Nic and Jules are the mums of 18-year-old daughter, Joni, and 15-year-old son, Laser. And, the kids are really all right. They are healthy children, intelligent, sensible, and sociable. Although it became comedic when Nic and Jules suspected that Laser might be gay, it sure brought out a point—no it’s more than his sexual orientation—it’s the unconditional love they have for their son, and their openness to accept him for who he is. Nic and Jules are lesbian women no doubt, but they are parents who care for their children.

As a character-driven film, the pacing, though a tad slow, sets our focus on the minute details of what each character experiences. It allows us to connect and relate personally to the emotions and issues portrayed.

Be it the disappointment Laser feels when he meets his biological male parent/father or sperm donor. Jules’s attraction towards Paul when she feels her relationship with Nic is strained. And Nic’s resistance towards Paul, to eventual hurt and disappointment when she discovers Jules has been cheating on her.

These scenes in the gradual unfolding of the plot accentuate the personalities of each character, emphasizing how these people are just like any one of us. We are individuals who have feelings, have our own thoughts and opinions, we face challenges, we make mistakes, we are different, and we are not all perfect.

The challenges this family face are non-gender or sexuality specific. As much as they are an unconventional family unit, it does not make what they experience invalid or irrelevant.

The Kids Are All Right nailed the fundamentals of Love, Family, Marriage, and Relationships. It is not so much the gender or sexuality of the person, but elements such as trust, honesty, acceptance, communication, understanding and effort, to love your spouse, your children, and keep the relationships and bonds in the family, and marriage, going strong.

Being different doesn’t mean being abnormal. Nor does being mainstream give you an absolute right to discriminate against the unconventional. We are all individuals who have loved ones, our parents, our family, and we have our own challenges in life.

The Kids Are All Right is a watch you ought to catch to rethink our conventional beliefs, understandings, or biased opinions, of Family, Marriage and Relationships.

Peace.

Will Ferrell, Hollywood’s staple man in comedy for some years now, re-teams with director Adam McKay for The Other Guys, a buddy-cop comedy that definitely has its moments, but is ultimately nothing you haven’t already seen before. Ferrell typically delivers his best work alongside McKay (their co-op resume includes such laugh riots as Anchorman, Talladega Nights and Step Brothers) and this time they bring along hardman Mark Wahlberg, relishing the opportunity to somewhat break the mould and showcase his comedic talents.

The mismatched pair plays Allen Gamble (Ferrell) and Terry Hoitz (Wahlberg). The former is content to sit at his desk filing paperwork all day for the local police station, while the latter would rather be out on the streets, making a real difference in the city. Due to a, let’s say, lack of staff, they are put on the case of shifty tycoon David Ershon, who’s felonies turn out to be more serious than just his failure to apply for a scaffolding permit.

From the outset, it’s clear Ferrell and Wahlberg enjoyed their time on the set. While the plot, set pieces and screenplay display little to no innovation, it is the chemistry between the two leads that regularly delivers laughs out of situations that could have fallen very flat with the wrong combination. With such a stale, oft-worked film genre, it is difficult for those involved to keep the audience’s attention solely on the comedy. They don’t exactly reinvent the wheel, but Will and Mark work wonders with what they have.

Running jokes grow tiresome after a while, though. Subliminal TLC references from Michael Keaton’s (remember, he used to be Batman?) police captain and Allen’s subconscious ability to attract beautiful women are, frankly, used too often at times where other, more refreshing ideas could have been exploited.

But going back to the subject of actor combinations, an honourable mention must go to Samuel L. Jackson and Dwayne John- who am I kidding, he’s still The Rock, who play the heroic cop stereotypes to great effect. Their final scene is arguably the funniest in the entire film, combining music, slow-motion and a throwaway line so appropriate it’s already earnt itself a spot in the Urban Dictionary. And well done to McKay for adhering to Article 39 of the Movie Code: Any film post-1994 starring Jackson must contain at least one Pulp Fiction reference.

On the whole, I had feelings of indifference towards The Other Guys. Because this is one of those disheartening final products in which the funniest parts were packed into a two-and-a-half-minute trailer, I left inarguably underwhelmed. I wouldn’t discourage anyone who hasn’t seen it to go and watch, but certainly feel under no compulsion to watch it again myself, or anticipate its home release. A lack of depth in most technical filmmaking categories, but points for Ferrell, Wahlberg and most of the cast for efforts that produce satisfactory results, just about the definition of ‘average.’

6/10.

Shot on every cent of a five million dollar budget and the directorial debut of Duncan Jones (the son of David Bowie, no less), Moon was without doubt the most underrated and underviewed film of 2009. With an underrated film comes an underrated actor in Sam Rockwell (Frost/Nixon, Iron Man 2) who pairs up with one of my favourites in Kevin Spacey to deliver a sci-fi film hell bent on breaking all the rules of genre-specific filmmaking.

Rockwell plays namesake Sam Bell, an astronaut stationed on the moon carrying out operations as part of a three-year contract, at the conclusion of which he is to return to Earth. He lives in isolation with only supercomputer GERTY (voiced by Spacey) for company. Working peacefully, his problem-free situation begins inherently more complicated when he finds unexpected company aboard his station, leading to the unravelling of a giant conspiracy that challenges his very existence as a human being.

