Even if you accept the idea of making the Hobbit into three films, rather than one, there's no reason to have the first one run nearly three hours. You could've put Peter Jackson in front of a camera and had him read you a third of the book in less time. On the upside, it looks great and has the perfect star. If only it had a better--and shorter--script.

Cloud Atlas is a big, ambitious, heartfelt movie. The craft on display is indisputable, and its themes are richer than is being credited. If there's one thing I want from a three-hour movie, it's that it be hobbit-free. If there are two things, it's that it be this engaging and rich. Almost makes me forgive the Wachowskis for the Matrix sequels. But not quite.

Last weekend in San Francisco, the Alternative Press Expo–Comic-Con’s punky kid brother–brought small-press and self-published comics together with a few major figures and provided two pleasant, low-key afternoons for local comics fans to check out new talent and hear from the masters. Jim Woodring, Sergio Aragones and Los Bros. Hernandez were the stars, doing signings and giving talks about their careers.  Aragones, after 50 years in comics, remains a humble and entertaining man.  Asked about doing an autobiography, he pointed out that many of his comics are autobiographical, so eventually he’ll have chronicled his...

More like a Philip K. Dick adaptation than any Philip K. Dick adaptation, Looper is a smart and assured sci-fi thriller that disdains 3D and overkill effects in favor of character and story. It's like Inception's mellower kid brother: Not as manic, easier to hold a conversation with, but with some of the same charm.

Two great actors, one painfully long chase scene, and a script so dead not even Renner and Weisz can revive it. The movie chugs along fine while you're watching it, but the thing is, it just assumes you care about what's going on, rather than making any effort to actually make you care.

The Dark Knight flops. This movie is overlong, overly focused on militaristic violence, is a tangled mess of themes and ideas, has the pacing of an epileptic turtle, and worse sin of all: not nearly enough Batman (or Catwoman). And way too much Bane.

A really uneven script is disguised by a strong cast, fine special effects and a lot of scenes that, on their own, seem strong. We didn't need the Spider-franchise rebooted so soon, but there's stuff to like here, and reasons to look forward to the next installment.