![]() ![]() On the other hand, Tenenbaums maintains this balance exceptionally well. Though very watchable, Life Aquatic keeps its head in the clouds (or under the sea, in this case) and never once attempts to get a reality check. Before Life Aquatic, all of the writer-director's films worked so well because, even though they immersed you in his very eccentric world, they always kept one foot in reality. No, that honor fell on the follow-up, the oftentimes surrealistic but always indulgent The Life Aquatic starring Steve Zissou. Ironically, The Royal Tenenbaums - though it boasts many of the same Andersonian tropes as its predecessor, Rushmore - didn't make the auteur parody-worthy at the time. It nails Anderson's quirky trademarks perfectly. Han Solo becomes a card-carrying member of an eccentric club who makes precocious-sounding lists with bullet points like "Kill Greedo" and rides along in the sidecar of a motorcycle driven by Chewbacca-all soundtracked by Barouche string-plucking that sounds right out of Mark Mothersbaugh's (W.A.'s longtime composer) playbook. TBS's Conan produced a spoof of Anderson's work that presents a Star Wars audition reel as if it had been written and directed by the man himself. In this R-rated comedy, an estranged family of former child prodigies reunites when their father announces he is terminally ill. Even beset with terminal cynicism and sarcasm, the idiosyncrasy-filled miscreants falling from the Tenenbaum family tree ultimately don't fail each other despite overwhelming odds and inklings. Everything - from the screenplay, set design, casting, soundtrack, and locations - serve as an integral cog in the world-building wheel of this fantastic and, at the time, funereal story about the undying bonds of family. Fox), and even a more depressive family coming together (tear-soaked road comedy Darjeeling Limited), but notice that his Royal effort proves to be a convergence of all of these oft-kilter tropes and it all works so brilliantly. Sure, he has made smarter comedies (the coming-of-age riotous-of-passage Rushmore), all-around better films (the decades-spanning sometime dramedy The Grand Budapest Hotel), more ambitious star-studded experiments (the stop motion-animated adult cartoon The Fantastic Mr. The same dilemma rears its head with Anderson. Also, Steven Soderbergh won over the consensus of critics with Sex Lies and Videotape, won over the consensus of the Academy with Traffic, and won over the consensus of filmgoers with Ocean Eleven, but super slick and sexy slice of noir Out of Sight is the only Soderbergh film to chart on this reviewer's Top 10 list. For example, Quentin Tarantino's Jackie Brown still makes an astounding personal connection that this reviewer can only partly explain, the sometimes comedic '70s throwback caper having become this critic's go-to QT flick.even though Pulp Fiction and Inglourious Basterds remain, from top to bottom, more powerful, better directed, and better written notches on the writer-director's CV. ![]() As a film reviewer, there's always a deep-seeded debate within one's psyche to concede that a particular filmmaker has made a better film than your personal favorite.
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |