Asteroid City--Wes Anderson director, release June 16 & June 23rd

[Royalfan5 2353]

8 hours ago, NWBuck said:

Supposed to be her, but the next bit of dialogue includes a comment about "sometimes they use stunt doubles" for nude scenes... Given WA, I'm guessing that's a tell.

Also there is a person credited as body double in the end credits. 

[Harry Waters 57]

I don't think the movie was intended to be a narrative.  More of an exercise in existentialism.  A series of questions or themes on the human condition wrapped around a somewhat absurd story.  To me, this is what makes it alot like French Dispatch.  

[fellside 1113]

Spoiler

Did anyone else just get taken out of the story with the "you can't wake up if you don't fall asleep" part? The audience went from laughing with the movie to at the movie at that point. And I think that's when I decided I didn't like it.

 

[C-Man 27194]

On 6/26/2023 at 12:21 AM, futureman said:

holy shit, man.  go watch rushmore and the royal tenenbaums.

And Life Aquatic, Fantastic Mr Fox and Grand Budapest

[Brandywine 1316]

Grand Budapest was brilliant 

[PRONG HORN 3141]

4 hours ago, fellside said:

  Hide contents

Did anyone else just get taken out of the story with the "you can't wake up if you don't fall asleep" part? The audience went from laughing with the movie to at the movie at that point. And I think that's when I decided I didn't like it.

 

 

 

Peer pressure? 

 

That repeated line is part of the subtle meanings the artist provided for your interpretation.  That and the friend/foe coming from the color green, etc.  

 

 

 

 

 

[fellside 1113]

4 minutes ago, PRONG HORN said:

 

 

Peer pressure? 

 

That repeated line is part of the subtle meanings the artist provided for your interpretation.  That and the friend/foe coming from the color green, etc.  

 

 

 

 

 

I get that but the execution came off like community theater. 

[PRONG HORN 3141]

3 minutes ago, fellside said:

I get that but the execution came off like community theater. 

 

Yeah, it was a little heavy handed.  I almost had to check my phone to see how long it would continue until the next scene.  

 

[BurdineBandit 815]

On 6/26/2023 at 12:01 AM, UpperWestside said:

I just went to see this movie. I have only seen one of his previous films (The Grand Budapest Hotel) so this one did not really resonate with me. Sometimes that happens, but I did like the cast and the three sisters were pretty cool. Scarlett Johansson was in my 2nd favorite movie so it was nice seeing her in this. I am sure if I read up more on Anderson’s style of movie-making I might better understand this movie. 

This is almost my exact review. I enjoyed Grand Budapest Hotel, but saw Rushmore years ago and hardly remember it. I enjoyed watching Asteroid City, there are a handful of laughs, but I get annoyed without a narrative. I'm at a solid B. I also am not sure I "get" WA.

And I'm fine with a meandering story like Linklater does, or open-ended storylines even, but this one went right over my head like the alien's spaceship. 

[Da Fino 2776]

https://kottke.org/23/06/behind-the-scenes-of-wes-andersons-asteroid-city

http://backyardtrainco.com/asteroidcitytrains

 

Pretty cool model building and props. I enjoy seeing talented people build this miniature stuff. 

[tchookem 3900]

I'm not sure what I think of it. I don't hate it, but I feel like I need to see it again before I decide if that I like it.

I always feel like WA has a lot of moving parts, but they always end up culminating into something at the end. I'm not sure Asteroid City did this. I feel like there's something I missed or something I'm supposed to "get" that I don't get.

[RockyMountainHighHorn 890]

Big WA fan but did not like this. If you’re wanting good WA, there are plenty other options out there. This was way too much….everything and not enough anything. 

[YChang 3443]

Not a big WA fan but I found myself really enjoying this film. Loved the visuals which was almost too much at times and the black/white breaks actually worked as a nice relief. Liked the main story of just a family/people dealing with grief. Agreed with others the final b/w scene of the waking up from a dream chant wasn’t well executed. Or I just didn’t quite get it. I’ll def rewatch it again. 