For a genre obsessed with alien invasions and intergalactic wars, Moon embarks on something of a path less travelled. However, the heart and raw emotion of the plot more than makes up for the film’s lack of gunfights and high-tech action. Director Duncan Jones came up with the original story and must be commended on what can be best described as a magnetic series of events.

Indeed, after Sam makes the discovery that sets the movie into motion after an admittedly sluggish start, don’t be surprised to find yourself moving closer and closer to the edge of your seat as you wait for the next ‘big’ moment. Had I been secretly videotaped while watching Moon (hey, it happens) you’d notice my facial expressions range from empathy to intrigue to anticipation to…utterly confused during the climax, but it all ends up making perfect sense before the end credits. And for any film to create such an interest in its characters and what happens around them is an undeniable positive.

This couldn’t be done without a strong showing in the acting department. Spacey has ‘friendly robot voice’ down to an absolute tee (a pleasure to listen to) but it is Rockwell who carries this film. In the midst of the Writer’s Strike in the US, Jones and Parker still deliver an impressive screenplay, and Rockwell compliments its emotion-driven direction to put in a quality performance cementing his credentials as a leading man. His temporary nervous breakdown, where it all gets too much for him and he wants to ‘just go home’ is the standout scene, and a perfect example of what I’m trying to explain.

Jones has great fun spoofing all sorts of genre-defining sci-fi films. Some references are obvious (pretty sure GERTY and HAL are cousins) while others are subtler, and offer satisfying intertextual depth to fans of the genre.

Let me conclude in saying this film is not for everyone. For those expecting a more action-oriented film, the synopsis offered by the Showtime channel (‘things take a turn for the worse when Sam discovers he’s not alone’) may ultimately prove misleading, but that is to take nothing away from this absorbing mind-bender. And for anyone who felt the ending was somewhat abrupt and could have been expanded upon, word round the campfire is that Moon was just the first of a planned trilogy. Watch this ‘space’…awful pun definitely intended.

8/10.

The first half of the 1990s was a glorious, competitive time for mob films. Okay, so we started off with the disappointing (but far from terrible) The Godfather: Part 3, but later that year Martin Scorsese released GoodFellas, which many people consider to be the definitive gangster film. In that same year came Miller’s Crossing, and Quentin Tarantino added to the palette with both Reservoir Dogs and Pulp Fiction. In 1995, Marty hit back with Casino, redefining the blockbuster genre in a way that wasn’t emulated until some twelve years later, when Nolan got his hands on the Batman franchise.

Comprising of an all-star cast headed by the incomparable Robert De Niro, Casino tells the story of Sam ‘Ace’ Rothstein, America’s finest bookmaker in the 1970s and 80s, whose knowledge of the industry lures him to Las Vegas. At the behest of the Mafia, he becomes the executive manager of the fictional Tangiers casino. Childhood friend Nicky Santoro (Joe Pesci) comes along for the ride, and all seems to run smoothly until a desire for women, wealth and the very essence of Vegas sends the gambling empire into a tailspin.

Expect nothing less than utter professionalism in the direction department. Scorsese gives the audience an excellent look into the luxury, excess and emotion that defined Las Vegas for so long. The visuals are striking, displaying the bright lights of the city in external scenes, and giving the film a glossy undertone during internal scenes; a highly unconventional technique, but one that reflects the tone perfectly.

As with most of Marty’s masterpieces, Casino is unique in the way that it dosen’t follow a structured plot. Rather, the film is, for lack of a better phrase, a whole bunch of ‘things’ that happen, and how they impact on (or are caused by) the main characters. In fact, a positive aspect of the movie that isn’t recognised by most is just how much influence the characters have on the story.

The first half of the film is concerned with how Ace and Nicky run the casino: turning over profits, keeping customers happy and dealing with cheaters. The second half deals solely with each character’s personal issues, and how they destroyed something so valuable from the inside out. We see how Ace’s hustling wife Ginger (Sharon Stone, in a career-best performance) turns two former friends against each other, while slowly killing herself as well. There is no doubt that the events of the second half are on a smaller scale to those of the first, but so much more emphasis is placed on the former because of the magnetism and excellent performance of each actor.

Drama is on high supply for the film’s entire three-hour run time, but allows for some well-written comedy to complement the pace. For all the excellent younger actors Scorsese has worked with in the past decade, none of them convey the effortless on-screen chemistry of De Niro and Pesci, whether they are joking with each other, or wishing death upon one another.

At its simplest, this can be called the ultimate guy’s movie. It features shooting, swearing, suits, money, fast cars and even faster women. Delve a little deeper, and you’ll appreciate the practically flawless acting, indulgent cinematography and a cautionary tale just as critical of greed and the flaws of human beings as Wall Street or Scarface. I take issue with this film’s tagline: ‘No one stays at the top forever’, because it will take one hell of an effort to knock Casino off this movie-lover’s list of top 20 films.

9/10.