Saturday saw the world premiere of the first film by Francis Ford Coppola in a decade, Youth Without Youth, at the Rome Film Festival. Immediate reaction was "mixed," according to The Associated Press, basing their comments on "an earlier screening for the press," which evidently prompted Coppola to say: "Part of being an artist who wants to look at new areas of [is knowing that] it will take a while for people to be familiar with the film. I only ask that you think my film was interesting." The AP story stated in part: "Coppola asked people to take their time and see it more than once"; though that's not a direct quote from the director, it's a one-liner that's been picked up by many other outlets.

Variety also described the reaction as "mixed," stating: "Deeply divided opinions zinged through the halls of Rome's Auditorium Parco Della Musica, the fest's hub." So far, though, I've only been able to find four English reviews online: the three trades (all negative) and one experienced critic (positive). Clearly, it's too early to dismiss the film out of hand based on just four opinions, especially in view of Coppola's non-mainstream approach to an esoteric subject.

Jay Weissberg of Variety found it "overly talky" with "mishmash plotting and [a] stilted script," lacking "the kind of Eastern European magical realism that would have made it resonate." Ray Bennett of The Hollywood Reporter called it "a muddled fantasy." He continued: "Lacking coherence and suspense, the picture is likely to attract a cult following while disappointing Coppola's fan base," which confused me, as I would think that Coppola's fan base is no bigger than a cult nowadays. The review in Screen Daily, as quoted by Sasha Stone at Awards Daily, described it as "an amateur production in the true sense of the word ... overall it is a jumble of half-baked metaphysical musings and disjointed story threads."

The positive review came from Emanuel Levy: "This challenging, complex, provocative, richly-dense but utterly uncommercial, film demands concentration due to its non-linear text and lack of conventional characters. Which means that it will not only sharply divide film critics, but also face hard time bringing audiences to see it." Really, none of this should be surprising, since way back in early September, A. O. Scott of The New York Times introduced his interview with the director by referring to the film as "a complex, symbol-laden meditation on the nature of chronology, language and human identity." Yet he also said "It bristles with restless, perhaps overreaching intellectual ambition, and without being overtly autobiographical, it feels intensely and earnestly personal." I can't wait for the critical debate to begin in earnest. Youth Without Youth opens in the US on December 14, courtesy of Sony Pictures Classics.

Down-on-his-luck private eye Tam (Aaron Kwok) is asked by a man to find a woman who is trying to kill him. Tam takes the case but instead of locating the mysterious woman he starts turning up dead bodies. Welcome to the off-kilter world of The Detective, directed by Oxide Pang. He and his brother Danny Pang made Bangkok Dangerous, which they are remaking in English with Nicolas Cage, The Eye , which is being remade by two French directors in English with Jessica Alba, and The Messengers, which isn't being remade because it was shot in English and made a good deal of money in relation to its budget.

The Pang Brothers are quite prolific; in the last five years or so, they've made three other films together as a team, Oxide has directed four others on his own and Danny has made three solo efforts. I very much enjoyed the energy and style of Bangkok Dangerous and The Eye, admired certain elements of The Eye 2, and was bored silly by The Messengers, but I haven't seen their other work. The Detective opened strong in Hong Kong last week, earning HK$1 million on its first day of release, according to Hong Kong-based entertainment news site batgwa.com. The Detective also opened in Singapore last week and opens today in Malaysia. Reviewer Kozo of LoveHKFilm.com calls it "more of a ride than a complete experience, but Oxide Pang puts together a very enjoyable ride." Stefan Shih of movieXclusive.com had some reservations yet wrote: "still recommended for the visuals, sound design and [Aaron] Kwok's charismatic one man show." The film also received a positive nod from Cammy Zulkifli of Cinema Online in Malaysia.

