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'Ninja Assassin'

Action, R, 99 min.

The makers of "Ninja Assassin" want to rescue the ninja from the province of turtles. They have a funny way of paying respect to the sword-wielding saboteurs, though. Director James McTeigue is clearly more interested in spraying geysers of digital blood than in establishing the ninja as a foe to be taken seriously. Another problem: Since the movie's ninjas only come out in the dark, the fight scenes are murky and almost impossible to follow. No worthy adversaries here. Korean pop star Rain, above, and Naomie Harris lead the cast of the movie, which centers on a rogue hit man who betrays his clan of assassins.

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'Old Dogs'

Comedy, PG, 89 min.

In case anyone in the audience isn't sure when to cackle, coo, snicker or sigh, the makers of this dead stray of a family comedy have provided a handy on-screen prompt. It's an old dog, reacting with grunts of canine confusion or curiosity over the antics of Robin Williams and John Travolta, above. Director Walt Becker cuts away to the pooch, the aging pet of Travolta's character, so often that maybe the dog should have shared top billing in this rubbish about middle-aged buddies caring for young twins one of them never knew he fathered. The movie stumbles from one clumsy anecdotal sketch to the next.

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'The Twilight Saga: New Moon'

Drama, PG-13, 130 min.

As every Stephenie Meyer fan knows, this is the one where studly vampire Edward Cullen (Robert Pattinson) dumps human girlfriend Bella Swan (Kristen Stewart, right) for her own safety, and she turns to old chum Jacob Black (Taylor Lautner) for solace, unaware that he's a werewolf, and therefore Edward's sworn enemy. Fans will turn out in blockbuster legions, but "New Moon" is boring - eternally so. The soap-opera melodrama of Stewart, Pattinson and Lautner's performances provides some unintentional laughs. And Stewart's Bella is just a drag to be around.

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