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

Opening Friday
AN AMERICAN CAROL — No star rating
(PG-13 — rude, irreverent content, language, brief drug material) An anti-American filmmaker who's out to abolish the July Fourth holiday is visited by three ghosts who try to change his perception of the country. With Kevin P. Farley and Kelsey Grammer. 1 hour, 23 minutes.
Cinemark Aurora 10, Garrettsville Cinemas, Huntington Street Cinema 16, Independence 10, Interstate Park Cinemas 18, Macedonia Cinemark 15, Massillon 12, Valley View 24, Wooster Movies 10, Magic City Drive-In

APPALOOSA — No star rating
(R — some violence, language) Ed Harris plays a sheriff and Viggo Mortensen is his deputy. They travel the old West, cleaning bad guys out of towns. The town Appaloosa lives in dread of an evil rancher (Jeremy Irons). A cute young miss in a fetching frock (Renee Zellweger) arrives in town on the stage. 1 hour, 54 minutes.
Huntington Street Cinema 16, Montrose 12, Tinseltown USA, Valley View 24

BATTLE IN SEATTLE — No star rating
(R — language, some violence) Activists arrive in Seattle en masse to protest a meeting of the World Trade Organization. Riots and chaos ensue as demonstrators try to stop the proceedings. With Charlize Theron, Woody Harrelson and Michelle Rodriguez. 1 hour, 40 minutes.
Shaker Square Cinemas

BEVERLY HILLS CHIHUAHUA — No star rating
(PG — some mild thematic elements) While on vacation in Mexico, Chloe (Drew Barrymore), a pampered Beverly Hills chihuahua, finds herself lost and in need of assistance in order to get back home. 1 hour, 31 minutes.
Carnation Cinema, Cinemark Aurora 10, Garrettsville Cinemas, Great Oaks Cinema, Highland Theatre, Hudson Cinema 10, Huntington Street Cinema 16, Interstate Park Cinemas 18, Kent Plaza Theatre, Macedonia Cinemark 15, Massillon 12, Montrose 12, Plaza Cinemas at Chapel Hill, Tinseltown USA, Tower City Cinemas, Valley View 24, Wooster Movies 10

BLINDNESS — ♥♥1/2
(R — violence, including sexual assaults, language and sexuality/nudity) A doctor's wife becomes the only person with the ability to see in a town where everyone is struck with a mysterious case of sudden blindness. She feigns illness in order to take care of her husband as her surrounding community breaks down into chaos and disorder. 2 hours.
Cinemark Aurora 10, Hudson Cinema 10, Huntington Street Cinema 16, Independence 10, Interstate Park Cinemas 18, Kent Plaza Theatre, Macedonia Cinemark 15, Massillon 12, Shaker Square Cinemas, Tinseltown USA, Tower City Cinemas, Valley View 24, Wooster Movies 10

FLASH OF GENIUS — ♥♥
(PG-13 — brief strong language) The story of how Ford stole the secret of the intermittent windshield wiper from a guy named Robert Kearns (Greg Kinnear). He bull-headedly fought the case in the courts for years. 2 hours.
Macedonia Cinemark 15, Montrose 12, Plaza Cinemas at Chapel Hill, Tinseltown USA, Valley View 24

HOW TO LOSE FRIENDS & ALIENATE PEOPLE — ♥1/2
(R — language, some graphic nudity and brief drug material) — Based on a memoir by Toby Young (Simon Pegg), fired by Vanity Fair magazine, where he sent a strip-o-gram to the office on Bring Your Daughter to Work Day, blew through deadlines, vomited on people, wrecked parties, brushed with libel, suggested offensive story ideas, alienated the celebrities he was paid to celebrate, and became shunned by most of the publicists in America. With Kirsten Dunst, Jeff Bridges, Gillian Anderson and Danny Huston. 1 hour, 50 minutes.
Cinemark Aurora 10, Hudson Cinema 10, Huntington Street Cinema 16, Interstate Park Cinemas 18, Kent Plaza Theatre, Macedonia Cinemark 15, Massillon 12, Montrose 12, Plaza Cinemas 18, Tinseltown USA, Valley View 24, Wooster Movies 10

