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Here's a look at the new movies I saw this week.

The Big Wedding
Starring: Katherine Heigl, Robert De Niro, Susan Sarandon, Diane Keaton, Topher Grace, Robin Williams, and Amanda Seyfried
Synopsis: Thanks to the dollar theater in our town that keeps movies in theaters that have been out for a while, I finally got to this comedy. It was dumped in late April, but features a large cast of well known performers, some of whom have struggled at the Box Office with recent releases. Based on the trailer, I didn't know what to expect with this movie. It looks fairly stock and its reshuffled release date made me think the studio didn't have much faith in it either. What I got was something more interesting and more amusing that expected. The film still followed a lot of the tropes of the genre, but the characters were fairly endearing the movie had a lot more laughs than expected. De Niro was good in the role and had good chemistry with Sarandon and Keaton. Williams added some good humor to his scenes in a much more restrained role. This is also the best film work from Heigl and Grace in recent years. Overall this was a very enjoyable film experience. Is it a great film? No. But it worked for what it was and was one of the more pleasant surprises this year.
Rating: R for language, sexual content and brief nudity. Enter with caution.
Verdict: Three stars out of four

The Bling Ring
Starring: Emma Watson, Taissa Farmiga, Leslie Mann, Katie Chang, Israel Broussard, and Claire Julien
Synopsis: This is the latest film from writer/director Sophia Coppola. I loved Coppola's Academy Award nominated film "Lost in Translation," but her films since haven't lived up to that level. With this film she tackles a true life story about a group of Southern California teens that became obsessed with celebrity culture and carried out a string of robberies. The group was dubbed "the Bling Ring" by the media and became something of celebrities themselves because of their crimes. They were also a group of 21st Century criminals that had no problem sharing the spoils of their criminal activities on Facebook and Twitter, which helped land them in jail. It was hard to tell what Coppola was going for with this film. A lot of the first section seems like a celebration of their life of excess and poor decisions. Throughout the film the characters never really seem to grow, show remorse, or change. It was hard to tell what message was supposed to be conveyed. After reading interviews with Coppola, and considering the ending of the film, I think it's meant to be a scathing commentary on the celebrity culture and what it's doing to those obsessed with it. But that message is murkily delivered. The film doesn't really seem to care about its characters, but doesn't really seem to have much to say about the whole thing either. It is 90 minutes of teens living it up, showing their shallow pursuits, and committing crimes. Then it's over. There is a lot of style in the production — from the visuals to the music — but almost no substance. That's the failing of the film. It was sort of fascinating to watch, but it felt empty — much like the lives of its characters.
Rating: R for teen drug and alcohol use, and for language including some brief sexual references. Enter with caution.
Verdict: Two stars out of four.

This Is The End
Starring: Seth Rogen, Jay Baruchel, James Franco, Jonah Hill, Craig Robinson, Danny McBride, and Emma Watson
Synopsis: Where to begin. I was excited about this movie initially. It sounded like a fun summer comedy, and the trailers for it backed that up. But this was an exercise in vanity dressed up as self deprecation. It was vapid, profane, and frequently blasphemous. I can usually get past some of those things, which you expect in a comedy of this sort, if the characters and story is interesting. This wasn't. And these guys, playing weird versions of themselves, were too much. This was an excruciating experience. It was uncomfortable and gross. Honestly I wouldn't want to spend any time with this group, apocalypse or not. This film was a massive disappointment. I don't know what they were going for, but the final act was terrible. It was gross, way too over-the-top, and in poor taste. I guess the whole movie was, but the final act was the cherry on a moldy sundae that was this film. This was an epic waste of talent.
Rating: R for crude and sexual content throughout, brief graphic nudity, pervasive language, drug use and some violence. Enter with caution.
Verdict: Zero stars out of four.

World War Z
Starring: Brad Pitt and Mirelle Enos
Synopsis: By now, most everyone knows what to expect from a zombie movie. We’ve been inundated with them for decades, and there is little new in the genre. Which is what makes “World War Z” so fascinating. Throughout the process there have been stories about the difficulty in brining “World War Z” to the screen. It was a book that didn’t lend itself to easy adaptation. It was a script that had many writers. It was a long, complicated shoot. It was entering a saturated market — what with zombies being everywhere in theaters and on TV. So expectations for the movie were mixed. How would it work, or would it work at all? But when you’re watching “World War Z,” all those questions and ideas melt away. This isn’t what you expect from a zombie movie, and the fact it defies those expectations is its greatest strength. Marc Forster has had a nice run of blockbusters in recent years. After directing smaller independent films like “Monster’s Ball,” “Stranger Than Fiction” and “The Kite Runner,” he moved into action films with the James Bond installment “Quantum of Solace” in 2008. Now he’s tackling zombies with “World War Z.” Along with Forster, a group of writers tried their hands with this story. J. Michael Straczynski (“Babylon 5”), Matthew Michael Carnahan (“Lions for Lambs,” “The Kingdom”), Damon Lindelof (“LOST,” “Star Trek Into Darkness”) and Drew Goddard (“Alias,” “Cloverfield”) all receive story or screenplay credit for the film. In many cases having that many cooks in the kitchen leads to an uneven mess. But here, it works. Some might argue that different sections of the film have slightly different tones, yet it all fuses together into something similar to a government thriller — miles away from the “Dawn of the Dead” type zombie films that have dominated the genre. In fact, even the zombies here are different. People turn quickly, the gore and violence is at a minimum and these zombies react with speed and ferocity. They jump, problem solve and run very quickly. All of which makes them a more formidable enemy. This is also a film interested in solutions and discovery. The way it handles the idea of zombies, and the solution it finds is fascinating. While some recent zombie productions — most notably “The Walking Dead” on AMC — take a nihilistic view toward humanity during the zombie apocalypse, “World War Z” feels more grounded in the present and more hopeful. The film is very well put together, a credit to the work done by Forster to bring the different visions and pieces of the film together and to Pitt, who is the main performer that brings it all together. Pitt does a great job in the lead role and really brings a quiet intensity to the part that helps drive the action of the film. In this summer season most of the big movies have relied on lavish effect sequences and over-the-top action to make a splash. “World War Z” spent plenty on effects and has some action pieces, but what really makes it go is the ideas, quiet moments and the performances. That’s what helps make it one of the better offerings so far this summer. For a production that was dogged with problems, that’s quite a compliment.
Rating: PG-13 for intense frightening zombie sequences, violence and disturbing images.
Verdict: Three stars out of four.

Upcoming Releases:

Wednesday, July 3 — "Despicable Me 2," "The Lone Ranger"

Friday, July 5 — "The Way Way Back"

Friday, July 12 — "Grown Ups 2," "Pacific Rim"

Wednesday, July 17 — "Turbo"

Friday, July 19 — "R.I.P.D.," "The Conjuring," "Red 2," "Girl Most Likely"

Friday, July 26 — "The Wolverine," "The To Do List"

Wednesday, July 31 — "Smurfs 2"