Friday, December 15, 2023

2023 Catch Up Reviews: AMERICAN FICTION and ASTEROID CITY


AMERICAN FICTION
Jeffrey Wright stars as a professor who hasn't been able to get his latest book published because it's too high brow and not black enough.  In response he writes a black novel and it climbs the bestseller lists.

Wickedly funny send up of race, academia and popular culture will make you smile as it makes you think. Buoyed by a first rate cast which is one of the best ensembles of the year, this is a film that really surprised me. It was so good that I didn't mind that the plotting is overly familar.

Worth a look. 


ASTEROID CITY
Wes Anderson's latest feature is about a TV production of a play about the people who meet in the title town for a Junior Stargazer Meeting.

While I like most of Wes Anderson's films, this time out I was disappointed. While the film contains some of Anderson's best work (I love the opening sequence and other bits all through it) I'm not sure it all hangs together. For me it's as if Anderson had bits but didn't know how to tie it together. Worse there are tons of silences that don't feel right.

Its a miss and one of the few Anderson films I'm not planning on revisiting.

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