Inception

Congratulations, Summer. The sputterings of life from Toy Story 3 and Knight and Day were not false prophets. Review to come after second viewing tonight.

Knight and Day

You know, unexpected surprises are aplenty in this world we drift through. When the normal pre-Summer fodder has all burned through (I usually choose to save my money during the January-May months as they almost never have anything extraordinary to offer) and the Summer blockbusters sit poised for their release, what else is there to justify a jaunt out to the cinema?

Knight and Day, a new release by 20th Century Fox starring Tom Cruise and Cameron Diaz offered me no intrigue during its two week ad campaign. "Oh look," thought I, "another movie with Tom Cruise as a flawless, impossibly skilled action hero saving a damsel in distress who doesn't know about these fancy man-gun things".

The unexpected surprise was exactly how much fun I had while watching the movie. Knight and Day is ridiculous, to be sure, but it knows that it is implausible, and even cartoonish in its portrait of espionage and action fanfare. If it were an animated film, almost nothing would need to be changed, as it would fit well in the category of farcical fun.

Tom Cruise is actually very delightful as (yet again) a ridiculously debonair governmental agent gone rogue to save the life of a young high school inventor who has discovered an alternative energy source. Cameron Diaz floats through the film as a woman who bumped into Tom Cruise at the airport and manages to cling to him throughout the entirety of the movie. Diaz offers nothing unique or special to the role, but there is no doubt that she adds to the film's fun.

Although most (including myself) consider the opening of Toy Story 3 to be the official start to the Summer Blockbuster season, I would love to have Knight and Day as a small side salad after the appetizer.

B+

It's Complicated

I must say that I was surprised by this sudden sneak attack of an adult comedy. It had little to no buzz leading to its release, and I must say that I have seen no commercials or adverts for it anywhere. I also must admit that on walking into it, I had no idea what it was about except that it starred Meryl Streep and Alec Baldwin. Meryl's involvement was enough to sell me to the idea, but I just had no idea that the film would just be so damned funny.

In terms of plot, I hate to offer a simple pun of an answer. It's complicated.

In short, it follows Jane (Meryl Streep) as she copes with her divorce from Jake (Alec Baldwin). She meets another man, Adam (Steve Martin) and the delightful problems and honestly unforsee-able mix-ups begin to occur. I'm sure you can see now how this may appear formulaic, but I promise you that it is anything but.

The delightful thing about "It's Complicated" is that I honestly could not see what was going to happen next. It was a very innovative story, with an incredibly funny script. There were lines, and entire sequences that kept me in riotous laughter, and the joke never becomes stale. The main problem was ironically, its all-star cast.

They offer splendid performances to be sure, and Meryl does absolutely stunning work, but Alec Baldwin and John Krasinski in particular fall into the trap of playing the same exact people that we see every week on "30 Rock" and "The Office" respectively. Baldwin pops in with his "O-M-G" trademark, and Krasinski gives his type-cast eyebrow crinkle. It makes for good cheap laughter, but it brought me out of the movie and honestly just distracted.

Speaking of distractions, being someone who walked in fresh and trailer-less, I found myself confused at first about relationships and who was related to whom. Of course, about halfway through the movie, I found my bearings and was able to enjoy it again, but perhaps a few cut scenes or an unedited script could bear the responsibility of being the culprit.

These are all of course just nitpicks in the road of what is otherwise a hilarious film. I was expecting typical Hollywood rom-com fodder and instead found a thoughtful, hilarious and frankly eye-opening gem of a film.

B+