CINCO DE MARIO: The Countdown is on -One Month Until Cinco de Mayo, as MARIO LOPEZ Announces His Newest Endeavor

Mario Lopez expands his brand across the US, one weekend at a time.

LOS ANGELES (April 5, 2018) – As the Cinco de Mayo countdown begins, Entrepreneur, Emmy® Award-winning host of nationally syndicated “Extra” and the nationally syndicated iHeartMedia radio show “On with Mario Lopez”, will bring a new kind of fiesta, “Cinco de Mario” to a city near you.  Cinco de Mario will feature authentic Mexican food and drinks, margaritas, micheladas, craft beers and more.  Lopez is known for his fun-filled, contagious energy and it’s no secret that he loves his Mexican heritage.

Lopez has partnered with Rick Phillips of RND events to launch Cinco de Mario nationwide. “Rick is the best in the business and I know with Rick, these events will be stellar,” says Lopez.

Rick’s Arizona Taco Festival was the first taco festival ever organized. Today, the event has grown into a two-day spectacle with over 40,000 people attending, and over 60 restaurants competing.  It also includes a wildly popular tequila expo that’s viewed by tequila companies as a premier collection of 100 top brands. Out of the gate, this was the most successful inaugural event ever produced in Scottsdale, AZ. “People love a fiesta and Mario knows how to party.”  Said Rick.

Lopez loves his heritage and continues to seek out authentic products to bring to the market place.  Most recently he joined forces with Oscar de La Hoya to bring Casa Mexico Tequila to the forefront.  Cinco de Mario represents the best Lopez has to offer.  “I’m all about working hard and playing hard.  If you know me, you know that good food, drinks, music, friends and family are what I have always been about.  I’m just bringing them together in one spectacular traveling event.”

The Cinco de Mario Tour

Starting in Scottsdale, where the Lopez-branded event debuts, Cinco de Mario will take Lopez’s team and his brand nationwide, stopping at select cities along the way.  Lopez adds, “We plan on expanding the brand across the nation, in places from Los Angeles, California to various cities throughout Ohio, Texas, Florida and more to start.  Now is the perfect time to showcase the positivity and glory of Mexican heritage throughout the U.S. and the world.”

Fiesta time!

Come get your feast on!  Cinco De Mario will have culinary offerings that range from food trucks to resort chefs dishing out tacos, tamales, and other gourmet Mexican fare.  Other features include an authentic Mexican Mercado, fabulous Mexican bands, Mariachi, Ceviche Bars and more.

www.cincodemario.com

Mario Lopez

Mario Lopez continues as host of “Extra,” the Emmy® Award-winning entertainment news program, for the show’s 24th season. This will be Lopez’s tenth consecutive season as the show’s host, after co-hosting “Extra’s” weekend edition since January 2007.

A man of many trades, Mario Lopez has the overwhelming desire to always keep active. Mario is the two-time Emmy-winning host of “Extra” a nationally syndicated daily entertainment show. Concurrently, Lopez is the host of the nationwide iHeartMedia radio shows “On with Mario Lopez” and “iHeartRadio Countdown with Mario Lopez.” Lopez has also launched a YouTube channel called “The Lopez Family.” Created alongside Awestruck, the channel features his wife Courtney, their two children, and their two dogs. He can currently be seen as the host of the new CBS live-action game show “Candy Crush,” based on the popular mobile game.

Not only does Lopez have a proclivity for the entertainment industry, he is also an avid sports fan. He has taken his love of sports, specifically boxing, to the next level as a host of the iHeartRadio podcast “The 3 Knockdown Rule,” which is also featured on the FOX Sports Radio website.

