Judging a Wes Anderson movie after a single viewing is no easy task.  First of all, Anderson fills his movies with visual and dramatic subtleties.  This means after the third or fourth viewing (if you, like many Wes fans, can put up with 372 minutes of Rushmore), his films form an entirely new image in the audience’s mind.  As a Moonrise Kingdom virgin, then, I was apprehensive about judging the film upon my first sight of the closing credits.  That said, my mind eventually settled on a fact that I will not find myself disputing on my fifth Moonrise screening: it was weird, but weird in a good way.  Am I making any sense? No?  Let me explain.

The hero of Moonrise Kingdom is Sam, a precocious orphan on the run from his “Khaki Scout” troop.  Carrying nothing but his thick-framed glasses and a backpack full of camping equipment, this escapee sets out to meet his childhood sweetheart, Suzy, an ill-tempered loner who eagerly accepts Sam’s invitation to run away.  As the pair evades the scoutmaster (Ed Norton) and local law enforcement (Bruce Willis), they pick up a few life lessons.  Yes, that includes pondering about their nascent sexuality, and yes, it is as awkward as it sounds.    To round off the cast, Bill Murray and Frances McDormand play Suzy’s quarreling parents whose dwindling marriage serves as the bane of Suzy’s childhood.

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Note to Wes-philes,

I hope you enjoyed Taylor Hobson’s review of The Darjeeling Limited. It was a fantastic film, as any Wes Anderson fan will hopefully agree. When you go see the movie, Anderson opens the film with a note to viewers to watch “Hotel Chevalier” on iTunes free of charge. Helpful to know this before you see the movie, otherwise the brief glimpses Natalie Portman, hot as ever, make no sense. Neither does “Champs-Elysees” fit in with the soundtrack unless you see it.

That said, download “Hotel Chevalier” and go see the film, which will inspire you to book a flight to India, have sex on a train, chainsmoke Schwartzman-style, and enjoy! “Il y a tout ce que vous voulez, aux Champs-Elysees,” or whatever.

-Madeline Reidy, Leisure editor