By Dave Montalbano

http://cinemadave.livejournal.com

For three weeks, Gravity has been an anomaly during a typically slow time at the box office. This film should definitely be seen on the big screen to appreciate the nuances that director Alfonso Cuaron has incorporated into this film. Cuaron takes his time to open his movie; the pace is deliberately slow and all the action occurs within the frame of the shot. There is NO attention deficit disorder editing. When the action breaks loose, the audience is taken for the ride along with Sandra Bullock and George Clooney. Not since Space Station 3-D has a motion picture been created that makes one feel like they are in space.

The story of Gravity is very simple — an accident occurs and astronauts are stranded into space. The trailer may lead one to believe that Bullock and Clooney merely float around in space for 1 hour and 39 minutes; however, there is a variety of scenery and situations to keep one involved in the characters’ fates. With themes of survival, regret and loneliness, Gravity is one of the best movies of 2013. See it on the big screen in 3-D to appreciate the wonder.

Sandra Bullock is the voice of Golda Meir in the documentary The Prime Ministers: The Pioneers, which is given its world premier this weekend at the Ft. Lauderdale International Film Festival. Part of a historical series of documentaries by Academy Award-winner Richard Trank, The Prime Ministers reveals details of the “Six-Day” and “Yom Kippur” wars. This film also examines the strategic relationship between Israel and the United States.

Best known for playing in the soap opera General Hospital and as the “bad girl” in Staying Alive, Finola Hughes is in town for The Bet, sponsored by FLIFF anchors Janet Leavy Schwartz & Irwin Levenstein. Hughes steps behind the lens to direct her first featured film.

The Bet is a family comedy that looks at dating relationships from three generations: teen years, middle age and senior romance. Grandpa is concerned about his grandson’s slow romantic development, so he engages the young lad in a bet — who will be the first to seduce a lady?

On Tuesday Oct. 29, Tab Hunter will attend a screening of John Walters’ trash classic, Polyester. The festival director has gone to great expense to obtain “Odorama Cards” to enhance (or destroy) the cinematic experience. If he survives this screening, Hunter will be interviewed by scholar Foster Hirsch. Hunter is scheduled to receive the Lifetime Achievement Award.

With Halloween approaching, House Across the Street and the William Grefe documentary They Came from the Swamp will be two FLIFF entries.

Halloween season would not be complete without a visit to Fright Asylum (www.frightasylum.com). Episode 215 features Woody & Manny with a “special house guest” who does not want to leave the Asylum.

By Dave Montalbano

http://cinemadave.livejournal.com

Cyndi Boyar is a backstage angel who is a miracle worker for celebrities visiting South Florida.

With work-ethic and skill, this celebrity makeup artist has turned ugly ducklings into red carpet swans.

For this year’s 28th Annual Ft. Lauderdale International Film Festival (FLIFF), Boyar’s name will be front and center for two events — the romantic comedy The Trouble with the Truth, featuring Lea Thompson and John Shea, who will be at the screening at Muvico Pompano on Sunday at 2:30 p.m., and the documentary Taking Charge – The Pauly Cohen Story, for which Cohen is scheduled to receive the Lifetime Achievement Award on Oct. 26 at the Sunrise Civic Center. This documentary, centered around Cohen’s 90th birthday, features footage of a master class at Florida International University with the Studio Big Band and uses archive footage featuring the young trumpet player learning from his mentors — Dizzy Gillespie, Tommy Dorsey, Artie Shaw and Charlie Barnett (he also performed with Frank Sinatra and Tony Bennett). After the movie screening, the Pauly Cohen Orchestra will be conducting a LIVE Big Band concert.

Boyar wrote about her involvement with this film: “…working in the film industry, I wanted to give back and support my local film festival. I contacted Greg [Von Hausch – FLIFF president and CEO]; [he told me] what films were coming with a list of celebrities attached to them … As soon as I saw Lea Thompson’s name, I was interested. It was important to me that the film would appeal to a wide audience. The Trouble with the Truth fits the bill.”

