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  Disney's A Christmas Carol (PG, 2009)

  Jim Carrey, Gary Oldman, Colin Firth, Robin Wright Penn

  An animated retelling of Charles Dickens classic novel about a Victorian-era miser taken on a journey of self-redemption, courtesy of several mysterio...[ read more ]us Christmas apparitions.

  View Trailer | 72% Liked it
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  The Men Who Stare at Goats (R, 2009)

  George Clooney, Ewan McGregor, Jeff Bridges, Kevin Spacey

  The story of a secret unit within the US Army called the First Earth Battalion, whose paranormal military ideas mutated over the decades to influence ...[ read more ]interrogation techniques at Guantanamo Bay.

  View Trailer | 63% Liked it
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  The Box (PG-13, 2009)

  James Marsden, Cameron Diaz, Frank Langella, James Rebhorn

  A small wooden box arrives on the doorstep of a married couple, who know that opening it will grant them a million dollars and kill someone they don't...[ read more ] know.

  View Trailer | 56% Liked it
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  The Fourth Kind (PG-13, 2009)

  Milla Jovovich, Alisha Seaton, Will Patton, Corey Johnson

  Fact-based thriller involving an ongoing unsolved mystery in Alaska, where one town has seen an extraordinary number of unexplained disappearances dur...[ read more ]ing the past 40 years and there are accusations of a federal cover up.

  View Trailer | 64% Liked it

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  Michael Jackson's This Is It (PG, 2009)

  Michael Jackson, Kenny Ortega, Paul Gongaware, Randy Phillips

  "This Is It," features Michael Jackson in his final days rehearsing for a series of comeback concerts in London, shortly before his untimely death. Th...[ read more ]e movie will be drawn from hundreds of hours of rehearsal and behind-the-scenes footage. Jackson was staging his rehearsals at Staples Center and The Forum. The film will also offer select sequences in 3D and will also have a career retrospective and interviews with some of Jackson's closest friends and collaborators.

  View Trailer | 87% Liked it
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  Paranormal Activity (R, 2009)

  Katie Featherston, Micah Sloat, Michael Bayouth, Amber Armstrong

  Katie and Micah are enjoying a happy and carefree existence. Their future looks promising until bizarre events begin to occur at night. In order to ge...[ read more ]t to the bottom of things, Katie and Micah purchase a video camera to find out what happens at night while they sleep.

  View Trailer | 66% Liked it
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  Law Abiding Citizen (R, 2009)

  Jamie Foxx, Gerard Butler, Bruce McGill, Colm Meaney

  An everyday guy decides to take justice into his own hands after a plea bargain sets his family's killers free. His target: The district attorney who ...[ read more ]orchestrated the deal.

  View Trailer | 81% Liked it
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  Couples Retreat (PG-13, 2009)

  Vince Vaughn, Malin Akerman, Jason Bateman, Kristen Bell

  A comedy centered around four couples who settle into a tropical-island resort for a vacation. While one of the couples is there to work on the marria...[ read more ]ge, the others fail to realize that participation in the resort's therapy sessions is not optional.

  View Trailer | 57% Liked it
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  Where the Wild Things Are (PG, 2009)

  Max Records, James Gandolfini, Lauren Ambrose, Paul Dano

  The adventures of a young boy named Max who, after being sent to bed for misbehaving, imagines that he sails away to where the wild things are. Max is...[ read more ] loved by the wild creatures who make him their King, though he soon longs to be back home with his family.

  View Trailer | 71% Liked it
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  Saw VI (R, 2009)

  Tobin Bell, Betsy Russell, Shawnee Smith, Mark Rolston

  Special Agent Strahm is dead, and Detective Hoffman has emerged as the unchallenged successor to Jigsaw's legacy. However, when the FBI draws closer ...[ read more ]to Hoffman, he is forced to set a game into motion, and Jigsaw's grand scheme is finally understood.

