2013 MOVIE GUIDE
4 STARS
– David O. Russell reunites his favorite casts to tell delicious con artist tale
– True story of American slavery is hard to watch, but impossible to forget
– Joaquin Phoenix falls for Siri in most unique love story since “Harold & Maude”
– Alfonso Cuaron crafts a modern-day “2001” with Sandra Bullock and George Clooney
– Two lovers run a facility for at-risk youth in South By Southwest winner
– Richard Linklater resumes tale of Ethan Hawke & Julie Delpy, now in middle-age
– Brilliantly directed Sundance winner based on real-life racially charged shooting
– Indonesian death squads re-enact their genocide in Oscar-nominated doc
3 1/2 STARS
– Star-studded cast shines in a nail-biting crime thriller about child abduction
– Tom Hanks shines as real-life hostage of 2009 Somali hijacking
– Hilarious coming of age story with a heel turn by Steve Carell
“Dallas Buyers Club” – McConaughey and Leto give award-worthy performances selling HIV drugs
– Judi Dench plays a former nun who goes searching for her long-lost son
– Cannes Palme d’Or winner tracks the heartache of lesbian lovers
– Bruce Dern goes on a father-son road trip to claim a sweepstakes prize
– Forest Whitaker & Oprah Winfrey shine in journey through Civil Rights Movement
– Leo DiCaprio brings it in Scorsese’s excessive epic that’s an hour too long
– Boxer Ray Mancini meets the fiancee and son of the man he killed in the ring
– Action-packed threequel with buddy comedy from Shane Black (“Lethal Weapon”)
– Disney’s tale of sibling love teaches us to “Let it Go”
– Shailene Woodley sparkles with script by “(500) Days of Summer” writers
– Tom Hanks and Emma Thompson star in making-of tale of “Mary Poppins”
3 STARS
– Leo DiCaprio nails Gatsby in Baz Luhrmann’s lavish spectacle
– Dark family secrets revealed by Meryl Streep and Julia Roberts
– Cate Blanchett shines as Woody Allen continues to carve his prolific place in history
– Ron Howard chronicles real-life racing rivalry between James Hunt and Nika Lauda
– The Jackie Robinson story comes to life with Harrison Ford as Branch Rickey
– Robert Redford gives one-man, silent performance lost at sea
– Smart, pill- popping psycho-thriller by Steven Soderbergh
– James Gandolfini gives final performance romancing Julia Louis Dreyfus
– Popcorn thrills abound in adaptation of Max Brooks zombie novel
– Oscar Isaac shines in Coen Brothers’ bleak tale of ’60s folk music
– A young girl teaches a Jewish refugee to read during WWII
– Hollywood jokers play themselves in very funny apocalyptic comedy
– Indie fav about a group of boys who build a house in the woods
– Matthew McConaughey plays an almost mythical drifter in coming-of-age tale
– Italian art-house flick won the Golden Globe for Best Foreign Language flick
– J.J. Abrams helms a solid follow-up to his 2009 “Star Trek” reboot
– Lake Bell is a triple threat in spoof of movie trailer world
– Stylish, well-acted horror, but not as memorable as the other flicks it homages
– Peter Berg directs intense real-life account of botched Navy SEAL mission
– Jennifer Lawrence returns for Round 2 of “The Hunger Games”
– Burgundy’s return = “60 percent of the time it works every time”
– Johnny Depp’s Tonto tale isn’t for kids, but works as a dark action comedy
2 1/2 STARS
– D.C. Sniper script plays loose with facts, but masterfully directed like “In Cold Blood”
– Magician heist caper starts strong, finishes weak
– Superman reboot offers great action, but not enough Lois & Clark
– James Franco snarky in an otherwise clever origin story
– Funny banter and fast cars, but not as good as “Fast Five”
– Thor sequel falls short of the Marvel Phase 2 bar set by “Iron Man 3”
– Gerard Butler kicks terrorist butt in over-the-top White House attack
– Steve Jobs biopic follows career highlights but fails to explore personal life
– Remake pales in comparison to 1976 classic, but poignant take on cyber bullying
2 STARS
– Clever horror premise wasted as murder is legal for one day a year
– Star-studded cast in ill-timed shoot-em-up flick
– Tatum & Foxx mine laughs, but film pales to “Olympus ”
– French farce remake borrows from too many past wedding flicks
1 1/2 STARS
– Funny franchise suffers from too much Mr. Chow
– Franchise moves to Russia but gives us little reason to care
RE-RELEASES
– The 3D upgrade of the 1939 classic is a horse of a different color
– Steven Spielberg’s prehistoric blockbuster revived from fossilized amber
Review from Past Years:
