Get Low

Q: What’s the movie about?

A: A grumpy recluse (Robert Duvall) pays a funeral home operator (Bill Murray) to plan a funeral for him while he's still alive, so that he can attend it and hear what people have to say about him.

Q: Who’s in the movie?

A: Robert Duvall, Bill Murray, Lucas Black, Sissy Spacek, Gerald McRaney, Bill Cobbs, Scott Cooper, Lori Beth Edgeman

Q: Is this movie worth the price of admission?

A: Proceed with Caution. People will want to argue that this is one of those original, special gems that you discover every so often and can't wait to tell your friends about... until they get to the funeral scene, which is disappointingly anti-climactic after all the great build up and anticipation.

Q: Will this movie make me laugh?

A: The humor is so smart and so serious and delivered in perfect dead-pan by Bill Murray.

Q: Will this movie make me cry?

A: It's all about death and funerals, so obviou-- No.

Q: Will this movie be up for any awards?

A: Contrary to my review, I'm pretty sure it'll get nominated at the Spirit Awards for Best Original Screenplay. Those guys love to try to contradict me, so at least this time I'll be able to say "I told ya' so!"

Q: How is the Acting?

A: Bill Murray is quintessential in this one, but in quintessential Bill Murray style, he totally flaked out on the Q & A. Which is really too bad for him, because if he'd been there, he might've gotten a standing ovation like Robert Duvall and Sissy Spacek did. Sure, their acting was good, but the standing O might also just be because when 'Boo' Radley walks into a room with Carrie, it becomes pretty impossible not to stand up.

Q: How is the Directing?

A: The main thing that impressed me about Aaron Schneider's directing was how well he captured the Coen Brothers' comic timing and sensibility. Not easy to do.

Q: How is the story/script?

A: So much is good about this script that it pains me to say: when your whole movie is about a guy throwing his own funeral so that he can hear all the nasty rumors that have been going around about him for the last 40 years, you have to have a least one person at the funeral stand up and tell us a nasty rumor!!!

Q: Where can I see the trailer?

A: http://www.moviefone.com/movie/get-low/36568/trailers

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Ramona and Beezus

Q: What’s the movie about?

A: Based on the Beverly Cleary novels, Ramona is just about the most independent, unorthodox, original 9-year-old there is. Unfortunately, when a girl can't fit in, even when she tries to, it can make for some pretty embarrassing elementary school moments.

Q: Who’s in the movie?

A: Joey King, Selena Gomez, John Corbett, Bridget Moynahan, Ginnifer Goodwin, Josh Duhamel, Jason Spevack, Sierra McCormick, Sandra Oh, Hutch Dano

Q: Is this movie worth the price of admission?

A: Proceed with Caution. At first it's unclear what the story is about, but it maintains your interest because the main character is terrifical!

Q: Will this movie make me laugh?

A: The comedy is soft but delishus.

Q: Will this movie make me cry?

A: The last 15 minutes will have you welling up over and over again for one reason and then the next... Hell, no! I didn't allow no tears to actually drop!

Q: Will this movie be up for any awards?

A: Most Ineptly Titled film of the year. Why is it called Ramona and Beezus when it should simply be called This Movie is About Ramona, and Only Ramona, So Help Me God?

Q: How is the Acting?

A: What a star! Joey King as Ramona is extraordinary. Spelled E-X-T-R-A-O-R-D-I-N-A-R-Y. See I can use Ms. Meacham's words in a sentence, too... Okay, I admit, I looked it up on dictionary.com.

Q: How is the Directing?

A: There are some partially animated imagination sequences that bring the directing to a slightly higher level than one might expect from a movie targeting 8-year-old girls.

Q: How is the story/script?

A: I know I read some Ramona books, though I'm pretty certain that I didn't read this one, and I'm even more certain that it's been almost 30 years since the last time I picked one up (yes, I learned to read 5 years before I was conceived), so I can't say if it's true to the book or not. What I can say is that the last 20 minutes are good enough to make up for the lack of direction in the first hour and a half.

Q: Where can I see the trailer?

A: http://www.moviefone.com/movie/ramona-and-beezus/31195/trailers

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The Kids Are All Right

Q: What’s the movie about?

A: A lesbian couple (Julianne Moore and Annette Bening) has their life turned upside-down when their teenage son and daughter (Josh Hutcherson and Mia Wasikowska) track down their sperm-donor dad (Mark Ruffalo).

