GHOST RIDER — * 1/2 — Nicolas Cage looks ridiculous as the comic book character. Running time: 110 minutes, PG-13 (violence)

GRINDHOUSE — ** 1/2 — Robert Rodriguez and Quentin Tarantino's homage to '70s trash cinema is too much of a good-bad thing. Running time: 191 minutes, R (violence, gore, profanity, drugs, sex, vulgarity, nudity, racial epithets)

HANNIBAL RISING — * 1/2 — This "prequel" to "The Silence of the Lambs" is surprisingly dull. Running time: 118 minutes, R (violence, gore, profanity, vulgarity, torture, drugs, racial epithets, brief nudity)

HAPPY FEET — ** 1/2 — This Oscar-winning animated musical-comedy gets in trouble when it tries to send a message. Running time: 97 minutes, PG (violence, vulgarity)

THE HAUNTING OF MARSTEN MANOR — * 1/2 — The scariest thing about this locally produced feature is that it features no scares at all. Running time: 80 minutes, PG (violent imagery, brief gore)

THE HOAX — *** — Richard Gere is appropriately sleazy in this fascinating, if fictionalized, real-life tale about a literary fraud. Running time: 115 minutes, R (profanity, violence, brief nudity, vulgarity, brief drugs)

THE LAST MIMZY — ** — It was a mistake for this science-fiction adventure to so closely resemble "E.T. The Extra-Terrestrial." Running time: 97 minutes, PG (violence, profanity)

THE LOOKOUT — *** — This gimmicky yarn is occasionally too smart for its own good. Running time: 98 minutes, R (violence, profanity, vulgarity, brief sex, brief partial nudity, brief gore, brief drugs)

MEET THE ROBINSONS — *** — Disney's latest animated feature is sort of goofy and cool. Running time: 92 minutes, G (violence, mild vulgarity, brief drugs)

MISS POTTER — *** — This biography of "Peter Rabbit" creator Beatrix Potter really is family-friendly. Running time: 92 minutes, PG (mild profanity)

MUSIC AND LYRICS — ** 1/2 — Hugh Grant makes this formulaic romantic comedy funnier than it should be. Running time: 104 minutes, PG-13 (vulgarity, brief sex, brief drugs)

THE NAMESAKE — *** 1/2 — Kal Penn's credible lead performance is just one of the delights of this low-key character study. With subtitles, running time: 122 minutes, PG-13 (sex, violence, profanity, drugs, brief nudity, vulgarity, brief gore)