Category: Film Reviews

Rise of the Guardians Rating Director Peter Ramsey Screenplay David Lindsay-Abaire (Book: William Joyce) Length 97 min. Starring Chris Pine, Alec Baldwin, Jude Law, Isla Fisher, Hugh Jackman, Dakota Goyo, Khamani Griffin, Kamil McFadden, MPAA Rating PG for thematic elements and some mildly scary action

Arbitrage Rating Director Nicholas Jarecki Screenplay Nicholas Jarecki Length 107 min. Starring Richard Gere, Susan Sarandon, Tim Roth, Brit Marling, Nate Parker MPAA Rating R

Safety Not Guaranteed Rating Director Colin Treverrow Screenplay Derek Connolly Length 86 min. Starring Aubrey Plaza, Jake Johnson, Mark Duplass, Karan Soni, Mary Lynn Rajskub MPAA Rating R for language including some sexual references

The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey Rating Director Peter Jackson Screenplay Fran Walsh, Philippa Boyens, Peter Jackson, Guillermo del Toro (Novel: J.R.R. Tolkien) Length 169 min. Starring Martin Freeman, Ian McKellen, Richard Armitage, Ken Stott, Graham McTavish, William Kircher, James Nesbitt, Stephen Hunter, Dean O’Gorman, Aidan Turner, John Callen, Peter Hambleton, Jed Brophy, Mark Hadlow, Adam…

The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel Rating Director John Maddn Screenplay Ol Parker (Novel: Deborah Moggach) Length 124 min. Starring Judi Dench, Tom Wilkinson, Bill Nighy, Penelope Wilton, Maggie Smith, Ronald Pickup, Celia Imrie, Dev Patel, Lilette Dubey, Tena Desae MPAA Rating PG-13 for sexual content and language

Les Misérables Rating Director Tom Hooper Screenplay William Nicholson (Musical Book: Claude-Michel Schonberg, Alain Boublil; Musical Lyrics: Herbert Kretzmer; Novel: Victor Hugo) Length 157 min. Starring Hugh Jackman, Eddie Redmayne, Russell Crowe, Amanda Seyfried, Anne Hathaway, Aaron Tveit, Samantha Barks, Helena Bonham Carter, Sacha Baron Cohen, Isabelle Allen MPAA Rating PG-13 for suggestive and sexual…

Dr. Seuss’ The Lorax Rating Director Chris Renaud Screenplay Ken Daurio, Cinco Paul (Book: Dr. Seuss) Length 86 min. Starring Danny DeVito, Ed Helms, Zac Efron, Taylor Swift, Betty White, Rob Riggle, Jenny Slate, Nasim Pedrad MPAA Rating PG for brief mild language.

Wreck-It Ralph Rating Director Rich Moore Screenplay Jennifer Lee, Phil Johnston Length 108 min. Starring John C. Reilly, Jack McBrayer, Sarah Silverman, Jane Lynch, Adam Corolla, Jamie Elman, Rachael Harris, Dennis Haysbert, Mindy Kaling, Edie McClurg, Ed O’Neill, Horatio Sanz, Stefani Scott, Alan Tudyk MPAA Rating PG for some rude humor and mild action/violence

Normally, I do not revise reviews once they’ve been written. Recently, however, I inadvertently wrote two reviews for films I had already posted full-length reviews on. It wasn’t my intention and I discovered it only after Peter pointed out that he had perviously edited them. To my chagrin, I had spent a good deal of…

Cloud Atlas Rating Director Tom Tykwer, Lana Wachowski, Andy Wachowski Screenplay Tom Tykwer, Lana Wachowski, Andy Wachowski (Novel: David Mitchell) Length 172 min. Starring Tom Hanks, Halle Berry, Jim Broadbent, Jim Sturgess, Ben Whishaw, Hugo Weaving, Doona Bae, Keith David, James D’Arcy, Xun Zhou, David Gyasi, Susan Sarandon, Hugh Grant MPAA Rating R for violence,…

Argo Rating Director Ben Affleck Screenplay Chris Terrio (Based on an article by Joshuah Bearman) Length 120 min. Starring Ben Affleck, Bryan Cranston, Alan Arkin, John Goodman, Victor Garber, Tate Donovan, Clea DuVall, Scoot McNairy, Rory Cochrane, Christopher Denham, Kerry Bishé, Kyle Chandler, Chris Messina, Zeljko Ivanek, Titus Welliver, Keith Szarabajka, Bob Gunton, Richard Kind,…

Looper Rating Director Rian Johnson Screenplay Rian Johnson Length 118 min. Starring Joseph Gordon-Levitt, Bruce Willis, Emily Blunt, Paul Dano, Noah Segan, Piper Perabo, Jeff Daniels, Pierce Gagnon, Summer Qing MPAA Rating Rated R for strong violence, language, some sexuality/nudity and drug content

Shark Night Rating Director David R. Ellis Screenplay Will Hayes, Jesse Studenberg Length 90 min. Starring Sara Paxton, Dustin Milligan, Chris Carmack, Katharine McPhee, Joel David Moore, Donal Logue, Joshua Leonard, Sinqua Walls, Alyssa Diaz, Chris Zylka MPAA Rating PG-13 for violence and terror, disturbing images, sexual references, partial nudity, language and thematic material

Melancholia Rating Director Lars von Trier Screenplay Lars von Trier Length 136 min. Starring Kirsten Dunst, Charltote Gainsbourg, Alexander Skarsgard, Brady Corbet, Cameron Spurr, Charlotte Rampling, Jesper Christensen, John Hurt, Stellar Skarsgard, Udo Kier, Kiefer Sutherland MPAA Rating R for some graphic nudity,sexual content and language

We Need to Talk About Kevin Rating Director Lynne Ramsay Screenplay Lynn Ramsay, Rory Kinnear (Novel: Lionel Shriver) Length 112 min. Starring Tilda Swinton, John C. Reilly, Ezra Miller, Jasper Newell, Rock Duer, Ashley Gerasimovich, Siobhan Fallon Hogan, Alex Manette, Kenneth Franklin MPAA Rating R for disturbing violence and behavior, some sexuality and language