The Movie Reviews Backlog

Being so far behind in reviewing movies I saw last year and this year, I've decided to offer some one (or two or three) line reviews:

The Hunger Games
Terrific adaptation of the book. Jennifer Lawrence is a force to be reckoned with.  Rent it.

Coriolanus
Arguably the best movie I saw last year.  Stunning performances show why we still read every word Shakespeare wrote.  Rent it.

The Deep Blue Sea
Depression in post-war England. Rachel Weisz does a good job but movies about depression and aimlessness are . . . depressing.

Jiro Dreams of Sushi
A movie about the pursuit of excellence that makes all of us look like slugs.  I'm glad there are people like Jiro and I'm glad I'm not one of them. Rent it.

The Pirates! Band of Misfits
Wallace and Gromit animation is delightful. Lots of humor to delight adults. Surprised my grandson Eli loved it and found it humorous on an entirely different level.  Rent for the kids.

A Kid and His Bike
Wonderful French film about a troubled boy abandoned by his father and the woman who wants to love and take care of him.  Painfully honest about how difficult love can be.  Rent it.

The Avengers
Perhaps the best fun superhero movie ever made.  Full of action, but it's the relationships among the heroes that make this movie so watchable.  Rent it and make sure you watch past the credits.

The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel
Everyone seems to love this movie but me. I found the neo-colonialism offensive.  Old English people come to India to show their little brown brothers how to succeed in business, love, sport, and life. Skip it.

Monsieur Lahzar
One of the best films of last year. An Algerian immigrant teaches grieving Montreal children whose teacher committed suicide in their classroom. And Monsieur Lahzar has his own grief.  Rent it.

Bernie
The movie that reminded me why I love Jack Black.  Based on a true story, the film tells the wild story of the most lovable guy ever who just happens to be a murderer.  Don't miss it.

Habemus Papam
"We Have a Pope" is a mess of a movie.  A newly elected Pope refuses the office and the cardinals and minions do everything they can to change his mind.  So many missed opportunities for great comedy and drama.  Skip it.

First Position
A documentary that follows six young dancers from around the globe as they prepare for and compete in the prestigious Youth America Grand Prix. Don't miss it.

Hysteria
A comedy about the invention of the vibrator in the 19th century.  It's hysterical. Rent it.

Moonrise Kingdom
It's got everything.  A great cast. A great director.  Wonderful humor.  But, it just misses the mark for me. However, rent it and make up your own mind.

People Like Us
A man's father dies and he discovers a sister he never knew about.  Will they have a relationship? Chris Pine and Elizabeth Banks give it their all, but the film never seems to go anywhere. Skip it.

Your Sister's Sister
A terrific movie about grief, loss, family, and love.  Rent it.

Madagascar 3
Took Eli to see this, dreading it every step of the way.  It was actually charming and funny. Rent it for the kids.

The Dark Knight Rises
Saw this about five days after the Aurora theater killings.  That tragedy definitely colored my perception.  I could see it was well acted and that the story was good, but gunmen mowing down people . . . much too much.  Rent it and make up your own mind.

Safety Not Guaranteed
A classified add appears: a man looking for a companion willing to time travel. Three reporters investigate and one builds a relationship with the crazy guy who believes he can time travel -- but is he really crazy? What's real?  What's not?  Rent it.

The Amazing Spider-Man
Andrew Garfield nails it as Spidey in this reboot of the comic classic.  The story is familiar but fresh.  Rent it.

The Untouchables
So many good French films this year. This unsentimental movie tells the story of Phillippe, a quadriplegic, and his caretaker -- an irreverent, sexy, spontaneous man who manages to give Phillippe a new lease on life. Rent it by all means.

Farewell, My Queen
Another good French film.  The story of Marie Antoinette's last three days with her servant Sidonie, her reader. The revolution has begun but Sidonie chooses to be loyal to her mistress. Their relationship is the jewel at the center of this subtle film.  Definitely rent it.

To Rome with Love
Woody Allen's attempt to recreate the magic of Midnight in Paris. The result is a disjointed set of stories which have relatively little relationship to one another.  Easily skipped.

Premium Rush
Stunningly photographed, the film follows a bike messenger extraordinaire on a deadline as he caroms around New York City, taking chances, risking his life, and making our hearts skip beats. Joseph Gordon-Leavitt is reliably awesome.  Rent it.

Celeste and Jesse Forever
Celeste (Rashida Jones) and Jesse (Andy Samberg) decide to get a divorce even though everyone thinks they're a great couple.  They're convinced they can hold on to the good parts of their relationship, but, as they start to date other people, their best intentions go awry. A delightful comedy drama to rent.

Paranorman
This feature-length cartoon was a bit inaccessible for a 7-year-old -- and I fell asleep in the middle of it. Not much of a recommendation.

The Master
Yes, so many critics say the film is brilliant.  A new kind of cinema!  Won't be understood or appreciated for years!  For me: Fine actors in a tiresome story.  If this is the thinly veiled saga of Scientology, I can only wish the veil were a lot thicker.  Skip it.

Arbitrage
A confident, cocky member of the 1%, caught in a web of his own pride and arrogance.  This film was definitely under-appreciated.  No one does confident and cocky as well as Richard Gere. A modern fable with a timeless message.  Watch it.

Argo
Ben Affleck's film about rescuing embassy workers during the Iran Hostage Crisis is deftly constructed, always entertaining, and deserves the praise heaped upon it. Make sure you see it.

Looper
OK. I'm a sucker for a good time travel film (NOT The Lake House).  Combine a great story with the gloriously talented Joseph Gordon-Leavitt and Bruce Willis being a great Bruce Willis -- and you have a film that will become a science fiction classic.  Rent it and enjoy the mind games.

