Thursday Movie Picks: Movies About Young Love

Happy Thursday, all! On this week's edition of Thursday Movie Picks...

oh, wait. There might be some new folks here. Let's give them a quick rundown. Every Thursday, I make suggestions based on a theme selected by Wanderer at Wandering Through the Shelves as part of her Thursday Movie Picks meme. Check out her place and the list of upcoming topics and feel free to join in with your own picks.

This week, the theme is childhood, or young love. Wanderer defines "childhood" as being before high school. This left me in a little bit of a bind. I literally had no idea what to do. After combing the recesses of my mind for hours...okay, seconds because my recesses don't run that deep...I finally decided on three I'm calling my favorites. Chronologically, they are...

My Girl

(1991)

Has there ever been a more heart-breaking movie than this? In it, we follow Vada (Anna Chlumsky) and Thomas (Macaulay Culkin). Vada is a girl who has a ton of health problems. Similarly, Thomas is seemingly allergic to everything. The two form a bond throughout the movie and then...well, I won't say anymore.

Let the Right One In 

(2008)

Let Me In 

(2010)

Okay, so I'm cheating just a bit. We'll actually have four movies, instead of three to choose from this week. Let the Right One In is a wonderful Swedish film featuring two kids that develop an amazing relationship. The boy is a target for bullies while the girl keeps to herself. It just so happens that she's a vampire. In case subtitles are a bit much for you, Let Me In is the American remake. There are some differences along the way, but I enjoyed both very much. In fact, they both made my list of The Best Vampire Movies Since 2000.

Moonrise Kingdom

(2012)

In this one, a boy scout named Sam (Jared Gilman) runs away from camp and convinces a girl from town, Suzy (Kara Hayward) to go with him. While they're off on their little adventure, everyone on the island they live on, including his scout master and her parents are looking for them. Everyone involved gets into some rather interesting situations. Be forewarned that this is a Wes Anderson flick, whom I know some people aren't that fond of. Still, I had a great time watching this. Click here for my full review.

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Congrats to the Winners!

 

Just finished watching the Oscars. Congrats to all the winners, especially Argo, taking home the honors for Best Picture. You can read my review of it here.

Movies I've reviewed that received at least one nomination this year (alphabetically):

The Avengers

Django Unchained
Flight
Mirror Mirror
Moonrise Kingdom
ParaNorman
Silver Linings Playbook
Snow White and the Huntsman
Ted


In the coming weeks, I should get to a bunch more nominees, particularly from the Best Picture category. Stay tuned!

Moonrise Kingdom

Directed by Wes Anderson.

2012. Rated PG-13, 94 minutes.
Cast:
Jared Gilman
Kara Hayward
Bruce Willis
Edward Norton
Bill Murray
Frances McDormand
Tilda Swinton
Jason Schwartzman
Harvey Keitel
Bob Balaban

One morning, Scout Master Ward (Norton) awakes to find one of his troops missing. Sam (Gilman) has run away from the campsite. Ward promptly alerts the local authorities and the boy’s parents. It turns out Sam is an orphan and now that he’s had another incident, his foster father no longer wants him. Still, Ward and top cop Cpt. Sharp (Willis) begin a search of the island they’re on with the help of Troop 55, the unit under Ward’s command. A short while later, Suzy (Hayward) runs away from home, much to the chagrin of her parents Laura (McDormand) and Walt Bishop (Murray). By the way, the Bishops have an interesting dynamic going with Cpt. Sharp. What we know before any of the adults in the movie is that Sam and Suzy met up and are trying to disappear together. The search for them both ensues.

In typical Wes Anderson fashion, Moonrise Kingdom is a quirky film that looks different from other movies the first instant you lay eyes on it. He does something that’s almost unheard of in today’s cinematic environment, especially the American market. His movies feel like a collection of still shots with short stretches of people performing minimal movements linking them together. This is no exception. Due to the location and the lush scenery it provides, this technique works brilliantly. The dialogue is similarly sparse. There are no big, showy speeches or shouting matches even when emotions are obviously high. The trick is every feeling needed to hook us into the picture is more than ably conveyed. The actors do a wonderful job with body language and facial expression without over acting or mugging for the camera. Of course, even that comes back to Anderson and the type of performances he coaxes out of his cast. In his hands, a blank stare speaks volumes. It’s subtle storytelling at its finest.

Still, MK would be lost if the story it were telling weren’t interesting. Fortunately, it is. The nucleus is a tender story of young love. Floating in the plasma around it are other interesting things. We get a look at how twelve year old boys interact, complete with overblown machismo. There is also how adults view and deal with kids in general, those they see as troubled youth in particular. Finally, there is a marriage at the crossroads. All of these are handled without excessive exposition or manipulation. It all adds up to a fun, if a bit oddly executed film.