LITTLE ROCK — At area theaters 81 ALICE IN WONDERLAND, PG Tim Burton’s twist on the Lewis Carroll classic, with Mia Wasikowska in the role of a now-19-year-old Alice returning to the whimsical world she first encountered as a young girl. (109 minutes) 74 THE A-TEAM, PG-13 This bigscreen version of the ’80s TV action/comedy introduces a new team (with pretty much the same character names), a group of Iraq War veterans who become mercenaries for hire. (117 minutes) 78 THE BACK-UP PLAN, PG-13 A single woman (Jennifer Lopez), after dating for years and failing to find the right guy, has opted for artificial insemination, only to see the man of her dreams (Alex O’Loughlin) breeze into her life just as she learns she’s pregnant. (98 minutes) 83 CLASH OF THE TITANS, PG-13 A loose remake of the 1981 film, subbing CGI for Ray Harryhausen’s stop-motion animation.Greek hero/demigod Perseus (Sam Worthington) leads a band of warriors against unholy demons and fearsome beasts in an attempt to defeat vengeful god of the underworld Hades (Ralph Fiennes) before he can seize power from Zeus (Liam Neeson) and unleash hell on earth. (103 minutes)
78
DEATH AT A FUNERAL, R As a family comes together to lay a beloved husband and father to rest, mayhem ensues involving shocking revelations, festering resentments, ugly threats, blackmail and a misdirected corpse. A remake of a 2007 British film. (90 minutes)
79
DIARY OF A WIMPY KID, PG Based on the best-selling illustrated novel of the same name, involving a wisecracking middle-school student who, over the course of an academic year, reveals his adventures through his diary and handdrawn cartoons. (120 minutes)
74
FURRY VENGEANCE, PG Brendan Fraser plays an ambitious young real estate developer who faces off with a band of angry animals, led by an incredibly cleverraccoon, when his new housing subdivision pushes too far into pristine wilderness. (92 minutes)
88
GET HIM TO THE GREEK, R A record company intern (Jonah Hill) has two days to drag an uncooperative rock legend (Russell Brand) to Hollywood for a comeback concert. (109 minutes)
88
THE GIRL WITH THE DRAGON TATTOO
, not rated
A disgraced journalist and a ruthless computer hacker link a disappearance to a number of 40-year-old grotesque murders and to a dark and appalling family history. Based on the novel by the late Swedish author Stieg Larsson. Subtitled. (152 minutes)
85
HARRY BROWN, R Michael Caine plays an elderly shut-in who, when pretty much his only friend is murdered by young thugs, puts to use skills he learned in the Royal Marines while fighting the IRA to take on the bad guys. (103 minutes)
79
HOW TO TRAIN YOUR DRAGON,
PG
A Viking teenager doesn’t exactly fit in with his tribe’s traditionof heroic dragon slayers. Animated. (98 minutes)
83
IRON MAN 2, PG-13 Robert Downey Jr. returns as the title superhero, aka billionaire inventor Tony Stark, now under pressure from the government, the press and the public to share his technology with the military. Of course, once he does, it’s bound to end up in the wrong hands, right? (125 minutes)
68
JONAH HEX, PG-13 Another graphic-novel-to-big-screen epic, focusing on a scarred gunslinger and part-time bounty hunter (Josh Brolin) with one foot in the Old West and the other “on the other side” (which provides plenty of opportunity for big-budget special effects) who receives an assignment he can’t refuse: track down and stop a dangerous terrorist (John Malkovich) who is gathering an army and preparing to unleash hell.With Megan Fox, Will Arnett, Michael Shannon; directed by Jimmy Hayward. (82 minutes)
83
THE KARATE KID, PG In this remake, Jaden Smith (son of Will) learns more than martial arts from Chinese master Mr. Han (Jackie Chan). (126 minutes)
74
