Interpol agent Chun-Li (Kreuk) enters an underground fighting tournament, with her eyes set on M. Bison (McDonough), the contest’s founder and leader of a crime syndicate who may have been responsible for the death of Chun-Li’s father.

You have a few more months to tighten up your Lightning Kick and get your hair into two perfect buns before Fox either a) “ruins” another fanboy property or b) launches the first film in a potential franchise with X-Men potential. Or both? Please note: I make that comparison in terms of the number of characters with shadowy pasts the story can explore, but I don’t think this legend is going to break any box-office records (or put out two great movies, then a crappy third installment). So you’re going to have to hit the theaters and pick this up on Blu-ray if you want to see Ken or Ryu in the future, and, while Kristen Kreuk was strung up with wires in order to simulate the moves that made Chun-Li the first lady of fighting games, there seems to be plenty of gun-toting action present here that will certainly upset purists (this is, after all, brought to you by the director of Doom). Meanwhile, another member of Black Eyed Peas goes rogue in order to, like, expand the pop group’s “brand,” or something. I think this interview with screenwriter Justin Marks is revelatory.

Rated PG-13 for sequences of violence and martial arts action, and some sensuality.

Director: Andrzej Bartkowiak
Stars: Kristin Kreuk, Neal McDonough, Michael Clarke Duncan
Studio: Twentieth Century-Fox Film Corporation
Release Date: 27 February 2009 (USA)
Genre: Action | Adventure | Sci-Fi | Thriller

It’s the Halloween party they’ve all been waiting for, to have fun with friends and hang out with fellow Star Wars fans and partners in crime. However, events take a turn when one of their bunch who long ago outgrew his old gang and took on adult responsibilities is suddenly in their midst again. Reconnecting is not easy. But soon, Eric, Windows, Hutch and Zoe realize that Linus will not live long enough to experience what’s been on their minds for ages: The long-awaited theatrical release of Star Wars – Episode I, which is still several months away. Linus once again suggests to his friends what he’s been scheming since fifth grade: Breaking into Skywalker Ranch, this time to steal a print of the movie. Crazy, right? But it might be the only way for Linus to see the movie before he dies. So as insane as it sounds, they take Hutch’s van and embark on a mission to drive across half the country to the Ranch.

Here’s the trailer. Director Kyle Newman’s comedy, which traveled a bumpy road to its theatrical release, restores a sense of nostalgia — we just wish it traveled all the way back to those halcyon days before the Star Wars episodes were renumbered and Jar Jar Binks was under wraps at Skywalker Ranch. Still, you have to hand it to the real-world fanboys and girls who lobbied Harvey Weinstein until the big softie agreed to release Newman’s cut of the film. If I were being called “Darth Weinstein” for stripping a film of its context, I’d probably cave after a few rounds with the Faithful, too …

Rated PG-13 for pervasive crude and sexual material, language and drug content.

Director: Kyle Newman
Stars: Dan Fogler, Jay Baruchel, Kristen Bell
Studio: Weinstein Company, The
Release Date: 13 February 2009 (Iceland)

Insp. Jacques Clouseau teams up with a squad of International detectives who are just as bumbling as he is. Their mission: Stop a globe-trotting thief who specializes in stealing historical artifacts.

Ooh, they pulled a Rachel Dawes here and replaced Kevin Kline with John Cleese in the role of Chief Inspector Dreyfus. Shawn Levy passed on the sequel in order to helm Night at the Museum 2, making way for Agent Cody Banks director Harald Zwart (we’d like to hear Martin-as-Clouseau say his name). That must have saved the production beaucoup dollars. All of this switcheroo neatly conceals the plot, which sounds like Clouseau hunting down Nic Cage in National Treasure. Luckily, this one has even cuter support staff, with a band of inspectors that includes Andy Garcia, Aishwarya Rai, and Alfred Molina.

Rated PG for some suggestive humor, brief mild language and action.

Director: Harald Zwart
Stars: Steve Martin, Jean Reno, Emily Mortimer, Andy Garcia, Alfred Molina
Studio: Columbia Pictures
Release Date: 6 February 2009 (USA)

During the reign of the Vikings, Kainan (Caviezel), a man from a far-off world, crash lands on Earth, bringing with him an alien predator known as the Moorwen. Though both man and monster are seeking revenge for violence committed against them, Kainan leads the alliance to kill the Moorwen by fusing his advanced technology with the Viking’s Iron Age weaponry.

Howard McCain’s oft-delayed creature feature is the victim of another barely there release from the Weinstein Company, a movie studio that, despite Vicky Cristina Barcelona’s Golden Globe win, is becoming known more for distributing movies that Harvey W. doesn’t believe in. Or perhaps he just likes antagonizing fanboys. This isn’t the last you’ll hear from McCain, though, since he’s one of the writers on Underworld: Rise of the Lycans and his name just might end up on the eventual Conan project, too. With the barbarian in mind: If Outlander had been made in the early 80s, it would probably be a cult favorite today.

Rated R for violence.

Director: Howard McCain
Stars: James Caviezel, Sophia Myles, Ron Perlman
Studio: The Weinstein Company

Mo Folchart (Fraiser) drags his daughter Meggie (Bennet) all around the world completing his skilled work as a ‘Book Doctor’, otherwise known as a bookbinder. At their most recent home, an old enigmatic acquaintance of Mo’s, named Dustfinger (Bettany), shows up and, in a very rare moment in their relationship, Mo talks to Dustfinger in private. All of a sudden, the next morning, Mo packs up and leaves with Meggie without telling her what is going on, a very strange thing in their relationship. They travel to Meggie’s Great Aunt Eleanor’s (Mirren) house to stay and Meggie finds herself, once again, surrounded by books (Eleanor is rich, and collects rare books. She calls them her children, and she has thousands of books in her library).

Then, one night, a bunch of thugs arrive at the house and kidnap Mo to take him to see Capricorn (Serkis), a cruel and evil dictator.

Meggie soon finds out that Mo has the ability to read characters out of books. The only drawback is that when he brings something out of a story, something must go back in to replace it. this is how Meggie lost her mother, Theresa (Guillory), when she replaced Capricorn, Basta, and Dustfinger, characters from the book Inkheart.

Determined to get Mo back, Meggie sets out with Eleanor to Capricorn’s village; however, within a short time of arriving there, both women are also abducted and locked up with Mo.

Dustfinger soon comes to the rescue and smuggles them out with a boy, named Farid (Gavron), who was read out of ‘Arabian Nights’.

Now, the group of them must find a way to get another copy of Inkheart to send Capricorn and his thieves back into its pages and return Dustfinger to the home he misses so much.

My thanks to the people who submitted this title to us wayyyy back when it appeared to be nothing more than an unsubstantiated rumor; two-plus years ago, who knew Brendan Fraser was mounting a comeback for 2008? Before The Mummy 3 was announced, Fraser and director Iain Softley (K-PAX, The Skeleton Key) were attached to this adaptation of Cornelia Funke’s best-seller, which could be a hit on par with Bridge to Terabithia or The Spiderwick Chronicles. But I say don’t hold your breath for Inkspell or Inkdeath just yet; this is one of the last big-budget projects New Line greenlighted before they were restructured/absorbed by Warner Brothers, so I think Fraser and co. win over audiences worldwide in order for any sequels to arise.

Rated PG for fantasy adventure action, some scary moments and brief language.

Director: Iain Softley
Stars: Brendan Fraser, Andy Serkis, Eliza Bennett
Studio: Warner Bros. Pictures
Release Date: 23 January 2009 (USA)