Wes Anderson's entertaining filmmaking style clicks beautifully into focus for this comical adventure. Films like The Darjeeling Limited and Moonrise Kingdom are packed with amazing detail and terrific characters, but this movie is on another level entirely: fast, smart and engaging, packed with both silly slapstick and intelligent gags. And the sprawling cast is simply wonderful.

It's a story within a story within a story, as an author (Wilkinson) narrates the tale of his 1968 conversation as a young writer (Law) with ageing hotelier Zero (Abraham), who in turn recounts his life as a lobby boy in 1932. Young Zero (Revolori) learned his craft alongside legendary concierge Gustave (Fiennes) at the Grand Budapest Hotel somewhere in Middle Europe, and stuck by Gustave's side when he became embroiled in an inheritance battle with a spoiled heir (Brody) and his evil henchman (Dafoe). As things get increasingly nasty, Zero and his baker girlfriend (Ronan) help Gustave fight for justice, and when that doesn't work he helps orchestrate an elaborate prison escape. Meanwhile, war breaks out twice across Europe.

The double flashback structure makes this a film about the power of storytelling itself, and even more potent is the reminder that we need to remember the old ways, especially as the world changes around us. This simple idea is woven so cleverly into the DNA of the script that it continually takes our breath away, conveying the true importance of history and nostalgia. At the centre, Fiennes gives his best-ever performance, showing a real gift for comedy (who knew?) as he makes the bristly Gustave deeply likeable. His camaraderie with newcomer Revolori is priceless, as are the cameos from an array of Anderson veterans including Murray, Wilson and the always astonishing Swinton.

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The Grand Budapest Hotel - Featurettes

The cast and crew of 'The Grand Budapest Hotel' discuss the story, the main characters' relationship and the duties of the concierge in the latest featurettes for the movie.

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Grand Budapest Hotel - Clip

Gustave may be aloof and snobbish in many ways, but he's also extremely charming with a good heart and a titanic personality. As result he makes for a highly popular concierge at the Grand Budapest Hotel, who regularly entertains guests in more ways than one. He is charged with training up an inexperienced young lobby boy named Zero Moustafa who he soon bonds with. When one of his one night stands, the elderly Madame D, is found murdered in her hotel room, Zero is first by his side to defend him against her family and the authorities who are quick to accuse Gustave of the crime. Things become more intense when her will reveals her wish to bestow a valuable painting to her lover, entitled Boy With Apple, and Gustave and Zero are forced to flee. However, they are not alone as Zero falls for an attractive guest named Agatha who helps them hide the painting while Gustave protests his innocence.

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The Grand Budapest Hotel - Clips

Charismatic but somewhat aloof concierge at the Grand Budapest Hotel, Gustave H, is less than impressed when a seemingly inexperienced new lobby boy named Zero Moustafa is hired for a trial period without his knowledge. However, the pair become thick as thieves when Gustave finds himself wanted by the authorities after the murder of his elderly one night stand Madame D. He does what any honourable hotelier would do under pressure. and runs. When it is discovered that the woman had left a priceless painting behind for Gustave in her will named Boy With Apple, her family is furious and Zero helps to the keep the painting hidden with the help of a charming young girl named Agatha as Gustave attempts to protest his innocence. With enough people despising Gustave for his often inappropriate professional conduct, it becomes harder than expected to clear his name and find out the truth about the death of Madame D.

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The Grand Budapest Hotel - Character Promo Trailer

Gustave H is a charismatic and over-friendly concierge at the Grand Budapest Hotel whose conduct has been far from professional over the course of his career, regularly engaging in one night stands with his deeply charmed guests including the elderly Madame D. So enamoured was Madame D about Gustave's interest in her, that she leaves him a priceless painting behind in her will named Boy With Apple. However, following her suspicious death, her maddened son Dmitri accuses Gustave of her murder and attempts to frame him for it, angered by his illicit involvement with her. Meanwhile, Gustave is attempting to train up an enthusiastic young lobby boy named Zero Moustafa who warms to him easily and helps to defend him as Gustave makes a break for it. Moustafa is also becoming very fond of a girl named Agatha, who he enlists to help hide the painting from Madame D's furious family.

