Every Single Film I Watched for the First Time in 2012

January

“Bolt” (2008) - 8/10
“Hairspray” (1988) - 6/10
“Badlands” (1973) - 10/10
“Race to Witch Mountain” (2009) - 5/10
“Revolutionary Road” (2008) - 8/10
“200 Cigarettes” (1999) - 6/10
“Young Adult” (2011) - 8/10
“Hollow Man II” (2006) - 2/10
“Cry-Baby” (1990) - 6/10
“The Sitter” (2011) - 3/10
“Big Trouble in Little China” (1986) - 7/10
“Peeping Tom” (1960) - 10/10

“Ever After: A Cinderella Story” (1998) - 5/10
“Best in Show” (2000) - 9/10
“War Horse” (2011) - 8/10
“Margin Call” (2011) - 8/10
“Senna” (2010) - 10/10
“Mission: Impossible – Ghost Protocol” (2011) - 9/10
“The Nutty Professor” (1963) - 6/10
“Happy Feet” (2006) - 7/10
“The Devil Inside” (2012) - 2/10

“The Descendants” (2011) - 9/10
“The Bucket List” (2007) - 6/10
“Talhotblond” (2009) - 7/10
“Haywire” (2012) - 7/10
“Underworld: Awakening” (2012) - 3/10
“Stop! Or My Mom Will Shoot” (1992) - 4/10
“Little Man” (2006) - 2/10
“*batteries not included” (1987) - 6/10
“Beginners” (2011) - 8/10
“The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo” (2011) - 10/10

“Shame” (2011) - 10/10
“The Ghost” (2010) - 8/10
“Funny People” (2009) - 8/10

Monthly count: 34
Film of the month: “Badlands”








February

“Chronicle” (2012) - 8/10
“Carnage” (2011) - 8/10
“Martha Marcy May Marlene” (2011) - 9/10
“My Super Ex-Girlfriend” (2006) - 5/10
“New in Town” (2009) - 3/10
“The Time Traveler’s Wife” (2009) - 5/10
“Alien: Resurrection” (1997) - 3/10
“Man on a Ledge” (2012) - 5/10
“Exorcist: The Beginning” (2004) - 2/10
“Journey 2: The Mysterious Island” (2012) - 5/10

“The Muppets” (2011) - 9/10
“The Assassination of Richard Nixon” (2004) - 8/10
“Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close” (2011) - 7/10
“25th Hour” (2002) - 10/10
“Frozen River” (2008) - 8/10
“The Woman in Black” (2012) - 8/10
“American Pie Presents Band Camp” (2005) - 3/10
“Ghost Rider: Spirit of Vengeance” (2012) - 3/10
“The Vow” (2012) - 5/10

“This Means War” (2012) - 4/10
“Safe House” (2012) - 7/10
“Falling Down” (1993) - 8/10
“Cop Land” (1997) - 8/10
“The House Bunny” (2008) - 4/10
“Rampart” (2011) - 8/10
“One for the Money” (2012) - 2/10

Monthly count: 26
Film of the month: “25th Hour”



March

“Capricorn One” (1977) - 8/10
“Intruders” (2011) - 2/10
“The Grudge 2” (2006) - 4/10
“The Girl Who Played with Fire” (2009) - 7/10
“The Last House on the Left” (1972) - 7/10
“John Carter” (2012) - 7/10
“Indecent Proposal” (1993) - 6/10
“Contraband” (2012) - 5/10
“Revolver” (2005) - 2/10
“Project X” (2012) - 2/10
“Bronson” (2008) - 8/10

“Unforgiven” (1992) - 10/10
“The Silent House” (2010) - 5/10
“We Bought a Zoo” (2011) - 7/10
“Tormented” (2009) - 5/10
“The Singing Detective” (2003) - 3/10
“Bride of Frankenstein” (1935) - 10/10
“Plan 9 from Outer Space” (1959) - N/A
“Rubber” (2010) - 6/10
“Copycat” (1995) - 7/10
“Sex Drive” (2008) - 6/10
“Failure to Launch” (2006) - 4/10
“21 Jump Street” (2012) - 8/10
“Videodrome” (1983) - 9/10

