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On DVD:

The Starving Games: As you would expect, this is a spoof of The Hunger Games. And as you would expect, it's terrible.

The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug: I thought this was at least a little more lively than the first Hobbit, but they just don't compare to the Lord of the Rings movies. I just can't take Richard Armitage as Thorin; he looks like Will Forte playing trying to be super serious in a comedy skit. I do like Ken Stott as Balin, though.

The Art of the Steal: Nice to see Kurt Russell being Kurt Russell again in this caper. It's fun and worth a look if you like heist movies.

Better Living Through Chemistry: I normally like Olivia Wilde, and initially didn't like her character at the beginning of the movie, but warmed up to her well midway through. Sam Rockwell continues to be a greatly unappreciated actor.

I, Frankenstein: I did briefly like the introduction of the gargoyle pair, but this ranks at the bottom of the barrel in the genre along with Van Helsing and Hansel and Gretel: Witch Hunters. I respectfully request that the dialogue "This ends tonight!" be banned from use in movies forevermore.

Ride Along: I generally like Kevin Hart because his enthusiasm is infectious, but he's really just playing a Martin Lawrence stand-in here and Ice Cube can't be bothered to do much other than scowl. A really generic buddy cop movie.

That Awkward Moment: Another movie I had very low expectations for, but it turns out this may be my favorite movie of the year so far. That's largely due to the dialogue, especially between the buddy characters, because it's just hit after hit of funny. The romance is a bit predictable and senselessly cowardly of Zac Efron's character, but Imogen Poots sure is adorable. Miles Teller is even better than he was in The Spectacular Now.

The Nut Job: Predictable. Nice animation, but unexciting.

About Last Night: I really liked Michael Ealy in last season's TV show Almost Human, but this movie could have done without him and Joy Bryant.

McCanick: I watched this for David Morse, but the plot is so muddled with flashbacks that I couldn't figure out which was past and which was present and why it mattered.

Pompeii: I love history and would have liked a decent treatment of this moment in time, but I guess when you're talking about a natural catastrophe the history is an afterthought. This comes across as a cheap version of Gladiator. At least it's better than The Legend of Hercules (currently the worst movie I've seen this year).

The Monuments Men: A cheap knockoff of Saving Private Ryan, and it just falls completely flat. There's no emotional connection to any of the characters. There's no sense of urgency to the mission. And some pieces of fantastic art are arbitrarily chosen as McGuffins. It's like a sad after-school project.

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