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IMAX theaters can often seem impersonal, large looming theaters with the screen so far away and hundreds of people in the auditorium. However, since my personal preference especially for action films is to have no distractions in my periphereal vision, I decided to see The Dark Knight Rises at the Bob Bullock IMAX Theater rather than a traditional movie metroplex. I was not disappointed with this decision -- I left the theater breathless and high on adrenalin after being immersed in a two-and-a-half-hour thrill ride through the streets and bowels of Gotham, and into the hellish pit of an inescapable prison.

Eight years have passed since Batman (Christian Bale) disappeared into the night, after convincing a reluctant Commissioner Gordon (Gary Oldman) to keep quiet about the crimes and horrors of Harvey Dent. Batman became a fugitive for the death of Gotham's District Attorney Harvey Dent. Crime in Gotham has been repressed with the anti-crime Dent Act, with over 1,800 prison inmates incarcerated without the option of parole.

An even more immediate danger is the appearance of Bane (Tom Hardy), a masked terrorist with ties to the League of Shadows who plans to fulfill Ra's al Ghul's legacy of destroying Gotham and seeking revenge on Batman. As he puts on the mask again, Batman must also deal with elusive cat burglar Selina Kyle (Anne Hathaway) while Bruce Wayne addresses the deteriorating state of financial affairs for Wayne Enterprises during his self-imposed exile. With Daggett (Ben Mendelsohn) intent on taking over control of Wayne Enterprises, Wayne must entrust board member Miranda Tate (Marion Cotillard) with the well-being of his family's company and its hidden and more dangerous assets.

Cliches. Stereotypes. Tropes. Everyone can think of a few they can't stand. For me, some of the most cringeworthy in movies are voiceover narration (unless it's a Billy Wilder movie), small children with a Wisdom Beyond Their Years, and what Spike Lee has dubbed the "magical Negro." The film Beasts of the Southern Wild includes voiceover narration, spoken by a strangely wise six-year-old African-American girl ...and it is a lovely, wild and spellbinding film, a dark fairytale with a cruel realistic edge.

Sometimes a skilled filmmaker can twist tropes into the service of something original and fantastic. In this case, the filmmaker is Benh Zeitlen ... and this is is his first feature film. He co-wrote Beasts of the Southern Wild with playwright Lucy Alibar -- it was a Sundance Screenwriters Lab project. The movie won awards at both Sundance and Cannes, and has finally opened in Austin this week.

Hushpuppy (Quvenzhané Wallis) is a little girl living in a decrepit trailer somewhere in the South Louisiana bayous, an area nicknamed "the Bathtub" for its tendency to flood dangerously after major storms. Her father Wink (Dwight Henry) lives in a shack nearby; he can't stand to be in the trailer since Hushpuppy's mother "swam away." Hushpuppy hopes her mother will return. In the meantime, the girl is fascinated with the animals around her, and ties this in with stories she's heard about the ice caps melting, vividly imagining that this will unleash strange prehistoric creatures on her home.

Suspension of disbelief can be quite valuable in movies with sloppy science, but there's still a moveable line that may be crossed depending on the viewer's tolerance levels. Accepting talking insects in A Bug's Life poses no concern whatsoever, but the absence of a third pair of legs on the ants outraged many viewers I know who have a scientific background.

The Ice Age series also tests the tolerance level of both educated viewers and parents who prefer their children be exposed to entertainment that doesn't conflict with their school lessons. Ice Age: Continental Drift exaggerates the evolutionary theory of catastrophism even further than the wildly debated The Day After Tomorrow and disaster pornographic 2012.

In this animated film, Scrat's (Aziz Ansari) pursuit of the elusive acorn triggers a transcontinental cataclysm, separating Manny (Ray Romano), Diego (Denis Leary) and Sid (John Leguizamo) from the rest of their rag-tag herd. Sid is stuck with his crotchety and toothless Granny (Wanda Sykes) who has a tendency to wander off frequently. The group must get to the Land Bridge to reunite, but on their journey they encounter danger in the form of sirens, giant crabs, and a gang of pirates on an ice ship under the command of the cruel Captain Gut (Peter Dinklage).

If you're in a summer movie frame of mind and looking for an FX-laden sci-fi adventure, a title like Extraterrestrial (Extraterrestre), opening Friday for a week-long run in Austin, might seem like an obvious choice.

