The Avengers
Very entertaining movie about superheroes battling an invasion of earth by Loki. Enjoyed Ironman, as usual. Very much like comics in tone and action. One of the funniest movie scenes I’ve seen in a long time when Hulk slaps Loki around. Watched it again because of Iron Man 3. **

The Master
Best film I’ve seen in a very long time. Joaquin Phoenix’s performance is one of the greatest I have ever seen. Visually, thematically exquisite, and perfectly executed. Even though, like all of Paul Thomas Anderson’s films, it is hard to watch, it’s really, really good. ****

Novo
Light, odd French film about a sexually gifted man who suffers from daily retrograde amnesia and the women battling for him. Very good cast and not too bad, but the resolution resolves nothing. **

Star Trek Into Darkness
Next installment in the J. J. Abrams re-imagining of the TV series. The Kirk/Spock relationship continues to develop, and how Kahn got to be Kahn. Good, but didn’t like it as much as his initial take. Plan to watch it again some time. **

A Tale of Legendary Libido
Lighthearted, absolutely entertaining Korean film about a village starved for virility and the young man who rises to the task. Better than it sounds. I didn’t know every woman in Korea is so beautiful. Fun. **

Hospitalité
Enjoyable Japanese film about a printer who gets conned into housing some illegal aliens. Develops nicely, gets a little creepy, and ends well. Entertaining. **

Lust in Hell 2
Disappointing sequel, half of which is a summary of the previous movie. Though it resolves things, lame. *

Lust in Hell
Surprisingly enjoyable Japanese “horror” movie about a woman who can see people coming from hell while she battles for her sanity. That being said, the female lead was by far the most interesting thing in it. **

High School of the Dead
Absolutely loved this anime series about zombies in high school and the group of students who have to fight their way to safety. Very entertaining. ***

Kiss Me
Movie about an engaged woman who falls in love with her father’s girlfriend’s daughter. Way too adolescent in its approach to their relationship, but at least it dealt with the sorrow it causes. Lame happy ending. **

Iron Man 3
Third installment of this very entertaining trilogy. This one is too busy, too dependent on effects, but not too bad. Not as good as either of the first two, the first one is my favorite. Elijah loved it. Will probably save up and get the blu-ray set when it comes out. **

The Dark Sea
Italian film about a detective investigating a sex murder that begins to affect his relationship at home. A little pretentious and needlessly obscure. There just wasn’t anything there after working into it. Too bad. **

Post Impact
Bad B movie about efforts to recover a device that will help people during the new Ice Age that was caused by a meteor strike. See what I mean by bad. Another waste of time. *

Starship Troopers 3: Marauder
Lighthearted parody of the original Starship Troopers parody of 50s war movies. Not too bad, but that’s a lot of parody. Not a total waste though. Luckily, it was free. *

Joe + Belle
Stupid, unconvincing Israeli dark comedy about two women who fall in love with each other when one kills the other’s abusive boyfriend. Unfortunately, another waste of time. *

On the Doll
Lame movie about the tortured relationships of people in the porn industry. Waste of time. *

Permissive
Raw 1972 film about groupies in England. Even though it was pretty slim, there was an immediacy about it that has stayed with me. Better than it seemed while I was watching it. **

Safety Not Guaranteed
Delightful, quirky film about a guy who claims he is building a time machine, and the tabloid team sent to check it out. He just needs the right companion to help him. Doesn’t everyone. Playful, sweet, and entertaining. **

Ploy
Surreal Thai film about a couple back in their home town for a funeral. She’s a former movie star and he owns a restaurant, and their relationship has problems. Everything else is fantasy and illusion, and it’s hard to tell what happens and what doesn’t. Well done enough. **

From Up On Poppy Hill
Exquisite, lovely love story set in 1960s Japan from Studio Ghibli. Wonderfully nostalgic and endearing. Excellent graphics and narrative. Absolutely loved it. ***

Adrift in Tokyo
Outstanding, off-beat Japanese film about two guys walking across Tokyo. Very entertaining and enjoyable. Wished it wouldn’t end, but of course it had to. Lot of fun. **

Oblivion
Deeply disappointing Tom Cruise science fiction film about a future earth. Fragmented narrative and shallow characters, though the acting wasn’t bad. Implausible ending. Kept thinking throughout how much better it could have been. Too bad. **

Killing them Softly
Entertaining Brad Pitt vehicle about a hit man working a job. Very interesting treatise on the nature of America as corporation. Excellent monologue by Pitt’s character at the very end. Glad I saw it. **

The Sessions
Beautifully and courageously acted film about a polio-crippled guy who works with a sex therapist. Helen Hunt and Hawkes were superb. Got a little unbelievably wonderful at the end, but it is a Hollywood production. Good. **

The Man with the Iron Fists
So bad, I stopped watching after only a few minutes. Outstanding cast completely wasted. Absolutely terrible.

