Movie Review: Memorial Day Weekend Movies

"Lie To Me" - 4 stars
I've been watching this series for several weeks now, and finally finished all 13 episodes. This is an interesting series, based on the science of "micro expressions." This stars Tim Roth as Dr. Cal Lightman, who has mastered reading micro expressions as a means for determining if someone is telling the truth or not. Lightman and crew use this talent to help several different federal, state and local agencies solve crimes, and occasionally they take an odd job here and there that makes the show more interesting.

"A Midsummer Night's Dream" - 3 Stars
We went to this one on Sunday night at the Englert Theater in Iowa City. The Englert is a neat old theater, and occasionally they show older movies. This incarnation of the Shakespeare classic stars Kevin Kline, Stanly Tucci, Michelle Pfieffer and several others. This wasn't a bad show...though I had low expectations. I could understand Shakespeare in High School, but it's more difficult now that I don't hear it very often.

"Up" - 4 Stars
"Up" is a film I've wanted to watch for quite some time. I am a big fan of all things Pixar, so was very excited when this showed up on Netflix Instant Watching. The kids had seen this one before, but I hadn't. "Up" is funny, and heartwarming, as we see 78 year old curmudgeon Carl warm up to 8 year old Wilderness Scout Russell. The 2 heroes go on the adventure of a lifetime and Carl rediscovers what is important. If you are a Pixar fan, this is a must see, and even if you aren't, you should watch this one.

"Cloudy With A Chance of Meatballs" - 3 Stars
This is an entertaining movie, but not on the level of "Up" or some of the Pixar films. I found several funny parts in this movie, but overall it just didn't live up to "Up" which we had watched the previous night. Even with the vocal talents of Bruce Campbell, this couldn't climb above a 3 star level.

"Hitman" - 2 Stars
Why do people try to make movies out of video games? It never seems to work. This was not good, and didn't even come close to being good. It's like they tried to make a Bourne movie, but failed. I thought it had a chance because Timothy Olyphant is really good, but sadly, it missed the mark.