Film clips

At area theaters 75 ALVIN AND THE CHIPMUNKS: THE SQUEAKQUEL, PG David Seville’s chipmunk wards Alvin, Simon and Theodore return in the sequel to sing in three-part harmony, along with the Chipmunks’ female counterparts, the Chipettes. With Jason Lee, Justin Long, Anna Faris, Christina Applegate, Amy Poehler; directed by Betty Thomas. (88 minutes) 85 AVATAR, PG-13 A former Marine confined to a wheelchair becomes a half-human, half Na’vi “avatar” and tries to help save a civilization on a distant world against corporate interests who want to strip-mine the place for valuable ore. (160 minutes) 86 THE BLIND SIDE, PG-13 Sandra Bullock plays a well-to-do white woman who takes in a homeless black teenager (Quinton Aaron) from a broken home and helps him fulfill his potential on and off the football field. Based on a true story. (126 minutes) 86 BROTHERS, R When his older Marine brother (Tobey Maguire) is reported missing and presumed dead in Afghanistan, the family “black sheep” (Jake Gyllenhaal) takes care of his sister-in-law (Natalie Portman) and her children - until the brother’s unexpected return. (110 minutes) 80 A CHRISTMAS CAROL, PG Disney’s animated trip through Christmas past, present and future with miserly Ebenezer Scrooge (voice of Jim Carrey, who also does the voices of all three ghosts), who must learn to unlock his cold, money-grubbing heart before it’s too late. (96 minutes) 88 CLOUDY WITH A CHANCE OF MEATBALLS, PG A geeky scientist invents a device that causes food to rain from the sky. Animated. (81 minutes) 75 COUPLES RETREAT, PG-13 Four Midwestern couples on a group-rate vacation to a tropical island discover that the resort’s couples therapy is not optional. (107 minutes) 72 DAYBREAKERS, R It’s 2019 and an unknown plague has transformed the world’s population into vampires who must find a blood substitute before they completely wipe out the human race. With Ethan Hawke, Willem Dafoe, Claudia Karvan, Sam Neill; directed by Peter and Michael Spierig. (98 minutes) 90 FANTASTIC MR. FOX, PG Three unsophisticated farmers, tired of sharing their chickens with a crafty fox, decide to dispose of him and his family. Based on the story by Roald Dahl. Animated. (87 minutes) 82 THE IMAGINARIUM OF DR. PARNASSUS, PG-13 Christopher Plummerplays the title character, a mysterious traveling showman who possesses the unique ability to guide the imagination of others, now desperate to save his teenage daughter from the consequences of a deal he made with the devil. With Heath Ledger, Tom Waits, Johnny Depp, Jude Law, Colin Farrell; directed by Terry Gilliam. (122 minutes) 80 IT’S COMPLICATED, R Meryl Streep plays the owner of a thriving West Coast bakery/restaurant and the mother of three grown children who finds herself having an affair - with her ex-husband (Alec Baldwin). (104 minutes) 70 LAW ABIDING CITIZEN, R Gerard Butler plays a family man who, years after his wife was murdered during a home invasion, begins to take revenge on the prosecutor (Jamie Foxx) and others who allowed one of her killers to get off lightly. (108 minutes) 78 LEAP YEAR, PG Amy Adams playsa woman determined to get married to the perfect guy, whose plan to follow her boyfriend to Dublin so she can propose to him on Feb. 29 goes predictably awry. With Matthew Goode, Adam Scott, John Lithgow; directed by Anand Tucker. (97 minutes) 79 THE MEN WHO STARE AT GOATS, R A reporter (Ewan McGregor) in search of his next big story encounters an enigmatic Special Forces operator (George Clooney) on a mind-boggling mission. (90 minutes) 83 NINE, PG-13 In this musicaladaptation of Federico Fellini’s 8 /2, Daniel Day-Lewis plays a famous film director who reaches a creative and personal crisis of epic proportions, while balancing the numerous women in his life, including his wife (Marion Cotillard), his mistress (Penelope Cruz), his film star muse (Nicole Kidman), his confidante and costume designer (Judi Dench), a young American fashion journalist (Kate Hudson) and his mother (Sophia Loren). (112 minutes) 70 NINJA ASSASSIN, R One of the world’s deadliest assassins (Rain) breaks free of the group that transformed him into a trained killer, preparing to exact his revenge on the clan that executed his friend. (99 minutes) 69 OLD DOGS, PG Best friends - one unlucky-in-love divorced man (Robin Williams) and the other a fun-loving bachelor (John Travolta) - have their lives turned upside down when they’re unexpectedly forced to take care of 7-year-old twins while on the brink of the biggest business deal of their lives. (88 minutes) 79 PLANET 51, PG In this animatedcomedy, an American astronaut finds the planet he’s just landed on is inhabited, with the residents happily living in a little-green-people, white-picketfence existence, not unlike America in the 1950s. (91 minutes) 87 THE PRINCESS AND THE FROG, G A beautiful New Orleans girl agrees to kiss a frog who desperately wants to be human again, but their road to a happy ending first takes an adventurous twist through the Louisiana bayous. Animated. (95 minutes) 88 THE ROAD, R The film version of Cormac McCarthy’s post-apocalyptic novel about a son and his father struggling to survive in a damaged world. (119 minutes) 80 SHERLOCK HOLMES, PG-13 Robert Downey Jr. plays the legendary detective, battling a new nemesis whose deadly plot could destroy England. (125 minutes) 83 2012, PG-13 Nostradamus and the Mayans, among others, predict the end of the world by the end of 2012; this movie posits a global cataclysm and a heroic struggle by the survivors. (158 minutes) 77 THE TWILIGHT SAGA: NEW MOON, PG-13 The second installment of the Twilight series continues the romance between vampire Edward (Robert Pattinson) and mortal Bella (Kristen Stewart), whose childhood friend has a supernatural secret of his own. (130 minutes) 90 UP IN THE AIR, R George Clooney plays a corporate hatchet man forced to fight for his job when his company downsizes its travel budget, just as he is on the cusp of his goal of reaching 10 million frequent-flier miles and just after he meets the frequent-flier woman of his dreams. (109 minutes) 90 WHERE THE WILD THINGS ARE, PG A rambunctious and sensitive boy who feels misunderstood at home escapes to where the Wild Things desperately long for a leader to guide them, just as he longs for a kingdom to rule. (94 minutes)86 THE YOUNG VICTORIA, PG Emily Blunt plays Queen Victoria in the turbulent first years of her reign. With Rupert Friend, Miranda Richardson, Jim Broadbent; directed by Jean-Marc Vallee. (100 minutes) 80 YOUTH IN REVOLT, R Michael Cera plays an affable teen with a taste for the finer things in life, like Sinatra and Fellini, who creates a rebellious alter ego so he can pursue the free spirit he has fallen in love with on a family vacation. With Portia Doubleday, Steve Buscemi, Ray Liotta, Jean Smart; directed by Miguel Arteta. (90 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