[billfromlaketravis 11448]

So they had to recast Bill Murray as the motel manager with Steve Carrell.

It’s almost certainly a better film with Murray in it. 
 

https://www.newyorker.com/culture/culture-desk/the-missing-bill-murray-part-from-asteroid-city#:~:text=Murray was in Ireland for,t wait%2C” he recalled.

[Biff Tannen 45665]

Just finished it.  Wes Anderson is such a damn weirdo.

[TOR 5528]

This movie looked gorgeous (to me), all the vintage mid-century stuff was fantastic, like Mad Men on steroids.  The understated madness was incredibly well done by the talent.  Scarlett can do bombshell, obviously.  Schwartzman is a chameleon.  The set transitions and effects were hilarious.  I loved each and every scene.  But I didn't like the movie.  Is that weird? 

Going to rewatch GBH to recalibrate, I think.

[PRONG HORN 3141]

1 hour ago, TOR said:

I loved each and every scene.  But I didn't like the movie.  Is that weird? 

 

That's how you know it's art.

 

 

[YChang 3443]

2 hours ago, TOR said:

This movie looked gorgeous (to me), all the vintage mid-century stuff was fantastic, like Mad Men on steroids.  The understated madness was incredibly well done by the talent.  Scarlett can do bombshell, obviously.  Schwartzman is a chameleon.  The set transitions and effects were hilarious.  I loved each and every scene.  But I didn't like the movie.  Is that weird? 

Going to rewatch GBH to recalibrate, I think.

Not at all. Clearly the sum of the parts didn’t connect with you story wise. 

[RPM 26317]

On 8/25/2023 at 4:47 PM, TOR said:

I loved each and every scene.  But I didn't like the movie.  Is that weird? 

I felt the same way about The French Dispatch.

[RPM 26317]

On 3/15/2023 at 11:29 AM, Mrs Whiggins said:

The Wonderful Story of Henry Sugar, has no official release date as of yet but is supposed to also debut this year.

Out on Netflix. Wes Anderson has a field day with this short. If you like WA, you'll love it.

 

[Buzzrock 14903]

I liked Henry Sugar. Didn’t love AC.

[4th&Five 41519]

Your first WA movie?! The fuq?

 

 

[RomaVicta 29902]

On 6/29/2023 at 2:32 PM, Harry Waters said:

I don't think the movie was intended to be a narrative.  More of an exercise in existentialism.  A series of questions or themes on the human condition wrapped around a somewhat absurd story.  To me, this is what makes it alot like French Dispatch.  

I didn't get all the way through French Dispatch either. Anderson is best when making the real look like artifice or adding artifice. Full on artifice sucks. His animated films are poor. His totally unrealistic films are poor.

He is a great filmmaker otherwise.

[Eskimohorn 5630]

I didn't get all the way through French Dispatch either. Anderson is best when making the real look like artifice or adding artifice. Full on artifice sucks. His animated films are poor. His totally unrealistic films are poor.
He is a great filmmaker otherwise.

Fantastic Mr Fox was poor? Isle of Dogs? wtf?

[C-Man 27194]

Fantastic Mr Fox was poor? Isle of Dogs? wtf?

Yeah, I love both those movies.

[idigTexas 2284]

On 3/15/2024 at 9:32 PM, RomaVicta said:

I didn't get all the way through French Dispatch either. Anderson is best when making the real look like artifice or adding artifice. Full on artifice sucks. His animated films are poor. His totally unrealistic films are poor.

He is a great filmmaker otherwise.

Unpopular Opinions thread is over there ->

[RomaVicta 29902]

On 3/16/2024 at 2:30 PM, Eskimohorn said:

Fantastic Mr Fox was poor? Isle of Dogs? wtf?

Is my opinion forbidden? To me they were poor. I didn't give a shit about anything in them.

