(500) Days Of Summer

Rating: PG-13

Movie Release Date: July 17, 2009

DVD Release Date: December 22, 2009

Plot 411: Tom believes in soul mates. Summer doesn't. This is their story.

Review: When Tom (Joseph Gordon-Levitt) sees Summer (Zooey Deschanel) for the first time, he knows instantly she's the one he's been waiting for his whole life. He believes in that kind of stuff. Summer, who recently moved to L.A. from Michigan, just wants to have fun and is not interested in a boyfriend. Their one-sided love story unfolds non-linearly and retraces their relationship as Tom retells the events to his two best friends and his younger sister. This movie didn't turn out to be as dramatic or comedic as I anticipated, but I still enjoyed it's quirky indie vibe. I especially loved the Enchanted parody and was amazed at Gordon-Levitt's singing and dancing ability. As the advertisments about this film reveal, this is not a love story. It's an un-love story, yet despite this negative-sounding concept it is actually pretty positive. The audience is privy to both the good and bad events that take place during Tom and Summer's relationship. Nothing major happens, but then isn't this like most relationships? There's no one big event that broke them up. There was no shouting match. No cops were called for domestic disturbances. Gordon-Levitt and Deschanel played the roles straight and you can find humor and sorrow in daily interactions and life in general. I loved Gordon-Levitt the most during Tom's times of heart break because you can practically feel his pain through the screen.

Watch It: If you enjoyed Gordon-Levitt in Brick or The Lookout. While those are definitely movies of a different genre, his performance continues to be wonderful in its subtlety.

Skip It: If found his best work to be in G.I. Joe: The Rise Of Cobra. In my opinion, he completely sold out by taking that role and it's one of his worst.

The Lookout

Rating: R

Movie Release Date: March 30, 2007

DVD Release Date: August 14, 2007

Plot 411: A man just trying to get his life together after suffering a head injury is recruited for a bank heist.

Review: This was a complex story about the choices (many of which are bad) we make in life and how the affect our future. On his prom night, Chris Pratt (Joeseph Gordon-Levitt) makes the seriously bad decision to drive without his headlights on and gets into an accident that kills two of his friends and injures another. Chris also suffers serious head injuries that still affect him four years later. Just trying to live like everyone else, he has a job as a janior at a bank. Internally, Chris struggles to get a grip on things. This is difficult when he has moderate memory loss, a hindrance in some of his motor skills and just finds it hard to make it from one moment to the next. When Gary (Matthew Goode) approaches him with a quick fix to get his life together and be normal once again, he makes another bad decision. One thing leads to another and Chris is in one of the worst situations of his life. Gordon-Levitt's performance is powerful because of its subtlety. He doesn't overact Chris' struggles, but the audience is clearly aware that there are many challenges in his life. He doesn't make the character pitiful and in fact shows us just how determined Chris can be. Jeff Daniels plays Lewis, Chris' roommate and friend who is blind. Both characters rely on each other but also understand each other's strengths and failures. Isla Fisher also has a small part as Chris' love interest. This was a really good character-driven script that allowed the actors to really emote.

Watch It: For a close look at one person's struggle in life and how he decides to deal with it.

Skip It: If you're looking for an Ocean's Eleven-like heist film.