Remember When We Had Them All On The Run?

Moonrise Kingdom (Anderson, 2012)

I never went to summer camp. I don't know if that makes me an outlier to the quintessential American experience, but growing up I never spent a day of summer at a day camp. Looking back I'm not entirely sure what I missed, but the romantic notions that I have associated with what occurs at camp (thanks in no small part to Salute Your Shorts) have always left me wondering what would have changed if some of my summers were spent in this idealized wonderland of quasi-freedom. Now of course I'm sure no camp is anywhere close to how I imagine, but I think what draws me to it is the fictionalized allure of sorting out all the strange feelings of approaching maturity with boys and girls who were all on the precipice of adolescence. And it's this feeling, one that permeates throughout the whole of Wes Anderson's latest film Moonrise Kingdom, that makes my imaginary sanctuary a semi-tangible reality. This almost fairy tale that is underscored by so much painful reality, an escape that forces confrontation of truth.

Don't Stop Imagining. The Day That You Do Is The Day That You Die.

It's Awards season, and the time where year end wrap ups begin to hit hard. As a result, I need to begin writing at a much more rapid pace in an attempt to crystalize my thoughts on all the wonderful (I know, but bear with me) film that are sure to be released in this time. So what we have are an upcoming series of shorter reviews that will rarely delve in to the same type of analysis synthesis that I attempt to craft with my writing. Then there will be a huge onslaught of year end lists. I'll try and sprinkle a few editorials in there as well, and there's probably a major site overhaul coming up. So there's the state of Processed Grass, and now on to the review!

We Need To Talk About Kevin (Ramsay, 2011)

The new film from acclaimed Scottish filmmaker Lynne Ramsay, We Need To Talk About Kevin, recently had a one week limited pre-Oscar qualification run type deal in NYC and I had a chance to see it during that time. Basically what we have is a quasi-horror film that, much like other indie standout Martha Marcy May Marlene, takes many of its cues from psychological horror and Gothic tropes than delving in to new age cinematic scares.