Chicago – Ben Stiller plays Walter Mitty: a man whose constant daydreams about life are interrupted by a series of real-life adventures that may or may not help him find love and save his job. This is a sweet-tempered and often visually spectacular film. It has the guts to be really weird at times as well. The end result? The film is entertaining, but it’s just too scattered to really imprint on the average viewer. That’s too bad because Ben Stiller distinguishes himself here in way that real cineastes will appreciate.
Rating: 5.0/5.0
This is one of those films that offers impeccable composition but it’s less the kind of composition that should be freeze framed. It’s more the kind that is appreciated in moving images. It’s kind of like life itself. In fact, the implication is that life itself is better than cinema or daydreams. If the...
Rating: 5.0/5.0
This is one of those films that offers impeccable composition but it’s less the kind of composition that should be freeze framed. It’s more the kind that is appreciated in moving images. It’s kind of like life itself. In fact, the implication is that life itself is better than cinema or daydreams. If the...
- 4/28/2014
- by adam@hollywoodchicago.com (Adam Fendelman)
- HollywoodChicago.com
The Secret Life of Walter Mitty is beautiful … and quite forgettable. That's what you get from directors who grew up watching MTV
Aside from flicking over it while staying in generously cabled hotel rooms, I don't think I've ever actually watched MTV. I say this not with pride and not with shame, but as a simple point of fact: it's not a channel I've consciously given time to.
And yet, while the station can't count me in its audience stats, I have, of course, been consuming its products my whole life.
I was born in 1980; MTV was launched the year after. Initially the network was focused on round-the-clock music videos; soon after content became tailored to a more general celebration of "youth". (For good, for bad, the network is credited with popularising the reality TV genre via its commissioning of The Real World in 1992).
All kinds of "social ills" have...
Aside from flicking over it while staying in generously cabled hotel rooms, I don't think I've ever actually watched MTV. I say this not with pride and not with shame, but as a simple point of fact: it's not a channel I've consciously given time to.
And yet, while the station can't count me in its audience stats, I have, of course, been consuming its products my whole life.
I was born in 1980; MTV was launched the year after. Initially the network was focused on round-the-clock music videos; soon after content became tailored to a more general celebration of "youth". (For good, for bad, the network is credited with popularising the reality TV genre via its commissioning of The Real World in 1992).
All kinds of "social ills" have...
- 1/6/2014
- by Lauren Rosewarne
- The Guardian - Film News
A cheery, airy fairy tale filled with a very modern ache and buoyed by an infectious joy. I love this movie. I’m “biast” (pro): like Stiller as a filmmaker; the trailer thrilled me
I’m “biast” (con): nothing
I have not read the source material
(what is this about? see my critic’s minifesto)
The first thing I had to do after laughing through, weeping over, and reveling in The Secret Life of Walter Mitty is grab two amazing songs off the soundtrack to listen to over and over again, to recapture the walking-on-air feeling the movie left me with. Those songs are “Step Out” by Swedish folk-pop singer José González and “Dirty Paws” by indie Icelandic band Of Monsters and Men. Everybody sings in English, and both songs are available on iTunes, and you need them, too, even if you’ve only heard these songs in the trailers for the film,...
I’m “biast” (con): nothing
I have not read the source material
(what is this about? see my critic’s minifesto)
The first thing I had to do after laughing through, weeping over, and reveling in The Secret Life of Walter Mitty is grab two amazing songs off the soundtrack to listen to over and over again, to recapture the walking-on-air feeling the movie left me with. Those songs are “Step Out” by Swedish folk-pop singer José González and “Dirty Paws” by indie Icelandic band Of Monsters and Men. Everybody sings in English, and both songs are available on iTunes, and you need them, too, even if you’ve only heard these songs in the trailers for the film,...
- 12/23/2013
- by MaryAnn Johanson
- www.flickfilosopher.com
The longlist for the Best Song category in the Oscars has been announced – so what should make the cut?
The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences has announced the longlist of songs for its Best Original Song Oscar in 2014, ahead of the nominations for the shortlist on January 14.
