The French Dispatch

Year of Release:  2021

Director:  Wes Anderson

Screenplay:  Wes Anderson, from a story by Wes Anderson, Roman Coppola, Hugo Guinness and Jason Schwartzman

Starring:  Bill Murray, Benicio del Toro, Adrien Brody, Tilda Swinton, Léa Seydoux, Frances McDormand, Timothée Chalamet, Lyna Khoudri, Jeffrey Wright, Mathieu Amalric, Stephen Park, Owen Wilson

Running Time:  103 minutes

Genre:  Drama, comedy

The French Dispatch, the foreign bureau of a Kansas newspaper, is based in the quirky city of Ennui-sur-Blasé, and presided over by formidable editor Arthur Howitzer Jr. (Murray).  When Arthur dies suddenly of a heart attack, the staff of the magazine prepare one final issue, which will serve as a memorial to Arthur and a farewell to the magazine.  It consists of an obituary, a travelogue feature, and three stories:  A murderer (del Toro) serving a life sentence for double murder proves to be a talented artist, with the help of a prison guard (Seydoux), and attracts the attention of a sleazy art dealer (Brody).  In the second story, an American writer (McDormand) becomes involved in a protest movement lead by a chess-playing revolutionary (Chalamet).  In the third story, a food writer (Wright) becomes involved in a kidnapping scheme while trying to write an article about legendary police chef (Park).

The film is an anthology and what we see is the final issue of The French Dispatch, which is clever and, to my knowledge, unique way of presenting a film.  It has a huge ensemble cast, which also includes Edward Norton, Willem Dafoe, Saoirse Ronan, Elisabeth Moss, Christoph Waltz and Anjelica Huston in small roles.  Set in a fictional city, in an undefined mid 20th Century setting, this is a delightful film, everything is intricately designed, and every frame is carefully composed.  The film moves from colour to black and white, there are spilt screen images, quirky captions,  and even a couple of animated sequences.  It feels like a delicately constructed piece of elaborate machinery, where any flaw in the thing and the whole would collapse.  Often when comedy is too carefully constructed and designed, it can work against the humour and feel airless, however this is a very funny film, although, as with most Anderson films, it is more whimsical and witty than hysterical.  The music by Alexandre Desplat helps invoke the Sixties French glamour, and the soundtrack features Charles Aznavour, Ennio Morricone, Grace Jones, Chantal Goya and Jarvis Cocker.  This is very much a Wes Anderson film and if you don't like his work, then this will likely not win you over, I do like his work and I enjoyed this film a lot. The cast is all good, and there is so much charm in this film that it is almost impossible not to be won over.  It's a love letter to journalism, sixties France and French cinema, and I was left wishing that The French Dispatch might put out some more issues.

The staff of The French Dispatch

The Dead Don't Die

Year:  2019
Director:  Jim Jarmusch
Screenplay:  Jim Jarmusch
Starring:  Bill Murray, Adam Driver, Chloë Sevigny, Tilda Swinton, Steve Buscemi, Danny Glover, Caleb Landry Jones, Selena Gomez, RZA, Iggy Pop, Tom Waits
Running Time:  103 minutes
Genre:  Horror, comedy

The small American town of Centerville is experiencing a series of bizarre events:  It gets dark either far too late or far too early for the time of year, animals are behaving out of character or disappearing, and electronic equipment is behaving very erratically.  Things get much worse when the dead start to come out of the grave and feast on the flesh of the living. 

This marks the second time that acclaimed indie director Jim Jarmusch has entered horror territory, following acclaimed vampire movie Only Lovers Left Alive (2013).  This did not get the same positive reception on it's release.  The humour is very deadpan, police officers Bill Murray and Adam Driver seem to sleepwalk throughout the entire film even before the zombies appear, and is full of bizarre touches, such as Tilda Swinton as an eccentric, samurai sword wielding Scottish mortician (with a frankly extraordinary accent), and Murray and Driver's characters seem to be aware that they are characters in a film, and the film's theme song becomes a recurring in-joke throughout the film.  It's also full of references to other horror films.  This isn't really scary at all, and at times it is too self-consciously cool for it's own good, and the characters are too "hip" and quirky to really feel realistic.  it also hammers home it's political message a little too bluntly at times.  Personally though, I did find it consistently funny.  The zombies themselves are effectively designed, "bleeding" clouds of black ash, and drawn to the things that they loved when they were alive.  It boasts an impressive cast, who all seem to be having fun.

Bill Murray, Chloë Sevigny and Adam Driver face off against zombies in The Dead Don't Die

Ghostbusters

Year of Release:  1984
Director:  Ivan Reitman
Screenplay:  Harold Ramis and Dan Ackroyd
Starring:  Bill Murray, Dan Ackroyd, Sigourney Weaver, Rick Moranis, Harold Ramis, Annie Potts, Ernie Hudson, William Atherton
Running Time:  107 minutes   
Genre:  Comedy, fantasy, horror

Scientists Peter Venkman (Murray), Ray Stantz (Ackroyd) and Egon Spengler (Ramis) are fired from their position at Columbia University, due to their dubious research and conclusions.  The trio decide to go into business for themselves as professional ghost-catchers.  Initially dismissed largely as a joke, the Ghostbusters soon find themselves fighting to save the world.

This hugely successful blend of comedy, fantasy and supernatural horror is one of the most beloved film of the 1980s.  It's funny throughout, with some still enjoyable, albeit dated, special effects.  It's also just scary enough to avoid upsetting children.  Much of the humour depends on the juxtaposing the cynical, workaday realities of 1980s New York, with the supernatural.  Bill Murray dominates the film with his delightfully deadpan performance as the slightly disreputable, cynical, wisecracking Venkman, although he gets sterling support from the rest of the cast, particularly William Atherton as the film's main human antagonist, an oily EPA representative.  The film was followed by a sequel in 1989, several animated TV series (most notably The Real Ghostbusters (1986-1991)), and a remake in 2016.   

Dan Ackroyd, Bill Murray and Harold Ramis in Ghostbusters.