Opening This Weekend
Underworld: Rise of the Lycans
Synopsis: In this prequel to two previous Underworld movies, werewolf Lycans are enslaved by medieval aristocratic vampires, aka Death Dealers. When young Lycan Lucian (played by Michael Sheen) tries to break free, he gets help from the daughter (Rhona Mitra) of the evil king (Bill Nighy). The goth fantasy is directed by special-effects veteran Patrick Tatopolous (Underworld, I, Robot).
Rated: R
Photo courtesy Sony/Screen Gems
Synopsis: Family adventure fantasy stars Brendan Fraser as a father who reads stories to his 12- year-old daughter (Eliza Bennett). Characters come to life on the storybook pages with evil Capricorn (Andy Serkis) taking shape as flesh-and-blood villain. Helen Mirren, Paul Bettany and Jim Broadbent co-star. Based on series of teen adventure books by Cornelia Funke, the film is directed by Iain Softley (The Skeleton Key).
Rated: PG
Photo courtesy New Line Cinema
Synopsis: Crime drama based on an Elmore Leonard novel features Mickey Rourke (The Wrestler) as an over-the-hill hit man. When a woman (Diane Lane) witnesses him in action, she enters the FBI's witness-protection program. Trouble ensues. Thomas Jane and Joseph Gordon Levitt co-star for John Madden (Shakespeare in Love).
Rated: R
Photo courtesy The Weinstein Company
Outlander (limited)
Synopsis: A spacecraft crashes into Norway, circa AD 709, where aliens and local tribes join forces to fight the ancient monster Moorwen. James Caviezel and Sophia Myles star.
Rated: R
Donkey Punch (limited)
Synopsis: Thriller follows a group of partygoing Brits who do drugs and have sex on a yacht off the coast of Spain before things go horribly wrong.
Rated: R
Now in Theaters
Synopsis: This 3-D sequel to the 1981 Canadian slasher movie follows Tom Hanniger (Jensen Ackles), who sparked a series of events that led to the slaughter of 22 people on Valentine's night 10 years ago. Now he returns to his home town, and the murders begin anew as the gas-masked, sickle-wielding killer goes wild. Jaime King and Kerr Smith co-star. Patrick Lussier directs.
Rated: R
Photo courtesy Lionsgate
Synopsis: Kevin James stars as a single dad/security cop who dispenses justice at the suburban mall as mall rats young and old berate him. When a gang of crooks takes hostages at the shopping center, the chubby Everyman gets off his Segway and saves the day. The comedy, which James co-wrote with Nick Bakay, co-stars Jayma Mays and Keir O'Donnell.
Rated: PG
Photo courtesy Sony
Synopsis: A 16-year-old girl and her younger brother are put in a foster home with a strict no-pets policy. Desperate to find a hiding place for their dog, Friday, they make over an abandoned hotel as a resort for dogs. Neighbors and cops object. Emma Roberts, Jake T. Austin, Lisa Kudrow and Don Cheadle star. Based on the book by Lois Duncan.
Rated: PG–13
Photo courtesy DreamWorks/Paramount
Notorious
Synopsis: Biopic traces the rise and fall of hip-hop visionary Christopher "The Notorious B.I.G." Wallace from a street kid in Brooklyn's Bedford-Stuyvesant neighborhood to rap music legend who was shot to death after a Los Angeles awards show in 1997. Derek Luke and Angela Bassett star with Jamal "Gravy" Woolard as B.I.G. George Tillman Jr. (Men of Honor, Soul Food) directs.
Rated: PG-13
Defiance (expanding)
Synopsis: True story of the Bielski Brothers, who flee the Nazis in 1941 and set up an encampment of refugees in the Belarussian forest. Daniel Craig, Liev Schreiber and Jamie Bell star for director Edward Zwick (The Last Samurai, Blood Diamond).
Rated: R
Synopsis: When strange things start happening to a young woman, her rabbi (Gary Oldman) explains she's the victim of an ancient curse involving a dybbuk. Together, they set out to exorcise the demonic spirit. Odette Yustman (Cloverfield) stars for writer-director David S. Goyer (Blade).
Rated: PG-13
Photo courtesy Universal/Rogue Pictures
Mini review: A good-looking film that strives to rise above cheeseball slasher status, The Unborn suffers from a laughable script so loaded with clinkers that not even the arty aerial shots can save it from failure. The movie's ambitions actually work against it: It's less fun than a straight-up gorefest, and despite a few truly creepy scenes, Unborn rolls out so many creaky horror clichés that you'll swear you've seen it before. Perhaps they should have titled it The Stillborn. – Lewis Wallace
Feature: Anatomy of a Scream: Bugging Out in The Unborn
Entomologists save the day as potato bugs crank up the fear in director David S. Goyer's upcoming horror flick. Demons cribbed from Jewish folklore help out some, too.
Synopsis: Kate Hudson and Anne Hathaway play best friends who schedule their dream nuptials back-to-back at a ritzy Manhattan hotel. When their wedding planner (Candice Bergen) mistakenly books them on the same day, the girls go ballistic. Gary Winick (13 Going on 30) directs.