The list features 75 songs written for movies over the last year, with artists including Taylor Swift, Beyoncé, U2, Coldplay, Kings Of Leon, Karen O of the Yeah Yeah Yeahs and M83 all making the grade. Pharrell is included for his hit Happy, currently in the top 5 of the UK charts, which appears in Despicable Me 2, and other animated films make up a large proportion of those selected: Epic, Turbo, The Croods, Planes, Escape From Planet Earth and Monsters University all also get a mention.
The Great Gatsby, with its bold and incongruous soundtrack of modern musicians, gets five mentions for songs by Jay Z,...
The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences has announced the longlist of songs for its Best Original Song Oscar in 2014, ahead of the nominations for the shortlist on January 14.
The list features 75 songs written for movies over the last year, with artists including Taylor Swift, Beyoncé, U2, Coldplay, Kings Of Leon, Karen O of the Yeah Yeah Yeahs and M83 all making the grade. Pharrell is included for his hit Happy, currently in the top 5 of the UK charts, which appears in Despicable Me 2, and other animated films make up a large proportion of those selected: Epic, Turbo, The Croods, Planes, Escape From Planet Earth and Monsters University all also get a mention.
The Great Gatsby, with its bold and incongruous soundtrack of modern musicians, gets five mentions for songs by Jay Z,...
- 12/17/2013
- by Ben Beaumont-Thomas
- The Guardian - Film News
Ben Stiller confuses reality with fantasy as much as his protagonist in this cool, airless take on James Thurber's short story
Ben Stiller's new film, The Secret Life of Walter Mitty, which he both directed and stars in, is handsome to look at, sometimes funny, and just a little weird. The funny bits all come early, courtesy of James Thurber's original short story, whose comic conceit still chugs along as reliably as a Mini Coupe after all these years. Thurber takes only two-and-a-half pages for Mitty to imagine himself out-flying a storm, performing life-saving surgery, and bombing German ammunition dumps, all the while making it only as far as his local supermarket to buy puppy biscuits — an image of a dreamer softly defeated. The story has always represented something of a false Grail for Hollywood, where they love the sound of all that dreaming, but are less...
Ben Stiller's new film, The Secret Life of Walter Mitty, which he both directed and stars in, is handsome to look at, sometimes funny, and just a little weird. The funny bits all come early, courtesy of James Thurber's original short story, whose comic conceit still chugs along as reliably as a Mini Coupe after all these years. Thurber takes only two-and-a-half pages for Mitty to imagine himself out-flying a storm, performing life-saving surgery, and bombing German ammunition dumps, all the while making it only as far as his local supermarket to buy puppy biscuits — an image of a dreamer softly defeated. The story has always represented something of a false Grail for Hollywood, where they love the sound of all that dreaming, but are less...
- 10/16/2013
- by Tom Shone
- The Guardian - Film News
5) The Flaming Lips & Bon Iver “Ashes In The Air”
Kicking off this week’s 5 Best Music Videos Of The Week is the latest from both The Flaming Lips and Bon Iver. This collaboration caused quite a stir and the video created an even bigger outrage. The pairing of The Flaming Lips and Bon Iver on paper sounds really cool and promising but in reality the outcome is a bit too weird and disappointing. The video follows the adventures of an astronaut which feature splattered brains and half-nude figures. This is probably the strangest thing the Lips have placed their name against in a decade.
4) Tyler, The Creator “Ifhy”
Directed by Wolf Haley
Technically, this was released last week but I couldn’t find a spot for it so it gets a mention this week. This is the second single off “Wolf” and even weirder and better than the first. I...
Kicking off this week’s 5 Best Music Videos Of The Week is the latest from both The Flaming Lips and Bon Iver. This collaboration caused quite a stir and the video created an even bigger outrage. The pairing of The Flaming Lips and Bon Iver on paper sounds really cool and promising but in reality the outcome is a bit too weird and disappointing. The video follows the adventures of an astronaut which feature splattered brains and half-nude figures. This is probably the strangest thing the Lips have placed their name against in a decade.
