ACT OF VALOR 1 1/2 stars. This action film's claim to fame is that it stars active-duty Navy SEALs. The problem is that these stoic warriors infect Act of Valor with more wooden acting than you'd see at a ventriloquism school. 1 hr. 51 R (violence, profanity) — David Hiltbrand
ADDICTION INCORPORATED 2 stars. A documentary that recounts the legal battles against American Big Tobacco. It’s a long, studious film. 1 hr. 42 PG-13 (adult themes) — David Hiltbrand
AMERICAN REUNION 2 1/2 stars. The “American Pie” guys return for a 13th annual high school bash, and party-hardy as they re-live their adolescence and grapple with adult responsibilities — sort of. 1 hr. 53 R (sex, nudity, profanity, barely adult themes) — Steven Rea
THE ARTIST 4 stars. Everything old is new again in this deft, delightful black-and-white silent film set in late 1920s Hollywood, as the industry transitions to talking pictures — leaving some of its biggest stars behind. With Jean Dujardin as a screen idol and Bérénice Bejo as the ingenue he mentors and falls for, as her career takes off, and his plummets. 1 hr. 40 PG-13 (adult themes) — Steven Rea
BATTLESHIP 3 stars. A fleet of space ships from Earth goes to battle against an alien force. 2 hrs. 13 PG-13 (profanity, violence, destruction) — Gary Thompson
BEING ELMO 3 1/2 stars. This documentary looks at Kevin Clash, the man from working-class Baltimore who created the lovable Muppet. 1 hr. 16 PG (mild language including a brief drug reference) — Carrie Rickey
BEING FLYNN 3 stars. Robert De Niro and Paul Dano co-star in Chris Weitz’s low-key, high impact story inspired by Nick Flynn’s memoir about his days working at a homeless shelter where he reconnects with his estranged father. 1 hr. 42 R (profanity, brief nudity, drugs, mature themes) — Carrie Rickey
BERNIE 3 1/2 stars. Jack Black is a big-hearted, buoyant East Texas mortician on trial for killing an elderly widow that the whole town hated in Richard Linklater’s cheerfully twisted, true-crime comedy. With Shirley MacLaine, Matthew McConaughey and real-life Lone Star citizens with a lot to say. 1 hr. 43 PG-13 (violence, profanity, adult themes) — Steven Rea
THE BEST EXOTIC MARIGOLD HOTEL 3 stars. A group of British retirees are lured to move to India by exotic advertising. Judi Dench, Maggie Smith, Bill Nighy, and Tom Wilkinson star. 2 hrs. 2 PG-13 (sexual content, profanity) — Gary Thompson
BULLY 3 stars. The controversial documentary on the problem of bullying in American schools makes it to the big screen. 1 hr. 39 PG-13 (cruelty to children) — Gary Thompson
THE CABIN IN THE WOODS 3 1/2 stars. Five friends pick the wrong cabin for rest and relaxation in this excellent horror film. 1 hr. 35 R (strong, bloody horror, violence and gore, profanity, drug use, and some sexuality/nudity) — Gary Thompson
CASA DE MI PADRE 3 stars. A goofball Spanish-language parody of the cheesily over-dramatic telenovela form, with Will Ferrell as the dimwitted son of a Mexican rancher, caught up in romance, sibling rivalry, drug-dealing and mystical communion with a talking white mountain lion. 1 hr. 25 R (violence, sex, drugs, adult themes) — Steven Rea
CHIMPANZEE 3 stars. Tim Allen narrates this child-friendly documentary that follows the progress of a young chimp who gets separated from his family. 1 hr. 15 G — Gary Thompson
CHRONICLE 3 1/2 stars. Smart, fun, and increasingly dark, this reality-grounded sci-fi tale finds three high school friends climbing into a hole — and emerging with telekinetic powers. But instead of using their newfound abilities to fight crime, they just do what guys in high school would do if they could levitate stuff and crush stuff and hurl stuff through the air. 1 hr. 23 PG-13 (violence, adult themes) — Steven Rea
CROOKED ARROWS 3 stars. An American Indian high school lacrosse team battles opponents from prep schools in their push to win a state tournament. 1 hr. 40 PG (suggestive references) — Gary Thompson
DAMSELS IN DISTRESS 3 stars. Whit Stillman returns from taking off the first decade of the new millennium, casting the awkwardly charming Greta Gerwig as a college coed with a peculiar worldview. She and her roommates invite a newcomer (Analeigh Tipton) into their midst, offering advice on campus life, on frat boy numskulls, on what to wear. Lots of deadpanning and declaiming, lots of fun. 1 hr. 39 PG-13 (adult themes) — Steven Rea
DARK SHADOWS 3 stars. Johnny Depp, looking fetchingly cadaverous, is Barnabas Collins, vampire, in Tim Burton’s merrily macabre adaptation of the cult ‘60s Gothic soap opera series. Although there’s a thick tanle of a tale about love and lust and vengeance, in some ways this is a movie about how totally cool and weird 1972 was. Cue the music. 2 hrs. PG-13 (sex, violence, adult themes) — Steven Rea
