The Descendants

Q: What’s the movie about?

A:  A man's wife goes into a coma, and that's when he (George Clooney) finds out she was cheating on him. 

Q: Who’s in the movie?

A:  George Clooney, Shailene Woodley, Nick Krause, Amara Miller, Robert Forster, Beau Bridges, Judy Greer, Matthew Lillard

Q: Is this movie worth the price of admission?

A:  Proceed with Caution.  It's called The Descendants but it should have been called, "Come Visit My Dead Wife in the Hospital," because that's the majority of what happens in the movie.

Q: Will this movie make me laugh?

A:  Yes, but not as much as you have in past Alexander Payne films.  So don't go in expecting Election or Sideways.

Q: Will this movie make me cry?

A:  Right when I thought I couldn't care less, Judy Greer had me holding back tears so I wouldn't embarrass myself by crying.

Q: Will this movie be up for any awards?

A:  There is buzz, but most of it is from before anyone saw the movie.

Q: How is the Acting?

A:  I don't like George Clooney as an actor, he just doesn't jump off the screen.  But the 3 kids are amazing!  I predict much work in the future for Amara Miller, Nick Krause, and Shailene Woodley-- who just today came out as one of Hollywood Reporter's 35 power people under 35.

Q: How is the Directing?

A:  Alexander Payne goes to great lengths to show us the ugly underbelly of the West-Coast's favorite vacation spot, Hawaii.  If this was supposed to draw tourism to the area (which is Hawaii's #1  industry), then I'm sorry to say that I'll soon be checking out Tahiti.

Q: How is the story/script?

A:  There is some interesting dialogue here and there, especially out of the mouths of babes, but the story of the land buyout isn't executed in a compelling manner, and the dying wife starts to feel like she's not even there.  Sometimes, in the midst of all the characters' depression, I couldn't even remember what they were so depressed about.  Maybe it would've been different if we'd gotten to know the wife a little bit before the coma.

Q: Is there anything else worth mentioning about the movie?

A:  People dress funny in Hawaii.  I guess the cost of getting a fashion magazine across all that ocean is just too high.

Q: Where can I see the trailer?

A: The Descendants Trailer

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Restless

Q: What’s the movie about?

A: A young man (Henry Hopper) obsessed with death falls in love with a young woman (Mia Wasikowska) who is dying.

Q: Who’s in the movie?

A: Henry Hopper, Mia Wasikowska, Ryo Kase, Schuyler Fisk, Jane Adams, Chin Han, Lusia Strus

Q: Is this movie worth the price of admission?

A: Proceed with Caution. There are a few sweet moments within the slow paced story, and the jokey attitude toward death is somewhat entertaining, but overall, it's been done before.

Q: Will this movie make me laugh?

A: You might chuckle once or twice at some of the quirk.

Q: Will this movie make me cry?

A: Bryce Dallas Howard's complete ignorance of how nepotism works in Hollywood makes me cry a little. This, her first film as a producer, was made under her father's banner, Imagine, and she is very concerned about being seen as having gotten it made there out of nepotism, so she goes out of her way to explain in a Q & A how she met with people at the company who weren't her dad (Ron Howard). The fact that these people liked it was proof to her that it wasn't nepotism. What makes me sad is thinking about how she grew up in Hollywood since birth and still has such a poor understanding of how nepotism works. See, the thing is, Bryce, those people you met with are employed by your dad, and they know better than to say no to his little girl. Their children are depending on it. Your dad pays for their food and shelter.

Q: Will this movie be up for any awards?

A: In honor of Bryce Dallas Howard's first producing effort, I'd like to give my younger siblings and niece a Nepotism Award, because I have already begun to shower them with nepotism at every opportunity, and I plan to continue passing on my many years of experience and contacts to them, guilt free, for as long as I am able. Here's my best advice to Bryce and any other lucky recipients of nepotism: take it, see it for what it is, and be grateful that you get to partake. I sure would've been!

Q: How is the Acting?

A: The chemistry between Mia Wasikowska and Henry Hopper is the only reason to see this film. Mia is quite charming. And Henry, in his first on-screen performance ever, grows on you throughout the film, and is the son of the late Dennis Hopper-- speaking of nepotism.

Q: How is the Directing?

A: Gus Van Sant clearly did this film because they were over-paying him and he would be able to shoot in his home town of Portland. Normally he makes films like this for $3 million dollars, but because Sony and Imagine were involved, he made this one for over $14 million. He couldn't even figure out how to spend the money... what was left of it, anyway, after Imagine's giant fee.

Q: How is the story/script?

A: Apparently, in development they spent a lot of time talking about the "physics of the world" in which the main character has an imaginary/ghost friend. The "Rules of the world" note is one of the most common notes you will get from a producer any time you are dealing with fantasy, magic, alternate realities, or other-worldy creatures, like ghosts. So common is this note, that it shouldn't have taken them more than 5 minutes of conversation to see that they never established a justification in the "rules of the world" for how this imaginary/ghost was able to punch a living person in the face leaving a bruise and putting him in the hospital. Nope, that's not how ghosts work. Newton's Law explains clearly that ghosts can't exert force on things in the material world unless you, the writer, establish that they can.

Q: Is there anything else worth mentioning about the movie?

A: I finally figured out which one of my friends Mia Wasikowska looks exactly like... Amy, I have found your doppleganger! Mia, if you ever need a dead-on double, call me. I'll put you in touch.

Q: Where can I see the trailer?

A: Restless Trailer

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Harry Brown

Q: What’s the movie about?

