Ratings as appeared in Beacon Journal film critic and wire-service reviews:
♥=Weak
♥♥=Mediocre
♥♥♥=Worth Seeing
♥♥♥♥=Shouldn't Be Missed

Opened Wednesday
THE ROCKER — ♥1/2
(PG-13 — drug and sexual references, nudity, language) Rainn Wilson (The Office) stars as a wanna-been drummer who never had his shot at fame, but who wins a second chance with a nephew's band, 20 years after being kicked out of his first band. 1 hour, 42 minutes.
Carnation Cinema, Cinemark Aurora 10, Garrettsville Cinemas, Great Oaks Cinema, Hickory Ridge Cinema 8, Hudson Cinema 10, Huntington Street Cinema 16, Interstate Park Cinemas 18, Kent Plaza Theatre, Lake Cinemas 8, Macedonia Cinemark 15, Massillon 12, Plaza Cinemas at Chapel Hill, Shaker Square Cinemas, Tinseltown USA, Tower City Cinemas, Valley View 24, West Market Plaza 7, Wooster Movies 10, Magic City Drive-In, Midway Drive-In

Opening today
BAGHEAD— ♥1/2
(R — language, sexual content and nudity) Four would-be filmmakers hole up in a cabin in the woods to collaborate on a screenplay about four such people being attacked by a guy with a bag on his head, and then, of course, a baghead shows up. Uh, huh. Written and directed by Mark and Jay Duplass. 1 hour, 21 minutes.
Cedar Lee

DEATH RACE — ♥1/2
(R — strong violence and language) A race car driver (Jason Statham) is framed for murder and sent to a prison overseen by a warden (Joan Allen) who has created the country's most popular sport: a kill-or-be-killed car race in which her inmates compete for their freedom. 1 hour, 44 minutes.
Cinemark Aurora 10, Hudson Cinema 10, Huntington Street Cinema 16, Interstate Park Cinemas 18, Kent Plaza Theatre, Macedonia Cinemark 15, Massillon 12, Plaza Cinemas at Chapel Hill, Tinseltown USA, Tower City Cinemas, Valley View 24, West Market Plaza 7, Wooster Movies 10

ELEGY — ♥♥♥♥
(R — sexuality, nudity and language) Ben Kingsley as a crafty literature professor who singles out one female student every semester for his attentions. Penelope Cruz plays the prey who gets to him — gets under his skin and inflames his jealousy. Then the story takes a dramatic turn. With Patricia Clarkson, Dennis Hopper, Peter Sarsgaard. 1 hour, 46 minutes.
Cedar Lee

THE HOUSE BUNNY — ♥♥1/2
(PG-13 — sex-related humor, partial nudity and brief strong language) A Playboy bunny (Anna Faris) becomes the new house mother for a sorority in jeopardy. 1 hour, 38 minutes.
Carnation Cinema, Cinemark Aurora 10, Hudson Cinema 10, Huntington Street Cinema 16, Independence 10, Interstate Park Cinemas 18, Kent Plaza Theatre, Lake Cinemas 8, Macedonia Cinemark 15, Massillon 12, Tinseltown USA, Valley View 24, West Market Plaza 7, Wooster Movies 10

THE LONGSHOTS — ♥♥♥
(PG — some thematic elements, mild language and brief rude humor) Based on the true story of Jasmine Plummer, 11, from the Chicago suburb of Harvey, who in 2003 became the first girl to play quarterback in the Pop Warner football tournament. Starring Keke Palmer (Akeelah and the Bee) and Ice Cube as her uncle, who teaches her all he knows about quarterbacking. Sidesteps many of the usual cliches of the genre, is warm and touching. 1 hour, 34 minutes.
Cinemark Aurora 10, Hickory Ridge Cinema 8, Hudson Cinema 10, Huntington Street Cinema 16, Independence 10, Interstate Park Cinemas 18, Lake Cinemas 8, Macedonia Cinemark 15, Massillon 12, Tinseltown USA, Tower City Cinemas, Valley View 24, West Market Plaza 7, Wooster Movies 10

