Moonrise Kingdom
It was a slow night at home so what better time to watch a Wes Anderson film. I chose his film, Moonrise Kingdom from 2012. I had heard interesting things about Moonrise Kingdom. It was Wes Anderson after all, so at least it would be inventive. I had no idea or expectations or agenda, except to hopefully enjoy. What I got instead a shock!
It was wonderful. Quirky, funny, embarrassing, touching, and a million other words to describe this imaginative and inspired movie.
I don’t go to Sundance. I love movies, but I am not a festival person who lives and breathes film. But I see over a 100 movies a year both old and new. I am a big popcorn movie fan during the summer, but you need a REAL story every now and then. For everyone, the serious movie goer or the looking for something different weekend movie goer, this is the movie to see.
Wes Anderson creates a world unlike any I have ever seen. The camera style, the almost flat, theatre-like opening tells you that you are in for something different. The whimsical nature of the tiny island that this adventure takes place on. The extremely funny use of Bob Balaban as a Greek chorus narrator to drive the action forward and tells us of impending events. The amazing cast that Anderson put together from Bruce Willis to Bill Murray, from Frances McDormand to Tilda Swinton. And the two preteen leads of the movie are wonderful. Both first time performers on screen, Jared Gilman and Kara Hayward are delightful as the two misunderstood teens who fall in love and run away, but only to the other side of the island. And of course, the singular vision of Wes Anderson always promises something off-beat and fanciful..
So, if you are already tired of all the big tent pole, super-hero movies or fast, furious car dramas, and all the other huge budget popcorn movies coming your way and it is only June. Then run, don’t walk to see Moonrise Kingdom. You will not regret it. You will laugh and grin and roll your eyes, and enjoyed yourself immensely.
Moonrise can be streamed on Prime, Apple+, VUDU and Direct TV.
Blackthorn, Butch Cassidy Revisited!
Western!
Sam Shepard!
Bolivia?
Is Sam Shepard riding a Llama and wearing one of those cute but funny Bolivian hats?
Answer – no!
Blackthorn takes up the story of Butch Cassidy 26 years after he supposedly died with Sundance in that Bolivian town. However, they both escaped – Butch unharmed and Sundance mortally wounded. Sundance dies, and Butch becames Blackthorn, an American expat who has a little ranch and raises horses. For 26 years, he hides out in plain site, sells his horses, writes letters to Etta Place who is in San Francisco, and life slowly works past him. He is lonely, but the peace of not running and just living in one place had replaced the need of adventure and danger.
One day, he gets a letter from Etta. She is dying and she has a son – by Sundance or him. She is not sure, and she wants Butch to come back and get to know him. And so, Blackthorn starts the task of trying to end one life and return to another.
He sells his last horse, says goodbye to his local lover, and sets out on the long journey home. However, an unexpected encounter with a young Spanish thief thrust him into one last adventure, the likes of which he has not experienced since his days with Sundance.
This is a gritty, revisionist western and Sam Shepard gives a riveting performance as the unsentimental Blackthorn. The director, Mateo Gil and screenwriter, Migual Barros create a beautiful story of what might have happened to one of the American West’s great legends.
The movie is slow in some parts, and the plot doubles back on itself sometimes, but overall this is a tight, and worthwhile little Western. Well worth your 2 hours. Just for the simple pleasure of watching Sam Shepard in his best part since The Right Stuff. This is an excellent weekend treat for the senses. Plus you learn a lot about Bolivia and how much the West and their countryside were alike.
Blackthorn streams on NetFlix. VUDU, FandangoNOW, YouTube, FlixFling, Magnolia Selects, Amazon, Redbox, The Roku Channel, iTunes, Tubi, and Pluto TV.
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