Claudia Puig

It's a chick flick with a likable premise.

This is a joyless, frenetic film that is very rarely funny.

This frenzied fiesta of firepower is about cloning people for spare parts, but the movie is a clone itself. Possessing no new ideas, it reworks and borrows from such films as "Blade Runner," "The Matrix" and "Logan's Run."

Lottery Ticket is no prize.

Step Up 2 is one long, clichéd exercise in predictability with a couple of vibrant dance sequences and some unintentionally hilarious bad acting.

Only two-thirds of this unlikely trio comes close to capturing the complexity of anguish and pain.

The visual effects are lovely to behold, and the songs by Bonnie Raitt, Tim McGraw and k.d. lang are fairly catchy.

Poseidon is a sodden saga, with a script that is awash in clichés. It nearly drowns under the weight of its own soggy tedium.

Can't quite figure out what it wants to be. At times it strains to be a stately period drama about 16th-century political intrigue. Then it devolves into soap opera muck and emerges as a rather tame bodice ripper.

Buddy movies are a Hollywood staple, but Rory O'Shea Was Here puts a new and profoundly affecting spin on the tired genre.

It's not the grand scale action-adventure it aspires to be, but this faux epic does offer family-friendly entertainment.

Dialogue is terse and predictable, and the sci-fi thriller portion is even less compelling than the Western saga.

The film is at its best when it focuses on the more specific conflicts of five people thrown together on Purge night.

Farrell is quite good, though it's hard to buy the Scottish McGregor and the Irish Farrell as brothers. But mostly, the film feels rudderless, almost as if it's been directed on autopilot.

A succession of tired race jokes made worse by the bad comedic timing of the bland, under-talented Ashton Kutcher.

Sex Drive does not fully satisfy our comic desires.

A worthy, if flawed, piece of entertainment.

Though the blending of archival footage into a faux documentary is occasionally clever, ultimately it's banal and unconvincing.

Starts off promisingly, then grows as lifeless as a poker face.

Soderbergh's homage to film noir and wartime thrillers, is technically stunning but narratively and thematically hollow.

A moviegoer's nightmare. The story is incoherent, inane and interminable.

The movie is an undeniable visual spectacle, but just as unequivocally a cheesy, ridiculous story.

It's misleading to call this a documentary — fan fodder is more like it.

For those in the audience, it's best to just sit back, drink in its virtual dazzle and not ask questions. The story is beside the point in this sleek-looking reboot. It's all about the whiz-bang special effects and the return of Jeff Bridges - always the coolest guy in any space, cyber or otherwise.

Downey is absurdly funny.

The Fifth Estate doesn't seem to be presenting the full story. Instead, it's a fairly dull thriller about a hugely influential Internet phenomenon.

An immature obsession with sex at 17 seems understandable. But at 30 it's getting cringe-inducing.

Director Clark Johnson has an energetic style of filmmaking and a facile way with stunts and chase sequences. The result is a fairly stylish action thriller. We've seen plenty of suspense films in which a seemingly good guy is framed, so it helps when a director can pull off a few cinematic tricks to keep audiences on their toes.

If you're not a stickler for consistency, this is an effective pastiche and tribute to one of the world's most enticing cities.

The movie's soap opera quality undermines its efforts to tell a family saga with much believability.

Wright gives the title character a complexity and emotional shading often missing in this kind of ensemble comedy/drama. Pippa has the feel of a heroine in literature, rather than on the big screen.

Violent thrills and massive blood spills are the essence of the absurdly over-the-top action flick that is Shoot 'Em Up.

It tries to be a moody thriller, but cliched dialogue and too many coincidences make for a predictable and hackneyed film.

No new ground is dug up in Good Boy, but the story is well-paced, sweet and lively, filling a void for very young filmgoers.

Falls flat, enlivened only by the performances of its two charismatic lead dogs. The story is heavy-handed, and the human performances are, at their worst, caricatured.

The predictable story feels as if it were written by a computer program labeled "sequel."

Much of the action in Ice Age: Continental Drift takes place on an iceberg fashioned into a seagoing vessel. No one seems to be piloting the boat, which is an apt metaphor for the film.