Cloud Atlas
Seemingly disparate stories interwoven through time and space with actors appearing over and over again as characters in one story or another. Lovely idea but, in the end, quite pretentious and spending too much time celebrating its own supposed profundity. Skip it.

Flight
If Denzel Washington were not in this film, there'd be no reason to watch it.  He brutal performance saves the movie and should make us all want to smell the pilot's breath the next time we get on a plane.  Do see this one.

Pitch Perfect
An above average college comedy which manages to satirize Glee in an oblique way. Anna Kendrick delights as always and Rebel Wilson, the Australian actress who caught our attention in Bridesmaids, is terrific as Fat Amy. Rent it for the music jokes if nothing else.

The Perks of Being a Wallflower
An above average high school comedy which manages to be so much more than I'd expected. Reminded me of Ordinary People -- but with lots of fresh humor.  Excellent performances by several young actors -- especially Emma Watson. People are going to love this film for a long time.  Rent it.

Lincoln
My favorite film of 2012. Saw it twice. Yes, there are flaws.  The opening scene is schmaltzy and the the movie should have ended as Lincoln walked out of the White House the last time, but the rest of the film is gloriously led by the fully embodied acting of Daniel Day Lewis.  Lincoln lives and you know you would have voted for him.  Rent it, of course.

The Sessions
Helen Hunt should win the best supporting actress Oscar for her performance in this movie.  She won't, but she should. Her acting is fearless in this wonderfully unsentimental story. (Well, William Macy is a bit too cute as a priest with a generous heart, but he's so lovable!) Rent this one for sure.

Skyfall
A dark Bond film with heartbreak and vulnerability.  Daniel Craig continues to do the role justice and Judi Dench wows us as usual.  Javier Bardem is a worthy villain and, thank you, for casting Ben Whishaw as M. Made my day.  Rent it.

Silver Linings Playbook
I've seen it twice for good reasons: terrific performances, terrific story.  Bradley Cooper completely surprised me; Jennifer Lawrence did not.  I knew she'd be terrific, but Cooper was a revelation. See this one.

Life of Pi
A very close retelling of the book -- which no one seemed to think was possible.  Stunning special effects which never distract us from the story.  See it on the big screen if you can; otherwise, rent it or buy it. A film about grief and loss that doesn't make us sad.  Instead, it steps us into a new world.

Anna Karenina
I'm not sure this film will be appreciated in 2012 or 13.  It dares to tell the familiar story in a new way: set on a stage but not as a play. Stylized dancing. Fashions of different eras piled on one another.  It's a stunner.  A metaphor for 19th century aristocratic Russia poised for destruction.  Watch it.

Hitchcock
Despite fine performances by Anthony Hopkins and Helen Mirren, there was something missing at the center of this film.  I watched, anticipating some meaningful insight, but it never came.  No need to rent it, but I did also enjoy Scarlett Johansson's Janet Leigh and James D'Arcy's Anthony Perkins.  Actually, D'Arcy's Hopkins was so spot on, it was kind of creepy.

Django Unchained
Until the last 30 minutes, I was in love with this movie, especially Christoph Waltz's performance and the in-your-face reworking of the meta-narrative of slavery. The writing is brilliant, but the carnage of the last half hour was just too much. Revenge is never sweet, no matter how absolute. See it and make up your own mind.

The Hobbit
As my friend Matt said, "It's just good to be back in Middle Earth." Well, it doesn't have the gravitas of LOTR; after all, it IS just about a bunch of dwarves trying to get their money back.  But . . . it's wonderful.  I saw it both ways: in ordinary film and in 3D at 48 frames per second.  I liked both the experiences.  The second format was especially good for the Goblin King scenes.  See it at the theater if you can.

Cirque du Soleil: Worlds Away 3D
What a disappointment! The film weaves spectacular moments from seven different Las Vegas shows into what it hopes will be a compelling story.  It just doesn't work.  It's a bit of a hot mess. Skip it.

Broken City
Russell Crowe and Mark Wahlberg -- lots of promise, but, given a trite, ordinary script, they are not allowed to shine. Don't waste your money.

Zero Dark 30
The last act, the assault on the compound, is an amazing piece of film.  I'm no expert, but I think it must be much closer to what such military actions are like than we have ever seen at the movies before.  The torture at the beginning of the film is difficult to watch and the middle, which focuses on the search for Bin Laden, was frankly a bit boring. See it and make up your own mind.

Amour
A well-acted, very difficult film that is brutally honest about the ravages of dementia and the stress of being a caretaker. Honestly, the experience depicted was so close to my own experience with my father during the last 4 years of his dementia, that I feel I can't evaluate this film.

Side Effects
Lots of twists and turns in this film about unexpected side effects from a drug prescribed by a psychiatrist (Jude Law).  The first act seemed straightforward; the second was confused and muddled; the third explained it all.  Net net, a disappointing film that needed another rewrite. Skip it.

Quartet
A pleasant film about former professional classical musicians and opera singers who live together in a retirement home.  Maggie Smith is her serene, regal self; and there are fine performances from Michael Gambon, Pauline Collins, Billy Connolly, and Ronnie Fox.  The standout is Tom Courtenay, who, as a young man, wasn't much of a looker, but has gotten downright sexy in his old age. Rent it only if you love these actors.

Beautiful Creatures
A bit of snappy dialogue among teenagers, appealing young stars, and accomplished older stars (Jeremy Irons, Viola Davis, Emma Thompson, and Eileen Atkins) can't save this film from the trite bell, book, and candle story that surrounds it.  Skip it.