Horror
Rod Lott
After four previous films (when you factor in the American Quarantine versions), is there life left in Spain's zombie found-footage franchise? [REC] 3: Genesis responds with a festive "¡Si!"

Action
Rod Lott
Preceding the start of The Expendables 2 is an ad for its tie-in video game. Why bother playing such a thing when so many sequences of the the movie make you feel like you're doing so already? I mean that as a compliment, because as directed by Simon West (The Mechanic), the sequel’s 15-minute prologue is so unrelenting in nonstop action that it’s likely to turn you giddy.

Action
Rod Lott
While not fully lucid, Painted Skin: The Resurrection excels from a standpoint of visuals. Whether that’s worth an entire viewing depends on your tolerance for fantastical whimsy.

Horror
Rod Lott
Aside from re-creating two or three minor scenes, Silent Night in no way could be called a true remake of 1984's extremely controversial Silent Night, Deadly Night. Flicks about a killer Santa Claus have existed before and since; if not for the value of a brand-name, this could be just another.

Comedy
Phil Bacharach
Judd Apatow has given us some hilariously raunchy comedies, but This Is 40 finds the writer-director in his grown-up mode, at least in intent, extracting the funny from the advent of middle age. But his understanding of life in the 40s isn’t necessarily the universal kind.

Action
Rod Lott
Fifth in the increasingly slick but decreasingly lucid franchise, Resident Evil: Retribution had potential to be the best entry since the 2002 original. After all, returning director Paul W.S. Anderson (The Three Musketeers) has positioned so many elements from the previous films that it seemed set up to play like a greatest-hits package. Instead, the result is baffling.

Sci-Fi
Rod Lott
Like The Punisher, Judge Dredd serves as judge, jury and executioner, all rolled into one. Like The Punisher, Judge Dredd also received a cinematic reboot in an attempt to right precious filmmakers’ wrongs.

Action
Rod Lott
Here's the first great Blu-ray surprise of 2013: Tai Chi Zero, a Hong Kong martial-arts spectacle that's inventive and invigorating.

Horror
Rod Lott
One need not have seen 2006’s The Hamiltons before seeing its new sequel, The Thompsons. Heck, one need not even have heard of it, as I suspect many haven't.

Family
Rod Lott