Moonrise Kingdom

Wes Anderson ("The Royal Tenenbaums") has done it again. Another observant, quirky, absurd little comedy that breaks all the rules but leaves us entertained and happy. This 2012 Seattle International Film Festival entry from the U.S.A. starts on a dual track. After a voiceover tells us about this remote island we'll be visiting, we meet the Bishops, father, mother, three sons and one 12-year-old daughter. Next we visit a super-efficient Khaki Scout camp and watch the scoutmaster in action. His star scout is a 12-year-old misfit who frightens the other boys.

We enjoy:

• Bill Murray ("Get Low") is the deadpan dad, who just wants to read the newspaper.
• Frances McDormand ("Burn After Reading") is the (not very faithful) mom who communicates with her family via bullhorn.
• Kara Hayward (in her first film) is their chronically depressed daughter who has decided she wants to run away with...
• Jarad Gilman (in his first film) an orphaned Khaki Scout with a keen interest in the indigenous population, along with great (unneces- sarily complicated) survival techniques.
• Edward Norton ("The Invention of Lying") is the scoutmaster who makes amazing demands on his scouts, all of which they are able to meet!
• Bruce Willis ("Red") represents the local constabulary. He wears white socks and is having a fling with Mom.
• Bob Balaban ("No Reservations") is the narrator who introduces the players, the situation, the geography and then the Depart- ment of Infamous Weather.

As our two twelve-year-olds disappear into the woods together, we are on a countdown to an unprecedented weather front which will hit this New England island community in two days. That provides a natural climax to this goofy little thing.

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Click the "Skip Ad" to watch this preview:
http://www.imdb.com/video/imdb/vi562733337/
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