An extraordinary film, vividly capturing a foreign land inside the U.S. The acting is so authentic the movie comes across at times like a documentary, which led to my confusion: parts seem to be a commentary on post-Katrina Louisiana, while other parts – e.g., the escape from the hospital – are as fanciful as Moonrise Kingdom. The story itself wasn’t particularly wonderful, or even interesting. What was wonderful was the depiction of life in “The Bathtub,” a true community where races, sexes and ages mixed in harmony (and liquor) and people lived off the land (except for the liquor).

The heartwarming love story of a boy and his teddy, the one who won’t grow up and the other mature beyond his species. Oh, and there’s also Mila Kunis as the woman who comes between them. The other character is Boston, the city of Dennis Lehane, the Afflecks and the Farrelly Brothers, with homages like the French Connection car chase and the Fenway Park showdown. I laughed from the great opening scene – how children in Boston traditionally celebrate Christmas – and had tears running down my cheeks by the end. There were a few misfires – mainly the whole Norah Jones bit – but otherwise the pacing and tone were pitch-perfect. Only a curmudgeon or a jaded movie critic wouldn’t enjoy this film.

An ode to solipsism, made watchable by the pleasant looks of Greta Gerwig, the chastest onscreen slut I’ve seen in awhile, and the normal looks of Joel Kinnaman, whom we have watched and grown to love over the two years of AMC’s The Killing, in which he plays the scruffy and barely intelligible Holder. Otherwise, this film gives scant confidence for a future inhabited by this generation or for the current state of Ph.D. programs in New York.

For those hungering for more Lord of the Rings, this is your ticket: mass movements of armies on horseback, trees that move, morphing birds, little people with pleasing personalities, scads of black magic, aerial pull-away photography and a sincere and pure heir of a kingdom on a quest. I don’t mean to diminish Snow White – after all, LOTR set quite a high bar, and to play in its league is quite an achievement. The comparison is more to locate this film in its proper context: this is not your grandma’s Snow White, and there is no Dopey or Snoopy whistling while you work. The story is by the myth-book and the outcome is never in doubt, but what makes this movie stand out is the classic beauty of almost every shot on the way. The galloping horses took my breath away and the costumes and court ceremonies were illuminated manuscripts come to life. Charlize Theron was the acting star. Kristen Stewart was merely acceptable in a role that would have better suited Keira Knightley ten years ago. I think I could watch this again, with the sound turned off.

A brilliantly droll faux-documentary by Richard Linklater in which all the fun comes from laughing at the East Texan talking heads – and since these are mainly real East Texans we don’t feel guilty about laughing at them, instead of with them, although that is mainly what we are doing. The three real actors – Matthew McConaughy, Shirley MacLaine and Jack Black – by comparison seem out of place, and this is especially, almost fatally, true for Jack Black who plays an uptight nerd even though we know he is one of the coolest dudes on the planet. It’s good acting, but hardly worth the viewer’s effort to overcome this preconception. In all, the whole thing goes down easy, like biscuits and gravy with sweet tea.