Movies Archives - Page 62 of 85

How Does Moonrise Kingdom Rank Among Wes Anderson’s Films? (Short Review)

Movie fans probably already know if they will like the new film Moonrise Kingdom (2012). If you like director Wes Anderson‘s other films, you will probably like Moonrise Kingdom. It has a similar look to his other films and his usual quirky characters. So the most helpful question for a review is: Where does Moonrise Kingdom fall on the scale of Wes Anderson films?

Moonrise Kingdom follows the exploits of a boy and girl who run away together while parents, a sheriff, and a scout troop search for the two. The colorful movie stars Jared Gilman and Kara Hayward as the two runaways, along with Bruce Willis, Edward Norton, Frances McDormand, and Anderson-movie-regular Bill Murray. There are smaller appearances by Harvey Keitel, another Anderson regular Jason Schwartzman, and a funny narrating role by Bob Balaban dressed in red. The movie has the usual Anderson touch of using classic songs to provide mood, and he uses some Hank Williams recordings like “Kaw-Liga.”

In the interest of full disclosure, I have enjoyed all of Wes Anderson’s movies. I think Rushmore (1998) is a wonderful film, and I also thoroughly enjoyed The Royal Tennenbaums (2001). I also enjoyed his one foray so far into animation and using another author’s story in Fantastic Mr. Fox (2009). I liked his debut movie, Bottle Rocket (1996), although he has surpassed that work. For me, Moonrise Kingdom did not exceed Rushmore or The Royal Tennenbaums, but I enjoyed it much more than The Darjeeling Limited (2007) and The Life Aquatic with Steve Zissou (2001).

Moonrise Kingdom has a more linear story than some of his movies, like the intertwining The Royal Tennenbaums. So in some ways it may seem like a smaller film than his other works. But it has genuine laugh-out-loud moments while also being a lyrical memory of early 1960s childhood innocence. Overall, it is thoroughly enjoyable.

Conclusion? Moonrise Kingdom may not blow you away, but it is a welcome entertaining escape from the summer blockbusters. In the following video, Bill Murray takes you on a tour of the film.

Other Reviews Because Why Should You Trust Me? Rotten Tomatoes currently has Moonrise Kingdom with an excellent 95% critics rating and a 92% audience rating. Joe Williams at the St. Louis Dispatch argues that it is the best movie of the year so far. Boo Allen at the Denton Record Chronicle (TX) is one of the few dissenters, claiming that the attempts at charming dialogue passages “end up sounding quaint, forced and often ridiculous.”

Rocket Science (Missed Movies)

What if Wes Anderson Made a Horror Movie?

Bruce Willis Was in “The Verdict”?

Sam Williams: “Can’t Fool Your Own Blood” (Song of the Day)

Hank Williams Live Show from July 1952 (Audio)

Picture Show Online Tribute to John Prine

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40th Anniversary of “Deliverance” Celebrated

This weekend, the mountain region of Georgia and South Carolina along the Chattooga River is recognizing the fortieth anniversary of the release of the movie Deliverance (1972). The Chattooga served as the fictional Cahulawassee River in the film about four businessmen canoeing the river and camping on a vacation when they encounter some trouble.

Understandably, some locals opposed celebrating the movie in an area unfairly stereotyped by the film, which does not portray the local residents in a very flattering light. For example, one of the most iconic scenes in the film features rapists telling one of the men to “squeal like a pig.” But organizers reasoned that Deliverance, which was nominated for a Best Picture Academy Award, helped draw other filmmakers as well as people interested in outdoor activities to the area.

Organizers plan to continue this new Chattooga River Festival after this year’s Deliverance-themed festival. This weekend, they will feature a screening of the film and a concert by singer-actor Ronnie Cox, who played the banjo on “Dueling Banjos” in this iconic scene from the film.

Ronnie Cox also will be signing copies of his new book about the making of Deliverance, entitled Dueling Banjos: The Deliverance of Drew. The movie, based on a novel by James Dickey and directed by John Boorman, also starred Burt Reynolds, Ned Beatty, and Angelina Jolie’s father Jon Voight.

