It is all About Having a SENIOR MOMENT

 

Jeri Jacquin

Coming to DVD from director Giorgio Serafini and Screen Media is love, life and having a SENIOR MOMENT.

Victor Martin (William Shatner) is a man about his Palm Springs town, especially driving his beautiful car hanging with buddy Sal (Christopher Lloyd). Discussing how their friends are losing their fun, it changes when the lovely Kristen (Katrina Bowden) joins them for the evening.

Keeping themselves entertainment with car local Pablo (Carlos Miranda) makes for a fun Friday night. That puts Victor in court to defend himself against D.A. Tess Woodson (Beth Littleford) and it does not go so well as the one thing he loves is taken away. He has thirty days to clear everything up and until then, he is grounded.

Fed up with being so limited, Victor meets up with Rock Kendall (Don McManus) who not only lets him know the wrangling going on but promises him, for a fee, that he will get his license back. Rock tries many different ways to get Victor to stop getting distracted and once again show skills!

At the local café where homemade sweets abound is Caroline Summer (Jean Smart) who loves the art created by Diego (Esai Morales) and has great help with Sonia (Maya Stojan). By happenstance, Victor runs into Caroline on a bus and now her in café impressed by what he sees and fixated by a clock on the wall. A friendship comes about between Victor and Caroline much to the dismay of Diego.

That is not stopping a great friendship from being the best part of their days!

Shatner as Victor is in the role of a man who can not get enough of his fast car and young women. Hanging out with his friends from time to time keeps him moving and getting a mental workout from Rock is filling his days. The best part is the wonderful chemistry on screen with his co-star who balances out his life. Shatner is hilarious and heart warming at the same time.

Smart as Caroline is a self-proclaimed bohemian organic baker who enjoys the life, she has carved out for herself. Meeting Victor brings a little silliness and joy into her life, even when he does things that are not exactly what she is used to. Smart is charming and her character is not afraid to be wildly bohemian and strong in her convictions.

Lloyd as friend Sal wants his buddy to be happy and sees that with Caroline. Lloyd has really made roles for himself playing these cool characters. Miranda as Pablo is cool and feels an obligation to Victor. He really is sweet and, to my way of thinking, the younger version of Victor. McManus as Rock gives Victor the tools he needs to beat the wrap!

Other cast include Maya Stojan as Sonia, Melissa Greenspan as Officer Nancy, Joe Estevez, Jack Wallace as Ted, Kim Estes as Billy, Ron Gilbert as Mike, and Valarie Pettiford as Judge Miller.

Screen Media is an international distributor of television series and films, licensing content through theatrical, home video, pay-per-view, free, cable and pay television, and subscription and advertising video-on-demand platforms.  In 2017 Chicken Soup for the Soul Entertainment, Inc. acquired Screen Media which is in its 23rd year as a leading global independent distribution company.

With one of the largest independently owned libraries of filmed entertainment in the world and license agreements across all forms of media, Screen Media’s distribution capability enables direct distribution of all rights in all countries, thus enhancing the profitability of Chicken Soup for the Soul Entertainment productions. The company is continually looking to add films and television series to its content library.

The Bonus Features for SENIOR MOMENT WITH Director/Producer Commentary, Behind the Scenes with the Cast and Crew of Senior Moment and Bad Boy Rocker Music Video.

SENIOR MOMENT is fun, charming, sweet, and filled with emotion and a caring many hope to find later in life. There is such a wide range of characters and each of them has a story to tell. There are old friendships that are solid and dependable, there are new friendships based on only moments of time, and there are friendships that turn into something quite beautiful.

This is a cast that brings years of experience to the screen for sure, but it is also a case that they never miss a beat working together. The story is unexpected and brought out a lot of giggles and a look at the conservation of a desert animal that needs a little attention as well.

In the end – it is never too late to fall in love again!

A SIMPLE FAVOR Challenges Friendship

Jeri Jacquin

This Friday in theatres from director Paul Feig and Lionsgate comes a film based on the Darcey Bell novel asking for A SIMPLE FAVOR.

Stephanie Smothers (Anna Kendrick) is a single Mom who passes her days raising a young son Miles (Joshua Satine), being the crafty-type and a vlogger. While at a school celebration, Stephanie meets Miles friend Nicky (Ian Ho) and they both want a play date. Of course it’s all up to Nicky’s Mom Emily (Blake Lively).

Stephanie introduces herself to Emily and is a bit nervous realizing she is an outgoing and verbally free woman. Agreeing to a play date, Emily introduces Stephanie to a martini and the two become acquainted. Spending time together occasionally becomes something Stephanie looks forward to.

She also meets Emily’s husband Sean (Henry Golding) who is a writer and teaches at the local college. Seeing that the couple is really into each other, Stephanie comes to like them both very much. One day Emily calls and asks Stephanie to please watch son Nicky as Sean had to go take care of his injured mother and she is stuck with a business crisis.

