10 HOURS (PG-13) Channing Tatum, Jenna Dewan-Tatum, Rosario Dawson, Justin Long, Chris Pratt, Ari Graynor, Anthony Mackie, Ron Livingston, Kate Mara, Aubrey Plaza (“Parks and Recreation”), Scott Porter (“Friday Night Lights”), Max Minghella, Oscar Isaac (the upcoming Won’t Back Down), Lynn Collins (John Carter) and Brian Geraghty (The Hurt Locker) all star in this romantic dramedy about a group of friends that realize how little they’ve grown up while attending their high school reunion. Dear John and We Are Marshall writer Jamie Linden makes his directorial debut.

2016: OBAMA’S AMERICA (PG) Call me critically conflicted about 2016: Obama’s America. The unabashed polemic from conservative author Dinesh D’Souza is an anti-Obama sermon preached perfectly to the Fox News congregation. Quality-wise, 2016 could survive (but still lose on technical points) a punching match with Michael Moore’s mighty left much better than any other conservative doc. D’Souza pleasantly dispenses with any birther conspiracy nonsense early in the film’s occasionally insightful Obama bio section. An anti-Obama screed based on an anti-colonialist reading of the president grates much less than the typical baseless cries of “Socialist!” The final act is where D’Souza goes a little bat shit crazy (that’s a technical term) when the college president posits the extreme changes a second term, lame duck Obama will accomplish. For such a politically astute guy who spends the entire first act of his film reminding us how much he believes in America, D’Souza does not seem to place much faith in the system of checks and balances instilled by the founding fathers (who he rightfully reveres) in our Constitution. Convincing a like-minded audience that Obama needs to go is easy; I want to see D’Souza try and convince anyone that Mitt Romney is a solution.

THE AMAZING SPIDER-MAN (PG-13) Were The Amazing Spider-Man the first Spider-Man movie, critics and fans would hail it as spectacular. Following Sam Raimi’s surprisingly poorly aged films, this fourth film is the unfortunate epitome of unnecessary. Where Christopher Nolan did us an outstanding service reinterpreting the world of the Dark Knight, (500) Days of Summer’s Marc Webb and his trio of scripters rely on lazy, convenient plotting to rehash Spidey’s origins with a few cosmetically mysterious changes. No longer a simple orphan, Peter Parker’s parents abandoned him as a result of papa Parker’s top secret genetic experiments, which produce the (no longer radioactive) spider that turns Pete into a superhero and Dr. Curt Connors (Rhys Ifans) into the film’s villainous Lizard. Ten years ago, mass audiences accepted the idea of a teenaged crime fighter with the powers of an arachnid. Too bad these filmmakers didn’t just jump straight into the web-head’s world as their super-blockbuster excels once it gets the mythology revising out of the way and allows new Spidey Andrew Garfield, who nails the wall-crawler’s smart-alecky, costumed persona, to use those powers to patrol the streets of NYC as your friendly neighborhood web-slinger.

ARBITRAGE (R) Richard Gere stars in—and hopes for a Best Actor nomination—in this dramatic economic thriller. Gere’s hedge fund mogul turns to an unlikely source after messing up big time in an attempt to sell his company. Nicholas Jarecki, brother of Andrew (Capturing the Friedmans) and Eugene (Why We Fight), makes his fictional feature directing debut. With Tim Roth, Susan Sarandon, William Friedkin (?), Laetitia Casta and the awesome Chris Eigeman (a Wilt Stillman fave).

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 amongst 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 way with ensembles. These characters thrive by not having to carry the movie on their own (the Hulk especially benefits from sharing the spotlight).

