Toon Talk: It’s a Wonderful Shrek

Life has been good for the lovable green ogre known as Shrek, both on- and off screen. He has starred in three of the most popular animated films in the world, beginning with Shrek, the very first Best Animated Feature Oscar winner. The first sequel, Shrek 2, fared even better with audiences, surpassing the original at the box office. Sure, he stumbled with the uninspired Shrek the Third, but more than made up for it with the instant Christmas TV classic Shrek the Halls and the Tony Award-winning stage version Shrek The Musical. No doubt about it: Shrek is a star.

However, at the beginning of his fourth (and reportedly final) big screen adventure Shrek Forever After (in theaters now), our hero (once again voiced by Mike Myers) finds himself stuck in a rut … and not an ogre-friendly rut at that. Happily married with children to the fair ogress Fiona (Cameron Diaz), Shrek’s domestic bliss begins to gnaw at his natural ogre tendencies. His big green midlife crisis comes to head when he realizes no one — not one pitchfork-wielding villager — is afraid of him ...

Click here to continue reading my Toon Talk review of Shrek Forever After at LaughingPlace.com.

UPDATE: Shrek Forever After is now available on DVD and Blu-ray from Amazon.com.

Week (Month) in Film Vlog for (all of) May 25, 2010

Theatrical Releases: Harry Brown, Robin Hood (2010), Letters to Juliet, The Trotsky, A Nightmare on Elm Street (2010) and Gunless
The Wolfathon: She-Wolf of London, Bad Moon, Wolfen

Inside Out 2010: Yngve, Lola & Assume Nothing

Above: The Man Who Loved Yngve

The Man Who Loved Yngve
Dir: Stian Kristiansen
Cast: Arthur Berning, Ole Christoffer Ertvaag, Ida Elise Broch, Rolf Kristian Larsen
Norway

Teen angst runs high in The Man Who Loved Yngve, set in Norway circa the fall of the Berlin Wall. The film is centred on Jarle (Rolf Kristian Larsen), who miraculously seems to have the best it can get as when it comes to the 80's, plays in a synth-pop band and is going out with Katrine (Ida Elise Broch), who is the best girlfriend. Everything breaks loose when there is a new boy in town, Yngve (Ole Christoffer Ertvaag) and suddenly life seems to take on a whole new level of angst for Jarle. Beautifully shot and with strong performances by the young cast, we are treated to a fascinated coming of age story that is sure to resonate. The soundtrack is a great combination of reminiscent 80's power tunes along with more subtle choices, and of course - the band in the film as well. It's an emotional roller coaster ranging from sensitive to sweet to tragic all in one. Very impressive.

The Man Who Loved Yngve screens at Inside Out on:
Wednesday May 26, 2010 at 7:30pm at the ROM

Assume Nothing
Dir: Kirsty MacDonald
Documentary
New Zealand

Absolutely beautiful documentary showcasing portraits on 5 gender-variant artists from photographer Rebecca Swan's book Assume Nothing. From interviews, photo shoots and stills we are presented with discussions on gender identity as the film creates and showcases imagery and language to reflect back non-binary gender presentations. I loved the openness of the film and that it not only discussed but also defined, presented and created imagery and celebrated words that crossed over from the gulf of the limited thinking. It walk the walk and talks the talk, as well as being beautiful from start to finish.

Assume Nothing screens at Inside Out on:
Friday May 28, 2010 at 5:15pm at the ROM

And Then Came Lola
Dir: Ellen Seilder
Cast: Ashleigh Sumner, Jill Bennett, Cathy DeBuono, Jessica Graham, Candy Tolentino, Angelyna Martinez
USA

Ashleigh Sumner stars as Lola, a woman on a simple quest at the request of her girlfriend Casey (Jill Bennett) to deliver a package. Except, it's not so simple. Is it ever that simple? It's a story we see more than once as the film is structured a la Run Lola Run / Lola Rennt, with each incarnation presenting new problems and roadblocks, but the fun here is that it's also used as a not just running-through-the-motions, but also running-though-the-relationship with discussions of inadvertent self-discovery along the way. I enjoyed the creative spin on the structure and also that a variety of styles were used from animation to stills along with the live action. The highlight of the film was definitely Ashleigh Sumner who absolutely shines as Lola, she's got brilliant comedic timing and delivery that had me in stitches.

