Movie picks 

2012 (PG-13)

As the end of the world nears, a group of would-be heroes struggles to survive. — Not reviewed

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Alvin and the Chipmunks: The Squeakquel (PG)

Alvin and the Chipettes are back in this animated follow-up to 2007's singing chipmunk holiday film. — Not reviewed

Carmike 10, Chapel Hills 15, Cinemark 16, Tinseltown

Armored (PG-13)

The newest guard at a security firm is persuaded by his colleagues to steal an armored truck containing over $40 million, but the heist goes awry. — Not reviewed

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Avatar (PG-13)

Avatar is set in a computer-generated world called Pandora, a planet inhabited by the Na'vi. As highly detailed as Avatar looks, its meager plot fails to pull you in, leaving you to ponder the technology. — Tricia Olszewski

Carmike 10, Chapel Hills 15, Cinemark 16, Cinemark 16 IMAX, Hollywood Interquest, Tinseltown

*Bad Lieutenant: Port of Call — New Orleans (R)

In this highly unusual Werner Herzog remake, Nicolas Cage plays a New Orleans cop who's injured while rescuing a prisoner from a hurricane-flooded jail. Soon he's addicted to painkillers, stealing dope from the evidence room, and running up gambling debts. — Scott Renshaw

Kimball's Peak Three

The Blind Side (PG-13)

The Blind Side takes on the real-life underdog-makes-good story of Michael Oher, currently a first-year left tackle for the Baltimore Ravens. — Scott Renshaw

Chapel Hills 15, Cinemark 16, Hollywood Interquest, Tinseltown

The Book of Eli (R)

Walker (Denzel Washington) wanders through a post-apocalyptic world holding the last known copy of the King James Bible. All he knows is that he's headed west, and that he must keep the book safe.— Jonathan Kiefer

Carmike 10, Chapel Hills 15, Cinemark 16, Hollywood Interquest, Tinseltown

Cloudy With a Chance of Meatballs (PG)

This animated adventure is based on the popular children's book about a village where food, rather than rain, falls from the heavens. — Not reviewed

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Couples Retreat (PG-13)

This half-assed update of Fantasy Island manages to feel somehow both shriveled to short-sitcom proportions and bloated to feature-film length. — Jonathan Kiefer

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Disney's A Christmas Carol (PG)

A remake of Dickens' classic tale, this time with Jim Carrey playing Scrooge. — Not reviewed

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Edge of Darkness (R)

What's weird about this remake is that it's surprisingly underpowered, a plodding police procedural that thinks holding back on "action" makes it "serious" even in the absence of anything substantial to take its place. — MaryAnn Johanson

Carmike 10, Chapel Hills 15, Cinemark 16, Hollywood Interquest, Tinseltown

*An Education (PG-13)

Until she meets David, a man almost twice her age, 16-year-old Jenny is well-behaved and studious. This coming-of-age story will buoy anyone who remembers taking that first peek into adult life. — Tricia Olszewski

Chapel Hills 15, Cinemark 16, Tinseltown

Extraordinary Measures (PG)

A man abandons his high-paying job when his two children contract a terminal illness. He finds an ally in a doctor (Harrison Ford), and they search for cure. — Not reviewed

Carmike 10, Chapel Hills 15, Hollywood Interquest

*Fantastic Mr. Fox (PG)

Wes Anderson directs this stop-motion animated adaptation of Roald Dahl's 1970 children's novel, featuring George Clooney and Meryl Streep. — Jeff Sneider

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*It's Complicated (R)

Jane Adler (Meryl Streep) thought she had life figured out, until an empty nest drives her into an affair with a married man — her ex (Alec Baldwin). — Scott Renshaw

Chapel Hills 15, Hollywood Interquest, Tinseltown

Law Abiding Citizen (R)

A decade after the murders of his wife and daughter, a man seeks his own vengeance against the killer. — Not reviewed

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Leap Year (PG)

After dating for four years and still getting no proposal of marriage, a young woman (Amy Adams) decides to turn the tables on her boyfriend. — Not reviewed

Hollywood Interquest, Picture Show

Legion (R)

When God sends his angels to destroy humanity, the planet's only defenders sit in a remote diner where they work to save the human race. — Not reviewed

Chapel Hills 15, Cinemark 16, Tinseltown

The Lovely Bones (PG-13)

Adapted from Alice Sebold's 2002 novel, this tense but ultimately disappointing drama follows murdered 14-year-old Susie Salmon as she tells her tale from the grave and watches over her family from a limbo-like afterlife. — Scott Renshaw

Cinemark 16, Tinseltown

The Men Who Stare at Goats (R)

Reporter Bob Wilton heads to the Middle East to find a story in the Iraq war, but uncovers a U.S. military operation created to develop soldiers with psychic abilities. — Scott Renshaw

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Ninja Assassin (R)

A man who was raised to be a killer by a secret clan, frees himself and waits for a chance for revenge. — Not reviewed

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Planet 51 (PG)

The residents of a far-off planet live in dread of aliens invading their homeland, when an astronaut shows up confirming their fears. — Not reviewed

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*Precious (R)

How do we tell a story about the worst that a girl's experience can be — raped by her father, abused by her mother, ignored by almost everyone around her — if we're not up-front about it? — MaryAnn Johanson

Kimball's Peak Three

The Princess and the Frog (G)

Disney finally gives us a black princess ... and she spends most of the movie as an amphibian? — MaryAnn Johanson

Chapel Hills 15

*Sherlock Holmes (PG-13)

Though director Guy Ritchie's adaptation has more in common with the director's other films than with the Sherlock Holmes of Sir Arthur Conan Doyle's stories, the spirit of Holmes remains thoroughly intact. — MaryAnn Johanson

Carmike 10, Chapel Hills 15, Cinemark 16, Hollywood Interquest, Tinseltown

*A Single Man (R)

Directed by fashion designer Tom Ford, Colin Firth plays a college professor in 1960s Los Angeles mourning the death of his longtime partner.— MaryAnn Johanson

Kimball's Peak Three

The Spy Next Door (PG)

Jackie Chan plays a super spy who decides to give up espionage to settle down with his girlfriend, but first he must complete his most difficult mission — to win over her three reluctant kids. — Not reviewed

Carmike 10

To Save a Life (PG-13)

A popular high-school basketball star, Jake Taylor, must make a difficult choice between his struggling best friend and his own success. — Not reviewed

Tinseltown

Tooth Fairy (PG)

When a hockey player (Dwayne Johnson) crushes a little girl's belief in the tooth fairy, he is condemned to spend a week performing the fairy's difficult duties. — Not reviewed

Carmike 10, Chapel Hills 15, Cinemark 16, Hollywood Interquest, Tinseltown

Up in the Air (R)

George Clooney plays a businessman and frequent flier on the verge of reaching his 10-millionth mile, when his company grounds him, threatening his life on the road. — Not reviewed

Tinseltown

When in Rome (PG-13)

When a young, hopelessly single New Yorker travels to Rome, her love life is turned upside down, becoming overwhelmingly romantic. — Not reviewed

Chapel Hills 15, Cinemark 16, Hollywood Interquest, Tinseltown

*Where the Wild Things Are (PG)

You could argue that Where the Wild Things Are is the most ambitious film ever inspired by a 10-sentence picture-book. — Scott Renshaw

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The Young Victoria (PG)

As she is about to turn 18 and take England's throne, young Princess Victoria is tangled in a royal struggle for power, and a budding romance that could affect her reign. — Not reviewed

Kimball's Peak Three