This dark comedy isn’t the prettiest looking release, but Sony does bring it to Blu-ray in a quality MPEG-4 AVC 1080p transfer. Dimensionality is the biggest issue with the image often looking soft. This then lowers the depth of field. Colors are natural and balanced well. When more vibrant colors pop up in the palette they do indeed pop. Blacks might not be inky throughout, but they aren’t too murky. Digital issues aren’t problematic, but crush is its biggest issue. Of course night scenes in low lighting suffer the worst. Some noise and banding occur but nothing too awful. Most of the issues with the picture quality presumably stem back to the source, which was a low-budget indie shot on Super 35. The worst thing you could say about the image would be that it is inconsistent. Some darker scenes can be murky and feature pixelization, but daylight scenes can be crisp and deep.

Much like its picture, the DTS-HD MA 5.1 lossless soundtrack is the same – inconsistent. The ambience is subtle, but puts the viewer into the settings. Seaside scenes feature wind, ocean and bird sounds across the soundscape. The mix is well done, but nothing is dynamic. The gunfight at the end is sonically solid even if it’s not as robust as others you might have heard in big budget shoot outs. That said directionality during the gunfight is handled precisely. Dialogue importantly with the Irish accents is clear, but a little low at times, but nothing too distracting.

The audio commentary features director John Michael McDonagh and stars Don Cheadle and Brendan Gleeson. The jokey threesome gives a heavily antidotal account of the production. It’s certainly a dry wit affair and never gets pretentious. You get less insight into the artistic approach to the film, but it’s still fun. The “Q&A with Actors Don Cheadle, Brendan Gleeson and Director John Michael McDonagh” is much like the commentary in tone and content, but adds new information to the mix.

“The Making of The Guard” is a brief, but solid, behind-the-scenes doc, which gets the thoughts of the filmmakers and cast on the process and the characters. The candid moments of the cast and crew joking around are a joy. They also get into their thoughts on the open-ended conclusion.

The disc also includes McDonagh’s short film THE SECOND DEATH, which is described as the template for THE GUARD, but I felt the tone was radically different. There are also a host of deleted and alternative scenes. None really adds anything, because most of them are just different versions of what is in the film. One scene that stood out though was between Boyle and Gabriela that makes their flirty relationship more obvious.

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In 2011, Malick planted a tree and Michael Fassbender showed no shame. The help made many disagree while two artists showed us the fragility of fame. Three descendants came together in paradise while a driver drove for a price. Siblings discovered the secrets of their mother while Billy Bean was our baseball brother. London teens saved the world and two young lovers gave it a whirl.

Last year I said 2010 was not a great year for films having only awarded 13 four star reviews. In 2011, I awarded 12, so you can judge accordingly. However, there were a lot of really good 3 ½ star films that I wanted to weave into the top 25, but couldn’t make it work. Many of the honorable mentioned films are just as worthy to be on the list. Like always here is a list of the films I wish I could have seen but missed.

ALBERT NOBBS, ARMADILLO, BARNEY’S VERSION, THE BEAVER, BEING ELMO, BELLFLOWER, A BRIGHTER SUMMER DAY, CITY OF LIFE AND DEATH, CORIOLANUS, EXTREMELY LOUD & INCREDIBLY CLOSE, LE HAVRE, INSPECTOR BELLAMY, I WILL FOLLOW, THE INTERRUPTERS, INTO THE ABYSS, THE IRON LADY, KINYARWANDA, THE LAST CIRCUS, THE LAST RITES OF JOE MAY, THE MILL AND THE CROSS, MISSION: IMPOSSIBLE – GHOST PROTOCOL, MOZART’S SISTER, MY WEEK WITH MARILYN, MYSTERIES OF LISBON, NOSTALGIA FOR THE LIGHT, OF GODS AND MEN, PARIAH, PASSIONE, PAUL, PINA, THE PRINCESS OF MONTPENSIER, PROJECT NIM, QUEEN TO PLAY, RESURRECT DEAD, ROAD TO NOWHERE, SARAH’S KEY, A SCREAMING MAN, A SEPARATION, SILENT SOULS, THE SKIN I LIVE IN, THAT GIRL IN YELLOW BOOTS, TUCKER AND DALE VS. EVIL, TUESDAY, AFTER CHRISTMAS, TYRANNOSAUR, VIVA RIVA!, WE NEED TO TALK ABOUT KEVIN and THE WHISTLEBLOWER.

As always, I’ve amended my top 25 lists from 2009 and 2010 to include films I’ve seen in the past year. Now for the best of 2011.

1) THE TREE OF LIFE
Picking my #1 film hasn’t been this easy since the Coen Brothers’ made their best film in 2007 with NO COUNTRY FOR OLD MEN. Terrence Malick’s ambitious epic created a cinematic religious experience for me while watching it. As it unfolded I knew I was watching something special. Due to the quiet nature of their roles, it’s easy to miss the difficulty of Brad Pitt and breakout star of 2011 Jessica Chastain’s Oscar-worthy performances. It’s the master filmmaker’s best work. In a seemingly contradictory act, Malick highlights both the insignificance and significance of a single human life. On a macro cosmic scale, we are but a blip in the universe’s history, but on a micro human scale, we are the universe to our family and friends. Through evocative cinematography, Malick has created something that is so dense one viewing is really not enough. But when tackling the subject of life and death, anything less wouldn’t really cut it.