BEASTS OF THE SOUTHERN WILD (PG-13) Filmmaker Benh Zeitlan’s feature debut certainly lives up to its sky-high expectations. Six-year-old Hushpuppy (Quvenzhané Wallis) lives in the Bathtub, a tiny community beyond the levee with her daddy, Wink (Dwight Henry). As Wink grows weaker from illness, the only world Hushpuppy has ever known starts to crumble. First come the rains, then the people that live on the dry land and finally the mythical, recently thawed aurochs. Still, Hushpuppy fights and survives. This fantastical tale unfolds in a harsh world that feels so realistic the film could be mistaken for a documentary. Zeitlan, who also co-wrote the pulsing, string-heavy score, captures the ruthlessness of rural poverty without the assumed pandering. Newcomers Wallis and Henry dominate the non-professional cast; their absence from the field come awards season will be stunning and heartbreaking. The film deserves to be this year’s Oscar dark horse. I have seen nearly 100 films in theaters this year, and not a single one of them has offered an emotional, imaginative, narrative experience approaching Beasts of the Southern Wild. Such a singular cinematic moment is rare in this day of sequels, reboots and readymade blockbusters. Go see this film now. (Ciné)

THE BOURNE LEGACY (PG-13) Tony Gilroy has been scripting exceptional Bourne films for a decade now. His first time directing one plays exactly like his previous two directing efforts (Michael Clayton and Duplicity); well-crafted but unexciting. Matt Damon’s unseen Jason Bourne is on the run, but another enhanced secret agent, Aaron Cross (Jeremy Renner, who’s an adequate replacement for Damon), is in the crosshairs of some nasty government spooks, led sociopathically by Edward Norton. Cross and pretty scientist, Marta Shearing (Academy Award winner Rachel Weisz), travels across the globe to find the means to permanently enhance the superspy’s mental abilities. This admirable, modern action franchise has always lacked in the fun department (I’ve never wanted to rewatch a Bourne); now it misses Paul Greengrass’ kinetic, athletic, handheld style. Legacy is more desk jockeying than spy gaming. (Call the undergrads; Cross proves to be one hell of a fake ID crafter.) Its respectable action set pieces lack the ooh ahh moment. Still, I’m curious to see the franchise advance with a Bourne/Cross faceoff or team up, but I’d prefer if Gilroy returns to scripting and Greengrass to behind the camera.

BRAVE (PG) A good, not great, Pixar film, Brave strays into traditional Disney territory after a tremendously magical first act. Headstrong Scottish Princess Merida (wonderfully voiced by the lovely Kelly Macdonald) wants to choose her own destiny. She does not want to marry the first-born of one of the clans allied with her father, the Bear King, Fergus (v. Billy Connolly), but her mother, Queen Elinor (v. Emma Thompson), will hear none of her complaints. In typical stubborn teenage fashion, Merida short-sightedly asks a wood-carving witch (v. Julie Walters) for a spell to change her mother. The aftermath of the spell leads to some heartwarming and charming derring-do, but the sitcom-ish mix-up is a bit stock for what we’ve come to expect from the studio that gave us Wall-E and Up, two animated features that transcended their cartoonish origins. Still, Brave is leaps and bounds more impressive than Cars 2 and would have fit nicely in the Disney Renaissance of the 1990s.

THE CABIN IN THE WOODS (R) Horror movies do not come much more perfect than The Cabin in the Woods, written by geek god Joss Whedon and one of his strongest protégés, Drew Goddard. A sublime tweaking of the entire slasher genre, Cabin’s deconstruction may be less meta than Scream, but its elaborate mythology—a staple of the Whedonverse—is transferable and adds a brand new reading to nearly every horror modern film. Five college friends (including Chris “Thor” Hemsworth) take a weekend trip to the woods that ends in a bloodbath. The setup may be threadbare, but rest assured the twisty execution, hinted at in the trailers and established from the first scene between the excellent seemingly out of place duo of Bradley Whitford and Richard Jenkins, hits its mark with every bloody, brilliant shot. (UGA Tate Theater)

