“It’s Complicated” (R, 120 minutes). Meryl Streep is a millionaire bakery owner in Santa Barbara who begins a warm friendship with her architect Steve Martin) just as her ex-husband (Alec Baldwin) comes back into her love life. This inspires close calls, confusion among their children, fascination from her girl friends, some funny scenes, and too many that belong on the day-old shelf. Two and a half stars

Source:It's Complicated / **1/2 (R)

“Sherlock Holmes” (PG-13, 128 minutes). Sherlock Holmes (Robert Downey Jr), who has survived so much, here survives an onslaught of special effects orchestrated by Guy Ritchie, in a CGI London never more dark and gloomy. He and Watson (Jude Law) are on the trail of the Satanist Lord Blackwood, seemingly hanged and buried, but now returned from the grave. Will discomfort traditionalists, but Downey and Law perfect an Odd Couple relationship and are surround by the atmospheric and fantastical. With Rachel McAdams as Irene Adler, reportedly the only woman to ever touch Holmes’ heart. Three stars.

Source:Sherlock Holmes / *** (PG-13)

“Crazy Heart” (R, 112 minutes). Jeff Bridges is a Best Actor front-runner for his performance as Bad Blake, a broke-down, boozy country singer with a stubborn pride. Maggie Gyllenhaal finds all the right notes as a much younger reporter who comes for an interview and stays to be kissed. The songs, the singing, the milieu, the wisdom about alcoholism, are all convincing. The stuff of countless country songs, made true and new. With Robert Duvall and Colin Farrell in key supporting roles. Written and directed by first-timer Scott Cooper. Four stars

Source:Crazy Heart / **** (R)

After a career as a leading actor that began with “The Last Picture Show” in 1971 and has included four Academy Award nominations, Jeff Bridges seems poised to be nominated again for his pitch-perfect performance as Bad Blake, a broken-down country singer in “Crazy Heart.” His performance has been singled out in the best actor category of many film critics’ year-end awards. In my review elsewhere in this section, I note: “It’s like Bad has lived so long and been through so much that he’s too worn out to add any spin to exactly the way he feels.”

Source:People: Jeff Bridges: "I know myself pretty well."

“Nine” (PG-13, 112 minutes). My problem may be that I know Fellini’s “8 1/2″ too well. Your problem may be that you don’t know it well enough. Both of us may be asking, who exactly was “Nine” made for? This is a big-scale version of the 1982 Broadway production, but lacking the passion, the guilt, the innate music, of the great Fellini musical. And it doesn’t have a single great song. The role played on film by Marcello Mastroianni and onstage by Raul Julia is now played by–Daniel Day Lewis? Two stars.

Source:Nine / ** (PG-13)

The Music Box will screen Jacques Tati’s classic “Mr. Hulot’s Holiday” (1953) in a restored 35mm print for a weeklong run.

The first time I saw Jacques Tati’s “Mr. Hulot’s Holiday,” I didn’t laugh as much as I thought I was supposed to. But I didn’t forget the film, and I saw it again in a film class, and then bought the laserdisc and saw it a third and fourth time, and by then it had become part of my treasure. But I still didn’t laugh as much as I thought I was supposed to, and now I think I understand why.

Source:Mr. Hulot's Holiday / **** (No MPAA rating)

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