Fantastic Mr. Fox ***

There is much to recommend "Fantastic Mr. Fox." The wonderfully-realized stop-motion animation for one. And the inventive sets and characters. And the stellar voices reading the lines. But for some reason it left me cold. Maybe it was my mood, maybe it was the uncomfortable seat, maybe it was the horrendous print with the big scratch line on the right side of the frame (that, most likely), but I have to say I wasn't engaged. I give it a so-so rating for an amusing story about how our nature will come out, no matter what our stated intentions.

Rated PG. 87 minutes. Wes Anderson - Director ? Writer (screenplay) / producer, Roald Dahl - Writer (novel) Noah Baumbach - Writer (screenplay), Allison Abbate - Producer, Jeremy Dawson - Producer, Scott Rudin - Producer, Tristan Oliver - Cinematographer, Alexandre Depslat - Composer, Nelson Lowry - Production Designer, Andrew Weisblum - Editor. Produced by Twentieth Century Fox Corp. Distributed by Fox Searchlight Pictures.

Principal voices: George Clooney, Meryl Streep, Jason Schwartzman, Bill Murray, Wally Wolodarsky, Eric Anderson, Michael Gambon, Willem Dafoe, Owen Wilson, and Jarvis Cocker

The Blind Side ***

Like "Precious," "The Blind Side" is about a timely intervention in someone's downward-spiraling life. Unlike "Precious," a fictional construct set in 1987 Harlem where an abused, obese, black and pregnant teen is placed in an alternative school and eventually starts to make something of her life, "The Blind Side" is set in present day Memphis where a rich white family takes in a really big homeless black teenager and helps him become an All American football player and first round NFL draft pick. "The Blind Side," clearly, is the fairy-tale version of the story. Except that it's true.

It's grounding in reality, I think, is what makes for such an emotionally satisfying movie experience. This is what we wish would happen in so many other cases: White Protestant Southern Republicans acting on their ideals and shared humanity to help someone who needs it. And the fact that it's the true story of Michael Oher of the Baltimore Ravens and the Tuohy family, especially Leigh Anne, a remarkable woman wonderfully played by Sandra Bullock, lets us think, for a while at least, while we're there in the dark suspending disbelief, that there is some hope for us, that religion and ideals can really make a difference. I say see it and enjoy it without guilt, but don't forget the other stories that fall in the much darker column.

Rated PG-13. 128 minutes. John Lee Hancock - Director/Writer, Michael Lewis - Writer (book "The Blind Side: Evolution of a Game"), Broderick Johnson - Producer, Andrew A. Kosove - Producer, Gil Netter - Producer, Alar Kivilo - Cinematographer, Carter Burwell - Composer, Michael Corenblith, Production Designer, Mark Livoli - Editor. Produced by Alcorn Entertainment. Distributed by Warner Bros. Pictures.

Principle actors: Sandra Bullock, Tim McGraw, Kathy Bates, Quinton Aaron, Lily Collins, and Jae Head.

New Moon *

In the interest of full disclosure I will say that I have not read the Twilight books, did not see the first movie, and am not a 13 year-old girl, all of which may explain why I thought the movie was a monumentally boring waste of time. For those in touch with their inner female teen, I'm told it's enthralling.

Rated PG-13. 130 minutes. Chris Weitz - Director, Melissa Rosenberg - Writer (screenplay), Stephenie Meyer, Writer (novel "New Moon"), Wyck Godfrey - Producer, Javier Aguirresarobe - Cinematographer, Alexandre Desplay - Composer, David Brisbin - Production Designer, Peter Lambert - Editor. Produced by Imprint Entertainment. Distributed by Summit Entertainment.

Principle actors: Kristen Stewart, Robert Pattinson, Taylor Lautner, Ashley Greene, Billy Burke, Peter Facinelli, Rachelle Lefevre, Nikki Reed, Kellan Lutz, Jackson Rathbone, and Michael Sheen, Dakota Fanning.

A Christmas Carol ***

Fabulous in 3D, wonderfully animated, with much-improved motion capture and facial expressions over Zemeckis' previous "Polar Express" and "Beowulf," this "Christmas Carol" is a scary delight. With much more emphasis on the horrors to come if he does not mend his ways than many renderings of this oft-told tale, this Scrooge is as nasty as his impending fate. I loved the characterizations, Jim Carrey's amazing work (he plays eight characters), and the tour de force animation, reveling in flights and swoops that would be impossible for a mere camera. It's literally great fun for the whole fam damly.

Rated PG. 96 minutes. Robert Zemeckis - Director / Writer (screenplay) / Producer, Charles Dickens - Writer (novel), Jack Rapke - Producer, Steve Starkey - Producer, Robert Presley -Cinematographer, Alan Silvestri - Composer, Doug Chiang - Production Designer, Jeremiah O'Driscoll - Editor. Produced by Walt Disney Pictures. Distributed by Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures.