In September 2014, Lopez released his first autobiography, “Just Between Us.” In his memoir, Lopez shares his successes and disappointments, never before-told stories and family values. Lopez became a New York Times best-selling author with his healthy eating guide “Extra Lean.” In May 2011, he released the follow-up to “Extra Lean,” entitled “Extra Lean Family.” This new book featured recipes and tips beneficial to the entire family. Additionally, Lopez penned “Mario Lopez’s Knockout Fitness,” a best-selling fitness book that offers readers a look into his impressive workout regime; “Mud Tacos,” a vibrant children’s book he co-authored with his sister Marissa; and “Mario & Baby Gia,” a children’s book he wrote for his daughter Gia. “Mario & Baby Gia” is currently being developed into an animated series.

No stranger to rigorous routines, Lopez danced his way to the finals in the third season of ABC’s hit show “Dancing with the Stars.” Shortly after, in summer 2009, Lopez successfully completed his first run on Broadway, starring in the long-running hit musical “A Chorus Line” as the beloved character Zach.

Mario was named the Alumni Ambassador of Fitness by the Boys & Girls Clubs of America (BGCA), joining the ranks of some 25 other prominent alumni, including Denzel Washington and former President Bill Clinton in the organization’s BE GREAT campaign. Via the campaign, Mario helps bring to light the major issues affecting today’s young people, including the importance of graduating from high school and maintaining a healthy lifestyle and the key role community-based organizations like BGCA play in the positive development of children.

Even with all his other ventures, Mario is still in love with acting. Lopez appeared as Dr. Mike Hamoui on eight episodes of F/X network’s popular show “Nip/Tuck,” Lopez’s run on the series bringing an instant and well-deserved cult following. He previously starred in the highest-rated program in ABC Family history, “Holiday in Handcuffs.” He also starred opposite Mark Consuelos in the made-for-TV movie “Husband for Hire,” the most-watched program ever on the Oxygen Network.

Mario currently resides in Los Angeles with his wife Courtney, their daughter Gia, and their son Dominic.

 

Related Content

Read Complete Article
Filed Under: Travel, TV Headlines Tagged With: announces, cinco, cincode, countdown, de, endeavor, ...

Dani de Waal talks about touring with Broadway hit play “Once”

Dani de Waal is an English actress, who recently joined the touring cast of the Broadway hit “Once”, playing the role of ‘Girl’. Her previous achievements on stage include “Picnic” on Broadway and “Mamma Mia!” for the role of Sophie Sheridan on West End. Media Mikes got a chance to chat with Dani about “Once” and her role as she was kicking off the 29 city tour which runs until October 2014.

Mike Gencarelli: Tell us what made you want to be a part of “Once: A New Musical” for its North American tour?
Dani de Waal: I saw the movie years ago when it came out, I was England at the time then. I loved it and the music and thought it was a beautiful story. I ended up seeing the show on Broadway also when I came to New York on a holiday. I remember saying to myself and secreting it to the universe that I would love to be in this show [laughs]. As it turns out, I ended up moving to New York the following year. I got an audition and it sort of happened from there. It really has been a dream come true. It is one of those shows that I wouldn’t [laughing] mind being in it for free every night. It is so incredible and doesn’t feel like a job at all.

MG: What made you connect with the character, ‘Girl’?
DDW: She is very interesting. She has this sort of cold exterior, I guess you can say. She’s hard to read. She has these walls up to protect herself. She also has a very warm and inquisitive side about the world and about people. She really believes that music can save us and change us. I share that as well in fact. Music is a universal language that can touch anyone no matter what we speak. I love how she expresses herself through the music and playing the piano. I have played piano most of my life but never have done it in a job. So that was an amazing thing for me to explore. Also singing with everyone on the stage as a band, I have never done that before either. It all has this kind of magical quality to it in playing her for this show.

MG: What is your most challenging aspect of the role?
DDW: When I first came to the part it was the piano. It was getting over the nerves of playing in front of people. So that was it initially, but now being that we are on stage pretty much the whole show once you are in it you are in it. I quite enjoy that. Stamina wise that was quite a challenge to get going but now it is something that I really love about it. You step up on stage in the beginning and sort of don’t breathe until curtain call. In a way it is a challenge but it is a great thing as well.

