Opening This Weekend
The International
Synopsis: Clive Owen portrays a tough Interpol agent who teams with a Manhattan assistant DA (Naomi Watts) to bring down The International, a "dirty" bank involved in money laundering, arms trade, terror cells and murder. The duo follows the money trail through New York, Berlin, Istanbul and Milan. Germany's Tom Tykwer (Run Lola Run) directs.
Rated: R
Photo courtesy Sony
Friday the 13th
Synopsis: Remake of the 1980 horror flick revisits Crystal Lake, where Clay (Jared Padalecki) searches for his missing sister (Amanda Righetti) in the woods. Hockey-masked Jason Voorhees' (Derek Mears) awaits. Marcus Nispel (2003's Texas Chainsaw Massacre) directs the script from Freddy vs. Jason co-writers Mark Swift and Damian Shannon. Danielle Panabaker co-stars.
Rated: R
Photo courtesy New Line Cinema/Paramount Pictures
__Gomorrah __ (limited)
Synopsis: Italian hoodlums wreak mayhem in crime-saturated Naples as director Matteo Garrone follows five loosely interwoven stories. The Cannes Film Festival Grand Jury Prize winner is presented by Martin Scorsese.
Rated: R
Under the Sea 3D (IMAX only)
Synopsis: Jim Carrey narrates this documentary that dives deep beneath the surface in Southern Australia and New Guinea to photograph rarely seen marine life. Shown only at IMAX venues.
Rated: G
Confessions of a Shopaholic
Synopsis: Romantic comedy features Isla Fisher (Wedding Crashers) as a shopping addict who climbs out of credit card debt with a little help from her handsome colleague (Hugh Dancy). P.J. Hogan (My Best Friend's Wedding) directs. Joan Cusack, John Goodman and John Lithgow co-star.
Rated: PG
Two Lovers (limited)
Synopsis: Joaquin Phoenix and Gwyneth Paltrow play Brooklyn neighbors who form an unlikely attraction. James Gray (We Own the Night) directs.
Rated: R
Now in Theaters
Coraline
Synopsis: Director Henry Selick's (A Nightmare Before Christmas) helms the world's first 3-D, stop-motion animation feature. Based on the storybook classic by writer Neil Gaiman (DC Comics' Sandman series) the fairy tale/nightmare unfolds as discontented Coraline Jones (voiced by Dakota Fanning) walks through a secret door in her new house to find a trippy alternative universe -- until her "Other" parents decide to keep her there forever. Teri Hatcher voices the mothers, John Hodgman does the fathers. Ian McShane co-stars as Mr. Bobinsky.
Rated: PG
Photo courtesy Focus Features
Review: Coraline's Stop-Motion Surrealism Dazzles, Terrifies
Director Henry Selick wraps Neil Gaiman's novella in an astonishing 3-D world. The eye-pleasing adaptation wows with whimsy even as it delivers a dark message about modern life.
Rating:Slideshow: The Handmade Tale: Coraline's Inventive DIY Effects
See how the moviemakers brought the book's amazing imagery to the big screen.Video: Gaiman Calls Coraline the Strangest Stop-Motion Film Ever
In an exclusive interview with Wired.com, the American Gods author praises the movie's creative team.
Push
Synopsis: A shadowy government agency uses superpowered humans to destroy civilization. Telekinetic "mover" Nick (Chris Evans), hiding in Hong Kong, joins forces with a young "watcher" who can see the future (Dakota Fanning). They race against time to escape their own foreseen deaths with help from rogue "pusher" Kira (Camilla Belle), who can manipulate thoughts. Djimon Honsou co-stars. Paul McGuigan (Lucky Number Slevin) directs.
Rated: PG-13
Photo courtesy Summit
Fanboys (limited)
Synopsis: Set in 1998, Fanboys follows Star Wars geeks who take a cross-country trip from Ohio to George Lucas' Skywalker Ranch on a mission to filch a print of Star Wars: Episode I -- The Phantom Menace six months ahead of its release date. The comedy stars Sam Huntington, Chris Marquette, Dan Folger, Jay Baruchel and Kristen Bell, and includes cameos from Carrie Fisher, William Shatner and Billy Dee Williams.
