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Tom (Joseph Gordon-Levitt) is a successful greeting card writer in search of love when the woman of his dreams, Summer (Zooey Deschanel), comes to work in his office. Stunned by her beauty but mystified by her nonbelief in love, melodramatic Tom falls in love with Summer anyway and then makes every effort to woo her. But will Summer ever requite Tom’s love, or will Tom suffer a total heartbreak? Creativity in editing saves what could have been an otherwise ordinary romantic comedy. Meanwhile fun and believable performances from Gordon-Levitt and Deschanel lend to the film’s charm. Although, for all of it’s charm, there’s not a lot memorable to the overall package. Still worthy as a matinee, and maybe a date movie, but not a first date movie. (500) Days of Summer is rated PG-13.

British humorist/satirist Sacha Baron Cohen returns with his unique style of humor to theatres this weekend as an over the top flamboyant fashionista named Bruno. When fired from his Austrian fashion show, Fashionzeit, Bruno decides to seek fame and fortune in America. But how far will Bruno go to achieve success in America, and how will he ever get over the loss of his first true love– Rob Pilatus of Milli Vanilli? Much like Baron Cohen’s earlier film Borat, Bruno exploits social expectations and turns unsuspecting rubes into the butt of many of his jokes, often to the point it’s uncomfortable to watch. And, with a mix of staged humor, clever editing, and absurdist pranking, the audience is often left to guess as to what is real reaction and what is fiction. Does this make for a good film? Not necessarily; but, it does make for plenty of talking points and almost forces the viewer to question the country we live in. A fair amount of crude humor also makes its way into the film which includes the now obligatory full frontal male nudity, and stereotypical gay jokes. Bottom line Baron Cohen provides as many memorable moments as he does anti moments that in some regards just seem cheap. Worthy of a matinee or rental later when the hype dies down. Bruno is rated R.

In the 1930’s the Robin Hood-esque bank robber John Dillinger (Johnny Depp) was a household name known for defying law enforcement at every turn. But when J. Edgar Hoover (Billy Crudup) formed the F.B.I. and activated his first agent Melvin Purvis (Christian Bale) crime fighting in the U.S. took a very different direction. Directed by Michael Mann, Public Enemies details the final months of Dillinger’s run on robberies, violence, and love for Billie Frechette (Marion Cotillard). Shot in a somewhat unconventional manner using high definition video cameras as opposed to film cameras Mann pushes the envelope on cinematography in this latest offering; unfortunately, the look and feel of the footage often comes across as “too slick” or “crisp” which stands out like a sore thumb and unfitting for a period piece of such nature. Additionally, the script does little to develop the characters of Dillinger or Purvis and fails to give a solid sense of historical or rhetorical context. Fortunately solid acting from Depp lends to a small peek at the psyche of one of the nation’s most notorious early criminals, and, it’s refreshing to see Bale pushing a little further than his previous dry performance this summer in Terminator 4. Perhaps a good escape as a matinee, strictly for the acting. Public Enemies is rated R.