Tilda Swinton is from the Future

Tilda Swinton will always look like she's from the future. And all of the artsy-fartsy movie buffs are trading in Tree of Life for The Artist.

Pass the Popcorn: The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo

Based on the book with the same name, The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo is about a damaged woman who specializes in technical research and a journalist trying to solve a wealthy family's cold case mystery. The movie plays more like Zodiac than Silence of the Lambs as the two main character's story lines build separately for the first forty minutes or so. Mystery does give way to tension as the second act revs up and the "first" ending provides enough little twists to satisfy the journey. I say "first" ending because, much to some people's chagrin, there's somewhat of an extended epilogue to finish off the last 20 mintues of the film.

Rooney Mara's transformation from a pretty young lady in real life to a hardened, tortured youth with a dragon tattoo is remarkable. Daniel Craig is pretty straightforward, which is a little disappointing because his character makes several decision that could've been represented with a more complexity. Regardless, the performances of the cast still come in above par. Finally, the music selection and score provide a gritty eeriness that ramps up when necessary, creating added complexity without overwhelming the experience.

While The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo isn't Fincher's strongest effort (it's hard to beat Seven and Fight Club), it's still solid procedural worth seeing.

Moonrise Kingdom

I'm all in.

Pass the Popcorn: Cowboys & Aliens

Cowboys & Aliens asks the question, "what would happen if aliens decided to invade earth during our past instead of the near future?" Once you get past the title, the movie actually plays pretty straight and is better for it. The story starts off as Daniel Craig's character wakes up not remembering who he is or why there's a metal bracelet attached to his wrist. Of course, we quickly find out that's he's a badass, which leads to western standoffs and alien attacks. He slowly gets pieces of his memory back as the story unfolds.

All in all, it was a good time. It made me realize that Harrison Ford is a much better supporting actor than a star these days while Sam Rockwell always delivers a solid performance. There were a couple of plot points that were unnecessary, which muddled up the flow of the movie. And there were also some kumbaya moments that really felt cheesy. But what can you really expect from an alien western.

If you don't expect too much, you'll be rewarded with a popcorn flick that puts a new spin on a retread story. If you're expecting the next Aliens, then maybe you should just skip this one.

Pass the Popcorn: Mission: Impossible - Ghost Protocol

Good, not great. That's really all it takes to sum up the fourth installment of the Mission Impossible franchise.

Ethan Hunt and his crew go rogue when they're set up for a terrorist act they didn't commit. And now they have to race against the clock to track down those responsible. Of course, the tried and true plot gets upgraded with MI's bells and whistles. The action scenes are strong and the dialog only ventures into cheesy on occasion. But at the end of the day, there's not a lot new here. While it's better than the last two installments, it doesn't deliver the emotional connection of the first film in the franchise reboot.

A lot of critics seem to be gushing over Ghost Protocol, but I think that has more to do with the lack of recent good action movies than its overwhelming brilliance. Regardless, if you're a fan of the genre, you won't be disappointed.

Movie Trailers: The Hunger Games

My wife is obsessed. I'm reserving judgment. 

Dark Knight Rises - Trailer

Kristen Wiig

Thank you, GQ. Kristen Wiig is the hottest funny chick around. But with all of those i's in her name, she should really think about replacing the e in Kristen with another i.

Pass the Popcorn: Movie Roundup

Super 8 -Even though it's written and directed by J.J. Abrams, Super 8 has Spielberg all over it. It's reminiscent of The Goonies, E.T., and Close Encounters of the Third Kind. Kids run the show without being overly competent (to an extent) while the adults fumble through scene after scene. The performances are strong and the action is well done. It won't blow you away, but you shouldn't be disappointed either.

The Devil's Double -  No matter how much you think Uday Hussein was crazy, it doesn't really sink in until you watch his atrocities play out on screen. The Devil's Double is ultimately about the man who was forced to be his body double during Iraq's gun-slinging years, but the story arcs are more one-in-the-same. It's well done and disturbing - gory but not too gory, gratuitous but not too gratuitous. My only real criticism is that the ending doesn't feel like an ending. We get the obligatory three sentence epilogue, but I would have preferred a different tactic.

Thor & Captain America - These movies are very similar in style and feel. They both fell well short of The Dark Knight and Iron Man, but they are still enjoyable. The special effects aren't groundbreaking and the characters are limited, but the lack of bloodshed makes them family friendly. Be prepared to have a little cheese with your popcorn.

Pass the Popcorn: The Tree of Life

It's hard to critique The Tree of Life because it doesn't play like a normal movie. It's more of a philosophy student's art project with an extremely high production value. I'm not saying you can waltz into your local college film festival and see something that could remotely stand up to it, but the grand themes, meandering story, and stylistic jump cuts would feel right at home.

The actors create wonderfully complex performances - Brad Pitt is an overbearing but loving father and Hunter McCracken is the son who isn't quite sure how to deal with his misguided lessons. No one is entirely good or entirely bad. They are simply human; growing, learning, breaking, and being fixed. But the performances get overshadowed by Terrence Malick's stylistic choices.

The juxtaposition between the human experience and nature's chaotic path gets extremely overplayed, which is where the meandering begins. Many shots, while beautiful in their own right, are hammered into scene after scene. The art minimizes the narrative, which creates a convoluted story. This tactic would work masterfully in a short, but The Tree of Life drags it out for over two hours.

By the time the credits roll, you're almost where you began (emotionally speaking). The destination isn't worth the length of the journey. If I could judge this film in 20-minute increments, I would say that it's cinematic gold. But viewing it from beginning to end turns it into a mediocre movie going experience.

Pass the Popcorn: Horrible Bosses

Jason Bateman, Jason Sudeikis, and that dude from It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia decide that instead of looking for new jobs, it would be easier to just kill their Horrible Bosses. I had a really hard time accepting the premise of this outlandish comedy at first. For some reason the main character's reasoning seemed so extreme that I couldn't allow myself to get on board with it. Instead, it just stressed me out. But once the second act starting gaining traction, I was able to let go of my hesitations and start appreciating the comedic performances.

Charlie Day, the dude from It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia, doesn't venture too far from the character we see on TV, but since he's the only one who yell-acts the whole movie, it actually works. And Jennifer Aniston proves, once again, that she is still super sexy and funny. The over-the-top performances from Colin Farrell and Kevin Spacey also balance out Bateman's subtle antics.

While Horrible Bosses got largely overlooked this summer, it's still worth renting if you're looking for a comedy full of poor decision making, a couple of crude jokes, and a that would never happen ending. I laughed out loud more than expected.

The Duke

Pass the Popcorn: It's Kind of a Funny Story

It's appropriately named. The characters are amusing. The actors do a decent job. And the story is kind of funny. It's worth watching on a slow night.

Pass the Popcorn: Transformers - Dark of the Moon

Michael Bay does it again. And by IT, I mean make another convoluted action movie that lacks heart. Transformer 3 is packed full of action, but the constant barrage of metal pounding effects strips away any room for actual story. Fifty minutes in and you still don't know what the main conflict is going be.

It's really too bad because Shia LeBeouf's character is fun and witty. There's just nothing beyond that. Newcomer Rosie Huntington-Whiteley looks good on screen but even all of her curves fall flat. And I love Bay's obsession with women in white clothes. Like in Transformers 2, he has his leading lady in white during 30 minutes of climatic fighting. Everyone else ends up covered in blood and dirt, yet her coat remains pristine.

Overall, the movie was long, loud, and forgetful. 

Pass the Popcorn: Hanna

A 16-year-old girl destined to be a killer gets her chance when she's faced with the person responsible for making her that way. Sounds like it could be a fun ride, but the meandering detours from introduction to revenge don't help the pace and story.

Hanna director Joe Wright adds too many stylized camera tricks and slick cuts to make this action flick feel honest. It's probably because the script lacks enough backbone to stand on its own. It's hard to buy the motivations of the father who's trying to protect his daughter and the CIA agent who's trying to kill her. So when the second act starts dragging, the movie starts failing.

While there's some interesting action in Hanna, it falls well short of movies like The Bourne Identity and Mission Impossible.

Pass the Popcorn: Bad Teacher

I actually turned it off halfway through. I don't do that very often. But I couldn't find a single reason to root for the main character. I tried but couldn't. Bad Teacher was simply bad.

Pass the Popcorn: Hood to Coast

197 miles separates those who talk big stories and those who live them. Hood to Coast does what every good documentary should; it takes an interesting event and humanizes it. Whether you're a runner or not, you'll be inspired by average people doing something more.

The Avengers

I'm still not sure about this one.

Pass the Popcorn: Hesher

Hesher, starring Joseph Gordon-Levitt, is supposed to be about an out-of-control youth who happens upon a grief-stricken family. His crazy antics supposedly help this dysfunctional family get past their grief and start to move on. It's supposed to make you see the good in someone no matter how messed up they are. Unfortunately, none of that actually came to fruition.

While Gordon-Levitt does a fine job of acting like a greasy-haired loner, the script's backbone fell apart during the second act. The quirkiness that pulled you in during the first 30 minutes starts to fade when you realize you're not going to learn any more about Hesher's motivations, which makes the rest of the film feel forced at best.

I kind of wonder if writer Spencer Susser had a couple of interesting characters and funny scenes in his head, so he tried to make a movie about them - as opposed to having an interesting story and creating scenes and characters to correspond.

Regardless, Hesher had a couple of great moments, but mostly, it was off color, slightly inappropriate, and left you feeling uneasy. But I'm all of those things, too. So saying it completely sucked would make me a hypocrite.

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