The story of a group of Norwegian film students that set out to capture real-life trolls on camera after learning their existence has been covered up for years by a government conspiracy.

At one point early on in The Troll Hunter, a character says “We are patiently waiting for something to happen.” Regardless if this was a wink at the audience or not, I certainly felt the same way. The film doesn’t add much to the shaky camera, found footage genre, and suffers most when attempting to be political. The troll CGI (that’s something you don’t say everyday) looks best in broad daylight but doesn’t fare as well when the cameraman has to turn on night-vision. For a low budget film, it’s still somewhat impressive, and makes me wish that the filmmakers took a different visual approach to the material.

A historical drama that illustrates Russian author Leo Tolstoy’s struggle to balance fame and wealth with his commitment to a life devoid of material things.

At times a bit too melodramatic for my taste, The Last Station is nevertheless a well-acted story about Leo Tolstoy’s last days. The highlights on the acting front are Christopher Plummer as the renowned writer and Helen Miren as his wife, Sofya. The Last Station is most interesting when dealing with the ideas of the author’s works and how it affects the people around him, including himself. I’m still grappling, though, with the decision to have all the actor’s speak in English accents as opposed to Russian.

As an assassin, Jack is constantly on the move and always alone. After a job in Sweden ends more harshly than expected for this American abroad, Jack retreats to the Italian countryside. He relishes being away from death for a spell as he holes up in a small medieval town. While there, Jack takes an assignment to construct a weapon for a mysterious contact.

Anton Corbijn is an exceptional photographer. His debut film Control was a beautifully shot biopic about Ian Curtis and Joy Division. The American is also a pleasure to look at, but it is awfully boring to watch. I’m not sure if it’s writer Rowan Joffé or author Martin Booth’s (whose book the movie is based on) fault, but they waited entirely too long to get the audience invested in the protagonist. Regardless, it is my hope that Corbijn can find the right material that doesn’t feel like such a chore.

Based on the novel by legendary pulp writer Jim Thompson, it’s the story of handsome, charming, unassuming small town sheriff’s deputy Lou Ford.

Casey Affleck superbly played a quiet man with an obsession in The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford. Working in similar territory in the brutally violent The Killer Inside Me, he once again proves himself to be a very capable actor. With a voice that barely rises above a whisper, Affleck’s Lou Ford is quite frightening. Jessica Alba, on the other hand, continues to lessen the impact of every movie she appears in.

Despite having not read the 1952 novel the film is based on, I believe that the film sinks under the weight of its source material. There are wonderfully written scenes (some of which are absolutely horrifying to watch), but The Killer Inside Me may have fared better with more editing. Even still, it’s good enough to have me interested in reading the novel to see how the film fares in comparison.

A household pet goes on an adventure to discover its true self.

At times an examination of purpose and identity, the stunningly refreshing Rango is one of if not the most adult-oriented animated films to hit almost 4,000 theaters. Say what you will about director Gore Verbinski’s Pirates of the Caribbean films, but that franchise’s financial success allowed for an expensive miracle like this to be financed and released.

Featuring Hans Zimmer’s most inspired score in ages, this western was put together in an unconventional fashion: as oppose to having the actors just do their voice-over work, they got to act out their scenes on a stage and have industry magicians ILM record everything. In addition to a terrific script, I believe this process went a long way towards making the film so unique. Rango is also the first time in recent memory that an eccentric performance by Johnny Depp felt welcomed. Parents may want to think twice about taking the little ones.

It’s the eve of Christmas in northern Finland, and an ‘archeological’ dig has just unearthed the real Santa Claus. But this particular Santa isn’t the one you want coming to town.

Rare Exports feels like the work of a Finnish Steven Spielberg. With an overblown score lifted from any number of films in the 80s, this play on the myth of Santa is more homage than an original work. I appreciate what Jalmari Helander tried to do, but despite a few laughs and scares, Rare Exports doesn’t turn out to be worthy of the company of its influences.

