Moonrise Kingdom (Wes Anderson, 2012)

7.5/10
I've neglected Wes Anderson's films, mostly due to his indie hip cult following that interests me little. I saw The Darjeeling Limited a while back and it was okay. Moonrise Kingdom was much better although at the end of the day I still kind of feel like it would wind up as a minor entry in anyone's filmography, Anderson or otherwise. Most of it is a lark, and quite a bit of fun, but never does a shred of anything heavy permeate the edges of the film - the scenes involving the love triangle between the three main adults seem half-hearted compared to the vibrancy of Sam and Suzy's adventure. And because of the fantastical nature of their surroundings, the characters, the situations they get into, it's hard for Sam and Suzy's love for each other to connect emotionally. When everything around them is a lark, how can we be expected to take them seriously?
All the big names involved seem to be having a blast (Edward Norton's commitment to his lame character is especially enjoyable) and the two young leads are very good. The humor and the quirkiness is natural and genuinely funny, unlike many of Anderson's imitators. Overall there's nothing in here to blow anyone away but it's a nice diversion for 2 hours or so.

Paris Was a Woman (Greta Schiller, 1996)

7/10
Interesting if unspectacular documentary (it was made for TV, and much of the footage is is interviews with talking heads) about the exile of artistic women to Paris, focusing primarily on the 1920's. Sylvia Beach, Djuna Barnes, Gertrude Stein, Alice B. Toklas, Adrennie Monnier and others are the focal point. It was quite interesting to learn their stories (and, frankly, to learn how many of them were lesbians...I would have never guessed). Nothing monumental but worth a look if the subject matter interests you.

(500) Days of Summer (Marc Webb, 2009)

6/10
Okay movie but I was expecting a bit more, given all the hype it got upon its release. JGL is good but, as usual for a Zooey Deschanel character, there are moments when you just want to reach through the screen and smack her. I also found the chronology jumping to be more gimmicky than anything else. Couldn't the story just have been told straight? What did it add to the movie, aside from a cutesy "angle"? All that said it's a pretty good (and true enough sounding) story and there are some laughs, so it's not a bust.

Cosmopolis (David Cronenberg, 2012)

6.5/10
If Cosmopolis were a song title, it would have to be "Pretty Vacant", both words being adjectives. It looks fancy enough, it talks like it has something to say, and in the end you're left wondering what was substance, what was a joke, and what possessed someone to bankroll it.
That said, I have a soft spot for movies like this. No one can deny its originality, absurdity, and borderline hostile self-indulgence. It reminds me of a movie I liked enough to slot at #19 in my best of 2011 list, Beyond the Black Rainbow. Both are so bloodyminded in their ridiculousness it's impossible for me to not be impressed on some level.
Robert Pattinson gives a very good performance in a pretty tough role, as do most of the other actors. The only performance I didn't like was Paul Giamatti's, through no fault of his own - he did great, but surely it was Cronenberg pushing him over the edge of acting insane to sounding generally foolish and comical. It needed restraint, which has never been Cronenberg's forte. His movies always seem to careen between scenes of brilliance and outright stupidity, and this one's no exception, on many levels.
I mind less if a movie fails when it tries something new and interesting. If nothing else, Cosmopolis certainly does that. So I'll give it the benefit of the doubt, but I can certainly understand others being less forgiving to its many faults.

The House of the Yellow Carpet (Carlo Lizzani, 1983)

6/10
If you didn't take one look at that name and realize this was an Italian giallo flick from the 80's, for shame. Despite its extremely unimaginitive title, this one actually plays things a bit differently. A husband and wife with alluded-to marital problems are selling a gigantic yellow carpet they got as a gift. With the husband out of the house, a potential buyer comes by and quickly traps the wife, tormenting her with psychological cat-and-mouse games. The movie mostly keeps our interest by leaving us guessing at the motives of the stranger, and it's actually pretty interesting (if supremely unlikely) the directions it goes in.
Virtually the entire movie takes place in the apartment, so no surprise to find it has its origins on the stage. The acting (and dubbing) is actually a lot better than it has any right to be, considering its low budget and anonymity. Central to this is Erland Josephson as the stranger ("The Professor" in the credits). A preferred actor of Ingmar Bergman, he was also in Tarkovsky's The Sacrifice a few years after this. He's clearly above the material, but still gives a game performance.