Are Wes Anderson movies annoying because the hipster at work or in your class constantly talks about how awesome, funny and piercing Wes Anderson movies are? Or are Wes Anderson movies annoying because they are just 'too-cool'? Or are Wes Anderson movies really good and fun despite people telling you how annoying or great they are? I don't know. I do know that this movie didn't put to rest any of the arguments about what his movies are--parts of this one were super annoying because I knew hipsters were going to love them, and parts were just really fun and creative and parts were almost too cool for school. Overall though, as I say about all his movies, I enjoyed watching it.
Some thoughts:
I'm worn out with George Clooney. I honestly think he has been in 48 of the last 52 movies I have seen. He is still good, though.
The animation was cool, I thought.
The movie didn't waste any time, which was cool.
This was a better movie than I thought it was going to be.
The way that Anderson and Tarantino keep making their movies with chapters is a good way to separate their movies from being seen as more than they should be. (This is a statement against people that love their movies too much.)
You should see this, it is a fun movie.
Bottle Rocket is still his best movie, though.
Jones, when did you start letting hipsters dictate what you thought about a movie? Are you afraid that you'll be hipster if you love Anderson's movies? Or at least, that you'll have to re-evaluate what you think of hipsters because maybe you have more in common with them than you think?
ReplyDeleteIf you give them that power, you're just proving the validity of their lifestyle, tastes, and influence.
rob c
indeed, rob. indeed.
ReplyDeleteand I don't know when hipsters became such a part of my life, I think it was the day I wanted nothing more than to find a bookshop to chill out in after I had just gotten a $95 parking ticket in west hollywood and all I could find were bookshops that only sold really old looking books.
ReplyDeleteThose are legit reasons to despise hipsters (also, perhaps, Hollywood and everything that name encompasses), and no doubt there are many more. Sorry to throw you under the proverbial coach, but I just felt like hipsters were running this thing for about 1 second, and I figured that was the last thing you'd want.
ReplyDeleteI feel the same way about, say, PBR. It's cheap, which is good. But it's got a reputation for being a hipster beer. I know a guy who duct-tapes his cans together making a 'wizard staff,' wherein the top beer is the one he's drinking, and the stack of cans it's attached to could be six-feet tall or more. Ironic and ridiculous.
That's one thing I liked in Grand Torino, that Eastwood film from last year. He goes into a bar and orders a 'Pabst,' which seems to redeem it a little. It's a working-man's beer, and with one word Eastwood takes it back from being hipster to being common, and kind of cool again.
I still haven't seen The Fantastic Mr. Fox but I hope to one day soon. Good review, hipsters notwithstanding.
On the discussion on hipsters... I hung out with some friends tonight, a guy and his wife. He is German and a phD particle physicist, she is an English teacher. As I left their house I immediately called my brother to to complain to him about the fact that they seem pretty clueless about most things. For example, on a tour of their house we found that although they are in their 30's they proudly sport a Tigger bedspread and Winnie-the-Pooh pillowcases. No one spoke a word about it. Adam reminded me that having these people as friends is way better than if they were just hipsters trying to be ironic. I realized that it was not an effort to be cool/hip/clever/witty, but they just really liked Tigger.
ReplyDeleteAll of this to say...no worries, like a movie if you like it. We can all pick out disingenuous hipsters from a mile away. I dont think you're one of them. Keep up the good work. Nice review. The movie was fun.