Kung Fu Elliot
Film Review by Kam Williams

Elliot “White Lightning” Scott supposedly won 7 different kickboxing titles in Canada before deciding it was time to parlay his success into an acting career. That’s a little hard to believe given the aspiring thespian’s flabby physique and underwhelming fight and acting skills.

Nevertheless, the Halifax, Nova Scotia native’s goal was to become his country’s first, homegrown, screen action hero. Unable to interest a Hollywood studio in underwriting his assault on showbiz, he turned to his gainfully-employed fiancée, Linda Lum, to bankroll his self-made kung fu films on a modest day care center salary.

Elliot not only performed in but wrote and directed the micro-budget action adventures. He also did his own stunts and added the pictures’ special effects. Besides paying for the projects, Linda served as cameraman, editor and scored the soundtracks. She even had to chauffeur the cast and crew around since her flaky beau didn’t have a car (or a job).

If all of the above sounds like a recipe for disaster, that’s only because it was. The struggling couple’s ill-fated endeavor is humorously recounted in Kung Fu Elliot, a documentary which contrasts impatient Linda’s increasing frustrations with her delusional hubby-to-be’s selfish ambition for superstardom.

Co-directed by Matthew Bauckman and Jaret Belliveau, this spellbinding biopic revolves more around whether their strained relationship will last than whether their latest martial arts production, “Blood Fight,” has a ghost of a chance of being completed and released in theaters. For, besides exploiting Linda financially, questions eventually surface about Elliot both in terms of fidelity and the legitimacy of his kickboxing record.

A cautionary tale about how love might blind you to the actual agenda of a very slippery character.

Excellent (4 stars)

Unrated

Running time: 89 minutes

Distributor: The Orchard

To see a trailer for Kung Fu Elliot, visit: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HWN_IMZ1vvI        

Craig Robinson
The “Hot Tub Time Machine 2” Interview
with Kam Williams

Craig Robinson is arguably best known for his role as acerbic Dunder-Mifflin employee Darryl Philbin on NBC’s Emmy-winning The Office. Regardless of what role you know him from, he is definitely a world away from his original career intentions.

Before deciding to pursue his comedy career full time, Craig was a K-8 teacher in the Chicago Public School System. He earned his undergraduate degree from Illinois State University and his Masters of Education from St. Xavier University.

It was while he was studying Education that he also discovered his love of acting and comedy when he joined the famed Second City Theatre.

As a stand-up comic, Craig first made a splash at the 1998 “Just for Laughs” Festival in Montreal. That year, he also won the Miller Genuine Draft Comedy Search.

He soon went on to perform on The Jimmy Kimmel Show and on Real Time with Bill Maher. Now, headlining venues and festivals across the country, he does both solo acts as well as sets with his seven-piece band, The Nasty Delicious, thereby tying together his lyrical comedy with his finesse at the piano.

Success on The Office and his stand-up prowess quickly brought Craig to the attention of Judd Apatow who cast him as the sensitive bouncer in Knocked Up. He subsequently kept audiences glued to their seats as one of the henchman hunting Seth Rogen and James Franco’s bumbling stoner characters in Pineapple Express, and made fans squirm when he co-starred with Seth Rogen and Elizabeth Banks in Zack and Miri Make a Porno.

More recently, Craig has starred in Escape from Planet Earth, Peeples and This Is the End. And later this year, look for the premiere of Mr. Robinson, a TV show loosely based on his life as a teacher in Chicago.

Here, he talks about reprising the role of Nick in Hot Tub Time Machine 2, a sci-fi comedy co-starring Rob Corddry, Clark Duke and Adam Scott.

Kam Williams: Hey Craig, thanks for another interview.

Craig Robinson: My pleasure, Kam. How’re you doing?

KW: I’m doing great. How about yourself?

CR: I’m good. Thanks for getting the word out.

KW: Of course. As usual, I’ll be mixing in my questions with some from readers. Let me start with: What was the primary challenge you faced in getting back into the hot tub?

