Pinko Marx
Banned
See, ok...I can understand not placing it at the top, whatever. But thinking its bad? How? Tell me, explain like I'm 5.
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I just finished watching all of Wes Anderson's movies
- Thread starter Pinko Marx
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See, ok...I can understand not placing it at the top, whatever. But thinking its bad? How? Tell me, explain like I'm 5.
real_slime
Banned
uh yeah, so why?
it just seems weird to me. i mean rushmore has some flat out unpleasant elements, but people don't turn against it the way they do the life aquatic, which is milder in that regard (and it all comes out of steve zissou's mouth who is a known prick in the movie).
i really like the life aquatic. it's comedy and bleak undertones are as successful as anywhere else in wes anderson's films.
Love Wes Anderson. I've heard people who don't like him claim that he's a one-trick pony, which I really disagree with. I mean, all his movies have a distinct vibe, and enough...idk, "Wes Anderson-isms" that they're all immediately identifiable as him...but other than that they mostly have wildly different things going on in them. I think he's one of the most creative filmmakers working today, and you can't really predict what he's going to do next ever.
The Royal Tenenbaums is my favorite. Probably would be in my all time top 10.
The Royal Tenenbaums is my favorite. Probably would be in my all time top 10.
Pai Pai Master
Banned
Life Aquatic is my favourite movie of all time. Good pick!
Also, Bud Cort saying, "We fuckin' stole it, man" will never not make me crack up.
I agree with this if you put rushmore on top. however I enjoy life aquatic. still my least favorite but I enjoy it.
I watched Rushmore before I knew who Wes Anderson was, and I kinda liked it.
Then I watched others of his and really couldn't get into how quirky and stylized they were.
Don't get me wrong. He seems like a fantastic director, but I think you have to be drawn to the things he does well.
Then I watched others of his and really couldn't get into how quirky and stylized they were.
Don't get me wrong. He seems like a fantastic director, but I think you have to be drawn to the things he does well.
Squirrel Killer
Member
Life Aquatic gets a shitton of hate. I wonder if the reveal is too underplayed for the implications of it to sink in. I usually recommend to people who hate it that they should at least give it second viewing keeping the reveal in mind.
Isn't the joke there just that he ran through a puddle of water and has like a million fucking leeches on him?
Robot Pants
Member
Wow.
Rushmore sucks?
I stopped there
This guy knows what's up. I actually hate almost all his movies and only agree with the top 3.
And yes Life Aquatic sucked ass. That's when he got too far up his own ass
Rushmore sucks?
I stopped there
This guy knows what's up. I actually hate almost all his movies and only agree with the top 3.
And yes Life Aquatic sucked ass. That's when he got too far up his own ass
Pinko Marx
Banned
Life Aquatic: Bill Murray, William Dafoe, Jeff Goldblum, Cate Blanchett.
Grand Budapest: Ralph Fiennes, Jeff Goldblum, Adiren Brody, William Dafoe, and I just found out Tilda Swinton was in it two days ago.
Yeah that's how I feel. It's like his characters were taken from a successful graphic novel or animated feature and transferred to live action with loving detail.
This is like the forum post equivalent of that guy who swings the knives at Indiana Jones.
Gene. Hackman.
Squirrel Killer
Member
I guess I was expecting some sort of deeper humor.
How convenient, I actually just got done watching Moonrise Kingdom. Anyway, I haven't seen all his films yet, but I've enjoyed all of them so far. The Life Aquatic didn't really do it for me though, maybe I didn't get it, maybe it was just overhyped at that point, it just didn't really resonate with me.
The leeches are the housing market!
A Link to the Past
Banned
I think Steve Zissou's quality really depends on when you see it. If you watch a bunch of his stuff and then see Zissou, you could legit find yourself not really digging the father angle that Anderson puts into a lot of his movies.
if it wasn't for a certain overly melodramatic scene
the kid drowning
Tenenbaums, Life Aquatic, Grand Budapest, Fantastic Mr. Fox are all great, I can't really pick my favorite
CheesecakeRecipe
Stormy Grey
Gene fucking kilt it as a completely irredeemable asshole, in the most endearing way possible. I can't get over how great the cast was for that film.
Lactose_Intolerant
Member
Rushmore and The Royal Tenebaums are still my favorites. The rest are lesser movies.
I still say the stupid OR scrubs joke
I still say the stupid OR scrubs joke
Pinko Marx
Banned
Probably my biggest problem with it too. Movie fell apart right after that. Maybe its symbolic that when the kid died, so did the movie.
RoyaleDuke
Banned
I'll take Grand Budapest Hotel and Life Aquatic with Steve Zissou.
Both of those movies are examples of modern cinema transcending into art.
Both of those movies are examples of modern cinema transcending into art.
SillyEskimo
Member
A Wes Anderson marathon? Hell will hold no surprises for you.
POWERSPHERE
Member
Yeah I can't read your list after reading you judge a movie for having an Unlikable character. Everyone's kind of a turd in all his movies.
Pinko Marx
Banned
Rushmore and The Royal Tenebaums are still my favorites. The rest are lesser movies.
