“TRON: Legacy”

I should have trusted my gut on this one. You know, that little voice that kept telling me not to get too excited because even though it had rad, state-of-the-art (at the time) effects, the first “TRON” kinda sucked too.

Unfortunately, I did not listen to my inner voice and have spent the past few weeks hyping the shit outta “TRON: Legacy” to Christine, who, had absolutely no interest in seeing the movie. Well, what can I say, amigos? Once again, Christine was righter than rain.

“TRON: Legacy” is a bloated, boring, totally derivative peice of crap. I’m not kidding, man, this movie sucks major ass. At least the first flick had the wow factor of the cool “in the grid” effects and all, this movie plays like a soulless, two-hour ad for toys and spinoff sequels and shit. And except for a sparkling, seriously transcendent score by electronica legends, Daft Punk, the movie is a complete and total waste of your time.

I mean, hell, if I — a child of the 80’s who worshipped the effects of the first movie and played the hell outta the “TRON” videogame — hated it, just imagine what non-“TRON” geeks, people like Christine, with no connection to the first film whatsoever, will think of this junk?

Yikes…thanks for ruining another cherished, childhood memory, Disney.

Monday Morning Mommy Movies at the Americana!

With the 2009 award-season already in full swing and the movies Christine and I have seen this fall essentially boiled down to two — “Precious” and “The Road”, which we are seeing tonight — we were both thrilled to learn that the super cool Pacific Theaters at The Americana in Glendale are now offering Monday Morning Mommy Movies!

The rules are pretty simple. Every Monday at 11:00AM, parents of any gender — I guess Daddy and Me Mondays didn’t have the same ring to it! — can bring their babies/toddlers and any older kids they want, to see a new release movie in an actual theater (!) without the fear of bothering other viewers. I mean, when the seats are packed with screaming babies, who’s gonna complain, right?

Needless to say, as soon as we heard about it, Christine and I were hooked. The problem is the movies they have been picking kinda sucked. Yes, the theater picks the movies. And honestly, that is my only complaint with the program. I mean, ain’t nobody going to see a movie on Monday morning EXCEPT sleep-deprived parents of young children, so, why not let us have the run of the joint for that first showing? Kinda stupid if you ask me.

Anyway, when the Michael Jackson documentary “This Is It” hit theaters a couple of weeks back — and more importantly, was selected as a Mommy and Me movie! — Christine and I packed Greta in the car and headed to the Americana. We sat in the fourth or fifth row back with our friends Chris and Jess and their new baby girl, Lily, and lemme tell ya, we had a blast!

Sure we were surrounded by strollers and diaper bags and shit, but, since most of the parents were sitting on the floor in the handicapped section behind us, we pretty much had the entire row to ourselves. Greta got to crawl around the seats a little, Christine and Jess could spread out to nurse, it was the next best thing to watching a movie at home.

And best of all, the movie itself rocked! The music, the dancing, the sheer enormity of the staging, the King of Pop in fighting form…there wasn’t a slow moment in the entire movie and more than anything, it makes you realize how freaking awesome that concert would have been. Wow, so sad…

Anyway, the girls seemed to dig the movie, with Greta even grooving a bit to “Wanna be Starting Something” — which I played into the ground this summer on our iPod! — and the older kids were seriously rocking out. There was one little African-American kid with this gigantic Afro who was dancing up and down the aisles the whole movie…it was so awesome!

So, kudos to Pacific Theaters for starting up such a cool program to begin with. And lest you think the Americana is the only place to see a Monday Morning Mommy Movie, think again. The screenings are held at Pacific Theaters all across the Southland, so, check it out!

Oh yeah, and if you wanna spread out on the floor with your wee one, I recommend you get there really early because those “seats” were snapped up by 10:30. At least that’s what Chris and Jess told us when we rolled in at 11:05…

“Not Forgotten” to open in NYC!

Got word earlier this week that my movie “Not Forgotten” will be opening in New York City and three theatres in El Paso, Texas this Friday, September 11th, 2009. Which is like, tomorrow…so, yay!

Not sure what triggered this late-game release strategy, but I do know that “Not Forgotten” will be playing in the heart of New York’s legendary theatre district at the AMC Empire 25 on 42nd Street. If it does as well in the big apple as it did in Los Angeles, Austin, and Phoenix, “Not Forgotten” could expand into other markets, which would be very cool. No word yet on which markets we’re talking about, but, I’m still pulling for you, Santa Cruz!

In the meantime, to make way for the expanded theatrical release, our distributor (Anchor Bay) has pushed the DVD release date back from October to November 3rd. Sorry, Dad…you’ll have to wait a little longer.

But as for the rest of you, if any of y’all know anyone in NYC or El Paso…spread the word. Because starting tomorrow, “Not Forgotten” is back on the big screen, amigos! For complete ticket and showtime information check out the movie’s official website at: www.notforgottenmovie.com

“Not Forgotten” beats “Wolverine”!!

OK, technically, the fine print should read…”at one theatre in Austin“, but still, how freaking cool is that? And not only did “Not Forgotten” rake in the dough on a per screen average, but we managed to double the combined box office take of the other three movies playing at the complex. Yee-haw!

That means that we beat the pants off X-MEN: ORIGINS WOLVERINE, GHOSTS OF GIRLFRIENDS PAST, and ADVENTURELAND. Crazy, huh? But even cooler still is the fact that we more than tripled the performance of the current worldwide, number one blockbuster, X-MEN ORIGINS: WOLVERINE, in its opening weekend at the Dobie. So, yay for us!

And thank you to everyone in Austin who got out there on opening weekend to support our film! Looking forward to seeing you this week at the AMC Deer Valley in Phoenix and most of all, next weekend, May 15-17th in Los Angeles. As you probably remember by  now, “Not Forgotten” opens at the Mann’s Chinese in Hollywood and the Mann’s Plant 16 in Van Nuys on May 15th…so, if you don’t wanna incurr the wrath of Santa Muerte, you best show up!

See ya at the movies…

“Not Forgotten” to open at Chinese Theatre in Hollywood!

Just found out that my movie, “Not Forgotten”, will be opening theatrically in Los Angeles on May 15th at the Mann’s Chinese in Hollywood. Wow, from Slamdance to the Chinese…who knew?

No word yet on when the premiere will be, but I do know that the movie will open next week (May 1st) in Austin, Texas at Landmark’s legendary Dobie Theatre near the University of Texas. This is the same theatre were a young Richard Linklater launched his career with the indie sensation “Slacker”, so, I’m hoping some of the good vibes in the joint rub off on our movie too.

After opening in Austin, “Not Forgotten” will slowly roll out in a number of cities across the Southwest before landing in Los Angeles on the 15th. Aside from screening at the Chinese, the movie will also be playing in the Valley at the Mann’s Plant 16 in Van Nuys.

For updated information on screenings near you or to read our rocking-good reviews from the Hollywood Reporter and Variety, check out our homepage at: NotForgottenmovie.com. And in the meantime, pictured below, is the final theatrical poster for “Not Forgotten”. Enjoy!