Film Reviews by Other Worlds

I remember reading the book and loving it, so I was really looking forward to this. As someone who was around in the 80's the book was full ( and I do mean FULL) of references to music/movies/games that I was familiar with , there were plenty of moments where I laughed after being reminded of some thing I had otherwise forgotten. You won't have any of those moments in the movie , occasionally one of the characters will need to introduce a comment about how '.., this was popular in the 80's .." but in truth it does not dwell or rely on any recollection of the decade.

I'm OK with that , I understand that many of the people who see the movie won't even have been born then so that's OK , in the meantime everyone will likely enjoy the movie on its own terms .Which is a series of chase and fight scenes , highly kinetic , brilliantly graphic and very imaginative - but if you were a teenager in the 80's read the book instead you'll have a lot more fun.

I have to say I enjoyed the movie ( I do hesitate to say this because its a movie that witnesses a a family reeling from the unexpected death of a loved one and whats to enjoy about that ? ) but it is a reminder that movies can be about anything the film makers want and if they do it well then that movie will likely find an audience. This movie is done well and if you make/watch movies then that's not a bad lesson to learn.

The fact that the main subject of the movie is trans does seem to have occupied an enormous amount of attention in the reviews - I don't know why really I never felt it was that important. It provides a useful plot device that makes it easy for the family to exhibit anger, fear and denial ( all stages in grief , which as I have said is what the movie is really all about ) but the film maker could just as easily have chosen some other hook to snag societal intolerance upon ( a more conventional gay relationship perhaps or a mixed race or religion relationship, age , financial status etc ) and the movie could have proceeded on broadly identical lines. It certainly got the movie attention and if you are trying to sell a movie there is nothing wrong with that.

If you are looking for a movie 'about the trans experience' though I have to say I think you are missing the point.

Had a decent soundtrack too , special thanks to re-introducing me to 'Time' by The Alan Parsons Project - a song we don't hear often enough :-)

There is the occasional nugget of something interesting in here , but in truth the premise simply isn't big enough to carry the whole movie. Also I can't begin to understand why some of the talking heads were even there , other than having seen Psycho at some point I'm not sure how they can be thought of as having any great insight to offer.

Real life rarely makes for a good movie , mostly things happen too slowly . I found myself reflecting on that as I watched this movie. The performances are great - Streep and Hanks deserve acknowledgement for that.Indeed the whole cast does, there are some notable actors here who don't get to do a great deal.

In short while the movie had great actors and great production values it suffers from a rushed third act , and feels emotionally muted and bloodless.

Given the scale of what was going on politically and socially it is remarkable how little of it seems to get on to the screen. We get some insight into the stresses facing Katherine Graham but these focus more on her struggles to make an impression in the boardroom and in the days following the suicide of her husband ; significant as these are to her it is not what history will remember as the lasting legacy of the publication of the 'Pentagon Papers'.

I've followed Wes Anderson's career for a while now. I enjoyed 'Bottle Rocket' but honestly left 'The Royal Tenenbaums' and 'The Life Aquatic' more bemused than amused. As a result I let his subsequent movies pass me buy , but a recent clip from 'Isle of Dogs' got my attention so while coming to CP to reserve it I looked back through Andersons catalogue and saw 'The Grand Budapest Hotel' and decided to take a chance on it. I'm so glad I did.

Anderson is not a conventional storyteller. His is a singular vision and his idiosyncrasies are on show in every way here, from the humour to the dialogue the style and the pacing . If you are willing to go with it then there is a lot of fun to be had here , if not then maybe you should pass on buy.

Unusually when it come to movies I would recommend the trailer - it captures the style of the movie well and doesn't spoil you with all the best bits in the movie. If you 'get' the trailer then there is a good chance you will 'get' the movie.

As other people have mentioned Gustave H delivers his dialogue at some speed , so if you have a home cinema setup with a decent sound setup make use of it; I tried first watching it on my computer but the poor speakers really did not do my experience of the movie any favours.

I enjoyed the movie , it gives you a whole new perspective on the comic book character and gives an insight into characters who , while having heir ups and downs were true to themselves. I have no insight to offer on its historical accuracy , I suspect it promotes entertainment over accuracy , it is a movie after all and most peoples lives run to a predictable pattern when viewed from the outside which would make for a pretty dull movie. As a piece of fun though , well worth watching.

A word of warning though , whoever was responsible for the movie transfer to DVD should be ashamed of themselves the bitrate is ludicrously low - and for no good reason that I can think of. There is plenty of space on a DVD after all. As a result the movie looks pretty poor, really along the lines of 8mm , which even your phone can improve on these days.