Bests & Worsts Reviews from Amazon

IN A WORLD WHERE films must shock, where films must employ impossible stunts, extreme violence and outrageous characters, comes Moonrise Kingdom - with none of it. This is a real STORY, with real characters, in which everything that happens is actually possible. What a concept. Told with humor and compassion, the film sweeps you along without the dreaded need for suspension of disbelief. The story is pure Americana - life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness. Some do it better than others. Not everyone is a winner. Its stars - seven of them! - are all totally out of character. This is not a Bill Murray vehicle or an Edward Norton vehicle or a Bruce Willis vehicle. The stars fit in, almost as afterthoughts. It's the story that counts. Most impressively, it has style. From the opening shots of Susie, face on with her binoculars in various rooms of the house, you know this film will be stylish. And understated. It is worthy of any screen in the world, in a world where American films have become overpoweringly boring and repetitive and entirely predictable. This is the kind of film that France would have originated, and which Americans would have remade into a noxious overkill of action and adventure. It is therefore rare and precious. It will endure long after Transformers XXVII has faded. Kudos to Wes Anderson and team for resisting the urges that every other Hollywood production takes for a granted as a requirement. Bob Balaban as the narrator, making his own appearance in the story, is inspired, as is his framing in the shots. That kind of attention to style gives Moonrise Kingdom the ability to sweep you away. On these shores, this is the first must see in years.