Moonrise Kingdom

Justin: I liked this movie. Wes Anderson is such a master of color and visual tableaux. He has really mastered the art of storybook framing and visual story telling, using quick camera pans to frame up shots at 90 degree angles that strike me as very innovative. Moonrise Kingdom is a story about romance and adventure, full of flawed, likable characters and excitement. There are echos of some of his previous works here. The scouts, for instance, remind me of the jr. military feel that was exhibited by the students at Rushmore. Everyone has their own job, and it's fun to see the kids put on airs. The main arc of the story, a sort of star crossed lovers theme, is reminiscent of the hideout in the museum from Royal Tenenbaums. There are cartoonish elements that take me back to Fantastic Mr. Fox. Anyway, it's fun and I could see myself, as a teen, really feeling for these two runaway characters. Let's talk about casting. Anderson must have one incredible rolodex. Again he assembles a genius cast. Willis is perfect. Norton is also pretty great. Bill Murray: he's a damn genius as usual. Swinton is great too, if a little short on screen time. The two teenage leads are also charming and headed for great things. Tie it up with some great music and quirky, lovable characters, just the right amount of drama and comedy, put a bow on it and call it a classic. Now, is this to say it's Anderson's best film? Probably not, but it's a welcome addition to the collection.

Chels: Is it weird that I have an overwhelming desire to watch all Wes Anderson movies with my eyes closed and just listen to the soundtrack? Wes Anderson has an uncanny way of imbedding perfectly heartfelt and appropriate music into each of his movies, and I really appreciate that.  He really treats the music like an essential character, he knows that music can be more compelling than any performance by even the most talented of actors. I personally feel that recent Wes Anderson movies have been on a decline. This could mostly be to blame because of my skewed view in regards to Royal Tenenbaums and Life Aquatic, Royal Tenenbaums is without a doubt my favorite Wes Anderson movie. Even Life Aqautic barely comes close to eclipsing my love for Royal Tenenbaums. Since I'm not a huge Jason Schwartzman fan, his latest movies which feature him prominently usually don't register on my radar. Darjeeling Limited and The Fantastic Mr. Fox were not my favorites, although Fantastic Mr Fox's animation is superb. But the child/adolescent driven cast of Moonrise Kingdom did a great job of capturing, what I believe to be, the true Wes Anderson spirit. That spirit of rebelling, of setting out on your own and not sticking to the socially accepted norm, the spirit of free thinking, of being a true individual. Justin is spot on about the cinematography, Wes Anderson has it down to a science.  He knows what we want, and continuously delivers those quintessential 'Wes Anderson' pans and shots that make you leave the theater cursing him for making it all look so easy.   It is safe to say that Moonrise Kingdom will become a staple in the Wes Anderson canon.  But, I'm still longing for something that will make Royal Tenebaums look like childs play.

Prometheus

Chels: Justin and I had been looking forward to Prometheus for months now. Both of us being Ridley Scott fans, there was definitely some inflated expectations. I happen to be a HUGE fan of Scott's original Alien, with Aliens being it's more campy red headed stepchild. So, the news of a prequel to one of my favorite horror movies was expected to be one of the highlights of the summer movie season. Sadly, Prometheus failed to live up to what I wanted/needed it to be. It lacked the big-punch-jump-out-of-your-seat moments that make Alien so great. And the utter stupidity of some of the main characters is both infuriating and insulting (you're exploring a planet in deep space, KEEP YOUR HELMET ON YOU IDIOT). Space stupidity aside, I do think you should go see this movie.  But you have to know your Alien and Aliens respectively in order to fully appreciate it and grasp the movie's entire scope.  Side note: This movie keeps my horrible track record of instantly liking who ever will inevitably be horribly murdered first alive. It's a curse, if I like your character, you're definitely go to die in some terribly gruesome way, and I'll be bummed. Sigh.  (This happens most when watching Top Chef, or any cooking related show.  If I pick you as my main person, boom, you're immediately going home for using puff pastry dough or for doing shitty front of the house.)

Justin: Prometheus is a pretty decent sci fi flick. I had super high expectations for the following reasons: Ridley Scott taking the helm of arguably his greatest franchise, explaining the mystery of the alien in the cockpit of the ship in the first film, and finally the origins of one of sci fi's scariest monsters. Visually, this film did not disappoint. Massive in scale, painted in dark grey and steel blue. The technology created is really awe inspiring. Where this film loses me is the story. You've got your typical space gang of serious scientists and foul mouthed crew members. One thing that was missing was Sigorney Weaver's powerful acting chops, leaving much of the drama a little flat. I don't know how much I can say without spoiling everything, but the main thing that bugs me is that the franchise is called Alien, and if this prequel is canon, they should probably rethink that. This movie has been in the works for over a decade, changing hands multiple times and surviving multiple script revisions. The final twist was put together by none other than Damon Lindelof, who is know for writing stories that fascinate, but ultimately leave off with a resounding "huh?" This is a movie I would say is much better in a theater. We saw it in 3D, and it's got such an epic scope that it's really something on the big screen. The drama/horror aspects kind of work too, but will probably seem ho hum on the small screen. You can just feel the rewrites and revisions, the sewn together story elements from different drafts that feel disjointed and awkward. These are quibbles, really, but I was expecting a masterpiece. Some wasted potential, but it's still a pretty entertaining movie.