Review by Paul Salfen
This is Paul Salfen with your KLAK Movie Minute. In theaters this weekend is Asteroid City, the new all-star Wes Anderson film that’s so Wes Anderson that it may not find a mass audience. It is beautifully shot, the sets are amazing, the talent is top notch – but the characters themselves are pretty flat and irritating. Of course it’s that niche Anderson-style character type but it’s a bit much this time around. With the exception of Bryan Cranston as the host, the three adorable little girls, and the alien, it’s a smug group and it’s not as funny or interesting as a lot of critics seem to think.It’s a story within a story involving a play and a movie set. Towards the end there’s a line that says, “I still don’t understand the play” and the response is, “It doesn’t matter. Just keep telling the story” and that feels like the theme of it. It’s kitschy, eccentric and very unique but just didn’t connect. And when you’ve got an immaculate setup with world class names like Tom Hanks, Scarlett Johanssen, Tilda Swinton, Edward Norton, Adrien Brody, and Steve Carell, that’s really a shame. That’s it for this week. Join me next week and every week for another Movie Minute right here on 97.5 KLAK, AMFM Magazine, and RECRD.
