First of all, if you haven't seen MONSTER HOUSE yet, you need to put it on the list. This funny and clever total creepfest--perfect for tweens and hip adults but pretty damn scary for little ones--wasn't written by just any old Zemeckis/Spielberg hacks, but rather Dan Harmon and Rob Schrab of "Heat Vision and Jack" fame. This was the hilarious "failed" TV pilot from 1999 directed by Ben Stiller and starring Jack Black, renowned in Orlando as the first film ever to play in the Florida Film Festival's inaugural Midnight Shorts program in 2000.

But don't just see MONSTER HOUSE anywhere--find out where it's playing in "REAL D Cinema" or Digital 3-D. The "Motion Capture" style of animation (much more effective here than in THE POLAR EXPRESS) and haunted house subject lend themselves perfectly to this 3-D format. Used to be you'd have to go to a studio amusement park like Disney or Universal or find a special engagement at an IMAX screen to get this type of sensory experience. How cool is is just to go to a regular cinema, pay normal price, put on the gray-lensed glasses, and settle in for a unique time at the movies? Though the film is on a zillion screens at 18 different locations in Central Florida, only three are playing it in this format. Believe me--it's worth the extra time or gas to make sure you see it in the manner I'm sure the filmmakers dreamed about.

I recently read somewhere that the studio didn't feel it necessary to press screen the film in Digital 3-D for the critics. Are you kidding me? I know MONSTER HOUSE got mostly favorable press, but that's assinine if you ask me. Maybe the ones who found the narrative lacking would've been so entertained by the visuals that their reviews would've had a more positive spin. If you've got it, why wouldn't you want to flaunt it? Morons...

One more added bonus--since hardly anything else currently exists in this Digital 3-D format, you only have to sit through two trailers: a 3-D reissue of Tim Burton's THE NIGHTMARE BEFORE CHRISTMAS coming in October (count me in!), and some kiddie inventor/time travel flick called MEET THE ROBINSONS coming in March, 2007 (we'll see...). I almost applauded that the main feature started in four minutes. And it's a film that may just be a Halloween classic for years to come.

--Matthew

Connect the dots, la la la la la. In case you missed it the first time around 20 years ago, Cartoon Network recently began airing repeats of one of the greatest, coolest, and most bizarre children's shows ever--"Pee-wee's Playhouse." Monday through Thursday nights at 11:00 PM (it's part of the "Adult Swim" portion of their programming) you can experience a different episode from the five-year run of this Emmy-winning and highly influential series.

Created by Paul Reubens after his Pee-wee character's big screen debut in Tim Burton's "Pee-wee's Big Adventure" (1985), the show gives a major nod to retro pop culture while incorporating live action, puppets, old cartoons, claymation, dinosaurs, silly furniture, robots, magic screens, and an occasional life lesson or two with a dose of humor. The list of talent that was part of the ensemble is startling, especially for what was supposed to be an odd little kids' TV show: Phil Hartman (Captain Carl), who was also a co-writer; "Larry" Fishburne (Cowboy Curtis); Shirley Stoler (yes, the Shirley Stoler from "Seven Beauties" and "The Honeymoon Killers" plays Mrs. Steve); Natasha Lyonne (Opal); and William Marshall (of "Blacula" fame!) played the King of Cartoons. Production design was by underground comix legend Gary Panter, and the music featured contributions from producer extraordinaire Mitchell Froom, Mark Mothersbaugh of Devo, Danny Elfman, The Residents, Todd Rundgren, and Paul Reubens himself.

So set your VCR or Tivo or DVR and revisit one of the true bright spots of 1980's culture--you'll love it, but your kids will be especially thankful.

--Matthew

I believe the great (and vastly underrated) Ian Hunter (ex-Mott the Hoople) once sang that, and after a long weekend and first-visit-ever to the city and its environs, I am in total agreement.

