The big event is finally here.

Fans around the world are debating who will win, millions will be wagered on the results and many, many bowls of snacks will be consumed.

No, I’m not talking about the Super Bowl. I’m talking about the 83rd Academy Awards, an event that continues to grow in popularity, followed by millions of fervent cinema fans.

From the announcement of the Golden Globe and Screen Actors Guild Award winners earlier this year to the opening of the Academy envelopes on Sunday, Feb. 27, movie fans follow the Oscar trail and try to predict who will win, who will lose and who will get robbed.

So, in the spirit of the awards, we will make some predictions of our own.

Best Picture

Nominees: “Black Swan,” “The Fighter,” “Inception,” “The Kids Are All Right,” “The King’s Speech,” “127 Hours,” “The Social Network,” “Toy Story 3,” “True Grit,” “Winter’s Bone”

Pick: Although “The Social Network” took the Golden Globe for “Best Motion Picture – Drama,” often an indicator for what will happen on Oscar night, I think “Black Swan” will ride the Natalie Portman buzz into the winner’s circle. Portman is the odds-on favorite for best actress, and “Black Swan” has all the elements of an Oscar winner: bold character arcs, deeply intense scenes, special effects and an Oscar-nominated star at the helm.

Notables: “Inception” could win for the same reason “Avatar” did in 2010 – it’s simply a new way of filmmaking. “The Fighter” is a tour de force for the cast, led by Christian Bale in a brilliant performance. “The King’s Speech” is smart filmmaking with Colin Firth as hot as any leading man these days, and “The Kid’s Are All Right” has both star power and a socially-conscious message. My nod still goes to “Black Swan.”

Actor in a Leading Role

Nominees: Javier Bardem, “Biutiful;” Jeff Bridges, “True Grit;” Jesse Eisenberg, “The Social Network;” Colin Firth, “The King’s Speech;” James Franco, “127 Hours”

Pick: Colin Firth appears to have the statuette firmly in hand. He is not only a well-loved veteran but also one of the top serious actors in Hollywood right now. Firth has all the buzz, is in a film nominated for “Best Picture” and has already won the Golden Globe. He’s the runaway winner in this category.

Notables: Others who could take home the little Oscar man are Jesse Eisenberg of “The Social Network,” who is also enjoying the buzz that comes with a nominated film, and James Franco, co-host of this year’s awards ceremony, who should get lots of attention (and, in my opinion, the award) for his brave portrayal of real-life adventurer Aron Ralston in “127 Hours.”

Actress in a Leading Role

Nominees: Annette Bening, “The Kids Are All Right;” Nicole Kidman, “Rabbit Hole;” Jennifer Lawrence, “Winter’s Bone,” Natalie Portman, “Black Swan;” Michelle Williams, “Blue Valentine”

Pick: This award also will follow the “buzz theory,” and I believe Natalie Portman will take the prize. She isn’t only one of the busiest young ingénues going right now, with multiple releases encompassing comedy, drama and in-between, but she’s riding the hype and momentum of the Golden Globe awards. I think she wins this award, hands down.

Notables: While Portman has it locked up in my mind, the Academy Awards are always good for a surprise or two, and this category could certainly produce one. There’s plenty of star power here with Annette Bening and Nicole Kidman also up for the Oscar. Either could win, Bening for her comic-but-tender performance in “The Kids Are All Right,” and Kidman might be a sentimental favorite for taking on the most difficult role in films, that of a mother who loses a child in “Rabbit Hole.” Jennifer Lawrence gets deserved recognition for “Winter’s Bone,” but I don’t see her stealing the award from the veterans.

Actress in a Supporting Role

Nominees: Amy Adams, “The Fighter;” Helena Bonham Carter, “The King’s Speech;” Melissa Leo, “The Fighter;” Hailee Steinfeld, “True Grit;” Jacki Weaver, “Animal Kingdom”

Pick: The biggest surprises during the Academy Awards often come from the Supporting-Role categories because virtually every year, a lesser-known actor turns in an amazing performance. Couple that with a film that’s already receiving buzz and it can propel that actor to the winner’s podium. I believe that will happen in this category, and I see Melissa Leo receiving the Oscar for her incredible performance in “The Fighter.” She was so powerful and consistent as the white-trash mom of rough-and-tumble boys that I think it’ll be a landslide.

