Its summertime, which means that theres a flood of summer blockbusters. Movies that are so soaked in CGI theyre practically animated films, and reboot after sequel after explosion-shoot-out-sequence. Im a TV guy. Thats no secret. Almost any day of the week Id prefer to nest on my couch with a DVD boxed set of an HBO masterpiece. However, as a former lover of film, there are a handful of directors out there that I wont hesitate to drop ten dollars on and go live in their worlds for two hours. Heres a list of 10 directors (in no ranking order) that I trust in Hollywood. While there are certainly more than 10 that are making quality films, here are the guys Im always on the look-out for.
10. Wes Anderson
Notable Films: The Life Aquatic with Steve Zissou, The Royal Tenenbaums, Rushmore After Anderson's sophomore film Rushmore, which gained praise from critics and notably Martin Scorsese, The Royal Tenenbaums was a massive success, giving him the Academy Award nomination for best original screenplay. The Royal Tenenbaums was only matched in success by last summers Moonrise Kingdom. Anderson's best work is usually highlighted by dry humor and silence- which works as a catch-22 for him, it's hard to market his films to the mainstream because most of the humor might fly right over their heads. Characters are breathed into life with heavy sarcasm, irony, and tongue-and-cheek qualities. Subtlety is key when Wes Anderson approaches his films. The cult favorite Anderson is always putting together an excellent cast, with subtle and bittersweet writing thats hard not to love. And he changed up the game in 2009 with The Fantastic Mr. Fox, a stop-motion animated film, with voice talents of George Clooney and Meryl Streep. Im always excited to see what Wes Anderson has lined up next.