Reviews on the way! (edited post)

Edit: So, I was much busier this week than I expected to be. I updated with some mini-reviews for your viewing pleasure, and will have full reviews for The Woman in Black and Chronicle up before midnight.

I'll have some actual reviews posted up in the next couple of days. They are:

Young Adult (7/10): Charlize Theron gives a great performance in this film, where she basically stars as that popular girl you knew in high school, "the psycho prom queen bitch", who never grew up. Patton Oswalt deserved a supporting actor nomination for his delicate, sympathetic performance as the one 'friend' she latches onto in her stay in small-town Minnesota. Working from a screenplay by Diablo Cody (Juno, Megan's Body), director Jason Reitman (Up in the Air) does a wonderful job directing his actors, but ultimately, the movie left me wondering what the point truly was, with an ambiguous ending that didn't sit well with me after so much good character development.

The Artist (7.5/10): The silent film thing almost feels like a gimmick to me, something it took me a hard time to get over. However, Jean Dujardin truly looks like he could've been a silent film star in his role as George Valentin, and Berenice Bejo completely won me over in her role as Peppy Miller. I do find it a bit odd that the best-scored sequence in this film is taken directly from Bernard Hermann's score to Vertigo in the climax of the film; I'm not quite sure how it's nominated for Best Original Score. It bugged me. But anyway, I can see how the Academy dug this film for its nostalgic effect. I'm not really hoping it wins Best Picture, but it is worth a look for the performances.

Extremely Loud & Incredibly Close (9/10): If you can get past the fact that this is a film about the aftermath of 9/11, it's truly worth a look. The film does a great job of earning its emotion, even if it is a little manipulative. Thomas Horn showcases his true acting ability in his role as Oscar Schell, and Tom Hanks, Sandra Bullock, and Max von Sydow give great supporting turns. A movie hasn't made me feel this emotional in a long time, something that doesn't normally happen with me.

I also thought I'd make note of the movies I still NEED to see before Oscar weekend--the rest of the best picture nominees. They are:

The Tree of Life
Moneyball
The Help
Midnight in Paris

I've got a lot of watching to do.

2012 is looking to be a decent year for movies. January and February tend to be the "studio dumping grounds" for the crappy movies, but in the next couple of weeks, I think it'll start to look up with "The Woman in Black" and "Chronicle" (2/3).