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'The Grand Budapest Hotel' - Meet Wes Anderson's Gang [Trailer + Pictures]

By Jack de Aguilar in Movies / TV / Theatre on 31 October 2013

Owen Wilson Adrien Brody Wes Anderson Ralph Fiennes Jeff Goldblum Tilda Swinton Willem Dafoe Harvey Keitel Jason Schwartzman Edward Norton

The Grand Budapest Hotel opens its doors for intrigue and adventure in 2014

Wes Anderson’s brand of frenetic, witty energy is bursting from the seams in the new trailer for The Grand Budapest Hotel. The comedy drama centres on a hotel concierge’s unlikely friendship with a lobby boy, and, as you’ve come to expect with an Anderson film, features an array of brilliant talent in its ranks.

The trailer for the film, which is due for release on March 7th in the U.S; February 28th in the U.K, is reminiscent of every film in Anderson’s showreel, but most notably, The Darjeeling Limited.

The Grand Budapest Hotel - Some might see similarities to the hotel in The Royal Tenenbaums

Continue reading: 'The Grand Budapest Hotel' - Meet Wes Anderson's Gang [Trailer + Pictures]

The Grand Budapest Hotel Trailer

Gustave H is a flamboyant and largely charismatic concierge at the Grand Budapest Hotel whose habit of getting a little too close to his guests and keeping them entertained at all hours has earned him legendary status among many of his peers. When he meets enthusiastic young lobby boy Zero Moustafa, Gustave trains him to be the best hotel worker he can and the pair become thick as thieves as they try and defend each other at all costs. When one of his more 'special' guests is found murdered, police accuse Gustave who does what any upstanding gentleman would do - runs. To the anger of the guest's son, he is bequeathed a valuable painting known as 'Boy With Apple' and now he finds himself on a cat and mouse chase with the victim's family and the police. Meanwhile, Zero meets the charming Agatha, who he's also desperate to protect as best he can.

'The Grand Budapest Hotel' is a heartwarming comedy about a very unusual friendship, directed and written by Wes Anderson ('Fantastic Mr. Fox', 'Rushmore', 'The Royal Tenenbaums'). It is based in 1920s Europe and truly reflects the glamour of the privileged in that decade. The movie is due to be released in the UK on February 28th 2014.

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Why Paul Haggis Wants 'Third Person' To Irritate People With Its "Russian Doll" Structure

By Lauren James in Movies / TV / Theatre on 13 September 2013

Paul Haggis James Franco Mila Kunis Liam Neeson Olivia Wilde Adrien Brody

There's been a lot of head-scratching after 'Third Person' premiered at TIFF.

Third Person has premiered at the Toronto International Film Festival, challenging audiences with its interwoven storyline and unanswered questions. Paul Haggis directed the romantic drama which employs a star-studded cast and some glamorous locations.

Paul Haggis: The Riddler.

Starring James Franco, Mila Kunis, Liam Neeson, Adrien Brody, Maria Bello, Olivia Wilde and Kim Basinger, Third Person incorporates three interlocking love stories in Rome, Paris and New York In Paris, Neeson plays Michael; a writer who leaves his wife and begins and on/off relationship with his lover Anna, played by Olivia Wilde. However Anna is unable to commit to Michael because she has a troubling secret that affects her life.

Continue reading: Why Paul Haggis Wants 'Third Person' To Irritate People With Its "Russian Doll" Structure

Detachment Review

By Rich Cline

Good

An almost overpowering sense of hopelessness makes this education-system drama difficult to watch. Fortunately, it's directed and acted with enough sensitivity to stir our sympathies. Although we're not sure we want to go wherever this bleak story might be heading.

Henry (Brody) takes a month-long assignment teaching at a tough school run by beleaguered principal Carol (Harden). Unflappable in the face of the unruly students, he calmly tries to get through to the teens. He clicks with fellow teacher Sarah (Hendricks). As a substitute, Henry's job is to maintain order, which seems like an impossible challenge. So he instead reaches out to a teen hooker (Gayle), thinking he might actually be able to make a difference in her life. But he can't help but wonder if he's doing more harm than good.

