Playing at local movie theaters

RELIGULOUS — ★★ — Basically 100-plus minutes of Bill Maher making fun of others (including LDS Church members) for their religious beliefs. Running time: 104 minutes, R (violence, profanity, vulgarity, drugs, slurs, brief sex, brief nudity)

ROLE MODELS — ★★★ — The funniest of a recent lot of calculated-to-offend comedies, and not just by a little. Paul Rudd and Seann William Scott star. Running time: 99 minutes, R (vulgarity, profanity, drugs, nudity, violence, slurs, brief sex)

SAW V — ★ — Another "Saw" movie … as fresh as a jack-o'-lantern left out in the sun until Thanksgiving. Running time: 88 minutes, R (violence, gore, torture, profanity, brief nudity) — Roger Moore, The Orlando Sentinel

SEVEN POUNDS — ★★ — The re-teaming of Will Smith and the "Pursuit of Happyness" filmmaker is a solid misfire with only a few really engaging moments. Running time: 120 minutes, PG-13 (violence, sex, profanity, gore, brief drugs, slurs, vulgarity)

SLUMDOG MILLIONAIRE — ★★½ — This gimmicky, supposedly comic fable has some real nastiness and poor-taste elements to it. With subtitles, running time: 121 minutes, R (violence, profanity, slurs, vulgarity, torture, brief nudity, brief drugs)

THE SPIRIT — ★ — An eye-popping but awful, comic book action movie that suggests a bizarre combination of Warren Beatty's 1990 movie version of "Dick Tracy" and "Frank Miller's Sin City." Running time: 108 minutes, PG-13 (violence, gore, profanity, drugs, slurs, brief partial nudity, vulgarity)

THE TALE OF DESPEREAUX — ★★★ — This animated adventure tale is the best cartoons we've seen in a while. It definitely has some charms and enough action and intrigue to keep the kids interested — and enough of both to ensure that their parents aren't completely bored. Running time: 93 minutes, G (violence, mild profanity)

TWILIGHT — ★★½ — This romanticized horror/fantasy tale isn't a classic redefining of the vampire mythology. But it's not awful. Running time: 122 minutes, PG-13 (violence, brief gore, mild profanity, slurs, brief drugs)

VALKYRIE — ★★½ — What Bryan Singer's fact-based, World War II assassination thriller really has going for it is a good supporting cast. Tom Cruise stars. Running time: 120 minutes, PG-13 (violence, profanity, brief gore, slurs, vulgarity, nude art, brief drugs)

W. — ★★ — Josh Brolin is the best part of Oliver Stone's inconsistent biography of President Bush. Running time: 129 minutes, PG-13 (violence, profanity, vulgarity, drugs, slurs, brief gore)

YES MAN — ★★ — A pretty lazy comedy that relies on crudity and on other easy, cheap humor and jokes rather than trying to do something that's actually clever. Jim Carrey stars. Running time: 104 minutes, PG-13 (profanity, vulgarity, sex, violence, partial nudity, slurs)

ZACK AND MIRI MAKE A PORNO — ★★ — Kevin Smith's already controversial sex comedy doesn't work, and the whole thing feels forced and insincere. Running time: 101 minutes, R (vulgarity, profanity, nudity, sex, slurs, violence, brief drugs)