Pope Joan

 

Reviewed by Alicia Glass

Studio: Constantin Film

Director: Sonke Wortmann

Review Rating: 8

The story of a 9^th Century English-German woman who disguises herself as a man and rises through the ranks of the Vatican.

I’m a history buff, I enjoy those dark ages tales of wars and royalty and such. So when I heard that the legend of the only female Pope had been made into a mini-series, I set the DVR to recording. What was presented was an intriguing portrait of love and fear, and the myriad ways which we humans react to such things.

Our story begins with Iain Glen, of Resident Evil Extinction and Game of Thrones  fame, as father to Johanna, intolerant husband and priest of the village of Ingelheim. Now the Germans have apparently only recently been forcibly converted to Catholicism, so when Johanna demonstrates a desire to learn everything she can, her father reacts in a…very zealot-like manner. Which is to say, when he catches Mother telling stories of Woden to Johanna, he beats the Devil out of her. And when he later catches Johanna knowing way more than she should, he tries to beat the Devil out of her too. Johanna has two brothers, one elder who lovingly teaches her in secret to read and write, and the younger Johannes who wants nothing more than to be a soldier. Of course the gentle older brother takes ill and dies, and when the scholar Iscalapius comes to town, father insists that if he wants to take Johanna the girl to the Scholae to learn, he’ll have to take the boy too. Things don’t work out quite that way, and eventually Johanna simply runs off and joins up with Johannes her brother to appear at the Scholae anyway. The Bishop of course takes a liking to the outspoken and intelligent girl, and a man of the Court Gerold offers to take her in, since of course a mere girl can’t be lodged in the boys dormitory. Gerold’s wife isn’t happy about these arrangements and does all she can, from blackmail to marriage, to get Johanna out of her hair. Especially after several years, when Johanna has more filled out and she and Gerold are looking at eachother with dove eyes. So Johanna’s marriage, despite all protests and Gerold being gone on the Crusades, is arranged to the blacksmiths boy of all things. Only to be stopped when pagan Norse raiders (I think) invade the Church and kill everyone they can reach, neglecting to notice that the not-yet-bride is simply knocked out. Johanna survives, and learns to hide her womanhood safe inside a monastery of all things. And that’s the end of Part 1.

Part 2 finds brother Johannes Anglicus, a skilled healer, falling prey to a sickness that rocks the Abbey, and with the aid of a knowledgeable older brother, flees the Abbey before her secret can be discovered. A kindly family with an apparently intelligent daughter saves her, nurses Joan back to health, and offers to let her stay despite her desire to go to Rome. Heading off to that holy city, Johannes is soon noticed for his healing skills and called upon to attend the Pope by a dubious cabinet of Bishops and advisors. Curing the Pope of his gout, Johannes soon becomes an advisor and favorite of his, much to the dismay of ambitious others. When a nasty Emperor comes and threatens to invadeRomeand put all to the sword unless they acknowledge his sovereignty, Johannes uses the mighty power of her intelligence and contrives a miracle at the Pope’s very feet, too.

And then, after Gerold shows back up and Joanna finally admits to her desire and love for him, the one night she’s gone and unable to take care of the Pope, of course the inevitable happens – he’s poisoned. Through whatever machinations were managed, Johanna wasn’t even there, she’s elected the new Pope. Here the story gets faster, we can feel the end approaching. Her days are spent as the Pope in full regalia, and Johanna’s nights are spent in the company of the Captain of the Pope’s men, of course Gerold. Which means inevitably, eventually, Johanna becomes pregnant. And despite all the good works she does, the revisions she tries to bring to the Church and the aid to the people, the story is woven around her name being taken out of history. So her detractors inside the Church, realizing to get to the Pope they need to get past Gerold, plan an assassination. Gerold is well aware of Johanna’s situation at this point, but she convinces him to let her stay for Easter Sunday inRome, and whereafter they will finally flee. And finally, that’s when it all pops off, Gerold is assassinated and sadly Pope Joan falls from her caravan and dies in the street. They made it look like she was suffering in the same manner as the only man she loved died of sword wounds, despite also dying from what I think was a septic pregnancy.

