Movie of the Day: "Little Miss Sunshine" (2006)

Time for another wacky family road trip movie, with 2006's Little Miss Sunshine stepping up to the plate as today's summer vacation pick. So popular it became a Best PIcture nominee, with Alan Arkin winning an Oscar for a character he's been playing ever since, and little Abigail Breslin being nodded as well. A cast filled with indie dream actors peppers this movie with humor, charm and chemistry as the dysfunctional family in crisis sets off in a busted up minivan to take little Olive (Breslin) to the Little Miss Sunshine beauty pageant in California. Heartwarming and crowdpleasing, and topped off with a hilarious climactic dance scene involving Rick James's "Superfreak," for which Breslin got the nomination. A little sentimental maybe, but it's still fun to hang out with this group of misfits, especially Steve Carell as the scene-stealing suicidal uncle.

Original Trailer:

FIRST LOOK: "Avengers: Age of Ultron"

As always, EW.com has the exclusive first stills from the Avengers sequel, coming out next summer. You get a look at the twins Scarlet Witch and Quicksilver (played by Elizabeth Olsen and Aaron Johnson, who were married in Godzilla), and several shots of the Avengers themselves, so you can see who's got a new look and who doesn't. Nice to see Don Cheadle hanging out with the gang (below) as Rhodey presumably makes a cameo the way Pepper did in the first one. And I'm not surprised to see Chris Evans front and center with RDJ on the magazine cover, especially after Winter Soldier did so well this spring.

TRAILER: "Mommy"

This Canadian comedy-drama from 25-year-old French filmmaker Xavier Dolan won the Jury Prize at the Cannes Film Festival and got great reviews from the critics. I would imagine it would be Canada's entry in the Foreign Language Film category at the Oscars next year, but we'll see. And in case you were wondering, yes this movie was filmed in that strange 1:1 aspect ratio you see on the trailer. It's a bit jarring to look at but it didn't seem to deter the critics any, so I guess it works. It's being released in September, but I don't know when we'll see it in the U.S. (maybe not until next year).

Movie of the Day: "Summertime" (1955)

I recommended this film back when we celebrated Katharine Hepburn's birthday, but it's also a perfect entry in our summer movie week, as the title obviously suggests. A middle-aged Kate Hepburn is a single, independent woman who journeys to Venice by herself, and proceeds to fall in love with the city and Rossano Brazzi, the dashing Italian stranger who sweeps her off her feet. David Lean makes Venice look ravishing (as he had a knack for doing wherever he filmed) and it's a gushingly romantic movie that may have defined the term "chick flick," but it's so good that it doesn't matter. Just let it whisk you away on the waves of fleeting summer romance.

Original 1955 Trailer:

TRAILER: "Rio, I Love You"

A sequel of sorts in the continuing series of anthology films based in one city, following 2007's Paris, je t'aime and 2009's New York, I Love You. I don't recognize many of the directors in this one though, other than Paolo Sorrentino (The Great Beauty) and Fernando Mereilles (City of God). It may not amount to much, seeing as Paris je t'aime is still the only celebrated film in this series, and all anthology movies are by nature, hit and miss.

TRAILER: "Laggies"

Another Sundance hit is coming out in October, and this one stars Keira Knightley (as an American!), Chloe Moretz and Sam Rockwell. Directed by Lynn Shelton, the independent filmmaker known for films like Humpday and Your Sister's Sister, but this is supposed to be her most commercial movie yet. As jarring as it is to hear Keira Knightley speak in an American accent (her voice sounds totally different, but it does look like she's improved it since 2005's The Jacket), the movie looks like it could be kind of cute. It comes out Oct 24th.

Movie of the Day: "National Lampoon's Vacation" (1983)

Our next summer vacation classic is National Lampoon's Vacation, from 1983, where the dopey and clueless Clark Griswold hauls his family on a cross-country drive to visit the famed Wally World in California. This is Chevy Chase in peak form, as his earnest and naive all american guy persona gradually shifts to desperate and crazed as the disastrous vacation takes its toll on him. Everything that could go wrong, does go wrong, from dead grandmas to creepy Cousin Eddie (Randy Quaid) and because they didn't have to cater to the bland and destructive PG-13 rating in the 80's, there's no problem shifting tones from slapstick hijinks to subversive black comedy, which makes it even funnier and gives it an edge the later ones didn't have. Like with yesterday's pick Jaws, the sequels destroyed this franchise quickly (although Christmas Vacation has its moments), but the original still cracks me up. It's Chevy Chase at his best (also directed by the late, great Harold Ramis).