What a pleasant change to have lush, cool, green grass as soft as hair, where all you want to do is lay down and count the lightning bugs. Cookouts with fresh walleye and perch right out of Lake Erie, either grilled or fried, some of the most delicious fish you'll ever get to taste. And an honest to goodness twin Drive-In theater, the Aut-O-Rama, celebrating its 40th anniversary complete with restored 1960's intermission trailers pushing the snack bar "treats" and counting down each minute to showtime with two scary red clowns. I swear the concession stand smelled the same as the last drive-in I attended decades ago (yuck), but having the sound come through an FM channel on your car stereo/radio is a big improvement over the tinny old metal speaker you'd hook on the driver's side car window. Perhaps it loses a little of the retro charm, but with a nice breeze and temperatures in the high 50's/low 60's and the train passing by every so often (just like Popcorn Flicks!), it was still pretty special. Now what the hell this Frankie Muniz vampire flick from Buena Vista called STAY ALIVE (never heard of it) was doing headlining over PIRATES 2 I have no idea, so we just showed up at 11:00 and caught the last 5 or 10 ridiculous minutes before enduring a 40 minutes-late-wait for DEAD MAN'S CHEST. Gee...just like some festivals we know.

Though the Cleveland Museum of Art is closed for some major multi-million dollar renovation (next time...), I was finally able to make it to the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. An absolutely beautiful 6-story glass pyramid shaped structure, this museum is a must-see for any music fan who grew up in the 60's. There was way too much to take in for a 4-5 hour visit (a full day is recommended if you really want to be thorough), but the current exhibits I did check out were all very cool: Bob Dylan's early years, Roy Orbison, The Concert for Bangladesh, Sam Cooke, Ricky Nelson, Hendrix, and what I'm guessing is a lot of their permanent collection. Tom Hanks apparently showed up for a visit while we were there, but I was in the middle of a giant screen film installation on all of the inductees and didn't want to leave. He was also at beautiful Jacobs Field--perfectly situated right in the middle of downtown--for the Indians/Twins game the same night (supposedly they showed him on the TV broadcast), the one game in the series I didn't attend. Word is that he's got theater roots in Cleveland and still loves the town. It's easy to see why.

--Matthew

Next week promises to be an exceptional time at Enzian, with a host of special programming, the Young Filmmakers' Summer Camp, and the continuing mindblowing run of Richard Linklater's stellar adaptation of Philip K. Dick's A SCANNER DARKLY. Apparently Orlando audiences have dismissed the tepid local reviews and decided to partake and judge for themselves, making Enzian the number one screen in the state for this uniquely animated excursion into sci-fi paranoia. Robert Downey Jr.'s dynamite (not to mention hilarious) performance alone is worth the price of admission.

Monday the 24th kicks off the Kidfest film series, our annual Summer festival of unusual, classic, and (sometimes) literary films for children--all at 12:30 PM for only $5 admission. One thing you can bet--it's not the same old studio crap from the last year or two that the chains regurgitate and think they're doing the parents a huge favor. First up is a recently struck print of THE THREE STOOGES MEET HERCULES (1962), in which the slapstick legends accidentally activate a time machine and go from Ithaca, New York to Ithica, ancient Greece. Speaking of time travel gizmos, the film on Tuesday the 25th is the one and only classic THE TIME MACHINE (1960), George Pal's Oscar-winning adaptation of the H.G. Wells masterpiece. This is the one with Rod Taylor, Yvette Mimieux, and Sebastian Cabot (Mr. French!). I know it's rated "G" but let's hope the kids don't get too freaked out by the Morlocks, the cannabalistic mutants that run things in the year 802,701. Wednesday the 26th is one of my all-time faves, JASON AND THE ARGONAUTS (1963). Nothing like a little search for the Golden Fleece with legendary special effects by stop-motion pioneer Ray Harryhausen and a musical score by the great Bernard Herrmann. And this year's nature doc (I always have to do one), screening on Thursday the 27th, is MICROCOSMOS (1996), the French film (narrated in English) about the insect world that truly deserves the word "amazing" in any description. A new generation of kids who may be familiar with films like WINGED MIGRATION and MARCH OF THE PENGUINS are about to get their minds blown!

