Good Hair

In untangling the issues of identity, sex, culture and commerce surrounding the styling of black hair, Chris Rock has made his funniest film ever.

Amelia

Director Mira Nair motors through a neatly packaged but mostly disappointing depiction of famed pilot Amelia Earharts lofty but ultimately doomed career.

Astro Boy

This big-screen animated adaptation of the wildly popular Japanese manga and television series from the 1960s tells a complex tale of a robot boy.

Cirque du Freak: The Vampire’s Assistant

Teens deal with issues of eternal life and eternal damnation when a freak show comes to town looking for recruits for a vampire war.

Trucker

Michelle Monaghan delivers a riveting performance as a struggling single mom and trucker who is forced to reconnect with the 11-year-old son she hasnt seen since he was a baby.

The Damned United

A finely crafted retelling of the feud between English football managers Brian Clough (Michael Sheen) and Don Revie (Colm Meaney) set against the backdrop of early-’70s England.

This Is It: The late Michael Jackson rehearses before his planned tour.

An Education: A student (Carey Mulligan) in swingin ’60s London falls for an older man (Peter Sarsgaard). Novelist Nick Hornby co-wrote the screenplay, based on Lynn Barbers memoir.

The Canyon: A mysterious guide turns a couples honeymoon in the Grand Canyon into a fight for survival.

Tony Manero: A serial killer is obsessed with Saturday Night Fever.

Somers Town: A black-and-white study of a social environment in London, concentrating on a pair of unlikely new friends and the girl they both fancy.

9

The animated sci-fi film is a perfect example of a thin idea stuffed and stuffed with filler until it loses much of its charm.

The September Issue

This documentary is an absorbing look at the intricate mix of art, theater and politics involved in putting together 2007’s massive fall kickoff issue of Vogue.

Big Fan

Patton Oswalt is a football fan who needs a life. He gets the wrong kind when his gridiron hero beats him into a coma. A rough-edged drama about what happens when safe rooting distance disappears.

The Horse Boy

This intriguing documentary follows an Austin-based couple struggling with their autistic son who take a horseback journey through Mongolia, meeting with the shamanic healers.

Broken Hill

Musically inclined high school kid in a small Australian Outback town gets caught in an act of vandalism and winds up behind bars, where he organizes his fellow inmates into an orchestra and choir.

I Can Do Bad All by Myself

Tyler Perry directs Mary J. Blige, Taraji P. Henson and Gladys Knight. The studio declined to screen this film in advance for critics.

Sorority Row

Sorority sisters try to cover up a murder. The studio declined to screen this film in advance for critics.

Jennifer’s Body: Megan Fox is possessed by an evil demon in this dark comedy set in high school.

Love Happens: Aaron Eckharts motivational speaker finds motivation in Jennifer Aniston.

Cloudy With a Chance of Meatballs: This animated film in which food falls from the sky is based on the book of the same name.

The Informant!: A whistleblower (Matt Damon) fancies himself a secret agent after he agrees to wear a wire and carry a hidden tape recorder to expose a conspiracy within his company.

The Burning Plain: Oscar winners Charlize Theron and Kim Basinger star in this film with colliding stories directed by Guillermo Arriaga.

Bright Star: This period drama follows the romance between poet John Keats and Fanny Brawne. Jane Campion directs.

Lorna’s Silence: Lorna is caught up in an illegal marriage scheme that could have murderous results if she keeps quiet.

Afghan Star

Documentary exploring Afghanistan’s most popular TV show gives a remarkable glimpse into Afghan life: women risking their lives to be on the show and singers of warring ethnicities competing side by side.

The Final Destination 3D

It’s the first 3-D installment for the series where friends try to cheat death with some gruesome results. The studio declined to screened this film in advance for critics.

Halloween II

Rob Zombie continues his re-imagination of the slasher series. The studio declined to screen this film in advance for critics.

Taking Woodstock

Ang Lee directs this trip down a psychedelic memory lane, which re-creates what life was like for those in the vicinity of the Woodstock concert. It’s a trifle uneasy with its few moments of seriousness.

Jerichow

Taut, German-made thriller serves up a classic triangle: an alluring, unhappy wife; a piggish husband; and a handsome loner who can’t help himself.

Extract: Jason Bateman deals with bad luck as an owner of a plant that produces flower extract. Mike Judge directs.

Gamer: Gerard Butler (300) is a prisoner in the near future controlled by a young online game player in this action-thriller.

Carriers: Four friends, including Chris Pine (Star Trek), go on the run from a deadly pandemic and right into danger.

All About Steve: Sandra Bullock falls in love with and follows (read: stalks) Bradley Cooper around the world after one date.

It Might Get Loud: Learn about the history of the electric guitar from three generations of guitar gods: the Edge, Jack White and Jimmy Page.

Soul Power: Documentary chronicles the three-nights-long music festival surrounding the “Rumble in the Jungle.”.

My One and Only: Renée Zellweger leaves her cheating husband behind in 1953 and, with her two sons, heads out to find a replacement.

