Wes Anderson: A visual Mastermind (Part 1)

I have many favourite directors: Christopher Nolan, John Hughes, Edgar Wright, Steven Spielberg, Tim Burton and Damien Chazelle. However, none of those prior mentioned have ever come close too my love of Wes Anderson. The filmography Anderson exemplifies rarely changes usually giving us:

Bill Murray, Jason Schwartzman, Owen Wilson, The death of a loved one impending in the background of a main character, A surprising casting decision involving a famous dramatic actor playing against their acting type(Bruce Willis, Gwyneth Paltrow, Ben Stiller), Mid-to-late 1960’s pop music (often the Kinks or Rolling Stones), A crescendo towards the end of the film where all the characters come together for a shared moment sometimes in slow motion set to deftly chosen popular music and a Mark Mothersbaugh composed score.

While all his films have these things in common, all his films follow a different theme exploring the different parts of human emotion:

Bottle Rocket: determining the value of close friendships and valuing the best of life

Rushmore: growing up and coming of age without losing yourself or mind

The Royal Tenenbaums: family’s unending importance, even if they’re crazy ‘assholes’ with nothing in common

The Life Aquatic With Steve Zissou: Accepting life for what it is and moving on from heartbreak and disappointment

Darjeeling Limited: The emptiness of living and the finality of death

Moonrise Kingdom: First Love and the bravery needed to embrace and let it grow

The Grand Budapest Hotel: The importance of mentoring and the troubles caused by death

Anderson has been accused of repeating himself however his films don’t focus on the same thing over and over again. His different themes speak in different ways to different kinds of people. They use the same language, but do not tell the same story. Each film holds some values higher than another, for instance the character development in The Royal Tenenbaums or Rushmore is more obvious than a film like Bottle Rocket (There’s still character development it’s just not as obvious).

The key importance in developing characters is maintaining the way they’re portrayed throughout the entirety of the film and for Anderson this is one of the most important tasks throughout his films due to the character driven plots. If a characters manner, sense of humour, style, dialogue or ability changes there has to be reason or else the character becomes guilty of inconsistent character writing leading to a decline in the quality of film. Anderson is very rarely guilty of inconstant character writing, usually taking great time and effort to write and develop his characters, for instance take Margot Tenenbaum (Played by Gwyneth Paltrow) one of the characters key to developing the plot of ‘The Royal Tenenbaums’. Margot is written as a genius (as are the other Tenenbaum children) with an incredible talent as a playwright, writing her first play at a very young age. She however smokes from the age of 12 without her family finding out until near the end of the film. Margot grows as a character throughout the film leading to her character leaving her shell of a life at the end of the film, evolving into a happier more open person. Another key example of his writing skills comes in the form of Bill Murray’s character Steve Zissou (from the film: The Life Aquatic with Steve Zissou). At the beginning of the film Steve is watching his career as an oceanographer dwindle into near non existence after the death of his close friend this of course causing his character to spiral downward into drunkenness and a dysfunctional marriage. However the arrival of his long lost son Ned (played well by good old Owen Wilson) begins to lighten his character into a more understanding and responsible character, even going as far as becoming the Father figure Ned has always dreamed of. We can safely say Wes Anderson nails character writing and is a master of the character arc.

While Anderson is a master in many aspects of film he does have parts where he partners with others to result in perfection. The biggest and most obvious example of this is his partnership with Randall Poster, the man who helps soundtrack his films. The music behind Wes Anderson films are in my view one of the biggest driving points of the story and character development, giving life to the film. One of my favourite film sequences of all time is from the Anderson classic ‘The Royal Tenenbaums’ in which Gwyneth Paltrow’s character Margot steps of the green line bus whilst ‘These days’ by Nico plays; The camera zooms and time slows as she walks towards her brother Richie (played by Luke Wilson), sailors walk in perfect union to both the song and each other resulting in a gorgeously timed and executed shot. The music used in Anderson’s films more often than not follow the recurring pattern of 60’s/70’s rock to help the scenes in the film flow and to help the execution resonate with the viewer. Some of the songs you’ll expect to hear are as follows:

‘These Days’-Nico
‘Heroes and Villains’-The Beach Boys
‘Oh Yoko!’-John Lennon
‘Life On Mars’-David Bowie
‘Ooh La La’-Faces
‘Hey Jude’-The Beatles
‘I Won’t Hurt You’-The West Coast Pop Art Experimental Band
‘Here Comes My Baby’-Cat Stevens
‘Everyone’-Van Morrison
‘Making Time’-The Creation
‘Judy Is A Punk’ The Ramones
‘Street Fighting Man’-The Rolling Stones
‘Me And Julio Down By The School Yard’-Paul Simon
‘Let Her Dance’-The Bobby Fuller Four
‘Jersey Thursday’-Donovan
‘Nothin’ In The world Can Stop Me Worryin’ Bout That Girl’-The Kinks
Seven and Seven Is’-Love
‘Police & Thieves’-The Clash
‘Needle In The Hay’-Elliot Smith
‘Stephanie Says’-The Velvet Underground

I would highly recommend checking out any of the songs above due to their key roles in Anderson’s films!

So that was part One of my Anderson analysis! I hope you enjoyed and I can assure you a second part is on it’s way soon!(I’m always happy to talk about one of my favourite directors!)

Ben

My Favourite Movies: Part One

As an avid film lover the question I get asked most often is what is my favourite movie? Anyone who has asked me this question is always met with the same response: “I can’t have a favourite movie, it goes against what I believe” I believe every movie is different and exclusive to the director, actors, screenwriters and composers, meaning I can never fully decide on a film that I believe is better than all others. I do however have a list of films that hold a special place in my heart! I’m only including one film per director or else this list would be purely Wes Anderson’s films due to my undying love and devotion to them (insert laughing face emoji).This is a quick list so enjoy! (in no particular order)

1) Rushmore

If you need evidence of Wes Anderson’s early skill as a director Rushmore has to be one of the top picks. A high school movie starring Wes Anderson regulars Jason Schwartzman and Bill Murray the film itself is one giant character arc. It follows the life of Rushmore student Max Fischer as he coasts his way through high school, failing almost every class as he goes. While he may fail in the academic prospects of life he is an excellent playwright and writes many performances for his school. Half way through his year he meets and falls in love with a first grade teacher Rosemary Cross (Olivia Coleman) which leads to chaos as his industrial business friend Herman Blume (Bill Murray) has the same feelings for her. The film is gorgeously shot with many wide shots with the usual incredible Wes Anderson colour Pallet. The score and soundtrack (Yes they’re two different things!) are both equally perfect, the score being composed by Wes Anderson regular Mark Mothersbaugh and soundtrack handpicked by Anderson himself. It’s an easy watch film with a great story and acting so i’d highly recommend taking the time to watch it!

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2) The Breakfast Club

The coming of age story of all coming of age stories. The breakfast Club was directed by John Hughes, the writer and director of no less than five of the best 80’s teen movies The Breakfast club, Ferris Buller’s Day Off, Sixteen Candles, Weird Science and Pretty In Pink. Like Anderson, Hughes enjoys using the same actors and actresses in all of his films and this film is no exception. Emilio Estevez, Andrew Clark, Ally Sheed, Judd Nelson and Molly Ringwald (the stars of this film) all appear in more than one of Hughes films, giving them a friendly and familiar feel throughout the movie. Using the tag line “The athlete, the brain, the criminal, the princess and the basket case” it covers almost every area of personality in an 80’s high school. The struggle of breaking down social barriers in schools is the biggest theme of the movie, showing it is indeed possible to be friends with or even date someone outside of your own social class. The film explores many teenage troubles: Suicide, anxiety, self abuse and bullying just to name a few. The themes of the movie are still just as relevant today as they where 40 years ago so I highly advise digging out this old classic and giving it a watch.

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3)Scott Pilgrim Vs The World

Edgar Wright sure does know how to direct a film as i’m sure most people know from his incredibly popular Cornetto Trilogy (Shaun of the Dead, Hot Fuzz and The World’s End) and this film is no exception. Ever wondered what a video game would look like if it was a movie and didn’t suck (*cough* Super Bros, Resident Evil, Doom, Angry Birds and Assassin’s Creed *cough*) then this is the movie for you! Based on the hugely popular comic series by Bryan lee o’malley, it follows the story of bass player Scott Pilgrim (played by the adorable and innocent Michael Cera) and his crazy colourful haired girlfriend Ramona Flowers (Mary Elizabeth Winstead) as he battles his way through all seven of Ramona’s Evil Ex’s. The premise of the movie and books is absolutely ridiculous but the result is the most fun I’ve ever had watching a comic book movie! The performances are great with quick appearances by everyone’s favourite Avenger Chris Evans and a young Pitch Perfectless Anna Kendrick! The film itself has two different endings so be sure to watch both after you’ve finished as they set the film’s ending on two completely different tones.

