Scott Pilgrim vs. the World (2010)

Critics fell for this? The trailers to “Scott Pilgrim vs. the World” would lead you to believe it’s a comic book rom-com about a nerd (Michael Cera) fighting love of his life (Mary Elizabeth Winstead). Make no mistake, though: This boy loves his X-Box more. This is romance film for gameboys who think scoring a girl is literal. The plot has 22-year-old Scott dating an immature 17-year-old (Ellen Wong) but in love with an older girl (Winstead) with colorful hair. To win the latter’s heart, Scott must fight her seven evil exes. “Pilgrim” gets clever as it casts superhero veterans Chris Evans and Brand Routh as two of the exes. There are funny bits, including cracks at hero/villain insults. But I never cared about Scott’s romantic woes, because there’s no human love in this CGI-heavy, eye candy overload game of 1s and 0s. At the end, when Scott holds hands with a certain gal, I figured he might as well grasp a plastic game control, and wait for the next level. Player out. C

Year One (2009)

There are a few laughs in Harold Ramis’ Old Testament spoof “Year One,” but only a few. I laughed at a “chase” between two oxen-pulled carts. ... And not much else. Leads Jack Black and Michael Cera play the same dudes they always do (Black = prankster devil, Cera = virgin nerd). Plot? Black’s knuckle-dragging Zed eats Eden’s forbidden fruit, gains knowledge, and with Cerra’s Oh in tow, stumbles into the book of Genesis. The Cain and Abel bits actually are quite funny, with David Cross and Paul Rudd playing the brothers. Hank Azaria is a nutty Abraham. Monty Python, on its worst day, took a 2x4 to religion. Ramis uses a damp dishrag. The whole thing ends in a Sodom that ought to be smote by God. Not for sin. But for boredom. C-

Nick and Nora’s Infinite Playlist (2008)

“Nick and Nora’s Infinite Playlist” is a quick, quirky comedy about the genre I’ve previously said bores me silly: the boy-meets-girl teen comedy. Except it actually shakes the genre up, and delivers genuinely funny entertainment.

First, Nick (Michael Cera) and Nora (Kat Dennings) are by no means matinee idol stars of beauty and great, polished one-liners. There’s no eye-bleeding talk of soul mates or “hooking” up. Nor is there a case of mistaken identity, or any semblance of some bet that leads the super cool person to love the nerd. Rather, Nick and Nora meet and bicker and talk about their greatest respective love -- independent rock music – until romance sparks. That’s it. Simple and wonderful.

The entire film is built on Nick’s geeky awkwardness, and Nora’s need for him to just shut-up about an ex. This is the kind of flubbed flirting that any man or women who’s actually lived outside of Beverly Hills has made.

Filmed in fantastic New York locales that would never make it into a Kate Hudson film, “Nick and Nora” almost has an off-the-cuff approach that allows one to feel like they’re along for the ride, not just spectator to unattainable beautifully lit models with perfect teeth. Oh, the soundtrack is cool. Even for a guy who can’t recall the last time he listened to the radio. B+