True Grit

Rating: 9

As awesome as you'd expect with the Coens and Jeff Lebowski. Also, I've now been transformed into a Matt Damon fan.

The Fighter

Rating: 8

Hard to put a new spin on the boxing genre but I think they pulled it off.

Black Swan

Rating: 7.5

Ballet is brutal.

127 Hours

Rating: 9

Please Jeebus...let James Franco's hand grow back. Eeeeeeep!

Conviction

Rating: 6.5

Predictable but mostly not too bad.

Easy A

Rating: 6

I get what it's going for and trying to do for empowerment of young women and so forth, I just wish it could have been funnier or edgier or something. Maybe I was still suffering from boredom residue left over from the Social Network. I kinda preferred Emma Stone's character in Superbad even though that role was tiny.

The Social Network

Rating: 4

You'd think a movie about a business dispute would be kind of boring. Wrong! It's extremely boring.

The Tillman Story

Rating: 9

Wow. Just, wow. The Tillman family is amazing and in case you forgot, Donald Rumsfeld is a smug prick!

Catfish

Rating: 8.5

Really fascinating, especially if you ignore the marketing campaign that's selling it as a horror movie.

The Town

Rating: 8

This is a cool heist flick! My brain has a hard time processing Don Draper out of context though.

The American

Rating: 7

Very European, contrary to the title and different from my expectations. I enjoyed the quietness. Suspense minus action is a rare thing at the movies. Too rare.

Mesrine: Killer Instinct

Rating: 9

Part Dog Day Afternoon, part Bonnie & Clyde and part ... something French...or French Canadian...? Anyway, it rocks! Sadly this is only part 1 of the series. Can't wait for part 2.

Animal Kingdom

Rating: 7.5

Non-traditional Australian crime drama. Pretty good.

Get Him To The Greek

Rating: 8.5

Jonah Hill & Russell brand are loaded with talent and great chemistry but note to filmmakers: casting P.Diddy in anything reduces its quality by several notches even when he's parodying his persona, which is all he does anyway. Too bad this juicy role was wasted on him. He had some great lines that naturally he butchered. In spite of Diddy, a great and hilarious flick.

Inception

Rating: 7

I may have overhyped myself on this one, but I was disappointed they didn't put the idea to better use. More subconscious, fewer gun chases. Neat effects, though.

The Girl Who Played With Fire

Rating: 7.5

Is it possible for a movie adaptation to be too faithful to the book? Noomi Rapace is perfect as Lisbeth Salander and this character is certainly the reason for the huge popularity of the books. They're a fun read and all. But, there's very little to discover in the movie if you've read them. If not, check it out.

Cyrus

Rating: 8

It's about a bunch of people with bad boundries.

Winter's Bone

Rating: 8.5

Creepy meth-cookin' hillbillies!

Splice

Rating: 4

Nope.

Exit Through the Gift Shop Door

Rating: 9

Dear Banksy,

You deserve a wedgie for this. I love you.

Kick-Ass

Rating: 9

This little girl with her giant gun and potty-mouth is my new hero.

(Detail on the set design: Andy Warhol gun paintings are prominent but did anybody else notice the replica of the Marc Quinn blood head sculpture in the villain's home? Not a spoiler, just wonderin'.)

Hot Tub Time Machine

Rating: 6.5

Wanted to enjoy it more than I did, but with a title like Hot Tub Time Machine it's possible I was expecting too much. On a somewhat related trivia note, did you know that Craig Robinson has the same name as Michelle Obama's basketball coach brother?

Greenberg

Rating: 6.5

The Squid and The Whale was way better.

Repo Men

Rating: 8.5

Grotesquely hilarious. I'm not on board with the criticisms - Repo Men is a hoot! Gruesome hoot.

The Girl With the Dragon Tatttoo

Rating: 8

Very faithful to the book. I freaked when I heard they're planning an American remake, then I heard it might be directed by David Fincher. I'd probably go for that.

The Green Zone

Rating: 6

Is it a revelation that politicians are mean and greedy and don't give a shit if their retarded decisions get a bunch of people needlessly killed? The movie isn't that bad but I think Hurt Locker ruined all Iraq War movies for me and the Prophet movie ruined all other movies for me.

A Prophet

Rating: 9

Best movie in FOREVER. Go see it now!!!! I know you won't. Look at that dude's face. Maybe you can't tell from the photo, but he is amazing. Jacques Audiard, the director, never fails to blow my fucking mind. (Another fave of his is Read My Lips. You should see it too. I know you won't.)

The Last Station

Rating: 6

Excellent acting. Otherwise, Meh.

Ghost Writer

Rating: 7

Way better than Ghost Rider. Which I didn't see, but I can assure you this one's better.

Shutter Island

Rating: 8.5

Maybe you see where it's going early in the film, but that's OK, because it's so completely pleasurable and creepy and well acted and Hitchcockian, but not in a crappy Brian de Palma ripoff way.

The White Ribbon

Rating: 7

I'm told it's all about the roots of fascism. And, it is lovely to look at. But I don't know. Hmm.

Good but unsatisfying.

Crazy Heart

Rating: 8

Jeff Bridges.

'nuff said.

Precious

Rating: 8

Everyone's talking about Mo-apostrophe-nique's performance but I was more impressed by the almost impossibly understated Gabourey Sidibe, especially after seeing how bubbly she is in real life. Mariah Carey and Lenny Kravitz were excellent too, which was a very nice surprise.

Gogol Bordello Non-Stop

Rating: 6.5

This band is fascinating and there have already been a few documentaries, but they all seem to be made by band groupies rather than real filmmakers. I know that the group's aesthetic is intentionally unpolished and it's why they're interesting but there really is a story here: a Ukranian who escaped Chernobyl as a teen and his older Russian bandmates- a virtuoso violinist and an accordian player who suddenly become international rock stars late in life ... all touched upon in this film but I think it could be amazing in the hands of a good moviemaker.

Youth In Revolt

Rating: 8

The movie is unique, with a hint of Hal Ashby in there. My heart goes out to director Miguel Arteta, who saw something in Micheal Cera other than a shy, stammering clone of Micheal Cera.

The Imaginarium of Dr. Parnassus

Rating: 2

Fuck you, Terry Gilliam!!! You suck SO BAD. From now on I'm pretending Dark Knight was Heath Ledger's last film. And I hated Brazil too, so suck it!

But I'm not bitter.

Broken Embraces

Rating: 7

It's a little scattered but it was fun to see Penelope Cruz all dressed up like Audrey Hepburn and Marilyn.

A Single Man

Rating: 8

This is the first time I've seen a move directed by a fashion designer, (Tom Ford) so I'm not sure whether to be super impressed or take it for granted that making beautiful artifice comes naturally. In any case, it looks gorgeous and Colin Firth and Julianne Moore are excellent.

Sherlock Holmes

Rating: 8.5

If watching Robert Downey Jr. and Jude Law almost make out for ninety minutes is your thing, this is your movie. Awww yeah.