Might have been more appropriately titled "Hodgepodge." What starts out with a sense of quirky fun loses direction and devolves into a mishmash of story lines.

Antichrist is probably the most disturbing, bleak and self-indulgent film ever made.

While the entire premise of Sleuth is a gimmick, having Michael Caine and Jude Law remake the 1972 adaptation of Anthony Shaffer's Tony Award-winning play heightens the gimmick quotient.

The movie has more charm when it's earthbound. Cusack and Green's mother-son repartee has sharp comic timing. Once the story veers off to space, it goes downhill.

As far-fetched as it sometimes seems, the film resonates in the wake of the murder of Wall Street Journal reporter Daniel Pearl.

A thoughtful film about ideas — creativity, the power of language and the eloquence of visuals — it features two impeccable performances full of vitality.

James Franco is a gorgeous, smoldering lover in Tristan & Isolde, but you can't help being reminded of Ben Stiller's "Zoolander" character.

Veggie Tales is a faith-based franchise that uses a blend of a religious/moral message and humor to teach about honesty and forgiveness. But Pirates lacks the humor of the videos and "A Veggie Tales Movie."

The movie, full of wan gags and tedious situations, is directed blandly by Rock.

Move along, there's nothing to see and no one to root for in this murky franchise reboot.

The Black Dahlia captivates with its dark style. But as with the particulars of the yet-unsolved case, the movie is frustratingly convoluted. What it accomplishes with its stunning cinematography and set design is undercut by a lack of coherence.

Poignant and well-acted, it offers heartfelt moments leavened by subtle humor.

Sometimes the most compelling real-life stories make better documentaries than dramas. Such would seem to be the case with The Children of Huang Shi.

Though better than most of Perry's broad comedies, The Family That Preys still suffers from excessive predictability and mawkish sentiment, which detracts from the story's believability.

The cinematography is gorgeous and the makeup amazing, but the story lines are too disconnected.

We'd all like to live in an Italian movie. So says a character in Nine, and it's probably the best line in this musical misfire.

30 Minutes or Less is "Pineapple Express" gone sour.

The material doesn't consistently do justice to their talents, but the movie is worth seeing for their chemistry and for the Motown-infused soundtrack.

As impressive as Kevin Spacey ordinarily is, this isn't the best vehicle for his considerable talents.

The corny love story is all the more disappointing given the pedigree of the octogenarian actors.

Rio 2 teems with colorful animated splendor and elaborate musical numbers, but its rambling, hectic, if good-hearted, story is for the birds.

Graphically gruesome when it means to be a provocative look at vengeance.

It's a shame that by its conclusion the movie feels like just another special-effects-driven story.

This follow-up seems so similar to the 1953 Disney classic that it makes one long for a geriatric Peter.

Aniston's portrayal feels honest, but the film doesn't rise to the level of her performance.

Its strongest asset is the stunningly poetic cinematography by Thierry Arbogast.

Amiable, consistently amusing and surprisingly affecting, it has the flavor of a Nick Hornby novel, with its focus on an overgrown boy struggling to grow up and be a man.

Johansson is not Allen's new Diane Keaton. She's closer to Mariel Hemingway -- though even Allen couldn't attempt to pull off a romance between his septuagenarian self and a girl in college.

A classic example of a second-rate courtroom drama.

Because Sarandon is such a good actress, she makes the movie watchable, and there are a couple of laughs to be had.

Displays so much promise with its beautiful cinematography and superb portrayal by Cate Blanchett that you scarcely notice (or even care) that the story is a bit thin.

Simultaneously brash and dull - hardly a combustible combination.

The harder this film tries to be quirky and edgy, the more it feels like a run-of-the mill TV movie.

Despite two strong lead performances and a welcome dose of female empowerment, this somber tale feels too familiar and formulaic.

Good but not legendary.

50 First Dates is working awfully hard to be romantic and not hard enough to be a comedy.

Unfortunately, it's not one-tenth as interesting as what you can see at home during a nightly cable surf as U.S. war policy is debated.

