Date: September 15
Location: AMC Sunset Place

We saw a sneak preview of this Peter Berg political thriller a couple weeks before its official release, and I’m predicting this thing will be huge. It’s smart, funny, exciting and thought-provoking. With this film and Friday Night Lights, Berg has established a style I’m liking a lot — gritty realism rooted in a strong sense of place combined with a sure-handed Hollywood sheen. He delivers that “this is why I go to the movies” feeling even if you leave the theater in tears. This film is very well cast — the mix of procedural, culture clash and action movie doesn’t leave a lot of time for character development, but these actors are instantly likable. The strongest impression is left by Jamie Foxx’s Saudi counterpart, and the treatment of the Saudis in general is impressive. Look for a powerful cameo by a barely recognizable Tim McGraw, who definitely appears to have a future in film.

Date: September 1
Location: AMC Sunset Place

We had a free ticket thanks to Moviewatcher points and nothing new was worth seeing (King of Kong is playing only at Las Olas), so we gave this comic fairy tale a try. It’s a very sweet film — I get the Princess Bride comparisons, though of course it’s not in the same ballpark (or, to quote Pulp Fiction‘s Jules, not even the same bleepin’ sport). Some big laughs, a sweet love story, good villains… all in all, a fun night at the movies. One big misstep, though: Robert DeNiro’s pirate as a cross-dressing fop? I liked the sensitive soul masking as a tough guy, but they took it to cartoonish (and frankly, offensive) places.

Date: August 18
Location: AMC Sunset Place

This is a tough one for me to review and rank. I came out mildly disappointed based on the absolute raves I’d been reading, but at the same time I really loved many parts of the film and I laughed my ass off throughout. Michael Cera is absolute gold, and I’m planning to dive into the Arrested Development DVDs ASAP just to enjoy more of his brilliant comic timing. Jonah Hill plays the more obnoxious character, but he has moments of weakness that resonate. The subplot with McLovin and the crazed cops distracts from what is so hilarious and real between the main characters, but it works most of the time as pure comedy. Overall, I think the film suffers in comparison to Knocked Up, which was consistently funnier and didn’t have some of the over-the-top elements that feel forced here. And it is not in the same realm as Dazed and Confused, a true classic that is only now gaining the reputation it deserves. I’ve seen Superbad compared to Dazed, as well as Fast Times at Ridgemont High and the best of John Hughes. I think that last comparison is the most apt — Superbad reminds me of a blend of Ferris Bueller’s Day Off and Sixteen Candles. And that’s nothing to sneeze at. There’s an underlying sweet sadness in this film (not to mention a fair bit of homoeroticism) in how it deals with the special friendships between young men, especially young men who are high school outsiders. That’s where it succeeds the most, and it’s that theme as well as some great belly-laughs, that push it up my list despite the dampening effect of too-high expectations.

Date: August 8
Location: Muvico Boynton Beach

I told Sophia we’d see a movie because we’re both home during the day the next couple weeks. She chose this one (I was pulling for a Ratatouille repeat). The 12% Tomato ranking was not encouraging, but it was just fine. Jason Lee was charming as the eponymous canine and Peter Dinklage was great as the mad scientist. I wish he’d get more work, and in height-agnostic roles like this one. The best news… Sophia and I plan to see Ratatouille next week.

Date: August 3
Location: Boynton Muvico Premiere

Salty watched the kids and we paid $2 extra per ticket to watch Jason Bourne in the “Premiere” theater, meaning we got free popcorn, a 21-and-over crowd and assigned seats. I can’t stress enough the beauty of the assigned seats, exactly where we wanted them in a brand-new, huge theater. We walked in 10 minutes before the movie with no worries. This is the way to go. And the movie was awesome. I’m so glad we watched the first two Bourne films this week in preparation for the third, because there are a lot of tie-ins here that would have been harder to catch. In particular, there’s a chronological overlap that’s just brilliantly conceived and executed. I hope this is the last film in the series — in its own way, this is as finely realized a trilogy as the Lord of the Rings or Star Wars films, and miles better than the Matrix and Pirates series. A minor quibble… the handheld cam is occasionally too much, as it is in Greengrass’ other films. But overall his direction is a huge asset, lending an immediacy and intense realism that sets these films apart from other action hero fare.