Beneath The Outer Shell

The Descendants stars George Clooney as a wealthy descendant of a white land owning Hawaii family.  in fact Clooney's character is one of the first white land owning descendants in Hawaii.  his life is troubling, for one reason, because his wife is in a coma after a boating accident.  to top off all matters, he must decide whether or not to sell some prime real estate on Kauai, turning acres of beach side beauty into condos and attracting inevitable tourists.  in the middle of all this, he finds out there is a secret his wife was keeping from him and the family.  the film looks at the family, legal, and financial responsibilities of the main character.  the film weighs all of the issues equally and invites the audience to care on numerous levels.  it's one of Clooney's better performances, but overall...unless you are a George Clooney fan, i'm not sure i can recommend it.

Martha Marcy May Marlene is an interesting film about the brain washing that goes on in a cult, and the difficulty of life outside the cult.  the name of the movie relates to the various names the cult members go by, as well as her real name (Martha).  Elizabeth Olson plays the lead and she does so quite effectively.  what i found most interesting, is the difficulty Martha has finding a purpose in the real life living with her sister.  when you are part of cult, you feel like someone important, someone that people need around.  the film almost makes the cult seem like the valid way of life when compared to family "reality".  the film goes back and forth between life in the cult, and life afterwards.  it's such an honest look at both options, you may find it odd that your views have become loose.  for this reason, i would have to recommend it.