Q & A with Gorman Bechard.

Saturday, had intentions of checking out at least a few of the Festival Pier, Live Nation line up of bands, however, dress shopping for a fast approaching wedding I'm in, took precedence. Success! Found the perfect, sexy, early fall, outdoor wedding, stomach camouflaging gown just in time to head to Murph's Bar for the 8pm Singer Songwriter Evening.

Christian Bitto

First up was Christian Bitto, who I enjoyed talking to at the bar after his set. In fact, I said to him, you seem like such a jovial fellow, yet your music is so melancholy, and he replied, "that's why, I put all my angst and sadness into my music, so I don't have to carry it around with me".

Sarah Donner

Second singer/songwriter was Sarah Donner who has a wonderfully clear voice and immediately likable presence and upbeat quirky songs.

I didn't stay for the following two performers; I decided to check out The M Room down the way - big mistake, stepped into an almost pitch black, stinking hot, funky smelling room, with heavy metal playing at a deafening volume - not my scene at all!

Sunday went to the Ukie Club which has a large outdoor space, plenty of room for the stage, vendor booths and food trucks.

Arrived in the middle of the WigWams set. Click the thumbnail for a sound clip, I posted to twitpic during the performance.

These lovely, young ladies were serving up the BBQ platters. I had already eaten, but they let me sample a wing with the secret sauce- tasty! They don't have a name for their catering business yet, at this point they just do neighborhood events.

Tyson Bees food truck was serving up tacos, got this pic, but no samples here.

James Singewald

I've noticed this artist at other outdoor festivals. I really like his photographs of Philly's buildings in beautiful decay.

And that wraps up my Phil F/M Fest Recap. What did you hear and see during the festival? Feel free to make a comment!

Philly Film Hightlight - The Tolltaker

2011-09-23T08:22:00.006-04:00

The Philadelphia Film Society in their efforts to support local filmmakers asked Tinsel & Tine, which shares this interest, to highlight filmmaker, Steve Janas, whose short film The Tolltaker debuts this weekend at the New Jersey Film Festival in New Brunswick.

The film, set in the early 1970's, was shot in locations in and around Philadelphia. It combines live action and animation to tell the story of a young boy (Bobby) in Northeast Philadelphia whose father is MIA in Vietnam, and who is hounded by an evil, subterranean demon intent on stealing away the one thing the boy believes will bring his father home. Because of the animation, it's taken four years to complete. Much of the animation was done by students at the Art Institute of Philadelphia. With some help from some pros including Monique Ligons, an animator who worked on Richard Linklater's film "A Scanner Darkly." And Mike Enright who teaches animation at the Pratt Institute in Brooklyn and here at the University of the Arts.

Here's a link to a two minute video: The making of the animation of The Tolltaker which details rotoscoping the animated scenes, shooting live footage of actors in the service tunnels beneath Girard College, and then animating over top.

Janas told me that a possible comparison for the film would be Pan's Labyrinth. Both movies are about the collision of a child's life with war's brutality. In The Tolltaker, the war is a distant, barely comprehensible thing to Bobby. Something he sees on television and hears about on the radio, and which he understands presents a grave danger to his father. But it remains an abstraction to him, and that's what makes it so terrifying. It's this helpless dread that fuels the creation of the Tolltaker in Bobby's world.

Later, Janas humbly admits, "I'm probably flattering myself by comparing The Tolltaker to Pan's Labyrinth. However, I'm a huge fan of Guillermo Del Toro, both as a singular visual stylist and as a champion of the gothic and macabre". Janas's other influences are books and movies like Alice-In-Wonderland, The Chronicles of Narnia, A Wrinkle in Time and directors such as David Lynch and Tim Burton. "Both can author these grotesque, fantastic distortions of reality that I find enchanting".

At this point The Tolltaker is a 25min short, which you can watch on Vimeo click HERE
Ultimately, Janas is looking to attract the financial backing to make the feature-length version.

For me, the best part about a behind the scenes look at a film, is learning the journey from idea - to screenplay - to filmmaking - to fruition. The origins of The Tolltaker has one of those interesting journeys, including the sad loss of the person who inspired and wrote the novel, the film is based upon - READ MORE.

Cast:

Bobby Burke is played by Cullen Clancey as an older child, and Cullen's brother Brian Clancey as a younger child.

Bobby's mother Judy is played by Margaret Spirito.

Bobby's grandfather, Paw-Paw, is played by Mark Jacobsen.

Judy's boyfriend Nick is played by Michael Bradley

Gary Wheedleman is played by Jan-David Soutar

The Waitress is played by Kate Black-Reagan

Grammy is played by Marilyn Yorblick.

Be sure to like The Tolltaker facebook page

This weekend Tinsel & Tine will be covering the Philly Film & Music Festival taking place at various venues around Northern Liberties and Fishtown - It seems to be music heavy and film light, a really extensive listing of bands playing all weekend. Be sure to check it out and check back for my Philly FM festival recap!

Philly Restaurant - Race Street Cafe

2011-09-21T19:58:00.004-04:00

I'd like to say I enjoyed my first Dinner and an Interview post; however, I caved and agreed to an online interview with writer/director Steve Janas regarding his film The Tolltaker; with the writing taking place at Race Street Cafe (208 Race Street, Olde City Philadelphia).

Race Street has been a staple neighborhood hang out for a decade, huge walnut wood bar, wood beam ceiling and brick and mortar walls give it the perfect ambiance for casual Sunday Brunch with friends, enjoying a solitary beer while watching the game or taking up a table near a wall outlet, writing a blog with their free WiFi...

My brunch choice:

Spanish Burger - 10.50
A combination of ground beed and chorizo sausage grilled to perfection with melted manchengo cheese, topped with a fried egg, and fries topped with sauteed onions, jalepenos and mixed cheese - The flavor of the sausage is prominent, wonderfully so! I asked for a scrambled egg on top, cause I just have never been into the look of a fried egg. The scrambled egg worked to perfection, light, fluffy pieces perfectly sized to fit on burger. Fries were delish, but too few on the plate - Race Street Cafe's Spanish Burger would have earned 3 Tines, except it wasn't a very good roll on the burger, relegating it down to 2 Tines

Excellent - 4 Tines / * Great - 3 Tines / * Good - 2 Tines / * Fair - 1 Tine / * Poor - Tarnished

Check back tomorrow for The Tolltaker post

Commentary - Machine Gun Preacher w/ Sam Childers Q & A

2011-09-20T21:49:00.000-04:00

On Sunday, PFS members were given a chance to not only see a preview of Machine Gun Preacher, fresh from it's Toronto Film Festival premiere, but we were also privileged to meet the former gang biker, and drug addict, Sam Childers, whose incredible life transformation inspired the movie.

