This Week at the Movies

It’s not without its problems, but “The Internship” is the first major studio release of the summer that I can say that I enjoyed without reservation.

That being said, the picture plays as a two-hour love letter to Google and some of its gags fall flat, especially those involving the awkwardness of some of its younger characters.

But when it’s jokes hit their marks and Vince Vaughn and Owen Wilson have their chemistry working, “The Internship” delivers.

In the film, the duo plays two middle-aged men who lose their sales jobs for a watch manufacturer.

They quickly realize how out of touch they are in the computer-centric job market and, during a not-quite-convincing segment in which they are interviewed via webcam, they land an internship at Google.

The film’s best moments involve Vaughn and Wilson’s utter cluelessness, whether they are trying to explain their computer skills (Vaughn explaining why he listed C++ on his application) or pick up a woman (Wilson references a Men at Work song in an attempt to impress an Australian co-worker).

“The Internship” may not break any ground, but it’s a far cry better than “The Hangover Part III” and most other comedies of recent months.

James DeMonaco’s “The Purge” is an example of an intriguing concept with a mediocre execution.

The film imagines a not-so-distant future in which the unemployment rate is at 1 percent and crime is way down. But on one night per year, U.S. citizens are given carte blanche to purge their most sinister urges without law enforcement to hinder them.

But we are told that the night primarily acts as a means for the wealthy to murder the poor and homeless.

Ethan Hawke plays James Sandin, who lives in a gated community with his family and has created a home security system to keep out marauders on purge night.

But his teenage son lets a man fleeing from some purgers hide out in their home, drawing the ire of an angry mob.

While “The Purge” has a unique concept and some original thoughts on class, its execution leaves much to be desired, especially in its routine final third when it becomes a by-the-numbers home invasion thriller.

And the filmmakers are a bit hypocritical by arriving at the conclusion that it’s better to remain non-violent and repressed after having dispatched half a dozen characters via axe, shotgun and kitchen knife.

“The Purge” aims a little higher than most films of its ilk, but it ends up being a routine exercise in cinematic murder and mayhem.

Joss Whedon reportedly shot “Much Ado About Nothing” over the course of 12 days at his Los Angeles home after wrapping up “The Avengers.”

On a positive note, the cast of Whedon’s modernized interpretation of William Shakespeare’s appears to have a better understanding of the material than numerous other cinematic adaptations of the Bard’s work.

My problem with Whedon’s adaptation is that its tone and visual style do not match the material. “Much Ado,” which is shot in black and white, is a comedy, but the film’s moody tone rarely makes it feel like one. Nathan Fillion's turn as Dogberry is the exception.

And stylistically, it feels more like a graduate thesis project than the work of a high profile filmmaker. My recommendation is to watch Kenneth Branagh’s livelier 1993 version of “Much Ado.”

“The Internship” and “The Purge” are playing The Pavilion on Prospect Park West. “Much Ado About Nothing” is screening at Manhattan’s Sunshine Cinema.