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.