It seems that everyone is down with the vampires these days. So cool, and dark and sexy – there’s a lot to like. But what if you get turned into a vampire when you’re a kid? You stay a kid forever. What if your world isn’t glamarous and decadent? What if you’re just trying to survive out there alone? These are the questions raised by one of the best vampire movies (and just an all-around fantastic film) ever made, Let The Right One In. It’s set in Sweden and is unlike any vampire flick you’ve ever seen. The movie has been out for a couple of years and is already a cult classic, a status attained due to the lack of box office receipts that certainly don’t reflect the film’s worth, but I bring it up now because the American remake is set to be released this October. It’s called Let Me In and is directed by Matt Reeves (Cloverfield) and stars the remarkable Chloe Moretz. I posted on Twitter the other day (still can’t bring myself to type “tweeted” – damn I just did it) about how great she is in Kickass and it was no exaggeration. Her performance was incredible and she is the sole reason hope has been given to a remake that many felt should never have been made. If you like vampire movies, or if you just like good movies, make sure you watch Let The Right One In before you see the remake. Then get ready to hope Ms. Moretz can deliver with such ferocity a second time. I think she can. Dig it…

-John

Time for you guys to preview some upcoming films, so you can start planning your movie-watching schedule accordingly. This week we’ll be looking at some romantic comedies that don’t suck for all you couples out there and another literary classic remade into a teen comedy just for fun. Extra points for Charlie Day, The Kooks and Emma Stone.

Going the Distance Newline Cinema – August 27

The Switch Miramax – August 20

Easy A Screen Gems – September 17

-John

So what does being considered the standout force of hilarity in one of the most successful comedies of all time get you? Work, and lots of it. Since The Hangover made Zach Galifianakis a household name (he’s been “in the biz” for quite a while actually) he’s been possibly the busiest guy in Hollywood. The Wilkesboro, North Carolina native has already been featured in Up in the Air, G-Force and Youth in Revolt and landed a sidekick role in HBO’s comedy Bored to Death alongside Jason Schwartzman and Ted Danson. Not enough Galifianakis for you? (How could it be – this guy should be in everything) Well don’t worry, he’s got more projects coming really soon including Puss in Boots and the much anticipated Hangover 2. Below are trailers for even more of his upcoming movies, all of which look to be hilarious and awesome. Hilariously awesome. Enjoy, the year of Galifianakis is upon us.

Dinner For Schmucks Paramount/Dreamworks

It’s Kind of a Funny Story Focus Features

Due Date Legendary Pictures

-John

Though I’ve been slacking on my summer movie watching, I don’t feel too bad because, quite honestly, there haven’t been that many movies out that I want to see. That being said, here are two summer movies, one already out and one coming soon, I’ll certainly regret not catching. Finally, some stuff worthy of an over-priced ticket. (Scott Pilgrim looks especially awesome – love girls with pink hair)

Cyrus – June 18th (Limited)

Scott Pilgrim vs The World August 13th

-John

So, a couple of weeks ago the Academy Award nominations were released, and, quite honestly, there weren’t a lot of surprises. Most of the actors and actresses we thought would be there are there, all the directors we thought would get nominated did – and the decision to nominate ten films for best picture was just as dumb as we all thought it would be. Seriously, it’s ridiculous. Basically, if you thought about making a movie last year it is being considered for an Academy Award. I thought about submitting a film I made about how my upstairs carpet produces what I think to be an abnormally large amount of lint. It had it all: drama, suspense and riveting plot twists. I decided not to enter it because it didn’t seem fair to everyone else; somtimes greatest needs to be put on hold. Anyway, let’s take a look at the nominees and I’ll provide some killer commentary.

Supporting Actress:

Penelope Cruz, Nine
Anna Kendrick, Up in the Air
Vera Farmiga, Up in the Air
Mo’nique, Precious
Maggie Gyllenhaal, Crazy Heart

Did anyone see Nine? Wasn’t there an animated Tim Burton movie with the same name this year? Kind of weird. That movie had a bunch of hot women in it so I guess that deserves a nomination. Kendrick and Farmiga are both great in Up in the Air and I heard Gyllenhaal was a nice compliment to Jeff Bridges in Crazy Heart, but this is Mo’nique’s award. She’ll win this easily and deserves every bit of it. Her performance was savagely intense and ran the gamut of emotions, often sliding in and out of dissappointed tears and off-kilter rage in the same scene. Great stuff from her. Who would have guessed that the chick who poured mustard on a guy, while violently riding him, in Beerfest, would go on to win an Oscar? She caught someone’s eye.

