Betty White, Ed Asner, Loretta Swit and Bob Barker to receive animal welfare lifetime achievement awards at Metropolitan Fashion Week

Posted on September 28, 2016 by Denise
(Image: Metropolitan Fashion Week)

(Image: Metropolitan Fashion Week)

One of these days I SWEAR TO YOU I’ll never go hungry again get to Metropolitan Fashion Week. It’s now officially a bucket list thing. Why? Because this year they’re honoring Betty White, Ed Asner, Loretta Swit and Bob Barker with The GES Africa Conservation Fund‘s 2016 Lifetime Achievement Award for Animal Conservation. Super cool, right?  And any person, place or thing that’s that cool, I need to check out.

I’ve always known that Betty White, Bob Barker and Loretta Swit did a lot for animal welfare. But I’d no idea Ed Asner was also such a huge supporter. Wonderful!  Congratulations to these four outstanding folks, and read on for the full details!
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Happy Charity News: Hey kids, let’s help put on a show!

Posted on September 28, 2016 by Denise

waca-logoOkay, more like “let’s help send talented singers to a festival to help them become even more talented!”  Because the Women’s A Capella Associaton (WACA) is holding its annual She Sings Vocal Festival next year in Berkley, California.  And right now you’re probably already thinking that because Berkley and singing, it already sounds cool.

But wait! There’s more!  WACA is hoping to give scholarships to Bay Area youth who otherwise wouldn’t be able to afford to go to the Fest.  Very nice, right?  Of course it is.  Here’s the WACA mission statement:

The Women’s A Cappella Association believes in the power of the female voice and spirit & seeks to encourage musical integrity & creativity. WACA aims to educate, inspire & create a forum of open discussion, mutual respect and unwavering support for current and future women in a cappella.

Sounds like a lovely environment for talented people to come together.  Wanna help?  Well, that’s lovely, because I’ma tell you how you can do just that…

she-sings-scholarship-2017 Continue reading →

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“Anjelah Johnson: Not Fancy” album streams Oct. 7

Posted on September 28, 2016 by Denise

anjelah-johnson-not-fancyI caught Anjelah Johnson’s 2015 special, Anjelah Jonson: Not Fancy, on Netflix. And it’s a hoot.  If you don’t have Netflix?  Don’t be sad. Because Not Fancy is hitting all the streaming October 7th.  Don’t stream?  You can grab a CD on the 21st.  So you’re good.  Press deets!

Comedy Dynamics will release Anjelah Johnson: Not Fancy stand-up comedy album on all digital and streaming audio platforms on October 7th and on CD on October 21st.

Anjelah Johnson: Not Fancy was filmed at the City National Grove in Anaheim, California and the show still streams exclusively on Netflix. The special includes Johnson’s take on learning Spanish, marriage, her in-laws and jobs that she doesn’t have.

Johnson is one of the standup comics I actually drop my Netflix And Popcorn plans for, whenever I see she’s got something new.  Her comedic timing is fantastic, and her deadpan is on point.  And because I love you, here are two clips from the album courtesy of the lovely and talented PR gurus at Comedy Dynamics.  Enjoy – and for gods sake, don’t borrow Bon Qui Qui’s mascara.  That ain’t cheap y’all.

Anjelah Johnson: Not Fancy clip #1

Anjelah Johnson: Not Fancy clip#2

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TrailerWatch: “Desierto” dares you to cross the desert

Posted on September 27, 2016 by Denise

desierto-onesheet“Welcome to the land of the free.”

Jonás Cuarón and Alfonso Cuarón.  Jeffrey Dean Morgan and Gael García Bernal.  Sounds like a great combo, right?  With Desierto, it’s a recipe for horror.  Now typically I’m all gung ho and ready for fun, but this one really creeps me out.  The horror of something that could actually happen? I’ll be clutching at anything and everything around me. Apologies in advance, aisle buddies. Synopsis!

From Jonás Cuarón and Alfonso Cuarón, the acclaimed filmmakers of Gravity, comes a unique, modern vision of terror. Desierto is a visceral, heart-pounding suspense-thriller packed with tension and suspense from start to finish, starring Gael García Bernal (The Motorcycle Diaries and Y Tu Mamá También) and Jeffrey Dean Morgan (Watchmen).

What begins as a hopeful journey to seek a better life becomes a harrowing and primal fight for survival when a deranged, rifle-toting vigilante chases a group of unarmed men and women through the treacherous U.S.-Mexican border. In the harsh, unforgiving desert terrain, the odds are stacked firmly against them as they continuously discover there’s nowhere to hide from the unrelenting, merciless killer.

I will never listen to a teddy bear music box in quite the same way.  Desierto focuses its sights on theaters October 14, 2016.

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Short Film, Short Review: “The Opera Singer”

Posted on September 27, 2016 by Denise

the-opera-singer-onesheet“Accidents happen.  Life happens.  Or maybe it doesn’t.”

Absolutely beautiful.  Can something be uplifting and poignant at the same time?  Well, this short about an opera singer who’s headed toward the end of her life can, and does.  It’s a testament to the power of short film that in only three minutes, director Steve Kahn can draw out such powerful emotions.