“12 Angry Men” (1957) - 10/10
“Rushmore” (1998) - 8/10
“Eraserhead” (1977) - 8/10
“Once Upon a Time in the West” (1968) - 10/10
“North by Northwest” (1959) - 10/10
“DOA: Dead or Alive” (2006) - 1/10
“Mean Streets” (1973) - 10/10
“The Hunger Games” (2012) - 9/10
“Land of the Lost” (2009) - 5/10
“Silent House” (2012) - 5/10
“The Illusionist” (2006) - 8/10
“Puss in Boots” (2011) - 8/10

“Sunset Boulevard” (1950) - 10/10
“The Fall” (2006) - 9/10
“The Pirates! In an Adventure with Scientists” (2012) - 8/10
“Alfie” (2004) - 5/10

Monthly count: 40
Film of the month: “12 Angry Men”



April

“Mirror Mirror” (2012) - 5/10
“Aliens in the Attic” (2009) - 4/10
“Wrath of the Titans” (2012) - 5/10
“A League of Their Own” (1992) - 8/10
“Dragonheart” (1996) - 6/10
“The Secret of My Success” (1987) - 5/10
“The Virgin Suicides” (1999) - 9/10
“See Spot Run” (2001) - 3/10
“Alvin and the Chipmunks: The Squeakquel” (2009) - 4/10
“Headhunters” (2012) - 8/10

“Wrong Turn” (2003) - 4/10
“View from the Top” (2003) - 3/10
“The Cabin in the Woods” (2012) - 9/10
“Breaking the Waves” (1996) - 10/10
“Walk the Line” (2005) - 9/10
“American Pie: Reunion” (2012) - 6/10
“Dirty Dancing” (1987) - 7/10
“1408” (2007) - 7/10
“Lockout” (2012) - 4/10
“Meet Dave” (2008) - 3/10
“Battleship” (2012) - 4/10
“Top Gun” (1986) - 7/10
“Flight of the Phoenix” (2004) - 4/10

“Don’t Look Now” (1973) - 10/10
“Re-Animator” (1985) - 9/10
“Safe” (2012) - 6/10
“Clueless” (1995) - 8/10
“Marvel’s Avengers Assemble” (2012) - 10/10
“An American Haunting” (2005) - 2/10
“The Lucky One” (2012) - 5/10

Monthly count: 30
Film of the month: “Breaking the Waves”



May

“City Lights” (1931) - 10/10
“The Iron Lady” (2011) - 6/10
“The Warriors” (1979) - 8/10
“The Negotiator” (1998) - 7/10
“The X-Files” (1998) - 7/10
“The Fog” (2005) - 2/10
“The Bridge on the River Kwai” (1957) - 10/10
“The Hunt for Red October” (1990) - 9/10
“Donnie Brasco” (1997) - 10/10
“Dr. Seuss’ The Lorax” (2012) - 6/10
“Piranha 3DD” (2012) - 2/10
“Dark Shadows” (2012) - 5/10

“The Proposal” (2009) - 7/10
“Runaway Bride” (1999) - 5/10
“How I Spent My Summer Vacation” (2012) - 7/10
“The Dictator” (2012) - 7/10
“Take the Lead” (2006) - 6/10
“Dead Poets Society” (1989) - 9/10
“The Raid” (2012) - 10/10
“Dan in Real Life” (2007) - 7/10
“Hamlet 2” (2008) - 5/10
“Tinker Bell and the Great Fairy Rescue” (2010) - 7/10
“The Accused” (1988) - 9/10