2) SHAME
Only one film made me contemplate not making TREE OF LIFE my top film of the year. Steve McQueen’s look at sex addiction is one of the best films I’ve seen on any kind of addiction. Michael Fassbender proves that he is a fearless actor, willing to put himself out there for his art. The film was strapped with an NC-17 for full frontal male nudity and a graphic orgy that are anything but erotic. Fassbender’s Brandon Sullivan has a face of pain not joy when having sex. He’s looking to find that high that will never come again. He might be intimate with many people, while never being able to be intimate with anyone. Following their work together in HUNGER and now SHAME, McQueen and Fassbender are becoming a classic cinematic collaboration.

3) THE HELP
Films about the civil rights movement always become hot button issues for critics. The Association of Black Women Historians ripped into this film, but then the Black Film Critics Circle named it the Best Film of the Year. For me, I was moved by the story of black women telling their stories about doing the thankless job of raising white folk’s children. Like so many other films, the criticism falls on a white character needed to tell a black character’s story. But that overlooks the point that the film highlights the unique relationship between black maids and white children. Emma Stone’s “Skeeter” Phelan is one of those children. With Stone, the Oscar worthy performances run seven deep, notably the breakout performers Octavia Spencer and Jessica Chastain. A dishonest film wouldn’t have the bittersweet ending that works so poignantly here.

4-tie) THE ARTIST & HUGO
These two films make for a perfect double feature. Both celebrate the joy of film history and the fickle nature of success. Michel Hazanavicius’ black & white silent film is a celebration of a bygone era a cinema, while being new and ingenious. It has comedy and dance and drama all wrapped into one film. French actors Jean Dujardin and Berenice Bejo are perfectly charming as a silent movie star stuck in the past and an up-and-coming ingénue. Martin Scorsese’s 3-D family film is not just a story of a boy who fixes things, but also an ode to cinematic magician Georges Melies, who was the father of cinematic special effects, but ended up working at a toy store in a Paris train station. In his motivated use of 3-D and his emotional approach to film conservation, Scorsese proves that be was born to be a filmmaker.

5) THE DESCENDANTS
George Clooney gives one of his best performances in the latest from SIDEWAYS director Alexander Payne. Clooney’s Matt King’s life turns into a bumper car out of control following the boating accident of his wife. The tragedy puts his life into focus and reveals secrets that change his view of his entire life. Nat Faxon and Jim Rash’s script based on Kaui Hart Hemmings’ novel has a unique ear for how families actually communicate. In a year of breakout actresses, teen Shailene Woodley gives a mature performance as Clooney’s oldest daughter, who knows more than he understands. Set in Hawaii, the bittersweet tale of death and family shows that paradise is only what we make of it. That is our responsibility.

6) DRIVE
In my original review, I called DRIVE artful and bloody and visceral and elegant. This is all due to the unique style of director Nicolas Winding Refn, who takes his time, builds tension along with his characters and hits us in the face with bursts of adrenaline. Ryan Gosling is perfect as the enigmatic nameless antihero – a stunt driver by day and a get away driver by night. He takes sympathy on a young mother, played by Oscar-nominee Carey Mulligan, and her young son while her husband is away in prison. But when daddy gets out, his past comes back and The Driver must get involved. The Driver is a person you definitely want on your side. And any good hero needs good villains and you won’t forget the memorable low-rent, but ruthless, gangsters played by Albert Brooks and Ron Perlman.

7) INCENDIES
This French Canadian production was nominated for an Oscar for Best Foreign Language Film last year and deserved to win. The story follows two siblings whose mother has asked them to find their father and brother who they never knew existed following her death. Through their search, they discover the shocking past of their mother, a woman they believed to have lead a boring life. This epic drama reminded me of Asian extreme cinema in many ways with its twisted turns. In its story of a son and daughter uncovering more about the bravery of their mother, the film makes us wonder how much we really know anyone in our lives. What secrets do we hold that would transform our images in the minds of those we think we know so well?

8) MONEYBALL
It was a good year for Brad Pitt. In TREE OF LIFE he gave his most subtle performance, here, he gives one of his most likeable. As Oakland A’s GM Billy Beane, he plays a smart jock, who challenges the powers that be to change the game that kept him from attending college. Pitt’s Beane is teamed with an Ivy League grad that uses stats to build a better baseball team, played by Jonah Hill. Pitt and Hill are like a perfect comedy duo, working off each other using their unique characters to make us laugh and root for their risk taking. This insider’s look at the business of baseball is a new kind of baseball movie.

9) ATTACK THE BLOCK
If BOYZ IN THE HOOD was an alien invasion flick with the sensibility of SHAUN OF THE DEAD, it might be something like this badass entertainment. This British import finds a London gang from the poor section of town fighting off shadowy aliens. Equally funny and scary, the film from director Joe Cornish breaks down stereotypes of the horror genre with this witty dialogue and pitch perfect action. On the block, there are things more dangerous than aliens sometimes. For sheer fun, this one is the best of the year.

