4 STARS

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

Zero Dark Thirty (R) - Based on the hunt for Osama Bin Laden

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

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

3 STARS

Amour - An elderly couple copes with age ( in French subtitles)

Les Miserables - The musical done up big screen style

Hitchhock - Delightful speculation of Alfred Hitchock's creative genius and marriage

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

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

2 1/2 STARS

Gangster Squad - Gansters in LA in 1949 -- look great, great cast, thin script

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 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

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

2 STARS

The Last Stand

Broken City - Mark Walhberg puts New York City Major Russell Crowe away

Promised Land - Matt Damon talks farmers into selling their land's mineral rights

Jack Reacher - Tom Cruise action hero - long and violent

1 STAR

The Impossible - Family on vacation survives tsumani

ZERO

A Haunted House - Marlon Wayans makes fun of paranormal found footage horror movies and fails

Parental Guidance - Billy Crystal in career low