Rating system: (4=Don't miss, 3=Good, 2=Worth a look, 1=Forget it)

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Astro Boy (PG) (2.5) [Some action and peril, and brief mild language.] [DVD only] When the bright son (Freddie Highmore) of workaholic robotic scientist (voiceover by Nicolas Cage) is accidentally killed when the ambitious, foolhardy president (voiceover by Donald Sutherland) places a powerful energy source in a gigantic, allegedly peacekeeping robot in this action-packed, family-friendly, entertaining, start-studded (voiceovers by Charlize Theron, Scarlett Johansson, Bill Nighy, Eugene Levy, and Nathan Lane) animated film, the grieving father puts his sons DNA into a robot, which eventually finds friends with a gang of orphaned kids (voiceovers by Kristen Bell, et al.) and a bunch of feisty robots (Samuel L. Jackson, et al.), and ultimately saves high-flying Metro City.

Bad Boys for Life (R) (2.5) [Strong bloody violence, language throughout, sexual references, and brief drug use.] After a ruthless, revenge-driven woman (Kate del Castillo) escapes from prison in Mexico City and coerces her skilled drug cartel-leading son (Jacob Scipio) to murder those who wronged her in this action-packed, fast-paced, entertaining, humorous, bullet-riddled, unpredictable, star-studded (Joe Pantoliano, Vanessa Hudgens, D. J. Khaled, Ashley Tisdale, and Theresa Randle), 123-minute comedic sequel to the 1995 Bad Boys and 2003 Bad Boys II films, two longtime detective partners (Will Smith and Martin Lawrence) and an elite team of Miami cops (Paola Nez, Alexander Ludwig, Charles Melton, et al.) try to take down the vicious assassin and his henchmen (Nicky Jam, et al.).

Burn After Reading (R) (4) [Pervasive language, some sexual content, and violence.][DVD only] While a discontented fitness center employee (Frances McDormand) in Washington, D.C., works with a moronic gym instructor (Brad Pitt) and her unsuspecting smitten manager (Richard Jenkins) to blackmail a canned, alcohol-bingeing, condescending CIA analyst (John Malkovich) with his own memoirs to pay for a series of cosmetic surgeries in this hilarious, well-crafted, twist-filled, well-acted, clever, delightfully witty, star-studded (J.K. Simmons, David Rasche, Dermot Mulroney, et al.) 2008 Coen satire, an inventive, bed-hopping U.S. marshal (George Clooney) inadvertently gets mixed up in the money-raising shenanigans when he cheats on his book-touring wife (Elizabeth Marvel) and his mistress (Tilda Swinton).

Cirque du Freak: The Vampires Assistant (PG-13) (3) [Sequences of intense supernatural violence and action, disturbing images, thematic elements, and some language.] [DVD only] After a rebellious, vampire-obsessed teenager (John Hutcherson) is bitten by a deadly spider and his arachnid-loving best friend (Chris Massoglia), who lives with his strict parents (Don McManus and Colleen Camp) and younger sister (Morgan Saylor), seeks the help of a 200-year-old vampire (John C. Reilly) in this imaginative, captivating, intriguing thriller based on the popular series of books by Darren Shan, they end up in the middle of a war between vampires (Willem Dafoe) and Vampanese (Michael Cerveris and Ray Stevenson) that threatens the lives of freaks (Salma Hayek, Ken Wantanabe, Patrick Fugit, Orlando Jones, Jessica Carlson, Chris Kelly, et al.) traveling with the circus.

Dolittle (PG) (3) [Some action, rude humor, and brief language.] After the death of his beloved wife (Kasia Smutniak) and hiding behind the barriers of his plush English estate in the 1800s in this funny, family-friendly, entertaining, predictable, star-dotted (Jim Broadbent, Antonio Banderas, Michael Sheen, and Ralph Ineson), 106-minute comedy highlighted by wonderful cinematography, scenery, sets, and special effects and based on Hugh Loftings The Voyages of Doctor Dolittle, a despondent, widowed veterinarian and animal whisperer (Robert Downey Jr.), who can speak with animals (voiceovers by Ralph Fiennes, Tom Holland, Marion Cotillard, Selena Gomez, Jason Mantzoukas, and Frances de la Tour), goes on an high seas adventure with a stowaway apprentice (Harry Collett) and his loyal exotic menagerie, including a wise macaw (voiceover by Emma Thompson), a fearful gorilla (voiceover by Rami Malek), a bashlyk-wearing polar bear (voiceover by John Cena), an ostrich (voiceover by Kumail Nanjiani), a recovering squirrel (voiceover by Craig Robinson), and a metal-leg duck (voiceover by Octavia Spencer), to find the mysterious, magical fruit on a faraway mythical island in a desperate attempt to save the poisoned queen (Jessica Buckley).

Les Misrables (R) (3) [Language throughout, some disturbing/violent content, and sexual references.] [Subtitled] After an honest, divorced, plainclothes French police corporal (Damien Bonnard) transfers to a new, volatile precinct in Paris to be nearer his son and joins a hotheaded, unethical, bribe-taking, seasoned sergeant(Alexis Manenti) and his longtime, North African cop partner (Djebril Zonga) on their anti-crime squad on his first day in Ladj Lys gritty, powerful, critically acclaimed, violent, well-acted, dark, 104-minute film inspired by the devastating riots in Paris in 2005 and Victor Hugos 1862 novel, tensions escalate as they struggle to stop a gang war in the ghetto between menacing gypsies (Raymond Lopez, et al.) who threaten rival Muslim Brotherhood members (Steve Tientcheu, Almamy Kanoute, et al.) while searching for a lion cub stolen from their traveling circus and when the dangerous situation quickly gets out of control, which happens to be filmed by a voyeuristic, tech-savvy geek (Al-Hassan Ly) flying a drone, due to an angry, marginalized group of children surrounding the officers and one of the kids (Issa Perica) is injured by a flash gun, many lives are threatened as the victim plans an ambush with neighborhood kids and his revenge on the three cops.

Management (R) (2.5) [Language.] [DVD only] When an emotionally crippled Maryland saleswoman (Jennifer Aniston) who sells corporate art meets a lonely, sensitive night manager (Steve Zahn) at an Arizona motel owned by his parents (Margo Martindale and Fred Ward) in this sweet, quirky, surprising, low-key romantic comedy, their differences, her boyfriend (Woody Harrelson), and the miles apart hinder their relationship.

Paranormal Activity (R) (3.5) [Language.] [DVD only] A slow buildup escalates into a stunning, terrifying climax in this creepy, nightmarish, low-budget, cinema-verite-style, mock documentary thriller in which a San Diego English student (Katie Featherston), who has been terrorized by a demonic entity since she was 8 years old, and her boyfriend (Micah Sloat) who ignore the advice of a parapsychologist (Michael Bayouth) and begin recording their eerie experiences in the fall of 2006.

Underwater (PG-13) (2) [Sci-fi action and terror, and brief strong language.] After a catastrophic earthquake endangers the crew of a research station more than six miles down in the Mariana Trench in the Pacific Ocean in this disappointing, dark, well-paced, predictable, 95-minute sci-fi thriller, the surviving researchers (KristenStewart, Vincent Cassel, John Gallagher Jr., T. J. Miller, Jessica Henwick, Gunner Wright, and Mamadou Athie) desperately try to find a way to reach the surface from their laboratory while mysterious subterranean creatures terrorize the crew.

Wendy Schadewald is a Burnsville resident.

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Short Redhead Reel Reviews for the week of Jan. 17 - ECM Publishers