TWELVE: A DOZEN TOO MANY

This kid driven film has been compared to Less Than Zero, a better version of spoiled teenagers using drugs and drinking and carrying on far too young. This one follows drug dealer, White Mike (Chase Crawford) as Kieffer Sutherland's throaty voice narrates the action. It's hard to watch as these children try to act like adults... sad actually. There are several other story lines including a murder but nothing is outstanding. The only thing I really enjoyed was the voice over with Sutherland. It's bad enough watching adults try to act like adults.  I wish these kids had waited to walk around in their mom's heels. Not a good film.  

WINTER'S BONE: A HARD KNOCK LIFE BUT A GREAT MOVIE

For her role as Ree Dolly, Jennifer Lawrence had to learn how to skin squirrels, chop wood, and fight.

Ree (Jennifer Lawrence) lives in the Ozarks and with an absent father and mentally absent mother, she raises her two young siblings while battling the harsh world around her. Lawrence gives the performance of a lifetime for such a young woman, and we hope it will not be her last. So poor that they have to depend on eating squirrels to survive, she sets out on a journey to find her absent father in hopes of saving the house put up for bail foreclosure.In the Ozarks, she finds a tight knit group of people, who won't talk to strangers, nonetheless even a stranger they know. Her journey is not an easy one, and is at sometimes painful both physically and mentally, but luckily Ree is tough enough to win to her what she must in order to help her family survive. This film isn't exactly easy to watch, but it is so well done and compelling that it is also hard not to watch it.This was definitely one of the best films of 2011.   

SKYLINE: AND THE WORLD ENDS YET AGAIN

"Jarrod: What are you going to do when all the blinds fall down? It's not exactly like we have a lot more bedsheets!"

However, this time it can be missed. Jarrod and pregnant girlfriend Elaine travel to LA to visit his old and living large friend Terry and his wife Candice. Isn't it just like LA to go and get invaded by aliens just when the party's getting good!? So the movie is mostly everyone running around trying to get away from the aliens, but wait, there is a twist. This movie shows us what happens once one is consumed by the aliens and boy is it far fetched and just plain dumb. A total silly waste of time.

HEREAFTER: NOT AS PEACEFUL AS EXPECTED

Not as magical as I anticipated, this film begins on a vivid and realistic note with a tsunami disaster scene and doesn't brighten up from there. Matt Damon is a reluctant psychic who is brought into the lives of other characters who are meant to cross paths. This could have been a mystical and moving film, but instead, fell flat and trite. Not my favorite film. 

THE SWITCH: GUY BASED ROM-COM

Based on the New York Times magazine story called The Baster... I dislike Jennifer Anniston but adore Jason Bateman, who steals the movie. A man (Bateman) drunkenly switches his spearm with another man's donation meant for his best friend (Anniston) who uses it to impregnate herself. Many years later, Bateman meets this child and the similarities are bountiful. Jeff Goldblume and Juilette Lewis are the best friends and do fine jobs respectively. How many romantic comedies have you seen involving head lice?  Lovely film.

LET ME IN: WELL DONE REMAKE

Director Matt Reeves stated the main thing he loved about the novel 'Let the Right One In' was the fact that Abby wasn't a scheming 250-year old woman inside a 12-year old body. She was very much a child emotionally and has had to protect herself from getting too close with anyone. He believed Abby was testing Owen to see if he would show he cared for her and stay or if he would get scared and stop seeing her.

I loved Chloë Grace Moretz in Kick Ass as Hit Girl. This will be one actress to watch as her career develops. In this remake of the Swedish film Let The Right One In, she is Abby, a "modern day" vampire who befriends awkward Owen. The remake is much more violent, bloody and graphic than the first, but as equally well done. I might be tired of teenage vampires, but the young ones are still cute as a button. Really gives a nice viewpoint of the outcast and ill fitting youth.

CYRUS: AN UNEXPECTED SWEET AND QUIRKY FILM

Unexpectedly sweet but also funny and well done. I thought it was going to be a goofball comedy but it turned into a heartfelt drama with interesting characters. John C. Reilly, Marisa Tomei and Jonas Hill all do a spectacular job. Lovely film.

