Genres

Visitors Review

anonymous 2012-05-23 19:08:38

Strange, original, brilliant, very very funny.

This film is strange, original, brilliant and very very funny.People either get it or they don't. There's no middle ground.Those who don't are bored and utterly mystified. Those who dotend to worship the film with evangelical fervor. I'm in thelatter category. It's one of my favorite films. Rich andtextured, Bottle Rocket is literary in it's subtlety and nuance.Unlike most multiplex fare, it stays with you long after the endcredits and reveals new facets and details with successiveviewings. I recommend seeing it. You may find yourself aconvert.

Dan Dodson 2012-05-21 00:47:45

Loved the 'short' at the USA Film Festival

I saw this short film at the USA Film Festival in Dallas before it waspicked up by the studios and made into a feature. Bottle Rocket was afestival hit and much quirkier than the feature. It was clear than theprincipal (Wes, Luke and Owen) would go on to fame andfortune.

themadstork 2012-05-20 02:48:56

promising though a bit derivative

The owner of our local video store was nice enough to let me borrow hiscopy of the short when I rented Bottle Rocket. It's very clever buthonestly nothing to write home about. Witty dialog with a lot of popculture references and a certain charm, but it just doesn't have thatendearing quality that Anderson and Wilson's longer films have. Itactually seems more like something Quentin Tarantino would do thanAnderson and Wilson. If you're a fan of Bottle Rocket and you get achance to see this it's probably worth it. If nothing else it'sinteresting to see how it started. On the other hand if you never seeit you shouldn't feel like you're missing too much.

RyeOfTheDead 2012-05-19 08:48:00

Repeal of previous comment

I wrote a rather nasty review of Bottle Rocket when I first saw themovie, and posted it here accidentally under the listing for the shortfilm. I don't know how to delete comments or if I even can so I amadding this as an appendix to what I wrote before. I regret having madesuch a nasty judgment on a movie that I just didn't "get" at the time.While it still remains my least favorite Wes Anderson movie, It's notnearly as bad as I made it out to be, and everyone should at least seeit.My apologies especially to Wes and Owen, if you guys find these entry,even though you don't know me, know that I feel ashamed of myself forhaving made that comment before. You guys made an excellent movie withminimal budget, better than some dumb kid who wasn't even a seriousstudent of film at the time could even understand it to be. Sorry again.

anonymous 2012-05-19 03:43:12

One of the funniest, clever movies I have ever seen...

I happened to see this film on impulse, and now I own it and have seen itmany times over. The humor is subtle and intelligent and the performancesare very genuine. If you have not seen this film, you are missing out on agreat one. Pay attention to the dialogue though, or you might miss some ofthe laughs.

DJAkin 2012-05-18 00:43:46

My favourite Owen movie by far!

When I was going to highschool with Owen, I alwasy knew he'd make a movie. What I didn't know is that it would be SO GOOD! This is the first Owenmovie I ever saw. It has all the elements of a well crafted film. Owenknew what he was doing when he wrote this movie. His acting was top notchand the interaction between him and his friends make me think of the way Irelate to my friends. Owen takes the viewers in and doesn't let them outuntil he says so. The scenes were filmed in Texas (Owen's native state) andit is so interesting to see the way he pays homage to Texas in not one, butmany scenes. If you liked Owen in his blockbuster movies, you owe it toyourself to see him in bottle rocket. The movie that "launched" his careeras our generations James Stewart.

Boba_Fett1138 2012-05-17 18:22:00

Wes Anderson, Quentin Tarantino-style!

Guess I never realized it but Wes Anderson biggest inspiration as afilm-maker probably always has been Quentin Tarantino. It shows best inthis 13 minutes early short from the director of movies such as"Rushmore", "The Royal Tenenbaums" and "The Life Aquatic with SteveZissou".The movie is really made in Tarantino-style, so with long dialogs aboutnothing, sympathetic crook-like simple characters and a criminal plot.The acting and dialog is really what makes this movie, since the plotitself is actually rather thin and almost non-existing. The Wilsonbrothers were great and to be honest I've never seen them better inanything else.The movie is rather well made with some simple standard but wellthought out camera positions and editing. It makes the directing alsoone of the highlights of the movie.But the movie remains just a 13 minutes short which is too short toever let the movie reach a level of true greatness. It's not longenough to develop the story or any of it characters and therefor themovie mostly remains a flat and distant one, although it definitely isa well made one. It's hard to rate a thing like this, since itobviously shows that the talent is there but it it doesn't fullyexpress in this movie.7/10http://bobafett1138.blogspot.com/

