Phil attends the Cinequest Film & Creativity Festival: Day Nine - March 13, 2019

Hello film fanatics and welcome of Day Nine of my trip to the 29th Annual Cinequest Film & Creativity Festival!! So far I've seen some excellent movies and having blast seeing old friends and making new ones! After all, what else do you do at film festivals? Oh yeah, watch movies!! And with that, I made my way back down to 3Below Theaters & Lounge in Downtown San Jose to watch my first movie of that day, the romantic comedy BITE ME!

In New York City, there is a subculture of people who identify themselves as vampires. A young woman named Sara (Naomi McDougall Jones) is one of those individuals. While she does drink blood to stay healthy, she doesn't sleep in a coffin, can walk in the daytime, has a job, and her vampire "church" is being audited by the IRS for back taxes. He life takes a turn in an unexpected direction when she meets James (Christian Coulson), the IRS agent assigned to her audit case. Before you know it, the two fall for each other, much to the chagrin of her roommates Chrissy (Naomi Grossman) and Lily (Mahira Kakkar). So how does a vampire find love in New York City, and can love truly conquer all in the real world?

Wow! I was not expecting the film to be quite like this! Meaning, this movie blew my mind!! I was expecting a horror comedy, not a romantic comedy/drama that deals with all-too-real problems that we face in our everyday lives. While there is horror in the film, it's modern day horrors: dead-end jobs, money problems, prejudices, and the fear of never finding that special person to love for the rest of your life. Naomi McDougall Jones soars as Sara; she just exudes talent and is absolutely wonderful in the film! Her on-screen chemistry with her co-star Christian Coulson is so believable that I fell head over heels in love with these two characters! And, in case you are not able to see the film during the festival, the filmmakers are taking the film on tour this spring. Dubbed "The Joyful Vampire Tour of America," the movie will be screened at independent theaters in 20-30 cities! Visit the film's official website www.bitemethefilm.com to learn more about the tour, and make sure you see it here at Cinequest! 5 out of 5 stars!! Highly recommended!!

BITE ME will be screened one last time on Sunday, March 17th at 10:45am at the Century 20 Redwood City.

For film number two, I headed over to the historic California Theatre to watch the Chinese sci-fi film LAST SUNRISE. On one particular day, life changed forever, as the sun flickered and then suddenly faded, leaving Earth in a state of cold darkness. Amateur astronomer Sun Yang (Jue Zhang) along with his neighbor Chen Mu (Yue Zhang) must travel to seek shelter in the area called District Four. Along the way, they must learn to survive their new environment as they trek through this cold and dark, yet beautiful new world.

Now this was an astounding and beautifully made sci-fi movie with a voice! The film is an antithesis to what American science fiction films are. Here is a movie that is smart, unique, and provides us with hope instead of death and violence, like our films. Kudos to co-writer/director Wen Ren for crafting a film that dares to go against the norm of traditional Hollywood films and charting a new course for his highly intelligent, emotionally charged, character driven, and highly original sci-fi film that I hope will be seen by the entire world! 5 out of 5 stars!

LAST SUNRISE will be screened one last time on Saturday, March 16th at 6:30pm at the Century 20 Redwood City.

And that cinephiles was Day Nine of the 29th Annual Cinequest Film & Creativity Festival!! And there's still plenty more films to watch! Remember the festival ends on Sunday, March 17th so make sure you come out here to Downtown San Jose and see some art! To view the festival's film schedule, purchase tickets and passes, visit their official website at www.cinequest.org.

Thanks for reading, and enjoy the show! 

Phil attends the Cinequest Film & Creativity Festival: Day Eight - March 12, 2019

Hello again and welcome to Day Eight of my trip to the 29th Annual Cinequest Film & Creativity Festival!! Today I saw a couple movies here in beautiful Downtown San Jose! Upon my arrival to the heart of the city, I made my way over to the 3Below Theaters & Lounge to watch my first movie of that day, and that movie was called CIRCLE OF STEEL.

