Wes Anderson

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chronical
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Wes Anderson

Post by chronical »

http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0027572/

I'm a massive fan of Wes Anderson.
I've seen almost all of his movies and I have to say he's in my top 3 of all writers/directors there are.

My favorite movie by him is probably The Life Aquatic with Steve Zissou.

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What's your favorite?
Why is it your favorite?
What do you think defines his style?
Favorite score?


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So yeah, discuss?
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Synthestesia
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Post by Synthestesia »

Probably the most yellow movies i've ever seen
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chronical
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Post by chronical »

Synthestesia wrote:Probably the most yellow movies i've ever seen
probably the most mellow ones too, right?
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North by North
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Re: Wes Anderson

Post by North by North »

chronical wrote:http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0027572/

I'm a massive fan of Wes Anderson.
I've seen almost all of his movies and I have to say he's in my top 3 of all writers/directors there are.

My favorite movie by him is probably The Life Aquatic with Steve Zissou.

------

What's your favorite?
Why is it your favorite?
What do you think defines his style?
Favorite score?


Image

So yeah, discuss?
My fav movie of all time is Life Aquatic. Wes is also my favorite writer/director, so I love all of his work.

All of his movies obviously create such a unique, personal, beautiful and tragic world at times, but on the whole, LA is my fav. The Steve Zissou character steals the show. The complexity of the man, the high seas setting, the underwater beauty, and most of all the subtle charm and humor in all of it. I find myself using lines from that movie more than others. The writing is so on. I'm lucky to have 2 friends that can keep up me when it comes to his movie quotes. And of course the phenomenal Bowie covers by Seu Jorge really just put the whole vibe/setting over the top (fav score of his).

The whole cast is an amazing compliment to each other and played so well, but Steve-zies is a such a dynamic character, "right on the edge, not knowing what comes next". After a life time of success and adventure, at the price of his marriages and family amongst other things, he's left with the loss of his mentor, a crippled ship, ex-wives, little to no funding left, mutiny, a stolen bondsman and a son that may or may not be his, though he likes the thought of it in a way- not a way that's too specific though lol. He's down on his luck, mired in selfish and sensitive tendencies and on the brink of something maddening. Yet he continues to hunt for the elusive beast that ate his best friend. For what scientific purpose? Revenge of course.

That's another aspect I find truly moving, the gorgeous jaguar shark, representative of a life spent searching for something (bigger picture here than just an animal itself imo). And finding whatever it is and simply taking in the beauty of it and the satisfaction that you finally found it, and as for the animal itself, never mind killing it now, you don't need or want to anymore. It's suddenly become precious.

I could go on and on, but to sum it up, the setting/colors and world along with a such a good lead character, supporting cast and lol dialogue and an oddly heart-warming story, with the sounds of Portuguese Bowie, yeah, it tickles my fancy perfectly. Wes is so good at all of these things it's crazy.

Well, better get both of my feet back on the merry-go-round.
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re-phaelam-ed
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Post by re-phaelam-ed »

my girl did a piece for a Wes Anderson Gallery at the Meltdown in LA a few months ago.
her piece was a tribute to Moonrise Kingdom...

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Post by North by North »

^^ Those are awesome. Great job. Just watched that movie again over the weekend. A great one. Max is my 2nd favorite Wes character I think.

Was he a good dog? Who's to say.
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The Telepathic Kid
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Re: Wes Anderson

Post by The Telepathic Kid »

The Royal Tenanbaums is far and away my favourite, and I've seen all of his films except Bottle Rocket, Rushmore and The Darjeeling Limited.
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Re: Wes Anderson

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Not entirely sure why, but I think most of his work is a bit lackluster. One of the few filmmakers whos trailers are allot more engaging and promising then the actual movies. With the exception of The Life Aquatic I guess. Also, if you're going to get bill murray to act in every single one of your movies, might as well make him the main character in all of them as well. I could go for allot more bill....nvm I'll just watch What About Bob four times in a row again.
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Re: Wes Anderson

Post by The Telepathic Kid »

I wasn't huge on What About Bob, and I thought that The Life Aquatic is the least enjoyable of the Wes filmography I've seen.

