The Descendants (Sam)

SAM'S RANKING: 9 out of 10

When people hear the word "Hawaii," they think of the ideal version of paradise--sun, beaches, ocean, palm trees, a place for families and couples, or people just want a break from life. But "The Descendants" doesn't feel like it's set in Hawaii. That's because it focuses more on the people than the place, and because the people are just average, ordinary Americans, they could be living anywhere.

The "ordinary American" at the center of the story is Matt King (George Clooney), a Honolulu-based lawyer and father of two who owns 25,000 acres of land on Kaua'i that has been passed down in his family for generations. Since the trust is about to expire, he has decided to sell the land. But first Matt must settle problems within his family.

His wife, Elizabeth, is in a coma after a boating accident, and we mostly see her in her comatose state in a hospital bed. He has two daughters: 17-year-old Alex (Shailane Woodley) and 10-year-old Scottie (Amara Miller). Scottie knows way too much for her age; she harasses her classmates, throws out some offensive name-calling, and even flips off a couple of people during the course of the film. Alex attends a boarding school after a history of drugs, and is drunk when we first meet her. Matt isn't close to either daughter, leading to miscommunication.

Matt learns that Elizabeth will not wake up from her coma. He breaks the news to Alex, and then Alex drops a bomb of her own: Elizabeth was cheating on Matt. The rest of the film is devoted to Matt trying to find Elizabeth's lover, decide the fate of the land, understand his wife's depression, and reconnect with his daughters.

"The Descendants" is a film about a dysfunctional family with real problems. It works because it is not overtly depressing; like many films nowadays, it throws in some unexpected humor to give us a break from this difficult subject matter, while still managing to pack the appropriate emotional punch. In some ways, it's also unconventional; some of the usual trademarks that are associated with this type of film are not present in "The Descendants," but I'll let you figure them out for yourself.

There are so many great scenes in "The Descendants," thanks in large part to the performances, particularly by Shailane Woodley as Alex. She is at her best in three or four scenes, in which Alex's feelings of anger and disdain toward her family are revealed. It is an injustice that she did not receive an Oscar nomination for her performance. Clooney is less believable; there are several scenes where we feel like we're watching George Clooney, not Matt King. Nonetheless, he does have several strong moments, and his Oscar nomination was deserved.

However, "The Descendants" is far from perfect. The character of Sid, an immature friend of Alex who tags along with the family, at first seems to be in the film for comic relief, and ruins several potential moments of emotion. Later, Matt discovers what Alex sees in Sid, and Sid becomes less obnoxious, but we still wonder what purpose his presence in the film serves. Also, profanity is so overused in this film that it takes believability out of some parts, although in other parts it is necessary.

But something about "The Descendants" makes you want to see it again. It's about real people with real problems in a place considered paradise throughout the world. Yes, Hawaii is a nice place to visit, but in the eyes of Matt King, living there is like living anywhere else.

The King's Speech (Sam)

SAM'S RANKING: 10 out of 10

In the opening scenes of "The King's Speech," Prince Albert, Duke of York (Colin Firth), is scheduled to conclude the Empire Exhibition's radio broadcast from London. He approaches the microphone, but at his cue, he stands there silently for at least fifteen seconds. When he finally begins to deliver his speech, he delivers it in stammers, with the microphone only making things worse.

Albert's wife, Elizabeth, Duchess of York (Helen Bonham Carter), goes to see Lionel Logue (Oscar winner Geoffrey Rush), a speech therapist who uses a different strategy than other speech therapists. He does his job his own way, requiring Albert to come to his rundown office. Albert is initially cynical toward Logue, but eventually agrees to do therapy sessions to overcome his speech impediment.

However, as the therapy sessions pass, Albert faces a challenge when his father, King George V (Michael Gambon), dies and his brother Edward (Guy Pearce) inherits the throne. Edward may face abdication due to his decision to marry Wallis Simpson (Eve Best), a twice-divorced American socialite, putting tongue-tied Albert in an uncompromising position.

"The King's Speech" features a lot of attention to detail; there are several long, slow-moving scenes, and a detailed, Oscar-worthy set decoration. Logue's office is the epitome of this, with beautifully painted walls and shabby wooden doors that look like they are a hundred years old (but probably aren't). The dialogue is filled with a surprising amount of humor, something that is becoming curiously common in movies.

But the relationship between Albert and Lionel becomes more than just doctor-patient. Lionel's strategy involves talking about personal matters, which Albert initially rebuffs but finds helpful. In one of the movie's better scenes, Albert reveals painful childhood memories, all of which are often associated with speech impediment.

