Follow along as RANKED reviews a new movie release every week of 2023, slowly compiling the best films of the year into our sacred hierarchical list. Follow us on other platforms: https://linktr.ee/therankedpodcast Previous Episode 2023 RANKED List: 1. Beau Is Afraid 2. Infinity Pool 3. Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 4. John Wick: Chapter 4 5. Tetris 6. Air 7. Creed III 8. The Flash 9. Fast X 10. Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse 11. Shazam! Fury of the Gods 12. Dungeons & Dragons: Honor Among Thieves 13. M3GAN 14. missing 15. The Machine 16. Scream VI 17. The Super Mario Bros. Movie 18. Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania 19. Renfield 20. Evil Dead Rise 21. The Pope’s Exorcist 22. Magic Mike’s Last Dance 23. Transformers: Rise of the Beasts 24. Knock at the Cabin 25. Plane 26. Cocaine Bear 27. Knights of the Zodiac Asteroid City may in fact be Wes Anderson’s most Wes Anderson film yet, not just because every character has his trademarked idiosyncrasies and awkwardness while his camera behaves like another quirky character in the story, but specifically because it is a movie about a hyper-realized stage play (titled “Asteroid City”) which is what most of his movies have been up to this point, only this time he’s admitting it outright by building it into a play/meta-play story structure. This also makes it his most self-indulgent film because not only is it dripping in his style, but ultimately the movie is about himself, represented by the writer and the director of the play. Several times in the film a character literally exits the play to go ask him what the meaning of the play is, and he says he has no idea. He just writes things and then they happen. I guess this is one of those “life is about the journey not the destination” types of movies. Meh. It’s certainly an enjoyable film so if you REALLY need a grand purpose to it all, Asteroid City exists to serve as an excuse for Wes to once again get all of his favorite actors together to have a good time and deliver humor as dry as the desert they’re all trapped in, so I guess just accept it and try to enjoy the ride. Unfortunately, it’s not that simple, because all of the aforementioned meta-stuff that specifically makes the movie about Mr. Anderson is precisely what weighs it down, making it, and I hate to say it, an undercooked story. I would have much preferred Mr. Anderson leave himself, and the meta play stuff, out of it and focus the story solely on the events of Asteroid City itself. Support the show by using these affiliate links: GET A BUG-A-SALT HERE: https://amzn.to/3Cya379 GET ALL THE BOND MOVIES HERE: https://amzn.to/2Vo1JWP If you enjoy our work, here's our crypto tip jar: BTC: bc1qz6s04aw2qdkl946uttpqgtqv06utfd287vmu90 Dogecoin: DKzAwyN3neSeWfSwTBPcDp1NJafypqWooe Our individual channels: Charles: https://www.youtube.com/@Flavorful_Chunt https://www.youtube.com/@FilmHacker McCurdy: https://www.youtube.com/@ryanmccurdy9423 Nanz: https://www.youtube.com/@hiro5449 --- Send in a voice message: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/rankedpodcast/message