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

Opening Friday
GIRL CUT IN TWO
(No industry rating — for mature audiences) A peppy young TV weather girl (Ludivine Sagnier) is desired by an older famous novelist (Francois Berleand) and a preening young fop (Benoit Magimel). Trapped between them, she's too naive and inexperienced to deal with the situation, which seems to begin as a romantic comedy, then spirals darkly downward. The 69th film by French New Wave pioneer and crime specialist Claude Chabrol. In French with subtitles. 1 hour, 54 minutes.
Cedar Lee

MAX PAYNE — ♥1/2
(PG-13 — violence including intense shooting sequences, drug content, some sexuality and brief strong language) Coming together to solve a series of murders in New York City are a DEA agent (Mark Wahlberg) whose family was slain as part of a conspiracy and an assassin (Mila Kunis) out to avenge her sister's death. The duo will be hunted by the police, the mob and a ruthless corporation. 1 hour, 40 minutes.
Carnation Cinema, Cinemark Aurora 10, Garrettsville Cinemas, Great Oaks Cinema, Hickory Ridge Cinema, Hudson Cinema 10, Huntington Street Cinema 16, Interstate Park Cinema 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

SEX DRIVE — ♥1/2
(R — strong crude and sexual content, nudity, language, some drug and alcohol use — all involving teens) Ian (Josh Zuckerman), a teenager desperate to lose his virginity, meets a girl in a chat room and drives from Wisconsin to Tennessee to meet her, taking along best friend Lance (Clark Duke) and hometown girl Felicia (Amanda Crew). All the usual human reproductive and excretory functions are evoked, plus new, probably impossible ones. 1 hour, 44 minutes.
Cinemark Aurora 10, Hickory Ridge Cinema, Hudson Cinema 10, Huntington Street Cinema 16, Independence 10, Interstate Park Cinema 18, Macedonia Cinemark 15, Tinseltown USA, Valley View 24, West Market Plaza 7, Wooster Movies 10

THE SECRET LIFE OF BEES — ♥♥
(PG-13 — thematic material and some violence) A coming-of-age piece set in the Civil Rights summer in South Carolina. But it's also precious, self-conscious, a hug you give at arm's length. Based on the novel by Sue Monk Kidd. Queen Latifah presides over an idealized rural household that provides refuge for a 14-year-old runaway (Dakota Fanning) and her nasty father's housekeeper (Jennifer Hudson). With Alicia Keys and Sophie Okonedo. 1 hour, 42 minutes.
Cedar Lee, Huntington Street Cinema 16, Kent Plaza Theatre, Macedonia Cinemark 15, Montrose 12, Plaza Cinemas at Chapel Hill, Tinseltown USA, Tower City Cinemas, Valley View 24

W. — ♥♥1/2
(PG-13 — language including sexual references, some alcohol abuse, smoking and brief disturbing war images) W. tells the story of a poor little rich kid's alcoholic youth and torturous adulthood. Wounded by his father's disapproval and preference for his brother Jeb, the movie argues, George W. Bush rose until he was finally powerful enough to stain his family's legacy. Josh Brolin is a persuasive Bush. With Richard Dreyfuss, James Cromwell, Thandie Newton, Ellen Burstyn and Jeffrey Wright. 2 hours, 9 minutes.
Cinemark Aurora 10, Hudson Cinema 10, Huntington Street Cinema 16, Independence 10, Interstate Park Cinema 18, Kent Plaza Theatre, Macedonia Cinemark 15, Massillon 12, Montrose 12, Tinseltown USA, Valley View 24, Wooster Movies 10

Playing Friday
through
next week
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.
Hickory Ridge Cinema, Huntington Street Cinema 16, Independence 10, Interstate Park Cinemas 18, Massillon 12, Valley View 24, West Market Plaza 7

APPALOOSA — ♥♥♥
(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, Interstate Park Cinemas 18, Montrose 12, Tinseltown USA, Valley View 24

BANGKOK DANGEROUS —♥1/2
(R — violence, language, some sexuality) A hit man, who is in Bangkok to pull off a series of jobs, falls for a local woman and bonds with his errand boy. Stars Nicolas Cage. 1 hour, 40 minutes.
Jackson Township Movies 10

