Ratings as appeared in Beacon Journal film critic and wire-service reviews:♥=Weak
♥♥=Mediocre
♥♥♥=Worth Seeing
♥♥♥♥=Shouldn't Be Missed
Playing Friday
through
next week
AUSTRALIA — ♥♥1/2
(PG-13 — some violence, scene of sensuality, brief strong language) — Set in northern Australia before World War II, an English aristocrat (Nicole Kidman) who inherits a sprawling ranch reluctantly forms a pact with a stock man (Hugh Jackman) to protect her new property from a takeover plot. 2 hours, 40 minutes.
Independence 10, Interstate Park Cinemas 18, Macedonia Cinemark 15, Tinseltown USA
BEDTIME STORIES — ♥
(PG — mild language) Adam Sandler plays a hotel handyman named Skeeter, fighting it out for a promotion and a girlfriend with the son of the hotel owner. He tells bedtime stories to a niece and nephew, and the stories seem to come true the following day. From Disney with Guy Pearce, Keri Russell, Courteney Cox. 1 hour, 35 minutes.
Carnation Cinema, Cinemark Aurora 10, Garrettsville Cinemas, Great Oaks Cinema, Highland Theatre, Hudson Cinema 10, Interstate Park Cinemas 18, Kent Plaza Theatre, Macedonia Cinemark 15, Plaza Cinemas at Chapel Hill, Tinseltown USA, Tower City Cinemas, Wooster 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.
Jackson Township 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.
Jackson Township Movies 10
BOLT — ♥♥1/2
(PG — some mild action, peril) Bolt (voice of John Travolta) is a celebrity dog and the star of a hit TV show where his amazing feats and powers draw big ratings. But when a mailroom mix-up finds him roaming free on the streets of New York City, the wonder dog will have to learn to rely on his actual strengths — as well as his new friends, an abandoned house cat and a starry-eyed hamster — in order to find his way back home to his owner and co-star, Penny (voice of Miley Cyrus). 1 hour, 36 minutes.
Cinemark Aurora 10, Independence 10, Interstate Park Cinemas 18, Massillon 12, Tower City Cinemas, Tinseltown USA
CADILLAC RECORDS — ♥♥
(R — pervasive language and some sexuality) Chicago's Chess Records roster included Muddy Waters, Howlin' Wolf, Etta James, Willie Dixon, Chuck Berry and Little Walter. A film of the great Chess years, heavy on the music, that stars Beyonce Knowles, Jeffrey Wright, Gabrielle Union, Cedric the Entertainer and Mos Def, with Adrien Brody as the enigmatic Leonard Chess, who gave his musicians shiny new Cadillacs but never a good look at their royalties. 1 hour, 47 minutes.
Tower City Cinemas
THE CURIOUS CASE OF BENJAMIN BUTTON ♥♥♥
(PG-13 — brief war violence, sexual content, language and smoking) — A man is old when he is born and an infant when he dies. Good performances by Brad Pitt, Cate Blanchett, others. 2 hours, 39 minutes.
Cinemark Aurora 10, Hudson Cinema 10, Interstate Park Cinemas 18, Kent Plaza Theatre, Macedonia Cinemark 15, Massillon 12, Plaza Cinemas at Chapel Hill, Tinseltown USA, Tower City Cinemas, Wooster Movies 10
THE DAY THE EARTH STOOD STILL — ♥1/2
(PG-13 — some sci-fi disaster images and violence) Aliens land on Earth with an important message for its citizens. A remake of the classic 1951 sci-fi film directed by Robert Wise. Keanu Reeves, Jennifer Connelly and Jaden Smith star in the new version. 1 hour, 44 minutes.
Cinemark Aurora 10, Hudson Cinema 10, 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
DOUBT — ♥♥1/2
(PG-13 — thematic material) In a Catholic grade school in 1964, a stern nun (Meryl Streep) rules with severe perfectionism. The new parish priest (Philip Seymour Hoffman) is gentler and more progressive. A sweet young nun (Amy Adams) suspects something that places them all on a collision course. And the mother (Viola Davis) of the school's only black student faces up to Streep in an unexpected way, in a towering supporting performance. 1 hour, 44 minutes.
Independence 10, Interstate Park Cinemas 18, Kent Plaza Theatre, Macedonia Cinemark 15, Tinseltown USA
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.
Jackson Township Movies 10
FIREPROOF — Not rated
(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.
Jackson Township Movies 10
FOUR CHRISTMASES — ♥1/2
(PG-13 — some sexual humor, language) A couple (Reese Witherspoon and Vince Vaughn) struggle to visit all four of their divorced parents on Christmas Day. 1 hour, 22 minutes.
