In the jungle, the mighty jungle..., part I.

A month of movies: August.

August might have been the averagest average that ever averaged. I'd advise everyone to steer clear of the last installment of Nolan's Batman, "The Dark Knight Rises" (trailer), but then everyone has either already watched it or will still go to see the mess anyway. And a mess it is, compared with its predecessors and even compared with everything else on offer this month. If you want to see a good action movie, walk past "The Bourne Legacy" (trailer) - an essentially superfluous sequel - and pay heed to the Indonesian "Serbuan Maut" (trailer), which may not be a brain of a film, but technically excellent and unlike the other two, exciting. Other than that, "Tao Jie" (trailer) doubtless is the best movie of this month from an entirely objective point of view (and its festival may count as proof of that), but personally, I took offense at the manipulative quality of its reoccurring emotional appeal. Finally, Woody Allen is insulting his critics in the average "To Rome With Love" (trailer) and Keira Knightley everyone with "Seeking A Friend For The End Of The World" (trailer).

The short -
Go and see: /
Well worth watching: /
Deserving a chance: Serbuan Maut (The Raid).
Average: Tao Jie (A Simple Life), The Bourne Legacy, To Rome With Love.
If you need closure: The Dark Knight Rises.
If you need real closure: Seeking A Friend For The End Of The World.

The long -