IMDb Top 250 Journey: The Grand Budapest Hotel

Hello everybody! it's time for our weekly traipse through IMDb's Top 250 list. It's The Grand Budapest Hotel we're reviewing this week; you can find it at #184 with a score of 8.1.

Immediate thoughts?

Funny. Entertaining. DIFFERENT.

Go on...

I have seen only one other Wes Anderson movie - Moonrise Kingdom - which I can't say I loved (it was a bit of a stretch for me to accept the weirdness of what was happening); I will however say this: after seeing Grand Budapest Hotel, I definitely enjoyed my second viewing of Moonrise Kingdom, which is to say, Grand Budapest Hotel is a more accessible introduction into the very, very, unique world of Wes Anderson movies. 

From the onset you'll know The Grand Budapest Hotel is not a typical movie - there's more color than you're used to, more detail, and a very real sense that what you're seeing is ...too perfect. Yes, you read that right. Too perfect, like the kind of movie born from a play. So while it's definitely real, you feel more of the staged effect, transitions between scenes and all that. Simply put, it doesn't feel as filmic as every other movie out there. 

But thankfully, that doesn't distract you from the movie, mostly thanks to the extremely entertaining story being told. I absolutely loved the story; it was unexpectedly interesting, funny, quirky, and sometimes even warm. One of best stories I've come across in a long time. Some terrific acting too helps with that, from newcomer Tony Revolori's turn as the lobby boy, to Ralph Fiennes as the memorable concierge of the Hotel, and a host of many other actors who shined in the roles.

No faults to speak of here, but it may come across as a bit too quirky, so if you find that kind of thing off-putting be prepared. However, even though I haven't seen any of his other movies, (I have an understanding that they're mostly in the same vein), at least between Moonrise Kingdom and Grand Budapest, the latter has a more mainstream appeal.

But was it well-made?

Oh the sets. Some truly remarkable work went into Grand Budapest Hotel's sets. You can feel the strives taken to make it as perfect and far away from ordinary as possible. It's like the finely crafted cabinet of movies. Alexandre Desplat's score too was great to hear, and very suitable for the movie. The visual aesthetic too was notable and all in all, the movie's world was very well constructed. Top marks here, top marks. 

Final thoughts

The Grand Budapest Hotel is a showcase of Wes Anderson's talent: It's different, careful attention is paid to every single thing, at the same time it manages to be funny and thoroughly enjoyable. Also, this is yet another good example of the list bringing a lesser known movie into the spotlight, so as you'd expect, I believe it deserves a spot on the list, perhaps even higher that it already is.

My Score: 9+

Go see The Grand Budapest Hotel if you haven't already, and of course let's hear your thoughts on it. Also check out my X-Men Days Of Future Past review, which I ended doing. Next week we're onto Whiplash... sounds good.