LITTLE ROCK — At area theaters
77
ALVIN AND THE CHIPMUNKS - CHIPWRECKED, G Dave (Jason Lee), the Chipmunks and the Chipettes, on a luxury cruise, wind up on an uncharted island which, of course, may not be as deserted as it seems. Animated and live action. (87 minutes)
91
THE ARTIST, PG-13 In this practically silent film, Jean Dujardin plays a pre-talkies Hollywood matinee idol who becomes smitten with an ambitious chorus girl while his marriage is disintegrating and so is the final, epic silent film into which he has sunk all his money. (100 minutes)
90
BEAUTY AND THE BEAST, G Disney’s 1991 animated hit musical returns to big screens in 3-D. (84 minutes)
86
CONTRABAND, R Mark Wahlberg plays a former New Orleans master smuggler who, to protect his family, is forced back into running millions in counterfeit bills from Panama after his brother-inlaw (Caleb Landry Jones) botches a drug deal. (109 minutes)
87
A DANGEROUS METHOD, R A glimpse into the turbulent relationships between fledgling psychiatrist Carl Jung, his mentor Sigmund Freud and the beautiful but troubled young woman who comes between them. With Keira Knightley, Viggo Mortensen, Michael Fassbender, Vincent Cassel; directed by David Cronenberg. (99 minutes)
88
THE DESCENDANTS, R George Clooney plays an indifferent husband and father of two girls who is forced to re-examine his past and embrace his future when his wife is left in a coma by a boating accident in Hawaii. (115 minutes)
87
EXTREMELY LOUD AND INCREDIBLY CLOSE, PG-13
An inventive 11-year-old New Yorker discovers a key among the belongings of his father (Tom Hanks), who died in the 2001 terrorist attacks on the World Trade Center, which sets the boy off on an urgent search across the city for the lock it will open. (129 minutes)
87
THE GIRL WITH THE DRAGON TATTOO, R
Director David Fincher’s English-language remake of the Swedish hit, based on the first of Stieg Larsson’s “Millennium Trilogy,” involving a discredited journalist (Daniel Craig) and a mysterious computer hacker (Rooney Mara) working to solve the mystery of a 40-year-old murder. (158 minutes)
82
THE GREY, R Liam Neeson leads an unruly group of oil-rig roughnecks whose plane has crashed into a remote Alaskan wilderness, where they must battle not only mortal injuries and merciless weather, but a vicious pack of rogue wolves. With Frank Grillo, Dermot Mulroney, Dallas Roberts, Joe Anderson; directed by Joe Carnahan. (117 minutes)
88
HAPPY FEET TWO, PG Tap dancing emperor penguin Mumble (voice of Elijah Wood) and his pals use their smooth moves to defeat a dire new threat and save the penguin nation. Animated. (99 minutes)
85
HAYWIRE, R Martial arts champion Gina Carano plays a covert operations specialist who decides to strike back after she learns she has been double-crossed by an agency colleague. (93 minutes)
88
HUGO, PG An orphaned boy living a secret life in the walls of a Paris train station searches, with the help of an eccentric girl, for the answer to a mystery linking his late father, an ill-tempered toy shop owner and a seemingly keyless heart-shaped lock. (127 minutes)
88
J. EDGAR, R Leonardo DiCaprio plays the title character as director Clint Eastwood takes a bio-pic look at the public and private life of the late, controversial and enigmatic FBI director. (137 minutes)
68
JACK AND JILL, PG Adam Sandler plays a successful Los Angeles advertising executive and also his needy and passive aggressive twin sister, whose annual Thanksgiving visit turns his normally tranquil life upside down. (91 minutes)
80
JOYFUL NOISE, PG-13 Discord between the two lead singers (Queen Latifah, Dolly Parton), compounded by disagreement over a budding relationship between the former’s daughter and the latter’s grandson, threatens to tear apart a small-town-Georgia church choir on the brink of a national competition. (118 minutes)
