Skyfall *****

For my money the best Bond film yet, "Skyfall," behind the spectacular movie train fight, the fun-house mirrors of a Shanghai skyscraper elevator, and other iconic locations, is a more personal story centered on M and her past. It's clear from the incredible opening sequences that M (Judi Dench) is not infalible, and James Bond (the redoubtable Daniel Craig), is all too human. A specter from M's past, coldly play by Javier Bardem, wreaks revenge on MI6, and Bond and M each confront their past life in a, shall we say, explosive showdown. I especially enjoyed it in IMAX, which director Sam Mendes took some pains and expense to use extensively.

Pitch Perfect ***

"Pitch Perfect" is a refreshingly entertaining film centered on Beca (a smart and empathetic Anna Kendrick), a freshman with ideas of her own, who brings some much-needed life to a staid college a capella singing group. All of the girls in the cast can, and do, actually sing, and the arrangements are a fine mix of standards and mashups. Rebel Wilson, who was so funny in "Bridesmaids" and "Bachelorette," rounds out a hat trick of stellar turns with her portrayal of Fat Amy, who calls herself that before the "stick bitches" can do it behind her back. It's great toe-tapping fun, good laughs, with the requisite growing pains that even stick bitches must suffer.

Chasing Mavericks **

I had high hopes for this true story of a legendary surfer, since Gerard Butler, who plays the mentor,  and Elisabeth Shue, who plays the single mom of Jay Moriarity, can unquestionably act, and act well. The story and production, alas, are more on the level of a TV movie, and fail to deliver on both the coming of age drama side and what should have been spectacular surfing sequences. It's a shame, dude.

Cloud Atlas ****

I give this one four stars for effort, execution, and performances. Set in multiple times past, present, and future, with actors portraying several characters, sometimes of multiple genders, the theme of the movie of the interconnectedness of live and the survival of souls is well represented and embodied in this ambitious undertaking. It takes a bit of concentration from the viewer, but it is cleanly put together, surprisingly so for such a far-reaching tale. It's a case well made, but in the end, it's a point that seems too broad and simple, rather than deep and meaningful.

Seven Psychopaths ***

A more twisted and Hollywood-centric homage and satire of life in the unreal world of L.A., "Seven Psychopaths" follows a blocked writer (Colin Farrell) and his strange friends in the strange underworld of tinsel town. Christopher Walken is a standout as a small-time crook who makes ends meet by kidnapping dogs and returning them to their well-heeled and grateful owners. Director Martin McDonagh takes up the themes he explored in "In Bruges" to good effect. Creepy, bloody, funny, and weird, "Seven Psychopaths" is a film lovers fevered dream.

Argo ****

Fantastically, suspense-fully constructed, "Argo" tells the true story of the rescue of six American embassy personnel who managed to elude capture in the take-over the embassy during the Iranian revolution and who were hidden at the Canadian embassy. Director Ben Affleck also stars as Tony Mendes, the CIA operative who hatched the idea of having the six impersonate a film crew scouting locations. It seems like such an over-the-top caper movie that it's hard to believe it actually happened. Affleck proves himself an accomplished director as well as actor in this piece, and John Goodman and Alan Arkin lend knowing Hollywood insider performances as the producers who constructed the movie side of the subterfuge. It's kind of amazing that even though you know the ending, the movie still delivers on white-knuckle apprehension.

Looper ****

A dystopian science-fiction brain-tease of a movie, gritty and brutal, "Looper" plunges into time travel paradoxes to follow Joe, a killer for hire in a future so controlled that criminals can only eliminate their quarry by illegally sending them back in time to face his blunderbuss. But one day young Joe, masterfully played by Joseph Gordon-Levit in heavy makeup to resemble his older self, the old Joe embodied by Bruce Willis, must eliminate himself, and close the loop. But there are larger issues at work, and the chase that ensues, and the woman with the special child (Emily Blunt) bring a new urgency to the tale of one man, the repercussions through alternative futures begin to fan out. It's an original take on an old story of a mother's love, and a fun ride.