MG: The music is so amazing, which song is your favorite to hear and/or sing?
DDW: I have to say my favorite is “Falling Slowly” but the reprise version, which is at the very end. The song is beautiful anyway but the reprise in particular has everyone joining in and singing. It has that swell moment that is just incredible. So that one to listen to and also play, it is just such a highlight for me. Also since it comes at the end of the show, there is this great build up and then you have that moment.

MG: How you had a chance to meet Glen Hansard and Markéta Irglová?
DDW: No, we haven’t met that yet. I know they were very involved with the show’s process when it first started. I am pretty sure at some point within the show’s run we are going to get to meet them. But we only recently just started touring, so hopefully soon.

MG: Is there a city that you are looking forward to visit most on the tour?
DDW: I haven’t been around America at all, so I just very excited to see all of it really. I have never been to the West Coast and we hit there next summer, so I am really looking forward that. We are currently in Chicago and it has been amazing so far, so I can’t wait to see what comes next.

Here is the rest of the tour schedule! Check it out when it comes to a city near you!

Chicago, IL (Oriental Theatre)
Oct. 9 – 27, 2013

Philadelphia, PA (Academy of Music)
Oct. 29 – Nov. 10, 2013

Cleveland, OH (Playhouse Square)
Nov. 12 – 24, 2013

Toronto, ON (Royal Alexandra Theatre)
Nov. 26, 2013 – Jan. 5, 2014

Boston, MA (Boston Opera House)
Jan. 7 – 19, 2014

Durham, NC (Durham Performing Arts Center)
Jan. 21 – 26, 2014

Orlando, FL (Bob Carr Performing Arts Centre)
Jan. 28 – Feb. 2, 2014

Miami, FL (The Adrienne Arsht Center)
Feb. 4 – 9, 2014

Tampa, FL (Straz Center)
Feb. 11 – 16, 201

Fort Myers, FL (Barbara B. Mann Performing Arts Hall)
Feb. 18 – 23, 2014

New Haven, CT (Shubert Theater)
Feb. 26 – March 2, 2014

Atlanta, GA (Fox Theatre)
March 4 – 9, 2014

Pittsburgh, PA (Benedum Center)
March 11 – 16, 2014

Rochester, NY (Auditorium Theatre)
March 18 – 23, 2014

Buffalo, NY (Shea’s Performing Arts Center)
March 25 – 30, 2014

Minneapolis, MN (Orpheum Theatre)
April 1 – 6, 2014

St. Louis, MO (The Fox Theatre)
April 8 – 20, 2014

Des Moines, IA (Civic Center of Greater Des Moines)
April 22 – 27, 2014

Tempe, AZ (ASU Gammage)
April 29 – May 4, 2014

Denver, CO (Buell Theatre)
May 6 – 18, 2014

Las Vegas, NV (Smith Center for the Performing Arts)
May 20 – 25, 2014

Seattle, WA (The Paramount Theatre)
May 27 – June 8, 2014

Portland, OR (Keller Auditorium)
June 10 – 15, 2014

San Francisco, CA (Curran Theatre)
June 17 – July 13, 2014

Los Angeles, CA (Pantages Theatre)
July 15 – Aug. 10, 2014

San Diego, CA (Civic Center)
Aug. 12 – 17, 2014

Costa Mesa, CA (Segerstrom Hall)
Aug. 19 – 31, 2014

Charlotte, NC (Blumenthal Performing Arts Center)
Sept. 30 – Oct. 5, 2014

Read Complete Article
Filed Under: Art/Theatre, Interviews Tagged With: broadway, dani, de, hit, play, talks, ...

John de Lancie talks about his roles in "Star Trek: The Next Generation" and "My Little Pony: Friendship Is Magic"

John de Lancie is known for his role of Q in “Star Trek: The Next Generation”. Recently John was introduced to the world of “My Little Pony: Friendship Is Magic” voicing character Discord. Since then he teamed up with Michael Brockhof in order to make “Bronies: The Extremely Unexpected Adult Fans of My Little Pony” to showcase this unbelievable fan base behind this show. Media Mikes had a chance to chat with John to look back on “Star Trek: The Next Generation” and also his work with “My Little Pony”.