The performances are brilliant, with Firth believably portraying Albert's frustration over his stutter, and Rush equally good as the imaginative Lionel. Carter also turns in a good performance as Albert's sympathetic wife.

The biggest strength of "The King's Speech" is realism; it never glosses over the challenges of the characters, and even though it's obviously exaggerated at times, it doesn't feel that way.

Tangled (Sam)

SAM'S RANKING: 9 out of 10

When viewing the film trailer for "Tangled," one would judge the book by its cover and consider the film one of those computer-animated spoof filled with mindless humor, which are abundant these days but are typically not that good. But when viewing the actual film, it becomes clear that it's no spoof.

The story is narrated by Flynn Rider (Zachary Levi), the most wanted thief in the village ("They just can't get my nose right!"). Bumbling, wisecracking, and self-deprecating, he narrates with lightning-fast wit that fits the "spoof" label.

But the story quickly shifts from Flynn Rider to Rapunzel (Mandy Moore), the newborn princess who is born sickly. The king and queen find a magical flower with the ability to heal the sick and hurt, and use it to successfully cure Rapunzel. However, a greedy witch named Gothel (Donna Murphy), who had previously used the flower to prevent herself from aging, discovers that Rapunzel's hair contains the flower's magic.

Gothel kidnaps Rapunzel and raises her as her daughter. Her hair grows astoundingly long as it will lose its magic if it is cut. She keeps Rapunzel cooped up in a tall tower and forbids her from venturing outside. As her eighteenth birthday approaches, she longs to leave the tower, but is denied her request every time she asks.

Then, one day, Flynn is on the run and stumbles upon the tall tower in which Rapunzel lives. Out of sheer curiosity, he climbs the tower, but is knocked out by Rapunzel and awakens to find himself tied up in her hair. Seeing this as her chance to break free, Rapunzel makes a deal with Flynn: she will let him go if he takes her to see the floating lanterns, which (unbeknownst to her) are released by her parents every year on her birthday, in hopes of finding her.

It is during the first scenes with Rapunzel that the film quickly evolves from spoof to Disney-style fairy tale, complete with musical numbers ("When Will My Life Begin," "Mother Knows Best," "I've Got a Dream," "I See the Light"). But this particular film tops other Disney fairy tales such as "Beauty & the Beast," "The Little Mermaid," and "Aladdin."

The reason why this stands out among other Disney fairy tales is that it not only becomes one, but starts leading the viewer in surprising directions. First of all, Flynn starts to soften as he bonds with Rapunzel. It's not that he isn't loveable in the beginning; most viewers wouldn't change him a bit. But as he grows closer to Rapunzel, he becomes more serious, and starts to care for Rapunzel to surprising heights.

Another surprising element is that Gothel doesn't fit the typical Disney villain. She is clearly the "bad guy" of the film, but at first appears to be merely selfish and greedy. When she finds Rapunzel has disobeyed her, she doesn't drag her back to the tower and punish her, but allows her to keep going with Flynn and hatches a plan to glorify herself to make Rapunzel come back to her. It's when Rapunzel defies Gothel that her evil kicks up a notch, but it still doesn't reach the heights one would expect it to, which is a compliment.

Probably the best scene in the whole movie shows Flynn and Rapunzel in a canoe at night, singing a duet of the film's best song, "I See the Light." The animation is at its best here as floating lanterns hover around Flynn and Rapunzel. For these reasons, it is difficult not to get "Tangled" into seeing this movie.

The Genesis Code

SAM'S RANKING: 8.22 out of 10

For many years, science and Genesis have appeared to be in conflict with each other, particularly with the origins of the universe. But what if both creationism and evolution were true?

That appears to be the focus in the trailer for "The Genesis Code," but after seeing the movie, we find out that it isn't.

If there is a central character, it would be Blake Truman, a professional college hockey player who is approached by Kerry, a student reporter. We learn relatively quickly that Kerry is a Christian, and the daughter of a reverend. How come it's always a Christian girl teaching a lesson to an arrogant atheist boy?

Blake isn't necessarily an atheist, but he doesn't believe in creationism, which in Christianity is Genesis. He refuses to correctly answer Kerry's interview questions (and the interview is never completed), but he is clearly attracted to her. She invites him to church, an invitation which he accepts with reluctance. As he sits in the chapel listening to her father's sermon, a flashback shown in black and white implies a shattered relationship with his mother, who we mostly see in a present day unconscious state in a hospital bed.

"The Genesis Code" surprised me in a way. It contained a surprising amount of cultural references (which in one case isn't exactly a compliment). Another surprise came at the end, which is too good to reveal but is definitely worth watching.

