People Don't Like You, Hancock

Robert Downey Jr. saves flashy sequel, say critics

(NEWSER) - Iron Man 2 is clunkier than its predecessor and its self-destructive hero has succumbed to boozy overconfidence, but Robert Downey Jr. saves the film, not to speak of the world, say critics.

• This movie is "bigger, louder and dumber than its predecessor" but still plenty of fun, writes Bill Goodykoontz at the Arizona Republic , praising Downey's "enormously entertaining" performance as the Marvel Comics superhero.

(NEWSER) - Push, the latest would-be superhero franchise, “has vibrant cinematography and decent acting,” writes Roger Ebert, “but I’m blasted if I know what it’s about.” Oh, he gets the basics: Movers are telekinetic, Watchers are psychic, and Pushers control minds. There are also Stitchers, Wipers, Sniffers, Bleeders, “but alas, no Writers or Filmmakers to speak of,” writes Wesley Morris in the Boston Globe. More»

Heath Ledger's final performance burns in the dark

(NEWSER) - Dark Knight swoops into cinemas tomorrow and critics say the hype is more than justified. "This is not merely a Batman movie," Amy Biancolli writes in the Houston Chronicle. It is one of the year's best films "and far and away the most hypnotic chiller." The bleak Gotham tale is "audacious and unnerving while consistently being fun and entertaining," writes Claudia Puig in USA Today. More»

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."

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."