365 Movies Day #190 "Soul Survivors"

Looking back, this was a surprisingly good movie, for what looked like on the surface to be another dumb teenage horror flick. I started thinking about it the other day when my wife and I watched "After.Life". The cast is nothing to sneeze at either and a very early flick for Casey Affleck (Ben's little brother and star of "Assassination of Jesse James" and "Gone Baby Gone").

Like "After.Life", "Soul Survivors" is a creepy tale where you can't tell what exactly is real. Both of the films deal with oddities surrounding death and the preciousness of life. Both have surprisingly good casts and stories and are very disturbing.

The films stars Melissa Sagemiller (recently in the limelight for her role as A.D.A. Gillian Hardwicke on "Law and Order: SVU") as a young girl who gets caught up in some supernatural chaos with a group of her closest friends. Affleck, Wes Bentley ("American Beauty") and Eliza Dushku ("Buffy", "Angel" and "Dollhouse") play her friends. Local young priest, Luke Wilson ("IDIOCRACY" attempts to help Melissa's character find her way through all the madness. The film also features lovely blog vet Angela Featherstone from ""BENEATH THE DARK" and "ZERO EFFECT".I really don't get the 3.7 review at imdb. I found it to be a witty and surprisingly solid flick.

SOUL SURVIVORS AT IMDB

Alien Bee: Movie Review: HUMANS VERSUS ZOMBIES

Alien Bee: Movie Review: HUMANS VERSUS ZOMBIES

365 Movies Day #189 "Adventures of Power"

Yesterday I introduced some of you to Ari Gold with his recently released to youtube short, "HELICOPTER". Well, his first feature is "Adventures of Power" and it is delightfully quirky and totally loveable.

Ari himself stars as the lead, Power, a sweet young man who is driven by his passion for air-drumming. Yep, that's right, playing drums without the drums. Throughout the film, he is pulled into the underbelly of the air-drumming community where he fights to find hope and meaning in his life and salvation for his friends and family back home. You can't get much more original than that!

The film sports the talents of folks like Adrian Grenier ("Entourage") as closet air-drummer and country superstar Dallas Houston. Also, Jane Lynch of "Glee", Michael McKean ("Laverne and Shirley", "This is Spinal Tap" and so many others), the lovely Shoshannah Stern ("Jericho", "Weeds"), Chi Ling Chiu ("KUNG FU HUSTLE") and Richard Fancy ("MIDNIGHT CLEAR") help to bring this one to life. Oh and a quick shout out to Steven Williams (Mr X. from "The X-Files) for his thoroughly entertaining role as air-drum guru Carlos.

I love movies like this that can be so absurd, but so moving at the same time. It's reminiscent of a more left field approach to "Napolean Dynamite" with a distinct indy charm story about a cultural underdog who must find his way surrounded by the one's he loves. If you dig films like "DEFENDOR", "Juno" or "NEO NED", I think you'll dig this as well.

ADVENTURES OF POWER ON IMDB

365 Movies Day #188 "Helicopter"

For those of you who don't know of Ari Gold's work, you are missing out on something special. His short film, "Helicopter" is an Oscar award winning short with such heart that you can't help but be moved. Based on the true and tragic death of his mother in a helicopter accident, the film follows Ari, his brother Ethan and his sister Nina as they cope with their loss and the media circus that surrounded her passing. As a gift to us, in memory of his mother on the anniversary of her death, Ari has released the full short on youtube. Please go watch it and give it a thumbs up. A very special film from a man full of heart.
HELICOPTER ON IMDB

Marketing Via Twitter

Joel Comm has written a wonderful book full of resources to help you navigate and take advantage of all Twitter has to offer. What does that have to do with acting? Well, in the entertainment industry, YOU are your product. Joel's advice can help you reach the right people, send the right message, create interesting content to keep people caring about YOU and even how to check your metrics to see where your successes are in spreading the word.

Of course, this book also applies to any number of businesses from etsy shops to large corporations for how to harness twitter in spreading the word. I learned so much from the book and haven't done much with my twitter account over the years. Working on an overhaul right now, as well as taking the lead on a few other twitter accounts to spread the word. DEFINITELY CHECK OUT THIS BOOK!!!

Italian Spiderman is No More

Hey kids, just received this email about "ITALIAN SPIDERMAN". Sad news, but some hope for the future. Also, all those wondering about the true identity of the actor who plays "Italian Spiderman" can be put to rest here. Plus news on DINOSAUR (basically the folks from Alrugo under a different flag) and their new offering, "Danger 5". Check it out:

Greetings friends,

For a number of reasons, mostly evil ones, there will be no more Italian Spiderman. May his legacy live on forever in the ageless capsule of hyperspace.

