Wonder

A fantastic film about staring adversity in the face staggers a bit beneath the weight of a convoluted structure. Solid supporting characters and impressive makeup make up for story setbacks, and Tremblay’s terrific performance brings home the gold, though casting decisions for the parents do leave me full of wonder.

No Escape

White-washed Wilson and Bell escape from their comedic trappings and lend remarkable credibility to their terrified characters.  Another anecdote about Americans in trouble, manages to maintain tension amidst realistic turmoil, at least until Brosnan pierces the fabric of film’s reality and ruins the tone with his smarmy action hero conspirator.

Inherent Vice

Source material is film’s inherent vice.  Phoenix stays lit as latter day Lebowski amidst a stellar cast of coked-up costars while Anderson’s brilliant long-shots mark the highlight of an overly long and convoluted mockery of narrative.  Rainbow pallet lightens the gravity of what may be the brightest noire ever made.

The Grand Budapest Hotel

Fantastic Mr. Anderson narrowly manages self-expansion and self-analysis over self-imitation as he disassembles a grand Dubrovnik nesting doll to discover a delicious nut in the form of an abnormally friendly Fiennes.  A smattering of stars pepper the convoluted plot as story and cinematography anamorph from past symmetries to symmetrical pasts.