Guelph

I liked it but for some reason I expected more from the same guy who made the excellent Sideways. As a drama, it didn't really touch me as much as it should have. Payne is always funny though and the humor is intelligent and biting as always. The acting was good (especially from the younger actors) and the Hawaiian landscape beautifully photographed. The great divide between the younger and older generations can sometimes seem unbridgeable in our modern day and age but the movie shows that there can be very strong ties to unite them in difficult times. Here lies the strength of this picture. It's good but not great.

Not a great movie; enjoyable enough but overall not anything I can rave about. I didn't feel any kind of emotional connection with the characters, and the storyline seemed a rather flat and predictable. The acting was quite good (although I found the voiceover narration used at the beginning of the movie annoying and unnecessary); I just wish the performers had been given something meatier to work with. In the end, I found that I just wasn't that interested.

I really enjoyed this movie. It's about family. Good story. The acting was well done by the adolescent actors as well.

I found this movie to be very touching. The storyline was rather unique. I laughed a few times, I cried a little. The acting was rather good, especially with the eldest daughter, I was pleasantly surprised. Clooney was great as was Matthew Lillard. While a little slow at times, the beautiful scenery of Hawaii made up for it. Definitely worth seeing.

What artful writing and directing, thank you Alexander Payne... (plus co-writer Nat Faxon) I'm not totally sure it should be catagorised as a 'comedy', it certainly has wonderfully humorous moments but overall I would say it's more a human 'drama'. It is definitely George Clooney at his very best, aided by an excellent supporting cast. I was swept me through the gamut of emotions, for me a super entertaining, high caliber movie.

A decent movie; nothing great, nothing terrible. Worth seeing if you are a Clooney fan.

Excellent and different storyline.

A beautiful film, as simple as that! I don't think there are many actors other than Clooney who could pull off this role so well. The story is acted out superbly by all of the players, every character adds so much to the story. Some heartbreaking scenes, interspersed with moments of humour that add the perfect balance to a ultimately true portrayal of family dysfunction and loyalty and the complexities of love and betrayal. Some wonderfully sublime and nuanced acting, especially by the younger actors who do remarkably well with the heavy subject matter. The soundtrack and Hawaiian vista's just add to this film. Clooney do more of this, leave the action films to others.

I have a strong suspicion that the people who hated this movie because it was "too slow" are the ones who encourage Hollywood to keep making movies with nothing more than a lot of explosions and gunfire in them. I don't think this was one of the greatest movies of all time but I do think it was very very good. I found it great relief to watch a story about recognizable human beings as opposed to cyborgs from the planet Cartoon.

George Clooney handles comedy and drama equally well, and here he does both. Following in the footsteps of Cary Grant, he manages to balance this complicated narrative very well. Supporting cast is also excellent.

What a boring film + bad acting. Sideways was fantastic, this one is a dud.

Such a great film! Sad and funny at the same time! :)

Very touching movie... definitely worth seeing...

It didn't thrill me at all. I read reviews from the movie which convinced me to see it, but the actual movie didn't come close to the ravings it received.

I thought the acting by the entire cast was very well done. I guess that says a lot about the director. I don't know if I would have been interested in the story itself if the actors didn't make the characters all appear to be real. I laughed and cried a lot in the movie. It is definitely worth seeing.

A very interesting film. In many respects it portrays (just) a slice of (ordinary) life, but it is done very well. George Clooney's performance perhaps merits an Oscar nomination. There is a fine line between, on one hand, overplaying such a role and, on the other hand, appearing wooden, and I think he struck the right balance. I think Shailene Woodley, Amara Miller and Nick Krause also played their parts well, showing the evolution from "brats without a cause" to young adults when confronted with real life. And, for once, there was a plot and it was easy to follow.

Wonderful scenery. Very slow paced. Clooney is at his best. Some scenes lack reality. Emotions are well portrayed. What happens when life catches up with you and finds you wanting. All in all, a pleasant experience.

Very genuine, captivating, all the characters real and memorable. A bit long, but Hawaii is gorgeous!

This movie was so boring I fell asleep. Save your money.

We found the movie lacking. It was slow to the point of losing our interest several times and the attempts at humour fell short.

This is not what I thought it would be. It is a very quirky, somewhat depressing movie. But it also a very real movie about people trying to deal with tragedy and the effects of deceit on a family unit. My wife and I both enjoyed it in the end but it takes a bit to get into. The scenery of the different islands of Hawaii should help you there.

George Clooney is just wonderful in this movie and should be nominated for Acadamey Award. The movie is very touching, funny and very surprising with all the turn of events. A must see for everyone.

One of the best I have seen for years.

Very slow, absolutely no interesting characters, walked out after 45 min. Totally boring.

Pretty slow and I had trouble seeing the humour at times. I sensed that people were laughing (and only a few at a time) because they felt they were supposed to. Basically a pretty forgettable film. There was a slight evolution of the characters but not enough to really care much about them. To suggest this is Oscar worthy is a joke.

Great movie, George Clooney is very good in a father role. The 2 daughters are playing very good too.

Why is family life in Hawaii not always a paradise? The Descendants is a very moving film answering this question. Hats off to Clooney for his best-actor-Oscar-worthy performance! The two girls playing his daughters are also very believable in their touching acting.

This movie surprised me. I went there expecting a drama, but now is a mix of emotions, at one point you cry then you laugh. Very good movie. The acting is good and the images are breath taking. Worth seeing it.

Good story, good performances, worth seeing, but not over the top fantastic.

I don't know but I was expecting more, it fell a little flat for me. A couple good scenes but even the beautiful islands of Hawaii were as flat as the movie. Wait for it on DVD.

I enjoyed the movie but felt that it was very disjointed, no passion, no emotion, it was ok but not worth more that a 7.

I like pretty well everything about this movie. The writing, the setting, the direction, the acting. It illustrates pretty well how messy life is, how everything is different than what you think it is and how you really have no control. Clooney gives a great performance of a man dealing with tremendous emotional stress. And surprisingly it has a number of moments that will make you laugh and that is probably a sign of how great this film is.