DUE DATE: THIS MOVIE HAS EXPIRED!

As much as I love both Robert Downey Jr and Zach Galifanakis, both talents were lost in this weak remake of Planes Trains and Automobiles. Not one to watch. Downey must get home for the birth of his child, but is kicked off the plane and banned from flying after accidentally switching bags with loose cannon Galifanakis. Reluctantly, Downey takes a ride when he finds he looses his wallet with his money and ID. Let the road trip from hell commence. Once thing after another Downey is dragged, kicking and screaming through unbelievable circumstance and turns into more of an asshole. Galifanakis, while incompetent, shows he was a good heart, but that means little since he keeps messing everything up. A joke of a film, but no one is laughing. 

RED: REALLY ENJOYED this DVD

William Cooper: How's retirement, Frank?
Frank Moses: It's been a real blast.

Who wouldn't like a movie where Bruce Willis is a rogue ex-black ops agent who enlists old friends like Morgan Freeman, John Malcovitch and Helen Mirren while Mary Louise Parker hangs on his arm in wide disbelief while they fight with the bad guys? Did I mention that Helen Mirren wears combat boots?! This was more like a roller coater ride than a movie and I loved every minute of it. Willis plays a retired agent who is targeted for assassination, but his character could be anyone of his well known Die Hard type characters. The difference is that this time, these characters are "seniors" and have retired from "the life" until Willis asks for help. Not only do these "seniors" kick ass, they do it with style, grace and humor. It isn't the best film, nor the prettiest or and other superlative, but it was fun and a great romp and entertaining as hell and that should mean something.

BLACK SWAN: GOOD MOVIE, GREAT ACTRESS

Thomas Leroy: We all know the story. Virginal girl, pure and sweet, trapped in the body of a swan. She desires freedom but only true love can break the spell. Her wish is nearly granted in the form of a prince, but before he can declare his love her lustful twin, the black swan, tricks and seduces him. Devastated the white swan leaps of a cliff killing herself and, in death, finds freedom.

Although this film began as more of an independent film, Natalie Portman's acting was outstanding enough to catapult it a mainstream release. Obviously, Portman has swept all of the award ceremonies this year for best actress for a reason. What some people fail to understand, is that while this film showcases an outstanding performance, that in itself does not make for a outstanding film in itself. I think many people found this film to be too psychologically layered and found the sub story a little too complex and confusing. The movie is about a ballerina whose whole world is consumed with dance. She has a mother (the fabulous Barbara Hershey) who smothers her and has denied herself a balanced life in order to be a great ballerina. The combination, sets her up to be psychologically fragile and when put under the stress of taking over the prima ballerina position for Swan Lake she eventually cracks. We see her descent into madness, including a rivalry that doesn't exist. I found it an interesting portrayal of a naïve young woman searching for her own identity, but then again, I enjoyed more psychologically-based films. Plainly put, however wonderful Portman's portrayal of Nina is, it is not a film for everyone. It is a very dark film, and involves the less than pretty part of the ballet world.

THE TOURIST: CAUGHT IN A BAD ROMANCE

Frank Taylor: You're ravenous. Elise: Do you mean 'ravishing'? Frank Taylor: I do.

For romantic movie where both lead actors have absolutely no chemistry together, this film surprisingly did have some entertaining moments to it. Angelina Jolie is Elise, a sophisticated worldly woman who begins our movie at the target under the police's is watchful eye. She is being given instructions to meet her lover who just happens to have stolen a large amount of money before disappearing into thin air. It has been some time, and he has had reconstructive surgery so she isn't sure what he looks like now, but follows his directions blindly. While doing so, she befriends Frank (Johnny Depp looking much like Eddie Vedder) an unsuspecting tourist. Because the police don't know what her lover looks like, she uses the tourist as a smokescreen. The question is, or does he use her? From the beginning, I had extreme doubts as to the pairing of Jolie and Depp for this project. And, I was right, they have absolutely no chemistry with each other whatsoever. However, each in their own right give palatable performances. Depp has a sense of humor, however mild, while Jolie plays the femme fatale pretty much per the usual. The scenery is lovely, her costumes are beautiful, but the awkwardness between the two stands out like a sore thumb. The worst scene, perhaps, toward the end of the movie tries to have them dance with each other which is almost more painful to watch then them just interacting with each other. It is reminiscent of Mr. and Mrs. Smith, except it falls flat if not just looks plain old stupid. The ending I liked and although this wasn't the best work for either actor it was an entertaining movie. Or, it was something I could watch without being sick to my stomach. Not a glowing endorsement, but not to most terrible film I've seen.

