"Imaginary Friends" Review

"Imaginary Friends" by Cupcake Ladies Productions recently showed at Planet Connections Theatre Festival.

Opening the show and between each individual show, was Michael Rehse who helped narrate the shows and kept you entertained during set changes. Rehse managed to improv most of the show with little script in his head, in a very humorous and relatable way.

Rehse discussed things from your childhood like D&D (Dungeons & Dragons for those uninitiated). Using the biggest di I've ever seen, he rolled to see how much you'll like the show or not. That was a cute addition each time.

Michael Rehse narrating and improv-ing at the show

The first show up, "Toy Box" was about what was in Rich Wisneski's head and how he played with toys as a kid. It kind of tugs at all our 30-40 year old brains and memories playing with He-Man, comic book characters, and wrestling figures. His memories included mostly playing all figures as westling matches. The figures came to life before your eyes with Laura Mae Baker as Electra, Xavier Rodney as Jetspeed transformer, (that costume was amazing!!), Rehse as Power Ranger Jason Lee Scott, and a few others. I will take moment to say that the costume for Jetspeed was pretty amazing. It was well built with a lot of nice clean angles and a great paint job. Most everyday cosplayers I know couldn't make it that nice! Wisneski threw in some stop motion videos too and those were pretty good quality. I enjoyed them. The imagination of set building within the videos and such were creative, using things like encyclopedias for buildings and things that we as kids, would have actually done using all the props we could find around the house.

Laura Mae Baker as Electra & Rich Wisneski in "Toy Box"

Michael Rehse, Xavier Rodney, Rich Wisneski, and Laura Mae Baker in "Toy Box"

Laura Mae Baker as Electra & Rich Wisneski

Michael Rehse as Chalkboard Boy in "Toy Box"

Xazier Rodney as Jetspeed Transformer in "Toy Box"

Xazier Rodney as Jetspeed Transformer in "Toy Box"

Laura Mae Baker as Electra & Michael Rehse as Captain Marvel/Shazam in "Toy Box"

Michael Rehse, Xavier Rodney, and Rich Wisnewski in "Toy Box"

There was a scene with Baker as Electra and it dealt with the realities of being a woman action figure. Her knees don't bend, sitting down is a real issue, and she plops awkwardly into the chair butt first and hoping she doesn't fall too far back to tip over the chair. It was pretty funny! Electra discussed how every female action figure was basically the same mold but different paint jobs. And discussed why do all the lady superheroes have heels on? How are they supposed to fight crime in heels? Hehe

Baker did really well as Electra.

Laura Mae Baker as Electra in "Toy Box"

 Overall, the "Toy Box" was a really cute nostalgic piece on being a kid again. 

"The Woman With Asparagus Hair" was more of a short drama piece I'll say. Baker plays an unnamed woman who has a nightmare about making a film and how happy and proud she was of said film. But then the audience, in said nightmare, turned against her and hated the film of the "woman with the asparagus hair." It discussed the fears of being liked and accepted by your peers. Even being financially stable too. Baker showed some great acting talent in going from happy to worried to scared and back to humored in a matter of 10 or so minutes. 

Xavier Rodney & Laura Mae Baker in "The Woman With Asparagus Hair"

"The Case of the Absurdly Tall and Wholly Unnecessary Residential Tower in Queens" is about private detective John Putnam played by Rehse trying to find a woman's significant other, played by Melissa Farinelli. Putnam likes to narrate everything he is doing or everything that is happening around him, with very humorous outcomes or other characters just looking at him funny. The story itself is about how hipsters are taking over Queens and "gentrifying" it and how rents will go up. Which is a reality for much of New York City and the outlying boroughs these days. Wisneski's sarcasm was on point as he played the rich father in the scene. This show was reminiscent of the mystery noir I do love, but with more humor. It was fun to watch.

