There Will Be Blood (R) ****: There will be greatness, too. Anchored by Daniel Day-Lewis' performance as a ruthless oil prospector in 1920s California -- a performance that is one of the all-time great feats of acting -- this fascinating, original and ultimately disturbing movie is a work of unbridled imagination and creative darling. Writer-director Paul Thomas Anderson (''Magnolia,'' ''Boogie Nights'') continues to create one of the most unique bodies of work of any Hollywood filmmaker, tackling big, archetypal themes with a contemporary sensibility. A cautionary tale about success and greed, the movie is an old-fashioned Western epic leavened with the probing psychology and intimacy of a modern-day character study. -- Rodriguez (vulgar language, violence, gore, adult themes). 158 minutes.
The 11th Hour (Unrated) **: As vanity projects go, Leonardo DiCaprio's scare-tactic documentary is at least a heartfelt one. The actor-turned-environmentalist has created, produced and narrated a film detailing the dangers of climate change, and he has gathered a wide array of scientists, environmentalists and others to back him up. Arriving a year after ''The Inconvenient Truth,'' however, makes ''The 11th Hour'' feel more like a lecture you've already heard than a galvanizing call to action. -- Ogle (no objectionable material) 90 minutes.
Lions For Lambs (PG-13) ** ½: Director Robert Redford's passionate plea to Americans to get involved with the current state of events in our country carries a noble (and surprisingly balanced) message. But the movie can't overcome its dry, dialectical construction. Essentially a series of long conversations, the film fares best when eavesdropping on the interview between a journalist (Meryl Streep) and a pro-war senator (Tom Cruise). But Redford's scenes as a college professor trying to reach out to a promising student are achingly stilted, and the movie is constantly reminding you of its arch, artificial nature. -- Rodriguez (vulgar language, brief violence, adult themes). 90 minutes.
P2 (R) *: An idiot movie -- the kind where everything depends on the people involved doing all the wrong things just to keep what passes as a plot churning along between the splatters of violence. All about a psychotic parking attendant (Wes Bentley) who kidnaps a young woman (Rachel Nichols), the movie's big idiot moment is that Angela is trapped in a New York office building. One flip of a fire alarm would bring an army to her rescue. But that would have mercifully ended this film early. Instead the audience is forced to endure 95 minutes of a movie with about 9.5 minutes of good material. -- Miami Herald wire services (vulgar language, violence, adult themes). 95 minutes.
Reservation Road (R) ** ½: Two men (Joaquin Phoenix and Mark Ruffalo) come apart for different reasons in this melodrama, but they are linked by the same things: an unthinkable tragedy and the sort of whopping coincidence one usually needs to tune into ''One Life to Live'' to witness. Jennifer Connelly co-stars as a grieving mom. The acting is impressive, but a series of laughable events hampers the film's ability to reflect on the nature of guilt and grief. -- Ogle (language, some disturbing images) 102 minutes.
Resurrecting the Champ (PG-13) **: It might be based on a true story, but that doesn't mean you're going to believe a single frame of this tale about an up-and-coming Denver newspaper sportswriter (Josh Hartnett) who rescues a homeless man from a beating -- and discovers the man claims to be Bob Satterfield (Samuel L. Jackson), a former pro boxer who once sparred with the likes of Rocky Marciano. Director Rod Lurie (''The Contender'') uses ''Resurrecting the Champ'' to illustrate the sometimes selfish, even unethical elements that can develop in the relationship between a reporter and his subject. But the movie can't overcome its phony aura, and worst yet, it turns out to be one of those films in which everyone learns about the importance of always doing the right thing, complete with a patented uplift intended to send you out of the theater smiling. It may do the trick for some viewers, but from this corner, ''Resurrecting the Champ'' stumbles in the first round. -- Rodriguez (vulgar language, brief violence, adult themes). 112 minutes.
Walk Hard: The Dewey Cox Story (R) ***: Judd Apatow can do no wrong, apparently. Even in taking on a genre parody, the comic mastermind behind ''Knocked Up'' and ''Superbad'' manages to find fresh laughs again and again. This take-off on the music biopic, about a marginally talented country rocker named Dewey Cox (John C. Reilly), hits all the familiar conventions. But what keeps the movie giddy and buoyant is Reilly, a comic actor who can break your heart with his underdog sweetness, and who isn't afraid to go to the goofiest places possible for the big laughs. -- Herald wire services (vulgar language, nudity, sexual situations, drug use). 96 minutes.
The Water Horse (PG) ** ½: This boy meets creature, boy loses creature, creature saves the day fantasy -- about a Scottish youngster (Alex Etel) who befriends a computer-generated water horse during World War II -- is one of the family-friendliest films of the year. But even the youngest member of the family may find the story familiar. -- Herald wire services (brief vulgar language). 101 minutes.
