Category Archives: movies

April 23, 2013 · 9:28 pm

Interview: ZINEB OUKACH

If you’ve been watching the hit show, “Alien Dawn,” on Nicktoons, then you know all about the mysterious character, Stella, played by Zineb Oukach. If you’re new to it, you’ll want to check it out here. And you’ll want to catch up with Zineb Oukach. Her next role is in Martin Scorsese’s “The Wolf of Wall Street,” in theaters November 15, 2013. You can view details here.

“Alien Dawn” is a wonderful sci-fi show for all ages that gives you a healthy dose of adventure involving X-Files-type conspiracies and aliens from outer space. Keeping it real and relatable is a great cast for this character-driven show. There’s Cameron (played by Aaron Sauter); his best pal, Boris (played by Kenny Sosnowski); his close friend, Lucy (played by Christina Caradona); and his rival, Pierce (played by Nick Wincenc). Add to the mix, Stella, who is, and isn’t, what she seems. It’s pretty crazy. And definitely entertaining.

Zineb is a thoughtful, down-to-earth soul, who is also very passionate and full of energy. It was a pleasure to get a chance to interview her. She shares with us her growing up in Casablanca, her study of acting in Paris, and her taste for science fiction and action movies. Don’t be surprised if you should find her in one of your favorite action movies in the future. For now, she has another movie project she’s working on and, of course, she is looking forward to “The Wolf of Wall Street.”

Our interview is just below:

Visit Zineb are her website here.

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Filed under Alien Dawn, Entertainment, Martin Scorsese, movies, Nickelodeon, Nicktoons, Sci-Fi, science fiction, Television, Zineb Oukach

Tagged as Entertainment, Martin Scorsese, Movies, Nickelodeon, Nicktoons, Pop Culture, Science Fiction, Television, Zineb Oukach

April 18, 2013 · 7:33 am

RADICAL STUDIOS ANNOUNCES OBLIVION APP FOR MOBILE DEVICES

OBLIVION, the new sci-fi blockbuster, starring Tom Cruise, began as a graphic novel. It was based on the graphic novel that was developed by director Joseph Kosinski and Radical Studios. Wouldn’t it be cool to get a look at the creative process behind that? Well, there’s an app for that! Press release follows:

RADICAL STUDIOS ANNOUNCES OBLIVION APP FOR MOBILE DEVICES
Radical Interactive creates an app featuring the source material behind OBLIVION

In advance of the nationwide release of Universal Pictures’ and Radical Studios’ action, sci-fi film Oblivion, for wide release April 19, 2013, Radical Interactive has launched an app that lets audiences explore the source material behind the movie. Being released as a new interactive reading experience called Radical Universe- Oblivion for iPhone and Android, users will have the opportunity to explore 3D artwork and read the first chapter of the story that inspired the incredible new movie, OBLIVION.

“Radical Universe -Oblivion is an interactive reading experience that is the predecessor to the film,” said Bryan Chamchoum, Director of Interactive Media at Radical Studios. Developed by Radical Studios and powered by Radical Interactive, the Radical Universe -Oblivion app features ten interactive scenes pulled directly from the source material and the first chapter of the story, which was first introduced at San Diego Comic-Con 2010. Users can navigate through each image to explore specs and details about the world that inspired the movie. This app is a must for OBLIVION and sci-fi fans everywhere.

Radical Universe -Oblivion is available for download via the App Store on iPhone and Google Play on Android. For more information, please visit http://www.radicalstudios.com/.

ABOUT THE FILM: OBLIVION
A dynamic cinematic saga, OBLIVION chronicles the journey of Jack Harper (Tom Cruise) in a post-apocalyptic Earth. After decades of war with an alien race, known as the Scavs, Earth has been devastated. Jack, a war veteran turned drone repairman, is one of the few humans left living on our planet. An unforeseen discovery on the job leads him to question everything he knows, propelling him on a journey of adventure and danger. Turning against everything he knows, Jack fights to save mankind.

The film is directed by Joseph Kosinski, screenplay by Joseph Kosinski, Michael Arndt and Karl Gajdusek and based on the graphic novel that was developed by Joseph Kosinski and Radical Studios. OBLIVION is produced in conjunction with Universal Pictures, Chernin Entertainment, Ironhead Studios and Truenorth Entertainment. The film will be released on April 19, 2013.