Cinemark Aurora 10, Hudson Cinema 10, Independence 10, Interstate Park Cinemas 18, Kent Plaza Theatre, Linda Theatre, Macedonia Cinemark 15, Massillon 12, Tinseltown USA, Tower City Cinemas, Wooster Movies 10
FROST/NIXON — ♥♥♥
(R — some language) The famous 1977 interviews between Richard Nixon (Frank Langella) and David Frost (Michael Sheen), played as a duel with both men troubled by private agendas. Nixon wants both to conceal and reveal. Frost wants to be liked, but he has gambled all his money on wringing a Watergate confession out of Nixon. Begins as an inside look at the TV news business, tightens into a spellbinding thriller. 1 hour, 58 minutes.
Cedar Lee
THE HAUNTING OF MOLLY HARTLEY — No star rating
(PG-13 — strong thematic material, violence, terror; brief strong language; some teen drinking) Molly Hartley (Haley Bennett) looks to put her troubled past behind her with a fresh start at a new school, where she sparks with one of the most popular students (Chase Crawford). But can her secrets stay buried, especially as she learns more about the horrific truth that awaits her once she turns 18? 1 hour, 50 minutes.
Jackson Township Movies 10
HIGH SCHOOL MUSICAL 3: SENIOR YEAR — ♥♥
(G) All those winsome East High School students are back from parts one and two of the freakishly successful Disney Channel franchise. Movie follows young lovebirds Troy (Zac Efron) and Gabriella (Vanessa Hudgens) as they stress out over leaving each other after graduation. 1 hour, 48 minutes.
Jackson Township Movies 10
MADAGASCAR: ESCAPE 2 AFRICA — ♥1/2
(PG — some mild crude humor) Same characters, same challenge: Can wild animals survive in the wild? Our heroes tape together a crashed airplane and try to fly it home, but end up dealing with volcanoes and drought. 1 hour, 29 minutes.
Interstate Park Cinemas 18
MARLEY & ME — ♥♥
(PG — thematic material, some suggestive content and language) Owen Wilson and Jennifer Aniston play a married couple who find their lives dramatically changed by a not-so-obedient yellow Labrador retriever. The family film is based on the best-selling book of the same name. 2 hours, 3 minutes.
Carnation Cinema, Cinemark Aurora 10, Garrettsville Cinemas, Great Oaks Cinema, Hudson Cinema 10, Interstate Park Cinemas 18, Kent Plaza Theatre, Macedonia Cinemark 15, Massillon 12, Plaza Cinema at Chapel Hill, Shaker Square Cinemas, Tinseltown USA, Tower City Cinemas, Wooster Movies 10
MILK — ♥♥♥1/2
(R — language, some sexual content and brief violence) Sean Penn stars as Harvey Milk, the first self-identified gay person to win public office in America. Following him from a personal turning point to the leadership of a powerful political and social movement, the film never objectifies him as a hero, but as an ordinary man: kind, funny, flawed, shrewd, idealistic, yearning for a better world. 2 hours, 8 minutes.
Cedar Lee
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
Jackson Township Movies 10
QUANTUM OF SOLACE — ♥♥♥
(PG-13 — intense sequences of violence and action, and some sexual content) Following the death of Vesper Lynd, James Bond (Daniel Craig) makes his next mission personal. The hunt for those who blackmailed his lover leads Bond to ruthless businessman Dominic Greene (Mathieu Amalric), a key player in the organization that coerced Vesper. Bond learns that Greene is plotting to gain total control of a vital natural resource, and must navigate a minefield of danger and treachery to foil Greene's plan. 1 hour, 46 minutes.
Interstate Park Cinemas 18, Tower City Cinemas
THE READER — ♥♥1/2
(R — sex, nudity, language) A postwar German affair between a woman in her 30s (Kate Winslet) and a boy of 15 (David Kross) connects to her past and his future as a cold, frightened man (Ralph Fiennes). Not simply about her past as a Nazi murderer, but about his decision to keep secret information that would be relevant at her trial. 2 hours, 3 minutes.
Cedar Lee
ROLE MODELS — ♥1/2
(R — crude, sexual content; strong language, nudity) Paul Rudd and Seann William Scott play teammates who drive a super truck from school to school, touting a Jolt-like energy drink. They get into trouble, are sentenced to community service, and are assigned two problem kids. 1 hour, 37 minutes.
Jackson Township Movies 10
SEVEN POUNDS — ♥♥1/2
(PG-13 — thematic material, some disturbing content and a scene of sensuality) Will Smith plays an IRS agent whose badge allows him into lives he takes a curious interest in. Rosario Dawson is one of his cases. They fall in love, but strangely, he doesn't act on it. He is cruel to a blind man (Woody Harrelson), but why? His motives remain deeply hidden until the graceful, moving revelations at the end. 2 hours.
