Interview with Avatar’s Johannes Eckerstrom

Johannes Eckerstrom is the lead singer for the Swedish metal band Avatar. The band has a new album coming out on February 14th via E One Music titled “Black Waltz”. Media Mikes had a chance to talk with Johannes recently about the band and their upcoming release.

Adam Lawton: Can you give us some band ground on the band?
Johannes Eckerstrom: We formed about 10 years ago when we were all still in our teen years. Essentially the lineup has remained the same since that time. We have released 3 albums in Europe and we are just about ready to embark on the U.S. market for the first time. Our sound is extreme metal but with our own added twist.

AL: What are some of the bands influences?
JE: We started off finding a common ground amongst all of us. At that time it was clearly death metal and melodic death metal. From there we took things further and were very extreme and technical. By the time we reached the point where we had to make the decision go further we knew we would have to become something very cool and introverted. When we were writing our third album we realized that we had forgotten what we all loved and originally agreed upon. We found new common grounds and starting including things with a groove and a beat. We referenced a lot of our old school heroes. The music is still extreme metal but with a mixture of rock and roll. It was cool to reference our past. For me Ozzy Osbourne was a big influence when I was younger. He was always a huge idol of mine. By our fourth album we had learned a lot about groove and hooks. Today we are being describes by some as a mixture of death metal, industrial metal and rock and roll. I figure why not go with that because those are our core influences

AL: What can you tell us about the upcoming album “Black Waltz”?
JE: I have never felt the need to lie and I can honestly say that I think this album is our best yet. For me the album is really new and cool. We have this mixture of styles where no one specific style takes the upper hand. We let the songs become what they needed to be. When we were feeling a groove or certain part during the recording process we just let it go. Sometime later we are Pink Floyd! (Laughs). We have tracks that are straight forward rockers. We have tracks that will make you want to hurt people. Then we have the tracks that give you an idea of what mushrooms are like. (Laughs)

AL: What has been the hardest part for the band breaking into new markets like the U.S.?
JE: It’s still super early. The album doesn’t come out till Feb 14th and the single just came out. We have done some interviews so far but it all is super exciting. We are starting fresh as we are the new boys in town. We have been around another town for 6 years where we learned all the tricks. Right now we are in an awesome position. We have a cool label and booking agent along with great management. We are looking forward to coming over and playing in the states very soon.

AL: What are the bands tour plans?
JE: We are doing everything at once right now. We have a cool set up of people but at the same time we have a punk band style to us in that we keep control of everything. We are doing everything we can to launch the new album on our own. Nothing is definite at this time as we are picky. We want to come there with the right bands and at the right time.

AL: What else does the band have going on right now?
JE: We have a video out for the song “Black Waltz” that is really awesome! We worked with an American side show group called Hellzapoppin. That group also helped us with some photo shoot stuff. There are guys driving spikes into their noses and pushing beans out their eyes. There are a lot of interesting things going on and it is all real. The video will also give people some indication of what they can expect visually when they see us perform live. At this point we are currently working on an equally awesome video for another song of the “Black Waltz” album. We start shooting that in a couple peoples but I am going to hold on to what that will look like.

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Filed Under: Interviews, Music Interviews Tagged With: avatars, eckerstrom, interview, johannes

DVD Review “Bag It”

Directed by: Suzan Beraza
Starring: Jeb Berrier
MPAA Rating: NR (Not Rated)
Distributed by: New Video
Release Date: March 13, 2012
Running Time: 78 minutes

Film: 3.5 out of 5 stars
Extras: 3 out of 5 stars

Well, when you think about watching a documentary on plastic it might not sound that exciting but this one delivers. It is funny but also very informative. This film features in-depth interviews with activists and City Council members but also more importantly just regular people. He makes some really good points that reducing the use of plastic your everyday lives in order to improve the environment. Just a note, the film doesn’t need to show the birth scene of his child, it was completely unnecessary and rather graphic. I do appreciate his journey though and how it develops and changes over the course of time. Jeb Berrier is just a normal guy and his main plan is to show that anyone can make a difference.

Some really interesting facts include the following: “The average American uses about 500 plastic bags each year and “Two million plastic bottles are consumed in the U.S. every five minutes”. There are also a few disturbing ones like “14 million pounds of trash end up in the ocean each year” and “An estimated 100,00 marine mammals and sea birds die each year from becoming entangled in or ingesting plastic debris”.

The special features are decent but are a little short overall. There is an extended scene with Jeb in the Netherland, short and runs about 2 minutes. There are the pros and cons presents for Bioplastic, also about two minutes. Also included are a bunch of extended interviews with Dr. Shanna Shaw, who talks about the chemical effects of plastic overuse, Sylvia Earle who talks about life before plastic, Wallace J. Nichols who talks about the environmental movement and lastly Dr. Richard Thompson who explains plastic and POPs.

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Filed Under: DVD/Blu-Ray Reviews Tagged With: bag, dvd, review

Blu-ray Review “Unforgiven: 20th Anniversary Edition”

Directed by: Clint Eastwood
Starring: Clint Eastwood, Gene Hackman, Morgan Freeman, Richard Harris
MPAA Rating: R
Distributed by: Warner Home Video
DVD Release Date: February 21, 2012
Run Time: 131 minutes

2012 Release: 4 out of 5 stars
Extras: 3 out of 5 stars

“Unforgiven” celebrates its 20th anniversary this year with a newly restored Blu-ray, releases in the Digibook format, which is one of my favorites. I feel that the Blu-ray Book, not only looks cooler than a boring case but also includes some really great information. The commemorative book contains 54 pages of great behind the scene images, script and rare photos. I recently reviewed Eastwood’s “J. Edgar” and I made a comment that I am not the biggest fan of his work, though this film an exception. It is a must purchase for fans of this movie, especially if you don’t own it.

