review: immortals

"Am I laying the smacketh down, or having it laid down upon me?"

Although reviews aren't typically something we will do on this site, if we see a film, we decided here at WSF that we may like to flatter ourselves in thinking that someone might actually care what we feel about it. It's kind of rare that we get to go these days, because life is busy for three guys that are aspiring to be busy people, but when we do, we'll force our opinion on you and make you like it. Last night I got to check out The Immortals, which I had been looking forward to for awhile. Here's the skinny:
-Visually, the movie was as cool as any I've ever seen. The cinematics were incredible, the fight sequences were awesome (for the most part), and the special effects were amazing. The way it looked was definitely my favorite part of the movie.
-Mickey Rourke was really good as the villain, as always. Has he been bad in anything since The Wrestler?
-Henry Cavill, playing the hero "Theseus", was also really good. Although it probably doesn't say much for the rest of the movie when at least five seperate times, I thought to myself, "This guy would be great as Superman!"
-Those are the only good things I can say about The Immortals. Seriously. I can't think of any more. The flow of the movie was weird and jumpy. Rourke made you hate his character, "King Hyperion", but other than Cavill, there wasn't anybody else in the movie that you liked that much more. Problems were too easily solved by both sides, throughout the movie. There were a couple of times where you felt like you were really getting set up for a cool moment.......that never happened. It was one disappointment after another. And here, for me, is the biggest:
-When I see the trailer for a film like this, and hear that it's "from the producers of 300", I have expectations for the protagonist. "Maximus" in Gladiator, "Leonidus" in 300, "Perseus" in Clash of the Titans. What do I expect, you ask? That they kick an enormous amount of butt with very little vulnerability until the final act. I want him to overcome insurmountable odds, the more ridiculous the better! 10 against one? Great. 20 to one? Awesome! 100 to one? Now your talking! "Theseus" began the movie in that vain, but it quickly faded. He was easily knocked down, out, over, and around. He needed the gods to save him. He needed his friends to save him. He would defeat 12 at once, and then get KO'd by a single random soldier in the next scene. Drove. Me. NUTS!
-I did not see this movie in 3D, mainly because nothing since Avatar has been worth shelling out the extra cash to see it in 3D, so that may have been a mistake. But overall, this movie was a huge disappointment for what I felt it should have been. We here at WSF haven't come up with a rating system yet, so for now I'll just give this film 2 1/2 Big Sticks out of, um...... 7.

tee shirt time


Bizarnival t-shirts are here and they are sweet!  Who wants one?  I believe we have seven up for grabs at this very moment.  And all for a very low price.  Just shoot an email to todd@walksoftlyfilms.com or facebook us or leave a comment here or use any one of the thousands of our miraculous modern communication methods.

fest among fests


It is with a heavy heart that I sit down to write a review of the River’s Edge International Film Festival.  Not a review of our personal experience there, but the Festival in and of itself.  I’d like to tell you that it’s a good, little festival that you should check out if you have the time.  However, I cannot in good conscience tell you that.  River’s Edge is, in fact, an outstanding festival that you should move to the top of your must-attend events list whether you’re a filmmaker or film enthusiast.
You see, I hesitate because I know that as word continues to spread about REIFF, our hidden gem of a film fest will be exposed as one of the best to attend and the Walk Softly gang will have to face even steeper competition just to find our spot.  Nonetheless, allow me to sing its praises for a moment and list some of the things that make this fest worth far more than the entry fee.
If you’re going to any Festival, you want it to be based in a cool town.  Paducah is nice and quirky on the whole, but lowertown is outstanding with its largely preserved history,  interesting shops and incredible restaurants.  And early November is a perfect season to experience it.  (Plus, Metropolis, Illinois is right across the river to satisfy even more of your kitschy tourism needs.)
As filmmakers, no other fest has taken care of us the way River’s Edge has.  There are only a handful of festivals across the country that provide accomodations for their filmmakers and this is one of them.  Whether they’re providing breakfast at Etcetera coffee house and Kirchoff’s bakery, or making sure you got your t-shirt and goody bag, Landee Bryant and her crew take impeccable care of you.  And isn’t just the perks.  At every film festival, the biggest concern is the screening, and at River’s Edge, the technical crew and projectionists are on top of their game.  Each of the three venues is a nice place to watch a film and Maiden Alley Cinema is the crown jewel.  The sound and image are flawless.  What they did on that giant screen with our standard DVD left me speechless and I’m not exaggerating.  Just ask a filmmaker who’s attended.  Any filmmaker.  I guarantee you’re going to get a glowing response, because I’ve never heard anything but raves from those that we’ve met.  And that brings me to my final point.
REIFF is an incredible opportunity to network.  They organize multiple get-togethers over the weekend, making it easy to meet some wonderful people and make friendships and working relationships with a wide variety of talented artists and supporters.
In short, with seven years under their belt, the River’s Edge International Film Festival is ready to blow up.  I love it just the way it is, but growth seems inevitable.

