“Pina,” the new 3-D movie about Pina Bausch, isn’t a typical documentary detailing the highs and lows of her dance career.

This Oscar-nominated production merely explores one thing about the late choreographer: her legacy. Although Bausch may be well-known to those who have studied dance intricately, the name is likely an unfamiliar one to other viewers.

I didn’t know anything about her until I was invited to the film’s screening.  That being said, “Pina” delivers on what it attempts to do– it is an honorable and well-filmed tribute to a woman who changed the lives of so many of her students.

The history of the production of “Pina” is quite compelling. According to the film’s website, director Wim Wenders originally planned to make a movie about the dancer and the work she was doing, and Bausch fully approved the production. That film– a story about her ongoing work– was canceled when she died unexpectedly during pre-production.

But the end of that film begot the beginning of another– one that honored the legacy of the late dancer.

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“The Innkeepers” is the type of movie audiences don’t get a lot of anymore. Instead of relying on grotesque torture sequences (i.e. any entry in the “Saw” franchise) or scenes where things pop up to scare audiences (i.e. “The Woman in Black”), it delivers old-fashioned chills.

With no major stars to speak of and a cast that wouldn’t fill up a small elevator, this old-fashioned ghost story is definitely worth a look.

Written and directed by Ti West (“The House of the Devil”), the movie offers a familiar setting in an old, nearly-abandoned hotel. The creepy building is scheduled to close at the end of the weekend so only two employees remain on the property. Sara Paxton and Pat Healy play Claire and Luke, the two final staffers who are taking  turns working at the front desk. Claire is an inquisitive woman bent on finding out if the hotel is really haunted—as legend suggests—while Luke is a carefree slacker hoping for a relaxing weekend.

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“I like her make up. I’m pretty sure it was tested on animals.”

That’s one of the many lines the screenwriters use to show off the cold personality of Rachel Kramer (Drew Barrymore) in the new film, “Big Miracle.” Adapted from the nonfiction book “Freeing the Whales” by Thomas Rose, “Miracle” presents Kramer as a hardcore Greenpeace activist who is unwilling to watch three whales die when they are trapped five miles inland in northern Alaska.

Unfortunately, the heavy-handed script — full of obnoxious lines like the one above — and Barrymore’s poor performance undercut what could have been a decent family film.

The story revolves around three whales trapped in the middle of an icy landscape. The magnificent creature need pockets of unfrozen land to breathe and none exist around them, so they are forced to remain in a little hole that could freeze up at any time. That is until a reporter named Adam Carlson (John Krasinki) brings the story to a local television network.

His report receives worldwide attention because– it turns out–Tom Brokaw has “a thing for whales.“ Brokaw includes the report on a national newscast and soon enough, members of the media are swarming Alaska to save three whales that would have died otherwise.

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“Today is the day that everything changes one way or another.”

That sentiment leads escaped convict Nick (Sam Worthington) onto the ledge of the 21st floor of a New York hotel in the new thriller, “Man on a Ledge.” The former inmate is trying to prove his innocence in front of the police and a national media watching his every move. The concept sounds like “The Fugitive” on a skyscraper. but the film is so mundane and lifeless Dr. Richard Kimble himself might have asked for an autopsy.

James Badge Dale isn’t a household name. But he should be.

Over the past ten years, the young actor has played supporting roles in several major films and starred in one of the most acclaimed mini-series of the past decade. One of his first juicy roles occurred in 2003 when he played Chase Edmunds, a CTU agent working under the tutelage of Jack Bauer on “24.”

In 2010, Dale played a lead in the HBO mini-series, “The Pacific.” Since then, he has acted in “The Conspirator,” headlined a television program called “Rubicon” and starred alongside Michael Fassbender and Carey Mulligan in the critically-acclaimed film “Shame.”

His latest project, “The Grey,” finds Dale facing his own mortality alongside Oscar-nominee Liam Neeson. I recently had a chance to talk to Dale about his emotional scene in the new thriller, his work on “The Pacific” and the Oscar nomination that never arrived for Fassbender.

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“Red Tails” is, simply put, a disappointing movie about an incredible subject.

The film tells the story  of the Tuskegee Airmen, the first all African-American flight unit in the United States military. The men and women–yes, there were female “Tuskegee Airmen”–who served in this unit were incredible individuals who overcame racism and the brutal intensity of war to become heroes during World War II.  Their story and the obstacles they overcame to become legendary figures in history, however, isn’t captured well in this patriotic but ultimately unremarkable film.

Directed by Anthony Hemingway, the story focuses on the group of young warriors eager for their chance to fight. Ambitious pilots like Marty “Easy” Julian (Nate Parker), Joe “Lightning” Litte (David Oyelowo) and Ray “Junior” Gannon (Tristan Wilds) compose this energetic and idealistic unit. These soldiers don’t focus on the racism that has held them back. They spend their time training and dreaming about getting their chance to shine. They want an opportunity to serve their country in epic battles but are repeatedly passed over for major assignments.

Their supervisors aren’t satisfied with their missions, either. Played by Terrence Howard and Cuba Gooding Jr., Colonel A.J. Bullard and Major Emanuelle Stance want their unit to have a chance to prove itself. While Stance is their overseas commanding officer, Bullard is their D.C. liaison and must continually battle against the racist sensibilities of the scowling and perpetually displeased Colonel William Mortamus (“Breaking Bad’s” Bryan Cranston).

In one well-done scene, the two argue about the unit, and Bullard tells the Colonel that he respects Mortamus’ uniform and rank but nothing more. That speaks volumes about the racism that these airmen encountered. They were asked to serve military leaders who often looked down on them and disrespected them. But the airmen served them knowing that they were serving their country above everything else. (more…)

“President Obama stood in front of the screen… and he said this was an American tale of heroism,” Cuba Gooding Jr. recently stated during a roundtable interview about his new film, “Red Tails.” He was referring to a recent White House screening of the film that brought together members of the film crew and some of the real Tuskegee Airmen.

The patriotic film tells the story of the heroic airmen and how that first unit of African-American pilots fought valiantly for the United States during World War II.

Gooding Jr. was one of the many people who participated in interviews in Washington D.C. to promote the film. Alongside several actors from the film, director Anthony Hemingway and Dr. Roscoe Brown– a member of the actual Tuskegee Airmen– were there to talk about the production.

The actors said “Red Tails” executive producer George Lucas—who personally gave $100 million dollars to get this film made—came to the story with one overall mission. He wanted to make a movie about heroes– not victims– and he informed the cast that before the production began. During the process of making this feature, the creator of “Star Wars” was confronted with obstacles that stood in his way, including the reluctance of studios to finance a film with an all-black cast.

Such difficulties, however, didn’t include a reluctant cast.

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The Golden Globes Awards “are just like the Oscars but without all that esteem,” host Ricky Gervais said during last night’s Golden Globes telecast, his third stint hosting the annual show. The ceremony—featuring awards handed out by the Hollywood Foreign Press—includes some nice surprises as well as great disappointments.

Here’s a look at the big winners and losers of the evening.

Oscar Contenders

Winners: “The Artist” and The Descendants”
Both films are likely to be major Oscar contenders, and both left the Globes with renewed momentum. “The Artist” collected awards for best comedy or musical, best actor (Jean Dujardin) and best score. Meanwhile, “The Descendants” collected two awards: best actor in a drama (George Clooney) and best drama. Their wins likely foreshadow their future success at the Academy Awards and could lead to more moviegoers checking out these two smaller films.

Losers: “Moneyball” and “The Ides of March”
Despite the fact that it was nominated for four awards, “Moneyball” walked home with zero awards. Even Aaron Sorkin (“The Social Network”), Steve Zaillian (“Schindler’s List”) and Stan Chervin didn’t win for their brilliant screenplay. Woody Allen took home the award for best screenplay for his wonderful comedy, “Midnight in Paris.” “Ides of March,” the political thriller directed and co-written by George Clooney, also went 0-4 during the evening but Clooney didn’t leave the show empty-handed (see winners).

Acceptance Speeches:

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The use of the word “armed” isn’t often a point of argument in movies today. In fact, jousting over rhetorical choices typically isn’t a point of contention in entertainment at all. It is, however, a major focal point in the new Roman Polanski film, “Carnage,” which takes pleasure in the particulars of language and shows what can be done with an engaging script and four strong actors.

The film stars Oscar winners Kate Winslet, Christoph Waltz, and Jodie Foster and co-stars Oscar nominee John C. Reilly. Aside from a brief scene at its beginning and end, a cameo from the director and a few voices heard over the phone, those four constitute the film’s entire cast.