“California Man” (1992) - 4/10
“Silent Hill” (2006) - 4/10
“Conspiracy Theory” (1997) - 5/10
“Men in Black III” (2012) - 6/10
“Goldfinger” (1964) - 10/10
“Say Anything...” (1989) - 9/10
“The Hunchback of Notre Dame” (1996) - 7/10
“St. Elmo’s Fire” (1985) - 6/10
“The Pact” (2012) - 7/10
“Iron Sky” (2012) - 5/10
“Snow White and the Huntsman” (2012) - 7/10

Monthly count: 34
Film of the month: “The Bridge on the River Kwai”


June

“Prometheus” (2012) - 8/10
“Singin’ in the Rain” (1952) - 10/10
“Layer Cake” (2004) - 8/10
“I Know What You Did Last Summer” (1997) - 4/10
“The Hoax” (2006) - 7/10
“The Innkeepers” (2012) - 8/10
“J. Edgar” (2011) - 6/10
“The Fugitive” (1993) - 9/10
“Proof” (2006) - 6/10
“Big Momma’s House” (2000) - 5/10
“Red Tails” (2012) - 5/10
“A Little Princess” (1995) - 8/10

“Dear John” (2010) - 4/10
“Wanderlust” (2012) - 4/10
“Rock of Ages” (2012) - 5/10
“Guess Who” (2005) - 5/10
“Eastern Promises” (2007) - 10/10
“eXistenZ” (1999) - 7/10
“Cosmopolis” (2012) - 7/10
“Moonrise Kingdom” (2012) - 9/10
“The Four Feathers” (2002) - 5/10
“A Cinderella Story” (2004) - 3/10
“Bad Boys II” (2003) - 6/10
“Crazy, Stupid, Love” (2011) - 8/10
“The Lonely Guy” (1984) - 5/10

“Swingers” (1996) - 8/10
“Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter” (2012) - 5/10
“Eragon” (2006) - 4/10
“Australia” (2008) - 7/10
“JFK” (1991) - 9/10
“The Three Musketeers” (1993) - 4/10
“27 Dresses” (2008) - 5/10
“The Money Pit” (1986) - 5/10
“Following” (1998) - 8/10
“Shadow of a Doubt” (1943) - 10/10
“Bug” (2006) - 6/10
“Killer Joe” (2012) - 9/10
“Friends with Kids” (2012) - 6/10

“Brick” (2005) - 8/10
“Before the Devil Knows You’re Dead” (2007) - 9/10

Monthly count: 40
Film of the month: “Singin’ in the Rain”





July

“Coriolanus” (2012) - 9/10
“Bride Wars” (2009) - 3/10
“The Ugly Truth” (2009) - 4/10
“Grizzly Man” (2005) - 10/10
“St Trinian's 2: The Legend of Fritton's Gold” (2009) - 3/10
“The Amazing Spider-Man” (2012) - 8/10
“Ice Age: Continental Drift” (2012) - 6/10
“44 Inch Chest” (2009) - 5/10
“The Host” (2006) - 9/10
“48 Hrs.” (1982) - 8/10
“Cold Creepy Feeling” (2010) - 0/10
“Pet Sematary” (1989) - 6/10
“Tango & Cash” (1989) - 4/10

“Twin Peaks: Fire Walk with Me” (1992) - 5/10
“Demolition Man” (1993) - 6/10
“Do the Right Thing” (1989) - 10/10
“The Book of Eli” (2010) - 7/10
“Seeking a Friend for the End of the World” (2012) - 5/10
“The Amityville Horror” (1979) - 5/10
“Crocodile Dundee II” (1988) - 4/10
“Batman: Mask of the Phantasm” (1993) - 8/10
“Fly Away Home” (1996) - 7/10
“Date Night” (2010) - 7/10
“Gentlemen Broncos” (2009) - 3/10