The use of Shannon Elizabeth as the voice narrator, acting as the Opera Singer’s inner voice is perfect.  Because who hasn’t aged, and yet still felt young inside?  Elizabeth’s voice performance is understated, yet nuanced.  You can hear the pain of missed opportunities, and the forgiveness she gives herself for letting those opportunities slip by.  It’s an amazing performance.

Newcomer Rena DuShey plays the Opera Singer, a woman at a time in her life when choices and dreams seem like things that happened eons ago.  Her openness in front of the camera is captivating.

Highly recommended.  Catch this one if you can.  It’s a lovely tribute to all the wishes, hopes and dreams we’ve thought about, but never acted on. Plus, you can be one of the cool kids that caught this film before it gets the slew of award season nominations it’s sure to gather.  You’ve got three minutes, right?

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Movie News: Scorsese’s “Silence” to open December 23rd

Posted on September 27, 2016 by Denise
silence-neeson

Image: EW/Paramount Pictures

Apparently this is the day that Paramount gives us details on a few of their award season heavy-hitters. First came the Fences teaser trailer, and now the details on Martin Scorsese’s latest, Silence. Based on the 1966 novel by Shūsaku Endō, it’s looking like Scorsese is really digging into this moment in history. Synopsis!

In the seventeenth century, two Jesuit priests face violence and persecution when they travel to Japan to locate their mentor and propagate Christianity.

Neeson is going Full Jesus here, complete with messy pageboy and full beard.  It works for him.  Read on for the full details!

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TrailerWatch: I dare you to watch the new “Fences” teaser without getting misty

Posted on September 27, 2016 by Denise

Wow.  I’m a rather heart hearted chick when it comes to movie trailers.  Oh, I enjoy ’em, but I let them wash over me.  But this is one trailer that got me verklempt, thanks to the amazing acting on the part of Denzel Washington and Viola Davis. There’s no wonder that this teaser is incredibly powerful; not only are they incredible actors, but they starred in the 2010 stage revival of this play, earning Tony Awards for their performances. And I’m betting these two will be getting Oscar noms for their performances here.  Synopsis!

FENCES is directed by Denzel Washington from a screenplay by August Wilson, adapted from Wilson’s Pulitzer Prize and Tony Award-winning play. The film stars Denzel Washington, Viola Davis, Jovan Adepo, Stephen McKinley Henderson, Russell Hornsby, Mykelti Williamson, and Saniyya Sydney.  The film is produced by Denzel Washington, Todd Black and Scott Rudin.

Fences comes to town Christmas Day, 2016.

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Baltimore Screening Pass-palooza – Ouija: Origins of Evil!

Posted on September 24, 2016 by Denise

ouija origins of evil posterSpoooooky!  And even Spoooopy!  Welcome to Fall y’all!  And you know it’s my favorite time of year.  Getting ready for my usual 31 in 31, dragging out the fake cobwebs, clearing out the real cobwebs…what a lovely time.  And to make it lovelier?  Free passes!

Ouija was a bit of seasonal genre fun, and had great FX. But it suffered from the usual “why are we dying, exactly?” plot devices.  But with Ouija: Origins of Evil, there’s more devilry afoot, which means a creepy mythology is just a Yes/No away… Synopsis!

It was never just a game.  Inviting audiences again into the lore of the spirit board, Ouija: Origin of Evil tells a terrifying new tale as the follow-up to 2014’s sleeper hit that opened at number one.  In 1965 Los Angeles, a widowed mother and her two daughters add a new stunt to bolster their séance scam business and unwittingly invite authentic evil into their home.  When the youngest daughter is overtaken by the merciless spirit, this small family confronts unthinkable fears to save her and send her possessor back to the other side.

Séances!  Possession! Free passes!

Continue reading →

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“Magnificent Seven” – not truly Magnificent, but definitely not Meh

Posted on September 23, 2016 by Denise

magnificent seven 2016 onesheetNutshell: With Seven Samurai and Sturges’ The Magnificent Seven as it’s pedigree, Mag7 had its work cut out for it.  And there’s a whole lot of action packed fun to be had. But even with excellent performances all around, this film doesn’t seem to know how to get close to the quality and characterizations that made the first two films such classics.  Saddle up for fun, but leave your expectations of more at home. Grade: B

“Money for blood’s a peculiar business.”

Story: Very Bad Man wants to take land rich with gold from the settlers that live on it…by any means necessary.  One woman decides to fight for her town, and hires 7 stone-cold killers to help.  I’m sure mediation will be the rule of the day. Continue reading →

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“Queen of Katwe” – a beautiful true story given the beautiful Disney treatment

Posted on September 22, 2016 by Denise

queen-of-katwe-posterNutshell: Not only is this a lovely feel-good movie that based on a lovely feel-good story that really happened, Queen of Katwe takes viewers by the hand and shows them a whole new real world.  Director Mira Nair, along with actors Lupita Nyong’o, David Lyelowo and newcomer Madina Nalwanga, breathe life into this tale, bringing to light an area of the world many know very little about. That’s just as impressive as Phiona’s Grand Master accomplishment.  Grade: A

“In chess, the little one can become the big one.”

Story: A young girl who sells corn on the streets of Uganda finds a love of chess thanks to a kind hearted teacher.  As her skill grows, she moves up the ranks, and dreams of being a Master chess player, so she can help her family. Continue reading →

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