Monday, June 17, 2013

Weekly Roundup: Superman, Coppola, Apocalypse, Berberian

How exactly do you round this week's four new releases into one headline? As you can see, I have no clue.

Anyway, it wasn't a bad weekend overall - in fact, three of the four films I review received three stars, even though each of the three had some small issue or another.

I enjoyed Sofia Coppola's "The Bling Ring," even though I think it may be my least favorite of her films. It doesn't quite have the ambiance of "The Virgin Suicides" or the in-depth character development of "Lost in Translation." That being said, it does include some pointed commentary on materialism and our culture's obsession with celebrity. The characters may be thin - even though Emma Watson sure nails it - but the film is overall enjoyable - and slightly disturbing.

I also liked "Berberian Sound Studio," Peter Strickland's nifty homage to 1970s giallo films, even though I believe he jumps the shark a bit at the end.

And Zack Snyder's "Man of Steel" was a lot better than I might have expected, despite its overabundance of special effects and calamity in the final quarter.

The only disappointment this weekend was "This is the End," which is not nearly clever as you might think it would be or as clever as its creators likely think it is. There are a few laughs, but not nearly enough.

Here are my Patch reviews.

This coming weekend, I'll review "World War Z," "Monsters University" and - God help me - the remake of "Maniac."

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