An interesting idea is a fine, if not essential, starting point for a movie. But once you establish a premise, you need a clear vision of where to let it run, and how your cast and cameras can carry out the plan to satisfactory advantage.

As horror flicks go, one of the less common flaws is dullness. This one manages to be so boring, that it overshadows the post-Harry Potter evolution of Daniel Radcliffe as an actor.

In lesser hands than those of director Ken Kwapis (Belleville native, but we’re not “homering” here), this fact-based dramatization of the 1988 rescue attempt for three whales stranded under northern Alaskan ice in an early winter freeze, could easily have turned into mush. Instead, it’s a family-friendly film, with a near-perfect balance of the social, political and cultural issues with engaging personal stories. John Krasinski is an aspiring local TV newsman who accidentally stumbles across the whales’ plight. His clip winds up on national TV, starting a media frenzy in a remote fishing village that had never seen such activity.

For a script with a truly ridiculous premise, this action drama is so skillfully shot and paced, that you’ll be fully engaged throughout, and won’t realized how far-fetched everything has been until you’re on the way home.

Following Meryl Streep’s Margaret Thatcher impression in Iron Lady, and Leo DiCaprio’s take on Mr. Hoover in J. Edgar, here’s the third vanity project of the season, with Glenn close playing a Victorian woman passing as a primly obsequious male valet in a small Irish hotel.

For a walk on the depraved side of life, here’s a drama about a handsome guy (the suddenly ubiquitous Michael Fassbender) who is obsessed with sex in most of its potential forms. Despite his success, at least as defined on a volume basis, his existence is surprisingly lonely and joyless. Compulsions apparently provide more momentary relief than actual pleasure. His sister (Carey Mulligan) has her own emotional scars from her approach to men and her place in the world.

While watching an unfamiliar actress (Gina Carano) playing a female version of Jason Bourne in this complicated, high-octane espionage thriller from Steven Soderbergh, I was impressed by how well-cast she seemed. She was attractive enough for the lead role, without being such a babe that she loses credibility as a butt-kicking heroine. Her persona is closer to a Noomi Rapace or Carrie-Anne Moss than to the Angelina Jolie or Halle Berry glamor types who’ve ventured into the genre.

In a laudable, if awkward, attempt to humanize the impact of 9/11 on the most intimate level for survivors of those who died in the attack, this drama focuses on a young boy who lost his father (Tom Hanks), and deals with his grief by continuing one of the elaborate quests that used to form the core of their relationship.

This fact-based drama about the intersecting lives of Sigmund Freud (Viggo Mortensen) and Carl Jung (Michael Fassbender), as each contributed to the beginnings of modern psychiatry is either a dark look at the human psyche - even among scientists delving into unlocking its mysteries - or a seamy exploitation of sexuality to which anyone may become vulnerable. While Freud writes his controversial academic treatises in Vienna, the younger Jung is trying to implement those ideas in treating mental patients at an isolated sanatarium.

Here’s another biopic Hollywood trotted out as a vanity vehicle for a star, regardless of other merit factors. Leo DiCaprio acted brilliantly, with fine support from makeup and wardrobe, in pointlessly chronicling a version of J. Edgar Hoover’s career. Now Meryl Streep proves she can “do” Margaret Thatcher in another exercise of “who cares?”

Note the title is one word, making it an action thriller about sneaking illegal stuff into the Port of New Orleans from Panama. Had it been two words, we’d be watching a group of politically-oriented musicians from Nicaragua. That leaves us with Mark Wahlberg playing a second-generation smuggler, trying to go straight, now that he has a lovely wife (Kate Beckinsale) and two sons to raise better than his imprisoned pappy had done for him. But when his dufus brother-in-law runs afoul of a vicious drug dealer (Giovanni Ribisi, setting a personal high for creepiness), Wahlberg is forced back into the game to save not only the kid, but the rest of his family.

Tinker, Tailor, Soldier Spy **** (R) Classic spy novels, and the films based upon them, have always been complex. The genre demands a swirl of subplots and suspense, with the truths about many players and events turning out differently than how they seem to other characters and the audience along the way. If the plot doesn’t credibly keep the protagonist(s) off balance, readers or viewers lose interest. This cerebral remake of earlier filmed versions of John le Carre’s most enduring print achievement contrasts starkly with such recent high-octane conversions from page to screen as Robert Ludlum’s Jason Bourne adventures.

We Bought A Zoo *** (PG) Matt Damon stars in this sentimental family dramedy about a widower with two kids, clueless on how to be an effective parent, since his wife had always maintained their home while his career as a globe-trotting journalist prepared him more for surviving in war and disaster zones than PTA meetings and carpools. The teenaged son has become particularly problematic, while the younger daughter is still too much of a dreamer to drive daddy nuts. Looking for a fresh start in new surroundings away from the big city, Damon buys the rundown remnants of a private zoo outside San Diego.

Artist, The **** (PG-13) - Those among you who avoid foreign films because they hate reading subtitles have no excuse for ducking this French dramedy because it’s a new silent movie about Hollywood’s transition in the late 1920s - ‘30s from the silents to the talkies. Since the cast isn’t uttering any lines, there’s nothing on the bottom for you to read. The star, Jean Dujardin, is best known here for his OSS 117 spy spoofs, hamming it up as a smug French superspy who thinks he’s James Bond, while bumbling through his life of danger and intrigue more like an Inspector Clouseau. The first was brilliant; the second started seeming like one trip to the well too many, as the novelty factor wore thin.

Mission: Impossible - Ghost Protocol ***½ (PG-13) Tom Cruise heads up his super-secret spy team for the fourth big-screen adventure based on the cherished TV series of yore. Once again, the action is cranked up to high octane levels, as Cruise & Co. dash around the globe trying to thwart a Doomsday villain of Bondian proportions.