Audiences know exactly what is going to happen before they set foot in the theater and “The Crazies” plans for it. The film wastes no time setting the scene and commencing the mayhem. But it is a slow-moving mayhem that knows when to jump, when to edge in dreadful anticipation and even when to settle into a quiet moment that manages to build suspense for what isn’t going horribly wrong.

Far from his characters in “Moulin Rouge” or, more recently, “The Men Who Stare at Goats” Ewan McGregor plays a nameless spirit in Roman Polanski’s “The Ghost Rider.” The film won over Scene staff, but will critics and viewers see beyond Polanski’s controversial past and recognize his greatness?

Despite its lack of subtlety, Shutter Island will leave movie buffs both satisfied and searching for answers, according to the Scene. The latest Scorsese thriller brings viewers into a world of deception and madness accompanied by a haunting soundtrack. Scene gave this movie an A-. Click on to find out why.

“The Wolfman” is a remake of a classic, but it does not quite reach epic standards, according to Scene staff writer Bryan Koenig. Though some might expect the movie to leave them howling in terror, it actually uses modern computer imaging to create a period piece with a dark side. Koenig gave this fantasy flick a B.

His status as a human notwithstanding, a Mel Gibson-helmed thriller about a father seeking justice for the daughter who died in his arms sounds like an exciting idea. In practice, however, “Edge Of Darkness” is a middling and fruitless mystery that takes itself far too seriously.

George Clooney directed by Jason Reitman (the man who directed “Juno” and “Thank You for Smoking”) is a tough review to write, namely because such a film would, at face value, be superb. Luckily, the reality is that “Up in the Air” is all you could hope for.

Director Nick Willing is giving “Alice in Wonderland” an upgrade with the SyFy original miniseries, “Alice.”

Director Wes Anderson enlivens “Fantastic Mr. Fox” with the energy of a storybook, brought to life with childish delight by a superb voice cast that includes George Clooney as the titular Fox, as well as Meryl Streep, Bill Murray and Willem Dafoe. The youthful vigor is tempered by adult sensibilities and wizened snark that manifests in a film whose energy and vibrancy are unlike anything else.

If you enjoy angsty furred, fanged and sparkly monsters who fawn over an emo damsel in distress, my hat goes off to you. But if inter-mythical creature romance strikes no immediate appeal, nothing else about “New Moon” will.

Enjoyable history lessons aren’t easy to come by, except perhaps when they are directed by John Woo and depict a war in the Han dynasty of China in 208 C.E. “Red Cliff” is a thoroughly enjoyable two-and-a-half hour lesson in Chinese history, culture and 1800-year-old battle tactics.

The Found Footage Festival is right at home in the Arlington Cinema ‘N’ Drafthouse, where the smell of beer is present but not pungent. It has a warm atmosphere that facilitates the humor in poking fun at some truly bizarre videos that co-curators Nick Prueher and Joe Pickett have collected and edited down to the bare bones over the years.

Funny corporate training videos and bizarre home videos will be screened at the Arlington Cinema ‘N’ Drafthouse’s film festival Saturday. The 90-minute compliation is described as “a guided tour through our collection… [from] thrift stores and garage sales.”

In “Amelia,” Hilary Swank does a respectable job of proving Earhart as an aviator in her own right - one who shattered records and presuppositions about which gender belongs in the cockpit.

But as vivid and well done as the film is, it tells a story more than it creates a life, a legend or an adventure.

“Ong Bak 2: The Beginning” is as much a cautionary tale as it is a movie. Completely plotless, it is a lesson in clichés, at best; at worst, it is replete with seizure-inducing visuals. Utterly indecipherable on its own, it is doubtful even SparkNotes could adequately explain it.

There is something deeply troubling about a genius who has been stripped of all moral limitations and will kill anyone. Gerard Butler is Clyde Shelton, a brilliant “tinkerer” and family man who had to watch helplessly as his family was slaughtered in front of him.

“Pandorum” feels like a movie that doesn’t quite know what to make of itself. It tries to be paranoid, but ends up not making sense. It tries to be exciting, but manages only to keep you curious about how the abyss of space will go bump in the night. And so the job of figuring out whether the film is science fiction, horror, psychological thriller or some sort of creative is left to the audience.

Immigrating to the United States is tough. But more than anything else, “Amreeka” is about coming to terms with what it means to be an Arab living in small-town America. 

Director Shane Acker has accomplished something not easily done: he has made a world of six-inch tall puppets engaging and terrifying, turning furniture into mountains and rooms into chasms. Visually and audibly, “9” is nothing short of magnificent.

In “All About Steve,” the title character’s first instinct upon meeting Sandra Bullock’s Mary is to run away. Do yourself a favor and follow his example.

Mike Judge’s new comedy “Extract” is amusing while it lasts but is quick to fade into the background with the rest of funny but unremarkable cinema. While nothing stands out as really wrong with the film, it isn’t particularly good. The acting is believable, the gags creative and the laughing genuine. But there is neither anything remarkable about it nor is there anything to elicit more than an average amount of chuckles.

Jason Bateman stars as Joel, a bored owner of an extract factory that he built from the ground up. Denied sex at home, Joel finds himself pouring his heart out to his bartending buddy Dean, played by a long-haired and bearded Ben Affleck. Affleck seems totally at home…

As though diving headfirst into a full class schedule isn’t hard enough, fall television brings new distractions to draw our attention and keep us sane. Television provides a plethora of shows to amuse, entertain and inspire—or, at the very least, make us forget about the term paper due tomorrow. Here are some of the shows to look forward to this season.

“The Cleveland Show”
A more diverse “Family Guy”—need we say more? Actually, yes. With a new family come new random exposés on the nature of the universe. Like the original that spawned it, “The Cleveland Show” promises to be funny at every turn, making old jokes funny and fresh with each episode. Talking bears for neighbors and Cleveland’s…