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Movie Scores: How the weekend's new movies fared with the critics

By: The Associated Press

Posted: 02/17/2012 2:52 PM | Comments: 0 (including replies)

The character Arrietty, voiced by Bridgit Mender, is shown in a scene from the animated feature, "The Secret World of Arrietty."

Some tiny people are making a big impression, with "The Secret World of Arrietty" earning rave reviews in its opening weekend.

The animated tale from Japanese master Hayao Miyazaki's Studio Ghibli follows the adventures of a family living beneath the floorboards of a house. Amy Poehler, Will Arnett and Carol Burnett are among the voice cast in this English-language version. AP Movie Writer David Germain gave it three stars out of four, saying: "The wonder the film reveals in the mundane is what makes 'The Secret World of Arrietty' such a fantastic place to visit."

Opening to poor reviews is the spy love triangle "This Means War," about CIA agents and best friends (Chris Pine and Tom Hardy) who fall for the same woman (Reese Witherspoon). AP Movie Critic Christy Lemire gave it two and a half stars out of four, writing: "Having great-looking stars who have the added bonus of actually being able to act makes the noisy romp 'This Means War' more tolerable than it ought to be."

Critics didn't get to see "Ghost Rider: Spirit of Vengeance" before opening day, but early word from midnight showings and matinees wasn't good. Nicolas Cage returns to this 3-D sequel as the devil's bounty hunter.

Here's a look at how these movies and others fared on the top review websites as of Friday afternoon. Each score is the percentage of positive reviews for the film:

— "The Secret World of Arrietty": Metacritic, 79; Movie Review Intelligence, 80.1; Rotten Tomatoes, 93. Average: 84.

— "Undefeated": Metacritic, 70; Movie Review Intelligence, 75; Rotten Tomatoes, 91. Average: 78.7.

— "Bullhead": Metacritic, 70; Movie Review Intelligence, 76; Rotten Tomatoes, 84. Average: 76.7.

— "Ghost Rider: Spirit of Vengeance": Metacritic, 41; Movie Review Intelligence, 51.1; Rotten Tomatoes, 13. Average: 35.

— "This Means War": Metacritic, 32; Movie Review Intelligence, 40.3; Rotten Tomatoes, 23. Average: 31.8.

___

Online:

http://www.metacritic.com/

http://moviereviewintelligence.com/

http://www.rottentomatoes.com/

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