21 JUMP STREET (R) 2012’s biggest surprise to date has to be this brilliantly dumb comedy from star-producer-story contributor Jonah Hill. A pair of pathetic new cops, Schmidt and Jenko (Hill and comedy revelation Channing Tatum), blow their first bust. As a result, they are transferred to a special undercover unit that sends fresh-faced policemen into local schools to nab drug dealers and the like.

ATHENS BURNING (NR) This locally-produced documentary tells the story of that once proud downtown landmark, the Georgia Theatre. Beginning with the devastating blaze, Athens Burning recounts the history of our city’s music scene from the 1970s to present day. Featuring interviews and performances with several artists who played the venue over the years, the film also chronicles the efforts to rebuild the Athens institution into the brand spanking new beacon it is today. Part of the Athfest Filmfest 2012 Rock Docs series.

THE AVENGERS (PG-13) The various Avengers—Robert Downey, Jr.’s Iron Man, Chris Evans’ Captain America, Chris Hemsworth’s Thor, another new Hulk (this time Mark Ruffalo gets to unleash the beast) and the rest—have assembled, and together they are a blast. But before they can battle Thor’s mischievous brother, Loki (Tom Hiddleston), who is intent on enslaving the world with his other-dimensional army, Earth’s mightiest heroes have to sort out a few things among themselves. Joss Whedon and Zak Penn capture the bickering essence of a super-group. Every single one of these heroes benefits from Whedon’s trademark snappy banter and his way with ensembles. These characters thrive by not having to carry the movie on their own (the Hulk especially benefits from sharing the spotlight). Whedon has always loved the lady leads, and he gets more out of Scarlett Johansson’s Black Widow than anyone else would have. Critical grumbling about The Avengers is minimal thanks to Whedon’s meticulously crafted screenplay and directorial vision (he heads his own verse for a reason) and the engaging ensemble. Once the paperwork is finalized so the team can go into action for the bang-up finale, The Avengers lives up to all the hype and expectation.

BERNIE (PG-13) Richard Linklater’s latest film stars Jack Black as Bernie Tiede, a local Texas mortician who strikes up an unlikely friendship with wealthy widow Marjorie Nugent (Shirley MacLaine). When Bernie kills Marjorie, the model citizen (choir member, Sunday School teacher, all around helping hand) goes out of his way to make the townspeople believe she is still alive. Sound like another Bernie you know? I find certain Linklater comedies to require a specific sense of humor; we’ll have to see if Bernie is one of those films. With Matthew McConaughey.

THE BEST EXOTIC MARIGOLD HOTEL (PG-13) No better Avengers counterprogramming could exist than this British dramedy starring Oscar winner Dame Judi Dench, Bill Nighy, Dev Patel, Oscar winner Maggie Smith and Oscar winner Tom Wilkinson and directed by Shakespeare in Love Oscar nominee John Madden. A bevy of Brits travel to the subcontinent to stay at the posh, newly renovated Marigold Hotel, but the adverts prove misleading. Still, the hotel does begin to charm its English patrons. Based on the novel by Deborah Moggach.

CHERNOBYL DIARIES (R) In this new flick from Paranormal Activity creator Oren Peli (visual effects vet Bradley Parker makes his directorial debut), six American tourists (including multiplatinum recording artist Jesse McCartney) hire an extreme tour guide to take them to Pripyat, the ghost city left by Chernobyl. The visitors soon discover they are not alone. Peli jettisons the found footage gimmick upon which his previous features have relied. The trailer looks appropriately creepy, but that title is terrible.

