Today marks a milestone for the Central Coast Film Society. It is the one year anniversary of our bylaws adoption and the official formation of our Board of Directors. These individuals have worked tirelessly behind the scenes to help craft and shape this organization. Steering this organization on the mission as stated below: ​

One thing you may have noticed in the "by doing so" section, there is something listed as the "Central Coast Film Festival." Even a year ago, official discussions were held about this event and now, we are ready to share the dates and location! Drum roll...

So now we've got a little more than a year to go until the biggest event yet!!

​We are all beyond thrilled to begin the task of putting on a full fledged film festival, and as we've been preparing for the past year, we still know what a daunting task we have before the curtain rises on the inaugural Central Coast Film Festival in 2020. We are also beyond excited about the slate of CCFS Events that will be coming out before we even get to the Central Coast Film Festival. Many of those details will be coming soon!

Many of the festival's details, rules and call for entries will be revealed later this summer. But of course, it will be a place for filmmakers (local, professional and students) to come together and celebrate cinema together! 

Your support is absolutely what is helping us get to this point. In less than a year on Facebook, we are now at more than 1,300 followers. We have also held 5 screenings, two Q&As, mentorships and an Oscar party! All of the memberships, ticket prices and donations help us in so many ways. So please continue to give to help our dream reach so many more! Donating is easy and can be done by clicking at the bottom of this page, or on Facebook. Or even consider purchasing a membership or becoming a company sponsor! 

We all can get behind celebrating cinema. 

Once you let the genie out of the bottle, it's hard to get the magic back in... and the genie first got out of that bottle in 1992 with the animated classic. Let's be honest, Will Smith following the act of Robin Williams is difficult, to say the least. In the 2019 live-action version of Aladdin, the movie saw some upgrades, which may also be its downfall. 

At times the movie seems to follow beat for beat the original material, but the tempo changes quickly (sometimes literally speeding up the film rate to get through slow action). There was new songs and dance numbers introduced into the movie that we have not seen before (which nearly all has Jasmine involved). It's hard to swallow them because they don't seem to flow with the original songs. Basically, if you're comparing this to the original material, prepare for disappointment. That original magic is long gone and was used up for the past 28 years in the movie, sequels and all the use in Disney Parks. That being said...

If you go into this movie with totally and complete open minds (or if you have never seen the cartoon, or any variation of the original source), you might find yourself tapping your toes along with the music and enjoying the sheer spectacle that movies can't do these days because they are just laughable at times, but this movie pulls it off. Be assured, without getting into spoilers, this movie actually is much more child friendly than the original movie. 

All in all, you'll still have a good time. The original movie is a hard act to follow, but Disney attempted to "freshen" this version up to play better to a new generation. The biggest change that Disney should have done to make the film better, would be a title change from Aladdin to Jasmine. In this film, she is really the main character and Aladdin seems far more forgettable. Maybe you should stick with the animated classic.

3/5 Stars.

Platinum Peek's new documentary film, Dirty Toes, was released online recently and has been receiving a great response.  The film is made by a Cal Poly student and his brother and focuses on a local resident with Cerebral Palsy. Erikson Dickens said in an interview with KSBY that he and his brother decided to make the documentary because they like telling stories about ordinary people in extraordinary circumstances. Their goal is to encourage people to go after what they want and live a full life.

Dickens said he and Cameron Sluggett met at age 14 and became friends. Dickens said Sluggett has never let his disability stop him from following his dreams.

Sluggett said he has never let his disability define his life.

“I’m honored to have a story be told about me,” Sluggett said. “I didn’t realize it was so different. It just seems like it’s my life.”

By age 24, Sluggett grew 5 businesses and traveled to Tahoe, Maui and Nicaragua.
The film is called “Dirty Toes” and you can watch it at cameronsluggett.com, or watch it below!

Straight from the Rumor Mill! Which means: none of the following is official or has been confirmed.

Local Central Coast star, Zac Efron, is rumored to be joining the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU)'s "Phase 4" as Adam Warlock. The Marvel character was teased heavily to be joining the other comic book characters on screen in Guardians of the Galaxy: Volume 2 during the end credit scene. And "Guardian's of the Galaxy 3" is currently being developed with James Gunn returning at the helm. Of course, the third film was set up perfectly to continue after the events of Avengers: Endgame. 

So as the production begins to ramp up,  the rumors begin to swirl. BossLogic on twitter has done some fan art to see what it may look like with Zac as Adam, and it looks amazing!!

Would you like to see Zac Efron join the ranks of the Avengers?

We vote: Yes!

Everyone here at the Central Coast Film Society is shocked this morning by the news of the Hollywood and Central Coast icon's passing. We had only yesterday posted on our social media about Doris Day and her work in Hollywood, plus her hotel, the Cypress Inn located in Carmel, California.

Doris Day celebrated her 97th birthday on April 3rd by having more than 300 people come to her Carmel Valley home. But according to the Doris Day Animal Foundation, she "had been in excellent physical health for her age, until recently contracting a serious case of pneumonia, resulting in her death.  She was surrounded by a few close friends as she passed."