Meet Wendy Fong (Chantelle Han), a young, bright, and eager engineer who has only been with her new company for about year, but then rumors begin to surface regarding potential layoffs. During this time of waiting, she keeps herself busy by hanging out the local watering hole drinking and singing karaoke, working out to Pilates tapes in her hotel room, online dating, and getting smashed on blow with her friend Kristen (Andrea Jorawsky). But eventually, the real world becomes more real than she can imagine, and her future comes to an unknown conclusion.

While the film addresses issues of job loss, drugs and alcohol, and the nightmare of adult routines, the film fell flat for me. It was described as a comedy in the festival program, but I didn't find anything funny about it, nor did I know if it was supposed to be a dark humor or a laugh-out-loud comedy. My impression of the movie was that the filmmakers didn't really know either. It could have had potential to be comedy, but there wasn't anything funny about it. I did enjoy the acting in it, and I thought that the lead actress Chantelle Han was great in it, the movie was a let down for me. 2 out of 5 stars.

This was the last screening for the film at the festival.

I remained at the 3Below Theaters & Lounge for my second feature of the day., but before the main feature there was a short film screened. THE FRINGE CLASS is about a group of runaway and homeless teenagers living on the streets of the Bay Area. We follow Thena, who has been living on the streets since her falling out with her no-so understanding mother. On the streets she meets and befriends Sabrina, who is now being pimped out by Romeo. Soon the situation becomes violent as Thena must now choose to either stay in her current situation or to seek refuge elsewhere.

Based on the novel "The Art of Love" by Betsy Franco, the short film looks and feels very authentic to the plight that young homeless teenagers are forced to live through out on the streets. It was very well acted, great cinematography, and really addresses the issues of the rise teenage homelessness and what we as a community and society can do to help theses runaways get off the streets. A really powerful short film that I would love to see again! 5 out of stars!

BROKEN PLACES is a documentary that explores why some children are permanently damaged by early adversity while others are able to thrive. By revisiting some of the abused and neglected children we profiled decades ago, we're able to dramatically illustrate how early trauma shaped their lives as adults. The film interweaves these longitudinal narratives with commentary from a few internationally renowned experts to help viewers better understand the devastating impact of childhood adversity as well as the inspiring characteristics of resilience.

The documentary was very informative and provides evidence on how our environments of our childhood shape us as we grow into adulthood. Award-winning director Roger Weisberg revisits several of his interviewers that he has filmed for the past four decades to see how they are all doing, if they are surviving, and what is their attitude about their lives in the present. 5 out 5 stars!

This was the last screening for the film at the festival as well.

And that ladies and gentlemen was Day Seven of the 29th Annual Cinequest Film & Creativity Festival!! And there's still plenty more films to watch! Remember the festival ends on Sunday, March 17th so make sure you come out here to Downtown San Jose and see some art! To view the festival's film schedule, purchase tickets and passes, visit their official website at www.cinequest.org.

Thanks for reading, and enjoy the show! 

Phil attends the Cinequest Film & Creativity Festival: Day Seven - March 11, 2019

Hello again everybody and welcome to Day Seven of my trip to the 29th Annual Cinequest Film & Creativity Festival!! Now as some of you may have noticed, I missed three days of the festival, but there's a very good reason for that. My incredibly talented and beautiful girlfriend is one of the leads in the new show called EURYDICE, a Greek tragedy play that will be opening at the City Lights Theater on Saturday, March 14th and it will run till April 14th (click the link in the title to purchase your tickets today). Because of this, she is in rehearsals a lot, and this past weekend she had all-day rehearsals! That's 11 hour days my friends!! So I was watching our son while she was getting her theater groove on, but I did sneak in a screening of CAPTAIN MARVEL on Friday after work (which was awesome!), but that's where I've been. Like I've said before, being a parent is a lot of hard work and sacrifice, but I would not change it for the world! I got to spend some quality time with my son and I get to see my love back up in the stage acting again! So I would say that it's a win-win for yours truly!

I'm on vacation from work this week, and so I was able to see two movies today. After grabbing an early lunch over at the awesome La Victoria Taqueria (home of the delicious orange sauce) over on San Carlos and 4th Street, I made my over to the 3Below Theaters & Lounge to see the LGBTQ love drama BORDERLINE.

