Super-Quick Reviews of Movies I’ve Seen Recently (8/21 to 9/15)

LEE DANIELS’ THE BUTLER -- Between the looming presences of Oprah and the Weinstein Company, combined with the fact that the movie is very good, be prepared to hear lots of "YOU get an Oscar! And YOU get an Oscar!" jokes this winter. (Also, no spoilers, but the presidential stunt casting is amazing and occasionally mind-blowing.)

THE WORLD’S END -- An awesome & quotable third installment to the Cornetto Trilogy. Edgar Wright, Simon Pegg & Nick Frost are geniuses. Still prefer SHAUN OF THE DEAD overall, but this may be the most poignant for me. Getting old & remembering the past is rough.

YOU’RE NEXT -- Drips with blood and dark humor and turns the home invasion concept on its ear most spectacularly. Sharni Vinson is my new favorite. A must-see for horror junkies.

IN A WORLD... -- A bit scatterbrained but also very funny, heartfelt and hugely likeable story about the little-known world of movie trailer voiceover artists. I enjoy Lake Bell very much. Fred Melamed (aka Sy Abelman in A SERIOUS MAN) is one of the most brilliant slimeballs of our time. Ken Marino holds his own, too!

AFTERNOON DELIGHT -- If you've ever been jonesing for surprisingly explicit Josh Radnor/Kathryn Hahn sex scenes, this is the indie film for you. Funny at first but takes a dark & lecherous turn that rubbed me the wrong way. Still, great to see the vastly underrated Hahn in a well-deserved lead role.

TERMINATOR 2: JUDGMENT DAY -- Awesome seeing this on the big screen for the first time. Still holds up as one of the all-time action classics and Linda Hamilton remains one of the all-time great action heroines.

THE HAPPY SAD -- An effective movie about equality because it shows that insufferable dating woes are not limited by race, gender or sexual orientation. A big hipster yawn.

SHORT TERM 12 -- Heart-wrenching, honest and beautiful drama about a group of twentysomethings who work with at-risk kids while dealing with their own complex lives. Brie Larson gives a powerhouse performances that comes out of nowhere -- if she isn't an Oscar contender then I don't know who is.

PASSION -- Noomi Rapace & Rachel McAdams star in Brian DePalma’s remake of the twisty-turny French film, LOVE CRIME, which stars Ludivine Sagnier & Kristen Scott Thomas. Unfortunately it is not a good remake. Watch the original instead.

CLOSED CIRCUIT -- Decent espionage thriller that should have embraced its innate pulp qualities rather than trying to be all Serious and Important. Love me some Rebecca Hall, though, and it’s always nice to see Ciaran Hinds -- it was a MUNICH reunion with him and Eric Bana!

HELL BABY -- Dopey/funny comedy-horror goodness written & directed by Thomas Lennon and Robert Ben Garant. If you appreciate their The State/Reno 911 humor, it’s right up your alley. Also doesn’t hurt if you’re as obsessed with all things New Orleans as I am -- God, I miss Zapp’s potato chips.

ADORE -- If Naomi Watts & Robin Wright really wanted to display their bangin' bikini bods, they could've just done it -- bad movie not required. That said, it’s about two hot Australian moms who bang each other’s hunky sons and it’s filled with camp and raunch and silliness... and, as such, is strangely likeable despite being awful.

SALINGER -- A bit overly-sensational and cheesy at times, and most talking heads don’t offer much actual insight -- but the innate intrigue surrounding the man, along with some legitimately eye-opening revelations towards the end, make it worthwhile.

RUSH -- Not nearly entertaining enough to get past the fact that I don’t give two shits about car racing. Also couldn't get past the eye-rolling, wooden, overly-explanatory dialogue that sabotages some otherwise fine performances. On the plus side: Um, it has a great score and Oscar-caliber sound?

RIDDICK -- A better Riddick movie than THE CHRONICLES OF RIDDICK, and it’s nice that it takes advantage of its R rating with gratuitous blood and boobs. But it's definitely no PITCH BLACK, a legitimately great slice of sci-fi that holds up to this day. Cut your losses and stick to driving fast, Vin.

