To be honest, I had always shied away from Sandburg. Though my shelves are lined with poetry, I had first encountered him as the biographer of Lincoln. I realize now that because of his biography of Lincoln which is well respected I somehow always assumed his poetry would be sort of dry and historical as well.

Suffice to say, this is one of the best poetry books I’ve read in quite some time. Chicago is amazing, truly. Sandburg’s poems manage to be both gritty and also beautiful, at once. He both documents the hardships of life and makes them more bearable (and somehow more noble) at once. So, yes, this work definitely has an historical feel, but in an all encompassing work of a lifetime feel, not in the dry, dusty, why-did-I-ever-open-this-up category.

In all fairness, Wahlberg poured his very heart and soul into his character, training for more than a year in a home gym he built for just that purpose, and certainly stated in more than one interview that the message in “The Fighter” was a story of redemption not unlike his own rise to fame. However, I simply did not enjoy this film nearly as much as I thought I would, and that is the reason for the “3″ star rating. Perhaps I would have enjoyed it more were it not for the chance viewing of “Warrior” soon afterwards. However, “The Fighter”, as with most true stories, is worth watching if you happen to have 116 minutes to spare and there are no kiddos around (the film has an “R” rating and is suitable only for adults).

Perhaps part of my enjoyment stemmed from the stellar performances of the three leading men, each of whom played their parts so close to the vest that it was not clear until the very end whether any affection might have survived their shared past family history. The fight scenes were amazing, and my favorite scene was the first time younger son Tommy Conlon (Tom Hardy) gets in the ring. I also have a strong affection for the sport of mixed martial arts, and I enjoyed seeing the “behind the scenes” of how fighters train for their sport. Finally, whether “true” or not in the literal sense of the word, the story in “Warrior” is so deep and well-developed that it might as well have been, and certainly its effect on the viewer (in this case, me) could not have been more heartfelt if it had been based on actual fact.

“Real Steel” revolves around the complex relationship between a boy and his absentee Dad, and that Dad’s long-suffering girlfriend. The stage upon which the drama of human emotional evolution takes place is “robot boxing”, a new-era sport which relies on human programming skill and robot brawn to give washed-up former superstars like Dad a second lease on life – and hope.

In this way, “Real Steel” inspires whether it means to or not, which is a fact that has prompted more than a bit of critique by those who wanted more steel and less psychology, or vice versa. As it is, by the movie’s end, it feels like the director of “Real Steel” accomplished his objective – to point out glimmers of hope wherever they may be found, and even if they show themselves in the most seemingly hopeless of situations.

Or most of it, anyway. I have to admit it – I was bored! About halfway through, the shallow plot, endless succession of implausible stunts and dispirited dialogue (what little of it there was), all combined with an endless display of Cruise-on-display, just got to me. I didn’t finish the film, so I can’t tell you if the end justified the means. But I also don’t care, and that has to say something about whether this film is worth a whopping 133 minutes of your valuable free time. “Mission Impossible – Ghost Protocol” is rated PG-13. I’d rate it “D” – for “dull”. Skip it. You’ll be glad you did.

While “In the Land of Blood and Honey” has its critics for certain historical inaccuracies, to me the director’s purpose here was not to dot every historical “i” and cross every “t”, but to make a statement about how inhuman behavior can and often does result when human beings fall into forgetfulness about the essential shared nature of our innate humanity. Shown from the perspective of a star-crossed couple who find themselves on opposite sides of an equally lost cause battle (albeit for different reasons), in the end it becomes clear that in some ways, there are no winners in wartime.

It should also be mentioned that this film is extremely graphic and violent and is suitable for adults only.

This film is, quite simply, brilliant. It is one of those rare films that hits 5-star homeruns in casting, screenplay, directing, editing, etc, etc, etc – you laugh, you cry, you cringe, you want to clap at the end (our audience did). “People Like Us” at times made me grateful I was a person like me, rather than a person like “them”, and at other times simply made me feel like I was not alone in the sometimes heart-wrenching, sometimes radiant experience of being me.

Most of all, “People Like Us” drives home the transformative power of connection and the essential nature of remembering that humanity is the essence of being human. The stars know what they have too, and they work it to the hilt. If you loved Chris Pine in “Star Trek”, you will love him here as well as he takes his flawed-but-oh-so-lovable character several steps further. If you loved Michelle Pfeiffer in “The Fabulous Baker Boys”, you will marvel at her ability to smoothly segue into less vampish roles with graceful ease. The film will be out in theaters on June 29 – don’t miss it.

In hindsight, I want about 87 of those minutes back (the opening credits weren’t bad). I would have been better served watching “Justified” reruns to get my T.O. fix. With stars like Olyphant and Dougray Scott, it was clear that the acting wasn’t what was weighing this film down. Perhaps it was the tired, overdone plot, or the far-from-seamless screenwriting, and a bit too much (hot, feminine) flesh to fill in the gaps. Perhaps it was all of the above.

Every young actor has to claw their way up somehow, and Olyphant’s acting was clearly good enough given what he had to work with that he has gone on to win subsequent roles more worthy of his talent. But my advice here is to skip “Hitman” and check out “Justified” or, really, anything else on Olyphant’s filmography credits other than this.

In “There Be Dragons”, true life merges with doses of necessary fiction as the film follows actual events relating to the Spanish Civil War and the proposed posthumous canonization of Father Josemaria Escriva, founder of Opus Dei, a religious movement that is still alive and practiced today.

The film is horrific, deeply moving, and at times (frankly) confusing, as some basic foundational knowledge of Spanish historical politics appears to be assumed right from the start. In the beginning, the childhood friends who will later become rivals and bitter antagonists look a bit too much alike, and careful attention is needed to sort out who becomes whom and how their paths begin to diverge. But if you can make it past the first 30 minutes or so, the storyline smooths out and leaves you with lots to think about – a hallmark of any film worth seeing. “There Be Dragons” runs for 122 minutes and is rated PG-13, but the content may be too violent for sensitive youngsters so parents should use their best judgment.

“Joyful Noise” also includes plenty of just that – noisy, enthusiastic singing by actors who act as well as they sing, and sing as well as they act (in other words, no painful Pierce Brosnan-esque vocal renditions such as the kind I still haven’t recovered from in the Meryl Streep showcase “Mamma Mia!” from 2008. I’m not sure I’ll ever forgive Mr. Ex-Bond for that one).

Best of all, “Joyful Noise” ends well – with a movie like this, any other ending would be deeply unacceptable. This is the kind of movie you watch because you know it is a feel-good flick, and you want to feel good. You won’t be disappointed – I promise.