All posts by Kenna

About Kenna

Kenna McHugh is an established freelance writer living in California. Her writing credits include the published book, BREAKING INTO FILM, Film Production book for inner-city kids, three screenplays, seven produced plays and hundreds of how-to videos on the Internet. "I love the challenge of writing because the end does satisfy the means. The writer is a valuable being. If the words aren't there the message isn't received. It is as simple as that. Give me a circumstance, a theme and away I go at my keyboard."

Noma: My Perfect Storm

documentary, legend,

nomaI worked with a lot of chefs when I was a casting producer at Demand Media studios. Each chef was a unique and talented problem solver. When they are given their freedom to create in the kitchen, the results are bon appetite – marvelous.  With that freedom comes a lot of responsibility. In the feature-length documentary Noma: My Perfect Storm, we meet celebrated chef René Redzepi set against the backdrop of the Copenhagen-based restaurant, Noma, The Best Restaurant in The World 2010, 2011, 2012 and 2014.

Written and directed by Pierre Deschamps, the documentary stages Redzepi as a famous chef, rightly so, for his reinvention of Danish cuisine and pioneered approach to “foraging”, sourcing nearly all ingredients from the various environments of Scandinavia. Though the dishes do not seem appetizing, Noma is at the forefront of experimenting with new techniques in food. The documentary follows Redzepi, co-owner of Noma, on a creative culinary journey as he traverses the Danish landscape for inspiration, striving to achieve perfection and concoct bold, exciting dishes for travelers from around the world.

Truly a creative genius, Redzepi has been credited with revolutionizing the food world with his radical take on classic cuisine.  When I say radical, I mean, not everyone is going to like his dishes. Still, Noma has won its fair share of awards. That is what makes the documentary hold its own.  But, you need to be a foodie to appreciate all the complexities and personalities that go with celebrating a famous restaurant.

Casual: Season One

comedy, drama, television, , ,

CAS1_DVD_OCard_3DSkewDirected by Jason Reitman, Valerie and her 16-year-old daughter Laura move in with Valerie’s brother, Alex, a bachelor for eternity and maestro of casual relationships. Together, they coach each other through the world of dating while raising her teenage daughter.

Casual: Season One is for the arrival for contemporary minds, and it received a Golden Globe nominee for Best Comedy Television Series. My copy came with Digital Plus, and I popped it into my player and behold.

I find out it is a Hulu original that follows Alex, played by Tommy Dewey, and his sister, Valerie, played by Michaela Watkins, as they manage to live with one another while attempting to keep Valerie’s teenage daughter, Laura, played by Tara Lynne Barr, on the right track. Several episodes prove that both Alex and Valerie are weak on the point of keeping her on track.

If is obvious Alex and Valerie hardly set a good example for Laura with a house full of one-night stands, bizarre encounters, and attempts to master the art of dating. The series is a drama as well as comedy with bittersweet notes and sugary laughter.

With Reitman being an Oscar-nominated director for Juno and Up in the Air, which both are worth watching, the series is high on a pedestal as a comedy that explores the funny and awkward dynamics of modern families and relationships.  With that, I am curious by whose standards are “funny and awkward dynamics.”

The DVD includes all 10 episodes plus the “Creating Casual” behind-the-scenes featurette.

Movies Giveaway

children, documentary, drama, Giveaway, movies, police drama

Movie Roar is giving away three movies. Each person who comments on this page will be entered in the giveaway. Once we have a good number of comments the winner will be picked from a drawing.

Whitey: United States of America v. James J. Bulger: United States of America v. James J. Bulger

WhiteyDirected by Oscar-nominated Joe Berlinger, we witness the sweeping and revelatory documentary film that follows the trial of the infamous gangster James “Whitey” Bulger, using the courtroom action as a springboard to examine accusations of multi-faceted corruption within our nation’s law enforcement and legal systems. Some of you are familiar with Johnny Depp’s Black Mass will recognize this story which is dramatized in Depp’s portrayal of Whitey.