Aaron Kwok has been a romantic pop idol for many years while also starring in movies in which his dramatic talents have sometimes been questioned. Entertaining blogger Soupdragon commented in her review: "He's an obsession just biding its time before it takes over all over again. ... Sometimes you rediscover [old obsessions] and find it's going to be a blatant case of not-stalgia ... Other times you remember exactly why they were obsessions [in the] first place. This is a clear case of the latter." She puts the film on the top of her list for 2007. Sadly, The Detective doesn't appear to have North American distribution yet.

Opening night of the Toronto International Film Festival is reserved for a Canadian title, to give the mother country a chance to shine before the spotlight is divided among dozens of (usually) higher-profile films. This year, Jeremy Podeswa's Fugitive Pieces was selected for the honor. Anne Thompson of Variety wrote a good profile of the director. A capsule review in the Toronto Sun noted that it was "not a festive way to launch" the festival, "but this haunted and haunting drama signals a year of seriousness and quality."

Writing in The Globe and Mail, Rick Groen called it a "good movie" and "an even better example of what the movies do more easily, more powerfully and more indelibly than any other medium." Peter Howell of the Toronto Star felt it was a "smart choice to open the fest ... yet for all of the merits of Podeswa's painterly approach to Michaels' source novel, Fugitive Pieces seems curiously drained of drama. The message is uncertain." NOW Magazine has a capsule view which comments favorably on the cinematography and the performances.

James Berardinelli of Reelviews described Fugitive Pieces as "forgettable." He said: "The film has lofty goals, but comes across as leaden and pretentious." Jeffrey Wells of Hollywood Elsewhere attended the press screening this morning, though he didn't last very long: "I was out the door after 30 minutes, but I was looking at my watch after the first 15 minutes. I don't care if it kicks in at the one-hour mark or whatever -- I won't sit through films like this." Wells is not a fan of lead actor Stephen Dillane: "He kills each and every film and play that he's in with his withered, crinkly-faced dweeby-ness." Look for a review from our own Ryan Stewart a little bit later -- assuming that Ryan didn't get run over by Jeff Wells on his locomotive race out of the theater.

Triangle is hard to explain -- you could call it the Hong Kong action equivalent of Grindhouse -- but it's three directors, not two, and it's all one story, not two separate ones. Directed by Tsui Hark, Ringo Lam and Johnny To, Triangle is about three friends -- antiques seller Mok (Sun Long Hei), young ne'er-do-well Fai (Louis Koo) and tightly-wound realtor Sam (Simon Yan) who, one night at their local bar, are offered a unique opportunity by a stranger who overhears their discussions of money problems. Help me, he says, and you won't have any problems anymore ... and then he gives them a single antique gold coin, with the implied promise of more. Triangle doesn't open quite that cleanly, though, and it doesn't stay simple; it's a snake's nest of debts, crimes, secrets and duplicity that moves like a rocket, and any fan of Hong Kong Action will adore it.

Hark, Lam and To have all made great Hong Kong action films -- movies that have more spirit than most Hollywood action flicks, and on a far lower budget. And Triangle may feel scattered -- there's a lot of plot points and ideas that fall by the wayside, and some of the characterization is a bit sketchy -- but it never feels schizophrenic. Hark, Lam and To each directed a separate third of the film, each working with a separate set of writers -- but while a connoisseur would probably point out sequences and moments that are very To or Lam-style or Hark-sian, the movie for the most part feels like a coherent whole.

Even if the film festival guides hadn't reminded me that the low-key indie comedy American Fork came from one of the Napoleon Dynamite producers ... I think I might have figured it out on my own. That's not to say that the films are all that similar, really, but that they both feature main characters who are grown-ups on the exterior and trapped in a state of perpetually unpleasant adolescence beneath the surface. Not particularly deep beneath the surface, either.

First-time screenwriter Hubbel Palmer stars as Tracy Orbison, a 6-foot-4-inch massive mound of a young man, and one who has only a few minor things going for him. Tracy seems to enjoy his dead-end job at the local supermarket, and he's got a mother and a sister who genuinely seem to care for the guy, but beyond that Tracy is as insecure, immature and rudderless as a guy can possibly be. The clueless yet strangely ingratiating misfit bounces from hobby to hobby and from acquaintance to acquaintance, desperately looking for something (and someone) to share his time with. Failing that, the guy simply loves to jot away in his journal.

