The Muppets/The Descendants and a bonus because it took me so long to write this post

I actually started this post two weeks ago, and now I"m no longer motivated to write something coherent. So there's that.

The Muppets

Don't you dare say anything bad about the Muppets. They're consistently one of the few forms of children's entertainment that can walk that fine line between genuine sentimentality and cloying, without becoming annoying. This film pretty much continues that. If you liked the old muppets stuff, you'll enjoy this, if you didn't you probably think Thomas Kinkade makes great art.

And Jason Segal is pretty much a real life muppet so he fits in well.

The Descendants

I've come to the conclusion that Alexander Payne just doesn't work for me. I sort of get, intellectually, why people go crazy for his films (Election, About Schmidt, Sideways) but they always just end up leaving me cold. Its not that there un-watchable, in fact they're generally well acted and have some moments of real humor, its just that I never really end up caring about the characters and spend most of the proceedings disengaged.

The Descendants takes place over the few weeks after George Clooney's wife is thrown into a coma after a boating accident. He soon learns that she was cheating on him before the accident, and on top of all that, he's dealing with selling 25 million acres of pristine Hawaiian wilderness that his family owns. Not quite hilarity, soul searching, and Matthew Lilliard ensue.

The preceding two paragraphs are what I wrote two weeks ago. Its how I still feel, and I can't really be bothered to write more. The film didn't make angry, it just left me cold and kind of restless. If you liked it that's fine, I just think I'm done trying get Alexander Payne.

Crazy, Stupid, Love

Saw it on a plane, pretty contrived and forgettable, though it does have some appealing performances. Don't go out of your way to see it.