Star Wars: The Clone Wars
3 1/2 stars
Roger Moore of the Orlando Sentinel writes: This "Clone Wars" big-screen preview of the new fall TV series is actually better than expected. Action- packed computer animation with long, lean, gaunt characters who look like a cartoon that El Greco might have whipped up on his Macintosh, it brings familiar characters (Anakin, Obi Wan, Jabba, Count Dooku, Padme, Mace, Yoda, right) into the middle of the wars that earlier movies and a TV series touched on – the war between the clone soldiers of the Republic and the battle droids of the Sith. Rated PG
Hellboy II: The Golden Army
3 stars
In "Hellboy II: The Golden Army," the creatures are real characters. Director Guillermo del Toro ("Pan's Labyrinth") lends personality along with visual flair to the picture's special-effects creations, from bone-chomping fairies to a "centaur" who is half man, half cart. They're the reason "Hellboy II," del Toro's sequel to his 2004 film, in turn based on Mike Mignola's comic book, entertains at the level it does.
"Hellboy II" revisits the big red guy (Ron Perlman) who was born in hell, coveted by Nazi occultists, rescued by a kind professor (John Hurt, in a flashback scene) and ensconced as a crime-fighter for the Bureau for Paranormal Research and Defense. Hellboy was lovable in the first film, but he's even more so here. Perlman lends Hellboy a genuinely perplexed quality as he tries to figure out what women in general, and girlfriend Liz in particular, want. He doesn't want to be the boyfriend from hell. Rated PG-13
This Christmas
2 1/2 stars
Some scenes in "This Christmas" last so long, they seem to stretch into Groundhog Day. Lively at times, this drama-comedy lags at others, especially during a scene where actor and pop star Chris Brown performs on stage.
Brown (above, with Loretta Devine), who is talented and adorable, is playing just one of six siblings gathered for Christmas at matriarch Shirley Whitfield's (Devine) home. In preparation for the holiday, Shirley Whitfield has been busy cooking and hiding the belongings of her longtime boyfriend, Joe (Delroy Lindo), in the garage.
During the holidays, she pretends that Joe doesn't live there. Warm and affectionate toward her children but assertive when she needs to be, Shirley is always a lady. Rated PG-13
Noelle
3 stars
Roger Moore of the Orlando Sentinel writes: In a bid to spark interest in a Cape Cod Catholic church that is in decline, the children of the parish perform a Nativity play. We've come to expect the pious, the warm and the sentimental from the recent run of films aimed at the Christian moviegoer. But that has typically made for pretty bland cinema. "Noelle" is the first movie in this genre to add wit to the recipe. It's clever, well-acted and almost but not quite edgy. It asks hard questions about abstinence, abortion, misuse of church funds and alcohol abuse. It has Catholic priests behaving badly – no, not that badly.
And it dares to be funny. Rated PG
Also on DVD this week
• "Mind of Mencia: Season Four"
• "Mister Peepers: Season 2"
• "Star Trek: The Original Series – Season 3"
• "Firefly: The Complete Series"
• Restored versions of "Roman Holiday" (1953), "Sabrina" (1954) and "Sunset Blvd." (1950)
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