Politics can be a mean game no matter how big or small the arena. Take Netflix’s The Politician from Ryan Murphy, who dramatizes the lengths of which a very ambitious high school student (Ben Platt) goes through to run a perfect campaign to become president of the Associated Student Body. Of course, since this is a project from the man who has given us Glee, American Horror Story, and so much more, much of what we will see from the dark comedy will take place in a heightened sense of reality.

However, because we know how ruthless politics can be, there is a certain degree of believability. Check out the trailer here below.

Isle Of Dogs
Director: Wes Anderson
Screenwriter: Wes Anderson
Cast: Bryan Cranston, Edward Norton, Bill Murray, Jeff Goldblum, Kunichi Nomura, Ken Watanabe, Greta Gerwig, Frances McDormand, Courtney B. Vance, Fisher Stevens, Nijiro Murakami, Harvey Keitel, Koyu Rankin, Liev Schreiber, Bob Balaban, Scarlett Johansson, Tilda Swinton, Akira Ito, Akira Takayama, F. Murray Abraham, Yojiro Noda, Mari Natsukim, Yoko Ono, Frank Wood
Distributor: Fox Searchlight
Rated PG-13 | 101 Minutes
Release Date: March 23, 2018 (Limited); April 6, 2018 (Wide)

There is plenty of visually pleasing aesthetics to look at when seeing a film like Wes Anderson‘s Isle Of Dogs. The director’s latest stop-motion animation effort has all of his signature symmetrical, camera-panning style and deadpan humor. It also happens to be one of Anderson’s most politically charged films by addressing some very serious themes that affect us today. Unfortunately, none of that takes away from the fact that there is some appropriation going on, with the added white savior factor, and that the Japanese characters are playing supporting roles in a film set entirely in Japan.

Therein lies one of the greatest problems of this film. How much of it is Anderson paying homage to a culture by using the beautiful aesthetics and Akira Kurosawa inspirations, and how much of it is his signature being written over a culture? It’s the paradox that just keeps on giving. Check out my full review here below.

Stop-motion animation is a very taxing medium, but the pay off can be glorious if it is well-executed. Wes Anderson, the filmmaker known for quirky out of the box filmmaking, returns to stop-motion with Isle of Dogs. In the film, dogs are supposedly carriers of a disease and are all banished to a garbage dump known as Trash Island.

Now we are getting a closer look at how this film came to be from those who voice the characters in a newly released cast interviews featurette. The only thing is the cast is not speaking through their respective human forms, but through their cuddly canine characters. Quite a fun way to push a movie and get everyone interested. Check it out below.

Wes Anderson films are anything but conventional. He has a visual sense composed of flat cameras, snappy zooms, symmetrical compositions, hand-made art, and miniature feels, that give the film’s setting a sense of uniqueness. On top of that, he has a quirky and yet hypnotic soundtrack that often utilizes pop songs of the ’60s and ’70s. Then there is the dysfunctional family that takes center stage of the storytelling. And while all of that plays a huge role in his live-action films, Anderson has also dipped his hand into stop-motion animation. An animation medium where his skills can be put to good uses because of its use of practical hand made set pieces.

Which takes us to Isle of Dogs, Anderson’s latest directorial effort that uses stop-motion animation. And just wait until you hear who has lent their talents for the film. Check out the cast and trailer below.

Parents (Vestron Video Collector’s Series)
Blu-ray
Director: Bob Balaban
Screenwriter: Christopher Hawthorne
Cast: Randy Quaid, Mary Beth Hurt, Bryan Madorsky, Sandy Dennis
Distributor: Lionsgate
Rated R | 81 Minutes
Release Date: January 31, 2017

Directed by Bob Balaban (My Boyfriend’s Back), 1989’s Parents is a comedy about cannibalism against the backdrop of ’50s suburban America. Randy Quaid and Mary Beth Hurt star as Nick and Lily Laemle who, along with their 10-year-old son Michael (Bryan Madorsky), chase the American Dream to a shiny new tract house in a quaint Massachusetts neighborhood.