World War Z

☆☆☆1/2

+
Brad Pitt gives a convincing performance as Gerry Lane, a former United Nations employee brought out of retirement to help save the world from the zombie apocalypse, in this action-packed film based on the 2006 novel of the same name by Max Brooks.

Director Marc Forster manages to tell the story without relying on bloody gore.
_
According to fans of the novel, the screenplay veered too far from the original author’s (Brooks) work.

Lacks character development and emotional connection.

Rated PG-13
1 hr. 55 min.

Visit the website and see the trailer!

This Is The End

☆☆☆1/2

+
Seth Rogen, James Franco, Jonah Hill, Craig Robinson, Jay Baruchel, Danny McBride, and several others recognizable actors face the end-of-the-world in this crazy…and mostly funny comedy.
The actors play themselves, which adds to the entertainment value…feels like a glimpse into their real lives.
_
The humor…and the story…get a little gross and silly at times.

Rated R
1 hr. 59 min.

Visit the official website and watch the trailer!

Man of Steel

☆☆☆

+
The first 90 minutes of “Man of Steel” offer a solid engaging story of a young Kal-El/Clark Kent/Superman (Henry Cavill) who is sent to Earth as a baby from Krypton…only to realize as he grows-up that he has amazing (unexplainable) powers that he keeps hidden until the planet is in danger.

Amy Adams gives a strong performance as Lois Lane.
_
Once Clark becomes Superman and starts to defend the Earth, the story fades and the last hour focuses on special effects and mass destruction…with little connection to the characters.

Rated PG-13
2 hr. 28 min.

Click here to see the trailer!

Now You See Me

☆☆☆☆

+
“Now You See Me” is the intriguing story of four illusionists, Woody Harrelson, Jesse Eisenberg, Isla Fisher and Dave Franco, who join forces…as “The Four Horsemen…to pull off a series of elaborate heists disguised as magic tricks.

Entertaining with a nice twist at the end.
_
Sure you get “played”…that happens with magic.

Rated PG-13
1 hr. 56 min.

Visit the website and see the trailer.

The Internship

☆☆☆☆

+
Comedy team Owen Wilson and Vince Vaughn star as Billy and Nick…friends that find themselves out of work with few prospects…until they decide to apply for an internship at Google…and that’s where the fun begins.

Wilson and Vaughn make this movie worth seeing!
_
If you want to have a good time…go see “The Internship.”

Yes…you are going to see the Google logo a lot. So what?

Rated PG-13
1 hr. 59 min.

Visit the website and see the trailer!

After Earth

☆☆1/2

+
Directed by M. Night Shyamalan, Will Smith and son Jaden team-up in “After Earth” a sci-fi adventure that tells the story of General Cypher Raige (Will Smith) and son Kitai (Jaden Smith) who fight to stay alive after their space craft crashes on Earth (1,000 years after all humanity is gone).

Young Jaden gives a solid performance.
_
The story just doesn’t work.

I always enjoy Will Smith…but this is not his best performance. Part of the problem is a poorly written character.

Rated PG-13
1 hr. 40 min.

Visit the official website and watch the trailer.

Epic

☆☆☆


+
Director, Chris Wedge (Ohio State Buckeye alum) delivers some amazing animation (see it in 3-D) in “Epic” the story of a teenage girl who finds herself in a magical tiny world where she ends-up in a battle to save the forest.

All-Star Cast includes: Beyoncé Knowles, Colin Farrell, Josh Hutcherson, Christoph Waltz and Amanda Seyfried

Aziz Ansari steals the show as Mub a wise-cracking slug.
_
The story is weak, and there is no emotional connection to the characters.


Rated PG
1 hr 42 min

Visit the website and see the trailer.

The Hangover Part III

☆☆☆1/2

+
When Alan (funny man Zach Galifianakis really delivers the laughs) goes off his meds and faces a personal crisis, friends and family decide it’s time to intervene and get him into treatment.

