Wes Anderson movies

My ranking of Wes Anderson films. I wonder where Fantastic Mr. Fox will fit in? It’s Roald Dahl, after all…

1. Rushmore

Natch.  Not just my favorite Wes Anderson movie. My favorite movie, period. Generates warmth like a high-end furnace that's been serviced by a really good service company. Sorry, too lazy for good metaphors this morning. Anyway, this movie features the love triangle against which all other love triangles should be judged. Bill Murray and Jason Schwartzman absolutely rock this movie off its hinges. Incredible soundtrack, “I saved Latin,” O.R. scrubs, bees, bad ass slo mo elevator exit, that kid from Dennis the Menace spitting on Murray’s car. What, pray tell, is not to love and cherish about this movie?

2. Royal Tenenbaums

Another homerun as far as I’m concerned. I know some didn’t quite care for this movie, but their opinions are not as valuable as mine. An absolute top-notch cast, headed by one of my favorite performances ever by Gene Hackman. Owen Wilson nails the movie’s two most memorable scenes, the hysterical tennis meltdown and the disturbing Needle in the Hay sequence. Again, nice soundtracking, Anderson. Oh, and even Ben Stiller is tolerable in this movie, which is a testament to a kick ass script and director keeping his monkey mugging under wraps.  

3. Life Aquatic

A beautiful movie, no doubt. The ship cutaways, the ending underwater sequence, and that oh so wonderful Murray deliberate walk up the prow near the beginning, yum. But here’s where I feel Anderson starts to get a little too expansive with his storytelling. It’s like the insular world of Rushmore and to some extent Tenenbaums was suffocating him, so he had to go big. And when you go big like this, with this large of a cast, and everyone is on a journey, well, things can easily get kind of floppy and flabby, with barely related episodes strung together like cheap Christmas lights, kind of like all the clauses in this sentence.

4. Bottle Rocket

My friends swear by this movie. I don’t, but that could change. Just got the Criterion edition and am going to give it a shot to see if it’ll move up my list. Something about the meandering nature fell a little short for me. Tell me why I should love it.

5. Darjeeling Limited

I liked Anderson's American Express commercial better than this. Suffers from episoditis even more than Life Aquatic. I mean, it takes place on a train making various stops, what did I expect, right? And oy, could you be any more hyperliteral with the luggage = baggage? SPOILER ALERT (highlight to read): They get rid of their luggage. Get it?