It's a light week for new movie releases, as Hollywood counterprograms around the second weekend of "Transformers: Dark of the Moon."

The best of the week is "Horrible Bosses," a hilarious and raunchy comedy about three hapless guys (played by Jason Bateman, Jason Sudeikis and Charlie Day) who decide they have had enough of their awful employers (played by Kevin Spacey, Colin Farrell and Jennifer Aniston, respectively) and try to murder them. The script gets a little messy toward the end, but there are some neat surprises along the way -- and the cast (which includes Jamie Foxx as a "murder consultant") is really funny.

At the other end of the spectrum - both in target demographic and overall quality - is "Zookeeper," a misfire of a kiddie comedy. Kevin James stars as Griffin, a zookeeper who is shocked to discover that the animals in his care can talk. The animals allow Griffin to know this secret because they want to help him rekindle his romance with his shallow ex-girlfriend (Leslie Bibb) - though both animals and Griffin don't notice the growing affection for a kindly veterinarian (Rosario Dawson). The voice cast has some heavyweight names (Adam Sandler, Cher, Sylvester Stallone, Nick Nolte), but the humor is all on the throwing-poop wavelength.

Lastly, the Broadway opens "A Better Life," a low-key drama about an undocumented Mexican laborer (Demián Bichir) who strives to earn money to make things easier for his 14-year-old son (José Julián) - and keep him from getting involved in gangs. The script takes some predictable turns, but director Chris Weitz ("Twilight: New Moon") draws a powerful performance from Bichir ("Weeds").