Category Archives: Wes Anderson

2014: The Possible Year In Movies

Image via Collider

2013 was an excellent year for movies. 2014 seems like a mixed bag so far. There are a lot of solid releases coming out down the road.

For now, I feel pessimistic. Then again, it is easy to feel that way in January and February when studios focus on the Oscars and release all of the movies they have no faith in.

I think the dry spell will not last too long though, as there are already some promising releases in February and March. Here now are the list of films I want to see, the films I want to ignore, and the films I hope live up to their possible potential in 2014:

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Wes Anderson Releases a New Film (Sort Of)

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I’m a day late here, but I figured I’d post it anyway. Yesterday, Wes Anderson released a new short film called “Castello Cavalcanti.” Now, I usually form an emotional response to anything Wes Anderson makes pretty quickly, but I am still trying to figure this one out. As usual, it’s beautiful to look at. But, what is it about?

It looks pretty, but “Castello Cavalcanti” made me realize how Anderson’s characters are even more important than the visuals. I like the pretty visuals and the fact that everything looks like a giant toy, but it could use more dialogue like “that’s the last time you put a knife in me!” and “get your ass the hell off of my boat!” All I’m saying is that I’m still not sure why this ends with Jason Schwartzman ordering a bowl of spaghetti. Because Italy, I guess?

It definitely can’t beat “The Midnight Coterie of Sinister Intruders,” but its solid enough to make the wait for “The Grand Budapest Hotel” more bearable. Watch the video below:

Trailer Park: The Grand Budapest Hotel

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A.K.A. The Hipster “Hangover”

It was only a matter of time before Wes Anderson made a film where every single character has a mustache.

This is about the millionth time I will say this, but Wes Anderson is one of modern cinema’s best directors. Today, the first trailer was released for his upcoming film “The Grand Budapest Hotel.”

While every Wes Anderson film basically has the same aesthetic (yellow font, colorful walls, etc.), you can always expect a different story. “The Grand Budapest Hotel” looks like some kind of murder mystery. Indeed, there’s a girl in it named Agatha, who is possibly an allusion to Agatha Christie, who much more educated people tell me was once a famous crime writer.

The only thing that could possibly worry me about “The Grand Budapest Hotel” is that it already seems to combine a lot of Anderson’s other films (“The Darjeeling Limited,” “The Royal Tenenbaums”), and Ed Norton already seems like he’s playing a pretty similar character to the one in “Moonrise Kingdom.” However, these are just assumptions. One trailer cannot tell me so much. For now, I will just assume that Willem Dafoe will once again have an awesome accent like in “The Life Aquatic.”

But just look at the rest of that cast. Ralph Fiennes is not one normally known for comedy (although he is hilarious in “In Bruges”), but he already had me cracking up in this trailer. The cast is one of the most important parts of a Wes Anderson joint (characters are so important), and Fiennes seems like a perfect fit for Anderson’s weird little world.

Wes Anderson has been on a roll lately: his last two films were “Fantastic Mr. Fox” and “Moonrise Kingdom.” I have faith he can win me over once again with “The Grand Budapest Hotel.” March 2014 can’t come soon enough. Watch the trailer below:

Can Gene Hackman please come out of retirement just to star in one more Wes Anderson film?

Kumar Pallana: A Life In Quotes

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Yesterday, Kumar Pallana, perhaps my favorite accidental actor in Hollywood died at the age of 94.

Pallana was discovered by Wes Anderson and the Wilson brothers at the coffee shop in Dallas which he owned. They then gave him a small role in “Bottle Rocket.” Then he just kept popping up again and again until he became just as memorable a part of Anderson’s world as colorful wallpaper and Kinks songs.

I don’t know why Pallana was always so funny to me. Maybe because he would just pop up, say one barely audible line, and then disappear. Or maybe its because in “Rushmore” you can spot him in the background of one shot playing with a giant necklace, and he never says a word at all.

