Funerals can be funny after all

Theatre 98 successfully opened its second show of the 2008 season last weekend to applause and a lot of laughter. Comedy is what this little theatre does best, and it truly delivers with Dearly Departed, a story about a Southern family dealing with the death of their father.

Led by director Timothy Guy, this cast made up of newcomers and Theatre 98 veterans truly embody the spirit of a Southern family. Dearly Departed stars Becky Thornton, Joshua Pirtle, Angie LoPresti, Catherine Phillips, Randy Hicks, Leslie Herring, Anthony Lee, Marcus Willis, Haley Moore, and Jennifer Spruiell. Special attention should be paid to Becky Thornton as the mourning (and somewhat relieved) widow. She plays the part beautifully, with the right amount of force and warmth, reminding me a bit of my own grandmother before she passed away. Also watch for the comedy of Marcus Willis as the Reverand, Angie LoPresti as the extremely religious and completely hilarious Margarete and Haley Moore as Delightful and Nadine. At the heart of the story, though, is Catherine Phillips as a woman who married into the Turpin family. She and her husband have been trying to have children, but she can't seem to carry a baby to term. She is the one who takes care of the entire cast when things go wrong - mothering them in such a way that makes her inability to have a child even more tragic, in my opinion. This sadness does not drag the story down, but gives it even more depth and heart, as she comes to realize her family is complete without a child, but does that realization come a little too late? These particular characters stood out to me, but other characters will resonate with other audience members differently, I'm sure. The acting is superb from the entire cast and much credit should go to director Timothy Guy and stage manager Hilary Martin for their attention to detail. By the way, the set is beautiful - this is a very colorful and vibrant show!

Dearly Departed opened at Theatre 98 on April 18 at 8 p.m. Upcoming showtimes are: April 23-26 at 8 p.m. and Sunday, April 27 at 2:30. Tickets are $15 per person or $10 for students. Prorated season tickets are still available. The box office opens on Monday, April 14 and the hours are 5:15-7:15 p.m. Monday-Saturday. Please call 928-4366 for tickets.

Fairhope Film Festival Winners

WINNERS ANNOUNCED!
Grand Jury Award"Racing Daylight" Directed by Nicole Quinn
Best Feature Film"Cold Play" Directed by D. David Morin and Geno Andrews
Best Documentary Film"In the Wake of the Assassins" Directed by Robert Clem
Best Short Film"The Gift Wrapper" Directed by Daniela De Carlo
Audience Choice Award"All Along" Directed by Robert Masciantonio
Special Mention Best Cinematography"A Thousand Hills" Directed by Mary Allison Wilmarth
Honorable Mention Creative Romance"Boyfriend Latte" Directed by Mark Sanders
The Heart of Fairhope Award"Jim and Jung" Directed by Matt Paulson

Fairhope Film Festival Recap

Stop by The Casual Critic for my very late review of the Fairhope Film Festival. Also, please vote in the poll at the top of the page on that blog, because I want to redo some things with it and whatever opinions I get will help me do that!

Fairhope Film Festival!

See my (sadly neglected) entertainment blog, The Casual Critic, for details about the first annual Fairhope Film Festival, taking place in April of this year! The official website of the festival is here. I am so excited that there is going to be a film festival in my beloved town. It really is a great destination for such an event, and I hope it becomes a very successful yearly event for the town. I'm thinking of volunteering in some capacity, but because of work commitments I may not be able to do it this year. But regardless, I will find the time to attend as much of the festival as I can, because I think it could be a wonderful thing for my little town!

Fairhope Film Festival announced!

I totally just copied and pasted the press release from their website, but I figured they would be okay with the free advertisement. I am SO excited about this festival, as it is being held in my hometown! I will absolutely be a part of this festival as much as I possibly can! I do hate that it's being held on a Thursday - Saturday because I will most likely miss most of the Friday daytime films, but I will attend as many as I can. Fairhope is an amazing place to visit, so if you are looking for something to do in April, consider the first annual Fairhope Film Festival!

