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The Descendants: You know from the start how it’s going to end, but the journey to get there is so fresh and engaging that the lack of surprise doesn’t matter. Proving again (and again) that subject matter is neutral, it’s either done well or done badly. YES.

Martha Marcy May Marlene: The younger sis of the Olsen twins is getting rave reviews for her performance, which is what reviewers always say about an actress playing a troubled person. Think Angelina Jolie in “Girl Interrupted” or Natalie Portman in “Black Swan.” But the movie is fabulous. Just chilling. YES.

“El Camino” by the Black Keys: It’s 70s rock that your indie friends will dig. LOVE it. Also appreciate the way these guys are a little dorky and self-effacing, meaning their drama and personalities don’t get in the way of the music. BIG YES.

“Homeland” on TV: Wow, this show is blowing me away. Smart, with lots of twists. YES.

“Dexter” on TV: This is one of my favorite seasons because of all the creepy religious stuff and the character development on Deb as the new lieutenant. YES.

Oh look, straight As. Excellent report card dears.

Right blend of comedy and pathos

Giving a boost to the relevance of Time Mag

“Next Fall” at the Geffen last night was really good, one of the best plays we’ve seen there. The title works on many levels. Next fall is when one of the gay characters is going to come out to his parents. Since the screenplay discusses themes of Christianity, the term “fall” has religious overtones, as in the fall of man, fall of Adam, fall from grace. Plus, on a more abstract level, the reason for the crisis point that brought everyone together was a physical fall that sent the character to the ED. Great acting, smart dialogue. Big YES.

“Ides of March” is now one of my favorite political movies of all time, really. (Gosling and Clooney — yummy, a little something for the ladies.) The writers took the play, which I saw as “Farragut North” at the Geffen, and dialed it up a notch. No new ground here, after all this is Clinton territory that we explored with “Primary Colors” and “Wag the Dog.” But the story of loyalty and betrayal done extremely well. Did she write the letter and does he have it? Big YES.

What these two share is the tension between two men within a relationship. The father-son dynamic, issues of ambition, of toppling the other to gain prominence. I’ve been focused so much on female characters and leads that I’ve forgotten how interesting the male dynamic is. While there can be a happy pack of alpha females, there can be only one alpha male at the head of the pack.

Raised weird, wanted to be normal

Raised normal, wanted to be weird

Arguably the best album of last year was The Suburbs by Arcade Fire. For those of us born in the 60s and 70s it perfectly captured the details of living on a cul-de-sac and riding your bike to school. The classic American experience from a French-Canadian band. It’s interesting the way our childhood environment shapes us. Just saw the Tim Burton exhibit at LACMA where his bio explained that part of his subversive art was in rebellion to his repressive upbringing in surburban Burbank.

On the other hand, J.J. Abrams of Lost and a zillion other projects fame, was recently interviewed on Jon Stewart and he had the opposite experience. He had an artsy bohemian family and envied the kids who lived in those tidy houses in the suburbs because he imagined their lives were orderly as well. We’re all shaped by our family of origin, for better or worse. As a character from the movie Magnolia said, you might be done with the past but the past isn’t done with you.

For a super cool experience, click here and type in the address of your childhood home. It’s a brilliant interactive video from Arcade Fire. A little creepy, but amazing.

I'm sure the black actresses hate playing those roles

William Clark, of the Lewis & Clark duo, kept a daily journal of their extraordinary trek across the continent in 1803, except that at one point he abrupty stopped. Eight months later he started up again with nary an explanation. The journals were a very important chronicle of the landforms, the plantlife, the natives they encountered, and the best bits were in the second half. The takeaway lesson is that we shouldn’t be stopped by the re-start.

I’ve had an insanely kerrazed summer and have lapsed with my blog, but now intend to start up again. I’d like to be one of those people who posts daily like clockwork. I’ll try.

So here goes.

I saw “The Help” last night with my daughters which was a mild disappointment. Every stereotype was not only deployed but exagerrated to the point of being a cartoon. No nuanced characters in this cast, no way. Everyone was either white hat or black hat (although in this case, the white hats are the bad guys, which louses up the metaphor. Oh well.) The mean-spirited, shallow white bigots, the noble, generous and long-suffering black folk. Even the free-wheelin’ Manhattan book editor was a knockoff of Samantha Jones, albeit PG-rated. People, we’ve seen it all before.

Oddly, I feel zero white guilt. I live in a multi-cultural world where everyone’s got a shot at the ring. My kids are virtually color-blind. I watch a movie like “The Help” which is designed to manipulate emotions but I’m not buying it.

As for my review: Yes, for the acting and production values, but be prepared for the treacly syrup to be poured on thick.

Not just "the gay dad movie"

Like Ravel's "Bolero" of movies

They were hungry

Beginners is a small triumph. About the imprinting that’s done by nature and by childhood, and our ability to override that imprint as an adult. Funny, sweet, but smart. Reminds me of the concept that when you meet your soulmate you don’t love them, you recognize them.  YES.

“Falling Skies” turned out to be a dud. The pilot was promising but the next two episodes devolved into idiocy.  NO NO NO, unless you’re in prison and there’s only one show on TV.

Super 8. A Spielberg movie is always the triumph of hope over experience.  I see his name as a writer or director and think, maybe it will be different this time. But alas, it’s not. Impossibly wise and adorable children, overarching treacly soundtrack, bumbling adults, poor mistreated aliens. Oh vey. Between this and “Falling Skies,” I promise that the next time f I see the Speilberg brand I’m gonna run.  NO!

“Superior Donuts” at the Geffen was pure pleasure. A bit like Beginners in theme, about trying to change one’s life as an adult to redo decisions from the past. YES

The Exorcist. Wow, what a brilliant film. I’ve wanted to see the new director’s cut for some time but was worried I’d be too frightened to sleep. Terrific character development, grand baroque Catholic theme, and lots of ordinary smart people trying to solve an unknown problem. They could not make this movie today with the clean restraint that kept it so taut and involving. No slashers, no torture, no violence really. I was afraid that the Linda Blair Satan would look campy due to overexposure as a cultural icon, but it doesn’t.  God bless the 70s for movie making. GIANT YES

Just Kids. I enjoyed the book immensely, though must admit its flaws. The first third was terrific, the middle third sagged, as if Patti was trying to define the historical record rather than tell a story, ie: it became a travel log of where they went, who was there. The last third devolved into “Saint Robert” which got pretty tiresome given that we’re talking about a man with thin talent who is only notable for the controversy of his subject matter. Qualified Yes.

Is that the only role Tony Soprano can play?

The hottest theater ticket in town is “God of Carnage” with the spectacular original Broadway cast. I had the chance to see it last Sunday when my friend R. got discounted rush seats. Thankfully, I didn’t pay full price because the show was mediocre. The premise sounded fascinating: two couples meet to discuss their sons’ playground fight that left one boy with two knocked-out teeth. The conversation starts out cordially enough but unravels into carnage. Not really, no blood, although we are treated to projectile vomiting and lots of dead tulips on the carpet by the end.

I’m fascinated by this premise, how thin the social compact truly is and how quickly things can deconstruct into Lord of the Flies territory. This was the theme of my all-time fav Deadwood: what happens to civilization in the absence of laws? But “God of Carnage” brought nothing new to the conversation. There just wasn’t enough depth, no big reveal, no satisfying takeaway. The most interesting piece was how funny the show was, and how odd that the audience roared with laughter at monstrous behavior. My friend liked the shifting aliances between the couples, but it wasn’t profound enough to save an otherwise thin screenplay.

NO, unless you get free seats.

This picture captures the crazy-quilt feel of the movie

There’s a lot of press right now over Terence Malik’s long-awaited film, The Tree of Life. Warning, people, it’s a bizarro movie experience. In fact, it’s a candidate to replace Fantasia as the acid-droppers rental of choice. It has an over-arching biblical foundation, which I liked but my friend P. found annoying. It opens with a reference to Job, has a heavy-handed Cain and Abel story, allusions to Jesus, and of course the title has its origins in the Garden of Eden fable. About as subtle as a sledgehammer.

The film is visually and aurally stunning, as opera plays over footage of galaxies exploding, but absolutely nothing happens for 2 1/2 hours. It’s all vignettes and impressions. So if you see it, be prepared to ease into the film and just let it wash over you while suspending the idea that there is a plot to follow. This is art-house filmmaking on steroids.

