I can say this much: where Ben Affleck lacks in acting chops, he more than makes up for it in his efforts behind the camera. Starting with Good Will Hunting, we discovered that Affleck’s contributions to screenplay writing were strong (he and Matt Damon took the Academy Award home to prove it). With Gone, Baby, Gone, he managed to further his reputation as a talented screenwriter, and also establish himself as a director who takes an honest, gritty, and of course, humorous approach to getting to the heart of the matter. Affleck chooses poignant stories that invariably tug at the heart strings—even if he is tackling subjects like children who get abducted for cash from their drug-addicted mothers or pathological bank robbers—and creates characters that you will feel empathy for, whether you like it or not. He makes you rethink what you believe to be right or wrong, and takes you on a twisted ride while doing it. Though this month’s ARGO didn’t follow his M.O. to a tee, like his other off camera credits, it did not disappoint.

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Beca is a big-town girl being led to carry out the life of a small-town college freshman. She is angst-ridden because her father (who she has a cordial relationship with at best) does not support her aspirations to become a DJ/music producer, and he has forced her to enroll at the university where he teaches. On her first day, as she makes her way about the quad touring the school’s activities fair, she is stopped by two very perky co-eds who encourage her to try out for their singing group The Bellas. The leaders of The Bellas go on to explain to Beca that these singing groups are the biggest thing on campus, and that this year, they plan to crush their rivals the Treble Makers. Though she initially declines the audition, she quickly changes her mind when her father makes her an offer she cannot refuse: if Beca makes a real effort to get the college experience for a year, he will let her drop out and move to Los Angeles to pursue her dream. And thus begins Beca’s exposure to the world of competitive acapella.

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Why would anyone in their right mind want to go see another one of these Step Up movies? The characters have no depth, the storylines lack originality, and the writing is just plain awful. Fine, maybe I can’t be considered in my right mind for enjoying them so much. I am a sucker for anything that involves dance—I’ll just put that out there now. I will expose myself to an inordinate amount of cheese if there is even a chance for one out-of-this-world dance sequence. The dancing in Step Up Revolution made me want to go back to Miami, jump up on a car, and start Crumping on Ocean Drive. Bottom line is, these movies make you want to get up and dance and you aren’t in YOUR right mind if you don’t enjoy feeling that way! For people like me (and the millions of other people watching these flicks), the creators of the Step Up franchise knew exactly what they were doing. This summer’s installment was no different.

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I pride myself on being a woman of my word. When I reviewed Mirror, Mirror back in March, I vowed that I would continue my ride on the fairy-tale bandwagon all the way to seeing Snow White and the Huntsman. And that I did. I cannot say that it exceeded my expectations, because I am not sure that anything involving Kristen Stewart ever will; however, it did meet said expectations, and I was certainly pleased with the outcome. The film succeeded at creating a darker and deeper version of the classic Grimm Brothers tale, and did its best to allot a third-dimension to its respective characters. From start to finish, the picture was beautiful visually, save for a few elements of the Dark Forrest that I could have done without (but an aversion to snakes is purely personal). Now, I could regurgitate a story that we have all heard over and over again (especially as of late), but I think it would be more exciting—at least for me— if I tell you exactly what sets this adaptation of Snow White apart from its television and cinematic predecessors.

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The Lucky One begins by telling the story of Logan Thibault (Zac Efron), a Marine serving his third tour in Iraq. The morning after an air raid, Logan finds the picture of a young blonde in the sand. When his search to locate the owner of the photo proves to be fruitless, he decides to pocket it in good faith. As a string of unfortunate events ensue, it starts to seem to Thibault that this picture is the only thing keeping him safe. Finally making it back state-side alive and intact, he realizes that beyond his German Sheppard, he no longer feels like a part of the life he used to lead. This spawns a quest to travel cross-country (by foot from Colorado to Louisiana) to find the woman he considers to be his lucky charm. Logan manages to track down Beth Clayton (Taylor Schilling), and by way of a very awkward first encounter, ends up landing a job doing dirty work for the dog kennel she runs with her grandmother (Blythe Danner) through their family home. Though at first it unnerves Beth how involved Logan becomes in her life, when certain things are ameliorated—like her turbulent relationship with her ex-husband (Jay R. Ferguson), or her son’s confidence in his musical abilities—she begins to let down her guard and enjoy his company. There is only one problem: she still has no idea why this mysterious, but delicious, creature made his way to her neck of the woods (and forgets to care for long enough to have one seriously hot make out session in an outdoor shower).

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A bit of background for those of you who, like me, did not grow up watching the show: The legacy of Moe, Curly and Larry (or Shemp) began in the 1920’s as a vaudeville act dubbed Ted Healy and His Stooges, until 1934 when they were finally named The Three Stooges. Characterized for their physical farce and slapstick form of comedy, the trio made several appearances in short subject and feature films, surviving changes in line-up and production companies. Altogether, the threesome (and its evolving members) appeared in over 200 films, most of which are still telecasted via syndication.

I’m not sure if it is because I have never seen an episode of the original Three Stooges (excuse the generational gap), or I just can’t appreciate Sean Hayes without his Will and Grace-esque flamboyancy; whatever the case may be, this April’s The Three Stooges movie was to say the least not enjoyable. Directed, produced and co-written by the Farrelly Brothers (There’s Something About Mary and Dumb and Dumber), I fear that their attempt at re-creating a comedy act that has spanned almost nine decades was lost to the cheap thrills of 2012’s silver screen.

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I have to admit that since the premiere of ABC’s Once Upon a Time, I have completely hopped on the fairytale adaptation bandwagon. That being said, I jumped at the opportunity to see Mirror, Mirror. Yes, that is a lot of “hopping” and “jumping,” and I will be skipping to go see this June’s Snow White and the Huntsman. But, I digress.

I didn’t know what to expect from Julia Robert’s (Eat, Pray, Love) Evil Queen or Lily Collin’s (Abducted) Snow White; what I found was a pleasantly funny take on the Grimm Brother’s timeless tale. Queen Clementianna (Roberts) gives evil a sarcastic and biting tone, and Snow White is utterly endearing. Team them up with a charming and witty Prince Alcott (Armie Hammer, The Social Network) and seven of the quirkiest dwarfs known to inhabit the Enchanted Forest, and you’ve got a cast of characters that everyone can enjoy.

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