PHX Film News for 11/30/12

PHX Film News November 30, 2012 It's time for the peace and quiet of the week after Thanksgiving. After so many big releases over the last few weeks, it's a relatively slow week for releases. We've got one review and a few releases to talk about. Then we'll take care of some housekeeping issues for the PFF.... Spotlight Movie of the Week - Killing Them Softly  Killing Them Softly is the one film reviewed this week and probably the new release that will get the most attention. The film stars Brad Pitt and some great character actors like Richard Jenkins and James Gandolfini. I'm guessing many of you were sold when we said "Brad Pitt". This one picked up the 2012 Cannes Film Festival Palme d’Or nomination and is based on the novel “Cogan’s Trade” by George V. Higgins, We took a look at this film and here's what we thought. Other new releases  With a quiet week of new movies, you may want play catch up and check out Silver Linings Playbook, Life of Pi or Lincoln. If you've seen all those, you do have a few options.... First up, you can take the family to see the live action How the Grinch Stole Christmas. Or sneak out and see it yourself. It's playing at select Harkins tomorrow morning at 10am. They've got a few other choice holiday classics playing this month and we'll keep you up to date. Speaking of Harkins, they've got three exclusives opening this week. The Comedy, Dragon and Starlet are opening this week and all have received respectable reviews over atAZ Central Finally, you horror fans that have been neglected for a month, you finally get a new release. The Collectiondebuts this weekend. Do you like us? Do you really like us?  In addition to this brilliant weekly newsletter, another way to keep up with the Phoenix Film Festival and the hijinks of Camerahead is to check us out on Facebook. We post info on special events, movie news and inside info about the Phoenix Film Festival. Click here to visit us on Facebook and then click "Like" to get our updates. Your Top 5 Movies of the Year  It's time to start thinking about your top 5 movies of the year. Right around Christmas, we'll be narrowing it down to 30 films for you. Then you'll have to chance to pick your favorite five films from that group. We'll compile all the votes and then announce our very first PHX Film Top 10. So put your thinking caps on and start working on your list.

PHX Film News for 11/21/12

PHX Film News November 21, 2012Welcome to the special Thanksgiving edition of PHX Film News. Since the majority of new releases are released on Wednesday this week, we're bringing you our newsletter a couple of days early. Happy Thanksgiving! Spotlight Pic of the week - Silver Linings PlaybookWith a few film festival awards under its belt, Silver Lining Playbook looks like it may have a head start going into the awards season. Based on the novel by Matthew Quick, David O. Russell assembled a brilliant, interesting cast to bring the quirky, endearing novel to life. The film stars Bradley Cooper, Jennifer Lawrence, Robert De Niro, Julia Stiles, Jacki Weaver, Anupam Kher, John Ortiz and Chris Tucker. We've got a couple of reviews of this one. First up is the PFF's Lisa Minzey.  Next up is guest critic, Colin Boyd Lots of new releases, lots of reviewsLets lead off this week's reviews with the Friday release,Hitchcock. The film about the legendary filmmaker, Alfred Hitchcock stars Anthony Hopkins and Helen Mirren. You can see it starting Friday, exclusively at Harkins Camelview. In the meantime, read our review here. Our next review is the latest from director Ang Lee and he's wowing audiences with Life of Pi. This movie is so big we reviewed it twice. First up is our own, Lisa Minzey's review here followed by guest reviewer, Eric Forthunn's review here. Wolverines!!! That's right, we saw the remake of Red Dawn.We just couldn't wait to see what happened with the new version.Here's what we thought. You thought we were kidding about lots of reviews. We also took a look at Anna Karenina starring Keira Knightley and Jude Law. Here's our take on this one. But wait there's also the animated film, Rise of the Guardians. Lots of star power in the voice department of this movie. What did we think? We tell you here. We didn't review it but Brooklyn Castle also opens on Friday at Harkins Camelview. It tells the stories of five members of the chess team at a below-the-poverty-line inner city junior high school that has won more national championships than any other in the country. Enjoy this week's movie feast! PFF Passes on sale at Early Bird PricingIt's never to early to start thinking about the 2013 Phoenix Film Festival. We really can't think of a better holiday gift than passes to the Phoenix Film Festival. The cool part is that if you buy them now, you save 25%. We'll be running this special pricing through the end of the year, so get your passes now. Also, if you'd like to stop by our office after your purchase we can throw in a special gift to go along with the passes you purchase. Click here to purchase or call 602-955-6444 In the news - Interview with Matthew QuickWhen a High School English teacher decides to peruse his dream of becoming a novelist, never in his wildest dreams did he anticipate that he would be touring the country doing publicity for a Holiday release film for his first novel, “Silver Linings Playbook” starring A-List celebrities Bradley Cooper and Jennifer Lawrence. Nor did he expect to have a brilliant name such as David O. Russell behind the camera bringing his pages to life. Read more in part one of our interview with Matthew Quick, the novelist behind Silver Linings Playbook.

