TheDarjeelingLimited Tagged Articles at Cinematical

Some have said that The Darjeeling Limited is a movie for Wes Anderson's fans. While that description is fairly accurate, it also suggests that this is some sort of Jay and Silent Bob Strike Back project -- a self-indulgent film only for those filled with Anderson adoration. While it does tap into the magic that brings fans to the filmmaker -- the rich colors, quirky characters, and strange introspection -- it is also a study of grief, and a film that perfectly embodies the importance of charisma and chemistry.

As Erik Davis wrote in his NYFF review, it's hard to see Adrien Brody, Jason Schwartzman, and Owen Wilson as brothers, but from the minute they come together on screen, each mannerism and look makes them seem immediately comfortable with each other, as if they are actually related and intimately familiar. It doesn't matter that they all look incredibly different. Brody slips into Anderson's world fluidly, and the three leads play off each other, making the quirk not only palpable, but subtly genuine.

Last week I listed my five worst theatrical experiences of 2007. It was a difficult thing to do, because as a former proud and happy employee of the theater industry, and as a huge supporter of going to the movies over home viewing, I hated to showcase cinemas and exhibition formats in a bad light. But how else to encourage improvements in movie going if not by pointing out unsatisfactory experiences? Part of my interest in the theater industry has always been to help make improvements where needed, whether it was back when I worked as a theater manager or now when I merely comment on theater practice and procedure. I not only want people to go to the movies; I want them to enjoy going to the movies as much as possible.

I've gone to a great number of movies over the past year, some of which were free and some of which cost too much, and aside from those five experiences listed last week and a few others that were more affected by minor or nitpicky problems. Otherwise I've had a lot of fun going to the movies in 2007. I've seen old movies on the big screen, new movies as they premiered, I've sat among other critics in comfy yet popcorn-lacking press screenings and most enjoyably I've sat with regular audiences in regular cinemas. It's difficult to pick the best kind of theatrical experience, but it wasn't too hard to pinpoint five specific experiences that stood out in my mind as being the best of my theatrical experience in 2007.

Theatrical Experiences of 2007 Part II: The Best

The Darjeeling Limited at Cerrito Speakeasy Theater, El Cerrito, CA -- 12/26/07

Everyone always tells me I have to experience the famed Alamo Drafthouse(s), but I feel the Speakeasy cinemas are probably just as cool. And until or if I experience better, the Speakeasy in El Cerrito is my new favorite place to see a movie. Unfortunately, it's across the country from where I live. It combines three of my favorite things: great movies, restored old cinemas and beer. Also the owners are delightful, the chairs and couches are comfy, they often show old movies, some of which are free, and the popcorn is delicious. I'd already seen The Darjeeling Limited once, but I think it was a better experience this second time, mainly due to the more chill atmosphere in which it was presented. Most important: I'm not that enthusiastic about major chains charging extra for relaxed, living-room-style viewing with wait service (I will be writing about this problem soon), but when it's only $6, like at the Speakeasy (or 2 for $6, as it is there on Wednesday nights), it's absolutely perfect. I wish I could fly back in two weeks to check out The Maltese Falcon there.

This will be my third time crossing over into a new year while writing for Cinematical, and I've never once shelled out a top ten list. And every year, as January approaches, I always say to myself, "This will be the year I write a top ten list." Recently, it was more like, "You're the editor of the friggin' site -- you need to write a top ten list. It's, like, mandatory and punishable by death in some states." You'll notice that Cinematical has officially kicked off our year-end extravaganza; it began earlier this month with our Hot and Lame in 2007 lists, and now we'll end the year allowing several of our writers to give their top picks of 2007 (including a few posts on the worst films of the year as well). But when I looked at everything we were doing, I noticed one element was absent: Awesome Awards! So, instead of giving you another top ten list, here are my official awesome awards for 2007:

The Awesome Award for Best Action Scene Featuring Uncomfortable Male Nudity Goes to ...

The bath house scene in Eastern Promises -- David Cronenberg's Eastern Promises has wound up on a lot of year-end lists, and will most likely find a spot in the best picture category at the Oscars in 2008, but when you talk about the film there's one scene that immediately comes to mind: the bath house scene. Viggo Mortensen plays a guy with ties to the Russian mob, and when a couple of dudes are sent to off him at a bath house, we get one of the best action sequences in all of 2007 ... and Viggo is completely naked the entire time. It's extremely uncomfortable and wildly exhilarating to watch all at the same time.

The Awesome Award for Best Scene Featuring a Nerd Attempting to Woo the Girl Next Door Goes to ...

