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. *

Mission: Impossible - Ghost Protocol
Hollow extension of this series. Liked all the actors, even Cruise didn’t bother me quite as much as usual. There’s sufficient tension, but the ending is really stupid, and once it’s over it’s just gone, except for the slight sugar high. To be expected, though.*

The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo
Well-accomplished film version of the excellent novel. I was nervous about seeing it because I loved the book so much, but I respect Fincher’s work, and I wasn’t disappointed. As always with literature to film, wish there could have been more detail, and I don’t understand why they conflated the Anita and Harriet characters, but those aren’t really criticisms. Loved Ms. Salander in the book and in the film.**

Midnight in Paris
Woody Allen’s wonderful fantasia on the beauty of Paris. Similar to what he did in Manhattan. Doesn’t have Manhattan’s meaningfulness, but whimsical and delightful, a place where people get a second chance, even if the Hemingway character looked nothing like him. Very entertaining.**

Sherlock Holmes: A Game of Shadows
Visually entertaining action movie about Holmes and Watson trying to avert war. A lot of Guy Ritchie-type fun. Emblematic of our decline that the character most known for solving crimes with his mind now solves them by beating people up.**

Snow Flower and the Secret Fan
Well directed, well acted film about how female friendship is far more binding and meaningful than anything else. Another excellent job by Wayne Wang, good acting, and nice artistic direction. Kind of lame thematically.*

Crazy, Stupid, Love
Movie about the members of a family trying to cope with love. It’s a little crazy but mostly stupid. Characters were all pretty much unbelievable. Great cast pretty much wasted. Should have known.*

Our Idiot Brother
Lighthearted and unfortunately-stupid movie about a guy who constantly gets in trouble because he is so loving, kind, and thoughtful of others. Didn’t find any of the characters very likable, even the good guy. It accomplishes pretty much what it tried to do, but that wasn’t really very much.*

The Lives of Others
Finally watched this outstanding German film about the tragedy of personal lives under the East German system in the mid 1980s. Sad, tense, and extremely well acted, written, and directed. Hard to watch, but very good. **

Bad Teacher
Disappointing comedy about a teacher who is concerned only with getting a rich husband. Not funny, stupid characters, and mediocre acting. Waste of time.*

Bridesmaids
Very disappointing comedy about friends preparing for a wedding. Really dislike the “humor” based solely on social discomfort, and the adolescent female concern for who is the best friend. Waste of time. Don’t believe the hype.*

X-Men: First Class 
Entertaining action movie about the origins of the mutants who make up the X-men and –women. Nice special effects with an interesting and pretty meaningful narrative, for this kind of movie. Starting to notice Rose Byrne. Well worth the $1.60 for the Redbox blu-ray. **

Blitz 
Movie based on a Ken Bruen book that I really enjoyed, like most of his other books. As I expected when I saw that Jason Statham was the star, they don’t really get at how evil a character Brandt really is. Paddie Considine was very good, as usual, as the gay cop, and Aidan Gillen was excellent as The Blitz. Not too bad. Glad to see Bruen is getting a wider audience. *

Priest
Surprised that I enjoyed this movie. Paul Bettany was actually believable as the tortured priest, I really liked the art direction and visual presentation, in general, and the narrative, while really thin, didn’t irritate. Have to say though, that if Maggie Q touched my face lovingly, I’d give up pretty much everything. So, not bad for $1.50. *

Synecdoche, New York
Charlie Kaufmann is a genius, the genius of meaningful life. Deeply moved by his view of the human condition and the attempt to use art to understand it, and the need for love and the suffering that accompanies it. So unusual for Hollywood. Like Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind, it is now one of my all-time favorites. Very, Very good. ****

The Debt
Kind of overwrought spy thriller/historical film about Israeli agents who find and kidnap a Nazi doctor, lose him, and lie about it for 30 years. When he resurfaces, they have to deal with it. I thought the difference between the old and young versions of the protagonists was so profound that I didn’t believe they were the same people. And I found the angst over done. The acting was all very good, as you would expect from such a cast, but I just didn’t care what happened to any of these people. *

The Promise
Absolutely beautiful Chen Kaige film about a vow made by a starving girl to the goddess Manshen: she will have riches but she will lose any man she truly loves. I usually don’t like these mythical Chinese films where everyone is flying around, but this one was surprisingly wonderful. Great music as well. Surprisingly enjoyable. **

Colombiana
Stylish thriller about an assassin working to get revenge on the cartel that murdered her parents. Everything about the characters and plot is completely unbelievable, especially that Zoe Saldana could actually do any of the physical stunts portrayed. Huge holes in the narrative, stupid dialogue, and poor directing that uses jump cuts to hide inadequacies. Not just a waste of time and money, it may actually make you more stupid for having seen it. Really bad. *