As I Lay Dying movie review

Most people are curious about death. According to Captain James Hook(nemesis of Peter Pan), "Death is the only adventure". This movie may help give you insights about it. What makes it interesting for me was not only that James Franco was in it but he directed it as well. I first saw James Franco as Harry Osborne in the first Spider-Man trilogy by Sam Raimi.

Photo courtesy of Millennium Films

I saw him recently when he played himself in an apocalyptic comedy "This Is The End" where I tried to figure out if this were the real him behind the camera. But it was a revelation for me to find out that Franco can direct not just any movie but an independent movie.

The movie is a new cinematic experience for me. Not only that it is adapted from Willliam Faulkner's novel but how Franco delivered the movie. You can see two alternate perspective happening at the same time. It was shown in tho halves of the screen just like in the TV series 24.

Another revelation in this movie was Danny McBride, who is known to do comedy movies. This is probably the first time I saw McBride doing a serious movie if I recall correctly. He also have worked with Franco in comedies like Your Highness and This Is The End.

I watched As I Lay Dying exclusively at MyCinema.

Sneak Peek: Mumbai Love

It is often said true love, like gold, must pass the “test of fire”.

This story is not just another love story. This is the love story of two people from two different sides of the world, separated by culture and tradition yet strongly bound by pure and true love for each other.

Here is Nandi, a self-made Indian-Filipino, who believes in his heart that somewhere in this world he will find his soulmate through destiny. His parents, however, still cling to the revered Indian tradition of choosing the right partner for their son. Ella, on the other hand, is a young Filipina businesswoman who sources accessories for a jewelry shop in Makati. Her work brings her to Mumbai, India where she didn’t expect to meet the man of her dreams.

By some magic of fate, the two meet in the majestic city of Mumbai where Nandi and Ella start up a friendship and romance. Nandi takes Ella to the most interesting and colorful places in Mumbai such as the center of arts and culture, the sacred temples and museums and historical sites of Mumbai where Ella begins to fall in love with the people, culture and landscape. Nandi,  the young man from India who showed her the magnificent beauty of India has quickly captivated her heart.

However, an emergency in Ella’s home office suddenly happens forcing her to leave for home without even letting Nandi know, not even give him her cellphone number or any contact info, to the latter’s frustration. Not giving up that easily on his quest for his love, Nandi seeks the help of his cousin Romni and both fly to Manila to look for Ella. This time lady luck smiles on Nandi who is able to find Ella in Manila and they start from where they left off in Mumbai.

But their sweet love must face more conflicts such as deeply respected age-old traditions of their different cultures. Will this interracial love prevail in the end or will love give way to tradition?

Mumbai Love is directed by multi-awarded director Benito Bautista and is distributed by Solar Entertainment Corporation.

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                                                                                                                 – EMY ABUAN

VINCE VAUGHN FATHERS 533(!) CHILDREN IN “DELIVERY MAN”

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Vince Vaughn has starred in some of the biggest box office comedies of the past decade, winning over audiences with his characteristic deadpan delivery and scathing sense of humor. Having played the lovable Everyman many times before, DreamWorks Pictures' new heartwarming comedy “Delivery Man” serves as a departure for him as an actor. A touching story filled with honesty and hope – in addition to humor – the film gives audiences a glimpse of a more mature Vince Vaughn. 

 

Photo courtesy of Dreamworks Pictures

“Delivery Man” tells the story of affable underachiever David Wozniak (Vaughn) whose anonymous donations to a fertility clinic 20 years earlier resulted in 533 children. David must now embark on a journey that leads him to discover not only his true self but also the father that he could become.

Now married and the father to two children of his own, Vaughn was drawn to the role of David Wozniak as he wanted to address the issues of balancing life and family from a fresh perspective.

“It’s a great premise that is a little bit crazy,” says Vaughn, “but underneath it all the movie is about family, about connection and about finding your way, so it has a lot of heart to it. The movie deals with real issues that families go through, what people go through in life trying to find their way and be successful, in a very authentic way. But there’s also an underlying optimism, warmth and love to the film that’s very powerful and funny.”

David is the eldest of three sons in the Wozniak family. He works for the family’s Brooklyn-based meat business with his father and brothers, but is a constant foul-up, albeit a loveable and likeable one. “David is a strange character,” explains producer André Rouleau. “Maybe he is not the best man in the world, but he’s got a big heart, and that’s why people love him.”

David’s past comes back to haunt him when he learns that the anonymous donations he made to a fertility clinic years ago under the pseudonym “Starbuck” have produced 533 Wozniak descendants, resulting in a paternity nightmare.

Adds Vaughn, “David is a guy who hasn’t grown up. He’s still very childlike in a lot of ways. He doesn’t have a lot of adult responsibility and he realizes that his girlfriend is pregnant. He owes money to some mobsters who are getting impatient and are giving him some pretty rough coaxing, and he’s constantly late on his bills.”

Writer/director Ken Scott was thrilled to give Vaughn the chance to tackle the role of David Wozniak. “It's always about how this impacts David's character,” Scott says. “So, for me, it was very important to find a great actor, someone good with comedy, someone who was strong enough to carry the whole movie on his shoulders, and someone who we would want to follow on this journey. Vince was very passionate about this story, he loved the story, he loved the character, obviously, and he has the talent to carry this movie. I felt he was perfect for this role.”

The filmmakers knew after just one meeting with Vaughn that they had found the right man. executive producer Scott Mednick recalls, “As we walked out to my car, the three of us looked at each other and said, ‘My God, he's David!’ Vince brings a depth and a heart to the role that I think audiences are not expecting … he does an amazing job. He takes this film on his back and delivers, for my nickel, the performance of his life.”

“He’s showing us another dimension of his major talent,” adds executive producer Mark Sourian. “Vince has always given great comedic performances. Now, with ‘Delivery Man,’ audiences get to see more of his versatility and depth as an actor. I think Vince was happy to play a part that was different from the roles he's had in the past. He definitely brings something amazing and unique to the character of David. I think, as a new father himself, he brought a personal understanding of the situation that nobody else could have performed as well.”

“Delivery Man” is a DreamWorks Picture distributed by Walt Disney Studios International.

OLAF, THE ADORABLE SNOWMAN IN “FROZEN”

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He’s Olaf and he likes warm hugs. Sprung from the Snow Queen’s magical powers, Olaf is by far the friendliest snowman to walk the mountains above Arendelle, in Walt Disney Animation Studios' stunning big-screen comedy-adventure “Frozen.” 

 

Photo courtesy of Disney Studios

His innocence, outgoing personality and uncanny ability to disassemble himself at good and not-so-good times lead to some awkward, albeit laughable moments. He may also have the world’s most impossible dream, but what he doesn’t know won’t melt him—or will it?

Comedian Josh Gad (“The Internship,” “JOBS”) lends his voice to the affable snowman. “While technically he doesn't have one, Olaf’s got the biggest heart in the world,” says Gad. “He lives to love. And he really cares deeply about these new friends he’s found—Anna, Kristoff and Sven. The joy that he has in experiencing this family for the first time is the truth of the film that the audience will relate to the most.”

In “Frozen,” fearless optimist Anna (voice of Kristen Bell) sets off on an epic journey—teaming up with rugged mountain man Kristoff (voice of Jonathan Groff) and his loyal reindeer Sven—to find her sister Elsa (voice of Idina Menzel), whose icy powers have trapped the kingdom of Arendelle in eternal winter. Encountering Everest-like conditions, mystical trolls and a hilarious snowman named Olaf, Anna and Kristoff battle the elements in a race to save the kingdom.

“Olaf represents that pure innocence and childhood joy,” says director Jennifer Lee. “The minute we imbued him with that, he just took off. He’s funny in a way that children are funny. He’s completely unaffected by the world. He’s the one character who isn’t struggling with fear versus love. He is love.”

“Olaf went through many iterations in development,” continues Lee. “He had so much potential. We found him as soon as we asked, ‘How does a snowman think?’ I started writing Olaf as a pre-teen boy—maybe 12—who’s playful, direct, more sophisticated than a little boy, but still innocent. Then Josh Gad came in and we decided to play with the character in the scene in which Anna and Kristoff meet him for the first time. We had a blast adlibbing and discovering exactly who Olaf is. It was perfect. We never re-recorded that scene.

“There's something so poignant and emotional about Olaf that makes him effortlessly funny,” Lee adds. “I don't think anyone could do that but Josh.”

“We want to ground the comedy and drama within the characters and situations,” notes producer Peter Del Vecho. “Olaf is one of the funniest characters in the movie, but he also has an innocent view of the world, which allows him to say things that go right to the heart very quickly.”

