Moonrise Kingdom
From Netflix: Wes Anderson's quirky drama follows the frantic search that ensues in a small New England town when two 12-year-olds fall in love and run away together. As the townsfolk hunt for the vanished kids, a storm causes even more profound communal upheaval.
My Take: I've realized that I'm a fair-weather Wes Anderson fan. By that I mean, I like his movies when they are convenient for me. "Moonrise Kingdom" is... not... one of them. Neither was "Fantastic Mr. Fox." Don't get me wrong, both of those movies were good... but they were too Wes Anderson for me. There's a line that I cannot cross.
There are certain things I appreciate about Wes Anderson. I love his attention to detail. I love how much care he puts into every single shot of his movies. I love the style that he pushes onto his actors, their delivery, their sort of nonchalant, over-secure, aloofness that just makes a Wes Anderson movie a Wes Anderson movie. It all comes together magically, and "Moonrise Kingdom" definitely succeeds in that department. His characters are wacky, almost too silly to believe, and yet filled with an innocent naivety that you can't help but enjoy.
The performances almost all around were delivered perfectly. The only two people I had problems with were the kids. Maybe it was a conscious decision, but these kids couldn't act. Or they could, but they paled in comparison to the greats like Bill Murray. I have to think this was a decision on the part of Wes Anderson. Judging by the rest of the way the movie was put together (more on that in a minute), using "amateur" actors as the main characters was probably his plan all along.
If the goal was for this to look like a movie that was made in the 70s, they hit the nail right on the head. Everything -- the colors, the shots, the style, everything was 1970s. Very impressive. Seriously, think about it... look at your iphone or your camera at home, and try to think of how you could achieve a 70s look (other than Instagram you lazy bastard). However, I think in some instances this backfired. For example, part of what made "Life Aquatic" so great was that it had all these vivid colors, and when Anderson did his trademark long, room-to-room, choreographed shots, it was like everyone was sitting in a toy. It worked perfectly. In "Moonrise," this same shot has an awkward and almost uncomfortable effect, because it's not in the same style as something I think you would see back then. It was the same deal with the clock tower scene at the end. It just looked completely out of character for the rest of the movie.
I'm not saying "Moonrise Kingdom" is a BAD movie. It's still more enjoyable and valuable than 90% of the drivel that lands in theaters. But I think that while Wes Anderson is probably under appreciated for some of his more formidable works of art ("Rushmore," "Tenenbaums," etc), this is one that is definitely overlook-able in the collection.
If the goal was for this to look like a movie that was made in the 70s, they hit the nail right on the head. Everything -- the colors, the shots, the style, everything was 1970s. Very impressive. Seriously, think about it... look at your iphone or your camera at home, and try to think of how you could achieve a 70s look (other than Instagram you lazy bastard). However, I think in some instances this backfired. For example, part of what made "Life Aquatic" so great was that it had all these vivid colors, and when Anderson did his trademark long, room-to-room, choreographed shots, it was like everyone was sitting in a toy. It worked perfectly. In "Moonrise," this same shot has an awkward and almost uncomfortable effect, because it's not in the same style as something I think you would see back then. It was the same deal with the clock tower scene at the end. It just looked completely out of character for the rest of the movie.
I'm not saying "Moonrise Kingdom" is a BAD movie. It's still more enjoyable and valuable than 90% of the drivel that lands in theaters. But I think that while Wes Anderson is probably under appreciated for some of his more formidable works of art ("Rushmore," "Tenenbaums," etc), this is one that is definitely overlook-able in the collection.
Man Of Steel
From Netflix: In another revival of the Superman legend, reporter Clark Kent must keep his alien origins and fantastic powers hidden from the world at large. But when the Kryptonian General Zod plans to destroy Earth, the Man of Steel springs into heroic action.
My Take: WARNING - SPOILERS AHEAD. Watch this movie, it's fantastic. Then read the review. Okay you've been warned... here we go...
Superman has always been a quandary for me, in that he is one of the most difficult heroes to make a movie about. Scratch that, it's easy to make movies about Superman... it's tough to make a good movie about him. So when I heard Christopher Nolan and Zach Snyder were going to give it a shot, I crossed my fingers and hoped for the best. What we got was by far the best Superman movie to date.
The problem with Superman is that he's too pure. Batman is great for movies because he is a very flawed character. Rough childhood, sort of ambiguous values, a deep-seated fear/fetish for bats. Superman is none of those things. He doesn't remember his parents, but he's raised by two of the most wholesome people you could imagine. He's invincible, there's no need for him to have fear. But Nolan and Snyder made what was the best possible decision they could have made: they recreated Kal El to be a lonely, isolated, bullied kid who lacked self confidence and didn't know how to deal with his emotions. And they did it perfectly. They didn't touch his Earth parents, they were just as wholesome as ever. They just changed the way he saw the world, and the challenges that he would most likely face in today's modern childhood. Bullying, awkwardness, etc.
Another thing they did extremely well was to paint the back story. Talk about complicated characters... let's talk about Zod. That dude was very close to stealing the show. Great acting, but an even greater character. Here's a guy who is inherently evil, but in such a way that you almost can't blame him. In fact, you almost feel sorry for him. After all, he's just carrying out his genetic code, doing what he was designed to do. He is the embodiment of the flaw in Krypton's way of life.
The music was brilliant. The sound design was top notch. The graphics were flawless -- seriously, the best I've seen since Transformers. The battles were absolutely epic... it was like every punch was an explosion. It was the closest I could imagine to what a fight of this magnitude would be. The characters were correct and accurate. I love how they handled Zod's lieutenants... much better than the Christopher Reeves version.
I really can't say enough about this movie. It completely blew me away. Of course... I did have a couple of minor problems. First of all, the product placement was too obvious and awkward. Nikon, Microsoft, Ihop. The Nikon one I can understand, because come on she had to use a camera. The Ihop one worked because they made it into a joke. But the phone ones were painfully obvious. Even the acting in that scene was less believable than the rest of the movie. It felt forced, and I'm sorry to see that Nolan's backers sold out on what would have otherwise been a near-flawless movie. My other issue was that they never explained why Superman wears the blue, red, and yellow suit. Granted it was a badass suit, and to my knowledge that wasn't ever really explained in the comic either... but this was an opportunity. What if Jor El wore the same colors on his armor? They had the "S" crest... why not include the "House of El" colors? It would have completely explained why Zod's people wore straight black and Kal El wore red yellow and blue. Not a big deal, just a missed opportunity.
If you read this without seeing the movie, it's okay. Go see it anyway. This is by far the best movie of 2013. Better than Iron Man 3. Better than Star Trek 2. It's like on a whole different level. Fan-freaking-tastic. And well worth your money. Enjoy...
Oh, and also this.
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