Monday Movie Mania - The Phoenician Scheme

Wes Anderson writes and directs some pretty quirky movies. The odd thing was Darling Husband usually isn't a fan of quirky, but he's the one who really wanted to see this one.


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SPOILERS


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PROS
1) Benecio Del Toro plays Anatole Korda, a billionaire arms dealer who has screwed over enough people that assassination attempts are common place. Del Toro plays Anatole in such a dry deadpan way that you can't help but laughing hysterically as he fends off murderers in such a way that nearly everyone else around him dies.

2) Mia Threapleton is adorable as Anatole's estranged daughter Liesl, a novice who is days away from taking her final vows when her father summons her home. He wants Liesl to take over his business interests, much to her dismay.

3) Michael Cera was equally adorable as Bjorn, the alleged tutor for Anatole's younger sons. During one of the many attempts on Anatole's like, Anatole and Liesl discover Bjorn is really a U.S. agent spying on Anatole. However, he's fallen in love with Liesl and joins them in Anatole's current scheme. The secret agent part is a little hard to believe, but Cera pulls off Bjorn's crush on Liesl.


CONS
1) This isn't really a con, but rather a warning. This is one of those movies you have to pay attention to in order to understand what is going on. If you end up watching it on streaming, wait until the kids are in bed. And most definitely, turn off your damn phones!


Overall, The Phoenician Scheme is exactly what it's supposed to be--a weird mix of black comedy/thriller/romance/family drama. Somehow, it works. I give it 10 out of 10 stars.