  View Trailer | 69% Liked it
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  Astro Boy (AstroBoy) (PG, 2009)

  Freddie Highmore, Nicolas Cage, Kristen Bell, Bill Nighy

  Astro Boy follows the adventures of a young-yet-powerful robot who, in the hopes of winning his inventor-father’s heart, sets off on a quest to...[ read more ] rid the world of evil. However, he soon discovers that his home, Metro City, stands on the brink of destruction, and it is up to him to save the day as well as his friends and family.

  View Trailer | 59% Liked it
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  The Stepfather (PG-13, 2009)

  Penn Badgley, Dylan Walsh, Amber Heard, Sela Ward

  A seemingly normal man wants the perfect family. When they don't measure up, he eliminates them and moves on to find his next perfect family.

  View Trailer | 50% Liked it
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  Cirque du Freak: The Vampire's Assistant (PG-13, 2009)

  John C. Reilly, Salma Hayek, Josh Hutcherson, Chris Massoglia

  Cirque Du Freak: The Vampire's Assistant, based on the popular series of books by Darren Shan, is a fantasy-adventure about a teenager who unknowingly...[ read more ] breaks a 200-year-old truce between two warring factions of vampires. Pulled into a fantastic life of misunderstood sideshow freaks and grotesque creatures of the night, one teen will vanish from the safety of a boring existence and fulfill his destiny in a place drawn from nightmares. 16-year-old Darren (Chris Massoglia) was like most kids in his suburban neighborhood. He hung out with his best friend, got decent grades and usually stayed out of trouble. But when he and his buddy stumble upon a traveling freak show, things begin to change inside Darren. That's the exact moment when a vampire named Larten Crepsley (John C. Reilly) turns him into something, well, bloodthirsty. Newly undead, he joins the Cirque Du Freak, a touring sideshow filled with monstrous creatures from a snakeboy and a wolfman to a bearded lady (Salma Hayek) and a gigantic barker (Ken Watanabe). As Darren flexes his newfound powers in this dark world, he becomes a treasured pawn between the vampires and their deadlier counterparts. And while trying to survive, one boy will struggle to keep their brewing war from devouring what's left of his humanity.

  View Trailer | 62% Liked it
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  Amelia (PG, 2009)

  Hilary Swank, Richard Gere, Mia Wasikowska, Ewan McGregor

  A look at the life of legendary American pilot Amelia Earhart, who disappeared while flying over the Pacific Ocean in 1937 in an attempt to make a fli...[ read more ]ght around the world.

  View Trailer | 48% Liked it

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  The Time Traveler's Wife (PG-13, 2009)

  Rachel McAdams, Eric Bana, Ron Livingston, Brooklynn Proulx

  A romantic drama about a Chicago librarian with a gene that causes him to involuntarily time travel, and the complications it creates for his marriage...[ read more ].

  View Trailer | 65% Liked it
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  District 9 (R, 2009)

  Sharlto Copley, Jason Cope, David James, Mandla Gaduka

  An extraterrestrial race forced to live in slum-like conditions on Earth suddenly find a kindred spirit in a government agent that is exposed to their...[ read more ] biotechnology.

  View Trailer | 81% Liked it
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  Inglourious Basterds (R, 2009)

  Brad Pitt, Eli Roth, Diane Kruger, Mélanie Laurent

  In German-occupied France, Shosanna Dreyfus witnesses the execution of her family at the hand of Nazi Colonel Hans Landa. Shosanna narrowly escapes an...[ read more ]d flees to Paris, where she forges a new identity as the owner and operator of a cinema. Elsewhere in Europe, Lieutenant Aldo Raine organizes a group of Jewish soldiers to engage in targeted acts of retribution. Known to their enemy as "The Basterds," Raine's squad joins German actress and undercover agent Bridget Von Hammersmark on a mission to take down the leaders of The Third Reich. Fates converge under a cinema marquee, where Shosanna is poised to carry out a revenge plan of her own...

