Reel advice: Grand, divergent and wanted

Even grander than the titular The Grand Budapest Hotel (Fox Searchlight) once was at its peak, Wes Anderson's latest comedic epic is as delicious as an exotic pastry and far more satisfying. Anderson has been building to something as majestic and surreal as this since The Royal Tenenbaums, keeping us going with tasty teasers such as The Life Aquatic with Steve Zissou, Moonrise Kingdom and the fabulous Fantastic Mr. Fox. Once again employing a massive and talented cast, including regulars such as Jason Schwartzman and Bill Murray, as well as Adrien Brody, Tilda Swinton, Jeff Goldblum, Edward Norton and Willem Dafoe, to glorious effect, Anderson has reached a new plateau.

Beginning in 1985, and then moving back in time to 1968 and then 1932, The Grand Budapest Hotel starts out as a tale about storytelling. The author (Tom Wilkinson) of the book that shares its title with the movie takes us back to the sixties when as a young writer (Jude Law) with "scribes fever," he booked a room in the hotel. While there, fate intervenes and he meets the hotel's notorious owner, Mr. Zero Moustafa (F. Murray Abraham), who proceeds to tell him how he came to acquire the once magnificent structure.

Starting out as a "lobby boy" in 1932, young refugee Zero (Tony Revolori) finds himself taken under the wing of the hotel's respected and fey concierge M. Gustave (Ralph Fiennes), whose duties and pleasure also include being a gigolo, among other things. When dowager countess Madame D. (Swinton), one of the hotel's wealthiest and most frequent guests, is found dead in her palatial estate, her death is pinned on Gustave. The main accusers are Madame D.'s family, including ne'er do well and homophobic son Dmitiri (Brody) and ruthless killer Jopling (Dafoe), both of whose inheritance hangs in the balance.

Plunging from the heights of his position in concierge society to the depths of incarceration, Gustave maintains his integrity, eventually falling in with a group of inmates plotting a prison break. Once free, Gustave sets about the difficult task of clearing his name with the aid of Zero and Zero's baker girlfriend Agatha (Saoirse Ronan).

As with some of Anderson's previously mentioned films, the attention to detail here is spectacular and visually dazzling. The Grand Budapest Hotel captures bygone eras, including a pre-war Eastern Europe and late 1960s design and fashions. Laugh-out-loud funny and exhilarating, you would be well-advised to book a room for a couple of hours stay at The Grand Budapest Hotel.

As dystopian Y/A sagas go, the movie version of Divergent (Summit) is no Hunger Games. Shailene Woodley is a decent actress, but she's no Jennifer Lawrence and Woodley's character, Tris, is no Katniss. Now that we got that out of the way, should you see the movie?

Set some time in the future, 100 years after the war that left Chicago a mere shell of its former self (in other words, worse than what diminutive Mayor Emanuel has already devastated). Society has been broken down into factions. The family of Beatrice (Woodley) – mother Natalie (Ashley Judd), father Andrew (Tony Goldwyn) and brother Caleb (Ansel Elgort), are members of the selfless Abnegation faction. In their mid-teens, Beatrice and Caleb are being sent for tests to determine whether they will remain in Abnegation, or choose another faction, such as the agricultural Amity, the truth-telling Candor, the daring protectors known as Dauntless, or the intellectually superior Erudite. As the saying goes, "faction before blood."

Wouldn't you know it? During Beatrice's testing the results are inconclusive leading to one determination. Beatrice is Divergent, a rare sub-faction that is hunted for its ability to combine all factions and is therefore considered dangerous. Leading the witch-hunt is Erudite ice-queen Jeannine (a bleached blonde Kate Winslet), who also has her sights set on bringing down Abnegation, the faction currently in charge.

Making matters worse, Beatrice and Caleb don't select Abnegation during the choosing ceremony, seemingly wounding their parents. Caleb goes off and joins Erudite, while Beatrice surprises everyone by becoming Dauntless. But her transition, which includes taking the new name Tris, won't be easy. She must go through rigorous training (echoes of The Hunger Games). As she rises through the ranks and proves herself to naysayers such as leader Eric (Jai Courtney) and smug newbie Peter (Miles Teller), Tris also finds herself drawn to Four (the stunningly beautiful Theo James). And who wouldn't be? But, of course, their attraction goes much deeper than just tattooed skin.

Before long, the insidious subplot is revealed as Tris discovers Jeannine's evil plans for domination. In between, there are messages about facing fears and loyalty that will have a familiar ring to audience members of all ages. At least 40 minutes too long, Divergent stuffs a lot of setup into its first installment. Ultimately, it suffers from a variety of ills, not the least of which is being derivative. Not only because of its countless similarities to The Hunger Games and other grim future flicks, but also because it feels like it owes a debt to other movies, such as the Jason Bourne series. Nevertheless, things may improve, as they did in The Hunger Games' sequel Catching Fire, but we won't know until next year when Insurgent is released.

Muppets Most Wanted (Disney) should really be called Muppets Most Improved. Funnier, smarter and less awkward than 2011's The Muppets, this sequel puts its sense of humor on display in the opening number about, you guessed it, how sequels are never as good as the original. Thank goodness they got that wrong.

After striking a deal with new "manager" Dominic Badguy (the increasingly Muppet-like Ricky Gervais), the felt/fur/fringe posse is off on a world tour, including stops in Germany, Spain, Ireland and England, all by train from Las Vegas (See? That's funny!). Little do they know that Dominic has ulterior motives.

Meanwhile, at a gulag in Siberia (Russians are even villains in family movies!), Constantine (voiced by Matt Vogel), the world's most dangerous frog, has escaped to wreak havoc on the world once again. It turns out that Dominic and Constantine are in cahoots to steal the crown jewels of England. But first, Constantine has to glue a mole (like the one he has) on Kermit's face and cover up his own with green makeup, so that Kermit will be mistaken for him, captured and sent to Siberia.

As the world tour continues, and coincidentally, museums near the theaters where the Muppets perform are looted, no one notices the new Kermit's strange accent or curious behavior, because they're all too busy trying to be stars. The real Kermit has been incarcerated and is under the watchful eye of warden Nadya (Tina Fey). Will Dominic and Constantine's evil plan succeed? Will Kermit rot behind bars?

Without giving anything away, it's fair to say that it's worth watching Muppets Most Wanted to not only see how it all plays out, but also for the cameos (including Stanley Tucci, Lady Gaga, Miranda Richardson and Saoirse Ronan, among many others), as well as Ty Burrell channeling Inspector Clouseau as bumbling Interpol agent Jean. The musical numbers, including one featuring Celine Dion, are also very entertaining and memorable. The Monsters U. Pixar short that precedes Muppets Most Wanted is also far-better than 2013's full-length Monsters University feature.