In Theaters: Trouble with the Curve ***

Let me make one thing clear up front: I'm a pretty big Clint Eastwood apologist.  I've got a Clint Eastwood coffee-table book sitting in my living room that I look through at least once a month.  For a while, I actually had my wife considering Eastwood as a middle name for our child (don't tell me that wouldn't be awesome, because it would).

So, I have a tendency to over-like many of his movies, ignoring flaws and providing rationalizations along the way.  I do this with regard to both his acting and his directing.  That being the case, I really can't be trusted to provide an objective assessment of Clint's work (yes, I call him by his first name).

But, even so, I didn't really love Trouble with the Curve, but I liked it. Truth be told, there's not much wrong with this movie.  It's not going to win any awards, but it's a pleasant enough way to spend two hours.

In Theaters: Looper ****

Okay, let's say you've watched the trailers and commercials for Looper.  So, you're aware that it's a shoot-em-up actioner with an odd but interesting sci-fi premise.  You know that it involves a group of hit-men assigned to kill targets transported back in time from a future wherein time travel has been invented.  And, you know that the protagonist is assigned to kill his future self.

Sorry, you don't know anything about this movie.  Not of the most interesting parts anyway.

There is a rich, detailed world created for this movie that's only hinted at in the trailers.  There are twists and wrinkles to the story that aren't even alluded to in the commercials.  Even if the movie wasn't very good -- and it is, believe me -- the studio could claim credit for outstanding marketing that managed to pull viewers in without giving everything away.

It's a triumph all-around.

Catching Up: Bernie ****

Bernie opens with an extended driving sequence with the titular character, played by Jack Black, singing at the top of his lungs as the radio plays the Christian ballad "Love Lifted Me."  It as at that point that you know you're about to see something heretofore unseen from Black's performance, and, as the movie goes along, he never let's up.

Seriously, if this movie had been released and marketed differently, Jack Black would be receiving serious awards consideration right about now.  Yes, you read that correctly.

Adventures in Netflix: Kick Ass **

I know that I'm supposed to like this movie.  I'm something of a comic book movie apologist.  For crying out loud, I've even defended The Green Lantern in more than one semi-heated debate.

When this movie came out in 2010, I saw the trailers and thought it looked pretty good.  I definitely wanted to see it, but, truth be told, a super-violent super hero movie can be a tough sell with the wife.  That being the case, I just barely got around to seeing Kick Ass today, fully expecting to enjoy it.

But, I didn't.

It might have been the fact that it was poorly made, rife with tone and pacing inconsistencies.  But, let's be honest, I've overlooked that before.  No, the biggest reason I didn't like Kick Ass was that it was morally repugnant.

My Secret Shames: Reservoir Dogs

I'll admit it, this is a strange movie for me not to have seen.  I'd long known that it was one of the most influential films of the 1990s.  It's been called the greatest independent film ever made and, of course, it was the movie that introduced the world to Quentin Tarantino.

But, it came out in 1992 when I was just 14 years old.  And, unless you were really plugged into industry buzz, you didn't really know that this movie existed until you saw Pulp Fiction, Tarantino's follow-up.  I didn't see that movie until 2000 or so, which meant that I basically missed the bus on seeing Reservoir Dogs in anything resembling a timely fashion.

So, in short, I never saw Reservoir Dogs because I was ignorant and never got around to it.  Sue me.

My Secret Shames: Vertigo

So, yes, up until a couple weeks ago, I had never seen Vertigo, Alfred Hitchcock's most acclaimed piece of work.  I don't have a good excuse, I just never got around to it.  Truth be told, I never had a nagging desire to see it.

That all changed a few weeks back when Sight and Sound magazine released their latest poll, which ranked Vertigo number one.  For those that don't know, Sight and Sound conducts a poll of film critics every ten years to rank the greatest movies of all time.  In the last five polls -- that is since 1952 -- the top spot had been taken by Citizen Kane.  However, this year, Kane was overtaken by Hitchcock.

Needless to say, this had me intrigued.  I immediately decided to make this movie the subject of my inaugural "My Secret Shames" post on this blog.  I know what you're thinking...that's an incredible honor.

In Theaters: Safety Not Guaranteed ***

As I sit down to write this review, I'm stumped.  Perhaps its the shoulder surgery I had a few days after seeing this movie that has, at once, blocked my memory of it and rendered me too mushy in the head to write a cognizable review.  But, alas, today is the first day since my surgery I've been able to sit and comfortably type at a computer, so damned if I'm going to waste it.