  View Trailer | 87% Liked it
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  The Final Destination (R, 2009)

  Bobby Campo, Shantel VanSanten, Nick Zano, Haley Webb

  On what should have been a fun-filled day at the races, Nick O’Bannon has a horrific premonition in which a bizarre sequence of events causes multiple...[ read more ] race cars to crash, sending flaming debris into the stands, brutally killing his friends and causing the upper deck of the stands to collapse on him. When he comes out of this grisly nightmare Nick panics, persuading his girlfriend, Lori, and their friends, Janet and Hunt, to leave… escaping seconds before Nick’s frightening vision becomes a terrible reality. Thinking they’ve cheated death, the group has a new lease on life, but unfortunately for Nick and Lori, it is only the beginning. As his premonitions continue and the crash survivors begin to die one-by-one — in increasingly gruesome ways — Nick must figure out how to cheat death once and for all before he, too, reaches his final destination. The film marks the latest in the highly popular “Final Destination” series, and its first 3D installment, giving horror fans an especially visceral thrill ride.

  View Trailer | 52% Liked it
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  The Invention of Lying (PG-13, 2009)

  Ricky Gervais, Jennifer Garner, Jonah Hill, Louis C.K.

  Set in a world where the concept of lying doesn't exist, a loser changes his lot when he invents lying and uses it to get ahead.

  View Trailer | 48% Liked it
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  Zombieland (R, 2009)

  Woody Harrelson, Jesse Eisenberg, Emma Stone, Abigail Breslin

  Columbus (Jesse Eisenberg) has made a habit of running from what scares him. Tallahassee (Woody Harrelson) doesn’t have fears. If he did, he’d kick th...[ read more ]eir ever-living ass. In a world overrun by zombies, these two are perfectly evolved survivors. But now, they’re about to stare down the most terrifying prospect of all: each other.

  View Trailer | 88% Liked it
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  Whiteout (R, 2009)

  Kate Beckinsale, Gabriel Macht, Tom Skerritt, Columbus Short

  Carrie Stetko, the lone U.S. Marshal assigned to Antarctica, is investigating the continent’s first murder, which draws her into a shocking mystery. ...[ read more ]Now, with only three days until winter, Carrie must solve the crime before Antarctica is plunged into darkness and she is stranded with the killer.

  View Trailer | 36% Liked it
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  Cloudy With a Chance of Meatballs (PG, 2009)

  Andy Samberg, Anna Faris, Bill Hader, Bruce Campbell

  A scientist trying to solve world hunger encounters a problem of global proportions, as food begins to fall from the sky.

  View Trailer | 73% Liked it
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  All About Steve (PG-13, 2009)

  Sandra Bullock, Thomas Haden Church, Bradley Cooper, Ken Jeong

  Convinced that a CNN cameraman is her true love, an eccentric crossword puzzler (Bullock) trails him as he travels all over the country, hoping to con...[ read more ]vince him that they belong together.

  View Trailer | 43% Liked it
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  Sorority Row (R, 2009)

  Briana Evigan, Leah Pipes, Rumer Willis, Jamie Chung

  When five sorority girls inadvertently cause the murder of one of their sisters in a prank gone wrong, they agree to keep the matter to themselves and...[ read more ] never speak of it again, so they can get on with their lives. This proves easier said than done, when after graduation a mysterious killer goes after the five of them and anyone who knows their secret.

  View Trailer | 47% Liked it

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• Astro Boy (AstroBoy) (PG, 2009)

  - by moonrivers

  nicky cage and donny sutherland endeavor mightily but cannot save this from tired mediocre writing.....[ read more ].

• Michael Jackson's This Is It (PG, 2009)

  - by hobster1

  Concert film documenting Michael Jackson's rehearsals for the concert series which was to take place...[ read more ] at the O2 Arena in London. We see the preparation of what clearly would have been an extraordinary show, but unfortunately a show that never materialized. Without the dazzle of the full concert spectacle or even the up close and personal portrait of the superstar himself, the documentary is rather unsatisfying. It is ironic that the one glimpse who do get of Michael Jackson, the man, is how much of a perfectionist he was. That being said, it is doubtful he would have wanted this practice session released. He never fully commits to any song performance. At one point, he even apologizes for his singing because he is "saving" his voice. The film would have been a nice DVD extra to a collection of his videos, but as a feature length film, it is lacking. Michael Jackson deserved better.

• Paranormal Activity (R, 2009)

  - by her69eyes

  The story behind "Paranormal Activity" is an astonishing one - the film, shot in one week by Israeli...[ read more ]-born filmmaker Oren Peli, first came to horror festivals in 2007. Now, with Paramount utilizing an ingenious release strategy built solely on word-of-mouth, the micro-budgeted phenomenon has raked in over $60 millon.
  
  The film, like "The Blair Witch Project" or "Cloverfield", utilizes an ultra-realistic "found footage" approach. The limitations of the equipment are certainly noticeable - both the audio and video quality are terrible - but the film's technical inadequacies only add to it's conceit.
  
  Katie (Katie Featherston), an English major, has been haunted all of her life by a tormenting demon. Now, after revealing this information to her boyfriend Micah (Micah Sloat), his interest peaks to such an extent that he begins to film their bedroom every night. Surely enough, Micah and Katie begin noticing things on the tape that they had slept through - loud crashes, doors swinging open, lights flickering. As Micah begins to antagonize their intruder, it's appearances become increasingly violent.
  
  The bedroom scenes in the film are enormously effective. Utilizing a stationary camera with a wide angle lens, the audience is forced to study the environment and detect any changes - will a shadow appear on the door? Will the bedsheets ripple? Will the pounding footsteps begin to make their way towards the doorway? The success of "Paranormal Activity" is that it doesn't rely on it's jump scares. We're fully aware of where the demon is in relation to the couple, but the horrific claustrophobia of the bedroom makes for a handful of pitch-perfect suspense sequences.
  
  Because "Paranormal Activity" has been such a smashing success, both the over-hyping and the backlash has begun. Before you get sick of hearing about it, go and experience it for yourself. Something tells me that the film won't have any success translating to home viewing, but in the theater there's nothing quite like it.

• The Stepfather (PG-13, 2009)

  - by whosinthenews

  If only more fathers took this approach to family building, what a nation this would be. Sigh.

• Where the Wild Things Are (PG, 2009)

  - by ceWEBrity

  A delightful, rich movie for adults to watch, but a completely dismal children's film. In that regar...[ read more ]d, you could sort of call it a failure; the themes are too hidden, and the mood too morose and depressing, for it to be of any good to a younger viewer. It's not that I support infantilizing or simplifying the movie, but Where the Wild Things Are is primarily dark before it is uplifting, and I don't think a lot of child audiences will be able to get past the overall creepiness of what they're seeing. Especially uncomfortable are the monsters themselves, passive-aggressive and borderline bipolar. The fact that they are meant to be reflections of Max's personality may be readily apparent to an older, more film-savvy viewer, but to someone younger it may just seem like a lot of creepy angry monsters threatening a little boy.
  
  In the grand public eye, this will probably be remembered as a failure before anything else, while retaining some sort of vaunted art film reputation among filmies and college students and the like. For those who will appreciate it, the movie is a treat to behold, sumptuously composed and suffused with charming abstract logic. It's like an especially turbulent dream. If you're a parent, I think this is worth taking a child to if they're intelligent and not easily fazed. It'll give you plenty to talk about after the movie is over. If you enjoyed the book when you were younger, you'll probably enjoy this. It comes with my recommendation, but caveat emptor.

• Cirque du Freak: The Vampire's Assistant (PG-13, 2009)

  - by kylemydude

  Guilty pleasure B movie with bad cgi and sub-par acting.

• Where the Wild Things Are (PG, 2009)

  - by her69eyes

  When a movie receives criticism for being too' mature and depressing, it's always the parents that a...[ read more ]re the flag-bearers of negativity. Many people would consider "Where the Wild Things Are" bad for children, but I digress - what kid wouldn't love this movie? The narrative largely involves an unsupervised play date and the building of a monstrous fort. Are children really going to care that the child's father is dead, or will they be more stricken by the howling, playful Wild Things?
  
  Max (Max Records) is a temperamental young boy - a nine-year-old with mood swings so devastating that they lead him from cuddling with mother (Catherine Keener) to volcanic outbursts in the span of a few minutes. One night, dressed in wolf pajamas, Max begins an unreasonable protest at mother, all culminating with him biting his way out of her arms. He runs off, finds a boat, and sets sail.
  
