“Blue Valentine” is a haunting and subtle portrait of a marriage gone bad.
127 HOURS (R) Thrilling true tale about mountain climber Aron Ralston (James Franco), who had to amputate a limb after getting trapped under a boulder in Utah. Director Danny Boyle does a great job of giving a static story some kinetic energy. The pivotal moment is as disturbing as you feared. But the emotional impact of the film is far greater than any gore: The ending will have you crying like a baby. (A-)
ALL GOOD THINGS (PG-13) “All Good Things” must end, but it can’t end soon enough. This is the strange but true story of suspected triple murderer Robert Durst, the cross-dressing sociopath and former heir to a vast New York City real estate empire. Squeezing 23 years into two hours leaves no room for the film to breathe. Director Andrew Jarecki likes to shock, but he did it far more effectively with his documentary “Capturing the Friedmans.” (C )
BLACK SWAN (R) Director Darren Aronofsky’s dark view of the ballet world. Natalie Portman plays a ballerina who may lose her starring role in “Swan Lake” unless she can unleash the seductress within. The alluring Mila Kunis plays a dancer in the wings, ready to steal the role. But the film is about more than backstage politics. Aronofsky provides a graphic depiction of the anguish — physical and emotional — that comes with being an artist. (A-)
BLUE VALENTINE (R ) Romance is easy; marriage is hard. And Ryan Gosling and Michelle Williams prove it in this drama that’s so real it’s hard to watch. You’ll gawk at the wreckage of a marriage that has simply and subtly gone wrong. The film makes the case that there’s little difference between falling in love and falling into the abyss. (A-)
CASINO JACK (R) Kevin Spacey plays the crooked Washington lobbyist Jack Abramoff, whose dirty dealings were unencumbered by any shred of ethics. Greed may be good, but Spacey’s performance isn’t. You’re better off with the terrific documentary “Casino Jack and the United States of Money.” (C )
THE CHRONICLES OF NARNIA: VOYAGE OF THE DAWN TREADER (PG) The Pevensie family return to the screen for an adventurous ocean voyage full of dragons, dwarfs and that lion voiced by Liam Neeson. Kids are likely to miss all the biblical allegories, but parents will love the gorgeous scenery. It’s disappointing that Susan and Peter make only brief appearances. (B-)
COUNTRY STRONG (PG-13) Gwyneth Paltrow plays a drunken country diva whose money-grubbing husband (Tim McGraw) tries to resurrect her washed-up career. The problem is that the film loses focus on that story and gets distracted elsewhere. And there’s plenty of problems to consider in this light-weight version of last year’s “Crazy Heart” — infidelity, addiction, marital woes, grief, loss and a sick kid who’s the game changer. Somehow, writer/director Shana Feste takes all that and turns it into something tedious. (D)
THE DILEMMA (PG-13) In this tactless, humorless slog of a comedy, Ronny (Vince Vaughn) catches the wife of his friend (Kevin James) in a kiss with another man. The film is one of those little disasters that tend to pop up in theaters this time of year. And now it’s official: Vaughn’s rapid-fire shtick has become tiresome. (D)
FAIR GAME (PG-13) The real-life story of CIA agent Valerie Plame (a perfectly cast Naomi Watts) who was outed by Dick Cheney and company as revenge against her husband. Watts gives a remarkable, multi-faceted performance, part super-spy, part mom. And Sean Penn shows an uncanny knack for playing her SOB husband. It’s an important story — not even the government is more powerful than the truth. “Fair Game” tells Plame’s story in a clear and impactful way. (A-)
THE FIGHTER (R)Christian Bale and Mark Wahlberg play Dicky Eklund and Micky Ward, the Lowell brothers who shook up the boxing world in the 1990s. Bale kind of steals the show from Wahlberg. As Micky’s unsuccessful half-brother, Bale is gaunt (he lost 30 pounds for the part) and thoroughly convincing. But the most remarkable performance comes from Melissa Leo, playing Micky’s overbearing mother. Every time Leo is onscreen, the movie becomes deliriously alive and unpredictable. (B)
THE GREEN HORNET (PG-13) It’s refreshing to see actors take roles outside their comfort zone, but a slimmed-down Seth Rogen going from the fat funnyman to vigilante crime fighter is a risk without reward. It’s billed as a 3-D action-comedy, but there are no sparks from the special effects or the bromance between the Green Hornet (Rogen) and his sidekick, Kato (Taiwanese pop star Jay Chou). This “Hornet” is a real buzz-kill. (D+)
GULLIVER’S TRAVELS (PG) Comedian Jack Black stars in this film, based on a 1726 book by Jonathan Swift. In the movie, a mail-room-flunkie and aspiring travel writer, Gulliver (Black) gets tossed by the Bermuda Triangle onto an island with miniature inhabitants, and starts to like the feeling of being looked up to. Expect some silliness. (Not Reviewed)
HARRY POTTER AND THE DEALTHY HALLOWS (PG-13) In Part 1 of the final installment, the wizardly Harry is drawn ever closer to the forces of evil ruled by the dastardly Voldemort. But this is easily the worst of the seven “Harry Potter” films, as it forgets everything that made the Potter films so endearing. The magic dissipates behind a thick cloud of melancholy and angst. It’s hardly the sprightly fantasy we know and love. It’s a bummer to be out of Hogwarts, and the cliques, rivalries and romances brewing within its formidable walls. And good luck following the plot. (C )
HOW DO YOU KNOW (R) Director James L. Brooks doesn’t live up to the expectations he created so long ago with “Broadcast News” and “Terms of Endearment.” Reese Witherspoon plays a pro softball player torn between a corporate executive (Paul Rudd) and a Major League pitcher (Owen Wilson). The film manages to say absolutely nothing about anything. (C )