DARK SHADOWS (PG-13) Having tried but never quite sunk my teeth into both previous versions of Dan Curtis’ gothic soap opera, I had few preconceptions going into Tim Burton/Johnny Depp’s high-concept reimagining. Sadly, the duo merely delivered a pretty-looking, rather dull oddity. (Burton’s output has become increasingly miss-and-hit.) Tossing much of the soap’s suds and upping the camp, the big screen Dark Shadows still involves many of the series’ major players: vampire Barnabas Collins (Depp), Elizabeth Collins Stoddard (Michelle Pfeiffer), Dr. Hoffman (Helena Bonham Carter), Angelique (Eva Green), Willie Loomis (Jackie Earle Haley), Victoria Winters (Bella Heathcote) and Carolyn Stoddard (Chloe Grace Moretz). That list of names will mean little to the scores of uninitiated young Burton/Depp fans looking for another Alice in Wonderland, which this horror comedy most certainly is not. That movie’s billion-dollar success has fortunately allowed Burton to indulge his quirkier side at Collinswood. Still, his latest movie becomes shockingly boring after the extremely amusing early scenes of 200-plus-year-old Barnabas adapting to the 1970s. Depp produces another entertaining character, a la Jack Sparrow, but as the movie approaches the two hour mark, he grows as tedious as the blockbuster he solely supports.

DEATH DRUG  (PG-13) 1978. Philip Michael Thomas stars in this anti-drug feature film a mere six years before becoming Miami Vice's detective Ricardo Tubbs. The horrible hilarity grows from the movie's sincere warning against the drug PCP. Thomas, on his way to music stardom, tries the drug and hallucinates, opening the way for behind-its-time special effects and over-the-top drugged reactions. Combined with a chronology that seems drugged itself, special appearances by an out-of character Thomas talking about the dangers of drugs and the unexplained music video that bisects the movie, this is really a great opportunity to show impressionable teens or rising stars the dangers of drugs and the wonders of bad cinema. Part of Ciné's Bad Movie Night.

THE DESCENDANTS (R) 2011. The bittersweet dramedy starring Academy Award nominee George Clooney is among the top two or three best films of last year. After a tragic accident leaves his wife in a coma, lawyer and owner of the last parcel of virgin land in Hawaii Matt King (Clooney) struggles to raise his two daughters, come to peace with revelations about his dying wife and decide what to do with his important land. Clooney is this generation’s Paul Newman, a cool cat who can pull off anything he’s asked to do on screen. Here, in his tucked-in Hawaiian shirts, he epitomizes the suburban dad; still, he drops comic gems, oftentimes punctuated by his terrific reaction shots, and dramatic bombs with ease.

THE DICTATOR (R) Sacha Baron Cohen and director Larry Charles may have left their guerrilla mockumentary tactics behind, but their offensive strategy still elicits massive bombs of laughter, even in this much more conventionally-structured comedy. Cohen’s Admiral General Aladeen, the dictator of the fictional North African nation of Wadiya, is stripped of his beard and power on a trip to speak to the United Nations. With the help of a crunchy feminist (adequately supplied by an atypical Anna Faris) and a should-be-dead nuclear scientist (“The League” MVP Jason Mantzoukas aka El Cuñado), Aladeen must infiltrate a peace summit before his beloved oppressive regime becomes a democracy. The brilliant gags far outclass the low-brow misses; the soundtrack—filled by “Wadiyan”-language versions of “Everybody Hurts,” “9 to 5” and “The Next Episode”—is the film’s best running joke. Cohen continues to stake his claim to the chameleonic comic crown left by Peter Sellers, but what should he do with it once he gets it? Outside of the scathing climactic critique of American democracy (all true, of course), The Dictator lacks the witheringly pointed satire of Borat and Bruno. It surely is hilarious though.

DR. SEUSS’ THE LORAX (PG) Released on Dr. Seuss’ 108th birthday, this pleasant animated adaptation of the beloved children’s author’s environmental fable fails to utterly charm like the filmmakers’ previous animated smash, Despicable Me. The Lorax may visually stun you, and Danny DeVito’s brief time as voice of the Lorax could stand as his greatest role, one that will go unrecognized by any professional awards outside of the Annies.