Gerard Butler plays Childers in the film, and although Butler has a bad boy reputation of his own, he just can't quite pull off low class, low life, from the middle of nowhere, junkie. He possesses an innate privileged quality that's hard to mask. On the other hand, Michelle Monaghan, who plays Childers' former stripper wife, fits the bill.

The film begins with Childers getting out of jail for God knows what, and returning to his family; only he pretty much ignores his mother and beautiful young daughter, and becomes enraged to learn his wife has quit stripping after finding Jesus. But even this news doesn't distract him from his real purpose, which is getting back to his pre-incarcerated life of drinking, drugging and wreaking havoc for havoc's sake.

The real Sam Childers says the timeline of his actual transformation from this way of living, to becoming a preacher and savior for orphaned children in war torn Sudan, took a heck of a lot longer than how it's portrayed in the film, however, the basis of the story is completely true - he really not only found the strength to straighten up and live a clean life as a good husband, father and provider; but did one better, by leaving his home, family, business and country to take on a never-ending, nearly futile fight for other people, in a foreign land, for no other reason than pure compassion. But keep in mind, he's no saint, he's still a hard man, who feels the need to have a fight on his hands. The film shows him becoming overzealous, reckless and crazy with judgement in his preaching when he returns from Africa and wants contributions for Sudan. This is a driven man, but one who has learned to channel his energy into something important.

Because many of us don't understand the need for war or why demonic dictators and military leaders are able to rise up and carry out unspeakable acts of atrocities against innocent people; we're quick to say, there is no God, if there were, these things wouldn't be allowed to keep happening. But on the other hand, it can only be God's power that could transform a life to the degree Sam Childers' life was changed. This is wonderful inspiration to take away from a film.

On a less uplifting note, I didn't feel the movie itself was very good. Director Marc Forster (Monster's Ball, Quantum of Solace) can be commended for a valiant effort - good sets- a lot of grit and grunge in PA. The scenes in Africa are believably brutal and dangerous - one horrific image of a woman whose lips were cut off still haunts my thoughts; still, it's just not a truly engaging film. In fact, if it weren't for Childer's Q & A (embedded below), I would have walked away from the film without feeling much impact.

Sam Childers (excerpt):

Let's get one thing straight here, I am a freedom fighter, I fight for the freedom of every man and every woman to choose who they want to serve. Sometimes people think I'm a radical Christian, I am not a radical Christian. I fight that if somebody wants to serve Allah, you can serve Allah, if you want to serve Buddha, you can serve Buddha. Or you can end up not believing at all, but that's what I fight for - freedom. Me and my family choose to serve Jesus Christ.

Sam Childers with Me

Commentary - Contagion

2011-09-11T22:25:00.001-04:00

Even when I change my pocketbook to a small dress purse, besides lipstick, keys and phone, the one really essential items is hand sanitizer. In my everyday purse, I carry Airborne. I have never once left a public bathroom without using a paper towel to open the door. I use a glove to pump gas, and feel we should adopt the Asian way of bowing to one another in greeting, rather than a hand shake, of which, the former has more spiritual significance anyway.

So I guess you're getting the picture, that a movie like Steven Soderbergh's pandemic, bio-threat thriller, Contagion is really my worst nightmare! Both he and screenwriter Scott Z. Burn do an amazing job of keeping this movie seriously realistic. This is no what if, scifi, action-packed blockbuster. The film feels more like a premonition of a world-wide, horrific event. In fact, it was kinda eerie seeing it on the 10th anniversary of 9/11.

It's hard to believe it's been over a decade since I've seen Soderbergh's Oscar winning Traffic, although I've always meant to watch it again; but I strongly recall the movie's large cast was used very effectively with seamless transitions and brilliant interweaving of storylines. Contagion uses similar techniques, with yet another all star cast (Laurence Fishburne, Gwyneth Paltrow, Matt Damon, John Hawkes, Jude Law, Marion Cotillard, Sanaa Lathan, Kate Winslet, Enrico Colantoni & Bryan Cranston), plus many more excellent performances by less well-known faces.

Another thing that comes to mind after watching Contagion is a video I watched a couple of weeks ago by the organization Project Camelot. They interviewed a medical editor, Jane Burgermeister who did an expose in 2009 on a research facility in Austria, Baxter International, who allegedly, intentionally sent a quantity of human H3N2 viral material contaminated with live H5N1 (Avian Flu) to 18 European laboratories. According to Jane and her supporters this deliberate act was set to begin a pandemic virus that would eventually lead to a world-wide genocide of millions of people. Only the virus wouldn't be the killer, that would only start the panic; the killer would be the vaccination or supposed cure. She had a 19 page document outlining that the World Health Organization, backed by the banking industry would be behind this conspiracy and that they will have the power in the face of such an epidemic, to take over completely and have authority over every government to enforce vaccinations. The idea is that most people will want to be vaccinated out of fear. Others will follow the authorities that says you must be vaccinated. Anyone with a mind of their own will be rounded up and "quarantined". I've embedded the video below.

I'm not sure what I think about all this, I don't intend to become a conspiracy blogger, like Jude Law's character, Alan Krumwiede in Contagion, but I always keep an open mind to all possibilities. That reminds me, there's a very funny line in the movie delivered by Elliott Gould in which he says to Alan (Law) "blogging is not writing, it's graffiti with punctuation!"

Philly Restaurant - Derek's (Manayunk)

2011-09-06T23:51:00.002-04:00

My sister loves trying restaurants equally as much as I do, so whether I visit her, she comes home or we go on vacation together, dining out is going to be the main agenda. The meal we shared at Derek's (4411 Main St) was in celebration of our birthdays which come a month apart. It was also a chance to try out Restaurant.com.

With Restaurant.com you can purchase a $25 gift certificate online cheaply, between $2 -$5, then you check the list of participating restaurants; which doesn't include every new Center City hotspot, but it's a pretty extensive listing. And then print the gift certificate for the chosen establishment.

Here's the thing, you can't just order a meal for $25 or less, there's a minimum to use the GC. I think our minimum purchase was $50, so it's basically like buy one entree, get one free. Which is still a pretty good deal.