One of Tracy's more recent obsessions is that of acting: He tries to befriend a local actor, a jackass who turns out to be as arrogant as he is insincere -- and Tracy greets the eventual disappointment with a sigh known only to the frequently disappointed. Then he tries to befriend a teenager who just started working at the supermarket -- but the kid's sleazy friends abuse Tracy's good nature in a really terrible way. And then come some seriously unpleasant accusations that have Tracy ducking into alleys, afraid to even show his face in his own neighborhood.

Just three wide releases this weekend: A deep-south drama about an angry man and his unhappy captive, a nose-pickin' comedy about morons on motorcycles, and a lengthy crime flick about a true-life serial killer.

Black Snake Moan -- 63 positive / 38 negative at RottenTomatoes.com

Pro: "In fact, I pretty much enjoyed the whole movie, with some incredulity and a few half-snorts." -- Roger Ebert, Chicago Sun Times

Con: "It's an exploitation film fraught with faux-sincerity, and ultimately it's utterly ridiculous." -- Moira Macdonald, Seattle Times

Pro: "If you stick with it, you'll see that its excesses are earned and that this is a heartfelt, thoughtful piece." -- Kevin Laforest, Montreal Film Journal

Con: "Its consciously far-fetched, out-there notions of the things damaged people do in the name of love are reductive and go only so far." -- Michael Phillips, Chicago Tribune

Bonus! "The film succeeds because underneath all the symbolism and the outrageous window dressing, we can glimpse real people in the characters." -- Jette Kernion, Cinematical

Wild Hogs -- 12 positive / 68 negative at RT.com

Pro: "These "Mild" Hogs get by on being good-natured, and willing to trade a little star power for the chance to ride and get paid for it." -- Roger Moore, Orlando Sentinel

Con: "The movie never rises to the level of the professional, much less the comic." -- Stephen Hunter, Washington Post

Pro: "Plays as a pleasingly broad diversion, provided one's level of anticipation is properly adjusted downward." -- Brent Simon, FilmStew.com

Con: "It does absolutely nothing, save for what you know it will do, and it does this with only an absolute bare minimum of exertion, with absolutely no exceptions." -- Geoff Pevere, Toronto Star

Bonus! "You can't help but wonder whether folks like Macy, Liotta and Travolta lost a bet." -- Erik Davis, Cinematical

Five wide releases this weekend, and perhaps the final frame in which we're offered little but studio holdovers and lost causes. Dig into a haunted house story, a historical drama about abolitionists, a family-friendly inspirational piece, a Jim Carrey psycho-thriller and the big-screen debut of some very silly police officers. (And don't forget about the Oscars tonight!)

The Abandoned -- 3 positive / 8 negative at RottenTomatoes.com.

Pro: "Rallies in the end and has a satisfying, fittingly unsettling conclusion." -- Staci Layne Wilson, Horror.com

Con: "A punishing dose of zombie Chekhov for lifetime Fangoria subscribers." -- Jim Ridley, L.A. Weekly

Pro: "It's the pervasive sense of fatalism and decay that saves Cerda's debut feature from being yet another poky haunted-house chiller." -- Ken Fox, TV Guide

Con: "Reflects a filmmaker so lost in the details of his creation, he's neglected his obligation to forward momentum." -- Brian Orndorf, eFilmCritic.com

Bonus! "A fairly uninteresting story told in exceedingly spotty fashion." -- Scott Weinberg, Cinematical

Amazing Grace -- 52 positive / 23 negative at RT.com.

Pro: "This biopic of abolitionist crusader William Wilberforce gains much of its own force from the supporting characters." -- Josh Larsen, Sun-Times

Con: "A movie about the slave trade with hardly an African face in sight." -- Michael Booth, Denver Post

Pro: "As a portrait of political engagement, the movie is substantial and absorbing." -- Gary Thompson, Philadelphia Daily News

Con: "It's hardly compelling viewing." -- Desson Thomson, Washington Post

The Astronaut Farmer -- 61 positive / 40 negative at RT.com.

