lmao that is the opposite of mine (if you switch Tenenbaums and Bottle rocket)
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First reviews for Wes Anderson’s ISLE OF DOGS
- Thread starter Scullibundo
- Start date
lmao that is the opposite of mine (if you switch Tenenbaums and Bottle rocket)
I kind of liked life aquatic less over time, weirdly. Didn't really connect after repeat viewing
"Wes Anderson's 'Isle of Dogs' is often captivating, but cultural sensitivity gets lost in translation"
http://www.latimes.com/entertainment/movies/la-et-mn-isle-of-dogs-review-20180321-story,amp.html
http://www.latimes.com/entertainment/movies/la-et-mn-isle-of-dogs-review-20180321-story,amp.html
Opposite for me. Friend and I re-watch it often and it's both infinitely quotable and still enjoyable after dozens of viewings.
It's out in only 27 Cinemas in the US this weekend, I think the bigger roll out is next week.
I know UK side it's out next week and I'll get to watch it then, local cinema replayed Fantastic Mr. Fox this weekend, 9 years on it's still as good as you remember it is.
It comes to an AMC theater with recliner seats this Wednesday.
Or I could drive 10 minutes farther to an inferior theater with dirty seats, non stadium seatings, and walls aren't soundproof so you hear movies playing next door. Isle of Dogs is playing now here.
Which one should I choose?
Or I could drive 10 minutes farther to an inferior theater with dirty seats, non stadium seatings, and walls aren't soundproof so you hear movies playing next door. Isle of Dogs is playing now here.
Which one should I choose?
Odie Henderson from RogerEbert.com also wasn't really having any of it either. Went as far as to give it a 1.5/4.
Weird, I usually recommend people re-watch Life Aquatic if they don't like it. I think the revel at the end completely changes the interpretation of Steve Zissou's character.
It has pretty immense style. The story is classic Wes Anderson quirkiness, with the usual amusement rather than full comedy. I enjoyed it, although it has its flaws, particularly in my opinion around some of the characters. Portrayal of some of the Japanese characters can come across as borderline racist. But this is Wes Anderson, he makes fun of all sorts of cultural situations and I am not convinced there is any malicious intent. There is historical presidence in the characteristics of certain characters having strong racist connotations.
I only noticed this when reading the Vox review for it, which starts off with
Vox said:
After having my mind blown I told my girlfriend to say the title aloud.
"I don't hear it."
>"No, say it again, but don't focus on the words specifically."
"I still don't hear it."
Even after I explained it to her she said that she never would have gotten it because of the way she pronounces "of." It led to a longer debate than I had anticipated it leading to, haha.
I have! I've been waning on him over the years but it's visually arresting and very charming. A little weak on story and the dog characters don't "pop" much, which is a shame when you have all those breeds to choose from. The mini-controversy over Japan seems nonsensical to me since it was co-conceived, co-written and casted by a Japanese person and all the Japanese voice acting is done by actual Japanese people. Classical Japanese art and music is a huge aesthetic inspiration and it's consistently beautiful in that respect. The Kurosawa references are nice too.
In summary, I feel like "Fox" had a little more to say and a little better pacing. But if you were into the recent Anderson movies and liked "Fox" I don't see how you can go wrong.
I think the muted precociousness of his dialogue has finally grated too much on me.
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The cultural appropriation hit pieces that have managed to pop up on at least 10 websites in the last week frustrate me quite a bit.
I got to see it yesterday.
Really great film, film makes me want to get an actual dog of my own. Shame my house is too messy for it to live in, sometime in the future.
Go watch this film. Highly recommended.
Really great film, film makes me want to get an actual dog of my own. Shame my house is too messy for it to live in, sometime in the future.
Go watch this film. Highly recommended.
They're not exactly untrue. I wasn't a huge fan of Wes Anderson, but Fantastic Mr. Fox, The Grand Budapest Hotel and Isle of Dogs have me changing my mind about him. Having said that, what has Wes Anderson done within his career to prove that people's complaints along those fronts are untrue?
Came away feeling the same. I largely liked it, but it made me realize I'm burnt out on Anderson's formula. His movies have a signature, which is fine, but I think there's room to grow a bit in some of the weaker aspects while maintaining the core of what makes his films distinctive.
The "listing-a-lot-of-things-off-breathlessly" thing that his characters tend to do starts to get really old, as does some of the other repetition/jokes he chose (I heard a rumour...). Past the first couple of executions it just starts feeling like time wasting since you know the characters have to go through the same loops. That, and the female characters on the dogs' side of things are largely inconsequential - I'm surprised they bill Johansson considering the extent of her role is to have kids.
I thought the pacing could have been a bit better, and like you mentioned I think I prefer "Fox" way more.
Wes Anderson lists are never the same, it's wild. Moonrise Kingdom is my least favorite of his and I've seen em all except for Rushmore and I can't remember anything from Royal Tenenbaums, gonna have to re-watch that one sometime. The Life Aquatic is my favorite though, just because it was the first movie I ever watched of his and it stuck with me pretty hard. A combination of new found humor, originality, quirky interactions, interesting exposition, and a distinctive visual panache. When Steve Zissou and his crew meet the Jaguar Shark for the first time, that emotionally hit me in a way I wasn't expecting.
Anyways, I just finished watching Isle of Dogs today and I have to say, I think I prefer his live-action stuff more. I enjoyed it for what it was but I was kind of expecting more from the ending. Visually, it has everything you want from a Wes Anderson film though.
Anyways, I just finished watching Isle of Dogs today and I have to say, I think I prefer his live-action stuff more. I enjoyed it for what it was but I was kind of expecting more from the ending. Visually, it has everything you want from a Wes Anderson film though.
