EDGE OF DARKNESS (C-)

Starring: Mel Gibson, Ray Winstone and Danny Huston

Story: Edge of Darkness is an emotionally charged thriller set at the intersection of politics and big business. Thomas Craven is a veteran homicide detective for the Boston Police Department and a single father. When his only child, twenty-four year-old Emma, is murdered on the steps of his home, everyone assumes that he was the target. But he soon suspects otherwise, and embarks on a mission to find out about his daughter's secret life and her killing. His investigation leads him into a dangerous, looking glass world of corporate cover-ups, government collusion and murder – and to shadowy government operative Darius Jedburgh, who has been sent in to clean up the evidence. Craven's solitary search for answers about his daughter's death transforms into an odyssey of emotional discovery and redemption. (Warner Bros.)

Rated: R for strong bloody violence and language

Bottom Line: All I wanted was a fierce, mayhem-fueled movie of bloody revenge (like last year’s TAKEN starring Liam Neeson). What I got was a well acted but lazily-paced and convoluted corporate, murder-mystery, political-who-done-it detective drama that never fully heats up in the pot and, unfortunately, never boils over. On screen, I like my Mel madder…

On DVD/Bluray next Tuesday (2/2):
ZOMBIELAND A-
LOVE HAPPENS B-
AMELIA D+

WHEN IN ROME (D)

Starring: Kristen Bell, Josh Duhamel, Bobby Moynihan, Will Arnett, Jon Heder, Dax Shepard, Danny DeVito and Anjelica Huston

Story: An ambitious young New Yorker, disillusioned with romance, takes a whirlwind trip to Rome where she defiantly plucks magic coins from a "foolish" fountain of love, inexplicably igniting the passion of an odd group of suitors: a sausage magnate, a street magician, an adoring painter and a self-admiring model. But when a charming reporter pursues her with equal zest, how will she know if his love is the real thing? (Touchstone Pictures)

Rated: PG-13 for some suggestive content

Bottom Line: It has a few, intended, chuckle-worthy moments and even more moments of unintentional laughing because it’s so bad, so uninvolving, so lazy, so disjointed and such a colossal waste of time – time that might be better spent swallowing a handful of thumb tacks, perhaps. Do what the Romans (and the rest of the world, for that matter) are going to no doubt do and skip this unoriginal, short-sighted romantic-blahmedy.

EXTRAORDINARY MEASURES (D+)

Starring: Harrison Ford, Brendan Fraser, Keri Russell and Courtney B. Vance

Story: From his working class roots, John Crowley has finally begun to taste success in corporate America. Supported by his beautiful wife Aileen and their three children, John is on the fast track. But just as his career is taking off, Crowley walks away from it all when his two youngest children, Megan and Patrick, are diagnosed with a fatal disease. With Aileen by his side, harnessing all of his skill and determination, Crowley teams up with a brilliant, but unappreciated and unconventional scientist, Dr. Robert Stonehill. Together they form a bio-tech company focused on developing a life-saving drug. One driven to prove himself and his theories, the other by a chance to save his children, this unlikely alliance eventually develops into mutual respect as they battle the medical and business establishments in a fight against the system – and time. But, at the last minute, when it appears that a solution has been found, the relationship between the two men faces a final test - the outcome of which will affect the fate of John's children. (CBS Films)

Rated: PG for thematic material, language and a mild suggestive moment

Bottom Line: Tears will more than likely be shed while watching this should-have-been-made-for-TV, Lifetime Channel-esque movie – now it’s up to you to decide if it’s because it contains raw, heartfelt emotion or excessive amounts of overly manipulative cheese. I’m inclined to vote for the latter… Extraordinary? Not so much.

THE TOOTH FAIRY (D)

Starring: Dwayne Johnson, Ashley Judd and Julie Andrews

Story: Derek Thompson is a hard-charging hockey player whose nickname comes from his habit of separating opposing players from their bicuspids. When Derek discourages a youngster's dreams, he's sentenced to one week's hard labor as a real tooth fairy, complete with the requisite tutu, wings and magic wand. At first, Derek "can't handle the tooth" - bumbling and stumbling as he tries to furtively wing his way through strangers' homes...doing what tooth fairies do. But as Derek slowly adapts to his new position, he begins to rediscover his own forgotten dreams. (20th Century Fox)

Rated: PG for mild language, some rude humor and sports action

Bottom Line: Visit your dentist for an unscheduled checkup, chew on tin foil or take out an aching tooth with an ice skate ala Tom Hanks in CASTAWAY. By picking any one of these three you’ll ensure yourself a much more enjoyable time than you would by sitting thru this harmless yet ridiculously useless and not-that-funny waste of cinematic space.

