By Dave Montalbano

AdventuresOfCinemaDave.com

With Disney hype and Tim Burton’s return to artistic roots, Frankenweenie is a can’t-miss family movie in glorious black & white. With the Collector’s Edition of The Nightmare Before Christmas, Burton presented his first version of Frankenweenie, a short subject starring Daniel Stern and Shelley Duvall.

Dog lovers loved the short subject, a delightful story about a lonely boy and his dog. Presenting the Mary Shelley narrative based upon James Whale’s Boris Karloff adaptation, this film transitions from heartbreak to life appreciation. This new version of Frankenweenie presents many of the key scenes from the short subject, but the scope is much broader, perhaps too broad because the finale presents an over-the-top ending that mashes the James Whale classic with the Japanese giant monster movies that spawned Godzilla and Gamera. However, the title character is a sweetheart and the film makes a great family matinee.

As certain as the turning of the Earth and the Seminole Hurricane football rivalry in October, The Ft. Lauderdale International Film Festival (FLIFF) begins its 27th season next week. Despite costcutting measures, FLIFF will return to a sense of glamour not seen in South Florida in years.

Opening Night Gala, sponsored by Entre Nous, will be held on Oct. 19 at The Village at Gulfstream Park in Hallandale starting 7:30 p.m. Independent filmmakers will be in attendance, as well as celebs like Dabney Coleman and James Caan. Most recently seen as an aging racketeer on Boardwalk Empire, Coleman made a career in the 1980s as the quintessential male chauvinist pig. Caan worked with John Wayne in El Dorado and was the hot-tempered Sonny Corleone in The Godfather series. Caan’s resume has lived up to his original promise from the 1960s.

Local actress Bailee Madison is expected also to walk the red carpet this evening. On Oct. 21, Bailee will receive her Star on the Horizon Award at the Sunrise Civic Center in conjunction with a screening of her new movie, Cowgirls ‘n Angels, which also features veteran actor James Cromwell and Twilight heartthrob Jackson Rathbone.

Locally, FLIFF returns to Muvico Pompano for its second year. Monster mavens will be excited to know that George Romero’s original Night of the Living Dead will be exclusively screened and remastered in 3D on Halloween weekend. For more information, visit www.fliff.com.

By Dave Montalbano

AdventuresOfCinemaDave.com

The Artist claimed the “Best in the Fest” award at the 26th Annual Ft. Lauderdale International Film Festival. A black-and-white silent movie with a grand musical score, this film was a labor of love for the participants involved, including Uggie the Jack Russell terrier.

In a recent telephone interview, Malcolm McDowell commented on his involvement – ”I met with the director about another part, which I could not do due to my commitment to Franklin & Bash. However, we managed to shoot my part in one day.”

McDowell’s one-day cameo became the focus of attention at the recent Cannes Film Festival.

“Cannes was celebrating the 40-year anniversary of A Clockwork Orange, but 25 percent of press conference questions were about The Artist. I am happy about how well-received The Artist has become,” he added.

Like The Artist’s celebration of a bygone era, FLIFF 26 has become cinema history. With the exception of two uppity celebrity handlers for the opening weekend festivities and the illness of Senator George McGovern, this fest fulfilled its unique promise of understanding the challenges for future filmmakers while acknowledging the debt of our founding filmmakers.

Despite volunteer staff shortages locally, the outreach programs in Pompano, Sunrise and the Bahamas proved to be a financial boost to local business. Muvico Pompano sold extra tickets during a traditional slow period at the box office.

Given Dennis Farina’s surprise appearance for the screening of the award-winning The Last Rites of Joe May at Muvico Pompano, expect more volunteer opportunities in North Broward County for FLIFF 27.

An Evening with Piper Laurie was one of the most talked about events of the fest. Foregoing the planned screening of The Grass Harp, Piper reflected upon her six decades in the movies and her experiences with stars like Ronald Reagan and Paul Newman, and playing Carrie’s harpy mother. Cinema Historian Foster Hirsch conducted Piper’s insightful interview.

The ocean conservation documentary Islands of Life, which earned a Spirit of Independence award, featured Sidney Poitier and his daughter Pamela. Pamela Poitier attended the screening 3:10 to Yuma starring Glenn Ford. Ford’s son, Peter, was in attendance to discuss his new book Glenn Ford: A Life. Ford and Poitier’s meeting acknowledged a piece of cinematic history. Both of their fathers starred in an important film – The Blackboard Jungle, released 61 years ago.

By Dave Montalbano

AdventuresOfCinemaDave.com

France has dominated the foreign motion picture world his year. The heralded release of The Artist opening the 26th Annual Fort Lauderdale Film Festival shows an emphasis on visual art, making films like these pure cinema protein.