2008 FAIRHOPE FILM FESTIVAL ANNOUNCES COMPLETE LINEUP

FAIRHOPE, AL. – February 29, 2008 – The 1st Annual Fairhope Film Festival (FFF) is thrilled to announce the complete lineup of films slated to screen at the event, April 3-5, in Fairhope, AL.
This new festival has received numerous entries from all over the world and has selected 15 great pictures that boast a wide variety of dramatic, documentary, short and student films. Among these films, 5 of them are World Premieres; 2 Features, 1 Documentary and 2 Short Films. The FFF is also proud to showcase "Racing Daylight", an Independent Feature staring Academy Award Nominee David Strathairn, as our Opening Night Premiere Film (Thurs., April 3rd).

Visit www.fairhopefilmfest.com for more information; updates regarding film schedules, venue locations, and tickets will also be found on the website during the next few weeks.
The complete lineup, by section and with synopsis descriptions, follows below.

Features:
"Racing Daylight" is a ghost story, a murder mystery and a love story which crosses time; told as three short films in two different times (1860s/present), and from 3 points of view, it stars Academy Award Nominee David Strathairn (Bourne Ultimatum, The Spiderwick Chronicles, Good Night and Good Luck). Dir. by Nicole Quinn

"All Along" - Richard Harrison has a wife, job, and two teenagers. While every midlife working stiff descends into daydreams in order to escape mundane reality, Richard doesn't merely scratch the surface of his fantasies, he physically enters them for moments at a time, until he's forced to snap back into reality with humorous results. This film stars Krista Allen (Final Destination 4 "filming", What About Brian "TV", Feast "Project Greenlight"). Dir. by Robert Masciantonio

"Cold Play" is the psychological suspense story of a trophy wife's desperate attempt to break free from her dangerously possessive husband. Cold Play is tense, sexy, psychological thriller with lots of twists and turns and a shocking ending. Dir. by D. David Morin and Geno Andrews *World Premiere*

"A Thousand Hills" - Awkward 13 year old David tries to save his family's farm from an evil land-developer using the only thing he has - his voice - to make a CD and to win the heart of Kelly, the prettiest girl in school. Through many ups and downs he learns who he can trust and who he can't as he grows from a boy into a young man. This film is based upon true events. Dir. by Mary Allison Wilmarth

"Train Master" is the tale of a grandfather (Jeremiah) who works for Western Railroad in the Northwest; his two grandchildren share his passion for trains. A wealthy heir to a railroad line on the East Coast purchases Western Railroad and kicks Jeremiah out of a job, leading him to despair. The two grandchildren along with a few friends end up on a runaway train; the grown men are forced to make amends and strategize a solution to save the kids. The film tells of an adventure between friends, family and the value of respecting others. Dir. by Phil Bransom

Documentaries:

"Forgotten Coast" - On August 29, 2005 Hurricane Katrina swept through the Gulf. You may think you know about the effects of this storm, but you are wrong. This is about the people of the Mississippi and Alabama coasts, struggling to reconstruct their lives and adjust to their rapidly changing culture along the Forgotten Coast. Dir. by Jamie Christensen Johnston

"In the Wake of the Assassins" - In the mob-controlled town of Phenix City, Alabama in the 1950s, a crusading lawyer is assassinated after he is elected attorney general on a platform of 'Man Against Crime'. His son reluctantly takes his place, vowing to clean up Phenix City and find his father's killers. Dir. by Robert Clem *World Premiere*

"The Reckoning – Remembering the Dutch Resistance" - The Reckoning is not only a true and historic documentary about courage in the face of extreme prejudice and war, but it's also about a love story within this genocidal madness that ends in tragedy at a German concentration camp. Dir. by John Evans

Short Films:

"Jim and Jung" - Quirky, paranoid and obsessed with fortune cookies, Jim is forced to face his fears after a fortune prophecies of his certain doom. However, when challenged by his equally underachieving yet loyal friend Frank, Jim finds courage, love, and life where he least expects it. Dir. by Matt Paulson

"The Gift Wrapper" - The Gift Wrapper is a Christmas Tale about a girl who wraps gifts with lots of love and care, until one Christmas love finds her and that becomes the best Christmas gift one could ever get. Dir. by Daniela De Carlo *World Premiere*

"Boyfriend Latte" - A sassy young female executive has a deep desire for a boyfriend who will be honest, true, faithful and passionate, but can a woman and a take-out coffee have a real long-lasting relationship? Dir. by Mark Sanders *World Premiere*

