And on an Aziz Ansari set, jeez
― change display name (Jordan), Wednesday, 29 March 2023 16:05 (one year ago) link
This one looks good. Anderson’s style has evolved in an interesting way at least for me, just because it’s so much his own and so starkly different from what anyone else is doing. If anyone else tried to copy him it would be a total disaster. I’ve got total respect for his thing, just bc he’s clearly not aiming for awards despite being a “prestige” filmmaker, he’s just telling the odd and sometimes complicated stories he wants to tell. The mix of deadpan humor and slapstick and well earned pathos/tragedy works well for me, and despite the films seeming artificial I find them a lot more moving than most of the flicks out there that really strive for something more realistic.
― omar little, Wednesday, 29 March 2023 16:10 (one year ago) link
The dollhouse approach produced The Grand Budapest Hotel, his best live action film since Tenenbaums.
― the very juice and sperm of kindness. (Alfred, Lord Sotosyn), Wednesday, 29 March 2023 16:12 (one year ago) link
it's fun to see actors from outside his world come in and see how they fit or not...like Bruce Willis being my favorite thing in Moonrise
― ryan, Wednesday, 29 March 2023 16:14 (one year ago) link
I likewise thought Ralph Fiennes too brittle for Andersonland.
― the very juice and sperm of kindness. (Alfred, Lord Sotosyn), Wednesday, 29 March 2023 16:15 (one year ago) link
I liked (Charged)GBH the best out of the current era. French Dispatch was dogshit.
― Blues Guitar Solo Heatmap (Free Download) (upper mississippi sh@kedown), Wednesday, 29 March 2023 16:25 (one year ago) link
spent hours reading a circa 1960 edition of the World Book Encyclopedia
This was me ages 8-12 (80-84 or so), exact year as well (I remember it said JFK had just been elected).
― This machine bores fascism (PBKR), Wednesday, 29 March 2023 16:49 (one year ago) link
Ha, funnily enough I recently ordered a two-volume set of World Book Encyclopedias specifically about the British Isles, originally published in 1968; my folks had it when I was young and I remember poring over it quite a bit in the late 70s/early 80s. Oddly enough, they don't remember owning it at all, and it does indeed provide a very specific 'this is how I learned' vibe for me, though it's just an artifact now in many ways.
― Ned Raggett, Wednesday, 29 March 2023 16:52 (one year ago) link
Skipped The French Dispatch, so enough time has elapsed that I'm looking forward to a return to Wesland.
― fair but so uncool beliefs here (Eric H.), Wednesday, 29 March 2023 16:52 (one year ago) link
tipsy's observations are 100% OTM. I guess the contemporary equivalent would be teens listening to their parents' CD copies of Rumours?
― the very juice and sperm of kindness. (Alfred, Lord Sotosyn), Wednesday, 29 March 2023 16:55 (one year ago) link
I agree with ums - Anderson always had tendencies, but his characters stopped being even remotely lived and became wholly something out of the imagination of a precocious 12 yo.
― This machine bores fascism (PBKR), Wednesday, 29 March 2023 16:58 (one year ago) link
curious that WA's output has ramped along with progress in AI
― Cinta Kaz is comin' to town (Sufjan Grafton), Wednesday, 29 March 2023 17:15 (one year ago) link
Ten iconic directors shoot the World Cup. More experiments with Midjourney & AI.1. Wes Anderson pic.twitter.com/sxGSaVi63I— Mason London (@masonlondon) March 27, 2023
― fair but so uncool beliefs here (Eric H.), Wednesday, 29 March 2023 17:17 (one year ago) link
lol at the Michael Bay one
― Maxmillion D. Boosted (jon /via/ chi 2.0), Wednesday, 29 March 2023 17:19 (one year ago) link
Wes always seems to be finding the new Michael Cera
― Andy the Grasshopper, Wednesday, 29 March 2023 17:44 (one year ago) link
think my problem now is that UK adverts have adopted his aesthetic so heavily that I'm unable to enjoy his work for what it is
― or something, Wednesday, 29 March 2023 18:06 (one year ago) link
― brimstead, Wednesday, 29 March 2023 18:09 (one year ago) link
UK adverts have adopted his aesthetic
Boots ads are pastel now?
