California
The worst race relations are reflected in “Mi America”
By GTVW Staff
Photos Agency
From Director/screenwriter Robert Fontaine inspired by true stories from around the country, Mi America delivers a harrowing narrative on the conflict between disenfranchised Americans and immigrant workers. The film explores the circumstances surrounding a brutal hate crime that has upset the delicate balance of the small, ethnically diverse waterfront city of Braxton in upstate New York. Five Hispanic migrant labors are beaten, shot, then ditched near an abandoned warehouse, by the waterfront. The bodies are discovered six months later.
Rolando Ramirez (played by Fontaine) is a Hispanic-American Detective, and a longtime resident of this community) who has been assigned to this case by chance. Or was it fate? His journey will force him to question his own identity and beliefs on what it means to be a North American, and in turn, attempt to bring those who committed this crime to justice… His former best friends.
Violence against Latinos and the story told in Mi America is not unfamiliar to cities and towns across the U.S. where the conflict of disenfranchised Americans and immigrant workers has resulted in tragedy. The immigration dilemma and debate continues to rage on as we enter the politically charged battlefield of the 2016 election and Latinos continue to be targeted. This timely and urgent drama offers a potent opportunity to take a closer look at a dire issue in the media.
Mi America offers an on-the-ground look at some of the reality of this conflict. Although this film is not just about a hate crime but about how residents of divided communities, certainly violence against Latinos is not unfamiliar to cities and towns across the U.S. The question is how politicians react when they are ratcheting up the anti-immigration rhetoric.
An electrifying “Truth”
By GTVW Staff
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Written and directed by James Vanderbilt TRUTH is based on the book “Truth and Duty” by Mary Mapes. In the vein of “All The President’s Men” and “The Insider”, it is the incredible true story of Mary Mapes (played by Cate Blanchet), an award-winning CBS News Journalist and Dan Rather’s producer, who broke the Abu-Ghraib prison abuse story, among others.
The film chronicles the story Mapes and Rather uncovered that a sitting US president may have been AWOL from the United States National Guard for over a year during the Vietnam War. When the story blew up in their face, the ensuing scandal ruined Dan Rather’s career, nearly changed a US Presidential election, and almost took down all of CBS News in the process. The “Rathergate” centered film is James Vanderbuilt’s directorial debut and also stars Cate Blanchett, Robert Redford, Topher Grace, Elisabeth Moss, and Dennis Quaid. Truth deals iwith real journalism and legal ethics and main characters (Redford and Blanchet) shine in the twilight even the story sounds like an old script where almost anyone at home could check the facts and documents the story fell apart and the ending might surprise more than one.
Historical martial arts tale in “The Assassin”
BY GTVW
Photos Agency
Set in ninth-century China, fuses political struggles and family grudges. The Assassin, his highly anticipated follow-up to 2007’s THE FLIGHT OF THE RED BALLOON. A visually arresting take on traditional wuxia films lensed by frequent collaborator Mark Lee Ping Bing (FLOWERS OF SHANGHAI, IN THE MOOD FOR LOVE, RENOIR) and in Hou’s meticulously composed signature style, and was awarded the Best Director prize.
Nie Yinniang (Shu Qi) is a young woman who, as a child, was abducted from a decorated general and then raised by a nun who trained her in the martial arts. After 13 years of exile, she is now a formidable assassin returning to her home province of Weibo with orders to kill Tian Ji’an (Chang Cheen), Weibo’s governor, to whom she was once betrothed. She must confront her parents, her memories and her long-repressed feelings: will she chose to sacrifice the man she loved or will she break forever with the sacred way of the righteous assassins? Rich with shimmering, breathing texture and punctuated by brief but unforgettable bursts of action, THE ASSASSIN is a martial arts film like none made before it.
A film full of passion with characters that really make you feel action though it plays out in near silence, with costumes and cinematography by Hou’s longtime director of photography Mark Lee Ping Bing with the best outdoors, soundstages and scenes very well structured for each part of the story.
Experimenter is not enough disturbing
By GTVW Staff
Photos Agency
Yale University, 1961. Stanley Milgram (Peter Sarsgaard) designs a psychology experiment that still resonates to this day, in which people think they’re delivering painful electric shocks to an affable stranger (Jim Gaffigan) strapped into a chair in another room. Despite his pleads for mercy, the majority of subjects don’t stop the experiment, administering what they think is a near-fatal electric shock, simply because they’ve been told to do so. With Nazi Adolf Eichmann’s trial airing in living rooms across America, Milgram strikes a nerve in popular culture and the scientific community with his exploration into people’s tendency to comply with authority. Celebrated in some circles, he is also accused of being a deceptive, manipulative monster, but his wife Sasha (Winona Ryder) stands by him through it all.
