Wes Anderson's Asteroid City (2023)

I wanted him to get Hanks to reach down deep inside and find the guy who made That Thing You Do!

Just when I was about to finally say "I agree with clemenza" ...

I must be old, because I still think of 'Early Hanks' as Bachelor Party and The 'Burbs.

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.

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.

hmmm I like that.

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)

(That was a joke, Eric.)

Where's that "jokes vmic" thread?

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)

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

David Ehrlich’s review comes pretty close to capturing my feelings abt the movie

love the final para
Will 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/

also i rewatched it again tonight & i still love it

the tupperware funeral for the mom in the motorcourt is so <3

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.

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

this was great. reminded me of John Barth more than anything else.

I loved this. Love French dispatch too.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4RdncisZ_QA

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)

What a strange, fascinating movie this was

i loved it, think it's his best film. definitely the one I've thought about the most after watching, anyhow

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

yeah i really loved this

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?

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.

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?

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.)

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.

Schwartzman in the Criterion Closet, mentions the Clu Gulager influence on his performance in Asteroid City.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=92yxBp7tce4

What sort of a name is Clu Gulager?

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.