I still say the stupid OR scrubs joke
OH ARE THEY?
Dr. Feel Good
Banned
He's slowly but surely just tried to out weird himself. Bottle Rocket, Rushmore, and Royal Tenebaums are his best movies because they don't play off as bizarre art showcases with awkward dialogue. I give him props for his set designs and unique story lines, but everything since Life Aquatic has been more or less average.
I didn't know it was possible to have such shitty taste...
At least we agree on something.
Yeah, it's one of my favorite movies of all time. I'd say it's probably in my top 3, tbqh. Poignant, funny, well written, well acted, well shot, stylish in a standard but also non-standard Anderson way, creative on the cinematography front in ways that are almost wholly different from typical Anderson (hilarious action scenes, sumptuous landscapes, sets that don't overly rely on Americana), and Bill Murray at some strangely perfect balance between funny Bill Murray and serious Bill Murray. Everyone else is amazing as well.
It's a movie that benefits strongly from Anderson challenging his comfort zone and trying different things. It's brilliant because of that, whereas much of his later work deserves some criticism for playing it safe and retreading groundwork laid down by Rushmore and Royal Tenenbaums.
If there's any Anderson movie that deserves to be criticized it's Moonrise Kingdom, which is a derivative and self imitative work, much as Tim Burton does "Tim Burton movies" nowadays. It feels like Anderson doing an Anderson movie simply to get a movie in theaters.
The real draw of Wes Anderson movies, besides his style, is that each one centers on detailed, thoughtful character analysis. Further, characters are very unusual, unique, well thought out constructions. Meanwhile, Moonrise Kingdom rehashes some very stale character archetypes.
Maybe there was something there that really drove him to this movie. Maybe it was a movie he always wanted to make and somehow just fell a little short. It sure doesn't feel that way, though.
ViewtifulJC
Banned
GBP is the best. He somehow managed to marry all his many Wes Andersonisms to what is clearly his strongest story, and the craftsmanship across the board is impeccable. The cast, the production design, the soundtrack, the costumes, the cinematopgraphy, Barney Pilling's editing...best film of 2014, fam.
Robot Pants
Member
StriKeVillain
Banned
My top 3 would probably be:
1. Grand Budapest Hotel
2. The Life Aquatic
3. Rushmore
They're all so good though.
1. Grand Budapest Hotel
2. The Life Aquatic
3. Rushmore
They're all so good though.
MrAstronaut
Member
Moonrise Kingdom and Grand Budapest are two of my favorites. I still want to see Bottle Rocket! List looks pretty good to me though.
-ImaginaryInsider
Member
I've never understood the "Life Aquatic" hate. How can anyone hate a movie that features Bill Murray gunning people down to Iggy and the Stooges "Search and Destroy"?
Bonus points for Jeff Goldblum in his 'I'm a Pepper" Dr. Pepper shirt, and the nod to Buckaroo Bonzai in the ending sequence.
Bonus points for Jeff Goldblum in his 'I'm a Pepper" Dr. Pepper shirt, and the nod to Buckaroo Bonzai in the ending sequence.
I can't even imagine watching all his movies in such a short amount of time. He makes "once every so often" movies for me. After watching moonrise kingdom I was set for about two years before I felt the need to watch anything else of his. It's like having a conversation with that weirdo in the neighborhood who wears a top hat and talks about reality just being a dream of a giant asleep in a field of petunias. It's fun once in a while but most of the time it's just fucking exhausting to deal with and I have no long term patience for it.
Basically I very much enjoy the visuals and general style (set and costume design, music, cinematography) but at a certain point, usually around the last third of the movie, the quirkiness starts to grate and it goes from fun to just obnoxious. And once the novelty of the visuals rub off, there is nothing hiding the fact the story is mostly dumb and uninteresting and the characters are often complete morons or complete assholes. Or both.
I would love to see a movie directed by wes anderson but written by someone else.
Basically I very much enjoy the visuals and general style (set and costume design, music, cinematography) but at a certain point, usually around the last third of the movie, the quirkiness starts to grate and it goes from fun to just obnoxious. And once the novelty of the visuals rub off, there is nothing hiding the fact the story is mostly dumb and uninteresting and the characters are often complete morons or complete assholes. Or both.
I would love to see a movie directed by wes anderson but written by someone else.
LyleLanley
Banned
Count me in as one of the people who can't understand hating The Life Aquatic if you like the rest of Wes Anderson's work.
That's like... the only good scene in the movie.
The trailer for Life Aquatic is great, I was so pumped to see it one opening night... biggest movie letdown ever.
TJ Verboten
Member
Watched Grand Budapest Hotel today, my second time seeing it, been almost a year since I saw it last year. Still so incredibly charming.
For my money it's Wes Anderson's most complete film since the Royal Tenenbaums.
Moonrise Kingdom was really good for its first two acts, 2nd act in particular being the highlight, but I thought it faltered a bit in the last 15 minutes. The increasing of the stakes with the larger boy scout troup bit with Harvey Keitel, followed by the church climax was decent stuff, but not nearly as compelling as the first 75% of the movie.
