The Cabin in the Woods (2012)
[8] A group of college kids go to a cabin in the woods, but that's as far as we get into the story before director Drew Goddard and producer Joss Whedon turn the trope on its head. In a Scream-like…
Dredd (2012)
[6] Pete Travis directs from a script by Alex Garland (Ex Machina, Sunshine) this second attempt to bring the comic book character Judge Dredd to the big screen. This is a smaller-scale production than the 1995 Sylvester Stallone version, but…
The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel (2012)
[7] John Madden, the director of Shakespeare in Love, serves up an adaptation of Debora Moggach's novel about an eclectic group of aging Brits who manage to turn their lives around for the better at a rundown hotel in India.…
Chained (2012)
[7] Director Jennifer Lynch (Boxing Helena) explores the relationship between a serial killer (Vincent D'Onofrio) and a young boy he kidnaps and raises to follow in his footsteps. Lynch keeps the film anchored in a dual character study and, despite…
Flight (2012)
[6] Denzel Washington stars in this Robert Zemeckis (Forrest Gump, Back to the Future) film about an airplane pilot who makes a 'miracle landing' after a mid-air collision, saving over a hundred lives from almost certain death. But here's the…
The Place Beyond the Pines (2012)
[7] The Place Beyond the Pines, from writer/director Derek Cianfrance (Blue Valentine), is a family epic of sorts. The first third of the film follows a low-life motorcycle showman, played by Ryan Gosling, who turns to crime to try and…
The Master (2012)
[5] Gosh. I guess I just don't get this movie. I mean, it's beautiful and all, and the performances are certainly something special. But what the hell do I take from the story? It's so open-ended (thematically), it's practically a…
Hitchcock (2012)
[8] Anthony Hopkins plays filmdom's master of suspense in this movie that chronicles the director's relationship with his wife, Alma, played by none other than Helen Mirren, during the making of Psycho. It should come as no surprise that Hopkins…
Spring Breakers (2012)
[7] At first, Spring Breakers seems like a beautiful excuse for gratuitous boobage, but as it unfolds, I found myself more and more engaged with Harmony Korine's (Gummo, Trash Humpers) story of four restless college girls who flirt with darkness…
Bachelorette (2012)
[3] Kirsten Dunst, Lizzy Caplan, Isla Fisher, and Rebel Wilson headline this flick written and directed by Leslye Headland (based on her stage play). It's about three self-absorbed young women who somewhat reluctantly agree to be bride's maids for a…