WLM Podcast #54: The Tony Scott Memorial Podcast

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The recent, untimely demise of action auteur Tony Scott, brought a career that has long been undervalued, to the forefront of the cultural discussion.

And while I certainly never wanted a troubling suicide to be the motivating factor in an overdue dissection of the man's 30 year artistic legacy, I think it's important that we don't let this strange turn of events prove a missed opportunity.

His feature film career is almost as old I am and I've been an enormous fan of his work as far back as I can remember. But he's always been a somewhat controversial and divisive filmmaker- living in the shadow of his older brother and perennially [naively] marginalized as the ultimate champion of style over substance.

So this week Oscar (a casual TS "appreciator") and I (a rabid TS "fanboy") decided to take a stroll through Mister Scott's oeuvre (WLM drinking game buzzword!), stopping along the way to take large whiffs of the pungent, cross-processed, hyperkinetic flowers.

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Into The Wes (featuring 16 years of trailers)

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So, Oscar and I each completed our usual, arbitrary rankings, regarding this week's topic: The filmography of Mr. Wesley Wales Anderson.

I also thought this would be a good occasion to post the 7 trailers that have preceded his films because, well... I have that kind of time.

So here's some stuff to read and watch- our respective rankings of his films followed by a chronological catalogue of his trailers.

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The "Music Trilogy" Chapter 3: Top 10 Film Scores

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The unexpected "trilogy" of podcast topics comes to its logical conclusion with our original score picks.

So, put your headphones on, crank up the bass, and let the heavily-compressed youtube incantations of these classic selections whisk you away to monochrome Vienna, suspiciously Kiwi-reminiscent "Middle Earth", anamorphic Egypt, sun-baked Sicily, the 19th century American West by way of Southern Spain, and galaxies far far away (but, more often than not, just large warehouses outside of Marin County).

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WLM Podcast #46: Score 1 For The Top 10 Film Scores

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Well it was inevitable that it would come to this.
We never officially discussed our intention to talk about our favorite film scores in a podcast scenario. But when we started down our "music in the movies" rabbit hole about a month ago, I sort of began to presume, in the back of my mind, that eventually we would find our way to this subject. I'm so very glad we did. I love me a good score.

This list's only rule:
-Thou shalt not pick more than one film PER composer! (John Williams, you will not be allowed to monopolize this list!)

Score!

Top 10 Greatest Songs Written for the Movies.

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In an ongoing effort to try and supplement podcast topics with word and video-heavy corresponding blog posts, we've been trying to compile lists like this one for your reading and viewing pleasure.

As usual, youtube couldn't be counted on to cover 100% of our visual aid needs. But I feel like, for the most part, I put together a pretty decent cross-section of scene clips and song samples.

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WLM Podcast #45: The Best Songs Ever Written FOR a Film

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We had so much fun putting together our "pop songs in movies" list a few weeks back that we had to follow it up with another music-themed podcast. This week we discuss our personal favorite songs written specifically for the films in which they appear. It's a celebration of artform synergy!

Prince may or may not be discussed (fair warning).

We Like Movies drinking game buzzword of the week: "ICONIC"

OSCAR Predictions by Oscar (and Matt)

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There's really not a whole helluva lot more to say about this well-tread topic by now. The prognosticators and handicappers have already told us what we already know. There are really not many exciting categories left this year. Will George Clooney rebound from his 11th hour lag and surpass Jean Dujardin to reclaim his pole position as the king of Hollywood? Will Meryl Streep break her 3 decade long losing streak to upset the mighty Viola for the actress crown?

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Academy Award Nominees Announced (with credibility-straining results)

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Well they did it. It happened. It certainly wasn’t pretty, but it happened.

I don’t want to go into my reaction about the assembled nominees here. I feel like I’ve been doing nothing but kvetching with fellow Oscar nerds all day so I’ll save my thoughts for the inevitable podcast discussion.

But if I could use a visual aid to perhaps illustrate my incredulity at some of the decisions made this morning, perhaps you will indulge me and see if you can tell what's wrong with this [best] picture:

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Rise, and THE DARK KNIGHT RISES with you

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So, the hotly anticipated teaser for Chris Nolan's upcoming comic book odyssey cum trilogy capper (still more than a year away from gracing the silver screen) was met with controversial reaction when it premiered in theatres over the weekend (before HARRY POTTER AND THE DEATHLY HOLLOWS PART 2, natch). And while I'm not sure if I'm ready to start vocalizing an opinion about it just yet (between you and me I'm ever so slightly troubled by my initial, lukewarm reaction to it), I do think it's interesting that in the two times I've seen it in theatres I've observed it being met by both reverential applause as well as mocking laughter.  In that regard it appears to be the "TREE OF LIFE of franchise tentpole teaser trailers"... if you will.

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Matt & Oscar submit their OSCAR predictions (and their MATT predictions)

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While typing this up I began to realize how borderline obnoxious it is that my partner in blog, Oscar Dahl shares his name with the ubiquitous, coveted golden statue. But, once a year we must grit our teeth, embrace the madness and attempt to set a record for just how many times we can use the "O" word in one post.

What follows are the predictions in the "major categories" (sorry sound effects editing) from myself and the aforementioned "O" man. As you will see we rarely deviate too far from one another and, for once in far too long, seem to think that the Academy may be on the right track to handing out awards to the proper recipients for a change. As such you may also notice that there are almost no discrepancies between the "should" and "will" brackets. This is very rare to say the least.

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Matt’s Top 10 Films of 2010

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The past year has been an emotional rollercoaster for us cinephiles. We battened down the hatches, braced for the worst and were happily surprised when the four horsemen of the cinematic apocalypse never arrived. We were struck, not only by how many gems emerged from this year’s slate. But, more importantly, by how GOOD the best films were. I honestly had a tougher time than usual shaving my favorites down to just ten. I was also surprised by just how many “mainstream” studio films ended up on my list. I’m not some sort of chest-pounding indie snob who doesn’t believe there’s anything to be gained from setting foot outside the art house from May to September. But, that being said, I look back at the films topping my lists in the last few years (A SINGLE MAN, SLUMDOG MILLIONAIRE, LITTLE CHILDREN, etc.) and I can see a definitive trend in terms of financing and distribution structure. So, with all this in mind, I submit for your approval my ten favorite films of 2010- the year the studios closed down their “independent” boutiques and kept all the good films for themselves.

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