This Week in Film (8/4/13 - 8/11/13)

It's Master Post time once more! That means it's time to round up the posts that have been floating around this week; this time it's all reviews for recently released films. It's been a slower week due to my own busy-ish schedule and my desire to re-watch Breaking Bad in time for the premiere of the second half of the final season (which I intend to review). But there is still a collection of good to great movies here all of which I would recommend to some extent or another. Hopefully this following week offers up more variety and more films in general, but for now, let's tally it up:

Before Midnight (2013) - The fantastic sequel in this romantic trilogy picks up nine years after we last saw Jesse and Celine and the fate that awaited them after their fateful meet up in the equally great Before Sunset. It's best to watch the first two films before tackling Before Midnight as the three films work in concert with eachother, and this film plays off so much of the history of the series in massively rewarding fashion.

The Way, Way Back (2013) - Liam James' relatably inarticulate turn as Duncan is only one of many great performances on an extensive list of solid casting. Though it's technically James' film, the film in some ways is an ensemble piece with so many performers (including Steve Carrel, Sam Rockwell, and Allison Janney) elevating material that could so easily have been cliche. Its got its flaws but its sticky, familiar look at coming into your own is really funny, charming, and sweet.  

V/H/S/ 2 (2013) - The film is a bit of a mess when it comes down to it, but it's full of creativity and cool ideas and that saves it from completely getting swallowed whole. It's certainly an improvement from the first V/H/S which dashed from its peak to a number of valleys too often. The short films here have nifty horror concepts and a building sense of freakiness and dread, culminating in some killer third acts.

Mud (2013) - A small, lazy, naturalistic film set in a Southern bayou. It's the sort of film that has a character named simply Mud (played wonderfully by Matthew Mcconaughey) and that's the kind of simplicity and directness the film has. The story beats here are familiar but it tells them with ease and there's a nice, low-key coming of age story that somehow dovetails somewhat well with, an at times, exciting crime drama.