If You Will Do Anything In Your Power To Avoid Extra Work, You'll Love These 34 Clever Products
We hope you love our recommendations! Some may have been sent as samples, but all were independently selected by our editors. Just FYI, BuzzFeed and its publishing partners may collect a share of sales and/or other compensation from the links on this page.
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Life is already hard enough. Let this heated ice cream scoop and this "spray and go" stain remover take the wheel.
1. A no-scrub weekly shower cleaner you can quite literally "set and forget" to maintain its cleanliness over time — once you apply it after a shower, you just have to wait eight to 12 hours and it'll quietly tackle the soap scum, grime, oils, mold, and mildew stains without any elbow grease from you.
Promising review:"I saw this product on TikTok and decided to try it out for myself. The name doesn't lie — spray it on, shut the bathroom door, and in a few hours, the shower is 100 times cleaner. Usually I'll let it sit overnight, and by morning, the visible grime on the shower is gone, including soap scum. I'll usually let the shower water rinse the residue out, and then will take a bucket just to get everything off the shower walls. It is a bit slick if you try to get in the shower without rinsing the residue, but otherwise it's a worthy cleaning staple in my house." — Tara D.
Get it from Amazon for $19.98+ (available in two scents and two sizes).
2. And a Scrubbing Bubbles toilet cleaning stamp because honestly? Having to remind yourself to clean the toilet every few days is a scam. Give your brain a vacation and let this do the job for you. (And prevent grime buildup and toilet rings while it's at it!)
Promising review: " I was sooo skeptical and confused about how they'd work, but the gel solidifies, and with every flush, suds wash through with the water, and it really makes a fresh difference. Also, the scent is light but really nice and fresh! I recommend these 100%! They're super interesting, but they do the job." — Janet
Get it from Amazon for $4.67.
3. A portable mug warmer with three different temperature settings so you can take your sweet, sweeeeet time enjoying your morning cuppa without worrying about having to get up and reheat it a zillion times. Bonus: it also operates as a candle warmer!
www.amazon.com
Promising review:"I have to say that this has changed my day-to-day life. I'm a person who works from home. My mornings are very busy, and my coffee would always get cold before I could drink it because I was busy with some task, which meant that I would have to heat it up again or just throw it away. Having this mug warmer on my desk while I work has made my mornings great again! I'm super happy I can take my coffee in peace, and it will always be warm." — Samantha Quijada
Get it from Amazon for $19.19+ (available in four colors, including piiiink).
4. A super effective and strangely whimsical foaming drain cleaner to save you from having to excavate it yourself. This gentle but powerful foam pulls up gunk and cleans out drains in sinks, bathtubs, and floor drains, helping prevent plumbing issues and making everything smell ~squeaky clean~ with zero to no effort from you.
Check out a TikTok of the foaming pink drain cleaner in action.
Promising review: "Wow! I don't think I've ever been more excited to use a cleaning product before. Who knew you could get so much satisfaction from a drain cleaner. I could probably make an ASMR video and post it, as it is that satisfying! Even though I had to angle this over my sink drain, to avoid the low faucet, it worked perfectly. The foam went down the drain and up through the overflow, bringing lots of black, yucky gunk with it. I have used lots of drain cleaners before, but not one that actually came up through the overflow. I'd never even considered what stuff was in there. It did a great job of cleaning everything out and it left the sink smelling fresh and clean as well." — Amazon Customer
Get it from Amazon for $15.98.
5. An adorable fish-shaped humidifier tank cleaner that'll ~just keep swimming, just keep swimming~ so you can stop growth of yucky sludge affecting the quality of your air for up to 30 days, sparing you a *ton* of humidifier washes.
Promising review:"Just drop this in your humidifier and it keeps the water pretty darn mildew and mold free. Super easy to use, no smell, and safe. I have already repurchased and given a few to other people as well." — Kristine
Get it from Amazon for $5.98.
6. A magnetic air fryer cheat sheet to help minimize effort and maximize deliciousness so you can get dinner on the table as quickly (and cheaply!!) as possible. The takeout delivery driver will miss you. 👋
www.amazon.com, www.amazon.com
Psst — it also comes with a double-sided sticker if your fridge isn't magnetized, or you'd rather hide it in a cabinet!
Promising review:"These magnetic cheat sheets are wonderful. So handy instead of a cookbook; I use it every day! I gave my niece an air fryer for Christmas, so I bought her a set, too, and she loves it." — KateK.
Get it from Amazon for $8.98 (available in two colors).
7. Plus a set of disposable air fryer liners if your thoughts on cleaning the air fryer can be summed up in two words: "No thanks!!" With these handy liners you can heat up your greasiest leftovers, cook your messiest meat and veggie dishes, and get absolutely lawless with TikTok dessert recipes with *zero* scrubbing and cleanup at the end.
