Short Review: The Dark Knight Rises

Grade: A

Batman must come out of hiding and risk everything in order to stop Bane, a mysterious criminal mastermind.

Great movie. Bane is terrifying. A fantastic and emotional conclusion to Christopher Nolan's trilogy.

Christian Bale, Tom Hardy, Gary Oldman, Joseph Gordon-Levitt, Michael Caine, Marion Cotillard, Anne Hathaway, Morgan Freeman and more.

Attention span must last 2 hours 44 minutes to enjoy.

Short Review: Savages

Grade: A-

Two California pot growers are forced to fight a Mexican drug cartel after their shared girlfriend is kidnapped.

Interesting story with plenty of twists and turns. Great acting. Great writing. Weird at times but in a really good way.

Aaron Johnson, Taylor Kitsch, Blake Lively, Salma Hayek, Benicio Del Toro, John Travolta

Attention span must last 2 hours 11 minutes to enjoy.

Short Review: The Amazing Spider-Man

Grade: B+

A reboot of the Spider-Man franchise. Once again tells Peter Parker's origins and transformation.

The good: some visuals, Spidey's sense of humor, the characters, the acting is great, many story points. The bad: the directing, other story points, worst/most pointless post credits scene ever.

Andrew Garfield, Emma Stone, Rhys Ifans, Martin Sheen, Denis Leary, Sally Field, more.

Attention span must last 2 hours 16 minutes to enjoy.

Short Review: Moonrise Kingdom

Grade: A

On a small island in New England, two young lovers run off together causing a massive search party to form.

About the most Wes Anderson-y movie ever. Truly bizarre but in great ways. Very funny. Beautifully shot.

Jared Gilman, Kara Hayward, Bruce Willis, Edward Norton, Frances McDormand, Bill Murray, Tilda Swinton and more.

Attention span must last 1 hour 34 minutes to enjoy.

Short Review: Ted

Grade: A

A young boy makes a wish that his teddy bear was alive... And I comes true. This is what happens 25 years later.

Absolutely hilarious movie. Enough said.

Mark Wahlburg, Mila Kunis, Seth MacFarlane, Joel McHale, Giovanni Ribisi and more.

Attention span must last 1 hour 46 minutes to enjoy.

Short Review: Magic Mike

Grade: A

A young entrepreneur who strips to make a living teaches a new younger performer the ways of the job and life while looking for ways to better his life.

Stripping scenes aside (which some are entertaining dance numbers) this is a great movie worth watching. Tells a great story, is very funny at times with great direction by Soderbergh.

Channing Tatum, Alex Pettyfer, Cody Horn, Matthew McConaughey, Olivia Munn and more.

Attention span must last 1 hour 50 minutes to enjoy.

Short Review: Brave

Grade: A+

A young Scottish princess wants to live her life the way she wants and does not want to be forced into marriage.

Pixar does it again. Fantastic movie with great story, great writing, fantastic characters and is emotionally gripping.

Voices of Kelly Macdonald, Billy Connolly, Emma Thompson and more.

Attention Span must last 1 hour 33 minutes to enjoy.

Short Review: Safety Not Guaranteed

Grade: A

A man puts an ad in the paper seeking a companion to time travel with.

A great story with wonderful writing. Very funny. Very charming.

Aubrey Plaza, Mark Duplass, JakevM Johnson and more.

Attention span must last 1 hour 26 minutes to enjoy.

Short Review: Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter

Grade: B

A fun story about Abraham Lincoln becoming a vampire hunter as a young man.

Lots of fun. Entertaining. Great action scenes. Has fun with history.

Benjamin Walker, Dominic Cooper, Mary Elizabeth Winstead, Anthony Mackie, Rufus Sewell, more.

Attention span must last 1 hour 45 minutes to enjoy.