Alan’s supportive friends (Phil…Bradley Cooper, Stu…Ed Helms and Doug… Justin Bartha) decide to personally “deliver” him to the facility in Arizona, but trouble finds them along the way.
_
Don’t be too critical of the similar story lines…just have fun!

There were children in the showing I attended! Come-on…this is an adult movie.

Rated R
1 hr. 40 min.

Visit the website and see the trailer.

Star Trek Into Darkness

☆☆☆1/2

+
Chris Pine and Zachary Quinto return (as Captain James Kirk and first officer Spock) and join forces to fight off a terrorist attack by a rogue Starfleet agent…in this fun and action-packed installment by Director J.J. Abrams.

Star Trek fans will enjoy “…Into Darkness.”

It’s rare to have theaters goers clap during a movie, but in the showing I attended the crowd broke into applause at least four times…in what seemed to be based on “inside Trekkie knowledge.”
_
Too much action and not enough plot?

Rated PG-13
2 hr. 3 min.

Visit the official website and see the trailer!

The Great Gatsby

☆☆☆1/2

+
Leonardo DiCaprio, Carey Mulligan, and Tobey Maguire give impressive performances in the intriguing story of Jay Gatsby…the New York millionaire who leads a mysterious life.

Come Academy Award time, look for a nomination for costumes.
_
The film just didn’t make me care about the characters…like it should have.

3-D is fine but not necessary.

Rated PG-13
2 hr. 23 min.

Visit the website and watch the trailer.

Iron Man 3

☆☆☆☆

+
Directed by Shane Black, the man in the iron suit is back for an action-packed third installment…that is as good (or better) than the other two.

Tony Stark and the Iron Man team step-in when science mastermind Aldrich Killian (great performance by Guy Pearce) threatens the president’s life.

Robert Downey Jr. is the right man for this job. He plays this character with the right amount of arrogance, sarcasm, and humor.

Solid supporting cast: Gwyneth Paltrow, Don Cheadle, Rebecca Hall, and Ben Kingsley
_
Too often special effects end-up being distracting when they fall short of appearing real. This film offers some of the best special effects I have seen in long time.

Don’t leave too early…quick scene at the end of the credits.

Rated PG-13
2 hr. 15 min.

Visit the official website and see the trailer!

Pain & Gain

☆☆☆

+
Directed by Michael Bay (“Transformers”) and based on real events, “Pain & Gain” is the outrageous story of a team of Miami Beach bodybuilders (Mark Wahlberg, Dwayne Johnson, Anthony Mackie) who join forces to realize the American dream…by committing extortion, kidnapping, and murder.
_
This is one of those movies that gets harder and harder to watch as the characters get themselves deeper and deeper in trouble.

Many call this a comedy.
I didn’t hear one person laugh in the theater…because murder, kidnapping, and torture really aren’t funny. Especially when you know these things actually happened.

Rated R
2 hrs. 9 min.

Visit the official website and watch the trailer.

Oblivion

☆☆☆1/2

+
Director Joseph Kosinski (“TRON: Legacy”) delivers an engaging sci-fi action pic starring Tom Cruise as Jack Harper, a drone repair man on post-nuclear Earth who along with his partner (Victoria played by Andrea Louise Riseborough) will soon finish their mission and leave earth to join Earth’s other survivors on Saturn's moon Titan.

Also starring Morgan Freeman and Melissa Leo
_
The movie lacks emotion and the writing doesn’t make you care about the characters.

Rated PG-13
2 hr. 5 min.

Visit the official and watch the trailer.

The Place Beyond the Pines

☆☆☆☆

+
Derek Cianfrance ("Blue Valentine") brings us the powerful story of Luke (raw and very real performance by Ryan Gosling) a father…who in order to support his infant son…makes what turns out to be a decision that has serious repercussions.