Notables: Leo’s stiffest competition may come from Amy Adams who played, ironically, Leo’s competition for her sons’ loyalty in “The Fighter.” Hailee Steinfeld, 14, deserves praise for “True Grit” as well, but we’ll hear from her again.

Alex Pettyfer and Dianna Agron

Right after seeing “I Am Number Four,” I wasn’t really sure what to make of the experience.

The effects are gorgeous. The characters are engaging, with a couple of notable exceptions.

And the story is a fresh take on the kind of tale we first saw in the golden age of comics, when Superman was struggling to save the Earth as the last survivor of the doomed planet Krypton.

“I Am Number Four” is a similar story of survival, of heroes hiding awesome powers and struggling to exist among everyday human beings.

What this movie gets right, it gets really right.

But when the plot goes off track, we don’t get Superman. We end up with “Smallville.”  And not good, early “Smallville,” either. Weak, season-eight-and-later “Smallville.”

Here’s the story, as we hear it narrated by Number Four (Alex Pettyfer) himself:

The planet Lorien’s population was decimated by the Mogadorians, a brutal alien race. Only a handful of Loriens escaped – young heroes whose purpose was to protect their homeworld.

Now they live on Earth, but the Mogadorians are hunting them down one by one as a prelude to conquest.

Number Four is next in line, but he just wants to be an everyday, earthling high school student. It’s as if Superman knew he was meant to become Superman, but really just wanted to spend some more time as Clark Kent, a role in which he’s far more comfortable.

Kevin Durand plays the Mogadorian commander as if he’s channeling Ralph Fiennes as Lord Voldemort. That is, if Voldemort had been an alien with gills next to his nostrils and way too many tattoos on his scalp.

Even this weirdness would be cooler if we saw more of the “Mogs,” as they’re called, than we get to see in the first hour.

We see, in agonizing detail, Number Four’s insistence that he go to high school under the name “John Smith.” We’re treated to endless predictable scenes of his average, angst-ridden high school days.

There’s the usual parade of Hollywood high school stereotypes, which is no less hackneyed and boring when it’s presented ironically.

Jake Abel plays Mark, the ubiquitous high school jock, who undergoes a baffling (if predictable) character transformation as the story unfolds. Instead of Jimmy Olsen for a sidekick, we get Sam (Callan McAuliffe), the school nerd whose father (can you believe it?) disappeared while searching for “ancient astronauts.”

And then there’s Sarah (Dianna Agron), Number Four’s would-be girlfriend – a friendly, creative soul who spends her free time taking photographs and scrapbooking.

Their time on the screen feels sweet and more natural than Number Four’s interactions with the other teens. It also feels like a love story that belongs in a different movie.

It’s as if the filmmakers only had enough action and adventure for an hour of screen time, so they threw in a scoop of “Elizabethtown” and a leftover can of “Donnie Darko” to stretch things out.

When the pace picks up again, we’re watching an almost entirely different movie. The aliens are attacking and Number Four has to team up with long-lost Number Six (Teresa Palmer) if humanity’s going to have a prayer.

Now, before you break out the unhappy e-mail, I’m aware that “I Am Number Four” is based on a young adult novel by author Pittacus Lore, speaking of unbelievable pseudonyms. And I know it’s supposed to be the first installment in a longer series, so I’m sure those who’ve read the novel will have a different impression of the characters.

From a storytelling perspective, I found myself wanting to see more of Henri (Timothy Olyphant), Number Four’s Lorien guardian who poses as a human dad. I wanted to learn more about the world of Lorien and its downfall.

Even if that meant adapting the book a bit more, helping our imaginations by filling in some visuals for things that are only referred to in passing, it would’ve been worth it.

As it stands, “I Am Number Four” is truly an imaginative take on a story that’s worth retelling. I’m just not sure that we’re going to see episode number two of this saga unless a lot of movie-watchers are thrilled to death by what this film has to offer.