MAN ON WIRE — ♥♥♥1/2
(PG-13 — some sexuality and nudity, and drug references) The story of how a young Frenchman named Philippe Petit crossed on a wire between the two towers of the World Trade Center on Aug. 7, 1974. Combines actual and restaged footage. 1 hour, 34 minutes.
Cedar Lee

Opening Wednesday
TRAITOR — No star rating
(PG-13 — intense violent sequences, thematic material, brief language) — An FBI agent (Guy Pearce) heads a conspiracy investigation that initially susses out a prime suspect: Samir Horn (Don Cheadle), a former special ops officer with strong ties to Afghan rebels in the Middle East. As the agent chases Horn around the world, however, a tangled web of contradictory evidence is revealed. 1 hour, 40 minutes.
Huntington Street Cinema 16, Independence 10, Interstate Park Cinemas 18, Plaza Cinemas at Chapel Hill, Shaker Square Cinemas, Tower City Cinemas,

Playing through
next week
BOTTLE SHOCK — ♥♥♥1/2
(PG-13 — brief strong language, some sexual content and a scene of drug use) Based on the true story of how in the bicentennial year of 1976, unknown Napa Valley vineyards defeated famous French wines in a blind taste-testing. With Alan Rickman superb and funny as the Brit who arranges the competition, and Bill Pullman and Chris Pine as the feuding father and son whose struggling vineyard triumphs. We know the outcome, but the movie makes it exciting anyway. 1 hour, 52 minutes.
Cedar Lee, Interstate Park Cinemas 18, Montrose 12

BRIDESHEAD REVISITED — ♥♥1/2
(PG-13 — some sexual content) An unimpeachable yet ultimately unmoving adaptation of Evelyn Waugh's classic novel about social ambition, religious conflict and doomed love. With Emma Thompson as Lady Marchmain. 2 hours.
Cedar Lee, Montrose 12

THE CHRONICLES OF NARNIA: PRINCE CASPIAN — ♥♥♥
(PG — epic battle action, violence) The Pevensie siblings return to Narnia, where they are enlisted to help ward off an evil king and restore the rightful heir to the land's throne, Prince Caspian. 2 hours, 17 minutes.
Jackson Township Movies 10

THE DARK KNIGHT — ♥♥♥3/4
(PG-13 — intense sequences of violence and some menace) Batman isn't a comic book anymore. Christopher Nolan's The Dark Knight is a big, thoughtful, pain-laced, violence-streaked, unsettling movie in which the late Heath Ledger's performance as the Joker is one of many virtues. 2 hours, 32 minutes.
Carnation Cinema, Cinemark Aurora 10, Hickory Ridge Cinema 8, Hudson Cinema 10, Huntington Street Cinema 16, Independence 10, Interstate Park Cinemas 18, Kent Plaza Theatre, Lake Cinemas 8, Macedonia Cinemark 15, Massillon 12, Shaker Square Cinemas, Tinseltown USA, Tower City Cinemas, Valley View 24, West Market Plaza 7, Wooster Movies 10, Blue Sky Drive-In

HANCOCK — ♥♥♥
(PG-13 — some intense sequences of sci-fi action and violence, and language) An apathetic, hard-living superhero (Will Smith) hooks up with a public-relations professional who wants to improve the superhero's image. 1 hour, 32 minutes.
Big Picture, Interstate Park Cinemas 18, Montrose 12, Tower City Cinemas

HELLBOY II: THE GOLDEN ARMY — ♥♥♥
(PG-13 — sequences of sci-fi action, violence, some language) Guillermo del Toro's Hellboy II: The Golden Army is in every way the equal of his original Hellboy (2004). It's another celebration of his love for bizarre fantasy and diabolical machines. Ron Perlman is strong again in the title role, and del Toro's imagination provides a new array of fantastical creatures. 1 hour, 50 minutes.
Independence 10, Jackson Township Movies 10

HENRY POOLE IS HERE — ♥♥♥
(PG — thematic elements, some language) Luke Wilson plays a man whose neighbor believes she sees the face of Jesus on his house wall. Henry warns her to stay out of his yard and stop praying to his bad stucco job, but one thing leads to another. An elegant, intimate tale of faith and doubt told with a comforting charm and conviction. 1 hour, 36 minutes.
Montrose 12, Plaza Cinemas 8 at Chapel Hill, Shaker Square Cinemas, Valley View 24

