Just a quickie one this week folks.
One of the biggest contenders for the Academy and
winners for the Golden Globes was about to be taken off HBO, so I decided to
watch The Grand Budapest Hotel over
last weekend. And I mean that literally. I dozed off the first time I tried to go
through it, and ended up having to break the one hour and forty minute movie
into 2 viewings.
First, my opinion on the director and his breadth of work so
far. I’m traditionally a huge Wes Anderson fan, with Bottle Rocket, his first major release, marking the low point and Life Aquatic with Steve Zissou at the
high. His direction and editing, while consistent, changes enough with his chosen
subject matter that it never feels stale. Recently I was most surprised by The Fantastic Mister Fox, which so
seamlessly captured his signature style in an animated format it was almost an
art form.
Then the hype machine started grinding for Budapest, and this large man started
having some questions….
Long story short, I don’t feel that it deserves the heaps of
awards that are being dumped on it, especially winning over Birdman at the Golden Globes. In fact, I
think Anderson’s previous effort MoonriseKingdom out performed this one in every aspect. That’s not to say it’s a horrible
movie. It’s entertaining, well shot, and has some solid performances (Here’s looking at you, Ralph Fiennes and
Saoirise Ronan), but it’s overshadowed by an assault of Anderson’s style. It
feels like he went way over the top in all aspects, from every character being
over the top quirky, to his repeated shot style, and so many reused actor
cameos that even Tim Burton would blush.
Lastly, I really didn’t feel like there was any overall
message that struck out to me. So a prompt and fashionable posh befriends a
below-the-line social outcast? Not really treading new water here.
Again, while
some aspects of it were good, this didn’t strike me as the kind of movie to
kill it during awards season.
Final Letter Grade: C+
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