Our critics recommend...

Australia

An epic love story plays out in the Australian outback just before the country is thrust into World War II. Nicole Kidman and Hugh Jackman star.

Opens Wednesday

Four Christmases

Vince Vaughn and Reese Witherspoon star as a couple who feel obliged to visit all four of their divorced parents on Christmas Day.

Opens Wednesday

Milk

This biopic looks at the last eight years of the life of Harvey Milk, the first openly gay man to be elected to public office in California. Milk's life came to a violent end in 1978. Sean Penn stars as the San Francisco politician.

Opens Wednesday

Noah's Arc: Jumping the Broom

When four gay African American men travel to a weekend wedding, each faces problems over relationships with his significant other in this rom-com. Based on the Logo series

Noah's Arc

.

Opens Friday

.

Pray the Devil Back to Hell

This documentary looks at the efforts of a group of woman to bring stability to Liberia following a decade-long civil war.

Opens Wednesday

Transporter 3

Jason Statham returns as Frank Martin in the third installment of this action series.

Opens Wednesday

Reviewed by critic Steven Rea (S.R.)

Slumdog Millionaire

A street kid-turned-gofer who gets on the Indian version of

Who Wants to be a Millionaire?

, and keeps answering the questions correctly, amazingly. 2 hr.

R

(violence, profanity, adult themes)-

S.R.

Reviewed by critics Carrie Rickey (C.R.), Steven Rea (S.R.), and David Hiltbrand (D.H.). W.S. denotes a wire-service review.

A Christmas Tale

A fractious family gathered in a comfy house for Yuletide celebration - with Catherine Deneuve presiding over an amazing cast of French stars. Roiling with laughter, tears, drunken confessions, revelatory soliloquies, pain, sorrow, hospital visits and various kinds of love - it's a true family feast.

No MPAA rating

(profanity, adult themes) -

S.R.

Happy-Go-Lucky

Mike Leigh's odd, ingenious portrait of a cheery London school teacher, a 30-year-old single gal played with remarkable depth and indomitability by Sally Hawkins. With Eddie Marson in an unforgettable role as a seething, paranoiac driving instructor. In many ways, the film is the flipside of Leigh's '90s masterwork,

Naked

. 1 hr. 58

R

(profanity, adult themes) -

S.R.

I've Loved You So Long

Kristin Scott Thomas is extraordinary as a woman just released from prison, struggling to work her way back into society, and haunted by the guilt and pain of her crime. A story that's sad, stark and redemptive, from French writer and first-time director Philippe Claudel. 1 hr. 5

PG-13

(sex, nudity, profanity, adult themes) -

S.R.

Let the Right One In

A very fine, very frightening Swedish noir about a misfit boy befriended by a 12-year-old vampire (she's been 12 for "a very long time"). With periods of voyeuristic gore and an undercurrent of anxiety and dread, this is up there with the bloodsucking classics. 1 hr. 54

R

(violence, gore, adult themes) -

S.R.

Rachel Getting Married

According to the rules, tragedy ends in death, and comedy in marriage. But Jonathan Demme's superb ensemble drama starring Anne Hathaway as the troubled sibling home for the wedding of her sister (the astonishing Rosemarie DeWitt) is decidedly not a comedy. Rather, it's the heartrending story of a troubled girl tearing apart the family tapestry and, with her sibling's help, learning to piece together its common threads. With Bill Irwin, Anna Deavere Smith, and the extraordinary Debra Winger. 1 hr. 54

R

(sexuality, profanity, emotional violence) -

C.R.

Bolt ***

Wiggy, waggy-dog story about a shepherd who gets a new leash on life. In this Disney animation Bolt (voice of John Travolta) is a canine James Bond who doesn't realize that his sonic-boom bark and supersonic speed are the products of TV special-effects wizards. He learns that he's an ordinary dog - with the extraordinary loyalty of his species. 1 hr. 36

PG

(intense action and pup-in-peril situations, suitable for ages five and over) -

C.R.

High School Musical 3: Senior Year ***

Kenny Ortega's buoyant big-screen follow-up to the first two installments telecast on the Disney Channel further teases out the basketball-or-Broadway dilemma of central figure Troy (Zac Efron), a hoops star with dance moves. With Vanessa Hudgens as Troy's girl, Corbin Bleu as his best bud, and Ashley Tisdale and Lucas Grabeel as the rich kids and comic relief. 1 hr. 49

G

(kissing) -

C.R.

Madagascar: Escape 2 Africa **

Generic sequel to the generic animated feature about creature/friends from the Central Park Zoo who in Africa are drawn to their own kind. Voices by Ben Stiller, Chris Rock, Jada Pinkett Smith and the late Bernie Mac. 1 hr. 29

PG

(some vulgarity) -

C.R.

Quantum of Solace ***

Daniel Craig is back as a lean, mean, out-for-blood James Bond, looking to avenge the death of his

Casino Royale

girlfriend and finding a new Bond girl (Ukrainian supermodel Olga Kurylenko) in the process. Breathless action, big set pieces, locations on three continents. 1 hr. 46

PG-13

(violence, sex, adult themes) -

S.R.

Role Models ***

Paul Rudd and Seann William Scott star in this unapologetically profane comedy, about two thirtysomething goof-offs forced to mentor a couple of messed-up kids, and discovering what life's really all about in the process. 1 hr. 39

R

(profanity, nudity, drugs, adult themes) -

S.R.

Twilight ***

A pheromone-soaked high school romance rife with heavy-duty Dracula stuff, Catherine Hardwicke's savvy adaptation of the Stephenie Meyer bestseller turns vampirism into a metaphor for teen lust. Kristen Stewart and Robert Pattinson star - full of desire, and full of dread at what might happen if he sinks his fangs into her. 2 hr.

PG-13

(scares, adult themes) -

S.R.

Reviewed by critics Wendy Rosenfield (W.R.), Howard Shapiro (H.S.) and Toby Zinman (T.Z.).

The Government Inspector

(Lantern Theater Company) Gogol's comedy in a new adaptation. Preview Sunday, opens Tuesday.

A Tuna Christmas

(Walnut Street Theatre) Two actors play all 24 denizens of Tuna, Texas, on the chaotic night before Christmas. Opens Tuesday.

The Wizard of Oz (Academy of Music) A live-on-stage celebration of the 1939 movie for one weekend only. Opens Friday.

Absurd Person Singular

(Bristol Riverside Theatre) Six actors are a pleasure to watch, but this on the class system should be funnier. Ends today.

- H.S.

A Bronx Tale

(Merriam Theatre) Chazz Palminteri's engaging one-man show about growing up between wiseguys and working stiffs. Ends today.

- W.R

.

Cinderella

(People's Light and Theatre) A very

fashionable holiday panto. Through Jan. 4.

Dark Play or Stories for Boys

(Theatre Exile) If a play about the dangers of Internet chatrooms and the manipulative creeps lurking there strikes you as old news and if abusive teenage boys are not your favorite thing, you will probably find Carlos Murillo's play, despite Exile's capable production, unpleasant and boring. Through Dec. 7.

- T.Z.

Gee's Bend

(Arden) Based on the lives of three generations of quilting women in Gee's Bend, Ala. The cast is rock-solid, perfectly suited to this unpretentious, unsentimental and altogether engaging play. Through Dec. 7.

- T.Z.

Hairspray

(Walnut Street Theatre) Big hair, big message, big beat with a big cast with big voices and big production numbers: big fun in the theater. Through Jan. 4.

- T.Z

.

The Last Night of Ballyhoo

(Montgomery Theatre) This Tony winner about an assimilated Southern Jewish family strains credibility, as do some of the actors' accents (though there are some fine performances). And the ending - well, it's all too easy. Through Dec. 6.

- H.S.

The Music Man

(New Candlelight Theatre) This production goes all-out for the classic small-town musical tale of huckster Harold Hill and Marian the Librarian. Through Dec. 21.

- W.R.

The Mystery Plays

(Philadelphia Theatre Workshop) Two scary stories, more narrated than performed, are engrossing in an old-timey,

Twilight Zone

kind of way. Through next Sunday.

- T.Z.

Rock Doves

(Amaryllis Theatre) This grim soap opera is so place-specific - the nasty slums of Belfast - and so parochial in its Northern Irish accents and politics that an American audience is pretty much left out. Through Dec. 7.

- T.Z.

She Loves You

(Society Hill Playhouse) This Beatles tribute takes you halfway there, which for nostalgic day-trippers just might be enough to make it worthwhile. Open-ended run.

- W.R.

Unusual Acts of Devotion

(Philadelphia Theatre Company) Terrence McNally's play, examines friendship with characters as real as they are candid. The solid cast includes Richard Thomas and Faith Prince. Ends today.

- H.S.

The War Party

(InterAct) This well-executed political satire makes the most of its timeliness and its fine two-woman cast. Ends today.

- W.R.

Hancock ***1/2

Will Smith stars as a problem-plagued, screw-up superhero in this dark, funny, rollicking tale of rehabilitation, redemption, and really cool special effects. With Jason Bateman and an awesome Charlize Theron. 1 hr. 33

PG-13

(profanity, violence, adult themes) -

S.R.