'Harry' to trump 'Summer' this weekend?

 

 
Heard the news?  The new "Harry Potter" adventure will likely dominate at the box office this weekend.  (Warner Bros. Pictures)

While it's true that "Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince" will most likely dominate the box-office cha-ching this weekend, the sixth cinematic installment in novelist J.K. Rowling's runaway hit fantasy series is hardly going it alone when it comes to new arrivals.

Before we move on, however, you can click here for the "Harry Potter" review or click on the Movie Reviews page link above.

Now, about other stuff.  I really like "(500) Days of Summer," the first feature from director Marc Webb.  "Summer" has the quirky feel of "Juno" with an added dash of clever technical gimmicks (split screen and such) and a playful dark tone that resonates reality.

It helps that Joseph Gordon-Levitt and Zooey Deschanel are very good together as they ride a 500-day relationship roller coaster through significant (and often hilarious) emotional peaks and valleys.

Click here for the review or head over to the Movie Reviews page.

Also this week:

"The Stoning of Soraya M.," opening in the Dallas area, provides a haunting, based-on-truth account of Stone Age injustice in the modern world.  (Click here for the review, or go to the Movie Reviews page.)

"Adoration," Canadian filmmaker Atom Egoyan's 12th feature, opens in San Antonio today (July 17).  Moody and intriguing, it's a study of a high school senior coming to grips with the loss of his parents.  A must-see for Egoyan devotees, it's a mixed call for the rest of us.

Click here for the review, or seek out "Adoration" on the Movie Reviews page.