Argo

In dealing with a story for which most of us already know the ending, this movie actually holds your attention quite well.  It does a good job creating suspense and danger and when the hostages are able to finally celebrate their escape (ooh, sorry: spoiler alert), you kind of want to celebrate too.  Then you remember that over 50 other Americans are still being tortured and tormented in the consulate, and will continue to be so for -- what? -- well over a year.  But yay! Six people were saved!  Verdict: Discount Theatre

Skyfall

Fair warning: we have a new Bond.  I know, I know, Daniel Craig isn't exactly "new".  But if any die hard Bond fans were hoping that we'd get back to the misogynistic (said with love), teflon-coated, action-with-no-time-for-reaction Bond... well, we'll always have Connery.  But, if you can get past that -- I think you'll really like this new Bond.  He's not indestructible.  He's not flawless.  He gets dirty and bloody and sometimes the kills aren't pretty but are still solidly categorized as lethal.  And his unwavering loyalty to Queen and country makes his path clear and his aim steady.  Let the past go.  Embrace the Craig.  (p.s. Go M!  And I love Javier Bardem's twist on the usual villain's excessively tired overactive libido schtick!)  Verdict: First Run Theatre

Looper

I'm going to do you a favour: I'm not going to talk about Looper.  Not really, anyway.  A lot of other people have been talking about Looper, and quite frankly I think it ruined it for me.  I went in expecting ... I don't know.  More than I got?  Different than I got?  The problem lies in the fact that your standard is different than mine.  If you say a movie is "x" -- well that means one thing to me that it might not mean to you.  And if you say the movie is "z" -- again, you're not in my mind.  Except, I forget you're not in my mind and I expect that I too would label what I find in the movie to be "z."  I wouldn't have labelled this movie "z".  I wonder, though, what I would have labelled it had I not gone in with someone else's expectations in my labelmaker.  You may, however, read what you wish into the following:  Verdict: First Run Theatre

Sinister

Definitely spooky.  Creepy, spooky and scary.  But also kinda sells itself short.  A few faces jumping into screen that aren't necessary (or logical), music that is a bit cliche by this point, and --gotta say it-- ending that doesn't make sense.  Was it creepy?  Yes.  Spooky?  Sure.  Based on anything that was discovered during the course of the movie?  Nuh uh. Verdict: Movie Rental if you're not anal about the endings to movies