Promising review:"I was skeptical but I was also tired of cleaning my air fryer of crumbs all the time. I have a PowerXl air fryer and one of these fits perfectly in there. I can do French fries or any other fried food and discard the liner and the fryer is still nice and clean. I use two when I do juicy items, hot dogs, chicken breast, and sausage, and when I'm done, I take out the meat and lift out the liners and all the gross juice comes out with it leaving the fryer ready to clean in the sink with hot water, no gross juice to pour out or get in the sink. I highly recommend." — Kevin M. Harer
Get a set of 125 from Amazon for $12.99 (available in different sizes and shapes for square and round air fryers).
8. A reviewer-beloved veggie chopper that'll get you uniform, oh-so-satisfyingly cut veggies instead of wasting precious eating time doing it by hand. This gadget juliennes, chops, spiralizes, and slices vegetables in an instant and has a built-in storage container to hold the chopped veggies so you can pour them into a pan or dish without any mess.
Fullstar is a small business established in 2017 that specializes in kitchen gadgets.
Check out a TikTok of the veggie chopper in action.
Promising review:"Makes life so much easier. I can't imagine chopping onions or bell peppers by hand anymore, and it does so much more. We used to have a Prepworks chopper, which was a similar idea, but you had to press so hard to chop, and it broke after not too long. This one requires very little effort to cut through the foo,d and it has a generous container." — Amazon Customer
Get it from Amazon for $26.97+ (clip the $3 off coupon on the product page for this price; available in four styles and in four colors).
9. And a genius 2-in-1 knife and cutting board perfect for all your quick chopping needs that don't require a whole production of cutting boards. This scissor-like contraption lets you slice against a flat surface for easier use, then slide your veggies into a bowl or on top of a dish in a flash.
Ronan is a small business that specializes in multipurpose tools for home use.
Check out a TikTok of the scissors in action.
Promising review:"This is a kitchen must-have. We use it all the time — it's so easy to use that even our kids use it. Very durable blade that continues to perform and get value for your money." — Dawn R.
Get it from Amazon for $15.74.
10. A rechargeable heated ice cream scoop to impress your whole family and give your poor spoons and your biceps a BREAK!! You deserve the sweet bliss of ice cream without feeling like you just did a whole CrossFit workout to get it.
www.amazon.com, www.amazon.com
Promising review: "We love to eat ice cream and we also like to keep our freezer pretty nice and cool, so our ice cream takes a while to defrost. This handy kitchen accessory makes it [so] we can almost immediately begin scooping and not have to wait. What a cool little kitchen device that I really didn't realize I needed until I used it. It really scoops up the cold ice cream very well, the grip is easy to hold and comfortable, and it truly works very well." — Jessica
Get it from Amazon for $26.09 (clip the 13% off coupon on the product page for this price).
11. A laundry soap station that will help organize your space *and* serve as a handy drip tray for your detergent, so you don't have to lug that jumbo container like a lumberjack every time you need to squeeze a few suds out for a load. This also helps ensure you get every last drop out of the container!
www.amazon.com, www.amazon.com
Skywin is a small business that specializes in home and kitchen products.
Promising review: "I've been using this product now for several months. I'm honestly surprised by how something so simple can be so helpful and save me money. Just by tilting my laundry detergent jug on this, I'm able to get every last drop of detergent out of it, which prevents wasting detergent and saves me money. I've never had issues with clogging, and it holds a standard-size bottle or an oversized jug. It also helps to keep my laundry closet looking clean and organized. Good buy!" — Jenn Madonna
Get it from Amazon for $24.99 (available in sets of two and three and in nine colors).
12. A set of fast-acting Keurig cleaner pods you can simply put through a cycle on the machine to get rid of all the crusted-on grinds and residue without so much as lifting a bristle or brush.
www.amazon.com
Quick & Clean is a small business that specializes in coffee machine cleaning products.
Promising review:"I had no idea that cleaning a Keurig was a thing. I bought these because I saw them on TikTok, believe it or not. I wanted to give it a go because my Keurig isn't that old and I didn't think it would do anything. IT WORKS SO WELL! My Keurig wasn't as nasty as some I've seen, lucky. I would highly recommend, keeps everything running correctly and clean." — Lauren
Get a set of six from Amazon for $9.95.
13. A bunch of Miracle-Gro "food spikes" that can bring plants as sad as the tree from A Charlie Brown Christmas back from the brink of death, and then will continuously feed them for 30–60 days as a bonus so you can sit back, relax, and enjoy plant parenthood stress-free.
www.amazon.com
Promising review:"I always kill my plants, but I decided to try again. I just bought five houseplants, and three of them were marked down because they were looking pretty puny. Since I tend to kill them anyway, I figured I would give them a try and save some money. I put one of these spikes in each plant, and they all looked so much healthier and happier after just a couple of days. I also added one spike to the only houseplant that I've had for years without killing (I was beginning to think it was artificial); the leaves looked healthier almost immediately. I'm very happy with this product, and it was a great price." — victoria
Get a two-pack of 48 spikes from Amazon for $11.19, and get a version for orchids here.