Its story focuses on two sets of parents who come together to discuss a fight between their sons. Reilly and Foster play Michael and Penelope Longstreet, the parents of the victim in the fight, while Waltz and Winslet play Alan and Nancy Cowan, the assailant’s parents. The concept is simple: these four parents spend the film discussing the incident that left the Longstreet’s son with two teeth knocked out of his mouth and several facial abrasions.

What’s interesting about “Carnage” is how that confrontation becomes so meaningless during the course of this film’s short running time -  eighty-nine minutes. The fight between the boys was simply that: a fight between two boys. It was simple and easy to analyze.

The battle between the four adults about the incident and its aftermath is not so easily understood.

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With the success of the 3-D release of “The Lion King,” it’s no wonder a new version “Beauty and the Beast” arrives in theaters this weekend. The classic 1991 film was the first animated feature to be nominated for Best Picture and took home two Oscars for its beautiful soundtrack. More than two decades after its original release, “Beauty and the Beast” remains a timeless film that can be enjoyed by parents and children alike.

I hadn’t seen the original “Beast” in more than a decade, but the movie remains as wondrous as ever. “Beast” tells the story of a unique and beautiful woman named Belle (Paige O’ Hara), who lives in a small town with her eccentric father (Rex Everhart). She’s considered weird by the townspeople who look down at her tendency to read books and a father who spends his days inventing new contraptions. When her father is imprisoned by a monstrous beast (Robby Benson), Belle switches places with her dad and moves into a castle with the beast.

The beast, however, is more complex than she originally presumed. He previously was a good-looking man who had a curse placed upon him when he denied an ugly woman entry into his home because of her looks. Eventually, Belle and the beast start falling in love despite his outwardly appearance.

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Looking over my list of the ten best movies of 2011, they all seem to have one quality in common: intelligence. Those films may have focused on a variety of subjects– ranging from Marilyn Monroe and “Moneyball” to politics and Paris– but they all were smart about the their own subjects.

On the other hand, the five worst movies of 2011 all lack the insight and smarts that was so evident in the ten best movies. The subjects of these five films may be sophomoric, but these stories had potential and wasted it. The screenwriters often chose complacency over competence and made inferior films because of it.  Let’s hope that none of these clunkers ever receives a sequel.

5.) “Our Idiot Brother“: Paul Rudd is wasted in this inane comedy about a stupid sibling who ultimately brings his family together. If you think watching a stupid character meander through life isn’t a waste of time, this film could be for you. Otherwise, avoid “Our Idiot Brother” like the family in this film should have avoided their own sibling. Click here for my full review.

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Although 2011 started out slowly at the multiplex and the summer was full of big-budget disappointments — I’m looking at you, “Transformers 3″– this year took an unexpectedly strong turn in the fall when a lot of great smaller movies made their way into theaters.

With the year coming to a close, I recently compiled a list of the ten best movies of 2011. For an overview of my list, check out the video below where I count them down.

If you want more details, check out my thoughts on the individual movies below the video. As always, I’d love to hear your opinions so please let me know if you agree or disagree with my choices in the comments section. I’m looking forward to seeing what movies you would have chosen as the top ten movies this year.

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There are some who doubt filmmakers can still make great movies. They doubt that Hollywood – with its focus on celebrities over substance, computer effects over strong cinematography and stereotypes over stories – can still create classic movies that will resonate for years to come.

“The Artist” should help prove them wrong.

Jean Dujardin plays George Valentin, a successful screen actor in the late 1920s. His facial expressions and his delightful little dog helped him achieve stardom back when the films were black and white and one of the only sounds you heard in the theater were people chewing popcorn behind you. In a wonderful ode to that era, “The Artist” replicates many of the stylistic flourishes of those older films. In an inspired choice that may alienate some viewers, the film is entirely in black and white and features very little dialogue.

Thankfully, two impressive actors were cast to help guide the story.  The main one is Dujardin, who does a wonderful job as the lead character. In the same way that Valentin found fame in the 20s, Dujardin succeeds in conveying his emotions with intense acting and a flair for the camera.

The character, however, isn’t prepared for the major cinematic changes that the world is about to encounter. When he learns that new motion pictures are going to include sound, he rejects the notion, laughing at the indignity of it all. A young actress that Valentin has recently co-starred with named Peppy Miller (Bérénice Bejo) isn’t so quick to write off talkies, so as his career begins to ebb, hers starts to rise. (more…)

The new film “We Bought a Zoo” focuses on a widower who buys a new home for his two young children. The house has one amenity that didn’t make it to the brochure; it  has a zoo in the backyard. The zoo comes equipped with an eclectic mix of creatures including tigers, snakes and lions. Like the zoo itself, this film is jam-packed. It includes various plot lines about subjects ranging from young love to grief to how to maintain a zoo. Unfortunately, it’s the multitude of storylines—which may have worked separately—that bog down this otherwise interesting family flick.

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As the story begins, Benjamin Mee  (Matt Damon) is referred to as “a writer who specializes in adventure.” His career as a journalist, however,  is sidetracked when he loses his wife six months before the story begins.

Ben eventually quits his job and decides to move his family to a new location, but his bid to buy a house turns into an adventure itself. He falls in love with a large semi-secluded home that comes equipped with a fully-staffed zoo. Although his brother (Thomas Haden Church) rejects the idea, Ben decides to buy the house/zoo and try to open up his very own animal kingdom.

Based on a true story and directed by Cameron Crowe, “Zoo” had a lot of potential. Crowe, who previously directed “Jerry Maguire” and “Almost Famous,” has a knack for presenting idealistic individuals who face new realities when their lives change abruptly. “Zoo” is no different from that. As Ben grieves his wife, he’s also trying to balance raising children by himself and opening up a zoo. (more…)

“Carrying him around was like being with a buddy,” Gary Oldman told me about his role as George Smiley in the new drama, “Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy.” The British actor and director Tomas Alfredson recently sat down with a group of Washington D.C. critics to talk about their new thriller, which may earn Oldman his first Academy Award nomination.

The complicated film, which also stars Colin Firth, Tom Hardy and Toby Jones, has been adapted from the best-selling novel by John le Carré and is a remake of a 1979 mini-series that starred Sir Alec Guinness. Although that mini-series was nearly five hours long, this new adaptation settles in with a running time of a little over two hours. The story focuses on Smiley, a former British intelligence officer, who returns to his agency to uncover a mole who is selling secrets to Russia during the height of the Cold War.

Although the plot sounds like a storyline from the show “24,” this film works as a quiet study of a group of characters who live in secrecy and survive by keeping their mouths shut. In fact, when Alfredson was asked what the biggest challenge of making the movie was, his answer spoke volumes. His greatest challenge was “to create as much space for silence as possible so that the audience could not just digest but also chew some of the information before swallowing and digesting it.”

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Late in the new movie “Shame,” the main character’s sister tells her brother that “we’re not bad people. We just come from a bad place.” That place — the people and the circumstances that made them who they are – is never discussed in the film. But the consequences of it are abundantly clear in this tale of a sex addict who begrudgingly lets his sister move into his home.

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Michael Fassbender, who surprised viewers earlier this year with portrayal of Magneto in “X-Men: First Class,” plays Brandon Sullivan. Brandon begins the story lying in bed, looking as alone and sad as he usually is. He’s addicted to sex in all forms. And he has no power to control that addiction. Even when x-rated images and videos are found on his work computer, he can’t seem to confront his own misdeeds. He’s okay letting his supervisor blame a lowly intern for the sickening images he gawks at during work.

Early on, Brandon’s sister Sissy, played by a captivating Carey Mulligan, arrives in town. She just suffered a bad break up and asks her brother if she can stay with him for a few days. Brandon reluctantly agrees, but he’s accustomed to a quiet life in his sparse apartment. He has female guests over, but they usually only stay a few hours at a time. Sissy’s presence abruptly throws his life off track.

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“I don’t know how they can survive.” That’s what Dave (Jason Lee) says to his friend Ian after his beloved chipmunks are stranded on a desert island. Unfortunately, that same sentiment can be applied to the parents and children who are forced to sit through this third installment of the “Chipmunks” film series. Like its predecessors, “Alvin and the Chipmunks: Chip-wrecked” is a lazy exercise in children’s entertainment that should be avoided at all costs.

