Full Movie Reviews
Rating of
3.5/4
Love-Letter to Journalists in Anderson Style
Chris Kavan - wrote on 03/04/2022
I'm an unasbashed Wes Anderson fan and really wanted to see this in theaters, but, alas, never got the change. Still, the film lost none of its Anderson flair at home as the visuals and Anderson's signature style - including a great animated sequence - really pop.
The French Dispatch is made up of three distinct stories told from the point-of-view of the reporter of said story - bookended by the making of the final issue of said paper due to death of owener Arthur Howitzer, Jr. (Bill Murray). Before the first major story, we are introduced to the French community of Ennui-sur-Blasé (entirely fictional but filmed in the very real city of Angoulême) in a cycling commentary from reporter Herbsaint Sazerac (Owen Wilson) - who compares the old and current districts as well as not …
Rating of
2.5/4
Style overrules substance for Wes Anderson here
Indyfreak - wrote on 02/05/2022
The French Dispatch is as quirky and offbeat as expected for a Wes Anderson movie.
Just as The Grand Budapest Hotel was a pastiche of interwar European literature, The French Dispatch seems enamored by the mid-century artistic and political revolutionary attitudes.
But its three part structure telling three different stories feels disjointed. These segments are amusing on their own but together they appear to be unfocused.
Visually, it’s quite marvelous to look at. Every other shot is beautifu as the last. Set in a fictitious part of France, the sets and visual effects create this environment that seems at once unchanging then experiencing turmoil and upheaval.,
Aside from the visual style, the cast does help elevate the movie. Given how huge the ensemble is, some come …
