I'm not attending the Cannes Film Festival for the first time in three years (I'm a little busy, you know, moving my life cross-country). But, if I was going to Cannes, you better believe I'd do my best to make a stop in Brighton, UK right before heading to the South of France. That's because the annual Great Escape Music Festival is happening May 15-17. The lineup includes: The Wombats, Vampire Weekend, Okkervil River, Iron and Wine, Black Mountain, The Hold Steady, Lightspeed Champion, No Age, The Ting Tings, The Futureheads, and many more. It's probably too late to re-route your trip through Europe, but if you find yourself in the UK, consider stopping by (and say hi to SXSW staffers Cary Caldwell and Charni Silk, who also work that fest). Or, just make the proper plans for next year's Cannes. I think I might.

With last week ending in sad news throughout filmland, I thought I'd try to perk things up a bit with this new video from Gnarls Barkley. It's for the song "Going On" from their album, The Odd Couple. It's a great jolt of perseverance, which is probably what we all need right now:

This might be one of my favorite new music videos.

After sadly being dismissed from his duties at Premiere, veteran critic and terrific film journalist Glenn Kenny has set up shop for a new blog destination: Some Came Running. I recommend you bookmark it, and keep checking back. Thanks to Karina at Spout, for the heads up.

Sad, but not entirely shocking news today, as Warner Bros. announced it would shutter Warner Independent Pictures and Picturehouse. I just wanna say that on a personal level this is sad, especially since I have many friends at both companies... but I also know that this opens up a wealth of talented indie film distribution minds as potential candidates for bigger and better things to come. Nevertheless, the communal touch fostered by folks like Bob Berney, Mary Ann Hult, Liz Brambilla, Lindsay Crain, Carl Hampe, Laura Kim, and many others, will be missed. That is, until they emerge triumphant at others companies. Stay tuned, no doubt.

Over at Funny Or Die, John Mayer takes us on a guided tour of his song-writing process. It includes drugs, supermodels, focus groups, and Kristen Bell:

In the wake of Nine Inch Nails' surprise (and free) release of their latest LP, comes news that Beck will unveil a 10-track collaboration with producer Danger Mouse "this summer." This news also comes six weeks after The Raconteurs surprised everyone and rushed their sophomore album to stores almost overnight. So far, it looks as though 2008 is going to be the first year major musicians exploit the many distribution tricks that new media has to offer.

Just the other day, I was watching Mikael Hafstrom's Swedish drama Ondskan (Evil) on the Sundance Channel's free VOD platform. I kept thinking, though, that it was tough to locate the channel on VOD and that it'd be great if it was as easily accessible as the IFC VOD library. Maybe it will be soon, now that IFC's Rainbow Media has purchased its one-time competition.

Harmony Korine's beautiful, brilliant, and fractured fairy tale Mister Lonely, opened last week to great reviews and very strong box office on one screen in New York. The film, which had its U.S. Premiere during SXSW 2008, is easily one of my favorite indie films in theaters at the moment. And, throughout the month of May, it will continue to expand in theaters around the nation. This weekend sees the film roll out through the East Coast and L.A., with many more playdates to follow. But, as is the case with IFC Films releases, you don't have to wait for theatrical engagements to watch it. Mister Lonely is currently available on demand thanks to your cable provider. Just look for your "Movies on Demand" option if you have cable. You can watch it today. And, you should. It's so good. Click here for my thoughts on the film, immediately after catching it during the premiere at Cannes last May (and being a bit dumbfounded at the time). It's safe to say that after a little time in my head, I fell deeply in love with this mystifying movie.

