While I love to talk movies, I’ve been allowing the real world to interfere with my writing about them. (Sorry, Dave!) So I’m going to play catch up today. I also have a few books waiting in the wings for future reviews. Stay tuned!

The last time we talked about movies, it was February and the Academy Awards. Hope you’ve all seen The King’s Speech. Well worth the rental, believe me!

So it’s been kind of quiet for me and the cineplex. Heavens, I just noticed I haven’t told you what I’ve seen since December! Yikes!

January: True Grit (good); Black Swan (good but disturbing and difficult to watch); The Mechanic (not that great, even for a Jason Statham action flick).

February: Unknown (not bad, worth a rental); and rentals, Toy Story 3 (good), Winter’s Bone (depressing and difficult to watch), The Social Network (not worth it), The Town (decent action, Jeremy Renner and Ben Affleck are good), Saving Grace (fun but not great), The Girl Who Kicked the Hornet’s Nest (the third in the Swedish trilogy is well done, again difficult to watch, as are the first two).

March: The Company Men (depressing but well done), The Adjustment Bureau (very good!), and rentals Miss Pettigrew Lived for a Day (worth the rental) and The Children of Huang Shi (well done , based on a true story, but I didn’t like the ending). 
 

April: Source Code (good with a neat twist), Hanna (definitely not worth it), and rentals How Do You Know (better than I expected) and Kinky Boots (fun).

May: Fast Five (I’ve seen the others in the series so had to see this one too), Thor (good action and special effects, light on plot, of course), Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides (fun, not much to it, though); and rental Just Wright (fun, lightweight).

For Memorial Day weekend, we have opening The Hangover Part II (no, thank you), Kung Fu Panda 2 (eventually), and The Tree of Life (in limited release, and I’ll probably see it eventually).

So what’s coming up in June? Not much, I’m afraid.

The first weekend of the month brings X-Men: First Class to the big screen. I enjoyed the others in the franchise, so this is one of the ones I’ll probably see in the theater. We also have the limited release of The Beginners with Ewan McGregor and Christopher Plummer. This one looks very good, and I hope it plays somewhere near me.

On June 10, Super 8 opens. With Elle Fanning and Kyle Chandler, and directed by J.J. Abrams, Super 8 looks pretty good. I like science fiction and aliens, so this might be one to see in the theater. We also have in limited release a Norwegian release, The Troll Hunter, which might be worth seeing.

For the June 17 weekend, Green Lantern, starring Ryan Reynolds, Blake Lively and Peter Sarsgaard, opens. I think I’ll go see this one in the theater, as the special effects look pretty awesome. Although, if it’s playing only in 3D, I’ll skip it. Also opening this weekend is Jim Carrey’s latest, Mr. Popper’s Penguins. I just saw the trailer for this one, and it looks like fun. A limited release is a documentary titled Buck, about a horse whisperer.

The last weekend of the month brings Cars 2 to your local theater. Lots of great voices, and even a couple of well-known race car drivers are on the list. Darrell Waltrip voices the character of Darrell Cartrip, and Jeff Gordon voices Jeff Gorvette. Looks like fun. An indie selection, A Better Life, looks pretty good, though I doubt if it makes it into many theaters.

You might keep an eye on July:Transformers: Dark of the Moon opens July 1, and the Harry Potter series concludes with The Deathly Hallows Part 2 on July 15. We also have another comic book coming to the screen with Captain America:The First Avenger opening July 22. And a big one for me will be Cowboys and Aliens, which opens July 29.

What’s on your to-see list? See ya at the movies!

As infrequently as I’m heading to the movie theater these days, I’m not sure I’m the best person to write about movies. Guess I won’t let that stop me though. LOL.

My September was fairly movie free. Sigh. I rented Amelia – I find the Earhart story disturbing, albeit fascinating, in any presentation, but it was an interesting character study and offered a few tidbits I didn’t know. I have The Blind Side waiting. I also saw Eat Pray Love in the theater – great scenery, good acting by all the principals, and a delicate love story. I enjoyed it. And that, my friends, is the extent of my September movie watching.

Now if you want to talk television, I’m way behind on watching premieres of new shows and returning favorites. But I’m hoping to catch up this weekend. I’m also planning on cutting out some series, just because I’m watching waaaaaay too much TV.

So for movies in October, we have quite a few choices. And at least three I plan to see in the theaters; please don’t hold me to that.

Case 39: Starring Renee Zellweger, this horror tale opens a scary October. I guess it’s only natural, but there are a number of horror movies this month, just in time to scare us all for Halloween. I’m not a fan of the genre, so I’ll skip these. If you are, here are a few others to look for: Let Me In,Hatchet II, Chain Letter, My Soul to Take, I Spit on Your Grave, Paranormal Activity 2, and Saw 3D: The Final Chapter. Case 39, rated R, also stars Ian McShane, Bradley Cooper and Callum Keith Rennie, and it opens October 1.

