It's no accident that The Vow's release date coincides almost perfectly with Valentine's Day. The film promises the kind of epic love story that many of us, like it or not, are more amenable to getting swept up in at this time of year: a man tries to make his wife fall in love with him again after a horrific accident leaves her with no memory of the last four years, or of him. Channing Tatum is Read more

While working for the CIA may seem like a dream job, Matt Weston's (Ryan Reynolds) current position at a Safe House is certainly no picnic. He's a new agent, stationed alone in South Africa, waiting for the chance that he will have a "house guest" (someone who is taken prisoner by the CIA.) Matt's desperately trying to get some field experience so he can be stationed in some other city where he Read more

The Artist, which is now out in wide release, is mostly silent, set in the '30s, and doesn't have a great deal of huge stars (John Goodman and James Cromwell are two of the biggest names, and they're only in supporting roles). That may not sound super appealing to the majority of the movie-going public, but after being delighted by the film, I hope that people won't shy away from seeing it. The Read more

Leave it to Steven Spielberg to make an engaging, epic, and poignant movie with a horse as the main character. The legendary director is behind War Horse, a World War I-set drama that follows a horse named Joey as he's raised in Britain and trained by his doting owner, Albert (Jeremy Irvine). Due to financial circumstances, Albert's family is forced to sell Joey to the war effort, and as the Read more

The simple premise of We Bought a Zoo is laid out right there in the title, and with no hint of irony. The "we" is Benjamin Mee (Matt Damon) and his two children, who are looking to make a fresh start when the death of Benjamin's wife still has them reeling six months later. When Benjamin finds his dream home, he accepts the caveat that the house is built on an old zoo territory, and that he must Read more

It's hard to describe The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo without giving away major plot points that would spoil twists and turns to audiences that haven't already devoured Stieg Larsson's novel of the same name. To those who already know the story, I can tell you that David Fincher's adaptation is (mostly) loyal, with a couple of changes that actually function as surprise treats for those who have Read more

The fact that Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy is a well-crafted mystery that allows you to play detective yourself would be enough for me to say it's good, but the fact that it's so superbly acted makes it great. In the 1970s-set film, Gary Oldman plays George Smiley, a former intelligence officer who's summoned out of retirement to help root out a mole in Britain's Secret Intelligence Service, AKA Read more

Mission: Impossible — Ghost Protocol is the most fun you'll have at an action movie this season, maybe even the whole year. Tom Cruise is truly at his best as Ethan Hunt, and in the five years since MI3, everything from the stunts to the gadgets have gotten flashier while the A-list star at the center is still bringing his A game. This time around, Hunt is forced to go rogue when the Read more

Giving the people more of what they want is usually the principle behind sequels, and it definitely holds true for Guy Ritchie's Sherlock Holmes: A Game of Shadows, but a good sequel takes what works and makes it better. Though this follow-up to the 2009 hit retains the chemistry of Robert Downey Jr. and Jude Law as Sherlock Holmes and Dr. Watson, it disappoints by failing to add anything to the Read more

The Sitter may be inspired by Adventures in Babysitting, but it's certainly not an improvement on the 1987 classic. The plot is very similar: a babysitter and three kids set out on a simple mission to get something, and along the way, they get mixed up with a bad guy and have to have it all resolved in time to get the children in bed. But a recycled plot is not the only thing that's unoriginal Read more