"The Big Year" (PG, 99 minutes). Owen Wilson, Jack Black and Steve Martin as fierce competitors in the annual contest among bird watchers to spot the most different species. They race each other to remote locations where rare bird have been reported, and the movie finds great birds and fair humor along the way. Has an innocence and charm that will make it appealing for families, especially those who have had enough whales and dolphins for the year. Three stars

"The Thing" (R, 103 minutes). New version of one of the most durable of all sci-fi stories, in which an alien life form is discovered by a research station in Antarctica, is thawed out, and begins to copy the identities of the humans, one by one. The human characters aren't much developed, however, and it all comes down to excessive displays of special effects, creating a monster that's a smorgasbord of organs, claws, teeth, crab legs, lobster tails, beaks, snaky appendages and gooey dripping eyeballs. Two and a half stars

"Footloose" (PG-13, 113 minutes). Such a close remake of the 1984 movie that I was tempted to reprint my 1984 review. Kenny Wormald as the low-rent version of Kevin Bacon, who moves from Boston to a small Tennessee town which prohibits "dancing in public." He leads the local kids in a protest, and they turn out to be suspiciously well-choreographed. Dead in the water. One and a half stars

"Fireflies in the Garden" (R, 120 minutes). A high-profile cast in a confusing family tragedy that moves between past an present and sometimes confuse the two because different actors play the same characters. With Willem Dafoe, Julie Roberts, Ryan Reynolds, Emily Watson and Carrie-Anne Moss. Written and directed by Dennis Lee. Two stars

"Happy Happy" (R, 88 minutes) An isolated couple in a snowy Norwegian district get new neighbors, and pent-up problems in both marriages begin to interact. Agnes Kittelsen is excellent as Kaja, the landlady of the newcomers, whose empty marriage and loneliness express themselves in desperate exhilaration. Many inexplicable touches, such as the two children playing a game of slave and master, and the periodic appearance of an American singing quartet performing seemingly irrelevant folk songs. Winner of the grand jury prize in the Sundance World Cinema category. Three stars