‘Tis the Season

And so Movie Season begins. The Darjeeling Limited is a very solid film, not as simple as Rushmore, or complex as The Royal Tenenbaums, it falls into a nice niche of it’s own. Like every Wes Anderson film it deals with people in pain and denial; people with baggage, literally and figuratively in this case. The movie triumphs in the way that most Wes Anderson films do, in it’s subtleties. Subtlety of acting, of setting, and plot, Subtlety in the way it all comes together with the cinematography and the score, and the art direction that always makes me feel like I’m viewing a world simultaneously in the 20’s and the present. It’s a movie worth seeing and I was lucky enough to see several trailers for films that will be added to my must see list for this season. All in all it’s looking like there will be a wealth of decent cinema this year.

Movie Season

It’s easy to forget that I have a degree in film making. I don’t really use it in my everyday life, though I assume the lessons I’ve learned during my education have helped me in other ways. Starting around September every year I start to remember that BFA in film though.

For most people, the big summer blockbuster season is what they would think of when they hear a term like “movie season”. For the people like me, we live between the end of summer and the beginning of spring, that period of time when the studios release their Oscar contenders and niche films. You can usually count on movie season beginning around november and lasting until the middle of February, but this year movie season is starting early.

I’ve already mentioned The Darjeeling Limited, Wes Anderson’s new film and the harbinger of this years movie season on Sept. 29th. Soon after we’ve got Grace is Gone, starring John Cusack. We’ve got a Ridley Scott movie in November and the latest from the Coen Bros. as well. I’m sure there are also a few decent non name films in the mix as well, but the point is that starting Sept. 29th I can go to the movies and see something genuine again.

Don’t get me wrong, I like the summer blockbusters as much as the next guy, but I live for the movies of substance. These are the kind of movies I consider to be date movies, because if you’re going to go out with me you have to be ready to deal with my love of bittersweet drama and indie-pseudo-romantic-comedies. The movies are coming…now I need a date.

Big Budget Indie Filmmaker

I just took a look at the trailer for the upcoming Wes Anderson film “The Darjeeling Limited” and I came to the realization that Anderson really kind of sits alone as a big budget indie film maker. He’s at a point in his career where he’s enough of a safe bet for studios to spend money on him, has top talent lining up to work with him, but still makes movies that feel like the work of an indie filmmaker.

The other thing I realized is how much more interesting life would be with a Wes Anderson movie soundtrack playing in the background. Wes Anderson does for indie singer-songwriters what Tarantino does for 70’s R&B. I desperately want to peruse Wes Anderson’s music collection.

I’m heading out to see The Simpsons movie tonight. Granted, award-wining cinema it may not be, but there’s something about a Wes Anderson trailer that makes me want to sit alone in a dark theatre surrounded by strangers. Regardless of what the film is, there’s something magical about the big screen.