NICK AND NORAH'S INFINITE PLAYLIST — ♥♥♥
(PG-13 — mature thematic material, including teen drinking, sexuality, language and crude behavior) Michael Cera (Juno) and Kat Dennings (The 40-Year-Old Virgin) meet in a club and spend much of the night searching for her lost and drunken friend (Ari Graynor) all over New York City. 1 hour, 30 minutes.
Carnation Cinema, Cinemark Aurora 10, Hudson Cinema 10, Huntington Street Cinema 16, Interstate Park Cinemas 18, Kent Plaza Theatre, 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

RELIGULOUS — ♥♥♥
(R — some language and sexual material) The movie is about organized religions: Judaism, Christianity, Islam, Mormonism, TV evangelism and even Scientology, with detours into pagan cults and ancient Egypt. Bill Maher, host, writer and debater, believes they are all crazy and could lead us prayerfully into mutual nuclear doom. It's funny, except possibly when he gets to your religion. 1 hour, 41 minutes.
Cedar Lee, Tinseltown USA, Valley View 24

Playing Friday
through
next week
BURN AFTER READING — ♥♥♥
(R — pervasive language, some sexual content and violence) The Coen brothers' screwball comedy that occasionally becomes something more. The characters are zany, the plot coils upon itself with dizzy zeal and the roles seem like a perfect fit. The plot involves the missing computer disk of a fired CIA agent (John Malkovich), and no one in it understands the big picture. 1 hour, 35 minutes.
Cinemark Aurora 10, Garrettsville Cinemas, Hudson Cinema 10, Huntington Street Cinema 16, Interstate Park Cinemas 18, Kent Plaza Theatre, 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

CHOKE — ♥♥1/2
(R — strong sexual content, nudity and language) Choke stars a character content to be despicable. His name is Victor (Sam Rockwell), and he is a sex addict. He spends his free time with his mother (Anjelica Huston), who doesn't know who he is, which makes two of them. Brad William Henke plays his best pal. Based on a novel by Chuck Palahniuk (Fight Club). 1 hour, 29 minutes
Cedar Lee, Kent Plaza Theatre, Montrose 12, Valley View 24

THE DARK KNIGHT — ♥♥♥3/4
(PG-13 — intense sequences of violence and some menace) Batman isn't a comic book anymore. 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.
Big Picture, Huntington Street Cinema 16, Independence 10, Interstate Park Cinemas 18, Linda Theatre, Massillon 12, West Market Plaza 7

DISASTER MOVIE — ♥
(PG-13 — crude and sexual content throughout, language, drug references, comic violence) Parody. Over the course of one evening, a group of 20-somethings is bombarded by a series of natural disasters and catastrophic events. 1 hour, 30 minutes.
Tower City Cinemas

EAGLE EYE — ♥♥1/2
(PG-13 — intense sequences of action and violence, and for language) Two strangers (Shia LaBeouf and Michelle Monaghan) become the pawns of a mysterious woman they have never met, but who seems to know their every move. 1 hour, 48 minutes.
Carnation Cinema, Cinemark Aurora 10, Great Oaks Cinema, Hudson Cinema 10, Huntington Street Cinema 16, Interstate Park Cinemas 18, Kent Plaza Theatre, Macedonia Cinemark 15, Massillon 12, Montrose 12, Plaza 8 at Chapel Hill, Shaker Square Cinemas, Tinseltown USA, Tower City Cinemas, Valley View 24, 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. 1 hour, 46 minutes.
Cedar Lee

THE FAMILY THAT PREYS — ♥1/2
(PG-13 — sexual references, brief violence) — Faced with a series of secrets and scandals that are threatening to tear their respective families apart, old friends Charlotte Cartwright (Kathy Bates) and Alice Pratt (Alfre Woodard) embark on a cross-country road trip in hopes of finding a way to end the drama and rebuild their familial connections. From Tyler Perry. 1 hour, 51 minutes.
Interstate Park Cinemas 18, Macedonia Cinemark 15, Montrose 12, Plaza Cinemas at Chapel Hill, Shaker Square Cinemas, Tower City Cinemas, Valley View 24

