“9” (PG-13) HHH

“9” (PG-13) HHH

“9” follows a group of creatures who represent the last vestige of humanity in a post-apocalyptic world. 9 (voice by Elijah Wood) awakens to find no people are left, but there are a few others like him: tiny, fabric dolls stitched together, with lenses for eyes. He accidentally jump-starts a villainous contraption and must scurry for his life, along with the other surviving dolls. The animation is breathtaking and original, but the script could have benefited from more complexity.

— The Associated Press

“All About Steve” (PG-13)

Sandra Bullock stars as a lonely woman who still lives with her parents and writes the crossword puzzle for her local newspaper. She has a blind date with a network TV news photographer (Bradley Cooper) and works their date into one of her puzzles. She goes on a cross-country trip to be with him. “All About Steve,” an unfunny, annoying, poorly written, badly acted comic fiasco, may be the worst movie in Sandra Bullock’s career.

— The Orlando Sentinel

“Amelia” (PG) HH

We get the facts of Amelia Earhart’s (Hilary Swank) pioneering achievements, her marriage to her promoter (Richard Gere), her fling with a fellow pilot (Ewan McGregor) and her doomed last flight in 1937. But this dowdy movie rarely embodies Earhart’s passions. “Amelia” plays like a Cliffs Notes summation of Earhart’s life, the dialogue ranging from languid to soporific, the majesty of her moments in flight trivialized by empty voice-overs from Swank.

— The Associated Press

“Astro Boy” (PG) H

Astro Boy (voiced by Freddie Highmore) was built to replace a lost son by his scientist-father. Dad (voiced by Nicolas Cage) made him indestructible so he would never “lose him again.” But Dad has changed his mind, and the kid is discarded. Soon, Astro Boy meets the surface dwellers, but none of them keep this thinly plotted cartoon aloft. An all-star voice cast, including Charlize Theron and Samuel L. Jackson, is wasted.

— The Orlando Sentinel

“The Box” (PG-13)

No review available

“Cirque du Freak: The Vampire’s Assistant” (PG-13) HH

Chris Massoglia is Darren, a good kid with good parents but a boy under the influence of a classmate his parents call “that damned Steve” (Josh Hutcherson). The boys attend what is billed as “The world’s greatest freak show” and get tangled up with a variety of characters, including real vampires. One such vampire is played by John C. Reilly, who is well-cast as a playful, seen-it-all bloodsucker. But despite some amusing scenes, the script never sinks its teeth into the “Cirque” freaks.

— The Orlando Sentinel

“Cloudy With a Chance of Meatballs” (PG) HHH

Bill Hader provides the voice of Flint Lockwood, who grows up to be the resident screwball inventor of a tiny island town. His latest invention can change water vapor into prepared foods, bringing cruise ships full of overeaters to sample the showers of sushi. The voice actors (including Anna Faris and Bruce Campbell) are naturals, and the writing is excellent. A delicious farce and a backhanded slap at America the Obese, “Cloudy” may be the funniest animated movie of the year.

— The Orlando Sentinel

“Coco Before Chanel” (PG-13) HH

Director Anne Fontaine’s film traces the early years of Coco Chanel (Audrey Tautou), the French fashion designer who would come to define a bold kind of feminine style throughout the 20th century. We see her as a struggling seamstress, then as the live-in lover to a playboy racehorse owner, and finally as a woman honing her skills and refining her look. Tautou has a striking appeal, but the film doesn’t grab the viewer.

— The Associated Press

“Couples Retreat” (PG-13) H

Four couples — Vince Vaughn and Malin Akerman, Jon Favreau and Kristin Davis, Jason Bateman and Kristen Bell and Faizon Love and Kali Hawk — are lured to Eden, a resort where one of the couples hopes to save their micromanaged marriage. With yoga, counseling and massages, these twosomes will relight the marital fires. “Couples,” a sputtering if sporadically amusing misfire, packed a lot of actors off to a pretty location and gave them nothing funny or deep to do.

— The Orlando Sentinel

“The Damned United” (R) HHH

“The Damned United” follows the unlikely rise of Brian Clough (Michael Sheen) as he takes over as manager of the Leeds United soccer team for 44 days in 1974. He takes the job without the help of a longtime sidekick (Timothy Spall), and it’s clear that the two men need each other. Director Tom Hooper takes a gritty approach, which gives the film a sense of immediacy; the emotions seem unadorned and visceral. But in the end, Sheen is the movie’s MVP.

— The Associated Press

“Disney’s A Christmas Carol” (PG)

See review, Page F4

“District 9” (R) HHH

An alien race has been forced to live for more than 20 years in a South African slum. A bureaucrat (Shalto Copley) stumbles upon alien technology and soon becomes hunted by fellow humans intent on unlocking alien secrets. The film settles too comfortably into a bloodbath last act, but the action is well done. As an allegory, “District 9” isn’t all that, despite the racist parallels. But as straight sci-fi action, it packs a punch once you get past the ick factor.