Michael Rehse & Melissa Farinelli

Rich Wisneski & Xavier Rodney

Michael Rehse & Melissa Farinelli

Michael Rehse & Xavier Rodney

"Breaking News: Live From Your Fragile, Fragile Psyche" was about being in a woman's head as she recalls her most recent but failed relationship. Brought to you like the 5 o'clock news broadcast, Farinelli's character goes from talking to the ego, the memory, the right and left sides of the brain, the conscience and to her emotions.Discussing each part of the relationship and the recent encounter with the ex. Farinelli stretched her talents in being the news anchor but then in reporting from each area of the brain via pre-recorded videos that she needed to keep up with. Playing all the characters, in different tones and attitudes was great. Reminded me of Tatia on BBC's Orphan Black and the diversity of that actor and seeing all the different types of roles and personalities one person can show off. It was a great use of media with the pre-recorded videos and using the broadcast news method.

Melissa Farinelli

Melissa Farinelli in two of many roles.

Melissa Farinelli as news anchor.

The "Horsey McHorseface" seemed like an odd duck. It is about imaginary friends but I felt it crude and maybe mean even. The story itself is about a guy with an imaginary friend who happens to be a horse. But the horse is mean to everyone and ends up getting the main character, played by Rodney, in trouble all the time. It reminded me sort of the Odd Couple in a way too. The horse likes to, for example, sneak up on another young lady and grab her butt. But since no one can see the horse, the main character gets socked in the face by said young lady. There is a turn of events where Farinelli comes into the picture, and we notice she also has an imaginary horse friend. Her horse socks Rodney's horse and the two get along great because finally, someone can see Rondey's imaginary friend. But the video was crude, not the best quality and the sound wasn't fantastic either, as I could hear a lot of background noise. It could be all this was intentional, but I am not sure. They interspersed these videos and continuing storylines throughout the evening, in between bigger set changes. Along with Rehse's improv and narration. 

Overall, the shows on the whole were interesting, fun, humorous, and well-done. I'd recommend seeing this if it comes around again. Great job to Cupcake Ladies Productions and Planet Connections.

The cast and crew

Santasical: A Very, Merry Twistmas

So I was a guest journalist for Oni Hartstein's blog recently while she's out on medical leave. She asked me to cover this fun event of "Santastical: A Very, Merry Twistmas" for her in NYC. I was happy to oblige!

Via her blog, here's what I thought about it:

http://www.onezumiverse.com/2015/12/new-york-city-holiday-attractions-santastical-a-very-merry-twistmas-is-christmas-from-the-nightmare-nyc-team/

Enjoy!!

And thanks to Oni for the opportunity to go to the event and write for your blog! I am honored!

Guardians of the Galaxy!!!! GROOOOT!!!!

Ok so Monday night I got to see Guardians of the Galaxy, courtsey of a Skype event at the Flatiron building area. They had a little dance video you had to create and post online somewhere and then post the picture of you with the movie poster behind you, pretending you were the sixth guardian. And in that photo you posted, and adding Guardians as a skype comtact, you had to come up with a sixth Guardian name. I came up with Missy the Massacre, because I like alliteration... hehe

Not the best picture with the wind blowing my hair in my face...

At the skype event, I got a sketch from Sean Chen. who illustrated Nova, Iron Man and other such comics. And I found out he worked at Valiant for many years so he actually is friends with my ex-hubby. (whom also worked at valiant for awhile). Sean was uber sweet. Took his time to talk to you and get to know you a bit while sitting there. We talked about my new love of comics and how I only read Lenore from Dirge since I was about 14 and then how only in the last few years I've come into my own, reading more mainstream comics from Marvel, DC, IDW, etc. Talked about women reading comics now and how I got started from meeting other women not ashamed of reading comics and how I branched out knowing these women read comics, too. It was a lovely conversation with Sean.

Sean Chen's Rocket Racoon sketch for me.

Me and Sean Chen

For posting the video, picture and adding GOTG to Skype contacts, we got some cool swag. Some GOTG buttons and roll of stickers packaged in a box that looked like a cassette tape. Yay so cool! And of course a GOTG t-shirt and poster. We also got a Skype seat cushion and a Skype drawstring bag to hold all the goodies in. Fun!