Best Supporting Actor

Christopher Waltz, Inglourious Basterds
Stanley Tucci, The Lovely Bones
Matt Damon, Invictus
Christopher Plummer, The Last Station
Woody Harrelson, The Messenger

From what I understand, The Lovely Bones was a lovely pile of dog vomit (way worse than regular vomit), so I find it strange that Stanley Tucci was moinated at all – but maybe he was really good. I think he’s a good ballroom dancer in real life. So, there’s that. Matt Damon is the man and all, but I feel like he was nominated because he was in a movie about Apartheid, so no real merit there. Plummer was in a movie I’ve never heard of (and I’ve heard of a lot of movies) but I hope is about Station from Bill and Ted’s Bogus Journey. Woody is, and always will be, awesome and I heard he was great in The Messenger, but I would support him much more if he were nominated for his turn in Zombieland. That movie was the bomb track. Unfortunately for Woody, Christopher Waltz was too much of a beast in Basterds. He crushed. Flawless execution of coniving evil and sinister charm, and his performance in the opening scene alone is masterful. Look for him in the upcoming Green Hornet with Seth Rogen and Cameron Diaz.

Best Actress:

Meryl Streep, Julie and Julia
Sandra Bullock, The Blindside
Helen Mirren, The Last Station
Gabourey Sidibe, Precious
Carey Mulligan, An Education

Mirren, Mulligan and Streep? Boring! Mulligan is supposed to be a breakout star in her role but that movie looked like a snooze-fest, and if Meryl Streep released a sex tape she would get a nomination for it, so hers seems rather obligatory. Sidibe was great in Precious and really captured the hopelessness of ghetto-life, but it’s America’s newest sweetheart, Ms. Bullock, who’s going to take this one down. I remember having a conversation back in the early fall that there was a real lack of quality female roles this year, and Bullock had a chance for a nomination. It sounded ridiculous at the time but it started to snowball as that film continued to kill it at the box office, and now a possible nomination has turned into a probable win. And really – it’s not that different from when Julia Roberts won hers. Similiar roles, similar lack of competition – so what’s the big deal? I’ve always liked Sandra Bullock (can never turn off Forces of Nature when it’s on TBS or TNT, which is all the f-ing time) so I’m happy for her. She had a huge year at the box office, and no one else really ran away with it – so give it to her. Everyone else can get over it.

Best Actor

Jeff Bridges, Crazy Heart
George Clooney, Up in the Air
Morgan Freeman, Invictus
Colin Firth, A Single Man
Jeremy Renner, The Hurt Locker

Renner was great in The Hurt Locker, but I don’t think he’s going to pull it out; same with Clooney. Freeman played Mandella in a movie and therefore got a required nomination (see Damon above) even though I’m sure he’s really great in it. I’m just saying you have to really go out of your way to get the role of Mandella and not get an Oscar nomination. You’d have to speak with a French accent and pretend Mandella was a midnight livestock trucker to effectively sabotage yourself. Didn’t see A Single Man, but Firth supposedly comes correct. But all that coming-correctness was all in vain in my opinion because I think Bridges is going home with the hardware. He’s put in his dues as an actor and delivers every time no matter the role. He’s waited patiently and has been rewarded with a part that allowed him to be the centerpiece. The Dude abides.

Best Director/Screenplay/Picture

James Cameron will get the director nod, because Avatar is not going to win best picture. Reitman is going to get a screenplay award because Up in the Air is not going to win best picture. The Hurt Locker will win best picture because I think the Academy is going to reject the Avatar hype and go with a well-received war film. Some will call it an upset, but it really won’t be. Avatar is a cool movie and worth seeing because it is a decent story and represents the next step in film-making technology. The special effects and imagination are dazzling and certianly worthy of praise – it’s just not the best movie of the year. It just isn’t. And even though the Academy makes mistakes sometimes, I don’t think it’s going to do it this time around. I just get the feeling they’re not buying in like everyone else is. Mark it down – The Hurt Locker, champion movie of the world.

