'Carnage' and 'Sherlock Holmes: A Game of Shadows'

Roman Polanski's "Carnage" does not rank among the director's best films, but it is still a pretty sharp, well-acted and often very funny chamber piece.

The filmmaker has proven before that he works well with confined spaces, such as in the case of "Repulsion," "Rosemary's Baby" and "The Tenant." "Carnage fits into that crowd of "apartment films," but aims more for satirical social comedy than horror.

As I've said, it's a minor Polanski picture, but still an enjoyable one.

"Sherlock Holmes: A Game of Shadows" is a pretty standard Hollywood blockbuster. It does not particularly improve upon the first film, though it has several decent set pieces.

Check out my reviews for Patch.

This holiday weekend, I'll definitely see "The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo" and "War Horse." I'm also hoping to catch up with all of the following pictures: "We Bought a Zoo," "The Adventures of Tintin," "Pariah," "Pina" and "Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close."

Unfortunately, I will not be able to see "A Separation" or "The Iron Lady" before making my best of the year list, which will be posted early next week. I will, however, catch up with both and will update my list, if necessary. "A Separation" is getting terrific word of mouth.

Why the Long Face?: 'Kevin,' 'Tinker' and 'Young Adult'

This week's cinematic selection was a gloomy one, indeed.

From Charlize Theron's depressive, alcoholic writer of youth novels in "Young Adult" and Gary Oldman's emotionally reserved spy in Tomas Alfredson's "Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy" to Tilda Swinton's distraught mother of a psychopath in Lynne Ramsay's "We Need to Talk About Kevin," the films I caught last weekend featured some heavy performances. Which is a good thing.

Reitman's latest challenges expectations, especially for those moviegoers expecting to see some sort of redemption story. No such luck. "Young Adult" is scathingly funny and happy ending free. It's a solid picture, if not quite as good as "Up in the Air," the director's previous film.

"Tinker" was also good but, alas, not as compelling as Alfredson's breakthrough, "Let the Right One In." That being said, it's a well-shot and directed entry into the spy genre.

My favorite of the week was "Kevin," a disturbing and provocative film that questions parental culpability. Swinton is marvelous as the mother of a young man who carries out a school shooting. But the film is more concerned with the lead-up to the tragedy, rather the incident itself. An interesting movie, to be sure.

Here are my Patch reviews.

This coming weekend, I'll check out Roman Polanski's "Carnage" and two potential blockbusters: "Mission Impossible: Ghost Protocol" and "Sherlock Holmes: A Game of Shadows."

'Shame' and 'My Week with Marilyn'

Gotta keep it quick this week.

Check out my Patch reviews for Steve McQueen's controversial "Shame" and "My Week with Marilyn," the first of which was quite powerful and the second pretty entertaining. Both feature terrific lead performances.

Click here to read the reviews.

I also caught up with Julia Leigh's "Sleeping Beauty," which I didn't review. That picture received mixed notices at Cannes this year and I can see why. The film has some evocative and provocative imagery, but it doesn't quite hold together.

This coming weekend, I'll review "We Need to Talk About Kevin," "Young Adult" and "Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy."

Out of the Past: 'A Dangerous Method,' 'Hugo' and 'The Artist'

Wow. It was a great Thanksgiving weekend for movies. All three pictures I reviewed for Patch this week could be possible top 10 of the year contenders: David Cronenberg's "A Dangerous Method," Martin Scorsese's "Hugo" and Michel Hazanavicius's "The Artist."

"Method" is a cerebral take on the birth of psychoanalysis, with Michael Fassbender and Viggo Mortensen dueling it out as Carl Jung and Sigmund Freud, respectively. Caught between their battle for the future of the "talking cure" is Sabina Spielren, played with intensity by Keira Knightley. The picture may not immediately appear to be a likely choice for Cronenberg, but it fits perfectly into his oeuvre. It's one of the year's best.

Both Scorsese's 3D fantasy, "Hugo," and "The Artist" are loving tributes to classic cinema. The former actually includes pioneer George Melies as a character, while the second comes off as the best, unreleased film of 1927. Each film is moving in its own way.

Check out my Patch reviews for all three films.

This coming weekend, I'll review Steve McQueen's controversial new picture, "Shame." Other possibilities include "My Week with Marilyn," Julia Leigh's "Sleeping Beauty," "The Yellow Sea" or Ralph Fiennes's "Coriolanus."

Twi-Hardly: 'Breaking Dawn' Fails to Deliver, but Payne's 'The Descendants' is One of Year's Best

I've never exactly been a fan of the "Twilight" series, but "Breaking Dawn Part 1" is pretty much a mess. This is a shame because the picture was directed by Bill Condon, of whose "Kinsey" and "Gods and Monsters" I was a big fan. But this latest in the series of films based on Stephenie Meyer's popular novels is an all-around bust - wooden acting, melodrama galore and semi-ludicrous plot twists.

The weekend's brightest spot was Alexander Payne's "The Descendants," which features a particularly vulnerable performance from George Clooney. I've always admired Payne's work - from "Election" and "About Schmidt" to "Sideways." His latest represents a shift toward more dramatic material. "The Descendants" is often funny, but it's a more solemn occasion. Regardless, I really liked it.

I also caught up with Paddy Considine's directorial debut, "Tyrannosaur," which I admired, especially for its performances by Peter Mullan and Olivia Colman. But it's a tough sit - and by that, I mean it's brutal and bleak. I'd recommend it, but be prepared for an uncomfortable experience.

Here are my reviews for Patch.

This coming weekend, I'm definitely going to catch David Cronenberg's "A Dangerous Method," Martin Scorsese's "Hugo" and new Oscar frontrunner "The Artist." I'll also eventually see "My Week with Marilyn," but most likely not this weekend.

Apocalypse Wow: Lars Von Trier's 'Melancholia' (and Eastwood's 'J. Edgar')

Lars Von Trier's "Melancholia" could be the cynical brother of "The Tree of Life." In Terrence Malick's film, a man views the origins of the universe through the scope of his own life and fall from grace. Von Trier's picture tells the tale of a woman who witnesses the destruction of the Earth through the prism of her crippling depression. It's a fascinating movie and a highpoint in Von Trier's career.

I also really enjoyed Clint Eastwood's "J. Edgar," which has been getting some (what I consider to be) unfairly negative notices. Critics have chided the legendary filmmaker for apparently letting the notorious G-man off the hook, which begs this question: Were we watching the same film?

Regardless, it's a complex movie with a fantastic lead performance by Leonardo DiCaprio.

Here are my reviews for Patch.

I tried, but just couldn't make it to "Immortals," "Into the Abyss" and "Letters from the Big Man" this week. I'll try to catch up with some of them soon, especially the Werner Herzog film.

This week, I'll definitely review Alexander Payne's "The Descendants" and Paddy Considine's "Tyrannosaur... as well as "Twilight: Breaking Dawn Part I." You heard correctly.

Yuk, Yuk, Yuk: The Hollywood Comedy

To say the least, I'm a little late with my post this week. But late is better than never.

Here are my Patch reviews for "Tower Heist" and "A Very Harold and Kumar 3D Christmas," both of which had me going meh, the latter more so than the former.

This week, I'm going to review Lars Von Trier's "Melancholia," Clint Eastwood's "J. Edgar" and Tarsem Singh's "Immortals." At some point, I'm also going to have to catch up with Werner Herzog's "Into the Abyss" and Christopher Munch's "Letters from the Big Man."