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Animation is a wonderful medium that allows us to create worlds and creatures that would not be possible in the realm of live-action film-making. However, like in live-action, the most important aspect in animation is the story. No matter how fantastic your visuals will be or how funny and multi-generational your jokes are, if your script is not up to snuff, your film is going to be simply average. Featuring an all-star cast of talented film and television actors, Monsters vs. Aliens is similar to an amusement park ride. You have fun while on it, it all passes by very quickly and then you forget about it some moments later as you go on the next ride.

When a planet explodes and a meteorite enters the Earth's atmosphere, Susan Murphy (Reese Witherspoon) comes in contact with it and soon she grows into a giant. Naturally, she is caught by the government and detained in a top-secret building with other monsters: a scientist who experienced a botched experiment to give people the live-span of cockroaches (Hugh Laurie), a gelatinous blob with no brain (Seth Rogen), a playboy fish-ape hybrid (Will Arnett) and finally, the chemically-altered Insectosaurus. When an alien leader Galaxaar (Rainn Wilson) attacks the planet, the President (Stephen Colbert) calls upon this group of monsters to help save the day.

Monsters vs. Aliens just feels like a fun excuse to show off some impressive visuals, but without a concrete story, it's hard to care for the main characters or their quest to save the world. Susan is quite under-developed and I didn't feel much emotion for her character in the same way I did for, say, Stitch (from another animated science-fiction comedy Lilo & Stitch) or last year's Wall-E. The best aspect of the film is B.O.B. Seth Rogen does a great job in the role and even when he's not saying anything or when the scene is not centered on him, the character's facial expressions are hilarious to watch. Stephen Colbert also does some funny work as the President of the United States (the role he was pretty much born to play). The rest of the actors do good jobs, but nothing quite impressive. Had a professional voice actor like Jim Cummings and Tress McNeille taken on those roles, they would have knocked them out of the park.

In any case, the film has enough good humour and well out-together action sequences that the audience will not be bored by it and Monsters vs. Aliens feels half as long as the advertised running time. However, some added character development would have helped the film from being just another run-of-the-mill DreamWorks animated comedy. While certainly better than the likes of Shark Tale or Madagascar, it doesn't reach the heights of their other comedies, most notably Shrek and Bee Movie. Monsters vs. Aliens is a good enough for a rental or a cheap matinée screening, but paying extra for the 3-D glasses isn't a good investment for such an adequate product.

For years, teenagers have connected with one another through music and the discovery of new and different bands. Even though technology has allowed music to be more widespread and portable, there is still the thrill of late-night adventures seeking live performances from favourite bands. In Peter Sollett's Nick and Norah's Infinite Playlist, he brings this out on screen in a fun manner that shows you do not necessarily need crude humour or death-defying encounters to make a night out with friends an interesting and worth telling story. Throughout the film, the audience becomes more enriched by the characters and their ideas. Nick and Norah could have easily become a smug "teenagers rule over all" tale like this year's Charlie Bartlett, but is instead is a sweet romance between two individuals that most people can easily relate to.

Nick (Michael Cera) is the guitarist for a queercore band with his two friends Dev and Thom (Rafi Gavron and Aaron Yoo). He is currently grieving over the separation between his former girlfriend Tris (Alexis Dziena), but decides to join his friends for a performance out in New York City. In an act of desperation, he encounters Norah (Kat Dennings), who asks Nick to be his boyfriend for five minutes. After her drunken friend Caroline (Ari Graynor) runs off into the city, Nick and Norah along with his friends scour the city in search of her. Meanwhile, Tris is decides to go after Nick to find out if it truly is over between them.

One of the key successes of this film lies with the ensemble cast of talented young actors. Adults are barely featured in this film, as the teenage characters are given the overall spotlight here and Peter Sollett has hired some very good actors to play these parts. Michael Cera is still playing the awkward individual he has been doing since Arrested Development, but he still grows into the part well, as his character is not quite as nervous as previous roles. He proves to be likable and relatable in the part and his chemistry with the other actors comes off very well. Kat Dennings surpasses him, though, giving Norah a sarcastic wit and coming off as very easy to relate to. The way Nick and Norah progress throughout the film is handled very well by Cera and Dennings. Ari Graynor deserves some acclaim for her wacky, but still nuanced performance as Caroline. She is given the bulk of "stunts" in this film, particularly when sharing the screen with a piece of gum that ends up becoming a separate character by itself. Aaron Yoo, Rafi Gavron and Jonathan B Wright allow their best friend roles to become more than just simple stereotypes as they prove just as likable as the leads. Jay Baruchel also does a fine job in a small role that is definitely very far from the meek actor he played in last summer's Tropic Thunder.

Credit should also go to first-time screenwriter Lorene Scafaria, adapting the original source material by Rachel Cohn and David Levithan. She writes a funny and intelligent script with well-developed characters who evolve effectively and realistically as the film goes on. She also does not go the Adventures in Babysitting route by showing New York after hours as a grungy underworld, instead opting for a more light-weight approach to the material. She understands the independent musical scene of the Big Apple and she portrays it effectively throughout the course of the film. Director Peter Sollett and Cinematographer Tom Richmond also do well in lighting the city and allowing it to breathe. Even though the large majority of Nick and Norah takes place at night, there is still plenty of light that shines through, particularly in showing the vast culture. Legendary locations like the New Jersey Turnpike, Times Square and Pennsylvania Station also make appearances to give the film an even more New York feel.