The story of Robert, an inanimate tire that has been abandoned in the desert, and suddenly and inexplicably comes to life. As Robert roams the bleak landscape, he discovers that he possesses terrifying telepathic powers that give him the ability to destroy anything he wishes without having to move.

After reading the synopsis or watching a trailer, you have to know what you are getting into with a film like Rubber. Even still, with a run-time of just over eighty minutes, this exercise in meta manages to feel like an eternity.

Less of a movie and more of an experience, director Quentin Dupieux (who worked on the soundtrack with Justice’s Gaspard Auge) begins with a fourth wall breaking speech by Stephen Spirella’s Lieutenant Chad. Either you buy into his points about nonsense in cinema, or Rubber is going to be a terrible time for you. As a short film, it could have been terrific. Time will tell if this killer tire flick will end up as part of the art house midnight circuit (for which it seems intended).

Television reporter Angela Vidal and her cameraman are assigned to spend the night shift with a Los Angeles Fire Station. After a routine 911 call takes them to a small apartment building, they find police officers already on the scene in response to blood curdling screams coming from one of the apartment units. They soon learn that a woman living in the building has been infected by something unknown.

Having not seen Rec, the movie on which Quarantine is based, I can’t compare the remake to the original. On its own, Quarantine is an entertaining horror film with a few good scares, especially in its excellent third act. The biggest flaw of the movie are the logical lapses that take the viewer out of the tone that the first act establishes. From the beginning, the movie goes for a documentary feel, such as when the television cameraman will test volumes off-screen and the reporter will fumble her lines. Though I won’t bother getting into a dissection on the shaky camera approach (it’s been covered a lot, and particularly well here), I found the cameraman to be pretty inept at filming, even before the horror kicks in.

Quarantine is saved by its last half hour, a very well choreographed bunch of scenes in which the intensity keeps rising. The lack of score is very effective, and the infected are pretty frightening. Confined spaces can make for great horror, and Quarantine capitalizes on that with its claustrophobic feel.

After being betrayed and left for dead, members of a CIA black ops team root out those who targeted them for assassination.

Want to be a Loser? First, you have to refer to members of your team by nickname or badass last name (Roque, Clay, Pooch, and Cougar will suffice). Then, you’ll show that you’ve had a long history with your teammates by talking back and forth really, really fast, occasionally finishing each others sentences. Also, you’re going to want to be fairly annoying.

Want to be the writer for “The Losers”? Go ahead and throw in a team betrayal or two, have members in-fight and skip logic as often as possible. For example, if there are kill orders out against your character by various countries and terrorist factions, by all means have them meet someone out in broad daylight. If you’re the director, throw in slow motion shots of cockfights to establish a tongue-in-cheek tone but then go for every action cliche you can think of.

I take no issue with a film that doesn’t take itself seriously, but The Losers can’t decide what it wants to be (although if I owned the rights to The A-Team, I’d consider a lawsuit). Chris Evans shows a lot of charisma, but the rest of the team doesn’t fare so well. Idris Elba is better than this material, and Jeffrey Dean Morgan looks fairly bored throughout the film.

And then there’s Jason Patric.

In perhaps one of the worst action villains to ever grave the screen, Jason Patric is a complete bore as Max. Every time he appears on screen, the film screeches to a halt. Though the plot revolves around actions caused by his character, each Max scene feels as if it’s from a completely different movie. Perhaps Patric thought it’d be an interesting approach to play Max as the most humorless, uninteresting villain he could possibly be. If so, he succeeded.

Sylvian White may know how to shoot action, but he still hasn’t proven himself as a film director. For someone who has worked under Michel Gondry and Spike Jonze, that’s quite a shame.

The first film to provide a comprehensive analysis of the global financial crisis of 2008, which at a cost over $20 trillion, caused millions of people to lose their jobs and homes in the worst recession since the Great Depression, and nearly resulted in a global financial collapse.