I remember him best as Pagoda in “The Royal Tenenbaums,” who was apparently an assassin in Calcutta at one point in time. In honor of Kumar Pallana, I have decided to compile all of my favorite lines of his from “The Royal Tenenbaums”:

“The black man ask her to be his wife.”

“There he is.”

“There he goes.”

“You son of a bitch!”

“Oh shit man!”

Here’s the obituary from his hometown paper.

Oscars 2013: What I Liked

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The Oscar nominations were announced this morning. I was prepared to go on yet another tangent about the awards and cover all that I thought were snubbed. Then I realized that noting that absence of Jack Black in “Bernie,” Marion Cotillard in “Rust and Bone,” and Leonardo Dicaprio in “Django Unchained” would just feel like preaching to the choir.

Instead, I’ve decided to keep things a little more positive. As much as there was to hate in the nominations this year (and there certainly was a lot *cough* “Les Mis” *cough*) there was also a lot to like in a particularly strong year for film. So, why not give the Academy credit for once, even if they don’t need it? Here are my favorite nominees for this year’s Oscars:

Django Unchained (Best Picture)

No one was surprised this morning when it was announced that “Django Unchained” was nominated for Best Picture. While a film as vulgar and brutally violent as “Django Unchained” won’t win Best Picture, it is pretty incredible that it is nominated for those same reasons. Acknowledging a film that broke this many rules alongside traditional Hollywood fare is a small victory worth celebrating.

Joaquin Phoenix (Best Actor)

After dissing the Oscars a few months back, it seemed as if Joaquin Phoenix had burned a tremendous bridge. For giving him the nomination anyway, voters went against the usual politics of Hollywood for good reason. Phoenix’s performance in “The Master” was his best yet. With a constantly bent posture, Phoenix disappeared into this role as a mentally troubled alcoholic. He gave a performance that was mysterious and also deeply funny. Most importantly, in such an ambiguous film, Phoenix provided a beating heart.

Jennifer Lawrence (Best Actress)

This isn’t just because I am somewhat in love with her. Jennifer Lawrence had the best year of her still nascent career. She headlined “The Hunger Games” and then chewed up the scenery of “Silver Linings Playbook.” In the film’s first half, she is quiet yet you always know where she stands. By the second half, she has taken over control from everyone else. Bradley Cooper might have been the main character, but Jennifer Lawrence took every bit of screen time she had and made it her movie.

Anne Hathaway (Best Supporting Actress)

As much as I wasn’t a fan of “Les Mis,” it is impossible to not have been blown away by Anne Hathaway. In a few brief minutes, she brought tears to my eyes. She created a bond with her character and combined acting and singing for incredible emotional results. Once she departs, the film is never quite the same. After she finished her big solo, the first thought that came to my head was, “Anne Hathaway just won the Oscar.”

Moonrise Kingdom (Best Original Screenplay)

I would have really liked if “Moonrise” also got a Best Picture nomination, but I’ll take what I can get. “Moonrise” was one of the most exciting and original films of the year. The script showed how Wes Anderson’s confidence as a storyteller has completely evolved. The dialogue is like listening to music. And like any great film, repeat viewings only reveal more and more layers.

On A Second Viewing: Moonrise Kingdom

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One viewing of a Wes Anderson film simply isn’t enough. His films are like the aftertaste of a good meal that won’t go away, and you never want them to go away. Or, a painting where you notice more going on in the background with a more watchful eye. Or, an even more apt comparison here, like a symphony that sounds even better when broken down into smaller pieces.

In “Moonrise Kingdom,” young heroine Suzy Bishop (Kara Hayward) looks at everything through binoculars. She says that it makes things look closer, even when they aren’t very far away. She also believes it is her super power. I like to imagine that Wes Anderson looks at every film he makes through a pair of binoculars, and that he shares this super power with Suzy: he can see every minuscule detail of life up close in the most vivid of ways.