World’s Greatest Dad: Lance (Robin Williams) passes off a journal as that of his dead son’s after a fake suicide note is published.

24 City: Documentary follows the demolition of China’s state-owned Factory 420, set to become luxury apartments.

Seraphine: Based on a true story, Séraphine de Senlis goes from housekeeper to celebrated artist.

Shorts

Robert Rodriguez directs this collection of short films about kids (and adults) who encounter a magical wishing rock deep in the heart of Texas. It’s a childish but fun fantasy.

Post Grad

This comedy about a college graduate unable to find a job might have been a satirical look into our soured economy. Instead, it’s flat and sitcom-like without any idea of what it wants to be.

Cold Souls

What if you decided you’d be better off without a soul and had it removed? That’s the inspired premise of this surreal film highlighted by dreamlike cinematography.

Youssou N’Dour: I Bring What I Love

Director Chai Vasarhelyi has made a thoughtful and beautifully photographed documentary about Youssou N’Dour, a devout Muslim and Grammy-winning pop music icon.

X Games 3D: The Movie

The X-Games makes a dandy proving ground for 3D film. As a movie, though, it isn’t a movie at all. It’s a 90-minute commercial for the games, lacking drama, compelling characters or story line.

Thirst: A priest becomes a vampire in this movie from Korean director Park Chan-wook (Old Boy).

The Final Destination 3D: It’s the first 3-D installment for the series where friends try to cheat death with some gruesome results.

Halloween II: Rob Zombie continues his re-imagination of the slasher series.

Taking Woodstock: Based on Elliot Tiber’s memoir, this comedy follows his fateful phone call to the producers behind the historic festival.

Jerichow: A series of events affects the relationship between a man, his wife and his employee.

The Time Traveler’s Wife

Eric Bana plays a guy who jumps around time with no control over where or when he goes. Unfortunately, the time-travel gimmick supersedes any sort of substance, depth or character development.

Bandslam

High School Musical clone tells a well-worn tale about music, high school, guilt and fitting in. If you’re too young to know the original “I Want You to Want Me,” Bandslam might tickle your tweenage heart.

Ponyo

The most broadly accessible anime film to reach these shores. It’s too long, and the ending is abrupt and contrived, but Hayao Miyazaki’s film has been translated in a way that grasps his playfulness.

Adam

A quirky woman (Rose Byrne) meets a quirky man (Hugh Dancy) with Asperger’s syndrome. Rom-com is a tad tasteless in the way it reduces Asperger’s to a cutesy plot device.

Spread

A nihilistic man (Ashton Kutcher) seduces older women and then holes up in their luxury LA homes. What could have been a Shampoo for the age of cougars winds up a bungled opportunity.

The Goods: Live Hard, Sell Hard

Comedy about a soulless used-car salesmen strains desperately for raunchy, politically incorrect laughs. Robert Zemeckis covered the same ground in Used Cars, but it was far superior to this clunker.

Inglourious Basterds: Quentin Tarantino directs this movie about a group of Jewish-American soldiers whose sole purpose is to kill Nazis.

Post Grad: A college graduate (Alexis Bledel) faces a change of plans as she moves back in with her quirky family.

Shorts: A town is rocked when a rainbow-colored rock falls from the sky, granting the wishes of whoever holds it.

Cold Souls: Paul Giamatti, starring as himself, wants to lose his soul and finds a mysterious lab that can help.

Youssou N’Dour: I Bring What I Love: African pop musician Youssou N’Dour is profiled in this film from Elizabeth Chai Vasarhelyi.

Afghan Star: Documentary follows four contestants in the popular American Idol-type show in war-torn Afghanistan.

In the Loop

This pointed British satire shows how the prospect of military conflict plays out on the staff level. The laugh lines come so quickly that you’d probably have to watch the movie twice to get them all.

Shrink

Kevin Spacey stars as an LA shrink going through the motions of trying to help his patients. The more Shrink tries to get you invested in its characters, the more you want to tell them to get over themselves.

Aliens in the Attic
A family encounters some friendly and not-so-friendly extraterrestrials while on vacation in Maine. Think action-comedy, not horror. The studio declined to screen this film in advance for critics.

The Collector
An ex-con plots a heist at his new employer’s country home, unaware that a second criminal has rigged it with a series of deadly traps. The studio declined to screen this film in advance for critics.

G.I. Joe: The Rise of Cobra: The summer’s latest action flick is based on the action figure-cartoon franchise.

A Perfect Getaway: A couple fights to stay alive during their backpacking adventure on an island.

Julie & Julia: Based on the book, the film follows Julie Powell on a cooking quest and Julia Child’s life.

Shorts: Arainbow-colored rock falls from the sky, granting the wishes of whoever holds it.

Tetro: A family in Buenos Aires gets caught up in rivalry.

Paper Heart: Charlyne Yi searches across America for the meaning of true love.

The Cove: Ric O’Barry’s quest to save dolphins leads him to a town off the coast of Japan.

The Beaches of Agnes: Filmmaker Agnes Varda makes a biopic on Agnes Varda.