AFTER EARTH 2 1/2 stars. Will and Jaden Smith are intergalactic crash survivors, a father and son who must navigate an Edenic but inhospitable planet if they are to make it home. Based on a story by the Overbrook superstar, and directed in nicely unhurried fashion by M. Night Shyamalan, there's a lot of cheesy corn going on here, but the sci-fi yarn - about a young man's personal Outward Bound experience - has seamless visual effects, cool CGI beasts, and a hokey charm. 1 hr. 40 PG-13 (sci-fi action, violence, adult themes) - Steven Rea

BARBARA 4 stars. Nina Hoss gives an amazingly controlled, nuanced performance as a doctor exiled to the provinces in the cold, gray East Germany of 1980. Mistrust hangs in the air in this hushed, suspenseful character study. A gem from filmmaker Christian Petzold. 1 hr. 45 PG-13 (sex, adult themes) - Steven Rea

BEFORE MIDNIGHT 4 stars. Julie Delpy and Ethan Hawke return as Celine and Jesse, the young strangers on a heady Viennese walkabout in 1995's "Before Sunrise, the man and woman sharing a rueful Paris reunion in 2004's "Before Sunset. Now they are partners, with children, on vacation in Greece, and facing the everyday realities of a relationship, of trying to balance careers with filial responsibilities. It's talky (of course), and it's exhilirating. 1 hr. 48 R (profanity, nudity, adult themes) - Steven Rea

THE BIG WEDDING 2 stars. Robert De Niro and Diane Keaton are a long-divorced couple pretending they're still together so as to not offend their adoptive son's conservative biological mom, coming from Columbia for his wedding. Susan Sarandon, who lives with De Niro's randy coot, is not happy about the ruse. A sedated ensemble farce, with Ben Barnes, Topher Grace, Katherine Heigl, Amanda Seyfried - and Robin Williams as the priest overseeing the ceremony. 1 hr. 29 R (sex, nudity, profanity, adult themes) - Steven Rea

THE BLING RING 3 stars. Sopfia Coppola's energetic, elegant and entertaining take on the real-life escapades of a band of San Fernando Valley teens who robbed the houses of the rich and famous, coming away with armloads of designer goods. A comedy, of sorts, if what it says about our obsession with the famous and the frivolous wasn't so depressing. 1 hr. 30 R (profanity, drugs, alcohol, adult themes) - Steven Rea

THE COMPANY YOU KEEP 3 stars. Robert Redford stars in, and directs, this solid, crosshatched thriller about a band of '60s radicals who have long assimilated themselves into the mainstream - and are forced to reconsider their past deeds, all these decades later, when the FBI and a newspaper reporter start snooping around. With Susan Sarandon, Julie Christie, Nick Nolte, Shia LeBeouf and Brit Marling. 2 hrs. 05 R (profanity, adult themes) - Steven Rea

THE CROODS 2 1/2 stars. DreamWorks' latest animated blockbuster is a visually dazzling, if a little empty-headed, 3-D feast for the eyes. Nicolas Cage stars as the patriarch of a prehistoric caveman family who are forced to go on a road trip when their cave is destroyed. Emma Stone plays his adventurous daughter and Ryan Reynolds her love interest, a more evolved man who introduces the family to fire, cooking and tool-making. The flick is breezy, diverting and fun, tough it lacks the inspired wit that made "Shrek" a classic. 1 hr. 38 PG (some scary action) - Tirdad Derakhshani

DISCONNECT 2 1/2 stars. "Crash" for the Internet age, with of-the-moment issues - cyber sex, cyber bullying, identity theft - seeping into the lives of a disparate group of people, whose paths cross in dark, fateful ways. An Eleanor Rigby movie: look at all the lonely people. 1 hr. 55 R (sex, nudity, profanity, violence, drugs, adult themes) - Steven Rea