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Is “The Phoenician Scheme” Wes Anderson's Most Emotional Film?

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Re: Is “The Phoenician Scheme” Wes Anderson's Most Emotional Film?

#81

Post by pursuableproofs »

rickdeckard wrote: post #75
pursuableproofs wrote: post #74

Haven't read the article but saw the film. If Wes made No Country For Old Men in this style it would suck. The films look incredible but the monotone delivery and lack of soundtrack remove any drama and intrigue. I say this as someone that loved Rushmore, Tenenbaums, Life Aquatic

> If Wes made No Country For Old Men in this style it would suck. I genuinely don't understand what this means, No Country for Old Men is a Coen Brothers movie. Do I need to see "The Phoenician Scheme" to understand this reference...?

No, you don't need to see the film but it was a way of me trying to put across how much his style really sucks out of the films.

I see No Country For Old Men as one of the top films of the last 20 years, what with its pacing and the atmosphere they create. It's not an original story, based on a book, so therefore any director could have been brought on board.

You might say I am comparing apples to oranges but it was just a way to illustrate what I think the problem is.

Re: Is “The Phoenician Scheme” Wes Anderson's Most Emotional Film?

#82

Post by NikolaNovak »

echelon wrote: post #78
chadd wrote: post #72

Earlier quoted context omitted.

This is because the older films were co-written with Owen Wilson. Once they stopped collaborating, Anderson's later films are unbalanced - they have the whimsical aesthetic, but are too sweet without the bitter piercing wit and clarity of Wilson's writing to make them less cloying (IMHO).

I miss Owen Wilson. He was going through some major depression and understandably pulled back from the industry. But he brought something very personable and authentic to comedy, and his absence has been palpable. Many other comedians of the era were too slapstick and over the top for me. I still can't watch a Will Ferrell comedy with any interest.

Owen Wilson has been a fascinating character with a unique yet consistent approach.

Ferrell... Massive comedic turn off for me. He seems like the guy that jumps into a room, interrupts and yells out a joke out of context, then keeps repeating it louder and louder until some polite fake laughter occurs. I feel bad about being this negative about a fellow human being, but his comedic approach sets off a Bully vibe / response in me in anything I've seen him in except Stranger Than Fiction.

Re: Is “The Phoenician Scheme” Wes Anderson's Most Emotional Film?

#83

Post by awongh »

myth_drannon wrote: post #49
awongh wrote: post #44

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I liked that in Oppenheimer, even though the plot of the movie was a similar sort of high stakes mystery heist movie, instead of the macguffin being a random piece of metal like it was in tenet, its the literal atom bomb. For that reason I enjoyed it more than some of his other movies. I would enjoy a Wes Anderson movie that just moved the whole aesthetic over to something new. It can still be a Wes Anderson movie bu…

The Dark Knight Rises also had an atom bomb. Nolan has a thing for nuclear detonations.

Except in Oppenheimer he was like, I'll just do the actual atom bomb instead. I'm glad that he knows himself well enough that he went right to the source.

Re: Is “The Phoenician Scheme” Wes Anderson's Most Emotional Film?

#85

Post by sdenton4 »

pursuableproofs wrote: post #81
rickdeckard wrote: post #75

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> If Wes made No Country For Old Men in this style it would suck. I genuinely don't understand what this means, No Country for Old Men is a Coen Brothers movie. Do I need to see "The Phoenician Scheme" to understand this reference...?

No, you don't need to see the film but it was a way of me trying to put across how much his style really sucks out of the films. I see No Country For Old Men as one of the top films of the last 20 years, what with its pacing and the atmosphere they create. It's not an original story, based on a book, so therefore any director could have been brought on board. You might say I am comparing apples to oranges but it was…

There's still a selection problem in adaptation.... Directors are not interchangeable, and that's ok! It means there can be a broader range of styles and flavors in the world.

