Kings of Summer

"Why live when you can rule."

There have been several coming of age films that have been released over the years, but very few have actually stuck with me. The Kings of Summer is one of those few movies that appealed to me and had me emotionally involved with the characters. First time director Jordan Vogt- Roberts takes us through a range of emotions from nostalgic and heart breaking moments to laugh out loud buddy moments. It lives up to the standard of other great coming of age tales like Stand By Me. There is something about a group of young teens exploring the woods and their transition to adulthood that simply appeals to me. The scenery was also breathtaking and I absolutely fell in love with those woods. I could see what was so appealing for these kids and their need to feel independent. It does have that sort of familiar indie vibe to it, but thanks to some great performances the movie stands out above most of them. Moises Arias had me laughing throughout the entire movie playing this quirky character that reminded me a lot of Fogell in Superbad. His comedic timing was perfect and he had the funniest lines in the film. The screenplay by first timer Chris Galletta was also really well developed. I will be looking forward to his next work because his script made it easy to go through such different ranges of emotions. This film felt like a simple sweet feel good movie and it is one that I would recommend to my friends especially if they love the woods.

Joe (Nick Robinson) has just finished his freshman year in High School and isn't looking forward to spending his Summer with his widowed father Frank (Neil Offerman) who makes his life miserable just because he's miserable. His best friend Patrick (Gabriel Basso) doesn't enjoy living with his parents any better. His parents (played by Marc Evan Jackson and Megan Mullally) are over protective and seem to want to manage every single detail of his life. Not wanting to spend their entire summers abiding by their parents rules the two kids decide to run away and build their own home in the nearby woods and survive in the wild by hunting and gathering food. This way they can be free to do what they want and make their own rules. Joe and Patrick also bring along a strange friend named Biaggio (Moises Arias). The three seem to be having the time of their lives without anyone telling them what to do and having guests over whenever they want to until a girl named Kelly (Erin Moriarty) gets in the way of their friendship and disrupts the balance of their kingdom.

The Kings of Summer works thanks to some great performances from the trio of friends who bring a sense of nostalgia to the viewers' senses simply by playing and running around in the woods with swords and sticks. Those unscripted moments in which the kids simply goof around with one another are the best. Arias is really hilarious and he seems to steal every scene here. Robinson also gives a strange performance in the lead role. The film is easy going with likable characters and some wonderful cinematography. It is just great to look at and it completely surprised me at times with some of the turns the story took. It wasn't one of those predictable coming of age films and I really had a fun time. I wouldn't be surprised if The Kings of Summer ends up in many peoples' top 10 list at the end of the year because it is a crowd pleaser.

Toy's House was an interesting film following what most teenage kids wish...A kid who finally breaks free from his parents control. Joe Toy and his friend Patrick get fed up with their parents and decide to build a house in the woods to live in.

I really enjoyed this movie. It seemed to have the right mix of comedy and drama to keep you engaged the whole movie. Watching a couple of teenage boys try and survive in the woods was a lot of fun, and Nick Offerman as Joe's dad was a lot of fun as well. The biggest thing to note, is that while this is billed as a comedy, it was definitely more than that. The emotional aspect of this movie was everything you come to expect from a movie that has to sale itself with a great story, like most films at Sundance, which made it all that more fun.

Three kids, feeling their way through the anxieties of their mid-teens, get together to build a summer retreat in the woods and escape from a droll season in their parents' homes. It's hearty and funny, a great reminder of the unseen handcuff between independence and responsibility that floats into our lives at that age. The grown-ups are particularly hilarious as stiff, out-of-touch caricatures; everything we see them as during adolescence, rolled up and amplified by a few degrees. Moises Arias is the best of the young actors, playing a weird McLovin type who somehow falls into the partnership with two long-term buddies. His heavy gaze alone is usually enough to get me chuckling, and the cryptic, emotionally-detached lines that usually sprout from his lips moments later are absurdity at its best. It can get a little self-absorbed at times, and spirals off into navel-gazing in the third act, but for a good stretch in the middle it's prime coming-of-age goodness.

"We do swear, under pain of friendship lost, to never speak of this enterprise to any adults; to never betray its location or its participants." Joe (Robinson) and Patrick (Basso) both hate their lives at home. Living with over bearing parents are making them crazy and when they are pushed too far they decide to move out. The find a place in the middle of the woods and build their own house. The two of them along with a young boy who they are afraid to tell to go away start off on a experience that effects each one differently. This is an example of a movie where the trailer doesn't do the movie justice. This is an excellent and must see movie for all teenagers for a few reasons. One is because it shows that their parents aren't as bad as they seem compared to these. I could go on and on about this but the best way to describe this is a Stand By Me for a new generation. This is is movie that just needs to be seen rather then read about. Also the kid that plays Biaggio really steals the movie and is so much fun to watch. Overall, a must see for young teens and parents. I highly recommend. I easily give it an A.

First off, I'd like to say that this is my first ever movie review. I'd been prolonging until I find a non-blockbuster movie that can really caught me deeply and The Kings of Summer happened to be the one.

The acting in this movie is basically original, starring Nick Robinson who played Joe perfectly well as a fifteen year-old desperately wanting to get out of his dad's house under his rules just like a typical teenager. Then there's his best friend, Gabriel Basso who played as Patrick who loves his parents but also desperately wanting to get out of their house because of how their parents treat him as a child. Moises Arias as Biaggio, who I think really suits for the role of a physically small friend of both of them who appeared out of nowhere and could really get things funny because he's that lovable and warm. Joe's dad, Nick Offerman as Frank, played a great grumpy father who gets mad and cranky easily in this movie and then there's Erin Moriarty as Kelly, which plays the girl who Joe had a crush on.

The movie at first started just like any ordinary drama movie, but the various shots and angles made it look pretty smart in the beginning. As you watch longer, the movie started getting interesting to where it's going, although you can really guess what will happen next. The Kings of Summer with its "Into The Wild" theme is packed with humor and a bunch of emotional feeling will be involved throughout the movie. Another plus point for this movie is the selection of songs in the background or soundtracks, how each song suits perfectly well based on the actions the characters were doing which really built up my point of view towards the movie.

What caught me the most is how the movie is directed and made it as if he really wants us to feel to be like each one of the character involved there. The shots on the scenery and "wild" views in the forest really succeeded on making me re-think and went deeper about how there's more to the movie than what I've actually seen. The movie does have some really cliché teenager scenes, however, I like how it stays original and remain unpretentious by showing that there's a big chance that conflicts may happen between friends and families but then in the end you will always come back to them, by not having all the cheesy fights nor a corny truce. It sticks to reality and shows people that it is truly what it is.

Not considering how old you are, I really recommend you to watch this movie with anyone for you're about to feel that youth blood pumping down your streams and actually get something out of it. Praise for Jordan Vogt-Roberts for making this movie as perfect, my eyes were glistening right at the very last scene of the movie and at the same time drawing a smile on my face.