“Krull” (1983) - 4/10
“The Dark Knight Rises” (2012) - 10/10
“Percy Jackson & the Lightning Thief” (2010) - 5/10
“Big Top Pee-wee” (1988) - 4/10
“Pee-wee’s Big Adventure” (1985) - 8/10
“Ted” (2012) - 8/10
“Ocean’s Eleven” (2001) - 9/10
“Magic Mike” (2012) - 8/10
“Love Story” (1970) - 7/10
“An Officer & a Gentleman” (1982) - 8/10

Monthly count: 34
Film of the month: “Do the Right Thing”

August

“Tokyo Story” (1953) - 10/10
“Highlander: Endgame” (2000) - 2/10
“Bicycle Thieves” (1948) - 10/10
“Enter the Dragon” (1973) - 7/10
“The Wiz” (1978) - 4/10
“Adventures in Babysitting” (1987) - 6/10
“Fracture” (2007) - 7/10
“Analyze This” (1999) - 7/10
“Brave” (2012) - 9/10
“Tekkonkinkreet” (2006) - 6/10
“A Prophet” (2009) - 10/10
“Escape to Victory” (1981) - 7/10
“Sirens” (1994) - 5/10

“The Rocker” (2008) - 5/10
“Speed” (1994) - 9/10
“Raising Helen” (2004) - 5/10
“Step Up 4: Miami Heat” (2012) - 5/10
“The Bourne Legacy” (2012) - 8/10
“Can’t Buy Me Love” (1987) - 5/10
“The Searchers” (1956) - 9/10
“The Expendables 2” (2012) - 7/10
“The Watch” (2012) - 4/10
“The Thirty-Nine Steps” (1978) - 6/10
“Lord of War” (2005) - 7/10
“The Breed” (2006) - 3/10
“Quo Vadis” (1951) - 6/10

“2 Days in Paris” (2007) - 8/10
“Cliffhanger” (1993) - 8/10
“Pearl Harbor” (2001) - 3/10
“Disney’s The Kid” (2000) - 5/10
“Sense and Sensibility” (1995) - 9/10
“8 1/2” (1963) - 10/10
“Rumor Has It...” (2005) - 4/10
“Total Recall” (2012) - 6/10
“Your Stepmother Is an Alien” (1988) - 4/10
“ParaNorman” (2012) - 8/10

Monthly count: 36
Film of the month: “Bicycle Thieves”

September

“Dead Ringers” (1988) - 9/10
“Bandslam” (2009) - 7/10
“Every Which Way But Loose” (1978) - 4/10
“Reign Over Me” (2007) - 7/10
“Picture Perfect” (1997) - 4/10
“The Wedding Date” (2005) - 4/10
“That’s My Boy” (2012) - 4/10
“The Possession” (2012) - 5/10
“Harper” (1966) - 7/10
”Resident Evil: Extinction” (2007) - 3/10
“The Game” (1997) - 8/10
“Dredd” (2012) - 8/10

“Three Kings” (1999) - 9/10
“Premium Rush” (2012) - 7/10
“Lethal Weapon” (1987) - 9/10
“Lethal Weapon 3” (1992) - 6/10
“Archipelago” (2010) - 7/10
“Lymelife” (2008) - 7/10
“Resident Evil: Retribution” (2012) - 4/10
“The Spy Next Door” (2010) - 2/10
“Anna Karenina” (2012) - 7/10
“Trust the Man” (2005) - 5/10
“Clifford” (1994) - 4/10
“Captivity” (2007) - 0/10
“No Reservations” (2007) - 5/10
“The Holiday” (2006) - 7/10

“Lethal Weapon 2” (1989) - 9/10
“Looper” (2012) - 10/10
“North Sea Hijack” (1979) - 5/10
“Sliver” (1993) - 3/10
“Cocktail” (1988) - 4/10

Monthly count: 31
Film of the month: “Looper”





