Avatar
*** ( 3 STARS)
$54.
million
$504.8 million
5 weeks
Rated : PG-13
Running time : 2:40
What it's about : A paraplegic ex-Marine (Sam Worthington, above) controls the body of an "avatar," a body of a creature on another planet, and gets caught up in a struggle between the humans and the natives.
Our take : James Cameron has delivered the most-anticipated blend of live-action and motion-capture animation to date, but the story's simplistic.
The Book of Eli
*** ( 3 STARS)
$38.4
million
$38.4 million
1 week
Rated : R
Running time : 1:58
What it's about : In a post-apocalyptic future, a lone warrior (Denzel Washington, above) must protect a book that holds the secrets to saving mankind.
Our take : A good, righteously wrathful genre picture. We've been down similar roads before, but the cast is excellent and the Hughes brothers work the apocalyptic turf in medium-budget style.
The Lovely Bones
** ( 2 STARS)
$15.1
million
$15.1 million
1 week
Rated : PG-13
Running time : 2:15
What it's about : A murdered girl (Saoirse Ronan, above) watches over her family and her killer from an in-between realm.
Our take : With the observational prose of Alice Sebold's original book gone, all that's left is a series of heavenly landscapes resembling a Claritin commercial.
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Alvin and the Chipmunks: The Squeakquel
* ( 1 STAR)
$15.3
million
$196.3 million
4 weeks
Rated : PG
Running time : 1:28
What it's about : Alvin, above, and the chipmunks head to school and face off against the Chipettes in a battle of the bands.
Our take : Whatever slim charms there were in the nostalgic, musically cute and slapstick-friendly first film of chipmunk mania are squished right out of this sequel.
The Spy Next Door
* 1/2 ( 1 1/2 STARS)
$15.1
million
$15.1 million
1 week
Rated : PG
Running time : 1:32
What it's about : A former spy's (Jackie Chan, above) old life resurfaces while he's baby-sitting his girlfriend's three kids.
Our take : Chan's new all-ages vehicle is smooth like oatmeal. It's hard to imagine anyone being offended, except fans of good comedy.