Trying to decipher all the convoluted pathways could drive you mad. Mostly, though, it is so ludicrous that it will unintentionally inspire laughter.

A ceramic gnome by any other name is still a kitschy little figure.

Never works as a gum-snapper concert movie and does provide a glimpse into instant stardom in the Twitter generation.

What it became was bad. A movie that hopes to blend "Lethal Weapon" with "Gladiator" winds up not being a fraction of either.

This is a Frank Capra-meets-Judd Apatow comedy with a sweetness-laced ribaldry.

For added heehaws, the normally dependable Nick Swardson comes along to act the ass and delve into some of Sandler's more nuanced scatological humor.

A documentary on the formation of stalagmites would have been more compelling.

Brisk, brutal and unconcerned with collateral damage, The Mechanic doesn't pave much of anything new in the assassin-for-hire genre. But when it kills, it does so with style.

Bardem's soulful turn lends this haunting meditation a sense of hope and saves it from the contrived missteps it teeters toward.

A flimsy, occasionally spooky demon tale.

It's simple stuff, but the movie's heart is in the right place.

The Way Back, with its epic story and spectacularly bleak setting, invites comparisons with "Laurence of Arabia" and "Dr. Zhivago." It's awash in vast, unforgiving terrain. So it got the setting right, but not necessarily the substance.

The few genuinely comic moments and deviations from cutesy rom-com formula make you wish No Strings Attached had traveled a more distinctively offbeat path.

Paul Giamatti brings just the right blend of irascible charm and caustic intelligence to the role of Barney.

Vaughn and James are likable enough, and they would have real chemistry in, say, an all-out comedy.

Some of the car gadgetry, Kato's specialty, looks cool...The Green Hornet is otherwise colorless, numbing and sluggishly paced.

A mishmash of horror and history genres that's not as bad as its trailers but ultimately is dragged down by, of all things, its star.

Love and loneliness are presented, in almost equal parts, with subdued precision in the richly abundant Another Year.

Gosling and Williams have the most palpable chemistry of any screen couple this year, never striking a false note in this achingly tender tale of a love that implodes before our eyes.

Some could find the story verging on self-indulgence, and indeed there are patches that teeter perilously close. But we care about the two main characters, and we root for them to reconnect as father and daughter.

There are viable flashes of comedy in the franchise. But with each movie, they grow increasingly dim.

Country Strong feels powerfully familiar.

Yet another foray into unnecessary 3-D, is a rehashed mishmash of Jonathan Swift's 18th-century classic. Mostly, it's a vehicle for Jack Black's zany humor.

The original "True Grit" might have been eclipsed by John Wayne's larger-than-life persona, but the Coen brothers' remake is an ensemble piece that feels freshly their own.

Profound and superbly acted, with a moving script superbly adapted from David Lindsay-Abaire's Pulitzer-winning play.

Yogi Bear is a big boo-boo.

For those in the audience, it's best to just sit back, drink in its virtual dazzle and not ask questions. The story is beside the point in this sleek-looking reboot. It's all about the whiz-bang special effects and the return of Jeff Bridges - always the coolest guy in any space, cyber or otherwise.

How Do You Know must have started with a good idea that got lost in the translation from concept to screen.