Author:   Justin Souther

The Story: A Vegas cabbie picks up a couple of kids, who turn out to be space aliens in search of their crashed flying saucer. Family-friendly, PG-rated, high-flying adventure follows. The Lowdown: A perfectly adequate -- if unnecessary -- adventure flick that barely functions as a sci-fi yarn and will most likely only appeal to…

The Story: A group of Star Wars fanatics drive cross-country in order to steal a copy of The Phantom Menace before it’s released into theaters. The Lowdown: A generally unfunny, unoriginal comedy that at the very least is oddly likable due to the makers’ affection for the subject matter.

The Story: Two high-school jocks decide to con their way into a cheerleading camp with hopes of conquering many nubile young women. Important life lessons follow. The Lowdown: A standard teenage-sex romp neutered with a PG-13 rating. The movie is never quite obnoxious, but never quite any good.

The Story: An Interpol agent and a New York City assistant district attorney try to bring to justice a powerful bank that is involved in an arms deal. The Lowdown: An intelligent thriller that may skimp a bit on the action, but makes up for it with a classy cast and strong direction.

The Story: Inspector Jacques Clouseau returns to find the missing Pink Panther diamond that has been stolen by a legendary thief named The Tornado. The Lowdown: A grating, tiring exercise due completely and totally to the worn-out antics of Steve Martin.

The Story: A group of people with telekinetic and clairvoyant powers living in Hong Kong must track down a briefcase that will free them from the tyranny of an evil U.S. government agency. The Lowdown: A surprisingly competent sci-fi thriller that’s never as clever as it thinks it is, but is held together by the…

The Story: The daughter of a former spy is kidnapped in Paris, sending dear old dad across the Atlantic and on a rampage in an effort to get her back. The Lowdown: An often times goofy, far-fetched and overly serious action flick that’s never really dull, but is entertaining only for unintentional reasons.

The Story: The life and times of Christopher Wallace, better known as the rapper the Notorious B.I.G. The Lowdown: A standard biopic -- with every downside this entails -- that’s almost redeemed by a strong final act that never quite makes up for the clumsiness of what came before.

The Story: A married couple attempts to overcome a number of difficult setbacks and temptations that threaten their bond. The Lowdown: Generally well made, but dramatically uninteresting. The film is better than the usual Christian-oriented cinematic creation, but that’s not enough to keep the movie from being dreadfully dull.

The Story: A hotel maintenance worker attempts to change his lot in life once he realizes the fanciful bedtime stories he has been telling his niece and nephew are coming true in real life. The Lowdown: The usual tired brand of Adam Sandler comedy, but now with the added bonus of being wrapped up in…

The Story: The tale of a growing family and their unruly dog, and the life lessons that come with both. The Lowdown: A meandering, sloppy affair that’s more concerned with tricking the audience into waterworks than actually creating sympathetic characters or an involving plot.

The Story: A sullen man with a penchant for saying “no” to everything decides to do the exact opposite after attending a self-help seminar. He says “yes” to every opportunity that presents itself and goes along with the misadventures that follow. The Lowdown: What could have been another grating Jim Carrey high-concept comedy is surprisingly…

The Story: The rise and eventual fall of pioneering American rock-n-roll label Chess Records. The Lowdown: A fairly standard biographical film that is nearly lifted to something more solely by virtue of the film’s first-rate cast.

The Story: Delgo, a teenage lizard-man living in a fantasy realm, tries to save the princess of his people’s mortal enemies, a race of creatures with insect wings. This, in turn, will prevent an oncoming war. The Lowdown: A cheap, shoddy, superfluous animated adventure that had no point in ever being made, let alone shown…

The Story: Frank Martin is back. This time, at the behest of a shady American, he transports a trunk full of duffel bags, accompanied by a mysterious young woman. The Lowdown: A parade of over-the-top fight sequences and car chases that’s damn entertaining simply because it revels in its own absurdity and never takes itself…

The Story: A young, naive, lonely German boy -- and son of a Nazi officer -- makes friends with a Jewish child who he believes is living on a farm, but who is in fact living in a concentration camp. The Lowdown: Full of good intentions, the movie falls victim to its own snail-like pacing,…

The Story: A TV-star dog -- who believes he’s some sort of “super dog” because he doesn’t realize he’s living his life on the set of a wildly popular adventure show -- escapes into the real world in order to track down his master, only to learn that life is much different in reality. The…

The Story: Two washed up soul musicians travel cross-country in order to play a tribute concert for their former partner. The Lowdown: An amiable, but overlong and uneventful comedy that’s entertaining through the sheer force of the personalities of Samuel L. Jackson and Bernie Mac.

The Story: The various zoo animals from 2005’s Madagascar return in an attempt to leave the island of Madagascar and head home, only to end up on the mainland in the company of Alex the lion’s estranged family. The Lowdown: A safe and comfy sequel to an already lacking original, with this one offering more…

The Story: Two down-on-their-luck lifelong friends decide to make a skin flick in order to pay their bills. The Lowdown: An extremely adult sex comedy from Kevin Smith, which shows the director’s continuing maturity as both a writer and a director, but trades too much on hit-and-miss vulgarity to be as funny as it could…

The Story: A collection of teens deal with the pains of G-rated high school, while attempting to stage their senior-year musical. The Lowdown: A poorly directed, meandering musical full of unmemorable pop songs. As a whole, the movie is of little use to anyone who’s not already a fan of the series’ previous television incarnations.