Film clips

At area theaters

89 BLUE JASMINE, PG-13 After everything in her life falls to pieces, including her marriage, an elegant New York socialite (Cate Blanchett) moves into her sister’s modest San Francisco apartment to try to pull herself back together. (98 minutes)

75 CHENNAI EXPRESS, not rated A young man on a journey to a small Indian town to fulfill the last wish of his grandfather to have his ashes immersed in a holy river meets a girl hailing from a unique Southern Indian family. (140 minutes)

83 THE CONJURING, R A couple of world-renowned paranormal investigators (Patrick Wilson, Vera Farmiga), called in to help a family terrorized by a dark presence in a secluded farmhouse, find themselves forced to confront a powerful demonic entity. (112 minutes)

86 DESPICABLE ME 2, PG Steve Carell returns as the voice of semi-supervillain Gru, now the step-parent of three little girls and the master of minions, with “a host of new and outrageously funny characters.” Animated. With voices of Kristen Wiig, Miranda Cosgrove, Russell Brand, Steve Coogan, Ken Jeong, Benjamin Bratt; directed by Chris Renaud, Pierre Coffin. (98 minutes)

78 ELYSIUM, R In the year 2154, the very wealthy live on a pristine man-made space station called Elysium; the rest live on an overpopulated, ruined planet and, desperate to escape the rampant crime and poverty, turn to an unlikely hero (Matt Damon). (109 minutes)

88 FRUITVALE STATION, R Based on a true story. Young Bay Area resident Michael B. Jordan’s almost perfect day ends when he’s shot and killed by transit officers at a rapid-transit station. (90 minutes)

72 GETAWAY, PG-13 A former race car driver (Ethan Hawke), desperately trying to save the life of his kidnapped wife, takes a supercharged sports car and involves its unwitting owner (Selena Gomez) in a high-speed race against time. (90 minutes)

88 THE GRANDMASTER, PG-13 A story inspired by the life and times of kung fu legend Ip Man, “Bruce Lee’s master,” during the tumultuous Republican era that followed the fall of China’s last dynasty that was also the golden age of Chinese martial arts. (130 minutes)

62 GROWN UPS 2, PG-13 The five former high-school basketball teammates who reunited after 30 years for the first movie have reunited for a second, including Lenny (Adam Sandler), who has relocated his family back to the small town where he and his friends grew up. This time, “the grownups are the ones learning lessons from their kids on a day notoriously full of surprises: the last day of school.” (101 minutes)

79 THE HEAT, R An uptight, straitlaced FBI special agent (Sandra Bullock) teams up with a foulmouthed, short-fused Boston cop (Melissa McCarthy) to bring down a drug lord. (117 minutes)

86 INSTRUCTIONS NOT INCLUDED, PG-13 After a former fling leaves a baby on his doorstep and takes off without a trace, Acapulco’s resident playboy ends up in Los Angeles, where he works as a stuntman to pay the bills for himself and his daughter. With Eugenio Derbez (also the director), Jessica Lindsey, Loreto Peralta, Daniel Raymont, Alessandra Rosaldo. (115 minutes)

83 IRON MAN 3, PG-13 Brash-but brilliant industrialist Tony Stark,aka Iron Man (Robert Downey Jr.), embarks on a harrowing quest to hunt down the enemy who has destroyed his personal world, is forced to survive by his own devices, relying on his ingenuity and instincts to protect those closest to him. (130 minutes)

83 LEE DANIELS’ THE BUTLER, PG-13 Forest Whitaker plays a White House butler who served eight American presidents over three decades. (132 minutes)

75 THE LONE RANGER, PG-13 Spirit warrior Tonto (Johnny Depp) recounts the untold tales that transformed John Reid (Armie Hammer), a man of the law, into a masked legend of justice and fighter against greed and corruption. (149 minutes)

78 MAN OF STEEL, PG-13 Look! Up in the sky! It’s a bird! It’s a plane!It’s Henry Cavill as the latest cinematic incarnation of Superman, blasted to earth as a boy, yadda, yadda … discovers he has unusual powers, yadda, yadda … must go through a process to discover where he came from and what he was sent here to do, yadda, yadda … and discover the hero within so he can save the world and yadda, yadda, yadda, become the symbol of hope for all mankind. (143 minutes)

71 THE MORTAL INSTRUMENTS: CITY OF BONES, PG-13 A seemingly ordinary New York City teenager (Lily Collins) discovers she is the descendant of a line of Shadowhunters, a secret cadre of young half-angel warriors locked in an ancient battle to protect our world from demons. (130 minutes)

77 NOW YOU SEE ME, PG-13 A super-team of the world’s greatest illusionists known as “The Four Horsemen” pull off a series of daring heists against corrupt business leaders during their performances, showering the stolen profits on their audiences while staying one step ahead of an elite FBI squad that’s trying to nail them. (101 minutes)

68 ONE DIRECTION: THIS IS US, PG Morgan Spurlock directs this concert-film documentary about the popular British boy band; extended cut with additional songs adds 10 minutes to the running time. (102 minutes)

