Good Second Tier: 'Brave' and 'To Rome With Love'

It was a better couple of days for movies this past weekend than the previous week - that's for sure.

Although I wouldn't classify "Brave" as one of Pixar's best films, it is better than last year's "Cars 2" and while I wouldn't say "To Rome with Love" is as good as, say, "Midnight in Paris," it's still a fun little picture and quite funny.

On the other hand, "Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter" is a bust. It's not badly acted or poorly shot, but, at times, woefully misguided. You'll see what I mean in my reviews for Patch of all three aforementioned films.

I saw a few other films that I won't be including in my weekly Patch roundups, so I'll say a little about each of them here.

For starters, I thought "Seeking a Friend for the End of the World" was a lot better than I thought it would be due to the tepid response from most critics. It's a charming, often funny and occasionally touching romantic comedy set amid - that's right - an impending apocalypse.

Keira Knightley is quite good in her role and Steve Carrell brings an unexpected poignance to his as well. All in all, an enjoyable movie.

I'm a little more torn on Sarah Polley's "Take This Waltz," which is not as strong as the actresses' directorial debut, "Away from Her."

Her latest revolves around a love triangle, of sorts, in which Michelle Williams must chose between her husband (a restrained Seth Rogan) and the hunky rickshaw worker across the street.

On the one hand, there are some nice moments here, including an amusement park ride sequence that is used to great effect during its first appearance and slightly more somber effect the second time around.

But my problem with the film is that its characters appear to often inhabit that hipster universe of behavior that I'm not sure I've ever experienced with any real people. I'm obviously hanging out in all the wrong places. And I'm not sure ultimately what Polley's trying to convey here.

It's not a bad movie, but - in my humble opinion - a mixed bag.

This coming weekend, I'll catch "Beasts of the Southern Wild," "Magic Mike" and "Ted."

Also, upon returning from my honeymoon, I've been catching up with the episodes of "Mad Men" that I missed. Gottta say, "The Other Woman" (Episode 11) is a doozy. One of the best I've seen in a while or, possibly, ever. Only two more to go.