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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The Boys Are Back

(Guest Review by Tempany)

Q: What’s the movie about?

A: When a globe trotting sports reporter (Clive Owen) loses his wife to cancer he is forced to finally become accountable as a father.

Q: Who’s in the movie?

A: The very handsome and talented Clive Owen, an astoundingly brilliant child actor called Nicholas McAnulty, George MacKay, Laura Fraser and Emma Booth.

Q: Is this movie worth the price of admission?

A: Go! If you need a good cry and a chance to relive any abandonment issues as a child, this is the flick for you! Much cheaper than therapy and unlike the couch, The Boys Are Back actually leaves you with hope that the world isn’t such a horrible place after all.

Q: Will this movie make me laugh?

A: The kid has some excellent one-liners that will most definitely make you grin through your tears. Out of the mouths of babes and all that jazz.

Q: Will this movie make me cry?

A: Yes, yes and more yes. If you don’t cry you may just be a sociopath. (BTW, Monique didn't cry.) But the crying is a satisfying weep filled with hope and the promise of a happy ending.

Q: Will this movie be up for any awards?

A: The Australian Film Industry will no doubt give this a big nod for independent awards and hopefully the rest of the Indie Prizes around the world will follow suit.

Q: How is the Acting?

A: Fantastic. The two boys in the film are so utterly convincing as lost and confused kids that you may just forget you’re watching a film. Clive Owen does a great job at keeping things understated and believable and we soon grow to love the whole family.

Q: How is the Directing?

A: Scott Hicks, who directed the wonderful Shine, does not disappoint. His picturesque sun drenched Australian landscapes do not distract from the families’ cloudy journey through the grieving process. In a perfect world we could have done without the ghostly visits from the deceased wife but luckily they don’t bug you too much.

Q: How is the story/script?

A: Pretty damn incredible. Based on Simon Carr’s memoir, screenwriter Allan Cubitt creates some of the freshest and funniest dialogue in years. Fatherhood gets a thorough examination, warts and all. Although the subject matter of the film is tragic, the story moves along with inspirational jolts the whole way.

Q: Where can I see the trailer?

A: http://www.traileraddict.com/trailer/the-boys-are-back/trailer

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