THE CAMPAIGN (R) One expects big laughs from a Will Ferrell-Zack Galifianakis political comedy, but one merely hopes for a sharp enough satirical framework to build upon. Austin Powers director Jay Roach has honed his political teeth on HBO’s “Recount” and “Game Change” and provides the proper support for Ferrell/Galifianakis’s silly showdown as North Carolina congressional candidates. Ferrell’s helmet-haired Democratic incumbent Cam Brady, loosely based on John Edwards, peddles to the “America, Jesus and freedom” crowd as he takes on Galifianakis’s oddball Republican challenger, Marty Huggins (His pants! His sweaters! His run!). Both comics are at their recent best; Ferrell had time to hone his Southern shtick on “Eastbound & Down,” and Galifianakis was born in NC. But the real meat of this comedy is how serious it is about campaign finance reform. As the Motch Brothers, Dan Ackroyd and John Lithgow are a not even thinly veiled shot at the Koch Bros. Dylan McDermott enjoys his rare comedic turn as the Motch’s hired gun. The rather rancorously funny movie ends with a surprisingly optimistic view of American politics that might not be tonally consistent with the previous acts, but is certainly pleasingly patriotic.

• CELESTE & JESSE FOREVER (R) Good for Rashida Jones, who goes the Kristen Wiig route and writes herself a breakout role. Not that the sweetly sad Celeste & Jesse Forever is anything like the girls-can-be-raunchy-too antics of Bridesmaids. The titular, married BFFs (played by Jones and Andy Samberg) attempt to maintain their friendship as they get a divorce. That good faith effort is stunted once Jesse settles down with his pregnant new girlfriend and Celeste self-destructs. This dark romcom has trouble finding the proper tone, especially as the narrative winds down, but it excels as a showcase for the talents of the pretty “Parks and Recreation” regular. Jones writes Celeste to the verge of unlikability but acts her back from that ledge. Sadly, Samberg’s Jesse just proves how impossible it is to take the likable, former “SNL”-er seriously; maybe one day, Andy, maybe one day. Like the indie comedies that precede it, C&JF benefits from the tight-knit support of young Hollywood, well represented by Ari Graynor (I love her), Eric Christian Olsen (very underrated), cowriter Eric McCormack, Elijah Wood and Chris Messina. Still, it’s Jones that has me wanting to spend more time with Celeste after Jesse.

• THE COLD LIGHT OF DAY (PG-13) A strong candidate for the year’s worst theatrical release (how did this flick attract Bruce Willis and Sigourney Weaver AND get released on over 1000 screens?), The Cold Light of Day lacks even a mote of self-awareness, ending as if it might be the beginning of some new action franchise. (I’ve only seen the trailer, but Jack Reacher this is not.) Soon-to-be Superman Henry Cavill runs and guns through this Taken wannabe about a young American businessman playing spy games with the CIA and Mossad in the mean streets of an eternally sunny Madrid. The lucky Willis only sticks around for the first act, unlike the very bored Weaver, who is becoming no stranger to crappy action (Abducted?) and is not proving to be a female Liam Neeson. This rote, blandly Hitchcockian thriller (MacGuffin would have been a more appropriate and colorful title) will be forgotten by time if Cavill hits it big with Man of Steel. Even the die hard Bruno fans should avoid this one.

COSMOPOLIS (R) David Cronenberg brings Don DeLillo’s novel to the screen with Twilight star Robert Pattinson. Pattinson’s Eric Packer is a billionaire asset manager, whose day turns strange while riding around in his limo on the way to get a haircut. Cronenberg surrounds Pattinson, who proved more than Edward Cullen in Water for Elephants, with an odd cast including Oscar winner Juliette Binoche, Mathieu Amalric (Diving Bell and the Butterfly), Jay Baruchel, Kevin Durand, K’Naan, Samantha Morton and Paul Giamatti. (Ciné)

