Banks is incredible, her performance the anchor that holds People Like Us together.

Grassroots shows that, win or lose, hope still exists, and that the tiniest of voices can still be heard if they have the guts to stand before a microphone and have the courage to make their opinions public.

Lola Versus comes up frustratingly short, making my recommending it as a worthwhile option for a night out at the local cinema a virtual impossibility.

But when you look at Cruise, when you see what he decides to bring to this ‘Nothin’ But A Good Time’ party, when you find yourself awestruck by his ability to mine places and corners of the human condition the rest of the picture seemingly has no interest in, you quickly realize Rock of Ages could be so much more than it is.

The Woman in the Fifth is as coldly obtuse and emotionally distant as anything I’ve had the misfortune to come across this year.

Your Sister’s Sister has something universal to say about relationships, about the bonds between siblings, about how it is we choose to live our lives and the mysterious nature of the dreams, aspirations and demons that drive us forward.

Safety Not Guaranteed is not your normal time travel comedy/drama/romance/mystery hybrid.

The Intouchables balances precipitously at the edge of melodramatic excess yet somehow never falls over into that particular ravine.

Moonrise Kingdom has the potential to be a movie I’ll be pondering, mulling over and thinking about for the remainder of 2012. When all is said and done it might even enter into the upper echelon of the Wes Anderson canon.