Rating: 
Summary: A real tearjerker.
Review: I've seen the trailer and previews for LIFE AS A HOUSE and I can already gaurantee that it will be nominated for Best Picture at the Oscars. It's about a man (Kevin Kline) with cancer who decides to rebuild a house that has brought him pain in the past and also tries to help out and understand his rebellious teenage son, Sam (Hayden Christensen - future STAR WARS star), and his ex-wife (Kristin Scott-Thomas). It will surely be a beautiful, but sad, family drama. Hayden Christensen is supposed to give an Oscar-worthy performance as well as Kevin Kline. It will be nice to get to see Hayden Christensen act before seeing STAR WARS - EPISODE II: ATTACK OF THE CLONES, so people will be getting a pre-taste on his acting ability and talent. Kristin Scott-Thomas and Kevin Kline are both underrated actors who will be absolutely wonderful. This is no action and this is no romantic-comedy. This is a family drama. One of the few of the year. LIFE AS A HOUSE is a must see film! I can't wait to see it! :-)
Rating:
Summary: I am the first person to review this movie =)
Review: How I got "suckered" into seeing this no-name movie was because a friend had extra tickets. Our school [Go bears!] was playing a screener to see before it came out at the theatres. Anyway, I was skeptical of this movie because it had no big-name actors and a lack of any action. However, since the movie was free so I figured I would stay throughout the entire thing. The movie was a little bit slow to start, building up the plot and setting the scenes. As the movie continued, you can see how each character begins to gradually change by the "building of the house." I don't want to give away too much, but I definitely recommend this movie. Even if you're not into thought provoking movies, it surprisingly has a lot of funny moments. They were able to show funny scenes through normal everyday life. Needless to say, if you bring a girl, you better bring some tissues as well. My friend was bawling by the end =).
Rating:
Summary: Wonderful
Review: A person walks away from this movie thinking how lucky he or she is to just be alive! Bravo! Kevin Kline's best performance except for "Sophie's Choice."
Rating: 
Summary: Kevin Kline gives a predictable tear jerker a sense of heart
Review: Kevin Kline might be one of the most under appreciated actors in Hollywood today. "Life as a House" is a fairly predictable film. Kline's character George Malone has been been fired from his job, making models for an architectural firm, and been diagnosed with terminal cancer. He has one summer left and he intends to use it tearing down the shack in which he lives and building a house. He also demands that his son, Sam (Hayden Christensen), live with him in the garage while this is going on, instead of with his ex-wife, Robin (Kirsten Scott Thomas). Sam is an angry young man, with blue hair, various body piercings a fondness for drugs, and a profound sense of self-loathing. Will father and son reconcile before it is too late? Will George and Robin rekindle their feelings for each other? Will the house be built? Do you really have to ask any of these questions? You already know the answers.But it is largely because of Kline's performance that you end up not minding about the film's predictability and the way things tend to neatly fall together. Actually, the performances in this film are pretty good across the board. The developing relationship between George and Robin is especially effective; I have never been especailly enamored of Thomas as an actress, but she and Kline have undeniable chemistry. Even director Irvin Winkler was impressed by how much the pair added to the words on the page through their performances (he claims he never thought there was anything going on between the two characters until he saw the performances on screen). Of course, George is not the only character in his family with problems. Robin finds herself in a loveless marriage with cold fish Peter (Jamey Sheridan) and their rebellious son hates himself and everybody else. George also has problems beyond the fact that he is dying as he, his dog, and his house are the subject of various complaints by his assorted neighbors. George used to date his next-door neighbor Coleen (Mary Steenburgen), and now her daughter Alyssa (Jena Malone) has taken an interest in Sam. Meanwhile, her boyfriend Josh (Ian Somerahlder), has a strange way of showing he is Sam's friend. There are several surprises regarding these other characters, including a very realistic shower scene, but they are secondary to the main plot lines dealing with George's house, son, and ex-wife. I do not want to dismiss this film as a mere tear-jerker, because "Life as a House" is more than that and the best scenes in the film are not those that make you reach for your tissues. Kline is a master of gentle humor and uses his eyes as effectively as any actor working today. This is not a classic film by any means, but it is very enjoyable and simply reinforces the idea that you can never go wrong watching a Kevin Kline movie. He might not be as beloved as Tom Hanks, but he is every bit as good an actor (just do not ask me who Kevin Kline would be if Tom Hanks is the modern Jimmy Stewart).
Rating: 
Summary: Hayden Christenson movies.
Review: I saw the movie newest star wars movie that Hayden starred in and decided I needed to see some other movies he starred in. This was an okay movie. I only really recommend it to women its sort of a chick flick.
Rating:
Summary: Outstanding Performances
Review: This tearjerker movie is never hurried. Everyone is given sufficient leeway to act & opportunity to improvise. "Life as a House" is a metaphor of Kevin's character's life or everyone's life per se. He lived in a weatherboard house for 25 years and he didn't have any motivation to give it any TLC (tender loving care), to much the disgruntlement of the neighbourhood (upper middle class). The house was gifted to him by his deceased father & naturally, their relationship was estranged. He could never reconciled the demon inside him to the extent that his wife and his grown-up son distanced themselves away from him. Thus, the formation of a dysfunctional family. However, he would know soon after that he's only got a few months to live due to terminal cancer. In that short span of time, he would like to live his life, that is to build his dream home, to reconcile yet again with his family. Gradually, as the house gotten built, we would see the transformation of those characters gradually but definitely. The ending is predictable but the performances are outstanding. Physically, Kevin lost much weight to add credibility to the movie. In the making of the movie, we would be told that certain scenes were cut as logistically, they couldn't include the old house in the frame as they had already moved on to the next scenes and beyond. It's interesting to know about Hayden's passion in acting. He commented that Star Wars wasn't difficult to do at all as all cast would need to fit within a limited regime (I guess to accommodate the special effects). In this instance, he would need to dig inside his awareness to get empathy of the character he was playing. There were many TV stars in this movie, namely, Scott Bakula of Quantum Leap's fame. There were exaggerated and funny moments but what stuck in my mind would be modern society's complexity in relationships and the yearning of humans to reach out to one another. Ultimately, isn't that what everyone is aspiring to, that is to be happy? Highly recommended.
Rating:
Summary: You need to see this movie!
Review: This is such a good movie! Kevin Kline plays a man who has a bad relationship with his wife (the lovely Kristin Scott-Thomas) and his son (Hayden Christensen, pre-Anakin Skywalker). A terminal illness forces him to reevaluate his life and try to make the most of the time he has left. This is an incredibly emotional film that always, always makes me cry. All three of the lead performers should have received Oscar nominations, in my humble opinion.
Rating:
Summary: Life is a Beach
Review: I got this movie mostly as part of my Jena Malone phase, and it had some good reviews.
The story itself - a dying man trying to reconnect with friends and family - is bittersweet, and I think it is one you will either love or hate. Most of the movie works pretty well, but I can not take anything serious from a character (the son) who has a Marilyn Manson poster in his room, or wears makeup and has piercings. I suppose that allows me to sympathize with the father.
The movie has a beautiful location - a southern California beachside cliff, and the photography is excellent throughout. I did not much care for the music or score, however. The acting is pretty good in general.
Overall the movie is good, with a few great moments, and a few melodramatic ones. The DVD has some nice extras, and pulls the overall rating from 3.5 for the movie up slighty to 4 stars overall.
Rating:
Summary: Wonderful
Review: A person walks away from this movie thinking how lucky he or she is to just be alive! Bravo! Kevin Kline's best performance except for "Sophie's Choice."
Rating:
Summary: Life is a house, not American Beauty
Review: First of all, Life As A House is pretty much like American Beauty, only better. Hayden, from Star Wars 2, portrays the teenager in a very dysfunctional family, while Kevin Kline plays his father. Like American Beauty, it seems like the whole block is dysfunctional, and they pretty much are. Yet, when Kevin Kline is diagnosed with cancer he decides to build the house he has always dreamed of, and in doing so try to reconnect with his son. I personally feel that although this is a very typical picture of teen angst and family dysfunction it is shown in a fresh new way, and one that actually connects with the audience.
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