Tinker, Tailor, Soldier Spy 2012
Directed by Tomas Alfredson
Starring: Gary Oldman, Kathy Burke
Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy is all sleek, stealthy elegance. High-ranking intelligence officer George Smiley (Gary Oldman) was forced out of service when a mission in Hungary went very wrong, but rumors of a Soviet mole hidden within the agency bring him back into play. If the theory of the former head, Control (John Hurt), is to be believed, the mole is at the very top, one of four senior officers, played by Toby Jones, Ciarán Hinds, Colin Firth, and David Dencik (of the Swedish Girl with the Dragon Tattoo). With the help of a lower-ranking agent with a few secrets of his own (Benedict Cumberbatch, Sherlock) and a field agent who may be a source of disinformation (Tom Hardy, Inception), Smiley slowly draws out the clues he needs to lay a trap for the mole. Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy moves gracefully, with brief but unhurried scenes that give a hint of information here, a dollop of implication there, until the larger picture (painted in a cinematic chiaroscuro of grays, blues, and browns) comes tantalizingly into focus. Don't expect Hitchcock-like suspense, though there are a few anxious sequences; this movie captures the blend of dread and bureaucracy that marks real-life intelligence work. Oldman plays Smiley as uncannily opaque and, on the surface, harmless--but his eyes hold a deep bitterness that can turn sorrowful or cruel. The masterful cast glides through the film, their subterfuges and machinations orchestrated like a dance by director Tomas Alfredson (Let the Right One In). --Bret Fetzer
Girl with the Dragon Tattoo 2011
Directed by David Fincher
Starring: Daniel Craig, Rooney Mara
This stylish, American adaptation of Stieg Larsson's novel chronicles the unusual partnership of disgraced journalist Mikael Blomkvist (Daniel Craig) and tattooed computer whiz Lisbeth Salander (Rooney Mara). Working together to uncover the truth behind the disappearance of a wealthy businessman's niece nearly 40 years earlier, they find themselves thrust into a dangerous web of secrecy and deception. With Christopher Plummer, Stellan Skarsgard, Robin Wright; David Fincher directs.(Columbia Pictures)
Like Crazy 2011
Directed by Drake Doremus
Starring: Anton Yelchin, Felicity Jones
Like Crazy beautifully illustrates how your first real love is as thrilling and blissful as it is devastating. When a British college student (Felicity Jones) falls for her American classmate (Anton Yelchin), they embark on a passionate and life-changing journey only to be separated when she violates the terms of her visa. Like Crazy explores how a couple faces the real challenges of being together and of being apart. Winner of the Grand Jury Prize for best Actress for Felicity Jones, Like Crazy depicts both the hopefulness and the heartbreak of love. (Paramount Pictures)
Footloose 2011
Directed by Craig Brewer
Starring: Kenny Wormald, Julianne Hough
The struggle between innocence and rigid morality is revisited when city-boy Ren finds himself in an uptight town where dancing has been banned. Filled with contemporary music and iconic classics from the original, this fresh look on youth culture is sure to win fans of young and old.(Paramount Pictures)
Jack and Jill 2011
Directed by Dennis Dugan
Starring: Adam Sandler, Katie Holmes
Jack Sadelstein (Adam Sandler), a successful advertising executive in Los Angeles with a beautiful wife (Katie Holmes) and kids, who dreads one event each year: the holiday visit of his identical twin sister Jill (also Adam Sandler). Jill’s neediness and passive-aggressiveness are maddening to Jack, turning his normally tranquil life upside down. Things spin even more out of control for Jack when Jill decides to extend her visit and he doesn’t think that she’ll ever leave!(Sony Pictures)
J. Edgar 2011
Directed by Clint Eastwood
Starring: Leonardo DiCaprio
Leonardo DiCaprio (Inception, Blood Diamond) stars as J. Edgar Hoover, head of the Federal Bureau of Investigation for nearly 50 years. Hoover was feared, admired, reviled and revered, a man who could distort the truth as easily as he upheld it. His methods were at once ruthless and heroic, with the admiration of the world his most coveted prize. But behind closed doors, he held secrets that would have destroyed his image, his career and his life. Oscar Winner Clint Eastwood (Gran Torino, Million Dollar Baby, Unforgiven) directs an all-star cast including Naomi Watts (21 Grams), Armie Hammer (The Social Network) and Oscar Winner Judi Dench (Shakespeare in Love) as Hoover’s overprotective mother. (Warner Home Video)
