Review: "THE KIDS ARE ALL RIGHT"

Despite some people's efforts to permanently solidify the word's meaning, "family" has and always will be a fluid and ever-changing term. After all, what truly makes a family? Aside from the obvious blood relation-oriented usage of the word, a family can mean so many things. A group of close-knit friends may label themselves as a family, or even a posse of coworkers may even describe their relationship as having a family-like quality.

But some traditionalists may adamantly define a family as the stereotypical "nuclear family" unit of a father, mother, and a handful of kids. And thanks to the eternally contentious debate surrounding gay marriage and gay adoption (especially in light of the recent Proposition 8 controversy in California), it begs the question: does a family need have that June and Ward Cleaver-style foundation to be a "real" family? Or does the fact that two parents happen to be of the same gender really matter in the grand scheme of things?

Director Lisa Cholodenko (who created the Showtime television series "The L Word") makes it her goal to address this issue (or in her apparent view, non-issue) in The Kids Are All Right, an intelligent, superbly acted, and highly naturalistic dramedy that focuses on the family dynamic in an unexpected yet very satisfactory fashion.

Having been together for two decades, lesbian couple Nic (Annette Bening) and Jules (Julianne Moore) have carved out a committed and comfortable life together, not only as partners but mothers as well. Both women became pregnant via in-vitro fertilization (both given by the same donor), and go on raising their daughter Joni (Mia Wasikowska) and son Laser (Josh Hutcherson). The perfectionist and bossy Nic works as a doctor, and the more laidback Jules has just started a fledgling landscaping business; however, when the soon-to-be college student Joni turns 18, she and her younger brother decide to seek out their biological father.

Their search produces Paul, a cool and collected restauranteur who's initially taken aback by meeting his children. Paul soon warms up to Joni and Laser (and vice-versa), and he eventually meets Nic and Jules. But tensions begin to rise, since not only does the controlling Nic feel hostile towards this complete stranger, but Jules ends up taking a liking to him, threatening to undermine the entire family dynamic.

Now, in my opinion, despite the self-professed progressiveness of Hollywood, there's never been a truly realistic depiction of the relationship of gay couples in mainstream cinema. In many movies featuring gay couples, they've always been TOO positive and happy in their presentation. But any couple, gay or straight, can tell you that every relationship is certainly NOT perfect. All couples have their flaws, tensions, and arguments, not to mention complex relationships with their kids.

And in that respect, Cholodenko has done a terrific job stripping away any possible stigma the film may have about it being a "lesbian movie" and instead simply make Nic and Jules possess the same husband-and-wife relationship as any heterosexual couple would. One is controlling and patriarchal, and the other is lax and laidback. There are the usual spats, arguments, and conflicts with the kids. The depiction is so natural and believable that you think that, well, you're watching your own mom and dad.

And it's the awards-worthy performances by Annette Bening and Julianne Moore that make it all work. They make the loving-yet-strained, decades-long relationship of the two women feel entirely convincing, especially in regards to Nic's insecurity, Jules' fears of the couple's passion fading, and their utter devotion to their two kids. Hutcherson and Wasikowska do a fabulous job as the teenagers who are searching for their dad, and Ruffalo is equally charming and conflicted as the womanizer who feels more and more comfortable with the prospects of being a father.

Despite the heavy thematic material present, The Kids Are All Right isn't too depressing or preachy, as there's plenty of humor present in the proceedings. The chemistry between the moms and the kids is warm and believable, and once again, you forget the fact that this movie is about a lesbian couple but rather just a couple (and there's even a very funny and ironic twist on the whole "parents being suspicious but vocally supportive about their child possibly being gay" theme in one scene).

While many people may fiercely debate about what truly makes a family, our ever-changing culture provides evidence that family doesn't depend entirely on the sex of the parents, and though the subject matter regarding tense family dynamics isn't anything new, The Kids Are All Right makes the point that "not normal" can be entirely normal.

Letter Grade: "A-"

Review: "INCEPTION"

There's an old and oft-used saying that "time flies when you're having fun", where one's most incredible and emotionally-satisfying moments in life seem like they happen in a flash, whereas the more monotonous and unremarkable moments seem to go on forever.

But it seems as though the rules are reversed when it comes to dreams during deep sleep. Not only do the intricate images and subconscious events within the mind seem to last a lifetime (even though only several hours pass in real-time), but on some occasions the dreams in question are so convincing and realistic that one has to question whether or not they're awake, or still snoozing away in their own special dream world.

While researchers and psychologists still don't fully understand the purpose or science of dreams (lucid or otherwise), the concept of the "reality" of dreams is still a rich subject for fictional storytelling, as proven by Christopher Nolan, the genius British-American filmmaker whose track record of psychologically-stimulating films (Memento, Insomnia, Batman Begins, and The Dark Knight) gets yet another high mark with Inception, a mind-boggling, exhilarating, and absolutely marvelous science-fiction heist film where the mind is the scene of the crime.

