Written by / 6/25/2012 / No comments / , , , , , , ,

MOONRISE KINGDOM

title: MOONRISE KINGDOM year: 2012 cast: Bruce Willis, Bill Murray rating: *
There's an Orson Welles quote: "The enemy of art is the absence of limitations." Well you can overdose... or go overboard... on just about anything, including quirkiness. And Wes Anderson piles on his patented absurd creativity but only as far as the symmetrically flamboyant images go: from a neat looking lighthouse to a tree-house dangling high up on a thin trunk, it's all about the visuals.

Set in the gorgeous New England outdoors, the story (using the word plot would be a stretch) centers on two young lovers. One, the boy, is a disassociated orphan in a camp troop and the girl lives across the water in a nice house with stone cold parents. The kids are probably the worst child actors ever – or could it be Anderson’s intention to make them so robotic? Perhaps their lack of energy brings out the gorgeous scenery around them. Either way it’s difficult to feel for their Romeo and Juliet plight, traversing the land with cop Bruce Willis, scout master Ed Norton and his troop on their trail. Both are supposedly discovering true love but we never really understand their attraction in the first place... Though it’d take real actors and a decent script for that sort of character arc.

The pallid boy wears glasses and represents the hipster movement in rudimentary form, bent doing things his own way. And even after being captured and taken to the main camp run by Harvey Keitel, then helped to escape and being reunited during a formidable lightning storm, artsy director Wes Anderson provides the usual aesthetic pleasures his fans expect (and accept) yet there’s nothing more going on: style trumps story at every turn. Even Bill Murray lacks soul and purpose. Now that’s a feat in itself.
Share This Post :
Tags : , , , , , , ,

No comments:

Post a Comment

Note: Only a member of this blog may post a comment.

All Time Popular

Featured Post

ELIZABETH TAYLOR AND ROCK HUDSON IN 'THE MIRROR CRACK'D'

Title: THE MIRROR CRACK'D Year: 1980 Director: Guy Hamilton Rating: ***1/2 The most breezily enjoyable of the John Brabourne/Richard Goo...

WWW.CULTFILMFREAKS.COM

WWW.CULTFILMFREAKS.COM
Movie Reviews, Interviews, Articles and Pop Culture from White Heat to Blue City

RIP ACTOR KEN HUTCHISON

TOTAL HITS

Popular Trending

FOUNDED BY JAMES M. TATE

FOUNDED BY JAMES M. TATE
RANDOM QUOTE: "This is just like television, only you can see much further." Peter Sellers as Chauncey Gardener, Being There

FILM NOIR & NEO NOIR CRIME

FAVORITES SHORTLIST

1)OTLEY 2)HELL IS A CITY 3)ROBBERY 4)THE FEARMAKERS 5)CANYON PASSAGE 6)VIOLENT SATURDAY 7)HOT CARS 8)JUNGLE STREET 9)ANATOMY OF A MURDER 10)THE CROWDED SKY 11))THE MAN FROM LARAMIE 12)SHARKS' TREASURE 13)SWEENEY TWO 14)RAIDERS FROM BENEATH THE SEA 15)HARDCORE 16)THE SYSTEM 17)WHITE HEAT 18)AL CAPONE 19)HIDDEN FEAR 20)FALLEN ANGEL 21)NIGHT CREATURES 22)CURSE OF THE DEMON 23)ASH WEDNESDAY 24)THE BREAK 25)AIR PATROL 26)JOURNEY INTO FEAR 27)EASY LIVING 28)WILLIAM CONRAD'S BRAINSTORM 29)FRENZY 30)THE ROARING TWENTIES 1)DANA ANDREWS 2)JAMES CAGNEY 3)STANLEY BAKER 4)MARLON BRANDO 5)JACK NICHOLSON 1)VIRGINIA MAYO 2)SUE LYON 3)GENE TIERNEY 4)MERRY ANDERS 5)FAYE DUNAWAY DIRECTORS 1)JACQUES TOURNEUR 2)RICHARD FLEISCHER 3)STANLEY KUBRICK 4)ORSON WELLES 5)OTTO PREMINGER 6)JOHN LANDIS 7)JOHN GUILLERMAN 8)VAL GUEST 9)JOHN CARPENTER 10)MICHAEL WINNER

BRITISH NEW WAVE CINEMA

RARITIES AND EXPLOITATION

HAMMER HORROR & THRILLER

Popular This Month

CHARLES BRONSON CINEMA

CINEMA OF DANA ANDREWS

WESTERN GENRE REVIEWS

PEAKING INTO THE SIXTIES

KICKING IN THE EIGHTIES

TALES AND REFLECTIONS

REVVING THE SEVENTIES

FOR HORROR MOVIE REVIEWS

Most Popular Last Year

RETURN TO THE HOMEPAGE