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The American
Grade: B-
Director:
Actors: George Clooney, Paolo Bonacelli, Violante Placido
Rated: R

“The American” is a quiet thriller based on the Martin Booth novel, and stars George Clooney as Jack, a lonely assassin. After being hunted down by Swedish killers, he races to Italy to hide out while he’s working on one last job. As a man who is always looking over his shoulder, it’s difficult him to make friends but he does with a priest and a prostitute. But Jack’s life as a killer is never far away. This is a stark, minimalist film that also has incredible cinematography. There are times when the pacing is so slow I wanted to scream, but then something would happen that would make that torture worthwhile. It reminded of those late sixties or early seventies Italian films. The long draw-out drives through the country-side and the painstaking care in creating an assassins weapon, broken up by small pieces of action. If you are a film junkie and live for this sort of thing, you’re going to enjoy it. The pace may be too slow for general  audiences.

Going the Distance
Grade: B
Director: Nanette Burstein
Actors: Drew Barrymore, Justin Long, Jason Sudeikis, Christina Applegate
Rated: R

Erin (Drew Barrymore) and Garrett (Justin Long) meet the night he breaks up with his long-time girlfriend. They strike up a friendship that turns into a summer fling. But when the summer is over they realize their fling might be something more. Unfortunately, they live on opposite coasts so having a relationship is going to be challenging. This is a cute romantic comedy that my friend Gwen calls “The Hangover” for women. That’s because there’s a lot of rude language and some very dirty jokes. Barrymoore and Long have great chemistry and the secondary characters, played by Jason Sudeikis and Christina Applegate, provide some great laughs.

***Review Archive***

The Switch
Grade: C
Director: Josh Gordon, Will Speck
Actors: Jennifer Aniston, Jason Bateman, Patrick Wilson
Rating: PG-13

Wally Mars (Jason Bateman) has a secret that he’s been keeping for seven years. That’s when his best friend Kassie Larson (Jennifer Aniston) had her artificial insemination, and what Kassie doesn’t know is Wally switched the donor’s goods with his own. Wall knows he needs to fess up, but it isn’t easy. This is a cute comedy with Bateman stealing every scene he’s in. He and Aniston don’t have the best onscreen chemistry but they are charming together. This is rated PG-13, but parents be warned there might be some jokes/scenes that will embarrass you and your children.

Nanny McPhee Returns
Grade: B-
Director: Susanna White
Actors: Emma Thompson, Maggie Gyllenhaal, Rhys Ifans
Rating: PG

Nanny McPhee (Emma Thompson) is back on the case when she decides she must help a young woman who is trying to run a farm and take care of her children, while her husband is away at war. The children aren’t the best behaved, that is until Nanny comes on the scene. Written by Thompson, who also stars as the titled character, this a fun second romp with the stern but brilliant Nanny McPhee. In fact, I liked this one better than the first. I found it funnier.

***

The Expendables
Grade: C+
Director: Sylvester Stallone
Actors: Sylvester Stallone, Mickey Rourke, Jet Li Jason Statham
Rated: R

A team of mercenaries is on a mission in South America to overthrow a dictator, but it isn’t long before they discover everything is not as it seems. There’s a great deal of backstabbing and deceit, but the do agree on one thing – saving an innocent life is important. This one is pretty much like you would expect – lots of action adventure and violence. The best part is it looks like these guys were having fun hanging out together. It’s campy at times and there’s a lot of testosterone, but who would expect anything less? Don’t go in with a lot of expectations and you’re going to have some fun.

Scott Pilgrim vs. The World
Grade: B
Director: Edgar Wright
Actors: Michael Cera, Mary Elizabeth Winstead, Chris Evans
Rated: PG-13

Scott Pilgrim (Michael Cera) is a bass guitarist for a garage band. He doesn’t have a job, but when he meets the girl (Mary Elizabeth Winstead) of his dreams life seems to be on an upswing. That is until he discovers that in order to win Ramona (Winstead), he has to best her seven evil exes, all of whom are intent on killing him. This movie is tailor made for that bit of geek in all of us. Visually it looks like the inside of some 80s video game. It’s a wild, funny ride and you’ll be sad when it’s over.

Eat, Pray Love
Grade: B-
Director: Ryan Murphy
Actors: Julia Roberts James Franco, Javier Bardem
Rated: PG-13

Elizabeth Gilbert (Julia Roberts) is a writer who suddenly finds herself unhappy with her life. She embarks on a journey of self-discovery that takes her around the world, and while it isn’t always the easiest journey, she does learn a great deal about what makes her happy.  I straight up loved the book “Eat, Pray, Love,” and while the film version isn’t perfect, it was satisfying enough. Roberts is as engaging as ever, and her chemistry with Javier Bardem was nothing short of amazing.

***

Salt
Grade: B-
Director: Phillip Noyce
Actors: Angelina Jolie, Live Schreiber, Chiwetel Ejiofor, Andre Braugher
Rated: PG-13

CIA Officer Evelyn Salt (Angelina Jolie) finds her loyalty questioned when a Russian defector names her as a double agent. Salt goes on the run and is determined to clear her name and to find out what is really going on. I like Jolie best when she’s doing these high-action roles and she doesn’t disappoint with “Salt.” There are some truly amazing stunts in the film. There are also many twists and turns in this spy thriller, and the end result is quite surprising.

Ramona and Beezus
Grade: B-
Director: Elizabeth Allen
Actors: John Corbett, Sandra Oh, Bridget Moynahan
Rated: G

This film is based on the best-selling books by Beverly Cleary, which are about Ramona Quimby’s (Joey King) vivid imagination and the trouble it sometimes get her into. While she’s usually trying to do good things for people, somehow her efforts turn into wild disasters. Other times she’s able to create small miracles. Her big sister Beezus (Selena Gomez) is often reluctantly roped into her sister’s plan. It’s been a long time since I’ve read the books, but this film stays true to the idea of Ramon. King is absolutely charming and perfect for the role. It’s good fun for the whole family.

***

The Sorcerer’s Apprentice
Grade: B-
Director: Jon Turteltaub
Actors: Nicolas Cage, Jay Baruchel, Alfred Molina
Rated: PG

Master sorcerer Balthazar Blake (Nicolas Cage) is trying to protect modern day Manhattan from a big-time bad guy Maxim Horvath (Alfred Molina). Unfortunately, he needs help and that’s when he recruits Dave Sutier (Jay Baruchel) who becomes his reluctant protégé. There’s more to Dave than meets the eye, but Balthazar is the only one who seems to notice.  You can tell Molina and Cage are having great fun. I wish I could say the same for Baruchel. His performance is a little flat. This is a fun fantasy adventure for the whole family.

Inception
Grade: B+
Director: Christopher Nolan
Actors: Leonardo DiCaprio, Ken Watanabe, Joseph Gordon-Levitt, Marion Cotillard
Rated: PG-13

This is one of those movies that is difficult to explain. I can tell you Christopher Nolan (“Memento,” “The Dark Knight”) is one wickedly fantastic filmmaker. In this one he uses dreams to tell the story of Dom Cobb (Leonardo DiCaprio), who steals information from peoples’ dreams. He can also plant ideas in their heads. The dreams within dreams can be confusing at times, but the special effects are nothing short of spectacular. And during the final images of the film, the entire audience gasped at the screening I was at. I’m still thinking about it, which is always a good sign.

***

Eclipse
Grade: B-
Director: David Slade
Actors: Robert Pattinson, Kristen Stewart, Taylor Lautner, Dakota Fanning
Rated: PG-13