14. A microwave pasta maker so you can enjoy the glory of your favorite carbohydrate by literally just pressing a button on the microwave and walking away, so you don't have to hover over a boiling pot listening to a podcast just to get your noodles on.
Amazon
Promising review:"This is a fantastic product. I've been cooking for more than 50 years. Pasta has always been a simple go-to dinner for me. Tending to the boiling pot of pasta was just part of the process. I've been getting tired of cooking as I've aged. This simple little microwave pasta cooker has simplified cooking so much more than I could have imagined. Seems silly, but it's kinda like a little miracle. No more toting a heavy pot to the stove. It's simple, lightweight, and foolproof." — Winky
Get it from Amazon for $14.99.
15. And a Potato Express, because I think if we're all being honest with ourselves, the older we get, the more we crave a weeknight at home with Netflix in our eyes and a warm potato in our laps. This cooks up to *four* potatoes flawlessly in mere minutes so you don't have to wait to go to clown town with cheese and other fixings.
www.youtube.com
Promising review:"Baked potatoes couldn't be easier or quicker. These work just as advertised. We have found that with larger potatoes, you may have to double your time, but 8–10 minutes compared to an hour or more in the toaster oven can't be beat!" — Don Juan
Get it from Amazon for $14.73.
16. A "spray and go" enzyme-based laundry stain remover that works its magic in one wash to help you instantly get rid of all that discolored dried sweat, oil stains, or deodorant residue on your favorite clothes, so you don't have to do any heavy scrubbing yourself.
Check out a TikTok of the laundry spray in action.
Puracy is a Texas-based, family-owned business specializing in plant-based, chemical-free, hypoallergenic home products, with a donation made to local families in need with a portion of every purchase.
Psst — this spray also does a number on all those other miscellaneous stains in your life, like wine, coffee, soy sauce, makeup, and period blood! I recently bought this to test it for myself, and can attest to how well it works to get period blood out even after you've tried something else. I stained a pair of beloved bright-blue bike shorts in my sleep and tried to get it out with soap and water, but the stain was still there when it came out of the wash. I treated it with this, stuck it back in the wash, and BOOM, it's like it never happened (I panicked before I could get a before and after, please forgive me, laundry gods).
Get it from Amazon for $6.98+ (available in different sizes).
17. A ridiculously handy adjustable bread slicer guide perfect for cutting loaves, bagels, and even pound cakes as uniformly (and safely!!) as possible. This takes the guesswork out of it *and* positions your hands more safely when you're using a knife.
www.amazon.com
Promising review:"I am obsessed with this product. I have never been able to slice my bread with such precision. Easy to use, easy to store, and cleanup is a breeze. Several options for the width of your slices. It's like having a professional bakery slicer in my home. If you have trouble slicing your bread, this is the product for you. Highly recommend." — Patti Page
Get it from Amazon for $15.99.
18. iRobot's Roomba Robot Vacuum and Mop Combo that will make anyone with hardwood floors want to SING from relief. This adorable gizmo maps your floors and uses sensors to vacuum carpets and hardwood, plus mop hard surfaces in clean, neat lines without running into any obstacles. Then it goes back to its little charging dock home so it can juice back up and do the whole thing all over again.
Promising review: " The iRobot works great!! It cleans up all the hair, that is what I'm excited for. I named mine Rosie, and I feel like I'm in The Jetsons. It works perfectly great. Best thing for the money, battery life stays pretty good. It learns the apartment and returns home. Can't even tell she's running because it is quiet. Still figuring out how to map certain areas in my apartment to get her to go to one location to clean instead of doing the whole apartment every time, but it works like a dream." — SusannAnns
Get it from Amazon for $149 (available in two other models).
19. A wireless remote control outlet plug with a small remote that lets you turn devices on and off from across the room, whether it's a light fixture, a fan, a garbage disposal, or any other household electronic you don't feel like getting up or crouching down to turn on and off. You can even install the remote on the wall for easy access!
Promising review: "Oh my goodness. This light switch is the best. Got it for my 89-year-old aunt to use with her nightstand light. I affixed the control button to her headboard of the bed. The push buttons are large and that makes it perfect. Thank you!" — Karla
Get it from Amazon for $21.99.
20. A TubShroom, a little gizmo you can stick in your shower drain to catch all your hair before it clogs up your pipes and you have to go to clown town clearing them out. The hair coils around it to make it even easier to remove, making it both handy *and* semi-horrifying!
TubShroom is a small business that specializes in drain products for home use.
Promising review:"I hardly ever write reviews, but this thing is so amazing I had to share. With every shower I take, I shed a TON of hair and (as you can see from the picture) stick it to the wall so that no hair goes down my drain. I thought this method was working out well but my drain was continuing to stop up. I figured it must be my sister's fault since I was so good about not letting any hair go down the drain, but I went ahead and ordered the TubShroom after seeing advertisements on Facebook. I got this thing, and after only two showers, it collected a crap ton of my hair that I didn't catch. It really is so easy to install and wipe away the hair, exactly like the videos. Awesome invention, and I'm super happy with this purchase!" — Megan K.