CR: With the addition of Adam Scott to the principal cast, the primary challenge was whether there would be chemistry. But that worry quickly changed to “Oh, it’s on!” So, the initial concern was about what was going to happen. Besides that, the heat was an issue at times, since we shot in New Orleans for a couple months.

KW: What was it like getting back together with director Steve Pink and your co-stars Rob and Clark?

CR: There’s nothing but love and trust there, so it was great. It was like being with friends, with people you already know. So, you have a sense of what makes each other tick and what makes each other laugh. Plus you bring along what you’ve learned since last time. The familiarity was wonderful!

KW: Larry Greenberg says: You mentioned sharing a special moment with Jessica Paré while shooting the original Hot Tub Time Machine, and that you enjoyed watching that scene over and over again. Did you have another memorable moment like that in Hot Tub Time Machine 2?

CR: Yes, except this time it was with Rob Corddry.

KW: Sangeetha Subramanian says: Craig, sequels can be great for reviving themes and running jokes from an original movie. Was that the case with Hot Tub Time Machine 2, or does the sequel focus more on breaking new ground?

CR: That’s a great question, Sangeetha. We definitely tip our hat to the original, but we also break new ground. It’s a marvelous mixture!

KW: Harriet Pakula-Teweles asks: Did you worry about running the risk of being typecast by agreeing to do the sequel? 

CR: Not at all. I’ve been typecast already. [Chuckles] I was first typecast after playing a bouncer in Knocked Up. Right away, I had four or five offers to play another bouncer. People kept saying, “Hey man, I got this role for you as a bouncer.” But in my mind, I was thinking, “Well, I’ve done that.” Then, when I was playing Darryl on The Office, some people started hating on me, saying I was best in small doses after a publication announced that I had landed a lead in a movie. So, I’m not going to worry about being typecast, I’m just going to continue doing what I do. 

KW: Eleanor Welski asks: What is your upcoming film Zeroville about? I see that it has a lot of the same cast as This Is the End.

CR:  Yeah, well Franco [James Franco] is directing that, so he called us in, and we were like, “Yeah, yeah, of course!” Once you’re familiar with someone’s track record, you know immediately whether or not you want to work with them. He has that kind of juice. I’m not aware of everyone else who’s in Zeroville, since I only had a couple of scenes. 

KW: The Teri Emerson question: When was the last time you had a good laugh?

CR:  Just today, flying on a plane to New Orleans with Steve [director Steve Pink], Josh, [scriptwriter Josh Heald] and Clark and Rob, we were all laughing really heard listening to Josh pitch some ideas he has for Hot Tub 3.

KW: Yeah? I’d love to hear them.

CR: Sorry, we don’t want to put the cart before the horse, so I can’t talk about that.

KW: You made a pilot for a TV series called Mr. Robinson. When’s the show coming on?

CR: We don’t have an air date yet, but we’ve already taped the premiere and the second episode in front of a live studio audience. We’re having a blast! It’s about me as a substitute music teacher whose first love is playing with my band. We use my actual band, The Nasty Delicious. And you get introduced to my childhood sweetheart from many, many, many years ago. She’s now a teacher at our old high school. I start subbing there just to be near her, but I fall in love with the school and I’m so good with the kids that I’m offered a permanent position. I take the job, and hijinks ensue.

KW: Sounds good!

CR: Speaking of good, Meagan Good’s my co-star. We’re very excited about that.

KW: Speaking of jobs, what was your first job?

CR: After high school, the summer before I started college, I worked as a gofer at an attorney’s office in downtown Chicago. I would make copies, buy bagels, go pick up checks, and do whatever they needed. My godfather, Eddie Jackson, rest his soul, got me that job. Sometimes, I’d have to deliver a million-dollar check and I’d hold it right up against my chest like it was going to blow away or something. [Laughs]

KW: The Viola Davis question: What’s the biggest difference between who you are at home as opposed to the person we see on the red carpet?

CR: I’m a Scorpio. I’m very quiet. In real life, I’m usually observing the situation. But the red carpet’s a circus where you’re expected to be talkative, work the room and be larger than life. I’d be perfectly comfortable to just sit there and observe, and pick my moments, which is what makes improvising with ensembles so much fun for me. I prefer to be able to soak the scene all in before launching on you.   

