I have gotten a lot of great movies for Easter. Andrew and I are equally enthused about movies, so we got a lot of them this year. Among the movies were Saving Private Ryan, Beasts of the Southern Wild, Slumdog Millionaire, The King's Speech, and Les Miserables. But after all of those films, all those great masterpieces, the one film I loved the most was none other than Moonrise Kingdom.
Moonrise Kingdom takes place on the make-believe island of New Penzance. During a showing of the play Noyes Flode, or Noah's Flood, Khaki Scout Sam [Jared Gilman] accidentally ends up in a girls' dressing room, sees a girl named Suzy [Kaya Hayward], and both end up falling in love. They become pen pals, and eventually end up running away together. When the Khaki Scouts, among them Scout Master Ward [Edward Norton], discover Sam is missing, they tell police officer Captain Sharp [Bruce Willis] about the runaway. This starts a chain reaction of events that start to rip the small community apart, which gets even worse when a hurricane-level storm heads ashore. Can the people stick together and keep the island in one piece?
This movie may sound slightly dark, but director Wes Anderson keeps the story going at a light, family-friendly pace.The movie is very funny, as I have found watching the movie again. I laughed at all the same jokes I laughed at before, and the film was so intelligent that I couldn't help but howl with laughter at the best moments, such as the treehouse scene [I won't spoil it for you]. The movie is the same loving, mellow tone of previous Wes Anderson film Fantastic Mr. Fox, which is a good thing.
Throughout the movie, I couldn't help but love the sheer beauty of this film. The cinematography has 2-D angles for most of the film, and the art direction consists of yellow and then gray when the storm brews in. This adds a storybook feel through the entirety of the film, not much different than the books Suzy packs in her suitcase as she runs away.
The score shines even more light onto Moonrise Kingdom. It excellently transitions from classical music to bells and a boys choir. The music truly sets the tone for the film, simple yet beautiful.
Sam and Suzy's love totally rings in my heart. Most love stories put a lot of interest into the stars' "true love". This is either love at first sight or gradually grows as time goes on. Moonrise Kingdom is different. They aren't Romeo and Juliet, but their love isn't invisible. Their story is a more subtle, believable approach.
As for the other characters, I might have thought they were living, breathing souls. Captain Sharp's affair with Mrs. Bishop, played by Frances McDormand, leaves him lonely in the universe, which creates a bond between him and Sam. Scout Master Ward is a school teacher for most of the year, but leading the Khaki Scouts is his priority, which he proves later in the film. The Bishops, among them Wes Anderson favorite Bill Murray, consist of mostly boys, leaving Suzy on her own. The Khaki Scouts despise Sam at first, but later realize that he is just another scout member, becoming his allies.
Moonrise Kingdom is a wonder in every way. It is equally funny, sweet and beautiful, yet still simple and wonderful. It is artistic, but anyone can still relate to it. The movie is so brilliant that I even have the nerve to say that it is my favorite film of all time.
Final Score:10/10
Wednesday, April 3, 2013
Monday, March 11, 2013
Argo: An Incredible History Lesson
WARNING: This review is a spoiler alert for people who have not seen the movie in question, so if you haven't seen the movie, proceed with caution.
One sunday evening I was watching the Academy Awards with my family, rooting for the movies I had picked on my ballot online. I predicted 10 Oscars correctly, but one of the awards I didn't get was Best Picture. Originally, I voted for Stephen Spielberg's Lincoln, but later I rooted for Life Of Pi when Ang Lee won the Best Directing award. Despite the tradition where the movie which takes Best Director usually wins Best Picture, Argo, which I appreciate even more now, won the Oscar for Best Picture.
Argo, in case you didn't know, takes place during the Iran Hostage Crisis. Most of the people in the U.S. embassy are taken hostage. Six people, however, went out a back exit and are hiding in the Canadian Ambassador's house. A C.I.A. operative [Ben Affleck] is hired to get those six people out, but nobody has a really plausible plan of action. There is one good idea, however. They plan to use a movie, Argo, as a cover up for getting the hostages out. This leads to a makeup artist [John Goodman] and producer [Alan Arkin, in an Oscar nominated role] to set up the movie, eventually leading to the location scout in Iran, where they will get the people home. But with the clock ticking and Iranian security everywhere, will they get out in time?
The very beginning of Argo, set in a comic book style opening, truly sets the stage for the rest of the film before the first camera even starts rolling. This approach is slightly conventional, but the excellent writing and morbid narrator really set the stage for the rest of the movie.