day 3 recap

Winner! Winner! Chicken Dinner!!

To say yesterday was a big day for Walk Softly Films would be like saying Ryan Gosling has done a couple of films this year: major understatement. It's the smallest scale of rags-to-riches that's humanly possible, but we'll take it. Here's how it all went down:
-The day started out with some dirty, stinky rags. We were awakened from our intense slumber by a family who felt like the best place for their kids to burn off their apparent over-consumption of caffeine and chocolate was in our floor's hallways. For about two hours. Not cool.
-But this minor inconvenience was nothing that a little Kirchhoff's deli couldn't take care of, right? Wrong. The "old part" of Paducah is not only nostalgic in looks, but also business practices. I.e., when we got there, already tasting some delicious club sandwiches as we walked down the sidewalk, we discovered they are closed on Sundays. Dirty, filthy, stinky rags...
-We did, however, discover a little gem of a mom-and-pop burger joint epically called "Burgers-&-Cream". Great hamburgers, and even though we discovered that the "cream" was actually "custard", it still passed the taste test. Plus, you can't even imagine how many juvenile jokes we can come up with for "Burgers-&-Cream" on a couple hours sleep.
-When we got back to the actual "film" portion of the festival, it continued to impress. We finally got to check out a film called Finding Jenua by Alison Mason; a new, good friend we made over the weekend. Her film ended up winning "Best of the Fest" and it wasn't difficult to see why. Great story with great acting, and as the film's writer and director, she made some very interesting choices and took some big time risks with its timeline, and they worked. When this film gets distribution, check it out. Plus, you will not meet a sweeter person ever than Alison. She deserves it.
-After two years of having films in River's Edge, we finally got an opportunity to see our work on the coveted Maiden Alley Cinema screen. They run 3 different viewing venues downtown, but the only one that is an actual, full size cinema screen is at MAC. And when we saw what Bizarnival looked like on it, you could not have knocked the smiles off of our faces. We all looked like Marsha Brady when she got to meet Davey Jones. That's when the "riches" portion of the day really started to pick up steam.
-We went into the awards ceremony with literally zero expectations. "We're just happy to be here" is usually so cliche and rarely true, but that's exactly how we felt. We made Bizarnival in 2 days with very little script (the puppet scene is the only thing we had on paper when we started shooting) with a 2 week window to get it finished so that we could have an entry for the Danville Lawn Chair Film Festival. We were stoked just to be invited back to our favorite festival after our Cannonball experience the year before. So when it was announced that we actually won "Best Narrative Short", we were as shocked as we were ecstatic. And we are planning a parade. It will probably take place in late December and may or may not involve Santa Claus. But make no mistake, it's for us.
This was a huge shot in the arm for us. To walk away from this festival with so many quality films with an award has lifted us up more than I can tell you. Couple that with the constant support we get from our family and friends, and let me just tell ya, the Walk Softly ball is rolling as fast as it ever has. We can't wait to get going on the next project.

day 2 recap

Can't get enough of these.