DARLING COMPANION 2 1/2 stars. Diane Keaton and Kevin Kline are empty nesters who get a belated new family member — a stray dog. And when the beloved Freeway goes missing, all sorts of name-calling and blame-throwing ensues. A shambling, hardly deep ensemble piece, loose and improvisitory, with Diane Wiest, Mark Duplass, Elisabeth Moss and Richard Jenkins. 1 hr. 43 PG-13 (profanity, adult themes) — Steven Rea
THE DEEP BLUE SEA 3 1/2 stars. Shot in a gauze of melancholy, Terence Davies’ crushing adaptation of the 1952 Terrence Rattigan play is a meditation on self-destruction and desire, with Rachel Weisz as the London magistrate’s wife who tosses her life away for a lover she knows doesn’t love her back. 1 hr. 38 R (sex, nudity, adult themes) — Steven Rea
THE DICTATOR 3 stars. Sacha Baron Cohen goes deep — and deeply funny — into character as a North African despot who doesn’t think twice about ordering up the deaths of those who disagree with him. Leading a life of extravagant power, Aladeen meets a militant vegan from Brooklyn (Anna Faris) and experiences a disorienting change of heart. 1 hr. 23 R (sex, nudity, profanity, cartoon violence, adult themes) — Steven Rea
EXIT STRATEGY 2 stars. Incompatibility becomes a relationship stumbling block after an evicted man moves in with his girlfriend of three months in this micro-budget romantic comedy from Philly native son, actor-writer Jameel Saleem. 1 hr. 16 No MPAA rating (mature themes) — Tirdad Derakhshani
THE FIVE-YEAR ENGAGEMENT 3 stars. Emily Blunt and Jason Segel are happily living together and happily engaged, and then careers and commitment issues and comedic predicaments get in the way. From the folks responsible for “Forgetting Sarah Marshall,” with a little bit more of a grownup sensibility, but still with plenty of sex and potty jokes. 2 hrs. 04 R (sex, profanity, adult themes) — Steven Rea
FOOTNOTE 4 stars. The rivalry between father- and-son Talmudic scholars spins into a moral and ethical whirlwind when one is honored with a huge prize, in this brilliant tragicomedy from Israeli filmmaker Joseph Cedar. Nominated for the foreign-language Academy Award. 1hr.43 PG (adult themes) — Steven Rea
THE FORGIVENESS OF BLOOD 3 1/2 stars. The past and the present, ancient laws and modern longings, collide in this satisfying, psychologically complex tale of a teenager caught in a blood feud in craggy modern-day Albania. From the director of “Maria Full of Grace.” 1hr.49 No MPAA rating (violence, adult themes) — Steven Rea
GOD BLESS AMERICA 1 1/2 stars. When a man loses all hope for the future, he takes out his frustration on those he sees as responsible for the decline of American culture in a violent rampage. If that doesn’t sound like fun, he picks up a sidekick in the form of a bubbly teen who thinks what he is doing is “cool.” 1 hr. 30 R (profanity, strong violence, sexual sequences) — Gary Thompson
THE HUNGER GAMES 2 1/2 stars Jennifer Lawrence stars as the bow-and-arrow-toting, brow-furrowed heroine of Suzanne Collins' young-adult novel about a dystopian society's televised spectacle, in which 12 boys and 12 girls battle to the death, until just one remains. The big-budget, tonally odd adaptation opts for a Vegas-meets-“Wizard of Oz” production design, as Lawrence's Katniss Everdeen and the other "tributes" prep for their lethal showdown amidst the extravagant glitz of the Capitol. And then they go into the woods, and start the killing. PG-13 (violence, adult themes) — Steven Rea
IN DARKNESS 3 stars. Agnieszka Holland’s Oscar-nominated true-life account of a group of Polish Jews who lived in a city’s sewers for 14 months, evading Nazis and enduring unspeakable discomfort and dread — and of the sewer worker who helped them, first for the money, then for more morally complex reasons. Troubling, inspiring, frightening. 2 hrs. 25 R (violence, adult themes) — Steven Rea
JEFF, WHO LIVES AT HOME 3 stars. Jason Segel stars as a 30-year-old stoner, holed up in his mom’s basement (nicely played by Susan Sarandon) and interpreting seeminglyrandom events as portentous signs of life-changing magnitude. Ed Helms, the great Judy Greer and Rae Dawn Chong co-star; from sibling filmmakers Jay and Mark Duplass, of “The Puffy Chair,” “Baghead” and “Cyrus” fame. 1 hr. 23 R (profanity, drugs, adult themes) — Steven Rea
JIRO DREAMS OF SUSHI 3 1/2 stars. This documentary portrait of Jiro Ono, proprietor of a 10-seat sushi bar in a Tokyo subway station, is a beautiful meditation on work, on life, on seeking perfection in things big and small. 1hr.22 PG — Steven Rea