Now you have my expert picks and can enter your office Oscar pool with confidence and bravado. Start talking trash now. Tell Ron in accounting his Oscar picks should be written on toilet paper because you’re going to wipe your ass with them. Seriously – do it. Ron has always been kind of a dick…

The Academy Awards are on March 7th, 8:00pm on ABC

-John

While we prepare ourselves for the impending Oscar hype-machine, a hype-machine I happen to be down with by the way, I thought it might be nice to look at some 2010 films that will be enthralling movie-goers in the coming months. I think these movies look pretty awesome, therefore, you should also. I’ll spare you a synopsis of the movie under each trailer clip – as trailers are supposed to give you an overview of the film by design. Who am I to undermine the trailer gods? No one, that’s who. Instead I’ll add hilarious quips about why I’m interested in them. You guys are smart, you’ll figure out what they’re about. Seriously, my quips are going to be soooo hilarious.

Green Zone Universal/Working Title – March 12th

Matt Damon punches people in the face! Greg Kinnear plays a bad guy; possibly gets punched in the face. By Matt Damon. I’m in.

The Runaways Apparition/River Road Entertainment – March 19th

Nothing hilarious here really. I was skeptical at first when I heard the cast list, but everyone really looks the part and all of the stills and media from the film look great. A real surprise and I’m excited to see it.. Plus I heard Matt Damon punches Dakota Fanning in the face at the end. Hilarious!

Kick-Ass Lionsgate/Marv – April 16th

Lots of face-punching, however, these happen to be sans Mr. Damon. I’ve often thought of becoming a superhero and fighting crime outside the boundaries of the law, even though I’m devoid of super powers. Some people would call me a vigilante, but I prefer ” Delusional Man”. My super ability would be to blur the line between fantasy and reality enough to make myself think I could foil criminals. It’s what the world’s been waiting for, and I think watching teenagers take that first step towards an untimely death could fill the void until I’m ready.

-John

The first A-Team trailer is now online over at Yahoo. So Awesome. Did Faceman just blow up an airplane using the machine gun on a tank falling from the sky? You know that he did. Excited to see this one…

-John

This is pretty simple – here are some trailers of movies coming out in the next couple of months that I think are going to be dope. That’s right, dope. So consider yourselves informed.

The Road Dimension 11/25/09

This is the first of two “end of the world, holy-hell the future sure does look bleak and crazy” movies coming out this winter movie season. In The Road, we have Viggo Mortensen wandering around with Charlize Theron trying to survive and not get murdered by the backwoods descendants of the Deliverance cast. He’s going head to head with Denzel to see who can be the baddest man alive in movies where not many men are left alive.

The Book of Eli Warner Brothers 1/15/10

Denzel is living it up post-apocalyptic style himself, only he’s got some kind of book that holds the keys to Man’s salvation. Throw in Mila Kunis and Gary Oldman and you’ve got yourself a nice little cast to head out and save our way of life. Hmmm. Viggo vs Denzel. Charlize vs Mila. Eli seems a bit more Mad Max which may give it the edge. Tough call to make between two films of our impending doom. Guess I’ll have to see both.

Gentlemen Broncos Fox Searchlight 10/30/09

Jared Hess brings you Jemaine Clement as a crazy science-fiction writer who is desperate for an idea. His plan is to steal a contest entry from a writing camp participant and submit it to his publisher. The story becomes a hit and hilarity ensues. That’s about all you need to know. Looks awesome.

New York, I Love You Vivendi Entertainment 10/16/09

Finally, we have New York, I Love You, which is a take-off, or maybe even the second chapter to, Paris Je T’Aime, which, if you haven’t seen, is fantastic. The premise is pretty simple: round up like 10-12 directors and have each one put together a love story set in New York that lasts roughly 10 minutes. The stories vary in terms of how old the characters are, the stage they’ve reached in their relationship, and some stories don’t always end in love. It’s a cool concept that worked beautifully the first time aorund in Paris, so I have every expectation it will work in the Big Apple.

-John

I’m sure you’ve all been super anxious and unable to sleep trying to figure out my top five favorite movies from this past summer. What could they be? When will he tell us? I want to like all of the same things that he likes and I can’t effectively do that until I know what his favorite summer movies are. Wait no longer – top 5 in your face:

#5 – Star Trek

This was a tough one. I couldn’t decide if this should come in at number 4 or number 5. Really, it could go either way, but right this second, and for the purpose of completing this list, it was the fifth best movie I saw this summer. Fifth out of a very strong five mind you. Going in I had only seen the original two films and quite honestly didn’t like either one of them and do not consider myself a Star Trek fan at all. However, the greatest accomplishment this film achieved was appealing to people just like me while holding as true as possible to the original lore – or so I hear. Also, my boy J.J. Abrams was attached and I knew he would deliver the goods. And he did. The script was a polished balance of light-hearted humor and effective action-movie dialogue, with excellent delivery from the actors, who were perfectly cast. Sci-fi dialogue can be difficult to deliver sometimes, especially when talking about fictional creatures and the technical workings of intricate space technology that doesn’t exist, but there were no forced lines and the jokes were well-timed. We got a good look into the back story of Captain Kirk & Co. in a way that didn’t alienate people with no prior knowledge of the Star Trek mythology. The real showpieces of the film, of course, were the action sequences. The special effects were first-rate and didn’t have that “too computerized” look that plagues so many modern films, but they also didn’t dominate the scenes, allowing for the actors’ good-old-fashioned stuntwork to be prominently featured. The scene where an adolescent Kirk steals a car and the one where he runs from some kind of snow monster are particularly good examples of this. The movie hit on all cyliders and is arguably the best action film of the year (I think the only other movie in that discussion is Watchmen). Don’t let the 5th place fool you – it is well worth the rental money.

#4 – The Hurt Locker

Director Kathryn Bigelow continues to prove that a female director is more than capable of directing poignant action movies and war films entrenched in the mannerisms and camaraderie unique to all-male military outifts. A daunting proposition, to be sure, but Bigelow cut her teeth in the action genre years ago directing Point Break (Utah, make it two) and K-19: The Widowmaker. The Hurt Locker focuses on a bomb disposal unit in modern day Iraq and the nerve-racking peril they often encounter when disarming roadside bombs in the midst of hostile Iraqi neighborhoods. The tension is more than palpable in the bomb defusal scenes and it does a remarkable job of detailing all of the unknown variables that can go into disarming even the crudest of make-shift explosives. Those guys truly find themselves in some unbelievably dangerous situations where they have to force themselves to remain calm or risk detonating a bomb that could take out a city block. The main cast is a who’s who of “I totally recognize that guy, but can’t figure out from where”, with Jeremy Renner taking the lead and delivering an Oscar-worthy performance of a bomb defuser who is fearless on the job, but has lost the abililty to function in normal society. Also be on the lookout for some stellar cameos by Guy Pearce, David Morse, Ralph Fiennes and the stunningly attractive Evangeline Lilly. Not necessarily a feel good movie, but a movie of excellent quality nonetheless, and certainly a welcome variation to your standard summer blockbuster release.

#2a – The Hangover

And then there were three. These next three were absolutely my three favorites of the summer, but I really couldn’t decide between my number two and number three selection, so I was forced to make it a tie for second place. A fitting compromise for two excellent movies that were fantsatic for wildly different reasons. The Hangover is awesome, that’s no secret. Just about everyone loved it – not everyone, but just about – and it introduced a large part of the world to Zach Galifianakis and his comedic ability. Like anything great, it’s hard to put your finger on exactly why this movie was so well-received, but more than likely it’s the combination of several factors working together. Perfect marketing – it delivered exactly what it said it would based on the trailers. Perfect casting – no dominant actor needed, so Cooper, Helms and Galifianakis were each able to shine in bursts, and in very different ways (I thought Cooper was hilarious and loved seeing Helms in the “every guy” role). Perfect script – it gave you ridiculous scenarios that seemed mildly plausible, hilarious plot devices (tiger & baby), and quotable dialogue (wolfpack of one); everything you need in a summer comedy. There was also a steady balance of smarter humor and shock value comedy as evidenced when comparing the scenes where Cooper and Helms mock Galifianakis, to the closing credits. Stark contrast, yet both work for the film. It’s a top-notch comedy with a sequel already in the works (hopefully it won’t be called Hangover 2, because that wouldn’t make sense) and ties for second on my summer movie list. If Megan Fox were in it, it could have been 2nd by itself. Maybe. Probably.