While Gainsbourg: A Heroic Life is a biography, it is also influenced by the surrealistic motion pictures from the 1960s, most notably Blow Up and La Dolce Vita. (Given the egotistical nature of the title character, the protagonist may have thought that he invented those acclaimed motion pictures). Not for all tastes, but this film is visually arresting.

Born to Jewish parents in Nazi-occupied France, the precocious Serge Ginsberg fantasizes about the world around him through music and art. After changing his name to Serge Gainsbourg (Eric Elmosnino), the musician becomes an international pop sensation. Gainsbourg romances the sex symbols of the 1960s (Bridget Bardot, Jane Birkin) and releases controversial music that becomes disguised as elevator music. While physically he grows into an adult, emotionally Serge remains a man-child.

Although a bit long, this film is fascinating. The ensemble cast is European and actresses cast as Bardot and Birkin look like twins. Contortionist Doug (Pan’s Labyrinth) Jones mimes the part of Gainsbourg’s alter ego with dark and humorous results.

As we reach the center point of FLIFF 26, actor Dennis Farina takes center stage in The Last Rites of Joe May (www.
FLIFF.com for showtimes). Introduced to the American Public in the 1980s television series Crime Story, Farina has portrayed John Travolta’s arch rival in Get Shorty, Jennifer Lopez’s dad in Out of Sight and Robert DeNiro’s nemesis in Midnight Run.  In The Last Rites of Joe May, Farina is top-billed and portrays a composite character that sums up the actor’s previous two decades in the public eye.

Also in the fest is Troupers. In his book Born Standing Up, Steve Martin wrote about The Amazing Ballantine’s influence upon his comic persona. We lost Carl Ballantine two years ago, but his final words of wisdom can be heard in the documentary Troupers. Directed by his daughter Saratoga Ballantine, Troupers interviews 12 familiar faces from the acting profession, among the most recognizable: Kaye Ballard, Betty Garrett, Pat Carroll and Harold Gould. While the fame of Steve Martin may have eluded these individuals, these performers seemed to enjoy their work and lives.

Women of Entre Nous with creators of About Fifty on Chairman’s Cruise

By Dave Montalbano

AdventuresOfCinemaDave.com

Having portrayed Hunter S. Thompson in Terry Gilliam’s Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas, Johnny Depp now crosses the line from reality to fantasy with The Rum Diaries.

Written by Thompson in the 1950s, but not published until 1998 (to coincide with the release of Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas,), The Rum Diaries is a fictional adaptation of Thompson’s escapades as a journalist in the Caribbean. It’s probably closer to the truth than Terry Gilliam’s biopic.

Depp portrays journalist Paul Kemp, a writer in search of his voice. Lotterman (Richard Jenkins), the editor, hires Kemp to write horoscopes for the only newspaper in Puerto Rico. Chaperoned by Sala (Michael Rispoli), Kemp uncovers the white collar corruption of Sanderson (Aaron Eckhart), the lure of Sander-son’s skinny-dipping fiancée (Amber Heard) and the call of the wild.

Containing an aire of anti-capitalist propaganda, The Rum Diaries is a fun ensemble piece with a great soundtrack and beautiful scenery. In contrast, Margin Call retains some of the “anti-capitalist propaganda” themes, but sets the story in the urban jungle known as Wall Street.

Unlike Oliver Stone’s manic Wall Street movies, Margin Call contains a deliberate pace that explains how the stock market fell apart in the autumn of 2008.

The story begins with the firing of Eric Dale (Stanley Tucci), who gives a flash drive to his former trainee Peter Sullivan (Zachary Quinto).

While analyzing the data, Sullivan realizes that a financial time bomb has been lit. From this point forward, Sullivan follows the chain of command, beginning with his immediate supervisor (Kevin Spacey) and ending with the corporate editor (Jeremy Irons).

Margin Call is a good serious movie that may be far more appropriate than some of the Halloween releases this weekend.

The Ft. Lauderdale International Film Festival (www.
fliff.com) begins their outreach to Muvico Pompano this weekend. Playing Saturday, About Fifty has received positive buzz from the press and FLIFF ticketbuyers.

Halloween weekend, FLIFF will feature a trio of unrelated horror movies, Vamperifca, Deadheads and Dr. Limp-tooth. While entertaining in their own right as contemporary B-Monster Movies, all three movies contain a sense of déjà vu.

Vamperifca will be remembered as a showcase for Martin Yurkovic, played with limp-wristed zeal. He is both funny and frightening. While Dr. Limptooth deals with flaccid vampire teeth, Deadheads has nothing to do with Jerry Garcia and everything to do with Zombies.

