Movies

Ratings:

**** Excellent   *** Good

** Fair * Poor

Reviewers: C.R., Carrie Rickey; S.R., Steven Rea; D.H., David Hiltbrand; T.D., Tirdad Derakhshani; W.S., Inquirer wire services.

Continuing

Amelia *** The role of pioneer aviatrix Amelia Earhart (1897-1937), who broke records, hearts and boundaries, fits Hilary Swank like a jumpsuit. Richard Gere co-stars in the evocative film from Mira Nair. 1 hr. 51 PG (discreet sensuality) - C.R.

Astro Boy ** Slick, stylish CG-animated take on the vintage Japanese TV 'toon, but as robotic as its boy hero. With the voices of Nicolas Cage, Charlize Theron, Kristen Bell, and with Freddie Highmore as the kid with rockets in his feet. 1 hr. 34 PG (cartoon violence, kids and 'bots in jeopardy) - S.R.

The Blind Side **1/2 Sandra Bullock stars as a Southern woman who takes a destitute teen into her home. Based on a true story, it's part sports saga, all tearjerker. 2 hrs. 08. PG-13 (violence; drug and sex references) - D.H.

The Boondocks Saints II: All Saints Day 1/2 star Brothers abandon their quiet life in Ireland to avenge the murder of a priest in Boston. 1 hr. 57 R (bloody violence, profanity, some nudity) - W.S.

The Box *1/2 Cameron Diaz and James Marsden are offered $1 million by a sinister stranger. Of course there's a catch. From that premise, the film veers off on a wild, incomprehensible cosmic tangent. What the ... ? 1 hr. 55 PG-13 (violence) - D.H.

Coco Before Chanel *** In Anne Fontaine's portrait of the influential designer, Audrey Tautou, the fetching gamine of Amelie, is the determined and prickly peasant who would dress princesses. A splendid performance from Tautou, who plays Chanel like a time bomb who explodes into a bouquet. 1 hr. 45 PG-13 (sexual situations, smoking) - C.R.

Couples Retreat ** A tropical vacation turns out to be a relationship workshop for four couples. Vince Vaughn, Malin Akerman, Kristen Bell and Faizon Love are part of a large cast in a skimpy comedy that is more adult than its rating indicates. 1 hr. 47. PG-13 (profanity, sexual content, rude humor) - D.H.

Disney's A Christmas Carol ** Robert Zemeckis' visually immersive, emotionally uninvolving animation of the Charles Dickens evergreen features "motion capture" performances by Jim Carrey, Gary Oldman and Robin Wright Penn. Lost in the video-game effects and ghostly grotesquerie is the redemptive saga of the man who learns that his stinginess has spiritually deformed him. 1 hr. 36 PG (really creepy effects, unsuitable for those under 10) - C.R.

An Education ***1/2 Disarming and unexpectedly poignant story set in 1961 of a dreamy, Oxford-bound 16-year-old (enchanting Carey Mulligan) who takes up with a sophisticated older man (Peter Sarsgaard). Pungently realized by filmmaker Lone Scherfig from the memoir by Lynn Barber. 1 hr. 35 PG-13 (discreet sexual content, smoking) - C.R.

The Fourth Kind ** Milla Jovovich stars as an Alaskan shrink increasingly unsettled by her patients, all of whom share remarkably similar and unsettling experiences. "Real" archival video and audio is mixed in with "reenactments" to create a Paranormal Activity vibe. 1 hr. 38 PG-13 (violence, scares, profanity, adult themes) - S.R.

The Human Body *** Get ready for biology writ large as this Imax film takes you through the innermost workings of the body. 43 mins. No MPAA rating (graphic intestinal footage) - D.H.

Law Abiding Citizen **1/2 Jamie Foxx and Gerard Butler go toe-to-toe in this over-the-top and grisly Philadelphia-made criminal- justice revenge thriller. A mash-up of Death Wish vigilante vengeance with Silence of the Lambs mad-genius-behind-bars puppet-mastery. 1 hr. 48 R (violence, sexual violence, torture, profanity, adult themes) - S.R.

The Maid *** Offbeat (and deadpan) comedy about a longtime domestic serving a Chilean clan. Is she a member of the family or a fixture inanimate as the kitchen sink? 1 hr. 35 No MPAA rating (nudity, sexual candor) - C.R.

The Men Who Stare at Goats *** George Clooney, Jeff Bridges and Ewan McGregor star in this nutty based-on-true-stuff farce about a gang of psychic-powered military men going about their "remote viewing" business during Operation Iraqi Freedom. 1 hr. 33 R (profanity, drugs, violence, nudity, adult themes) - S.R.