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The Way, Way Back

Cast
Liam James
Steve Carell
Toni Collette
Allison Janney
Sam Rockwell
Maya Rudolph
Annasophia Robb
Screenwriters
Nat Faxon
Jim Rash
Directors
Nat Faxon
Jim Rash
Running Time
103 minutes


Over the course of a summer, 14-year-old Duncan comes into his own thanks in part to the friendship he strikes up with a carefree employee at the local water park where he gets a job.[Metacritic]

 A lovely whimsical story with great performances.

What Maisie Knew

Cast
Onata Aprile
Alexander Skarsgård
Joanna Vanderham
Julianne Moore
Steve Coogan
Screenwriters
Nancy Doyne
Carroll Cartwright
Directors
Scott McGehee
David Siegel
Running Time
99 minutes

In this update of Henry James' classic novel, a young girl is caught in the middle of her parents' bitter divorce.[Metacritic]

You don't get to really know the characters because it's seen from the little girls point of view but I did enjoy it.

Wadjda

Cast
Reem Abdullah
Waad Mohammed
Abdullrahman Al Gohani
Screenwriter
Haifaa Al-Mansour
Director
Haifaa Al-Mansour
Running Time
98 minutes

An enterprising Saudi girl signs up for her school's Koran recitation competition in hopes of raising the remaining funds she needs to buy a green bicycle she desperately wants.

Charming in the little story it told which also worked as a revealing insight into the culture as a whole.

Elysium

Cast
Matt Damon
Jodie Foster
Sharlto Copley
William Fiichtner
Alice Braga
Talisa Soto
Diego Luna
Faran Tahir
Jose Pablo Cantillo
Wagner Moura
Josh Blacker
Emma Tremblay
Adrian Holmes
Screenwriter 
Neill Blomkamp
Director
Neill Blomkamp
Running Time
109 minutes

In the year 2154, the very wealthy live on a man-made space station called Elysium while the rest of the population resides on a ruined Earth. The only man with the chance to bring equality to these worlds is Max, an ordinary guy in desperate need to get to Elysium. With his life hanging in the balance, he reluctantly takes on a dangerous mission that could save his life and the lives of millions on Earth.

Visually stunning and excitingly but the story is too simple by comparison.

The Lone Ranger

Cast
Johnny Depp
Armie Hammer
Tom Wilkinson
William Fichtner
Ruth Wilson
Helena Bonham Carter
Barry Pepper
Screenwriters
Ted Elliott
Terry Rossio
Director 
Gore Verbinski
Running Time
149 minutes

Native American spirit warrior Tonto recounts the untold tales that transformed John Reid, a man of the law, into a legend of justice.[Metacritic]

The last part with the Lone Ranger and the William Tell Overture is good but we had to spend 2 hours getting to that point through a torturous origin story.

The Wolverine

Cast
Hugh Jackman
Will Yun Lee
Svetlana Khodchenkova
Rila Fukushima
Tao Okamoto
Hiroyuki Sanada
Famke Janssen
Screenwriters
Christopher McQuarrie
Scott Frank
Mark Bomback
Director
James Mangold
Running Time
126 minutes

Summoned to Japan by an old acquaintance, Wolverine becomes embroiled in a conflict that forces him to confront his own demons.[Metacritic]

Emotionally the film relies upon what happened in X3 which was a disaster generally but extraordinarily in how it threw away the phoenix saga and it leaves a bad taste every time they touch upon it here. It's OK but bloodless and ordinary.

Frances Ha

Cast
Greta Gerwig
Mickey Sumner
Michael Zegen
Screenwriters
Noah Baumbach
Greta Gerwig
Director
Noah Baumbach
Running Time
86 minutes

This small budget, black-and white-collaboration between writer/director Noah Baumbach and writer/star Greta Gerwig centers on Frances (Gerwig), an apprentice dancer fumbling through post-college life in New York City.[Metacritic]

There are a lot of lovely clever scenes but as a whole it's too inconsequential.

The World's End

Cast

Simon Pegg
Nick Frost
Martin Freeman
Rosamund Pike
Eddie Marsan
Paddy Considine
Screenwriters
Simon Pegg
Edgar Wright
Director
Edgar Wright
Running Time
109 minutes

20 years after attempting an epic pub crawl, five childhood friends reunite when one of them becomes hell bent on trying the drinking marathon again. They are convinced to stage an encore by mate Gary King, a 40-year old man trapped at the cigarette end of his teens, who drags his reluctant pals to their home town and once again attempts to reach the fabled pub, The World’s End. As they attempt to reconcile the past and present, they realize the real struggle is for the future, not just theirs but humankind’s. Reaching The World’s End is the least of their worries.[Metacritic]

I enjoyed it but it's the least of the trilogy. It's kept afloat by Pegg's energy and Frost's once the danger is revealed and his character gets into the fray.

