The Dark Knight Rises (2012) Rating 9/10

I usually don't see movies in the theaters except blockbusters. In this case, I had pre-ordered tickets before bad things happened on opening night in Colorado here in the US.  Because they were pre-ordered, I ended up going despite some apprehension about security.  Probably I wouldn't have gone on the first weekend otherwise.

It turned out to be a very good movie, exceeding my expectations, which admittedly had lowered somewhat after reviews stating it fell significantly short of the 2nd movie in the series.  Some thought has gone into the plot which is quite involving, and while not flawless, holds together reasonably well.  I've read criticism of the villain that he is not as well formed as in other Batman films.  While that may be true, it doesn't detract greatly from the film, I don't think.

Seeing the film in IMAX is a wonder. Projection and sound are very good.  Crucially the sound didn't seem overbearing.  The many action scenes are mesmerizing and even the dramatic scenes are well acted and shot and some quite moving in fact.

And I did like the attractive Joseph Gordon-Levitt quite a lot here playing the cop who seems to find out/know more than he should.

Albert Nobbs (2011) Rating: 7/10

I learned recently from a natural history museum that human males have a more prominent brow than females. I think this is one of the subconscious cues which caused me to never seriously consider Glenn Close as a male despite all the movies attempts to make this plausible.  While this lack of believability detracted from the movie, I did still very much enjoy the drama of the story.  As well, I applauded the prominence of the lesbian aspect of the story.

Oscar 2012 movies

The Artist:  Gimmicky and self-conscious. I'd seen a couple silent movies before this one and noticed the focus on expression, the 'mugging for the camera' and it seemed interesting and novel then. Extending that interest to this contrived throwback to the silent movie era was difficult. Uggie was amazing, but knowing that he was being coached throughout every scene from the sidelines detracted from the experience.  Rating 6/10

The Iron Lady:  Not really a flattering portrait of Margaret Thatcher. A union busting war-making Prime Minister. I'm afraid I didn't like the movie as much because I didn't like her. Meryl Streep is good though. Rating 6/10

Moneyball:  Better than expected considering I'm not a baseball or A's fan. Rating 7/10

Midnight in Paris:  Not so great, although Paris looks nice. Rating 5/10

The Descendants:  Wow, I really liked this movie. The acting is good. The story is good. A little laid back Hawaiian culture lesson. Plus a minor plot line about mega riches. One bummer is there are no good looking guys in this picture. Women may swoon over the popular and funny Clooney, but I find he's old and unattractive here. Rating 8/10

Love in a Cold Climate (2001) Rating: 6/10

A PBS 'Masterpiece' mini-series with Rosamund Pike playing one of three female main characters who are of matrimonial age in the years just before WWII in Britain. An interesting period piece with good acting, including Anthony Andrews who played the self-indulgent Sebastian Flyte in the original Brideshead Revisited, but who is very noticeably 20 years older here. For the most part no good looking men here though.

Dirty Girl (2010) Rating: 6/10

A lightweight movie about a somewhat slutty teenage girl who doesn't know who her father is and an overweight closeted gay teenage boy whose father is onto him. They get teamed up on a school assignment and things spiral out of control from there. Script is okay and acting serviceable.

"Selda"/The Inmate (2007) Rating: 7/10

I'm being a little generous here.  This Philippine movie has a reasonably interesting and believable plot about inmates who become intimates.  One of them might even be straight.  It's unclear.  Acting is much much better than any other Tagalog movie that I've seen to date.