The Post

So this is what you get when an "eat your vegetables" story meets the most entertainment and emotion oriented of all movie directors. Everything in this story about the publication of the Pentagon Papers is Important with a capital 'I'--freedom of the press, checks and balances, lives on the line, etc.--but it never quite feels that way as these proceedings proceed. The storytelling is a little too paint-by-numbers; you can almost see the "CIVICS LESSON" stamp on the script pages, where certain lines are delivered less as acting and too much like an essay reading. And the efforts to build drama fail; true, we all already know (or, accounting for ignorance, should already know) the outcome of these events, but that's rarely a hurdle in the hands of a skillful storyteller. (Think Apollo 13; we knew going in they survived, but it was still a dramatic ride nevertheless.) Spielberg is not a poor storyteller, but something in the execution here is amiss, and it can't be laid upon the actors, who all acquit themselves well. Just as a salad is hardly exciting, but something you need to eat once in a while, this film is worth seeing, if only for the refresher in history--but it's not a particularly inspired piece of movie-making.

Star Trek (2009

The J.J. Abrams remake. Better than I expected. Lots of nods to the stories so well known to everyone who watched the original series (mostly in reruns) all those years ago, and that vouches for the filmmakers’ sincerity in rebooting this franchise. And the cleverness of the plot, in the service of bringing new ideas to this and future efforts, promises something more than just another set of rehashes when the inevitable line of sequels comes knocking on our cineplex doors. All in all, a promising (re)start.

Dinner for Schmucks

Yet another of those comedies that just keeps hurling joke after joke at you, hoping enough of them hit the funny bone to make the whole experience worthwhile. By my count there are enough belly laughs in this flick to make the cut, though it must get downgraded slightly for descending into schmaltz towards the end. If it had stayed true to its nasty self to the bitter end, this would have been a better movie.

Thirteen Days

Not great, not bad. The historical accuracy is questionable, but some interesting points about power and moral authority are raised, ideas that continue to have practical relevance.

Double Jeopardy

Much comment has been made about the absurdity of the premise (that Ashley Judd's character could kill her supposedly dead, cheating husband and get away with it). That's not a killer for me--you folks ever heard of suspension of disbelief?--but besides Tommy Lee Jones getting his kicks, there's not much here.