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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)

Bring It On, a review by addicted2dvd

Title: Bring It On: Collector's Edition
Year: 2000
Director: Peyton Reed
Rating: PG-13
Length: 99 Min.
Video: Anamorphic Widescreen 1.85:1
Audio: English: Dolby Digital: 5.1, English: DTS: 5.1, French: Dolby Digital: 5.1, Commentary: Dolby Digital: Dolby Surround
Subtitles: English, Trivia

Stars:
Kirsten Dunst
Eliza Dushku
Jesse Bradford
Gabrielle Union
Clare Kramer
Nicole Bilderback

Plot:
The Toro cheerleading squad has spirit, spunk, sass and a killer routine that's sure to land them the national championship trophy for the sixth year in a row. But for newly-elected team captain, Torrance (Kirsten Dunst), the Toros' road to cheer glory stumbles when she discovers their perfectly choreographed routines were stolen from a hot hip-hop squad across town. Now the squad must scramble to find a new routine to compete in this year's competition.

Extras:
Scene Access
Audio Commentary
Feature Trailers
Bonus Trailers
Deleted Scenes
Featurettes
Production Notes
Music Videos
DVD-ROM Content
Booklet

NOTE:
This is the first time I ever seen this movie. I figured this would fit this marathon going by the genres in DVD Profiler. In this case... after watching the movie I am not so sure I would normally include this movie in a comedy marathon. The comedy is really barely there. This movie doesn't set out to be funny as it's main goal.

My Thoughts:
OK... this is not normally my thing. I am not what one would call a music fan. And there is definitely a lot in this movie. But I knew this going in. When my friend offered to send me this one... the main reason for saying yes was because of 2 things....

1. Kirsten Dunst
2. Eliza Dushku

And I definitely enjoyed watching these two girls (as well as many others) dance around in short skirts and bikinis. So that was definitely enough for me to not only stick it out... but get some enjoyment from it. Besides that... the main storyline is entertaining as well. I liked both Kirsten Dunst and Eliza Dushku's characters in this movie... it was fun to watch them in such a different type of movie then I am used to seeing them in. I don't know how often I could possibly watch this movie... but I can see myself watching it again with a reason (fitting into marathons and such).



(From Unwatched Comedies Marathon on March 13th, 2011)

Weekend Movie Marathon: TV Show Reunion Movies, a review by addicted2dvd

My TV Show Reunion Movies Consists of...
- A Very Brady Christmas (Watched 6/13)
- Alien Nation: Dark Horizon (Watched 6/13)
- Alien Nation: Body & Soul (Watched 6/14)
- Alien Nation: Millennium
- Alien Nation: The Enemy Within
- Alien Nation: The Udara Legacy
- Brady 500 (Watched 6/13)
- Death of The Incredible Hulk
- Dukes of Hazzard: Reunion! (Watched 6/14)
- Dukes of Hazzard: Hazzard in Hollywood (Watched 6/14)
- Get Smart, Again!
- The Incredible Hulk Returns (watched 6/15)
- Knight Rider 2000 (Watched 6/14)
- Rescue from Gilligan's Island
- Trial of the Incredible Hulk

If there is anything above that you would like to see me review... feel free to request it and I will do my best to fit it in.



Alien Nation: Dark Horizon
The fate of the entire planet is on the line when Ahpossno, a ruthless Overseer, is sent to Earth to return the Tenctonese to slavery, and the casualties hit close to home for Francisco when a Purist group develops a virus designed to kill all Newcomers. Picking up right where the series left off, 'Dark Horizon' provides the stunning answers to several key unanswered questions.

My Thoughts:
I really liked how they did this reunion movie... Mainly because it takes over right where the series left off. And that is something that this series needed as it left off with a huge cliffhanger when the series was canceled. I am so glad that all the Alien Nation movies came out on DVD as I have never seen the reunion movies before. So it was great for me to see how they tied everything up from the series. I only watched the one movie in this set so far... but  I must say it looks like they really did a good job with this release. Audio/video quality is good... a nice selection of extras... though I would have liked to seen a trailer/TV spot for this one before I watched it... unfortunately there was none on the DVD.

(From Weekend Movie Marathon: TV Show Reunion Movies on June 13th, 2008)