MOVIES
OPENING THIS WEEK
THE BOX
A simple wooden box arrives on the doorstep of a married couple (Cameron Diaz, James Marsden), giving them the chance at a million dollars -- but only, as a mysterious stranger (Frank Langella) explains, at the cost of someone else's life. "Donnie Darko's" Richard Kelly directs this chiller based on a short story by the legendary Richard Matheson ("Twilight Zone," "I Am Legend"). At multiple locations. (115 min.) PG-13; thematic elements, violence, disturbing images.
A CHRISTMAS CAROL
COCO BEFORE CHANEL
"Amélie's" Audrey Tautou plays Gabrielle Chanel, before she became the famed designer known as Coco, in a biography that traces her path from orphanage to international acclaim. Alessandro Nivola ("The Eye," "Junebug") co-stars for director Anne Fontaine ("The Girl From Monaco"). In French with English subtitles. At multiple locations. (105 min.) PG-13; sexual content, smoking.
THE FOURTH KIND
After 40 years of mysterious disappearances in an Alaska town, a psychologist (Milla Jovovich) begins videotaping sessions with traumatized patients -- and discovers disturbing evidence of alien abductions, and a possible federal cover-up. Elias Koteas and Will Patton co-star in this fact-based thriller. At multiple locations. (98 min.) PG-13; violent/disturbing images, some terror, thematic elements, brief sexuality.
THE MEN WHO STARE AT GOATS
A reporter (Ewan McGregor) in Iraq encounters a special forces agent (George Clooney, playing a character inspired by real-life Las Vegan John Alexander) who reveals the existence of a secret unit employing paranormal powers. Jeff Bridges and Kevin Spacey round out the starring cast of this military satire directed by Grant Heslov, who scripted the Clooney-directed "Good Night, and Good Luck." At multiple locations. (93 min.) R; profanity, drug content, brief nudity.
ALREADY IN THEATERS
Movies are rated on a letter-grade scale, from A to F. Opinions by R-J movie critic Carol Cling (C.C.) are indicated by initials. Other opinions are from wire service critics.
ALIENS IN THE ATTIC
(C-) A children's movie mix of live-action and animation, this family-friendly romp features a group of kids (led by "High School Musical" alumna Ashley Tisdale) battling extra-terrestrials invading their vacation home. This has a few positive messages, a few laughs and a few comic throw-downs, but it's at least as stupid as it is funny. (86 min.) PG; action violence, suggestive humor, profanity.
AMELIA
(C+) Earthbound: Two-time Oscar winner Hilary Swank stars as legendary pilot Amelia Earhart, who in 1937 attempts an around-the-world flight -- but disappears before completing the trip. Richard Gere (as Earhart's ambitious husband) and Ewan McGregor (as her dashing aviator lover) co-star for director Mira Nair ("The Namesake," "Monsoon Wedding") in a handsome but curiously traditional biography of a defiantly untraditional woman. (111 min.) PG; sexual references, profanity, thematic elements, smoking. (C.C.)
ASTRO BOY
(C) In futuristic Metro City, the super-powered title robot (voiced by "Finding Neverland's" Freddie Highmore) battles aliens threatening Earth in this big-screen revamp of the TV cartoon fave. Nicolas Cage, Donald Sutherland, Nathan Lane and Bill Nighy also turn up in the vocal cast, but it's the visuals that fall flat. Kids won't care; parents (especially boomers who remember the snappy animé original) should beware. (94 min.) PG; action and peril, brief mild profanity.
BRIGHT STAR
(A-) A thing of beauty: Oscar-winning writer-director Jane Campion ("The Piano") returns to form with another rich, ravishing period tale, this one an ecstatic couplet to tubercular Romantic poet John Keats (a charming Ben Whishaw) and his muse, Regency fashion plate and seamstress Fannie Brawne (radiant, Oscar-caliber Abbie Cornish). They remain as timely now as they were two centuries ago, and this movie -- intimate as a whisper, immediate as a blush, universal as first love -- positively palpitates with the sensual and the spiritual. (119 min.) PG; thematic elements, sensuality, brief profanity, incidental smoking. (C.C.)
