there’s been a painful dearth of good movies out lately that weren’t serious oscar contenders (i.e., serious/dull/depressing dramatic films from late last year still being shown in hollywood theatres to bolster academy votes), and i’ve been dying to see some movies for ages. luckily, last weekend that came to a screeching halt with a two movie date in a row weekend, followed this weekend by another, and if i’m lucky a free screening of my most anticipated of the bunch on tuesday. but before i end up (hopefully) gushing about that one later this week, i’ll politely recommend you see any or all of the ones i’ve caught recently, in two sentences or less.

inside man – 3 stars

the problem with criminals and cops that are so cool and collected during the perfect heist, is that there ends up being so little opportunity for drama or tension. when everything goes off without a hitch, it’s slightly less fun to watch, even though it was still a cool robbery and a good movie, mostly because clive owen is a badass.

v for vendetta – 4 stars

the only reason this doesn’t get five stars — even though i liked it the best — is because as a film, it’s stuck between action classic (not enough action) and cool serpentine revolution drama (can’t imagine the twists are as powerful once you know them). but just because i reserve 5 stars for movies i’d watch again and again and don’t give half-points, doesn’t mean this movie wasn’t an exciting yet literate graphic novel adaptation i was proud to see pulled off, with the bonus goodness of ms. portman to boot.

thank you for smoking – 4 stars
some other reviews penalized this for not being hard-hitting enough when it could have made a stronger point, but i just saw it as an extremely successful comedy about a touchy subject. they may not have made a weighty social commentary but aaron eckhart’s character was excellently played and extremely funny, and the toes that are stepped on just make the jokes stronger.