ABOUT RADICAL STUDIOS
Radical Studios is a multimedia studio business model centralized around a catalog of stories and characters that are used as a basis for generating revenue streams across all media channels. The company is currently focused on building strong and diversified licensing revenue for its intellectual properties in both domestic and international markets, in physical and digital publishing, feature films, television, merchandise, recorded music, digital and online media applications and mobile and social games.

Be social with Radical and OBLIVION at:
http://facebook.com/radicalpublishing
@radicalstudios
@oblivionmovie

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Tagged as Entertainment, Movies, Pop Culture, Sci-Fi, Science Fiction

April 17, 2013 · 8:19 pm

DISNEY’S THE LONE RANGER Cast Live Q&A

Here is your chance to ask a question to the cast of Disney’s THE LONE RANGER, out in theaters July 3.

The Q&A is live and going on now right HERE.

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Tagged as Disney, Entertainment, Johnny Depp, lone ranger, Movies, Pop Culture, theaters

April 10, 2013 · 9:54 pm

Movie Review: SAFETY NOT GUARANTEED

I watch a lot of movies and I sometimes take it for granted that you do too, that you’ve already seen this or that cool movie. Or maybe I’m stacked to the gills with pop culture and it’s hard sometimes to know which direction to point my noggin in and start writing. Case in point, SAFETY NOT GUARANTEED Wow, I think there’s a lot of folks out there that are still playing around with the meme that inspired this fine indie flick. It has, for starters, the hero of indieland, Mark Duplass. That man was born to command the indie screen. Catch him in YOUR SISTER’S SISTER with the ever lovely Emily Blunt.

Anyhow, this was one story and then it became quite another more intricate one. As for where the meme came from, the early age of the internet, 1997. A popular magazine about rural living entitled, “Backwoods Home Magazine” had some extra space to fill on one of its pages. So, senior editor John Silveira filled it with a poetic fake ad. Pretty decent, a decade before Twitter: Someone to go back in time with me…Safety not guaranteed. I have only done this once before.” Jay Leno picked it up for his stupid ad routine on “The Tonight Show,” even though it doesn’t reveal someone for being stupid and so a meme was eventually born.

Next up for that delightful little meme, director Colin Trevorrow and writer Derek Connolly turn it into a fanciful, quirky movie. We begin with a meeting at a slick Seattle magazine. Everyone is throwing out ideas. An editor decides he’d love to do something with this oddball ad so a team is created: one cynical reporter and two very green interns. They all jump into an SUV and, if they’re not careful, this will just be another hack job by Jeff (Jake Johnson). The two interns appear to be useless. Arnau (Karan Soni) seems to be an uptight killjoy. Darius (Aubrey Plaza) seems to be an apathetic slacker. But, given a little time, magic occurs in more ways than one. It turns out, that Darius isn’t really a slacker. Given the opportunity, she invests in turning their questionable quest into a worthwhile story.

But there’s more. Kenneth (Mark Duplass), the guy who wrote the oddball ad about time traveling isn’t an obvious nut job. He’s kind, intelligent, and somebody that Darius can’t easily dismiss. And, you guessed it, Jeff and Arnau also grow as characters but in unexpected ways. It’s the evolution of Darius and Kenneth that really captivates. With a delicate touch, this movie will make you believe anything is possible.

So, yeah man, this the prefect time to support this movie. As you probably know, there is a more to the life cycle of any movie that its initial theatrical release. SAFETY NOT GUARANTEED is now available on DVD and Blu-ray. Visit the movie’s website here.

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Filed under Aubrey Plaza, Independent Film, Indie, Mark Duplass, Movie Reviews, movies, science fiction, Seattle, Time Travel

Tagged as Aubrey Plaza, backwoods home magazine, Mark Duplass, Movie Reviews, Movies, Science Fiction, Time Travel

April 10, 2013 · 6:56 pm

The Collected Stammers of Woody Allen

Thanks to two devoted editors at The Huffington Post, Oliver Noble and Ben Craw, we now have a collection of Woody Allen stammers. I think it demonstrates how I feel on many days. If you let it, it starts to sound like a language all its own. He’s actually expressing himself better than mere words could communicate. He’s gotten a bum rap for not being a very good actor but I think this shows him to be a pretty decent one. With gibberish and nervous body movement, he represents the frustration we all feel. Anyway, I’m a big fan.

