ACCESS HOLLYWOOD: IMDb

Captain Obvious here: IMDb is the greatest film directory on the internet.  For a film buff, it's the best thing that ever happened...other than film of course.

If you haven't lived under a rock for the last twenty years, you can skip this post.  If you've never heard of IMDb, or simply don't know how much it has to offer, try not to feel too ashamed and read on.

IMDb stands for Internet Movie Database.  Practically everything that's ever been put on film short of your home videos is organized and accounted for on this site.  They've got pages for movies, actors, directors, composers, editors, production designers, cinematographers, casting directors, screenwriters--it's exhausting just talking about it--and they're all interlinked!  You want to know what year Ben Hur was made in?  Type it in and it will not only tell you when it was made, it will tell you when it was released, who was in it, who directed it, cast it, scored it, shot it--you name it its there.  Then there are fun bonuses like a list of awards it was nominated for/won, trivia facts about the movie or the making of the movie, and so much more.

The main page will fill you in on box office results, actors birthdays, trivia, quote's of the day, Best Of lists, breaking entertainment news, and a whole bunch of other goodies.

I can't stress enough how important a tool this website is for an aspiring film snob.  It's the lifeblood of all film information.

Use it.

www.imdb.com

SPOTLIGHT: Wes Anderson

It's not all about the old films.

The art form is alive and well, I assure you.

This week's spotlight is on a current, young, exciting director/writer: Wes Anderson.

Wes Anderson is one of the best things going. His eye for detail and consistency of style aside, his movies have real heart.  Like most great artists, his films share certain themes, and like most great directors, he has no qualms about stabbing at the same subjects in an effort to find new meanings and insights in them.  This is a quality he shares with Martin Scorsese, Woody Allen, Francois Truffaut, and many others.  His career has been relatively short, yielding only seven films to date, but I can say with complete confidence that I have fallen in love with every one of them. 

I would suggest starting with The Royal Tenenbaums (check out its IMDB page here).

The Royal Tenenbaums is easily Anderson's most recognizable film.  It's frequently played on television, people dress up as Luke Wilson's character for Halloween, it's got an ensemble A-list cast, and it earned an Oscar nomination for writing.  This film really showcases Anderson's dollhouse-like set design, unique and instantly recognizable directing style, and a familiar estranged family theme.

It's also one of the most simultaneously funny and heartbreaking films you'll see.

I'd suggest other films by name, but like I said, he only has seven and they're all spectacular.  The only one that might be difficult to appreciate is his first film, Bottle Rocket.  I'd save that one for last. It's not that it's a bad film--far from it.  It's just not his best.

Check out his page on IMDB, then Netflix the hell out of his discography (mail service only.)