Filmmakers hoped to take full advantage of what Olaf offered in terms of his snowman construction, so they called on the technology team to create software called Spaces that allowed artists to deconstruct the character—and rebuild him—as part of the animation process. “For the animation team, Olaf was like a giant toy box,” says director Chris Buck. “He’s made up of three balls of snow that can break apart and come together in different ways. His eyes can move around, his nose can slide in and out and off. His stick arms came off. Animators could do anything with him.”

Frozen” is distributed by Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures International through Columbia Pictures.

“THE SECRET LIFE OF WALTER MITTY” AUSTRALIAN PREMIERE

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                In attendance at the recently concluded Australian (Sydney) premiere of the upcoming adventure comedy “The Secret Life of Walter Mitty are Ben Stiller and Kristen Wiig.

                Ben Stiller produces and stars in the movie where no one really knows the power of the private dreams inside our heads  . . . until they inspire our reality.  That’s what happens in Ben Stiller’s contemporary rethink of one of the most influential fantasy stories of all time – indeed the quintessential tale about the irresistible allure of fantasizing: James Thurber’s “The Secret Life of Walter Mitty.”  Stiller has taken that two-and-a-half page 1939 classic and opened it up into a 21st Century comic epic about a man who finds that his real life is about toblow his wildly over-active imagination out of the water.

                “The Secret Life of Walter Mitty” opens January 22 in theaters from 20^th Century Fox to be distributed by Warner Bros.

SUNDANCE FILM FESTIVAL WINNER “AFTERNOON DELIGHT”

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Fresh from her remarkable hilarious role in the movie “We’re The Millers” with Jennifer Aniston, Katherine Hahn’s  talent shines through in her first starring role in “Afternoon Delight” about a stay at home mom whose sexual awakening came in her 30s when everything looks just perfect.  

 

Photo courtesy from Axinite digicinema

                Hahn plays Rachel, a quick-witted and lovable yet tightly coiled woman living within the affluent Silver Lake neighborhood.  At first glance, with their chic modern home, successful husband, adorable child and a hipster wardrobe, you’d think Rachel is living in full bliss until she felt the stabbing reality of emptiness when left alone at home and ponders on her lackluster sex life.  

                Spicing things up, she decides to visit a strip club and gets a private dance from McKenna (played by Juno Temple) and something cracks open in Rachel.  Inspired by the experience, Rachel returns to the club to get to know McKenna, soon after adopts her as a live-in nanny.  This bold move unleashes unimagined and colorful waves of change into Rachel’s life, marriage and community.

                Director Jill Soloway who came to prominence writing and producing episodes for the hit television series “Six Feet Under” helms “Afternoon Delight” as her directorial debut.  Fresh from winning her Dramatic Directing Award in this year’s Sundance Film Festival, Soloway shares that, “Beyond the comedic and cinematic concepts that were on my mind, I made a few feminist choices while writing. Often, when the Madonna/Whore trope turns up in popular entertainment, the bad girl gets thrown under the bus or otherwise metaphorically murdered so that the movie can fulfill a typical Hero’s Journey plot. I am deeply interested in another possibility, a less-told Heroine’s Journey that unravels in the shape of contiguous spirals. These interconnected circles form an emotional roller coaster for the audience as we allow dual protagonists to repeatedly switch places; both women veer through right and wrong multiple times,” shares Soloway.

                Soloway was moved by the idea of a female main character who could be an unlikely, complicated and utterly real screw-up of a woman.  Having seen the Seth Rogens, the Jack Blacks and Albert Brooks as lovable but nebbish-y wrong-headed male leads, with the women presented as beautiful and perfect and interested in making great choices, Hahn’s role as Rachel in “Afternoon Delight” aims to remind us that women want the same thing from movies that any audience wants from life-- emotional honesty, raw comedy and the humanness of true flaws.

                Winning the Directing Award at Sundance 2013 was a complete shock and a huge thrill for Soloway, “It is so validating. I’m so excited to share this film as it premieres and travels the world. And as for the future, I can’t wait to do this kind of work again and again.”

                “It turns out everyone has lived the story about how easy it is to distract yourself-- from yourself-- with an idea about helping. It can be easier for people to open up when there’s a transaction-- financial or otherwise-- at play. But the loudest, clangiest bell has been the notion of how hard it is to keep having great sex in a long-term relationship. The moments of self-recognition in our collaborators and audiences around this truth have been revelatory. Ultimately, if this film were known for one thing, I’d want it to be a loved, hilarious, and relatable exploration of marriage and relationship in our highly connected, disconnected era,” concludes Soloway.

                Rated R-16, “Afternoon Delight” is released and distributed from Axinite Digicinema, Inc.