The renowned English children’s author, Roald Dahl, has had the majority of his novels and stories adapted from page to screen, resulting in Nicolas Roeg’s The Withes, Henry Selick’s James and the Giant Peach and Danny DeVito’s Matilda, as well as Tim Burton’s Charlie and the Chocolate Factory and the alternatively titled Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory, directed by Mel Stuart in 1971.

Dahl’s works have this distinctive air of offbeat whimsy and substance that haven’t quite been matched on screen by a filmmaker with the same posture and lifework characteristics as Wes Anderson – although Tim Burton would certainly qualify, as well, his film was a remake of Mel Stuart’s 1971 classic. With The Fantastic Mr. Fox, cult flag-bearer and Criterion wonder-boy Wes Anderson has adapted the story of a thievish family fox, his many talented friends, and his neighboring farmers who disapprove of their survival techniques, which involve stealing chickens from their farms.

Anderson made it big in 1996 and 1998, with arguably his best works, Bottle Rocket and Rushmore, where the director established his style of dark, dry humor mixed in with genuine emotion and sensationalized, yet relatable characters – often played by Wes Anderson mainstays Owen and Luke Wilson, Jason Schwartzman and Bill Murray. This culminated with The Royal Tenenbaums in 2001, which brought all of the director’s fashionable and identifiable idiosyncrasies into a comparatively big-budgeted, all-star production that put all other dysfunctional families to shame with its bleak, yet once again, relatable family portrait. Now, he brings his old family (Schwartzman, Wilson, Murray lend their voices) in with the new (George Clooney as Mr. Fox, Meryl Streep as Mrs. Fox) and ventures into the realm of stop-motion animation for the first time in his career.

Director Wes Anderson with the cast of "The Fantastic Mr. Fox."

Anderson signed on as director after the film rights were bought for Roald Dahl’s novel in 2004, but two years later, Henry Selick (the animation director at the time) had to leave the project to focus on his adaptation of Neil Gaiman’s “Coraline” – released earlier this year. Like any live-action Anderson film, The Fantastic Mr. Fox will not appear as traditional stop-motion animation, but since the majority of shooting was done in this tradition, it is classified as such. Voicework, hardly within the confines and comforts of a cozy studio, was recorded pretty much anywhere, according to Anderson. “Well, for this film we recorded all the voices on locations. We went out in a forest, we went in an attic, we went in a stable. We went underground for some things. There was a great spontaneity in the recordings because of that, I think.”**

The script, which was written by Anderson and Noah Baumbach (The Squid and the Whale, Margot at the Wedding) looks to have all of the deadpan witty bantering that Anderson fans have come to expect and marks the first time the two writer/directors have collaborated since 2004’s The Life Aquatic with Steve Zissou. The PG-animated film premiered at the London Film Festival on October 14th to warm reactions and begins its platform release on November 13th with a New York, Los Angeles debut.

**quote from RT article

Wes Anderson is one of my favorite current filmmakers, as his Rushmore is one of my 10 favorite films, but I do feel the quality of his work has dropped off since Owen Wilson separated himself from being his writing partner. However, with that being said, Anderson is still someone whose work I’ll forever look forward to and Fantastic Mr. Fox is no different.

The film is based on the Roald Dahl book of the same name, whom I loved growing up. It’s going to be a stop-motion animated film featuring the voices of George Clooney, Meryl Streep and frequent Anderson collaborator, Bill Murray.

The story revolves around Mr. Fox (Clooney), who steals chickens from three dastardly farmers to feed his family. The farmers join forces in attempt to capture Mr. Fox and kill him.

Anderson has dabbled in stop-motion animation before with The Life Aquatic with Steve Zissou. The movie is currently slated for November 13th.

Thanks to JoBlo, we have the first look at what Anderson’s Fantastic Mr. Fox will look like, below. What do you think?

Before Rachel Ray, Julia Child was the ultimate icon of cooking shows.  Many people knew her as an eccentric and animated TV show host that made great food, especially French cuisine.  Meryl Streep is another person who would be in Child’s popular arena, but for acting.  Since first making her film debut in Julia in 1977 (not about Child), she has racked up 15 Academy Award nominations and won two. (Supporting Actress, Kramer vs. Kramer; Actress, Sophie’s Choice)  Her last nomination was just last year for Doubt.  I’m going out on a limb here, but I think Streep will be nominated again. It won’t even matter if this movie sucks, Streep is shockingly amazing as Child and she should get her 16^th nomination overall.

"Can somebody top me off? I'm trying to get hammered here!"

Julie & Julia is not entirely a biopic about the cooking legend, but instead takes a different approach.  It focuses on Child, yes, but more specifically when she lived in Paris with her husband during the 1940s and 50s.  It also chronicles how she first got attached to cooking.  The other approach the movie takes is focusing on a character named Julie Powell during the present day.  Based on actual events, Powell decided to take a cookbook, written by Child, and baked all 524 recipes it featured in a year.  While cooking, she chronicled her experience on a blog called the “Julie/Julia Project.”  The blog became a hit and Powell landed a book deal to talk about her events.  She wrote “Julia and Julia:  365 Days, 524 recipes, 1 Tiny Apartment Kitchen” and it was published in 2005. This non-linear plot should be an interesting element, although a biopic about Child played by Streep does sound enticing.

