"The Playback Singer" Opening November 14

"The Playback Singer", a feature film by Suju Vijayan will open in Los Angeles on November 14.

The movie tells the story of an aimless, would-be, jungle-gym architect who finds his existence disrupted – and his marriage upended – when his prickly, Indian, B-movie playback singer father-in-law comes to visit and overstays his welcome.

Heard but rarely seen on screen, Ashok, who hasn’t seen his daughter in 16 years, wants to stay with the couple as he embarks on a singing tour of the United States. When it turns out the tour is a scam and that as an investor he has lost his money, Ashok, embarrassed by the event, is convinced to stay while his daughter, Priya, tries to recoup his investment and her relationship with her father. Ashok and Ray initially spend their days picking on each other, but eventually they bond over beers and their shared laid back attitude towards life. However, when Priya finds out she’s pregnant and Ray has a less than ideal reaction, Ashok realizes he needs to help Ray reflect on his life and turn things around so he can be the good father and husband Ashok never was.

The film marks the feature film directing debut for the Emmy nominee and TV veteran Suju Vijayan. An Indian American filmmaker, she has crafted a truly second generation Indian American film - one that looks less towards India than towards the experiences of Indian Americans as a part of the rich cultural tapestry of the United States.

The film stars Ross Partridge (Baghead, The Freebie), Navi Rawat (Numb3rs, The House of Sand and Fog, The O.C.), and Piyush Mishra (Maqbool, Gulaal) - one of India’s leading actor/singer/songwriters. Hailed as a “genius” by Rolling Stone magazine, Mishra makes his English language debut in THE PLAYBACK SINGER and wrote and performed the film’s decidedly non-Bollywood but Indian soundtrack.

See you at the movies!

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Raymond Lo

Trailers: Mark Wahlberg's "The Gambler"

The trailer for Mark Wahlberg's latest film "The Gambler" was released today. Check it out below. The Gambler will hold its world premiere at the AFIFest this year. See related story here: http://raymonddeasislo.blogspot.com/2014/10/afifest-204-world-premiere-slated-for.html

Jim Bennett (Academy Award® nominee Mark Wahlberg) is a risk taker. Both an English professor and a high-stakes gambler, Bennett bets it all when he borrows from a gangster (Michael Kenneth Williams) and offers his own life as collateral. Always one step ahead, Bennett pits his creditor against the operator of a gambling ring (Alvin Ing) and leaves his dysfunctional relationship with his wealthy mother (Academy Award® winner Jessica Lange) in his wake. He plays both sides, immersing himself in an illicit, underground world while garnering the attention of Frank (John Goodman), a loan shark with a paternal interest in Bennett’s future. As his relationship with a student (Brie Larson) deepens, Bennett must take the ultimate risk for a second chance…    

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Raymond Lo

Whistler Filmfest 2014: "Snowman" will be closing night film

         

2014 Whistler Film Festival announced today that the world premiere of SNOWMAN, a documentary by Mike Douglas, has been selected as as the Closing Night Gala presentation on Sunday, December 7.

SNOWMAN is the story of Kevin Fogolin, who from an early age wished to live and work in the mountains. His fantasy world is realized when he finds work as an avalanche consultant specializing in mitigating the threat of avalanches by preemptively triggering them with bags of explosives deployed from a helicopter. Kevin’s dream world, however, comes crashing down when one of these missions goes horribly wrong. Set in British Columbia's rugged Coast Mountain Range, SNOWMAN is a tale of passion, risk, and redemption. It is the story of a friendship forged in the mountains, and a life where the greatest risk is not daring to dream at all.

Check the trailer below.



See you at the movies!

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Raymond Lo

Don't miss "A Girl Walks Home Alone at Night" this November!

Strange things are afoot in Bad City. The Iranian ghost town, home to prostitutes, junkies, pimps and other sordid souls, is a bastion of depravity and hopelessness where a lonely vampire stalks its most unsavory inhabitants.

One of the most awaited films of the year is finally showing in Los Angeles this month. Beginning November 21st, film buffs will now have a chance to watch "A Girl Walks Home Alone at Night", which has been enthralling audiences since its Sundance premiere last January. Yesterday, the film received an award at the ongoing Hawaiian International Film Festivals.