The biggest surprise was how little the film focused on, well, "The Genesis Code." Basically, the Genesis code is a theory Kerry's super-smart brother comes up with that both creationism and evolution are scientifically accurate. The theory is explained in one long, seemingly never-ending scene in a planetarium, but it's ultimately worthwhile because the conclusion is surprisingly clever. And there's also a reference to my all-time favorite show, "The Big Bang Theory." However, one would expect it to play a greater part in the film, because outside of the one long scene, very little of the theory is spoken of.

Instead, the film focuses more on Blake and his gradual conversion to Christianity, mostly through Kerry. Their relationship isn't necessarily a romantic one (though they do share a predictable kiss at one point), but they clearly are attracted to each other.

There are a few complaints to be lodged in here. The film goes about 10 minutes too long, and one emotional scene toward the end is completely ruined by the goofiness of Blake's friend. Also, Kerry's academic adviser (Catherine Hicks of "7th Heaven" fame) challenging her dogmatic adherence to her faith seems a bit unrealistic, as someone like that typically wouldn't challenge a student's beliefs (and would probably get fired if they did).

On a brighter note, the film features Oscar-winning legends Ernest Borgnine and Louise Fletcher as Blake's grandparents. They are no longer big names in Hollywood, but the fact that the producers cast them is impressive. Overall, the film is a good one, and whether you're a creationist or evolutionist you will ultimately be satisfied by "The Genesis Code."

Inception (Sam)

SAM'S RANKING: 10 out of 10

Ever since "The Blind Side" left theaters, there hasn't been what you'd call a "good movie." With the disappointment of "Toy Story 3," it looked like the movie industry had gone down the tube.

Then along comes "Dark Knight" director Christopher Nolan, with quite a surprise up his sleeve!

"Inception" centers around Dominic Cobb (Leonardo DiCaprio), who we find washed up on a beach in the opening scene. He's taken to see an old Chinese man, and then he wakes up in what appears to be Iraq, and then he wakes up again.

Gradually we learn Cobb and his loyal companion (Joseph Gordon-Levitt) has the ability to enter people's dreams to extract information, presumably from a person suspected of a crime. A high-powered businessman (Ken Watanabe) wants Cobb to perform an "inception"--plant a dream in someone's head. And that someone is the son and supposed successor (Cillian Murphy) of a dying rival businessman.

Cobb hires some new members of the team, including an architecture student (Ellen Page) who takes particular interest in him. She soon learns that Cobb has another motive behind the inception--he's falsely accused of a crime, and performing the inception will somehow clear his name so he can go home to his children.

But it's best to stop there before too much is revealed. Using dazzling visual effects, director Nolan has created a film that is completely in its own category. There's even some humor thrown in. And for once it's not the acting that's the highlight, though the acting is top-notch.

In "Inception" we find the same complexity and creativity that we found in Andrew Davis's "Holes." Director Nolan makes no attempt to simplify the story for the audience, poses questions which are answered during the course of the movie, and leaves the viewer deep in thought at the end.

But there's really no need to simplify the story. One critic suggested that the viewer let the film go over your head, figure it out, and then see it again. But while there are still some confusing elements of the film, the viewer should have most of the film figured out by the end.

Possibly the year's best movie, "Inception" is a mind-blowing phenomenon.

The Fugitive (Sam)

SAM'S RANKING: 9 out of 10

In Chicago, Illinois, Dr. Richard Kimble (Harrison Ford) is falsely convicted of killing his wife. When he escapes from prison, he sets out to find out the real killer, with U.S. Marshall Sam Gerard (Tommy Lee Jones) and his team hot on his trail.

Director Andrew Davis combines elements of action, thriller, prison movie, and murder mystery, with a phenomenal result. The plot may seem ordinary, but this movie is far from ordinary! There are suspenseful scenes throughout, as well as well-staged action and stunts.

But the cat-and-mouse game between Ford and Jones (who won an Oscar) is what makes this movie work. It's a rare instance where you're rooting for both sides. Another rarity is that the movie is undeniably long but keeps the viewer occupied every minute.

If you need to escape, rent "The Fugitive."

Home Alone 2: Lost in New York

SAM'S RANKING: 4 out of 10

Disappointing sequel has Kevin (Macaulay Culkin) stranded in New York during Christmas after getting on the wrong flight. He comes face-to-face with the two burglars (Joe Pesci and Daniel Stern), who have broken out of prison, and prepares to defend a toy store.

This is basically an exact duplicate of the first film, as it goes exactly where the last film went. This time Brenda Fricker is in Roberts Blossom's place as a homeless woman who feeds pigeons in Central Park. She manages to keep the story afloat, but it's still a disappointment.

Even the slapstick, while funny, goes extremely over-the-top. In fact, some of it is not funny! This is a sequel you'll want to miss!