After a couple of intensely tepid weekends at the box office, all eyes are on the trio of large films that are debuting this weekend, in the hope that one of them - any of them - can make your local theater look like an entertainment destination instead of a desert wasteland. One looks to be a genuine critical hit; one looks to be somewhat more tepidly received; and one...well, one looks like it'll at least be marginally more interesting than New Year's Eve.
What are you checking out this weekend, if anything?
 | 1. Mission: Impossible: Ghost Protocol Apparently this is great, although you'll have to make the trek to an IMAX theater to check it out a few days early. If not, you should be able to find it in normal theaters next Wednesday or so to bask in the latest Brad Bird film to score 90+ percent on the Rotten Tomatoes meter. |
 | 2. Alvin and the Chipmunks: Chipwrecked This film will not score 90+ percent on the Rotten Tomatoes meter. David Cross, not even waiting until the film is out, cashed his paycheck and went on record as saying that it was the most unpleasant experience of his professional career. Which is why he made three of these movies. |
 | 3. Sherlock Holmes: A Game of Shadows A game of shadows is, indeed, an apt description for this film, which cannot in good conscience be wholly recommended. We'll have a full review of it sometime today. |
 | 4. Young Adult This obviously debuted last week, but it'll be expanding into around 1,000 theaters today, so it'll be much easier to find should you be inclined to do so. |
 | 5. Carnage A limited release of five theaters or so for the latest Roman Polanski film. If I was an actor and could pick my projects, I like to think I wouldn't make a movie with the guy, because he's a horrible rapist. But then, I guess I'm not a fancy-pants actor. |
 | 6. Corman's World: Exploits of a Hollywood Rebel I don't know how many theaters this is in, but it looks like a totally charming look at the career of 85-year-old Roger Corman, complete with celebrity interviews galore. |
 | 7. Cook County Another small release for this 2009 film, which is just coming out now. That's...never a good sign. Or is it? I can never tell if older films going straight to DVD or simply being dumped in five theaters is better. I usually assume that a minor release like this for a shelved film is a matter of contractual obligation. |
 | 8. The Pill Guy has a one-night-stand with a flighty girl, then pretends to be falling for her the next day to ensure that she takes both doses of her morning-after pill, which have to be ingested twelve hours apart. "Charming and wonderful," says some asshole. |
