Review: Socially relevant ‘BUTTER’ takes on popularity, self-worth, and the internet.

BUTTER

A lonely obese boy everyone calls “Butter” is about to make history. He is going to eat himself to death-live on the Internet-and everyone is invited to watch.


Reminiscent of one of my all-time favorite films, Angus (1995), BUTTER is a relatable film about self-worth, being a teenager, and the internet. Marshall, aka Butter, is a musically inclined, obese teen battling bullying, a dismissive father, and an overwhelming feeling of isolation. While posing online as a sports phenom at a private school to catch the eye of his crush, he simultaneously vows to eat himself to death live online on New Year’s Eve. These conflicting plans further complicate his life. The audience gets a front-row seat to an emotional journey of confidence, self-respect, and loneliness, for better or for worse.

Ravi Patel as Butter’s doctor is hilarious. He’s so upbeat you’ll light up each time he appears. He is a solid stellar addition to the cast. Mykelti Williamson is Marshall’s music teacher Professor Dunn. Williamson boosts his confidence by reminding him of his immense talent, never coddling him. He is the dose of reality that guides this young man.

McKaley Miller plays Butter’s crush, Anna. Miller brings a girl next door energy that plays perfectly against Kersting’s Marshall. Mira Sorvino brings a gentleness as concerned and guilt-ridden mother Marian. As a Mom, I recognized the weight in her glance.

Alex Kersting nails it in the titular role. He effortlessly oozes charm and unironic confidence. Kersting is pure joy to watch in this film. I hope we see him in more leading roles because he owns each frame.

BUTTER doesn’t break the mold, but it will strike a chord with every viewer. The most important theme is mental health. The script confronts the darkness head-on, and it doesn’t make excuses. BUTTER also possesses all the fun and angst of classic teen films. It’s filled with heart. Writer-director Paul A. Kaufman has a solid family watch on his hands. 


IN THEATERS FEBRUARY 25th


Directed & Written by Paul A. Kaufman
Produced by Paul A. Kaufman, J. Todd Harris, Christina Sibul
Starring Alex Kersting, Mira Sorvino, Mykelti Willliamson, Brian Van Holt, Ravi Patel, Annabeth Gish, McKayley Miller, Jack Griffo, Adain Bradley, Natalie Valerin, Jake Austin Walker, Matthew Gold, Monte Markham and Jessie Rabideau 

*Official Winner – Socially Relevant Film Festival 2020*
*World Premiere – Cinequest Film Festival 2020*
*Official Selection – Portland Film Festival 2020*


Tribeca Film Festival 2019 Review: ‘Charlie Says’ flips the script on the Manson girls.

 

Charlie Says

Charlie Says, directed by masterful filmmaker Mary Harron and written by Guinevere Turner, tells the familiar story through fresh eyes—those of Manson’s most devoted girls, van Houten (Game of Thrones’ Hannah Murray), Patricia Krenwinkel (Sosie Bacon), and Susan Atkins (Marianne Rendón). Thanks to a devoted prison educator who slowly draws the women out from years of a madman’s mesmerizing and abusive spell (Matt Smith), the women’s story is told in eerily detailed flashbacks, forcing them to reflect on the path that leads them to such unforgivable crimes.

This is not a story about Charles Manson. This is a story about three women who were manipulated by a mentally ill man who convinced them they were loved. Patricia Krenwinkel, Susan Atkins, and Leslie Van Houten, all came to be followers of Charles Manson because they were lost and looking for someone to make them feel important. It’s the performance from Hannah Murray, Sosie Bacon, and Merritt Wever that catapult this story forward. Wever, in particular, is the heartbeat that guides these broken girls into reality. Bacon represents every girl that needed Manson (played by Matt Smith with a quiet but fiercely alarming power) to be their father figure. Murray, as Leslie, is the audience. You feel for these ladies through intercut flashbacks and prison scenes. Each like a peek behind the curtain and into the insanity of a man who thought the Beatles were speaking to him through the ‘White Album”. These women were brainwashed sex slaves. It wasn’t until a feminist teacher Karlene Faith, with enough empathy to teach these women, did anyone begin to realize that they too were victims alongside those murdered. The film is chilling. The structure is disturbingly effective. You end up caring about these women who history has taught us to loathe. Charlie Says is not about Charles Manson. I’ll say it again. Charlie Says is not about Charles Manson. It is about the victims he kept closest to him.

ABOUT THE DIRECTOR

Mary Harron is the writer and director of films including American PsychoThe Moth DiariesI Shot Andy Warhol, and The Notorious Bettie Page. Her television credits include episodes of The L WordSix Feet UnderBig Love, and Oz, and, most recently, The Following (FOX), Constantine (NBC), and Graceland (USA).

Fox Releases The NEW Trailer for the Upcoming “The X-Files” Revival

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During last night’s “Gotham” and “Minority Report,” FOX aired the new trailer for the upcoming revival series of “The X-Files” in two parts and we have them for you below!

Thirteen years after the original series run, the next mind-bending chapter of “The X-Files” is a thrilling, six-episode event series from creator/executive producer Chris Carter, with stars David Duchovny and Gillian Anderson re-inhabiting their roles as iconic FBI Agents FOX MULDER and DANA SCULLY. Mitch Pileggi also returns as FBI ASST. DIR. WALTER SKINNER, Mulder and Scully’s boss, who walks a fine line between loyalty to these investigators and accountability to his superiors. This marks the momentous return of the Emmy- and Golden Globe Award-winning pop culture phenomenon, which remains one of the longest-running sci-fi series in network television history.

“The X-Files” debuts with a special two-night event beginning Sunday, Jan. 24, 2016 (10:00-11:00 PM ET/7:00-8:00 PM PT), following the NFC CHAMPIONSHIP GAME, and continuing with its time period premiere on Monday, Jan. 25 (8:00-9:00 PM ET/PT). The upcoming event series will encompass a mixture of stand-alone episodes and those that further the original show’s seminal mythology. In the opening episode, Mulder and Scully take on a case of a possible alien abductee.

The all-new episodes will feature appearances by guest stars, including Joel McHale (“Community”), Robbie Amell (“The Flash”), Lauren Ambrose (“Dig,” “Six Feet Under”), Annabeth Gish (“The Bridge”), Annet Mahendru (“The Americans”), Rhys Darby (“Flight of the Conchords”), Kumail Nanjiani (“Silicon Valley”) and William B. Davis, who reprises his role as “Cigarette Smoking Man.” Three of the episodes are written and directed by Chris Carter, with the remaining new episodes written and directed by original series veterans Glen Morgan, Darin Morgan and James Wong.

Trailer 1

Trailer 2

http://beautifulalgorithms.tumblr.com/post/130101769895/trailer-2-philes