Pure gravy.

After a decade of wanting to, I finally saw Le Feu Follet (1963), which is the best portrait of restless youth I’ve seen since the fish rumbled. I’ve wanted to see this film for so long that it was almost a defeat when Criterion released it… in that I didn’t get to find it after such a ferocious hunt; it was just basically given to me for the low price of somewhere between 20 and 40 bones.  Notwithstanding, thank you very much Criterion, who years ago I wrote and requested put out several films, among them: Le Samourai, Blow Out, Shoot the Piano Player, and Le Feu Follet - all of which have since been released, thank you again Criterion… and while we’re thanking them, thanks again for the upcoming releases Harold and Maude, Up All Night with Robert Downey Sr, and Being John Malkatrez.  But enough waxing the Criterion canon, back to the hunt: I looked at every video store in Southwestern Ontario, you name it – Suspect, Queen, Bonanza, Flixx – everywhere.  Kim’s in New York didn’t even have it, I called.  It was a bitch to find, like California Split before the dvd… then Criterion blew up and could acquire damn near the entire Louis Malle collection.  And so I finally watched it, why it took me two years to watch it, well, it was a matter of mood, and too much shit to do in the last few years.  I’m glad I waited though because it paid off like gangbusters.  The tale of a man with a “misspent” youth, revisiting old companions in Paris.  Oozing with melancholy and the post-party doldrums, Maurice Ronet nails this ghostlike role of a leathered rogue.  I needed a kick in the teeth, and it shattered the clackers.  Alain Leroy, put him up there with the Motorcycle Boy.  He reigned.

There is a full page article in The Londoner this week on the topic of rakehellrow productions, RoboBuddy, and Flixx TV. I did the interview with Chris Montanini last week.  Hopefully it will stir up some interest in RoboBuddy, and give the little guy some proverbial legs.  Thanks to everyone who has helped out this far: City Centre Storage, APK Live, Marc Gammal, Nish Jajal, Dave Hietalahti, Trevor McLeod, Dwayne Lachance, Eric Mayr, Shannon Laing, Mark Potter, Martin Rae, Edward Platero, RedCat Film, Drez Peregrina, Warren Stanley, James McLeod, and Amy Rutter.  Your help is super radical, which is always appreciated.

The great Garrett Dillahunt just posted these pics from his visit to the set of Django Unchained today.  He mentioned it looked familiar, and then went on to say that “it will always be Deadwood to him”.  Which I assume means that QT is modifying the DEADWOOD grounds to film part of DJANGO.  AMAZING.

Powell and Pressburger’s The Red Shoes can be seen in decent quality on YouTube now!  My friend Josh just posted this on facebook, never thought to YouTube it before, but I’m glad to have found it after years and years of wanting to see this flick:

Prepare to have your mind blown…. maybe melted.  Hot bananas, the Lips are just chock-full of fun and surprises these days.  I don’t think a band has ever aged so gracefully… here they are with Nels Cline, guitar-maestro, who tears shit up in this epic take on The Beatles’ “She’s So Heavy”. Dose ‘em if you got ‘em.

Here’s another great video detailing the FX in Boardwalk Empire, this time from season 2 – we posted the video for the FX of season 1 on the blog last year. Absolutely loved Boardwalk season 2 – look forward to season 3 more than any other show’s next season.

TRAILER IS COMING SOON!!!! To hold the fiends off for now, here’s a pic of Dave in action from RoboBuddy. As you can tell from the photo, he is not to be messed with. If you’re interested in being part of the production, check out our campaign over on IndieGoGo. Thanks! Stay tuned!!

Cool film coming out on film vs. digital, featuring directors such as Martin Scorsese, David Lynch, and Steven Soderbergh. Side By Side trailer:

It has been five years since Wes Anderson’s last live-action feature film, The Darjeeling Limited -- a long wait for his fans, though Mr. Fox was indeed fantastic and a great addition to the Anderson catalogue, but as much as I loved it, I love him doing live action films even more. Wes’ latest, Moonrise Kingdom, features Bill Murray, Edward Norton, Frances McDormand, Tilda Swinton, Bruce Willis, Harvey Keitel, Jason Schwartzman, and is about a boy and a girl who run away together and the townspeople who go looking for them. The film was written by Wes and Roman Coppola (who also helped pen Darjeeling, and did 2nd Unit Camera work on Life Aquatic).

The first official trailer was released today and it’s awesome -- check it out, looks like an epic children’s adventure in pure Wes fashion: