I had made the comment a few times before watching The Fantastic Mr. Fox that Wes Anderson likely made this film to silence his critics’ complaints that all his films were exactly the same. Little did I know that the fantastic Mr. Anderson had actually been working on this film since before The Royal Tenenbaums. Upon watching the film, I was also quite surprised to discover just how similar this film is to his others – and that is a great thing! Anderson’s animated adaptation (co-written with Noah Baumbach) of the Roald Dahl children’s story is a whimsical and downright enjoyable experience. All of his films have an emphasis on family and again that dynamic takes center stage. The voice work by the likes of Clooney, Schwartzman, Streep, Murray, and Dafoe is top notch. A ton of credit should also go to the animators and production designers for creating such a uniquely Dahl-esque vision. But the real star is the story telling. This is pretty much the perfect union of a light kids tale with the wit and quirk of Wes Anderson – which turns out to be a really fantastic marriage. It is a great holiday movie and I highly recommend checking it out. If you enjoy it, then also check out Anderson’s interview on KCRW’s The Treatment.

Mandrill was one of my favorite films at Fantastic Fest and TwitchFilm has pointed us to the trailer at last. I’ve said it before but Marko Zaror is just waiting for his chance to blow up in h.wood. Hopefully you”ll have a chance to see this awesome flick soon.

Original Twitch post

No Huffington Post contributor Steven Nereo didn’t write it for this blog, but he pretty much nailed the assignment anyway.

My Los Angeles has nothing to do with the botox playground of shallow bluetooth-headset-clad knobs. Of course it is sometimes fun to joke about this element, but a weird aside is all that is in my Los Angeles. What people often fail to realize is that Los Angeles isn’t in your face like tighter cities so everything is an effort. If you don’t like the Beverly Center, skip it… forever. Don’t make the effort. You won’t miss it and it definitely won’t miss you.

The right choices include great friends and great people. Oceans to surf in and mountains to bike. It’s drunken taco trucks adventures at 2 a.m. and hungover ones at 2 p.m. The city that everyone loves to hate also happens to also be a city that loves to be loved, and loves you back like a three movie cuddle-fest with a rad person.

Amen brother!

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Thx Greg.

Have you seen the trailer for the Coen Bros. new one A Serious Man? Go ahead and check it out, I’ll wait. Isn’t that great?! With the rhythm and the sound overlaps and that great Jefferson Airplane cue… Well if you appreciated that trailer, please go right out and skip this movie. It is just way too disappointing after such a great trailer. Instead of the fast paced irreverence of the trailer, the C.bros subject us to scene after scene of setup that leads to no real payoff. Pretty much all the story is right there in the trailer – and the trailer doesn’t even make sense. Sure there are a few funny moments (namely the photo above… that’s the funniest) but I wanted so much more. I would, however, be quite happy if whoever cut that trailer gets an Oscar (or at least an Indie Spirit).

It has been a rather good year for the gorgeous Penelope Cruz. She won an Oscar last Feb. for her role in Vicky Cristina Barcelona and then followed that up with two more big awards movies (not to mention voicing a hamster in G-Force). Undoubtedly the better of this year’s two films is Pedro Almodovar’s Broken Embraces. As evidenced by Volver, Almodovar loves to celebrate both Penelope’s beauty and talent. But while I found Volver quite pretty, I was ultimately let down by the rambling story. He is far more focused in Embraces‘ story of a blind filmmaker (played wonderfully by Lluís Homar) and his forbidden love. I consider this film on par with Almodovar’s excellent Bad Education, except instead of staring at a half naked Gael, you get to stare at a half naked Penelope.

Staring at half naked women is really about all that Rob Marshall’s Nine has going for it. But it does have a lot of that. Nine is also about a filmmaker, played here by a disappointing Daniel Day-Lewis. Sure Day-Lewis is great in everything he does, but what is up with that horrible accent? It is way more comrade than compagno. There are a few fun moments in this film – but inevitably the moment is ruined when it transitions into a song and dance number, some of which are downright horrid. Penelope is great and she manages to do about as much with her character as possible (her song and dance is pretty, hmm, suggestive). But the real shining star for me was Marion Cotillard. I gotta give Marshall credit – he was able to cast the one person out there that is maybe even more fun to look at than Penelope Cruz.

The full lineup has been announced for next year’s Sundance Film Fest and there is a lot to be excited for. Here are the films that jumped out at me right off the bat:

Boy This film (pictured above) is written and directed by hilarious NZer Taika Waititi, famous for his feature Eagle Vs. Shark. Formerly known as The Volcano, this film is closer in theme to his wonderful Oscar nom’d short Two Cars, One Night. I loved the script and am definitely looking forward to seeing this when it screens in the World Narrative Comp.

Blue Valentine Ryan Gosling and Michelle Williams will very likely be incredible across from each other in this Narrative Comp entry from Derek Cianfrance.

