Movie guide
KEY: Four stars means superior; three stars means good; two stars means average; one star means poor. D for drug use, L for language, N for nudity, S for sexual situations or references, V for violence. Ratings by Dann Gire, Daily Herald film critic, unless otherwise noted.
Picks
"Cloverfield" -- "Godzilla" meets "The Blair Witch Project." (PG-13) V. 84 minutes. 3 stars
"Definitely, Maybe" -- A dad explains his romantic history to his daughter. Reviewed by Jeff Bayer. (PG-13) L, S. 112 minutes. 3½ stars
"Horton Hears a Who!" -- Dr. Seuss' elephant saves the tiny town of Whoville. Jim Carrey and Steve Carell star. (G) 88 minutes. 3 Stars
"Juno" -- Quirky, poignant comedy about a sassy, pregnant teen. The best film of 2007. (PG-13) L, S. 95 minutes. 4 stars
"Miss Pettigrew Lives for a Day" -- A fired governess gets taken in by a singer/actress in 1939 London. Reviewed by Jeff Bayer. (PG-13) N. 92 minutes. 3½ stars
"Never Back Down" -- A teenage lad improves himself through street fighting. Reviewed by Jeff Bayer. (PG-13) L, S, V. 106 minutes. 3 stars
"The Pirates Who Don't Do Anything: A VeggieTales Movie" -- Nutty, smart and wild animated comedy for kids with a subtle faith-based message. (G) 85 minutes. 3½ stars
"Shine a Light" -- Martin Scorsese's concert movie starring the Rolling Stones. Reviewed by Michael Wilmington. (PG-13) D, L. 122 minutes. 4 stars
"The Spiderwick Chronicles" -- Lavish fantasy where goblins besiege a house. Reviewed by Michael Wilmington. (PG) 96 minutes. 3 stars
"There Will Be Blood" -- Daniel Day-Lewis inhales the Texas scenery as a ruthless oil baron in P.T. Anderson's take on Upton Sinclair's 1927 novel "Oil!" (R) violence. 158 minutes. 4 stars
Passables
"The Bank Job" -- True story of small-time bank robbers in 1971 London. Reviewed by Jeff Bayer. (R) L, N, S, V. 110 minutes. 2 stars
"Doomsday" -- Fun, if spastic, British revival of '80s post-apocalyptic action flicks about a team battling through virus-ravaged Scotland. Reviewed by Jeff Pizek. (R) L, N, V. 105 minutes. 2 stars
"Leatherheads" -- George Clooney's fun, 1930s-style comedy about the origins of pro football drops the ball in the fourth quarter. (PG-13) L. 114 minutes. 2½ stars
"Nim's Island" -- A fictional hero helps a novelist (Jodie Foster) find the missing scientist dad of little Abigail Breslin. (PG) 96 minutes. 2 stars
"The Other Boleyn Girl" -- Eric Bana's King Henry VIII has a choice of Boleyn sisters Scarlett Johansson and Natalie Portman as mistresses. (PG-13) S, V. 120 minutes. 2½ stars
"Run Fat Boy Run" -- David Schwimmer directs a comedy about a Brit slacker who competes in a race to win his girl from a Chicago marathon runner. (PG-13) L, N, S. 100 minutes. 2½ stars
"Stop-Loss" -- Iraq war hero Ryan Phillippe goes AWOL rather than go back for one more tour of duty. (R) L, V. 113 minutes. 2½ stars
"21" -- MIT students fleece the casinos in this fact-based drama. Reviewed by Jeff Bayer. (PG-13) N, S, V. 123 minutes. 2 stars
"27 Dresses" -- Romantic comedy with Katherine Heigl as a bridesmaid, never a bride. Like that would happen. (PG-13) L, S. 107 minutes. 2½ stars
"Under the Same Moon" -- Sentimental tale of a Mexican boy who goes illegal to find his mom in LA. (PG-13) 109 minutes. 2½ stars
Pits
"Alvin and the Chipmunks" -- Alvin, you're a little flat. Alvin? Alviiiiiiiiiiin! (PG) 91 minutes. 1½ stars
"The Bucket List" -- Terminally ill patients (Morgan Freeman, Jack Nicholson) have one final fling around the world. (PG-13) L. 97 minutes. 1½ stars
"Drillbit Taylor" -- Homeless Owen Wilson becomes a bodyguard for picked-on nerdy freshmen. (PG-13) D, L, N, S. 102 minutes. 1½ stars
"Fool's Gold" -- Kate Hudson and Matthew McConaughey hunt treasure in a rom-com without rom or com. (PG-13) L, N, S, V. 112 minutes. 1½ stars
"Jumper" -- Hayden Christensen can teleport himself anywhere except into a good sci-fi thriller. (PG-13) L, S, V. 88 minutes. 1½ stars
"National Treasure: Book of Secrets" -- Nicolas Cage returns in another "Da Vinci Code" rip. Reviewed by Jeff Bayer. (PG) 124 minutes. 1½ stars
"Penelope" -- Frivolous, below-average fable has a cursed, pig-nosed Christina Ricci looking for spell-breaking love. (PG) 84 minutes. 1½ stars
"Shutter" -- By-the-numbers remake of a Thai horror hit about newlyweds who discover a ghost haunting their photographs. Reviewed by Jeff Pizek. (PG-13) L, S, V. 85 minutes. 1½ stars
"10,000 B.C." -- A prehistoric warrior rescues his kidnapped lover. (PG-13) V. 108 minutes. 1½ stars
"Untraceable" -- A Web site broadcasts streaming live murders. (R) L, V. 100 minutes. 1½ stars
"Vantage Point" -- "Rashomon" meets the Zapruder film when U.S. President William Hurt is shot in Spain. (PG-13) L, V. 90 minutes. 1½ stars
Unpreviewed
"College Road Trip" -- A dad goes college-shopping with his daughter. (G) 86 minutes.
"Meet the Browns" -- Tyler Perry directs Angela Bassett, who discovers a family she didn't know she had. (PG-13) D, L, V. 100 minutes.
"The Ruins" -- Vacationers in Mexico pick up something nasty while rummaging in the jungle. (R) L, N, S, V. 97 minutes.
"Superhero Movie" -- A spoof of you-know-what with Pam Anderson and Leslie Nielsen. (PG-13) D, L, S, V. 86 minutes.