Despite the occasional brutality of the material, Django Unchained includes some of the best laugh aloud scenes of any 2012 motion picture, regardless of the genre.

Les Miserables understandably cuts some of the stage production's numbers, but all of the major anthems are intact and wonderfully presented.

Although This is 40 is too long and at times over-the-top, its essence is grounded in everyday moments and emotions that will have viewers nodding with understanding and recognition.

Guilt Trip is cinematic comfort food for road trip fans who aren't given indigestion by Streisand.

A compelling contemporary thriller with the added benefit of also being an engrossing character study.

The film's adult leads, Naomi Watts and Ewan McGregor, give powerful, natural performances.

It isn't as delirious a journey as we experienced a decade ago, but it's still filled with wonder, monsters, and thrills.

A sloppy, poorly focused comedy.

Instead of focusing on FDR as a president, this movie gives up half its length to tawdry soap opera.

On autopilot from beginning to end, Lay the Favorite feels like sitcom blown up to big-screen proportions. The laughs aren't raucous or numerous, the character development is sketchy at best, and the insider's perspective on bookies and gambling is superficial.

Even some who generally enjoy gangster films may be turned off by this one, with its focus on dialogue over action and its harsh style.

Deadfall suffers most obviously from a sense of not being adequately developed.

The best segments of the film occur early, as the setting is established with a dose of "Friday Night Lights" normalcy followed by an invasion that recalls "Independence Day."

Life of Pi is a curious juxtaposition of the mundane and the majestic; a film that strives for something grander than what it perhaps achieves.

Anthony Hopkins is probably a shoe-in for an Oscar nomination.

Rise of the Guardians is enjoyable as a stand-alone adventure - not groundbreaking animation but a solidly entertaining 90 minutes for older children and adults.

Lincoln paints a powerful and compelling portrait of the man who has become an icon. We don't need to see more of his life to understand how rare a figure he was - this window is more than sufficient.

I'm not a religious man but, Hallelujah! I may not be done with Meyer but at least I'll never again have to cope with the angst, self-absorption, and vampire mythology mutilation that characterized these five movies.

The best thing that can be said about Wright's immersion into the world of Tolstoy is that it's interesting - a quality not always true of Anna Karenina adaptations. The movie also doesn't feel rushed, successfully capturing more of the novel's secondary stories into its fabric.

Ultimately, this is an engaging, uplifting, and life-affirming motion picture that reminds viewers that it is possible to do interesting things with a romantic comedy while still sticking to some of the conventions.

Yes, A Late Quartet is disappointing. But it's also pretty bad.

Skyfall can take its place alongside "From Russia with Love," "Goldfinger," and "On Her Majesty's Secret Service" as the best Bond can offer.

It may not be frivolously engaging but it is compelling.

Although the majority of the movie focuses on the interaction between Mark and Cheryl, there is a third character in the mix. Catholic priest Father Brendan, played by William H. Macy, belongs to a liberal wing of the Church found only in movies.

There's something very old fashioned about the core ingredients of Wreck-It Ralph; these blend well with the "hip" elements. Still, I can't help but wonder whether this is all just one big product placement for something aimed at the home video market. It seems like a game designer's wet dream.

Taken as little more than six disconnected shorts featuring the same group of players in different roles, Cloud Atlas works. It's entertaining and the manner in which it has been edited reduces one's tendency to lose patience with the less engaging stories.

The reason to see Chasing Mavericks is the same reason why people flock to shore locations when a hurricane approaches: the waves. This is less effective as a bio-pic of Jay Moriarty than it is as a big screen National Geographic Special.

They could have called this Paranormal Inactivity.