If not for a final scene that left me vacillating between perplexed, bewildered, enchanted and annoyed (not necessarily in the that order), I’d probably be calling Jennifer Westfeldt’s directorial debut Friends with Kids an early contender for one of 2012’s best films.

John Carter is a treat, and here’s one vote hoping that box office receipts are high enough Disney decides a second trip to Barsoom ends up being a worthwhile investment.

But Salmon Fishing in the Yemen never swims against the current, doesn’t head upstream in an unconventional way, and as such the goodwill spawned during the initial migration frustratingly vanishes by the time this absurd romantic journey comes to its end.

No matter what one thinks of Silent House itself, the actress’ magnificence is never in doubt, and to call this the first great performance of 2012 would be a massive understatement.

Sound of Noise is nothing short of a cacophony of sound, fury, silence, ingenuity and inspiration, the entire plot revolving around a scenario that’s as silly as it is absurd.

Even with my reservations this is a movie I know I’ll see again. More than that, I want to see Being Flynn again. It’s captured a corner of my imagination, and for all my mixed feelings that’s a trait I’ll happily celebrate now and far into the foreseeable future.

Dr. Seuss’ The Lorax doesn’t speak for anyone, no one at all, and if it does have a tongue it’s tied itself into so many knots trying to decipher its points beyond the obvious ones is infuriatingly hopeless.

But Project X is like social media in that it is all pretense without the payoff, all editorial commentary without the research to make any of its statements matter.

The dialogue is dreadful, the human aspects so saccharine they’re practically laughable and tension is virtually nonexistent. To call this monstrosity anything other than a mess would be a kindness, so guess I’ll just say Act of Valor is a bad film and then leave it at that.