Pro: "Shows just how much you can accomplish with $12 million and more imagination than most big-studio releases can muster these days." -- Lou Lumenick, New York Post

Con: "Should be grounded for the twisted lesson it tries to impart." -- Claudia Puig, USA Today

Pro: "Works precisely because it's bereft of modern cinema's cynicism." -- Robert Wilonsky, Village Voice

Con: "It's one of those movies that yearns for a time that never really existed and ends up a chilly museum exhibit." -- Bill Muller, Arizona Republic

Bonus! "What makes the movie special are the personal touches." -- Jeffrey M. Anderson, Cinematical

Welcome to President's Day Weekend, where the multiplexes are stocked with a few pounds of new product, including an FBI espionage drama, a family-friendly kidventure flick, another Tyler Perry concoction, a flashy supehero epic and a sweet 'n' sunny rom-com. Dig in!

Breach -- 80 positive / 22 negative reviews at RottenTomatoes.com.

Pro: "There are some neat, almost delirious scenes of suspense, most of which play against cliche." -- Ty Burr, Boston Globe

Con: "A movie that urgently asserts itself as a spy thriller, but can never quite escape the Bureau's true preoccupation with who is getting the window offices." -- Bruce Newman, San Jose Mercury News

Pro: "While Breach plays effectively as a cat-and-mouse espionage thriller, its real drama derives from the murky moral and ethical frontier it crosses." -- Geoff Pevere, Toronto Star

Con: "The big suspense sequence revolves around whether Hanssen will notice that his briefcase has been moved a smidgen, hardly on a par with Goldfinger giving 007 a laser beam vasectomy." -- Colin Covert, Minneapolis Star Tribune

Bonus! "Has real excitement and true craft behind it, which is just one part of the reason why it's such a pleasure to watch." -- James Rocchi, Cinematical

Bridge to Terabithia -- 66 positive / 12 negative at RT.com.

Pro: "A painfully grounded tale of the stripping away of naivete that is adolescence, and how heartbreakingly excruciating an experience that can be." -- MaryAnn Johnason, The Flick Filosopher

Con: "One wonders if the makers of Bridge to Terabithia actually have something against all the people who loved reading Katherine Paterson's award-winning book as children." -- Chris Barsanti, FilmCritic.com

Pro: "Mark my words: it is that rarified breed of masterpiece with a shelf life destined to span many generations." -- Dustin Putnam, TheMovieBoy.com

Con: "The whole affair has been unnecessarily coated in computer-generated magical kingdom fairy dust, no doubt in deference to the perceived needs of a young audience in a post-big screen "Chronicles of Narnia" environment." -- Mary F. Pols, Contra Costa Times

Bonus! "A heartfelt, respectful and remarkably well-done film." -- Kim Voynar, Cinematical

It's at about this time of year that the hardcore moviegoers start wondering why they're being punished. Don't worry, friends! March is coming! Just hold on through weekends filled with tacked-on slasher prequels and Eddie Murphy detritus and we'll soon be discussing movies like 300, Sunshine and ... The Hills Have Eyes Part 2! Until then...

Hannibal Rising -- 15 positive / 79 negative at RottenTomatoes.com

Pro: "Webber directs with a steady hand and consistent tone, whether it's a frenetic battle scene or a slow-building confrontation at a market." -- Peter Hartlaub, San Francisco Chronicle

Con: "Feels as stodgy as a museum case, and it seems so hastily cobbled together one feels vaguely ripped off by the ticket price." -- Jeremiah Kipp, Slant Magazine

Pro: "Harris, who adapted the screenplay, and director Peter Webber are faithful to his book. Strong production values, a lush score and scenic locations work seal the deal." -- Bruce Westbrook, Houston Chronicle

