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