THE FAMILY -- Some laughs sprinkled throughout this mob spoof, but overall, it’s a mess of over-plotting & tonal shifts and thinks it's smarter than it is. Would love to see De Niro actually add to his legacy again, rather than constantly spoofing it.

INSIDIOUS: CHAPTER 2 -- Patrick Wilson is clearly enjoying his recent horror kick, but after this weak sequel, it may be time for him to quit while he’s ahead. This one isn’t quite as much of a POLTERGEIST rip-off as the first, but I still hope Zelda Rubenstein haunts the shit out of everyone involved.

Movies I’ve Seen Recently (7/29 to 8/16)

Someday, somehow, I will stop being the laziest movie blogger ever and all will be right with the world. For now, out of sheer boredom and the fact that the past few weeks have been quite prolific in terms of movie-watching, I figured I’d try something easy & new: Below is a collection of my tweets (with extra characters added here and there) about the movies I’ve seen recently. If you follow me on Twitter at @BenLikesMovies and you’ve missed these... here ya go again! If you don’t follow me... well... you should, because even when I’m not blogging here, I’m always tweeting there. Ready? GO!

R.I.P.D. -- As expected, this blatant, horrible, embarrassing MEN IN BLACK rip-off has absolutely nothing going for it. Hope Jeff Bridges enjoys the new wing on his house. Hope Ryan Reynolds enjoys direct-to-DVD purgatory.

THE SPECTACULAR NOW -- Maybe the best of all of this year's great coming-of-age tales. Miles Teller and Shailene Woodley are forces to be reckoned with; their dominant performances make great material borderline transcendent.

ELYSIUM -- Not much substance, and a bit of a letdown for Neill Blomkamp after DISTRICT 9, but enjoyable nonetheless. Well-crafted, visually striking dystopia. Jodie Foster’s accent is weird. Robo-Matt Damon vs. Robo-Sharlto Copley is worth the price of admission.

WE'RE THE MILLERS -- Mild chuckles here and there but generally a waste of a solid premise & cast. But hey, Jennifer Aniston jiggles her boobs, which I'm guessing is the whole point. (Okay, Jen, we get it -- you’re still hot. Now make a good movie.)

LOVELACE -- Pretty solid biopic. Amanda Seyfried & Peter Sarsgaard lead an excellent cast (though I could’ve done without James Franco as Hugh Hefner; should’ve just gotten Hef to play himself using CGI de-aging technology). Really nice authentic '70s look. Jarring tonal shifts (breezy then dark then breezy then dark again) drive home the story's overall grimness.

THE CANYONS -- Can't figure out if Bret Easton Ellis (who is now dead to me) and Paul Schrader (who should be ashamed of himself) are joking around, or purposely made such an awful, laughable, soulless movie to nail home their feeble "death of cinema" subtext, or if this is just a truly epic inept debacle. At least Lindsay Lohan looks good (well, parts of her, anyway).

KID-THING -- The story of a little girl with no guidance who goes around wrecking shit and then one day comes across a women trapped in a well. Or does she? An interesting addition to this Summer of the Coming-of-Age Film. With its dusty setting and dry, non-sequitur humor, it feels like a darker, weirder NAPOLEON DYNAMITE.

THIS IS MARTIN BONNER -- Wonderful, understated look at human connection and second chances. Fantastic performances that exude authenticity. Probably too tiny a film to generate Oscar buzz, but Paul Eenhorn is deserving.

PRINCE AVALANCHE -- Offbeat, hilarious, melancholic, occasionally surreal comedy starring Paul Rudd and Emile Hirsch as bickering highway workers in two of my favorite performances of the year.

KICK-ASS 2 -- The novelty (and wit) may have worn off somewhat but it's still a fun sequel. Hit Girl still rules. Jim Carrey steals the show. I want Dave's "I Hate Reboots" t-shirt. I like the characters so much that I’d welcome a third installment to complete a trilogy.

