Review: Frog Dreams (2011) [Reviewed By Clifford Kiyabu]

Directed by: Daniel Jordano
Written by: Daniel Jordano
Genre: Drama

MPAA: Not Rated
Released: 2011
Starring: Daniel Jordano, John Squire, Toni Vitale, Kara M. Tyler, Keith Jamal Downing, Lauren Steffany.

Plot: The personal lives of two complete strangers become entwined with each other after a car ride one afternoon, and through it all they rely on each other as they confront their own inner problems.

Review: 7/10

The Story is about: Jim is a coke addicted, fund manager who just lost his job and millions in the recession. Mickey is the man-with-a-van mover Jim hires to help him transport his file boxes to storage in Pennsylvania. The two become unlikely friends and help each other gain a new perspective in their struggle to recover their lives and their manhood.

My Thoughts: There‘s an old saying "When life gives you lemons make lemonade”, well what happens when lemonade doesn’t quite serve up lemons in it? Nothing in life is as picture perfect as it’s perceived in the movies or TV shows, majority of folks will be lucky to just settle for average in the rat race of life, because in reality life doesn’t give you lemons, it gives you shit, and a lot of it to be frank. And more then usual it’s much more complex than making lemonade, because there is no simple black and white to all of life‘s problems. Trust me, there’s a whole lot of gray in the middle, like the human body, life looks simple on the outside until you cut into the skin and it reveals the complexity of it’s circular pluming.

In his directorial debut Writer/Director Daniel Jordano lays out an important message to his viewers in the film FROG DREAMS, a message that’s in many ways is sincere and true to life itself. You’re not going to get everything you want in life, but boo f****** hoo, life goes on and you need to man up and take the hand you’ve been dealt and deal with it. The perfect example would be one of the film’s primary characters, Mickey Chanos (Played by Daniel Jordano), here’s a guy who had a decent job writing medical books for the medical field, he had it all, a great pay to support his family that included benefits, however his real passion is really writing children’s books and as you know there‘s very little time to write a children’s book when you‘re busy writing complex medical books, so he makes the biggest decision on his life and quits his job to pursue a career which suits him more. But because of his inability to deal with his inner fears with moving forward with his dreams he’s left to settle for the alternative which is anything that keeps his mind occupied, which in this case is being a self-employed mover. His decision leads to him living out of his own car while his wife and son live their own lives without him. He is obviously regretful for some of the actions that led him down this path but cannot find it in him to fully progress beyond his current situation in life until he meets Jim Evans (Played by John Squire) a choke addicted (financial) Fund manager whom has just lost his job in the industry after blowing millions in investments in the recession and is looking for someone to help him move his stuff. After the two become acquainted their personal lives and dire situations become entwined with each other.

Frog Dreams might not be the Oscar worthy indie drama most people kill to see, but it’s proved to be a very interesting conversation piece that worth looking into to say the least. The general plot is appealing and very relatable. Watching these characters and their inner personal problems bleed out in the open before each other leaves each of the characters venerable, but it’s their vulnerability and the risk taken for another human being that’s a complete stranger none the less, that’s also strengthening and leave both with a unlikely friend out of the ordeal which I found to be heartfelt and quite powerful. For an indie on a small budget, Frog Dreams stands out for having top notch film quality that I can honestly say can rival some bigger budgeted Indies I’ve seen in the past. The dialogue plays a major part to the film as much of the movie takes place in or around the characters conversing between each other, and while the dialogue at times proved to be compelling and helps the film progress, it also plays as it’s Achilles’ heel because the film tends to slow down and drags on in certain areas. But that’s easily forgiven as most conversational dramas like this tend to do the exact same thing from time to time. What I did feel was a deal breaker for me though sort of speak, was it’s underwhelming ending that left me feeling like things didn’t quite get resolved as I would have liked it to have. Throughout the film we’re presented with multiple obstacles for both Mickey and Jim to overcome, and there is a clear presence of tension building up big to one of these obstacles (I‘m not gonna spoil it so bare with me here) and when the time arrives for this moment of truth we’re left under-whelmed with a less then par result that to a degree angered me. However despite the disappointing hiccup of a ending Frog Dreams still has a lot of value in it that is something worth looking into.

