Summer Hours (L’Heure d’ete)

Indie-Foreign
2.5 stars
Tedious to watch. French with subtitles. A 75 year old woman prepares her 3 grown children to sell her gorgeous country estate after she dies. Most of the movie is spent itemizing the valuable paintings, furniture, etc. to prepare for sale, which I found dull. I had expected this film to be about a house full of cherished memories and flashbacks much like Russell Crowe’s A Good Year, but it really just should have been titled “Death of a Home”. Most depressing was how her grandchildren decided to throw a party which felt like a desecration of her memory. Go rent A Good Year.

Goodbye Solo

Indie - Drama
2.5 stars
Long and slow and doesn’t really answer any questions. This movie is a winner of the Venice Film Festival, but I just don’t get it. A good premise: a grumpy old man (Red West) hires a taxi driver (Souleymane Sy Savane) to take him to the top of a mountain to a place called Blowing Rock on a specific date so he can throw himself off. The driver tries to buddy up with the old grouch to talk him out of it. Very little is learned, mainly why? And why that date? And what made the old man’s life so unbearable? If you want basic questions answered, then you will be disappointed (like me!). As I said: disappointing.

Night at the Museum: Battle of the Smithsonian

Comedy
3 stars
Cute sequel; not as good as the original, but more cool effects as some modern art and paintings come to life. Ben Stiller goes to find his old friends at the Smithsonian and more battles among the characters ensue. Amy Adams is cute and spunky as Amelia Earhart. The movie left me wondering what happened to Hank Azaria’s Egyptian king character from the last movie, since Azaria now plays the king’s evil brother in this one. Good for a few laughs.

Everlasting Moments (Maria Larssons eviga ögenblik)

Indie – Foreign
4 stars
Excellent movie - subtitles. A Swedish film about an abused wife in the early 20th century and how she copes by using photography as an outlet. It’s not what I’d consider a depressing movie, given the subject of marital abuse. Though she makes decisions many would not agree with, you have to admire that she is a strong woman who does the best she can for her large brood of children in times of poverty. Very well done.

Shall We Kiss? (Un baiser s’il vous plait?)

3.5 stars
Indie – Foreign
Good movie about the slippery slope of infidelity – and it sure made me want to come home and kiss my honey! This French (with subtitles) movie is a story within a story where a man and a woman meet and would like to kiss, but to ward off temptation she tells him the story of her friends' infidelity and the consequences thereafter. There are several humorous awkward moments and others filled with sexual tension (thus, you will want to kiss somebody after seeing this!). Cute story about a serious subject.

Angels & Demons

Drama/Action
4 stars
Excellent portrayal of the book – much better than The Da Vinci Code. Tom Hanks is at it again as a famous symbolist who is brought to Rome to solve a puzzle from a centuries-old group called the Illuminati to save 4 cardinals from being murdered and prevent the Vatican from being blown up. It’s pretty exciting, and they did have to omit a few things from the book – most notably the seemingly evil CERN boss in the fancy wheelchair. A few minor details were changed at the end, and I was disappointed they had to omit the description/details of the statue representing “fire”: the statue is called The Ecstasy of St. Teresa who appears to be in the throws of an orgasm that the church had found offensive. They do show the statue in the movie though, just no time for descriptions. I’ve read that Vatican City did not allow the filming of the movie there, but you could have fooled me – maybe they filmed some of the actual cardinals’ processions prior to the voting of the most recent Pope? Very exciting and well, it’s Rome! Good Movie.

Star Trek (2009)

Sci-Fi/Action
4.5 stars
Fun, fun, fun!!! The movie starts out with Kirk’s rebellious childhood and his beginnings on the Starship Enterprise. I was never a fan of the series nor the subsequent reunion movies, but this prequel to the series has great special effects along with familiar sounds (like the sirens) and a great story to boot. Haven’t I always said that movies with mostly unknown cast members often turn out to be the best? There are a few cast members you may recognize, including Leonard Nimoy (Yay!), Tyler Perry, Winona Rider (Spock’s Mom), Simon Pegg (as Scotty), Bruce Greenwood (as Capt. Pike) and a barely recognizable Eric Bana as the bad guy, Captain Nero. (Where the heck was William Shatner? Not even a cameo?!!) All the primary characters are pretty much unknowns. I am sure with this young cast that there will be more to come. Fun summer movie.

Ghosts of Girlfriends Past

Comedy, Chick Flick
2.5 stars
OK comedy about womanizer Matthew McConaughey who has three ghosts visit him the night before his brother’s wedding (ala A Christmas Carol) to show him the errors in his ways lead him on the path to childhood friend Jennifer Garner. There are some funny scenes, but the bride, Lacey Chabert, is obnoxious to watch. This is not exactly what I would categorize as a “Chick Flick”, it is more of a “Guy Flick” where McConaughey’s beloved uncle Michael Douglas gives him advice on how to pick up women – and those scenes are quite funny. The “Chick Flick” parts are the inevitable scenes with Garner. Wait for it to come out on TV.

X-Men Origins: Wolverine

Sci-Fi, Action
3 stars
This is my first X-Men movie. Since it was a prequel, I was expecting it to explain where Hugh Jackman’s character got his powers – you know, maybe a family curse or a crazed scientist – but, alas, no explanation, so no real “Origins” are revealed. Plenty of killing and explosions for those who get excited about that sort of thing. Liev Schrieber plays Jackman’s brother but his fate is left a mystery; perhaps a sequel to the prequel? I think I’ll skip it. I would have been more interested in seeing more of the special powers of the mutants, especially the one they located in New Orleans. Maybe he’ll be in the sequel to the prequel as well. Not my sort of movie, but Marvel Comic fans will probably like it.

Observe and Report

Comedy, Dry
2 stars
A depressing comedy about mall workers who are cast as a bunch of losers. I’m afraid I don’t share such a low opinion of mall workers, especially in this economy. I really love Seth Rogen, but his movies are usually hit or miss with me, and this one is a miss. I only went to see this because a critic source I respected recommended it (CBS Sunday Morning – great show by the way). Anyway, Seth Rogen plays a mall cop trying to catch a flasher that terrified Rogen’s crush, Anna Faris. Ray Liotta plays the detective at odds with Rogen. TV will chop this movie to bits, so if it’s your kind of comedy, rent it.