IRON MAN — ♥♥♥
(PG-13 — some intense sequences of sci-fi action and violence, and brief suggestive content) Robert Downey Jr. dons a metal suit to fight evil in this Marvel comic adaptation directed by Jon Favreau (Elf). With Jeff Bridges, Gwyneth Paltrow and Terrence Howard. 2 hours, 6 minutes.
Jackson Township Movies 10

JOURNEY TO THE CENTER OF THE EARTH — ♥♥1/2
(PG — intense adventure action and some scary moments) There is a world inside our own, populated by glowing birds, man-eating plants, giant-fanged fish and a T-Rex. Reaching it via a series of dizzying falls, a geologist and his nephew realize Jules Verne must have seen it before writing his novel. With Brendan Fraser, Josh Hutcherson and Anita Briem. Three-dimensional effects are amazing.

1 hour, 33 minutes.
Huntington Street Cinema 16, Interstate Park Cinemas 18, Massillon 12, Valley View 24

KIT KITTREDGE: AN AMERICAN GIRL — ♥♥♥1/2
(G) Inspired by one of the American Girl dolls, and just about perfect for its target audience, with a great look, engaging performances, real substance and even a few whispers of political ideas, all surrounding the freshness and charm of Abigail Breslin. Cast has Julia Ormond, Stanley Tucci, Max Thieriot, Chris O'Donnell, Willow Smith, Glenne Headley, Joan Cusack and Wallace Shawn as the snarly local newspaper editor. 1 hour, 44 minutes.
Interstate Park Cinemas 18

KUNG FU PANDA — ♥♥♥
(PG — sequences of martial arts action) Po (Jack Black), a reluctant panda bear, is recruited by a team of kung fu masters and trained in the ways of the ancient martial art to protect the Valley of Peace from an evil snow leopard. 1 hour, 26 minutes.
Jackson Township Movies 10

THE LOVE GURU — ♥1/2
(PG-13 — crude and sexual content throughout, language, some comic violence and drug references) Self-love does not seem to be an issue for Mike Myers, starring as a guru with an inferiority complex who falls for the Toronto Maple Leafs' owner (Jessica Alba) while counseling the team's lovesick star (Romany Malco), whose wife has run off with a rival goalie (Justin Timberlake). 1 hour, 35 minutes.
Jackson Township Movies 10

MAMMA MIA! — ♥♥1/4
(PG-13 — some sex-related comments) Movie version of the hit stage musical, with Meryl Streep as the villa owner on a Greek isle and Amanda Seyfried as her about-to-be married daughter. The girl doesn't know who her father is, but finds an old diary and invites three likely candidates to her wedding: Pierce Brosnan, Colin Firth and Stellan Skarsgard. Wall-to-wall ABBA songs. 1 hour, 38 minutes.
Hickory Ridge Cinema 8, Hudson Cinema 10, Huntington Street Cinema 16, Interstate Park Cinemas 18, Kent Plaza Theatre, Linda Theatre, Macedonia Cinemark 15, Massillon 12, Montrose 12, Plaza Cinemas at Chapel Hill, Shaker Square Cinemas, Tinseltown USA, Valley View 24, Wooster Movies 10

MIRRORS — ♥1/2
(R — strong violence, disturbing images, language, brief nudity) An ex-cop and his family are the target of an evil force that is using mirrors as a gateway into their home. Stars Kiefer Sutherland and Paula Patton. 1 hour, 50 minutes.
Cinemark Aurora 10, Hickory Ridge Cinema 8, Hudson Cinema 10, Huntington Street Cinema 16, Independence 10, Interstate Park Cinemas 18, Kent Plaza Theatre, Lake Cinemas 8, Macedonia Cinemark 15, Massillon 12, Tinseltown USA, Tower City Cinemas, Valley View 24, West Market Plaza 7, Wooster Movies 10