As for the acting: the acting was a slight mix bag here, from having some solid performances to just okay performances to underwhelming performances. I’ve always been the type of person who starts off with the good news so lets start with the good shell we. Daniel Jordano performance as Mickey was superb and serves as the perfect complement to John Squire’s performance as Jim, it’s pretty clear that the chemistry onscreen resonates from a real life friendship between the two as there is a sense of authenticity present here, which means that either they’re friends in real life or this is proof of fantastic acting between them. Kara M. Tyler delivered a incredible performance as Sophia Chanos, her performance as an angered and emotionally hurt spouse was just and true to the character and deserves kudos for it. Keith Jamal Downing was very exceptional as the drug dealer Rashad, serving as the film’s antagonist, though one would argue that the real enemy in the film was actually the main character’s themselves at times as their own worst enemy for holding themselves back at achieving their goals true goals. But Keith still pulls off an exceptionally well performance I did have one slight complaint here, while he did a fantastic job for the most part onscreen the end scene felt a bit held back for the character and should have gone further. still though, it’s only one minor problem. Toni Vitale gave an acceptable performance as Marisa Evans, though I would have liked to had seen a little more tension onscreen between her character and John Squire’s character. Her performance was still very acceptable in my opinion. Lauren Steffany performance as Kristen Evans was one of the major problems I had in the film. Her character felt painfully unmoving for someone who’s been disappointed by her father her whole life, nothing against the actress as I’m sure she’s a decent actress to boot, but her performance came off as mild and noticeably scripted, as a viewer, not just a critic, I should be taken in by the characters in the film and feel for them, their emotions is what connects the viewer to them and more importantly, the story, and sadly I was not feeling this with Lauren as Kristen.

Final Say: Like many films, Frog Dreams suffered from the same generic problems most movies tend to encounter especially with keeping focus on the main plot, yes it’s very flawed and there seems to be a slight issue with plot pacing from time to time. But the film did present a very interesting and somewhat empowering message, that life isn’t going to be easy and it probably never will for some, but just because life is going to be rough doesn’t mean you should just through in the towel and give up, that you should man up can take what’s dished out and continue moving forward. Frog Dreams may not have been the masterpiece I would have like, but it’s certainly worth taking a stab at.

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All Rights Reserved

The Social Media Massacre Shows Us it’s Heart in Latest Episode!

If there’s one thing that’s truly nightmarish for someone in my field, it’s having your computer go on the fritz causing you to lose data that wasn’t backed up. As I sit here re-writing this very article, I’m left with the regret of not backing it up once it was done, oh how painfully agonizing the feeling is to put work into something only to lose it in a flash of a blue screen fail. Oh well, it’s done and gone and I’ve already gone through the process to re-written it all back up again.

But enough about that. For all you indie horror fans eagerly awaiting the next installment of indie filmmaker Ron Purtee’s next installment of The Social Media Massacre, well wait no further because the latest episode which is titled “FROM THE HEART” is here! With the latest episode Purtee has teamed up with award winning UK horror writer Garry Charles to bring forth a dark tale of love, obsession and bodily mutilation all wrapped up in a neat little package. Purtee's idea is to create short based within the confines of our online social world, a series of webisodes that are confined by the limitations of the single camera set up.

So far we have been treated to murder, suicide and envy fuelled revenge, a steady build up of creeping terror preparing us for this journey into the mind of twisted lovers, brought to life on the screen by talented newcomers Shaun McGregor and Nikki Farce. Anyone familiar with Charles' writing will know he has no qualms with crossing the lines of good taste and he does so here with what seems to be a knowing smile on his face, penning a script that manages to rub taste's nose in the dark stench of Taboo's darkest areas.

The latest installment is ever more disturbing then the last one and as morbid as they come, but for those who’ve seen the previous installments this is to be expected of indie filmmaker Ron Purtee and his directing style. I can guarantee you one thing, this series is not for everyone, especially those squeamish to blood or other bodily dismemberment, so know that you’ve been warned.

WARNING MAY NOT BE SUITABLE FOR THE FAINT OF HEART

Side Note: So far this series has manage to not cease to disturb me on how gruesomely shocking it can get at times.

Is "Mad Men" Star Christina Hendricks our Next Wonder Woman?

When people think of the Amazonian princess Wonder Woman, the thought of beauty meets might easily comes to mind, because she‘s a unique heroin that embodies the consciously sound mind and the relentless strength and devotion to truth, justice and equality of a Superman whiles retaining the soft delicate touch of a woman, which is why she is called a Wonder. But for some odd reason she is also a heroin that is incredibly hard adapting into the live action scene, not since Lynda Carter has there been a successful transition of the Truth Lasso welding princess into live action. To date the only successful telling of the heroin aside from the comics has been the animated genre.

And over the last decade there’s been talks and actions put forth into motion to see the Amazonian princess make her gallant march to the silver screen, or at least a return to prime time. The latest attempt was done in 2011 with the intent of it becoming the fall superhero replacement in NBC’s primetime timeslot, but ultimately the production suffered major backlash by the fan base after pictures of actress Adrianne Palicki in costume appeared online which caused a firestorm of viral attacks by fans of the heroin over how horrible the costume turned out, then after the production changed the wardrobe designs to appease to the fans, the show’s producers were criticized for showing a sign of weakness for giving in to the attacks. But the final nail to go into the coffin was when NBC’s bigwigs got a chance to see what they’d eventually would be paying for, and rumor has it they weren’t impress with what they saw to say the least (honestly what did you think you was going to get when you pay for a Wonder Woman who looked like an overly dressed porn star!?!?) so the show was passed on, which left the producers with only one option, to shop it around, but how do you sale something nobody wants?

