Movie Reviews

Moonrise Kingdom

/ / Movie Reviews
  • Title: Moonrise Kingdom
  • IMDB: link

moonrise-kingdom-posterThere is never a doubt that Moonrise Kingdom is a Wes Anderson film. From the opening credit sequence to the final shot the writer/director’s latest is filled with his voice and style. I haven’t always been Anderson’s biggest fan, as at times I think he sacrifices substance for style (The Life Aquatic with Steve Zissou, and to a lesser extent Rushmore), but I enjoyeed The Darjeeling Limited and appreciated The Fantastic Mr. Fox enough to include it on a list of my the Best Films of 2009.

Anderson’s latest is a bit of a departure as it focuses on a pair of 12 year-old characters (rather than his usual choice of an ensemble of thoroughly damaged and eccentric adults). Sam (Jared Gilman) is an orphaned Khaki Scout marooned on a small New England island with no paved roads and a group of unfriendly companions. Suzy (Kara Hayward) is the problem child of a pair of lawyers (Frances McDormand, Bill Murray) more comfortable discussing legal briefs than feelings.

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Seeking a Friend for the End of the World

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  • Title: Seeking a Friend for the End of the World
  • IMDb: link

seeking-a-friend-for-the-end-of-the-world

What if Armageddon had failed? Well, if you’re writer/director Lorene Scafaria the story might lead to a quirky odd couple road trip which mixes in equal measure romantic comedy and art film sensibilities. Seeking a Friend for the End of the World opens with insurance salesman Dodge (Steve Carell) and his wife Linda (Nancy Carell) in their car hearing the news that NASA’s last ditch shuttle mission to deflect the asteroid hurtling to the Earth has failed.

People react differently to the news that everyone on the planet has three weeks to live. Linda immediately runs from the car never to be seen again, deciding to embrace the affair and life she’s kept hidden from her husband for months. Dodge’s best friends (Rob Corddry, Connie Britton) throw all caution to the wind going out with a bang that involves a non-stop party, drugs, and booze (even for their kids). Over the course of the film we’ll also see rioters unable to cope with the situation and survivalists planning to start a new world following the end of this one.

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Brave

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  • Title: Brave
  • IMDB: link

brave-posterIt’s taken Pixar nearly two decades, and a dozen films, for the animation studio to give us their first attempt at a feature film centered around a female character. Merida (Kelly Macdonald), the fiery tomboyish Scottish princess certainly fits into Disney’s Princess franchise, but Pixar one-ups the house that Mickey built by giving us a story centered around a troubled, but loving, mother-daughter relationship (something Disney hasn’t been able to achieve in far longer than two decades).

Although I think Brave has a little too much of an American sensibility for an old world fairy tale (another first for Pixar), the film is gorgeous to behold. The story of a young girl attempting to change her fate may not rank near the top of Pixar’s best, but it’s definitely worth a long look and should find quite fanbase in both young and older female viewers who have been waiting patiently for the studio to deliver a character like Merida.

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Rock of Ages

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  • Title: Rock of Ages
  • IMDB: link

 

 

rock-of-ages-posterBrought from Broadway to the silver screen by director Adam Shankman and screenwriters Justin Theroux, Chris D’Arienzo, and Allan Loeb, Rock of Ages is a celebration of classic 1980’s rock that gives us the story of a small town girl (Julianne Hough) and a city boy raised in south Detroit (Diego Boneta) whose paths cross in a famous Hollywood bar on the Sunset Strip known as The Bourbon Room.

Adapted from the Broadway musical of the same name, the film makes both big and small changes in regards to both characters and music.

For two-hours the script weaves Drew (Boneta) and Sherrie (Hough), and countless supporting characters, through a story built on the back of several 80’s hits from the likes of Journey, Foreigner, Pat Benatar, Bon Jovi,  Whitesnake, Def Leppard, Night Ranger, Warrant, Poison, Guns N’ Roses, Twisted Sister, and REO Speedwagon which the characters not only perform, but live.

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Pro-MEH-theus

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  • Title: Prometheus
  • IMDB: link

prometheus-posterIf all you want out of Prometheus is a great looking sci-fi adventure that asks big questions about the history of life on Earth (without the slightest interest in answering them), has a couple of disturbing Alien sequences the series is known for, and shows us where Aliens come from, well this movie was made just for you. If you wanted something more than the bare minimum, like an engaging story that doesn’t feel the need to talk down to its audience every step of the way, well, then this probably isn’t the summer flick you’ve been hoping for. But, hey, at least it’s better than Alien 3.

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