By Dave Montalbano

http://cinemadave.livejournal.com

Since the inception of Flicks almost 14 summers ago, the Observer has covered local film festivals and conventions. With school wrapping up this week, there is an opportunity to howl at the moon at Fatality Fest, the first horror movie convention in South Florida since 2005.

Starting Friday night and continuing until Sunday in West Palm Beach, Fatality Fest, will feature Grim Reaper Reptiles, face painting and a silent auction to benefit Scares that Care, an IRS approved 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization that provides money, toys and other items to help sick children. There will be opportunities to meet established movie actors from modern and classic horror movies of the last 30 years.

With her motivational and acting seminars, guest Dee Wallace has become a staple on the convention circuit, with credits in The Lords of Salem, Halloween and The Howling. Recently released on DVD, Wallace can also be seen in Hansel & Gretel as Lilith, the wicked witch. Ironically, Wallace is best known for her maternal roles in Cujo and E.T. the Extra- Terrestrial.

Had things worked out differently, Wallace would have played Oliver Robins’ mother. Instead Oliver Robins, another fest guest, played the son of Jobeth Williams and Craig T. Nelson in Poltergeist. Released one month before E.T. The Extra-Terrestrial, both films were produced by Steven Spielberg.

Now in his 30s, Robins is currently an independent film producer himself. A graduate of Southern California film program, Robins wrote You’ve Got a Friend, a Hallmark Channel Original Movie.

Another class act, Ernie Hudson, known for Ghost busters and Modern Family, returns to South Florida after seven years.

Camille Keaton, the granddaughter of silent screen legend Buster Keaton, will be signing autographs for her best known movie I Spit on Your Grave.

Last, but not least, our resident Scream Queen, Linnea Quigley, will be in attendance, along with her Corpses are Forever co-star, Debbie Rochon.

These are just a few of the long list of guests who will be in attendance. Given the local enthusiasm of the promoters and volunteers, this inaugural Fatality Fest in South Florida should be something special.

For information, visit www.fatalityfest.com/

By Dave Montalbano

http://cinemadave.livejournal.com

As one would expect, Renoir is a pure art house movie, with a slow pace and gorgeous cinematography. Not quite a historical drama, the characters linger in a way that one wants to learn more about the subjects – the family Renoir. In terms of the summer Blockbuster season, Renoir is the quiet vacation for people who want to get away from it all.

This movie would have been more accurately titled Renoirs, for it is a generational story about a father and his son. Painter Pierre- Auguste Renoir (Michel Bouquet) is a crippled father who has yet to create his final masterpiece (The Bathers) with a paint brush, oils and optimal sunlight. A wounded warrior, Jean Renoir (Vincent Rottiers) limps through his father’s garden and talks about new things, like airplanes and moving pictures. Andrée Heuschling (Christa Theret) is the object of both men’s eyes. She is the muse who poses nude for Papa Renoir.

In spite of the impressionistic motifs, performances are good. The beauty is as real as a primavera Sunday afternoon, but so is the pain of a man struggling in pain with inflamed and gnarly hands. As the senior Renoir says, “The pain passes, beauty remains.”

Frances Ha opens next week in The Living Room Theater in Boca Raton. The title character (Greta Gerwig) shares similar characteristics as Andrée Heuschling, a struggling artist who seeks to develop as performance. Unlike Renoir, Frances Ha is filmed in black & white and contains no nudity.

As a dancer for a Manhattan Dance Company, Frances has enjoyed the Bohemian lifestyle. Now in her late twenties, Frances is forced to mature as her friends form families and her dance skills diminish.

With the black-and-white cinematography and Manhattan setting, Frances Ha is influenced by Woody Allen. Yet Frances is not another pseudo intellectual Catskills comedian, she is an endearing character who learns to embrace her California roots and artistic desires.

In two weeks, Fatality Fest opens in West Palm Beach. For the first time in 10 years, a horror movie convention opens south of Orlando. Expected to attend will be Dee Wallace (E.T., Cujo, Ten); Camille Keaton, Buster’s granddaughter; Ernie Hudson (Ghostbusters, JAG, OZ) and the queen of independent filmmaking Debbie Rochon. For ticket information, visit – http://www.fatalityfest.com/ west-palm-beach.html