Q: Who’s in the movie?

A: Julianne Moore, Annette Bening, Mark Ruffalo, Mia Wasikowska, Josh Hutcherson, Yaya DaCosta, Kunal Sharma, Eddie Hassell, Zosia Mamet, Joaquin Garrido

Q: Is this movie worth the price of admission?

A: Proceed with Caution. This deliberately independent film is not spoon fed, nor does it get completely resolved and tied up in a happy little bow for you. It's more interested in showing the trials and tribulations of life as it really is... first difficult, and then disappointing.

Q: Will this movie make me laugh?

A: There is a smattering of awkward moments that will cause individualized chuckling.

Q: Will this movie make me cry?

A: If only people could visualize the repercussions of following their momentary sexual whims, before the aftermath has ruined their life, there would be a lot less heartbreak in the world.

Q: Will this movie be up for any awards?

A: Mark Ruffalo's character is so hard to pin down, that you can't help but admire the fact that no other actor could have portrayed this particular combination of aloofness and unconditional love. At the same time, it's one of those performances that's almost too good to get noticed as having been acting.

Q: How is the Acting?

A: With a cast like this you go in expecting the best, and come out with your expectations exceeded.

Q: How is the Directing?

A: Lisa Cholodenko films Los Angeles with so much love that she makes it look like any nice normal American suburb, where even the most God-fearing of average Americans would want to live.

Q: How is the story/script?

A: What's really heart-warming about the execution of this story is that even though it revolves around a family with two matriarchs, the marriage is portrayed in a way that is filled with the same love, familiarity, and contempt that any male-female husband and wife relationship would have. Before long, you forget that you are watching a family of four with two moms, and you realize that you are simply watching a movie about a family that is about as together as they come-- in other words, hardly at all.

Q: Where can I see the trailer?

A: http://www.moviefone.com/movie/the-kids-are-all-right/10025812/trailers

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Inception

Q: What’s the movie about?

A: A dream team of dream invaders mount a complex scheme to implant a specific thought into the mind of a corporate tycoon's son, so that they may change the financial balance of the world... Kind of like what wall street did to George W. Bush before they screwed us all.

Q: Who’s in the movie?

A: Leonardo DiCaprio, Joseph Gordon-Levitt, Marion Cotillard, Ellen Page, Ken Watanabe, Cillian Murphy, Tom Hardy, Dileep Rao, Tom Berenger, Michael Caine, Pete Postlethwaite, Lukas Haas, Tai-Li Lee

Q: Is this movie worth the price of admission?

A: Go! When the movie ended and the screen cut to black, the entire audience let out the breath they had been holding for the last 2 1/2 hours.

Q: Will this movie make me laugh?

A: Audiences have been clamoring for an original movie all summer blockbuster season long, so it's funny that they will leave this one clamoring for a sequel...

Q: Will this movie make me cry?

A: ...and it's also kind of sad.

Q: Will this movie be up for any awards?

A: All of them.

Q: How is the Acting?

A: If you spend any time thinking about what the characters in this film are doing, you may realize that they are actually not good people. But the loyalty they have to each other and the common goal to help one man get home to his family, almost makes you forget that they are essentially thieves, breaking and entering into people's minds. And also, the acting is so good that you really want to like these people.

Q: How is the Directing?

A: Christopher Nolan cements his reputation as the most respected director of his generation, by creating the most beautiful special effects since Avatar.

Q: How is the story/script?

A: This heady story requires attention and thinking, but hey, I'm pretty sure it's the only studio movie this decade that doesn't talk down to its audience, so I'm not going to complain. Plus, I feel smarter for having seen it.

Q: Where can I see the trailer?

A: http://www.moviefone.com/movie/inception/36931/trailers

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Despicable Me

Q: What’s the movie about?

A: An evil villain (Steve Carell) attempts to steal the Moon, in a last ditch effort to prove that he's the best bad guy in the world, but his plans start to falter when 3 orphan girls come into his life.

Q: Who’s in the movie?

A: Steve Carell, Jason Segel, Russell Brand, Julie Andrews, Miranda Cosgrove, Kristen Wiig, Will Arnett, Dana Gaier, Elsie Fisher, Jack McBrayer, Jemaine Clement, Danny McBride, Mindy Kaling, and the Minions

Q: Is this movie worth the price of admission?