That’s when a mystery begins as days go by and Emily is no where to be found. Sean returns home and joins in the search to find his wife. Stephanie uses her vlog to keep visitors up to date on the search. After the worst news possible happens, Stephanie and Sean find themselves trying to deal with it all.

As the police have their questions, Stephanie also has hers. It starts out with simple things that she notices but each day it becomes clear that something is not only wrong but that nothing is what it has seemed about Emily.

Vlogger and DIY Mom goes into super sleuth mode to discover who Emily truly is, what does Sean know and will she have enough time to make her famous meatless meatballs for the next school function?

Stay tuned!

Kendrick as Stephanie pours it on as a woman with her own secrets who wraps them up in neat little cookie bundles. Volunteering and organizing everything around her, it doesn’t take long before Emily’s influence starts to her loosen up. Taking kindness for weakness, Kendrick gives Stephanie the kind of empowerment that can move mountains. I loved Kendrick in this role with her quirkiness mixed with a nervousness that sets of the hidden firecracker that her character is.

Lively as Emily is gorgeous, smart, wears it well and can spin a yarn with a straight face like no other. I loved every minute she was on screen just making every move look so damn easy. Even when her character was lying I didn’t know if she was lying even when I was 98% sure she was lying. The ride her character provides is fast, fun, crazy and filled with twists and surprises. Emily has a magazine rack full of issues and she’s not about to lay them out for the world to use against her. The match between Emily and Stephanie is definitely perfection.

Golding as husband Sean is a writer/teacher who fell hard for the lovely Emily. From the beginning of their relationship he knew there was something different but learned not to ask questions. Golding gives the role a bit of charm and innocent sexy all the way to the very end. He can also be seen in the hit film CRAZY RICH ASIANS and trust when I say he is an actor to keep watching for.

Other cast include Dustin Milligan as Chris, Danielle Bourgon as Grace, Gia Sandhu as Valerie, Glenda Braganza as Mrs. Glenda, Kelly McCormack as Stacy, Andrew Rannells as Darren, Andrew Moodie as Sgt. Molloy, Rupert Friend as Dennis Nylon and Jean Smart as Mrs. McLanden.

A SIMPLE FAVOR is a mixture of fun, twists, jaw drops, hints, laughs, mystery, deception, friendship, love, illusion and so much more. The film moves along at a good pace and then the script is flipped half way through and the brake stick on the roller coaster is broken off!

Lively and Kendrick are magic together on the screen and I loved every minute of it. This is a film that is loaded from beginning to end and brought people at the screening together to talk about it after. Conversations spoke about the performances being some of the best seen in a while and how the story kept them off guard through out most of the film.

For me there were a few things that I figured out but it didn’t stop me at all from enjoying the film. In fact, even though I may have figured this and that out, I didn’t expect the constant twists and turns! That is all due to Kendrick, Lively and Golding who kept me engrossed in their characters.

In the end – it all started with a simple favor!

LEGION Takes us on an Unexpected Trip on Bluray

Jeri Jacquin

Coming to Bluray from creator Noah Hawley from the Marvel Comics and 20th Century Fox Home Entertainment comes an intense series on the search for what is truly real when part of the LEGION.

David Haller (Dan Stevens) has had problems most of his life. Hearing things and feeling out of control has landed him in the psychiatric ward. The problem is, Haller also has psychic abilities yet no one believes him. Haller also has a friend in another patient Lenny (Aubrey Plaza) and tries to help him stay together. Keeping him sane is when he falls for another patient Sydney Barrett (Rachel Keller). The difficulty in their relationship is that Sydney doesn't like to be touched. When it does happen, she has the ability to change places with that person.

 When Sydney is discharged from the hospital, Haller kisses her and that's when things get even more out of control. The minds of Haller and Sydney change places and no one believes them. That becomes even more problematic when Syd can't control Haller's reactions and hospital staff are hurt and his only recourse is to escape. The switch between the two is only temporary and Haller wants Sydney back.

Going to his sister Amy (Katie Aselton) for help it actually sets her up to be hurt by those who want Haller for themselves. Quickly enough Ptonomy Wallace (Jeremie Harris) and Kerry Loudermilk (Amber Midthunder) help Haller escape with the help of Melanie Bird (Jean Smart). He is taken to Summerland and discovers there are more people who have abilities. Bird explains that Haller isn't ill at all and that they need to go into his past to understand where he is now. While in an MRI, he sees that the group called Division III has taken Amy and his anger does something that shocks everyone at Summerland. Wanting to save her, Amy tells him that he has to control his power first before he can help anyone.

