‘Asteroid City’ Review: Wes Anderson’s Sci-Fi Romp is a Triumph

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Few present-day filmmakers quickly make themselves into a household name in the same way that Wes Anderson does. Every new project of his carries the distinct style that we’ve known him for over the years, and sometimes that becomes the very thing that we expect from whatever he comes up with next. Asteroid City feels like the perfect amalgamation of what exactly we hope to see from him as he takes on a more overt genre concept – in this case, a science fiction film – but he goes to show how his idiosyncrasies go far beyond the look. If anything, it’s Wes Anderson making a film in response to people who think his style applies only to the visual approach, and maybe his best in quite some time.

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The Grand Budapest Hotel – Review

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It’s easy enough to recognize the distinctive aesthetic of a Wes Anderson film but where it finds itself at its most delightfully tangible, without a doubt, is in The Grand Budapest Hotel. But even by Wes Anderson’s own standards, the elaborate structure of such a work is nearly impossible to match, for this feels like the sort of film that only Wes Anderson could have made. The Grand Budapest Hotel is the most Wes Anderson film that Wes Anderson has ever made, because it’s where each and every one of his most distinctive skills find themselves at their most free. If that alone weren’t enough to amount to what could easily become one of Wes Anderson’s best films, I don’t know what else can – because this may very well be the most Wes Anderson film ever to Wes Anderson.

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Isle of Dogs – Review

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Wes Anderson’s second animated feature film Isle of Dogs (which can be said out loud as “I love dogs”) is delightful in every sense of the word. For as easy as it is to admire the consistency of a filmmaker like Wes Anderson whether it be via his trademark visual style or his distinctively quirky sense of humour, his style will understandably not be for everyone’s tastes. Speaking only for myself, I’ve been a rather dedicated apologist for Wes Anderson’s work for I’ve yet to find myself actively disliking a film under his own name – because the way Wes Anderson allows his own trademarks to adapt so well under different forms of storytelling only goes to show more proof as to why he is truly among the most unique filmmakers of his own generation, for he is truly in a league of his own.

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Moonrise Kingdom – Review

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As far as critical success is concerned, Moonrise Kingdom is Wes Anderson’s most popular and for fans of the director it would be easy to see why this has stood atop all the rest. Although Rushmore still remains my favourite of his own work, Moonrise Kingdom showcases his own talents in arguably the most accessible manners for audiences of all sorts, but nevertheless it seems as if this is where he has only found the quirkiness that defined his own films working at its very best. Perhaps I’ve already come to the point that I’ve watched so much of his films enough to consider myself an apologist, but they’ve always worked with the same charms as he tells stories of all sorts. In just how it captures the joys and quirks of being a child, Wes Anderson has struck gold once again with Moonrise Kingdom by telling a whole other story on the inside here.

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Sausage Party – Review

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A lot is to be expected out of a film like Sausage Party and there’s one extent to which it is certainly providing of what it promises and another to where, maybe it’s just a “been there, done that” moment. That said, I had a blast with Sausage Party and while it’s certainly something I didn’t expect myself to enjoy for it is quite juvenile for my own tastes, I’m not lying when I talk about how much fun I had watching it. My relationship with Seth Rogen’s work is rather interesting, as he’s an actor I have great respect for although his schtick is not something that has always appealed to my tastes. However, when he successfully appeals there, it is easy for myself to have a fun time. Continue reading →