Fantastic Mr. Fox was novel + I mostly dug it....but I don't think it reaches the heights of Anderson's best stuff (Rushmore, Tenenbaums, GBH, Bottle Rocket).
Having said that....I only watched it once and it lingers in my brain as something that I wonder if I would like even more on a rewatch.
Darjeeling was a lesser entry, still enjoyable, but I think the least interesting of his movies.
I did really dig the soundtrack for a while....it's a movie I do want to revisit as I haven't seen it since the theaters. My favorite part was Hotel Chevalier, enchanting.
Life Acquatic feels like his most flawed movie, I remember at the time feeling like it wasn't nearly as funny as his first 3 movies, it was the first Wes Anderson movie where Owen Wilson didn't help with the script, and I thought it showed, as much of the humor wasn't as effective....but I think even in it's shortcomings it's more interesting than Darjeeling. It's also one I haven't watched start to finish since the theater.
Rushmore is his best.
It's interesting I didn't fully 'get it' till I watched it about 3-4 months ago.
It was about the 3rd time I'd seen it over the years....but for some reason I watched really closely + it finally completely clicked with me.
Brilliant.
Went from being one I liked to one I think is absolutely his best.
OP I really suggest you watch it again at some point without any expectations.
Just let it take you where it's going to take you. It's tremendous.
My List -
Great tier -
1. Rushmore
2. Bottle Rocket (funniest in my book)
3. Tenenbaums (need to watch it again)/Grand Budapest Hotel (good score but Zimmer was robbed)
Good with some wonderful stretches -
5. Moonrise Kingdom (2nd act is the highlight)
6. Fantastic Mr. Fox
Flawed, but still worthwhile (I concede I haven't seen either in full since the theaters).
7. The Life Acquatic
8. The Darjeeling Limited
I agreed with the earlier statement that Wes Anderson is one of the most creative directors working today. I always anticipate his movies.
Nice to see him get recognition from the Academy, though I thought it should've won Best Original Screenplay over Birdman.
Most encouraging though is that with Grand Budapest Hotel it feels like he's back to top form.
For my money it's Wes Anderson's most complete film since the Royal Tenenbaums.
Moonrise Kingdom was really good for its first two acts, 2nd act in particular being the highlight, but I thought it faltered a bit in the last 15 minutes. The increasing of the stakes with the larger boy scout troup bit with Harvey Keitel, followed by the church climax was decent stuff, but not nearly as compelling as the first 75% of the movie.
Fantastic Mr. Fox was novel + I mostly dug it....but I don't think it reaches the heights of Anderson's best stuff (Rushmore, Tenenbaums, GBH, Bottle Rocket).
Having said that....I only watched it once and it lingers in my brain as something that I wonder if I would like even more on a rewatch.
Darjeeling was a lesser entry, still enjoyable, but I think the least interesting of his movies.
I did really dig the soundtrack for a while....it's a movie I do want to revisit as I haven't seen it since the theaters. My favorite part was Hotel Chevalier, enchanting.
Life Acquatic feels like his most flawed movie, I remember at the time feeling like it wasn't nearly as funny as his first 3 movies, it was the first Wes Anderson movie where Owen Wilson didn't help with the script, and I thought it showed, as much of the humor wasn't as effective....but I think even in it's shortcomings it's more interesting than Darjeeling. It's also one I haven't watched start to finish since the theater.
Rushmore is his best.
It's interesting I didn't fully 'get it' till I watched it about 3-4 months ago.
It was about the 3rd time I'd seen it over the years....but for some reason I watched really closely + it finally completely clicked with me.
Brilliant.
Went from being one I liked to one I think is absolutely his best.
OP I really suggest you watch it again at some point without any expectations.
Just let it take you where it's going to take you. It's tremendous.
My List -
Great tier -
1. Rushmore
2. Bottle Rocket (funniest in my book)
3. Tenenbaums (need to watch it again)/Grand Budapest Hotel (good score but Zimmer was robbed)
Good with some wonderful stretches -
5. Moonrise Kingdom (2nd act is the highlight)
6. Fantastic Mr. Fox
Flawed, but still worthwhile (I concede I haven't seen either in full since the theaters).
7. The Life Acquatic
8. The Darjeeling Limited
I agreed with the earlier statement that Wes Anderson is one of the most creative directors working today. I always anticipate his movies.
Nice to see him get recognition from the Academy, though I thought it should've won Best Original Screenplay over Birdman.
Most encouraging though is that with Grand Budapest Hotel it feels like he's back to top form.
FlutterPuffs
Member
Watch Life Aquatic when you feel your life is turning to shit, and it will be one of the best films you've seen in your life.
Also Rushmore is GOAT, and Timedog iS correct. His movies just gets better after repeated viewings. They're so dense that you'll miss a few scenes, going ons in your first watch.
Also Rushmore is GOAT, and Timedog iS correct. His movies just gets better after repeated viewings. They're so dense that you'll miss a few scenes, going ons in your first watch.
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