The French drama Un prophete, or A Prophet, is now arriving in the United States after already taking the rest of the world by storm. An Oscar nominee for best foreign language film, A Prophet has already earned that prize at the British Academy Awards, following its Grand Jury Prize at the Cannes Film Festival. The American trailer for the film opens with a quote from the London Times calling it “as epic as The Godfather. A must see.” I couldn’t have said it better myself. I do hope it is able to find an audience here in the States. It certainly deserves one.

Director Tim Burton teams up with star Johnny Depp and wife Helena Bonham Carter for the seventh and sixth time, respectively, for this most recent adaptation of Lewis Carroll’s classic novel and its sequel. The film is being released by Disney, the studio who previously adapted Carroll’s stories in 1951. But Burton and screenwriter Linda Wolverton are bringing a slightly different take with their new adaptation of Alice in Wonderland, as they have Alice is returning to Wonderland years after her first visit. It’s like what Spielberg did in Hook, only with much better results.

George A Romero’s name has become synonymous with zombies, so it comes as no surprise that, in this era of fondness for both the undead and remakes, his canon of work is being mined. Zack Snyder’s 2004 remake of Dawn of the Dead is one of the better of the recent zombie movies and helped usher in the era of the modern, fast-moving zombie. Now, director Breck Eisner is remaking Romero’s 1973 flick The Crazies and while it is no Dawn of the Dead, it is sure to delight fans of the genre.

Long considered to be overlooked, legendary director Martin Scorsese finally won an Oscar for directing his exciting 2006 cops-and-robbers flick The Departed. For his next narrative feature, Scorsese reunites with star Leonardo DiCaprio for the fourth time to make Shutter Island, a puzzling thriller based on the novel by Dennis Lehane. Previously set to be released last October, the movie now hopes to take advantage of the notoriously lightweight month of February. On a first viewing, however, I must say that the film is rather underwhelming. There is little about this movie that suggests “A Martin Scorsese Picture” and I’ll bet in time only his biggest fans will be giving it that second look.

Throughout the 1930s and into the 1940s, genre movies dominated Hollywood and each studio had its specialty. MGM made its living on splashy movie musicals, while Warner Bros. practically invented the gangster film. Meanwhile, with films like Frankenstein and Dracula, Universal became a major player thanks to its monster movies. One of its later entries into the genre was 1941’s The Wolf Man . Now, the studio reinvents the classic with Benicio Del Toro in the role made famous by Lon Chaney, Jr. all those years ago.

In real life, John Travolta loves Paris. He was married there. It’s a fact that might escape you when you see him drop into town with his guns-a-blazin’ in From Paris with Love, the new action flick from producer Luc Besson and director Pierre Morel. Morel is hot off of last year’s surprise hit Taken, but whereas audiences were game to follow Liam Neeson’s vengeful dad on his action-packed mission, I don’t foresee the same result for Travolta’s abrasive secret agent.

Edge of Darkness seems to have all the elements in place for a successful revenge thriller. First and foremost, it stars Mel Gibson. Although making his first on-screen appearance since 2002’s Signs, Gibson is a veteran of vengeance seeking roles and a perfect fit. Secondly, the film is based on a popular British mini-series and updated by William Monahan (along with Andrew Bovell), who won an Oscar his The Departed script. Finally, the film is directed by Martin Campbell, who since directing the original mini-series has proved himself a successful action director with films like Goldeneye, The Mask of Zorro, and Casino Royale. Unfortunately, the whole is not greater than the sum of its parts.

Extraordinary Measures is based on the true story of John Crowley, a businessman whose two younger children are both afflicted with Pompe disease, which carries with it a life expectancy of no more than nine years. As the movie opens, Megan Crowley is celebrating her eighth birthday. Determined to save his children, Mr. Crowley contacts a research scientist in Nebraska who is considered the top mind on the subject and together they form a company dedicated to finding a cure. Their goal is to be in clinical trials within a year, and John wants his kids to be the test subjects. If it sounds like this ought to be on T.V., you’re right.

The Book of Eli is the post-apocalyptic thriller for those who thought The Road was too boring. The first movie to be directed by the Hughes brothers since 2001’s From Hell, the movie is full of stylish action sequences that usually involve Denzel Washington making mincemeat out of a number of attackers. The religious implications are also much more on the surface in The Book of Eli than they were in The Road, as the book of the title is no less than the King James Bible. Plus, it might inspire you to hold on to any KFC wet naps you come across… you know, just in case you’ll eventually need them as currency.

In Crazy Heart, Jeff Bridges plays an old-school country music star and songwriter. He’s part of the old guard, one of the guys whose songs about women and booze and his old pickup truck are actually taken from his own life and not ripped off a sort of commercialized assembly line. Having not bought into the corporate life and having drunk himself into something of a lifelong stupor, his Bad Blake now tours the cheap bars and bowling alleys of the southwest. The film was written and directed by Scott Cooper and there are some nice little directorial touches, such as a dysfunctional locking chain and the world’s most oddly placed phone booth. It’s a very assured film for a first-timer.