Fantastic Four: Rise of the Silver Surfer (PG)

The Four are back and ready to celebrate. Reed Richards (Ioan Gruffudd) and Sue Storm (Jessica Alba) are finally tying the knot…or are they? Things are not quite right in the world and the Fantastic Four are called upon to right them, to the detriment of their personal lives. In the middle of the nuptials, the FF encounter an alien being, the Silver Surfer (Voice of Laurence Fishburne). This powerful alien is a herald for Galactis, a being who devours worlds. Galactis’ sights are set on earth and the surfer is sent to prepare earth for its end. Once the surfer begins his preparation it takes exactly eight days for a world to end. He is discovered two days after his arrival on earth. Now the FF have to quickly track the surfer, deal with an excitable military general, and save the world from its pending doom. Speaking of Doom, Victor Von Doom (Julian McMahon) is back and has it in for the Four. He tricks the general (Andre Braugher) into allowing him to “run tests” on the Silver Surfer’s board, the source of his power. This double-cross is yet another battle the FF have to fight. Fantastic Four: Rise of the Silver Surfer is a good movie for both fans of the comic and those who are not. What the movie lacks in dialogue, it makes up for in action, intensity, and humor. All the usual cast member return and a few more stars shine in this Marvel movie that is sure to make you stay in your seat. Can our heroes save the planet amidst the onslaught of negative press, military pressure, old archrivals, and imminent annihilation - Tom Garrou

Nancy Drew (PG)

This 2007 update of the 77 year old Nancy Drew franchise stars Julia Roberts's niece Emma Roberts in the leading role. Nancy, a plucky sixteen year old amateur detective in the fictional Chicago suburb of River Heights, is a big fish in a small pond until she accompanies her father Carson (Tate Donovan) on a trip to Hollywood. Since her sleuthing activities have become somewhat dangerous (the film opens with a sequence where Nancy skillfully maneuvers a pair of robbers into the hands of the police), her father has forbid her from continuing her detecting work, but Nancy is determined to solve the mystery of Dehlia Draycott's (Laura Harring) twenty-five-year-old murder. Along the way she picks up a sort of sidekick, Corky (Josh Flitter), an archnemesis, Inga (Daniella Monet), and an unfortunate girl in need of her help, Jane Brighton (Rachael Leigh Cook). Nancy's longtime "special friend" Ned Nickerson is played by Max Thierot, and Barry Bostwick plays Dashiel Biedermeyer, Carson Drew's Hollywood client.

The plot itself isn't overtly based on any of the existant Nancy Drew volumes, and while it does take a while to gain momentum, the mystery itself is pretty good. Nancy's interactions with her peers feel a little less true, as the Nancy of the books was always master of any situation and is never out of her element. Emma Roberts's Nancy, while self-assured and comfortable with her own unique personality, is lost when she obeys her father and stifles her own detective instincts. The film is meant for a younger crowd, probably the fans of Emma's current hit show Unfabulous, and is a good family film, though any fans of the books themselves might be less happy with the loose portrayal of their childhood heroine. Rating is for action, a bit of violence, and one instance of slightly less than wholesome language. – Ashley Merrill