Anna Karenina

Period, Drama
5 stars
Excellent in every way.  Keira Knightly stars in the classic Tolstoy tormented love story of a married woman who falls for another man.  Jude Law co-stars as her saint of a husband and Aaron Taylor-Johnson (Kick-Ass and Savages) plays her lover.  The movie is filmed partly on the stage and transitions the scenes in the same theatrical manner.  At first it seems awkward and strange and then suddenly you realize how genius it is and you can't help but admire such bold creativity, especially with such a beloved classic.  Outstanding acting, gorgeous costuming and stage designs, and a heartbreaking story. If this isn't a Best Picture nominee, then I don't know what is.   Loved it!

Hitchcock

Drama, True Story
4.5 stars
Loved it.  Anthony Hopkins stars as Alfred Hitchcock while filming the classic Psycho.  I was skeptical about this one, since Hopkins doesn't really look like Hitchcock and I thought just the filming of the movie would be dull - but it isn't.  We get an insider's look at his marriage (Helen Mirren plays his wife), and some insight on the true story that inspired the plot of Psycho.  Even though we all know what a classic hit Psycho was, I couldn't help but feel the suspense as Hitchcock tries to prove all the naysayers wrong by making this movie.  Very good film.

Lincoln

Period, True Story
4 stars
Very good historical drama dealing with the events leading up to the passing of the 13th amendment.  Daniel Day Lewis is amazing as usual.  I am not a fan of Sally Field (as the First Lady).  I thought she was good until her inevitable tantrum (she seems to have one in every film she's in), then I kept thinking "Enough already, let's move on to the next scene!".  I thought the f-word, though used humorously, seemed incongruous with the time period, but my historian friend informed that word has been around since the 1600's.  This movie is mostly dialogue, which can be dry at times, but it was thankfully broken up with humor every now and then by Lincoln's youngest son and also by James Spader (love him!).  Very good history lesson.

Life of Pi

Drama
4.5 stars
Awesome.  Suraj Sharma stars as a boy stuck on a lifeboat with a tiger, but there's so much more to it than that. Irrfan Khan costars as the adult version of Sharma.  The visual effects are stunning, except for that very fake looking whale that they showed in the previews.  At first I was very skeptical of going to the film since heavily advertised films usually stink.  The ending felt a little hokey but how else would you wrap up such a fantastic tale?  If you liked films like the Black Stallion and Castaway (the first half of each of those films anyway) then this film is a must.  I hope the Blu Ray version includes a "making of" segment, because I think that would be worth seeing.  Loved it.

Silver Linings Playbook

Drama, Romance
4.5 stars
Excellent film, and definitely NOT a chick flick.  Bradley Cooper stars as a volatile bipolar guy with an explosive temper.  Jennifer Lawrence (Winter's Bone, Hunger Games) plays an equally damaged woman who balances out his mood swings.  Robert De Niro co-stars as Cooper's father with a temper of his own who is obsessed with the Philadelphia Eagles and bets heavily on them.  Those are the ingredients, along with some wry humor, that make for a great date movie since there is plenty for both genders to enjoy - though some of the tumultuous scenes can be quite intense. Very good flick.

The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn - Part 2

Sci-Fi, Romance
2 stars
Painfully bad acting.  Once again I have subjected myself to the land of bad acting.  "Why?" I ask myself.  Because I read the God-awful books and now feel invested and need closure.  So the Twilight Saga is now complete along with its failed attempts at humor, though I appreciate them trying.  Edward is no longer brooding, since he is so happy to have his vampire wife, and Jake is no longer pouting, since he no longer pines for Bella.  Too bad, because I used to like the friction between the two of them.  Now we have the horrible acting of Michael Sheen (who had been so talented in his other films The Queen and Frost/Nixon) as the head of the Volturi clan who wants to destroy the Cullen clan.  Whatever.  See it at your own risk...

Skyfall

Action, Drama
4 stars
Fun film.  Daniel Craig returns as James Bond to find the bad guys who attacked MI6.  Judi Dench reprises her role as M; Ralph Feinnes and Javier Bardem also costar.  I'm not so sure I like the new "Q", Ben Whishaw, but maybe he appeals to the younger audience.  Lots of fun, though I thought M should have been smarter in regards to using a flashlight at one point that made me cringe.  The running theme in the film which I liked was "Sometimes the old ways are better".  I liked the old school approach trumping the new technology.  Maybe I'm just getting old...  Fun film.

Flight

Drama
3.5 stars
Not what the previews lead you to believe.  Denzel Washington plays an alcoholic pilot, who also uses cocaine to "sober" himself up, and makes a miraculous landing of a commercial airplane.  The airline flight was very exciting, very cool.  The rest of the film is watching Denzel make a waste of himself, make all the wrong decisions, and you just want to dope-slap him!  The previews make him look like a shiny hero pilot, who unfortunately had some alcohol in his system after presumably having a couple of innocent social drinks, and is being unfairly prosecuted.  Nope, that is not the case.  There is some great acting, but it's just not my kind of film.  Standout performance by Kelly Riley (Sherlock Holmes) as Denzel's love interest.  Only for fans of Denzel who have the patience to watch him depressingly hit rock bottom.

Cloud Atlas

Drama, Sci-Fi
2 stars
So Weird!  Tom Hanks, Halle Berry and others are reincarnated over the centuries in this nonsensical film.  Mostly, I was distracted every time I saw an actor in heavy makeup, trying to figure out which actor they were, but why does it matter in this stupid film?  Something about karma and how it effects our next lives, but all the little clips of the different eras are thrown at you seemingly all at once so it doesn't even start to make sense until halfway through this 3 hour, bloated piece of weirdness.  Skip it.

The Sessions

Indie, True Story
4 stars
Very good. A man (John Hawkes) almost completely paralyzed by polio wants to lose his virginity, so he hires a sex therapist (Helen Hunt) to achieve his goal. William H. Macy is the great as the man’s priest and friend whom he confides in. This film is sweet and funny, but mostly you just want to root for Hawks in his quest. Excellent acting. Based on the true story of journalist Mark O’Brien. Excellent film.

Fun Size

Comedy, Teen
2 stars
Awful. A teenage girl (Victoria Justice) reluctantly takes her devilish little brother (Jackson Nicholl) out for Halloween and then loses him. Both the sister and brother have their respective adventures. The little boy was really cute and there was a touching scene near the end. But the focus is more on the gorgeous but geeky big sister, as well as their mother, Chelsea Handler, who both make embarrassing fools of themselves. Not funny. Skip it.