Our Meal

Rating System - * Excellent - 4 Tines / * Great - 3 Tines / * Good - 2 Tines / * Fair - 1 Tine / * Poor - Tarnished

We went with the 3 courses for $32.99 which consists of one choice from certain items on the small plate menu, one choice of items from the large plate menu and a dessert. Not a lot to choose from in terms of the small plates, however, you could substitute for soup-


White Bean Puree Tomato Bisque with Cream Corn and Basil - 4 Tines

French Onion Soup- needed croutons - 3 Tines


Yukon Gold Potato Gnocchi bathed in heavy cream with maytag blue cheese & fresh asparagus - the heavy cream was a bit too rich after 4 or 5 bites - 2 Tines

Steak & Mushroom Salad grilled twin filet mignons and portobella mushroom with roasted red peppers, grilled red onion, mixed greens, feta cheese & white balsamic vinaigrette - 2 Tines


Carnival Style Funnel Cake served warm with fresh strawberry sauce & vanilla ice cream , good idea, pretty, but not super scrumptious - 2 Tines

Bread on the table - Flat bread - 1 Tine
Service - The air conditioning was blasting upstairs, so we sat at the downstairs bar, and the bartender did a fine job doubling as waiter - 3 Tines
BYOB - The restaurant has full bar service, yet they still allow you to bring your own and they'll uncork and chill for you. No mandatory corking fee, but of course tip accordingly - 4 Tines By the way, my sister turned me on to a perfect, crisp, summer Sauvignon Blanc by 3 Stones New Zealand (2010) - 4 Tines
Decor - Dark Lounge, sleek, but not terribly chic, both upstairs and downstairs - 2 Tines
Outdoor Seating - Good space. Derek's is located far enough down Main Street that there's not a lot of nuisance foot traffic while your trying to dine alfresco - 3 Tines
Bathroom Decor - 2 Tines Bathroom Cleanliness - 3 Tines
Misc - The restaurant attracts a younger bar crowd on the weekends and features live music.
Sunday Brunch is served 11 -3. Vodka Bar - No info

Commentary - The Debt

2011-09-01T14:21:00.004-04:00

If our civilization continues into the 22nd Century and we evolve into beings who finally respect and view each other as equals; we undoubtedly will still be telling stories of these two most heinous times of our history - Slavery and the Holocaust. There are many societal, economical, historical and psychological reasoning's for the continual re-examining of these atrocities; but artistically, every time these topics are seen through the eyes of new characters the story is looked at from yet another perspective. As such, is The Debt by director John Madden (Shakespeare In Love), based on the novel Ha-Hov by Assaf Bernstein and Ido Rosenblum.

The Debt was my weekly sneak peek screening courtesy of The Philadelphia Film Society.

Although the film deals with Israeli patriotism and the hunting down of a Nazi war criminal, “The Surgeon of Birkenau” (Jesper Christensen) The Debt is less about delving deeply into these matters, and more a typical espionage thriller.

The story begins in the late 1990's with Rachel (Helen Mirren) being honored as the topic of her daughter's novel, which is based on Rachel's heroic acts as a Israeli agent in the 60's. Young Rachel is played by the now ubiquitous Jessica Chastain (Tree of Life, The Help). The team consisted of Rachel and two other agents, Stephan (Marton Csokas) and David (Sam Worthington) their mission was to track down Dieter Vogel (The Surgeon of Birkenau), take him alive, and have him returned to stand trial.

As you can imagine, it's not all work; whenever you have two great looking men and one beautiful woman in constant close proximity, only one thing can happen - A love triangle.

On the whole, it's a gripping tale, a lot of places to flinch and worry. I'm not crazy about the casting of the two men that play the aged David (Ciarán Hinds ) & Stephan (Tom Wilkinson). Both Caliber actors to be sure, but neither capture the essence of their former youthful selves. And if anything, the older actors should have switched roles.

Speaking of casting, here's an excerpt of an interview with Madden from Cinemablend.com

Can you elaborate on the physicality of the Rachel character, because both Jessica and Helen Mirren, who plays older Rachel, find themselves in brutal fights scenes, and you don’t appear to be interested in pulling any punches.

Well, I was blessed with two actresses who were completely up for that. And I will stress that everything you see in those scenes was performed by the actresses concerned. I did shoot a version of the Vogel-Rachel fight with stunt performers, but it only lasted a moment before I realized, “OK, we’re not going there!” Instead, the actors did their own stunts, so what you see is exactly what happened.

Both ladies are very disciplined, and they are both fearless. Jessica did a huge amount of work. She trained in Krav Maga, which is a martial arts technique that is used quite widely as a fitness technique in Los Angeles. So she’d gotten herself quite fit for the role and thought, “Well, I’ve never raised an arm to anybody in anger. I better learn how to do this, otherwise I’m never going to convince anybody.

The Jessica “situation” is an extraordinary one, because I cast her before any of these other movies had been made, with the exception of Terrence Malick’s film, which was in its second or third year of gestation at that point.

Martha Marcy May Marlene - Sean Durkin & Elizabeth Olsen Q & A

2011-08-29T23:40:00.006-04:00

Have you heard about Martha Marcy May Marlene? It's been a darling of this year's festival circuit - The title gives the impression four women share top billing, but in actuality newcomer Elizabeth Olsen (cast only two weeks before shooting), is not only the subject of the multiple monikers, she hauntingly carries the full weight of this dark drama; along with some good, creepy assistance by John Hawkes (Winter's Bone).

The film explores the mind altering experience of cult life. A group of mostly 20-something men and women share an old farm house in upper state New York. The initial impression is one of communal, live off the land, find your role, Utopian society. This impression is short-lived and in its place we come to see a Charles Manson-like, bull-shit philosophy, no escape,dangerous type cult.

In fact, we get such a strong sense of the presence of the cult, it's hard to believe the bulk of the film takes place after Martha (Olsen) has escaped and is taken in by her sister (Sarah Paulson) and new brother-in-law (Hugh Dancy). The cult scenes are technically shown in flashback, but I hate to describe it as such, because that cheapens it. Rather, the director creates and uncanny rhythm of past and present that keeps the viewer as off-kilter as Martha herself.

Director Sean Durkin, Actress, Elizabeth Olsen 8/22/2011

This film was shown as part of Philadelphia Film Society's weekly sneak peeks, with the additional bonus of a Q & A with the director, Sean Durkin and lead Elizabeth Olsen. I think the tone of the film had the audience a bit unnerved, as the Q & A had a prickly vibe going on between the audience and Durkin and audience on audience. It seemed most people appreciated the brilliance of the film, but there were a number of I-don't-want-to-think-that-hard movie-goers that wanted Durkin to fill in the blanks and clarify some points of the film. Durkin (who could have been a bit more patient) tried to get across the fact that the film stands on it's own and you bring to it your own interpretation of any parts that seem unclear.

I love the camcorder that comes with my new smart phone, but it simply doesn't capture a subject in a dark room without some additional lighting. So, sorry no video of the Q & A, but here's a little excerpt :

Q: Why was it so dark?

