Moonwalkers (2015)

Truly Dreadful Film

everything you have heard about this movie is true.

a film so unique, intoxicating and bizarre that it not only demands another viewing, but is also forgivable as a satirical comedy where the jokes eventually take the back seat.

One of the film's great tricks is that, for a time, you think it will go down a rabbit hole of unrealistic glorification.

Ron Perlman delivers a stand out performance as the traumatized war vet CIA operative trying to do the "agencies" work when plans go awry. Clever script mixing fiction and fact, this movie has a surprising amount of classic moments. The 60's feel is presented wonderfully throughout the whole film.Casting is great, performances are solid, some better than others, some are very very good. I didn't think I would like this when it was released. Oh I was wrong.On my fourth sitting right now watching it in as many days. Brilliant comedy that deserves NINE stars.Must have watched the opening scene at least two dozen times. Brilliant Brilliant scene, funny, clever and close attention to detail includes the body steam rising from Perlman while on the phone, and pillow particles aloft overhead.The subtle salutes to Kubriks own films all through the film made this very enjoyable viewing, especially the homage to A Clockwork Orange in the pub mens restroom. Nothing like Capricorn One, Nothing like Apollo 13, Moonwalkers is in a whole new genre of it's own. Do yourself a favour and watch it. I loved it.

As a hilarious look at one of the Cold War's greatest pieces of folklore, the faked moon landing footage, Moonwalkers both entertains and pays homage to iconic director Stanley Kubrick. It's a wild story that sustains its zany take from beginning to end.At first I thought Ron Perlman? Are you kidding me? Well, that didn't last long, Perlman fit like a hand-in-glove immediately and just got better and better in his role of military operative Kidman whose role was to convince Kubrick to film a lunar landing just in case. His psychotic character was made better when he meets perpetual loser Jonny impersonating as Kubrick go-between Derek Kaye for a quick money grab. Jonny's equally lame flatmate, Leon, as a hesitant Kubrick mined more gold. The pair manage only one night on the town as rich impostors as the very next day Jonny's gangster creditors, as well as maddened Kidman, come calling. The money's gone and Kidman's option are slim. Kidman is definitely going to channel into his own brand of crazy retrieving the money and getting something on film. Getting back the money is one thing, but the film, well, dire circumstances demand dire actions. Kidman agrees to meet Jonny's filmmaking eccentric "Renatus". You just have to see this as words fail me except Tom Audenaert's Renatus is a surreal funny treasure of a character.There's only one way to go here and it's as crazy as the whole idea of faking a moon landing. In addition to great humor and writing the cinematography is brilliant. 60's London with the psychedelic colors and swinging scene comes alive. Great humor combined with loads of Kubrick salutes flow like water. This film is imbued with a constant flow of low-key and over-the-top humor and mind-blowing visuals. So entertaining it overcomes what few gaffs it may possess. Destined to be a cult classic. Even the animated intro spares no expense in signaling something deranged this way comes. Like anything this "out there" it will be polarizing as in "stiff shirts need not apply". If you accept a crazy bit of folklore explored in most ridiculous possible way, then, you're going to love this one.

