Movies of the good kind we have looked upon.

[Xamonas Chegwé]

Attack the Block. Quite possibly the greatest film ever made

This may well be true. Ossum flim!

[Xamonas Chegwé]

Before Midnight. The third in Richard Linklater's trilogy of flims starring Ethan Hawke and Julie Delpy, the previous two being Before Sunrise and Before Sunset. The 3 films were made and released with gaps of 9 years between. All three focus on a single day in the life of the couple, with very little really happening except for conversation and some gorgeous scenery. The directing and performances in all three are completely spellbinding and the characters SO believable as a couple, that it is hard to imagine that they are not one in real life (they aren't, btw.) Much of the dialogue is improvised or semi-improvised and both stars are co-credited as writers in the last 2 films to reflect this.

Thoroughly recommended.

[tattuchu]

The Royal Tenenbaums. Funny, as much as I love Wes Anderson, this one left me cold the first time I watched it. This time around, I have to wonder why that might be. Because I loved it. Goddamned depressing, and so beautifully crafted.

[Xamonas Chegwé]

The Royal Tenenbaums. Funny, as much as I love Wes Anderson, this one left me cold the first time I watched it. This time around, I have to wonder why that might be. Because I loved it. Goddamned depressing, and so beautifully crafted.

Half-way through Grand Hotel Budapest right now! OMGOMGOMGOMGOMG!!1!!!

[Xamonas Chegwé]

The Royal Tenenbaums. Funny, as much as I love Wes Anderson, this one left me cold the first time I watched it. This time around, I have to wonder why that might be. Because I loved it. Goddamned depressing, and so beautifully crafted.

Half-way through Grand Hotel Budapest right now! OMGOMGOMGOMGOMG!!1!!!

Which was completely OSSUM!

[tattuchu]

The Royal Tenenbaums. Funny, as much as I love Wes Anderson, this one left me cold the first time I watched it. This time around, I have to wonder why that might be. Because I loved it. Goddamned depressing, and so beautifully crafted.

Half-way through Grand Hotel Budapest right now! OMGOMGOMGOMGOMG!!1!!!

Which was completely OSSUM!

I just ordered it, although I've already seen it at the theater. Ordered The Life Aquatic as well, to complete my Wes Anderson set.

[tattuchu]

How to Train Your Dragon 2. The novelty of the first has worn off. Still, they did an excellent job of not forgetting what made the first one so special. So, a perfectly respectable sequel, with absolutely gorgeous animation, lots of heart, and lots of style.

[tattuchu]

Columbiana, a crime/revenge action film starring the gorgeous Zoe Saldana. A pleasant diversion.

[Animavore]

Saw The Grand Budapest Hotel last night. Must be the first Wes Anderson film I've seen I actually liked. Well, more than liked. I don't usually like his films at all.
It had witty and intelligent dialogue. Madcap humour. A brisk pace with clever editing. An amazing roster of actors, each one introduced in memorable ways. A black and white, silent movie aesthetic despite being so colourful and verbose. And some hilarious model work.
It was nice to hear Saoirse Ronan talk in her own accent for once. I think everyone just talked the way they normally do.

[tattuchu]

Saw The Grand Budapest Hotel last night. Must be the first Wes Anderson film I've seen I actually liked. Well, more than liked. I don't usually like his films at all.
It had witty and intelligent dialogue. Madcap humour. A brisk pace with clever editing. An amazing roster of actors, each one introduced in memorable ways. A black and white, silent movie aesthetic despite being so colourful and verbose. And some hilarious model work.
It was nice to hear Saoirse Ronan talk in her own accent for once. I think everyone just talked the way they normally do.

But you just described every one of his films And surely you couldn't possibly dislike Fantastic Mr. Fox?

Anyway, just watched Afterschool, starring Ezra "We Need to Talk About Kevin" Miller. It was meh.

[tattuchu]

Whole New Thing. An unusual Canadian film, set in Nova Scotia, about a young teenage boy who falls in love (kind of, he's pansexual or something) with his male teacher. Nothing happens between them, which is kind of a cop-out on the filmmaker's part. On the other hand, it's kind of a relief that nothing happens between them because that sure would have been awkward. The film is pretty well-made, with good acting and a good script and funny dialogue. The characters also have some complexity to them. The teacher for instance is gay, and he has anonymous sex in the toilets at a rest stop on the side of a highway.* It's difficult to be sympathetic to a character like this, and yet he's portrayed sympathetically. So it's...well, like I said, it's an unusual film.


*One of my old roommates, Phil, used to do this. He'd hang out in department store bathrooms and cruise for anonymous sex. I was horrified when I found out he did this and I was horrified in general to find out that this was a thing that people actually did, since my idea of sex is much more romantic. Phil was a nice guy, though, with a great sense of humor. He also turned me on to a lot of great music like Bjork, Kate Bush, Peter Murphy, The Smiths, etc, stuff I never would have discovered on my own.

[Animavore]

Saw The Grand Budapest Hotel last night. Must be the first Wes Anderson film I've seen I actually liked. Well, more than liked. I don't usually like his films at all.
It had witty and intelligent dialogue. Madcap humour. A brisk pace with clever editing. An amazing roster of actors, each one introduced in memorable ways. A black and white, silent movie aesthetic despite being so colourful and verbose. And some hilarious model work.
It was nice to hear Saoirse Ronan talk in her own accent for once. I think everyone just talked the way they normally do.

But you just described every one of his films And surely you couldn't possibly dislike Fantastic Mr. Fox?

Anyway, just watched Afterschool, starring Ezra "We Need to Talk About Kevin" Miller. It was meh.

A yes. But this film had something missing which all his other films had. Tedium.

[tattuchu]

I understand where you're coming from, Ani. Anderson's films are leisurely paced. I'm trying to remember at which point I became passionate about his stuff. Mostly I thought his films were beautiful to look at but had nothing much going on in them. I admired Anderson's skill, but I'd keep waiting for something to fucking happen. It was a frustrating experience and I ended up wanting to like them more than I actually liked them. At some point, though, I started to get his stuff. The Royal Tenenbaums had previously left me cold, as did The Life Aquatic. Just rewatched The Life Aquatic and it had much more emotional resonance for me this time around. I think it's a matter of understanding his films more and appreciating his aesthetic. Previously, they'd confused me. I couldn't get a grasp on what it was precisely he was trying to do. Now I feel a greater connection to it.
The Life Aquatic made me laugh (particularly Willem Dafoe) and it made me cry.

[tattuchu]

The Grand Budapest Hotel. Fantastic Mr. Fox is still my favorite, but Budapest was still a lot of fun and goddamned perfect from beginning to end.

[tattuchu]

Rushmore. Easily one of Wes Anderson's best. Ani, if you haven't seen this one yet, give it a try. It's a bit livelier than some of his others.