Weekly Cinemeh

Hello, and welcome back to Weekly Cinemeh. This week we watched Wes Anderson films as our theme. Wes Anderson is one of my favorite directors. He makes all of his movies seem like a story book, and his use of color and music adds to the whimsical worlds he creates. If you haven't seen his movies before, I would suggest adding them to your watchlist.

1: Bottle Rocket
Anderson's first movie, Bottle Rocket is a comedy about a group of friends who want to commit heists. Like most of his films the cast is a group of quirky and disenfranchised people who are trying to live life their way. Luke Wilson is great, as is his brother Owen who co-wrote the film with Anderson. Like most of Anderson's work there is a lot of emphasis on finding one's path. Owen's character Dignan wants an exciting life, and constantly embellishes the truth so his life will seem less mundane. Anthony (Luke Wilson) is just trying to find his way while also being supportive of his friends. Bob (Robert Musgrave) who is friends with the other two, is a person of means, but with no control over his life. In the movie, the one time he tries to do something on his own, it hurts his brother, which he feels bad for even though his brother is a bully towards him. Its a good film, with a lot of schadenfreude for the audience to experience. I would recommend it for people who haven't seen it or for people who aren't particularly familiar with Anderson as a jumping in point. You get to see a lot of Anderson's familiar traits: closeups when lines are supposed to hit hard, pastel colors, mellow music, and perpendicular long-shots of the characters.

Eshi: Wes Anderson is one of my favorite directors, not least because he tends to write his own stories, lending every film with a deep sense of intimacy. You can tell that Bottle Rocket is his first big film. Its fun and moving, but there are several scenes where I can almost feel the hesitation, where he wanted to go versus where he thought he should go. I very much enjoyed watching Anderson find his voice in this movie.  

2: Moonrise Kingdom
This is probably my favorite Wes Anderson movie (along with The Grand Budapest Hotel). I mentioned in the introduction how Anderson's movies play out like a storybook on film, and this one is no exception. This is a beautiful movie, not just from a story perspective but from a visual one. It is stunning, truly. This is also one of the few movies where child actors don't take away from the movie. The bulk of the cast are children, so I was worried initially that I wouldn't like it, since I usually cannot stand child actors, but I was pleasantly surprised. It is a great movie, watch it.

Eshi: Moonrise Kingdom is the best movie about children I have ever seen. Mostly because it isn't about children. Its about people lost and in love in a world that's hostile. The kids don't behave as kids, they act as naive agents trying to enact their ideals. Its fucking beautiful and thought provoking and OH MY GOD WHY AREN'T YOU ALREADY WATCHING THIS!

3: Rushmore
A quirky film about an unfocused youth who is struggling with his developing into an adult. The character is a terrible student, but not because he is dumb, he is just distracted by the flavor of the world around him. He is in a million clubs, founder of many of them, and can't seem to find something to drive himself forward. He is an idealist (much like most young people) who doesn't necessarily have the experience to act realistically (also much like most young people). When he does act, he throws everything behind it, even though it could ruin him. It is a great coming of age story, that I think every young person should see.

Eshi: Jason Schwartzman is awesome in this film. He's simultaneously deeply driven and completely unaware of how reality can interfere with his goals. Bill Murray is goddamn amazing as per usual. The storybook nature Brian talked about is rich in this movie and hit me really hard. Rushmore (like many of Anderson's films) is very much about finding your own way and it delivers its message in a delightful and moving fashion.