CIRQUE DU FREAK: THE VAMPIRE'S ASSISTANT
(C) Bill and Ted's Night of the Living Undead: A teen (charisma-challenged Chris Massoglia) and his rowdy pal (Josh Hutcherson) join the title freak show in a disjointed horror comedy based on the popular young-adult book series by Darren Shan that's an anti-"Twilight" geared toward pre-teens who'd rather see more fighting than smooching. But at least John C. Reilly and Willem Dafoe get the chance to sink their fangs into their vampire roles. (108 min.) PG-13; intense supernatural violence and action, disturbing images, thematic elements, profanity.
CLOUDY WITH A CHANCE OF MEATBALLS
(B) A wacky inventor (voiced by Bill Hader) discovers a way to create storms of food in a 3-D animated romp (inspired by a beloved children's book) that's clever and zippy, with a terrific vocal cast (including Anna Faris, James Caan, Bruce Campbell, Mr. T, Neil Patrick Harris and Andy Samberg) and some actual nutritional value hidden among the fun. (90 min.) PG; brief mild profanity.
COUPLES RETREAT
(C) Trouble in paradise: Four couples (played by, among others, Vince Vaughn, Jason Bateman, Kristin Davis, Malin Akerman and Jon Favreau) try to sort out their relationship problems amid Bora Bora's tropical splendor in a tepid marriage-renewal comedy that has a decent cast and a few good ideas -- but no clear grasp of what to do with them. (107 min.) PG-13; sexual content, profanity.
THE COVE
(A-) One of the year's most gripping thrillers, this award-winning documentary combines high-octane storytelling with an equally powerful topic, as a crackerjack team of undercover operatives tackles a clandestine, high-risk mission: exposing a bloody dolphin slaughter occurring near a deceptively placid Japanese fishing village. (91 min.) PG-13; disturbing content. (C.C.)
DISTRICT 9
(B) Aliens trapped in apartheid-like conditions on Earth discover an ally in a government agent (Sharlto Copley) who, exposed to their biotechnology, begins mutating from human to extra-terrestrial. This sci-fi sleeper from writer-director Neill Blomkamp and producer Peter Jackson ("Lord of the Rings") proves sci-fi thrillers don't have to be star-studded or mega-budgeted to be visually compelling -- and thoroughly entertaining. (112 min.) R; bloody violence, pervasive profanity.
FAME
(C-) Forget their names: This bloated, bland "reinvention" of the 1980 fave follows gotta-sing, gotta-dance students (most of whom look way too old for high school) struggling to find their way at New York's High School of the Performing Arts. Forget sex and drugs -- these kids (played by, among others, Naturi Naughton, Kay Panabaker, Asher Book, Kherington Payne and Collins Pennie) have. They only care about -- well, you know. Too bad we don't care about any of them. (107 min.) PG; thematic material, including teen drinking, sexual situations and profanity. (C.C.)
G.I. JOE: THE RISE OF COBRA
(D) The elite G.I. Joe fighting force takes on a notorious arms dealer (Christopher Eccleston) and his evil organization. Channing Tatum, Marlon Wayans, Joseph Gordon-Levitt, Sienna Miller and Dennis Quaid lead the starring cast, but the original Hasbro action figures probably would have given livelier performances. Director Stephen Sommers ("The Mummy") isn't interested in them anyway, saving his overkill for the computerized effects -- and the audience members who become collateral damage. (118 min.) PG-13; strong action violence and mayhem.