Durkin: That's how we shot it. The scenes are intentionally dark, we wanted a very specific look achieved by underexposing the film and certain treatments. We wanted it to be sort of worn, the way the farm feels, and tried to make it replicate life without movie lights.

Q (to Elizabeth): What did you draw on to get all the complexities of the role?

Olsen: I guess what I focused on was her humiliation or embarrassment; not understanding really where she was, or what happened. That type of embarrassment when you don't really know how to speak about it or want to speak about it. We basically did scene by scene focused on the present and tried not to focus on the larger picture of losing identity, but rather what was tangible scene for scene, which was helpful.

Q (to Elizabeth): How much research did you do?

Olsen: That's really a question for Sean, he did so much research, that he was my research.

Durkin: I read about all the different groups that I could. Starting with some bigger more famous ones of the 60's and 70's and then came more focused on the present local groups across the country. After that I started to speak to people who had visited those groups as outsiders and those that had been a part of a group. I knew I had a general interest in this subject and wanted to make a film about it... and eventually decided to focus on what happens when she leaves and how she adjusts to going back into her old life.

Q: Series of 3 questions regarding plot points.

Durkin: No Comment. I'm sorry, again, I just can't answer, I really don't like to talk about things like that. I mean, I put everything in the movie very precisely, like the amount of information, and I just can't expand on it, cause there's a reason that there's only that much information.

Tinsel & Tine Interview - Eric Bresler (Cinedelphia) Profiled

2011-08-23T23:13:00.030-04:00

It's pouring rain this Sunday as I begin this post, just as it was last Sunday when I met Eric Bresler at The Last Drop Coffeehouse (13th & Pine). Last Drop offers nothing in the way of a breakfast sandwich, so I settled for a chocolate croissant and coffee. Eric is a Naked Juice, non-coffee drinking, vegetarian. This explains his boyish appearance and energetic ability to run several projects at once.

As I mentioned in my previous post - Tinsel & Tine's Dreams and Schemes, Eric was the recipient of a profile interview in celebration of my 100th facebook like. However, as it is my intention to highlight the film scene in Philly whenever possible, interviewing a local film promoter seems like kismet.

Before getting into Cinedelphia, a go to site of film coverage, interviews, reviews, listings, ticket giveaways, event coverage and more! I wanted to chat about Eric's film background. As I suspected, he was an aspiring filmmaker; one who took on a huge undertaking for his 2001 senior project at Drexel University (Film & Video Program). As a Caucasian American, it takes balls to decide to do a documentary on the culture and fanatical followers of Japanese Anime. His film was titled, Otaku Unite. Otaku is the Japanese word for these obsessive fans.

T & T: I can't imagine taking on a project like this, because if you do it wrong, well, wrong in their opinion, these fans are really gonna let you have it in full force!

EB: Hence why they are deserving of a documentary. :)

T & T: How long did it take you to finish?

EB: We started shooting in the fall of 2000 and didn't wrap until the spring of 2003. I spent over a year editing it. Traveled coast to coast multiple times, went to over 20 anime conventions. It debut at the Philadelphia Film Festival in April of 2004. And then went on to have 60 public screenings around the world.

T & T: And can we see it now?

EB: The DVD was released nationwide in April of 06 with 10,000 copies pressed. Around 2007, 2008, a lot of the anime companies started folding, including the company that released the DVD, so it's presently out of print. But there's still some floating around, and all the rights reverted back to me.

T & T: What was the fan reaction to the film?

EB: As you predicted, it was a split amongst the fans; they do take their cartoons quite seriously. A lot of them enjoyed the historical aspects, cause I traced the importation of the animation from the 60's up to the present. Some people thought that I was being condescending, which I tried not to be. I embrace all of Japanese Cinema so anime is a huge part of that.

Although this may have been Eric's only venture into taking on Japanese culture as a filmmaker, he continues to support Japanese film - presently presenting a 6 week screening series called Unknown Japan, in collaboration with the Japan America Society .The screenings take place in a different Philly venue every week from August 10th to September 14th. Featuring all Japanese films that have never been released in the US, in any format. His association with the Japan American Society also included partnering on a charity event to raise funds for the Japan Relief Efforts.

T & T: Okay, on to Cinedelphia.com. You jokingly say that this started out as a way to see free films. But clearly you had more of an agenda in mind. How did cinedelphia become your main focus?

EB: I'm a relentless worker, so I make time to do all these little projects that I'm interested in. The website started off as a listing site of repertory films - IHouse, Colonial Theater, County Theater... I wanted to create one website to bring all of these different showtimes together in one location, so anyone who likes esoteric, off the road cinema, at a glance could say, "Oh, this is playing tonight, and that's playing tomorrow".

We discuss a bit about how lucky we are to have a venue like International House Philadelphia in our midst, and yet it's not fully taken advantage of, not even by the student population. I for one, will mark my calendar with films to see at IHouse and for one reason or another, rarely make it. Eric, however, is a member and sees a good deal of repertory films. That's not to say the Cinedelphia site doesn't cover mainstream movies. It has plenty to offer in terms of covering Indies and studio flicks as well. Eric continues by saying...

EB: Then I started contacting the ad agencies who began giving me access to review mainstream films. Just cause it's a repertory site, I didn't want to leave mainstream cinema out. There's always a gem here or there. And I embrace all film. Then people started reading the reviews and I started doing local news items that slanted towards gossip, which got a ridiculous amount of visits and hits, stuff that really put the website on the map as far as the city goes. But I started feeling guilty, cause I'm not really the gossipy type. So I got out of the gossip business.

T & T: Did you worry about losing your readers when you stepped away from tattle-tale type journalism?

EB: Luckily a lot of the old ones came over. The site continues to be opinionated, but it's not gossipy anymore. I'd like to think it's much more refined and scholarly now. You'll find stuff on local theaters and film related happenings. Last week, I featured Collegeville's New Movie Tavern, and the Secret Cinema event at ICA, the Closing of the TLA Store on Locust Street, we featured 5 movies reviews. Everyday of the week there's something different and I post at least twice everyday.

T & T: I saw that the site says you have an open submission policy. Are you receiving reviews or are you scouring the blogesphere for submissions?

EB: A little of both. There are so many film related blogs and websites in the city.

T & T: Thanks, I saw Tinsel & Tine was listed!

EB: Oh yeah, sure. I was going to say, a lot of them aren't worth your time at all, but about 50% of them are, and Tinsel & Tine is one.

T & T: Are you just posting what you receive or are you sorting through?

