Released this week: Alpha Dog, Dreamgirls, Happily N'ever After, The Hitcher, Little Children, Old Joy.
Little Children: This film wants to expose the rot that lies under emerald-green lawns, but it feels a little undercooked. Turning in her usual solid performance, Kate Winslet is a woman who deals with her imprisonment in "Kidworld" by starting an affair with a stay-at-home dad (Patrick Wilson) who, like most of the adults in East Wyndam, hasn't quite grown up himself.
Old Joy: This lovely little film is about how friendships, along with the political ideals that once sustained them, can wither and die. Mark (Daniel London) and Kurt (Will Oldham) are a pair of lefty types in their 30s who haven't seen each other in a while, but when they return from an overnight camping trip it's pretty clear, in a beautifully understated way, that they won't be going on any more trips together.
