on summer movies

what with it being summer and generally nice outside, i have been neglecting my netflix queue somewhat. on the positive side, that means i've been playing ultimate, tennis, basketball, volleyball, or just out and about on my bicycle. however, i've made it to three movies this summer which i think is more than the past couple summers combined.

the first movie i saw this summer was WINTER'S BONE, a slice-of-life following a 17 year old girl trying to track down her father who jumped town while out on bond. she has to find him before his hearing date since he posted the family's house and land as collateral. understated but able to be followed, it spins a neat tail full of local details (missouri ozarks) and plenty of feeling without growing maudlin.

although it doesn't have much in common with the second movie i saw, INCEPTION, they both thrived by not over-explaining and expecting the audience to be able to follow along. for big budget movies, it seems that no one is doing better job of crafting solid, thoughtful entertainment than christopher nolan and he now qualifies as one of the few directors with which i'll get unabashedly excited for his next movies, even knowing little about them.

the only other movie i saw this summer was DESPICABLE ME, an animated movie revolving around a super villain. it was unable to live up to the high standard set by pixar movies, but made for an enjoyable night all the same seeing it amongst friends.