The Next Three Days Is Smart, Put Together Well By Art Byrd

I was hesitant about seeing The Next Three Days. The storyline follows Lara (played by Elizabeth Banks), a wife thrown in jail for a murder. Lara’s husband, played by Russell Crowe, comes up with an escape plan.

But John is just a college instructor, an ordinary guy. I wondered how they could pull off the breakout without the film leaning towards utter stupidity.

But they did. The Next Three Days is one of the smartest and sharpest movies I have seen in 2010. The movie is written and directed by Paul Haggis, who directed the Oscar winner Crash.

After exhausting all means for an appeal, Lara and John realize that she will be in prison for the rest of her life. Their young son, Luke, is having a hard time with Lara in jail.

The way John puts the breakout plan in action was very interesting. Especially when he finds out -- well into the plan -- that Lara will be moved from a county jail to a prison in three days.

First, he finds career jail escapist Damon Pennington, played in a great cameo by Liam Neeson. Pennington has become an author entertaining readers with his exploits. John learns from Damon how to observe a break-in pattern in jail security, how to flee before the city wide perimeters are set up by police, and the importance of getting passports.

John goes to the shady part of town to get passports but is beaten and robbed by street thugs. At every turn John runs into some sort of roadblock. Then his luck turns around: he gets the passports and learns how to break into a medical truck and access Lara’s medical records on the Internet. There is a great scene where John uses one of the thugs that beat him up to get money from drug dealers.

What I enjoyed was that most of the steps of the plan were explained as John was doing them.

Haggis’s use of flashbacks was crucial to the story. Did Lara do the crime or not? Throughout the film, we are not sure. Neither is John, even when Lara confronts him about her guilt or innocence.

The movie was shot in Pittsburgh. The city became part of the action with car and subway chases. 

The Next Three Days is not doing well at the box office, but the movie is smart and seems very realistic. But even more than the action, the heart of the movie is watching a husband’s willingness to do anything to believe in his wife’s innocence and to keep his family together.

Edited by Michele Ristich Gatts

The Girl Who Kicked the Hornet’s Nest Closes Book on Great Movie Series By Art Byrd

One of the hottest books of 2010 is The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo (TGWTDT), which was written by former journalist Stieg Larsson. He died in 2004 before the book and its sequels -- The Girl Who Played with Fire (TGWPWF) and The Girl Who Kicked the Hornet’s Nest (TGWKTHN) -- became popular. Very popular.

The books were turned into three movies with the same titles which also are very cool. Stieg Larsson was Swedish, so the movies were made in Sweden.

Last fall, I was in Cleveland and had a chance to see TGWTDT but I went to another movie. I’ve regretted that not seeing the movie on the big screen.

The Swedish producers and filmmakers of TGWTDT have done something unheard of in the way of sequels: They released TGWPWF within months of TGWTDT being in theaters. Now they have released the final chapter of the trilogy, The Girl Who Kicked the Hornet’s Nest.

Within the last month, I have seen TGWTDT and TGWPWF on DVD. Both movies were excellent. They left me very interested in seeing how it all ends.

All three movies center on Lisbeth Salander, a computer hacker whose punk rock look, complete with piercings, makes her an unlikely heroine. But she is that -- and much more. 

In TGWPWF, Lisbeth (played amazingly by Noomi Rapace) is set up for three murders. She is on the run while trying to solve the murders. In the end, she finds out that her own father, Zalachenko, a crime lord, is part of the conspiracy against her. 

In a bloody showdown, Lisbeth is shot in the leg, shoulder and head by her father. She summons enough strength to strike her father with an axe. Surprisingly, he lives to be put in the same hospital as Lisbeth.

It turns out that as a young girl, Lisbeth set Zalachenko on fire because he abused her mother. In TGWKTHN, Lisbeth is in the hospital recovering from her injuries. The police still want to charge her with attempting to kill her father.

Another integral character of the all three movies is investigative journalist Mikael Blomkvist, played by Michael Nyqvist. He believes Lisbeth is innocent and strike out to prove it. The conspirators, a secret group, are determined to silence Lisbeth. They threaten Mikael and his colleagues at the magazine he works for, the Millennium.

TGWTKHN has a lot of “how are the heroes going to win?” moments. The evidence they have and need is taken; people are beaten up and followed around. Lisbeth is put on trial and the findings slowly start to prove her innocence. At that point, the movie picks up speed, yet it slower than the two other movies.

I didn’t read the books. I knew I couldn’t wait for the TGWKTHN to hit DVD release, so I went to Cleveland to see the last film on the big screen. It was worth it, but the last scene with Lisbeth and Mikael provided a weak ending.

Currently, there is an American version of The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo being filmed. It’s directed by David Fincher, whose last movie was The Social Network. I can’t predict how it will be, but I can tell you the Swedish version of TGWTDT will take you to the edge of your couch.

Edited by Michele Ristich Gatts

Unstoppable On Track with Nonstop Action By Art Byrd

IDenzel Washington and Director Tony Scott teamed up for my favorite film of all time, Man On Fire. Unstoppable is their fifth collaboration.

The movie takes the audience on a huge roller coaster ride with plenty of crashes. The movie starts with two dumb dudes -- Dewey, played by Ethan Suplee (My Name Is Earl), and Gilleece, played by T.J Miller (She’s Outta My League) -- who work in the freight yard with trains. 

Dewey is told to move a train and Gilleece notices the air brake cables are disconnected. Dewey disregards the warning because they are only moving the train a short distance. Then, after putting the train in a gear that gives it a little power, Dewey jumps out of the cab to manually adjust something on the track. Of course, the train picks up speed and chubby Dewey can’t get back in to stop it. The train is off on its own.

I like that the threat is from a human error rather than a terrorist plot or a mad man trying to blow something up. The train is now the villain.

Rosario Dawson, often seen in independent films and Web projects, proves she’s worthy of the big screen as Connie, the station dispatcher trying to deal with the runaway train. Of course, things can only get worse, and she discovers the train is carrying deadly chemicals.

Denzel plays Frank Barnes, a locomotive engineer with more than 25 years on the job who must train an apprentice, Will, played by Chris Pine (Star Trek). There’s a good chance Will may replace Frank, and that creates a tension between the two. Then Frank and Will find out the runaway train is heading towards their locomotive. The near collision was very good and heart-stopping.

Frank and Will decide to go after 777 by hooking up to it to slow it down.

Unstoppable is like a monster movie where the runaway train takes on its own devilish like behavior by gaining speed and smashing things. It even has a devilish name, 777. The movie is visually gritty with a 70s film look.

It also moves so fast that it was dizzying at times. It has all the movie mainstays of two main characters who dislike each other but come together for a dramatic climax as they (predictably) stop the devil train before it reaches the town and blows-up everyone.

Despite the reliance on formula, Unstoppable was worth the ride. And we have a local connection to the movie: Poland native Jeff Hochedoner has a great supporting role, portraying Clark.  

On a side note, if you want a laugh, you should see the spoof of Unstoppable from Saturday Night Live. Here is a link: http://www.hulu.com/watch/193067/saturday-night-live-unstoppable-trailer


Edited by Michele Ristich Gatts

Hereafter Makes You Look at Life Differently By Art Byrd

In the past years, director Clint Eastwood has made amazing films without being “Clint Eastwood: The Actor” in them.

Last year, Eastwood made Invictus, the story of Nelson Mandela and his country, South Africa. The film didn’t make a lot of money at the box office. It seems the audience has a hard time accepting an Eastwood film without him grunting or beating someone up.

Eastwood’s latest film is Hereafter, which tells the story of three people dealing after-death experiences. The first story is of Marie, played by Cecile de France, a French news anchor. While on vacation, she runs for her life from a tsunami -- a giant tidal wave that does a huge amount of damage and washes people away.

The tsunami scene is so realistic that it’s frightening. We get the experience of what it may feel like facing such a disaster. Marie is thought to be dead, but she comes out of it with a “crossing over” experience that changes her life.

