Category Archives: Grand Budapest Hotel

Wes Anderson Releases a New Film (Sort Of)

I’m a day late here, but I figured I’d post it anyway. Yesterday, Wes Anderson released a new short film called “Castello Cavalcanti.” Now, I usually form an emotional response to anything Wes Anderson makes pretty quickly, but I am still trying to figure this one out. As usual, it’s beautiful to look at. But, what is it about?

It looks pretty, but “Castello Cavalcanti” made me realize how Anderson’s characters are even more important than the visuals. I like the pretty visuals and the fact that everything looks like a giant toy, but it could use more dialogue like “that’s the last time you put a knife in me!” and “get your ass the hell off of my boat!” All I’m saying is that I’m still not sure why this ends with Jason Schwartzman ordering a bowl of spaghetti. Because Italy, I guess?

It definitely can’t beat “The Midnight Coterie of Sinister Intruders,” but its solid enough to make the wait for “The Grand Budapest Hotel” more bearable. Watch the video below:

Trailer Park: The Grand Budapest Hotel

A.K.A. The Hipster “Hangover”

It was only a matter of time before Wes Anderson made a film where every single character has a mustache.

This is about the millionth time I will say this, but Wes Anderson is one of modern cinema’s best directors. Today, the first trailer was released for his upcoming film “The Grand Budapest Hotel.”

While every Wes Anderson film basically has the same aesthetic (yellow font, colorful walls, etc.), you can always expect a different story. “The Grand Budapest Hotel” looks like some kind of murder mystery. Indeed, there’s a girl in it named Agatha, who is possibly an allusion to Agatha Christie, who much more educated people tell me was once a famous crime writer.

The only thing that could possibly worry me about “The Grand Budapest Hotel” is that it already seems to combine a lot of Anderson’s other films (“The Darjeeling Limited,” “The Royal Tenenbaums”), and Ed Norton already seems like he’s playing a pretty similar character to the one in “Moonrise Kingdom.” However, these are just assumptions. One trailer cannot tell me so much. For now, I will just assume that Willem Dafoe will once again have an awesome accent like in “The Life Aquatic.”

But just look at the rest of that cast. Ralph Fiennes is not one normally known for comedy (although he is hilarious in “In Bruges”), but he already had me cracking up in this trailer. The cast is one of the most important parts of a Wes Anderson joint (characters are so important), and Fiennes seems like a perfect fit for Anderson’s weird little world.

Wes Anderson has been on a roll lately: his last two films were “Fantastic Mr. Fox” and “Moonrise Kingdom.” I have faith he can win me over once again with “The Grand Budapest Hotel.” March 2014 can’t come soon enough. Watch the trailer below:

Can Gene Hackman please come out of retirement just to star in one more Wes Anderson film?