A: Go! Whatever the story departments in the animation world are doing, live action development people should figure it out and start imitating it as soon as possible. In some of these animated movies, it almost feels like someone cared about the user experience... and these are the movies that are supposed to be for little kids, you know, those small-sized people with completely undeveloped minds.

Q: Will this movie make me laugh?

A: Most of the cleverness is in the details, so pay very close attention.

Q: Will this movie make me cry?

A: It goes so far as to make you say, "Awwww." Out loud.

Q: Will this movie be up for any awards?

A: As enthusiastic as I may seem about this movie, it's not that good.

Q: How is the Acting?

A: I was impressed with Steve Carell's accent-- not because I could place what country it was supposed to be from, but because it totally made you forget that it was Steve Carell. Same goes for Russell Brand, who really sounds old. But it goes without saying that the best voice comes from Elsie Fisher, a little girl who can't be more than 8-years-old, and should be able to parlay this into being the next Dakota Fanning.

Q: How is the Directing?

A: Pretty standard.

Q: How is the story/script?

A: The writers do a nice job of creating an antihero with a backstory that makes you sympathize with him. They quickly establish how mean he is, then suddenly show you why, then the plot sets in motion, and emotionally, you understand what a guy like this is getting out of hanging around a bunch of little girls. The girls are also established in such a way that you buy that they would be accepting of this man's strange home and lifestyle.

Q: Where can I see the trailer?

A: http://www.moviefone.com/movie/despicable-me/36148/trailers

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Knight and Day

Q: What’s the movie about?

A: A spy (Tom Cruise) uses a random girl (Cameron Diaz) as a mule and ends up having to protect her from corrupt FBI agents and drug lords who are all after the device he is trying to keep safe... I think.

Q: Who’s in the movie?

A: Tom Cruise, Cameron Diaz, Peter Sarsgaard, Jordi Molla, Viola Davis, Paul Dano, Falk Hentschel, Marc Blucas, Lennie Loftin, Maggie Grace, Celia Weston

Q: Is this movie worth the price of admission?

A: Proceed with Caution. For a film as seemingly run of the mill as this, I was surprised by how convoluted and confusing the plot was. I was also surprised by how much I enjoyed it despite my constant state of confusion.

Q: Will this movie make me laugh?

A: The romantic parts probably will. I'm not sure they're supposed to. But when you laugh at the kissing scenes, at least it gives new meaning to the term romantic-comedy.

Q: Will this movie make me cry?

A: Isn't it ironic that when one person dies in a film, it can be so sad, and yet when one person dies per minute, we don't feel anything at all?

Q: Will this movie be up for any awards?

A: I'm pretty sure I already gave out the Best Mustache Award this year, so it's only fitting that there should be an award for Worst Mustache. Was Paul Dano good in this film? I have no idea, because every time he was on screen, all I could think about was what the make-up person could possibly have been thinking by shaving off the right middle of his mustache. No character, no matter how weird would wear their mustache like that, unless they were kidnapped mid-shave. Hey, maybe that was in the original cut of the movie? If anyone gets the DVD and watches the extras, let me know... Or don't. I don't really care all that much.

Q: How is the Acting?

A: Tom Cruise is still a good actor, but he's totally over. His persona has gotten too big and too ugly to leave room on his face for any character he's supposed to be inhabiting. But don't take my word for it, ask any one of the 7 people I asked to go see this movie with me, all of which turned me down due to either his presence in the movie or his evil smile's.

Q: How is the Directing?

A: Did you know that when good guys run into a stream of bullets coming from all sides they always come out unscathed? Neither did I, but it turns out that the same is true of driving head-on into traffic going the wrong way down a one way tunnel for five minutes or more. I know I'm not supposed to care, but when the action gets too preposterous, I start to miss the final scene from Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid.

Q: How is the story/script?

A: I found myself thinking much too hard to understand why he was involved with her in the first place. At the beginning of the movie, the choice to bump into her seems very deliberate and specific, as if he had been looking for her and then she showed up, but as the film goes on, you come to realize that in order for it all to make sense, she had to have been picked completely at random, in which case his acting was just a red herring.

Q: Where can I see the trailer?

A: http://www.moviefone.com/movie/knight-and-day/38099/trailers

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