superman returns

more like "he's back but what for?" brandon routh does a better clark kent than he makes a superman. when he talks it's like a little boy impersonating a super hero. kevin spacey as a villain is nice, but really, the two foes hardly interacted. why did you make a chick flick disguised in spandex and a cape bryan singer? too many superman inconsistencies (he's lifting a mountain of what is essentially kryptonite?!) and no climatic payoff dulled the experience for me. ok, we get it, superman is strong, he can lift things, let's keep moving along.

nacho libre

if there were oscars were given out for facial contortions that aren't annoying (ala jim carrey), jack black would surely be the favorite. while nacho libre isn't quite as quote worthy as napolean dynamite, it does have more energy simply because black is a better (but not more iconic) protagonist. both nacho and dynamite suffer from stretching out a few quirky ideas but at the end of the day, both will become pop culture references for years.

the break-up

summer chick flick or "how to be an asshole boyfriend but yet still be charmingly hilarious." i went in thinking the first option, i left believing the latter. vince vaughn is my hero. if anyone knows how to piss off a live in girlfriend turned ex-girlfriend, it's vince. i wonder if he ad-libs his own dialogue or has a team of disgruntled ex-boyfriends behind him. resembling a "swingers, now we're 30" movie with vaughn and favreau stealing the show, the break-up was charming, witty, and perfect for highlighting the absolute ridiculousness of two people (fighting) in a relationship.

the game also co-stars "grand theft auto: san andreas." i think cj (the main character in the game) got more screen time than 90%of the actors in the movie.

an inconvenient truth

more al gore biopic than state of the planet conference, this optimistic documentary provides a sound overview of the causes and consequences of global warming for the undecided mind. scholars, however, some will be disapppointed by watered down information and oversimplified solutions for a pg audience. sadly, gore seems more occupied with breaking the cardboard image of the man who was america's next president than staging an environmental coup. luckily, positive press reviews may still bring about the intended goal: awareness in the general public. don't want to pay $10 to watch a badly aging gore try to be funny? read the time magazine issue on global warming instead.
-reviewed by xtina-

old boy

many friends have told me to watch old boy. i'd always resisted because the description of the movie always turned me off. well now i've seen it and i have this to say: interesting and kind of crazy, but well done and superbly acted. still, not a movie i really loved. and it's not because i'm anti-violence or the themes of the movie, it just didn't seem to have the appropriate payoff.

x-men 3

really, go watch it. i've been trying to stay neutral about it. not saying whether or not i liked it. for a (very) full review, go here.