Mike Gencarelli: Looking back on “Star Trek: The Next Generation”, what was your favorite part of playing such a great character like “Q”?
John de Lancie: I guess mostly the reaction. Everybody liked him a lot. It has been a long time but he wasn’t iconic when I started but he was iconic when I left. The reaction was more intense than the actual doing of it.

MG: Are you surprised that it is still so well-received and respected all these years later?
JDL: Yes it is phenomenal. “Star Trek” is a phenomenon. I don’t know of any other shows that keeps on giving like this one has over the years. A lot of people feel that I sort of came on full blown and that other characters slowly developed over the years. Maybe that is the case to the extend that I was used to playing characters that were like that. You didn’t have a very long time to establish who you were, so you had to come on strong.

MG: Do you have any experiences that stand-out from working on the show?
JDL: I don’t have one favorite moment…I have many favorite moments. But what was fun about this show was that you knew that you were on the set making cultural history or if nothing else TV history. It was a show that was really culturally important. People referred to it and it became a way to talk about anything futuristic – it would be “Star Trek-like”. So it was great.

MG: “Q” was always one of my favorites. He was bad but also threw you for a loop occasionally.
JDL: Well that is what I intended. He is very naughty and somewhat dangerous. You were left never quite knowing what would happen. But it was a lot of fun. He is the one person you would invite to the dinner party but really make sure that the guests can handle him [laughs].

MG: You are hitting the convention scene this year, what do you enjoy most about meeting fans?
JDL: I love meeting fans. I find myself talking to kids, who see me at the age of their fathers…if not older. Some of them are even third generation fans. Which is actually is pretty amazing and honestly really unheard of.
MG: I am a second generation, my father got me into it and now I have a daughter that is 9-months old and she already has a “Star Trek” jumper.
JDL: That is what I am talking about and it is really amazing.

MG: On the complete other side of the spectrum, tell us about voicing Discord on “My Little Pony: Friendship Is Magic”?
JDL: It started with me being asked to do a voice over for “My Little Pony: Friendship Is Magic” and I said sure. So I read the script and have never heard of it before. But I thought it was well-written and fun. I have done characters like this before but I didn’t know that they wanted a Q-like character. I didn’t think of it as that at first and I just did it as it was written. Then about three months later, I was on the computer and I thought I got spammed. I had about 300-400 emails and they all had the subject of “My Little Pony”. So, I reach a bunch of them and then asked my wife what she knew about “My Little Pony”. She reminded me I did a voice for it about three months ago, which I totally forgot about. She told me it was a cartoon for little girls. But let me tell you these emails were not from little girls [laughs]. So that was the beginning of it.

MG: How did you get involved with “Bronies: The Extremely Unexpected Adult Fans of My Little Pony”?
JDL: It just so happened that Michael Brockhoff came over my house the night I got those emails and I told him about the story. He laughed and I agreed I didn’t get it either. Why would 20 year old guys be interested in “My Little Pony”? He asked me if I would want to do a documentary about it and I say “Oh my God, no way”. So that weekend, I had to go up to Vancouver on a job and some kids came up to me and asked me to sign pictures of Discord. I say kids, I mean 20 year olds. They are the typical geeky fans that I recognize from “Star Trek”. So, I asked them all a lot of questions and still I didn’t quite get it. But as they explained me to more and more what the show was about, it started to click. The show has the elements of harmony, being kind, generous, loyal and tolerant. I thought what is the problem with that? So now I had a face to put to what a Brony was. Mike sent me a link the following week for a Fox News, whom I am not a fan of, piece of this trend. It trashed the idea of Bronies calling them “a bunch of homosexuals, living at home on food stamps and disability watching cartoons in their parents at day in their parents basement”. That made me upset because it is not true. This is typical of Fox News. Have we really gotten to the place in our society that we are so threatened by everyone, that if we have 20 year old guys watching cartoons intended for girls, which is about being kind, loyal, generous and tolerant that we are going to demonize them and turn them into something that they are not. So that is when I called Mike back and said “I’m on board with the documentary, let’s do it”.

