Clooney Wows in Sleek Clayton

But maybe he could have kept that to himself?

(NEWSER) - George Clooney voted for Jeff Bridges instead of himself to win this year's Best Actor Oscar, and he even photographed his ballot and sent it to Bridges with best wishes. Stuff like this is why Clooney "might be the classiest man in Hollywood," declare the experts at the New York Post 's Page Six. More»

Juno , I'm Not There , and No Country take top spots

(NEWSER) - Film critics offer their top picks for 2007, ranging from quirky dramedy (Juno) to drama (Michael Clayton) to foreign fare (The Diving Bell and the Butterfly). Roger Ebert, Chicago Sun-Times:

1. Juno
2. No Country for Old Men
3. Before the Devil Knows You're Dead

1. There Will Be Blood
2. No Country for Old Men
3. I'm Not There

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."