Holy Rollers Another Narrative Comp entry, this film directed by Kevin Asch stars Jesse Eisenberg (Adventureland) as a Hasidic dude who becomes and international ecstasy smuggler.

Howl Rob Epstein’s period drama stars James Franco as Allen Ginsberg. Beside Franco are the likes of Jon Hamm, David Stathairn, and Jeff Daniels. This film screens as part of the main Narrative Competition.

Jean-Michel Basquiat: The Radiant Child I have been fascinated with Basquiat since seeing him star in Downtown 81. So I am extra excited for the Docu Comp entry directed by Tamra Davis, director of Half Baked, Billy Madison, and CB4.

Lucky Jeffrey Blitz took the docu world by storm with his hit Spellbound. He then followed it up with the criminally under appreciated Rocket Science. This year he goes back to his docu roots with this Docu Comp entry about lottery winners.

Waiting for Superman Davis Guggenheim (An Inconvenient Truth) tackles the US public school system in this Docu Comp entry.

Casino Jack and the United States of Money Alex Gibney is behind some of the most fascinating documentaries of the last decade (Enron: The Smartest Guys in the Room, Taxi to the Darkside, Gonzo: The Life and Work of Dr. Hunter S. Thompson). This new flick screening in the Docu Comp is all about Jack Abramoff. It had better be good to compete with Bill Moyer’s fantastic Capitol Crimes series.

The Killer Inside Me Personal fave Michael Winterbottom directs Casey Affleck, Kate Hudson, and Jessica Alba in this Prems section film about a killer Texas sheriff. Winterbottom is also co-director of another Sundance10 flick, Shock Doctrine.

Jack Goes Boating This film, also programmed in the Prems section, is the directorial debut of Phillip Seymour Hoffman. It co-stars Amy Ryan and Tom McCarthy.

Space Tourists This World Docu Comp entry is billed as a docu-comedy about the billionaires that pay to travel to space.

Buried I don’t know if I would be all that interested in this Midnight section screening about a guy who get buried alive if it didn’t star Ryan Reynolds. Something tells me this is a role he can make interesting.

Tucker & Dale vs. Evil I remember liking this wacky script about two hillbillies who are mistaken for mass murders. If they pulled it off, this will be a refreshing take on the slasher genre. This one, not surprisingly, screens in the Midnight section.

The Violent Kind This Midnight movie is by the dudes who call themselves The Butcher Brothers. Congrats on getting in.

Oddsac Screening in the New Frontier section, I’ll just let the press release describe this one: “An earthy, psychedelic experimental narrative infused with the band, Animal Collective’s aural and musical sensibilities.”

What are you excited for?

Peter Jackson steps to the plate with his first movie since King Kong (not LotR as I stated in my Fall Movie Review). And just as King Kong was pretty universally panned, so too is The Lovely Bones a bit of a swing and a miss. This film, based on Alice Sebold’s novel, is the story of a young murdered girl who watches the world go on without her. The problem with the film is that all the story happens in the first 30 minutes. Susie Salmon is a great character and while she is alive, things really move. But once the protagonist enters the afterlife, she basically just becomes a narrator. The characters that are left are boring and without a protagonist’s arc, the film just grinds to a halt. This is a fundamental structure problem that should have been addressed. That being said, I loved Saoirse Ronan as Susie and can see a serious career unfolding for this girl. Many have complained about the CG heavy visuals but they completely worked for me. It is the afterlife after all and the dreamy scenery reminded me of the wonderful alien-world-in-your-mind imagery in Contact. In the end, I can’t help feeling that while this might have worked well as a novel, as a film it suffers from some serious adaptation woes.

Mini-Reviews are back! With the run up to awards mania in full swing, I am going to try my best to bang out these short summaries of my thoughts on this season’s films as I catch them. I’m starting with one of the most talked about films of the season: Precious: Based on the Novel ‘Push’ by Sapphire. I finally caught this last night and my general impression is that it is pretty much exactly what I expected. It is an excellent film with particularly excellent performances. It is also extremely intense and quite bleak. As is quite awkwardly announced during the film’s most out of place scene, the protagonist’s circumstances are unrelenting. The hope of the filmmakers is that you are already aware of the film’s intensity and have prepared yourself prior to entering the theater. If that is the case, then you will certainly appreciate the film. The performances are superb. Mo’Nique is the hands down favorite for Best Supporting Actress and Gabourey Sidibe seems a lock for at least a Best Actress nom. There really isn’t a weak link amongst the cast. The film is also a shoe in for a Best Picture nomination (helped in part by the fact there will be 10 noms this year), but my early prediction is that it will not take the award. I think the real story here is that audiences are flocking to see the film. After 4 weeks, the film has expanded to 663 screens and has already cleared $32M. That is truly exceptional for a bummer film that a year or two ago might not have made $5M. More than anything else this year, Precious‘s box office success shows that audiences are again interested in quality.

Check out this awesome “Jackson Pollock” flash toy. I could lose hours playing around with this.

Check out my first creation or go make your own! Thx Charlie!

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