— The Orlando Sentinel

“An Education” (PG-13)

See review, Page F6

“The Fourth Kind” (PG-13)

See review, Page F6

“G-Force” (PG) H

A team of animals trained as government agents tries to thwart the world domination plans of an appliance king (Bill Nighy) but are soon condemned to the pet shop. The team (voiced by Penelope Cruz, Tracy Morgan, Sam Rockwell and Jon Favreau) tries to break out and prove themselves. The digital hijinks aren’t great. And despite a committed voice cast that includes two Oscar winners, the jokes aren’t all that, either.

— The Orlando Sentinel

“G.I. Joe: The Rise of Cobra” (PG-13) H

Duke (Channing Tatum) and Gen. Hawk (Dennis Quaid) team up with the G.I. Joes (Rachel Nichols, Adewale Akinnuoye-Agbaje and Said Taghamaoui) to take down a Scottish arms supplier. “Rise of Cobra” trots out action beats we’ve seen in a hundred other movies, from James Bond to “The Matrix” and “Star Wars.” It’s dumb. It’s digital. It’s derivative. This “Joe,” scripted at a toy-selling TV-cartoon level, is a nonstop shoot-em-up edited to induce seizures.

— The Orlando Sentinel

“Good Hair” (PG-13) HHH

Chris Rock sheds new light on the history of black people straightening their natural curls in the documentary “Good Hair.” The history of the practice is rooted in the bygone belief that all things European were better than anything African. But Rock sheds new light on this old story through a poignant mix of interviews, investigation and his trademark satire. Rock’s ad-libbed quips and silly-serious questions put interview subjects and viewers at ease.

— The Associated Press

“The Hangover” (R) HH

Doug (Justin Bartha) is getting married Sunday. Three friends (Bradley Cooper, Ed Helms and Zach Galifianakis) drag him to Vegas for a memorable bachelor party. The next morning, the groom-to-be goes missing, and the three friends try to piece together the previous night. It’s hilarious in spurts and several bit players score, but the movie doesn’t have enough momentum to carry it through the dead spots.

— The Orlando Sentinel

“Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince” (PG) HHH

Harry Potter’s (Daniel Radcliffe) big challenge this year is an assignment by Hogwarts headmaster Dumbledore (Michael Gambon). Harry must retrieve a critical memory that a new professor (Jim Broadbent) possesses about young Tom Riddle, the future dark wizard Lord Voldemort. The usual teen hijinks and crises lighten the story with plenty of laughs, and the visual effects are excellent. “Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince” goes to the head of the class.

— The Associated Press

“Inglourious Basterds” (R) HH

Quentin Tarantino’s latest film follows of a band of Jewish-American soldiers, led by Lt. Aldo Raine (Brad Pitt), who brutally hunt Nazis. It also intertwines the stories of a young Jewish woman (Melanie Laurent), whose family was killed by Nazis, and Hans Landa (Christoph Waltz), the cool but cruel Nazi colonel who orchestrated that attack. The plot tends to meander, and Tarantino undermines some intense scenes by letting them go on too long. “Inglourious Basterds” might have been a great movie; instead, it’s a good movie with moments of greatness.

— The Associated Press

“Law Abiding Citizen” (R) HH

Clyde (Gerard Butler) is stabbed during a home invasion while the rest of his family dies. The prosecutor (Jamie Foxx) lets one of the killers off easy, so the others will be executed. That doesn’t sit well with Clyde, who murders one of the killers a decade later and engages in a battle-of-brains-and-wills with the prosecutor. The film is a glib, brutal and preposterous revenge fantasy. “Law Abiding Citizen” is a “Who dies next?” slasher film masquerading as a revenge thriller.

— The Orlando Sentinel

“The Men Who Stare at Goats”

See review, Page F5

“Michael Jackson’s This Is It” (PG) HHH

At the time of his death, Michael Jackson had been busy rehearsing for his “This Is It” tour. The recently released film was culled from hundreds of hours of rehearsal footage for those shows. It doesn’t give viewers much insight into the pop star offstage, but the amazing performances Jackson delivers in the film are magical. “This Is It” is a beautifully made, loving tribute that gives Michael Jackson what he so desperately wanted: affirmation that he indeed was the greatest entertainer of our time.

— The Associated Press

“New York, I Love You” (R) HH

“New York, I Love You,” the second in an intended series of omnibus films, is a collection of 11 shorts and one wrap-around segment, each directed by a different filmmaker in two days, that interweaves the backdrop of New York City into some sort of anecdote dealing with love. The result is a mixed bag, but the duds outnumber the winners. Shorts starring Anton Yelchin, James Caan and Ethan Hawke serve as the film’s highlights.

