Throwing Stars (also known as: Who's Your Monkey?). Directed by Todd Breau. Written by Ryan Steckloff. Cinema Release Date: March 28, 2008. Country of Prduction: USA (Jacksonville, FL!). Key Cast: Scott Grimes (Mark), Jason London (Bobby), Scott Michael Campbell (Laith), David DeLuise (Hutto), Kevin Durand (Reed), Wayne Knight (Officer Brooks).
I remember reading all the buzz in the Florida Times Union about mysterious sightings of Wayne Knight around town. The film community in Jacksonville has bee on the up and up lately, and so it's not too much of a surprise to see Kevin Spacey, John Travolta, or maybe even a candid Tom Arnold photograph surface like so many Bigfoot. Unfortunately, I missed the premier of this gem at the Jacksonville Film Fest, but was able to catch it (guess where?!) OnDemand recently to parallel its cinematic release. The fact that it's making a run in the theater warms my heart to know that somewhere out there, Jacksonville is the recognizable backdrop to a movie!
Not just any movie though, a dark, funny one! Throwing Stars has a sharp script and a funny (if a little twisted) plot, but the real reward is the characters and the acting. These four friends have a great rapport, that can only signify a strong off-screen relationship, which is a key component to a buddy/quasi-road movie.
Also, one of the companies involved in the production, TigerLily Media, is a local studio full of great people who do great work, so if you get the chance, show some support. You won't regret it!
The Silence Of The Lambs. Directed by Jonathan Demme. Written by Thomas Harris. Release Date: February 14, 1991. Country of Production: USA. Key Cast: Jodie Foster (Clarice Starling), Anthony Hopkins (Dr. Hannibal Lecter), Scott Glenn (Jack Crawford), Anthony Heald (Dr. Frederick Chilton), Ted Levine (Jame 'Buffalo Bill' Gumb).
"Love your suit!"
If you've ever seen any movie that Sir Anthony Hopkins is in, then you know that no matter what it is, he can make it awesome. He is a White Knight who always brings it as hard as he can. Then combine his Oscar-winning performance, and put it opposite the stellar (and also Oscar-winning) Helen Hunt, and you've got yourself one helluva movie.
Not that Helen Hunt isn't totally awesome in this movie, but according to Wikipedia, Anthony Hopkins only spent a total of no more than 16 minutes on screen! Watching it though, his lines are delivered so profoundly and hypnotically, and Lecter is such a creepy character that all of his scenes seem to take up an eternity! Hopkins is a black hole of screen presence from which there is no escape, even when he is only a digital facsimile of himself (Beowulf, 2007).
Another little tidbit, courtesy of Wikipedia, is the LGBT backlash against this film upon its release. Apparently, Buffalo Bill's character was another link in a long chain of negatively portrayed LGBT characters in Hollywood productions. Although this response never escalated farther than verbal announcement, there appears to be some speculation that this sentiment was the impetus for director Jonathan Femme to embark on the feature Philadelphia in 2003.
Penelope. Directed by Mark Palansky. Written by Leslie Caveny. Release Date: February 29, 2008. Country of Production: USA. Key Cast: Christina Ricci (Penelope), James McAvoy (Max), Catherine O'Hara (Jessica Wilhern), Reese Witherspoon (Annie), Peter Dinklage (Lemon), Simon Woods (Edward Humphrey Vanderman III), Nick Frost (Max Campion).
"A fairytale like no other." - tag line
"You wish." -me
Christina Ricci has a pig nose. James McAvoy does an American accent. Nick Frost is in the movie for, like, 2 seconds.
2 comments:
Dude, totally saw the first twenty minutes of Penelope last week. Ugh. Oh and by the by, who does Helen Hunt play in Silence of the Lambs? Hmmm.
Holy moly...I have a whole rant on Jodie Foster...how this was her one and only acting role!
I'm a little miffed at you for this one.
That's right...miffed.
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