4) The Dark Knight

Of course there’s going to be a superhero movie on this list but it has to be the best of the best and that’s exactly what the Dark Knight is! Christopher Nolan’s masterpiece that is not only rated the best superhero movie of all time but one of the best movies of all time (don’t believe me? Check the IMDb top of all time list, it’s right behind the Godfather: Part II). Nolan has consistently written excellent films with the likes of Inception, Interstellar, The Prestige, Insomnia and Dunkirk. The Dark knight stands out among Nolan’s work not only for it’s excellent screenplay and action scenes but for the incredible acting. Many grieved after the film’s release due to the tragic death of Heath Ledger who gave his final performance in this movie. Ledger’s Joker won the first Oscar for a superhero movie as his performance was phenomenal not only by the standard of a superhero movie but of acting in general. This is film is incredible with amazing set pieces, special effects and costumes. Related image

5) 12 Angry Men

Many people my age are automatically switched off by the idea of a black and white film, especially if said black and white film has zero action and is composed solely of 12 guys talking in a room for an hour and a half. However this film is far from boring. A boy is being tried for the murder of his father and the evidence is against him holding him 100% accountable. The film follows the decision process of the 12 jury members, Guilty or not guilty? Eleven members of the jury are set on trying the boy as guilty and sending him to his grave while one member holds onto the slither of hope that the boy is in fact innocent. The screenplay for the film is absolutely incredible and has been labelled by many as one of the most emotive scripts of all time. The film never hits a boring point as the story continually builds after every piece of evidence leading to an incredible finale. It’s one film I recommend you watch when you have the time for many many reasons especially the incredible performances and a suitably dramatic score. Image result for 12 angry men

That was the first 5 of many more movies to come on my favourite movies list! I hope you consider watching a few of these movies because as I said they’re all incredible in their own way! Send me an email with any movie questions you have or movies you want analysed! Thanks for reading!

Ben.

Ready Player One: Masterpiece or flop?

When this movie was first announced at SDCC 2017 I was beside myself with excitement. By that point i’d read the book at least four times and it quickly became one of my favourite books of all time. When Spielberg was announced as director it was as if every dream had been answered, The man behind the greatest classics of all time was at the forefront of a film that would finally envision them all together. So it was March 2018 and I first saw the movie the day it was released and came away speechless. Literally speechless. I didn’t talk for at last ten minutes after leaving the cinema because my brain was still processing everything i’d just watched up on the big screen. So here’s my quick overview!

If you haven’t seen the movie (yes there’s spoilers coming up what did you expect!?) the main premise of the plot goes like this: Wade Watts (Ty Sheridan), a teenager living in 2045 in Oklahoma city is part of a global community inside a immersive VR game called The Oasis. The game’s creator James Halliday (Mark Rylance) has passed away leaving behind him the world’s biggest treasure hunt to find the game’s Easter egg (The winner of the egg inherits his company and vast fortune). Wade (Under his game avatar name Parzival) teams up with fellow Gunters (egg hunters) Art3mis, Aech, Daito, and Sho (in the book Shoto) to find the egg before a cruel business company IOI can win.

So I saw this movie a total of three times, each time focusing on certain aspects of the movie:

The Plot
The Characters
The references

Let me just blunt and upfront the plot itself isn’t great, although let’s be honest you saw the trailer and went “Freddy Kruger’s in this movie?!” or had a wow moment the first time Rexy from Jurassic Park showed up. We all saw this movie for the pop culture so the plot wasn’t really something everyone focused on upon viewing. Steven Spielberg himself said “This is a movie not a film”. He wasn’t creating a masterpiece like Jaws or Schindler’s List, he was creating something that people adore visually. The plot as I said isn’t great. It like many modern films uses countless plot devices to ensure the story continues, For instance a sequence occurs when all the characters first appear all together in the Overlook Hotel (from The Shining) where they all know one another despite half of them never meeting until this point! They all act as if they’ve known each other for the past hour of the movies run time despite never even holding a conversation before, the only two who are actually friends from the beginning being Parzival and Aech. The plot itself does make sense but making sense unfortunately doesn’t make a film great! There’s also a lot of narration through out the movie and while it makes sense for maybe the first five minutes it doesn’t really work at points during the rest of the movie! Just make Parzival talk to Art3mis instead of giving me dull narration whilst he sits alone and broods on the facts of the day! The plot line involving IOI (the movies big bad) has very similar attributes to that of the battle for Net Neutrality. The company wants to become the soul owner of the game causing them to be able to heavily tax players and limit their game play (it’s pretty political so I won’t go into to much detail!) Outside of the story their in they sound stupid and pointless but to the movie they work reasonably well other than the occasional plot device to further their part in the movie. Plot: 5/10

