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Moonrise Kingdom, a review by Antares

Moonrise Kingdom (2012) 58/100 -

Moonrise Kingdom is one of those movies where I can be sure that I wouldn't enjoy the company of anyone who didn't connect to the film.

The above quote is taken from a post on the Wes Anderson thread over at the Criterion forum, and it encompasses everything that I find dis-interesting in Wes Anderson films and everything I find disdainful in his fanboys. The ever so present and defensively, in your face... "If you don't like his films, you just don't get it." kind of crap that has been associated with Anderson from day one. This film had so much potential, but is mired in Anderson's self indulgent universe of droll dialog, quirky characters and whimsy. But where this approach was fresh back in the days of The Royal Tenenbaums, it now comes across as stale and laborious. It's sad because this film has some beautiful cinematography, with some amazing color contrasts and a jaunty, whimsical music score that is let down by a lazy storyline. Yes, it's a coming of age story, and I did like the opening 20 minutes or so. But then it starts to become bogged down by the weight of its hipster characterizations and dialog. Bill Murray is as interesting as a plank of wood in his performance as the confused and distant father, character traits which seems to encompass every role he plays for Anderson. Frances McDormand, Bruce Willis, Tilda Swinton and Harvey Keitel are just filling out frames of the film, leaving only Ed Norton as the solitary adult character with any depth, believability or sincerity. As I was watching, I started to get a sense that Anderson was trying to recreate his own version of a Charles Schultz Peanuts special from the sixties, where the kids are profound beyond their years and the adults are only heard as indecipherable noise.

All in all, the only real enjoyment I came away from this film with was that they shot some of the scenes only a few miles from my home, and noticing many places where I hike on a regular basis was kind of fun. But I can say, without a shadow of a doubt, that if I never saw another Wes Anderson film in my life, I would not feel cheated as a cineaste.

What the color coding means...

Teal = Masterpiece
Dark Green = Classic or someday will be
Lime Green = A good, entertaining film
Orange = Average
Red = Cinemuck
Brown = The color of crap, which this film is

(From Antares' Short Summations on March 4th, 2014)

Child's Play, a review by Dragonfire

Child's Play

My Thoughts

I was never afraid of any of my toys or dolls growing up, but I do remember seeing some creepy looking dolls that probably would have given me a bad dream or two.  I think this is actually the first time I have seen the entire R rated version of of the movie.  Before, I had just seen the edited version on television, so of course it was more mild.  Even in the R rated version, it isn't too violent or gory.  Though I guess some people might feel different about that.  The plot is kind of...silly, but it makes for an entertaining movie.  There really isn't much mystery to what is going on, but then again, I already knew what was going on with Chucky before I first saw the movie since I had heard about it.  I wasn't interested in the movie at all for years, but I enjoy it since I've taken the time to watch it.



I did get a review posted on Epinions if anyone wants to take a look.

Child's Play

(From Dragonfire's Halloween/Horror Marathon 2009 on October 6th, 2009)

Tom's Random Reviews, a review by Tom

Berlin, Berlin: Complete Series (2002/Germany) IMDb | Wikipedia Universum Film (Germany) Director: Writing: Length: 2150 min. Video: Anamorphic Widescreen 1.78 Audio: German: Dolby Digital 2.0 Stereo Subtitles:

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Extras:

• 5 Postkarten mit Bildern der Hauptdarsteller
• Bonus Trailers
• Commentary
• Deleted Scenes
• Featurettes
• Interviews
• Photo Gallery
• Storyboard Comparisons
• Trailers

This series really surprised me. I enjoyed it from beginning to end. For some reason I had never watched it before, even though I heard good things about it and it is also often compared to "Mein Leben und ich" (another series I enjoyed). I have to admit that I even enjoyed it more than that one. Though I really liked the first three seasons of it but then grew tired of it.
"Berlin, Berlin" only has four seasons, but unusual for a German comedy series it doesn't only have 13 episodes per season, but it has 20. The first season even 26.
Through the bonus features I found out, that this series even won an international Emmy award for best comedy series (the first German series to do so). I didn't even know that the Emmies had an international award. And in my opinion it deserved it.

Rating:

(From Tom's Random Reviews on August 24th, 2012)