TALLULAH

Have you ever done what you knew in your heart was wrong for all the right reasons?  So has Tallulah.  A homeless girl who has not been dealt a full deck within the card game of life, Tallulah finds herself in a situation where she makes a decision that ultimately affects not only her...but many others.

Tallulah and her boyfriend Nico (Evan Jonigkeit) are wandering through life trying to figure out what their next move will be.  Will they go to abroad or stay in New York?  One never knows, but Nico decides that he is done with Tallulah and leaves.  While trolling through floors at a hotel/apartment building, she stumbles upon a woman who is clearly troubled and with a toddler. This chance meeting will turn out to change Tallulah in ways she didn't even see coming.

Having debuted at the 2016 Sundance Film Festival, this Chris Columbus produced dramedy is one of the best films I have seen yet this year.  Kudos to Bernie Telsey and his casting associates for gathering such a stellar cast.

Although Ellen Page (Tallulah) and Allison Janney(Margo) are turning in some outstanding performances, this film belongs the insatiably, sadistic Tammy Blanchard (Carolyn).  Since bursting on the scene as a 2011 Tony Nominee for the second revival of How To Succeed In Business Without Really Trying, Blanchard, those who have watched her star ascend knew it would be only a matter of time before all of her true talent would be showcased.  Her performance in Tallulah is only to be rivaled by that of Oscar winner Cate Blanchett in Woody Allen's Blue Jasmine.

Ellen Page is a task master at portraying young woman with no real moral compass.  She's brilliant at it actually!  Her presence brings the much-needed comic element to Tallulah and she never disappoints.  Ellen Page is the only actress I can think of that makes you want to slap her and hug her all at the same time.  This is certainly the gift of skills she bring s to the role of Tallulah.

Allison Janney is better and better with each film she appears in.  As an awkward, socially inept woman on the verge of divorcing her gay husband. Janney conveys all the colors and layers necessary to pull off the character of Margo.  Her attempt to seduce the doorman is hysterical and incredibly sad all at once, as well as, her anger burst toward her future ex-husband are outstanding moments.

It was nice to see David Zayas and Uzo Aduba, as well as, John Benjamin Hickey and Zachary Quinto on-screen in one film.  Each of them spectacular in their respective roles.

Director/Writer Sian Heder has honed his skills in the world of dramedy on such hits as Orange Is The New Black and Men of a Certain Age, but it's safe to say that Tallulah will be the breakout film garnering major attention for him and Blanchard this awards season.

Tallulah debuted on Netflix July 29th and is available for streaming now.

The Secret Life of Pets

Have you often wondered what your pet does to occupy his/her time while you are away?  I have often envisioned my Maltese having a card party complete with cocktails and snacks while I'm away.  Why?  He just seems way to chill when I walk through the door and it always leaves me with the feeling that he has definitely been up to something.

Nothing makes me happier than films with talking pets and babies.  As silly as it is, it just brings a big, fat smile to my face and let's me escape the reality of this troubled world we find ourselves having to navigate through on a daily basis.

The Secret Life of Pets takes us on the journey of how Max (Louis C.K.) was adopted, which is quite sweet.  however, when Max's owner feels that he might be a little lonely and buys Duke, things go awry.  Not only is Max NOT lonely, but is on a personal mission to make sure that Duke (Eric Stonestreet) get put out  is out - pronto!

However, Max's plans are thwarted when he accidentally hooks up with some street dogs led by tough top dog Snowball (Kevin Hart).  Snowball is proud of being a street thug and despises "domestics".  Of course, Max's secret lady-love Gidget (JennySlate) is on a mission to find her man and that's when things become even more hilarious.

My favorite scenes are the dog's rocking out while the owners are gone, spending the entire film running from the dog-catcher and  finding out that Snowball is just a softie at the end of the day.

For those of you who have a child's heart, you will adore this film.  It tugs at every heart string you might have and then some.  My Mom and I had a great time, as we likened a lot of what we witnessed to why my little Spanky behaves the way he does sometime.  I swear, if he could talk he might be speaking a little foul French (if you know what I mean).