The next scene, at the U.S. Embassy, gets the movie going for first-time viewers. Using a documentary-esque camera and pictures from the actual event, which viewers can see in the credits, Affleck creates a historically accurate picture of what happened that day, yet still maintains the feel of the prologue. You can feel both the anger of the protesters and the horror and urgency of the people inside the embassy.
Throughout the movie there are a lot of touches which bring a desperate feeling to the story, such as when they show footage of the Houseguests, as they nicknamed the escapees in the film, or when they show some of the actions Iranians take inside the embassy. This adds to the storyline of the movie, even in its weakest points.
These weak points in the storyline disrupt the flow. This happens when they head to California to set up the fake film. Using a different atmosphere and a lot of copyrighted music, they change the feel from a desperate thriller/drama to an amusing dramedy. While it does get some laughs, and the phrase "Argo f--- yourself," is hilarious, it creates a rift, leaving two different kinds of films in one bunch.
However, the film gets back to its darker, suspenseful pace, which leads to a finely crafted work blending thriller, drama and Hollywood satire into a film that truly delivers in the end. This is nonetheless a great film, and deserves the attention it gets.
And one more thing: When Ben Affleck's character returns to his Maryland home and is with his son once again, you see footage of the child's Sci-fi action figures, leading to a piece of Argo's concept art. This intentional frame shows the Argo project's protagonist riding away on a speeder bike from the city--with his son, which was taken from him in the movie. The child is hard to spot, but when you see him, the message is clear: The hero has made his escape, and is reunited with his son.
Final Score: 8.5/10
One sunday evening I was watching the Academy Awards with my family, rooting for the movies I had picked on my ballot online. I predicted 10 Oscars correctly, but one of the awards I didn't get was Best Picture. Originally, I voted for Stephen Spielberg's Lincoln, but later I rooted for Life Of Pi when Ang Lee won the Best Directing award. Despite the tradition where the movie which takes Best Director usually wins Best Picture, Argo, which I appreciate even more now, won the Oscar for Best Picture.
Argo, in case you didn't know, takes place during the Iran Hostage Crisis. Most of the people in the U.S. embassy are taken hostage. Six people, however, went out a back exit and are hiding in the Canadian Ambassador's house. A C.I.A. operative [Ben Affleck] is hired to get those six people out, but nobody has a really plausible plan of action. There is one good idea, however. They plan to use a movie, Argo, as a cover up for getting the hostages out. This leads to a makeup artist [John Goodman] and producer [Alan Arkin, in an Oscar nominated role] to set up the movie, eventually leading to the location scout in Iran, where they will get the people home. But with the clock ticking and Iranian security everywhere, will they get out in time?
The very beginning of Argo, set in a comic book style opening, truly sets the stage for the rest of the film before the first camera even starts rolling. This approach is slightly conventional, but the excellent writing and morbid narrator really set the stage for the rest of the movie.
The next scene, at the U.S. Embassy, gets the movie going for first-time viewers. Using a documentary-esque camera and pictures from the actual event, which viewers can see in the credits, Affleck creates a historically accurate picture of what happened that day, yet still maintains the feel of the prologue. You can feel both the anger of the protesters and the horror and urgency of the people inside the embassy.
Throughout the movie there are a lot of touches which bring a desperate feeling to the story, such as when they show footage of the Houseguests, as they nicknamed the escapees in the film, or when they show some of the actions Iranians take inside the embassy. This adds to the storyline of the movie, even in its weakest points.
These weak points in the storyline disrupt the flow. This happens when they head to California to set up the fake film. Using a different atmosphere and a lot of copyrighted music, they change the feel from a desperate thriller/drama to an amusing dramedy. While it does get some laughs, and the phrase "Argo f--- yourself," is hilarious, it creates a rift, leaving two different kinds of films in one bunch.
However, the film gets back to its darker, suspenseful pace, which leads to a finely crafted work blending thriller, drama and Hollywood satire into a film that truly delivers in the end. This is nonetheless a great film, and deserves the attention it gets.
And one more thing: When Ben Affleck's character returns to his Maryland home and is with his son once again, you see footage of the child's Sci-fi action figures, leading to a piece of Argo's concept art. This intentional frame shows the Argo project's protagonist riding away on a speeder bike from the city--with his son, which was taken from him in the movie. The child is hard to spot, but when you see him, the message is clear: The hero has made his escape, and is reunited with his son.
Final Score: 8.5/10
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