“Final Destination 3”

The third time usually isn’t the charm when it comes to movie franchises. But “Final Destination 3” is in some ways better than the original horror movie from 2000, if only because it has a sense of humor.

That doesn’t mean there’s anything new here. Director James Wong and Glen Morgan, with whom Wong co-wrote the script, return to the structure of their first “Final Destination,” changing only the names. This time, a group of high school seniors (Mary Elizabeth Winstead, Ryan Merriman, Kris Lemche) survives a doomed roller coaster ride instead of a doomed plane trip by getting out ahead of time.

Then they’re similarly picked off, one-by-one, by the mind-bogglingly elaborate whim of Death. But unlike the first film, which was painfully serious, the deaths this time around have a twisted, darkly funny sensibility about them.

Rated R for strong horror violence/gore, language and some nudity, the film runs 92 minutes and received two stars out of four.

“Curious George”

The tagline alone – “Show Me the Monkey!” – is enough to make you cringe with dread. Oh, no, you’re thinking. They took a classic children’s story and crammed it with pop-culture jokes and self-referential humor like so many recent animated films, simply to appeal to the adults in the audience. Thankfully, they didn’t. “Curious George” remains very much within its own universe and stays true to the lighthearted spirit of the beloved books by Margret and H.A. Rey. The film is ideal for the same audience the books target (kids ages 4-8) which may make it tedious at times for the parents sitting alongside them. Plus, George is just so cute with his big eyes and bright smile and perpetually sunny disposition, he’s impossible to resist. Will Ferrell, Drew Barrymore and David Cross lead the solid vocal cast.

Rated G, the film runs 77 minutes and received two-and-a-half stars out of four.

“Firewall”

Harrison Ford could have made this movie in his sleep – and at times it feels like he did. It’s the most generic of high-tech kidnap thrillers; you’ll be forgiven for confusing it with “Ransom” or “Hostage.” Ford growls defiantly at times, and he can still throw a punch, but mostly he just looks tired and bored as a bank executive whose family is held hostage inside their lavish Seattle home.

Paul Bettany is coolly sadistic as the head of the bank robbers, who force Ford’s character to hack into his own security system to help them steal $100 million.

But Virginia Madsen – an Oscar nominee just one year ago for her superb supporting work in “Sideways” – is relegated to playing the dutiful wife in peril. If Ford can throw a punch, Madsen unfortunately can take one.

Her character, and the two young actors who play their children, are needlessly subjected to an array of abuse in the name of entertainment.

Rated PG-13 for some intense sequences of violence, the film runs 100 minutes and received one-and-a-half stars out of four.

“The Pink Panther”

The new take on the idiotic Inspector Clouseau features possibly the most formidable successor to Peter Sellers imaginable in Steve Martin. Yet despite the occasional chuckle, this assemblage of adolescent pranks and pratfalls is a forgettable piffle. Martin’s performance is all surface shenanigans as he emulates the physical humor of Sellers and silent-era stars Buster Keaton and Charles Chaplin but captures little of their warmth and pathos. The movie wastes Kevin Kline, Beyonce Knowles, Emily Mortimer and Jean Reno in meaningless support to Martin’s bumbling detective. Director Shawn Levy seems to be aiming the humor at the grade-school crowd.

Rated PG for occasional, crude and suggestive humor and language, the film runs 92 minutes and received one-and-a-half stars out of four.