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David Mumpower: Like everyone else, I'm on an awards season hunt to watch everything of note.

I came away from Flight wondering what the point was. I mean, I like that Denzel Washington played a dysfunctional train operator two years ago and followed that with this performance as a dysfunctional pilot. I am really looking forward to his work as a dysfunctional zamboni driver when the 2014 Winter Olympics arrive. Where Flight lost me is when Washington's character started as a drunken douche, behaved like a drunken douche the entire movie and then was still (somewhat) redeemed in the end. And he was the only character of note in the entire film. I feel like an opportunity was missed here. I loved the concept; I was frustrated that the movie was 140 minutes of the same thing.

I briefly discussed Zero Dark Thirty's quality in the box office conversation. I am in awe of the movie in that it is as great a procedural as I have ever seen. It eerily mirrors the overriding story arc of a little watched, quickly canceled AMC program called Rubicon. For a lot of people, that's the problem. Nobody watched Rubicon because it was methodical to the point of fault. The glacial pacing prevented Rubicon from becoming a mainstream hit. Zero Dark Thirty hits all the same notes while adding some off-putting torture sequences. It is not the easiest movie to love. I was not bothered by this because I am one of those people who watched every episode of Rubicon. I love the idea of an unsolvable mystery being investigated by the most brilliant detectives the government has found.

The woman who is the basis for Jessica Chastain's character, Maya aka The Girl, is already a legend. The reports that she was denied a promotion a few months ago shocked me. This is the woman whose intel led to bringing Osama Bin Laden to justice. If that isn't worthy of a pay raise, what is? After watching the movie, I understand both sides of the argument. Part of me would feel comfortable naming her as Secretary of Defense tomorrow. Another part of me recognizes that if she were not doing this, she would be a threat to national security because hers is a dangerous mind. Watching her pursuit is gripping and intense.

Zero Dark Thirty is by no means perfect; it is also so clinical that it gives me a chill. My admiration for it is total, though. The one other comment I will make is that I am someone who has watched United 93 many times. I am in awe of what Paul Greengrass accomplished with the movie. Every time I watch it, I am swept up in the action and somehow find myself believing that maybe the people on the plane will be saved in the end. Zero Dark Thirty possesses none of that raw emotion. I believe the movie is damaged a bit by this decision to eschew personalizing most of the events. In my estimation, there are only three moments in it that humanize any of the characters.

Tom Cruise's movies are almost good. I say that as someone who is not a huge fan of the actor inasmuch as I admire his ability to judge a script's potential. I had high hopes for Jack Reacher after watching the trailer. It includes the wonderful moment where Cruise enters a crowd of onlookers who help him avoid a slew of chasing police cars. That's a great bit representative of a movie with a great deal of potential.

What I found myself considering during the movie was that I would LOVE the book from which Jack Reacher is adapted. There are so many clever moments that I recognized how strong the story structure of the novel must be. The movie is something of a mixed bag. I watched this soon after the events of Newtown, Connecticut and I struggled to get past the fetishizing of guns throughout the film. I would have said this even if the mystery of Jack Reacher was about something other than the assassination of multiple strangers. Guns are that much a part of Jack Reacher. Still, I was entertained most of the time and I loved Werner Herzog in a small but crucial role as the creepy villain. I also very much enjoyed his henchman, Jai Courtney, who is about to be handed the keys to the Die Hard franchise in a few months when he plays John McClane Jr. I would recommend Jack Reacher with the caveat that people sensitive to gun violence should wait until the subject matter is less inflammatory.

I also watched a couple of exceptional teen movies. Pitch Perfect and The Perks of Being a Wallflower are both instant classics. Anna Kendrick delivers one of my favorite performances of the year in Pitch Perfect yet I like Emma Watson even more in Wallflower. I cannot believe that two films of this quality were released within months of each other. I strongly endorse both of them, and they could each wind up in my top ten for 2012. The Perks of Being a Wallflower is a mortal lock.

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