Wiley Wiggins
- 2007
A man who already has too many problems to deal with finds himself finally beginning to crack when his beloved cat goes missing and he launches a tireless search campaign that spans the entire city. His wife is divorcing him, he's miserable at his job, but at least he has his feline friend Goliath to stave off the loneliness. But when Goliath disappears, it all just becomes too much to take. Now, in order to bring his furry little pal back home safe and sound, the miserable cat owner will cover his neighborhood in flyers, offer a hearty reward, and even enlist the aid of a private investigator. In the end, when his worst fears are confirmed, the grief simply becomes too much to take. Yet despite his sorrow, the man soon discovers that the cold darkness of true misery ultimately gives way to the warm glow of true hope. ~ Jason Buchanan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- David Zellner, Nathan Zellner, (more)
Richard Linklater returned to the semi-improvised approach and philosophical themes of his debut feature Slacker while embracing a new and groundbreaking visual technology in his sixth feature film, Waking Life. Linklater and cameraman Tommy Pallotta shot the film on location in Austin, TX, using digital video equipment. Linklater and digital animator Bob Sabiston then used newly developed computer software to transform the images through a process called "interpolated rotoscoping"; the result merges the naturalism of live action with a stylized look that resembles a cartoon or a painting in motion. Waking Life's flexible, non-narrative approach follows a young man (Wiley Wiggins) who arrives in Austin and hitches a ride with a stranger, who engages him in a conversation about rarely considered facets of existentialism. As the visitor drifts through the city, he encounters a variety of people and finds himself absorbing their views on art, philosophy, society, and numerous other issues of contemporary life. Linklater's cast is dotted with well-known actors (Ethan Hawke, Julie Delpy, Adam Goldberg, Nicky Katt) and pop-culture notables (filmmaker Steven Soderbergh, Martin Scorsese associate Steven Prince, comic Louis Black), alongside a large number of relatively little-known players. Waking Life received its world premiere at the 2001 Sundance Film Festival; Linklater's next film, Tape, was also screened at the same festival. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Wiley Wiggins
Do you speak Bulbovian? If not, you'll be grateful the producers of this quirky film have included English subtitles. Directed by David Zellner, Frontier is based on Froktog, a novel by Mulnar Typsthat, and features dialogue spoken completely in the fictional Bulbovian tongue. The film follows a pair of soldiers who travel across untamed land in the wake of a political revolution in the country of Bulbovia. Together, the men struggle to civilize the land and create a new home for themselves. Starring Zellner and Dazed and Confused's Wiley Wiggins, Frontier premiered at the 2001 South by Southwest Film Festival. ~ Matthew Tobey, All Movie Guide
- 1996
- PG13
- AddBoysto QueueAddBoysto top of Queue
Boys is a coming-of-age tale about an addled prep school student who nurses a woman back to health after an accident and becomes involved in her cryptic past. John Baker Jr. (Lukas Haas) is a tormented high school senior outcast who's weary of his upper-crust boarding school life and dreads his future as a supermarket chain manager. When he finds Patty Vare (Winona Ryder) unconscious in a field after being thrown from a horse, Baker sees this as an opportunity to break out of his humdrum existence, and he smuggles her into the school to take care of her. The relationship blooms into a somewhat bizarre love affair, as John discovers that Patty is concealing a mysterious secret involving a missing baseball player and a stolen car. Although the film takes a little time to get started, what originates as an analysis of guarded youths making foolish judgments evolves into a celebration of adolescent insurrection. ~ Don Kaye, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Winona Ryder, Lukas Haas, (more)
Two young lovers go on the run from the law after a convenience store robbery goes bad in this road movie. Love and a .45 centers on philosophically inclined thief Watty Watts (Gil Bellows), who believes in a little robbery but not real violence. An ill-advised collaboration with a crazed, drugged-out biker (Rory Cochrane) ends badly, however, forcing Watty to go on the run. His girlfriend Starlene (Renee Zellweger) joins him, and the two become media darlings thanks to television coverage of their flight from the law. First-time director C.M. Talkington's combination of violence and ironic attitude recalls both 1970s crime dramas and Quentin Tarantino's violent, quirky takes on the genre. However, the film's warmed-over feel may be redeemed by its irreverent tone and appealing performances, including a self-parodying appearance by Peter Fonda. ~ Judd Blaise, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Gil Bellows, Renée Zellweger, (more)
Like George Lucas' American Graffiti, Richard Linklater's Dazed and Confused is an affectionate look at the youth culture of a bygone era. While Lucas took aim at the conservative 1950's, Linklater jumps ahead a generation to the bicentennial year of 1976 to celebrate the joys of beer blasts, pot smoking and Frampton Comes Alive. Set on the last day of the academic year, the film follows the random activities of a sprawling group of Texas high schoolers as they celebrate the arrival of summer, their paths variously intersecting at a freshmen hazing, a local pool parlor and finally at a keg party. ~ Jason Ankeny, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Jason London, Wiley Wiggins, (more)