Danny Murphy is also a local and has a new film premiering called CinemAbility screening this Saturday night at 7:45 p.m. at Muvico Pompano. This documentary looks at the cinematic history of disability portrayals, from Charlie Chaplin’s silent films to the blockbuster X-Men series. A quadriplegic since the age of 19, Murphy makes regular appearances in Farrelly Brothers comedies such as Kingpin, Dumb and Dumber and There’s Something about Mary. Murphy actively supports the South Florida film community and is an advocate for Americans with Disabilities.

Brother and sister filmmakers, Isaak and Eva James, return to FLIFF for the third time. This time, Eva takes the lead role in By Way of Home, directed by Isaak. Filmed in Cape Cod during the dead of winter, this drama concerns the generation of over-educated people who cannot find their dream job.

Swim Little Fish Swim is an international picture with similar themes about family, financial well-being and artistic aspirations. Paul Osborne’s thriller Favor, reminiscent of an Hitchcock film, shows a friendship unraveling after the disposal of a dead body. Either one of these films will be good substitute for the bloated big studio release of Machete Kills.

By Dave Montalbano

http://cinemadave.livejournal.com

The Ft. Lauderdale International Film Festival (FLIFF) returns Oct. 18 with the screening of Free Ride. Writer/director Shana Betz and executive producer Stephen Moyer will be attending the screening at Cinema Paradiso. After the film, Moyer and Betz will also attend the Opening Night Party hosted by philanthropist Steve Savor at his 18,000 sq. ft. waterfront home, Villa de Palma. Great Gatsby will be the party theme with a strictlyenforced formal dress code (which means I will be wearing my tux).

Released in springtime and currently available on DVD, The Great Gatsby is writer/ director Baz Luhrmann’s best narrative motion picture. Having gone overly creative with visuals in his previous films (Romeo + Juliet, Moulin Rouge!), Luhrmann has the discipline to respect the written word of author F. Scott Fitzgerald. The visual flourishes of The Great Gatsby enhance the visual poetry.

Much has been made about the Hip Hop soundtrack to represent decadence of the 1920s Jazz Age. Jay Z, Beyoncé and Will.I.Am. may have drawn the younger people to the box office, the music of “Jelly Roll” Morton, W.C. Handy, Fats Waller and George Gershwin is the most effective. In particular, Gatsby’s (Leonardo DiCaprio) entrance to Gershwin’s Rhapsody in Blue is pure literary cinema.

Following in the footsteps of Warner Baxter (1926), Alan Ladd (1949) and Robert Redford (1974), Leonardo DiCaprio is the most vulnerable Gatsby, a true symbol of these financially-turbulent days. This Gatsby opens and closes with Nick Carraway’s (Tobey Maguire) narration from a mental institution. As Daisy Buchanan, Carey Mulligan lacks the callowness of Mia Farrow’s 1974 performance.

Before the festival begins, on Oct. 15, A Tribute to Zsa Zsa Gabor will feature Danforth Prince, author of Those Glamourous Gabor Sisters: Bombshells from Budapest. Known for her campy interviews on The Merv Griffin Show, Zsa Zsa was the modern-day Kardashian; she was famous for being famous. Younger sister Eva Gabor provided her comedic acting chops on Green Acres co-starring Eddie Albert.

Behind the spotlight, Prince provides the historical perspective of a family of Jewish refugees who escaped to America and discovered fortune and fame. While Zsa Zsa and Eva stayed in the spotlight, it was sister Magda who quietly lived the high society American Dream.

The Florida State Seminoles and Miami Dolphins have this weekend off. It’s a good time to pick up the FLIFF catalog and start planning your film festival choices. Sponsored by makeup artist Cindy Boyar, Lea Thompson’s appearance at Muvico Pompano on Oct. 20 is close to a sell out! For more information, call 954-525 FILM.

