Writer-director Sophia Coppola’s “The Bling Ring” is a fascinating exposé of American celebrity and consumer culture. The film is based on Nancy Jo Sales’ terrific Vanity Fair article, “The Suspect Wore Louboutins,” and it focuses on the real-life story of several teens and young adults who robbed celebrity homes in exclusive Los Angeles neighborhoods. In the film, the youth use the Internet to determine when Hollywood stars are away from home and plunder their places at will. 

The New York Times reported some “happy news” in January 2013: “9 percent of the top 250 movies at the domestic box office last year were made by female directors. That’s substantially higher than the 2011 figure of 5 percent.” While the increase in women directors has fostered the visibility of gender politics, the relationship between films made by women and films about the complexities of being a woman remains mystifying. 

Bier does a lot of things right with “Love is all You Need.” Most importantly, she draws fantastic performances from her actors. Every character in the film is well drawn even though there’s a lot going on. This is particularly true when the action moves to Italy for the wedding of Ida’s daughter, Astrid (Molly Blixt Egelind), and Philip’s son, Patrick (Sebastian Jessen).  . Bier, Brosnan and Dyrholm do such a fine job fleshing out the characters individually that it’s natural to want more interaction between them, especially since they are the engine that drives the project. 

Fewer than 200 Master Sommeliers have been named since the Court of Master Sommeliers was created in the United Kingdom in 1969; the three portions (Theory, Tasting, Service) are intense, and preparation for the exam happens months—and sometimes years—ahead of time. The single-minded dedication and rigor of the test candidates is not in and of itself novel; it’s the way director Jason Wise manages to build an engaging story out of something that could easily have been as dry as an Old World Sauvignon Blanc.

“Now You See Me” starts with such energy and panache that it’s easy to imagine it becoming a classic. Alas, director Louis Leterrier (“Clash of the Titans,” “The Incredible Hulk”) allows the project to flag as it moves toward its final act. The picture’s flaws, most of which can be pinned on a weak twist ending, are frustrating, but primarily because the setup shows so much potential. 

Luhrmann, in typical fashion, has crafted a film that is visually fascinating and thematically powerful. His “Great Gatsby” is a towering affair that uses melodrama, high-octane music and an impressive cast to present a vivid picture of the roaring ’20s and a compelling tale of obsessive love and class oppression. The story is narrated by Nick Carraway (Tobey Maguire), an alcoholic and failed writer who examines his past while receiving treatment in a sanatorium. 

Through the 1970s, a dark tide of blood and memory washed over their nation and has stained every generation that followed. While the name most associated with this massacre is Pol Pot, the truth is that many collaborated to exterminate the population. One such man, Kaing Guek Eav (known as Duch), was a central force behind the Khmer Rouge prisons M13 and S21, where thousands of Cambodian citizens lost their lives to a government gone mad. 

A documentary’s success should be gauged by its ability to reveal previously invisible layers within our cultures, and, most importantly, to translate regionally exotic anecdotes into a common human language.  Coincidentally, Smash and Grab: The Story of The Pink Panthers, does just this. Havana Marking, this film's director, continues beating at the iron heart of her obsession with another story about compromised codes of morality that arise from the rubble of what international relations experts refer to as "failed" states.  

These days, the Hudson River Valley is once again a destination for restless urbanites in search of bucolic getaways. Its storied history is chronicled in the recent DVD release of "On the Hudson - America’s First River," an introspective documentary by veteran journalist Bill Moyers. Over the course of two episodes, Moyers enlivens the iconic river’s four-century transformation with tales of military heroes, literary characters, nature seekers, industrialists, corporate polluters and environmentalists. 

The adoration heaped on writer-director Michael Haneke's "Amour" is one of the great mysteries of the 2012 movie awards season. The intimate drama, which is presented in French with English subtitles, won best foreign language film at the Oscars, Golden Globes and Critics’ Choice Movie Awards. It was also named best overall film by the Los Angeles Film Critics Association and National Society of Film Critics.