Asteroid City

This weekend, Asteroid City, the newest film from Wes Anderson releases in theaters. Asteroid City follows the lives of people in the small town of Asteroid City during the town's signature Asteroid Day. When an alien appears in the town, the people must learn to live together in the quarantined town as well as cope with the changes the appearance of an alien may bring. To put some perspective, Asteroid City is the first Wes Anderson film that I have seen. I have heard that he has a very different style of movies and I have been wanting to try them out for a while.

This movie is definitely the most unique movie I have ever seen. The flow of the story, the delivery of the characters, and the design of the shots are all just so different than every other movie I have seen. Wes Anderson's style is very interesting. The camera shots are always so precise with the images having such a symmetric feel to them. The way the camera is used is also very unique as it feels like the camera is on a swivel with the camera turning to capture different events happening around it. There isn't a way to describe Wes Anderson's style other than saying it is a Wes Anderson style. The delivery of the actors is also very unique. All of the actors act so deadpan and serious but somehow the movie still works. There is also quite a bit of subtle humor in it. The humor isn't slapstick or in your face but more so just something in the background that happens or a blink-and-you-'ll-miss-it kind of moment. They aren't laugh-out-loud funny but they do get a bit of a chuckle which is what the movie is going for. I thought the Sci-Fi aspect was a lot of fun. It pays tribute to 1950s Sci-Fi movies just in the style of the special effects and the technology used. I also like how the movie shows the different people's reactions to the alien and their handling of being in quarantine. In certain scenes, it pans around to different areas of the town and just shows how a certain person is reacting to the events which is such a unique way to do it. The movie also has a bit of self-awareness to it. The movie intercuts between the events of Asteroid City to the people that are making Asteroid City and dives into the director's thought process. It is a movie about Sci-Fi while also being a movie about making movies.

This movie is a bit difficult to put negatives on as Wes Anderson made the movie exactly how he wanted to make it. As a viewer, you are either going to enjoy it or think it is too weird and not understand it. There isn't really much room for a lukewarm reaction in this film. The only thing I had an issue with was the ending. It just gets a little confusing and hard to track within the last 10 minutes or so. Other than that I enjoyed this movie.

Overall, this movie was a very unique experience with a style that can only be described as Wes Anderson. This movie has sold me on him as a director and I plan to see more of his films because of this.

Score: 8/10 Grade: B+

Recommended: Check it out if you are a Wes Anderson fan or a big Cinema fan