Tenanbaums
Moonrise
Budapest
Mr Fox
Life Aquatic
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Re: Wes Anderson

Post by jcnporter »

I've only seen The Darjeeling Limited and The Grand Budapest Hotel, like both of them, but it's a bit like the Beatles for me, I can see the talent and the appeal, but personally something just doesn't click.
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Re: Wes Anderson

Post by The Telepathic Kid »

Just watched The Darjeeling Limited,

the initial 2/3's felt pretty standard Anderson, but the last third felt quite inspired. That melancholic aspect of most of Anderson's films (which can feel forced at times) felt genuine here.
And the spiritual aspect was handled with a lot of grace, as well as the showcase of the Indian culture.

A lot of people might be sniffy at the characters, but I felt it was interesting to see these high class people brought down to the bare bones realism of what it means to be a person.
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Re: Wes Anderson

Post by Josh »

chronical wrote:http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0027572/

I'm a massive fan of Wes Anderson.
I've seen almost all of his movies and I have to say he's in my top 3 of all writers/directors there are.

My favorite movie by him is probably The Life Aquatic with Steve Zissou.

------

What's your favorite?
Why is it your favorite?
What do you think defines his style?
Favorite score?


Image

So yeah, discuss?
Dug up this thread because I've watched The French Dispatch twice now. Be that as it may, I have to say, that despite some amazing moments, overall I feel this one ranks toward the bottom of the list of Wes Anderson films for me. It's got one of the greatest ensemble casts you could ever assemble outside of a Marvel movie, but many of the actors have little to do and are largely wasted. Visually, it's as amazing to look at as any of his films, but ultimately I felt that each of the stories were underwritten (or maybe overwritten?). There just wasn't enough heart and life to it for me compared to my two favorite Anderson films, which are The Grand Budapest Hotel and Moonrise Kingdom.
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Re: Wes Anderson

Post by Sl Flk »

I watched Moonrise Kingdom when it was initially released as I've enjoyed Wes Anderson films a lot in the past. I was't keen on it at first but I watched it again last night. What I took from it was the dangers of childhood development in a risk averse society. The kids are guided by misguided adults that have as many, if not more problems than the children perceive they may have. It made me laugh as the social services character is referred to as Social Services and not by name. I didn't pick up on that before.
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Re: Wes Anderson

Post by NineRubberCops »

My current favorite is Moonrise Kingdom, though I could be biased on that decision. My main reason is that plenty of it was filmed in locations which I've actually been to, since most of it was filmed in my home state of Rhode Island. The Island of New Penzance was based on (and parts of it were filmed on) Prudence Island, an island off the coast of Bristol that my grandfather has a summer home on. The Fort Lebanon scenes were filmed at Yawgoog Scout Reservation in Rockville, and being a former Boy Scout, I get giddy seeing the Medicine Bow (the campsite my troop always stayed at) Waterfront in a Wes Anderson movie. I also love seeing the portrayal of "scouts" in any piece of media, since it's almost always completely accurate.
Besides the locations, the story itself (and the way in which it is told) are as quirky and charming as can be expected from one of his films. The relationship between the two kids is cute and awkward, and they both give great performances. Speaking of performances, Bruce Willis gives a fantastic performance as Captain Sharp, and his presence makes me wish he were in more of Wes Anderson's movies. His line deliveries and overall personality are perfect! My second favorite character is Cousin Ben, because Jason Schwartzman is just so matter-of-fact and acerbic that it always makes me laugh.
I would have said The French Dispatch, since it's definitely more defined and gorgeously detailed, but I saw it a couple of months ago and can't remember certain parts of it clearly in my head.

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Re: Wes Anderson

Post by Kit Carruthers »

I've liked him since The Royal Tenenbaums, which is probably my favourite, and I've seen most of his films. Not quite as high on my list of favorite directors as OPs but definitely top 20.
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