The Fast and the Furious: Tokyo Drift
Movie Review By Neil Miller on September 30, 2006 | Be the First To CommentRelease Date: September 26, 2006 There is a bit of genius in the formula that Producer Neal H. Moritz has found. That formula is where he has found a way to take a mediocre story, slap some hot cars and a hot cast in for good measure and come out the other end with a film that is entertaining and appealing, something that has created the Fast and the Furious series. Of course, the formula has worked to varying degrees over the past years; the original Fast and the Furious was a surprising success to everyone except, well, the film’s producer. It combined a hot action star (Vin Diesel) and an up and coming soap opera heartthrob (Paul Walker) and some of the best street racing action seen on film, ever. It appealed to the young boys who wanted to drive their cars fast and the young girls who wanted, well, Paul Walker or Vin Diesel. It was a smash hit both in theaters and subsequently on DVD, so much so that I can remember being a retail store employee and that film being one of the first films to only be released to DVD and not VHS. So many bought DVD players just for that movie, that is power! The second film, 2 Fast 2 Furious, tried to grow up too quickly and didn’t win over any new fans. It’s story was overcomplicated and it lacked the spirit of the first film. It left so many yearning for so [Due to Content Scraping and Theft, we have been forced to try abbreviated feeds. We apologize for any inconvenience this may cause and woud very much appreciate you clicking through to view the full article on FilmSchoolRejects.com]
Kevin Costner’s The Guardian tells a story which has been told before and doesn’t bring anything unique to the telling. The script is formulaic and the characters, though not precisely one dimensional, are nevertheless stereotypes that could be traded with characters from other like movies without much damage being done to the project. Despite these unremarkable aspects, the movie was competently filmed and the subject matter is just interesting enough to entertain us most of the time. Hollywood could do, and has done, a lot worse.
New Movies and Box Office Predictions: The Guardian, Open Season, School for Scoundrels
Box Office By Chris Beaumont on September 29, 2006 | Be the First To CommentThis weekend Ashton Kutcher makes his return to the big screen, could this be his big test as a box office draw? Will he benefit from the Kevin Costner rub? Who knows. I am intrigued, but not especting much. Going against it we have an underdog comedy and an animated family film. Will this be enough to unseat the Jackass crew? Will these movies actually have some level quality? It’s anyones guess. Why don’t you all go see them and let me know. We’ll meet back here on Monday. The Guardian. (2006, 135 minutes, PG-13, action, trailer) It seems that early word on this one is good, although I will have to see it to believe it. For one thing, I cannot beliece that this is running over two hours, based on what I have seen in the commercials. Kevin Costner and Ashton Kutcher team up in this actioner surrounding Coast Guard rescue swimmers. Costner is a swimmer who is struggling with the loss of his team, is assigned to teach the next generation where he meets up with Kutcher. The two of them work together and the younger learns heroism. I don’t know, I am sort of interested to see if the as yet still untested Kutcher can rise to the occasion. The movie was directed by Andrew Davis, who is a proven talent with The Fugitive on his resume. Open Season. (2006, 100 minutes, PG, animated adventure, trailer) I feel as if I have been seeing trailers and [Due to Content Scraping and Theft, we have been forced to try abbreviated feeds. We apologize for any inconvenience this may cause and woud very much appreciate you clicking through to view the full article on FilmSchoolRejects.com]
