The Grand Budapest Hotel (2014) -

Link to heading

Boy am I a slut for Wes Anderson films, and boy did The Grand Budapest Hotel not disappoint. This movie is paced extremely well. It’s light-hearted, but melancholic. It’s funny, but packs a serious punch. It has everything you’d want from a movie and more. The first thing I wanted to do after I watched this movie was watch it again. I think that my favorite thing about Wes Anderson films is just how rewatchable they are. It is so easy to miss or underappreciate something, and you can get so much out of a rewatch.

In all honesty, this isn’t a movie I can talk about that much as everything I say will fall short of the praise it deserves. The cast is fantastic, the cinematography is impeccable, the writing is witty, the effects are cheesy (but in the best way possible), the plot is fun, the characters are charismatic, the themes are valuable, the sets are beautiful, and the humor is divine. You get the point. I think this movie perfectly encapsulates everything Wes Anderson achieves across his filmography.

Wes Anderson creates experimental media to go against the grain of a traditional movie, and it doesn’t go unnoticed. We often see writers and directors stick to what works: realistic dialogue and special effects, a plot with an “unforeseen” twist, cinematography that just makes sense, and many more forgettable creative choices. This doesn’t intrigue Mr. Anderson, and his films are clear as day made to be his. He leans into all of the things that critics say he does differently, and he feeds off of their ugly comments. Wes Anderson makes movies for himself and he doesn’t give a shit what anyone else thinks, and this kind of unapologetic writing and directing is what makes him so damn successful.