Last week I covered the release party for Frank Ladner’s film, “Max Peril” in Poplarville.
I had never been to a DVD release party before so I was excited because I got the chance to interview a real director and met the actors.
Prior to attending the event, I had yet to see the film so I purchased a copy of both “Max Peril” and “Hickory Never Bleeds.”
For me, the real test of a film is how well my husband likes it.
He and I both laughed for the duration of the film and he kept exclaiming that he can’t believe I have met and talked to the actors.
When he really likes a film, he takes on the persona of his favorite characters, which for him was Buddy’s Moody’s portrayal of Max Peril and Bobby Smith’s portrayal of Swoop-Down.
For the rest of the night and the next night, “Max Peril” was all he could talk about.
The first word that came to my mind after the seeing the film was “brilliant.” I loved the way it was filmed and the actors seemed so natural in their roles.
We watched “Hickory Never Bleeds,” Ladner’s science-fiction mockumentary, which was also quite entertaining and smartly done.
For almost the past two years, I’ve come to recognize many of the landmarks and got to know the people of Poplarville.
It was nice to see some of these things reflected in Ladner’s movies. In a way, I got to share a part of my daily world with my husband. Usually, he only halfway listens to what I say, but put it in the form of a movie and you have his full attention.
I can definitely see a future in movies for Frank Ladner. I wish him all the best and can’t wait to see what else he has in store.