Release Date: September 15, 2006 Hollywood themes come in twos. I don’t feel like doing the actual research, but I have noticed several times in the past that two movies of a similar theme will open in the same year and sometimes in the same season. Right now, two movies dealing with Hollywood murders in the post WWII era are gracing our silver screens. The most recent, along with Hollywoodland, is Brian De Palma’s The Black Dahlia, which sports a cast of stars, some signature De Palma camera work and a noir feel. Based on the novel by James Ellroy, the movie is about not only the investigation of the murder of Elizabeth Short, later dubbed The Black Dahlia, but also the lives of two detectives, Bucky Bleichert (Josh Hartnett) and Lee Blanchard (Aaron Eckhart). When a proposition to increase funding for the Los Angeles Police Department appears to be foundering, Bleichert and Lee, both boxers with local notoriety, are asked to fight each other as a publicity stunt. It apparently works as the initiative passes and both men are promoted in its wake. While Bleichert is still getting acquainted with Blanchard and his history with the force, the body of Elizabeth Short is found horribly mutilated and the detectives become involved with the ongoing case. Bleichert spends more and more time with his partner and his partner’s girlfriend, the lovely Kay Lake (Scarlett Johansson). But as the Dahlia case progresses, Bleichert gets more and more caught up in Blanchard’s [Due to Content Scraping and Theft, we have been forced to try abbreviated feeds. We apologize for any inconvenience this may cause and woud very much appreciate you clicking through to view the full article on FilmSchoolRejects.com]
The Royal Tenenbaums – Criterion Collection
Movie Review By Brian C. Gibson on September 28, 2006 | Comments (2)After the wild critical acclaim of Rushmore, Wes Anderson set out to direct his most personal piece to date. With an ensemble cast anchored by Gene Hackman, The Royal Tenenbaums made Hollywood and moviegoers stop and say “Who is Wes Anderson?” The Tenenbaum family is both blessed and cursed. Two prestigious parents, Royal (Gene Hackman) and Etheline (Anjelica Huston), had their hands in raising three highly accomplished children. During their childhoods all three children had specific talents that brought them fame. Chas Tenenbaum (Ben Stiller) had an acute sense for business matters and was dealing in real estate by his teens. Richie Tenenbaum (Luke Wilson) was a tennis champion and began a successful professional career at a young age. Margot Tenenbaum (Gwyneth Paltrow) was a successful play write throughout her adolescence. Due to their brilliance and their stature in society, their childhood friend Eli Cash (Owen Wilson) longed to be a Tenenbaum. These qualities and talents are a thing of the past though, mostly due to the state of the family. The brilliance of the Tenenbaums faded away, and so did their outspoken father. Constantly letting his family down and even sometimes ridiculing or demeaning their accomplishments, Royal had become very distant from his wife and children. Chas, though an accomplished businessman and father of two, now lives in constant fear and paranoia due to his wife’s death in a plane crash. Richie’s tennis career faded almost as quickly as it had risen, and ended very strangely and abruptly. Margot, [Due to Content Scraping and Theft, we have been forced to try abbreviated feeds. We apologize for any inconvenience this may cause and woud very much appreciate you clicking through to view the full article on FilmSchoolRejects.com]
Weekly Over/Under: Can Jackass stay offensive against The Guardian?
Box Office By Neil Miller on September 28, 2006 | Comments (11)Allow me to step up onto my soapbox for a moment and bask in the glory of actually winning a Weekly Over/Under despite going against the general consensus. Allow me to bring Cole Abaius up onto the soapbox as well, and share it as a team victory… Give us a moment to savor it… Alright, that is enough basking, lets get back into the swing of things. Last Week’s Over/Under was a very deceptive situation, with the box office struggling overall in recent weeks and some relatively strong releases still lurking about. It was very tough to asses the level of success a film such as Jackass: Number Two would have, so when we asked whether it would clear the $20 million mark on opening weekend, it was easy for so many to jump on the “Under” bus. But thanks to the male 13-25 demographic (half of whom had to use fake IDs to get in), Jackass plowed through its competition, raking in a dominating $29 million! Oh the humanity! Here are the exact results: 1. Jackass: Number Two (review) – $29 million2. Jet Li’s Fearless (review) – $10.5 million3. Gridiron Gang (review) – $9.5 million4. Flyboys – $6 million5. Everyone’s Hero – $4.7 million Last Week’s Bids (current record):Neil Miller, Over (2-2)Brian Gibson, Under (3-1)Chris Beaumont, Under (3-1)BobbyQuickDraw, Under (3-1)Cole Abaius, Over (1-3)Matthew Alexander, DNP (2-0) Look at those records beginning to even out! It looks like Cole’s math finally pays off for the both of us. Enough said, [Due to Content Scraping and Theft, we have been forced to try abbreviated feeds. We apologize for any inconvenience this may cause and woud very much appreciate you clicking through to view the full article on FilmSchoolRejects.com]