Through each one of his works, Anderson is inviting the audience more and more to stare into the binoculars at the idiosyncratic universe he has created. After seeing “Moonrise Kingdom” at Cannes, I immediately knew that one viewing wouldn’t suffice. And while I try my best to go in with little to no expectations, I knew I would like it better the second time around. And that I did. It is not that I didn’t like “Moonrise Kingdom” the first time around, it is just that I liked it for different reasons. The first time, I liked it because the Transitive Property of Wes Anderson* required that I like it. I liked it even more on viewing number two because I saw that once again, Wes Anderson defied his detractors and made yet another film in which the characters were more than just cutouts standing against pretty backdrops.

“Moonrise Kingdom” has had its fair share of detractors. Well, most negative reviews were actually positive, with some critical things to say. Many have complained that Anderson’s style and tropes have become too predictable. It is true that there are certain things you will find in every Wes Anderson film, but that is what makes him such a great filmmaker. He tells the same story only loosely every time he makes a film. Like his past works, “Moonrise Kingdom” is about adults who act like children, and children who think they’re adults.

Like any good director, Anderson is constantly trying to improve on the template he first created. On a second viewing, I realized the opening, is more than just a tour of the Bishop household and all of its members. It serves the same purpose as the opening of “The Royal Tenenbaums.” When looking at it through that lens, it makes it even more impressive: characters, and a story, are introduced without saying a single word. Here, we learn that Mr. and Mrs. Bishop can spend their time close to each other, without saying a single word to the other. Mr. Bishop (Bill Murray) lying in a fetal position shows something of a surrender to misery. Mrs. Bishop’s (Frances McDormand) arduous routine shows a predilection toward self-preservation. And then there’s Suzy, sitting above her brothers almost in a separate sphere, reading one of her many adventure novels. Well, everyone in this family seems to be in the Bishop household seems to be in their own little sphere, with the exception of the three little boys.

Shortly after, we are introduced to the fourth wall breaking narrator (Bob Balaban). With the narrator, Anderson has to break a few cinematic rules in order to introduce the fictional island of New Penzance to the audience, as well as the future hurricane. At this point, Anderson has earned the right to break those rules, because he does it right.

With the exception of “Fantastic Mr. Fox,” Anderson’s other films took place in slightly fantasized versions of real places. In “Moonrise Kingdom,” Anderson invented a place that he can call his own. “Moonrise Kingdom” is a fantasy tale about two children trying to live out a fantasy of their own.

Then, we are introduced to the Khaki Scouts, another thing that doesn’t exist, yet is a variation of something in reality. That is a good way to define much of Anderson’s work. We meet everyone from Scout Master Ward (Edward Norton), who is a Scout Master first and a math teacher on the side, to the boy with the eye patch (we never do find out his real name). That the entire troop of scouts a family, and many other characters can be so well developed in just 90 minutes is a testament to the power of great writing. Usually, an entire TV series would be needed to delve in to this many characters. Anderson has the power to define someone’s entire personality in just one line of dialogue.

Anderson has another power that is known to most, but doesn’t truly come out until a second viewing. I realized this time around that the characters in all of Anderson’s films exist loosely in a similar world that is not quite our own. This is a world where people act pretty terribly toward each other, and have trouble expressing their true feelings through words. So instead, they define themselves through the clothes they wear, the way they decorate their homes, and the culture that they consume. Look closely and you’ll notice a heavy use of the colors yellow and brown throughout “Moonrise Kingdom.” You can see it in the Khaki Scouts, as well as Sam’s (Jared Gilman) foster home, from his foster father’s yellow and brown plaid shirt, to the chocolate cake that his foster mother is covering with yellow icing in the background. Perhaps it represents a world that is ripe on the outside, yet a little dark on the outside, or a cast of characters who are “yellow” (cowardly).