I just got done wrangling in Scott and Todd to get this recap done. They've been running up and down the hallways of the hotel all morning screaming, "They call me NASTY!". So while I've got them here, let's do this.
-The day started off with some free coffee and hot chocolate from Etcetera and delicious pastries from Kirchhoff's bakery. Everybody knows that Walk Softly has a soft spot for free pastries. Thankfully, we weren't the only ones. We got to spend the morning talking to other film makers who shared our indulgence. Especially Jason Solomon. Jason's parents owned the infamous night club in New York "Club Au Go Go", where guys like Jimi Hendrix and B.B. King played before they were somebody. Pretty cool story he gets to tell.
-We literally sat at the breakfast table at Kirchhoff's long enough for it to become the lunch table. Kirchhoff's deli. 'Nuff said.
-We actually decided we would participate in some of the festivities between lunch and dinner, especially since "Bizarnival" screened at 1. This was the smallest venue it will be shown at all weekend, and still had a pretty good turn out. The puppet is becoming a phenomenon down here and we love it. PUPPET FEVER!!!
-Finally, after a day and a half, we ran into Linda! We love that woman! Last year when we came to the REIFF, they put us up in a really nice house, called "Bryerpatch Studio", and Linda was our house mom. She personifies Paducah: about as sweet as they come. She made us muffins last year. Muffins! Come on, man...
-The films down here continue to impress. We took in several more throughout the day, and we have seen way more good than bad. I'm telling you, if you've not been to a film festival, that's typically not the case. But this year, it's been the rule. Makes us feel good to be accepted with this group.
-After the films were winding down, somebody was gracious and crazy enough to host a party for the film makers and staff of the REIFF. Anybody that knows us knows that we are about as comfortable at a party as Channing Tatum is with a shirt on. But we met a lot more cool folks. We like making friends.
The final day is getting ready to get started. Which can only mean one thing: more Kirchhoff's sammiches. Did we mention we liked those? Another post will recap the days festivities as soon as we can get it up.

day 1 recap


Well, day 1 is in the books. Let's get the bad stuff out of the way: the weatherman is a dirty, dirty liar and can not be trusted. Ever. We are already plotting a heinous, gruesome murder for him in our next film. Now on to the goods.
-We can't say it enough: we LOVE Paducah. It's just a cool town with the "old part" having it's cobble stone streets and the greatest deli known to man, plus it's beautiful by the river, and the "new" part with all the fancies like Wal-Mart and Rafferty's.
-Kirchhoff's deli never disappoints. If it were a woman, I'd kiss it on the mouth.
-We also love how the film makers are treated here at River's Edge FF. Free lodging, free food, free passes to all the films. They know how to make a guy feel special.
-They are pairing all the short films this year into "categories" like "sacrifice", "deception", and "faith". Bizarnival is in "fruition", and we got lucky because we are paired up with the local boys, so our first showing had a good crowd and great response. "Clown Douche" may be the catch phrase of the weekend. You're welcome, Paducah.
-The first film we took in when we got here was "Fully Loaded", and no, it is not in the "Naked Gun" franchise. Pretty good dark comedy with some big names, and interestingly enough, it was directed by "Entourage"'s Jeremy Piven's sister, and starred his mom. So of course we had to chat them up. That's just what we do. So, yeah, we are rubbing elbows with the relatives of the stars!
-We have seen some good and bad films, as is usually the case, but I have to say overall, it is best overall group of films that we've seen, quality-wise. More good than bad, and that's rarely the case.
More to come this afternoon/tonight, as one of us will bring you the recap of what is sure to be an epic day 2!

let it begin


It is official; the River's Edge film festival is upon us and that means Todd, Allen, and myself will be headed west at 9am tomorrow morning.  Bright eyed and bushy tailed!  Why 9am?  Because that means we'll be rolling into Paducah, KY just in time for lunch and that means just in time for Kirchoff's Deli.  This led Todd to dream up the wonderful graph above with which to track our sandwich consumption this weekend.  And wherever there are Kirchoff's sandwiches, there will most assuredly be gourmet sodas flowing freely.
So get excited and keep a lookout for realtime updates all weekend on Facebook!  With pictures and all that jazz.  That's right, we're actually doing some work around here.  If you aren't already following us on Facebook, you can "Like" us here.  And/or find me on Twitter:  @WSF_Scott

headed west


Everyone is happy at Walk Softly H.Q..  Bizarnival is an official selection of the River's Edge Film Festival in Paducah, KY!  River's Edge is one of our absolute favorite festivals and we're ecstatic to be headed to the pointy side of our state, with thoughts of Kirchoff's Deli dancing in our heads.  I'm sure all the restaurants of downtown Paducah will be equally thrilled to see the WSF gang roll back into town.

the muppets commentary


How do you feel about the new Muppet movie?  Did you know it was coming?  It will be in theaters this November.  The question I'm faced with is this: do I want new Muppet productions when the major players are gone?  My feelings are mixed.  I grew up with the Muppets.  Both Kermit and his gang and the Sesame Street crew had a huge impact on me, like countless others from my generation.