Clint Eastwood delivers a great performance. He won an Oscar for his amazing job directing this Western, it is his best effort to date easily. I also really enjoy Gene Hackman’s role as he is one kick-ass baddie, he also won an Oscar for his role. Morgan Freeman always did a fantastic job as the loyal Ned. The Blu-ray video was definitely an improvement over 2006’s release with a cleaner 2.39:1 original transfer. The Dolby Digital 5.1 audio surround track was also impressive especially during the shoot-out scenes.

The special features includes on the release are decent but nothing new from 2006’s Blu-ray release. There is a commentary track from Eastwood’s biographer Richard Schickel, disappointing that Eastwood himself is not on this track though. There are four behind the scenes documentaries covering the making of the film. The first is called “All on Accounta Pullin’ a Trigger”, which features 2002 interviews with Eastwood, Freeman and Hackman. The second is called “Eastwood & Co.: Making Unforgiven”. “Eastwood…A Star” is the next feature is focuses on the film’s actor turned director, my least feature by far. Lastly and also my favorite is “Eastwood on Eastwood” a 108-minute documentary produced and directed by Schickel. Next up where is a classic episode “Duel at Sundown” of the Western show “Maverick” (not HD) and also a trailer is included. Decent features if you don’t own this movie already but nothing special to make you run out to buy if not.

“Unforgiven’ comes to Blu-ray for the first time on February 21!  Celebrate the 20th Anniversary with this new release.  Buy it on Blu-ray™ Book or Download to Own http://bit.ly/zmaba6
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Filed Under: DVD/Blu-Ray Reviews Tagged With: 20th, anniversary, bluray, edition, review, unforgiven, ...

Interview with Robert “Bucket” Hingley

Robert “Bucket” Hingley is guitarist/vocalist for the popular ska band The Toasters. The band recently celebrated its 30th year anniversary and our out on the road bringing their brand of NYC ska to the masses. Media Mikes caught up with Bucket to discuss the bands history and their future plans.

Adam Lawton: Can you tell us about the band’s current tour?
Robert Hingley: We are currently making our way out to California where we have shows booked in both San Diego and Los Angeles. The tour is about 45 dates which have all been rolled into what is the second part of our 30th anniversary tour.

AL: What is the bands line up for this tour?
RH: The band is Thad Merritt on Bass, Nate Sabnayagan on Drums, Jonny D on Sax and Chap Sowash on Trombone and I play guitar and sing. This is a smaller line up as we have tooled it down from touring with 7 or 8 guys. We have gone for more of a lean mean ska machine sound. These days it’s very hard monetarily to tour with a large band unfortunately.

AL: When you started the band in 1981 did you foresee a career which is now into its 30th year?
RH: If that idea would have been proposed to me back then I probably would have told you that you were mad! As it turns out though you would have been the one that was right and I would have been the mad one. Here I am still doing this some 5,000 shows later. I never thought the band would have the legs that it has.

AL: What do you think has been the biggest factor in keeping the band going for so long?
RH: We really play a lot of bizarre places all over the world. In that sense everything hasbeen kept pretty fresh. We are constantly trying to find new places to go rather than running over the same tracks time and time again. We also have a large pool of members to play with. There are a couple of members out with us now that are new to the mix but, that keeps everything fresh. We play the tunes a little bit different and you have to just find what’s good to help change it up. I also think playing in a niche market for a group of very hardcore fans has also helped us survive.

AL: How did the band become involved with doing the theme song for Nickelodeons’ “KaBlam!”?
RH: That was back during our Moon Ska Record days. We had a lot of stuff working with MTV then and Nickelodeon at that time was pretty similar to MTV. The cartoonist for that show was a big Bad Manners fan and he wanted to have some tracking similar to their sound. He couldn’t get them to help out so they contacted our label and we got hired to do the show. It was really just being in the right place at the right time which seems to be the secret of the universe. We have lots of people come up to us and tell us that the first exposure they ever had to the band was watching that show. It’s really shows you the power of television on people’s minds.

AL: Was there a reason the band called themselves The Moon Ska Stompers on that track?
RH: We had a lot of irons in the fire at the time as we were recording a record and touring. Some of the guys just weren’t available so I had a combination of Toaster’s members and some guys I worked with on other projects to be part of that studio session band.

AL: Are there any plans to put out a new album with the bands current lineup?
RH: Not so much and album but we have a couple songs that are ready to go. The next thing we plan to put out is going to be a 7” vinyl called “House of Soul”.  It’s ironic that the music model for 2012 has reverted to what it was in 1962. I think now the concept of an album is something kids fail to grasp. I have 14 year old daughters and I was telling them about the concept of an album and they just couldn’t wrap their heads around the thought of it. They download singles directly to their phone so the idea of going to a record store and buying an album is kind of beyond them. Things have very much reverted back to the 60’s single driven model. In a way that’s not so bad because it forces people to write good tunes.

AL: Does the band have any other plans for 2012?
RH: We have some more touring lined up as we just finished booking a European tour that kicks off in April. That will be about a six week tour. We also have some summer festivals lined up and possibly some dates on this summer’s Warped Tour. From there we will be going to Australia and Japan in the fall and then back to the states for a few more dates. I also have some music festival projects outside of the band in the works but I can’t really say too much about those at this time. I can tell you that it will involve summertime, music and beer. I think people like that stuff.