PHX Film News for 11/16/12

PHX Film News November 16, 2012 Spotlight Pic of the week - LincolnHow could we not bring up the latest from Spielberg? When you've got the beloved director working with Daniel Day-Lewis, it's definitely worth talking about.The film features an all-star cast including Daniel Day-Lewis, Tommy Lee Jones, Sally Field, Joseph Gordon Levitt, David Strathairn, James Spader and Lee Pace among others.The reviews so far have been generally positive with the film not totally meeting everyone's high expectations. Because of the film's magnitude, we bring you two reviews. First up our very own Lisa Minzey gives her take on it, Here And then our guest critic, Colin Boyd gives us this thoughts,Here Other new releases - A Royal Affair and Twilight lead the rest of the releasesWhile Lincoln and Twilight are getting the most press this week, there's a little film that's picking up all kinds of great reviews. A Royal Affair was named this week's Phoenix Film Critics Society movie of the week has received great reviews nationally that you can read about here.We also had a chance to see the film and you can click here to read our reviewSelling lots of tickets as we write is The Twilight Saga:Breaking Dawn - Part 2. We won't shock anyone when we say this film won't be winning any Oscars, but people love the series which ends with this film. We had a chance to see it and we've got a review chock full of spoilers. You've been warned. Click here to read on This week is not just about presidents, Denmark and vampires. There are a few other releases out. You've got La Rafle, This Must Be the Place and Harkins is also doing a retro Hitchcock series this week at Valley Art. (read more below about this) Not quite as retro, but also fun will be the screenings ofPlanes, Trains and Automobiles at Harkins. Click here to find out where it's screening on 11/20. Upcoming film events - Film Festival passes to go on saleMark your calendars now for the 2013 Phoenix Film Festival. The 2013 festival runs from April 4th to 11th and you'll want to block out time to enjoy the film event of the year.Next week, you'll be able to purchase passes at a 25% discount for a limited time. It's a great way to save some money plus festival passes make great gifts. So you've already got an idea for the movie lover in your life. In the news - See Hitchcock Classics at Harkins Valley ArtFor one week only, Harkins Theatres presents some of Alfred Hitchcock’s most celebrated films exclusively at Harkins Valley Art Theatre. Beginning Friday, November 16, Hitchcock fans can relive the intensity of Rear Window, Vertigo and Psycho on the big screen.All three films will show each day throughout the run, in anticipation of the new feature film, Hitchcock, opening Friday, November 23 exclusively at Harkins Camelview 5 Theatres.Click here for more info

PFF award winner "Ingenious" opens this weekend

Ingenious

Back in 2009, the film Lightbulb, starring Jeremy Renner and Dallas Roberts, picked up the Best Picture Award at the Phoenix Film Festival. Since then, it's gone on a remarkable journey to it's new title of, Ingenious, and its release this weekend at Harkins Shea 14.

Ingenious is about Matt, a small-time inventor, keeps coming up with clever but impractical products. Sam, Matt's longtime friend and business partner, is a born salesman. Just ask him, he'll tell you. Gina, Matt's wife, is a flight attendant dealing with the flying public's bizarre behavior. Gina is picking up extra trips to help sustain Matt's struggling business. One day, out of the blue, Matt get the Big Idea. The one he's been waiting on to save his business and marriage. Wild money-raising schemes ensue to finance the American Dream product.

