Take This Waltz

Michelle Williams, Seth Rogen, Luke Kirby

Directed by Sarah Polley

Rating: C+

Margot (Williams) has a  restless nature. She obviously wants something more to happen in her life than the one she is living with her tame but loving husband, Lou (Rogen). They have fun together, but five years of marriage later and Margot is bored with the relationship. Lou writes cookbooks and is constantly making some chicken recipe in the kitchen. From what we see of their relationship, they love each other but there's no passion.

Coincidence seems to happen a lot when Margot meets Daniel (Kirby) in Nova Scotia. They happen to sit next to each other on the plane ride home. They share a taxi because after getting comfortable with each other up in the air, they find out they live near one another. Daniel says he can just walk home from Margot's house, only to get out of the taxi, point across the street and say "I live there". It's only inevitable the two should meet again, and with each encounter Margot is allowing herself to develop feelings for her neighbor.

It's hard to understand what Margot says sometimes when she decides to talk in a baby voice. Her character is scared of taking chances. Daniel is a big risk to take but he encourages her flirtations and makes her feel bold enough to ask "What would you do to me now?" when they're alone together. Margot tries seducing her husband at the wrong moment, like when he's cooking, and his rejection makes her feel embarrassed. So she flees to Daniel who won't rebuff her advances.

"Take This Waltz" changes the "unhappily married woman has an affair" plot. Instead, the married woman is in love with her husband. She was happy with what she had until she met Daniel, who she couldn't stay away from. There's not enough character development to understand why Margot has these fears, and there's that feeling that Daniel could be a stalker, even if it's just coincidence how Margot and Daniel meet. There's a likability to the movie. It's nice to see Seth Rogen in a role where he's not crude, but kind of genuinely sweet.

Man of Steel

Henry Cavill, Amy Adams, Michael Shannon, Russell Crowe

Directed by Zack Snyder

Rating: B+

Don't be fooled by the blue spandex and red cape, this Superman reboot is actually worth watching. With a little help from producer Christopher Nolan, "Man of Steel" feels like another "Dark Knight" movie but is far from it.

In this new Superman film, the audience gets a little more background on the planet Krypton, where Kal-El (aka Clark Kent) (Cavill)  is from. The movie starts out with Jor-El (Crowe) warning the higher authority of Krypton that the planet is about to be destroyed, and that he can save their race by sending his natural born son to a safe place. Jor-El's confrontation with General Zod (Shannon) is fatal, but he has at least saved his son from the same fate the planet will soon suffer.

Skipping ahead to his adulthood, Clark briefly flashbacks to important events during his childhood, mostly where his adoptive father warns Clark not to use his powers in public. The world isn't ready for someone like Clark, until danger from outside the planet threatens human existence. General Zod's appearance picks up the pace for the film, but it's not just Zod who takes the spotlight. Faora-Ul (Antje Traue) was one of Zod's soldiers trapped in a black hole as punishment for treason on Krypton. Faora is one of Zod's only soldiers to go out and kick butt. Lois Lane (Adams) is another female role that isn't primarily a damsel in distress. Lane isn't a soldier, in combat she needs saving. Her attitude isn't helpless, she goes back to the action rather than avoid it, but Lane is the one to help Clark defeat Zod.

At two-and-a-half hours, this movie is either going to drag on for some viewers or the time will fly by as fast as Superman can. It's hard to accomplish Clark Kent's background and get to the villain soon without rushing a few of the story lines. Snyder could have eased on the heavy-action packed scenes towards the end to focus more on Clark's childhood discovering his powers, or the treason committed by Zod in the first place. During Superman and Zod's up-in-the-air battle, they smash each other into city buildings and ruin the parts of Metropolis that hadn't been damaged by Zod's gravity machine.

Not quite a masterpiece, "Man of Steel" is still a better reboot compared to DC's previous try with "Superman Returns" in 2006. It's the most realistic of Superman movies. This film leads to a potential sequel either with Superman himself or the "Justice League" that isn't due for a release until 2015. It's hard to ignore the Nolan influence integrated in "Man of Steel" from Hans Zimmer's soundtrack to the stunning cinematography. Also using Zod as the main villain was the perfect set-up for a potential sequel, where Metropolis lies in ruins and Lex Luthor could be the next candidate as villain while he helps rebuild the city.

So unsure of whether to go see "Man of Steel"? Ask yourself this: if you liked the tone of Nolan's Batman trilogy, you will probably enjoy this reboot.

Like Crazy

Anton Yelchin, Felicity Jones, Jennifer Lawrence, Alex Kingston

Directed by Drake Doremus

Rating: B

"Like Crazy" is a love story. Boy and girl date, fall in love, enter complications here that during the course of the film, they try to work out. So what is it that attracts us to watch a movie we've seen told hundreds of different ways?

Anna (Jones) is from England, studying in Los Angeles with a student visa. Here comes Jacob (Yelchin), a local student. They fall in love. Anna's visa expires at the end of the semester, but she chooses to stay with Jacob. It's too hard to leave him. When she briefly goes home to England during the summer and comes back to Jacob in L.A. immigration officials refuse her entry because she violated her visa. The film boils down to their struggle of keeping a relationship.

We see both perspectives of Jacob and Anna. They fall in love fast, and for Anna, hard. The film is intimate, capturing the moments they fall in love, showing the first few months they're together in snapshots and indie music. When it's time for Anna to leave, we don't want her to go as much as she struggles to decide whether she should stay or not. But ultimately, they do get separated, and it's that time apart when Anna is denied entry into the U.S. that Jacob's love is quickly fading. He finds another girlfriend, played by Jennifer Lawrence. Anna tries to let go but she finds herself dialing Jacob's number after a night out with friends. She tells Jacob to come to London, and he goes willingly as soon as can.

It's undeniable that Yelchin and Jones have an on-screen chemistry together. It's needed to portray these characters well, to get across to viewers they're just two young adults fighting to keep themselves together. You want their relationship to thrive because you've invested time into seeing their relationship start. "Like Crazy" may not be the perfect love story but if you like sad romance movies, not a cheesy romantic comedy, this may be one to add to your "must-watch" list.