I also found the second time around that the film is much funnier than I first thought it was. Once again, and I cannot say this enough, it is all about the little things. For example, notice how Sam keeps an inventory list of all of Suzy’s things, or the group of kids in the background of one scene trying to play their recorders. Also, I will mention the very hilarious irony of seeing Jason Schwartzman play a preist. And yes, it’s also funny to see that treehouse, and it’s even funnier (and makes total sense) to see a kid carry around $76 in change. Every kid at one point or another had that much change on them for no good reason.

Working on a Wes Anderson film must be an actor’s paradise. He gives them so much good dialogue and characterization to work with. He has kick-started the careers of its two incredibly promising leads, Hayward and Gilman, who bring equal amounts of heart and humor to the film. I believe one day the two of them will run off once again to become Margot Tenenbaum and Eli Cash. The boy with the lazy eye will probably become Dudley.

Sam and Suzy also remind me of a younger version of Bonnie and Clyde, minus the bloodlust. The story of “Moonrise Kingdom” also felt a little bit like a twist on Terrence Malick’s “Badlands.” The indelible image of Sam and Suzy dancing on the beach to Francoise Hardy’s “Le Temps de l’Amour,” equal parts cute, creepy, and awkward, felt like the scene where Kit (Martin Sheen) and Holly (Sissy Spacek) dance along to “Love is Strange.” Both scenes contain the childlike wonder for trying something completely new.

Anderson’s films are often criticized for not having enough heart. But “Moonrise Kingdom” is one of those films that I just wanted to give a giant hug too. It is pretty on the inside, and the outside. Its intentionally cheesy special effects never make it seem dated. While some have said this film could have taken place during any year, I believe 1965 is the perfect fit. Seeing characters chart out territory on real maps is way more interesting than someone trying to figure out where they are going on Google Maps. Perhaps New Penzance is trapped in the past, just like all of its characters, while the outside world moves on. And for that, I actually think it is better off.

One more note I believe it is proper to end on: the music. It is true that “Moonrise Kingdom” does not have the most standout soundtrack of all of Wes Anderson’s filmography. British Invasion is replaced with British Classical, and there’s a tinge more French than usual. But maybe these characters aren’t ready for The Kinks yet, at least not until they figure out how to put Benjamin Britten’s orchestra together.

How I Rank Wes Anderson’s Films:
1. The Royal Tenenbaums
2. Rushmore
3. Fantastic Mr. Fox
4. Moonrise Kingdom
5. The Life Aquatic with Steve Zissou
6. Bottle Rocket
7. The Darjeeling Limited

*If it includes elaborate sets and anything vintage, then it must be Wes Anderson, and it must almost always be good.

For No Apparent Reason of the Day: Bill Murray Gives a House Tour

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Here is a video of Bill Murray giving a tour of the house in “Moonrise Kingdom.” “Moonrise Kingdom” opened a few weeks ago, and I’ve already seen it, so there seems to be no apparent reason that I’m posting it. However, this video contains Bill Murray.

I can’t tell if Bill Murray is joking or serious most of the time he speaks, which is probably what makes him so mysterious and so awesome at the same time. I take everything he says as words of wisdom. Which is why, after this video, I will never wear short pants again, as according to him doing so is asking to get robbed. Genius.

Also, seeing the details that go into making a set on a Wes Anderson film never ceases to amaze me. I need to see “Moonrise Kingdom” again, and as soon as humanly possible.

The Reel Deal Goes To Cannes #3: There’s Quirkiness in the Air (Must Be a New Wes Anderson Movie!)

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Today, The Reel Deal walked the red carpet.

Nobody asked me who I was wearing. Sacha Baron Cohen didn’t try to dump ashes on me. Something I learned when I went to Sundance that has come back to mind now that in order to live some of the most glorious moments, some of the glory must be sacrificed. However, the price was well worth it.