The story finds Alvin and the Chipmunks lost on a remote island along with their friends, “The Chipettes.” They all fell off of a cruise ship while on vacation with their caregivers Dave and Ian (David Cross), the money-grubber who often takes advantage of the little creatures. On the island, the chipmunks quickly encounter a crazy explorer named Zoe (Jenny Slate) who spends her days talking to sports equipment and is pleased to have new friends with whom to talk.

The chipmunks themselves are hard to dislike. They have quirky, simplistic personalities that would work well in a better film. Alvin (voiced by Justin Long) is fun-loving but vulnerable. Simon Matthew Gray Gubler) is nerdy and cautious. And Theodore (Jesse McCartney) is the childishly naive one. But this script doesn’t have much to do with them, and the adults in this film don’t help at all.

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There’s something that can be said for the subtlety of emotions. A knowing glance. An inconspicuous nod. A slight glare. All of these things show how emotions can be depicted onscreen in films that create complicated characters. “New Year’s Eve” is not one of those movies.

Director Garry Marshall’s latest comedy merely seeks superficial satisfaction from its characters and finds them displaying their emotions overtly, with no hint of depth or subtlety. If a woman is angry, she throws eggs at the wall. If a person is nervous, they mug for the camera during a radio interview. There’s no texture to these actions. And it’s not a surprise to see them in a movie like this which celebrates celebrities at the expense of its characters.

As I predicted several months ago, “Eve” looked like a carbon copy of Marshall’s latest film, “Valentine’s Day.” Despite its numerous and abundantly clear flaws, I enjoyed Marshall’s earlier film. It was fluffy but satisfying. Compared to “Eve” though, “Day” was “Citizen Kane.”

As the title suggests, all of the characters in this new film are preparing for the new year. Ingrid (Michelle Pfeiffer), who is by far the most likable character, is writing a list of her New Year’s resolutions. She recruits a young bike manager (Zac Efron) to make her wishes come true. Meanwhile, a young couple (Seth Meyers and Jessica Biel) are preparing for their first child when they realize that there’s a cash prize if their baby is the first one born in 2012. Once they find that out, these wannabe parents become obnoxious psychos as they spend their day trying to induce labor. With parents like these, it’s no wonder the baby is so wary of coming out. In the meantime, the woman who manages the ball drop in Times Square (Hilary Swank) finds out that the ball is stuck with only hours to go before the new year.

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Mitch Albom may be a well-known sports writer, but he didn’t become a bestselling author writing about professional sports. That happened after Albom found worldwide success with the publication of his nonfiction book, “Tuesdays with Morrie.”

It’s been over a decade since “Morrie” arrived on the bestseller list, and now Albom’s latest nonfiction book “Have a Little Faith” has been adapted into a television movie airing at 9 p.m. EST tonight on ABC. I recently talked to Albom about his new film.

“Faith” tells the story of the Rabbi Albert Lewis (Martin Landau). Lewis, who was the author’s childhood rabbi, asks Albom (Bradley Whitford) to write his eulogy. Lewis isn’t sick, but he wants everything to be prepared for when his time comes. The author reluctantly agrees and starts interviewing Lewis to complete the assignment. As the story unfolds, Albom also befriends a Christian pastor named Henry Covington (Laurence Fishburne), whose Church is in need of some repairs. Covington is a former drug dealer who found God and a new life after a near-death experience.

Albom tells the story of both men – a Christian preacher and a Jewish rabbi — and how both helped him on his religious journey.

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Only one word can describe Michelle Williams’ performance in the new film, “My Week with Marilyn” – intoxicating.

Williams imbues her character with class, sexuality and self-doubt, making her one of the front-runners for the best actress Oscar next year. She’s the focal point of this biopic and owns every scene she’s in. The screenplay, though, is strong enough to build a story around her mesmerizing performance.

The film revolves around Colin Clark (Eddie Redmayne), a young man interested in the film business. Clark is so eager to be involved in the industry that he spends days camped out at the office of the famous actor/director Sir Laurence Olivier (Kenneth Branagh). Clark – the persistent and wide-eyed youngster – eventually gets his big break and is offered the job as an assistant director for the upcoming film, “The Prince and the Showgirl.”

Monroe, who is acting alongside Olivier in the film, arrives on set and Clark quickly becomes smitten with the seductive actress. Her fragility and self-consciousness only lure people closer to her. Despite her fame and overt sexuality, she longs for people’s approval and people, including her overwhelmed personal assistant, are happy to give it to her.

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