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The Grand Budapest Hotel - 4 stars ****

This was a spontaneous cinema trip when a planned picnic was rained off! I swapped some Tesco vouchers for tickets, which means a full adult pays £4 - bargain! We went to watch an evening showing at Parrs Wood, and as it was my first night drinking in a month, I treated myself to a glass of wine whilst we watched it.

I saw an advert for The Grand Budapest Hotel a while ago, and thought it looked really good, as well as having an all-star cast. I didn't really know what to expect, so went into the showing with an open mind. It really was unlike anything I have seen before!

In a nutshell, it charters the life of a young lobby boy named Zero, who begins working at The Grand Budapest Hotel under the supervision of legendary concierge Gustave H (Ralph Fiennes). Famed for his spectacular reputation, well liked and very popular with the ladies, Gustave is an eccentric character who strikes up a friendship with Zero. When Madame D (Tilda Swinton), one of Gustave's many mistresses, dies and leaves him a priceless painting, 'Boy With Apple', her ungrateful family are furious, and refuse his claim. Gustave steals the painting and is imprisoned, and so begins a plot for Zero to help him to escape with the help of his girlfriend Agatha (Saiorse Ronan).

This film is difficult to explain in such a short paragraph, as it is intertwined with little subplots and character studies, that make it a masterpiece. Also included in the cast are Willem Dafoe as a shady hitman, Jude Law as the author of the book (the tale is told in his words as he writes it), Edward Norton as a police inspector, Adrian Brody as the son of Madame D, Owen Wilson as the succeeding concierge after Gustave H (the film occurs over a number of decades, and as such, certain characters have a number of actors playing them), Harvey Keitel as a fellow prison inmate... the list is endless. Each actor does a stellar job, to the point where each character is memorable - difficult in such a large cast.

Another great thing about this film is that it doesn't take itself too seriously. The comedy is magic, and at points reminds me of the same sort of slapstick as Monty Python, but then is also very dark at times, with a few gruesome scenes and bad language. I cannot express how much this film must be seen to be appreciated - even the cinematography is beautiful, with illustrations playing a role in some of the scenes. Definitely a movie that could be watched again and again as it is so entertaining.