New Movie Reviews: 'New Year's Eve,' 'Young Adult,' Madonna's 'W.E.' Hitting Theaters

9:00 PM PST 12/8/2011 by Paula Zulian

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Paramount Pictures and Mercury Productions

"Young Adult"

What is THR's critical take on the films getting released Friday?

A star-studded romantic comedy and several awards hopefuls hit theaters this weekend.

'New Year's Eve' Stars Ashton Kutcher, Lea Michele, Zac Efron Celebrate at Film's Premiere

'New Year's Eve': What the Critics Are Saying

Charlize Theron on Playing a 'Bitch' in 'Young Adult' (Video)

Jessica Biel Attempts to Schedule a C-Section in 'New Years Eve' Clip

'We Need to Talk About Kevin' Trailer: Tilda Swinton Struggles With Motherhood (Video)

'We Need to Talk About Kevin' Named Best Film at BFI London Film Festival

Sir Paul Smith Designs Exclusive Prints for 'Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy'

'Shame,' 'Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy' and 'Tyrannosaur' Lead the Field for This Year’s British Independent Film Awards

Madonna's 'W.E.' Trailer Tells the Tale of Two Love Stories (Video)

Valentine's Day director Garry Marshall is back with another holiday-themed romantic comedy featuring an A-list ensemble. New Year's Eve, whose cast includes Sarah Jessica Park, Jessica Biel, Ashton Kutcher, Lea Michelle, Zac Efron, Halle Berry and Robert De Niro, tells the story of several couples and singles in New York over the course of the last day of the year. (Biel and Kutcher also starred in Valentine's Day.)

PHOTOS: 'New Year's Eve' Premiere Red Carpet Arrivals

Young Adult, starring Oscar winner Charlize Theron and Patrick Wilson, is a comedy-drama directed by Jason Reitman and written by Juno screenwriter Diablo Cody. The movie tells the story of a fiction writer (Theron) who, after her divorce, returns to her small Minnesota hometown in an attempt to reignite a romance with her ex-boyfriend (Wilson), who is now married with kids.

W.E., Madonna's second film as director, is a Britain-set 1930s romantic-drama about the affair between King Edward VIII and American divorcee Wallis Simpson and a contemporary romance between a married woman and a Russian security guard. The Weinstein Co. movie, starring Abbie Cornish, Andrea Riseborough and James D'Arcy, premiered at the Venice and Toronto film festivals earlier this year.

PHOTOS: THR Actress Roundtable With Charlize Theron, Michelle Williams

Oscar winner Tilda Swinton's We Need to Talk About Kevin earned acclaim at the Cannes and Telluride film festivals this year. The movie, directed by Lynne Ramsey, is an adaptation of Lionel Shriver's novel, which has the same title. The disturbing drama-thriller is about a cold, cruel teenage boy (played by Jasper Newell as a child and by Ezra Miller as a teenager) who went on a high school killing spree and spent his childhood tormenting his mother, Eva (played by Swinton).

Gary Oldman, Colin Firth and John Hurt play spy games in the drama Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy, directed by Tomas Alfredson. The movie is a big-scale European adaptation of John le Carré’s 1974 Cold War novel of the same name. The film, which premiered at the Venice film fest, is set during the Cold War and tells how espionage veteran George Smiley is forced from retirement to uncover a Soviet agent within MI6's troops.

Read what The Hollywood Reporter's film critics have to say about all the films opening this weekend, and find out how they are expected to perform at the box office.

New Year's Eve
Valentine's Day director Garry Marshall brings a big-name cast together for intertwined stories playing out on the last night of the year. Click here to read Michael Rechtshaffen's review.

VIDEO: Lea Michele Reveals Secret Behind Her 'New Year's Eve' Chemistry with Ashton Kutcher

Young Adult
Director Jason Reitman reunites with Juno screenwriter Diablo Cody in well acted, but narrowly conceived story about a deluded author of teen novels who plots to win back her high school boyfriend. Click here to read Todd McCarthy's review.

We Need to Talk About Kevin
Lynne Ramsay's coolly cerebral drama about a mother and her murderous son is as perplexing as it is intriguing. Click here to read Kirk Honeycutt's review.

Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy
Gary Oldman, Colin Firth and John Hurt play spy games in Let the Right One In director Tomas Alfredson's Cold War drama. Click here to read Deborah Young's review.

W.E.
The Weinstein Co. returns to Britain's 1930s royal melodrama, hoping lightning strikes as it did with their Oscar-winning King's Speech. Click here to read Todd McCarthy's review.

I Melt With You
Virtuoso visuals, pulsating music and muscular acting drive director Mark Pellington's Premieres section drama about middle-aged male disappointment. Click here to read Todd McCarthy's review.

VIDEO: Charlize Theron on Playing a 'Bitch' in 'Young Adult'

London River
Set in the tragic aftermath of the terrorist bombings on July 7, 2005, London River is the compelling drama of two parents in search of their missing children. Click here to read Deborah Young's review.

Knuckle
HBO recently bought remake rights to the movie chronicling the bare-knuckle fistfights in Ireland's Travelers community, with plans to turn it into a TV drama. Click here to read Stephen Farber's review.

Also opening this weekend are The Sitter, Ladies Vs. Ricky Bahl and Magic to Win.