'The Kid's Are All Right' **stars

'the kids are all right' and so are the adults. merely all right. the adults are a same sex couple and paul the biological dad who will soon be referred to by one of the moms as an interloper. this is really just a typical unconventional family trying to live conventionally. now let me say upfront i know unconventional families and enjoy them. just not this one all that much.

the couple nic and jules, portrayed by annette benning and julianne moore respectively, shared the sperm donor portrayed by mark ruffalo although 3 years apart. fast forward 15 years and one of the 'donations' wants to meet his biological dad. sister joni not so much. but they do and they like him. and then the moms meet him. jules likes him well enough but not nic whose entire world is threatened by him. however, in fact jules likes him a bit too much. so maybe nic is right. but nic is just too damn rigid. it is so terribly unsurprising when jules gets "that bit too close" i mentioned. between the rigidity and alcohol consumption by nic all hell breaks loose. jules and nic fight, lazer who set the whole thing in motion kinda crumbles like a whimp and joni goes to college.

poor paul the donor who was minding his own business, running a restaurant and growing vegetables to start off with gets kicked in the balls, the balls he so willingly donated from for a measly $60.00 a pop, so to speak. he's sucker punched by the lot of them. he should have run to the hills and far away from this group sooner. he probably wished by the end of this mess that his cell had gone dead and never answered phone call number one to begin with.

now somehow in this mess there are three really wonderful performances and one surprisingly good one. annette benning is the surprisingly good performance. i've never been a fan but she plays this rigid alcoholic lesbian pretty good. well the lesbian and alcoholic parts anyway. i've always found her pretty rigid on screen so that was no stretch.

julianne moore is truly delightful and convincing as the 'what the hell have i done' jules.

mark ruffalo is in his always brilliant mode in yet another understated role and thus far under-rated as usual performance. but not by me.

but the best of the lot is joni played by mia wasikowska <'alice in wonderland'> as the 'donation' that didn't want any part of this mess in the first place. she was right. by the film's end she is off to college. if she is really smart she will never go home again. or go live with the the sperm donor dad who seems the sanest of the lot.

there is oscar buzz surrounding this film. what can i say? i suspect they will not take the oscar away from 'the hurt locker' so anything is possible. walk don't run to see this movie. better still rent it. in cinematic history it is no more meaningful than spitting into a lake.








*who the hell names a kid lazer?

(and just for the record...as a gay man i really wanted to like this movie. i long for more good gay themed films. this just isn't one of them. and i find it patronizing that straight critic's are going all out and falling all over themselves trying to be cool in their praise. )

What Is Going on in My Mind Today?

well the following posts are on my mind.



i'm glad justice was served in arizona at least for today. immigrants 1: racists: 0

the democrats are finally linking the republicans and tea party together. "hello anybody home in that party? little slow on the uptake folks!"

the frightening person known as carly fiorina in california. the great earthquake sounds better to me.

and leo...just because he's leo.

Immigrants 1: Racists 0

JUDGE BLOCKS ARIZONA IMMIGRATION PROVISIONS

ban 1070






racial profiling





racist republican governor

Democrats' 2010 Strategy: Republican Party, Tea Party Are 'One And The Same'

Leo on 'Rolling Stone'

California Be Afraid...Be Very Afraid

with the soon to be monster-in-law palin backing carly fiorina it is safe to say that death would be a preferable alternative

Happy Birthday Jonathan

Remembering Gracie on Her Birthday: I Love Gracie

most people loved lucy. not me...i liked lucy but i LOVED gracie. her character on the 'burns and allen' show was the best. a woman who took the english language literally. gracie played the role with a brilliantly daffy wink of an eye.
why the hell is this show not on dvd? only gracie could pull the wool over so many eyes and fluster grown men over a cup of coffee with carnation milk. and that closet filled with hats. simply the best!



a look at the brilliance of gracie allen

Happy Birthday Sandra

it's no secret i love sandra. it's no secret that i campaigned like mad to get her the best actress oscar. and today i say happy birthday sandra and here's to a helluva lot more film and awards for you.







and a video i made for her after the bombshell about her idiot ex husband:

Make an on-line slide show at www.OneTrueMedia.com

Off Season TV Scorecard: Spring

the summer tv series have begun...so it's time to look back at the spring season. needless to say if i watched them i liked them as only one of them, spartacus, was a first year series. so here goes.








season 4 of 'the tudors' ended on a high note. and the series finale was one of the best ever.
season 4: A
series average: A-
series finale: A+




'spartacus' was the only new series i watched and the best of the lot.
first season: A
season finale: A+





