(Enlarge) George Clooney stars in "The Men Who Stare at Goats."

"Planet 51" (PG). Not reviewed. Jorge Blanco directs this animated children's fantasy adventure about how the arrival of an alien American astronaut wreaks havoc among residents of a distant planet. Opens Friday, Nov. 20.

"The Twilight Saga: New Moon" (PG-13). Not reviewed. Kristen Stewart, Robert Pattinson and Taylor Lautner star in the much-anticipated sequel to last year's mega-hit vampire romance drama "Twilight." Opens Friday, Nov. 20.

NOW PLAYING

"Astro Boy" (PG). Those who grew up watching the Japanese cartoon robot on American TV in the 1960s will find little retro futuristic appeal in this generic animated adventure. Although today's very young kids may enjoy the busy story, it doesn't exactly soar. Grade: C+

"The Boondock Saints II: All Saints Day" (R). Mannered gangster comedy whose Boston Irish Catholic caricatures love profanity as much as gunplay. The vigilante plot isn't taken seriously, because everything here exists as subject matter for the filmmakers' self-satisfied joking. Grade: C

"The Box" (PG-13). Cameron Diaz and James Marsden are an ordinary couple who receive a visit from the creepy Frank Langella, who gives them a mysterious box providing a lot of money that comes with murderous conditions attached. The supernatural complications become ludicrous. Grade: C

"Couples Retreat" (PG-13). Several married couples question their relationships while on a tropical vacation in this painfully witless comedy. With Vince Vaughn, Malin Akerman, Jason Bateman, Jon Favreau, Kristen Bell, Faizon Love, Kristin Davis and Jean Reno. Grade: C

"Disney's A Christmas Carol" (PG). Jim Carrey is a natural as Scrooge, and the story benefits from retaining so many of the actual words from Charles Dickens' tale. Although the motion-capture filmmaking generally helps animate the story, writer-director Robert Zemeckis occasionally gets carried away with the special effects. Grade: B

"The Fourth Kind" (PG-13). This pseudo-documentary about encounters with aliens features Milla Jovovich as a widowed psychologist living with her two children in Alaska. The increasingly absurd story takes itself very seriously, which is more than you will do. Grade: C

"Law Abiding Citizen" (R). When Gerard Butler feels the legal system has failed to adequately prosecute the killers of his wife and daughter, he deviously seeks personal revenge with tactics out of the "Saw" playbook. He also tries to outwit district attorney Jamie Foxx in this mean-spirited, ludicrously improbable thriller. Grade: C

"The Men Who Stare at Goats" (R). George Clooney, Ewan McGregor, Jeff Bridges and Kevin Spacey star in this hectic satire about psychological warfare tactics deployed by the army in Iraq in 2003. The flashback-intensive story is deliberately confusing, and some of the bizarre humor is just, well, bizarre. Grade: C+

"Paranormal Activity" (R). Low-budget horror tale about a video camera-wielding couple who decide to document the mysterious force haunting their house. Although it bears the obvious influence of "Blair Witch" and "Cloverfield," this approach does produce a scary mood. Grade: B-

"Pirate Radio" (R). Rock music rebelliously blasts from a radio station located on a boat off the coast of England in 1966, and uptight authorities on shore try to think of a legal way to shut it down. Baby boomers will love all the period music, but the satirical story is too predictable. With Philip Seymour Hoffman, Bill Nighy, Tom Sturridge, Kenneth Branagh and Rhys Ifans. Grade: B-

"The Stepfather" (R). So obvious that it's unintentionally funny, this remake of a 1987 thriller features Dylan Walsh as a sociopathic man who ingratiates himself into the household of a divorced mother and her children, concludes they fall short of his fantasized ideal family, and then plans to kill them. Definitely not recommended for unattached middle-aged women with kids. Grade: C

"2012" (PG-13). Director and co-writer Roland Emmerich piles on so many disaster movie cliches in this special effects-saturated story about the end of the world that maybe the world deserves to end. Although the dialogue is deadly, at least the earth-shaking events keep John Cusack, Chiwetel Ejiofor, Amanda Peet, Oliver Platt, Thandie Newton, Danny Glover, Woody Harrelson, George Segal and several billion more people running and screaming. Grade: C+

SCREEN SCENE

AMC Security Square 8
1717 Rolling Road, Woodlawn,
410-265-6911

Charles Theatre
1711 N. Charles St.,
410-727-FILM

Maryland Science Center IMAX Theater
410-685-5225

Muvico Egyptian 24
Arundel Mills Boulevard at Route 100,
443-755-8992

R/C Hollywood Cinema
5509 Oregon Ave., Arbutus,
410-242-1188

UA Westview Mall 9
5824 Baltimore National Pike, Baltimore,
410-719-9000

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