Linbeymusol Wonderful character development!

Solemplex To me, this movie is perfection.

Janae Milner Easily the biggest piece of Right wing non sense propaganda I ever saw.

Kaydan Christian A terrific literary drama and character piece that shows how the process of creating art can be seen differently by those doing it and those looking at it from the outside.

pontificator I found it telling that the criminals pad was more spectacular than the 1%'er fat cats, no doubt that was intentional, maybe crime does pay after all. In contrast to most other reviews the only thing I found preposterous was the ending and the police not checking out the house when they come around. definitely would not have been something cursory in the Palisades, given the taxes those people must pay. Other than these things it was quite OK, obviously not Oscar material. it was interesting to live vicariously thru the squatters enjoying the house (but annoyingly not fully) for the duration. a bit like hitting the mall in the dawn of the dead. the sons pad in Venice though not glamorous was also nothing to sneeze at, but that's fat cats for you, they make sure the next generation of fat cats are well set up.

MartinHafer The first portion of Squatters didn't impress me very much. After all, it simply consists of bad people doing bad things. And, I was worried that the film would simply glorify rotten behavior or have the baddies die in a hail of bullets. However, don't worry—the film gets better—a lot better! And, it doesn't succumb to the usual clichés.When the film begins, Jonas and Kelley (Thomas Dekker and Gabriella Wilde) are homeless. They survive by rooting through dumpsters for food and shoplifting. And, when they aren't doing this, they sleep outdoors and do drugs. Their life isn't very satisfying or complete, that's for sure. However, through some dumb luck, while Jonas is out looking for something to steal, he manages to overhear a woman talking to her maid about their family going on vacation. And, because the woman thinks the two of them are along, she tells the maid the combination to the burglar alarm system! Jonas follows the lady woman home and it looks like he's got it maid…the woman is rich! Later, after the family has left for their trip, Jonas brings Kelley to the house for a little vacation…and to steal everything he can get! For a while, the pair see what it's like to live like rich folks—and they treat themselves to the family's clothes and sports car as well as a great dinner—all paid for by the people on vacation. However, while they stay there, Kelley finds herself looking through videos of the family. And, the more she watches them, the more connected with these people she feels. And, over time, she starts to care for these people she's never met and who they've been robbing. Jonas, on the other hand, just sees it as a chance to make a HUGE killing—and plans on selling everything he can. While this may not seem like that interesting a film, it's the second half that really works well…when the family returns. I could say a lot more about this, but frankly it would spoil the film. Suffice to say it's worth the wait.This is a very interesting film because Richard Dreyfus and Lolita Davidovich play very small parts in support of Dekker and Wilde. Considering that Dreyfus is an Oscar-winning actor and probably doesn't need the money, you can only assume he liked the script or director of they were holding his family hostage to make him appear in the film (I would REALLY like to know)! Regardless, the pair were a really nice addition to what otherwise might just look like an indie picture. Dreyfus is, as always, terrific and Davidovich is timelessly beautiful. They also make GREAT supporting characters. Imagine…a Hollywood film in which rich people are nice and haven't earned their fortunes by being jerks! They are just sweet folks—as is their son in the film (played by Luke Grimes). In fact, although I am definitely straight, I found myself falling in love with Grimes' character—he was just so decent and sweet! With such great support, the film cannot help but work. And, let's not forget Dekker and, especially, Wilde—they are just terrific.Overall, this is a surprisingly good film that is best seen instead of described. Be forewarned, however, that this is rated R and has a bit of nudity and violence (especially at the end). Now this is NOT to say it's gratuitous—as many nude scenes are done with great taste and are not intended to titillate but forward the plot. Well done all around and, unusual for me, there really isn't anything I didn't like about the film!

Larry Silverstein I thought this film maintained some tension at times and had some interesting theme elements such as rich versus poor and some self-worth issues. However the movie takes such preposterous twists and turns that, in my opinion, it loses any sense of real credibility.Gabriela Wilde and Thomas Dekker star as Kelly and Jonas respectively. They're homeless and sleeping on the beaches of Venice, California, while "dumpster diving" and shoplifting from local stores for subsistence.However, one night when Jonas has ventured into the affluent neighborhood of Pacific Palisades to see what he can steal from unlocked cars, he overhears a conversation between a woman (Lolita Davidovich) and her housekeeper. The woman, Evelyn, is instructing her on how often to clean her home, as she's ready to embark on a trip for a number of weeks. Evelyn even gives the housekeeper the code for the alarm system.Jonas immediately sees this as a golden opportunity to rob her home while she's away, and he's able to follow her home to locate the address. Finding Kelly strung out on drugs back in Venice and hanging out with some "bad dudes", Jonas takes her to the rather palatial home of Evelyn and her husband David (Richard Dreyfuss) who have left already for their trip to Greece.Once in the house, Kelly and Jonas are satisfied to just take baths, put on some nice clothes, and help themselves to food and liquor. They even take one of the luxurious high-price cars to a swanky restaurant in town. Jonas had been able to easily (one of the plot elements that didn't ring true) open Evelyn and David's house safe, which was chocked with money and jewels.You can see Kelly is just going "along for the ride", but Jonas sees this as a once in a lifetime opportunity to sell as much as he can of the contents of the home, plus the cars and jewelry, and start a new life.Without going into any real spoilers here, let's just say things don't go according to plan, and, as mentioned, the plot takes a number of twists and turns which I thought were ridiculous and non-believable for the most part.Although you can feel for Kelly, in some ways, as the film progresses, and you wonder how it will all turn out, it's not enough to overcome the incredulous elements that are thrown into the mix.

pieeye-1 Whoever wrote this must have never left the suburbs. I've been homeless and never saw other homeless people walk around with a dirty face. You can't sleep on the beach in California. They make sure everyone is off the beach at 10:00 pm. They even have helicopters with searchlights overhead to make sure no one is hanging back.An amateur cracking a safe? Please. Next time you write a movie try to do a little research. They also find clothes that just fit them.This story has more holes in it than swiss cheese. I' sorry but the sloppy writing kept me distracted. I couldn't enjoy the movie. The acting was good. Too bad it wasn't enough.