My Week with Marilyn

Williams masters the voice at least, while Branagh proves that he actually is Olivier. An amusing but overly mundane movie about a mediocre movie seems like a compelling snapshot rather than an independent story. Hermione and some Captain America co-stars are underused alongside an unknown hero who holds his own.

Kung Fu Panda 2

Worthy sequel to a brilliant film. Lacks emotional truth of a Pixar film, but still finds clever dialogue, incredible fight scene effects, and underused voice actors of first installment. Builds on first and leaves room for a third, in fact almost begs for a tri-doosh to contain this Black-built Panda.

No Strings Attached

Portman’s Black Swan follow up is… well, it’s another step on her journey to screw the That 70’s Show. Watching Kutcher try to share the screen with Portman is adorable, as is watching Reitman try to make one of his son’s movies. Many lucky accidents and Elwes instead of extras.

The Debt

Maddeningly slow and brooding thriller, as if Munich met Match Point. Highlights of the film are the brilliant casting of Csokas and Wilkinson, and more notably Chastain and Mirren as young and old versions of the same people. A decent idea but it owes the audience a bit more excitement.

Lars and the Real Girl

Glossy Gosling falls for an even shinier girl, played brilliantly by Megan Fox. Simple film operates on a gimmicky premise, but is sustained by the heart which the cast injects into the girl, and the film as a whole. Mortimer and Arquette breathe further life into this blow-up character study.

Howl

Pseudo-documentary court hearing /Waltz with Ginsberg, this small but interesting thing does whatever it’s doing well. Strathairn’s confusion and Hamm’s appreciation are equally applicable to the film itself. Franco performs well as he sucks a last drop from Milk’s teat. Animation may better have suited Burroughs than this Clothed Brunch.

The Way Back

Should be 'Long Way Back' as fair warning that this subdued epic will be an exhausting journey. Cast fill worn-down shoes of their characters well as they sneak out of prison in a break even less exciting and noticeable than this film’s release. Hybrid Schindler’s Limp and Lawrence of Siberia.

Green Lantern

Reynolds is green with envy for all the decent superhero scripts as he fails to light a spark of enjoyability in this dim lantern. Effects unworthy of Pixar, and the dialogue makes Star Wars look like Shakespeare ensure that a film about manifesting the imagination completely fails to do so.

Margin Call

Spacey recounts another contemporary political story in this economic retelling of Titanic. Superstar cast in understated but realistic roles make for the first ever economic thriller. The quintessential Quinto and a badgering Badgely perform well in a film where Moore is used less. Compellingly small telling of very big story.

Fright Night (2011)

Rather than blend the two species, this campy reboot finds itself trapped in the twilight between funny and scary. Farell’s vampire in frightfully amusing, but the rest of the monsters are only shruggably intimidating. Yelchin and Collette have both been better, and Dr, who cares about the museums useless tennant?

Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy

Hardy, Strong, Hurt, Oldman. All perform well and names describe Gary perfectly. His performance is top-notch as he rides a Titanic cast-list into a slow and methodical spy quasi-thriller. More tinkering and tailoring than soldiering or spying. One would imagine that a movie this big would be easier to follow.

Warrior

A hardy Edgerton and an animalistic king Hardy are quasi-plausible as brothers, but Nolte’s brilliant portrayal of himself seals the relationship triangle together. Brutal fight scenes and unrestrained emotion create a fascinating film despite some considerable plot lapses concerning Hardy’s future and Edgerton’s fighting abilities. Never Back Down done right.

Sherlock Holmes: A Game of Shadows

Film-makers re-prove how much smarter they are than you by solving the problem before determining what it is. Downey’s Holmes inverts Laurie’s House while strongest performance is laid down by law. McAdams subtraction filled by misplaced Rapace. Best aspects are elementary: stunningly slow effects, and a bit of Ritchie wit.

The Artist

Pseudo-past prediction of Singin’ in the Rain complete with Clockwork McDowell. OSS 117 covers accent with silence, and delivers perfect Clooney meets Carrey performance. Reminder of when Goodman was good and Cromwell did well. Film tightropes between artistic concept and quirky gimmick and successfully crosses silent chasm to thunderous applause.

Moneyball

Pitt delivers another expectedly good performance in least sporty sports movie ever. Jonah peaks over the comedic hill, revisiting Evan Alrighty. A quick clever movie that actually says very little, very simply and slowly. Sorkin and Zaillan’s writing again make uninteresting premises into compelling stories, and competent leads cement quality.

The Descendants

Another tragicomedy about Paynefully unhappy people. Clooney’s most down to the earth performance, with only one ‘look at my eyebrows’ lapse, is a bit like Schmidt turned sideways. Supported by comedic bit player army and truly ascendant kids. Forster’s first forcible performance and Lillard proves that he’s still pretty shag-y.

Hugo

Scorsese casts an actor even more baby-faced than Dicaprio in first family film. Child stars play Potter cast perfectly as Kingsley mopes his way through a quasi-historical depression. Flashbacks can’t seem to break Law free of his A.I. days, as Borat slapsticks a weird taste on an otherwise quaint film.

J. Edgar

Dicaprio dons Benjamin’s buttons for this sprawling depiction of bureaucratic sneakery. Essentially an unreliable sister movie to the even more tedious Good Shepherd, with a stronger performance from the Departed lead. Watts shines light on well-handled controversial elements, essentially Leo’s resistance to getting nailed by a perpetually young sounding Hammer.

Bridesmaids

Female reboot of tired Apatow formula ends up supergood thanks to remarkable ensemble cast. McCarthy steals the show and countless puppies from army of SNL vets, while well-cast brit roommates fall by the wayside. Byrne burns bridges while unknown male star builds career. Starts with a bang as Hamm porks.

The Hangover: Part II

The Hangover Again, only this time it hurts. Phillips pukes this one out on its two year due date, and this underdeveloped clone struggles along the same path as its predecessor, never managing to outdo a single joke. On the bright side, the cast are still funny, if completely predictable.

The Help

Stone sinks into the background and helps her darker supporting stars shine the brightest. Alarmingly long, and strangely comedic in feel, this race relations piece astonishes on several fronts. Spencer finally lands a large enough role and executes it masterfully, while Chastain and Davis keep the critics in their pockets.

Immortals

Tarsem maintains long Hollywood tradition of making mediocre movies about Greek Gods. He does elevate the 300 slow-mo style to an Olympian level as he executes the most beautiful carnage ever captured on ‘film.’ Rourke and Cavill take their rolls seriously, but the screenwriter and the Gods’ costumer certainly didn’t.

The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo (2011)

Swedish film (virtually identical shots, character appearance, and pacing) plus Social Reznor score and Finchermatography equals still a great, if very familiar movie. Craig manages to separate this more bookish investigator from the bonds of his repertoire, and Rooney’s Noomi is powerful but very derivative. A difficult but excellent re-watch.

Mission Impossible: Ghost Protocol

Bird soars in live action debut and confirms suspicions that yes, Renner can save any series. Brilliantly comedic and excellently executed, this Ghost overshadows the rest of the series. Slightly contrived ending and light-speed global travel make parts of movie improbable, but expected retirement suggests upcoming merger, The Bourne Impossible.