THE DARK KNIGHT RISES (PG-13) Fanboy expectations of all-time greatness aside, The Dark Knight Rises concludes filmmaker Christopher Nolan’s Batman trilogy as satisfyingly as one can hope. Having taken the fall for the murder of Harvey Dent in The Dark Knight, Batman is no longer welcome in Gotham City, which is all right with shut-in Bruce Wayne (Christian Bale), the eccentric billionaire who continues to mourn the death of his love, Rachel. (Interestingly, The Joker is never mentioned.) But a new evil, the muscle-and-respirator-clad Bane (Tom Hardy, finally doing the great Bat-breaker justice), has risen, requiring Batman to return to action. Meanwhile, a pretty cat burglar named Selina Kyle (Anne Hathaway, making audiences forget both Michelle Pfeiffer and Halle Berry) has targeted Gotham’s elite. Nolan delivers the dense blockbuster we expect after TDK and Inception. He plays a masterful game of cinematic chess, knowing how to perfectly place every component—script, actors, action set pieces—on the board. A brilliant blockbuster, TDKR cannot best its immediate predecessor; the three-quel lacks the Ledger zeitgeist and shockingly needs more Batman. Still, The Dark Knight Rises darkly comic-bookends the movie summer that blissfully began with Joss Whedon’s candy coated Avengers. I’m sad Nolan’s time in Gotham is over.

THE EXPENDABLES 2 (R) This sequel sharpens its blunt bludgeon of a predecessor by promoting Arnold Schwarzenegger and Bruce Willis (who, let’s be honest, knows he does not belong in these movies) to slightly more than glorified cameos and adding Chuck Norris and Jean-Claude Van Damme. The title is honest; the main team of Expendables—save Sylvester Stallone and Jason Statham—is expendable, slowing the brisk flick whenever tasked with doing more than blowing the heads off a nameless opposing army. The nominal plot involves a mission of vengeance after JCVD’s Eurotrash villain, Vilain (yep, that’s how it’s spelled), kills the youngest, prettiest, newest Expendable. For no narrative reason, fellow mercs Trench (Ah-nuld, who still has that unfathomable screen appeal) and Booker (Norris) show up along the way to assist the Expendables when they’re in trouble and wind up brightening the movie with more personality and wit, despite their witless dialogue, than regulars Dolph Lundgren, Terry Crews or Randy Couture. With a climactic mano-a-mano showdown between Sly and JCVD that is the absolute apotheosis of mindless action, this sequel is the superior guilty pleasure in every way except one. No Eric Roberts.

FINDING NEMO (G) 2003. I came late to the Finding Nemo party and have not taken to it like other Pixar greats. Maybe the addition of a third dimension will help. Clownfish Marlin (v. Albert Brooks) goes searching for his son, Nemo (v. Alexander Gould), who is lost in the big, scary ocean. Fortunately, Marlin has pal Dory (v. Ellen Degeneres), a blue tang fish, to help him out. Director Andrew Stanton went on to make Wall-E. Winner of the Academy Award for Best Animated Feature.

THE GRADUATE (PG) 1967. Mike Nichols award-winning film may be the quintessential film for the directionless, post-collegiate set. While having an affair with Mrs. Robinson (Anne Bancroft), the wife of his father’s business partner, Benjamin Braddock (Dustin Hoffman) falls in love with Mrs. Robinson’s daughter, Elaine (Katharine Ross). Adapted by Buck Henry and Calder Willingham from Charles Webb’s novel, The Graduate is filled with timeless quotes, while Simon and Garfunkel’s famed soundtrack flawlessly harmonizes with Ben’s plaintive plight. With William “Mr. Feeny/Voice of K.I.T.T.” Daniels, Murray Hamilton, Buck Henry and Norman “Mr. Roper” Fell.

HEDWIG AND THE ANGRY INCH (R) 2001. The operation to turn James Cameron Mitchell’s tour de force Off-Broadway hit into a satisfying film journey through the dark side of rock and roll, the theft of intellectual property, and transexuality was successful. Mitchell stars as Hedwig, a hardcore rocker from Germany whose sex change was botched, hence the angry inch. Her life is further devoured by lover, Tommy Gnosis (Michael Pitt), whose superstardom is founded upon her creative output. Stephen Trask’s music and lyrics rock with pitch-perfect bombast. Hedwig joins Moulin Rouge! as the decade’s two most ambitious movie musicals. (UGA Tate Theater)