October

“Sinister” (2012) - 8/10
“Grave Encounters” (2011) - 5/10
“Grave Encounters 2” (2012) - 5/10
“Suspiria” (1977) - 10/10
“Steel Magnolias” (1989) - 8/10
“Stella” (1990) - 6/10
“V/H/S” (2012) - 5/10
“Taken 2” (2012) - 4/10
“Hotel Transylvania” (2012) - 5/10
“A Fantastic Fear of Everything” (2012) - 3/10
“Tim and Eric’s Billion Dollar Movie” (2012) - 3/10
“Legends of the Fall” (1994) - 7/10

“A River Runs Through It” (1992) - 8/10
“What to Expect When You’re Expecting” (2012) - 3/10
“The Three Stooges” (2012) - 5/10
“Pusher” (1996) - 8/10
“Pusher” (2012) - 7/10
“The Raven” (2012) - 5/10
“Top Cat: The Movie” (2012) - 2/10
“Chernobyl Diaries” (2012) - 5/10
“Scenes of a Sexual Nature” (2006) - 5/10
“Paranormal Activity 4” (2012) - 6/10
“Argo” (2012) - 10/10

“Blues Brothers 2000” (1998) - 3/10
“Alex Cross” (2012) - 3/10
“The Last House on the Left” (2009) - 6/10
“The Lake House” (2006) - 5/10
“Maniac Cop” (1988) - 5/10
“Tenebrae” (1982) - 6/10
“Cheaper by the Dozen 2” (2005) - 3/10
“Skyfall” (2012) - 10/10
“Angel Heart” (1987) - 7/10

Monthly count: 32
Film of the month: “Suspiria”

November

“Marley & Me” (2008) - 6/10
“Halloween III: Season of the Witch” (1982) - 4/10
“Silent Hill: Revelation” (2012) - 3/10
“Love Happens” (2009) - 3/10
“Here Comes the Boom” (2012) - 5/10
“Paul Blart: Mall Cop” (2009) - 3/10
“The Imposter” (2012) - 9/10
“The Sweeney” (2012) - 4/10
“The Apparition” (2012) - 1/10
“Cockneys vs Zombies” (2012) - 7/10

“The Campaign” (2012) - 4/10
“The Five-Year Engagement” (2012) - 6/10
“Storage 24” (2012) - 4/10
“The Boondock Saints” (1999) - 3/10
“Lawless” (2012) - 7/10
“The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn - Part 2” (2012) - 5/10
“The Master” (2012) - 10/10
“Hope Springs” (2012) - 7/10
“Holy Motors” (2012) - 8/10

“Beasts of the Southern Wild” (2012) - 9/10
“A Christmas Pageant” (2011) - 3/10
“A Christmas Visitor” (2002) - 3/10
“I’ll Be Home for Christmas” (1998) - 3/10
“Noel” (2004) - 4/10
“Mermaids” (1990) - 6/10
“End of Watch” (2012) - 8/10
“Inland Empire” (2006) - 7/10
“Lost Highway” (1997) - 7/10

“Leatherface: The Texas Chainsaw Massacre III” (1990) - 4/10
“Cellular” (2004) - 5/10
“Ill Manors” (2012) - 7/10
“Training Day” (2001) - 8/10
“Duplex” (2003) - 4/10

Monthly count: 33
Film of the month: “The Master”

December

“Rise of the Guardians” (2012) - 5/10
“Amour” (2012) - 10/10
“A Nightmare on Elm Street 3: Dream Warriors” (1987) - 7/10
“The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring” (2001) - 10/10
“The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers” (2002) - 10/10
“The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King” (2003) - 10/10
“Keith Lemon: The Film” (2012) - 0/10

“Liberal Arts” (2012) - 8/10
“The Man with the Iron Fists” (2012) - 3/10
“Heist” (2001) - 6/10
“Life of Pi” (2012) - 10/10
“Cloud Atlas” (2012) - 9/10
“The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey” (2012) - 7/10
“Mrs. Santa Claus” (1996) - 4/10
“Safety Not Guaranteed” (2012) - 8/10

