Disturbia
Fun movie, with Shia Lebouf (who I'm starting to recognize as an upcoming talent) playing a kid that finds himself under house arrest and starts spying on his neighbors. Yeah, he sees the weirdos across the street, the hot girl next door and the suspicious neighbor who turns out to be a serial killer. Wait, what? It might seem like a simple remake of Rear Window, but there's enough in Disturbia to give it relevance and character of its own. Part reflection on contemporary suburban teenage life, part cat-and-mouse thriller, Disturbia manages to build the tension in just the right way, so as not to become too cliche, and David Morse as the creepy neighbor/killer manages to keep things grounded in reality. Recommended.

Zodiac
This is definitely one of David Fincher's best films, and with such heavy subject matter, a great example of what can happen when you use some restraint and go for simple, efficient filmmaking. Some of Fincher's past films have been a little too showy and not enough substance, but Zodiac is all about the characters and story. Following the police investigation and simultaneous media coverage of the Zodiac murders, the film doesn't stray far from known events and facts. Not to mention a great ensemble cast that sees each actor sink completely into their roles, including Robert Downey Jr., Jake Gylenhaal, Mark Ruffalo, and Anthony Edwards. Building such a tight web of obsession, mystery and intrigue isn't easy, but Zodiac slowly tightens the screws as the investigation and story progresses, yet never goes overboard or glorifies the horror of it all. Keep an eye out for an extra-special DVD in the coming months. Recommended.

The Messengers
Hardly what I'd consider a horror film, and easily a knock-off of The Amityville Horror, there's not much in The Messengers that hasn't already been seen or done in other far better movies. A family moves into what looks like the Munster's house in the middle of nowhere, and with a troubled teenage daughter, they attempt to start life anew by raising crops (because all city folks have that dream) and slowly start to discover that something is very wrong with their new home. I think there's something to do with crows, and a kid that can see ghosts, and a family that was murdered. Who the hell knows. Put it this way, I literally dozed off during what I'm sure was supposed to be one of the more tense moments in the film, so consider yourself warned--bring a pillow. Not recommended.

Premonition
I've always been a fan of Sandra Bullock to a degree, mostly for her seemingly affable personality and sometimes for her quirky choices in roles. I only had the vaguest idea of what Premonition was about, but after having seen The Lake House not so long ago, I wondered how closely this would resemble or remind me of that film with its mix of time-bending plot and romantic tragedy. A wife finds out her husband died in a car accident, then wakes up the next morning to find out he's still alive, then wakes up to find him dead, and starts to piece clues together that she's not going crazy. More like the world's playing a giant prank on her, but not. I gotta say, I was pleasantly surprised at how effective (even if a bit gimmicky) the whole approach was in building towards a startling climax. The only big complaint I had is that said climax relies on a horribly clichéd element that can be found in any low-rent horror flick. It's really hard to ignore, but for what it's worth, I enjoyed the ride. Recommended.

The Host
This was a hard one for me to gather my thoughts about. I honestly can't decide if I liked it or not. At one point early in the film, I said to myself 'this is just BAD." The characters and premise seemed so one-dimensional and uninteresting, but as things progressed, it all started to "click" for me. The realization that it had less to do with the "monster" and more to do with characters and relationships and, to a larger degree, social and political situations, didn't fully hit me until the film was nearly over. A despondent, loser dad witnesses his daughter taken by slimy sea creature and goes on the hunt, learning the meaning of family and unconditional love and all that jazz in the process. I just think that this film must've been a hard sell and so the easiest way to package it was as a "giant monster" movie, akin to Godzilla, when it's not really that at all. That said, I still thought the pacing and tone of the movie was very uneven and didn't really hit a good stride at any point. Not recommended.

Hot Fuzz
Truth be told, I don't remember much about Shaun of the Dead. Riding on the Simon Pegg/Edgar Wright gravy train, Hot Fuzz definitely makes me want to go back and see that film again because I thoroughly enjoyed this new one. They say British humor is a hard nut to crack for American audiences, but I consider myself one of those that "gets it" and that very humor is what made Hot Fuzz so much fun to watch. Part homage, part parody, the film follows big-city cop Nicholas Angel as he is re-assigned to a small village and slowly starts to discover that the locals aren't quite what they seem. Deaths are ruled as "accidents" and when highly visible townspeople start disappearing, Angel takes on the case. Hilarity ensues and bodies start piling up, guns blazing all the while. Hot Fuzz takes action movies and twists and bends the genre (and all its clichés) to its own will, making for a very interesting and amusing couple of hours. Oh, and if you pick up the DVD, I'd also highly suggest you check out the US press tour featurette for even more laughs. Recommended.

Shooter
Ah, the life of a sniper. Apparently, a man that can kill with pinpoint accuracy from hundreds of yards away will always be a man with a moral dilemma, especially when strangers come knocking at his door and ask him to plan a mock-assassination of the president. A decision like that is nothing to take lightly, and for most people, it'd probably be something they could never do. But not for Bob Lee Swagger (really, guys, that's the best name you could come up with?), a ex-military sniper that's gone off the grid after a mission gone wrong. Based on his staunch political beliefs, Swagger aka Marky Mark decides it's still a good idea to take on the job of planning an assassination, and ends up getting framed as the shooter. He then proceeds to go on the run, find those responsible, take them down...basically Harrison Ford in The Fugitive but with military training and better aim. I always appreciate movies that can show proper weapons handling and authentic military procedures and tactics, but mix that in with some ham-fisted political commentary and a weird almost-romantic situation, and things don't go so well. Not recommended.

Pathfinder
Two words: Clancy Brown. That name alone was enough to make me pick this up, but it wasn't enough to make me enjoy Pathfinder. The premise certainly seems original, like a new take on early American history. Vikings discover a new land, bringing only death for Native Americans, but leaving a young boy in their wake. The boy is adopted by surviving natives and raised as one of their own, and when the Vikings return (where'd they go again?), the boy is now a man and knows how to fight off the attackers. Where does Clancy Brown figure into all of this? He's the badass Viking leader, of course, decked out in the latest Viking fashions, including helmets with animal horns and enough black eye shadow to make the ladies jealous. But you wouldn't know that without closely following the story, because you only see his face once or twice, and since he's speaking in Icelandic, who would know if he's really delivering a great performance or not? Just in case you're thinking the "unrated" DVD must have something to offer, don't. My guess is all that's new to the "unrated" edition are all those really badly CGI blood splatters, because nothing says "I KILLZ UR DOODS" like giant red blobs in a dimly lit shot. Come to think of it, the whole damn movie is dimly lit and switches aspect ratios like crazy. Not recommended. Ever.

Another summer, another slate of movies. Now that September's here and new TV shows are on their way, I'm sure that'll be my new focus. That and I've still got movies that I've bought that I still haven't watched yet, so until next summer (or the mood strikes), I don't expect to be seeing movies all that much. Or at least not those really bad ones.