Brave

Brave (2012) – This is a gorgeous film with a very nice score, but one can’t help but think that Pixar spent much more time on the princess’s hair than on the vague, unoriginal story (in which the princess doesn’t actually learn anything), which, although it has a couple good mother-daughter moments, is strictly for kids and may quickly grow tiresome for adults. 5

M.A.N.T.I.S.

M.A.N.T.I.S. (1994) – It’s more than a little cheesy, but this feature-length TV pilot has a boldly African-American cast, an intense social relevance, and a good sense of humor and character focus; it has some script problems, but this is quite an auspicious beginning. 7

The Perfect Host

The Perfect Host (2010) – There’s some decent suspense here, but the final act strains credulity well unto the breaking point; Clayne Crawford does fine, but even with all the flashbacks and sad faces and (ham-fisted) chess, the film never manages to generate much sympathy for his character, and it certainly doesn’t help his cause that David Hyde Pierce puts on a completely fantastic one-man show. 6