While it's billed as a "re-imagining" of the horror franchise, this Friday is more like a rehash, delivering just what you expect and nothing more.

Joaquin Phoenix gives a superbly raw and excruciatingly vulnerable performance.

Coraline is a plucky heroine, and director Selig's imagination is indisputable. But the story falters in parts, and its dark tone could be off-putting for children.

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.

Perhaps Martin should go back to taking chances and writing original work.

A supernatural action thriller, is jangly, jarring and violent. But more disconcerting is watching the sweet-faced Dakota Fanning swear, get drunk and pack heat -- in both fists, no less.

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.

Not only is it an unfunny movie shrilly told, it probably is the most ill-timed and appallingly insulting movie in recent memory.

Though not as action-packed as some thrillers, The International is noteworthy for its unusually scenic and architecturally dazzling locations.

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

Taken does have a few things going for it. At the top of that short list is Liam Neeson in the starring role.

To say that New in Town is the worst movie of this fledgling year is to damn it with faint praise. It may be one of the worst movies of any year. Not content to be merely inane and predictable, it is downright insulting, humorlessly deriding those who choose to live in rural America, labor in factories or have a strong Christian faith.

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.

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

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

Between the dogged efforts of the kids to save strays and the antics of the dogs, it's hard to resist this lively, though predictable, family movie.

Notorious is like a piece of well-crafted bling. It looks good, and facets of it shine, but behind the gilded facade there's not much there. And what is there can be troubling and retrogressive.

The last name Blart may be the funniest thing in the movie, so that's a hint as to just how bad this shopping-center saga can be.

Bride Wars is about as funny as a cringingly awkward wedding toast.

Well-acted and involving.

A laughably bad horror flick.

The tale of the resistance movement in Belorussia is undeniably inspiring and ideally suited for a cinematic rendering. But Defiance resists bold, passionate storytelling and delivers something rather conventional.

Though the film opens with an intriguing burnished look, it bogs down about halfway through with talkiness and uneven pacing.

It's not quite up to the caliber of Richard Yates' novel, which is deeply nuanced and rich in subtext. But the performances are superb, and the film is beautifully shot.

The Spirit is uneven, but its campy adventure provides some amusing, escapist fun.

Worth seeing just for the superb prosthetic makeup and seamless computer-generated effects in which Pitt's head is digitally imposed onto older bodies.

The fantasy segments, played up in trailers, get bogged down amid the ho-hum tale of a loser making good.

Last Chance Harvey is the "Before Sunrise" for the over-45 set.