Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles

Despite borrowing from producer Michael Bay's ethos that bloated is better, director Jonathan Liebesman's origin story about the half-shelled heroes makes for an entertaining ride. Megan Fox plays the frustrated TV news reporter who discovers the existence of the awesome foursome, as well as stumbling on a conspiracy involving her late scientist father's ex-partner (William Fichtner), who has allied with the evil Shredder. The movie strikes a fluid balance between pop-culture banter, cartoon fisticuffs and family friendliness, and the grit of the source material peeps through in the high-octane combat scenes. Shredder's spectacular samurai-robot battle and the wild truck chase through snowy mountains are among the highlights, while the motion-capture process that integrates the turtles into the live-action environment is flawless.