The Bling Ring

— I was the only person in the theater for the 2:30 p.m. showing of “The Bling Ring”. With Sophia Coppola directing and Harris Savides as cinematographer, this should have been exceptional, but it fell oddly flat. Beautiful but lacking much emotion. It’s hard to like or dislike these vaguely high-school aged California kids and their parents come off as new age fools. You may feel a deep sense of regret that this is a society of which we are a part, that somehow we share some responsibility for this shallowness and selfishness, and this obsession with fame and style. I imagine the “Vanity Fair” article on which the film is based may have been more palatable—assuming it was shorter than the film—but the issues are interesting in either medium. Sadly, this is less successful than most of Sophia Coppola’s other films.

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[2013. 90 min. Directed by Sofia Coppola. Starring Katie Chang, Israel Broussard, Emma Watson, and Claire Julien.]
http://www.bostonglobe.com/arts/movies/2013/06/20/movie-review-the-bling-ring-shows-what-like-live-and-steal/RY6gy8CpSm7AmkENd3LsIL/story.html

World War Z

— I liked “World War Z”, mostly because it’s more a medical thriller than horror action film, and Brad Pitt just can’t help but be impressive. It’s certainly among the best of the summer fare so far but, based on the range of previews beforehand, they haven’t figured out their target audience! Probably anyone who isn’t going to “Monsters Inc 2”! I was expecting to enjoy myself and ended up seeing something much better than I expected.

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[2013. 116 min. Directed by Marc Forster. Starring Brad Pitt, Mireille Enos, and Daniella Kertesz.]
http://www.washingtonpost.com/goingoutguide/movies/world-war-z-movie-review/2013/06/20/0d418ae4-d8ee-11e2-a9f2-42ee3912ae0e_story.html

Man of Steel

— “Man of Steel” was about what you’d expect. It had the flash, the action, and the volume to bring in $125 million for its debut weekend. Russell Crowe is very good as Superman’s selfless father. Henry Cavill, with his constantly furrowed brow, appears to be appropriately angry, worried, and overburdened, spending as much time dealing with his psychological scars as poised to save the world. Amy Adams’ Lois Lane may be a more interesting and updated character, but whatever attraction she and Superman have is hard to see. These darker, more brooding and introspective comic book characters are always interesting, but I think it’s time to start casting psychiatrists as part of the storyline too.

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[2013. 143 min. Directed by Zack Snyder. Starring Henry Cavill, Amy Adams, Michael Shannon, Diane Lane, and Russell Crowe.]
http://www.forbes.com/sites/scottmendelson/2013/06/16/weekend-box-office-man-of-steel-soars-to-125-million-debut/

Now You See Me

— I enjoyed “Now You See Me” for what it is: an entertaining, cleverly-designed, heist film with a good cast. Characters aren’t developed as well as I’d like, so the motivation is a little sketchy, but the film moves at a quick pace and kept me interested for the moment. It won’t change my life, but it was well worth the matinee price.

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[2013. 115 min. Directed by Louis Leterrier. Starring Jesse Eisenberg, Common, Mark Ruffalo, Woody Harrelson, Isla fisher, Dave Franco, Melanie Laurent, Morgan Freeman, and Michael Caine.]
http://www.rogerebert.com/reviews/now-you-see-me-2013