Wes Anderson

Hollywood: Enough with the Father-Son Dramas, Already!

Last Night: The Zombies at Fitzgerald's

The Zombies, Elephant Stone Fitzgerald's March 17, 2013 There's something about The Zombies that has always set them off from the other bands of the British Invasion. Maybe it's the orchestral, minor chords, or the ethereal breathiness of singer Colin Blunstone's delivery, or the impeccable timing ... More >>

Exploring Songza: Four Offbeat Playlists From the Curated Music Service

We introduced you to Songza -- the service that acts as a "music concierge" -- a few weeks back. Using curated playlists sorted not only by genre and theme, but also by activity, Songza helps you pick the best songs for the occasion. More importantly to me, the playlists are expertly curated, mean ... More >>

Build-A-Bar: A Byrrh By Any Other Name

First of all, a word on pronunciation. Ever since I requested a shot of "fur-neigh," I've made a habit of asking about pronunciation when ordering any new, especially foreign, ingredient. I've found that very few cocktail and spirit discussions bother with this, and while it's certainly not critical ... More >>

Young love, Wes Anderson-style, in Moonrise Kingdom

New Wave Crazy: Blondie & Devo Hit Arena Theatre September 19 (UPDATED)

UPDATE: According to Press Here Publicity, the venue is Arena Theatre, not Bayou Music Center. Everything else is the same. This makes me happier than anything on a Monday morning should. I listen to music in cycles, and for the past several months have been stuck in the '80s, more specifically any ... More >>

The Ultimate Wes Anderson Soundtrack Playlist: Extra Superlatives

Last week I told you about the soundtrack for director Wes Anderson's upcoming feature Moonrise Kingdom, which showcases the work of composers Leonard Bernstein and Alexandre Desplat, Benjamin Britten and strange bedfellow Hank Williams Sr. Anderson's films are the most anticipated movies of most ... More >>

2012 Summer Guide: Summer Movie Preview

Wes Anderson's Moonrise Kingdom Soundtrack Has Houston Ties & A Ton Of Hank Sr.

Director Wes Anderson's upcoming Moonrise Kingdom is easily one of the most anticipated movies of 2012, coming to theaters on May 25, mainly because his movies are like catnip for hipsters and amateur cinéastes alike, and feature completely engrossing soundtracks. From the garage-rock throwdown of ... More >>

Upcoming Events: Just Say No to Green Beer and Cancer

Instead of chugging crappy green beer for St. Patrick's Day (which is tomorrow, in case you missed the memo), here are three other suggestions that don't suck: Barbecue guru Neil "Bigmista" Strawder is returning home to Galveston tomorrow for a charity barbecue at St. Augustine of Hippo, the oldest ... More >>

Life Aquatic With Steve Zissou Dinner

The Film Issue: 10 for 2012

You In Color: The Black Angels' Christian Bland Talks Film Scores

Photo By Craig HlavatyThe Black Angels' Alex Maas at Free Press Summerfest in June​Tomorrow night the Black Angels hit Houston for the third time in about a year, with a gig over at Fitzgerald's with fellow retro-doomers Dead Meadow and Spindrift. The last time the Angels were in Houston it wa ... More >>

Top 10 Texas Movie Soundtracks

​This weekend, as the rest of the world catches Harry Potter mania for (perhaps) the final time, Houston gets a serious dose of Urban Cowboy nostalgia. Theater Under the Stars' production of the Tony-nominated 2003 musical - which The New York Times called "a conclusive demonstration that it's ... More >>

Beyond "Thriller": Top 10 Zombie Music Videos

​One of Rocks Off's choice ambient/shoegaze artists, Grouper, has just released visuals for her song "Alien Observer" and it's full of (almost) everything that we hold dear: Blood, zombies buried beneath foliage, and girl-on-girl action. Oh, and Liz Harris' haunting voice. It's beautiful; whi ... More >>

Friday Night: Devo At Warehouse Live

Photos by Jay Lee​Devo Warehouse Live March 25, 2011 See more peek-a-boo pics of Devo, openers Octopus Project and their fans in our slideshow. When Aftermath first heard Devo's latest album, Something for Everybody, we listened with a cringe. It had been 20 years since the band had released ... More >>

Texas Independent Film Network

The Ten Worst Movies of 2011...In Advance

Oh, don't act surprised.​2011 is barely out of the oven and I'm already filled with dread. Could it be the fact I've spent the entire year so far coughing up chunks of green lung tissue? That I've finally despaired of ever finding a writing gig that doesn't involve "Lady Gaga sex tape" Google ... More >>

If Your Life Were A Movie, Which Song Would Be The Trailer?