GOOD HAIR
(B+) Comedian Chris Rock hosts and narrates a documentary look at the beauty, the splendor, the wonder of African-American hair with comments from such notables as Maya Angelou, Nia Long, Eve, Tracie Thoms, Salli Richardson, Salt-n-Pepa and Raven-Symone pondering their weaves, wigs, and extensions -- and their essence. This is no arid anthropological study; Rock's queries are loose and quippy, but his instincts are as sharp as an investigative journalist's, which makes this as much about black identity and self-image as commerce and cosmetics. (95 min.) PG-13; profanity, sexual and drug references.
HALLOWEEN II
(C) Rocker-turned-horror-auteur Rob Zombie follows his 2007 revamp of the venerable horror franchise with this blunt-force sequel, in which pesky Michael Myers (Tyler Mane) returns to his Illinois hometown to make life even more miserable for sister Laurie (Scout Taylor-Compton). Zombie's a terrific stylist, but he seems bored with this material, which is not scary -- and that's no way to celebrate "Halloween." (101 min.) R; strong brutal bloody violence, terror, disturbing graphic images, profanity, crude sexual content, nudity.
THE HANGOVER
(C) A wild Caesars Palace bachelor bash spells trouble for pals (Bradley Cooper, Zach Galifianakis, Ed Helms) who party so hard they can't remember anything from the night before -- including where they left the groom (Justin Bartha). "Old School" director Todd Phillips' rude, crude 'n' lewd romp provides a perfect excuse for anyone who wants to laugh his (or her) ass off; if you'd rather laugh your head off, find another movie, because this one's pretty much brainless, and proudly so. (99 min.) R; pervasive profanity, sexual content, nudity, drug material. (C.C.)
I CAN DO BAD ALL BY MYSELF
(B) Pistol-packin' granny Madea returns (along with the guy who plays her, writer-director Tyler Perry) in an endearing adaptation of Perry's melo-comedic stage production, in which Madea tries to reform a hard-drinking nightclub singer (spitfire Taraji P. Henson) reluctant to assume guardianship of her late sister's children. (153 min.) PG-13; mature thematic material involving a sexual assault on a minor, violence, drug references, smoking.
THE INFORMANT!
(B-) Mr. Clean has dirty hands in this quirky comedy about a corporate Boy Scout, an agribusiness executive (Matt Damon, in another nervy, nimble performance) who helps the FBI expose an international price-fixing scheme -- at the same time he's embezzling millions of dollars from the company. Director Steven Soderbergh's droll take on a sobering story may be clever, but it's a bit too self-consciously stylized to draw real blood. (108 min.) R; profanity. (C.C.)
INGLOURIOUS BASTERDS
(C+) Nothing exceeds like excess in writer-director Quentin Tarantino's epic World War II "Dirty Dozen"-meets-"The Good, the Bad and the Ugly" spoof/homage, set "somewhere in Nazi-occupied France," about a smilingly relentless SS colonel (irresistibly smug Christoph Waltz), Jewish GIs (led by a cartoonishly macho Brad Pitt) collecting Nazi scalps and a young survivor of a Nazi massacre (Mélanie Laurent) running a Paris movie house -- and plotting revenge. Tarantino trademarks galore, from tangy dialogue to gleeful violence, but he'd rather convince us of his brilliance than make a movie that might prove it. (153 min.) R; strong graphic violence, profanity, brief sexual situations. (C.C.)
THE INVENTION OF LYING
(C+) "The Office" creator Ricky Gervais (who also co-writes and co-directs) joins Jennifer Garner, Rob Lowe and Tina Fey in a comedy about a world where deception doesn't exist -- until one scheming guy invents it. In the land of the literal-minded, the creative thinker soon becomes king. It's a wickedly funny idea -- but Gervais purges the wickedness right out of it. Ultimately, the small-scale, often downbeat jokes never quite match the grand concept. (100 min.) PG-13; profanity, including sexual material, drug references.