Just like in the movie, the filmmakers have gone through many twists and turns to get their product out there. The film was produced in 2008 and was shot in Tucson. The shoot used the majority of their budget leaving them with precious little money for post production. Although the film was in fifteen big name festivals, opened two (Cleveland and Jerusalem), closed one (Santa Barbara) and won Best Picture (Phoenix), it wasn't technically (sound and music) as good as they would have liked.

They received some offers from major distributors but those were primarily LA and New York short runs followed by or in conjunction with a VOD release. After a period of scrimping and scraping they came up with the money to finish the film (a new edit with more Jeremy Renner screen time), transfer to HD, and integrated score by Tucson musician How Gelb and Dolby certified surround sound. Then, at the Cannes marketplace, they sold eighteen territories, including Canada, France, Scandinavia and all of Latin America.

In addition to having essentially a new better movie, the renewed interest was coming from Jeremy Renner's increasing name recognition and popularity. The response to their self-distribution to theaters has been very positive.  They have booked fourteen theaters, for one week minimums, in the past three weeks including the Harkins Shea in Phoenix and expect to have over 100 booked by the end of November.  So, ironically, just like the theme of INGENIOUS, persistence pays off.

Give the film a look this week exclusively at Harkins Shea 14

Desperado LGBT Film Festival to present films for LGBT history month

LGBTQA weekend at Phoenix College presents socially relevant films celebrating LGBT History Month

(Phoenix, Arizona) - Equality Maricopa, the Maricopa County Community College District's LGBT employee constituency group, has partnered with the Phoenix College Office of Student Life, MCCCD's Center for Civic Participation and the Desperado LGBT Film Festival to present a variety of timely and socially relevant films to foster awareness and understanding of our key issues in the LGBTQA (Lesbian, Gay, Transgender, Queer, Questioning and Ally) community. The Friday and Saturday screenings are October 19 and 20, 2012, in the Bulpitt Auditorium at Phoenix College in Central Phoenix.

Full weekend admission is only $5 for students and $10 for non-students. The films are recommended for ages 18 and up.  Tickets will be available in advance of the screenings. For more information and detailed descriptions of the films being shown, visit: www.desperadofilmfestival.com.

PHX Film News for August 3rd

Pic of the week Ruby Sparks

The Phoenix Film Critics Society Pic of the Week is the new film "Ruby Sparks" and we would have to agree with them.

The film comes from directors Jonathan Dayton and Valerie Faris.  It stars Paul Dano, Zoe Kazan, Antonio Banderas, Annette Bening and Steve Coogan.

Synopsis: Calvin is a young novelist who achieved phenomenal success early in his career but is now struggling with his writing - as well as his romantic life. Finally, he makes a  breakthrough and creates a character named Ruby who inspires him. When Calvin finds Ruby, in the flesh, sitting on his couch about a week later, he is completely flabbergasted that his words have turned into a living, breathing person.

See it this week at Harkins Camelview

Other new releases

A sci-fi remake, a family film and plenty of other interesting stuff The new Total Recall makes its debut this week. We'll see if it can capture any of the success of the original film.

The new family film release is a sequel, Diary of a Wimpy Kid:Dog Days.

Also opening this week are the subtitled films, Farewell My Queen and Caras A Elena and the films Red Lights, Klown and Soldiers of Fortune.

Plus those of you on the west side can now see The Intouchables over at Harkins Arrowhead Theatre.

Upcoming film events

IFP-Phoenix Beat the Clock 48 Hour Film Challenge Screening and Awards

Join us for an evening of short films, food, music and awards.

This year 19 teams kicked off during the weekend of July 20-22. They were given a genre, a line and a prop then were given 48 hours to make a five minute film. Here's your chance to see all of the films that were completed. In fact, we'll be screening all of the films twice.

Visit here for details and to purchase tickets to this screening event

This Friday night at the Phoenix Art Museum is DR. DIABOLIC'S TRAVELING ROADSHOW & FUN-TIME VARIETY HOUR

Dr. Diabolic, Phoenix's newest horror host will present the August edition of his Traveling Roadshow & Fun-Time Variety Hour on August 3 at 7pm, during First Friday in Phoenix Art Museum's Whiteman Hall. The show will feature live sketch comedy, burlesque, Michael Jackson Thriller dancers and brain eating contests.  Museum admission is complimentary; tickets to the variety show are $15 and will be available at the entrance to Whiteman Hall.  The event is open to those 16 and over.