Amy Adams (Junebug) co-stars, as Julie Powell, a cubicle employee who deals with insurance. She is envious of her friends because she can’t match the big-time success they are achieving in their careers.  Wanting to be their equal, she tells her husband Eric (Chris Messina, Ira and Abby) about writing a book.  Her idea is to bake every recipe from the Julia Child book, “Mastering the Art of French Cooking” and write a blog about it. Julia Child is living Paris with her husband Paul (Stanley Tucci, The Devil Wears Prada) while he’s working as a foreign diplomat and is later investigated for being a “so called” Communist during the McCarthy era. While bored in Paris, she decides to take cooking lessons at a French school.  She’s startlingly quick to learn and very skilled, often showing up the male cooks.  She later gets the inspiration to write a book, which is used by Julie. Julie and Julia’s lives are intertwined from different time eras and both hope to achieve goals to improve themselves.

"I hope none of you have seen 'Sweeney Todd.'"

Nora Ephron, who wrote and directed Julie & Julia, has done such work as Sleepless in Seattle and You’ve Got Mail. She actually adapted two books for the movie, “My Life In France” by Alex Prud’homme and Julia Powell’s book, “Julie & Julia.”

This one looks to be quite enjoyable and seems to avoid the cliché of the romantic comedy.  It will probably appeal to more of the female audience, but it still looks good.  Plus, Streep’s performance will be worth it.

Julie & Julia opens August 7^th.

Everybody makes snap judgments without knowing all the facts. How many of us formed an opinion on O.J. Simpson’s murder case while he was still speeding in his white Bronco? Only once have I had the good fortune to serve on a jury.  It was a prostitution case. The defendant had advertised herself on the internet and the police had enacted a sting operation to bring her down. Of course the cop didn’t fully commit to the act a la Jimmy McNulty in “The Wire.” The case lasted only a couple of hours, when after only sitting through half of the opening remarks, the charges were adjusted and then accepted. Afterward, I talked with another juror to see what he thought about what little we had heard. He and I had a completely opposing view of what our verdicts might have been. Although such things occur even after knowing the details, this was a case where we laid claim to an opinion knowing very little. The second-guessing that exists after making an accusation lies at the core of Doubt.

Taking place in the 1964 Bronx, the film opens on Father Brendan Flynn, sermonizing to his congregation. He is new to the parish and still in the midst of creating a reputation. He is of a new generation. One that wants to bring change to the church’s rigid ways and invite people to take part of the celebration, rather then kept in the cold isolation of condemnation. Sister Aloysius Beauvier, is of the old-school. She is by far the most senior resident at St. Nicholas, or at least the most discerning. She is much less interested in hearing what the new priest has to say and is more hell-bent on disciplining children, who aren’t paying attention to the sermon themselves. Although the two characters have no interaction in this scene, the dichotomy between them is established for the duration.

Finding herself caught between the two battling ideologies is Sister James. She is young, and most likely just out of seminary school. She is cut from a more similar cloth to Father Flynn, although she is ripe to be molded by either of the domineering personalities above her. Her classroom is not made up of screw-offs, but they get away with mischief. It’s when Sister Beauvier storms into Sister James’ classroom where the kids are truly disciplined. Sister Beauvier appears to have distain for her fellow Sister, as she tries to impose her will on her. It’s when Sister James becomes suspicious of Father Flynn, where she has no choice to but bring it to Sister Beauvier and the two join forces.

These suspicions involve Donald Miller, the only black child in school, who has taken a liking to Father Flynn, as he does likewise. He is encouraged by Father Flynn and aspires to be a priest, just like his idol. One day, he is called to Father Flynn’s office and returns to class, resting his head in shame. Sister James claims she smelled alcohol on his breath and suspects something unruly had taken place. Father Flynn is naturally adamant about his innocence and Sister Beauvier is insistent about his guilt. The totality of the film is devoted to the tug-of-war between two larger-than-life personalities in an attempt to unveil the truth.

Movies based on plays sometimes don’t use all of the resources available to them. Doubt, written and directed by John Patrick Shanley (Joe vs. the Volcano), doesn’t entirely elude this notion as there are some very long scenes. He does his best to spice it up with canted angles and some overheard shots, but it’s with the cinematography and art direction where the film excels visually. The brilliant green of Father Flynn’s priest wardrobe captured my attention far easier than any sermon I’ve sat through on a Sunday morning.  The look of the film elevates it from good dialogue-driven stage material to a rich cinematic experience.

Phillip Seymour Hoffman’s Father Flynn is a man in a position of trust. When that trust is accused of being broken, he does what he can to restore it, but you have a feeling he could do a little more to prove his innocence. Going toe-to-toe with Meryl Streep’s Sister Beauvier is a real treat, as we get to see these two acting powerhouses try to convince the other as well as the viewer of their point of view. Stuck in the middle like Monie is Amy Adams’ Sister James. She plays the part of the neutral observer in the film and the character viewers will most closely identify with. Adams has made the flighty ditz a trademark with Junebug and Enchanted, but it’s less of a clueless act in Doubt than it is one not yet shaped by worldly experiences.

There are a few points in the film where the dialogue is frustrating. Characters don’t say exactly what they’re talking about. Accusations aren’t direct, nor are their deflections. Even the accusation of whatever did or did not occur between Father Flynn and Donald Miller is not completely spelled out. This is all by design, however, for if you do not know what the accusation is, how can you deny it? If you do not know exactly what you’re accusing someone of, how can you condemn it? The issue of “doubt” is spread around to where the viewer may have to re-think their own conclusion.

Superbly acted and well-translated from the stage, I have a feeling that even with big-name stars, Doubt will fly under the radars of most movie-goers in this crowded Holiday season. I hope after reading this review you’ll doubt the decision to do so. It may even change your mind on making snap decisions through purely circumstantial evidence. Maybe that girl really wasn’t prostituting herself.