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"DISNEY'S A CHRISTMAS CAROL" (PG) HH

STARRING: JIM CARREY, GARY OLDMAN, COLIN FIRTH, ROBIN WRIGHT PENN, BOB HOSKINS

RUNNING TIME: 96 min.

This is worth seeing, though only because it's such an amazing piece of technology that makes grand but grimy Londontown come alive in a dazzling 3-D way.

It's a shame that there's not more life or joy in it, as director Robert Zemeckis sticks so closely and moves so quickly with this well-known Dickens tale that there's little room for emotion of any kind.

The decision to use Jim Carrey for so many roles, from Scrooge to the three ghosts that visit him, doesn't help, as other actors might have at least created some variety.

Carrey seems to have been kept on a short leash in his approach to voicing Scrooge, making him grouchy enough, but never really adding much of that Carrey fun and craziness.

We have to experience the depths with Scrooge for the ending to have much power. But it feels like so much of this is cold and depressing, true to the serious tome it interprets, that's it's no joy to see.

Thankfully, there are scenes where Scrooge and his ghostly guides zoom through the sky or whirl along snowy paths in this magnificent digital 3-D animation. And the ending, of course, creates a few merry moments.

But youngsters and even their parents may find there aren't enough of them to make this a palatable family Christmas treat.

The problem may be that this isn't really a family-fun choice for a Christmas flick.

It would be much better as a live action film with serious actors to convey a serious subject, than a Disney 3-D whirl marketed as a joyous Christmas tale.

Rated PG for scary sequences and images. [RF, RA, M]

"THE BOX" (PG-13) H

STARRING: CAMERON DIAZ, JAMES MARSDEN, FRANK LANGELLA

RUNNING TIME: 115 min.

Your first clue that this isn't a serious picture with a serious moral dilemma at its core is that this wreck of a picture stars Cameron Diaz and James Marsden, neither of them serious, heavyweight actors.

Your second is that they use the biggest cop-out on the planet--higher power aliens are behind this mess--to explain this "press the button, get a million bucks" process that leads to dead bodies.

It's a mess that doesn't even make sense within its own silly universe.

Avoid the disappointment. Just don't get "Box"-ed in.

Rated PG-13 for thematic elements, some violence and disturbing images. [RF, RA, M]

"THE FOURTH KIND" (PG-13) H

STARRING: MILLA JOVOVICH, ELIAS KOTEAS, WILL PATTON

RUNNING TIME: 98 min.

It's hard to be worse than "The Box," but this hunk of hokum manages to do it with a supposedly "true story" that feels as fake as the "real footage" they purport to share.

There might have been a way to create an interesting movie to explain why supposedly so many people have been abducted in parts of Alaska.

But this film, which keeps using supposedly "true recordings" of the players, often side-by-side with actors portraying them in this tricked-up tale, just isn't it.

Instead, it's just 98 minutes of silly blather about aliens who look like owls, speak an ancient language and pull people into the sky along beams of light.

Of course, we never quite see them or those actions because the aliens can cause video tapes to go blank.

What a shame they couldn't have done that for this whole film.

Rated PG-13 for violent/disturbing images, some terror, thematic elements and brief sexuality. [RF, RA, M]

"THE MEN WHO STARE AT GOATS" (R) HH

STARRING: GEORGE CLOONEY, EWAN MCGREGOR, JEFF BRIDGES, KEVIN SPACEY, ROBERT PATRICK

RUNNING TIME: 93 min.

This one is strike three for the week's openings--a film that's not really interesting or funny, and all the more disappointing because of its great cast.

The notion of an Army outfit that tries to explore psychic warfare seems ripe for sarcastic and silly comedy.

But aside from George Clooney creating a few silly moments, this is a dull, dead script where little of interest happens.

For subject matter like this, you need to really go for it, getting absurd and comically crazy to create some laughs.

Instead, this goes nowhere and will have you sending a psychic message to your date --"Let's get the heck out of here!"

Rated R for language, some drug content and brief nudity. [RF, RA, M]