Get a two-pack from Amazon for $18.99 (available in five colors).
21. A magnetic necklace detangling clasp so you can layer your favorite pieces over an outfit the exact way you want them without having to pull them apart like bickering siblings at the end of each day.
www.amazon.com, Amanda Davis / BuzzFeed
Promising review: "This is my second one! Love it so much since it can keep my necklaces safe and untangled with its strong magnet. Safe me so much time layering all the necklaces I have. Literally takes one second to put on!" — Nichole Li
Get it from Amazon for $13.33+ (available in gold, rose gold, and silver, and with two or three clasps).
22. A cloud-shaped utility knife you *need* in your life if you're a person who gets a lot of packages — this will save you a whole lot of time and effort (and DESPAIR over your ruined nails) with quick, easy cuts.
Amazon
Check out a TikTok of the cloud knife in action.
Promising review:"I love these — sturdy, sharp with retractable blade. I keep them in different rooms for opening packages or breaking down boxes to recycle. Would recommend and buy again." — Amy Yasneski
Get a set of six from Amazon for $9.99.
23. A "Magic Tap" automatic drink dispenser as the ultimate parent hack — this battery-operated, spillproof system easily slides into jugs of water, milk, and juice in your fridge to make it easy for kids to serve themselves. Essentially, it means a whole lot more independence for the kiddos, and a WHOLE lot more convenience for you.
www.amazon.com, www.amazon.com
Check out a TikTok of the drink dispenser in action.
Promising review: "Super happy with this purchase. Our two little ones (5- and 3-years-old) can now easily fill their own drinks. We also purchased a dual cereal dispenser from Amazon, so now the kids can get their own breakfast cereal with milk!" — April M. Ramos
Get it from Amazon for $19.99 (available in four colors and in multipacks).
24. A set of paint touch-up pens to quickly deal with lil' scuff and scratch marks that pop up on your walls without having to do the whole song and dance of whipping out a giant roller brush. (Ah, we love the fresh smell of "getting my deposit back" in the morning.)
Amazon, Slobproof
Slobproof is a small business that specializes in home improvement products.
Reviewers also love these for doing detail work on painted designs and murals! As an added bonus, these are totally airtight, so the paint in them won't dry out if you don't finish up the pain in the pen all at once.
Promising review:"These are genius! They work so well and make it no hassle to quickly retouch small areas that get scratched up. Never knew something like this existed, and now am in love with them!" — Jeff
Get a pack of two on Amazon for $14.99 (also available in a pack of five).
25. An easy twist-off jar opener that clamps right onto the lid so you can pop that sucker open without summoning half the neighborhood to see who is mighty enough to free your olives from the jar.
Amazon, www.amazon.com
Promising review: "This gizmo grips securely so that twisting it does the job. The best jar opener tool I have tried and I have tried many. I have severe disabilities of my hands, wrists, arms, and shoulders from rheumatoid arthritis so opening stuff has really been a problem for me. This is a great device." — NYer
Get it from Amazon for $21.60.
26. A self-cleaning electric toilet brush to go full YEE! HAWWWW! on the grime in your toilet bowl. If you're dealing with hard water stains, this is an excellent way to get the toilet bowl sparkling again without having to scrub hard. When you put it away, the base will light up blue to let you know it's sanitizing the brush!
Promising review: "I always have a ring in my toilet because I have hard water and this brush does a wonderful job of cleaning it right off! It is so easy to use and I love the blue light that automatically comes on after cleaning to get rid of bacteria. This brush actually makes cleaning toilets fun!" — Ashley Picard
Get it from Amazon fo r $31.99 (available in white, black, and a two-pack).
27. A roll of clear heavy-duty double-sided removable tape, which did NOT come here to play — people use this for everything from mounting wall hangings and electronics to securing their vases and glass objects to tables to keeping their rugs in place. It's also easily removable and leaves no residue behind!
Amazon
Promising review:"So, I bought these beautiful acrylic shelves from Amazon and the sticky adhesive wasn't bad, it just wasn't sturdy and one of my shelves fell. Luckily nothing broke, but after that I immediately ordered this tape, which I got in two days, and I installed it as soon as I got it. Beautiful!!!! Works well, very sticky, I love that it's thick because it also helped with balancing. My walls seem to not be completely straight. So with this product I was able to stick the shelves up perfectly without them looking like they are dropping over. And on that note they are great and amazing with the help of this company. Thank you!" — Trinity
Get a roll from Amazon for $9.99 (available in two sizes).
28. A silicone baking mat for your sheet pan, so on days when you've run out of time to do anything orderly for dinner you can just slap a bunch of veggies and frozen goods down, drizzle them in olive oil, and shove them in the oven. Bonus: these are super easy to clean, so you won't have to deal with a mess!
www.amazon.com, www.amazon.com
Promising review: "I use these mats several times a day. They make cleanup super easy, which is really important in my hectic life. They wipe off easily with just water." — Tasia Lung
Get a set of two from Amazon for $12.99 (available in two styles and in multipacks).
