Reviews

With a brilliant cast starring Owen Wilson as Francis, Adrien Brody as Peter and Jason Schwartzman as Jack, "Darjeeling Limited" offers a lot.

We follow three brothers on a journey to reconcile. Each character develops in their own way, each with humor and seriousness at the same time. No difficulty with the actors.

Anderson has taken his time with this film, time to tell and show images. Because this is where his style shows, with centered camera shots, close-ups and slowmotions, the film has an aesthetic effect and enhances the cinematic experience.

The film tells with simple images, a simple story, yet outstanding, in my opinion.

A beautiful, relaxing film in a different way and certainly recommended.

"Beautiful Boy" lets us directly into a problem and a relationship between father and son. The drug addicted son Nic Sheff gets into a vicious circle of alcohol and other drugs. His father tries everything to get his son, his boy, out of it.

And we get to see the feelings and the bond between the two very strongly, of course, also from the mother living somewhere else, the little step-sister, step-brother and step-mother, but especially between father and son. Easily you can empathize with the characters, so that the one or other tear can flow.

In the course of the film there are always ups and downs, in the state of both people, father and son, in their relationship, which builds up a certain tension and brings us closer to them. This is created with fragmentary scene sequences, inserted memories and partly also time jumps.

It is a film based on a true story and shows us as viewers that it can happen to any of us or to someone in our environment.

The unique storytelling of 2009's Fantastic Mr. Fox surpasses any stop-motion film I've seen to date.

The film is funny and wierd at the same time. With a unique way of speaking and moving of the characters, you watch in amazement. Stop Motion at the next level.

But the film also makes me think. About the relationship between man and animal, animal and nature and man and nature. Especially the wolf scene (explaining while watching) gives the film a deep meaning.

Nevertheless, the film is unfortunately from the second half predictable and becomes boring at one point or another. But that doesn't make it a bad movie in any case.

Wes Anderson's first big success came with "Rushmore," released in 1998.

And with approval I can say that it is a funny movie. With characters like Max Fischer (played by Jason Schwartzman) or Herman Blume (played by Bill Murray), it features two unique and compelling characters. They made me really laugh several times. Especially in the first half of Max with subliminal jokes.

It's an unusual plot. Sometimes with humor, sometimes with full seriousness, about love and friendship to ambition and passion. Although the plot does not always follow the same direction and digresses from time to time, nevertheless, development in character and plot can be seen.

It is a film of the classic kind. Anderson's unique film style as in "Grand Budapest Hotel" or other films is not yet pronounced. Nevertheless, the film is produced in a high quality.

I'm a big fan of Wes Anderson's films. But the film "The Grand Budapest Hotel", released in 2014, surpasses all films, in my opinion.

Even when watching it a second time (as the first film this year), this film remains unique. With the narration, that a girl reads the book of an author, who makes of a conversation with Mr. Moustafa, who tells of his history as a lobby boy in the Grand Budapest Hotel and M. Gustave, it gives the film a certain depth.

The unique and extreme format in most of the time in 4:3 and the centering of the images is something I have not seen before. With the funny, aesthetic and noteworthy clothing of the individual characters, as well as the design of space, I had a lot of fun watching the film. But this is also due to the camera angles or perspectives, such as shots from above, close-ups and so on. The aesthetics are supported by music, which creates additional atmospheres for the scenes.

The action takes place in the fictional republic of Zubrowka. In this small world we see how the relationship between the porter Gustave H. And Zero the lobby boy develops more and more, so that in the end they become good friends. In my opinion, the plot is very exciting and at the same time funny and with a lot of humor, so it never gets boring.

The unique cast fits perfectly and makes the film what it is. With Ralph Fiennes as Gustave H., Tony Revolori as Zero, Jeff Goldblum as Deputy Kovacs, Adrien Brody as Dimitry or Willem Dafoe as Jolping, Wes Anderson opens up a large and outstanding spectrum of actors, who let each individual character bring their own personality to the fore.

I'm almost speechless and would recommend the film to everyone, especially if the person wants a little change from classic or mainstream films.

The second film in my Wes Anderson film marathon is "The Life Aquatic with Steve Zissou" from 2004.

With an interesting story of seeking revenge on a mystical shark, we are always alongside Steve Zissou with his own documentary on deep sea life.

Again, Wes Anderson shows his unique filming style with unique camera angles, stop motion underwater sequences and constant variety.

The plot is amusingly crafted and shows notable variety to the classic Hollywood movie frisson. With a familiar aesthetic of images, video or clothing, the film plays in its own little world.

But the best part is still the cast. With Owen Wilson, Anjelica Huston, Willem Dafoe, Jeff Goldblum, Noah Taylor and the not to be underestimated Bill Murray as protagonists, the characters get their uniqueness with humor for example.

Towards the end of the year, I started doing a little Wes Anderson movie marathon.

First, "The Royal Tenenbaums" as one of Anderson's first films, which was released in 2001. The film tells the story of a quarreling family that comes back together when the father announces his imminent death.

With the former Tenenbaums family living together, unique characters emerge throughout the film, such as the three prodigies (played by Gwynet Paltrow as Margot, Ben Stiller as Chas or Luke Wilson as Richie), the parents with Etheline (Anjelica Huston) and Royal Tenenbaum (Gene Hackman) or neighbor Eli Cash (Owen Wilson). The acting performance gives each individual character their own flair.

In addition, Wes Anderson's revolutionary camerawork is evident here. It's a special style that lingers in the mind for a long time and lends a unique aesthetic throughout the film.

Nevertheless, the film became too distant for me from the second half respectively towards the end of the film. Without spoilers, the plot becomes boring and partly predictable, so that the film drags. The seemingly comical elements that come up again and again in various forms, unfortunately, did not excite me towards the end.

For a small movie night or during other employment still to recommend.

The new Star Wars series: Andor, is a recommendable series for all those who were disappointed by the last Star Wars projects.

Watching the series, you can see how the series takes its time to give us a thrilling, intricate and impressive story about Cassian Andor in the Star Wars universe. It shows familiar places, like Courassant, but also reveals new corners that have not been seen before, each creating its own atmosphere.

With only a few familiar faces, this series, unlike the Obi-Wan Kenobi series or The Book of Boba Fett, manages to introduce many new characters who develop over the course of the series.

With a unique cast including Diego Luna as Cassian Andor, Stellan Skarsgård as Luthen Rael or Genevieve O'Reilly as Mon Mothma, the characters get their personal touch.

The story has a guiding and structured progression, so that the individual episodes hang together well and build up a tightening tension.

Similar to the great spin-off Rogue One: A Star Wars Story, we have a professional looking visual quality and camera work, which makes the series look very high quality and almost like a film. The music and visual effects also set Andor apart from the previous Star Wars series.

I recommend the series for any Star Wars or non Star Wars fan.