Film: ‘The Guilt Trip’ (2012)

Film: ‘The Guilt Trip’ (2012)

“The Guilt Trip” seems like an unassuming road-trip movie. On the surface, it’s about two travelers – a son whose lack of professional success is eating away at his self-esteem, and his mother whose love for her son fuels her eating. But the movie’s a lot more clever...
Film: ‘The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey’ (2012)

Film: ‘The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey’ (2012)

There’s a familiarity to Peter Jackson’s “The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey,” the first installment of the movie trilogy based on the J.R.R. Tolkien book that preceded “The Lord of the Rings.” That lived-in quality has everything to do with the hero protocol which...
Film: ‘Amour’ (2012)

Film: ‘Amour’ (2012)

Unlike romance, where love is enough, the marriage contract also asks for commitment. And no movie tests the longevity of that pledge better than “Amour,” a sobering look at what happens when illness severely tries a long-wed couple. Directed by Michael Haneke,...
Film: ‘Les Misérables’ (2012)

Film: ‘Les Misérables’ (2012)

Transforming one’s life is tough enough. What’s worse is the backlash from people who, out of self-interest, preferred you the old way. That’s pretty much the idea behind Tom Hooper’s “Les  Misérables,” the extravagant musical film based on the theatrical musical...

Film: ‘Hyde Park on Hudson’ (2012)

Franklin D. Roosevelt, the 32nd President of the U.S., would have liked nothing better than to spend all his time at the family home at Hyde Park on Hudson which belonged to his mother, an archetypal lunar figure whose main reason for existence is to nurture. Not...