Owen Baker is a 12-year-old loner who has been working as a neighborhood dog-walker so he can earn the privilege of getting a dog of his own. His hard work pays off when his parents let him adopt a scruffy mutt he names Hubble. Both boy and dog get more than they bargained for when Owen wakes up one morning to discover he can understand every word Hubble says, including the ominous phrase: “Take me to your leaders.” Owen learns that dogs came to Earth thousands of years ago to colonize and dominate the planet. Hubble (who is really named Canid 3942) has been sent by the powerful Greater Dane on a mission from the Dog Star Sirius to make sure dogs have fulfilled this destiny. Despite the best efforts of Owen’s rag-tag group of neighborhood dogs to convince him otherwise, Hubble soon discovers the awful truth about Earth dogs: “You’re all pets!” Now Owen (a boy who never had a friend) and Hubble (a dog who never needed one) must work together to prepare the neighborhood dogs for a visit from The Greater Dane–or all dogs will be removed from the planet! The fate of Earth dogs hangs in the balance, and it’s up to Owen, Hubble, and their canine companions to save man’s best friend. Written by Sujit R. Varma

Death Row guards at a penitentiary, in the 1930’s, have a moral dilemma with their job when they discover one of their prisoners, a convicted murderer, has a special gift. Written by Guy Johns

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Minature green monsters tear through the small town of Kingston Falls. Hijinks ensue as a mild-mannered bank teller releases these hideous loonies after gaining a new pet and violating two of three simple rules: No water (violated), no food after midnight (violated), and no bright light. Hilarious mayhem and destruction in a town straight out of Norman Rockwell. So, when your washing machine blows up or your TV goes on the fritz, before you call the repair man, turn on all the lights and look under all the beds. ‘Cause you never can tell, there just might be a gremlin in your house. Written by James Craver

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A weather man is reluctantly sent to cover a story about a weather forecasting “rat” (as he calls it). This is his fourth year on the story, and he makes no effort to hide his frustration. On awaking the ‘following’ day he discovers that it’s Groundhog Day again, and again, and again. First he uses this to his advantage, then comes the realisation that he is doomed to spend the rest of eternity in the same place, seeing the same people do the same thing EVERY day. Written by Rob Hartill

A hard-living superhero who has fallen out of favor with the public enters into a questionable relationship with the wife of the public relations professional who’s trying to repair his image.

Forced to spend his summer holidays with his muggle relations, Harry Potter gets a real shock when he gets a surprise visitor: Dobby the house-elf, who warns Harry Potter against returning to Hogwarts, for terrible things are going to happen. Harry decides to ignore Dobby’s warning and continues with his pre-arranged schedule. But at Hogwarts, strange and terrible things are indeed happening: Harry is suddenly hearing mysterious voices from inside the walls, muggle-born students are being attacked, and a message scrawled on the wall in blood puts everyone on his/her guard - “The Chamber Of Secrets Has Been Opened. Enemies Of The Heir, Beware” . Written by Soumitra

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It was bound to happen. Each “Harry Potter” movie prior to “Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire” was able to outdo its immediate predecessor, but the odds were stacked against that trend continuing with every film in the series. Unfortunately, “Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire” is a step down from “Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban” in both production and entertainment value.

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I’ve finally found my favorite movie of the year. Granted, the year isn’t over – and I’ll probably change my mind a dozen or so times before December 31st rolls around. But as of May 31st, “Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban” stands as the best film of 2004, at least in my book.

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On a scale of “Country Bears” to “Pirates of the Caribbean,” “The Haunted Mansion” looks as fabulous as “Pirates” but falls closer to “Country Bears” in overall effort. The production design looks great but there’s not much to the plot or even to the acting for that matter. Suffice it to say, when the three hitchhiking ghosts appear, you’ll be more than ready to join them in getting the heck out of Dodge.

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