The next story is of two young twins, Marcus and Jason (Frankie and George McLaren), who have a unique bond. One of the twins dies in a car accident. The remaining twin has a hard time dealing with the loss. He goes on a search for psychics to help him communicate with his dead brother. Most of the so-called psychics prove to be fake or not too helpful. On the Internet, the twin finds George Lonegan -- a psychic who doesn’t do any readings anymore.

Matt Damon (Bourne series, Ocean’s 11 series) plays George, a man who’s haunted by his ability to communicate with the dead. One of the elements of Hereafter I really like was that the film explained how George got his psychic sense: During a childhood surgery he died several times. He emerged from surgery with the ability to speak with the spirits of the dead.

I don’t want to give too much away, but I will tell you Eastwood does a great job on having the three stories converge. The ending is one I would not have predicted, but it was perfect. Hereafter is a cinematic, heartfelt ride that’s long but worth the time.

Edited by Michele Ristich Gatts

You Will Meet a Tall Dark Stranger Presents Several Stories a Woody Allen Way By Art Byrd

Woody Allen, the genius behind such legendary films as Annie Hall and Manhattan, releases a film a year – which is really otherwise unheard of in the cinematic world. But the last Woody Allen movie to play in a Youngstown theater was Vicky Cristina Barcelona back in 2008. Like all great treasures, you have to hunt his movies down. 

Recently I donned my Indiana Jones fedora and tracked down the latest Woody Allen film: You Will Meet a Tall Dark Stranger. I had to drive to Cleveland’s Cedar Lee to see it. No problem, it was a great sunny day and I had some great iPod jams for the trip.

As do most directors, Allen has a signature style. It’s back You Will Meet a Tall Dark Stranger, which offers an all-star ensemble cast presenting interwoven stories, moving in and out of each and performing some cool voiceovers. The film explores the human condition by sharing the characters lives and how they cope with them.
In the past, Allen often has used New York City as his movie backdrop. But for the last few films, he has used foreign locations -- such as London and Barcelona. This movie is set in London, where confused, middle-aged Helena, played by Gemma Jones (Harry Potter and Bridget Jones series), visits psychic Cristal, played by Pauline Collins (Paradise Road). Helena wants to know what her life will be like after her husband, Alfie, played by Anthony Hopkins (The Silence of the Lambs and Titus), leaves her.

Next Helena goes to see her daughter, Sally, played Naomi Watts (Mulholland Dr., 21 Grams), who set her mum up with the psychic so she would not harm herself. Sally’s husband, Roy, played by Josh Brolin (W, Milk), is a medical school graduate who became a writer with one successful novel and is struggling with the second.

In the movie, the male characters do stupid things. Alfie tries to regain his youth with a bachelor pad, sports car and tanning. He becomes so lonely that he hires Charmaine, a call girl played by the ever-funny Judy Punch (Dinner For Schmucks), to show that he still has it. Then, he announces that he wants to marry her. Allen shows a younger woman and older man relationship slowly wearing thin.

Roy is attracted to Dia, played by Freida Pinto (Slumdog Millionaire), a woman he sees in a window of the building next his. Later, Roy does something that is totally wrong involving a writer who is in a coma, which in typical Allen style creates an interesting, humorous moment.

Basically, the movie is about people who are not satisfied with what they have.

The cast rounds out with Antonio Banderas (the Shrek series) as Greg, an art dealer who Sally works for and likes.

The acting is top notch; you really believe the characters are going through their trials and tribulations.

There is so much going on in the movie, but you are not confused as you are taken from one emotion to another. I enjoyed the movie, and Allen does a good job of wrapping it up with an understandable but weak conclusion.

You Will Meet a Tall Dark Stranger should be renamed You Will Meet Some Very Strange People.

Edited by Michele Ristich Gatts

Easy A Offers Easy Laugh, Star in the Making By Art Byrd

In the 80s, there was teen movie after teen movie. The good ones were The Breakfast Club, Pretty In Pink and Sixteen Candles. They were made by the late great John Hughes.

Now in 2010, there is a coming-of-age movie that looked good enough to attract me as an adult. The movie is Easy A and the actress in it who caught my eye is red-haired Emma Stone.

I have seen Stone in bit parts in Superbad, The House Bunny and Ghosts of Girlfriends Past. This is the first time that the almost 22 year old is carrying the whole movie. She does it well. First, she is a throwback to Lucille Ball. Stone has a unique look -- she not overly beautiful, but with her wide blue eyes, bright smile and like Ball, her distinctive red hair, she is adorable and funny.

Stone plays Olive Penderghast, a high school student who flies under the radar in the popularity department. One afternoon, she is talking with her best friend, Rhiannon, played by Aly Michalka (Disney 365), who is a gossip. Olive tells Rhiannon a harmless story about hooking up with a college student. She makes the story out to be more than what Olive said.

The story is heard around the school. The once unknown Olive is now the school floozy.

Olive receives attention she never had before. Then she takes her reputation to a new low by pretending to have sex with her gay friend, Brandon, played Dan Byrd (TV’s Cougar Town), at a party with an audience outside the door. She wants him to gain a reputation and escape being bullied.

Now Olive is labeled as easy. She embraces the label by embroidering a scarlet A on her clothes, mirroring Hester Prynne, the character ridiculed for adultery in the book The Scarlet Letter, which Olive is studying in school.

Then other guys start to plead with Olive to up their reputation by saying she made out with them. They offer gifts cards as payment. The situation gets out of hand.

I like that the movie deals with Olive’s situation in a real way.

Two highlights of the movie are Olive’s parents, Rosemary and Dill, played by Patricia Clarkson (Vicky Cristina Barcelona) and Stanley Tucci (Julie & Julia, The Devil Wears Prada). They were witty -- kind of like hippies with a coolness that shows affection toward themselves and Olive. They showed that Olive had a good, stable home life.

There is one scene with Olive, her parents and her adopted brother, Chip, played wonderfully by Bryce Clyde Jenkins (My Homework Ate My Dog). This really showed the closeness of the family.

The movie also has real romance between Olive and Todd, played by Penn Badgley (TV’s Gossip Girl), who has secretly liked her since they were kids. Turns out that she feels the same way. Despite all the madness in Olive’s life, he is there to give her strength.

The movie has a great supporting cast. Two standouts are Amanda Bynes (TV’s What I Like about You) as the righteous religious girl trying to condemn Olive, and Thomas Haden Church (Spider-Man 3), Olive’s favorite teacher who is trying to work within his bounds to understand the new Olive.

Emma Stone is a star in the making. Easy A showcases her comedic talents with a sprinkle of drama. The film is an easy laugh, but one that shows how a small fib can explode into a big lie.

Edited by Michele Ristich Gatts

Eat, Love Pray Takes Us On A Great Cinematic Trip. by Art Byrd

We all like to eat, we all want to be loved and some of us pray. One movie has put those three elements together.

The movie is based on the 2006 bestseller memoir, Eat Pray Love by Elizabeth Gilbert
The story is about a woman who takes a year off and travels to Rome, India and Bali to find herself.

If there is any women or actress that I would follow on a cinematic trip like this it would be Oscar winner Julia Roberts (Erin Brockovich, Closer).  Roberts is perfect for this film because she can show so many ranges of emotions for the changes the character is going through. Roberts’s smile can light up Powers Auditorium, her laugh is full and her sorrow is heartfelt.

The movie starts with Liz (Roberts), a travel writer who visits Ketut Liyer played by Hadi Subiyanto in Bali who is a local medicine man. In the interview, they shared a moment when Ketut tells Liz that her life will change and they will meet again.

After returning to her life, she starts to realize that she is not happy and doesn’t want to be married anymore to Stephen played by Billy Crudup (Watchman).

Still trying to find herself on her own, Liz meets an actor David played by James Franco (Spiderman movie series, Milk) who takes her life in a different direction which she likes. Then, Liz starts to feel dissatisfy again.

She explains to her good friend, Delia played by Viola Davis (Doubt, Law Abiding Citizen) . She needed to change and tell her about the man from Bali. I love this line from Liz, “When a man who looks like Yoda hands you a prophecy you have to respond.” Liz decides to leave for a year.