The aptly titled Inside Job is a highly informative documentary that will make your blood boil. I found it occasionally difficult to keep track of all the numbers and statistics presented, but found a larger issue in the tone of the documentary. Director Charles Ferguson can be frequently heard asking questions off camera, and his bitter delivery as an interviewer detracts from the incredulous answers the various financial industry workers give. Their answers are shocking enough for the audience to understand that something is wrong, and Ferguson loses some of his integrity (despite showing a willingness to ask very pressing questions) as he shows his anger.

Inside Job is still worth seeing, as you will get a good sense of the global financial crisis. Hopefully next time Ferguson puts together a documentary, he can let someone else do the interviewing.

Adopted by his grandmother, Madame Souza, Champion is a lonely little boy. Noticing that the lad is never happier than on a bicycle, Madame Souza puts him through a rigorous training process. Years go by and Champion becomes worthy of his name. Now he is ready to enter the world-famous cycling race the Tour de France. However during this cycling contest, two mysterious men in black kidnap Champion. Madame Souza and her faithful dog Bruno set out to rescue him.

Virtually a silent film, The Triplets of Belleville features stunning animation and some truly original sequences. The opening musical number featuring the triplets lets the viewer know from the onset that this is not your average animated movie. Though the triplets disappear for a while, the relationship between Madame Souza and her grandson carry the film. Discussing Champion’s love for cycling or the triplets tapping away on anything for rhythm won’t do justice to Belleville. Note: you’ll likely want to bang on a pot or any household object after watching this film.

Three teenagers are confined to an isolated country estate that could very well be on another planet. The trio spend their days listening to endless homemade tapes that teach them a whole new vocabulary. Any word that comes from beyond their family abode is instantly assigned a new meaning.

What were to happen if a father decided to raise his kids as if they were an experiment? The twisted Dogtooth puts a family like that on display, but it doesn’t succumb to simply being exploitation. Sure, there are some fairly graphic and odd scenes, but considering the circumstances these teenagers are put in, it all falls into the realm of some type of possible reality. Dogtooth doesn’t speed along, but you may find yourself engrossed by this fucked up family. By the end, you might even start appreciating your own a bit more.

In 1961 Long Island Alice is just that bit younger than her playmates. She doesn’t quite understand yet about some grownup things and is teased a lot. Her heroine is Sheryl, the teenager over the road who has a succession of boyfriends. Alice even copies her perfume and favourite records, though she has never spoken to her. When Sheryl’s father dies suddenly and she takes up with Rick, who is viewed with horror by all the parents around, she and Alice become firm friends as they try to keep the romance going.

Released a year before The Sandlot, That Night covers somewhat similar grounds. A coming of age film that introduces a young and bitchy Katherine Heigl, starts off fairly entertaining and then dips further and further into a irreversible, melodramatic territory. American Graffiti, this is not.

A factory worker fed-up with his job and tyrannical boss (who keeps an eye on all his employees via a big-brother TV monitor) meets and falls in love with an orphaned street waif. The two dream of a nice suburban existence but the cops are never far behind, chasing the vagabond couple.

Bookmarked by two phenomenal slapstick sequences, Modern Times displays Charlie Chaplin’s artistic genius. Conceptually, the film is timeless. Paulette Goddard is quite the beauty, and makes for an excellent counterpart to Chaplin’s Tramp. You can watch Modern Times with your parents, your grandparents, or your kids–all ages are likely to enjoy the comedy.

An alternate history story of a woman who, as she reflects on her private school years in the English countryside, reunites with her two friends to face the dark secrets tied to their communal past.

The one thing I appreciated about Never Let Me Go was its alternative “what if?” historical fiction slant. It took me a while to grasp that the premise is one of science fiction, though it doesn’t play out in the conventional science fiction sense. Andrew Garfield is always a pleasure on screen, but Keira Knightley doesn’t do much with the material. Never Let Me Go is a dull film, and from what I’ve read, a far better novel.