Robert Turo 2012-05-16 23:10:16

A well done movie

A simple movie that went far beyond what could have been expected. Ihave been fascinated with Wes Anderson ever since. The Wilson brothersshocked me in that they were so easy going through the whole film.Never before have I been so intrigued about a movie that involved solittle detail, which in itself proves there was great detail and agreat effort in keeping the detail. The laughs are there, but it's noHappy Gilmore. That's a big reason why I like it. I would recommendthis film to anyone who is quirky and who likes to see a young, rawOwen Wilson. Wes Anderson has gone on to make other wonderful pieces offilmery, but you gotta love his first effort purely for its simplicity.

belchizadeck 2012-05-16 00:34:29

an interesting start

It was rather interesting, as a huge fan of the feature, to finally get alook at the original 13 minute short, which the director himself says hecannot watch without cringing. I didn't cringe at all, in fact I waselatedto see the bare bones of a simple plot, simply worded and simply acted.Itwas great to see what two years, a great production crew, a great cast and6million dollars can do to a movie. Unfortunately it's hard for me toseparate the original from the feature, but one can definitely see thepotentially unique voices in this piece.

2012-05-16 14:06:23

Absolutely mind blowing and truly unique.

This is the type of film that should be popular among film goers. Yet,none of my friends have ever seen or heard of Bottle Rocket. The dialogueis very well written and the characters are amazingly funny. I am glad thatthe commercialization of the film industry and American society as a wholehas left room for films like Bottle Rocket. It is not exactly film art;but,damn close.

Blair Campbell 2012-05-16 04:09:46

Clever, different, but not a 8.9!

This is a witty movie, certainly cute, clever, and appealing, if somewhatslow.The number of votes that it has (or hasn't) attracted has allowed someserious skewing of the rating scores. Maybe it was because the cast aretheonly ones voting?Nevertheless, a fairly amusing tale and well crafted for the backyardeffortthat it was.But not for everyone - my wife gave up on it.My vote 7/10

Jack Gattanella 2012-05-15 04:09:13

moves like a good little bebop number, but only hints at what would come

At this point, I wager, Wes Anderson and Owen Wilson weren't entirelysure how their Bottle Rocket feature would turn out. As a means ofgetting support for it they made this short film which won over JamesL. Brooks at Sundance and got them a movie deal at Columbia pictures.Their plan worked... except that their short film had only the smallestof substance- heavy on style, of course, even in the grittiest possiblefor anything by Wes Anderson- and they spent more than a year or sowriting and rewriting the feature until they got it to where it worked,brilliantly.So, as someone who loves the 1996 Bottle Rocket, I have to say thatthis one was just alright. But alright in that sense that does get youexcited about a couple of things. For one thing the Wilson brothers,however airy their delivery, already have an interesting rapport goingon, and certain scenes are identical to how it came out in the featuresuch as the robbery of the house, or of the shooting of the cans withthe guns (the Charlie Brown music is an especially funny and awesometouch). I also liked how they introduced the book-store into the story,how the bits and pieces of visual information were kind of "stolen"shots probably taken when no one was looking in the aisles and aroundthe corners. It overall is something slight, but it works for a 13minute short with a sort of abrupt ending.

savage miser 2012-05-14 21:58:53

Charming + wonderful beginning

This is the FIRST Bottle Rocket, not the full length. This version beginsafter the breakout in th '96 version, and ends after the boys RECAP thebookstore robbery to Bob. This is interesting to watch for hardcore Wesfans, and if Criterion loves us, they will release a DVD including thisoriginal on it. Especially worth seeing is the "I bought the gun" scene,where Dignan flips out in a vulgar rage which only Owen Wilson could haveexecuted the way he did.The Bottle Rocket '96 trailer includes a shot of Anthony breaking into acarto steal a wallet, but the scene is cut from the actual movie. That sceneis present in the short version.

mram16 2012-05-13 21:15:56

Good but not great

Set to a jazz soundtrack, this short film set the stage for the featurefilm of the same name. Several scenes look almost identical to scenesfrom the feature, including the robbery of Anthony's mother's house,the firearm purchase and the planning of the bookstore robbery. Thereseems to be a bit more cursing present in the short than in thefeature, and it makes for a few laughs. The dialogue contains the usualwit expected from Wilson and Anderson, and the black and whitephotography looks nice. The bookstore robbery isn't shown, butexplained after the fact to Bob by Anthony and Dignan; this is adrawback, it isn't as amusing as actually watching it happen. The filmends on a funny note with Anthony and Dignan betting on which one ofthem would win in a foot race.

