Prairie Miller

A kind of problem child with whiskers in this delayed coming of age family dyfunction outing, Pattinson impresses with his broad range, while doing daffy and despair simultaneously.

According to Amanda Peet, getting into panic mode about the end of the world, even for a movie, can be scary. But also funny too. Especially when under the assured and supportive hand of director Roland Emmerich, for the doomsday chiller, 2012.

So what else is an exasperated moonlighting housewife to do than monopolize Santa's lap for a bit at the local mall just before the holidays, and wish for any life but her own, and then some.

Less a bid to measure up against other movies, Star Trek may actually be more in competition with itself, and its many incarnations preceding this latest voyage of the USS Enterprise into homes everywhere.

Not so for the worry wart US president (Danny Glover) and nervous wreck government geologist Adrian Helmsley (Chiwetel Ejiofor), who remain stubbornly solution oriented in a seemingly hopeless situation.