95 minutes

In theaters November 6, 2009

Rating: PG, Animated fantasy

This version of A Christmas Carol might scare the dickens out of the wee ones. But, visually at least, it wows the rest of us.

The motion-capture process showcased by director Robert Zemeckis in 2004's Polar Express and again in 2007's impressive Beowulf is once again on display in A Christmas Carol. But the technology that combines live performance and animation has been improved to the point that what many complained about as the "dead eye effect" among the human characters is no longer a problem in the director's third foray into the brave new world of performance capture.

98 minutes

In theaters November 6, 2009

Rating: PG-13, Thriller

There is, apparently, no place like Nome.

Not if you buy what's being sold by the tingly horror thriller, The Fourth Kind, which believers will find to be upsetting, while detractors dismiss it as half-baked (or just plain faked) Alaska.

93 minutes

In theaters November 6, 2009

Rating: R, Comedy

"More of this is true than you would believe."

That's the legend that kicks off The Men Who Stare at Goats, which, I kid you not, was inspired by actual events. But the many who stare at this quirky, herky-jerky non-turkey soon realize that, truth shmooth, dramatic license has been rather freely indulged.

87 minutes

In theaters October 30, 2009

Rating: R, Thriller

Troy Duffy has returned to the Boondocks.

The Boondock Saints, that is, the director's flop 1999 crime thriller that disappeared from theaters in a flash, but then became a cult phenomenon and racked up sales on DVD.

112 minutes

In theaters October 28, 2009

Rating: PG, Musical documentary

Well, if you're a big Michael Jackson fan, this is it.

The posthumous concert documentary, This Is It, is a self-described "glimpse" of the King of Pop preparing to perform that's been designed, as the film announces early on, "for the fans."

95 minutes

In theaters October 30, 2009

Rating: PG-13, Documentary

Who says documentaries have to be deadly serious?

Good Hair delves into the roots of its subject and manages to make its share of valid sociopolitical points even though its tone is playful and its pace is brisk. And although its tongue is sometimes in its cheek, its cards are also right there on the table.

108 minutes

In theaters October 23, 2009

Rating: PG-13, Fantasy thriller

Get ready for another vampire movie that bites the neck that feeds it.

Cirque du Freak: The Vampire's Assistant is a bloodthirsty fantasy-adventure -- more creepy than scary, and only intermittently freaky -- that's loosely based on the first of four Young Adult "Cirque du Freak" trilogies by Darren Shan.

93 minutes

In theaters October 23, 2009

Rating: PG, Animated adventure

It's every kid's fantasy: having super-strength, X-ray vision, blistering speed, and the rocket-propelled ability to fly.

But it's also every kid's nightmare: being rejected by dad, being told you're not who you think you are, and not really fitting in anywhere.

108 minutes

In theaters October 16, 2009

Rating: R, Thriller

With Gerard Butler's vigilante going Charles Bronson one or two better, Law Abiding Citizen wants to be a Death Wish for the new century.

Well, it manages that, all right. This exploitative revenge thriller has a sadistic streak that puts a sour taste in your mouth in its very opening scene that stays there until the final credits roll. By the time the central character has started auditioning for the next Saw sequel, we're squarely in torture-porn territory.

101 minutes

In theaters October 16, 2009

Rating: PG, Fantasy

What's it feel like to be nine years old? Watch Where the Wild Things Are, then we'll talk.

Where the Wild Things Are is an edgy, fleshed-out, live-action adaptation of the classic 1963 children's storybook by Maurice Sendak. It's unique and it's powerful and it's marvelous.

103 minutes

In theaters October 16, 2009

Rating: PG, Comedy-drama

New York, I Love You is a grab bag that never really grabs us.

A compendium of vignettes, 2007's Paris Je T'Aime was a cinematic love letter to Paris. Oh, it would have benefited from comprising fewer segments of longer duration, but it was nonetheless a winningly entertaining anthology about the City of Light and Love.

107 minutes

In theaters October 9, 2009

Rating: PG-13, Comedy

The slogan that belongs on any T-shirt connected with Couples Retreat should read: "My cast and crew went to paradise and all they brought me back was this terrible comedy."

Sitting through this dashed-off destination date-flick romp, it's we who want to retreat.