4) Tyler, The Creator “Ifhy”
Directed by Wolf Haley
Technically, this was released last week but I couldn’t find a spot for it so it gets a mention this week. This is the second single off “Wolf” and even weirder and better than the first. I...
- 4/7/2013
- by Tara Costello
- SoundOnSight
The following is a list of all comic books, graphic novels and special items that will be available this week and shipped to comic book stores who have placed orders for them.
007 Magazine And Archive
007 Magazine #55, $18.00
215 Ink
Little Heroes Gn, $10.99
Aam Markosia
Ketsueki Gn, $15.99
Toybox Turmoil Gn, $15.99
AC Comics
Femforce #161, $9.95
Aladdin Books
So You Want To Be A Comic Book Artist Ultimate Guide On How To Break Into Comics Hc (not verified by Diamond), $16.99
So You Want To Be A Comic Book Artist The Ultimate Guide On How To Break Into Comics Sc, $9.99
Archaia Entertainment
Return Of The Dapper Men Hc (Special Edition), $29.95
Archie Comics
Betty And Veronica Double Digest #205, $3.99
Knuckles The Echidna Archives Volume 3 Tp, $9.99
Mega Man #17 (Chad Thomas Regular Cover), $2.99
Mega Man #17 (Chad Thomas Variant Cover), $2.99
Avatar Press
Crossed Badlands #13 (Jacen Burrows Regular Cover), $3.99
Crossed Badlands #13 (Jacen Burrows Red Crossed Incentive Cover), Ar
Crossed Badlands #13 (Oscar Jimenez Torture...
007 Magazine And Archive
007 Magazine #55, $18.00
215 Ink
Little Heroes Gn, $10.99
Aam Markosia
Ketsueki Gn, $15.99
Toybox Turmoil Gn, $15.99
AC Comics
Femforce #161, $9.95
Aladdin Books
So You Want To Be A Comic Book Artist Ultimate Guide On How To Break Into Comics Hc (not verified by Diamond), $16.99
So You Want To Be A Comic Book Artist The Ultimate Guide On How To Break Into Comics Sc, $9.99
Archaia Entertainment
Return Of The Dapper Men Hc (Special Edition), $29.95
Archie Comics
Betty And Veronica Double Digest #205, $3.99
Knuckles The Echidna Archives Volume 3 Tp, $9.99
Mega Man #17 (Chad Thomas Regular Cover), $2.99
Mega Man #17 (Chad Thomas Variant Cover), $2.99
Avatar Press
Crossed Badlands #13 (Jacen Burrows Regular Cover), $3.99
Crossed Badlands #13 (Jacen Burrows Red Crossed Incentive Cover), Ar
Crossed Badlands #13 (Oscar Jimenez Torture...
- 9/8/2012
- by Adam B.
- GeekRest
As many iTunes lovers and Youtube fanatics understand, music (old and new) has become a huge factor on hit television shows and both the show and artists featured benefit from the collaboration. Ever YouTube a certain scene from your favorite show for hours on end? Did it have a catchy song that you immediately downloaded? Yes, the odds are that you have.
| Related: Best TV Soundtracks: The O.C. |
| Related: Best TV Soundtracks: One Tree Hill |
Television show soundtracks are an obsession over here and the music played make that specific scene that much more memorable. This is very much the case when it comes to Friday Night Lights. It all began when Tony Lucca helped introduce Dillon, Texas with his "Devil Town" hit. Along the way scenes like Landry kissing Tyra with The Avett Brothers' "If It's the Beaches" playing in the background made you want to become a Panther yourself.
| Related: Best TV Soundtracks: The O.C. |
| Related: Best TV Soundtracks: One Tree Hill |
Television show soundtracks are an obsession over here and the music played make that specific scene that much more memorable. This is very much the case when it comes to Friday Night Lights. It all began when Tony Lucca helped introduce Dillon, Texas with his "Devil Town" hit. Along the way scenes like Landry kissing Tyra with The Avett Brothers' "If It's the Beaches" playing in the background made you want to become a Panther yourself.
