Free Preview Screening: The Legend of Hercules

Hey everyone. Another opportunity to see a free film. In this case it's The Legend of Hercules on 1/9 - playing in downtown Seattle. If you're interested just hit the link to passes info below and enter your relevant info. Remember that these things are generally overbooked so arrive early. And, No - I'm not really sure where this Hercules movie fits in with the spate of other Hercules films. You're on your own figuring that out. Actually - if anyone knows (or has the time to conduct what I'm assume is the 90 seconds worth of research to figure that out) please let me know in the comments. All I can tell for the sure is that it's about Hercules, some dude who spends too much time in the gym.

Click here to register for a free screening pass to The Legend of Hercules.

Synopsis: The origin story of the the mythical Greek hero. Betrayed by his stepfather, the King, and exiled and sold into slavery because of a forbidden love, Hercules must use his formidable powers to fight his way back to his rightful kingdom.

Palm Springs 2014 International Film Festival - Preview

Friday kicks off the Palm Springs International Film Festival. Unfortunately I won't be able to jet down to sunnier skies this year. But I still want to bring as much info to folks who are lucky enough to make it. I've seen a number of films already and through the wizardry of the modern era have access to watch a ton more. While I'm not sure how much time I'll have to keep up this week I'll do my best to post thoughts as I see things. In the meantime here's a rundown on what I have seen and brief notes on each.

Below are 8 capsule reviews. I've also seen The Grandmaster and The Great Passage. Each have something to recommend them but weren't in my top recommendations for 2013. The rest aren't in any particular order - so do read through if you'd like to get my fullest set of suggestions.

One request to readers - please do post your Palm Springs 2014 faves in the comments. Need to do my own planning for the rest of the year. :-)

Still Life (UK)

A slow, absorbing and occasionally blackly comic meditation on life and the loneliness it can encompass. Oh, and death of course. Deeply touching in unique and occasionally shocking ways. Of what I've seen so far at Palm Springs, Still Life is what I'd recommend most. A man's job is to search for family and friends of the deceased who don't seem to have anyone - in order to ensure their funeral is as complete as can be. He puts his back into his work, perhaps unconsciously recognizing that he himself is in such a high risk demographic. When budget cuts threaten his job he sets out to do right by one last unclaimed body. His Sherlock level detective work would make any police department proud, and maybe gives him back some joy in his own existence. What transpires is a short but very engaging piece of filmmaking that I suspect will be a hit at this years festival. 

Free Preview: PARANORMAL ACTIVITY: THE MARKED ONES

Hey guys - going to keep this one simple and to the point. Have some more free preview passes to share. This time for the latest Paranormal Activity film which will let you kick your new year off with a scare. Or so I'd assume - I've been afraid to see any of these films. Even though the first one was playing outdoors at the Telluride Film Festival the year I went. No, not kidding - I'm a totally fraidy-cat. 

But if you're braver than I and free the evening of January 2nd then just click this link and grab yourself a pair of passes. Remember that these things are generally overbooked so arrive early. And no blaming me if you can't sleep afterward. 

This episode of the series apparently involves someone dealing with more strange stuff. Or more specifically "After being 'marked,' Jesse begins to be pursued by mysterious forces while his family and friends try to save him." I'm gonna assume at the end we don't just find out that the NSA's various monitoring systems went haywire and caused all the problems in a big misunderstanding. Or at least that that twist isn't revealed until the next film in the franchise. Oops, maybe I wasn't supposed to say....

Anyways - grab some tickets while you can and hopefully have a great time. 

See Inside Llewyn Davis for Free and nab the soundtrack while you're at it.

The highly anticipated new Coen brothers film Inside Llewyn Davis is coming to Seattle in a few weeks. Due to the generosity of the film's internet benefactors I have five pairs of tickets to give away for an early screening on December 9th at Lincoln Square Cinemas in Bellevue. Each winner will also receive a copy of what looks to be a happening soundtrack album from the film.

If you'd like to throw your hat in the ring just send an email to 'contest   @ randomwalkthroughfilm.com' with your name, mailing and email address by 9am PST on Sunday December 8th. On Sunday I'll randomly select 5 winners to check out the movie (and soundtrack). By entering of course you assume any and all risks of attending, agree to be cool about mild issues that may come up and behave yourself in the theater. All the usual stuff. 