The Secret Life of Pets has already grossed 261 million dollars in the US and is in theaters now!

HOPSCOTCH: An Opera For the 21st Century

If someone gave you  the gift of choosing what moments of your life would best represent who you are today...which ones would you choose?

KCET's ARTBOUND episode, Hopscotch,  examines that very question through a series of operas performed live in 24 cars driven all around Los Angeles.  Six composers, six writers, 126 performers and a team of  behind the scenes stage managers, designers, technicians and drivers all helped in bringing this ground-breaking avant-garde piece to life.

In November 2015, tickets were sold and each buyer would experience a different chapter of the story for 10 minutes.  How?  The vocalists and musicians helped weave the story of one woman from her childhood to becoming elderly in the intimacy and confined space of a car.

This team thought of everything!  They even created a hub in Downtown LA with tv screens numbered by chapters to the ticket buyers could see what chapter they would be joining in on.

Hopscotch gave it creators, participants and ticket holders a perspective of Los Angeles never seen...through the eyes of one woman's journey in a series of chapters in a car.

Watching the piece unfold before your eyes can be a little dizzying at first, but then you are totally sucked and longing for what happens next.  Director Yuval Sharon described Hopscotch as a piece in which "time is happening all at once".

Earlier this year at the Tribeca Film Festival, I screened a feature film starring Jason Bateman, Nicole Kidman, Maryann Plunkett and Christopher Walken  called The Family Fang.  Kidman and Bateman were the now grown-up children of a couple that became world-famous for performance art.  I couldn't help think of this film while watching this doc.  It was absolutely fascinating and the performances were stellar.  The voices on some of these vocalists was unreal and their commitment to the artistry was admirable.

It goes without saying that Yuval Sharon deserves a standing ovation for taking on such an ambitious project and pulled it off with flying colors. It was heartwarming and inspiring to hear Sharon speak of all the tragedies in the world over recent months.  Nice had not occurred yet, however, Paris, Dallas, Minnesota and so many others had happened.  I think his quote from Brecht sums it all up perfectly...

Hopscotch debts tonight as part of KCET's ARTBOUND series, which airs on Direct TV Channel 375, Dish Network 9410, and of course at 9pm on KCET in Southern California.

Check out the making of this interesting, avant-garde fascinating piece of art and the interviews I did with Kate Walsh and director Yuval Sharon.

[embed]https://youtu.be/fuhvn1Eo3-w[/embed]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LivzsddPn-Q

#Flashback: THE DEVIL WEARS PRADA

I am obsessed with Meryl Streep!  Then again who isn't.  She is one of the best actresses in our industry.  I am also obsessed with Anne Hathaway.  Who doesn't love The Princess Diaries with her and Julie Andrews?  Don't even get me started on her Oscar turn as Fantine is Les Miserables.

Who knew when The Devil Wears Prada opened in theaters ten years ago that it would clobber Superman Returns at the box office in 2006.  Miranda Priestly, fashion and a good old-fashioned love story would prevail in the end.

The film focused on a young woman, who while on the quest to find a job as a journalist ends up at a fashion magazine.  She ultimately becomes the assistant to the most powerful fashion editor in the world and that job changes her forever.

It kinda reminded me of a more up to date version of another one of my favorite films Working Girl.  i even had the pleasure of Guest Starring on an ABC monster hit Ugly Betty, which although was an American reboot of a Spanish show, still had that  'Devil Wears Prada' motif going on...not to mention they had Tony and Emmy nominee Vanessa Williams to pull in those viewers.

Not only did the film mark the film debut of Emily Blunt, but it catapulted her and Anne Hathaway into superstardom.  Stanley Tucci was no slouch either.

So for those who are all too familiar with this classic...here are some things  you may not know about The Devil Wears Prada...

