Cinematic Summer of Discontent

It's been a great year - wedding, honeymoon, new apartment, etc. - but not such a hot one for movies.

While I truly enjoyed "Prometheus" last week, I caught up with a handful of pictures this weekend and none of them particularly impressed me. There is some potential light at the end of the tunnel. Upcoming releases include "Beasts of the Southern Wild," Soderbergh's "Magic Mike" and Lanthimos' "Alps."

And I saw that Cronenberg's "Cosmopolis" is getting an August release. So there's that.

Meanwhile, I reviewed "Rock of Ages" and "That's My Boy," the first of which was middling and the second a complete disaster, for Patch. Here are my reviews.

My weekend of catching up also included "Men in Black III," "Dark Horse" and "Snow White and the Huntsman." And while I can't say that any of these three films were bad, I won't go as far as recommending any of them either.

"MIB III" is an improvement on the second film in that series and "Snow White" has a fetching Gothic style to it, but both movies are just OK at best. "Dark Horse" features some fine performances and a softer side to Todd Solondz. But I feel the same way about this movie as I did about "Life During Wartime." It's as if Solondz has been making the same movie over and over for the past decade.

I loved "Happiness" and "Welcome to the Dollhouse" - and, at least, the first half of "Storytelling" - but I'd love to see him branch out and try something a little different.

This coming weekend, I'll review "Brave," "Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter," "To Rome With Love" and, possibly, "Seeking a Friend for the End of the World." And I still need to catch up with "Your Sister's Sister."

File Under Department of 'Shut the #@!* Up'

Who was it that said 'Opinions are like assholes - everyone has one'?

So, I'm walking down the street of my quaint Queens neighborhood this evening when one of my neighbors from a few doors down passes me on the street and upon noticing a shirt I'm wearing that features a logo, says to me: "[Logo's Brand] is bullshit."

"Excuse me?" I say, a bit taken aback at being accosted on the street with passive aggressive remarks by a person I've not only never spoken to but, I believe, never even seen before.

"[Logo] sucks," she says. I explain my affiliation with said logo, which I won't give name because it's really besides the point. "Well, just sayin'," she says and then proceeds to point downwards with her thumbs and make that farting noise with her mouth that insinuates displeasure. "No bueno." I feel compelled to point out that this woman was not, in fact, a Latina.

Now, I just returned from Greece from my honeymoon. And I must say, I was surprised by how generous, good humored, kind and helpful Greeks were, considering recent portrayals of their country being in financial turmoil. During my entire visit, I think I witnessed a total three protesters with a few homemade signs. And even they were carrying on in a polite manner.

I'm getting off topic.

I guess what I'm trying to ask is how did people in these United States start becoming so entitled that it's become commonplace to randomly berate complete strangers on the street and force their nasty opinions down the throats of others?

You may think I'm reaching here. And you could make that argument had this been the first incident I'd experienced during which someone who I'd never met suddenly feels they have the right to ensnare me in their bitterness.

Alas, this is not the case. In years past, I've had neighbors get coked out of their heads and try to beat down my door because they thought I was playing my music too loud when, in fact, I had been asleep with no music playing at all.

Then, there was the neighbor standing outside my door first thing in the morning who screamed and cursed at me because he thought I'd forgotten to lock one of the locks on our building.

Most recently, I had a neighbor leave a manifesto on my doorstep, accusing me of walking too much in my apartment and asking me to wear slippers more often.

No, seriously. What the hell is going on? Where do people get off? And why am I writing about this? There's a new Woody Allen movie coming out and, the week after that, "Beasts of the Southern Wild," which is one of the most acclaimed films of the year so far. I have better ways of spending my time.

So, I'll leave it at this. As my mother once said, "If you don't have something nice to say, then file your complaint under the Department of 'Shut the #&*! Up.'

Prometheus

Just got back from my honeymoon in Greece and I'm pretty exhausted. So, needless to say, I'm keeping it short this week and in the process of catching up on some movies.

I saw Ridley Scott's "Prometheus" and enjoyed it quite a bit. Here's my review for Patch. The film is a sort-of prequel to "Alien" as well as many other things, including a thoughtful sci-fi drama on the origins of mankind. Good stuff.

This coming weekend, there's a lot of movie watching going on, including "Men in Black III," "Snow White and the Huntsman," "Dark Horse," "That's My Boy" and "Rock of Ages." Some of these will obviously be reviewed in next week's post. And I plan on writing up some longer pieces for this blog in the near future - once I've recouped from jet lag.

'Moonrise Kingdom'

On my way to honeymoon. Here's my review for "Moonrise Kingdom," which I enjoyed. Will be away for a bit. When I return, I'll post reviews for "Prometheus" and several other new films.

This Week at the Movies: 'The Dictator,' 'Polisse,' 'Beyond the Black Rainbow' and 'Battleship'

I'm gonna keep it real short and sweet this week. I'm getting married in four days, so there will be no posts for a couple of weeks.

This past weekend, I saw one film that I very much enjoyed - "Polisse" - as well as two disappointments - "The Dictator" and "Beyond the Black Rainbow," although I love the latter's score and some of its cinematography - and a mediocre blockbuster, "Battleship."

Here are my reviews.

I'm gonna catch Wes Anderson's "Moonrise Kingdom" this coming week and will post my review. Then, it's off on my honeymoon.

There will be much to discuss in the near future, especially the Cannes lineup. So far, I'm very excited about Michael Haneke's "Amour" and Andrew Domenik's "Killing Them Softly."

Still waiting to hear about "Post Tenebras Lux," "Cosmopolis" and "Mud."

Two 'Dark Shadows' and Two Others

The best thing I saw this weekend was "Dark Shadows," but I'm not referring to the Tim Burton film or the 1960s TV show on which it was based. This week's episode of "Mad Men" just so happens to bear the same name. And, as always, the show is - for my money - on par with the best of today's cinema and better than much of it.

As for Burton's "Dark Shadows," it was the week's best cinematic selection, but still a mixed bag. Johnny Depp gives an amusing performance as Barnabas Collins and the picture is aces in the art direction department.

But the director, for some reason, takes his narrative from the realm of oddball comedy to that of an action film in the final 20 minutes, complete with explosions, fight scenes and a few unnecessary reveals. It's unfortunate because without those scenes, the movie would have been a recommend. All in all, it's uneven.

I also caught up with the Filipino horror movie "The Road," which is one of the rare exports from its nation of origin. Unfortunately, it's also a mixed bag. The movie is occasionally creepy, but also a bit convoluted. Here are my reviews for Patch.

I managed to catch a screening of the wannabe provocation "Elles," but did not review it. If nothing else, this picture just goes to show that even the best of them - in this case, Juliette Binoche - occasionally pick a bad one. In the film, Binoche plays a journalist researching prostitutes for an article. The story lurches about aimlessly and unevenly before arriving at a non-ending. Needless to say, I can't recommend it.

This coming weekend, I'll be seeing "The Dictator," "Beyond the Black Rainbow," "Polisse" and "Battleship."

Team Work: 'The Avengers' and 'The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel'

This week's cinematic selections were both team efforts - a super-hyped comic book extravaganza ("The Avengers") and a fish out of water comedy that has assembled some of Britain's finest actors over the age of 60 ("The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel").

I liked both films, but didn't love them. "The Avengers" has some decent set pieces, but also a few too many. My favorite moments in Joss Whedon's film involved the banter between his league of superheroes. Robert Downey, Jr. gets the best lines.

"The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel" was charming but, perhaps, a bit slight. The cast makes it worthwhile. It's funny without quite being hilarious.

Here are my reviews for Patch.

On a side note, I find it interesting that we're already into the fifth month of the year and there are barely any films that I'd think would be contenders for my end-of-the-year best list. The year's finest film so far is "Once Upon a Time in Anatolia."

I also liked "The Deep Blue Sea," "The Turin Horse," "The Hunger Games" and "The Cabin in the Woods," but I'm not sure any of them would make a top 20 list. Maybe "The Deep Blue Sea."

I'm hoping this summer's movie slate is solid. This fall, there are a number of great looking films.

This coming weekend, I'll catch Tim Burton's "Dark Shadows" and either "Where Do We Go Now?" or "Bonsai."