"Twilight" *** (out of four): Stephenie Meyer's lovesick vampire tale provides more than enough passion and slashin' to sink your teeth into.

There's something about doomed love affairs that gets people all aflutter, whether it's Romeo and Juliet or Jack and Rose or even Ryan and Reese. "Twilight," based on the first book of Stephenie Meyer's uber-popular young-adult series, capitalizes on this notion and is featured on posters worldwide, declaring "Nothing will be the same." It's true -- there's no going back to mere mortals once you've tasted a vampire.

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"Quantum of Solace" *** (out of four): The latest Bond entry is Bourne again - it delivers the action goods, but is it a Bond movie?

The James Bond franchise (one of the most successful in film history) has always been about formula. So calling a Bond movie formulaic is like called Blofeld a cat-lover. It goes without saying. Occasionally, every decade or so (less in the case of the unfairly derided George Lazenby), the franchise will stir things up a bit with the introduction of a new Bond actor. It's a different face but, generally, it's the same old game. Gadgets, girls, martinis, and globe-trotting action. Bond, James Bond.

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"Role Models" **1/2 (out of four): In David Wain's childish new comedy, Paul Rudd and Seann William Scott play two slackers who seem allergic to growing up.

Cinematic man-children are all the craze nowadays, especially if they're over 30 and still live at home, can't hold down a job and have never touched a woman. Hoping to capitalize on this not-so-lovable-loser trend, writer/director David Wain conjured up "Role Models," in which Paul Rudd ("Anchorman") and Seann William Scott ("American Pie") play two grown-up slackers on the fast track to nowhere. It's a solid formula for a comedy, though the film never quite reaches its full potential.

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"Soul Men" *** (out of four): Bernie Mac and Samuel L. Jackson deliver plenty of smiles, laughs, and (of course) soul in this welcome addition to the road movie canon.

"Soul Men" centers on two former back-up singers, Louis Hinds (Samuel L. Jackson) and Floyd Henderson (Bernie Mac), who had achieved modest success as a part of the 60's soul music act "Marcus Hooks and the Real Deal". Unfortunately for them, their lead singer, Marcus Hooks (a nice cameo by John Legend), left them to fend for themselves and found fame and fortune as a solo act. Henderson and Hinds were not so lucky, spending thirty years sinking into the footnotes of music history, until they are given the opportunity to reclaim past glory by performing at the star-studded tribute concert for the recently deceased Hooks. They just have to survive their long-standing feud and a drive from California to New York to get there.

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"Madagascar: Escape 2 Africa in IMAX" *** (out of four): With this, the second film in the Madagascar series, Dreamworks Animation gives us more of the same. And by that I mean a fun-filled romp through the wild with our friendly foursome of zany zoosters.

When is "more of the same" a compliment? When it describes a sequel to a successful and enjoyable original animated film. Madagascar: Escape 2 Africa, the follow-up to 2005's Madagascar, falls squarely into this camp. The lovably quirky original foursome of zoo animals from the first film is back, along with their friends, the penguins, the monkeys, the lemur king Julien (and his two sidekicks) plus an entourage of new characters.

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"Zack and Miri Make a Porno" *** (out of four): After an exhausting dry spell, Kevin Smith finally scores with "Zack and Miri."

Once upon a time in a land far, far away, called the '90s, Kevin Smith churned out memorable, uproarious films such as "Clerks" and "Chasing Amy." Then for a long stretch, he lost his way, getting plowed by the sentimentality train ("Jersey Girl") and forgetting that louder doesn't necessarily mean funnier ("Clerks 2"). Devout fans have been waiting, patiently, for the writer/director to return to form, and their wish has finally been granted with "Zack and Miri Make a Porno."

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"Changeling" ** (out of four): A nine-year-old boy disappears and his mother's search is chronicled in this based on truth tale that engenders curiosity but leaves one strangely detached.

Clint Eastwood is here to unveil his yearly "mega-depth" film that will no doubt garner lots of attention based on its strong showing at Cannes. In his latter years he has gone from movie tough guy to noted auteur, at least to some degree. While I've enjoyed some of his recent films, I've also found others to be grandly overrated. "Million Dollar Baby" immediately pops to mind as an example of this.

