Film

?Tidepool Scene,? a film produced by Barnstormer Productions and the Laguna Beach Visitors and Conference Bureau, won an award for excellence in television in the category for Children?s Programming on Saturday at the Emmy Awards for the Pacific Southwest Region of the National Academy of Television Arts and Science in San Diego. Hosted by Jeffrey Lehmann of PBS? award-winning travel show, ?Weekend Explorer,? the seven-minute HD film that debuted on cable last fall aims to educate children about tidepool creatures and etiquette through catchy music jingles and interviews with Jan Sattler, tidepool docent and Calla Allison, marine safety officer.

Two aspiring film students from Laguna Beach High School were recently awarded first place for their film about hometown hero Skipper Carrillo at the fifth annual My Hero International Short Film Festival. “Have a Home Run Day,” directed by John Barrett and produced by Austin Dodge, tells the story of what it means to be a hero, and how heroes like Carrillo’s father inspired him to become such a positive role model himself. Barrett, who has known Carrillo — Laguna’s biggest baseball fan — since his Little League days, said the idea for the film came from Carrillo’s constant support as a mentor and ability to put a smile on everyone’s face.

Evan Marmol Hailed as the best swashbuckling film ever, "Master and Commander" capsizes under the weight of its lofty acclaim. The plot is convoluted and tiresome, the dialogue is nothing short of uninspired drivel, and not even the star power of Russell Crowe billow enough water to keep this ship from sinking. This film belongs in the Pantheon of epic films that compels critics to review them favorably for fears of appearing remiss in their trade, or simply dim. The truth, though, is that there are copious amounts of dimness in this lamentable flick that evoke no emotional responses and that seems to drag on for an eternity.

Do you enjoy laughing at the expense of another man's shortcomings? If so, you'll enjoy "The 40 Year Old Virgin." If you're easily offended by sexual humor and crude language, take your money elsewhere. I like laughing at other people and sometimes I even make my living doing this and therefore, I highly recommend this movie. Guess what? "The 40 Year Old Virgin" is about a guy who is 40 years old and a virgin. I bet you didn't see that one coming.

Laguna Beach resident and director Rob Hedden traded his seaside town for the tropical island of Hawaii for his latest film, "You May Not Kiss the Bride. " The independent film may have only had a $7-million budget but that didn't keep big names from participating in the film, such as Katharine McPhee of "Smash," Rob Schneider, "Brothers and Sisters" star Dave Annable, Mena Suvari of "American Beauty" fame, Kathy Bates, "Borat" star Ken Davitian and Hawaii native Tia Carrere. It played at South Coast Cinema on Thursday, the first showing in Orange County.

EVAN MARMOL "Million Dollar Baby" is the type of seminal film that touches an entire generation. As a film it is touching, provocative and innovative; as a social statement it has reached out to a generation of women by demonstrating and inspiring self-empowerment and hope. Starring, directed and produced by Clint Eastwood, this film is a consummate masterpiece that reaches out and grasps its audience's heart, mind and soul. The story is about a haggard boxer, Dunn (Clint Eastwood)

"Darkness Falls" is a gripping horror flick that sets a new precedent for fear of the dark. More riveting than the lurid "Nightmare on Elm Street" films, "Darkness Falls" relies on a well-developed plot and the phenomenal powers of imagination to absolutely horrify its audience. The premise follows a recognizable mold: a model citizen transforms into disgruntled ghastly ghoul because of the town's own cruelty. This ominous specter then sets out on an evil mission of biblical proportions.

A Laguna Beach spiritual center will host a panel and show a provocative new film on the power of manifestation, timed to coincide with a worldwide prayer vigil. The Laguna Beach Center for Global Peace and Prosperity will join in more than 1,000 prayer gatherings that have been scheduled for April 6, following the viewing of the new film “The Moses Code” earlier that weekend. People around the world will be urged to use the law of attraction gleaned from the film in their prayer for peace in the Middle East.

“For The Bible Tells Me So” has been seen in venues around the world since it was selected for the 2007 Sundance Fill Festival, but in a way, it came home Saturday night. Film executive producers Karen Ellis and Sandra Harkness welcomed the audience to the screening at the Neighborhood Congregational church of the award-winning documentary that explored the experiences of devout Christians caught between religious teachings and their sexual orientation and how it affected their families.

Less than two months ago, I stood at the edge of a bluff overlooking the aquamarine pools of Havasu Falls, and watched in amazement as a stream of white water rushed over the burnt sienna rocks, crashing into the pools 100 feet below. I stand in this exact spot once again, only this time through the lens of Greg MacGillivray’s video camera. The surroundings feel completely real in this IMAX, three-dimensional film documentary. So real, I can almost feel the heavy, cool mist that permeates from the falls, and the warmth of the rock beneath my feet.