Carnation Cinema, Cinemark Aurora 10, Hudson Cinema 10, Independence 10, Interstate Park Cinemas 18, Kent Plaza Theatre, Macedonia Cinemark 15, Massillon
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12, Shaker Square Cinemas, Tinseltown USA, Tower City Cinemas, Wooster Movies 10
SLUMDOG MILLIONAIRE — ♥♥♥
(R — some violence, disturbing images and language) Bridges the two Indias, cutting between poverty and the Indian version of Who Wants to Be a Millionaire. The story of an orphan born into a brutal early existence. A petty thief, impostor and survivor, he improvises his way up through the world and remembers everything he has learned. From Danny Boyle, winner of the Audience Award at Toronto 2008. 1 hour, 52 minutes.
Cedar Lee, Plaza Cinemas at Chapel Hill
THE SPIRIT — ♥♥
(PG-13 — intense sequences of stylized violence and action, some sexual content and brief nudity) Based on a series of comics by Will Eisner, The Spirit stars Gabriel Macht as a masked crime fighter who likes to ogle dames, have fistfights and stand on tenement rooftops spouting tough-guy poetry about his city. 1 hour, 35 minutes.
Cinemark Aurora 10, Hudson Cinema 10, Independence 10, Interstate Park Cinemas 18, Kent Plaza Theatre, Macedonia Cinemark 15, Massillon 12, Tinseltown USA, Tower City Cinemas, Wooster Movies 10
THE TALE OF DESPEREAUX — ♥1/2
(G) The story involves a big-eared mouse named Despereaux, a sniffy rat named Roscuro and other members of the animal and vegetable kingdoms. It's a joy to look at frame by frame, but the plot is muddled and could involve us more. 1 hour, 34 minutes.
Carnation Cinema, Cinemark Aurora 10, Hudson Cinema 10, Independence 10, Interstate Park Cinemas 18, Kent Plaza Theatre, Linda Theatre, Macedonia Cinemark 15, Massillon 12, Tinseltown USA, Tower City Cinemas, Wooster Movies 10
TWILIGHT — ♥♥1/2
(PG-13 — some violence and a scene of sensuality) Teenager Bella Swan (Kristen Stewart) falls for her alluring and mysterious classmate, Edward Cullen (Robert Pattinson). As it turns out, Edward belongs to a lineage of vampires, although he doesn't fit the typical vampire mold. As their passion reaches dizzying heights, can Edward resist his natural urges and will he be able to defend Bella from his family members who have come for her? 2 hours.
Hudson Cinema 10, Independence 10, Interstate Park Cinemas 18, Kent Plaza Theatre, Massillon 12, Tinseltown USA, Tower City Cinemas
VALKYRIE — ♥♥♥
(PG-13 — violence, brief strong language) A meticulous thriller about a conspiracy within the German army to assassinate Hitler. Tom Cruise is perfectly satisfactory in the leading role, as Col. Claus von Stauffenberg, and a good supporting cast includes Kenneth Branagh and Tom Wilkinson. 1 hour, 54 minutes.
Cinemark Aurora 10, Hudson Cinema 10, Independence 10, Interstate Park Cinemas 18, Kent Plaza Theatre, Macedonia Cinemark 15, Shaker Square Cinemas, Tinseltown USA, Tower City Cinemas, Wooster Movies 10
YES MAN — ♥♥1/2
(PG-13 — language, brief sexual content, nudity) Jim Carrey stars as a bank loan officer who attends a lecture by a self-help guru and agrees to say ''yes'' to everything. The problem is, this new policy makes scenes into obvious setups with entirely foreseeable consequences. Zooey Deschanel is bewitching as his new love, and Terence Stamp is darkly Stampian as the Guru of Yes. 1 hour, 45 minutes.
Carnation Cinema, Cinemark Aurora 10, Garrettsville Cinemas, Hudson Cinema 10, Interstate Park Cinemas 18, Kent Plaza Theatre, Macedonia Cinemark 15, Massillon 12, Plaza Cinema at Chapel Hill, Shaker Square Cinemas, Tinseltown USA, Tower City Cinemas, Wooster Movies 10
ZACK AND MIRI MAKE A PORNO — ♥♥1/2
(R — strong crude sexual content including dialogue, graphic nudity, pervasive language) Lifelong platonic friends Zack (Seth Rogen) and Miri (Elizabeth Banks) look to solve their respective cash-flow problems by directing and starring in their own adult film. 1 hour, 41 minutes.
Jackson Township Movies 10
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Lineups for Big Picture, Hickory Ridge Cinema 8, Huntington Street Cinema 16, Lake Cinemas 8, Montrose 12 and Valley View 24 were not available at press time.