True Grit

Remake of the John Wayne 1970s movie but with the Coen Brothers spin. Jeff Bridges stars as Rooster Cogburn the broken and drunken marshall who is persuaded by a 14 year old girl to hunt down her father's killer. Matt Damon costars as a Texas Ranger who tags along to help. About time for a good western. 3 bananas

Black Swann

Beautiful pyscho thriller starring Natalie Portman as the Ballerina in waiting/star in this updated version of the White swann. Hard to tell when Portman goes off the tracks as both her mother and coach drive her to "perfection". Portman does most of her own dancing and is definitely a leading candidate for best Actress. A must see. 4 bananas

The Fighter

One of the best movies of the year. Mark Wahlberg, Amy Adams and Christian Bale all should be up for Oscars. True story of two brothers from a small town in Massachussetts who attain boxings highs and lows; Wahlberg ,inspite of all the obstacles that his extended crazy family puts in his way. While boxing is the theme it is only a small part of how this family and friends pull together to make this picture a winner. # 1/2 bananas

How Do You Know

Enjoyable romantic comedy with Owen Wilson and Paul Rudd entangled in love with Reece Witherspoon. Rudd who is being investigated for security fraud and Wilson, a high priced pro baseball player, both of whom have major insecurity issuses, are a delight to follow. Jack Nickelson, Rudds father, adds to the fun as the underhanded corporate executive who would rather send his son to jail than himself. 2 1/2 bananas

The Tourist

Worth seeing for the beautiful backdrop of Viennes. Johnny Depp and "big lips" Angelia Jolie star in this caper of mistaken identity where Depp finds himself being pursued by Interpol and criminals for stealing money from his past employer. Dumb plot moves very slowly till the end and then is just stupid. See it for the scenery not the acting. 1 1/2 bananas

I Love You Philip Morris

Jim Carrey is terrific in this true story of a gay con man who assumes many different roles in trying to keep his love, Philip Morris, provided for. Carrey meets his "true" love while serving one of his numerous stints in jail for various frauds as well jail escapes, which are numerous and artful. Strong language and many homosexual scenes only add to Carreys credits for a first rate acting job. See it if you don't mind guys kissing and..! 3 1/2 bananas

Love and Other Drugs

Funny, cute, sweet, tearjerker all wrapped together with Jake Guyenthal and Ann Hathaway showing pretty much everything in this love story. Jake as the free and easy drug salesman falls for Hathaway who is battling parkinsons. Lots of Pharma humor centered around the drug viagra as it is being introduced into the market. Maybe a tab long but for the most part enjoyable. 2 1/2 bananas

Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows

Harry is forced to flee from his school and home as his enemies gather to plan his death. Not sure all that is happening other than it is entertaining and very dark. Harry and his pals are now all grown up and spend the entire movie outside their comfort zone while dodging death from all sides. 2 1/2 hours go by quickly but unfortunately we have to wait until next summer to see the conclusion to this movie. 3 bananas

Burlesque

Small town Iowa girl, Christina Aquilera, moves to L.A. to try her hand at singing. She finds The Burlesque show and the show finds her. Great songs and stage productions; however the soapy plot of girl finds boy as well as the show,owned by Cher, is going under are all to familiar. Aquilera has a set of pipes on her as well as a great body. See it for the sets not for the acting. 2 1/2 bananas

Faster

The 'Rock' rocks in this revenge seeking non-stop action drama. A heist goes bad when the Rock, Dwayne Johnson, and his brother are betrayed and executed; however the Rock survives to serve up mean justice while he has both the police and a contract killer after him. Movie starts fast and ends slow. 2 bananas

The Next Three Days

Really well done crime thriller starring Russell Crowe, whose wife is arrested for murder, who believes she is innocent but sees that the only way out for her is to break her out of prison. Keeps you on the edge throughout. Slowly builds to a terrific ending that has you rooting and exhausted for them., See it! 3 1/2 bananas