Cover of the Day: Mo Pitney Sings “If Hollywood Don’t Need You”

Runaway Train (Missed Movies)

Total Recall, Total Waste (Short Review)

Rating the Lonesome Dove Series, Part 2: The Sequels

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South Atlantic League Inducts Bill Murray Into Hall of Fame

Minor League Baseball’s South Atlantic League yesterday inducted actor Bill Murray into the league’s Hall of Fame. Murray is the co-owner and “Director of Fun” of the Charleston Riverdogs, a Class A affiliate of the New York Yankees.

In his warm induction speech at a ceremony in Charleston, South Carolina, Murray explained why the honor means so much to him and recounted the first time he saw Wrigley Field. Watch his speech below.

What do you think of his induction speech? Leave your two cents in the comments.

Roberto Clemente: Twenty-One Feet Tall

Hammerin’ Hank

Jackie Robinson Takes the Field

Happy Opening Day!

It Wasn’t Easy: Sonny Brown’s Home Run

Second Chances and the Tragedy of Steve Howe

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Happy 70th Birthday Roger Ebert!

Monday is the 70th birthday of movie critic Roger Ebert, who was born June 18, 1942. Roger Ebert helped make many of us more thoughtful in our movie viewing with his outstanding TV reviews with Gene Siskel and Richard Roeper, his newspaper reviews, his online reviews, and his books. I could list numerous great movies I discovered because of him, which is a great gift he gave to me. Although he has battled health issues in recent years, we have been fortunate that he has continued to actively help shape how we think about movies.

This last week, Henry Hill — the inspiration for Martin Scorsese’s Goodfellas (1990) as well as the movie My Blue Heaven (1990), passed away. So it seems an appropriate time to look back on Siskel and Ebert’s perceptive take on Goodfellas when they first saw the film, before it had become the iconic classic that it is today.

Thanks for the reviews Mr. Ebert, and we look forward to many more.

What is your favorite review by Roger Ebert? Leave your two cents in the comments.

Roger Ebert Keeps Us Thinking

“American Graffiti” Opens in 1973

Movie Lovers Should Join The Important Cinema Club (Podcast Review)

Breaking Down the Ending Segment of “Goodfellas”

“Just a Few Takes”: Ray Liotta Discusses Classic “Goodfellas” Scene

Siskel & Ebert Go Door-to-Door

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Big Red Machine Reliever (and “Airplane!” Reference) Pedro Borbon Passes Away

On Monday, former Cincinnati Red reliever Pedro Borbon passed away from cancer in Texas at the age of 65. Borbon, who was born in the Dominican Republic, was an important part of the Big Red Machine teams that won world champions in 1975 and 1976. He pitched in more games than any other Major League Baseball pitcher during the period of 1970-1978. He holds the record for most pitching appearances in a Reds uniform and is in the Reds Hall of Fame.

Growing up in southern Ohio in the 1970s, I was a big fan of the colorful Borbon on my Cincinnati Reds. Most baseball fans discover the sport as kids, and there is nothing like discovering the sport as your team is becoming one of the all-time greats. The Reds manager Sparky Anderson earned the nickname “Captain Hook” for pulling his starting pitchers so much in those days, and one of the reasons he could do so with confidence was because he had Borbon in the bullpen. During Borbon’s Reds’ career, he played in 20 post-season games with an ERA of 2.55.

Borbon had another claim to fame in that he was mentioned in the movie Airplane! (1980). In the film, Ted Striker (played by Robert Hays) is trying to concentrate while hearing voices in his head, including a public address announcer saying “Pinch hitting for Pedro Borbon . . . Manny Mota.” From what I can tell, although Borbon had some short stints on a few other teams like the San Francisco Giants and St. Louis Cardinals, he never played on the same team as record-breaking pinch-hitter Manny Mota. The writers probably chose the Manny Mota reference because Mota was well-known as a pinch hitter, but I have not seen an explanation for why the writers chose Borbon among all the Major League pitchers. Perhaps they chose him because he was well-known, or because he was good, or maybe because he was a colorful character. Among other antics, during on-field brawls he used his teeth on a Mets hat and on Pirates player Daryl Patterson (who then had to get a tetanus shot).

Borbon’s son recently noted that his father often talked about the movie reference: “A lot of people remember him by that. He liked that.” At Borbon’s request, there is not going to be a memorial service in Texas. But I hope he does not mind that I thank him for the memories he gave me by playing the Airplane! clip that he liked. RIP.