29. "The Clean Ball," which is a nifty little gizmo you can stick in your purse or bag to pick up all the crumbs and debris that settle down there — now it'll be clean as a whistle whenever you go rooting through it, and you won't have to get to deal with ~ick~ of cleaning your own croissant crumbs.
Amazon
Promising review: "This little ball is genius!! Rolls around in my purse, which I live out of. It picks up a lot of lint, debris, or even crumbs. Easy to find with the bright pink. Just remove and wash and it's ready to go again. The price was great and something I can use for years. If you live out of your purse this a must-have!!" — dj3biggs
Get it from Amazon for $13.99 (available in six colors).
30. A magnetic microwave cover perfect for anyone whose Panera soup obsession has caused a few too many messes. This conveniently sticks to the top of your microwave so you always have it handy, and don't have to spend your Tuesday night peeling broccoli cheddar off the microwave walls.
www.amazon.com
Hover Cover is a small business that specializes in microwave covers for home kitchen use.
Check out a TikTok of the microwave cover in action.
Promising review:"If you live in a small space like I do, this will seriously change your life. No longer do I have to struggle to find somewhere to put my cover if I'm heating up a cup of coffee. Just attach it to the roof of your microwave. Hopefully, you have a flat surface; check before you buy. There is a slight learning curve as to where to put it or the force or lack thereof needed, but after a couple of times it's second nature. Love, love, love this product. I'm probably going to get some for Christmas presents next year, it's one of those items that you wouldn't necessarily buy for yourself but it will change your life." — Rachel
Get it from Amazon for $24.95.
31. A pancake batter dispenser complete with side measurements so you can mix your ingredients right into it without dirtying up an extra bowl and ladle. Reviewers swear by this to get mess-free, perfectly round and portioned pancakes!
www.amazon.com
Check out a TikTok of the pancake batter dispenser in action.
Promising review: "I got this yesterday, and my son asked me this morning if I would make him pancakes! I was happy to oblige, so I could try my new kitchen gadget, and it did not disappoint! I LOVE it! I made the batter right in the container, and it has measurements on it, so I didn't even have to get out my measuring cups. The batter came out perfectly and easily, and when I stopped the flow, it immediately stopped! There was not one dribble of batter anywhere, and the pancakes turned out perfectly!" — Nikki
Get it from Amazon for $21.19.
33. A set of Stretchlace shoelaces, aka the Elastigirl of shoelaces — these might look like ordinary kicks, but they're made of stretchy elastic that lets you pull your shoes on and off without retying them, easy as pie.
www.amazon.com
Stretchlace is a US-based small business that specializes in elastic shoelaces.
Promising review:"I saw these on Shark Tank, so decided to try a pair. They are AMAZING! These are in shoes that I wear for workout classes that involve plenty of stepping and cardio... my shoes do not slip or feel loose at all, but stay as snug as if they had traditional shoelaces. No more loose shoestrings, no more tying, and untying. What a great invention! Hey you little kids with Velcro fasteners, move over! Grown-up laces are here!" — Leah
Get them from Amazon for $10.99+ (available in 15 colors and in round laces).
34. A set of nonstick, reusable toaster oven bags to let you make grilled cheese, paninis, and toasted sammies right in the toaster.
Amazon, www.amazon.com
(Psst — you can also use these to reheat french fries, pizza, and even mini tacos, and get all that glorious heat without them getting all soggy from the microwave. Leftovers just got lit.)
Promising review:"I had no idea how well these would work. You can put toast or rolls or anything that will fit in the slot — even if it has jelly or spread or anything on it — in the bag in the toaster and it doesn't hurt the toaster, and the food comes out warm." — mare36
Get a four-pack from Amazon for $5.99.
Reviews have been updated for length and/or clarity.