(R) It’s love at first sight when Steven (Jim Carrey) meets fellow con, Phillip (Ewan McGregor). At that point, this raucous, oddball comedy offers up some laughs as it careens into and out of prisons, courtrooms and hospitals. (B)
INSIDE JOB (PG-13) Matt Damon narrates this timely documentary from Charles Ferguson (“No End in Sight”) about the hows and whys of the 2008 economic meltdown. Ferguson does an excellent job of explaining and simplifying without dumbing-down issues for people who wouldn’t know a derivative from a dirigible. A sign the film works: At times, your anger level will go to 11. (A-)
THE KING’S SPEECH (R) How England’s King George VI resolved his speech impediment is the theme of this classy and winning production starring Colin Firth and Geoffrey Rush. The compelling relationship at the center of the story belongs to Bertie (Firth) and his speech therapist (Rush), as Bertie, completely unprepared for the job that has just been forced upon him, must get control of his speech impediment at a time when world leaders — from FDR to Hitler — were inspiring nations with their words. (A)
LEAVING (Unrated) A middle-aged woman (Kristin Scott Thomas) escapes her boring life by slipping into an affair with Ivan (Sergi Lopez). Thomas once again projects a smoldering sexuality, but her talents largely go to waste in this awkward drama. Her character makes careless and reckless choices that prevent you from fully investing in the story. (C )
LITTLE FOCKERS (PG-13) Here’s a shock: The tapped-out “Fockers” films offer nothing new (or funny) in this third installment. You get the same dysfunctional family shenanigans. This shtick was a lot funnier the first time we saw it. (D+)
LOVE AND OTHER DRUGS (R) Anne Hathaway as a young woman with stage 1 Parkinson’s and Jake Gyllenhaal as a prescription-drug-dealing lothario shine in an unusual rom-com. As their relationship matures, they have to deal with their shared fears of being emotionally close to someone. Director Ed Zwick also squeezes in a condemnation of the prescription drug industry. Be prepared: Hathaway and Gyllenhaal are naked during much of the film. (B)
RABBIT HOLE (PG-13) Nicole Kidman and Aaron Eckhart take something that’s devastatingly sad — a couple loses their 4-year-old-son in a tragic accident — and turn it into something compelling and nuanced. In adapting his Pulitzer-winning play to the screen, David Lindsay-Abaire not only expands on the story’s themes of acceptance and forgiveness, he also injects generous amounts of unexpected humor that keep the dark subject from swallowing the film. ( A-)
SEASON OF THE WITCH (PG-13) A supernatural action-adventure flick with Nicolas Cage playing a crusader who must transport a woman accused of being a witch to a remote monastery. (Not Reviewed)
THE SOCIAL NETWORK (R) A story about the creation of Facebook may not sound all that interesting. But with a dynamite, multi-dimensional script from Aaron (“West Wing”) Sorkin, the film charts the fascinating (and ruthless) personalities that created — and fought over — the billion-dollar idea. The film has loads of Oscar potential. (A)
SOMEWHERE (R) In director Sofia Coppola’s sensational drama, a Hollywood actor (Stephen Dorff) realizes the emptiness of fame when he gets to know his 11-year-old daughter (Elle Fanning). Dorff and Fanning are exceptional, as we watch the young girl slowly draw her father out of his fame-created shell. The camera lingers, the film breathes, and you absorb every detail of every scene. (A-)
TANGLED (PG)A Disney animated musical update of “Rapunzel,” the story of a girl with blond locks 100 feet long that have the power to heal. There’s no real chemistry between Rapunzel and her beau (voiced by Mandy Moore and Zachary Levi). And the Menken-Slater score is kind of a dud, until Donna Murphy (voice of the witch) launches into the songs and shows everyone how it’s done. The 3-D lantern trick near the end is so nifty that people will be talking about it for years to come. (B-)
THE TOWN (R) Ben Affleck raises his profile as both an actor and a director with this story of a Charlestown bank robber who develops a conscience when he falls for the woman who could put him and his gang behind bars. While the story is sustained by the various relationships and the themes of loyalty and legacy, it’s Affleck’s well-honed gift for directing action that provides the movie with its juice. It’s wicked pissah. (A-)
THE TOURIST (PG-13) There’s a surprising lack of chemistry between Angelina Jolie and Johnny Depp, as they team up in this half-baked thriller. Depp plays an everyman who gets swept up into a bit of foreign intrigue in a story that’s strictly second-rate Hitchcock. Pretty sunsets and pretty faces, but that’s about it. (C )
TRON: LEGACY (PG) A tech-savvy young man (Garrett Hedlund) enters a digital world, where he believes his father (Jeff Bridges) disappeared into when he was just a lad. All the trippy 3-D effects seem to be in service of a story that’s telling us to spend more time with our kids. The dazzling effects are fun, but they don’t hold the film together for 126 minutes. (D+)
TRUE GRIT (PG) The Coen Brothers’ quick-on-the-draw remake of this Western is funny, tremendously acted, and audaciously exorcizes the ghost of John Wayne. The basic plot is the same as the first version — a girl (the excellent Hailee Steinfeld) hires a federal marshal (the equally excellent Jeff Bridges) to hunt down the guy who shot her Pa — but the tone is entirely different. The rumors of the death of the Western are greatly exaggerated. (A-)
YOGI BEAR (PG) Yogi (voice of Dan Aykroyd) and Boo-Boo (Justin Timberlake) are brought out of mothballs for an adventure story that blends live action and animation. (Not Reviewed)
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