Click on the image to see our SXSW 2010 coverage – updated daily!

Rating: 8.5/10

Directors: Chris Lavis, Maciek Szczerbowski
Writer: Maurice Sendak (book)
(Voice) Cast: Meryl Streep, Forest Whitaker, Spike Jonze
Studio: National Film Board of Canada

There are few things in life that make me more intrigued than a film that’s had Spike Jonze’s hands on it. Whether it’s his shorts, like the brilliantly personal I’M HERE, or his feature films like the equally melancholy WHERE THE WILD THINGS ARE, Jonze has crafted two of the best pieces of cinema of the past 12 months.

He’s back now (except in a producer role) along with Maurice Sendak (executive producer), for the stop motion/live action short film adaptation of Sendak’s own HIGGLETY PIGGLETY POP! OR THERE MUST BE MORE TO LIFE, and while it may not be a film from the mind of Jonze, it’s just as fantastical, and just as much of a pre-pubescent fever dream as any of WTWTA.

HIGGLETY PIGGLETY POP! follows a little white dog who wants to leave her home and become an actress.  Voiced by the impeccable Meryl Streep, Jennie leaves home and soon discovers that the Mother Goose Theater is looking for a leading lady for their upcoming play.  Jennie says she is up for it, but the pig who works there says she needs experience, of which she has none.  She meets a cat deliveryman, a young woman, an ever feisty young baby, and a fierce lion (Forrest Whitaker), all in hopes of gaining this ever illusive experience. (more…)

Interviewing Harmony Korine is a rare treat. The 37-year-old writer/director/actor has lived a very strange and interesting life which shows through his work (books, photographs and films). Two years ago we spoke at SXSW’s 2008 festival for his film, MISTER LONELY, which went on to become one of my top films of 2008. This year he’s returned to promote his latest weird fest, TRASH HUMPERS (review can be found HERE), a VHS shot and edited film about three elderly sociopaths who trash (and hump) their town.

Before we got into the interview, Harmony brought out the awesome and drew and narrated a strange but thought-provoking poem on a whiteboard in the room we were in (see pic. above!). We also spoke about possible future projects which include vomiting dogs and a comedy that Celine Dion, Miley Cirus and the Jonas Brothers would want to see. This is without a doubt the most interesting part of my SXSW 2010 trip. Enjoy! (more…)

They have been many recent articles about actors being added, removed and some added again for consideration by Marvel to play CAPTAIN AMERICA. Well, the search for Captain America could be closing very soon. Heat Vision is reporting that sources have told them that an offer has been made to Chris Evans to play Captain America (Steve Rogers). (more…)

This year, during SXSW, I got the opportunity to speak with Miguel Sapochnik. His film REPO MEN opened this weekend in theaters nationwide. Though he started out in the Art Department, he’s since graduated to directing, beginning with THE DREAMER (2000), a short film about “a haggard military Clone [awaiting] his fate in a grim termination plant.” REPO MEN continues the science fiction theme, telling a story about a future where new artificial organs can be bought for a steep price.

In the interview we discussed everything from art to health care, but the most interesting part for me was talking about his desire to direct a Spanish-language film (despite his very British accent, Sapochnik is fluent in Spanish because of his Argentinian heritage). See the full video interview after the jump. (more…)

Writer: Floria Sigismondi
Director: Floria Sigismondi
Cast: Kristen Stewart, Dakota Fanning, Michael Shannon
Rating: 6/10

When it comes to music biopics, audiences are normally treated to the standard fare. Early on there’s a desire from within to be an artist which manifests itself as frustration. Then, there’s the big break and the subsequent fame. And, inevitably, there is the fall from grace where our hero is faced with drug addiction, a fractured love life, and nowhere to go. THE RUNAWAYS doesn’t break from this mold, but that isn’t necessarily a bad thing.