A: After losing everything, an old man (Michael Caine) goes vigilante on the gang members in his neighborhood.

Q: Who’s in the movie?

A: Michael Caine, Emily Mortimer, Charlie Creed-Miles, David Bradley, Iain Glen, Sean Harris, Ben Drew, Jack O'Connell, Jamal Downey, Lee Oakes, Joseph Gigun, Liam Cunningham

Q: Is this movie worth the price of admission?

A: Proceed with Caution. This highly independent version of a shoot 'em up is well done, but it is in no way fun to watch.

Q: Will this movie make me laugh?

A: Sure, if you find it funny that people in the projects are killing each other just for the sport of it.

Q: Will this movie make me cry?

A: It is depressing.

Q: Will this movie be up for any awards?

A: It won an Empire Awards in the UK. I've never heard of that award either.

Q: How is the Acting?

A: I paid very close attention, and I have to tell you, I saw Michael Caine blink several times. If that means nothing to you, I suggest you get hip to the pop culture on the 1980s by watching this video: Michael Caine on Acting

Q: How is the Directing?

A: The first few shots will make you want to throw up because they're so shaky. And then you'll want to throw up again because of what happens in them. After that, the directing becomes less showy for the most part.

Q: How is the story/script?

A: A man with nothing to live for always makes for a great vigilante. The only problem is that when he's got nothing to live for, it's harder to care about whether or not he lives.

Q: Where can I see the trailer?

A: http://film-book.com/harry-brown-movie-trailer/

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My Sister's Keeper

Q: What’s the movie about?

A: An 11-year-old girl (Abigail Breslin), who was genetically created to be an organ donor for her cancer-ridden sister (Sofia Vassilieva), takes her parents (Cameron Diaz & Jason Patric) to court for the rights to her own body.

Q: Who’s in the movie?

A: Abigail Breslin, Cameron Diaz, Sofia Vassilieva, Jason Patric, Alec Baldwin, Evan Ellingson, Heather Wahlquist, Joan Cusack, Thomas Dekker, David Thornton, Emily Deschanel

Q: Is this movie worth the price of admission?

A: Proceed with Caution. What an incredible moral dilemma! Protect your own long future or save your sister's life, over and over again as she quickly approaches certain death? And to put that in the hands of an 11-year-old! I was so excited to sit in the theater as I watched it unfold, not sure whose side to take... And then suddenly, about half way through, the filmmakers completely forget what their premise is, drop the lawsuit storyline, and start meandering off on a melodramatic tangent about how hard life is for the 15-year-old cancer victim.

Q: Will this movie make me laugh?

A: Alec Baldwin is in the film, so he squeezes a little humor out of his parts.

Q: Will this movie make me cry?

A: Almost the whole way through... For the first half. And then you sit there, wondering where the great movie you were watching went.

Q: Will this movie be up for any awards?

A: It seems like Cameron Diaz is angling for one. But I think it'll take a lot more than this film to get the Academy to notice her.

Q: How is the Acting?

A: Excellent, on everyone's part. They all regularly have to cry on cue, and none of them have any difficulty being right there with it.

Q: How is the Directing?

A: It stops too frequently for beautiful collages set to sad songs. Cut, cut, cut!

Q: How is the story/script?

A: It starts off with this interesting voice over that floats from one character to another. But before long, that becomes nothing more than a device used to throw in random scenes that the writer doesn't have to think of clever transitions for, creating a movie that is episodic instead of fluid. And I hate to see a good dilemma get ignored.

Q: Is there anything else worth mentioning about the movie?

A: Whoever was in charge of creating the art that both the cancer victim and her brother lay claim to in the film, is talented.

Q: Where can I see the trailer?

A: http://www.moviefone.com/movie/my-sisters-keeper/32323/trailers

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The X Files: I Want to Believe

(Guest Review by Jack and Kacy)

Q: What’s the movie about?

A: Mulder and Scully (David Duchovny and Gillian Anderson) are called back to duty by the FBI when a former priest claims to be receiving psychic visions pertaining to a kidnapped agent.

Q: Who’s in the movie?

A: David Duchovny, Gillian Anderson, Amanda Peet, Billy Connolly, Alvin "Xzibit" Joiner, Mitch Pileggi

Q: Is this movie worth the price of admission?

A: Stop! If you liked the series, revisit your favorite episode on DVD. If you didn’t like the series, this will not make you want to believe.

Q: Will this movie make me laugh?

A: No. There is a George Bush joke in there, but even that isn’t funny. And he's the easiest target since Michael Jackson.

Q: Will this movie make me cry?

A: If you liked the series, you will cry about how badly they wasted their opportunity to grow the franchise. After this bomb, you can file Mulder and Scully in a place more remote than the X-Files. They will not return. Believe that.

Q: Will this movie be up for any awards?

A: If this wins anything, then I'll believe that aliens exist!

Q: How is the Acting?

A: During the extended hiatus, Gillian Anderson seems to have forgotten who Scully was... David Duchovny is passable, but all that mumbling through his beard for the first third of the movie doesn’t help his cause.

Q: How is the Directing?

A: Chris Carter promised that this movie would scare the daylights out of me... It did. I was scared that he thought this was any good. No wonder they kept everything ultra secret. They didn’t want the secret to get out that it stank!

Q: How is the story/script?

A: In Gillian Anderson's defense, maybe she phoned in her performance because she wasn’t given anything worthwhile to say. The story is boring and the script even more so. This would not even rate in the upper half of X-Files TV episodes.

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