The Adventures Of Tintin (2011) ***

An exciting animated action film based on the famous European comic books. Here, Tintin resembles an all-American action hero (a diminutive Bruce Willis with a weird hairdo) more than the original Hergé creation, but director Steven Spielberg nonetheless managed to accurately depict many memorable supporting characters, including Captain Haddock, Dupont and Dupond (Thomson and Thompson) and Bianca Castafiore. Only Professor Tournesol (Calculus) fails to make an appearance. The story is based on three Tintin's books (“Le Secret de la Licorne”, “Le Trésor de Rackman le Rouge” and “Le Crabe aux pinces d'or”), with one scene taken from “Coke en stock”, but most of the film's second half is entirely original, including the most exciting action pieces (essentially, everything from Tintin's arrival in the Arab prince's palace to the dueling port cranes is nowhere to be found in any of Hergé's books).

Hugo (2011) ***

Martin Scorsese's love poem to a great pioneer of cinema, Georges Melies. Visually stunning, complex and cleverly constructed film that manages to enchant the viewers with its technical prowess while telling a touching and beautiful story about a great artistic genius.

L'Ordre et la morale (2011) ***

French docudrama about a hostage crisis in Nouvelle Caledonie during the 1988 presidential election in France.

Le Chat du rabbin (2011) ***

Uneven, but often brilliant animated film about Africa, Judaism, Islam and Russia.

The Help (2011) ***

There are a few weak and unconvincing scenes (especially Constantine's firing and Stuart breaking up with Skeeter), but otherwise it's an engrossing, moving and biting drama about racial and class conflicts in Mississippi in the 1960's. Bryce Dallas Howard is particularly good as a racist Southern bitch who gets her just desserts (quite literally, actually). Jessica Chastain is quite moving as a young trophy wife cruelly ostracized by all women in town. Viola Davis's Oscar-nominated performance is flawless, but it's actually a supporting role, with less screen time than Olivia Spencer, who won as Best Supporting Actress (while Davis was inexplicably nominated as Best Actress, and lost to Meryl Streep as Margaret Thatcher in "The Iron Lady").

Arthur Christmas (2011) ***

Entertaining animated feature about Santa Claus' younger son trying to deliver a Christmas present to a little girl in England.

Rango (2011) ***

Animated western about a heroic lizard saving a lawless town from thirst.

Machine Gun Preacher (2011) ***

True story of Sam Childers, an American missionary in South Sudan who fights against Joseph Kony's LRA (Lord's Resistance Army).

The Muppets (2011) ***

Superb songs (including Oscar-winning "Man Or Muppet" and the legendary "Mahna Mahna", not to mention "Life's a Happy Song" and, of course, "The Muppet Show Theme"), self-reflexive humor ("This is going to be a really short movie", "You were reciting some sort of important plot point", "Are we working for the bad guy?"), Amy Adams and the Muppets. What more can you ask for ?

Atlas Shrugged Part I (2011) ***

The first part of an adaptation of Ayn Rand's famous novel about innovators and elite enterpreneurs going on strike, leading to a complete collapse of a socialist society.

Rio (2011) ***

Excellent animated film about birds, birdnappers, Rio and the Rio carnaval.

Anonymous (2011) ***

A "DaVinci Code" in iambic pentameter - a tale, told by Roland Emmerich ("Independance Day"), full of sound and fury, signifying that William Shakespeare might have been a fraud. However, the "Stratfordian vs Oxfordian" authorship controversy is almost of a secondary importance here, overshadowed by the sex life of Queen Elizabeth and the political intrigues related to her succession. Like with Dan Brown's story of Mary Magdalen, the fiction is far more fascinating (and intriguing) than the boring reality, making us wish that it was all true, but ultimately, once again, does it really matter ? What difference does it make if "Hamlet" was written by a legitimate son of a glover or an illegitimate son of a queen ?

Midnight In Paris (2011) ***

A romantic comedy by Woody Allen in the style of "The Purple Rose Of Cairo". Only this time, instead of magically travelling from the world of Hollywood cinema to the real one, the main protagonist travels across time from modern-day Paris to the mythical Paris of Ernest Hemingway, Scott Fitzgerald, Pablo Picasso, Salvador Dali and Gertrude Stein in the 1920's.

W.E. (2011) ***

Melancholia (2011) ***

Little Birds (2011) ***

Killer Joe (2011) ***

Kaboom (2011) ***

In The Land Of Blood And Honey (2011) ***

Hell And Back Again (2011) ***

Cat Run (2011) ***

Winnie The Pooh (2011) ***

An excellent sequel to "The Many Adventures Of Winnie The Pooh" (1977).