The overwritten script and the ridiculous plot combine to make The Counselor a frustrating experience.

The minimal character development will frustrate filmgoers seeking substance, as will Coppola’s stilted dialogue.

With the lackluster quality of its characters — aircraft, a smattering of trucks, RVs and motorcycles — the movie makes Pixar's Cars and its sequel look like masterpieces.

Some of the film's most illuminating scenes involve Aya's uncle, General Kajima (Toshiyuki Nishida), who schools Fellers on the sense of duty that is ingrained in Japanese culture.

While not exactly a zero, 21 lags and fails to measure up dramatically.

In dashing Indiana Jones style, Eckhart gets to be a hero.

If you value your time and money, find an escape clause and avoid seeing this trite, predictable rehash. The 90 minutes could be better spent doing holiday shopping.

It's really not much fun - in fact it's painful - to watch an actor on the verge of a nervous breakdown. It almost doesn't matter if the psyche in question is imploding artificially - as in staged - or organically.

Angels doesn't know when to quit: Just when you think it's over, it continues.

Alien Trespass is good-natured, but it's a wan send-up. When it comes to paying homage to classic "B" horror movies, "Monsters vs. Aliens" is the more clever alternative.

One Day is an aching lovely romance, but it's also an insightful look at human potential and the search for a purposeful existence.

Writer/director Zach Helm, who wrote "Stranger Than Fiction," achieves bursts of charm and whimsy, but not quite enough magic to elicit a consistent sense of wonderment.

Though the film has a strong cast, humor and a satirical take on celebrity culture, the story is spotty.

Largely because of its engaging cast, Admission is an amiable, but only slightly-above-average, comic romp.

The only character we get to know fully as she evolves from child to older woman is Vivi. Too bad the movie didn't also trace the lives of her "sisters." That might have been divine.

An occasionally schmaltzy but likable story of healing and redemption.

Anchored by a topnotch ensemble cast, it's toe-tapping holiday fare that's also a potent reminder that family resentments and hardened hearts serve no one.

Though the premise is clever -- everything comes to life at night in New York City's Natural History Museum -- this movie doesn't make the best comic use of the concept.

For a swoon-fest aimed at tweens, 17 Again has a lot going for it.

A serviceable and intermittently funny romance.

Self-indulgent, heavy-handed and lumbering, Jayne Mansfield's Car is not a wreck, but it's certainly a vehicle for boredom.

This sequel is what you would expect: If you liked the original, you'll probably enjoy this retread. But be warned: It bogs down in a drawn-out scene near the end. There's certainly nothing to treasure about this movie, but if a popcorn movie with moderate intrigue and occasional humor is what you're after, this is just the ticket.

Those who were upset by the tragic ending of last year's "Pay It Forward" should be warned away.

Story is everything and Shark's is rather thin and soupy, despite the winning improvisational skills of stars Will Smith and Jack Black.

It's hard not to wish the same wholesome message could be conveyed with a bit more finesse and originality.

There's really not much fun to be had with Dick and Jane - or anyone else in this anemic comedy.

Mostly, it wallows in partying with a capital P.

Russell Crowe may find himself discovering the simple joys of life in A Good Year, but audiences will be checking their watches during this joyless attempt at comedy.

The characters in The Box are like cardboard cutouts: Some have "foolish victim" labeled on them, and others fall into the category of absurdly creepy villain.

The premise is misbegotten, the chemistry non-existent and the dialogue leaden. Did we mention how tediously the plot unfolds?

The third installment of the Night at the Museum franchise, Secret of the Tomb, is better than its predecessors, funnier and more adventurous, thanks to a visit across the pond to the British Museum.

The movie has a few too many story threads, but it also has some very funny lines and offers sharp-eyed commentary on the state of relationships in the era of instant messages and MySpace.

What gives In the Land of Women its singular charm is the charismatic Adam Brody, the star of TV's "The OC."

Jennifer's Body is not as hot as you hope it would be.

Misanthropic to the extreme, Bad Teacher fails across the board.

Though characters make some strong points, the film feels preachy and falls flat as entertainment.

