LITTLE ROCK — 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)
68
ARMORED, PG-13 A crew of officers at an armored transport security firm risk their lives when they embark on the ultimate heist - against their own company. (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)
81
THE BOOK OF ELI, R In the not too distant future, across the wasteland of what was once America, a lone warrior (Denzel Washington) fights to bring the knowledge that could be the key to rebuilding civilization. (118 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)
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)
89
CRAZY HEART, R Jeff Bridges plays a worn-down country singer, his spirit broken by multiple failed marriages, too much time on the road and too many nights with the bottle, who forms an unusual bond with a burgeoning journalist. (112 minutes)
77
DEAR JOHN, PG-13 A young soldier (Channing Tatum) and the idealistic college student he falls in love with (Amanda Seyfried) spend the next seven years separated by his increasingly dangerous deployments. (108 minutes)
75
DID YOU HEAR ABOUT THE MORGANS?
, PG-13
Hugh Grant and Sarah Jessica Parker play a highly successful Manhattan couple whose stay in a tiny Wyoming town under the witness protection program may help them restore their dissolving marriage. (103 minutes)
80
EDGE OF DARKNESS, R Mel Gibson plays a veteran Boston homicide detective and single father who, when his 24-year-old daughter is murdered on the steps of his home, runs up against corporate cover-ups and government collusion in his solitary search for answers. (108 minutes)
86
AN EDUCATION, PG-13 In a London suburb, post-war and pre-Beatles, a bright schoolgirl is torn between studying for a place at Oxford and the more exciting alternative offered to her by a charismatic older man. (99 minutes)
77
EXTRAORDINARY MEASURES,
PG
Brendan Fraser plays a man who walks away from his successful career path and teams with a brilliant but unappreciated and unconventional scientist (Harrison Ford) when his two youngest children are diagnosed with a fatal disease. (106 minutes)
79
FROM PARIS WITH LOVE, R Jonathan Rhys Meyers plays an ambassador’s aide about to realize his dream of becoming a real CIA operative until he meets his new partner (John Travolta), a triggerhappy, wisecracking, loose cannon who is the last best chance of stopping a terrorist attack. (95 minutes)
82
THE IMAGINARIUM OF DR. PARNASSUS
, PG-13
Christopher Plummer plays 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. (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)
67
LEGION, R An out-of-the-way diner becomes the unlikely battleground for the survival of the human race when God sends his legion of angels to bring on the Apocalypse. (100 minutes)
89
THE MESSENGER, R An Iraqwar veteran (Ben Foster) who has narrowly escaped death in combat struggles with his new post at the Casualty Notification Office under the mentorship of a senior officer (Woody Harrelson). (105 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)
87
PERCY JACKSON & THE OLYMPIANS: THE LIGHTNING THIEF
, PG
Percy, immediately upon discovering that he’s a demi-god (the son of Poseidon), finds himself caught between battling Greek gods and monsters as he tries to track down whoever really stole Zeus’ thunderbolt and save his kidnapped mother. With Logan Lerman, Sean Bean, Pierce Brosnan, Rosario Dawson, Catherine Keener, Joe Pantoliano, Uma Thurman, Ray Winstone; directed by Chris Columbus. (120 minutes)
79
PLANET 51, PG In this animated comedy, an American astronaut findsthe planet he’s just landed on is inhabited, with the residents happily living in a little-green-people, whitepicket-fence 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 destroyEngland. (125 minutes)
89
A SINGLE MAN, R A single day in the life of a British college professor (Colin Firth) struggling to find meaning to his life after the death of his long-time domestic partner in 1962 Los Angeles, at the height of the Cuban missile crisis. (99 minutes)
71
TOOTH FAIRY, PG Dwayne Johnson plays a hard-charging minor league hockey player whose nickname “The Tooth Fairy” comes from his smash-mouth style of play and who, for discouraging a youngster’s hopes, is sentenced to a week as a real tooth fairy. (102 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 hisgoal of reaching 10 million frequentflier miles and just after he meets the frequent-flier woman of his dreams. (109 minutes)
77
VALENTINE’S DAY, PG-13 Various Los Angeles residents find romance on ... well, you know when. With Jessica Alba, Kathy Bates, Jessica Biel, Eric Dane, Patrick Dempsey, Hector Elizondo, Jamie Foxx, Jennifer Garner, Topher Grace, Anne Hathaway, Ashton Kutcher, Queen Latifah, George Lopez, Shirley MacLaine, Emma Roberts, Julia Roberts, Taylor Swift; directed by Garry Marshall. (117 minutes)
72
WHEN IN ROME, PG-13 An ambitious young New Yorker (Kristen Bell), disillusioned with romance, takes a whirlwind trip to Rome, where she defiantly plucks magic coins from a fountain of love and inexplicably ignites the passions of a passel of odd suitors. (91 minutes)
79
THE WOLFMAN, R Benicio Del Toro plays a haunted nobleman who is lured back to his family estate after his brother vanishes then discovers a horrifying destinyfor himself. With Anthony Hopkins, Emily Blunt, Hugo Weaving, Art Malik; directed by Joe Johnston. (102 minutes)
86
THE YOUNG VICTORIA, PG Emily Blunt plays Queen Victoria in the turbulent first years of her reign. (100 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 02/19/2010