And speaking of blown minds, let's not forget this month's Art House Project/Sundance Channel Film Series selection, Kevin Smith's original CLERKS (1994). As funny and entertaining as a low-budget comedy can get, our intention in programming it for the end of July (Tuesday the 25th at 9:30 PM to be exact) was to give the public a chance to see the first one before the reportedly hilarious sequel comes out in mid-August. But the studio moved the new film's release date up by three weeks, so now it opens this Friday the 21st, four days prior to our screening of the Kevin Smith film that started it all. So show some willpower and hold off checking out the sequel for a weekend and see this two-part epic in the order they were meant to be seen. MIramax has gone to the trouble of making us a brand new 35mm print, so it should be a helluva time for a meager $5.

Should be a fun week!

--Matthew

"This is the story of an unprejudiced heart and how it changed our valley forever." So begins Chris Noonan's BABE (1995), this month's "Popcorn Flick" selection and one of the truly classic family films of our generation. A wonderful turnout--including a birthday party complete with portable playhouse and an assortment of sidewalk artists--in Winter Park's Central Park for the free screening (and free popcorn!) last week got to see what's been referred to as "the Citizen Kane of talking pig pictures" in the most pleasant of conditions. We even only had to stop the film just once for the train passing through.

A favorite from my early Dad days with my daughter, this incredibly smart and funny talking animals pic is as creative as it gets and is filled with delightful and noble characters such as Fly the sheepdog; Ferdinand the duck; Maa the sheep; that hilarious Greek chorus of a trio of singing mice; Farmer Hoggett (the great James Cromwell in
an Oscar-worthy performance, long before his Six Feet Under days); and of course, the touchingly naive orphan piglet himself, Babe (and all 48 pigs and the perfectly cast voice actor it took to play him!). The pig-who-thinks-he's-a-dog ends up turning Hogget's farm upside down, but luckily the man in charge senses something special about this unique little creature.

And there's something special about this Australian children's film that won an Academy Award for Best Visual Effects and received 6 other nominations, including Best Picture, Best Director, Best Screenplay (Based on Material From Another Medium), and Best Supporting Actor. It's rare that a "kids film" gets this much acclaim, but this one is about as fresh and sweet as the genre gets--it's truly a film to see with loved ones, no matter what their age.

PS - Hearty, well-deserved congratulations and best wishes for a glorious 10th birthday to everyone at indieWIRE from all of us at Enzian and the Florida Film Festival! You guys have a lot to be proud of and we're thrilled to be friends and associates. Keep up the great work!

--Matthew

The Orlando Magic started their summer league play this week, a series of exhibition games (not open to the public) between teams primarily made up of rookies, walk-ons, free-agents, and rehabbing pros. Conspicuous in his absence was this year's first round draft pick (#11), Duke sharp-shooting guard J.J. Redick. If this guy gets open, it's lights out--Redick set so many shooting and scoring records during his distinguished college tenure it's not funny, including the most 3-pointers ever in a college career.

Unfortunately, and despite promises from JJ himself that he'd be ready to go, a "minor" back problem known as a herniated disk has sidelined him for the current time, and he's also given up his spot on the USA basketball squad set to begin practice this summer. Could it be a coincidence that the same day the announcement was made to the press about Redick going "no-show," the LA Dodgers announced that star closer Eric Gagne was having season-ending surgery to repair his herniated disk? The Magic, who have endured years of misery stemming from (former Dukie) Grant Hill's catastrophic ankle injury and major henia complications, still chose Redick in the draft knowing about his injury. At the time (just a few weeks ago), the company line was that they were comfortable with the doctor's evaluation and JJ would be ready to go for summer league play. This week's position is that real training camp doesn't start for another 3 months or so, and it's not worth the risk of putting him out there now. We'll see...

