Granny Ranny's Coming Attractions

The Los Angeles Film Festival announced their jury and audience award winners for the 2011 Festival at the Awards Brunch, sponsored and hosted by zLA Times, LA Live, CHAYA Downtown and Dove® Hair Care.  Allison Janney and John C. Reilly were on hand to present the awards.  The Los Angeles Film Festival ran from Thursday, June 16 to Sunday, June 26 in downtown Los Angeles.

“David, Doug and the team continue to raise the bar with the quality of our programming slate.  We’re enormously proud to host such an exceptional and diverse group of films and filmmakers at this year’s Festival, and to have introduced audiences to their wonderful work” said Los Angeles Film Festival Director Rebecca Yeldham.

The two top juried awards of the Los Angeles Film Festival are the Narrative Award and Documentary Award, each carrying an unrestricted $15,000 cash prize, funded by Film Independent, for the winning film’s director.  The awards were established by the Festival encourage independent filmmakers to pursue their artistic ambitions.

“It was such a rich year in competition films, so our juries had really tough choices to make.  The winning films are the cream of a particularly delicious crop, and we’re delighted that they reflect the Festival’s dedication to movies from all over the world,” said Festival Artistic Director David Ansen.

The Narrative Award recognizes the finest narrative film in competition at the Festival and went to Stéphane Lafleur for the North American Premiere of Familiar Ground.  The Documentary Award recognizes the finest documentary film in competition at the Festival and went to Beverly Kopf and Bobbie Birleffi for the World Premiere of Wish Me Away.

For more information, go to http://www.lafilmfest.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/04/2011-LAFF-Winners-Release-FINAL.doc

Based in the books by authors Kate and Jim McMullan, Scholastic is releasing the action-packed, rumble-tumble DVD set, I’M DIRTY! & I STINK!: THE KATE AND JIM MCMULLAN COLLECTION, including the two title stories plus ten more all about about trucks and trash and boats and bikes.  “I Stink!” features the smelly story of a New York City garbage truck that likes to eat alphabet soup whereas “I’m Dirty” shows just how grimy a sassy backhoe loader can get while doing its job.

The two-disc set also features ten adventurous stories adapted from award-winning books and celebrity narration by Andy Richter, Forest Whitaker, Steve Buscemi and others, contains Robert McCloskey’s “Burt Dow: Deep Water Man”, Dav Pilkey’s hilarious “The Paperboy”, “Stars! Stars! Stars!”, “Fletcher and the Falling Leaves”, “Johnny Appleseed”, “Trashy Town”, “The Remarkable Riderless Runaway Tricycle”, “The Beast of Monsieur Racine”, “Arnie the Doughnut” and Virginia Lee Burton’s timeless story, “Mike Mulligan and his Steam Shovel”.  Aside from featuring Scholastic’s innovative read-along captioning, the DVD set also includes bonus interviews with “I’m Dirty” and “I Stink!” authors Kate and Jim McMullan, and more!

Bob the Builder has paired with another building icon – LEGOLAND® – to promote the DVD movie premiere.  As part of a national promotion with LEGOLAND, each Bob the Builder: The Big Dino Dig The Movie DVD includes a coupon for a free Child Ticket with paid Adult Ticket to any LEGOLAND attraction.  In addition, the DVD includes a special offer for a free child’s admission to SplashDown Beach waterpark in Fishkill, New York featuring the new attraction, Bob the Builder Splash Works™.

DVD SYNOPSIS – Grab your shovels and join the fun as Bob the Builder and his terrific team dig up ancient surprises in this all-new movie. A new truck named Rubble joins the Can-Do Crew to help build an enormous amusement park, but when things get difficult with seagulls and impossible lumps, it’s up to the team to work together to finish the job, unearthing some prehistoric dinosaur bones along the way. Hold on to your hard hat for a roller coaster ride of thrills, discovery and fun!

DVD BONUS FEATURES
• “Diggin It Up” Music Video

Age Target: 2-5 years old
Format: Widescreen
Feature Running Time: 61 minutes
DVD Audio Status: English and Spanish 2.0 Dolby Digital
Program Website: http://www.bobthebuilder.com/
Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/bobthebuilder

A young woman takes the journey of a lifetime along the jaw-dropping beaches of South Africa in the all-new surfing adventure Blue Crush 2, coming to Blu-ray and DVD June 7, 2011.  Blue Crush 2 follows a high-spirited California surfer girl as she treks across the magnificent beaches of South Africa, making new friends, finding romance and riding epic waves.

Filmed along one of the most exotic and dangerous shorelines in the world, Blue Crush 2 is directed and produced by Mike Elliott (Beethoven’s Big Break).  A gorgeous and talented young cast including Sasha Jackson (“One Tree Hill”), Sharni Vinson (Step Up 3-D), Elizabeth Mathis (Tron: Legacy, Unstoppable), Ben Milliken (Newcastle) and newcomer Chris Fisher is joined by some of the world’s preeminent surfers at the renowned “home of the perfect wave,” Jeffrey’s Bay (aka “J-Bay”), as well as other spectacular South African surf destinations including North Beach, Glenmore, Banana Beach and Coffee Bay. 