Con: "Both too familiar in portraying Hannibal as a Dracula-like aristocrat monster, and crud in its exploitation of wartime atrocities." -- Liam Lacey, The Globe and Mail

Bonus! "You can spot the characters who will become Lunchables from a mile away, since they have been crudely drawn to rub up against Hannibal's tastes established in earlier films..." -- Ryan Stewart, Cinematical

The Lives of Others -- 54 positive / 5 negative at RT.com

Pro: "The accelerating plot twists are more than just clever surprises; they reverberate with deep and painful ironies..." -- David Ansen, Newsweek

Con: "I, for one, tremble at the thought of what this young director does for an encore." -- Scott Foundas, L.A. Weekly

Pro: "The skillfully acted and directed "The Lives of Others" is a timely warning about governments that seek to repress dissent." -- Lou Lumenick, New York Post

Con: "A pair of superb performances from Muhe and Koch are consistently undermined by the unreasonably overlong running time and leaden atmosphere." -- David Nusair, Reel Film Reviews

Bonus! "The performance stands out in a well-crafted film full of solid acting; both Mühe and The Lives of Others are unforgettable." -- Martha Fischer, Cinematical

Norbit -- 8 positive / 73 negative at RT.com

Pro: "Murphy's eyes, his facial expressions as Rasputia, her stare, the way she carries herself -- all of this is hysterically funny, a portrait of someone deluded about herself in every possible way." -- Mick LaSalle, San Francisco Chronicle

Con: "It's a thoughtless, cancerous, viral, irresponsible pollution whose existence speaks ill of the society that produced it and of any society that would endorse or defend it." -- Walter Chaw, Film Freak Central

Pro: "There are so many great individual moments that the movie coasts by on its infectious good cheer." -- Jim Hemphill, Reel.com

Con: "A breathtaking display of moronic insensitivity." -- Amy Biancolli, Houston Chronicle

Bonus! "It's easy to like Norbit the character; it's hard to like Norbit the movie." -- James Rocchi, Cinematical

Next week: Breach, Bridge to Terabithia, Daddy's Little Girls, Ghost Rider and Music and Lyrics

It's Super Bowl weekend, so if you're releasing a movie during this frame, it better be geared for a) women, b) older folks, or c) teenage girls -- because most of these people don't really care about football. (I guess that's the logic, but when the broadcasters say "this game is being viewed by a billion people," I gotta assume a good portion of that billion consists of potential moviegoers.) This explains why this weekend offers a) a mom-friendly chick flick, b) an arthouse piece about Andy Warhol's entourage, and c) a non-scary horror movie for the teeny-boppers.


Because I Said So -- 7 positive / 97 negative reviews at RottenTomatoes.com

Pro: "Will work for those it targets and is a pleasant reminder that not all February movies are unbearable." -- James Berardinelli, ReelViews.net

Con: "The film is a hate crime, make no mistake." -- Walter Chaw, FilmFreakCentral

Pro: "It's a messy -- emphasis on mess -- comedy, but with lots of heart and plenty of laughs." -- Roger Moore, Orlando Sentinel

Con: "Joyless and rote, it feels like the grim execution of orders, the foot-stomping compliance to arbitrary rules that make no sense." -- Carina Chocano, Los Angeles Times

Bonus! "Destined to be forgotten in a matter of days after its release, made to fill three-in-the-morning timeslots on HBO and the dreary parts of trans-oceanic plane trips with glossy, pretty nothingness." -- James Rocchi, Cinematical

Factory Girl -- 4 positive / 21 negative reviews at RT.com

Pro: "At its strongest, it explores a timeless tension between style and substance, form and meaning." -- Sheri Linden, The Hollywood Reporter

Con: "Disappoints as both biography and drama." -- Kevin Crust, Los Angeles Times

Pro: "Does an impressive job of opening a window to a seldom seen past." -- John Larsen, LightViews.com

Con: "George Hickenlooper's fascination with the beast of celebrity reaches a gossipmongering low with Factory Girl." -- Ed Gonzalez, Slant Magazine

Bonus! "But as turned-on by superficiality as Warhol was, this film, coming in the age of Paris Hilton, stumbles by settling for a pair of superficial portraits." -- Ryan Stewart, Cinematical

OK, so you made it through last week (with nothing more than The Hitcher) without your weekly review roundup, but I'm back from Sundance and just itchin' to get through this newest batch of ... January ... releases. Ugh, I can't even feign excitement with movies this lame. But wait ... is one of 'em actually good? Let's sift through those pros and cons.