Maybe it's an age thing. I don't go for much animated stuff.

[Eskimohorn 5630]

Is my opinion forbidden? To me they were poor. I didn't give a shit about anything in them.
Maybe it's an age thing. I don't go for much animated stuff.

So if someone shared an opinion that Once Upon a Time in the West was poor, but that they didnt go for Westerns, should we give a shit about their opinion about Westerns?

Your opinion is not forbidden. You just undermined it and so we have no respect for your thoughts in this area.

[RomaVicta 29902]

18 hours ago, Eskimohorn said:

we have no respect for your thoughts

You have a mouse in your pocket?

[futureman 22444]

isle of dogs was great

[Hornius Emeritus 12450]

On 3/18/2024 at 5:28 PM, futureman said:

isle of dogs was great

Loved it.

[RomaVicta 29902]

I'm glad.

[irishtexan 11515]

I've seen almost everything WA has made. Here is my personal ranking. 

1. Rushmore
2. Royal Tenenbaums
3. Fantastic Mr. Fox
4. Life Aquatic
5. Darjeeling Limited 
6. Grand Budapest 
7. Moonrise Kingdom
8. Asteroid City
9. Bottle Rocket
10. Isle of Dogs
11. French Dispatch (This is the only WA film I just didn't like at all. Tried watching it three times and fell asleep every time)

For me, It's really about tiers. Rushmore, Royal Tenenbaums and Fantastic Mr. Fox are a cut above the rest to me. Those are three remarkable films. But I think my age (45) and when those films came out might cause me to over-rank them. Saw Bottle Rocket in the theater the summer after I graduated high school. I was a sophomore at UT in 98 when Rushmore came out and I remember seeing it at the Dobie. Probably watched it 100 times over the next 5 years when it came out on VHS. So those two films came out during my peak years of media/culture consumption.  Then WA managed to somehow meet (and for some, exceed) expectations with Tenenbaums. Gene Hackman's character is an all-time favorite, and it's the best thing Ben Stiller has ever done. And Mr. Fox just blew my mind when it came out. I love it.

LA, DL, GBH, MR, and AC are pretty interchangeable depending on my mood. I love them all fairly equally, but just a tad bit less than the top 3. I realize I over-rank Darjeeling Limited. I don't know why I really love that film because it's got some problematic subject matter with "three spoiled white brothers bicker in India and generally act like jackasses". But still, I love the film. And I also realize I under-rank Grand Budapest Hotel. I think I need to re-watch that one. 

Love Bottle Rocket but it being his first film, he hadn't fully-developed his style. But it was really quirky and funny and weird when it came out, and still has some of his best lines. It's in it's own category.

Then we've got Isle of Dogs and French Dispatch. I wanted to like Isle of Dogs. I really did. But I thought it was boring. And I just do not like French Dispatch at all. I tried watching it three times and fell asleep each time. It's the only stinker in the bunch. 

I looked at a couple of other rankings on some websites and the funny thing is everyone's ALL OVER THE PLACE. There seems to be no consensus regarding where each film should rank, except that French Dispatch was always in the bottom three of every single ranking. 

 

[RomaVicta 29902]

Rushmore is among the best films of the last fifty years as far as I'm concerned.

A remarkable thing about Anderson in my experience is that I like the movies more and more as I see them. I'd place Bottle Rocket among his elite group of films for this reason. I can't even say I liked it much when I saw it in the theater in LA. Maybe the problem was that the review was over the top. 

I only watched BR again when a friend and I were thinking of doing a low budget short. The second viewing completely captivated me. The interplay between adults and children that he is so great with appears in this film. The characters are rich and unique and feel true. I still love checking in with Bottle Rocket every five years or so.

The Royal Ts and Steven Zissou also got better with subsequent viewings although I liked both on first viewing.