HIT & RUN (R) Funnyman Dax Shepard stretches his filmmaking abilities (he wrote, co-directed, co-edited and starred) and proves adequate, if not award-worthy, behind the camera. Shepard’s Charlie Bronson is in Witness Protection after diming on his bank-robbing buddies (Bradley Cooper in a bad dreadlock wig and a suited-up Ryan Hansen). When his new identity is compromised, Charlie and his new girlfriend, Annie (Kristen Bell), go on the run. The laughs are predictable, but the stunt driving is pretty remarkable. Hit & Run wouldn’t go very far or very fast minus Shepard’s love of cars (he’s a real life racer) and his talented pals (fiancée Bell, best friend Cooper and “Parenthood”’s Joy Bryant, among others), who power down the movie’s clichéd comic action straight-aways. The movie’s driving force remains as shaggily likable as ever (check Shepard out on NBC’s exceptional “Parenthood”) and shows he’s more than just a funny face. His humorous hot rod plays a little small on the big screen but should reach its audience destination on DVD and pay cable.

HOPE SPRINGS (PG-13) If older people talking about and having sex makes you uncomfortable, skip Hope Springs. But if you want a mature, intimate romantic dramedy about an ailing, aging marriage, warmly and realistically portrayed by two consummate professionals, you will find no other film this season that comes close to Hope Springs. Kay (Meryl Streep) and her husband, Arnold (master griper Tommy Lee Jones), have what appears to be a loving marriage, yet the heat has been lost. They sleep in separate bedrooms; he barely looks at her, much less touches her. Kay wants a change and believes she’s found the means in Dr. Bernard Feld’s (a lightly used Steve Carell, who knows how to pick a project) intensive couples counseling. Naturally, Arnold wants nothing to do with Kay’s plan, but reluctantly agrees to keep her happy. The film progresses with few narrative surprises but many tonal ones. The trailer implies a broader, less deftly handled, older sex comedy. Streep and Jones will have none of that, providing the less dignified moments with some emotional heft and landing the lightweight dramatic punches with the grace everyone expects from these two greats.

ICE AGE: CONTINENTAL DRIFT (PG) Manny (v. Ray Romano), Diego (v. Denis Leary) and Sid (v. John Leguizamo) return in a fourth adventure, which is good news for the millions not waiting for this fatigued franchise to go extinct. The trio get separated from the herd, which includes Manny’s wife, Ellie (v. Queen Latifah), and daughter, Peaches (v. Keke Palmer), and meet a pirate crew led by Captain Gutt (exceptionally voiced by “Games of Thrones” Emmy winner Peter Dinklage). Nothing unpredictable happens (Sid messes things up, no one cares), and the suspense is even less harrowing than your typical television cartoon. The rest of the celebrity voices are a mixed bag as well. Wanda Sykes brings the funny as Sid’s toothless granny, but Drake and Nicki Minaj are non-starters. Aziz Ansari is wasted and J-Lo is present. This kiddie flick is only for children that don’t want to watch Brave or Madagascar 3 again.

KILLER JOE (NC-17) Academy Award winner William Friedkin and Pulitzer Prize winner Tracy Letts must have enjoyed their collaboration on Bug because they’re back together for this black comic crime thriller. A young man decides to put a hit out on his evil mom so he can collect the money he needs to pay off a life-endangering debt. As if a new Friedkin film weren’t enticing enough, the cast includes Matthew McConaughey, Emile Hirsch, Juno Temple, Gina Gershon and Thomas Haden Church. (Ciné)