A FIGHTING CHANCE (NR) 2010. Director Takashi Doscher’s feature documentary follows Kyle Maynard. Kyle was born with only three major joints—his neck and two shoulders—yet Kyle has learned to live without prosthetics and has become a top-ranked wrestler, ESPY Award winner and bestselling author. However, his plans to compete in a sanctioned Mixed Martial Arts match spark controversy. The screening will be followed by a Q&A with the filmmaker. Part of the Athfest Filmfest 2012 Athens Picture Show.

THE FIVE-YEAR ENGAGEMENT (R) As written by Jason Segel and Nicholas Stoller, the acting-writing-directing duo behind Forgetting Sarah Marshall, The Five-Year Engagement almost sells its initial gag too well. Nearly the entire first act plays out like the airheaded romantic comedy in which the smart comedy writers plan to poke holes. Then the change comes and The Five-Year Engagement begins its lengthy, though not overlong, slide into relationship complications (more real than scripted) and comic gags (some sold with more skill and less obviousness than others). Tom and Violet (Segel and Emily Blunt) get engaged on their one-year anniversary and then struggle to pull the trigger, as life sends the soulmates obstacle after obstacle.

HYSTERIA (R) Maggie Gyllenhaal stars in this period sex comedy about the invention of the vibrator by Dr. Mortimer Granville (Hugh Dancy, last seen in Our Idiot Brother and Martha Marcy May Marlene). Joining Maggie G and Dancy are Jonathan Pryce, Felicity Jones (Like Crazy), Rupert Everett and Ashley Jensen. Hysteria may be the third movie from director Tanya Wexler (Ball in the House and Finding North), but it’s the first one to get a wide release.

JOHN CARTER (PG-13) Civil War veteran John Carter (“Friday Night Lights”’ alum Taylor Kitsch, whose career is poised to blow up or implode in 2012) is transported to Mars, where 12-foot-tall barbarians rule. WALL-E director Andrew Stanton becomes the latest Pixar filmmaker to make the jump from animation to live action. I’d love to see his film be as successful as Brad Bird’s Mission: Impossible—Ghost Protocol. With Bryan Cranston, Mark Strong, Ciaran Hinds, Willem Dafoe and Thomas Haden Church.

THE KID WITH A BIKE (PG-13) 2011. Palme d’Or winners Jean-Pierre and Luc Dardenne (Rosetta and The Child) wrote and directed this feature about a young boy (Thomas Doret) abandoned by his father, who spends his weekends with a local hairdresser (Cecile de France). Unfortunately, he also gets mixed up with a local criminal. His mode of transportation: a bike. The Palme d’Or nominee picked up Cannes’s Grand Prize of the Jury and was nominated for Best Foreign Language Film at the Golden Globes.

THE LUCKY ONE (PG-13) The Notebook it is not, but The Lucky One will not disappoint Nicholas Sparks’ fans looking for some sappy romance and a shirtless Zac Efron. A Marine named Logan (Efron) survives several incidents after finding a picture of a woman. When he returns to the states, he seeks out this woman, whom he learns is named Beth (Taylor Schilling, still recovering from Atlas Shrugged: Part I) to thank her for saving his life. But things get complicated when he falls for her and her young son, Ben (Riley Thomas Stewart), and runs afoul of her ex/Ben’s dad (Jay R. Ferguson, who excels at clueless d-bags), a deputy sheriff and son of big-time local judge/prospective mayor. The war scenes are thankfully short, making me wonder how much worse they could have been on the page, and director Scott Hicks (some fine films like Shine and Snow Falling on Cedars) illustrates this romance with some gorgeous, magazine spread cinematography (word to Alar Kivilo, whose work to date has never betrayed this artistic an eye). Will love conquer all or is this another one of Sparks’ tearjerkers? Only 141 minutes of your life stand between you and the answer.

• MADAGASCAR 3: EUROPE’S MOST WANTED (PG)

By now, franchise fans know what to expect from the adventures of Alex the lion (v. Ben Stiller), Marty the zebra (v. Chris Rock), Melman the giraffe (v. David Schwimmer) and Gloria the hippo (v. Jada Pinkett Smith). These four former denizens of the New York Zoo team up again with those wacky penguins and some nutty Lemurs (voiced by Sacha Baron Cohen, Cedric the Entertainer and Andy Richter) in an aborted attempt to return home. This time, the gang is waylaid in Europe by a circus featuring animals voiced by Bryan Cranston (“Breaking Bad” season five cannot get here fast enough), Jessica Chastain and the reliably funny yet equally annoying Martin Short. But a crazed French animal control officer, Captain Chantel Dubois (v. Frances McDormand), is hot on the animals’ trail. No one should be coming into Madagascar 3 blind. This third entry proffers more cute fun in a long first act chase than either of its predecessors, and that’s before any of the appealing new characters are introduced. Madagascar 3 should keep the kiddies happy until Pixar’s Brave on June 22.

MARLEY (PG-13) Academy Award winning filmmaker Kevin Macdonald (the award winning docs One Day in September and Touching the Void as well as the award winning feature The Last King of Scotland) portrays the life, music and legend of Bob Marley. The feature documentary makes use of rare footage, live performances and interviews with the family, friends and Wailers that knew Marley best. A can’t-miss for Marley fans. Part of the Athfest Filmfest 2012 Rock Docs series.

MEN IN BLACK III (PG-13) Confession time: I never saw Men in Black II. I’m OK with that oversight. Will Smith and Tommy Lee Jones reprise their roles as Agent J and Agent K. Apparently, Smith’s J time travels back to 1969 to stop an alien from assassinating his partner, whose younger version is played by John Brolin. Director Barry Sonnenfeld returns and could really use a hit. With Alice Eve, Jemaine Clement, Emma Thompson and Bill Hader as Andy Warhol.

MIRROR MIRROR (PG) Not much clicks in 2012’s first reimaging of Snow White (the darker Snow White and the Huntsman is out now). Julia Roberts does not an Evil Queen make; the anachronistic dialogue is wincingly unfunny and the live action cartoon, overflowing with Stooge-y slapstick, is a tonal decision only pleasing to undiscriminating children, many of whom found Mirror Mirror to be rousingly delightful. It’s not.

MONTEREY POP (NR) 1968. This documentary from D.A. Pennebaker (The War Room) chronicles the greatest pre-Woodstock rock and roll music festival. Featuring such legendary acts as The Who, The Jimi Hendrix Experience, Janis Joplin, Otis Redding, The Mamas and the Papas, Simon and Garfunkel and Jefferson Airplane, reliving the Monterey Pop Festival is a great way to honor Athfest’s heritage. Nominated for the Golden Satellite Award for Best Overall DVD. Part of the Athfest Filmfest 2012 Rock Docs series.

THE PRINCESS BRIDE (PG) 1987. Ciné opens its Classic Kids Series with one of the best. The Princess Bride benefits most from an acidic yet heartwarming script by Hollywood legend William Goldman, who adapted his own novel. Westley (Cary Elwes) risks life and limb to rescue his love Buttercup (Robin Wright) from the evil Prince Humperdinck (Chris Sarandon). Assisted by humongous Fezzik (Andre the Giant) and vengeful Inigo Montoya (Mandy Patinkin), Westley must outwit a Sicilian (Wallace Shawn), survive the Dread Pirate Roberts and escape from the Pit of Despair. A charming, droll love story, The Princess Bride is truly a fairy tale for all ages as well as for the ages.