“The Santa Suit” (2010) - 4/10
“Pitch Perfect” (2012) - 7/10
“Mrs. Miracle” (2009) - 4/10
“The Perks of Being a Wallflower” (2012) - 9/10
“Madagascar 3: Europe’s Most Wanted” (2012) - 8/10
“Playing for Keeps” (2012) - 4/10
“Four Christmases” (2008) - 4/10
“Cool Runnings” (1993) - 8/10
“The Chronicles of Narnia: Prince Caspian” (2008) - 5/10
“The Frighteners” (1996) - 9/10

“A Christmas Carol” (2009) - 6/10
“Fast and Furious” (2009) - 5/10
“Frankenweenie” (2012) - 8/10
“An American in Paris” (1951) - 8/10
“Casa de Mi Padre” (2012) - 4/10
“City of Ember” (2008) - 5/10
“Jack Reacher” (2012) - 6/10
“Grounded” (2006) - 3/10
“Happy Feet Two” (2011) - 5/10
“This is 40” (2012) - 7/10
“Lincoln” (2012) - 9/10

“Berberian Sound Studio” (2012) - 10/10
“Searching for Sugar Man” (2012) - 9/10
“The Intouchables” (2012) - 9/10

Monthly count: 39
Film of the month: “The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King”

Yearly count: 409
Film of the year: “Bicycle Thieves”

Jack Reacher

There have been complaints, I’ve heard, about Tom Cruise’s height and its impact on the long-awaited on-screen debut of Jack Reacher, author Lee Child’s supposedly skyscraping ex-military anti-hero. While the couch-jumping Mr Cruise stands at a measly 5’ 7”, the hulking Reacher of the page famously towers at a comparably mighty 6’ 5” — indeed, from what I’ve read, it’s one of the few physical features regularly attributed to the man. Fans of the film’s best-selling source material, who are many and who are loud, are justifiably displeased with the missing 10 inches: perhaps they would have preferred WWE-fighter-turned-leading-man Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson (6’ 2” says google) stepping into Reacher’s boulder-sized boots — even then, that’s three inches too short.

But, and this is a question furiously fretted over throughout the centuries, does size really matter? For Cruise as Reacher, I think not. Now, I am admittedly unfamiliar with all 17 of the popular potboilers in which Reacher has appeared (so far). But what I am familiar with is Tom Cruise, and as the Reacher of Christopher McQuarrie’s hard-edged big-screen adaptation, the “Mission: Impossible” star fits the bill: Cruise brings to the titular role a roguish swagger, unflinching confidence, fierce physicality and a smooth charisma that does much to compensate for his limited stature. So what if he’s dwarfed by the beloved book-Reacher? He’ll kick your shins in in an instant and chew your ankles to the bone.

The story, based on Child’s “One Shot,” begins with a chilling, and all too relevant, act of violence. One morning, America is awoken by six gunshots: from a parking garage in Pittsburgh, a sniper shoots and kills five innocent bystanders, apparently at random. All evidence left at the scene leads to James Barr (James Sikora, “Shutter Island”), a military sniper who is promptly arrested. With a mountain of evidence stacked against their suspect, District Attorney Alex Rodin (Richard Jenkins, “The Cabin in the Woods”) and Detective Emerson (David Oyelowo, “Lincoln”) can’t believe their luck, though Barr stubbornly protests his innocence when interrogated. Seemingly about to confess, Barr instead scribbles three words: “Get Jack Reacher.”

And so Jack Reacher appears, all 5’ 7” of him, following a teasing sequence in which we follow the back of his head. Once a decorated military cop, Reacher now operates off the grid as a wandering drifter, travelling the lands on foot and by bus and carrying nothing but the clothes on his back and a fold-away toothbrush. He is tasked with aiding attorney Helen (Rosamund Pike, “Wrath of the Titans”), Rodin’s daughter, who is defending Barr in an attempt to get him off death row and consequently spite her overbearing father. As Reacher delves into the case, believing for good reason that Barr has indeed committed the crime, he begins to suspect that America’s most hated gunman is in fact the victim of a set-up.