The first Pope is played by John Goodman, who does I think a fair job of the portrayal of the overindulgence that the Pope’s had become known for. Johanna Wokalek does a fine if restrained job as Johanna herself. And I did rather enjoy the role of Anastasius, as played by Anatole Taubman, of Pillars of the Earth fame. The acting is marvelous, the story intriguing and generally well-paced, based off a book by Donna Woolfolk Cross, and told from an interestingly sympathetic point of view.

Sherlock Holmes 2: A Game of Shadows

 

Reviewed by Alicia Glass

Studio: Warner Bros.

MPAA Rating: PG 13

Director: Guy Ritchie

Review Rating: 7

Warning! Spoilers!

Master investigator Sherlock Holmes and Dr. Watson return to take on the matchwit mastermind Moriarty!

I can’t help it, I have to say it – the movie is unworthy. There are glorious chase and fight scenes, marvelous acting from everyone involved, storyline and wit to spare; and yet. The storyline is handed to the viewer on a plastic plate, it’s practically spoon-fed to the audience, and that is unworthy of Sherlock Holmes. Certainly the motivations they gave this Moriarty, the reasons behind his masterminded criminal self, are elementary-schoolish and unworthy of Moriarty, lauded in the novels as the one man who could match wits with Sherlock Holmes himself. And then there’s the hole that a great many movie sequels fall into, that I don’t particularly care for – the humanizing (or humiliations) of the main character. This time, Sherlock Holmes wears a dress and makeup, rides a pony across countrysides, and is almost always one step behind. This sort of thing, that sequels like Spiderman 2 and Fantastic Four 2 fell prey to, bothers me. We’ve already established previously that Holmes has a face that’s a scattered slovenly drunk, one that can be used to good comedic effect yes, but our hero doesn’t need his nose repeatedly rubbed in it.

Holmes is thankfully once again visited by Robert Downey Jr., who gamely runs a tired character through the wedding of his best friend, the chase after Moriarty, and the reserved charm that he’s made the movies famous for. Jude Law returns as Dr. Watson, limping and sporting a cane, still trying to keep after Holmes. This new movie brings sidekick gypsy female lead Sim, played by Noomi Rapace of the original Girl with the Dragon Tattoo movies. Turns out it’s good to have a gypsy sidekick, they can do both underworld and big city just fine, thank you. Joining the folk chasing after Sherlock is his brother Mycroft Holmes, played by Stephen Fry of V for Vendetta notoriety. He’s more or less fine for the role, but there is an entire scene where he’s at least thought to be completely naked, and I think we could’ve all lived without that. Jared Harris of series like Mad Men and Fringe stars as Moriarty, and he does a fairly fine job of it too, I thought. It just seemed to me that the movie gods made his vast intelligence seem small from his proposed motivations; it made me sad. Rachel McAdams returns as Irene Adler, and uh, I wasn’t happy with what happened to her character either. It seems likely to me that she’ll show back up in another sequel, and like the ending of this sequel, it seems an almost cheap plot ploy to be using since you know damn well they can’t actually be dead.

The first Sherlock Holmes movie done in this fashion was a masterpiece. Even with the Saw-style clue-by-four scene at the end, I had to puzzle my way through the plot for a little while there. Game of Shadows here had the ClueX4 scene practically every 30 minutes or so of the movie, and that my dears, is unworthy. Even so, the climactic chase and battle scenes are always awesome, everyone loves the stoic interactions between beloved friends Holmes and Watson, and there is almost never a lag in the pacing of the movie. You can watch it, and even enjoy it, just don’t expect to be bowled over by the plot.