Magic fans have heard this song and dance before (in their nightmares), and I can only hope that management is right and they didn't blow this pick. We've been down this road once already with a great Duke player who was supposed to be physically fine according to the experts, as well as a number 11 draft pick who didn't even bother to leave his country to come play in the NBA (last year's selection, forward Fran Vasquez, is still in Spain).

When Babe Ruth was sold by the Red Sox to the Yankees, Boston fans felt there was a curse on the team and the city which took over 8 decades to break. Let's hope the "Curse of the Shaq-ino" doesn't haunt us poor one-pro-sport Orlando hoops fans for a similar run of persecution--that would truly suck!

--Matthew

"Which one of you is Pink?" Word spread quickly today about the death of British Rock music's greatest recluse, Pink Floyd co-founder Syd Barrett. By any stretch of the imagination an innovative and genre-bending musical genius, Syd started the band and was its guitarist, vocalist, and lyricist from 1965 until his departure in early 1968. Before his behaviour got increasingly erratic due to his fragile mental state and the large amounts of LSD he reportedly consumed, the band released two immortal psychedelic-pop singles, "See Emily Play" and "Arnold Layne", and their first clasic LP, "The Piper at the Gates of Dawn." Who doesn't remember getting lit and listening to the trippy brilliance of "Astronomy Domine" or "Interstellar Overdrive" on a pair of headphones?

And then sudenly he was out of the band, and David Gilmour was in. Rumors flew--I recall the one where the final straw was supposedly during a gig where Syd just kept playing the same note over and over again while staring into space. Was he institutionalized or not? He flipped out and went to live as a shut-in with his mom, taking up residence in her boarded up basement and spent his time gardening (apparently these last two facts were true). I believe he was even silent after Pink Floyd's classic tribute to him ("Wish You Were Here") was released in 1975, with the signature song about their "departed" friend and ex-bandmate, "Shine on You Crazy Diamond." But basically this tortured artist and fragile and brilliant star lived the last 35 years of his life as far out of the limelight as possible.

Syd Barrett did release two solo albums, "The Madcap Laughs" and "Barrett," both in 1970, and made with the assistance of some of his former bandmates. Both are folky, weird, and wonderful and well worth seeking out. He has had a profound influence on the music and lives of artists from David Bowie and Robyn Hitchcock to REM and the whole California Underground Paisley Pop movement, and I'm sure countless others. The musical course he set out on more than 40 (!) years ago certainly affected my listening habits through the years, and I can only thank him for his artistry.

Rest in peace Roger Keith ("Syd") Barrett (1946 - 2006).

--Matthew

Hard to believe I'm actually writing these words, but the last two weeks have brought some excellent music to these parts for the first time in a very long time. How long? I actually don't remember the last show I saw in Orlando, though it might have been The Pernice Brothers sometime in the fall. And the only local shows I can remember being interested in since the new year (Chuck Prophet opening for Aimee Mann, The Fleshtones as part of one of those Little Steven garage band spectaculars) unfortunately fell during Florida Film Festival crunch time.

But it's a new season and summer's been good so far in the tunes department. I finally caught up with Echo and the Bunnymen, despite being a fan since the very beginning. Now a six piece, they sounded quite good while playing a nice balance of newer material from their recent albums on SpinArt (that I wasn't familiar with but impressive nonetheless) with a lot of the older faves (do they qualify as "hits"?--maybe in the UK). Dynamite renditions of "Villiers Terrace", "The Killing Moon" and "The Cutter" were some of the stand-outs, but I didn't care for the lame arrangement of "Rescue" and why they refused to play "Do It Clean", one of their best songs ever, I have no idea. Plus the moody and shadowy lighting (with not a single bright spot!) bordered on pretentious, spurring the guy next to me to repeatedly scream (to no avail), "Ian--we can't see your face."

