The Resurrection of Gavin Stone

The Resurrection of Gavin Stone

Posted on January 19, 2017 at 5:39 pm

Copyright BH Tilt 2016

A spoiled former child star makes some bad choices and ends up sentenced to 200 hours of community service as a janitor in a church, where he is cast in the annual Easter passion play — as Jesus — in the light-hearted Christian romantic comedy “The Resurrection of Gavin Stone.” Handsome “Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D” star Brett Dalton stars in the title role, with stand-up charmer and “MADtv’s” Bon Qui Qui Anjelah Johnson-Reyes as Kelly, the by-the-rules preacher’s kid who directs the play.

We get a glimpse of Stone in his cute sit-com years, catch phrase and all, and then a look at some wild partying with a side of mayhem when he happens to be back in his home town. And so, with the sentence of community service and not being in demand any more as an actor, he has no choice but to move in with his estranged dad (“The Middle” and “Scrubs” star Neil Flynn) while he works it off, with the 200 hours counting down on his phone.

He shows up at the church, looking dissolute and louche, and asks the man fixing the furnace where to find the pastor. Of course that is the pastor (“The Cutting Edge” star D.B. Sweeney). He not unkindly hands Gavin a mop and bucket — the sharper sting is that he doesn’t recognize Gavin or know anything about his fame. The 200 hours seems like forever.

But then Gavin sees the auditions for the play and suddenly he is at home. He explains that he knows about acting and wants to try out for the lead role. It’s a lot easier than mopping, and, at heart, he really is an actor, as we see when he chooses a surprising speech for his audition — a monologue from “Hamlet” — and performs it surprisingly well. He lies and says he is a believing Christian. Kelly is pretty sure that is not true but casts him in the role of Jesus because he is a good actor and because her father reminds her that they believe in second chances.

Gavin is humorously ignorant about the details of the story and at first impetuously offers to improve the script. But as he plays the role and is inspired by the faith and kindness of the people around him, he reconciles with his father, makes new friends, begins to fall for Kelly, and looks forward to the performance — until his dream job offer comes in and in order to take it he has to leave right away.

The sweet story has no surprises, but the humor and the very capable and appealing cast — including Shawn Michaels from the WWE, which co-produced the film — make it fun to watch, and make it touching as well.

Parents should know that this film includes some bad behavior and mayhem and a passion play with a bloody crucifixion image.

Family discussion: Why did Gavin make so many bad choices? What surprised him about the people in the church?

If you like this, try: “Brother White” and the church/study guide resources made available for the film.

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Comedy Date movie Romance Spiritual films
xXx: The Return of Xander Cage

xXx: The Return of Xander Cage

Posted on January 19, 2017 at 5:28 pm

Copyright 2016 Paramount

This ridiculous but ridiculously entertaining third chapter in the “XXX” action series is basically script by Mad Libs: Let’s have Vin Diesel in a . Which is how we get a motorcycle race over water and a ski jump into jungle. Plus a shoot-out in zero gravity. And why not. Sick of winter? Tired of the news? Here is a summer movie in January, with chases and explosions for days, badassery of all kinds, and many thousand yard stares, all presented for your delectation in gorgeous IMAX 3D.

So, to recap. In the first XXX movie, released in 2002, extreme sports and extreme tattoo anti-hero and adrenaline junkie Xander Cage (Vin Diesel) was recruited by federal agent Augustus Gibbons (Samuel L. Jackson) to do some tasks that normal military and government operatives were not cool and crazy enough to do. Chapter 2, “XXX: State of the Union” (2005) had Ice Cube stepping in for the reportedly deceased Cage. Twelve years later, it turns out that Xander Cage was just too cool to kill. He’s been enjoying life with crazy stunts and beautiful ladies. But tracks him down because has to be taken away from , and so once again his special skills are needed.

That special ops boss is Marke, played by Toni Collette as though she is doing a bad drag queen impression of herself, as opposed to the good drag queen impression she did in “Connie and Carla.” She helpfully provides X with a team of military tough guys. He dispatches them quickly by throwing them off a plane and rounds up his own Benneton ad of a team, a motley crew of wisecracking with and no fear: “the bad, the extreme, the completely insane,” we are reminded, as though that isn’t the very reason we are there. The movie helpfully skips over exposition that might get in the way of chases, explosions, shoot-outs, fight scenes, and quippy threats and bragging by providing helpful title cards for each character outlining, like Power Point on crack, their most significant achievements, characteristics, and useful other information like their go-to karaoke song or the fact that one of them, meeting with Samuel L. Jackson, thinks he is being recruited for the Avengers.

Everyone loves to run, jump, shoot, and fight except for Nina Dobrev as the Velma of this Scooby-Doo crowd, with oversize glasses, super-duper tech ability, and an inability to stop talking around X. She babbles anything that comes into her mind, explaining so thoroughly (in the world of this movie, more than six words in a row is a monologue) that she is not a field agent that we know eventually she will have to shoot a gun at someone, and adding, as she swoons over X’s muscles, “It’s not that I have a safe word or anything; it’s kumquat.”