Grade: 2/4 Stars

(From left) Jennifer Aniston, Adam Sandler and Brooklyn Decker

If familiarity breeds contempt, then Adam Sandler has bred enough contempt to fill the whole of Russia with his movies. Through his Happy Madison productions, Sandler has either starred in the exact same movie over and over, or produced – “Grandma’s Boy” notwithstanding – a dumber version of his movies for his friends to star in (“Paul Blart: Mall Cop,” both of the “Deuce Bigalow” movies). It’s pretty obvious that Sandler, now in his mid-40s, isn’t going to change, so everyone should just go with it because it’s not going to change now.

Sandler stars as Danny, a plastic surgeon who uses a wedding ring to pick up younger women so he won’t have to worry about getting hurt. One day he meets Palmer (“Sports Illustrated” swimsuit model Brooklyn Decker) and decides that he wants to give it a serious go with the girl. The problem is, after a tryst on the beach, she finds the wedding ring and Danny has to scramble to come up with a family. Enter his work assistant Katherine (Jennifer Aniston) and her two children.

It’s an interesting plot that’s based off the 1969 film “Cactus Flower” and, if played right, could’ve been a hilarious comedy of errors. Alas, for that to happen, Sandler & Co. would’ve had to actually make an effort to come up with the right scenarios to get the big laughs.

They would have to make it so the entire setup bordered on utter chaos the entire time. They would have to make Palmer not walk around like she had the intelligence of a third-grader, completely oblivious to what’s going on around her, no matter how painfully obvious it is to everyone else. The worst offense Sandler and his cohorts try to pull off is the notion that none of the males in the cast realize Jennifer Aniston is an attractive woman until she dons a bikini. That could only happen on a planet full of blind people. And even then, it’s a big maybe.

Sadly, if “Grown Ups” has taught us anything, it’s that Sandler doesn’t care about making a good movie anymore. He makes movies with his friends so they can all get paid a sickening amount of money to live it up wherever the movie is shooting. He’s so sloppy in “Just Go with It” that, while the majority of the film takes place in Hawaii, a place Danny has supposedly never been, at one point Sandler is wearing one of his old, frayed Maui T-shirts.

As lazy, mind-numbing and pointless as most of the film is, “Just Go with It” actually comes off as one of the better movies Sandler has put out over the last 10 years. There’s a hilarious cameo from Kevin Nealon, Nick Swardson is always a hoot and even some of Sandler’s trademark poo jokes hit the right note.

As painful as it is, at this point in the game it’s clear that Adam Sandler will never have another “Happy Gilmore” or “The Wedding Singer,” as he’s been too preoccupied trying to recreate what made those films successful in the first place, each ensuing entry being lesser and lesser in quality. “Just Go with It” provides a glimmer of hope that things may turn for the better, but considering Sandler’s next film features him as identical twins, one a guy and one a girl, it’s doubtful.

Grade: 2/4 Stars

Channing Tatum (far right) seeks to restore his family’s name in “The Eagle.”

The Academy Awards are right around the corner, and film lovers are debating the best films of the past year. The nominees are all complicated films with rich, textured stories and nuanced performances.

“The Eagle,” starring Channing Tatum and Jamie Bell, doesn’t have any of those burdens. It is a very simple film with a simple message and might be a reasonable escape for those into sword-filled adventures.

Tatum turns in a credible performance as career-minded, brooding young Centurion Marcus Aquila, who goes on a quest during the height of the Roman Empire’s conquest of Britain. Perhaps Tatum’s largest prior role to date is that of super-soldier Duke Hauser in “G.I. Joe: The Rise of Cobra,” but it’s quite a stretch from his most recent appearance as an airhead boy toy in “The Dilemma.”

Bell plays Aquila’s British slave, Esca. This is another role along a clear arc of weighty roles the actor has received since winning hearts with his portrayal of young Irish dancer Billy Elliott 10 years ago.

Marcus Aquila is a career Roman officer who could be assigned anywhere but chooses the unsavory outpost of Great Britain. Soon enough we find out why. His father, once a decorated Roman soldier, is now a subject of army camp whispers and gossip because he led an entire legion beyond Hadrian’s Wall, never to return.

Worse than defeat at the hands of the northern heathens is the loss of the Eagle standard the legion bore. The carved symbol is clearly a matter of national pride to the Romans and also a personal quest for Marcus Aquila. If he can venture where no Roman has dared go and bring back the Eagle, he will redeem his family’s good name.

