Long Overdue Short Reviews

Hugo 
Overrated Scorsese blockbuster; like most of the films comprising his career since Casino, it leaves me longing for the days of Taxi Driver and Raging Bull. A lot of people love this film, and I have yet to figure out why. With that being said, a lot of people also loved The Departed, which I thought was a mediocre effort and inferior to the original film, Infernal Affairs.
 

Take Shelter 
A well-crafted, haunting film with superb performances, I really felt this movie deserved a larger audience. It's deliberately paced, like the film's slow roiling black clouds on the horizon--ominous and frightening--slowly drawing near. The sense of dread the film conveys is palpable. Intelligent and thought provoking, it's a social allegory for these troubled times. 

Midnight in Paris
Not sure why everyone was cooing with delight when this film arrived in theaters. Which is not to say it's a bad film, it's just that much like Scorsese, Woody has been disappointing me for quite some time. There's just nothing here to really sink your teeth into; it's like a dream filled with wonderfully delicious foods, only to wake with an empty stomach.
 

 
Martha Marcy May Marlene
Excellent performance from Elizabeth Olsen, one that garnered her well-deserved attention and nominations for Best Actress, even though her name was shockingly absent from the ballots for the Globes and the Oscars. As if that should surprise anyone. An unnerving psychological thriller, you will undoubtedly be thinking about the film long after the movie ends.

Hugo

Score: 53%

Take Shelter

Score: 85%

Midnight in Paris

Score: 62%

Martha Marcy May Marlene

Score: 73%

Moonrise Kingdom

Moonrise Kingdom is Wes Anderson's seventh film, and his best since Rushmore. As much as I like Royal Tenenbaums and Fantastic Mr. Fox, it seems Anderson is truly at his best when his cinematic dioramas are inhabited with kids. Probably because Anderson is a Peter Pan-esque man-child who flies around in a world of his own creation: a pastiche universe built from the influences of his usual favorites--Ashby, Salinger, and all things French New Wave--and then mixed with some new flavor (here, a heaping helping of Norman Rockwell). When done right (as is the case here) he creates a world that is equal parts fantastical and real, and one that beautifully melds together the dead pan wit of his scripting, his unique characterizations, the meticulously detailed mise-en-scene, and the careful and deliberate camera work.

Of course, it's his unique style that tends to split people into two camps, the lovers and the haters; and although I am a fan of the films mentioned above, I'm not opposed to pointing out the many problems I have with his inferior works, Life Aquatic and Darjeeling Limited. The thought of those two movies just makes me shrug my shoulders and mumble a quick "meh." I just can't "love" all the works of an artist without considering the merit of the individual works themselves. And let's not discount the role subjectivity plays in all opinion, whether it's coming from a casual moviegoer, a film-loving blogger or a paid film critic. Some people just don't like quirky and whimsical, regardless of how well accomplished a film is...and other people love it, regardless of how inept a production is. 

Moonrise Kingdom is a fairy tale romance of young love set in the 60's, which is all anyone needs to know before seeing the film. It features an impressive cast, with very good performances from Bruce Willis and Edward Norton, as well as solid turns for Bill Murray and Francis McDormand, who aren't really asked to do too much here. And the two young leads, Jared Gilman and Kara Hayward, put together surprisingly impressive performances, conveying emotional depth beneath Anderson's requisite stilted and pause-filled dialogue.

Moonrise Kingdom definitely borrows from past Anderson films, and at times that familiarity detracts from the film's unique experience; I don't want to be reminded of Life Aquatic when I'm  fully engaged in something far superior. But it's a minor complaint and only relevant to those familiar with his previous work and who are also disappointed with Life Aquatic as a whole. I had some other minor issues with the film, particularly with the third act, but none of that lessened my overall experience.

Additionally:

Anderson and Music Supervisor Randall Poster always seem to marry music to their movies in such brilliant ways, combining diverse mixes of styles that, despite how completely different one song is from the next, manage to fit together, like the myriad shapes that form a jigsaw puzzle. Moonrise Kingdom continues that tradition of excellence in yet another unique convolution of styles.

 

Moonrise Kingdom

Score: 80%