The Devil Inside (2012)

1st View
Venue: Galaxy Highland (Press Screening)

Cheap, amateur, snake oil flim-flamery masquerading as a horror film. You can read my bile-spitting review at Horror's Not Dead. Be forewarned, I was not kind.


Rating: 0/10 Atkins

The Adventures of Tintin (2011)

1st View
Venue: Galaxy Highlands (Press Screenings)

Thoroughly entertaining throwing to Spielberg's classic adventure films made all the more thrilling by the fact that the mo-cap animation means he is unburdened by the laws of physics. My pic for best animated film of the year.


Rating: 8/10 Atkins

Mission: Impossible-Ghost Protocol (2011)

1st View
Format: IMAX
Venue: Bob Bullock Theater (Press Screening)

Easily my favorite M:I sequel. Gets back to the group dynamic that defined the TV series instead of it being the Tom Cruise Show. The action sequences, aided by the fact that they were shot and then projected in IMAX 70mm, were heart-stopping. It's been a long time since I've seen audiences recoil like that at horror movies much less action flicks. Amazing.

Rating: 8/10 Atkins

Sherlock Holmes: A Game of Shadows (2011)

1st View
Venue: Galaxy Highland (Press Screening)

Not as good as the first, though it had the potential to surpass it. Jared Harris' Moriarty is outstanding and the back-and-forth between he and Downey Jr is perfect. Unfortuantely, this bloated sequel can't decide if its an action romp or an old school Sherlock story.


Rating: 5/10 Atkins

Hugo (2011)

1st View
Venue: Regal Metropolitan (Press Screening)

I have issues with its pacing and bizarre cinematography, but Hugo is a beautiful love letter to cinephilia and the origins of film itself. For that, I loved it.

Rating: 7/10 Atkins

The Muppets (2011)

1st View
Venue: Galaxy Highland (Press Screening)

Start the music and light the lights, Kermit and the gang are back! Here is my review of the long-anticipated return of The Muppets in...THE MUPPETS! 

J. Edgar (2011)

1st View
Venue: Galaxy Highland (Press Screening)

Uneven, unfocused, and overall flat, J. Edgar is one of the most disappointing films of the year. Dicaprio's accent and makeup are as laughable as his cloying performance. Clint Eastwood has become a peddler of mediocrity who is more concerned with getting a film released in time for awards season every year than crafting anything of quality.


Rating: 3/10 Atkins

A Very Harold & Kumar Christmas (2011)

1st View
Venue: Galaxy Highland (Press Screening)

I must say I am a fan of the first H&K film. It's a weird infusion of Cheech and Chong and the Crosby/Hope "on the road" movies. While I haven't seen the second film, since seeing the first I have become a huge fan of How I Met Your Mother starring, among others, the incomparable Neil Patrick Harris. I was therefore doubly excited about A Very Harold & Kumar Christmas and the return of the storied NPH from the H&K universe. He definitely did not disappoint. The film was as raunchy and low-brow as you'd expect, and yet simultaneously smarter than you'd think. Also, I now desperately want a WaffleBot.

Rating: 7/10 Atkins

Young Adult (2011)

1st View
Venue: Alamo South Lamar (Press Screening)

Self-indulgent writing, zero likable characters, and completely insults the audience's time and effort by...well, I won't spoil the ending seeing as the film isn't in theaters yet. Repugnant filmmaking all around. Patton Oswalt's ultimately undermined performance is the only reason this film doesn't warrant a rating of "0."

Rating: 2/10 Atkins

Bullhead (2011)

1st View
Venue: Alamo South Lamar (Press Screening)

This was one of the most praised films at this year's Fantastic Fest, but I unfortunately did not get a chance to see it. Finally rectified that oversight. Everything that was in the film was great, but it made me want to know more details about this story that were sadly lacking. I think it's a very good movie, there's just not enough there in my opinion.

Rating: 7/10 Atkins

The Thing (2011)

1st View
Venue: Galaxy Highland (Press Screening)

Pitiful, visionless rehashing of Carpenter's classic with absolutely no understanding of what really made it work. Don't waste your time.

Rating: 3/10 Atkins

Ides of March (2011)

1st Visit
Venue: Alamo South Lamar (Press Screening)

Forgettable Oscar-bait dreck.


Rating: 4/10 Atkins

Take Shelter (2011)

1st View
Venue: Regal Metropolitan (Press Screening)

Powerful film, plenty of sensational performances, ultimately unsatisfied with the conclusion and its undermining of the emotional weight of the rest of the film.


Rating: 8/10 Atkins

Warrior (2011)

1st View
Venue: Alamo Village (Press Screening)

To be honest, I had no interest in seeing a film about MMA fighting, but then my buddies over at Spill.com asked me to be on one of their audio reviews for the film. I wasn't about to pass up that opportunity so I went to see it. I'm glad I did because Warrior is one of my favorite movies of the year. You can hear all my reasons why on the Spill review here!

Rating: 9/10 Atkins

A Good Old Fashioned Orgy (2011)

1st View
Venue: Alamo South Lamar (Press Screening)

Rating: 7/10 Atkins 

Transformers: Dark of the Moon (2011)

1st View
Venue: Metropolitan (Press Screening) (Summer 2011)

Michael Bay continues to shit the bed with each new film. He is now a pony incapable of adequately executing his one trick. I wash my hands of him.

Rating: 2/10 Atkins

Super 8 (2011)

1st View
Venue: Galaxy Highland (Press Screening) (Summer 2011)

This was my most anticipated film of the summer, and given the magnitude of this particular summer that's saying something. I loved Super 8. I was enraptured by the combination of J.J. Abrams' flair for big sci-fi and the reliance on a deep Amblin reference well. Since seeing it, I've been surprised to find how divisive the reaction has been among my colleagues. I have to admit I fully understand the complaints I'm hearing, but for me Super 8 was the perfect summer movie and struck every appropriate chord with me.

Rating: 8/10 Atkins

Thor (2011)

1st View
Venue: Galaxy Highland (Press Screening)

 First big movie of the summer, at least for me. Enjoyed 90% of the film and appreciated that it was the first to seamlessly incorporate so many appendages of the Marvel universe; no longer a gimmick that all the Avengers exist in the same reality. I like the character-centric superhero film angle, but felt it was a bit forced. Overall, a success I feel.


Rating: 7/10 Atkins

Your Highness (2011)

1st View
Venue: Galaxy Highland (Press Screening)

 This movie landed with a resoundingly dull thud. I just don't feel the cavalcade of dirty jokes and low brau humor thrives in a fantasy period piece. To summarize, I cared more about the quest of the characters in Pineapple Express (also by director David Gordon Green) than I did their quest in a movie about heroic quests. I will say I was thoroughly impressed with Natalie Portman and her headfirst dive into this role.

Rating: 3/10 Atkins

Jane Eyre (2011)

1st View
Format: Digital
Venue: Alamo S. Lamar (Press Screening)

Didn't care for this film much at all, here's my FSR review.

Rating: 3/10 Atkins