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The Wes Anderson-directed “ASTEROID CITY” makes landing | Cannes

Film is running in the competition slate
Scarlett Johansson, Jason Schwartzman and Tom Hanks
Directed by Wes Anderson

“Asteroid City” is a visual feat of a movie with little in the way of substance, in fact, this might be the most contrived Wes Anderson film I've watched. Scarlett Johansson, Tom Hanks, Liev Schreiber and Adrien Brody star in it, which adds heft but the photography is helliciously rendered in saturated pastels and so it's weird. This film brought a sense of emptiness in me. During its two ... more >

Wesley Wales Anderson was born in Houston, Texas. His mother, Texas Ann (Burroughs), is an archaeologist turned real estate agent, and his father, Melver Leonard Anderson, worked in advertising and PR. He has two brothers, Eric and Mel. Anderson's parents divorced when he was a young child, an event that he described as the most crucial event of his brothers and his growing up. During childhood, Anderson also began writing plays and making super-8 movies. He was educated at Westchester High School and then St. John's, a private prep school in Houston, Texas, which was later to prove an inspiration for the film Rushmore (1998). Anderson attended the University of Texas in Austin, where he majored in philosophy. It was there that he met Owen Wilson. They became friends and began making short films, some of which aired on a local cable-access station. One of their shorts was Bottle Rocket (1993), which starred Owen and his brother Luke Wilson. The short was screened at the Sundance Film Festival, where it was successfully received, so much so that they received funding to make a feature-length version. Bottle Rocket (1996) was not a commercial hit, but it gained a cult audience and high-profile fans, which included Martin Scorsese. Success followed with films such as Rushmore (1998), The Life Aquatic with Steve Zissou (2004), The Royal Tenenbaums (2001) and an animated feature, Fantastic Mr. Fox (2009). The latter two films earned Anderson Oscar nominations.

Editorial: Happy Birthday, Wes Anderson

Wes Anderson turns fifty today. 50 is a big deal. If you've come this far it probably means one, or both, of two things: (1) you've got awesome survival skills and (2) you're the type of person who looks forward to whatever comes next. I wonder how the passage of time has affected Wes Anderson, our great American filmmaker. Does the spark to create more easily? Or, rather, do he fall into a new ... more >

Adina Pintilie (courtesy : Berlinale)

BERLINALE : Golden Bear handed to Adina Pintilie for “Touch me not”

Willem Dafoe, Bill Murray and Wes Anderson take home awards

Intimacy and sex are essential elements to finding happiness in life, a theme found in this year's winning film. "Touch Me Not,” by Adina Pintilie, has won the Golden Bear prize at this year's Berlinale. The festival opened on February 15th and closed today and included around 400 films. Of those, nineteen were competing for the top Golden Bear prize. Romanian director Adina Pintilie said she ... more >

A new take on Wes Anderson’s movies

Brought to you by the Nacho Punch people

Thanks (or not) to the Nacho Punch Youtube channel we now know what a Wes-Anderson-turned-porn-helmer would look like. The nacho network ripped some scenes from "Moonrise Kingdom" to great comedic effect. Watch until the very end for one of the best Owen Wilson imitations we've seen in a while. ... more >

The Grand Budapest Hotel

Wes Anderson's best. Again.
Ralph Fiennes, Tony Revolori and Saoirse Ronan
Directed by Wes Anderson

Wes Anderson’s "The Grand Budapest Hotel" is the cinematic equivalent of a pastry: beautiful, exquisitely-crafted and so immensely enjoyable that it seems too good to be real. Part-homage to pre-World War II Europe, part-tribute to memory and the passage of time and part-ridiculous slapstick, "The Grand Budapest"'s greatest achievement is not in its visual perfection but its literary sensibility. ... more >

MOONRISE KINGDOM – A gem of brains, humor and heart

Experiencing love at its purest

Wes Anderson’s "Moonrise Kingdom" is not only a story of the power of first love but also the way that children create the mythology of adulthood through the fabric of stories. The world approaches us first wrapped as tales, and we handle its mysteries with imagination. The largest part of reality, even as we age, remains a contradictory act of abstraction. This has been a quietly placed theme ... more >

CANNES FESTIVAL-Moonrise Kingdom

An underwhelming opening film

If Standard & Poor’s assessed film production values Wes Anderson would remain a AAA-rated cineaste year in and year out. The level of detail that went into every square inch of “Moonrise Kingdom,” which had its premiere here in Cannes a few hours ago, is above perfection. But “Moonrise” fails on other levels. Adult characters wretchedly watch as their kids go about resolving the problems of ... more >