Rating: 
Summary: touching
Review: I thought this movie was fabulous, it was witty and clever and funny in spots where you don't expect it to be. It sometimes does feel as though it's falling into the cliche of "independent film" just for the sake of it. But who cares, if for no other reason, watch it for the music, Rolling Stones, Velvet Underground, Beatles, John Lennon, etc. Very good music.
Rating:
Summary: A Love it or Hate it!!
Review: This is definitely one of those movies a person will either love or hate... It was a crazy plot with equally crazy characters - but when all was said and done, I really like the movie. The cast was wonderful. Ben Stiller's running suits alone had me hysterical. Owen Wilson is quickly becoming one of my favorites for his quirky, airhead humor. Gene Hackman and Angelica Huston live up to their reputations. If you are looking for a comedy that offers something totally different than the normal cheap laugh, this is definitely worth checking out.
Rating: 
Summary: Reminiscent of Hotel New Hampshire
Review: This movie had everything to offer. I am so impressed by the ensemble cast. Gene Hackman was so credible as "Royal", Angelica Huston as "Ethaline" was just that sort of Mother that reminded me of "Carol Brady". I found myself rooting for Royal in his desire to become closer to his family. The Kids were Hilarious ((smile)) you have got to watch every scene though. This isn't one of those you can get up and come back and pick it right up where it left off, if you leave the room you probably missed something. I know there are many reviews on here about this so I won't go into a long winded display of accolades but I will say the DVD is worth it there are interviews and lots of other "quirky" extras that most will enjoy. For some reason I picked up on a "Hotel New Hampshire" vibe. I found this movie to be bizarringly funny, poignent moments and tearful situations. I was laughing throughout the movie and sniffling at various parts, which to me says it was good at many levels. Respectfully Reviewed
Rating: 
Summary: riveting, I don't think so... see Rushmore, it is excellent
Review: I could not make it past chapter 3, dissapointing,
I felt nothing for these "eccentric geniuses," and I the movie fell short on many levels, even the cast of great actors could not save it. Although,I do acknowledge that it could be my misconceived perception that the movie was a comedy, and was thrown off from the start. Each to their own
Rating: 
Summary: This is my adopted daughter.....
Review: After seeing this film, it is apparent why Wilson and Anderson were nominated for an Academy Award for best original screenplay. This movie is like no other that I have seen. I usually do not like narrated films, but luckily, there was not enough to ruin this movie. The characters are developed nicely from youth to adult age. We are allowed a look at the past to see why they are the way they are in the present. The name of the movie comes from the Character of Gene Hackman, who plays Royal Tenebaums. Once a pone a time, being a Tenenbaum really meant something, but after two decades of misfortune, they have all but been forgotten for their brilliance. The body of this movie takes place in the present when all the children are not only grown up, but messed up in the head as well. When Mrs. Tenebaum is proposed to, Royal seeks to reunite with his family in hopes to break up his wife and her new found love and win her back. After pretending to be dying, Royal moves back in with his wife (all the children due to their own special circumstances, have also moved back home.) Once the family finds out that Royal is not dying, he is kicked out on the streets. Royal realizes that the past six days he has spent with his family have been the best of his life. Outstanding performances by the entire cast which includes Gene Hackman, Angelica Huston, Gwyneth Paltrow, Ben Stiller, Owen Wilson, Luke Wilson, Danny Glover, and Bill Murray. This film is not for everyone and is not suitable for small children, note the R rating. If you like different style movies and are looking for a break from the norm, see this movie or at least give it a try.
Rating:
Summary: Incredible!
Review: I saw it for the first time last night. It was truly incredible! It was completely funny throughout the whole thing and everything is unpredictable! That's what makes this movie so great. The ending's really touching along with other parts of the movie. If you haven't seen it, you really ought to, it really was great.