Cianfrance has an amazing ability to create films that are as real as home movies…and he manages to get very authentic performances from his actors (including Eva Mendes and Bradley Cooper).
_
The film loses a little “steam” after Gosling’s exit.

Rated R
2 hr. 20 min.

Visit the movie website and see the trailer.

Admission

☆☆☆

+
Tina Fey stars as Portia, a Princeton admissions officer struggling with the rules of this selective university and her heart…when it comes to one very special candidate. Paul Rudd, Lily Tomlin, and Fey’s talent make this an enjoyable film.
_
So-so story elevated by some good actors.

Rated PG-13
1 hr. 47 min.

Visit the website and see the trailer!

The Croods

☆☆☆1/2


+
Nicolas Cage gives one of his best performances (with an all star cast: Ryan Reynolds, Emma Stone, Catherine Keener, Clark Duke, and Cloris Leachman) in this fun family comedy as Grug, the overprotective father of a prehistoric family facing what they think may be the end of the world.

“The Croods” offers some amazing animation.

_
Starts a little slow…but picks-up in the second half.

Rated PG
1 hr. 32 min.

Visit the official website and watch the trailer!

Oz The Great and Powerful

☆☆☆1/2


+
Based on the work of Frank Baum, “Oz the Great and Powerful” is an enjoyable…and at times visually stunning…film starring James Franco as Oscar Diggs (Oz), a magician/con man who is swept away to the Land of Oz…where the people have been waiting for a man name Oz to arrive, defeat the wicked witch, and become ruler of their land.
_
Even though this isn’t the same story as “The Wizard of Oz,” it’s tough to revisit such an iconic film. Viewers familiar with the classic, will have a difficult time not comparing this release to the original (both story and characters).

Rated PG
2 hr. 7 min.

Visit the official website and watch the trailer!

Jack the Giant Slayer

☆☆1/2

+
Bryan Singer directs “Jack the Giant Slayer,” an enjoyable (at times) fantasy adventure telling the familiar story of Jack (Nicholas Hoult of “Warm Bodies.”) a young farmer who trades his horse for magic beans…that grow into a beanstalk that puts the town in danger of a “giant invasion.”
_
Limited Character Development

Too Much Potty-Humor

Rated PG-13
1 hr. 54 min.

Visit the official website and watch the trailer.

Oscar Winners 2013

Best Picture:
☆"Argo"

Best Actor:
☆Daniel Day Lewis, "Lincoln"

Best Actress:
☆Jennifer Lawrence, "Silver Linings Playbook"

Best Supporting Actor:
Christoph Waltz, "Django Unchained"

Best Supporting Actress:
☆Anne Hathaway, "Les Miserables"

Best Director:
Ang Lee, "Life of Pi"

Best Original Screenplay:
☆"Django Unchained"

Best Adapted Screenplay:
☆"Argo"

Best Animated Feature:
☆"Brave"

Best Foreign Feature:
☆"Amour"

Best Visual Effects:
☆"Life of Pi"

Best Cinematography:
☆"Life of Pi"

Best Costume Design:
☆"Anna Karenina"

Best Documentary Feature:
☆"Searching for Sugar Man"

Best Documentary Short:
"Inocente"

Best Film Editing:
☆"Argo"

Best Makeup and Hairstyling:
☆"Les Miserables"

Best Music (Original Score):
☆"Life of Pi"

Best Music (Original Song):
☆"Skyfall" from "Skyfall"

Best Production Design:
"Lincoln"

Best Short Film, Animated:
☆"Paperman"

Best Short Film, Live Action:
☆"Curfew"

Best Sound Editing:
☆"Zero Dark Thirty"

Best Sound Mixing:
☆"Les Misérables"

☆Star Movie Reviews Prediction

Oscar Predictions 2013

Best Picture:

"Beasts of the Southern Wild"
"Silver Linings Playbook"
"Zero Dark Thirty"
"Lincoln"
"Les Miserables"
"Life of Pi"
"Amour"
"Django Unchained"
☆"Argo"