The Artist (2011) ***

A pastiche of “Singin' In The Rain”, “A Star Is Born” and countless other Hollywood films about its own stardom, presented as as a black & white, silent melodrama set in the late 20's and the early 30's, as silent movie stars are gradually replaced by new all-talking, all-singing and all-dancing performers. Unlike Hazanavicius' other films (''OSS 117 Caire le nid des espions'' and ''OSS 117 Rio ne repond plus''), this is not really a parody, but rather a sincere hommage to the Hollywood cinema.

Le Sens de l'humour (2011) ***

Excellent Canadian comedy about two stand-up comics who get kidnapped by a serial killer. Surprising and screamingly funny.

Gnomeo And Juliet (2011) ***

An animated adaptation of Shakespeare's "Romeo And Juliet", set among garden gnomes.

Crazy Stupid Love (2011) ***

A successful Alpha male Pick-Up Artist (Ryan Gosling) with a very tight Game takes pity on a poor beta loser (Steve Carell) still in love with his ex-wife (Julianne Moore) who unceremoniously dumped him after cheating on him with Kevin Bacon. Emma Stone steals the movie as Gosling's new girlfriend.

Tous les soleils (2011) ***

Bittersweet French comedy about an Italian university professor living in Strasbourg and still unable to get over the death of his wife 15 years earlier. A fascinating portrait of a cosmopolitan European city where ethnic and linguistic diversity coexists peacefully, and humorously. Very old-fashioned, but profoundly moving.

The Flowers Of War (2011) ***

A Chinese "Schindler's List", set during the Rape of Nanking.

The Raid Redemption (2011) ***

Violent action movie from Indonesia.

Moneyball (2011) ***

Excellent baseball drama starring Brad Pitt and Jonah Hill.

The Guard (2011) ***

Excellent comedy/drama about a rural Irish cop (Brendan Gleeson) helping an FBI officer (Don Cheadle) to catch a gang of murdering drug traffickers. Fresh, original and constantly surprising.

Stephen Faulkner: J'm'en va r'viendre (2011) ***

Fine documentary about a country singer from Quebec.

Le Gamin au velo (2011) ***

Powerful Belgian drama about a young boy abandoned by his father.

Une Vie de chat (2011) ***

A surprising Oscar nominee as Best Animated Feature in 2011, when "The Adventures Of Tintin" and "Cars 2" weren't nominated.

If A Tree Falls: A Story Of The Earth Liberation Front (2011) ***

Excellent documentary. Sympathetic towards its subjects - the eco-terrorists - but remarkably objective and open-minded. And while it spends way too much time on pointless side issues ("it's unfair that eco-terrorists are treated just like Islamic terrorists, because they didn't kill anyone"), it's a fascinating expose on the process of gradual radicalization. And its insights apply to all kinds of political movements, not just environmental ones.

Margin Call (2011) ***

Sharp corporate drama in the tradition of "Glengarry Glen Ross" and "Boiler Room".

Cars 2 (2011) ***

Very entertaining sequel to Disney/Pixar's 2006 hit. Part James Bond pastiche, part racecar epic, it's a spectacular action flick about industrial spies, ecological conspiracies, alternative fuels and other contemporary topics. And for once - SPOILER ALERT - the villain is a green leftist hypocrite pretending to promote an alternative fuel, but in reality only interested in getting rich himself.

Larry Crowne (2011) ***

Surprisingly pleasant little comedy about a nice guy losing his job, going to college, meeting new people and turning his life around. Basically an anti-Up In The Air, an earnest and feel-good antidote to Jason Reitman's mean sarcasm about Obama's America. Directed with an appropriate lightness of touch by Tom Hanks (recalling an equally sweet-but-serious approach he brought to his underrated directorial film debut, "That Thing You Do!"). While the film is advertised as a Tom Hanks/Julia Roberts rom-com, it's really much more than that, an almost epic, Capraesque portrait of contemporary America not giving up on its potential. It's really the supporting characters who make this movie, a truly original collection of various odd-balls, goof-balls and excentrics, including Star Trek's George Takei as a hilariously strange college professor, Cedric the Entertainer as a penny-pinching yard-sale guru, and especially Gugu Mbatha-Raw (photo) as an unbelievably cute yet wise college student and scooter club promoter.

Les Neiges du Kilimandjaro (2011) ***

Surprising film about class struggles.

Bridesmaids (2011) ***

Pretty raunchy comedy about a maid of honor (Kirsten Wiig) ruining her best friend's wedding. Melissa McCarthy steals the movie as the groom's wacky sister.

Monsieur Lazhar (2011) ***

"Entre les murs", Quebec-style.