127 Hours

Riveting true story of how outdoor adventurer escapes from being pinned in a crevice by a boulder for 5 days. While everyone is aware of how he escapes, it's no sceret he hacks off his arm, the story is about the 5 days/127 hours he endures before he frees himself. Extremely well done and photographed; and actually the gruesome deed is not that bad. 3 1/2 bananas

Morning Glory

Delightful comedy with Diane Keaton and Harrison Ford as two washed up anchors on the lowest rated early morning TV show in NYC and how their show is transformed when a young female producer is hired to improve ratings. Great supporting cast makes this a fun movie! 3 bananas

Skyline

Forget it! Maybe the dumbest movie of the year. Indestructible alien machines invade earth and suck the brains out of humans. And that's the way it ends too. I'll give it 1/2 banana for the aliens finally winning.

Unstoppable

Wow, you want nail biting suspense, tune in this movie. Movie is the star, not Denzel Washington. Based on a true story, a runaway freight train speeds through the Pennsylvannia countryside at 70+ miles an hour with no one on board and no brakes. Spectacularly photographed, some of the scenes have your heart racing. Denzel and Chris Pine try to track down the out of control train before diaster. 3 1/2 bananas

Fair Game

Sean Penn and Naomi Watts(my favorite actress) are terrific in recounting how ValeriePlame(Watts) was outed from the CIA by the White House. Plame's husband, Joe Wilson a retired U.S. Ambassador, is sent to Niger to verify that Uranium is being shipped from there to Iraq for Nuclear purposes. When he denies the existence of uranium ,
the top boys in the White House do their best to discredit him as the uranium is the basis for the U.S. going to war.
A must see for anyone who wasn't brain washed by 2nd Bush administration. 4 bananas.

Due Date

Robert Downey Jr stars in this comedy about a guy who is put on the no fly list and has to take a car ride from Atlanta to L.A. with a pot smoking screwball and his masturbating dog. Some very funny scenes as the 3 some works it way across the US but not enough to save this movie. When all said and done, pretty stupid. 1 1/2 bananas

Waiting for Superman

A must see for everyone. Explains very clearly where the blame lays for our poor public, usually inner city, school systems-- tenure and unions. Makes it clear that the system can be fixed if the appropriate actions are taken. Sad to see that so few applicants are excepted in Charter and Magnet schools that seem to being doing education the right way. Makes me appreciate the school systems my children had the privilege to go to. 4 bananas

Aftershock

Interesting story featured around the earthquake in Hangstan China in 1976 where 250000 people were killed. A mother has to make the decision who lives of her twins, the son or daughter, both who are trapped in the rubble from the earthquake. Story continues through the years of the grief and finally redemption as the mother learns that her daughter did not die. Filmed in China with sub titles but worth seeing. 3 bananas

Saw 3D--The Final Chapter

I viewed this in 2D and the blood and gore was unbelievable, can't imagine what 3D looks like. Continues with the insane ways of torture and killing inspired by Jigsaw. If you like body parts flying about and exploding, see it, if not beware. Same old story of revenge against someone with the usual "didn't see that coming" ending. Personally, I liked it as did the one other person at the movie. 1 1/2 bananas

The Girl who Kicked the Hornets Nest.

The final chapter in the trilogy, explains all the missing parts. My favorite of the 3 and one of the best movies of the year. Most of the movie is spent with Lisbeth Salander either in the hospital or courtroom and her magazine champion doing most of the heavy lifting by trying to dig up info to secure her release from custody. Don't miss this one if you liked the other two. 4 bananas

Paranormal Activity 2

Intense drama depicting unseen goings on in a young couples home. Things aren't what they seem as strange and deadly happenings begin to center around the couples baby boy. Movie leaves you, like the first one, with more questions than answers but it does get you hooked. 2 1/2 bananas