In this section i’m going to focus on three of the movies crucial characters: Parzival (Wade), Art3mis (Samantha) And Anorak (James Halliday). These are the characters that drive the book and so had to be transferred to the big screen well or else the film would automatically crash and burn. The performances by all three where good on the most part although Mark Rylance’s portrayal of Halliday is one of the big highlights of the movie. Halliday in the books was autistic and whilst never confirmed in the movie Rylance’s performance immediately confirms it for the audience. In the trailer Rylance delivers the line “If you’re watching this i’m dead” in such a deadpan blank face manor that many people immediately switched off to his portrayal of the character, but as soon as the movie starts it all becomes crystal clear why he’s perfect for the role. Rylance nails his performance and is the real stand out of the movie. The next two characters are both portrayed reasonably well but they are subjected to an immediate movie sin: inconsistent character writing. Art3mis begins the movie as one of the best characters, mysterious, bad-ass and a serious lone wolf. All of this continues to build in a pretty decent character arc especially at the end of the Disco fight sequence where she lashes out at Wade after he declares his feelings for her, proving her to be a stronger character than him. This doesn’t last. Just past the movies mid point where Samantha and Wade meet up in the real world she stops growing. The arc ends. Her character goes from a strong female lead to being benched behind Parzival, preventing anymore character development that made her as a character so interesting! Olivia Cooke however works well as the character and she does give a good performance with the story she’s been given despite the dwindling character arc. Ty Sheridan as Parzival is a good choice and like Cooke works hard to bring his character to life, however I do have issues with the character. Wade whilst in the Oasis falls in love with both Samantha and her virtual avatar Art3mis. The issue arises when Art3mis rejects Wade at the end of the Disco scene and he refuses to accept the rejection, continuing to pursue Art3mis. This comes back to inconstant character writing as Art3mis literally twenty minutes later goes back on everything she said to him and immediately try’s to start a relationship (which of course Wade accepts). While yes they’re cute it just doesn’t fit either character, Wade almost seeing Samantha as a form of trophy and Samantha’s dramatic personality change don’t fit the character either started as. Characters: 5/10

Of course it’s slightly obvious this section will be positive as the references never end! The movie opens to the song ‘Jump’ by Van Halen an 80’s classic, the film consistently using everything from New Order to the Bee Gee’s. The music is definitely not the only point as the inanimate props (CGI props and physical props) are just as consistent, small things like the “vote Goldie Wilson” poster (Back to The Future) in Aech’s workshop. The references are a mixture of things that both adults and kids will understand, The Zemeckis cube (Named after Back to The Future and Goonies director Robert Zemeckis) or the Holy Hand Grenade ( A nostalgic reference to any Monty Python Fan!). Active gamer’s will see everything from the Spartans in Halo to the Mk 2 Lancer from Gears of war. The references never end! Thousands of characters are painstakingly added during production including (big list coming up!): Lara Croft, The Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, Batman, Sonic, Battletoads, Beetlejuice, Tracer, Speed Racer, Jason Voorehees, Goro, Deathstroke, Harley Quinn, Joker, Iron Giant, Chucky and Max Rockatansky (this is nowhere close to all of them!) References: 10/10

In conclusion Ready Player One isn’t a masterpiece or a flop. It’s a movie for the sole purposes of audience entertainment and while many love it some really dislike it. It’s fun to watch regardless of some of the character tropes and plot lines, of course it’s mainly there to be watched as a mash of hundreds of movies from many decades all put together on one screen. I advise watching this movie with friends rather than alone, the more you watch it with out being able to joke around, the more problems you begin to notice.

Ready Player One: 7/10