― Andy the Grasshopper, Wednesday, 29 March 2023 18:22 (one year ago) link
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8iHT_pxHtHYno need for AI to see Wes Anderson fitba coverage
― They do the Shug a loo, do the Shy Tuna, do the Kemba Walker (fionnland), Wednesday, 29 March 2023 18:23 (one year ago) link
I like his trailers better than his movies, honestly 3 minutes of this guy is really all I need
― calstars, Wednesday, 29 March 2023 20:49 (one year ago) link
I liked (Charged)GBH the best out of the current era. French Dispatch was dogshit.― Blues Guitar Solo Heatmap (Free Download) (upper mississippi sh@kedown), Wednesday, March 29, 2023 12:25 PM (four hours ago) bookmarkflaglink
― Blues Guitar Solo Heatmap (Free Download) (upper mississippi sh@kedown), Wednesday, March 29, 2023 12:25 PM (four hours ago) bookmarkflaglink
french dispatch would be a good name for a street punk band
― flopson, Wednesday, 29 March 2023 20:52 (one year ago) link
― It’s Only Her Factory, Girl! (James Redd and the Blecchs), Wednesday, 29 March 2023 20:54 (one year ago) link
Btw this is not a unique observation, but watching the recent Fire of Love documentary (about two quirky French volcanologists, narrated by Miranda July) was extremely Anderson-esque. Down to the red hats. He had to have seen some of that footage, right?
― change display name (Jordan), Thursday, 30 March 2023 16:15 (one year ago) link
yeah the red hats got me thinking the same thing
― a (waterface), Thursday, 30 March 2023 16:19 (one year ago) link
the hats are a Jacques Cousteau thing, as in TLAWSZ
― bulb after bulb, Thursday, 30 March 2023 16:34 (one year ago) link
Hope Davis is everywhere nowadays
― Heez, Thursday, 30 March 2023 16:40 (one year ago) link
I have a friend who leads a marine biology group on St. Martin and they very consciously copy the whole Life Aquatic look and vibe (obviously originally from Cousteau, but I'm positive they were inspired by the Anderson film)
― Muad'Doob (Moodles), Thursday, 30 March 2023 17:38 (one year ago) link
This looks good and might even be great but posting just to say that it is really amazing how he moves steadily deeper and deeper into his thing with each movie. Don't think he's ever even attempted to pivot from the stereotype of a Wes Anderson movie, just embraces it progressively more wholeheartedly. you go, auteur
I generally agree with this but I can think of one big exception: at one point a stereotypical Wes Anderson movie would have had wall-to-wall needle drops of 60s/70s pop songs. He really tapered that off starting with Darjeeling. (Could be related to the fact that that was his last human-populated movie ostensibly set in the present day?) I'm sure a lot of people think of this as a positive step in his progression, but man, I'd like to see him go back to that well at least a little more often. He's never topped the "A Quick One" sequence in Rushmore as far as I'm concerned.
― Vaguely Threatening CAPTCHAs, Thursday, 30 March 2023 20:10 (one year ago) link
first impression from Belgian newspaper's reviewer at Cannes: "a collection of great looking tableaux, but doesn't grab you"
― StanM, Thursday, 25 May 2023 16:44 (eleven months ago) link
Who'da thunk?
― Cathy Berberian Begins at Home (James Redd and the Blecchs), Thursday, 25 May 2023 16:53 (eleven months ago) link
Reviews of this one seem to be mostly vv positive
― omar little, Thursday, 25 May 2023 16:54 (eleven months ago) link
Think I might try to see, since I’ve been sitting him out for so long.
― Cathy Berberian Begins at Home (James Redd and the Blecchs), Thursday, 25 May 2023 17:03 (eleven months ago) link
yeah I'm still watching it, I don't always agree with movie reviewers :-)
― StanM, Thursday, 25 May 2023 17:37 (eleven months ago) link
"a collection of great looking tableaux, but doesn't grab you" is EXACTLY what The French Dispatch was.
― Tsar Bombadil (James Morrison), Friday, 26 May 2023 02:21 (eleven months ago) link
Richard Lawson said it was his favorite since Moonrise Kingdom, which made me perk up bc that was the last one I liked, too. (Actually, I haven't seen Isle of Dogs, but Grand Budapest and French Dispatch both left me cold.)
― jaymc, Friday, 26 May 2023 03:47 (eleven months ago) link
― AlXTC from Paris, Friday, 26 May 2023 07:04 (eleven months ago) link
The thing I liked about the trailer was Last Train To San Fernando
― Do I look like I know what a jpeg is? (dog latin), Friday, 26 May 2023 09:12 (eleven months ago) link
Yeah, Moonrise Kingdom, as with Fantastic Mr. Fox before it, re-ignited my waning interest in Wes Anderson
― fair but so uncool beliefs here (Eric H.), Friday, 26 May 2023 11:19 (eleven months ago) link
this one looks the closest in style and tone to moonrise kingdom, at least from the trailer. that's the foundation of my excitement
― ciderpress, Friday, 26 May 2023 14:05 (eleven months ago) link
Saw this yesterday. Definitely the weirdest Anderson film I’ve seen, but in a good way. Seems like he’s having fun and making movies exactly how he wants to.
― o. nate, Sunday, 25 June 2023 16:54 (ten months ago) link
I’ll take that as a recommendation.
― Johnny Bit Rot (James Redd and the Blecchs), Sunday, 25 June 2023 17:02 (ten months ago) link
making movies exactly how he wants to.
when hasn't he?
― the dreaded dependent claus (Alfred, Lord Sotosyn), Sunday, 25 June 2023 17:53 (ten months ago) link
Saw it earlier. Seems to attempt the same meta layering as The French Dispatch but not as sprawling so it felt somewhere between that and Moonrise Kingdom. Great spectacle and kid actors as ever but the story's another hot mess and it could be funnier.
― nashwan, Sunday, 25 June 2023 21:15 (ten months ago) link
Pleasant. Also the first film of his I've seen in twenty years and honestly I'll be fine with another twenty, but it looked nice.
― Ned Raggett, Sunday, 25 June 2023 23:43 (ten months ago) link
Yeah I guess he’s always followed his own muse. Maybe it’s just more obvious now that he’s following it to an extreme which is more obviously uncommercial though to be fair I haven’t seen his prior two films so this may be old news. There is a fairly large if casual potential fan base that knows him mainly as the inspiration for a popular instagram hashtag which he could have pandered to. This is the first of his films that I’ve seen in the theater since Darjeeling. I guess I always like them better on the big screen.
― o. nate, Monday, 26 June 2023 01:24 (ten months ago) link
Kind of bummed Ned hasn't seen Fantastic Mr. Fox, Moonrise Kingdom, or Grand Budapest Hotel.
― Muad'Doob (Moodles), Monday, 26 June 2023 02:05 (ten months ago) link
Isle of Dogs my favorite of his late career tbh
― Nhex, Monday, 26 June 2023 02:37 (ten months ago) link
xpost Those are my three faves, probably. Though I dunno, I rewatched Bottle Rocket, Rushmore and Tenenbaums recently, and they were all great, too, but those aforementioned three feel like, I dunno, his mature renewal after a brief fallow period. But didn't particularly like Isle of Dogs, for whatever reason never got around to seeing French Dispatch. I'd love to see him make something other than another human diorama exhibit, kind of like when the Coen Brothers gave being the Coen Brothers a brief break and made "No Country for Old Men," which kind of refreshed them after making a couple of misfires.
― Josh in Chicago, Monday, 26 June 2023 02:54 (ten months ago) link
Isle of Dogs could be a sub-board of Isle of Everything.
― more difficult than I look (Aimless), Monday, 26 June 2023 02:55 (ten months ago) link
Our 13 year old has become a fan so we’re rewatching these. So far I like the Life Aquatic more than I remember and the Tenenbaums a little less. But i’m a big fan, I like ‘em all a lot. I don’t remember Darjeeling very well though.
Moonrise Kingdom may be my current fave. He has a great touch with kids.
― Cow_Art, Monday, 26 June 2023 03:00 (ten months ago) link
I must be old, because I still think of 'Early Hanks' as Bachelor Party and The 'Burbs.
― an icon of a worried-looking, long-haired, bespectacled man (C. Grisso/McCain), Wednesday, 19 July 2023 14:33 (nine months ago) link
Asteroid City would have been much improved by Hanks tapping into the same energy that gave us his heartbreaking portrayal of alcoholism in that one episode of Family Ties.
― Daniel_Rf, Wednesday, 19 July 2023 14:39 (nine months ago) link
Actually if I do have a theory of why the character burns his hand, albeit from one viewing perhaps not grasping everything, it's that the character or actor was looking for a way out of the fiction - the shock would burn him out of the drama, say, and into the real world or next level of fiction - where he also seeks to escape the theatre for a time.