Free Previews: Mandela: Long Walk to Freedom and August: Osage County

Hey guys - I've been and continue to be super busy outside the blogosphere. But I didn't want to keep that from me sharing two cool opportunities to see a film (or two) ahead of general release. The details follow below. Just shoot over to Gofobo.com as indicated to snag a pass for two. As always remember theaters typically are overbooked to ensure a full house. Meaning it's worth your time to get there a bit early. 

And be sure to come back and let me know what you thought of the films. 

MANDELA: LONG WALK TO FREEDOM - Screening 12/11 - Click here to get passes
"A chronicle of Nelson Mandela's life journey from his childhood in a rural village through to his inauguration as the first democratically elected president of South Africa." Also, Mandela is played by Stringer Bell - just saying.

More details on their official website

AUGUST: OSAGE COUNTY - Screening 12/16 - Click here to get passes
"A look at the lives of the strong-willed women of the Weston family, whose paths have diverged until a family crisis brings them back to the Oklahoma house they grew up in, and to the dysfunctional woman who raised them."  It also features Meryl Streep. 

More details on their official website

Free Previews x3: Nebraska, Philomena, and Homefront

Whoa! This week brings a ton of opportunities to see some free movies. Thanks to the generosity of the movie powers-that-be readers can check out three different screenings next week - all in exchange for nothing more than a few clicks and some time online. You can't actually see all three (two are on the same night) - but choose at least one and have yourself an extra fun week.

Don't forget to get there plenty early as these things are typically overbooked to ensure a full house.

Your three options are:

Homefront (November 20th) - This one looks like the most guilty pleasure fun  "A former DEA agent moves his family to a quiet town, where he soon tangles with a local meth druglord." Most importantly I cannot picture how a movie with Jason Statham and James Franco won't be a total blast. Get your tix via this link.




Nebraska (November 19th) - From Alexander Payne comes something interesting and potentially frightfully depressing. More specifically "An aging, booze-addled father makes the trip from Montana to Nebraska with his estranged son in order to claim a million dollar Mega Sweepstakes Marketing prize." Get your tix via this link.

Philomena (November 19th) - If you missed your last chance to see this one here's another opportunity. If you've forgotten what it's about - "A world-weary political journalist picks up the story of a woman's search for her son, who was taken away from her decades ago after she became pregnant and was forced to live in a convent." Get your tix via this link.

A Kickstarter Worth Checking Out: Diani & Devine Meet the Apocalypse

A couple of years ago while previewing films for local genre festival MIFFF I was rocked back by the awesomeness of the horror/comedy/real-estate genre film The Selling. If you haven't seen it just stop reading, jump over to your favorite streaming site, cough up $4 or so and correct that mistake. I'll wait.

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OK, everybody back? Good. Let's continue.

The good news is that the creators of that fun little adventure are hard at work on something new - and it looks big and fun. It's titled Diani and Devine Meet the Apocalypse. The bad news is that they still have a way to go on creating what I'm expecting will be another exciting genre bending romp. The great news is that you can step in to assist and ensure you'll be amongst the first to see it. Yep, that's right ... I'm talking about a Kickstarter campaign that's a win for everyone. I can attempt to explain what the film's going to be about, but I'd rather leave that to the professionals. So everyone get themselves over to their main page, soak up all the informative goodness and then (if the spirit moves you) make a contribution to the cause. I already have, and it's not just because I want a cool t-shirt, I seriously want to see their new movie ASAP*. They've got an intriguing cast of folks already signed up and ready to go. As an added bonus they've been releasing a new "Apocatips" video for each day of the campaign and they're definitely worth checking out too. Not to mention some fantastic rewards for those who back the film (beyond t-shirts of course).

So, seriously - what are you still doing here? Their page is way more fun. You can also follow the film's progress on twitter.

The Road but funny? Frankly, they had me at The Road and anything not The Road. That thing was a class-A bummer.



I can attempt to explain it

* Though one of my favorite t-shirts is from their last kickstarter campaign, so figure I may as well go double or nothing on this one.