A dark and stormy 'Knight'
It's become standard to envision superheroes as tortured figures -- even Will Smith's satirical Hancock came with emotional baggage -- yet no superhero movie has been as doom-laden as "The Dark Knight." Oppressive but never overwrought, the new Batman movie is a comic-book adaptation in which there will be blood.

Take a chance?

I'll confess the "Mamma Mia!" phenomenon escapes me - and I'm a guy who came around to the relative virtues of "Sex and the City."

Unfortunately horrible

At one point, a senator describes the simian astronauts in "Space Chimps" as "not human, but not horrible."

A quick look at other movies you might want to see

'HANCOCK'

Now showing in the Southland

New movies include:

'Meet Dave' actually worth encountering
"Meet Dave" is hardly a return to form for Eddie Murphy, yet the movie reminds you of how funny the unfortunate star of recent disasters such as "Norbit" and "The Haunted Mansion" can be.

Why 3-D doesn't work
"Journey to the Center of the Earth" certainly captures the kitschy, schlocky feel of a 1950s science fiction extravaganza, right down to the 3-D effects. The funny thing about kitsch and schlock, though, is they are a lot more fun for free on late-night television than for $10 a seat in a theater.

Delightfully idiosyncratic

"Hellboy II: The Golden Army" isn't much of a story.

A quick look at other movies you might want to see

'HANCOCK'

Now showing in the Southland

New movies include:

A quick look at other movies you might want to see

'HANCOCK'

'Hancock' is a brooding chore
"Hancock" is being sold as a superhero comedy, which it briefly is. Let's just say, if you thought you were in for something lighthearted like "Men in Black," you should prepare yourself for more superhero angst than "Batman Begins" and Ang Lee's "Hulk" combined.

Lovingly and beautifully visualized

How far has Pixar Animation Studios come in terms of humanizing technology?

All about action

I'm going to commit a film-critic sin and suggest "Wanted" is a better movie from director Timur Bekmambetov than the acclaimed films he made in his native Russia.

A quick look at other movies you might want to see

'GET SMART'

Now showing in the Southland

New movies include: