CHECK IT OUT. The movie listing feature at GoErie.com/events has movie times and more.
NOTE. Movie schedules are subject to change. Check Showcase movie ads and check online for last-minute changes.
Tinseltown: "The Roommate." "Sanctum" in 3-D.
Movies at Meadville: "The Roommate." "Sanctum" in 3-D.
Millcreek 6: "Legends of the Guardians." "Burlesque." "Faster."
THE ROOMMATE. In this thriller, college student Sara finds her safety jeopardized after she's assigned to a dorm room with a new roommate, Rebecca. With Leighton Meester, Cam Gigendot. Minka Kelly. (1:31. PG-13 for violence and menace, sexual content, language and partying.)
SANCTUM. An underwater cave diving team experiences a life-threatening crisis during an expedition to the unexplored and least accessible cave system in the world. James Cameron is the executive producer. (1:49. R for violence, some language, disturbing images.)
BLACK SWAN. A psychological thriller that zeros in on the relationship between a veteran ballet dancer (Natalie Portman) and a rival (Mila Kunis) who are up for the same role in "Swan Lake." (1:50. R for strong sexual content, disturbing violent images, language and drug use.)
BURLESQUE. A small-town girl with big dreams and a big voice arrives in Hollywood and wows the world with her talent. But not everyone has her best interest at heart, so she'll have to cling to her values to figure out whom she should trust. And she'll do it ... in song! They should provide a cliché checklist at the door of "Burlesque." Sure, this song-and-dance extravaganza is sufficiently shiny and sparkly. It's good enough as a guilty pleasure. (1:59. PG-13 for sexual content including several suggestive dance routines, partial nudity, language and some thematic material.)
THE DILEMMA. Chicago engineers and buddies Ronny Valentine (Vince Vaughn) and Nick Brannen (Kevin James) each have long-term partners: Ronny's girlfriend, Beth (Jennifer Connelly), and Nick's wife, Geneva (Winona Ryder). After Ronny sees Geneva cheating on Nick with another man (Channing Tatum), he descends into a world of infidelity where seemingly everyone is cheating. Ron Howard's comedy begins and ends in hokey cliché, but for a brief period it carries a slight hint of Billy Wilder, playing uncomfortable stuff for not entirely dumb laughs. (1:50. PG-13 for mature thematic elements involving sexual content.)
THE FIGHTER. A terrific ensemble cast elevates this look at the early years of boxer "Irish" Micky Ward (Mark Wahlberg) and his brother (Christian Bale) who helped train him before Micky went pro in the mid 1980s. Also with Amy Adams as Ward's fierce girlfriend and Melissa Leo as his controlling mother. (1:54. R for language throughout, drug content, violence and sexuality.)
DUE DATE. Robert Downey Jr. is miserable, stuck on a cross-country drive with a creepy Zach Galifianakis. It's easy to imagine how he feels: It's often torturous sitting through the movie, and we're not the ones trapped in the middle of Texas with the guy. The script comes from Director Todd Phillips ("The Hangover") and three other writers. But "Due Date" lacks the consistent hilarity and originality of that last-summer hit. (1:35. R for language, drug use, sexual content.)
FASTER. This is The Rock's return to his bread-and-butter, macho action films. He's an ex-con seeking vengeance so badly he's barely out of prison before he's shooting people in the head. He's simply a bullet of fury in a relentlessly revved-up but hopelessly dumb film. (1:38. R for violence, some drug use and language.
GET LOW. A movie spun out of equal parts folk tale, fable, and real-life legend about the mysterious, 1930s Tennessee hermit (Robert Duvall) who famously threw his own rollicking funeral party -- while he was still alive. With Sissy Spacek, Bill Murray. (1:44. PG-13 for brief violence.)