 

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Filed Under: Music Interviews Tagged With: hingley, interview, robert

スタジオジブリの”借りぐらしの秘密の世界”得点約セシルコルベル会談

セシル·コルベルは最近、スタジオジブリの “借りぐらしの秘密の世界”のスコアを作成したフランスのシンガー/ソングライター、である。フィルムはちょうどウォルトディズニーピクチャーズが発表され、スタジオジブリ映画としては過去最高のアメリカでの開口部を得ています。メディアマイクスは、スタジオジブリとのスコア、また彼女の新しいアルバムとツアーでの作業についてセシルとチャットする機会があった。

マイクGencarelli：あなたはどのように “アリエッティの秘密の世界”にスタジオジブリでの作業に関わるようになった “？
セシル·コルベル：2009年に、私はスタジオジブリへの贈り物として私のアルバム “歌集、第2巻”を送った。ヘッドのプロデューサー、鈴木敏夫は、CDを持って、実際にそれを聞いたので、私は非常に幸運だった。これは決して起こらない何かである。彼らはただ、 “アリエッティ”の制作に始めていた、彼らは一度音楽と一緒に行きたかったパスがわからなかった。私は次のジブリ映画のために1曲を書きたいと思った場合、私たちは求めて1メールが届きました。だから、それはそれが開始され、1曲からスコア全体に行ってきました方法は以下の通りです。それは本当にエキサイティングだった。

MG：あなたのスコアは映画、あなたはそれのためのインスピレーションを得たのは完璧に見えたスケーリング？
CC：多くのインスピレーションは、私はスタジオから受け取った最初の図面から来ました。また、監督は数行で映画からの文字またはテーマのいくつかを説明しようとした詩のように、私に短い文章を送った。私は映画が制作された前に、私は音楽を思い付くのは非常に簡単にしました感情や気持ちに焦点を当てることができました。

MG：久石譲が、スタジオジブリの得点で働いたことで知られ、それらの靴に足を踏み入れるその任意の圧力だったのですか？
CC：確かに（笑）。私はまた、久石作品の大ファンです。難しいのはそれを考えるために、試してみて、すでに過去のジブリ映画の中で行われていた何かのような音にしないではありませんでした。また、オーケストラやシンフォニックな感じの一種のようなものを使用しないようにしようとする。私はそれをシンプルに保つとスタジオが言った私のCDに似た音楽を思い付くと思いました。

MG：あなたがスタジオからの創造の自由の多くを取得しましたか？
CC：はい、私は驚くほどのサウンドトラックで働く多くの自由を持っていた。

MG：スコアを作成する最も異なる側面は何でしたか？
CC：書き込み自体はむしろ楽しいと創造的であった。その後、私はどの部分が実際のシーンに合うだろう把握しなければならなかった。多くの試行錯誤がありました。それは間違いなく難しい部分だった。

MG：あなたの好きなスタジオジブリの映画 “借りぐらし”の作業に先立って何ですか？
CC：（笑）それは難しい質問です。彼らはすべて異なっているので、私はそれらのすべてが好きです。しかし、 “トトロTortoro”は私のお気に入りの一つです。また、私は、高畑勲監督の “おもひでぽろぽろ”と呼ばれる、もう少し曖昧なフィルムであるかを本当に好きだ。

MG：異なる言語で歌うの最大の課題は何ですか？
CC：私は、さまざまな言語で歌うのが大好きです。 “アリエッティ”は、私が実際に多くの異なる言語で歌わなければならなかった。彼らは映画の国際的な目的のために、日本語と英語で “借りぐらしの歌”を翻訳したいと考えました。それは、フランス語、イタリア語、中国語に翻訳されました。日本人はインチ歌って実際に実際には最も簡単な方法です

MGは：あなたの最新アルバム “歌集、第3巻”が米国で発売されただけで、このアルバムのためにあなたのインスピレーションを教えてください。
CC：はい、それはちょうどアメリカではiTunesでリリースされました。それは最終的に最終的に米国の聴衆のためにリリースされた私のアルバムの一つを持っている偉大な感じ。このアルバムは、 “アリエッティ”の後に書かれた、それは “ソングブック”シリーズで私の前のアルバムのパスをたどります。インスピレーションはほとんど同じであり、ケルト音楽、古代の物語、そして民族音楽から来ている。それは占い物語や伝説からの文字についてです。私はそれを本当に誇りに思っています。

MG：あなたは、今年、米国に来て計画がたくさん巡回している？
CC：私は大きな旅行と私はかなりのビットを見学。私は本当にそれを楽しむ。私は米国で前にどれか一つだけをプレイする機会があった。私は映画のプロモーションの一部となってするように持っているだろうが、それは起こったことはない。うまくいけば、しかし米国では、映画の成功のために、私は本当に近い将来に米国で見学することができるようにそれを使用することを望んでいます。

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Filed Under: Interviews, Music Interviews Tagged With: スタジオジブリの借りぐらしの秘密の世界得点約セシルコルベル会談

Cécile Corbel pourparlers au sujet marquant Studio Ghibli “The Secret World of Arrietty”

Cécile Corbel est une chanteuse française / auteur-compositeur, qui a récemment créé le score pour le Studio Ghibli, “The Secret World of Arrietty”. Le film vient d’être publié par Walt Disney Pictures et a obtenu la meilleure ouverture stateside jamais pour un film du Studio Ghibli. Médias Mikes eu la chance de discuter avec Cécile de travailler sur le score avec le Studio Ghibli, ainsi que son nouvel album et une tournée.

Mike Gencarelli: Comment avez-vous participé à la collaboration avec le Studio Ghibli “The Secret World of Arrietty”?
Cécile Corbel: En 2009, j’ai envoyé mon album “Songbook, Vol.2” comme un cadeau à Studio Ghibli. J’ai eu beaucoup de chance parce que le producteur de tête, Toshio Suzuki reçu le CD et réellement écouté. C’est quelque chose qui ne se produit jamais. Ils venaient juste de commencer à produire des “Arrietty” et qu’ils n’étaient pas sûrs de la voie qu’ils voulaient aller avec la musique de l’époque. Nous nous sommes un e-mail me demandant si je voulais écrire une chanson pour le prochain film Ghibli. Voilà comment il est apparu et a d’une chanson à la partition entière. C’était vraiment excitant.

