Americans are overweight. At this point, with a barrage of news stories and a slew of documentaries, everyone is fully aware of this obvious fact. Everyone understands that high fat, processed foods are the enemy of the healthy, so what's left to say? According to documentary filmmaker, Lee Fulkerson, the battle is won with more extreme measures. “Forks Over Knives” is a documentary about the direct correlation between processed meat and dairy; and diseases such as hypertension, cancer, and heart disease. Fulkerson finds the solution a somewhat annoyingly simple one; switch to a whole foods, plant based diet and these health culprits can be prevented and in some cases even reversed.

This year’s post-modern romantic comedy “No Strings Attached” asks the question: Can men and women be friends, have sex and expect nothing else? Directed by Ivan Reitman and starring Ashton Kutcher and Natalie Portman - the movie examines a new generation’s relationships with parents, coworkers, themselves and each other.

Superhero season is officially open with the arrival of “Thor,” the thunderous, golden deity of the Marvel universe. But while “Thor” knocks on the door of greatness a few times, even the Norse god’s mighty hammer cannot break through to the pantheon of all time comic book movie lore.

In the fashion of great epics, Denis Villeneuve delivers a majestic, tragic and intense story that captures the impressive struggles of love, war and violence with “Incendies.”

Writer and director Caroline Bottaro adapted Bertina Henrichs' acclaimed novel "La Joueuse d'echec" ("The Chess Player") for the screenplay of "Queen to Play" and delivers a delicate and stylistic, yet sophisticated look at the game of chess as both the catalyst and means through which a woman finds her personal agency.

Writer and director Massy Tadjedin delivers a captivating exploration of what it means to love, to be loved and to be in a relationship all the while probing the gray areas of fidelity in "Last Night"

Director Francis Lawrence (“I Am Legend,” “Constantine”) presents a visually beautiful film and a well-crafted story, but the screen adaptation of “Water for Elephants” lacks the chemistry needed to match the power of the potential we're shown.

Those who hated director Sofia Coppola’s “Lost in Translation” may rush the screen with the sharpest object at hand after seeing “Somewhere.”  The film riffs on some of the same themes explored in “Translation” – the loneliness of fame, the misery of wealth and the expectations that come with stardom.

“The King’s Speech” is Beethoven’s "Für Elise." It is simplistic – a lone piano solo without the cacophony of special effects or mind-bending plot twists – yet elegant and well-layered, with every note replete with beauty. At the end of such a piece, you can’t help but be awestruck.

Malcolm Venville’s ("44 Inch Chest") second feature, "Henry's Crime," is an amusing heist flick with subtle but palatable chemistry between Keanu Reeves and Vera Farmiga, while James Caan holds it all together with superb comic timing.

The new Clint Eastwood directed and produced drama “Hereafter,” staring Matt Damon and Cecile De France (“L’auberge espagnole”) focuses on one of life’s most curious thoughts: What happens to us after death?

Natalie Portman's big screen career began with precocious roles in "The Professional" and "Beautiful Girls." Portman, is the type of an actress that brought images of the next Jodie Foster to mind. Then, along came those stilted performances in the "Star Wars" prequels, and it seemed as if her talent was in retreat.

Jason Bateman is more than a child actor who didn’t succumb to a life of tabloid headlines and VH1 redemption. He’s a terrific comic actor, period, one whose talents are too often relegated to supporting parts.

So what is it that makes “Battle: Los Angeles” such a colossal shrug of a movie? Is it the tired, predictable use of a sinister alien race that appears out of nowhere and seemingly has no weaknesses as they run amok on earth? Is it the fact that every single character, right down to the beautiful, doe eyed children, are war movie clichés booked from central casting? Or is it Jonathan Liebesman’s peculiar directing style, where instead of achieving cinema verite, he merely shoots from odd angles, obscures faces unnecessarily, and takes a page from Tony Scott’s field manual and simply refuses to keep a shot steady for more than three seconds?

Based on the novel "Out of My Head" by Didier van Cauwelaert, director Jaume Collet-Serra delivers “Unknown,” a solid thriller that slowly and unrelentingly builds until you can hardly breathe.

Woody Allen, after a brief respite back to his “home” in New York City with his last film, “Whatever Works,” once again returns to a European setting for his latest dramedy set in London, entitled, “You Will Meet a Tall Dark Stranger.”

