The Fighter (2010)

 Directed by cinematic wild card David O. Russell, The Fighter is a bristling family drama with a sneaky battle strategy – it lulls you in with the promise of underdog sports heroics, chides you into dropping your guard with surprising comedic geniality, then lands a powerhouse punch on your movie-loving soft spot, that solar plexus of cinematic adoration occupied by childhood favorites, modern classics, and repeat viewings

Just Because Review: Julie & Julia (2009)

Last year's acting-award-bait Julie & Julia is another page in Nora Ephron's never-ending proverbial book on how to make blah films look passable. It is so annoyingly bland, yet so mysteriously satisfying that I am not even sure whether I actually liked it or loathed it. I just blah-ed it, I guess.