Part of me is glad.  I'm happy that this movie will expose a completely new audience to the Muppets.  A whole new group of kids will meet Kermit and Gonzo and Animal and Rowlf for the first time.  Projects like this keep the franchise alive.  It keeps the characters alive.  But, does it really?

I'd like to believe that as long as there are new movies and new shows, the Muppets aren't dead.  ...But they are.  Jim has been gone for twenty years now.  Richard Hunt followed shortly after.  And now Frank is retired.  This is the first Muppet movie to be produced without Jim Henson or Frank Oz on board.  Statler and Waldorf.  Kermit and Fozzie.  ...Burt and Ernie.

Jim Henson is about the closest thing I've ever had to an Earth-bound hero.  The guy taught me how to read.  He showed me and the rest of my generation a world with no racial or social divides.  He didn't jam his thinking down our throats.  Blacks and whites and monsters and latinos and chickens and pigs and gonzos all lived and loved together.  That's just the way it was.  And because it was so natural and unforced, it was natural for us.  Everything the Muppets did had an honesty, a humor, a sincerity, and a spark.  And all with a message that was never overbearing or heavy-handed.  You can't tell me that those characters are truly alive without Frank and Jim giving them life.  Those guys were their soul.  Without Jim's sense of humor, sensitivity, sensibilities, and moral compass... is Kermit really Kermit?  The sad truth is no... he's not.  Not the Kermit I knew.

The Muppets are still around because people like me don't want to let them go.  Guys like Jason Segal want to make a movie and capture the magic we grew up with and share it with the kids of today.  And I'm happy for him.  I applaud the intent.  But is it selfish in any way?  I'm sure it's the realization of a dream.  It would be for me.  But I have to believe it's bittersweet.  Someone asked Segal in an interview if it was magic to come to the set and work with Kermit.  He said yes, but you could hear another answer in his voice and in the pause that preceded it.  It's nice but...  It's not what it could be.  It's not what it should be.  Look what's happened to the Muppets since Henson passed.  Without that rudder,  without his creativity and originality,  they've languished.  It's never been the same.

What if Harrison Ford passed away tomorrow and a scientist said, "Don't worry!  I've made a Harrison Ford cyborg-clone. We operate him with controls. The clone will perpetually be 35 and we know a guy who can do a moderately tolerable imitation of Harrison's voice."  Would that mean we could have Han Solo and Indiana Jones movies til the end of time?  No, not really.  Oh, they would still certainly make the movies.  But that wouldn't really be Indiana Jones on the screen.  So why does Kermit have to keep being trotted out just because he's cloth and foam.  Should someone else's hand be inside that puppet just because it fits?

So it boils down to this:  should we be making new Muppet material when the Muppets have lost their souls?  Or, at best, have new ones?  Just because Disney gobbled up the rights and the Muppets are a valuable property like any other?  I've changed my answer to this question ten times.  On one hand I want to say no, not if new material means the efforts of the originals will be cheapened or forgotten to any degree.  But, ultimately, I have to say yes.  Jim Henson handpicked Steve Whitmire to take his place as Kermit.  For Henson, there was no question that the Muppets would go on without him.  (Part of me wonders if he'd feel the same way if he knew Oz wasn't involved and if he could see the direction Sesame Street has gone and know that it's now just the Elmo show and Cookie Monster eats vegetables and there is literally an annual debate on whether or not Burt and Ernie should be gay.)  I'm confident that the right team will be able to give the Muppets new life.  It just won't be the life I remember.  I do believe Segal and Nick Stoller can make a good Muppet movie because they're smart and funny and most importantly, they have a love for those characters.

Until now, Frank Oz had always been the anchor for me.  He tied me to the memory of the way things used to be.  Frank was the guy that made the Muppets still feel like the Muppets.  Now he's stepped away and it's a completely new ballgame.  I've read good things about the new movie.  I've heard about the characters being in careful and loving hands.  I've read about incredible, spot-on songs by Bret McKenzie (who I love).  And I'm very much looking forward to taking my 8 year-old daughter to see it.  But there is no doubt, it's going to be a weird and bittersweet experience for me in that theater this November.

bizarnival outtake



Happy 4th, people!  Our gift to you is a chuckle; albeit at Todd's expense.  Don't worry, he walked away unscathed.  But our insurance is demanding stunt doubles from this point forward.