The Wimpy Kid bunch is back for another go at milking the cash cow, er, I mean the bunch is back with another pre-tween/full-on tween “comedy.” David Bowers has got to be the laziest director on the planet. It’s not that this film is really bad. (Bad might be interesting.) It’s just so mediocre: the story, the acting, the shooting, the jokes—you name it. “Good enough” seems, well, good enough for Bowers.
Wes Anderson unequivocally proved he could make a film for children. (And now that Maurice Sendak has passed, I can comfortably say that Mr. Fox was a superior kids’ movie to that year’s 
) Ah, but can Mr. Anderson make a movie starring children? And can that movie appeal to children? Moonrise Kingdom joyously answers the first question in the affirmative: This film is an absolute delight—inventive, smart, funny, and sweet. As for the second question, eh, it depends on the kid. But I’ll get back to that.