Magic can be found in the most unlikely places in Kate Tsang’s debut feature “Marvelous and the Black Hole.” Like, for instance, the restroom at a community college summer program, where rebellious and angry teenager Sammy meets her unlikely mentor Margot (Rhea Perlman), a children’s magician who sets her on a surprising journey of personal healing.
“Marvelous and the Black Hole” is a whimsical coming-of-age story about processing life and loss through storytelling and sleight of hand.
Sammy, who has been grieving her mother’s death through bouts of light vandalism, is presented with a choice by her stern father, Angus after her latest infraction, which resulted in a toilet paper-filled bathroom stall, a sweet shiner and disciplinary action. She can either attend a summer course in entrepreneurship (with perfect grades) or get sent to a “scared straight”–style military camp. Sullen Sammy reluctantly decides to comply with community college.
“Marvelous and the Black Hole” is a whimsical coming-of-age story about processing life and loss through storytelling and sleight of hand.
Sammy, who has been grieving her mother’s death through bouts of light vandalism, is presented with a choice by her stern father, Angus after her latest infraction, which resulted in a toilet paper-filled bathroom stall, a sweet shiner and disciplinary action. She can either attend a summer course in entrepreneurship (with perfect grades) or get sent to a “scared straight”–style military camp. Sullen Sammy reluctantly decides to comply with community college.
- 4/20/2022
- by Katie Walsh
- The Wrap
Wow, the 21st Annual Whitaker St. Louis International Film Festival already has been amazing!
Sliff’s main venues are the the Hi-Pointe Theatre, Tivoli Theatre, Plaza Frontenac Cinema, Webster University’s Winifred Moore Auditorium, Washington University’s Brown Hall Auditorium and the Wildey Theatre in Edwardsville, Il
The entire schedule for the 21st Annual Whitaker St. Louis International Film Festival be found Here.
http://cinemastlouis.org/sliff-2012
Here is what will be screening at The 21st Whitaker St. Louis International Film Festival today, Thursday, November 15th
Shorts Program 8: Quirky Relationships
Shorts Program 8: Quirky Relationships plays at 5:00pm at the Tivoli Theatre
Shorts that give romance a twist.
Boo! (Rupert Reid, Australia, 2012, 5 min.): An aging married couple keep their love alive by staying one step ahead of each other. Coffees (Alex Beh, U.S., 2012, 11 min.): As a last-ditch effort, Mikey decides to go to his ex...
Sliff’s main venues are the the Hi-Pointe Theatre, Tivoli Theatre, Plaza Frontenac Cinema, Webster University’s Winifred Moore Auditorium, Washington University’s Brown Hall Auditorium and the Wildey Theatre in Edwardsville, Il
The entire schedule for the 21st Annual Whitaker St. Louis International Film Festival be found Here.
http://cinemastlouis.org/sliff-2012
Here is what will be screening at The 21st Whitaker St. Louis International Film Festival today, Thursday, November 15th
Shorts Program 8: Quirky Relationships
Shorts Program 8: Quirky Relationships plays at 5:00pm at the Tivoli Theatre
Shorts that give romance a twist.
Boo! (Rupert Reid, Australia, 2012, 5 min.): An aging married couple keep their love alive by staying one step ahead of each other. Coffees (Alex Beh, U.S., 2012, 11 min.): As a last-ditch effort, Mikey decides to go to his ex...
- 11/15/2012
- by Tom Stockman
- WeAreMovieGeeks.com
Day two of the New York City Horror Film Festival came and went with no road bumps this time thankfully, as I was able to enjoy the night’s lineup without any delays, along with a special guest appearance by horror icon Rob Zombie, but I’ll touch on that experience later and save the love here for another fantastic night of short films. Teddy bears, talking vegetables, cannibalism – what wasn’t there to love?
The Captured Bird
Director: Jovanka Vuckovic
Isn’t it great when a little piece of cinema comes along and just makes your skin crawl, especially when it’s backed by the likes of Guillermo del Toro, George A. Romero, and Mick Garris? That’s what The Captured Bird brilliantly accomplishes, telling a short story about a tiny child’s encounter with a haunted mansion and five freakish demons birthed from black sludge, along with being...
The Captured Bird
Director: Jovanka Vuckovic
Isn’t it great when a little piece of cinema comes along and just makes your skin crawl, especially when it’s backed by the likes of Guillermo del Toro, George A. Romero, and Mick Garris? That’s what The Captured Bird brilliantly accomplishes, telling a short story about a tiny child’s encounter with a haunted mansion and five freakish demons birthed from black sludge, along with being...
- 11/10/2012
- by Matt Donato
- We Got This Covered
For their seventh annual edition, the Spooky Movie International Horror Film Festival is really blowing things up!
Well, not literally. But the world’s premiere horror movie fest is expanding to over double its regular size, screening over 50 films on nine terrifying nights Oct. 10-18 at its new home, the prestigious AFI Silver Theatre in Silver Spring, Maryland.
The scares kick off on the 10th with the return of local fave filmmaker Richard Bates, Jr. with the feature-length version of Excision about a teenage girl obsessed with becoming a surgeon. The film co-stars John Waters, Malcolm McDowell and Traci Lords. Bates’ original short Excision on which the feature is based screened at Spooky Movie back in 2008.
A few other Spooky Movie alumni who are back with highly anticipated new films include Mike Davis‘ “green” horror movie President Wolfman, which is composed entirely of public domain footage mixed with a rip-roarin...
Well, not literally. But the world’s premiere horror movie fest is expanding to over double its regular size, screening over 50 films on nine terrifying nights Oct. 10-18 at its new home, the prestigious AFI Silver Theatre in Silver Spring, Maryland.
The scares kick off on the 10th with the return of local fave filmmaker Richard Bates, Jr. with the feature-length version of Excision about a teenage girl obsessed with becoming a surgeon. The film co-stars John Waters, Malcolm McDowell and Traci Lords. Bates’ original short Excision on which the feature is based screened at Spooky Movie back in 2008.
A few other Spooky Movie alumni who are back with highly anticipated new films include Mike Davis‘ “green” horror movie President Wolfman, which is composed entirely of public domain footage mixed with a rip-roarin...
- 9/5/2012
- by Mike Everleth
- Underground Film Journal
Director: Ryan Denmark.
Writers: Ryan Denmark, Jason Witter, and William Shakespeare (original play).
Cast: Hannah Kauffmann, Jason Witter, Mark Chavez, Kate Schroeder, Reuben Finkelstein, and Kevin R Elder.
What strangeness doth producer/writer Jason Witter and director Ryan Denmark bring? And how do they reinterpret a classic play for a zombie generation? In what gets created, Romeo & Juliet vs. the Living Dead defies every expectation for a zombie film that aspires to be very literary. These two filmmakers have made a very unique product that can easily rank up there with author Seth Grahame-Smith’s "Pride and Prejudice and Zombies." Their passion for this bard's work is easily apparent, but their love for the classic zombie film is just as equally visible.
The team behind this movie put together an amazing product that will satisfy certain types of audiences. For those looking for spectacular makeup effects, that will not be found here.
Writers: Ryan Denmark, Jason Witter, and William Shakespeare (original play).
Cast: Hannah Kauffmann, Jason Witter, Mark Chavez, Kate Schroeder, Reuben Finkelstein, and Kevin R Elder.
What strangeness doth producer/writer Jason Witter and director Ryan Denmark bring? And how do they reinterpret a classic play for a zombie generation? In what gets created, Romeo & Juliet vs. the Living Dead defies every expectation for a zombie film that aspires to be very literary. These two filmmakers have made a very unique product that can easily rank up there with author Seth Grahame-Smith’s "Pride and Prejudice and Zombies." Their passion for this bard's work is easily apparent, but their love for the classic zombie film is just as equally visible.
The team behind this movie put together an amazing product that will satisfy certain types of audiences. For those looking for spectacular makeup effects, that will not be found here.
- 11/27/2011
- by noreply@blogger.com (Ed Sum)
- 28 Days Later Analysis
This is the Pure Movies review of Chase the Slut, screening as part of the Edinburgh International Film Festival. The film stars Vanessa Claire Smith, Michael Kirby, Danika Sudik, Lance Arthur Smith and Philip Wofford and is directed by Ryan Denmark. Chase the Slut is one of those low, low budget films that you often never see outside of film festivals; a quirky screenplay with decent acting performances, shot on lower end film equipment that you just know would have been better if someone had just given the poor director some more money to do something with it.
- 6/19/2010
- by Neil Rolland
- Pure Movies
Two highly-anticipated second feature films from U.S. underground filmmakers will be making their World Premieres all the way over at the 64th annual Edinburgh International Film Festival, which will run for twelve days on June 16-27. The films are Rona Mark’s The Crab and Zach Clark’s Vacation!.
The Crab, which screens on June 21, is the touching story of a verbally abusive man born with two enormous, mutant-like hands; while Vacation!, which screens on June 20, tracks four urban gals let loose in a sunny seaside resort down South.
Both Mark and Clark previously screened their debut features at Eiff. Mark’s Strange Girls screened there in 2008 and Clark’s Modern Love Is Automatic screened in 2009. Both films also ended up as runners-up in Bad Lit’s annual Movie of the Year award, again Strange Girls in 2008 and Modern Love in 2009. Sadly, these two masterpieces are still unavailable on...
The Crab, which screens on June 21, is the touching story of a verbally abusive man born with two enormous, mutant-like hands; while Vacation!, which screens on June 20, tracks four urban gals let loose in a sunny seaside resort down South.
Both Mark and Clark previously screened their debut features at Eiff. Mark’s Strange Girls screened there in 2008 and Clark’s Modern Love Is Automatic screened in 2009. Both films also ended up as runners-up in Bad Lit’s annual Movie of the Year award, again Strange Girls in 2008 and Modern Love in 2009. Sadly, these two masterpieces are still unavailable on...
- 6/4/2010
- by Mike Everleth
- Underground Film Journal
Year: 2009
Directors: Ryan Denmark
Writers: Ryan Denmark & Jason Witter & William Shakespeare
IMDb: link
Trailer: link
Review by: projectcyclops
Rating: 5 out of 10
Verily! Why hast thy mind become split, how dost this moving image picture confuse thee into giving it a 1 star review for it's inherent crappiness, yet boldly awarding ye director a 10 for imagination and the most noble intentions? Verily! Come with me now to fair Verona, lest I give up this Shakespearean dialogue and get to ye point! Forsooth!
'Romero and Juliet v.s. The Living Dead' is admittedly a very cool idea, at least as far as titles go. When I first read about it I thought; wow, two star-crossed lovers fighting off zombies? Could be good! Then I saw the trailer, which actually led to my skipping this at the Edinburgh Film Festival; it looked to me like a Trauma film shot on digital by some teenagers...
Directors: Ryan Denmark
Writers: Ryan Denmark & Jason Witter & William Shakespeare
IMDb: link
Trailer: link
Review by: projectcyclops
Rating: 5 out of 10
Verily! Why hast thy mind become split, how dost this moving image picture confuse thee into giving it a 1 star review for it's inherent crappiness, yet boldly awarding ye director a 10 for imagination and the most noble intentions? Verily! Come with me now to fair Verona, lest I give up this Shakespearean dialogue and get to ye point! Forsooth!
'Romero and Juliet v.s. The Living Dead' is admittedly a very cool idea, at least as far as titles go. When I first read about it I thought; wow, two star-crossed lovers fighting off zombies? Could be good! Then I saw the trailer, which actually led to my skipping this at the Edinburgh Film Festival; it looked to me like a Trauma film shot on digital by some teenagers...
- 7/20/2009
- QuietEarth.us
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