This Film is Not Yet Rated
Movie Review By Josh Anker on September 28, 2006 | Be the First To CommentRelease Date: September 1, 2006 This Film Is Not Yet Rated, is at its heart, a documentary. That’s a powerful statement, right there. And you’d better pay attention to it, if you use movie reviews to decide what you’ll spend your hard-earned money on. What you may have heard about the movie, and indeed, it’s generated a lot of buzz, is that a private investigator gets hired to get a sneak peek into the MPAA rating system. Well, that almost makes it sound like a plot, with intrigue and action. Unfortunately for hyped-up viewers, it’s a documentary. Instead of excitement, the movie generated only vague feelings of surprise and disappointment in the rating system. Perhaps if I were a filmmaker I’d be far more outraged. The film opened my eyes to a good deal of injustice that’s involved in the movie rating system. A group of people whose names are not released to the public rate a film completely arbitrarily. There are general guidelines governing the use of profanity and amount of sexual material, but it is entirely subject to the opinion of “the board.” I was enthusiastic about the plan to expose these anonymous, secretpeople, going into it. The movie carefully builds up the MPAA and the 7 major Hollywood studios, emphasizing what media giants they are. After all that, who wouldn’t want the little guy to win? Rooting for the underdog is the sole source of enthusiasm for This Film Is Not Yet Rated. We want Kirby Dick, [Due to Content Scraping and Theft, we have been forced to try abbreviated feeds. We apologize for any inconvenience this may cause and woud very much appreciate you clicking through to view the full article on FilmSchoolRejects.com]
Here’s a blast from the past. A movie about a teenage computer hacker, original huh? Well back in 1983 this was relatively new. Computers were in the early stages of making it into the home and we were still in the Cold War, with the threat of nuclear war hanging over us. Then along comes War Games, a fun little movie combining high school dramady and social commentary on nuclear war. The result is a charming film that, although pretty dated, still is a lot of fun. The movie follows high schooler David Lightman as he tries to hack into a game companies computer, only to end up in the machine that controls the nuclear weapons of the country. We are faced with the chase, will he be caught, will he find the computer’s designer, can they beat the clock. Pretty standard fare. The acting is solid, the technology is quaint (when viewed today), direction is solid. I was surprised how much I still enjoyed it. It was fun looking at the dated computer systems, especially the modem which had its own cradle to place the handset on. The lack of real looking technology in the war room, complete with passing tour groups (Do you really think they would allow civilians in a sensitive area like this?). We have the government agents who effortlessly track down our hero. The girlfriend who must help at all costs. And let’s not forget the recluse with a heart. The DVD itself looks pretty [Due to Content Scraping and Theft, we have been forced to try abbreviated feeds. We apologize for any inconvenience this may cause and woud very much appreciate you clicking through to view the full article on FilmSchoolRejects.com]
Release Date: February 21, 1996 Like a cheap bottle of beer exploding all over a frat guy’s “College” shirt on Sixth Street, there has been a recent explosion of filming in Austin. That being said, the movie Bottle Rocket was not actually filmed in Austin. It was, however, filmed mostly in the Dallas/Ft. Worth area and in a town very close my heart – Hillsboro, Texas which sits just outside (a very familiar half-hour drive) of my Alma Mater’s sleepy hamlet of Waco, Texas. So how good is film created so close to a town known mostly for fundamentalism and Branch Davidian Barbeques? From a first-time director? Introducing a little-known pair of acting brothers? If you’ve seen, and inevitably loved, Rushmore, The Royal Tenenbaums, or The Life Aquatic With Steve Zissou, then you already know the answer. And you already love their