Last week in LCC - 27 July - 2 August 2014

The Grand Budapest Hotel

I finally had the chance to see the Grand Budapest Hotel on the weekend as part of a Meetup.com ... meetup. (These are meant to be socialising events to connect people who are new to a city. Lo and behold, I ended up in a conversation with 5 other Australians. We're everywhere!)

I can't say I'm a Wes Anderson agnostic - I definitely like his style and was very moved by The Royal Tenenbaums and Moonrise Kingdom - I just don't think his films are particularly great or anything. I get that his films are beautiful to look at, that there's a meticulous detail and love of spaces, and that there can be a poignancy to the nostalgia of the lost worlds he recreates. But for me, his hermetically sealed worlds can be a bit too cutesy and lacking in depth to become great. That was definitely the case with the Grand Budapest Hotel. Nothing more than a B+ for me.

Demolition Man and Divine Secrets of the Ya-Ya Sisterhood

Perhaps as part of celebrating Sandra Bullock's 50th birthday, I managed to catch these two of her older films on cable throughout the week. Sandy didn't have much to do in Ya-ya except be the straight centre for the craziness of the Maggie Smith and Ellen Burstyn show. But in Demolition Man, she just steals the movie with her comic timing and screen-presence. You could say that Sandra's somewhat robotic acting skills are perfect for this dystopic world, but I think she performs the role with just the right balance of android-ness and sassy personality. She's also helped by a rather funny script: "He's finally matched his meet. You really licked his ass."

Archer

I've finally started watching this cartoon and just needed to pose the question: is it odd to be mildly turned on by an animated character? I guess if it's okay for femme fatales, Sailor Moon and Disney Princes, then it's okay for this spy spoof. Apart from Archer's fine muscles, this cartoon also has some finely drawn characters, verging on caricature, but entertaining none-the-less. I can listen to Jessica Walters throw barbs all day long.