Weekend movie preview: 'A Christmas Carol,' 'Fourth Kind,' 'Men Who Stare,' 'The Box'

November 6, 11:31 AMNewark Movie ExaminerMark Jones

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“A Christmas Carol”
This weekend, Walt Disney Pictures is bringing the latest adaptation of “A Christmas Carol” to the big screen. Directed by Robert Zemeckis and starring Jim Carrey, this will be close to the zillionth version of this story to be told, with this being the third time Disney has taken a trip to this dried up well. Shot using the same performance capture process used other Zemeckis films “The Polar Express” and “Beowulf,” and being offered in both Disney Digital 3D and IMAX 3D, “A Christmas Carol” is expected to attract enough people to be the big money-maker this weekend. If you’ve never seen a version of this story before, you’ve lived under a rock your entire life. This is one of the most unnecessary movies ever made.

“The Fourth Kind”
Set in middle-of-nowhere Alaska, “The Fourth Kind” tells the story of various alien abductees. Milla Jovovich stars as Dr. Abigail Tyler, a psychiatrist who treated several abductees before being abducted herself. “The Fourth Kind” claims to be based on actual case studies and boasts that it contains actual footage of specific patient interviews. From the look of it, it’s a blend of a run-of-the-mill horror film with “Blair Witch” style footage. Is it real or just another Hollywood induced hoax?

“The Men Who Stare at Goats”
Another movie “inspired by true events,” “The Men Who Stare at Goats” tells the story of a top secret military regime being trained to use psychic powers on their enemies. Based on the book by the same name, this dark comedy sports an all-star cast with George Clooney, Kevin Spacey, Ewan McGregor, and Jeff Bridges. Early screenings have been met with mixed reviews as it currently holds a 56% at Rottentomatoes.com.

“The Box”
Writer/Director Richard Kelly is taking his first trip into wide release this weekend with his latest, “The Box.” Kelly’s first film “Donnie Darko” got a lot of attention back into 2001, firmly implanting Kelly into the “directors to watch” category. His next movie “Southland Tales” was universally panned, causing many to question Kelly’s genius. “The Box” is also currently receiving mixed reviews, so it doesn’t look like this adaptation of Richard Matheson’s “Button, Button” is going to return Kelly to form.