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 Audiences are still in love with the sparkly vampires and 007 as none of the week’s new releases managed any real box office interest. Breaking Dawn Part 2 was first with 17.4 million, Skyfall was second with 17 million, and Lincoln was third. Way back in seventh place, Killing Them Softly was very soft with just 7 million, and The Collector didn’t. The Collection took in just 3.4 million for 10th place.

(A Late Quartet – Entertainment One – Rated R)
Christopher Walken turns in a bravura performance as a cellist with Parkinsons in A Late Quartet. Add in Phillip Seymour Hoffman who gives a likewise terrific display of fine acting, along with a somewhat melodramatic, maudlin tale and you get a slightly flawed movie that should have been much better. The problem with this (and most other) films featuring actors who are supposed to be musicians, is, with the exception of Walken, none of the leads ever looks like he or she is actually playing. They all look like they are holding these strange alien devices and have no idea what to do with them. I expected Hoffman to whisper “Beam Me Up” into his violin.
3 ½ Stars Out of 5

(Anna Karenina – Focus Features – Rated R)
Anna Karenina takes a novel approach to Leo Tolstoy’s story. It is set in a theater…in the beginning there is an ever present proscenium arch, stage, and footlights…it’s playful as the cast assists in set changes, moving backdrops in and out. It’s ambitious and experimental. I loved it – at first.
Before long, the film settles in and delves into the seriousness and tragedy of the story. What sets the film apart is also ultimately its downfall. The style kept taking me out of the story…well that and the coldness of the so called romance. Stars Aaron Johnson and Kiera Knightley are supposed to have a passionate romance, but they haven’t got much heat. I’ve seen bromances with more heat. Ultimately, this uneven but interesting film doesn’t work, but it is fun to watch. 3 Stars Out of 5

(The Collection – LD Entertainment – Rated R)
The Collection is a sequel to The Collector – a movie so forgettable I forgot I’d seen it. So is this one. 2 Stars Out of 5

(Killing Them Softly – The Weinstein Company – Rated R)
Killing Them Softly is supposed to be a mob movie with Brad Pitt playing a hit man. And it is…kind of. Pitt isn’t in it much the first third of the film, and after he shows up, the film slows to a crawl, with the characters doing nothing but talk, talk, talk. I must have checked my watch 37 times – almost pleading for the minutes to tick away faster. This hour and a half movie seems four times as long. It is so deadly dull, I finally figured out who the “them” in the title was - the audience. I almost died of boredom! 1 ½ Stars Out of 5

For my past reviews and this week’s DVD and blu-ray releases head over to my web site, bobrichardsmoviereviews.com or link to it at Idaho On Your Side.com