The Fighter

December 18.

Mark Wahlberg was great as the lead in "The Fighter," but Christian Bale is the real star of this true life story about a Boston boxer and his drug addicted brother.

Wahlberg plays stepping stone boxer Micky Ward, who might have the potential for something bigger. He looks up to his crack addicted, larger-than-life older brother, Dicky Eklund (Bale), who had his moment more than a decade ago but won't let go. Micky was a child when Dicky fought (and knocked down) Sugar Ray Leonard. Dicky taught him everything he knows and is still his trainer even though he doesn't always show up. The story takes place while HBO is filming Dicky for his come back, but once he gets arrested it all begins to unravel.

The drama has many heavy moments - some of Ward's beatings are hard to watch, as is the gritty Boston family and Dicky's drug use. But Bale's performance is so amazing everyone should see it. He always puts so much into what he does, physically and mentally. All you have to do is see the real Eklund to know what a transformation the normally sexy Bale made. Make sure you stay for the credits when the real brothers appear, you'll see Bale was not exaggerating.

Although I didn't exactly like Dicky or their mother, I thought Ward showed a lot of character sticking by the family that probably brought him down.

Black Swan

December 18.

When I first saw the preview for "Black Swan" I knew I wanted to see it but I wasn't sure what exactly was going on. Was Natalie Portman turning into a swan? Was she just freaking out? Was the ballet director making her sleep with him for the part? Was someone beating her? Is Mila Kunis trying to kill her?

Now that I've seen it some of those questions are answered, but I'm still not sure what was real and what was fantasy. This is definitely more than a drama though. Maybe it's horror or at least a psychological thriller.

Either way, director Darren Aronofsky made another too-real, intense, amazing movie. He strips away all the beauty of the ballet and shows the competitive dancing world complete with bloody feet, puking uptight girls, and an aging star who can't handle being replaced. And that doesn't even touch the surface of the actual story.

Some of the beauty does come back during the last act when you see opening night, but I don't want to give anything away so I'll just say see it.

How Do You Know

December 18.

"How Do You Know" has a few unfortunate pitfalls. It's billed as a comedy and the actors are usually comedic, so obviously you go in thinking it's a comedy. But it's really more of a drama with funny moments. I still liked it though. It's probably a little too long, and maybe they go into each story a little too much. I think that's the problem with stories like this. there are three leads (plus Jack Nicholson!) and way too much going on. It could have been a television show.

To turn this back into a comedy I think it mostly needed focus and editing. The Owen Wilson character, although funny, could have been cut out altogether, or at least made to be more of a sidenote. And Reese Witherspoon, who plays an aging (31) women's softball player who's about to get cut from the team, could have been fired in scene one instead of dragging it out.

The actors are still really good, especially the scenes with Paul Rudd and Jack Nicholson.

Home Alone 2: Lost in New York

December 12.

I was looking for "Home Alone" on instant Netflix and couldn't find it, but I found "Home Alone 2: Lost in New York" and thought well, this will be OK, I'm sure it's just like the first one except set in NYC!

It was a mistake. I barely made it to the end without going crazy. Some of the jokes are exactly the same as the first movie, which seemed stupid. I know this is a kids' movie starring a kid, but does this kid really wish to be alone again just one year after being left alone?

Whatever, it's really stupid and I should have watched any other Christmas movie.

The Tourist

December 11.

"The Tourist" should have been a good movie, maybe even great. Johnny Depp and Angelina Jolie in a caper through the romantic canals of Venice is a great set up. But something was missing. Chemistry, I guess.

The storyline was good enough. It starts in Paris where she is being watched by Interpol. She gets a letter from a mysterious man, hops on a train, and per his instructions picks up a look-a-like - Johnny. Depp plays a bumbling American math teacher, set against Angie's cool, very together Brit. But from here it drags. The action never really takes off (and neither do those molasses-style boat chases) and the intrigue isn't really that intriguing.

Johnny is better than Angie. He's a bit charming and a little funny. She doesn't have a moment of levity though. It's also odd to see her looking old and too thin.

La Vie en Rose

December 10.

Marion Cotillard won an Oscar for her role in "La Vie en Rose," it's set in Paris, and follows the life of the famous French singer Edith Piaf. It really has the makeup of a movie I would love ... but I didn't. I don't know the singer or her music, and maybe that's part of it, even though that hasn't kept me from liking these kinds of movies in the past. ,

Cotillard seemed like she was playing a caricature of Piaf, who had a rough childhood growing up between the streets of Paris and her grandmother's brothel. Although she had bad parents they were both talented and she started performing as a child. She seemed to go from bratty kid to bratty, famous adult without missing a beat and although I felt bad for her I didn't really like her. The whole time I kept thinking I was watching a bad sketch on "Mad TV" played by Nicole Sullivan (she really looks like her).

My other complaint is the way the story skipped around. I don't always mind this, sometimes it's a great technique and adds something to the story, but it just confused me during this movie.

Tangled

December 5.

"Tangled" is cute enough if you're an eight year old girl, I guess. It has some of those classic Disney Princess moments - princess trapped in tower by evil, old woman, Prince Charming comes to rescue her, etc., etc. And it does move into the 21 Century because Prince Charming isn't actually a Prince and no one seems to care.

But, I don't know. There were no great sidekick like "Aladdin," "The Little Mermaid," or "Lion King" had and the humor didn't extend to the adult audience.

So, "Tangled" is OK but with so many great animated movies out it really doesn't cut it.