Here's a sample of some of the superlative reviews the movie is getting:

“'Funny, scary, oddly sexy and deeply gorgeous... Watching A Girl Walks Home Alone at Night, you get the impression that you're witnessing something iconic and important unfold before you.”
--  Drew Taylor, The Playlist

“A beguiling, cryptic and often surprisingly funny look at personal desire that creeps up on you with the nimble powers of its supernatural focus. Grade: A”
-- Eric Kohn, Indiewire

“'Middle Eastern feminist vampire romance' is likely to remain an underpopulated cinematic sub genre, but at least it now has a luminous standard-bearer in A Girl Walks Home Alone at Night.”
-- Guy Lodge, Variety

"A Girl Walks Home Alone at Night" is cinema's first Iranian vampire western, Writer/director Ana Lily Amirpour's debut feature basks in the sheer pleasure of pulp. A joyful mash-up of genre, archetype, and iconography, its prolific influences span spaghetti westerns, graphic novels, horror films, and the Iranian New Wave. Amped by a mix of Iranian rock, techno, and Morricone-inspired riffs, its airy, anamorphic, black-and-white aesthetic and artfully drawn-out scenes combine the simmering tension of Sergio Leone with the weird surrealism of David Lynch.

Ms. Amirpour is currently in Los Angeles doing the press round.

Credits:
Director: Ana Lily Amirpour
Screenwriter: Ana Lily Amirpour
Producers: Sina Sayyah, Justin Begnaud, Ana Lily Amirpour
Executive Producers: Elijah Wood, Daniel Noah, Josh C. Waller, Nick Moceri, Ben Conrad, Alexei Tylevich, Reza Sixo Safai, Daniel Grove, Patrick Grove
Principal Cast: Sheila Vand, Arash Marandi, Dominic Rians, Marshall Manesh, Mozhan Marno, Milad Eghbali
Cinematographer: Lyle Vincent
Editor: Alex O'Flinn
Country: U.S.A.
Language: Farsi with English subtitles
Runtime: 107 minutes

See you at the movies!

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Raymond Lo

Movie Coverage: "Blood Ransom"

Cast of Blood Ransom (L-R) Caleb Hunt, Dion Basco, Anne Curtis, Vanessa Evigan, Darion Basco.
Photo by Sthanlee Mirador

 Mixed reactions to Blood Ransom

MANILA, Philippines - “I’m nervous! Super, super nervous but super excited!” Anne Curtis gushed when this writer had a short chat with her Monday evening after the press conference organized by Star Media for her first international film, Blood Ransom, in Glendale, California.

One thing fueling Anne’s excitement was the thought of her walking on her first US red carpet premiere right in the heart of Hollywood. “It’s bringing us, Filipino actors, here through the international indie scene and that, for me, is super major. It just goes to show that dreams really do come true if you have the patience and you wait for it.”

Fans of the actress need not worry though. Anne has no immediate plans of ever giving up her thriving career in Manila.

“At the moment? I know I have a career in the Philippines,” she replied after I asked her what would make her leave her comfort zone and try a career in the biggest entertainment industry in the world. “I have to do Showtime — it would be heartbreaking for me to leave. Movies? I can take a break, like teleseryes, but Showtime — that would be hard for me to leave.”

Earlier, during the presscon, the beautiful star addressed a related question and she gave an earnest reply, which offered a rare insight into how Anne values her success in the business.

“I would like to eventually come here and start from square one, like audition and try it out, you know, but then it’s so hard also to leave what is comfortable,” she said. “I know how hard I worked to get to where I am in the Philippines. It wasn’t an overnight thing. It was a climb to get where I am. But, you know, I wouldn’t close that door. I don’t know. It’s a big I-don’t-know.”

In the film, Anne plays Crystal, a mysterious and seductive woman who begins a perilous love affair with a man while on the run from her dangerous lover. But Crystal is not only running from her lover, she is also running away from a dark secret that’s haunted her for years and time may not be on her side.

Blood Ransom is from writer-director Francis de la Torre, the same filmmaker who gave Jericho Rosales his international break several years ago in the film Subject: I Love You. The international cast includes Alexander Dreymon, Caleb Hunt, Darion Basco, Dion Basco and Vanessa Evigan. Tectonic Films produced the film.

Early reactions to the movie from Tuesday’s US premiere, attended by the likes of American Idol finalist Jessica Sanchez and basketball standout Kobe Paras, were decidedly mixed. Some declined to give their comment but praised Anne’s participation in the film.

The film is set for release in the US on Oct. 31 and is showing in Manila theaters now.

(This story first appeared on November 2, 2014 in The Philippine Star. Online link is here: http://www.philstar.com/entertainment/2014/11/02/1386982/mixed-reactions-blood-ransom

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Raymond Lo