Bunheads has been canceled

Bunheads my choice as best TV show of 2012 has been cancelled after just one season :(

Pacific Rim 3D

Cast
Charlie Hunnam
Rinko Kikuchi
Idris Elba
Charlie Day
Burn Gorman
Clifton Collins Junior
Max Martini
Ron Perlman
Screenwriters
Travis Beacham
Guillermo del Toro
Director
Guillermo del Toro
Running Time
131 minutes

When monstrous creatures, known as Kaiju, started rising from the sea, a war began that would take millions of lives and consume humanity's resources for years on end. To combat the giant Kaiju, a special type of weapon was devised: massive robots, called Jaegers, which are controlled simultaneously by two pilots whose minds are locked in a neural bridge. But even the Jaegers are proving nearly defenseless in the face of the relentless Kaiju. On the verge of defeat, the forces defending mankind have no choice but to turn to two unlikely heroes-a washed up former pilot (Charlie Hunnam) and an untested trainee (Rinko Kikuchi)-who are teamed to drive a legendary but seemingly obsolete Jaeger from the past. Together, they stand as mankind's last hope against the mounting apocalypse. [Warner Bros.]

Disappointing especially coming from del Toro. It's fun but the story and characters are too simple.

The Act of Killing

Director
Joshua Oppenheimer

A documentary in which former Indonesian death squad leaders reenact their real-life mass-killings in various cinematic genres.

Horrifying.

World War Z

Cast
Brad Pitt
Daniella Kertesz
David Morse
Elyes Gabel
Fana Mokoena
James Badge Dale
Ludi Boeken
Matthew Fox
Mireille Enos
Screenwriters
Damon Lindelof
Drew Goddard
J. Michael Straczynski
Matthew Michael Carnahan
Director 
Marc Forster
Running Time
110 minutes

A United Nations employee traverses the world to stop a Zombie pandemic that is toppling armies and governments and threatening to decimate humanity itself.[Metacritic]

Strange in the way it avoided depicting Zombie fighting close-up and it lacked tension.

Behind The Candelabra

Cast
Matt Damon
Michael Douglas
Rob Lowe
Debbie Reynolds
Dan Aykroyd
Scott Bakula
Screenwriter
Richard LaGravenese
Director
Steven Soderbergh
Running Time
118 minutes

The life of the Las Vegas showman Liberace (Michael Douglas) and his younger lover Scott Thorson (Matt Damon).[Metacritic]

Good in lots of ways but it needed more concert performances.

Man Of Steel

Cast
Henry Cavill
Kevin Costner
Amy Adams
Michael Shannon
Russell Crowe
Diane Lane
Antje Traue
Christopher Meloni
Lawrence Fishburne
Screenwriter
David Goyer
Director
Zack Snyder
Running Time
143 minutes

A young boy learns that he has extraordinary powers and is not from Earth. As a young man, he journeys to discover where he came from and what he was sent here to do. But the hero in him must emerge if he is to save the world from annihilation and become a symbol of hope for all mankind.. [Warner Bros. Pictures]

I loved it.

Byzantium

Cast
Gemma Arterton
Saoirse Ronan
Jonny Lee Miller
Sam Riley
Caleb Landry Jones
Daniel Mays
Tom Hollander
Screenwriter 
Moira Buffini
Director 
Neil Jordan
Running Time
118 minutes

A mother and daughter vampire duo settle in a small seaside town where the daughter strikes up a relationship with a sick boy.[Metacritic]

It was good and Arterton is gorgeous but there's not a lot to it.

Star Trek Into Darkness

Cast
Chris Pine
Zachary Quinto
Simon Pegg
Zoe Saldana
John Cho
Anton Yelchin
Karl Urban
Benedict Cumberbatch
Alice Eve
Screenwriters
Damon Lindelof
Roberto Orci
Alex Kurtzman
Director
J. J. Abrams
Running Time
131 minutes

After the crew of the Enterprise find an unstoppable force of terror from within their own organization, Captain Kirk leads a manhunt to a war-zone world to capture a one man weapon of mass destruction.[Metacritic]

I enjoyed the beginning with the colourful alien planet and the airlock filled with water both were bold great ideas but nothing really matched that afterwards.  It's too long and bombastic,  not everything needs to blow up all the time. They try to give everyone screen time which results in Kirk and Spock not being fleshed out enough and Dr. McCoy being reduced to a clown, why is he spending so much time on the bridge?[Spoiler]Using the Khan story from the original series/movie I didn't like and hopefully they're not going to do that for every movie. Come up with fresh ideas, doing pale imitations of what came before doesn't entertain me.
Further Reading

Love Is All You Need

Cast
Pierce Brosnan
Trine Dyrholm
Kim Bodnia
Paprika Steen
Christiane Schaumburg-Muller
Micky Skeel Hansen
Molly Blixt Egelind
Sebastian Jessen
Screenwriter
Anders Thomas Jensen
Director
Susanne Bier
Running Time
116 minutes

A hairdresser who has recently recovered from cancer finds out her husband is having an affair. But while she's on her way to Italy for her daughter's wedding, she meets a widower who also happens to be the father of the groom.[Metacritic]

Surprising and kind of delightful.