To wait for contest winners call-time, my friends and I then went to dinner and caught up with each other. Then went back to the event to see if we won, via Skype app, tickets to the screening that was happening at 11pm. 9pm was when folks were supposed to start getting notified... we waited... and watied. Eventually I got the message first, around 9:30pm! But I had won! Yay! We waited around some more, knowing it was all being sent manually to each person. Also, we were told if we didn't win, to wait around anyway just in case they had extra tickets. Sure enough, Nate won tickets, so now all three of us could go, and Jon's other friend, Jessica, who was with us earlier, could also go :) Fun!

Eventually we split up so Nate and I could get a spot on line, but Jon and Jess beat us to it. (Subways suck...) Found out Jon got his ticket as well. so now Nate and I still had +1's but no way was any of our friends going to get there in time. So oh well.

The movie was at 11pm. But there was some fiasco with the film or the projector or even the room itself (like not finding the key to the projector room). so the movie started very late - at like midnight... And because of that either you could leave and get another voucher for wed with a +1 guest or wait it out. Nate has no work so he waited. Jon and Jess left because of work the next day and train schedules home. I figured I'd wait a lil longer and sure enough about 15 min later it started. But we also got a free voucher at the end of the night, for another regal movie anytime, to make up for inconvenience, so that was nice. (Just one voucher tho but hey, its something, thanks Regal!)

Ok, onto the movie review - NO SPOILERS!!!!

Guardians of the Galaxy was just as amazing as the commercials led it on to be. Highly recommend and I want to see it again and again. OMG SO GOOOD!!!!!! GROOOT!!!!! So many good action sequences, great character development and some history of course behind it, lots of really funny moments thrown in a lot, especially from Quill and Rocket. Very accurate in that sense. I loved Rocket and Groot (who doesn't?!) Their banter was fantastic. And Karen Gillan. Whoa! Awesome villian!!!! Holy hell she brings it to every scene!!! squeee!!!! She was really amazing as Nebula! Incredible performance. And this is from a girl who didn't much like Amy Pond's character on Doctor Who, but it's how she was written more than telling of her acting abilities. I know she can act because of that role, but it wasn't one I liked much. This, though, this was fantastic! She really was just incredible as Nebula! Sidenote: in the prison scene (no spoilers, I swear) look up in the rafters, when they show the other prisoners, you'll see Lloyd Kaufman. If you don't know who he is, we can't be friends anymore haha -- seriously go watch some Troma movies (ie Toxic Avenger) or even Rocky...

Anyway, I loved the play on each character, the build-up's of each one, their history and then how they eventually come together. I have not read the comics for this so I can't compare accuracy but it all flowed well for the movie. And my comic geeks haven't said a peep about how or if they changed things around (in bad ways) so I think that says a lot too, that it must be pretty close to the comics history if they haven't said otherwise. (You know us geeks like to compare and rip thing apart so if that doesn't happen as the movies credits roll, you know it's gotta be good...)

Of course some recurring characters from Avengers end scenes were there, Thanos and the Collector from Thor: The Dark World. So it was nice to see that storyline continue, as we knew it would.

There's a lot of heart in the movie too, where you don't think it would normally fit into a comic book film such as this, but it really blends well. The writers really did a good job of blending everything well. Nothing really felt too rushed or too forced.

This is just such a fun, fun awesome movie!! Go see Guardians of the Galaxy!!!!!

Oh, and in terms of toys, again no spoilers, something at the end of the movie, they better make a toy of because I was squeeing like a 5 year old in my seat. Everyone, but especially girls will want this thing to be made into a toy!!! When you see it, you'll know exactly what I was talking about...

Note that our version didn't have an after-credits scene. Not sure if it will have one like they did with Avengers, where all the screeners didn't have one yet, but for opening day they got one into the film (shwarma eating scene) at the last minute. There was only the one scene right before the main credits start rolling for our screening. So no matter when you go, stay anyway just in case... (not that I need to tell my friends/fans that though...)

Apocalypse Kiss Review

Apocalypse Kiss is a sci-fi thriller much like Blade Runner only this time I could follow along. (Tho to be fair it's been years since I've seen Blade Runner now). With a murder mystery under foot and an apocalypse at its heels, Apocalypse Kiss is set in that futuristic sci-fi world with colorful video screens and oddities at every corner, strange people in every seedy setting... It's pretty cool.

