Executive produced by... Gregory Turley, among others, this indie film by first time writer/director Alexander Stockton is a timely story of a young man, Franky, of Mexican descent (Michael Ocampo) who has been living illegally in the US. When he gets into legal trouble he is deported to Mexico, away from the home he knows. He is fortunately to meet up with his long-lost father, but because his father is tied up with local corruption, Franky must choose to stay or try and return to the US.
Done on a $60,000 budget the look is pretty professional. The look has a sepia tone, reminscient of the dusty border on both sides. The sound is very good quality and the subtitles done well as much of the film switches between English and Spanish. Original music gives it a good feel as well.
This film screened at the Beverly Hills Film Festival, the Chain Film Festival in New York and at the Cine Sol Film Festival here in McAllen, TX where it was partially filmed. Many of the cast and crew have Rio Grande Valley ties, including the lead actress Ana Sofia Rodriguez, who does the best performance as Alex.
Check out more of the film at Facebook.com/transientfilm
Planes, Trains and Automobiles (1987)
Happy Thanksgiving to all of us at Southlandview.blogspot.com! See you at the movies.
Billy Lynn's Long Halftime Walk
Based on the novel by Ben Fountain, this is a story set to begin and end on a single day of Thanksgiving, where Billy Lynn's Bravo Squad is to honored at halftime of the Dallas Cowboys football game. The juxtaposition of football, America and war is the mashup of this story.
It's more mash than mashup, because its hard to tell a good story about one topic, much less three. The book was not easy to follow as it tries to be satire a la The Bonfire of the Vanities. Not a good movie compliment, as Bonfire is a noted flop of a movie... but you get the point.
And when Hollywood gets their hooks into a story about.. Hollywood, then it really goes off the rails. To play an American hero, get an unknown Brit (Joe Allwyn). The story revolving around the Dallas Cowboys game gets lost after there is no NFL participation (except for decent cameos by Richard Sherman and J.J. Watt). So we have a Cowboy-ish look. Steve Martin plays Jerry Jones/Norm, the halftime entertainment is a Beyonce-less version of Destiny's Child (we never see their faces) so it gets a Made for TV movie style.
Best performance is certainly Garrett Hedlund as Sgt. David Dime, the leader of the pack. His shading from the book get left out and he's the secondary hero to Billy. The Bravo Squad is famous due to its battle being caught on camera, and so that video does come out during the movie, at a decent time. The squad is somewhat of a fish out of water, being honored for a traumatic war experience, being wooed by strangers, and half wanting to enjoy the moment and half wanting to go back to the home military base, where they know what to expect, good or bad.
* * * of 5
It's more mash than mashup, because its hard to tell a good story about one topic, much less three. The book was not easy to follow as it tries to be satire a la The Bonfire of the Vanities. Not a good movie compliment, as Bonfire is a noted flop of a movie... but you get the point.
And when Hollywood gets their hooks into a story about.. Hollywood, then it really goes off the rails. To play an American hero, get an unknown Brit (Joe Allwyn). The story revolving around the Dallas Cowboys game gets lost after there is no NFL participation (except for decent cameos by Richard Sherman and J.J. Watt). So we have a Cowboy-ish look. Steve Martin plays Jerry Jones/Norm, the halftime entertainment is a Beyonce-less version of Destiny's Child (we never see their faces) so it gets a Made for TV movie style.
Best performance is certainly Garrett Hedlund as Sgt. David Dime, the leader of the pack. His shading from the book get left out and he's the secondary hero to Billy. The Bravo Squad is famous due to its battle being caught on camera, and so that video does come out during the movie, at a decent time. The squad is somewhat of a fish out of water, being honored for a traumatic war experience, being wooed by strangers, and half wanting to enjoy the moment and half wanting to go back to the home military base, where they know what to expect, good or bad.
* * * of 5
Inferno
The latest in the Dan Brown authored, Tom Hanks as Professor Robert Langdon, romping through Europe, solving historical mysteries. If it sounds better on paper, then you've seen the best of this series. Inferno is not the best.
Langdon wakes up in a hospital in Florence, Italy, not knowing how he got there. His beautiful doctor (Felicity Jones) attempts to jog his memory. The story turns on an Elon Musk-ish billionaire, who seeks to avoid the Earth's Malthusian crash by introducing the Black Plague back into the world to thin the population rising at an unsustainable rate. Doing it for our own good.
So Langdon must stop him, while reviewing Dante's works on Hell, looking for clues. He is assisted in that every tourist stop he goes into is closed, so he is the only one there.
Good news is that the scenery of Florence, Venice and Istanbul is lovely. Bad news is the thin plot, the hard to follow story and the lame acting.
* * of 5
Langdon wakes up in a hospital in Florence, Italy, not knowing how he got there. His beautiful doctor (Felicity Jones) attempts to jog his memory. The story turns on an Elon Musk-ish billionaire, who seeks to avoid the Earth's Malthusian crash by introducing the Black Plague back into the world to thin the population rising at an unsustainable rate. Doing it for our own good.
So Langdon must stop him, while reviewing Dante's works on Hell, looking for clues. He is assisted in that every tourist stop he goes into is closed, so he is the only one there.
Good news is that the scenery of Florence, Venice and Istanbul is lovely. Bad news is the thin plot, the hard to follow story and the lame acting.
* * of 5
Rush - Time Stand Still
I recently saw Rush-Time Stand Still about the fandom of the Canadian trio. There were many fans who had seen many live shows. But I seemed to either have slept through those opportunities - or maybe I just didn't choose to spend the money. Of course, concerts were not as big of a business back in the 80s.
Here's the major concerts I did see in the 80s:
Van Halen - Austin - 1981 - my first time. Like many first times, it wasn't that great. David Lee Roth was so drunk...he forgot the words to "Running with the Devil"
The Police - Austin - 1983 - The Fixx opened. Outdoors at the Meadows. Synchronicity Tour. Who knew it would be the last for many years.
Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers - 1984 - Austin. Great show. Southern Accents tour.
Dire Straits - Madrid, Spain, 1985 - right before they blew it up with Money for Nothing. That time it was me who was so drunk. Not the best way to enjoy a concert. I was truly on the front row - the show was outdoor and I was right up front.
Madonna - RFK Stadium 1987 - Level 42 opened. Washington DC - an early stadium show. Who knew she would still be filling stadiums in 2016? I had two women with me for that show - now that IS the best way to enjoy the show.
Here's the major concerts I did see in the 80s:
Van Halen - Austin - 1981 - my first time. Like many first times, it wasn't that great. David Lee Roth was so drunk...he forgot the words to "Running with the Devil"
The Police - Austin - 1983 - The Fixx opened. Outdoors at the Meadows. Synchronicity Tour. Who knew it would be the last for many years.
Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers - 1984 - Austin. Great show. Southern Accents tour.
Dire Straits - Madrid, Spain, 1985 - right before they blew it up with Money for Nothing. That time it was me who was so drunk. Not the best way to enjoy a concert. I was truly on the front row - the show was outdoor and I was right up front.
Madonna - RFK Stadium 1987 - Level 42 opened. Washington DC - an early stadium show. Who knew she would still be filling stadiums in 2016? I had two women with me for that show - now that IS the best way to enjoy the show.
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