I wrote yesterday, in a sanguine manner, of not making resolutions for myself. But this morning, still under the weather, I have decided to contradict myself. I will maker a resolution, dammit. Why not? So for this year I resolve to read all of the Roald Dahl books that I missed as a kid. I don’t know how I didn’t come across them in my rabid reading days as a child. I would have loved them, I’m sure, with their dark humor and their sense of ethereal justice. I mean who didn’t feel a little better when Veruca Salt got hers at Willy Wonka’s factory?
I decided on this resolution after recently viewing the film version of The Fantastic Mr. Fox, a stop-motion animation from director Wes Anderson who made one of my favorite films, Rushmore, as well as a handful of other quirky, funny, bittersweet films. His debut film, Bottle Rocket, is a little known charmer.
I don’t ususally like to suggest films for anyone because, like any artform, it is highly subjective. I like what I like and you like what you like based on a whole series of personal preferences and opinions and often that which triggers my emotions may seem silly or shallow to you. But I highly recommend The Fantastic Mr. Fox. It is smart and funny and just a lovely film.
So, there. Anyway, I am off to search for more of Mr. Dahl’s work.
Redtree Times 
But you see how these things work…
I’ve never been a film-watcher, but I keep bumping up against people who write about film in their blogs. So, one of my resolutions for the new year is to do more film watching.
Of course, I haven’t a clue where to begin. So, people like you who make recommendations are important to me. It gives me a starting point, a doorway into a new world.
Just in this post I’ve found these mysterious names or terms: Roald Dahl, stop-motion animation, Wes Anderson, Rushmore, and so on.
Whether I “like” The Fantastic Mr. Fox is almost beside the point. I’ll know about him, and a lot more, when I’m done. So keep those recommendations coming!
And best wishes for the New Year.
Glad to help, especially if only to acquaint you with Roald Dahl. There is a wealth of info available online about the late writer who is considered one of the 50 most important British writers from 1945 to the present. His work is considered to be primarily for young adults but transcends the genre. Intererestingly, he was also a flying ace in WW II.
Two bits of trivia: Dahl, one of the fighters who won the Battle of Britain, was sent to DC in 1941 but was so unmanageable that his commanding officer ordered him back to London. Bill Stephenson, the head of British intelligence, recruited Dahl and sent him back to DC, much to the former CO’s consternation. I like that.
About Rushmore: Jason Schwartzman was interviewed on Fresh Air where he told about being in that film, his first. Bill Murray took him aside and said, “They promised me you’d be good and you’re not.”
As a young actor, I think that would be tough to recover from.
I had never heard that about Murray and Schwartzman but I could understand it from Murray’s perspective, not being able to see the whole of the film. I thought Schwartzman’s performance was perfect for the part but it is very stylized, as are many of the performances in Wes Anderson films. I imagine that Murray has changed his tune over the years as he has appeared in a number of Anderson’s films, including his part in “Mr. Fox” as the badger lawyer. Schwartzman also is the voice of the Mr. Fox’s son, Ash.