I think he'd do well to do something totally out of his style sort of like Stephen Soderburgh does. The disappointing films of late suggest that he's becoming hidebound by the style he's most comfortable with. Opening a window might do him good.

Even if he never made another film that appealed to me, he ranks among the best filmmakers of his time.

[4th&Five 41519]

51 minutes ago, irishtexan said:

I've seen almost everything WA has made. Here is my personal ranking. 

1. Rushmore
2. Royal Tenenbaums
3. Fantastic Mr. Fox
4. Life Aquatic
5. Darjeeling Limited 
6. Grand Budapest 
7. Moonrise Kingdom
8. Asteroid City
9. Bottle Rocket
10. Isle of Dogs
11. French Dispatch (This is the only WA film I just didn't like at all. Tried watching it three times and fell asleep every time)

For me, It's really about tiers. Rushmore, Royal Tenenbaums and Fantastic Mr. Fox are a cut above the rest to me. Those are three remarkable films. But I think my age (45) and when those films came out might cause me to over-rank them. Saw Bottle Rocket in the theater the summer after I graduated high school. I was a sophomore at UT in 98 when Rushmore came out and I remember seeing it at the Dobie. Probably watched it 100 times over the next 5 years when it came out on VHS. So those two films came out during my peak years of media/culture consumption.  Then WA managed to somehow meet (and for some, exceed) expectations with Tenenbaums. Gene Hackman's character is an all-time favorite, and it's the best thing Ben Stiller has ever done. And Mr. Fox just blew my mind when it came out. I love it.

LA, DL, GBH, MR, and AC are pretty interchangeable depending on my mood. I love them all fairly equally, but just a tad bit less than the top 3. I realize I over-rank Darjeeling Limited. I don't know why I really love that film because it's got some problematic subject matter with "three spoiled white brothers bicker in India and generally act like jackasses". But still, I love the film. And I also realize I under-rank Grand Budapest Hotel. I think I need to re-watch that one. 

Love Bottle Rocket but it being his first film, he hadn't fully-developed his style. But it was really quirky and funny and weird when it came out, and still has some of his best lines. It's in it's own category.

Then we've got Isle of Dogs and French Dispatch. I wanted to like Isle of Dogs. I really did. But I thought it was boring. And I just do not like French Dispatch at all. I tried watching it three times and fell asleep each time. It's the only stinker in the bunch. 

I looked at a couple of other rankings on some websites and the funny thing is everyone's ALL OVER THE PLACE. There seems to be no consensus regarding where each film should rank, except that French Dispatch was always in the bottom three of every single ranking. 

 

i would probably switch Grand Budapest and Life Aquatic but we're pretty close on rankings.

[rage-a-holic 4381]

On 3/15/2024 at 11:32 PM, RomaVicta said:

I didn't get all the way through French Dispatch either. Anderson is best when making the real look like artifice or adding artifice. Full on artifice sucks. His animated films are poor. His totally unrealistic films are poor.

He is a great filmmaker otherwise.

Pretty much agree here. Don't care for any of his stop motion animation crap.

The only three Wes Anderson movies I'll watch:

1. Bottle Rocket
2. Rushmore
3. The Royal Tenenbaums

[billfromlaketravis 11448]

Rushmore is my favorite. Tenenbaums is a close, close second.  It’s a really funny movie + Bill Murray + shot in Houston. I work a few blocks from St. John’s. 

[Stringer 1438]

As someone who liked AC well enough and it was my first WA movie, I’m hearing I should watch Royal Tennebaums and Grand Budapest next?
 

I think that’s probably fair. I would throw Bottle Rocket in there because I love it so much, but he’s not really playing with the Wes Anderson style yet. It’s just a damn fun movie. Tennenbaums and GPH are probably the most accessible of his Wes Anderson-y movies.

Like someone said above, his movies tend to age incredibly well over multiple viewings, so if you don’t get the hype after seeing those, I think that’s fine and fair. If you have time (and the inclination to delve in), seeing those twice may be worth it.