LEGION (Not Screened for Critics)

Starring: Paul Bettany, Dennis Quaid and Tyrese Gibson

Story: When God loses faith in Mankind, he sends his legion of angels to bring on the Apocalypse. Humanity's only hope lies in a group of strangers trapped in a desert diner and the Archangel Michael. (Sony Pictures)

Rated: R for strong bloody violence and language

Bottom Line: Reason #3, behind the two mentioned above (EXTRAORDINARY MEASURES and THE TOOTH FAIRY), why AVATAR will be #1 at the box office again this weekend.

THE BOOK OF ELI (B+)

Starring: Denzel Washington, Gary Oldman, Mila Kunis, Ray Stevenson and Jennifer Beals

Story: In the not-too-distant future, some 30 years after the final war, a solitary man walks across the wasteland that was once America. A warrior not by choice but necessity, Eli seeks only peace but, if challenged, will cut his attackers down before they realize their fatal mistake. It's not his life he guards so fiercely but his hope for the future; a hope he has carried and protected for 30 years and is determined to realize. Driven by this commitment and guided by his belief in something greater than himself, Eli does what he must to survive--and continue. Eli must keep moving to fulfill his destiny and bring help to a ravaged humanity. Only one other man in this ruined world understands the power Eli holds, and is determined to make it his own: Carnegie. (Warner Bros.)

Rated: R for some brutal violence and language

Bottom Line: THE BOOK OF ELI is a simplistic, spiritually action-packed, non-preachy, post-apocalyptic, word-of-God western that dazzles with equal parts faith, hope and butt-kicking mayhem. Hallelujah, amen – I loved it!

THE LOVELY BONES (C)

Starring: Mark Wahlberg, Rachel Weisz, Susan Sarandon, Stanley Tucci, Michael Imperioli and Saoirse Ronan

Story: The Lovely Bones centers on a young girl who has been murdered and watches over her family – and her killer – from heaven. She must weigh her desire for vengeance against her desire for her family to heal. (Paramount Pictures)

Rated: PG-13 for mature thematic material involving disturbing violent content and images and some language

Bottom Line: There’s some brilliantly over-the-top ‘Heaven in the eyes of a 14-year old girl’ imagery at play but the beauty of that sometimes cheesy mentality doesn’t really mesh with beast of the grizzly earth-bound murder story. It all just feels like jerky storytelling with stops and starts all over the narrative map – kind of like driving with your grandma.

THE SPY NEXT DOOR (F)

Starring: Jackie Chan, George Lopez, Billy Ray Cyrus and Amber Valletta

Story: When Gillian suddenly has to leave town, Bob volunteers to babysit the children so he can earn their approval. But when one of the kids mistakenly downloads a top-secret formula from his computer, Bob’s archenemy, a Russian terrorist, moves in for the attack, forcing Bob to juggle the roles of spy and prospective stepfather in the most challenging mission of his career! (Lionsgate)

Rated: PG for sequences of action violence and some mild rude humor

Bottom Line: He’s a babysitter! He’s a spy! …and if you see this lifeless, uncreative and forgettable movie he’s a thief because he just stole money out of your pocket! I actually liked this movie better in 2005 when it starred Vin Diesel and was called THE PACIFIER. Wait, no I didn’t – I hated ‘em both.

LEAP YEAR (D)

Starring: Amy Adams, Matthew Goode, Adam Scott and John Lithgow

Story: When their four-year anniversary passes without a marriage proposal, Anna decides to take matters into her own hands. Investing in an Irish tradition that allows women to propose to men on February 29th, Anna decides to follow her boyfriend Jeremy to Dublin and get down on one knee herself. But airplanes, weather and fate leave Anna stranded on the other side of Ireland, and she must enlist the help of handsome and surly Declan to get her across the country. As Anna and Declan bicker across the Emerald Isle, they discover that the road to love can take you to very unexpected places. (Universal Pictures)

Rated: PG for sensuality and language

Bottom Line: Sometimes the road to love can take you to unexpected places – and sometimes, like with this unfunny and uncreative movie, it can take to you places you feel you’ve been a million times before. Leap, skip, hop, jump – I don’t care how you do it – just get yourself to another theater playing a better movie.

CRAZY HEART (B)

Starring: Jeff Bridges, Maggie Gyllenhaal, Robert Duvall and Sarah Jane Morris

Story: Bad Blake is a broken-down, hard-living country music singer who's had way too many marriages, far too many years on the road and one too many drinks way too many times. And yet, Bad can’t help but reach for salvation with the help of Jean, a journalist who discovers the real man behind the musician. As he struggles down the road of redemption, Bad learns the hard way just how tough life can be on one man’s crazy heart. (Fox Searchlight)

Rated: R for language and brief sexuality

Bottom Line: This movie, although cliché-ridden and pretty predictable, lies squarely on the shoulders of Jeff Bridges acting - and it’s his tremendous effort here that’ll win him his first Best Actor Academy Award. I repeat, Jeff Bridges for the Oscar gold!