Phil attends Cinequest 28: Day 7 - March 5, 2018

Hello everybody and welcome to Day Seven of my trip to Cinequest 28! So my life is full of surprises, and the biggest surprises I received was I started my BRAND NEW JOB TODAY!! Yes, I am very excited about it! However, because I started today, it meant that I wouldn't be able to reach my goal of 60 films this year. So I'm just going to try for a personal best for myself. And after my first day of work, I headed back to the festival and saw two films today, reason being is that I have to get up early for work. now. So let's get this show on the road, shall we?

The first film of the night was the Spanish film CYGNUS over at the California Theatre. The movie follows astronomer Fabian, who receives a signal from an unknown object near the Cygnus constellation 37,000 light years from Earth. But he's not the only one that wants to know what the signal came from, as he soon discovers that the signal wasn't the only thing that came down to Earth.

Mexican cinema focuses on only four genres: musicals, comedies, romance and action/adventures. Filmmaker Hugo Felix Mercado, producer Hugo Espinosa Juarez, and Carlos Alvahuante Contreras saw that there was a hole in Mexican cinema, that being science fiction films, and decided to rectify that problem. This movie is a pure sci-fi film, featuring real science, fiction, space monsters, and intrigue. All three were there at the festival to take part in a Q&A session. This was a big surprise for me at this year's festival and a rewarding one at that!! 4 1/2 out of 5 stars!!

I stayed at the California Theatre to see THE LAST MOVIE STAR, my second film of the day. Legendary actor Burt Reynolds stars as Vic Edwards, a washed-up, has-been actor whose glory days a long behind him. When I he accepts to attend the Dallas Film Festival, he is paired with the organizer's eccentric sister Lil (Ariel Winter), who takes him on a trip down Memory Lane, only to discover what it means about growing older and coming to terms with your past.

I absolutely loved this movie!! Mainly because I related so much with it. Even though I'm only 45 years old, I find myself longing to return to the past to right my mistakes, while coming to terms on growing older, feeling like my best days are already behind me. Like his character Vic, Reynolds is in the same situation as well. His performance was just incredibly poignant, remarkable and all-too real. And the film was written and directed by Adam Rifkin!! I have been a fan of his for years!! He started off making low-budget B-movies and horror flicks like THE INVISIBLE MANIAC and PSYCHO COP RETURNS before helming the cult classic DETROIT ROCK CITY and his segment "Wadzilla" in the horror anthology CHILLERAMA. This, for me, marks his return to the mainstream and a turn in his career. If you didn't get the chance to see this at the festival, don't worry! The movie will be released by A24 to theaters on March 30th! My favorite spotlight film of the festival!! 5 out of 5 stars!!

And folks, there you have Day Seven of Cinequest 24! So far it's been a fun-filled festival!! To view the festival's film schedule and purchase tickets and passes, visit their website at www.cinequest.org.

Thanks for reading, and enjoy the show!