AIN'T THEM BODIES SAINTS -- A gorgeous, gripping, aching neo-western love ballad that tugs on all the right heartstrings. Casey Affleck & Rooney Mara are fantastic, and I will be watching David Lowery's career with great interest. (Could also be titled DAMN, THEM KITTENS CUTE.)

More soon... maybe... hopefully?

A Week’s Worth of HARRY POTTER Tweets

So, I re-watched HARRY POTTER 1 thru 7.1 this past week and live-tweeted the whole shebang. If for some silly reason you don’t follow me on Twitter (screen name: @benlikesmovies), here’s what I had to say:

HARRY POTTER AND THE SORCERER’S STONE (7/10/11)

Okay, time to re-watch all the #HarryPotter films in preparation for HP7.2! Tonight: SORCERER'S STONE and CHAMBER OF SECRETS!

Thoughts about where Williams' main #HarryPotter theme ranks among his most memorable? Pretty high, I'd say. STAR WARS, JAWS, INDY, POTTER?

"His name is V... V....." "Maybe if you wrote it down?" "Naw, I can't spell it." Hagrid rules. #SorcerersStone

Little Ginny wishing little Harry good luck as he attempts to cross over to platform 9 3/4... awwww. #SorcerersStone

Love #SorcerersStone because every first appearance of a character, location, event & item is appropriately awe-inspiring & geek-out-worthy.

"Once you get hold of your broom, I want you to mount it, grip it tight - don't want to slide off the end." The #Potter porno writes itself!

The #LOTR trolls would kick the #HarryPotter trolls' asses.

Remember when House Points were, like, a big deal? Life was so much simpler then.... #HarryPotter #SorcerersStone

Harry seeing his parents in the Mirror of Erised makes me think of a scene that better be in HP7.2 and oh man... verklempt. #SorcerersStone

"As long as Dumbledore is around, you can't be touched." That's some eerie foreshadowing. #SorcerersStone

If George Lucas had directed #SorcerersStone, he would have gone back and CGI'ed Ralph Fiennes' face on the back of Quirrell's head.

I'm a fan of Gambon's Dumbledore, but gotta wonder how it would have been if the great Richard Harris hadn't died after #2.... #HarryPotter

HARRY POTTER AND THE CHAMBER OF SECRETS (7/10/11)

Heroic Dobby in HP7.1 > Annoying Dobby in #ChamberofSecrets > Jar-Jar Binks. #harrypotter #starwars

"Scared, Potter?" "You wish." Potter vs. Malfoy, round one... FIGHT! #ChamberofSecrets

Hilarious how Malfoy spits the word "Potter" with such disdain every time he says it. Felton plays a damn good scumbag in #ChamberofSecrets.

Man... first she's called a Mudblood, then turned into a cat, THEN petrified. Hermione can't catch a break in #ChamberofSecrets.

This whole business with the spiders is arguably the worst bit of the entire series. Yea/nay? #ChamberofSecrets #HarryPotter

#ChamberofSecrets remains the weakest installment, but it's much more interesting now that we know what we know about things & stuff....

Hehe, the end of #ChamberofSecrets is sooooo cheesy. "It's not Hogwarts without you, Hagrid." And then Dumbledore with the slow clap! Gawd!

HARRY POTTER AND THE PRISONER OF AZKABAN (7/11/11)

From the whimsical opening shot of #PrisonerofAzkaban, you can tell it's gonna be a different breed of Potter film. Cuaron raised the bar!

John Williams' #PrisonerofAzkaban score is the best of the series. Dig Desplat's HP7.1, too, but wish Williams had come back for the finale.

Love the cutaway shot of the bird flying into the Whomping Willow. Little bits like that were missing from the first two. #PrisonerofAzkaban

Scarier black hooded enemy: Dementors or Ringwraiths? GO! #HarryPotter #LOTR

"I solemnly swear that I am up to no good." #PrisonerofAzkaban

The dramatic shot of Harry, Hermione & Ron hugging after Buckbeak is executed? The #Potter Porno crowd must love that.... #PrisonerofAzkaban

Why couldn't Lupin & Sirius just immediately tell Harry, Ron & Hermione the truth, rather than act so vague and ominous? #PrisonerofAzkaban

Most sniveling misguided henchman: Wormtail or Wormtongue? GO! #HarryPotter #LOTR

The whole Time-Turner thing is kind of a cheap plot device, but somehow it works. #PrisonerofAzkaban

Gambon def. captures Dumbledore's mischievous side more than Harris did. "I'd like a nice cup of tea, or a large brandy." #PrisonerofAzkaban

So Hermione was incapacitated at the end of #ChamberofSecrets, and in #PrisonerofAzkaban Ron is out of commission. I see what JK did there.

HARRY POTTER AND THE GOBLET OF FIRE (7/11/11)

Hogwarts... Beauxbatons... Durmstrang... what, the American School of Witchcraft & Wizardry wasn't invited?? #GobletofFire

Moody showing the kids the Unforgivable curses..... so creepy. #GobletofFire

Cedric Diggory would kick Edward Cullen's sparkly ass. #GobletofFire #HarryPotter #Twilight

Years from now, long after JK and all of us are dead, someone will reboot Harry Potter, American-style. Then the world will end.

Harry & Ron's lovers' spats are so silly! #GobletofFire

Only problem with Hermione's appearance at the ball: She's ALWAYS been cute in the films. It's that SHE'S ALL THAT syndrome. #GobletofFire

I'm not sure how it would have worked, but Harry totally should've hooked up with Moaning Myrtle in the tub. She's a minx! #GobletofFire

That tongue-flicking thing that Barty Crouch Jr. does kinda freaks me out. #GobletofFire

OH MAN, THE GRAVEYARD SCENE. This is when shit gets real. #GobletofFire

"Kill the spare!" Harsh. #GobletofFire

Voldemort is the dark lord of monologuing. #GobletofFire

Anytime Harry sees his parents, I get verklempt. #GobletofFire

HARRY POTTER AND THE ORDER OF THE PHOENIX (7/12/11)

Fun fact: #OrderofthePhoenix is the Potter film I've seen the most times on the big screen (3).

#OrderofthePhoenix contains my favorite Potter opening scene, with Dudley being particularly cruel and the Dementor attack. Stark & eerie.

Most grossly underused character: Tonks. Not even a single "Wotcher, Harry!" She's like the Darth Maul of this series. #OrderofthePhoenix

Love me some Luna Lovegood! #OrderofthePhoenix

I must not tell lies: In many ways, Umbridge is scarier than Voldemort. Yikes. #OrderofthePhoenix

Harry's speech to the potential recruits for Dumbledore's Army may be Radcliffe's best acting moment in the series. #OrderofthePhoenix

Best training montage: Rocky, the Karate Kid or Dumbledore's Army in #OrderofthePhoenix? It's a tough call!

Quick/subtle Ginny reaction shots every time Harry pays attention to Cho Chang... good stuff. #OrderofthePhoenix

Bellatrix licking her Dark Mark is one the best/creepiest/most strangely arousing character introductions. #OrderofthePhoenix

"You seem be to laboring under the delusion that I am going to -- what was the phrase? -- come quietly." GO ALBUS. #OrderofthePhoenix

Minor quibble, but I could've done without the Grawp business. Pretty bad CGI, too. #OrderofthePhoenix

Harry invading Snape's mind reminds me that I can't wait for the Prince's tale in HP7.2. But I'm getting ahead of myself. #OrderofthePhoenix

W! #OrderofthePhoenix

Dumbledore's Army vs. Death Eaters! FIGHT! #OrderofthePhoenix

The part where all the prophecies fall and shatter was one of the better big screen 3D moments. #OrderofthePhoenix

"Get away from my Godson!" Order of the Phoenix vs. Death Eaters! FIGHT! #OrderofthePhoenix

:( ..... #OrderofthePhoenix

DUMBLEDORE vs. VOLDEMORT SMACKDOWN! #OrderofthePhoenix

I'd totally watch #OrderofthePhoenix again right now. Could be my favorite depending upon my mood, time of day or alignment of stars.