Next up was an in-store performance by British folkie Alexi Murdoch at Park Ave. CD's. Out promoting his (finally released) first LP, "Time Without Consequence", by only doing gigs at indie record stores and no actual paid concert performances, the singer/guitarist was amazed at the crowd he drew. It's easy to pigeonhole him as just a Nick Drake clone, but there are worse things you could be called. I also heard echoes of Bert Jansch in a bluesier number, and this guy's voice, guitar playing, and songwriting are stunning to say the least.

Finally, I got to see the Reverend himself (for the 3rd time), one of the greatest soul singers ever, Mr. Al Green. Backed by a super tight 12-piece band (including his daughter on backing vocals), he delivered a glorious--if too short--set of almost exclusively greatest hits with a gospel number or two ("Amazing Grace") thrown in for good measure. Oddly ignoring his last two highly acclaimed, return-to-basics studio LP's with the exception of opening with the infectious "I Can't Stop", Al's voice (not to mention his smile) was as gorgeous and joyful as ever. Hit after hit kept coming, including "Let's Get Married", "Tired of Being Alone", "Let's Stay Together", and a closing "Love and Happiness" that absolutely cooked. But would it have killed him to play "Take Me to the River" (maybe a bit too obscure for his regular crowd?), and I'd rather hear him sing stuff from his back catalog than take up time doing a Vegas-y tribute to other seminal soul artists like Otis Redding, The Four Tops, The Temptations, and Marvin Gaye. Not that it's not great hearing Al Green take a shot at singing some of the legendary songs, but I hate medleys, and when you're only doing a 65-minute set, I've got more important songs to get to.

So now that I'm primed to actually go out and start seeing live music again, will there be anything else worth going to? I sure as hell hope so!

--Matthew

Congratulations are once again in order for Mike Akel's wonderfully authentic and hilarious mockumentary, CHALK. Winner of a Special Jury Award for Ensemble Acting at the 2006 Florida Film Festival back in April, this comedy so skillfully weaves universal truths about the high school teaching profession into its narrative that it keeps racking up awards. Cinequest and the Independent Film Festival of Boston have also honored it, and this past weekend the Los Angeles Film Festival gave its Outstanding Performance in the Narrative Competition award to the whole cast.

So congrats to principal cast members Troy Schremmer, Shannon Haragan, co-writer/actor Chris Mass, Janelle Schremmer, filmmaker Mike Akel and Producer Angie Alvarez. Keep it up and the distributors will have to pay attention soon!

--Matthew

I suppose it's their own fault they're still 10 games back. They couldn't play any worse the first two months of the season if they tried. In fact, I think their starting pitching had the league's worst ERA and the team one of the worst road records up until the beginning of June. And that's when it suddenly all turned around.

Even if you're a baseball fan you may not realize the run my Minnesota Twins have been on lately. Winners of 10 in a row, 20 of 22, a record-tying 16-2 in Interleague play (just finished unfortunately!), a majors-best 30-10 home record, the list goes on and on. In fact, not only are they the first team in baseball history to collect all three monthly awards--Player of the Month (Joe Mauer), Pitcher of the Month (Johan Santana), and Rookie of the Month (Francisco Liriano)--they also had the runner-ups (!) in two of the categories: Justin Morneau to Mauer and Liriano to Santana.

Not that they didn't have some good young talent (and in Santana perhaps the best pitcher in all of baseball), but this about-face is truly remarkable. And yet, despite their stellar feats on the field lately, they've only picked up a measly 2 games on the division-leading, best-record-in-baseball (?!) Detroit Tigers this whole time, and the hated World Champion Chicago White Sox (w/ Hawk Harrelson, the most disgusting and unprofessional "homer" TV broadcaster in the business) are 7 games ahead in second place. So the Twins still have a long way to go to get back in this thing, and there's still a lot of baseball to be played. They are clearly in the best division in baseball this year, and I'm proud of the way they've rebounded from an atrocious first third of the season.

Keep playing like this and they'll be part of that Wild Card conversation real soon.

--Matthew