The film also features many world-class female surfers from the professional Roxy team, including Sally Fitzgibbons, Bianca Buitendag, Rosy Hodge, Tanika Hoffman and Danielle Le Roux. Additional top female surfers featured in the film include Laura Enever, Sarah Baum, Roxy Louw, Tarryn Chudleigh, Kirsty Delport, Mia Hordyk, Morag Steele and Heidi Palmboom.  Performing daring stunts and conquering some of the wildest surf ever captured on film on the men’s side are surfing legends Jordy Smith, Taj Burrow and Travis Logie as well as big wave surfer Grant “Twiggy” Baker, Rudi Palmboom Sr., Casey Grant, Warwick Wright, Mikey February and Andrew “Roosta” Lange.

BONUS FEATURES
The Blu-ray™ and DVD version of Blue Crush 2 includes the following bonus features:
• DELETED SCENES
• GAG REEL
• THE MAKING OF BLUE CRUSH 2—Dive into the world of Blue Crush 2 as the cast and crew of the film offer an inside look at the film’s behind-the-scenes secrets.
• SURF SAFARI! FILMING IN SOUTH AFRICA—From Durban’s bustling street markets to the dazzling wildlife of the African plains, Blue Crush 2 showcases the beauty of South Africa in all its diversity. The cast and crew take viewers on a very personal guided tour of this amazing location. 
• RIPPING IT! SHOOTING THE SURF SCENES—The filmmakers reveal the intricate techniques they used to create some of the most awesome surf ever seen.  They also take viewers behind the scenes to look at how the film’s stars trained for the intense surfing sequences. 
• FEATURE COMMENTARY WITH DIRECTOR MIKE ELLIOTT AND CAST
Blu-ray™ exclusive features include:
• BD-LIVE™ – Access the BD-Live™ Center through your Internet-connected player to access the latest trailers and more!

Narrated in the U.S. by Indy and NASCAR racer Sam Hornish Jr., Roary the Racing Car launched on Sprout® in October of 2008, but the premiere DVD has a treat for their fans featuring episodes never-before-seen on TV.

SYNOPSIS
Start your engines for fun and excitement with Roary the Racing Car and his racetrack buddies, Tin Top, Zizzy, Dragga and mischievous Maxi, as they zoom into exciting high-speed adventures. The racetrack becomes a pit stop of great times as everyone goes the extra mile for Marsha’s birthday party, Big Chris becomes a babysitter and Rusty is on a roll…without wheels! Put your pedal to the metal and buckle up for big-time fun from START to FINISH!

Episodes include:
• “Stars and Cars” – Big Chris has been invited to appear on a TV karaoke show.  The cars are worried that the success will go to his head and he’ll leave Silver Hatch forever.
• “Rusty Takes a Trip” – Rusty is fed up with sitting in one place.  Roary and the other cars plan a special surprise for him, but Rusty soon decides he prefers life without wheels!
• “Big Chris Babysits” – Big Chris has been left in charge of the track and keeping an eye on Roary and Zizzy.  But is Big Chris the one that needs looking after?
• “Roary Gets it Wrong” – Farmer Green has given Roary lots of packages to deliver to everybody around the track.  How will Roary remember which package belongs to who?
• “Computer Calamity” – Mr. Carburettor has decided that Silver Hatch needs to move with the times and do everything with computers. But Big Chris is a traditional mechanic, so what happens when the two disagree?
• “Big Chris Forgets” – It’s Marsha’s birthday, and Big Chris is in charge of organizing a surprise for her.  Why does everybody keep reminding him what he needs to do?  He wouldn’t forget anything… would he?!

DVD BONUS FEATURES
• “Roary’s Day at the Seaside” Music Video

PROGRAM INFORMATION

Genre: Children/Family/Ages 2-5
Running Times: 55 minutes
Program Website:  www.roarytheracingcar.com
Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/roary-the-racingcar
Website: www.hitentertainment.com

Our youth film critics reviewed the upcoming made for TV movie, “Field of Vision” this week and it was an absolute hit for ages 10 through 14. The theme is anti-bullying but it’s definitely more than that. We see a young boy, Cory, who is a foster child and moved from school to school. When he is transferred to a new high school, he joins the football team and is bullied by a few of the guys. The team captain realizes he needs Cory and confronts the bullies who just happen to be kids he’s been fest friends with since fourth grade. The storyline captivates both girls and boys. The football action grabs the attention of the boys and interaction of the team captain’s mother with Cory’s mom seems to appeal to girls’ sensibilities.

Here’s what our kids had to say:  

This movie is very inspiring. Tyler learns that it is important to do the right thing, even when it means sacrificing your relationship with your best friends. Tyler’s mother, Jodi, sees a struggling student, who she reaches out to. I recommend this movie to kids ages nine and up. It is a great family movie, but younger kids might not understand the complications between the characters and the drama that occurs. Gabriella Chu, age 14, KIDS FIRST! Film Critic

This is a really good movie. It’s about an orphan boy who is really smart really good on the football field. However some people at his new school think he is trying to make them look bad. I think the acting in this is phenomenal, especially Joe Adler who plays Cory. I think that this is appropriate for ages 10 and up because it’s more psychological than visual. Sam Connan, Age 13, KIDS FIRST! Film Critic

Field of Vision is a great movie about standing up for the truth and always pushing towards your goals. This movie is very enjoyable. My favorite scene would have to be when Cory, played by Joseph Adler, and Lucy exchange books for the first time because her compassion towards him is very sweet. This is a wonderful family film as it gives families a chance to talk about the important issue of bullying. Raven Devanney, age 13, KIDS FIRST! Film Critic