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High School Trailer

Straight-A student and valedictorian Henry Burke is set to gain a scholarship into university, things really couldn't be better for him. However when he finds himself in detention it brings on a chance meeting with one time friend and prominent stoner Travis Breaux that leads to another chance meeting, this time with Mary Jane. His first time with the drug looks to be a positive one, however this is soon marred the next day as his school principle institutes a zero policy drug policy and administers a mandatory drug test for all students.

Henry is caught between two opinions: fail the drugs test, get expelled and lose his scholarship to MIT or team up with Travis to beat the system. Not wanting to jeopardise his future without a fight, the duo team up to steal a high powered blend of ganja from law student turned drug dealer Psycho Ed and spike the school bake sale's brownie supply, getting the whole school - faculty included - to a whole new level of stoned. With every brownie consumed the boys have to contend with the intoxicated student body as well as an enraged Psycho Ed who really starts to live up to his name as he tails the pair for stealing his stash. The stakes are high as they must find a way to keep their half-baked plan from going up in smoke.

Starring: Adrien Brody, Michael Chiklis, Colin Hanks, Cody Longo, Adhir Kalyan, Matt Bush, Mykelti Williamson, Sean Marquette, Yeardley Smith, Michael Vartan,Curtis Armstrong, Luis Chavez, Alicia Sixtos, Mary Birdsong, Julia Ling, Camille Mana, Brett Kelly, Andrew Wilson, Erica Vittina Phillips, Joseph Julian Soria & Nadine Crocker

Director: John Stalberg

Detachment Trailer

Henry Barthes is a highly recommended substitute teacher, a compliment he doesn't really accept. His latest job is subbing at an inner city high school for a month, where exam grades are slipping; the pupils are unruly and the head teacher is under fire for the decline in standards there.

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Video - Adrien Brody Pays Homage To His Father In New Film Detachment

Actor Adrien Brody (The Pianist; King Kong; Predators) sits down to talk about his new movie Detachment at the Regency Hotel in New York (06.03.2012).

Adrien talks about the inspiration his father - a high school teacher - gave him when he was growing up and how he decided to pay homage by taking on the film and 'Representing the importance of teaching.'Later in the interview, Brody goes on to praise co-star Sami Gayle, saying that she's full of creativity even though this was her first feature role.

Detachment follows three weeks in a life of a substitute teacher who receives a wakeup call when three women arrive in his life. The film also stars Christina Hendricks; James Caan and Lucy Liu.

Midnight In Paris Review

By Rich Cline

Excellent

After a run of loose, uneven films, Allen hits the right notes in this funny, astute comedy about artistic creation and personal dreams. And Wilson turns out to be one of the best on-screen Allen surrogates in years.

Blocked writer Gil (Wilson) is visiting Paris with his wife Inez (McAdams) and her high-achieving parents (Fuller and Kennedy). When they run into Inez's know-it-all ex (Sheen), Gil starts having second thoughts about everything. He also begins to wish he'd lived in Paris in the artistic heyday of the 1920s, and is stunned one night to find himself in some kind of magical time-warp, rubbing shoulders with F Scott Fitzgerald (Hiddleston), Gertrude Stein (Bates) and Ernest Hemmingway (Stoll). He also begins to fall for Adriana (Cotillard), a muse for Picasso and Modigliani.

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Midnight In Paris Trailer

Gil and Inez are young couple who decide to travel to France with Inez's family. Gil is a very successful screenwriter in Hollywood and when he announces to Inez that he wishes to write his debut novel, she's supportive bu not exactly taken with the idea. When the opportunity to visit Paris arises, both Inez and Gil - who's had a fascination with the city for many years-, feel it's a perfect vacation.

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Hollywoodland Review

By Sean O'Connell

Weak

Who killed Superman?