• PROMETHEUS (R) A beyond competent, philosophical science fiction film, director Ridley Scott’s return to the Alien universe he helped create in 1979 is good without ever fulfilling its promise to be great. Prometheus, co-written by “Lost” co-creator Damon Lindelof, is so fueled by mystery that you may want to avoid the Internet and this review until you’ve seen it. Even with series tropes like androids, corporate shenanigans and body horror, Prometheus is not quite the Alien prequel fans may be expecting/hoping for, but the feature is one of the most thought-provoking, recent science fiction films released by a major studio. The origins of human life are, if not explained, forever altered as a group of scientists, including Noomi Rapace (Sweden’s Lisbeth Salander), Charlize Theron and Michael Fassbender, encounter a species of extraterrestrials they call the Engineers, but something more deadly also lurks on moon LV-223. Big ideas meet big production values, and the result is an intelligent first two acts of epic science fiction that call to mind 2001 as much as Alien. However, the untidy final act fails to tie events together in a satisfying way for fans of either Prometheus or Alien.

ROCK OF AGES (PG-13) In 1987 Los Angeles, a young couple, Sherrie and Drew (Julianne Hough and Diego Boneta), chase their musical dreams. Tom Cruise may be the big name here, but the real star is the awesome '80s soundtrack, which includes hits from Styx, Journey, Bon Jovi, Pat Benatar, Twisted Sister, Steve Perry, Poison, Asia and more. Director Adam Shankman scored a big hit with Hairspray; the rest of his fare has been family-movie bland (The Pacifier, Cheaper by the Dozen 2, Bedtime Stories).

SECOND GLANCE (NR) 1992. Pretty much a play-by-play rip-off of It's a Wonderful Life, a high schooler and Christian named Daniel is unhappy with his unpopularity and lack of freedom to mack on some teen ladies, and wishes that he had "never become a believer." Does an angel appear and grant his wish? Yes. Daniel's family and friends are either non-existent or much worse off due to Daniel's unbelief and erased good works. He endures a really tough night of popularity and regret, praying to God to change him back just as he is about to be beaten up. Part of Ciné's Bad Movie Night.

SNOW WHITE AND THE HUNTSMAN (PG-13) 2012’s second Snow White movie (she’s also a television star on ABC’s “Once Upon a Time”) tweaks the fairy tale with the pale beauty (Kristen Stewart, Twilight) and the huntsman (Chris Hemsworth, Thor), sent by Charlize Theron’s Evil Queen to kill her, instead teaming up to overthrow her majesty. Director Rupert Sanders is an unknown entity; thankfully, the cast includes the familiar faces of Toby Jones, Ian McShane, Ray Winstone, Nick Frost and Bob Hoskins. Written by Drive’s Hossein Amini.

SONGS (NR) 2011. Creative lives are explored through on-stage footage and interviews with local musicians and artists such as Dave Dowless, Hope for Agoldensummer, Creepy, Incendiaries, Puddin' Tang, Lysa Sullivan, The Jumpin' Jesus Christers, Kaitlin Jones, Tunabunny, The Buddy System, Athens Boys Choir, poet Jeff Fallis, Mandy Jane and Hola Halo in director Jennifer Formwalt’s debut, formally titled Songs: A Documentary Record of Music from a Relational Perspective. Part of the Athfest Filmfest 2012 Rock Docs series.

THAT’S MY BOY (R) A father (Adam Sandler), who fathered a son (Andy Samberg) in high school, moves in with his grown kid on the eve of his son's wedding. Unfortunately, pops gets into a feud with the blushing bride (Leighton Meester). Hot Tub Time Machine directing duo, Sean Anders and John Morris, are behind the camera. The rewrite of “Happy Endings” creator David Caspe’s script by Ken Marino and David Wain, both “State” alums, bodes well. With James Caan, Susan Sarandon and Vanilla Ice (!?).

