Summer Wrap Up Part Two: June

June proved to be yet another slow month movie watching wise. Not much came out that interested me, but I was busy with other things to even notice the amount of cruminess that was coming our way. About mid-June I mozied back to the movie house to see "Up" again but this time in 3-D. I found it to be somewhat of a waste of money. "Up" was still the same wonderful film I saw the first time, however I regretted paying the extra dough for those 3-D glasses. I have to say that I'm leaning towards the anti-3D minority, I haven't seen one shred of evidence so far that has caused me to think this is the way movies should be made for future audiences. However I was delighted to see "Up" again and it proved to be the highlight of the month.

Around the same time, comedy came into the forefront yet again with the release of "The Hangover". The story concerns four buddies, one of whom is getting married, who spend an unforgettable weekend in Las Vegas. Three of the men wake up one morning to find out the groom to be is missing. The rest of the film is one surprise after another as the three piece together what happened the night before. I had a fun time at "The Hangover", it is one of the best comedies of the year. Some people seemed to moan and groan at the somewhat simple solution, yet the film itself is full of so many convoluted happenings, it would be hard to come up with an ending to suit all that. This is the kind of film where you sit and enjoy the ride and I did.



The final days of June ended with a sigh of relief for most critics when an actual intelligent film made its way in mainstream theatres. "The Hurtlocker" is an Iraq war film unlike any other. It focuses on a squad who's job it is to dismantle bombs. The film has been hailed by critics as one of the years best. While I agree it was more intelligent and pulse pounding than others, the one fatal flaw was its overuse of handheld camera techniques. For some, this would be an example of effective use of the handheld camera, however I didn't see it as that. There is a grittiness to this film however, but I felt it interrupted the flow. Sometimes it interrupted the flow, and the character's faces were lost in pivotal moments. That being said, there were moments of extreme suspense and action that were some of the best I saw this year.