Excerpt from Cinematic Codes Review: Spring 2016 Issue: for visuals see: https://anaphoraliterary.com/journals/ccr/film-reviews-spring-2016/Fig. 18. Stephen Campbell Moore, left, and Rupert Grint.This film certainly makes a strong effort to become an art film. Just to paint the blood and bullets on so many walls, they needed to have some very strong painters on the team. The nudity and violence are also somehow artistic. For example, in a scene where Ron Perlman, as Kidman, is beating up a gang of bikers in a restroom, he does so in slow motion and to classical music. Freezing frames on the action shows that at his age, Perlman is extremely exhausted by pretending to hit them, and is more likely to pass out from this exercise to be a convincing hit-man; the elegant music and slow motion help to add suspense and beauty to the scene whereas if it was done at regular speed and with fast music, it would've looked ridiculous. In that same scene, Ron meticulously knocks out a string of teethes from the hooligans' mouths and each falls out as if they are components of a composition rather than body parts. Fig. 19. Painted women.The obvious thing that makes this a curious watch is the performance by Rupert Grint as Jonny. Rupert is best-known for his work as Ron in the Harry Potter series. I saw him in one or two other films since the series ended, and he seems to be getting chubbier and even developing some wrinkles at his young age. He is starting to play a type of comedic, sexless and confused buffoon, and this role seems to suit him. However, he isn't challenging himself or developing his craft. Watching him in several films is like watching an actor in a TV series. He under-acts and reacts to what other actors are telling him without showing any spikes in emotion. I hope he will get some serious acting training and will make a better showing in a future film because I'd really like to see him at his best. Fig. 20. Eric Lampaert (back), Rupert Grint (middle) and Andrew Blumenthal (right).It was very difficult to choose only a few images to illustrate this review because there were so many outrageous and simultaneously artistically unique moments. Two of the scenes I selected were of Perlman walking through a pile of nude women and then walking through a scattered set of dead bodies. It is always interesting to see artists or directors juxtaposition two themes, like sex and violence, in a similar pattern to stress the relationship between the two. This is tasteful nudity and bloodshed. On the other hand, both sex and violence do not have any natural place in the central plot of a CIA operative hiring a Stanley Kubrick lookalike to make a fake moon landing film for the U.S. government. On the other hand, it is a profound suggestion that only if US agents were on LCD, cocaine and the other illicit substances these characters partake in would they have managed to pull off a fake moon landing film. The absurdity also help to convince viewers that a fake landing would have been too difficult for the filmmakers of the time to pull off. Fig. 21. Ron Perlman in a pile of nude women.As Rupert Grint and his friend Leon, played by Robert Sheehan, are hopping around suspended by wires in the spacesuit, Grint exclaims about Robert's failed attempts to stick the American flag into the fake sand, "Just stick it in! It's not that hard." "I'm trying, but I can't," Robert replies. "I'm so sick. I'm gonna take off my helmet." "You can't take off your helmet," Grint pleads, trying to make him remember that they are supposed to be in space without an atmosphere. "I'm gonna be sick. Bleh!" Robert throws up inside of his supposed spacesuit. This scene shows how the script seems to be in a different movie from the cinematography and the art department. The dialogue is simplistic and formulaic, while the images are dynamic are carefully designed. Fig. 22. Rupert Grint acting as the first man on the moon.This is why it is difficult to rank films as a whole. If I was ranking the script, it would get two stars. The art department would get the full five stars. The acting is probably somewhere around a three. Because filmmaking is a collaborative art, the ranking for the whole is an average of these high and low points. It did succeed in showing a very unique concept in an original way, so I would recommend this film to anybody appropriately aged for an R feature. Fig. 23. Ron Perlman in a pile of dead bodies (CIA and the mob).Title: Moonwalkers Directed by: Antoine Bardou-Jacquet Writer: Dean Craig Stars: Rubert Grint (Jonny), Ron Perlman (Kidman), Robert Sheehan (Leon) Genre: Comedy Rating: R Running Time: 107 min Release: 2015

Having no idea what this film was about, I decided to watch it on Netflix last night. I was absolutely blown away by how funny and original this movie is. It's probably one of the best comedies of the decade. Rupert Grint has only starred in so few movies after Harry Potter, but this movie proves he could be on top of the box office like Radcliffe and Watson. The plot is based on the moon landing conspiracies. Jonny is a unsuccessful band manager who is in deep trouble with a crime boss. When CIA Agent and Haunted Vietnam Fighter Kidman mistakes him for Stanley Kubrick's agent, he gets them to make a fake moon landing movie that would be shown live on TV. The money is stolen and Kidman teams up with Jonny and his drugged up pal Leon to make that fake moon landing film. The genius of Moonwalkers is it's atmosphere. The highly hostile and dangerous British Environment makes for some actual funny jokes and absolutely fun characters. The characters don't just develop, they grow. Kidman and Jonny are great to be around and have huge development leaps in characters. The other characters like Renatus, an art house film director are significant and hilarious. Leon is one of the best characters in the movie especially in the climax of the film when they are shooting the fake moon landing. This also happens to be a black comedy filled with heads exploding from sawed off shotguns, teeth being broken, many violent outbursts from Kidman and a violent climax that is nearly perfect. The movie is filled with surprises and laughs. Moonwalkers could become The Rocky Horror Picture Show of it's time if it was marketed better, had a wide release and had more critical praise. It's destined for a cult following.95/100 A