Wes Anderson Flicks...

Capt_Scrummy · March 14, 2007, 12:24:36 AM

Ok, I've noticed an interesting trend. I'm a BIG fan of Anderson and his directing style, and I absolutely love his films (Most notably "The Royal Tennenbaums", "The Life Aquatic", and "Rushmore"). But what I've found is that people either love them or absolutely abhor them. There aren't any in-betweens.

Any thoughts?

fortunato · March 14, 2007, 12:38:37 AM

To be fair, I really enjoyed Bottle Rocket, Rushmore, and the Tennenbaums, but the Life Aquatic just seemed to be missing something the other films had, though I can't tell what it is. Maybe the characters were less appealing or the movie moved a little too slowly. In general, though, I agree. My mom and sister had to watch Rushmore several times before they could really enjoy it. Both liked Tennenbaums from the start, though. Maybe everybody needs a different film to enter Anderson's world for the first time, but once you're in there, you stay there.

Yaddo 42 · March 14, 2007, 04:57:05 AM

Call me the rare exception, I am in-between on his films. I tend to like the first two thirds of any film of his I watch but they don't end so much as wind down. It's like he and his co-writers can't figure out how to wrap up the story in a satisfactory manner and just go with the first thing they come up with.

Rushmore is probably my favorite of his films, but even that ending didn't quite work for me. The Life Aquatic.... was pretty flat as a movie, even Bill Murray disappointed me, but every frame was fantastic to look at.

I do like that American Express commercial he did though, seems to sum up all the staples of his filmmaking style.

Mr_Vindictive · March 14, 2007, 08:19:31 AM

I'm a huge fan of Anderson's work. I've followed his films ever since I first saw Bottle Rocket. Lawn Rangers, Jumpsuits - all of it is classic.

As his films have gone on, I've found that I like Rushmore and The Royal Tenenbaums better than Bottle Rocket and Life Aquatic. Don't get me wrong, I think that Aquatic was a fantastic film but it just doesn't seem to hold up as well as the others.

Capt_Scrummy · March 14, 2007, 05:14:31 PM

I think that I like "The Life Aquatic" so much because of its dry humor - I mean, it's dryer than hard scotch, and so many things are said tongue-and-cheek. I think it's that amount of flat dialogue that turns some people off.

He has a new film coming out soon, "The Darjeeling Limited", which looks really good.

Yaddo 42 · March 14, 2007, 10:18:07 PM

Quote from: Capt_Scrummy on March 14, 2007, 05:14:31 PM
I think that I like "The Life Aquatic" so much because of its dry humor - I mean, it's dryer than hard scotch, and so many things are said tongue-and-cheek. I think it's that amount of flat dialogue that turns some people off.

He has a new film coming out soon, "The Darjeeling Limited", which looks really good.

I usually love dry humor, but that movie was parched. Everyone was too withdrawn emotionally or self-consciously kooky - I'm looking at you Willem Dafoe.

Capt_Scrummy · March 15, 2007, 07:44:07 PM

Ah, there's nothing wrong with parched. It's good for you.

Torgo · March 16, 2007, 10:50:54 PM

I thought that the 1st half of Rushmore was fantastic, the 2nd half notsomuch.

The Royal Tenenbaums was a complete bore for me outside of Gene Hackman's wonderful performance.

The Life Aquatic is worth watching mainly for Bill Murray's performance but the movie just didn't click with like I thought it would based on the trailers.