MG: Votre score semblait parfaitement mis à l’échelle pour le film, où avez-vous l’inspiration pour la lui?
CC: Une grande partie de l’inspiration est venue des premiers dessins que j’ai reçus depuis le studio. De plus, le directeur m’a envoyé des textes courts, comme la poésie, qui a tenté de décrire en quelques lignes certains des personnages ou des thèmes du film. J’ai pu me concentrer sur les émotions et les sentiments, ce qui fait qu’il est très facile pour moi d’arriver à la musique avant que le film a été produit.

MG: Joe Hisaishi est connu pour son travail sur les scores pour le Studio Ghibli, c’était leur toute pression monter dans ces chaussures?
CC: [rires] C’est sûr. Je suis aussi un grand fan du travail Hisaishi. Le plus difficile était de ne pas y penser et ne pas essayer de ressembler à quelque chose qui a déjà été fait dans les films Ghibli passées. Aussi d’essayer de ne pas utiliser ce genre d’orchestre symphonique ou en nature de sensation. Je voulais garder les choses simples et arriver à la musique similaire à mon lecteur de CD, dans lequel le studio aimé.

MG: Avez-vous eu beaucoup de liberté créative du studio?
CC: Oui, étonnamment, j’ai eu beaucoup de liberté de travail sur la bande originale.

MG: Quel a été l’aspect le plus différent de la création de la partition?
CC: L’écriture elle-même était plutôt joyeuse et créative. Après cela, je devais déterminer quelle part serait effective entrer dans les coulisses. Il y avait beaucoup d’essais et d’erreurs. Ce fut certainement la partie la plus difficile.

MG: Quel est votre favori Studio Ghibli film avant de travailler sur “Arrietty”?
CC: [rires] C’est une question difficile. Je les aime tous, car ils sont tous différents. Mais “Mon voisin Tortoro” est un de mes favoris. Aussi j’aime beaucoup celui qui est un film un peu plus obscure appelée “Only Yesterday”, réalisé par Isao Takahata.

MG: Quels sont les grands défis de chanter en plusieurs langues?
CC: J’aime chanter dans des langues différentes. Pour “Arrietty”, j’ai effectivement eu à chanter en plusieurs langues. Ils ont voulu traduire “Song Arrietty» en japonais et en anglais en raison de l’objectif international du film. Ensuite, il a été traduit en français, italien et chinois. Japonaise est en fait le plus facile, en fait, à chanter po

MG: Votre dernier album “Songbook, Vol.3” vient de sortir aux Etats-Unis, nous parler de votre inspiration pour cet album?
CC: Oui, il vient de sortir sur iTunes aux États-Unis. Ça fait du bien d’avoir enfin un de mes albums publiés pour le public américain finalement. Cet album a été écrit après “Arrietty”, elle suit le chemin de mes albums précédents dans le «Songbook» série. L’inspiration est à peu près la même chose et vient de la musique celtique, contes anciens, et la musique folk. Il s’agit de raconter des histoires et des personnages de légendes. Je suis vraiment fier de lui.

MG: Vous êtes en tournée beaucoup cette année, tous les plans à venir aux États-Unis?
CC: Je suis un grand voyageur et je visiter un peu. Je l’apprécie vraiment. J’ai eu la chance de jouer une seule avant aux États-Unis. J’aurais aimé à été une partie des promotions pour le film, mais il n’est jamais arrivé. Nous espérons que, grâce au succès du film aux Etats-Unis, je suis vraiment en espérant l’utiliser pour être en mesure de faire le tour des États-Unis dans un avenir proche.

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Filed Under: Interviews, Music Interviews Tagged With: arrietty, au, cécile, corbel, ghibli, marquant, ...

Short Review “Slash-in-the-Box”

Directed by Nick Everhart
Starring: Elizabeth Masucci and Tyler Hollinger
Aweso Entertainment
Running Time: 5 minutes

Our Score: 5 out of 5 stars

Immediately when I heard about this film, I pictured Will Ferrell winding the jack-in-the-box in the movie “Elf”. It is a scene that always makes me laugh but also jump. There is just something about a jack-in-the-box that leaves you on edge. This short is suspenseful and also a lot of fun. They should most definitely enter this into some horror festivals because it deserves some major attention.

It is only 5 minutes long but is extremely clever and really makes every minute count. It is gory, yet not cheesy at all.  The score is really great and sets up a few decent jumps. This film was shot in only one day plus another week for post production. The budget was just $2000, which nothing but the production does not look or feel cheap. Each shot feels is very polished and well directed. Even though it was shot in one day, I have a feeling that a lot of planning when into pre-production.

The films stars Tyler Hollinger and Elizabeth Masucci, who have both worked with writer/director Nick Everhart before in the recent “Dororthy and The Witches of Oz”, read our review here. I have watched many, many bad horror films and I this is a setup above the rest.  I was satisfied yet wishing for more. Who knows maybe one day, this could make a interesting feature. Weirder movies have been made…ever see “The Gingerdead Man”, one of my favorites by the way.

Watch the short below, come on…what’s five minutes of your time? You watch all those stupid videos on YouTube, this is much better.  Spread the word!

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Filed Under: Movies Tagged With: review, short, slashinthebox

Cécile Corbel talks about scoring Studio Ghibli’s “The Secret World of Arrietty”

Cécile Corbel is a French singer/songwriter, who recently created the score for Studio Ghibli’s “The Secret World of Arrietty”.  The film was just released by Walt Disney Pictures and has earned the best stateside opening ever for a Studio Ghibli movie.  Media Mikes had a chance to chat with Cécile about working on the score with Studio Ghibli and also her new album and tour.