The first one was silly fun, amusing and oddly inventive; the second is plodding, unfunny and almost cringe-worthy.

Restless is a self-consciously quirky coming-of-age tale that's essentially a teenage hipster "Love Story."

Flyboys doesn't succeed as a wartime adventure story or as a period romance. Even the special effects, set in a historical context, are too ho-hum to save this over-long and tedious film.

The fashions are a highlight, and the story of a seething snake pit of a town is watchable and intermittently amusing, until things take a jarring turn about halfway in.

This reasonably entertaining movie falters by trying to be both a dark comedy and a sentimental treatise on family and country.

Yes, it's not for the squeamish or easily offended, but its sordidness is more superficially shocking than wickedly satirical.

We are slowly and mightily drawn into this intimate story, which is both intellectually stimulating and emotionally moving.

Watching the Pulitzer-prize winning novel by E. Annie Proulx on the big screen is like being on an ocean liner stuck on a glacier.

Do yourself a favor and rent the 1996 original from Japan instead.

Just be the most wildly derivative animated movie in ages.

27 Dresses is like one of the many bridesmaid dresses featured in the film: frothy, predictable and over the top.

A slog rather than the sweeping romance it aspires to be.

What was once fresh and innovative now is tired and overdone.

Even its pre-teen audience could use a bit more quirkiness and a little less formula.

Though there's nothing wrong with moral outrage, it doesn't always aid the telling of a complex story. More subtlety might have worked better.

A wide-eyed 4-year-old makes a fairly convincing case for the existence of an afterlife in Heaven is for Real. But it's Greg Kinnear — with his characteristic affability — that just about seals the deal.

While the adult performances are strong, especially Jeff Bridges in the title role, youthful characterizations are not nearly as illuminating as they were on the page.

While it's an energetic romp, there is more slapstick humor than wit at work here, and a good deal of borrowing from the far more clever "Monsters, Inc."

Don't stop believing. Just avoid clichéd musicals that try to capture the anarchic spirit of rock with trite commercial re-treads.

It feels like a wan version of the show -- one that has lost its otherworldly edge.

The script is consistently humorous, even if a few punch lines are predictable and the wit is neither highbrow nor split-a-gut funny.

Drama/comedy fables such as "Big" and "13 Going on 30" effectively transported viewers to their whimsical alternate reality. But Timothy Green feels more predictable than other-worldly.

Definitely more than semi-funny.

Anyone who has ever had an annoying neighbor will see their worst nightmares fulfilled in the overheated but entertaining Lakeview Terrace.

It's a syrupy, downbeat film.

There's nothing exciting about this awful, over-the-top reboot.

There is enlightenment -- even stark poetry -- in The Passion.

The movie feels like a long-form version of the popular Nickelodeon cartoon series on which it's based, which probably won't bother Arnold fans.

A bittersweet relationship drama with enough honest emotion and gentle humor to move even the steeliest heart.

David Oyelowo stands out as the daredevil Joe "Lightning" Little, the unit's best flier. With his bravery and bravado, he's the film's most complex character.

The very rich are different from you and me. And much worse. That's basically the message of the disappointingly banal Nanny Diaries, a film that is even more lightweight and clichéd than the fluff that was the best-selling book.

Tries rather feebly to examine complex questions of morality. It does a better job of capturing a sense of shattering grief, but it gets too caught up in plot contrivances and coincidences to be believable.

Someone in Hollywood ought to speak for the trees, and The Lorax does it with verve and vibrancy.

In Extremely Loud & Incredibly Close, director Stephen Daldry must walk a tricky line between poignancy and pathos. He occasionally slips into maudlin turf.

Singh brings cheeky humor, an eccentric sensibility and an enchanting look to his re-imagined tale.

The movie is a clunky, noisy contraption. Director Jon Turteltaub piles on gadgets and devices in the hopes we'll be dazzled enough to miss the story's lack of coherence and charm.

Next Day Air can't decide whether it's a broad stoner comedy or a gritty Tarantino-esque action flick. The humor is there, but violence brings the laughter to an abrupt halt.

