Scott Bowles

Maintains the franchise's knack for getting kids right.

Revolution tries a few plot moves, but, narratively, it has two left feet.

A stylish slasher of a movie, a monster flick that does its vampires right, if not their real-life counterparts.

One of those movies that makes for a fantastic trailer. Much beyond that can feel like repeat viewing.

Filmmakers must have been tripping pretty badly when they made High School, a flub that's about as lucid as a stoner at a spelling bee.

Sprinkled with riffs, concert footage and home videos, the family-authorized documentary does what the artist usually did: When in doubt, return to the beat.

Visually stunning and narratively stunted, this IMAX documentary is the family version of 2006's "An Inconvenient Truth," Al Gore's Oscar-winning documentary on global warming.

Just earnest enough to blend its religious theme with a beer-chugging hero for a surprisingly contemporary look at faith.

A putrid film that comes dead-weighted with hammy one-liners and a plot so silly it borders on comedy?

The action is brisk, the acting is solid, and barring an unlikely failure at the box office, a franchise is born. Let the games begin.

An hour into Earth and we're waiting for the film to end, not just the planet.

Unapologetically brutal and unencumbered by much plot, Raid is the year's most turbo-charged film.

The side story about Muslim extremists is a little ham-handed for a film that otherwise exercises such restraint.

Sarandon is worth leaving home for, even if Jeff won't.

There's nothing wrong in the setup: It worked fine in films like "Adventures in Babysitting" and "Uncle Buck." But director David Gordon Green populates the movie with so many soap opera asides it's hard to keep count.

A Dangerous Method has plenty to say about sex, but it lacks much fire for it.

Crisply shot and voiced by a legion of Brits, the animated Arthur seems aimed at the Scrooge and caroler in all of us.

It is in many respects the best installment of the franchise as its stars go from sullen kids to sullen young adults, where their expressions look more natural.

A comedy that has one good joke, four strange cameos and a spirit so juvenile kids may wonder what Sandler's deal is.

What undercuts sharper than Poseidon's trident is a script that sees its characters as cardboard, not flesh and blood. For a film meant to be spectacle over substance, it's not a fatal blow. But it is a mortal wound.

Tower Heist feigns being an "Ocean's 11" for schmucks, but plays like a retread of "48 Hours."

In Time has about 50 minutes of good movie in it. Alas, the sci-fi thriller runs nearly twice that length, and despite a terrific concept that could make for an "Inception" for 2011, we get "Logan's Run" meets "Robin Hood." And not the good parts.

It's breezy stuff, to be sure. And while English is far from becoming the Pink Panther for the Facebook generation, Atkinson has a breezy rapport with junior Agent Tucker (Daniel Kaluuya) that's reminiscent of Peter Sellers' Inspector Clouseau and his relationship with sidekick Kato.

Part horror film, part space thriller and all gore-fest, the movie ends up being a lot like its protagonist: a mess of a monster that stretches itself too thin to scare much.

Even by today's standards, some scenes are jaw-dropping in their bloodshed. To that end, Lurie accomplishes some of what Peckinpah evoked 40 years ago.

Conan the Barbarian lives by a pretty simple ethos: He lives, he loves, he slays. What he doesn't do, alas, is act.

Fright is way too quick on its feet to be slowed by clichés. David Tennant seizes McDowall's role as Peter Vincent, now a Criss Angel-style clown vampire slayer. Christopher Mintz-Plasse was born to play a high school nerd.

Glee the TV show has become a cult phenom with three essential ingredients: whip-smart kids, adult-sized issues, all blended to sugary pop tunes. About a third of those components made it into Glee: The 3D Concert Movie.