TOY STORY 3 - A

Tim Allen, Tom Hanks, Joan Cusack
The Toy Story series ends as it began, with a sense of pure, unbridled pleasure that taps directly into one’s inner child and a truly breathtaking look at what it means to be a toy. At turns heartbreaking, laugh-out-load hilarious and touchingly thoughtful, Toy Story 3 is all-around remarkable.

MOVIE MATH: Toy Story + AVERAGE(Up, Chicken Run)

SECRET OF KELLS, THE - C+

Evan McGuire, Brendan Gleeson, Christen Mooney
The Secret of Kells was a surprise Oscar nominee for Best Animated Feature and, from a purely visual point of view, it is easy to see why: The ornate images are beautiful and genuinely appealing. But Kells’ storyline is vague and flat, resulting in a film that appeals to the eyes only.

MOVIE MATH: (Secret of Roan Inish - Ondine) + (The Village - Lady in the Water)

GHOST WRITER, THE - B+

Ewan McGregor, Pierce Brosnan, Olivia Williams
Roman Polanski’s political thriller builds slowly, but the lack of contrivance and clichéd trickery adds to the unsettling atmosphere of dread at the secrets unveiled. Brosnan does some of his best work as an embattled former PM working with a canny McGregor on his memoirs.

MOVIE MATH: Michael Clayton x (Chinatown + State of Play)

OCEANS - B

Documentary
Though Disneynature’s Oceans suffers from a general lack of flow in structure, the visuals in this aquatic documentary are as gorgeous as anything in 2009’s Earth, with the added treat of delivering images of many undersea creatures so fascinating in their absolute weirdness.

MOVIE MATH: Earth (2009) - (March of the Penguins + Winged Migration + Two Brothers)

PREDATORS - C+

Adrien Brody, Topher Grace, Alice Braga
After the inanity of the Alien Vs. Predator series, it’s nice to see the old Predator creatures return to their roots as vicious jungle killers. But despite a lively supporting turn by Laurence Fishburne, too much of Predators feels like a routine exercise in prey versus hunter action.

MOVIE MATH: (Rambo + Commando) x Pitch Black

KARATE KID, THE - B

Jaden Smith, Jackie Chan, Taraji P. Henson
This is how remakes should be done, with an updated spin on location and character, an understanding of what hasn’t aged well and enough bright charm to win over the naysayers. Even when at its most contrived, leads Smith and Chan make for a particularly inspired ying-and-yang duo.

MOVIE MATH: Karate Kid (1984) x (The Spy Next Door + [The Forbidden Kingdom - The Last Airbender])

IRON MAN 2 - B-

Robert Downey Jr., Mickey Rourke, Gwyneth Paltrow
There are a lot more loose bolts and oil leaks in this follow-up to 2008’s smashing Iron Man, as director Jon Favreau seems to pay too much attention to metal-on-metal action and not enough to character or dialogue. Robert Downey Jr. still makes a dapper hero though.

MOVIE MATH: Iron Man (2008) x Spider-Man 3

HOW TO TRAIN YOUR DRAGON - B+

Jay Baruchel, Gerard Butler, Craig Ferguson
The pleasures are plentiful in this zippy and well-designed animated adventure about a young Viking who befriends a dragon. The dragon has a little bit of Stitch in him but the danger level is higher, thereby allowing for even more satisfying levels of adventure mixed in with the laughs.

MOVIE MATH: Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs + E.T. / Lilo & Stitch x Reign of Fire

NIGHTMARE ON ELM STREET, A - C-

Jackie Earle Haley, Rooney Mara, Kyle Gallner
This reimagining of the original Elm Street was an attempt to bring horror back to the Freddy Krueger franchise after years of jokey one-liners. But Jackie Earle Healey shows little personality as Krueger and the film falls into a repetitive rut of scare, sleep deprivation, daydreams and death.

MOVIE MATH:  Nightmare on Elm Street (1984) - SQRT (Jason Vs. Freddy)

WINTER'S BONE - B+

Jennifer Lawrence, John Hawkes, Garret Dillahunt
A stark and harrowing drama, set in the unforgiving American Ozarks, about a resourceful teenager trying to track down her good-for-nothing father. Jennifer Lawrence is breathtaking as the lead and director Debra Granik does a masterful job of authentically building tension.

MOVIE MATH: AVERAGE (Down to the Bone, Undertow, Snow Angels, Frozen River)

GREATEST, THE - C

Pierce Brosnan, Susan Sarandon, Carey Mulligan
Carey Mulligan is as radiant as ever in this sad family drama as a dead boy’s pregnant girlfriend, but her character is woefully underwritten. She’s too much of a saint, with little time for her own grief over the situation since she is so busy being used as a device to help others.

MOVIE MATH: Ordinary People + Juno

TWILIGHT SAGA: ECLIPSE, THE - C+

Kristen Stewart, Robert Pattinson, Taylor Lautner
Yes, Eclipse is the first entry in the Twilight series that may actually appeal to non-Twihards, but it still remains a decidedly underwhelming franchise. Despite a kick of actual plot, the meagre action takes a backseat to the increasingly gooey and tiresome love triangle at the story’s core.

MOVIE MATH: [Underworld + (Harry Potter x Let the Right One In)] x Pretty in Pink

RAMONA AND BEEZUS - C+

Joey King, Selena Gomez, John Corbett
A friendly and brightly coloured but often extremely bland synthesis of several stories in the Beverly Cleary catalogue. Leads Joey King and Selena Gomez establish a good sisterly rapport, but the story is so episodic, it feels like a bunch of family sitcom episodes jammed together.

MOVIE MATH: (Wizards of Waverly Place / Harry Potter) x Madeline

THE DISAPPEARANCE OF ALICE CREED, THE - B

Gemma Arterton, Martin Compston, Eddie Marsan
This is an intense, quickly paced and gripping three-person drama about the complications following the kidnapping of a wealthy heiress. Thanks to the committed performances and skilful, efficient staging, the film is able to overcome its occasionally exploitative tendencies.

MOVIE MATH: Sleuth + Tape + Gone Baby Gone / Mystic River

CHARLIE ST. CLOUD - C

Zac Efron, Amanda Crew, Donal Logue
Zac Efron has never been the most expressive actor – there always seems to be a spark missing in his eyes – which makes him the wrong choice for this mopey, dully scripted and uninspiring drama about a young man struggling to move on after the death of his kid brother.

MOVIE MATH: Remember Me x The Invisible + SQRT(17 Again)

SORCERER'S APPRENTICE, THE - B-

Nicolas Cage, Jay Baruchel, Alfred Molina
This big budget adaptation of the classic Mickey Mouse sequence from Fantasia may lack real magic, but it is still diverting studio-generated entertainment for a lazy evening at home, with the oftentimes laborious storyline offset by amusing banter between its two leads.

MOVIE MATH: Fantasia x (Harry Potter + National Treasure)

GROWN UPS - C-

Adam Sandler, Kevin James, Chris Rock
Adam Sandler comedies are not usually known for their sophistication, but I’d be hard pressed to name one of his films as slapped together and empty as Grown Ups. The whole thing is strung together out of a series of juvenile insults and feels as if they just made it up as they went along.

MOVIE MATH: (Funny People + Paul Blart: Mall Cop + Deuce Bigalow: Male Gigolo + Dickie Roberts: Former Child Star) x Wild Hogs