Painted Skin: The Resurrection
Chinese fantasy about a demon who needs to change places with a human to escape eternal imprisonment. Kind of schlocky and way too sentimentally romantic. A lot of production effort wasted. **

Home
Delightful French comedy about a family who lives right next to a closed highway that is re-opened. I love Isabelle Huppert and, as usual, she is great. All the acting is excellent. Offbeat and very enjoyable. **

The Counselor
Beautifully written and acted cautionary tale about a lawyer who gets involved in the drug trade along the border because his lifestyle has gotten out of control. Excellent cast does justice to Cormac McCarthy’s script. Some of the images will stay for a long time. **

Hammer of the Gods
Movie about a Viking sent to find his brother so he can be the new king of the Vikings who are conquering England. Gets weirder as it goes. Clumsy directing and overwrought acting. Even though I was hopeful, it didn’t ever really catch my interest.

Gravity
Visually stunning chick flick about a female astronaut feeling bad about herself who triumphs over her tribulations to become strong again through her fight for survival. Too bad the plot was so dopey. Visually, it was magnificent. **

Invisible Waves
Interesting film about a Japanese cook who kills his boss’s wife for him, then is sent on vacation to Thailand. But the vacation, of course, is not what it seems. Interesting and well done, and, as usual, Asano Tadanobu is excellent. Enjoyed it. **