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But the instantly-recognizable aesthetic that propelled Anderson to filmmaking superstardom often prompts his critics to look at his work through an oversimplified lens. More from IndieWire Wes Anderson Put a Great Deal of Time and Thought Into His Upcoming Criterion Career Box Set Luca Guadagnino Attached to Direct AI Business Comedy 'Artificial' for Amazon MGM Many of Anderson's films contain similar stylistic flourishes — like twee interior design with perfect color palettes, inserts of hand-written notes, and the presence of Jason Schwartzman, to name a few. But the visual similarities mask the fact that he has covered an insanely wide range of narrative ground in his 25 years of filmmaking. From dry comedies and whimsical animated features to painfully mature dramas about the nuances of grief, Anderson's filmography is anything but monolithic. We all know what a Wes Anderson movie looks like, but the differences between his films and the substance of his artistry are complex subjects that merit rigorous debate. With 'The Phoenician Scheme' now in select theaters, it's a perfect time to reevaluate Anderson's catalogue. Here are all of Wes Anderson's feature films, ranked from 'worst' to best. We're not including his short films here, including the collection 'The Wonderful Story of Henry Sugar and Three More' — the title installment there won him an Oscar for Best Live Action Short Film at the 2024 Academy Awards ceremony. [Editor's note: This story was published on May 1, 2017 and has been updated multiple times since.] Almost as indebted to Satyajit Ray and Jean Renoir as 'The Grand Budapest Hotel' is to the writings of Stefan Zweig, 'The Darjeeling Limited' never pretends that it isn't the work of a white guy from Texas who was raised on the 'exoticism' of movies like 'Charulata' and 'The River.' On the contrary, Wes Anderson's uneven fifth film confronts that naïveté head-on, telling a story about three grieving brothers who travel to India with the half-assed hope that they can bottle up some of the country's spiritualism and take it home as a souvenir. Riding the eponymous train through the countryside and looking out the window like everything they see is a backdrop for their self-obsessive bullshit, Anderson's most noxious cast of characters learns the hard way that you can't be a tourist in your own family. Modernist to the extreme and a bit stilted as a result, 'The Darjeeling Limited' doesn't quite match the sum of its parts, but — from Bill Murray's opening dash to Amara Karan's unforgettable performance — the parts are pretty great. —DE 'If family is the sharpest and most cutting of double-edged swords, few storytellers have ever wielded it with more violent enthusiasm than Wes Anderson, whose movies often start with — and then scab over — the seemingly mortal kind of wound that only a severed relationship can leave behind, and only a carefully mended one can ever hope to fix. In that sense and several others, 'The Phoenician Scheme' is the most enthusiastically violent film that Anderson has made thus far.' 'Spackled together from all the gray paint and seriocomic grotesquerie that he couldn't find a use for in his previous work, the 'Asteroid City' auteur's hectic father-daughter story takes pains to clarify a certain ethos at the root of his art, even if it does frustratingly little to flesh that ethos out any further.' 'More linear than 'Asteroid City' or 'The Grand Budapest Hotel' and yet significantly harder to follow than either of them, 'The Phoenician Scheme' is the busiest of Anderson's films, and also — at least on first viewing — the least rewarding. The scale of its story is immense, in that Zsa-zsa (Benicio Del Toro) and the gang span an entire nation in search of the money he needs to complete his deal, but the stops on their tour often feel like isolated vignettes, more focused on milking a few dry chortles out of their celebrity cameos than they are in deepening the father-daughter bond that inspired the billionaire's cockamamy plan. At least Zsa-zsa is courteous enough to bring souvenir hand grenades with him everywhere he goes.' —DE Read IndieWire's complete review of 'The Phoenician Scheme.' Wes Anderson arrived fully formed (or close to it), and so much of his cinematic ethos can be distilled from the very first shot of his very first film, the camera crashing in on Luke Wilson's young face with the confidence of a master and the exuberance of an eternal kid. And it's really that energy that makes 'Bottle Rocket' such a perfect indication of what was to come. Yes, the film is full of Anderson's future signatures — whip-pans, insert shots of handwritten lists, overly elaborate plans, the hierarchy of accessories that are assigned for infiltration missions (and used as measuring sticks for love) — but the director's debut points the way forward because it's so high on its own existence, its characters as committed to the bubbles they create for themselves as we are to watching them burst. Anderson's most naturalistic film by a long shot (there's something so intolerably casual about those gray skies), this puckish caper movie sputters out at least three different times before James Caan even shows up to spark the third act, but 'Bottle Rocket' is colorful even when it isn't sparkling. Would Wes Anderson have even been possible without Owen Wilson there to translate him for us? His Dignan, dreamy and deranged, set the mold for at least seven movies to come, playing the guy in an electrified defensive coil of some kind, always trying to disguise themselves and doing such a poor job of it that you can't help but laugh at their transparency ('What are you putting that tape on your nose for?' Bob Mapplethorpe asks. 'Exactly,' Dignan replies). Thank God someone was able to see through the film's disastrous box office performance and recognize that this was the start of something great. —DE 'Oh, shit! Swamp leeches. Everybody, check for swamp leeches, and pull them off… Nobody else got hit? I'm the only one? What's the deal?' It's amazing, just when he was on the verge of becoming a household name, Wes Anderson made a dry nautical epic about Jacques Cousteau being a shitty father. I mean, I'd appreciate this movie being made under any circumstances, but 'The Life Aquatic' is the only Wes Anderson film that feels as though it exists for the simple reason that someone was willing to fund it. As exhaustingly dense as 'The Royal Tenenbaums,' as spirited as 'The Grand Budapest Hotel,' and as anarchic as 'Fantastic Mr. Fox,' this expansive adventure is even better than the Adidas sneakers it inspired. Yeah, it sits uncomfortably in the middle of Anderson's career and sometimes play like a watered down version of his previous work, but it also features Bill Murray as a vengeful shark hunter, Seu Jorge covering David Bowie, Cate Blanchett radiating right off the screen, Willem Dafoe as an over-sensitive German sailor, and Bud Cort giving us the closer that 'Harold and Maude' never did. —DE If the two decades that brought us 'Rushmore,' 'Fantastic Mr. Fox,' and 'Moonrise Kingdom,' felt like a passionate love affair between cinephiles and Wes Anderson, the release of 'The French Dispatch' is more akin to settling into a comfortable relationship. The excitement inevitably fades when you pretty much know what you're going to get, but that does not negate the fact that Anderson is one of the most technically proficient filmmakers working today. As his aesthetic becomes more recognizable, if that's even still possible, the (often unfair) question of what Wes Anderson is offering beyond unique interior design choices and snappy dialogue will weigh on him more with each subsequent film. 'The French Dispatch' succeeds in part because it does not particularly try to answer that question, instead offering a light ensemble piece that goes down relatively easily and gives Anderson plenty of opportunities to work with new actors and show off the cinematic bells and whistles his devotees have come to expect. The thinly veiled tribute to The New Yorker does an excellent job of weaving multiple stories together without boring audiences, even if that means sacrificing the narrative heft of some of Anderson's earlier films. While this was probably Anderson's first opportunity to cast Timothée Chalamet since the young actor broke through in 2017, the pairing still felt long overdue. As did the film's decision to partially shoot in black and white, which gave Anderson a new color palette that produced some stunning shots. Anderson's technical precision has never been better — even if the film looks less flashy than some of his earlier work, there is no doubt that he is at the top of his game as a visual filmmaker. 'The French Dispatch' did not represent a massive step forward in Anderson's filmography, but it was not a step backward, either. —CZ The world is trash, and Wes Anderson is currently enjoying the hottest streak of his career. These things, it turns out, are not unrelated. The worse things get, the more fantastical Anderson's films become; the more fantastical Anderson's films become, the better their style articulates his underlying sincerity. Disorder fuels his imagination, and the staggeringly well-crafted 'Isle of Dogs' is nothing if not Anderson's most imaginative film to date. There's a whiff of inevitability to that. Whether telling a story about a splintered New York dynasty or one about a faded European hotel where it used to be possible to find some faint glimmers of civilization in this barbaric slaughterhouse known as humanity, Anderson has always been attuned to the beauty of magical idylls, to the violence of losing them, and (most of all) to the fumblingly tragicomic process of building something better from the rubble. So at a time when global warming and gun violence have become inescapable — a time when fascism and xenophobia are no longer abstract threats so much as Republican campaign promises — it's no wonder that America's fussiest auteur is operating near the peak of his powers. 'Isle of Dogs' is the work of an artist who's howling into the same wind that's currently blowing in all of our faces. Blending Akira Kurosawa and Hayao Miyazaki into a darkly comic fable about a boy, his dog, and a world that's on the brink of running out of biscuits, this is a movie that literally asks: 'Who are we, and who do we want to be?' And since it's a Wes Anderson movie, those questions are posed straight into the camera. It's funny, it's grim, and it's probably the most pet-able bit of dystopian fiction we've ever seen. —DE If all of Anderson's movies are sustained by the tension between order and chaos, uncertainty and doubt, 'Asteroid City' is the first that takes that tension as its subject, often expressing it through the friction created by rubbing together its various levels of non-reality. Some might see that as self-amused navel-gazing, but the unexpected moment towards the end when Anderson finds a certain equilibrium between those contradictory forces — with a major assist from a movie star whose name you suddenly remember seeing in the credits some 100 minutes earlier — is so crushingly beautiful and well-earned that the artifice surrounding it simply falls away. Read IndieWire's complete review of 'Asteroid City' by David Ehrlich. For such a singular artist and aesthete, Wes Anderson has always been comfortable with wearing his influences on his sleeve, rightly confident that he can celebrate his touchstones without resigning to them. For proof, just look at the way his characters worship each other in order to find themselves — from Ned Plimpton's childhood obsession with Steve Zissou, to the mild awe that Gustave H. inspires from his new lobby boy, Anderson understands that self-discovery is the last stage of a failed attempt to become someone else. Maybe that's why 'Rushmore' represented such a breakthrough for him, because this coming-of-age story about a super precocious kid (and the grown man who goads along their mutually assured destruction) is so giddy about the things that made it possible. Running on the fumes of the French New Wave and drafting behind American touchstones like Mike Nichols and Albert Brooks, Anderson's second feature is like an artistic manifesto that never declines to cite its sources. And, not for nothing, it gave the world Jason Schwartzman, reinvigorated Bill Murray, and — most importantly — made it possible for generations of viewers to say 'Wait wait, go back… was that Rory Gilmore!?' 