creator, Wes Anderson. The story focuses on Anthony (Luke Wilson) who introduces himself by breaking out of a mental hospital at the behest of his friend Dignan (Owen Wilson) despite having voluntarily admitting himself. Dignan wants desperately to be a notorious criminal, although exactly what he means by that is never spelled out, and tries his bumbling best to make it happen. What happens next is an unnecessarily long planning period leading up to the big heist that will make the entire crew household names. It’s awkward, but Anthony and Dignan are likable, nay, loveable, characters that grow on you the entire movie. Every misstep they take toward [Due to Content Scraping and Theft, we have been forced to try abbreviated feeds. We apologize for any inconvenience this may cause and woud very much appreciate you clicking through to view the full article on FilmSchoolRejects.com]
DVD Pick of the Week: Lady Vengeance
Movie News By Chris Beaumont on September 26, 2006 | Be the First To CommentThis week is loaded with titles worthy of adding to your collection, and mine if any of you are feeling particularly generous. Old titles, new titles, television titles, a whole assortment. There is one that stands above the pack, and it is a movie that I have not even seen yet. The official pick of the week is Lady Vengeance. This is a film that I have been eagerly anticipating. What? You’ve never heard of it? Well, drop whatever you are doing and look it up. I must be honest and say that I actually do not know many details about the film. I am judging Lady Vengeance based on the strength of the director’s past work. This is the third and final film in Chan Wook Park’s revenge trilogy. The first was Sympathy for Mr. Vengeance, an amazing film that follows a deaf man and his sister who is in desperate need of a kidney transplant. Not being able to afford the surgery, a plan is concocted that leads down a dangerous path. Park followed that with Oldboy. This time, the focus is a man who was imprisoned for 15 years, with no knowledge of who is responsible, or why. Then he is released and has 5 days to fins out who and why. Both of these films followed his excellent, yet more mainstream, JSA, a film dealing with the DMZ between North and South Korea, and the friendship that develops between guards on both sides, and the tragic [Due to Content Scraping and Theft, we have been forced to try abbreviated feeds. We apologize for any inconvenience this may cause and woud very much appreciate you clicking through to view the full article on FilmSchoolRejects.com]
Brian De Palma is no slouch when it comes to delivering stylish, captivating films that keep his audiences entertained and yearning for more. Of that, we can be certain. Scarface is quite possibly the second greatest gangster movie ever and The Untouchables was, to say the least, spectacular among modern westerns. De Palma’s latest offering, The Black Dahlia, falls short of his resounding legacy. It is an under articulated, long winded and tiresome attempt at telling the story of possibly the most famous unsolved murder mystery in Southern California history, and I don’t mean the O.J. Simpson trial. Based on the fictitious book by James Ellroy, The Black Dahlia begins in Los Angeles in the late 1940′s telling the tale of two cops, Bucky Bleichert (Josh Hartnett) and Lee Blanchard (Aaron Eckhart). The unlikely combo are united by their pasts as boxers and hoisted up on a pedestal to become publicity monkeys for the LAPD, winning over the hearts of Los Angelinos in order to gain support for a bill that would give the PD a sizeable raise. After knocking the crap out of each other and becoming the heroes of the day, publicity whore Lee and the quiet boy scout Bucky team up as partners and hit the streets, catching felons left and right. The other thing that they both catch is an eye for Blanchard’s young dame Kay (Scarlett Johansson), who is as Lee would say “always in the middle, but never between us.” We all know how [Due to Content Scraping and Theft, we have been forced to try abbreviated feeds. We apologize for any inconvenience this may cause and woud very much appreciate you clicking through to view the full article on FilmSchoolRejects.com]