Cinema Dave’s “Adventure Pack” is raffled off for FLIFF.

By Dave Montalbano

AdventuresOfCinemaDave.com

Variety is the theme for this weekend’s movie openings, Sholem Aleichem is a spirited documentary about a Jewish writer who came to America and helped define his culture. A contemporary of Chekhov and Gogol, Aleichem was a major influence on Philip Roth and Woody Allen. Fiddler on the Roof is based upon his stories about Old Europe.

A French film with English subtitles, Mozart’s Sister is a tale for music historians. The older sister of the famed Wolfgang Amadeus, Maria Anna “Nannerl” Mozart (Marie Féret) lives in the musical shadow of her famed brother. A musical prodigy herself, Nannerl sheds gender conformity by making friends with the royal children of King Louis XV.

This weekend formally  kicks off the 26th Annual Ft. Lauderdale International Film Festival (FLIFF), which moves the opening night gala at the Signature Grand to Saturday night. Besides Penelope Ann Miller, Senator George Mc-Govern and Dennis Haysbert, Beau Bridges has been added to this weekend’s festivities.

Bridges will be screening Don’t Fade Away on Sunday at Cinema Paradiso. It’s likely he will discuss “the family business;” his brother is Jeff Bridges, his father is the late Lloyd Bridges. The family Bridges filmed the classic television show Sea Hunt, which was partially shot in South Florida.

Beau played husband to Norma Rae, the film that garnered Sally Field her first Oscar. Jeff and Beau portrayed The Fabulous Baker Boys and attempted to woo Michelle Pfeiffer by tickling her ivories.

It is on television that Beau received his most critical praise, most notably earning the Emmy Award for portraying a historical figure in Without Warning – The James Brady Story. Not one to stay typecast in a genre, Beau had a recurring role in Stargate SG-1 and was the patriarch in Harts of the West, co-starring Harley Jane Kozak.

With the expansion into the Bahamas, Sunrise and Pompano, the emphasis for FLIFF26 is community outreach, which is why I have donated a hardcover edition of my book, The Adventures of Cinema Dave in the Florida Motion Picture World to the gala’s silent auction.

Along with the 665-page volume, I have donated various cinema artifacts from my “cave,” all encased in an old-fashioned suitcase that used to transport a ventriloquist’s dummy. For film and party listings, celebrity sightings and information about “The Cinema Dave Adventure Pack,” contact FLIFF staff at 954-525-FILM.

By Dave Montalbano

AdventuresOfCinemaDave.com

At the poster unveiling at the Hilton Hotel last Thursday, Sept. 22, Festival Director Gregory Von Hausch announced the expansion of the 26th Annual Ft. Lauderdale International Film Festival (Oct. 21-Nov. 11). While Cinema Paradiso will act as the main hub, venues are expanding as far west as Sunrise and as far north as Muvico Pompano on Federal Highway. Info: www.fliff.com

Among the films premiering at the Muvico Pompano is the documentary about cowboys, Florida Cracker, and a WWII documentary titled Lost Airmen of Buchenwald. About 50 is a comedy about middle age. Newlyweds is a project from FLIFF25 honoree Ed Burns. The Last Rights of Joe May features Dennis Farina in a performance generating Oscar buzz.

Dennis Farina, Penelope Ann Miller, Piper Laurie, Senator George McGovern, Dennis Haysbert and son of acting legend Glenn Ford, Peter Ford, will be at this year’s festival. Ford has recently compiled his father’s biography, Glenn Ford: A Life and will attend a retrospective at Cinema Paradiso on Nov. 10. Besides selling and autographing his book, Ford will answer questions about his family (his mom is Eleanor Powell) after the screening of original 3:10 to Yuma, starring Glenn Ford in the Russell Crowe role.    FLIFF remains a vacation from ordinary film and a
celebration of our unique Florida culture. On Tuesday, Oct. 25, FLIFF will present The Legend of Ivan Tors, a documentary about the producer of such iconic Florida animal shows as Gentle Ben and Flipper. Sponsored by Carrabba’s Grill, this evening will feature a baked dinner alfresco in the courtyard. A regular sponsor of FLIFF, Carrabba’s also sponsors a monthly opera series at Cinema Paradiso featuring the works of Verdi and Puccini.

Released last week, Alice Cooper’s Welcome 2 My Nightmare should be considered a modern day Rock Opera. A sequel to the similarly-titled album rock classic from 1975,W2MN features Alice’s modern nightmare involving inferno, hip hop music, elevator music and auto tuners. For the most part, the W2MN music is fun, energetic and humorous with songs titled Disco Bloodbath Boogie Fever and Ghouls Gone Wild. However, there are some tear jerking ballads (I Am Made of You, Something To Remember Me By) and two operatic moments worthy of the opera Don Giovanni. With the Miami Dolphins going zero and three this season, W2MN provides a comforting solace.