Blood and Chocolate (2 positive / 21 negative reviews at RottenTomatoes.com)

Pro: "There's something refreshingly low-tech about (this) werewolf romance." -- John Larsen, LarsenOnFilm.com

Con: "The dialogue ranges from cliches to lines that are so impossibly ridiculous that it must be intentional." -- Peter Hartlaub, San Francisco Chronicle

Pro: "Better than it has any right to be." -- Josh Tyler, CinemaBlend.com

Con: "A neutered Underworld without the vampires, action, and heavy CGI." -- Staci Layne Wilson, Horror.com

Bonus! "At least it's not yet another remake filled with the same old tricks." -- Jeffrey M. Anderson, Cinematical

Catch and Release (17 positive / 60 negative at RT.com)

Pro: "A romantic dramedy that gets it exactly right, gives us people who live and breathe and are as absolutely convincingly real as people you know." -- MaryAnn Johanson, The Flick Filosopher

Con: "The story is essentially ridiculous, and the directing debut of Erin Brockovich screenwriter Susannah Grant is a crashing failure." -- Bill Muller, The Arizona Republic

Pro: "You laugh and you cry, as the cliche goes. You get involved." -- Bruce Kirkland, Toronto Sun

Con: "The dull script is mostly to blame. We just never get a sense of who these people are." -- Jennie Punter, Globe and Mail

Bonus! "The best thing Catch and Release has going for it is a dialogue-heavy script that Grant obviously labored over." -- Jette Kernion, Cinematical

Epic Movie (Did not screen for press: 0 positive / 8 negative at RT.com)

Pro: NONE!

Con: "Almost nothing sticks. There's barely a laugh in this thing." -- Roger Moore, Orlando Sentinel

Pro: NADA!

Con: "A miserably scattershot, heavy-wheezing, comedically-challenged waste of time." -- Brian Orndorf, eFilmCritic.com

Bonus! "If all a movie can give you is a small handful of stray and listless chuckles, well, I don't really think that's a movie worthy of your eight dollars." -- Scott Weinberg, Cinematical

It was a slow weekend at the box office, but the competition for B.O. champ was exciting nonetheless. A mere $300,000 separated the No. 1 and No. 2 films, while just half a mil stood between the No. 3 and No. 4 movies. Here is what I predicted the top five flicks would be this weekend ...

1. The Hitcher
2. Stomp the Yard
3. Night at the Museum
4. Dreamgirls
5. The Pursuit of Happyness

And the actual top five were ...

1. Stomp the Yard - $13.3 million
2. A Night at the Museum - $13.0 million
3. Dreamgirls - $8.7 million
4. The Hitcher - $8.2 million
5. The Pursuit of Happyness - $6.7 million

Get the full box office report here.

Although all of my picks were in the top five, my faith in scantily clad, shotgun-weilding heroines in horror flicks proved more lethal than picking up a deranged hitchhiker. 'The Hitcher,' the week's only new wide release and my pick for No. 1, earned just $8.2 million, good enough for a fourth place finish ahead of Will Smith's 'Pursuit of Happyness' ($6.7 million). Meanwhile, last week's box office victor, 'Stomp the Yard,' narrowly defeated Ben Stiller's blockbuster with very long legs, 'Night at the Museum,' which has now grossed a whopping $206 million. Rounding out the top five was 'Dreamgirls,' which saw its box-office take jump from $8.1 million last week to $8.7 million this week, most likely the result of its Best Picture win at last Monday's Golden Globes. Also of note this week was the strong performance of 'Pan's Labyrinth,' the mesmerizing adult fairy tale from Spanish director Guillermo del Toro. The film improved its box office 118% this week, grossing $4.7 million and catapulting it from 18th place last weekend to seventh place this weekend. The reason: It's just that good.

