Our critics recommend...

The Cross: The Arthur Blessitt Story

This documentary examines the story of a man who made a 12-foot wooden cross and carried it around the world.

The Haunting in Connecticut A family turns to ghost hunters and the Catholic church for help when strange things begin happening in their new home. Virginia Madsen stars.

Monsters vs. Aliens Animated feature about a ragtag group of monsters recruited by the government to save the world from alien invaders. Reese Witherspoon, Rainn Wilson, and Kiefer Sutherland are among the voices.

The Rocket Post A scientist in the '30s tries to create a rocket-based delivery system for the mail. Based on a true story.

12 Rounds A detective (John Cena) must go to great lengths to free his kidnapped girlfriend.

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

Slumdog Millionaire A street kid-turned-gofer 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.

The Class

Sobering, funny, and finally enlightening portrait of the education tango as danced in a middle-school classroom in Paris' melting-pot 20th

arrondissement

. In French with English subtitles. 2 hrs. 09

PG-13

(profanity) -

C.R.

Coraline Be careful what you wish for, suggests Henry Selick's unnervingly fine (and primal) stop-action animation about a very curious girl - because you just might get it. Coraline (voice of Dakota Fanning) wants her preoccupied parents to close their laptops, open the toy box, and not serve vegetarian glop for supper. When she finds parents who will grant her wishes, she realizes that it comes at a price she can't afford. From the Neil Gaiman novella. 1 hr. 41 PG (psychologically intense, for those 10 and older who like their adventures dark) - C.R.

Gomorrah A searing, documentarylike adaptation of Roberto Saviano's bestselling expose about the Naples mafia. It's tough, compelling stuff: a frightening portrait of corruption, cynicism, intimidation, greed, and violence. 2 hr. 17 No MPAA rating (violence, drugs, profanity, nudity, adult themes) - S.R.

Harvard Beats Yale 29-29 A thrilling documentary about one of college football's legendary games, an Ivy League contest with a wild and improbable ending, and a wild matchup that happened in the throes of the Vietnam War and the 1960s counterculture. More than just a great sports movie. 1 hr. 45 No MPAA rating (adult themes) - S.R.

I Love You, Man Metrosexual meets caveman in this fresh comedy starring Paul Rudd as a newly engaged guy without a male friend to be his best man and Jason Segel as a prospect. With Rashida Jones and Andy Samberg. 1 hr. 45 R (profanity, sexual candor) - C.R.

The Wrestler Mickey Rourke stars in the role of a lifetime - and gives a performance of equal measure - in this portrait of an old wrestling star staging an improbable comeback. Marisa Tomei and Evan Rachel Wood costar; it's a ragged but near-brilliant little film. R (profanity, violence, drugs, sex, nudity) - S.R.

Duplicity **1/2 Clive Owen and Julia Roberts are corporate spies with money and romance on their minds in this riffy, overly intricate caper, from Michael Clayton writer/director Tony Gilroy. Swanky locales - from Dubai to Zurich - but little suspense. 2 hrs. 08 PG-13 (profanity, adult themes) - S.R.

Knowing ** A weird and gloomy existential sci-fi thriller with Nicolas Cage as an MIT professor who discovers a page of numbers that seem to predict cataclysmic events. Run for your lives! 2 hrs. 02 PG-13 (violence, calamity, adult themes) - S.R.

The Last House on the Left **1/2 The parents of a brutally assaulted young woman get a shot at revenge when the gang that did it unwittingly hides out in their vacation home. 1 hr. 40 R (graphic and pervasive violence, profanity, sex, sadism, rape, gore) - T.D.

Race to Witch Mountain ** Dwayne Johnson stars in this cartoonish remake of the 1975 Disney film Escape to Witch Mountain. He's a Vegas cabbie roped into helping two very human-looking teen aliens. Leave your brain at the concession stand. 1 hr. 38 PG (violence) - D.H.

Taken *** Liam Neeson makes a surprisingly good action hero - an ex-covert op who comes to the rescue of his teenage daughter after she and a friend are abducted by sex traffickers in Paris. Wild chases and martial-arts mayhem ensue in this brisk, no-nonsense thriller. 1 hr. 31 PG-13 (violence, profanity, sex, drugs, adult themes) - S.R.

