The End of Summer
Ozu drama about the head of a family who refuses to conform, and lives his life the way he wants despite family consternation. All the familiar issues of the closely interconnected Japanese family. Very enjoyable. ***

Late Autumn
Ozu film about three male friends who take it upon themselves to marry off the daughter of the widow of a friend. Subtly comic and tragic as their machinations repeatedly fail. Well acted and understated. Very enjoyable, with a slightly sad ending. ***

Early Spring
Excellent Ozu film about a salaryman who falls into an affair with a woman he works with. Primarily about the horrors of the Japanese office worker. All the things that make Ozu one of my very favorite directors, still camera, exploring familial and social relationships, and Japanese society in general. ***

Tokyo Twilight
A late Ozu film about a young woman struggling with an unwanted pregnancy and abandonment issues until she commits suicide. Intriguing narrative about discovering the mother who abandoned her and her sister. Social values a little dated, but all the great Ozu elements. ***

John Carter
Enjoyable but slim Disney version of the Edgar Rice Burroughs novel. Everything about it is done well enough, but there isn’t really any depth of character, narrative, or technique. Seems like it was made for kids, which it probably was. Burroughs may even have written it for them. So there wasn’t anything wrong with it, but it wasn’t at all compelling. **

Melancholia
Lars von Trier film about a woman’s struggle with depression as the planet Melancholia circles toward a collision with Earth. Very well acted, beautifully shot, and an interesting hint of pre-cognition. Well worth seeing. **

Hugo
Delightful Scorsese film about a boy who winds the clock in a train station in Paris and the characters he gets to know there. Very much a children’s story, but wonderfully done as a paean to the art and impact of filmmaking. Pretty enjoyable, if a little simple. **

The Rum Diary
Movie based on a Hunter Thompson novel about a writer who goes to Puerto Rico to work as a journalist. Can’t do anything about the corruption, so he sails off in a stolen boat. Acting was good enough, and the characters had a start on being interesting, but it all seemed too shallow here. Plot showed its age. Could have missed it. **

In Time
Stupid movie about a technologically advanced future where time-to-live has replaced money. Demonstrates only how bad an actor Justin Timberlake is. Complete waste of time, ha ha. *

The Whistleblower
Completely depressing movie about human trafficking in Eastern Europe based on actual events. Deeply troubling because it shows the way the most evil conduct is institutionalized by wealth and greed to the point that it is really impossible for any person to do anything about it. Pretty well acted by a good cast. **

London Boulevard
Pretty good adaptation of the Ken Bruen novel, though I never really like Colin Farrell. Ending had the bleakness of Bruen, but the rest of it was pretty shallow, especially what was supposed to be the developing love between Farrell and Knightley. David Thewlis was good as usual. Not a total waste of time, I guess. **

Drive
Moody, stylized remake of a 70s film about a guy who drives for the movies and criminals. He gets involved with a beautiful neighbor and, of course, everything falls apart from there. Thought the soundtrack was pretty weird. Liked the juxtaposition of the slow, reflective, scenes against the quick brutality of the violence. Not too bad, even though I generally eschew remakes, but I’m interested in Refn’s work. **

Deadwood
By far the best thing that’s ever been on television. Language, acting, writing, and characters all are reminiscent of Shakespeare. An insightful history of the United States. In Al Swearengen, David Milch and Ian McShane have created one of the great characters of all American drama. Really, really loved this. Glad I was finally able to get through all three seasons, and wished it hadn’t ever ended. *****

Safe House
Brutal, fast-paced thriller about a rogue CIA agent and the safe house caretaker who gets caught up in the attempts to assassinate him. Great action, and even though there’s an unjustified softening of the main character and a bit of a soft ending, it’s mostly well done. Enjoyed it. Ryan Reynolds didn’t even irritate me. Not bad. **

Another Earth
Original, interesting movie about a woman trying to deal with the consequences of having killed people in a drunk driving accident and the discovery of a mirror planet to Earth. Written by the starring actress. Some difficult scenes emotionally, and a great ending. Glad I saw it. **

The Ides of March
Well made political movie about the gamesmanship between two primary candidates’ teams. Excellent acting from a superior cast. Bleak, cynical, troubling, and undoubtedly an accurate portrayal. Even though it seemed a little too much like a play, glad I saw it. **

Killer Elite
Ok, but predictable movie about professional assassins battling SAS killers in 1980. Clumsy dialogue wasted on some good actors, only adequate fights and action sequences, and mediocre directing. Could have done without it. Good thing it was only $1. *

Contagion
Very well made and acted movie about a new, bird-flu like virus that sweeps around the world. Excellent acting from an outstanding cast and directing, as usual, by Soderbergh. Very interesting and pretty realistic, though kind of upbeat at the end. Glad I finally saw it. **

Anonymous
Interesting, well-done dramatization of the theory that the plays attributed to Shakespeare were actually written by Edward de Vere, Earl of Oxford. I have found that theory very plausible for some time, so I enjoyed it, overwrought though it may have been. Glad I saw it. **

Underworld: Awakening 
Really lousy sequel. Dialogue and directing so bad I found myself laughing in places that weren’t supposed to be funny. Everything seemed artificially staged, the art direction was incoherent, and a good cast was embarrassingly wasted. Glad I didn’t pay for it. Still very bad. *

Haywire
Pretty good Soderbergh film about a private operative battling corrupt forces trying to eliminate her. I know, but the directorial skills, art direction, and the attempt to be realistic rather than explosive made it worthwhile. At least it was serious craft, which is unheard of in this genre. Didn’t suck. **

Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy
Nicely done film of the outstanding Le Carré novel about the search for a mole in British Intelligence during the cold war. Excellent cast and acting, though the brevity of the film doesn’t allow for the narrative complexity and nuanced interplay of character in the novel and the superb Alec Guinness TV series. Stands as a deft counterpoint to all the action trash being made. **

Contraband
Lame Mark Wahlberg film about one last smuggling operation to save his family. Very predictable, and the rescue of the wife was laughable. Squandered and excellent cast. *

1911
Pretty bad Jackie Chan film about the 1911 Xinhai revolt against the Qing dynasty. Unfortunately, Jackie directed it as well. Very disappointing even though it only cost a dollar. *