Hey, everyone. "Moriarty" here with some Rumblings From The Lab.
Ravvy, like most of us, has the best of intentions when he goes to a film festival. He wants to see something great, and he wants to write timely reviews of what he sees. Of course, real life always ends up intruding on one part of the process or the other, so it’s always appreciated when he actually does file a report like this one, especially when he seems to love the film he’s found:
Hey guys,
Sorry for the delay on the rest of the reviews from the Palm Beach International Film Festival. A few unforeseen occurrences caused the delay, but never fear I am here to nearly finish up the coverage of this years Palm Beach Film Festival. One of my favorite films from this year's festival was Brad Gottfreid's Movie Hero.
The thing I love most about film festivals is being surprised by a great film that you didnt know existed prior to it's running. For me "Movie Hero" was one of those great film festival discoveries, and I didn't even know about it till nearly the last day of the festival. See the festival booklet didn't have a cast listing for the film, so it wasn't until a fellow cohort at the festival Dean (Programmer for the illustrious Dahlonega Film Festival http://www.diff.tv/) mentioned that he had just seen this hilarious film with Peter Stormare in it at the fest. That statement took me aback, as I wasn't aware there was any film at the festival with Peter Stormare in it, and I'm whats best described as a rabid Peter Stormare fan. So immediately I went on a clandestine mission to see this film at the festival after a little poking around I got my hands on a copy of the film to watch.
Movie Hero is a wacky, offbeat, odd, fun little movie. It's about Blake Gardner, a crazy guy that mostly wanders around Hollywood, specifically around the American Cinematheque talking to "his audience," but to most people he's just a nutto talking to himself on the sidewalk. Blake is a movie nut who thinks he is in a film, and he is the "hero" of it, but a film can not exist without just a hero. Along the way he finds a random "Suspicious Character" walking around on sunset to be the villain of his film, his beautiful therapist is his reluctant love interest, and he spends quite a time on the sidewalk with a sign across his chest recruiting his sidekick eventually he finds an unemployed comedian. Suspicious Character turns out to be a real villain running around LA stealing people's "audiences" and storing them in his guitar, the only one to stop him is "The Movie Hero."
I wouldn't expect the guy from clueless would one day kick ass in a film like this, yet Jeremy Sisto creates a lovable, crazy, "heroic" character with Blake Gardner. I could go on forever about how much Peter Stormare totally rules in this movie, for those that aren't familiar with him Peter Stormare was Buscemi's cohort in Fargo, or Jeff from Dancer in the Dark, or you might know him as the Russian Space Station Guy in Armageddon. The guy is a character actor god, he personifies suspicious characters in film today thats why he is perfectly cast as "Suspicious Character" in Movie Hero. The always smoking hot Dina Meyer is Movie Hero's therapist/love interest, it's pleasing to see her back in a good movie she sure has ran through a string of crap over the past 4 years (Bats, D-Tox, Unspeakable, Nemesis). Brian White steals many few scenes as Movie Hero's sidekick. Also look out for a cameo from Alexis Arquette as a Transvestite Prostitute as well as a song by Peter Stormare.
First time director/screenwriter Brad Gottfried has crafted an original, entertaining, quirky movie. I can't wait to see what he's doing next. If Movie Hero plays at a film festival near you, you owe it to yourself to seek it out. Check out the film's web site RIGHT HERE!!
A couple requested additions/corrections since the first short film article from the festival. Jeremy Osbern, director of "The Passion"'s email is fourfriedchicken@aol.com as well as a spelling correction as well as a spelling correction for Jason Koffeman's film "Polaroid" not Poloroid as the festival guide had it. For now thats it for me, I have 10 more films to review from this years festival and I plan to unleash them all on you next week, along with that “big announcement” I told Moriarty and everyone about in chat tonight. *crosses fingers*
Rav
Ravkill@msn.com
Good work, buddy, and don’t worry... I won’t you’re your announcement. Your secret’s safe with me.
"Moriarty" out.