​It started as a whim on Twitter, asking friends what songs would soundtrack the trailer of the movie of their life. Would their life's tale be a rollicking drug-fueled, love-filled adventure backed by the Rolling Stones' "Jumping Jack Flash", or would it be a morose and somber drifting story ... More >>

Hayden & Sean: When Your Hip "Save The Date" Wedding Video Goes Viral

The above clip is attracting comments all over the Internet, as an example of either the hippest "Save the Date" video ever, or the lamest attempt at making a hip "Save the Date" video.It's all about the wedding of Hayden and Sean in Austin, and it's pretty much a Wes Anderson movie set to The Crea ... More >>

The Top 10 Rock-Musician Film Scores

​David Fincher's Facebook creation tale The Social Network has been the No. 1 film in America the past two weekends, and no doubt it will continue that streak this weekend, barring an assault by Jackass 3-D which comes out today. Peter Travers of Rolling Stone is already hailing Network as a ... More >>

Reduxion: Talking Kinks With Young Girls' Pete Tijerina

Find Young Girls on Facebook hereYoung Girls, dedicated followers of fashion.​When it comes to the Big Three of the British Invasion, the Kinks were always the Chrysler to the Beatles and Stones' Ford and GM - up there, but not quite that far up there. Nevertheless, among Anglophiles and songw ... More >>

Our Eight Favorite Musical Moments From Texas-Shot Films

​If Chainsaws, Slackers and Spy Kids sounds like a titillating title for a book, it's only because the book itself deals with some of the most provocative indie films in recent cinematic history - many of them made by Texas-born filmmakers. The book is the work of Alison Macor, former film cr ... More >>

Pop Rocks: With Friends Like These

​Oscar-winning director Roman Polanski remains under house arrest in Switzerland, awaiting possible extradition to the United States for fleeing sentencing after pleading guilty to "unlawful sex" with a 13-year old in 1977. His attorneys are, naturally, fighting this possibility, while a numbe ... More >>

Which Actors Can Hack It As Musicians?

​Hollywood Shuffle got word Thursday that Blues Brother and Saturday Night Live alumnus Dan Aykroyd will be at the downtown Spec's this afternoon from 3-7 p.m. to sign bottles of his new vodka, Conehead Crystal Head. Aykroyd is in town to act as Grand Marshal for Saturday's Art Car Parade. Sat ... More >>

Gumby, We Hardly Knew Ye: 10 Stop-Motion Videos for the Late Art Clokey

Late last Friday, Rocks Off learned that Gumby and Davey and Goliath creator Art Clokey had passed away in his sleep at age 88. The pioneering stop-motion animator and his clay work were fixtures in children's television from 1957 on. All of Clokey's characters were moral, fun-loving and devoid of ... More >>

Pop Rocks: The Year In Houston Movies

Like most years, 2009 wasn't hugely eventful for Houston as a movie town. There wasn't a big, locally filmed tentpole release like Armageddon, and most news revolved around the death of one of the city's biggest celebrities or, to a much lesser extent, the inaugural Cinema Arts Festival.Some movies ... More >>

A Report From The Houston Film Critics Awards

Last Saturday at the Museum of Fine Arts' Brown Auditorium, the Houston Film Critics Society (of which yours truly is a member) held its third annual awards ceremony. It was a star-studded affair, if you consider the presence of one star sufficient to use the term.Here's a list of the winners:Best ... More >>

He Said She Said: Our 10 Favorite Fictional Bands

​ It's a sad state of affairs when a parody band ends up being funnier/better/more entertaining that the original (we're lookin' at you, The Beatles). She Said started thinking of this list last week after making one in a million lifetime references to the fake band Blues Hammer from the movie Gho ... More >>

What's Wrong with Wes Anderson?

A decade after Rushmore and The Royal Tenenbaums, Generation Y's anointed auteur tries for a comeback with Fantastic Mr. Fox.

What a Fox

Wes Anderson brings his Wes Anderson-ness to animation — and it's a fantastic fit.

No Rocks Off Movie Night Tonight - We're Saving Ourselves for Urban Cowboy Next Week

Next Tuesday, Rocks Off Movie Night at the Mink returns with the 1980 "classic" Urban Cowboy. Classic if you're from Houston, anyway. The film kicks off our three-week series on movies filmed in and around Houston proper. Ben Stiller's directorial debut Reality Bites and Wes Anderson's hipster-bait ... More >>

He Said She Said: A Stripper Soundtrack

Rocks Off has a naked lady fetish. It's shameful to admit. We really like seeing naked chicks. It's been something we have dealt with since we were four years old and started sneaking into the women's dressing room when our Mom would go clothes shopping. It's not so cute today, what with the beard ... More >>

Screen Plays

Ratatat

Drenched in Neil: More from the Diamond Mine

Tonight: Margo & the Nuclear So and So's at the Mink

Okkervil River: The Stand Ins

Rushmore

Wes Anderson’s career-launching film pays homage to his hometown, our town

Justice League: The New Frontier, The Darjeeling Limited, Death at a Funeral, Beowulf: Director's Cut

Rushmore

There’s more to love about Wes Anderson’s 1998 masterpiece than its local connection

Juno

Teen pregnancy, hilarious and sweet, in this indie-licious film

Legs to Spare

A Family Adrift

The Squid and the Whale finds moments of joy amid the bitterness of divorce

Sea of Loathe

Wes Anderson takes Bill Murray out to sea and strands him there

The Final Cut

DVDs pull back the curtain on the movies, but do you really want to see the Wizard?

Rushmore or Less

Murray tries to rescue a comedy stalled in self-importance

School Ties

Ready for Takeoff

Wes Anderson's Bottle Rocket is a whimsical delight