Archive for January 9th, 2009
January 9th, 2009
Over at The Mental Defective League, they’ve compiled a list (yes, another list) of the top 15 uses of a song in a movie. They give the top spot to the “Tiny Dancer” singalong in Cameron Crowe’s ALMOST FAMOUS. That’s a great bit, no denying it, but I’d say their No. 2 pick is even better. The complete-cast-singalong to Aimee Mann’s “Wise Up” in Paul Thomas Anderson’s MAGNOLIA…
It’s an amazing moment, partly because it takes such a huge risk. After painstakingly creating the down-to-earth lives of his cast of characters, Anderson steps back for a few minutes and lets them all sing Mann’s sad, pleading song. Logically? It doesn’t make sense. Emotionally? It makes perfect sense.
So what is the Mental Defective League’s list missing? How about this sequence from GOODFELLAS, scored to Eric Clapton’s “Layla.” Heck, you could make an entire list of nothing but great pop music moments from Martin Scorsese films.
Or, a personal favorite from another master of pop music, director of Wes Anderson. This sequence from RUSHMORE is set to The Who’s “A Quick One While He’s Away,” and I think it’s just about as perfect a piece of film as I’ve ever seen. That scene where Max walks out of the elevator and sticks his gum to the wall gives me a jolt every time I watch it.
January 9th, 2009
According to Variety (via comingsoon,net), several eagerly anticipated 2009 films will be previewed sometime during the big game…
Confirmed for this year’s roster are high-profile titles like Paramount’s TRANSFORMERS: REVENGE OF THE FALLEN, STAR TREK, and G.I. JOE; Sony’s ANGELS & DEMONS, DreamWorks Animation’s MONSTERS VS. ALIENS and Universal’s LAND OF THE LOST and its fourth installment in THE FAST AND THE FURIOUS franchise. Disney is also planning to use the game to raise the profile for Pixar’s next toon, UP, while a WOLVERINE spot is likely from Fox.
According to a recent Associated Press article, that MONSTERS VS ALIENS spot could be the most impressive. DreamWorks is giving out 150 million (yes, 150 million) pairs of 3D glasses to watch the 90-second ad, which will also be viewable without the specs. Want a pair? In this age of corporate synergy, they’ll be available at 28,000 grocery, drug, electronic and big box stores as part of a Pepsi/SoBe Life Water promotion.
January 9th, 2009
Vulture compiles a list of the 10 greatest movie car crashes of all time. Here’s #10, which is technically not a car crash, but where else are you going to see a big movie star like Brad Pitt get bounced around like this?
See the rest of them here. My personal favorite is the opening 10 minutes or so of MAD MAX. So much mayhem, so many quirky characters, and one of the greatest introductions of a screen character in movie history.
