4 STARS

Lincoln - Daniel Day-Lewis fascinates in the final months of the civil war as he pushes to pass the 13th amendment outlawing slavery

Skyfall - Daniel Craig brings James Bond into the 21st century while honoring the series legacy

Argo (R) - Ben Affleck's true life CIA comedy/thriller is solid

3 1/2 STARS

Silver Linings Playbook (R) - Quirky romance with Bradley Cooper and Jennifer Lawrence

Flight (R) - Denzel Washington plays an alcoholic airline pilot who saves a plane full of passengers

Anna Karenina (R) - Keira Knightly in a creative telling of the Russian novel

The Life of Pi - Beautiful story of survival told as fable/allegory

3 STARS

Les Miserables - The musical done up big screen style

Hitchcock - Delightful speculation of Alfred HItchock's creative genius and marriage

The Guilt Trip - Barbra Streisand - Seth Rogan - nobody ever wins an argument with his mother

Breaking Dawn Pt. 2 - The grand finale of the love between a girl, a vampire and a werewolf

The Sessions (R) - Touching story of paralyzed polio victim/writer-poet and his quest to find a partner for sex.  John Hawkes and Helen Hunt stand out

Dead Fall (R) - Tense old school crime drama with Eric Bana and Olivia Wilde

Rust and Bone (R) - Tough guy and crippled Orca trainer bond. Marion Cotillard (In French)

2 1/2 STARS

Hyde Park on Hudson (R) - Bill Murray as Franklin Roosevelt juggling girlfriends while the King and Queen visit in 1939

This is 40 (R) - Judd Apatow's look at marriage - long with some inspired moments

The Hobbit - Story before the story of Lord of the Rings

Django Unchained (R) - Jamie Foxx in violent Tarantino extravaganza - "Ouch" factor high after Sandy Hook tragedy

Rise of the Guardians - Santa, The Easter Bunny, the Tooth Fairy and Jack Frost fight the Boogeyman

1 STAR

Playing for Keeps - Gerard Butler - ex soccer star coaches kids while exciting soccer moms

The Impossible - Recreation of family vacation ruined by tsunami