Iron Man 3 3D

Cast
Robert Downey Jr.
Guy Pearce
Ben Kingsley
Gwyneth Paltrow
Don Cheadle
James Badge Dale
Screenwriters
Shane Black
Drew Pearce
Director
Shane Black
Running Time
130 minutes

Iron Man 3 pits brash-but-brilliant industrialist Tony Stark/Iron Man against an enemy whose reach knows no bounds. When Stark finds his personal world destroyed at his enemy's hands, he embarks on a harrowing quest to find those responsible. This journey, at every turn, will test his mettle. With his back against the wall, Stark is left to survive by his own devices, relying on his ingenuity and instincts to protect those closest to him. As he fights his way back, Stark discovers the answer to the question that has secretly haunted him: does the man make the suit or does the suit make the man? [Marvel Studios]

There was lots of good stuff but a little long and too hectic, the 3D made the action scenes harder to follow. I appreciated it more than loved it.

Oblivion

Cast
Tom Cruise
Olga Kurylenko
Andrea Riseborough
Morgan Freeman
Nicolaj Coster-Waldau
Melissa Leo
Zoe Ball
Screenwriters
Joseph Kosinski
Karl Gajdusek
Michael Arndt
Director
Joseph Kosinski
Running Time
126 minutes

Jack Harper is one of the last drone repairmen stationed on Earth. Part of a massive operation to extract vital resources after decades of war with a terrifying threat known as the Scavs, Jack's mission is nearly complete. But when he rescues a beautiful stranger from a downed spacecraft, , he begins to question everything he knows. [Universal Pictures]

I liked it but it's too long and the villains an idiot.

In The House

Cast
Fabrice Luchini
Kristin Scott Thomas
Ernst Umhauer
Bastien Ughetto
Catherine Davenier
Denis Menochet
Emmanuelle Seigner
Jean-François Balmer
Vincent Schmitt
Yolande Moreau
Screenwriter
Francois Ozon
Director
Francois Ozon
Running Time
105 minutes

Sixteen-year-old Claude insinuates himself into the house of fellow high school student Rapha, writing about his family in essays that perversely blur the lines between reality and fiction for his jaded literature teacher Germain. Intrigued by this gifted and unusual student, Germain rediscovers his taste for teaching, but the boy’s intrusion sparks a series of uncontrollable events. [Cohen Media]

The main couple go to the cinema to see Match Point [the Woody Allen film] and this actually plays like one of his films. The BBFC notice before the film had a kind of inverse spoiler which misled me as to where the film was going. I enjoyed it but it was strangely uninvolving.

Trance

Cast
James McAvoy
Rosario Dawson
Vincent Cassel
Screenwriters
Joe Ahearne
John Hodge
Director
Danny Boyle
Running Time
101 minutes

An art auctioneer, mixed up with a group of criminals, partners with a hypnotherapist in order to recover a lost painting.  [Metacritic]

Unbelievably convoluted but entertaining.

Compliance

Cast
Ann Dowd
Dreama Walker
Pat Healy
Matt Servitto
Bill Camp
Screenwriter 
Craig Zobel
Director
Craig Zobel
Running Time
90 minutes

Becky and Sandra aren't the best of friends. Sandra is a middle-aged manager at a fast-food restaurant; Becky is a teen-aged counter girl who really needs the job. One stressful day (too many customers and too little bacon), a police officer calls, accusing Becky of stealing money from a customer's purse, which she vehemently denies. Sandra, overwhelmed by her managerial responsibilities, complies with the officer's orders to detain Becky. This choice begins a nightmare that tragically blurs the lines between expedience and prudence, legality and reason. (Magnolia Pictures)

It's interesting and thought provoking but I found it difficult to empathise with people who were that foolish for that long which distanced me from the story.

Side Effects

Cast
Rooney Mara
Channing Tatum
Jude Law
Catherine Zeta-Jones
Polly Draper
Marin Ireland
Mamie Gummer
Screenwriter
Scott Z. Burns
Director
Steven Soderbergh
Running Time
106 minutes

A woman turns to prescription medication as a way of handling her anxiety concerning her husband's upcoming release from prison.[Metacritic]

An absorbing, slightly nuts thriller.

Oz The Great and Powerful 3D

Cast
James Franco
Mila Kunis
Rachel Weisz
Michelle Williams
Zach Braff
Screenwriter
David Lindsay-Abaire
Director
Sam Raimi
Running Time
130 minutes

This is a prequel to The Wonderful Wizard of Oz (1900) by L. Frank Baum, told from the point of view of the Wizard. It tells how the Wizard arrived in Oz and how he became the ruler.[Metacritic]


It is perhaps too long and would probably have worked better with some songs but I enjoyed it a lot.

Mama

Cast
Jessica Chastain
Nikolaj coster-Waldau
Megan Charpentier
Isabelle Nélisse
Screenwriters
Neil Cross
Barbara Muschietti
Andrés Muschietti
Director
Andrés Muschietti
Running Time
100 minutes

Annabel and Lucas are faced with the challenge of raising his young nieces that were left alone in the forest for 5 years.... but how alone were they?[Metacritic]

The makers must have thought the CGI was going to be so great that they didn't need much else and from a distance and in shadows it's creepy but up close not really. The kids were great but the new parents just weren't detailed enough to make it more compelling.