Star Trek is just a whole lot of fun. Director J.J. Abrams ("Mission Impossible III") takes us back to when the original crew were just cadets at Starfleet Academy. The story messes with the whole series' timeline, setting the stage for a whole other round of sequels. So there's that. But the effects are really good. The audience I was it with clapped and cheered. Fun, fun. And worth seeing on the big screen.
I'm still not really sure what to think about Catch and Release. It's not really a romantic comedy, though there are bits of that. It's not really a tragedy, though elements of that are present, too. And it's not really great, but it has some good moments. Jennifer Garner ("Ghost of Girlfriends Past") stars as a woman whose fiancee dies and then she discovers that he had a child he never told her about. I guess it's just an interesting character study. I did think about it for several days, which is always a plus.
In Cold Blood is the film version of Truman Capote's nonfiction novel of the same name. It runs very much like the book, with the build-up before the crime, the investigation and trials afterward. The film is dry, but still compelling. If you enjoy Court TV, this should be right up your alley.
For the first fifteen minutes or so of the new Friday the 13th, I was totally pumped. It was goofy, dirty and bloody - all elements of a great slasher. Then it tried to have a story, and I just got bored. I'm not saying that slashers can't have stories. I'm just saying this was a bad one. It felt like just another tired sequel in this already overstretched franchise. Disappointing.
Every time Darren Aronofsky ("The Fountain") makes a movie, I'm reassured that he's a genius. The Wrestler is no exception. Mickey Rourke ("Domino") is amazing in the title character, an aging professional wrestler who just doesn't know how to do anything else. The whole thing is heartbreaking. And wonderful.