― the pinefox, Wednesday, 19 July 2023 15:08 (nine months ago) link
hmmm I like that.
― the dreaded dependent claus (Alfred, Lord Sotosyn), Wednesday, 19 July 2023 15:19 (nine months ago) link
i do too! that's why the "you can't wake up if you don't go to sleep" scene makes the movie for me, it's like stepping out of the dream ("asteroid city"), into "reality" (the behind the scenes scenes, which are as constructed as the dream), which it turns out only yanks the movie further into the dream (the conversation between augie and the character deleted from the movie)
― ivy (BradNelson), Wednesday, 19 July 2023 15:43 (nine months ago) link
(That was a joke, Eric.)
― clemenza, Wednesday, 19 July 2023 16:44 (nine months ago) link
Where's that "jokes vmic" thread?
― fair but so uncool beliefs here (Eric H.), Wednesday, 19 July 2023 18:27 (nine months ago) link
I liked the theory I read that we're not just seeing the character Augie burn his hand in that scene - the actor Jones Hall is actually burning his hand too, out of some reaction of grief for the dead playwright. That's why Scarlett Johansson is so shocked - "that really happened!" she says - that's Mercedes breaking character that Jones really burned himself.
(That doesn't actually explain why Augie burns his hand, admittedly)
― The Yellow Kid, Wednesday, 19 July 2023 19:33 (nine months ago) link
many xposts to pinefox: i like that theory! & it fits with the nested construction i loved ScarJo’s Liz/Marilyn combo, so goddamn perfect & at times v moving Also idk maybe everyone is onto this already but i read that Kubrick was an inspiration for Schwartzman’s character of Augie & thats why he’s a war photographer, wears a safari jacket, has a big beard, is completely impassive etc
― werewolves of laudanum (VegemiteGrrl), Wednesday, 19 July 2023 19:41 (nine months ago) link
David Ehrlich’s review comes pretty close to capturing my feelings abt the movielove the final paraWill Augie ever see his wife again? It’s hard to say. But somewhere in Asteroid City, or in the play called “Asteroid City” within the play called “Asteroid City” within the television show whose title we either never learn or instantly forget, he will come to appreciate that death is just another of the great unknowns that we all have to live with in the waking dream we share together; a mystery both as cold as a meteorite at the bottom of a crater, and as infinite as the stars in the night sky above.https://www.indiewire.com/criticism/movies/asteroid-city-review-wes-anderson-1234866295/
― werewolves of laudanum (VegemiteGrrl), Wednesday, 19 July 2023 22:39 (nine months ago) link
also i rewatched it again tonight & i still love it the tupperware funeral for the mom in the motorcourt is so <3
― werewolves of laudanum (VegemiteGrrl), Thursday, 20 July 2023 05:20 (nine months ago) link
remember, if you look directly at the ellipses rather than thru your refracting box, not only will you not actually see the effect, but you will burn the dots straight into your retina, probably permanently. i know that for a fact because they're still burned into mine from when i was 11 going on 12. that's when i realized i wanted to be an astronomer.
― difficult listening hour, Thursday, 27 July 2023 10:08 (nine months ago) link
this was great. very funny. best alien. it's about infinity. which includes entertainment, if you let it (although as people have said above, this is double-edged)
the seeming infinitude of the star cast adds to the effect ofc
― imago, Sunday, 6 August 2023 09:15 (nine months ago) link
this was great. reminded me of John Barth more than anything else.
― I? not I! He! He! HIM! (akm), Saturday, 12 August 2023 01:16 (nine months ago) link
I loved this. Love French dispatch too.
― xheugy eddy (D-40), Tuesday, 22 August 2023 08:20 (eight months ago) link
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4RdncisZ_QA
― StanM, Friday, 15 September 2023 08:40 (seven months ago) link
All new on Netflix, based on Roald Dahl stories:
The Wonderful Story of Henry Sugar (41 minutes)The Rat Catcher (17 minutes)The Swan (17 minutes)Poison (17 minutes)
― StanM, Sunday, 1 October 2023 18:21 (seven months ago) link
What a strange, fascinating movie this was
― Josh in Chicago, Tuesday, 19 December 2023 01:53 (four months ago) link
i loved it, think it's his best film. definitely the one I've thought about the most after watching, anyhow
― ciderpress, Tuesday, 19 December 2023 04:42 (four months ago) link
I really liked this. Nobody does <ABSURD> like Anderson.
