The Girl Who Kicked the Hornet's Nest ***

The final movie of the Stieg Larsson Millenium trilogy, shot in sequence and starring the same actors as the first two, brings an appropriately final but also tentative and unsatisfying end to this unlikely story of one of the most original characters in modern popular literature. Once again Noomi Rapace as Lisbeth Salander dominates the movie. The courtroom scenes are riveting (and interesting for an American audience to see the differences in Swedish procedures). I found the unfolding story well told cinematically, and well rid of the tech details of the book. Can the upcoming American version (reportedly to be shot in Sweden) live up to the home-grown version?

Rated R. 147 minutes. In Swedish with English subtitles. Daniel Alfredson - Director, Stieg Larsson - Writer (novel), Ulf Rydberg - Writer (screenplay), Soren Staermose - Producer, Peter Mokrosinski - Cinematographer, Jacob Groth -Composer, Hakan Karlsson - Editor. Produced by Norkisk Film. Distributed in the U.S. by Music Box Films.

Principal actors: Noomi Rapace, Michael Nyqvist, Lena Endre, Annika Hallin, Jacob Ericksson.

Hereafter ***

Is there life after death? Can anyone really communicate with those on "the other side"? It's odd to see Clint Eastwood, lately such a realist, but who is, admittedly, 80 years old, tackle such a subject. In the case of George Lonegan (Matt Damon), there is no question. There is life after death, and he can communicate with their spirits. This movie is about what it's like to be George. It's a tormented and disturbing life, draining and isolating not only from those who want his help, but from those he would like to know on a more mundane and personal level. Given these parameters, the movie gives us a kind of romantic (on several levels) resolution to George's dilemma. I found it an interesting, if totally unconvincing, exercise. See it if you want to have some heavy discussions afterward.

Rated PG-13. 129 minutes. Clint Eastwood - Director / Producer / Composer, Peter Morgan - Writer, Kathleen Kennedy - Producer, Robert Lorenz - Producer, Tom Stern - Cinematographer, James J. Murakami - Production Designer, Joel Cox - Editor, Gary Roach - Editor. Distributed by Warner Bros. Pictures.

Principal actors: Matt Damon, Bryce Dallas Howard, Cecile De France.

Last Train Home ****

Every year 130 million Chinese migrant factory workers embark on a journey to their home villages for the New Year's holiday, trips that are crushingly crowded, and often long. Director / cinematographer / editor Lixin Fan, maker of the beautiful and haunting documentary "Up the Yangtze," here turns his camera on the faces of this huge annual migration, reportedly the largest on earth. As with his previous work on the changing landscape and human toll of the Three Gorges Dam (once again, the largest on earth), Fan concentrated for several years on a single family to tell the story.

Here we have a couple who left their two children more than 10 years ago in the care of a grandmother on their small farm in the hinterland in order to make money in a factory. Their daily life and struggles in a society with no social safety net, and their rebellious now teenage daughter and more studious younger son give us a perspective that is both micro and macro.

As a Canadian Chinese, and as an uncommonly talented cinematographer and story teller, Fan is uniquely equipped to capture this story and present it to us. With China overtaking the U.S. in so many areas, "Last Train Home" provides us with some timely and personal understanding of this emerging superpower.

Not rated. 85 minutes. In Mandarin Chinese with English subtitles. Lixin Fan - Director / Cinematographer / Editor, Mila Aung-Thwin - Producer, Daniel Cross - Producer, Olivier Alary - Composer, Yung Chang - Editor, Mary Stephen - Editor, Marry Stephens - Editor. Distributed in the U.S. by Zeitgeist Films.

Principal subjects: Changhua Zhang, Yang Zhang, Suqin Chen, Qin Zhang.

Easy A ****

What a funny, charming, smart surprise. This is a high school movie that might be wasted on its core audience, since I suspect adults will get more of a charge from this film than the action movie fan boys and the swooning Twilight-struck pubescent girls who normally populate the mall cineplex. Emma Stone, as the student who augments her status in high school with some salacious (untrue) confessions, and then suffers the consequences, moves up to Emerging Star in "Easy A." With a dead on script, fluid direction, and one of the best supporting ensembles in memory, this is a movie to enjoy, and not just smile, but laugh out loud. I'd see it again.

Rated PG-13. 92 minutes. Will Gluck - Director / Producer, Bert V. Royal - Writer, Zanne Devine - Producer, Michael Grady - Cinematographer, Brad Segal - Composer, Marcia Hinds - Production Designer, Susan Littenberg - Editor. Distributed by Screen Gems.

