This week at the movies, we've got fast cars (Speed Racer, starring Emile Hirsch and Christina Ricci), marital mishaps (What Happens in Vegas, starring Ashton Kutcher and Cameron Diaz), and battle royals (David Mamet's Redbelt, starring Chiwetel Ejiofor). What do the critics have to say?

Sing along with me: "Here it comes, here comes Speed Racer / It's getting bad reviews...." The critics say the Wachowski brothers' big-screen adaptation of the old-school toon is loaded with flashy visuals, but is too bombastic and thinly plotted to resonate. Emile Hirsch stars as the titular hero, who, with the support of main squeeze Trixie (Christina Ricci), battles it out it out with Racer X (Matthew Fox) in a cross-county road race that Speed learns is being unfairly influenced by corporate interests. The pundits say Speed Racer is too loaded with eye-popping (some say headache-inducing) visuals and too short on character development and coherent plotting. At 32 percent on the Tomatometer, you may not want to go (Speed Racer) go to this one. (Check out this week's Total Recall, in which we count down the greatest movie cars of all time.)

"Rotten!"

How much mileage can a movie get out of the appeal of its stars? With regard to What Happens in Vegas, the critics say quite a bit -- though perhaps not enough to deal this formulaic romantic comedy a winning hand. Ashton Kutcher and Cameron Diaz star as a pair of strangers who stumble into matrimony after hitting the jackpot; what follows is a battle of the sexes and a tug-of-war over the money. The pundits say Diaz and Kutcher display solid comedic chops, but are let down by a predictable plot and a sour undercurrent. At 50 percent on the Tomatometer, you have even odds of enjoying this one.

"I doubt that's going to fit in the ATM slot."
With a gift for cryptic language and complex characterization, David Mamet is one of America's most celebrated playwrights. It turns out he's also a big martial arts fan. In Redbelt, Mamet's passions collide, and critics say it's a solid, if not spectacular, combination. Chiwetel Ejiofor stars as a Jiu-Jitsu teacher who preaches self-defense; however, after an accident new his school triggers a series of ominous events, he's forced to step into the ring. The pundits say Redbelt features many of the strengths of Mamet's work: strong acting (from a cast that includes Joe Mantegna, Emily Mortimer, and Tim Allen), intriguing moral dilemmas, and rich dialogue. But some say it's a little too tightly scripted to be fully believable. Still, at 64 percent, the scribes say Redbelt hits pretty hard.

"For next year's fundraiser, we should just have a cops vs. firemen basketball game!"

Also opening this week in limited release:

• Refusnik, a documentary about longstanding activist efforts to help Jews in the Soviet Union, is at 100 percent.
• Turn the River, starring Famke Janssen as a pool hustler working to get back the son she gave up at birth, is at 88 percent.
• The Memory Thief, starring Mark Webber and Rachel Miner in the tale of a man who becomes obsessed with the Holocaust, is at 86 percent.
• Monster Camp, a doc about live action role playing, is at 83 percent.
• OSS 117: Cairo, Nest of Spies, a parody of espionage thrillers, is at 75 percent.
• The Merchant-Ivory period drama, Before the Rains, about a cross-cultural love affair in 1930s India, is at 50 percent.
• Battle for Haditha, Nick Broomfield s chronicle of a dark campaign in the Iraq war, is at 44 percent.
• Noise, starring Tim Robbins in a comedy about a man who loses it after being inundated with street sounds, is at 44 percent.
• The French slasher import, Frontier(s), about a group of criminals who stumble into a house full of flesh-eaters, is at 43 percent.
• The Tracey Fragments, starring Ellen Page in a dark comedy about a teenager searching for her brother, is at 40 percent.
• The Fall, a fantasy film about strange goings-on in a Los Angeles hospital, is at 42 percent.
• The Babysitters, starring John Leguizamo and Cynthia Nixon in comedy about a girl who stars a sitting/callgirl business, is at 34 percent.

"Patti Smith or Sonic Youth?"

Wachowski Brothers Movies:
----------------------------------------
37% -- The Matrix Revolutions (2003)
73% -- The Matrix Reloaded (2003)
86% -- The Matrix (1999)
88% -- Bound (1996)