New Movies Feb. 7-9: George Clooney and Legos Hit the Screen

After weeks of having to choose between poorly reviewed movies like "Ride Along," "I, Frankenstein" and "Jack Ryan: Shadow Recruit," movie-goers this weekend finally have a chance to see a new movie that critics actually like. As a bonus, family audiences will also finally have a good alternative to "Frozen."

The pre-release front runner for the weekend is "The Lego Movie," an animated adventure starring the world's favorite building toy and the voices of Chris Pratt, Elizabeth Banks, Will Arnett, Morgan Freeman, Liam Neeson, Nick Offerman, Jonah Hill, Channing Tatum and many more. The movie is getting excellent reviews from critics, and it's likely to attract a wide range of audience demographics.

For those who wished that "Lone Survivor" was a little bit more cerebral, there's "The Monuments Men," a World War II adventure about art historians who fight their way behind enemy lines to save priceless art treasures that are being threatened by the Nazis. It's directed by George Clooney, and it has the look of one of those Clooney projects that's just a little too dull to attract a broad audience, a la "Good Night, and Good Luck" and "The Ides of March." It stars Clooney, Matt Damon, Bill Murray and John Goodman, though, so it has plenty of star power.

And finally, there's "Vampire Academy," a based-on-a-book-series franchise wannabe that looks like a hybrid of "Twilight," Harry Potter and "Mean Girls." The targeted tween audience probably isn't enough to make this one a hit, so expect it to be the latest disappointing attempt to create franchise magic.