10) LIKE CRAZY
This intoxicating romance is the best tale of a long distance romance I’ve ever seen. Writer/director Drake Doremus’ breakout film also features the breakout performance of Felicity Jones as Anna, a British student who overstays her visa after meeting Anton Yelchin’s Jacob. She is remarkably charming, making the audience fall in love with her. The story gets young romance so right in the ups and downs and uncertainty. Doremus makes us see why Jacob and Anna might not work and why they should be together. In the end we just want them to be happy whether that means they end up together or not.

11) TERRI
John C. Reilly gives a hilarious performance as a vice principal looking out for an overweight outcast and the other freaks in his school. It’s a familiar high school tale told with original characters.

12) THE FUTURE
Miranda July’s follow up to her wondering ME AND YOU AND EVERYONE WE KNOW is a bittersweet romance about how we sometimes sabotage our own happiness. With a stalking shirt and the power to freeze time, this whimsical dramedy is not your typical romcom.

13-tie) A DANGEROUS METHOD, MARTHA MARCY MAY MARLENE & TAKE SHELTER
These three films dealt with mental conflict in uniquely powerful ways. David Cronenberg’s story of Carl Jung and Sigmund Freud deals with the mental anguish of repression in a thought provoking way. Sean Durkin’s tale of a survivor of a cult features a remarkable performance from Elizabeth Olsen, whose paranoid character can’t reorient herself to the regular world. Jeff Nichols’ tale of a man struggling to control his increasing schizophrenia is the best film I’ve seen on the disorder, which features first rate performances from Oscar-nominee Michael Shannon and Jessica Chastain.

14) HIGHER GROUND
Actress Vera Farmiga makes her directing debut in this thoughtful look at the issue of faith. This is a powerful drama that doesn’t belittle believers or live in a fantasy world of moralistic platitudes.

15) YOUNG ADULT
Director Jason Reitman reteams with his JUNO screenwriter Diablo Cody for this biting black comedy about a YA author who decides to go back to her hometown to steal her high school boyfriend away from his wife. Charlize Theron is magnificent as the self centered would-be home wrecker and Patton Oswalt is the moral center as “hate crime boy.”

16) WAR HORSE
Steven Spielberg’s tear-jerking melodrama is like discovering a lost film from the 1950s. Stylistic and cinematically beautiful, this drama about a boy searching for his horse during WWI is like John Ford had a chance to make another epic.

17) MIDNIGHT IN PARIS
Woody Allen’s loving ode to Paris in the 1920s stars Owen Wilson as a Hollywood screenwriter who dreams of living in a bygone era. With the vibe of Allen’s THE PURPLE ROSE OF CAIRO, this magical comedy celebrates the past but still has something to say about today.

18-tie) 50/50 & CONTAGION
These two radically different films both deal with disease in a compelling way. Jonathan Levine’s cancer comedy, starring Joseph Gordon-Levitt, Seth Rogen and Anna Kendrick, is not just a humorous look at how a young man deals with the disease, but how those around him react as well. Steven Soderbergh’s super flu thriller is a masterful look at how the CDC would actually approach an epidemic, which features an all-star cast and makes you want to wash your hands more often.

19) MELANCHOLIA
Lars von Trier is one depressing filmmaker, so that is why his version of the apocalypse is so compelling. Kirsten Dunst gives the best performance of her career as a depressed new bride who feels like the world is coming to an end. As they say, just because you’re paranoid doesn’t mean a rogue planet isn’t on a collision course with Earth.

20) MARGIN CALL
Director J.C. Chandor makes the most impressive feature debut of the year with this honest, but damning, look at one fictional firm who started the downfall of the U.S. economy. It’s not a tale of conspiracies, but one of ruthless survival.

21) WARRIOR
Like a Greek epic, this human drama of fallen men is masked as an MMA flick. This story of brothers and their father has powerhouse performances from Tom Hardy, Joel Edgerton and Nick Nolte.

22) JANE EYRE
Michael Fassbender was the stand out male performer of the year and gives the most unblinking version of Charlotte Bronte’s Rochester. Combine his performance with Mia Wasikowska’s perfectly prim Jane and director Cary Fukunaga has made the best screen version of the classic tale.

23) RISE OF THE PLANET OF THE APES
Rupert Wyatt’s reboot of the classic sci-fi franchise is a smart piece of entertainment and an honorable addition to the series. At its center, Andy Serkis gives an Oscar-worthy performance as Caesar the chimpanzee, who leads a revolt against their human oppressors.

24) HARRY POTTER AND THE DEATHLY HALLOWS - PART 2
Simply the most consistently good series in film history ended on a strong note. Harry clearly moves from a boy to a man as he becomes the hero he was destined to be.

25) TABLOID
Errol Morris’ documentary about the 1970s Mormon sex in chains case is the perfect tabloid tale that seems too insane to be true. The film works as a profile of tabloid journalism and a character piece on Joyce McKinney, a fascinating romantic who sees kidnapping a man as act of love.