THE KID WITH A BIKE 3 1/2 stars. A fiercely determined 11-year-old goes looking for the father who abandoned him — and finds a guardian angel of sorts in the form of a village hairdresser, in Jean-Pierre and Luc Dardenne’s bracing, resonant film. 1 hr. 27 No MPAA rating (violence, profanity, adult themes) — Steven Rea
A LITTLE BIT OF HEAVEN No stars. The “c” in this Big C melodrama must stand for cute, as Kate Hudson, playing “the youngest and hottest vice president in advertising,” is diagnosed with terminal cancer. She falls for her doctor — Gael Garcia Bernal — and things devolve from there into whirlpools of shameless sentiment. With Whoopi Goldberg as God. Really. 1 hr. 46 PG-13 (sex, profanity, adult themes) — Steven Rea
THE LUCKY ONE 2 1/2 stars. Zac Efron is an Iraq war veteran who finds a photo in the bombed-out rubble — a photo of a radiant woman — and decides to track her down when he returns stateside. Fate, destiny and sage cliches whorl together in this glossy, sun-dappled adaptation of the Nicholas Sparks romance. With Taylor Schilling as the girl in the photo. 1 hr. 41 PG-13 (sex, profanity, violence, adult themes) — Steven Rea
THE MAN NOBODY KNEW 3 1/2 stars. At once a deeply personal film and an important historical document, Carl Colby’s portrait of his father, former CIA chief William Colby, offers insights into the world of old-school espionage, but also into the trickier territory of morality and truth. How does someone whose livelihood depends on deception function in the “normal” spheres of everyday life? 1 hr. 44 No MPAA rating (violence, adult themes) — Steven Rea
MANSOME 2 stars. This documentary looks at what it means to be a man in the modern world, with an emphasis on trends in grooming and fashion. 1 hr. 25 PG-13 (profanity, crude material) — Gary Thompson
MARLEY 3 stars. A beautiful if sometimes jumbled documentary about the reggae superstar Bob Marley, from his childhood in the slums of Kingston, Jamaica, to his enduring influence in pop music, even 30 years after his death. 2 hrs. 25 PG-13 (drugs, violence, adult themes) — Steven Rea
MARVEL’S THE AVENGERS 2 1/2 stars. Captain America, the Hulk, Iron Man and Thor team up with Black Widow and Hawkeye to do battle with a demonic, demented Norse god (Thor’s bad-seed brother) in Joss Whedon’s effects-driven Marvel superheroes smash-up. With Robert Downey Jr., Chris Evans, Chris Hemsworth, Scarlett Johannson, Mark Ruffalo, and Samuel L. Jackson as their boss, SHIELD agent Nick Fury. 2 hrs. 23 PG-13 (violence, adult themes) — Steven Rea.
MEETING EVIL 1 1/2 stars. Samuel L. Jackson stars as a mysterious, menacing man in black, and Luke Wilson is the woebegone sap he meets up with in this mortgage crisis nightmare noir. It could have been pulpy fun, but the heavy-handed filmmaking misses just about every opportunity for irony, or subtlety, or cool. 1 hr. 29 R (violence, profanity, adult themes) — Steven Rea
MISS BALA 3 stars. Taut, terrifying crime thriller about a young beauty pageant contestant inadvertently caught up in the chaos and carnage of the Mexican drug wars. 1 hr. 53 R (violence, sex, nudity, adult themes) — Steven Rea
MOZART’S SISTER 3 stars, Exquisitely sad tale of the older sibling to little Wolfgang, herself a prodigy, writing sonatas and singing and playing the harpsichord and violin like a master. Marie Féret, daughter of the filmmaker, stars. No MPAA rating (adult themes) — Steven Rea
PINA 4 stars. A shockingly beautiful and moving tribute to the late German choreographer Pina Bausch, by her friend, the filmmaker Wim Wenders. The Oscar-nominated doc is in 3-D, and it’s easily the 3-D experience of the year. 1 hr. 46 PG (adult themes) — Steven Rea
THE RAVEN 2 stars. Edgar Allan Poe (John Cusack) matches wits against a serial killer who takes care of his victims using methods from Poe’s stories. 1 hr. 51 R (profanity, violence, grisly images) — Gary Thompson
SAFE 2 1/2 stars. Jason Statham stars as a homeless man with good fighting skills who signs on to protect an orphaned girls sought by various mob factions for a secret code she holds. 1 hr. 35 R (violence) — Gary Thompson
SALMON FISHING IN THE YEMEN 3 stars. British rom-com, heavy on the whimsy, about a fisheries department bureaucrat (Ewan McGregor) and a sparky London marketing whiz (Emily Blunt) thrown together to work on the cockamamie concept of stocking a Yemeni waterway with upstream-swimming fishies from the U.K. 1 hr. 47 PG-13 (profanity, sex, adult themes) — Steven Rea
THE SECRET WORLD OF ARRIETTY 4 stars. This captivating animation from Japan’s Studio Ghibli is based on “The Borrowers,” Mary Norton’s children’s fantasy about micro-beings who live beneath the floorboards. As lovingly written as it is beautifully rendered. 1 hr. 35 G — Carrie Rickey.
