Moonrise Kingdom

****
UK Release Date: May 25th 2012

A pair of young lovers flee their New England town, which causes a local search party to fan out and find them.

Director: Wes Anderson (The Royal Tenenbaums, The Darjeeling Limited, Fantastic Mr. Fox)

Starring: Jared Gilman, Kara Hayward, Bruce Willis, Edward Norton, Bill Murray, Frances McDormand, Tilda Swinton, Jason Schwartzman, Bob Balaban

Wes Anderson has a very familiar way of presenting his work. His films stand out by their sweeping camera shots, far-fetched storylines, low budget settings and dry humour.

The A-List celebrities in Moonrise Kingdom (Willis, Norton and Murray in particular) are supporting actors. The focus is on newcomers Jared Gilman and Kara Hayward, who play runaway lovers Sam and Suzy respectively. They are ones to watch out for. Their quirky mannerisms and awkwardness around each other hold a chemistry unlike any other. Their homes are on an island, so there's only so far they can run from their friends and family. A great scene worth mentioning sees the young lovers square off against Sam's fellow scouts.

There are no boring characters in this film. Everyone has an agenda and everyone stops what they're doing to look for Sam and Suzy. Scout Master Ward (Edward Norton) and his scouts are standouts as well as Bruce Willis' Captain Sharp who's having an undisclosed affair with Suzy's mother.

MK's pace is swift. There's no messing around. It's consistently funny from beginning to end. Wes Anderson is one of the best directors out there when it comes to pure entertainment.