The Grand Budapest Hotel

I'm a big fan of Wes Anderson's style, so suffice to say that this was one of my most-awaited films this year. It was worth the wait, as the film didn't disappoint despite having a few reservations about it. Anderson has basically bested himself, delivering a film that is the epitome of his work, the Wes Anderson of all his films. While it doesn't dethrone my ultimate favorite film of his, he definitely pushes his limits with this one, bringing another story and setting to life.

Bottle Rocket

Cast: Luke Wilson, Owen Wilson, Ned Dowd
Director: Wes Anderson

This review first appeared as part of the Debuts Blogathon hosted by Chris (Terry Malloy's Pigeon Coop) and Mark (Three Rows Back). This is a shortened version of the review. To read the entire piece, click here. To see the overview of the blogathon, Armand (Film Police) has provided a list with links, which he updates when the pieces are published. 

Bottle Rocket was the directional debut of Wes Anderson, as well as the debut of brothers Luke and Owen Wilson working together onscreen. After this film, Anderson continued on to direct movies such as Rushmore, The Royal Tenenbaums and his most acclaimed work to date, Moonrise Kingdom. Bottle Rocket was based on a short film with the same title, translated into a feature film. While I do favor Anderson’s latter works, I think that as a follower of his work, Bottle Rocket deserves a place in one’s viewing shelf, as it displays earlier styling that Anderson would soon later hone and strengthen in his future films.

Moonrise Kingdom

Cast: Jared Gilman, Kara Hayward, Edward Norton, Bruce Willis, Bill Murray
Director: Wes Anderson

After many futile attempts to watch this, I finally finished Moonrise Kingdom. I wanted to watch it because I read that it was good. Plus, it was Wes Anderson so I already knew what to expect. However, after the film, my thoughts were undecisive. Did I like it? I don't know. Did I not like it? I don't know either. I understand why people raved about it, plot-wise, it was very Wes Anderson but there were some aspects just got me (for a lack of a better word) irritated.