"Creepers" - A group of clumsy rainforest creepers secretly become super heroes who stumble through rescuing their fellow creatures from the sabotage of the sinister creeper at the local festival. (Animation) Dir. by Mark Simon

Student Films:

"Dark Devotion" is a story about Emily who is in a dream world. She is overcome by her past and must face the emotional cancer of her mother, if she is to have any hope of waking from her deep coma. Dir. by Jordan Kamellard

"Taste of June" - A young girl falls in love with the boy of her dreams, much to her overprotective mom's chagrin. Dir. by Amirah Hakim-EL

"Finding Harvey" - A couples' heartfelt attempt to restore what was rightfully theirs flirts with the felony of kidnapping and also paves the boundaries to adulthood. Dir. by Dina Kadisha

SEEKING VOLUNTEERS
At the heart and soul of every festival, you can find the volunteers. The FFF truly believes that Volunteering is extremely important and we are currently looking for more people willing to be part of this new and exciting film world and culture. Please visit www.fairhopefilmfest.com for more info on how to become a FFF Volunteer.

About FFF
The Fairhope Film Festival (FFF) is striving to create a truly unique experience in the world of cinema. The FFF will bring a collection of films to the local community on the Gulf of Mexico; movies centered on a central theme..."Romance". The FFF is also determined to become an ongoing, annual tradition showcasing talented filmmakers from around the world. The FFF is committed to giving filmmakers the best experience possible: extensive promotion of their films which are screened several times in theatres packed with attentive audiences, while enjoying the hospitality of the staff and volunteers in a storybook type charm destination which Coastal Living Magazine described as one of their top 10 most Romantic Destinations.

FFF Mission

The Fairhope Film Festival is dedicated to presenting independent film and providing cultural and educational events in the gulf coast region year round.

This festival will be held on Thursday, April 3, 2008 – Saturday, April 5, 2008. For those who are not able to attend the festival, the top 2 films will be shown on Sunday, April 6, 2008 after the festival is over.

Be Kind Rewind

Interesting fact. I no longer own anything that can rewind. It's true. With the addition of my new Tivo to my entertainment center, I got rid of my VCR. My stereo doesn't even take cassette tapes! But even though I no longer rewind, I still thoroughly enjoyed the film, Be Kind Rewind when I saw it on Tuesday night.

One thing I really liked about this film is that it doesn't take itself too seriously. With Jack Black and Mos Def leading an ecclectic cast of characters, you can't expect it to be serious, right? When Black's character Jerry tries to sabatoge a power plant that he believes is trying to control him through microwaves, he gets more than he bargains for - he gets magnetized. The next day, when he enters the failing video rental shop where he and his friend Mike spend most of their time, he inadvertently erases the video tapes in the shop. The store has been left in Mike's hands while the owner, Mr. Fletcher (Danny Glover in a wonderful performance) is otherwised engaged, so Mike and Jerry have to figure out how to keep the very few customers happy until Mr. Fletcher returns.

The plan is born out of that despiration - they will shoot the movies themselves and rent them to an unsuspecting public. They were not prepared for the popularity of these "sweeded" versions of popular films, however, and they soon receive a lot of requests for a variety of different films.

I'll be honest, the plot surrounding the sweeded films was not as fun to watch as the films themselves. I died laughing at their rendition of Ghost Busters, and the very small piece they showed of their version of Men in Black was hilarious as well.

As it turns out, renting sweeded versions of movies to the public is a violation of copyright, which creates a snag they were not expecting. Their attempts to save the video store from demolition and to save the owner from prison and fines for copyright violations seemed inadequate until the community got together and created their own film.

It is surprisingly touching in the end, but what I personally remember most about the movie is how much I enjoyed the sweeded movies. Back in high school, some of my friends did this to amuse themselves. Who knew that years later someone would make a movie about it?