Thanks to something called positive thinking (it’s amazing what it actually can do), I ended up with a ticket for “Moonrise Kingdom.” It wasn’t the flashy premiere that Wes Anderson, Bill Murray, Ed Norton, and Bruce Willis would be at, but something a little quieter also in the one-of-a-kind Lumiere Theater. It is hard to review a movie totally objectively, as one’s experience outside of the movie always impacts the experience of the movie itself. While the excitement of Cannes might have added to my opinion of “Moonrise Kingdom,” it will definetly stand the test of time (more on that in a minute).

Cannes is the kind of place where dreams meet stark reality. There will be more people surrounding a red carpet, hoping to get just one glimpse of a celebrity, than actual celebrities. And you won’t always get what you want, but if you try some time you’ll find that you can get something just as good. When attending a film festival, know that you might see some things that you never imagined you would see in your life, but also remember to set your expectations to a realistic level.

Celebrity Encounters:

P. Diddy standing on the ledge of a balcony over his V.I.P. party at the “Famous Club.” I put Famous Club in quotations because the title of the club is in quotations, implying it either isn’t famous or that it isn’t actually there. I can only imagine Kanye wanting to yell “I am golden God!” before jumping, only to have Kanye once again point out that he wrote the Bible.
Harvey Weinstein walking down the street. At this point, he is the de facto King of Cannes.

Check out a brief review of Wes Anderson’s “Moonrise Kingdom” after the jump:

Any given film from a great director will serve as a culmination point of all of their previous works. That is why it is hard for a director to have a flawless first feature, and it is also why Wes Anderson’s films so frequently succeed. “Moonrise Kingdom,” his latest effort, combines the dysfunctional family dark comedy of “The Royal Tenenbaums” with the childhood perspective of “Rushmore” and “Fantastic Mr. Fox” and the perfectly suspended reality of “The Life Aquatic.”

“Moonrise Kingdom” feels like all of the best movies I watched as a kid, but it is much wearier of childhood whimsy. I imagine it is based off of fantasies that Anderson made up for himself when he himself was a child. It is a fine example of his evolving style as a filmmaker, and a long way from when he was first telling stories of book store robberies in Texas in “Bottle Rocket.” This is both his most typical and most different movie yet.

“Moonrise Kingdom” is like an action comedy filled with inspired, gimmicky 60s style special effects. There are many out there who do not like Wes Anderson and can never be convinced to enjoy any of his movies. Well, maybe I can sell you this one by telling you that it made me think of “The Goonies.” A more romantic version of “The Goonies,” albeit.

The film of Anderson’s past have always had an affinity for vintage, so I guess it was about time he made a movie set in 1965. The first detailed location we get is Suzy’s (Kara Hayward), which looks like a giant dollhouse. The house becomes a character istelf.

Suzy is persued by Sam (Jared Gilman), a twelve-year-old who defines too smart for his own good. Sam is a foster child, and Suzy can’t stand even the presence of her parents. The two bond as social outcasts, Suzy constantly fighting with her classmates, and Sam being constantly alienated from the rest of his khaki scout troop. The two run away together and look to form a place where they can forever be away from adults. Perhaps something similar to what Holden Caufield once described.

The adults of “Moonrise Kingdom” might feel underdeveloped as compared to Anderson’s past films, but that’s only because this is the first film he’s ever done from the resentful and precocious perspective of a child. However, seeing Mrs. Bishop (Frances McDormand) and Suzy together, you can see how one was once like the other. As Mr. Bishop, Bill Murray is, well, Bill Murray. Willis is the most deadpan funny and sincere he has ever been. This might be Norton’s funniest performance since “Keeping the Faith.”

The film as a whole is simultaenously adult and childlike. It is a darker and more mature version of a typical childhood fantasy. It is as if you are rooting for and against the fantasy. Sam and Suzy become so likable, yet their love causes chaos for all who care for them.

“Moonrise Kingdom” might be Anderson’s most traditionally structured film to date. However, that doesn’t mean everything works out ever so perfectly. A main character is killed off early on, and the ending, meanwhile, can evoke tears. Anderson also twists around his usual formula and gives us the character montage tracking shot at the begginning, and the slow-mo walk long before the finale.

When comparing this to the rest of Anderson’s oevure, it may not be his best. But on its own, it is still fantastic. This is the kind of movie that I just want to give a big, warm hug to. I love the gimmicky special effects, the Noah’s Ark parallel, and the surprise cameo toward the end of the film from one of the best living actors. Most of all, I love all of the little detail poured into every single shot. It is nice to see so much effort being put into something that people usually don’t give a s**t about.

I will post a longer “Moonrise” review at some point soon, as I will definetly be seeing it again. Look for many more movies to be reviewed up ahead, including a director’s cut of Sergio Leone’s “Once Upon a Time in America.” I also saw a secret screening today. I cannot reveal the title until an undisclosed later date.

Movie Review: Submarine

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Okay, everyone. Time to put on a scarf, thick-frame glasses, and turn your record player on. That’s right, it’s time to get quirky.*

“Submarine” is a very Welsh film directed by someone who is distinctly English, with a distinctly English sense of humor. Funny, as it begins with a note from the narrator Oliver Tate (Craig Roberts) notifying the American audience that there is indeed a difference between being English and being Welsh. This is not the last time Oliver Tate will try and screw with your head in the most deviously playful way possible.

Watching “Submarine” is akin to watching a British Wes Anderson movie. Depending on who you are, this can be taken as a compliment, an insult, or something else in between. The film is filled with jabs of irony and self-awareness, yet thanks to the ideological protagonist, it mostly veers away from being pretentious.

Oliver Tate’s story is set in 1986. 15-year-old Oliver is a blend of Max Fisher, Antoine Doinel, and Alex DeLarge, minus the violent tendencies of the latter. Oliver seems to be a crafted response to these teenage anti-heroes, and his voiceover is of someone who is not aware that he is in a movie, but wishes he could be in one. At one point, Oliver imagines a small moment being captured in a zoom-in on film and low and behold, we get the zoom-in. Richard Ayoade may be credited as the director, but Oliver Tate deserves some of that credit as well.

Oliver may be precocious, but he is also like any character you would find in “American Pie,” as his foremost goal is to lose his virginity. But Oliver, who is probably too young to be this particular, won’t take just any girl. Oliver sets his sights on a girl who is neither the most popular nor the prettiest girl in school. Jordana (Yasmin Paige), like Oliver, keeps to herself. But she stands out in her bright red jacket, a change from everyone else’s drab uniforms. The color red has a big significance throughout, and with just one movie, Ayoade has already found a way to manipulate the small details on screen for his own advantage.

On the inside, Oliver is a hopeless romantic. Meanwhile, Jordana despises anything romantic. Oliver will only take her to the most decrepit places in town. Their dates, captured by Erik Wilson’s hauntingly beautiful cinematography, involve chaos and destruction. In Oliver’s head, everything is going perfectly between them. That is, until tragedy strikes in Jordana’s life, and Oliver is not there for her. She finds this an unforgivable betrayal and dumps him. Yet, he cannot forget about her. Then, Oliver is posed with one of the biggest questions involving young love: will it matter when you’re 38-years-old? Let’s wait until we get to that age to find out.

What differs Oliver from the lead of most high school movies is that he has to deal with issues well beyond what is important to the typical teenager. While trying to maintain his own relationship with Jordana, Oliver also takes on responsibility for his parents’ crumbling marriage. His mother Jill (Sally Hawkins) is falling out of love with her husband Lloyd (Noah Taylor). Lloyd, given the look of a depressed 18th century philosopher by Taylor, is a man who seems content not reaching his full potential. He is a brilliant marine biologist (probably not coincidentally, he was also in “The Life Aquatic”) who excels in research, but mumbles in front of a crowd. He likes everything to be predictable, and he feels no shame in revealing gifts before they are unwrapped. Oliver’s mother, meanwhile, may be having an affair with her former lover Graham Purvis (Paddy Considine), who is an even cornier motivational speaker than Jim Cunningham of “Donnie Darko.” Purvis adds on to the comedic edge of “Submarine,” and makes the movie into a slightly altered version of a plausible reality.