Best Actor:

☆Daniel Day Lewis, "Lincoln"
Denzel Washington, "Flight"
Hugh Jackman, "Les Miserables"
Bradley Cooper, "Silver Linings Playbook"
Joaquin Phoenix, "The Master"

Best Actress:

Naomi Watts, "The Impossible"
Jessica Chastain, "Zero Dark Thirty"
☆Jennifer Lawrence, "Silver Linings Playbook"
Emmanuelle Riva, "Amour"
Quvenzhané Wallis, "Beasts of the Southern Wild"

Best Supporting Actor:

Christoph Waltz, "Django Unchained"
Philip Seymour Hoffman, "The Master"
Robert De Niro, "Silver Linings Playbook"
Alan Arkin, "Argo"
☆Tommy Lee Jones, "Lincoln"


Best Supporting Actress:

Sally Field, "Lincoln"
☆Anne Hathaway, "Les Miserables"
Jacki Weaver, "Silver Linings Playbook"
Helen Hunt, "The Sessions"
Amy Adams, "The Master"

Best Director:

David O. Russell, "Silver Linings Playbook"
Ang Lee, "Life of Pi"
☆Steven Spielberg, "Lincoln"
Michael Haneke, "Amour"
Benh Zeitlin, "Beasts of the Southern Wild"

Best Original Screenplay:

"Zero Dark Thirty"
☆"Django Unchained"
"Moonrise Kingdom"
"Amour"
"Flight"

Best Adapted Screenplay:

"Lincoln"
"Silver Linings Playbook"
☆"Argo"
"Life of Pi"
"Beasts of the Southern Wild"

Best Animated Feature:

"Frankenweenie"
"The Pirates! Band of Misfits"
"Wreck-It Ralph"
"Paranorman"
☆"Brave"

Best Foreign Feature:
☆"Amour"
"A Royal Affair"
"Kon-Tiki"
"No"
"War Witch"

Best Visual Effects:

☆"Life of Pi"
"The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey"
"The Avengers"
"Prometheus"
"Snow White and the Huntsman"

Best Cinematography:

"Skyfall"
"Anna Karenina"
"Django Unchained"
☆"Life of Pi"
"Lincoln"

Best Costume Design:

☆"Anna Karenina"
"Les Miserables"
"Lincoln"
"Mirror Mirror"
"Snow White and the Huntsman"

Best Documentary Feature:

☆"Searching for Sugar Man"
"How to Survive a Plague"
"The Gatekeepers"
"5 Broken Cameras"
"The Invisible War"

Best Documentary Short:

☆"Open Heart"
"Inocente"
"Redemption"
"Kings Point"
"Mondays at Racine"

Best Film Editing:

"Lincoln"
"Silver Linings Playbook"
"Life of Pi"
☆"Argo"
"Zero Dark Thirty"

Best Makeup and Hairstyling:

"Hitchcock"
"The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey"
☆"Les Miserables"

Best Music (Original Score):

"Anna Karenina"
"Argo"
☆"Life of Pi"
"Lincoln"
"Skyfall"

Best Music (Original Song):

"Before My Time" from "Chasing Ice"
"Everybody Needs A Best Friend" from "Ted"
"Pi's Lullaby" from "Life of Pi"
☆"Skyfall" from "Skyfall"
"Suddenly" from "Les Misérables"

Best Production Design:

"Anna Karenina"
"The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey"
☆"Les Misérables"
"Life of Pi"
"Lincoln"

Best Short Film, Animated:

"Adam and Dog"
"Fresh Guacamole"
"Head over Heels"
"Maggie Simpson in 'The Longest Daycare'"
☆"Paperman"

Best Short Film, Live Action:

"Asad"
"Buzkashi Boys"
☆"Curfew"
"Death of a Shadow (Dood van een Schaduw)"
"Henry"

Best Sound Editing:

"Argo"
"Django Unchained"
"Life of Pi"
"Skyfall"
☆"Zero Dark Thirty"

Best Sound Mixing:

"Argo"
☆"Les Misérables"
"Life of Pi"
"Lincoln"
"Skyfall"

Django Unchained

☆☆☆☆


+
Quentin Tarantino delivers a film that is dramatic, funny, and campy all at the same time. He manages to lighten very serious and at times violent subject matter with quirky music or a well-placed joke.
Jamie Foxx gives an excellent performance as Django.
_
Be ready for brutal violence and very bloody scenes.