The Doris Day Animal Foundation is committed to continuing its work as a grant-giving organization, funding smaller animal welfare non-profits across the country. Doris’ wishes were that she have no funeral or memorial service and no grave marker.  Friends and fans wishing to remember Doris Day, are encouraged to visit www.dorisdayanimalfoundation.org.

There are few characters in cinematic history that you could identify from a lineup of silhouettes. In the Star Wars films, the mighty Chewbacca is instantly recognizable. 

It was announced today that Peter Mayhew, the actor responsible for bringing this character to life, passed away on April 30th at his home in Northern Texas, surrounded by his family. He was 74 years old. Peter had a recent surgery to help with mobility issues, something that forced him to retire playing the iconic character after appearing in Star Wars: The Force Awakens. Standing at a commanding height of 7' 2", he openly and continually embraced the fandom of the beloved character that he breathed life into when Star Wars: A New Hope premiered in 1977. 

The Hollywood Reporter is out with an article saying that Rex Pickett, the author of the novel that Alexander Payne and Jim Taylor's screenplay was based on is, has begun working with EFG-Renascence Productions to develop a musical based on the film. EFG-Renascence founder Solomon J. LeFlore and his partner Susan Gee made the announcement earlier today. It is their hope that Sideways will be heading to Broadway soon. 

Not to pump the breaks on the project too quickly, but Disney recently acquired Fox Studios, which means Sideways now is under Mickey's realm. Therefore, Disney Theatrical Productions will have the first option to make the musical. No timeline is announced for the show. 

According to the article, Pickett is still working in his Sideways world by working on an "unscripted international viticulture travel series" which will be called Going Sideways. He has also finalized a sequel called Sideways 2.0, which follows two millennials following the original wine tromping journey through the Santa Ynez Valley. 

Click here to read the whole Hollywood Reporter article. 

So Avengers: Endgame has been out in theaters for about a week and it looks as if most of the planets population has already seen it. The behemoth blockbuster did better than a Professor Hulk smashing a car (if you've seen the movie you get that joke). Speaking of which, if you have NOT had a chance to see this movie yet, do not read further. Seriously. I appreciate you wanting to read this review, but I'm telling you right now, you're going to be doing a disservice to yourself when you see it. So last warning... we're going to be not holding back any punches and will going into MAJOR spoiler territory in 3... 2... 1....

If you had a chance to read my spoiler-free review, you'll see that I gave it an initial 4/5 score. A week later, I still stand by that. I wanted to be able to give this a 5/5 so bad, but in good consciousness, I couldn't. There were several little things that irked me too hard. It was like riding on the most beautiful road, with the top down in a car that only Tony Stark would dream of, but then suddenly hitting the breaks every 20 or 30 minutes... just because. 

So let's start out with some of the cons for me that thwarted my perfect score for this movie. For starters: fat, mopey Thor. I get it, he's sad because he lost his family and he didn't "go for the head." But he has New Asgard now and his pals Korg, Miek and even Valkyrie are there. The village... even the culture looks to be rebuilding.... with no thanks to our fallen hero. He's too busy trolling kids on video games. A funny moment for sure when he gives Rocket a big hug with his over done beer gut body suit... but the joke continues on.... for the entire movie. At least the look of fat Thor does. He's back in a wig and false beard and fat body suit as he fights Thanos with the rest of the Avengers, but he's moving and fighting like he was fine. He could have been a little more winded if they wanted to go along with the joke in the fight, but still.... it was a sad choice.

Speaking of that fight... it was amazing, it was tough and, did you notice, it was fought by the girls?Now, this isn't a complaint about getting the girls together to fight or a knock on Marvel showing love to their strong female characters. Its just I actually feel like Avengers: Infinity War pulled it off much better! This felt like overkill. The final battle with Thanos and his army was too massive on scale to focus on one shot that had all the women (even the timid Mantis was in the fray with everyone). It's like Marvel wanted to beat you over the head with the fact they have powerful female superheroes in that moment, and it sure worked. I think I still have the bruise. But on the other hand, if they were going to do it... there would have not been any other time to seize the opportunity. The moment will garner many more cheers than groans.

Speaking of powerful female superheroes... let's talk about the newest one. She had her debut movie just prior to Avengers: Endgame, but her role was reduced here to being a simple plot point, called "Deus ex machina." It's a classic phrase that literally means "God from the machine" and is to have some high powered outside force come in to save the day. You can see her be this in the opening of the movie, saving Tony Stark and Nebula. After the first death of Thanos, she retreats back into the cosmos to fight other threats, leaving the rest of the Avengers to work out their own things back on Earth. But without the use of Nick Fury's pager, she somehow was able to join the battle with everyone else. Say it with me, "Deus ex machina." 

Finally there was only one other thing that seemed to get old for me was the running commentary on how wonderful Captain's rear-end looks. Like with Thor, one quick quip is funny and cute, but more than that just seemed gratuitous at times. Even when Captain looks at his own butt after he knocks himself out just took me out of the moment of one of my favorite parts of the movie. 

Yes! The best part for me was not the big finale of everyone fighting each other, it was the smaller moments of this movie. When the team travels back in time to collect the infinity stones, Captain America comes into contact with himself from the past. The past Captain America believes it to be Loki, whom Loki seems to love to impersonate, and the fight ensues. This was such a fun surprise and yet so darn cool. 