I haven't really blogged about the upcoming documentary feature in which I'm the executive producer. That's partly because I was waiting for news like this to share, and I'm happy to finally share it. Trinidad, directed by PJ Raval and Jay Hodges, will have its world premiere in the Documentary Competition at the Los Angeles Film Festival (June 19-29). We're really thrilled to debut our film at such a wonderful event! Plus, we're in great company, as SXSW favorites Medicine For Melancholy and The Pleasure of Being Robbed will screen in the Narrative Feature Competition. Joining them, is the premiere of Austin filmmaker and friend Spencer Parsons' debut, I'll Come Running. Fellow Austin-to-New York transplant Margaret Brown will also screen her amazing documentary, The Order of Myths. It's a great lineup of films altogether. And, if you'd like some more information on Trinidad (formerly titled Best Kept Secret), click right here.

True to advance word-of-mouth, the Wachowski Brothers' big-screen Speed Racer is a candy-coated visual extravaganza. It's also worth noting, however, that this is one mixed bag of candy-coated confection. The race scenes are terrific, and the occasional fight scenes are well-executed, but any detour into emotional subtext brings the film to a ... wait for it ... screeching halt. "Speed bumps." "Wrong turns." Okay, I think that will be enough of the driving metaphors for me, for now.

This is a kids' movie, no doubt about it. But, it's not really a "family film," insomuch that adults will probably find themselves watching the clock throughout the way-too-long 120 minutes. Yet, the explosions of vibrant, colorful sequences are almost worth it. Almost. The Wachowskis know what they're doing, and they even calculate a few inventive editing tricks to communicate plot points. What's really lacking, though, is any sense of story and believable emotion. This makes Speed Racer less like The Matrix and more like Star Wars Episode I: The Phantom Menace. There's even a Jar Jar Binks: in the form of Paulie Litt, as Speed's kid brother Spritle.

Not to be a Monday morning quarterback, but it's a poor sign when you find yourself wishing a film explored certain territory before it was even over. Why wasn't there more of a grown-up sense of humor? Even Pixar movies make it a point to not forget the adults in the room. The sports world is an easy target for satire and parody, but Speed Racer takes itself way too seriously to have any fun. If Speed Racer proves anything, it's that the Wachowskis still know how to crack open a tense and kinetic action sequence. It's possible they listened to the criticism of the last two Matrix films too closely. Instead of lightening up on the mythology and the angst, they strip it entirely away to make room for canned family drama and cliched good-versus-evil storylines.

What I can feel good about, besides the dazzling effects and intense action, is the way it all ends. Let's just say, unlike almost every other property-based blockbuster you're gonna see between now and August, Speed Racer doesn't leave it open for more. I don't think we're gonna see a sequel anytime soon. And, after watching it for myself, I think I can say we're not gonna need one.

1. Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds, Dig, Lazarus, Dig!!!
(Cave returns to his Bad Seeds with one of their most raucous and deliberate blues records ever. Catchy chaos and lots of drunken poetry make for a fiery Brit rock opus.)

2. Elbow, The Seldom Seen Kid
(These Manchester lads may have had an easier time fitting in during the late 80s, but they still deliver earthy shoegaze-drenched pop that makes a difference. Their latest is a strings-infused assortment of ballads, with rousing moments and memorable lyrics, galore.)

3. M83, Saturdays = Youth
(An Hispanic musician from the South of France making hypnotic sound collages that recall the best of OMD or New Order. Do you miss John Hughes movies? Well, with M83's new album, you can at least bliss-out with new tunes that would feel right at home during Pretty in Pink.)

4. Portishead, Third
(These trip-hop pioneers took almost 10 years to release their third LP, but it was worth the wait. While they don't necessarily revolutionize the sound, the output is a mesmerizing blend of beats and beauty.)

5. The Cinematic Orchestra, Live at the Royal Albert Hall
(A woefully underrated electronic/jazz group that fuses symphonic arrangements with percussive performance, they take the show live and record it all from the legendary Royal Albert Hall. It yields live versions of great songs that redefine the brilliant studio originals.)