'nurse jackie' suffered a slight letdown.
season 2: B


'law and order, criminal intent: i always liked it but the total cast changes gave it a tremendous rebirth.
season 9: A




'in plain sight' saw some minor cast departures, a couple of regulars become recurring, and some behind the scene changes all amounting to a not so needed yet surprisingly intuitive revitalization.
season 3: A

Happy Birthday Barbara

is it possible that barbara harris is 74 today?

i went to smoke enders with ms. harris. truly. we had a hoot together. we lost touch eventually but my heart carries the memories. i also cherish seeing her in 'the apple tree' and 'on a clear day you can see forever'. and 'freaky friday' remains a classic disney film, hitchcock's 'family plot' and then there is her brilliant performance in the classic 'nashville'.



on a side note: when the film critic of 'new york' magazine at the time reviewed the barbra streisand he film version of 'on a clear day you can see forever' he commented 'barbra streisand is missing more than an A from her name but compared to barbara harris she is missing everything from B to Z.





so happy birthday barbara and thanks for the cherished memories.
especially this one from her tony award performance in 'the apple tree'

Remembering Estelle on Her Birthday

Damn the Republicans: Full Speed Ahead

LAS VEGAS (AP) -- President Barack Obama is urging liberal activists and bloggers to "keep up the fight" to bring change to Washington.

In a video played Saturday at the annual Netroots Nation convention, the president acknowledged that some in the party's left wing have been unhappy with the pace of change. Liberals have been disenchanted on issues from the ongoing wars in Iraq and Afghanistan to the failure to create a government-run insurance option in the health care overhaul.

The president says in the brief video that the combat mission in Iraq will end in August.

It's a tough election year for Democrats, but Obama warned about returning to Republican policies "that got us into the mess."

He says "change is hard," and he urged hundreds of activists and bloggers in the audience to "keep making your voices heard."

Obama urged the crowd to "consider what we've accomplished," then rolled a clip of Rachel Maddow laying out some of the administration's legislative victories.

WATCH:

Happy Birthday Anna, Kristin and Jennifer

Idiot of the Week!!!: Andrew Brietbart

the idiot repbulican blogger, that's a fracin' oxymoron, for snipping and clipping shirley sherrod's reconciliation speech into a racial indictment. from the looks of it he is also has a great fashion sense...oy.


and the runner-up is secretary of agriculture tom vilsack for firing ms. sherrod without the facts. and the most important fact that mr. britebart is a racist teabagging idiot republican who would slander his mother for a dime and a moment in the spotlight. mr. vilsack apology aside you are a moron.

Daniel Silva's 'The Rembrandt Affair'

i love this espionage series centering on gabriel allon a former israeli intelligence operative who'd rather restore priceless art than get caught up yet again in covert affairs. gabriel is the israeli equivalent of jason bourne.

i can only recommend you start at the beginning and work your way to the newest 'the rembrandt affair'.*

happy reading and l'chaim.

*the slideshow has the books pictured in order of publication date

What Is Going on in My Mind Today?

when will they ever learn...when is enough just enough...this is always on my mind and more so since i have a nephew in afghanistan...it was his choice and i force myself to accept it...these two wars are STILL pointlessly wasting life and treasure.

aj cook turns 32 today. 'criminal minds' is writing her out this coming season. i may be writing off one of my favorite shows. this is all due to the ridiculous salary they are probably paying oscar winner forest whitaker for the spinoff. if the series lives up to the awful pilot i am for sure writing that one off. well happy birthday aj. you have the looks and the talent. you should not be unemployed for very long.

rumor has it: joseph gordon-levitt as the riddler in chris nolan's next 'batman'. he did well by nolan in 'inception'. he's perfect casting.

shirley what the frack were they all thinking???

Keith: Special Comment on the Shirley Sherrod Fiasco

always insightful...always on the mark

Visit msnbc.com for breaking news, world news, and news about the economy

Happy Birthday Diane

diane's latest 'secretariat' will be releases this month on the 25th on blu ray and dvd

my favorite film of ms lane is 'unfaithful'


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Sandra Bullock joins celebs including Blake Lively, Lenny Kravitz and Dave Matthews in a new PSA supporting Gulf coast restoration.

Sandra urged viewers to sign an online petition through Restore The Gulf, a grassroots effort to restore and protect the Gulf Coast and nearby wetlands.

“What can you offer?” Sandra said in the video. “Your voice. Speak up.”





please help and sign the petition at:
http://www.restorethegulf.com/confirmation/