Rated: PG
Photo courtesy Fox
Not Easily Broken (limited)
Synopsis: A couple (Morris Chestnut and Taraji P. Henson) find their marriage tested in the wake of a tragic car accident. Bill Duke (Deep Cover) directs.
Rated: PG-13
Synopsis: Masked avenger The Spirit (Gabriel Macht) tracks the villainous Octopus (Samuel L. Jackson) and the seductive Sand Saref (Eva Mendes) through the dark streets of Central City. Scarlett Johansson co-stars in the movie, adapted from the Will Eisner comic by writer-director Frank Miller (300, Sin City).
Rated: PG-13
Photo courtesy Lionsgate
The Curious Case of Benjamin Button
Synopsis: Brad Pitt re-teams with Fight Club director David Fincher to play a man who ages backward. Born in 1918 looking like a wrinkly old man, he falls in love, fights in World War II, travels to Paris, then heads toward infancy while the love of his life (Cate Blanchett) ages. Tilda Swinton and Jared Leto co-star. Eric Roth (Forrest Gump) adapted the short story by F. Scott Fitzgerald.
Rated: PG-13
Photo courtesy Paramount
Synopsis: Tom Cruise portrays a Nazi colonel determined to assassinate Hitler. Code-named Valkyrie, the plot, based on an actual incident, involves conspirators within the German army who try to plant a bomb at Hitler's headquarters. Bryan Singer (X-Men) directs the thriller, written by Christopher McQuarrie (The Usual Suspects) and Nathan Alexander. Supporting cast includes Kenneth Branagh, Bill Nighy, Tom Wilkinson and Eddie Izzard.
Rated: PG-13
Photo courtesy United Artists
Synopsis: Comedy casts Adam Sandler as a handyman/babysitter who regales his niece and nephew with fantastical tales. When the kids' embellishments about raining gum balls and chariot races start coming true in real life, Uncle Skeeter begins to believe in himself. Keri Russell, Guy Pearce, Russell Brand and Courteney Cox co-star for director Adam Shankman (The Wedding Planner).
Rated: PG
Photo courtesy Disney
Synopsis: Owen Wilson and Jennifer Aniston star as newlyweds who decide to try out "family" life by getting a pup. The rambunctious yellow Lab, Marley, challenges the bipeds through myriad ups and downs. Directed by David Frankel (The Devil Wears Prada), the comedy is based on John Grogan's autobiographically inspired novel.
Rated: PG
Photo courtesy Fox
Revolutionary Road (limited, Dec. 26)
Synopsis: Sam Mendes (American Beauty) directs Leonardo DiCaprio and Kate Winslet as an unhappy 1950s couple. Married with children, bewildered by how they wound up in suburban New Jersey, they plan a move to Paris to get away from it all. Based on Richard Yates' 1961 novel.
Rated: R
Photo courtesy Paramount Vantage
Last Chance Harvey (limited)
Synopsis: Dustin Hoffman plays a New York jingle writer who falls for Emma Thompson's airport survey taker while in London for his estranged daughter's wedding.
Rated: PG-13
Waltz With Bashir (limited)
Synopsis: Flash-animated movie tells the story of a man who's haunted by surreal images from his experience as a draftee during the Israeli army's invasion of Lebanon in the '80s.
Rated: R
Synopsis: High-concept comedy ensues when Jim Carrey, starting out as a cynical banker, gets swept up in a self-help movement. He decides to say yes to all requests, and winds up falling for quirky stranger Allison (Zooey Deschanel). Peyton Reed (The Break-Up) directs.
Rated: PG-13
Photo courtesy Warner Bros.
Mini review: Carrey's sad-sack working stiff works best when he skips the funny faces and weird voices perfected in previous roles. Fortunately, Carrey only goes over the top a few times in this uplifting romantic comedy, which benefits mightily from Terence Stamp who plays a self-empowerment huckster and Deschanel as the bubbly love interest who's open to anything. – Lewis Wallace
Rating:
Synopsis: In a faraway kingdom, hero mouse Despereaux ventures to the royal palace where he meets a kindly princess (voiced by Emma Watson). She teaches him to read while a good-natured rat (Dustin Hoffman) listens in. When the rats revolt, Despereaux has to choose sides. Animated by Framestore for directors Sam Fell and Robert Stevenhagen.
Rated: G
Image courtesy Universal
Gran Torino (limited)
Synopsis: Clint Eastwood directs and stars in this story about a Korean War veteran who springs into action when a teen neighbor tries to steal his prized 1972 car.
Rated: R
Mini review: Grimacing and gruff, Eastwood owns the screen as Walt Kowalski, a racist relic watching his neighborhood go to hell. Raking in the laughs as he spits out one creative ethnic slur after another, Kowalski proves charming to Hmong neighbors after his wife's death. But Gran Torino's sturdy morality tale is marred by so-so acting in supporting roles and a fairly predictable plot. – Lewis Wallace
Rating:
The Wrestler (limited)
Synopsis: Mickey Rourke plays a washed-up wrestler itching to get back in the ring after a heart attack. Marisa Tomei and Evan Rachel Wood co-star for director Darren Aronofsky (Requiem for a Dream).
