Moonrise Kingdom and the rest of Wes Anderson

Not too long ago, right before not seeing Radiohead live and in concert, we saw the elusive (in Ontario, at least) Moonrise Kingdom in an Etobicoke Cineplex. Apparently seeing it on a beautiful Saturday afternoon was not a major priority for many people in Toronto, as only half the seats in the tiny, tiny theater were taken- and that's being generous. But we went out of our way to make sure we were there.

I've been a major Wes Anderson fanboy ever since I saw The Life Aquatic with Steve Zissou back in high school. The movie, though not his best by mine or any critic's standards, still blew me away with the dry hilarity, silly stop-motion sea creatures, and Bill Murray. It was amazing- I hadn't seen anything like it before, and I rented the movie only because of the name and a small snippet I saw accompanying a Willem Dafoe interview on Live with Regis and Kelly one day when I was home sick.

Since then I've watched and re-watched all of his films and loved them all to pieces. I've been thinking lately of where I'd put Moonrise Kingdom (though I have not re-watched it) on my own ranking of Anderson's oeuvre, and how my list compares to other lists. And I have come to the conclusion that all critics and movie watchers are wrong everywhere.

Here's how they stack up on IMDB's fan-based ratings:

1. Moonrise Kingdom: 8.3/10 (making it #193 of the site's all-time top 250)
2. Fantastic Mr Fox: 7.8/10
3. Rushmore: 7.7/10
4. The Royal Tenenbaums: 7.6/10
5. The Life Aquatic with Steve Zissou: 7.2/10
6. Bottle Rocket: 7.1/10
7. The Darjeeling Limited (+ Hotel Chevalier): 7.1/10

And on Rotten Tomatoes: 

1. Moonrise Kingdom: 94% (of critics gave it a positive review); 8.1/10 (average critic rating)
2. Fantastic Mr Fox: 93%; 7.9/10
3. Rushmore: 87%; 7.8/10
4. The Royal Tenenbaums: 80%; 7.2/10
5. Bottle Rocket: 80%; 6.6/10
6. The Darjeeling Limited (Hotel Chevalier had no rating): 67%; 6.5/10
7. The Life Aquatic with Steve Zissou: 53% (his only rotten rating); 6/10

Now I'm not saying that they're wrong in their opinions, but they are wrong in their opinions. While I love Moonrise Kingdom and Fantastic Mr Fox, I wouldn't call them the best movies he's made. And The Royal Tenenbaums being at number 4 on both lists completely threw me off, as I have been under the impression that it is one of, if not the best film of the last decade. Surprisingly (because it is surprising how people have a differing opinion from my own) many critics do not agree.

But to each his/her own. As for my own list:

1. The Royal Tenenbaums
2. Rushmore
3. The Darjeeling Limited + Hotel Chevalier
4. Bottle Rocket
5. Moonrise Kingdom
6. The Life Aquatic with Steve Zissou
7. Fantastic Mr Fox

Now if you'll excuse me, I have to slow motion walk to the Kinks (I'm also sorry I couldn't write this post in Futura).