Ranking Wes Anderson's Movies 2015

Started by jenkins, October 06, 2015, 01:59:24 PM

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jenkins

polls are useful for having fun.

The Darjeeling Limited and Fantastic Mr. Fox are my least favorite Wes Anderson movies, then after that everything is close to being tied, although today I would call The Life Aquatic and Moonrise Kingdom my favorites, although i did just order Moonrise Kingdom and another day i might say The Grand Budapest Hotel, and yet another day i might say Rushmore or The Royal Tenenbaums. i don't think there'd be a day when i would say Bottle Rocket is my favorite, although i also wouldn't any day say i like Bottle Rocket and Fantastic Mr. Fox the same.

modage

Top Of The Heap: Rushmore, The Royal Tenenbaums
Very Good: Bottle Rocket, Grand Budapest Hotel
A Mixed Bag: The Life Aquatic, Darjeeling Limited
Grating: Moonrise Kingdom, Fantastic Mr Fox
Christopher Nolan's directive was clear to everyone in the cast and crew: Use CGI only as a last resort.

jenkins

a central question of mine is whether Rushmore and The Royal Tenenbaums coast on memories, and if their reputations are established from them having been entry points into cinema for many people when they were young.

The Grand Budapest Hotel is better made and written and acted than anything WA made before -- is that an absolute fact or feels like it? to switch Andersons for a moment, oh my, adopters of PTA from Magnolia days are aware of people later becoming adopters of PTA from There Will Be Blood. i think PTA could have a topic as interesting as this one, but i think he's open to less diverse opinions from the audience about his best material.

i'm fascinated by the movie reputations based on the time when the movies are released in relation to all of time, the filmmaker's career, and the lifetime of the person watching the movie.

RegularKarate

Quote from: modage on October 06, 2015, 02:08:59 PM
Top Of The Heap: Rushmore, The Royal Tenenbaums
Very Good: Bottle Rocket, Grand Budapest Hotel
A Mixed Bag: The Life Aquatic, Darjeeling Limited
Grating: Moonrise Kingdom, Fantastic Mr Fox

Close
Top Of The Heap: Rushmore, The Royal Tenenbaums
Very Good: Bottle Rocket, Grand Budapest Hotel, Moonrise Kingdom
A Mixed Bag: The Life Aquatic, Fantastic Mr Fox
Grating: Darjeeling Limited, Fantastic Mr Fox

RegularKarate

Quote from: jenkins<3 on October 06, 2015, 02:22:20 PM
a central question of mine is whether Rushmore and The Royal Tenenbaums coast on memories, and if their reputations are established from them having been entry points into cinema for many people when they were young.
No. I had been into film for a good while when these came out and I still watch them very often. Rushmore holds up beyond most any other movie I watch today.


Quote from: jenkins<3 on October 06, 2015, 02:22:20 PMThe Grand Budapest Hotel is better made and written and acted than anything WA made before -- is that an absolute fact or feels like it?

Yeah, I don't agree with the statement so I would say it falls under "feels". It's really good, but definitely not my favorite of his.

Quote from: jenkins<3 on October 06, 2015, 02:22:20 PM
i'm fascinated by the movie reputations based on the time when the movies are released in relation to all of time, the filmmaker's career, and the lifetime of the person watching the movie.

That's a well worn topic here, but it's one that I try to keep in check at all times. There are a very small number of films that the nostalgia level is so high, I can't look at them through clear eyes any more, but I go back and re-watch older stuff all the time with a fresh POV. So many people think "The Goonies" is a good movie because they saw it as a kid.

modage

Agree totally with RK on this. Rewatched Rushmore a few months ago and it's still his best. It's got his stylistic flourishes but for the most part isn't overly fussy and emotionally still feels real and honest.
Christopher Nolan's directive was clear to everyone in the cast and crew: Use CGI only as a last resort.

jenkins

hey RK it's good to see you, i like how you brought yourself back with conversation. i agree with you that that's definitely your opinion on those movies and opinions have definitely been discussed before.

the emotional materials used to build Rushmore go a long way toward it being the movie it is and it being appreciated how it is, but i think both the emotional and physical materials of The Grand Budapest Hotel are more impressive. Rushmore is a coming-of-age story about a type of person's whose head is entered into during The Grand Budapest Hotel.

if, in its reflection of WA, if The Grand Budapest Hotel tailored itself as close to irl as Rushmore did, it would be an entirely different movie, that i think would be overall less charming. a literary/fantasy backdrop is a context WA has built himself into being able to handle. how many directors can say that?? who last said that, was it Fellini? probably someone else but i'll stick with Fellini.

and yet today i wouldn't today say for sure that i prefer The Grand Budapest Hotel to either Rushmore or The Royal Tenenbaums.

