When director Guy Ritchie (“Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels,” “Snatch”) and actor Robert Downey Jr. updated the Sherlock Holmes mythos in 2009, they delivered an appealing blend of action, drama, mystery and suspense. Sadly, their return to the well is less appealing. That’s not to say “Sherlock Holmes: A Game of Shadows” is a disaster. Downey Jr. is still outstanding in the title role, most notably because he gives the master detective a sense of brutishness that isn’t typically seen in the character. 

“John Carter” had a disappointing theatrical run in the U.S., but one has to wonder if that’s because it lacks an A-list cast. The film itself is first-rate and can stand proudly alongside 2012 blockbusters like “The Hunger Games” and “The Avengers.”  “John Carter” boasts an excellent blend of character development, special effects and action.  

For something to be great-- truly great-- does it have to actually be good? Not always, it seems. Before it even premiered on April 15, HBO’s “Girls” was making headlines across the country. Created by 26-year-old Lena Dunham and produced by Judd Apatow, “Girls” is a comedy that was supposed to change the way that women in their early 20s are portrayed on television, from their love lives to their bank accounts. The only problem was, not everyone thought that the change was for the better.

The sparse dialogue in Wes Anderson’s films captures detachment and suppression – a part of all human relationships. Yet, his films also portray misfortunes and difficulties we encounter with those closest to us in a warmhearted, positive light. His films manage to capture the joys of relationships, despite their challenging complexities. Anderson’s success rides largely on his unique depiction of these two conflicting sides of human behavior -- our social tendencies and our hermetic ones. 

Viewers who demand strict realism from their movies will have big problems with “Man on a Ledge,” an intense thriller about a person pushed to the breaking point. Sam Worthington plays Nick Cassidy, a former cop convicted of a diamond theft that he swears he didn’t perpetrate. After an unlikely escape from prison, he makes his way to a lofty, Manhattan hotel, climbs out a window and threatens to throw himself to the street below. 

When an actor spends years playing an iconic role, it can be difficult for him to achieve success with another part, but Daniel Radcliffe is intent on proving there’s life after Harry Potter. In his first major post-Potter role, Radcliffe plays Arthur Kipps, an early 20^th-century solicitor hired to liquidate a creepy estate in the English countryside. 

Larry Charles and Sacha Baron Cohen’s work often plays on this thematic of mimicry. “Borat: Cultural Learnings of America for Make Benefit Glorious Nation of Kazakhstan” (2006) and “Bruno” (2009) both juxtapose Cohen’s over-the-top, staged performances with various documentary and news conventions such as candid footage, voiceover narration, and face-to-face interviews. Although “The Dictator” for the most part refrains from “Borat’s” and “Bruno’s" documentary aspirations, the thematic of impersonating political authority remains central to the film’s narrative.

The movie director plays the creator of a miniature world, the organizer of a controlled sphere. As Ingmar Bergman once said, “To shoot a film is to organize an entire universe.” It’s a demanding task, playing master of a mini-universe. And major problems occur whenever humans decide to play God. For instance, what happens to the actors and technicians who devote themselves to a God who’s a tad insane?

“Albert Nobbs” didn’t set box office records during its theatrical run, but it garnered enough critical acclaim to earn three Oscar nominations, including nods for best actress and best supporting actress. Glenn Close landed in the former category for her outstanding portrayal of the title character, a 19^th-century Englishwoman pretending to be a man so she can retain her job as a hotel waiter. 

How movies are made will affect the format of the home-video and video rentals. VHS had petered out by the mid-2000s with the introduction of the DVD. The DVD format had a higher resolution and better sound quality than VHS, but it was expensive to remaster films for the new format This issue has repeated itself with the existence of Blu-ray discs -- most classic films aren’t available on Blu-ray because of the digital and photochemical process it takes to change formats. But more and more companies are switching to streaming.