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The Royal Tenenbaums - Criterion Collection

The Royal Tenenbaums - Criterion Collection

List Price: $19.99
Your Price: $14.99
Product Info Reviews

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Rating: 4 stars
Summary: QuiRKy...FaNTaSTiC.
Review: Fantastic Cast, Quirky Script and Direction.
Slow pace worked well with charactor development

Rating: 4 stars
Summary: Dysfunctional Family Scrapbook
Review: The only reason this film doesn't get five stars is because it remains only a kind of superficial look at a family of geniuses. It is designed like a scrapbook and the things that stick with you are the clothes and the personality quirks which are very funny but what the movie lacks is the intimacy that would be afforded with more time spent with each character. There are just too many characters. They are good characters though and it is immensely enjoyable to spend time with this family. Hackman naturally steals the show but Wes Anderson is one of the most watchable and unique new actors out there with a style and attitude and delivery all his own. Paltrow is just plain sexy as always whether she is playing sexy or brooding it really doesn't matter, she smolders. Bill Murray is fun. Perhaps the best character however is the retired bandanna wearing tennis star played by Owen Wilson. More than any other character he really comes across as a three dimensional figure who we can understand. He retired from tennis in a legendary match where he just gave up because he was lovesick for his adopted sister played by Paltrow.
Many of the characters remain merely sketches but fun ones. The other star of the show is the decade in which the action takes place, the 1970's. Other films(too many) have tried to convey the feel of the time and all its contradictions but none has done it better than this one. And that great soundtrack which plays everything from Nick Drake to Nico and Velvet Underground to the Clash is just the best soundtrack you are ever likely to hear. By the way its a kind of homage this film to JD Salinger and John Irving styled fiction about child geniuses and their troubles. But the film is also a spoof of those books and so its light and remains an entertainment and a thoroughly enjoyable one.

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: Those who do not like this movie do not understand it.
Review: This is an amazing movie. Everything about it is perfect.

Rating: 2 stars
Summary: Howlingly Overrated
Review: I cannot believe how Hollywood fawned over what is essentially an extended art piece that ultimately goes nowhere. A group of friends and I watched this in eager anticipation, due to the incredible reviews this movie received, only to be disappointed in the extreme. The actors (with the exception of Gwyneth Paltrow, who is very dull and flat in this) are phenomenal, but it's a testament to how vacuous the script and direction are that even their performances can't make this film interesting. Wes Anderson is perhaps the most overrated director working today. Only recommended for bored college students trying to prove their hipness quotient is higher than their IQ.

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: Review from a 15 year old
Review: I am 15 years old and I saw this movie twice at theaters and it had it all. This movie made me laugh, cry, and yes I admit make soda come out of my nose. Well anyway I bougth it on dvd a few days ago and loved the dvd. I enjoyed watching each actor/actresses' view on there own character. I also enjoyed Wes Anderson's making of the movie and how he spent a lot of effort on the drawings of the characters which were later pasted inside the house as wall paper. Well I recommend this movie to any mature teenager and adult out there. The only thing I did not like about the dvd was the fact that it didnt have the commercial that mention it was nominated for a golden globe award or somethig like that but it still had two commercials in it though

Rating: 1 stars
Summary: Dont waste your money on this
Review: This movie is like road kill. You are fascinated enough to look at it for a while, but then you come to your better senses and you wonder what posessed you to look at such a mangled mess in the first place.

Rating: 1 stars
Summary: A Royal disappointment
Review: This movie is proof that a killer cast cannot carry a film bereft of story, plot, or any of the normal things that make a movie enjoyable to watch.

Obviously, Gene Hackman proves why he is such a renowned actor, and he pulls off the part of Royal with flair. The Tenenbaum children are all cartoonish yet shallow. The actors in those roles, especially Ben Stiller, perform them as well as possible given the transparent story holding the film together.

Another reviewer hit it on the head, saying in effect you keep waiting for the movie to become either funny or poignant, and it never quite achieves either one. The anecdotal method in which the movie unfolds provides about one funny line every 10 minutes or so. It's a shame the brilliant cast was wasted.

Rating: 1 stars
Summary: rent first
Review: I watched this movie and have to say I find the talent wasted. I heard such wonderful reviews of this movie and walked out of the theater asking myself which movie did the reviewers watch. I found the movie dry and increasingly dull. The plot itself is a bit jumpy and hard to follow at moments.
But none the less I wish I had rented it not gone to the theater. Because even at the rental fee I would still feel ripped off.

Rating: 3 stars
Summary: A mediocre screenplay propped up by luminaries
Review: I finished this film scratching my head over the raves I've been hearing about it. The cast is terrific, but the material is quite mediocre as was the box office. I can only assume that Wes Anderson's dark, straight faced comedy must really have found a niche that is starved for this style of humor.

This is a film that pretends to take itself very seriously while delivering one absurd situation after another. There is something cleverly ironic about that, but mostly the film is too serious to be funny and too weird to be melodramatic. It really fails to identify itself. It might be viewed as a lampoon of wealth, power and wunderkinds, but it lacks the satirical punch to succeed in that vein.

The acting is delightful given the material with which they had to work. The ensemble is brimming with notables, all of whom are at the top of their game. Gene Hackman is a good choice for Royal. Hackman is an accomplished dramatic and comedic actor and he was the best of the cast members at walking the line between earnestness and the inanity required by the script. Anjelica Huston seems almost like she can't believe she is saying some of the lines she is given, delivering half of them fighting to hold back a grin a mile wide. Ben Stiller does a nice job of portraying the neurotic widower and father hater, obsessed with the safety of his kids. Luke Wilson comes closest to delivering a believable character, playing the highly eccentric former tennis star that had a nervous collapse over the love of his adopted sister. Luke's brother Owen Wilson is far less funny in this film than in others I've seen, but in his defense, he didn't have a lot with which to work. Gwyneth Paltrow abandons her normally sweet demeanor and does a nice rendition of the psychologically troubled Margot, complete with despondent personality, blank stare and a variety of nervous habits. Bill Murray and Danny Glover round out the cast in minor roles that amount to little more than cameos.

This is one of those films that you either love it or you can't connect. I couldn't find enough meat to classify it as much better than fair. I rated it 6/10. Add a couple of points if you like ironic deadpan humor.

Rating: 4 stars
Summary: A pleasure...
Review: to watch and listen. What strikes me most about Mr. Anderson's work is his gentle hand. Have you noticed it? Such loving care is taken in establishing (for you) the relationships between characters and ultimately, their relationship with you -the viewer.. and their story is allowed to develop at it's own pace.... nothing is ever forced or hurried. Like Bottle and Rushmore, Tenenbaums is another compassionate look at the messes good people with good hearts and bad habits can bring upon themselves and the clumsy but sincere effort to make life right. I can't recommend Tenenbaums enough. Enjoy!


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