THIS IS IT is all real, all new, and all Michael Jackson. Over 100 hours of behind the scenes footage was shot during the last four months of the King of Pop’s life, and Kenny Ortega, the director of the stage show being filmed, has respectfully and wisely created a movie that showcases the singer’s talent. No “fat Elvis problem” here. The scenes that are shown are of a fifty-year-old performer still at the top of his game.

Cinema Toast’s Gil Mansergh hosts the Filmmaker’s Sampler “The Unscripted Life of Hollywood Actor Jefrey Weissman” at the Sebastopol Center for the Arts, November 14th.

Looking a lot like the plastic statues that used to stand guard at Bob’s Big Boy hamburger restaurants, the shiny, gee-whiz look of this Japanese super hero almost makes you forget the truly dark “back story.” A sky city scientist accidentally kills his super-smart son and replaces him with a super strong robot he can’t learn to love, This ASTRO BOY is coveted by the evil government but escapes by falling to Earth where he joins orphan children raised by a Fagan-like exploiter who probably studied “Oliver” to learn his parenting skills. But that’s what the adults will see. The kids didn’t seem to be upset by any of this.

Gil Mansergh’s Cinema Toast New Releases 10/16/09 Where the Wild Things Are (PG) Starring: Paul Dano, Forest Whitaker, Michelle Williams, Catherine Keener and the voices of Lauren Ambrose, Catherine O’Hara, Chris Cooper, James Gandolfini Director: Spike Jonze I was disappointed when I first saw that the monsters in this film were like the old H.R. Puffinstuff puppets, but in the complete version, I grew to like the wild things and then dislike the script. The … Read More »

Gil Mansergh’s Cinema Toast New Releases 10/09/09 Couples Retreat (PG-13) Starring: Vince Vaughn, Kristen Bell, Jason Bateman, Malin Akerman Director: Peter Billingsley The concept sounds good—four Midwest couples head to a tropical island to work on their marriage and have fun in paradise. But the reality fizzles, as time after time, what should have been fun (and funny) just bombs. 1 piece of soggy toast Stark Raving Black (R) Starring: Lewis Black The grumpy comic vents his spleen … Read More »

IN WHIP IT, Drew Barrymore has created a marvelously empowering film about the tattooed and rough-and-tumble world of Roller Derby that is as fast and slick as the wheels on these women’s feet.