Thursday, June 17, 2010

SINNERS AND SAINTS MOVIE PREMIERE!

There’s something about the city of New Orleans that’s fascinating. From it’s beautifully aged unique architectural styles which reflects the city's historic roots and multicultural heritage, to it’s world famous Cajun cuisines. It’s produced a wide array of musicians and sports athletes, and for being the party city that never sleeps during it’s Mardi Gras session. No I’ve never been there myself, but I’ve studied it from books and documentaries, and what I’ve learned from them is, despite the city enduring some of the most dangerous of natural disasters that side of the United States has ever seen, it’s citizens however have proven that you can’t keep them nor they're city down for long. One cannot deny that it’s got a natural atmospheric setting that’s very alluring.

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Sinners And Saints Movie Premiere...

Sinners And Saints movie premiere is expected to have a full celebrity
cast in attendance. Tickets are being sold to this star-studded event
to benefit Common Ground Relief (A Non-Profit organization focused on
rebuilding post-Katrina New Orleans and surrounding areas). The
premiere will be held at Arclight Hollywood Cinema in Los Angeles, on
June 30, 2010.

Some of the cast members expected to attend include: Johnny Strong,
Tom Berenger, Sean Patrick Flanery, Kevin Phillips, Costas Mandylor,
Kim Coates, Method Man, Jurgen Prochnow, Jolene Blalock, Louis
Mandylor, Brooklyn Sudano, Baz Rutten and many more...

ALL of The film's stars will be in attendance for this world premier event!

SYNOPSIS:
In lawless storm ravaged New Orleans, beleaguered Detective Sean Riley
is trying to cope with the death of his young son and the abandonment
of his wife. Facing a probable suspension from the department, Riley
is teamed with a young homicide Detective, Will Ganz, to help solve a
series of brutal murders that have plunged the city into a major gang
war. The two quickly realize there is something far more sinister
going on than either could have ever imagined.

You can catch the trailer and learn more about the film and by how you can contribute to this event by checking out it’s official website: HERE

Wednesday, June 16, 2010

CLIFTON COLLINS JR. TURN'S 40 TODAY!

Clifton Collins Jr. is an actor I like to consider as a jack of all trades when it comes to character acting. Over the last few decades he’s managed to make us see him in many different lights with his various performances.

From wowing us as the hero, to making us cringe as the villain, to making us relate with him as Mr. nice guy, and loving to hate him as the A-Hole, never once has he failed to entertain us, nor has it been a dull moment.

So when good friend Wendy Shepherd over at studiomatrix mentioned to me this morning that it was Clifton Collins Jr’s 40th birthday today, I felt the need to spread the word both high and low for an actor who‘s incredibly underrated!

Being the all around good actor that he is, Collins has appeared in a great deal of memorable films, of the many film’s he has appeared in, STAR TREK (2009), CRANK: HIGE VOLTAGE (2009), EXTRACT, BROTHERS (2009), and last year’s cult sensation, THE BOONDOCK SAINTS II: ALL SAINTS DAY (2009). are just a small number of films I can recall off the top of my head he’s been in as of recent.

Aside from acting he’s also produced quite a number of films in the last few years, and has even been quoted for saying he studies “like a madman” when preparing for a role. But a madman he is not in real life, he's known by friends and fans alike as being one of the most kind and down to earth individual you will ever meet.

So we at TCWreviews would like to wish Clifton Collins Jr. a happy 40th birthday, and thank him for giving us all the fond years of serves on the big screen and wish him a wonderful 40 more years ahead! So for all the fans out there, if you happen to see him out and about today make sure to give him a handshake and thanks for providing some mighty fine entertainment!

Drop by his official website to learn more about what he’s been up to at: cliftoncollinsjr.com

Also while you're at it check him out in the music video to “High Cost of Living” by Jamey Johnson: HERE

Tuesday, June 15, 2010

The City of Gardens Wraps Filming in Lima, Peru…Production Moving to Los Angeles.

Twilight is just around the corner, and already the sight of twihards stampeding through theaters lines are already beginning form, don’t believe me? Don’t worry because when the sound of the horrific act echo’s throughout the valley just remember I told you so!

But for now, the fans of the Twilight films (you know who you are) will have to make do with some (Unrelated to Twilight) news regarding one of it’s stars, Alex Meraz, who is starring in a new film being made called “The City of Gardens”.

