Two new movies come to the Anacortes Cinemas this weekend, including well-rated (500) Days of Summer and the not-so-well-rated Time Traveler's Wife. That's Joseph Gordon-Levitt and Zooey Deschanel, above, in (500) Days of Summer.
(500) Days of Summer
Starring Zooey Deschanel, Joseph Gordon-Levitt, Clark Gregg, Minka Kelly, Rachel Boston, Matthew Gray Gublert, and Chloe Moretz
In the handful of cities where it was launched last weekend, (500) Days of Summer far outshone the latest Harry Potter movie both in terms of cash receipts (it took in nearly twice as much as Harry on a per-theater basis) and in critical praise. Roger Ebert in the Chicago Sun-Times greeted it with a rare four-star review, writing that it's the rare romantic comedy that does not play by "the Hollywood rules," thereby causing audiences to "perk up" as they realize that "anything could happen." Indeed, A.O. Scott in the New York Times described it as "a fairly pointed response to the sorry state of romantic comedy in Hollywood, which runs the gamut from gauzily implausible fantasy to blatant and fatuous dishonesty, with an occasional detour into raunchy humor." This "winsome, accessible movie," he observed, "has a novelty and a measure of bravery working in its favor." Claudia Puig in USA Today raved: "It's hard to imagine a more delightful, witty, well-acted and inventive comedy hitting screens this year." Joe Neumaier in the New York Daily News described it as "the rare romantic comedy that feels like real life." Runs 95 mins. Rated PG-13 for sexual material and language.
The Time Traveler's Wife
Starring Rachel McAdams, Eric Bana, Arliss Howard, and Ron Livingston
"Preposterous" is the way Roger Ebert describes The Time Traveler's Wife in the Chicago Sun-Times. "If you allow yourself to think for one moment of the paradoxes, contradictions and logical difficulties involved, you will be lost. The movie supports no objective thought." Yet he finds much to like in the performances of Eric Bana as the time traveler and Rachel McAdams as his wife. They "play their roles straight and seriously, have a pleasant chemistry, and sort of involved me in spite of myself." Peter Howell in the Toronto Star remarks that the movie "would amount to little more than a (vanishing) hill of beans were it not for the strong connections between Bana and McAdams, who rise above the shaky material with performances worthy of the Oscar contender this movie aches to be." But Mick LaSalle in the San Francisco Chronicle figures that despite its clumsiness, the movie "does something significant. It takes, as its subjects, the sadness and grandeur of life and the mystery of time, and it offers a full experience to those who find its wavelength." Runs 107 mins. Rated PG-13 for thematic elements, brief disturbing images, nudity and sexuality.
Julie & Julia
Starring Meryl Streep, Amy Adams, Stanley Tucci, Chris Messina, and Linda Emond.
Meryl Streep and Amy Adams are receiving mostly rave notices from critics for their performances in Julie & Julia, even though the script, by Nora Ephron, who also directed, is not to everyone's taste. It switches between the lives of the real-life Julie Powell, determined to prepare every recipe in Julia Child's Mastering the Art of French Cooking in 365 days, and Childs herself. "The performances go a long way toward selling the characters," writes Roger Ebert in the Chicago Sun-Times. "Streep plays Julia Child to perfection," says Claudia Puig in USA Today. "Adams is a consistently engaging actress." Kenneth Turan in the Los Angeles Times has additional praise for Adams. "Though a bit overshadowed by Streep (who isn't?), the gifted Adams is essential in making this two-part story work," he remarks. Of Streep's performance, A.O. Scott remarks in the New York Times: "By now this actress has exhausted every superlative that exists and to suggest that she has outdone herself is only to say that she's done it again." But he says that while Adams "is a lovely and subtle performer ... she is overmatched by her co-star and handicapped by the material." Runs 123 mins. Rated PG-13 for brief strong language and some sensuality.
Shorts
Starring Jon Cryer, William H. Macy, Leslie Mann, James Spader, Jimmy Bennett, Kat Dennings, Trevor Gagnon, and Leo Howard,
Robert Rodriguez's Shorts is not hold much threat to the leading box-office contenders, critics seem to suggest. But they give it better-than-passing marks anyway. "It's slight but enjoyable family fare," Claudia Puig writes in USA Today. In the New York Daily News, Elizabeth Weitzman gives it points for providing "just enough smart, silly fun for families desperately seeking an easy (and air-conditioned) escape from hazy August humidity." Rodriguez casts his own children plus a niece in the movie. Amy Biancolli of the San Francisco Chronicle brought her own child along to the press screening. "My fourth-grader giggled maniacally," she writes. "The 9-year-old in me did, too." Runs 89 mins. Rated PG for mild action and some rude humor.