The film's about a young woman named Anna (Anna Alfieri), who is going through the aftermath of her breakup with Robyn (Agathe Ferre), the only girl she's ever loved. Told through a non-liner storyline, we see the love and heartache Anna has experienced, and the self-destructive path that she walks on after her relationship ended so damn painfully. Love is a four-letter word and we see first hand how Anna experiences this, how she lost it, and how does she find herself again.

This was such an outstanding film!! I absolutely loved it!! It proves, once again, that it doesn't matter if your gay or straight, we all feel the exact same way, and we feel the pain and suffering when we lose that special someone that we loved the most. I applaud filmmaker Anna Alfieri for her bravery to put all of this on the screen. Based on a true event that she herself went through, the film was her passion project; she wrote, produced, acted, and directed the film, took over two years to make, filmed in three different countries, and it was entirely improvised based on only a twelve page skeleton outlined script! The end result is a raw, unflinching, and uncompromising movie that discusses not only to have been love and lose said love, but of depression and the inner demons that most people cannot comprehend, nor understand the daily struggle of trying to figure out how to be happy in the modern world. As of this moment, this is my FAVORITE film of the festival, and it's gonna be damn hard to see if anything top this emotionally charged, beautifully haunting, and powerful examination of the human soul!! 5 out of 5 stars!! Highly recommended!!

BORDERLINE will have two more screenings: Tuesday, March 12th at 6:00pm and Friday, March 15th at 9:30pm at the Century 20 Redwood City.

For my second of the day, I went down the block to the Hammer Theatre Center to watch LAKE OVER FIRE, a Norwegian comedy that was also making its world premiere at the festival as well. The film takes place in a remote desert town (it's actually just a bunch of mobile trailers) where everybody is filthy rich, thanks in large part to a mine that's filled with these red circular things (almost Lego-like). Because of this, the whole town doesn't feel like working anymore (would you?). Then out of nowhere, a stranger rides into town (on a moped no less) and decides to stir things up by pitting the townsfolks against each other.

This was one of the most bonkers-ass movies I've seen at the festival for quite some time! The movie is filled with brightly colored mobile trailers, people with giant cowboy helmets with giant rotary phones on their hips, riding on mopeds, and garbage everywhere. There's barely a story, quirky characters, people killing each other, and it's just freaking weird ass movie! If Alejandro Jodorowsky teamed up with John Waters to make a film, this would be the end result! I didn't love it, not did I hate it. It was just there. And that's where I'll end this review. 3 out of 5 stars.

This was the last screening for the film at the festival.

And there you have it! Day Seven is now in the history books! And there's still plenty more films to watch! Remember the festival ends on Sunday, March 17th so make sure you come out here to Downtown San Jose! To view the festival's film schedule, purchase tickets and passes, visit their official website at www.cinequest.org.

Thanks for reading, and enjoy the show!

Phil sees CAPTAIN MARVEL at the Cinelux Almaden Café & Lounge - March 8, 2019

CAPTAIN MARVEL

Starring Brie Larson, Samuel L. Jackson, Ben Mendelsohn, Jude Law, Annette Bening, Clark Gregg, Lashana Lynch, Lee Pace
Written by Anna Boden, Ryan Fleck, Geneva Robertson-Dworet, Nicole Perlman, Meg LeFauve
Characters created by Roy Thomas, Gene Colan
Cinematography by Ben Davis
Edited by Debbie Berman, Elliot Graham
Produced by Kevin Feige
Directed by Anna Boden, Ryan Fleck
Released by Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures

It's been a rewarding experience to have seen every single film of the Marvel Cinematic Universe in the theaters. Ever since I attended a special preview screening of IRON MAN at the Century 20 Oakridge all the way back in 2008. Since then, we have been treated to some of the most iconic characters ever created in the comic book world, having major Hollywood stars bringing these iconic heroes and villains to life on the big screen, and seeing some major first and record breaking debuts in those eleven years. Today, audiences were once again treated to another first: Marvel Studio's first female starring film that will be loved by female audiences worldwide. Taking place in that awesome year of 1995, let's take a ride with the MCU's newest superhero CAPTAIN MARVEL at the Cinelux Almaden Café & Lounge.

The film's official synopsis: Captain Marvel (Larson) is an extraterrestrial Kree warrior who finds herself caught in the middle of an intergalactic battle between her people and the Skrulls. Living on Earth in 1995, she keeps having recurring memories of another life as U.S. Air Force pilot Carol Danvers. With help from Nick Fury (Jackson), Captain Marvel tries to uncover the secrets of her past while harnessing her special superpowers to end the war with the evil Skrulls.

So I had a blast watching this movie! Now, I was surprised when Marvel Studios announced that Brie Larson was cast as our heroine. Reason being that she's an Academy Award winner, star of ROOM and the THE GLASS CASTLE. These are amazing dramas! Of course she's been in other movies like TRAINWRECK, KONG: SKULL ISLAND, and FREE FIRE, but I figured she would go on to star in these lavish time period dramas and arthouse type films after her big win. Thankfully, she embraced her inner superhero and she nailed her performance as US Air Force Pilot Carol Danvers, her new alien identity Vers, and the most powerful entity known as Captain Marvel! Samuel L. Jackson once again return as Nick Fury, but this is 1995 and Fury is not yet the man in charge of S.H.I.E.L.D. but we get to see how he came to be (and why he wears that patch). Also back on the big screen is Clark Gregg, who has been portraying Agent Coulson since the first IRON MAN back in 2008! While he died in THE AVENGERS, he was brought back to life and has been appearing of the hit television show Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. since 2013. Now, with the Marvel Studios, there's always a legendary Hollywood actor or actress making their MCU debut, and with this film, they can add the iconic Annette Bening, who plays Supreme Intelligence in the movie, to that list. Add Jude Law as Yon-Rogg to the mix, along with GUARDIANS OF THE GALAXY alumnus Djimon Hounsou and Lee Pace (Korath and Ronan, respectively), and you've got yourself a kick ass Marvel movie!

As I write-up this review, the movie has garnered acclaim from fans of the MCU and from female audience members alike. But the big news to come out of this weekend was its boxoffice haul. The movie has grossed a freaking unbelievable $455 million worldwide and became the sixth-highest worldwide debut ever!! It also scored a whopping $153 million domestically and is the studio's latest best-performing opening weekend of the year!! That is outstanding!! And to all those dipshit trolls who were trying to boycott the movie, guess what boys? You lost big time!! Now shut the hell up and go get a life!!

CAPTAIN MARVEL is another fun-filled, superheroic blockbuster of a movie that will make fans rejoice and chat for more!! And in case you've been living under a rock, she will be appearing in the upcoming conclusion AVENGERS: ENDGAME. The film serves its purpose as an awesome origin film, but it sets up an epic battle to come as well! If you're excited to see Captain Marvel square off against Thanos, we only have one month to wait! In the meantime, make sure you see this one at least three more times, and if it's playing in 3D and IMAX, then see it that way as well! 5 out of 5 stars!! Highly recommended!!

CAPTAIN MARVEL is currently playing in theaters in 2D, 3D, and IMAX nationwide, including at the Cinelux Theaters here in the Bay Area. To view showtimes, visit their website at www.cineluxtheatres.com.

Thanks for reading, and enjoy the show!

Phil attends the Cinequest Film & Creativity Festival: Day Three - March 7, 2019

Greetings and salutations and welcome to Day Three of my trip to the 29th Annual Cinequest Film & Creativity Festival!! So far I've seen two amazing films; foreign films to be precise.What I really enjoy about watching foreign film sis that I am transported to a far away land that I will never get to visit, meeting people I will never get to meet, explore their cultures, beliefs, and their histories. Today was one such film, as I made my way once again to the California Theatre to see the Albanian export A SHELTER AMONG THE CLOUDS.

Besnik is a lonely shepherd and devoted Muslim, haunted by unfulfilled love. He is the son of a Catholic mother and formerly Communist father whom he takes care of in an Albanian village in the mountains. Up here, Christians and Muslims have found a way to co-exist peacefully. Even after the discovery that the old mosque used to be a church and that the building was actually shared by the two religions in the past, the calm of daily life can be preserved - with Besnik's help. After the death of his father, however, drastic changes threaten Besnik's multi-faith family and the shepherd is forced to seek his own path.

