Fans of Suzanne Collins’ book series came out in record numbers to see the trilogy’s first adaptation, “The Hunger Games,” hit the big screen last weekend. Box office domination, however, doesn’t always speak to the quality of the product. Just consider the painful experience of watching even five minutes from “The Twilight Saga.”

“The Hunger Games” is different. It’s the box office smash worth the price of admission, even for those unfamiliar with the series.

The story takes place in a fascinating post-apocalyptic world where a deadly competition separates the rich from the poor. Twenty-four kids go in, only one comes out. Survival requires pandering to a fickle television audience, and, oh yeah, killing fellow adolescents before they kill you.

This story has been done before, but it’s been a while since we’ve seen it done with such focus on character. Director Gary Ross (“Pleasantville”) does an exceptional job not only in visualizing Collins’ dense mythology but also introducing a captivating heroine in Katniss Everdeen, a bow-and-arrow-wielding warrior who could snap poor Bella Swan’s neck with her index finger. (more…)

We can have our good values and we can have our dignity, but sometimes we just need a paycheck.

This is most true in Hollywood, where even the most respected actors and filmmakers work on a project for the sole purpose of banking a few million bucks.

Some actors, however, seem perfectly content taking money for less-than-passable projects. Some are stuck trying to repeat iconic past performances, while others appear to be sleepwalking through every endeavor.

This list is particularly painful, because I love a lot of these performers. But these people are slumming it, and we all should expect more. (more…)

“The Artist” won Best Picture at the Academy Awards – only my eighth favorite movie out of the nine nominees. The ceremony went down pretty much as expected too, with the biggest surprise being “The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo” winning Best Editing. Exciting, right?

“The Artist” is a tolerable choice for Best Picture, and the Academy at least gave five trophies to Martin Scorsese’s “Hugo” in technical categories. “Hugo” is new this week on Blu-ray and DVD and is most certainly worth your time, by the way.

Rather than griping about the nominees that didn’t win, let’s gripe about the terrific movies and performances that weren’t nominated for anything. A few, in fact, are newly available for your home viewing pleasure. (more…)

I’m a firm believer that good movies are relatively easy to find, and of the 108 movies I saw from 2011, I enjoyed quite a few of them.

I just didn’t love very many.

North Idaho has yet to receive late season standouts like “The Artist” or “A Separation.” Still, the calendar year hasn’t been marked by any significant benchmarks in cinema (although “The Tree of Life” could go down as this generation’s “2001: A Space Odyssey”).

Nevertheless, my top 20 films of 2011 definitely deserve your attention. A few you will love, some you’ll probably hate, but hopefully most are easy to enjoy.

Update: An updated article will be posted in the first part of February, which will (hopefully) include more late season titles.

1. Moneyball
On the surface, it’s a movie about baseball and statistics. It’s all the characters talk about, yet “Moneyball” tells a compelling and universal story about what it means to be the underdog.

Brad Pitt plays Oakland Athletics general manager Billy Beane as a man who learns that winning a little less than the big guys can be winning enough. It’s the most compelling performance of Pitt’s career, and you won’t find a snappier script this year than the one effortlessly crafted by Steven Zaillian and Aaron Sorkin. Available Tuesday on home video.

2. Super 8
The smartest and most entertaining blockbuster of the year, made by J.J. Abrams as a tribute to the science-fiction work of Steven Spielberg, who serves as a producer on the project. Stacked with a talented cast of young actors and a more-than-meets-the-eye monster, “Super 8” pays homage to all the best parts of “E.T.,” “Close Encounters of the Third Kind,” “Jaws” and “The Goonies” while also playing on its own terms. Available on home video.

3. The Descendants
George Clooney delivers another terrific performance as a man who must deal with a comatose wife, rebellious daughters and a land deal that will literally change the landscape of Hawaii. It’s another unique mix of comedy and drama from Alexander Payne, writer and director of “Sideways.” (more…)

It could have been much worse.

Of all the 2011-released movies I saw this year (a little more than a hundred), most fell into the “merely OK” category. Like many of you, I chose not see some of the year’s obvious clunkers, like Adam Sandler’s cross-dressing “Jack and Jill” or the new “Chipmunks” movie. And, after sitting through 120 excruciating minutes of the last “Twilight” movie, I decided not to bother with “Breaking Dawn.”

The following list, however, were cinematic experiences I hope will be forgotten by 2012.

In alphabetical order:

Arena
I typically don’t see straight-to-DVD movies because, well, they’re terrible. Samuel L. Jackson stars as a sleazy promoter of an online fighting league where the competitors brutally kill each other. I’ll watch Sam Jackson in anything. I just won’t be watching this ever again.

The Hangover Part II
It’s the same as the first movie minus humor and originality. How did this make so much money?

Larry Crowne
Tom Hanks and Julia Roberts play “ordinary” people in this insulting and insipid look at middle-aged, middle-class folks trying to make it in the new economy. Oh, and Hanks’ character joins a hipster motor-scooter club.