Biographies rarely fall neatly into three acts. While some true-life stories succeed when translated into motion pictures, others fail, mostly because while the tale itself may have been newsworthy, it lacked the character arc and structure to be a real film. “Conviction,” based on Betty Anne Waters’ fight to save her brother Kenny Waters from serving a life sentence for a crime he didn’t commit, could have easily filled a basic cable channel time slot. Instead, thanks to the performances of A-list actors, the film rises beyond expectation, taking the movie theater audience with it.

“What drives us?” That is essentially the question posed by economists Steven D. Levitt and Stephen J. Dubner in their best-selling book “Freakonomics,” and now the film of the same name.

Is it possible that the co-founder of Facebook, Mark Zuckerberg, the kid who brought 500 million people together and became the youngest billionaire on the planet, is actually the loneliest person on our globe? In “The Social Network,” the much anticipated new film from David Fincher, Zuckerberg (Jesse Eisenberg) is portrayed as just that.

“The Last Picture Show” is a haunting, beautiful, multi-layered time portal. Released in 1971, the movie provides a pitch-perfect recreation of mid-century life in a tiny West Texas town. Peter Bogdanovich directs from a screenplay he co-wrote with Larry McMurtry, author of the novel upon which the film is based. Bogdanovich’s handling of his ensemble cast, and his building of tension at a relaxed pace, are masterful.

During the opening commentary of the 2009 romantic comedy “(500) Days of Summer,” the lead character is described as “…believing he would never truly be happy until he found ‘the one.’ This belief stemmed from exposure to sad British pop music and a total misreading of the film "The Graduate.”

The best thing about “Eraserhead” (1976) is that its director, David Lynch, refuses to explain it. Unfortunately, incomprehensibility can carry a film only so far.

Few great directors choose to work within the horror genre. Fewer still manage to create meaningful art within the genre. With 1968's “Rosemary’s Baby,” Roman Polanksi joins this elite company.

The movie’s plot is spare, so that the emphasis can remain on the title character and her growing terror. In the first act, Rosemary (Mia Farrow) and Guy (John Cassavetes) Woodhouse tour a seventh floor apartment in the fictional Bramford, a gothic apartment building on New York’s Upper West Side. Soon after they move in, they are befriended by an elderly couple on the same floor, Minnie (Ruth Gordon) and Roman (Sidney Blackmer) Castevet.

The most infamous thing about the classic film, “Gandhi”, is the resentment it received following the Academy Awards ceremony in 1983 where “Gandhi” not only beat out the hugely popular “E.T.” for Best Picture but Sir Richard Attenborough topped Steven Spielberg for Best Director.

Milos Forman waited 13 years to direct “One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest,” which was recently re-released on DVD and Blu-Ray in honor of its 35th anniversary. The wait was worthwhile. The movie is a masterpiece.

“How glorious it is and also how Painful to be an Exception.” So reads the caption on one of underground artist Robert Crumb’s magazine covers (quoting French poet Alfred de Musset). “Crumb,” a documentary by Terry Zwigoff, masterfully captures and presents three themes: the exceptional nature of Crumb himself, the glory of his art, and the pain his work reflects.

The original film poster for “Bonnie and Clyde” read – ‘They’re young…they’re in love…and they kill people.’

Thus marked the release of Arthur Penn’s classic crime drama “Bonnie and Clyde.” Based on the true story of the Depression-era robbers, Bonnie Parker and Clyde Barrow, Penn and screenwriters David Newman and Robert Benton had the challenge of bringing the story of the infamous Barrow Gang to the big screen. With an all-star cast and crew, this production was up to the challenge.

George Clooney's new film, “The American,” eschews more than just modern movie conventions. It neglects to give us a protagonist to cheer on. We're left with Clooney's star power and maturing acting skills--which are considerable--and a story which can't rally to save itself in the film's waning moments.

“The Other Guys,” directed by Adam McKay, could have been added to the list of forgettable buddy-cop movies, yet this Will Ferrell comedy has enough nuances to avoid the standard clichés.

“We wanted to finally give John C. Reilly his big romantic leading role, which we’ve been wanting to see him in for years,” said director Mark Duplass during a Q&A about his new film “Cyrus.” The film, co-written and directed with his brother Jay Duplass, premiered at the 2010 Los Angeles Film Festival this past Friday. In addition to showcasing the talents of Reilly, this funny and surprisingly charming film also boasts solid acting work from Marisa Tomei and Jonah Hill, in the titular role.