Martian Child

Well, in deference to other members of my family, I did not see Bee Movie, Fred Claus, or Lions for Lambs this weekend. Instead, I went to see Martian Child, and I have to say, I was disappointed. I thought Amanda Peet was good. I felt like she hit her character right on the nose. I like Richard Schiff. I miss him as a weekly member of my life. I thought the kid was a bit weird, but I also didn't believe his weirdness. I really like John Cusack, but his character was a bit disjointed. It was like they did several takes of each scene using different motivations for each one, then when they edited the film they took pieces from different bits. Like the tender dad version one scene, the nerd science guy the next one, the crazy guy the next one, then the dad again. It was weird. I blame the director, not Cusack. I'm not sure what the film was tryign to say, either. It seemed to be saying it is important to be yourself, no matter whether you fit in or not. But, the kid had to pretend to be somebody "different" in order to stay with Cusack. It also talked about abandonment issues and love overcoming but barely. Then, turns out it was based on true events. I might have viewed it a bit differently (or at least I might have reconsidered my desire to see it a bit) had I known that. All, in all, it was quite disappointing. Oh by the way, I thought Anjelica Huston was also very good in a bit role.