The greatness of this movie is to watch someone live the life they want.

In Rome, Liz is tries to learn Italian. Soon, she is meeting people,  eating great food and speaking fluent Italian. There is a great scene where she and her Sweden friend, Sofi played Tuva Novotny by order pizza but Sofi doesn't want to eat the pizza because she doesn’t want look fat. Liz convinces her to eat and enjoy. Then, they go shopping for bigger pants. Very cute scene. The scene is Rome are my favorites.

Then, Liz goes to India where she is living in a cult like retreat. Her insecurities return but there is Richard played by Richard Jenkins (The Visitor) who has a terrible situation that he is dealing with. He teaches Liz to let go.

One the last stop, Liz reunites with Ketut who doesn’t remember her until she shows him the pictures he gave her.

He starts to guide her on a spiritual journey. On a bike ride, Liz is almost run over by Felipe played by Javier Bardem in his car.

Their courtship is very sincere, funny and romantic. 

Eat Pray Love was directed by Ryan Murphy who created Nip/Tuck and the current hit, Glee. Murphy makes use of the great locations that set it up that we are exploring along with Liz.

Eat Pray Love can make you feel great that you went on the journey with Liz and envious that many of us may not take a year off for such a journey.

Edited by Michele Ristich Gatts

The Social Network Gives Audience Look At Different Facebook Page By Art Byrd

I was reluctant to be on Facebook for awhile because I am really a private person.  At the suggestion of Michele, the newsletter’s editor, I signed up for the social network. To be honest, I still have mixed feelings about it. Yet, I’ve reconnected with old friends, family and feel closer to current friends. So it has been a good thing.

Facebook has become popular world wide, but many may not be familiar with the story behind its creation. They get that chance with The Social Network. The story is based on the book The Accidental Billionaires by Ben Mezrich. The screenplay was written by Aaron Sorkin (Sports Night, The West Wing) and directed by David Fincher (The Curious Case of Benjamin Button).

What makes the movie so interesting is that the events of the story happened in the last eight years. Mark Zuckerberg, Facebook’s CEO, and others in the film are real people. It seems the names have not been changed to protect the innocent.

The cast in The Social Network is so strong it’s frightening. Let’s start with one of my favorite young actors, Jessie Eisenberg (Zombieland, Adventureland and Roger Dodger), who plays Zuckerberg. Eisenberg’s portrayal is incredibly intense as the driven Harvard student who wants to be accepted by social groups at the Ivy-League school. One night after a relationship crash, he embarks on building a social network through his computer, initially called Facemash.  

Zuckerberg does some cruel things, especially to Eduardo, played by Andrew Garfield ( Spiderman in the upcoming reboot). Garfield did a great job playing Zuckerberg’s best friend and the co-founder of Facebook, who was constantly dealing with Zuckerberg’s irrational behavior, trying to figure out his role in the company, and coping with a crazy jealous girlfriend, Alice, played Malese Jow. It was very funny to see Eduardo deal with Alice, Zuckerberg and Facebook at the same time. 

A surprising casting choice is pop singer Justin Timberlake, who plays Sean Parker, creator of Napster. To Timberlake’s credit, he’s been in such films as Alpha Dog and Edison Force and does sport some acting chops.

Rooney Mara plays Zuckerberg’s former girlfriend, Erica Albright. After she decided they should only be friends, Zuckerberg wrote nasty things about her on his blog. Mara didn’t play a weak woman; she was extremely strong, especially in a scene where Zuckerberg comes up to her while she sitting with a table full of friends. She put him in his place in a very direct way.

The movie mixes such events with different court depositions involving Zuckerberg and people who sued him over the creation of Facebook. Usually this technique would bog down a movie, but Fincher does an excellent job of making the transition smooth for the audience. It’s in the deposition scenes where Eisenberg’s acting hits a supreme level. He was icy cool and calm.  

The Social Network brings to the screen real-life events surrounding the birth of the most famous Web site to date. Whether you are interested in how Facebook began or not, you will be enlightened and entertained by this movie. Sometimes, it is personal and not just business.

edited by Michele Ristich Gatts

Wall Street: Money Never Sleeps Wakes Many to Hidden World of Finance By Art Byrd

If a movie is a hit at the box office -- with great characters and an interesting storyline -- we can expect a sequel within two or three years. In this case, Wall Street: Money Never Sleeps was 23 years in the making. It is worth the wait.

Original Wall Street (1987) director Oliver Stone oversees the sequel by blending great creative shots and screen eye-candy such as spilt screens, animation and graphics to the emphasizes points of the story.

The film is set in 2008 at the collapse of the financial market in the U.S. The story centers on Wall Street go-getter Jake Moore, played Shia LaBeouf (Transformers, Disturbia), who works for Keller Zebel, a well known Wall Street firm. One of the original founders of the firm and Jake’s mentor, Lou, played by Frank Langella (Frost/Nixon), is under stress due to financial trouble the firm is experiencing.

After a heart-to-heart about the firm with Lou, Jake still believes in him and the firm. Lou goes to the Federal Reserve, the central bank of the United States, to get financial help, but his effort is halted by Bretton James, played by Josh Brolin (W), who is at a rival firm. James offers to buy Lou’s firm at a bottom-basement price. Lou balks at the offer.

Jake is shaken with the news of Lou’s suicide by jumping in front of a subway car.  His bright future is traveling into a long dark tunnel.

Jake’s world is not completely dark, as the light of his life is his girlfriend, Winnie, played by all-kinds-of-cute Oscar nominee Carey Mulligan (An Education). Winnie runs a popular political blog. On top of that, Winnie is Gordon Gekko’s estranged daughter.

This is a crucial twist in the story because this throws Gekko – the antagonist of Wall Street --into the mix. He is played by Michael Douglas, who won an Oscar for his 1987 performance. He may be up for another Oscar after his performance in this movie.

Gekko has been in prison for several years. There is a great scene with him getting his belongings back, especially a huge cell phone.

Months later, Gekko rebrands himself as an author with a book called “Is Greed Good?” He is speaking in front of students and is in the audience. After the speech, Jake forces himself upon Gekko by saying “ I am going to marry your daughter.” The two became fast friends. We learn that Gekko has not lost his Wall Street, shark-like sharpness as he gives Jake some advice on life and stocks while riding the subway.

Winnie warns Jake that her father will hurt both of them. Gekko proves her somewhat right. His actions indicate that prison did not give him a conscience.

Wall Street: Money Never Sleeps offers a solid story with an unexpected twist and situations. The movie even features original protagonist Bud Fox, played by Charlie Sheen, in an interesting cameo with Gekko, who seems not to hold a grudge even though Fox helped bring him down.

The movie can leave the moviegoer confused with the Wall Street terms and jargon. Still, Wall Street: Money Never Sleep was worth the 23-year wait with a storyline that affected us all financially and offers the comeback of one cinema’s greatest villains (or heroes?) in Gekko, as well as featuring great characters who move the story. 

One guarantee, you will not fall asleep in the theater and you may get a different respect for Wall Street and its much hidden world.

edited by Michele Ristich Gatts

The Town Gives Great Tour of Criminal Element By Art Byrd

Bank heist movies seem to be the rage of late. First came Takers, now The Town seeks to entertain audiences with a story about bank robbers in Boston. 

The movie stars and is directed by actor Ben Affleck. He plays Doug, a guy with a job at a gravel company who moonlights as a bank robber. Doug and his career-criminal friend, Jem, played by dynamic hot head Jeremy Renner (The Hurt Locker), rob banks with a precision and intelligence you would expect from Harvard graduates --not from guys who seem to have a degree in street crime.

The opening sequence has Doug, Jem and two other members of their crew robbing a Boston bank. They definitely know what they are doing; their moves are well planned as they microwave the security tapes and pour bleach all over the bank to ruin traces of DNA.

During the robbery, the crew takes Claire, a bank manager played by Rebecca Hall (Vicky Cristina Barcelona), hostage because the silent alarm was set off and they want her as negotiating tool if necessary.  Later, the crew releases Claire near a river.