Entertainment One presents The Pool Boys

THIS DECEMBER, ENTERTAINMENT ONE DELIVERS

A HILARIOUS NEW COMEDY IN THE VEIN OF OLD SCHOOL,

FROM THE MAKERS OF AMERICAN PIE AND THE PRODUCERS OFTHERE’S SOMETHING ABOUT MARY

THE POOL BOYS

Street Date: December 27, 2011

BD/DVD SRP: $29.98/$24.98

 

PROGRAM DESCRIPTION

Matthew Lillard, Rachelle Lefevre, Efren Ramirez, Brett Davern and Tom Arnold star in THE POOL BOYS, the hilarious new comedy from the makers of American Pie.  In the vein of Old School andVan Wilder, THE POOL BOYS follows a pool boy and his friends who, tired of working dead end jobs, scheme to get rich quick by turning an empty mansion into a home for the hottest escorts in Beverly Hills.  Directed by J.B Rogers (American Pie 2, Say It Isn’t So) and featuring Playboy’s Jennifer Walcott and Sheena Lee, THE POOL BOYS was released theatrically nationwide in fall 2011 on 70+ screens.

THE POOL BOYS tells the story of Alex Sperling (Brett Davern), Harvard-bound valedictorian, who loses his summer internship and heads toLos Angelesto work for his charming and successful cousin Roger (Lillard).  Unfortunately, Roger isn’t quite the accomplished businessman he’s made himself out to be — he actually dropped out of Harvard, and now works as a pool boy.  After a series of mishaps force Alex and Roger to squat in the  mansion of one of Roger’s clients, they join forces with Laura, a local escort, to start an escort business.  And, as the “business” quickly grows, the boys find themselves trapped in the middle of “how did I get here?” situations — from showdowns with shotgun-wielding celebrities to bar mitzvahs and sadistic lesbian businesswomen, culminating in a huge party.  But, when Alex’s parents and their Harvard-alumni friends show up, they have to turn the bash into a Harvard event in order to save both the business and Alex’s future.

CAST

•  Matthew Lillard (Scream, Scooby Doo)
• Rachelle Lefevre (Twilight, Barney’s Version)
• Tom Arnold (True Lies, “Rosanne”)
• Efren Ramirez (Napolean Dynamite, “Eastbound and Down”)
• Brett Davern (“Awkward”)
• Robert Davi (The Goonies, “Profiler”)
• Jay Thomas (“Mork and Mindy,”,“Love and War”)
• George Takei (“Star Trek,” “Heroes”)

BONUS FEATURES

• Virtual Lapdance
• Cast and Crew Interviews

PROGRAM INFORMATION

Type: BD/DVD

Catalog #:  (BD) EOE-BD-7096/(DVD) EOE-DV-7084

Running Time: 88 mins. + extras

Genre:  Comedy

Rated:  R

Aspect Ratio: (BD) 1080p High Definition/(DVD) 16 x 9

Audio: (BD) DTS-HD Master Audio/(DVD) 5.1 Surround Sound

For the latest breaking news on THE POOL BOYS and other releases, follow Entertainment One on Twitter: http://twitter.com/eOneHomeVideo

Puss In Boots

 

Reviewed by Alicia Glass

Studio: Dreamworks Animations

MPAA Rating: PG

Director: Chris Miller

Review Rating: 7

The origin story of how the feline hero earned his stylish paw-wear, including brother Humpty Dumpty and the Beanstalk in the sky!

So, we all enjoy the Shrek movies and how they make fun of the whole fairy tale world and stories. And while Puss in Boots certainly carries on that tradition, or tries to, most of the story isn’t exactly set in a fairy-tale world, but rather in the origin town ofSan Ricardo, where Puss and Humpty grew up together in an orphanage.

So yes, Humpty is an egg with big dreams. He wants to find those magic beans, climb the beanstalk and nab the goose that lays the golden eggs. All more or less, to get the heck out of San Ricardo and make a big name for himself. And of course, Puss needs to come along! They do the blood-brothers thing, and while Humpty is making his huge plans, Puss is becoming the hero we all know him to be. Puss saves a beloved town mother and earns his boots, Humptys’ left by the wayside. Now it’s later, Puss is back in San Ricardo chasing Jack and Jill like you’ve never seen them, who purportedly have those magic beans everyone’s been looking for. Puss just has to take up with the master thief in black, who can almost out-dance him, whom of course turns out to be Kitty Soft-Paws, female cat burglar. And everyone’s after the beans, the goose, and those golden eggs.