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:
The City of Gardens Wraps Filming in Lima, Peru…Production Moving to Los Angeles.
Dynamic ensemble cast, John Robinson, Alex Meraz, Johnny Lewis, Michael DeLorenzo, Deborah Unger, James Remar and Grant Bowler
star in a story inspired by true events
Produced by Four Fish Films/DragonTree Media

Production is currently underway on the feature film The City of Gardens, which is the 1980s story of a young American surfer, wrongfully accused of cocaine trafficking and sent to prison. Production has wrapped photography in Lima, Peru and will continue in Los Angeles.

The intense action drama and coming of age story stars John Robinson (Lords of Dogtown, Transformers, Elephant), Alex Meraz (The Twilight Saga: Eclipse and New Moon), Johnny Lewis (Sons of Anarchy, The Runaways, AVPR: Aliens vs. Predator - Requiem), Michael DeLorenzo (A Few Good Men, Not Forgotten, Resurrection Blvd), Deborah Unger (White Noise, The Hurricane, Angel and the Bad Man, The Game), James Remar (Red with Bruce Willis, Gun with Val Kilmer, Pineapple Express, 2 Fast 2 Furious) and Grant Bowler (Killer Elite with Robert De Niro, Jason Statham & Clive Owen, True Blood 3rd Season, Ugly Betty). The City of Gardens is directed by Camilo Vila (18 Wheels of Justice, Resurrection Blvd), who wrote the script with Monty Fisher. Monty Fisher and Alicia Rivera Frankl (Gettysburg, Babysitter, The Mask of Zorro) are producing alongside co-producer Rami Rivera Frankl. DragonTree Media president Rami Rivera Frankl is in discussions for Domestic and International Distribution. Production is currently casting the role of Wayne’s (John Robinson) mother.

The action drama, The City of Gardens, follows a blond Californian surfer, Wayne Montgomery (John Robinson), who is a fun loving beach bum escaping the influence of his wealthy and powerful father (James Remar). Wayne leaves his home in Beverly Hills for the enchantment of exotic Peru. Wayne’s carefree lifestyle and love affair with his beautiful girlfriend, Maritza, (introducing Anahi De Cardenas a Peruvian actress), ends when he is framed during a political uprising. Framing turns into extortion in the sadistic prison.

In the nightmarish prison, Wayne finds himself surrounded by a group of political activists and social misfits, including a schizophrenic who believes he is Jesus Christ (Grant Bowler) and an Icelandic devotee of Krishna, Jorge (Johnny Lewis). Wayne is forced to share a mattress with the animalistic beast that everyone calls Nicaragua (Alex Meraz) which leads to a confrontation between them.

In a desperate attempt to gain freedom, Wayne meets with Consul Powers (Debra Unger) whose hands are tied by the false drug charges. As Wayne's naivety dissipates, another nemesis, the power hungry Lt. Gutierrez (Michael DeLorenzo), moves to break Wayne´s spirit, torturing him to extort money from his family. Left with few options, Wayne adopts a new ethic – engaging the Peruvian activists, sharing his gifts with them and learning the importance of faith through his sympathetic friend, Jorge (Johnny Lewis). Wayne challenges Lt. Gutierrez’s authority, confronting the depravity of corruption and abuse with his newfound spirit and courage. Wayne´s confrontation with Gutierrez propels the story to its final climax.

Monty Fisher’s Four Fish Films endeavors to develop and produce feature films, focusing especially on the cultures of both North and South America.

DragonTree Media, founded by CEO Alicia Rivera Frankl and President Rami Rivera Frankl, specializes in developing successful entertainment properties for the mainstream market with a multi-cultural awareness. Rami Rivera Frankl is represented by Montana Artist Agency. DragonTree Media has several projects in development including Gitano, Dead and Kicking and The B-Let Report to name a few.

You’re probably scratching your head right about now wondering why’d I even mention Twilight if it has nothing to do with it other than it starring an actor from it? Well maybe I wanted to bring this to the attention of the fans, or maybe I just wanted to mention it to screw with the fan base a little. Yeah, I’m cynical that way…anyway you can learn more about the film The City of Gardens by visiting it’s official website HERE

Vampire Mob Series Premiere


Vampire Mob, an original web comic series, premieres June 30 on VampireMob.com. The show stars Kirsten Vangsness of Criminal Minds, Marcia Wallace of The Simpsons, and Chris Mulkey of Boardwalk Empire. Wallace plays the mother in law, Reamy Hall, the wife, Mulkey the owner of Marty Five’s Castle & New Life Organic Dispensary, and John Colella the hitman husband in this vampire family drama, each character going through a bit of a crisis. Colella will also be appearing in the upcoming Sebastian Guitierrez film, Girl Walks in to a Bar. The film also stars Carla Gugino, Rosario Dawson, Danny Devito, Zachary Quinto, and Reamy Hall. Elizabeth Beckwith (Curb Your Enthusiasm), Andrea Cansler (The Groundlings Sunday Company), Jim Roof (The Swear Police), and Cris D’Annunzio (As the World Turns) also appear in Vampire Mob.