  After washing upon the shore of a mysterious island, Max discovers the bizarre inhabitants - large-headed furry giants. The leader, Max's mirror-image in every way, is Carol (James Gandolfini), equally insecure and in desperate need of affection. Carol is irrationally jealous of a pair of owls whom a fellow Wild Thing, KW (Lauren Ambrose), has been spending time with and goes on a temper tantrum equal to Max's in the film's first act. Max, meanwhile, hides in KW herself - escaping back to the womb, finally at peace and quiet.
  
  Voice acting is rarely as noticeably wonderful as it is here. Gandolfini's performance is truly astounding, a perfect mix of menace and infantile neurosis. The rest of the cast, notably Catherine O'Hara, all contribute a great deal in giving each Wild Thing a distinct personality without sounding distractingly recognizable.
  
  The film's last half hour or so leaves a bit to be desired. When the island became set in disarray and tempers began to flare, I felt that the deterioration happened before I was willing to let it. That being said, however, when a movie has such intoxicating charm that you beg for an extended cut, it's hard to complain too much.
  
  "Where the Wild Things Are" is a wildly original family film, a project with an abundance of originality and mass-appeal. Maybe parents won't find it as accessible as your standard children's film, but the heart and morale lesson here is still well-developed enough to warrant a recommendation for all ages.

• Saw VI (R, 2009)

  - by recruiter89

  This one was better then number 5 but at some point these need to end. The good thing about these mo...[ read more ]vies is the traps and puzzles put together. Plus these are linked together pretty well and it is pretty gruesome stuff to see the killing. I happen to enjoy Tobin Bells performance and it was good to see Shawnee Smith again. Not a bad twist and it will be interesting to see how they piece this to the next one that comes out.

• Cirque du Freak: The Vampire's Assistant (PG-13, 2009)

  - by flickfever

  In yet another adaptation from book to film come Cirque du Freak: The Vampire's Assistant. If you ha...[ read more ]ven't noticed that we're living in a current vampire craze, you must be living under a rock--or perhaps in a coffin of your own. Although, The Vampire's Assistant is, thankfully, a movie about blood-suckers geared toward the thumb-sucker crowd.As two best friends are forced to be "secret" best friends due to ridiculous societal pressure, the ties that bond are strained between the two young boys. Steve is, decidedly, a "bad boy" who comes from a broken home and revels in acting irresponsibly. Ultimately, though, he has a heart of gold and should be deemed to be harmless and misunderstood. On the other hand, you have Darren; a straight-laced boy who comes from a well-to-do family and well-bred background with nothing really going for him except for what his parents expect of him--which is a lot.When they fatefully come across a flying invitation to a freak show circus; the two boys are enthralled to break the rules and attend the midnight event. So they do. And what they find is a truly freakish collection of exhibits that includes a real-life lizard boy (Patrick Fugit); a rib-less man (Orlando Jones) and a beautiful bearded lady (Salma Hayek) among others.But the real star of the show is John C. Reilly, who proves again just what a versatile actor he really is. He inhabits the role of Larten Crepsley, the #1 vampire of the cirque du freak. His abilities as vampire supreme are unmatched except by those evil vampires he is against. The clan that feeds off of people for the pleasure of it instead of for sustenance. Darren is forced to become a "half-vampire" in order to protect his friend Steve--who has gone to the dark side.Although the vampire elements are decidedly dialed-down for this teen-geared movie; the thrills are still in full force. The story is full of quirky gags and whimsical little pockets of delightful humor, camp, art direction and dialogue. And, even though this film is Twilight-for-the-guys; it's really a lot better than Twilight by dint of this movie's self-awareness and intentional camp. Twilight actually thinks it's a great vampire film. The Vampire's Assistant doesn't care if it or not.

• Michael Jackson's This Is It (PG, 2009)

  - by Jules1st

  Watching "This Is It' is a one of a kind experience. Makes you cry for the fact that Michael Jackson...[ read more ] didn't live to perform at least one show so that the world would witness the genius work he prepared. A must see for everyone, if they were fans or not