Movie Micro-Reviews: Edition 94

Among today's movies, there is one I will highly recommend because you might not hear of it otherwise:  The Perks of Being a Wallflower. 

Fire in the Sky	40	“Based on a True Story” UFO encounter and abduction in Arizona in the ‘70s.  Interesting if you’re into that sort of thing.  Some acting talent (Robert Patrick, James Garner) but not recommendable.
October  Baby	39	The story has something to say, and it almost says it well enough to impress those not inclined to the message.  Unfortunately, the rere is a lot of disjointed writing before it gets to the point.  Can’t recommend.
Magic of Belle Isle	68	Understated, unhurried – built on character and good performances.  Morgan Freeman is always worth watching.
War of the Worlds	45	The only thing that puts this close to recommendable is a section of the film with Tim Robbins.  The rest is overblow, overacted, and unsatisfying.
Wreck-it Ralph	77	I liked it! John C Reilly was perfect for the role of a video game bad guy (ala Donkey Kong) who wishes he could be the good guy.  Sarah Silverman, forced to refrain from vulgarity (her typical schtick) is fun and funny.  And of course, the video game references hit home.  Qbert!
Perks of Being a Wallflower (The)	75	Take a troubled teen (Logan Lerman) on his first day as a freshman, find a believable way for him to get in with an odd group of odd seniors, including Emma Watson, and you have the chance for a decent story. It was better than decent.  Watson shows she is more than Hermione Granger – very touching.  Pain, drama and friendship.  Nicely done.
Bourne Legacy	52	The first 35-40 minutes could have been 10-15.  Jeremy Renner makes a good action hero, and thought Rachel Weisz in the role of damsel in distress scientist was OK, but there are too many bad guys, it’s too confusing, and the end felt like we were still in the middle.
Harry Potter and the Half Blood Prince	92	Oh, they did this well.  Plenty of humor and teen angst, but not too much.  Plenty of darkness, but not too much.  The young actors are growing well.  Harry on Felix – precious!  Hermione crying – very believable.  Ron lovedumb – so silly! The only problem was the way the ending was handled, which was not as dramatic as the story deserved.