I found the movie to be interesting and thoughtful, albeit the pacing of it is very slow. There were several things that I found to be fascinating. The first being the setting, which is basically a village within the mountains. It's hard to fathom that, even in the 21st century, there are still places that haven't been corrupted by the so-called "wonders of technology." The people who live in this village live a very simple life; some are Sheppard, women wash the laundry by hand and hang them up to dry and a rope tied to trees, houses look ancient and primitive, etc. The world of today doesn't exist out there. The second is that while they live a simple life, that way of life is almost ruined by the religions they practiced. It's one thing to believe in God, but religion and the "right way" to worship Him is what tears about families and communities. Overall, the film is a dramatic, character driven film, with beautiful cinematography, but the finale was a bit lackluster and felt flat to me. 3 out of 5 stars!

A SHELTER AMONG THE CLOUDS will be screened one more time on Saturday, March 16th at 3:10pm at the Century 20 Redwood City.

And that was Day Three of my Cinequest 29 excursion! Three films in so far, but there's still plenty more to watch! Remember the festival ends on Sunday, March 17th so make sure you come out here to Downtown San Jose! To view the festival's film schedule, purchase tickets and passes, visit their official website at www.cinequest.org.

Thanks for reading, and enjoy the show!

Phil attends the Cinequest Film & Creativity Festival: Day Two - March 6, 2019

Hello film fanatics and welcome of Day Two of my trip to the 29th Annual Cinequest Film & Creativity Festival!! After last night's opening night and party, I was super hyped to begin my cinematic journey of the festival! Today I found myself once again at the historic and majestic California Theatre in the heart of Downtown San Jose to see the dramatic and sexually charged Norwegian film AN AFFAIR (En affaere).

The movie is about Anita, a lovely women who just started her new job as the new gym and home room teacher at a local high school. She is also married to the ideal man, lives in a beautiful house, so it would seem that Anita is living the life. But then, her life takes an unexpected turn as she becomes stalked by Markus, a student of hers. After resisting his advances, she eventually gave in to her lustful desires, and the two begin an intense and erotic affair. But then the dynamics shift, and soon it is Anita who stalks Markus, unable to control her needs and emotions for the teenager. But will she risk her marriage, her career, and her life for the satisfaction of a torrid sexual affair with her student?

I found the film to be astounding; bring the teacher/student sex angle that's been all over the news in recent years here in the states. However, these events are played out differently over in Norway. While here there would be police involved, newspaper and news reporters, tabloid stories published, and sometimes the church, over there it's the opposite. For one, they don't frown about sex; hell, there's a scene where Anita is driving with Markus' mom (who she was friends with back when they were in gymnastics) and she was telling Anita how she would hear her son with his girlfriend having sex! Yeah, that's not the norm over here! Also, the outcome of the film didn't involve the police at all, just by the individuals involved.

Anita is played by the incredible actress Andrea Bræin Hovig, who gives one of the most fearless and disturbing performances I have ever seen! She goes from a timid, unsure school teacher to a sex crazed, cub stalking, twisted cougar who will stop at nothing to make Markus hers and hers alone! Hovig was really creepy and unnerving, and yet, beautiful and sexy at the same time! Kudos to this amazing actress for making me squirm in my seat during the movie! Add Henrik Martin Dahlsbakken's superb directing and Oskar Dahlsbakken gorgeous cinematography, and you've got one hell of a film!! 5 out of 5 stars!!

AN AFFAIR (En affaere) will have three more screenings: Thursday, Marsh 7th at 1:00pm and Friday, March 15th at 9:15pm at the Century 20 Redwood City and Sunday, March 17th at 7:50pm at the 3Below Theaters.

And folks, there you have Day Two of Cinequest 29! And there's still 11 more days of movie watching for me! Remember the festival ends on Sunday, March 17th so make sure you come out here to San Jose! 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!