EB: Oh, very, very, picky. Extremely picky. Writers have also been sending me pitches and I'll say, great please do it, or not. The requirements being the writers have to be related to film in Philadelphia in some way. It can't just be somebody who likes movies. I like to match the film up thematically with the reviewer.

T & T: So they haven't just been sending you a completed review, you are assigning the screenings?

EB: Oh yeah, like this Friday opens Fight Night, the horror film with Colin Farrell, and I have a local feminist horror blog writer covering it.

I repeat feminist horror blogger aloud, my head filling with an image of green tinted skin, nose wart and cackle, which then in turn becomes the image from Macbeth of the witches around the cauldron, as Eric goes on to say, "They are a group of 3 women who analyze horror films, called Final Girl Support Group, they do a really great job".

I try to shake all thoughts of covens out of my head by thinking, these women could picture me 300lbs, consuming a 7 course meal, while streaming Netflix. When in truth, I've never had more than 3 courses during a film (kidding). At any rate, Eric and I agree that I should begin contributing to Cinedelphia. And I look forward to doing so, however, the last three films he's wanted me to cover, I've had conflicts; still, look for me on the site in the near future.

Being as Bresler was formerly the Manager of a TLA Video store and the former Managing Director of The Philadelphia Film Festival, and I work with both groups as well, we had a lot of common ground to talk about on the subjects of Cinefest, QFest, PFF and The Film Society. To our credit, there's nothing we said that would get either one of us in trouble; the summation mostly being that QFEST is excellent and very important to the city and the Philadelphia Film Festival is exciting because it allows those of us that can't afford Sundance or Cannes to see these film, and often the filmmakers. However, Cinefest is neither here nor there and is perhaps unnecessary.

I guess I would never make a very good hard hitting journalist. I danced around the subject of money with Eric, but never actually asked him, "What do you do for a living?" Yes, he produces a couple of events a year, but from what I gathered, nothing on a scale that would be considered a money maker. He's taught himself webdesign, but I don't believe he's doing other people's sites. Cinedelphia is not making revenue, he views it as part fun, part community service; and he self funded, Otaku Unite. Well, where ever the money is coming from, I say, good for you! My greatest desire is to do away with a day job and I envy and admire anyone who's figured it out.

To wrap up the interview, I ask Eric to name his top 5 best film picks, seen so far this year.

His film school training came out in spades when he answered... "It's been a rough year, ah... let's see... ah... um... I've seen at least 200 films so far this year between theater and at home."

To which I responded, "You've seen 200 films and are having trouble naming 5 you liked?"

To which he replied, " I can give you the 5 I've been surprised by. Films I didn't expect much from, but were better than anticipated - Insidious, Hanna, The Future, Tree of Life, Buck and a bonus one, Senna.

And because this is Tinsel & Tine, I asked about his top 5 favorite Philly restaurants (keep in mind, he's a vegetarian) - Blackbird Pizzeria, Charles Plaza, Pod, Santa Fe Burrito, Golden Empress.

I hope Eric likes his "winning" post and I hope all my readers check out Cinedelphia.com!

Tinsel & Tine's Dreams and Schemes

2011-08-21T14:06:00.003-04:00

Tinsel & Tine's facebook fan page had reached 99 Likes! With the plethora of blogs out there, this was no easy feat. Upon reaching 93, I had started thinking about putting together some kind of dinner and a movie give-away for the person that was my 100th Like.

The pros of writing a blog is that you don't have to answer to, or collaborate with, anyone. The cons being you must do everything yourself: attend events, gather and write content, market/promote and figure out long-term goals and strategy.

So before I had the chance to contact restaurants and distributors and sell them on the idea of giving me a gift certificate and movie passes, respectively; I was already at my 99th Like. That's when I decided this would be a good opportunity to both reward someone following my food and film exploits, and at the same time roll out my new aim and format. Therefore, the prize became a promotional interview on Tinsel & Tine.

Just about everyone you meet anymore is working on something creative; a book, memoir, blog, small business, a cause or charity. I know how hard it is to get your thing out there, cause I'm constantly working on promoting this blog, which is why I really like the idea of trying to help someone in their endeavors.

On facebook, I said I would promote anything as long as it wasn't x-rated or something I found offensive. I got lucky - my 100th Like turned out to be somebody in the Philly film arena - Eric Bresler, former TLA store manager and former Managing Director for The Philadelphia Film Festival. He now runs Cinedelphia, a guide to Philadelphia's repertory film and festival communities. Look for my interview/promotional post on Eric and Cinedelphia in the next day or two.

I enjoy writing my opinions of movies and restaurants and I don't intend to stop doing it; but I never pretended to be a film school trained reviewer or hard to please critic. Nor am I a foodie who likes to study the food channel or have people over to sample my dishes. Going to the movies and dining out are two of my very favorite things to do, but on my own terms, not in comparison to others who delve deeply into each industry.

In re-assessing my passion for Tinsel & Tine, I realized I prefer the posts that promote other people's opinions and highlight what they are working on in terms of film and food. If you've been following T &T you may have already seen the new page I posted last month advertising Dinner and an Interview. I hadn't started promoting it yet because I'm not sure if the entire concept will fly, but I'd like to give it a try:

Tinsel and Tine plans to interview new and emerging filmmakers, producers, actors, restaurateurs and chefs, at the location of a chosen restaurant or featured restaurant.

The bulk of the post will highlight the person and/or project being interviewed, but interspersed will be comments about the restaurant, our meal, the decor, the service, etc...

Here's the catch - the bill's on you! In exchange for the marketable, in-depth, promotional interview post. The interviewee picks up the tab. (entree pricing and caps to be discussed).

Any and all thoughts are welcomed!

Philly Restaurant - Indian Restaurant (1634 South Street)

2011-08-14T20:42:00.006-04:00

I think it's funny that the name of this Indian food restaurant is Indian Restaurant. Makes you wonder if they just gave up on trying to agree on a name.

It's only been open since March, the dining room is new, fresh, nice, not a lot of character, but traditionally decorated, white table cloths, preset with cloth napkins. I arrived for an early dinner today (Sunday) around 4pm and had the place entirely to myself; they seem to do more of a take-out business, although it's very pricey for take-out.

The staff was attentive without being annoying. I sat in the restaurant for over two hours watching a streaming seminar on my phone. Was lucky enough to sit next to an outlet. No one seemed to mind or rush me with the check. Around 6pm two more guests arrived for dinner.

I had the Lamb Saag - tender lamb w/fresh spinach, coriander & other fragrant herbs: 3 Tines.
Entree price $13.95, but does not come w/ naan ( unleavened bread) that was an extra $2.50. The dish was savory and moderately spicy, nothing to rave about, but certainly enjoyable, no complaints.

