At the Movies: capsule reviews of new films

Capsule reviews of films opening this week:

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"A Cinderella Story" - Hilary Duff stars in a dreary fairy-tale update that casts Cinderella as a modern Valley Girl who leaves behind a cell phone rather than a glass slipper for her Prince Charming to find. Tediously directed by Mark Rosman from Leigh Dunlap's noodle-headed script, the inanely predictable movie clearly was made under the assumption that female teens and tweeners will turn out for anything under the Duff brand. Duff and her cast mates are as shallow and affected as the characters in her TV series "Lizzie McGuire." Jennifer Coolidge as Duff's wicked stepmother is the movie's only highlight. Coolidge's narcissism is so absurd, she wrings some scant laughs out of Dunlap's atrocious dialogue. PG for mild language and innuendo. 95 min. One and a half stars out of four.

- David Germain, Associated Press

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"I, Robot" - The most informative words don't come until the end. They're in the closing credits - "Suggested by Isaac Asimov's 'I, Robot"' - and they encapsulate exactly what this movie is, and isn't. It is indeed set in the future: Chicago, 2035. And it is based on the Three Laws of Robotics, a sort of checks-and-balances system Asimov set forth in his sci-fi short story collection. But "I, Robot" is primarily another summer blockbuster starring Will Smith - a slick, shiny video game of a movie bursting with computer-generated chase scenes and cool gadgets. It's spectacular entertainment, though under the direction of Alex Proyas ("The Crow") it also has a darkly apocalyptic visual scheme. Smith plays a detective investigating the suicide of the reclusive scientist behind the robots that have become integral parts of everyday life. He thinks it was a murder, and that a robot is responsible. Bridget Moynahan and Bruce Greenwood co-star. PG-13 for intense stylized action, and some brief partial nudity. 115 min. Two and a half stars out of four.

- Christy Lemire, Associated Press