MOVIES
OPENING THIS WEEK
CONFESSIONS OF A SHOPAHOLIC
THE INTERNATIONAL
Banks -- unscrupulous? Who knew? An obsessive Interpol agent (Clive Owen) and a Manhattan assistant district attorney (Naomi Watts), that's who; they're out to blow the whistle on an international bank involved in everything from money laundering to murder. Watts' "Eastern Promises" castmate, Armin Mueller-Stahl, rounds out the starring cast for "Run Lola Run" director Tom Tykwer. At multiple locations. (118 min.) R; violence, profanity.
FRIDAY THE 13TH
Never mind the innumerable sequels -- this revamp of the venerable horror franchise, established in 1980, gets back to basics, as a group of hapless young TV stars (led by "Supernatural's" Jared Padalecki, "Shark's" Danielle Panabaker and "The Mentalist's" Amanda Righetti) foolishly check out Camp Crystal Lake -- and encounter the malevolent Jason Voorhees (Derek Mears). Marcus Nispel, who also helmed the 2003 remake of "The Texas Chainsaw Massacre," directs. At multiple locations. (97 min.) R; strong bloody violence, graphic sexual content, profanity, drug material.
ALREADY IN THEATERS
Movies are rated on a letter-grade scale, from A to F. Opinions by R-J movie critic Carol Cling (C.C.) are indicated by initials. Other opinions are from wire service critics.
AUSTRALIA
(B-) Good on ya: Nicole Kidman reunites with "Moulin Rouge!" director Baz Luhrmann for this sprawling saga, set on the eve of World War II, about a starchy British aristocrat (Kidman) who inherits a remote cattle station and reluctantly teams up with a hard-riding drover (Hugh Jackman) to save it from a rival beef baron (Bryan Brown). Defiantly old-fashioned, this overlong, over-the-top Down Under Western-meets-war-movie scrambles romance, action, melodrama and historic revisionism into a crazy cinematic salad that's often utterly ridiculous -- and often ridiculously entertaining. Nominated for one Academy Award: Costume Design. (165 min.) PG-13; violence, sexual references, brief profanity. (C.C.)
BEDTIME STORIES
(C+) A typically sophomoric Adam Sandler goes the family-friendly route in this Disney romp, playing a hotel handyman whose life changes when the outlandish bedtime tales he tells his niece and nephew magically come true. Keri Russell, Courteney Cox, Guy Pearce and Russell Brand co-star in a movie that's baloney on Wonder Bread with a Kraft Single and some Miracle Whip. In other words, it's edible but not exactly nutritious -- or delicious. (99 min.) PG; mild rude humor, mild profanity.
BOLT
(B) A coddled canine TV star (voiced by John Travolta) discovers he's not quite the super-dog he plays on TV when he's forced to deal with the real world on an accidental New York-to-Hollywood trek. Disney's latest computer-animated romp (showing in both 2-D and 3-D versions) covers familiar territory but shows that the Disney folks still know how to bring a story to life. Nominated for one Academy Award: Best Animated Feature. (96 min.) PG; mild action and peril.
BRIDE WARS
(D+) I don't: Lifelong friends (Anne Hathaway, Kate Hudson) who've been planning their weddings since girlhood inadvertently schedule their respective big days on the same day (and at the same place), thereby transforming themselves from BFFs to Bridezillas. Despite the Hudson-Hathaway team's collective charm, this unhatched chick flick proves excruciating. (90 min.) PG; sexual references, profanity, rude behavior. (C.C.)
CORALINE
(B+) Neil Gaiman's satisfyingly shivery tale of a little girl whose curiosity leads her to some very unsettling discoveries proves an ideal vehicle for the latest animated feature from stop-motion wizard Henry Selick ("Nightmare Before Christmas," "James and the Giant Peach"), as the feisty title character (voiced by Dakota Fanning) explores a darkly fascinating alternate world. Teri Hatcher, Ian McShane and Keith David deliver standout vocal performances in a visually stunning movie that resembles a pop-up storybook come to life -- especially in 3-D -- and exhibits far more artistry, and humanity, than many live-action movies. (101 min.) PG; thematic elements, scary images, profanity, suggestive humor. (C.C.)
