I finally got around to seeing Wes Anderson’s Asteroid City at Cineworld on Monday evening and I have to say that it was well worth the wait as this new charming and wonderful-looking movie is certainly one that gave me a big grin on my face from start to finish.
Asteroid City takes place in a fictional American desert town circa 1955. The itinerary of a Junior Stargazer/Space Cadet convention (organized to bring together students and parents from across the country for fellowship and scholarly competition) is spectacularly disrupted by world-changing events.
My first introduction to Wes Anderson’s movies was back in 2004 when I went to see The Life Aquatic with Steve Zissou and I enjoyed the movie, I then set out to check Anderson’s earlier movies. Over the years I’ve thoroughly enjoyed his work then in 2014 The Grand Budapest Hotel was released and this became my favourite movie, there was just something about it that grabbed me, with its use of ratio changes and the comedy element with yet again another superb cast.
After a few more releases we now get Asteroid City, yet again Wes Anderson has assembled a stellar cast including Tom Hanks, Bryan Cranston, Jeff Goldblum and many more big names. The movie has that style that I came to enjoy in The Grand Budapest Hotel and The French Dispatch, but this new movie adds a bit of a Sci-Fi twist and becomes a movie within a play within a movie and this works.
Wes Anderson has brought us a great-looking film that gives us some glorious full widescreen shots of Asteroid City along with those great panning shots that we have come to love from the director, he also makes great use of the widescreen to have a few scenes with characters talking to one another across the full width of the screen, also a great scene that spits the screen in two as Augie (Jason Schwartzman) and Stanley (Tom Hanks) have a discussion over the phone.
His use of screen ratio change is used nicely with Bryan Cranston as the Host as the screen changes to a 4:3 ratio and into black and white, wonderfully done and it splits up the moments of the film and of the play.
I found myself with several large grins on my face throughout the movie, the cast is fantastic and brings Anderson’s story to life on the big screen, if you are a fan of Anderson’s movies then Asteroid City is certainly one you will want to check out, for me personally I still prefer The Grand Budapest Hotel but this new movie takes us on a new strange journey that is a very enjoyable movie with some nice touches.
Asteroid City probably isn’t going to be for everyone, but for me, I really enjoyed every moment of its strangeness and charm, the cinematography looks superb, and the story is captivating and yet somewhat bizarre. The music is also lots of fun to listen to, although you may come out of the cinema singing “Freight Train, Freight Train” to yourself.
A delightful and quirky movie
Movie title: Asteroid City (2023)
Movie description: Following a writer on his world famous fictional play about a grieving father who travels with his tech-obsessed family to small rural Asteroid City to compete in a junior stargazing event, only to have his world view disrupted forever.
Date published: June 28, 2023
Country: UK
Duration: 1h 45m
Director(s): Wes Anderson
Actor(s): Jason Schwartzman, Scarlett Johansson, Tom Hanks
Genre: Comedy, Drama, Romance
Summary
Asteroid City is a charming and quirky movie that Anderson fans will enjoy.
Karen Woodham is the founder and owner of the Blazing Minds. She is also a Cinema reviewer and works with RealD 3D reviewing the latest 3D releases and IMAX, she has also had several articles published in various publications including the first edition of SFW Magazine. In 2015 she became an Award Winning Blogger and also has her website listed as one of the UK’s Top 10 Film Blogs.