Working with Ptonomy on memories of a time when he did drugs, Haller is still plagued by the figure called the World's Angriest Boy in the World from a childhood book. Unable to control his powers again, Haller and Sydney end up at Division III where he sees someone called the Eye (Mackenzie Gray). Bird has to explain that his name is Walter who was one of the founders of Summerland. Everything gets so out of control that Haller has to be sedated enough so that Bird, Ptonomy and Sydney can get a better look inside his head but he is too strong for them.

When Haller doesn't wake up, Bird has to find out what happened to him before he ended up in the hospital and the only person that might have a clue is his ex-girlfriend Philly. Ptonomy gets a chance to see inside Philly's memory and learns that Haller attacked his previous therapist named Poole. Haller is on a journey of his own but Lenny comes to him to escape.

As Haller is dealing with problems in the astral plane, Cary believes that Haller's brain has been infected by something he calls the gruesome Devil with Yellow Eyes. The creature isn't at all done with Haller when it attacks Sydney but worst of all; the entire group at Summerland is now at Clockworks with Lenny as their caregiver!

Now under her control, Lenny takes on each of them and their issues but it is Sydney that notices something is different which costs her. Lenny isn't about to let any of them get the upper hand, especially when she knows things about Haller and has no problem demonstrating her control over his mind. Cary Loudermilk (Bill Irwin) thinks they've had it all wrong and that it is actually the powerful mutant Shadow King Amahl Farouk who is messing with Haller.

Haller believes that Farouk and his real father might have had issues that led to an altercation and that was the reason he was put up for adoption. Finding Haller as a kid, Farouk managed to place a device in his mind which is what has caused all the havoc. Trying to get back to Summerland, the group is intercepted by Division III!

In the finale, Haller manages to break free of Division III but it should have been seen as all too easy. Clark (Hamish Linklater), his interrogator, wants to get in on the action and goes with the soldiers to Summerland. Haller believes that Clark is their hostage but what they don't know is that Division III can see and hear everything happening. It’s a chance for some serious body exchanging to happen, Clark changes sides and Haller becomes doesn't see something little coming his way.

Stevens as Haller is truly doing some serious acting! This is a role that keeps the viewer guessing as to where Haller actually is in the grand scheme of things. What is trippy about this whole thing is that I like it! Stevens first caught my attention in the role of Matthew Crawley in the amazing series Downton Abbey followed by Sir Lancelot in NIGHT AT THE MUSEUM: SECRET OF THE TOMB and more recently the role of Charles Dickens in THE MAN WHO INVENTED CHRISTMAS. The role of Haller is so complex and original that LEGION is the perfect place for Stevens to just let loose and explore all the avenues.

Keller as Sydney is a girl with her own set of powers that is equally as frightening as Haller's. He learns quickly that touching her can transform and change their situations. This also means that she is detached out of fear and can not allow her emotions to get any deeper for Haller. Smart as Bird is a woman who seemingly wants to help those with powers at Summerland. Jumping into the memories of the group has her unraveling the mysteries and Haller is proving to be her most difficult case.

Plaza as Lenny is just out and out creepy and I love it. You can never tell from one appearance to the next whether she is going to be on Haller's side or just messing with his memories. Aselton as Amy thought Haller was just dealing with serious mental issues, imagine her surprise to discover that those mental issues were nothing like she was raised to believe.

Harris and Midthunder still have their roles to play knowing that there are mysteries about Haller that are going to take digging and it seems it is harder than they have ever explored before. Gray as the Eye is another character that creeped me out because I was never quite sure what he was up to or what is place was in it all. Linklater still has a part to play but will it be for the good of those in Summerland? We shall see, we shall definitely see.

Twentieth Century Fox Home Entertainment brings award-winning global product and new entertainment to DVD, Bluray, and Digital HD. There amazing collection offers fans an opportunity to expand their own home libraries with the best films. To discover what other titles they have please visit www.fox.com.

The Bluray includes the Special Features of Fractured Reality: A Different Kind of Hero, Uncanny Romance, Production Design, Powers, Make-Up (Making The Devil with the Yellow Eyes), Visual Effects, Costume Design, Locations and Deleted Scenes. Also included in the 2-disc Set are Episodes Chapters One Through Eight.

LEGION has definitely been on the radar with nominations for awards and wins like TVLine's Performer of the Week going to Aubrey Plaza, Best Sound Editing given by the Golden Trailer Awards, and tied for Runner Up for Best Action Series by the IGN's Best of 2017 Awards and the People's Choice for Best New Series.

If you want to watch the most interesting and twisted trip you'll every take, then LEGION is exactly the show you want to watch. From twists and turns in the story line to singing and dancing trips, this series isn't about to give you one little hint about the direction it plans to go.

I am going to be thrilled when Season Two begins but let's be clear, I had to watch Season One of LEGION twice because there is so much to take in I wanted to be prepared for what is to come. This is definitely a series that needs to continue to think out of the box and go places no one expects the story to go and don't ever put on the brakes!

In the end - there is no door to this rubber room!