#2b – Inglourious Basterds

So here’s the other half of my two-way tie for second – Tarantino’s saga devoted to the punishment of Nazis. Punishment in its most brutal and merciless form. So, going into the movie I had this thought: “Tarantino is directing a film starring Brad Pitt, where he leads a team into Germany with the sole mission of torturing and murdering Nazis? This could be the best movie ever made.” While it wasn’t able to live up to that lofty expectation, I was treated to a parade of everything great about Tarantino films, as well as a brilliant surprise performance from Christopher Waltz (who earned himself a villain role in Green Hornet after this). First of all, I love Tarantino. Because of that – I like all of the nuances of his style. I love his back and forth dialogue, his penchant for the bizarre and his ability to use realistic gore and violence in an unrealistic way. I say that to say that if you feel the opposite, this movie is not for you. It is much more dialogue heavy than expected and some scenes do move very slowly. In fact, I would say while I can appreciate the slow pacing in certain scenarios (David Lynch is a master of the snail-like pace during scenes of tension and urgency) the one down side to the movie was that we didn’t get enough footage of the Basterds doing their thing and wreaking havoc throughout the French countryside. Brad Pitt was great, and his southern flair and backwoods charm came shining through to provide fantastic comic relief and a believable no-nonsense Lieutenant. Some people thought he was over-the-top, but I thought he was perfect and the best part of the movie. The opening scene, with Christopher Waltz expertly showing his snake like charm and venom, is a testament to Tarantino’s brilliance as a writer and a director and sets the tone perfectly for the film. I loved the dialogue, the characters, the humor, the action, the gratuitous violence – the whole 2 1/2 hour package. But as I said earlier – I love Tarantino.

#1 – 500 Days of Summer

So here it is – my favorite movie of the summer. Maybe a surprise to some of you, maybe not. And before we get started, no, I did not pick this solely because Zooey Deschanel is in it. Although, that didn’t hurt. My ranking for this movie is extremely subjective and I realize that without a personal connection one would probably rate it lower than some of the others on the list. However, I had that connection. I related to this movie on many different levels (probably a little too much) and I feel it’s the most accurate relationship movie I’ve ever seen. It beautifully highlights the subtle actions of a relationship that define in which direction it will ultimately go. The shared jokes, the conversations where you should have seen trouble, the struggle between true feelings and convenience and the ability to be led-on by someone (or lead them on) even when you know it will lead to your own unhappiness. It illuminates the highest highs of love – the feeling of unbridled happiness – but doesn’t leave out the often glossed over despair of unrequited love. The script was unexpectedly witty (be alert because many of the jokes are told so off-the-cuff that they’re easy to miss) and Deschanel and Gordon-Levitt were perfectly cast. Who knew the kid from “3rd Rock From the Sun” would turn out to be a good actor, and Deschanel was so convincing as the “indecisive heartbreaker” that I found myself actually disliking her during the movie – something I didn’t think I was capable of doing. The scene where we see Gordon-Levitt’s expectations vs. reality in a split-screen format is perfect. I mean 100% flawless. It was something to which everyone can relate. There was also creativity to spare. Out-of-sequence formatting, sporadic dance numbers, animation and the overall visual style were all utilized effectively, but in a way that directly tied to the storyline and not as ostentatious excess. Anyway, I could go on about this movie all day, but I’m sure you all get the idea. It really stayed with me after I saw it and I still find myself reviewing/analyzing scenes sometimes. It’s the movie I always wanted to write about girls, but never did. It’s not your standard romantic comedy, probably not a romantic comedy at all, and I recommend it highly. It’s rare that a movie lives up to expectations these days, but this one certainly did – and I had the bar set pretty high going in.

There you have it. I hope you enjoyed my run down of my favorite summer movies. I trust you all feel more informed and able to make smart rental decisions in the coming weeks and months. I don’t charge a fee for my services, but will accept lavish praise in the comments section. And cash. I always accept cash. And Megan Fox.

-John

This summer, some movies came out. Additionally, and not unrelatedly, (that can’t be a word) I went to some movies this summer. It’s true, ask around. In fact, I saw nine movies this summer – summer being defined as the weekend Star Trek came out until Labor Day – and seven of them were really good. So, now I’m going tell you what I thought about those nine movies, and rank them, so that if you didn’t see them you’ll be educated when deciding on what movies to throw in your respective Netflix/Blockbuster queue. It’s my present to you all.