X-Men style, this Island of Lost Toys bunch of misfits keeps shifting loyalties, so, gets to fight and fight alongside , too. It’s all delightfully preposterous but crazy fun and .

Parents should know that this film includes constant action-style peril and violence, chases, explosions, assault weapons, knives, terrorism, sexual innuendo and non-explicit situation, and some strong language.

Family discussion: Do you agree with Xander’s comment about rebels and tyrants? How do the characters decide when to be loyal and who to be loyal to?

If you like this, try: the earlier “xXx” movies and the “Transporter” and “Fast and Furious” series

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3D Action/Adventure IMAX Series/Sequel Spies

Exclusive Clip: Claire in Motion

Posted on January 19, 2017 at 7:24 am

Claire in Motion” stars Betsy Brandt (CBS’ “Life in Pieces,” AMC’s “Breaking Bad”) in story that twists the missing person thriller into an emotional take on uncertainty and loss. The film won the Narrative Spotlight Audience Award at the 2016 SXSW Film Festival and is the second feature film by filmmaking team Lisa Robinson and Annie J. Howell (“Small, Beautifully Moving Parts“). It’s now in theaters and available on demand.

In this exclusive clip, Claire (Betsy Brandt) and grad student Allison (Anna Margaret Hollyman) share an awkward moment when Allison unexpectedly shows up at Claire’s house to explain her feelings about Paul and his disappearance.

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Trailers, Previews, and Clips
Interview: Brett Dalton on “The Resurrection of Gavin Stone”

Interview: Brett Dalton on “The Resurrection of Gavin Stone”

Posted on January 18, 2017 at 3:56 pm

Brett Dalton (“Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D”) plays the title role in “The Resurrection of Gavin Stone,” about a spoiled former child star who is sentenced to 200 hours of community service in the town he grew up in after some bad behavior. He is forced to live with his estranged father (“The Middle” star Neil Flynn) and work as a janitor in a local church, where he is cast in the role of Jesus in their Easter passion play. The movie opens January 20, 2017 at theaters across the US.

Copyright BH Tilt

I spoke to Dalton about getting the chance to perform “Hamlet” (well, one speech, when Gavin auditions) on screen, a first for him. “But I always hoped, I always hoped. I had not done Shakespeare prior to grad school, but you audition with a few Shakespeare monologues so they can see how you handle text. I never thought that I would even be any good at it but I really got turned on to it as soon as I started studying it and the second play that I did in grad school was actually “Macbeth.” I played the title role, so either they made a casting mistake or I must have been decent enough at it that they thought I could handle the whole thing. There something very universal about the stories and something just magnificent about saying those words and having them roll around in your mouth, it’s pretty miraculous. So, I did not expect that I would ever get a chance to do that on film where millions of people could see it. I hope I did a good job.” It’s an important part of the story because “let’s say he is better at his job than we expected because up until then we just heard about all of his mistake and stuff. For him to have at least chosen that means that he must be able to connect to another human being, do the work and have that kind of empathy, and that he is smart about his choices, at least as an actor.”

It is a challenge for a good actor like Dalton to play a bad actor. “I don’t think a bad actor knows that they are a bad actor so I think that he is doing his best, as we all are. Acting in theater is an art form that requires an audience and it’s a completely subjective thing. You do your work and then you put it out there and it’s not yours anymore. It’s something that you have shared, and so I think as with anything else you just do your best and do your homework and then you have to let it go at the end. When I read the script, he felt like a real person. His sense of humor is what makes him appealing; this was somebody who was so damaged and so far gone I think without that maybe it would’ve been a little bit difficult to go with him on that journey.” In order to research the character, he read some biographies and autobiographies of former child stars. “I can imagine that would be really, really hard because when you’re there on top you feel like it’s going to last forever and you feel like you can do everything and then reality hits you realize that all of that stuff wasn’t real to begin with. Gavin has a bit of that knowledge at the beginning of the film and then gets to that point where it’s hammered home at the end of the film as well when he gets the thing that he thinks that he wants more than anything else and it’s not what he thought it was going to be.”

He enjoyed working with Neil Flynn of “Scrubs” and “The Middle,” who plays his father in the film. “I loved him. He was great. I was always a fan of his on ‘Scrubs’ and I obviously knew that he was very funny in a very dry way. There was a bit of a connection there that both of us had been part of TV shows that were up and running and there was just a connection there already. Often with TV schedules you just have to kind of plug-in, you have to make quick choices, everything is on a schedule, and you have a day to make it work. We were just used that and could take direction quickly and connect quickly. It was a lot of fun and we connected instantly. I had a lot of respect for him from the get go.”

He liked the comedy in the film and believes that it helps convey the deeper story. “You do need a spoonful of sugar for the medicine to go down. I think comedy is an incredibly important part of telling a story and that was important in this film. That’s what made me like the script so much in the first place — it was funny. It didn’t seem to take itself quite so seriously. This is a film that I think anyone can watch and get something out of. It doesn’t like hammer anyone over the head with anything. This is I think first and foremost a good film, not just a faith film. This is a story of someone who gets a second chance. Anyone can relate to that.”

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