Wednesday, September 05, 2018

Hot Day In the Morning

Started off another hot, humid, hazy morning with my second early work day in a row. Though I did end up in the register briefly at one point, we were mostly quiet all day. This gave me the chance to finally finish shelving those three carts of loose items, gather trash inside and out, mop up a leaky cooler, and clean the bathrooms. Once again, I spent most of the day outside. The bagger who came in later was supposed to have taken over, but he didn't really do a whole lot, and I ended up helping him, despite having done the carts for a lot of the day already.

Jumped in the shower as soon as I got in the door. I was hot, sweaty, and sore. When I got out, I worked on writing. Yasmin announces at the ceremony that she intends to "sacrifice" Luke and Leia...but Luke has no desire to let her hypnotize him. The moment she raises the sword and tries to force him and the audience to look at the crystal, Artie tosses him his Sword of Light from under his rolling drinks cart instead. He takes on Yasmin's goons while his sister attacks the female gangster.

Broke for dinner at 7. Ate leftovers while watching Moonrise Kingdom. It's the summer of 1965. Sam, an orphan boy (Jared Gilman), is spending his summer at the Khaki Scouts camp before he moves on to another foster home. He's meeting with his pen pal Suzy (Kara Hayward), who has been neglected by her lawyer parents (Frances McDormand and Bill Murray). They're determined to find a cove they call "Moonrise Kingdom" and get married. Half the island eventually chases after them, including the camp's Scout Master (Edward Norton), the town sheriff (Bruce Willis), and an icy social services worker who is supposed to be taking Sam to a correctional facility (Tilda Swinton) when his foster family doesn't want him. Eventually, the Scouts see things their way and take them to a grumpy old relative of one of the Scouts (Jason Schwartzman), who unofficially "marries" them. But there's a major storm brewing, one that will change the lives of everyone on the island...and finally end Sam and Suzy's trek in a confrontation with Sharp on the roof of the island's church.

This was so sweet. It was one of the most adorable movies about kids growing up I've ever seen. The kids were perfect as the pair of misfits in the midst of their first crushes. I also liked Willis as the genuinely concerned sheriff, Swinton as the frosty government worker, and Schwartzman as the crusty repairman who has a softer heart than you might think. Some great New England cinematography, too, especially once the kids actually make it to "Moonrise Kingdom."

If you're a fan of historical coming-of-age movies or quirky director Wes Anderson's other work, this is one kingdom you'll want to brave a hurricane to explore.

Speaking of Anderson, I finished the night with his most recent project, Isle of Dogs. In Japan in an unspecified future, all dogs have been banished to an island of trash following an outbreak of a canine flu. Atari Kobayashi (Koyu Rankin), the nephew of the conniving mayor (Kunichi Nomura), swipes a plane and flies out to the island to find his beloved bodyguard dog Spots (Liev Schreiber). He doesn't find Spots, but he does encounter a pack of dogs, lead by human-hating Chief (Bryan Cranston), who agree to help him after rescuing him from a vicious robot dog. Chief won't join in at first, until former show dog Nutmeg (Scarlett Johanssen) talks him into it. Meanwhile, the corrupt Mayor suppresses a cure found by a professor (Akira Ito) in the interest of maintaining control over the city. An American teen reporter (Greta Gerwig) discovers her deception and decides to do some snooping on her own. Eventually, both kids remind people and dogs of how they'd once shared a bond...and just how deep that bond runs.

Awesome animation, great Japanese-influenced drum music, and a unique look at Japanese culture is offset by a bizarre storyline that can get kind of dark and depressing at times, especially for dog lovers. I think I'm just not into these dystopian future stories, whether they revolve around an island of dogs or thirteen districts. Worth seeing for the animation if you can get more into the unusual story than I did.

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