The Wes Anderson Series - Grand Budapest Hotel

I cannot say anything but : GO AND WATCH IT.

You will not regret it. Its like sitting on a roller coaster, you know what will happen next. Yet, there's something to it that will keep you on your seat. There's humour, there's action, there's a mystery, there's suspense, there's even A-listers like Ralph Fiennes. (In an alternate universe, you know him as Lord Voldermort.) There's also perfectly aligned symmetrical shots and an entire world built around it.

This is probably's the show with the highest body count so far. None of his shows have ever come this close in terms of gore. It's also chock full of Easter eggs, references to his previous movies, and his recurring themes, namely : Adults acting like kids, being in unfavorable circumstance...

It's like watching a reunion of his shows together. Although he has first time collaborators as his main leads, his extras are nothing but the W.Anderson Gang, actors and actresses he has worked with before, now playing different roles. It's like watching Scout Master Ward (Norton) arguing with Peter Whitman (Brody) over small things. You don't know whats happening, and there's Social Services lying in a coffin (Tilda Swinton). Brody acts as the bad guy. And he doesn't make a scary or evil one, but a childish and entertaining one.

Due to excessive scenes of gore and lack of romance, this show has been rated as only for mature adults. And you get to see the Prada Candy girl Lea Seydoux. George Clooney has a cameo in this film. I didn't see him. I'm going in to watch again. 

Wes Anderson - The Completist

NEW: Grand Budapest Hotel

and:

At this point of time,  I have watched every film directed by Wes Anderson. Yes, I am a full blown W.Anderson fan. It is also now possible that I have watched the same show more than 3 times. In celebration of the release of his new film, "The Grand Budapest Hotel", I have also taken much effort into building of his non-film work on youtube.

I guess Christmas came early this year. Enjoy.

Cousin Ben's Troop Screening (Promo for Moonrise Kingdom)

Hotel Chevalier (Promo for Darjeeling Limited)

Prada Candy

Prada Castello Cavalcanti

Stella Artotis

Sony Experia

Softbank

Senator John McCain


Films: Bottle Rocket - Rushmore - The Royal Tenenbaums - The Life Aquatic with Steven Zissou - The Darjeeling Limited - Fantastic Mr Fox - Moonrise Kingdom

The Wes Anderson Series - Moonrise Kingdom(2012)

"Hello Cap'n Sharp, this is Social Services"

This is the most recent show by Anderson, and it's:

Like his previous show, the main characters aren't adults, but a pair of 12 year old kids. Meet Sam Shakusky

 and Suzy Bishop

A pair of young lovers trying to elope. What probably is the most refreshing is that the kids are acting like grown ups here, unlike the rest of his shows. These kids don't throw tantrums or run around screaming, but they sit and think through it calmly, albeit innocently

And these are adults:

It's amazing how the behaivour of children and adults have been reversed,  especially when these are the effects of degratory behaivour of adults. One of the major scenes is the exchange of words with Bruce Willis and Tilda Swinton:

For all we know, Bruce Willis is a bona-fide action star. He runs, he shoots, he makes death defying leaps and he sweats uncomfortably at the prospect of having one of the boys staying in his precinct having been taken away by Social Services. Tilda Swinton just plays herself, just that her name got replaced into Social Services.

Also to add that a mere mention of her name sends the rest of the adults into a flurried panic. Also she dresses very well, a cute little hat with a sharp collared coat and nice pants. A pity that towards the final scenes, top half of the coat is only shown. Pfff.

We've come to the end of Anderson Series so far, his upcoming "Grand Budapest Hotel" releases in 2014. Looking forward to it then.

Read more: Bottle Rocket, Rushmore, The Royal Tenenbaums, The Life Aquatic of Steven Zissou, The Darjeeling Limited, Fantastic Mr Fox.

The Wes Anderson Series - Fantastic Mr Fox(2009)

There is only one thing to say about this show


I love this show!

There, I said it. Fantastic Mr Fox remains to be a select few shows I can watch over and over again without feeling too bored.

This film is based on the Roald Dahl book, Fantastic Mr Fox. Although this book was written for kids, but its depth and issues it spells out makes it no different from the adult books he has written. Unlike this show, there is a villian.

It's the humans.

Why do I say that? In a typical context, we are always presented with the side of humans in the constant battle of humans vs Nature. We are told that no matter what happens, we are to take the side of our fellow human race. Why should we care about the environment? Leave it to the tree huggers! What Dahl did in his book was to present the classic situation in the context of the animals instead of the humans, effectively turning the tables on the situation we thought was all too the same.