KILLERS, PG-13 Katherine Heigl plays a woman on the rebound who thinks she’s found and married the dashing, handsome man of her dreams (Ashton Kutcher) - until the bullets start flying, literally. Turns out he never quite got around to telling her he’s a superspy/hitman. (100 minutes)
78
THE LAST SONG, PG A father(Greg Kinnear) in a small Southern beach town gets a chance to spend the summer with his reluctant teenage daughter (Miley Cyrus), who’d rather be home in New York. (105 minutes)
78
LEAP YEAR, PG Amy Adams plays a 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. (97 minutes)
77
LETTERS TO JULIET, PG Amanda Seyfried plays a young American visiting Verona, Italy, who joins a group of volunteers who respond to letters to the legendary Juliet Capulet (of Romeo and ...) seeking advice about love. A 1951 letter spurs her to help its author (Vanessa Redgrave) reconnect with a long-lost love. (105 minutes)
70
MARMADUKE, PG The outsized comic strip Great Dane moves to the big screen, living large in Orange County, Calif., but has a hard time fitting in with new four-legged friends and a potential puppy love. (87 minutes)
75
A NIGHTMARE ON ELM STREET,
R
In this “contemporary re-imagining” (guess you can’t call ’em remakes anymore), Freddy Krueger (Jackie Earle Haley) once more stalks a group of suburban teens who, as long as they stay awake, can protect one another, but if they go to sleep .... (97 minutes)
87
OCEANS, G Disneynature, which brought you Earth, now takes you under the sea. Narrated by Pierce Brosnan; directed by Jacques Perrin, Jacques Cluzaud. (103 minutes)
87
PLEASE GIVE, R A New York couple (Catherine Keener, Oliver Platt) and their teenage daughter (Sarah Steele), looking for some extra space, find themselves in a difficult relationship with the folks next door. With Ann Morgan Guilbert, Rebecca Hall, Amanda Peet; directed by Nicole Holofcener. (90 minutes)
80
PRINCE OF PERSIA: THE SANDS OF TIME
, PG-13
Another bigscreen, would-be-blockbuster adaptation of a popular video game, with Jake Gyllenhaal as the title prince in sixth-century you-knowwhere, trying with plucky princess Gemma Arterton to prevent a nefarious nobleman from acquiring the Sands of Time, a legendary gift from the gods that allows its possessor to turn back time and enslave all humanity. (116 minutes)
82
ROBIN HOOD, PG-13 Russell Crowe takes a shot at the title role of a 13th-century archer who assembles a mercenary and lethal gang of marauders to take on thecorrupt and despotic sheriff of Nottingham while remaining loyal to the king and winning the love of spirited widow Lady Marion (Cate Blanchett). (148 minutes)
88
THE SECRET IN THEIR EYES,
R
An Argentine author (Ricardo Darin) uncovers some long-held secrets when he investigates a 30-year-old murder long thought to be a closed case. Subtitled. (156 minutes)
79
SEX AND THE CITY 2, R More high living in the Big Apple - and elsewhere - for Sarah Jessica Parker, Kim Cattrall, Kristin Davis and Cynthia Nixon. (146 minutes)
76
SHREK FOREVER AFTER, PG The fourth, and reportedly last, in the saga of the ogre-turned-ruler (voice of Mike Myers), who, trying to restore his lost ogre mojo, signs an ill-advised pact with the underhanded Rumpelstiltskin. Animated. (91 minutes)
88
TOY STORY 3, G As owner Andy prepares to depart for college, Buzz Lightyear (voice of Tim Allen) and others in the gang face a future in a playroom full of untamedtots who can’t wait to get their sticky little fingers on these “new” toys. With voices of Tom Hanks, Joan Cusack, Don Rickles, Wallace Shawn, John Ratzenberger, Ned Beatty, Michael Keaton, Jodi Benson, Timothy Dalton, Whoopi Goldberg, Bonnie Hunt; directed by Lee Unkrich. (103 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 35 on 06/25/2010