5. The Grand Budapest Hotel

It is very rare to come across a film that is wickedly funny and highly personal with the undeniable touch of an auteur. Wes Anderson’s “The Grand Budapest Hotel” does just that by borrowing from the melodramas of Viennese author Stefan Zweig and maintaining a distinctive style of pastel colors and visual symmetry. The central relationship between M. Gustave (Ralph Fiennes) and Zero (Tony Revolori) is one of the year’s most memorable film friendships. Fiennes is a dying breed of gentlemen who touchingly imparts wisdom to the bellboy who faithfully devotes himself to his mentor. They seem oddly placed in Anderson’s extravagant world of varying hues and facades. However, his palette acts as a vivid backdrop on which his characters play their parts exquisitely like a beautiful painting, not unlike the prized “Boy with Apple” from the film. This comedy was a crowd pleasing gift for film enthusiasts everywhere.

– Tynan Yanaga, Staff Writer