Click here to read the interview in French / Japanese

Mike Gencarelli: How did you get involved with working with Studio Ghibli on “The Secret World of Arrietty”?’
Cécile Corbel: In 2009, I sent my album “Songbook, Vol.2” as a gift to Studio Ghibli. I got very lucky because the head producer, Toshio Suzuki got the CD and actually listened to it.  This is something that never happens. They were just starting on producing “Arrietty” and they weren’t sure of the path they wanted to go with the music at the time. We got one email asking if I wanted to write one song for the next Ghibli movie.  So that’s how it started and went from one song to the whole score. It was really exciting.

MG: Your score seemed perfectly scaled for the film, where did you get inspiration for the it?
CC: A lot of the inspiration came from the first drawings that I received from the studio.  Also the director sent me short texts, like poetry, which tried to describe in a few lines some of the characters or themes from the movie. I was able to focus on the emotions and feelings, which made it very easy for me to come up with the music before the movie was produced.

MG: Joe Hisaishi is known for working on the scores for Studio Ghibli; was their any pressure stepping into those shoes?
CC: [laughs] For sure. I am also a big fan of Hisaishi work. The hard thing was not to think of it and not to try and sound like something that was already done in past Ghibli movies. Also to try not to use that kind of orchestra or symphonic kind of feel. I wanted keep it simple and come up with music similar to my CD, in which the studio liked.

MG: Did you get a lot of creative freedom from the studio?
CC: Yes, amazingly I had a lot of freedom working on the soundtrack.

MG: What was the most different aspect of creating the score?
CC: The writing itself was rather joyful and creative. After that, I had to figure out which part would actual fit into the scenes. There was a lot of trial and error. That was definitely the hard part.

MG: What is your favorite Studio Ghibli film prior to working on “Arrietty”?
CC: [laughs] That is a tough question. I like all of them because they are all different. But “My Neighbor Tortoro” is one of my favorites. Also I really like one that is a little more obscure film called “Only Yesterday” directed by Isao Takahata.

MG: What is the biggest challenges of singing in different languages?
CC: I love to sing in different languages. For “Arrietty”, I actually had to sing in many different languages. They wanted to translate “Arrietty’s Song” in Japanese and English due to the international purpose of the film. Then it was translated to French, Italian and Chinese. Japanese is actually the easiest in fact to sing in.

MG: Your latest album “Songbook, Vol.3” was just released in the US, tell us about your inspiration for this album?
CC: Yes it was just released on iTunes in the US. It feels great to finally have one of my albums released for US audience finally. This album was written after “Arrietty”, it follows the path of my prior albums in the “Songbook” series. The inspiration is pretty much the same and comes from Celtic music, ancient tales, and folk music. It is about story telling and characters from legends. I am really proud of it.

MG: You are touring a lot this year, any plans to come to the US?
CC: I am a big traveler and I tour quite a bit. I really enjoy it. I had the chance to play only one before in the US. I would have like to been a part of the promotions for the movie, but it never happened. Hopefully though due to the success of the movie in the US, I am really hoping to use that to be able to tour in the US in the near future.

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Filed Under: Interviews, Music Interviews Tagged With: cécile, corbel, interview

Film Review “Dorothy and the Witches of Oz”

Starring: Paulie Rojas, Billy Boyd and Christopher Lloyd
Directed by: Leigh Scott
Rated: PG
Running time: 1 hour 50 mins
Palace/Imaginarium Films

Our Score: 4 out of 5 stars

When you hear the word “OZ” you’re immediately taken back to a magical time in your life. For kids of my generation, the film was a CBS television mainstay. Once a year you plopped down on the living room floor and took that trip over the rainbow. In recent years, the film has been re-released to theatres, giving fans both young and old a chance to see it on the big screen. One of my favorite movie moments EVER was when I did a theatre promotion and had several actual Munchkins in attendance. I was shocked when they told me that they had never seen the film on the big screen before. Imagine my delight as I sat in the same row with them and watched them watch themselves! It was magic. And the magic continues with a new film that explores the world of OZ and gives the tale a whole new spin!

The film opens in the Emerald City. A battle royale is about to take place between the factions of witches, good and bad. The baddies are searching for a magic key that will unlock a book and allow them to run OZ as they wish. Things seem to be going well for the bad witches. Until Dorothy Gale and her house drop in!

Dorothy Gale (Rojas) is a Kansas-born author living in New York City. Her claim to fame is a series of children’s books detailing a young girl’s adventures in the land of OZ. Together with her illustrator, Allen (Ari Zagaris) and agent, Bryan (Barry J. Ratcliffe), she is hoping to seal a movie deal for her stories. But she’s having problems with the proposed star, Ilsa (Sasha Jackson). Despite the fact that Dorothy is an eleven year old girl, Ilsa wants to play her sexed up and wearing leather pants. The deal is being brokered by Billie Westbrook (Eliza Swenson), who has much more invested in the deal then she lets on. After the death of her Uncle Henry (Lance Henriksen), Dorothy discovers that her stories are actually repressed memories…that the books she writes are about her!

It’s obvious that the filmmakers had as much fun making the film as the audience will watching it. Director/writer Scott has not only made a familiar story seem new but has paid homage to the lesser known OZ works of L. Frank Baum. Not only are the Scarecrow, Tin Man and Toto referenced but lesser known characters like Princess Langwidere (played by “Ferris Buellers” Mia Sara), Tik-Tok and Jack Pumpkinhead. The cast is strong, with Rojas very believable as a young woman who, like eleven year old Dorothy, must face her fears. Other familiar faces include Boyd, Ethan Embry and Sean Astin (they play a pair of diminutive jokers named Frick and Frack) and, of course, Christopher Lloyd, playing the wizard by way of Willy Wonka. It’s especially fun to watch the interaction between former Hobbits Boyd and Astin as they bicker about. The special effects are quite well done and mostly CGI. Even though the film is rated PG there are some scary parts that might frighten some little ones. And the score is marvelous. That it was written by actress Eliza Swenson (see above) came as a complete surprise. The film rises and falls with the score and the music sets the tone of the film brilliantly.