Now enters FBI agent Frawley, played by Mad Men’s Jon Hamm, to talk with Claire and investigate the bank robbery. Hamm is very good with his pit-bull attitude in trying to find the bank robbers.

Jem is worried that Claire can identify them because she lives in their neighborhood. He wants to hurt Claire, where Doug wants to try another approach. Doug follows Claire and gets her routine as if he is scoping out a bank job.

Finally, he makes contact with her at a Laundromat. They start to get to know each other. Doug starts to fall for Claire and she for him. She has no idea that Doug is one of the crew that took her hostage, which was a nice twist by Affleck.

Agent Flawley is gathering information on Doug, Jem and the others. Now, he must catch them in the act.

Meanwhile, Fergus “Fergie” Colm, a local crime boss played by Pete Postlethwaite, has a flower shop where he actually cuts flowers. He wants the crew to do another heist.

Doug wants to leave Boston with Claire and doesn’t want anything to do with the upcoming job. But Fergie threatens Doug because he knows about his relationship with Claire. With Claire in possible danger, Doug agrees to do the job but has a bad feeling about it.

The job is not at a bank but targets concession money at Boston’s Fenway Park baseball stadium. Of course, things go wrong during the heist. The crew is trapped. The highlight of this movie is the shootout scene with the crew and law enforcement. It was so realistic, you felt you were in the middle of the shooting. Bullets chipping walls and spilling into the actor’s eyes.

One of the standout performances in the movie is from beautiful Blake Lively (Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants, TV’s Gossip Girl) as Krista, a single mom with an Oxycontin addiction. She and Doug had an on-and-off relationship. She had the Boston accent and a look that took her natural beauty down a couple notches.

The Town is a very stylish film with a great car chase scene, realistic bank and stadium robberies.

The movie’s results are predictable with who dies and lives, but the ending has interesting twist with a softness to it which is a relief after the extreme hardness throughout the film.

The Town gives an interesting look at the kind of people you don’t want to bank on. 

Edited by Michele Ristich Gatts

Let Us Introduce You Meet: Natalia Lepore Hagan Position: Actress/Dancer currently starring in The Youngstown Playhouse production of Chicago as Velma.

A BYRD’S EYE VIEW: How have you prepared for your role as Velma?


 NATALIA LEPORE HAGAN: I was really lucky to land Velma Kelly because she is so similar to me. She is sarcastic, witty, spunky and edgy, so it was easy to pull from my own experiences to create her character. I also took some pointers from the greats by watching clips on YouTube of Bebe Neuwirth and Brenda Braxton. But in the end our director, David Jendre, told us to make the characters ourselves and that’s what I believe the whole cast is doing amazingly.



ABEV: What can people expect from the playhouse production of Chicago?


NLH: People can expect to be wowed! The production is amazing, from the talent of the cast to the outstanding 14 piece orchestra on stage with us. The sound is booming, the girls look gorgeous, the guys look great. All together, David has put together a knockout. I don’t think Youngstown has seen a production like this in a while; I think it will be remembered for a long time. People don’t usually expect Chicago to be as funny as it is and that’s what I think will surprise them the most. It truly is a comedy and a drama smashed into two hours on stage with minimal scenery and huge talent.



ABEV: Has your background in ballet helped in your Velma role?


NLH: Absolutely! Velma is mainly the dancing role. Every time she shows up there’s no doubt something fun is going to happen. I have about three major dance numbers that I could have never pulled off without my training. There are some difficult tricks on a chair, some splits and high kicks that would have definitely been impossible.



ABEV: Where do you hope your performing career is heading?


NLH: I just got accepted into The Ohio State University’s dance program as a transfer student. I’m hoping this will really make me 100 times better, and that when I graduate I can go out into the world of performing. I am hoping to see myself choreographing major Broadway shows someday and maybe starring in one of those productions. I have had high hopes for my career ever since I was three. There’s no turning back now. I am just so happy to have been cast in this role; Velma Kelly has been a dream of mine for years. This show has really been one of the greatest experiences in my performing career so far.

 

Natalia Lepore Hagan was born and raised in Youngstown, Ohio. She was classically trained at Ballet Western Reserve for 14 years where she studied dozens of genres of dance. She attended Baldwin Wallace College last year for Music Theater but recently transferred to The Ohio State University for dance. She has been performing in Youngstown since she was four years old. You may have seen her in The Oakland's production of Reefer Madness, where she also was one of three choreographers.

The musical Chicago will play Sept. 10, 11, 12, 17, 18 or 19, at 7:30 p.m. on Fridays and Saturdays and 2:30 p.m. on Sundays.  The Youngstown Playhouse is located at 600 Playhouse Lane, on Youngstown’s south side. For tickets contact the Playhouse for a reservation at 330-788-8739

Edited by Michele Ristich Gatts

The American Could Be Foreign to the Audience By Art Byrd

Call me a sucker, because I got sucked into seeing The American. Months ago, I saw the trailer for the film featuring George Clooney as a hit man in a foreign land. Even the poster looked cool. I watched the behind-the-scenes of the making of The American on Yahoo. I was psyched.

At this point, I followed my usual mantra about not reading or watching any reviews, as I wanted my experience to be fresh. Big mistake. They might have saved me from a very frustrating experience. 

Even my friend Jason from Los Angeles tried to throw me a movie life preserver by advising me to instead see Machete, the action flick about a man bent on revenge -- my kind of movie.

Then, at a Labor Day picnic, Scooter, another friend, said he wanted to see Machete with me for fun and laughs. But when we couldn’t see the movie until the end of the week, The American surfaced again.

The movie starts with Clooney’s character Jack with a beautiful woman, Ingrid, played by Irina Bjorklund, lying on a bed. The next morning, Jack and Ingrid take a winter’s walk in an open field. He notices some tracks and his hit man “Spidey Sense” kicks in. Jack and Ingrid take cover. Of course, someone starts shooting at them. Jack just happens to have a gun in his parka pocket and kills the shooter. Ingrid is bewildered. Jack tells her to call for help and as she is walking away, he shoots Ingrid execution style.

Jack calls his boss, Pavel, a scary-looking guy played by Johan Leypen. He tells Jack, “Don’t make friends,” so he can find out who is coming after Jack. But Jack goes to a small town in Italy and starts to make friends with a priest and a call girl.

Pavel gives Jack a job -- not to kill, but to make a weapon -- for another assassin, Mathilde, played by Thekla Reuten. Then things get crazy as Jack is hunted, betrayed and hunted again.

The film was directed by Anton Corbijn, who comes from a background of still photography. The movie scenes are long and drawn out. The characters -- including Clooney -- do things that have the audience wondering why but never getting a satisfactory answer. Clooney was dry and pouty in the movie; his charm was there but it got lost in the slow, dragging plot.

In some foreign films, they throw in things they want you to figure out later. Here’s my conclusion: the movie should have been called The Foreigner instead of The American.

Edited by Michele Ristich Gatts

Takers Will Not Steal Your Time By Art Byrd

I was on the phone with my dad when he mentioned seeing one of the best pictures of the year. For my dad to say a movie is the best, I have to take notice; Dad will walk out of a movie if he doesn’t like it. This is the guy who walked out on Star Wars because the robots were too loud!

The movie my dad loves is Takers, a bank heist movie. He’s right, it is good movie. But I don’t agree that it’s a great movie because of one word -- “greed.”

The movie begins with the Takers, the robbers, having pulled-off a flawless bank heist. The film stars Paul Walker (Fast and Furious) as John, Idris Elba (The Wire) as Gordon, Michael Ealy (Three Pounds) as Jake, Hayden Christensen (Star Wars) as A.J., and singer Chris Brown as Jesse. They take a news helicopter from an overzealous and stupid news reporter and her crew. A brilliant move as the Takers fly away with the money while the police think they have surrounded the bad guys in the building.

After the heist and the money spilt, the Takers are living the high life with houses, penthouse apartments, cars, motorcycles, and of course, hot women.

Then Ghost, played by rapper T.I., gets out of prison early. The Takers are shocked to see him. Ghost was part of their stealing crew, but during one of the heists he was shot, captured and sent to prison. Yet he didn’t rat the others out.

