Dysfunctional Families
Perhaps because it's something nearly all of us can relate to (apart from The Bradys), messed-up families have always been a popular subject for filmmakers in all genres. Whether you're playing it for laughs ('Arrested Development', 'Go For Zucker'), drama ('Kramer vs Kramer', 'Nil By Mouth'), or thrills ('The Quiet Family', 'Olivier, Olivier') the family dynamic is a deep well of ready-made love/hate relationships, seething resentments and hidden secrets. What more could a filmmaker, or a film-watcher, ask for!
Infinitely Polar Bear (Blu-ray) (2014)
7/10
Director: Maya Forbes
Starring: Mark Ruffalo, Zoe Saldana
A manic-depressive mess of a father tries to win back his wife by attempting to take full responsibility of their two young, spirited daughters, who d... Read more
Infinitely Polar Bear (2014)
7/10
Director: Maya Forbes
Starring: Mark Ruffalo, Zoe Saldana
A manic-depressive mess of a father tries to win back his wife by attempting to take full responsibility of their two young, spirited daughters, who d... Read more
Force Majeure (2014)
7.3/10
Director: Ruben Östlund
Starring: Clara Wettergren, Johannes Kuhnke, Lisa Loven Kongsli, Kristofer Hivju, Fanni Me...
Cannes observers were stunned that this provocative and improbably entertaining new film by Swedish director Ruben Östlund wasn't selected for competi... Read more
Hellion (2014)
6.1/10
Director: Kat Candler
Starring: Juliette Lewis, Aaron Paul, Josh Wiggins
When motocross and heavy metal obsessed thirteen-year-old Jacob's increasing delinquent behavior forces CPS to place his little brother, Wes, with his... Read more
This Is Where I Leave You (2014)
6.6/10
Director: Shawn Levy
Starring: Jane Fonda, Rose Byrne, Timothy Olyphant, Jason Bateman, Tina Fey, Dax Shepard,...
When their father passes away, four grown siblings are forced to return to their childhood home and live under the same roof together for a week, alon... Read more
August: Osage County (2013)
7.2/10
Director: John Wells
Starring: Chris Cooper, Dermot Mulroney, Ewan McGregor, Julia Roberts, Juliette Lewis, Mer...
"August: Osage County" tells the dark, hilarious and deeply touching story of the strong-willed women of the Weston family, whose lives have diverged... Read more
The Way Way Back (Blu-ray) (2013)
7.4/10
Director: Nat Faxon, Jim Rash
Starring: Sam Rockwell, Toni Collette, Amanda Peet, Allison Janney, Steve Carell, AnnaSoph...
During a vacation in a Northeast beach town, a lonely teenage boy, Duncan (Liam James), comes into his own over the course of a summer through an unli... Read more
The Way Way Back (2013)
7.4/10
Director: Nat Faxon, Jim Rash
Starring: Sam Rockwell, Toni Collette, Amanda Peet, Allison Janney, Steve Carell, AnnaSoph...
During a vacation in a Northeast beach town, a lonely teenage boy, Duncan (Liam James), comes into his own over the course of a summer through an unli... Read more
Mental (2012)
6.2/10
Director: P J Hogan
Starring: Anthony LaPaglia, Caroline Goodall, Deborah Mailman, Kerry Fox, Rebecca Gibney,...
"Mental" reunites writer-director P.J. Hogan with his original leading lady Toni Collette for the first time since "Muriel's Wedding". The film follow... Read more
You Will Be My Son (2011)
6.9/10
Director: Gilles Legrand
Starring: Niels Arestrup, Valerie Mairesse, Patrick Chesnais, Anne Marivin, Nicolas Bridet...
Niels Arestrup stars as Paul de Marseul, a prestigious wine-maker and owner of a renowned chateau and vineyard in Saint-Émilion, who is disheartened b... Read more