Review: ‘LOVE IS BLIND’ is unlike anything you’ve seen this year.

 funny and irresistible story of a young girl who literally cannot see or hear her mother, even though she is living with her under the same roof. With the help of an eccentric psychiatrist, and a local, accidental hero, our heroine has to grow up, but falls in love and eventually takes hold of her future – despite not being able to see what’s right in front of her.

Love Is Blind is visually and conceptually spectacular. It taps into the emotional versus logical. We create our own reality for many different reasons; coping from loss, anxiety, or simply in an attempt more perfect environment for our imaginations to flourish.

The craziest thing is that to say much more about the plot is to do it a disservice. It’s almost indescribable. Love Is Blind challenges the notion of being an to heal inside and out. It’s about human connection.

The film has an enveloping feel of hyper-saturated colors. The soundtrack is hypnotizing. The narration adds to the whimsy. The script features beautifully nuanced characters. Quirky personalities all come together to make for an engrossing story. The cast is unreal and the performances across-the-board are a delight. Shannon Tarbet, Aidan Turner, Benjamin Walker, Matthew Broderick, and Chloë Sevigny take this charming as hell script and run with it. The film is co-directed by Monty Whitebloom and Andy Delaney from a script by Jennifer Schuur. It is important for me to note, as a mother of a toddler on the spectrum, to see a character represented with such life and humor is amazing. Love Is Blind is undeniably one of the most unique indie films I’ve seen in quite a while.

Uncork’d Entertainment will release the romantic comedy LOVE IS BLIND in theaters and on Digital and On Demand on November 8, 2019.

LOVE IS BLIND stars Shannon Tarbet (“Killing Eve,” Colette), Aidan Turner (The Man Who Killed Hitler and Then The Bigfoot, The Hobbit franchise), Benjamin Walker (“Jessica Jones,” In the Heart of the Sea), Matthew Broderick (“Better Things,” The Producers), and Chloë Sevigny (“The Act,” The Dead Don’t Die).  The film is co-directed by Monty Whitebloom and Andy Delaney (“Polarbearman”) from a script by Jennifer Schuur (“Big Love,” “The Catch”).

 

The Trailer for ‘Rules Don’t Apply’ Starring Lily Collins and Alden Ehrenreich Has Arrived

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Regency Enterprises and 20th Century Fox have released the trailer for the upcoming dramedy Rules Don’t Apply, written, directed and produced by 15 time Academy Award nominee Warren Beatty.

It’s Hollywood, 1958. Small town beauty queen and devout Baptist virgin Marla Mabrey (Lily Collins), under contract to the infamous Howard Hughes (Warren Beatty), arrives in Los Angeles. At the airport, she meets her driver Frank Forbes (Alden Ehrenreich), who is engaged to be married to his 7th grade sweetheart and is a deeply religious Methodist. Their instant attraction not only puts their religious convictions to the test, but also defies Hughes’ #1 rule: no employee is allowed to have any relationship whatsoever with a contract actress. Hughes’ behavior intersects with Marla and Frank in very separate and unexpected ways, and as they are drawn deeper into his bizarre world, their values are challenged and their lives are changed.

The film also stars Alec Baldwin, Annette Bening, Haley Bennett, Candice Bergen, Matthew Broderick, Dabney Coleman, Steve Coogan, Taissa Farmiga, Ed Harris, Megan Hilty, Oliver Platt and Martin Sheen.

Rules Don’t Apply hits theaters everywhere November 23, 2016!

Review: ‘The American Side’ reincarnates film noir

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In the director’s statement on the film’s website, Jenna Ricker explains that she was inspired by Hitchcock and 70s conspiracy thrillers, but that wasn’t really my experience. As I started watching The American Side, it became immediately apparent that this was to be film noir reincarnated. Everything from the camera angles, to the music, to the dialogue, perfectly captures that spirit. Or perhaps 70s conspiracy thrillers were inspired by film noir of the 30s and 40s. Nothing is new anymore. It’s just how you can reimagine it.

When Charlie Paczynski’s raven-haired partner is caught in the crossfire of a blackmail scheme gone bad, he trails the prime suspect to the brink of Niagara, only to receive a cryptic warning: ‘what’s happening here you can’t begin to comprehend’… Thrust into a world populated by a whiskey-swilling raconteur (Robert Forster), strangely bonded siblings (Matthew Broderick and Camilla Belle), and a dubious government agent (Janeane Garofalo), Paczynski joins the quest for a long-lost design by enigmatic genius, Nikola Tesla. From the eccentric eavesdropper who gives him his first clue (yes! – that’s Robert Vaughn, The Man From U.N.C.L.E.) every door Paczynski forces open raises the stakes. Reminiscent of the conspiracy thrillers of the 70’s, complete with a score by David Shire (The Conversation, All the President’s Men), and packed with nods to Hitchcock and classic noir, The American Side is a jigsaw puzzle mystery, climaxing under the roar of the Falls as the final piece snaps into place.

Rogues-Gallery_Rotation62Style. Everything is just perfect for this. Charlie’s office is the quintessential private detective office, complete with non-working plumbing, glass window door, and one of those old wooden office chairs. It’s dimly lit without a computer in sight. Everyone smokes and there are no mobile phones anywhere. Charlie has a older 70s car, and is outlandishly dressed in mismatched patterned dress shirts and ties. He goes to a local diner and runs to the phone when it rings, saying he knows it’s for him. How awesome is that?

Rogues-Gallery_Rotation4Another one of my favorite scenes was when Charlie is inspecting an apartment. He notices that it’s empty and then immediately goes downstairs to the tenant below. It’s an older man, Robert Vaughn, who gives the detective all the info he needs. That was a big plot device in classic crime movies. If you knew, you’d know.

Rogues-Gallery_Rotation3Women everywhere. There’s a woman waiting for him at his office. A woman stops him on the street. A woman federal agent. This is not something revolutionary for classic cinema. Woman ruled Hollywood in its golden age.

The score was not really to my liking. It is very much in the style of the late 70s and for me it really just underscored the absurdity.

Greg Stuhr is the detective, Charlie, mixed up in a tangled web. The dialogue is well-written, but his delivery doesn’t quite have the bite that the role requires. With the style and the dialogue, this cast didn’t seem to capture the spirit. It’s as if they didn’t know if it should be played straight or with a wink.

tesla-portraitThe real story is of Nikola Tesla. The name Tesla might be more well known as a car company right now, but Nikola Tesla is responsible for basically everything electronic we use everyday. Do yourself a favor and go down the rabbit hole of information at Wikipedia. Beware though, you’ll soon discover that Thomas Edison was really not who you thought he was. Poor elephants.

For anyone not familiar with the older era of cinema, some of the scenes are probably going to come off as comical. Especially where things randomly happen perfectly without any coordination whatsoever. But that is what those films WERE. They were fantasy. They weren’t supposed to give you reality. The American Side will take you back to that world.

Special in-person Q&As at the IFC Center include:

  • Wed May 4 at 7:45pm: composer David Shire, moderated by composer Christopher North
  • Thu May 5 at 7:45pm: Stuhr, moderated by noir expert Foster Hirsch