HARRY POTTER AND THE HALF-BLOOD PRINCE (7/13/11)

My body picked a really bad time to get sick. No HP7.2 midnight show for me tomorrow. Devastating.

Still gonna watch HALF-BLOOD PRINCE tonight, though, starting............................ now.

Wonder what Harry's plan was with the chick from the cafe? Not like he could've brought her back to the Dursleys' house. #HalfBloodPrince

Ron on what Malfoy might have been doing in Borgin & Burkes: "It's a creepy shop... he's a creepy bloke." Hehe. #HalfBloodPrince

Ginny on Harry: "He's covered in blood again. Why is he always covered in blood?" #HalfBloodPrince is really rockin' the good one-liners.

Hooray to #HalfBloodPrince for bringing back the old joke of every potion/spell blowing up in Seamus' face!

A little Japanese horror influence when Katie is cursed and gets flung into the air. Creepy. #HalfBloodPrince

Man, that Potter vs. Malfoy practice duel in #ChamberofSecrets seems like a long time ago. Sectumsempra is no joke. #HalfBloodPrince

I get chills when Tom Riddle first mentions the word "horcrux." #HalfBloodPrince

Dumbledore wielding the whirlwind of fire against the Inferi is one of the great visual moments in the series. GO ALBUS! #HalfBloodPrince

"Severus... please." #HalfBloodPrince

People question why Harry would stand there watching & not help. It's obvious: Dumbledore said, "Trust me," and Harry did. #HalfBloodPrince

Many people don't like #HalfBloodPrince because they made some extreme/questionable narrative changes... but I think it works.

HARRY POTTER AND THE DEATHLY HALLOWS: PART 1 (7/14/11)

Even though I've sold/returned all my HP7.2 tix, it hasn't completely sunk in yet that I will not be seeing it at midnight tonight....

Wolf whistle at bare-backed Ginny Weasley! #DeathlyHallowsPt1

"The Ministry has fallen. The Minister of Magic is dead. They are coming... they are coming." DUDE. #DeathlyHallowsPt1

Neville mouthing off to the Death Eaters on the Hogwarts Express reminds me that HE IS GOING TO KICK SO MUCH ASS IN HP7.2 #DeathlyHallowsPt1

Ja wohl, mein Umbridge! So... fucking... evil. #DeathlyHallowsPt1

A magical trinket on a chain that has an adverse effect on the person wearing it... where have I seen this before?? #DeathlyHallowsPt1 #LOTR

Love Harry & Hermione's dance. Perfect example of how not being too slavish to the book can be very good if done right. #DeathlyHallowsPt1

The crazy scene where Ron destroys the locket adds more depth to his character than the previous six films combined. #DeathlyHallowsPt1

Anyone else wanna see a spinoff short film chronicling Ron's adventures after he ditched Harry & Hermione? That'd rule. #DeathlyHallowsPt1

Animated Tale of the 3 Brothers sequence is brilliant. If Columbus had directed #DeathlyHallowsPt1, he would've just shown Hermione reading.

"Dobby is here to rescue Harry Potter, of course. Dobby will always be there for Harry Potter!" Oh man. #DeathlyHallowsPt1

Man, how can a character that kinda sucked five movies ago be so fucking awesome now, at the end? Yes, I'm crying. Again. #DeathlyHallowsPt1

#DeathlyHallowsPt1 is so freaking good. Now I SHOULD be heading to the Ziegfeld theatre for HP7.2... but no. God, this sucks.

Wow, that kind of ended on a low note, huh? Well, yes, it is true -- I got sick and thus am not seeing HARRY POTTER AND THE DEATHLY HALLOWS: PART 2 at midnight tonight even though I had scored sweet, perfectly-centered seats at the Ziegfeld Theatre. This fact is probably making me feel more sick than whatever is making me sick... but what can you do. I will probably end up seeing it sometime this weekend whether I feel better or not... no way I’ll be able to hold out for long. God, I love these movies, and watching them all together like this just makes them that much better -- it’s truly one of the great cinematic achievements of our time. So psyched for the grand finale!