LITTLE ROCK — At area theaters
82
BANDSLAM, PG A singer-songwriter and her rock group take on her smug ex-boyfriend in a battle of the bands. (111 minutes)
88
DISTRICT 9, R Abandoned aliens take refuge in South Africa. (112 minutes)
85
DRAG ME TO HELL, PG-13 The choice of a Los Angeles loan officer (Alison Lohman) to deny an elderly woman's request for a loan extension leads to disastrous consequences. (99 minutes)
80
(500) DAYS OF SUMMER, PG-13 A greeting card copywriter (Joseph Gordon-Levitt), dumped by his girlfriend (Zooey Deschanel), sorts through their 500 days together in an effort to discover what went wrong. (95 minutes)
85
G-FORCE, PG Highly trained guinea pigs are the secret weapons in a government espionage program. Animated. (90 minutes)
80
G.I. JOE: THE RISE OF COBRA, PG-
13
The elite G.I. Joe team uses ultramodern spyware and military weaponry to fight a corrupt international arms dealer. (118 minutes)
75
THE GOODS: LIVE HARD. SELLHARD
, R
An aggressive, unconventional and wildly successful salesman and his party-hearty crew attempt to save an ailing car dealership from bankruptcy. (89 minutes)
84
THE HANGOVER, R After a beyond wild bachelor party in Las Vegas, the bridegroom-to-be disappears and it's up to his pals to retrace their steps in order to find him. (96 minutes)
88
HARRY POTTER AND THE HALFBLOOD PRINCE
, PG
As Voldemort tightens his grip on the Muggle and wizarding worlds and Hogwarts is no longer the haven it once was, Professor Dumbledore is intent upon preparing Harry for the final battle that both know is fast approaching. (153 minutes)
90
THE HURT LOCKER, R Three members of the Army's elite Explosive Ordnance Disposal squad battle insurgents and each other as they search for and disarm a wave of roadside bombs on the streets of Baghdad. (131 minutes)
80
ICE AGE: DAWN OF THE DINOSAURS
, PG
Ice Age's Scrat, Manny, Ellie and Diego the saber-toothed tiger discover a fantastic undergroundworld while on a journey to rescue hapless Sid. Animated. (104 minutes)
80
IMAGINE THAT, PG A financial wizard (Eddie Murphy) with a deteriorating career starts to pay more attention to his 7-year-old daughter (Yara Shahidi). (107 minutes)
90
INGLOURIOUS BASTERDS, R Jewish American soldiers and a German actress plot acts of retribution and go on a mission to take down Nazi leaders. With Brad Pitt, Eli Roth, Cloris Leachman, Maggie Cheung, Samuel L. Jackson; directed by Quentin Tarantino. (153 minutes)
90
JULIE & JULIA, PG-13 A going nowhere office worker (Amy Adams) challenges herself to cook all 524 recipes in Julia Child's (Meryl Streep) Mastering the Art of French Cooking within a year. (123 minutes)
77
LAND OF THE LOST, PG-13 A mediocre scientist (Will Ferrell) must figure out how to use his very few skills to survive when he unexpectedly arrives in an alternate universe populated with dinosaurs and other monstrous creatures. (102 minutes)
87
LIMITS OF CONTROL, R A mysterious loner (Isaach De Bankole) who trusts no one and whose activities remain meticulously outside the law is in the process of committing a crime in Spain. With Bill Murray, Tilda Swinton, Gael Garcia Bernal; directedby Jim Jarmusch. (116 minutes)
86
MY SISTER'S KEEPER, PG-13 A desperate decision made by the parents of a critically ill child threatens to destroy their family. (106 minutes)
78
NIGHT AT THE MUSEUM: BATTLE OF THE SMITHSONIAN
, PG
Ben Stiller returns as the put-upon museum night watchman who continues to encounter characters from history, this time in Washington. (105 minutes)
88
O'HORTEN, not rated Baard Owe plays a 67-year-old Norwegian train engineer on the edge of a life-changing retirement. Subtitled. With Espen Skjonberg, Ghita Norby, Bjorn Floberg, Henny Moan; directed by Bent Hamer. (90 minutes)
75
A PERFECT GETAWAY, R An adventurous young couple celebrating their honeymoon in a remote part of Hawaii join two other couples in a terrifying battle for survival. (98 minutes)
80
PONYO, G A young goldfish (voice of Noah Cyrus) yearns to become human. Based on Hans Christian Andersen's "The Little Mermaid." Animated. (100 minutes)
74
POST GRAD, PG-13 A recent college graduate (Alexis Bledel) is forcedto move back home after her fabulous plans for a New York publishing job fall through. With Zach Gilford; directed by Vicky Jenson. (89 minutes)
77
THE PROPOSAL, PG-13 A quick thinking publishing executive (Sandra Bullock), about to be deported to her native Canada, claims she's marrying her assistant (Ryan Reynolds), much to his surprise. (108 minutes)
87
SHORTS, PG An 11-year-old who lives in the town where the country's hottest do-it-all gadget is manufactured gets knocked in the head by a rainbow-colored rock that appears to have even more power than the gadget. With Jon Cryer, James Spader, Kat Dennings, William H. Macy; directed by Robert Rodriguez. (97 minutes)
90
STAR TREK, PG-13 A delinquent Iowa farm boy named James T. Kirk and an ultralogical half-Vulcan named Spock take over the Starship Enterprise in this prequel to the original TV and film series. (127 minutes)
88
THE TAKING OF PELHAM 1 2 3,
R
In this remake of the 1974 classic, Denzel Washington plays a New York subway dispatcher who realizes he's going to have a bad day when a subway train is hijacked. (106 minutes)
78
TERMINATOR SALVATION, PG-13 John Connor (Christian Bale), leader of human resistance against Skynet and its army of Terminators, finds his fate connected to a mysterious stranger (Sam Worthington). (114 minutes)
78
THE TIME TRAVELER'S WIFE, PG-
13
Clare (Rachel McAdams) loves time-traveler Henry (Eric Bana) even though he disappears without warning. (108 minutes)
76
THE UGLY TRUTH, R The producer of a morning TV show (Katherine Heigl) who yearns for love is teamed with a TV personality (Gerard Butler) who doesn't believe in romance. (96 minutes)
91
UP, PG An elderly balloon salesman fulfills his dream by levitating his house with thousands of balloons and drifting across the sky to South America. Animated. (89 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 37 on 08/28/2009