The Grand Budapest Hotel

Will the Film Fatales be checking into The Grand Budapest Hotel? 

2014. Rated R. 100 minutes. Starring almost everyone who has ever made a movie--even the Film Fatales had a guest cameo, which was savagely cut by director Wes Anderson.  Let’s start over. Starring: Ralph Fiennes, F. Murray Abraham, Adrien Brody, Willem Dafoe, Jeff Goldblum, Jude Law, Tilda Swinton, Edward Norton, Bill Murray and Tony Revolori (to name a few). 

The adventures of Gustave H, a legendary concierge at a famous European hotel between the wars, and Zero Moustafa, the lobby boy who becomes his most trusted friend. (IMDb) 

elizabeth:  I am not going to wait till the end to say how I feel about this movie.  I went in loving some of Wes Anderson’s movies like Moonrise Kingdom and then not tripping-out over some of his other works (but I know he has avid fans and I don’t need hate mail) so let me state for the record: The Grand Budapest Hotel is just a delightful and heartrending movie wrapped up in a world that you would love to visit and then in the next frame you shudder to see what unfolds. And, Anderson packs a wallop with his brilliant cast and stunning scenery. You almost want to believe that this hotel and its inhabitants really did live in a time between the two wars. 

Nicole: Unlike you, I’m going to risk potential hate mail here. Here goes: This is the very first Wes Anderson movie I’ve enjoyed. Perhaps enjoyed is too mild. I loved it. And, naturally, I was extremely leery about seeing it because of how tedious I’ve found his other movies. Anderson has a style all his own, and that’s admirable in an industry that churns out unoriginal crap. But sometimes I think he’s being different for the sake of being different; i.e. quirky just to be quirky. (God, I can feel Williamsburg and Park Slope rising up against me as I type…) But, I may have been converted (does that redeem me at all?) because this movie was absolutely delightful—on every level. 

elizabeth: Ralph Fiennes keeps getting better and better in each of his movie roles. Sometimes I think he does not get enough credit for all his masterful performances, but his Gustave H, the legendary concierge at a famous Grand Budapest Hotel (who has quite the fondness for women of a certain age) is right up there along with his contemporaries Daniel Day-Lewis and Colin Firth. His relationship with Zero, the Lobby Boy, will make you laugh because the dialogue is so sharp and witty (one man in the audience laughed through much of the movie. He might have been ingesting vodka-flavored popcorn) and part of the brilliance of Anderson’s direction is that it will grab you by the heart in the next scene. 

Nicole: Couldn’t agree more. For moi, Fiennes stole the show. All of the performances (from the pivotal roles to the cameos—and there are mannnnny) were terrific, but Fiennes was outstanding. What a joy to see him exercise his comedic muscle. His delivery was just perfection. I hope he gets the recognition he deserves for this role, ‘cause it really shows off how versatile he is as an actor. 

elizabeth: There is a quite a bit of violence in this movie – some rather necessary to go along with the brutality of some of the characters. Willem Dafoe is just repulsive in his look and behavior and there is one scene that some animal lovers (such as Nicole and me) did not find necessary at all. We have to thank Adrien Brody’s Dmitri for that. So the story does come down to good vs. evil and as you know some days we win and some days evil scores a homerun. But I would still check into the Grand Budapest Hotel. 

Nicole: I would definitely check in, preferably in its heyday when Gustave H was the concierge and Zero his loyal lobby boy. I could certainly go for some of Mendl’s pastries, that’s for sure. 

The Film Fatales give THE GRAND BUDAPEST HOTEL