The Grand Budapest Hotel

If you follow the film industry as much as I have, you must surely know about director Wes Anderson. Anderson is a very quirky filmmaker who came into the public eye in the late 90's and then developed a following. His is a type of filmmaking that you either love or hate but either way, it is definitely different compared to what usually comes out of the film.

Anderson's newest film is The Grand Budapest Hotel and the most misleading thing about this film is that its not all about this hotel. Sure, the plot centers around the hotel but the story is about an art heist in the 1930's involving characters Monsieur Gustave (Ralph Fiennes) and Zero (Tony Revolori) in the fictional town of the Republic of Zubrowka. The heist leads to deaths, a friendship, a family's fortune and of course the Grand Budapest Hotel.

I can't say that I've seen many art heist films because there aren't many of them. The art heist story is quite convoluted and can be on the dull side but it is very smart with depth and the story involves  much more than a typical heist. The story contains many elements ranging from black comedy to action/thriller scenes. The movie has a type of depth that can't really be described in full to someone who hasn't seen it.

What makes this an even more interesting art heist story is how Anderson's filmmaking style fits into it. He makes this story very quirky and strange; so much so that is a borderline "art house" film. It is a type of style that is again hard to describe and frankly it is best when watching this to just go with it. Anderson brings many characters to the story including big name actors like Jeff Goldblum, Bill Murray, Luke Wilson and Owen Wilson. Yes, it's too many characters to keep track of at times but only Anderson could have gotten together a cast like this and it is very inspiring to see a cast like this in an "indie type" film.

I don't see The Grand Budapest Hotel as a film that I will be watching very often nor is it close to the type of films I'm normally into but Wes Anderson really makes this film worthwhile. He does so much here to tell the story and make it unfold into something really good and something we could not imagine being so good. The Grand Budapest Hotel is very grand and heartwarming and one of the first different types of films of 2014.

4/5

Morning Glory

Morning Glory is a film that has a subject matter, breakfast television, that I don't have much interest in. That said, it is kind of interesting because it is not a subject we see very often. Also there is a strong cast in this film so that raises the interest level. Actually, this was not bad film but it still comes up a little short and just by inches.

This is a really straight-forward film about Becky (Rachel McAdams) who gets a new job as a tv director and must deal with some emotions in a television station where people do not get along while at the same time trying get the best ratings for her station of all the premier networks.

The last thing I expected to be wrong with this film would be the lead characters. Diane Keaton and Rachel McAdams both are talented and can be entertaining in their own ways. Here, their acting is really not a problem but they are playing bad characters. McAdams plays her part over-the-top with an outgoing and energetic feel that does not seem to fit the character. Diane Keaton comes into the mix with an unlikable and very negative feel to her. Luckily Harrison Ford and Jeff Goldblum really pick up the slack and carry the film as much as they can.

With characters out of place, this makes the film feel out of place. The film has weird and unfunny scenes throughout, especially some scenes with the weatherman that don't come close to fitting into this movie. In a way, it feels like the film is trying to be a comedy while at the same time being a drama and the mixture does not work or feel right.

The first two acts are kind of a mess but the ending does puts a good closure on the film. It is not original and I could see it was coming but it is lovable and it makes you look at the characters in a good light.

Morning Glory is a film that has a lot of things that are out of place and hard to put into perspective and it seems to struggle with things that it shouldn't so it is not a film I would recommend.

2.5/5