Critics Consensus | featured news

This week at the movies, we've got a fractured family (Everybody's Fine, starring Robert De Niro and Drew Barrymore); a sibling rivalry (Brothers, starring Natalie Portman and Jake Gyllenhaal); an inside job (Armored, starring Matt Dilion and Laurence Fishburne); and vampire hilarity (Transylmania, starring Patrick Cavanaugh and James DeBello). What do the critics have to say? Sometimes a film contains such good acting that one is willing to overlook its other faults. One example might be Jim Sheridan's Brothers, a film critics say often works despite being frequently overwrought.

This week at the movies, we've got martial arts mayhem (Ninja Assassin, starring Rain and Naomie Harris); family-friendly hi jinks (Old Dogs, starring John Travolta and Robin Williams); and a post-apocalyptic trek (The Road, starring Viggo Mortensen and Charlize Theron). What do the critics have to say? It seems that the latest collaboration between the Wachowski brothers (The Matrix Trilogy) and James McTeigue (V for Vendetta) is a bit of a dud, and that the Travolta-Williams pairing in Old Dogs fails to work very effectively, despite the pedigree of its stars.

While it may not be the definitive concert film (or the insightful backstage look) some will hope for, Michael Jackson's This Is It packs more than enough entertainment value to live up to its ambitious title.

This week at the movies, we've got an anime hero (Astro Boy, with voice work from Kristen Bell and Nicolas Cage); a vampire war ( Cirque du Freak: The Vampire's Assistant, starring Chris Massoglia and John C. Reilly); an aviation pioneer (Amelia, starring Hilary Swank and Richard Gere); and gore galore (Saw Vi, starring Costas Mandylor and Mark Rolston). What do the critics have to say? Osamu Tezuka's Astro Boy is one of anime's most iconic and venerable characters. Now he's getting the big-screen CGI treatment, and the result, critics say, is an energetic but derivative affair.

This week, we've got a wild rumpus (Where the Wild Things Are, starring Max Records and Catherine Keener), a legal skirmish (Law Abiding Citizen, starring Jamie Foxx and Gerard Butler), and some unconventional parenting (The Stepfather, starring Dylan Walsh and Sela Ward). What do the critics have to say? Maurice Sendak's Where the Wild Things Are is one of the most beloved classics of modern children's literature, but the brief text doesn't necessarily lend itself to feature-length cinematic treatment.

This week at the movies brings only one wide release: Couples Retreat, starring Vince Vaughn and Kristen Bell in a comedy about a group of friends in marriage counseling in a tropical locale. What do the critics have to say? Couples Retreat contains some of the funniest actors in the business, and is set in a lush island paradise. Sounds like the recipe for a good time, right? Unfortunately, the critics say Couples Retreat is essentially a series of gags sorely in need of some over-arching comic discipline. Jason Bateman and Kristen Bell star as a couple whose relationship is...

This week at the movies, we've got zombie zaniness (Zombieland, starring Woody Harrelson and Jesse Eisenberg); derby dolls (Whip it, starring Drew Barrymore and Ellen Page); funny falsehoods (The Invention of Lying, starring Ricky Gervais and Jennifer Garner); financial follies (Michael Moore's Capitalism: A Love Story); and a pair of Pixar classics (Toy Story and Toy Story 2, both in 3-D). What do the critics have to say? For those who think there's nothing left on the carcass of the zombie subgenre to pick over, guess again.

This week at the movies, we've got robot clones (Surrogates, starring Bruce Willis and Radha Mitchell), artistic-minded freshmen (Fame, starring Kelsey Grammer and Megan Mullally), and scared spacemen (Pandorum, starring Dennis Quaid and Ben Foster). What do the critics have to say? Unfortunately, only one of this week's opening wide releases was screened for critics, so it's currently the only film with a Tomatometer. Does this spell bad news for the other two?

This week at the movies, we've got a possessed student body (Jennifer's Body, starring Megan Fox and Amanda Seyfried); an oddball snitch (The Informant!, starring Matt Damon and Scott Bakula); food from the heavens (Cloudy, with voice work by Bill Hader and Anna Faris); and unlikely love (Love Happens, starring Jennifer Anniston and Aaron Eckhart). What do the critics have to say? Megan Fox is the "it" actress of the moment, and Diablo Cody (Juno) is one of Hollywood's hottest writers.

This week at the movies, we've got Nazi killers (Quentin Tarantino's Inglourious Basterds, starring Brad Pitt), a magic rock (Shorts, starring William H. Macy and Leslie Mann), unemployment blues (Post Grad, starring Alexis Bledel and Michael Keaton), and extreme sports (X Games 3D: The Movie. After less than auspicious buzz followed the Cannes premiere of Basterds, it has managed to march its way to Certified Fresh status, but Shorts, Post Grad, and X-Games 3D: The Movie, haven't been quite as lucky.