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."

Weekend Wrapup: The Internship, The Purge, Much Ado About Nothing

It wasn't the greatest weekend for cinema, I must admit - but I've certainly seen worse.

"The Internship" was the only film from the weekend that I can say I would recommend, despite most reviews of the film on Rotten Tomatoes being pretty middling.

It's not a great film, but Shawn Levy's comedy is, at least, funny, which puts it a level above most of the other comedies of recent months.

"The Purge" was this weekend's great success story at the box office, but the film itself is a good example of a decent concept with a mediocre execution. The film has its moments, but not nearly enough.

And my thoughts on Joss Whedon's "Much Ado About Nothing" were somewhere along the lines of meh.

The one thing the film has going for it is that the actors appear to have a grasp on the Bard's language, which I can't exactly say for a number of the cinematic adaptation's of William Shakespeare's work.

In the case of Whedon's film, the problem is the tone and style. The play is, after all, a comedy, so why does the film not portray the material as such? Here are my Patch reviews.

In terms of new releases this coming weekend, it's a busy one. So, I'll try to catch up with all of the above - Sofia Coppola's "Bling Ring," the acclaimed "Berberian Sound Studios," "Man of Steel" and "This is the End."

Weekend Wrapup: After Earth, Now You See Me, The East

Well, at least there was "The East" this weekend. Zal Batmanglij's follow-up to "Sound of My Voice" was another story of an infiltration - in this case, Brit Marling is an agent for a private investigation firm who becomes a member of an anarchist collective that punishes corporations that cover up their illegal actions.

On the whole, the film is a solid indie thriller. And much like "Sound of My Voice," I wouldn't call the picture a great movie, but it's a good step in the right direction for the director and his co-writer.

"Now You See Me" has a lot of tricks up its sleeve, but little in the way of context or content. That being said, it's amusing enough while it lasts.

On the other hand, M. Night Shyamalan's "After Earth" is a little dismal. It's not as horrendous as the director's last outing - the virtually unwatchable "Last Airbender," but it's still pretty bad.

And what's with that strange accent that Will and Jaden Smith speak? And. Why. Is. Every. Sentence. Spoken. So. Seriously. In. This. Manner?

Here are my Patch reviews.

I was looking forward to Brian De Palma's "Passion" this upcoming weekend, despite the not-so-great reviews, but it appears to have been pushed back to late August.

So, instead, this weekend I'll catch "The Internship," "The Purge" and Joss Whedon's "Much Ado About Nothing."

Memorial Day Weekend of Sequels

It was a weekend full of sequels for Memorial Day, but only one of the three series represented was worth revisiting.

I'm not going to waste any more - well, not ink - space on the world wide webs or what have you on the "Fast and the Furious" and "The Hangover" franchises. But to be fair, I'll admit that the "Furious" sequels have gotten better as time goes on, whereas the latter series has gotten less funny. Not that I was a huge fan of either series from the beginning.

On the other hand, it was a pleasure to meet up once again with Celine (Julie Delpy) and Jesse (Ethan Hawke), the central figures of "Before Midnight," which is the third in Richard Linklater's "Before" series of films.

While the first two pictures told an almost-storybook tale of romance, this one's much more grounded in reality, I suppose you could say. It's certainly the least romantic of the three films and the saddest. I'd argue that the "Before" pictures are the American equivalent of Michael Apted's brilliant "Up" series - the only difference being, of course, that "Before" is fiction, while "Up" is a documentary.

Here are my Patch reviews.

This coming weekend, I'll likely catch "Now You See Me," "After Earth" and "The East."

And, finally, Cannes Film Festival just wrapped up. Needless to say, there are a lot of movies I'm looking forward to down the road - namely, "Inside Llewyn Davis," "The Past," "Nebraska," "Only Lovers Left Alive," "A Touch of Sin," "Blue is the Warmest Color," "Venus in Fur," "Like Father, Like Son" and "Only God Forgives," despite the mostly negative reaction.

Funny 'Ha'

Noah Baumbach's "Frances Ha" is a wry, witty and charming picture. And while its lead character is a sad sack, of sorts, she's a far departure from some of the more misanthropic figures that popular the director's ouvre.

That's not a criticism, by the way. I've been a fan of Baumbach's work for some time now. So, while "Frances Ha" is not on the level of, say, "The Squid and the Whale" or "Greenberg," it's still a very recommendable mashup of the French New Wave and Woody Allen - but with Baumbach's touch and Greta Gerwig's personality in tow.

I wasn't a huge fan of "Star Trek Into Darkness," while at the same time not being exactly a detractor. It's a pretty by-the-numbers affair in terms of its storyline and relentless number of action sequences. It's a well-shot and well-enough acted picture, but more of a minor entry in the franchise.

Here are my Patch reviews.

This coming weekend, it's sequel-itis. One of them - Richard Linklater's "Before Midnight" - I'm highly anticipating. The other two - "Fast and the Furious 6" and "The Hangover Part III" - meh. But I'll catch them all and report back to you next week.

Meanwhile, anyone see "Mad Men" last night? One of the more surreal episodes in the program that I've seen. Certainly memorable.

Roundup: Gatsby, The Iceman and Sightseers

I'm gonna keep it real short this week as I'm in a poor state of health and feel as if I'm at death's door. OK, that's a slight exaggeration.

I found half of Baz Luhrmann's "The Great Gatsby" to be decent enough, especially Leonardo DiCaprio's performance. Unfortunately, the first half of the picture was just as over-stylized as everyone feared it might be. All in all, it's not a bad movie, just a flawed one.

I was pretty riveted by the true crime story "The Iceman," particularly by Michael Shannon's spellbinding work. Sad to say, I was not such a fan of Ben Wheatley's latest, "Sightseers," a grim comedy that wasn't particularly insightful, funny or inventive.

Here are my Patch reviews.

This coming weekend's reviews will include Noah Baumbach's "Frances Ha" and "Star Trek Into Darkness."

Weekly Roundup: Iron Man 3, Something in the Air, Post Tenebras Lux

So, it wasn't the summer kickoff I was expecting. And, no, I'm not referring to "Iron Man 3," which was adequate, but only slightly better than the second entry in the series.

Olivier Assayas's "Something in the Air" is a decent period piece on 1970s radicalism, but it's no "Carlos." That being said, it's still the best of the four films I saw this past weekend.

But Carlos Reygadas's "Post Tenebras Lux"was sort of a bust. The picture certainly had some evocative imagery and sequences, including one in which a young girl stands in a field filled with cows and dogs as an overcast sky looms, another during which a devil sneaks through a home as a little boy looks on and, finally, another in a sex spa. But it's a scattershot effort.

Here are my Patch reviews.

Lastly, I caught "Greetings from Tim Buckley" on On-Demand. The picture had some great music, naturally, but was a little slight in the storytelling department.