Movie picks 

Films recommended by our reviewers are indicated by an *.

Alpha and Omega (PG)

Kate and Humphrey are two wolves who are trying to get home after being taken by park rangers and shipped halfway across the country. — Not reviewed

Chapel Hills 15

Case 39 (R)

Devoted family services specialist Emily Jenkins has seen domestic horrors of every type. That is, until she takes on case 39. — Not reviewed

Carmike 10

Despicable Me (PG)

There's nothing actively wrong with Despicable Me. It's just that the whole enterprise feels somewhat lazy. — Scott Renshaw

Chapel Hills 15

Devil (PG-13)

A group of people are trapped in an elevator, and one of them is the devil. — Not reviewed

Carmike 10, Chapel Hills 15, Tinseltown

*Easy A (PG-13)

Easy A is not terrible, but it's not indelible, either; it's simply an agreeable and relatively witty surprise. — Tricia Olszewski

Chapel Hills 15, Tinseltown

Eat Pray Love (PG-13)

A woman who once made it her goal in life to get married, rear children and achieve domestic bliss, finds her priorities suddenly shifting. — Not reviewed

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The Expendables (R)

Sylvester Stallone directed, wrote and stars in the film along with a gaggle of other fading sorta-action heroes. A more appropriate name for this ensemble would have been The Meatheaded Geriatrics. — Tricia Olszewski

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Grown Ups (PG-13)

Five guys basketball coach. None of them have actually grown up, merely gotten older and, it seems, infinitely more malicious. — MaryAnn Johanson

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Hereafter (PG-13)

Like virtually every film that addresses the world beyond, this one simply regurgitates a bland pudding of comforting nondenominational platitudes. — Scott Renshaw

Chapel Hills 15, Cinemark 16, Hollywood Interquest, Kimball's Peak Three, Tinseltown

I Want Your Money (PG)

The film takes a look at our nation's economy using the words and actions of Presidents Obama and Reagan. — Not reviewed

Chapel Hills 15

*Inception (PG-13)

In an unspecified future, the technology exists for people to enter one another's dreams. The Christopher Nolan film proves remarkably nimble at getting us to the payoff, and what a payoff it is. — Scott Renshaw

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Jackass 3D (R)

Johnny Knoxville and his buddies are back. — Not reviewed

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

*Legend of the Guardians: The Owls of Ga'Hoole (PG)

Despite some exceedingly familiar genre elements, Legend of the Guardians proves compelling because it doesn't do everything you would expect an animated feature to do. — Scott Renshaw

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

*Life As We Know It (PG-13)

Life As We Know It is both feel-sad and feel-good, which is definitely a tricky balance to achieve, yet it's one that becomes so satisfying when the right marks are hit. — Tricia Olszewski

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

My Soul to Take (R)

In the sleepy town of Riverton, legend tells of a serial killer who swore he would return to murder the seven children born the night he died. — Not reviewed

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*Nanny McPhee Returns (PG)

The character Nanny McPhee is the perfect antidote to the upside-down fantasy of parental indulgence, the tolerance of "cute" munchkin monsters that threatens to become the norm. — MaryAnn Johanson

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The Other Guys (PG-13)

Will Ferrell plays an NYPD forensic accountant who loves his desk job. His resentful partner adds some comic embellishments of his own. — Marjorie Baumgarten

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Paranormal Activity 2 (R)

The terror continues as a young couple copes with a potentially evil spirit in their suburban home. — Not reviewed

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

RED (PG-13)

It's not that RED doesn't provide individually entertaining moments. But satisfying performances and a few kicks of adrenaline aren't quite enough. — Scott Renshaw

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

Salt (PG-13)

Angelina Jolie is a Russian spy. Or maybe not ... You'll simply have no idea what to believe, and it's downright thrilling to be kept on edge. I haven't had this much pure dumb fun at the movies this summer. — MaryAnn Johanson

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Saw 3D (R)

As a deadly battle rages over Jigsaw's brutal legacy, a group of survivors gathers. — Not reviewed

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

Secretariat (PG)

Based on the novel Secretariat: The Making of a Champion by William Nack, Secretariat chronicles the spectacular journey of the 1973 Triple Crown winner. — Not reviewed

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

The Social Network (PG-13)

For all its real enough ideas — about young people making jobs instead of taking them— The Social Network falls short of full articulation. — Jonathan Kiefer

Chapel Hills 15, Cinemark 16, Hollywood Interquest, Tinseltown

The Sorcerer's Apprentice (PG)

Balthazar Blake (Nicolas Cage) is a master sorcerer in modern-day Manhattan trying to defend the city from his arch-nemesis.— Not reviewed

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*The Town (R)

While it lacks the magnitude it's after, it doesn't lack the courtesy to entertain. It's a little bit like The Departed, although without Martin Scorsese's heavy menace. — Jonathan Kiefer

Hollywood Interquest, Tinseltown

*Toy Story 3 (G)

The 11 years since Toy Story 2 have passed almost in real time. Due to a mixup, Woody, Buzz and company end up at Sunnyside Day Care. — Scott Renshaw

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Vampires Suck (PG-13)

In this parody of angst-filled vampire mega-movies, high schooler Becca is torn between two boys. — Not reviewed

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Waiting for Superman (PG)

Despite decades of well-intended reforms and huge sums of money spent on the problem, our public schools haven't improved markedly since the 1970s. Why? There is an answer. — Not reviewed

Cinemark 16

*Wall Street: Money Never Sleeps (PG-13)

The film's only major problem stems from the last few minutes clashing rather jarringly with all that has come before. But it's a forgivable failure. — MaryAnn Johanson

Hollywood Interquest

You Again (PG)

Successful PR pro Marni heads home for her older brother's wedding and discovers that he's marrying her high school arch nemesis. — Not reviewed

Hollywood Interquest, Tinseltown

*You Will Meet a Tall Dark Stranger (R)

This film is all about walking that fine line between tragedy and comedy, and Woody Allen pulls it off with panache. — MaryAnn Johanson

Kimball's Peak Three, Tinseltown