By Dave Montalbano

http://cinemadave.livejournal.com

Last weekend, I went to Orlando. Once north of Palm Beach County, the change of scenery is obvious; the landscape is more green and rural. Between the Ft. Drum rest stop and Kissimmee, one sees an orange grove and senses a raise in elevation.

However, this change of elevation is minimal compared to the experience of visiting the Rocky Mountains. For Florida first timers, the biological changes are obvious; one can almost see their heart beating out of their chest. With this type of personal experience, one can appreciate a Museum of Discovery IMAX film like Rocky Mountain Express: The Journey of a Lifetime, which documents the 19th Century building of the steam engine locomotive in the Canadian Rockies.

Even without 3-D glasses, the vistas and landscapes are majestic to behold. This 45- minute epic includes a story about the building of Canadian Pacific Railroad that is both inspiring and disturbing.

This film devotes considerable time to the history that inspired some of the darkest moments of the recent Lone Ranger movie. In a rich man’s pursuit to dominate nature, due diligence was ignored and stubborn determination leads to disaster. Almost 200 years later, this film presents wooden and stone trestles that were never used. Near these sights are the unmarked graves of the workers who died trying to build an untested short cut.

Five years ago, Downtown Disneyworld closed The Adventurers Club, against much wailing and gnashing of teeth. Thanks to the surviving club members, the club has been kept alive as a notso- secret organization. One greets club members with a healthy and hearty “Kungaloosh;” non members observe this behavior with confusion.

Under the leadership of Robert F. Croskery, Esq., the first Adventurers in Charity was launched last Saturday. This program, which is not sponsored by Disney, reunited club membership for a positive cause. Fifteen cast members returned to perform and discuss their respective charities. $9,000 was raised, with A Better Life Pet Rescue receiving the most representation from cast mates John Connon, Mindy Wally Dietterick, Eric Pinder and Joy Anderson Bowes.

My first book, The Adventures of Cinema Dave in the Florida Motion Picture World was sold at the silent auction as was the CD A Festival of Bruces. The husband of Joy Anderson, Bruce Bowes, passed away after the closing of the club. The CD is beautiful a cappella music that celebrates traditional English carols and is available at www.brucebowes .com.

By Dave Montalbano

http://cinemadave.livejournal.com

When I was growing up, local movie theaters like Wometco Deerfield Ultravision used to have midnight movies on Friday and Saturday nights. They featured Grindhouse movies or LIVE concert documentaries, like Wings Over America or It’s Good to See You Again, Alice Cooper.With the advent of Saturday Night Live and home video, these movies became an endangered species.

Leave it to producer Charlotte Huggins to bring back nostalgia for a time gone buy. A veteran of 3-D family entertainment, Huggins has produced Metallica: Through the Never, a concert video with a surreal visual narrative thread. This film may not be for the “Lawrence Welk” lovers, but Heavy Metal heads my age and younger will want to experience it.

As the band Metallica (James Hetfield, Kirk Hammett, Lars Urlich, Robert Trujillo) begin performing their sold-out apocalyptic concert, Trip the roadie (Dane DeHaan) is sent on an errand to retrieve a leather bag. Much like “Rosebud” from Citizen Kane or the briefcase from Pulp Fiction, the bag is the plot’s “MacGuffin,” and Trip’s quest to retrieve the bag takes on epic proportions.

There are some fantastic visuals of Trip confronting a vicious van accident, a street battle between anarchy and order with drops of apocalyptic terror mixed in. The unrelenting guitar shreds the viewer’s nerves, but there is a soothing denouement.

The beauty of seeing this concert in 3-D is that one can study the details. Monster Maven Kirk Hammett’s blistering guitar solos are enhanced by his movie poster tributes to Vincent Price and Boris Karloff that can be found on his guitars. With this attention to detail, one can appreciate the depth of this film.

