Leonardo DiCaprio has received a great deal of praise for his dignified performance as J. Edgar Hoover in this Clint Eastwood-directed biopic, and rightfully so. Eastwood delivers an interesting film, as the focus bounces back and forth from Hoover's early days creating the FBI to his later years, as he's telling his life story to staff writers.

We get to see Hoover's struggles, both professional and personal. Before the FBI was created there were no real methods for gathering evidence from crime scenes or tracking criminals. And the public and politicians were not happy with the idea of an organization such as the FBI having the power over local police. But a few events change that, and we then see Hoover, as the leader of the FBI, becoming powerful and famous.

The movie also focuses on Hoover's relationship with Clyde Tolson (played by Armie Hammer). Tolson becomes Hoover's right-hand man and their personal relationship is also a key part of the story. Naomi Watts plays Hoover's secretary/assistant, Helen Gandy. She is also with him throughout his time as the head of the FBI, which spans eight Presidential administrations. The other powerful figure in Edgar's life was his mother (played by Judi Dench, who had a nice year with this performance and her work in "My Week with Marilyn"). The acting in "J. Edgar" is outstanding.

Eastwood's directing, on the other hand, is not. I'm not a fan of his back-and-forth method of story-telling. Fortunately toward the end of the nearly 2-hours the time periods catch-up to each other and  the movie finishes that way. But the biggest problem with 'J. Edgar" is the make-up. The film tries to show the main characters aging and the attempt with DiCaprio and Watts is pretty believable. But Hammer's older look is simply awful. I can't understand why Eastwood or someone else on the crew didn't notice during the making of the movie that Hammer's make-up was a disaster. Unfortunately it's so distracting at times that it keeps you from being able to appreciate his performance.  

"J. Edgar" is rated R for language, adult content, a disturbing image and brief violence. It's appropriate for teens and up, especially those who may be currently studying this time period in our nation's history.

On The Official Kid Critic Report Card, "J. Edgar" gets a B-. It's a compelling and engaging portrayal of a fascinating life.

"My Week with Marilyn" contains one of the best acting ensembles of any film this year, led by the amazing Michele Williams as Marilyn Monroe. Williams picked-up a well deserved Golden Globe victory and Academy Award nomination for her performance. As for the movie itself, it's not bad either.

The story, based on actual events, takes place in London in 1956, during the time the movie "The Prince and the Showgirl" was being made. Actor Sir Laurence Olivier is both the male lead and the movie's director. Monroe is the world's biggest star at the time, but she wasn't exactly the easiest actor to work with, as she was constantly late getting to the set, had problems memorizing her lines and was always very nervous and constantly taking pills.

At the center of the movie is Colin Clark, a 23-year old who's left his home to get into the movie business. This is his story. Clark gets a job working on this film, hired as the Third Assistant Director, which means he pretty much runs errands for Olivier. After awhile his main duty becomes keeping an eye on Marilyn, trying to be sure she gets to the set each day on time. Even though Monroe is married to her third husband, playwright Arthur Miller, at the time and Colin is beginning to date a girl in the wardrobe department (Emma Watson) the two begin to develop a relationship - Monroe out of need, Clark out of love - a relationship that both know cannot last.

"My Week with Marilyn" is based on Clark's own diary entries, written in 1995. The plot line is straight forward, with no twists or distracting subplots. And this simple treatment of the story works, because it allows us to easily enjoy the time, the place and especially the performances.

Williams will got most of the attention when the movie was released last year, and rightfully so. From the clips I've seen of the real Marilyn Monroe Williams was spot on. She shows us all sides of Monroe, in front of and away from the camera. And it can't be easy being a good actress playing a bad actress who, at times, was a good actress, but Williams is tremendous in those scenes. This will be a star-making role for Eddie Redmayne as Colin, but it's the veteran supporting cast that gives the film it's depth. Academy Award nominee Kenneth Branagh is outstanding as Olivier. Julia Ormond plays his wife, an aging Vivien Leigh, and Dame Judi Dench is wonderful as film actress Cybil Thorndike.

The main problem I have with "My Week with Marilyn" is the pacing. The film's first 20-minutes or so move incredibly fast, then things calm down to a more enjoyable pace for awhile, before really slowing down at the end.

"My Week with Marilyn" is rated R for language, smoking and brief nudity. It's appropriate for teens and up.

On "The Official Kid Critic Report Card", "My Week with Marilyn" gets a B.

"The Prince and the Showgirl" ended-up not being a success, either critically or financially. "Marilyn" didn't do as well as I thought it would during awards season. I'm guessing many people who missed/skipped it when it was in theaters will enjoy it on DVD.

It got over-shadowed during awards season by "The Artist", but "The Descendants" was clearly one of the best films of 2011 (#5 on my list) and now it's out on Blu-ray/DVD.

Alexander Payne ("Sideways") directs this compelling, often amusing and ultimately satisfying drama which stars George Clooney, who delivers yet another completely convincing performance. Clooney plays Matt King, an attorney who lives in Hawaii with his wife and two daughters. As the story begins his wife is in a coma, after hitting her head in a boating accident. He soon finds out that she's not going to live. And then he learns from his oldest daughter (no spoiler alert here - it's in all the trailers) that his wife was having an affair. Matt doesn't have a great relationship with his kids, so things are going to get a little rough.

At the same time he's also dealing with his two dozen or so cousins. They all own a large piece of land on one of the islands which they have to sell. So they all must decide who to sell it to - and Matt has the final say.

He's a good guy dealing with some very serious issues and situations, including wanting to find the man his wife was having the affair with. Clooney handles the complexity of this character perfectly. This is the best perfomance of his career and I still believe he deserved the Oscar.

"The Descendants" begins with narration, as Clooney sets-up the plot and his emotions at the time. This goes on a little too long and is distracting at times. Thankfully the narration is toned-down as the movie goes on.

The movie does a great job of pulling you in. You're immediately invested in these characters and what's unfolding on screen. This is one of the few films I can honestly say that I was disappointed when it ended. Even at  nearly two hours I wanted to see more of how things worked-out for this family.

Clooney is in practically every scene once, as always, owns the screen. He is one of the few actors today who brings his A-game every time, and makes every role believable. The rest of the cast, including the kids, are very good. Beau Bridges, Robert Forester, Judy Greer and Matthew Lillard makes-up the nice supporting cast and each has a pivotal scene in which they shine (Lillard holds his own in a key one-on-one showdown with Clooney).

The film's tone is key to the story and it's pitch-perfect. Payne does a great job of keeping the story on track and true to itself. And there's just the right amount of Hawaiian atmosphere.

"The Descendants" is rated R for some adult subject matter and a decent amount of language, mostly spoken by the kids. It's appropriate for teens and up. If you're a George Clooney fan or just a fan of good movies this is a must-see.

On "The Official Kid Critic Report Card", "The Descendants" gets a B+.

"Conan O'Brien Can't Stop" centers around the talk show host and comedian's life between the time he left NBC (after his brief time hosting "The Tonight Show") and when he started his new hosting gig on TBS.

O'Brien was obviously devastated after he got the boot from NBC, and part of the deal was that he couldn't appear on TV, anywhere, for 6-months. So he decided to go on a nationwide comedy tour and friend/announcer Andy Richter and other members of his show joined him. This documentary focuses on O'Brien as he deals with his anger, frustration, exhaustion and his joy and excitement of being back in front of live audiences and his fans.

The movie is similar to last year's "Joan Rivers: A Piece of Work" - which also provided a behind the scenes look at a comedian struggling to stay on top and continue to make people laughs. Both films show just how tough it is to be funny.

"Conan O'Brien Can't Stop" certainly provides a side of O'Brien that we never saw before. At times he is very tough with his staff members. Sometimes it's in fun, other times it's not. And we see how difficult it is to produce and host a traveling comedy show as opposed to a nightly studio show. The time away from his family, having to deal with celebrities back stage and signing autographs and posing for photos with fans after shows really wears him down.

I like O'Brien as a host. He can be funny (when he's not too raunchy or over-the-top silly). And he seems like a nice guy, with a lot of guts and determination. But after seeing this movie I'm not sure I'd ever want to work for him. Of course, since he and everyone else knew when the cameras were rolling it's tough to know just how "true" some of the dialogue really is.

Sprinkled throughout the film are clips from his act taken from different shows as the tour moved around the country. But this is not a concert film and, frankly, the behind the scenes scenes are much more interesting than the comedy bits.

"Conan O'Brien Can't Stop" is rated R for language and adult material. It's a must for fans of O'Brien but anyone who follows the world of entertainment will appreciate this look at a guy who was at the top, had it all taken away, and then battled back.

On The Official Kid Critic Report Card, "Conan O'Brien Can't Stop" gets a B. It only played for a limited time in select theaters around the country earlier this summer and should get some attention on DVD and PPV.

The Summer Movie Season is always filled with big-budget blockbusters and highly-anticipated sequels. But often it's smaller films that have the most impact and turn-out to be the most enjoyable. "Everything Must Go" may be one of those for 2011.

This drama, about an alcoholic who loses his job and his marriage on the same day, was shot in only 10-days. But when a script is good and the acting is solid it doesn't matter how long it takes to make a movie.

Will Farrell stars as Nick, who is forced to deal with the problems in his life on his front lawn, where his wife has dumped all of his stuff. Even though things look bad, he gets help from a young boy in the neighborhood (played by Christopher Jordan Wallace - son of the late Notorious B.I.G.) and they decide to hold a yard sale, so Nick can get rid of his past and start new.

Farrell is very good here. With this and his performance in "Stranger Than Fiction" the funnyman has proven that he can more than handle dramatic roles. This is his movie, but Wallace is also outstanding, as the rest of the supporting cast, including Rebecca Hall, who plays a new neighbor who also helps Nick.

"Everything Must Go" is a little film, based on a famous short story. You may not have even heard of it when it was in theaters. But the characters are real, the performances are believable, and the ending is not pure Hollywood.

It's rated R for adult subject matter and situations. I can't say everyone must see it, but if you do I think you enjoy it, especially for Farrell.

On "The Official L-C-J Report Card", "Everything Must Go" gets a B.