Dom Cobb (Leonardo DiCaprio) is an experienced "extractor", who specializes in infiltrating the dreams of his subjects/marks as a means of corporate espionage, where he extracts secrets and other important information from the subject's mind.

Despite being very good at what he does, Cobb has a bit of a shady past. Having run from America a couple years earlier for a crime he says he didn't commit, Cobb travels around the world performing extracting jobs with his frequent teammate and point man Arthur (Joseph Gordon-Levitt), all while trying to find a means to clear his name and return to his two young children.

That chance seems to have arrived in the form of Saito (Ken Watanabe), a powerful businessman who wants Cobb for a special and unorthodox job. Saito wants Cobb to perform not an extraction but rather an "inception" on rival energy conglomerate heir Robert Fisher (Cillian Murphy), where instead of stealing ideas from the mark's mind, the infiltrators would actually implant an idea; in this case, implanting in Robert the idea of breaking up his father's company and giving Saito a market monopoly. Saito promises Cobb that if he can pull off this inception, Saito would make it so Cobb's name is cleared and he can finally go home to his children.

Though Cobb and Arthur are reluctant to accept the job (since an inception would involve not only having the mark's subconscious instinctively creating defenses to fend off foreign occupants, but also having to dangerously create dreams within dreams to ward off such defenses), Cobb's personal motivations cause the mission to go ahead. They form a diverse team of fellow infiltrators to build the dream scenario: forger Eames (Tom Hardy), who assumes various identities in the dream world to fool the mark; college student Ariadne (Ellen Page), who serves as the architect of the dream world itself; and chemist Yusuf (Dileep Rao), who concocts the powerful sedatives to help immerse the real-world team into the subconscious dream world.

As the team enters Robert's mind, they must not only avoid his natural mental defenses, but must also enter deeper, labyrinth-like layers of dreams-within-dreams to successfully implant Saito's idea, at the risk of being stuck forever in a dream limbo should they be killed in the dream world. And on top of that, the team must encounter Cobb's inadvertent mental projections of his late wife Mal (Marion Cotillard), who attempts to convince the guilt-ridden Cobb into staying with her in this subconscious reality.

Confused yet? Well, if director Nolan's previous cinematic offerings (Memento in particular) are any indication, you will most definitely walk out of the theater both scratching your head and catching your breath at the same time.

In my review of last year's terrific horror romp Drag Me To Hell (directed by cult horror director and Spider-Man trilogy helmer Sam Raimi), I mentioned how it can be beneficial for a successful veteran filmmaker to return to the roots that made him a household name in the first place. Nolan cut his directorial teeth on psychologically-tantalizing indie films such as Following and Memento, following them up with acclaimed big-budget features like his Batman reboots. But while Raimi's post-Spidey Drag Me To Hell was an aesthetic and low-budget return to the cheesy horror-comedy roots he planted with the Evil Dead trilogy, Nolan made the risky move of not only creating an intellectually-complex psychological puzzler (not exactly a target film for a summer moviegoing audience), but also combining it with big-budget ($200 million in this case) elements usually set aside for brainless popcorn films.

But once again, Nolan proved naysayers wrong. Not only is Inception a wholly original and mindbending experience, but it's a summertime film release that exercises the audience's intelligence, rather than insult it. The film's plot is multilayered to the brim, and it can become confusing and hard to keep up with all the various layers of Matrix-like dreams and realities. But thankfully, Nolan's script and excellent direction manages to keep the audience's eyes glued to the screen. And like the infiltration team in the movie, the picture's cast and crew all serve as effectively integral parts to bring the whole thing together.

Almost every technical aspect of Inception is Oscar-worthy, what with production designer Guy Hendrix Dyas' Escher-like setpieces, editor Lee Smith's captivating quick cuts and smooth transitions into the various dream worlds, and Hans Zimmer's powerful score ties everything together from a visceral and emotional standpoint.

The casting is stellar across the board. As the guilt-ridden extractor-in-chief, DiCaprio is terrific in the role. Though his character is initially mysterious and ambiguous, Cobb becomes much more fleshed out later on, especially with the revelations of his tragic backstory involving his late wife (an emotionally raw and somewhat creepy Cotillard). Ellen Page does a fine job as the new addition to the team, a youngster who's both in awe and fear of this new subconscious world she enters. And Joseph Gordon-Levitt (easily one of the best actors working today) plays it cool as the team's point man who also gets the best action scenes, most notably a ridiculously cool showdown with defensive mental projections in a revolving hallway.

