Jackass 3D: The usual hilarious carnage

The Jackass crew returns for another round of crazy stunts and other tomfoolery that is bound to either make you laugh or become physically ill.

It seems improbable that, after a number of seasons on MTV as well as two successful films, Johnny Knoxville and his merry band of fellow Jackasses would still be able to find new ways to make an audience bust out laughing while simultaneously making them squirm in their seats as they watched a new series and stunts and other insane gags unfold in front of them but that was exactly what happened in Jackass 3D. From Steve-O's porta potty slingshot fiasco, the "High Five" practical joke, improper use of super glue, to a human duck hunt, it was impossible to not chuckle uncontrollably at the human carnage which happened on screen.

It is conceivable that Johnny and the guys are slowing down just a bit as they continue to grow older and are not as spry as they once were as Bam, Ryan and all of the rest seemed to take just a little longer to get up after they fell down and the stunts were not as crazy as they once were (but let's face it, how many shots to the crotch than these guys take before they are forever sterile or having any resemblance of a normal life). This film even felt like something of a proper farewell but here's hoping they can find a way to make at least one more movie before they hang up their helments and tasers.

If you are not a fan of Jackass, then odds are, you are going to want to skip this movie but fans of the series will not be disappointed with this sequel.

Grade: B

Tron Legacy: A visual dynamo...that's about it

Sam Flynn, the son of a virtual world designer, goes looking for his father twenty years after his disappeared. In his quest to find him, he winds up inside the digital world that his father created and must fight to not only save himself, but to also stop the evil overload that now rules the digital domain of The Grid.

The best aspects of Tron Legacy were its production design and visual effects. Sure, the slow motion bullet-time-esque action shots and skin tight bodysuits worn by the main characters reminded one of The Matrix and the look of The Grid had certain Blade Runner aspects to it, but director Joseph Kosinski was able to build upon what Steven Lisberger, the director of the original Tron, created in the original and fashion a slick, innovative and awe inspiring futuristic world of light cycles and planes, stunning architecture and intense action which most sci-fi fans will find hard to pass up. Where the film faltered was in its story and characters. Garrett Hedlund (who played Sam) was no Keanu Reeves (and trust me, that's a bad thing), Jeff Bridges channeled too much of The Dude (his trademark character from The Big Lebowski) to be taken seriously as Kevin, his CGI-aided role as Clu looked a little too fake (and creepy) from time to time while poor Olivia Wilde (who looked amazing in her bodysuit) was never given much to do as Quorra other than look pretty. The whole story of Sam rushing into The Grid to save his father and stop Clu's evil invasion plans was never given any traction. It never developed into something substantial and felt choppy, rushed and tacked on in an effort to fill time between the visually dazzling sequences.

Just sit back and watch all of the amazing visuals in Tron Legacy, those should be entertaining enough to make you forget that there is not much of a story.

Grade: C+

Black Swan: A disturbing masterpiece

Ballet dancer Nina lands the role of the lifetime when she is cast as the Swan Queen in Swan Lake. But she soon starts to believe her dreams of stardom will be crushed by her rival Lilly and, as opening night approaches and the pressure builds, her obsesion with being the "perfect" Swan Queen drives her into paranoia and delusion.

The first thing one remembers after turning off Black Swan is the career defining performance given by Natalie Portman. As Nina, she was able to grow character-wise, from the timid and scared girl in the beginning of the film who could only hope to land the part of the Swan Queen to the mature and confident woman who was able to give the performance of her lifetime in that role. Her actions and reactions between those two points were filled with so much emotion, including anger, confusion, despair and desire that it was nearly impossible to tear one's eyes from the screen for Ms. Portman so totally lost herself in the role that it was hard to imagine this was the same woman who played Queen/Senator Amidala in the recent Star Wars prequels. It was almost as if Ms. Portman felt as though her own real life career mirrored that of Nina's and, having grown tired of always playing the good girl, she was looking for a role that would not only break that typecasting mold, but bust it inot a million pieces. As with Nina's transformation this role seems to be Portman's transformative performance.

Beyond Portman's performance, Darren Aronofsky's direction merits attention for he was able to not only bring out stellar performances from his lead actress as well as the rest of the cast, but he also kept the audience on the edge of their seats by playing up the torment Nina was facing. Her decent into a psychological spiral preyed on the minds of the audience, causing them to question whether Nina was truly turning into the mythologial Black Swan or if she was simply loosing her mind. Aronofsky was able to further toy with the audience by including some of Nina's visions, which contained some of the more unnerving images seen on film since movies such as The Exorcist and Rosemary's Baby.

A film about a mentally unhinged ballerina does not seem like something many people would be calmoring to watch, however the strong acting and storytelling of Black Swan made it a disturbingly, entertaining thriller that an audience could not help but be enthralled by.

Grade: A