Tamara Drewe

Beautifully filmed English comedy with a bit of drama at the end. The "new" beautiful Tamara comes back to her English countryside home upon the death of her mother with a reconstructed nose and sets the town a rocking. Only the English can roll humor, sex, infidelity and a great story into something so enjoyable. 3 1/2 bananas

Stone

Robert DeNiro,probationary officer, and Edward Norton, jailed convict, square off in this psych drama regarding the release of Norton. Interesting conflicts been the two but I haven't a clue what happens at the end. Slow paced but worth seeing to figure out the ending. 2 bananas

Hereafter

Clint Eastwoods latest movie as a director is fast out of the gate with terrific water devastaion scenes but slows to a crawl as it weaves 3 different plots centered around death into a feel good ending. Matt Damon plays a psychic who doesn't want to see what he is capable of seeing. Enjoyable but the 3 unique plots take to much time to come to a conclusion. 3 bananas

Conviction

Hilary Swank gives another terrific performance in this true life drama. Swank's older brother is sent to jail for a murder he supposedly committed. The bond between the two has always been very strong, thus she takes it upon herself to free her brother by getting her law degree and spending 18 years from the date of his incarceration trying to prove his innocence. Well worth seeing. 3 1/2 bananas

Social Network

Interesting portrayal of the young Harvard student, Mark Zuckenberg, and how he and a few friends founded and dealt with the startup , sucess and ultimate betrayals that happened along the way of Facebook.com. Just goes to show you, Nerds will rule the world. Well done and definitely worth seeing. 3 bananas

Inside Job

Want to know what created the 2008 market crash? This documentary does a great job in showing what lead up to Setember 2008, who was responsible, and explains the financial minipulations going on in the verious banking and government institutions. Gets your blood boiling when see all the red flags. See it to get an understanding of how the investor got screwed and the big boys on Wall St got even richer. 3 1/2 bananas

Red

Enjoyable comic/spy spoof with an all star cast. Willis, Malkevich, Mirren and others are being hunted down and killed by their previous emplyer, the CIA. They decide to turn the tables and go after the powers to be which lead them to the highest levels of government. Well done, fun to see and highly entertaining. 3 bananas

Wall Street: Money never sleeps

Michael Douglas as Gordon Gecko, is back from jail and out for revenge. Interesting portrayal of how wall street functions. Gecko's daughter is dating an up and coming super star on wall street who trys to play with the big boys and gets burned. Shaddy dealings and behind closed door deals spark this into a very enjoyable movie. 3 bananas

The Girl who Played with Fire

2nd in Seig Larsons triology, has Noomi Rapace, computer hacker extrodinaire, framed for murder and on the run from a human trafficing cartel trying to kill her. Along the way her past is exposed with dramatic surprises while her publisher friend lends close support. Well done, as good as The Girl with the Dragon Tatoo. Sub titles but easy to read and well worth the effort. 3 1/2 bananas

The Town

Ben Affleck and his band of Boston bank robbers, take a female hostage at one of their heists. Once set free, Ben is to determine if she would remember any of the robbers and guess what, love blooms. As the FBI is hot on their trail, the robbers continue with an interesting robbery with disasterous results. Fun with a gun! 3 bananas

Machete

Only seconds into the film and heads are literally flying in this appropriately titled movie. A film in the vain of the Good, The Bad and The Ugly era stars the baddest, ugliest former federale seeking justice with his machete against a US senator and a US/Mexican cartel of dope smugglers. Some pretty big names in this ridculous but fun to see movie that definitely should set back Mexican US relations on immigration. 2 bananas

The American

George Clooney in the role of a bad guy. An assassin who works for some mystery outfit finds himself being hunted in this dark and slow moving drama. Beautifully filmed in Italy with two beautiful lady friends can't help George save this film from the dumpster. 1 1/2 bananas.

