TAMARA DREWE - C

Gemma Arterton, Roger Allam, Dominic Cooper
Stephen Frears has been able to make compelling films about subjects such as Queen Elizabeth II (The Queen) and record store employees (High Fidelity), so it is surprising to see just how low-energy this British comedy is. The screenplay is unfocused and the characters are all ciphers.

ROMANTICS, THE - C-

Katie Holmes, Anna Paquin, Josh Duhamel
The Romantics’ obvious inspiration is The Big Chill, but there is no chance anyone will be referencing this tiresome and self-conscious drama decades from now. Paquin is an unlikeable pill, Holmes lacks passion and Duhamel – supposedly torn between the two – is overly distracted.

SOCIAL NETWORK, THE - A

Jesse Eisenberg, Andrew Garfield, Justin Timberlake
You wouldn’t think that the development of Facebook would act as a solid foundation for a film like The Social Network, but this is a thrilling, intense, timely and – most importantly – highly enjoyable drama. Thanks to its incredible screenplay and direction, the story pops from the screen.

YOU AGAIN - C-

Kristen Bell, Jamie Lee Curtis, Sigourney Weaver
You Again has an appropriate title because, watching it, one can’t help thinking about everything here that has been seen before again and again, with a focus on unlikely coincidences and forced pratfalls (yes, there is a food fight). You Again comes straight down the plastic assembly line.

IT'S KIND OF A FUNNY STORY - B-

Kier Gilchrist, Emma Roberts, Zach Galifianakis
It’s Kind of a Funny Story is kind of a funny movie, with some gentle laughs courtesy of a wisely dialed down Galifianakis and an odd tone that replaces the anger of One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest with the spirit of The Breakfast Club. Perhaps a little too light overall, but still soothing.

CATS & DOGS: THE REVENGE OF KITTY GALORE - D+

James Marsden, Nick Nolte, Christina Applegate
The fur flies and the groaners come often in this sequel-that-no-one-asked-for to 2001’s Cats & Dogs. With its tired satire, endless parade of pet puns, mediocre effects and doggy doo of a script, Kitty Galore left me wishing for – I can’t believe I’m writing this - the exhausting G-Force.

LET ME IN - B+

Kodi Smit-McPhee, Chloe Grace Moretz, Richard Jenkins
It’s almost shocking just how faithful writer-director Matt Reeves is with this American adaptation of the 2007 Swedish thriller Let the Right One In. Even more impressive is the fact that he has a better handle on the story’s characters and themes than the original cult favorite. Spooky and haunting.