— The Miami Herald

“Paranormal Activity” (R) HH

Katie (Katie Featherston) and Micah (Micah Sloat) share a two-story house in a San Diego subdivision. But she insists she’s haunted. Micah wires up a new camcorder with night vision to record them, day and night, to see what is making those weird noises. At the right moments, it is genuinely hair-raising. Something about seeing terror through the viewfinder of a video camera lends it veracity.

— The Orlando Sentinel

“The Proposal” (PG-13) HH

Margaret (Sandra Bullock) is a feared book publisher who is threatened with deportation to Canada. To stay in America, she claims that she is engaged to Drew, her long-suffering assistant (Ryan Reynolds). To make it look real, they visit Drew’s family in Alaska. Before long, sparks are flying. Bullock’s longtime fans should be happy to see her fully engaged in a role that suits her and paired, at least, with her comic equal: Reynolds. Most of the predictable film is fun, but the finale flounders.

— The Orlando Sentinel

“Saw VI” (R) H

“Saw VI” is still torture porn, more excruciating than scary. It’s still all about the elaborate and gory “games” the victims must win in order to survive Jigsaw’s (Tobin Bell) test of character, redemption and humanity. This time around, three cancer patients depend on the humanity of a man who developed the actuarial tables that his company uses to shed customers who won’t make money for Umbrella Insurance. This script has a more lyrical bent, and a more satiric bite, than any of the other “Saw” sequels.

— The Orlando Sentinel

“A Serious Man” (R) HHH

In 1967, a nebbish physics professor (Michael Stuhlbarg) endures various humiliations, misfortunes and temptations. His friend (Fred Melamed) is openly dating his wife. Money woes are mounting, some due to his pot-smoking son (Aaron Wolff). And a Korean student is offering a substantial bribe for a passing grade. The Coen brothers’ latest film offers an unusually crystalline example of their black-eyed brand of Zen.

— Newsday

“Shorts” (PG) HH

“Shorts” is a connected collection of short films about kids and adults who encounter a magical wishing rock deep in the heart of Texas. Toby Thompson (Jimmy Bennett) is friendless, the object of bullying by a young girl. His parents (Leslie Mann and Jon Cryer) are too busy to notice. Soon, he finds the rock that changes everything. It’s cute, and it skews young enough that you won’t have to worry about plugs for cars or video games.

— The Orlando Sentinel

“The Stepfather” (PG-13) HH

Susan (Sela Ward) meets a charming guy (Dylan Walsh) in the supermarket. Before long, her son (Penn Badgley) realizes that there’s something not quite right about the man his mom wants to marry. The remake of the 1987 film efficiently goes about its business. The suspense is there, but the remake isn’t as jolting as the original. “The Stepfather” gives away the secrets, stripping much of the mystery from the film.

— The Orlando Sentinel

“The Time Traveler’s Wife” (PG-13) HH

Eric Bana plays Henry, who jumps around the past, present and future, only he can’t control where or when he goes. Still, he manages to fine romance in Clare (Rachel McAdams), who believes that he’s her destiny. The core of the film is their struggle to stay together. Bana and McAdams give enormously earnest performances. But the film doesn’t seem interested in crawling around inside the heads of either character. It’s too busy trying to tug at our hearts.

— The Associated Press

“(Untitled)” (R)

No review available

“Where the Wild Things Are” (PG) HHHH

Director Spike Jonze’s adaptation of the popular Maurice Sendak book follows Max (Max Records), a young boy who is sent to his room without supper after being rude to his mother (Catherine Keener). He travels mystically to a land of strange creatures, only to long for the warmth of his own home. The film has taken Sendak’s literary diamond and put it in a cinematic setting that not only underscores the story’s simplicity but also presents it in a way that’s dazzling and magical.

— McClatchy-Tribune

“Whip It” (PG-13) HH

Ellen Page plays a hipper-than-thou teen living in a dead-end Texas town. While on a shopping trip in Austin, she learns about roller derby and becomes inspired by the independent-minded women she meets there. “Whip It” isn’t the most original movie you’ll see this year. But first-time director Drew Barrymore illustrates an edict that vastly more experienced filmmakers would be wise to follow: If you surround yourself with a stellar cast and invest the proceedings with heart and energy, you’ll earn the audience’s attention.

— Fort Worth Star-Telegram

“Zombieland” (R) HHH

Jesse Eisenberg stars as a nerdy college student who’s managed to survive a viral zombie outbreak by adhering to a strict series of rules, which are inspired by his innate fear of everything. On his way to Ohio, he runs into a fellow survivor (Woody Harrelson) who’s his brash, butt-kicking opposite. “Zombieland” mostly finds that tricky balance of the laugh-out-loud funny and the make-you-jump scary, of deadpan laughs and intense energy. It’s a total blast even if the story is a bit thin.

— The Associated Press