87 PACIFIC RIM, PG-13 When massive robots piloted by pairs of mind-locked humans aren’t enough to beat back legions of monstrous creatures that have risen from the sea, mankind’s defenders must rely on two unlikely heroes - a washed-up former pilot (Charlie Hunnam) and an untested trainee (Rinko Kikuchi). (131 minutes)

77 PARANOIA, PG-13 A young tech hot-shot (Liam Hemsworth), seduced by unlimited wealth and power, thinks he’s in control in a game of corporate espionage, only to find himself trapped between two ruthless billionaires (Gary Oldman, Harrison Ford), bitter rivals with a complicated past who will stop at nothing to destroy each other. (116 minutes)

73 PERCY JACKSON: SEA OF MONSTERS, PG Young demigod Percy Jackson and his friends embark on a treacherous odyssey through the Bermuda Triangle to find the Golden Fleece, battling terrifying creatures, an army of zombies, and an ancient evil along the way. (106 minutes)

78 PLANES, PG Above the world of Disney’s/Pixar’s Cars comes the story of a plane (voice of Dane Cook) with dreams of competing as a high-flying air racer who turns to a seasoned naval aviator to help him get into shape - and conquer his fear of heights - before the big championship race. Animated. (92 minutes)

75 RIDDICK, R Vin Diesel brings back his Pitch Black/The Chronicles of Riddick anti-hero escaped convict who, left for dead on an apparently lifeless, sun-scorched planet, must fight for survival against alien predators and fend off the mercenary bounty hunters he is forced to summon for help. With Karl Urban, Jordi Molla, Matt Nable, Katee Sackhoff, Bokeem Woodbine; directed by David Twohy. (119 minutes)

67 THE SMURFS 2, PG When the evil wizard Gargamel creates a couple of mischievous Smurf-like creatures called the Naughties, and learns that only Smurfette’s secret spell can turn them into real Smurfs, it’s up to the rest of the clan to rescue her from his clutches. (105 minutes)

89 THE SPECTACULAR NOW, R After his girlfriend dumps him, a charming, self-possessed high school senior finds himself drawn to a girl with whom he has very little in common. (100 minutes)

83 STORIES WE TELL, PG-13 Sarah Polley’s documentary investigates the secrets kept by a family of storytellers, exposing the elusive nature of truth and memory. (108 minutes)

87 THIS IS THE END, R Six friends (Seth Rogen, Jay Baruchel, James Franco, Craig Robinson, Danny McBride, Jonah Hill) are trapped in a house after a series of strange and catastrophic events devastate Los Angeles. (107 minutes)

75 TURBO, PG An underdog snail’s impossible dream of winning the Indy 500 kicks into overdrive when he miraculously attains the power of super-speed. Animated. (96 minutes)

82 2 GUNS, R Denzel Washington and Mark Wahlberg play operatives from competing bureaus working undercover as members of a narcotics syndicate who, when their attempt to infiltrate a Mexican drug cartel goes haywire, are forced to on the run together - and neither knows that the other is a federal agent. (109 minutes)

THE ULTIMATE LIFE, PG A young man whose life has been absorbed by running his grandfather’s foundation, being sued by his greedy extended family and seeing his beloved leave on an extended mission trip to Haiti discovers his late grandfather’s incredible rags to-riches life. With Bill Cobbs, Peter Fonda, Lee Meriwether, Ali Hillis, Logan Bartholomew; directed by Michael Landon Jr. (124 minutes)

87 THE WAY, WAY BACK, PG-13 A 14-year-old, having trouble fitting in on a summer vacation with his mother, her overbearing boyfriend and his daughter, finds an unexpected friend in the offbeat manager of a water park. (103 minutes)

85 WE’RE THE MILLERS, R Jason Sudeikis plays a small-time “pot’’ dealer whose attempt to help out some local teens leads to a drug-smuggling trip to Mexico with a fake wife and kids in tow. (110 minutes)

82 WHITE HOUSE DOWN, PG-13 A Capitol cop (Channing Tatum) turned down for his dream job - to be a Secret Service agent - nonetheless gets his chance to save the president (Jamie Foxx) and his daughter when a heavily armed paramilitary group takes over the White House. (137 minutes)

87 WORLD WAR Z, PG-13 Brad Pitt plays a United Nations guy in a race against time to stop a “pandemic” (a virus that kills, reanimates and turns people into flesh-eating zombies). (116 minutes)

87 THE WORLD’S END, R Five childhood friends reunite 20 years after attempting an epic pub crawl when one of them (Simon Pegg) drags his reluctant pals to their hometown for another attempt to reach the fabled World’s End pub. (109 minutes)

86 YOU’RE NEXT, R An unlikely guest may be the salvation of a family whose reunion has been invaded by a gang of masked, ax-wielding murderers. (96 minutes)

Movie-rating point system

Movies are rated on a scale from 50 to 100. Guidelines for moviegoers: 96-100 Transcendent 90-95 Exceptional 80-89 Better than most to remarkable 70-79 Average 60-69 Awful to mediocre 50-59 Irredeemable

MovieStyle, Pages 33 on 09/13/2013

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