For those seeking to continue the concert experience on the big screen, the Ft. Lauderdale Museum of Discovery & Science IMAX Theater will be presenting The Laser Light Experience with four laser experiences, two by Pink Floyd (Dark Side of the Moon, The Wall), and Laser Zeppelin and Laser Vinyl Classics.

In 45 minutes, Laser Vinyl Classics contains nine anthems of Rock ‘n Roll with laser visualization throughout the theater. Van Halen, KISS and Aerosmith are highlights, but Queen’s Bohemian Rhapsody steals the show.

Both Metallica: Through the Never and The Laser Light Experience should be a field trip for the Bucks’ Class of ’83 reunion next month.

By Dave Montalbano

http://cinemadave.livejournal.com

For almost 15 years, Roadside Attractions has distributed independent motion pictures with consistently profitable results and mostly critical acclaim. Super Size Me was their first documentary to be nominated for an Academy Award, The Cove won the “golden idol” and has become a blueprint for many documentaries about animal rights.

Regarding their fictional projects, they have earned a reputation for high artistic standards with a frugal budget. Winter Bone, Biutiful and Albert Nobbs earned Oscar nominations for Jennifer Lawrence, Javier Bardem and Glenn Close, respectfully. With this success rate, highpriced actors often take a cut in salary to be in a motion picture distributed by Roadside Attractions.

Thanks for Sharing must have been produced when Mark Ruffalo and Gwyneth Paltrow had some free time during the production of The Avengers. With moments of light-hearted comedy, this film deals with sexual addiction.

Much like an Alcoholic Anonymous meeting, Thanks for Sharing introduces three characters on a first name basis. Adam (Ruffalo) is celebrating five years of “sobriety” (actually, celibacy). Adam’s sponsor is Mike (Tim Robbins), a married man with a troubled son Danny (Patrick Fugit). New to the Sex Addiction Meeting is Neil (Josh Gad), a medical doctor who makes inappropriate moves on his boss and females in the subway.

At first, dealing with addiction is treated like a comedy. Adam and Phoebe (Paltrow) exchange banter like Spencer Tracy & Katharine Hepburn. Being the youngest of the three, the overweight Dr. Neil gets involved with moments of slapstick and video technology. Being the oldest of the three, Mike shares some quiet moments with his wife (Joely Richardson) while performing miracles for strangers.

Of course, relationships unravel and the three men must confront outside forces that make their addictions more profound. At this point, the film tries to change its tone from comedy to tragedy. The transition is not successful, despite some interesting performances. (Kudos to rock singer Pink, a.k.a. Alecia Moore, as the one with the worst sexual addiction issues).

Based on the Judy Blume novel, Tiger Eyes, which opens tomorrow at Cinema Paradiso, won the Best Feature Award at the recent Palm Beach International Film Festival. Jewtopia also opens tomorrow. Based on the Off- Broadway play, this comedy about the marriage of a Jewish woman and gentile man stars Jennifer Love-Hewitt, Jon Lovitz and Rita Wilson as potential in-laws.

By Dave Montalbano

http://cinemadave.livejournal.com

Since the terrorist attacks 12 years ago, I’ve made a point of doing something constructive every Sept. 11. Whether over-tipping at a bar or donating my Thespian services to a film production (by director Jose Prendes). This year, though a Kickstarter campaign, I will be involved in an independent film titled Reach Me, written and directed by John Herzfeld. This is an uplifting story about a “self-help” book (titled Reach Me) that inspires people. This ensemble cast features Sylvester Stallone, Kyra Sedgwick, Kelsey Grammer, Thomas Jane and Tom Sizemore. Sizemore received the Lifetime Achievement Award last May, from the Ft. Lauderdale International Film Festival.