Rating:
Summary: DVDelivers Wes' Whole Vision Intact
Review: The following review will only discuss the features on "The Royal Tenenbaums" Special Edition DVD put out by Criterion. ------------ After the stunning success of the Criterion DVD for "Rushmore", Wes Anderson has gone back to that same company to produce a special edition of "The Royal Tenenbaums". It does not disappoint. Disc one contains a stunning widescreen transfer of the movie, and a commentary track. Wes does the honours alone this time, and his track is loaded with juicy tidbits. He's got this fragile little voice, barely above a whisper, but he speaks with such authority about the kind of film he was trying to make. Everything seems to be under his control, from the set designs (about which he can't help go on and on, to the point where he remarks that his comments are probably getting quite tedious; uh, they aren't), to the music, to the camera shots, to the colour, etc., etc., etc. But on the other hand, there are several moments where he just can't explain why a line of dialogue or a visual is included, but he knew intuitively that it would work. Invariably, it does. The "Coltrane" comment is a great example of this, as is the colour of Chas' workout suit (one of the best anecdotes has Wes admitting that the reason he gave Ben Stiller for the colour of the suits was made up on the spot, having never come up with a real reason of his own; he just knew that that was what he wanted). He's also quite unapologetic about stealing moments from movies that influenced him. References to Cocteau, Bunuel, and Truffaut abound; he points out that the opening is lifted directly from Welles' "The Magnificent Ambersons"; and he provides the much sought after reference explaining the mysterious line Luke Wilson speaks into the mirror. Wes is a director who wears his influences proudly on his sleeve, but is still able to mix them up in a way that seems fresh and original. On Disc two we get a whole load of supplementals. "With the Filmmaker" is a 25-minute documentary, I believe for the Independent Film Channel, that follows Wes around during preproduction of the movie. It's great to see his inventiveness and his attention to detail shown full-force. Wes, as a screen persona, reminds me a lot of R. Crumb, if Crumb were 20 years younger, had less of a drawl, and a more stable family. Wes comes across as an unabashed geek in this feature, but a geek who knows what he wants to do with the power he's been given. It's a real treat. "The Peter Bradley Show" is a bizarre mock talk show segment, hosted by an actor (whose name is mentionned at some point, but escapes me now) as Bradley, a Charlie Rose-esque interviewer. He's a befuddled and confused man, who appears to believe that the men he's interviewing are real actors, when in fact they are merely Anderson's non-actor friends, each of whom have bit parts in his movies. Most interesting revelations: the film's namesake, Brian Tenenbaum, works selling steel over the phone, and Sanjay Mathew's (a childhood friend of Wes' who plays Richie Tenenbaum's tennis opponent) favourite drug to prescribe to his psychiatric patients is Remeron. I can't figure out where this segment came from, but I'm pretty sure it's not meant to be taken seriously. Or is it? Must be seen to be believed. The disc features a number of graphical sections, owing their inclusion to Wes' passion for background ephemera. You get: a slide show of photos taken from the set; the covers of all the fake books that appeared in the movie; all of Richie Tenenbaum's portraits of his sister (complete with a bibliography of the plays she is shown reading in those pictures: Ionesco, Brecht, Beckett, etc.); details of Richie's wall murals; details of the paintings of Miguel Calderon that inspired Eli Cash's madness, etc. All included in toto for your perusal. For those of you (us) who love to get lost in the backgrounds of Wes' films, here's another opportunity to indulge your passions. Also included are some quick, candid moments from the set (including Angelica Huston's hair catching fire, and Kumar Palana's plate spinning act). In a movie so full of on-disc extras and goodies, I'm shocked to report that the set's greatest treasures can be found in its liner notes. Two separate foldouts come in the case. The first is an epic collection of Eric Chas Anderson's (Wes' brother) drawings, detailing the floor plans and interior designs of the Tenenbaum's home. Eric's drawing style is delightfully juvenile, innocent and colourful and vivacious. It's good to know that Wes isn't the only one in the Anderson clan obsessed by detail. Mies van der Rohe would be most proud. The second foldout has a wonderful, lengthy essay on Anderson's oeuvre by Kent Jones. Jones, a contributing editor of 'Film Comment' and a contributor to 'Cahiers du Cinema' and 'The Village Voice', dissects "Bottle Rocket", "Rushmore", and "Tenenbaums" with the skill of a surgeon and the unabashed passion of Casanova. I thoroughly enjoyed "The Royal Tenenbaums" when it played in theatres, and am looking forward to years of enjoyment, repeatedly playing this wonderful DVD collection.