“Dorothy and the Witches of Oz” is currently playing in Phoenix and opens on February 24 in Kansas City and Louisville with more cities being added weekly.

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Filed Under: Film Reviews Tagged With: dorothy, fillm, oz, review, witches

Blu-ray Review “The Way”

Directed by: Emilio Estevez
Starring: Martin Sheen, Deborah Kara Unger, James Nesbitt, Yorick van Wageningen, Emilio Estevez
Distributed by: Arc Entertainment
MPAA Rating: PG-13
Running time: 121 minutes

Film: 3.5 out of 5 stars
Extras: 3.5 out of 5 stars

When I originally heard of this film, I thought Martin Sheen and Emilio Estevez, how can they go wrong? I was very impressed. Emilio Estevez really knows what he is doing behind the camera in his fifth directorial attempt. Martin Sheen is just fantastic in the role and really gives it his all. The story is slow moving but aims with a purpose and delivers full on. Also notable performance is Yorick van Wageningen, who would be known better as the Lisbeth’s abusive guardian in US “The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo”. If only they could have made those painful spots for AMC theaters better, maybe more people would have seen this film. It is a very emotional journey with great direction and even better acting.

The film follows Thomas Avery on his journey to France, following the death of his son who died while walking the Camino de Santiago. His son was exploring Europe and attempting to complete a walk called the “Way of St. James”, which is a pilgrimage to the Cathedral of Santiago de Compostela in Galicia, Spain. When Thomas goes to retrieve his son’s body, he decided to complete the walk in tribute to his son. Along the way he meets a few friends, who assist him in his grieving process during his journey.

The Blu-ray presentation is decent, though nothing special. The video should have taken advantage of the beautiful locations in Europe but since the film was shot on 16mm film, it is good not underwhelming. Although, Estevez has said that was the focus since though the film is a character piece. The sound is impressive boasting a nice DTS-HD MA 5.1 track and works with Tyler Bates’ amazing score.

The special features included on the release are very impressive for an independent feature. If you enjoyed the film, there an interesting commentary from Martin Sheen, Emilio Estevez and producer David Alexanian. The primary focus is on the location shoot and its challenges. There are three featurettes are short but worth checking out. The first is called “Camino Americana: Taking The Way on the Road”, which focuses on the the cross-country bus tour to promote the movie. “Pilgrimage: Behind the Camera” it is a quick behind-the-scenes look from the film. “Father and Son: Uncovering the Characters” is an interview with father and son Sheen and Estevez talking about the film. Lastly the last feature is called “Along the Way: The Journey of a Father and Son—A Dual Memoir by Martin Sheen and Emilio Estevez”, which promotes an upcoming book by Sheen and Estevez.

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Filed Under: DVD/Blu-Ray Reviews Tagged With: bluray, review

Blu-ray Review “Footloose (2011)”

Directed by: Craig Brewer
Starring: Kenny Wormald, Julianne Hough, Andie MacDowell, Dennis Quaid
Distributed by Paramount Pictures
MPAA Rating: PG-13
Running time: 113 minutes

Film: 4 out of 5 stars
Extras: 3.5 out of 5 stars

Who doesn’t love Kevin Bacon, the original “Footloose” is definitely a classic, but this remake really holds its own. It is packed with more heart and a better laid out story. The film runs almost two hours but is so fast-paced, you don’t even feel it. You will also notice though that this remake aims plenty of odes to the original film, especially with the opening scene and various outfits throughout.  There is more back story in the beginning of the film explaining the accident that caused the ban of dancing, which was just a mention in the original. All-in-all, if you love the original that’s fine, but this definitely takes the classic and pumps it up a little.

The music is the film is extremely infectious, with the exception of one song. Holding Out for a Hero” remade by Ella Mae Bowen is absolutely dreadful. They took one of the most energetic songs and made it into a sleepy ballad. “Where The River Goes” by Zac Brown was even nominated for a Grammy it is so good. As much as I like Kenny Loggins, “Footloose” by Blake Shelton is quite a bit of fun as well. Fans of the 80’s don’t fret, also included are original tracks like “Bang Your Head (Metal Health)” by Quiet Riot and the original “Let’s Hear It For The Boy” by Deniece Williams. Music is very important in this film and it does not disappoint.

Props need to go to the film’s acting as I enjoyed every performance. Dancing with the Stars’s Julianne Hough did an amazing job and obviously we all know that she can dance. Kenny Wormald is not a huge name but he sure knows how to dance also having toured with Justin Timberlake and The Pussycat Dolls. Dennis Quaid gave a very emotional performance. The underdog performances needs to go to Miles Teller, who played Willard, since he got all the good laughs in the film.

The Blu-ray presentation is very impressive. The video is extremely sharp and packs a crystal clear picture. Most importantly, the sound is excellent featuring an DTS-HD MA 5.1 track and it really scores with the music in the film. Also included with the Blu-ray is a DVD copy of the film and an Ultraviolet digital copy of the film as well. This new feature enables you to watch the film streaming wherever you want like on your smart phone or online. Really great feature!