EXPERIMENTER invites us inside Milgram’s whirring mind in this bracing portrait of a brilliant man whose conscience and creative spirit continues to be resonant, poignant, and inspirational and as part of an exploration of human nature, all your senses can be in alert for all the dramatic treatments you will see in each scene including the “elephant in the room” that refers to the Holocaust, Many symbols, tortuous acts and many unrevealed facts.
“The Wine of Summer” will make you to be thirsty
By GTVW Staff
Photos Agency
From director and writer Maria Matteoli, The Wine of Summer will give stand-out performances in each character. James (Ethan Peck), at the age of 27, quits his law career in pursuit of his childhood dream of becoming an actor. While studying acting under the tutelage of Shelley (Marcia Gay Harden), he becomes engrossed in Carlo Lucchesi’s play, Tinto de Verano, which is set in Spain. James’ girlfriend Brit (Kelsey Chow) leaves him, and he spontaneously flies to Spain, where he encounters the misanthropic playwright Lucchesi (Bob E. Wells) at a bookstore in Barcelona. Lucchesi is in a relationship with a much younger woman, Veronica (Elsa Pataky), but still nurtures an old love for his long lost muse, Eliza (Sonia Braga), a novelist, who happens to be visiting her son, Nico (Nicholas Dominic Talvola) a trumpet player who also lives in Barcelona. In the golden backdrop of Spain. Even frustration is one of the main subjects of the film, characters find their fates intertwined and Sonia Braga is amazing in her role. A great film for relaxing in a comfortable coach.
Time to be scared by spooky characters at Los Angeles Haunted Hayride
Review and photos by Jenny Alvarez
In a special and warmest opening night of the 7th Annual Los Angeles Haunted Hayride, visitors enjoyed since the beginning and one of the best mazes with a cart pulled by a tractor. The cart is open, so monsters will get very close and your back is facing the outside and many of them were walking around the hayride.
2. Trick Or Treat: Within a tent, you walk past a series of 8 doors (all of them full of scary surprises), two of which give you candy.
3. The House of Shadows: Another walk through where visitors are pulsed through a series of the best haunted house sets ever conceived, populated by a cast with great performances.
4. The In-Between: Black walls, strobe lights, and clowns. A maze in which you will be sent through a maze that wears out its welcome just as its getting started, leading to lots of different emotions, with the exception of any positive ones.
People feel really haunted. In general all the characters were well organized with good make up, costumes of the characters and talented actors who really can scare you, this means extra fun for the rest of the night with really cool experience you got scared entertained and had a great time with friends on whoever you want to be.
Scary creatures and spooky characters were at the Queen Mary's Dark Harbor 2015 on opening night
By Jenny Alvarez
Photos Alfonso De Elias
The crew of Dark Harbor, led by production designer and art director J.J. Wickham have been at the Queen Mary, Long Beach since 2011. In a special and warmest opening night of The Queen Mary’s Dark Harbor horror mazes. The scary Mary, were looking for playmates in the new Lullaby maze at Queen Mary’s Dark Harbor annual Halloween event. Legend has it that Mary has haunted the ship since her drowning in the pool room in 1952. Dark Harbor runs from Oct. 1 thru Nov. 1.
Onto the mazes people will enjoy 6 different mazes such: Voodoo Village, Soulmate, B340, Deadrise, Lullaby, and Circus and other shrieking attractions. They are all very creative and long especially for the main mazes that people are able to go to so people are really spread out much. Although Lullaby and Soulmate can be a little too long and take up a lot of time inside but the action is much better. The three mazes on the ship were the best because of the extra ambiance and people feel really haunted. In general all the characters were well organized with good make up, costumes of the characters and talented actors who really can scare you, this means extra fun for the rest of the night.
Never forget the worst part of the history in Latin America with Olvidados (Forgotten)
By GTVW staff
Photos Agency
Directed by Mexico’s Carlos Bolado and starring Damián Alcázar, and produced by Carla Ortiz, a Bolivian actress and humanitarian known for her roles in Los Andes No Creen en Dios and The Man Who Shook The Hand of Vicente Fernández, her first film is an epic, historical feature that tackles the dark past of Latin America under military dictatorships in the 70s.
