GOOD NEIGHBORS Review (1 out of 5 stars)

Given GOOD NEIGHBORS' fiercely unlikeable characters, weak stabs at black humor and dour, predictable film noir sensibilities, the real mystery here is why it didn’t head directly to DVD.

Despite its gray, snowy bleakness, perhaps the film's one redeeming quality is its Montreal setting in 1995, during Quebec’s failed referendum for independence; unfortunately though we get little sense of the tumult on the ground.

Louise, (Emily Hampshire) a bland, depressed thirty-something waitress at a Chinese restaurant, has a crush on her neighbor, sunny Spencer (Scott Speedman), always inexplicably grinning despite being stuck in his apartment, paralyzed in a wheel chair. They soon become pals with the geeky new tenant in the building, Victor (Jay Baruchel).

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HARRY POTTER AND THE DEATHLY HALLOWS - PART 2 Review (4-1/2 out of 5 stars)

I am happy to say that the eighth and final installment in the planet's top-grossing film franchise is far and away the best of the series: a dazzling action adventure that’s epic in scope and wows from start to finish. Due to superb editing, the zigzagging plot never misses a beat, the dialogue's timing’s spot-on and no scene lags or feels wasted. Harry, in other words, goes out with a bang.

Longtime friends and enemies perish, monsters run amuck and magical mayhem (plus lots of explosions) preside as the forces of good and evil clash on the battlefield, the Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry (which we saw little of in the last film). All as our young wizard protagonist (Daniel Radcliffe) and BFF’s Hermione (Emma Watson) and Ron (Rupert Grint) struggle in desperation to unearth and destroy the final four Horcruxes — and eliminate the serpentine Voldemort (Ralph Fiennes) once and for all. Unlike in the dreary, exposition-heavy PART 1 — in which Harry’s world falls to the Death Eaters — loose ends from throughout the series are tied, secrets are revealed with panache and long simmering attractions are spectacularly consummated, minus its predecessor's ickiness. DEATHLY HALLOWS – PART 2 is scarier, creepier, far more thrilling and more profound than most HP's preceding it, a cathartic climax to a long and eventful but inconsistently satisfying journey over the past decade...

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WINNIE THE POOH Review (4-1/2 out of 5 stars)

It's been 35 years since our honey-colored friend last ambled across the big screen, and this latest mini-tale's clever pencil and watercolor flourishes serve as a tenderly delightful reintroduction of the beloved icon to a new generation of moviegoers. It will also entertain folks of all ages. Indeed, grownups will feel like kids again and can even take it from Pooh's creator back in the 1920's, A.A. Milne, who claimed they were meant for adults in the first place.

You know the backstory: Pooh (voiced by Jim Cummings) is a portly, sweet-natured bear owned by young Christopher Robin (voiced by Jack Boulter and named after Milne’s son). But he’s really a stuffed animal come alive, just like his pals: Eeyore the gloomy donkey (Bud Luckey), scared, stuttering Piglet (Travis Oates), pretentious Owl (Craig Ferguson – woohoo!) and rambunctious Tigger (also Cummings) among them.

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THE LEDGE Review (2-1/2 out of 5 stars)

THE LEDGE boasts an engaging script, commendable performances and images that truly stay with you. Its characters are also so intriguing that a television series should be made to carry their lives past the silver screen. Although the story could take place anywhere, it's set in Baton Rouge, a refreshing change from the typical LA or New York. THE LEDGE has its flaws, sure: it could have used tighter editing, Charlie Hunnam's oddly masked British accent can be distracting (though his performance still works) and more suspenseful crescendos would've been nice instead of saving it for the climax, which is riveting nonetheless. But movie-making ain't easy, so I congratulate both cast and crew for keeping me consistently entertained...

Gavin (Hunnam) is a likeable, laid back guy who manages a pleasant hotel. His over-drinking is of some concern, but his happy-go-lucky ease around his HIV-positive roommate reflects a charm and maturity not seen enough among male characters in film. His eye is on the shy, reserved woman across the hall, Shana (Liv Tyler), who is married to a fundie Christian named Joe (Patrick Wilson), quick to condemn anything he deems immoral. Shana takes a job cleaning rooms at Gavin's hotel, an introduction made by one of Gavin's part-time workers, a college student attending grad school with Shana. She and her hubby invite their neighbors — Gavin and his gay roommate, a pair they assume are a couple--over for dinner. Joe's homophobia sends an infuriated Gavin marching out the door, only for them to go tête-à-tête later on in a fiery debate about God, a discussion this critic welcomes from an often controversy-averse Hollywood. Their argument boils down to whether an atheist, like Gavin, can die with peace of mind.

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Questions for President Obama

2008 Campaign

• Why do you think so many supporters feel let down by your presidency?
• Do you regret saying during the 2008 campaign that you'd close Guantanamo?

Banks

• Why shouldn't we break up the big banks given that they proved themselves "too big to fail" in 2008?

Bush Administration

• In declaring that we should "move on" lieu of investigating potential crimes by Bush administration officials, are you living up to your full responsibilities as our country's chief law enforcer?

THE PERFECT HOST (1 out of 5 stars)

 
The idea behind THE PERFECT HOST — part dark comedy and part suspense thriller — is a clever one: a street tough (a one-note Clayne Crawford) menaces a well-mannered victim (Henry Hyde Pierce basically reprising his role as Frasier’s Nigel), only for the "wimp" to turn the tables and reveal himself as a psychopath.

Pierce's antics are amusingly offbeat, such as when his staid nerd Warwick (with a silent second w) joins a conga line or leads a choreographed dance scene from atop his dinner table. But his violent acts against a wailing captive stifle any laughter. It doesn't help that neither he nor his prisoner are remotely likeable: an issue that leaves the filmmakers unable to engage the audience. The pace is slow and the plot points often predictable, all of which results is an uneven mishmash of SEVEN, MISERY and Frasier turned (maybe dropped) on its head. And so, despite its wonderful potential, this party's a bust.

The film begins with a badly bleeding career criminal, John Taylor, staggering away from a bank robbery gone off plan. The radio blares a description of his getaway car, so he ditches the vehicle and seeks a hiding place until the mayhem subsides. After he strikes out trying to weasel his way into the first suburban LA home he comes to, he wins entre into the neighbor's place.

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TERRI Review (2 out of 5 stars)

 
TERRI is an odd little film, long on art house quirkiness — but also sweet, believable characters and noteworthy acting, most of all from John C. Reilly. Not a lot happens in the small town where the story takes place, or in the story itself for that matter, composed of one too many scenes with talking heads. But "Fitz" (Reilly as Vice Principal Fitzpatrick) and Terri (Jacob Wysocki in his film debut) develop a satisfying and endearing friendship, one of enough pluses here to convince me that Azazel Jacobs — the man behind a number of other equally small films such as 2008's well-reviewed MOMMA'S MAN, has talent to build on.

Terri's an obese teenager caring for an uncle suffering from Alzheimer's. (Terri's parents abandoned him in childhood, a detail that ought to have been elaborated on.) Picked on for his weight and facing loneliness and depression – the latter evident in the PJ's he wears to school every day – Vice Principal Fitzpatrick takes Terri under his wing and arranges informal chitchats for the two of them on Monday mornings. This gives Terri a sounding board and ally, and soon the fifteen-year-old makes new friends and begins to emerge from his shell.

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