Honorable Mentioned
13 ASSASSINS
THE ADJUSTMENT BUREAU
AMERICAN: THE BILL HICKS STORY
ANONYMOUS
ANOTHER EARTH
ARTHUR CHRISTMAS
BEGINNERS
A BETTER LIFE
BILL CUNNINGHAM NEW YORK
BOY WONDER
BRIDESMAIDS
CAVE OF FORGOTTEN DREAMS
CERTIFIED COPY
COLD WEATHER
THE CONSPIRATOR
COWBOYS & ALIENS
THE DEBT
DETECTIVE DEE AND THE MYSTERY OF THE PHANTOM FLAME
THE GIRL WITH THE DRAGON TATTOO
THE GUARD
HANNA
HORRIBLE BOSSES
THE IDES OF MARCH
IN A BETTER WORLD
J. EDGAR
LIFE, ABOVE ALL
LOUDER THAN A BOMB
MEEK’S CUTOFF
POETRY
LE QUATTRO VOLTE
SUBMARINE
SUPER 8
TINKER, TAILOR, SOLDIER, SPY
TRUST
UNCLE BOONMEE WHO CAN RECALL HIS PAST LIVES
WATER FOR ELEPHANTS
WIN WIN
WINNIE THE POOH
X-MEN: FIRST CLASS

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It was a surprise when Brendan Gleeson was announced as a Golden Globe nominee for his role as a corrupt, drug using, foul mouthed cop. Once you’ve seen it you’ll know why. He owns the role. The best statement said about his character is he’s either really stupid or really smart.

Gleeson plays Gerry Boyle, a north Ireland police officer who is investigating a recent murder when FBI agent Wendell Everett (Don Cheadle, HOTEL RWANDA) comes to town on a mission to stop an international drug ring. When Everett shows the local officers pictures of the suspects, Boyle wonders to the African-American agent how they could be drug dealers when their white. Everyone knows all drug dealers are black or Mexican. Boyle’s defense for his racism is that he is Irish and it is part of his culture.

In fact, Boyle is just trying to get a rise out of Everett. He doesn’t like city folk coming into his jurisdiction. He knows that his murder investigation is connected to Everett’s drug case. The two sure make an unlikely pair. Everett just doesn’t understand Boyle’s complete lack of restraint. But one can expect anything from a man who will put a murder investigation on hold for a day so that he can have a fling with two prostitutes.

The best part of Gleeson’s performance is the slyness he brings. Is he purposely trying to be offensive or is he just really naive about black people? Or could it be a bit of both? Why does he speak so openly about his drug use and fornication with hookers around his superiors and Everett? Have the drugs and booze made him clueless or does he know something akin to the “donkey photos” that give him a free ride? Is he the worst cop ever or some kind of Gaelic yojimbo? You’ll change your mind from moment to moment.

How did he get this way? Well when you witness the f bomb filled visits with his mum Eileen (Fionnula Flanagan, FOUR BROTHERS) you’ll get a clue. When he is strapped with a young partner named McBride (Rory Keenan, REIGN OF FIRE), you get the impression that he long ago came to the realization that by-the-book police work is pointless. McBride is from Dublin and for the Galway born Boyle, he might as well be from Wisconsin. Watch how cozy he gets with McBride’s Croatian wife Gabriela (Katarina Cas). And you have to blame the movies. Boyle loves the idea of going out like the cowboys in THE WILD BUNCH, but he’s too smart for suicide.

It’s not a mystery where and when and who the drug dealers are, but Boyle’s involvement is a mystery. He’s got multiple motivations and a lot rides on which one he decides to follow. By the end though, we know for sure whether he is really flippin’ stupid or really flippin’ smart.

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Every time I see a film this good about faith I always say there should be more films about faith. I’m not talking about preachy, simplistically moralistic religious tracts, but tales about a person’s walk through life and faith with warts and all. Vera Farmiga, who most people will know from UP IN THE AIR, is a smart actress and has made a smart directing debut in adapting Carolyn S. Briggs’ memoir for the screen. This is a film about how a woman comes to faith and how she brings it through her life.

Farmiga stars as Corinne, a woman during the 1970s who struggles with her faith. As a child (McKenzie Turner), she didn’t have much exposure to religion. The most she got was when her flashy mother Kathleen (Donna Murphy, TANGLED) dumped her in vacation Bible school and flirted with Pastor Bud (Bill Irwin, RACHEL GETTING MARRIED) when she came to pick her up. As a teen, Corinne (Taissa Farmiga, TV’s AMERICAN HORROR STORY) is always writing, which draws the attention of wanna-be rocker Ethan (as teen Boyd Holbrook, TV’s THE BIG C & as adult Joshua Leonard, THE BLAIR WITCH PROJECT). In fast secession, she is pregnant, married and a struggling mother. After a near tragedy, Corinne and Ethan join the “Jesus Freaks” in town and never turn back.

In their Christian community, Corinne embraces her faith with a full heart, but she is a thinker and with thinkers come doubts. She becomes close friends with Annika (Dagmara Dominczyk, THE COUNT OF MONTE CRISTO), the most free of the women. The Russian immigrant draws pictures of her husband’s penis to spice up their sex life and talks in tongues to get closer to God. Corinne wants that for herself, but it doesn’t come that easy, especially with Ethan, who has fallen into the dogma of their patriarchal church. In this world, Corinne feels confined by restrictions in her dress, counseling of other women and even thoughts. And even though Pastor Bill (Norbet Leo Butz, DAN IN REAL LIFE) stresses that the men need to meet their wives sexual needs, it’s a lesson Ethan has failed to follow.

Watch how Corinne’s faith affects her relationship with her sister Wendy (Nina Arianda, MIDNIGHT IN PARIS), who has a carefree, hippie lifestyle. Corinne’s marriage is boring, but turns volatile like the relationship her mother and father CW (John Hawkes, MARTHA MARCY MAY MARLENE) had. That marriage ended in divorce, but Corinne’s faith influences how she approaches her failing marriage. But Corinne’s faith is most rocked when it comes to the tragic fate of Annika. Death would have been easier to understand as God’s plan.