Sidewalk Moving Picture Festival

Friday

I was off Friday, so I started driving toward Montgomery to meet Chris at about 10 a.m. I arrived at about 1:30 or so, and we took off toward Birmingham. The weather was gorgeous, a perfect driving day, and we had wonderful conversations along the way. He played tour guide as he drove us through some areas that were unfamiliar to me. It was nice to have something interesting to look at while driving. We got to Birmingham at about 4 p.m. and checked into the historic Redmont Hotel. It's the oldest hotel in the city, and it was really quite nice. The Redmont was a host hotel for the film festival, so it was right in the middle of all the action. We got settled, changed clothes, and met up with James, who shared a dorm with Chris in college. He lives in Birmingham, in the coolest loft I've ever seen. We had dinner at this little Mexican place that is actually in a converted fast food restaurant. I think it was a McDonalds. The food was great and the margaritas were cheap, so it was a good time! The opening night film was The Ten. This movie was very funny and strange. We laughed pretty much nonstop, although that might have had more to do with the margaritas than the movie, but I'm pretty sure the movie had something to do with it. After the movie, we went out with James and some of his friends. It was fun getting to know new people and enjoying the "city life." When you live in a small town, sometimes you forget how cool it is to live in a city where everything is at your fingertips. We walked back to the hotel and went to sleep on the smallest bed known to man (but still extremely comfortable!)

Saturday

Saturday was our big film day. We went to the end of one block of short films and saw a very funny one called The Caress of the Creature. Very funny. After that, we went to a feature called Great World of Sound, which I really enjoyed. It was a look at the record industry and all the scams that are in place to rip people off by promising them their dreams (for a small percentage of the cost, of course) Having been approached by a "literary agent" who was trying to do the same thing, this film really rang true to me. Of course, in my case I knew enough to check on the "agent" before replying to her (unsolicited) email and found her name on Writer Beware, but some people out there are not as skeptical as I am. So this film, although it was a feature rather than a documentary, still talked about a real issue that is very serious. After that, we saw another feature called Hannah Takes the Stairs. It was... interesting. Actually, I found the process they used to make the film a lot more interesting than the film itself, if that makes any sense. After that, we went to see another block of short films, but these were made by Alabama filmmakers. I always want to catch at least one block of Alabama shorts, simply because I think it's important to support artists from my state. Some of these shorts were really good! I especially enjoyed these: "Lunch," "Cutting Teeth," and "Mr. Extion." I love short films because it takes some talent to make a point or tell a story in such a short time. It's like flash fiction, which is something I've dabbled in but am nowhere near good at yet. Maybe one day... But anway, after seeing the block of shorts, we went to a sandwich/coffee shop and had something to eat before the final feature of the day. And it was the best movie we saw all day, in my opinion. In fact, I believe it was my favorite film of the entire festival. Blood Car is a funny, crazy ride from beginning to end. It's the kind of movie you watch with one hand over your wide-open mouth because you are so shocked at what you're seeing on the screen, but you can't stop laughing. Even when you want to look away, you can't because you know.. you just KNOW something even more insane is about to happen. You wouldn't think a horror/comedy would pack a political punch, but this movie does. One of the great things about this film is that it doesn't take itself too seriously. It pushes (and crosses) every possible boundry, but it does it in such a way that the audiences is too busy laughing to be offended. Of course, I'm sure there are people who would be offended by the content, especially a scene near the end, so I'd say this film is not really for people who are overly sensitive. But seriously, I haven't laughed that long in a very long time. The acting is also wonderful. The man who played Archie, the main character, really played the part with charisma and commitment. He starts out so gentle and good and descended into total madness by the end of the movie. This descent is amazing to watch and really, really hilarious. Kudos to the filmmakers. You were the best of the Sidewalk Moving Picture Festival in my opinion. I won't go into details about the plot, just in case anyone wants to watch the film, but this is the synopsis from their website:

In the near future gas prices have reached astronomical highs nearing $40 a gallon. One man, Archie Andrews, an environmentalist elementary school teacher, is trying to discover an alternate fuel source. While experimenting with wheat grass, Archie accidentally stumbles upon a solution. That solution turns out to be blood. HUMAN BLOOD!

Yeah. See why you need to watch it? After the feature, we went to a festival party and then out dancing after the party ended. It was great! We ended up back at the hotel at about 4:30 the next morning, but it was totally worth it!