THE GREEN HORNET. Based on the 1930s radio show, "The Green Hornet" stars Seth Rogen as Britt Reid, playboy heir to the Los Angeles publishing empire built by his father (Tom Wilkinson). But when his father dies suddenly, Britt realizes he has a chance to use his fortune for good and decides to become a vigilante crime fighter with the help of his father's mechanic, the soft-spoken but ever-resourceful Kato (Jay Chou). With Michel Gondry, known for visually inspiring films, at the helm, this looked promising. But it's a surprisingly generic, bombastic action movie with no 3-D excitement. (1:59. PG-13 for sequences of violent action, language, sensuality and drug content.)
HOW DO YOU KNOW. Reese Witherspoon stars as a professional softball player who's just been cut from the U.S. team. She's torn between Paul Rudd, who plays a corporate executive wrongfully under federal investigation, and Owen Wilson, as an endearingly cocky pitcher for the Washington Nationals (not believable for one second). Jack Nicholson goes to waste in a handful of scenes as Rudd's father and boss. Nothing about this would-be romantic comedy ever jells -- neither the romance nor the comedy and, worst of all, not the characters. Rare misfire from writer-director James L. Brooks. (2:01. PG-13 for sexual content and some strong language.)
LITTLE FOCKERS. Meet the latest in Robert De Niro and Ben Stiller's comedy franchise. Grit your teeth through the fairly short though agonizing duration of its stay. Director Paul Weitz delivers a string of dumb episodes as De Niro's father-in-law from hell again puts Stiller's nervous son-in-law under surveillance. The whole gang returns, including Dustin Hoffman, Barbra Streisand, Owen Wilson, Teri Polo and Blythe Danner, with Jessica Alba, Laura Dern and Harvey Keitel joining the cast. Hopefully, the Fockers will call it quits after this. (1:38. PG-13 for mature sexual humor and language.)
THE MECHANIC. This remake starring Jason Statham is better than the 1972 original starring Charles Bronson, and Statham is better in the lead role than Bronson was. The hit men at the center of both pull off assassinations that don't look like assassinations. They function in a world where morals and rules don't seem to apply, where law enforcement is practically nonexistent and the relationship between a hit man and his mentor is meant to seem as touching as the one between a father and son. Director Simon West ("Con Air") and screenwriter Richard Wenk move the action to steamy New Orleans in a movie that's slicker and sleeker, leaner and meaner -- not in an idiotic way, but rather to reflect the actor and the times. (1:33. R for strong brutal violence throughout, language, some sexual content and nudity.)
MEGAMIND. A dastardly supervillain who turned evil because of a bad upbringing finds himself seduced to the good side to defeat an even worse guy. The latest action comedy from DreamWorks Animation features dazzling computer-animated design and action. Yet despite a clever hook -- what's a villain to do when he manages to defeat his superhero nemesis? -- it's a thin story that feels familiar and unfolds with no surprises. The movie offers an amiably goofy voice cast led by Will Ferrell, Brad Pitt, Tina Fey and Jonah Hill. (1:36. PG for action, some language.)
THE NEXT THREE DAYS. The latest movie from Paul Haggis ("Crash") finds Elizabeth Banks' Lara Brennan being charged and convicted of killing her boss in a Pittsburgh parking garage. Once all of Lara's appeals have run out and she's on the verge of being transferred to a state penitentiary, her husband, John (Russell Crowe), hatches a scheme to break her out of the joint. Chalk it up to miscasting, a lack of chemistry, whatever: It's simply too hard to buy Crowe and Banks as husband and wife. And that's a problem, since it undermines our ability to become emotionally immersed in the life-threatening danger in which they find themselves. (2:13. PG-13 for violence, drug material, language, some sexuality and thematic elements.)
NO STRINGS ATTACHED. A guy (Ashton Kutcher) and girl (Golden Globe winner Natalie Portman) try to keep their relationship strictly physical. It's not long before they learn that they want something more. What's intriguing about it is the girl, a young doctor played by Portman, is the one who suggests this arrangement, and the guy, an aspiring TV writer played by Kutcher, is the one who breaks the rules and falls in love. It's a reversal of traditional gender roles, an indication we might be in for something fresh, daring and different. Except, we're not. (1:48. R for sexual content, language, some drug material.)
