The Kids Are All Right

Release Date: July 30th, 2010

Genre: Comedy / Drama

Stars: Julianne Moore, Annette Bening, Mark Ruffalo

Synopsis: A married lesbian couple's children contact their sperm donor father and begin a relationship with him that complicates life for the entire family.

AltAss Ratings (On a scale of 1 to 5 asses)

Plot:                                            

An original and solid premise is backed up well by a detail oriented plan for where the story is going and ending.

Writing / Production:                 

Moves well and does not drag in the manner that this type of film can be guilty of.  There were plenty of humorous moments and the tension and drama was very real.

Acting:                                       

Kudos to the entire cast for making the non-traditional family unit come alive on screen and making it real enough to expose the vast similarities to traditional experiences.  Moore, Bening, and Ruffalo are proven and talented actors and the kids really were quite alright and talented as well.

Originality:                                 

The most original picture I've seen in quite some time.  Even the things that are the same feel different while watching this film.

Overall:                                       

"The Kids Are All Right" is as moving as it is entertaining and most audiences will feel the angst of the characters throughout the film.  Religious fundamentalists will probably want to avoid this picture because it could cause their heads to explode but everyone else should give this film a look.

What did you think?  Leave a comment below to tell us how you'd rate this film!

Lottery Ticket

Release Date: August 20th, 2010

Genre: Comedy

Stars: Bow Wow, Brandon T. Jackson, Naturi Naughton, Ice Cube

Synopsis: A down on his luck kid from the hood hits a huge lottery jackpot and has to survive for three days until the office opens where he can cash it in.

AltAss Ratings (On a scale of 1 to 5 asses)

Plot:                                      

All in all a decent design for a comedy that kept the characters busy and any holes were of the variety typically found in this type of comedy.

Writing / Production:          

"Lottery Ticket" was not nearly funny enough especially when considering that this film has nothing else to fall back on.  The direction of the film seems to change from all out comedy to drama somewhere in the middle and it does not work at all.

Acting:                                 

Bow Wow is not funny which is ironic for a grown man who continues to allow himself to be known by that name.  Brandon T. Jackson plays the protagonists best friend in the film and in my opinion brings most of the laughs in tandem with the rest of the supporting cast.  Everybody seemed to struggle when the picture takes a more serious tone.

Originality:                         

This movie won't be showing anybody from the target audience anything they haven't seen at least a dozen times before.

Overall:                                

The film starts strong and is a legitimate comedy for at least the first half hour but from there it goes from unfunny to an afterschool special trying to impact the audience with a message.  Needless to say it fails miserably and might have at least been a decent picture if it just stuck with trying to make us laugh.

What did you think?  Leave a comment below to tell us how you'd rate this film!

The Infidel

Release Date: May 5th, 2010

Genre: Comedy

Stars: Omid Djalili, Richard Schiff, Archie Panjabi

Synopsis: A British Muslim man learns upon his mother's death that he was adopted and is in fact actually of Jewish heritage.

AltAss Ratings (On a scale of 1 to 5 asses)

Plot:                                      

The identity crises idea raised by this film is an excellent idea for a comedy and the storyline does a pretty good job of showcasing the hillarious potential.

Writing / Production:         

When it was funny it was really funny but the film also had plenty of groaners and left me feeling like it didn't capitalize on all of its potential.

Acting:                                 

I liked Richard Schliff who plays the Jewish man that helps the lead character cope with his new found identity and learn the customs.  I didn't hate Omad Djalili in the lead but can't help but wonder if somebody else wouldn't have made this film a lot funnier.

Originality:                          

Identity crises comedies are a dime a dozen but this one did take some serious chances by poking fun at two major world religions.

Overall:                                

My favorite part of this movie is the depiction of the Muslims and Jews that practice their faith much less rigidly and more akin to the Catholic or Christian who only goes to church a few times a year and sits in the back.  That was refreshing because usually those two groups are strictly depicted as devout or extremist on the screen and "The Infidel" does a lot to weaken those stereotypes.  This movie is good for a few really solid laughs as well and should be enjoyable for audiences seeking a light and fun comedy.

What did you think?  Leave a comment below to tell us how you'd rate this film!

Centurion

Release Date: July 30th, 2010

Genre: Action / Adventure / Drama

Stars: Michael Fassbender, Dominic West, Olga Kurylenko

Synopsis: A Roman Centurion leads a small band of soldiers that has survived a brutal attack behind enemy lines in an effort to rescue their captured General and return to safety.

AltAss Ratings (On a scale of 1 to 5 asses)

Plot:                                     

A nice little tale that is mostly entertaining.  Once or twice it may have lulled too much between the action.

Writing / Production:       

Carried mostly by action packed fight scenes but the dialogue and drama wasn't nearly as horribly scripted as expected.

Acting:                               

Michael Fassbender struggled to match the screen presence of Dominic West and Olga Kurylenko who were both pretty good in their respective roles.  Unfortunately since Fassbender was selected to play the title role his inability to bring the goods hurts the picture.

Originality:                        

I liked the storyline but it is definitely a movie very much in the spirit of "Gladiator" and "300" etc..

Overall:                                

Surprisingly decent and entertaining enough to warrant a look by audiences that like this kind of film.  There is a lot of graphic violence and blood that some audiences will want to avoid and others won't want to miss.

What did you think?  Leave a comment below to tell us how you'd rate this film!