By Matt Brunson

RED RIDING HOOD

DIRECTED BY Catherine Hardwicke

STARS Amanda Seyfried, Gary Oldman

The idea of combining a werewolf tale with a whodunit is an interesting one, and the notion of adding layers of Freud and feminism onto the wolfman saga is positively genius. These angles have been tackled before (the Peter Cushing vehicle The Beast Must Die and Neil Jordan's mesmerizing The Company of Wolves, respectively), but Red Riding Hood initially promises that it will ambitiously tackle the lycanthrope tale on both fronts. Unfortunately, it botches the assignment, resulting in a film that proves to be rather toothless.

By Matt Brunson

DRIVE ANGRY

DIRECTED BY Patrick Lussier

STARS Nicolas Cage, Amber Heard

Nicolas Cage's hilarious, split-second cameo as Fu Manchu in Grindhouse's Werewolf Women of the SS faux trailer must have whetted the actor's appetite for headlining feature-length throwbacks to the disreputable fare of yore, as evidenced by many of the movies he's accepted over the last few years. Despite its high-gloss 3-D presentation, Drive Angry is the most obvious example of his commitment, given its penchant for fast cars, hot women and bloody violence. But whereas the recent Machete managed to both pay homage to its celluloid ancestors while emerging as an entertaining movie in its own right, this one ultimately proves to be a drag, getting off to a gleeful start before losing its way.

• Lena Dunham and Jemima Kirke in Tiny Furniture (Photo credit: IFC)

By Matt Brunson

TINY FURNITURE

DIRECTED BY Lena Dunham

STARS Lena Dunham, Laurie Simmons

While Black Swan was deservedly snagging major honors left and right at last month’s Independent Spirit Awards ceremony, writer-director-star Lena Dunham’s Tiny Furniture managed to sneak away with the prize for Best First Screenplay. The rookie distinction in the category name is important (even if this is really Dunham’s second screenplay, after 2009’s film fest fodder Creative Nonfiction), since this low-budget indie effort showcases a newbie talent who has yet to fully blossom as a filmmaker.

By Matt Brunson

RANGO

DIRECTED BY Gore Verbinski

STARS Johnny Depp, Isla Fisher

GNOMEO & JULIET

DIRECTED BY Kelly Asbury

STARS James McAvoy, Emily Blunt

It's nice to see that, when it comes to producing quality animated features, Hollywood studios have managed to change their, uh, toon.

For many years, Pixar was the only outfit consistently releasing choice animated movies, but it finally appears that other studios' specialized departments are finally getting the hang of it. Disney has recently regained some of its old mojo, while DreamWorks and Universal have managed to lay their hands on more worthy material than what was previously being offered. Of course, let's not go overboard with the praise: For every Rango, there's inevitably a Gnomeo & Juliet.

By Matt Brunson

THE ADJUSTMENT BUREAU

DIRECTED BY George Nolfi

STARS Matt Damon, Emily Blunt

One person's religious beliefs is often another person's existentialist theories, and The Adjustment Bureau offers plenty of theological fodder to go around. Because it tinkers around with notions involving God and chance and destiny and all that other stuff that's fun to discuss whether under or over the influence, it might turn off those types of folks who badly misunderstood Martin Scorsese's brilliant and heartfelt Christian ode, The Last Temptation of Christ. Other viewers, however, might appreciate the movie's ability to question omniscient authority with the proper mix of reverence and reflection.

By Matt Brunson

CEDAR RAPIDS

DIRECTED BY Miguel Arteta

STARS Ed Helms, John C. Reilly

Cedar Rapids is a low-rent version of the sort of raunchy comedy that's all the rage these days, but it wears its modesty rather well. In fact, its reliance on vulgar gags is so sparse that it's somewhat startling when this ends on an outtake of co-star John C. Reilly mixing flatulence and flick-a-BIC. But we're getting ahead of ourselves.

By Matt Brunson

HALL PASS

DIRECTED BY Bobby & Peter Farrelly

STARS Owen Wilson, Jason Sudeikis

It's hard to wax philosophic about a film in which a portly guy stoned out of his gourd elects to use a golf course sand trap like so much kitty litter, so let's just state that Hall Pass, the latest yarn from those wacky Farrelly Brothers, doesn't merely alternate between scenes that are dumb and dumber. It's actually a smart picture at times, both in its dissection of marital matters and in its ability to extract solid laughs from dubious situations.

By Matt Brunson

BIG MOMMAS: LIKE FATHER, LIKE SON

DIRECTED BY John Whitesell

STARS Martin Lawrence, Brandon T. Jackson

Big Mommas: Like Father, Like Son isn't like Some Like It Hot; instead, it's like every other witless sequel meant to prolong the life cycle of a flailing franchise. Like it or not, the fact remains that there's not much to like here, and it only escapes a bomb rating because it's more irritating than offensive — like an ant crawling across a countertop rather than a roach roosting in the cereal box.

• Susan Sarandon and Geena Davis in Thelma & Louise

By Matt Brunson

THELMA & LOUISE (1991)

DIRECTED BY Ridley Scott

STARS Susan Sarandon, Geena Davis

THE COLOR PURPLE (1985)

DIRECTED BY Steven Spielberg

STARS Whoopi Goldberg, Danny Glover

By Matt Brunson

BARNEY'S VERSION

DIRECTED BY Richard J. Lewis

STARS Paul Giamatti, Dustin Hoffman

Paul Giamatti's excellent performance in Barney's Version recently earned him the Golden Globe for Best Actor in a Musical or Comedy, and he certainly deserved the honor over embarrassingly weak competition. What isn't so clear, however, is why this film was thrust into the Comedy category in the first place.