You'd think Disney would be willing to take more risks with traditional animation now that the Pixar brain trust is firmly in place. You'd be wrong. The Princess and the Frog is so tasteful that it barely leaves an aftertaste. It's chaste, pretty, colorful—and almost completely lacking in immediacy or dramatic tension. There's no heroic journey to speak of because no one actually goes anywhere or does anything interesting. Even the villain—that mainstay of classic Disney storytelling—is more of a nuisance than he is a threat. This is a nice story about well-behaved people who end up in a sunny place, respectfully told. There is nothing primal or vital here—and that's a disappointment. Grade: B-
Sags considerably in the midsection like most of Gilliam's movies; but unlike his more recent work, the vital parts are electric—poised along that knife's edge where threadbare invention yields to lush fantasy, and where the director's more memorable efforts reside. Grade: B
Starring Sherlock Holmes as Harry Potter. Visually eventful, technically proficient, generally playful; convolutedly plotted. Grade: B-
A by-the-numbers tale of romance, rehab and redemption that's elevated by ingratiatingly naturalistic performances and, some clunky second-act machinery notwithstanding, a refreshingly un-exploitative plot. Here's another number: one hundred minutes. More movies should be so concise. Grade: B+
Artist: Children Collide. Album: The Long Now.
The fecundity of James Cameron's world-building is not in dispute—nor his sincerity, ambition or virtuosity. His ponderous worldview, however, makes Avatar the kind of lush, exhilaratingly arduous journey you'll embark upon once out of completism and possibly never revisit. The auteur may be able to convince us that the heavens can uproot mountains but his sermons are earthbound. Grade: B+
Artist: Jay-Z featuring Alicia Keys. Album: The Blueprint 3.
Artist: The Big Pink. Album: A Brief History of Love.
Artist: Dead Man's Bones. Album: Dead Man's Bones (Featuring the Silverlake Conservatory of Music Children's Choir).
Artist: The Raveonettes. Album: In and Out of Control.
Artist: Taylor Swift. Album: Fearless.
Where Thank You For Smoking was gimmicky and Juno irritatingly mannered, Up in the Air marks Jason Reitman's maturation as a filmmaker—one in command of both the medium and the message. There isn't much to dislike here; the performances are pitch-perfect and Eric Steelberg's cinematography gets Lost in Translation at just the right moments. Grade: B+
Artist: Alaska In Winter. Album: Dance Party In the Balkans.
Artist: The All-American Rejects. Album: When the World Comes Down.
As square, stolid and ultimately gratifying as the proverbial “well-balanced breakfast” from a children's cereal commercial. Just remember that that meal comes with a massive carbon footprint. Grade: B
Lifetime melodrama with indie pretensions. Grade: C+
Artist: Thao. Album: Know Better Learn Faster.