Some reviews originate at other newspapers that do not award star ratings. Ratings range from zero to four stars.
OPENING THIS WEEK
“Brutal Beauty: Tales of the Rose City Rollers” Reviewed on Page 9D
“Douchebag” Reviewed on Page 5D
“The Girl Who Kicked the Hornet’s Nest” Reviewed on Page 8D
“Howl” Reviewed on Page 5D
“Inside Job” Reviewed on Page 6D
“Saw 3D” Not reviewed
CONTINUING
Here are selected mini-reviews of films in theaters, listed alphabetically.“Conviction”Fact-based drama R. Hilary Swank as Betty Anne Waters, a high-school dropout who goes to law school to defend her brother when he is wrongly convicted of murder. (Michael Phillips, Chicago Tribune) 106 minutes
“Easy A”Teen comedy PG-13. A good girl gets a bad reputation after she lets a false rumor go viral and then provides cover for a gay classmate. (Lisa Kennedy) 90 minutes
“Enter the Void”Thriller Not rated. We’re watching the world from inside the head of our hero, Oscar, all twisted up on LSD. Oscar — a 20-something American dreamer turned drug dealer who lives in Tokyo — is shot dead by the cops. Oscar is now spirit. His wanderings — photographed as a phantasmagoria of sounds, shapes, and hues as he looks back on his life. (Tirdad Derakhshani, Philadelphia Inquirer) 137 minutes
“Hereafter”Drama PG-13. Director Clint Eastwood takes on mourning, melancholia and what lies beyond in his latest. “Hereafter” has moments of human ache but is never transcendent. Matt Damon casts a conflicted, kindly aura as a psychic who doesn’t want to see — or listen to — dead people. Cecile de France and twins Frankie and George McLaren also star in this tale, penned by Peter Morgan, of connection here and now and hereafter. (Kennedy) 129 minutes
“It’s Kind of a Funny Story”Drama PG-13. “Kind of” is an apt description of Anna Boden and Ryan Fleck’s adaptation of Ned Vizzini’s first-person novel about an overachieving teen (Keir Gilchrist) who checks himself into a psych ward. It’s not very funny, though comedian Zach Galifianakis plays the leader of the floor. That’s OK. But, a little too breezy, it’s only “kind of” painful, which seems like a slighting of the wounds its characters suffer. Emma Roberts and Viola Davis also star. (Kennedy) 101 minutes.
“Legend of the Guardians: The Owls of Ga’ Hoole”Adventure PG. The cute, cuddly owls of every description flash their talons and sometimes don metal talon-tips as they battle for control of the owl kingdoms. (Roger Moore, Orlando Sentinel) 85 minutes
“Life as We Know It”Romantic comedy PG-13. Need a dose of the mischievous, appealing Josh Duhamel? See this. A connoisseur of the off-kilter, sharp- tongued cocktail Katherine Heigl likes serving up? See this. The rest of you should know, this tale of opposites forced to make nice when their dearest friends die and leave them a baby is romantic comedy as we’ve come to expect it: a pound of predictable, a dash of surprise. Josh Lucas also stars. (Kennedy) 115 minutes
“Never Let Me Go”Drama R. You’ll find yourself sucked into this melancholy alternate world, an ambitious hybrid of sci-fi drama and coming-of-age romance set in a British boarding school. (Christy Lemire, Associated Press) 103 minutes
“Nowhere Boy”Drama. R. An emotionally raw and yet raucous, rockin’ riff on John Lennon’s turbulent teenage years. (Betsy Sharkey, Los Angeles Times) 98 minutes
“RED”Action comedy PG-13. A terrific cast having entirely too much fun with guns, ammo and tart dialogue turns this twisting ride — about a smitten CIA operative (Bruce Willis) targeted by the agency — into unabated, unabashed fun. Helen Mirren, Morgan Freeman, John Malkovich, Mary- Louise Parker, Richard Dreyfuss and Karl Urban all get in on the explosive action. (Kennedy) 111 minutes
“Secretariat”Family fare PG. A horse is a horse, of course. Unless it’s Triple Crown winner Secretariat. An owner is an owner, of course, of course. Unless it’s Penny Chenery. Diane Lane stars as the daughter of a horse breeder who stresses her marriage to save her father’s horse farm and winds up giving a riven nation a champion. John Malkovich is a hoot as horse trainer Lucien Laurin. (Kennedy) 116 minutes
“The Social Network”Zeitgeist drama PG-13. Facebook gets its fascinating close-up — acne and all — in this savvy drama about the founding of the online behemoth, starring Jesse Eisenberg, Andrew Garfield and Justin Timberlake. (Kennedy) 120 minutes
“You Will Meet a Tall Dark Stranger”Comedy PG-13. When a senior divorcee named Helena (Gemma Jones) visits a London psychic in the opening scene of the new Woody Allen movie, it’s fair to worry. This is a film Allen could have made in his sleep, and it appears that he has. The movie’s central concerns are trust, fraudulence, reversed fortune and mortality. (Wesley Morris, Boston Globe) 90 minutes
“Waiting for Superman”Documentary PG. Filmmaker Davis Guggenheim’s scathing, moving critique of American public education, makes you actually want to do something after you dry your eyes. (Michael O’Sullivan, Washington Post) 80 minutes
“Wall Street: Money Never Sleeps”Drama PG-13. Michael Douglas returns as Gordon Gekko, released from prison. He’s alienated from his daughter (Carey Mulligan) and engaged in a dance of quid pro quo with future son-in-law Jake (Shia LaBeouf). Josh Brolin, Eli Wallach, Frank Langella and Susan Sarandon also star in this tale of payback. (Kennedy) 133 minutes