Soon, Aquila gains fame in battle but is severely injured and discharged for his reward. Enter Esca, the slave who’s assigned to Aquila by his uncle to help him recover. Soldier and slave form a complicated bond quite quickly, and Aquila is ready to go on his quest.

Director Kevin Macdonald and writer Jeremy Brock whittle down Rosemary Sutcliff’s novel to a series of simple plot points that sometimes strain belief. Macdonald has helmed such layered films as “State of Play” and “Last King of Scotland.” He took a break from nuance with “The Eagle.”

We must simply believe that two men, one a slave at that, will succeed where a legion failed. We must also accept that they will form an unbreakable friendship of trust and loyalty even though Esca’s family was slain by the very soldiers and ideals that Aquila stands for. If you settle back, eat some popcorn and let your disbelief go, however, “The Eagle” creates a mood that is enjoyable to watch.

Macdonald pays close and successful attention to the mood, the feel, the look and shape of the film. The uniforms look right, the landscape looks right and the period in which the film is made looks right, down to the smallest detail. The only jarring aspect is the language. Bell sounds foreign and historically correct when speaking ancient British or Gaelic, but Tatum comes across as a lazy actor when the Roman’s “English” wavers in an out of a sort-of-British accent and his cohorts range from a nasally southern-Roman to a Brooklyn-Roman and some other dialects in between.

Tatum and Bell share the screen successfully and play off of each other well. There is an axiom present in virtually all films that goes like this: “Willing suspension of disbelief.” “The Eagle” asks you to suspend your disbelief more than some films, less than others, but it’s a pretty good escape if you are looking for something to do on a cold, rainy afternoon.

Grade: 2/4 Stars

Juliet (Emily Blunt) and her Gnomeo (James McAvoy)

Like any good English major, I’ve seen Shakespeare done and re-done in more ways than Waffle House does hash browns.

The last time I saw “Romeo and Juliet” on the silver screen was Baz Luhrmann’s gun-toting, alt-rock-fueled version from 1996 – the one with Leonardo DiCaprio and Claire Danes in the title roles.

If you thought replacing swords with pistols and making Verona look like Compton was too far out, wait ‘til you see the CGI animated comedy “Gnomeo & Juliet.” This take on the story of “star-cross’d” (read: “doomed”) lovers is imaginative and easily one of the most fun adaptations of Shakespeare I’ve seen.

The premise: In an English suburb, two crotchety neighbors with adjoining gardens are always at each others’ throats. And when no human eyes are watching, their extensive collections of garden gnomes – red versus blue – carry on the feud.

Enter Gnomeo (voiced by James McAvoy), the blue gnomes’ favorite son. His rival is Tybalt (Jason Statham), who goes most places surrounded by a pack of ceramic henchmen. Instead of swordfights, these two champions compete by racing lawn mowers and playing pranks on one another.

One fateful night, Gnomeo meets the beautiful Juliet (Emily Blunt), Tybalt’s cousin, and the inevitable happens. Love, and lots of it.

Too bad that Gnomeo’s mother, Lady Bluebury (Maggie Smith), wants him to be the hero to put down the uncivilized red gnomes. Smith, whom you may know best as Professor McGonagall from the “Harry Potter” films, plays the role of the “stiff upper lip” English lady to perfection.

Likewise, Juliet’s father, Lord Redbrick (Michael Caine), wants to keep her on a pedestal (literally – at one point, he glues her to her spot in the backyard). Redbrick thinks Juliet is too fragile to exist in the tough world. He tries to marry her off to a nice, “safe” young gnome, Paris.

Gnomeo and Juliet get caught up in the escalation of the feud, and the risk of one of the gnomes getting killed – that is, shattered – increases with each passing day. Will they, or at least their hearts, be smashed to bits as the rivalry turns violent?

There are plenty of celebrity cameos. Dolly Parton, Hulk Hogan and Ozzy Osbourne all have funny bit parts.

Jim Cummings steals the show as Featherstone, a talkative pink, plastic flamingo rescued from oblivion in a run-down garden shed, who helps the young couple through their differences.

Ashley Jensen (who had a role in last year’s “How to Train Your Dragon”) is over-the-top as Nanette, Juliet’s friend and confidante, who seems to have taken a few pointers from Snooki.