FIREPROOF — No star rating
(PG — thematic material and some peril) A fire captain (Kirk Cameron) is called a hero in public, but faces marital burnout at home. He and his wife undertake a 40-day challenge to save their marriage.
Interstate Park Cinemas 18, Macedonia Cinemark 15, Montrose 12, Tinseltown USA, Valley View 24

FLY ME TO THE MOON — ♥♥
(G) A well-intentioned exercise at blending education and family entertainment, this 3-D animated tale ends up being only mildly educational and not all that entertaining. It's the story of three flies that tag along on Apollo 11's moon shot. 1 hour, 29 minutes.
Massillon 12

GET SMART — ♥♥♥
(PG-13 — some rude humor, action violence and language) Classic sitcom that cleverly satirized Cold War espionage has been transformed for the big screen into an even smarter vehicle. 1 hour, 50 minutes.
Jackson Township Movies 10

GHOST TOWN — ♥♥♥
(PG-13 — some strong language, sexual humor, drug references) Bertram Pincus (Ricky Gervais), who is dead for seven minutes during a routine medical procedure, awakens to realize he has gained the ability to see and communicate with ghosts. Problem No. 1: He never had people skills, in life or in death. Problem No. 2: His ghostly patron, Frank Herlihy (Greg Kinnear), pesters him into meddling with the impending marriage of his widow, Gwen (Tea Leoni). 1 hour, 42 minutes.
Huntington Street Cinema 16, Independence 10, Interstate Park Cinemas 18, Massillon 12, Tower City Cinemas, Valley View 24, West Market Plaza 7

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.
Jackson Township Movies 10, Magic City Drive-In

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.
Independence 10, West Market Plaza 7

I SERVED THE KING OF ENGLAND — No star rating
(R — sexual content and nudity) A humble Prague waiter dreams of owning his own hotel and becoming a millionaire. But getting a fortune and keeping it are two different things. In Czech, with English subtitles. 2 hours.
Cedar Lee

IGOR — ♥1/2
(PG — some thematic elements, scary images, action, mild language) John Cusack is the voice of the title character, who aims to prove he's more than a hunchbacked gofer by creating an evil behemoth woman (Molly Shannon), who turns out to be a pussycat. 1 hour, 20 minutes.
Cinemark Aurora 10, Hudson Cinema 10, Huntington Street Cinema 16, Independence 10, Interstate Park Cinemas 18, Kent Plaza Theatre, Macedonia Cinemark 15, Massillon 12, Tower City Cinemas, Valley View 24, West Market Plaza 7, Wooster Movies 10

IN SEARCH OF A MIDNIGHT KISS — ♥♥♥1/2
(No industry rating) Two lonely people seeking a New Year's Eve date meet through Craigslist. She interviews him at a cafe to be sure he's not a loser. In a way, they both are, but on a long day's journey through the night they reveal themselves, and we care about them. 1 hour, 40 minutes.

INDIANA JONES AND THE KINGDOM OF THE CRYSTAL SKULL — ♥♥1/2
(PG-13 — adventure violence, scary images) — Harrison Ford returns as the iconic adventurer. 2 hours, 4 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. 1 hour, 33 minutes.
Massillon 12

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

LAKEVIEW TERRACE — ♥♥♥
(PG-13 — intense thematic material, violence, sexuality, language, some drug references) Samuel L. Jackson plays a cop who makes life hell for an interracial couple (Kerry Washington and Patrick Wilson) that moves in next door. It's a tightly wound thriller, alive and provoking. 1 hour, 50 minutes.
Carnation Cinema, Cinemark Aurora 10, Hudson Cinema 10, 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, West Market Plaza 7, Wooster Movies 10, Magic City Drive-In

MAMMA MIA! — ♥♥1/4
(PG-13 — some sex-related comments) Movie version of the hit stage musical. Wall-to-wall ABBA songs. 1 hour, 38 minutes.
Huntington Street Cinema 16, Jackson Township Movies 10

