Visually beautiful, stylish and utterly funny!

Rating: 8/10 (1 September 2014)

If you're already a fan of director Wes Anderson going into this film you'll enjoy it without a shadow of a doubt. The Grand Budapest Hotel lays on the usual Wes Anderson trademarks that we all love with the symmetrical shots, the old fashioned style of effects, the visually beautiful display of colour, the large A-list cast and the witty humour. This may even arguably be Anderson's BEST work to date.
Ralph Fiennes' soft-toned and somewhat camp performance as Gustave is what truly takes this film into being a 'great' above all else. His character is such a well-developed personality that combined with Fiennes' acting makes seeing him such a remarkable watch. His delivery of lines, charming personality and chemistry with Tony Revolori, who plays his young and trusted friend, create for some absolutely hysterical moments constantly throughout.
Overall this film is worthy as being Anderson's greatest film. With a running time of 1 hour 40 minutes the film just glides through and isn't hard to follow at all so casual film watchers shouldn't have a problem even if you're not too familiar with the director's work.
One thing that may through people off is the aspect ratio of the screen. At the beginning, it starts off as widescreen but during the storytelling timeline the screen size scales down to just a box. At first sight it may look difficult to watch but it really isn't and if anything adds to the creative style the film holds.
Definitely going to see this again.