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, Hickory Ridge 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

BODY OF LIES — ♥♥1/2
(R — strong violence, including some torture, and for language throughout) Leonardo DiCaprio is a lone ranger who operates in three countries, fabricates a fictitious terrorist organization and survives explosions, gunfights and brutal torture. Co-starring Russell Crowe. 2 hours, 8 minutes.
Cinemark Aurora 10, Hickory Ridge Cinema, 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

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.
Big Picture, Cedar Lee, Huntington Street Cinema 16, Montrose 12, Plaza Cinemas at Chapel Hill

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

CITY OF EMBER — ♥♥♥
(PG — mild peril and some thematic elements) In a futuristic city buried far beneath Earth's surface where humans have lived for more than 200 years. But now it's up to young Doon and Lina (Harry Treadaway and Saoirse Ronan) to find an escape route. With Tim Robbins and Bill Murray. 1 hour, 32 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, Tinseltown USA, Tower City Cinemas, Valley View 24, West Market Plaza 7, Wooster Movies 10

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, Linda Theatre

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. With Carmen Electra, Matt Lanter and Kimberly Kardashian. 1 hour, 30 minutes.
Jackson Township Movies 10

THE DUCHESS — ♥♥♥
(PG-13 — sexual content, brief nudity and thematic material) A chronicle of the life of 18th-century aristocrat Georgiana, Duchess of Devonshire (Keira Knightley). The ''it girl'' of her time, she was trapped in an unhappy triangle with her husband and his live-in mistress. She falls passionately in love with an ambitious young politician, and the affair causes a bitter conflict with her husband and threatens to erupt into a scandal. 1 hour, 45 minutes.
Cedar Lee, Hudson Cinema 10, Huntington Street Cinema 16, Interstate Park Cinemas 18, Kent Plaza Theatre, Macedonia Cinemark 15, Montrose 12, Plaza Cinemas at Chapel Hill, Valley View 24

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, Garrettsville Cinemas, Great Oaks Cinema, Hickory Ridge 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, 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 EXPRESS — ♥♥1/2
(PG — thematic content, violence and language involving racism, and for brief sensuality) The story of Ernie Davis (the ''Elmira Express''), the running back for Syracuse who became the first African-American to win the Heisman Trophy. The film focuses on the deepening relationship between Davis (Rob Brown) and his coach, Ben Schwartzwalder (Dennis Quaid), against a background of racism when the team plays in the South. 2 hours, 3 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, Shaker Square Cinemas, Tinseltown USA, Tower City Cinemas, Valley View 24, West Market Plaza 7, Wooster Movies 10

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, 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 with Neil Armstrong, Buzz Aldrin and Michael Collins on Apollo 11's moon shot. Despite its unusual story line, the movie is routine and on the cusp of boring for audiences accustomed to such meatier animated flicks as WALL-E and Kung Fu Panda. 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 — ♥♥♥

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(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.
Hickory Ridge Cinema, Independence 10

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.
Big Picture, Hickory Ridge Cinema

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.
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.
Huntington Street Cinema 16, Independence 10, Interstate Park Cinemas 18, Massillon 12, Tower City Cinemas, Valley View 24, West Market Plaza 7

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.
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.
Shaker Square Cinemas, Valley View 24

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.
Independence 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

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, Hickory Ridge Cinema, Huntington Street Cinema 16, Independence 10, Interstate Park Cinemas 18, Kent Plaza Theatre, Macedonia Cinemark 15, Massillon 12, 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.
Jackson Township Movies 10

QUARANTINE — ♥♥1/2
(R — bloody violent and disturbing content, terror and language) What happened to the people who were locked inside an apartment building by a CDC-issued quarantine? The only evidence left after the quarantine has been lifted is a videotape shot by a TV reporter (Jennifer Carpenter) and her cameraman (Steve Harris) who were investigating a 911 call. With Columbus Short. 1 hour, 29 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

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,West Market Plaza 7

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.
Huntington Street Cinema 16, Independence 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. 1 hour, 20 minutes.
Linda Theatre

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.
Hickory Ridge Cinema, Jackson Township 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

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

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.
Jackson Township Movies 10