Don Jon
In Joseph Gordon-Levitt's Don Jon, the first-time director stars as the beefcake of the title, a cocky stud who has no trouble picking up women, but who still can't resist the lure of internet porn. Sadly, it's quickly revealed that this is about as deep as his characterisation goes, and Gordon-Levitt can't do enough with this protagonist to justify building an entire feature film around him. Instead, Don Jon settles for repetition and crude gags, before opting for the kind of fake romantic-comedy epiphanies that it has earlier decried.
Gordon-Levitt shows ample confidence, and some of his choices do pay off (e.g. unearthing Tony Danza), but he too often mistakes rapid-fire editing and boisterous energy for filmmaking style. This is the work of a young director reaching to impress without having fully formed ideas, and in a film about the objectification of women, it's a shame that fine actresses such as Scarlett Johansson and Julianne Moore are stuck in such reductive roles. [Philip Concannon]