Whenever I throw away one of those large round plastic lids from an orange-juice jug, in my head I hear my mother saying, as she would have said to my 8-year-old self, “That would make a great table-top for a doll’s house.” As an adult I don’t have a dollhouse, but I still have a hard time throwing away those orange-juice lids; the mentality dies hard. So why — with one luminous exception — can’t I love the movies of Wes Anderson, the most dollhousey of all filmmakers? Why, specifically, can’t I love Moonrise Kingdom, a sweet-natured picture set in 1965 on a mythical New Englandy island, in which two oddball kids run away together and pledge undying love?
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Ahead of opening the 65th Cannes Film Festival with tonight's red-carpet premiere, Wes Anderson's Moonrise Kingdom kicked off the frenzy this morning with a screening and press conference.
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Looper! The full trailer for writer-director Rian Johnson's latest is here, planting Joseph Gordon-Levitt in time-travel assassin mode — at least until his older self (Bruce Willis) is one day sent back to the past to become his own next victim. What's a smirky, brash young hit man to do? Don't let him escape, that's for... Oh, wait. There he goes.
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You've seen the trailer. You've parsed the poster. Now study in the stern countenances awaiting you in Moonrise Kingdom, Wes Anderson's Cannes-opening reverie for which a new "vintage team photo" is making the rounds.
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Sony debuted the first poster for Rian Johnson's Looper, which feels like its been in the works for something close to ever but nevertheless has nearly six months remaining before it comes to theaters on Sept. 28. In the meantime, here are its stars doing their best playing-card imitation. Jack of hearts? King of clubs? Enh, forget it.
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Can you guess the most-rented DVD of 2011? Hint: It wasn't the most-bought DVD of 2011, but you probably already knew that. Another hint: Despite all odds, it doesn't star Danny Trejo. Give up? Don't we all!
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This fall you'll see Joseph Gordon-Levitt as you've never seen him before: As Bruce Willis. In the sci-fi time-travel action pic Looper, from Brick director Rian Johnson, Gordon-Levitt plays Joe, an assassin who ties up loose ends for the mob by killing targets as they're sent back in time from the future -- until one day his own future self (played by Willis) comes through for extermination. Previewing a teaser for the September release at WonderCon, Johnson and Gordon-Levitt discussed the trickiness of transforming Gordon-Levitt into a young Willis, pulled off with the aid of prosthetics, and why it's particularly difficult to talk about their time travel thriller.
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Get ready for some twee twinkling on the Croisette -- Wes Anderson's Moonrise Kingdom is set to open the 2012 Cannes Film Festival! Last year's opener, Woody Allen's Midnight in Paris, went on to enjoy a rousingly successful theatrical run on its way to a Best Picture nomination; Anderson's comedy, about a pair of pre-teen lovebirds on the lam in 1960s New England, will open stateside just over a week after its May 16 Cannes debut and marks his return to live-action film after his most recent film, the Oscar-nominated Fantastic Mr. Fox.
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Coming to Sundance with new films in the Premieres section, both Stephen Frears and Spike Lee were navigating new terrain, a pair of established directors seeking distribution for their independent features. Frears' betting memoir/dramedy Lay the Favorite went first, premiering to dismal reviews Saturday night. Lee's Red Hook Summer, a hotly anticipated entry that brings him back to his Brooklyn wheelhouse after the underperforming WWII pic Miracle at St. Anna, followed Sunday, drawing mixed initial reactions from Twittering press.
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It is called Moonrise Kingdom and I have nothing to really say about it except that I'm somewhat intrigued by Anderson's discovery of the handheld camera and the unusual (for Anderson, anyway) 1.85:1 aspect ratio and that I wish it were Meryl Streep with that bullhorn instead of Frances McDormand; she was so infectious in Fantastic Mr. Fox and I want to see her and Anderson collaborate in live-action. And... and... Cool treehouse? I don't know. Your turn.
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How does the machismo-filled cast of Expendables 2 entertain themselves in between takes on the Simon West-directed blockbuster sequel? Sylvester Stallone, Arnold Schwarzenegger and Bruce Willis pose for photos in abandoned airplane hangars. Chuck Norris updates his Facebook account with shoddy tourist pics in Bulgaria and Jean-Claude Van Damme, it seems, plays with toy guns.
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The Expendables 2 is shaping up to be the biggest, baddest ensemble action film ever with a cast that includes proven superstars Sylvester Stallone, Jean-Claude Van Damme, Jason Statham, Jet Li, Dolph Lundgren, Bruce Willis, Arnold Schwarzenegger, Mickey Rourke, "Stone Cold" Steve Austin and Chuck Norris. Today, we've received proof that this sprawling adrenaline-fueled blockbuster is indeed in production via a photo of the three bulky leads mugging in Bulgaria. This calls for a round of Caption This!
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Movieline can't help but root for 50 Cent and his acting career, football cancer movies and all. In an exclusive behind the scenes clip from his upcoming DVD release Set Up -- a diamond heist thriller co-starring Bruce Willis and Ryan Phillippe -- the rapper-thespian opens up and gets personal talking about the impact he hope his latest acting endeavor makes on his career and dating life.
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Earlier today came word that Chuck Norris and Jean-Claude Van Damme might be joining Sly Stallone & Co. for The Expendables 2 (although the reported cast listing at Millenium Films now reads "TBA"). Now it seems Arnold Schwarzenegger and Bruce Willis are onboard to reprise their cameos from the first film, with bigger parts this time around. (Expanded Expendables!) So let's just take a minute and regroup: Who isn't onboard or under consideration to join the beefy action sequel?
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20th Century Fox and star Bruce Willis have settled on a director for Die Hard 5: John Moore (Behind Enemy Lines, The Omen), who most recently helmed the 2008 shooter pic Max Payne. The John McClane five-quel will film in Russia with a rumored $100 million budget, according to Deadline, which reports that Moore is currently in negotiations. The real question is, with the 56-year-old Willis still going strong in action hero mode 23 years after he first cracked wise in the inaugural Die Hard, will these film ever truly die, hard or otherwise? [Deadline]