1.  Meryl Streep was ready to walk over her the low salary offer. When it was doubled, she found a way grab that silver hair and keep it moving.  Can you even imagine anyone else as Miranda?   I think not
2. As badly as Anne Hathaway wanted this role, the first choice was Rachel McAdams.  I love Rachel, but Andy was meant for Anne
3. Meryl changed what would become one of the best lines of the Film.  During their table read, Meryl said, "Everybody wants to be us," instead of  "Everybody wants to be me."
4. Emily was supposed to be American.  The director loved Blunt's accent so much, they made her character British
5. Stanley Tucci met his real-life wife at Emily Blunt's wedding.  Isn't that fantabulous!!!
6. There was NO second choice considered for Miranda Priestly.  How you even gonna let second choice fall from you lips when you have freaking Meryl Streep!!!  I'm just saying!

Take a look back at the trailer for The Devil Wears Prada...

AS I AM: THE LIFE AND TIME$ OF DJ AM

Grandmaster Flash, DJ Jazzy Jeff, Steve Aoki, Daft Punk are some of tho most famous DJ's on the dance scene EVER!   Until the emergence of DJ AM.

DJ AM  aka Adam Goldstein was the first to command a million bucks to spin.  The phrase 'mash up" is famously aligned with his name and his spin crafting skills made him one of the most famously sought after DJ's  for such celebrities as Robert Downey, Jr,, Jay-Z, Tom Cruise, Madonna and many more.

As accomplished as he was at being a DJ, the one thing he couldn't quite a grab a handle of was his sobriety after a harrowing survival of a tragic plane crash.

Adam had the deck stacked against him from conception.  His Dad wanted nothing to do with  him, weight was an issue and self-love.  All these factors had a number in line with his ultimate addiction.  A habit that he kicked and would ultimately become his demise.

He was found dead -  shirtless in  sweatpants, a crack pipe and pills inside his New York City apartment at age 36. He tried desperately to kick a disease wont' let you run away if your will is weak...it just doesn't work that way.  At the end of the day, he would still always be a chubby, insecure boy that nobody liked.

For DJ's everywhere...he changed the game forever. Thanks to Director/Producer for putting this struggle on film.  In light of recent overdoses like Prince, Michael Jackson, Amy Winehouse...let us hope that if watching this saves just one life DJ AM's life was a life worth living.

AS I AM:  THE LIFE AND TIME$ OF DJ AM is playing at Arclight Cinemas  in Los Angeles as of June 3rd and various theaters in the New York area.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fv7WmrSDhk8

Top 10 Flicks From the 2016 Cannes Film Festival

Well peeps, I wasn't to able to cross the ocean to France for the 2016 Cannes Film Festival once again.  However, Variety,  Peter  Debruge and Owen Gleiberman keep me in the know and if  I am in the loop - then so do you... Here is what Variety says are the Top Ten to look for...

I, Daniel Blake

It’s not just another Ken Loach movie. The Palme d’Or-winning drama about a Newcastle carpenter (Dave John) with heart disease who discovers that he’s being dropped from the welfare rolls has a raw, elemental outrage. It’s really about how the social safety net has been fraying around the world, and it asks: Are we going to repair it — or let it fray more?

2.  Elle

Paul Verhoeven (whose "Basic Instinct" and "Hollow Man" were stunted-teen sex fantasies) is literally the last filmmaker on earth I'd trust to handle the hyper-sensitive issue of rape with any level of psychological depth. As it turns out, there's no one better, especially when paired with the great Isabelle Huppert, who gives her most fearless performance since "The Piano Teacher." — Peter Debruge

3.  American Honey

In Andrea Arnold's extraordinary handheld youthquake of a road movie, Star (Sasha Lane), fleeing an abusive home, joins a roving cult of pierced and tattooed hip-hop wastrels who survive by using their hustle and beauty to sell magazine subscriptions. Shia LaBeouf, as the group's recruiter, is like a rat-tailed nihilist James Dean, and the whole movie — think "Spring Breakers" as shot by the Dardenne brothers — is a dance between exhilaration and despair.