MG: Tell us about how you ended up with the Kickstarter campaign?
JDL: I asked Mike how was he going to fund this projects and he said through Kickstarter. I asked him how much he needed and he said about $60,000. He asked me if I could get myself into one of the conventions for BronyCon and I said “Yes”. The deal was that we were going to shoot for two days with two cameras, edit for about six weeks and that would be it. So yeah, instead of $60K, we got $322K. At that point, I was blown away. We’ve shown this film to people in the business and they just go “Wow, you’ve put a lot into this” and that was out intent. So when you see this film, I think you will be impressed.

Read Complete Article
Filed Under: Interviews, TV Interviews Tagged With: de, friendship, generation, john, lancie, magic, ...

Drea de Matteo chats about her role on FX’s “Sons of Anarchy”

Drea de Matteo is best known for her role of Angie Bolen on ABC’s “Desperate Housewives” and of course Adriana La Cerva on HBO’s “The Sopranos”. She is a special guest star on FX’s “Sons of Anarchy” playing Wendy Case, Jax’s ex-wife and ex-junkie who recently cleaned up her act and is looking to be part of Abel’s life. Media Mikes had a chance to chat with Drea about this role and what we can expect.

Adam Lawton: Tell us how you originally got involved with the show in getting cast for the role of Wendy.
Drea de Matteo: Originally, I came with John Linson before the show was even–I don’t know if it was written or if it was–I don’t know what was going on. I know that I came with John and he introduced me to Kurt. Originally, the character was going to die in the pilot. Then when I decided to do it they kept her alive and I’ve been there ever since but back and forth because I couldn’t fully commit to being on the show at the time. So I was off the show for a while and became a huge fan of the show while I was off of it. Then I just started writing Kurt and Katey [Sagal] and thinking, oh my God, I can’t believe what’s going on. When does the next season air? I was like, and I want to come back. You guys have to figure out Wendy’s turn. So I came originally with John. Then, once it became Kurt’s show they wove me in and out when possible.

AL: Okay. Now, being that you’ve been back and forth, on and off the show, what’s been the most difficult part of playing the Wendy character because when we do see her it’s always a dramatic change from the last time we saw her.
DDM: Well she’s been in recovery. So it’s like it’s watching a child grow up to a certain degree. I think in the very beginning of the series she was extremely, extremely vulnerable. At first she was a mess. Then she was sober and a raw nerve. Now she comes back with her confidence intact and not wanting to stir any … up except for being a responsible party. It seems that the whole entire world has imploded and she’s going to have a hard time maneuvering within it because nobody’s stable over there. She’s now become the face of stability, which is kind of funny.

AL:Who do you think is the more powerful couple; Christopher and Adriana or Jax and Wendy?
DDM: Oh boy. Jax and Wendy? I would probably compare Adriana and Christopher to Jax and Tara maybe, because Wendy is not around enough. Oh boy, the more powerful couple? I’m going to have to go with Jax and Tara only because, I mean, after all Christopher had Adriana killed, you know. It doesn’t get worse than that. Adriana was very weak. Tara; she’s a force to be reckoned with.

