Moonrise Kingdom (2012)

Tags

Bill Murray, Bruce Willis, Comedy, Drama, Edward Norton, Frances McDormand, Jared Gilman, Jason Schwartzman, Kara Hayward, Moonrise Kingdom, Romance, Wes Anderson

wait…this is a Disney World map…

Basically, if you like Wes Anderson movies, I’d say it’s worth a watch.

But I wasn’t totally blown away by it.  There are some truly great moments, but there were also times when I felt like it was dragging a little bit, even though it’s only an hour and a half long.

The performances by the adults were my favorite aspect of the movie.  Edward Norton in particular is great as the geeky Khaki Scout leader, Bruce Willis does a nice job as a sad police officer, Tilda Swinton and Jason Schwartzman have funny guest roles, while Bill Murray and Frances McDormand work well as an unhappy lawyer couple stressing over their young daughter’s behavior.

That daughter is played by newcomer Kara Hayward, and the boy she runs away from home with is another newcomer played by Jared Gilman.  I have to admit, I wasn’t too impressed with either of them as far as their ability to deliver Wes Anderson’s deadpan dialogue.  They seemed a little uncomfortable with it, and I found that distracting.

I did like their romance story, even if it did get a bit awkward at times.  I mean, usually when people film 12-13 year old kids in their underwear, making out, they get in trouble with the law…

BUT ANYWAY…

I still find myself wishing Anderson would stick to movies that feel a little more grounded in reality, like the two that remain my favorites – Bottle Rocket and Rushmore.  His more over-the-top moments don’t always work for me, and this movie does have a few over the top moments.

Keep in mind, though, the first time I saw The Life Aquatic with Steve Zissou, I was pretty lukewarm to negative about it, but on a subsequent viewing, I liked it a lot more.  Maybe when I see this one again, my fondness for it will grow.  For now, I can recommend it mainly for Norton, Willis, Swinton, Schwartzman, and some moments of truly inspired humor.  Maybe after some more viewings I’ll be able to recommend it more for the overall story as well.

7.3/10

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Fantastic Mr. Fox (2009)

Tags

Animated, Bill Murray, Comedy, Eric Anderson, Fantastic Mr. Fox, Fantasy, George Clooney, Jason Schwartzman, Meryl Streep, Movie

what do you mean? I'm not badgering you about th-...oh, I see...you're making a joke...

PG

George Clooney, Meryl Streep, Jason Schwartzman, Bill Murray, Eric Anderson

Mr. Fox: Wake up everybody!  They’re digging us out!
Mrs. Fox: They’ll kill the children!
Mr. Fox: Over my dead body!
Mrs. Fox: That’s what I’m saying!  You’d be dead too in that scenario!

Mr. Fox (Clooney) is an expert chicken stealer.  He promises his wife (Streep) that after their son is born, he’ll leave that dangerous life behind, but a few years later he’s back to his thieving ways.  This brings trouble down on his family and friends.  Can the Fantastic Mr. Fox outsmart the human farmers he’s been stealing from, or will they manage to finally kill him?

Do you like Wes Anderson movies?  Do you enjoy deadpan, dry humor?  Do you like characters that are mean to each other, but in a sort of sweet way?  Characters that are self-centered, but eventually learn to think about others first?  Those are the kinds of things you’ll see in Wes Anderson movies, along with good – usually older – music.  That’s all present in Fantastic Mr. Fox, and it all works well for the most part.

I thought the movie lost a little steam towards the end, but it’s still funny enough throughout for me to like it quite a bit.  The voice work by the leads is good, but not outstanding, though I thought Schwartzman, as Mr. Fox’s son, Ash, may have fared the best.  Poor little Ash is constantly trying to be noticed and impress his father.  When his cousin, Kristofferson (Anderson), comes to live with the Fox family, he immediately impresses Mr. Fox, which angers Ash even more.

It’s really just your typical Wes Anderson type story, featuring a group or family of misfits, who initially don’t get along too well, that must deal with adversity by growing closer.  It just happens to be told in the form of stop motion animation.  It’s not the smoothest animation in the world, but that’s by design I assume.  It gives the movie a strange feel, but that’s okay, it’s a strange story.

To answer my own question up above, I do like Wes Anderson movies.  I like the angry, but willing to change, characters.  I like the soundtracks (great use of Beach Boys music in this one).  I like the humor.

While this one is not yet one of my top 3 favorites of his, I do plan on seeing it again soon.

To kill a chicken, you want to do it quickly, with one swift bite to the neck.

10 – 1.7 for losing some steam in the last third of the movie – .5 because some of the voice work just seemed a little off for some reason = 7.8

The Darjeeling Limited (2007)

Tags

Adrien Brody, Comedy, Drama, Jason Schwartzman, Movie, Owen Wilson, The Darjeeling Limited

yeah, good idea...this is much better than the train...

R

Owen Wilson, Adrien Brody, Jason Schwartzman

Peter: You know, maybe right before whenever you’re about to take out your tooth, you should say something like, ‘please forgive this,’ because it’s kind of –
Francis: Can you back away a little?  You just spit in my eye.

Three brothers travel across India in a train, hoping to bond with each other along the way.  Their ultimate goal is to find their mother who has disappeared from their lives, but the various adventures they have along the way is what will really bring them together…or make them want to kill each other.

Wes Anderson movies.  When you hear that phrase, you pretty much know what you’re going to get.  You know the kind of humor you’re going to see and you know what general tone the movie is going to have.  Chances are, you’re also going to see a group of characters that alternate between bonding and driving each other crazy.  Oh, and you’ll probably hear a pretty good soundtrack too.

This movie is no exception to those rules, although I think it might be one of his least widely accessible movies to date.  Not because it’s bad, but because of its ambiguous, fractured nature.  The conversations between Francis (Wilson), Peter (Brody), and Jack (Schwartzman) are all over the place, with everybody interrupting each other and jumping from subject to subject.  I think it might be a little alienating to people who aren’t die hard Anderson fans, but those conversations are where the real humor lies.  There’s a lot of quick little lines that make me laugh even after multiple viewings.

So, if you are a fan, I don’t see why you wouldn’t enjoy this movie.  It’s not my favorite in the Anderson catalog, but it’s pretty good.  All three of the brothers are interesting characters, and all 3 performances are good as well.  I think Adrien Brody is gradually becoming one of my favorite actors.  He can do drama and sympathetic really well, but his comic timing is also impressive.

There’s a lot of nice (in its own way) scenery, some funny supporting characters, and one really sad but touching detour along the way.  It seems like a strange turn for the film to take, but it’s really the only situation that was going to be able to bring the brothers together finally.

As I said, it’s not the best that Anderson has to offer, but if you like his style of film making, I’d recommend you check it out.  If you don’t like his previous films…yeah, you probably won’t like this one either.

Don’t trust little kids in India who want to shine your shoes…or just don’t wear $3,000 shoes in India in the first place.

10 – 1.6 for being a little frustrating and inaccessible at times – .7 for feeling a bit overlong even though it’s only 91 minutes = 7.7