George Reeves' death remains one of Hollywood's juiciest unsolved mysteries. After years spent clinging to the industry's fringe, the performer shot to stardom in 1952 when he hopped into Superman's red-and-blue tights for a Saturday-morning serial. The role made Reeves an overnight sensation, but also damaged any chances he had of becoming a serious actor.

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Six Ways To Sunday Review

By Christopher Null

Excellent

"A boy's best friend is his mother." Norman Bates is better known for echoing this sentiment, but Norman Reedus's Harry Odum is the one who gets to live it. Perfectly cast as the son of Debbie Harry's overpowering and controlling mother, Harry discovers a faculty for abuse and killing that leads him to join the local mob as a hitman. His escapades go from bizarre to down right hysterical, notably involving Elina Löwensohn as a mob boss's maid with whom he falls in love. Based on the book Portrait of a Young Man Drowning.

Dummy Review

By Norm Schrager

Excellent

Just before Adrien Brody delivered his Oscar-winning performance as an isolated and frightened Holocaust survivor in The Pianist, he played a whole different kind of isolated and frightened. As Steven, a lonely underachiever in Greg Pritikin's fantastic indie comedy Dummy, Brody finds solace not in piano music, but in the twisted art of ventriloquism.

It's an offbeat concept that might fit in a chop-'em-up horror movie or a sad, pathetic character study -- yet writer/director Pritikin finds his own niche with the idea, producing a creatively eclectic tale. Dummy is full of exciting surprising laughs, true heart, and enough dysfunctional characters to fill a Wes Anderson film.

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Restaurant Review

By Athan Bezaitis

Very Good

They might as well have called this movie J. T. McClure's, which is the name of the "restaurant" where all the film's characters work. That would have at least helped to add a little mystery and some flare to such a pitiable title. Thankfully, the film itself is a whole lot better than the name might indicate. Restaurant, directed by Eric Bross, spins the story of a group of young twenty-somethings struggling to reach their dreams of fame, while working at an upscale bar and grill in Hoboken, New Jersey. It's got that sort of Swingers humor and mentality, mixed with a diverse cast and much more serious themes.

Our protagonist is the restaurant's bartender, Chris Calloway (Adrien Brody - Summer of Sam, Six Ways to Sunday), a struggling playwright weaving his real life problems into his first play -- a work in progress that he can't seem to finish. When he meets the newest waitress Jeanine (Elise Neal - Mission to Mars) and they hit it off, he's faced with his second interracial relationship (the first being Lauryn Hill, who we see mostly as a picture on the refrigerator). Chris can't figure out why he likes black women so much, especially after his Italian father raised him to be a bigot. This dilemma is portrayed in his unfinished play, which is the story of a white man that can't deal with the external pressures of having a black girlfriend, even though he's madly in love. As he tries to make sense of his feelings, he gets caught up in the past when his ex (Hill) shows up at a friend's wedding. Because his relationship with her ended on such a bizarre note, he can't put it behind him, which prevents him from devoting his heart to Jeanine, and finally, thwarts him from finishing the play. Whew!

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Summer Of Sam Review

By Rob Blackwelder

Terrible

The sixth line of my notes from the "Summer of Sam" preview screeningreads, "if Spike Lee wants us to sit here for 137 minutes, he'd betterpick up the pace."

An hour later, without a hint of an upswing in the movie'stempo, noticed I was near the back of the theater where there was a littlebit of light, so I pulled out the press kit and started reading it, justto have something to do.

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Liberty Heights Review

By Rob Blackwelder

A comical and retrospective memoir of segregation and discrimination in America's golden age of denial, "Liberty Heights" is director Barry Levinson's fourth movie built around his memories of Baltimore in the 1950s and '60s.

Told from the perspective of Ben Kurtzman (Ben Foster), the younger of two brothers living in an almost exclusively Jewish enclave of the city, the foundation for Levinson's story is the brothers' experimentation with the era's cultural polarization.

Ben's school has just been desegregated and he befriends a pretty new black student named Sylvia (Rebekah Johnson), something that doesn't sit well with either kid's folks.

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Adrien Brody