Rated R
2 hr. 46 min.

Visit the official website and see the trailer!

Oscar Nominated Animated Short Films

☆☆☆
"Adam and Dog"


☆☆☆
"Fresh Guacamole"


☆☆☆☆
"Head over Heels"


☆☆☆1/2
"Maggie Simpson in 'The Longest Daycare'"


☆☆☆1/2
"Paperman"


See the trailers for these films!

Identity Thief

☆☆☆1/2

+
Two of the best comedic actors in the business (Jason Bateman and Melissa McCarthy) team-up to tell the hilarious story of Diana (McCarthy), a woman living it up by stealing other people’s identities and Sandy (Bateman), who once his life is turned upside down by this thief sets out on a mission to clear his name and bring Diana down.

Bateman and McCarthy make a great comedy team!
_
Give this movie a chance in spite of what other critics are saying.
Funny is Funny...and these two are hilarious.

Rated R
1 hr. 47 min.

Visit the website and see the trailer!

Zero Dark Thirty

☆☆☆☆☆

+
One of the Best Movies of the Year!
“Zero Dark Thirty” is the riveting story (directed by Kathryn Bigelow…Oscar winning director of “The Hurt Locker”) of the hunt and eventual assassination of Osama bin Laden.

Outstanding (Oscar Nomination) performance by Jessica Chastain, who plays the intelligence expert who dedicated 10 years of her life to finding the world’s most dangerous man.
_
The interrogation depicted in the film has created a political controversy…which may have come between Bigelow and a Best Director nomination.

Rated R
2 hr. 37 min.

Visit the website and see the trailer.

The Impossible

☆☆☆☆1/2

+
J.A. Bayona (“The Orphanage”) brings us the gripping and emotional story, based on one family’s actual experience, of the 2004 Thailand tsunami.
In an Academy Award nominated performance Naomi Watts stars as Maria, and Ewan McGregor stars as Henry…a mother and father who along with their three boys fight to survive one of the worst natural disasters of all time.

One of the best movies of 2012!

Amazing effects.
_
Most viewers probably know the outcome.

Rated PG-13
1 hr. 47 min.

Visit the website and watch the trailer!

Academy Award Nominations 2013

Best Picture:
"Beasts of the Southern Wild"
"Silver Linings Playbook"
"Zero Dark Thirty"
"Lincoln"
"Les Miserables"
"Life of Pi"
"Amour"
"Django Unchained"
"Argo"

Best Actor:
Daniel Day Lewis, "Lincoln"
Denzel Washington, "Flight"
Hugh Jackman, "Les Miserables"
Bradley Cooper, "Silver Linings Playbook"
Joaquin Phoenix, "The Master"

Best Actress:
Naomi Watts, "The Impossible"
Jessica Chastain, "Zero Dark Thirty"
Jennifer Lawrence, "Silver Linings Playbook"
Emmanuelle Riva, "Amour"
Quvenzhané Wallis, "Beasts of the Southern Wild"

Best Supporting Actor:
Christoph Waltz, "Django Unchained"
Philip Seymour Hoffman, "The Master"
Robert De Niro, "Silver Linings Playbook"
Alan Arkin, "Argo"
Tommy Lee Jones, "Lincoln"


Best Supporting Actress:
Sally Field, "Lincoln"
Anne Hathaway, "Les Miserables"
Jacki Weaver, "Silver Linings Playbook"
Helen Hunt, "The Sessions"
Amy Adams, "The Master"

Best Director:
David O. Russell, "Silver Linings Playbook"
Ang Lee, "Life of Pi"
Steven Spielberg, "Lincoln"
Michael Haneke, "Amour"
Benh Zeitlin, "Beasts of the Southern Wild"

Best Original Screenplay:
"Zero Dark Thirty"
"Django Unchained"
"Moonrise Kingdom"
"Amour"
"Flight"

Best Adapted Screenplay:
"Lincoln"
"Silver Linings Playbook"
"Argo"
"Life of Pi"
"Beasts of the Southern Wild"

Best Animated Feature:
"Frankenweenie"
"The Pirates! Band of Misfits"
"Wreck-It Ralph"
"Paranorman"
"Brave"

Best Foreign Feature:
"Amour"
"A Royal Affair"
"Kon-Tiki"
"No"
"War Witch"

Best Visual Effects:
"Life of Pi"
"The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey"
"The Avengers"
"Prometheus"
"Snow White and the Huntsman"

Best Cinematography:
"Skyfall"
"Anna Karenina"
"Django Unchained"
"Life of Pi"
"Lincoln"

Best Costume Design:
"Anna Karenina"
"Les Miserables"
"Lincoln"
"Mirror Mirror"
"Snow White and the Huntsman"

Best Documentary Feature:
"Searching for Sugar Man"
"How to Survive a Plague"
"The Gatekeepers"
"5 Broken Cameras"
"The Invisible War"

Best Documentary Short:
"Open Heart"
"Inocente"
"Redemption"
"Kings Point"
"Mondays at Racine"

Best Film Editing:
"Lincoln"
"Silver Linings Playbook"
"Life of Pi"
"Argo"
"Zero Dark Thirty"

Best Makeup and Hairstyling:
"Hitchcock"
"The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey"
"Les Miserables"

Best Music (Original Score):
"Anna Karenina"
"Argo"
"Life of Pi"
"Lincoln"
"Skyfall"

Best Music (Original Song):
"Before My Time" from "Chasing Ice"
"Everybody Needs A Best Friend" from "Ted"
"Pi's Lullaby" from "Life of Pi"
"Skyfall" from "Skyfall"
"Suddenly" from "Les Misérables"

Best Production Design:
"Anna Karenina"
"The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey"
"Les Misérables"
"Life of Pi"
"Lincoln"

Best Short Film, Animated:
"Adam and Dog"
"Fresh Guacamole"
"Head over Heels"
"Maggie Simpson in 'The Longest Daycare'"
"Paperman"

Best Short Film, Live Action:
"Asad"
"Buzkashi Boys"
"Curfew"
"Death of a Shadow (Dood van een Schaduw)"
"Henry"

Best Sound Editing:
"Argo"
"Django Unchained"
"Life of Pi"
"Skyfall"
"Zero Dark Thirty"

Best Sound Mixing:
"Argo"
"Les Misérables"
"Life of Pi"
"Lincoln"
"Skyfall"

Any Day Now

☆☆☆1/2

+
“Any Day Now” is the heart-wrenching story (based on true events) of Rudy (Alan Cumming) and Paul (Garret Dillahunt) a male couple in 1970’s Los Angles trying to adopt Rudy (Isaac Leyva) a loving teenage boy with Down syndrome.
Up against a biased legal system, the couple passionately fights for what’s best for Rudy.
Strong performances by the main characters: Cumming, Dillahunt, and Leyva
_
This is the rare occasion where the film could stand to add another twenty minutes to help strengthen a story that just moves too quickly.

This one is a tear jerker…be ready.

Rated R
1 hr. 37 min.

Visit the website and watch the trailer.

Les Misérables

☆☆☆☆☆

+
The best movie of 2012!

Tom Hooper (Academy Award®-winning director: “The King’s Speech”) gives us an outstanding stage to screen adaptation of one of the most popular Broadway plays of all time…“Les Miserables.”