Link to Good Reivew on Philly Weekly
Link to User Reviews on Menu Pages
Link to User Reviews on Yelp

BYOB and Yes, credit cards are accepted.

***

To read a Tinsel & Tine mini review on the movie The Help
click HERE

Culinary Catch Up - Marrakesh

2011-08-09T22:28:00.000-04:00

Tinsel and Tine has always been a main course of Tinsel and a loving dollop of Tine. Therefore, my restaurant posts often get pushed back a bit, like this one from April.

I went to this incredibly fun Moroccan restaurant with a group of Couch Surfers, the restaurant is called Marrakesh, located just off of South Street (517 Leithgow Street), a 30 year-old business, family owned and operated. The ambiance and size of the establishment is how you'd imagine the tent interior of a wealthy Sheik in the middle of an Oasis.

There was about 35 of us in the group taking up the entire restaurant, split up into groups of 5 or 6 in sections of throw pillows, low tables and mood lighting. No need for menus or ordering, the courses just start coming after our Moroccan Hand washing.

(photo credit: hand washing pitcher is not from the restaurant, but rather from a blog I discovered while looking for an image called The Good Life in Morocco).

At this point in time, I have misplaced my notes on all the incredibly savory courses we enjoyed, of which I believe, there were seven, plus a perfect mint tea finish.

I do remember loving the The B’stella- layered pie with chicken, assorted nuts, almonds, eggs, parsley and onions, topped with confection sugar and traced with cinnamon. - 4 Tines (* Excellent - 4 Tines / * Great - 3 Tines / * Good - 2 Tines / * Fair - 1 Tine / * Poor - Tarnished)

The B’stella

Although this looks like a helluva lot of cash, the meal was a great bargain $30 pp (plus tax and tip). But be sure to hit the ATM before embarking on this exotic culinary journey, as credit cards are not accepted.

Interview: Casper Andreas "Going Down in La La Land"

2011-07-31T11:45:00.016-04:00

What I loved most about blogging during QFest was getting a chance to interview a couple of directors, mostly via e-mail correspondence, but still proud of the end results.

Here's one with the director of the closing night film, Casper Andreas:

Q: What attracted you to the novel “Going Down In LA-LA Land”?

CA: I used to live the struggling actor life in LA about 10 years ago; so I loved the depictions of that world in the novel. I also thought it was interesting why anyone (like the lead character Adam) would think it would be a good idea to get into pornography.

In addition, I really loved some of the characters in the novel — in particular Candy — and I thought it would all lend itself really well to a feature film.

Q: Going Down in La La Land is about the seamier side of the entertainment industry. Any first hand knowledge of the porn world?

CA: No. But I have a friend who worked on the administration side for a company in LA ; he gave me advice on the script in addition to helping me secure some locations and extras for some of those scenes.

Q: Other than comedic, how would you describe your signature style; particularly for viewers who have not yet seen your previous films?

CA: Well, if they haven’t, they should buy them at once!
I guess I’m mostly known for my sexy romantic comedies. This film is a bit darker — more of a dark comedy, or a dramedy, and I like the tone of it a lot. For me, it’s important to make films that are well-acted, nicely shot, and with interesting stories that have something to say, even if on the surface, they might be very light and comedic. So far all my films have been very low-budget; but I work very hard for them to not look low-budget! I think “Going Down in LA-LA Land” is my most ambitious film to date and my sleekest looking film as well.

Q: You founded Embrem Entertainment in 2004. So many filmmakers want to produce and distribute their own films. How hard was it to get Embrem started? And did you have help with financing?

CA: My first film “Slutty Summer” was shot on a micro budget and me and my roommate at the time, who came on as a producer, put up all the money and countless hours into making the film. The success of that film made it easier to get investors for my second one.
Today it’s even more possible to make a great looking film on a tiny budget, if you have some talent and are willing to put the time in. So I would advice anyone who wants to do it, to stop talking about it and go out and do it!

Q: Does Embrem go to film festivals and seek out films to distribute?

CA: I got into distributing my own films as a way to get them released the way I wanted, keep some control, and hopefully be able to pay back my investors faster, but I’m not really interested in distributing anyone else’s films at this time.

Q: The QFest film synopsis says that a strong element to the film is the relationship between the lead Adam and his roommate Candy. Was this the case in the novel? Or did you punch this up for the film?

CA: That was in the novel as well. Candy says and does some hilarious things in the novel that I included in the script. I changed the character a bit from the novel though to make her more likable and a little less of a user. Actually, Candy in the film is also partly inspired by my straight female roommate who I lived with in LA for a while and who like Candy, was always looking for a man to help support her.

Allison Lane who plays the role is fantastic. At screenings so far everyone adores her! I think we succeeded in creating two leading characters who are endearing in all their flaws and who the audiences are rooting for in the end.

Q: And, was it difficult casting to find a Candy that would have the right chemistry with Matthew Ludwinski?

CA: Actually, I cast Allison first. She had a role in my film “A Four Letter Word” and I just loved her and as I was writing the script I knew she would just be perfect for it. I had worked with Matthew as well — he had a role in my film “Between Love & Goodbye” and he was the first person I read for the role of Adam. But since it’s quite a demanding role (Adam is in almost every scene). I felt I needed to see other actors as well; so I auditioned actors both in LA and NYC for the role before offering it to him.
I then had Matthew and Allison meet up and work together on their relationship and they became great friends. It’s funny, at the time of us making the film they were both based in NYC. Matthew moved to LA earlier this year, and now Allison just moved to LA as well, and is staying with Matthew while looking for a place.

Q: What do you love about QFest?

CA: That you play all my films!! QFest has been very supportive of my work over the years – all six of my features, plus a short, has played the festival. “A Four Letter Word” was the opening night film in 2007 and “The Big Gay Musical” was the closing night film in 2009. Last year, “Violet Tendencies” was a centerpiece film. I’m thrilled to be back with another closing night film!

click logo to view video post-screening Q & A with Casper from QFEST closing night

Interview: Scud "Love Actually...Sucks"

2011-07-30T23:46:00.003-04:00

lft to rt: Haze Leung, Scud, Ryo van Kooten

Taking inspiration from six different court cases involving crimes of the heart, Scud examines the intense, often self-destructive sexual longings among several well-to-do young Hong Kong residents – gay, lesbian and straight. The film opens with the most scandalous wedding reception ever put on film: a young couple’s marriage ends (in the most dramatic fashion) before it begins. There is the 30-ish married gym instructor who trolls the active bathroom scene for young flesh; a lesbian couple with roleplay issues; a dance instructor who becomes the object of attraction to his much older student; a married painter who falls for his male model; a brother and sister who take family togetherness a bit too literally; and a young man who becomes increasingly deranged until he takes his love interest problems into his own hands. In Scud’s world, every love story is a fairy tale – but here the stories are sexual and troubling. Overall, a complex, sensual and compelling film. (Cantonese with English subtitles) — Raymond Murray

What I loved most about blogging during QFest was getting a chance to interview a couple of directors, mostly via e-mail correspondence, but still proud of the end results.