THE RITE. Anthony Hopkins classes this up. But even his otherworldly powers can make this overly familiar demonic possession thriller engaging for so long. Colin O'Donoghue plays Michael Kovak, an aspiring Catholic priest suffering a spiritual crisis. Following his mother's death, Michael joins his father (Rutger Hauer) in the family mortuary business. The script is reasonable and even-tempered with its discussions about the nature of faith. For a while, it is neither hyperbolic nor preachy. The intelligent setup makes the over-the-top climax feel like even more of a letdown (1:54. PG-13 for disturbing thematic material, violence, frightening images, and language including sexual references.
SEASON OF THE WITCH. After killing untold numbers of men in the name of God during the Crusades, Nicolas Cage's character, Behmen, and his wisecracking sidekick, Felson, decide to pack it in. But to avoid being imprisoned for desertion, they must transport a suspected witch (Claire Foy) to a faraway abbey for trial. You expect this kind of schlock in January, but "Season of the Witch" isn't even bad in an enjoyable way. (1:35. PG-13 for thematic elements, violence and disturbing content.)
THE SOCIAL NETWORK. David Fincher and Aaron Sorkin have created an epic tale based on ... well, minutiae. The story of Facebook is filled with high drama, betrayal, and rage -- just one of the many contradictions that make the film so smart, meaty, and compulsively watchable. With Jesse Eisenberg, Andrew Garfield, Justin Timberlake. (2:00. PG-13 for sexual content, drug and alcohol use, profanity.)
TANGLED. "Rapunzel" gets the modern treatment, complete with 3-D rendering, digital animation and a slacker rogue in place of the traditional knight. The story gets her out of the tower and on the road, where the wide-eyed Rapunzel takes in the world, include a tavern full of theatrical thugs and moments of budding romance. "Tangled," Disney's 50th animated feature, is not in the league of the studio's best, though Donna Murphy shines as passive-aggressive Mother Gothel. Still, it's sturdy and pleasantly executed by the animation machine. (1:40. PG for brief mild violence.)
TRON LEGACY. Director Joseph Kosinski's feature film debut is thrilling and cool-looking for about the first half. But its races, games and visuals eventually grow repetitive, which only draws attention to how flimsy and preposterous the script is. "Tron: Legacy" is a mishmash of pop culture references and movie rip-offs, Eastern philosophy and various religions, and one insanely cute, strategically placed Boston terrier. With the return of Jeff Bridges, there's plenty of Dude-ishness for you fans of "The Big Lebowski." (2:05. PG for sequences of sci-fi action violence, brief mild language.)
TRUE GRIT. While Joel and Ethan Coen's "True Grit" is entertaining, it also lacks emotional resonance, as well as the intriguing sense of ambiguity expected in Coen pictures. Only toward the end does it feel like anything is at stake, but at least it's enjoyable while you're waiting. Hailee Steinfeld in her film debut is a revelation as Mattie Ross, the 19th-century pioneer teenager who demands vengeance for her father's murder with the help of U.S. Marshal Rooster Cogburn (Jeff Bridges). Matt Damon again proves he can do anything as a preening Texas ranger. (1:50. PG-13 for some intense sequences of western violence.)
YOGI BEAR. A documentary filmmaker travels to Jellystone Park to shoot a project and soon crosses paths with Yogi Bear (voiced by Dan Aykroyd), his sidekick Boo-Boo (voiced by Justin Timberlake), and Ranger Smith (voiced by Tom Cavanagh). (1:26. PG for some mild rude humor.)
CAPSULE REVIEWS have been excerpted from the Associated Press. Previews are courtesy of the Internet Movie Database.
RATINGS by the Motion Picture Association of America are G for general audiences; PG parental guidance because of material possibly unsuitable for children; PG-13 parents are strongly cautioned to give guidance for attendance of children younger than 13; R restricted, younger than 17 admitted only with parent or adult guardian; NC-17 no one younger than 17 admitted.
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