But it isn't. Despite the movie's title and summer release date, the extraterrestrial elements in this Spanish import from Fantastic Fest regular Nacho Vigalondo serve only as a backdrop for an intriguing, witty and rather minimalist comedy about the relationships between four characters. There is little action and barely a hint of digital effects; although Extraterrestrial is set during an alien invasion, it focuses on a far more interesting story about human nature.

The film opens as a young Spaniard, Julio (Julián Villagrán), awakens after a very successful night of drinking and womanizing. He finds himself in the apartment of Julia (Michelle Jenner), a woman no one would mind picking up in a bar. The two had overindulged to the extent that amid the headachy haze of their hangovers, they can't even remember each other's name -- much less the details of what exactly transpired the night before.

Katy Perry is the reigning princess of popular music. In a short timeframe, Ms. Perry has created 7 #1 chart topping hits, sold millions of albums and embarked on a successful world tour. The latest creation from Castle Perry is Katy Perry: Part of Me, a documentary highlighting the ups and downs of Katy Perry’s life, as she embarks on 2011's Teenage Dream tour. 

When viewing the trailer for Katy Perry: Part of Me one cannot help think, "Oh great, another bubblegum princess trying to sell more albums." But this movie is no such thing. It's the real deal and shines a balanced light on the life, love and career of a shooting star. 

Katy Perry: Part of Me starts with self-shot testimonials from Perry fans talking about the empowering and inspirational messages they receive from her. The last testimonial is the musician herself at age 18 talking about the responsibility of being a pop star. This is five years before her breakout album One of the Boys.

Through this documentary we learn that her statement as an 18-year-old was prescient. Throughout the film we see Perry meet with fans backstage. These types of scenes can be contrived but in her case, we can see she is a genuine person. This does not get cemented until late in the film. There is a scene toward the end where you really understand her relationship with the fans.

For the last several years, Woody Allen films haven't exactly delivered on the same quality as some of his earlier work. When it appeared that some of the magic might have escaped his director's chair, last year he came through with the wonderful and charming Midnight in Paris.

His latest film would go back to a beautiful European city in To Rome with Love. Much like Midnight in Paris, To Rome with Love has a sizable and talented cast, including Allen himself. When a film as great as Midnight in Paris comes out, it's only natural that the director's followup come with very high expectations. Perhaps the expectations are so unfairly high that To Rome with Love doesn't quite meet them.

The movie doesn't focus on a single narrative story. The ensemble cast's characters each have their own storyline and they never intertwine, but all are done so against the beautiful backdrop of maybe the most beautiful city in the world.

2012 is perhaps not the best year to launch a reboot of the wildly successful Spider-Man franchise, halfway between The Avengers and The Dark Knight Rises. Both films have or will have their respective groups of fans making cases they're the best superhero movies ever made. This year sees the release of numerous other comic or comic-related films, Chronicle, Ghost Rider, John Carter, Dark Shadows, Prometheus, the aforementioned Avengers and Dark Knight, and today, The Amazing Spider-Man.

We may one day look on this as the golden year of comic movies, though one must admit it has been hit (Avengers) or miss (Ghost Rider). Director Marc Webb's (500 Days of Summer) The Amazing Spider-Man falls somewhere in the middle of the pack.

While in my mind the movie is a marked improvement from the near franchise-killer of an entry (Spider-Man 3) Sam Raimi wrote and directed in 2007, the competition this year is stiff. And so, I join the chorus of critics who have problems with this film.

Let's start with the length. The Amazing Spider-Man is 136 minutes co-scripted by the screenwriter of Zodiac, James Vanderbilt (along with Steve Kloves and previous Spider-Man scripter Alvin Sargent). It is full of lengthy, repeat LENGTHY conversations, which include more technobabble than the average season of Star Trek: The Next Generation. There are a couple of stretches later in the film where one begins to lose interest because of this frequency and type of dialogue.

There are elements of the story which frankly make no sense. For instance, Peter is able to track the villian, The Lizard, by following thousands of smaller lizards which appear throughout the city for no particular reason. Their presence is never noted by any other characters, nor explained by any hint of dialogue.

Moving on, my strongest complaint is the derivative feel of many elements in the film. The basic facts of Spider-Man's origin are so well known, almost anyone can recite the story like a modern nursery rhyme. And they were covered 10 years ago in Sam Raimi's Spider-Man movie. So when writing a reboot, do you stick with the facts or concoct a new story, keeping most of the important elements but including details that make it feel like a cross between the Superman and Batman origins? This is owing in no small part to the influence of Christopher Nolan's Batman trilogy on comic adaptations, but there are other examples to point out.

Magic Mike is aimed at two mostly divergent groups of filmgoers: Steven Soderbergh fans and people who want to see Channing Tatum and Matthew McConaughey all but naked (as opposed to all butt naked, I suppose, although I do recall Tatum actually being butt naked in one scene).

Sadly, Soderbergh's feature about the sordid world of male strippers is unlikely to please either camp. Oh, there is plenty of well oiled and tanned beefcake; based on the reactions of the mostly female audience at the screening I attended, those who seek nothing more than male eye candy will like what they see. But a parade of perfect pecs, abs and glutes does not a great movie make, and the eye-candy crowd may find the rest of the film mostly dull. As for Soderbergh fans? They'll likely agree with me that this is far from the talented filmmaker's best work.

The titular Magic Mike (Tatum) is a stripper who dabbles in other business ventures when not doing the bump and grind before legions of tipsy, rowdy women at a Tampa strip club. Mike recruits fellow construction worker Adam (Alex Pettyfer) to earn a few extra bucks doing odd jobs in the club. When a stripper gets too drunk to perform, club owner Dallas (McConaughey) sends 19-year-old Adam -- who's never set foot in a male strip club before, much less danced -- on stage to entertain the ladies, which he does all too well.

A man, his girlfriend and his teddy bear walk in to a bar. The bear sits down and orders a margarita ... Whoa! What did you just say? The teddy bear orders a margarita? Come on, now, what kind of joke is this? This is no joke! This is Ted, the newest creation from the fertile comedic brain of Family Guy creator Seth MacFarlane. 

The movie Ted opens with young John Bennett making a wish that his teddy bear be brought to life. As a shooting star flies overhead, little John's wish is granted. Ted is brought to life and our adventure begins.

The world soon learns of Ted’s existence and people want to hear his story. The little bear appears in magazines, news interviews and is even invited to be a guest on The Tonight Show with Johnny Carson. The opening scenes of the film are accompanied by a hilarious voiceover provided by Captain Picard himself, Patrick Stewart.

The film then moves quickly to the present day. The adult John Bennett (Mark Wahlberg) and Ted (voiced by MacFarlane) are two foul-mouthed boys from Boston, who spend their day watching TV, smoking weed and eating Pringles. Yep, the teddy bear is a raging pothead who likes to party all the time. John is in a four-year relationship with Lori Collins (Mila Kunis), an up-and-coming professional madly in love with him. Lori wants to move to the next step with John but is hindered by the close relationship that her boyfirend has with Ted. The core focus of the movie is spent dealing with this complex relationship.

The thought of a film with a CGI animated bear as a lead character is cause for concern. Rest assured this concern is unfounded. The character of Ted is skillfully brought to life in the able hands of skilled comedic writer MacFarlane, who shares screenwriting credit with Family Guy alumni Alec Sulkin and Wellesley Wild. The character of Ted is believable -- you'd want to hang with him if given the chance. 

Nowadays you'd be hard-pressed to find someone who wouldn't use the word "dysfunctional" to describe their family, rather it's more to what degree. Sometimes when I've wondered what it would be like to have healthier relationships with a parent or sibling, I'll observe other people who have to deal with worse situations and consider myself fortunate.

People Like Us is the celluloid representation of that other family, headed by a rock of a patriarch who appears to have both emotionally and physically distanced himself from his children. In this case, two families are at stake -- one with his wife Lillian, portrayed by the gracefully aging beauty Michelle Pfeiffer, and a love affair with a groupie that resulted in an illegitimate daughter.

Chris Pine portrays Sam Harper as an estranged adult son who must settle his father's estate after his recent death from cancer. As an LA rock music producer, the amount of vinyl records and photos with rock legends left behind for Sam is enough to make any audiophile or rock historian drool like Pavlov's dog. Unfortunately, Sam has racked up an exorbitant amount of debt and he's more interested in what money  his father might have left. Sam is quite pleased to receive $150,000 in cash from the estate of his father's estate, but his excitement is short-lived when he discovers that he is meant to deliver the money to someone else.