Hollywood encourages moviegoers to reflect on the past and contemplate the future with four new time-themed films opening in theaters around the country.

Fans of the X-Men trilogy have been anxiously awaiting the debut of X-Men Origins: Wolverine and the chance to look back into the history of the story and see how one of the comic book’s most popular characters came to be a superhero. Hugh Jackman (The Prestige, Australia) reprises his role as Logan/Wolverine in this prequel, which tells the tale of how Logan got his adamantium skeleton, aka the source of his trademark retractable claws. While the film centers on Wolverine, other fan favorites play a hefty supporting role. Liev Schreiber (Defiance, Everything is Illuminated) plays supervillian and assassin Sabretooth, Ryan Reynolds (Van Wilder, Definitely, Maybe) portrays martial arts mercenary Deadpool and Taylor Kitsch (Friday Night Lights, The Covenant) brings to life Cajun thief Gambit. The X-Men brand and Jackman are both huge audience draws, and the fact that there's the potential for multiple spin-offs suggests that the franchise will continue to produce films well into the future.

Those looking to take in less action and more romantic comedy should check out Ghosts of Girlfriends Past, a film which borrows its time traveling themes from the Charles Dickens' classic A Christmas Carol. Matthew McConaughey (Failure to Launch, How to Lose a Guy in 10 Days) stars as Connor Mead, a playboy photographer with a long history of womanizing, who has returned home for his brother's wedding. While there he is reunited with Jenny, played by Jenifer Garner (Alias, Elektra), a girl he had strong feelings for as a child. The night before the wedding, Connor is visited by three ghosts, The Ghosts of Girlfriends Past, Present and Future, who help him discover who he really wants to be with. The film mixes two well-trodden genres, Christmas Carol re-imaginings and romantic comedies, but hopes to bring something new to both. For a personal chat with the stars of the film, check out this week's In the Spotlight feature.

Anyone interested in reliving their childhood should seek out the independent film Home, which opens in limited release this weekend. The movie stars Marcia Gay Harden (Pollock, Into the Wild) and her real-life daughter, Eulala Scheel, as mother-daughter duo Inga and Indigo. Inga is a poet whose struggling marriage and battle with breast cancer have helped to bring her closer with her 8-year-old daughter, with whom she shares all of her most private thoughts, feelings, hopes and fears. In an attempt to bring her life full-circle and reclaim some of her lost childhood, Inga decides to purchase and restore a house which reminds her of her own youth. It's by far the most serious offering this weekend, but the film's writer and director, Mary Haverstick, hopes that the chance to see an Academy Award-winning actress interact with her daughter on screen will resonate with audiences, especially only a week before Mother's Day. (It worked for the father-daughter Fondas in the Oscar-winning On Golden Pond.)

If all of this nostalgia has got you stuck in the past, take in a look into the future with the animated film Battle for Terra. This computer-generated film turns the science-fiction genre on its head. Rather than featuring fearsome aliens attacking and invading Earth, this film tells the story of a peaceful planet named Terra, which is in danger of being colonized and ravaged by humans, who are rendered homeless after the Earth becomes unlivable. Terra toured the festival circuit earlier this year and features the vocal talent of stars such as Brian Cox, James Garner, Evan Rachel Wood, Justin Long, Dennis Quaid and Amanda Peet. With fun visuals and a sophisticated story, Battle for Terra hopes to entertain both parents and kids alike (rated PG).

—John Bavoso