Kitty, Puss and Humpty all manage to get the darn beans, climb the beanstalk and nab a chick, and are showered by golden eggs as a result. What they don’t realize, or Puss doesn’t anyway, is that there’s a Momma goose, and she’s the size of a house and enraged to boot! Humpty on the other hand is all for the destruction of San Ricardo, cuz yknow at this point he’s a bitter little rotten egg. It’s up to Puss and a chastened Kitty Soft-Paws to save the day!

It’s fun and amusing in an almost self-depreciating way. They tried to include a fair amount of adult-ish humor, while keeping the constant movement and swashbuckling to keep the kiddies interested. It works, for the most part, in a very early Zorro kind of way. Which is also amusing, because Antonio Banderas as the voice of Puss has also played Zorro in the two modern retake movies.

Movie Moxie loves SDAFF 2011 — Hello Ghost

Reviewed by Alicia Glass

Director: Young-Tak Kim

Another failed suicide attempt leaves Sang-Man plagued by four hilarious ghosts.

It must be pointed out first and foremost, this is a Korean movie. And normally, while I do rather enjoy the emerging Korean film entertainment, especially the horror stories, I had my doubts for this one. It’s a Korean film about ghosts of course, but a comedy. So with reservations, we plow on.

The film opens with Sang-Man’s latest suicide attempt, how he apparently botches it and ends up in the hospital being plagued by these ghosts. One smokes like a chimney that’s forever on, one is a demanding little boy who just wants to have fun, one is a quite lecherous old grandfather type, and of course the female ghost just won’t stop crying. They move right in with Sang-Man and proceed to make his life boisterous, with hilarious and unexpected consequences. It isn’t until like halfway through the movie we begin to get an inkling why Sang-Man wants to kill himself in the first place, aside from the usual no-job-no-spouse-no-life lament. And of course, Sang-Man thinks after consulting a Korean Shaman, that he has to perform some sort of placatory act to each ghost and they’ll finally go away. When they don’t, Sang-Man blows up at them and ends up taking refuge in the friend with a small son he made recently, Jung Yun-Soo. Which, as it seems to turn out, is the actual mostly main reason for the ghosts being there. Mostly. I don’t want to give away the ending, but believe me, I didn’t see it coming and I don’t think you will either.

Even having no idea who these Korean actors are, I enjoyed their performances. The lead as Sang-Man brings across a very funny easily understood and sympathized with straight man act. Each ghost, their roles clearly defined, brings across an element of almost exasperated love that needs no translation. And besides, this is the first movie in a very long time that had me laughing, and crying, in the same sitting. See Hello Ghost, it is so worth it!

Movie Moxie covers Horrible Imaginings 2011 — Shorts 2

 

Star Beast

Director: Bob Rose

Review Rating: 6

I don’t get it, and I don’t care for it. The short appears to be…my guess is a pair of Gods who essentially have relations and then fart out the universe. The only reason it gets a 6 is because visually, it’s watchable.

 

Late Bloomer

Director: Craig Macneill

Review Rating: 8

A diatribe from an elementary schooler about the horrors of learning about the vagina and the penis, in front of your fellow schoolmates. The manner presented, the fabulous narration, and the performances of the kids and teachers is just awesome.

 

Fabrica de Munecas

Director: Ainhoa Menendez

Review Rating: 7

Lovely little piece about a doll factory worker who appears to be falling into humanity and some sense of individuality and even love. There’s almost no spoken words, but that’s okay. I didn’t see why it qualified as horror, but I did enjoy the short anyway.

 

The Familiar

Director: Kody Zimmerman

Review Rating: 8.5

The story of a human vampire helper, the Familiar, and how he became one, and the end of the vampire he serves. This is a very modern take on the whole vampire mythos, nobody sparkles, and is something just about any vampire fan can get behind. Kudos!