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"Synecdoche, New York" **1/2 (out of four): Don't expect any "Eternal Sunshine" in "Synecdoche".

Screenwriter Charlie Kaufman ("Being John Malkovich", "Adaptation", "Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind") makes his directing debut with "Synecdoche, NY" ( rhymes with Schenectady), the story of a self-involved artist who struggles to understand life, death and heartbreak.

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"W." *** (out of four): Oliver Stone delivers a surprisingly entertaining, almost sympathetic look at our much-maligned 43rd President.

Has Oliver Stone softened in his old age? One would think, based on previous works like "Platoon", "JFK" and "Nixon", that his portrait of the man who led us into the Iraq war would be yet another burning in effigy. Instead, Stone offers a surprisingly entertaining, almost sympathetic look at our much-maligned 43rd President.

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"Max Payne" *1/2 (out of four): Director John Moore delivers the goods, but it's not enough to overcome an extremely weak script.

There is a great deal of difference between what makes a video game successful and what makes a movie successful. Those who remember both playing and sitting through "Super Mario Brothers" (the first such adaptation) learned this lesson quickly. Hollywood has yet to catch on.

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"Body of Lies" ***1/2 (out of four): A tight, first-rate espionage thriller that casts a bleak light on American involvement in the Middle East.

Summer has its big-budget popcorn movies, Fall has its "important" tent-pole films with big stars tackling big issues. Russell Crowe, Leonardo DiCaprio and Ridley Scott are three names so big that you'd think they might have already made a movie like "Body of Lies" - a first-rate spy thriller with its finger on the pulse of current events. Well, they haven't. But now that they have, we can be thankful that all three men, along with screenwriter William Monahan ("The Departed"), are in fine fighting form. Adapted from Washington Post columnist David Ignatius's 2007 novel, "Lies" overcomes a rote trailer and tired tagline ("Trust no one") to become the first must-see of the season.

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"The Express" **1/2 (out of four): This familiar sports movie puts a decent team on the field, but fails to cross the goal line.

There seem to be certain requirements to the average sports movie. There's the protagonist who is willing to do whatever it takes, the hard-bitten coach, the ultra-supportive best friend, the father-figure (ideally dead) to live up to, and, of course, the big game. "The Express" doesn't offer much beyond these, but still manages to rise slightly above the Mendoza Line.

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"Nick and Norah's Infinite Playlist" ** (out of four): Even Michael Cera's unique brand of awkwardness can't save this frustratingly weak adaptation.

As a long-time New York City resident, I, for one, am tired of seeing my city destroyed in movies - most recently in the Manhattan monster movie "Cloverfield". That film was viewed through the eyes of a younger generation, perhaps, sadly, ushering them into a new era of NYC-based destruction. So I'm happy to report that the youth of America appears to still love New York. At least, that is, if "Nick and Norah's Infinite Playlist" is any indication.

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"Religulous" *** (out of four): While often hilarious, Bill Maher's attack on religious fundamentalism is all bark and no bite.

With his shows "Politically Incorrect" and "Real Time", comedian Bill Maher has made a career out of controversy. It should come as no surprise, then, that he would tackle the last great taboo in American discourse: Religion. Starring Maher and directed by Larry Charles ("Borat"), "Religulous" seeks to understand why people choose to believe in their respective faiths.

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"Blindness" *** (out of four): A strong script and stellar ensemble cast propel this extended metaphor about a world suddenly afflicted with blindness. Ironically, it's not an easy film to watch, nor should it be.

In a nondescript time, in a nondescript country, an epidemic is tearing through the population. Referred to as the "white sickness", it blocks people's vision, leaving them seeing only a bright white light. One of the first to be afflicted is "The Doctor", played by Mark Ruffalo ("Zodiac"), who is quickly packed away by a panicked government. "The Doctor's Wife", played by Julianne Moore ("Children of Men"), fearing for her husband's safety, insists that she be taken as well, falsely claiming that she has also gone blind. In short order, both find themselves confined to a dismal quarantine facility that lacks staff, medical supplies, and all but the most basic requirements for survival.

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