The Takers

Pretty good crime drama. Group of guys pull off huge heists but time catches up to them as well as the russian mob, and police. At times a little to much going on but enjoyable still. See it for the action. Great shoot out at the end. 2 1/2 bananas

The Expendables

If you like non-stop action this is for you. All the tough guys, Mickey O'Rouke, Sly, Dolph Lundgren, and many more team up to terminate a bad guy, Eric Roberts, on a South American Island. Roberts has the island and it's army under his control to grow coco beans for drugs. The expendables literally blow up and kill just about everything on the island. Ole Stallone looks pretty good in this movie that he directed as well. See it for the devastation! 2 1/2 bananas

The Other Guys

Will Farrell and Mark Wahlberg are stay in the station cops until Farrell bumbles he and his partner into a big time Ponzi scheme aimed at the police assn retirement fund. Hard to tell the good guys from the bad at times in this cop comedy that literally starts out with a bang. Sometimes funny sometimes stupid but if you go stick around through the credits as there is some very enlightening info. 2 bananas

Inception

WOW! Make sure to see this when there isn't a large audience as there is a lot to hear and process. Leonardo Decaprio has discovered how to get inside peoples dreams and to plant suggestions for future decision making. He is in hiding from the U.S. Government for some past wrong doing but is promised by a very influential person that all his problems can go away if he would perform one more dream intervention. From there things really get wild. Confusing, you bet, but the ending pretty much clears every thing up. I think you have to see this a 2nd time to catch everthing. 3 1/2 banas

Salt

Good action with Angela Joline as a double/triple(?) CIA agent going up against the russians and the CIA as she is accused of being an enemy spy. Some scenes are beyond belief but for the summer, this will keep you entertained as the no-stop action continues till the end. 2 1/2 bananas

Johathan Hex

Good shooten-up Western taken from the comic books. Hex is branded, on the face, and left for dead soon after the civil war. He survives and is recruited by the government to stop a terror plot on the capital being plotted by the man who branded him. See it for a change of pace. 3 bananas

Knight and Day

Tom Cruise and Camerron Diaz are terrific in this comedy action flick centering around forces in the FBI chasing Cruise and Diaz around the world in search of a new power source in batteries. Some unbelieveable action scenes steal the show. Much fun if you aren't counting the bodies. 3 bananas

The A-Team

Funny but stupid recreation of the television show. Great scenes but most are so far over the edge it's hard to get into this non-stop action movie of 4 decorated soliders who are set up by the CIA, jailed, escape and create havoc for the CIA. 2 bananas

Just Wright

As much as I love Queen Latifa this isn't one of her better movies. Queeny is a physical therapist who rehabilitates the star of the New Jersey Nets basketball team. Love is not far behind as is Queen's dim witted friend who also falls for the same BB player. Forget it. 1 banana

MacGruber

BAD movie, BAD acting and plenty of BAD references to "dicks". Poorly done spoof of the tv series McGiver. Not worth my time reviewing. Don't se it! 0 bananas

MacGruber

BAD movie, BAD acting, BAD language; and plenty of BAD references to "dicks". Poorly done take off of the McGiver TV series. Don't see it, not worth my time reviewing! 0 bananas

Girl with the Dragon Tattoo

Terrific Swedish murder mystery that starts with a journalist, just convicted of libel, recruited by a powerful family to look into the death/disappearance of one its members many years ago. Many twists and turns as the journalist teams up with 24 year old super smart computer hacker who has her own set of problems. See it. Sub titles. Probably only in artsy cinemas. 3 1/2 bananas

Robin Hood

Pretty good prequel to what we've known as the original Robin Hood movie. Starring Russell Crowe as Robin Longstreet we see what Robin was up to before he and his merry band of thieves started living in the woods, stealing from the rich and giving to the poor. Some great battle scenes as Robin defends the Crown but also gets a bit long in parts. See it to find out how Robin becomes Robin Hood. 2 1/2 bananas