“Submarine” has a deep affinity for the ocean. Maybe it’s a Welsh thing, as the rugged shoreline sure is scenic. The ocean, very adeptly, represents everything that “Submarine” is about. The one fact Oliver remembers that Lloyd taught him about the ocean is that it goes down six miles at its deepest point. Besides that, there is not much more that we can know for sure. It is also probably symbolic for the subconscious, but even my own knowledge only goes so far.

Someone will likely post this on their Tumblr.

The title of the movie comes from the idea that submarines operate at an ultrasound frequency above what humans can hear. One submarine can never know what the other one is planning or thinking. Oliver points this out. Yet, perhaps one of the biggest marks of immaturity is the constant need to contradict one’s self. In the memorable and darkly comic sequence in which Oliver imagines how everyone would react to his death, he believes he has it all down to a T. Maybe he does have it all right. Or perhaps, as he says himself, its better to be by yourself and think about how these things will happen then to actually experience them.

“Submarine” is really the story of Oliver coming out of his shell. The self-assured performances by Roberts and Paige give the movie the heart that it sometimes struggles to find. In a lesser movie, it would have been solely about him winning back Jordana and finding true love. But this is an above par Sundance entry that is about more than what is seen on screen. Here is a coming of age story where the character doesn’t even know if he came of age; all he knows is that he has grown older.

Here is a movie that is all kinds of sad and funny. It is never funny in the cliche, fall out of your seat sense, but rather in the satisfying sense that it has humorously captured a little trinket of life quite accurately. Alex Turner, better known as the lead singer of the Arctic Monkeys, is the movie’s Simon & Garfunkel: you feel like the songs could not exist without being a part of the movie, and vice versa. “Submarine” is one of the most aesthetically pleasing movies to come along in a while. It is like a cinematic museum composed of paintings and polaroids worth staring at for hours. While Oliver’s narration, which guides the story, can go all over the place and get out of hand at times, that is the way it should be. It is hard to say that any decision made by in the production wasn’t made for a reason.

While “Submarine” is rated R, I believe it is still suitable for any 15 or 16 year old to see. I probably shouldn’t be doling out advice to parents, but there is something wrong with how your kids have been brought up if they don’t swear words.

*If you feel the need to punch me in the face after reading the opening paragraph, then I would not blame you.

I have no definitive proof that the final images from “Submarine” (above) and the final images from “The 400 Blows” (below) are related, but I would be surprised if they weren’t.

Wes Anderson’s Moonrise Kingdom to Open the Cannes Film Festival

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The great news yesterday from public relations land was that Wes Anderson’s “Moonrise Kingdom” will be opening the Cannes Film Festival on May 16. This is the second year in a row that an American film has opened the festival, after “Midnight in Paris” did so last year. So while the French might have taken over American awards ceremonies (thanks for that, “The Artist”), Hollywood swiftly took revenge. Or, at least that’s how I picture it happening. Your move, Sarkozy.

But enough with me imagining wars between America and France. As someone who saw my first Wes Anderson movie at the tender age of nine (a little too young, I admit), I speak from the heart when I say how excited this news makes me. Anderson deserves to fill a spot once taken up by Woody Allen.

“Moonrise Kingdom” looks like a movie that is laced with childhood whimsy. I am someone who is always believing my many crazy childhood dreams could actually come true, and this summer, I will be attending the Cannes Film Festival. I will be going as an intern, but also as something of an undercover reporter. Tickets for the premieres of the biggest movies are often hard to come by. But if anyone knows any loopholes in film law that could help me acquire tickets to the premiere of “Moonrise Kingdom,” it would be greatly appreciated.

In addition, the official poster for “Moonrise Kingdom” was released today. There is something indescribably awesome about yellow font. I can already hear The Creation blaring on the soundtrack.