Wes Anderson can be a polarizing figure— you either like his movies or you find the kitschy characters and sometimes oddly artistic settings not your thing. I love his movies, at least most of them. I’ve not seen them all but of the ones I have seen I’ve either really liked them or loved them with the exception of ISLE OF DOGS which I didn’t like at all and FRENCH DISPATCH. I’ve also not seen ASTEROID CITY because FRENCH DISPATCH was so bad.
Here, without further introduction, is a complete list of Anderson’s films with a brief thought as to my opinion of them (because you should care for some reason I will never understand);
1996- BOTTLE ROCKET - His first film and one I wasn’t crazy about. I found the storytelling jarring and while there were elements of what would later be hallmarks to his films there was not enough to keep me engaged.
1998- RUSHMORE - His first home run about an over achieving high school kid who can’t get a decent grade to save his life because all of his passion is in extra curricular activities. Bill Murray is brilliant as a millionaire friend of the lead.
2001- THE ROYAL TENENBAUMS - I loved this one, having just seen it recently. Gene Hackman is positively brilliant as a “Son of a Bitch” who tries to make amends with his family. The entire cast is outstanding and Pagoda is my absolute favorite character (played by a guy who was a coffee barista at Anderson’s favorite coffee shop before becoming a mainstay in his films).
2004- THE LIFE AQUATIC WITH STEVE ZISSOU - Bill Murray is the title character who leads a Jaques Cousteau style life on the high seas. Bill Murray makes for a great action hero.
2005- THE SQUID AND THE WHALE- I have never seen or heard of this one. I’ll add it to my list. Anderson tends to use the same actors in a lot of films, this one has a totally unique cast— that’s either good or bad.
2007- THE DARJEELING LIMITED - Loved this one too. Three brothers make a trek across India to find their mother who is living as a nun in a convent. Beautiful art direction.
2009- FANTASTIC MR FOX - Animated film. I’ve not seen it.
2012- MOONRISE KINGDOM - It’s got it’s flaws. Bruce Willis is always great, but he’s also someone who is too cool for school no matter what he does and that makes him a hard fit in Anderson’s quirky worlds. Still a great coming of age story.
2014- THE GRAND BUDAPEST HOTEL - I think this was the first Anderson film I saw and it’s an absolute favorite of mine. Should have won the Oscar and maybe it did, I don’t follow that garbage.
2014- SHE’S FUNNY THAT WAY - I’ve never heard of this one, don’t know how he made two movies in one year, but the IMDB rates it the lowest of all his movies so we’ll have to see.
2018- ISLE OF DOGS - I love dogs, I love Japan, I should have loved this. I didn’t. I didn’t find the characters or the story engaging. I kind of hated it.
And that’s it for now, although he’s got more in the works. Give them a try if you’ve not seen them and see what you think. Your local library carries all or most of them.