Following the 1972 Olympic Massacre which claimed the lives of eleven Israeli athletes at the hand of Black September, a PLO sect, Israel's government sanctions a Mossad agent (Eric Bana) and his heterogeneous team to carry out retaliatory hits on nine of the involved planners of the mass murder. Steven Spielberg's Munich, with a thoughtful screenplay by Eric Roth and Tony Kushner from a book by George Jonas, is intense and relevant, and unlike most thrillers doesn't settle for the easy road out.

*** 1/2 out of ****

At a dilapidated Detroit police station scheduled to close at midnight, a burned out sergeant (Ethan Hawke) keeps watch with a few other functionaries. When a busload of prisoners is diverted during a snowstorm and forced to unload the inmates at the precinct, they find themselves under siege by crooked cops seeking to eliminate one of their new prominent guests (Laurence Fishburne). Assualt on Precinct 13 is a satisfying if overly violent and dopey B-thriller, successfully paying tribute to John Carpenter's original while providing worthy updates. Hawk is engaging but the overall cast's acting and dialogue often feels forced.

*** out of ****

A year after one of their own lost her whole family in a traffic accident, an all female group of thrill seeking friends reunite to tackle an unexplored cave in the foothills of the Appalachian Mountains. With resentments abounding, they find themselves lost and targeted by the cavern's demonic primordial inhabitants. A few effective scenes aside, The Descent is beset by second rate acting and a third rate script with cheap scares that devolves into total idiocy once the narrative leaves the realm of believability. The production also has that same cheap early digital feel that plagued 28 Days Later.

** out of ****

In 2003, after 13 summers spent living in the Grizzly Maze at Katmai National Park, Alaska, an endeavor that gained his national recognition, nature enthusiast and filmmaker Timothy Treadwell, along with his then girlfriend, were mauled and consumed by one of his beloved bears. Extensive, composed largely from hundreds of hours of Treadwell's footage, Werner Herzog's Grizzly Man is a fascinating character study of a troubled individual that makes suggestions and even leaps about his motives. The director's narration is alternately helpful and unnecessary, the same to be said for what appear to be staged interviews, though the project achieves a quality that can only be called Herzogian.

*** 1/2 out of ****

A tennis pro (Jonathan Rhys Meyers) is welcomed into the wealthy family of one of his tutees (Matthew Goode) and is soon given a prominent position within their company and engaged to their needy daughter (Emily Mortimer), all of which is threatened to come crashing down in the aftermath of a heated love affair with his brother-in-law's sultry ex-girlfriend (Scarlett Johansson). Match Point is unlike anything Woody Allen has ever done before (even Crimes and Misdemeanors which explored similar themes and some of his straight dramas which draw a homologous tone) and was probably imbued with new life due to his decision to film abroad and leave NYC for I believe the first time in his career. The result is a haunting, brilliantly thought out, pristinely filmed, philosophically Dostoevskian treatise with Rhys-Meyers excellent, even amusing at points as a sociopath with an answer to every question and Johannson at her most alluring though grating during heightened dramatic scenes.

**** out of ****

Roman Polanski presents a gritty, workmanlike adaptation which doesn't distinguish itself from other notable adaptations of the Dickens classic. Young Barney Clark as eponymous waif is a true find, Ben Kingsley is unrecognizable and impressive as Fagin, the boy's ignoble protector, Jamie Foreman frightening as the odious and gruffy Bill Sykes, and Mark Strong demonstrates his acting range in a brief role.

*** out of ****

An illegal immigrant (Julio Cedilio) is killed without cause by a border patrolman (Barry Pepper), who covers up his crime. The victim's employer and close friend (Tommy Lee Jones) quickly gets to the bottom of the matter and, when law enforcement fails to intervene, exhumes the body of his pal from a county grave, kidnaps the patrolman, and forces him at gunpoint to transport the corpse home south of the border for burial in his hometown. The Three Burials of Melquiades Estrada is a poignant, meditative modern Western boasting excellent performances from Jones (making his directing debut) and Pepper.

*** 1/2 out of ****

Mrs. Bennett (Brenda Blethyn) is keen to marry off her five daughters before their estate transfers to a relative upon the death of Mr. Bennett (Donald Sutherland). Upon hearing the news of the arrival of a wealthy landowner to a neighboring property, Mrs. Bennett sends daughters Jane (Rosamund Pike) and the fiercely independent Elizabeth (Keira Knightley) to the welcoming ball in order to woo the eligible bachelor. While Jane seems to prove successful, Elizabeth finds herself being simultaneously attracted and repulsed by Mr. Darcy (Matthew Macfadyen) the brooding, arrogant, and mysterious best friend of the host. Now, as the two encounter each other more and more in polite society and their mutual attraction becomes undeniable, they must each attempt to overcome their vanity and preconceptions. Joe Wright's Pride and Prejudice is an involving and wry telling of the oft-filmed Jane Austin novel which boasts gorgeous cinematography that perfectly captures Knightley's luminescent beauty who, in turn, is astounding in her performance. Sutherland and Pike also shine in supporting roles.
*** 1/2 out of ****