 

Billy Bob’s Zombie Emporium

Director: Kevin Perkins

Review Rating: 7

Nice little advertisement-style short about Billy Bob’s, where one can go hunt zombies with all sorts of weapons, in peace and privacy. Reminiscent of a commercial you’d find in Rob Zombie’s House of One Thousand Corpses.

 

Giant Rubber Monster Movie

Director: Thomas Berdinski

Review Rating: 7

As the title states, it’s a short tribute to Giant Rubber Monster movies. Something about later space races going back in time, a giant monster with an afro apparently coming and attacking earth, and a pedophile and a child space commander saving the earth! There were efforts at plot, no matter how campy, same for film shooting, and it was at least watchable, even if it’s not my thing.

 

Bypass

Director: Sophia Segal

Review Rating: 7

A music video for Cavalcade (remix by Meat Beat Manifesto), with an old man, a poppet clown, a moneyface (?!), and a fellow gambler. The music I liked okay, and the video was certainly watchable, if not understandable. I mean, it’s a music video – it doesn’t have to have a story.

Reviewed by Alicia Glass

 

Movie Moxie covers Horrible Imaginings 2011

 

Road Rage

Director: Barbara Stepansky

Rating: 8

In a smart little ditty, a coffee house worker is on her way home and demonstrates her road rage for every single last person in her way, cutting her off, or otherwise preventing her from getting home! Only to find someone in a big red SUV with tinted windows doesn’t take kindly to all that, and is only too willing to clearly demonstrate it!

 

Demon Possessed Wife

Director: Dan Ochs

Rating: 6.5

It’s exactly what the title says it is – a demon-possessed wife, her husband, and a preacher all come to save her. I guess it’s supposed to be what they call “found footage”, like Blair Witch or something, but with a solid knowledge of makeup and acting, there’s plenty of room for an expanded story.

 

Juan Con Miedo

Director: Daniel Romero

Rating: 7

Beautifully shot, sadly I didn’t understand a word of it, as the short is in Spanish and there were no subtitles in the showing I caught. Still, it is beautifully shot, and the acting is well done.

 

JustUs

Director: Lori Bowen

Rating: 7

A woman takes matters into her own hands concerning the freedom of the man who apparently raped and murdered her sister, and 11 other women besides. Again, this short could have done much better with a longer showing, there was no actual torture or gore, just her accusation and his denial, and then a shot of her all bloody. It started off smart, don’t end it so abruptly!

 

Scrutinize

Director: Brenda & Elizabeth Fies

Rating: 8

This one, though it was only 5 minutes long, was cunning. A simple short of a woman who nervously gets on a subway, observes her fellow passengers, and makes a clear escape with the help of a supposed doctor who informs her one of the fellow passengers was dead. The music helps the scene, and for some reason I couldn’t quite put my finger on, I just really liked this one.

 

Reviewed by Alicia Glass

Movie Moxie loves SDAFF 2011 — Knots

Reviewed by Alicia Glass

Studio: Island Film Group

Director: Michael Kang

Writer: Kimberly-Rose Wolter

Review Rating: 7

A woman whose lost faith in love and marriage returns home toHawaiiand her female-empowered family business of wedding planners.

The beginning of the movie goes through this whole cutesy cartoon explanation of the fact that each daughter of the fiercely independent mother and runner of the wedding planners has, in fact, a different father. It seems as though Mom can’t hold it together, can’t hold down what she thinks is love when she finds it, so each daughter seems to deal with the questions of love and marriage differently. But the oldest, Lily, who’s seen all of it and is apparently rather bitter over the experience, is downright refusing to even consider the possibility, and when her perfectly nice boyfriend asks her to marry him, we have a very different response waiting for him – tossing her cookies. In front of everyone. But hey, he asked in front of everyone, so it’s partly his fault.