This week's episode of The Simpsons will surely become an instant classic among the film community. A pretty funny look at Sundance, documentary filmmaking, Jim Jarmusch, Ain't It Cool News, and more. Check out the full episode below, via Hulu:

I caught the super early Pineapple Express screening this weekend at the Alamo South Lamar. Director David Gordon Green and stars Seth Rogen, James Franco, and Danny McBride were in attendance. It was a typically fun evening at the Alamo, and I was pleasantly surprised with the film itself. In a lot of ways, Pineapple Express is a 1980s flick. In some cases, this association is loose (the film's theme song is a new tune by Huey Lewis & The News) and in many ways, it's downright literal (one of my favorite throwaway lines was "no retreat, no surrender"). While the film is the latest from the Judd Apatow machine, it's very unique. It's a pot comedy, sure, but at its heart the film feels more like an undiscovered episode of Miami Vice as made by "the guys who brought you Superbad."

Seth Rogen and James Franco star as pothead and dealer, respectively. After Rogen's character witnesses a murder by the hands of a mobster (Gary Cole), he and Franco are forced on the run when a rare strand of weed called "Pineapple Express" links them to the scene of the crime. From there, the film is simply a chase picture, peppered with oddball hitmen, an underage girlfriend, and a conniving-but-caring fellow dealer named Red (Danny McBride). Making a sharp detour from his last four arthouse dramas, David Gordon Green eases into this high-concept terrain and even manages some crisp action sequences. Which brings me to the big hook of Pineapple Express: this is the first Apatow action comedy. While previous releases like Knocked Up or Forgetting Sarah Marshall have relied on dialogue-heavy situational humor, this story must switch gears in almost every scene.

As an audition for more big-budget genre work, I think Green did a terrific job with Pineapple Express. Whether or not this is gonna be a major success like Superbad, I'm not so sure. If you wanna compare this to Superbad, much like Forgetting Sarah Marshall is compared directly to Knocked Up, some of the same parallels apply. Pineapple Express is a more complicated vehicle, and fleshes out directions that Superbad only lightly touched on. Is that what the Apatow fans and uninitiated crave? I guess we'll see, when this opens in August. As it stands, Pineapple Express is worth catching for yourself. The improv-heavy dialogue is snappy, James Franco is a revelation, Danny McBride is awesome as usual, and the action set pieces don't wear out their welcome. A few of the fight/chase sequences go on for a few minutes too long, but when they work well (like an extended apartment fight between the three leads), they're relentlessly fun.

One last thought on the box office potential of Pineapple Express: it will be really interesting to see if the film is hurt by the fact that another anticipated R-rated action comedy, Tropic Thunder, is opening one week later (August 15). Arguably, this same kind of timing is what has split the audiences right now between similar R-rated comedies Harold & Kumar Escape From Guantanamo Bay and Forgetting Sarah Marshall.

The documentary Crude Awakening: The Oil Crash, premiered at SXSW 2006 and I always had high hopes for it. At the time, it was simply titled OilCrash and it created quite a stir during its premiere screenings. Basil Gepke and Ray McCormack's look at the bleak future of oil supplies, was acclaimed but unseen. The film never got the kind of release I felt it deserved, but things seem to be turning around. According to its Movie Store, Crude Awakening is the number one documentary purchased on iTunes right now. That's great news, and hopefully a great start. (Full disclosure: my new company, Cinetic Media, represented the film for distribution.)

Ang Lee and James Schamus have a long and diverse career making films together (everything from Eat Drink Man Woman and The Ice Storm to Hulk and Brokeback Mountain). Their upcoming production, Taking Woodstock, isn't that unusual (the story of a man in the Catskills who inadvertently sets in motion the Woodstock music festival). Who they've announced as the likely lead actor, though, is kinda odd but also very cool: hipster comedian Demetri Martin.

P.S. - If you haven't ever seen Ang Lee and James Schamus' 1993 breakthrough, The Wedding Banquet, try to catch it ASAP. Fifteen years later, it's a fairly underrated gem.