Charlie St. Cloud
If Zac Efron wants to be taken seriously by moviegoers who aren’t 13-year-old girls, he’s going to have to do more than sit-ups. Charlie St. Cloud is the High School Musical star’s latest attempt at serious acting, but it offers little to redeem itself to anyone other than his prepubescent fan base.

Efron plays Charlie, a college-bound boy who miraculous survives a car accident that kills his kid brother. Following his brush with the other side, Charlie seems to be granted the ability to communicate with the dead. Abandoning his college ambitions, Charlie takes up a job in a graveyard, where he has daily hangout sessions with the spectral version of his brother. Things get complicated for the siblings as Charlie finds a love interest and a Nicholas Sparks-esque romance develops. What follows is a mess without explanation, that may or may not result in Zac Efron banging a ghost.

Director Burr Steers (Igby Goes Down, 17 Again), who seems to have his sights set on becoming a poor man's John Hughes, again focuses on the difficulties surrounding the transition from youth to the grown-up world. He manages to throw in some pretty visuals, but it’s not enough to distract from the weak plot and Efron’s under-developed acting chops.

Unlike The Sixth Sense, Charlie St. Cloud is a supernatural tale that doesn’t play by its own rules and, by the conclusion, you’re left trying to figure out an incoherent mess with vague religious overtones that seems to have no sensible explanation.

Efron spends most of the film sailing or working in the graveyard, both which provided him ample opportunities to shed his shirt. If that’s enough for you, you may be satisfied. Otherwise, Charlie St. Cloud is a silly and sentimental supernatural wannabe tearjerker that can’t play by its own rules.

—Eric Pulsifer
 
 
Inception
I’m having an incredibly difficult time sitting down to write this Inception review. Much like Christopher Nolan’s Memento, this film sits with you far longer than the hours you spend in the theater, and it’s a film that takes some time to mull over—not only just the plot but the imageries as well. And if any critic tells you they can easily critique Inception with just one viewing is a bold-faced liar. It is a film that takes repeated viewings merely to scratch away at the layers of complexity that unfold before your eyes. If this sounds hard to digest, however, fret not, movie goer. Inception is definitely a summer blockbuster disguised as a thinky, sci-fi drama. It has all the action and visual effects you crave, but, unlike most of the movies this summer, it is wholly original and a fantastic voyage to embark upon.

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Despicable Me
I wish there was a way for the little boy who sat behind me at Despicable Me to write this review. Because it shouldn't matter what I think; despite Hollywood's best efforts to make movies that appeal to both children and adults (the future father in me is very grateful for this), these movies are ultimately made for kids.

As a film critic I'm conditioned to analyze character development, cinematography, and a bunch of other crap that won't affect that little boy's enjoyment of the movie at all. While I sat calmly in my seat and watched the movie, he bounced around and squealed when it looked like 3D was popping off the screen. He giggled at fart jokes and laughed uninhibited when Dr. Gru's minions made a joke. He even rebuked the characters on the screen when they thought Dr. Gru wouldn't make it. "Oh yes he will!" he said loud enough for the entire theater to hear. And when you look at the movie from his perspective, it was pretty damn good!

It might not resonate with adults the way that Kung Fu Panda or Toy Story 3 did, but it is a fun, mindless escape. And for that reason I applaud it.

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The Last Airbender
I love going into a movie with absolutely NO expectations because either way I’ll be okay. If it’s good, it completely rocks my world, and if it’s bad then I still have a good time. I’m glad I went into The Last Airbender with no expectations and nary a scrap of what the plot contained because the movie is just merely so-so. That’s not to say I didn’t enjoy it—I had a fairly good time watching the special effects—but when I dive just a little deeper and try to look at the film from a critical eye, it doesn’t measure up. However, I feel like M. Nigh Syamalan’s adaptation is one really good commercial for the Nickelodeon animated series, and THAT I have high expectations for.

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