Wes Anderson is a highly lauded filmmaker. There is no more obvious way to start a post on his newest work, The Grand Budapest Hotel,than this. I am always surprised by Anderson’s consistency, but I feel like at this point I shouldn’t be. Every time I see a Wes Anderson film, I root against it. I don’t want it to be good, I want Anderson to fail and not have to hear about his genius, but after seeing all the Wes Anderson films in order, there’s no other way to put it, he really is that good. The colors and cinematography are always vibrant, the characters are always quirky and original, the stories are always extremely well written and perfectly cast.

I am jealous of Wes Anderson, and his ability to get every detail down to the look Adrain Brody shoots Ralph Fiennes across a plaza late in the movie absolutely perfect. Anderson’s newest film is a classical caper. Fiennes plays the charming concierge, M. Gustave, of the titular hotel. This was the first pleasant surprise I encountered in this film. Fiennes is known for generally playing the villain in films. I’m used to seeing him shoot Jews in black and white print, or leading a coven of dark wizards in another attempt to end Harry Potter, not pleasuring elderly women and spritzing himself with perfume. The actual plot is also an interesting murder mystery/”heist” story, but it would be hard to expound on it more without spoiling key plot points and jokes. Put simply, Gustave becomes a mentor to a homeless middle eastern lad and together they end up on many adventures while also running a hotel. The jokes and humor are sharp throughout, and unlike a few of Anderson’s other works, the plot does not really lag at all. The sets are exquisite and the hotel is as eclectic as one could imagine the actual Wes Anderson running. The rooms are all themed and painted differently while the lobby showcases the grandiosity of old-world European style. The movie felt like it breezed by quickly because I was so enchanted by it, and I was left wanting more when it was finished. Highly Recommended