And Patrick “Captain Picard” Stewart, an acclaimed Shakespearean actor in his own right, voices a talking statue of the Bard himself.

If you paid attention in English class, you’ll see lots of jokes from the plays scattered around the film, such as the delivery truck for “Tempest Teapots.” The writers know their material and borrow from it freely.

“Gnomeo & Juliet” marks a foray into films by executive producer Elton John. The soundtrack is full of classic cuts from the glam rocker’s catalogue, including “Saturday Night’s All Right for Fighting” and “Your Song.”

Hardcore music fans may buy a ticket just to hear the song “Hello, Hello,” Elton John’s much-talked-about duet with Lady Gaga. (She manages to sound like she’s channeling Stevie Nicks, but that’s not really a bad thing.)

Say what you want about Shakespeare, his work is timeless – and timely. You could do a whole lot worse than showing your kids a love story that also teaches the consequences of judging others just by how they look or what their families are like.

And if you want a fun and safe date movie for Valentine’s Day, don’t be afraid to give this one a try.

Even if you’re not a fan of Shakespeare or garden gnomes, the combination is like mixing chocolate and bacon – a surprisingly good treat.

Grade: 3/4 Stars

Nicole Kidman and Aaron Eckhart

“Rabbit Hole” is the kind of film that’s an actor’s dream. Its two leads, Nicole Kidman and Aaron Eckhart, are provided with the opportunity to carry heavy emotions in performances that require a lot more than just reacting to computer-generated images in that rarest of movies in theaters today: the adult drama.

Kidman and Eckhart play Becca and Howie, a married couple whose 4-year-old son was recently killed in a car accident. Still very much in the grieving process, they attend support groups while trying to return to some kind of normalcy in their lives. They’re also drifting further and further away from each other.

Becca has internalized her grief and closed herself off from her family, including her increasingly frustrated husband who’s beginning to move on with his life. She’s so closed-off from the world that she even gave away the family dog.

Becca becomes even more distant from Howie when she secretly begins meeting with the teenager who accidentally killed her son in an attempt to help the boy – and herself – come to terms with what’s happened.

“Rabbit Hole” is about as heavy a film as they come. Becca and Howie’s grief is a gaping wound that surrounds everything they do and say, and sometimes that grief explodes onto the surface in shocking ways that are almost too painful to watch. Fortunately, the film mixes in some truly hilarious moments to help keep things from becoming too unbearable.

Director John Cameron Mitchell (“Hedwig and the Angry Inch”) is smart enough to let the film play out organically instead of trying to manipulate the drama, which would have resulted in a ham-fisted, overwrought tear-jerker. Much credit also goes to David Lindsay-Abaire, who adapted the screenplay from his Pulitzer Prize winning play. Most films based on plays tend to feel claustrophobic, but ­Lindsay-Abaire wisely opens the locations up enough so the film isn’t trapped in one location the entire time.

Both Eckhart and Kidman, who was nominated for an Academy Award for her performance, are absolutely riveting. Eckhart’s cool charm, which can turn into anger at the drop of a hat, was perfect for his role as Two-Face in “The Dark Knight” and here it acts as the perfect foil for Kidman’s internal strife, which manifests externally as coldness and sometimes cruelty.

Dianne Wiest adds some gravity as Kidman’s mother, who has also lost a son and unsuccessfully tries to use that connection with her daughter to help comfort her.

“Rabbit Hole” is definitely not a feel-good movie, but its amazing performances and deft writing and direction combine to make a film that, while difficult to watch at times, provides a cathartic experience that lingers long after the film has ended.

Ashton Kutcher (left) and Natalie Portman

Boy meets girl, then meets her again. And again. Then they start a purely physical relationship by mutual assent. That’s the premise of “No Strings Attached,” starring Natalie Portman and Ashton Kutcher. It’s not your usual formula for a romantic comedy, but everything that happens after they start their booty call experiment is pure formula – and it works.

This is one of the more intelligent and witty romantic comedies to come along in some time, thanks mostly to Portman but with a credible performance by Kutcher. “No Strings Attached” has the same parade of support characters you will find in all such films: the quirky roommates, meddling parents, other potential suitors and lots of clichés. There is even a scene where Portman munches on a huge box of donuts as comfort food while under romantic duress – a scene you can count on in every film of this genre.

