May 9th, 2008
Here, to get your weekend started on the right note, is a nifty little compilation of the movies of one of my favorite directors, Wes Anderson.
Â
In related Wes Anderson news, Criterion (the DVD collector’s best friend) announced it will be releasing Anderson’s debut film, BOTTLE ROCKET, later this year (let’s hope it includes his original student-film version). Â And what’s more, it’s going to be part of Criterion’s first wave of Blu-Ray DVDs. Yowza!Â
May 2nd, 2008
It’s almost the weekend, so here’s a little You Tube clip to kick things off. It’s director Spike Jonze’s Nike ad that ran right around Jan. 1, 2000. Remember? Everyone was worried about a little thing called Y2k?
 The giraffe, by the way, is a brilliant touch.
May 1st, 2008
Right here.
 So what do you think? Strong cast, lots of action, pretty decent computer effects. One thing they don’t show is the reported cameo by Robert Downey Jr. as Tony Stark (aka Iron Man’s alter ego). That short scene hints that Marvel wants to create a shared universe in its movies just like in its comic books. Maybe that’ll pave the way for the long-rumored AVENGERS film one of these years.
It’s a great time to be a comic book geek, isn’t it?
April 18th, 2008
Just because it’s Friday and I’ve always liked it, here’s Fiona Apple’s cover of the Beatles’ “Across the Universe,” which was released along with the 1998 movie PLEASANTVILLE (which is where the whole “smashing the malt shop” motif comes from):
I havent’ seen PLEASANTVILLE in a while, but I remember liking it quite a bit when I saw it in the theater. The story is intelligent and heartfelt, the special effects and cinematography are striking, and the cast — William H. Macy, Tobey Maguire, Joan Allen, Reese Witherspoon, the late great J.T. Walsh and even Don Knotts — is top notch. Check it out if you’ve never seen it.
Paul Thomas Anderson (BOOGIE NIGHTS, MAGNOLIA, THERE WILL BE BLOOD) directed the video, and it shows his pitch-perfect sense of pacing and drama. He didn’t direct the movie (Gary Ross did), but he was dating Apple at the time, which is probably why he got the gig. If you have the MAGNOLIA DVD, Apple shows up on the “Magnolia Diary” making of feature. There’s a fascinating — and weird — scene where she actually pretends to be the movie, and Anderson mockingly berates her for not being as loveable as BOOGIE NIGHTS.
Cameo alert: Keep an eye out for actor (and frequent P.T. Anderson collaborator) John C. Reilly as one of the malt-shop wreckers.