Of those of you who posted box-office picks, two predicted 'Stomp the Yard' would repeat as box-office champ, but no one guessed all five slots correctly. The high score this week goes to Liesse00 with 12 points. Congrats!

Name - This Week/Overall

1. Patricia - 7 points/135 points
2. zsxxx03 - 8/133
3. chrisnbn - 7/129
4. Mario/crzydcguy84 - 7/111
5. Bubba8193 - 7/ 95
6. Liesse00 - 12/85
7. Tangoeco - 7/80
8. Isaac/laraeruiz - 0/66
9. bostons leppard - 7/61
10. Evilone1414 - 7/26
11. MrPKI - 0/6
12. Lazy Bum - 0/9

    POST: What do you think of the box office results?

You could say that the Cinematical team is excited about Hot Fuzz. But you would be making a terrible understatement. Erik and Scott are going to fight mano-a-mano for review privileges. Martha is probably re-watching all the Hot Fuzz video blogs on a daily basis as she counts down the days until April 13. As for me, I might actually need to fly to London next month for the earlier UK release date.

The major worry is that Hot Fuzz will not live up to the hype. After all, it is going to be pretty difficult for the movie to please all of us Shaun of the Dead fans. How many highly anticipated follow-ups have been met with disappointment? And how many have actually been as popular or more beloved than their predecessor? All we can do is try not to overdo it with our expectations and just try to enjoy the damn thing without any unreasonable demands.

Thankfully some early reviews are trickling onto the net, and so far they all seem to agree that if you like Shaun of the Dead, you'll also like Hot Fuzz. Only the first report, posted on Aint it Cool News last November, featured some slight criticisms, although the overall response there was great. Another person reacting from a more recent preview screening claims the movie will certainly be one of his top 10 of 2007 -- a strong claim from someone who also says he doesn't want to over-hype the thing.

You think this weekend is light? Next Friday gives us only one new release: that remake of The Hitcher. But this weekend we get a festival-type indie, a giant croc fest and a foot-stompin' dance flick. Expanding from its platform release is Luc Besson's Arthur and the Invisibles, plus we also have a review of Verdict on Auschwitz, a documentary which opens today in NYC.

Alpha Dog (53 positive / 41 negative at RottenTomatoes.com)

Pro: "It's a piece of mainstream entertainment that doesn't require the viewer to disengage the brain to enjoy it." -- Jim Hemphill, Reel.com

Con: "For all of the credibility of the performances (or at least the teens), it all feels like recycled social commentary." -- Sean Axmaker, Seattle Post-Intelligencer

Pro: "Director Nick Cassavetes has a blast with scenes of testosterone-fueled aggression (until it's time to repent), working the subwoofer in a way that'll surely boost DVD sales among boys with bedroom posters of Tony Montana." -- Rob Nelson, Village Voice

Con: "You know you're in trouble when a guy from *NSYNC is the best thing in a movie." -- MaryAnn Johanson, Flick Filosopher

Bonus! "A film that's a tad too long, too drawn-out and too over-the-top." -- Erik Davis, Cinematical

Primeval (Did not screen for press; currently has only a few reviews at RT.com, all negative)

Pro: N/A

Con: "The camera is jolted around so much that it's almost impossible to tell what's going on. That's okay for a movie trailer, but it becomes unwatchable for a full-length feature." -- Kevin Carr, 7M Pictures

Pro: N/A

Con: "Those seeing this movie just for the crocodile might feel let down, and others might be surprised that the movie might have worked just as well or better without it." -- Edward Douglas, ComingSoon.net

Bonus! [Pending; I'm seeing the movie later tonight.]

