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Here's a look at a couple releases from last week.

Eat Pray Love

Starring: Julia Roberts, Richard Jenkins, and Javier Bardem

Synopsis: In this adaptation of Elizabeth Gilbert's popular memoir, Roberts plays a woman who takes a year to eat, pray, and learn to love again, hoping re-open herself to feeling her life vibrantly. Co-writer/director Ryan Murphy ("Glee," "Nip/Tuck") does a great job making the film's locations come to life. Liz (Roberts) divides her year abroad in Italy, India, and Bali. The locations become like a character in the film which, if nothing else, adds to the visual spectacle of the film. This is a film, however, that will rise and fall with audiences based on how well you enjoy the story. If you appreciate Liz's problems and her quest, the film will resonate with you. If you don't, at 133 minutes it will be an exercise in patience. I didn't find her quest particularly moving. I felt like she was self-indulgent and whinny. She has a nice life but it doesn't mean anything to her anymore, so she leaves her husband. She takes up with an actor for a fling, but it doesn't provide meaning for her, so she ditches him and heads overseas. Then, while there, she spends an inordinate amount of time forlorn about breaking up with both men. Is this what women want? Maybe it is, I would have no way of knowing. But from an audience standpoint, it didn't click for me. I will say that I thought the film was well-acted. I was disappointed that the dialogue lacked some of the signature wit and pop of typical Murphy productions, but that could have been an effort to stay close to the source material. I also thought the final third of the film was the best portion. The inter-play between Roberts and Bardem was excellent, the locales in Bali were amazing, and the story during that sequence came the closest to resonating with me. In the end, this is a well-made movie that will appeal to a specific audience, that's it.

Rating: PG-13 on appeal for brief strong language, some sexual references and male rear nudity.

Verdict: Two stars out of four.

Scott Pilgrim Vs. The World

Starring: Michael Cera, Kieran Culkin, Anna Kendrick, Mary Elizabeth Winstead, and Jason Schwartzman

Synopsis: This is probably the wackiest film I've seen all year. Based on a series of graphic novels, this film follows 22-year-old Canadian Scott Pilgrim (Cera), who is a member of a punk band, dating a high schooler (Ellen Wong), and lives in a one-room basement apartment with his best friend Wallace (Culkin). Soon his life gets a purpose when he spots Ramona Flowers (Winstead). He finds a way to make a relationship with her only to learn that he has to defeat her seven evil exes if their going to date. The entire film, directed by Edgar Wright ("Shaun of the Dead," "Hot Fuzz") looks a bit like a video game, which adds to some of the originality of the presentation. Wright is also a master at dead pan humor, and recruited an excellent ally in Cera. The film works well, to a point. It's amusing, visually entertaining, and something out of the ordinary. There are parts that feel like they drag a bit, especially in the prolonged ending sequences, but it's still mostly a fun ride. This film isn't for everyone, but it should appeal to younger viewers and the young adult set.

Rating: PG-13 for stylized violence, sexual content, language and drug references.

Verdict: Three stars out of four.