'Rushmore' is a film as self-possessed as its hero (and many times cooler), and that makes it a favorite for many, but it lacks the sentimental spark that galvanizes Anderson's more mature work. —DE The Wes Anderson movie that people think of when they think of Wes Anderson movies, 'The Royal Tenenbaums' is a story about failure that's told by someone who's afraid of his own ambition (or, more precisely, afraid of his unwillingness to tame it). Unfolding like 'Fanny and Alexander' as remade by a very drunk Whit Stillman, 'The Royal Tenenbaums' is responsible for so many of the worst quirks of recent indie cinema, but it falls victim to exactly none of them. It's a film where the characters are cobbled together from affects, but all manage to feel human. It's a film that feels overstuffed to the gills, but one whose every moment is iconic — gather enough twentysomethings together, and their Tenenbaums tattoos could serve as storyboards for the entire script. It's a film that leaves me a little cold every time I watch it, but always feels worth watching again. —DE Wes Anderson's career can be cut into two distinctly different parts: Before 'Fantastic Mr. Fox,' and after 'Fantastic Mr. Fox.' Stung by accusations of self-parody, Anderson could have eased off the gas after 'The Darjeeling Limited' divided critics and inspired all sorts of talk about how the filmmaker had grown subservient to his own style. But rather admit that the tail was wagging the dog, Anderson snipped the damn thing off and let his next hero wear it as a necktie. He introduced himself to audiences as an aesthete, and every one of the films he made after 'Bottle Rocket' had a little less breathable air than the last, but that was fine by Anderson. If anything, he wanted more control, he wanted to play God, he wanted to make something so airless that his characters wouldn't even need to have lungs. And so he ventured into the painstaking world of stop-motion, working in a medium where literally nothing made its way on screen unless he thought to put it there. It turns out that yeah, everything else was just getting in the way. Flattering Roald Dahl's (lovely) source material into a gloriously wry domestic comedy about compromise, belonging, and accepting one's lot in life (be it in below ground or above), 'Fantastic Mr. Fox' is more than just one of the most quotable films this side of 'Casablanca,' it's also an immaculate portrait of flawed 'people' doing the best they can for themselves and each other. —DE A pre-pubescent 'Badlands' that's told with the endearingly pathetic quality of an elementary school play, 'Moonrise Kingdom' is the rare American film that's about children, but not necessarily for children (a schism that studios can't seem to wrap their heads around, but one that artists like Robert Bresson, Ingmar Bergman, and Hayao Miyazaki have always been able to reconcile with ease). The movie begins with the most perfect premise that Wes Anderson has ever devised for himself: Two kids get together and try to run away from home, only to be stymied by the fact that they live on an island. If you squint, that pretty much sums up every Wes Anderson movie. But 'Moonrise Kingdom' isn't a story about being stuck, it's a story about how the things we can't escape are often the things that love us the most, about how the greatest myths are the ones we create for ourselves, about how everything is better when narrated by Bob Balaban. It's like a mousetrap, it's written with a whimsical Dickensian flair, and it's filled with lines so evocative that merely reading them can bring the whole film back to life ('I love you, but you don't know what you're talking about'). Anderson has made a lifetime's worth of family sagas, but none of his other movies so pointedly capture what it feels like to have a home. —DE There will always be some debate as to whether or not 'The Grand Budapest Hotel' is the best Wes Anderson movie, but there may be no denying that it's the most Wes Anderson movie. The latest work from an artist who seems to become himself a little bit more with every film, this flawless, four-tiered confection is like a wedding cake filled with arsenic, a nostalgic comedy that functions like a requiem for itself. Anderson's stories are about boys, men, or male foxes who seek to live in snow globes of their own design, ensconcing themselves in the empire of their own imaginations. Some of his films (e.g. 'Moonrise Kingdom') are about creating those magical spaces, but most of his stories are about the heartache of losing them, about the tragicomic process of building something new on top of the rubble. With 'The Grand Budapest Hotel,' Anderson directly confronts the hermetic fantasy of his films, reaching into the not-too-distant past and exhuming the spirit of Stefan Zweig in order to mourn the world we lost, the civility that we've forgotten, and the beauty of creating beautiful things even when we know that the world will never let them survive. The film is so beautifully realized that Ralph Fiennes' career-best performance almost feels like the cherry on top. Also: Willem Dafoe playing the best henchman who Bond never killed, and Tilda Swinton as a sexually active octogenarian. And Saoirse Ronan's Mexico-shaped birthmark. Oh, and also the best line that Anderson has ever written, shrugged off like an afterthought in the first act: 'You see, there are still faint glimmers of civilization left in this barbaric slaughterhouse that was once known as humanity. Indeed, that's what we provide in our own modest, humble, insignificant… oh, fuck it.' —DE Best of IndieWire The Best Thrillers Streaming on Netflix in June, from 'Vertigo' and 'Rear Window' to 'Emily the Criminal' Nightmare Film Shoots: The 38 Most Grueling Films Ever Made, from 'Deliverance' to 'The Wages of Fear' Quentin Tarantino's Favorite Movies: 65 Films the Director Wants You to See
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