Lily proceeds to run home to Mom and family, studiously ignoring Mom trying hard to get Lily back with her thwarted fiancé. Lily finds refuge in the comforting presence of an old high school friend, who of course unbeknownst to her, is dating one of her sisters, the youngest in fact, Twinny. Hoku, another sister, is a fashion designer and not all that interested in the wedding planner world either, but her heart’s in the right place. She tries very hard to be kind to Lily, even designs a would-be wedding dress for her, assuming her wayward would-be fiancé James is coming on and they will be getting married. Needless to say, Lily’s reaction to the wedding dress is right up there with her reaction to her would-be fiance’s proposal. In the midst of trying to set up not one but two weddings at the same location, Lily ponders the questions of life and love and the weird turns fate and family takes. In the end, with some sad feelings but no bad ones abounding, Lily seems to take up with the one she’s meant to be with, the high school friend Kai, and they do participate in a wedding – just not eachothers’.

For a romantic comedy, it’s not a bad movie. The locations are beautiful, and so is the soundtrack. I being an only child have a hard time relating to the inter-family relations with the sisters, and also being a most-of-the-time-optimist, I’m saddened by most of Lily’s early thoughts and revelations on love and marriage. Doesn’t mean I disagree, it’s just sad for her to have to go through it. But if she didn’t, there would be no movie!

Movie Moxie loves SD Asian Film Fest 2011 – Pics

The Cast of Knots

Director Lee Ann Kim and lots of Staff

More SDAFF Staff & Support

Me and the Director/Writer and Producer of Jiro Dreams of Sushi

Me and the boys from Big in Bollywood

Captured by Alicia Glass

Indomina catches “Cabin Fever”

 

INDOMINA CATCHES “CABIN FEVER”

 

The Indomina Group Picks Up Options For Two New “Cabin Fever” Films

Los Angeles, CA – October 31, 2011 – It was announced today that The Indomina Group, the fast-growing U.S. and Dominican Republic based producer and distributor of film, TV and trans-media content, and leading proponent of ‘fanboy’ cinema is resurrecting the popular “Cabin Fever” franchise and will produce and distribute at least two more feature films. The announcement was made by Indomina Group Vice Chairman and CEO Jasbinder Singh Mann.

The Indomina Group has optioned the rights for two new “Cabin Fever” installments, which will be “Cabin Fever: Patient Zero” and “Cabin Fever: Outbreak.” The films will be shot back to back in the Dominican Republicin early Spring of 2012.

Jake Wade Wall (“The Hitcher,” “When Strangers Call”) has signed on to pen the screenplay for “Cabin Fever: Patient Zero.” When a cruise ship in the Caribbean collides with an abandoned research vessel, a deadly virus is unleashed. Passengers must find a way to survive before the flesh eating disease consumes them all.

“Cabin Fever: Outbereak” is being written by Adam and Deborah Marcus (“Leatherface 3D,” “I Walked With a Zombie”). In this film a doctor and his family travel to a remote Caribbean island to investigate a minor flu outbreak, only to discover a vicious flesh-eating virus that threatens everyone on the island. The family is faced with responsibility to prevent a worldwide epidemic.

Original “Cabin Fever” producer Hypotenuse Pictures is producing these next two films. Indomina Group Vice Chairman and CEO Jasbinder Singh Mann is executive producer on both films.

“We see tremendous potential with the ‘Cabin Fever’ franchise,” said Singh Mann. “We are committing to two new ‘Cabin Fever’ films because there is a real demand from a devout fanbase – not just ‘Cabin Fever’ die hards but a large and vocal group of horror fans around the world. Indomina is excited to take the reigns of the franchise and deliver on these next two films.”

The Indomina Group has been active of late, having recently acquired North American distribution rights (as well as financing and selling) the comedy “A Fantastic Fear of Everything” starring Simon Pegg (“Shaun of the Dead,” “Hot Fuzz”) as well as the thriller “Life Without Principle” – the newest film from internationally acclaimed director/producer and contemporary maestro of Hong Kongese action cinema Johnnie To.