You, Me and Dupree is a good idea badly executed.

Plausibility aside, the key to making the scenario work is comedy. Much can be forgiven if it delivers enough laughs. That's the main problem here. It's short on clever humor and big on convention and formula.

The cartoonish mayhem in Sin City: A Dame to Kill For aims for a film noir sensibility, but too frequently the script simply resorts to anachronistic scenes of Jessica Alba twerking.

How Do You Know must have started with a good idea that got lost in the translation from concept to screen.

The adults fare best. Leonard and Enos have more electricity than the teens do. And the best performance is a low-key, authentic one by Stacy Keach as Mia's grandfather.

A potent psychological thriller bolstered by strong performances and an offbeat sense of humor. What renders it an unsettling cut above many thrillers is the casting of Johnny Depp in the lead.

Feels about as fresh and lively as a piece of burnt rubber.

There is nothing objectionable in this family film, but it doesn't seem to appreciate the intelligence and savvy of its youthful audience. Kids can spot a silly stereotypical character as fast as the rest of us.

Sitting through the turgid and tedious S&M melodrama that is Fifty Shades of Grey may feel like its own form of torture.

Ron Howard has taken an intriguing page-turner of a story and re-shaped it into a bloated wannabe epic.

Everyone is well cast and no one more perfectly than Freeman, who is far more God-like than George Burns ever was. Freeman's God is wise, humble, wry, patient and funny but never mean-spirited.

Through most of the movie, the former star of the Harry Potter movies sports an impressive set of curling ram-style protuberances that bring to mind a character in "Pan's Labyrinth."

A movie about a teen party gone horribly wrong, would be every parent's worst nightmare if it weren't so inane.

There is a blessed dearth of dialogue, but much of it is unintentionally hilarious.

The Break-Up is not comical or romantic, and it's certainly not a date movie. Sitting through it is almost as painful as going through the demise of a relationship.

It's a quintessential movie hybrid: a romantic thriller with exciting high-speed chases, brisk comedy and exotic scenery.

Fashioning a hybrid of a courtroom drama and a horror film that is suspenseful and scary requires a clear vision and directorial finesse. Rose lacks both. But the performances are topnotch.

A breath of fresh air amid the superheroes, aliens and bombastic explosions of summer.

The music is the uncontested highlight of El Cantante.

Yes, yes, it's Liar Liar 2.

Though not as engaging as "Knocked Up," there is enough humor to keeps us entertained.

Makes one long for Martin's edgy work in films such as "The Spanish Prisoner."

It's an innocuous, occasionally cute movie made watchable by the appealing Mandy Moore and hunky Matthew Goode, a Brit who has a bit of Hugh Grant charm in an otherwise silly role.

This is a perfectly pleasant, entertaining and often witty romp with engaging performances.

Though it's not worth doing cartwheels over, Flipped is a pleasantly nostalgic and well-intentioned family movie featuring strong performances by its young actors.

A badly constructed, blood-spattered caper that comes unglued early on.

Give Binder credit for addressing racial divides even if not as profoundly as one would hope.

The name is a tipoff: Club Dread is dreadful.

Rather than being a fascinating exploration of a much more constrained time in our social history, the film simply feels anachronistic.

The dialogue is clichéd and laughable. It's a film far more concerned with style - architectural, vehicular and wardrobe-related - than substance.

If not for Sienna Miller's engaging portrayal of Edie Sedgwick, Factory Girl would have little to offer.

Woody, please: Go back to the European locales that so energized you of late.

Harrison Ford has obviously enrolled in the Al Pacino School of Old Man Acting. He yells, sputters and glowers his way through the ultra-ordinary and well-intentioned Extraordinary Measures.

Seems like a work in progress.

This is Woodstock from another perspective -- one without Jimi Hendrix or Janis Joplin.

Moore and Ford rise above the hackneyed story, infusing the proceedings with their own chemistry and appeal. If only the adults responsible for this film could learn how to deal.

The Greatest raises compelling questions about how parents continue on after the death of a child.

Saldana is in top form for the acrobatics required in the role, and she makes the gritty determination of her character believable.

Movie stardom is seductive, but 50 Cent and his fans will be best served if he sticks to to his day job.

Firewall might be worth renting on an inclement weekend when the pickings are slim. It does have some tense moments - even if some of the technical plot points don't quite scan. But, overall, it just feels like a rehash.

Far-fetched, flimsy and uninvolving.

Not as incisive a political commentary as "Thank You For Smoking," American Dreamz lampoons the public's appetite for mindless entertainment and easy distraction from serious concerns.

While the sound design and spooky minimalist music add suspense, and CGI effects are duly sinister, a climactic strobe effect is more annoying than frightening.

Bogged down by speechifying and a plodding pace, Miral is well-intentioned but doesn't achieve the searing emotional resonance suggested by the story.

Here's how it goes down: 4 is better than 3, about the same as 2 and worse than 1.

Gator-filled swamps, an ultra-grungy murderer, racial undertones and a sexually charged atmosphere make up the tense and lurid world of The Paperboy.

Despite its ultra-formulaic premise and juvenile sense of humor, there are a few laughs, and the movie's heart is generally in the right place, with the notable exception of racist characterizations of an Arab prince and Japanese businessmen.

A brilliant idea that seems to lack the vision to be great.

Squanders the opportunity to give us a telling glimpse of the woman behind the ruff. Instead, the costume drama is all gilt and opulence.

It's déjà vu all over again. There isn't much more to say about "We Own the Night 2." Oops, make that Pride and Glory.

Rhythmically, athletically and energetically, Step Up 3D does not disappoint.

It's almost impressive when a movie can manage to be both repellently vulgar and sickeningly sweet in the span of a mere two hours. Almost.

Has plenty of fast cars and revving engines. But unless you're a fan of that sort of thing, its stultifying plot and wooden acting is likely to make you drift - off to sleep.

Each twist and turn is so telegraphed and expected that the story feels wan and the comedy feeble.

Though it's no fiasco -- there's nothing mythic about its disjointed story -- it is a failure.

Half a howler but not nearly funny enough.

Delayed a couple of years, shown to fans at conventions and retooled, Fanboys is an uneven and largely predictable adventure, but it has its moments.

With Bonham Carter's been-there, done-that performance and a plot that spins out of control, we end up with a movie that you can't quite sink your teeth into.

These characters are interesting for their flaws and wounds, but the movie doesn't delve deeply into the sources of their pain. See this movie for its humor and talented cast and you won't be disappointed.

Mixed with the sleaze is the unexpected and occasionally inspired.

A good script is the most essential ingredient for a good movie. Hiring a comedian isn't enough.

The film tries to be stylish and slick, but is mostly just nasty and blood-drenched. Piven, so funny in other film roles and on TV's "Entourage," overdoes it here, and extended scenes of his debauchery grow excessive and thuddingly dull.

Country Strong feels powerfully familiar.

Sadistic mess of a movie.

How to lose an audience in 10 minutes: Cobble together a predictable and forced romantic comedy that should have been funnier.

Ultimately the story of Jay Moriarity, who died tragically in a diving accident at 22, is a moving one, and he deserved a better tribute than this film.

It's an intriguing movie, and Thornton's performance is both fascinating and maddening.

What might have been an entertaining, silly comedy opts for pseudo-earnestness over movie magic.

While it features three strong performance and the debut of a promising filmmaker, the story line is obvious and rather melodramatic.

An insightful, sharply written and unsettlingly amusing exploration of the darker elements of masculinity.

School for Scoundrels will only leave you scratching your head in bewilderment and might possibly shave off IQ points.

Lacking in originality.

A sluggish, tedious film about lost souls living dead-end lives in a dead-end town. Their actions often defy rationality.

Joyful Noise seems tailor-made for an audience of churchgoers and "Glee" devotees.

Feels as desperate and static as being trapped in a traffic jam.

Like "Blazing Saddles", A Million Ways to Die in the West has a slew of comic set-ups and one-liners that kill. And, as with Mel Brooks' classic 1974 film, it steps unabashedly into vulgar terrain.

