As the temperature soars and children vacate the hallowed halls of academe, it's time to unwind, to have a little fun. And if this summer is launched by Mission Impossible II, then others follow the trend to move faster and offer more per minute than any movie before.

It's as if the whole human race has attention deficit disorder, but rather than put ritalin in the water like fluoride, Hollywood comes to the rescue, serving up movie after movie that nurtures our perceived need for speed, or to escape reality and become immersed in the lives of beautiful people leading jetset lives.

Of course I am referring to Mission Impossible II, which is highly exciting and really quite a delight. But I also include "Timecode" in the add category. Here is a film that splits the screen into four parts, each quadrant showing footage of a 90 minute single shot from 4 cameras each individually manned yet simultaneously recorded. So we watch 90 minutes in the lives of four or five characters and the various ways that they intertwine. It's very very clever, in concept more than in reality. It's not possible to watch all four screens at the same time, so director Mike Figgis gives us audio clues as to where to turn our attention, by manipulating the soundtrack as a guide.

I found "Timecode" interesting. I didn't care about the characters much, and since the dialogue was all improvised, it often could be described as bland. Often times the gimmick was really lost, since the characters would have to "hang around" on camera waiting for their next big event. But it fed my brain on some level, forcing me to put together the pieces while defying me to miss any part of the action.

Mission Impossible, of course, is much lighter on the gray matter. It happens right there in front of you, and even gives heavy-handed cues as to when to laugh and when to hiss. Director John Woo is a real master at putting together incredible action scenes, and even when you know there is no way on earth those events could happen, it really doesn't matter. Add to the action the great music and the splendid Sydney skyscrape, who needs a story? You can even forgive the heavy-handed misogynistic undercurrent that surely was tacked on as an after thought.

So folks, summer surely has begun. And with Timecode and MI2 to set the stage, it looks like it could be a fast paced and amusing season.