Sept. 06, 2002 - 2:30 am
man, has it been almost a two months already since i did the specialty Gwyneth Paltrow weekend? i guess it's time for another. i didn't really plan it this way, but that's just how it's turning out. my friend Colin and i were watching her interview on Inside the Actors' Studio the other day and they talked about two of her films which i had never seen before. those are now on the way to my library to be picked up by me tomorrow. then when i saw a great deal on The Royal Tenenbaums today, i knew that this weekend's theme was just unavoidable. next time i do a themed weekend, we'll try to find someone new to base it on. perhaps a director or something. only my random viewing habits will be able to decide.
ahhh, The Royal Tenenbaums. yes, i remember when Leslie and i first wanted to see this film. and then we kept waiting, and waiting, and waiting. and then it finally showed up in a small theater in town for us to watch. i was referring to Possession (2002) a couple of weeks ago as being another "Royal Tenenbaums." that one took what seemed like forever to come too. anyway, as i'm sure you've guessed, both films were quite worth the wait.
this is the third awesome film from the team of Owen Wilson and director Wes Anderson. i'd definitely have to say that this is one of the top 10 genius film creative teams in existence today. their work is becoming better and better. i'm also thankful to say that i have been watching their films since Bottle Rocket (1996) and have kind of grown up with them (well as much as one can in 6 years).
this film has an all star cast including Gwyneth Paltrow, Bill Murray, Owen & Luke Wilson, Ben Stiller, Anjelica Huston, Gene Hackman, Danny Glover, and Alec Baldwin as the narrator. it tells the story of a family of mixed up geniuses whose father (named Royal Tenenbaum) is a hopeless jerk. then one day he decides that he misses his family and wants to make up for lost time with them.
the film is basically flawless. it has one of the best soundtracks ever created, one of the best casts ever assembled, and authorial genius. the art direction and costume design are probably the best of 2001 (at least in American film). director Wes Anderson is really starting to make a name for himself with this stunningly fresh cinematic style that he's creating with his films. it's really unlike anything else that's come previously. the idea of using certain musical themes to characterize your already fleshed out characters and the wonderful slow motion sequences that he does. for a perfect example, watch the scene where Margot gets off of the green line bus to pick up her brother Richie. that just takes my breath away.
oh, and you'll hopefully notice quite a few small changes to the site today. i added another short list of dvds in the navigation menu in order to compensate for a few new additions to my collection. all three were miraculously purchased at only $10 a piece. also, i added an entry detailing my favorite films from all of the lists i've been watching. like from the Best Pictures list, IMDb top 100 list, etc. just some new stuff for you to glance over and get possible viewing ideas from.