Rated: R
Synopsis: Alien invasion remake stars Keanu Reeves as Klaatu, who tries to warn mankind of impending disaster but is quickly captured by fearful earthlings. Jennifer Connelly plays the scientist who befriends the stranger from another planet. Jon Hamm, Kathy Bates and Jaden Smith co-star for director Scott Derrickson (The Exorcism of Emily Rose, Hellraiser)
Rated: PG-13
Photo courtesy Fox
Review: The Day the Earth Stood Still Takes a Tumble
The remake of the '50s sci-fi classic updates its message, but the environmental fable fails to rise above a shop-worn "earthlings are stupid" message.
Rating:Feature: From Hulk to Gort, Monster Man Gets Creative With Creatures
A dedicated freakmaker, concept designer Aaron Sims has helped bring aliens, demons and comic book characters to the silver screen. His latest task: reinventing giant robot Gort for the remake of sci-fi classic The Day the Earth Stood Still.
Doubt (limited)
Synopsis: Director John Patrick Shanley adapts his own Pulitzer Prize-winning play about a priest (Phillip Seymour Hoffman) suspected of abusing students at a private Catholic school in the Bronx. Meryl Streep and Amy Adams co-star as nuns.
Rated: PG-13
The Reader (limited)
Synopsis: Kate Winslet and Ralph Fiennes appear in this Holocaust-themed coming-of-age drama from Stephen Daldry (The Hours), which features David Kross as a smitten German student circa 1958.
Rated: R
Synopsis: Set in the 1950s, this fact-based piece about race, sex, music and money tells the story of Chicago R&B label Chess Records and its roster of pioneering musicians. Beyoncé Knowles plays Etta James with Mos Def as Chuck Berry and Jeffrey Wright as blues shouter Muddy Waters. Adrian Brody co-stars as impresario Leonard Chess.
Rated: R
Photo courtesy Sony Pictures
Frost/Nixon (limited)
Synopsis: Director Ron Howard re-creates the 1977 post-Watergate interview between talk show host David Frost (Michael Sheen) and disgraced President Richard Nixon (Frank Langella).
Rated: R
Synopsis: Nicole Kidman and Hugh Jackman star in this epic romantic action adventure set in the vast expanses of Australia. On the brink of World War II, English aristocrat Lady Ashley inherits a vast spread, where she meets a local cowboy known as The Drover. Cattle robbers, an aboriginal child and Japanese bombs form the backdrop to their contentious relationship. Baz Luhrman (Moulin Rouge) directs.
Rated: PG-13
Photo courtesy Fox
Milk (limited)
Synopsis: Sean Penn plays San Francisco Supervisor Harvey Milk, California's first openly gay man to be elected, who was assassinated in 1978. The Gus Van Sant-directed biopic also features James Franco and Josh Brolin.
Rated: R
Synopsis: Daniel Craig returns as James Bond in this sequel to Casino Royale. Trying to get over the loss of Vesper, his late girlfriend, Bond sets out to squash a villainous entrepreneur (French actor Mathieu Amalric) from monopolizing Latin America's natural resources. Judi Dench is back as the formidable boss M with Olga Kurylenko as the new Bond girl. Mark Forster (Finding Neverland) directs the script by returning Casino writers Paul Haggis, Neil Purvis and Robert Wade.
Rated: PG-13
Photo courtesy Sony
Rating:
Slumdog Millionaire (limited)
Synopsis: When a former street kid from Mumbai becomes a contestant on India's TV game show version of Who Wants to Be a Millionaire., he flashes back to his ghetto childhood for the correct answers. On the verge of winning the big jackpot, the uneducated "slumdog" prompts suspicions among cops and society at large. Dev Patel and Frieda Pinto star for director Danny Boyle (Trainspotting, 28 Days Later).
Rated: R
Photo courtesy Fox Searchlight
Previously Reviewed
Burn After Reading
The Dark Knight
- Review: Joker Plays the Wild Card in Dazzling Dark Knight
- Dark Knight Director Shuns Digital Effects for the Real Thing
- The Dark Knight: 'Where Does He Get Those Wonderful Toys?'
Death Race
Hancock
Hellboy II: The Golden Army
- Review: Hellboy II Is Hell-Bent on Monstrous Visuals
- Hellboy's Mike Mignola Talks 'Language of Monsters'
Journey to the Center of the Earth
Pineapple Express
Star Wars: The Clone Wars
- Review: Clone Wars Returns Star Wars to Its Youthful Roots
- 10 Reasons Why Clone Wars Beats Any Lucas Prequel
- I Sense a Disturbance in the Star Wars Canon
Wall-E
Wanted
- Review: Angelina Jolie Speed-Races Through *Wanted'*s Sexy Violence
- Secrets of Wanted's Insane Onscreen Action
The X-Files: I Want to Believe
