WES ANDERTHON

2023/07/03

in just over a week i went from knowing nothing about a director to having seen all his movies. i enjoyed pretty much every single one of them. originally i documented them all in a spreadsheet but now, on neocities, i can format it like a regular ol article

[2023/07/02] BOTTLE ROCKET

final one of these that i watched, and also the first movie wes anderson directed. due to that, it's real different from the rest of his works and in a similar league as rushmore for its relative lack in stylishness and more raw feeling that focuses on writing over visuals. it's also one of the most comedic, and does a lot story-wise that simply doesn't happen in other wes anderson movies. this is one of the only few not on disney+, so it was one of the last two i saw due to being slightly less convenient.

[2023/06/23] RUSHMORE

third one i saw before deciding to watch the rest in release order. way different from what i was expecting, but not in a bad way - the unusual relationship between the three main characters was interesting to see unfold, and seeing bill murray as a washed-up middle-aged guy is pretty funny in hindsight.

[2023/06/21] THE ROYAL TENENBAUMS

second one i saw after direct recommendation from my buddy emerald. i had a rough time paying attention because it was super humid in my room and a large bug showed up and i kept pausing, so i'd like to rewatch just for it to hit harder. even then, i loved it and it was great. one of the best out of all these for character drama.

[2023/06/24] THE LIFE AQUATIC With Steve Zissou

maybe my favourite out of all these. it was kinda hard to adjust to at first, but the characterization won me over once again and the context of the main guy (bill murray again) having his "final adventure" and filming the whole thing as a documentary gives the viewer this unique insight into how he views himself. there's way more i could say too. movie fucks.

[2023/06/25] THE DARJEELING LIMITED

the continuous theme of family hits hard again. maybe this is just me but the main guys being in a country foreign to an english-speaking target audience lets the viewer relate to the wacky little sentimental vacation they go on. very heartwarming that they learn to trust each other and there's no typical mid-movie separation arc where they all go "I HATE YOU" and split apart until realising they need each other like there's none of that bullshit it's all very down-to-earth and i love that :)

[2023/06/26] FANTASTIC MR. FOX

so this is the only one i'd seen before all this - i saw it as a kid when it was new and dude i can't even tell you how much i did NOT get it this is not a family movie, despite what disney+ tries telling you ("family fun at its finest" is in the description like ok) and i'm not saying it's inappropriate for kids at all, it definitely feels like they're not really the target audience. it has the same real-ass dialogue from all of anderson's other stuff and doesn't really mess around regarding death and the theme of survival and it's like, man, it's also kinda creepy in some parts. the ending was pretty heavy, in a beautiful way.

[2023/07/01] MOONRISE KINGDOM

first one i saw after asteroid city - i watched the majority of these movies on disney+ but this is one of the few that isn't on there. it's pretty reminiscent of rushmore's tone, having these weird kids with a messy relationship between various characters and some goofy humorous moments, but also the fact it's about a romance between two kids was sorta gross to me. having intimate romantic scenes with these two children was really uncomfortable. at least rushmore knew when to cut it out, but this kinda took it a step too far in one scene and just felt really icky. otherwise the drama is interesting and the stakes rising to comedic extents by the end was fun to watch unfold.

[2023/06/20] THE GRAND BUDAPEST HOTEL

first one i saw before deciding to watch the rest. i was impressed by the set design and perfect symmetry in near darn every shot, and visually it just owns. having seen the others i realize it's a sort of combo of live-action and the visual style of anderson's stop motion movies, which is super fucking neat. also maybe the funniest one? there were a lot of goofy moments and while disney+ categorizes these all as comedies this is the only one that really feels like a comedy. also, the 4:3 looks cool.

[2023/06/27] ISLE OF DOGS

it's pretty raw that this is something that can release to begin with. mr fox was a lil mature and a lil creepy, but this goes all in on that angle with pretty brutal themes of animal cruelty and it's a little hard to stomach at times. this has gotta be the best visually, with the most high-concept story compared to the others. it's great on its own just as a really well-made animated movie, like holy shit there's stuff in here i've never seen any other movie do, but it's also a little creepy and i don't even like dogs to begin with so if you've seen this you can imagine how grossed out i was.

[2023/06/28] THE FRENCH DISPATCH

i was really impressed with this movie, but due to it being an anthology i found it harder to really latch onto the characters and events emotionally the same way i did with all prior films. i thought isle of dogs was high-concept but this is also stretching it, just narratively instead of stylistically. something that really didn't help my enjoyment was the terrible streaming quality it was in, courtesy of disney+, which looked ridiculously chunky especially with text on-screen. like, it was distractingly bad. this is another i'd like to rewatch under better circumstances, because i did love what i watched.

[2023/06/29] ASTEROID CITY

i wrote a review for this on letterboxd. it was such a hitter for me that i made a fucking letterboxd account. i had to think about it a little and articulate my thoughts via the letterboxd review but i can't deny i enjoyed it a lot and would love to watch it again. i was saying french dispatch was hard to follow, and this one sorta was as well purely just because i didn't exactly understand what it's trying to do with its plot and themes, BUT dear golly gosh i loved my time and visually it's so quaint and impressive and i would've understood it more if i had subtitles on. this was the first time i ever went to see a movie on my own, and i don't regret it, but being in a room hidden behind all the other theatres in the building alongside a crowd of about 8 other people gave the viewing experience on its own a very private and weird vibe compared to other big-screen blockbusters i've been to see with my family and friends. worth it.