The Love Punch is a romantic comedy as painfully unfunny as a sock in the jaw.

The Jacket is a confused attempt at headiness that feels like a poor man's "Memento."

The werewolves have it all over the blood-suckers in The Twilight Saga: New Moon. When these oversize, hirsute creatures burst onto the screen, they inject life into a rather inert story.

Given its predictable story, the only reason to see Stomp is for the rhythmic step dancing.

The film has some amusing moments and can be intriguing when it focuses on the slow transformation of a hopeless, faithless man.

The concept's execution is sloppy, full of inconsistencies and plot holes. The situations teeter on funny, but never achieve it. And sections meant to be heartwarming feel lukewarm, far-fetched or inappropriately comical.

The perfect vehicle for Johnson's charm and talents is still out there. It's certainly not in the muscle car he pilots in Faster.

Father and son Kirk and Michael Douglas' moments together are among the movie's best.

So sadistic and disturbing, Games is easily the toughest movie to sit through since 1994's "Natural Born Killers."

The highlight of this fantasy/horror hybrid is watching a pair of the best British character actors --- Bill Nighy and Michael Sheen -- shed their thespian respectability and unleash their inner beasts.

Chris Rock was busy directing, producing, co-writing and starring in this light comedy. Given his hilarious stand-up routines, one wishes he had spent a little more time on the script.

One-dimensional characters play second fiddle to the main event. Given the large cast of faceless players, it's hard to care when a few get sucked into oblivion.

This many-feathered animal occasionally soars before it crash-lands.

We're the Millers is a twisted road trip worth avoiding. Not only is it not funny, it's offensive.

Game Plan plays like an average sitcom that drags on. This sort of film shouldn't clock in at more than 90 minutes. There are worse ways to spend a few hours, but expect more predictability than laughs in this good-hearted, mindless entertainment.

Cantinflas is a nostalgic, occasionally schlocky, look at the Mexican icon. While a substantial number of scenes are heavy-handed, the actor who plays Cantinflas— Óscar Jaenada — is a standout.

Watts has proven herself a Lady of the Rings, but twice is enough. No burning need for a trilogy.

As a film it feels overly familiar, with some amusing scenes, but not enough to make for a wholly satisfying experience.

There are inventive and engaging moments in this broadly comic action saga. But Chandni is at once enjoyable and maddening.

Dull, dreary Answer Man raises this question: Why?

Vardalos' comedic style is old-fashioned in the worst way; her humor is stodgier than the most retro Catskills laughmeister.

The Village emerges as a victim of its own ambitions. At one point, Edward advises Ivy: "Do your very best not to scream." That doesn't require much restraint on our part.

The Bridget Jones characters are worth revisiting. It's just too bad the story that connects them in The Edge of Reason is less fresh and clever than its predecessor.

One thing it doesn't do is offer a revealing look at the mercurial entrepreneur. The movie that bears his name settles on a blandly superficial treatment of a deeply complex man.

If your idea of a good time is watching a disjointed period piece featuring a scrawny dog defecating, dozens of dissipated people fornicating and a syphilitic Johnny Depp with oozing pustules on his face, The Libertine may be just the movie for you.

Though they have plenty of lethal weapons at their disposal, the Losers are nowhere near as fun as the '80s action-flick heroes they emulate.

An ambitious hodgepodge that is all bang and bluster.

Directing seems to suit Luke, who also does some of his best work to date on screen.

A terrorist thriller that isn't so much suspenseful as overbearing. Though it aspires to be an intriguing political cautionary tale, the movie is mostly about the feverish and jarringly choreographed chase scenes.

Catch and Release is not worth catching. Release yourself from boredom by giving it a miss.

The film simply doesn't come together fluidly. Smaller parts aren't on par with the lead role, and special effects are overdone and cheesy. At times, the essence of Shakespeare's poetry is drowned out.

The devil has a new spawn, but this one is not nearly as creepy as its progenitor.

It may appeal to the most rabid fans of tearjerk romances like "The Notebook," but it's a hard-to-swallow, maudlin tale.