AL: You have said before they were originally going to kill the Wendy character off in a pilot. With them deciding to keep the character were you allowed to kind of develop it from that point, or were the scripts just given to you and you kind of went on what they told you?
DDM: Well, Kurt’s a great writer, so they don’t need me. They didn’t me to say, “Well, this is what I want to happen to ‘Wendy.’” When you go into a series like this I’m sure Kurt had the entire season, the first season, outlined for himself and where it was going to go. My character was never a part of where it was going. It was all about Tara and Jax. So, I guess, once they kept me alive the goal was to just sort of have me there as like this thorn
on everybody’s side. Then I couldn’t stay on. So they just put that story to rest which was perfect because I went away to treatment anyway. So, yes, I didn’t really develop. The writer’s tend to write around the actor and their style to a certain degree as long as it’s keeping with what they’re writing about. So I know with Adriana, when I did Adriana, David Chase would do that with me a lot. I don’t know that Kurt did that with Wendy, but I think bringing her back as a strong character and it’s also very much who I am in real life. I wouldn’t say that I was involved in development. I mean, TV is a writer’s medium 100%, and the writer’s king. We all just need to understand that. It’s not a director’s place. It’s not for the actors. It’s really all about those writers.

AL:Now, ultimately, we know Wendy’s goal is to be in Abel’s life. Do you think there are any ulterior motives there now that she is clean, sober and seeing for the first time really with clear eyes a vision how the club’s working. Does she still want to be a part of that, or is she just looking to get scott free with her son?

DDM: I don’t think she’s looking to be a part of a club or to be part of that community. I definitely think that she’s looking to be a part of his life and to do it in a way where she’s not causing drama. I think she’d like to just get along with everybody. I think that–and anybody in the program would… I think she’d like to able to make amends to all of them, mostly to her son, and to be in his life. Even if it meant she couldn’t say, “I’m your mom,” but to just be in his life. Eventually, when he’s older he’s going to want to know who his real mom is. More than anything, I think that she’s looking for stability, not drama. I don’t think she has ulterior motives. I do think that if she’s pushed and manipulated and blocked out that you will see a side of her that…it’s not even so much that it’s an unstable, unsavory side. It’s she’s a mama and that’s her baby. She went and took care of herself in order to be able to come back and reclaim what was hers. So you can’t keep a mom away from their baby for too long.

AL:Do you find that there’s a big difference in shooting between what’s done on FX being a cable channel than your HBO, your Pay-Per-View channel, do you see that there’s a difference? Obviously, you can do a little bit more on HBO but shooting-wise, is there any difference or anything like that?
DDM: Yes. You can’t say f… That’s difficult for me. It’s difficult for a biker show, I would imagine. When you say, “Get the hell out of here.” But you really just want to say, “Get the f… out of here.”

AL: There’s so many similar elements between the Sopranos and Sons of Anarchy being one’s a gang and one’s mob. They’re all tight knit families and trying to cover that on a regular television channel.
DDM: The shooting is very similar. Sopranos, look, it was a whole different ball game. It was the first of its kind. We set the structure for it. Long shooting weeks, tons of money going into a show. That was brand new, man. Nobody knew what that was on cable yet. So all of these shows, Breaking Bad, you’ve got Mad Men, Sons of Anarchy, Rescue Me, like all of these are great shows. No one ever knew a TV show would be treated like a small film every week, big budgets and whatnot. Sopranos we shot 16-day weeks. Here we shoot 7-day weeks, 8-day weeks. I think that’s what they do. I don’t know.

AL: A lot of people really love the Wendy character and how she’s evolved. So I’ve had a few fans wanting me to ask, would it be possible for Wendy to be around a little bit more, maybe have a different love interest? Or do you just not see the role…?
DDM: Well, I’m going to have to say that’s totally 100% up to Kurt. I’m back now. I’m open and willing and ready to do whatever they want me to do. I took off for a long time there but I did a couple of episodes this season. I’m open to doing as many as Kurt thinks would benefit his story, the story he wants to tell, for sure.

 

Related Content

Read Complete Article
Filed Under: Interviews, TV Interviews Tagged With: 5, anarchy, chats, de, drea, matteo, ...