Nick and Norah's Infinite Playlist simply wants to be a fun, breezy ride through New York's music scene and the audience is happy to go along with it. The characters are easy to relate to, the writing is intelligent and the direction is solid. Though there have been plenty of "one night in the city" films, Nick and Norah's Infinite Playlist manages to stay fresh and original and unique through its running time. Overall, this is definitely one to watch at the evening showing with the buddies.

Ben Stiller is a funny actor who manages to create likable characters, even when playing mousy, irritable types. This reviewer's reaction to Stiller's directing efforts, however, have been less than positive. The Cable Guy was an un-even film that, despite a couple of interesting moments, started to get much too ridiculous and creepy in the third act. Meanwhile, I found his 2001 "comedy" Zoolander, a riff on the male model industry, to be a complete disaster failing to release a signal laugh from me. With Tropic Thunder, he finally succeeds in making a film that is smart and gives talented actors some worthy material. While Tropic Thunder is nothing more than a fun summer diversion, there is still plenty to like about it, despite its occasional flaws. Unlike Zoolander, it does not take itself too seriously or nor does it spend more time on its visual style rather than its humour. Stiller intelligently relies on more than just a one-joke premise and actually manages to make the audience care for a bunch of whiny actors. As long as he doesn't butcher this rare success with a poor sequel, Stiller the director remains on my good graces.

Tugg Speedman (Ben Stiller) is a popular action star whose attempt at dramatic acting becomes such a massive failure, he decides to star in Vietnam war epic Tropic Thunder to get back on top again. Award-winning Australian method actor Kirk Lazarus (Robert Downey Jr) is also hired to star in the film, but as a black character, leading him to have plastic surgery to make himself be the character even when the cameras aren't rolling. They are joined by Jeff Portnoy (Jack Black), a flatulence obsessed comedian with a strong heroin addiction, rapper-turned-actor Alpa Chino (Brandon T Jackson) and aspiring young actor Kevin Sandusky (Jay Baruchel). After a disastrous day on set that infuriates the film's maverick producer Les Grossman (Tom Cruise), director Damien Cockburn (Steve Coogan) decides to shoot the whole film guerilla style in the real Vietnamese jungle. Not surprisingly, however, chaos ensures as the actors are mistaken for real soldiers and they finally have to put their wits to the test.

Due to his high-standing status in Hollywood, Ben Stiller has managed to procure some major actors for the film and except for one occasion, he does not rely on stunt casting as each actor does well in each part. Stiller himself is fine in the lead role, playing his usual self while still managing to poke fun at the typical action star. Jack Black manages to be his funniest here, not necessarily when parodying the obvious Eddie Murphy influence in Portnoy, but more in his random rants as a result of the lack of heroin. Brandon T Jackson and Jay Baruchel round out the troop by playing more the straight men in the house of wackos and intelligently not going too over-the-top. The stand-out in the cast is Robert Downey Jr, who parodies both the problems of extreme method acting and ethnic stereotyping that one might see in a film. Downey Jr does so well in the part of Lazarus, that once the character reverts back to his normal self, it comes as such as a shock due to how well he portrayed the African American soldier in the previous ninety minutes. Other actors would have completely gone wild with the character, yet Downey Jr is subtle enough that we start to forget that he was Tony Stark earlier this summer or Charlie Chaplin back in the early 1990's. Like his character, he truly disappears into the role.

Steve Coogan is a delight as the director trying to keep himself under his control and the funniest moment in Tropic Thunder involves him in a dark, but wonderfully comical way. Matthew McConaughey is also enjoyable to watch as Speedman's incredibly loyal agent. After a slump in poorly written roles, his work here becomes his funniest role since the aging hipster in Richard Linklater's Dazed and Confused. If there is a disappointment in the cast, it's Tom Cruise as Grossman. Tom Cruise is a very talented actor, but Stiller gives him material that is designed more to be funny simply because it's Tom Cruise as a balding, fat wanna-be hip-hop dancer. What could have been an interesting take on the typical studio executive mogul is wasted away on stunt casting and lousy writing. The watch-ability of his scenes are elevated thankfully because of the presence of McConaughey and Bill Hader. While watching those scenes, I wanted the film to just get back to the jungle-deserted actors. The more action-oriented scenes also lack much humour, but the performances from the actors are enough to make up for it, particularly in one moment when Lazarus has a truly worthy revelation.

Yet, despite the lack of humour in the aforementioned scenes, there are enough funny scenes to make for it. The fake trailers that start before the film has even started are all well-handled and truly hilarious parodies of the previews of major action sequels and serious dramatic fare vying for awards gold. The way in which Iron Man and Spider-Man are put together is a pure comedic delight. Yet, the fake previews also work well in establishing who the characters are. Celebrity scandals, perfectly placed product placements, the questionability of the "true story" label and actors playing handicapped roles are also skewered with intelligent vigor and done in funny ways. Overall, Tropic Thunder is nothing more than a funny action comedy aimed at making people laugh and it certainly succeeds in that regard.