Known as the Boy Wonder by his peers for his intransigent reputation, and ability to pick out scripts and adeptly tweak films, Irving Thalberg began as an office clerk at Universal under Carl Laemmle and rose rapidly through the ranks. Soon partnering up with L.B. Mayer and cofounding MGM, Thalberg would be the brains behind many early Hollywood classics ("The Hunchback of Notre Dame", "The Crowd", "The Good Earth") and stars (Greta Garbo, Clark Gable, Jean Harlow), the villain against Eric von Stroheim and his masterpiece "Greed", and the inspiration for F.Scott Fitzgerald's uncompleted final work The Last Tycoon, all before his death at the age of 37. Made for Turner Classic Movies by Robert Trachtenberg, "Irving Thalberg: Prince of Hollywood" is an informative, composite view of the life of the enormously influential mogul, told straightforwardly yet with an abundance of information.

In 1964, a British documentary crew interviewed a group of seven year olds from various economic backgrounds and asked them about their hopes, fears, and lives in general. Every seven years since then, Michael Apted, a member of the original crew, has revisited each of these participants to catch up with them and discuss their lives. "The Up Series", as these programs have come to be collectively known, are an endlessly fascinating form of time lapse filmmaking, as we see each of the film's subjects age before our eyes, as Apted interweaves prior footage into each new film. Keeping things simple, each film is simply a sit down with each person and a catch up on their lives, as they discuss with candid honesty the turns their lives have taken. Apted resists the urge to jazz things up and is straightforward presentation only adds, rather then detracts, to overall impact of these powerful films. The stories that I enjoyed the most include Tony, a young boy who dreams of being a jockey and grows up to be a cab driver, still full of zeal; Suzy, an unhappy young woman who finds solace and happiness with her husband and children; Bruce, a boy with missionary aspiration who winds up teaching in the inner city; John, a boorish snob who remains a boorish snob but becomes involves in relief work in Eastern Europe; and then their is Neil, discontented young man who drops out of school and becomes a vagrant who well, I don't want to spoil that one. "The Up Series" is about as real and engaging a film can get and I eagerly await the next installment, due out soon, as these subjects approach the twilight of their lives.

Here is a very brief description of each installment:

Seven Up! (1964)

A collection of British seven year olds, both female and male, from different socioeconomic backgrounds are introduced and interviewed as they talk about subjects such as school, money, race, and their futures. After meeting them all individually, the children all attend a party and we see how they interact.

7 Plus Seven (1970)

We revisit the subjects at age 14, midway between childhood and adulthood.

21 (1977)

Now 21 years old, the group of people we met at 7 and 14 now have clearer ideas on life and what they want their lives to be.

28 Up (1985)

Maybe its because I am now of the same age as the subjects here, but it is this installment that the series begins to take on resonance, as its subjects have largely settled down with family and careers.

35 Up (1991)

As the subjects move closer towards middle age most are firmly rooted in their lives with a few exceptions as they begin to deal with divorce and death of their parents, and other issues while the most fascinating member of the group continues to fascinate us.

42 Up (1998)

As the subjects have now reached the midpoint of their lives, most are firmly rooted with the exception of a few extraordinary examples, one involving an incredible intersection of two of the subject's lives.

49 Up (2005)

As the hairs have grayed, the hairlines receded, and the waistlines expanded, the subjects approach 50 mostly with contentment as they embrace grandchildren, their partners, careers, and life turns.

56 Up (2012)

The participants return, mostly contented with their lots as they face retirement and brace themselves for old age.

Bettie Page was the toast of her small Tennessee, a stunning and spunky beauty who caught everyone's eye and  also had earned a full ride to a local community college. Throughout those early years, she also suffered lurid physical and sexual abuse from the likes of her husband, admirers, and even her father. So to escape the horrors, she headed to New York to pursue an acting career where she was discovered laying out at a beach by a local photographer. Soon, she would become a national pinup queen while naively becoming involved with some bondage photography which would lead to a Senate investigation and earn her the title The Notorious Bettie Page. "The Notorious Bettie Page" is a well made biopic from writer/director Mary Herron. Deciding to shoot in black and white, with occasional color photography, the film has a clear, crisp look that nicely captures the era. As Page, Gretchen Mol wonderfully embodies the sex icon. The cast is also rounded out nicely and features fine work from David Strathairn as a straitlaced Senator, Lili Taylor and Chris Bauer and a pair of sibling pornographers, and Jared Harris as a quirky photographer.