Brokeback Mountain
What It's About: A ranch hand (Heath Ledger) and a small-time rodeo man (Jake Gyllenhaal) fall in love herding sheep on Brokeback Mountain.
Rated: R
The scoop: It's pretty, tasteful and long, but if you're hungering for an old-fashioned male weepy, this is the one for you.
Grade: C
The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe
What It's About: C.S. Lewis' classic tale of four British children going from the frying pan of London during the Blitz to the cold fire of a battle between good and evil in the fantastic parallel world of Narnia.
Rated: PG
The scoop: A wonderful escape into a landscape filled with marvels as well as cogent moral quandaries - especially when the magnificent Tilda Swinton makes the scene as the White Witch.
Grade: A
Fun With Dick and Jane
What It's About: Upper-middle-class couple (Jim Carrey and Tea Leoni) turns suburban Bonnie and Clyde.
Rated: PG-13
The scoop: Carrey and Leoni team up for some belly-quaking gags, but most of the movie is just as feeble as it was in 1977 with George Segal and Jane Fonda.
Grade: C+
King Kong
What It's About: You know - the beauty and the beast (a 25-foot gorilla), this time with more dinosaurs and creepy critters than ever on Skull Island.
Rated: PG-13
The scoop: Peter Jackson delivers all the thrills you expect from him, and all the emotion, too - Naomi Watts and the big ape are this Christmas' dream couple.
Grade: B+
Memoirs of a Geisha
What It's About: Rob (Chicago) Marshall's adaptation of Arthur Golden's beloved best-seller about Kyoto geisha life at its height.
Rated: PG-13
The scoop: Even with Ziyi Zhang in the lead role (and Gong Li and Michelle Yeoh in support), it's a gorgeous tapestry without human figures compelling enough to anchor it.
Grade: C+
Munich
What It's About: The Israeli government pursues the men it believes planned the slaughter of 11 of its Olympic athletes at the 1972 Summer Games.
Rated: R
The scoop: Turgid, sermonizing and not all that thrilling, this assassination-procedural will still stir up heated talk at your local beanery.
Grade: C-
Pride and Prejudice
What It's About: As in Jane Austen's 1813 novel, potential lovers must see beyond their own, well, pride and prejudice.
Rated: PG
The scoop: Keira Knightley's surprisingly strong star performance makes this latest adaptation more of a date movie than a chick flick.
Grade: B-
The Producers
What It's About: Max Bialystock (Nathan Lane) and Leo Bloom (Matthew Broderick) set out to produce the worst show ever put on Broadway.
Rated: PG-13
The scoop: It's at times this rendering of the hit musical is clunky, but it's also infectiously funny, especially when Will Ferrell is on screen as the author of Springtime for Hitler.
Grade: B
The Squid and the Whale
What It's About: It's Brooklyn, 1986, and a frustrated novelist and professor (Jeff Daniels) and his up-and-coming writer wife are on the rocks, much to the chagrin of their sons (Jesse Eisenberg and Owen Kline).
Rated: R
The scoop: To add a third animal to the mix, Noah Baumbach's comedy-drama about his parents' split is like Woody Allen without the bull.
Grade: A-
Walk the Line
What It's About: Country music legend Johnny Cash (Joaquin Phoenix) rises, falls and rises again with the love of June Carter Cash (Reese Witherspoon).
Rated: PG-13
The scoop: Phoenix and Witherspoon act - and vocalize - their way into movie legend with their uncanny performances.
Grade: A