KW: Lastly, what’s in your wallet?

CR: [Chuckles] I don’t really carry cash. Let’s see… my license… a valet ticket…a business card… and a credit card for incidentals.

KW: Thanks again for the time, Craig, and best of luck with the film.

CR: Hey, I appreciate it, Kam, and we’ll be in touch, man.  

To see a trailer for Hot Tub Time Machine 2, visit:  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ojuLwwASMaU

The Envelope Please:   Oscar Predictions 2015

Who Will Win, Who Deserves to Win, Who Was Snubbed

by Kam Williams          

While Selma’s Academy Awards stock plummeted in the wake of allegations of historical inaccuracies, that of American Sniper simultaneously skyrocketed, thanks to both booming box-office returns and very positive word of mouth. However, Sniper probably had too much ground to make up to catch Birdman, the early favorite in the Best Picture sweepstakes.

I see Birdman garnering 4 awards overall, followed by The Grand Budapest Hotel, with 3. The only other multiple winners will likely be Boyhood, Whiplash and The Theory of Everything, at 2 each.     

Faithful readers will remember that a year ago, yours truly accurately predicted the results in 21 of 21 categories (I skipped the short films), so anyone who used my picks in their office pool fared pretty well. However, past performance is no guarantee of future results.

Besides forecasting the winners below, I also suggest which nominees are the most deserving. Furthermore, because some great performances are invariably overlooked by the Academy entirely, I also point out those who should’ve been nominated.

The 87th Academy Awards will air live on ABC this Sunday, February 22nd at 8:30 PM ET/5:30 PM PT, and will be hosted by Neil Patrick Harris.   

Best Picture    

Will Win: Birdman

Deserves to Win: Selma

Overlooked: Nightcrawler

Best Director

Will Win: Alejandro González Iñárritu (Birdman)

Deserves to Win: Ava Duvernay (Selma)

Overlooked: Damien Chazelle (Whiplash)

Best Actor

Will Win: Eddie Redmayne (The Theory of Everything)

Deserves to Win: Michael Keaton (Birdman)

Overlooked: Jake Gyllenhaal (Nightcrawler)

Best Actress

Will Win: Julianne Moore (Still Alice)

Deserves to Win: Marion Cotillard (Two Days, One Night)

Overlooked: Jennifer Aniston (Cake)

Best Supporting Actor

Will Win: J.K. Simmons (Whiplash)

Deserves to Win: J.K. Simmons (Whiplash)

Overlooked: Rick Garcia (Nightcrawler)

Best Supporting Actress

Will Win: Patricia Arquette (Boyhood)

Deserves to Win: Emma Stone (Birdman)

Overlooked: Jessica Chastain (A Most Violent Year)  

Best Original Screenplay

Will Win: Alejandro G. Iñárritu, Nicolás Giacobone, Alexander Dinelaris, Jr. and Armando Bo (Birdman)

Deserves to Win: Dan Gilroy (Nightcrawler)

Overlooked: Paul Webb (Selma)

Best Adapted Screenplay

Will Win: Graham Moore (The Imitation Game)

Deserves to Win: Damien Chazelle (Whiplash)

Overlooked: Peter Landesman, Gary Webb and Nick Schou (Kill the Messenger)

Predictions for Secondary Categories

Animated Feature: How to Train Your Dragon 2

Foreign Language Film: Ida

Documentary Feature: Citizenfour

Cinematography: Birdman

Costume Design: The Grand Budapest Hotel

Production Design: The Grand Budapest Hotel

Film Editing: Boyhood

Makeup and Hairstyling: The Grand Budapest Hotel

Original Score: The Theory of Everything

Best Song: Glory (Selma)

Sound Editing: American Sniper

Sound Mixing: Whiplash

Visual Effects: Interstellar

The Business of Disease
Film Review by Kam Williams

The healthcare industrial complex spends billions of dollars on packaging and branding brainwash us into believing that there are no viable alternatives to Western medicine’s approach to curing this or that illness. In fact, doctors and pharmaceuticals have been so successful in this endeavor that it is now mandatory that every citizen purchase insurance to cover conventional types of medical treatment.

