There are viable flashes of comedy in the franchise. But with each movie, they grow increasingly dim.

Country Strong feels powerfully familiar.

Yet another foray into unnecessary 3-D, is a rehashed mishmash of Jonathan Swift's 18th-century classic. Mostly, it's a vehicle for Jack Black's zany humor.

The original "True Grit" might have been eclipsed by John Wayne's larger-than-life persona, but the Coen brothers' remake is an ensemble piece that feels freshly their own.

Profound and superbly acted, with a moving script superbly adapted from David Lindsay-Abaire's Pulitzer-winning play.

Yogi Bear is a big boo-boo.

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.

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

Has some funny moments, silly mispronunciations and comical socio-political references. But it suffers from being the second animated movie this year to feature a dastardly villain for a hero.

More a matter of chemistry than deadlines.

Scott paces the film like its mechanized star: deliberately and, ultimately, with enough speed to keep its passengers satisfied.

Zwick's "Once and Again" and "Thirtysomething" portrayed emotion more honestly than many TV shows of their time. But in Love and Other Drugs, he unevenly weds the satirical and the sentimental.

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.

Though not exactly innovative, Tangled has a snappy pace and the Broadway-style appeal of classic Disney fare.

It bristles with exuberant numbers that strain beneath the weight of cliché.

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.

Visionary director David O. Russell so deftly weaves the family's story that we, too, are initially seduced by Dicky.

It's serviceable, but certainly not much fun.

It may be the only movie ever to feature a bad performance by Johnny Depp, one of the best actors working in films.

Menacing and meditative, Hallows is arguably the best installment of the planned eight-film franchise, though audiences who haven't kept up with previous chapters will be hopelessly lost.

Let's say it without equivocation: Colin Firth deserves an Oscar for his lead role in The King's Speech as the stammering King George VI.

Barrels around in manic fashion much like Carrey does in most of his movies. He's meant to be a fool for love, but mostly he's just bonkers.

To induce a state of dread and mesmerize with beauty is a rare, paradoxical achievement.

Who had the lamebrained idea for a post-apocalyptic 3-D Nutcracker that is lacking any trace of ballet?

Far-fetched is fine in most action flicks. And it would work here if Days were a straightforward police story.

More admirable than riveting, Fair Game works best as a portrait of power games at the highest levels.

This just in: Morning Glory can't decide whether to skewer the morning news or wallow in its pap.

Only a truly visionary filmmaker could take a story largely set in a cramped canyon and give it a sense of openness and hope.

Kimberly Elise gives the best performance as a beleaguered woman with an abusive boyfriend (Michael Ealy).

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

Has such dull patches that as a Volvo races to the scene of a massive shootout, a distracting thought comes to mind: Can Volvos even go that fast?

Tamara Drewe is so light, it's almost pure froth.

Rarely is the second film in a horror franchise more frightening than the original, but Paranormal Activity 2 has more innocent victims and more scares than its predecessor.

Emerges as a potent inspirational story on the strength of its two lead performances.

It calmly examines death, grief and melancholy, packing an unexpectedly profound emotional gut-punch.

Nothing is etched in anything remotely resembling a hard surface in Stone.

The uneven humor, half-baked plot and generic action scenes keep RED from being much fun.

Predicating an escapist romantic comedy on a realistic tragedy requires a nimble touch at the helm. Perhaps if Life had been made by, say, James Brooks, it would have worked.

Notable for the easy chemistry of its ensemble cast.

The true story of the recordbreaking Secretariat is pretty stupendous as is. It didn't need schmaltzing up.

It paints a complex picture of strained familial relations and a poignant look at the wounds inflicted on a sensitive soul by an unreliable parent.

The film owes much of its success to the inspired pairing of Fincher and Sorkin.

Let Me In is going to lure and please fans of the original; like the first, the remake is graphically violent but as tense as good horror gets.

There are plenty of strong performances, and LaBeouf does a nice job of becoming the tough-skinned pragmatist. Mulligan is as earnest as ever, and Susan Sarandon and, particularly, Frank Langella make strong cameos.

It's an apt title. As divisive as the issue has become, it's hard to deny the power of Guggenheim's lingering shots on these children, waiting on a superhero who isn't going to come.

Those drawn to unusual, unflinching feats of filmmaking and rare acting turns as well as sustained suspense will be captivated by Buried.

The film is surprisingly deft and entertains at both the adult and juvenile levels. If something in Guardians catches your eye, trust your gizzard.

As the girl fights and rivalry play out, flashes of wit are obscured by the plot's contrivances.

Slight and only sporadically amusing.

Easy A not only makes the grade, but it comes in close to 100%.

To avoid revealing too much and spoiling a fresh and intriguing experience, let's just say this: Catch Catfish.

Alpha and Omega is one of those rarities in the modern era of Hollywood animation: bad.

Though the narrative is a conventional one, the well-acted, suspenseful story deals in fascinatingly murky morality and mines intriguing material from a historic and complex city.

Jack Goes Boating won't knock you over, but it lulls you with its slow-warming heart.

Just as its characters need a reason to live, Go needs a reason for audiences to watch. Neither find much satisfaction.

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.

For a movie with a star wrestler at the center of it, Legendary doesn't pack much of a punch.

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

Danny Trejo plays the long-haired, craggy-faced titular Machete with a combination of swift ferocity and baleful kindliness. And the ladies love it.

As it is, this uneven movie is more a compilation of contemporary images and concerns peppered with derivative raucous scenarios, à la Judd Apatow movies, than an involving romantic comedy.

Clooney has excelled in serious roles - notably in "Michael Clayton" and "Syriana." But his Jack, a brooding assassin seeking redemption, is a bigger departure, and he pulls it off well.

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

This supernatural yarn is thoroughly engrossing until it loses its way about three-quarters in. It's as if the filmmakers didn't know how to resolve the mayhem, opting for silly over diabolical.

This is a romantic comedy, not a sci-fi adventure tale. But the actions, choices and general behavior of the characters are oddly removed from what goes in the real world.

The Tillman Story is a probing examination of truth, decency and the American way. It also explores deception and military propaganda and lays bare the ravages of grief.

The end result, while entertaining, is the kind of unruly mess you can't imagine the indomitable Nanny McPhee tolerating.

Lottery Ticket is no prize.

The whole journey feels like a rich girl gone slumming. And for those of us along for the ride, it's a bit of a slog.

Sadistic mess of a movie.

Scott Pilgrim, a lovelorn musician, is an appealing fusion of nerdy, cheeky and vulnerable. So, who better to play him than Michael Cera?

Like a padded "Saturday Night Live" sketch. What would have been very funny for 15 minutes, and pretty funny for 45, doesn't maintain the standard over the course of a feature-length film.

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

Think "Boogie Nights" meets "Casino," though it's not likely to make the lasting impression of either seminal film.

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.

Gussied-up rodents and inane male antics come together in funny and inspired ways in this screwball farce.

Though better than its 2001 predecessor -- and teeming with cute creatures and fast and furious action scenes -- the movie feels excessively formulaic.

The movie tries to capture the crushing weight of loss, but between the insipid pop tunes and the repetitive shots cutting away to a lighthouse on a scenic outcropping, it feels more like a film version of a condolence card.

Ramona and Beezus are undeniably cute, and the movie that bears their names tries to inject some timeliness, but what many of us will walk away from this movie thinking about are the hot father figures.

The considerable talents of a strong supporting cast, which includes Chiwetel Ejiofor, Liev Schreiber and Andre Braugher, go untapped. The only distinguishing feature to this by-the-book thriller is Jolie, who gets pummeled as good as she pummels.

The film is easier to admire than to fully grasp or be moved by it. Still, it's worth surrendering to the dream.

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.

This fun-filled adventure avoids formula with a whimsical story and terrific voice casting.

Alice Braga plays an Army sniper uniquely familiar with jungle fighting. She is the only one of the crew who does any soul-searching to figure out why this particular group was chosen as prey.

This gem features five topnotch, multidimensional performances in one of this summer's most engaging films.

The villains are so extreme that they come off like sleazy caricatures. This accentuates the nuanced skill of the two lead performances, but it undercuts the overall effect of this well-constructed, if occasionally flat, pulp thriller.

He hasn't mastered the craft yet, but M. Night Shyamalan may be on to something with this action-movie thing.

The huge contingent of girls -- and women with girlish fantasies -- who liked the first two movies will doubtless enjoy Eclipse. But this third go-round won't make Twihard converts of the rest of us.

If Sandler hopes to win over new fans, he may want to cork the scatological humor and let it age a bit.

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

This installment, the best of the three, is everything a movie should be: hilarious, touching, exciting and clever.

The opening frame of Jonah Hex should say: "Caution: Made expressly for the male teen demographic. Not suitable for anyone of any age who prefers movies with coherence, an original plot or characters they give a hoot about."

Middle-aged romance can be a dicey prospect. And it gets more complicated when children are in the picture. But it gets more complex still if the "child" is actually 21, and creepily meddlesome.

Solidly entertaining.

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

Every so often a film gets under our skin with its haunting authenticity, reinforcing our faith in the wonderfully transporting power of cinematic storytelling. Winter's Bone is unquestionably that film.

It's good to see Polley back on screen, after her successful turn behind the camera directing 2006's "Away From Her." She brings a measure of intelligence to the one-dimensional role.

The concept is inspired, and the movie has some very funny moments. But about halfway through this long weekend, the frantic tale grows flimsy.

Killers is dead on arrival: miscast, horribly paced and murderously uninvolving.