Sam Witwicky gives Mikaela Banes a "ride" in Transformers -- You won't see this film anywhere near a top ten best-of list this year, but Michael Bay's Transformers did include one genuine, well-written, cutesy moment early on in the film when Shia LaBeouf's character attempts to "pick up" Megan Fox on the side of the road in his new set of wheels and finds the yellow and black clunker has a mind of its own. While Fox is hardly the girl next door (more like the hottie on your next door neighbor's Playboy calendar), it was fun to watch LaBeouf reacting to this bizarre situation, while still trying to make sense of it and woo the girl of his dreams. In a film full of giant f**king robots, this was the most human scene ... if that makes any sense.

In case you weren't aware, Owen Wilson's first interview since being holed up in a hospital following an apparent suicide attempt took place the other day via MySpace's Artist on Artist series. The interview itself was finally posted online somewhere around 10pm EST last night, and after watching it, I must say it's definitely one of the most awkward interviews I've ever seen. Basically, director Wes Anderson and Owen Wilson talk to one another about The Darjeeling Limited -- only problem is, they're not together in the same room. They're miles upon miles apart, and through some special effects magic, it appears as if both are sitting next to each other having a conversation. I tried embedding the actual interview into this post, but for some reason it wasn't working ... and our tech folks are normal people who have off on the weekend. Unlike myself. So you can check out the interview for yourself over here.

Of course, everyone and their publicist was wondering whether Owen would open up at all and talk about what went down a few months ago. I'll save you all the time now: he did not. And the reason why the interview seemed awkward probably had to do with the fact that both men were not together in the same room (although at one point it was funny to see them play off that). Owen seemed tired, and a tad out of touch, as if it took hours to convince him to do this. Anderson tried his best to remain lively, tossing questions out to Owen, following up on them, but the whole thing just seemed forced. That's nothing against The Darjeeling Limited -- I happen to be one of the few who actually loved the flick -- but I wish the boys got into it a little more. Perhaps I'm reading into it too much (and feel free to tell me that), but something definitely seemed off here. Let us know what you think.

On November 20, for the first time ever, a movie will be exclusively distributed via iTunes. Yes, we already heard about this briefly when our own Kevin Kelly talked with Edward Burns at ComicCon. But at the time, Burns had said he would be given a trial run, in which his latest film, Purple Violets, would be available on iTunes for four weeks beginning on October 9. That date has come and gone, and now the New York Times has revealed that the film will actually get a full, exclusive release on November 20. That means you won't be able to see it in theaters, or on DVD, or on Cable. Yet, anyway. Personally, I'm a bit shocked the idea didn't happen sooner. There's tons and tons of indie films out there that can't get good distro. Going with iTunes sounds like a great opportunity to get notice. Plus, with iTunes still only offering less than 1000 movies, and still unable to get titles from all the studios, the service would do well to increase its library with exclusives like this. The idea certainly worked for companies like Netflix, which started exclusive distribution via its Red Envelope Entertainment moniker. Maybe one day, like Red Envelope, iTunes could even produce its own movies.

The Times goes into detail about iTunes distribution, mentioning the strategy of putting Wes Anderson's Hotel Chevalier up for free download, which sparked extra interest in The Darjeeling Limited. It also points out the benefit of having short films on iTunes in general, not just for well-knowns like Anderson. The move can affect DVD rentals, though, according to Burns, who has had difficulty securing video distribution for Purple Violets now that it will be available on iTunes. The movie, which stars Burns, Debra Messing, Patrick Wilson and Selma Blair, premiered earlier this year at the Tribeca Film Festival, where Eric called it Burns' "best film since The Brothers McMullen ... a more mature film than anything Burns has done in the past."

It's winner MADNESS this week on Insert Caption. We're finally able to announce the grand prize winner for our Darjeeling Limited contest. Have fun in India, Alan T. (And no, he's not THE Alan T., a.k.a. fantasy dad Dr. Jason Seaver). We expect an exotic magnet or two (legal note: winners are in no way expected or obligated to purchase souvenirs, exotic magnets or otherwise, for trip providers). We'll also be sending a framed Planet Terror poster signed by Robert Rodriguez to Jordan M. (yes, THE Jordan M.) for last week's contest while our two runners up get DVDs and action figures.

1. "Look, don't hit me again but I really do think I have Bingo."
-- Alan T.

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1. "And they say there are no roles left for women in Hollywood..."
-- Jordan M.

2. "This party's dead, we're outta here!" -- Peter A.

3. "Easily flammable house, check. Crowd of lost souls wandering aimlessly, check. Unattainable cool chicks all over each other, check. Yep, it's freshman year of college all over again." -- Chris O.

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We're looking for a few more winners this week. And really, who needs India when you can win a tee-shirt, Frisbee, cup (the kind you drink out of, not protect the privates with), wristband and mini-poster from the new sports spoof The Comebacks? Just write one of our three captions for the pic below of David Koechner and Apollo Creed and sweet, victory could be yours, too. Good luck!