 

 

Tangerine

tangerineDirected by Sean Baker, it’s Christmas Eve in Tinseltown and Sin-Dee, played by Kitana Kiki Rodriguez, is back on the block. Upon hearing that her pimp boyfriend, played by James Ransone, hasn’t been faithful during the 28 days she was locked up, the sex worker and her best friend, Alexandra, played by Mya Taylor, embark on a mission to get to the bottom of the scandalous rumor. Their rip-roaring odyssey leads them through various subcultures of Los Angeles.

 

 

White God

whitegodA Hungarian movie and Cannes Film Festival winner, directed by Kornél Mundruczó, White God is an allegory of the human experience. Young Lili is forced to give up her beloved dog Hagen because its mixed-breed heritage is deemed unfit by The State. After the separation, she and the dog begin a dangerous journey back towards each other. At the same time, all the unwanted, unloved and so-called unfit dogs rise up under a new leader, Hagen, the one-time house-pet. Hagen has learned all too well from his Masters in his journey through the streets and animal control centers that man is not always dog’s best friend.

 

Perry Mason Movie Collection Volume 5

drama, family, legend, movies, mystery, police drama, television,

perrymasonV5Perry Mason Movie Collection Volume 5 continues to satisfy my viewer palate and is the final collection released by CBS Video. For a couple years now, CBS Video has been releasing the entire program of the Perry Mason TV series and movies.  That equals 271 episodes and 30 post series movies for television.

Growing up, Perry Mason was one of my family’s favorite television series to watch every week, and we were never disappointed by the stories because the writing never lets us down. The acting is first-class. There were no handheld camera shots or tight shots of beautiful women.  The series was pure plot-driven.  Perry Mason always found the real killer.

Some of you may have purchased the other Perry Mason Movie Collection Volumes, so you know what I am talking about. I hope you intend to purchase this final volume as well.  They are not cheap, but worth the value of good drama and priceless productions.

I was fortunate to be given a copy of Perry Mason Movie Collection: Volume 5.  The DVDs are in top quality condition with six wonderful and brilliant movies. Burr’s other co-star, Barbara Hale, had such wonderful rapport with him that can’t be reproduced in any other television show I have ever seen.

It can’t go without mentioning that Raymond Burr played a prosecutor in A Place in the Sun with Elizabeth Taylor and Montgomery Clift.  I guess, he was meant to be in the courtroom, though in Perry Mason he is on the other side of the court.

Below is the list of the final Perry Mason movies. The last four are without Raymond Burr and do not give the legendary series justice, but if you are going to collect these, you might as well have them all.

Perry Mason: The Case of the Telltale Talk Show Host (starring Raymond Burr)

Perry Mason: The Case of the Killer Kiss (starring Raymond Burr)

A Perry Mason Mystery: The Case of the Wicked Wives (starring Paul Sorvino)

A Perry Mason Mystery: The Case of the Lethal Lifestyle (starring Hal Holbrook)

A Perry Mason Mystery: The Case of the Grimacing Governor (starring Hal Holbrook)

A Perry Mason Mystery: The Case of the Jealous Jokester (starring Hal Holbrook)

Drunk Stoned Brilliant Dead: The Story of the National Lampoon

comedy, documentary, history, movies,

drunkstoneGrowing up, I never became interested in the National Lampoon magazine and then the movement because the humor didn’t impress me. But, I cared more for the actors involved in the productions, like Animal House, which completely changed the stage for teenage comedies.

With that, Drunk, Stoned, Brilliant, Dead is a funny documentary that will shine humor for anyone who remembers the era of National Lampoon.

In the documentary, the story shows how the magazine came to fruition with examples of the covers, cartoons, stories, and funnies. I didn’t find myself laughing out loud, but I am sure a few of you will. Politically Correct hadn’t been invented yet, so National Lampoon used the freedom to upset the status quo and rock the stuff-neck-shirts of American and thus the world.

Clearly, the magazine had more freedom than we do today. There wasn’t college campus censorship or PC-police at standup comedy shows. No one pointed fingers at the magazine’s cultural humor that we don’t see today.

The documentary also notes the launching the careers of legends like John Belushi, Bill Murray, Chevy Chase, Christopher Guest, and Gilda Radner.