BlackVelvet88 2012-05-13 01:13:26

Wilson brothers are great

This short was great. It's actually the first and only Wes Andersonwork I'd seen, so I didn't know what to expect. But it was surprisinglywell-made. Obviously not the best, but for a low budget screening, thecinematography was good, the dialogue was pretty good, and especiallythe main actors were good. Sure, they weren't Humphrey Bogart or RobertDe Niro, but I thought they did great for first timers. Honestly, I wassurprised that it was their first time. Of course, I did have anadmiration for Owen Wilson before.Overall, this short was better that I expected. I know Anderson's worknow and I know the writer side of Owen Wilson. I'll see even more whenI see the feature length version - this film made me want to see it.

Kelv-1 2012-05-12 01:54:20

Enjoyable, If Flawed, Short

I'm a big fan of the Wes Anderson/Owen Wilson team. I sawRushmore only a few months ago for the first time, after hearingabout it for years, and loved it. Only two nights ago, I rented 'TheRoyal Tenenbaums' from Blockbuster and thought it was reallygood. Yet, I still haven't seen the full length 'Bottle Rocket'. I've onlyseen this short that inspired it soon after i first saw 'Rushmore'.This a very original and enjoyable short, although the pop culturetalk at the start seems somewhat dated since we've now seen it ineverything from Kevin Smith's 'Clerks' (Not to mention all his otherfilms) to Quentin Tarantino's 'Pulp Fiction'. The short does containa nice share of laughs, mostly involving Dignan, although I cannever really figure out why it got picked to be made into a feature.Don't get me wrong, I love Wes Anderson and I thought this shortwas really good but I know if I saw it, the first thought on my mindwouldn't be to make it into a feature. I still haven't saw the feature,although I've read a few select parts of the script and it looks funny.I think the acting in this short was rather bad but I guess it justadds to the charm of a 13 minute black and white short, doesn't it?All in all, it's a short that doesn't have a lot of replay value but iswatchable the first time and good none the less.

RyeOfTheDead 2012-05-11 22:41:22

Worst movie I've ever seen!

I rented this movie based on comments on this page and thought it wasabsolutley god-awful and terrible. Yes the dialogue is littered with lotsofsubtle jokes. I got most of them, but they weren't that funny. The plot isdry and at many times I considered turning it off. The only thing thatkeptme from doing so was the paralyzing pain that this horrid movie caused me,so I could not lift the remote.If you desire to see this movie, I recommend laying down in front of atruckas a substitute.

rbverhoef 2012-05-09 18:28:04

The beginning of Anderson & Wilson

'Bottle Rocket' is the first project written by Wes Anderson and OwenWilson, starring Owen and his brother Luke. This short, shown atSundance, made sure they got to make the feature film 'Bottle Rocket'(1996). Of course they came with 'Rushmore', 'The Royal Tenenbaums' and'The Life Aquatic with Steve Zissou' next.This short, shot in black and white, is sort of the same as the firstfifteen minutes of the feature film version. It shows three friendsnamed Dignan (Owen Wilson), Anthony (Luke) and Bob (Robert Musgrave)preparing for a heist, not much more. Before the real deal theypractice once, buy guns, and then it's show time.The dialogue and natural acting makes this an above average short film.The writing is pretty clever and most moments will make you smile. Mostof the time it is quite exciting to see one of those "first films" fromestablished directors; 'Bottle Rocket' is no exception.

themadstork 2012-05-09 05:43:46

pulp fictionish

I could be wrong but it seems to me that Wilson and Anderson were underthespell of Tarantino when they wrote this one; this is especially true ofthedialogue, which is chock full of clever pop culture references and seemsjust a little too self-satisfied. This isn't at all true of the finishedBottle Rocket; rather than trying to be Pulp Fiction it shows us a bunchoflikable ne'er do wells who've watched stuff like Pulp Fiction a few toomanytimes. The short is interesting and it shows off Anderson's talent, butthejust how good Anderson and Wilson are is only hinted at here. If you loveBottle Rocket and Rushmore as much as I do and you get a chance to seethisyou should, but if you can't you're not missing anything too great.