2013 - Godzilla

I have to admit that I'm not super familiar with the history of Godzilla in cinema outside of the pop culture stuff that most people know.  I have to say that I found this to be pretty darn entertaining.  What I think was really amazing about the direction of this film was how well the POV of various people was used super effectively during our set piece to ground us in something and show us what this really means to be people outside of it rather than just being destruction for the sake of it.  Having Godzilla pitted against other monsters and being more of a heroic role was a much more solid choice than having him be our villain.  As you can imagine this film has it's fair share of hokiness, as some of Cranton's over the top pleading can attest - but on the whole it's entertaining, and while teasing a fair share of them, doesn't fall into the cliche these films often live in.  I loved the subtle way Godzilla was shown, especially through fighting - keeping us in other characters POV was really important for those sequences as well. Over-all - really well done and entertaining!

1840 - Despicable Me

It's been a lot of fun to rediscover old films with my son, but it's just as enjoyable to experience things for the first time with him as well.  Outside of the voice actors this didn't really seem that interesting to me from the advertisements, but we watched it anyway.  It's the story of an evil villain who is in danger of losing his evil corporate funding to a young hot shot unless he steals something amazing - The Moon!  It's Steve Carell vs. Jason Segal and it's pretty damn enjoyable.  In terms of the quality of writing it's not quite up there with the Pixar team, but it's not bad by any means.  Worth checking out if you haven't, and i'm sure my little guy will drag me to the sequel that's coming out.

1604 - The Dilemma

First off, is it weird to say that this just seemed like a bizarre choice for Ron Howard?  Granted the advertisements don't so much advertise the film they made as it advertises the kind of film you normally expect to see Vaughn and James in - so fair enough for the marketing team - I'm sure you hooked the right people in - but it's a fair assumption that they isolated their audience at the same time.
All that aside, I quite enjoyed this film about a friend who, in the middle of a big business deal with a stress-out partner, debates whether or not he tells said partner that his wife is cheating on him when he randomly discovers it.  I think what this film handled particularly well was the problems with the Do I/Don't I?  I bought the issues that he was facing and the prons and cons of both - it was a solid conflict.  The bigger issue with this film is that I don't think it finds a good middle ground in terms of the comedy and drama - it didn't have a tone that really kept it moving.  That and just other little things felt a tad forced - Vaughn as the recovering gambler just felt tacked on for plot purposes.  I think they needed to set this up and make me believe that this guy had a problem.
This is by no means the film of the year, but it's a decent enough one.  If you like these people involved and films about relationships then it'll probably be up your alley.
The Dilemma  The Dilemma