The Grand Budapest Hotel

Wes Anderson is perhaps the most idiosyncratic major film director working today.  His work is not like anyone else's, though as Kyle and I agreed in discussing him, each movie of his is a great deal like his work as a whole.  Most frequent moviegoers I know either quite like his films or very much dislike them; few are in the middle.  I am in the former camp, with his last movie, Moonrise Kingdom, being my all-time favorite of his oeuvre. 

The Grand Budapest Hotel, which a group of us saw earlier tonight, did not, to my taste, have the wonderful heart of Moonrise Kingdom, but I still very much liked it.  The look was amazing:  heavily stylized, as you would expect, and otherworldly, as you would also expect, but completely charming.  The cast was the usual amazing assemblage of talented actors, and all of them played their roles with scene-chewing gusto. 

I could go on, but I don't want to spoil anything for you.  If you at all like Wes Anderson's work, don't miss this one.  If you generally don't like his films but happen to be in the mood for something absurd and witty and extremely odd, give this one a try anyway. 

Oh, yeah:  If you do go, stay to the very end of the credits.  You'll be glad you did.