Hooper makes the story of Jean Valjean (Hugh Jackman), an ex-prisoner who breaks parole and is hunted for years by policeman…Javert (Russell Crowe) much more accessible…and consequently more enjoyable.

Outstanding cast (Eddie Redmayne, Amanda Seyfried, Helena Bonham Carter, Sacha Baron Cohen, and Russell Crowe) with stand-out performances by Hugh Jackman (Jean Valjean) and Anne Hathaway (Fantine).

Look for a few Academy Award nominations.

_
While Crowe’s performance (specifically his singing voice) is good…it doesn’t always “keep-up” with the rest of the cast.

Rated PG-13
2 hr. 38 min.

Visit the official website and watch the trailer!

Hyde Park on Hudson

☆☆☆1/2

+
In spite of the fact that “Hyde Park…” is about infidelity, it’s a charming story based on actual events (informed by Suckley’s diaries and correspondence with FDR).

Bill Murray (strong performance, Golden Globe Nominated) stars as President Franklin Delano Roosevelt, who even through married to Eleanor (Olivia Williams), manages to have many extramarital escapades…including one with his distant cousin Daisy Suckley (spot-on performance by Laura Linney).

Samuel West and Olivia Colman add a great deal of humor as the King and Queen of England.
_
The film could be seen as too light on story.

It’s easy to forget that this is the president who is leading the country through the Great Depression.

Rated R
1 hr. 35 min.

Visit the movie website and watch the trailer.

The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey

☆☆☆☆

+
In this visual masterpiece, Gandalf (Ian McKellen) recruits Bilbo Baggins (Martin Freeman) to join forces with thirteen dwarves to reclaim the Kingdom of Erebor…lost to the dragon Smaug.

Excellent Special Effects
_
Too Long

The film would benefit by a few less battle scenes (or at least shorter battle scenes).

Rated PG-13
2 hr. 50 min.

Visit the website and watch the trailer.

Cirque du Soleil: Worlds Away 3D

☆☆☆1/2

+
“Cirque du Soleil: Worlds Away” is a young woman’s enchanting search for a circus performer through the worlds of Cirque du Soleil.

A story that allows viewers to see some of the best of several Cirque shows.
_
I disagree with critics that believe this film is a commercial for all of the Cirque shows.

The 3D should have been even better.

Some of the amazement of the real show is lost in movie format.


Rated PG
1 hr. 37 min.

Visit the official website and watch the trailer.

Rise of the Guardians

☆☆☆

+
The kids will enjoy this tale of Santa Claus, The Easter Bunny, The Tooth Fairy, The Sandman, and Jack Frost joining forces to defend the world’s children against Pitch…the villain who threatens to rob them of their beliefs, dreams, and imaginations.

Excellent Animation
_
The “So-So” storyline may scare very young children.

Rated PG
1 hr. 37 min.

Visit the website and see the trailer!

Life of Pi

☆☆☆1/2

+
“Life of Pi” from director Ang Lee (“Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon,” “Brokeback Mountain”) is the fascinating story of Pi, a 16 year old who along with a Bengal tiger survived the sinking of a cargo ship.
As an adult, Pi tells the story to a writer…but there is a surprising twist.
_
A Little Long

The scenes of Pi (as an adult) recounting his story are a little distracting and may not have been necessary.

Rated PG
2 hr. 7 min.

Visit the website and see the trailer!

Anna Karenina

☆☆☆

+
Director Joe Wright (“Pride and Prejudice,” “Atonement,” and “Hanna”) brings Tolstoy’s novel, “Anna Karenina” to the big screen with amazing costumes, art direction, and set design (possible Oscar consideration).
At times, Wright manages to dazzle viewers as he flawlessly moves from one scene to the next with beautifully unique and well-timed choreography.
_
His unique direction becomes so self-aware that it detracts from the story.
Keira Knightley is good…but it feels like this performance is similar to so many others…nothing new.