THE MUMMY: TOMB OF THE DRAGON EMPEROR — ♥♥1/2
(PG-13 — adventure action and violence) Brendan Fraser returns as explorer Rick O'Connell to combat the resurrected Han Emperor (Jet Li). It's the same cheesy mix of digitized monsters and lame comic relief we've come to expect from this series. 1 hour, 52 minutes.
Cinemark Aurora 10, Hickory Ridge Cinema 8, Huntington Street Cinema 16, Independence 10, Interstate Park Cinemas 18, Kent Plaza Theatre, Macedonia Cinemark 15, Montrose 12, Shaker Square Cinemas, Tinseltown USA, Tower City Cinemas, Valley View 24, Blue Sky Drive-In, Magic City Drive-In, Midway Drive-In

PINEAPPLE EXPRESS — ♥♥♥
(R — pervasive language, drug use, sexual references and violence) Written by the Superbad duo of Seth Rogen and Evan Goldberg (with story assist from Judd Apatow), this is a drug-fueled caper that doesn't stint on chronically loopy characters and ridiculously funny situations. Rogen's Dale Denton is a likable loser of a process server who suddenly finds himself on the lam along with his permanently baked drug dealer. 1 hour, 52 minutes.
Cinemark Aurora 10, Huntington Street Cinema 16, Interstate Park Cinemas 18, Kent Plaza Theatre, Lake Cinemas 8, Macedonia Cinemark 15, Massillon 12, Montrose 12, Plaza Cinemas 8, Shaker Square Cinemas, Tinseltown USA, Tower City Cinemas, Valley View 24, Wooster Movies 10, Magic City Drive-In, Midway Twin Drive-In

SEX AND THE CITY: THE MOVIE — ♥♥♥
(R — strong sexual content, graphic nudity, language) Set four years after we last saw the ladies, Carrie (Sarah Jessica Parker), Samantha (Kim Cattrall), Miranda (Cynthia Nixon), and Charlotte (Kristin Davis) negotiate their friendships, romances and careers in New York City. At the center of it all is Carrie's pending nuptials to Mr. Big (Chris Noth). 2 hours, 15 minutes.
Jackson Township Movies 10

SISTERHOOD OF THE TRAVELING PANTS 2 — ♥♥♥
(PG-13 — mature material and sensuality) Based on Ann Brashares' series of novels, this sequel catches up with the four friends as they embark on separate paths for their first year of college and the summer beyond. 1 hour, 57 minutes.
Cinemark Aurora 10, Hudson Cinema 10, Huntington Street Cinema 16, Independence 10, Interstate Park Cinemas 18, Kent Plaza Theatre, Lake Cinemas 8, Macedonia Cinemark 15, Massillon 12, Tinseltown USA, Tower City Cinemas, Valley View 24, West Market Plaza 7, Wooster Movies 10

SPACE CHIMPS — ♥♥♥
(G) Space Chimps is a goofy animated space opera that sends three U.S. chimpanzee astronauts rocketing to a galaxy, as they say, far, far away. There they encounter strange life forms and the evil Zartog, who has captured an earlier space probe. Not in the same science fiction league as Wall-E, but successful, with lots of whiz-bang action and some witty dialogue. 1 hour, 20 minutes.
Hickory Ridge Cinemas 8, Jackson Township Movies 10, Montrose 12

STAR WARS: THE CLONE WARS — ♥♥1/2
(PG — sci-fi action violence throughout, brief language, momentary smoking) While anything remotely Star Wars is potentially a welcome trek for hard-core fans, this will be a mixed thrill, given that the saga returns to the big screen as a cartoon. It's a fairly fun if forgettable little adventure that hurls Anakin, Obi-Wan Kenobi and the rest of the gang into a kidnapping conspiracy and rescue amid a galactic civil war between clone soldiers and android troops. 1 hour, 38 minutes.
Carnation Cinema, Cinemark Aurora 10, Garrettsville Cinemas, Great Oaks Cinema, Hickory Ridge Cinema 8, Hudson Cinema 10, Huntington Street Cinema 16, Interstate Park Cinemas 18, Kent Plaza Theatre, Lake Cinemas 8, Macedonia Cinemark 15, Massillon 12, Montrose 12, Plaza Cinemas at Chapel Hill, Tinseltown USA, Tower City Cinemas, Valley View 24, Wooster Movies 10

