After selling his soul to the devil (Peter Fonda) in a bid to save his father's life, stunt driver Johnny Blaze (Nicholas Cage) lives a life of reckless abandon in Ghost Rider (PG-13 for horror violence), knowing that someday doom awaits him when Mephistopheles comes to collect. But when old Scratch finally does return, he doesn't want to take Johnny to hell; he wants him to be his personal bounty hunter.

Do Americans have bad taste in movies? If the movies that make money compared to the movies that win awards are any gauge to go by, the answer is apparently yes. Our taste is dreadful.

For a romantic comedy to work-especially one set solely in the land of polka-dot shirtwaist dresses, artsy beachside lofts, and lavishly decorated butter-cream cakes-the premise must be grounded in reality. Though Diane Keaton's latest vehicle, Because I Said So (PG-13 for sexual content), possesses all those pretty ancillary qualities in spades, it is missing the main ingredient.

Imagine if someone remade the animated cult classic Heavy Metal for kids and crossed it with Jim Henson's 1980s puppet movie Labyrinth. You'd have some idea of what to expect with Arthur and the Invisibles (rated PG for fantasy action and brief suggestive material).

Mommy, I'm bored," came the voice of a young girl, halfway through Disney's latest computer-generated effort, Happily N'Ever After. By the lack of laughs, she was only echoing the feelings of her peers around her. And no wonder. With tedious narration, obstinate lack of imagination, and pedestrian artwork, Happily N'Ever After (PG for mild action and rude humor) isn't likely to reach the big box-office numbers of recent fractured fairytale pics. It does, however, continue the trend of turning classic children's story structures on their heads.

What are we to make of the violence that permeates Mel Gibson's undeniably impressive piece of cinematic art? That was the question Christians were asking themselves in 2004 after the release of The Passion, and it is the same question moviegoers will likely ask themselves after viewing the director's latest, Apocalypto (rated R for intense and graphic scenes of violence as well as other disturbing images).

Those hoping to gain some insight on Robert F. Kennedy's political career, what he might have brought to the presidency, and the events leading up to his assassination will have to wait for a History Channel special as writer/director/actor Emilio Estevez's latest project, Bobby, sheds no light on the life of its titular hero. It does, however, provide some heady material for soap-opera fans.