A DREAM DESTINATION: Wes Anderson’s “The Grand Budapest Hotel” is going strong at the box office. Now in its third weekend of release, it’s brought in $7 million. It’s risen to number sever in the box office.
of the film is shot with a wide-angle lens, allowing for everything to be in focus at the same time. Switching through three different time periods, the brilliant choice is made to change the aspect ratio, which may seem like a subtle detail, but it makes a world of difference. However, what makes the film really work is the juxtaposition between its classy style and its sophomoric sense of humor. The combination of the two can only be described as “quirky”. The Grand Budapest Hotel is a screwball comedy at heart, and it’s one of Anderson’s finest, with instantly quotable dialogue and wonderful gags. The cast of the film help take it to the next level. Ralph Fiennes gives an iconic performance, one of the best in his career. As far as child actors go, Tony Revolori is fantastic. He holds his own, which is quite an accomplishment given his co-stars. Adrien Brody, Willem Dafoe, and Jeff Goldblum are the highlights from the ensemble, masterfully portraying their intentionally one-dimensional characters, and stealing every scene they’re in. The Grand Budapest Hotel isn’t asking to be taken seriously. The plot is so absurd that it’s making fun of itself. It’s the classiest campy film you’ll ever see though. I think it’s my favorite of Wes Anderson’s catalogue, and I anticipate seeing it many times in the future. Based off of the The Rocky and Bullwinkle Show segments, Mr. Peabody and Sherman is an animat-
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ed film about a hyper-intelligent dog who decides to adopt a boy. Using a time machine he calls the “WABAC”, Mr. Peabody (Ty Burrell) takes Sherman (Max Charles) back in time so he can experience history first hand (something I wish I could do as I study for my APUSH final). However, on the first day of school, Sherman is ridiculed by his classmate, Penny (Ariel Winter), prompting Sherman to bite her. This leads to an annoyingly obvious civil rights metaphor as a bigoted Ms. Grunion (Allison Janney) tries to take Sherman away from Mr. Peabody, claiming a dog can’t take care of a child. There are a lot of history jokes in this movie, and a lot of puns as well. While there’s generally nothing worth more than a chuckle, it’s a refreshing change of pace from the lazy brand of humor you see in the majority of kids films. Most of the movie’s gags wear out their welcome fairly quickly, but the fast pace of the film prevents that from being too much of a problem. Similar to many other movies with time travel as a crucial plot element, things don’t make a lot of sense. This is especially troublesome for Mr. Peabody and Sherman, but if you don’t think about it too much, the story becomes mildly entertaining. The movie
certainly isn’t going for a plot that makes too much sense. Ty Burrell is charming as the talking dog, but the real star of the show is 10-year-old Max Charles. Generally, a performance by a child actor is a painful experience, but Charles’s performance as Sherman was so effortless I thought they might have gotten an adult to voice the child. The film doesn’t waste its historical figures either. Patrick Warburton and Stanley Tucci both have delightful supporting roles as Agamemnon and Leonardo Da Vinci, respectively. Stephen Colbert, Leslie Mann, and Mel Brooks also make brief appearances. The animation is reminiscent of other Dreamworks movies, such as How to Train Your Dragon (2010), Megamind (2010), and The Croods (2013), and it’s on par with what we’ve come to expect from the studio. The movie as a whole is enjoyable, albeit forgettable. Many of the gags quickly get old, the themes are thrust in your face, and the pacing is uneven, but nonetheless, Mr. Peabody and Sherman is still a relatively good time.
Illustrations by Hannah Vogel