Rated: PG-13
Photo courtesy The Weinstein Company
The Pink Panther 2
Synopsis: Steve Martin returns as bumbling French inspector Jacques Clouseau with a new boss (John Cleese) and fresh assignment: Find stolen treasures including the Pink Panther diamond. International detectives (Jean Reno, Andy Garcia and Alfred Molina) join the inspector, while Emily Mortimer plays the object of his clumsy affection. Harald Zwart (Agent Cody Banks) directs.
Rated: PG
Photo courtesy Sony
He's Just Not That Into You
__Synopsis: __Based on a best-seller by Sex and the City TV writers Greg Behrendt and Liz Tuccillo, the movie follows a group of Baltimore singles look for love in all the wrong places. Ensemble cast includes Jennifer Aniston, Drew Barrymore, Scarlett Johansson, Ginnifer Goodwin, Jennifer Connelly, Kevin Connolly, Justin Long, Ben Affleck and Bradley Cooper.
Rated: PG-13
Photo courtesy Warner Bros.
Taken
Synopsis: Liam Neeson plays an ex-CIA agent who chases a gang of Albanian thugs through the streets of Paris after they kidnap his daughter for the sex-slave trade. Maggie Grace and Famke Janssen co-star. Written by Luc Besson (Fifth Element, La Femme Nikita) and Robert Mark Kamen (Fifth Element), the action piece is directed by Transporter cinematographer Pierre Morel.
Rated: PG-13
Photo courtesy Fox
New in Town
Synopsis: Romantic comedy casts Renee Zellweger as an ambitious Miami executive who trades in her high heels for snow boots when she's instructed to close down a manufacturing plant in a frozen-over Minnesota town. Instead, she's swept off her feet by a blue-collar guy (Harry Connick Jr.)
Rated: PG
*Photo courtesy Lionsgate
*
**
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
The Uninvited
Synopsis: A young woman (Emily Browning) returns home from a mental ward following her mother's death. Familial friction ensues when mom's ghost tells her to stop dad (David Strathairn) from marrying the household's domineering nurse-in-residence (Elizabeth Banks). Produced by the team behind *The Ring *and Disturbia, *The Uninvited *is based on 2003 Korean horror film Janghwa, Hongryeon.
Rated: PG-13
Photo courtesy Paramount/DreamWorks
The Class (limited)
Synopsis: Oscar-nominated French film portrays a year in the life of a rough-and-tumble Parisian school. The movie stars Francois Bégaudeau, who wrote the script based on his own experiences as a teacher.
Rated: PG-13
Inkheart
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
Killshot
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
Paul Blart: Mall Cop
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
Hotel for Dogs
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
The Unborn
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.
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 Harris co-star. Eric Roth (Forrest Gump) adapted the short story by F. Scott Fitzgerald.
Rated: PG-13
Photo courtesy Paramount
Valkyrie
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
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
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
Yes Man
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:
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
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
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
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
Quantum of Solace
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
__Review: Quantum of Solace: Bad Title, Good Bond: __Surrounded by tough girls, amoral businessmen and revved-up action sequences, Craig's muscular Bond shows a flash of compassion between his kills.
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
- Review: Charming *Wall-E *Sweeps Up Trash, Hearts
- Retro Futurism of Wall-E Recalls 2001, Blade Runner
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__
- Review:* X-Files* Flick Falls Short of Show's Glory Days
- Q&A: X-Files' Chris Carter Talks Paranoia, Secrecy and the Element of Surprise
Read Underwire's movie ratings guide.
Now in Theaters
Coraline
Synopsis: Director Henry Selick's (A Nightmare Before Christmas) helms the world's first 3-D, stop-motion animation feature. Based on the storybook classic by writer Neil Gaiman (DC Comics' Sandman series) the fairy tale/nightmare unfolds as discontented Coraline Jones (voiced by Dakota Fanning) walks through a secret door in her new house to find a trippy alternative universe -- until her "Other" parents decide to keep her there forever. Teri Hatcher voices the mothers, John Hodgman does the fathers. Ian McShane co-stars as Mr. Bobinsky.
Rated: PG
Photo courtesy Focus Features
Review: Coraline's Stop-Motion Surrealism Dazzles, Terrifies
Director Henry Selick wraps Neil Gaiman's novella in an astonishing 3-D world. The eye-pleasing adaptation wows with whimsy even as it delivers a dark message about modern life.
Rating:Slideshow: The Handmade Tale: Coraline's Inventive DIY Effects
See how the moviemakers brought the book's amazing imagery to the big screen.Video: Gaiman Calls Coraline the Strangest Stop-Motion Film Ever
In an exclusive interview with Wired.com, the American Gods author praises the movie's creative team.
