TheRetroCritic

It's so hard to find good Christmas movies these days, let alone animated ones. Could it be that The Nightmare Before Christmas was the last word on that? Well, from the looks of this latest Dreamworks outing, it seems that there's still hope for holiday movies yet! Rise Of The Guardians , while far from perfect (I'll get to that), still boasts enough creativity and popcorn entertainment to make it a fair attempt at something good and festive. The plot sees Jack Frost (Chris Pine) being taken in by the likes of Santa (an unrecognisable Alec Baldwin), The Easter Bunny (Hugh Jackman), The Sandman and The Tooth Fairy (Isla Fisher) to join them as a "Guardian" (basically a Moon-appointed superhero of sorts). Their goal usually being to keep kids safe and their imaginations intact, this time they're having to face off against Pitch Black (a fun Jude Law and a damn good sci-fi B movie) whose plan it is to fill everyone's heads with nightmares and make fear

Originally titled “ The Bop Decameron” , To Rome With Love was this year’s Woody Allen and boasted yet another all-star cast in yet another European setting. But where Midnight In Paris really pushed the whole romantic, nostalgia vibe, this one takes a different route altogether. For one thing, this is closer to the likes of You Will Meet A Tall Dark Stranger or Everyone Says I Love You where you follow not one but several characters in their own little continuing vignettes. Woody Allen and the ever reliable Judy Davis play a married couple who go to Rome to meet their daughter’s boyfriend’s parents only to find that the father sings amazingly well in the shower, which Allen’s character promptly plots to exploit. A young architect, played by Jesse Eisenberg, is involved in a love triangle between his girlfriend Sally (Greta Gerwig) and one her best friends (played by Ellen Page) althewhile being mentored by one of his favorite architects (Alec Baldwin), or his gh