LA Weekend: Reviews Galore - Had a very restful weekend in Southern California, enjoying the Fourth of July with my family and Kevin. Between BeanScene Blasts and lambic beer, we did have time to see a couple movies.

First, we saw My Big Fat Greek Wedding, which had been hyped as a hilarious romp. It was amusing enough, especially any time Andrea Martin was onscreen. But overall, I felt like the timing lagged, the characters cartoonish, and I simply didn't buy the development of the relationship between the bride and groom. The mother and father of the groom seemed especially lacking in any depth at all, even of a stereotypical nature. Joey Fatone notwithstanding, I didn't enjoy Wedding anywhere close to what I had expected, and therefore, I must give it a C.

Next up, we saw Cherish at the trendy new upscale theater for-movie-lovers-by-movie-lovers on Sunset and Vine, Arclight. Cherish is a fun, lightweight arthouse flick, with Robin Tunney of The Craft. It's set in San Francisco where a wrongfully accused woman is placed under house arrest for running over a cop. With most of the action taking place within a single room, Cherish is much more amusing than you'd imagine, featuring cameos from Jason Priestly and Nora Dunn. I'd give it a solid B/B+.

As for the Arclight, its shtick is that you get reserved seating in their new, plush, THX-equipped theaters; screening that are guaranteed to start on time; and a friendly usher who introduces the film and stays in the theater to ensure that the conditions are perfect for viewing. There's an onsite cafe with a bar and interesting menu, which is convenient, but the execution leaves something to be desired. The chicken on my "Grilled" Chicken Caesar salad and on Kevin's Chinese Chicken salad was exactly the same bland, flavorless meat boiled until it was devoid of color. A fairly tasty Ambrosia martini and passionfruit mousse almost made up for it.