Backup Plan

Romantic comedy--light on romance and light on comedy. Jennifer Lopez is a single girl who can't make a lasting committment thus decides to inseminate herself to have a baby. Well guess what, she finds the man of her dreams and he has to decide whether being a dad is what he wants. Best part of the movie are the outtakes at the end. Boring! 1 1/2 bananas

A Nightmare on Elm

Pretty decent prequel explaining how Freddy Kruger got his bad looks. Freddy brings his sharpened fingers to do grisley deeds upon the children of the parents who did him wrong. If you are not into the Elm St adventures, skip this, but if Freddy turns you on, this is an alright blood fest. 2 1/2 bananas

Iron Man 2

Not as good as the first but still wildly entertaining. O'Rouke is the perfect villian and Scarlett Johanson and Gywnneth Paltow help beautify this fun action movie starring Robert Downey Jr. Once again at the center of the movie is the action suit that Downey has perfected and everyone, including our government wants to take from Downey. Some great special effects. 2 1/2 bananas

Oceans

Beautifully filmed but not quit as good as the first film made for Earth Day. Narrated by Pierce Brosnan. Does not spend much time on THE Oceans, more on what lives in them. Most everything has already been viewed on the Discovery channel. 2 1/2 bananas

The Square

Pretty darn good Aussie film of two unfaithful marrieds who devise a plan to steal money from one of their spouses, set the house on fire to cover the missing money and runaway with each other. Everything goes downhill from this point and bodies start piling up. Good plot keeps this movie moving, see it! 3 bananas

Harry Brown

Dark intense drama starring Michael Caine who is a retired middle class guy who loses his best friend and wife to the thugs that hang out around his housing developement. When nothing is being done by the police to clean up crime, Caine takes matters into his own hands. Somewhat hard to hear at times but a good movie worth seeing. 3 bananas

Date Night

Good cast, Steve Carrell and Tina Fey can't save this comedy of a couple who are mistaken for another couple after they steal their dinner reservations and are consequently hunted by the mob and the police for information they supposedly have. A couple of laughs but that's it. 1 1/2 bananas

The Losers

Action movie adopted from a comic book. Team of CIA agents are set up to be killed but the plan fails thus turning the agents into hunters for the mastermind of the plot. Somewhat interesting to begin with turns into just another bad movie. 1 banana

The Secret in Their Eyes.

Choosen Best Foreign Film in 2009 by the Oscars for good reason. Well done adult thriller/mystery centers around a 25 year murder in Argentina. Many subplots and twists in this smartly acted romantic/crime drama. Sub titles take a bit getting used to, but well worth the effort. Probably only being shown at your local artsy cinema. 3 1/2 bananas

Death at a Funeral

An all star cast of comedians are sometimes very funny and at least once so gross you can't help but laugh in this comedy set around a families fathers death and his viewing in their home. The "F" bomb is used quit often as well as many other swear words. Probably should rent the DVD but worth seeing only because of some of the crazy stuff that goes on. 2 1/2 bananas

Alice in Wonderland

Beautifully filmed with great special affects. Johnny Depp gives his usual interesting performance as do the two Queens who I have no Idea who they are. Definitely not for the youngsters, as violence rules in this fairy tale. Either I missed this as a kid or much liberty has been taken in this revised edition. Worth seeing but I was bored with it half way through, Barbara loved it--that's it for us as a viewing couple. 2 bananas

Repo Man

Jude Law is not reposssessing cars but he is taking back body parts from people who can't meet their 'loans' on their new parts. However, Law finds himself on the other side and on the run from his repo company. What starts out as a somewhat interesting idea turns into a blood bath. 1 1/2 bananas

Bounty Hunter

Gerrard Butler and Jennifer Anniston add some very funny moments in this comedy of a bounty hunter who is tasked with arresting his ex only to find himself and his ex being tracked down by two separate sinister forces. Movie starts out great, unfortunately loses its mojo. 2 bananas.