Rating:
Summary: Could have been Funny, but somehow missed.
Review:
This is one of those rare movies that is so full of talent I honestly don't think the producers knew how to handle it. Just look at it... It's a cast of "who's hot in Hollywood." But for me, as much as I tried to watch this movie and find the humor in it, it just missed.
Look at the cover. That's about as funny as it gets. I hate to sound so negative, but if you're a Hackman fan, this isn't his best... if you want to see Ben Stiller being funny, rent "Meet the Parents." If you want to see Owen Wilson being funny, rent "Shanghai Noon." If you want to see Bill Murray being funny, rent "Kingpin." In this movie, this wonderful cast just never clicks. My advice would be to watch it when it comes out on regular cable... Trust me... you can wait! Sorry! Only one star!
Rating:
Summary: Engrossing characters drive story
Review: From the very first shot of The Royal Tennenbaums, I was engaged. I am not a typical movie-goer. I tend to see movies long after they have been released, I see movies that seem interesting or that I hear a buzz about. And I see the same movies over and over. I have a short attention span, and low tolerance for unimaginative movies. The actors featured in the picture caught my interest, and I bought the DVD without having seen the rental first. I was completely engrossed in this movie, something that has not happened since Private Ryan (but for a different reason). You can read the plot summary from other places, I'll tell why I thought so highly of it.
First when I go away from a movie and I actually have a conscious thought, question, or observation about it more than 10 minutes after it's over, that means it's affected it me. It signals to me that there was something important there. I was completely fascinated by the characters, their stories, their lives and the way they were portrayed by some of the best actors in the world. The best stories for me in movies and in literature, are character driven. Yes, I enjoy action movies, and plots and all that (loved Gladiator), but it's the characters that really engage me. TRT has crisp, well-drawn, familiar, but not stereotypical characters.
Yes, you say that's fine but what's it about? It's about a bunch of different things. The plot and the actions are developed out of characters which some might call archetypal.
The dialogue which some might call "sparse" is masterful. It has so many layers of meaning in single sentences. If you pay attention, you can learn even more about the characters from what they say, how they say it. At some point, I think almost every person in the film says, "what do you mean?" or "it doesn't matter."
And there are subtley funny parts also, but probably not in the overt way most blockbusters are famous for today (I mean I love Austin Powers, but let's face it, we are hit over the head with the jokes). TRT is not funny in the haha-pratfall-bathroom-obvious-belittling way we are used to on sit coms, but funny in the hmm-clever-witty-thoughtful-self-effacing-true-to-character way.
There are a ton of nuggets in the film too that are worth discussing, too, like how the players wear basically the same thing, same style throughout the movie. What is the reason for that? I'm sure there are many. Also, every shot, angle, scene is precisely laid out and there is no extra or unintentional/extraneous activity going on. The effect is to produce a tightly constructed film (I hate that word in reference to movies) that leaves you with powerful and memorable images to devour and perseverate on long after it is over.
I did not know a lot of the songs on the soundtrack but I'm certain they were deliberate and this adds another layer of meaning and complexity to a beautiful heartbreaking, lovely, hysterical, immensely entertaining picture.
Rating:
Summary: Hotel New Hampshire meets any Peter Greenaway movie...
Review: I loved it. The movie definitely has a heart. The performances were measured and precise and wonderful. Each actor was consistent, this was no Disney/Spielberg 'lets all make up by the end of the movie' movie, this was truly heartful. Gwyneth Paltrow was excellent, so was Bill Murray. I don't want to just gush. See this movie.
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