Another breakthrough of this film was the use of stop-motion animation, which takes an insanely long time to produce. The fluidity of movements, illustrated in this one:

The twitching movement of Ash is quite reminiscent of animal reaction behaivour, the lighting speed of which nerves work to react to. Animals portrayed in this context have human-like personalities and belongings, most significantly in this picture:

"The local human  schoolchildren sing an eerie little rhyme, here, listen to this" -- Badger

OHMIGOD I just realised there was an apple computer in the back of the room behind badger. And a dicta-sonic player on the table. No longer animals are creatures that lack behind humans in terms of brainpower or sophistication (In the show, the animals have jobs. Yes, they work for their keep),  but they are equal to humans, just that they are animals. Isn't that respect?

There are many reasons why I like this show, although the situation paints something we all know very well, but Dahl can't resist but turn the tables on the story once again.

We all know how the story ends. Nevertheless, the painstaking detail to all of its characters makes it a joy to watch.

Read more: Bottle Rocket, Rushmore, The Royal Tenenbaums, The Life Aquatic of Steven Zissou, The Darjeeling Limited, Moonrise Kingdom

The Wes Anderson Series - The Darjeeling Limited(2007)

This is how you throw away a bunch of custom-designed Louis Vuitton luggage

If I were use 3 objects to describe this show, it would be: 3 brother, a train and India.

The previous occurence of 3 siblings occured in the Royal Tenenbaums, with Chaz, Margo and Richie. Introducing the Whitman brothers:

Peter, Jack and Francis.

The brothers meet on a train, on the pretext on a bonding trip together ever since their father's funeral. However, the trip is goes on to a bad start : "I'm taking the passports" &

Francis: [Francis and Peter are beating each other up] You don't love me!

Peter: Yes I do!

Jack: I love you too, but I'm gonna mace you in the face!

Brothers: AHHHHHH!!!!!

Isn't this the damnest thing you ever saw?

I think the most amazing thing is that they aren't afraid to yell at each other and start getting into scruffles. It's as though they have brought their previous grievances along the trip and decide to air them once and for all. I remain convinced that I'm watching the Royal Tenenbaums, by looking at the way these characters interacted with one another. 

"Are you alright?" "Not really, the snake escaped."

Francis is a rather typical control freak, typical for oldest siblings (I contest that). He brings his own assistant to plan for the trip, loses his mind when a shoeshine boy makes off with one of his 3000 dollar loafers and insists on being completely self sufficient, albeit getting stares from others. 

Peter is the family charmer, and gets away with it. He comes to the trip just as his wife is about to give birth to their child, buys back a poisonous snake and accidentally releases it, and carrys their father's belongings with him, including his old luggage. At least they aren't fighting at every sight of it, so I'm guessing that is good.

Jack is the baby of the group. He never seems sure of what to do or say, and can never catch the hints Rita throws in his face. Nevertheless, his place seems to be listening to the messages left on his ex-girlfriend's answering machine. He remains coy and zipped up about his relationship status, and doesn't talk about it much

But I think, the most influential character of this film is this one:

Long before the boys are to meet her, they constantly bring her up and sometimes act under her influence, way before she makes an appearance in the whole film. Although she is the boys' mother, there is no way of denying her knowledge of them inside out. Their on-screen interaction time is at most 15 minutes, but the effects it has on the boys are profound. 

Read more: Bottle Rocket; Rushmore; The Royal Tenenbaums; The Life Aquatic of Steven Zissou; Fantastic Mr Fox; Moonrise Kingdom

The Wes Anderson Series - The Life Aquatic with Steven Zissou(2004)

Finally, a lead who isn't good-looking or young. He is a tired, middle-aged guy trying to give a second boost for his career.

At least we can say: it can happen to anyone.

Except this isn't anyone.

Enter Steven Zissou:

He is an undersea water explorer. There are many things to proof this point.

He has his own boat

His own whale wouldn't eat him alive:

He keeps a man who sings David Bowie in Portugese on his crew:

I need to hire this guy for myself

And most importantly, he's always on a lookout for things like these:

And then his "son" appears, and so does a reporter, and we get rivalry that very much resembles the one in "Rushmore". Bill Murray's opponent is Owen Wilson this time, not Jason Schwartzman. Their story doesn't take place in a school with an over-aged pupil, it takes place in the open sea where they are hunting for an elusive Leopard Shark.

What remains entertaining is the extent Zissou would go to pursue the things that he wants, even if it means making a fool out of himself, but he gladly does.

However, not all the characters meet with a happy ending, but the journey makes it seem that it doesn't matter at all. Let's face it, killing a character is never easy. What's heartening is that we are showed the characters reaction prior to his death, and for them to put aside their differences (momentarily).

As said earlier, there is no definite good guy / bad guy in this show. Zissou might be the good guy. Or the bad guy. Depends on how you see it.

Read more:
Bottle Rocket , Rushmore, The Royal Tenenbaums, The Darjeeling Limited, Fantastic Mr Fox, Moonrise Kingdom

The Wes Anderson Series - The Royal Tenenbaums(2001)

A reason why I'm watching this show because of Richie Tenenbaum

And Margo Tenenbaum

I do enjoy this show very much for some reason. Maybe because it's a light hearted show, or to see Ben Stiller and Gwyneth Paltrow in serious roles for once. It features 2 things: Kids behaving as adults and adults acting like kids.

This film shows the after of "child prodigies", after they've been featured in papers, gotten their degrees from university, entered into various "smart societies", and .... ???

It doesn't paint a very glamorous picture of them. They suffer from the blows of adult life, death of a spouse, proceeds of a divorce, a career crashing down from the heights, so on and so forth. 

What makes this show a joy to watch is the way that they handle these problems that are thrown. Some take a "hide and escape", others a "let's go round the problem", and finally a  "bring it" solution. But it is also seeing the grown children carry with them the baggage of their past childhood into the adult world, that reminds us of how ghosts of the childhood gone scars for the rest of our lives.

I also like the way how he divides up the story nicely among the 3 children, Chas, Margo and Richie

Chas is the oldest of Royal's 3 children. Since childhood, he he was fiercely possessive of his own things, to the extend of suing his father over some bonds he had. Things were made worse when his wife died in a plane crash, and he was now obsessed over the safety of his own 2 sons.

He is, however, a young financial whiz and got his start managing the family finances.

Margo is Royal's open-secret adopted daughter, with a flair of staging plays, and performed her own at the age of 11. Even as a child, Margo was treated as an adult, with any childish outburst considered as odd. As a result, Margo's personal life is highly secretive, and completely turns what others people's expectation of her are to be.

And who can forget Richie Tenenbaum, the youngest and most good looking of the family. Everything he wanted, he had. But towards the end, whatever he wanted, he was willing to pay for it. Other than being a star tennis player whose career crashed spectacularly upon his sister's marriage, spends his time away on a cruise ship.

How do the stories of the 3 children act out? Do they crash and burn? Is what they want really what they want?It does not have the big star power as like that big hollywood blockbusters, but its simple charm is enough to delight many viewers.

Read more: Bottle Rocket; Rushmore; The Life Aquatic of Steven Zissou; The Darjeeling Limited; Fantastic Mr Fox; Moonrise Kingdom

The Wes Anderson Series - Rushmore(1998)

Second show by Anderson - Rushmore

Frankly I didn't like this show as much as I'd like to. It's about this overaged school student who stays in his alma matter as long as he can, as long as he doesn't have to graduate.

And you can see all the clubs that he started/ joined

He makes me look lazy

Maybe that's why he can't graduate. He's running to all these club meetings every week. Who has time to study when you have so much to do?

Jason Schwartzman makes a believable 15/16 year old student in this show. Given his age / fresh face / awkardness, I mistook him as an older actor portraying a character of a younger age.
(Note: He did this show when he was 17. You can now find him singing here:)

Didn't miss out on the standard elements here, characters at a table:

We're sitting down to dinner and you SPRING this upon us?

I would admit that I didn't really enjoy this show much. Mainly because I couldn't put myself in the shoes of the character, who's afraid of change (read: Moving on) , with adults behaving like kids. It's tit for tat game you play as a kid, just that its amplified to a larger scale.

If you need a reference for childish, please refer to that video.

This is for the serious Wes Anderson fans only. I'm not much of an obsessive one, just a casual viewer. Probably once is enough.

Read More:
Bottle Rocket; The Royal Tenenbaums; The Life Aquatic of Steven Zissou; The Darjeeling Limited; Fantastic Mr Fox; Moonrise Kingdom

The Wes Anderson Series - Bottle Rocket(1996)

This show marks Wes Anderson's debut as a film director, as well as the film debut for the Wilson Brothers, who have gone on to act in his future movies, as well as establishing themselves as part of the Hollywood Frat Pack.

The film has a certain rawness to it. Anderson knows what shots, angle and pacing that he wants, just that he doesn't know how to illustrate to his crew clearly.

The story is set in the perception of rookie bad guys who wish to carry out their "75 year plan", assuming that they will each live until into their 90s. The idea of working didn't sit well with them. They hire a getaway driver from their friends simply because they know he has a car. Along the way, they occur boughts of miscommunication, uncertainty and lack of self-esteem.

Even if you might not agree with their actions or their plans, everyone can relate to the predicaments and actions, having experienced them as well.

I also like the fact that there is no supposed "villian" in this movie. Every character is both a hero and villian in their own right, like how life is. The comedy of errors make this show a memorable director's debut, and classic Anderson element like hand action shots, detailed props and characters at a table take root here. (I have included the examples of all his shots. Refer to the top picture for "detailed props".)

An W.Anderson trademark: Characters seated at a table

Another trademark: Shots of the hand action. 

Nevertheless, this show sets the standard and leaves us wanting more.

Read more:
Rushmore ; The Royal Tenenbaums ; The Life Aquatic of Steven Zissou ; The Darjeeling Limited ; Fantastic Mr Fox ; Moonrise Kingdom