Farmiga has brought together a great cast, working from Briggs and Tim Metcalfe’s script. She brings the same authenticity that marks every one of her performances. She understands these people and never once talks down to them. Farmiga made a great decision in convincing her younger sister Taissa to act in the film as the younger version of her character. Taissa not only shows natural talent, but seamlessly works to transition from one period in time to the next, because of how closely she resemble her older sibling. Irwin is always a joy to see and his smarmy preacher is so dead on in style and approach I felt I was back in my own Bible camp experience. Look for a brilliant moment between Hawkes and Murphy during one of their grandchildren’s birthday parties. Their non-verbal communication comments on their relationship and also hints at the pitfalls ahead for Corinne and Ethan.

While faith is the central theme, this film plays it straight and shows how faith transforms and informs its characters. This is a character piece that looks inside a religious community and how the dynamics of the group affect its main character Corrine. She entered marriage before she found religion. She was young and so many of the things she wanted from life had to be put on hold. So how does someone reconcile a less than opportune marriage and a faith that demands one not to divorce? What if you put your whole heart into something and never feel the joy you expect? What do you do when everyone around you has found something you can’t seem to find? The answer is faith. But faith in what? Farmiga has enough faith in her audience to let them come up with their own answers.

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The central mixed martial arts event in this film is called Sparta and it is a fitting name to attach to such a Greek-like drama between fathers and sons and brother versus brother. As a sports drama, it skillfully weaves together both a separate comeback and underdog tale, with the tales colliding in the end. Combining melodrama and character complexity, this simple tale has the emotional power of a piledriver.

Tommy Conlon (Tom Hardy, INCEPTION) hasn’t seen his father Paddy (Nick Nolte, AFFLICTION) since he and his mother ran away when he was a teen. Now a broken man, going by his mother’s maiden name, Tommy wants something from his former alcoholic dad – train him to enter a winner take all MMA tournament. He doesn’t want to reconnect with his father, only train. In a sick way, Tommy dangling a reconnection in front of his dad is no worse than if he dangled a bottle of whiskey.

Tommy has no desire to reconnect with his older brother Brendan (Joel Edgerton, ANIMAL KINGDOM) either. Paddy tries to visit Brendan, but he too doesn’t want anything to do with his dad. He stayed behind when his brother and mother left for his then girlfriend, now wife Tess (Jennifer Morrison, TV’s HOUSE). Due to mounting medical bills from his daughter’s heart condition, Brendan has stepped back in the ring, despite promising his wife that since becoming a high school Physics teacher he wouldn’t. They need the money and he refuses to lose their home. He goes back to his old trainer Frank Campana (Frank Grillo, MINORITY REPORT), who is working with a fighter preparing for Sparta.

Brendan and Tommy’s paths couldn’t be more different and yet the same. Tommy made himself an overnight name when a YouTube video of him destroying a top contender in a sparing match went viral. He is like an animal unchained when he enters the cage, mowing down opponents like they weren’t even there. During high school, he was a promising champion wrestler until he and his mother left. Brendan, on the hand, is an underdog, who has always lived in the shadow of his younger brother. He doesn’t have the same brute force, but he has stamina and skill.

On the surface, Brendan seems like the easier of the two to root for. He is fighting to save his family and to prove himself. Tommy is cruel and cold. We know that his resentments fuel his anger and brutality in the cage. We fear what could happen if he does get his hands on his brother. But he has secrets and those secrets are key to his motivations as well. This is a story of broken men finding some resolution. Even Paddy tries to bring his family together knowing that it was he who caused them to be torn apart.

While this has melodramatic tones, the conviction of the three central performers makes it believable. Hardy is intense on a scary level. The fear that he is going to hurt someone, and himself in the process, is palpable. Edgerton, who has the geek cred of playing Luke’s Uncle Owen in the STAR WARS prequels, is emerging as a promising new leading man. Like he did in ANIMAL KINGDOM, he has a masculine quality that is still refined. In a sport where his opponents strike thoughts of unhinged beasts, his Brendan feels like a gentleman boxer from a different era. Then we get to Nolte, whose performance is his best since his last Oscar nominated performance in AFFLICTION. It’s not that he plays a recovering alcoholic so well, but the vulnerability he brings to the role that speaks volumes about his character that dialogue could not convey.

One might argue that men working out their issues by beating each other to a pulp is not very sophisticated. But others might describe it as accurate. The detail that makes director Gavin O’Connor, Anthony Tambakis and Cliff Dorfman’s script so solid is the actions of the brothers in the ring speak of their complex problems. On a larger level, the film is not just about family, but what family means.

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Those critics that keep writing that this or that new film from Woody Allen has brought the famed director back to form is living in the past. Yes, during the late ’90s and early 2000s, Allen was not making his best work, but it’s been six years since MATCH POINT (his best since 1989’s CRIMES AND MISDEMEANORS) and in between that and now we got VICKY CRISTINA BARCELONA. With this film, Allen has returned to his whimsical comedy work like THE PURPLE ROSE OF CAIRO.

Gil (Owen Wilson, BOTTLE ROCKET) is a successful screenwriter, who works on hack material. He has always wanted to write a novel, but has never had the guts. On vacation in Paris, he finds inspiration to start. His fiancée Inez (Rachel McAdams, THE NOTEBOOK) worries that he’s throwing away his lucrative career on a gamble. This would also throw away their house in Malibu. Tired of hanging out with Inez’s pseudo-intellectual friend Paul (Michael Sheen, FROST/NIXON) and his clueless wife Carol (Nina Arianda, WIN WIN), Gil takes late-night walks and gets teleported back to the 1920s.

This fantastic journey is everything Gil could hope for because as he says, he was born too late. On his first night, he visits a party where Cole Porter (Yves Heck) is playing. Then he runs into F. Scott and Zelda Fitzgerald (Tom Hiddleston, THOR & Alison Pill, MILK), who turn out to be the lively and volatile couple he always imagined them to be. Later that evening, they introduce him to their friend Ernest Hemingway (Corey Stoll, SALT). Gil asks him to read his novel and Hemingway says he hates it before he even reads it, because if it is terrible he will hate it and if it is good, he’ll be jealous and he’ll hate it. So he recommends that his friend Gertrude Stein (Kathy Bates, MISERY) read it.

At Stein’s home, Gil meets Pablo Picasso (Marcial Di Fonzo Bo, THE MAN I LOVE), who is having an affair with the beautiful Adriana (Marion Cotillard, INCEPTION), who moved to Paris to design clothes with Coco Chanel. Gil finds her fascinating, but so does Hemingway. What does a guy do? Sit down in a café with surrealists Salvador Dali (Adrien Brody, THE PIANIST), Luis Bunuel (Adrien de Van, IN MY SKIN) and Man Ray (Tom Cordier) perhaps?

Gil finds inspiration in the past, but will he get trapped there… literally? He is always inexplicably brought back to the present where his strange behavior is questioned by Inez, who seems only interested in one thing from the past   expensive antique furniture – and not Gil’s silly manuscript about an owner of a nostalgia shop. Inez’s father John (Kurt Fuller, WAYNE’S WORLD) actually hires a private investigator to follow Gil to see where he goes at night. This could be trouble because he’s falling in love with a possible figment of his imagination.

This comedy certainly provides more laughs to those that are fans of literature and film. I’m not sure the average viewer would get the bit where Gil tells Luis Bunuel to make a film about rich people not being able to leave a dinner party and Bunuel not getting why they just don’t walk out the door. But what makes this film so good is that it doesn’t matter. It certainly rewards fans of art, but the characters are relatable. It’s not uncommon for many people to believe that they would have been better suited living in an earlier “golden” age. Gil allows the viewer to live out that fantasy and experience the joys and pitfalls that it brings. As an artist Gil’s trips to the past are inspiring, because great artists of the past are always inspiring to new artists. We live in their era every time we read their books or see their films or gaze upon their paintings.

This is certainly a lighter work from Allen, but it’s one of his best lighter films. He finds another good conduit for his “Woody Allen” character in Wilson, who, whether conscious or not, takes on Allen tics in his performance. Allen, like Gil, might love the 1920s, but he’s still making films that people of the early 21st century can relate to.

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Over the years Steven Spielberg has certainly adapted his style to fit the project. The black & white cinematography in SCHINDLER’S LIST added a grim solemnity. The desaturated colors and herky-jerky photography of SAVING PRIVATE RYAN only matched the gritty war sequences. In WAR HORSE, he tackles the first World War with a touch that matches the melodramatic nature of the source book and play. He channels the melodramas of the 1940s and 1950s like John Ford’s HOW GREEN WAS MY VALLEY, creating an almost surreal fable.

Ted Narracott (Peter Mullan, BRAVEHEART) is a war vet who drinks away his bad memories. He’s a poor farmer who decides one day at auction to not let his rich, pompous landlord Lyons (David Thewlis, HARRY POTTER) to outbid him for a thoroughbred horse. When he brings it home to his wife Rose (Emily Watson, BREAKING THE WAVES), she gets that look that only long-suffering wives get in movies like this one. Their son Albert (Jeremy Irvine, TV’s LIFE BITES) promises to train the horse. When the rent comes due and they are short, Albert, as hard headed as his father, sets out to turn a race horse into a plow steed.

But as one might expect, Albert and his horse Joey get separated when the war breaks out and the young man is determined to reunite with his four-legged friend. Like Robert Bresson’s AU HASARD BALTHAZAR, the story of an animal allows the viewer to peek into the lives of the people the creature comes in contact with. Capt. Nicholls (Tim Hiddleston, THOR) embodies the British term of keeping a stiff upper lip. He uses Joey to challenge the snobby Major Stewart (Benedict Cumberbatch, TINKER, TAILOR, SOLDIER, SPY). The young fragile Emilie (Celine Buckens) and her beloved grandfather (Niels Arestrup, A PROPHET) get a new lease on life thanks to the horse. The beast’s encounters will also include helping two young German defectors, motivating an animal loving private and inspiring a momentary truce.

This lush production shines with Janusz Kaminski’s vfx assisted cinematography. Spielberg doesn’t hold back with unnatural red and orange sunsets and vast green landscapes. The Narracott’s farm is like a fairy tale cottage. These idyllic images of the home are is stark contrast to the bleak, dark trench warfare scenes. The image of Joey trapped in barbed wire in the middle of No Man’s Land between the English and German sides is classic.

Spielberg finds grand moral themes about life and death much like he did in RYAN. Albert’s friend from Devon is assigned the terrible task of shooting any of his fellow soldiers who turn back from their run across the battlefield. So often, luck determines whether one lives or dies. Grander motivations mean nothing and the soldiers are fighting for their fellow solider… and in this case that means man and horse. Spielberg brings to light the great service that horses provided in WWI and the idea of them being drafted into fighting without a choice is not a light metaphor.

WAR HORSE earns the waterworks it creates with archetypal characters that we care about. Spielberg explores one of his favor themes of family on a grand scale. Chiefly, fathers and sons reconnect over shared experiences. Albert, played with the perfect dose of innocent gumption by newcomer Irvine, doesn’t understand his father, brought to life by Mullen as a proud working class man that only Ireland and the movies can produce. But in the final shot words aren’t needed to communicate that Albert’s opinion has changed. Spielberg’s skills as a master filmmaker make this happen so well.

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Based on Stieg Larsson’s international bestseller, this film makes this the second time this story has been brought to the screen. The original Swedish version is very fresh in my mind, having made my top 25 list last year, ranking fourth, just behind David Fincher’s THE SOCIAL NETWORK. Now we have Fincher’s version of the same tale in English.

Still set in Sweden, Daniel Craig (CASINO ROYALE) plays journalist Mikael Blomkvist, who has just lost a libel suit after printing a damning report about a successful businessman. Turns out he was set up. Leaving his magazine in disgrace, Mikael takes a job offer from Henrik Vanger (Christopher Plummer, BEGINNERS), a retired businessman whose family operates one of the largest companies in the country. For decades, Henrik has been investigating the disappearance of his niece Harriet, who he raised like his own. The old man believes one of his family members murdered her.

As Mikael begins his investigation, we meet Lisbeth Salander (Rooney Mara, THE SOCIAL NETWORK), a skilled computer hacker who conducted the background check on Mikael for Henrik. She is pierced and tattooed and never wears anything that isn’t black. A goth girl with a history of violence, she is a ward of the state and has been assigned a new case worker named Bjurman (Yorick van Wageningen, THE NEW WORLD), a sadistic man who blackmails sex out of Lisbeth. But he doesn’t know who he is dealing with.

Mara, a relative newcomer, was a surprise choice for the coveted role. She gives the character the right dose of vulnerability and chutzpa. For those who have seen Noomi Rapace’s performance it’s hard to not see the influence (whether intended or not) in Mara’s performance. Mara is given a more open version of the character. When Mikael takes an interest in her, she starts to drop her cool demeanor. The tough outside and quick temper is just a shield for her fractured heart. She’s just looking for a friend and an equal, which for her is difficult to come by.

Like the original film version, the story takes its time to set up its two investigators. When their stories merge, it’s like a dream team we’ve been waiting for. Henrik’s family is large so the suspect list is long. Martin (Stellan Skarsgard, GOOD WILL HUNTING) is Harriet’s brother and now runs the family company. He is the only one who supports Henrik’s investigation. Frode (Steven Berkoff, CLOCKWORK ORANGE) is Henrik’s right hand man and his protector. A protector from Henrik himself he says. Anita Vanger (Joely Richardson, ANONYMOUS) is Henrik’s niece who got away from the family the first chance she got. Cecilia (Geraldine James, SHERLOCK HOLMES) is another niece who doesn’t like the coverage of the family. Harald (Per Myrberg) is Henrik’s reclusive brother, who only leaves the house to go hunting.

Surprisingly the script from Steve Zaillian (SCHINDLER’S LIST) is not as subtle as Nikolaj Arcel and Rasmus Heisterberg’s Swedish script. In the American version, the moral rabbit hole surrounding the conclusion is eliminated with Mikael simply siding with Lisbeth’s blood lust. I find this a very curious cultural distinction. Having not read the book I can’t say which script kept the most faithful, but what I can say is that the Swedish version handled the end coda with better economy and left Lisbeth more enigmatic.

The Swedish version made Lisbeth just as much of a mystery as the murder mystery. The American version makes her an avenging angel. Driven by a badass performance from Mara, the character remains very compelling still. Part of the joy of both versions is the contrast in investigating styles between Mikael and Lisbeth. It’s the perfect pairing of old school and new. Take from it what you will that Mikael plays by the rules and Lisbeth enjoys breaking every single one.

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Steven Spielberg has made a rousing globetrotting adventure that harkens back to his early INDIANA JONES films. Using performance capture, he brought to life Herge’s world-renowned comic strip character in a strangely realistic and surreal way. The lightning paced action scenes will be well accepted from the videogamer set, while older audiences might want it to have slowed down a bit to let us meet these characters.

The audience is thrown right into the action as Tintin (Jamie Bell, KING KONG) buys a model ship that turns out to be a hotly desired item. Along with his dedicated dog Snowy, Tintin tries to get to the bottom of why Sakharine (Daniel Craig, CASINO ROYALE) will go to great extremes to get Tintin’s model and two identical ones. Along the way, Tintin teams up with the drunken Capt. Haddock (Andy Serkis, RISE OF THE PLANET OF THE APES), whose family is connected to the great mystery.

