Wednesday, June 5, 2013

The Kings of Summer Review


Adolescence brings heartache and tribulations to teens on a daily basis.  This may be tiresome to some, but when your whole world revolves around your current situation, it’s a little easier to understand the over-dramatics.  There are cases, however, where there are circumstances that would drain anyone involved.  The new film The Kings of Summer explores these gut wrenching conditions and what happens when two teenage friends decide to take matters into their own hands.

The Kings of Summer is about three friends who decide to live in and off the land in the woods to escape the shackled home life.  Joe (Nick Robinson) can’t take his strained relationship with his dad (Nick Offerman) after his mother’s death, and conceives of this plan to be independent of everyone.  It doesn’t take long for his best friend Patrick (Gabriel Basso) to join him, for he longs to free himself from his overbearing awkward parents (Megan Mullally and Marc Evan Jackson).  These two set out for an adventure filled summer with their new friend, an eccentric loner Biaggio (Moises Arias), in this heartfelt coming of age story.

In a season where action packed superhero movies rule the box office, The Kings of Summer is a nice revival of the teen-coming-of-age movies from the 80s.  The situations these boys must go through to survive are as true to life as you can get with the woods being in suburbia America.  It’s as if Lord of the Flies met Ferris Buller’s Day Off.  The comedy isn’t too much in your face, letting the natural instincts of characters bring forth the real life comic moments of everyday life.

Jordan Vogt-Roberts, in his feature directorial debut, assembled a cast of heavy weights as leaders to his brilliant young cast.  Mullally and Offerman could possibly be this generation’s Hepburn and Tracy.  While this may be a lofty comment, take a moment to examine their comic stylings.  Mullally and Offerman come from different schools of comedy, the outrageous to the subtle, but you can’t deny that their presence brings charisma and energy to any project they are apart of.  They play off each other well when they are in scenes together, and elevate their fellow cast member’s performances as well.

This has rubbed off onto the young cast, and the whole world of comedy is open to the lead actors.  Robinson takes a lot of the  on his shoulders as the ringleader of the group, but handles it like a pro.  He combines strength and vulnerability into Joe that you sense a hint of Ferris Buller.  For Patrick, Basso does a wonderful job of breaking out from underneath several overpowering people in his life without a hint of ego.  Every group needs the oddball, and Arias does a beautiful job with Biaggio.  This isn’t your normal kid, but it’s hard not to fall for him.

Like most indie comedies, there are moments during the film that take a few steps back to a nice leisurely gait.  For those who love indies, this isn't something that throws off the pace of the film, it's something that you appreciate.  This is the time that you take a moment to peer into the lives of these boys and the effects of their decision.  For me, if there wasn't these moments, the film would feel rushed and incomplete.

Over the past few decades, generations have grown up in drastically different worlds, and sometimes it’s hard to relate to each other’s struggles. The Kings of Summer does a beautiful job in simplifying the heartaches and triumphs one must go through in our teen years, that no matter what generation you connect with, you will understand these boys and root for them throughout the film.  You will leave the theater with the right mix of nostalgia and relief that only the best coming of age films provide.


The Kings of Summer opened in limited release on May 31st, but will hit theaters in Austin on June 7th.

written by Lisa Mejia
photos provided by CBS Films

Tuesday, June 4, 2013

Out With The Old, In With The New

It has been almost 2 1/2 years since there has been any excitement on this site.  There has also been a lot that has happened in the last two years.  Many life changes and new explorations for all three of us.  For these reasons, the foundation of the site has changed.

Since 2012, Jessica and I have been full time writers on a artist magazine called Austin Fusion Magazine.  The magazine focuses on the talented people that inhabit Austin in the areas of Music, Art, Film, Fashion, Food.  Jessica is the Art Editor, and I'm the Film Editor.

We have had the opportunity to experience and participate in some of the most amazing festivals that travel through town, as well as meet some awesome people in all creative fields.  I'm lucky to call some of these past interviewees friends, and have gained inspiration that I thought was lost.  It's been a fantastic ride that doesn't seem to be slowing down, which makes me excited to see where the road can take me.

There are times when these opportunities may not fit into the magazine's publication.  It's not that they are not worthy, anything but, however I wanted to include them on some platform to help with their exposure and much deserved publicity.  This is why there has been another change in Club WTF.

This blog has evolved into an extension of my work as a write on AFM.  We will still keep the pages that will allow us to add reviews of older movies that fit the title's criteria, but the main page will be where we place anything from film reviews to a longer version of a conversation with the talented people we encounter.

We are thankful for all that the magazine has afforded us to do, and hope you enjoy our new content.

                                                                                                            ~LMM              


Tuesday, November 1, 2011

"I'll be back."

Or, I should say, we're back. After several months of absence, we are back with a new face and a new way of doing things.

