Moonrise Kingdom (2012):

Starring:

Jared Gilman - Sam

Kara Hayward - Suzy Bishop

Edward Norton - Scout Master Randall Ward

Bruce Willis - Captain Sharp

Bill Murray - Walter Bishop

Frances McDormand - Laura Bishop

Tilda Swinton - Social Services

Jason Schwartzman - Cousin Ben

Harvey Keitel - Commander Pierce

Bob Balaban - Narrator

Director:
Wes Anderson (Life Aquatic With Steve Zissou; Royal Tenebaums; Fantastic Mr. Fox; Rushmore)

Rotten Tomatoes: 95%

Flixster: 91%

Synopsis:

Set on an island off the coast of New England in the summer of 1965, two twelve-year-olds fall in love, make a secret pact, and run away together into the wilderness. As various authorities try to hunt them down, a violent storm is brewing off-shore -- and the peaceful island community is turned upside down in more ways than anyone can handle. 

Review:

Can Wes Anderson ever do anything wrong? or bad? Even from a man who didn't really love Rushmore, I LOVE all of his other films. He has come up with some of the most clever, smart & true to life comedies while still having that aspect of an unrealistic world within the real world. How do you explain what type of films Wes makes. I couldn't do it even when I tried. I said that they were almost artsy fartsy smart comedies but that isn't even remotely close. He has such a great mind of capturing the childish nature of young love, being an individual & an the adventure shared by the two main characters. The two child stars were incredible. When you think about the fact that their very first lead roles were in a major motion picture made by one of the most high acclaimed directors of the past 15 years, you have to admire their ability to rise to the occasion & deliver great performances. I will say that there was quite a few awkward moments however, when they are both in their underwear, dancing in them & then kissing & making out. One might call it a social commentary on Wes Anderson's views on raising the legal age of consent. OK well maybe not, but it was very weird to see such young actors having to perform such an adult situation. What an incredible, power house cast of amazing actors, which I guess you should come to expect from every Wes movie. As per all Wes movies Bill Murray delivers incredible comedic timing with hilarious physical comedy even at his age. One of the funniest men of all time & he just keeps going. Edward Norton was a great character & had so many great lines through out & brought a real sense of concern & even a little bit of panic to the role which was great. Bruce Willis, Tilda Swinton & Harvey Keitel round out the unbelievable cast, the part I loved the most was Swinton's character simply being referred to as "Social Services" by every character that she interacted with throughout. Never actually given a real name was very funny. I usually am not a big fan of Jason Schwartzman, especially since I stated that I didn't overly like Rushmore, which he is the star of, but in this one I thought, in a smaller role, that he was very funny & charming. Bob Balaban as the narrator did a great job. The one thing I will say about Wes movies is that they have incredible sets, backdrops, camera angles, filming styles & cinematography in general. It's very rustic, vintage but yet still modern even for being set in the 1960's. Sometimes however with his films, the dialogue takes one of two routes. Either it's very fast back & forth which sometimes is harder to follow & then other times it's very slowly paced with too much space in between which can be slightly boring. His films always have incredible soundtracks featuring a mixture of classical orchestral songs with some oldies tunes from the 40's, 50's, 60's & 70's. Great soundtrack, especially this song from the trailer: Francoise Hardy - Le Temps De L'amour. Overall it was incredibly funny, just straight up awesome. excellent acting from just an onslaught of talented actors & visually full of wonderful sets & filming styles.

95%

Lead Actors: 13/15

Supporting Cast: 15/15
Plot: 9/10
Compared To The Genre: 10/10

Cinematography: 18/20

Intrigue: 20/20

Extra: 10/10