While Captain America was the real stand-out character who carried the film, we can't talk about Avengers films without Tony Stark. He presented an issue where he finally got everything he needed in his life, not what he used to think he wanted. He is humbled, married and a father! And a great father. Speaking of fathers, he even gets to have one last touching moment with his father that he had only ever dreamed of. Tony is the one who started it all, and at the post-credits "scene" is really just a sound of iron being hammered. The spirit of Iron Man will always be there after his passing. We will always love him, 3000. 

I was pleasantly surprised by the new threat that Thanos had gained. He lost the stones when he destroyed them himself, and then died, all within the first 15 minutes of the movie. But when Thanos from the past discovers Nebula's connection to the future Nebula's memory banks, it gets real. It had me in a place of thinking, "What do you do when your enemy knows the future?" It's dangerous, and Thanos shows just how that can be far more dangerous than taking a sports almanac to the past and betting on the Cubs.

Other highlights was that we got to see Hawkeye and Ant-Man really shine. I think their characters got some much deserved (and well acted) love in an Avengers movie. Of course the ending of the film was a strong finish, much like closing the cover of a huge, hard-cover book. There's a complete sense of satisfaction and finality. True, we lost a few characters in this film, possibly forever. Tony, Natasha, Bruce Banner (well, he and Hulk worked out a seemingly permanent solution in becoming Professor Hulk) and... can't we fix Vision and put the stone back? What happened there, Captain? And when Captain went back to return the soul stone, what happened when he met up with a ghostly Red Skull? 

Again, the cons for me are really nothing more than momentary nit-picks, but for me they stick out like a sore thumb. But this beautifully shot movie does truly take many viewings to be able to digest everything that is really going on. Maybe that's why it broke so many records in just the first weekend alone! It not only demands a second screening (mainly to watch the parts you missed when you had to go to the bathroom), but because this is a true cinematic event that needs to be seen on a big screen... and in a packed room. You won't feel that silly when you cheer and cry, because everyone else is doing the same thing. 

Still a solid 4/5 stars. 

NON-SPOILERS BELOW:
Well, today is the day! Avengers: Endgame is out in theaters and audiences have already begun watching the culmination of 11 years and 22 films. It was a daunting task, to say the least, for the Russo brothers, who directed the film. But they did it! When you have to literally close the book and give closure to beloved characters and millions of fans, it would be like facing off with Thanos himself. 

Was it a perfect movie? No. Was it a great movie, worthy of the expensive movie tickets and waiting in lines with throngs of sweaty nerds clamoring to get in? You bet! This is one of those movies you need to see in a sold-out theater and not wait for it to come out on Disney+. Movie theaters owners and managers are already extremely worried about the "small screen" killing their business, much like the entire motion picture industry struggled with the predominance of television in the 1950's. Back then, their solution was inventing "Cinemascope" and other anamorphic lenses to keep people coming to the theaters. Today's solution is showing movies like Avengers: Endgame.

This movie has moments where, if you have invested any bit of time or connection with the characters, will have you in tears. It will also have people rising to their feet and cheering! It will have moments of you audibly saying, "that is so cool!" I can't actually remember the last time I was taken out of the story because I thought what I was watching was just too awesome. That being said, there were some moments that took me out of the story for not so good reasons... one is a running gag that they carried throughout the movie... and that was a shame. There were other moments of pure convenience that left more to be desired.

That being said, some characters got great moments to really shine. The first two acts of the movie is all character building and getting ready for the inevitable third act. There were times when I was even questioning "Well, how are they going to get out of this one?" But in true heroic fashion, they fly through it all, while we stand on our feet and cheer them on. 

The over all arc of the massive Marvel Cinematic Universe is epic is scale, which also wouldn't have happened without the trailblazing filmmakers behind the Lord of the Rings and Harry Potter series. Like those series, you may need to catch up on previous films if you don't want to be totally lost. However, you will cry and cheer right when the directors wants you to, which means you're going to be invested in the characters and the movie. This film isn't without it's flaws, but in terms of movie-going experiences, it's a top-notch adventure film which is worthy of a 3-hour popcorn filled adventure to the movie theater... maybe even twice.

Also, they say not to spoil the movie... and you don't want to after seeing it. This final Marvel gift needs to be unwrapped be each true fan in person.

​4/5 Stars.

Hello, everyone! 

I'm Daniel Lahr and I'm the Executive Director and Founder of the Central Coast Film Society. We're going to begin having a regular blog going on here where I'll be sharing my feelings on local events, news and movie events (ie. movie reviews)! 

I hope you all enjoy and get to know us a little bit better as we continue to grow. This will also be a place where I'll share all of my recaps of events we have, give special thanks to people who help us out along the way, and maybe share some news here first with you! 

That being said, the summer blockbuster movie season is just getting started this week with the arrival of Avengers: Endgame. I'll be seeing it on Thursday night and I couldn't be more excited! So I will follow up with our first review. That being said... there's many, many more movies coming out this year. What would you like to see me review?