Each month, one of the sister-in-laws will pick a movie for the other two. For some reason, watching two movies each month was too hard (go figure). The chosen film will be described, briefly, in the post section, and the comments will be used by the others as a place to discuss.

Our archives will be left on the site. That way, if you're curious, you'll have a list of all our previous reviewed films for your pleasure.


This month, it's my turn, Lisa, and I have chosen Shades of Ray.


Here is the description from their IMDb page: American-born Ray Rehman comes home one night to find his Pakistani father on his doorstep. Ray's Caucasian mother threw him out. It's an awkward time for his father to move in as Ray just proposed to his Caucasian girlfriend - who hasn't given him an answer. While trying to get his parents back together, Ray meets a South Asian girl of mixed descent, just like him, and must decide where his identity truly lies.

I saw this movie during the 2008 Austin Film Festival. It was one of those movies that sounded interesting, but didn't really know anything about. I ended up falling in love with it. I connected with it because I am also of mixed race and have had the identity issue before. I really loved the way they addressed this confusion in a beautiful playful manner.

I'll save my full review and discussion points for when the girls have watched it. Hope you enjoy!

Monday, November 8, 2010

November Picks!


It seems that a competition has started between the sister and sister-in-law's sister-in-law. Only one of us, me (Lisa), actually finished her assignments in the month of October, and now a war has arisen because of this.

The other two are determine to do what we are suppose to do and watch the films before November comes to a quick end. Crazy concept indeed!

Moving past the ridiculousness of our wonderful sister relationship, here are the movies each has assigned.

Melissa's Pick for Jessica and Lisa:


A woman's lover leaves her, and she tries to contact him to find out why he's left. She confronts his wife and son, who are as clueless as she. Meanwhile her girlfriend is afraid the police are looking for her because of her boyfriend's criminal activities. They talk to a female lawyer, who turns out to be the lover's new lover, and everyone's path keeps crossing each other's in a very complicated and confusing manner.


Jessica's Pick for Melissa and Lisa:


An Irish immigrant family adjusts to life in the United States.


Lisa's Pick for Melissa (quite happy Melissa will be on the same page as Jessica and I):


Scott Pilgrim must defeat his new girlfriend's seven evil exes in order to win her heart.


Lisa's Pick for Jessica (geeking out that Jessica will finally understand the awesomeness that Melissa and I are aware of):



After the traumatizing ordeal in the movie with the same name, Buffy Summers and her mother move to Sunnydale, only to discover that L.A. was just a walk in the park...


Women on the Verge of a Nervous Breakdown

In America

Scott Pilgrim vs The World

Buffy the Vampire Slayer

Tuesday, October 12, 2010

October Picks!




I think we are all getting back in the swing of things and getting our assignments watched...In a reasonable amount of time. Granted, we still haven't finished before the end of the month, but we're getting closer.

For our picks this month, something extraordinary happened. We only had to pick one film for each. Our first choices had not been viewed by anyone. Usually we have to go a few rounds before we find a 'winner,' but some how this month we were all on top of our game.

Melissa's Pick for Jessica and Lisa


Otto and Ana are kids when they meet each other. Their names are palindromes. They meet by chance,people are related by chance. A story of circular lives, with circular names, and a circular place (Círculo polar) where the day never ends in the midnight sun. There are things that never end, and Love is one of them.


Jessica's Pick for Melissa and Lisa

A man's life
begins to unravel when his mistress brings him a bag of cash.


Lisa's Pick for Melissa and Jessica

The story of the early days of California wine making featuring the now infamous, blind Paris wine tasting of 1976 that has come to be known as "Judgment of Paris".

The Lovers of the Arctic Circle

The Square

Bottle Shock

Thursday, June 3, 2010

June Picks!

Ok, so no slacking this month, ladies (myself included). All movies are posted and awaiting your comments. This month's picks are:

Lisa's Pick for Melissa & Jessica:
"Moonlight" (2007) - TV Series
A vampire lands work as a private investigator and falls for a mortal woman.







Melissa's Pick for Jessica & Lisa:
Year of the Dog (2007)
A secreta
ry's life changes in unexpected ways after her dog dies.






Jessica's Pick for Lisa:
Ne le dis à personne (2006)- Tell No One
8 years ago, Alex's wife was MURDERED. Today... She e-mailed him.






Jessica's Pick for Melissa:
In the Nazi-occupied Netherlands during World War II, a Jewish singer infiltrates the regional Gestapo headquarters for the Dutch resistance.

Tell No One

Recommended by Jessica for Lisa:

Moonlight

Recommended by Lisa for Melissa & Jessica:

Year of the Dog

Recommended by Melissa for Lisa & Jessica:

Zwartboek (Black Book)

Recommended by Jessica for Melissa: