'Spiderwick Chronicles'

3 stars = Good
Ratings explained

On the down side, "The Spiderwick Chronicles" will have your child thinking there are monsters living in the walls. On the plus side, some of them are quite amusing once you get to know them.

Based on the books by Tony DiTerlizzi and Holly Black, "Spiderwick" is a family horror-fantasy involving a divorced mom (Mary-Louise Parker) and three kids (Sarah Bolger and Freddie Highmore doing double duty as twins) who move into an old estate haunted by goblins and ogres at war with each other.

It was occupied at one time by a mysterious uncle, Arthur Spiderwick (David Strathairn), who created "Field Guide to the Fantastical World Around You," a revealing volume that some monsters don't want the other monsters to get. The kids are caught in the middle, forced to solve the mysteries and then battle for their lives.

Martin Short and Seth Rogen add smiles with their creature voices and, parents of little ones be warned, despite the PG rating, the ultimate showdown with the fearsome Mulgarath is more "Aliens" than "Shrek."

The extras include deleted scenes and chronicle how the British Highmore played two American kids, how they made the monsters and what tomato sauce can do to a movie set.

-- Scott Mervis, Post-Gazette Weekend Mag editor

'Definitely, maybe'

3 stars = Good
Ratings explained

So you think you're a smarty-pants when it comes to romantic comedies? This one might take you by surprise, as you try to guess which of three women -- played by Elizabeth Banks, Isla Fisher and Rachel Weisz -- turns out to be Abigail Breslin's mother.

Ryan Reynolds stars as Will Hayes, an aspiring politician and Bill Clinton campaign worker turned ad executive who spins the story of his past 15 years into a story for his daughter. He tracks three courtships, which led to a marriage and impending divorce, in what Reynolds calls a "romantic whodunit." It is that, but as Will looks back on his life, he realizes what he wants from the future.

The DVD has a half-dozen deleted scenes, including a couple that might have been bounced for being too inside, as when young Breslin cautions her father against more than one f-word, lest he tiptoe into R-rated territory, and when she offers to sell her American Girl dolls if they're facing poverty. Breslin is playing Kit Kittredge in a movie based on the doll.

Writer-director Adam Brooks and Reynolds provide commentary and discuss, among other things, the challenge of shooting different eras on the same day, how Brooklyn subbed for Madison, Wis., why the filmmaker felt the need to identify Gennifer Flowers in a news clip and how Reynolds called Will a "Jimmy Stewart part."

Although released into theaters on Valentine's Day to capitalize on the crowd looking for a romantic comedy, "Definitely, Maybe" is definitely a good movie for any season.

-- Barbara Vancheri, Post-Gazette movie editor

'In Bruges'

3 1/2 stars = Very good
Ratings explained

After a contract killing goes horribly wrong, Irish hit men Ray and Ken (Colin Farrell and Brendan Gleeson) flee London for the obscurity of Bruge, the best preserved medieval town in Belgium. Once in Bruge, the duo waits for instructions from their boss, Harry (Ralph Fiennes). Ray, the reluctant tourist, is emotionally fragile and guilt-stricken. He is repulsed by the city's storybook architecture. Ken, the urbane, gay sophisticate, is interested in exploring every aspect of their host city. Meanwhile, the specter of Harry's wrath hangs in the air.

Ray and Ken engage in running arguments about everything, but their affection for each other is solid. When Ken receives orders from Harry that put his loyalty to his friend to the test, he has to make some hard choices. "In Bruges" is a sublime character study of two men who bond in a savage profession.

Brilliantly written and directed by playwright-turned-filmmaker Martin McDonagh, it belongs in the company of that better-known group of films that came out last year featuring dark, depressing themes and endings. The DVD contains a generous amount of deleted scenes, an informative short about the making of the film and a superfluous gag reel. Don't let the title fool you. "In Bruges" is one of the funniest, darkest and best executed movies in years.

-- Tony Norman, Post-Gazette staff writer

Also new this week

Charlie Bartlett

3 stars = Good
Ratings explained

To the glorious ranks of rich-kid rebels comes Charlie (Anton Yelchin), a good-hearted con artist expelled from every expensive private academy he ever attended. Now reduced to public school, he finds himself learning how to win friends and influence peers -- through pharmaceutical as well as personal chemistry. Yelchin -- the son of two Russian figure skaters! -- deftly straddles the comedy and drama of his title role, much aided by that charismatic old devil Robert Downey Jr. as the principal in their verbal showdowns.

"Bonneville"

2 1/2 stars = Average
Ratings explained

Jessica Lange, Joan Allen and Kathy Bates star in a sentimental, sometimes daffy road picture about people who have some mileage on them. The plot concerns a cross-country road trip in a Bonneville to bury ashes. It's pleasant enough, in that undemanding "Bucket List" sort of way.

Honeydripper

3 stars = Good
Ratings explained

John Sayles directs and Danny Glover and newcomer Gary Clark Jr. star in this semi-historical fable about an Alabama blues club in the '50s that opens the door to rock 'n' roll.

"10,000 B.C."

2 1/2 stars = Average
Ratings explained

Roland Emmerich's adventure starring Steven Strait as a young hunter leading an army, battling saber-tooth tigers and prehistoric predators, unearthing a lost civilization and trying to rescue the woman (Camilla Belle) he loves.

Special: "Xanadu: Magical Music Edition."