Asteroid City

badelf 8/15/2023 1:25:09 AM 8.4

Top tongue-in-cheek directors: Wes Anderson and Wen Jiang. Asteroid City isn't my favorite Wes film, but it's surely tongue-in-cheek and pretty damn funny. This movie reminds me a little of Tennessee Williams, the all-time master of damaged and traumatized human psyches. I see this work as a treatise on human issues, especially the labels given to us by others and those we give ourselves, and how they affect one's life and relationships. The partial view of the "Confessions of a Narcissist" marquis that showed up in the background of the tet-a-tet between Augie and his almost-onstage-wife is a clue. The term "narcissist" didn't become popular psychology until the 1980s. There were other anachronisms, but this one is particularly striking in context. And what's with that song and dance number in the middle of the show? The band that showed up in this desert had no other raison d'etre!! Did Wes just reference the Time Warp from The Rocky Horror Picture Show??

r96sk 1/2/2024 1:07:26 PM 8.4

I didn't know what to expect from <em>'Asteroid City'</em>, yet I got exactly what I expected from this director... Wes Anderson, that! As usual: love the aesthetic, the exquisite colour palette and the usual Wes vibes. Always fun seeing a bunch of known faces appear throughout. Jason Schwartzman and Scarlett Johansson are the standouts. A fair few others do well too, namely Bryan Cranston and Jeffrey Wright. Steve Carell is amusing in a small role, also. I've enjoyed some of Anderson's other works much more (<em><a href="https://letterboxd.com/film/fantastic-mr-fox/" rel="nofollow">'Fantastic Mr. Fox'</a></em>, <em><a href="https://letterboxd.com/film/the-french-dispatch/" rel="nofollow">'The French Dispatch'</a></em>), the story didn't totally hook me here if I'm honest, but this one is very much still a good film in my opinion.

Manuel São Bento 6/14/2023 6:42:09 PM 8.4

FULL SPOILER-FREE REVIEW @ https://insessionfilm.com/movie-review-asteroid-city/ "For fans of Wes Anderson, Asteroid City doesn’t disappoint, offering exactly what was expected from it. For viewers who don’t exactly appreciate the filmmaker’s style, I don’t think this film will convert you. Personally, it’s nowhere near the level of The Grand Budapest Hotel, but it’s a considerable improvement over The French Dispatch." Rating: B-