A storage unit, a garage, a car, a professor's office and a tent on a campsite. These are only a few of the 24 Irvine spots where Richard Newton bunked over two years in the early 1970s. This nomadic life - the yearning to feel out new surroundings - sparks inspiration. "The seed of my ideas comes from other places and, I suppose, works with my restlessness - I'm always going somewhere," he said. "I have personally found that the most interesting part of life is to be exposed to other people, cultures and places - to somehow step completely out of where you come from and immerse yourself in someone else's world.

This summer, 20-year-old Laguna College of Art + Design student Jessica Necor will do something she's never done: travel outside of the U.S. to the Philippines. On July 18, the graphic design major will join seven others on a three-week trip, where they will build homes, pass out needed supplies and interact with residents. The group is part of an international youth ministry called Couples for Christ-Youth and will also help victims of Typhoon Bopha, which ravaged the southern Philippines in December.

The Laguna Art Museum dismissed a volunteer film curator last month after finding "financial irregularities" in her work, according to a museum official. Sharon "Keiko" Beatie, who curated films that were showcased by the Laguna Beach Film Society, received an email from the museum's executive director, Malcolm Warner, that the nonprofit museum, which receives some city funding, was severing its relationship with her March 3, according to Beatie. Warner said he and George Weiss, head of the film society, made the decision to cut ties.

With loud, buzzing cameras weighing up to 250 pounds, the MacGillivray Freeman Films team is careful not to scare away the wildlife as they reach into the depths of the ocean. One lousy shot can end up being amplified on IMAX screens around the world. When Academy Award-nominated filmmaker Greg MacGillivray's "Coral Reef Adventure" screens Friday at the Festival of Arts Forum Theatre, the audience will have to make do with a regular DVD format. But the screening, the last in the Laguna Beach Film Society's Ocean Awareness series, will hopefully still be eye-catching enough.

From the beginning, movies were always mesmerizing but now they have become permanently imprinted onto our personalities and culture. Movies saturate our lives with golden hues and perfect prose. They have turned us into pixilated extras who privately measure - at least in part - our success or failure by the standards of film and the heroes we keep. The reason we identify so closely with the characters is that everything has become so real, so intimate and raw. There is no more veneer, no flickering celluloid, no thin red line between truth and fiction.

Once, like the lead character in his new movie, Brian Dannelly was a wide-eyed, ambitious high school senior itching to find adventure in the big world. Unlike his character, Dannelly was lucky. Dannelly's new film, "Struck By Lightning," which will have a special showing Thursday in Laguna Beach, tells the story of a 12th-grader who is annihilated by a lightning bolt in the school parking lot. The rest of the film tells his story in flashback - about how he spent weeks trying to assemble a campus literary magazine, even blackmailing popular kids into contributing pieces in hopes that the resulting journal could help get him into Northwestern University.

The sleepy seaside village of Laguna Beach is the backdrop of a local filmmaker's latest thriller - "Mirror Image. " The independent film stars Eric Roberts, "CSI" star April Eden, Ed O'Ross of "Six Feet Under" fame and Eve Mauro of "Dexter," among others. It screens at South Coast Cinema on Sunday night. Executive Director Joey DePinto moved to Laguna six years ago and thought the quiet town would be the ideal location for his latest suspense movie, which centers around a girl who grapples with the murder of her twin sister.

Laguna Beach resident and director Rob Hedden traded his seaside town for the tropical island of Hawaii for his latest film, "You May Not Kiss the Bride. " The independent film may have only had a $7-million budget but that didn't keep big names from participating in the film, such as Katharine McPhee of "Smash," Rob Schneider, "Brothers and Sisters" star Dave Annable, Mena Suvari of "American Beauty" fame, Kathy Bates, "Borat" star Ken Davitian and Hawaii native Tia Carrere. It played at South Coast Cinema on Thursday, the first showing in Orange County.

"The 39 Steps" proves that ingenuity, a good foreign accent and exaggerated body language can enthrall an audience so much that they forget only four people are playing the tens of characters. The play runs through Oct. 21 at the Laguna Playhouse. Based on Alfred Hitchcock 's 1935 film, which set the stage for the film noir genre, the play blends Hitchcock's spy thriller plot with the comedic elements that come with a tiny cast and simple set elements, like suitcases and a leather chair.

Every time Taylor Capretz unpacks from her summer trip, it's bittersweet. Not because she'll miss her friends at camp, tubing at the lake or a couple weeks in Cabo San Lucas. Taylor, 17, wishes she could stay longer in the places she visits - such as Nepal, Ghana and Brazil - where she volunteers for a month, aiming to learn more about the AIDS epidemic. It all started when she and her parents attended a RAND Corporation conference on women. One of the speakers had a statistic that alarmed her: AIDS was the No. 1 killer of women and children worldwide.