Film clips

— At area theaters

86 THE ADVENTURES OF TINTIN, PG Steven Spielberg’s motion-capture 3-D animated retelling of the Belgian comic book hero (voice of Jamie Bell), an intrepid young reporter whose relentless pursuit of a good story — involving a sunken ship and the treasure it contains — thrusts him into a world of high adventure. (107 minutes)

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) 89 ARTHUR CHRISTMAS, PG Santa’s love-everything-about-Christmas younger son Arthur (voice of James McAvoy) has to become a hero and help his dysfunctional family complete their urgent annual mission before Christmas morning dawns. Animated. (97 minutes)

90 BEAUTY AND THE BEAST, G Disney’s 1991 animated hit musical returns to big screens in 3-D. (84 minutes)

86 BIG MIRACLE, PG A small-town reporter (John Krasinski) and a Greenpeace volunteer (Drew Barrymore) forge an unlikely coalition to help save a family of majestic gray whales trapped by rapidly forming Arctic Circle ice. (123 minutes)

87 CHRONICLE, PG-13 Three high school students find learning to control the uncanny powers they’re developing starts to bring out their darker sides. (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-in-law (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. (99 minutes)

79 THE DARKEST HOUR, PG-13 Five young people find themselves stranded in Moscow when the aliens attack. (89 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)

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. (117 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)

79 IN THE LAND OF BLOOD AND HONEY, R Goran Kostic and Zana Marjanovic play people from opposite sides of the brutal ethnic conflict that’s tearing apart the Balkans in the 1990s — he’s a soldier fighting for the Serbs, she’s a Bosnian held captive in the camp he oversees. (127 minutes)

85 THE IRON LADY, PG-13 Meryl Streep plays the title role of British Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher in this bio-pic from director Phyllida Lloyd. (105 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 JOURNEY 2: THE MYSTERIOUS ISLAND, PG In this “follow-up” to 2008’s remake of Journey to the Center of the Earth, Dwayne Johnson (playing the new stepfather of a 17-year-old portrayed by Josh Hutcherson) and a helicopter pilot (Luis Guzman) and his “beautiful, strongwilled daughter” (Vanessa Hudgens) set out to find the title island, rescue its lone inhabitant and escape before it sinks into the sea. With Michael Caine, Kristen Davis; directed by Brad Peyton. (94 minutes)

85 THE MUPPETS, PG Walter, the world’s biggest Muppet fan, and his friends (Jason Segel, Amy Adams) reunite the Muppets and launch the Greatest Muppet Telethon Ever to foil the nefarious plan of a Texas oilman (Chris Cooper) to raze the Muppet Theater and drill for the oil underneath. (99 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)

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 bail-bondsman. (106 minutes)

THE OSCAR-NOMINATED SHORT FILMS 2012, not rated A chance to see the complete catalog of Academy Award-nominated short films in the animation, live action and documentary categories prior to the Feb. 26 Oscar ceremony. (90 minutes animated, 120 minutes live action/documentary)

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)

83 SAFE HOUSE, R Denzel Washington plays the CIA’s most dangerous renegade, on the run with his rookie-operative “housekeeper” (Ryan Reynolds) after mercenaries tear apart his South African safe house. With Brendan Gleeson, Sam Shepard, Vera Farmiga, Ruben Blades; directed by Daniel Espinosa. (115 minutes)

82 SHERLOCK HOLMES: A GAME OF SHADOWS, PG-13 Robert Downey Jr.’s back in the title role with Jude Law as Dr. Watson and, this time, Jared Harris as archvillain Professor Moriarty. (128 minutes)

88 STAR WARS, EPISODE I: THE PHANTOM MENACE 3D, PG Nineyear-old Anakin Skywalker (Jake Lloyd), a Jedi master (Liam Neeson), his young apprentice Obi-Wan Kenobi (Ewan McGregor), the Queen of Naboo (Natalie Portman) and floppy-eared Nabooster Jar-Jar Binks (Ahmed Best) battle the Dark Side of the Force, now in 3-D. (131 minutes)

75 THE TWILIGHT SAGA: BREAKING DAWN — PART 1, PG-13 The first part of the culmination of the youngvampires-in-love story involving Bella (Kristen Stewart) and Edward (Robert Pattinson). (117 minutes) 87 THE VOW, PG-13 A newlywed husband (Channing Tatum) endeavors to rewin the heart of his bride (Rachel McAdams) after a car crash wipes out her memory. With Sam Neill, Scott Speedman, Jessica Lange; directed by Michael Sucsy. (104 minutes)

76 WE BOUGHT A ZOO, PG A single father and his two children get a fresh start by moving to the most unlikely of places: a zoo. (126 minutes)

86 THE WOMAN IN BLACK, PG-13 Daniel Radcliffe plays a widowed young lawyer who begins to uncover the remote village’s tragic secret, involving a spectral woman. (95 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 02/17/2012

Upcoming Events