Here's one with international director, Scud before the World Premiere of Love Actually... Sucks:

Q: When it comes to love, sex and relationships, What do you hope our QFest audience will take away from this film (Love Actually… Sucks!) ?

Scud: I reckon many audiences may find sympathetic experience from their own love. To me the film is a vibration, a sign, an exclamation to what love is and means to our life, and the fact that passion is often very fateful, as the shopkeeper in the island said to “Spider”: rivals meet, lovers drift apart (a concept in Buddhism). Some love like that just can’t work out in the current life and there is little we can do about it.

Q: Did you do a lot of research on the 6 court cases the film represents? Or did you just use the headlines of these crimes for the beginning idea?

S: Some of those were rather high profile cases, like the “Spider” story which hit the headline a few times, to the extent that we could dress him with the same cloth, interviewed the shopkeeper who met him, and shot at exactly the same location where he spent the last 19 days of his life. For the less covered ones we went to court files to make sure the drama is close to the reality whenever possible.

Q: When shooting, did you film all the scenes of one story completely before shooting the next story?

S: We had to shot the scenes in parallel. The need for so many casts from different parts of the world also limited our options.

Q: How are movies with a lot of sex received in Hong Kong? Are your films able to reach a wide audience?

S: Unfortunately, the film has yet to clear the censorship of both Hong Kong and Taiwan. The Asian especially Chinese community is still very conservative on sex scenes and so called moral issues such as incest. My earlier films actually set precedents for the HK cinemas, like “Amphetamine” caused so much controversies that there was a wide debate on whether we need a censorship body at all.

Q: What are you looking forward to doing in Philadelphia besides attending QFest? When was the last time you were in the United States?

S: I was in a few film festivals in US last year, and just returned from California. I’ve never been to Philadelphia but knowing it was the first capital and major city of USA. I’m very excited to meet the audiences over there and look forward to any questions and discussions about my films in this greatest film market of the world. But sightseeing or the sort is not my cup of tea.

Click logo to view video Q & A of Scud post-screening of Love Actually Sucks at QFest 2011

Commentary - 50 / 50

2011-07-30T22:10:00.002-04:00

Seth Rogen delivers the levity and Joseph Gordon-Levitt delivers the skull cap adorned heart, in this surprisingly funny drama about a 27 year-old battling cancer. Based on the real life of screenwriter, Will Reiser.

Not having read the synopsis before screening, it came as much as a surprise to me to hear Adam (Gordon-Levitt) had cancer, as it did for the character. The working title to this film had been "I'm with Cancer", had that remained the title, instead of 50/50 (reference to his chances of beating the disease), I would have been clued in to know to bring some tissues.

Although, it turns out the film delivers more tears from laughter than from sadness, due to Seth Rogen's quick quips, improvisation and juvenile outlook on life in general.

Adam is a writer/editor for radio, he's a nice guy, keeps in shape, earnest about not being late for work; tries to achieve perfection on even a 2 second spot; and is extremely understanding of his artist girlfriend (Bryce Dallas Howard ) who hasn't had sex with him for 2 months.

Having gone to the doctor with a complaint of minor back pain, it of course comes as a complete shock to Adam to be diagnosed with a rare form of spinal cancer. After this monumental revelation, you expect the film to take on either an overly sentimental journey about life and love; become a Bucket List quest or a "I've got nothing to lose" scenario like Queen Latifah in Last Holiday. It does none of that; but rather, keeps a steady pace. He doesn't go looking for specialists, although this would be the preference of his slightly overbearing mother, played by Angelica Huston. He accepts the hospital offered counselor, a 24 year-old newbie (Anna Kendrick) working on her doctorate with only two former patients under her belt.

In fact, it's Adam's acceptance, well, perhaps acceptance isn't quite the right word, but his ordinariness, that strikes a chord. Not everyone goes on a spiritual journey or completely falls apart when faced with the dreaded "C" word. Some people just follow the course set by their doctors and find themselves just dealing with it day to day.

Thankfully, measured with all of it, is a healthy dose of pop-culture references and a humorous and well-written bromance between Adam and Kyle.

50/50 directed by Jonathan Levine is not set to hit theaters until September 30, 2011.

Commentary - The Tree of Life

2011-07-25T22:18:00.003-04:00

"it is hardly a movie for the masses and will polarize even buffs, some of whom might fail to grasp the connection between the depiction of the beginnings of life on Earth and the travails of a 1950s Texas family." - The Hollywood Reporter

I left this film thinking what a crap role for Sean Penn, I suppose he'd only accept such a non-role from someone considered a mad genius, like Terrence Malick.

I could not engage in the interminably long segment of the film that depicted scenes of nature's glorious wonder, firmament and imagery of creation. I consider myself a spiritual person, but this was just frame after frame, during which, my mind wandered to thoughts of needing to do my laundry when I got home. Then the dinosaurs brought me out of my domestic mental check list, only to think, what the hell do these dinosaurs have to do with the death of someone's son?

Clearly, Malick did not concern himself with the obvious criticism this type of filmmaking inevitably inspires. But for every where's this going? moment, there's countless beautifully quiet, elegantly filmed, simplistic moments of storytelling. If I were to watch the film again, I would ignore the confusion and just be taken in by the depiction of 1950's suburban family life - children idly at play on summer evenings, when it's permissible to stay outside till dark. Mother's who have had their third child at an age when most women today aren't even ready to think about having their first. Stern father's who make their children call them sir, set strict rules, criticize and manhandle their off-spring; and yet at the same time want their children's love, respect and affection. All played with such understanding, by Brad Pitt.

But if you planned to see the movie, because you're a fan of Sean Penn, than you're S.O.L. And please, somebody tell me they also think Jessica Chastain and Bryce Dallas Howard must have been separated at birth! I swore throughout the whole movie that I was watching the latter, until the credits rolled. Oddly enough, they were born in the same year, in the same month, and Jessica's given last name was Howard, although no relation.