Release Date: September 22, 2006 Let me start this by saying that I do not like the possessive that was added to the title. I can understand it from a marketing perspective, but I just do not like that it was officially tacked on to the official title. In China it was known as Huo Yuan Jia. Next, while the film is not exactly what I expected, it was still a wonderful site on the big screen. The story is based on a true story. How accurate the exact events are, I do not know, but I am sure that events may been changed or altered for dramatic effect. The story is that of Huo Yuanjia. Around the turn of the century, he became one of the most famous martial arts fighters ever. He was a man who endured much tragedy on his journey to help restore honor to the people of China in the face of foreign occupation. Not to mention, he was the founder of the Jingwu Sports Federation which has branches all over the world. The film is Jet Li’s swan song, a love story to the epic style of martial arts films that helped his rise to fame. This is his final film using the wushu style. That means that there will be no more Heros or Once Upon a Time in Chinas starring Jet. He has said that he wishes to work on his acting, and will continue making modern action films such as Unleashed [Due to Content Scraping and Theft, we have been forced to try abbreviated feeds. We apologize for any inconvenience this may cause and woud very much appreciate you clicking through to view the full article on FilmSchoolRejects.com]
Film Festival: Shriekfest 2006 (Day 1)
Movie News By Robert Fure on September 26, 2006 | Comments (1)Shriekfest, now in it’s 6th year, is a small horror-themed film festival that takes place over two weekends. The first weekend was September 22-24 and the festival wraps up September 30 til October 2nd. Each day is filled with several film “programs,” generally either about 90 minutes of shorts or a short paired with a feature length film. This year, the festival is held at Raleigh Studios on Melrose in their screening room. It’s a small, personal festival with attendance ranging from 30 to 120 people depending on which program you’re at. A lot of the programs end with Q&A sessions with cast and crew, who generally make up a large portion of the audience. It’s sad that this festival doesn’t get more attention, it’s a fun little time and the price won’t break your back if you’ve got to pay to get in. Below I’ll review the short film programs for Sunday the 24th and check later posts for the feature length reviews. Film Program 6 Suffer the Little Children (www.sufferproductions.com) In this short, a teacher, Ms. Sidley, suspects that one of her students isn’t exactly human. She finds out that young Robert is a “changling” and has already converted several other students. Can she stop them and will anyone believe her? Well, yes and no. This short is a licensed adaptation of a Stephen King story of the same name. The special effects are decent for such a small budget, but the film in general is fairly bland [Due to Content Scraping and Theft, we have been forced to try abbreviated feeds. We apologize for any inconvenience this may cause and woud very much appreciate you clicking through to view the full article on FilmSchoolRejects.com]
Rushmore (1998) – Criterion Collection
Movie News By Brian C. Gibson on September 26, 2006 | Be the First To CommentRushmore single handedly launched the mainstream career of director Wes Anderson and his star Jason Schwartzman. Not to be left unmentioned, this film also provided a much needed jumpstart towards the end of a disappointing decade for Bill Murray. While Rushmore is not Anderson’s first film, it is his most groundbreaking. At the surface, Max Fischer (Jason Schwartzman), does not look like anything that you might describe as a troubled youth. He has founded or is the president of various clubs and organizations at the prestigious Rushmore private academy. Young Max soon learns that his excessive load of extracurricular activities has led him to become the most academically delinquent students at Rushmore. Soon after, Max meets a first year teacher named Rosemary Cross (Olivia Williams). He is immediately intrigued by both her and her late husband, who founded most of the clubs at Rushmore. Max pushes Rushmore out of the way for a new love, Mrs. Cross. While giving a speech at Rushmore, a cynical Herman Blume (Bill Murray) persecutes those at Rushmore who have been handed life on a silver platter, and praises those who have had to work for things in life. Unhappy with his own life, including a distant wife and two spoiled sons who attend Rushmore, this negative speech came easy. Hanging onto Herman’s every word, Max introduces himself and the two end up finding themselves to be strangely similar. For Max, things seem to be turning around. He has a new love, and a new [Due to Content Scraping and Theft, we have been forced to try abbreviated feeds. We apologize for any inconvenience this may cause and woud very much appreciate you clicking through to view the full article on FilmSchoolRejects.com]