To say that Inception is high-concept would be a huge understatement. While many high-concept films don't usually pan out (Snakes on a Plane, anyone?), there's always the rare film that flirts with an out-of-this-world (or mind) concept that consistently clicks with precision. This is one of those films. While Inception has all the bells and whistles of a summer blockbuster, at its core is a brilliantly-conceived and almost philosophical thematic foundation that will easily keep the viewer (including yours truly) enthralled long after the credits roll.

Though the two-and-a-half-hour runtime and complex storytelling may be daunting for some (a second viewing may be necessary to fully absorb everything), it's still worth watching not only one of the best movies of 2010 (if not THE best), but yet another testament to Christopher Nolan's amazing talent and skill. A true cinematic dream if there was one, Inception is testimony to the notion that a movie with brains can be just as engaging as one with just brawn.

Letter Grade: "A"

A Beginner's Guide to Karaoke Etiquette

A good indicator of a colorful personality is how willing someone is to make an utter fool of themselves in public. While certain folks are naturally shy, there are some who revel in the spotlight, either to merely gain attention, or to just have fun and live it up. One venue for such behavior is that of karaoke.

Established in the early 1970s and gaining popularity worldwide, karaoke and karaoke bars are fabulous means of releasing one's extroverted side (whether or not alcohol is involved is another story) via usually off-key renditions of popular songs. However, if you're new to the karaoke scene, there are a few guidelines you need to observe to make for a satisfying experience.

1. Timing is everything
Even though karaoke generally isn't a talent contest, you still want to leave a mark on the half-drunken bar patrons watching you. First impressions are key, and therefore you want to wait for the right time to wow the crowd (either by your talent, or your enthusiasm). Sometimes, the first couple of songs sung don't garner any reaction since the patrons aren't drunk/fully into the music. Therefore, don't be the first singer of the night. Listen to a few songs, see if they rile up the crowd, and once the adrenaline clearly permeates the bar, get up on the stage and take advantage of the moment.

2. Choose what songs you mangle carefully
No one expects karaoke to be "American Idol". You can be extremely bad at singing, but still manage to have fun and get a great reaction from the crowd. However, you're not completely immune from damaging your karaoke reputation. While most songs sung in such an environment are of the guilty-pleasure variety (think Lady Gaga, Vanilla Ice, or Backstreet Boys) and therefore don't warrant a beautiful and on-key vocal performance, certain tunes are considered too sacred to utterly ruin. So unless you have the voice of an angel, don't even bother going for something like Queen's "Bohemian Rhapsody" or Radiohead's "Creep". It's just bad news.

3. Go for the gusto
If you're gonna down some drinks, get on stage, and sing in public, it had to have been for a reason. Therefore, you have absolutely no reason to have stage fright. Enthusiasm is infectious. You're already up there, so what does a little high-energy performing hurt? Don't be stiff as a board! Dance around (even if you suck at it)! Instead of singing in the most boring way possible, add some vocal flourishes (i.e. if you have a naturally low voice, surprise your audience with some falsetto). Remember, this is your time to shine.

4. Opera won't get you laid (at least not here)
As stated in #2, you gotta be strategic about what songs you pick. And while there's a bevy of popular and reliable standbys in those big songbooks, there's also some tunes that just won't be a match at a karaoke bar. You may have gotten a big round of applause at your ninth grade choir concert by singing "Danny Boy" or "La donna è mobile", but you most likely won't get a huge reaction here. And usually, more hardcore music like death metal or thrash won't go over well either (unless you think people leaving is equivalent to "going over well"). So unless you're certain that you'll blow the bar patrons away with your magnificent pipes, go with the more familiar genres. And if all else fails...

5. B.C.A.C. (Be Cheap And Cheat)
A good majority of karaoke bar patrons usually go for the guilty-pleasure songs, either to make their friends laugh, or to intentionally make asses of themselves (or both). That's why you always hear "Bad Romance", "I Want it That Way", "Baby Got Back", "Don't Stop Believin'", "Ice, Ice, Baby", and "Friends in Low Places" in these joints on a frequent basis. It may be unoriginal and cliched, but they're bound to get a huge reaction. And if you really want to bring the house down with little to no effort, go for the songs that require call-and-response with the audience, like The Beatles' "Twist and Shout", a-Ha's "Take on Me", "Summer Nights" from Grease, and Neil Diamond's "Sweet Caroline". They cannot and will not resist it.

And the final and most important rule for karaoke etiquette:

6. Always cheer others on
While some people have talent and others clearly don't, all that really matters is how much fun you're having. It takes a lot of guts to go up on stage and sing in front of a bunch of drunk and wild people (especially when many of them are your peers), and regardless of how amazing or amazingly awful they are, you gotta give 'em props for their efforts. Whether they're family, friends, or complete strangers, singing along with them or cheering them on is essential for a true karaoke experience. That, and getting wasted.