Also got a kick out of the actor Schwartzman character being named "Jones Hall" after the symphonic hall in downtown Houston
And they running gag of the hot rod car chase
AND THAT ROADRUNNER
― an icon of a worried-looking, long-haired, bespectacled man (C. Grisso/McCain), Tuesday, 19 December 2023 05:51 (four months ago) link
yeah i really loved this
― werewolves of laudanum (VegemiteGrrl), Tuesday, 19 December 2023 05:59 (four months ago) link
I had my doubts and admittedly didn't watch it all in one setting, but it does seem a rich well of ... whatever it is up to. And I'm equally unsure of exactly what it is up to as I am of whether I would ever watch it again, because I feel like I got it, I soaked in every scene and every line of flat dialogue and all of the little fleeting in-jokes and winks and subtle exchanges of glances and ... I'm still not sure I get it.
I never saw his last one, either, "French Dispatch." I guess I should. It's remarkable that Wes Anderson has gotten so much out of such a seemingly limited style/approach. I also like how his acting troupe of regulars just keeps getting bigger and bigger. I wonder what it's like to be directed by him?
― Josh in Chicago, Tuesday, 19 December 2023 13:27 (four months ago) link
I'll have to check this out. I loved The Grand Budapest Hotel, but had mixed feelings about Isle of Dogs and The French Dispatch - some great set pieces, but it also felt like his limitations were becoming more apparent with little to say that made up for it. I skipped this one after hearing some very negative reactions from people who were otherwise Anderson fans, but I just caught up with The Wonderful Story of Henry Sugar and thought that was excellent.
From what little I know about Asteroid City, the most substantial characteristic it shares with The Grand Budapest Hotel and The Wonderful Story of Henry Sugar (besides the usual elements you'd find in Anderson's work) is how they're set up with a matryoshka-like structure of a story within a story within a story, etc., calling attention not just to story creation but interpretation as well. It'll be interesting to see how that works with Asteroid City when it's an original work rather than an adaptation like The Wonderful Story of Henry Sugar or, in the case of The Grand Budapest Hotel, a story that heavily draws from the work of Stefan Zweig.
― birdistheword, Tuesday, 19 December 2023 18:48 (four months ago) link
I look forward to hearing what you think, because, yeah, it is like that - story within a story, kind of - but like I said, it's ... strange. It's hard for me to discern which story is the story within the story, and what that story is, exactly. Compared to "Grand Budapest," which does something different and maybe more ... safe (?) with the story within the story conceit?
― Josh in Chicago, Tuesday, 19 December 2023 19:13 (four months ago) link
I’m not sorry I saw this, but … am not in a rush to see it again? Like JiC noted above: I kinda got it, you know?
The French Dispatch I liked better.
(Haven’t seen any of his other movies but would like to get to The Royal Tenenbaums sooner or later though.)
― The Triumphant Return of Bernard & Stubbs (Raymond Cummings), Tuesday, 19 December 2023 19:17 (four months ago) link
It's good! They're all pretty good. In fact, the only ones my brain tells me were at all disappointing ("Life Aquatic" and "Darjeeling," and "Dogs" I thought was dull, too) I still see cited by some as favorites, so I feel like I have to see them again.
― Josh in Chicago, Tuesday, 19 December 2023 19:23 (four months ago) link
Schwartzman in the Criterion Closet, mentions the Clu Gulager influence on his performance in Asteroid City.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=92yxBp7tce4
― an icon of a worried-looking, long-haired, bespectacled man (C. Grisso/McCain), Monday, 1 January 2024 19:20 (four months ago) link
What sort of a name is Clu Gulager?
― stephen miller is not your friend (Eric H.), Monday, 1 January 2024 21:10 (four months ago) link
Clu Gulager was born William Martin Gulager in Holdenville, Hughes County, Oklahoma. His nickname was given to him by his father for the clu-clu birds (known in English as martins, like his middle name) that were nesting at the Gulager home at the time Clu was born.
― an icon of a worried-looking, long-haired, bespectacled man (C. Grisso/McCain), Monday, 1 January 2024 21:19 (four months ago) link