I love Dwayne Johnson. I really do. But while he excels in movies like ‘Faster’ or the upcoming ‘G.I. Joe: Retaliation’, I can’t wrap my head around his attempts to do kid-friendly movies. Case in point: ‘Journey 2: The Mysterious Island’ (PG), which is about as awkward as ‘The Pacifier’ was in respect to Vin Diesel. In this sort-of sequel, Sean Anderson (Josh Hutcherson) sets out to find his missing grandfather, who turns out to be on a mythical island populated by all sorts of bizarre plants and animals.

Along for the ride is his mom’s boyfriend (Johnson), a reluctant chopper pilot (Luis Guzman), and a sassy sidekick (Vanessa Hudgens). It seems like the entire movie is just a shameless attempt to cash in on the success of the original ‘Journey’, but with cheesier humor, needless 3D, and a truly poor script to hold it all up. Hutcherson, at least, can look forward to leaving this movie behind for the more masterful (and lucrative) ‘Hunger Games’ franchise; meanwhile, Hudgens continues to struggle to find a post-‘High School Musical’ role of any substance. And then there’s poor, awkward Dwayne Johnson. It might be entertaining for the kids, but that’s about it.

Denzel Washington and Ryan Reynolds go head to head in the thriller ‘Safe House’ (R). When a young CIA agent tasked with protecting a fugitive finds himself on the run with his charge, the two must learn that having a common enemy might be more important than their animosity for one another. Both actors are great, and the script promises plenty of action. It’s fun to see Washington play a bad guy—we too often see him play the hero—and I’m eager to see Reynolds play something a little edgier than Hal Jordan.

I was actually surprised when I found out that ‘The Vow’ (PG-13) is in fact not based on a Nicholas Sparks or Jodi Piccoult novel. (The movie actually draws some of its inspiration from a real story, though it’s largely fictionalized.) Channing Tatum and Rachel McAdams star as a young couple who survive a severe car accident, which leaves Paige with severe memory loss—and no memory of her husband. Now, desperate to recover his lost relationship with his wife, Leo sets out to make her fall in love with him all over again.

Mushy? Sure. But hey, it’s hitting theatres just in time for Valentine’s Day, which is nothing if not mushy. And being a terrible sucker for anything with McAdams, I must say (with some bias), it actually looks kind of good.

One last note: the 3D re-release of ‘Star Wars: Episode I – The Phantom Menace’ hits theatres as well. The unfortunate reality is, even hardcore fans of the series seem to have turned in wrath upon their former hero, George Lucas, for what they see as an unacceptable level of tinkering with their hallowed franchise. Thus, re-releasing the series in 3D could prove to be an enormously expensive bad idea. Time will tell.