Now Ghost wants to rob an armored car carrying a lot of cash. The Takers have a rule that they do only one job a year. This job is to be done in five days.

Here is where greed steps in. Ghost gives the Takers a choice -- are you in or out. The Takers are in. Some of them have a bad feeling about the job. That bad feeling turns into bad things. Goodbye houses, cars, money and women, as the Takers will never be the same.

There were some great scenes, especially a running scene with Chris Brown. The supporting cast was excellent with Matt Dillon (Crash) playing marriage-damaged detective Jack Welles, his partner Eddie Hatcher played by Jay Hernandez ,and the amazing Zoe Saldana (Avatar) playing Rachel, Ghost’s ex and Jake’s fiancée.

A super performance was given by Marianne Jean- Baptiste (TV’s Without A Trace) as Naomi, Gordon’s drug-addicted sister.

The good thing is that Takers goes from being a bank heist film to something else, which I will not give away. If you like large on-screen action and a stylishly shot film, Takers will not steal your time.

Edited by Michele Ristich Gatts

The Expendables Tries to Bring Back ’80s and ’90s By Art Byrd

It was another time-warp moment for me at the movies. First, it was the A-Team, based on the TV series from the ’80s; now it’s The Expendables, with action stars from the ’80s and ’90s.

Writer, director and action icon Sylvester Stallone apparently gathered some ’80s tough guy buddies and said, “Let’s make a movie.” 

I have to admit -- even though I am huge action film fan -- when I saw The Expendables trailer, I thought it was going to be terrible one-liners, tough guy stares and excessive killing and huge explosions. Well, The Expendables was all of that, but I am not sure if it was a great action film ride. Like a roller-coaster, it had its up and downs.

The first 15 minutes is actually pretty cool, as guys known as the Expendables come in contact with Somali pirates who have American hostages. The Expendables actually give the pirates money for the hostages. Of course, the pirates want more money.

Stallone plays Barney Ross, the leader. But stop the presses -- C’mon, in a tough movie like this, Stallone…the writer! gives himself a name like Barney?! Well, Barney tells the pirates to take the money or leave it. The pirates have red lasers from the Expendables’ big guns pointed at their chests. They don’t take the money, so the Expendables take their lives.

The plot is a shaky one. Barney is talking with Mr. Church, played by Bruce Willis, about another job. When Trench, played (uncredited!) by Arnold Schwarzenegger, walks in with the sunlight behind him, his shadow is so big we know it’s him. He is a former friend of Barney’s who is going after the same job. After some verbal jibes, Arnold defers to Barney and walks out. It was a scene designed to put all three action stars in the same room. Cinematic magic went poof.

The supporting cast helps kick the movie into second gear. Jason Statham as Lee Christmas (Transporters movies), Jet Li (Lethal Weapon 4) as Ying Yang , Randy Couture (mixed martial artist) as Toll Road and huge Terry Crews as Hale Caesar (Everybody Hates Chris) give the movie its over the top crazy characters.

Mr. Church wants the Expendables to kill a South American dictator played by David Zayas (Dexter). Barney and Christmas go to South America to check the situation before the team goes. In the country, their contact is a beautiful woman, Sandra, played by Giselle Itie. 

During the recon, the military confront Barney and Christmas -- the only two white men in the country. A shootout and car/truck chase ensues. Barney, Christmas and Sandra barely get to the plane, but Sandra refuses to leave.

Later, Barney feels bad that he left Sandra. He decides to go to get her, but the team tells Barney he is not going alone. In the country, the Expendables wreak havoc on the bad guys, just blowing stuff up and killing soldiers.

The editing of the action scenes was so quick that I couldn’t make out who got shot unless they got stabbed. The movie is big on knives.

At the end, the bad guys are all gone. There is a tender moment between Barney and Sandra when she hugs him. For all the blowing things up, getting beat up and shot up  that Barney did in coming to Sandra’s aid – he gets a hug, not a passionate thank-you kiss? Even a tough guy need a kiss!

The Expendables was okay fun. Lots of killing, explosions, car chases and corny one liners may have made the movie a throwback to the ’80s and ’90s.  I am not sure if I enjoyed the time warp experience.

Edited by Michele Ristich Gatts

Scott Pilgrim vs. the World Is Real-Life Video Game/ Romantic Comedy By Art Byrd

Scott Pilgrim vs. the World  takes boy-meets-girl to a different level. When Scott Pilgrim, played by Michael Cera (Superbad, Juno), sees purple-haired Ramona Flowers, played by Mary Elizabeth Winstead (Live Free or Die Hard, Death Proof), across the room at a party, he falls hard for her. Ramona is interesting with her take on life. Scott’s world literally changes as he tries to woo Ramona and finds that the outside world has plans for him.

Scott Pilgrim vs. the World  is a visual experience that some will enjoy and other will think childish. The movie is based on a popular graphic novel. Scott, who is in a band, pursues Ramona. After a rocky start, she begins to like him.

This is where the story takes an interesting twist as people start showing up to fight Scott. Soon he learns that they are the seven evil exes of Ramona -- not necessarily boyfriends, but romantic links. The exes represent different times in Ramona’s love life from elementary school to adulthood. There is one ex, a girl Roxy Richter and played Mae Whitman ( TV’s Parenthood), which gives the movie a quick comedic moment. Scott must battle them all to the death to win Ramona’s heart.

Before Ramona, Scott was dating a high school girl named Knives Chau, played by Ellen Wong. She is very good with her over-the-top crush on Scott, which is both scary and funny.

One of the gems of the film is Wallace, Scott’s roommate, played by Kieran Culkin. His character is very comfortable in his sexuality and offers Scott some level-headed advice.

The movie’s dialogue is hip and snappy, thanks to writer and director Edgar Wright (Shaun of the Dead, Hot Fuzz). Scott Pilgrim vs. the World  feels like a real life video game. The fight scenes are very good; when someone gets punched, the words describing the sounds come on the screen -- like “Pow” and “Wham” from the old Batman TV series.

Anna Kendrick (Twilight, Up In The Air) is great as Stacey Pilgrim, Scott’s sister, who alternates from being very straight-faced to very chatty, which gives her a certain charm. Jason Schwartzman is Gideon, the villain, who treated Ramona badly in the past and wants her back. Scott defends her, which of course sets up a huge fight scene between the two.

Scott Pilgrim vs. World  was a good visual movie experience. So fellows, if you meet girl with multi-colored hair who is cool and the world wants to fight you for her, you should put up your dukes like Scott Pilgrim did.

Edited by Michele Ristich Gatts

‘Dinner For Schmucks’ Serves Feast of Laughs By Art Byrd

I am not a frequent texter, but I know “LOL” is shorthand for “laugh out loud.” And let me tell you, this film is LOL funny!

First of all, I love the title “Dinner For Schmucks” because it tells exactly what the movie is about. Dictionary.com defines “schmuck” as a “noun-slang- an obnoxious and despicable person.” Steve Carell (“The Office”) is both funny and obnoxious as Barry in the film, but not despicable.

Oddly, the word schmuck wasn’t used in the movie itself, but idiot was. The movie has a strange premise -- executives from a financial company invite weird people, or idiots, to dinner to make fun of them.

Rising executive Tim, played Paul Rudd (“Forgetting Sarah Marshall”), is invited to the exclusive dinner -- but he must find an idiot. He tells his girlfriend, Julie, played Stephanie Szostak (“The Devil Wears Prada”), about the dinner. She makes him feel guilty for even thinking of attending. But the dinner will be good for his career.

As Tim is driving and talking on his cell phone, he hits Barry, who jumps in the street to save a dead mouse. We find out that Barry is a budding taxidermist. His mouse art is very good.

The movie has a lot of characters, with Zach Galifinanakis (“The Hangover”) as Therman, a strange IRS agent with supposed mind power; Darla, played by Lucy Punch (“The Class”), is Tim’s crazy stalker; Jermaine Clement (who, like Carell, did a voice in “Despicable Me”) plays an egomaniacal artist, Kieran.