- 8/30/2012
- by Stephanie Webber
- TVology
The prolific cellist, composer, singer, and musician Arthur Russell defied musical classification, and two decades after his death his music still resonates with listeners across the musical spectrum. "Freak folk" singer Devendra Banhart is a fan, as is contemporary classical composer Nico Muhly, who referred to Russell as “the first modern musician.” Russell, who made his home in the East Village of New York in the 1970s until his death from AIDS in 1992, touched the lives of some of our most beloved artists, including Allen Ginsberg, Philip Glass, and David Byrne.
To celebrate Russell’s life and legacy, the popular production company Red Hot (in conjunction with Pitchfork), has been raising funds to produce an Arthur Russell tribute album. Rounding up famed musicians such as Twin Shadow, José González, Hot Chip, the Swedish dance chanteuse Robyn and the Scissor Sisters to reinterpret Russell’s songs, the album promises to be...
To celebrate Russell’s life and legacy, the popular production company Red Hot (in conjunction with Pitchfork), has been raising funds to produce an Arthur Russell tribute album. Rounding up famed musicians such as Twin Shadow, José González, Hot Chip, the Swedish dance chanteuse Robyn and the Scissor Sisters to reinterpret Russell’s songs, the album promises to be...
- 8/15/2012
- by The Huffington Post
- Huffington Post
Robyn, Cut Copy, Hot Chip, Dan Boeckner, Scissor Sisters, Devendra Banhart and other indie stars have lined up to contribute Arthur Russell covers to a new Red Hot Organization compilation. The AIDS non-profit Red Hot will drop "This Is How We Walk On The Moon" after a Kickstarter run to raise funds and support for the album. Okkervil River’s Will Sheff, Nico Muhly, Owen Pallett, Twin Shadow, Washed Out, Laurel Halo, Javelin, Sam Amidon, Ólöf Arnalds, José González, Sandro Perri, Thao with the Get Down Stay Down and other artists are also among the contributors. In conjunction with Pitchfork, Red Hot...
- 8/9/2012
- by Katie Hasty
- Hitfix
Looks like they're back on - in a really big way. Nearly two months after news broke that Sofia Vergara and Nick Loeb were splitting up, the couple are engaged, a source tells People. Loeb accompanied the actress to Mexico, where she celebrated her 40th birthday with a weekend of festivities at the Rosewood Mayakoba spa resort in the Riviera Maya. According to the the source, Loeb popped the question while the group was visiting the Mayan archeological ruins of Chichen Itza. On Monday, a Vergara pal posted a photo on Twitter of the actress wearing a sparkler on her ring finger in Mexico.
- 7/10/2012
- by Dahvi Shira and Carlos Greer
- PEOPLE.com
In case you missed it, we resurrected our old Videodrome column a few weeks back: our semi-regular showcase for the best music videos around. Since the form has given the world game-changing helmers in both the blockbuster and arthouse worlds, it's always important to keep an eye on promos, and indeed, one could argue that there's more invention to be found in the short-form than there is in features. So, with no further ado, the five best music videos we've seen in the last few weeks. As ever, any tips and suggestions are more than welcome.
Benga - "I Will Never Change" (dir. Us)
Coming from un-Googleable collective Us (aka Christopher Barrett and Luke Taylor), who won Best New Directors at last year's UK Music Video Awards, their promo for dubstep star Benga is barely a music video. In fact, technically, it's not -- it's a teaser clip for the musician's latest record,...
Benga - "I Will Never Change" (dir. Us)
Coming from un-Googleable collective Us (aka Christopher Barrett and Luke Taylor), who won Best New Directors at last year's UK Music Video Awards, their promo for dubstep star Benga is barely a music video. In fact, technically, it's not -- it's a teaser clip for the musician's latest record,...
