Adventures of Tintin

    Young reporter Tintin (Jamie Bell: Jane Eyre) and his intrepid fox terrier Snowy find a clue to the location of a sunken treasure ship. Standing in his way is Ivanovich Sakharine (Daniel Craig: The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo), who will kill for the location.
    Based on the long-running Belgian comic series and mainstay of American French classes, Tintin was director Stephen Spielberg’s inspiration for his famous bullwhip-snapping hero. Here’s hoping he can pull off animation as well as he can live action.
Prospects: Bright • PG • 107 mins.

The Artist

    Silent movie icon George Valentin (Jean Dujardin: A View of Love) dismisses the fad of talking pictures. Secure in his celebrity, Valentin introduces eager extra Peppy Miller (Berenice Bejo: What Love Means) to the movie industry. As Valentin’s silent star fades, Peppy’s talkie career ascends.
    This mostly silent film is cleaning up at the award ceremonies. This may be the rare foreign film that takes home the Best Picture Oscar.
Prospects: Bright • PG-13 • 100 mins.

Darkest Hour

    Five Americans pick the wrong time to visit Russia. No, this isn’t a tale of communist woe, rather an alien attack, with the space invaders after electricity. To defend themselves, the heroes go about the city throwing light bulbs — which magically don’t break but rather ignite to warn of an alien presence.
    The premise might be promising, but I’m hardly intimidated by a movie whose big bad is denoted by a 60-watt bulb.
Prospects: Bleak • PG • 89 mins.

The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo

    The film follows the story of Mikael Blomkvist (Daniel Craig), a disgraced reporter recently bankrupted in a liable suit. He’s hired by rich businessman Henrik Vanger (Christopher Plummer: Beginners) to discover which member of Vanger’s family murdered his niece. Blomkvist recruits punk hacker extraordinaire Lisbeth Salander (Rooney Mara: Tanner Hall), whose genius is matched only by her violent outbursts.
    This odd couple brings down a murderer of women and uncovers years of corruption. Since this is a David Fincher film, expect to see the details from nudity to violence in this dark tale.
Prospects: Bright • R • 160 mins.

Mission: Impossible Ghost Protocol

    This review will self-destruct in 15 seconds …
    In a bid to reclaim his box-office prowess after a few years of bad press, Tom Cruise dusts off his old reliable franchise, Mission Impossible, for another go.
    This time, Ethan Hunt (Cruise) finds himself on a government disavowed mission in which he must defeat the bad guys, set up cat fights between hot women, visit exotic locales, blow up expensive cars and save the world.
    What changes this film from typical action fare into an interesting movie is new director Brad Bird (Ratatouille). A Pixar mainstay, Bird has launched a career in live action. So far, it’s going well. He has found ways to enliven typical action sequences while amping up story, a wonderful rarity in blockbuster films.
Prospects: Bright • PG-13 • 133 mins.

War Horse

    War Horse is the tale of teen Albert (Jeremy Irvine) who is parted from his beloved horse Joey when said equine is drafted into the British Army. Afraid that his horse is in peril, Albert joins the army to find him. Meanwhile, Joey inspires every soldier he comes across, be it French, German or English — because who cares about war when you have a pony?
    Steven Spielberg is a great storyteller, and Hollywood is long overdue in making a great World War I movie. But I can’t help but feel cheated that this film is essentially Black Beauty with trenches and explosions.
Prospects: Flickering • PG-13 • 146 mins.

We Bought a Zoo

    The title says it all. In case you need further explanation, the film follows widowed dad Ben (Matt Damon: Happy Feet Two) who buys a ramshackle zoo in hopes of giving his kids a fresh start. Life lessons are learned, families bond, the zoo gets a comeback and Ben meets foxy zookeeper Kelly (Scarlett Johansson: Iron Man 2). The movie seems like gentle family fare, perfect for the holiday season, but the cloying performances and sickly sweet storyline leave me in fear of a cavity.
Prospects: Flickering • PG • 124 mins.