Principal actors: Emma Stone, Penn Badgley, Amanda Bynes, Patricia Clarkson, Stanley Tucci, Thomas Hayden Church, Lisa Kudrow, Malcolm McDowell, Fred Armisen.

Life As We Know It **

A mildly amusing, if totally predictable, romantic comedy, with two attractive stars. Katherine Heigl and Josh Duhamel headline as two single friends of friends whose sudden demise gives them joint custody of the surviving baby. Heigl and Duhamel do have good chemistry on screen, and Duhamel is surprisingly loose and totally charming as the TV sports director matched with Heigl's driven chef and small business owner. There's not much remarkable about the picture, although it's nice to see a movie set in Atlanta that's not by Tyler Perry, even if this movie is as lily white as Perry's are not. The title seems to refer to the change a baby brings, as in life as we know it - is over.

Rated PG-13. 114 minutes. Greg Berlanti - Director, Ian Deitchman - Writer, Kristin Rusk Robinson - Writer, Paul Brooks - Producer, Barry Josephson - Producer, Andrew Dunn - Cinematographer, Blake Neely - Composer, Maher Ahmad - Production Designer, Jim Page - Editor. Distributed by Warner Bros. Pictures.

Principal actors: Katherine Heigl, Josh Duhamel, Josh Lucas, Christina Hendricks.

The Social Network *****

A superb movie, with outstanding everything, this story of the founding and early years of Facebook is one of the very best of the year. Just remember that this is a work of art, not history, and characters and situations may be altered in the interest of drama. This version is based on Ben Mezrich's book, "The Accidental Billionaires." For another view of what happened, from someone who had full access to the principals, read David Kirkpatrick's "The Facebook Effect."

But back to the movie. The story is framed around depositions of various lawsuits brought by former associates, with flashbacks. Here we have a taut script that tries not to take sides, masterful directing, and uniformly excellent performances. Jesse Eisenberg perfectly embodies the focused but supposedly socially inept (oh, the irony!) super-smart founder/programmer Mark Zuckerberg. You know that there is a lot going on in his head, but he is not afraid to freeze his face to show his distance and lack of connection.

Andrew Garfield, as the friend Eduardo Saverin, whose fault was thinking too small, convincingly captures the frustration of separation and the narrow viewpoint of someone who ultimately didn't get it. But the best of the supporting actors is the surprising Justin Timberlake, whose portrayal of the twice burned founder of Napster, Sean Parker, gives Zuckerberg timely and sage advice about keeping control of his company, but whose lifestyle proves ultimately to be a liability.

At the end of the day it's director David Fincher ("Fight Club," "Se7en,""Zodiac,""The Curious Case of Benjamin Button") who puts it all together, and who, I dare say, should walk away with a golden statuette, as should quite a few of the others involved in this project.

Rated PG-13. 120 minutes. David Fincher - Director, Aaron Sorkin - Writer (screenplay), Ben Mezrich - Writer (book "The Accidental Billionaires"), Dana Brunetti - Producer, Cean Chaffin - Producer, Michael De Luca - Producer, Scott Rudin - Producer, Jeff Cronenweth - Cinematographer, Trent Reznor - Composer, Atticus Ross - Composer, Donald Graham Burt - Production Designer, Kirk Baxter -Editor, Angus Wall - Editor. Distributed by Columbia Pictures.

Principal actors: Jesse Eisenberg, Andrew Garfield, Justin Timberlake, Rooney Mara.

Animal Kingdom *****

A gripping, surprising, frightening, fantastic film, based on a true story, about a young man caught up in a crime family he was born into. Set in present day Melbourne, Australia, 17 year old Joshua (James Frecheville) is thrust back into the family when his mother, estranged from the in-laws, overdoses. Before he gets in too deeply, there is a detective, Leckie (Guy Pearce) who thinks he can save him. But the law of the family is pitiless, self-serving, and raw, and Joshua becomes more and more ensnared in its embrace. "Animal Kingdom" is a low budget Aussie gem, with excellent performances, and a standout portrayal by Jacki Weaver of the family matriarch. Its run in the U.S. is limited, so put it on your rental wait list now.

Rated R. 113 minutes. David Michod - Director / Writer (screenplay), Liz Watts - Producer, Adam Arkapaw - Cinematographer, Anthony Partos - Composer, Josephine Ford - Production Designer, Luke Doolan - Editor. Distributed in the U.S. by Sony Pictures Classics.

Principal actors: Guy Pearce, James Frecheville, Joel Edgerton, Jacki Weaver.