#9 GI Joe: The Rise of Cobra

Contrary to popular belief, this movie doesn’t really pit GI Joe vs. COBRA. Actually, our favorite, top secret, nickname only, elite fighting squad battles Destro and his army of mindless soldiers. The story revolves around nano-technology and the premise that, apparently, there is no limit to its power. In fact, a creepy scientist with a warped face (never a desirable adjective when describing one’s face) used nanotechnology to make Destro’s soldiers mindless! OMG! I suspect real nanotechnology may have a power limit, but not in GI Joe world. In the end GI Joe wins, but no one really dies (true to the cartoon), so we get to see ol’ warped face transform into Cobra Commander and head off into the distance. Overall, the movie was just ok. It had a lot of action, but the effects were a little too computer-enhanced and made some scenes look kind of lame. The dialogue was pretty bad, and even though that was to be expected – it was still really bad. Jokes fell awkwardly flat and the actors’ deliveries ranged from poor to very poor. Especially Channing Tatum. On top of being a great dancer, I’ve heard he’s actually a really funny guy, so maybe a different style of comedic material would have been appropriate for him – like if he “stepped it up” and breakdanced on Cobra Commanders warped-ass face. That would have been sweet. Other pluses: Sienna Miller & Rachel Nichols (pictured above) were both hot, there was a sweet scene between Snake Eyes and Storm Shadow from when they were kids, and a really well put together military flashback during what looked like Desert Storm. Also, there was a Boom Boom Pow remix over the credits. I love that song. The movie wasn’t great, but it wasn’t terrible. I would say it was offically “just ok”, and rank it 9th out of my 9 summer movies.

#8 Transformers 2: Revenge of The Fallen

Critics destroyed this movie after it came out. They said it was a travesty. A disgrace. The worst movie ever made. I’m not really sure what these people were expecting. There were some good robots and some bad robots and then they fought each other periodically. During the periods of non-fighting, the robots were all looking for some ancient space artifact, Megan Fox was face-warpingly hot (that may be my new phrase), Shia LaBeouf was 50/50 with his jokes, and a lot of stuff exploded. Pretty much a replica of the first movie. Not astounding, but entertaining. Other good aspects: The Constructacons, the Deceptacon posing as a blazing hot college girl, and Megan Fox. Things that were not good: the extremely lame dream sequence where Shia meets Optimus Prime’s ancestors – it was terrible, the two mildly racist autobots who were supposed to be from the hood or something and the scene where LaBeouf’s parents got high. Overall – definitely worth watching, not nearly as bad as people said, but due to the fact that I ended up seeing a bunch of good movies this summer, it only ranks 8th out of 9. Megan Fox.

#7 The Cove

So here’s where they start getting good. It was pretty tough to rank the following seven, because I enjoyed them all a lot. Yet, I did it anyway. Coming in at number seven is The Cove. A movie that dolphin lovers really want to see and then probably wish they hadn’t. Because of all the dolphin killing. They go in to the theater to support dolphins and then get an eyeful of murderous Japanese fisherman hacking away. The movie follows Richard O’ Barry of Flipper fame as he engages in environmental activism, trying to undo the harm he did to dolphins during his ten years on the show. He feels responsible for popularizing trained dolphins due to the success of the show in the 1960s. He travels the world, often being banned in certain towns for trying to deter fisherman and whalers, raising awareness (I hate that phrase – not even sure what it really means) on the cruelty of confining dolphins withiin water parks. Due to his infamous presence, he joins up with some filmmakers to form a crack squadron capable of shedding light on the atrocities being committed against dolphins. Cool things in the movie: pretty sweet covert action, trying to get audio/video footage of the actual cove area where most of the butchering takes place; sweet footage of dolphins underwater; and some good comedy at the expense of less wealthy island nations. Not so great parts: some themes were a little repetitive and preachy, and there wasn’t as much covert, night-vision footage as I would have liked. I like me some covert night-vision footage. A very solid documentary and well worth watching.

#6 District 9

This ranking is a testament to the overall strength of the movies I saw this summer, not a poor reflection of this particular film. District 9 is a very well written, engaging movie with some of the more imaginative action sequences I’ve seen in a long time. The basic premise is that aliens visit Earth, their ship breaks down, and then humans forbid them from leaving and make them live in slums until their weapons technology can be comprehended. The aliens are of a different biological composition than we’re used to seeing in the movie-world (they look like giant roaches that walk on two legs) and are a rare combination of superiority and inferiority that presents a very compelling dichotomy. The aliens are far more advanced with regard to technology and possess superior strength, yet are easily held captive on Earth by humans who don’t seem to fear them. The social commentary is layered throughout with thinly veiled references to Apartheid and general human rights, and Sharlto Copley is outstanding as our favorite alien social worker – watch for him to have a breakout year. It’s a fast-paced, unique film that may have ranked higher on this list if I hadn’t been so unbelievably tired while watching it. Highly recommend it.

Thus concludes Part 1 of my summer movie recap. I hope it was as poignant and soul-stirring as I had intended. My guess is that it was more soul-stirring but I can’t be sure until the polling is finished. Tune in soon for the thrilling conclusion to “Summer Movies Become Fall Rentals”…

-JS