Box Office Update 9/22-9/24: Jackass Number Two Takes a Number Two on the Competition
Box Office By Chris Beaumont on September 25, 2006 | Be the First To CommentBefore really going into my usual writings, I would like to take a bit of offense to something I read over at IMDB.com. In their box office recap they have the headline “Box Office Flunks Intelligence Test” as they describe the dominance of the teenage boy demographic at the box office and the rise of Jackass Number Two to the top of the heap. I don’t particularly have any issue with the thought that Jackass is not a terribly smart work, although I am sure there could be solid arguments either way. I take issue with the sweeping generalization that teenage boys are dumb. Sure there are dumb kids, but there are just as many smart kids, or kids that are trying to better themselves, and they should not be belittled in such a way. It gets worse, they go on to insinuate that Jet Li’s Fearless is aimed at the same target audience as Jackass. Huh? Who are they kidding? The former is a collection of gross and dangerous stunts, the latter is a foreign film that tells the story of an important person from Chinese history. Sure, it is an action film, but it is also much more than that. Basically, I do not like the insinuation that teen boys are dumb (I do not believe I was) nor do I like the equating of Jackass with Fearless. Now, on with our regularly scheduled program. As expected, Jackass Number Two rose to the top of the box office. [Due to Content Scraping and Theft, we have been forced to try abbreviated feeds. We apologize for any inconvenience this may cause and woud very much appreciate you clicking through to view the full article on FilmSchoolRejects.com]
Ever since Bottle Rocket, I have found myself to be a big fan of Owen & Luke Wilson. Shortly after the mild success of Bottle Rocket, I was introduced to the man who was responsible for their Hollywood careers. Wes Anderson has provided a fresh and original mix of films to an industry that has been sorely missing originality and personal touch. With an auteuristic style that most people might compare to Paul Thomas Anderson or Spike Jonze, Anderson seems to follow the path of a different generation. Anderson epitomizes what one would call an auteur, due to his directorial style and superb character writing. The auteur theory states that the director fuels the creativity and direction of a film, while undoubtedly leaving their own trademark throughout their work. Much like many classic filmmakers, you can assure that each minute detail has the most momentous purpose in Anderson’s films. Anderson’s avid involvement in the casting, wardrobe, sets and screenplay prove that each film is meticulously formed into a masterpiece after careful attention to detail. Anderson stated in an interview done by the Criterion Collection that: What I’m more inspired by is something that happened to me or someone in my life who had a strong effect on me, or a novel, short story, play or a movie where the characters moved me, or where I was swept up in it Each character seems to be a poem in and of themselves. Some characters are full of life and serve as [Due to Content Scraping and Theft, we have been forced to try abbreviated feeds. We apologize for any inconvenience this may cause and woud very much appreciate you clicking through to view the full article on FilmSchoolRejects.com]
New Feature: Director Tribute Week!
Movie News By Brian C. Gibson on September 25, 2006 | Be the First To CommentHello all, and welcome back to Film School Rejects and do we have a treat for you. This week will debut our newest feature to the site. We will be presenting some of our favorite directors and reviewing some of their work. The week will begin with a director profile, and be followed by reviews of our favorite films. We have chosen to focus on director Wes Anderson, and his work. He is one of my favorite directors, so I hope it will be fun and interactive. So please sound off on anything you might agree or disagree with. Also, if you have any requests for certain directors, please direct those requests to either the Film School Rejects Forum or simply email us at Editors@filmschoolrejects.com.