Original 1983 Trailer:

Blu-Ray Pick of the Week: "Pickpocket" (1959)

After a couple of sorry weeks with virtually no good options released on blu-ray, our weekly feature is finally back with a great pick from the always reliable guys at Criterion Collection. French director Robert Bresson was the master of minimalism, and he's normally something of an acquired taste. Pickpocket though, is one of his most accessible movies, the slick and quietly moving story of how an expert thief goes about his work. It feels very modern in style and acting (as Bresson's movies usually do) and the crook's redemption at the end is enough to bring a tear to your eye. Definitely seek this one out if you can.

Original 1959 Trailer:

TRAILER: "Big Hero 6"

Disney's full trailer for their November 7th release, Big Hero 6, is a little weird, as it spend more than a full minute on just one scene, emphasizing the comedy of the kid's man-made, robot superhero. But it looks like it might be kind of fun. It's Disney's first film based on a newly acquired Marvel property and it's going to be set it the fictional San Fransokyo (a combination of San Francisco and Tokyo) so at least that's something different.

Movie of the Day: "Jaws" (1975)

Since we're right in the middle of this long hot summer, our Movie of the Day series is back this week to celebrate the best summer vacation movies. We'll start with this one, the movie most responsible (along with the original Star Wars) for creating the term "blockbuster" in the first place. And it was for exactly that reason- in the summer of 1975 people were lining up around the block to see this thrilling adventure-horror flick about a killer shark feeding on the tourists of the vacation spot known as Amity Island. Sadly, I really believe that short attention spans would leave people cold to this film if it came out today, because it's mostly character driven and you don't even get to see the shark until late in the movie. That was the result of how difficult it was to film at the time (the hassles of the shooting on the water with the robot and all), but it led to greatness and the movie remains one of Steven Spielberg's very best (maybe even his best). Roy Scheider, Robert Shaw and Richard Dreyfuss make an unforgettable shark hunting trio, whom you care about just as much as seeing the great white itself. Watch Jaws again and remember just how fresh and original blockbuster movies used to feel, before everything followed a formula.

Original 1975 Trailer:

REVIEW: "Begin Again" (2014) Keira Knightley, Mark Ruffalo. Dir. John Carney

If one of the primary reasons for going to the movies is to enjoy yourself, I could not possibly recommend Begin Again enough. A sweet, wonderful, character-driven and ultimately uplifting story with a lovely soundtrack filled with original songs by former New Radicals frontman Gregg Alexander...what more could you ask for on a weekend matinee, especially as a delightful alternative to all those explosions and action filled spectacles filling theaters this summer. I smiled all the way through it, from beginning to end.

John Carney famously caught lightning in a bottle with 2007's Once, the low budget independent film about two people finding each other and themselves through their connection with music, and the film went on to win the Oscar for Best Original Song and was eventually turned into a Broadway musical. So here we are, seven years later and Carney has returned to play around in those same waters with Begin Again, another original story about two people connecting through song. If it sounds like a bigger budget, more polished, Hollywood version of Once with some big name actors, that in no way proceeds to make it feel less lovely and warm, and that's due to the human characters and sincerity of the emotions.

A big help to that is in the casting, as here we have Mark Ruffalo as a down on his luck, alcoholic, washed out music producer named Dan who was once at the top of the industry but hasn't signed anyone in over seven years. Ruffalo has this unabashed, scruffy charm that you just can't scrub off of him, and he excels at these kinds of characters because that natural, ragged authenticity just can't help but shine through.  He's also got an estranged wife and teenage daughter (Catherine Keener and Hailee Steinfeld) and even though he's a total screw-up we're immediately drawn to him simply because he's Mark Ruffalo, and he is a talented producer who's just been unlucky lately. His luck's about to change though, because in the movie's first scene he comes across a mild singer-songwriter in a club one night, performing a soft folk song in front of a crowd of distracted patrons, and his producer's mind immediately starts working overtime as he catches on to her style and imagines the song in his head, arranged with the background instruments playing themselves to accompany and bolster her sound. It's a magical musical moment, one that sets the tone for the optimistic arc the story will take.

Keira Knightley is Greta, the singer (yes, she did her own singing!), and she's also at a down moment in her life, having come to New York City with her boyfriend Dave (Adam Levine), with whom she worked as his songwriting partner, but who's now made it big from having his own music featured in a film, and quickly falls in love with the rock world that opens up for him from becoming successful. As a result of that, Dave reveals himself to be kind of a tool (most obviously represented by his growing a beard "as big as neck," as one character notes) and dumps Greta for a floozy, leaving her stranded in New York, sleeping on the couch of her pal from back home (James Corden). When Corden talks her into performing that fateful night, she gives a quiet, un-showy performance but of course it's a showstopper for Dan, who accosts her with his personality and offers her a chance to record a demo. The chemistry between Ruffalo and Knightley is wonderful and the rapport that develops between them over their shared love of music makes this film into an old-fashioned semi-romantic comedy of the kind Hollywood really doesn't make anymore. The two set out on their goal of recording an album on the streets of the city with no studio behind them in order to get the authenticity of the real life hustle and bustle. The shooting on location in and around the various clubs and corners of New York make it a summer love letter to the city in the best possible way- one of my favorite scenes is when Dan and Greta share a headphone splitter as they stroll through the streets at night and share each other's playlists.

All of this of course needs the actual music that Greta writes to be at least somewhat good to justify Dan's discovery and faith in her talent, and I'm happy to say that for me the songs were great. I hesitate to give an opinion on original music in any film (the quality of songs is intensely subjective, much more so than movies even), but I really think "Lost Stars" in particular, that Adam Levine performs near the end of the movie on stage, is a gem and will likely be remembered at the Oscars next year (I also really like Keira's rendition of "Tell Me If You Wanna Go Home," performed on a rooftop in another great scene).

John Carney has a major talent for taking an old-fashioned story (two people meet, form a connection, bring each other happiness) and fashioning it into a crowd pleasing charmer of a film. In this one the characters are likable, the acting is great from all involved (even the bit parts from Keener to Steinfeld, and most surprisingly, Levine in his film debut) and the music works fabulously. That he can do this without making the audience feel awash in sentiment is genuinely impressive (I especially appreciated the refreshingly unromantic ending, which shows you how those can be happy ones too). This is no guilty pleasure, it's just a pleasure period, and that makes it a terrific companion piece to Once.

* * * 1/2

BOX OFFICE 7/11-7/13: 'Apes' Takes the Box Office With $73 Million

Dawn of the Planet of the Apes got off to a very strong start this weekend, pulling in $73 million, which was above expectations, and earning an "A-" Cinemascore to go along with the terrific reviews. It should do very well in the coming weeks, with no direct competition until Guardians of the Galaxy comes out on the 1st, but legs overall have been very hard to predict this summer, with no movie managing to get above $250 million total, despite several opening to over $90 million dollar weekends.

In second place, Transformers raked in $16 million for a new total of over $200 million, but this movie will easily be the lowest grossing Transformers movie in the series (domestically, of course), while 22 Jump Street climbed back into the top five, showing off the staying power it's had since it came out, and Tammy actually held pretty well despite its terrible Cinemascore rating last week, pulling in $12 million for a $57 million total. The Weinstein Co.'s Begin Again also made it into the top ten (#9) this week after a big expansion, pulling in $2.9 million from 939 screens.

Top 5:

1. Dawn of the Planet of the Apes- $73 million
2. Transformers: Age of Extinction- $16.5 million
3. Tammy- $12.9 million
4. 22 Jump Street- $6.7 million
5. How to Train Your Dragon 2- $5.8 million

In limited release, Boyhood took in $353,000 from 5 screens, for an amazing $73k per theater average. The movie will continue to expand slowly, so be sure to look for it in your area as it makes its way across the country. Next week it's Cameron Diaz and Jason Segel's comedy Sex Tape, which will probably kick Tammy out of the top five as the new comedy in the marketplace, so stay tuned.