Monday mini reviews

I ended up seeing The Kids Are All Right. My gut feeling was this would be a half decent film though I wasn’t crazy about the topic – lesbian parenting – fearing a trite message movie. But this film (d. Lisa Cholodenko) transcends that topic and in fact pokes fun at Nic (Annette Bening) and Jules’s (Julianne Moore) lifestyle while upholding the value of same sex relationships. The performances all-around are great including that of Mark Ruffalo as Paul and as the kids Mia Wasikowska as Joni and Josh Hutcherson as Laser.....Alain Renais’s Wild Grass has a superb cast: Andre Dussollier, Sabine Azema, Mathieu Amalric (The Diving Bell and the Butterfly) and the extraordinary Emmanuelle Devos. All are among the top stars working in France today. Based on Christian Gailly’s novel this movie about coincidence and the power of attraction starts well enough but, two-third’s of the way through, becomes badly sidetracked and has a predictable ending.....It’s been, yup, 24 years since David Lynch’s instant cult classic Blue Velvet debuted on the silver screen. I never understood the film’s allure then and after a midnight viewing at Landmark’s Main still don't. The movie plods along with a ho-hum noirish story but there are decent performances from Kyle MacLahlan, Isabella Rossellini, Laura Dern, and wonderful over-the-top moments from Dennis Hopper and Dean Stockwell.