Don Jon

Joseph Gordon-Levitt has really been beating the pavement to garner publicity for his directorial debut, Don Jon, from a screenplay that he also penned. Gordon-Levitt plays the lead role of, Jon Martello, a quick-talking, ball busting, slick operating Italian twenty-something, who manages to pick up ladies like no one's business clad in only a cut-off tank. The role is one that many men will certainly be envious of, perhaps even more jealous of his co-star, Scarlett Johansson, who plays the role of, Barbara Sugarman, a voluptuous thick Jersey-accented "dime-piece" with a trunk full of attitude. Throw in Tony Danza, as his "chip off the old block" father, Glenne Headley, and Julianne Moore, and you have a supporting cast that is ripe with enriching performances and cross demographic appeal that is sure to score this movie a solid opening weekend. But, leave it to Brie Larson, who plays Gordon-Levitt's sister, Monica, to progress the plot in a significant way with her only two lines of the entire script.

Don Jon, seems a bit redundant and perverted at time's but, if you can make it past these moments you're in for a surprisingly candid movie that depicts the digressions that contemporary couples face in today's dating world. Two thumb's up to Gordon-Levitt for taking a chance with this one and striking a solid chord in the overly factory-churned out world, that has become the norm for Hollywood of late.

The Place Beyond The Pines

Place Beyond the Pines, is the latest picture from Derek Cianfrance, director of Blue Valentine. Cianfrance directed, Ryan Gosling, in both films and after seeing PBTP, I can see why Gosling wanted to be paired with the director again. It's a pretty risky film to decide to direct; following up the critical success of a movie like, Blue Valentine. But, Cianfrance who's worked with the likes of Run DMC and P. Diddy, wasn't deterred in the least. He attracted other A-list talent like, Eva Mendes, Rose Byrne, and Bradley Cooper to his well-written, well paced screenplay and the finished product is a picture that does stay with you, so to speak. It depicts how the trials and tribulations of life come to make a man, and how they can break him. It shows how fatherhood can skip a generation, but how those who hope to have the chance at it, sometimes never realize it. It's a clever picture, with great performances, and it's worth a watch.