I went to a free sneak last night in Denver, and they played Hotel Chevalier before the main feature. Interestingly, the credits identified the short film as PART ONE OF THE DARJEELING LIMITED. Then, right before Darjeeling started, the screen displayed a big PART TWO card. I'm glad I saw it this way, because the main feature referenced the short film MANY times, far more often than I expected. So, I definitely recommend seeing the short film.

Good film, great audience. Here are my rankings:

1. Royal Tenenbaums (A+)
2. Rushmore (A)
3. Bottle Rocket (B+)
4. Darjeeling Limited (B+)
5. Life Aquatic (C-)

why is this not in any theaters in vegas?

WHAT Life Aquatic (C-) for each his own but that movie.

Well a few hours ago I saw Darjeeling Limited. I bought my tickets online so I did not need to wait outside in the huge line of people, which also means I missed an impromptu Jason Schwartzman appearance. My friend said he pocked his head out of the sunroof of an SUV, said "Thank you very much for coming to this movie!" maybe signed an autograph, and was then driven away.

First off, this movie is probably "about" something much more than any other Wes Anderson movie. He is definitely progressing beyond movies that just have quirky characters, which was my big problem with Life Aquatic. He just seemed to be treading water (pun intended).

But here, he crafts a story out of what's happening to these characters and builds a sense of suspense and loss that is carried beyond just a few mere scenes. The dialogue is some of the most biting and painful I've seen in any of his films. (Especially Owen Wilson's early passive-aggressiveness).

Does it surpass Bottle Rocket? No. And while Royal Tenenbaums is better in some regards (pacing), I'd put these movies probably neck-and-neck. But I would say it's a return to form and it makes me less worried about him as a filmmaker. He could use the same bag of tricks over and over, but it works for him. The dolly pan (not sure if that's the technical term), the slo-mo shot with acoustic music, the use of Futura (limited this time), any non-dolly shot being an elaborate tableaux.

It's the first Anderson movie that I want to see again in theatres. (I only caught Bottle Rocket on video).

And is Portman even in Darjeeling? I don't remember seeing her at all.

Not in the Raleigh/Durham, NC either. =\ For shits and giggles I checked Orlando (where I used to live) and not there either. Had a friend drive up for the weekend from Orlando and we are both Wes Anderson fans and were planning on seeing it while he was here, but alas, no go.

She appears for all of 5 seconds toward the end, as a passenger on a train. No speaking, just traveling...

That's right.

i just looked up last weeks box officce, it's in 19 theaters! wtf!

Patience! Darjeeling goes wide in under two weeks.

My wife and I just saw this on Friday night at the Shirlington AMC in Northern, VA. This was one of the best films I have seen in a long time. It is such a refreshing departure from the crap that exists on the big screen these days.

Kudos to Anderson and the entire gang on a job well done.

Well I watched it tonight and this may just be my favorite Wes Anderson film. It's at least a tie with Rushmore for me.

I saw it last night, and overall I liked it, although i wouldn't rank it above Royal Tennenbaums, maybe similar to Life Aquatic.

The positives are a great script, and really beautiful photography. It reminded me of Life Aquatic in regards to the photography, a lot of tropical locales with vivid often oversaturated colors. Having been to India a few times, it does capture the 3rd world feel to much of the place. And of course, the movie has a lot of Anderson touches like the fake consumer items, which worked well and overall quirkiness to the characters.

The negatives for me were that I really didn't find the leads to be that interesting and the pacing of the movie was weak at times. Schwarzmann had probably the best role of the 3, and seemed to be the most defined and interesting character(probably the fact that he was a cowriter of the script, lol, had something to do with that). Brody's character didn't really do anything for me, he wasn't particularly sympathetic or interesting, and his performance was kind of sleepy. I'm not really an Owen Wilson fan, and yes his character was meant to be annoying, probably succeeded a little too well at that, ha. I just never really felt like any of the leads had the depth of someone like Gene Hackman in Royal Tennenbaums.

In terms of the pacing,

A lot of the reviews have accused Anderson of making the same movie over and over again. This movie is a little different, as some have pointed out, because the characters do interact and are affected by their surroundings. But even if it is another Anderson movie about a dysfunctional family so what. It is beautifully done, intelligent and funny. I would take it over the awful summer we just had of one cruddy three-quel after another. So go see it, just so he can make more of them!

saw this tonight and enjoyed it. i agree with misterchimpy that it did slow down and seemed to drag at times, but overall it was a very good movie IMO. i liked the characters but they did lack a little development, so that could turn people off.

any one check out the short that was advertised at the beginning of the movie?

I feel I'm missing something with all the good reviews but I thought it was awful, badly written and a rush job, each one is worst than the last and I liked aquatic. The slow mo and music felt derivitive as well.... I think it would be interesting if anderson made more experimental films, and not worry so much about characters (imo, his characters are one trick), for example a jacques tati esque world with intricate sets and observations, in this movie I realize Bill Murray could make a great tati straight face with all this weirdness happening around him.... in Darjeeling I felt it was all forced and phony

I liked it a lot. I didn't like Aquatic at all, so I was worried I wouldn't like this either, but I liked it a lot.

Royal Tennenbaums is my favorite movie of his and one of my favorite movies overall, but it's pretty much a tie between Bottle Rocket, Rushmore, and Darjeeling for second.

Is Bill Murray in this?

Just barely.

I loved this! Anderson's most mature work yet. It's amazing how he can make a movie that's both sad and fun in equal measure, without it getting overly depressing or too silly.

I'm looking forward to seeing this. Anderson can really do no wrong in my eyes, so I'm sure i'll love this.

Caught the sneak preview earlier this evening, and Hotel Chevalier preceded it (and was identified as Part I). I loved it, something that I haven't felt after the first viewing of an Anderson film since Rushmore. I didn't have a problem with the pacing at all, and Brody is really a nice addition to the usual cast.

I agree 100%... I was extremely disappointed with this. I've liked/loved all of Wes' films prior to this, but this film was too abstract. It was funny and the dialog was great, but in all of his films his characters change somehow, and I didn't witness much of a change, nor did I really like any of them. I enjoyed the short film Hotel Chevalier a LOT more than this. Not just for Portman (as sexy as she is), but for the acting, script, and music. It was very reminiscent of meeting up with an ex girlfriend of mine that broke my heart.

I am going to go see it again though when it hits the cheaper theaters, because maybe I was expecting too much. And his films always grow on me.

Kind of interesting that now its going it wide release with the short playing before it.

My thoughts EXACTLY. Life Aquatic was such a huge disappointment because I loved Tenenbaums so much, but Darjeeling really worked for me. I thought the last act was a bit disjointed but I didn't care, I just had a great time with it. I must say that I didn't really like Hotel Chevalier that preceeded it though...too slow and self important, but I was glad to have seen it for the few references to it in part 2. I love the interplay between the 3 brothers and it was just a highly entertaining movie. Wes Anderson is back in my good books.

This has a wide release but it still isn't playing near me.

Apparently it's going to be here in about two weeks. It sure as hell better be. Even though I was disappointed by 'Life Aquatic' I have been looking forward to seeing this more than any other movie.