The synopsis of the movie, taken from the Potent Media website:

In this futuristic science fiction thriller, government security agent Jerry Hipple has been unsuccessfully tracking the city's most infamous criminal The Red Harvest Killer. When two nomadic lovers, Katia and Gladys enter the city the death count rises and are being credited as Red Harvest killings. Obsessive compulsive Adrian, the actual Red Harvest Killer becomes furious that the sexy serial killing duo are grabbing media attention under his alias. Not only does Adrian attempt to reclaim his rightful reputation but he also decides to cleverly aid his detective counterpart through the case. All the while, killers and victims alike are unaware the world is about to reach an abrupt catastrophic ending.

Katia, played by Carmela Hayslett, is brilliant in one of the lead female roles. So diverse and playing a triple threat comes across so easily on screen. Gladys, played by Tammy Jean, was pretty effortless as a blonde bombshell who follows Kat around and who sometimes gets her hands dirty in order to survive.
The Red Harvest Killer, Adrian, played by D.C. Douglas, is pretty convincing as a crazy psychopath killer on the loose. He plays his role with some satire but it comes across wonderfully for this film.
Tom Detrik plays the detective trying to figure out whodunnit. I loved him as the noir Dick Tracy type with a sad backstory. I enjoyed his character a lot. I would love to have more on him. But he wasn't the focus of the film of course. I usually identify with the person who's trying to figure out the murder mystery, though.

The story was great. Writer and director Christian Grillo did an amazing job at the storyline and cinematography. The only gripe I have is that the apocalypse part within the story, never came across well. (And this is not a spoiler because it's in the title of the movie...) It was embedded in the middle of the film, or almost at the end really, in a one-liner from the Wizard character and it was easy to miss. I missed it the first time around, only to have it pointed out to me by my friend who watched it with me. And when the apocalypse starts being discussed as a plotline to the audience, it was like suddenly watching another movie, but only for a few minutes as its near the very end of the film. It was very abrupt and you almost felt like you didn't need it anymore as any plot device since it didn't add much else, other than wrapping up everyone's story in one big chunk. It was never a part of any of the characters lives within the rest of the film, except at that very end moment... So I'm not sure it was needed perse.

Other than that, the murder mystery was fun to follow and see the characters interact with one another. I liked how things had a slight twist to them. Tho I could see a lot of plot twists coming.

The amount of special effects for this low-budget film is pretty astounding. I was surprised how much special effects were actually used and utilized to great execution without it looking cheesy at all! It was pretty seamless with the rest of the film. From the technicolor Wizard's monitors and the creepy girls he had on screens, to the elevator doors opening/scanning and the scanning of the east sector, all blended in well with both the story and scenery.

I will say the soundtrack is pretty amazing. Totally helps tell the story and I can see myself getting a soundtrack to it if it were available. It definitely has the sci-fi gritty tone to it that the film needs. None of the songs are out of place or sound too pretty for the film.

And the end song, for the apocalypse is quite beautiful, if in a most haunting kind of way. The credits show vocals are done by Deb Portalatin. And she has an amazing deep dark voice that was perfect for those last minutes on Earth. And during her song, the montage they play of each characters last few moments on Earth, is done beautifully. I could listen to this song on repeat for a good few hours if not more...

I highly recommend watching this movie. It definitely doesn't feel or sound like an independent film or a low-budget film. It never comes across as hokey or anything. The camera angles are artsy and fantastic. The quality of both video and audio are amazing for the budget they had. Only in one part when everyone is yelling, can you hear the sound warble a bit. But it's minor. And I'm an A/V girl so I happened to notice. But really, go out and get this film however you can. It's pretty amazing. It's out on DVD at Amazon and on-demand from major cable companies. I will say it took awhile for me to find via my RCN on-demand but eventually I found it. I am currently waiting on my DVD from Amazon to arrive to watch it a few more times.

Oh and one disclaimer, there is full frontal male nudity which I was not expecting. I knew I'd see naked women based on the trailers alone, but not one of the males. So, fair warning haha.

I would also watch this video after you see the film. Love behind-the-scenes videos and this one is great. Some really good interviews with Chris Grillo and the cast and crew behind Apocalypse Kiss on how it was made on such a low-budget but never looking hokey. Enjoy!

This movie was produced by my friend, John Kent, but by no means was this review solicited by him or anyone at Potent Media and it is written with all opinions as my own.

The Romero Strain Review

I recently got to read an advanced copy of "The Romero Strain" by TS Alan. It's a zombie apocalypse story but it's more about the characters and how they develop than about the zombies, themselves. TS Alan really gets to the heart of the people involved, at least of those who survive, much like The Walking Dead series does. Yes, there's of course zombie attacks on our five to six characters but it's how they deal with one another and the outside world more than anything else. It really is a basic human story in that sense.

There are a lot of facts and figures to go along with the story. Sometimes they detract from the story but at the same time, it's good knowledge that would be spoken aloud if you were a survivor and needed to know how to operate a weapon of choice or how to get through the sewers.

It takes place in NYC and it all happens very unexpectedly. No time to prepare for the oncoming storm. Kind of like Cloverfield, you don't see it coming. But we travel the underground with J.D. Nichols, the main character. We watch him deal with the apocalypse and talk about how to be prepared for such an occurrence. It really does make you think twice when you leave the house empty-handed.

The Romero Strain really reads like a movie. It's so easy to envision everything from what the "zombies" look like to the bunkers to the underground. It's also why I can compare it to other shows or movies rather than other books. The book has a very good flow to it and a good timeframe surrounding it.

We see relationships form, both friendships and romantic ones. We see how everyone deals with that when you think you may be the only ones left alive. This book mostly deals with the human heart than the zombies but there is plenty of action. And it's a different kind of zombie we are dealing with in this book. Alan explains it so explicitly about what we are dealing with. There was a lot of science and biology discussion, and what type of "zombie" might occur under certain conditions. It was fascinating to read his version of what a zombie is. The book is so well-written that you can't put it down. You want to know what happens. You want to see who ends up with whom, and you want to know who survives and who may not!


It is the first book in a series and so it leaves you on a cliffhanger! I cannot wait to read the rest of the series!

For now, you can get the e-book version via Amazon for only $3.99 for the Kindle. It's so worth the read! The hardcopy is supposed to be out in stores within the next six months if all goes according to plan, but I wouldn't wait! It's too good to wait!!

Also, follow the author TS Alan on Twitter as he gives you Thursday survival tips and good advice every week.

Roman Dirge's Lenore #8

My first ever comic was from Roman Dirge and his series of Lenore. A friend of mine at the time, introduced me to it and I have been hooked ever since. I've been reading Lenore basically since it began about 15 years in 1998. It was really the only comic I read because comics just weren't my medium at the time. So to have the opportunity to review Lenore #8 with Titan Comics, is an amazing honor. I love his Lenore series and have his art book as well which I got signed with a doodle from Dirge when he was in NY a couple years ago.

By the way, even though he's been writing Lenore continuously since 1998, the numbers of these comics are "new" as he became part of the Titan Comics family. Before this, Dirge was with Slave Labor Graphics and his numbered issues were much higher, but there was a bad falling out with SLG that I won't go into. I'm so glad Dirge is with Titan now though, as they seem to promote him much more than SLG did and he deserves the attention.

For those that haven't read any Lenore comics, I'd say go get them now. They are available as hardcover and softcover trades labeled Noogies, Wedgies, Swirlies and Cooties. Yes, this is the humor folks, it's funny. Roman is awesome and deserves your money! Hehe (I am not being paid to say that, the man truly is hilarious and maybe you'll agree if you pick up those books). They are available as signed hardcopies for $29.95 USD/each on Roman's site, Spookyland. But of course you can check your local comic shop or the ever-present Amazon for non-signed softcovers.

Ok enough background, onto the actual review...

The first story in Lenore #8 is very Indian Jones-y. But with Dirge's comedic-gory, dark and yet somewhat slapstick-y humor. This particular story doesn't involve any of his usual characters. It's about excavating an old Egyptian tomb and ending up unleashing Hell. Very Dirge-like subject, unleashing Hell. hahah  It almost had a serious tone to parts of it though, like what the mummy stood for and how he went about trying to set things right and about getting revenge when he's reawakened. Sounds good in concept but I felt this story lacked a real ending. Or maybe the joke was too blatent for the ending it was given. At least for Dirge. His stories usually end much better. Though I will say, there is one panel that is just beautifully done, right before a big battle happens. Very much reminiscent of Dirge's other artwork that doesn't involve Lenore.

The main story up next is "Some Things Are Best Unseen." It's a parody on the Ghost Hunters type of show. I am actually a fan of the Ghost Hunters so I did find this story funny. This one was more Dirge in humor and journey of the story. I liked the comedy between Lenore, Ragamuffin and Pooty. The three of them are always pretty funny together. Basically Pooty comes up with the idea that they should become ghosts so that they can scare these ghost hunters out and never have them come back. It kind of backfires on them but in the meantime they meet real ghosts of themselves from another dimension and comedy ensues. And as usual, Dirge has basically inserted himself into the comic as Taxidermy, he does this every so often... To which Taxidermy does some horrible things to the characters without any dialogue - just pictures. It's pretty brilliant. Lenore is hilarious as a ghost, especially with her other-dimension-ghost counterpart. Those scenes with the two of them really made me giggle and really were the best part! The last joke was a little off from the storyline but otherwise I really loved this one. True to Dirge's form.

Comicbookresources.com has some preview pages:

I love the cover art for each one and you'll be able to have your choice of covers when it's out in comic shops this week, July 31st!

Personally, I always buy both, so I have more Dirge artwork and he gets more of my money! 

Thank you to Titan Comics for letting me preview the issue and the opportunity to review it before the newsstand date. All opinions are my own.

Giant Robots, Kaiju and Humans. Oh My!

Giant robots and Kaiju!

Let me tell you, I went into this movie thinking it was going to be another Cloverfield. Not that that movie was terrible or anything but it's not my kind of movie. I'm not into alien takeover movies or apocalyptic movies where humans are the ones to suffer and ultimately die.

I hadn't watched many trailers - maybe none even save a few that were on my tv while watching other programs, to which I still ignored anyway. So I totally and completely did not know or chose not to know, that Guillermo Del Toro directed the film and co-wrote it with Travis Beacham. Had I known, I would have gone in with a completely different attitude. But as it was, I'm kind of glad I went in not knowing that. I had far more surprises and added suspense thanks to my ignorance.

Actors Del Toro always uses, show up in the film which is fantastic! And I cheered when I saw one person in particular! (You can probably guess who, he does show up in trailers tho again, I'm ignorant to that fact). And he's just as brilliant as ever without much makeup or prosthetics wooo! He played his role perfectly.

The reality of the movie is really good. The first 10-15 minutes of the film is basically a recap of what's been happening to the world at large with these kaiju. So you don't spend an hour of the film bored or saying "when is the action going to happen?" or "when does this movie really start?" You get into the nitty-gritty very early on and characters are established early on. So it makes a cohesive storyline mixed with enough action, sci-fi and adventure in the entire movie. It really is a continuous, easy to follow film with tons of excellent special effects and visually stunning scenes.

My companion that night said whenever she looked over at me, I was pretty wide-eyed and mouth agape at the scenes! HA! Which is pretty accurate. I really was amazed at the visuals Del Toro put out there.

His characters and their choices made sense. His story telling is always pretty brilliant. And he fulfills that void that most movies these days lack. He has every element of a good film in one film. 

And he does NOT make this into a love story either. I was very proud that Del Toro took the characters and made them individuals who become a team. But not in any sexual way and no fulfillment of sexual tension or even one kiss scene! I was surprised but praise Del Toro for that. He made this a humanitarian movie without needing a sex object. The main female lead Mako, played by Rinko Kikuchi is her own person. With her own baggage and emotions. Yes, she seems to fancy the male lead Raleigh Becket za bit, played by Charlie Hunnam but Del Toro never plays her as the sex object. They are partners and can be friends without a nude scene, without a kissing scene, without a gratuitous undressing scene (looking at you Star Trek!) She truly is an intelligent human being who happens to have a male partner and works well with him on an intelligent level. A few times I found she looked kind of pouty though. That would be my only gripe about either the actress or the character.

I will say his kaiju do look a lot like the hellhounds did in Hellboy. Very much that same muddy grey, four-legged squishy buddha beasts with lots of eyes and same screechy roars. Del Toro likes the same creatures. Tho there are some variations in the heads of these kaiju but I can't tell you why without spoiling the plot.

And I will say that one of the scientist characters, played by Charlie Day, just kept feeling like a smarter Rick Moranis in Ghostbusters. Are you the keymaster? I've never seen this actor before so I can't say anything about his acting but my companion said this was his role - that this is the kind of eccentric, spastic roles he tends to play. I didn't like his character much I guess. But ok then! One of his scenes didn't make much sense or wasn't really followed up on. But I think that's more Del Toro then the actor/acting.

Idris Elba is fantastic. I never really watched any of his movies either, tho he is a hot commodity these days. The only thing I can recall him in was Thor as Heimdall which isn't a big role. But he was pretty good in this movie. The military guy in charge with some baggage that unfolds later in the film.

Del Toro made all the right choices in this film. From the story, to the visuals, to the effects, to the casting, to the non-love-love story. I loved it! I am glad I actually got to go to two screenings of this! I would gladly pay money to see it again though! It definitely holds up even after two viewings.

Oh and stay til mid-credits as there is something there. Nothing at the end though. Teehee!

Trust Me Review From the Tribeca Film Festival

    First thought was "I have to see this because Agent Coulson, I mean, Clark Gregg! He directed, wrote and starred in this!" Who wouldn't want to?
    Next thought, I've seen him in a couple other things like "…Adventures of Old Christine", in addition to the Marvel franchise, so I knew he'd be pretty good in this.
    "Trust Me" had a definite gritty feel, very documentary-like that added to the reality of the situation and what was going on. Gregg is a desperate child talent agent who was a child actor himself and is eager to find his prodigal money-maker.
    Gregg wrote and played his part well, living in a motel-like apartment complex with a love interest nearby, played by Amanda Peet, and drives a run-down, beat up car from the 1980's, from the looks of it.
    The lead young actress playing his hopeful money-maker, Saxon Sharbino, was like a young Lindsey Lohan when Lindsey had a passion for acting and had some real talent in her. She really played the actress in peril stuck under her father's thumb.
    I loved all the "cameos" of famous actors like Bill Macey, Felicity Huffman, Sam Rockwell and Molly Shannon to name just a few. They played their parts brilliantly and I love all of them as actors.
    There were some rough edits in the film. Some scenes were choppier than others or more docu-style of camera work. The camera work seemed intentional but not sure about the editing. Some of it was probably due to time/length constraints of the film and some might have been intentional to also have that same docu-feel.
    I saw this twice and only after the second viewing did I really see the metamorphosis theme. Butterflies showed up a few times and then the kid with fairy wings runs by and then the ending was a major metamorphosis image.
    Not sure I liked the special effect metamorphosis that ended up being used in the end of the film as it still looked a bit ostentatious and a little overboard. But maybe that’s what Gregg was going for. There was much discussion about that in the Q&A with Gregg afterwards. He didn’t have the effect in the film until about a week before the film festival due to connections he finally realized he had making all those pesky superhero films. Just kidding about the “pesky superhero films” but not about the timing.
     One thing I kept getting confused about was how Gregg's character kept getting bloody noses. Once due to a rear-end car "accident" from Rockwell's character. But besides the purposeful bloody nose that one time, it never went anywhere -- I thought it might be that he had some terminal disease that he might die of soon and would integrate into the film. But nothing was really explained about it. So that was a slight mystery to me.
    Gregg managed to do something few films or TV does, he put the very last moment of the film into the beginning of it, in order to have what I call, a CSI-style storytelling. So now, you see the ending but are kept on the edge of your seat the whole movie wondering, "But how did that happen?!" And you definitely had that feeling during this film because it's very unexpected from the beginning of the film to what happens in the end. It first starts as a kind of dark comedy film and journeys into an even darker dramatic film. Gregg makes the transition and progression pretty seamless and smooth. Really amazing job considering how many hats he wore to make this film happen.
     And a big thanks to Clark Gregg for meeting all his fans afterwards and taking time out to take pics with us and sign our tickets.