Rating: Q=6, P=4 / Average OJ
Scale 1=3, Scale 2=3, Scale 3=2, Scale 4=2
For Wes Anderson's first film, I think this is extremely impressive. I love the quirky dialogue, the simple premise, the music choices, and every deliberate camera angle. Being the Owen brothers debut also makes this movie special. But compared to all his other, later films, this one just doesn't quite rank as highly, for me.
#10 The Life Aquatic with Steve Zissou (2004)
Rating: Q=6, P=5 / Average OJ
Scale 1=3, Scale 2=3, Scale 3=3, Scale 4=2
:no_upscale()/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_asset/file/8219899/lifeaquaticsea.jpg)
What a crazy film. I think this may be Wes Anderson's strangest and most eclectic film, but it still captivates and keeps you on your seat. This may be the film that most exemplifies Anderson's favorite of plot devices--one he uses in every film, I'd argue--The [heist/escape/hunt/travel/etc] Plan. Usually risky, sometimes with dire consequences, but always well-though-out.
#9 The French Dispatch (2021) see blog post hereRating: Q=7, P=4 / Average OJ
Scale 1=3, Scale 2=4, Scale 3=2, Scale 4=2
#8 The Royal Tenenbaums (2001)
Rating: Q=6, P=5 / Average OJ
Scale 1=3, Scale 2=3, Scale 3=3, Scale 4=2
This is the first Wes Anderson film I ever watched. I watched it during my study abroad time in Australia, when I probably watched 4-5 movies each week to "catch up" with my film studies education. Don't worry, I did other things when I was abroad, too! I remember finding the pacing, color symbolism, and character development particularly impressive. I consider this the quintessential Wes Anderson film.
#7 Rushmore (1998)
Rating: Q=6, P=6 / Can't Get Enough
Scale 1=3, Scale 2=3, Scale 3=3, Scale 4=3
I have a soft spot for this film, especially since a young Jason Schwartzman reminds me of several of my closest friends in high school. The film shows the beginnings of Wes Anderson's style and narrative preferences. It's a Coming of Age story, so how could I not love it? There is something truly irresistible about a kid who isn't smart (academically or in his decisions), but he has a knack for pretending and getting things started. He just wants to be remembered, and who doesn't?
#6 Asteroid City (2023) see blog post hereRating: Q=7, P=6 / Can't Get Enough
Scale 1=4, Scale 2=3, Scale 3=3, Scale 4=3
#5 Isle of Dogs (2018)
Rating: Q=7, P=6 / Can't Get Enough
Scale 1=4, Scale 2=3, Scale 3=3, Scale 4=3
I had not seen this one before (not a re-viewing) and it did not disappoint. What a wonderfully bizarre and entertaining story! I loved the return to stop-motion--nearly a decade after we got
Fantastic Mr. Fox--and dogs are always a plus. The best part was the setting of a futuristic Japan. I love how Wes Anderson is able to create a world that seems like it exists but it is also clearly fictional.
The Grand Budapest Hotel is another perfect example of that. You can't help but think, "Wait, could there be an island full of trash and abandoned dogs off the coast of a Japan? Of course not, but..." This film is refreshing and also familiar, as it occupies the Anderson-universe. And that's why I love it.
#4 Fantastic Mr. Fox (2009)
Rating: Q=7, P=7 / Obsession
Scale 1=4, Scale 2=3, Scale 3=3, Scale 4=4
I love all Roald Dahl stories, and so one that Wes Anderson adapts? So much fun. The first time I watched
Fantastic Mr. Fox, I really enjoyed it. The pacing, the stop-motion, the creative moments that bring it to life. Everything. On my second viewing, it was all amplified. It seems I have truly become a connoisseur of animation and stories that involve wild animals.
#3 Moonrise Kingdom (2012)
Rating: Q=7, P=7 / Obsession
Scale 1=4, Scale 2=3, Scale 3=4, Scale 4=3
Another absolute gem from Wes Anderson. There is never a dull moment with this film- it is colorful, entrancing, hilarious, bizarre, gorgeous, and witty. Basically, all my favorite things. Fantastic performances, music, and visuals. Anderson knows exactly how to take the simple premise of "guy and girl run away to be together" and make it totally complex, full of memorable side-tracks and details.
#2 The Grand Budapest Hotel (2014)
Rating: Q=7, P=7 / Obsession
Scale 1=4, Scale 2=3, Scale 3=4, Scale 4=3
After much anticipation (it was supremely difficult not to read many reviews and articles) I watched the latest Wes Anderson creation. In one word it is: brilliant. It is at once what fans will expect and not what they'll expect. It is quirky, fast-paced, escapist, visually overwhelming and beautiful, and completely chalk-full of intertextuality. But this film is different than many of Anderson's earlier endeavors. The biggest, I believe, is that this is a story about storytelling, not the story itself. It is about characters, not human beings. But it doesn't completely lack emotion, it is just that the emotion is at a different (broader) level. We can't really relate to Gustave, Zero, Agatha, Madame D, or others because they aren't fully real. They are recollections that have become stylized over many decades of reflection. What we can relate to is the desire to remember -- the serious need to remember -- the past. Moonrise Kingdom (still probably my favorite Wes Anderson film) does this, too, in a way. Nostalgia evokes some of the strongest responses.
Ultimately, this film is a tribute. It is a story within a story within a story. It is an homage to early film and melodramatic narratives, and a wild one at that. There are many moments of vaudeville and the silent film era melodramas, cartoons and comic sequences, Film Noir, even Fellini-esque qualities made an appearance. It is incredibly ambitious and meticulous. Many reviewers have likened it to the towering pastry confections that the film's Agatha bakes: "superficially frivolous with thoughtful and contemplative notes," to quote one. Yes, it is light-hearted but the more I analyze and contemplate the film, the more amazed I am at how deep it is. In the end-credits, Anderson notes that the film is much inspired by the works of Stephen Zweig, arguably the most popular writer in the world in the 1920s and 30s but now all but forgotten. Much like the characters, hotel, and long-lost poetry of the film. What is remembered? What becomes history?
#1 The Darjeeling Limited (2007)
Rating: Q=8, P=7 / Obsession
Scale 1=4, Scale 2=4, Scale 3=4, Scale 4=3
It's probably no surprise that my favorite of Wes Anderson's films is
The Darjeeling Limited. After all, it is a story about three brothers, all of whom are grieving in their own way, troubled and/or lost in their lives. In a way, it is a Returning of Age film (my own term). But it is really a pilgrimage story that I find both hilarious and deeply moving. There are sequences that are ridiculous, beautiful, ugly, dark, and inspiring. Adrien Brody, Jason Schwartzman and Owen Wilson are so perfect in their roles. It's so believable and that is why it pushed it's way to the top spot, for me. While I do love an escape and whimsy and goofiness, it's the stories that feel most real that win over my heart.
--Don't understand the ratings? Click
here 
