Review of Moonrise Kingdom (2012) by Shane S — 26 Jun 2013

Wes Anderson's sweet drama about two emotionally stunted tweets trying to survive the pre-Owsley Stanley period of the 1960s by means of a cleverly appropriated domestic drama, a Peanuts cartoon, and the "Fantastic Mr. Fox" blueprint for future family films, "Moonrise Kingdom" is indeed a film. While not a film in how Pretty Much It host Mike Peterson defines the term (a standard run-of-the-mill movie, very flawed, doesn't go above and beyond the call), it is a film in that it's one of the few auteur films of the past 10 years.

While Tarantino wastes away with flashy and hollow (but still great for some reason) genre parodies and Steven Soderbergh proves time and time again that he merely rides every artistic new wave just for a quick buck, Wes Anderson has upped the ante of cinematic arts while staying true to himself and being a dry comedian in the vein of Garrison Keillor and Charles Schultz. With his filmography, he has proven (even with misfired works like "Bottle Rocket" and "The Darjeeling Limited") that he can be consistent with his themes and tones while still maintaining a sense of originality within his works. "Moonrise Kingdom," in that regard, feels like a mix of the dreamy lightheartedness of "The Life Aquatic" and the observational drama of "The Royal Tenenbaums." With those elements in place, Wes makes yet another great film.

Now if only I could get Armond White to stop calling him better than every French New Wave director out there...