LAWLESS (R) Despite what works in John Hillcoat’s follow-up to The Road, the main characters of Lawless—a family of bootlegging brothers played by Tom Hardy, Shia LeBeouf and Jason Clarke—don’t quite welcome viewing visitors to Franklin County, VA, “the Wettest County in the World.” Facing off against a perfumed dandy of a sheriff, Charlie Rakes (Guy Pearce, as if he’s auditioning to play the new Dick Tracy villain, No Brows), the legendary Bondurant Brothers survive sure death time and again, but the story never makes their continued existence the viewer's imperative outside of “If the bros die, the film ends.” West Central Georgia does a fine job of portraying early 20th-century Virginia; the below the line crew does a phenomenal job. Nick Cave and Warren Ellis’ soundtrack gives the film a jauntier energy than either its writing or performances. The muscular, sturdy Hardy croaks his lines without changing his facial expression once, and still, the prospect of him leaving the film early, forcing viewers to spend even more time with LeBeouf’s yippy littlest Bondurant, Jack, chills. Gary Oldman barely peeks in as gangster Floyd Banner. Lawless has loads of potential but the resulting film fails to arrest.

LIBERAL ARTS (NR) “How I Met Your Mother”’s Ted Mosby, Josh Radnor, directs (and writes) his follow-up to Happythankyoumoreplease. He also stars as 30-something Jesse, who returns to his alma mater for a professor’s retirement party and meets an undergrad, Zibby (Elizabeth Olsen), with whom he develops an immediate attraction. I’m hoping this Sundance selection will get a bigger release than Radnor’s first film, as I’d actually like to see it. With Zac Efron, Richard Jenkins and Alison Janney.

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.

MADEA’S WITNESS PROTECTION (PG-13) Tyler Perry has needlessly overplotted his latest Madea pic. According to the jam-packed logline, an investment banker is relocated to Madea’s house. Just the idea of Eugene Levy interacting with Perry’s Madea is entertaining. Toss Denise Richards, Tom Arnold and Doris Roberts into the mix, and you have the most exotic-sounding Madea movie yet. It might not be good, but the curiosity quotient has been raised. As usual, TP writes, directs and stars as Madea, Joe and Brian.

THE MASTER (R) Paul Thomas Anderson tackles the creation of the Church of Scientology in this buzzed about drama. A WWII veteran, Freddie Quell (Joaquin Phoenix), returns home and joins The Cause led by the charismatic Lancaster Dodd (Philip Seymour Hoffman). The cast includes Amy Adams and rising star Jesse Plemons of both “Friday Night Lights” and “Breaking Bad.” Already nominated for a Golden Lion at the Venice Film Festival, The Master is one to catch in theaters before the other nominations come rolling in.

MOONRISE KINGDOM (PG-13) Wes Anderson provides 2012 with a twee coming of age tale about Sam and Suzy (wonderful newcomers Jared Gilman and Kara Hayward), two tweens that learn about love after running away from their tiny island home. Any moviegoers not already enchanted by Anderson’s previous whimsies will not be won over by his newest, extremely eccentric romance. Bill Murray, Edward Norton, Bruce Willis, Frances McDormand and Harvey Keitel are among the adults that inhabit Anderson’s isolated, stagy island. I don’t recall enjoying a live action Anderson fancy as much since 2001’s The Royal Tenenbaums. (Ciné)

THE ODD LIFE OF TIMOTHY GREEN (PG) From an odd, sweet place, Frank Zappa’s son Ahmet, comes The Odd Life of Timothy Green. The locale is familiar, though, to screenwriter-director Peter Hedges, who adapted his own novel What’s Eating Gilbert Grape? for director Lasse Hallstrom, who must have been busy as this project seems tailor-made for his sentimental modern fairy tales. Before finally accepting their barren existence, Cindy and Jim Green (Jennifer Garner and Joel Edgerton) put all their wishes for a child in a box and bury them in their fertile garden. After a freak storm, the Greens have a new arrival, 10-year-old, leaf-legged Timothy (CJ Adams). Desiring to right all the wrongs of their own childhoods, Cindy and Jim attempt to give Timothy the perfect adolescence. The Odd Life of Timothy Green might appeal more to kind-hearted, older kids, thanks to Adams’ cute but not cutesy Timothy, despite its being an above average parenting fable. As for these parents, Garner’s appeal chills the further “Alias” recedes, though Edgerton works hard to warm her. It’s a good thing they have David Morse, Dianne Wiest, Common, Ron Livingstone, Shohreh Aghdashloo, Rosemarie DeWitt and the always excellent M. Emmet Walsh to rely upon.