Vampire Mob centers around a hitman turned vampire, Don Grigioni, who finds out his undead mother-in-law is moving in…for everlasting torment. His choice to become a vampire wasn’t the sexual allure, power hunger, or even eternal life. It was simply, “a good fit” as it suited his night life habits of crime. He planned on leaving his loved ones out of it, particularly his wife, Annie. Unfortunately (or fortunately?) for her, he “got hungry”. Annie was the closest meal after all. Annie couldn’t watch her mother age, fearing watching her die and knowing her and her husband never would. So she bit her to give her eternal health and youth, which was news to Don. Now Annie’s mom needs a place to hide out and she could use a few pointers on where to find a good drink. As Don sees it, this is the worst time to be babysitting and “grocery shopping” for his mother-in-law as business hasn’t been too good.

Award-winning filmmaker and comedian, Joe Wilson, writes and directs the web series. Wilson was working as a private investigator when he got the idea for the show during a current investigation he was working on. His previous industry inspired work, a short film entitled “The Swear Police” won best short under five minutes at the 2009 LA Comedy Shorts Film Festival.


Vampire Mob’s first season will consist of 6 episodes on a view count-basis. Each episode will be posted once the previous episode reaches the required amount of views. Updates will be sent to viewers through the show’s Twitter http://www/twitter.com/VampireMob) and Facebook (http://www/facebook.com/group.php?grid=370100209495).

The series premiere screening will take place on June 27 at the Ruskin Group Theatre (3000 Airport Avenue, Santa Monica, CA 90405). Elizabeth Beckwith, Betsy Salkind, and Marray Valeriano will be performing. Cast members, John Colella, Reamy Hall, Marcia Wallace, Kirsten Vangsness, Chris Mulkey, Jim Roof, Andrea Cansler, Cris D’Annunzio, and Elizabeth Beckwith will be in attendance.

For those that can’t attend in person, a password protected online premiere will occur that same day, before the official launch date.

Wednesday, June 2, 2010

Review: Maggie Marvel (2010) [Reviewed By Clifford Kiyabu]

Directed by: Dan Brennan
Written by: Dan Brennan (writer)
Genre: Comedy / Drama
MPAA: Not Rated
Released: 7 June 2010
Starring: Selene Beretta, Diana Brennan, Katherine Barron, Dan Brennan, Dasha Kitterridge, Sabrina Brennan, Russ Camarda.

Plot: A single mom never has it easy. Maggie Marvel must balance career and family, murder and math homework. She is pushed into this dangerous world…only to find out she is very good at it.

Review: 7/10

The Story is about: A dark comedy about a single Mom named, Maggie Marvel (Selene Beretta) who moonlights as a contract killer for her estranged father’s crime syndicate to help her deal with anger issues. After years of killing, she’s finally hit the big question, is this the life she wants for herself and her daughter, Samantha (Diana Brennan). She’ll soon find that walking away is simple being said than done.

My Thoughts: In both the insect and animal kingdom, the female is often at times revered and considered more deadly then the male of the species, they’re majestic and exotically beautiful, much like their human counterpart. And yet the thought of a female Hitman (or Hitwoman to better phrase it) seems to be farthest from our minds, women harbor all the characteristics and skills to be the perfect killing machine that you’d never see coming until it was to late, and yet they aren’t respected as such. I often ask myself why, why aren’t there more films based on female professional contract killers, is it a sexist thing? Is there not enough real life stories to base it on? Or, could it be the fear that alludes us, the hard truth of realizing that women give life, thus they can take it away too.

In 2009 I had the pleasure of reviewing the outrageously hilarious film The Video Guys a comedy which hit home run for me because it was the perfect shining example of the genuineness that can arise from when mixing comedy and independent filmmaking together. Since that film was realest I’ve kept a close eye on the film’s director, Dan Brennan, and what his next project would be. I was thrilled when I heard his next film Maggie Marvel (2010) was going to be a dark comedy which focused on a struggling single mother trying to balance raising a daughter by day and working as a contract killer by night. Maggie Marvel (Selene Beretta) a single mom who works for a crime syndicate run by her own estranged father, who’s crime organization follows a simple rule, the men handle the business end of the organization (racketeering, lone sharking, bank robbing, and keeping their partners and competitive in check,) while the women take care the less Savory side of the business that involves getting your hands a little dirty (assassinations, clean ups, and such.) Much like his previous film, MAGGIE MARVEL plays out as yet another shining example for movie goers around. This time however, showcasing that equality between men and women work on all fronts, including that of being a killer for hire. Before I jump into dissecting this film apart I must stress that going into the film I had some concerns which was worrisome over whether or not the film would be able to live up to the bar that was set, and serve as a proper follow up to that of last year’s THE VIDEO GUYS, but to my surprise the film carries that same oddball sense of humor that had people crying with laughter, but this time in a slightly darker tone.