YES for the right viewer (non-linear, patient or tripping), NO for everyone else

Love the visual homage to "The Usual Suspects"

Loved “Bridesmaids” more than I can say. It’s about time Hollywood realized that women’s stories are entertaining — we can do comedy, people, we’re not just “Terms of Endearment.” This movie is the bookend to “The Hangover” — that was a bachelor party gone off the rails, this is the whole wedding lead-up SNAFU. Makes sense, because the only tasks men have after the proposal are hosting a stag party and showing up at the altar in a tux. Women do the wedding heavy lifting — paying, planning, hostessing the myriad of parties.

My brilliant USC Film School friend B. said she hates that genre of comedy, where it can’t just be humor but must carry a heavy message overlay. I said maybe that’s because we’re descended from Puritans and we can’t tolerate too much pleasure without the accompanying cautionary tale. Why Vegas had to become family-friendly. A city openly devoted to adult sin was too much for the Mayflower in our DNA.

But I don’t think that’s it. We want our movies to take us on an emotional journey, and using dramatic elements in tandem with the jokes makes for a more satisfying trip.

Enormous YES.

The revenge of testosterone

Game of Thrones on HBO. Pop culture lately has been filled with slacker and stoner guys: think of the Jackass series or any of the deadbeats from the Judd Apatow movies. GT hearkens to a medieval fantasy world drenched in testosterone, where men take whores, drink ale and march into battle, where it’s acceptable for a man to arrange a marriage for his unwilling sister, saying: “I would let all 40,000 men in his army fuck you and their horses too if it would get my kingdom back.”  It’s visually cool but the woman-shaming aspect might be too much to take. There’s only been one episode so far, so I’m going withhold judgment.  NOT SURE

The Escort at the Geffen: Flat-out brilliant theatre from a playwright who understands the complexity of human motivations, especially in the area of sexuality. She has an ear for dialogue between the professional woman and her teenage son. My friend Amy and I both have boys that age and kept giving each other knowing glances — my kid does that.  BIG YES

Win Win. A small film with Paul Giametti which doesn’t have the Hollywood ending that might be expected from the title. Rather, it’s about the small and large sacrifices necessary to make it through the day. This is real life, not processed pap like “The Blind Side.”  BIG YES

Steve Wynn and the Miracle 3; Northern Aggression. As a monster Dream Syndicate fan during the 80s, I was thrilled to read a positive Rolling Stone review about this new album, and immediately hit download. It’s as if 20 years never happened and this is Wynn’s solo project after the break up of Syndicate. On heavy rotation now as my running music.  YES

I was Oscar-passive this year. Garth and David skipped hosting their party after 15 years, which seems like a cruel thing to do, casting guests adrift with no traditions. Kidding. I was on the same page and didn’t even bother with a ballot. It’s funny how something could be so all-consuming and important at some points in life and irrelevant later. The show was just ok. I like both those hosts, charming and attractive. As the LA Times reported this morning, it’s the first year when nobody was hoping the hosts would fail. True enough. Everyone seemed to be rooting for them, even if they fell flat.

5 REASONS TO WATCH

1. Best moment was Inside Job winning in the documentary category and the director asking why the people who committed the fraud that crashed the economy are not in jail.

2. Terrific to see Trent Reznor get an award for the score of Social Media, which was brilliant, and really drove the tempo of the movie.

3. The gowns were all elegant and classic. Everyone looked amazing. No swans this year (except black ones), guess Bjork wasn’t invited. But I’ll leave it to Tom and Lorenzo and their fabulous blog to tell me what I think. I’m sure those two were busily uploading photos all night.

4. Seeing Jennifer Lawrence look fabulous made my day, especially since this is an actress who can field-dress a squirrel. Winter’s Bone was easily my favorite movie of the year.

5. I’m glad True Grit didn’t win anything. It didn’t deserve to.

Starts off 8 on crazy scale, jumps to 10

From Tom and Lorenzo’s ultrafabulous blog, a capsule review of Black Swan which precisely captures my feelings about the movie:

Not a lick of subtlety to be found in the entire two hours. The viewer is hit over the head repeatedly with plot points, metaphors, and motifs. What should have been implied was instead pushed to center stage and given a spotlight. Natalie has exactly two facial expressions through the entire movie. She starts off at about an 8 on the crazy scale (of 1 to 10), stays there through the entire movie, and then in the final act jumps to ten. There is no progression to her madness nor is there really any question that she’s crazy. It’s ‘watch a crazy girl get even crazier.’ That’s pretty much the plot.