For example, what if the Coen brothers had directed, say, 'Adaptation'? It would have been a completely different film. Would we ever want to see Christopher Nolan adapt Stefan Zweig? Hardly.

Re: Is “The Phoenician Scheme” Wes Anderson's Most Emotional Film?

#86

Post by billfruit »

rafaepta wrote: post #57

I miss Rushmore’s plain approach. Just enough quirk, sharp acting, and visuals that back the plot instead of hogging it. Newer Anderson films look like photo shoots: pretty, but the story drags. Same story dev teams hit when designers chase pixel-perfect screens and users still wait on real features.

Moonrise Kingdom was good too, it had something at its core, not just stylish visuals.

Re: Is “The Phoenician Scheme” Wes Anderson's Most Emotional Film?

#87

Post by beart »

yooo000 wrote: post #48

Why does it feel like any film churned out by Hollywood is just mindless banter in between sex and explosions...haven't seen a movie in theaters since well before covid because it's really not worth it, waste of time.

Perhaps you can share some examples of the films you are referring as "mindless banter in between sex and explosions". I'm not sure that description really fits most of the films coming out recently. If you said, "Dumb comic book films", I would maybe agree with you, but there isn't typically any sex in those so I assume you are not referring to them.

Covid halted the production of a lot of movies, and changed how others were made. It also shut down theaters. So, "since covid", is really talking about before and after an era. Kind of like saying, "since 9/11", in terms of the impact on culture. A lot of creativity has moved from the movie theaters to streaming services and from films to more episodic content.

However, here is a short list of films worth seeing (imo) since covid (2019).

Zone of Interest (2023) The Holdovers (2023) Parasite (2019) Dune (2021) Dune Part Two (2024) Everything Everywhere All at Once (2022) 1917 (2019) The Banshees of Inisherin (2022) The Substance (2024) Palm Springs (2020) Oppenheimer (2023) The Lighthouse (2019) Hundreds of Beavers (2022) Barbarian (2022) Flow (2024)

Re: Is “The Phoenician Scheme” Wes Anderson's Most Emotional Film?

#88

Post by detourdog »

rafaepta wrote: post #57

I miss Rushmore’s plain approach. Just enough quirk, sharp acting, and visuals that back the plot instead of hogging it. Newer Anderson films look like photo shoots: pretty, but the story drags. Same story dev teams hit when designers chase pixel-perfect screens and users still wait on real features.

Bottle Rocket fits that bill for me.

Re: Is “The Phoenician Scheme” Wes Anderson's Most Emotional Film?

#89

Post by detourdog »

HelloMcFly wrote: post #65
keiferski wrote: post #59

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Both Picasso and Godard changed their style dramatically over their careers. I'm not familiar enough with Woody Allen's movies to comment on them. These are good examples to show how being an auteur doesn't mean you need to stick to the same stereotypical aesthetic. Anderson is still pretty young, so maybe he is shifting in one direction or another. But as far as his work goes as of today, the range of stylistic choi…

The stylistic evolution of Picasso and Godard over time is undeniable, but I think it’s also worth considering that Anderson is working in a medium that isn’t just visual, but also narrative, thematic, sonic, and performative. His evolution as an artist is not truly represented by his shifts in color palettes, framing, or editing technique, but you can see it in the emotional territory he explores, the narrative stru…

Anderson is also not dead yet so still creating.

Re: Is “The Phoenician Scheme” Wes Anderson's Most Emotional Film?

#90

Post by prettyblocks »

rafaepta wrote: post #57

I miss Rushmore’s plain approach. Just enough quirk, sharp acting, and visuals that back the plot instead of hogging it. Newer Anderson films look like photo shoots: pretty, but the story drags. Same story dev teams hit when designers chase pixel-perfect screens and users still wait on real features.

Royal Tenenbaums & Rushmore have always been my favorite, the way they hit every single emotional chord without being overcooked, and with characters that are relatable.
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