Checking in

Given that I just promoted the film, it would probably make sense to share with all of you the trailer for Wes Anderson's latest, The Grand Budapest Hotel so you can see for yourself whether or not this is a film for you. As for me, I've already made my reservations.

2014 Movie Preview: #9 - The Grand Budapest Hotel

Release date: March 7

Plot summary: "The Grand Budapest Hotel" recounts the adventures of Gustave H, a legendary concierge at a famous European hotel between the wars, and Zero Moustafa, the lobby boy who becomes his most trusted friend. The story involves the theft and recovery of a priceless Renaissance painting and the battle for an enormous family fortune -- all against the back-drop of a suddenly and dramatically changing Continent.

My take: Even though I pride myself on being a movie fan, I never really discovered the films of Wes Anderson until I finally saw his 2012 film Moonrise Kingdom. Since then I have gone back and watched some of his earlier stuff and have been impressed with the oddball stories and visual flair that he creates in each of his movies. Now I am as anxious to see what he produces next in the same way I do with some of my other favorite directors. This film looks to be no different in terms of quirkiness and boasts an impressive casts that mixes Anderson regulars with new, but familiar faces. I'm sure not a lot of people will see this, but I'll be happy to be one of the few.

RBR: Moonrise Kingdom

It may surprise some of you, given my love for movies, that Moonrise Kingdom was my first entry into the Wes Anderson universe. The only other film of his that I've seen is Fantastic Mr. Fox, which doesn't exactly fit into the mold of his typical films. If you've seen Anderson's work, then you know to expect a strange, yet beguiling story filled to the max with quirky character. This one centers around a geeky young boy and a disillusion young girl who meet and run off together abandoning their boy scout troop and family, respectively. I found the first half of the film to be wholly enchanting. The relationship between the two protagonists as they go on their journey is sweet and charming while the laughs come from the adults who go on the hunt to find them. This includes Frances McDormand and Bill Murray as the girl's parents, Bruce Willis as the town's sheriff, and Edward Norton as the boy scout troop leader. There's a lot of fun in watching the kids act grown up while the adults have some serious arrested development issues. If the entire film had been the chase for these kids, this would have been a great movie. However, the kids are discovered midway through and the film has difficulty in continuing the story past that point. Things turn even more bizarre and surreal in the second half and a second escape by the kids isn't nearly as engaging. Those who enjoy Anderson's work will no doubt love this latest effort but I think it is worth seeing even if you are a neophyte to his work like I was. It appears I may have to play catch up now and start watching some of his older stuff to see if I've been missing out all of these years. Rating: **** 1/4

Cross to bear

Like many, I had trepidations about the continuation of the Bourne franchise without Matt Damon as the amnesiatic assassin or Paul Greengrass as director. But to the studio's credit, The Bourne Legacy is not simply a lazy or spiteful reboot like Sony did with Spider-Man. Instead they created an expansion of the universe created by Robert Ludlum's spy novels and attempted to look at the story from a different perspective.

That perspective comes from Aaron Cross, (Jeremy Renner) an agent of Operation Outcome, a separate group from Treadstone, which Bourne belonged too. A key difference between the two groups is that Outcome agents have been put on a pill regimen to medically enhance their abilities. The film opens during the timeline of the last Bourne film. We see from new footage different government officials reacting to Bourne's efforts to expose Treadstone. Realizing that the operation is blown, the CIA decides to pull the plug on all their operations. A team led by a retired Air Force colonel (played by Edward Norton) is tasked with eliminating all of their agents. Cross is fortunate enough to escape and begins his quest for determining why the government is now trying to kill him.

All of this set-up is terrific. The film nicely weaves the events of the previous film into this story and justifiably establishes a reason why there would now be someone else wanting to exact revenge on our government. The scenes establishing Renner's character are also well done. He's currently training in Alaska, so we get several instances of him battling the elements before dealing with the government, including a fight with wolves that was on par with the action scene earlier this year in The Grey

Unfortunately, the movie loses steam in the second half. Cross' character seems more intent on getting a fresh supply of the pills that give him his abilities than he is about exacting revenge. We get a lot of scenes with him talking about the pills, showing the effects of withdrawl, and looking for the pills and none of it is particularly engaging. Helping him in his quest is a doctor played by Rachel Weisz who originally gave him the drugs. She's being hunted by the government as well after she managed to escape an attack on her lab. Weisz is fine here, but I never saw any chemistry between her and Renner in the same way that I did between Damon and Marie (Franke Potente) or Nikki (Julia Stiles).

Pacing also becomes problematic as the movie progresses. After a series of conversations bog down the middle of the film, we get an overly long action sequence at the very end of the film. Not only should there have been a better balance between the action and dialogue, but the film's final action sequence comes off as anti-climatic. I expected more to come and yet shortly after the chase sequence finishes, the credits begin to roll.

Though frustrating, the film's abrupt ending left many doors open to be explored down the line in yet more Bourne films. I know I am interested in seeing more. Although admittedly, it's more of an interest in seeing the characters established in the first three films, rather than anyone new in Legacy That not only goes for Damon, but also people like Joan Allen and David Straithairn, who have little more than cameos in Legacy As for the new characters, Renner was fine when it came to the action, but he still strikes me as a better sidekick than leader (see The Avengers and Ghost Protocol). Edward Norton is always an excellent actor, but we didn't learn enough about his character here to care whether or not he returns.

The Bourne Legacy is a difficult film to rate because a lot hinges on whether or not anymore films in the franchise will be made. If this is it, then the film feels like an underwhelming and unnecessary capper. If this is a jump start to a new trilogy, then you can appreciate what it was trying to set up. For now I'm giving the film I mild recommendation for its ability to nicely integrate the storyline of the original trilogy and for whetting fans' appetites for the possibility of more adventures with Treadstone, Outcome, Blackbriar and the rest of the shady CIA operations. If fans of the franchise come in with lowered expectations, they'll likely enjoy this latest spy thriller. Grade: B