THE RUNAWAYS chronicles the rise, and subsequent demise, of Joan Jett and Cherie Currie’s musical group-The Runaways. Joan is an angsty teen who wants to fight back and challenge the system. She’s a woman, and according to everyone else in the time period, women don’t rock. Cherie is a trying to find her place, both in the world and in her own family. Her mother is selfishly moving to New Zealand and her father is an alcoholic in denial. Is there any better point in the lives of these two young girls to start a rock band? (more…)

In honor of the new film CHLOE starring Julianne Moore, Liam Neeson, and Amanda Seyfried we’ve teamed up with Sony Pictures Classic to give our readers the chance to win an official autographed poster from the film, signed by director Atom Egoyan.

To enter, all you must do is fill out the form after the jump. Deadline ends 11:59 PM on Friday, March 26th. On Monday, March 29th, we’ll select a winner via random drawing and announce the name.

Good luck all you Gordon and the Whalers! (more…)

Rating: 7/10

Director: Hillman Curtis

After Jonathan Demme’s 1984’s concert documentary, STOP MAKING SENSE, fans of the Talking Heads may wonder if another doc chronicling frontman David Byrne’s onstage life is totally necessary. But whereas Demme’s take focused on the Heads and their outsized stage presence, Hillman Curtis’ RIDE, RISE, ROAR pulls the show (and the main man) back down to earth, only to show the moving pieces that make such a show possible. For fans of Byrne and the Talking Heads, it’s an intimate look inside what goes into creating a show that lives up to Byrne’s expectations and desires. (more…)

Rating: 8/10

Writer/director: Harmony Korine
Cast: Charles Ezell, Kevin Guthrie, Harmony Korine, Rachel Korine, Chris Gantry, Travis Nicholson, Page Spain

Congratulations, Harmony, you’ve just made the weirdest movie ever.

If I could described Harmony Korine’s TRASH HUMPERS in one sentence, I would say “Weird people doing weird shit while humping trash cans and trees.” Since you’re reading this, I’m going to assume you’ve already seen Harmony’s previous films and you already know weird is Harmony’s God given gift. Harmony’s that guy that’s not weird for the sake of being weird, he’s just naturally strange and cares 0% about what people think of him or his films. By definition, he fits the bill. His recent outing is called TRASH HUMPERS. It’s extremely, um, colorful (trying to avoid that noun you know I want to use), and after a few days of what I just saw marinating in my brain, I came to the realization that TRASH HUMPERS is something I want to hang on to. (more…)

When I saw that the trailer for THE SWITCH (which you may all know as THE BASTER, its former title) was online, I decided to perform a little experiment. I would watch the trailer without sound, and based solely on what I saw and what I already knew of the plot, I would then explain it to you all.

So what happens in this Jennifer Aniston/Jason Bateman romantic comedy, which used to have a title that really only made me think of Thanksgiving, and now has a title that I will probably forget in the next fifteen minutes? Hit the jump to see the full trailer and read my (soundless) thoughts! (more…)

Oh my Gooooooood! BEST WORST MOVIE, the festival favorite documentary about TROLL 2, will soon be hitting theaters so that you may all share in the hilarity and heart-felt story of the best worst movie ever made.

You’ve heard us talk about it, you’ve seen us interview director/TROLL 2 star Michael Paul Stephenson & the film’s cast, you’ve even seen us interview a few of trolls. But now, you yourself will finally have the chance to see BEST WORST MOVIE for yourself. That is, if you live in the 8 select cities the film will initially open up in! But don’t piss on hospitality…just tighten your belt so you can fend off the hunger pains you have from wanting to see the film so bad! Stay tuned to the film’s official site for updates.

As a side note, still no Dallas date yet, despite the fact that Dallas spelled backwards is “sallad.” And we all know that goblins love salad…and things spelled backwards. Check out the release dates, along with the brand spankin’ new trailer for the film, after the jump! (more…)

I often sit around, as I’m sure many of you do, wondering “what’s that cat dreaming about?” They lay there, so cute and cuddly, twitching and flinching as who knows what plays our in their active feline imaginations. But what exactly is it that’s going on up there?