This is a conclusion achieved through actual detection: unlike Tyler Perry’s Alex Cross, who waltzes into a crime scene and instantly knows all that has occurred, Tom Cruise’s Jack Reacher does appear to do some investigatory legwork, while Cruise thankfully persuades for the most part as an analytical mental machine. Perhaps less convincing is the wise-cracking, pearly toothed A-lister as a brooding lone wolf and self-declared hobo: when one sees Mr Cruise sitting in a city bus, attempting to blend in with the poverty-stricken passengers, one can’t help but snigger at the sight.

He’s in far more comfortable territory roaring through the streets and back alleys of Pittsburgh in a black-striped, blood-red, beat-up dodge charger (stolen, I should add), and engaging in brawls and shoot-outs with henchmen and thugs. In a sharply choreographed street fight, he effortlessly takes on five barroom bullies at the same time, or should that be three: “The last two guys, they always run,” he warns. And they do.

His investigation leads him to discovering the real shooter (Jai Courtney, soon to be John McClane’s son in “A Good Day to Die Hard”), the gun range owner with whom Barr practiced (screen legend Robert Duvall) and, most surprisingly, Werner Herzog, the Bond baddy who never was. The esteemed, hopelessly eccentric German filmmaker and documentarian (who once cooked and ate his own shoe) makes a truly terrifying appearance as chief villain The Zec, a violent Russian mobster. In one scene of knuckle-gnawing intensity, he forces an incompetent underling to chew off his own fingers (“Show me you’ll do anything to survive”). Notably, Herzog wears a milky-white contact lens in one eye, presumably to make him appear more menacing. It seems unnecessary: spend enough time in the company of Herzog, he’ll have you convinced to chew your own fingers off too.

It’s a pity he’s so underused and that the run-of-the-mill story, infused with the twisty-turny sensibilities of an airport page-turner, leaves the film lying somewhere in the middle of the road. The film also comes to a disappointingly generic close: in an action-packed showdown at a rain-soaked rock quarry, Helen ends up a helpless damsel in distress, while Reacher, when faced with an unarmed key antagonist, decides to drop his gun and start a fistfight. Why do they always do that?

But “Jack Reacher” is an above-average crime thriller, directed with slickness and written with pristine pulpy wit by McQuarrie (whose deviously clever script for “The Usual Suspects” earned him an Oscar in 1995). It grips and occasionally it thrills: if a new blockbuster franchise is intended, this is a solid enough start. Many will not be sold on Cruise as Reacher, if only for those missing ten inches, but remember: big things can come in small packages.

6/10

Pitch Perfect

“Pitch Perfect” is set in one of those movie colleges where students don’t read, don’t study and don’t attend class: they’re far too engrossed in making friends, making out, hanging on the campus and, as in this movie, singing a cappella. Debut director Jason Moore’s bright and sparky, “Glee"-inspired musical comedy, which is a musical in the same way that “School of Rock” was, is set in the fictional Barden University. Here, the art of a cappella is treated with the same fist-pumping enthusiasm and cutthroat rivalry that, say, football is in most schools of higher education. As far as I could tell, the closest anyone gets to a classroom in this institution is when students chill in their dorm rooms. How they expect to get their degrees I do not know.

For the uninformed, a cappella is a musical medium in which music is created vocally rather than with instruments, although I could have sworn I heard some instrumental intrusions in the film’s big finale. Barden U. is part of a fiercely competitive a cappella contest held every year, the real-life NCCA. Commentating at each stage are John Michael Higgins (“Bad Teacher") and Elizabeth Banks (also an executive producer), whose insensitive wise-cracks and wildly inappropriate remarks will remind many of the great Fred Willard as the batty dog show commentator in Christopher Guest’s mockumentary “Best in Show.”