Next month, the 28th Annual Ft. Lauderdale International Film Festival (FLIFF) kicks off Oct. 18- Nov.11. For the third year in a row, Muvico Pompano will be included in the mix. Actress Lea Thompson (Back to the Future, Howard the Duck, Some Kind of Wonderful) is scheduled to attend an Oct. 20 screening to promote her latest movie The Trouble with Truth.

FLIFF is making an attempt to balance independent artistic inspirations with mainstream entertainment values, best represented with Anna Paquin’s appearance. Currently on the vampire television show True Blood,

Paquin earned a Best Supporting Oscar for The Piano, starring Holly Hunter. She is also best known for her role as Rogue in the X-Men movies, including next year’s future blockbuster – X-Men Days of Future Past. Paquin, along with director Shana Betz, will be opening the fest with Free Ride.

Paquin portrays a single mother who is immersed in the South Florida drug trades. After the screening at Cinema Paradiso on Friday night, Oct. 18, there will be an opening night party at Villa di Palma hosted by philanthropist Steve Savor.

Legendary actors Tab Hunter, Ed Asner, Ann-Margaret and writer of Boys Don’t Cry, Aphrodite Jones, are expected to be honored this year. Tickets are selling at a faster pace this year. Get your tickets soon. For more information, contact the box office at 954-525-FILM (3456) or visit www.fliff .com.

Mademoiselle C, a documentary about Carine Roitfeld, the operations manager for French Vogue, opens tomorrow [just as Fashion Week ends in NYC]. This film looks at Roitfeld’s transition from the magazine medium to starting her own business involving QR Codes.

By Dave Montalbano

http://cinemadave.livejournal.com

This Friday, Active Fox Productions will release two motion pictures, 36 Saints and Tio Papi. Both films are the brainchild of Joey Dedio. Last year Dedio’s Tio Papi was an award winner at the 27th Annual Ft. Lauderdale International Film Festival.

Dedio has the title role in Tio Papi, a film he co-wrote with Brian Herskowitz. He plays Ray Ray, a bachelor saddled with his late sister’s six kids, ages preschool through high school. Not equipped to handle such a diverse brood, Ray Ray makes arrangements with a social worker (Kelly Mc- Gillis) to find foster homes for his nieces and nephews. While his housewife skills need improvement, Ray Ray and his family become closer together. Unfortunately, the social worker thinks otherwise and seeks to take the children away from their Tio Papi (translated Uncle Daddy).

Dealing with contemporary issues, Tio Papi is a family drama with humor. A career workaholic, Ray Ray slowly adapts to his new life as a father of six. The kids are cute; but, being kids, the young ones often create mischief for the leading man. There is also love and romance for young adults and older people who should know better.

There are negotiations to bring Tio Papi to Miami as a television series. Given the loss of revenue with the cancellation of The Glades, Magic City, etc., this is welcome news for seasoned production crews in South Florida. With a four-decade career in the motion picture industry that began with ABC Afterschool Specials, Dedio seems to be at the right place at the right time.

“We have taken Tio Papi to many festivals and the response has been consistently good. Regardless of upbringing and culture, people are responding to the message of family,” Dedio said.

Tio Papi and 36 Saints seem to be the flip side of the same coin.

I asked Dedio about the diversity of each production.

“With 36 Saints, I was fascinated with the uncovered world and the authenticity of myths and Jewish mysticism. I sought opinions from priest and rabbis,” he said.

When I challenged Dedio about the dark nature of 36 Saints, Joey responded with a smile,“In darkness, there is always light. That is what I loved about the character of Tio Papi. Many people had not seen me in that light.”

By Dave Montalbano

http://cinemadave.livejournal.com

In his book Sex Money Kiss, Gene Simmons discussed the importance of self publication because bookstore retail was based on “the loss leader principle,” in which a major author like James Patterson or J.K. Rowling would draw consumers into the store. Once in the store, the customer would discover other lesser-known writers. The Motion Picture Industry uses the same approach, which is why economics are so dire in these entertainment fields, especially when the loss leader fails to perform.