The documentary clearly states the magazine changed comedy in America, and Hollywood is still trying to determine how they changed it and if they can bring it back.  The only way such humor can come back is if our culture would allow us to communicate freely and opening about social issues.

 

The Rise of the Krays

drama, history, movies, ,

rise kraysDirected by Zackary Adler, The Rise of the Krays, is not a well-known subject in America because these twins became notorious in London. As amateur boxers, they used their brute strength to domineer the city in the 1960s.

The movie comes across as a thought-provoking historical piece.  Because knowing they were amateur boxers made sense that they could punch their way to power on the streets.  Their method was to attack first and attack hard.  They succeeded without remorse.

The story is told by a close friend of the twins.  One of the twins, Ronnie, played by Simon Cotton, was known as a volatile and complex young man. He was institutionalized, which proved to make him worse as psychiatric institutions do. Keeping him in check by his brother Reggie, played by Kevin Leslie, proved to be difficult. Still, they gained power and controlled the East end and spread out on the West side when gambling was no longer illegal.

The movie shows their violence, gang wars, and power over politicians. The acting seemed a little staged, but for the most part, the characters were believable.  Cotton and Leslie brought substance to the movie and strength to the true story.

If you can stomach raunchy, bitter, and violent movies that are a blood bath, then this movie is for you and not for the soft heart.

Don Verdean

comedy, movies, , ,

Don VerdeanDirected and co-written by Jared Hess, known for the sleeper hit Napoleon Dynamite, Don Verdean is an example of when the timing and hilarity of a movie fail to make the mark. Hess uses jokes that are there, but the subject matter doesn’t work in this storyline.

Verdean is hired by a determined small-town pastor to find sacred artifacts in the Holy Land. Verdean presents himself as an archeologist but doesn’t deliver the goods and attempts to cover up his fiasco. The hilarity enters the story when he tries to cover up his serious mistake.

Jared movies are pretty clean when it comes to harsh language, but Don Verdean changes that style. We hear the more common expletive words in the English language, and it is not funny.  Besides that, Sam Rockwell provides a performance worth watching. He offers some serious hilarity to the idiosyncrasies of a well-intended archeologist. His accent holds its own quite well with his quirky slang.  I would like to see more of an arch in his decent to misbehaving. Amy Ryan is great as Carol Jensen. Her mannerisms and timing work well with the material Hess offers.

The crux of the storyline is forced and not simply told because the movie is off-beat, slap stick, and then serious. The ending comes quickly but is worth watching because there is a surprise. Here the story comes to form, and it is easy to see what Hess is trying to get across to the audience. I should mention the co-writer is Hess’ wife, Jerusha. I am not sure what aspect she contributed to the movie, but she does collaborate with her husband on each of his movies.

I am sure some will find the humor both eccentric and indirectly nonsense. The cast is fantastic, but the comedy is not mainstream. You will probably have a good time watching the movie if you are familiar with the Bible.

Miss You Already

drama, movies, , , ,

MissyoualreadyDirected by Catherine Hardwicke, known for directing the first Twilight movie, Miss You Already starts with Jess, played by Drew Barrymore, as a young child moving to the UK from America. She meets Milly, played by Toni Collette, and they become what is known today as BFFs. Their friendship is long-lasting with its extreme ups and terrible downs. Morwenna Banks, best known by the UK as the voice for Peppa Pig, wrote the non-linear screenplay that keeps these two best friends together.

Jess and Milly have personalities that are totally opposite of each other, which creates a great story. Jess is more conservative and holds back while Milly is over-the-top and willing to do anything, and she does anything.  Milly’s mother, Miranda, played by Jacqueline Bisset, stands by her daughter’s penchant for the dramatic aspect of life.

Barrymore and Collette are true to form and work very well together, creating a very endearing story that reminds of the movie Beaches.  Yes. It is that kind of movie, pull out the tissue ladies.

The story is about women being friends. Throughout the movie their friendship keeps building because they share everything together. I must confess that I didn’t want to see this movie because the ending is not happy. It’s tragic but holds a strong message we all want to share. Friendships are very important. We can never take friends for granted. So, hold them near and dear to your heart.