MIRACLE AT ST. ANNA — ♥♥
(R — strong war violence, language, some sexual content/nudity). Spike Lee's epic about four African-American GIs behind Nazi lines in Italy. Riveting battle scenes on a river and in a hill village, and much interaction with Italians and partisans. 2 hours, 40 minutes.
Interstate Park Cinemas 18, Macedonia Cinemark 15, Montrose 12, Shaker Square Cinemas, Tinseltown USA, Valley View 24

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. 1 hour, 50 minutes.
Jackson Township 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. 1 hour, 52 minutes.
Jackson Township Movies 10

MY BEST FRIEND'S GIRL — ♥
(R — strong language, sexual content throughout, including graphic dialogue, some nudity) Tank (Dane Cook) makes a living as an uncouth womanizer hired by guys who want their girlfriends or wives to reconsider leaving them. But what happens when his behavior has the opposite effect on the love of his best friend's life? 1 hour, 41 minutes.
Carnation Cinema, Huntington Street Cinema 16, Independence 10, Interstate Park Cinemas 18, Kent Plaza Theatre, Massillon 12, Tinseltown USA, Valley View 24, West Market Plaza 7, Wooster Movies 10

NIGHTS IN RODANTHE — ♥1/2
(PG-13— some sensuality) Richard Gere plays a surgeon. Diane Lane plays a mother of two, separated from her snaky husband. To help out a friend, she is taking care of a rustic inn on the Outer Banks of North Carolina. He is the only weekend guest. A hurricane is approaching. True love is also approaching. 1 hour, 38 minutes
Cinemark Aurora 10, Hudson Cinema 10, Huntington Street Cinema 16, Independence 10, Interstate Park Cinemas 18, Kent Plaza Theatre, Macedonia Cinemark 15, Tinseltown USA, Valley View 24, West Market Plaza 7, Wooster Movies 10

PINEAPPLE EXPRESS — ♥♥♥
(R — pervasive language, drug use, sexual references and violence) Drug-fueled caper doesn't stint on chronically loopy characters and funny situations. 1 hour, 52 minutes.
Magic City Drive-In

RIGHTEOUS KILL— ♥1/2
(R — violence, pervasive language, some sexuality and brief drug use) Two veteran New York City detectives nearing the end of their 30-year partnership elect to tackle one last big case. A vigilante has been killing criminals who escaped the legal system, leaving poems mocking the victims as a calling card. 1 hour, 40 minutes.
Cinemark Aurora 10, Hudson Cinema 10, Huntington Street Cinema 16, Independence 10, Interstate Park Cinemas 18, Kent Plaza Theatre, 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.
Jackson Township Movies 10

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 that makes it appear Bud's vote wasn't counted, and then it's all up to him. 1 hour, 59 minutes.
Jackson Township Movies 10

TELL NO ONE — ♥♥1/2
(Not rated — violence, sexual situations, nudity) A nifty — if overly complicated — thriller based on Harlan Coben's international best-seller. In French with English subtitles. 2 hours, 5 minutes.
Cedar Lee

TRAITOR — ♥♥♥
(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. 1 hour, 53 minutes.
Big Picture, West Market Plaza 7

TRANSSIBERIAN — ♥♥♥1/2
(R — some violence, including torture and language) One hell of a thriller. Emily Mortimer and Woody Harrelson play a couple who take the world's longest train journey from Beijing to Moscow. Along the way they encounter a young runaway from Seattle (Kate Mara) and her Spanish lover (Eduardo Noriega). 1 hour, 51 minutes.
Cedar Lee, Independence 10

TROPIC THUNDER — ♥♥♥
(R — pervasive language, including sexual references, violent content and drug material) Four actors shooting a war film in a foreign country find themselves stuck in a real, live war. 1 hour, 47 minutes.
Huntington Street Cinema 16

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. 1 hour, 31 minutes.
Cedar Lee

THE WOMEN — ♥♥1/2
(PG-13 — sex-related material, language, some drug use and brief smoking) Happily married Mary (Meg Ryan) finds her world shaken when she discovers that her husband is cheating on her with shop girl Crystal (Eva Mendes). 1 hour, 52 minutes.
Big Picture, Hudson Cinema 10, Huntington Street Cinema 16, Interstate Park Cinemas 18, Montrose 12, Plaza Cinemas 18