THE OOGIELOVES AND THE BIG BALLOON ADVENTURE (G) An "interactive" children's movie starring multicolored puppets searching for a balloon in time for their friend's birthday party. Toni Braxton appears, and there is a character named J. Edgar.

PARANORMAN (PG) This marvelous, family horror flick is the writing-directing debut of Corpse Bride/Coraline storyboard artist Chris Butler, whose time apprenticing under Tim Burton and Henry Selick was well-spent. For my genre-tainted money, it bests Pixar’s Brave as the year’s best animated feature. I was smitten from its Grindhouse opening well through the closing credits scored to The White Stripes’ “Little Ghost.” This hip, stop-motion animated feature pulls no punches like '80s kiddie adventure and horror movies like Goonies and Something Wicked This Way Comes; the tale of a sweet, 11-year-old, oddball named Norman (v. Cody Smit-McPhee, The Road) is a perfect first scary movie for the son or daughter of a diehard horror fan. Norman’s battle to stop a 300-year-old witch from destroying his town (which climaxes in the bravest act I’ve witnessed in recent animation) is filled with real scares (of the PG variety), smart nods to slasher classics like Halloween and Friday the 13th, atypical character design (Norman’s features are more than a tad asymmetrical) and suffers from a trailer that unfortunately undersells that it’s an honest-to-god horror flick that should frighten and delight kids of all ages.

• THE POSSESSION (PG-13) After an opening attack that is neither intriguing or chilling, The Possession settles into a suitable, if soporific groove. This Exorcist-wannabe, which is naturally based on a true story, benefits from Jeffrey Dean Morgan (looking particularly Javier Bardem-ish) as the basketball coach father of a young girl (played by Natalie Calis with more depth than the usual horror movie moppet in danger) that starts exhibiting strange behavior after picking up an antique box at a yard sale of the lady from the movie's opening scene. The box, a Dibbuk (demon) box of Hebrew lore, leads to more Judaic horror a la The Unborn (Catholicism being so five minutes ago as the go-to faith for the horror genre). Director Ole Bornedal knows how to adequately craft a small horror flick (the original Nightwatch, not to be confused with the Russian Night Watch, deserves viewing; skip the American remake), but he can't get much terror out of Boogeyman writers Juliet Snowden and Stiles White's script. The Possession best take advantage of an anemic horror market, as aware genre fans know there are better flicks on the way (V/H/S, Sinister).

PREMIUM RUSH (PG-13) Like the fixed gear, steel frame cycle pedaled by bike courier protagonist Wilee (another winning turn by Joseph Gordon-Levitt), Premium Rush has one speed—very fast—and no brakes. After being given a plain looking envelope, Wilee is chased and tormented by Detective Bobby Monday (Michael Shannon, giving his umpteenth, masterfully nutty performance), who is in deep with both the Chinese and the generically Eastern European underworlds. Don’t be turned off by Premium Rush’s biker subculture. It’s a simple, ultra fast-paced, superbly tense thriller and one of the year’s best at what it does. We’re talking one of the top-two bike messenger flicks of all time (right up there with Quicksilver, the only other bike messenger flick I can think of.) The first summit between JGL and Shannon, two of the best, undervalued American actors working today, lives up to expectations. Writer-director David Koepp might script the biggest of the big blockbusters, but his directorial efforts are all interesting, if not wholly successful, genre entries. Premium Rush, his fifth, is the best yet. You don’t even need to have a clue what a fixed gear bike is to dig it.

RESIDENT EVIL: RETRIBUTION (R) I hope the Resident Evil videogame series continues to thrive (RE6 is on the way); I wish the movie franchise, on its fifth installment, would quietly disappear. Paul W.S. Anderson and spouse Milla Jovovich keep fighting the evil Umbrella Corporation and its zombie-making virus. Game faves like Jill Valentine (Sienna Guillory) and Leon Kennedy (Johann Urb) appear, as does the game franchise’s most intriguing character, sunglassed Umbrella operative Albert Wesker (Shawn Roberts), who the movies have seriously whiffed on.

