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In "Going the Distance," Drew Barrymore plays a quick-to-laugh, ambitious young hipster who loves cool indie bands, "Shawshank Redemption" and playing the old arcade games in bars. Jason Long, on the other hand, plays a quick-to-laugh, ambitious young hipster who loves cool indie bands, "Shawshank Redemption" and playing old arcade games in bars.

Hidden from critics until just before its release, the dirty secret about "The American" turns out to be that it's an "art film." Heavens, no!Director Anton Corbijn has crafted a quiet, haunting European thriller, drained of emotion and moving to its own deliberate pace.

"The Last Exorcism" is one of the scariest movies to come along in a long time — until the last five minutes or so, when it completely falls apart. Really, that's about how quickly it all collapses. Director Daniel Stamm's faux documentary starts out with deadpan delivery and a dry sense of humor, then it turns riveting, then truly frightening, then just plain silly.

Action and acting. More often than not, the two do not go hand-in-hand in American cinema. Hollywood has had its share of Stallones and Schwarzeneggers, actors that get by more on physique than performance — just look at the cast of “The Expendables.” But every now and then comes a movie that goes above and beyond putting those two A-words … as far away from each other as the universe will allow. In August 2010, that movie is “Takers.”

A character piece, a mystery, a yarn. Get Low is all of that. Robert Duvall plays one of the more memorable characters of his long career in this film based on events that took place in 1938 in Roane County, Tenn. Felix “Bush” Breazeale, a 74-year-old backwoods loner, staged a “funeral party” for himself while he was very much alive. A reported 12,000 people from 14 states attended the grand and unusual event.

Eighteen-year-old Kevin Carson lives in the projects with his loving, church-going grandmother. A nice young man who normally stays out trouble, Kevin works at Foot Locker and hopes to go to college. It’s summer in the city, July 4th weekend, and everybody’s talking about that $370 million Mondo Millions Lottery prize.

Next to 2006’s Nanny McPhee, that English-set tale of a homely Mary Poppins who’s both magical and mysterious, this summer’s Nanny McPhee Returns suffers in comparison, as many sequels do.

Mere words cannot describe how awesomely gnarly "Piranha 3D" is, how hugely entertaining, and how urgently you must get yourself to the theater to see it. Like, now. This is not a joke, by the way. This movie is a complete blast. To borrow a phrase from the kind of B-horror flicks to which "Piranha 3D" is such a loving and effective homage: Run, don't walk.

Mere words cannot describe how awesomely gnarly "Piranha 3D" is, how hugely entertaining, and how urgently you must get yourself to the theater to see it. Like, now. This is not a joke, by the way. This movie is a complete blast. To borrow a phrase from the kind of B-horror flicks to which "Piranha 3D" is such a loving and effective homage: Run, don't walk.