The film was noticeably cheesy but in a good way, it’s whole premise was set in a comedic dark overtone that worked incredibly well because it was unorthodox to that of other dark comedies that‘s become quite common in it’s genre these days, which singles this out as a one of a kind film to experience. Now of course that doesn’t go without saying the film had it’s problems, though the film carried the same spirit and essence of Brennan‘s other film, it’s plot was all over the place and not as centered as I’d have liked it, the writing was great, and it had something going for it, but it ultimately felt a little rushed in my opinion, but showing a lot of promise. The problem I had with the film is that it had just too much going on at the same time that it‘s hard to keep sight of the main things that mattered at times. Aside from it’s lovely plot It had a terrific and interesting sub-plot involving Maggie’s daughter, Samantha, dealing with her mother’s ’Job’ and coming to terms with it, but than a handful of other potential sub-plots present themselves out of no where, and while all of them have their potential there just wasn’t enough time in my opinion to settle them all in one film, the second problem was that the film felt like it was trying to hard to be just like it‘s predecessor when in fact both film are really in different genres. However in hindsight to what I’ve said, I still had a fantastic time at the movies with this one, after viewing the film and sitting back to let what I’ve seen wash over in my mind, I’ve come to terms with the problems that was presented in the film, because it’s become quite clear that what I’ve seen as potential mistakes are actually part of the movie going experience which I’d believe to some extent was intentional by the filmmakers. It didn’t come near to being like TVG, but it certainly wasn’t bad either. Overall, I believe this is a worth watching film, especially with others in your company as this is a film that will have people laughing, crying, and hopefully leaving with a touch of satisfaction in the end, which is what really matters in my opinion.

As for the acting: well what can I say, the acting is the crown jewel of the film’s best qualities, which is due in part of two factors; first, each and every actor really put a lot of effort into their performance, and some even go the extra mile. And Two; much like TVG, it’s a family affair with this ensemble cast of the director’s good friends and family members starring in the roles. Selene Beretta did a fantastic job in the role of the film’s titled character, Maggie Marvel. Her performance shined with gold stars in my opinion, she really went t there with dedication for the character that gains my respect. Diana Brennan did a fine job in the role of Samantha Marvel. I found her performance to be quite impressing for someone so young, she came across showcasing the type of experience you’d expect from an actor with more years on them. Katherine Barron was good, though I felt she went a bit too much on the accent of her character, Miss Dixie Brown, I get it that the character is supposed to be from the south, but I feel it was just a bit overdone, and this is coming from someone who’s got quite a few southern friends just for reference. However I found the performance (accent aside) to be quite enjoyable and played a nice part to that of the overall experience. Dan Brennan was fantastic in his performance, from what I’ve seen so far from this film and his previous film and acting gigs is that; he’s shown that he’s a jack of all trades in the field of film, may it be writing, acting, or directing, the man sure knows how to make a movie going experience a pleasing one. Dasha Kitterridge performance as the film’s villain per-se (Well I wouldn‘t say villain really, more like an obstacle presented in the film for the Heroin to deal with really) wasn’t bad, though I found her performance to be a little cheesy at times and a bit hard to swallow, it was still entertaining though, because she managed to pull off one of the most important fact’s of being the female villain, and that’s being able to pull off being sexy as well as devious equally at the same time. Sabrina Brennan was great in the role of Polly Poisen, though she wasn’t playing as big a character as she had done in TVG, she still did a fine job that was note worthy. Aside from who’ve I’ve already mentioned, the rest of the cast was great! It was nice seeing Russ Camarda and the rest of the TVG’s cast appearing in various roles in this.

Final Say: Maggie Marvel was an exciting experience for me, though it was rough around the edges at times, the film was definitely a decent change of direction in terms of film’s in it’s genre go. It never failed to lose my attention for one moment. Director Dan Brennan get’s kudos by me for taking the leap that others have tried in the past and often failed at. And hopefully we’ll see more films like it soon enough. I recommend it!

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