I hate to be all fanboyish and post two WA entries in a one week period, but:
1. This article is really good.
2. I am really excited for the release of The Darjeeling Limited.
3. I want to move yesterday's Saints post from the top.
Joshua Glenn's review of A Scanner Darkly is a treatise on the slacker as revolutionary in the literature of Philip K. Dick, the writings of Deleuze & Guattari, Richard Linklater films and the theory of Michel Foucault. It's the finest review I've read in some time. I can't wait to see this, I think it could be the movie of the summer.
Cox and IFC are teaming up to save the New Orleans Film Festival. Our first collaboration is an opportunity for New Orleans filmmakers to submit their films for a special showcase we are sponsoring at this year's Festival. Winning entries will also be shown on Cox Local On Demand.
If you are a filmmaker with something to submit check out the IFC/Cox New Orleans Media Lab site. I'm so proud to be a part of this.
This weekend I went to see the Wachowski Brothers' version of Alan Moore's classic V For Vendetta and I've got to say it's my favorite comic book adaptation to date. It might be because V For Vendetta is my favorite comic book of all time as well. Hugo Weaving plays the central character with more grace and emotion than I would have ever thought possible for a character with no facial expression. Natalie Portman is also a treat. But the real star of the film is the eerily familiar London of Moore's future.
I won't give away too much of the film, because I think everyone should see it. Suffice to say that it's a popcorn entertainer of the highest caliber and manages to squeeze in lots of political commentary and dark futuristic extrapolation between the exciting action bits.
It's kind of nauseating that with just a few minor changes a story criticizing the Thatcher and Reagan administrations and their neo-fascist tendencies is still, or maybe more than ever, absolutely relevant to our political situation. One of the most important tenets of the story is that when fascist dictatorships take control of societies, the citizenry are the ones most responsible. That's certainly true of our unique political situation today.
Hopefully some of the kids that see this movie will realize some of the things that are happening in their own lives and will feel compelled to do something about it.
Last night Shanna, Will, Heather and I made our way to the Midnight screening of Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire at the Prytania. We arrived to the Theatre expecting a small crowd but were delighted and surprised to see a line extending out the door. The crowd was filled with gleeful, cheering teenagers which was nice to see. Yet another sign of returning normalcy.
I really liked this film but I'm not sure that it's the best film of the series. It's dark and full of splendid visual delights but lacks Alfonso Cuaron's overall artistic mastery in the Prisoner of Azkaban. I guess the main problem for me is that Goblet of Fire is my favorite book of the series and parts of its intricate narrative including Harry's inner turmoil are sacrificed in the service of big action sequences. I also missed seeing the Dursleys and Dobby, who were both presumably cut in order to spend more time on the Tri Wizard Tournament.
Book / Movie comparisions aside the movie does not dissapoint. There are plenty of great comedic scenes depicting the central character's pubescent development inlcluding a hillarious scene between Moaning Myrtle and Harry. The death eaters, who we see for the first time here, look spooky and fantastic. Voldemort is a frightening character to behold and is played skillfully by Ralph Fiennes. I also thoroughly enjoyed the Tri Wizard bits, especially the Black Lake sequence.
Goblet of Fire is great as a standalone movie and makes a fine addition to the expanded Harry Potter universe. However, if you require more complex and compelling material in your entertainment, I highly suggest reading the book.
This weekend is the Ozone Film Fest, an event I helped to start in 2002 that's taken off and become the second largest film festival in the State. I don' t have as much to do with the event these days but I laid out the program this year and I still maintain the website. Tonight I hope to catch either A Love Song For Bobby Long, the Scarlett Johansson / John Travolta movie filmed in New Orleans last year or Dig!, a documentary about the Brian Jonestown Massacre / Dandy Warhols scene in Portland. Afterwards I may head over to Haik Park to catch some shorts.
This is a really cool event and if you have time to come out and see some films you should really do it. The outdoor screenings should be especially lovely in this beautiful springtime air.
Last night Martin Scorsese was once again denied a Best Director award. And to no great surprise it went to an actor/director, Clint Eastwood. This is the third time Scorsese has lost to an actor. First when he was nominated for Raging Bull in 1981 he lost to Robert Redford for the long-winded and boring Ordinary People then again in 1990 when he was nominated for Goodfellas he lost to Kevin Costner for the wanky piece of garbage Dances with Wolves. In the long run will Million Dollar Baby stand up to the lyrical epic quality of The Aviator? I don’t think so.
I think the Academy has once again made a serious mistake and are only adding to their legacy of incompetence. At least Marty is in good company, Fellini, Altman, Hitchcock, Antonioni and Kurosawa have all been denied Oscars, Altman and Hitchcock five times as well. Maybe number 6 will be the charm for Scorsese.
The positives of the night for me were seeing Jamie Foxx receive his well deserved award for Ray and Charlie Kaufman and Michel Gondry for their amazing Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind screenplay. It almost makes up for Gondry not being nominated for Best Director and Scorsese getting snubbed again. Almost.
I had a rather splendid weekend. Shanna and I had a delicious Lenten meal at R&O’s in Bucktown on Friday. The site of all the big Catholic families, the flavor of the delicious fried seafood platters and cold Barq’s root beer transported me back to the glory days of my childhood. After Dinner we went home and watched Donnie Darko: The Director’s Cut, which is an excellent revision of the original.
I spent all Saturday & most of Sunday working on the redesign of my portfolio site. It’s the first time I’ve done an entire site in valid XHTML/CSS and I have to say that so far I am loving it. After spending 8 hours building style sheets and XHTML documents then rapidly deploying a ton of distinctly different yet cohesive pages I really cannot imagine going back to the “old way” of table based HTML design.
The nominations for the 77th Academy Awards have been announced and yet again they've managed to royally screw things up. HOW ON EARTH IS PAUL GIAMATTI NOT EVEN NOMINATED FOR BEST ACTOR? He should have been declared the winner by default. If that weasel DiCaprio wins then Hollywood is even lower in the cultural gutter than we think.
Also where is Michel Gondry, Wes Anderson, Michael Mann and Almodovar this year? The Academy is smoking botox.