The film lacks emotion.

Rated R
2 hr. 10 min.

Visit the website and watch the trailer.

Hitchcock

☆☆☆☆

+
“Hitchcock” is not only an entertaining behind the scenes look at the making of “Psycho,” but it is also an engaging glimpse into the personal life of one of the most influential filmmakers of the century.
Anthony Hopkins gives an excellent performance as Alfred Hitchcock, and Helen Mirren stars as Alma Reville...his powerful, talented (and at times jealous) wife.
All Star Cast Includes: Scarlett Johansson, Jessica Biel, James D’Arcy, and Toni Collette
_
The information regarding the strained relationship between Hitchcock and Reville is said to be factually inaccurate.

Rated PG-13
1 hr. 38 min.

Visit the website and watch the trailer.

Silver Linings Playbook

☆☆☆☆

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Writer-director David O. Russell provides an excellent balance of drama and comedy while dealing with a serious story of mental illness.
Pat Solitano (well-played by Bradley Cooper) moves in with his parents after eight months in a mental institution. He meets Tiffany (Jennifer Lawrence), a woman dealing with her own set of problems, and the two face their demons head-on.

Solid Supporting Performances: Jackie Weaver and Robert De Niro
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Predictable

Serious Subject – Some will laugh more than others.

Rated R
2 hr.

Visit the movie website and watch the trailer.

Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn: Part 2

☆☆☆1/2

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“…Breaking Dawn – Part 2” tells the story of Renesmee (Bella and Edward’s daughter), who is mistakenly identified to the Volturi as an immortal child changed into a vampire.
The action and excitement begin as the Cullens family unite to save themselves and Renesmee.

This installment offers a great surprise and slightly better acting, special effects, and storyline.
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Only One Gratuitous Shirtless Scene
Special effects could still be improved…only a few scenes where the effects are so bad they are distracting.

Rated PG-13
1 hr. 55 min.

Visit the official website and watch the trailer!

Lincoln

☆☆☆☆1/2

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Written by Tony Kushner and directed by Steven Spielberg, “Lincoln” is the engaging and very human story of the 16th President of the United States…played with great finesse by Daniel Day-Lewis (look for an Academy Award nomination).

Lincoln is portrayed as intelligent, flawed, soft-spoken, sensitive, and at the same time bigger-than-life. The film captures his quest to abolish slavery and ratify the 13th Amendment.

Sally Field skillfully captures the complicated Mary Todd Lincoln, and Tommy Lee Jones delivers an excellent performance as Thaddeus Stevens.

Extra half star for Day-Lewis' performance!
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A Little Long

Underdeveloped story of Lincoln’s son Robert (Joseph Gordon-Levitt)

Rated PG-13
2 hr. 29 min.

Visit the official website and watch the trailer.

Skyfall

☆☆☆☆

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Director Sam Mendes (American Beauty, Revolutionary Road) brings us the best 007 installment yet. James Bond (strong performance by Daniel Craig) faces the bizarre mastermind villain Silva (award winning performance by Javier Bardem) to save M16.

Also starring Judi Dench, Ralph Fiennes, Albert Finney.
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Many miss the old bond…haven’t accepted Daniel Craig as 007.

Visit the website and watch the trailer!


Rated PG-13
2 hr. 25 min.

Seven Psychopaths

☆☆☆1/2

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“Seven Psychopaths,” from writer/director Martin McDonagh (“In Bruges”), is a truly entertaining dark comedy starring Colin Farrell as a struggling screenwriter who is trying to get through his latest project…with a little help from his psychopath best friend Billy (Sam Rockwell) and Billy’s psychopath partner in crime Hans (Christopher Walken).
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It is a DARK comedy….violent in parts.
Sometimes it just feels wrong to laugh at a dark comedy.

Rated R
1 hr. 49 min.

Visit the website and watch the trailer.