Review of Moonrise Kingdom (2012) by Mloy X — 10 Jun 2014

Sam: I feel I'm in a real family now. Not like yours, but similar to one.

Suzy: I always wished I was an orphan. Most of my favorite characters are. I think your lives are more special.

Sam: I love you, but you don't know what you're talking about.

Suzy: I love you, too.

This was such a strange but quirky little film; but the two young leads (Jared Gilman and Kara Hayward) were so charismatic, it kept me very entertained. I especially liked that young Suzy (Kara Hayward) was such a devoted fan of reading books (even if she was a bit of a library-clepto) and Sam was such an impressive wilderness ace that it made them all the more endearing characters because they didn't seem like stereotypical, whinny, spoiled, self-important, entitled teens portrayed in films now-a-days. They were clever and self-reliant; what an awesomely unique quality in young person. This film kind of reminds me of the t.v. series "Pushing Daisies" (starring Lee Pace), this too had a similarly unique vibe to it. Overall, the film was cute, but has a limited appeal unless the viewer already is a fan of odd, indie flicks; otherwise, I could see how it would be difficult to fully appreciate it.