THE THREE STOOGES (PG) Apparently, a modern update of Three Stooges is not an idea as utterly bereft of laughs as one would imagine. As staged by the Farrelly Brothers, the violent misadventures of Moe (Chris Diamantopoulos), Larry (Sean Hayes, “Will & Grace”) and Curly (Will Sasso, “MADtv”) now involve a murder plot, a reality TV show and saving an orphanage at which Larry David entertainingly plays a nun. Fans of the Stooges should be pleased as the chosen trio and their younger counterparts—Skyler Gisondo, Lance Chantiles-Wertz and Robert Capron—are swell stand-ins for the originals.

VHS: LOCAL VIDEOGRAPHERS HELLA-BIG SHOW (NR) As part of Athfest Filmfest 2012, the Society of Greater Things presents a showcase for local filmmakers. Featured shorts include Matt Beaty’s “215 Lumpkin Street,” Evan Seitz’s “ABCinema,” Erina Francesconi/Adam Multer’s “A Small Turn,” Sarah Gutierrez’s “Break the Silence,” Chris White’s “Dobraojca,” Adam Klein’s “Dugu Wolo,” Brian Garrett’s “Friday Night,” ?’s “Tofu,” Raines Plambeck’s “Gracie Has a Glass Eye” and many more. Enjoy a meet and greet with the filmmakers before and after the Thursday screening.

WAITRESS (PG-13) 2007. One of the buzziest films of 2007, Waitress will always carry a tragic sense of the bittersweet. Writer-director Adrienne Shelly, crowned the first It Girl of 1990s independent cinema thanks to Hal Hartley, was on the verge of stardom with this Baker’s chocolate sweet tale about an unhappily married, pregnant piemaker, Jenna (Keri Russell), who meets the doc of her dreams (should-be-a-bigger-star Nathan Fillion). Unfortunately, Shelly was murdered in her apartment before her Waitress could be served to a hopefully pleased audience. See it if you haven’t. With Jeremy Sisto, Cheryl Hines and Andy Griffith. Part of the GMOA’s Summer Film Series, held in conjunction with the exhibit, “John Baeder.”

WE HAVE A POPE (NR) 2011. An Italian man is elected to be Pope against his wishes, prompting an embarrassing lack of enthusiasm for God's chosen post in this comedy directed by Nanni Moretti. The cardinals bring in a psychiatrist to help the new Pope deal with his anxiety.

WHAT TO EXPECT WHEN YOU’RE EXPECTING (PG-13) Expecting a cinematic extinction level event on par with Garry Marshall’s star-whoring Valentine’s Day/New Year’s Eve, What to Expect When You’re Expecting pleasantly met my vastly lowered expectations. What to Expect would have been a decent Apatow/Bridesmaids knockoff had it slimmed down to one main plot—an expectant couple played by Elizabeth Banks and Mr. Melissa McCarthy (Ben Falcone) compete with his race car legend father (Dennis Quaid) and his pregnant trophy wife (Brooklyn Decker)—and shed the extra plot poundage involving Jennifer Lopez adopting an Ethiopian baby, Anna Kendrick and Chace Crawford’s uh-oh moment and Cameron Diaz’s star pregnancy (with that wet blanket from “Glee,” Matthew Morrison). The almost interstitial scenes with the daddy club of Chris Rock, Rob Heubel, Thomas Lennon and Amir Talai amuse, as does Rebel Wilson as Banks’s mostly clueless employee. Like unfortunate clockwork, every time the movie started to get things comically right, the scene would shift to JLo’s woes or the young couple’s romantic predicament. Still, I expected little, and the romantic dramedy delivered a bundle of tiny, intermittent joy that, like some babies, cried more than it laughed.

THE WOMAN IN THE FIFTH (R) An American writer, Tom Ricks (Ethan Hawke), loses his job in a scandal and flees to Paris to reconnect with his estranged wife and daughter. While abroad, he runs into a widow, Margit (Kristin Thomas Scott), who might be involved with several murders. Pawel Pawlikowski (a BAFTA award winner and European Film Award nominee for Last Resort and My Summer of Love) wrote and directed this mystery based on the book by Douglas Kennedy (The Big Picture).