The Bourne Legacy: Survival of the Fittest

Where's the plot?
In this, the fourth Bourne movie, Jason Bourne isn't the only MIA situation. Though there's tons of mumbo-jumbo about Treadstar and black ops, the situation is rather simple.

Bourne is gone. (We miss you Matt Damon.)
We now have Aaron Cross (Jeremy Renner).

He's a chemically enhanced spy/contract killer for the CIA. And not the only one. But now, due to a lapse in security, the program must be disbanded. All operatives are destined for annihilation.

And there you have it. The rest of the movie is about Arron Cross fighting to stay alive. To do this he must bounce around the planet from Alaska to the Philippines, to Chicago, to Pakistan, to Virginia and a bunch of other places. Along the way, he enlists the help of Dr. Marta Shearing (Rachel Weicz), who lights up the screen and brings out the best in Renner and and his character, Cross

The Movie Slut went into the theater with low hopes, which were surpassed. Ever so slightly. Perhaps if she'd done her homework and reviewed the three previous movies. Then again, never underestimate the importance of a good plot.

Ruby Sparks: It Sparkles. It Glows. It Glistens.

Falling in love and writing fiction are both magical experiences.

That's what we learn in this brilliant rom-com, which is not as much a boy-meets-girl story as it is a boy-creates-girl tale. Or is it?

Movie-goers can decide for themselves if Ruby is real or the fictional creation of a young writer who reached literary greatness while still a teen and has suffered from writer's block ever since.

With Zoe Kazan in the staring role — she also wrote the screenplay — and her real life romantic interest Paul Dano, playing her movie lover, this flick has the feel and texture of early Woody Allen.

The Movie Slut's interpretation is that this film takes you inside the life and mind of a fiction writer — the agonies and the ecstasies of living with figments of the imagination, who don't always comply with the wishes of those who created them.

But she's also open to other interpretations. See it and let her know what you thing.

Hope Springs: Infernal

HS is an adult flick. And it's about sex.

But now that we've got your attention, we're sorry to say it's not erotic in the least. Doesn't even try to be.

Kay and Arnold (Meryl Streep and Tommy Lee Jones) have been married for 31 years and aren't getting any. They sleep in separate rooms and share about six words a day.

While he seem fine with the arrangement, she wants and needs more.

Enter Dr. Feld (Steve Carrell), a couples therapist. Kay sees him hopefully, Arnold, reluctantly.

Carrell, who plays it straight as the marriage doc, offers little insight into their arctic rift. We never learn why Arnold is so angry, but somehow this marriage is saved so we can have a happy renewal-of-vows scene at the end.

The Movie Slut doesn't know any women like Kay. She's a throwback to the pre-Feminine Mystique days. Obviously, she's never read Cosmo or attended a sex toy party. It's difficult to believe she exists outside the confines of the 1950s or an ultrareligious cult. Still, it's great to spend time with Meryl, whether she's a cookbook writer, a British prime minister or a housewife from the dark ages. She makes the unbelievable seem possible.

Total Recall: Unmemorable

"I may not remember who I was," Colin Farrell says in TR. "But I know who I am."

That promising line reminds us that this hectic, mindless sci-fi thriller began life with a decidedly more cerebral bent.

Based on a Philip K. Dick short story and following in the heels of a 1990 Arnold Schwarzenegger flick of the same name, it's a post-apocalyptic story of a restless young man who may or may not be a super spy.

The Earth is now inhabitable in only two places: The Colony and The United Federation of Britain. The former is a soggy slum that supplies workers for the posher Brits. Bored and unhappy, Doug Quaid (Farrell) visits a Rekall center that promises to implant memories that will lift his spirits. The question is whether this takes place or if the interrupted process triggers the reality of who he really is.

Unfortunately, most of the screen time is spent dashing around in various chases: on foot, in hover crafts, in boats, cars, etc. And the more Doug runs, the less we care about who he is. Or was.

The Watch: Costco Is For Members Only

The world is made up of two kinds of folks. Ben Stiller fans. And the other jerks.

OK, now you know which side The Movie Slut is on. And please know she's just kidding and has the greatest respect for those who shun the actor and all his movies.

This movie is for Stiller fans only. Once again he's a clueless, obsessive, uber-earnest guy, who never does anything unless it's 110 percent.

When he creates a neighborhood watch (with Vince Vaughn and Jonah Hill) in his squeaky clean Ohio neighborhood, he's not fooling around. He means it. Watch out bad guys. And when slimy aliens turn up as the trouble makers, he fights them to the green oozing end.

Stiller, is the manager of a Costco store and he takes the members-only rule as seriously as he takes everything else. And that's all The Movie Slut will say about The Watch.

The Dark Knight Rises: End of the Trilogy

Reviewing this film after the Aurora tragedy is nearly impossible. It's difficult to view it without mourning for those who lost their lives on opening night. It's tough not to worry about those entering and leaving the theater while the movie is showing, and not to wonder what the young man sitting alone next to you is texting so busily.

Having said all that, the Movie Slut and her megaplex companion agreed this was far from the best movie of the summer. Strangely, that enhanced their movie going experience. The lazy plotting and sloppy staging made for some pretty funny moments. This Dark Knight is only for the bat guy's most ardent fans. The ones who love him unconditionally.

Good news. The Movie Slut is not going deaf. The reason she missed many lines in DK is because they were mumbled behind masks and competing with the thundering soundtrack. Thank the New Yorker magazine for confirming this. 

Beasts Of The Southern Wild: Water World

Beasts takes moviegoers into the soggy Louisiana bayou to meet a ragtag community of fiercely independent souls. The film doesn't celebrate their way of life. Indeed, most of us would consider them the underbelly of society, boozing, drugging and existing at the mercy of the elements.

And yet, they are living on their own terms. Is there not glory in that?

The film is elevated by Hushpuppie, the 6-year-old narrator, who never slips into obnoxious movie kid know-it-allness. She's as confused as anyone and just trying to make sense of her world.

The arrival of a ferocious storm upsets the tentative equilibrium of this community. You'll have to see the movie to learn the rest of the story.