Push
Synopsis: A shadowy government agency uses superpowered humans to destroy civilization. Telekinetic "mover" Nick (Chris Evans), hiding in Hong Kong, joins forces with a young "watcher" who can see the future (Dakota Fanning). They race against time to escape their own foreseen deaths with help from rogue "pusher" Kira (Camilla Belle), who can manipulate thoughts. Djimon Honsou co-stars. Paul McGuigan (Lucky Number Slevin) directs.
Rated: PG-13
Photo courtesy Summit
Fanboys (limited)
Synopsis: Set in 1998, Fanboys follows Star Wars geeks who take a cross-country trip from Ohio to George Lucas' Skywalker Ranch on a mission to filch a print of Star Wars: Episode I -- The Phantom Menace six months ahead of its release date. The comedy stars Sam Huntington, Chris Marquette, Dan Folger, Jay Baruchel and Kristen Bell, and includes cameos from Carrie Fisher, William Shatner and Billy Dee Williams.
Rated: PG-13
Photo courtesy The Weinstein Company
The Pink Panther 2
Synopsis: Steve Martin returns as bumbling French inspector Jacques Clouseau with a new boss (John Cleese) and fresh assignment: Find stolen treasures including the Pink Panther diamond. International detectives (Jean Reno, Andy Garcia and Alfred Molina) join the inspector, while Emily Mortimer plays the object of his clumsy affection. Harald Zwart (Agent Cody Banks) directs.
Rated: PG
Photo courtesy Sony
He's Just Not That Into You
__Synopsis: __Based on a best-seller by Sex and the City TV writers Greg Behrendt and Liz Tuccillo, the movie follows a group of Baltimore singles look for love in all the wrong places. Ensemble cast includes Jennifer Aniston, Drew Barrymore, Scarlett Johansson, Ginnifer Goodwin, Jennifer Connelly, Kevin Connolly, Justin Long, Ben Affleck and Bradley Cooper.
Rated: PG-13
Photo courtesy Warner Bros.
Taken
Synopsis: Liam Neeson plays an ex-CIA agent who chases a gang of Albanian thugs through the streets of Paris after they kidnap his daughter for the sex-slave trade. Maggie Grace and Famke Janssen co-star. Written by Luc Besson (Fifth Element, La Femme Nikita) and Robert Mark Kamen (Fifth Element), the action piece is directed by Transporter cinematographer Pierre Morel.
Rated: PG-13
Photo courtesy Fox
New in Town
Synopsis: Romantic comedy casts Renee Zellweger as an ambitious Miami executive who trades in her high heels for snow boots when she's instructed to close down a manufacturing plant in a frozen-over Minnesota town. Instead, she's swept off her feet by a blue-collar guy (Harry Connick Jr.)
Rated: PG
*Photo courtesy Lionsgate
*
**
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
The Uninvited
Synopsis: A young woman (Emily Browning) returns home from a mental ward following her mother's death. Familial friction ensues when mom's ghost tells her to stop dad (David Strathairn) from marrying the household's domineering nurse-in-residence (Elizabeth Banks). Produced by the team behind *The Ring *and Disturbia, *The Uninvited *is based on 2003 Korean horror film Janghwa, Hongryeon.
Rated: PG-13
Photo courtesy Paramount/DreamWorks
The Class (limited)
Synopsis: Oscar-nominated French film portrays a year in the life of a rough-and-tumble Parisian school. The movie stars Francois Bégaudeau, who wrote the script based on his own experiences as a teacher.
Rated: PG-13
Inkheart
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
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
Paul Blart: Mall Cop
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
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
The Unborn
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.
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 Harris co-star. Eric Roth (Forrest Gump) adapted the short story by F. Scott Fitzgerald.
Rated: PG-13
Photo courtesy Paramount
Valkyrie
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
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
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
Yes Man
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:
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
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
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
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
Quantum of Solace
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
__Review: Quantum of Solace: Bad Title, Good Bond: __Surrounded by tough girls, amoral businessmen and revved-up action sequences, Craig's muscular Bond shows a flash of compassion between his kills.
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
- Review: Charming *Wall-E *Sweeps Up Trash, Hearts
- Retro Futurism of Wall-E Recalls 2001, Blade Runner
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__