RECAP - PFS Screening of 12 Monkeys at Eastern State Penitentiary

2011-07-24T23:13:00.003-04:00

So I'm back, but I have yet to write a post for T & T. I do have several food posts to write, which I plan to combine together in a post called Culinary Catch-Up; which makes me think of ketchup; which is fitting as the post will be just a sprinkle or flavoring of meals I've enjoyed.

I also plan to re-blog 2 or 3 of the filmmaker interviews I did for QFest on the Qblog. But for now, all I've had a chance to do is PFS blog post for this month's filmadelphiaClassics - 12 Monkeys.(Click to read)

Tinsel & Tine Mini-Hiatus

2011-07-06T16:31:00.001-04:00

As previously mentioned, I was hired to write posts, fb & tweet out social media for Philadelphia Cinema Alliances' QFEST 2011! The festival runs July 7th - 18th, but I've been at it steadily for the last two weeks; so be sure to check out the Qblog.

Now that I'm blogging for both film organizations in Philadelphia, a full-time career in this arena can't be far away!?

Actually, I had some apprehension about accepting the QFest gig for three reasons:

1) As many Philly readers know, there once was only one non-profit film association, until a couple of years ago when there was a nasty split. I never chose sides; just got lucky that Philadelphia Film Society asked if I'd blog for them since I was covering Philly film events on T & T anyway. Still, when Qfest contacted me, I did feel pangs of disloyalty. But no worries, all is fine. I'll return to PFS after QFest and they will benefit from the smartphone/camcorder/wireless modem I bought for QFest, and will use when hired to blog for The Philadelphia Film Festival coming in October.

2) I recently started a day gig through a temp agency. After being out of work for over a year, and getting close to living in my car, I'm not looking to jeopardize steady income for a freelance job, no matter how much I'd prefer to be blogging. But by the grace, a flex schedule was approved that hopefully will work for both sides and me!

3) I'm Not Gay! Won't the QFest audience be looking for a voice similar to their own? Probably, to that end, for my first blog post, I attempted a Darling Diva persona, an adore me and take me under your wing approach. (See PDF below). But this was shot down by the powers that be at PCA.

QFEST2011BlogIntro

Thankfully, they'd prefer I be pretty much voiceless. I'm just gathering materials, updating, editing, formatting, posting and any writing is as the commericialized "we" for the festival.

So, this will be my last post until after the 20th of July. Although, I may have a couple of tidbits for the T &T facebook page in between time.

Thanks for reading! Wish me luck!

Tinsel & Tine on Facebook Weekending 7/1/2011

2011-07-01T23:36:00.003-04:00

I'm finding it much easier to maintain a Tinsel & Tine facebook page than a blog; especially now that I've finally gone back to work (well, long temp assignment) and began blogging and posting social media for the upcoming QFEST ! (Philadelphia's LGBT Film Festival). No, all my bad dates have not turned me against men, but a blogging gig's, a blogging gig. More on QFest in upcoming post.

I've discovered a quick thought on facebook is rather cathartic, it lets me express myself, without the long ordeal of writing, re-writing, formatting, linking, posting pictures etc... I do love blogging, but if you're a blogger reading this post, you know this medium can be quite time consuming. So, I've compiled a couple of screen shots of stuff I've posted on facebook recently; this way those readers that have not yet "liked" my page... hint, hint. Can see I'm still alive.

Speaking of liking the page - I'm just 5 away from 100! A major milestone in the life of Tinsel & Tine. I want to give away some kind of prize, but I haven't had a chance to contact a sponsor who may be willing to be a part of the celebration/promotion and supply a gift certificate to a movie or restaurant (both would be excellent!) to the person who becomes my 100th like. Again, any restaurant or film association reading this.. hint, hint.

Commentary - The Trip (Food in Film Flick)

2011-06-23T15:44:00.001-04:00

Sometimes being a good blogger is being a good re-blogger.

I saw the food in film British Indie, The Trip (Philadelphia Film Society sneak preview) almost two weeks ago and haven't had a chance to do a write up. Today, when I went to begin doing some behind the scenes research on the film, this review caught my eye. It's a really good assement of the film and wonderfully, succintly written.

Review by Sanela Djokovic for Tribeca 2011

Michael Caine, Sean Connery, Al Pacino— that is a more than decent cast, but they only appear in The Trip, via concrete impressions from shining British comedians Rob Brydon and Steve Coogan. A hundred minutes of great impressions might have been amply entertaining, but the ceaseless piercing repartee and lack of wild escapades puts a much-needed, brisk and smart spin on the road-trip comedy.

Brydon and Coogan play fictionalized versions of themselves in The Trip, and reunites them with director Michael Winterbottom (Tristram Shandy: A Cock and Bull Story). In the film Coogan’s girlfriend is taking a break from him, leaving a whole in the plans they have already made to spend five days up north in the country side, taking in the lush or the land and visiting restaurants with extravagant menus. He invites his domesticated comedian buddy Brydon to join him and so begins a long series of chaffing exchanges and heated debates. However, beyond the banter exists some heavy character analysis. While, Brydon is comfortable with both his career and his domestic life, Coogan is feeling lost in both. His unattached lifestyle has lead him to forty-something and still not the boyfriend, the father or the actor he wants to be.

When the serious talk is cloaked in the comedic exchanges (bickering over their future eulogies or discussing whether they would allow their children to suffer from a short, fleeting sickness if it insured them an Oscar win) it is really a perfect, hilarious amalgamation. But, there are points during The Trip, where Coogan’s self-reflection feels overstated and gloomy, causing somewhat of a weird shift.

The Trip, was edited into a feature film from a six-part sitcom that aired in the UK last year. That may explain the shift— maybe its all in the editing. It may suffer at the hands of its pace and a tad bit of melodrama at times, but Coogan and Brydon are just too good together and create engaging comedy

Tinsel & Tine additions: Although there are many beautifully filmed scenes of 4 star chefs preparing some, succulent and some, unique looking dishes; including lollipops made out of duck fat, grassy looking salads prepared in miniture little edible bags, and a foamy, ginger beer and whiskey concoction, Brydon sums up un-apetizingly as tasting a bit like snot - The film and food aspects of the movie didn't gell together as a whole. Coogan & Brydon's scenes of banter across the table from each other are the best parts of the movie; but when they cut to the actual food preparation, it feels like a commercial interlude.

I've tried to find the name of the food stylist for The Trip and can't seem to come up with anything, so perhaps these scenes are just stock footage of culinary creations.

The film's food foolishness: A waiter describes the latest dish brought to the table as cooked in it's own juices- Brydon: If I were cooked in my own juices, I'm sure I couldn't manage a thimbleful. Scallops resting on a bed of rice - Brydon: resting is rather optimistic, they're dead.