The difference with “No Strings Attached” is the film is witty and sharp, with the steady hand of director Ivan Reitman at the helm and strong performances from the leads. Reitman is fresh off producing the six-time Oscar-nominated “Up in the Air,” which his son Jason directed, and is the director who brought us broad comedies like “Ghostbusters” and the smartly funny “Legal Eagles.”

We meet our two lovers at summer camp. Emma (Portman) and Adam (Kutcher) are in their teens and are in a deep conversation while everyone around them makes out. Adam is introduced as a nice, thoughtful guy with the usual curiosity for girls and sex and Emma as emotionally bereft with a firm eye on her future.

Reitman then deploys a nice device of having them run across each other over time in a series of short vignettes until we are in the present with Emma and Adam as young adults. Adam is bereft because his longtime girlfriend has broken up with him. If that weren’t bad enough, he finds out that she is now dating his father Alvin, an aging former television star, played with flair by Kevin Kline.

Adam sets out to have meaningless flings and runs into Emma at just the right time. Emma is an ambitious resident physician, fresh out of medschool with neither the time nor inclination for a boyfriend. What she does seek is a reliable playmate who will answer her booty calls night and day.

The two set out to see if a guy and girl can be friends with benefits and nothing more. The film becomes entirely predictable at this point, but that’s beside the point. The journey toward love is what matters in a romantic comedy, and this journey is full of belly laughs, smiles and the occasional groan.

Portman is pitch perfect as a cold, calculating professional whose heart undergoes a slow thaw and Kutcher is nicely cast in a role that doesn’t challenge him to do more than he comfortably can. The rest of the ensemble deserves mention as well, with fun performances by Lake Bell, Mindy Kaling, Cary Elwes and Ludacris. They’re all stock characters, but kudos to writers Elizabeth Meriwether and Michael Samonek for giving each of them some depth and interesting personality quirks.

The story flows without feeling rushed or overly long, and the end, while predictable as stated before, is satisfying. Reitman even does what few other romantic comedies do: He ties up loose ends on every single major character, and he does so in sometimes surprising, always humorous, ways. He pays attention to every detail, yet another reason that “No Strings Attached” rises above other films in this genre. Scenes rarely end without great tag lines, and jokes are treated with multiple punch lines, always to good effect.

Guys often groan and sigh when it’s time to pay their partner back for endless football games by going to a chick flick. Don’t worry, fellas, this is a date movie that you may enjoy just as much as your date.

Grade: 2.5/4 Stars

Jay Chou (left) and Seth Rogen

In Michel Gondry’s “The Green Hornet,” Britt Reid, the millionaire newspaper tycoon played by Seth Rogen, is first shown as a child being scolded by his father. Reid, holding his favorite action figure, watches in horror as his father (Tom Wilkinson) takes the toy away and rips its head off. As a result, Reid becomes a party boy, rebelling against his father’s uptight ways. All because a toy was broken. So begins the train wreck that is “The Green Hornet.”

Britt Reid does nothing with his life but party and hook up with women until his father dies of an apparent allergic reaction to a bee sting. Then, in a drunken escapade with his father’s mechanic Kato (played by Taiwanese pop star Jay Chou) one night, Reid watches as Kato easily dispatches some goons who are trying to mug a woman. Though he had nothing to do with breaking up the mugging, Reid thinks it would be a great idea to become a superhero, which he names the Green Hornet. The catch is that the Green Hornet will pose as a villain.

If this was 2002 and the comic book/superhero movie genre was still just getting ramped up, “The Green Hornet” might’ve been a good movie. Its plot, which is a carbon-copy of every superhero origin story made in the last 10 years, would have seemed fresh instead of stale and paint-by-numbers and the jokes may not have fallen so flat.

Rogen, who along with co-writer Evan Goldberg wrote the comedy classic “Superbad” and the stoner action-comedy “Pineapple Express,” have concocted a generic, unfunny script that seems so intent on hitting all the beats a superhero movie should that it feels like everyone involved is being smothered, especially Gondry, the film’s visionary director.