I can understand that there are legitimate criticisms to be made about the cultural representations in Isle of Dogs but the underlying rhetoric is tiresome and decidedly lazy. The cited Henderson review above is a case in point.
Saw it last night and liked it.
Im not sure I get the "appropriation" criticism, I thought it was weirder that
Only one theater in Montreal playing a new Wes Anderson film is sad.
Im not sure I get the "appropriation" criticism, I thought it was weirder that
the main villain had a sudden change of heart out of nowhere.
There was an Atlantic piece that was basically just repeating over and over that the setting being in Japan and the spoken Japanese was just tokenized window dressing because it serves no purpose in the story.
I question if they actually saw the movie.
But it's no surprise this whole thing was missed among the crowd tripping over themselves to claim "cultural appropriation!!!"
I question if they actually saw the movie.
There being a "language barrier" is an integral part of the story. The dogs have no earthly clue what the humans are doing and why. They don't understand Atari. Oracle is a respected dog because she's the only one who can watch TV, offering a glimpse into the humans much like anyone who has a vague understanding of a foreign language or culture. Anderson only selectively translating some of what the humans are saying is to also leave the audience in the dark as to what exactly they're saying, using it as a way to tell the story from the perspective of the dogs. This is mostly to drive home the theme that love transcends languages, cultures, and species. Anyone and everything is capable of love, even Chief.
But it's no surprise this whole thing was missed among the crowd tripping over themselves to claim "cultural appropriation!!!"
Two theaters? I googled again, I can only see the Cineplex Odeon.
Cinema du Parc is showing it later in the week but that was not there listed Saturday when I last checked.
I agree with you fully. However, Tracy, the white exchange student, being the driver of the pro-dog movement felt problematic.
No. I am going to assume you're American? If I am wrong, I apologize. But so many Americans have weird understanding of cultural appropriation and what it really is. Anyone can embrace other cultures. Share it, love it.
No. The drivers are both the Japanese student and the exchange student. There is nothing wrong that. You are looking for problems. A story conceived by an American and Japanese individual, featuring exactly that. American creates and writes an American character... very similar to Japanese stories that take place in another culture and feature... A japanese character created by the Japanese author.
Sometimes I think the biggest threat to the arts are Americans themselves.
This is really a great film, quite touching at parts. The trailers didn't get me excited at all to see this but I saw it just because of Wes Anderson
how the fuck did this get away with a pg rating in the uk hahaha
a family with a kid walked out barely half way through and i'm surprised there wasn't more
very enjoyable film though, utterly gorgeous animation. didn't quite connect with me in the same way that grand budapest did though.
a family with a kid walked out barely half way through and i'm surprised there wasn't more
very enjoyable film though, utterly gorgeous animation. didn't quite connect with me in the same way that grand budapest did though.
I was a little dissapointed
Visually interesting in every frame but a lot of the plot choices especially in the second half were pretty underwhelming such as:
But I am a cat person for reference. After also having similar issues with Moonrise Kingdom I'm thinking maybe Wes Anderson just isn't for me.
Visually interesting in every frame but a lot of the plot choices especially in the second half were pretty underwhelming such as:
- Chiefs arc learning to be sub-servient
- Two forced romances between characters that share almost no screen time together
- The films incescent need to remind you this is Japan, ie Sumo wrestling, Haikus, Wasabi, robots, cherry blossoms,
- The langauage barrier seems inconsistent such as Atari understanding the owl and when Greta Gerwig storms the stage she starts talking in English to a Japanese audience
- Codify cats as evil but never doing anything with them
- Dog Concentration Camp
- Two forced romances between characters that share almost no screen time together
- The films incescent need to remind you this is Japan, ie Sumo wrestling, Haikus, Wasabi, robots, cherry blossoms,
- The langauage barrier seems inconsistent such as Atari understanding the owl and when Greta Gerwig storms the stage she starts talking in English to a Japanese audience
- Codify cats as evil but never doing anything with them
- Dog Concentration Camp
But I am a cat person for reference. After also having similar issues with Moonrise Kingdom I'm thinking maybe Wes Anderson just isn't for me.
Saw this today. I found it really amazing to look at. Almost dizzingly beautiful - with the cotton wool attack clouds. There's a lot of artistry here from the stop motion to the japanesey art on display.
I also fidgeted as it moved at a quick if clippy pace and the story seemed semi-nonsensical like it was meant for a cartoon sorta. Not sure how I felt but I didnt think it was that great a narrative and I found the
part sort of headscratching and somewhat annoying for a movie wholely set in Japan. She could have been japanese.
I have no issue with the cultural appropriation outside of the spoiler above.
Score: 6.5ish.
I also fidgeted as it moved at a quick if clippy pace and the story seemed semi-nonsensical like it was meant for a cartoon sorta. Not sure how I felt but I didnt think it was that great a narrative and I found the
White saviour
I have no issue with the cultural appropriation outside of the spoiler above.
Score: 6.5ish.
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Just got back from seeing it and wow, I thought it was fantastic. It was funny, very beautifully animated, and some parts hit really close to home as someone has always grown up with dogs.
The ridiculous hit pieces that came out were total horseshit imo. I can't believe people get so worked up and have to always find the ugly in something beautiful and then write an essay about it for clicks, but whatever.
The ridiculous hit pieces that came out were total horseshit imo. I can't believe people get so worked up and have to always find the ugly in something beautiful and then write an essay about it for clicks, but whatever.
Just got back from this movie and loved it. Great watch from beginning to end. Would highly recommend.
The movie was fantastic and incredibly funny.
Agreed, people take themselves way too fucking seriously. Guy above talking about a "white savior" character, oh please. Next you're gonna ask why there were not enough other ethnicities represented?
Where are the LGBTQ characters? Wes Anderson really dropped the ball on this movie, I can't believe it. What an absolutely steaming pile of garbage.