Brooklyn's Finest

All Star cast in this pretty darn good cop drama. 3 cops from the NYPD work through personal and job issuses as they pile up bodies, track down drug dealers and wrestle with their short comings. See it. 3 bananas

Green Zone

George W Bushie will not like Matt Damon in his role of trying to find WMD in Iraq. What Damon does find is a mass conspiracy to draw the US into the war. Well done war movie that moves fast and probably paints a fairly accurate picture as to how the NeoCons conned us into going to war. Definitely worth seeing. 3 bananas

Cop Out

Typical Bruce Willis cop movie. So stupid it's funny at times. Bruce's treasured baseball card(which he was planning on using to pay for his daughter's wedding) is stolen by the Mexican mob, setting Bruce and his partner on mission to recover the card. If you've got nothing better to do this will kill a couple of hours. 1 banana

The Crazies

Small Iowa town's water supply becomes contaminated after airplane crash carrying government biological experiment creating crazy people among the locals. Soon the Government shows up and things go from bad to worse. Pretty good horror film. 2 1/2 bananas

The Ghost Writer

Smart, stylish and filled with political intrigue and overtones, this Roman Polanski film is a great view. The Prime Minister of England, vacationing on Cape Cod, gets caught up in the political battles of terrorist torture at home while at the sametime finishing his memouirs with a ghost writer who mysteriously is killed. A second ghost writer is called in to finish the book and is caught up in the deepening mysteries surrounding the PM. Keeps you hooked till the end. See it, Crawford forget it! 3 1/2 bananas.

500 Days of Summer

Cute, clever and funny story of a guy who falls in love and gets dumped; and then relives the how's and whys as he works for a greeting card company. One of my favorite actresses, Zoey Deschanel is charming as the girl who can't make a commitment. 2/2 bananas

Shutter Island

Interesting mystery story that is full of twists and surprises. Deputy Federal Marshall(DiCaprio) is called to a remote island that houses the criminally insane to find an inmate who has escaped. To say much more would ruin a good story. See it for good entertainment. 3 bananas

The Last Station

Beautifully filmed era film that should have been nominated for best picture and best actor and actress. Christoffer Plummer and Helen Mirren give Academy award performances in this early 1900s film depicting Leo Tolstoys years after he published War and Peace and the people he surrounded himself and how they tried to influence how he should leave his estate upon his death. Helen Mirren is drop dead GREAT. This factual movie is set on Tolstoys commune outside of Moscow and has some very funny scenes mixed with a couple love stories. Definitely see it before it disappears from the theaters. 4 bananas

The Wolfman

Great job on remake of the original. Terrific special effects in turning man into beast. Same story, man is bitten by a wolf(man) and then he turns into a wolfman when the moon is full and creates havoic amongst the villagers. However, this time there is a twist to the story. Fun viewing but a bit gory. 3 bananas

Dear John

Well it's definitely more a girl flick than a guy flick; but with that said I enjoyed this movie though it is a bit long. Not at all as the movie title would emply, though there is the Dear John letter after a two week romance, but so much more. As much about father/son relationships as romantic relationships. Well done and great endings! 3 bananas

From Paris with Love

John Travolta at his bloody best. Travolta(a cia killing machine) is assigned a rookie and a job to cleanup a terrorist cell in Paris. And boy does he clean it up. Lost count of the bodies but Travolta gets the job done, the right way. See it for the action not the acting. 2 1/2 bananas

The Spy Next Door

Typical Jackie Chan movie but geared to kids(that's me)! Chan wants to settle down with his next door girl friend but the bad guys want a coded message that is in his computer. Also his girl friends 3 kids hate him. Usual mass butt kicking, climbing walls and low comedy. Kids might like this! 1 banana

When in Rome

Comedy with cute Kristen Bell who goes to Rome for her sister's wedding and takes 4 coins out of a fountain. This in turn sets in motion four men(who threw the coins into the fountain) trying to win the love of Kristen by sorts of goof ball actions. Sometimes clever and sometimes soapy. See it if you have nothing better to do. 1 1/2 bananas

Edge of Darkness

Mel Gibson at his best in the very entertaining movie full of mystery/intrigue. Gibson plays a Boston cop who's daughter is killed in the opening scenes by unknowns. The hunt for the killers takes many turns with many casualties. Great action and good plot. Definitely were seeing. 3 bananas.

Extraordinary Measures

Decent enough movie but the title characters are miscast. Harrison Ford as the eccentri biologist and Brendan Frazer as a Marketing manager team up to develope and sell to investors a drug that hopefully will save the lives of Frazer's two children suffering from Pompei diease. Both give unispiring performances in this story based on true events. 1 1/2 bananas

The Single Man

Opps, O'boy! Went to this movie thinking it was a mystery and it turned out to be a gay movie, it was very uncomfortable for me. Colin Firth loses his 16 year partner in an auto accident and flirts with the idea of killing himself as he reflects back on the years spent with his partner. Well acted but not my kind of movie. Rated R but not sure why as there is no frontal nudity. It's your call! 3 bananas

Legion

Gods had it with the dumb assses on Earth and sends Archangel Michael down to kill the chosen baby that could save the world. Michael has second thoughts and then God really gets into it, sending down archangel Gabriel and a living hell. Decent plot but bad acting lead to another poor showing in the religious themed movies of late. 1/12 bananas

Lovely Bones

Beautifully filmed, well acted, deserving of best picture of the year. 14 year old girl is murdered by a neighbor and the girls spirit/memory can't leave this world until she tells her story and gets what she so hoped for. Susan Sarrandon plays the Granmother and is a hoot. The 14 year old star of the movie is not only perfect for her role she is a beautiful young girl and it will be interesting to follow her future movie career. Not a light movie but definitely worth seeing. 4 bananas

The Book of Eli

Good action packed movie starring Denzel Washington. Takes place many years after the earth has been nuked by people who blamed religion for the downfall thus destroying all Bibles. Denzel is on a mission, fromGod?, to deliver the last remaining Bible to somewhere on the left coast. Didn't see the ending coming. Denzel gives his usual terrific performance. The religious right will probably have a field day with this movie. 3 1/2 bananas

In The Loop

One of the best of the year. Quirky comedy has an innocent government report at the center of the U.S. and British governments trying to make a case for war. Some stong language but very, very funny as no doubt some of the situations take place daily in our governments. Now out on DVD--see for the laughs. 3 1/2 bananas

Daybreakers

This movie starts out really well and slowly goes down the toilet. Interesting plot has the world infected and dying, with the few uninffected being caught and harvested for their blood. Vampires, blood and mass mayhem add up to 1 1/2 bananas

The Hurt Locker

Powerful war drama based on factual Army IED road hunters in Bagdad. Movie was released in late 2008 but for some reason got very limited viewing. Getting great press for its honesty in a messy war. 3 1/2 bananas

Imaginarium of Doctor Parnass

Heath Ledgers last movie--actually he died in mid filming and it's fun to see who and how he was replaced. Backstory is of a centurys old traveling carney show that features Doctor Parnass's imagination and what happens when people enter it through a magical mirror. Well done with beautiful special effects. Could be the sleeper of the year. See if you can pick out all the replacements for Ledger. 3 1/2 bananas

It's complicated

Comedy starring Meryl Streep and Alec Baldwin as divorced parents of grown up kids who have a secret affair. Steve Martin adds a bit of humor as an architect tasked with renovating Streeps house; and he and Meryl steal the show in a pot smoking scene at their kids apartment. 2 1/2 bananas

Crazy Heart

Jeff Bridges gives a terrific performance in his role as a country singer/songwriter on the downslide of life. A boozing, smoking, womanizing entertainer who winds up playing in bowling alleys dosen't want to help himself until a life altering event brings him back. See this for the music, Bridges is great as the scruffy washed up singer. Should generate consideration for best Actor. 3 1/2 bananas