SPARKLE (PG-13) This good old-fashioned movie musical retells a very familiar tale (that’s honestly not too far removed from Dreamgirls) but does so with toe-tapping music and solid performances from “American Idol” champ Jordin Sparks and Derek Luke (among others). Three sisters—Sparkle (Sparks), Sister (Carmen Ejogo) and Dee (Tika Sumpter)—from Detroit find success as a musical act, but drugs and abusive relationships (does Mike Epps even know what nuance means?) tear them apart, pretty much like their holier than thou mother (Whitney Houston, in her final performance, which also marks her first time on screen since 1996’s The Preacher’s Wife), a failed singer, told them it would. The original, seemingly forgotten Sparkle starred Irene Cara (better known for Fame and the Oscar winning “Flashdance…What a Feeling”), was cowritten by Joel Schumacher (?!) and featured future En Vogue hits, “(Giving Him) Something He Can Feel” and “Hooked on Your Love.” Not as ambitious as Dreamgirls, the new Sparkle hits the right, albeit imitative (kind of like the “American Idol” competitor it stars), notes but will probably only be remembered as Whitney’s last appearance.

STOLEN (R) Make fun of Nicolas Cage all you want, but he works more than many a better performer in Hollywood. Will Montgomery is a former thief whose past comes back to haunt him as he frantically pursues his kidnapped daughter, who is locked in the trunk of a taxi. Cage is reteaming with his Con Air director Simon West, who recently helmed the aging action all-star extravaganza, The Expendables 2. With Malin Ackerman, Josh Lucas, Danny Huston and M.C. Gainey.

TED (R) I’m not sure what it says about Ted, the funny feature debut of “Family Guy” creator Seth McFarlane, that I, an admitted “Family Guy” detractor, laughed more than anyone else in the theater. Despite the overflowing gay jokes and some poor setups (the introduction to Giovanni Ribisi’s antagonist was awkwardly random), the fairy tale of 35-year-old John (Mark Wahlberg) and Ted (v. McFarlane), the teddy bear he was given on Christmas Day 1985 that came to life via wish, hits the mark more than it misses so long as the talking teddy is involved. Human leads Wahlberg and the increasingly awesome Mila Kunis are appreciated, as is Patrick “Puddy” Warburton; sadly, Joel McHale is wasted. Any movie in which a central gag revolves around the Queen-scored, cult fave Flash Gordon (star Sam Jones even makes a beefy cameo) is OK in my book, no matter how many tired pot jokes it tokes. Being familiar with, but not appreciative of, McFarlane’s oeuvre, I pleasantly left with more laughs than I expected to receive.

• THE WORDS (PG-13) The kindest words I can offer The Words are that I expected much worse. (Don’t mistake that kindly cut for a recommendation.) Author Clayton Hammond (Dennis Quaid) reads his latest work (if the VO is any indication, Hammond is a terrible novelist), the story of young author Rory Jansen (Bradley Cooper), who becomes an overnight literary sensation by stealing the lost novel of an old man (Jeremy Irons). Also, a lit groupie played by Olivia Wilde wants to sleep with Hammond. I get how the Russian nesting egg script would appeal to such a high profile cast, including Zoe Saldana, Ben Barnes, J.K. Simmons, Michael McKean, and more; as a novel, this gooey tale would sail up the charts under the standard of Oprah herself. As a film, the soppy direction of first timers Brian Klugman (Jack’s nephew) and Lee Sternthal mixes with the misjudged casting decisions (Cooper is callow where artistic desperation is needed) for a mushy, three course cinematic meal, which is unfortunate, as each dish is gorgeously and distinctively shot by cinematographer Antonio Calvache. The Words will appeal to the Mitch Albom/Oprah Book crowd, as even badly written pieces of fiction can be compelling.