You may have noted my inexplicable absence for the past couple weeks. I apologize for this disappearance, but the shameful fact is, I simply felt like I needed a break.

With “Harry Potter” done and “Twilight” nearly done, there’s a strong craving for Hollywood’s next teen-based fantasy franchise. And what an appetizing mix of ingredients “The Hunger Games” has cooked up.

We’re finally out of the post-winter doldrums and in the midst of the buildup to the summer movie season, and I must admit I’m pretty psyched. With any luck we have a handful of high-quality event movies to look forward to (on that note, check back next time for a look at “The Hunger Games”), and perhaps some of the “lesser” titles will provide some pleasant surprises. Take this week’s pick, which I was initially not even going to see until early reviews swayed my opinion just enough to give it a shot. Turns out it’s the best time I’ve had at the movies so far this year, and easily the most flat-out funny flick I’ve seen since last year’s “Horrible Bosses.” Go figure, huh?

As evidenced by this week‘s review, the quality of new wide releases appears to be dipping again — a definite disappointment, considering how strong the year started off.

Quite unexpectedly, the first couple months of 2012 continue to offer some quality choices for discriminating movie-goers.

February typically serves as a dumping ground for weak studio films that offer an easy alternative to “mainstream” audiences who don’t see Oscar bait, but this year has brought some welcome surprises.

Technical complications at the “Haywire” screening I attempted to attend have left me without a film to review this week (we’ll catch up with that one next time, along with the Liam Neeson survival thriller “The Grey”). But this is just as well, I suppose, considering that the recent Oscar nominations have inspired more controversy than I’ve ever seen associated with the Academy Awards, and of course I have some choice thoughts about that.

Typically, I spend the first six weeks or so of each new year playing catch-up with all the Oscar bait that was released around Christmas. But as it turns out this awards season didn’t produce as many true prestige pictures as expected, so starting next week we’ll be returning to new releases with a look at Steven Soderbergh’s acclaimed action flick “Haywire,” followed by a review of the Liam Neeson vs. wolves survival thriller “The Grey” (I’ll also briefly return to the 2011 awards contenders with a piece on “The Artist,” if it ever opens in the Lodi-Stockton area).

I decided it would be prudent to steer clear of the multiplex for one more week, and my reasons are twofold: For starters, I’ve gotta level with you and admit that I really, really didn’t want to see the week’s major release, “Sanctum,” the poorly reviewed caving flick from producer James Cameron.

I don’t know about you, but I haven’t had much of an interest in movies this week, as I’ve been spending most of my down-time enjoying some imported Venezuelan rum while I watch the world come apart at the seams on CNN. Violent clashes, Anderson Cooper getting attacked by a mob, and maniacs on horses and camels ransacking the streets of Cairo? Far more riveting than any moviegoing experience I can think of.

1) Opening Sequence ("Gangs of New York," Dir. Martin Scorsese)

People sometimes tell me that I should lighten up and be more optimistic, so I tried to be hopeful about this summer movie season. Really, I did.

The following films are opening Friday:

I took the week off to celebrate graduation at Disneyland, so reviews will return next week with looks at both "Macgruber" and "Shrek Forever After."

The last week has been rather weak in terms of new movie releases, so I thought we'd take a moment to look ahead at some of the more promising films slated for wide and limited release over the next couple months as we build up to a busy summer movie season. Here are the 10 I'm most looking forward to:

The following films are opening Friday:

We've got a pretty rough-looking roster of movies rolling out over the course of the next few weeks (apparently, "White Out" and "The Surrogates" are now what passes for fall-season adult entertainment), so before we make the plunge back into mass-produced studio pictures, I say we all take a moment to collectively reflect back on two wonderful, original works that are still playing in multiplexes: Hayao Miyazaki's "Ponyo" and Quentin Tarantino's "Inglourious Basterds," which I tackled last week.

"The Reader"

"Taken"

On we go with an effective, unapologetically brutal new kidnapping thriller; some more '70s gems; and a saucy, shockingly insightful little sex flick that would make for a great, cynical anti-Valentines Day watch. And a correction: In last week's review of "Straw Dogs," I credited Susan Day with a role that should have been credited to Susan George. I'm sure Ms. George and the apparently non-existent Ms. Day will get over it.

Over the past 10 years or so, I've made every effort to establish myself as "the Christmas guy." My friends and family may be annoyed that I start playing Christmas carols on my car stereo no later than Nov. 1, but one thing that everyone can seem to enjoy together is the tradition of trying to cram in as many Christmas movies and television specials as possible during the weeks heading up to the big day.