1. That Evening Sun
2. Up in the Air
3. (500) Days of Summer
4. Avatar
5. The Messenger
6. Inglourious Basterds
7. In the Loop
8. Bright Star
9. An Education
10. Julie & Julia

In “2012,” there’s got to be a morning after, if for no other reason than formulaic disaster epics have to have some measure of hope at the end.

And make no mistake: “2012″ is a formulaic disaster epic — to the 10th power. As in, with its characters dodging the non-stop dangers of massive earthquakes, lava fireballs, tumbling architectural landmarks and behemoth tidal waves, it seems as much like a prototype for a theme-park virtual thrill ride as it does a movie. Holy shifting tectonic plates, Batman! Read the rest of this entry »

Time supposedly flies when you’re having fun, which is probably why “Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen” makes you feel as though you’ve been trapped in the theater for days, being assaulted by toys posing as gigantic metal machines. Read the rest of this entry »

Green is the new pink. At any rate, it’s the color evoked by “The Pink Panther 2.” Anyone who watches this dismal attempt at comedy is sure to feel sick afterward, if not during. Read the rest of this entry »

Pizza and beer aren’t the only traditions rolled out annually on Super Bowl weekend. One that’s even staler is the inevitable release of a so-called chick flick. Studios figure there’ll be femmes seeking respite from gridiron mania who’ll head to movie theaters in search of something less brutal and tedious. The trouble is, what women find at the local multiplex usually turns out to be, ahem, brutally tedious. Read the rest of this entry »

When film critic Godfrey Cheshire set out to make a documentary about the uprooting of his ancestral family plantation outside of Raleigh, N.C., he knew he wanted his film to be more than a literal chronicle of a large-scale house-moving endeavor. Read more>>

After a summer of gross-out comedies heavy on male bonding, “The House Bunny” is a welcome sight. Sure, it’s not a film that most feminists will embrace, but it provides a bit of relief from the unrelenting barrage of guy-centric entertainment. Whether audiences see “The House Bunny” as equal time or an equal-opportunity offender, at least it has more than two women in the cast. And to have Anna Faris heading that cast, well, that’s a win in itself. Read more>>

The comedy and romance should appeal even to non-ABBA fans. Only those with the hardest of hearts will be able to resist “Mamma Mia!” Read more>>

“How She Move” does something that few other step-dancing/street-dancing/win-the-big-show hip-hop movies have managed to do. It surrounds its flashy moves with interesting, well-developed characters and a realistic story that should resonate with teens and adults alike. Read more>>

The thriller “Untraceable” doesn’t quite know who its villain is: the everyday technology that people assume is there to help; a society so numb to torture and degradation that it welcomes them as spectator sports; or the unbalanced youth who revels in watching his sadistic games become the latest sensation on the Internet. Read more>>