JULIE & JULIA
(B-) In post-World War II Paris, Julia Child (Meryl Streep) discovers the wonders of French cuisine, while in post-Sept. 11 New York, frustrated writer Julie Powell (Amy Adams) decides to cook her way through Child's "Mastering the Art of French Cooking." This genial two-in-one account from writer-director Nora Ephron ("Sleepless in Seattle") strains to equate its two protagonists' far from equal journeys, yet the contrived concept works better than it has any right to. Even so, this recipe would be a lot better with more Julia and less Julie. (123 min.) PG-13; brief profanity, sexual references. (C.C.)
LAW ABIDING CITIZEN
(D+) A victim of miscarried justice (Gerard Butler) vows to wreak revenge after a plea bargain sets his family's killers free. His No. 1 target: the prosecutor (Jamie Foxx) who engineered the deal. This hapless crime drama provides the sad spectacle of a movie far less intelligent than the one its filmmakers thought they were making. But it's nothing a new script, a new director and a couple of committed actors couldn't fix. (107 min.) R; strong bloody brutal violence and torture, including a scene of rape, pervasive profanity.
THE NIGHTMARE BEFORE CHRISTMAS 3D
(A) Trick and treat: The 1993 animated classic -- co-written and produced by Tim Burton, directed by stop-motion master Henry Selick ("Coraline") -- returns for its annual ghoul-to-Yule run, reviving Halloweentown king Jack Skellington's attempts to commandeer Christmas. The original needs no improvement, but 3-D adds enchanting depth to the spidery landscapes and charmingly twisted characters. (76 min.) PG; scary images. (C.C.)
9
(B-) This animated apocalyptic sci-fi blast, expanded from director Shane Acker's award-winning short, follows the title rag doll (voiced by Elijah Wood) as he takes refuge from a vicious machine. The thin story can't quite measure up to the stylishly haunting visuals, but Acker's definitely a talent to watch. (79 min.) PG-13; violence, scary images.
PARANORMAL ACTIVITY
(B-) A young couple (Katie Featherston, Micah Sloat) moves into a suburban "starter" house -- one that seems to be occupied by a demonic spirit. Writer-director Oren Peli's micro-budget chiller, expanding from sold-out midnight screenings, mines the unknown (and unknowable), using small moments and virtually no special effects to build a this-is-really-happening vibe. That makes it more fun than most studio horror films. But is it scarier? Only occasionally. (99 min.) R; profanity.
SAW VI
(F) In what might be the shrewdest, most politically tinged move for this reprehensibly gory, obnoxiously cynical and incompetently directed series, Jigsaw (Tobin Bell, the Hoarse Whisperer) finally gets a a target for his death-and-dismember contraptions that audiences might feel real-life vengeance toward: slick, heartless, coverage-denying health insurance bureaucrats. Otherwise, the usual critiques apply: terrible acting, zero suspense, laughable logic and, scariest of all, the promise of another one next year. (90 min.) R; grisly bloody violence and torture, profanity.
A SERIOUS MAN
(B+) Seriously funny: Brothers Joel and Ethan Coen, multiple Oscar winners for 2007's "No Country for Old Men," return to their own country -- suburban Minnesota, circa 1967 -- for this darkly comic tale about a beleaguered physics professor (Broadway veteran Michael Stuhlbarg) whose seemingly rational life unravels, Job-like, before his eyes. As usual, the Coens blur the line between the serious and the comic with almost sadistic expertise, exploring life's cosmic jokes with deadpan delight. =(105 min.) R; profanity, sexual situations, nudity, brief violence. (C.C.)
THE STEPFATHER
(C-) "Nip/Tuck's" Dylan Walsh takes on the title role (originated by "Lost's" Terry O'Quinn) in this clumsy, virtually bloodless remake of the smart, witty -- and scary-as-hell -- 1987 fave. This one's anything but, as a military school cadet ("Gossip Girl's" Penn Badgley) returns home to find his mother (Sela Ward) sharing her life with the suspiciously solicitous title character. (101 min.) PG-13; intense sequences of violence, disturbing images, mature thematic material, brief sensuality.