The animation team at Tokyo Plastic has your answer in the form of vintage pulp animations (12 years in the making). For your viewing pleasure, I present to you your Found Film Friday for March 12th, 2010. “The Tail Gunner” and “Catzilla.”

Check it out after the jump! (more…)

It’s not everyday that you get a chance to sit down and talk with not one, but two of the most diverse and outstanding actors of this generation…let alone together in one sitting! And yet, every once in awhile lady luck smiles upon you. Such is the case here, as we recently sat down with actor Edward Norton and writer/director/actor Tim Blake Nelson for their new film LEAVES OF GRASS. I must add that these two gentlemen could not have been more cordial, warm-hearted, and eager to chat. It was a true pleasure on multiple levels.

In an almost Shakespearean way, GRASS chronicles the very parallel lives of two identical twins (both played by Norton) as they become perpendicular, showing just how important the choices you make in your life are and just how varied the path you follow can be. It could just mean the difference between starring at success before your eyes or starring down the barrel of a cross-bow between your eyes.

Check out our interview with Mr. Norton and Mr. Nelson, in which we discuss LEAVES OF GRASS and the tricky, age-old balance of comedy and tragedy. Norton also discusses his process in choosing his roles and his very eclectic filmography including FIGHT CLUB, AMERICAN HISTORY X, 25th HOUR, and more.

As a side note, at the 6:47 mark is one of my favorite moments in the history of Gordon and the Whale interviews. Check it out to see for yourself! (more…)

Back in January, director Spike Jonze premiered a new short film, I’M HERE, at the Sundance Film Festival. Lovers of romantic robotics sighed all over the film, featuring one of my favorite young actors, Andrew Garfield. The boys loved the short back then, and now it’s finally available online for everyone to view (and presumably, fall in love with), via Absolut Vodka (who sponsored its creation). Check out Rusty’s Sundance review for the short HERE, in which he advises us to “expect to swoon all over this brief love story worthy of your affection.”

Hit the jump to find out how you can (maybe) see the film on the interwebs right now! (more…)

ZOMBIELAND hottie Emma Stone is in talks to star in an untitled comedy about martial troubles for Warner Bros. The film already has Steve Carell and Ryan Gosling attached to star.

The film focuses on a father (Carell) whose surrounding relationships begin to crumble and fall apart around him. Aside from spousal problems with a cheating wife, the man must attempt to maintain a relationship with his children. Stone would play one of Carell’s daughters while Gosling would play her love interest who ends up trying to help Carell’s character get his game back with the ladies.

John Requa and Glenn Ficarra, writers/directors of the buzz-worthy I LOVE YOU, PHILIP MORRIS, are currently attached to direct the script from Dan Fogelman (CARS). (more…)

The remake train runs on, inexplicably refusing to run out of steam or places to go. The next film to be tied to the tracks and run right over in the attempt to create watchable cinema? OVERBOARD. The original Garry Marshall film from 1987 starred Kurt Russell and Goldie Hawn. Now Overbrook Enterainment is attempting to remake the film, in production with Columbia Pictures. And who is in talks to star in Hawn’s role? Jennifer Lopez, fresh off a series of reports that her music career may be over.

The original film is a serious bit of junk food cinema, one of those films that plays constantly on TBS or TNT and frequently sucks me in. In it, Hawn plays a spoiled heiress who falls off her yacht (bourgeois problems), only to be “saved” by Russell’s “morally challenged carpenter,” Dean Proffitt. Upon realizing Hawn has amnesia and thus no memory of who she is or where she came from, Dean cons her into believing she is his wife, mainly so that he can get someone to cook, clean, and take care of his four sons. Of course, hijinks ensue, love blossoms, and Edward Hermann (Hawn’s character’s husband) spends a lot of time swanning about his yacht drunk. (more…)