G. I. Joe: Retaliation
Took Elijah to see this one since I gave him the DVD of the first one. They are geared to guys his age, and he loved it. I didn’t mind it too much. Really expensive for two people, even when one is a kid. Glad we did it. **

Clash
Interesting Vietnamese movie about an assassin who works for a crime boss who has kidnapped her daughter. Very violent Asian action. Pretty entertaining, if a bit over the top. The actress is stunning, and a good fighter. **

Vampire Diary
Independent-level movie about a woman making a film about people who pretend to be vampires. Then she falls in love with one of them, a woman who claims to be a real vampire. That’s when things start to come apart. Kind of OK. **

Headhunters
Entertaining thriller based on a Jo Nesbø novella about a head hunter who gets involved in a violent corporate power play. Well done enough. Enjoyed it. **

Miao Miao
Taiwanese movie about the school year a Japanese student spends in Taipei with Miao Miao. Hints of lesbian relationship, but nothing more. A little adolescent, but good at what it attempts. Not a waste of time. **

Silver Linings Playbook
Excellent character study of a guy trying to cope with the loss of his girlfriend while his mom and another woman try to help. The cast and acting was superb. Cooper was as good or better than Lawrence, who won the academy award. Ending is a little too easy as you would expect from Hollywood. Glad I saw it. **

Cosmopolis
A super-rich CEO spends the day driving around in his limousine. I wasn’t sure how to take this when I read the book, and I’m still a little unsure what DeLillo is doing. Cronenberg adds his usual graphic elements to the mix, but that sheds no light on anything, not really. Liked the language and dialogue. Everybody does a very good job. **

A Late Quartet
Everything in this film about the tribulations of a string quartet is extremely refined. Unfortunately, all the food value has been refined right out of it. All the characters, and their interactions, are clichés. Terrible waste of incredible acting ability. Not horrible, just really pale. **

Open City
Interesting Korean film about a sinister pick-pocket manipulating a policeman and his pick-pocket mother. Emotionally brutal, well acted, and a cohesive and believable narrative. It isn’t great, but I enjoyed watching it. **

Zero Dark Thirty
Interesting, well-acted movie about the hunt and assassination of Osama bin Laden. There is an emotional distance created, perhaps, by the ambivalent main character. Really well directed. Really glad I saw it. **

Total Recall
Remake of the film of the Philip K. Dick story about a future where you can be given any memories you want. The question becomes, how do you tell them from reality. Stylish, adequately acted, and ultimately empty because, like the Schwarzenegger version, it never deals with the real issue. Another useless remake. *

End of Watch
Movie about two L. A. cops working the mean streets. While the narrative unfolded I was really invested, and worried about them. But, there are narrative, especially POV, inconsistencies, and as soon as it ended, I felt like I had been artificially manipulated. Really disliked the very end. But Gyllenhaal and Peña were good, and I’m glad I saw it. **

Men in Black 3
Pretty good installment in the series. Imaginative and entertaining early versions of some of the characters. Not as good as the first one and way better than the irritating second one. **

Housewife’s Afternoon Delight
Japanese film about a bored housewife who starts an affair with a door-to-door salesman. Turns bad for everyone, especially him. Not too original, but well-enough done. **

I Am an S&M Writer
Excellent Japanese film about a guy who writes S&M novels and his relationship with his wife. Thoughtful, beautifully filmed, and ultimately very sad. Well worth it. **

Battlestar Galactica: Blood and Chrome
Marginally interesting spin-off from the TV series about an intelligence plot to end the first Cylon war. Would like to see the unedited version. Adequate entertainment. **

Rainbow Eyes
Really interesting Korean murder mystery about cops trying to solve a series of murders of former soldiers. Interesting plot twists. Very well done, really enjoyed it. **

Immoral Affairs
Japanese film about a woman who get involved in extra-marital affairs because her marriage is stale. Of course, things go bad from there. Pretty good.**

Iron Sky
Hilarious and entertaining movie about Nazis hiding on the moon until they can re-take earth. Lots of campy fun. Enjoyed it. **

Scout Man
Sad and depressing Japanese movie about a young couple in Tokyo from the sticks who get involved in the sex trade. A scout man is a guy who recruits young women off the street. Well enough done. **

Vengeance
Marginally interesting movie about a Frenchman in Macau and Hong Kong who avenges the murders of his daughter and her family. Pretty good Asian violence. Not great but not a waste of time either. **

Moss
Fascinating Korean film about a man who goes to a small village for the funeral of his father. That’s when all the trouble starts. Complexity of characterizations added to the plot intricacies. Very well written and a great ending. Very enjoyable. **

Looper
Very good science fiction film about time travel, organized crime, assassination, and dreams of the future. Excellent acting by Gordon-Leavitt, Willis, and Blount. Excellent writing, and a superb ending. Best Hollywood film I’ve seen in a long time. Really liked it. ***