Just finished doing my write up of A Clockwork Orange for Glass Orchid #3! Go pre-order yours today!
http://glassorchidmag.blogspot.com/
Also, should be posting a review of Woody Allen's latest "To Rome With Love".
Swimming up the Celluloid Stream
Wednesday, August 22, 2012
Monday, August 6, 2012
Moonrise Kingdom
Moonrise Kingdom is a dramatic comedy by Wes Anderson (The
Royal Tenebaums, The Fantastic Mr. Fox) starring two unknowns named Jared
Gilman and Kara Hayward. However, the supporting cast is brimming over with
recognizable talent such as Bruce Willis, Ed Norton, Bill Murray, Tilda Swinton
and Frances McDormand.
The story follows the life and times of two family units. The
first is the Bishop family, the odd type of closed off Americans we are used to
seeing in Anderson films. The focus of the family for this story is Suzy, the
bookworm who lives in her own world to the dismay of her parents. The other family is the Khaki Scouts, a faux
boy scout organization which is the only family of Sam. This group is led by a
no nonsense kind of man (Norton), who has confidence around the young men but
often seems to lack the courage when in adult company. This theme is present in
several of the adult males but lacking in the younger males, especially Sam. I
don't know if this is an attempt to show the audacity of youth or to illustrate
that confidence is not always won with time but seems to be an illusion played
on the young. Suzy and Sam meet the previous summer and during the preceding
year they have been pen pals planning an adventure. The film and the lives of
the adult characters revolve around the daring escapades of these two young
people.
This is definitely a Wes Anderson film. His movies are
always enhanced a great deal by the cinematography and the set design. While
the scripts are usually well written and interesting, the movies always seem to
have a more ethereal quality than can easily be described. Beyond just the
visual aspects, the peculiar way the dialogue is delivered also helps create
this world that is extremely easy to relate to yet seems to exist in a somewhat
different realm. His movies are able to capture the essence of the real world
and the emotions that inhabit it but only through this strange distant place
that you can't quite put your finger on.
The casting of roles and the acting are both done superbly. The
supporting roles are enough to make this film worth watching. However, the main
characters are really what give this movie its life. The two do a stupendous
job in creating their characters and making the audience root for the confused
and immature love (which is often more mature than the adults’).
I would recommend this film to anyone interested in coming
of age stories, odd dramatic comedies or previous Wes Anderson films.
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