And Then Came Lola screens at Inside Out on:
Saturday May 29, 2010 at 9:30pm at the ROM


Above: And Then Came Lola

For more information, check out the Inside Out website, Film Schedule, Festival Planner, Online Box Office, Ticket Availability, Box Office Information, Venue Information and Party Information.

The Inside Out Toronto LGBT Film and Video Festival 2010 runs from May 20-30, 2010 in Toronto, Ontario, Canada.

DVD Releases For May 25, 2010

It's a very interesting day for DVD Releases, lots of variety across genre and format. Let's have a look at what's coming to DVD on May 25, 2010.

First up I'm thrilled to see the beautiful Vietnamese film Owl and the Sparrow /Cú và chim se sẻ out on DVD, it's a sensitive telling of unlikely friendships & relationships. Staying touching, we also have the drama/romance Dear John, adapted from the Nicholas Sparks novel and starring Channing Tatum and Amanda Seyfried and it really is rather touching. Keeping the book theme, we have The Road based on the novel by Cormac McCarthy, and is a post-apocalyptic journey starring Viggo Mortensen and Kodi Smit-McPhee (Let Me In). Next up is the totally trippy Someone's Knocking at the Door that I'm not sure how to describe other than seriously messed.

The week we also see the small screen out on DVD with True Blood Season 2 hitting the shelves - and just in time if you need to catch up with Sookie, Bill & the vampires friends, er... well other vampires, before Season 3 starts on June 13, 2010. From a different kind of small screen, we see the release of The Guild Season 3, a wildly popular web-series created by Felicia Day which follows the adventures of a MMORPG Guild.

Criterion release of note for the week is the 1939 western Stagecoach, directed by John Ford and starring John Wayne. Interesting Blu-Ray of the week include Joss Whedon's Dr. Horrible Sing-a-long Blog (a 3-part webisodes series) and more western goodness, this time of the spaghetti variety, with the release of Sergio Corbucci's Django, starring Franco Nero.

Also in release this week is The Informant along with horror selections The Final Destination in 3-D (amazon.ca only) and The Collector.

Titles on Amazon.ca(Canada):


Titles on Amazon.com (US):

Reverend's Reviews: Sex and the City 2 Tunes

Despite a growing gay controversy over its producers' decision to shoot much of Sex and the City 2 in anti-gay Morocco, I'm looking forward to the femme-centric sequel that opens this Thursday. I watched very little of the original HBO series but 2008's big-screen adaptation won me over.

To tide me and other fans over for the next 48 hours, the Sex and the City 2 Original Motion Picture Soundtrack is being released today. I can assure readers that the CD is the gayest music-listening experience since, well, last week's Glee: The Music, Volume 3, Showstoppers (which is fabulous, btw)!

The soundtrack features not one but two songs performed by gay icon Liza Minnelli: a rousing, Vegas showroom-esque version of Beyonce's inescapable "Single Ladies (Put a Ring On It)" and a cover of Cole Porter's "Ev'ry Time We Say Goodbye." Oscar winner Jennifer Hudson and Grammy nominee Leona Lewis contribute a duet, "Love is Your Color," and Alicia Keys sings "Empire State of Mind (Part II) Broken Down" as well as Deborah Harry's "Rapture."

I really like Dido's exclusive new track, "Everything to Lose." It manages to be simultaneously meditative and danceable. Also included on the disc are Erykah Badu's "Window Seat" (which spawned Badu's controversial music video), Cee-Lo's "Language of Love" and a rambunctious version of Helen Reddy's anthem "I Am Woman" sung by the Sex and the City stars themselves: Sarah Jessica Parker, Kim Cattrall, Kristin Davis and Cynthia Nixon.

But the gayest tracks are three classic show tunes performed by the specially-formed, 16-member Sex and the City Men's Choir. Their lovely renditions of "If Ever I Would Leave You" (from Camelot), "Sunrise, Sunset" (from Fiddler on the Roof) and "Til There Was You" (from The Music Man) are presumably part of a gay wedding that occurs in Sex and the City 2, at which Liza reportedly officiates.

So, why wait until Thursday? Grab or download the soundtrack today, shake some Cosmos and let the party begin!

Review by Rev. Chris Carpenter, resident film critic of Movie Dearest and the Orange County and Long Beach Blade.

Reel Thoughts: Tool Time

“MacGruber! He sticks celery up his butt and then he hops like a bunny!”

“MacGruber! He likes to rip out throats and he gets psycho with road rage!”

“MacGruber! He’s full of gay sex panic, he’s MacGruber!!”

Sure, those aren’t the real lyrics to the "MacGruber Theme Song", but they could be. The big screen version of Will Forte’s Saturday Night Live skits is a filthy, stupid and occasionally hilarious mess.

MacGruber is a take-off on MacGuyver, with both guys adept at creating weapons and escape tools out of random pieces of junk. MacGruber, however, usually ends up getting distracted by things like his son coming out or his grandma revealing embarrassing bedwetting details about him, and everything blows up. Of course, you can’t build a movie around that, so Forte and company have created a broader spoof of all kinds of spy films from Mission: Impossible to the James Bond films.

On the big screen, MacGruber has been in hiding for ten years, ever since his arch enemy Dieter Von Cunth (gleefully played by Val Kilmer) blew up his wife Casey (Maya Rudolph). Now, Von Cunth is back with a stolen nuke, so MacGruber is called to action to stop him. He’s saddled with a know-it-all rookie named Dixon Piper (played by the ab-riffic Ryan Phillippe) and enlists the help of his faithful friend Vicki St. Elmo (Kristin Wiig, sporting feathered hair). MacGruber’s methods consist mainly of getting in impossible situations and then “seeing what happens”. Usually, it’s Vicki and Piper who end up in harm’s way.

Forte and Wiig are two of SNL’s smartest and most fearless comedians, and freed of network censors, they dive headfirst into the film’s relentless sex, poop and penis jokes. MacGruber the character is a funny mass of insecurity and unwarranted bravado, and he’s given to offering blow jobs in return for not being fired. You will definitely find yourself laughing out loud at MacGruber. You’ll just hate yourself in the morning.

UPDATE: MacGruber is now available on DVD and Blu-ray from Amazon.com.

Review by Neil Cohen, resident film critic of Movie Dearest and Phoenix's Echo Magazine.

Why I Write Spoiler-Free Film Reviews with No Love "LOST"

Me on the fateful day of watching the pilot episode of "LOST". Photo credit: my sister Jamie

Sunday May 23, 2010 was the perfect day to write this. Why, you ask? Because it was a day I kept Tweetdeck & Twitter closed, I didn't log on to Facebook, and when I inadvertently checked IMDb and Zap2it I closed them and quickly vowed to stay away from them for the rest of the day. Why did I do that with sites & services that I use every day? I wasn't having an internet free day, but self-imposed social media and tv/film blackout as it was the night of the last episode ever of "LOST". And I was determined to get to that last episode of the epic 6 season journey without any spoilers.

This post is 100% spoiler-free, by the way.

I was a latecomer to "LOST". I remember when it started and everyone was all yakkity yak about it but it didn't hold any appeal to me. I even saw 2 episodes of season two with my sister Suzie way back when and we spent more time talking and explaining the freaking show than actually watching it - it was way too much to understand coming in late. Then, last April during my sister Jamie's reno she shared the secret that she and her husband were watching it on DVD. And then she shared the first episode with me. Then the second. Then lent me the DVDs, which I burned through watching the series unfold as I knitted into the wee hours of the night. I was hooked.

I was in love with "LOST". But, I had to keep it a secret. I was seasons behind everyone for months so I had to keep it under wraps. One image or comment could give something away from seasons ahead. More than once I ran away from my TV if they played a commercial and I literally stapled pages together in Entertainment Weekly if they had a story on the show. Any kernel of information could shatter a house of cards being perfectly and purposefully built in front of my very eyes. I didn't want to hear theories, explanations, definitions, casting.... nothing. I wanted to watch it unfold and see the story as it was meant to be told.

But, now I can let that go and share my love of the show. I can scream it, I can shout it. I LOVE YOU "LOST"! I really do. Do you want to know why?

Yes, this post will continue to be 100% spoiler-free.

I love "LOST" for its great storytelling. For keeping us guessing, even when we didn't know we would be guessing. I love "LOST" for providing us with a multicultural, dynamic and talented cast. I love "LOST" because it has characters to love, characters to hate and characters we hate to love & love to hate. I love "LOST" for being consistent. Yes, consistent - I now that sounds boring but it ain't! I love "LOST" for being gusty. For being more than a little zany.

So, why the heck am I writing about "LOST" on Movie Moxie? It's TV not film, right? True. But, one of the reason I love "LOST" so dearly is because it is one of the only things I've seen in recent history where people actively try to be spoiler-free. They know how good the show is, and don't want to ruin the experience for others. This is something I work on and strive for with every review I write and every post I make. It's not easy, but I'm committed to it and I think it's worth it. From my very first film reviews of In The Heat of the Night I wrote "Although I thought I would end up posting movie reviews that included spoilers I just can't do it for this film". That day I wrote more reviews for Ong-Bak & Night Watch / Nochnoi Dozor, and I still didn't do spoilers. After a while I realized never wanted to do spoilers. Ever. It's been 4 years and over 600 film reviews later, and I've stuck with being spoiler-free the whole way.

Why spoiler-free? Well, I've never had a film experience enhanced by having the film spoiled to me. Never. I've also never heard someone say "I'm so glad I knew the ending/twist/reveal." either. But I have had and heard people talk about having a film spoiled for them, and it's not fun or nice. I've certainly never heard of it encouraging someone to see a film, and isn't that what talking about film or reading reviews is all about? I review films with this objective in mind: that from the perspective of the reader, they will be able to determine whether or not they'd want to see the film. It can certainly still be a challenge, as it was just last week writing a review of Harry Brown. But it's still worth it - because lo and behold one of the commenters mentioned having that film spoiled to them somewhere else along the way.

I go to great lengths to try and avoid this. Last year was a huge challenge on that front and I literally ran from a friend who was going to tell me an anecdote about Star Trek less then 2 hours before I made it to see the film without knowing anything about it. I ran. I apologized for it later, and the story wouldn't have been a spoiler, but I wasn't willing to chance it.

I can understand why people want to share the details of things they are excited about or feel strongly for. Discussing a film in depth is after all one of the funnest parts of being a film fan. But remember back to that moment when you saw a big reveal? The beauty of that moment was all the build up and careful maneuvering to get you there. Let us get there too, so we can have that moment.

The good news is, you can talk about films without giving too much away. It's a completely learnable skill. To start simply, ask the person if they've seen the film. If they have - go nuts. If not, try mentioning what you liked about it thematically, instead of specifically. Compare it to another film perhaps, in terms of style or pacing. What was the spirit of what you enjoyed about it, or hated it? The setting (other than occasion SciFi film) is usually safe to share. Character descriptions can be safe too, as long as you talk about them from the perspective of the character at the beginning film (if it's linear narrative). You can talk about how the film made you feel or if you'd like to see it again. You can say what the perfect setting would be to see it, or if who you saw it with and if you agreed with your opinion of it or not. Also, who might like it and why? It's about context, not content. And don't be afraid to put a hold on the conversation if you think it's going too far. You can always decided to chat about it again once everyone has seen the film.




"LOST" in 6 Seasons brought me 3 Sweaters, countless teas, many tears and many memories