Amazing Trailers:The Royal Tenenbaums

I've met very few people who don't see the charm and beauty of the films by Wes Anderson. Most everyone has a favorite. Mine varies, but frequently comes back to The Royal Tenenbaums. I remember seeing this trailer in the theatre and being so charged by the unique look and feel, something that - for a change - couldn't be altered by someone in an editing room somewhere, looking to cut a preview that might deceive an audience and/or give away the whole show. In hindsight, this trailer might not truly qualify as "Amazing", but the emotion it stirred in me then certainly was.

And - as I came across this while on youtube - here's a little bonus....

Not Exactly a Broken Promise, But...

Eastern Promises is truly a difficult film for me to critique. On the one hand, I found the story a bit sloppy, some of the dialogue too on-the-nose, and even some scenes and actions totally unjustified in the context of the characters. Half way through the picture, I knew this was nowhere near on par with director David Cronenberg's last film, A History of Violence. And, in the end, I was more than a bit let down. However, I still recommend this movie. Why? Let me try to explain....

Viggo Mortensen. I could be very simplistic and just say those two words - and it wouldn't be far from the truth. He is amazing in this film - subtle, charismatic, menacing, cool, thoughtful, cypher. Typically, all at once. Beyond his performance, his character's storyline makes this picture. All of the best parts center around his mysterious Russian "driver" - so much so that it sometimes feels like a different movie entirely! The "A" story - that which sets events in motion and carries through the plot - centers on nurse Naomi Watts, and her search for the truth about the death of a teenage girl. This might have been compelling - while watching the film, I even thought of more than a few ways to make it so - but it comes off as just ho-hum, and occasionally even movie-of-the-week, when compared with the tales of the Russian mob. And, I'm not just talking about the story. The nuances, the dialogue, the subtle clues that add up to something big - all are in top form when we're with the Russians, and Mortensen in particular. As soon as we swing back to Watts and her quest, all is blah.

But, I digress a little. See this movie. You can wait for DVD if you like, but it's definitely worth your time, at the very least for Mortensen's performance.

On the Road....

You folks know that this blog does not traffic in dirty laundry controversies. There's never been a post about Britney or Paris or any of that. This one is about as close as we're likely to get - but only because it turns one of the latest trends on its ear.

By now, everyone knows what has been going on with Owen Wilson. I just wanted to lavish some praise upon him for not announcing that he's jumping on the "I'm-Going-to-Rehab!" bandwagon. Apparently, he is buddying up with a sober sponsor, sneaking out of LA, and hitting the road. Kudos for doing something that - in these days when every celeb goes to rehab for the most outlandish behavior - seems like an honest attempt at personal change. I wish him the best.

First, Michael Myers was Born, and Then He Killed Some People, and Then....

Whatever happened to the days when movies - or, more importantly, the people who make them - didn't feel compelled to explain everything to the viewer? While this is rampant in most Hollywood cinema - it's over the top in comedies - one genre that shows this off really well is horror.

This brings me to Rob Zombie's Halloween. First of all, do not confuse this with John Carpenter's Halloween. Ostensibly, that was part of the goal. Zombie and the studio bigwigs were eager for one of those "reinventions" or "reimaginings" that are so popular this century. Aside from some trace elements - butcher's knife, character names, classic theme music, Shatner mask - there's little to relate the two. It's really more like a bad high school play version of the original.

Now, I'm not one of those who wants to complain about how Zombie wasn't loyal to Carpenter's vision, or any of that nonsense. I'm here to pick a bone with the fact that Zombie felt compelled to tell virtually the entire life story of crazy little Michael Myers. We get the entire day that he butchered his family. I'm serious - the entire day. This is nearly the first half of the film! Zombie apparently felt that we needed to see just how messed up Michael's childhood really was. Is this done to generate empathy of some kind? Is it there to show us just how much of a stone-cold-psycho the kid was way-back-when? As if we don't get that drummed into us throughout the second two-thirds of the film by his doctor. Zombie seems to want to convey very clearly - so there can be no doubt - that this guy was a fucked up little kid who grew into a fucked up grown-up. Or, perhaps more to the point, fucked up little kids stay little kids, even after they've past the legal drinking age. Is this a cautionary tale, then? Hardly. It's just a pristine example of wrapping up a story so nice and neat that you can hear the rustle of the bow.

Now, the whole notion of explaining "why" someone - or something - kills a bunch of people (frequently, horny teens) in one of these movies is nothing new. Psycho classically wraps up with the ultimate explain-o-rama denouement. Even the original Halloween and Friday the 13th lay down some backstory for the audience. But, is it really necessary? Isn't it far more terrifying to not know the reasons why? I know it's far more comforting to have explanations, particularly when one hears of real-life atrocities and crimes. It gives us closure. But - and listen closely here - movies are not real life. Hollywood-folk, if you really want to scare the buh-jesus out of theatre-goers and get some solid word-of-mouth, put out a film like this and don't give the audience closure. Thoughout the last third of Zombie's film, many of his victims ask "Why?" and/or "Who are you?" Well, we the audience already know the answer to those questions. What if we didn't? Wouldn't it just freak you out to watch a movie these days where some guy in a lame Halloween mask just started stalking and hacking-up people for no apparent reason? And, I'm not talking about showing him suiting up, picking out a cleaver, and heading door-to-door. I'm talking about just unleashing him on an established, tranquil setting. That way, when the horny teens are looking for answers, we're right there with 'em.

Two more things and then I'm done.

One, the cinematography in this film just plain sucks. Virtually everything is an extreme close-up of someone's face. And you can forget about establishing shots. By the end of the film, those are so long gone that the interior of every house looks the same. The coup de grace is the climactic stalk/fight. I don't know where they were or how they got there. I deduced it was Michael's boyhood home, but c'mon Zombie, throw me a bone!

Two, and this is actually a moment of praise. Yes, I said "praise" for Zombie and his piece-of-shit film. The man has no qualms about showing topless women in a horror picture. Now, I'm not talking about gratuitous, "oh, I forgot to wash my bra today, better do it now" nudity. I'm referring to the fact that when teens get together to screw around, clothes actually come off. This has been royally shunned over the course of the last decade - particularly in horror films, where being so completely vulnerable is part and parcel to the cause. There's no secret as to why this has been going on: PG-13 makes more $$$ than R. Cannot be argued. Somehow, someone, somewhere said that Zombie's picture could be R, and there you have it. Will this reverse the trend? Will we start seeing more skin in at least our scary movies? Based on this turd of a film, no way in hell.

Amazing Trailers: Elizabeth: The Golden Age

I never saw Elizabeth. No good reason. Just never got around to it. When I heard they were making a sequel, I was rather ho-hum. Then, I saw the trailer for Elizabeth: The Golden Age. Wow. Breathtaking. Costumes, sets, cinematography - all look fantastic. The music in the trailer seems great, too; though I am uncertain if this is actually part of the score, or just some temp music put up with the trailer - a not-too-uncommon practice. Clive Owen as Walter Raleigh is inspired casting. Ships and sea battles that look unique and as un-Pirates of the Caribbean as you can get. And Cate Blanchett in a suit of armor!

Well, suffice to say they've got me. So, here's the first preview to make Amazing Trailers whose film absolutely none of us has seen yet.

Wally Wood's 22 Panels That Always Work

Wally Wood was a comic artist and writer (Mad, EC Comics, Marvel) of immense talent, but perhaps his greatest legacy will be his "22 Panels That Always Work". The conceit here is that - if a comic artist is ever stuck and unsure what to draw in a particular panel - he/she could refer to this cheat sheet without fail. While a potentially useful resource for such artists, its also fun and intriguing for the layman.

Click here to check it out in its entirety.

Mmmm.... Social Bookmarking

Where the last post was really directed to one person, this one is more, well, social.

Social bookmarking sites have been around for a while, but I only started using one a little over six months ago. My weapon of choice is del.icio.us. For the uninitiated, the site allows you to save bookmarks on its website, thus making them accessible from any computer. This is certainly ideal if you find yourself regularly switching between more than one computer (i.e., work, home, friends, etc.) Oh, and you can tag each of your bookmarks as you see fit, enabling quality sorting and searching under your own terms. As with many great aspects of Web 2.0, use of del.icio.us is free.