SURROGATES
(C) At a time when most humans live vicariously through robot avatars controlled by their minds, future-cop FBI agents (Bruce Willis, Radha Mitchell) try to figure out who's murdering the cyber-surrogates. This sci-fi thriller boasts a notable supporting cast (Ving Rhames and James Cromwell co-star) and introduces some ingenious ideas, but quickly abandons them in favor of the same old formulaic chases and shoot-outs. (88 min.) PG-13; intense violence, disturbing images, profanity, sexuality, drug references.
THIS IS IT
(B-) An unfinished work about an unfinished life, this behind-the-scenes glimpse of Michael Jackson rehearsing for his planned London comeback concerts serves up tantalizing samples of what might have been -- and poignant reminders of what was. (The real stars are the editors, who with director Kenny Ortega put this together from more than a hundred hours of rehearsal footage.) If you're looking for context or perspective, go elsewhere; the focus remains on Jackson's still-potent charisma and musical legacy. For fans, that's more than enough. (111 min.) PG; suggestive choreography, scary images. (C.C.)
THE TIME TRAVELER'S WIFE
(C) "The Notebook's" Rachel McAdams returns to the star-crossed romance genre with this adaptation of Audrey Niffenegger's novel about a Chicago librarian (Eric Bana) with a genetic glitch that triggers involuntary time-tripping. Scripted by "Ghost" Oscar-winner Bruce Joel Rubin, the movie's time-travel gimmick supersedes any substance, depth or character development; it's told with undeniable tenderness that, alas, leads mostly to dullness. (107 min.) PG-13; thematic elements, brief disturbing images, nudity, sexuality.
TOY STORY/TOY STORY 2
(A) Before "Toy Story 3" hits theaters next summer, here's a chance to revisit the beloved 1995 original and its even-better 1999 sequel, reconfigured in 3-D for a special double feature. (173 min.) G; all ages. (C.C.)
TRANSFORMERS: REVENGE OF THE FALLEN
(C) Those nasty Decepticons are back, kidnapping hero Sam Witwicky (Shia LaBeouf) and setting the stage for another epic, duel-to-the-death battle with the good-guy Autobots to determine Earth's fate in this follow-up to the 2007 smash that provesmore is definitely less. (147 min.) PG-13; intense sci-fi action violence, profanity, crude and sexual material, brief drug material.
WHERE THE WILD THINGS ARE
(B) Let the wild rumpus start: Mischievous 9-year-old Max (the aptly named Max Records) acts out, then runs away to avoid the inevitable punishment, finding refuge with an assortment of squabbling monsters (voiced by, among others, James Gandolfini, Catherine O'Hara, Chris Cooper and Forest Whitaker). Writer-director Spike Jonze ("Being John Malkovich," "Adaptation") transforms Maurice Sendak's kid-lit classic to suit his own offbeat sensibilities, delivering a melancholy, madcap live-action romp that speaks to the wild child inside us all. (100 min.) PG; mild thematic elements, adventure action, brief profanity. (C.C.)
WHIP IT
(B-) Whip it good: Drew Barrymore makes an on-track directorial debut with this tale of a high school misfit ("Juno's" whip-smart Ellen Page) who finds a new identity as "Babe Ruthless," speed queen of a doormat roller derby team. Real fun -- and real, thanks to a savvy script, on-target performances (especially Marcia Gay Harden's poignant small-town mom) and a sense of actual people living actual lives. (111 min.) PG-13; sexual content including crude dialogue, profanity, drug material. (C.C.)
ZOMBIELAND
(B) It's alive! The zombie comedy, that is, as four hapless travelers (Woody Harrelson, Jesse Eisenberg, Emma Stone and Abigail Breslin) try to survive the ravenous undead as they head for a California amusement park that may (or may not) be ghoul-free. "Zombieland" makes up in laughter what it lacks in screams, and the arch weariness with which it looks out at undead America hides a frisky yet disturbing message: We're closer than we think. (82 min.) R; horror violence/gore, profanity.