THE CURIOUS CASE OF BENJAMIN BUTTON
(C+) Brad Pitt reunites with "Se7en" director David Fincher (and "Babel" co-star Cate Blanchett) for the ambitious saga of the title character, who's born in post-World War I New Orleans with the face and ailments of an 80-year-old man -- and ages in reverse. Overlong and overdone, "Benjamin Button" (loosely based on an F. Scott Fitzgerald tale and adapted by "Forrest Gump" Oscar-winner Eric Roth) emerges as a technical marvel, but in pondering the Big Picture, the movie too often falls under the spell of its own epic sweep. Nominated for 13 Academy Awards, including Best Picture, Actor (Pitt), Supporting Actress (Taraji P. Henson), Director and Adapted Screenplay. (167 min.) PG-13; brief war violence, sexual content, profanity, smoking. (C.C.)
THE DARK KNIGHT
(B) The Joker (an indelible Heath Ledger) wreaks havoc in Gotham City, prompting the interest of not only the Caped Crusader (Christian Bale) but crusading D.A. Harvey Dent (Aaron Eckhart) in a sequel to 2005's "Batman Begins" that sometimes takes itself too seriously for its own good. It's so overstuffed with characters, plots and counterplots that Batman often seems like a supporting character, but Ledger's Joker is one for the ages. Nominated for eight Academy Awards, including Supporting Actor (Ledger), Cinematography and Visual Effects. (152 min.) PG-13; intense violence and menace. (C.C.)
THE DAY THE EARTH STOOD STILL
(C+) An extra-terrestrial (amusingly impassive Keanu Reeves) comes down to Earth, accompanied by his faithful robot companion Gort, to warn heedless humans of impending doom in a remake of the 1951 sci-fi classic that soars in the first half but plummets in the second, as flashy effects replace coherent storytelling. (103 min.) PG-13; sci-fi disaster images, violence.
DEFIANCE
(B-) Reigning 007 Daniel Craig returns to his dramatic roots as the eldest of three Jewish brothers (a standout Liev Schreiber and "Billy Elliot's" Jamie Bell play his siblings) battling Nazis from a Belorussian forest camp during World War II. As he did in "The Last Samurai" and "Blood Diamond," director Edward Zwick explores a fascinating, fact-based subject, but can't resist diluting the story's stark power with action-flick clichés, dunderhead dialogue and Hollywood hokum. Even so, it's an undeniable rouser. Nominated for one Academy Award: Best Original Score. (129 min.) R; violence, profanity. (C.C.)
DINOSAURS 3D: GIANTS OF PATAGONIA
(B) If you like dinosaurs (and who doesn't?), you'll love this 3-D documentary, which follows paleontologist Rodolfo Coria as he tramps the rugged wilds of Patagonia (southern Argentina), where remains of the largest dinosaurs in the world -- including the 120-foot Argentinosaurus -- have been discovered. The perfect blend of scholarly information and totally cool dinosaurs brought to vivid life. (40 min.) G; scary dinosaurs.
DOUBT
(B-) In 1960s New York, a strict nun who runs a Catholic school (Meryl Streep) and an innocent underling (Amy Adams) suspect their parish priest (Philip Seymour Hoffman) of molesting the school's lone black student. Scene-stealing Viola Davis co-stars for writer-director John Patrick Shanley, who adapts his own Tony-winning drama -- and undermines (and overplays) some great performers with ominous, overly obvious symbols and odd camera angles that make "Doubt" hopelessly stagebound. Nominated for five Academy Awards, including Best Actress (Streep), Supporting Actor (Hoffman), Supporting Actress (Adams, Davis) and Adapted Screenplay. (104 min.) PG-13; sexual references, mature themes. (C.C.)
FROST/NIXON
(A-) Tony-winner Frank Langella and "The Queen's" Michael Sheen reprise their Broadway roles as the disgraced ex-President and the debonair British TV personality in Peter Morgan's adaptation of his hit play about the landmark 1977 interview between the two. Director Ron Howard maintains the dramatic core of Morgan's play while expanding its cinematic vision; Oscar-caliber performances from Langella and Sheen do the rest. Compared to the clunky "Doubt," this is a textbook example of how to transfer a stage hit to the screen. Nominated for five Academy Awards, including Best Picture, Actor (Langella), Director and Adapted Screenplay. (122 min.) R; profanity. (C.C.)
FROZEN RIVER
(A-) One of those rare movies that feels like a slice of painfully real life, writer-director Courtney Hunt's stirring debut finds homespun poetry in the unlikely alliance between two desperate women -- a single mother (Oscar nominee Melissa Leo) and a Mohawk Indian (Misty Upham) who enlists her to help her smuggle illegal immigrants across the U.S.-Canadian border. Nominated for two Academy Awards: Best Actress, original screenplay. (97 min.) R; profanity. (C.C.)
GRAN TORINO
(C+) A widowed Korean War vet (growling, glowering Clint Eastwood) in a deteriorating Detroit neighborhood finds his prejudices challenged when he becomes an unlikely neighborhood hero to the fatherless Hmong teens (Bee Vang, Ahney Her) next door. Eastwood says this vigilante melodrama will be his on-screen swan song, and it's a trip to watch Clint the Squint channel the ghosts of Eastwood past, but this underpowered star vehicle stalls and backfires at least as often as it shifts into high gear. (116 min.) R; pervasive profanity and racial epithets, violence. (C.C.)
HE'S JUST NOT THAT INTO YOU
(C+) And we're just not that into this all-star adaptation of the non-fiction best seller, which focuses on a bunch of Baltimore 20- and 30-somethings (led by Jennifer Aniston, Ben Affleck, Drew Barrymore, Jennifer Connelly, Bradley Cooper, Ginnifer Goodwin, Scarlett Johansson and Justin Long) trying to figure out the mysteries of love, sex and everything in between. Despite the considerable charisma and banter of its cast, the result is Woody Allen lite, with some deft observations about how the social media designed to bring singles together actually come between them. (129 min.) PG-13; sexual content, brief profanity.
HOTEL FOR DOGS
(C) Two melancholy foster kids ("Nancy Drew's" Emma Roberts, Disney Channel's Jake T. Austin) secretly take in strays at an abandoned house. Don Cheadle, Lisa Kudrow and Kevin Dillon round out the starring cast of a circusy romp that departs from its source material (Lois Duncan's charming novel) in so many ways that it leaves you wondering what Animal Planet we're on. But there's no denying the appeal of the purebreds and pound puppies assembled for our awe -- and awws. (100 min.) PG; brief mild thematic elements, profanity, crude humor.
INKHEART
(B-) Fiction becomes reality when a "Silvertongue" (Brendan Fraser) discovers he can bring literary characters to life -- and must try to vanquish a medieval villain (Andy Serkis) who's escaped from, and refuses to return to, life between the covers of a book. This "Harry Potter" wannabe makes a pleasant enough diversion, thanks to its fanciful premise and ace supporting cast (led by Helen Mirren, Jim Broadbent and a fire-breathing, scene-stealing Paul Bettany, but it never conjures much magic. (106 min.) PG; fantasy adventure action, scary moments, brief profanity. (C.C.)
LAST CHANCE HARVEY
(B) Like at first sight: After striking sparks as supporting players in "Stranger Than Fiction," Dustin Hoffman and Emma Thompson team up for this charmer about the hapless title character, whose trip to London for his daughter's wedding turns disastrous -- until he meets a quiet loner who just might be his perfect match. Movies about perfectly nice people being perfectly nice often can be perfectly boring, but Hoffman and Thompson are clearly having such a delightful time, we do too. (C.C.)
MADAGASCAR: ESCAPE 2 AFRICA
(B) The zany former denizens of the Central Park Zoo (voiced by Ben Stiller, Chris Rock, Jada Pinkett Smith and David Schwimmer), accompanied by wacky lemur king Julian ("Borat's" Sacha Baron Cohen) -- all of whom we met in 2005's "Madagascar" -- return to their roots, when their plane crash-lands on the African savanna. It's a typical tale of self-discovery, but at least it's punctuated by genuine hilarity and top-flight animation. (89 min.) PG; mild crude humor.
MARLEY & ME
(B-) Animal magnetism: Jennifer Aniston and Owen Wilson bond with a naughty, neurotic -- and utterly lovable -- yellow Labrador retriever in this adaptation of John Grogan's best-seller. A shaggy-dog tale in more ways than one, anybody who agrees with the assertion that happiness is a warm tongue bath will lap up this heartwarming canine comedy. Those who don't will dismiss it as a long-winded yarn in which nothing -- and everything -- happens. (123 min.) PG; thematic material, suggestive content, profanity.
MILK
(B+) Sean Penn delivers an Oscar-nominated performance as Harvey Milk, the first openly gay man elected to a major political office -- until Dan White (Oscar nominee Josh Brolin) guns him down in 1978. A timely introduction to a pivotal public figure who still inspires, three decades after his death. Nominated for eight Academy Awards, including Best Picture, Actor (Penn), Supporting Actor (Brolin), Director and Original Screenplay. (128 min.) R; profanity, sexual content, brief violence. (C.C.)
MY BLOODY VALENTINE
(D) In this pick-axe-in-your-eyeball remake of the 1981 slasher hit (in 3-D at selected theaters), Jensen Ackles of TV's "Supernatural" plays a guy who inadvertently triggered a 22-victim Valentine's Day massacre 10 years ago -- and becomes the prime suspect in the mass murders when he returns home. A generally graceless outing, with a plot that staggers from the absurd to the ridiculous, but at least it provides a few good "gotchas." (101 min.) R; graphic brutal horror violence, grisly images, sexual situations, graphic nudity, profanity.
NEW IN TOWN
(D) Gasping for air: A fish-out-of-water corporate climber (strident Renée Zellweger) finds herself in frost-bitten New Ulm, Minn., modernizing a snack food factory -- and cozying up to the locals, especially the hunky union rep (Harry Connick Jr.). This strained slapstick drags out, then beats to death, a Whitman's Sampler of small-town clichés, saddling its cast with characters so flat that cardboard seems dimensional by comparison. In short, it's nothing but the same old same old -- only worse. (96 min.) PG-13; brief profanity. (C.C.)
NOTORIOUS
(C+) The life and death of Christopher Wallace, a.k.a. the Notorious B.I.G., a.k.a. Biggie Smalls, the Brooklyn street hustler turned rap legend. Jamal Woolard takes on the title role; "Soul Food's" George Tillman Jr. directs a cast that also includes Angela Bassett, Derek Luke (as Sean "Puffy" Combs) and "Eagle Eye's" Anthony Mackie (as Tupac Shakur). Like a piece of well-crafted bling, this looks good and parts of it shine, but behind the gilded façade, there's not much there. (100 min.) R; pervasive profanity, sexual situations, nudity, drug content.
OUTLANDER
(C+) Outlandish: A goofy hybrid of extraterrestrial sci-fi and Iron Age action, with "Passion of the Christ's" Jim Caviezel as a super-serious stranger who crash-lands his UFO into a Viking fjord, having unwittingly taken a humongous, carnivorous predator along for the ride. This Iron Age-meets-UFO mashup takes itself far too seriously; it's a comic book that thinks it's holy writ. (115 min.) R; violence.
PAUL BLART: MALL COP
(C) Sitcom stalwart Kevin James stars and co-writes this comedy about a mild-mannered single dad trying to make ends meet as a New Jersey mall cop forced to take on insidious Santa's Helpers. Completely forgettable, yet frequently funny and weirdly satisfying -- in a Jersey-Loser-Gets-Respect kind of way. (87 min.) PG; violence, mild crude and suggestive humor, profanity.
THE PINK PANTHER 2
(C) Steve Martin returns as bumbling French detective Inspector Clouseau, who joins an international team of super-sleuths (including Andy Garcia as an Italian and Alfred Molina as a Brit) trailing a globe-trotting thief specializing in stealing historical artifacts. As usual, comic mayhem follows Clouseau everywhere; also as usual, none of it's particularly funny -- except once or twice, when Martin gets a chance to remind us what a brilliant physical comedian he can be. Alas, those rare moments are like mirages in this desert of knuckleheadness. (92 min.) PG; suggestive humor, brief profanity, mild action.
PUSH
(C) "X-Men" meets "Heroes" in a convoluted yet superficial supernatural thriller about young paranormals, with telekinetic and clairvoyant abilities, battling a clandestine government agency out to control them. Chris Evans, Dakota Fanning (who also voices "Coraline's" title character), Camilla Belle and Djimon Hounsou lead the cast of a brain-vacation movie that should give us the willies, but ends up being willy-nilly instead. (111 min.) PG-13; intense violence and action, brief profanity, smoking, teen drinking.
RACHEL GETTING MARRIED
(B) Sprung from rehab to attend her sister's wedding, a troubled young woman (Oscar nominee Anne Hathaway) demonstrates her insatiable need to steal the spotlight, even from the bride (Rosemarie DeWitt). Yet another portrait of yet another dysfunctional family, but the acutely observed screenplay (by Jenny Lumet), slice-of-life direction (by Oscar-winner Jonathan Demme) and standout performances (including Oscar-worthy support from Bill Irwin and Debra Winger as the bride's divorced parents) make all the difference. Nominated for one Academy Award: Best Actress. (113 min.) R; profanity, brief sexuality. (C.C.)
THE READER
(B) In post-World War II Germany, the passionate affair between a student (David Kross) and an older tram conductor (Oscar nominee Kate Winslet) reverberates through both lives -- especially when the grown student (Ralph Fiennes) ponders the impact of their life-changing liaison. "The Hours" team of director Stephen Daldry and screenwriter David Hare reunites for a thoughtful, restrained, adaptation of Bernhard Schlink's semi-autobiographical best-seller, which provides a stunning showcase for Winslet's uncanny ability to get under the skin of her contradictory character. Nominated for five Academy Awards, including Best Picture, Actress, Director and Adapted Screenplay. (123 min.) R; sexual situations, nudity. (C.C.)
REVOLUTIONARY ROAD
(B) "Titanic" sweethearts Leonardo DiCaprio and Kate Winslet, both in top form, reunite as a '50s suburban couple wondering whatever happened to the extraordinary life they planned. "American Beauty's" Sam Mendes (Winslet's husband) directs this wrenching yet flawed adaptation of Richard Yates' novel, transforming wrenching emotional drama into a series of theatrical tableaux that aren't quite as haunting as they should be, but haunt nevertheless. Nominated for three Academy Awards, including Best Supporting Actor (Michael Shannon) and Art Direction. (119 min.) R; profanity, sexual situations, nudity. (C.C.)
SLUMDOG MILLIONAIRE
(B+) A beguiling Bollywood fairy tale (complete with plucky hero, damsel in distress, powerful villain and daunting trials for our hero), as an orphaned Mumbai teen (Dev Patel) becomes an unlikely contestant on the Hindi version of "Who Wants to Be a Millionaire" -- not for money, but for love. Director Danny Boyle ("Trainspotting," "28 Days Later") scores with yet another trademark combination of humor, hope and horror that soars on the strength of its winning characters and exotic setting. Nominated for 10 Academy Awards, including Best Picture, Director and Adapted Screenplay. (120 min.) R; violence, disturbing images, profanity. (C.C.)
TAKEN
(B-) Liam Neeson kicks major butt as a former CIA agent out to rescue his kidnapped daughter (Maggie Grace) from human traffickers in a fleet, no-nonsense rescue thriller from crackerjack French director Pierre Morel. Satisfying for the Gaelic gravitas of its star, slam-bang chase scenes, bone-snapping martial arts -- and, of course, the scenic Paris setting. (94 min.) PG-13; intense sequences of violence, disturbing thematic material, sexual content, drug references, profanity.
THE TALE OF DESPEREAUX
(C+) Mighty (and mighty cute) mouse Despereaux Tilling, who prefers reading books to eating them, befriends a banished rat, falls in love with a lonely princess and rescues his kingdom from the tyranny of grief in a computer-animated tale that's a bit too derivative, and desperate, to be loved. (94 min.) G; all ages.
TWILIGHT
(B-) This adaptation of Stephenie Meyer's best-selling tale emerges as a fanciful, if fitfully engaging, amalgam of teen angst and vampire lore, as high school junior Bella Swan (appealing Kristen Stewart) falls under the spell of dreamy biology lab partner Edward Cullen (brooding Robert Pattinson) -- who's been undead since the Spanish flu epidemic of 1917. "Thirteen" director Catherine Hardwicke's affinity for everyday teen traumas keep the movie grounded in emotional reality. (120 min.) PG-13; violence, sensuality. (C.C.)
THE UNBORN
(C) "Dark Knight" screenwriter David S. Goyer writes and directs this horror tale about a young woman ("Cloverfield's" Odette Yustman) battling a spirit -- which could be her twin, who died at birth -- trying to possess her. Gary Oldman, Carla Gugino, James Remar and "Twilight" baddie Cam Gigandet also turn up in a mostly dumb but generally passable horror flick. (88 min.) PG-13; intense sequences of violence and terror, disturbing images, mature themes, sexual references, profanity.
UNDERWORLD: RISE OF THE LYCANS
(C) In this third "Underworld" tale, Kate Beckinsale's out -- and Rhona Mitra's in as the kick-butt heroine of an action workout that explores the origins of the centuries-old blood feud between aristocratic vampires and their onetime slaves. "Frost/Nixon's" Michael Sheen plays a young Lycan who rallies his werewolf brethren against Bill Nighy's cruel vampire king in a silly, convoluted prequel only partially redeemed by Goth style and lead actors who expertly devour scenery with their pointy teeth. (92 min.) R; bloody violence, sexuality.
THE UNINVITED
(B-) After a stint in a mental hospital, a girl ("Lemony Snicket's" Emily Browning) returns to find her aloof father (David Strathairn) engaged to her late mother's nurse (Elizabeth Banks) -- and her mother's ghost warning of danger. This translation of the excellent South Korean chiller "A Tale of Two Sisters" becomes a less complex but passable scarefest, with the benefit of a better-than-expected cast and a streamlined structure best described as "Scare, Plot Twist, Repeat." (87 min.) PG-13 for violent and disturbing images, thematic material, sexual content, language and teen drinking.
VALKYRIE
(B-) During World War II, high-ranking German officers plot to assassinate Adolf Hitler in a fact-based thriller from "X-Men" director Bryan Singer. Despite the gripping story, there's an inescapable vacuum at the center: star (and executive producer) Tom Cruise, whose all-American presence as the plot's ringleader clashes with the understated dramatic power displayed by such supporting all-stars as Bill Nighy, Terence Stamp, Tom Wilkinson and Kenneth Branagh. (121 min.) PG-13; violence, brief profanity. (C.C.)
THE WRESTLER
(B+) Mickey Rourke makes an Oscar-nominated comeback in this gritty, moving character study of a broken-down professional wrestler struggling to make a comeback. Oscar-winner Marisa Tomei (who earns another nomination as Randy's stripper girlfriend) co-stars for "Requiem for a Dream" director Darren Aronofsky, who downplays his customary visual flamboyance to keep the spotlight on his actors. Nominated for two Academy Awards: Best Actor, Supporting Actress. (115 min.) R; violence, sexual situations, nudity, profanity, drug use. (C.C.)
YES MAN
(B-) Jim Carrey makes a welcome return to comedy as a chronically depressed loan officer who accentuates the positive -- by becoming a guy who can't say no for an entire year. A formulaic yet diverting comedy that boasts welcome charm and a worthwhile message. (104 min.) PG-13; crude sexual humor, profanity, brief nudity.
