Wes Anderson is swiftly becoming one of my go-to directors. No, I don’t have his phone number on speed dial, but I find myself watching his movies on a semi-regular basis.

Today I watched Rushmore, which while not my favorite movie of his, was thoroughly entertaining (even while conjugating Italian verbs). For those who haven’t seen this strange little movie, it’s about a kid (Jason Schwartzman) who practically rules Rushmore Academy and is put on academic probation. Crazy hijinks occur (my favorite being the prank war between Schwartzman’s character and Bill Murray, set to the tune of The Who’s “A Quick One, While He’s Away.”)

The first Anderson movie I saw was The Life Aquatic with Steve Zissou, which I thought was incredibly strange. Note that I haven’t seen it since, and am left with only vague memories of red stocking hats, David Bowie in Portugeuse and a claymation shark.

The next one I saw, and remains my favorite, is The Darjeeling Limited. It’s a strange rather colorful film, but I liked it. Random though it is, it’s a movie about family and relationships. It never forgets that.

Next up on the Wes Anderson queue? No idea, but I’m looking forward to Fantastic Mr. Fox.