Martian Lands With a Thud

Apocalypse flick does $65M as 'Precious' cracks top 5

(NEWSER) - Apocalypse preview 2012 raked in $65 million domestically at the weekend box office, the high end of the prerelease estimate range, en route to a $225 million haul worldwide. The doomsday action flick handily beat A Christmas Carol, which performed strongly in its second weekend in release. A new entry in the top 10 was No. 4 Precious; the indie sensation did $6.1 million and will open in more locations next week, USA Today reports. The top five: More»

End-of-the-world epic is 'disaster porn' at its finest

(NEWSER) - Critics agree that world-destroying disaster epic 2012 boasts some stunning special effects, but they're split on whether that makes up for the cheesy script—and the run time of 2 hours, 38 minutes.

• Director Roland Emmerich's previous destruction-fests Independence Day and The Day After Tomorrow "are nothing compared to the Vegas buffet of apocalyptic scenarios littering 2012," writes the Chicago Trib's Michael Phillips , who "quite enjoyed the experience, at least the first five or six hours of it."

Will Smith, Tommy Lee Jones return for alien flick

(NEWSER) - Sure, no one was that desperate for a Men in Black 3—but it's actually a pretty good summer movie. Will Smith and Tommy Lee Jones are back defending the planet from aliens, and this time, Josh Brolin's along for the ride as a young Jones.

• The movie "turns out to be so much fun," writes AO Scott in the New York Times . While it "carefully fulfills its blockbuster imperatives—with chases and explosions and elaborately contrived plot twists—it swerves into some marvelously silly, unexpectedly witty, and genuinely fresh territory."

Johnny Depp stars in Tim Burton film

(NEWSER) - Critics aren't thrilled with Tim Burton's latest offering, inspired by the late-1960s cult TV show of the same name and starring Johnny Depp as an 18th-century vampire who is buried alive, only to be accidentally dug up in 1972. The film isn't sure what it wants to be:

• Dark Shadows "tries to serve too many masters," writes Joe Neumaier in the New York Daily News . "Initially it’s an epic valentine to the show. Then it’s a vamp-out-of-water story. Soon it’s a gung-ho comedy. Finally it's a monster flick." Still, it "unearths enough fun."

Joss Whedon directs Robert Downey Jr. in superhero blowout

(NEWSER) - Sure, it's an effective moneymaking scheme: release movies about individual superheroes, then one about all of them. But with Joss Whedon at the helm, The Avengers really works. What critics are saying:

• "Even if you don't particularly like comic-book adaptations, this film just might make a believer of you," writes Kenneth Turan in the Los Angeles Times . "Whedon is the key reason why this $220 million behemoth of a movie is smartly thought out and executed with verve and precision."