MOVIE REVIEWS

YOUR GUIDE TO THE BIG SCREEN

AFTERNOON OF A FAUN. — (NR). Lovely documentary about the late ballerina Tanaquil Le Clercq, muse — and wife — to George Balanchine. Her story is compelling, but the movie is worth seeing for the exquisite dance footage from the ‘40s and ‘50s alone. 24 —

Elizabeth Weitzman

AMERICAN HUSTLE. — (R). There’s a fever dream quality to David O. Russell’s seductive, silky, terrific melding of fact and fiction revolving around the 1970s scandal known as Abscam. Professional con artists (Christian Bale, Amy Adams) and a loopy FBI agent (Bradley Cooper) get involved with money laundering, fake sheiks, real gangsters and crooked politicans. Jennifer Lawrence costars, in a role that captures the frowsy, frisky side to the era. Nominated for ten Oscars, including Best Motion Picture. 7, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15,

18, 27, 28, 35, 39 —Joe Neumaier

AUGUST: OSAGE COUNTY. — (R). This season’s cinematic fruitcake; John Wells’ adaptation of Tracy Letts’ Pulitzer Prize-winning play is a dense, overloaded tribute to excess. But if you embrace the indulgence, you might actually enjoy it. Meryl Streep plays Mama Weston, whose daughters (Oscar nominee Julia Roberts, Julianne Nicholson, Juliette Lewis) return home when their daddy (Sam Shepard) disappears. Chaos, recriminations, and histrionics ensue. 1, 7, 19, 28 — E.W.

A FANTASTIC FEAR OF EVERYTHING. —

(R). Ever-watchable Simon Pegg puts on a one-man show of neurosis, as a children’s author turned mystery writer who’s convinced a cabal of creepy killers are out to get him. Pulpy and odd, but to no end. 6 —J.N.

FROZEN. — (PG). As animated princesses go, Disney’s delivered a couple of winners in Elsa (Idina Menzel) and Anna (Kristen Bell), royal sisters who have to save each other after Elsa magically turns everything to ice. It’s a sweet story, and mostly well told. What’s crucially missing, though, is a hissable villain, memorable songs, and any cultural diversity. Nominated for two Oscars, Including Best Animated Feature. 12, 13, 15, 18, 19, 27, 29, 39

—E.W.

GRAVITY. — (PG-13). George Clooney and Oscar nominee Sandra Bullock are astronauts struggling to survive a space disaster in director Alfonso Cuarón’s extraordinary, relentless action-drama. Nominated for ten Oscars, including Best Picture. 1, 11,

12, 14, 15, 28 —J.N.

HER. — (R). The extraordinary new film from Oscar nominee Spike Jonze is so innovative and insightful that it instantly renders formulaic romantic dramedies obsolete. Sometime in the near future, a sensitive loner (Joaquin Phoenix) falls in love with his computer’s super-intelligent operating system (voiced by Scarlett Johansson). Their romance is so believable in its bittersweet evolution that it will warm (and possibly break) your heart. Nominated for five Oscars. 1, 7, 12, 15, 18,

19, 27, 28, 33 —E.W.

LABOR DAY. — (PG-13). The best original movie Lifetime will never have the budget to make, this sudsy romance feels like a Nicholas Sparks swooner but was, shockingly, written and directed by Jason Reitman (“Juno,” “Up in the Air”). Kate Winslet and Josh Brolin save the day, with heartfelt turns as a sad single mom and the escaped prisoner who rescues her from loveless drudgery. 1, 7,

12, 15, 18, 19, 28, 36 —E.W.

THE LAST OF THE UNJUST. — (NR). Claude Lanzmann (“Shoah”) submits another epic memorial of Holocaust remembrance, this one about a survivor whose position as an elder at a camp brought about suspicion, guilt and questions about complicity. Though it would be more at home as part of a testimony exhibit than in a movie theater, it’s still crucial. 26 —J.N.

THE LEGO MOVIE. — (PG). A shining example within a dubious genre, this animated family adventure features a clever screenplay, charming retro design, and a game voice cast (including Chris Pratt and Elizabeth Banks, as Lego figures who save their world from Will Ferrell’s villain). As full-length toy commercials go, you really couldn’t ask for more. 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 18, 27, 28, 29,

39 —E.W.

THE MONUMENTS MEN. — (PG13). Director and star George Clooney’s light, smart, but somewhat aloof actiondrama is about a real-life team of art experts who went into Europe during World War II to save stolen art from the Nazis. Engaging as it is, and appealing as it’s doughy half dozen are (including Matt Damon and Bill Murray), the movie needed more fight in it to make it a thinking man’s “The Guns of Navarone.”

1, 7, 12, 15, 18, 19, 27, 28, 33, 39 —J.N.

THE PRETTY ONE. — (R). An eerily unsettling indie that has a juicy middle section before resolving itself in a traditional way. Beguiling Zoe Kazan plays identical twins. When one dies in a car crash, her wallflower sister lets her family assume she’s her more popular sibling, with quirky and unexpected results. 5 —J.N.

RIDE ALONG. — (PG-13). It’s “Rush Hour” meets “Are We There Yet” when Kevin Hart’s manic security guard gets paired up with Ice Cube’s scowling cop on a day-long patrol. The action’s decent, and the stars try to mine some laughs, but you’ll have forgotten the plot before you get home. 12, 13, 15, 18, 19,

28, 29, 39 —E.W.

THAT AWKWARD MOMENT. — (R). This rom-com aims for guys by dangling raunch and lots of dude ’tude, but it winds up being by the numbers. Zac Efron, Miles Teller and Michael B. Jordan are three guys who vow to stay single in the Big Apple, until women change their minds. One of those, British actress Imogen Poots, makes a real impact here. But aside from her, Teller and Jordan, the film is a moment to forget. 1, 12, 15, 18,

19, 27, 29, 39 —J.N.

TIM’S VERMEER. — (PG-13). An ingratiating documentary about Texas inventor Tim Jenison’s fascinating but enervating quest to invent a device that allows him to perfectly reproduce a 17thcentury painting by Johannes Vermeer. The result is impressive. 2, 26 —J.N.