Wes Anderson – cinemescope

100 Word Review – Moonrise Kingdom (2012)

June 23, 2015March 6, 2016Posted in 100 Words..., Comedy, Drama, RomanceTagged America, Bill Murray, Bruce Willis, Comedy, Drama, Edward Norton, Frances McDormond, Jason Schwartzman, New England, Romance, Tilda Swinton, Wes AndersonLeave a comment

Wes Anderson (Grand Budapest Hotel, Fantastic Mr. Fox) explores the weird and wonderful world of childhood in this charming feature film.

Set on a small island off the New England coastline, a pair of 12 year old lovers run away together causing an island-wide search party.

This really is an ensemble piece, with the likes of Bruce Willis, Bill Murray, Edward Norton, Frances McDormond, Tilda Swinton and Jason Schwartzman making up the inhabitants of this strange and beautiful community.

Part comedy, part drama with a touch of romance and tragedy thrown in for good measure, watching Moonrise Kingdom is watching Art.

100 Word Review – The Grand Budapest Hotel (2014)

June 7, 2015March 6, 2016Posted in 100 Words..., ComedyTagged adaptation, Adrian Brody, art, Bill Murrey, Comedy, Edward Norton, Harvey Keitel, IMDb, Jason Schwartzman, Jeff Goldblum, Jude Law, Oscars, Ralph Fiennes, Saoirse Ronan, Stefan Zwing, Tilda Swinton, Tony Revolori, Wes Anderson, Willem Dafoe2 Comments

Based on the writings of Stefan Zwing, writer and director Wes Anderson (Fantastic Mr. Fox) takes us on a journey into the fictional Republic of Zubrowka in this beautiful comedy.

Ralph Fiennes stars as Gustave, a concierge at The Grand Budapest Hotel, accompanied by his faithful friend Zero (Tony Revolori).

This film is full of all the wonderful actors you could hope for from an Anderson film, and a few more besides. The direction a weird and wonderful work of art, with all the precision of a master. Winner of 4 Oscars and nominated for 5 more, it’s #183 on IMDb’s Top 250 list.

100 Word Review – Fantastic Mr. Fox (2009)

April 6, 2015March 6, 2016Posted in 100 Words..., FantasyTagged adaptation, animals, animation, Bill Murray, Darjeeling Limited, Fantasy, George Clooney, Grand Budapest Hotel, Jason Schwartzman, Meryl Streep, Owen Wilson, Roald Dahl, Stop Motion, Wes Anderson3 Comments

Based on Roald Dahl’s classic children’s story, with an all-star cast (George Clooney, Meryl Streep, Owen Wilson, Jason Schwartzman, Bill Murray), Wes Anderson (The Grand Budapest Hotel, Darjeeling Limited) chose stop-motion animation to adapt this to the big screen.

And he made the right choice. The combination of quirky animation, eccentric characters and utterly delightful use of language make you feel as though you are living the book.

There are some unfortunate Hollywood stereotypes that sneak into it. All the evil farmers are British and the animals are all American. However, it still captures the charm of the original story.