Man of Steel

Tali: Man of Steel is the latest movie about Superman. In this particular reboot of the familiar hero, we focus on his birth out in space, his upbringing on Earth, and his great power and destiny. I heard some lots of comic enthusiasts that they were disappointed with this movie, that what they saw was a "watered down" version of the mythology of Superman. For me (never much of a comic reader), I found this tale to be incredibly balanced between the realistic and the fantastical. There was just enough alien business going on (thanks to an amazing Michael Shannon) and enough relatable complexities that the whole thing was very very great and entertaining. If anything, Man of Steel introduced to us to one of the most gorgeous men in cinema right now.79/100.

Leo: I don't like to admit it, but I let the reviews influence my expectations of the movie. It's a good thing, then, that my expectations were greatly exceeded. There were lots of parts of the movie that I loved, and nothing that I didn't. First of all, the concept of not having kryptonite was very refreshing. I'm not at all dissing the classic storyline, but this seemed more.....real and actually kind of made sense. Jor-El, played by Russel Crowe, gave the movie an incredibly strong start and was great in his supporting role throughout the movie. I have a theory that a superhero movie can only be as good as its villain, and in this case Michael Shannon played a very believable and well-developed General Zod. I know everyone is drooling over how attractive Henry Cavil is, but Amy Adams can't be overlooked, and not just from the stand point that she is very pretty. She is one of the most dynamic actresses as she plays her roles incredibly convincingly and very well - she shrugged off the Louis' classic "damsel in distress" character and (with the help of Snyder and the team) created a much more powerful and interesting character. Ok, it was no Dark Knight or Avengers but it was definitely on the higher end of the spectrum. Leometer: 78/100.

Blue Jasmine

Tali: Blue Jasmine is Woody Allen's latest dramedy. It tells the story of Jasmine (Cate Blanchett), who after a messy series of events, goes to live with her sister Ginger in San Fransisco, and tries to piece her life back together. Like all of Allen's films, the dialogue is incredibly rich and exciting and deeply personal. Everything is perfectly in its place and excruciatingly calculated. No matter what, I always find some part of myself, no matter how big or how small, relating to at least one of the characters in Allen's films. Blanchett is brilliant in the title role, giving Jasmine humanity even when you find you may hate her phoney and uppity attitude. It was good to see Bobby Carnavale unleashing some of his Boardwalk Empire attitude in this movie (and his soft side, too), as well as the return of hunk Peter Saarsgard. NEW: Tali-meter - 89/100.

Leo: Cate Blachett is an absolute genius. After watching this movie I can't believe that all I really cared about of her previous movies was Lord of the Rings. She stole the show and really got every detail and emotion from every scenario perfect, even though she was dealing with a somewhat complex character. The dialogue with the supporting cast was also very well-done. This movie essentially just screams "well-done". My one problem with the movie was certain plot points. Lots of events that simply had to happen for the sake of advancing the story felt very forced. If you don't want to read a spoiler, don't read on. Specifically the part where Oggy just so happened to randomly walk by the exact store that Jasmine and Dwight were window shopping at (if you're picking out a ring, you're probably going to look inside the store????) - yes, the EXACT store out of hundreds, on that street corner, at that EXACT time, in a humungous city where they clearly live in different parts of town.....I think you get the point. That didn't take away too much from the movie considering the performances.New: Leometer - 85/100.

Once Upon a Time in Mexico

Tali: Once Upon a Time in Mexico is the third and final film of the El Mariachi films, and perhaps the most complex and interesting. In essence, the film is about El Mariachi (Antonio Banderas) getting recruited by Sheldon Sands (Johnny Depp) to do a special hit on this guy who killed his wife (Selma Hayek). Greatly inspired by the style of his friend Quentin Tarintino (perhaps you've heard of him?), the film's plot doesn't stay as concrete as you may think it does. The twists and turns keep this movie interesting where you think it may fall flat, and gives you more to think about and to digest from a typical drug/crime movie. Although I have previously enjoyed Willem Dafoe's performances, I don't know if he played a very convincing Mexican drug lord (perhaps he and Mickey Rourke should have switched parts).

Leo: It may be disturbing to some people that I consider this movie a 'childhood favourite', but I do. This movie was shown to me at a fairly young age by my famous Baba Jean. I instantly fell in love with the Rodriguez/Taratino genre (though they aren't the exact same...) and became incredibly willing to re-watch this movie at any time. The delivery of the lines, maybe I just get this from having seen it so many times, is my favourite part even when considering the action scenes and complexity of the plot. I don't know why I find it so clever when Johnny Depp says "fuck you", but it just makes me laugh and agree. The subtleties are, in my opinion, most enjoyable when surrounded by an incredibly unsubtle background that Rodriguez is famous for. I would recommend the El Mariachi movies to anyone who has the stomach for them.

The World's End

Tali: The World's End is a sci-fi comedy from the guys who brought you Shaun of the Dead and Hot Fuzz. It follows Gary King, an alcoholic low-life who tries to assemble his college buddies to compete a legendary pub crawl challenge. Though this is a British production, the comedy definitely crossed the pond and was outrageous for the entire movie. Like This Is the End, this movie plays upon the off-camera friendship of the actors involved and give them some opportunities to really just write for themselves. The plot twist and the out-of-left-field ending are completely absurd, but they work. This was one of the best movies this summer.. though I have to admit that I didn't like it as much as Leo did.

Leo: Yea, I sort of feel like this movie was written for people like me. They took the concept of "friends uniting for apocalypse comedy" (Shaun of the Dead-like concept) and made it more.....them. The one-liners, physical comedy, and just plain ridiculousness of the drunk bickering made me constantly laugh to the point where I was concerned I was going to pull something. If you're looking for a funny-o-meter, I would rank this movie slightly funnier than This is the End. It was absurd.

Tali's Top 10 - Summer 2013

While Leo was away at camp this summer I watched 11 movies; now I have ranked them here for you!

1. Behind the Candelabra
2. Reality Bites
3. The Bling Ring
4. The Master
5. Ghost World
6. This is 40
7. We're the Millers
8. To Rome With Love
9. Sylvia
10. Friends with Kids
11. Somewhere

Bonus: The top three (and only three) television series I watched this summer:

1. Parks and Recreation
2. Orange is the New Black
3. Top of the Lake