Politics can be so negative, but George Clooney's latest film, "The Ides of March," is getting mostly positive reviews from critics heading into its opening weekend.

Clooney directs and plays a supporting role as a Pennsylvania governor seeking the Democratic presidential nomination. Ryan Gosling stars as his up-and-coming press secretary, who gets caught up in manipulation and intrigue. AP Movie Critic gave the film two and half stars out of four, saying: "Clooney is such an excellent actor himself, though ... and he's such a smart, efficient director, he really knows how to get the best out of his cast."

Also opening nationwide is "Real Steel," a futuristic family film about boxing robots starring Hugh Jackman. AP Movie Writer David Germain wrote: "A bad idea is a bad idea, even dressed up with all the computer effects and heavy-metal action that Hollywood can buy." He gave the movie just one and a half stars out of four.

And then there's "The Human Centipede 2 (Full Sequence)," a sequel to the graphic cult movie from last year. Lemire wrote of writer-director Tom Six: "It's hard to tell whether he means to titillate his audience or to mock it. And after a while, it's hard to care." She gave it only one and a half stars out of four.

Here's a look at how these movies and others fared on the top review websites as of Friday afternoon. Each score is the percentage of positive reviews for the film:

— "The Ides of March": Metacritic, 67; Movie Review Intelligence, 71.9; Rotten Tomatoes, 82. Average: 73.6.

— "Real Steel": Metacritic, 56; Movie Review Intelligence, 52.7; Rotten Tomatoes, 58. Average: 55.6.

— "The Human Centipede 2 (Full Sequence)": Metacritic, 20; Movie Review Intelligence, 29.5; Rotten Tomatoes, 23. Average: 24.2.

— "Dirty Girl": Metacritic, 36; Movie Review Intelligence, 45.3; Rotten Tomatoes, 24. Average: 35.1.

— "The Way": Metacritic, 66; Movie Review Intelligence, 71.4; Rotten Tomatoes, 79. Average: 72.1.