How does Wes Anderson do it?? I would love to sit down to tea with him and draw from his cartoonish and creative mind. This film is fantastic, colorful and dark, artistically beautiful and laugh out loud funny; garnering the distinction as my favorite film this year.

A who’s who of an ensemble cast, with many of the usual players in Anderson films making appearances, Ralph Fiennes as the incomparable concierge M. Gustave clearly wins this picture. Calling everyone from his arresting officers to people that cannot stand him, “darling”, he just nails it. He is defined by the Grand Budapest so much so that he apologizes for his zany actions on its behalf.

There are so many moving parts to the picture, the scenery is playful and the story is expansive. The narration is spot on through the eyes of the lobby boy, Zero. The dialogue speed and scene transitions turn this film into a fast paced adventure.

This film is certainly up to the standards of The Grand Budapest Hotel, checking in with 4.90 napkins out of 5.