When the director of Where the Wild Things Are, Being John Malkovich and Adaptation makes prettymuch anything, it makes people sit up and take notice. When he does something with Stephen Colbert, it makes people stand up and pay rapt attention. When he does something with Stephen Colbert and Grover from Sesame Street, it’s really anyone’s guess how people …
It turns out Oscar-Winning director and screenwriter Spike Jonze (Her) has an extensive catalogue of commercials. Take, for instance, his charming 2002 Ikea commercial, which melancholically chronicles the throwing away of an old lamp and serves as a testament to the filmmaker’s ability to – with just the right shots, lighting and score – manipulate …
The entwined subjects of time passing and landscapes changing have always been synonymous with the work of Chinese director Jia Zhang-ke; his latest feature, Mountains May Depart, expands these ideas to a point that exists beyond any previously established horizon. The film may well be Jia’s most ambitious to date, in this respect: it spans three decades …
Back when Greek auteur Yorgos Lanthimos first clambered barefaced upon the international stage with his daring Dogtooth, quite a few hastened to mention its striking resemblance to Arturo Ripstein’s similarly self-contained The Castle of Purity, made some 35 years earlier. In the wake of his first English-language effort The Lobster, one might even go further and compare all that Lanthimos has done thus far to Ripstein’s film: the …
Whilst the development of technology continues at such a rapid pace, the brightest and most talented innovators amongst us persist in creating new and exciting technologies for us all to enjoy and benefit from. And it’s the media industry that often benefits so greatly from these new devices and modernisms. For television and movie productions, …
With it being October, our site will be featuring lots of great writing on the Horror genre. This month doesn’t just bring the scares for me though, it also brings the postseason playoffs for my favorite sport: Baseball. While I won’t have as much on the line this year as my Braves played a sub-.500 …
Full disclosure: I’m not completely well acquainted with the work of Kanye West, save for half a dozen songs and his very public persona. His egoism almost seems to speak for itself, but there a moments where even I, as someone who rarely listens to rap, understand that there’s more to him than meets the …
As you can probably tell, this list feels more arbitrary than others. That’s not by design, but the unfortunate premise of the list leaves some room for interpretation. As we move forward, we will start seeing the films that, if you asked a lay person to give an example, would probably be a response. In …
Just over a week ago, OK GO premiered the video for their new single “The Writing’s on the Wall”. Appropriately, the Internet responded with the expected “oohs” and “ahhs”. But, of the dozen or so articles I checked out regarding the video, said articles were no longer than a couple hundred word blurbs that briefly …
15. Stranger by the Lake Directed by Alain Guiraudie Written by Alain Guiraudie France Though Stranger by the Lake premiered at last year’s Cannes Film Festival (and appeared on Sound On Sight’s best of 2013 list), it finally reached North American audiences in January of this year. Alain Guiraudie’s stunning noir-tinged thriller is …
Picking the best movies that come out in any given year is no easy feat. For film fans, a quality feature can come out at any time, from any one, and discovering an enjoyable and well-crafted feature is truly a pleasure. As we reach the halfway point of the year, many excellent films have already …
Part heart-wrenching, part strangely uplifting, 2013 was a unique year for intelligent and affecting films about love. From an unlikely Palme d’Or winner to one of the best reviewed sequels ever, this past year delivered a handful of films that stand out not only for their honest and well-rounded depictions of romantic love, but also …
Her Written and directed by Spike Jonze USA, 2013 It is nearly impossible to describe the feeling that sets in almost instantly while watching Her, the newest directorial effort from the experimental Spike Jonze. Though the opening shots, like those which follow, are stitched together carefully, crisply, and beautifully, it’s not simply a blend of …
Unsung Gems is a look back and reflection on great motion pictures that often slip under the radar of public consciousness , whether as ignored relics of a previous era, standout efforts overshadowed by competition or circumstance, or simply unseen classics damned by a lack of time in the spotlight. Being John Malkovich Directed by …
Ever since I launched Sound On Sight back in 2008, I’ve seen an average of 150 new releases each year, and every year since, I’ve been able to easily draft up a list of my fifty favourite films. In fact, there were so many great movies released in 2011, I have a list of 75 …
Spike Jonze has finally released his 28-minute short film Scenes From the Suburbs which is available for free viewing on Mubi right now, and should also be available online via Playstation. The short is a collaboration with members of the recent Grammy winners Arcade Fire and will be featured in a deluxe edition of Arcade …
It was reported a while back that Spike Jonze (Where The Wild Things Are) and screenwriter Charlie Kaufman are teaming up for their third collaboration together after the critically acclaimed hits Being John Malkovich and Adaptation. According to Deadline the project is in negotiations to be picked by Megan Ellison’s Annapurna Pictures, and is “a …
We’ve been closely following the mysterious collaboration between Montreal’s Arcade Fire and director Spike Jonze, who recently shot a short titled Scenes, inspired by their album The Suburbs. Apart from the genre (Sci-Fi), nothing else was known about the project until now. According to the Guardian, Scenes (which will premiere at Germany’s Berlinale festival) is …
The WWSFF 2010 is in full swing. Over 400 shorts are being screened for film lovers’ pleasure. I stopped by a few of the workshops that the festival offers its delegates and budding talents. The first workshop was focused on directing, almost a mini-101 class. Except, unlike other seminars, etc., this one focused on, and …
Directed by Spike Jonze As I left the cinema Friday night still reeling from my experience, I realized that the perfect barometer for Spike Jonze’s Where the Wild Things Are was the 4-year old girl walking with her mom in front of me. Throughout the film I could hear her alternating between laughing, crying and …
Director Spike Jonze may have spent the past seven years in hiding, but this week movie audiences will find out whether Where the Wild Things Are – Jonze’s labor of love and the product of years of work – is worth the wait. Appropriately, considering Jonze’s hip reputation, the soundtrack is handled by Karen O …