Genre Bending Exercises: 'Cabin in the Woods' and 'Damsels in Distress'

I gotta say, I had a lot of fun at Drew Goddard and Joss Whedon's "The Cabin in the Woods." It's not particularly scary, but it's a whole lot of meta fun and pretty clever to boot.

The film not only lampoons the horror genre, but also people's expectations of it.... and even a little something more, I'd say.

I was a little let down by "Damsels in Distress," the first film from Whit Stillman in 14 years. It has the same witty banter as his previous efforts, but it's often too twee and light on substance. It's not bad, but just sort of middle of the road.

Here are my Patch reviews.

The week's other - more significant - letdown was Guy Maddin's "Keyhole," which I'd heard was good as well as described as Lynchian. Alas, I thought it was one of the director's weaker efforts as of late. It has some good atmosphere and some expected loopy moments, but overall lacking.

But the fact that this season of "Mad Men" has been getting so increasingly fantastic almost makes up for a few cinematic bummers. I thought last night's episode was another knockout - and you'll hopefully appreciate my choice of words if you saw it.

Also, I decided to have a little fun this week. If you're linked to me on Facebook, search for my photo album titled 'Amazing Photos.' I know, not the most ingenious title, but I think it could provide you with a laugh. Be sure to read the captions.

This coming weekend, I'll catch up with "The Moth Diaries," which is the latest from Mary Harron.

So, what does that leave? There's a new film from Lawrence Kasdan and that Zac Effron picture, "The Lucky One." I also wouldn't mind catching up with "Bully." We'll see, I guess. But you can count on the Harron film.

This Week at the Movies: 'American Reunion'

I was out of town doing wedding preparation this past weekend, so my viewing was light. I managed to catch up with "American Reunion," which I occasionally found charming - catching up with a couple of characters I liked from the previous films, for example - but also unnecessary.

Here's my review for Patch.

This coming week will be one for catching up - first and foremost with Whit Stillman's "Damsels in Distress" and Guy Maddin's "Keyhole."

Next weekend, I'll definitely see "The Cabin in the Woods" as well as "The Three Stooges."

Hollywood Blahs: 'Wrath of the Titans' and 'Mirror, Mirror'

Needless to say, it was not the best weekend for movies. My reviews for Patch this week were "Wrath of the Titans" and "Mirror, Mirror," of which neither was I particularly fond.

The first was a by-the-numbers sequel to a mostly unnecessary remake of "Clash of the Titans," while the second was a visually lavish, but under-scripted take on Snow White.

Take a look at my reviews.

On a brighter note, I finally caught up with "Friends with Kids," which I enjoyed. Much credit is due to the film's able cast. I didn't review the picture because it has been out for several weeks. But it's a solid indie dramedy.

This coming weekend will find me knee-deep in wedding preparations, but I'm planning on catching "American Reunion" for the sake of my Monday movie column.

The weekend's other releases - Guy Maddin's "Keyhole" and Whit Stillman's "Damsels in Distress" - will have to be viewed during the following week. I'll either post an update with my thoughts on those movies on this blog or will include them in my Patch roundup for the following week, which will also include "The Cabin in the Woods."

This Week at the Movies: 'The Hunger Games,' 'The Raid: Redemption' and 'The Deep Blue Sea'

Finally, some good movies this weekend. I thoroughly enjoyed "The Hunger Games," which I found to be one of the better blockbusters of late.

And I also greatly admired Terence Davies' lush, but melancholic, "The Deep Blue Sea." My third selection was "The Raid: Redemption," which had amazing martial arts sequences, but a threadbare storyline. I'd recommend it to action movie fans, but others might want to be advised: it's extremely violent and gory.

Here are this week's reviews. Gotta keep it short. Busy day. But I also enjoyed last night's debut of "Mad Men, Season Five." Would love to hear what everyone else thought of it. Please post comments in the section provided below.

This coming weekend, I'll most likely catch "Wrath of the Titans" and "Mirror, Mirror."

Just the Two of Us: '21 Jump Street,' 'The Kid with a Bike' and 'Jeff, Who Lives at Home'

This week's trio of movies I viewed were all films by duos about duos.

Phil Lord and Chris Miller's re-imagining of the 1980s teen cop show was "21 Jump Street" is sort of a gas - a word, I assure you, that I don't use lightly. Jonah Hill and Channing Tatum make a good comedic team with Ice Cube providing some nice backup as the angry police chief. Nothing groundbreaking here, but a good time will likely be had by all - or, at least, most.

I also caught up with Jean-Pierre and Luc Dardennes's "The Kid with a Bike." It may have not been one of my favorite of the Belgian brothers' films, but it's still a moving little picture. And it finds the brothers covering some new ground.

The week's other set of brothers is Mark and Jay Duplass, whose "Jeff, Who Lives at Home" I found charming enough. While the picture is slight in some areas, the performances - especially Jason Segel as the titular character - make up for the at-times too-laid-back tone. It's a charming film.

Here are my reviews for Patch.

This coming weekend, I'll be seeing "The Raid: Redemption," "The Deep Blue Sea" and, of course, "The Hunger Games."

This Week at the Movies: 'John Carter,' 'Silent House' and 'Footnote'

How does one create a witty headline summing up "John Carter," "Silent House" and "Footnote?" I'll take suggestions in the comment section.

So, I wasn't a huge fan of "Carter," which was a mediocre sci-fi epic, at best. It's a shame because the film was directed by Andrew Stanton, who directed "WALL-E," which is my favorite Pixar movie. I was also not blown away by "Silent House," which gets points for originality, but no so much for execution.

"Footnote" was a solid picture. Here are my reviews.

This coming weekend, I'll write about "The Kid with a Bike," "21 Jump Street" and, most likely, either "Jeff, Who Lives at Home" or "Casa de mi Padre."

The Best and Worst of Home Movies: 'This Is Not a Film' and 'Project X'

It's gonna be brief this week. Over the weekend, I caught up with two films that exhibited the best and worst of films that take a home movie format.

Jafar Panahi's moving "This Is Not a Film" is a powerful document of a censored artist, while "Project X" hits the bottom of the barrel for found footage films. Here are my Patch reviews.

I did not get a chance to see the controversial "The Snowtown Murders." But, as it turns out, I recently discovered that I have On-Demand, so I'll try to catch up with that film this week.

For the upcoming weekend, I'm intending to see "John Carter," "Footnote" and "Silent House."