Moonrise Kingdom (Anderson, 2012)

[Eduardo Zuckerberg]

So this was insanely delightful. Easily the best film I've seen this year so far.

I'm not the biggest Anderson fan but he captured something here that spoke to 12 year old me.

Everyone here is basically excellent and this cast should easily and deservedly get nodded for the SAG. But, Norton can hopefully get some supporting actor traction. OMG his expression alone on "That was the girl!" was priceless. Also, LOVED the correspondence sequence between the two leads.

[McTeague]

We need more like you in our files, Mr. Eduardo.

[MVP of West Hollywood]

I thought it was spectacular. What surprised me is that I don't believe this movie is about innocence. I believe it is an anti-innocence of children movie. Meaning Sam and Suzy have been emotionally disturbed by their lives and lack of connection to people up to this point, with no and a screwed up family respectively, and they're now with adults in children's bodies. Thus in reality they are not innocent, they are corrupted. There are lots of other "corrupted" signs throughout the movie too like Snoopy's fate, electroshock therapy, Murray/McDormand having a hellish relationship, McDormand/Willis' affair, the kids getting stabbed. Moonrise Kingdom has the visual and sensual look of an innocent movie but in reality that is only an illusion and underneath the world is the opposite of innocent.

Anderson the director has never been better. I didn't see Life Aquatic and it's been a while since Rushmore/Tenembaums ofr me, but I definitely can't remember him being so on point composition wise with his visuals, writing and audio background, every shot had seemingly a perfect attention to detail and planning. This is truly a director's movie.

I echo the praise for Norton over the other cast-members. Great job mixing youthful exuberance with a sadness underneath.

[shooter_mcgavin]

I saw this and like it a lot and really enjoyed how the movie is rich with personality and it's not just the characters but the costumes and art direction it's a character on its own. There's some simple but witty exchanges here. I really like Norton here probably the best performance I have seen him in since The 25th Hour he's probably got the best lines in the movie.

[GR3]

I liked it but was disappointed. It's the first time I felt Wes' quirk, instead of it just being its own world. Maybe that's because the two leads weren't very good, but the dry humor that works so well in his other films, just doesn't come across as well here. I also stopped liking them when they stabbed the kid in the kidney, and even more so when he punched the kid in his stitches. Loved Willis, and wish the movie focused more on his relationship with the boy, instead of rushing towards the big climax.

[GEORGEIII]

I liked it but was disappointed. It's the first time I felt Wes' quirk, instead of it just being its own world.

It's funny you should say that, because I had the complete opposite reaction to this. I haven't been the biggest Wes Anderson fan around, and I've often felt that he throws around witty quirky dialogue for its own sake...I felt for the first time Anderson creating a fully realized cinematic universe that is utterly recognizable as his own without being overwhelmed by his quirk. The photography is simply perfection and the cast is dreamy, with perhaps the exception of the kid. I honestly didn't like the kid all that much but I felt the girl kinda saves it, so I didn't mind it all that much...this film also features what I feel is the best use of classical music in a picture in many, many years...A-

[GEORGEIII]

All these criticisms of quirk or "all style and no depth" etc. are what I always thought of Anderson's films and the main reason I don't like 'em.

What I find strange, however, is that for me Moonrise Kingdom is much more than that. It's the first Anderson film I liked, because it's just not form and the style really serves the narrative and characters. It helps -and for the first time in his filmography, imo- to create a really emotional and heartfelt world. I loved every minute of it.

I fully concur with this.

[Stéphane]

This was lovely!

[Joey Potter]

I'm surprised by the overwhelming praise this film has received, there is no denying it was well made and acted, but I was a bit bored throughout the film...

did anyone else find this?

[lazarus]

How would you compare it to other Anderson films?

I can't imagine someone being bored by this and not by Darjeeling Limited (which I also loved), for example.

[Joey Potter]

Well, honestly I really have never found his films that engaging save Mr Fox.

I'm not sure why but I always seem to want to be somewhere else, I just don't find his writing that funny - which is maybe why.

[Melllvar]

Regardless of what one might think of this movie, there's no denying the final shot is one of the sweetest things to appear in a movie all year. It had me leaving the theater with a blissful grin and a skip in my step.

[desirelines]

This was gorgeous. The first scenes were so beautiful, I thought it was going to be an animated film or something.

[Timmer]

I absolutely loved this. It was a return to Anderson's particular mixture of darkness and light that made Royal Tenenbaums one of my favourite movies ever. It captures the discord between child and adult so well; the children, full of primal emotions they don't understand and able to keep calm in the face of instinctive chaos (the Lord of the Flies feel of the Scouts with their weapons, the girl with her lefty scissors, etc.) while the adults have long ago succumbed to their work and no longer seem to feel anything, unable to handle life's disruptions (Murray throwing his shoe). But when those professions come into play, note how the adults suddenly come to life (the heated cop vs Social Services vs lawyers arguing near the end).

The cast is uniformly good, with the two leads anchoring the whole thing admirably. This NEEDS a screenplay nod, and a BP nod would be divine.

I've got to digest this more, but I think it will become my #2 Anderson film after Tenenbaums. Loved it.

[FredArtik]

Saw this last night. I absolutely loved it! What a wonderful and delightful movie. Great cast, especially the two lead kids.

I hope it will get deservingly in Original Screenplay and Best Picture. I kinda liked also the Art Direction and the Cinematography but they're long-shots I think.

[Pumpkinjuice]

The cinematography was wonderful and there were some nice atmospheric scenes, but overall it wasn't my cup of tea. The characters were bland and lacking in clearly defined personalities and the romance -- which was the main focus of the film -- didn't express much passion. Their chemistry seemed bizarrely mechanical due to the monotonous way they delivered their lines. While the first two acts were occasionally dull, the more fast-paced third act was actually worse; so far the underlying quirky mood had been integrated into the story in a suitably low-key manner, but suddenly the director decides to overdramatize the events into a silly and over the top ending, removing what little gravitas it had with unexpectedly bizarre turning points and film tropes such as lightning effects, which didn't go hand in hand with the otherwise "formal" and constrained filmmaking approach to the story. What I mean to say is that the director didn't utilize such dramatic filmmaking techniques for the first two thirds of the film and as such it feels out of place when used during the climax.

Speaking of the visual style, I noticed that there were used a lot of pans and tilts, already from the opening scene. That was an elegant way to incorporate characters and objects into their environments, making the universe come alive seamlessly. Intentional or not, the constant horizontal camera movements gave the film a mechanical feel, as if to emphasize the main characters' notion of being trapped in the mundane and boring environments they want to break free from.

[crazyfists3600]

I don't think I've sounded off in here yet, but this was perfection to me. Anderson's finest in my eyes and my second/third favorite of the year. I really want to see this a second time, but right now Willis is my runner-up in Supporting Actor and I just adore the hell out of this movie.

[danielvin]

Cute little movie, nothing more. The same old Wes Anderson.

[Silaron]

Getting around to see a bunch of movies released in 2012 and I saw this the other day and loved this. Anderson does a fantastic job and the whole cast is perfect in the roles that they are assigned.