STEP BROTHERS — ♥1/2
(R — crude and sexual content, and pervasive language) Two adult men (Will Ferrell and John C. Reilly) are pulled into a new sibling rivalry after their respective single parents get hitched. 1 hour, 52 minutes.
Big Picture, Huntington Street Cinema 16, Independence 10, Interstate Park Cinemas 18, Kent Plaza Theatre, Macedonia Cinemark 15, Massillon 12, Tinseltown USA, Tower City Cinemas, Valley View 24

SWING VOTE — ♥♥♥
(PG-13 — language) Kevin Costner's new movie is about a presidential election that literally comes down to one man, one vote. The vote belongs to Bud Johnson, an alcoholic egg inspector from New Mexico, who finds himself the focus of the eyes of the world. His daughter sets a process in motion which makes it appear Bud's vote wasn't counted, and then it's all up to him. 1 hour, 59 minutes.
Huntington Street Cinema 16, Interstate Park Cinemas 18, Montrose 12

TROPIC THUNDER — ♥♥♥
(R — pervasive language, including sexual references, violent content and drug material) Four actors shooting a war film in a foreign country are forced to step up and become real heroes when they find themselves stuck in a real, live war. With Ben Stiller, Jack Black, Robert Downey Jr. and Tom Cruise. 1 hour, 47 minutes.
Carnation Cinema, Cinemark Aurora 10, Garrettsville Cinemas, Hickory Ridge Cinema, Highland Theatre, Hudson Cinema 10, Huntington Street Cinema 16, Interstate Park Cinemas 18, Kent Plaza Theatre, Lake Cinemas 8, Macedonia Cinemark 15, Massillon 12, Montrose 12, Plaza Cinemas at Chapel Hill, Shaker Square Cinemas, Tinseltown USA, Tower City Cinemas, Valley View 24, Wooster Movies 10, Magic City Drive-In, Midway Drive-In

UP THE YANGTZE — ♥♥♥
(No industry rating) At the edge of the Yangtze River, young men and women take up employment on a cruise ship, where they confront rising waters and a radically changing China. 1 hour, 33 minutes.
Cedar Lee

VICKY CRISTINA BARCELONA — ♥♥♥
(PG-13 — mature thematic material involving sexuality, smoking) — Woody Allen's latest, starring Rebecca Hall and Scarlett Johansson as American college girls who spend a summer in Barcelona and become entangled in romance with a raffish painter (Javier Bardem). Complications develop with the appearance of his former wife (Penelope Cruz): They still love each other, but violence always results when they try to live together. 1 hour, 31 minutes.
Cedar Lee, Montrose 12, Valley View 24

WALL-E — ♥♥♥1/2
(G) Delightful animated story of a robot, in a world so filled with garbage that humans have escaped into orbiting spaceships. Directed by Andrew Stanton, it is a story that is intelligent and sweet. 1 hour, 38 minutes.
Big Picture, Huntington Street Cinema 16, Independence 10, Interstate Park Cinemas 18, Linda Theatre, Montrose 12, Valley View 24

WANTED — ♥♥♥
(R — strong bloody violence throughout, pervasive language and some sexuality) Stars James McAvoy as a meek office worker initiated into a secret society of assassins. Mindless, heartless, preposterous, and very well done as a high-tech action thriller. With Angelina Jolie, Morgan Freeman, Common, Terence Stamp. 1 hour, 50 minutes.
Jackson Township Movies 10

THE X-FILES: I WANT TO BELIEVE — ♥♥
(PG-13 — violent and disturbing content and thematic material) When an FBI agent goes missing and a priest claims to have visions about the disappearance, disgraced Mulder is called out of hiding and reteamed with skeptical Scully to find the truth. The plot line is flat and predictable. 1 hour, 50 minutes.
Independence 10, Jackson Township Movies 10

YOU DON'T MESS WITH THE ZOHAN — ♥♥♥
(PG-13 — crude and sexual content throughout, language and nudity) An Israeli counterspy (Adam Sandler) orchestrates a scenario that will allow him to move to New York City and reinvent himself as a hairstylist. 1 hour, 53 minutes.
Jackson Township Movies 10