- 4/12/2012
- by Oliver Lyttelton
- The Playlist
The U.S. version of the All Tomorrow's Parties festival is fully emphasizing their comedy programming with one major headliner this year: Louis C.K. The Atp event -- dubbed I'll Be Your Mirror USA 2012 in full -- features the legendary comedian sharing the marquee with newly reunited The Afghan Whigs, "Jimmy Fallon" house band and vet hip-hop troupe The Roots, reformed Dischord post-rockers The Make-Up, Jose Gonzalez and the Dirty Three. Atp USA, founded in 2008, returns to Jersey City, N.J. for a second year, running over the weekend of Sept. 21-23. Pre-sale for weekend passes has already begun, while general onsale...
- 2/24/2012
- Hitfix
After a quick revamp thanks to Guided By Voices' cancellation, All Tomorrow's Parties' I’ll Be Your Mirror music festival has announced its revised 2012 lineup. Headlined by the reunited Afghan Whigs (whose frontman Greg Dulli is curating the festival), Louis C.K., and The Roots, the lineup boasts more than 35 acts. Other performers include Jose Gonzalez, the Mark Lanegan Band, Dirty Three, The Antlers, The Dirtbombs, The Make-Up, Hot Snakes, Scrawl, Sharon Van Etten, Emeralds, The Magic Band, Autolux, Vetiver, Quintron and Miss Pussycat, Thee Oh Sees, Factory Floor, Death Grips, Questlove, Charles Bradley And The Extraordinaires ...
- 2/24/2012
- avclub.com
Seems like the major labels will continue to mine the nostalgia angle with the hope that they can squeeze a few more ducats from aging music fans everywhere. Fine by me, if the music merits the "super-deluxe-never-before-heard-or-seen" treatment. And since I've been sucked into that black hole with the Dead, Stones, Rush, Hendrix, Jesus & Mary Chain, et al., I've missed some amazing music and culture this past year. No excuses now as I cram a full year's worth of culture down my gullet before Christmas. You can check out more of my favorite culture from 2011 in these Spring, Summer, and Fall articles.
Mia Doi Todd: Cosmic Ocean Ship (City Zen) - I was struck by her otherworldly vocals after copping her major label debut in 2002. Her ninth effort picks up where her critically acclaimed 2008 self-released effort Gea left off. And it's quite apparent that her time on the road opening...
Mia Doi Todd: Cosmic Ocean Ship (City Zen) - I was struck by her otherworldly vocals after copping her major label debut in 2002. Her ninth effort picks up where her critically acclaimed 2008 self-released effort Gea left off. And it's quite apparent that her time on the road opening...
- 12/25/2011
- by Dusty Wright
- www.culturecatch.com
For more than a decade, Norwegian singer-songwriter Thomas Dybdahl has been crafting wispy, folk-informed pop songs, relying heavily on arresting orchestrations and his own multi-octave whisper-to-an-angelic-croon vocals. Obvious touchstones for Dybdahl’s work include Nick Drake, Scott Walker, and both Buckleys, though he bears some similarities to José González as well, and to the wave of British and Scandinavian acts that emerged in the early ’00s, all committed to investing their records with a kind of dramatic, cinematic sweep. Dybdahl has yet to gain much of a foothold Stateside, but perhaps that’ll change with Songs, an artfully chosen ...
- 7/12/2011
- avclub.com
Red Hot Organization / David Andrako Mia Doi Todd performs at a Red Hot Organization party for “Red Hot + Rio 2″
The producers behind the Red Hot Organization have some kind of clout in the music industry.
In their more than 21 years of music-making, John Carlin, Paul Heck and Béco Dranoff have worked with a catalog of artists that even the prolific labels can’t rival — U2, Annie Lennox, David Byrne, Nirvana, the Beastie Boys, the National, Bon Iver and Beck, among many others.
The producers behind the Red Hot Organization have some kind of clout in the music industry.
In their more than 21 years of music-making, John Carlin, Paul Heck and Béco Dranoff have worked with a catalog of artists that even the prolific labels can’t rival — U2, Annie Lennox, David Byrne, Nirvana, the Beastie Boys, the National, Bon Iver and Beck, among many others.