The Grand Budapest Hotel appears to be orchestrating itself a commendable reputation and yes, people in 2015 can say this and that, but i wonder if the 2025 RK and modage will have fond memories of The Grand Budapest Hotel that increase its status for them, as has happened for Rushmore and The Royal Tenenbaums.

one must admit, if one wants to, that it's admirable this conversation is even possible today. i don't think WA has worsened his career or ability since the days of The Royal Tenenbaums.

RegularKarate

Quote from: jenkins<3 on October 06, 2015, 02:51:52 PM
hey RK it's good to see you, i like how you brought yourself back with conversation. i agree with you that that's definitely your opinion on those movies and opinions have definitely been discussed before.

haha... good, I'm glad you agree that opinions are opinions.
What I meant by "well worn topic" was the topic of nostalgia clouding your judgement of a film's worth. I wasn't saying it shouldn't be discussed. Just that it gets discussed a lot.

Quote from: jenkins<3 on October 06, 2015, 02:51:52 PMif The Grand Budapest Hotel tailored itself as close to irl as Rushmore did, it would be an entirely different movie, that i think would be overall less charming.

Yeah, that's why I like Rushmore better. While Wes definitely recovered from the stylistic stamping down of his films by making the character fit the style versus the style quieting the character (don't know if that's how he did it, but that's how it seems), I think when you take the style away from GBH, the story isn't as good as Rushmore.
You shouldn't take the style away though... that's part of what makes GBH what it is.

Quote from: jenkins<3 on October 06, 2015, 02:51:52 PMtoday i wouldn't today say for sure that i prefer The Grand Budapest Hotel to either Rushmore or The Royal Tenenbaums.

but you kind of did say that, right?

Quote from: jenkins<3 on October 06, 2015, 02:51:52 PMThe Grand Budapest Hotel is better made and written and acted than anything WA made before

Nothing wrong with having that opinion, but isn't that what you're saying?


jenkins

indeed another theme of this topic is the difference between how well a movie is made and how a movie makes you feel, which i described in the first post using commas and contrary viewpoints and whatnot.

Rushmore is a coming-of-age movie and those make great stories, agreed. they're highly relatable life stories and i adore them. and i think when people get older everything gets odder and the world gets bigger and scarier, you know, and i think that story is represented in The Grand Budapest Hotel.

The Grand Budapest Hotel is, by the way, not the movie it's my goal to champion in this thread. i actually started this thread because after i ordered Moonrise Kingdom i felt "little-kid excited" and i was reflecting on my thoughts and feelings. i must admit there are probably 40-50 director who make me feel little-kid excited, but as this topic also illustrates i respect WA for making so many movies that make me feel this way.

jenkins

2015 and the numbers are only a couple people different compared to the recent Legends of the Fall v Once Upon a Time In Hollywood poll

it's minor crazy that Wes's forum was dissolved into random directors. it's only minor because i don't really give a shit, in terms of the actual world. i am the vote for The Life Aquatic. that sounds like me and it's just random that that's the second most recent Wes movie i have watched in fact actually. tonight i saw all of my friends and both of us watched The Grand Budapest Hotel together, and because they're my two most recent i'll mention that  The Grand Budapest Hotel is better actually. it's more alive and stretches further and it's just better. i think after that they all get a bit mixed up for me, except maybe always Bottle Rocket is my penultimate, and The Darjeeling Limited is my least favorite ever. although in terms of animated i haven't seen Fantastic Mr. Fox since the theater and mygod i never saw Isle of Dogs even once. i adore children's animation but i'm like extra hard on adult animation. almost Bakshi or bust, except also Forbidden Planet and anything/all of anime.

shit did i even make my point. nooo, didn't even mention it. almost embarrassing except just too long actually, anyway The Grand Budapest Hotel is absurd imaginatively and making that movie is living the dream. that's major dream living and i don't care about emotions anymore kind of. or like, raw emotions are tough to please me since they don't require much effort on account of being so raw and everything. how much fun are you having