The Grand Budapest Hotel is perfect, and Wes Anderson's best movie ever
The words perfect and brilliant will pop up a lot in this review. Sorry, but they're the best choices to describe The Grand Budapest Hotel.
Great movies start with great writing. Everything evolves from there. Adjectives don't exist to accurately paint a picture of Wes Anderson's brilliant writing. Add actors who understand how to deliver most delicate and deliberate lines with perfect diction and tongue's firmly in cheek and you have a quintessential comedy and a movie that all others this year will be judged against.
Here's all you need to know: The Grand Budapest Hotel's concierge M. Gustav is training the most excellent page Zero when a woman he's having an affair with is murdered. M. Gustav is in her will. Her relatives want him out of the picture.
Tossing tongue-twisting lines with effortless ease, Ralph Fiennes is practically perfect as M. Gustav. Wide-eyed newcomer Tony Revolori plays a flawless straight man for Fienne's comic and cleverly done Gustav. Villains that are a throwback to 1940s film noir are played by a dark and dangerous Adrien Brody and the even more dark, dangerous and mostly silent Willem Dafoe. Jeff Goldblum has a blast as an attorney, and Saorirse Ronan is Zero's love interest.
They're supported by the small roles and cameos by Bill Murray, Harvey Keitel, Tom Wilkinson, Jude Law, F. Murray Abraham, Tilda Swinton, Fisher Stevens and -- as with all Anderson flick's -- the ubiquitous Jason Schwartzman.
At year-end awards, it's going to be nominated for things like best picture, best director, best screenplay, best actor, best supporting actor, sets, set design and on and on. Lots of bests lead to another observation: It's the brilliant and uber-creative Anderson's best and most perfect movie.
-- Does Mr. Movie's movie criticism spell perfection? M-A-Y-B-E. Let him know at www.tri-cityherald.com/arts/mrmovie.
Director: Wes Anderson
Stars: Ralph Fiennes, Tony Revolori, Adrien Brody, Willem Dafoe, Jeff Goldblum, Jude Law, F. Murray Abraham, Saoirse Ronan, Bill Murray, Jason Schwartzman, Owen Wilson, Tom Wilkinson, Tilda Swinton, Harvey Keitel, Bob Baliban, Fisher Stevens
Mr. Movie rating: 5 stars
Rated R for mature themes, some violence, brief nudity. It's playing at the Carmike 12.
5 stars to 4 1/2 stars: Must see on the big screen
4 stars to 3 1/2 stars: Good film, see it if it's your type of movie.
3 stars to 2 1/2 stars: Wait until it comes out on DVD.
2 stars to 1 star: Don't bother.
0 stars: Speaks for itself.
This story was originally published April 4, 2014 at 6:00 AM with the headline "The Grand Budapest Hotel is perfect, and Wes Anderson's best movie ever."