Roman Coppola

A cosy film about three adult brothers trying to cope with their shared and individual emotional baggage on a train journey in India. It felt like the film as a whole was missing a little something to be truly memorable, but the understated humour is frequently great, the sibling dynamics are consistently excellent, and several emotional beats had satisfyingly strong effects on me -- most notably among them when Adrian Brody's character delivers his heart-wrenching line upon returning bloody show more from the river (I shan't spoil the exact nature of the scene here). show less

I haven’t seen many Wes Anderson films, despite their critically acclaimed status — I’ve missed both Rushmore and The Royal Tenenbaums, but did enjoy The Life Aquatic With Steve Zissou. The the trailers for this one were quirky and attractive so I gave it a shot. Moonrise Kingdom is intensely quirky, filled with odd performances and a twisty plot. I was looking forward to seeing memorable performances from the adult stars, such as Bill Murray and Frances McDormand, but instead it is show more the youthful first-time actors who really steal the show. Bruce Willis and Edward Norton contribute a lot to the film’s appeal, but it is Jared Gilman as Sam and Kara Hayward as Suzy that anchor this oddball film. Part of the film’s charm is uncovering the plot as it goes, so it’s hard to describe the film without spoiling it a bit. In a nutshell — it’s 1965, and two 12-year-old social outcasts connect, fall in love and run away together, all on a small New England coastal island. Throw in a well-meaning but slightly bumbling cop, two troops of scouts, and a pair of addled, legalese-spouting inattentive parents, and you’ve got a sweet, weird romantic adventure.

Originally reviewed for my local library's website in August 2013: http://lincolnlibraries.org/bookguide/staff-recommendations/staff-recommendation... show less

A typical Wes Anderson film, but less gruesome. I never stopped enjoying it until it was over.

Two kids run away together.

Anderson's best movie. It's kind of like the ideas from his earlier stuff is filtered through Fantastic Mr. Fox's cartoony-ness, ending up with the best of both worlds.

Concept: B
Story: B
Characters: A
Dialog: A
Pacing: A
Cinematography: A
Special effects/design: A
Acting: B
Music: A

Enjoyment: A plus

GPA: 3.8/4

(Nov. 2012)