By Dave Montalbano

AdventuresOfCinemaDave.com

Where Crabby Jacks [recently burned down in a fire] was located, the marquee for the only Drive-In movie theatre in Deerfield Beach once stood.

Spawning from there, 36 years ago, traffic jams were caused on Federal Highway, thanks to the release of the film Jaws.

During rush-hour traffic last Friday morning, commuters on I-95 may have witnessed the return of Jaws,  a Megalodon, a giant shark thought to be extinct from South Florida waters for thousands of years,  riding on the back of a truck headed to its new home at the Ft. Lauderdale Museum of Discovery and Science. It will be part of the Prehistoric Florida exhibit in the new EcoDiscovery Center, slated to open on Veterans Day, 2011.

Veteran’s Day will also mark the last day of the 26th Annual Ft. Lauderdale International Film Festival.  Beyond screening foreign and homegrown motion pictures, FLIFF has invited some well-known celebrities.

Best known for her work in Carlito’s Way and Kindergarten Cop, Penelope Ann Miller will attend Gala Night with screening of The Artist, an award-winning movie on the European circuit this summer.

On Nov. 8, Piper Laurie will receive the Lifetime Achievement Award for her work in dramatic classics like The Hustler and horror classics like Carrie.

To find out more about this year’s festivities and surprise guests keep checking www.fliff.com.

Also Drive opens this weekend.  Ryan Gosling portrays a stuntman who moonlights as a get-away-car driver.  For years, his character has worked in partnership with Shannon (Bryan Cranston), who has ties with organized crime figures portrayed by Albert Brooks and Ron Perlman.  When one caper goes astray, Gosling becomes the surrogate husband to Irene (Carey Mulligan).

While Drive contains some great stunts and action scenes, this flick is more like a Film Noir drama.  Gosling gives a deadpan performance similar to what Robert Ryan, Robert Mitchum and Steve McQueen would have provided in their day. The best, most surprising performance comes from Brooks; the goofy comedian sinks his teeth into a monstrous role of a capo de capo.  Drive is off-road fun as a Saturday matinee.

Dave Montalbano & Michael Berryman

By Dave Montalbano

AdventuresOfCinemaDave.com

Hurricane Irene damaged the box office. Don’t Wait Until Dark performed poorly, but this Guillermo Del Toro production has a second chance this weekend for much-deserved redemption. This great date movie is the summer’s best monster movie.

With no relation to the Lee Marvin classic from 1967, Point Blank is a French Film with English subtitles that needs no dialogue. This visual treat opens at a breakneck pace and never lets up, yet provides just enough character identification to merit audience empathy.

When a thief with mob connections ends up in the hospital, an unlucky male nurse is blackmailed by the mob bosses to free the thief. To make matters worse for the male nurse, his wife is suffering from a problem pregnancy when she is kidnapped by sinister forces. Point Blank draws the audience into a roller coaster world in which the bad guys are not so bad and the good guys are not as good as they appear. Not a moment of film is wasted up to the final frame.

As the summer blockbuster season slows down, the convention and festival season pick up. Six years ago, Petey Mongelli staged Screamfest in Coral Springs and Hurricane Wilma destroyed Broward County for two weeks. Screamfest, which began in 2002 originally, outgrew Broward and evolved into Spooky Empire’s Ultimate Horror Weekend, the biggest horror movie convention in Southern United States.

Staged in Orlando, this year’s Spooky Empire will be held Oct. 7-9 (www.spookyempire.com). Headliners include Malcolm McDowell, Lance Henriksen, Michael Berryman, and artist Barry Anderson and Night of the Living Dead’s Bill Hinzman continue their perfect attendance.

When asked about the migration to Orlando, Petey replied, “We outgrew Broward. The convention grew bigger and bigger, and the Wyndham Hotel on International Drive provided a suitable venue for the Creepy Car/Hearst Show and the Zombie Walk, which involves thousands of volunteers.” While Petey will continue his Spooky Empire in Orlando, next year he plans a 10-year retrospective in Broward County.

As Spooky Empire concludes, the 26th Annual Ft. Lauderdale Film Festival begins. Director Gregory von Hausch has been playing close to the vest, but this Labor Day weekend, he plans to reveal the listing of filmmakers, special guests and key dates for festival screenings, parties and events. (Fest runs Oct. 21-Nov. 11). For more information, visit www.fliff.com.