Over the last couple of months I have seen a handful of movies (some old, some new) at the cinemas, Blu-Ray, or via Netflix.  Here are my thoughts and recommendations:

The Trotsky (8/10) - Rushmore set in Canada.  Jay Baruchel's character is simply hilarious.  The movie has some seriously flawed elements, but it is mostly funny if you can accept the premise and uncomfortable love story.

Kick-Ass (5/10) - Gratuitous in every sense.  Nicholas Cage was watchable, Chloe Moretz made me cringe...not because of her, but because of what she did in the film.

The House Bunny (6.5/10) - Guilty pleasure with a terrible message.  However, it gave me a new favorite line - "The eyes of are the nipples of the face."  Anna Faris is hilarious in it.

The American (6.5/10) - Slow paced, great cinematography, dull.  It wishes it were Melville or Leone and ends up being neither.  Where those directors milked tension, “The American” ends up being mostly boring.  Fantastic ending though.

Cyrus (6/10) - Wants to be awkward, but too self conscious to achieve it.  The awkwardness didn't feel natural.  Some brief, but genuinely funny moments.

The Kids Are All Right (4/10) - Massively overrated family drama with two leads who feel like they are trying too hard to be in an awards contender movie.

Dinner For Schmucks (6/10) -Completely stupid, but I laughed out loud numerous times.  Too sexualized for its own good.

Bored to Death Season 1 (8/10) - I laughed a ton and have a new show to add to my favorites which include Arrested Development and Extras.  Great cameos as well.

Waynes World 2 (5.5/10) - A rehash of the first movie with some hilarious bits.  Seeing Chris Farley made me sad because he was at one time my favorite person to watch on screen.

Get Him to the Greek (3/10) - Gross.

American Experience: Jonestown: The Life and Death of People's Temple (9/10) - A completely absorbing, engrossing, heartfelt documentary on one of the greatest tragedies in human history.  Stories from former cult members and eerie footage are nothing less than heartbreaking.

Despicable Me (7.5/10) - The best non-pixar movie toon to come out in the last 10 years (or maybe I should hold off on that comment until I see “How To Train Your Dragon”).  Almost achieves the zen balance of kid/adult, funny/endearing with too much annoyance from Jason Segel's dialogue and voice acting.  LOVE the minions!

Tron: Legacy (7.5/10) - Awesome, exhilarating visual and aural experience with a story that is mostly coherent.  What could have been a brilliant allegory of God and humanity gets sold short.  Low expectations made me enjoy it far more than I thought I would.

True Grit (9/10) - When I wasn't laughing, I was engrossed by newcomer Heilee Steinfeld in the lead female role.  Great script by the Coens, who after two disappointing movies in “The Ladykillers”and “Intolerable Cruelty” have been on a consistent winning streak.

The White Stripes Under Great White Northern Lights (8/10) - Lots of fan service in the form of well cut live performances.  However, when Jack White talks about himself andthe band it becomes grating.  Regardless, watching them perform affirms their brilliance.

Good Hair (8/10) – What appears to be a light hearted premise is actually a fantastic cross-cultural experience about hair in the African American community.  Equal parts hilarious and informative, it ends with a beautiful message.

Brooklyn’s Finest (4/10) – A relentlessly bleak film about being a cop in the projects.  Don Cheadle’s lines are either spot on or unintentionally hilarious.  Hard to take seriously, even in spite of its begging the viewer to do so.

Let Me In (7/10) – American remake of a 3 year old Swedish film adapted from a book that feels a tad needless, but makes its mark all the same.  The film’s vampires are bizarrely endearing and completely frightening.  The gloriously disturbing finale is intact and will leave you breathless.  Framing vampire mythos within coming of age tale makes for strangely identifiable material.

Youth In Revolt (4.5/10) – Have you seen that one Michael Cera filmwhere he plays an awkward teenager?  As much as he tries to buck the trend here in his other persona, the film is too dumb for anyone to care.

Hunger (9/10) – An art house jail film that moves at its own rhythm.  Disgusting and hard to watch at times, poetic all the same, the climactic single shot dialogue sequence after so little talking is so well written and played it is hard to take your eyes off of the screen.  I’ll never be able to forget individual moments spaced throughout the film.

Up next – 127 Hours, Rolling Stones: Shine A Light, Winter’s Bone, Tell No One…Anything you would recommend?  How about your own brief reviews below?