UPDATE: Winners Announced! Click Here

It's been eight months since we started awarding prizes to our weekly Insert Caption contest winners, and we've given away everything from DVD box sets to a guitar to underwear to an HD DVD player. But this week we're presenting our most excellent prize to date: a trip for two to the beautiful country of India, courtesy of our friends at Jet Airways and Fox Searchlight.

That's right, the writer of our favorite caption for the photo below from Wes Anderson's new comedy The Darjeeling Limited will win their own five-day, four-night Indian adventure (airfare and four-star hotel included) for themselves and their favorite friend or family member (or Cinematical blogger/Moviefone employee). The best part? You will not be asked to train a single employee or customer service rep while there. So scroll on down the page, check out last week's winners of our Knocked Up contest (they win DVDs, a dartboard and more), then click on the "comments" link and give us your sharpest, wittiest, funniest, awesomeist caption possible. And for those first-time players, bookmark this link here and come back and play every weekend. Our Darjeeling winner will be announced next Friday, October 12 at 4 PM EST.
Good luck!

UPDATE: WINNER ANNOUNCED! Click Here

Winners from last week's Knocked Up contest:

1. "Ummm... No, I didn't know it was Bastille Day. " -- Michael L.

2. "Just when I think you can't get *any* dumber, you go and do something like this... and TOTALLY REDEEM YOURSELF!" -- Peter S.

3. "Exactly how much pot have you smoked today?" -- Curt T.

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It's about time. And, well, a little late. It would have made perfect sense to release a Criterion Collection DVD of Wes Anderson's Bottle Rocket last year, when it quietly celebrated its tenth anniversary. But hey, better late than never, right? While promoting his latest film, The Darjeeling Limited, Anderson told MTV Movies Blog that he's begun work on a Criterion edition of his debut feature. The director said there's a lot of stuff to go into it, including a lot of footage that was left on the cutting room floor. And certainly he will have to put his original black-and-white short, also titled Bottle Rocket, on there. For those Anderson fans who haven't seen it, the short is basically just early versions of scenes that ended up in the later film, including the part in which Dignan (Owen Wilson) and Anthony (Luke Wilson) rob Anthony's parents' house -- with the soundtrack set to jazz rather than Love. When I first saw it -- Lincoln Center screened it with The Royal Tenenbaums on the eve of that film's release -- I thought it was a little bit funnier than the full-length. But looking at it now, I just think it's a neat curiosity for the fans. You can check it out on YouTube if you aren't willing to wait to see if Criterion includes it.

Bottle Rocket can feel pretty slow and uneven compared to Anderson's later releases, all of which have already received the Criterion treatment. But the crime caper comedy does feature a younger, funnier Owen Wilson, back when he was even more wide-eyed and excited than we're used to now. And it does at least have the obligatory homages to J.D. Salinger (think of Anthony as a grown-up Holden Caulfield) that links it up with the rest of Anderson's work. The main thing missing, of course, is Bill Murray, who has appeared in all of Anderson's films after this one. Maybe, as I suggested last week, somebody can do a special alternate version in which Murray is inserted into the film, possibly replacing James Caan. That would be a fun bonus feature. Or maybe Anderson and Murray could stage some fake auditions (like the real ones on the Criterion Rushmore) where Murray tests for each of Bottle Rocket's characters. Currently there is no release date, nor any news on the Criterion site, for Bottle Rocket, but hopefully we'll hear more about it soon.

Sometimes I guess it really does help to know the right people. Variety reports that Scott Rudin along with Miramax have secured the rights to the novel The Brief and Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao. Oscar was written by Junot Diaz, and the novel centers on an awkward overweight teen struggling to fit in at Rutger University. While following Oscar in his quest for love, the reader learns of the troubled history of his family in the Dominican Republic. Rudin had managed to score an early look at the manuscript for the book and was setting up meetings with Diaz, before the book had even come up for auction -- see what I mean about 'knowing people'?

Rudin, along with Miramax, already has some high profile flicks headed for theaters this fall. It's quite a coup that Rudin has managed to score; including some of the big Oscar contenders for 2007: Wes Anderson' The Darjeeling Limited (you can catch Erik's NYFF review here), Noah Baumbach's Margot at the Wedding, the Coen's No Country for Old Men and Paul Thomas Anderson's There Will Be Blood (you can read Scott's review of Blood here). Rudin will be co-producing Oscar with Miramax, but there is no word on a director or a cast. Rudin has already lined up more Oscar-bait for the coming year. In 2008, he will produce The Reader with Nicole Kidman and Ralph Fiennes (if they can ever find a location, that is) and he will also be producing the animated flick The Fantastic Mr. Fox with Cate Blanchett. So start setting the odds for your Oscar pools now.