🍿69: Asteroid City
This week: Wes Anderson takes centre stage as we look at his old adverts and review his latest picture.
“69! Take the number 69 - it’s hilarious!”
~ Goon, 2011
Time to fast-forward…
Let’s skip the niceties this week and dive straight into the headlines.
Now for the headlines:
Taylor Swift, Ke Huy Quan, Paul Mescal and Kazuo Ishiguro are among the 398 artists and entertainment executives invited to join the Academy this year. Read more.
The European Film Academy is undergoing a restructuring to improve representation from different parts of Europe. Read more.
Olivia Coleman and Antonia Banderas join the cast for Paddington in Peru. Read more.
Donald Glover joins the cast for the Community movie, a spin-off of the popular series. Read more.
Sony has pulled the Spider-Man spinoff El Muerto from its release schedule as a result of the writer strikes. Read more.
Salty Popcorn is 100% free, but if you enjoy SP, please consider buying us a cinema ticket for just £5 per month - or a bunch of tickets for just £30 per year. Thank you!
Upcoming Releases
Drive-Away Dolls
UK: 22 September // USA: 22 September
Ethan Coen directs this Thelma-and-Louise-esque comedy that follows Jamie (Margaret Qualley) and Marian (Geraldine Viswanathan) as they embark on a road trip to Tallahassee.
Priscilla
UK: October* // USA: October*
Cailee Spaeny stars as Priscilla Presley in Sofia Coppola’s upcoming biopic based on the 1985 memoir ‘Elvis and Me’ by Presley and Sandra Harmon, which follows the life of Presley and her relationship with Elvis Presley.
*An exact date is yet to be announced.
Fact of the week
It’s not often you associate Hollywood directors with TV adverts (or “commercials” for those of you in the US) but seven-time Oscar nominee Wes Anderson has directed a number of ads in his time.
Stella Artois, IKEA, SoftBank, American Express and H&M have all hired Anderson for their adverts. While the H&M ‘short’ Come Together is well worth the watch, I think my favourite is one I remember seeing on TV, one which now is so recognisably Anderson, it made me laugh.
Here it is…
Review: Asteroid City
Star rating:
2.5 (out of 5)
Where to watch:
USA: Only in cinemas
UK: Only in cinemas
Runtime:
1hr 45m
Director:
Wes Anderson
Blurb:
The story follows a writer (Edward Norton) working on his world-famous fictional play about a grieving father (Jason Schwartzman) who travels with his tech-obsessed family to a small rural Asteroid City to compete in a junior stargazing event, only to have his worldview disrupted forever.
The review (NO spoilers):
While there’s no denying Wes Anderson’s talent as a director, it would seem that his work is becoming increasingly hit-and-miss. I loved the likes of The Grand Budapest Hotel, Moonrise Kingdom and Isle of Dogs, but found The French Dispatch and, sadly, Asteroid City to be quite dull.
“Quirkiness” has long been one of Anderson’s signature trademarks, but it would seem this alone has consumed the traits that made his best work stand out.
The beauty of Anderson’s earlier films was their simplicity. Moonrise Kingdom was a coming-of-age love story and Isle of Dogs was about a boy looking for his dog — simple stories complemented by an iconic aesthetic.
On the other hand, The French Dispatch felt, to me, like a busy collection of loosely-tied short films whereas Asteroid City doesn’t feel like much of anything. If you were to ask me what it was about, I’m not sure I’d be able to tell you.
It feels very much like Anderson is trying too hard to be clever, and is targeting an audience of solely “clever people”. There has, of course, always been some degree of pretentiousness with his films, but when there’s no comedy, feeling or story, there’s little else left. The end result is a Wes Anderson film that’s essentially a caricature of a Wes Anderson film.
Scroll down and to see what’s in the next issue.
If you liked Asteroid City…
Isle of Dogs
2018 | UK: Disney+ // USA: Disney+
As The Grand Budapest Hotel is probably the most popular Wes Anderson film, we wanted to recommend one you’re less likely to have seen already: Isle of Dogs.
The mayor of Megasaki orders all the dogs to be quarantined on an island after the outbreak of canine flu. A young boy (Koyu Rankin) arrives on the isle to search for his dog with the help of a few exiled mongrels.
In the next issue:
Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny
UK: 28 June // USA: 30 June | Watch the Trailer
I haven't seen asteroid city yet but I feel the same about the French dispatch Tom - quirky for the sake of being quirky, rather than in a fun way which is significant for the plot, like in something like fantastic Mr fox.
Nailed it about Asteroid. I felt the same way--a caricature of a WA film. Kept waiting for it to get good. I enjoyed the humor of the alien posing for the photo.