The special features are also very notable. There is an audio commentary with director Craig Bower. He discusses every aspect of the film from coming on board to completion, great listen. “Jump Back: Re-Imagining Footloose” focuses on the original film with comments from the cast and crew and its remake process. “Everybody Cut: The Stars of Footloose” focuses on the cast of the film. “Dancing with the Footloose Stars” is a great features and focuses on the film’s dance choreography. There are about five short deleted scenes with optional director commentary, worth a watch but nothing amazing. There are various music videos including “Footloose” by Blake Shelton, “Fake ID” by Big & Rich and “Holding Out for a Hero” by Ella Mae Brown. Lastly there is a video from Emily Whitcomb doing a Footloose-inspired Rap. Overall great features for an awesome film.

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Filed Under: DVD/Blu-Ray Reviews Tagged With: 2011, bluray, footloose, review

The Film Society & IndieWire’s Special Screening/Q&A of “Mary Last Seen” (Martha Marcy May Marlene) with Director Sean Durkin and Cast

“Mary Last Seen” was the short that Durkin wrote and directed prior to the full feature. It introduced the world of the film while also working as a standalone story. Fortunately it didn’t have to stand alone and now it makes for an eerie precursor ‘Martha’. The short screened prior to the “Martha Marcy May Marlene” Blu-ray release at New York’s Lincoln Center. In attendance for the IndieWire sponsored event were director Sean Durkin, producer Antonio Campos, cinematographer Drew Innis and actress Alexia Rasmussen (Mary).

In discussing the short, the filmmakers emphasized that if ‘Martha’ was a feature about exiting a cult, ‘Mary’ was about entering it. The connective character between the short and the feature is Brady Corbet’s Watts. Here we get to see how he goes about luring the cult women onto the isolated farm, cutting them off from the world. It’s disconcerting just how much damage the loss of a cell phone can do. “It’s the numbers” Mary laments, accentuating the modern reliance on automated contact lists. If nothing else, the short serves to help understand how Martha in the eventual feature film could have fallen off the face of the Earth to her family.

Click here for our DVD review of “Martha Marcy May Marlene”

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Filed Under: Film Headlines Tagged With: film, indiewire, mary, screening, short, society, ...

Blu-ray Review “Martha Marcy May Marlene”

Directed by: Sean Durkin
Starring: Elizabeth Olsen, Hugh Dancy, Brady Corbet, Christopher Abbott
MPAA Rating: R
Distributed by: 20th Century Fox
Run Time: 102 minutes

Film: 4 out of 5 stars
Extras: 4 out of 5 stars

“Martha Marcy May Marlene” is the powerful and at times disturbing debut feature for both director Sean Durkin and star Elizabeth Olsen that is now available to own.

Olsen plays the eponymous Martha who, having just escaped a cult commune isolated in the Catskills, takes shelter in the Connecticut lake house of her sister (Sarah Paulson) and brother-in-law (Hugh Dancy) whom she hasn’t seen in over two years. Martha struggles to fit back into her sister’s upper middle-class world and Durkin cuts seamlessly between her life at the lakehouse and flashbacks to the cult’s farm. The pacing of the flashbacks is incredibly effective and helps to build the rising tension that Martha feels as she clashes with resuming normal life.

At the forefront of the flashbacks is cult leader Patrick, played by an equal parts seductive and sinister John Hawkes. At first an appealing father figure to Martha, he evolves into a rapist (though his followers would disagree) and worse. The most fascinating aspect of Martha’s escape is perhaps how believably conflicted she still feels about leaving. It is evident Martha’s relationship with her sister is not a warm one and so we can only conclude that it was some immovable survival instinct, rather than an act of rebellion, that would finally send Martha from the the cult. For all the abuse, Martha still yearns to share a bed with Patrick. In some of Olsen’s most powerful scenes she quotes his indoctrinations verbatim at her relatives with a steely chilling confidence that tells us she’s not out of the woods yet.

Durkin doesn’t offer a clear resolution to Martha’s story, but that’s fitting for a character who is so deeply damaged. As it is, this is a fascinating character study that warrants revisiting on Blu-ray.

The main special feature on this Blu-ray include ‘Mary Last Seen’, the short that Durkin wrote and directed prior to the full feature. It introduced the world of the film while also working as a standalone story. Fortunately it didn’t have to stand alone and now it makes for an eerie precursor ‘Martha’. In addition to the short, the Blu-ray offers insightful featurettes on the making of the film, including the filmmakers’ views on cults, and John Hawke’s hauntingly beautiful full rendition of Jackson C. Frank’s “Marcy’s Song”.

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Filed Under: DVD/Blu-Ray Reviews Tagged With: dvd, marcy, marlene, martha, review

Interview with Howy Parkins

Howy Parkins is the supervising director for Disney Junior’s “Jake and the Never Land Pirates”.  He has his hands in pretty much every aspect of the show, which recently just began it second season.  Howy has been working with Disney for around 15 years and also recently worked on its series “Mickey Mouse Clubhouse”.  Media Mikes had a chance to chat with Howy about this wonderful show and what we can expect this season and going forward.

Mike Gencarelli: “Jake and Never Land Pirates” returns for Season 2 on Monday, February 20, tell us about that season?
Howy Parkins: For the second season, we really branched out. That is the beauty of Never Land and the Never Sea, it is just so vast. We will take the kids to some very wonderful and magical places. You look at the island and ask “Where can you have a mountain range…or a desert?”, but that is the beauty of the show being able to explore and go on adventures.

MG: Tell us about Peter Pan returning to Never Land?
HP: We were thrilled when we got the green light to bring Peter Pan physically into the show. With Never Land, we had Captain Hook and Mr. Smee already, which just made for the perfect circle. I think we mentioned him a few times in the first season. So when we found out we were actually able to bring him into the show, we got busy right away. Again, it is a Disney classic character, so we were respectful but also very honored that we were able to bring that character into the show with such fan following of so many generations.

