Moonrise Kingdom

  For whatever reason, I hadn't heard much about Wes Anderson's new movie Moonrise Kingdom until very recently.  I have always been a fan of his work, going all the way back to Bottle Rocket, so the thought of another ensemble cast with Anderson behind the camera was of great intrigue to me.  Edward Norton, Bill Murray, Frances McDormand, Bruce Willis, Harvey Keitel, and Tilda Swinton all join forces to provide support for the film's two stars: Jared Gilman and Kara Hayward, who play 12-year old star-crossed lovers desperate to elope and start their lives together.
  Sam Shakusky is an unpopular Khaki Scout who was orphaned at a young age and decides to run away from his scout troop to seek out the love of his life, Suzy, who also wants to get away from her family.  The two meet up in a secret location and hike off into the woods together, with dreams of getting off the island.  The two children are outsiders in their own worlds and seem to truly be a perfect match for one another.  Their "love" story is pretty touching, in its own pre-pubescent kind of way.  They complement each other pretty well and seem to offer one another a symbiotic catharsis that helps them deal with their troubled lives.
  Norton plays Khaki Scout Master Randy Ward, a math teacher on the side who runs a tight camp.  Once he discovers that Sam has gone missing, he assembles his well-trained scouts to go track him down.  This doesn't take long, of course, and, with the help of the local police captain (played by Willis), the two runaways are caught pretty early on in the film.
  Wes Anderson does a really good job at creating very unique worlds in his films, and Moonrise Kingdom, which takes place on a New England island in the mid 1960s, is no exception.  The landscapes, the effects and the dialogue all have his signature all over them.  His style is unmistakable, and, while some people have criticized him for turning into a parody, I think that is exactly his objective - to create films that parody himself.  He obviously possesses a ton of confidence in himself to continually produce such creatively unique material and I can only commend him for having the ability to create worlds that are so fun to live in for 100 minutes at a time.  This film has all of the typical Anderson touches that you will find familiar, and, assuming that you enjoyed some or all of his previous works, you will enjoy every bit of it.
  I do have one criticism. Before they are caught, the two young lovebirds are getting to know one another in some pretty age-inappropriate ways and I will say that seeing Sam and Suzy in their underwear was a bit uncomfortable.  Those sequences felt inappropriate and unnecessary to me.
  Gilman and Hayward are young stars in the making and, combined with Anderson's flair, a fantastic score and the impressive supporting cast, they help make Moonrise Kingdom another must-see volume in a hilarious catalog.