Gondry, who has directed some wildly creative films over his career, including “Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind” and the mediocre but wholly original “The Science of Sleep” and “Be Kind Rewind,” clearly must’ve been enticed by the paycheck to direct “The Green Hornet.” They may not all be as good as “Sunshine,” but Gondry has a vision and style distinctly his own, and in “Hornet” it’s all but missing as Gondry must’ve been sitting in the director’s chair counting his money, á la Gus Van Sant in “Jay and Silent Bob Strike Back.” It’s the only explanation for why he would go slumming in this studio picture, though he isn’t the only guilty party.

Christoph Waltz, who last year won an Academy Award for his epic performance as the villainous Col. Hans Landa in Quentin Tarantino’s “Inglorious Basterds,” again plays the villain in “Hornet,” but instead of being a suave, terrifying monster like he was in “Basterds,” he’s your standard movie villain with nothing to set him apart from every clichéd villain out there except for a double-barreled .357. He at least has more to do here than Cameron Diaz who, as Reid’s secretary, literally does nothing more than work late except for a very short date with Kato that doesn’t end well.

The only redeeming parts of “The Green Hornet” are the rare instances when Gondry is allowed to unleash his imagination, most notably in the creation of “Kato vision,” which shows how the iconic valet sees things as he dispatches of would-be evildoers.

Were it not for the hefty paydays for everyone involved, “The Green Hornet” would have remained in development hell, where it had been living for the past 20 years and should’ve continued living for the rest of eternity. If Seth Rogen wants to make another action-comedy, he better make sure it starts with the words “Pineapple” and “Express,” otherwise he’d be smart to stay far, far away.

Grade: 1.5/4 Stars

(From left) Winona Ryder, Jennifer Connelly, Vince Vaughn and Kevin James

Little did the filmmakers of “The Dilemma” know that they would find themselves in their own dilemma while editing the film.

This is a movie that isn’t quite sure what it wants to be when it grows up, constantly edging onto very funny ground and then backing off and veering toward relationship drama. When the filmmakers are director Ron Howard and producer Brian Grazer, the team that brought us “Apollo 13” and “A Beautiful Mind,” it’s a surprising and disappointing revelation.

Starring Vince Vaughn and Kevin James, “The Dilemma” isn’t a bad movie but it could be so much better. It is billed as a comedy and a drama, but never quite reaches its potential with either and, as is happening more and more in Hollywood these days, the plot turns strain belief.

Vaughn, playing small-business owner Ronny, is given more free rein to improvise and use his comedic talents. In fact, there are long stretches of film where it sounds as if there’s no script at all and Vaughn and James are just riffing. Those are the best moments of the film.

James plays Nick, Ronny’s partner and the brains of the car-engineering outfit. They quickly find themselves in a career-changing situation when a major car manufacturer gives them the chance to design an electric engine that sounds like the muscle cars of the ’60s, ’70s and ’80s. If they succeed, they will be rich, if not, their business may fail ­altogether.

On the personal side, Ronny has a beautiful and loving girlfriend, Beth (Jennifer Connelly), and Nick, a beautiful and loving wife, Geneva (Winona Ryder), but not all is at it seems. Every person in this foursome has a flaw.

The premise of “The Dilemma” is set when Ronny sees Geneva with a younger, hotter guy. Ronny is left to decide if he should tell his best friend that his wife’s cheating on him, keep the information from him to spare him the pain – and to keep him on task as they try to score the big contract – or to come up with some other way to get the information out.

The dilemma is set up early in the film and Ronny spends most of the rest of the story spying on Geneva, delivering comical speeches filled with metaphors in hopes of getting his secret out and fighting with Geneva’s lover Zip (Channing Tatum). The premise lends itself to many comedic opportunities but they’re rarely fleshed out.

Howard has shown in past films that he’s adept at sprinkling comedy into dramatic situations, but he’s less skilled at sprinkling drama into what is mostly a comedy. Vaughn also is less familiar in this setting and he has several moments that border on uncomfortable to watch as he tries to express angst, sadness or futility. James is underused and there are lost opportunities for him to shine.

As a bromance buddy film, “The Dilemma” works best. Vaughn and James are easy together and their comedic energy is in sync. The casting of their mates is more curious. Both “punted beyond their coverage,” as the saying goes in guy speak.