Sunday

Only two movies on Sunday, but that was okay because my backside was beginning to become numb from all the sitting! Sunday was more of a day of reflection for us, as we watched two films that, while funny and heartwarming in their own way, were also very touching by showing an intimate portrait of people who face discrimination. For the Bible Tells Me So is a documentary following several Christian families and how they dealt with having a homosexual child. The unconditional love these parents have for their children is inspiring and beautiful. Many religious leaders weighed in on the issue, and the families talked about their own journeys to acceptance of the children they love. Most of the parents even became activists against religious people's treatment of homosexuals. It was very moving. Our final film of the weekend was American Fork. This film is sweet, sad, funny, and touching. It is a look into the life of a lonely overweight man that pulls the audience in and makes every single person watching want desperately to see him happy. It was the perfect movie to end our festival experience with, because we wanted to end it on a high note, but also in a way that would make us think, that would make the feeling linger for awhile even after we got home and went back to our lives. It worked, because I'm still thinking about it.

And so this ends another post about the wonderful Sidewalk Moving Picture Festival. We are already making plans to attend next year.

Summary of Sidewalk Film Festival

Friday

I was off Friday, so I started driving toward Montgomery to meet Chris at about 10 a.m. I arrived at about 1:30 or so, and we took off toward Birmingham. The weather was gorgeous, a perfect driving day, and we had wonderful conversations along the way. He played tour guide as he drove us through some areas that were unfamiliar to me. It was nice to have something interesting to look at while driving. We got to Birmingham at about 4 p.m. and checked into the historic Redmont Hotel. It's the oldest hotel in the city, and it was really quite nice. The Redmont was a host hotel for the film festival, so it was right in the middle of all the action. We got settled, changed clothes, and met up with James, who shared a dorm with Chris in college. He lives in Birmingham, in the coolest loft I've ever seen. We had dinner at this little Mexican place that is actually in a converted fast food restaurant. I think it was a McDonalds. The food was great! The opening night film was The Ten. This movie was very funny and strange. We laughed pretty much nonstop.

Saturday
Saturday was our big film day. We went to the end of one block of short films and saw a very funny one called The Caress of the Creature. Very funny. After that, we went to a feature called Great World of Sound, which I really enjoyed. It was a look at the record industry and all the scams that are in place to rip people off by promising them their dreams (for a small percentage of the cost, of course) Having been approached by a "literary agent" who was trying to do the same thing, this film really rang true to me. Of course, in my case I knew enough to check on the "agent" before replying to her (unsolicited) email and found her name on Writer Beware, but some people out there are not as skeptical as I am. So this film, although it was a feature rather than a documentary, still talked about a real issue that is very serious. After that, we saw another feature called Hannah Takes the Stairs. It was... interesting. Actually, I found the process they used to make the film a lot more interesting than the film itself, if that makes any sense. After that, we went to see another block of short films, but these were made by Alabama filmmakers. I always want to catch at least one block of Alabama shorts, simply because I think it's important to support artists from my state. Some of these shorts were really good! I especially enjoyed these: "Lunch," "Cutting Teeth," and "Mr. Extion." I love short films because it takes some talent to make a point or tell a story in such a short time. It's like flash fiction, which is something I've dabbled in but am nowhere near good at yet. Maybe one day... But anway, after seeing the block of shorts, we went to a sandwich/coffee shop and had something to eat before the final feature of the day. And it was the best movie we saw all day, in my opinion. In fact, I believe it was my favorite film of the entire festival. Blood Car is a funny, crazy ride from beginning to end. It's the kind of movie you watch with one hand over your wide-open mouth because you are so shocked at what you're seeing on the screen, but you can't stop laughing. Even when you want to look away, you can't because you know.. you just KNOW something even more insane is about to happen. You wouldn't think a horror/comedy would pack a political punch, but this movie does. One of the great things about this film is that it doesn't take itself too seriously. It pushes (and crosses) every possible boundry, but it does it in such a way that the audiences is too busy laughing to be offended. Of course, I'm sure there are people who would be offended by the content, especially a scene near the end, so I'd say this film is not really for people who are overly sensitive. But seriously, I haven't laughed that long in a very long time. The acting is also wonderful. The man who played Archie, the main character, really played the part with charisma and commitment. He starts out so gentle and good and descended into total madness by the end of the movie. This descent is amazing to watch and really, really hilarious. Kudos to the filmmakers. You were the best of the Sidewalk Moving Picture Festival in my opinion. I won't go into details about the plot, just in case anyone wants to watch the film, but this is the synopsis from their website:

In the near future gas prices have reached astronomical highs nearing $40 a gallon. One man, Archie Andrews, an environmentalist elementary school teacher, is trying to discover an alternate fuel source. While experimenting with wheat grass, Archie accidentally stumbles upon a solution. That solution turns out to be blood. HUMAN BLOOD!