When talking about actress Christina Hendricks the famous George Takei catch-phrase “Ohhhhhh my” comes to mind. Yes if you’re a guy then you’ve most likely heard of the modern day bombshell by now, who’s notorious for her classic pinup curves and her eye catching upper regions. Well it seems that the new plan for the Wonder Woman franchise is to once again bring it to the silver screen, and director Nicolas Winding Refn, whom is working hard at getting the project off the ground as soon as possible wants the voluptuous Mad Men actress to star as the Amazonian princess and was quoted by Movie Line for saying "If I ever get to do it, she's [Hendricks] going to be it." And it’s well known since last year the Miss Hendricks would most defiantly be game for it as well seeing that she told Rachael Ray last December that "I've been wanting to wear that outfit my whole life". While nothing is yet set in stone on this idea, one can still dream right?

Side Note: Okay for years I’ve been demanding for anyone involved in the Red Sonja project to consider Hendricks as a potential candidate for the lead role, but now I’m seriously reconsidering that thought and would like to see her donning the Red White and Blue! What say you?

Jackass Star Ryan Dunn Dies in Car Crash At Age 34.

Update: Pennsylvania police have concluded in their preliminary investigation into the crash that killed “Jackass” star Ryan Dunn, in a statement that was issued by West Goshen Police Chief Michael Carroll said, "The initial crash reconstruction investigation determined that Mr. Dunn's vehicle was traveling between 132-140 mph at the time of the collision." The coroner’s Toxicology report showed that Dunn’s blood alcohol level was 0.196 at the time of the crash which is way over the legal limit of 0.08. The report also showed that Dunn did not have any forms of drugs or substance abuse in his system other then alcohol at the time of the accident.

Today is truly a dark day for JACKASS fans everywhere (myself included). Jackass star Ryan Dunn has died in a car crash early Monday morning (June 20th) in Pennsylvania. Celebrity gossip website TMZ has confirmed Dunn’s passing through fellow Jackass co-star Bam Margera's mother.

Dunn and an unidentified person both died in the crash which happened around 3 a.m. at Route 322 and New Street in West Goshen Township. It's unclear who was driving the car. We're told the car caught fire in the crash -- and hours later, a tow truck was called to the scene to remove the charred wreckage.

Dunn had just posted pictures of himself parting with friends on his Twitter page prior to the accident by only a few hours and seemed to had been having a good time. Police believe that speeding may have been a factor in the crash but have not confirmed if alcohol played a factor in it. What’s even more distressing is that this week’s episode of Dunn’s new reality series “Proving Ground” on the G4 network was pulled off of it’s schedule shortly after his death was made public (talk about a dick move), leaving the fate of the series and it’s production completely in limbo. Only time will tell what will become of the show if G4 does in fact decide to proceed with keeping the show alive on their network without Dunn as host.

R.I.P.

Ryan Dunn

June 11, 1977 – June 20, 2011

Side Note: No matter how the crash accrued, we must first remember that two lives were lost in this, and a great many people have been hurt in the process, so we at TCWReviews would like to extend our sincere condolences to all those hurt by this tragic news. R.I.P. Ryan Dunn June 11, 1977 – June 20, 2011.

First Look at Alec Baldwin and Tom Cruise in ROCK OF AGES!

There’s just something magical about classic 80’s rock music that holds a special place in my heart, from the big hairdos to the lather outfits and ridiculous getups, the 80’s is a unique time that will live on, or to better phrase it, rock on!

If someone told me that a day would come when I’d see Alec Baldwin and Tom Cruise in full blown 80’s rocker gear rocking out I would have stood in disbelief and said something in line of “shut the **** up!” and if you told me that I would get to see these two iconic stars standing side by side in full gear I would have told you to “Get the **** outta here, no way!” but it appears that day has come as pictures featuring the stars donning long hair in the upcoming adaptation of the Broadway play ROCK OF AGES (yeah you read right, Alec Baldwin in long beautiful blond hair! Go on it’s okay to call your therapist now and schedule an appointment)

The first picture below displays Baldwin alongside British comedic actor Russell Brand (AKA Katy Perry‘s plaything) and the two appears to fit well into the roles of Dennis Dupree (Baldwin) and Lonnie (Brand). And finally below that features Tom Cruise as rocker Stacee Jaxx, which could quite possibly be the most awesome photo still you’ll see since the Star Wars Rock Band Concert Poster! But of course you be the judge and take a look yourself below.

ROCK OF AGES is directed by Adam Shankman (Hairspray 2007) and is based off of the book and Browdway play by writer Chris D'Arienzo, which tells the tale of a small-town girl arrives in Hollywood at the height of the 1980s rock-music scene. The film will star: Tom Cruise, Paul Giamatti, Malin Akerman, Russell Brand, Alec Baldwin, Catherine Zeta-Jones, Bryan Cranston, Julianne Hough, Diego Boneta and Mary J. Blige.

Side Note: you could say I was sold by the fact the film features a talented all-star cast, or by the fact such talents as Anne Hathaway and many other A-List celebrities are rumored to possibly making cameos in this, but it was the still of Cruise as Jaxx that sold me for it’s shear awesomeness.