"2012": 3 stars. This cheesy End of Days flick is so far over-the-top you can't help but be entertained. It combines the old-fashioned showmanship of '70s disaster classics with gorgeously supple 21st-century digital effects. Rated PG-13.

"THE BOX": 1 star. Writer-director Richard Kelly makes a mess of Richard Matheson's short story in this awful, preposterous thriller. It's sermonizing and superficial that plays like a bad "X-Files" episode when the show was in its death throes. Rated PG-13.

"A CHRISTMAS CAROL": 3 stars. This motion-capture, animated telling of the classic Dickens tale delivers thanks to a sumptuous visual palette and an amazing physical and vocal performance by star Jim Carrey. Some scenes might be frightening for younger children. Rated PG.

"THE FOURTH KIND": 2 stars. It's a "found footage" horror movie with a few new tweaks, though not enough to escape clunkiness. It delivers a few goose bumps but, in the end, is more desultory than disturbing. Rated PG-13.

"THE MEN WHO STARE AT GOATS": 2.5 stars. It's a handful of hilarious scenes looking for a movie. Unfolding simultaneously in the present and past, the contemporary story is bland, but the episodes from the past are delightfully absurd. Rated R.   

"AMELIA": 2.5 stars. It's respectable and respectful, but it's also bland, never going out on a narrative or stylistic limb and settling into an unremarkable by-the-numbers, made-for-TV approach. Rated PG.

"THIS IS IT": 3.5 stars. A dazzling tribute to the late Michael Jackson, it shows us that he wasn't as detached from reality as we all thought and reminds us what a great entertainer he was. Remains at Great Escape Nitro only. Rated PG.

"LAW ABIDING CITIZEN": 1 star. It's a slasher film masquerading as a revenge thriller with a dishonest and outlandish third act. The action isn't exciting, and the acting is only so-so. Rated R.

"PARANORMAL ACTIVITY": 3 stars. It's unsettling, smart and delivers what it promises, but it's also the sort of slow-burn movie that is likely to disappoint viewers if they go after hearing for weeks that it's one of the scariest movies ever made. Rated R.

"WHERE THE WILD THINGS ARE": 3 stars. Director Spike Jonze has expanded the basic story with breathtaking visuals and stirring emotional impact, but the thin script prevents it from reaching complete excellence. Remains at Marquee only. Rated PG.

"COUPLE'S RETREAT": 1.5 stars. It's a sputtering if sporadically amusing misfire that packed a lot of actors off to a pretty location and gave them nothing funny or deep to do. Rated PG-13.

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CLOSING TODAY: "Astro Boy," "Cirque du Freak: The Vampire's Assistant"

OPENING FRIDAY: "The Blind Side," "New Moon," "Planet 51"

OF NOTE: Ballet in Cinemas Series: "The Nutcracker," 7 p.m. Thursday, Marquee Cinemas. Tickets $15.

"TWILIGHT" SERIES: 9 p.m. showings of "Twilight" at Marquee, Park Place and Teays Valley Thursday; midnight showings at Marquee, Park Place, Teays Valley and Nitro, plus 12:15 a.m. at Marquee. Advance tickets recommended.

"2012": 3 stars. This cheesy End of Days flick is so far over-the-top you can't help but be entertained. It combines the old-fashioned showmanship of '70s disaster classics with gorgeously supple 21st-century digital effects. Rated PG-13.

"THE BOX": 1 star. Writer-director Richard Kelly makes a mess of Richard Matheson's short story in this awful, preposterous thriller. It's sermonizing and superficial that plays like a bad "X-Files" episode when the show was in its death throes. Rated PG-13.

"A CHRISTMAS CAROL": 3 stars. This motion-capture, animated telling of the classic Dickens tale delivers thanks to a sumptuous visual palette and an amazing physical and vocal performance by star Jim Carrey. Some scenes might be frightening for younger children. Rated PG.

"THE FOURTH KIND": 2 stars. It's a "found footage" horror movie with a few new tweaks, though not enough to escape clunkiness. It delivers a few goose bumps but, in the end, is more desultory than disturbing. Rated PG-13.

"THE MEN WHO STARE AT GOATS": 2.5 stars. It's a handful of hilarious scenes looking for a movie. Unfolding simultaneously in the present and past, the contemporary story is bland, but the episodes from the past are delightfully absurd. Rated R.   

"AMELIA": 2.5 stars. It's respectable and respectful, but it's also bland, never going out on a narrative or stylistic limb and settling into an unremarkable by-the-numbers, made-for-TV approach. Rated PG.

"THIS IS IT": 3.5 stars. A dazzling tribute to the late Michael Jackson, it shows us that he wasn't as detached from reality as we all thought and reminds us what a great entertainer he was. Remains at Great Escape Nitro only. Rated PG.

"LAW ABIDING CITIZEN": 1 star. It's a slasher film masquerading as a revenge thriller with a dishonest and outlandish third act. The action isn't exciting, and the acting is only so-so. Rated R.

"PARANORMAL ACTIVITY": 3 stars. It's unsettling, smart and delivers what it promises, but it's also the sort of slow-burn movie that is likely to disappoint viewers if they go after hearing for weeks that it's one of the scariest movies ever made. Rated R.

"WHERE THE WILD THINGS ARE": 3 stars. Director Spike Jonze has expanded the basic story with breathtaking visuals and stirring emotional impact, but the thin script prevents it from reaching complete excellence. Remains at Marquee only. Rated PG.

"COUPLE'S RETREAT": 1.5 stars. It's a sputtering if sporadically amusing misfire that packed a lot of actors off to a pretty location and gave them nothing funny or deep to do. Rated PG-13.

----------

CLOSING TODAY: "Astro Boy," "Cirque du Freak: The Vampire's Assistant"

OPENING FRIDAY: "The Blind Side," "New Moon," "Planet 51"

OF NOTE: Ballet in Cinemas Series: "The Nutcracker," 7 p.m. Thursday, Marquee Cinemas. Tickets $15.

"TWILIGHT" SERIES: 9 p.m. showings of "Twilight" at Marquee, Park Place and Teays Valley Thursday; midnight showings at Marquee, Park Place, Teays Valley and Nitro, plus 12:15 a.m. at Marquee. Advance tickets recommended.