Will this weekend's new releases help theaters out of the doldrums

With last weekend's movie ticket sales off 6% from the same time last year, and attendance at theaters last weekend the lowest it has been in eight years, movie theaters are hoping for the new animated vehicle Monsters Vs. Aliens and supernatural thriller The Haunting In Connecticut to help relieve the movie going doldrums. Also the wrestling-theme comes to the big screen in the adventure thriller 12 Rounds, coming out this Friday as well. A recap of the big three releases out Friday in theaters:

Monsters Vs. Aliens (PG; IMAX 3-D; Tru 3-D and conventional screens; DreamWorks/Paramount) When California girl Susan Murphy is unwittingly clobbered by a meteor full of outer space gunk on her wedding day, she mysteriously grows to 49-feet-11-inches tall. The military jumps into action and Susan is captured and secreted away to a covert government compound. There, she is renamed Ginormica and placed in confinement with a ragtag group of Monsters: the brilliant but insect-headed Dr. Cockroach, Ph.D.; the macho half-ape, half-fish The Missing Link; the gelatinous and indestructible B.O.B.; and the 350-foot grub called Insectosaurus. Their confinement is cut short, however, when a mysterious alien robot lands on Earth and begins storming the country. In a moment of desperation, the President is persuaded to enlist the motley crew of Monsters to combat the Alien Robot and save the world from imminent destruction. My vote: 4 1/2 out of 5 stars.

The Haunting In Connecticut (PG-13; Lionsgate) Based on a chilling true story, Lionsgate's "The Haunting in Connecticut" charts one family's terrifying, real-life encounter with the dark forces of the supernatural. When the Campbell family moves to upstate Connecticut, they soon learn that their charming Victorian home has a disturbing history: not only was the house a transformed funeral parlor where inconceivable acts occurred, but the owner's clairvoyant son Jonah served as a demonic messenger, providing a gateway for spiritual entities to crossover. Now unspeakable terror awaits, when Jonah, the boy who communicated with the dead, returns to unleash a new kind of horror on the innocent and unsuspecting family. My vote: 3 1/2 out of 5 stars.

12 Rounds (PG-13; 20th Century Fox) A man’s girlfriend/Fiancé is kidnapped by a jewel thief and is must stop at nothing to get her back. The difference this time John Cena plays a cop Detective Danny Fisher who a year ago helped the FBI capture a known fugitive Miles Jackson. The film set out to be a revenge film the villain getting revenge on Cena’s character for the accidental death of his girlfriend. Danny must complete a game aptly called "12 Rounds". This is where the film really picks up with huge action scenes and better plots twists. My vote: 3 out of 5 stars.

New DVD Releases Today

Here are some of the new titles arriving on DVD today:

Movies:
* Bolt
* Quantum of Solace
* 2 Fast 2 Furious: 2-Disc Limited Edition
* The Cake Eaters
* The Fast and the Furious: 2-Disc Limited Edition
* The Fast and the Furious: Tokyo Drift -- 2-Disc Limited Edition
* Happily N'Ever After 2
* Kung Fu Panda: Secrets of the Furious Five
* Lilo & Stitch: 2-Disc Big Wave Edition
* Never Say Never Again: Collector's Edition
* New York City Serenade
* The Odd Couple: Paramount Centennial Collection
* To Catch a Thief: Paramount Centennial Collection
* Watchmen: Tales of the Black Freighter & Under the Hood

TV:
* A Woman Called Golda
* Andy Richter Controls the Universe: The Complete Series
* The Riches: Season 2
* Star Wars: The Clone Wars -- A Galaxy Divided