Fall Offerings - Halloween Style! - Veda Rains

As some of you know (if you're one of the few - nay, the PROUD- who read this blog), I love autumn. The cool weather, the gloomy skies, colorful leaves covering the ground... I could go on and on. Yes, it is still August, but I knew it was time to get excited for Fall when I got an email from Bath & Body Works telling its mailing list that yes, it's true! Sweet Cinnamon Pumpkin (my fave Fall scent) is back in stock and ready for purchase! Oh, and, uh... all of the awesome (arguably) Halloween-themed movies coming out!
Yes, I love my horror films. In high school, I went through a period where I bought a ton of cheap horror film VHS's (remember those? Well, ya better. I was still purchasing them up til 2006) every other week during the Fall season. But it's not those films I'm talking about. Blame it on the kid at heart that lies within me, but I'm super excited about all of the kid-centric movies this year! Here are the trailers for the 3 that caught my eye. What do you think? Will you go see any of them? Be honest now...

ParaNorman - Out Now!
If your partial to Coraline (the film adaptation), you may like ParaNorman. It's by the same people! And you're just in time, because it comes out in theaters this weekend!

Hotel Transylvania - September 28th
It's a cute premise. Where do all the monsters and creatures go to get away from ordinary people? And what happens when an average Joe winds up there and falls for Dracula's daughter?

Frankenweenie - October 5th
We showed you the trailer the instant it came out! When Victor loses his dog, he finds a way to bring him back to life! I loved the original, and I'm excited to see how they expand the world of Frankenweenie.

Alterna-tainment: Webseries - Joan Finch

     I highly reccomend you check out the Platoon of Power Squadron, a.k.a. POPS, on PineappleBoyFilms channel. Youtuber Jake Jarvi wrote and directed this series about four roommates who are dealing with their superpowers. Jarvi also stars in POPS with his real life wife Eliza. It has a rough start but its really entertaining and each episode, which air in several parts, is more impressive and well crafted than the previous one. There have been 5 episodes so far and 6 and 7 are on the way. Get caught up before episode 6 airs. It won't be hard, they go really quickly. 

     Jarvi keeps his audience updated with his blog and weekly vlogs (video blogs). Its a really cool thing they've done with building the series and have a strong community around the show.

     Dragon Age: Redemption is a 6 part webseries from Bioware staring Felicia Day based on one of their popular video games. Even if you haven't played Dragon Age you should give the series a watch. It's got incredible production value for a webseries. The storys interesting, the acting and swordplay are convincing. It has a satisfying conclusion and a series like this is a fun variation of the web genre. 

Honorable mention is Dr. Horrible's Sing-Along-Blog since I'm trusting everyones already seen it many times.

Twin Falls Idaho (1999) - Joan Finch

A Top Ten Favorite Film

     One of my all-time favorites is a film by the brothers, Mark and Michael Polish, from 1999 called Twin Falls Idaho. The film centers around three main characters, their inter-relationships and their difficult situations. At the heart of Twin Falls is conjoined twins Francis and Blake Falls whose single body may no longer support both brothers and their struggle with possible separation. Penny is a curious girl with serious financial problems. After meeting the brothers under strange circumstances Penny works to bring them out into the world. There's a profound personal dilemma for each character which is completely relatable. The way each relate and affect each other is entrancing.

     Twin Falls has beautifully understated performances supported by great production design, cinematography and direction.

     Twin Falls was an independent film made on a tiny budget and has one of the best commentary tracks ever. There's alot of history behind making the film thats not only interesting for filmmakers but generally entertaining. I won't lie, there is a little velveeta at the end but by the time you get there you probably won't mind. Its way better than the trailer makes it out to be and completely worth watching. I really loved it. 

About Face - A 'Short of it' Review (Veda Rains)

Documentary Takes a Look at Modeling Throughout the Years

I was flipping through the channels - like I usually do on a week night when I want to unwind - and remembered hearing about this documentary airing on HBO about models. I really didn't know what it entailed, but the premise sounded interesting enough. I'd never really thought much about what a model's life was like...
In About Face (directed by Timothy Greenfield-Sanders), viewers get a firsthand account of life growing up, growing into and growing out of the model world. For the most part, a model's life is anything but glamorous-especially for the ground-breakers of the 40s (even into the early 80s). Some of the older models reveal that early on, they had to hustle through the crowded room of buyers and try not to have their clothing touched. For many of them, they were simply the "hanger."
Various models of years past sit down over the course of the doc, and share their intimate details of life and the pressures of staying thin, getting involved in drugs, overcoming racial obstacles and growing past their prime (are they for or against Botox, etc.).
While all of the stories are very interesting (and some, very funny), they only scratch the surface of what could have been a really meaty doc. The subject is so vague, perhaps it should have been split into a few parts-rightfully giving focus and depth to each subject.
I still enjoyed it and would recommend it to others who have a half-interest or full-blown passion in fashion history. Models have certainly come a long way, but it's still a tough business (a business I do not envy after watching this doc).

New Arrested Development Episodes - Joan Finch

Caught this article floating around the interweb about Ron Howard gathering up the old Arrested Development cast for some new episodes to show on Netflix.

For my many friends with a taste for this I just wanted to share. Hopefully this will increase the chances of my favorite cancelled shows to get a second life.

Why You Shouldn't Watch Men In Black III in the Theater - Joan Finch

This article is about the bizarre fact that Men In Black III has overtaken the amazing and highly anticipated Joss Whedon film The Avengers in the box office. Why, oh why is this happening?

To start I have nothing negative to say out the Men In Black III. Actually, I haven't seen it and probubly won't until its out on video or airing some Saturday on TBS. Don't get me wrong, I like the Men In Black story. I'd give the original film 5 shiny nerd stars.  The idea that a re-hasing of old material could squash the opportunities for new stories just really bugs me.  Sequels aren't the problem, re-hashing is the problem.

If you haven't seen The Avengers movie than take this as my ardent advice to go immediately. I'm not doing a review of the film because that would be quite lengthy and a complete rave. Just know its brilliant and go see it. If you have seen the film than I'm willing to bet you loved it and are debating on when to see it again. Now. As soon as you can you should.

Wandering back to my point....the question is simple. Would you rather see a sequel to Men in Black or The Avengers? Now understand that your movie going choices are your vote so vote early and often.  Because in the demo-crazy of the studio industry the voice heard loudest is the box office.

There seem to be alot of flaws with this argument, I know, but this is what I honestly think.

Happy Memorial Day! Sneak Peek!

I hope everyone had a good Memorial Day (and took a moment to say "thank you" to those who have served). This weekend went by way too fast! I know I've been saying this for a while, but we are getting "SO CLOSE" to sharing with you a few fun projects we have worked on over the past year. If anyone knows of good royalty free (and cost-free) music sites that have traditional pop music like The Chordettes's Mr. Sandman, let us know! This (finding that type of music) has proven to be the most difficult part of the process for one of our projects. To hold you over, here's a set pic of some of our awesome cast from that project. Enjoy!