Home (5/10): For children 10 and under

"Oh, no! My hands are in the air like I just do not care!”

DreamWorks’ latest animated film will please the younger audience with its colorful visuals and likable characters, but I’m afraid parents won’t be too entertained by the predictability of the story, neither kids above the age of 10 for that matter. That is unless you are a fan of Rihanna who voices one of the main characters and sings the entire soundtrack for the movie. Home introduces us to an alien race known as the Boov who are always fleeing from their enemies, the Gorg. They flee to new planets where they can hide from the Gorgs and their next destination is Earth. Under the leadership of their most respected coward, Captain Smek (voiced by Steve Martin) they relocate the humans to other parts of the planet believing they are an inferior race and install themselves all over the globe. Oh (Jim Parsons) is a Boov misfit who is desperately in need of a friend and when he accidentally sends a message across the universe to a welcoming home party he puts the lives of everyone at risk. Realizing that he has made a terrible mistake, Oh goes on the run and that is where he runs into Tip, a young human girl who has managed to escape from the Boov relocation. She is searching for her mother (Jennifer Lopez) and after befriending Oh the two realize they can help each other out on their quests and embark on a journey that will take them around the globe.     

The premise of the story isn’t very original and we’ve seen this scenario played out many times in the past with films like Lilo & Stitch or ET. The concept of teaming up a young child with an unknown alien seems to be appealing to kids who might feel like everyone around them is an alien in some sort of way. It has worked in the past so the producers aren’t really trying anything new here and they don’t provide a fresh spin to the well known story either. Ten minutes into the film and you already know how everything is going to turn out in the end. There aren’t any surprises and the only treat that Home offers are the colorful visuals and some few funny scenes. I didn’t get to watch this film in English so I couldn’t enjoy the voice work from Rihanna and Parsons, whom I’m a fan of his series, The Big Bang Theory. The Spanish voice work was solid and some of the jokes translated well. 

The film does have some heartwarming moments and seems to remind children of the importance of facing their fears and taking risks. Tip is an adventurous character who teaches Oh to have hope despite the odds. She also teaches him about the true meaning of friendship which is thinking and caring for others instead of oneself. The message is well intentioned although a bit light, but in the end the simplicity of the story will hurt the film’s chances of remaining in the child’s memory after a few days have passed. Young kids will be entertained, but parents might prefer to take a nap while their children watch the movie. 

My Review: It`s Complicated (6/10)

¨Here comes your ex-husband. Not the best time to be feeling groovy.¨

(6/10) As the title suggests this movie is complicated. It is a funny comedy that works in the most part thanks once again to Meryl Streep. The supporting cast is also good, Alec Baldwin is probably at his comedic best in the last couple of years thanks in most part to his role in 30 Rock, and then you have the always reliable Steve Martin, but who always stands out in the film is Meryl Streep. She won another award for her role in Julie and Julia this year, but she was also nominated for her performance in this movie. Every time she is on screen she is a critic favorite and she can turn an average movie into a good one just with her presence. The dialogue in this movie is not bad either, there are several clever jokes and laugh out loud moments. The director is the same person who brought us What Woman Want, The Holiday, and Something`s Got to Give; and this movie follows a similar comedic style. Nancy Meyers not only directed this film, but she wrote it as well. It`s Complicated is not a memorable movie, but it is entertaining and it does have some very funny moments. Fans of Streep will be pleased as always with her performance and she has several funny scenes like the pot smoking scene in the bathroom and the encounter via internet with her ex husband and her date in the bedroom. The movie has its moments but it isn`t anything we haven`t seen before.

Meryl Streep is Jane, a mother of three who has been divorced for almost 20 years. She has kept busy with her kids, but now they have all grown up and the youngest is about to leave for college so she will have the house all to herself. Her ex husband is Jake (played by Alec Baldwin) and he is remarried to a much younger woman called Agness (Lake Bell). Jake and Jane get along pretty well, but the audience can tell that she is still hurt by the entire situation and feels uncomfortable every time she runs in to Jake and Agness. Their son Luke (Hunter Parrish) is getting graduated from college so the entire family has to travel for the ceremony. Jane`s oldest daughter, Lauren (Caitlin Fitzgerald) is engaged to Harley (John Krasinski from The Office) and they are also reunited with the family. The youngest daughter is Gabby (Zoe Kazan) and they all decide to stay at a hotel near Luke´s College. The only person missing at the event is Agness and her restless little boy. Somehow Jane and Jake end up alone at the bar of the hotel, one thing leads to another and an affair between both of them begins. The plot gets more complex (and thus the title It´s Complicated) when Adam (Steve Martin) joins the picture. He is an architect who is in charge of Jane`s house rebuilding project.. He begins to fall for Jane and the two begin to date while she is conflicted between her affair with her ex husband. Adam at the same time is very jealous of Adam and wishes to win his ex wife back because things back home are not as good as they used to be. The plot continues to unravel from this point on leading to very funny situations combined with some drama.

Steve Martin played a much more normal character this time around and Alec Baldwin was the strange and funnier one. It is going to be fun to watch both of them host the Oscars this year. They are incredibly talented actors and of course Meryl Streep is the reason most people wanted to watch this movie. She attracts a much more mature audience so the comedy and dialogue is intelligent, but it also has enough silly scenes to attract younger audiences as well. The movie also has some family drama in it and the relationships are so complex that you are not really sure who you want Jane to stay with at the end. Love is more complicated than most romantic movies make it out to be, but this movie takes a much more realistic approach with a few exaggerations here and there. I don`t think this is a movie you will love and want to see several times, but it is a decent movie and one that will entertain you the first time around. I thought it was ok, but I won`t be watching it again anytime soon and I don`t think it is worthy of any nominations either. Streep is good as usual, but if she deserves a nomination this year it should be for her role in Julie and Julia where she was at the best of her game.