Principal actors: Jim Carrey, Gary Oldman, Colin Firth, Bob Hoskins, Robin Wright Penn, and Cary Elwes.

Precious: Based on the Novel "Push" ****

In 1989 in Harlem, an obese, abused, pregnant and functionally illiterate teen named Precious gets some help from a special education unit, an alternative school. The journey she makes, the depths of her abuse, the humanity of her teachers are all shown in wrenching and emotional detail. As Precious emerges as her own soul, you begin to see some way out for her, and appreciate her as a person beyond the stereotype. You may not be so quick to classify someone on the street ever again. Performances, all seem to agree, are Oscar-caliber, especially from Gabourney Sibide as Precious, Mo'Nique as her monstrous mother Mary, and a decidedly unglamorous Mariah Carey as the social worker Mrs. Weiss.

Rated R. 110 minutes. Lee Daniels - Director / Producer, Geoffrey Fletcher - Writer (screenplay), Sapphire - Writer (novel "Push), Gary Magness - Producer, Sarah Siegel-Magness - Producer, Andrew Dunn - Cinematographer, Darren Lew - Cinematographer, Mario Grigorov - Composer, Roshelle Berliner - Production Designer, Joe Klotz - Editor . Produced by Lee Daniels Entertainment. Distributed by Lionsgate.

Principal actors: Gabourney Sibide, Mo'Nique, Paula Patton, Mariah Carey, Sherri Shepherd, Lenny Kravitz.

2012 *

An apocalypse now kind of disaster flick, "2012" employs hokum Mayan prophecies and hokier science to precipitate the end of the world, accompanied by hair's breadth escapes by our unlikely bookish protagonist. The special effects are spectacular and are, of course, the real stars of the movie. The story pulls together high and low elements to give the disaster a political and a human face, but there's literally nothing memorable except the lavish inventiveness of the disasters. Clocking in at more than two and a half hours, you might want to check out RunPee.com to plan your bio-break.

Rated PG-13. 158 minutes. Roland Emmerich - Director / Writer / Producer, Harold Kloser - Writer / Producer / Composer, Larry J. Franco - Producer, Dean Semler - Cinematographer, Thomas Wander -Composer, Barry Chusid - Production Designer, David Brenner - Editor, Peter S. Elliot - Editor. Produced and distributed by Columbia Pictures.

Principal actors: John Cusack, Amanda Peet, Chwetel Ejiofor, Thandie Newton, Oliver Platt, Tom McCarthy, Woody Harrelson, Danny Glover.

The Maid ****

Well observed, well written, and well acted, "The Maid" presents a rather claustrophobic look at the life of an almost family member in a well-off family in Chile. Having done much to raise the four children, Raquel is experiencing conflicts in the household, and literal headaches, and must confront a new maid brought in to help her and smooth relations. She dispatches one new maid after the other until a spirited girl from the country helps her look outside the garden walls. It's a gem, and sure to bring recognition to all involved, especially Catalina Saavedra as the maid, and to writer/director Sebastian Silva.

Not rated. 95 minutes. Sebastian Silva - Director / Writer (story) (writer), Pedro Peirano - Writer (writer), Gregorio Gonzalez - Producer, Sergio Armstrong - Cinematographer, Danielle Fillios - Editor. Produced by Forestero. Distributed in the U.S. by Elephant Eye Films. In Spanish with English subtitles.

Principal actors: Catalina Saavedra, Claudia Celedon, Alejandro Goic, Andrea Garcia-Guidobro, Mariana Loyola, Augustin Silva.

The Men Who Stare at Goats **

With a great cast in search of better material, "The Men Who Stare at Goats" provides a sometimes intriguing, sometimes humorous look back at the Army's First Earth Battalion, a unit formed to harness paranormal powers to defeat the enemy. Looking back from present-day Iraq, a correspondent (Ewan McGregor) stumbles upon the star performer of the First Earth, Lyn Cassady (George Clooney), who relates the story and colorful characters, leading to a surprising desert reunion. The movie is uneven, but has engaging moments. It's a free-wheeling lark, but I wanted to know more about what was "truer than you might imagine" and what was poetic license.

Rated R. 94 minutes. Grant Heslov - Director / Producer, Peter Straughan - Writer (screenplay), Jon ronson - Writer (book), George Clooney - Producer, Paul Lister - Producer, Robert Elswit -Cinematographer, Rolfe Kent - Composer, Sharon Weymour - Production Designer, Tatiana S. Riegel - Editor. Produced by Smoke House. Distributed by Overture Films.

Principal actors: George Clooney, Ewan McGregor, Jeff Bridges, Kevin Spacey.