Director Jay Roach (“Austin Powers,” “Meet the Fockers”) knows how to do comedy well, and he continues his streak with this movie.

Rudd and Carell are hilarious together. Carell looks crazed as Barry when he is on screen. Rudd’s straight-faced confusion makes you feel sorry for him, but you laugh anyway.

“Dinner For Schmucks” is overboard in reality but right on course for laughs. If you are starving for comedy, you need to attend “Dinner for Schmucks.”

edited by Michele Ristich Gatts

A Grain of ‘Salt’ Worth the Cinematic Ride By Art Byrd

Before I see a movie, I try not to read any review or talk to anyone who has seen it before I do, mainly because I would like to see the movie fresh -- without judgment.

With “Salt,” I broke my rule and watched a TV movie-review show. They referred to the film, starring Angelina Jolie, as lesser version of “Bourne Identity,” the popular movie series starring Matt Damon as bedeviled ex-spy Jason Bourne. They went as far as calling the movie “Sodium Identity,” declaring it an empty movie without much depth. I went to the film with low expectations.

Folks, this is a lesson in forming your own opinion after hearing others’ -- including mine -- and still going to a movie you want to see.

“Salt” was a cool roller-coaster ride of a movie. The movie was deep and good. Jolie is above amazing in this movie. She plays Evelyn Salt, a CIA operative who has a hidden past that surfaces when she interrogates a Russian defector, played by Daniel Olbrychski. The defector confides -- with a full CIA audience in another room -- that a double spy plans to assassinate the Russian president.

Then, he gives the name Evelyn Salt as the person who will commit the crime. She tells him that she is Evelyn Salt. He very coolly says, “Then you are a double spy.” Her colleagues react with disbelief and try to detain her. She agrees, but she wants to find her husband to make sure he is okay. Then, CIA agents start to question her motives and try to lock her down. She escapes by running down the streets of Washington, D.C.

Then all heck breaks looses (I know there’s another word, but you get my point).

I have most likely given away too much. This movie has some great twists and turns in it. You are not sure what side Salt really is on. She is married to a nice guy, played by August Diehl. There is a great plot going on with the Russians and a scheme that has played out recently -- for real -- with Russian spies.

The action sequences are the best I’ve seen in films for awhile. Jolie’s looks get a lot of attention, but she is a good actress and can really express pain and conflict. She is an action star.

The supporting cast is great, starting with Liev Schreiber, who plays Salt’s superior, Ted Winter, and the always solid Chiwetel Ejiofor as Counterintelligence Officer Peabody.

“Salt” moves fast with lots of details and hints, but the main question is whether Salt is good or bad. One thing I can tell you is that a cool ending sets up a sequel I can’t wait for. Those TV reviewers can get ready for Evelyn Salt to meet Jason Bourne for “Sodium Supremacy.”

Edited by Michele Ristich Gatts

‘Ramona and Beezus’ Shows Us It’s Alright to be Different By Art Byrd

Movies can make you feel good, bad, or confused. Last week, with “Inception,” I was confused. I needed to see a movie that was simple and made me feel good.

This week, after seeing “Ramona and Beezus,” I feel good. The movie is based on a popular books series by 94-year-old Beverly Cleary.

“Ramona and Beezus” is about a young girl named Ramona who is clearly not like most other kids, thanks to her vivid imagination. She is her own person but doesn’t know it yet. She is played by the wide-eyed cutie Joey King, a TV series and commercial veteran.

What makes the movie good and interesting is that the film doesn’t center on just Ramona and her adventures (or misadventures) but on her family as well, which includes her 15-year-old sister, Beezus, played by Selena Gomez, (“Wizards of Waverly Place”), and their parents, Robert and Dorothy Quimby, played by cool John Corbett and beautiful Bridget Mohanyan. Aunt Bee is played by Ginnifer Goodwin (“He’s Not Into You”), who is very close to Ramona.

The story is heartwarming and timely. In the beginning, we see how close the family is when Mr. Quimby comes home from work and is warmly greeted by the family. But there is a little sibling tension between Ramona and Beezus, who simply get on each other nerves.

Ramona has some situations at school. Her fellow classmates and teacher, Mrs. Meacham, played by Grey’s Anatomy's Sandra Oh, think Ramona is very different.

Then one day, the family’s fortunes change as Mr. Quimby loses his job. Ramona is wondering what is going to happen to her family and their house.

I like the fact that Mr. and Mrs. Quimby didn’t hide the job loss from their children. Ramona wants to help and starts doing odd jobs with strange results. King is adorable as Ramona, with her huge eyes that get bigger when she gets into trouble.

When Aunt Bee tells Ramona that she doesn’t want to be reeled in by Hobart, her high school sweetheart (played by Josh Duhamel) who left her years ago and is back, Ramona is very protective of her aunt. In one incident, Hobart’s truck lands in a garage covered with paint after Ramona accidentally removes a block from the wheel, causing it to roll without brakes.

There is a great scene involving a water fight between Ramona’s family and Hobart’s that ends with a tender moment for both families.

My favorite part of the movie is the relationship between Ramona and Beezus. Beezus is a nickname that came about when Ramona couldn’t say her sister’s real name --Beatrice -- when she was small.

King and Gomez make the movie work. I am fan of Gomez from “Wizards,” where is she is given some snappy comedic lines. In this movie, Gomez is great as the older sister who is annoyed by Ramona but starts to lighten up and give her little sister the strength and compassion to be herself.

King, who I am sure I will end up being a fan of as she does other films, is perfect as Ramona; her actions and situations come from the heart as opposed to doing things in a bratty way, as some child actors often do.

The movie is rated G and is geared towards families with kids in a certain age range. With a cast and storyline that everyone can relate to, “Ramona and Beezus” is a movie for every age and anyone who wants to feel good about family and life.

Edited by Michele Ristich Gatts

‘Inception’ Is Mind Game for Moviegoers By Art Byrd

When a film is billed as a psychological thriller, I cringe. At the movies, I don’t want to think, I want to be entertained. During these movies, when I have to think, “Why did they do that? What is going on?” I am lost, then found, then lost again. By the end of the film I feel exhausted and empty.

That’s how I felt with “Inception.” One of the reasons I wanted to see the film is director Christopher Nolan. He is a great director who has helmed “Batman Begins” and “The Dark Knight.”  Nolan has done some interesting films like “Insomnia” and the brilliant “Memento.”

The film has a great cast, starting with Leonardo DiCaprio as Dom Cobb, as a different kind of thief; he can steal valuable information from a person’s mind while they are in a dream state. Cobb is hired by corporations to get secret information from the minds of competitors -- a sort of mental espionage.

Cobb’s career has cost him his children and his dead wife, Mal, played by Oscar winner Marion Cotillard. He is tormented by what he has lost, especially Mal, who comes back in his dreams with strange homicidal and suicidal tendencies.

Cobb is offered a chance to get his life back by businessman Saito, played by Ken Watanabe (“Batman Begins,” “Last Samurai”). Of course, the “one last job” plot comes into play. It is the most difficult thing to do -- an inception -- putting information for a future act into a person’s mind. The target is Robert Fischer Jr., the son of a dying billionaire, played wonderfully by Cillian Murphy, (“Batman Begins,” “The Dark Knight”). Saito wants Fischer Jr. to break up his father’s company once he gains control so Saito can buy it.

Cobb must put together a team to help him place the inception. The team consists of long-time partner and organizer Arthur, played by Joseph Gordon-Levitt (“Third Rock from the Sun,” “Brick”), a “forger” who can change into things at will; Eames, played by Tom Hardy; and Yusuf, the drug guy who supplies the powerful sedative needed for an inception, played by Dileep Rao (“Drag Me To Hell”).

Rounding out the group is Ariadne, played by Ellen Page (“Juno,” “Hard Candy”), the architect who mentally constructs every street and building in the artificial world to deceive the dreamer.

I don’t want to give too much away, but the special effects with buildings and streets folding are very impressive and help give the film a feeling of an unreal and dream-like state.

