November in December

Precious: Based on the Novel 'Push' by Sapphire

Starring Gabourey Sidibe, Mo'Nique, Paula Patton, Mariah Carey, and Lenny Kravitz

A gritty tale of an inner-city teen on the verge of destruction, Precious ignites its audience with an incredibly likeable and pitiful protagonist, Clairece Precious Jones (Gabourey Sidibe), indirect opinions about the importance of education and independence, and Mo'Nique as Precious's mother who gives one of the best performances of the decade. Who knew she could be so gripping and chilling and worthy of every award this season? Sidibe is easy to love, wanting to jump through the screen and save her. Thankfully her character finds support at school and other places, which also lead to other great performances by Paula Patton, Mariah Carey, and the young girls in Precious's class. On a down note (and a very small one at that), the film doesn't totally capture the true grief and hardships of Precious Jones. The novel seduces its reader with dialect and blunt description of events that are too disturbing to read further at times. But overall, the film is an achievement, and one of the best this year.

Grade: B+

Disney's A Christmas Carol

Voiced by Jim Carrey, Gary Oldman, Colin Firth, Cary Elwes, Bob Hoskins, and Robin Wright Penn

In 3-D, this version of the classic holiday tale, Robert Zemeckis strictly blends the words of Charles Dickens as well as an entertaining, action-packed adventure. Jim Carrey is the perfect choice for the slew of voices he provides and Gary Oldman gives Bob Cratchit an appropriate commonness. The effects are great and looks beautiful. Overall, a great movie that sticks to the book.

Grade: B

The Twilight Saga: New Moon

Starring Kristen Stewart, Robert Pattison, Taylor Lautner, Ashley Greene, Anna Kendrick, Michael Sheen, and Dakota Fanning

The first film in the saga was actually pretty good and entertaining; however, New Moon, the second addition to The Twilight Saga, bores because the translation from page to screen isn't smooth or impactful. The problem lies in the screenplay: horribly corny lines, dialogue that goes on for days (and bad dialogue at that), and scenes that may have appear important with a narrator like the whole adrenaline rush thing, but on screen, it all seemed stupid. Oh, and can I add that Lautner is probably the worst actor of the year? The only thing that saved this movie is Kristen Stewart's unrelenting ability to conjugate the horrid script as best she can.

Grade: D+

A Serious Man

Starring Michael Stuhlbarg, Richard Kind, Fred Melamed, Sari Lennick, and Aaron Woolf

In the Coen Brother's new film, A Serious Man, Larry Gopnik tries to hold together his life that is faced with serious, yet obliquely hilarious (and Jewish), setbacks. His wife, played like an icebox of laughs by newcomer Sari Lennick, wants a divorce and tells Larry that she's in love with Sy Ableman and that she wants Larry to move out. Wonderful. The film is full of sly humor and tremendously underrated acting. Aaron Woolf, Larry's son, provides one of the year's best performances from a young actor, Lennick as said before is funny and Siberian, and Richard Kind as Larry's nutty brother adds to the austere hilarity. And then there's Michael Stuhlbarg. His performance latches on to the humor trying to be serious but knowing it's all fun. It's a cycle the Coen Brothers have mastered and Stuhlbarg portrays it perfectly. He deserves more praise than the awards have been giving. Ultimately, A Serious Man includes everything the Coen's are about: humor and drama and great filmmaking. The only setbacks of the film are the prologue and numerous unfinished plot lines.

Grade: B+