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Filed under Comedy, Humor, movies, Woody Allen

Tagged as Comedy, Entertainment, frustration, huffington post, Humor, Movies, Woody Allen

April 10, 2013 · 4:23 am

Movie Review: KISS THE WATER

“Kiss The Water” is a documentary that functions much like a mystery. We never see the subject of this documentary, except of a fleeting view of archival footage at the end which helps to obscure rather than reveal. Most fitting for such an enigmatic character. The filmmaker, Eric Steel, begins by telling us about one of his daily habits, that of reading The New York Times obituaries looking for inspiration from life stories. About ten years ago, he caught a particularly interesting prospect: It was for a December 11, 2001 obit entitled, “Megan Boyd, Eccentric Master of Fish Flies, Dies at 86.” The article sounded pretty intriguing, beginning with the word, “eccentric.” It is the eccentrics of the world who get things done.

And so a documentary came to life. It is made up of a series of reminiscences by those who knew Megan Boyd and intertwined with haunting animation, led by Em Cooper. Add to this the lingering cinematography of Ole Bratt Birkeland and the brooding score by Paul Cantelon, and it all conspires to transport you to a lonely but beguiling patch of land and sea at the end of the world, Brura, Scotland, to be precise.

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Filed under animation, Documentaries, Movie Reviews, movies, New York City, Tribeca Film Festival

Tagged as Documentaries, Film, Movie Reviews, Movies, New York City, Tribeca Film Festival

March 26, 2013 · 11:03 pm

INTERVIEW: ROBERT NATHAN, Director of “LUCKY BASTARD”

Catherine Annette as Casey in “Lucky Bastard”

“Lucky Bastard” is a thriller that delivers on many levels. You can read my review here. This is an intelligent satire that digs deep into the dark recesses residing within all of us. Director and co-writer Robert Nathan was kind enough to take some time and discuss his film as well as share his thoughts on some of the more disturbing aspects of the current zeitgeist.

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Filed under Media, Movie Reviews, movies, pop culture, Porn, Pornography, Reality TV, Satire, Sex

Tagged as Entertainment, george foster peabody, john schlesinger, Movies, mystery writers of america, Pop Culture, Reality Television, white house correspondent

March 26, 2013 · 4:12 am

Movie Review: LUCKY BASTARD

When the history of today’s movies is written, there will be a special chapter dedicated to the influence of reality TV. There already exist some books but we’re just beginning to bite into this meaty subject (Consider CATFISH and REALITY SHOW). It has been around with us long enough to have developed a reality of its own with its own conciets. We accept a nice house loaded with hidden cameras as par for the course. We accept nonactors embarking upon a unscripted train wreck. And, sadly, we accept that human beings can too easily allow themselves to become subhuman. That last one is classic and transcends the here and now. In the case of “Lucky Bastard,” it is aiming to be a classic and it succeeds to a great extent.

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March 21, 2013 · 10:05 pm

BEAUTIFUL CREATURES: Blu-ray Combo Pack, DVD and Digital Download 5/21 from Warner Bros. Home Entertainment Group

“Beautiful Creatures” is the first installment of the new kid on the block of young adult budding franchises. This time around, it’s all about witches, or “casters,” thank you very much.

You can get “Beautiful Creatures” on Blu-ray Combo Pack, DVD and Digital Download starting on May 21, 2013. Read the Comics Grinder review HERE.

Press release follows:

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Filed under Horror, movies, Supernatural, Young Adult

Tagged as emma thompson, Entertainment, Horror, Movies, Pop Culture, Supernatural

March 21, 2013 · 9:00 pm

GUEST COLUMN: Webs in David Lynch’s Closet? by R.W. Watkins

Here is an unusual essay that argues that the screenplay for David Lynch’s “Blue Velvet” was lifted from classic “Amazing Spider-Man” comics. Republished with permission, this essay originally appeared in The Comics Decoder by poet/cultural subversive R. W. Watkins:

Webs in Lynch’s Closet?
Similarities Between Blue Velvet and Early Spider-Man
by R.W. Watkins

Like the classic Stan Lee-era Amazing Spider-Man comics (1963-c.1972), the films and television series of David Lynch depend on a precise combination of suspense, melodrama and jet-black humour amidst a cast of extreme and offbeat characters. This is certainly more true of Lynch’s 1986 neo-noir masterpiece Blue Velvet than any of his other celluloid creations for the big and small screens. In fact, one can make a reasonably sound argument that Blue Velvet not only resembles early Amazing Spider-Man in its tone and aberrant dynamics, but indeed also owes a great deal to the actual early plots and characters of the classic comic magazine.

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