Blu-ray Review “Casa de mi Padre”

Directed by: Matt Piedmont
Starring: Will Ferrell, Gael García Bernal, Diego Luna, Nick Offerman, Genesis Rodriguez
MPAA Rating: R
Distributed by: Lions Gate
Release Date: July 17, 2012
Running Time: 84 minutes

Film: 3 out of 5 stars
Extras: 2.5 out of 5 stars

Will Ferrell is one of my favorite comedic actors.  He always manages to make me laugh.  His film roles recently have been hit or miss, he is still one of my favorites.  “Casa”, unfortunately sits right on the border of hit or miss.  When I heard the idea of a comedy that features Will Ferrell speaking only Spanish, I thought it would be the funniest idea ever.  Even though the film runs only 84 minutes, its angle gets old after about 30 minutes.  Don’t get me wrong it is still funny but I do not think it is something I will be able to re-watch and quote (especially since I don’t speak Spanish) like “Anchorman”.  Fans of Ferrell, I suggest you give it a shot but just don’t expect to fall on your ass laughing.

The film follows Armando Alvarez (Ferrell) who lives a simple life living and working on his father’s ranch in Mexico.  Armando’s younger brother Raul (and his father’s favorite), shows up with his new fiancé, Sonia when the ranch encounters financial problems.  Since Raul’s is a very successful international businessman, he pledges to settle all debts his father has incurred. Things get sticky when Armando falls for his brothers wife Sonia and Raul’s success is coming from working with drug lord, the mighty Onza.

The 1080p transfer isn’t really made to look amazing since it is purposely low-budget and parodied. The Spanish audio included is an DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 track.  The special features included are a commentary track by director Matt Piedmont, writer/producer Andrew Steele, and Will Ferrell.  There is a Behind-the-scenes featurette and a few deleted scenes included as well.  There is a funny music video for “Fight for Love” by Will Ferrell and Genesis Rodriguez.  I love when Will Ferrell sings.  There are four different “Commerciales” starring Will Ferrell, Diego Luna, Genesis Rodriguez, Efren Ramirez, and Nick Offerman.  These together are funnier than the film. Lastly Pedro Armendáriz Jr.’s final interview is included.

Read Complete Article
Filed Under: DVD/Blu-Ray Reviews Tagged With: bluray, casa, de, mi, padre, review, ...

Blu-ray Review “Marquis de Sade’s Justine”

Directed by: Chris Boger
Starring: Glory Annen, Jeannie Collings, Jennifer Guy, Katherine Kath, Martin Potter
MPAA Rating: Unrated
Distributed: Redemption Films
Release Date: April 24, 2012
Running Time: 109 minutes

Film: 2 out of 5 stars
Extras: 1.5 out of 5 stars

The film is written and narrated by Marquis de Sade himself, though is rather bland a bit boring. The other notable aspect was that Roger Deakins, shot this film and has since went onto films like “The Shawshank Redemption” and “No Country for Old Men”. Though beautiful shot, the film does not have any legs to keep you entertained and interested throughout. If you are looking to check out the work of Sade in films, I recommend his related work in 2000’s “Quills”. Though “Justine” is one of his more notable novels, I just wasn’t completely drawn in for the feature version.

The film is a story story of two sisters, one morally pure and one full of lust, who are cast out into a world ruled by crude desires. The girls are faced with the murder, prostitution, bondage and branding. These are all aspects that can only be told by Marquis de Sade. It is a tale of desires, pleasures and corruption of the innocence. The two completely different sisters needs to find a way to break free of this world before they are encompassed.

The 1080p transfer is good but not out of this world. Redemption has done a lot better in the past for sure. The audio includes a LPCM 2.0 track, which works well but is also nothing special for this film. The special features are also not very impressive. There are some standard definition interviews from director Chris Boger and screenwriter Ian Cullen. There is “Alternate Title Sequences”, which includes the English and French titles. Lastly there is also the Theatrical Trailer and Photo Gallery included.

Read Complete Article
Filed Under: DVD/Blu-Ray Reviews Tagged With: bluray, de, justine, marquis, review, sades, ...

Interview with Sven De Caluwe

Sven “Svencho” de Caluwe is the lead vocalist for the heavy metal band Aborted. The Belgium based band is preparing to release its 7th full length studio record titled “Global Flatine”. Media Mikes had the chance to talk with Sven about the upcoming release and the tour plans for the album.