Olvidados follows retired General José Mendieta (Alcázar), who after suffering a heart attack, is haunted by his dark past as an officer in Operation Condor, the CIA-backed campaign of political repression in Latin America that was responsible for executions, torture, and imprisonments in the 1970’s. It is estimated that over 400,000 people were imprisoned and 30,000 forcibly disappeared as a result of these government actions.
In a letter to his son Pablo (Bernardo Peña), Mendieta confesses the role he played in the abduction, persecution, and execution of countless men and women during his posting to Chile. Journalist Marco (Carlotto Cotta) and his pregnant wife Luciá (Carla Ortiz) are among those who were arrested, along with their activist friend Antonio (Tomás Fonzi) and revolutionary Andrea (Ana Calentano). They suffer terribly under Mendieta and his cohort Sanera (Rafael Ferro), which leads to a cascade of betrayals, secrets, and more. Definitely the visceral terror of torture so powerfully with renowned actors from five countries appear in this international production, which specifically address the horrors perpetrated under Operation Condor, a CIA-backed plan introduced by Richard Nixon’s Secretary of State Henry Kissinger, which was responsible for: 50,000 killed; 30,000 “disappeared”; and 400,000 arrested and imprisoned in Argentina, Bolivia, Brazil, Chile, Paraguay, and Uruguay.
Definitely, you will feel the real suffering of Mendieta’s persecution of a journalist, his pregnant wife, and their revolutionary friend in the midst of growing social unrest.
Spooky, dark, twisted, interactive and funny for the 43rd annual Knott’s Scary Farm
By GTVW Staff
Photos By Alfonso De Elias
The legendary Knott’s Scary Farm will have the sets more amazing and interactive than ever during the 43rd annual Knott’s Scary Farm. During the event visitors will investigate a haunted hospital in the groundbreaking new maze, PARANORMAL, INC. Attempt to escape the icy grasp of the chilling Snow Queen in The Dead of Winter, and more.
With 11 haunted attractions and 1,000 monsters lurking in the fog, the groundbreaking new maze, PARANORMAL, INC. Escape the icy grasp of the chilling Snow Queen in The Dead of Winter. Select nights September 24 – October 31.
Haunted Attractions, Scare Zones and Show Information
Three new terrifying attractions will debut this year, with more astounding special effects and richer back stories than ever, including:
PARANORMAL, INC. – Case #1 – The Haunting of Hayden Hill (New for 2015): Featuring high flying aerial stunts and scares, in the groundbreaking new maze, guests investigate a haunted hospital where the patients were tortured for decades by deranged doctors and nurses. Demonic spirits of the murdered victims have been detected throughout the mysterious halls, while evil medical staff hunt for new patients to torture.
My Bloody Clementine (New for 2015): There is no tale more vicious and vengeful than that of My Bloody Clementine. Take a grim ride through the Calico Mine where Clementine and her father were brutally murdered centuries ago.
The Dead of Winter (New for 2015): Escape the icy grasp of the chilling Snow Queen in the all new maze. Backed by with a ravenous beastly army of resurrected Viking warriors, she is hell bent on avenging her beloved family’s murder, and preys upon any unsuspecting visitors who enter the borders of her icy domain. Guests with a Skeleton Key will have the opportunity to unlock a bone chilling surprise.
Returning Favorites
Back by overwhelming demand, guests can enlist to fight the zombie apocalypse in an all-out war against the undead in the interactive experience, Special Ops: Infected – Patient Zero. In 2014, the ambitious new attraction was the first of its kind in North America and in 2015 continues to be the largest infestation of zombies nationwide. In 2015, the highly sought-after attraction will include more blood thirsty zombies, new missions, brand new high-tech laser guns, and more.
Special Ops: Infected – Patient Zero seamlessly integrates interactive gaming technology with an immersive mountainous landscape, delivering a breakthrough interactive haunted experience that is as terrifying as it is challenging. Missions lead by brave Squad Leaders will take guests through a variety of wilderness terrains, including the unpredictable barrel bridges across the rushing river, through the dark caverns, and through mysterious backwoods. Groups must work together to fend off zombies and complete various missions before time runs out. Six acres of the theme park is now home to mutinous, scream-inducing zombies, and the time has come for a harrowing Special Ops survival mission (limited spaces available).
