I met a friend of mine in Boulder today to see "Asteroid City"

[Laffy Kat]

About 15 minutes into the movie, the picture went out. The sound was still working but no picture. After about five minutes of this, a theater employee came in and said they couldn't fix it, so they were offering refunds.

Bummer.

[NoRethugFriends]

1. I like Wes Anderson movies. Saw Asteroid City. IMHO, you didn't miss anything.

[InAbLuEsTaTe]

2. Seriously.

[3Hotdogs]

3. An asteroid hits where you are

and you expect to see the lights to stay on?

[hlthe2b]

4. The promos show gorgeous vintage colors in all the backgrounds. Seems like a draw for those

who are really HIGH! (or tripping)

[TexasBushwhacker]

5. Wow, that's odd

Most movies are digital now. You don't have the broken films and such like you used to.

[Xavier Breath]

6. I saw it earlier this afternoon at out local art house

and I was disappointed with the effort, to say the least. The set design and the colors were all amazing, especially the motel and the rocks and desert, the latter looking like a Warner Brothers roadrunner cartoon. But, that's where the magic ended. I won't spoil it for those who haven't seen it by elaborating (and if you saw 15 minutes in, you know what I'm talking about), but the film contains a framing device that I found to be absolutely jarring. The set-up was explained at the beginning, so it was not unanticipated. Nonetheless, each time it occurred I was pulled completely out of the story. It was wholly unnecessary.

Wes Anderson, to my way of thinking, has gotten too cute by half. It's been a slow slide since Moonrise Kingdom and Grand Budapest Hotel, the apex of his filmmaking IMHO, and this film keeps that trend intact.