Friends With Kids - Required viewing

Verisimilitude. This film has it when it comes to marriage and kids and how they change our lives. This film needs to be required viewing for all those who date, wish to be married and with children at some point. Parenting and marriage is tough stuff. I like small films with ensemble casts and this is a really good one: Jennifer Westfeldt in particular is amazing. She reminds me of Gena Rowlands in her looks and emotional range. The surprise in this - Megan Fox. She is actually quite good. 

A Separation (Jodaeiye Nader az Simin) Middle-aged trifecta

Where to begin with this film? For starters it is really good. Anyone who is over forty can relate most likely to one of the following: life with teenagers, aging parents possibly with Alzheimer's disease, and separation/divorce. This film covers all three. I think the preview made me think I was going to watch a comedy. It isn't. Filmed in Iran, it weaves in the role of faith, women's rights and Iranian law in a nuanced way. By the way being middle-aged is a blessing...  tis when you realize life is always hard - all the time - and when a moment of happiness occurs you savor it. In essence, you know life is a struggle and accept it, unlike the years prior.