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She's poised. Mature. Focused. Transparent. You root for her to survive ungodly conditions that would destroy most adults. The perfect balance to this hardened, emotionally threadbare female lead is the very romantic Serge Kanyinda; he plays her savior.

The aural tone of Drive, from the Cliff Martinez score to the needle-drops of songs to the incredible sound effects design by Lon Bender, is out of this world.

The New York Film Festival's year-long 50th anniversary screening series got a visit from hometown-boy Martin Scorsese, who shared memories, methods and pivotal career moments with what seemed an even greater enthusiasm than usual.

Even if it took 1/3 of the year to really get cooking, 2011 was an uncommonly solid year for all forms of cinematic entertainment.

Caitlin Fitzgerald recently sat down with us to discuss her career, her love of New York and all things Newlyweds: from the audition process to on location shooting to the closing night gala at Tribeca Film Festival 2011.

What kind of film is worthy of the sacrificial lamb slot that is the first release of January? Why, that would be The Devil Inside, yet another attempt to recast horror through the blurry lens of the mockumentary.

The problem with Gervais as Golden Globes host is that he's been too good. His jokes have been on-point and hysterical. He's roasted Globes attendees as skillfully as anyone this side of Jeffrey Ross ever could. The thing is, making fun of the stars should be our job.

Steven Soderbergh's new film, Haywire smashes into theaters near you in in a few weeks, and while Soderbergh is usually a can't-miss director, the fact that this film was scheduled for January is an eyebrow raiser.

Why was Mission: Impossible -- Ghost Protocol, structured like an unsatisfying game of Sudoku? Granted, it was moderate-level Sudoku, but Sudoku nonetheless.

Dee Rees' Pariah could and should be the beginning of the next wave in black American or African-American cinema, but don't let that notion box the film into any specific category or genre.

If you're the kind of bottom-of-the-barrel gambling addict who likes to play the spread on the Oscars, the Golden Globes might kind-of, sort-of, mean something.

As we start off 2012, I wanted to take a moment to lay out what I think are some of the brightest and biggest trends to watch for -- things that are going to affect independent film audiences and filmmakers in the year ahead.

Despite giving one of the year's best performances -- despite carrying Beginners and his co-stars Christopher Plummer, Melanie Laurent and Cosmo the dog to the lofty heights they achieve -- McGregor isn't on the Best Actor radar. At all.

What will Hollywood's next championship season look like, once the landscape has settled and the new players have found their rhythm? Here at Moviefone, we will be spectating as fanatically as any bleacher creature, cheering on any home runs and calling strikeouts, fouls and balks as we see 'em.

In the process of supporting it -- by creating more and more film festivals and innovative release platforms -- we may have ghettoized our independent cinema.