The Social Network: A closer look at the birth of Facebook, the movie isn’t at all accurate, according to those involved in the real deal. But critics are saying it’s an entertaining and intriguing movie, nonetheless. Jesse Eisenberg stars as Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg, and the film also stars Andrew Garfield and Justin Timberlake. Rated PG-13, The Social Network opens October 1.

Life As We Know It: Another rom-com for Katherine Heigl and Josh Duhamel, who portray a couple who, upon the deaths of their best friends, find themselves guardians of a baby. Since they don’t get along, having been on one bad date, the movie is geared to hijinks as the couple learn to be parents. Rated PG-13, Life opens October 8.

Secretariat: Touted as the true story of the spectacularly successful four-hoofed athlete, the movie stars humans Diane Lane as Penny Chenery, owner of the Triple Crown winner; John Malkovich, Scott Glenn, James Cromwell and Dylan Walsh. I’m planning on seeing this one in the theater, not only for the spectacle of horse racing but to see a successful woman make her way to the pinnacle in what was once thought of as a man’s sport. Rated PG, Secretariat opens October 8.

It’s Kind of a Funny Story: While depression and other mental illnesses are not funny, this film promises a few laughs as Craig (Keir Gilchrist) finds himself a patient of an adult psychiatric ward. He gets a new start with the help of fellow patients Bobby (Zach Galifianakis) and Noelle (Emma Roberts) and Dr. Minerva (Viola Davis). I can see this one producing laughter and lots of tears. Take tissues. Rated PG-13, Funny Story opens in limited release October 8.

Nowhere Boy: The story of a young John Lennon (portrayed by Aaron Johnson) chronicles his relationships with his aunt (Kristin Scott Thomas) and mother (Anne-Marie Duff), and the founding of The Quarrymen. Early reviews have been less than favorable. Rated R, Nowhere Boy opens in limited release October 8.

Stone: Another terrifying performance from the always terrific Edward Norton looks to keep people on the edge of their seats in this one. Robert De Niro portrays ready-to-retire parole officer Jack Mabry who wants to finish up his current cases, including Gerald “Stone” Creeson, a convicted arsonist up for early release. Caught in the middle are Stone’s wife, Lucetta (Milla Jovovich), and Mabry’s wife, Madylyn (Frances Conroy). Rated R, Stone opens in limited release October 8.

RED: One of my must-sees for October, RED (Retired Extremely Dangerous) stars Bruce Willis, Helen Mirren, Morgan Freeman and John Malkovich as supposedly retired spies who come in from the cold for one more mission. None of them are enjoying their “golden years” and a threat to one of their own prompts the team to reform. Based on a graphic novel. Rated PG-13, RED opens October 15.

Conviction: Hillary Swank stars as a single mother who spends almost 20 years putting herself through law school in order to overturn her brother’s conviction. Sam Rockwell stars as the convicted sibling. Based on a true story. Rated R, Conviction opens October 15.

Hereafter: Billed as a supernatural thriller, the film stars Matt Damon as a psychic pulled into other people’s experiences with death. Directed by Clint Eastwood, this film is on my to-see list. It also stars Bryce Dallas Howard, Cecile De France, Jay Mohr, Derek Jacobi and Richard Kind. Rated PG-13, Hereafter opens October 22.

The Company Men: In today’s economy, The Company Men may strike a bit too close to home for many. Three businessmen (Ben Affleck, Chris Cooper and Tommy Lee Jones) find themselves on the unemployment line, with all the trauma and drama that entails. Kevin Costner, Maria Bello and Craig T. Nelson also star. Rated R, Company Men is garnering Oscar buzz and opens October 22.

Monsters: While this could go in the horror category mentioned earlier, Monsters is more a science-fiction thriller. Aliens invade and infect portions of the Earth, including Mexico. A journalist finds himself escorting a tourist through the bleak countryside toward the United States. The tag line is “Now it’s our turn to adapt,” which tells me this is going be fairly bleak. Rated R, Monsters opens in limited release October 29, and it’s already available through Video On Demand.

Wild Target: Released during the summer in the United Kingdom, Wild Target stars Bill Nighy as a tired hitman trying to retire whose plans are changed by an intended victim (Emily Blunt) and his new apprentice (Rupert Grint). The film also stars Rupert Everett. Rated PG-13, Wild Target opens in limited release October 29.

 The Girl Who Kicked the Hornet’s Nest: The last film in the Millennium Trilogy, the Swedish movie continues the story of Lisbeth Salander (Noomi Rapace) and Mikael Blomkvist (Michael Nyqvist). Lisbeth’s in the hospital, accused of murder, and she’s ready for revenge. I’ve seen The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo, and hope to see The Girl Who Played with Fire soon (and I've read the first two books), so this one is on my radar. Rated R, Hornet’s Nest opens in limited release October 29.

My Netflix queue is looking more inviting every day. Howabout we talk TV next time around? I’ll let you know which of the new shows have caught my attention and which ones are on my never-again list.

 See ya!