79
MAN ON A LEDGE, PG-13 Sam Worthington plays an ex-cop, now a wanted fugitive, whose lengthy stand on the ledge of a New York high-rise leads the hard-living police hostage negotiator (Elizabeth Banks) trying to talk him down to realize he might have an ulterior objective. With Jamie Bell, Anthony Mackie, Ed Harris, Edward Burns, Kyra Sedgwick; directed by Asger Leth. (102 minutes)
87
MY WEEK WITH MARILYN, R
The story of a young Oxford graduate (Eddie Redmayne) and his experience as a lowly assistant on the set of The Prince and the Showgirl with Laurence Olivier(Kenneth Branagh) and Marilyn Monroe (Michelle Williams), with whom he spends the idyllic title week introducing her to British life. (96 minutes)
74
NEW YEAR’S EVE, PG-13 Director Garry Marshall intertwines stories of love, hope, forgiveness, second chances and fresh starts within the pulse and promise of New York on you-know-which night. (117 minutes)
72
ONE FOR THE MONEY, PG-13
Katherine Heigl plays Stephanie Plum, the heroine of Janet Evanovich’s best-selling mystery series, who’s unemployed and in debt but has plenty of attitude. In a last attempt to come up with some fast cash, she convinces her sleazy cousin to put her to work as a bailbondsman. With Jason O’Mara, Daniel Sunjata, John Leguizamo, Debbie Reynolds, Debra Monk; directed by Julie Ann Robinson. (106 minutes)
87
PUSS IN BOOTS, PG The Shrek sequel “star” (voice of Antonio Banderas) spins off into his own prequel, setting off on an adventurewith the tough and street-smart Kitty Softpaws and the mastermind Humpty Dumpty to save his town. Animated. (90 minutes)
80
REAL STEEL, PG-13 In the near future, when boxing has gone high-tech and 1-ton, 8-foot-tallsteel robots dominate the ring, a washed-up fighter (Hugh Jackman) turned small-time promoter teams up with his estranged son (Dakota Goyo) to build and train a championship contender. (127 minutes)
82
RED TAILS, PG-13 The black pilots of the experimental Tuskegee, Ala., training program waging two wars in 1944 - against enemies overseas and against discrimination within the military and back home - finally get the chance to prove themselves in combat. (125 minutes)
72
THE SITTER, R A college student (Jonah Hill), suspended for the semester and living at home with his single mother, finds himself in the middle of an epic urban adventure when he gets talked into baby-sitting the eccentric kids next door - two boys and a wild 8-year-old girl. (82 minutes)
88
TINKER TAILOR SOLDIER SPY,
R
Gary Oldman plays agent George Smiley, brought out of involuntary retirement to expose the Soviet mole his former boss (John Hurt)is convinced has been sabotaging the British secret service. (127 minutes)
86
TOWER HEIST, PG-13 Ben Stiller heads a bunch of working stiffs who decide to seek revenge on the Wall Street swindler (Alan Alda) who stiffed them. (105 minutes)
75
THE TWILIGHT SAGA: BREAKING DAWN - PART 1, PG-13
The first part of the culmination of the young-vampires-in-love story involving Bella (Kristen Stewart) and Edward (Robert Pattinson). (117 minutes)
82
UNDERWORLD AWAKENING, R
Kate Beckinsale is back as the vampire warrior at the fulcrum of the battle between vampires, Lycans and now humans, which now goes 3-D. (88 minutes)
86
A VERY HAROLD & KUMAR 3D CHRISTMAS, R
Six years after the Guantanamo Bay sequel, Harold (John Cho) and Kumar (Kal Penn) reunite when a mysterious package mistakenly arrives at Kumar’s door on Christmas Eve. (90 minutes)
78
WAR HORSE, PG-13 Director Steven Spielberg offers an epicadventure involving the friendship between a heroic horse and a young trainer, separated and then reunited in the heart of No Man’s Land during World War I. (146 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 02/03/2012