Tuesday, January 8, 2013

Movie Review: Moonrise Kingdom



If only I could maintain this movie-watching obsession all year round.

See, every year around Golden Globe/Oscar time, I like to pretend I'm a big movie person. And I am. I love movies - going to them, watching them at home, etc. - all year round. But things like work and friends and buying groceries generally cuts into my movie-watching. Sure, I COULD devote two hours to watching that copy of Shooter we've had from Netflix for five months...or I could spend those two hours watching back-to-back-to-back-to-back episodes of The Daily Show. And Kristen Schaal is on? Sorry, Marky Mark. I'm sure that movie is totally worth $50 in back Netflix payments.

But oh how productive I am during Oscar season! Every waking moment is spent going to the movies, getting quality (aka not Shooter) films from Netflix and even employing my favorite little device, Roku, for instant streaming.

The latest, via Netflix (and watched within a couple days of receiving the disc - go us!), is Moonrise Kingdom. Moonrise Kingdom tells the story of a pair of pre-teens: Sam, an orphaned khaki scout, and Suzy, a depressed girl whose mother (Frances McDormand) is having an affair on her father (Bill Murray) with the local policeman (Bruce Willis). The pen pals have a romance blooming via the mailbox (it's pre-texting 1965) and decide to run away together - Suzy from her house and Sam from his troop. Scenes of their sweet, romantic camping experience are interspersed with scenes from the search, led by Suzy's parents, the policeman and Sam's scout leader (Ed Norton), with help from Sam's khaki scout troop.

This is a textbook Wes Anderson movie: taking place somewhere without new technology; scenes and costumes with bright, sunny colors; unique frames and shots; the point of view of kids; and a strangely dark and comic tale. And it's adorable. I think it works here more than in any other Anderson movie I've ever seen. The kids are a perfect mix of innocent and world-weary, while Willis, Norton, McDormand and Murray are all delightfully kooky.

The movie's lone Golden Globe nomination is for Best Picture - Musical or Comedy and I can see that. While all of the actors are good, none are stand-out fabulous the way the three leads of Lincoln were, or even like Jack Black in Bernie. I wouldn't be surprised if it was also nominated for an Oscar for Best Picture, and maybe even a screenwriting or directing nod for Anderson. Not having seen all of the nominated films yet, I think it might have a chance for the Golden Globe (although I have a feeling people are going to be a little Les Miserables-crazy), but I doubt it will win an Oscar. Still, if I'm voting for the movie I most enjoyed watching, this would definitely be towards the top.

2 comments:

  1. I loved this movie just slightly less than Rushmore-- which I love with a fiery passion. I went to see it in the theater this summer and it made me happy for the rest of the week. Wes at his best.

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  2. I agree. Such a great movie! I wouldn't be surprised if we owned this at some point.

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