Elvira, the legendary Mistress of the Dark, returns to Knott’s Scary Farm in a spectacular all new show, Elvira’s Asylum, featuring insane dance and comedy performances.
Black Magic: Houdini’s vengeful spirit continues to wreak havoc on the Faux Theater, where the veil between the living and the dead is severed. Houdini’s ghost comes alive and ushers a host of demonic illusions to play tricks on anyone who intrudes, only to finally meet Houdini in a show-stopping finale.
Forevermore: Follow the destruction of the “Forevermore Killer,” one haunting tale after another, as the slayer makes his way through one of the longest mazes ever created in Knott’s Scary Farm’s history. With a Skeleton Key, guests can witness the work of the Forevermore Killer firsthand.
The Gunslinger’s Grave: A Blood Moon Rises: Deadly howls and a full blood moon mark your impending doom as werewolves overrun the crime stricken old west town. Walk in the bloody footsteps of a betrayed and left for dead gunslinger on his path of retribution against the Skinwalkers.
Pinocchio Unstrung: Years have passed since the blue fairy denied him his final wish, but Pinocchio has returned with an army of murderous marionettes intent on killing his former masters.
The Tooth Fairy: This twisted tooth fairy steals more than just baby teeth as he drags his victims out their bedroom window and into a world of deranged dentistry. Unbelievable special effects include a blackout room through which guests must feel their way out, a disorienting x-ray strobe light room, and new this year, an all-new Skeleton Key room.
Trick-or-Treat: Take a brave step forward and ring the witch’s doorbell…trick or treat, which will it be? After surviving her grisly welcome, wander into the Green Witch’s never before seen potion room and bewitched attic.
Voodoo – Order of the Serpent: The haunting legend of Papa Legba continues as guests follow him on his foreboding journey to conjure the serpent demon goddess in the outskirts of New Orleans. Trudge cautiously through the cursed swamps of the Deep South, where creatures search the murky bogs for their next bloody sacrifice and demons curse the innocent with Voodoo hexes.
The Hanging®: A live stage show in Calico Square irreverently looks back at the year’s pop culture with killer comedy. Notorious for its special effects, pyrotechnics and high-flying stunts, The Hanging is a no-holds-barred assault on pop culture’s most infamous moments of the past year.
160 Acres of Scare Zones
Knott’s Scary Farm is far more than a collection of haunted attractions. Every night monsters spill out onto the streets and turn theme park midways into murderous scare zones. From the world famous Ghost Town Streets to the Boardwalk area filled with evil clowns, there’s nowhere to hide in Knott’s Scary Farm.
Ghost Town Streets is the original and largest, most terrifying scare zone that started it all. Bands of half-human, half-animal monsters prowl the streets and inhabit the fog, and beware the notoriously startling sliders, who lunge from in every fog-filled corner of the land. Fiesta De Los Muertos fuses dance music, colorful costumes, and larger than life stilt walkers in a dance party scare zone. It’s the ultimate late night celebration of Dia de los Muertos. On the Boardwalk clowns crave your undying attention in the CarnEVIL scare zone.
October is one of the favorite months of crowd, and this year at Knott’s Scary Farm will have one of the best Halloween events.
When a good runner becomes part of “Maze Runner: The Scorch Trials”
By GTVW Staff
Photos Agency
From director Wes Ball and producers Ellen Goldsmith-Vein, Wyck Godfrey, Marty Bowen, Lee Stollman, Joe Hartwick, Jr. with a well structured screenplay by T.S. Nowlin, based upon the novel “The Scorch Trials” by James Dashner.
“Maze Runner: The Scorch Trials”Is the next chapter of the epic “Maze Runner” saga, Thomas (Dylan O’Brien) and his fellow Gladers face their greatest challenge yet: searching for clues about the mysterious and powerful organization known as WCKD. Their journey takes them to the Scorch, a desolate landscape filled with unimaginable obstacles. Teaming up with resistance fighters, the Gladers take on WCKD’s vastly superior forces and uncover its shocking plans for them all.
From the best, young and talented cast such Dylan O’Brien, Kaya Scodelario, Thomas Brodie-Sangster, Giancarlo Esposito, Aidan Gillen, Barry Pepper, Lili Taylor, and Patricia Clarkson, this film contextualizes the motive behind the bad guys and how this young victims fight in order to keep their lives. This film is full of exciting and good action scenes which the ending to this one will make you want to see the next side of the story in a new coming film.