Ryder turns in the best performance of the film as the sultry, then sad, then conniving, then contrite Geneva but looks ill-matched with James as her husband. Even more ill-matched is Connelly and Vaughn. They just don’t look like they belong together. Where Connelly was brilliant in “A Beautiful Mind,” she’s pedestrian here.

Mention also must be made for Queen Latifah, who turns in a small but funny performance as a rep for the big car manufacturer.

“The Dilemma” cost $70 million to make, but I don’t know why. It looks like a movie that should’ve cost a lot less. I’m not telling you to stay away from this film altogether, but if you’re looking for a comedy, think twice. If you’re looking for a drama, think twice. If trying to make a decision based on this information is a dilemma, you’ll fit right in.

Grade: 2/4 Stars

Gwyneth Paltrow (left) and Tim McGraw

If you listen to country music these days, you know most of the songs on the radio are often not much more than pop tunes with a twang. They’re catchy and have a beat but they often lack the depth and soul of earlier country songs by performers such as Hank Williams, Loretta Lynn and Johnny Cash.

“Country Strong,” starring Gwyneth Paltrow, comes across just like a modern country song. It’s catchy and has a nice beat, but it’s hardly Oscar material and doesn’t hold a tune to last year’s country music film, Crazy Heart.

Both are movies about a country star fighting alcohol addiction and self-doubt, but where Jeff Bridges’ character truly hit bottom and made one feel he could do something damaging to himself or others, Paltrow bounces back from drunken binges and moments of despair with surprising ease. There were moments where I wanted her character, Kelly Canter, to crash and burn just so I could watch her pick up the pieces but there were barely any pieces to pick up.

Every time Kelly stumbled emotionally, a gentle word from her husband/manager James (Tim McGraw), or beau (Garrett Hedlund)  – incidentally named Beau – would perk her right back up. The highs weren’t very high and the lows not nearly low enough to add the heft this movie needed.

Kelly is a country music superstar. We meet her in rehab after a terrible accident set her on a path to alcoholism. Her sponsor, Beau, is not only handsome but a talented country singer. What a happy set of coincidences.

Hedlund inhabits Beau with a low-key ease and comfortable voice. Soon Beau and Kelly are writing their own country song as she sits in bed, apparently completely unfazed by the process of detox and the loss she endured a year before. I won’t divulge what that loss is here and it isn’t revealed until later in the movie, but Paltrow’s performance doesn’t support the reaches of sadness anyone else would feel in the same situation.

McGraw, the most talented singer in the bunch, doesn’t sing a note but he does hit some nice notes as Kelly’s loving husband who is torn between selling her like a commodity and wrestling with the pain of her slow disintegration. James drags Kelly out of rehab too early, brings Beau along for the ride at Kelly’s request and then picks up a young new singer, Chiles Stanton (Leighton Meester), to round out the tour.

Does all of that sound convenient? It is, as are many plot points throughout the film.

Chiles has stage fright but James, the manager of one of country music’s most popular singers, invites her on tour. Kelly’s rehab sponsor happens to sing country music, so he hops on the tour bus too even though James suspects he and Kelly of a fling. Beau has a perfectly rusted Ford Truck and Chiles a perfectly cute voice that makes audiences roar when she gets up enough nerve to use it.

“Country Strong” is just too convenient, never rough enough around the edges and Paltrow never reaches the emotional depths that I suspect she is capable of. The score is all country but it succeeds more than the film thanks to Hedlund’s voice and the fine craftsmanship of the songs his character sings.

The film tries to be an emotional drama without quite getting there but it does make an interesting statement about the current state of country music. Where Beau sings deep, well written songs that keep him on the edge of stardom, Kelly and Chiles sing toe tapping sugary country offerings with no real craft but tons of audience appeal.

In fact, perhaps the most interesting conflict in the film is the choice between cheap fame and the deeper satisfaction of playing the music you love.

Finally, as the mini-tour winds down and Kelly suffers one minor humiliation after another, she makes a decision at the end of the film that is entirely unsupported by what happens along the way, but the final act is exactly the kind of thing you’d expect in a modern country song and it’s exactly what you get.

“Country Strong” may appeal to core lovers of that music but it won’t win any converts and it won’t win any awards.