Adam Lawton: What can you tell us about the bands upcoming release titled “Global Flatline”?
Sven De Caluwe: The album is scheduled to come out in a couple weeks. We recorded the album this past summer in Denmark between festivals. I think the album is the most strenuous and variant record the band has done thus far. We are pretty excited to get the album out there.

AL: Was it hard recording between playing various festivals?
SDC: We actually did the record prior to playing. We had about two weeks of practice prior to recording. The recording process took about three weeks and right after that we were out playing shows. We made sure that our record came first and that it was completed before we did any further shows.

AL: How do think this release compares to the bands first release from 1999 titled “The Purity of Perversion”?
SDC: Compared to our first album “Global Flatline” is way more professional. With having a budget we were able to take the album once it was all recorded to Denmark and have it mixed and mastered by Jacob Hansen.

AL: What type of pre-production did the band do to prepare for the recording sessions?
SDC: We did pre-production for every song accept one. There were two other songs that we didn’t have enough time to complete.We may end up finishing those tracks and putting them out later this year. Everything was pretty standard with how we normally prepare to go into the studio.

AL: Were there any major changes from the demo versions of the songs to the recorded versions?
SDC: When we were demoing songs we used programmed drums. When you bring real drums into the picture they obviously make a big difference. The songs had a much better feel and we were a lot more creative. We added a few extra harmonies and guitar parts as we had some extra time to experiment with the songs. Other than that the main structure of the songs stayed fairly the same.

AL: Are there any songs from the new record that you and the rest of the band are looking forward to playing live?
SDC: We have already started playing the title track off the album “Global Flatline”. On the upcoming tour we are planning on playing “The Origin of Disease” as well as “Expurgation Euphoria”. It’s hard choosing songs as we like them all but, we just shot a video for “The Origin of Disease” and “Global Flatline” is the first single from the album. It’s an obvious choice to play songs that have already been released ahead of time so fans are familiar with them when they come see us live.

AL: What are the tour plans for the band this year?
SDC: We are going to be touring Brazil starting in a couple months. From there we go to Europe for a tour with Decapitated. We also have a bunch of other European festivals and headlining dates booked around that time as well. In April we plan to be touring the states. All the details on that should be released soon.

Read Complete Article
Filed Under: Interviews, Music Interviews Tagged With: caluwe, de, interview, sven

DVD Review “El Monstro De Mar”

Directed by: Stuart Simpson
Starring Norman Yemm, Nelli Scarlet
Rated: Unrated
Distributed by: Vicious Circle Films
Run Time: 75 minutes

Film: 2.5 out of 5 stars
Extras: 3.5 out of 5 stars

With a tag line on the box “Killer Vixens vs. The Creature from the Deep”, I was hoping this film was going to be a kick-ass low budget creature feature. Unfortunately we only get a real glimpse of this creature in the last five minutes of the film. The only redeeming fact of this film are special effects in the closing scene but they come too little too late. This film is trying to act like a Grindhouse film but plays more like a PG-13 retro-rip off.

The film follow three crazy hired killers, Beretta, Blondie and Snowball, who hideaway in a small beach side community in order to avoid heat from their last kill. Of course the town has a dark secret and the local old seaman, Joseph, warn them not to go in the water. Since the girls don’t follow any rules, they do and they awake the sea creature, the Kraken! The vixens must team up with Joseph’s grand daughter, Hannah, to fight for their lives against this creature who has the lust for blood.

The special features are actually pretty sweet overall. They include an exclusive interview with the Monstro Girls, audio commentaries with the cast and crew, a behind-the-scenes featurette, deleted scenes, and two short films, “Acid Spiders” and “Sickie”, from Director Stuart Simpson. Overall worth checking out.

Read Complete Article
Filed Under: DVD/Blu-Ray Reviews Tagged With: de, dvd, el, mar, monsto, review, ...
Page 1 of 1