- 6/29/2011
- by Nick Andersen
- Speakeasy/Wall Street Journal
It's pretty embarrassing that I live in New York City and haven't been to a Rooftop Films event yet, since their whole thing is showing awesome indie movies -- many of them New York premieres -- in awesome outdoor venues (in my defense, I'm incredibly lazy). I met the guys who founded and run Rooftop at South by Southwest this year, and they're smart, passionate, and cool. They even funnel one dollar from every ticket sold to Rooftop screenings to a grant they dispense to filmmakers they like in order to help them fund future projects (SXSW selection "The City Dark," for example, was made with Rooftop funds).
For their fifteenth summer film series, Rooftop's pulled out all the stops. Highlights include the NYC premieres of Fantastic Fest favorite "Sound of Noise" (with a live performance by the film's "musical terrorists" [!!!]) and "Bellflower," one of my favorite films of the year so far,...
For their fifteenth summer film series, Rooftop's pulled out all the stops. Highlights include the NYC premieres of Fantastic Fest favorite "Sound of Noise" (with a live performance by the film's "musical terrorists" [!!!]) and "Bellflower," one of my favorite films of the year so far,...
- 5/10/2011
- by Matt Singer
- ifc.com
Fans of singer-songwriter José González will recognize the basic approach of his band Junip. González’s trio features drums, organ, and an overall louder sound than González’s usual soft finger-picking and whispery vocals, but the song-structure isn’t that different from González’s solo albums; he’s still partial to textured sounds repeated in short loops. Five years after Junip’s rough debut Ep, Black Refuge, González has reconvened the boys for Fields, a more polished effort that fills out Junip’s sound, adding electronic enhancements and trippy trappings that sometimes push its sound ...
- 9/21/2010
- avclub.com
John Mayer. By Hannah Johnston/Getty Images.How much for a private island? Which M.B.A. program has the richest grads? Who sleeps where on Air Force One? When readers ask Vf.com questions, our experts are there to answer. For good old-fashioned guitar shredding that's loud enough to take the roof off Radio City Music Hall, look no further than Jim James of My Morning Jacket, who is faster on the frets than Neil Young but just as soulful in his approach. On the lighter side, Sweden's José González picks complex acoustic patterns while singing smart lyrics that make Mayer sound like 'NSync's bluesy third cousin. But of all the guitar gods busting eardrums out there, Jack White has the true Midas touch, whether he's playing with the White Stripes or the Raconteurs.
- 7/13/2010
- Vanity Fair
Singer-songwriter José González charmed us with his chilling, raspy voice on his 2008 album, In Our Nature. Now, González is re-teaming with his band, Junip, a group that originally formed over 10 years ago in Sweden. The band, made up of González (guitar, vocals), Elias Araya (drums) and Tobias Winterkorn (organ, moog), released a 7-inch in 2000. They also self-released an Ep titled Black Refuge in 2006. Though the trio has played together any time their schedules permitted, this year the three musicians are putting all their energy and focus into the band. They will release an Ep and a...
- 4/19/2010
- Pastemagazine.com
Indie singer songwriter Jose Gonzalez - don't let the name fool you, he's Swedish - has followed an unlikely path to become one of the darlings of the music scene. A sort of modern Nick Drake, Gonzalez was charting a career path as low key as his music until the day came that Sony decided to use one of his songs in a global ad campaign. And, boom, an international star was born. A painstaking, meticulous writer, Gonzalez takes his time between albums to make sure everything is exactly right and now Swedish documentary The Extraordinary Ordinary Life Of Jose Gonzalez offers an intimate look at his creative process.
With a combination of video diary, surveillance camera, concert and tour footage as well as animations the filmmakers Mikel Cee Karlsson and Fredrik Egerstrand have followed one of Sweden's most interesting artists José González. The film was shot over a three...
With a combination of video diary, surveillance camera, concert and tour footage as well as animations the filmmakers Mikel Cee Karlsson and Fredrik Egerstrand have followed one of Sweden's most interesting artists José González. The film was shot over a three...
- 4/12/2010
- Screen Anarchy
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