4.  Paterson

In cinema, as in poetry, there are epic tales of conflict and heroism that take hours to relate, and then there are tiny, observational doodles that uncannily manage to cut to the essence of life via a handful of short, repetitive stanzas. In the context of Cannes, Jim Jarmusch's "Paterson" may not seem ambitious enough, but it zeroes in on what is true and relatable in a New Jersey bus driver's weekly routine, so that we might better understand ourselves.

5.

Toni Erdmann

Much as Andrea Arnold did with "American Honey," German director Maren Ade shot enough footage to make a film twice as long as her nearly-three-hour competition entry. After a year spent in editing, she emerged with this wince-inducingly authentic look at a strained father-daughter relationship, which builds to a series of astonishing quasi-comedic set pieces, including the best use of a Whitney Houston ballad since "The Bodyguard.

6.

Hell or High Water

Chris Pine and Ben Foster are gripping as West Texas brothers who go on a spree of petty bank robberies — but not because they’re simple crooks. They’re very complicated crooks (well, one of them is), and we survey their actions with a mesmerizing mixture of sympathy and dismay. Jeff Bridges, as the Texas Ranger who wants to hunt them down, does a great piece of character acting. Directed by David Mackenzie, the movie is funny and explosive but surprisingly rich.

7.

Toni Erdmann

Much as Andrea Arnold did with "American Honey," German director Maren Ade shot enough footage to make a film twice as long as her nearly-three-hour competition entry. After a year spent in editing, she emerged with this wince-inducingly authentic look at a strained father-daughter relationship, which builds to a series of astonishing quasi-comedic set pieces, including the best use of a Whitney Houston ballad since "The Bodyguard."

8.

The Salesman

In "A Separation" director Asghar Farhadi's searing drama, a couple in Tehran (Shahab Hosseini and Taraneh Alidootsi) find their lives upended by a random intruder. The movie builds in Farhadi's slow-boil way, but once the perpetrator is revealed, it becomes a suspenseful meditation not just on the ethics of revenge, but on the psychological sources of it.

9.  The Neon Demon

Disney might take issue, but the brothers Grimm would surely approve of Nicolas Winding Refn’s twisted fairy tale, a hyper-stylized plunge into Los Angeles’ cult of beauty, wherein a not-entirely-innocent blonde ingénue (Elle Fanning) cracks the city’s ultra-competitive modeling scene. As allegories go, Refn’s cynical take can seem facile at times, but like “Suspiria” or “The Black Swan,” surrealist horror is absolutely the right genre to capture said phenomenon.

10.  Endless Poetry

Well into his 80s, the violent cult surrealist Alejandro Jodorowky ("El Topo") has reinvented himself as a maker of shaggy-dog Felliniesque memoir, and this one is far more disciplined and moving than his first, "The Dance of Reality" (2013). It's about how Jodorowsky joined the bohemian demimonde of Santiago as a young poet. In his baroque way, the former midnight sensationalist has become a true storyteller who turns every scene into an adventure.

8.  After Love

One of these days, Belgian director Joachim Lafosse will find his way into competition at Cannes. In the meantime, his piercing studies of relationship dynamics (which include "Our Children" and "Private Property") stand out as the best of their respective sidebars. Bérénice Bejo has never been better than she is as a working mom who can no longer stand to live with the father of her children, but can't bring herself to kick him out.

BLACK GIRL

  In 2015, Cannes Film Festival screened and re-released a digitally restored version of Ousmane Sembene’s first feature film from 1966 -  Black Girl.  Black Girls single-handedly opened the way for African cinema in the West.

Diounna is a girl from Senegal.  Diounna is stylish, classy, sophisticated and a woman on a mission to help her family have a better life.  That opportunity presents itself when she is invited by her mistress to leave Dakar and move to France.  However, the "glamourous life" Diounna envisioned becomes a cruel form of modern-day slavery.  Diounna's dreams are never realized and depression becomes her daily existence.

While African-Americans here in the America were fighting for equal "civil" rights, our brothers and sisters across the ocean were fighting undercover modern-day slavery.  How could this be allowed to happen and why?  Who thought this was a good idea and why was this considered Ok?Why were white people so fascinated by people of color in terms of our women and how we cook, but then afraid to go to Africa for fear of being caught up in a "civil war"?

Not much has changed, only now the fascination is with our style and our music.

Yes, I was fascinated and infuriated at such behavior.  When will folks learn that we are ALL HUMAN BEINGS!!!!  We are not property to be coveted and bragged about.  We have families, feelings and want the best for our loved ones like anyone else.

Can we really say that this behavior has changed much from 1969 to 2016?  Yes and No...the answer is totally subjective depending on who you are and what your experience in life has turned out to be.

Black Girl recently screened at BAMcinematek during May in New York and can now be streamed online via YouTube and purchased on DVD.

Remember Our Troops: Memorial Day Flicks To Watch

Memorial Day is often confused with Veteran's Day.  Many of you are probably wondering what the difference is?  Memorial Day is to honor those slain in the line of duty or as a result of wounds sustained in battle while serving their country.  Veteran's Day is the day in which we take time to thank ALL veterans for their service to our country. Now, if your plans to commemorate those who lost their lives include a picnic, cookout or some type of party - BE SAFE.  However, if you choose to do so quietly at home with loved ones or friends, here some flick you might want to check out...

STRIPES

While on a USO/DOD tour, having just performed for the troops, we were invited to attend a screening of Stripes.  It was hilarious!!!  The guys would laugh at stuff that clearly was an inside joke and when they shared it with us we chuckled too!  Baby, when Bill Murray says "Razzle Dazzle" we would howl!!!  If you haven't seen it, the film kinda makes fun of all the serious things one identifies with regarding the military.  Unlike some of the other films, I mention, this one will really bring a smile to your face.

THE MESSENGER

Having several members of the military in my family, but never having lost any of them to war - this film was probably the hardest for me to watch.  I can't even imagine being the family that receives this type of news, however, have you ever thought of the anguish and sorrow that comes along with the person delivering the news.  Woody Harrelson gives one of his many stellar performances in this film.

SAVING PRIVATE RYAN

Steven Spielberg, Matt Damon, Tom Hanks and the storming of Normandie...that is all

PLATOON

Before Charlie Sheen's shenanigans and being known for "winning", he gave an award worthy performance in Oliver Stone's war masterpiece...

GLORY

Denzel Washington earned his first of two Oscar wins alongside Matthew Broderick and Morgan Freeman in this unforgettable flick about the first all-black company to fight in the Civil War

Post-traumatic stress disorder, or PTSD, affects almost 30 percent of the 834,467 Iraq and Afghanistan War veterans treated through the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs. Consumed by anger and traumatic memories long after their return, soldiers often resort to drugs or suicide to end their suffering.

Filmmaker Laurent Bécue-Renard provides a searing account of how the disorder has affected veterans and their families in Of Men and War. The film offers an unparalleled look at the enduring consequences of PTSD and the role treatment can play in helping soldiers reclaim their lives. An Official Selection of the 2014 Cannes Film Festival, the documentary has its national broadcast premiere during the 29th season of POV(Point of View)on Memorial Day, Monday, May 30, 2016 at 10 p.m. on PBS. (Check local listings.)

Of Men and War is a production of Alice Films.

Of Men and War Trailer

THE UNKNOWNS

THE UNKNOWNS reveals the training of the elite group of soldiers at The Tomb of the Unknown Soldier in Arlington National Cemetery. These Sentinel's guard the Tomb 24 hours a day, 365 days a year through snow, heat, and rain to honor those that have fallen in the line of duty to grant us the freedoms that we enjoy today.

THE UNKNOWNS is produced by Army Veterans Ethan Morse and Neal Schrodetzki. Because they both had the honor of serving at the Tomb, they were given an unprecedented level of access from the US Army, allowing them to bring a unique perspective to the rigorous and intricate training process that soldiers must endure to be stationed there. The film is also produced by Matthew Little and executive produced by Mark Joseph (Reagan, The Vessel, America: Imagine the World Without Her).