Get your Dr. Diabolic tickets here!

In the news

Ruby Sparks directors interviewed by PFF

Our very own Lisa Minzey sat down with directors Jonathan Dayton and Valeire Faris to discuss their upcoming release Ruby Sparks. This is their follow up to their film Little Miss Sunshine.

Visit our website to read the interview

This Week in Phoenix Film News!

Neil Young Journeys The Phoenix Film Critics Society Pic of the Week is the new documentary "Neil Young Journeys" directed by Jonathan Demme. The film takes a look at Neil Young's 2011 solo tour to Toronto's Massey Hall, an iconic venue in the city of his birth. At sixty-five, Young retains a youthful vitality and musical curiosity. Concert footage of the Massey Hall performances is interspersed with scenes from a road trip through Ontario. Driving a 1956 Ford Crown Victoria, Young visits the rural town of Omemee, where he spent a key part of his formative years, and reminisces about his former neighbors.

You can see it starting Friday at Harkins Camelview.

Other new releases

More docs and a couple of new wide releases

It's a big week for documentaries. Also being released this week are a couple of docs that have received some good reviews; Paul Williams: Still Alive and Pink Ribbons.

The two big wide releases this week include The Watch and Step Up: Revolution. Expect Dark Knight Rises to have a big weekend.

Upcoming film events

IFP-Phoenix Beat the Clock 48 Hour Film Challenge Screening and Awards

Join us for an evening of short films, food, music and awards.

This year 19 teams kicked off during the weekend of July 20-22. They were given a genre, a line and a prop then were given 48 hours to make a five minute film. Here's your chance to see all of the films that were completed. In fact, we'll be screening all of the films twice.

Visit here for details and to purchase tickets

In the news

Ruby Sparks directors interviewed by PFF

Our very own Lisa Minzey sat down with directors Jonathan Dayton and Valeire Faris to discuss their upcoming release Ruby Sparks. This is their follow up to their film Little Miss Sunshine.

Visit our website to read the interview

The People of PFF: Deb Hildebrandt!

It's time to learn more about the people who help make the festival happen. Meet Deb Hildebrandt, our Director of Student Programming!

Who are you? 

Deb Hildebrandt

What do you do (for the festival)? 

I’m the Director of Student Programming.  I put together the programs for College Shorts and Grade/High School Shorts.  I’m also responsible for programming the Arizona Student Film Festival.

How did you end up doing that? 

8 years ago I attended a Phoenix Film Society screening and decided I wanted to be involved in the organization.  I’d previously volunteered for Cinequest in San Jose and The New Orleans Film Festival.  I started working with the Volunteer Coordinator in that department, eventually becoming the Volunteer Director.  I was excited to explore other areas of the festival so I spent a few years as a Short Film Programming Director.  Over the years I’ve also enjoyed volunteering with IFP Phoenix and working with the International Horror and Sci-Fi Festival as the Filmmaker Relations Director.

What do you love most about your role? 

I really love movies!  All kinds.  I get to screen a lot of them.  Every year there seems to be a common theme or mood to the films submitted based on what’s happening in the world.  I enjoy the different points of view and it’s exciting to see such original work from talented, new filmmakers.

What's the biggest challenge? 

Putting the programs together can be challenging.  Sometimes we’re spoiled for choice and I’m unable to program a film I’ve really, really enjoyed.  It’s difficult to decline a submission from a talented filmmaker.  I also find it’s crucial to keep very specific notes on the films I see.  The movies may make a strong impression when I see them, but after going through so many submissions, it’s difficult to supply the feedback a filmmaker deserves without strong notes to refer to.

What's the movie you're most excited for this year? 

I’m looking forward to “Paranoia”.  We’re very lucky to have so many talented filmmakers in Phoenix.  Bivas Biswas has been made quite a few short films I’ve really enjoyed.  He was the Arizona Filmmaker of the Year in 2008.  He has a lot of talent and I’ve been looking forward to a feature film. I’m excited to see it screen at the festival!

What are your three favorite movies featuring a primate in a leading role? 

King Kong (1933), King Kong (1976), King Kong (2005)