Our heroines are The Bellas, the all-singing, all-dancing, all-woman underdogs to crowned champions and “big-headed garbage dirtballs” the Treble Makers (in the activities fair, they taunt passers-by by spontaneously bursting into mockful singsong). The Bellas endured crushing public humiliation the previous year when control-freak group leader Aubrey (Anna Camp, “The Help”) projectile puked on-stage mid-performance (and impressively reached the third row). Looking to finally bag the top prize this year, Aubrey and bubbly co-chief Chloe (Brittany Snow, “John Tucker Must Die”) hold auditions for new members in the assembly room, where a gaggle of social misfits and all-round oddballs come a-singin’ and a-dancin’.

Chief among them is Beca (Anna Kendrick, “End of Watch”), a cynical “alt girl" newly enrolled in Barden. Beca’s forte is seamlessly mashing together individual songs on her laptop to create a whole new track (a talent that comes in handy when The Bellas require a little rejuvenation in their music selection). Her sole reason for auditioning is to get her father off her back: he promises to let her quit college and pursue a music-producing career in L.A. if she embraces an extra-curricular activity and it doesn’t work out. Of course, soon enough she’s fully committed to The Bellas and the contest, and becomes an integral cog in their success.

Her fellow Bella newbies are weird and wonderful, and multicultural. Rising Australian comedy starlet Rebel Wilson (Kristen Wiig’s intrusive roommate in “Bridesmaids”) is Fat Amy, so-called so that, in her words, “twig bitches like you won’t call me it behind my back.” Ester Dean (“Rio”) is Cynthia, who’s the subject of a running gag in which fellow Bellas believe her to be a lesbian. And then there’s Lilly (newcomer Hana Mae Lee), a softly spoken Asian girl whose voice is so low no-one can hear a word she says, let alone sings (how she passed her audition is anyone’s guess).

The film follows The Bellas as they work their way towards the final in New York’s Lincoln Centre, and as Beca falls for Treble Maker nice guy and “The Breakfast Club" fanatic Jesse (Skylar Astin, “Wreck-It Ralph”). Naturally, as the newly assembled Bellas progress, they improve in their harmonies and presentation, although an underground, improvised “riff-off” with the Treble Makers strains believability (think of it as an “8 Mile”-style rap battle but with bubblegum pop tunes).

Moore, nominated for a Tony in 2004 for directing Broadway production “Avenue Q,” adds sparkle and pizazz to the stage-set musical numbers, which flaunt the painstaking choreographic precision of a Michael Jackson video. Kendrick and co. perform with style and energy, each proving they have quite a set of lungs on them, bellowing out both oldies and modern hits, and (thanks to Beca’s music-mixing skills) sometimes both at the same time.

Screenwriter Kay Cannon, who also writes for “30 Rock” and “New Girl,” provides much smart-mouthed snark in the vein of the Tina Fey-scribed “Mean Girls” and presents characters who may be stereotypical but who shine in personality. Giggles are aplenty, but in one notably sickly scene Cannon and Moore overdo the gross-out factor: late in the film, Aubrey’s upset stomach returns with a vengeance, which one character rather unexpectedly uses as an opportunity to make snow angels (yeuch!).

Admittedly, “Pitch Perfect” is pure formula, and it does little to raise it above basic expectations: it slavishly adheres to every cliché in the dog-eared underdog book. What it has in its favour is a winning, unpatronising “girl power" message and a sprightly ensemble cast confidently led by the reliably radiant Miss Kendrick. Stealing the show is the sizzlingly sassy Miss Wilson, who appears to have been given much room to ad-lib (a mid-credits blooper confirms this). As for the a cappella routines, they’re irresistible, toe-tapping stuff: one could almost forgive The Bellas for ignoring their college education.

7/10