‘Dr. Seuss’ The Cat in the Hat’

A shrill and witless adaptation of the beloved picture book about a feisty feline that teaches two shut-in siblings how to have fun. As the Cat, Mike Myers is irritating and unamusing, caterwauling in a voice that channels Charles Nelson Reilly with traces of Bert Lahr’s Cowardly Lion. Director Bo Welch crafts a visually overbearing movie, a sensory overload of garish pastels, vapid sight gags and cloying characters.

The performances by Myers and co-stars Kelly Preston, Alec Baldwin, Dakota Fanning, Spencer Breslin and Sean Hayes amount to distasteful tumult that’s hard to endure even in a movie this short.

Rated: PG for mild crude humor and some double entendres. Running time: 82 minutes. Rating: 1 1/2 stars out of 4.

‘Gothika’

An hour of broody atmosphere and a half-hour of silly revelation pretty much sum up this Halle Berry supernatural thriller.

A decent cast, a creepy setting and an intriguing story idea ultimately go to waste, with “Gothika” devolving into a muddle of twists and turns as the movie desperately searches for a third act and comes up empty.

Berry plays a criminal psychologist who has a rainy-night vision of a girl bursting into flames, then wakes up in a cell at her own psych ward accused of murdering her hubby (Charles S. Dutton), with no memory of the deed. Robert Downey Jr. co-stars as her smitten colleague, and Penelope Cruz plays a ranting patient.

Rated: R for violence, brief language and nudity. Running time: 98 min. Rating: 1 and 1/2 stars out of 4.

‘Looney Tunes: Back

in Action’

Tough stuff, building a full-length movie out of wisecracks and pratfalls normally confined to cartoon shorts. Yet director Joe Dante maintains a manic pace throughout this combination of live action and animation.

While the movie lapses into stretches where maybe one in four gags actually works, the filmmakers pile them on so feverishly that the clunkers pass largely unnoticed.

Brendan Fraser and Jenna Elfman star alongside Bugs Bunny and Daffy Duck on a mission to foil evil Acme Co. chairman Steve Martin’s plan to turn humanity into monkeys.

Martin’s over-the-top performance is a hoot, and the movie’s a family-friendly romp for Bugs and Daffy fans of all ages.

Rated: PG for some mild language and innuendo. Running time: 83 minutes. Rating: 3 stars out of 4.

“Master and Commander: The Far Side of the World” –

An action-adventure movie that’s almost as clunky as its name. Russell Crowe stars as jaunty Capt. “Lucky Jack” Aubrey, who is sailing far from home to fight the Napoleonic menace. He strides the deck of his warship with a wink and a quick wit for all – until it’s time for some bloodletting, and then he’s all “Die Hard.” Director Peter Weir, whose credits include “The Mosquito Coast” and “The Truman Show,” stumbles in the action sequences, which are muddled and confusing. Meanwhile, Crowe’s performance as the cap’n is too inconsistent to offer anything but a superficial look into what’s inside a man who loves war. Rated; PG-13 for bloody battle scenes. Running time: 139 mins. Rating: Two stars out of 4.