Kristen Bell, Critics Consensus | featured news

This week at the movies, we've got good greed (Wall Street: Money Never Sleeps, starring Michael Douglas and Shia LaBeouf); heroic owls (Legend of the Guardians: The Owls of Ga'Hoole, with voice work by Sam Neill and Geoffrey Rush); and some venomous rivals (You Again, starring Kristen Bell and Jamie Lee Curtis). What do the critics have to say?

This week at the movies, we've got an angry detective (Edge of Darkness, starring Mel Gibson and Ray Winstone) and a Roman holiday (When in Rome, starring Kristen Bell and Josh Duhamel). What do the critics have to say? It's been nearly a decade since Mel Gibson has played a leading role onscreen. And critics say the reason Edge of Darkness works as well as it does is Gibson's presence, which elevates the film above a run-of-the-mill revenge thriller. When in Rome attempts to meld romantic comedy and fairy tale tropes into a picturesque travelogue. However, critics say this long-delayed...

This week at the movies, we've got an anime hero (Astro Boy, with voice work from Kristen Bell and Nicolas Cage); a vampire war ( Cirque du Freak: The Vampire's Assistant, starring Chris Massoglia and John C. Reilly); an aviation pioneer (Amelia, starring Hilary Swank and Richard Gere); and gore galore (Saw Vi, starring Costas Mandylor and Mark Rolston). What do the critics have to say? Osamu Tezuka's Astro Boy is one of anime's most iconic and venerable characters. Now he's getting the big-screen CGI treatment, and the result, critics say, is an energetic but derivative affair.

This week at the movies brings only one wide release: Couples Retreat, starring Vince Vaughn and Kristen Bell in a comedy about a group of friends in marriage counseling in a tropical locale. What do the critics have to say? Couples Retreat contains some of the funniest actors in the business, and is set in a lush island paradise. Sounds like the recipe for a good time, right? Unfortunately, the critics say Couples Retreat is essentially a series of gags sorely in need of some over-arching comic discipline. Jason Bateman and Kristen Bell star as a couple whose relationship is...