In what universe would you expect to see Andy Samberg, Ian McShane and Sissy Spacek in the same movie? You have to give the makers of Hot Rod credit for creative and unlikely casting. But the credit pretty much ends there.

May not make you howl, but it does offer a few bona fide belly laughs.

A cameo by a well-known actor in the final scene suggests there will be a third ride on this familiar marriage go-round.

Instead of drawing the audience in, the action scenes merely blur together. And the intriguing, thoughtful concepts at the story's core are glossed over.

It's Barrymore's most ambitious role to date. She proves she is maturing as an actress.

They may call it The Last Castle, but moviegoers will ultimately feel rooked.

Maybe Affleck was drawn to this movie because it involves the loss of memory. Who wouldn't want to forget "Gigli," and now this?

What emerges is a banal horror film and a tepid action-adventure.

You're more likely to roll your eyes than swoon over this slow-moving and far-fetched love story.

An ambitious but mind-numbingly tedious and often incomprehensible film.

Steer clear of Freedomland, the movie. Your time would be better spent reading Richard Price's much more compelling 1998 novel.

If only the movie had heeded its own advice and tried to be different from the standard formula.

Newell's rendering of the iconic novel is dull and creatively off-kilter, lacking the surreal magic and robust passion of Márquez's signature magical realism style and never fully engaging the viewer.

It's creepy but tinged with sarcasm and infused with silly fun.

Don't be too quick to turn down The Uninvited. A stylish horror thriller in the vein of "The Ring," it's well-acted, frightening and handsomely produced

Well-acted and involving.

Machine Gun Preacher has a lot more wrong with it than a bullet-riddled premise. It is yet another iteration of the big, strong white man who comes to save legions of poor anonymous black Africans.

The Romantics is a misnomer. "The Spoiled Melodramatics" would be more accurate. Or better yet, "The Pretentious Ones."

Trust-- and the genre itself -- needs to dump the stale formula and embrace reality and reinvention.

Monte Carlo is a wish-fulfillment fantasy. (What luck! The heiress' clothes fit all three girls like a glove!)

A rare blend of emotional content and intelligent material that makes it simultaneously gut-wrenching and thought-provoking.

Melodramatic and laden with cop-thriller clichés, the story, set in one of New York's toughest precincts, is contrived and inauthentic -- and also grisly.

Even though the special effects and action sequences are good, the monsters conjured up are rather humdrum.

We all love a good fairy tale, but the enchantment is missing in this predictable sequel.

The lesson of the lovely-looking, but disappointing, Snow Flower and the Secret Fan is avoid tinkering too much with a novelist's work.

Some books are not meant to be adapted to the big screen. Alice Sebold's best-selling The Lovely Bones falls into that category.

This second installment, based on Veronica Roth's series of YA novels, feels cobbled together and less focused than 2014's Divergent, and lacks tension and excitement.

A documentary on the formation of stalagmites would have been more compelling.

While there are moments where this drama, about a pair of mothers hellbent on improving their children's education, is compelling and deeply moving, the film gets mired in heavy-handed cliches.

The story soon devolves into a far-fetched, futuristic snooze-fest that often defies its own logic. Characters' motivations are rarely clear, and allegiances shift with no explanation.

Trade unflinchingly sheds light on a heinous crime. Yes, it's tough to sit through. But don't let that keep you away.

Vince Vaughn and Owen Wilson may be the worst interns since Monica Lewinsky.

Nathan Lane steals the show in this tale of a high school English teacher who becomes obsessed with a student's play.

The affair may have raised eyebrows all over 18th century Paris, but it's not likely to elicit more than a shrug from 21st century moviegoers.

A humorous chick flick for well-read audiences, Austenland is a novel concept.

It's a welcome update, qualifying as the best in the series since the first film captivated and unnerved audiences in 2007.

The entire undertaking feels like a waste of time and talent.

The Family is a fish-out-of-water/buddy comedy/Mob flick. But most of all, it's a missed opportunity.

Yet another ho-hum family comedy hits screens this weekend -- this one in peppermint holiday flavor.

So leaden and obnoxious that it actually makes you long for the John Travolta of "Old Dogs."