While there are brief mentions to Tintin being a famous reporter, we never get to see him report. There is something to be said about a story that throws the viewer right into the action, using the discovery of what is happening to pull them along. Here we don’t get to know Tintin enough to care about him more so than we care about the mystery. Capt. Haddock turns out to have a more engaging connection to the plot. He drinks due to the pressure of living up to the adventures of his ancestor Sir Francis Haddock. Even Tintin questions his usefulness when a bottle of booze is around. But when the going gets tough, Capt. Haddock gets burping. It’s far funnier than it sounds.

The film is actually based directly on several Tintin adventures Herge wrote, however they have been changed. In the comic strip, Tintin and Capt. Haddock were already friends. The film tries to make this an origin story. Because the script has some first act issues, one wonders why this was done. What if we saw Tintin as a star reporter and his friend Capt. Haddock was always getting him in trouble due to his drinking? What if discovering the mystery of the Unicorn was a way for Tintin to help an old friend redeem his pubic image? As a fan, I wonder why the filmmaker would make the relationship weaker for their big introduction to a worldwide audience? But one can only wonder and take the movie for what it is.

Despite wanting more character development, the personalities of Tintin and especially Capt. Haddock come out through the action. Haddock rattling off curse after curse at the bad guys sounded just like I imagined it to be. Tintin is smart and ingenious like a teenage MacGyver. Sakharine is pompous and ruthless. The dimwitted detectives Thomson (Nick Frost, SHAUN OF THE DEAD) and Thompson (Simon Pegg, SHAUN OF THE DEAD) make one glad Tintin is on the scene. And you can’t forget Snowy; he takes man’s best friend to a whole new level.

The use of motion-capture is a touchy issue. I found it another step forward in the stylized arena. This is far superior to an early effort like POLAR EXPRESS, but it isn’t AVATAR. What Spielberg’s tightrope walk between photo real and cartoonish does for the film is allow him to push the action. Cartoons have always allowed more latitude for the outlandish. The car chase through the streets of Morocco would not work in straight live-action. With impeccable timing, it highlights Spielberg’s skills as a choreographer of thrilling action. How he weaves together Tintin and Capt. Haddock on a motorcycle with a sidecar, a hawk, a tank and a moving hotel will amaze.

The film left me wanting more in both a good and bad way. As originally planned, this is the first film in a trilogy with Peter Jackson taking on the second installment. It might be interesting to see what he would do differently. This is like reading the “quick read” tab on a long article — you get the primary points, but not the depth. Even though I only got a taste this time, I still have a thirst for more adventures.

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Actor Michael Rapaport directs an equal part historical and personal look at the influential rap group A Tribe Called Quest. Given backstage access to their 2008 reunion tour, he captures the volatile relationship between founding members, Kamaal Ibn John Fareed, aka Q-Tip, and Malik Taylor, aka Phife Dawg. The duo has been friends since they could remember and the film reveals the same petty grievances and jealousies that have taken down so many musical groups.

Along with De La Soul, they were instrumental in the Native Tongues Posse, which brought a soulful, culturally conscious style to rap. The group stood out among the gangster rappers of the ’90s, dressed in Africa-inspired clothing. Q-Tip and Phife Dawg grew up in Queens in the hot bed of the rap explosion, wanting to become the next Run DMC. Once they met DJ Ali Shaheed Muhammad and rapper Jarobi White, the Tribe was born. Part of what made them stick out was what they were sampling. It is said they were digging deeper into their parents’ record collection and finding gems that others wouldn’t even have thought of. This extended to jazz not just R&B.

To talk about the influence of the band and their problems, Rapaport brings together a who’s who list of rap artists, such as the Beastie Boys, Pharrell, Mos Def, Santigold, Monie Love, Pete Rock, Large Professor, De La Soul, The Jungle Brothers and Common. De La Soul’s Trugoy candidly says he wishes the Tribe would never get back together if they can’t come together peacefully. He believes it’s not fair to the fans to have them go out and not be 100% dedicated to the performance. The central problem seems to be ego. Q-Tip, the perfectionist, is accused of believing he is the group. Phife Dog, the slacker, is accused of being too sensitive and not dedicated enough, distracted by is love of sports. The truth, as it always is, seems to fall somewhere in the middle.

While they fight, they are all still friends… even when they hate each other. Phife Dog is a serious diabetic and his illness pays largely into the history of the group. During their most contentious time as a band, Phife Dawg was hospitalized after losing a great deal of weight due to his uncontrolled blood sugar. He admits that he is addicted to sweets. Jarobi, who left the band after their first album and went on to form his own restaurant, moved to Atlanta to cook for Phife Dawg. Despite their differences, Q-Tip agreed to their first reunion primarily because Phife Dawg needed the money. If you’d ever want a bunch of guys to be your friends, these guys seem like the ones who will truly have your back forever.

Named to numerous lists as one of the greatest rap groups ever, A Tribe Called Quest found a perfect balance between the slowed-down rhymes of Q-Tip and faster, harder edged lyrical playfulness of Phife Dawg. They are the yin and yang and the group wouldn’t be the same without it. Even if they never make another album, the ones they did make are classics that will stand the test of time. And as the hopeful mega-fan Rapaport points on at the end of the film, they still have one more album left on their original contract. So you never know.

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