[The] only reason Thor: The Dark World exists is to start putting in place the building blocks leading to both Guardians of the Galaxy and 2015’s The Avengers: Age of Ultron. It’s the teaser leading to the epic conclusion, little things like character development and honest human emotions unimportant just as long as the seeds for coming chapters are cunningly sown.

I didn’t dislike Man of Steel, not at all, but I just as readily didn’t enjoy it nearly as much as I wanted to, either. Nothing about this latest Superman iteration captivated me, none of it connected on an emotional level, and while the action theatrics fly considerably higher than any previous adaptation the shortcomings found in the human department frustratingly kept the project as a whole from soaring.

Wreck-It Ralph is a ton of fun. It is a total delight, immersing me right into the center of its inspired video game world with confident ease.

I was hypnotized by Cloud Atlas.

Tai Chi Zero is a bad movie, and I honestly don’t think there’s anything left for me to say.

Chicken with Plums is frequently mystifying, yet it still remains an emotionally captivating marvel in all the ways that matter most.

There is magic happening here, maybe just enough to make The Odd Life of Timothy Green a motion picture I’ll revisit in the future and think even better of the second time around.

There is no closure to Beasts of the Southern Wild, nothing to hold on to that I felt was satisfying. I love the fire and the passion it must have taken for Zeitlin and Alibar to bring the film to life, but that wasn’t enough as far as I was concerned.

I don’t have a lot that’s positive to say about Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter.