Capsules
By Dan Hudak

A Serious Man: B+
(Michael Stuhlbarg, Richard Kind, Fred Melamed) Life couldn’t be worse for Larry Gopnik (Stuhlbarg), an embattled physics professor in an unnamed Midwestern city circa 1967: His wife (Sari Lennick) is leaving him for another man (Melamed), his crazy brother (Kind) refuses to leave the bathroom, the kids disrespect him and his bosses aren’t sure if he should be granted tenure. This tale of malaise is one of the Coen Bros.’ (“No Country For Old Men”) best, largely because of the way a sense of foreboding doom pervades ordinary life. Special kudos to Broadway veteran Stuhlbarg as the ultimate beta male who can’t win. Rated R.

Where the Wild Things Are: C
(Max Records, Voices of James Gandolfini, Catherine O’Hara) Young Max (Records) gets in a fight with his mother (Catherine Keener) and runs away to an imaginary world of humungous creatures that treat Max as their king. It’s fun to watch Max interact with the creatures, but a story that goes nowhere and builds to nothing makes the movie feel tiresome very quickly. It’s ironic and a bit sad that the best moments come in the first 15 minutes, as Max plays near his home. Based on the beloved children’s book by Maurice Sendak. Rated PG.

Law Abiding Citizen: C+
(Gerard Butler, Jamie Foxx, Colm Meaney) Ten years after his wife and daughter were murdered, a family man (Butler) seeks revenge on the justice system that allowed one of the murderers to go free. The film’s social commentary gets lost in the plot holes and gratuitous violence, but as a whole this is a fresh idea that’s always entertaining. Rated R.

Couples Retreat: B
(Vince Vaughn, Jon Favreau, Malin Akerman) Four couples take their troubled relationships to a gorgeous paradise island in this funny but predictable comedy. It takes a bit too long to get to the island and the jokes are one sketch after another, but the reality of the couples’ hardships and consistent laughs allow the movie to work. Rated PG-13.

Yoo-Hoo, Mrs. Goldberg: B
(Ruth Bader Ginsberg, Edward Asner, Norman Lear) Before Lucy there was Gertrude Berg, a radio and television star who created the modern sit-com as we know it. This documentary by Aviva Kempner explores her career as a writer and actor, and looks at why we’ve never heard of her. The story also goes in some interesting directions when it discusses Blacklisting and Berg’s fight to break into the film industry. Not Rated.

Gotta Dance: B
(Joe Bianco, Jaclyn Sabol, Petra Pope) The first year (2007) of the NET-Sationals, a senior dance team that performs during home games for the NBA’s New Jersey Nets, is chronicled in this inspiring documentary. Writer/director Dori Berinstein flirts with issues of staying fit as we age and the pressure put on the team of 60-plus seniors, but the joy of the film shines through as the squad embraces hip-hop music and dancing. Not Rated.

Zombieland: B
(Jesse Eisenberg, Woody Harrelson, Emma Stone) With earth overrun by zombies after a virus wipes out most of humanity, the survivors (Eisenberg, Harrelson, Stone and Abigail Breslin) work together to stay alive. You’ll expect the playful violence, but the laugh-out-loud humor may take many by surprise. In fact, this is the best horror-comedy since “Shaun of the Dead” in 2004, which was also about zombies. Rated R.

Toy Story & Toy Story 2: C
(Voices of Tom Hanks, Tim Allen, Wallace Shawn) With “Toy Story 3-D” coming next summer, Disney has re-released the “Toy Story” movies as a double feature (two for the price of one!) for two weeks, with the added attraction being that they’re now in 3-D. Unfortunately, the 3-D doesn’t add much and isn’t very impressive, so don’t go for that reason. But if you want to see the movies again, or haven’t seen one or both of them, they’re still fabulous and great to watch on the big screen. Otherwise there’s no reason to spend the money. Another note: The two movies, combined with a 15-minute intermission, means more than three hours in the theater. This may be too much for some youngsters. Rated G.

Whip It: B
(Ellen Page, Kristen Wiig, Drew Barrymore) With a mother (Marcia Gay Harden) who wants her to be a beauty queen, teen misfit Bliss Cavendar (Page, “Juno”) finds her true calling and new friends (Wiig, Barrymore) in the dangerous and exciting sport of roller derby. It’s painfully predictable, but first-time director Barrymore finds a way to make it work in terms of humor, action and drama. This is the perfect choice for a girl’s night out. Rated PG-13.

Cloudy With A Chance Of Meatballs: B
(Voices of Bill Hader, Anna Faris, James Caan) Ice cream, steak, spaghetti and (yes) meatballs rain from the sky after young inventor Flint Lockwood (voice of Hader) creates a machine that turns water into food. The 3-D animation (in select cities) looks fabulous, particularly during the “spaghetti twister” sequence that slings giant pasta and meatballs about the town. The story (based on the children’s book by Ron and Judi Barrett) works nicely as well: It’s sweet, not too sentimental and has some good laughs. Rated PG.

The Informant!: C
(Matt Damon, Scott Bakula, Joel McHale) An executive (Damon) with a corn-processing company becomes paranoid and turns whistleblower to the F.B.I. when his company’s global price-fixing scheme threatens his job. Logic would suggest that he tell the F.B.I. agents (Bakula and McHale) all he knows, but that’s not his style. Through the oversaturated visual style, cartoonish music and random voiceover narration, director Steven Soderbergh (“Traffic”) is going for an oddball funny reality here, but only achieves unfunny oddball. Rated R.