Release Date: September 22, 2006 How do you review a movie like this? Do you speak of the clever, yet sophomoric, play on words in the title? Do you detail the stunts that are contained within? Do you mention the waves of laughter that ripple through the audience like nausea? Do you go on about the insanity of the players in the film? Do you even call it a movie? What kind of movie is it? Documentary? Action? Comedy? Or, maybe you would speak on how beautifully the opening sequence is filmed and pieced together? So many questions can go through your mind as you approach a work such as this. Jackass Number Two is pretty much review proof. Those who want to see it do not need to read reviews, they know what it is all about. Those who don’t want to see it may read the reviews out of some morbid curiosity, but they won’t help the box office take. So why write a review? Perhaps as a way to cleanse the soul, to purge the images from your minds eye and move them into some sort of back brain file. I am not even sure that I can go so far as to call this a movie. It has laughs, but I wouldn’t call it a “comedy.” It has action, but I wouldn’t call it an “action movie.” It seems to come closest to a documentary, but there is no real narrative, or subject matter that it [Due to Content Scraping and Theft, we have been forced to try abbreviated feeds. We apologize for any inconvenience this may cause and woud very much appreciate you clicking through to view the full article on FilmSchoolRejects.com]
First off, when I saw the listing for this at the theater, I had no idea that it was the result of Project Greenlight. Of course, I found that out relatively quickly (Ben Affleck and Matt Damon among the producers was a hint). I just saw the name Feast and the horror genre applied to it, and I new I was interested. What followed was a debate on whether or not to see it on the big screen or what for its DVD release, which is coming next month. Then I viewed the trailer, and my answer was pretty obvious, I had to see it on the big screen. The trailer had a lot of what I have been wanting to see on the big screen, but doesn’t happen too often. It showed the promise of action, blood, gore, witty one liners, and Henry Rollins! How could I go wrong? The story is simple, anyone who has seen a few horror films will be familiar with it. A group of strangers are trapped inside some location while unseen creatures menace them from outside. There are elements if Alien, From Dusk til Dawn, and Evil Dead all at work here, not to mention countless others. Fortunately, this is a genre where formula can work, and, at times, is something to strive for. The key is to bring energy and style to the proceedings. I don’t ask for much, just a little blood mixed with a little fun. Feast delivers on both [Due to Content Scraping and Theft, we have been forced to try abbreviated feeds. We apologize for any inconvenience this may cause and woud very much appreciate you clicking through to view the full article on FilmSchoolRejects.com]
Release Date: February 21, 1996 Like a cheap bottle of beer exploding all over a frat guy’s “College” shirt on Sixth Street, there has been a recent explosion of filming in Austin. That being said, the movie Bottle Rocket was not actually filmed in Austin. It was, however, filmed mostly in the Dallas/Ft. Worth area and in a town very close my heart – Hillsboro, Texas which sits just outside (a very familiar half-hour drive) of my Alma Mater’s sleepy hamlet of Waco, Texas. So how good is film created so close to a town known mostly for fundamentalism and Branch Davidian Barbeques? From a first-time director? Introducing a little-known pair of acting brothers? If you’ve seen, and inevitably loved, Rushmore, The Royal Tenenbaums, or The Life Aquatic With Steve Zissou, then you already know the answer. And you already love their creator, Wes Anderson. The story focuses on Anthony (Luke Wilson) who introduces himself by breaking out of a mental hospital at the behest of his friend Dignan (Owen Wilson) despite having voluntarily admitting himself. Dignan wants desperately to be a notorious criminal, although exactly what he means by that is never spelled out, and tries his bumbling best to make it happen. What happens next is an unnecessarily long planning period leading up to the big heist that will make the entire crew household names. It’s awkward, but Anthony and Dignan are likable, nay, loveable, characters that grow on you the entire movie. Every misstep they take toward [Due to Content Scraping and Theft, we have been forced to try abbreviated feeds. We apologize for any inconvenience this may cause and woud very much appreciate you clicking through to view the full article on FilmSchoolRejects.com]
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