Watchmen *** A fanboy's fantasy come true, Zack (300) Snyder's reverent adaptation of the lauded graphic novel offers a violent, subversive take on superhero mythology. Set in an alternate 1985, with costumed crimefighters acting cranky and weird, the movie, like the comic, is about power and history - its making, and its reimagining. 2 hrs. 41 R (violence, profanity, sex, nudity, adult themes) - S.R.

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

At Home at the Zoo

(Philadelphia Theater Company) Albee combines his "Zoo Story" with a newer first act. Previews today and Tuesday, opens Wednesday.

Birdy

(Iron Age Theatre Company) Naomi Watts' adaptation of William Wharton's novel about a friendship and war. Opens Friday.

The Complete Works of William Shakespeare (Abridged) (Philadelphia Shakespeare Theatre) Lotsa Bard, real fast. Previews Wednesday and Thursday, opens Friday.

Defiance (Bristol Riverside Theatre) The second, after "Doubt," in John Patrick Shanley's trilogy. Previews Tuesday and Wednesday, opens Thursday.

Happy Days (Academy of Music) Fonzie sings! Opens Tuesday.

Say Goodnight Gracie (Society Hill Playhouse) Straight-man husband George Burns reflects on life with his wacky wife. Opens Wednesday.

A Few Good Men

(Ritz Theatre, Haddon Township) What begins as a cardboard-stiff interpretation of Aaron Sorkin's military crime play turns into a compelling, spirited production. Through April 4.

- H.S.

All Shook Up (Media Theatre) Elvis' music, in a stupendously silly plot that's purely for fun, gets a kinetic workout from a solid cast. Through April 5. - H.S.

Arms and the Man (Hedgerow Theatre) This most pleasant of George Bernard Shaw's Plays Pleasant gets a lively revival from a theater once admired by the man himself. Through April 5. - W.R.

Born Yesterday (Walnut Street Theatre) A lively, funny production about Washington corruption and thuggish greed. It misses its chance at real relevance, but it's enjoyable and the cast is accomplished. Through April 26. - T.Z.

Footloose (New Candlelight Theatre) The kids just wanna dance. Through May 30.

The Irish . . . and How They Got That Way (Kimmel Center's Innovation Studio) A musical history of the Irish by Frank McCourt, long on claptrap, short on coherence. The cast knocks itself out, but the show never rises above stage-Irishness. Through next Sunday. - T.Z.

Iron Kisses (Act II Playhouse) James Still's family drama is sensitive to its characters' delicate bonds, even if this productions direction and performances are less so. Through April 5. - W.R.

The Karma Cookie (1812 Productions) A sometimes-funny play in many many scenes about two dopey brothers searching for the meaning of life. Their quest is governed by fortune cookies. Through next Sunday. - T.Z.

Long Day's Journey Into Night (Simpatico Theatre Project) Eugene O'Neill's mighty autobiographical play was a work, he said, of "old sorrow, written in blood and tears." Simpatico's production is remarkably accomplished; under Carol Laratonda's direction, the cast makes this famous drama their own. Through next Sunday. - T.Z.

Road (Curio Theatre Company) Jim Cartwright's look at society's dregs. Through April 5.

Scorched (Wilma Theater) A long and intense drama about suffering and war in an unnamed Middle Eastern country, seen through a shocking family mystery. The acting is exceptionally good and Blanka Zizka's direction is brisk and smart. Through next Sunday. - T.Z.

A Tale of Two Cities (People's Light & Theatre) Dickens' tale of two men in turbulent times becomes more gripping as a smart cast makes this new stage adaptation jell. Through May 3. - H.S.

Twelfth Night (McCarter Theatre) Delish and dazzling, this production is true to Shakespeare's text but made gorgeously fresh by a brilliant young director, Rebecca Taichman. A superb, nimble cast animates this comedy a lush set, a rose-filled "playground of desire." Through next Sunday. - T.Z.

William Shakespeare's Land of the Dead (Plays & Players) To eat or not to eat - brains. Ends Saturday.

A Year With Frog and Toad (Arden Theatre): A musical for children that their parents will enjoy, too. Never sappy, full of good songs and magical theatrical effects, it's about friendship. Jeff Coon and Ben Dibble are the lovable amphibian odd couple. Through April 19. - T.Z.

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. 1 hr. 46 PG-13 (violence, sex, adult themes) -

S.R.