To make things worse, Hanks and Roberts spend the closing credits waving and smiling at the audience as if to say, “Look, we’re movie stars! We’re only pretending to be like you!”

Mars Needs Moms
A dull, grimy-looking motion-capture cartoon about Martians kidnapping and murdering human moms. Don’t worry. Your kids will be too bored to even notice the nightmarish storyline. (more…)

Adventure is out there this Christmas weekend, and not just the high-tech gadgetry and stunts found in the latest “Mission: Impossible” film.

The first of two Steven Spielberg movies this holiday season, “The Adventures of Tintin” is a motion-capture thrill ride with the energy and fun of Spielberg’s Indiana Jones franchise and the Saturday morning serial-adventures that originally inspired “Raiders of the Lost Ark.” Spielberg’s much more serious film, “War Horse,” opens Christmas Day.

Based on the world-famous comic series by Herge, “Tintin” follows the exploits of a young reporter and his faithful dog, Snowy. This story introduces Tintin (Jamie Bell) to the perpetually drunk Captain Haddock (motion-capture king Andy Serkis), who is the last limb in a family tree of heroes and adventurers. Together they hope to find the secret treasure of The Unicorn, the legendary ship captained by Haddock’s famous ancestor, Sir Francis. Only cryptic clues, thousands of miles and the nefarious Sakharine (Daniel Craig) stand in their way.

“Tintin” is wall-to-wall action, with fist fights, shootouts and chases by land, air and sea. It’s a bit relentless, save for some lighter moments with bumbling police officers Thomson and Thompson (the dynamic duo of Nick Frost and Simon Pegg). Luckily, Spielberg knows his way around large scale set pieces, and the motion-capture allows him to move the camera through complicated action sequences that would be impossible in live-action. (more…)

You won’t see gangsters or much bloodletting in the latest film from acclaimed director Martin Scorsese. “Hugo” is a family-friendly adventure about an orphan who lives in the walls of a train station in 1930s Paris. Of course, with a legend like Scorsese at the helm, that’s only a tiny bit of what the film is actually about.

In another surprise move, Scorsese embraces 3D in a way that makes it worth the premium price. There are glorious tracking shots in three dimensions that rival Scorsese’s own iconic “Goodfellas” sequence.

Based on the book “The Invention of Hugo Cabret” by Brian Selznick, the film begins as a standard children’s fantasy tale. Asa Butterfield plays Hugo, a boy who spends his days secretly winding the train station clocks and avoiding an overzealous guard (Sacha Baron Cohen). He also tinkers away at an automation left to him by his late father (played in flashbacks by Jude Law).

Hugo’s quest to get the machine working leads him to a young girl (Chloe Grace Moretz) and her godfather (Ben Kingsley) who owns a toy shop at the station. Their connection shouldn’t be spoiled, as the reveal of this central mystery is where “Hugo” goes from average kid tale into something special.

Once the story gets going, it’s easy to understand why Scorsese would make a film like “Hugo.” The director has shown great passion for the movies and themes of the time period, and “Hugo” demonstrates that in every sequence.

Aside from its spectacular 3D cinematography, the charms of “Hugo” come with patience. The opening act of the film establishes some annoyingly insignificant side-characters, and the somber performance of Butterfield early on leaves something to be desired. But as Kingsley’s character becomes more involved, and the movie steers away from familiar story beats, “Hugo” proves worth the time commitment.

And seriously, spring for those 3D glasses.

Grade: A-

For the sake of the children, it’s probably better that “A Very Harold & Kumar 3D Christmas” was released in early November. Any closer to the actual holiday and unsuspecting families might end up seeing a Christmas movie that could scar them for life.

The very R-rated comedy, the third in the cult-stoner series, contains aggressive drug use, child endangerment, Claymation nudity, countless f-words and Santa Claus getting shot in the head.

The point of “Harold & Kumar” is to be excessive, especially in its use of 3D. I can’t even mention some of the things that go flying out at the audience. Nestled deep within the filth, though, is a loving tribute to those feel-good Christmas movies you watch every year. Did I mention the toddler that inadvertently ingests a mound of cocaine? (more…)

Shrek, Donkey and Princess Fiona are hardly missed in “Puss in Boots,” the “Shrek” spin-off featuring Antonio Banderas as the cunning feline hero. It doesn’t match the wit of the first two “Shrek” movies, but there’s enough fresh humor and colorful action for it to overtake “Shrek the Third” and “Shrek Forever After” in the franchise.

Taking place before his appearance in the “Shrek” movies, Puss in Boots (Banderas) is a suave kitty with a criminal past. Flashbacks of the adorable kitten show him getting into trouble with classmate Humpty Dumpty (Zach Galifianakis). The rotten egg has dreams of uncovering magic beans that lead to a castle in the clouds and a goose that lays golden eggs. Puss would probably settle for a glass of warm milk. (more…)