(L to R) Bill Murray as Mr. Bishop, Tilda Swinton as Social Services, Bruce Willis as Captain Sharp, Edward Norton as Scout Master Ward, and Frances McDormand as Mrs. Bishop in Wes Anderson's MOONRISE KINGDOM, a Focus Features release.

Newcomers Shine in Anderson’s Kingdom

In the world of music, singer/songwriters generally provide my favorite performances. I feel that being the creator of the song, knowing it from deep within their minds and souls, gives the singer a leg up on the delivery of the song. I find this is also proving to be true with movies, or at least in the case of a Wes Anderson movie. So far, Anderson has been both screenwriter and director for each of his movies, all critically acclaimed, including the Oscar nominated films “The Royal Tenenbaums” and “Fantastic Mr. Fox.” The trend continues with Anderson’s “Moonrise Kingdom.”

Roman Coppola, who co-wrote “The Darjeeling Limited,” teamed up with Anderson once again in writing the “Moonrise Kingdom” script. This production has all the attention to detail we’ve come to expect in Anderson’s films and may well be his best effort to date. It has many of the same elements of his previous works, including the renowned family discord and the proverbial ill-fitting square pegs, but this one tones down the pessimism and adds more heart and a touch of sweetness. These factors combined with the fact that it’s steeped in nostalgia are bound to broaden the audience appeal for “Moonrise Kingdom,” which is entertaining throughout.

Johnny Depp stars. Photo Credit: Warner Bros.

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Film’s Potential Overshadowed By Dull Script and Lackluster Acting

If ever a film lacked focus and uniformity, “Dark Shadows” fits the bill. It also may be the one film students study as a lesson on what not to do when making a movie. ‘Shadows’ is a major mess, as it doesn’t know what kind of a film it’s supposed to be. Viewers are left in the ‘dark’ (pun intended) and subjected to an odd mix of comedy, through campy horror, and gothic melodrama. As a Depp fan, I was frustratingly disappointed, not only in the film, but also his performance and the lack-luster direction by Tim Burton. And, to add fuel to the fire, what about the twisting of the original source material and those millions of devoted television fans of the series?

The “Dark Shadows” series (soap opera), which ran from 1966 to 1971, racking up 1,225 episodes, has become a cult and camp classic in its own right. Although the acting was horrendous and overdone, the series was not comedic; it was very dramatic with intense, eerie music and supernatural themes. The victims were characteristically young woman. One would think that Depp, who adored the show and had a poster of his idol Barnabas Collins, the two-hundred year old vampire, on his own childhood bedroom wall, would have relished in giving his idol an eminent and true persona. Instead, Depp plays him slow as molasses, thus causing the entire movie to slow down. When paired with the songs of Donovan and Moody Blues’ “Nights in White Satin,” it’s a miracle more people weren’t falling asleep during the first hour. Truth be told, the film never does get going until about 90 minutes in, and by then we’ve had enough already.

If music and arts festival Bonnaroo and “Spinal Tap” (1984) had a documentary lovechild I’m quite confident it would be “Takeover!”

The film follows Full Service, a perpetually shirtless, hacky sack playing rock band of brothers & co., on their quest to takeover the venue parking lots of a concert tour featuring 311 and Snoop Dogg.  Hoping to gain new fans and, ultimately, perform on the main stage, they launch their loosely planned journey in a van known as The Whale.

While their level of fandom for 311 and Snoop Dogg isn’t necessarily clear, we still enjoy the spirit of the mission.  The film is decently made and edited but has a low-fi, homemade vibe that comes from hand-drawn animations, randomly interspersed effects like the “Wayne’s World” flashback, plenty of good old fashioned bickering about where to set up and, let’s not forget, the peanut butter sandwiches.