Friday, July 31st

(500) Days of Summer - 3 1/2 stars

This is one of the best movies of the year so far. I am so sick of predictable Hollywood romantic comedies (chick flicks). This is a movie about a romance, but it's nothing like those other movies.

From the beginning we know that the relationship is not going to work out. The fun of the movie is seeing how their relationship develops and how it deteriorates. The story is told out of sequence which is how we remember things anyway. Think about it. You don't remember a relationship chronologically, you remember bits and pieces of it.

The movie bounces back from day 1 (they meet) to day 450 (they break up). Day 30 (the morning after they first have sex) to day 451 (the day after they break up). I may be a little off on the days, but you get the drift.

The performances are great. Zooey Deschanel is perfect in the role, and Joseph Gordon-Leavitt just gets better with each movie (I'm not going to think about G.I. Joe right now ...). Everyone who enjoyed The Ugly Truth or The Proposal or 27 Dresses or any of those movies needs to watch this movie and see how a relationship movie doesn't have to suck.

Funny People - 2 1/2 stars

There was a lot to like in this movie. The first act is all about Ira (Seth Rogan), an up and coming comedian, getting the break of his life working for George (Adam Sandler). All the stuff about Ira experiencing showbiz for the first time was great. I also liked the stuff with Ira's roommate. They are all hoping for a life in show biz, and one roommate has a sitcom. He pisses off the other roommates by leaving his huge paychecks all over the apartment.

The problem is the movie is 2 1/2 hours long. It should have been about 45 minutes shorter. Once the movie starts focusing on George's relationship with Leslie Mann's character, it really starts to drag. There is nothing wrong with that storyline, the movie just spends way too much time with it. Judd Apatow also gives his kids too much screen time.

The performances were good. This may be my favorite Adam Sandler performance ever, but that's not saying much. He isn't playing a real human in many of his movies. I also really liked Eric Bana. He was funny as Mann's new husband who seems oblivious to the fact that his wife still has feelings for George.

Not a bad movie, just too long. I would love to see the movie re-edited to about 100 minutes. Then it would be my favorite Adam Sandler movie ever.

Angels in the Attic - not screened for critics.

Herb and Dorothy - didn't see.