THE FIGHTER: A KO ENSEMBLE

Mickey Ward: I'm the one who's fighting.

Not you, not you, and not you.

The Fighter, is a drama about boxer "Irish" Micky Ward's unlikely road to the world light welterweight title while dragging behind him his half-brother Dicky, a boxer-turned-trainer whose life is impacted by living a less than angelic existence. While this film appears to be another in a long line of local boy makes good, it goes deeper than that in making it more personable and giving a look at the family as a whole and how this quest for greatness effects them all. Mark Mark (yes, I will forever call him that until he asks me not to) Wahlberg delivers a solid performance as the fighter with a dream and a pain in the ass family who simultaneously drag him down and pull him up. The two greatest offenders being his mother played by Melissa Leo, brash and abrasive, and his drug addicted, jail time serving brother seamlessly portrayed by Christian Bale. In fact, it is Bale who takes the spotlight away from Wahlberg not only with his acting, but by the story itself. At the end of the movie (and during the awards show season) we were introduced to the real pair of brothers and Bale is spot on in his recreation of Dicky, as also attested to by the slew of awards he received. The only real difference I found in this film was the focus on the family rather than just the man doing the actual fighting; like the family was fighting in the ring with him. It is a solid film carried well by Wahlberg but crafted by Leo and Bale. Amy Adams also did a top notch job as Mickey's girlfriend.

NEVER LET ME GO: SCI FI BRONTE

Kathy: We all complete. Maybe none of us really understand what we've lived through, or feel we've had enough time.

Kathy, Tommy and Ruth, (Carey Mulligan, Andrew Garfield and Kiera Knightly) three young friends in an idyllic boarding school in England where children are raised to be good and healthy; emphasis on the healthy. Like Stepford, instead of being created, these children are being raised to be demolished for parts until they "complete". They function like home schooled children in the real world while they wait patiently to be called upon for their time to be harvested. It all plays out much like a period piece with a sci-fi twist. The rain soaked gray English countryside is almost as sad as the muddied relations between these children as they make their way blindly to adulthood, their lot firmly established. It's a rather dreary piece if also poetic commentary on life and living it no matter the length. Solid performances by all the cast.

FOR COLORED GIRLS... FROM TYLER PERRY?!

Jo: Save your "sorry." One thing I don't need are anymore apologies. I got sorry greeting me at the front door. You can keep yours. I don't know what to do with them... I can't even... I have to throw some away. I can't even get to the clothes in my closet for all the sorries. I'm not even sorry about you being sorry.

Based on Ntozake Shange's play "For Colored Girls Who Have Considered Suicide When the Rainbow Is Enuf," this film, packed with star power and breathtaking performances, is a different kind of movie. It is a mix of poetry, Broadway play and film that while strange at first, blends into a lovely and unexpected product. Many of these women are raw, clinging to desperate lives and their actions and what they react to is not always pretty. In fact, because it is so real and happens every day, it almost becomes more scary to watch than a Wes Craven film. They deal with abuse and abusers of all kinds and still manage to find the strength within themselves to navigate through. It is not your average Tyler Perry film and won't be for everyone. But it is beautiful and poetic and lovely all in itself. Be sure to watch the bonus on how they gave each character both a name and a color of the rainbow through wardrobe. Lovely.

THE SOCIAL NETWORK: LIKE

NOT a full review

One of the best films of the year... the story of how Facebook was born, depending on who you believe. Criticised for being too "young" when really it's just a story about a guy who wanted to fit in and found a way to do it. Stellar performances from all involved, sharp story and compelling writing. A must see.