Exposed

drama, movies, police drama, thriller, , ,

ExposedDirected by Declan Dale, Exposed is not an easy film to watch because nothing is explained in the movie until the very end.  We meet Isabel, played pleasantly by Ana de Armas. She is a young Dominican woman, whose husband is in Iraq, and she lives with his engaging and happy family.

Her brother-in-law is connected to the mob in some way, but they are very close since his brother is deployed.  For some reason, late at night, he lets her go home by herself on the subway, which is the first mistake in the movie.  No one in their right might would let that happen. While Isabel is on the subway platform, she has strange visions, and they are not explained.

The visions consist of male albino in a black suit and a completely white-styled woman to look like she is a Capital from The Hunger Games. I want to stop here for a moment to point out Isabel continues to have visions of the Capital woman through the movie. She reappears as all black and finally as all red. I am not sure of the purpose behind these visions, and a 2-minute scene with Isabel and her brother-in-law or another family member about the visions would have been great.

After we see Isabel in the subway, the story cuts to a detective Scott Galban, underplayed by Keanu Reeves, who is investigating his morally suspicious partner’s murder. The movie continues to cut from Isabel and the detective throughout the movie, indicating a relationship between his dead partner and her.  Much later in the movie we find out the connection.

Isabel’s life seems strange and inconsistent. One scene she is working at a child-care center, and then she is waiting on tables at a local restaurant.  She befriends a little girl at the child-care center. The girl is quite like Isabel and shows signs of having problems at home with her father. Again, the movie doesn’t explain why this relationship is in the movie until the end.

Galban is widowed, grieving for his partner, and has a young son staying with his sister because he can’t cope with his life. His partner’s wife, played by Mira Sorvino, flirts with Galban while making demands her husband’s murderer is brought to justice as long as they don’t expose any of her husband’s transgressions.

The story continues with more stuff being added to the plot without explanations, making the movie even more confusing. Eventually, the end arrives and everything comes together, but it wasn’t worth the time to find out.

It is rumored there is a director’s version of the movie, but the studio intervention made the movie worse, hacking it to confusion. The director’s version is much better and casts more light on the characters, central themes titled Daughter of God.   Let’s hope the director’s version is release in the near future.

The Lady in the Car with Glasses and a Gun

book, indie, mystery, thriller, , , , , ,

the lady with the carDirected by Joann Sfar, The Lady in the Car with Glasses and a Gun reminds me of the 1960s European thrillers as an erotic, hazy story that spellbinds you because you can’t quite figure out what is going on with the femme fatal character. Is she good…is she bad? Still, she is the center of the movie, played by Scottish actress Freya Mavor.  Her luxuriant outfits, and cinematographer Manuel Dacosse leering camera offers the possibility of a good movie, yet the rambling mystery never fully takes shape.

Based on the 1970 remake starring Samantha Eggar and Oliver Reed, which I never saw, the story actually comes from Sebastien Japrisot’s convoluted 1966 novel.  The story follows apparently a normal French secretary Dany Doremus, played beautifully by Mavor.  She works for a shady boss, played by Benjamin Biolay. She arrives at his home to transcribe important documents. His wife, played by Stacy Martin, is at home, and she used to be friends with Dany. Now, they are uncomfortably distant. The couple asks her to drive them to the airport the next day.  They let her use his classic blue Ford Thunderbird. After dropping them off at the airport, Dany decides to take a joyride.

The movie is a bizarre journey, acid trip, and murder mystery. Nothing seems to add up as the story feels like an aimless road trip.  Situations happen to Dany, and she seems like she has a pipe in her head or a screw loose, but nothing is quite explained as to what is happening.

The story comes together, but by the time that happens, everything is lost. All except, Mavor as Dany. She is every man’s hot dream as well as Sfar, who films her at every and any angle to evocate what men want or can’t get enough of her.

The music haunts the film and crawls under the skin, especially with Wendy Rene’s “After Laughter (Comes Tears)” pulling off a mind-blowing result.

All in all, the movie has some good merits, and some will enjoy it.

https://youtu.be/IHi7zj5oKYE