Phil attends the Opening Night of the 29th Annual Cinequest Film & Creativity Festival - March 5, 2019

It's that most amazing time of the year!! That's right folks!! Tonight was the opening night of the 29th Annual Cinequest Film & Creativity Festival!! I am expecting to see some of the very best in independent, foreign, and documentaries here for the next thirteen days! Once again I got to see some of my old friends like Jason Wiener from Jason Watches Movies as well as my old buddy Roy from the Niles Essanay Silent Film Museum, Terra Wood-Taylor, Michael Rabehl, and a few others. At this year's festival I hope to once again make new friends and as well as new memories. Back in 2014, I set an all-time personal record by attending 60 screenings in 13 days! Let's see if I can even bet that record this year!!

The opening night was held once again at the beautiful California Theatre on South First Street. There was the traditional red carpet with numerous filmmakers talking about their films to the press and posing for the cameras. Soon I found my way towards the front of the stage, bouncing in my seat with excitement. Then at 7:15pm, the lights slowly dimmed and the show began!

Cinequest director and co-founder and Halfdan Hussey came out and greeted everyone and thanked all our sponsors. He then had the theatre screen this year's festival trailer, which was done once again by SF Bay Area production company Guerrilla Wanders. The audience were then treated to a amazing a hilarious singing number from three young, talented singers from the Children's Musical Theater,  an informative speech from Stand Up to Cancer (which was founded by Laura Ziskin, who passed away from breast cancer in 2011). After, Halfdan introduced Cinequest co-founder Kathleen Powell, who then presented the Maverick Spirit Award to tonight's opening film director Nandita Das! She was interviewed by Sean McCarthy from Guerilla Wanderer. She spoke of her acting career,  her thoughts on religion, what drives her to create art, and what the process of making tonight's film. I found her to be absolutely astounding, funny, charming and wise woman, Her words are powerful tools to make change, to counter hate, and she processes a pose and class that I fell in love with this woman! After the festival's conclusion, I'll be making a effort to track down and watch her films! After the the interview, she posed with her award for the photographers and fans, and then it was time to watch the opening night's film MANTO.

MANTO actor Nawazuddin Siddiqui and writer/director Nandita Das.

The film's official synopsis: The film follows the most tumultuous four years in the life of Manto and that of the two countries he inhabits - India and Pakistan. In Bombay's seedy-shiny film world, Manto and his stories are widely read and accepted. But as sectarian violence engulfs the nation, he makes the difficult choice of leaving his beloved Bombay. In Lahore, he finds himself bereft of friends and unable to find takers for his writings. His increasing alcoholism leads him into a downward spiral. Through all of this, he continues to write prolifically, without dilution. This is the tale of two emerging nations, two faltering cities, and one man who tries to make sense of it all.

This was an extraordinary, emotionally charged film about an individual I never knew existed, nor heard of his work! Not only did he fight against the system that deemed his literature obscene to society at that time, he was also battling his own demons that, eventually, took its toll on his lifem his work, and his family. His story almost parallels the story of Ellen Ginsberg, in that their stories and words shocked people and society as well as challenged the status quo of what was acceptable and what wasn't. Lead actor Nawazuddin Siddiqui was just outstanding as Manto; bringing to life a very revered artists and tragic human being! This was the third film that Nandita Das directed and it was flawless! I was completely emerged withing the frames of the film that I just sat in my chair motionless for the film's two hour running time!! A tour-de-force masterpiece of a film that everyone should see!!

After the screening, everybody headed over to the lavish after party, which was held over at The Glass House on 12 South Market Street, where there was plenty to eat, drink, and music to dance to shack our bootties to all night long! Drinks were once again provided by Tito's Vodka, as well as by  Hendrick's Gin,  Drake's Brewing, and J. Lohr Winery!!

MANTO was the perfect film to kick off Cinequest 29! And there's still 12 days of movie watching left! So what are you waiting for? Now you can partake in this very important downtown event. The 29th Annual Cinequest Film & Creativity Festival runs from March 5th to March 17th!! To view film schedules, information about the festival, and to purchase tickets and passes, visit their website at www.cinequest.org.

Thanks for reading, and enjoy the show!