Yeah. See why you need to watch it? After the feature, we went to a festival party and then crashed for another night.

Sunday

Only two movies on Sunday, but that was okay because my backside was beginning to become numb from all the sitting! Sunday was more of a day of reflection for us, as we watched two films that, while funny and heartwarming in their own way, were also very touching by showing an intimate portrait of people who face discrimination. For the Bible Tells Me So is a documentary following several Christian families and how they dealt with having a homosexual child. The unconditional love these parents have for their children is inspiring and beautiful. Many religious leaders weighed in on the issue, and the families talked about their own journeys to acceptance of the children they love. It was very moving, and really hit home the fact that love can truly conquer all, and that parents don't stop loving their kids even if their kids are living a life the parents don't approve of or agree with. The scenario that really affected me most was the mother who talked about how she condemed her daughter for being a lesbian, and as a result, her daughter committed suicide. I truly believe that no matter how you feel about the way someone lives, if you love them, you love them no matter what. Our final film of the weekend was American Fork. This film is sweet, sad, funny, and touching. It is a look into the life of a lonely overweight man that pulls the audience in and makes every single person watching want desperately to see him happy. It was the perfect movie to end our festival experience with, because we wanted to end it on a high note, but also in a way that would make us think, that would make the feeling linger for awhile even after we got home and went back to our lives. It worked, because I'm still thinking about it.

And so this ends another post about the wonderful Sidewalk Moving Picture Festival. We are already making plans to attend next year.

Sidewalk was wonderful!

I will try to post a comprehensive description of my weekend at the Sidewalk Moving Picture Festival before the end of the day tomorrow. For now, I just have to say I had a wonderful time, as always! We cried, we cringed, we laughed harder than we ever have. Seriously! So stay tuned for the good summary. For now, I'm going to sleep. So tired...

Dreamgirls

I just got home from seeing Dreamgirls, and let me just tell you... I'm buying the soundtrack as soon as possible! This movie was amazing! Being a singer, I always appreciate beautiful voices, and I just have to say that the voices in this film are more than beautiful. They are incredible! The story, based on a Broadway play, follows three young women in their rise (or not) to stardom. The performances were wonderful, by the entire cast. At first, I was afraid I couldn't take Eddie Murphy seriously, because he always plays such funny characters, but although his character was funny and quirky in his own way, it was the serious moments that got to me the most. And I don't know about anyone else, but I think that Jennifer Hudson deserves an Oscar for this movie. She was amazing in the role of Effie White. You could actually feel her pain when she would sing about it, and I've never heard a voice quite like hers. It is truly magnificent.

So if you like music, or if you just want to go see a great movie with lots of twists, ups and downs, and some touching moments, go see Dreamgirls.

My Charlie Brown Christmas

This is my Christmas card to everyone, something I found while mindlessly surfing for something interesting to put on my blog. If you have 10 minutes, and you love the show Scrubs, watch this video. I read a thing that said the cast of Scrubs made this for a cast Christmas party a few years ago, but it's now on YouTube, so that everyone can enjoy it. It's too funny! I especially loved seeing which characters were done by which voices.. especially the fact that Dr. Cox is Linus. And Carla as Lucy... perfection! Merry Christmas!

Harry Potter 5 teaser trailer!

I just found out that you can view the new Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix trailer online! You can find it here! Now I have something very cool to look forward to in July of 2007. (yes, I'm aware that I'm a geek!)

Harry Potter 5 teaser trailer!

You can view it here and let me just tell you, it's fabulous!

Film festivals are so cool

Just got back from my weekend trip and I have to say, I wish I could just go to these things all the time! It was so great. We saw some wonderful short films and features, and my favorite film of the day was a documentary called 10 mph. When they release this for sale, I'm buying it! Go to the site and see what it's all about.

We also saw We Go Way Back, which was a very beautiful film that I am still thinking about, an entire day later. I love movies that make me think. I love books that do the same thing, actually.

We saw some other films, several shorts by Alabama filmmakers, and a couple of other features and shorts. I can honestly say I didn't like only a couple of the films we saw this weekend. Most of them were great.

So anyway, we had a great time, and are already planning to go for the whole weekend next year. It'll be so great!