Paranoia is such the case. With leading man responsibilities on Chris Hemsworth’s shoulders and the re-teaming of veterans Gary Oldman and Harrison Ford, one expected respectable box office return. Instead Paranoia has become the biggest loser of the year. The two-week box office gross of $6 million cannot match the $35 million production cost. This film features the corporate cat & mouse game between Ford and Oldman, with Hemsworth caught in the middle while wooing the leading lady, Amber Heard. The topical theme features cell phones and public privacy. So why did Paranoia fail? The screenplay is another Hollywood factory-produced model. Why pay for a story when one can see the same story on television in the comfort of your own home?

In contrast to a bloated Hollywood extravaganza comes 36 Saints, a small independent thriller produced and written by Joey Dedio. This small budget film is far more thought-provoking than Paranoia. Dedio’s film, with roots in Jewish mysticism, is about 36 individuals or saints who have the responsibility to protect mankind from Lillith [said to be Adam’s first wife who left the Garden of Eden rather than be subservient to Adam], who has appeared to cause chaos.

With names like Joseph, Eve, Sebastian, Valentine and Michael, it is easy to pick out the surviving members of the 36 Saints. It is actually trickier to figure out who Lilith is, it seems she masterminded the plane crash that caused the demise of most of the Saints. As the surviving saints die, it seems as if Lilith’s powers will lead the world into eternal darkness. When 36 Saints opens on Sept. 6, let’s hope the box office revenue merits the already scripted sequel.

Based on a novel by Doris Lessing, Adore opens tomorrow starring Naomi Watts & Robin Wright as two Australian Best Friends Forever. It is a gorgeous, yet peculiar, movie about two women and their relationships with her sons.

Happy Labor Day weekend!

By Dave Montalbano

http://cinemadave.livejournal.com

Oprah Winfrey’s The Butler … oops, I mean Lee Daniel s’ The Butler broke through the August box office doldrums with a $25 box office gross. As the title character, Forest Whitaker leads an ensemble cast with offbeat casting, most notably Robin Williams as President Eisenhower, John Cusack as President Nixon and Jane Fonda as Nancy Reagan. There are moments of domestic struggles mixed with family tension of the times. The matinee screening was well-received and people applauded at the end of the film, so expect some Oscar buzz. As a sharecropper’s son working in the cotton fields of Georgia, Cecil Gaines (Whitaker) witnesses the rape of his mother and the murder of his father by a white trash overseer. The plantation owner (Vanessa Redgrave) sympathizes with the boy and trains him to be a house servant. By paying attention to detail, Gaines grows up, leaves the plantation and eventually gets hired by the White House during the Eisenhower Administration. Gaines serves seven presidents, and, during this time, he raises two boys; the oldest becomes a community organizer with the Black Panthersand the youngest goes to Vietnam. His wife, Gloria (Oprah), has issues with sex, drugs and soul music. While being honored by President Reagan (Alan Rickman), Gaines has a crisis of identity and questions his whole life. Gaines retires from his job and eventually votes for Barack Obama.

While being advertised as a slice of history, this film is actually a fictional piece of rhetoric. Some moments are historical fact, while many fictional elements are created for artistic license … or, dare we say, political propaganda? There is enough information on the Internet to research the balance between fantasy and reality regarding this motion picture. Yet, as one learns in English composition classes, the final words spoken often reveal the author’s perspective.

While 15 minutes too long for its own good, The Butler is an entertaining movie. Oprah is likely to be Oscar nominated again. She and Whitaker share true chemistry. The celebrity/presidential cameos are an actor’s dream and the soundtrack is an effective toe tapper. Yet, the film feels like a manufactured Oscar contender.

The Artist and the Model opens tomorrow for a limited engagement. It is a pure “art house” movie, shot in black & white with English subtitles, and features a struggling artist who paints a nude model during war time. It ends the summer art house season as Renoir began, both films complement each other.