SpoutBlog is sitting out this year’s San Diego Comic-Con International, but that doesn’t mean we’re not paying attention to the geek mecca from afar. In a way, we get to have a more sane perspective without all the screaming and crowdedness (between Twilight and Johnny Depp, it’s apparently madness). Plus, we’re checking out all of the direct coverage, and I do believe we’re getting a more comprehensive experience this way.
I’ve selected some of my favorite coverage from the last 24 hours so that you may share in the appreciation as a fellow outsider (or maybe you’re there and want to see what others have seen/heard). Check out all the best comments, videos and links after the jump:
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The first trailer for Rob Marshall’s film adaptation of Nine has arrived online, and I think as of this writing it’s already received 13 Oscar nominations. Yes, that is the trailer, not the movie. I think we have to wait until November to find out if the actual film is any good, but it’s probable that it too will be nominated for at least as many as Chicago, if not also as many as 8 ½. If it wins as many as both those films put together, that’s only 8, though, and it would be far more appropriate that it be awarded 9 Academy Awards. One thing is for certain: it unfortunately will not win everything it’s up for, because only one of the five actresses from the film nominated for Best Supporting Actress will be allowed to win. Wait, no, I do believe there’s a chance of a five-way tie. Otherwise, I’m hereby predicting Dame Judi Dench gets the trophy for sporting Catherine Zeta-Jones‘ Oscar-winning bob (only grayer).
I must admit that at first I thought I was watching a music video for Daft Punk’s “Aerodynamic.” I know, the tone of the bell chimes isn’t the same, but it’s close. After that, though, I was in heaven. Who knew that remaking Fellini as a Fosse-like production could be so gorgeous? And, sure, I mostly mean the women — even Nicole Kidman looks beautiful again — but I also mean everything else. Of course, all I really remember is Penelope Cruz’s legs, Kate Hudson’s shake, Marion Cotillard’s neck and, sure, even Fergie’s cleavage. Could this be the movie that gets straight men (besides me) to go see a musical?
Other bloggers’ responses after the jump:
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I’ve been following Electroma out of the corner of my eye for awhile. It’s the first feature film written and directed by Guy-Manuel De Homem-Christo and Thomas Bangalter, who are better known as the French techno duo Daft Punk, although there are no Daft Punk compositions on the soundtrack. Bangalter has described Electroma as “experimental and inaccessible; however, it’s a movie that does not require your brain to function.” It screened at Cannes, where it earned possibly the most condescending Variety review I have ever read, wherein Leslie Felperin sniped at the film’s “risible” plot and total lack of dialogue, and lobbed pejorative comparisons to Gus Van Sant’s Gerry and Vincent Gallo’s The Brown Bunny – which are two films that I absolutely adore — although she eventually concedes that one shot of a burning robot (is that a spoiler?) is pretty off the chain.
And as more reviews roll in, the news seems to be getting better and better. This one, from Seattle’s The Stranger (which comes to us via BuzzFeed) says Electroma is “pretty” and “sad” and that, in terms of emotional arc, “is a huge downer, like Brokeback Mountain for robots.” That review is rife with details on the “roughly three things” that form the movie’s plot, so don’t click through if you’re sensitive about that sort of thing.
Unfortunately, it looks like Electroma will be going straight-to-video here in US–right now, it’s scheduled to be released by Vice Records in September. I’m trying to get my hands on a copy, and as soon as I do, you’ll be the first to know.