With him, also, dies Alrugo.

Thank you for all the love you have sent towards the hero in the red turtleneck. We are deeply sorry that we cannot bring you any more of his antics, however we assure you, by no means have we stopped creating.

After a tumultuous journey, we, Dario Russo (Director of Italian Spiderman) and David Ashby (Italian Spiderman himself) have formed a new company, named:

DINOSAUR

We apologise for the long, long radio silence, but we felt it would be wrong to make any false promises and or presentations until we had a new a worthy product to bestow upon you, so with great fanfare, we present for your titillation, the first title under the DINOSAUR banner:

“DANGER 5”

Watch the trailer here: www.youtube.com/watch?v=0Z09bNgSeMI And we welcome you to visit Dinosaur’s homestead on the Interweb:

www.dinosaurworldwide.com

It has been far too long dear friends. We hope you enjoy the new and exotic stones of entertainment that we have harvested from the earth and painstakingly refined for your pleasure, and it is a joy to return to your company amongst the bosom of the information superhighway. You’ll be hearing more from us.

Stay posted.

Yours truly,

DINOSAUR

www.dinosaurworldwide.com

365 Movies Day #187 "Neo Ned"

An endearingly sweet, down-to-earth film about a neo nazi who falls in love with a black woman in a mental institution. What?! This delightfully touching 2005 flick features Jeremy Renner ("The Avengers", "Hurt Locker", "28 Weeks Later", "The Town") in the title role as the most loveable skinhead ever captured on film. Renner's talent really shines here and it's a relatively early film for him. He definitely deserves all the attention he's getting. The target of his affection is played by Gabrielle Union, whose character also thinks she is the host for the soul of Hitler. She's fantastic.

Again, one of the things that impresses me so much about this film is the fact that it's handled in such a wonderful manner. Director Van Fischer (who really needs to do more work) takes a story that could easily be ruined with too much camp or grit and gives us something real.

The cast is rounded out by veteran character actor, Richard Riehle ("Office Space", "MIDNIGHT CLEAR", "Glory"), Cary Elwes (of "Saw" and "Princess Bride" fame) and Steve Railsback (star of "LIFEFORCE"). Definitely a great flick. Not surprised to see it was a Tribeca selection. The most heart-warming Neo Nazi film since "Adam's Apples"

NEO NED ON IMDB

365 Movies Day #186 "The Perfect Host"

When I first saw the trailer for this film I was hooked. I finally got a chance to check it out the other day and was not disappointed. Basically, a con-man attempts, through deception to hide out with a local suburbanite who is preparing to host a dinner party. He quickly finds himself over his head as his host turns out to be a psychopath. What makes it even better is the fact that the psycho yuppie is played by David Hyde Pierce, better known as Dr. Niles Crane from TV's "Frasier". Clayne Crawford gives a great performance as his "guest" and is known for his work on shows like "Jericho" and "24".

At first glance, it appears to be a film where everything is not revealed in the trailer, but mark my words, there are a few sucker punches you don't see coming. Some interesting plot points and character development make it a solid piece of fiction. In addition to Pierce and Crawford, film freaks may recognize Nathaniel Parker (Branagh's Cassio in his version of "OTHELLO") and Tyrees Allen (Starkweather from "RoboCop").

This is a feature debut for writer/director Nick Tomnay..

THE PERFECT HOST ON IMDB

365 Movies Day #185 "Gleaming the Cube"

When I was a kid, Christian Slater was my freaking hero. I still hold a lot of respect for the man as one of the suavest actors around. So far he hit the blog in the other day's "MINDHUNTERS", but it was films like "Gleaming the Cube", "Heathers" and "Pump Up the Volume" that made him so awesome to me.

I was a skateboard punk when I was younger. So much so that I never learned to ride a bicycle. So "Gleaming the Cube" was like an anthem to me. In the story, Slater's adopted brother stumbles upon something he shouldn't have and is murdered. It falls to Slater and his skate rat buddies to circumvent the system and avenge his brother's death.

Veteran actors like Steven Bauer("The Beast", "Scarface", "Primal Fear") and Charles Cyphers ("Halloween", "Escape from New York" and even "Methodic" with my buddy BRANDON SLAGLE) round out a decent cast that also boasts skate legends like Tommy Guerrero and uber-famous skate icon Tony Hawk.

GLEAMING THE CUBE ON IMDB

365 Movies Day #184 "Art of the Saber"

What happens when a couple of brothers get together for fun and film a short film that is primarily a lightsaber fight? Probably the best damn lightsaber fight of all time! I've been a Star Wars nut for years. Calvin and Clarence Ho give Lucas a run for his money on this one and this was made before the prequels were complete.