Stomp the Yard (15 positive / 41 negative at RT.com)

Pro: "By no means great drama, but if you don't feel like cheering half a dozen times, check yourself for low blood pressure." -- Colin Covert, Minneapolis Star-Tribune

Con: "Is it really so hard for filmmakers, and particularly screenwriters, to give us something new in the way of a story?" -- Claudia Puig, USA Today

Pro: "The dance sequences are so exciting, so captivating, so full of life, it's almost possible to forget you've seen this movie a hundred times before." -- Josh Rosenblatt, Austin Chronicle

Con: "A silly bit of teensploitation that presents a world in which there isn't a single problem imaginable that can't be solved by winning the big dance contest in the final reel." -- Peter Sobczynski, eFilmCritic.com

Bonus! "I don't think I would have liked Stomp the Yard half so much in an empty theater or on DVD; it's definitely a film to catch on a weekend night with a big crowd." -- Jette Kernion, Cinematical

The Review Roundup will be taking next Friday off, partially because it's Sundance season, but mainly because (like I said) The Hitcher is allllll we're getting next weekend.

Welcome to the first weekend of the new year! You know what that means, dontcha? That's riiiiight: Amazingly crappy movies! Yes indeed, what with all the Oscar-type movies cascading into their platform releases and the studios holding all their high cards until Spring (and Summer) -- it's junk-a-thon time at the local multiplexes. Case in point: The very first weekend of movies: Two certifiable dungpiles and one "inspirational drama" that's getting a few kind words, if only by default.

Code Name: The Cleaner (2 positive / 42 negative at RottenTomatoes.com)

Pro: "It's always fun to see Liu beat on some bad guys. Check your disbelief at the door and you'll get just what you expect." -- Michael Ordona, The Los Angeles Times

Con: "Wastes so much energy on parsing out a convoluted plot that its stars' brightest moments are saved for the blooper reel in the closing credits." -- Scott Tobias, The Onion AV Club

Pro: "It is a slight piece of entertainment that does entertainment on a basic level." --Stefan Halley, Pop Syndicate

Con: "The spectacularly implausible plot is dropped on moviegoers in boulder-size chunks during speed-talking monologues." -- David Hiltbrand, Philadelphia Inquirer

Bonus! "Even with low expectations, however, I was disappointed in this movie." -- Jette Kernion, Cinematical

Freedom Writers (45 positive / 25 negative at RT)

Pro: "A simple, straightforward and surprisingly affecting story of one woman who managed to make a difference." -- Scott Foundas, L.A. Weekly

Con: "Sometimes art imitates life. And sometimes life goes to Hollywood and disappears completely." -- Geoff Pevere, Toronto Star

Pro: "Delivers the expected messages about hope and the ability to change one's destiny, and does it in a manner that it is emotionally and intellectually satisfying." -- James Berardinelli, ReelViews.net

Con: "Hits all the expected marks, with no cliché left behind." -- Robert Keser, Slant Magazine

Bonus! "Swank's passion and personality suck you into the story right from the start, and knowing that the script is based on real stories makes it meaningful and inspirational." -- Kim Voynar, Cinematical

Happily N'Ever After (3 positive / 50 negative at RT)

Pro: "Characters are painted broadly enough for the vocal cast to have a heap of fun, especially Weaver, who clearly relishes the opportunity to play a heartless diva." -- Tom Keogh, Seattle Times

Con: "Not counting derivative, obnoxious, poorly animated, and woefully unfunny, what Happily is most of all is dull." -- David Cornelius, eFilmCritic.com

Pro: "This most recent po-mo take on fairy tale may be "Shrek"-lite, but it is just cute enough." -- Nell Minow, Movie Mom at Yahoo! Movies

Con: "Unhappily unsuccessful as either low-budget, time-filling kiddie fare or satire aimed at adults." -- Terry Lawson, Detroit Free Press

Bonus! "The couple of times I laughed during the film, it was in utter disbelief at one awful line or another." -- Kim Voynar, Cinematical

Next weekend: Alpha Dog, Primeval and Stomp the Yard