Rating: 
Summary: Richard Cory Meets Woody Allen
Review: We all had to read Edward Arlington Robinson's poem
about Richard Cory in high school. The poem of the
man people on the pavement find imperially slim, etc but
then this man they admire goes home and puts a bullet in his head.The Royal Tannenbaums could be the lacuna to Richard Cory.
It's about a family of superachievers, living life according to a script. No doubt on the outside they look very succesfull but
they dont have any emotional life and are all severely depressed...going around with empty looks on their face the entire time. Now we might expect the director to take this all in the direction of psychobabble...get in touch with your inner-child and other boring stuff...but no, he mocks them and points out the ridiculously hilarious moments of their sureal lives. It is funny, however not without an undertone of sadness. There really are people like this. I dated one and she had that same look of empty despair as Gwyneth Paltrow. I would poke fun of her and she didn't even realize it. It would have been great fun if she had not been such a miserable human being. Anyway, thought the actors were great and was very impressed by Paltrow whom I had dismissed previously! If I hadn't read differently I would have guessed Woody Allen had written and directed this movie. Thomas
Rating:
Summary: The Royal Treatment
Review: If you thought that they stopped making good films after the 70's, this is a flick that will restore your faith in the movies. What starts as a pitch black comedy about a family of neurotic, failed child prodigies (Stiller, Paltrow and Luke Wilson) poisoned by the self-indulgence of their dissolute-but-still-loveable patriarch (Hackman) morphs effortlessly somewhere in the final reel into a touching paen to forgiveness, redemption and family without losing its offbeat edge at all. Anderson's bold use of well-composed head-on shots is dazzling at times. His and Owen Wilson's screenplay is as sharp and snappy as they get, creating a ensemble of quirky, memorable characters that give all of the actors something to sink their teeth into. All of the performances from the leads to the elevator attendants are top notch (especially Hackman and Luke Wilson, the latter's performance being something of a revelation), and the soundtrack makes a perfect counterpoint to what's going on onscreen. The DVD is a Criterion, so (as you've come to expect) it's excellent in quality with loads and loads of nifty features. I recently watched this disc back-to-back with Altman's delightful Gosford Park. And I know this might sound like heresy, but I actually think that Anderson handles his ensemble a little better even than Altman . . . and Altman still handles his ensembles damn well. High praise indeed.
Rating:
Summary: Best movie of 2001
Review: Wes Anderson is easily one of the most brilliant film makers out there today. I didn't think he would be able to come close to topping Rushmore, but after watching this movie, I'm almost ready to admit I was wrong. Anderson doesn't force us to watch a movie, we just can't help it. It is so good. A masterpiece. Truly unique, an original, offbeat, subtle, dark. I eagerly await his next film.
Rating: 
Summary: Movie 5, Extras 3
Review: I love this movie. Such a funky universe, where all of the charecters are peculiar, but there is some trait in each one that everone can sympathize with. However, especially for a two disc set, I was disappointed in the extra materials. But I bought it anyway.
Rating: 
Summary:
Review: Note to one's self....not worth the money. I couldn't even sit through ten minutes of this horrible movie. It didn't have a plot and it was filmed as a docremantry gone bad. Save yourself the grief, and skip it all together.
Rating:
Summary: Blah, ugh and fooey
Review: It's certainly true, as some of the reviews say, that this movie is not for everyone. I thought it was UNBELIEVABLY pretensious, boring, weird (and I like New Yorker cartoons, Quentin Tarantino, Tim Burton, etc.). The performances were good, but in a vacuum. The jokes fell flat and the pseudo-intellectual tone just didn't work. Yuk.
Rating:
Summary: 8*)
Review: Funny, deep, diffrent. I liked it.
Rating:
Summary: Save Your Money! Rental and Otherwise!
Review: I didn't have to pay to watch this tripe (my friend works in a video store and got it for free) and I'm very thankful for that. Yet another movie that critics rave about for some unknown reason even though I saw nothing original nor overly creative about it. Firstly I didn't really get the sense that Royal Tennenbaum had treated his kids all THAT bad; sure he was a jerk about a lot of things, but he was still there unlike some fathers. So I didn't really get the sense that he was the reason his kids turned out to be such failures. Overall I would simply have to say that as a comedy it failed, ditto in the drama department, and I barely made it through the entire thing. Oh and not too sound like a seven year old or anything, but Luke Wilson's character being in love with his sister, even if she is adopted = EW! That was just a little too V.C. Andrews. So please, people, save your money and rent something genuinely quirky!
Rating:
Summary: saves on nytol
Review: This looked like a comdey. What a waste of all those big names. I hope these kind of esoteric artsy movies wont become a trend. I couldnt bear to finish this watching this disaster.
Rating:
Summary: Wes Anderson's Finest!
Review: Having followed Wes Anderson's movies from his debut (Bottle Rocket) to his breakthrough (Rushmore), I watched "The Royal Tenebaums" with great interest. It is one of the most darkly funny movies I have seen in recent years, and definitely one of the most entertaining. Wes Anderson's gift lies in his characters, and he introduces quite a few uniques ones in this movie. At the center of the movie is the hilariously disfunctional family, the Tenebaums. The father, Royal (Gene Hackman), after years of estrangement from both his wife and children, tries to get back into their lives. The history of the family is, as you will find out, is as checkered as their present. Ben Stiller plays the former child prodigy of the business world who, after losing his wife, devotes his to insanely watching over his two children. Gwenyth Paltrow plays a depressed, washed-up, chain-smoking playwrite who hasn't produced anything for years. Luke Wilson plays a former tennis pro who give up the game to wander the world in limbo, carrying some emotional scars with him (you'll find out when watch the movie). Royal now wants to set things right with his family, but meets some resistence, obviously he wasn't the best father and husband. Anjelica Houston, Bill Murray, and Danny Glover have terrific supporting roles. Wes Anderson's trademark of cut scenes, flashbacks, and outrageous theatrics all blend to make "The Royal Tenebaums" a wholly pleasing experience. It is depressing at times, though, and more serious than Anderson's earlier films. Still, it is dark comedy at it's best. The DVD edition contains loads of extras, spanning 2 DVDs. The usual documentaries and trailer aside, the video quality is superb. It makes you understand why the name "Criterion Collection" is synonymous with top quality in DVDs.
| 