I have noticed in many science fiction and “the world is doomed” films, actors explain what is going on, what the threat is and how much trouble they are really in. This happened in “Inception,” but it was too much information. I was totally confused. Still, the ending was good.

I didn’t like the film because it was over two hours of trying to work a puzzle. When the movie was over, I still had lots of puzzle pieces on the table.

Edited by Michele Ristich Gatts

No Need to Fake Laughs with ‘Fake It Till You Make It’ By Art Byrd

Since being hooked up to the Internet, I have become a hunter of interesting material to watch.

While the Internet can be overwhelming and time consuming, Web series or Webisodes catering to short attention spans and limited have emerged as mini bursts of entertainment. There are such Webisodes as “The Guild” about video gamers, “In The Motherhood” about mothers, and “Wainy Days” about a strange guy’s life.  Each episode lasts two to six minutes.

With my trusty bow and arrow, I found the cool Web series “Fake It Till You Make It,” which can be found on hulu.com. It stars Jaleel White, who played Steve Urkel on the sitcom “Family Matters.” All grown up now, White writes, produces and stars in this Web series. 

White plays Reggie Culkin, a former child star turned image consultant.  It is very funny when people recognize Reggie as they say his line from an old sitcom, “I Got Dibs.” White’s Culkin character has been likened to “Ari Gold” from Entourage and singer Usher.

The series is shot documentary style with hand-held shots, like the HBO series “Curb Your Enthusiasm.” 

What makes the series funny is White’s Culkin as he interacts with three wannabes: two writers, Jack Garcia and Darren Kernin, played by Steve Rifkin and Chris Smith, respectively, and Kathy, an actress played by Betsy Rue, whose claim to fame was a small role on “CSI Miami.” 

Kathy has some of the best lines in the series, such as, “I will choke a b*** for food.” But it’s Culkin who gets them into strange situations, for instance, tricking Jack into doing something really crazy like stealing old checks from Culkin’s mother, played by guest star Debbie Allen.

The series has other famous guest stars: Blake Gibbons from “General Hospital” and actor/host Wayne Brady. One of the episodes takes a funny twist when Kernin  impersonates Brady on Twitter to meet women. Culkin tells Brady because they are friends. Brady and Culkin come up with an idea to “shake the money tree,” their words for making a show about catching “Twitter” impersonators with a “How to Catch a Predator” theme. So they setup the unsuspecting Kernin with a camera crew and real police waiting. Crazy funny stuff.

The dialogue, written by White, is original and snappy, though you may have to rewind to get the actual meanings.

If you are in the mood for a quick laugh with outrageous situations, the eight-episode run of “Fake It Till You Make” is a web series so worth the hunt.

As Reggie Culkin says, “Love is love.” You can find the series on Hulu.com.

Edited by Michele Ristich Gatts

Let Us Introduce You Profiles of players and their projects on the local arts & entertainment stage. Interview conducted by Art Byrd Meet: JOHN CHECHITELLI Position: DIRECTOR AND EDITOR, “YOUNGSTOWN: STILL STANDING”

ABEV: YOU ARE A VALLEY NATIVE LIVING IN LOS ANGELES. WHY MAKE A DOCUMENTARY ABOUT YOUNGSTOWN?
JOHN CHECHITELLI, “YOUNGSTOWN:STILL STANDING”:  After graduating from high school (Austintown Fitch, 2003), I moved to Winter Park, Florida, and studied film at Full Sail University. Most of the people I met from other states had never even heard of Youngstown. Then one day in class, a guest speaker talked about the importance of documentaries in telling true stories that the masses didn't know about. That is what initially sparked thoughts about telling Youngstown's story through a documentary. By the time I graduated with my degree in Film Production, I had a treatment registered with the Writer's Guild, then called, There's No Place Like Home. 

Like my grandfather, who moved to Youngstown looking for work in the steel industry, I headed West to Los Angeles with the hopes of breaking into the film industry. The first thing a lot of people in Hollywood do once they get here is forget where they came from. For me it was the opposite. I'm proud to come from a blue collar family and blue collar town, and I knew that I had a chance to show people where I came from.

ABEV: THE FILM IS BRUTALLY HONEST ABOUT YOUNGSTOWN’S PAST. HOW WAS THE RESEARCH CONDUCTED?
CHECHITELLI:   You can't make a documentary and withhold facts. It wouldn't be telling the whole story and that was a priority with this project, tell the whole story! That turned out to be a tall order. Every chapter in the film could have made its own 90-minute documentary. But you have to start somewhere and for me it was best to start with the steel industry. 

I'm the third John Chechitelli in my family but the only one to never work in a steel mill. While my grandfather eventually retired from US Steel, my father was laid off from the mills just before I was born. I turned to my father first, asking questions about the mills and absorbing the details of life in that era. 

Next, I focused my attention on a darker side of the city's past. Growing up, I had always heard the jokes & nicknames bestowed to Youngstown, mostly from residents, and I had a basic knowledge and curiosity of the Mafia's presence in the area. Thanks to the Internet, researching this topic wasn't too difficult. I was able to amass binders full of newspaper articles, reports, essays etc... I knew I was on to something when I started discussing my research with other film students. These were fans of “Goodfellas,” “The Godfather” and “The Sopranos,” and all of their interests were piqued when I relayed the assassination attempt of Paul Gains when I was 11, or the expulsion of Jim Traficant from Congress when I was in high school. The other students would all say the same thing, "The mob... In Ohio?" That reaffirmed that the story needed to be told. Still, it was overwhelming to take in all the details of organized crime's control in the Mahoning Valley dating back to the early part of the 20th century.

From organized crime, I moved on to the area's long love affair with sports and then to the successful business people who germinated from Youngstown. After collecting all the information I could from Internet documents, books and magazines, I reached out to local news stations. I was looking for old news reports when I was pointed in the direction of the Mahoning Valley Historical Society. This wonderful organization contained everything I was looking for and then some. They had film footage dating back to the ’20s and ’30s. All in all, collecting the research materials for this project took several years. 

ABEV: DURING THE RECENT SUMMER OF THE ARTS SCREENINGS OF “YOUNGSTOWN:STILL STANDING,” THE BUTLER INSTITUTE OF AMERICAN ART’S AUDITORIUM WAS FULL. THE REACTION WAS FAVORABLE.  YOUR REACTION?
CHECHITELLI: It feels great! First of all, I wish that I was able to attend those two screenings and am sorry that I couldn't. When I originally set out to make this movie, the reception was less than ecstatic to say the least. I understood why... The town's name had been dragged through the mud time and time again in the national press. Then, I was lucky enough to get a very loved hometown hero behind the project. When people heard that Ray " Boom Boom" Mancini was helping to make the film, doors that were deadbolt locked suddenly opened. When we premiered earlier this year, I was relieved by the reaction the film received. Now, months later, after the news has been out for a while, it feels wonderful that the film is still getting such a warm reception. Ray and I understood the importance of telling the story ourselves, why it couldn't be left to outsiders. We did our best to tell the story of how Youngstown got to this point in history, to show what the city has been through, and it is great to know that the people of Youngstown are still in our corner. 

ABEV: THE FILM IS POPULAR IN THE YOUNGSTOWN AREA. HOW IS IT DOING OUTSIDE THE VALLEY?
CHECHITELLI:  Our first goal was to cover Youngstown, to get the news out locally. It worked out great that our first film fest was the 2010 Cleveland Intl. Film Festival followed by other screenings in the area. We continue to showcase the film in Ohio, playing in Canton on Thursday, July 15th  at the Canton Palace Theatre.

ABEV: WHAT ARE THE CURRENT AND FUTURE PLANS FOR “YOUNGSTOWN: STILL STANDING”?
CHECHITELLI: The current plan is to keep showing the film at various venues in the Mahoning Valley and to ride the film festival circuit throughout the year. I'm currently waiting to hear back from a few film festivals outside of Ohio and hopefully we'll be able to begin our push in other states later this year. We will also be looking to attain wider distribution, perhaps through cable or other methods.