MG: Tell us about your general role on the show?
HP: I am the supervising director. I came out of animation school many years ago. I’ve story boarded and been around designer. I have directed at Disney for around 15 years. With this show, I am just thrilled to be a part of and I enjoy coming to work every day. I work with a great team of designers on this show. We really tapped into our knowledge of Disney and wanted it to look like a really rich Disney-esque show. I feel we really captured that.

MG: Take us through the production process for one episode of “Jake and Never Land Pirates”?
HP: When we get final script, we go into our preliminary design meetings. In the second season, we do go to some new places, like we have an underwater episode. We have new characters coming up. So with those situations, I would sit with my crew and sketch out ideas and refine them. The voice talents come in next and then we move to storyboard, which takes about five weeks. We scan the boards into our editing bay and with the adding of voice recording we have what we call a “like reel”. It is essentially the show, but in its bare-bones form of black and white line drawings. From that I can work on the timing, staging and cinematics aspects of the show. Once we lock that show and we send it to an animation studio in Canada and I believe they get twelve weeks to do full animation. By the time it gets back, we have about six to eight weeks to finish up. Then we give our musicians a few weeks to score the episode and then we move to sound effects, which I also sit in on. Then we polish it up and make it nice and shinny and off it goes. I would probably about three or four months per episode. We stagger them, obviously, so we have many going on at the same time.

MG: Why do you think a show like “Jake and Never Land Pirates” has been so successful?
HP: When we started talking about doing the pilot, there is just something about pirates for boys or even girls ages 3-7 years old . Also coming on the heals of “Pirates of the Caribbean” series, it is such a fresh subject matter. I think because the three kids on the show are so adorable, so much character and so fun, who wouldn’t want them to hang out with. They are a nice allure for the kids at home. Also for the parents, we try to put positive messages into each episode. Their mannerisms and attitudes are just so enjoyable. There are just so many assets that come together as a package.

MG: The show was just green lit for a third season already, can you reflect on that news?
HP: It is very early and we are not used to that kind of thing. We are still in the midst of the second season. We are excited because now we get to plan in advance and discuss where we want the show to go now and who do we want for reoccurring characters etc. We are just rolling with it and I think we can definitely keep this exciting for at least another 37 episodes. In Never Land, there are many places we can still discover. It is definitely a challenge but we are all up for it.

MG: You’ve worked on shows like “The Simpsons”, “Recess” and “Mickey Mouse Clubhouse”; how does this show compare?
HP: I think when my son came along, who is now almost 11 years old, I got vested in the subject matter of what I work on now. Back in the day, working on “The Simpsons” was a great experience. I also worked on same Nickelodeon shows, it was fun but it was an older audience. With this show I am happy because we hook in the kids, but also the older brother/sister and even parents can watch as well and get just as much out of it. I think we discovered this formula where the entire family can watch, which is a really hard this to do. As much as I enjoyed the others, this one is really special.

MG: Besides just the television show, what else can expect from “Jake and Never Land Pirates”?
HP: Definitely there is some great merchandising being launched. It really brings the show into people’s home and they are able to buy toys and play with them while watching the show. When we are sitting in the design meetings, we think about “can this make a good toy?”, so we try and plan ahead. I know there is also a lot of on online stuff right now for the show as well. We were even reading tweets about our show, which has never happened before. That was really exciting. So there is just a lot to look forward to and I am really happy to be a part of it.

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Filed Under: Interviews, TV Interviews Tagged With: howy, interview, parkins

Blu-ray Review “Santana: Live at Montreux 2011”

Starring Carlos Santana
Rated: NR (Not Rated)
Studio: Eagle Rock Entertainment
Run Time: 204 minutes

Concert: 3.5 out of 5 stars
Extras: 3.5 out of 5 stars

Santana has been around since 1969 and shows zero signs of slowing down. His guitar work is something of magic. This concert includes 23 of their greatest hits from then to now and also a bunch of fantastic covers. The show is over three hours and it was filmed during Switzerland’s Montreux Jazz Festival. If all this isn’t enough the concert also features some great special guests including Susan Tedeschi, Derek Trucks and Cindy Blackman-Santana.

Obviously, every track is notable but these are some of my favorites. Two of my favorite tracks from Santana are “Black Magic Woman / Gypsy Queen” and “Oye Como Va”. “Europa (Earth’s Cry Heaven’s Smile)” is also so amazing! “Soul Sacrifice” is very notable including drum solo from Dennis Chambers. Lastly there is a really sharp cover of AC/DC’s “Back In Black”.

The Blu-ray presentation is very impressive. It was filmed in high-definition, so the video looks great and includes a great DTS-HD Master Audio track. With a concert Blu-ray, the release is based surely upon amazing sound. This one definitely kick-ass in the sound department. If a three plus hour was not enough, there are some great special features including various interviews with the band and a really cool behind the scenes look at the show. Very impressive release overall.

Track Listing:
1) Spark Of The Divine
2) SOCC
3) Back In Black
4) Singing Winds, Crying Beasts
5) Black Magic Woman / Gypsy Queen
6) Oye Como Va
7) Maria, Maria
8) Foo Foo
9) Corazon Espinado / Guajira
10) Benny & Cindy Solo
11) Jingo
12) Carlos Speaks / Novus
13) Europa (Earth’s Cry, Heaven’s Smile) / I Want You
14) Batuka / No One To Depend On
15) Duende / Open Invitation
16) Make Somebody Happy / Right On Be Free
17) Evil Ways / A Love Supreme
18) Sunshine Of Your Love
19) Smooth / Dame Tu Amor
20) Soul Sacrifice / Dennis Drum Solo
21) Samba Pa Ti
22) Into The Night
23) Love, Peace And Happiness / Freedom

 

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Filed Under: DVD/Blu-Ray Reviews Tagged With: 2011, bluray, live, montreux, review, santana, ...
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