The Day the Earth Stood Still (Fox)
Competent but inferior science-fiction remake about an alien who lands on earth to warn of the planet's doom, and gains the assistance of a top-flight scientist, escaping from government custody to continue his mission, despite the initial hostility of the scientist's distrustful young stepson. Director Scott Derrickson's version of Robert Wise's 1951 genre classic, which also features Kathy Bates as the wary U.S. secretary of defense, substitutes global warming for the threat of Cold War annihilation (both worthy themes), but though objectionable elements are minimal, the alien's deadpan emotion is a serious drawback. Moderate, mostly bloodless violence. (A-II, PG-13)

Delgo (Freestyle)
Well-meaning but only average animated children's parable, set in a mythical land, about a part-human, part-reptile teenager who falls for the winged, pixielike princess of a rival nation and enlists the help of his bumbling best friend and a fearless general to thwart the warmongering schemes of the princess' exiled aunt. This Romeo-and-Juliet tale, co-written and directed by Marc F. Adler and Jason F. Maurer, exalts peace, racial and ethnic harmony and the power of mercy to break a cycle of hatred, values which compensate for special effects well behind the vanguard and a sometimes unimpressive script. (A-I, PG)

Gran Torino (Warner Bros.)
Improbable and gritty if ultimately humane redemption tale of a crusty Korean War vet (Clint Eastwood in peak form) who resents the encroachment of the Laotian Hmongs who have moved into his Detroit neighborhood, but becomes their reluctant hero and unlikely friend after he saves the young teen next door from being pressured to join a marauding Hmong gang. Eastwood directs with his customary frontier worldview, with the cultural tolerance theme and a positive priest character strong pluses, though the nonstop racial epithets and expletives are, even in this context, excessive. Pervasive rough language, profanity and racial slurs, violence with bloodshed, and a morally tangled ending. (L, R)

Nothing Like the Holidays (Overture)
A wounded Iraq War vet (Freddy Rodriguez) returns to his Puerto Rican neighborhood in Chicago for Christmas where he pursues an old flame (Melonie Diaz) as his parents (Alfred Molina and Elizabeth Pena) announce they're divorcing, and his siblings --- an aspiring Hollywood actress (Vanessa Ferlito) and an up-and-coming lawyer (John Leguizamo) married to a career-focused banker (Debra Messing) --- grapple with their own problems. The ensemble cast adds Latin zest to a familiar story in director Alfredo De Villa's frequently humorous drama, and there's a strong emphasis on family unity and the permanence of marriage, but the Catholic atmosphere, though pervasive, is marred by the appearance of a gluttonous, ineffectual priest. Frequent sexual humor, much crude and crass language, and a few uses of profanity. (A-III, PG-13)

The Reader (Weinstein)
Necessarily bleak but well-played and directed (by Stephen Daldry) adaptation of Bernhard Schlink's controversial best-seller set in postwar Germany about the morally complex relationship between a lawyer (Ralph Fiennes) and the older woman (superb Kate Winslet) with whom he had an affair when he was a teenager (18-year-old David Kross), and to whom he would read the great works of literature. Though that early liaison is morally unacceptable, it serves as a metaphor for Germany's collective guilt and its impact on later generations, gingerly suggesting the possibility of emotional reconciliation. Underage sexual relationship including several encounters, nudity, divorce, suicide and disturbing Holocaust material. (L, R)

---CNS USCCB Office for Film & Broadcasting classifications: A-I --- general patronage; A-II --- adults and adolescents; A-III --- adults; L --- limited adult audience, films whose problematic content many adults would find troubling; O --- morally offensive.