Be On the Lookout Folks...Director Spotlight Ndosi Anyabwile

I am all about giving kudos to those who have made major moves and today's post is no different...

Georgia State University senior film major Ndosi Anyabwile will be making his way to Hollywood to showcase his two-minute film titled Spilled Milk. The film will be screened for "Best Picture" on June 21-23 during the Campus Moviefest (world's largest student film festival).

“This was the experience I needed to take control of what I want in life,” said Anyabwile, whose team name is Gorilla Tactix Entertainment. “Normally, if a contest like this came up I would let it pass me by out of fear that I'm not good enough. However, I realized that I should just make films regardless of what anyone thinks if I want to call myself a filmmaker.”


Anyabwile who also serves as the choreographer, director, editor, cinematographer, and visual effects artist on the film.


“I really enjoy having a finished project to share with people, and it is also great to watch your films improve after each film you make,” said Anyabwile, who has been making films since 2008. “I'm passionate about film because it is a great way for people to visualize what ideas are constantly bouncing around in my head.”


While in Hollywood he will also have the opportunity to attend numerous events including educational workshops and panels led by industry professionals, sneak peak screenings of Hollywood movies, and a red carpet awards ceremony.

That's what I call making things happen!! Watch out Hollywood!! Kudos to ya brotha!! Shine your light!

And for your viewing pleasure check out the feature film below...

"Lola Versus"...What not to do in a break-up!!

Lola Versus is the follow-up to the film Breaking Upwards from writer/director team Daryl Wein and Zoe Lister-Jones. Set in New York City, Lola (Greta Gerwig), plays the eponymous character, who discovers on her 29th birthday not only does she get engaged to get married, but that her life will be rapidly be pulled in every direction. Three weeks before her wedding her fiancé Luke (Joel Kinnaman, (Safe House” & The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo) calls off the ceremony, thus leaving her in a state of mourning and disaster.

Lola Versus illustrates one year in the life of a PhD student in literature named Lola (Greta Gerwig, No Strings Attached), beginning with her twenty-ninth birthday. In the beginning of the film, the viewer will encounter this voice-over narration and a dream sequence in which personal belongings such as shoes, handbags, and vibrators wash up by the hundreds on a beach. This scene is a precursor to what is yet to happen in Lola’s life. Everything that seems to make up her personality is washed up to the shore in complete disarray. In essence, her life is like a puzzle that has fallen apart and now she must pick up all the pieces and put them back together. Fast forward, we then move into present-day on Lola’s birthday and the eventual break-off of the wedding.

Now a heartbroken and hopelessly confused Lola must move back to her old apartment, which, in a painful twist of fate, was being sublet by a young woman who recently just got engaged and will now be moving in with her fiancé. Lola must now turn to her best friends Alice (Zoe Lister-Jones) a fringe theater actress and sometimes fling Henry (Hamish Linklater, Battleship) lead singer for an indie rock band for advice and moral support.

The character of Lola can be described as a 29-year old New Yorker, who has some shallow and irritating tendencies, in addition to being promiscuous and completely self-absorbed. To make matters worse, she's also a heavy social drinker mixed with being a weed head. When watching the film, it will be obvious to see how everything is centered on Lola, as a result of this selfishness it causes a rift in her familial and friend relationships. Take note, it becomes very difficult to feel sorry for someone like Lola who consistently sobs because she cannot find love, yet she has what some may say a picture-perfect face and body, a full support group, however she can’t help but sleep with every guy within her New York borough. Without a doubt, every person has their share of troubles and tears, however it’s what the person does to fix these issues so that they do not find themselves repeating the same problems over again.

In “Lola Versus”, we get to see veteran actor Bill Pullman who plays Lola’s nurturing father Lenny (whose last significant work was Rio Sex Comedy and Peacock) and Academy Award-nominated (An Officer and a Gentleman and Terms of Endearment) actress, Debra Winger who plays her somewhat overbearing mother Robin; both of whom seem to be trapped in the 70’s both in their fashion-sense and mentally. Essentially Lola’s parents are a censoriously high father and nagging mother, respectively who really do want the best for their daughter.

As a whole, it's not that Lola Versus is unnatural film, it’s more of another recycled film that looks at the whims of breaking up. I will say that it does add a bit of humor with all the name-dropping entities like Facebook, match.com, and Yelp! (I wonder if they got any commission for that). At moments though it did seem a bit much like the film was trying to add to much sex appeal with the raunchy jokes; and nonetheless trying real hard to be socially cool. Even with the witty lines and creative encounters, it does not bring anything authentic to the screen. Breaking up is a universal experience, but how many more unique and different ways can one person show about this action, and it still be entertaining.

Overall, I must say appreciated the way in which the filmmakers represented New York City. The film could have been easily flooded with cheesy photogenic shots of landmarks and skylines that we're all very familiar with; instead they opted for smaller, more intimate locations in less recognizable parts of the city. The setting and locations of the film give it some depth. Lola Versus is a charming film that if nothing else you will get a good laugh, but don’t expect anything new and original that you have not already seen in a “break-up” type film. If nothing else, there is a basic message that does ring loud and clear in the film, “before you can be happy with someone else, you have to be happy and at peace with yourself.

Rating: 6.5 out of 10 stars

Snow White and the Huntsman

Check out my fellow blog/website Medium Rare's review on Snow White and the Huntsman....

Fairy tales have a peculiar function in our society. They are some of the earliest stories we hear as children, and the morals bestowed upon us by those stories take hold sooner than whatever our parents may have tried to impart. No wonder Disney filled their early catalog with imaginings of fairy tales, to tremendous success. But it’s a struggle to formulate a clear moral for Snow White, a story that centers on the question “Who is the fairest of them all?”  Snow White and the Huntsman, a live-action film that applies a layer of grit and grim seriousness to the classic story, attempts to deal with the question, but it bails out when it should’ve prodded.

Early on, the evil Ravenna (Young Adult Charlize Theron) pulls off a coup against a king and imprisons his daughter, the young Snow White (Kirsten Stewart). This act is punctuated by a speech about the frailty of womanhood and the currency of beauty. It turns out that Ravenna has been cursed and she needs to stay beautiful to hold on to her powers. 

The film takes this concept to its logical extreme, with Ravenna taking fair young maidens from her realm and literally sucking the beauty and vitality out of them. When it comes time to do the same to the king’s imprisoned daughter, Snow White manages to escape into the Dark Forest. Ravenna orders the Huntsman (Thor’s Chris Hemsworth) to retrieve her, but he reneges on the queen’s request and instead helps Snow White to reclaim her kingdom.

It’s unfortunate that the film does not further expound on Ravenna’s point about beauty. It seemed to hint at making a statement about society’s obsession with beauty, but ultimately it holds back. There are no great revelations; the beauty angle merely allows for copious effects shots of people’s faces rapidly aging or reverse-aging, an effect that becomes tiresome by the fourth time it occurs. Theron gives a commanding performance as the Evil Queen. She yells and booms throughout the film, while also displaying the softness of a woman who’s desperately hanging on to her beauty. To contrast, Stewart (Twilight saga) pales as the emotional core of the film, as she spends much of her screen time with a woebegone expression. It’s far easier to root for Ravenna’s quest for vanity than for Snow White’s retaking of the throne.

Rupert Sanders makes his directorial debut, and he makes a visually appealing film in his first effort. Much of that can be attributed to Colleen Atwood’s superior costume design, which is by turns ornate and grimy. The cinematography by Greig Fraser is also praise-worthy, showcasing the majesty of the Irish countryside and it’s coast. However, the natural beauty of the landscapes is often obscured by excessive CGI. The film is effects-laden to the point of distraction. Some scenes occur solely to show off another visual trick.

Unlike the classic takes on the story, Snow White and the Huntsman is unabashedly an action film. Fight sequences are ably shot, but the lack of danger towards the protagonists takes away from the visceral quality of the action. It all leads up to a conclusion that is more Joan of Arc than Snow White. Stewart is unbelievable in rallying her troops, and the climax suffers because of it. With a finale reminiscent of (yet nowhere near approaching) the Battle of Helms Deep, the film solidifies itself as a lobotomized swords and sorcery flick, never mind how good it looks.

The film benefits from the viewer’s familiarity with the fairy tale. It allows for a possibility of emotional resonance that the film does not earn on its own. As a child, you cared about Snow White’s fate. Here, you can barely muster the slightest concern. For all its attempts at being a darker take on a fairy tale, Snow White and the Huntsman is exceedingly light fare.

Rating: 5.5 out of 10