Marie Antoinette: The World's First "Celebutant"

'Marie Antoinette', the new Sofia Coppola film opens today and in my opinion, officially kicks off the Fall movie season. I mean, you wouldn't expect her to have a movie open in May, would you?

It seems the older (and wiser?) I get, the longer in the year I have to wait for movies that really appeal to me on more than a superficial level. Although there were a couple (like two) gems this year, '06 has more or less been a drag (on that note, there was a screening of 'Hedwig' at the ENZIAN this summer).

Now is this the result of the evolution of the filmmaking process? The one where tighter production schedules, monster marketing budgets, and focus groups have taken hold, pushing artistry and experimentation to the bottom of the list?

I have a theory that Kubrick didn't actually die because of natural causes, but that he just decided to stop breathing when he realized the days of forty takes and a two year edit session were a thing of the past.

Well, here's to what will hopefully be an award winning Fall movie season. Let's hear what you thought about 'Marie Antoinette' and maybe offer some insights into where movies are headed in the forseeable future.

The Departed - Scorsese's Return to the Street

(Consider this the first post of phase II of 'The Great Director Debate'.)

It's that time again. Marty has another offering for us on Friday, and to me, Christmas comes early this year. As he gets older, I appreciate even more the movies he creates and I wonder how many more he's got in him.

Let's take a survey on how many of you are looking forward to 'The Departed', and maybe voice your opinion on his work over the last 5-10 years.

What's the soundtrack going to be like? How many Stones songs will there be? Will there be V. O.? Freeze frames? Intense graphic violence? If you've already seen it, don't answer. This is strictly speculation. In a week or two, we'll come back and see if our predictions were on, or way off.