But it is the contention of advocates of holistic healing that we’re being manipulated to resort reflexively to drugs and/or surgery when a less drastic or invasive path to wellness might be readily available. As Dr. Bradley Nelson, author and chiropractor, asserts, “Most people have no idea how to be healthy, or what the underlying cause of a symptom is.” Nevertheless, like lemmings, most of us simply follow whatever regimen a physician prescribes for the condition we’re presenting.

If you are concerned about your health and are at all inclined to question authority, you might want to check out The Business of Disease, a damning documentary written, directed, produced and narrated by Sonia Barrett. With the assistance of a number of New Age luminaries, Ms. Barrett makes the case for naturopathic medicine.

Among the experts she interviewed for this project, is Dr. Jacob Liberman, Ph.D. who claims that the medical profession is based on a very limited model in terms of remedies. “The misperception that most people have is that there’s a drug that can help them,” he says. “And if a drug can’t help them, then maybe surgery can.”

Also weighing-in is Dr. John Virapen, Ph.D., a pharmaceutical executive-turned-whistleblower. He believes if there were truth in advertising, “Life Insurance” would be called “Death Insurance” and “Health Care” would be referred to as “Disease Care.”

The Business of Disease doesn’t just criticize The Establishment, but suggests that such offbeat therapies as yoga, music, art and even light might be all you need to reverse a malady. Low production values aside, this iconoclastic expose’ has a wealth of information to offer the very open-minded.

Excellent (4 stars)

Unrated

Running time: 88 minutes

Distributor: Dreamspell Productions

To see a trailer for The Business of Disease, visit: http://www.thebusinessofdisease.com/index.php?option=com_k2&view=item&layout=item&id=51&Itemid=176

Fifty Shades of Grey
Film Review by Kam Williams

Fifty Shades of Grey marked the remarkable writing debut of TV executive-turned-romance novelist Erika Mitchell. Publishing under the pen name E.L. James, the British author has enjoyed unparalleled success, selling over 100 million copies worldwide in just a few years.

Her erotic thriller chronicles the kinky relationship of a college coed and a handsome, young billionaire with a sordid sexual appetite for sadomasochism. Unfortunately, this relatively-tame screen version, directed by Sam Taylor-Johnson (Nowhere Boy), teases more than it titillates, as it devotes plenty of time build up prior to petering out in terms of delivery.

At the point of departure, we meet vestal virgin Anastasia Steele (Dakota Johnson) as she’s about to drive from Vancouver to Seattle to the corporate headquarters of Grey Enterprises to interview CEO Christian Grey (Jamie Dornan) for her college newspaper. The English major’s only been allotted ten minutes with the busy captain of industry slated to deliver the keynote commencement address at her school’s upcoming graduation.

Upon being introduced, obviously intimidated Ana awkwardly asks “To what do you owe your success” and “Are you gay?” before her subject confesses to being a control freak. Turning the tables, Christian proceeds to pose probing personal questions to the nervous journalist, as a palpable sexual tension between the two starts to simmer just beneath the surface.

He reveals his fondness for a particular fetish, however nothing is consummated for a long stretch. Instead, the first half of the film is devoted to a frustrating Kabuki dance where foreplay invariably leads to coitus interruptus.

In lieu of the whips, chains and other staples of bondage debauchery, we’re treated to cautious exchanges during which a whimpering, wide-eyed Ana repeatedly says how scared she is of Christian while he insists she sign a non-disclosure agreement allowing him to torture her. Yes, they eventually do get around to entering his dungeon but, by then, their bland, anticlimactic sessions prove to be a classic case of too little-too late.

A monochromatic misfire featuring only one shade: blushing pink.

Fair (1.5 stars)

Rated R for profanity, violence, sexuality and graphic nudity

Running time: 125 minutes

Distributor: Universal Pictures

To see a trailer for Fifty Shades of Grey, visit:  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SfZWFDs0LxA