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!

THE STEAM ENGINES OF OZ Revisited After a Century

Jeri Jacquin

Coming to Bluray and DVD from Arcana Studios, Cinedigm and direction Sean Patrick O’Reilly is a story of old friends meeting new heroes in the animated THE STEAM ENGINES OF OZ.

It has been a century since Dorothy, Scarecrow, Cowardly Lion and Tin Man (Mathew Anderson) brought us all to Oz. Now, the Emerald City has been turned into metal mayhem and is ruled by a different Tin Man.

Victoria Wright (Ashleigh Ball) is a young engineer who has the gift to fix things below the city as needed but dreams of one day seeing the city. When a pack of flying monkeys swoops her up, she is introduced to the Queen of the North Locasta (Julianna Hough) in the Emerald Forest.

She learns that the Tin Man wants to destroy the forest with industry and needs to stop it. Along with Lion Magnus (Ron Perlman), Scarecrow (Geoff Gustafson), Oscar ‘Oz’ Diggs (William Shatner) and a band of munchkins, all of this can be turned around by finding the Tin Man’s missing heart.

When they band together, Victoria and her friends don’t just fight for the Emerald City but one another with friendship, loyalty and heart!

Ball as Victoria is a bright spot and is drawn in by everyone she meets, even if they don’t want to be. Hough as Locasta knows that Victoria is the one to make things right again and gives encouragement to the young girl.

Perlman as Magnus is perfect as he has the right vocal disposition for the part. Of course it is practically impossible not to recognize the voice of William Shatner who plays the great Oz himself.

Cinedigm is a leading distributor of amazing content in storefronts, digital platforms, Internet and Demand platforms for cable television. With an extensive library of over 52,000 films and television shows, Docurama films, next-gen Indies and Independent films. At its inception, Cinedigm has played a pioneering role in transitioning movie theatres from traditional film prints to digital distribution to advance worldwide cinema modernization. For more on what Cinedigm has to offer please visit http://www.cinedigm.com.

Arcana Studios owns one of the largest libraries of graphic novels and comics that include thousands of characters. Their high quality brand of entertainment is filled with stories that transcend gender, age, cultural and geographic boundaries. THE STEAM ENGINES OF OZ is based on a graphic novel of the same name. To learn more about Arcana Studios please visit www.arcana.com.

THE STEAM ENGINES OF OZ is definitely something different than what most of us have known about the Wizard of Oz. That’s actually what makes this story so unique because it is what has happened since our trip down the yellow brick road.

The Tin Man has lost the one thing that made him feel so much and becoming metal minded he is ruining what we all knew about the Emerald City. Young Victoria is the new face of saving Oz and rising up out of the basement, as it were; she sees what Oz has become.

It isn’t until she goes outside the city does Victoria realize how beautiful the Emerald City could be again. Finding those who see what is happening is challenging but finding the right those who believe in the Emerald City and Victoria is paramount.

The vibrant colors and animation of THE STEAM ENGINES OF OZ is entertaining and the story challenges us all to think further on down the road. We’d all love for the Emerald City to stay the same but a century is a long time for that to happen. The stun is that the Tin Man would lose the one thing he fought so hard to get!

Victoria is a character that has such a giving heart and although it takes a little convincing, others believe she is the one to lead them. I really enjoyed the quirkiness of the characters as did my granddaughter.

In the end – it is about friendship, determination and love!