SOUND OF MY VOICE 3 stars. Brit Marling is eerily good as a cult leader who claims to be from the future. A couple of dogged, if not terribly experienced, journalists go undercover to expose what they believe is a creepy scam. But is it? 1 hr. 25 R (nudity, profanity, violence, adult themes) — Steven Rea
THIN ICE 3 stars. Greg Kinnear stars as a sleazeball insurance agent trying to scam an absent-minded old farmer (Alan Arkin) out of a prized violin. Larceny and murder ensue in this nicely turned, increasingly dark morality tale. With Billy Crudup, Lea Thompson. 1 hr. 33 R (profanity, violence, sex, adult themes) — Steven Rea
THINK LIKE A MAN 3 stars. In this disarming and entertaining comedy inspired by Steve Harvey’s self-help book, marriage-minded women and relationship-phobic men both win. The sparkling ensemble cast includes Taraji P. Henson, Michael Ealy, Meagan Good and Romany Malco. Directed by Tim Story. 2 hrs. 02 PG-13 (sexual situations, profanity, drug use) — Carrie Rickey
THE THREE STOOGES 3 1/2 stars. Mo, Larry, and Curly stumble into a murder plot while trying to save their childhood orphanage. 1 hr. 32 PG (slapstick action violence, some rude and suggestive humor including language) — Gary Thompson
TOMBOY 3 stars. Written and directed by Celine Sciamma. With Zoe Heran, Jeanne Disson and Mathieu Demy. Sun-dappled account of a young French girl who moves to a new suburb and pretends to be a boy. 1 hr. 24 PG-13 (brief nonerotic adolescent nudity) — Carrie Rickey
TURN ME ON, DAMMIT! 3 stars. At the center of this disarming and droll Norwegian comedy about teenagers awash in hormones is a girl who refuses to accept the double standard that a horny boy is red-blooded and a horny girl is a scarlet-lettered slut. 1 hr. 16 No MPAA rating (profanity, brief nudity, masturbation, sexual candor, suitable for those 15 and older) — Carrie Rickey
21 JUMP STREET 3 stars. This potty-mouthed and drug-laced reimagining of the 1980s TV show has one of the highest laughs-per-minute ratios since the Naked Gun films. Co-stars Channing Tatum and Jonah Hill play the baby-faced undercover cops assigned to bust a High-school drug ring and despite the raunch and noise they are endearingly funny. 1 hr. 49 R (pervasive drugs, extreme profanity, violence, sexual situations) — Carrie Rickey
UNDEFEATED 3 stars. Inspiring — and Oscar-winning — documentary about the struggle to turnaround a historically awful high school football team. And about the tireless volunteer coach who sees it as his mission to inspire a band of underpriveleged kids from the desolate precincts of North Memphis, Tenn. PG-13 (profanity, adult themes) — Steven Rea
WANDERLUST 3 stars. Riotous, raunchy and raggedy, David Wain’s “Lost in America” update stars Paul Rudd and Jennifer Aniston as disillusioned New Yorkers looking for the American dream. With Justin Theroux. 1 hr. 38 R (nudity, sexual candor, drug use) — Carrie Rickey
WE HAVE A POPE 3 1/2 stars. The Pope dies, and the College of Cardinals convene to select a new leader — with gently comic and empathetic results — in Nanni Moretti’s beautiful, beautifully observed dramedy. French veteran Micel Piccoli stars as the man selected to be the “incarnation of God on Earth,” and he’s not sure he’s up for the job. 1 hr. 45 No MPAA rating (adult themes) — Steven Rea
WHAT TO EXPECT WHILE YOU’RE EXPECTING 2 stars. Kirk Jones’ adaptation of the self-help book takes place in a parallel universe where everyone has his own reality TV show and is anxious until parenthood transforms him momentarily into a new man — and then into a grumpus like Chris Rock. With Cameron Diaz, Dennis Quaid, Jennifer Lopez, Elizabeth Banks and Rock. 1 hr. 50 PG-13 (sexual candor, crude language) — Carrie Rickey
———
RATINGS:
4 stars: Excellent; 3 stars: Good; 2 stars: Fair; 1 star: Poor