The overall goal is to reach the largest audience possible, to let the world know that Youngstown, Ohio, is an undeniably unique American city that has been through a heck of a fight, but is still standing.

IMDB (Internet Movie Database) credits John Chechitelli with film work in many capacities, and as an actor, crew member and editor on such TV series as “The West Wing,” “Ugly Betty” and “Recipe TV featuring The World’s Greatest Chefs.”
“Youngstown: Still Standing” is available on DVD at www.mancini-smith.com.

Edited by Michele Ristich Gatts

We Don’t Have to Hunt for ‘Predators’ Plot, We Already Know It By Art Byrd

A few days before seeing “Predators,” I watched “The Bachelorette” with some friends who are fans. Ali, the bachelorette, had to choose one of four bachelors to go. It was like a game for my two female friends to guess which bachelor would be kicked to the curb. They were right, too. Remember that for later.

It’s been a long time since a Predator movie has been in theaters. The first “Predator” in 1987 was a wild ride, the action was insane and the Predator creature was an awesome alien with the dreadlocks, strange eyes and the funky mouth. The wrist band with the codes was a nice touch.

I’m not even going to delve into “Predator 2” or “Alien vs. Predator.” Now there is a new Predator movie with a different twist. Filmmaker Robert Rodriguez (“Sin City,” “Spy Kids”) is not directing but producing the film. Nimrod Antal is directing. I believe Rodriguez should have directed and given the movie his spin.

The cast is top notch with faces we have seen before. Oscar winner Adrien Brody plays Royce, the leader, who of course gets a big-hero moment; Alice Braga (niece of Sonia Braga) is Isabell, the lone woman; Walton Goggins (“The Shield,” “Justified”) plays death-row inmate Stans; Danny Trejo (upcoming “Machete”) makes a brief appearance as Cuchillo. Hmm, I wonder what happens to him…wink, wink!  

A good casting move comes in the form of Topher Grace (“Spiderman 3,” “That ’70s Show”) as Edwin, a doctor who is wondering what is going on and has some comedic moments. Lawrence Fishburne (“CSI,” “The Matrix” movies) plays Noland, a crazy guy who has survived the Predators by himself.

The story centers on the cast being dropped in the jungle with guns. They don’t know why they’re there and don’t know each other. One good twist is that there are about four Predators. After a few encounters with the Predators and new creatures that are like Predator Dogs, because they look Predators on four legs, the group realizes that they are on a different planet -- and being hunted.

The movie falls-back on the classic storyline where the Predator creature starts killing the group one by one. Now here is where “The Bachelorette” factor comes into play. The movie became a game for me. Could I pick who was going to be killed by the Predators, and in which order? 

The action was good with lots of gunfire. The gore -- except for some hanging corpses -- was kept to a minimum. The special effects were a little cheesy. The infrared shots the Predators use to detect the body heat of prey were still cool.

But “Predators” didn’t give me any “wow” moments. We’ve seen the Predator creature before, quite a bit, so it’s not so scary. The Predators seem invincible, but we know there is a weakness and the hero will find it. I would like to know why is it is so much fun for the Predators to hunt down humans. They must have something else better to do.  

As for picking who was going to be killed, that was fun, and I was right on who was going to be killed -- but wrong in the order. I guess I needed my two friends, Milly and Choochie, to help me out.  Maybe for the next sequel, “Predators, Predators,” I’ll get a better score.

Edited by Michele Ristich Gatts

‘The Last Airbender’ Bends Your Interest By Art Byrd

In recent months, the fantasy-action film genre has not done well -- especially the film “Prince of Persia,” which did not thrill audiences. Now comes “The Last Airbender.”

I wasn’t really looking forward to seeing “The Last Airbender,” but parts of the trailer did interest me. The film is based on the popular Nickelodeon animated series “Avatar: The Last Airbender.” I haven’t seen the series, so I was going into the theatre cold.

The film centers on a young boy named Aang, played by Noah Ringer, who has the power to control the elements: air, fire, earth and water. He is an Avatar who must master control of all the elements. Aang ran away from his Avatar duties because he wanted a regular life with a family – something he could never have as an Avatar. Now he’s limited in his element skills and can only control air. Aang must seek out those who are masters in the elements to fulfill his destiny.

Of course, there has to be evil, and that evil is in the form of the Fire Nation, which wants to control everything on Earth. There is Zuko, a disgraced prince from the Fire Nation, played by Dev Patel (“Slumdog Millionaire”), who is trying to capture Aang, the last airbender, so he can return to the good graces of his father, Fire Lord Ozai, played by Cliff Curtis.

Along the journey, Aang become friends with Katana (Nicola Peltz), who has the ability to control water, and her brother Sokka, who’s played by Jackson Rathbone of “Twilight: Eclipse”.

Most fantasy stories have a princess.  This film has one of the most beautiful ones in films to date with Princess Yue, played by Seychelle Gabriel (“The Spirit”). She has white hair and really deep blue eyes. The back story of Princess Yue is very original and deals with the moon.

All in all, the fight scenes in “The Last Airbender” are nothing we haven’t seen before, but they fit the story and are not over the top. They are very Matrix (without flying bullets) but physically graceful.

The movie is filmed on an epic scale with beautiful locations shots. The CGI effects -- especially of fire -- were good.

“The Last Airbender” is directed by M. Night Shyamalan, who directed “The Sixth Sense.” But other of his films, like “Lady In The Water” and “The Happening,” have had a hard time at the box office.
 “The Last Airbender” was a little confusing for me, but the movie used a lot of flashbacks to explain who the characters were and what their roles in the story are.

The mythology of the story is interesting and makes me wonder where the story is going next. The film is definitely setup for a sequel. But it isn’t yet clear if fans will want to bend their wallets for another “The Last Airbender” film.

Edited by Michele Ristich Gatts

“Eclipse” Doesn’t Overshadow A Great Story. By Art Byrd

I have never read a “Twilight” series book. My first contact with the series was seeing “Twilight” at the theatre well after its release. I was surprised that I really enjoyed it. I am not a horror or vampire film fan except for “ Blacula” but that is another story.

“Twilight” had some depth with the love and angst among the characters. In the second film,  New Moon, I was okay with it. I didn’t enjoy watching Bella (Kristen Stewart) going through her pain from the leaving of Edward (Robert Patterson).

Now, there is “Eclipse” which has the classic love triangle going on between Bella, Edward (Robert Patterson) and Jacob (Taylor Lautner). The way the film handles the triangle is done very well.

In one scene, Edward and Jacob have a man to man about their situation with Bella and it was so honest. That is what makes the Twilight series so good is that you feel that there is a huge amount of honesty in them.

I liked that the film took time to give back stories of background characters and how they become vampires like Rosalie played by Nikki Reed and Jasper played Jackson Rathbone.

They are interesting twists such as the “newborns” which are newly made vampires who are stronger because of mix of vampire and human blood.

An army of newborns are coming to kill Bella led by Riley (Xavier Samuel) who is undermined by a vengeful Victoria played Bryce Dallas Howard whose great love was killed by Edward in saving Bella. The Cullens (vampires) must team up with Jacob and the wolves to take on the newborns.

Surprisedly, for all the action like the vampire biting and fighting; the film is not very violent. The makers of the Twilight films are smart enough to know their audience and that over the top violence is not needed.

“Eclipse” was more interesting for me because of who I was sitting around. There were three moms, their daughters and their girlfriends. The girls ranged from 10-12 years old sat in the row in front of me. The moms were seated one seat away from me in the same row.

There was one scene where Bella and Edward are making out heavy. One of the moms leans forwards and tells the girls to cover their eyes. It was funny to see a row full of young girls covering their eyes with their arms and hands.

In the movie, Edward tells Bella he can’t made love to her until they are married. The same mom leans forward and tells the girls, “ See wait until you are married.” I started laughing silently. I can’t make this stuff up. That is why I love being in a theatre. You never know what will happen.

I do know this, “Eclipse” keeps the ongoing story of love, vampires and wolves moving forward to keep the Twilight book reading fan satisfied and the non Twilight book reader like myself entertained.

Edited by Michele Ristich Gatts